Dust and Echoes - Part II

Story by OttersGonnaOtt on SoFurry

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#40 of Entropy Series

The gang starts boot camp and gets back some interesting toys, while Carbon starts to figure out a plan for his new recruits.

Long chapter! This one's roundabout ten thousand words and makes for a longer read, but I had a coherent chain of thought I wanted to cram together so it's a necessary evil. ;3 Apologies on the rather long wait for this chapter, but the length combined with a few job interviews (fingers crossed!) sort of drew things out. Still, I'm proud of this iteration and that's what's important I guess.

As always, this story contains adult content and explicit sexual imagery. If you aren't allowed or don't wish to view such material, please stop reading immediately. To all the rest, enjoy! Comments and critiques are welcome and encouraged.


"Alright, ladies! Up and out in ten!" Lilith clapped her paws and slapped her tail against a wall loudly to suddenly drive everyone awake, but paused for a moment when she looked down to the hare in her lower bunk. "Oh, sorry Car. You know I don't mean--"

"Yeah, and you know you don't have to say it." Carmine sat up and went for his footlocker over the end of the bed. "What's the plan today? Do I need to keep my ears tucked away?"

"Right, I almost forget you weren't here for the last batch of recruits. Major tends to start with weapons assessment first so he can assign roles." Lilly looked back to the other two girls and brought up the intensity of her noisemaking. "I said get the hell up! Don't make me ~throw~ you out that bed."

"Alright! We're up. We're getting up." Ilaria sat up in the top bunk, swung her legs over the side, and carefully slid off so she balanced on her one hindpaw. As she reached for her prosthetic she tugged Robyn's sheets down. "I know you're tired, but we can't let them throw you out the group. Appearances, Pillow."

Robyn groaned as she finally decided to wake up. "Fine, I'll bloody play along. What are we even supposed to be doing?"

Ari strapped her leg into place and walked to the end of the bed. "Hey, do we have uniforms or something?" She took another look around and then settled on Ashe's bed. "And hey, where's Ashe gone?

"She woke up a few hours ago and went to see her dog. And I'm not 'Hey'. Call me Corporal or ma'am near the others, but I'd prefer Lilly when I'm relaxing here." The fluff drake turned her back to Carmine out of concern as she threw off her old shirt and replaced it with a tan sports bra. "We don't have a strict dress code. Uniforms sort of work against our group, being unofficial and all. I'd wear something you wouldn't mind laying prone in though."

"Wait, go back a step." Ari reached down and went through her footlocker, finding her clothes from the honeymoon pressed and folded inside. She took a moment to silently chuckle at Fleur's ninja-like valet service and then pulled out a light-green tank top. "We're not an official group? What the hell do we do?"

"We do what needs to be done. Don't worry about the details; you'll find out after training." Lilly waited until Car was preoccupied with his footlocker again before slipping out of her panties and quickly changing into a set of tight shorts. "You might want to do something with that hair of yours too, girls. Sucks when it catches in--"

"--the slide of a gun. Yeah, not my first rodeo." Ari picked out a set of loose jeans and stumbled into them, focusing on helping her wife pick her clothes afterward. "Your hair ~is~ getting long though, Pillow. Mine too, actually. Need to tie it up or it'll get you into trouble."

"Well excuse me for not having time to see my stylist lately." Robyn flicked her paw through her barely-shoulderLength chocolate hair and then wrestled out of her shirt and bra. "To be frank though, I think I like your hair like that. Those gorgeous ginger locks just shouldn't be kept short." The squirrel fought her way into a tee shirt that formerly fit loose, but bunched up a tad near her tummy at the moment. "Try braiding your hair maybe. Looks good on the Major."

"Yeah, and we'll go buy you some new clothes too." Ari bunched her hair behind her head a few different ways to try out the idea, settling with tossing a band around it for a tight, low ponytail. "I'll have to ask the Major for some shopping time. Can't have you going through training tearing shirts left and right."

"Like you wouldn't love that."

"Silly." Ari straightened the bottom of Robyn's shirt and then rested her paw on her belly. "You'd be right, but your health's still my concern. What if you get rashes or cuts where a loose shirt would have prevented it?"

"Cuts don't hurt a baby." Lilly went to the door and leaned against it. "Now hurry up, girls. Looks better if we leave for the mess hall together. Besides... your baby needs to eat too."

"Baby or not, I'm starving." Carmine hopped off his bed and over to the door, dressed in Army issue fatigues that he somehow preferred. He leaned against the wall near Lilith and lowered his voice so the others couldn't hear. "So you've got a soft spot after all. Babies mean something to you?"

"No shrink stuff, not now." Lilly put on a sterner face, but a secondary expression of concern still bled through. "I just happen to know what it's like for the kid, being different and all."

"Artificial? We don't know that's the case though."

"Carmine, stay out of my head. I mean it." The dragoness reached for the door handle and popped it open once she saw Robyn was more or less ready. "You're not wrong... but I just want to eat and shoot stuff. Come on."

Carmine shook his head and chuckled to himself. "Always tough on the outside, but soft where it counts. Why can't your evil twin brother be more like you?"

Lilith simply tapped one of her ears and kept walking forward. "I heard that, ya'brat."

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A loud series of _whirr-chump_s sounded down the platform as Carbon's twelve-footTall robot walked briskly from a freight elevator. The high-tech monstrosity heaved over towards the rest of the squad near the edge of the platform's surface holding a large mortar transport can in one arm. The free arm curled back to help support Carbon as he held onto a ridge in the robot's shoulder, effectively allowing him to stand on its back.

Carbon looked over to the crate, which Evelyn decided would make a good seat. "Time to see if I was right. But I'm not sure if ~you're~ right about these weapons. You still haven't explained that bit."

"You remember the last squad. You tried to make soldiers out of survivors." The flower girl carefully stood on her unsteady seat and pointed to the group. "They didn't feel comfortable with their gear and it got most of them killed. You can't tell me you don't feel bad for forcing them to use standard equipment."

"They wanted to use sticks and stones in a fucking missile fight." Carbon pulled himself higher to get a better view of the obstructions in his path and then silently told the robot to correct course with his paw. "At least these guys own real guns. You can't win a war on fighting spirit alone."

"Well whatever the case, they'll be safer defensively in the least. Vasily will appreciate that. But..." Eve hopped off the 'vehicle' and floated ahead of it, making a bit of distance between her and Carbon like she usually did when she was hiding something. "But don't toss out sticks and stones just yet. When you're desperate you need to embrace whatever you can get."

"Eve... What are you keeping from me?"

