FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Well damn. You've kept this place just like the day it was built. Hell, that platform still looks new."

Carbon smirked as she jokingly wiped her finger on a safety railing as if looking for dust. "~Better~ than new. I've put some of my money into improving the old gal." She pointed across the open deck of the sea level deck toward the landing platform. "In fact, your daughter's working on a new power system below there. Probably a Nobel prize as well now that I think about it."

Mister Winchester quirked his head at that comment. "Really? I mean, setting up ~any~ kind of power station on one of these things is deserving of an award. Hell, we're still running on generators more than the grid over at Alpha Tower."

"Well you should be proud of Robyn, Pat." Carbon resumed the duo's stroll across the deck and over to her pet project. "My... number cruncher assures me she's got a knack for particle physics and exotic matter."

"Particle physics?" Patrick scrunched his face as he dug deeper into his own brain to figure out the subject of Robyn's work. "What's my little lass gotten her paws into this time?"

"Mankind's first sustainable fusion core. She might be the reason the few remaining nation states don't fight for energy a few years from now."

"If what you're saying is true, I know a few blokes higher up that would replicate it in mere months." Pat smiled as he thought about his daughter's impact. "If this works out like I've read, we're talking the rebirth of the whole planet. That's my Robyn for ya'."

Carbon stopped again close to an elevator and called the carriage. "I'm sure she'd make you and your wife proud."

Evelyn fizzled into view with a concerned and almost angry expression, then force fed a few recent memories into Carbon's vision. "He came to the wedding ~alone~. Remember?"

"Oh, shit." Carbon looked back to the squirrel and bowed slightly in apology. "Sorry, I forgot. I didn't mean to--"

"No worries, mate. Honest." Pat sighed as the elevator arrived. "Shiela's still in our hearts, and I can feel she'd be gleaming at the news."

"What news?" The doors opened to reveal Iolvin and Zoë, the otter making room as he queried. "Oh, uh... Patrick, right? Or do you prefer 'dad'?"

The squirrel stepped into the lift and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know how this in-law thing works either, mate--especially after all those years o' you calling me 'Mister Winny' as a tot. I just like 'Pat' normally, though."

"Gotcha. So what brings you all the way out here, Pat? Work? Robyn?"

"Bit of column A, bit of column B." Carbon stepped into the elevator and tapped the proper floor for the dry dock. "Pat here's the second-inCharge engineer over at Alpha Tower in Kenya. They're waiting on some parts for their repairs--"

"As always," Pat huffed.

"--and so I called him over to help redirect the geothermal power grid. He designed it, after all."

"Oh, well I'm all behind that. Helping the project means making Lulu and Robyn happy." Yoyo went to tap a different floor, but held off at the last moment. "You don't happen to know where Dee went, do you? This place is too big now that we've got access cards."

Evelyn forced Carbon's paw to the control panel and it flickered with some sort of foreign coding language. "Last spotted by facial recognition entering the frigate."

"He's back to work on the ship." Carbon pulled back her paw and the screen reset to display the current floor. "We're going there now, if that's your plan too."

Yoyo nodded and tried to answer, but Pat jumped to a tangent first. "Is that a hologram? And how in blazes did you override it without an access port?"

"More upgrades of mine. Critical systems are now electromagnetically hardened and running on tactile holographic displays." The hybrid demonstrated the reasoning by smashing her fist into the panel, which merely caused a flicker as the image re-calibrated to ignore his paw and draw around the obstruction. "Nothing for intruders or bored teenagers to fuck around with unless it's programmed in the unit."

"Oi, that's brilliant. I'll have to bring up the idea with the guys at Alpha. They'd be buggered to hear ancient Lambda here's running ahead now."

Yoyo leaned against the doors opposite the ones they'd entered and gestured that Zoë could relax as well. "So I never got why this was Lambda. Wasn't this elevator built first?"

"The first completed." Patrick sat on a seat against the wall and smiled as Zoë took that route as well. "Alpha was the first planned space platform. Kenya had a good spot without much tectonic movement and construction started there first. Lambda though was a secret project at first as we tested my generator design."

Carbon added her own two cents as she also leaned against her doors. "The higher-ups in the UN decided that it was more feasible to run this tower once the geothermal systems were proven. They dumped funding into Lambda first, then focused on finishing Alpha and the others after. Then the Reclamation War started... and there was the the terrorist attack that almost severed Alpha's station from its base..."

