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Silent Guardians (Remastered)

Written By: Spudz

Space was utterly devoid of existence, yet so peaceful and magnificent to those fortunate enough to travel across its vast expanse. It was truly a wonder how, within this infinite abyss, life somehow managed to take hold and thrive, defying the hostility of the environment around the tiny worlds that it called home. There was perhaps no greater testament to the wonders of the cosmos.

Orbiting high above one of these worlds, a lone spacecraft stood silent vigil over the inhabitants of the fragile terra firma below. It was an exceptionally beautiful planet, with deep blue seas and lush fertile lands that encompassed vastly differing ecosystems. The world flourished with a diverse variety of life, which over millions of years had facilitated the evolution of intelligence. It was now home to a remarkable species that had evolved, developed language, waged war, established an incredible array of cultures, strived to reach the stars, and learned the meaning of self.

They called this world Earth.

To the pilot, the planet was a magnificent representation of nature's creative hand. He always liked to gaze out the bridge window of the orbiting starship to watch its terrain slowly pan by below, like an ever turning portrait that continuously evolved and transformed before his eyes. The view never got old. Few seldom got to experience such a sight.

Kanolos, or Kano as he liked to be called, kept his paws propped up on top of the helm dashboard as he enjoyed the silence of the bridge. To the casual observer, his features bore a striking likeness to Canis lupus, or the common grey wolf species that inhabited the world below, although he stood on two legs as opposed to four. Adding to the similarity was a fur pattern mix of soft-creamy white and darker red hues, with splotches of black splaying his extremities to give a resemblance to another species of the planet, the red fox. His race was simply known as kyree.

The enigmatic nature of his likeness to the local wildlife was not lost on Kanolos. The discovery of Earth some time ago had shocked the kyree race to its very core, giving rise to all manner of religious and political strife. It had been a tumultuous time to say the least. Even now, the issue was still hotly debated, and largely considered a mystery yet unsolved.

Who would've imagined that another world could harbor species that so closely resembled us? The thought surely filled his mind with wonder when the kyree considered the grand scheme of it all. Earth did closely resemble his home world Sora, which scientists believed explained the similarity of life, although how that had come about was still a matter of debate. Sora had creatures that bore a resemblance to Earth's intelligent race. It stood to reason that both worlds probably shared an analogous history, with all the right building blocks of life falling neatly into place at just the right time. How that had happened... well, no one really knew.

In the end, the universe still held many secrets that would probably never be explained.

The kyree's attention was drawn away from his thoughts. Outside the bridge window the dark side of the planet slowly panned into view. He watched the sunlight slowly ebb away, until night took full hold of the terrain. All across the darkness, bright splotches of light dotted the landscape, creating a vibrant mosaic that wove across the curve of the planet in elegant patterns, the telltale signs of a thriving civilization.

For the local intelligent species, known as human, the calendar date was the year 2010 A.D. They were a developing civilization, capable of industry, government, and even primitive space travel. However, such advancements meant nothing in light of one important aspect: the species still lacked the means for faster than light travel, a key technology necessary to traverse the vastness of the cosmos. And that fact was why Kano's starship currently orbited above.

The kyree stole a quick glance to the readouts floating before him on the console dash. Just like a few minutes ago, no new information presented itself to his uninterested regard, just as he expected.

His job, all told, was a simple one, to ensure that his ship was the only warp capable vessel in the sector. Aside from the human's fragile space station, and their primitive spacecraft, no other vessels were permitted anywhere near the planet. Such was the mandate of the higher-ups.

The kyree race was part of an organization of worlds known as the Federation Alliance. This coalition managed a standing military, the Space Axis, and provided protection to all member species through a collective agreement. In a way the humans had copied the same principle with their North Atlantic Treaty Organization, although that particular alliance was far more limited in capability.

The Axis was a force to reckon with, bolstered by a comprehensive array of starship fleets and planet-side reactionary forces that were tasked with the purpose of preserving the ambitions and interests of the alliance. Such firepower was necessary to maintain order, especially considering how hostile some of the neighbors could be. However, military action was only a small part of the fleet's responsibilities.

The Federation abided by a series of protocols involving all aspects of space travel, a means of maintaining principles and standards when faced with all the adversities the universe had to offer. One such mandate dealt with non-warp capable civilizations.

The kyree could recite the protocol from memory; no Federation personnel may, through willful or unwillful means, interfere with the normal and healthy development of alien life and culture, nor allow other developed races to commit acts of equivalent nature. It was a very broad directive, and retained numerous articles that further complicated things. One article even went as far as to force primitive species into protective isolation, so that they could develop and mature in a natural and stable process. Humans were one such case.

That was where Kano came into play, for better or for worse. The mission was, strictly speaking, boring. How could it be anything but, when your whole assignment was to simply enforce a no-fly zone around a local solar system no one cared about? Ships rarely, if ever, violated the sector. Hell, since he had gotten here, not a single incursion had occurred; a vessel had not even so much as strayed remotely close to the region to begin with.

Usually older starships on the verge of obsolescence were given this sort of task, manned only by a minimal skeleton crew to keep them running. Most personnel that found themselves on this sort of assignment were officers who had stepped on one too many toes, or older enlisted crew that simply wanted to coast through their last mission to retirement. You never found young pilots like Kanolos, fresh out of the academy at only twenty-six years, let alone the rest of the crew that comprised his starship's complement.

Speaking of starships. The kyree casually reached over to toggle a few prompts on the console's floating screen without even looking, yawning a toothy yawn as he did so.

The sensor readouts of the surrounding space evaporated away and were replaced with a detailed schematic of his ship. The graphic gradually expanded outward, growing in detail, until the entire space above the helm dash was taken up by the vessel. Underneath, the words 'Federation Starship Arastos' were displayed.

Arastos was a small ship by fleet standards, boasting only a crew of six. Her role as a scout vessel meant she was not heavily armed or armored. But these shortcomings were more than made up for by the ship's unsurpassed speed.

Kanolos tapped the aft section of the schematic to blow up the starship's four sub-ether engine nacelles. A quick scan verified that the systems were all running stable in a standby configuration, ready at a moment's notice to spin up should the need arise. Another twitch of his finger, and the conventional engine systems displayed, followed quickly thereafter by the reactors. Not a single reading was out of place. The ship was running at peak efficiency, a feat that had only been possible after great effort spent working all the bugs out on this shakedown cruise. Not bad, all told, considering this was her first real mission after emerging from the shipyards nearly three months ago Earth standard time.

A few more motions cycled the display through sensors, life support, shields, and then finally weapons, giving the kyree pause. Arastos may not have been a powerful cruiser class warship, but she did at least have a trick or two up her sleeve. Always of particular interest to Kano was the chin-mounted Longbow gun, which he now took a moment to admire through the floating diagram. The damned thing was simply massive compared to the rest of the ship, and jutted out below the bow like the frightening weapon that it was. It was supposed to be some new form of sniping firepower that was capable of harassing enemy fleets from light-years away. As it were, Arastos was the first starship to deploy the technology. The system was still largely untested.