Evelyn stopped moving, and so did the robot. "Just don't be mad at me... and keep an open mind? Please? If it's a bad idea, better to know now than a fight. Right?"

Carbon slapped the robot, causing it to kick back into gear and light its joints in a flash of indigo. "Whatever it is, it better not get in the way of my evaluations today. I need to figure out who's doing what and if you get in the way of that ~you'll~ be to blame if they get killed for performing poorly."

"Carbon! I thought I knew you better than to say crap like that!"

"Eve... Sorry. I didn't mean it like that." Carbon hopped off the robot and ran his fingers across his hair, halting on his braid to play with the knots. "Look, it'll be fine. If those kids are even half the man their father was they'll turn the tables to our side."

"Carbon, they ~are~ half of their father. That's how breeding works." Eve giggled and fluttered over to the others as they inspected various rifles. "I have a suspicion those twins will become ~more~ than their father. They'll save this world."

Carbon slapped the robot on the back with a pulse of indigo and then jogged ahead, Sergeant Ichor saluting as he approached. "At ease, Sarge. I've got some special gear coming over for the newbies. Tell them to grab what they want and then line 'em up for firing."

Vorak exchanged his salute with a simple nod. "Yes, sir. Individual or group?"

"Group. We'll move on to single ranges if needed. Today's not a marksman test, Sarge. Just assigning squad roles."

The robot slowed to a halt in front of the weapons table, causing everyone to step back in caution. Robyn however moved forward to examine the robot as it finished placing its cargo safely on the ground. "Blimey. What's your name, fella'? You're right brilliant. Oh! who made ya', boy?"

"Squirrels..." huffed Vorak.

Carbon shot the drake a disapproving glare and then joined Robyn, touching the robot again to give it new orders. "This is Ex. He's... unique. He also only listens to me and sometimes ignores others, so watch yourself around him."

"You know I like Skelly better. It's more appropriate for a gal like her."

"My robot, my name." Carbon noticed Robyn quirking her head as he responded to Eve and quickly rebooted the scenario. "He can bend I-beams and he weighs a few tons. Just be careful, all of you. Corporal? Lay out these weapons."

"Sir."

As Lilith opened the metal box and emptied it, another lone figure in a fine suit walked over and addressed Carbon directly. "Pa pa, pardon moi. Ze package vous ordered 'as been deleevered."

Carbon took a large, long box from Fleur and checked it over, somehow forgetting about the delivery when his memory was artificially close to perfect. "You're sure it wasn't mislabeled? Wrong floor?"

"Eet was sent from ze mainland. I dzought only vous--"

"--could have things sent in from there. Thanks Fleur. Please head upstairs. We're about to fire guns and I don't want your ears getting hurt."

"Oof course, pa pa."

Carbon let the elk nod and head off before he forced open the package. However it took him a few seconds to figure out what he was pulling out of the cardboard box, the odd shape obscured by bubble wrap. "Eve, this better not be what you were talking about."

"Sorry! I just took over your body for three minutes to make the order. But trust me, it's a good thing!"

"Explains the rough night..." Finally the various components were removed and partially unwrapped such that they were identifiable. "A bow and arrows? The hell?"

"Gods..." Ilaria stepped forward and reached for the bow out of concern for its condition, but reeled her arms back at the last moment. "S-Sir? Can I please have that? It means a lot to me."

"Oi, that's my bow I gave you." Robby didn't hesitate, grabbing the quiver and a few arrows without asking first. "Here, love. Bet you feel better with these around, yeah?"

"Yeah. Gungnir's a good bow."

Carbon shook his head in disbelief. "Sure, why not. I have it on ~good authority~ this is apparently still a viable weapon."

"Hey, her mother's tribe handled them well enough." Eve walked over to Ilaria and tapped the side of her false leg. "Just don't judge her until she's got better footing."

"Oh, right. Wasn't that tiny android girl supposed to be done her little project by now?"

Vorak picked up the question for Evelyn by raising a radio. "Hey goo ball. I know you're listening. The Major wants a status report, pronto."

Quite awkwardly, a large holographic projection lit up from Ex as Sprite piggybacked a message.

Eve blinked blankly at the displayed text. "Well that's... not supposed to happen."

"Is it a concern? Some kind of security ri--?"

Before Carbon could finish his question Prisma came running out of an emergency stairwell. At perhaps three times the speed of a normal person her size, she sprinted so fast she had to skid on her heels to stop. "Sister Sprite sent Prisma! Prisma has a gift for Auntie!"

Sure enough, the android was holding a set of jointed metal tubes with translucent hoses connected to it at the base. "For me? I don't even know what that is." Ari threw her bow over her shoulder and cleared her arms to receive the gift. "Did Sprite tell you what it's supposed to do?"

Prisma nodded enthusiastically, ducking down to detach Ari's leg rather than giving her the odd item. "Prisma knows how to use it. Sister Sprite taught Prisma what Prisma needs to do."

Ilaria wobbled as she fought for balance, but soon Prisma was supporting her whole leg without much effort on her part. "Woah, girl. You're stronger than you look." The new contraption snapped into place and Ilaria was allowed to put the whole of her weight on it, with the metal stilts surprisingly holding her balance perfectly. "Wait, how's this thing work? I can feel ~something~ but it's different from the last one."

Prisma lifted up a bunch of the tubes connected to the bottom, revealing a metal replica of an otter's hindpaw skeleton. "Auntie will be happy to walk again. Prisma helped Sprite make this version. Prisma's proud of Prisma's work."

Carbon knelt down by the android and watched her work at connecting the tubes to the upper base one at a time. "I think I've seen a design like this before. Where'd you come up with it?"

"Prisma saw your friend and that allowed Sprite to remember. Prisma helped make sense of Sprite's new memories."

"My friend? You mean Ex here?" Carbon took a look at the robot and couldn't spot any of the same design. "My robot here isn't ~that~ complex."

"No, not your exoskeleton. Prisma means your other friend. She's just like Prisma and Sprite." The android connected the last of the inner layer and started on the thicker outer layer next, now working on memory alone so she could look at Carbon. Then she looked directly to Evelyn. "Prisma wants to be friends with her. She looks fun!"

"Uh... I..." The flower girl shrunk down and hid behind Carbon. "That's not supposed to be... possible..."

Carbon checked on Eve and then curiously looked back to Prisma. "I'll... introduce you two later. Just finish this and we'll talk when we're done for the day."

Prisma nodded with a bright smile as she finished her work, the new prosthetic now resembling an actual leg without the skin; the tubes connected in the exact same pattern and shapes as actual muscles. "All done! Prisma still needs to apply the epidermis, but it isn't critical." She released the leg entirely and stood up. "The inputs should be similar to Sprite's last model. Give it a try."