"And here we are, still fixing her up." Pat pulled out a cigarette and quickly lit it up. "Old lass is worth saving, what with direct land access. Not sure the world has the resources right now to continue building the other four though. Damn shame."

"Could you...?" Carbon hunched forward and raised her paws to her mask, a stifled gag resonating through the clear face. "Goddess, I'm gonna be sick..."

Iolvin looked to the hybrid and then to the cigarette, quickly throwing out his paw to bat it onto the floor so he could stomp it out. "Not sure how you guys do things in Kenya, but the Major might not want you to smoke around him."

"But he's wearing a mask."

Carbon managed to get ahold of herself, but still forced herself to look away from the smoke even though she couldn't smell it. "It's not that. I'm just not a fan of burning plants."

"He's ~got~ some plant in him. Burning tobacco's probably like burning a relative or something." Yoyo picked up the extinguished butt and gave it back to the squirrel. "Guess no more celebratory cigars for me and Lulu either."

"Oh... Never heard of a flora-fauna splice before, but I'll respect that. His station, his rules after all."

The elevator slowed, then atypically jerked to a stop. "Gah... Damn systems are on the fritz while we're working." Carbon stood and exited the carriage into a dimly-lit corridor, thankful that her distressed expression wasn't very visible in the darkness. "Lights too. One sec, guys."

Pat walked over to a room terminal and tapped a hidden login icon, immediately getting to work in helping with the lights. "Power routing is locked up, looks like."

Yoyo helped Zoë to her feet and led her to the terminal so they could watch. "Something you can fix here, or do we need to find the girls?"

"Hmm..." Patrick tapped through a few dialogs and checked a test result. "Looks like a manual bypass. Someone probably needed to cut power to a device to work on it, and there isn't exactly a circuit breaker around."

"So they cut power to a whole chunk of the room? They should have just asked me and I'd have rerouted things myself." Carbon nudged her muzzle to the starboard airlock of the frigate, her wider visual range allowing her to safely lead the way in the low light. "C'mon. We'll see what's up for now. But just to be safe, try and carry a flashlight when you come down here."

"Sounds good." Yoyo followed the hybrid until they found the airlock hatch, a quick tap on the access panel proving the ship's internal batteries were still functional. "So you know your way around this thing?"

"Not really. When the project was active I wasn't really allowed inside."

Pat hurried behind Zoë as the hatch sealed for cycling. "Really? You're administrator here, though."

"But technically this ship's the captain's territory and not part of the station." The other hatch opened after a few quiet seconds, the lack of sound or moving air giving Carbon reason to pause before entering the ship. "They're bypassing ~everything~. Great..."

"Yeah, Lulu likes to tinker." Yoyo found a nearby panel and gave it a check, smiling when he discovered the access rights were reset. "Wonder if this thing can find Dee..."

"Most ships don't have personnel trackers these days. Too costly to impleme--"

Yoyo pumped his paw in success as he tapped an option he found. "Aha! Ship says he's in the cargo bay." He grinned to Carbon as he showed the ship's tracking function clear as day. "The girls aren't here. Might be grabbing parts or something. Ooh, wonder if there's some sort of intercom so I can...?"

Carbon brushed her paw over the display. "Sure can. Speak up, smart guy."

Yoyo only grinned wider as Carbon appeared to become annoyed. "Thanks. Hey Dee? You there, babe? I'm not sure how to get to you."

A moment of silence later and the panel chirped back. "Bit hard to explain. I need a break anyway though. Be right there, hon." The message was punctuated with an exaggerated kiss.

"Sounds like you two are still getting along classically." Pat explored the various consoles and seats in the adjacent room. "So when're you two gonna tie the knot? Can't be right having a twin that's married by herself, yeah?"

Yoyo shook his head with a light laugh. "You're not wrong. I'm not sure though. We're going through some..." He looked to Zoë, then gave her a pat on her head. "Well, we have some issues to work out first is all. Honestly, we haven't even really known each other that long either."

"Don't give me that." Pat gave up on his inspection of what appeared to be the command center when he couldn't access more than basic functions due to the power situation. "I know when two furs are meant for each other an' you two fit the bill, mate."

"He might just be right, Iolvin." Carbon worked his magic paw over a few consoles until she found one that let her light the room. "You see the way Adrian looks at you and Zoë? Jealousy like that doesn't happen without some real love to drive it."