Satisfied that everything was shipshape, Kano stifled another yawn and took a hand to flick the whole ship schematic to the side of the workstation, causing it to fly off the display to be replaced by the sensor data from before. As expected, nothing had changed on that front either. All was quiet.

A small clock in the bottom corner of his display gave the Greenwich Mean Time for the planet. The kyree did some quick math and realized it was just after six on the east coast of the United States, one of the more powerful human nations. That meant the country's stock markets were closed for the day.

He leaned back further in his seat with a weary sigh. "So how'd we do today, Lumina?"

There was no one else on the bridge, but someone was listening. And sure enough, after a moment, Lumina made her appearance.

It started as nothing more than a small ball of light on the corner of his dash, which quickly expanded outward as it transformed before Kano's uninterested gaze. When the light finally settled, the small holographic figure of a kyree stood before him on the console, her fur of a stark ghostly white.

"Better than I'd expected," Lumina replied as she folded her arms smugly across the chest, a smirk playing her muzzle to give her wolfish features a more devious air. "I doubled our return from yesterday."

"Did you now?" he fixed the hologram with a sidelong glance. "Last I checked this was proving to be a down day. Did we do some short selling?"

"But of course."

Lumina was, for all intents and purposes, the starship's A.I. All vessels were assigned such programs to help manage day to day operations. But Lumina was different. Unlike the more rudimentary programs prevalent across the fleet, she was a construct: a whole new breed of artificial intelligence derived from sophisticated algorithms and subroutines the likes of which Kano couldn't begin to comprehend.

Constructs were a fairly new technology, with only a handful of them currently existing. Kanolos hadn't even known of their existence until he had been assigned to this ship. Unlike the more agreeable A.I.s that he was used to interacting with, she had quite the abrasive personality, a fact that tended to grate on his nerves. More specifically, she had a habit of deliberately rubbing his fur the wrong way to get a rise out of him, much to his constant disdain.

"It was a down day indeed," the construct continued, still sporting a roguish smirk. "So I turned my attention to quarterly earnings reports and calculated which companies would probably turn in lower than expected profits for the quarter. Really easy to turn a profit that way."

Kano quirked an eyebrow at her. "You mean you hacked into said companies and dug up the financial information before it was released to the public."

"You know me all too well."

Lumina was a force to reckon with when it came to electronic espionage and warfare. Since meeting her, Kano had been quick to learn how frighteningly proficient constructs were in the field, and how they could manipulate data, breech protective barriers, and cause all manner of mayhem when they wanted to. She was as much a weapon as the massive gun affixed to the bow of the ship. That much was for certain.

Her aptitude had also proven useful in other unexpected ways, namely when it came to the human's stock market. The protocol for non-warp species was absolute, but that wasn't to say that there were some loopholes that could be... put to use. It had started simply enough, just a small amount of currency borrowed from a wealthy individual, so small not to be noticed. From there, Lumina had forged headlong into the human markets, utilizing her skills to quickly amass a small fortune of their currency, almost too quickly. They had already paid back the unsuspecting donor and then some.

"Hey, it's not like we're using my skills to strike it rich for ourselves," she continued upon reading his expression. "It all goes toward your trips to the planet. It's why you let me do this in the first place. Don't get cross with me because I'm so good at what I do."

"Obviously I could never duplicate your success oh mighty one," the kyree replied with slightly more exasperation than he intended. "I just disapprove of your sneaky way of going about it. What you did is essentially break their laws. I don't like that." He was at least smart enough to know that she had undermined their financial system to come out ahead. But it wasn't worth starting an argument over. She would get the better of him if he took the bait. "Can you at least be more careful? I don't want to draw attention to us, and I don't want to inadvertently throw their economy into chaos."

The holographic kyree scoffed. "You give me far too little credit. I'm always careful to cover my tracks. And do you really think I'd be capable of throwing their system into chaos?"

"Quite frankly... yes."

"You are learning," Lumina chuckled darkly. "There's hope for you yet."

Kanolos scowled. His scathing retort was cut short by the sound of a door hissing open from behind.

When he turned, he caught sight of the captain as she entered the bridge from the corridor beyond, a smile gracing her muzzle when she found him at the helm. "I thought you'd be here."

Like Kanolos, Captain Riyla was kyree, with fur of a deep shadowy black that contrasted drastically with his own appearance. Such a pattern accented her keen wolfish eyes in an intimidating fashion, presenting quite the daunting appearance. It was only fitting, given how she could kill you with kindness one minute, and rip out your throat the next; the endearing qualities of a keen and cunning leader.

The captain wore a simple working shirt and pair of shorts that accented her feminine features quite nicely, and carried herself with authority as she padded over to him. Her attire was hardly formal, something unbecoming of an officer, especially a captain. But Kano didn't mind; quite the contrary. The crew of Arastos enjoyed keeping the atmosphere of the ship relatively informal compared to the rest of the fleet, evidenced by his similar apparel to her own. When there were only six of you aboard, you could bend the rules a little.

"I'm glad you showed up," Kano began, leaning back further in his seat as Riyla came to stand alongside him. "Miss. High and Mighty was just rubbing my nose in her success."

"Hey, you're the one who asked me how we did," the hologram countered from the dash.

"Now, now... you two play nice," Riyla chided. She turned her attention to Lumina. "As it turns out, that's why I came up. Could you bring up the appropriate data for me?"

"Yes, captain." Without hesitation, the construct phased in a holo image across the side of the forward bridge window and promptly filled the space with rows upon rows of numerical data, blotting out the view.

Lumina knew better than to tease or annoy Riyla, or at least she did now. In the past the A.I. had tried tweaking the captain's tail on a few occasions. The results had not been pretty, with the construct learning right quick that you do not mess with your superiors. She had paid the price for each incident in one way or another, until the lesson had finally hit home. Now she just annoyed Kano for the most part, but he supposed it was for the better if it meant keeping her out of the captain's fur.

"Seems you've really got a handle on this," Riyla marveled after giving all the numbers a once over with her eyes. "More than enough to keep our excursions funded until the mission end."

Kano kept his muzzle shut about the whole hacking thing. Riyla wasn't blind to Lumina's sneaky ways. She was as much aware of the construct's doings as him.

The captain fixed the holo image with a shrewd regard. "I would hope that, when we return home, anonymous donations will be made to some charitable organizations to clean out our accounts."

"Of course, captain."

"Good." She turned her attention back to Kanolos, inviting him to speak with a dip of her head.

"I thought you were working on that shakedown report to the higher-ups?"

"You know I hate writing those damnable things. Couldn't finish it fast enough." She took a finger and poked him in the shoulder. "Maybe I should have you write them from now on. I should start pawning off my duties more."