Ilaria did as she was told, first lifting her right leg. It was hard to move at all, but as she tried to work the muscles they began to fill with glowing orange. She then curled her foreleg around the artificial knee, rolled her ankle, and wiggled her toes without much hassle at all. "Yeah, works like a charm. It's even smoother than the last one, too. There's not as much feedback though." She placed her hindpaw on the ground and noticed there were paw pads built directly onto the 'bones' that did indeed send back a sensation of touch. "Well, I guess there enough where it counts."

"The remaining parts will allow more direct feedback. However it will require that you soak in a scaffolding resin and Prisma doesn't want to inconvenience you."

"Oh. Well thank you for this, Prisma. And give Sprite my thanks as well when you see her." Ari pumped her leg up and down a few times, finding she could actually make shallow cracks in the concrete floor of the exterior platform. "Uh... I think we'll have to talk about this thing more later anyway. How about we work on the rest of the leg when you and the Major have your chat? And invite Sprite to join too?"

"Sure! Sprite says she's welcome, by the way." Prisma gave her 'auntie' a quick hug and then jogged backwards towards the stairwell she'd used to reach the surface. "Prisma will be waiting! Have fun, Auntie!"

Ademeus picked up his battle rifle and shook his head with a grin. "That's one enthusiastic robot you've got there."

"She's an android, idiot." Ari spun around to scowl at the big cat. "And she's very much alive, so watch what you say about her. If you got on her bad side I'd think she'd be able to snap you like a twig."

"Sorry... I didn't..."

"Whatever." Ilaria went over to the table and picked up her revolver from the gallery of new items. "So you picked up half of my lab and then some, I see. What, you wondering how this stuff works, Major?"

"Not exactly. They're guns. You shoot them." Carbon picked up sniper rifle he'd never seen before and grabbed it for inspection, accidentally breaking off the scope and a large part of the receiver before he decided to put it back down. "Well, more or less. I just didn't want to go through weeks training you guys to shoot. Sergeant?"

"Sir." Vorak snapped upright and roared out a command. "Alright! Everyone grab something they like and take a lane. I want you ready to fire in thirty seconds, Recruits. Move, move, move!"

Ari snagged a matching box of ammunition for her pistol as well as her quiver and ran over to the leftmost firing lane. Iolvin picked up the pieces of the fancy sniper rifle his twin gave him, as well as smirking when he found his Mauser packed away in its box. He lugged the whole box over in a second run, piling his goodies into the lane next to his sister. Adrian picked up a more basic weapon, an MP7 that was modified to fire 5.7 millimeter rounds as well as a matching Five-seveN pistol. Robyn and Elliot however were stopped before they could pick out something for themselves.

Carbon held his paws out over the table and shook his head. "You guys probably won't see any action. I'm thinking of keeping you back at base or for support roles."

Ilaria immediately huffed her way over, slapped his paws away, and picked out two pistols. She gave Ellie a classic Beretta 92 that was rebuilt with ceramic and plastic parts and handed Robyn a practically ancient Nagant M1895. "I'd rather they could defend themselves, sir. Besides, I told you they'd pass the ~full~ training regimen."

Carbon sighed and moved back so the others in the squad could pick out their own weapons for what amounted to simple practice at this point. "Fine. I'll admit they'd be safer that way. Do they even know how to use one of those though?"

"I'll show them. It's not too--"

"You're already behind, Recruit. What happened to my thirty seconds?" Vorak took his favorite light machine gun, a new kind of Browning called the M480, and waved it about like it was a light carbine. "Get your ass on the line and firing before I make you sit out there and hit you with paint rounds!"

Carbon plucked Ari's bowstring and ponderously huffed a breath. "I'd like to see how this thing works too. Better show some evidence it's worth keeping or I'm taking it back."

"Right. Yoyo, think you could teach them how to use those?" Ari turned to Robyn and adjusted the muzzle of her revolver so it didn't casually point at Ellie's leg. "Most important thing to remember is only point that at things you want dead, Pillow."

"That's easy enough." Ellie took his own pistol and pointed at the base of the grip and then the forward sight. "I know bullets go in here and come out here."

"It's a bit more involved with Robyn's though..."

Carbon grumbled and nudged Ilaria to her firing lane. "Misses Rivet... I'm waiting, Recruit."

"Y-Yes, sir." Ari looked to her twin and continued to her lane when he nodded back. Once in place, she snagged an arrow from her quiver, flipped it forward, and nocked it back with a little pressure. "What am I hitting out there? There's a bunch of targets, sir."

"Well you seem to think this is as good as a rifle. Basic rifle range is about that third target back to... maybe the fifth." Carbon moved to where he could better see but remained well back since he didn't know how much room Ari would require. "That's about fifty and a hundred-fifty meters, each one average fur height."

Ari nodded and raised her bow, but quickly lowered it once the wind gusted against her side. She raised her tail to feel the direction and intensity in her thick fur, but the gusting was too erratic to tell from that source. With a smirk Ari reached up and yanked a few strands of hair from her ponytail, allowing them to freely flutter in front of her eyes.

Now that she could gauge the micro as well as the macro of the gusting, Ilaria simultaneously pulled her bow up and the string back. "Firing," she warned as she shimmied her forward paw down the bow, using her fingers to 'zero' the shot. Then she loosed her arrow just as her hair fell flat. The arrow zipped silently through the air just to the right of her target, but Ari's timing allowed the next gust to hook the shot back on path.

The practice arrow smacked against the plywood target, denting the rough center of the third target's heart vital zone. "One shot, one kill, sir."

"It didn't even stick. I wouldn't call that a kill." Evelyn frowned and pointed to the otter's quiver, causing Carbon to investigate further by pulling out an arrow. "But these are wood and fiberglass. I guess they need tips to inflict damage."

"I prefer wood because it hooks best, but there's other options. And yes, sir, the heads add weight and penetrating power." Ari took the arrow from the Major and lined it up with her drawstring. "Hunting arrows are pretty expensive though. If you've got the funding, I could buy some cheap in bulk though, sir."

"You'll hit the other targets first. Then we'll talk funding, Recruit."

"Now you're just being hard on her." Eve vanished and then reappeared behind the second target. "She had a hard enough time with the wind on that first shot. You saw how much it hooked. Why don't you wait until the wind dies down before doubling the range?"

"She--" Carbon looked back to Ilaria and corrected his phrasing. "~You~ need to hit those, wind and all. There's worse conditions on the battlefield, but this could still be a good test."