"Oh, his name's Adrian?" Pat walked back to the group and slapped Yoyo on the back. "I just knew 'Dee' couldn't be his real name. He wasn't entirely girly like his brother at the wedding. So where'd 'Dee' come from then?"

"I'm not sure, really. Everyone just called him that when I met him."

"It's short for DeeDee." Dee sulked in the shadows around the corner, making sure everyone didn't have a good view of him. "Ellie used to say my name like 'Ah-deeDeen' when we were super young apparently. DeeDee just sort of stuck."

"There you are, babe." Yoyo moved to give Dee a kiss, but stopped when he retreated further into the dark. "What's the matter, Dee? Grimed up? I don't mind if you've been getting your paws dirty."

"No... uh..." Adrian sheepishly pressed against the hallway wall for a moment. "Promise you don't care how I look? Because I've sort of... done something without thinking it through."

Iolvin stood up straight and offered a paw. "Come on, it can't be too bad. Besides, you're always beautiful to me, babe."

Dee huffed out a sigh then stepped into the light, revealing he'd shaved off all the hair around the sides and back of his head. "I thought that you liked how Zoë's different hair so I tried to... well..." He ran a paw through the tousled hair remaining on top, playing with the bits that tickled his webbing. "I just wanted you to notice me... but I might have been a little jealous..."

"Dee, babe... I ~always~ notice you." Yoyo reached out and reeled the fairer otter into a hug, a paw of his own setting that bed of hair into a more presentable position. "It's cute. Fits you like a glove, too."

"You're just saying that."

"Nope. It just makes you look even more exotic and sexier than you already were." Yoyo hunched down and gave Dee's forehead a kiss. "I'm surprised you even had the time to figure this out, though. Someone help you? I bet that new Ashe did it, huh? It looks well done."

Dee formed a small robot from his nanites and held it out. "I made some helpers to do the cutting, and Carmine made sure it was even for me. I did sort of get inspiration from Ashe though."

"Well I'll have to thank Car later. It's a good look for you."

Carbon stepped forward and waved a paw. "Sorry to interrupt, but do you know where Robyn went? Her dad's here to help and they should meet up."

"Oh, that's nice of you." Dee swiveled around Yoyo until they embraced each other side by side. "I think they went down to see sis. You could try the lab."

"Anything wrong?"

"Didn't seem like much. She's been nauseous or something all day, though."

Carbon nodded and went back towards the airlock. "Thanks, uh... Dee. I'll bring 'em back soon enough to help out."

"Well I'm working on those capacitors, so it's not holding me up any." Dee smiled as Carbon entered the airlock, but found himself forcing that smile and whispering in protest when Yoyo's paw gripped his ass. "I thought I said I needed some time, dear..."

Yoyo rolled his eyes, let off Dee's ass, and gave him a proper kiss. "Still sick of sex?"

"I had a crash course in every dirty word in the French language. What do you think?"

Yoyo threw up his paws and backed away for the airlock. "Fine, I get it. I'm horny but if you're sore there's nothing we can do about it. My back's stiff anyway."

"Sorry, hon. I'll try to give it a go once we get this damn engine up and running." Dee watched as Yoyo slipped all but his head into the airlock. "Where you off to now?"

"Figured I'd try my luck with Lulu for now. Be safe, babe."

"I will. And don't hurt your sister either. She's doing Robyn's heavy lifting." Dee pranced over, his spirits obviously heightened, and gave Yoyo a kiss. "You're pent up so go have fun. You've got a free pass until I'm back in the mood."

"Thanks, babe. You're the best."

"Iolvin?" Carbon held her paw on the control panel while the others waited. "In or out?"

"Call me Yoyo, Fibre." He stepped into the airlock and waved as Dee went back to work. "I thought we were on better terms than that after the human camp."

"Sure we are. I just didn't know if you wanted to keep up appearances." The hybrid slid her paw over the controls and set the airlock in motion. "And I was right, wasn't I? Dee's easy to get worked up, and you calling me by my other name sets off that jealous sparkle in his eyes."

"What, you think he's upset we're close?"

The airlock finished cycling and the exterior door popped open. "Not really, but if I didn't hold back he might be. But I'm right about that too, about you and Dee. Can't be jealousy that hardcore without some matching love." Carbon led the others out and started back for the elevator. "You might not see it yet, but you're perfect for each other."

Patrick quickly checked his clothes and messed with his hair as they waited for the elevator car to arrive. "Like I said. Too ends of a perfect coin, you lovebirds are. Take your time an' all, but don't let him slip through your fingers."