"Now what kind of captain would that make you?" Kano asked, giving her a knowing look.

"A smart one."

"I suppose I can't argue that." He reached up and took hold of her bushy tail. "Come're."

A gentle tug was enough to pull the kyree off her paws into his lap sideways, to her startled yelp of surprise. He didn't give her a second's breath as he canted his head and pulled her down, locking muzzles in a much needed kiss.

Kano felt the captain melt into his embrace, her arms wrapping around him, her tongue dancing eagerly with his own through parted muzzles. For a moment, they both reveled in the intimacy of their partner.

The two kyree were a mated pair, joined in eternal companionship just a year ago. It was not uncommon for enlisted personnel who served together to be mated. As a means of boosting enrollment, the Axis took great strides to assign mated couples to a single ship or military outfit. It was a worthy endeavor, and had proven quite popular to those who now served in all ranks and professions within the military. Kanolos, himself, couldn't bear thinking what life would be like aboard Arastos without Riyla at his side. She had always been there, ever since the first days in the academy.

Riyla was young for a captain, being only one year his senior. But that wasn't to say she didn't deserve this assignment. She had earned it; they both had. All through the academy it had always been a constant duel to see who could outdo the other, who could rise above the ranks the quickest and outshine the others in their respective classes. It didn't matter that Kano was a pilot and his mate a captain. They had still found time to bond and help each other through all the chaos of classwork and training, all the while competing with one another. If anything, the academy days had been the catalyst to bring them closer together.

And now here they both were, assigned to one of the newest starships, on the cusp of starting out in a new chapter in their lives as they set out to explore the cosmos. It was a thrilling thought to say the least.

After a moment, Kano pulled back, letting his mate slip from his maw. "I don't deserve you."

"Oh, shove it fly boy." Riyla cuffed him lightly on the arm in feigned irritation. "You do to and you know it."

A polite cough emanated from the console dash, drawing Kano's attention back to the annoyed kyree hologram.

Lumina had elected to keep her silence up until now. She had learned, through past experience, that you did not interrupt any sensual moments between mates, particularly the kind that took place in living quarters. Kano didn't think he'd ever forget the day when she had rudely butted into their mating right as things were getting hot and heavy. Riyla had actually stormed out of their shared quarters in a fit of rage, stark naked, and pulled the construct's vocal and visual processor chips from the ship's mainframe computer. The lesson had definitely been learned then.

"Now that you two are done giving each other an oral exam, may I interject?" Lumina spoke with no effort made to hide her annoyance. "I believe the crew should be checking in from the surface soon."

"That they should," Riyla remarked with halfhearted interest. She made no move to get off Kano's lap, which was fine by him. "Hopefully they'll have something interesting to report."

Of the starship's six crew, only Kano and Riyla were currently aboard. The others were down on the planet surface in a city called Cancun, Mexico. It was Kano's understanding that the place was a major tourist destination, and boasted some beautiful beaches and tropical resorts, the kind of place he would love to be right about now. But that wasn't why they were there.

The city was playing host to the humans' Kyoto Protocol conference on climate change, the real reason the crew had traveled to the surface. The planet's rapidly changing climate was a heated topic of debate for the species as they wrestled with increasing pollution problems. It was a predicament that plagued all developing intelligent species at some point or another.

The conference was a good opportunity to closely observe humanity's development. There were deliberate loopholes in the protocols that allowed such trips to the surface as it were. The sort of mission was actually encouraged by the top brass, since it served to pacify the science pukes, who were always chomping at the bit to study the humans. At the very least it provided a good excuse for some of the crew to get off the ship for a little while.

The starship's lone shuttle was currently hidden in deep water off the coast, while the crew stayed in the city for the duration of the trip. They had even checked into a rather luxurious hotel from the sounds of it, which would've seemed impossible without creating a local panic at the sight of strange aliens roaming about. In that respect, technology came to the rescue to make the whole endeavor possible.

"Should I hail them?" Lumina offered.

Riyla gave it a moment's thought. "No, they'll call us when they're ready." In the silence that followed she shifted her gaze out the bridge window to the scrolling terrain of the planet. "Do you miss home, Kano?"

He wrapped his arms around the kyree to pull her closer. "Every day. But at least I have this view to remind me of Sora, and you to share it with."

"It does almost look like home, doesn't it?"

"But it will never be as beautiful, no matter how similar this world is to our own.

Riyla poked him on the bridge of his nose. "That's a matter of opinion. You didn't go on the expedition to the Grand Canyon, or the mission to St. Maarten last week."

Kano sighed. "No, instead I end up in places like New York City and Hong Kong when we had that snafu with the shuttle."

"You've never been a city boy."

He looked out to the stars. "I guess I just miss the white sand beaches of home. I haven't had the chance to curl my toes in warm sand and feel a refreshing salty breeze in some time."

"Tell you what, before this shakedown cruise is over, we'll take a vacation to one of the nicest beaches this planet has to offer. No missions, no tasks or responsibilities, just you, me, and a nice relaxing time. How does that sound?"

Kano sat up a little in the chair. "You mean it? Can we really afford to take some time off?"

"The others can cover," Riyla replied with a flicker of mischief in her eyes. "It's not like anything is going to happen while we're away. You can curl your toes in the sand to your heart's content."

"I suppose it's only fair since we're stuck up here while the crew enjoys Cancun. I see no flaw in this logic."

Lumina shook her head. "You two are something else." She was about to say more, but something caught the construct's attention. "We're receiving a hail from the surface."

Riyla promptly removed herself from Kano's lap. "Right on time." She took a moment to stand alongside the helm station and straighten out her clothing. "Patch them through."

A new holographic screen appeared alongside the one displaying the stock market data, which presented a female human casually regarding them from what appeared to be a lavish hotel room. There was one thing that was wrong with the human's appearance though: her eyes. Instead of the common blue, green, or brown color that the species exhibited, her iris were sharply angular and of a deep golden tinge, similar to the kyree's own wolfish kind. It was the one visual flaw in the camouflage that the crew used to move about freely within the local populous.

"Good afternoon, captain," the human greeted in Basic, the common language used throughout the Federation.

"And a good afternoon to you as well, Eriras," Riyla replied with the stoic composure of a captain. "Did you have a good run of things?"

The human on the other end of the line rolled her eyes. "I suppose you can say that. The taxi drivers around here are insane, I should mention. Nearly killed us a couple times going back and forth from the hotel. I can't believe the locals don't have more accidents on the roads than they already do. It's a melee out there."

"You've never been a fan of their transportation," Riyla remarked with a laugh.

"Why should I be? The damned things are steel death traps hurdling around at unsafe speeds. Give me an old hoverdyne any day over these crude things."

The captain folder her arms. "Well our shakedown cruise will be complete soon. Just stick it out a little longer."