Ari grunted at the Major's stubbornness towards accepting Gungnir as a valid weapon. She quickly pulled the next arrow into a firing stance and adjusted her aim, but prematurely loosed it towards the ground as her rear leg slid from beneath her. "Fuck. Don't screw with me, leg. Not now."

With Eve staring back into his eyes Carbon held his first thought and spoke another. "I won't count that one. You did literally just snap that thing on, and I know it must be hard to--"

Ilaria huffed out a louder grunt, annoyed that Carbon was apparently feeling pity for her deformity. "Excuse me, but fuck that, sir." She quickly grabbed another arrow, nocked it, and loosed it nearly sideways across the deck. The arrow soared far and high, visibly bending as the wind played with it, until it smacked hard half a foot from the heart of the sixth target down range. "Bingo. Further than you asked and still a potential kill. Now can we stop with the leg, sir?"

"Uh... sure..." Carbon peered over to the target, with Evelyn using her fingers to silently spell out the distance to the it. "That's two-hundredTwentyFive meters... and you did that in only three seconds..." The Major gawked to his subordinate in confusion and uttered, "How?"

"You just don't want to think too much. It's more touch and feel than math, and a seventy-five pound draw helps." Ilaria threw her bow around her shoulder and went for her pistol. "Plus I shoot better when I'm pissed off."

"Most disabled people don't like being felt sorry for, Carbon." Eve fizzled into view just in front of Carbon and tapped his breathing mask. "I would have thought you'd figured that out by now, mister. I thought I raised you better than that."

"Sorry..." Carbon walked through Eve and leaned against the inside of the firing lane's shroud. "I didn't mean to point it out like that. It's just a logical concern and I... Fuck..." The hybrid took a breath to calm himself and focused on something else. "I've never seen a pistol like that before. That new? Who makes it?"

"Oh... I do, sir." Ari held up the odd revolver and began loading it, lifting a gate near the cylinder and pressing a bandoleer clip into a slot tangent to the frame. She pressed on a line of bullets and they fed inward, rotating the cylinder as they filled grooves cut out of the edges. "She's Myolnir, sir..." She then oddly yanked a forward slide away from her followed by the rear slide towards her, which automatically ejected the clip from the side of the gun as it also primed the first shot. "...and she's ready to fire. Effective range is about two-hundred meters by the math, give or take. Only tested her in fifty or so at my lab though."

"There's way more pistols with a maximum range past that."

Eve checked the weapon over and whistled as she found something interesting. "Effective, not maximum. And boy, is this thing complex. It even crimps rounds and everything. Might be more effective than she says."

"Ah, sorry. You so you said 'effective range'? I'm a fan of my 1911, and that's only fifty or so." Carbon went to check for the crimping mechanism Eve mentioned but was forced to lean back and protect his ears as Ari raised the revolver. "Wait! Warning first!"

"Sorry. Used to doing this on my own, sir." Ilaria took a step back and warned the others, Mjolnir hiked up to the sky. "Hearing protection, guys. I'm ready to fire and this'll ruin your ears."

Robyn reached for a set of protective muffs and wedged them over her head. "Thanks, love."

Once the others did the same Ari winked her ears shut, her otter heritage providing her a natural form of ear protection. "Firing at the one-fifty target, sir." She raised the pistol and lined up the sights, range markings indicated on a ramped part of the rear slide. Then she fired heavy burst of four rounds, the first three punching small holes into the lethal zone of the target's chest with the last straying a few inches higher than intended. "See? She's pretty easy to use."

"That's... Yeah, that's a great gun. You're a good shot too." The Major reached his paw out for the pistol, which was given over only after de-cocking the hammer. "So, no safety like a standard revolver then."

Eve overlaid her own design analysis over Carbon's vision, labeling the different main functions. "It's sort of a hybrid weapon more than a revolver. Here..." She replaced the labels with a very slow playback of the firing mechanisms from the earlier shots. "See? The whole cylinder moves forward because of the forward spring and it seals the gap. That's where the range comes from. Efficient."

"Oh, that's a 'crimping' system then?"

"Yup! Then the forward slide pops out and resets the cylinder, and the rear one turns and oscillates it..." Eve rewound the memory and slowed it down a bit. "Oh, right. It uses a staggered cylinder so that's unique. Holds more rounds I guess. And you see this? The empty shells actually eject from the loading gap too. Pretty complex stuff going on here."

Carbon looked up at Ilaria and the visual memories faded to become nearly invisible. "How in the hell did you come up with this thing? It's maybe the most complex pistol I've ever seen, and probably to it's detriment."

"The original goal was to make a belt fed pistol, but I didn't have time to finish that bit." The otter girl requested her weapon back and took it by the nose, carefully working a switch beneath the forward slide. "It's got a different cylinder now though. See this?" She flicked the switch and the whole front of Mjolnir angled forward, the cylinder raising free of the body and spring-ejecting the remaining shells into Ari's waiting paw. "I just kept improving her over time. The reason we even have so many pistols is for my own research."

"So you're inventive then. I like to see that in a soldier."

Eve toothily smiled at her host. "Admit it. She's pretty clever."

Carbon shook his head silently for a moment and then perked up for a specific question. "So there's no open breach on this gun, right? Any plans for a suppressor, by chance?"

"Well, that's a good question." Ilaria looked into the barrel and contemplated her exact answer. "I might have to sacrifice some rifling to thread her, but I think she could handle that. Oh, maybe I'll have to double check the blowback pressure too."

"Good." The Major took few paces back to check on the others and returned Ilaria's answer with a smirk. "I think you might work well with Miss Ichor doing recon. She needs someone to watch her back actually, and you're probably a better shot than her if we're being honest. We'll find out how well you and that leg of yours work together tomorrow before I make up my mind on that, though. Sound good, Recruit?"

Ilaria snapped Mjolnir shut and began feeding the bullets back into the loading gate one at a time. "Yes, sir. I'll work out the bugs today, sir. You'll get 100% tomorrow."

"Perfectly what I like to hear from my new Specialist." Carbon reached into a pocket and produced an identification and access card, reprogramming the contents of the internal display with Eve's help. "Congratulations on the promotion, Misses Rivet. You outrank Private Mottledft--for now anyway--so put him in his place if he starts any shit with you again."

Ilaria took her new card and grinned, her eyes quickly snapping to the mentioned liger. "Oh, I'll do that, sir. I'll do just that. Thank you, sir."

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"Ugh. Some of them need a lot of work."

Evelyn paused in front of a hatch and shook her head. "You can't complain when the twins will all but take care of themselves. And how about Lulu? She's exceeding expectations, huh?"