Iolvin held up a very webbed paw and chuckled. "Not the best choice of words facing an otter. I hear you though." The car arrived and Yoyo stepped inside first, his human aide following quietly. "We'll get there soon enough, I'm sure."

"Well I wish you all the luck in the world, mate." Pat dropped down into one of the seats by the door and rested back, his head rolling to look over to Zoë. "So what's your take on things, little birdy? You haven't said a peep."

The human jumped at the sudden address, falling down into a seat of her own to relax. "I... don't want to interfere with my lordship's affairs..."

"Lordship?"

Yoyo shook his head in frustration and sat between the two as the carriage started moving. "I technically own Zoë's life. Long story." He threw a paw over the girl's head and rubbed lightly. "And you need to stop acting that way, kiddo. I told you to treat me like a friend, not to pine away silently at my side."

"Yes, Iolvin."

"Yoyo. And you don't need to confirm everything I tell you, you know."

The lift stopped and Carbon was the first out, being the only one left standing. "Just act more naturally, Zoë. I told you things would be easy with Yoyo here."

"Sure..."

Carbon smiled for her friend, then started down the main hallway. "Hey Doc? Robyn?"

Patrick moved up right behind the mustelid, then fell back on second thought so he could perform a final check on his hair and breath. "Won't be much of a surprise like that, yeah mate?"

The hybrid shrugged her shoulders and continued anyway. "~Robyn~! Got a ~gift~ for you!" She sheepishly grinned back to Pat and more calmly explained herself. "She doesn't need big surprises right now. It's not good for the babies this far along."

"Babies? There's... more than one?" As Ilaria rounded the corner ahead to meet the group Pat sang a new tune. "Ari! Lovely seeing you again, lass."

The large otter smiled and stood up straight with her arms stretched out. "Same here, ~dad~. Now give me a big ol' hug."

Pat easily obliged, though he futilely tried to keep his head from mashing into the larger girl's modest chest. "So uh... Where's my little girl?"

Ari rolled her eyes, not minding the face in between her breasts and actually holding his head sideways against them so Pat looked through a nearby room window. "Pillow's right over there. Just a checkup, I swear. Indigestion, Ellie says."

"That's a relief," commented Carbon.

"Right it is, mate." Pat finally managed to break free of the bear hug he'd been pulled into and raised his voice so his daughter could hear as well. "So what's this talk about twins or the like?"

Robyn beckoned and the group shifted into the room. "Well... You know how you always wanted ~litters~ of grandchildren?" Robyn reached for a monitor she was viewing and flipped it around, revealing the two souls nestled in her womb. "Not sure exactly who's what yet, but the little buggers are kai... chi..."

"_Chimeral_twins, most likely." Elliot pranced over from an adjoining room with his eyes glued to a medical chart. "I'm getting male and female results, both positive. That's from an actual amniotic fluid sample too. They'll likely end up like Ari and Yoyo here, each a different sex."

"So it's confirmed then? Neat-o." Ari walked over and gave Robyn a quick hug. "I'm so happy, Pillow. We're starting a family. Our own ~family~."

Robyn pulled her wife down lower and gave her a deep kiss. "And I'd never dream of another reason to breathe again, Ottah."

Pat joined in on the hug and kissed his daughter on the top of her head. "You'll make an old squirrel cry going on like that. I'm proud of you, Robyn."

Carbon backed out the room, nudging her snout quietly to Yoyo and Zoë and then to the hall. "They've deserve a moment. Thanks for handling them, Doc."

"Any time, Carbon. Just doing my job."

Carbon nodded and fled the room, but paused when she heard some hushed shouting near another bank of rooms. "You hear that?" Suddenly Cid came stomping out of a doorway, snorting and trying to storm past without a word. "Cid? Cid. I know when you're pissed. What's wrong?"

"Fucking..." The meerkat forced herself to stop, though her riffled fur told she was still on edge. "I come down here to check on the girls' escort and..." She spun around, taking a moment to get a few deep breaths of air pulsing through her lungs. "I walked in on Jeremy fucking that wolf girl. Fucking sexist asshole."

"Wait, you saw what?"

"Well what else do you call a guy shoving his junk in a girl? He even had the fucking nerve to pay her to do it! Like the sex wasn't degrading enough!"