"Oh, I'm not complaining about that. Have you seen the beaches down here? I'll take this sort of assignment over anything the fleet could throw our way. "

Riyla stole a quick glance to Kano, who just sighed. When she turned back to the floating display, the kyree tapped a finger to her wrist. "Can I ask why you're still cloaked?"

Eriras blinked. "Oh, sorry. After using it all day, you sort of forget about it." She reached a hand up to grasp what appeared to be an unassuming watch that she wore on her wrist, an archaic device the humans used to keep time. However, for the purposes of disguise, the crew of Arastos had adopted the mechanism's appearance to mask a phased holographic cloaking device, a crucial tool needed for them to freely traverse the world below.

The watch employed the same technology that allowed Lumina to project a holographic image of herself, through the bending and twisting of light to create a seemingly physical object. For the construct, holo technology gave her an identity, as well as a person that the crew could comfortably talk to as opposed to an omnipresent consciousness that existed throughout the ship's systems. For her flesh and blood counterparts, the holo image was used instead to veil and replace their furry appearance with the outward facade of a typical human.

The disguise was not foolproof though, as it was only a visual mask. Were someone to accidentally brush up against one of the crew, they would feel the distinct texture of fur as opposed to the smooth bare skin of the local species. Worse still, humans possessed no tail, which made maneuvering about tight spaces all the more difficult when you had one to worry about. The holographic shroud may have disguised said tail from view, but that didn't mean it wasn't still there to bump into stuff and just generally get in the way of things. But there was no better way to move about planet-side. So far, a matter of due diligence and careful attention to their surroundings had kept the crew out of trouble... and they hoped to keep it that way until the next starship arrived to take over this assignment.

A quick twist of the watch's face one direction, followed by another in the opposite, was all Eriras needed to power down her cloak. Around her, the air shimmered and skewed, before pixelating in a disorientating fashion for the briefest of moments. When the picture normalized once more, there was no longer a human regarding Kano and Riyla; what's more, she wasn't kyree either.

There was one amazing detail about the kyree home world Sora. The planet didn't have one, but rather two distinct intelligent species. This second race, known as kenseng, resembled that of Panthera tigris, or the tiger species of Earth in another astonishing similarity. Kenseng, however, didn't share the striking orange fur of the tiger, but rather possessed a variety of muter colors much like the kyree.

The history of both species was fraught with countless wars and conflicts between them that, at one point, had threatened to obliterate all sentient life on Sora some hundreds of years ago. You could almost compare Soran history with the cultural strife that currently plagued human society. There were no shortages of similarities when you had such widely disparate cultures trying to coexist.

But that was all in the past for the kyree and kenseng, a difference long since set aside for the better good of both races. Now through mutual cooperation, they jointly ventured out into space, forging new bonds with alien races and exploring the great unknown. The Arastos crew was comprised equally of both species.

Eriras was every bit the fiery kenseng that she could be: quick-witted, sly, and with a temper to boot. Giving contrast to the pale skin of her human camouflage, she sported fur of a snowy white, which was interrupted by prominent black stripes that flowed elegantly down her form to the very tip of her tiger-like tail. Kano could think of no better person to fill the role of engineer aboard the ship; she was damned good at keeping all the inner workings humming along nicely, and could rise to any occasion when her skills were required. And, her fiery personality never failed to make things interesting.

"I suppose that is better, eh?" Eriras chuckled, subconsciously rubbing her feline muzzle with mild embarrassment. "You probably want that report on things now?"

"If there's anything worth mentioning," Riyla replied with a shrug. "If I were to hazard a guess, nothing has changed from yesterday."

"You guessed right. Still the same politically motivated mess that we've come to expect. These damned humans can't agree on anything constructive." The kenseng shook her head. "I don't think the two sides of this global warming debate will ever reach consensus. They're a rather nonsensical race."

"Keep in mind that our own history is tarnished with the same problems," the captain reminded. "It's just something that needs to be learned and overcome as they evolve."

"I suppose you're right. Anyway, we just stopped by our rooms for the quick report. Really nothing new. The others are next door." After a brief pause, a grin crept across Eriras's expression. "We're going to head down to the beach for some relaxation. You two should've come down with us. The weather is positively wonderful."

"I wish we could've," Kanolos chimed in. "But someone has to mind the ship, lest we let Queen Construct take over and leave us inferior furs behind."

Lumina held her tongue at his barb, much to the pilot's inward surprise, leaving the captain to take up the conversation. "Go ahead and take a day off, Eriras. You've all earned it."

"A day off?" The kenseng cocked an eyebrow dubiously. "Why do I get the feeling this'll come with a price? You're not one to offer such things without ulterior motives."

"I must be losing my touch if I'm that transparent," Riyla admitted with the best disarming smile she could muster.

"Ah well, I'm sure I'll find out later what our penance will be. It will be worth a day off." She paused a moment as someone spoke to her off screen. "Before we sign off, Taylo has a request."

The engineer moved from her chair and was quickly replaced by another member of the crew. Taylo, as the display made apparent, had already shed his camouflage. The kenseng possessed fur of a rustic brown, which served to dull the appearance of his stripes to the point where they were almost unnoticed. The difference in appearance between Eriras and him was not without its ironic symbolism.

Taylo was the counterbalance to her snarky personality, offering a more subdued and good-natured disposition that worked surprisingly well when you considered his role as the other engineer of the starship. You'd think two such differing personalities would clash on a regular basis, but they worked fluidly as a team, making sure the ship was in perfect working order no matter how adverse the conditions were. It was only fitting, really, that they were also a mated pair just like Riyla and Kanolos.

Taylo dipped his head in greeting. "I'm sorry to interrupt, captain. I forgot that I was running a diagnostic on the port auxiliary reactor. Could you have Lumina terminate the analysis and store the resulting data in my network working directory by chance?"

"Already done," the construct replied from the console dash. "The data will be waiting when you return tomorrow."

"Thanks for the help Lumina. Now please, behave yourself while we're gone. I would prefer not having to put you back together again."

The kenseng was, in fact, referring to the incident in their quarters, and as Kano glanced over to his mate, he caught her slight winch at the cat's words. She had not been proud of losing her temper that night.

Lumina, too, wasn't fond of the past either. Her reply dripped with exasperation. "Yes, papa. I will try to be a good little construct just for you."

"She can be a piece of work," the kenseng chuckled from the other end of the line. "I'll see you two tomorrow. Don't get too lonely up there without us." He added the last bit with a wink, before the holo screen snapped out of existence, to be replaced once more by the view outside the bridge window.

Lumina's white kyree hologram also disappeared, leaving Riyla and Kano alone on the bridge... sort of. Her omnipresence aboard the ship meant she was still technically there. Initially it had been a disquieting idea to know that she was always watching. But after a while, Kano found that it didn't bother him anymore. So long as she behaved, and lately she had been, it was of no matter.