"Potentially. Shooting isn't everything after all. We'll know more tomorrow with the gauntlet. Maybe a climbing course if that leg of hers is working better." Carbon reached out and tapped a code on a nearby control panel, then twisted a physical latch once it unlocked. "So you were right about the bow. I do have to wonder how much of that was up to chance th--"

"Crap. Where'd it go..."

Carbon turned his ears behind him and quirked his head to the side in confusion. "Ashe? What are you doing here?" He glanced at the locked door and then back to the girl as she started scrambling on the ground for a lost item. "Wait, ~how~ are you in here?"

The arctic wolf popped up to answer the question, slamming her head into the bottom of a desk. "Ah, fuck. Oww..." She rubbed the back of her head and tried again, this time using a paw to feel her way out from beneath the desk and resurfacing with her headphones. "Sorry. I had to find somewhere to go that wasn't below sea level. Water... really freaks me out. Who's there?"

Carbon looked to Eve with a shrug and then to the glossy eyes of the blind girl. "It's Major Optik. So, how did you get in this ship? It's locked."

"I hacked the door." The wolf found a seat and pulled it beneath her, sitting down in front of her laptop as if showcasing the tools of the trade. "So who else is there? It's rude to take advantage of a blind girl, you know."

Eve rolled her eyes and threw a finger up to her lips. "You were talking to me. I'm guessing she'll pick up on us quick. Quiet time."

"Oh... I was talking to myself. I'm alone."

"Just you?" Ashe sighed and reached for the desk, following a mental path to a bag of potato chips. "I was sort of hoping for more company. Getting a bit bored."

"Hey, where'd you get those snacks? We don't have any vending machines I know about." Eve silently returned Carbon's inquisitive glance with an equally dumbfounded one. "You didn't talk to one of the lower crew when they were changing shifts, did you? We need to keep a low profile."

"Hmm?" Ashe chomped on a few crisps and pulled her earphones over one ear. "Oh, no. I found an ID code in the files here and went a few floors up. Indy wanted to go for a walk and I needed the air."

Carbon rolled his eyes and quickly made his way over to the nearest computer terminal. He placed his paw over a data port and the nearby trim of his fur started glowing indigo rather than the normal cyan. "You can't go roaming the upper decks, Ashe. That's civilian territory and we don't need security risks. Secrecy is the only thing keeping us from being blasted off the face of the planet right now."

"Hmm... She's pretty good though. Hard to find traces of her hack." Evelyn faded from view to devote more resources to the task at hand. "I'll need a minute. Hold tight."

Carbon gave a nod and rested his weight on his paw. "I get it. You need your own space sometimes. Just please, for all our sakes, don't sneak out of the military sections. Ask me first so I can clear it."

"Aww. Well I don't like being in the open on the first deck, and the others are below the water..." Ashe tapped a few keys on her laptop and then reached for some more chips. "This place is sort of nice. You said it was some kind of ship?"

"An orbital dropship. It's the only one we've got, and I'm afraid you might screw something up... if I, uh...."

Eve flagged Carbon's attention and frowned with her new. "You won't like this. She copied ~your~ ID when she went up. Security protocols flagged you for inspection, but I think I cleared it before an actual person managed to spot it. Also..." The flower girl looked over to the hacker and then pleadingly to her host. "Don't freak out, but she's reading old mission files."

"_ What?! " Carbon stomped over to Ashe, yanked her up by her paw that was on the keyboard, and slapped her across the muzzle with his other. "Those are classified! I don't _ever want to see you accessing those files--!"

Ashe immediately fell limp after the hit, shaking as she dangled from the Major's grip. "P-Please! I d-don't... I'll n-n-never do it ag-gain!"

"--again. Shit." Carbon released the wolf, allowing her fall out her seat and kneel into a protective ball below. "What's all this about?"

"P-Please... I'll do anything, just... d-don't hit me." Ashe reached out and found the Major's leg, then traced it up to the belt of his pants. "I'll... I'll suck your dick. You won't h-hit me if I suck your dick, r-right?"

"Carbon..." Evelyn walked out of nowhere to kneel next to the wolf girl and give her a hug. "She's having a panic attack. Poor girl can't see and you just smacked her without the ability to defend herself."

"Fuck. No, you don't need to do that." Carbon took Ashe's paws from his now-loose belt and lifted her trembling body up. He found a set of crew seats on a wall and led her over, then sat and laid her across his lap. "I'm sorry, Ashe. I overreacted."

Ashe resumed her attempt to free the hybrid of his pants out of habit alone, and whimpered when her actions were once again halted. "Wh-What? I don't... think I, uh..."

"Shh... It's okay, Ashe. I'm not mad." Carbon calmed the wolf by running his claws through her long hair, petting her softly until she relaxed into his lap. "I don't like people looking into my past so I sort of... blew up. I can't ask you to forgive me for that, but can you at least understand it?"

The arctic wolf slowly curled up into a fetal position, her fluffy tail tucking between her legs. "Maybe. I just... I mean, you ~hit~ me."

"And that's wrong. I completely forgot you couldn't see it coming, too."

"At least you admit it." Ashe rolled a bit more sideways and groaned when Carbon started rubbing behind her ear. "You're really sorry, aren't you? Nobody's ever sorry for hitting me."

"What do you mean?" Carbon's other paw took over ear scritching duty while the original rubbed up and down Ashe's arm. "Who the hell would ever think you deserved to get slapped?"

"Everyone... Most anyone that realized I was homeless. My dad." A particularly strong shudder ran through Ashe's body as the fresh memory of her recent prison time came to the surface. "That reptile in the jail."

"Reptile?"

"The Ichors were on interrogation duty when she was locked up." Eve sat down on the opposite side as Ashe and added her own intangible hands to her petting. "Actually, Lilith's report says she had to take her brother off duty for some reason. You think...?"

"Ashe, what happened with this reptile?"

"He... took advantage of his position, which doesn't bother me so much to be honest. But he didn't have to beat me up while he did it. I'd have gone along just fine if he asked."

"Sergeant Ichor. I knew he was a bit raw under the scales but I never thought he'd stoop to something ~that~ low." Carbon slammed one of his paws into the back of the seat, distorting Evelyn's image for a moment and sending a cringe through Ashe. "Sorry. I'll take the appropriate action and make sure he pays for that. Raping a defenseless girl under his care is inexcusable. He's hard to teach a lesson though..."

"He's genetically geared to raise in rank." Eve stood back up so she wouldn't have her illusion broken again and went to sit on the other side of the Arctic wolf. "Demote him. That'll hit him where it hurts."