Carbon looked to Cid, then worriedly back at Iolvin. "Fuck. Could you check on Ashe? I'll hear Cid out, but--"

"You got it." Yoyo grabbed Zoë by her fighting arm and pulled her along, making sure she couldn't draw her rapier in the same motion. "Things might get a little fucked up in a minute, but don't you move to help. Bastard deserves to get a few licks for screwing with Ashe, and he's ~all~ mine."

"But Yoyo--"

"No complaints, Zoë. Now where's the guy at?" The otter found a bed with a privacy hologram erected around it and simply stepped through the image. "Get away from her, asshole."

The offender in question, a somewhat puny red panda compared to Iolvin's stature, just turned around as he grunted against Ashe. "Fuck... That's what I needed..."

"Hey! That's my sister! At least pull out of her, you idiot!" Yoyo reached out and yanked the guy away, a newly-filled condom slipping off in the process and drooling its contents on to the floor. "Wait... The fuck?"

Ashe suddenly became quite aware of her state of dress and covered her chest with her arms. "Yoyo!? Get the fuck out! I'm... ~busy~!"

Iolvin slowly stepped back, aghast by the way things played out. "Just... get your clothes on. Okay?" He kept backing up until he left the room, finding Elliot waiting there for him. "Fuck, you know too?"

"So you found out, huh? It was her idea, you know." Ellie leaned in the room and offered some comfort for the two inside. "No hurry, guys. Just a misunderstanding."

"Just a ~what~?" Yoyo frowned as Ellie shut the door and left his girlfriend to lie with a stranger. "How can you be okay with this?"

"Ashe likes selling herself. She enjoys the feeling of being physically desired. I can't take that away from her."

"But you could give her that feeling yourself."

Ellie led Yoyo a bit further away so they wouldn't be heard as easily. "It's more complicated than that. Besides, it sort of turns me on too."

Yoyo heard a shuffle in the corner but ignored it for now. "Well I'm glad you get your rocks off to it, but she's not a piece of ass for you to sell out."

"I don't. In fact, I just make sure she doesn't get hurt. She's the one bringing cash into the deal."

"Fuck me... So you're being safe about it at least?" Yoyo caught a glimpse of white fur behind another hologram and moved to examine it. "I saw the condom at least. That's a start."

"Yeah, I set some ground rules. She wanted to keep going on like before your sister found her and that wouldn't do at all."

"Really. Well at least there's that." Yoyo rounded the curtain of light and found a sobbing replica of the girl in question curled up on a bed. "But have you thought about what others will think? How it affects them?"

"She doesn't care how she's seen. Ashe was homeless, after all." Ellie started walking over to investigate himself. "And it isn't good for my professional image, but I'd rather have Ashe happy than look good."

Yoyo found the controls for the hologram and tapped the power button, revealing Punk Rock Ashe for all to see. "And what about her? You think she wants to know she's a prostitute in another life? And gods help her if she walked in on them going at it."

Ellie gawked for a few seconds as he tried to form the right words in response. "I... I thought she was in her room. If I'd known she was here... I..."

"Look. What you and Ashe like to do is your own business--as long as it stays consensual." Yoyo picked up the alternate of the wolf and helped her to her hindpaws, allowing her to nestle her face in his chest to cope. "I just hope you'll keep things more discrete from here out. And I mean that in all ways. No sleaze-bag clients. No having... ~this~ happen with the other Ashe here, either."

"Ashe declines anyone she doesn't like, Yoyo. It's a hobby, not a job." Ellie stepped forward and ran a paw down the wolf girl's back. "And sorry for that. I really am. I didn't really think that through when I let Ashe take the lead today. My Ashe, I mean..."

"Yeah... I get it." Punk Rock lifted her head for a moment to gauge Elliot's sincerity, then slowly buried her head again when she was satisfied. "She's not me. She can make her own choices."

"But you shouldn't need to witness something like that in any case." Yoyo went to lift the girl again to carry her into a further room, but was cut short when his back wrenched loose in pain. "Fuck... You should rest, but... do you feel okay to walk? We should find a quieter room."

"You should have found me, and sooner than this." Ellie walked around behind Iolvin and placed his paws on his lower back for a quick inspection. "Muscles are still stiff from overexertion. There's a bit of a spasm too. I wish I knew if there were any trained masseuses around."

"I can manage."

Zoë spotted Prisma and Sprite making a fuss through the room's hallway window before they found the entrance. "Yoyo? That clockwork person seems to want something."