The kyree removed himself from his seat to join his mate at the side of the helm station, encircling his arms around her waist from behind as he did so. She brought her own hands up to rest on top of his as they stood together in the silence of the bridge.

"Just another two weeks and then this shakedown cruise will be done," Riyla remarked quietly. "And then..."

"And then we set out for the great unknown," Kano finished for her. "You scared of what we'll find out there?"

She looked over her shoulder at him. "I'd be lying if I said no."

"I guess that makes two of us."

"But, it's enough to know that we're in this together. I'm glad I have you here at my side."

Kanolos smiled. "That makes two of us."

In the intervening silence, the kyree felt his hands guided by the captain across her body. He grinned to himself; subtly was not Riyla's strong point. But he played along.

After a moment he took her not so subtle cue, and gently cupped the kyree's modest breast through the fabric of her shirt. His mate whimpered softly as he caressed her wonderful orb, feeling the nipple grow stiff through her clothing. His other hand found its way under the hem of her pants, his digits kneading softly against her undershorts in just the right place. He knew how to work her over.

A rich groan escaped Riyla's muzzle as her legs shook. After a moment, she managed to find words. "How about... we find a more comfortable place?"

Kano merely grunted consent as she extracted herself from his embrace and moved toward the bridge exit, a coy smile splaying her muzzle as she shot him a seductive glance over the shoulder. He watched her elegant tail wave enticingly as she walked, beckoning him to follow. It was all the invitation he needed.

He followed the captain out into the corridor where she paused before the closest door to the bridge. The kyree gave him a roguish sidelong glance, thumbed open the door, and passed through the threshold in one fluid motion. When Kano rounded the corner to follow her through, he was met with a breathtaking sight.

Along the far wall of their shared quarters, a large window presented a sweeping view of Earth as the terrain silently scrolled by. Inside their room the light strips along the upper walls cast just enough illumination to paint the space in a pleasantly soft glow. And in the middle of it all, Riyla stood facing him, her figure backlit by the natural light of the planet, smiling that wonderfully timid smile that only he was allowed to know and love.

Before the door hissed shut behind him to cut off the light of the corridor, Kano was upon her, hands wrapping around his mate to draw her into a passionate kiss.

His hands roamed downward to grasp her supple hindquarters, lifting his mate up as she moaned into their kiss. Riyla obliged by letting herself be carried toward the bed.

When he gently sat down on the edge of the sheets with the kyree in his lap, she pulled back to lick his muzzle, tickling his whiskers. He couldn't help but let his tail wag as he enjoyed her show of affection.

Riyla was a first-rate captain and a proficient leader. Kano would follow her into hell and back if he had to. But, what he loved most about her was that she was such a wonderful mate. Whenever she could, she abandoned her rank and the authority that it demanded so that she could be his lover, which was far more important to both of them than any duties they had. There was also something... particularly exciting when you could hold sway over your superior and reverse roles in the bedroom. Sometimes, though, she still had that commanding itch.

A firm hand pressed itself authoritatively into his chest, pushing the kyree back to fall onto the sheets. When he looked up into his mate's wolfish eyes, he met her predatory glare, sending a chill down his spine. There was certainly nothing wrong with letting her take the helm every now and then.

A possessive growl escaped Riyla's muzzle as she reached down to grasp the bottom hem of his shirt. He helped her remove the troublesome attire as best he could, his heart racing with excitement.

She lowered herself down onto his newly bared fur, running her muzzle through the soft white of his stomach, tracing the line where it gave way to the rest of his ruby coat. He watched her with rapt fascination, feeling a slight tug on the waistband of his shorts, sensing her impatience.

With little resistance, the clasp came undone, giving her the chance to yank his pants down. She licked her lips, taking care to mind his wagging tail, and finished removing the apparel to toss it haplessly onto the floor, where it joined his balled up shirt.

All that remained were his undershorts, which stood tall with the kyree's painful erection, just begging to be free from its confines. She traced a finger around the protrusion, eliciting a whimper from her mate as she gave him quite the predacious look. "Seems my stud is ready for some action."

A finger hooked the elastic band, followed by another, slowly, ever so slowly, tugging downward. Kano gritted his teeth, unable to bare the torture of it all. She knew just how to drive him crazy!

But Riyla wasn't one to exercise patience. In a flash, her claws dug into the fabric, pulling and tearing, not caring of the consequences.

The underwear was torn from him, ripped to literal shreds. But the relief, the pure unadulterated relief, of feeling himself freed from its restraint was all he felt or cared about. Finally, the captain could drink in his full naked splendor. Her hungry gaze was simply exhilarating to behold.

With his legs still hanging off the side of the bed, the kyree moved down to kneel on the floor, sidling up between his thighs. She took a deep sniff of his crimson maleness, her expression becoming awash in heady arousal. But she hesitated.

A hand reached out to splay fingers along the soft red fur of his tail, holding the appendage still as she zeroed in on the base. The other softly cupped his furry balls, gently kneading, teasing him mercilessly.

Kano gave a pitiful whine of need, but it fell on deaf ears. She toyed with his distended sheath, pulling the yielding skin down to reveal more of his throbbing length, making his hips twitch with her every motion. All the while, the kyree continued gently massaging his heavy balls, driving him crazy.

"Oh, you're being ruthless now," the male groaned above Riyla as she continued her attack, making him squirm against the sheets. It was all he could do to lie there and let his mate torture him like this. Thankfully, she wasn't one to linger.

Kano's body tensed, his breath suddenly catching. Slick, supple warmth wrapped itself around his length, pulling and caressing with deliberate action. Out of half lidded eyes, he caught the wondrous sight of Riyla's muzzle opening to take him into her welcoming maw, her eyes locked on his own with playful mischief.

It took all his strained willpower not to buck his hips. Through gritted teeth the kyree exhaled, balling his fists to seize the bed sheets in an effort to steady himself. Several colorful curses escaped his lips, making his ears burn.

Her head bobbed with purpose, broad canine tongue enveloping his sensitive flesh, pulling and sucking with wanton need. She threw caution to the wind, going down on him with predatory hunger. There would be no more teasing.

A moment later, the captain let his cock spill from her muzzle, only to lap along his length, zeroing in on the sensitive underside of his swelling knot, his weakest point. The new assault made him squirm, his claws coming out to dig into the sheets.

And then she was upon his malehood once more, sucking and pulling with practiced skill. There was just something about the way her ears pinned as she concentrated on her efforts that he loved. Her gratuitous groans, coupled with the raucous slurps of her bobbing muzzle drove him wild. He could feel his body tightening, that inevitable peak fast approaching already. It was becoming too much.

Her hand wrapped itself around the base of his knot, massaging the swelling bulge, working with that wonderful tongue of hers to push him ever closer. The coil wound itself ever tighter. "Damn... Riyla... close!"

She wordlessly grunted, doubling her efforts, working to get him off.

His teeth clenched, ears pinning with the effort of fighting it off. It was too much.