"Putting Lilly in charge would piss him off the most. Plus the others would be in better care now that I know this. I think that might just work out." Carbon sighed at the prospect of having to physically force his subordinate into that position as a potential requirement due to his rough personality, but quickly broke his line of thought in favor of Ashe. "So you were homeless? Mind if I ask why?"

"My mom's dead and my dad... Well, we don't get along. He hit me and... stuff..." Ashe nudged her snout deeper into Carbon's lap in an attempt to hide her face, but only ended up nuzzling a large bulge in the hybrid's pants instead. "I got the hell out of there while I could, but didn't really have anyone else to go to."

"That's... wow..." Carbon lifted Ashe's head up so he could cross his legs, making a less embarrassing pillow out of his propped-up tail instead. "The granddaughter of a good friend of mine was in the same sort of situation, you know. Her parents died during the Reclamation War and she was left to fend for herself. It's funny in a way that she's about your age too. You two might be good friends if you ever met."

"Really? I haven't really had too many friends, even when I was in school."

"Yeah, she's the highlight of my day most of the time. I took her in like a daughter and we've been happy ever since." Carbon lightly rubbed his thumb under the wolf's chin as he contemplated a big decision. "You know, I have an extra room in my place, and I'm pretty sure Fleur would love to have a sister..."

"I... I already have a sister. Ilaria decided she'd adopt me as hers, if that makes any sense." Ashe rolled over so she faced up to 'look' at Carbon. "It's nothing official, but I like her family. It feels... right. Like the family I should have had."

"Well... that's good. Fits better with Vasily being a husky too I guess. As long as you're happy."

"So what about that other girl from the jail?"

Carbon perked his tiny hears forward at that question. "The brig? I don't remember anyone else being in there."

"I knew there was a reason I did all the bookkeeping." Eve pulled up a few visual memories of the African wild dog to give a face to the name. "Viola Clairview. We picked her up after she came back from the dead. Hospital zombie, remember?"

"Oh, ~her~." Carbon shook his head at the idea of taking the stranger into his home. "We don't know much about something... odd about her. She should have been interrogated and then possibly released by now, but I guess your sister sort of took our priority and manpower."

"But she's... She sounds like the age I was when I ran away. She still has her family, right?" Ashe traced an arm up to Carbon's shoulder and then face, cupping his cheek tenderly. "Please, if she has a family... give her a chance to see them."

"I can't do that, not yet anyway. We... took her away from her parents without them knowing. They still think she's dead." Ashe's paw tensed, but Carbon quickly corrected his stance on the matter. "If her situation checks out, I promise we'll give custody back to her family. And while she's here, I'll personally see to her investigation. It shouldn't take long that way."

"...Alright. I just want to know she's being treated properly."

"You know, if you're really scared of the water we can work something out for you, too." Carbon sat the girl up and kept an arm around her shoulder. "Just so you know though, the living quarters are only on the second sub-deck. The water's usually down at the third until heavy storms."

"That's supposed to comfort me?"

"Well... Shit, I thought it would." Carbon chuckled as he thought of another bargain. "Well, you can use this ship as your thinking space as long as we don't need to use it and I don't need a place to be alone; this is my thinking space for the record. Just let me get you a proper ID for the door first. Might even grant you access to my penthouse if you can't sleep. Okay?"

"That's a start." Ashe started to smile, which in turn made Carbon smile as well. "Ellie wants me to stay with her down in the medical area but I just can't. I work better in places like this."

"You call the Doc a girl? That his... uh, ~her~ preference?"

"Yeah, even though she's ~my man~ I'm starting to understand how she thinks of herself."

"Well that's good to know. Thanks." The Major leaned his head back as he committed the idea to memory. "Oh hey, actually... I need your actual information if I'm going to make you an ID. You were apparently homeless when you hit adulthood, so we don't have your biometrics on file."

"Holmwilt. My last name's Holmwilt. I grew up in Wildebrooke and went to Redemption Middle School... The, uh... the special needs one." Ashe dropped back down into Carbon's lap and hugged his legs. "Just don't talk to my dad. I'd rather he think I was dead or something. Y'know?"

"I'll... set you up as an individual adult. Don't worry." Carbon resumed his petting and insisted his next point. "Please make sure to find Carmine, though. He's sort of our local counselor and I want you two talking about your dad. I think it'll help."

"You really do care about me, huh?" One of Ashe's paws moved back to Carbon's already-loose belt and finished unlatching it. "Well you're doing me more than enough favors, so..." She slipped her paw down the front of Carbon's pants and stared wide-eyed into the distance as she found not only a hard cock but a pair of softball-sized balls. "Holy hell... You really need a favor yourself. These normally like this?"

"Uh... Yes and no. Wait, no." Carbon pulled on Ashe's arm but that only encouraged her to use the other, unzipping and shrugging down the top of his pants for better access. "Ashe, don't. I'm responsible for you. This is a huge--"

"--cock. Well, not really actually... uh, but damn if you balls aren't. Oh, sorry! You're actually about normal I think. Elliot's this size... Um... You want a quick pawjob?" Ashe worked the Major's meat and potatoes into the open air and started stroking his moderate length. "It's fine in here, right? We're behind a locked door."

"Ashe... Goddess, that feels good..." Carbon clenched his teeth and threw back his head as Ashe's warm paw stroked his length, only to snap back to his senses a moment later. "No. Ashe, you're with the Doc. You don't need to risk what you have with her just to get on my good side."

"What? No, I'm doing this because I want to." The wolfess started kneading Carbon's overstuffed balls with her other paw as the first gripped harder. "Ellie doesn't mind me having sex with others for trade. I just need to use protection."

Carbon tried to pry Ashe's paws free but the way she fondled his sack sent him into convulsions of both pleasure and pain. "Fuck! Oh shit!"

"Ooh, am I that good? You about to cum already?"

"Goddess! Ah!" Carbon jerked about in his seat, but soon mustered the strength to growl through his teeth and hold Ashe's paws still. "Damnit... It's no--Ah!--use like that..."

"Aww. But you seemed so close." Ashe huffed in frustration, resorting to yanking down her top to continue. "Here, maybe these'll change you mind. You like boobs, right? All guys like boobs."

"No, that's not what I mean..."

"Oh gods, you're gay aren't you?" The puppy pulled her top up frantically and attempted to cover herself. "I'm ~so~ sorry. I didn't kn--"

Carbon reached forward and slipped a paw beneath one of Ashe's breasts, giving it a light rolling knead of his fingers as he gained purchase. "That's not it. I like both sexes actually, and you're really beautiful. I just need to explain something first."

"Oh. So you think I'm pretty?" Ashe dropped her arms and let her chest once more sit in the open for Carbon's pleasure. "Thanks. I'm not used to hearing that from too many people. So what's the deal?"