Indeed, Prisma enthusiastically burst through from the hall and raised her paw like a girl in school dying to ask a question. "Iolvin! Prisma can help, Iolvin!"

Yoyo shook his head at the two in disbelief at their energy. "You don't need to raise your paw here, Prisma. What is it?"

"Prisma can give Iolvin a massage! Prisma has steady paws and Sprite can find the techniques for Prisma."

Yoyo looked to Ellie and then back to the newcomers. "Sure. Can't hurt trying. Plus it gives us some time to talk this out. Right, Ashe?"

"Y-Yeah... But maybe you should call me something else like the others?" The Arctic wolf lifted her head and looked up into Yoyo's eyes. "I'm stuck here now, so we all might as well get used to it."

"Just plain 'Punk' alright with you? I'll call you whatever you like, but it_is_ sort of catchy."

"Yeah, that's fine." Punk ended up helping Iolvin move now, guiding him back to the bed upon which she was discovered. "Here, just use this. If it's your back, you shouldn't move around."

Ellie lightly smiled as he clicked the hologram back on and made his way back to the adjoined room. "Well you're in good paws here. I'll make sure Ashe finishes things up and we can all have a good talk later."

"I'll hold you to that, Ellie." Yoyo slid onto the bed and looked over to the androids. "So how do we do this? I figure I just have to take off my shirt, but anything else?"

"Hmm..." Prisma looked to Sprite and then the tiny fairy fluttered off down the hall. "Just remove the shirt and pants then lie on your stomach. Prisma requires access to the surrounding areas as well. Sprite will be back with supplies."

"All but my boxers, eh?" Yoyo glanced to Punk for a moment. "You okay with that right now? You can go find somewhere else to hide and we can talk later."

"No... It's fine."

"Okay. Just say the word and I'll call it quits though." Yoyo kicked off his pants and then rolled over, struggling out of his shirt afterwards. "So supplies, huh? Thought you just needed your paws for a massage."

Prisma looked back as Sprite found a supply room. "Prisma needs a brush for when Prisma's done. Warm lubrication will help the massage in permeating your fur, especially since Prisma cannot easily produce excess heat. Some prophylactics are desirable for a 'happy ending' as well."

"Uh... Might want to skip that last bit. That's not exactly a standard massage." Yoyo finally slipped out of his shirt and threw it on the floor next to his pants. "So. How much did you see exactly, Punk?"

"I... was there until that meerkat guy found them."

"So most of it. That's... a shame." Yoyo turned his head to the side to look at the girl, only to have Prisma prop his head up via a rolled up towel. "I thought I was uniquely qualified to say it's weird seeing yourself getting laid until now. Personally, I find it hot. It do anything for you too, or what? You couldn't have been there the whole time by accident."

"I couldn't..." Punk averted her eyes as she made an admission. "It's that... that time of the month..."

"Oh. So your heat drove you to watch?" Yoyo cringed as Prisma's cold, artificial paw ran down his spine, quite thankful she was only testing his reflexes. "Wait, does that mean the both of you are in heat? I mean, you're the same person, technically."

"No... I don't think she was. I couldn't smell it, anyway."

"Oh, goody." Prisma smiled and took a plastic basket from her smaller half as she returned. "Just relax and I'll try my best."

"Wait, did you just... call yourself 'I' there?" Yoyo tried to turn around to confront the android but she pushed him back down with a hot, lubricated paw. "I thought you couldn't do that or something."

"Prisma is still learning. Auntie said Prisma's speech was awkward." The android started gliding her paws across Yoyo's back, slowly increasing the pressure until he grunted until she zeroed in his limits. "Prisma... ~I~... desire to better ~myself~."

"Well good for you. Ah! It hurts when you press there." Yoyo tried to control his breathing and relax, but decided diverting his attention was still the best route. "So what do you think about your other self being a prostitute?"

"She isn't me, so I don't mind. It's a bit unnerving though." Punk pulled up a stool and sat, resting her arm and head on the corner of the bed near Yoyo's head. "Could we not talk about that? I just... need time to process it first."

"Yeah. Anything you want, Punk." A particularly hard kneading motion caused Yoyo to grunt again, his breath hard to keep in his lungs every time his masseuse pressed down. "So anything else not quite the same? Oh, you said you knew a Rustfelt? Ellie's dad teach or something?"