With a snarl, his hands came down to hold her head down fully on his cock. His hips twitched, balls drawing tight as thick jets of the kyree's cum painted the inside of her maw.

He rode out the high of his climax in blissful elation, feeling her suck on his pulsing length, coaxing more of his potent seed from his draining balls. His whole body trembled, his snarl becoming a pitiful whimper with the overwhelming satisfaction of release.

She swallowed readily, doing her best to savor his taste, milking him for all he had.

It went on for a heavenly minute, until his climax receded away into a pleasant afterglow, allowing the kyree to collapse back onto the bed in a heady daze, panting arduously.

His view of the ceiling was obscured by the black furry profile of his mate, who grinned down at him. "You're so easy when you're pent up." She punctuated the remark by curling her tongue seductively across her muzzle, cleaning the last remnants of his release from her whiskers. "I do love how you taste."

Kano felt his ears splay sheepishly. "I can't... hold out long against that wonderful muzzle of yours."

Riyla extracted herself from above him, but not before taking a finger to stroke teasingly along his knotted crimson length, eliciting a moan from her mate. "Hold that thought."

He watched her stand beside the bed to disrobe, the pale light of the planet outside the window casting its glow across her shadowy form. She was so beautiful. He was so lucky to have such a wonderful mate. The thought gave him a smile.

She soon rejoined Kanolos on the bed, her dark black figure now fully bare in the wan light. He wasted no time sidling up beside his mate, giving her whiskers a lick, savoring the feel of her soft fur against his rock hard cock. Her scent permeated his senses, hot and intoxicating.

A silent agreement passed between them as he kissed the bridge of her nose, before he slowly slid himself downward.

The kyree paused to gently trace a finger around her modest breast, carving a slight groove in her black fur with a dulled claw to his mate's pleased sigh. He knew just how to get her worked up, slowly circling the supple orb, building up the anticipation has he gradually zeroed in.

His other hand moved to give Riyla's other breast the same treatment, making her wriggle and twist beneath him. She was panting now, tongue lulled to give her a goofy countenance. Now it was his turn...

His roaming digits finally hit home, ever so lightly glancing against her petite nipples. Her sharp intake of breath was all the encouragement he needed to press in, teasing the sensitive flesh with his soft touch.

"Aw... fuck!"

Her curse spurred him on as his mate's arousal filled his nose. He brought his muzzle down to gentle take her tortured breast into his maw, sucking with his mouth, bringing her nipple to beautiful hardness.

Kano soon shifted his focus to her other breast, making sure to give the nipple the same wonderful treatment as the first. He was rewarded with his mate's increasingly louder vocalizations as her breast was tortured oh so delightfully.

He decided to stop teasing his mate and released his hold on her tormented breast. Slowly the male resumed his slide down her figure, occasionally stroking his tongue across her silky black fur as he traveled.

He paused briefly only to tickle her navel, eliciting a giggle from Riyla, before he continued on, until finally he reached her lovely flower.

Her arousal saturated the air, driving Kano's senses crazy as he gave a good sniff with his nose. Riyla's tail wagged as she watched the male kyree gaze hungrily at her sopping wet sex. She spread her legs wider apart, giving him unhindered entry. The way she looked down at him, expression one of eager expectation, simply drove him wild.

And yet, he waited, his muzzle hovering just out of reach. The anticipation built to a head, until his mate whined, imploring him to make the final leap. He loved making her beg for it.

Smiling to himself, he leaned down and gave a long tender lick of his broad tongue along her outer lips, deliberately slow, drawing out the sensation. Her body tensed, the kyree's eyes twisting shut as she tried and failed to maintain her composure.

He built up a gradual rhythm without pause, parting her blushed folds, cherishing the colorful curses that escaped her muzzle. He did love how she tasted. There was nothing like it.

The captain's vocalizations grew louder, her body twitching with his every stroke. Her wonderful scent was overpowering now, washing everything else away. He drank it all in, gauging her reaction, striving to push her closer to her apex.

She was so turned on he could already sense things coming to a head. He suddenly shifted his focus to the kyree's clit, honing in for the kill. A quick few lashes of his supple tongue were enough to send her over the edge.

Without warning, two hands came down to hold his head. Riyla cried out as she was overcome with her release, her whole body shaking uncontrollably. He never relented in his efforts, lapping his tongue across her heated sex like a thirsty dog, prolonging the blissful pleasure for his mate as best he could.

Her cry became an enraptured murr of pure delight as the kyree's peak endured, driven by his zealous licks. He took great pleasure in seeing her so caught up in it all. To know that her pleasure was derived from his efforts... well, it was the best reward.

After several long moments, the hands that held him relented, allowing Kano to pull back from his mate. When he came to meet her eyes, he found one disheveled kyree.

"That tongue of yours... wonderful," she managed between pants.

Kano licked his chops much like she had done earlier and gave her a wink. "I could say the same to you."

She motioned with her eyes down to his throbbing erection, which had not receded back into the sheath after her earlier attention. "Seems my stud is ready for more."

It was true. He desperately wanted to pin her to the bed right then and there, and take his bitch as his own. It was taking all of his strained willpower to hold back.

As he looked on, Riyla got up and began arranging the pillows against the headboard. She made sure to tease him as well, raising her tail high to give him an unhindered view of her heated sex while she worked. The urge to mount that tight wonderful ass of hers was overwhelming, and almost got the best of him.

When, at last, her work was complete, she patted the bed space as an invitation to her mate. "Don't keep me waiting, stud."

Kano certainly would not. He did as he was told and moved to sit up against the headboard, taking a moment to arrange his tail as he did so.

His crimson length stood proudly in his lap, contrasting with the white fur of his stomach and inner thighs, begging his mate to get on with it. And she was not about to disappoint.

Riyla straddled his thighs and gave his muzzle a compassionate lick. They were both panting, anticipating. She grabbed his cock and aimed it to rest ever so gently against her warm, moist sex.

He gave her a playful growl, which she returned in kind.

The black kyree thrust herself down, taking him fully into her in one fluid motion. They moaned together at the feel of his malehood spreading her so perfectly. In that moment, all he could do was look into her wolfish eyes and lose himself in her gaze.

She raised herself up, letting all but his tapered tip spill from her loins, only to plunge down once more, mashing their hips together with purpose.

Her ears splayed back, muzzle curling back to expose fangs in the passion of the moment. Their combined arousal saturated the room, giving new intensity to the kyree's quickly building rhythm.

The pounding of their hips echoed off the bulkheads, punctuated by Riyla's cries of passion as she gripped his shoulders for support. She was so tight, squeezing and pulling against his length with every thrust of her hips. It was too much to bear.

Her supple breasts bounced before him, and after a moment he reached out to gently cup them, feeling her body tremble in his grasp. Her eyes were screwed shut, the effort of holding on becoming greater and greater with each passing moment.