"I'm different..."

"Yeah, I thought so. Your cock feels a bit odd."

"Ashe, please..." Carbon brought one of her paws to his cock and traced a finger along one of many glowing spiral ridges leading to the tip. "I'm built differently. There's a part of me in the head here that... shit, how's the best way of saying it?"

"She's quite the genius, Carbon." Eve leaned over and gave his cock a flick that actually tensed the muscles to simulate the resulting sway. "She probably understands things scientifically. Just say it straight for once."

"That part of me needs to be in contact with fresh DNA or I can't reach climax." Carbon sighed in frustration as he realized their options. "I can't paw off. Sadly I can't use condoms either, so if the Doc requires that then we're a bit limited. Plus I have a sort of addictive effect on some furs. Well, a few anyway."

"Now you're just boasting, mister." Ashe smiled and leaned forward, eventually giving Carbon's tip a slow lick that sent a shiver up his spine. "I don't mind. So you need my mouth instead of a paw? I can handle that. And your seem to really need it if I just blue-balled you there."

"Actually, they're always blue. I've got a few weeks of frustration to vent though, if you can handle that." Carbon cupped one of his balls and groaned at its soreness. "It'll probably me a lot."

"I can handle it. I actually kind of like a ton of cum." Ashe slipped off the seat and repositioned so Carbon's manhood pressed between her tits on its way to her muzzle. "Just focus on the pleasure and I'll take care of the rest. Anything else I need to know?"

"I don't think... Oh, wait." Carbon's paws squished Ashe's mounds together, allowing him to thrust and stroke into her cleavage at his own pace as well as freeing her paws to roam as they pleased. "This usually isn't an issue, but there's a lot to get out of me today. I need to you to keep moving when I climax. I keep cumming until the stimulation stops or I run out, whichever is first."

"Mmm... So just keep going? I can try that." Ashe lowered her paws, using one to play with Carbon's jewels while the other pressed and wiggled playfully a bit lower. "You said you like guys too? That mean you like a little of this too?"

With a cyan blush flooding his cheeks the Major reluctantly leaned back so the wolfess would have better access. "Yeah... I sort of do."

Ashe brought her paw back up and used a bit of gooey pre-cum from Carbon's tip to help lubricate her fingers. "Well sit back and enjoy. I'm not too used to that so let me know when I'm doing it right. Okay?"

"Oh, you'll know."

"Perfect."

Ashe slowly sank her digits back into Carbon's tight pucker, this time getting in to her knuckles. As she probed about inside she constantly lapped and licked the head of the hybrid's cock with her broad canine tongue. The sudden burst of pleasure caused Carbon to tense up and slow his own thrusting into her tits, so Ashe picked up the pace and enveloped the top third of his member into her hot muzzle.

The Arctic wolfess eventually gave up on using her chest entirely, hungrily slurping and swallowing more and more of the otter's length until his balls mashed into her chin. She quickly ran out of that green and cyan candy cane to lick, so Ashe began rolling and rocking her snout into Carbon's groin to let her throat do the hard work. She rose up for a breath of air, her paw on his balls rounding back up to rapidly stroke the Major's entire length. Then as quickly as she regained it she put that breath to the test once again, her wet snout dampening the hybrid's pubic fur as she crammed his meat back down her throat.

"Goddess... Ashe, that's so good." The wolf girl only added to his pleasure when she finally found the perfect angle on Carbon's prostate with her fingers, to which Carbon squeezed down hard to suck her digits deeper and harder onto that point. "Shit... I'm... I'm gonna..."

Ashe popped off for another breath of fresh air, but this time she reached her roaming paw to one of Carbons and guided him so he cradled the back of her ear. "Use me... how you like... Cum for me..."

"Oh shit." Carbon brought his other paw up to match the first, then guided Ashe's head down until she was flush with his crotch. He didn't stop there though, wiggling her head side to side and then lifting her up a bit only to slam her mouth back down. "Ah, fuck! S-Sorry!"

Throwing caution to the wind, Carbon sloppily bucked his hips and rocked Ashe's head as fast and hard as he could muster. Then at the pinnacle of his efforts, he finally went over the edge. His glowing areas suddenly shifted indigo as a slow but very constant and voluminous stream of similarly-colored honey shot down Ashe's throat. As promised he didn't stop there, continuing to buck and slap into the girl's muzzle while his cock erupted like a fire hose, even overflowing through her sinuses whenever he pulled out of her tight throat.

Eventually Ashe's autonomous reflexes got the better of her, the liquid indigo shooting out her nose burning enough to make her fight for freedom and slap Carbon's thigh. " Gah! Fuck!" She coughed up a mouthful of extremely thick, syrupy cum and spat it out over Carbon's still rock hard cock. "Damn... Kak!... That was more than... I expected."

Carbon ran a paw up and down his length as Ashe removed her fingers from his pucker. "That wasn't... all of it..." He took one of Ashe's paws and placed it on his smaller but still quite engorged balls. "Thanks... That'll help for a while..."

Ashe ran her own paw up his length and found something she thought peculiar enough when it was tickling her muzzle let alone the open air. Her fingers played with a few spaghetti strands of flesh that were protruding from Carbon's tip, five to be precise, and giggled when every rub of hers caused him to shudder. "So this is what you were talking about?"

"Yeah. Please, take it easy. They're sensitive."

Ashe ignored the plea and licked the tendrils with her tongue, eventually slurping them up into her lips like they were little straws. "Ooh, they tickle. How do they do that?"

"I told you, I can sort of be addictive. Those can trigger erogenous zones and my cum is full of pheromones." Carbon gawked and grunted as Ashe forced him to lay down on his back, then groaned in delight as she scrambled atop and started sucking his cock again in earnest. "Ashe? You really don't need to do any more."

The wolfess pulled up her skirt and pressed her panty-clad pussy into Carbon's muzzle. "Just shut up and lick me. I'm really horny now and you need another go."

"Ashe... goddess... You're not listening. For some furs my cum's like an aphrodisiac." As Ashe took Carbon back into her muzzle until she was sniffing his balls, Carbon pulled her panties to the side to assess the damage. He couldn't resist taking a lick, her tangy juices practically drooling into his mouth. "I think you're one of them. You sure you really want this?"

"I know I want more of that cum of yours." Ashe licked her lips and slurped on Carbon's tip again, cleaning it of any residue. "Never had a guy taste like you. Sweet soda water if I had to name it."

"Just because it's tingly doesn't mean it's soda, you know."

Eve giggled and shook her head. "Doesn't stop them all from saying that though."