"No, not his dad. ~Her~ dad. Whatever." Punk threw out her free arm, the motion triggering a holographic screen to fluidly fly out into her paw. "Elliot and I were close... sort of like the version of me here. But he can't date a student, so we agreed to wait until I graduated next year."

"Oh, so he teaches high school on your side? You guys on a trip or something?" Yoyo paused to look at a photo Punk had brought up on her odd device depicting the two standing outside a university. "Hey, that's where I'm going... Wait, you're about to graduate ~college~? Damn."

"I skipped a lot of years starting in middle school. Elliot was helping me earn my master's degree in anthropology."

"A masters to boot... Wow. Hey, we're studying the same thing. What field are you gunning for?"

"Civic reform. Someone's got to figure out the effects of nuclear war on the populace, after all." Punk grumbled and shielded her eyes as Prisma's paws started reaching inside Yoyo's boxer briefs, only to unclasp the tail strap and slide them down for better access to his tail. "Uh... Yeah, so I'm studying the nukes we dropped in the war and how they displaced people. What's your focus?"

"Nothing that ambitious. I want to be a photojournalist." Yoyo yipped as his tail was lifted and warm paws squeezed down its length. "Gah! I think that's the problem right there, Prisma."

"Prisma sees that." She focused on the base of his tail and pressed in rolling motions with her thumbs. "Iolvin should exercise with Iolvin's tail more. Prisma advises swimming if possible."

"There's a beach on one of the hotel decks. I'll have to give it a try if it's not too cold."

Punk shook her head as she uncovered her eyes. "This time of year? You crazy?"

"I'm an otter, babe. Cold water doesn't bother me. Besides, it might be heated."

Punk smiled as she ran her own paw down Yoyo's neck. "So the thick fur isn't just for show? I didn't know that trait carried over from the genetic splicing post war." She really dug her fingers deep until she finally managed to reach bare skin. "Sorry, I get hooked on that stuff. So you like taking photos, then?"

"I don't get much practice these days, not since the Major abducted us." Prisma bent Yoyo's tail far forward, causing a decent pang of pain that relieved itself with a few quick pops of his spine. "Oh, wow... Uh, yeah. I try to capture story stills--you know, where the picture talks for itself. I make money doing private shoots though. Even got some extra benefits when I shot some nudes for a wannabe model."

"Mixing work and play? How ~scandalous~."

Zoë stepped over and watched the massage more intently, perhaps to replicate it later should her patron desire it. "At least it sounds like he has fun doing whatever he does."

"Well look who finally broke out of her shell." Yoyo reached out and playfully squeezed the human's ass, making her jump. "And how about you, Punk? You obviously like what you do, and your Ellie is there--"

"Was. He's long gone now."

Yoyo propped himself up on an elbow so he could clearly face the girl. "So_that's_ it. You're jealous of Ashe, aren't you?"

"No, I'm... not the type." Punk sighed and looked away, then snapped right back to his face when she spotted the tip of Yoyo's manhood peeking out from beneath him. "Uh... I'm just... I know this Elliot isn't mine. I can't have him even if I wanted to."

"Nonsense. She's with Ashe, but that doesn't mean you can't be close." Iolvin fell flat again, much to Punk's relief, and groaned as Prisma moved down to his thighs. "I mean, there's always a chance. Some furs like things more open. My sister doesn't mind me going at her wife. Maybe Ashe and Ellie wouldn't mind adding you to their group as well."

"I don't know about that." The wolf sulked back into her resting position, then perked up when she realized what she just heard. "Wait, eww... You don't pork your own sister, do you?"

"I could claim it's a cultural thing, but to be honest it's because I want to make her happy. Sorry if that grosses you out." The otter's eyes shot wide open when Prisma suddenly prodded at his tail hole, but he tried to ignore it. "So, um... What are you doing when it comes to clothes? A place to sleep? Surely Ashe offered some of her stuff, right? I mean, you're the same size and all."

"I'm wearing the same outfit since I got here, and they paired me up with this crazy girl that only wants to watch TV all day."

"That's terrible," remarked Zoë as her eyes settled on Prisma's new motions.

"The wild dog? Wow. I bet she's still in the same stuff too, huh? That can't be good for either of you." Yoyo yipped when he was grabbed by the tail and hip and then flipped over. "Prisma, what are you doing?"

"Happy ending." She wrapped her paws over Iolvin's hard cock and started sliding them up and down. "Prisma wanted to do something nice. ~I~ wanted to."