A tightness in his loins grew. His knot swelled, pounding rudely into her sex, threatening to lock them together at any moment.

The urge to tie was too great. He began to thrust against her, meeting her downward plunge with a surge of his hips, burying his cock to the hilt. He could sense her newfound urgency; they both wanted it.

With one last plunge, Kano's knot pounded against his mate's tortured sex, before popping inside, locking the mating kyree together.

He was taken to the very edge of the precipice, his release so tantalizingly close. His self-control left him; the kyree thrust recklessly against his mate like his feral ancestors, a growl creeping up in his throat.

Riyla cried out, her ears pinning as release overtook her. His mate wrapped herself around him in a hug, her body trembling uncontrollably.

Her sex contracted rhythmically around his knotted cock, imploring him to climax and fill her with his seed. It was the last push he needed.

He gave a vicious growl, thrusting against his mate one last desperate time. The kyree's length twitched, shooting a copious spurt of his cum into her abused folds, the first of many to fill her.

He held her against him, burying his muzzle in her neck, the growl diminishing into a pitiful whimper as his balls tightened and he emptied himself into his bitch. The sheer pleasure of the moment was unrivaled.

They both remained frozen in carnal ecstasy with Kano grinding himself against her, prolonging it for as long as he could. And then, it was over...

The blissful high tapered into a pleasant and comforting afterglow. Uttering a sigh, Kano fell back against the pillows taking Riyla with him. She ended up nestled against his chest as they both panted from the exertion of it all, the perfect ending to their mating.

The glow from the window gave her dark form a beautiful ghostly hue. For a time he simply watched her chest rise and fall as she rested against him. No words were spoken for some time.

When, at last, Riyla looked up to him, she licked his muzzle, a show of her love. "That was wonderful, stud."

"Yes it was." Kano grinned. "The others can keep their white sand beaches. This is real paradise."

"You're so corny sometimes," Riyla sighed, snuggling into his shoulder.

"It's why you love me."

"Ok, you can stop with that now. You're ruining the moment."

"Stop what?"

Riyla reached up to tweak his pointy ear in response, and then smiled. "Yes, it's why I love you."

Her motion caused his knotted length to shift slightly inside her, provoking a soft groan from the male. "And I... oh, love you too." He punctuated his words by reaching up to massage one of her ears in that one way she always loved.

"I'll let that one slide, only because you meant it."

Kanolos smiled. What a perfect way to spend an afternoon.

Tomorrow would be all business.

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

The following day found the kyree once more back at the ship's helm, paws propped atop the console dash. The view of the planet outside the bridge window hadn't changed from yesterday, not that Kano really noticed or cared. At that moment, his attention was focused on the myriad of floating holographic displays that encircled him where he sat, presenting an assorted array of charts and diagrams. There was a lot of information to take in.

Nacelle status readouts, slipstream drive power outputs, course plots; there was no shortage of data and calculations that needed to be checked, and then rechecked, to ensure flawless operation of the starship's slipstream drive. It was all necessary for the ship's max speed trial, which was set to begin soon. Today there could be no mistakes.

He wasn't alone on the bridge. Riyla occupied the captain's position just aft of her mate, pouring through her own log data on a handheld pad. Together they prepared for one of the riskiest trials yet for Arastos, the promiscuous memories of the day prior all but forgotten for the moment. Slipstream could be a risky venture.

In order for a ship to achieve faster-than-light travel, the basic physical laws of the universe first had to be thrown out. Conventional thrust had proven to be incapable of breaking this critical barrier, due to the relativity law of light speed. Namely, a starship would require an immeasurable amount of energy to achieve the speed of light. So how do you achieve faster-than-light travel if you can't break the laws of physics? Simple really, you just bent the rules... literally.

The four sub-ether engine nacelles mounted along the aft section of the ship were designed for just such a purpose. Instead of simply propelling Arastos forward using conventional thrust, the engines broke the vessel out of the normal framework of space into a sub space called slipstream. When in slipstream, the ship didn't technically move, but rather the fabric of space shifted around it. How fast a starship could travel in slipstream actually related to how far the sub-ether engines could pull the fabric of space for a given jump.

Kano had found the concept quite fascinating in his academy days. While the science behind the idea was simply too complex to understand on a computational level, he knew enough through his teachings to grasp the fundamental theory. Essentially you were breaking the laws of the universe, and rearranging them to suit your needs, a decidedly dangerous undertaking really. When he stopped to think about it all, it was quite unnerving just how abstract slipstream travel was, and what was actually happening to the kyree's ship and his own body when outside the normal realm of space. It was best to make sure his calculations were spot on today...

The shuttle had only returned from the surface moments ago, but that wasn't going to stop the crew from getting down to business. Already Eriras and Taylo were aft in engineering combing over the ship's systems. The others were on their way to the bridge at that very moment.

Kano's ears twitched at the sound of a door swishing open behind him. When he looked back over his shoulder, he caught sight of the ship's last two remaining crew members.

The first was Yanashi, although she preferred Yana for short. She was kyree with fur that closely resembled that of the grey wolf species of Earth, starting with a lighter shade of grey across her chest and abdomen that faded to a darker tinge along her back and tail. Calm, discreet, and compassionate, she was the quietest member of the crew and not much for conversation.

Her mate, whose name was Shyla, aided Yana with commanding the tactical systems of the starship. Unlike Yana, Shyla was kenseng with deep crimson fur that closely matched Kano's. She was more outgoing than her mate, much more outgoing.

It was inspiring how well Yanashi and Shyla worked together as a team. Not only did they operate the offensive and defensive systems during combat, the mated pair also served as the ship's medical officer and cook respectively. There was always work to be done between said roles, and both never faltered in their duties no matter how tough the going got.

Shyla was, predictably, the first one to speak. "You two keep each other company while we were gone?"

Kano exchanged a look with his mate, before the captain replied. "You make it sound like there's nothing worth doing up here."

The kenseng grinned. "Of course..." She reached into a pocket and pulled out something. "We picked these up on the way back."

Kano reached out to catch the strange object she tossed to him. It turned out to be a cheap pair of pink plastic sunglasses. He turned the crude item over in his hand, not sure what to make of it.

"Well, put em on," Shyla gesture.

He did, and when he looked to Riyla, she had done the same with her own pair. To say that she looked ridiculous was an understatement. What human in their right mind would buy something like this?

"Looking good," the captain remarked, shaking her head with amusement. "Shyla you have the worst taste in things."

The kenseng shrugged as she moved to her tactical console alongside Riyla's station. "I can't help it if you lack my sense of style. The humans seem to like such things. Practically every tourist shop we came across has something of the like. I must say you both make quite the pair."

Kano turned his attention back to the readouts of his console, hiding his exasperated look from her. "I don't know what we're going to do with you."

"Oh, you love it. And don't you dare throw those into the decompiler. I've have you know I paid a whole two dollars for it."