Carbon smiled at his symbiont's little joke, but that smile was soon smeared off his face by Ashe's grinding crotch. "Damn, you really are horny. But I can't just take all day with blowjobs." He shoved Ashe's rump forward and pulled himself onto his knees, lining himself up behind the girl's wagging tail. "We need something a bit more effective for both of us."

"Mmm... Just do it. Fuck me." Ashe collapsed her arms and raised her ass for better access. "We don't need a condom. Just... pull out or something."

"You know that's not an issue. I'll control pregnancy if you take that route." Evelyn loomed over her host and tugged the base of his tail a few times to make sure he was actually listening. "You sure you really want to, though? The Doc wants condoms for infections too most likely. She'd be pissed if she found out."

"Damn. I hope you're not too much of a rookie, Ashe." Carbon reached forward and scooped some of his thick, sappy cum from Ashe's face, then he smeared it all over his cock. He lined up with the girl's tailhole and leaned over her back so he could better control his entry. "Sorry if you're not."

Ashe whined at the comment, and once again when Carbon pressed forward. With the lube-like texture of his cum as an aid, soon the hybrid had half of his length worked into the searing heat of Ashe's ass. She tensed up for a pawful of seconds at a time, but after a few minutes of very shallow bucking Ashe's grasp on the situation went from overbearing to pleasantly snug. Once the wolfess had calmed down enough, Carbon pressed the rest of his manhood home until his heavy balls rested over her dripping pussy.

"You alright there? Anything hurt?"

Ashe fell to her shoulders, her face smooshed against the padding of the seat and distorting her speech slightly. "Gods... I'm fine. That's ~wonderful~."

"Good to hear, because you're really tight." Carbon pulled back about halfway and then quickly slapped himself home, his balls smacking hard into Ashe's petals and sending a shiver through her legs. "I won't last long this way. How do you want it? I'm not stopping after this."

"Like that... Hard just like that!"

With a nudge of his mask to the side, Carbon lightly bit down into the fur on the small of Ashe's neck with the corner of his mouth as he kept up his testing pace. Then Ashe started gyrating her hips into his motions as she reached a paw up to more directly stimulate her delicate nub, all of her orifices tightening and tensing whenever Carbon's heavy balls slapped into her knuckles. Carbon took this as direct encouragement, one of his paws going down to grab the base of Ashe's tail as a handle as he nearly doubled his squelching thrusts.

"Oh goddess! Fuck!" Carbon reached his other paw around Ashe's front and groped her chest, kneading and pulling against her tits in any attempt to distract himself and give the wolf girl time for her own climax to build. "Fuck... I can't..."

"Don't worry..." Ashe started bucking back against Carbon's motions as her other paw desperately joined her first. "Just go... go ahead..."

Suddenly Ashe's ass started clamping down in regular, hard bursts as she neared her peak. The hybrid driving her to heaven couldn't handle it however, releasing his teeth and bounding upright so he could more easily slam his cock into the wolf girl. Without any warning Carbon hit his limit, painting Ashe's insides indigo with a steady flow of his resin. True to his word though, even as he was trembling in his own bliss he still kept a steady rhythm.

It wasn't much longer before Ashe herself blossomed with orgasm. "Cumming...!!" She whined and hissed as she went over the big climb, Like gravity itself Carbon's constant pistoning drove Ashe back up and down countless more varying sizes and banks of hills on her own personal pleasure roller coaster. "Pguh! Fuck!... Never... Gods... So full!..."

"Ha~ah, shit..." Carbon started slowing down gradually as his balls finally drained themselves, but only after loosing close to a gallon of sap from his love bud. "Damn... That was a... a good one for sure..."

By the time Carbon had completely stopped his hips Ashe was a mumbling mess, smearing drool across her face as she spasmed violently on the end of the hybrid's cock. "Too... Too much..."

Evelyn walked around to the front of the girl and checked her crazed expression. "You ~actually~ fucked her silly. That's rare for that little input."

"Hey, she's just really reactive to the pheromones. They ~do~ make those affected go into a false heat, and she's a canine to boot." Carbon carefully slipped himself free while supporting Ashe's rump, then slowly lowered her to rest on the seat. He readjusted the fit of his mask since he was getting lightheaded all of a sudden and then lightly slapped Ashe's cheek. "Hey, hon. Can you say your name for me?"

"M-More..." It was harder to tell than with most since she stared ahead vapidly in a normal state, but even still it appeared Ashe was a bit high on endorphins at the moment. "Amazing... More..."

"Wow, you nearly fried her brain." Eve sat down near Ashe's head and pet her between the ears. "Way to go, stud. Looks like she had a good time."

"Yeah, and we made a mess. She'll never come to with that stuff all inside her; a light breeze would probably set her off again." Carbon kicked off his pants and went for a pocket, pulling out and activating a small communications radio. "Hey Fleur? You there?"

There was a slight delay before the response came through. "Oui, pa pa."

"You know the dropship on the main deck? Think you could bring down a robe and some towels?"

"Oui. Tout le plaisir est pour moi."

Carbon groaned as he reminded his 'daughter' of one of his rules of etiquette for radio chatter. "Fleur, no French on public channels. Remember?"

"Ah! Pardon moi--uh, 'me'--pa pa."

"It's alright, baby girl. Just grab the robe and towels, and try to be discrete. Oh, and a few bottles of water if too. Getting a bit dehydrated." Carbon looked over to the leaking Arctic wolf with a sigh. "You know how you've been worried about me lately? Someone helped me take care of what was bothering me."

"Oh, good! I was getting worried for ze while."

"Well, we need to repay the girl. The good news though is that I think you'll make good friends with her."

There was a bit of silence followed by muffled giggling. "A friend? 'Urrah!"

Evelyn stood up and walked back to her host with a smirk. "Someone's excited." She reached down to fondle Carbon's balls and her smirk grew into a joking grin. "And thankfully it's not this little guy for once."

"No kidding." Carbon sat back down on the bench seat and threw Ashe's legs over his lap. "Still, I hope Fleur and Ashe here get along. It'll be good for the both of them."

"Unless you need to get off again and they're inseparable."

"That's a bridge we'll cross when we come to it." Carbon rubbed a paw up the back of Ashe's blouse, eliciting slight moans and murrs from the now-sleeping girl. "For now though, I'm fine with everyone just being content."

"That's a bit more than 'just content', Carbon." The flower girl sat on the ground and crossed her legs, admiring the two from the floor. "But you really need to break your own rules like this more often."

"No, I don't..." The hybrid watched as his glow color finally faded back to the normal cyan. "But I will admit it was pretty fun."