The kyree rolled his eyes as he took the glasses off to set them on the console dash. "Big spender." He could practically hear her smirk from over his shoulder.

Yanashi joined her mate at the side-by-side tactical station, manning her own console in typical discreet silence. She hadn't said a single word since arriving on the bridge, but that was just typical Yana.

When the bridge crew was situated, Riyla clapped her hands together. "Alright, let's get this show on the road. You good to go, Kano?"

He gave his readouts one last quick glance. "Looks like it."

"Go ahead and spin em up."

"Aye, captain."

The commands came almost as second nature to the helmsmen. With a few quick inputs on the console dash, the startup sequence kicked off with a flurry of scrolling prompts and readouts, which cascaded down one of the floating holo displays.

He watched the data outputs carefully, looking for any abnormalities that might've spelled trouble. But, as expected, the slipstream drive spun up to idle flawlessly.

A dull, almost inaudible hum phased into existence through the hull of the ship as a result, giving punctuation to what his displays showed. Far aft of the bridge, the four nacelles began drawing more power from the core, their inner machinations now spinning about at a relatively low rpm.

"All nacelles showing idle," Kano stated after double checking his displays.

Behind him, Riyla thumbed a button on her console, bringing up a voice channel to engineering. "How we looking down there?"

Eriras's disembodied voice emanated throughout the bridge. "Everything's humming along nicely. We're all set."

"Very good. Standby, we'll be jumping in a moment." She released the button and turned her attention to Shyla and Yana. "Tactical status?"

"All systems on standby," Yanashi replied evenly, speaking up for the first time. She was always all business when on the clock.

Riyla's attention shifted back to Kano. "Alright, find us some nice open space to stretch our legs, stud."

"You got it." His hand came up to grasp the thruster controls. With practiced skill, he carefully maneuvered the joystick, pushing the nose of the starship up and away from the planet. When he arrested the rotational motion after a few moments, the moon stood prominently just off the port side.

The repositioning complete, his hands once more moved to the key inputs on the console. A new series of commands started calculations for object collision avoidance, a necessary procedure for all slipstream travel. It would not have been good if they had ended up inside a planet, or worse.

The holo displays crunched the calculations instantly, and spit out a star chart readout with their current projected course and allowable speed. From there it was a matter of cross checking the numbers, a formality really since the computer was never wrong.

When it was all said and done, he leaned back in his chair. "At the ship's current orbital rate and projected maximum slipstream velocity, we are safe to jump for another thirty seconds on our current axial orientation."

"Very well," the captain replied. She paused for several long seconds. "Punch it."

One last look to make sure everything was in the clear, and then Kano reached over to grasp the throttle, fully intending to push it all the way to the redline. "Here goes nothing..."

"Wait... something's wrong."

The kyree's hand came away from the throttle. That was Lumina. He instinctively checked his instruments; everything was in perfect working order.

"What is it?" Riyla spoke up, clearly taken aback by the construct's sudden outburst.

Lumina's full-sized hologram materialized alongside the helm station. She wore a concerned look. "I... I'm not sure yet. Sensors just registered an explosion. I'm trying to correlate."

"I've got it over here as well," Shyla chimed in. "Near planet, low orbit."

Lumina's gaze was distant as she branched her awareness out. "It's on the far side of the planet. One of the high-orbit probes picked it up." Her features suddenly took on a horrified look. "It's the human's space station."

That caught everyone's attention. Kano looked to the white kyree hologram with a start. "The International Space Station? What happened?"

"Standby... it was a collision; the probe picked up an impact with a satellite. I... I don't know how it happened."

A holographic display materialized above the helm with a view from the ship's probe, allowing everyone on the bridge to glimpse the crystal clear image of the human space station as it orbited on the opposite side of the planet. The scene that presented itself made Kano's blood run cold.

The station's fragile construction was shredded, it's prominent solar panels all but obliterated. What modules were still attached were torn and ripped open, venting atmosphere and all manner of liquid into the void of space. Jagged pieces of metal embedded into the superstructure marked the satellite's impact point.

Riyla stood from her captain's chair. "Survivors?"

Lumina went quiet for a pregnant pause. "Yes, the station's crew complement is still alive. They're holed up in one of the modules."

"Is life support still intact?"

Another moment's pause. "I'm not getting any readings on any internal or external systems. The module the crew is sheltering in has no power." Her look said it all. "The space station is dead, captain."

The words slapped Kano rudely; this was serious.

They had all known such a disaster might occur. The crew had been briefed on the possibility before undertaking this mission. But to think one would unfold before their very eyes...

He watched his mate chew on her lip, horror painting her normally stoic expression. "What of the Russian capsule? Isn't there one currently attached to the station?"

The picture of the ISS zoomed in to show the spacecraft in question. It was immediately clear the vessel was not space worthy, evidenced by the piece of satellite debris that jutted out from the hull. Lumina's response was detached. "The ship's integrity has been compromised."

The captain uttered a curse. It was clear what protocol called for. The crew was not to interfere with any manner of human activity, even if it meant the certain death of several astronauts. No involvement, even when lives were at stake. It was a hard reality to cope with, knowing you had the ability to save lives, but finding yourself powerless to do anything.

Starships before Arastos had been forced to stand by and do nothing when faced with similar incidents. Soyuz 11, Challenger, Columbia; each captain had endured the horror of watching people die, seeing the disaster unfold in merciless clarity right before them. The Columbia disaster had been particularly difficult to watch, as it had unfolded over the entire duration of the spacecraft's mission, the shuttle's crew tragically unaware of the impending death that loomed before them on reentry.

Kano knew Riyla had researched each and every case in great detail, going over logs, sensor data, crew reports. She had tried to plan for the possibility, but actually facing her own tragedy... you couldn't fully prepare yourself for that.

He saw her weight her options, the contemplation clear in her eyes. "How long can they survive?"

Lumina's reply was quick, already having made the calculation herself. "Thirty minutes, worst case. The humans have one of their shuttles on the pad, but it's not ready for launch. There's no chance..."

Kanolos met his mate's gaze. In that moment, the two came to a silent agreement. They knew what they were supposed to do. And yet, they also knew what had to be done.

His hands flew back to the helm console. "Coming about." With a hard jerk of the controls, the nose dipped back over parallel to the planet surface. He didn't hesitate once the motion was arrested, and immediately pushed the impulse engines to max power.

The terrain outside the bridge window began to scroll by ever faster as the starship quickly picked up speed. The inertial dampers struggled to keep the crew from being plastered against the bulkhead, allowing for the slightest sensation of acceleration to bleed through, pushing the kyree back into his seat. They had to get around to the other side of the planet, and quick.

A stolen glance over his shoulder found Riyla planted in her own seat, her countenance unreadable. Her hands gripped the armrests purposely, the captain's only outward sign of her apprehension.

They were about to break a lot of serious Federation protocols...