Yoyo put his paws over Prisma's and pulled them away. "No, Prisma. You don't need to do that shit with me."

"I know I don't." The android reluctantly agreed to cease her new line of attack however out of respect. "If Uncle doesn't want it, I will stop. Uncle just looked like Uncle needed relief."

"I do, but I'll just find my... sister later. Shit, sorry again."

"I don't mind, not really." Out of the blue, Punk stood up and started unfastening her belt, her pants dropping to her ankles as she talked. "I might have judged you if I didn't know you better. You're a great guy, though: someone I can trust." Her panties followed, soon to be picked up and drooped over Iolvin's muzzle so their sopping wetness could fill his nostrils. "That's why I think we can help each other."

"Woah..." Yoyo picked up the panties and couldn't help giving them a deep whiff before placing them aside. "Wait, you don't need to do that either. You've got a thing for Ellie, right?"

"Not ~your~ Elliot. But since he's out the picture I might as well think about myself." Punk looked in the basket of supplies and pulled out a condom, wasting no time in slipping it over Yoyo's spire of flesh. "I hope you're not the standard for guys around here..."

"Sorry. It's big, but it'll sort of fit."

Punk hopped her leg over the bed and straddled Yoyo, lining up her drooling sex with the otter's. "Oh, I know the physics. It's just... bigger than I thought. And do you have a ~knot~ too?" She took but a second to press herself down, her velvet tunnel filling completely and still leaving half of Iolvin's manhood out in the cold. "Oh, fuck. That's a... a tight fit, alright."

Yoyo groaned in delight as that wolf snatch gobbled him up. "That went easy enough. Thank the gods for a girl's heat sometimes, eh?"

"Yeah, you try it sometime. ~Totally~ fun."

Iolvin smirked at the comment, then rolled over so he could take the lead from a sideways position. "Well you're a guest in our world, so let me help you out there like a good host."

"Fuck... Oh shit..." Punk pulled herself closer to Yoyo and dug her snout into his shoulder, unable to reach his face for a kiss. "I don't... think it'll take much..."

"Oh, you get sensitive when you're in heat? Well this should be fun, then."

Punk nodded quickly and squeezed her thighs a bit tighter. "It already is. Sounds like we're not the only ones having fun, either."

Yoyo twitched his ears back and caught Zoë whimpering, but it wasn't what Punk thought. She sounded sad. "Well... Just focus on the task at paw, babe." Yoyo started hammering into the girl, bashing her inner barrier with his excessive length and summoning yelps each time. "Just hope that massage did some good. I'll make you squirt yourself something fierce if I can keep up the pace."

"Just don't... Oh gods, don't stop!" The wolf girl rocked her hips as close as she could manage to Iolvin's fervent pummeling, obviously desiring to drive him deeper for a knot. "Gods... I'm... I'm gonna..."

Yoyo loudly squelched his cock in and out of his partner, driving her breath thinner and thinner with each stroke. He could feel his own orgasm building rapidly, so he doubled his pace so they'd both have a chance at achieving mutual bliss. He contemplated forcing his way deeper as well, though he didn't know how such a younger fur would handle it. Yoyo decided to see if he'd get some extra leeway when Punk reached her peak, knowing a heat made some women more relaxed deeper inside, but something caused him to hold back at the last moment.

"Oh gods... I'm..." Punk suddenly started convulsing and grasping around Yoyo, barely able to cry out through ragged breaths. "Elliot... I'm cumming!"

Iolvin ceased his movements and pulled himself free of his impossibly hot prison, the condom snapping off just as quickly to rest on the floor. "Zoë?"

Zoë quickly wiped some tears from her eyes and jerked to attention. "Y-Yes?"

Yoyo stood and replaced himself with the human, straddling her wool sweater with his junk from the new position. "Still want to give me that titjob?"

Zoë got the hint, yanking down her loose sweater and the cami beneath it so he had better access to her large chest. "What do I--?"

Yoyo answered by holding the sides of the human's massive tits so his length could rest between them. Then he rapidly thrust into the gap with a heavy groan. Zoë got the general idea quickly and replaced his paws with her hands, then let out her tongue to lick and lap at Yoyo's tip whenever it came near her mouth. Then with a grunt he finally came, his hot cum streaming in heavy pulses over Zoë's mouth. As he loosened up over time Yoyo's aim faltered as well, his majenta cream roping up and over the whole of the human's face and hair. After nearly a pint had coated Zoë the flow tapered, pooling in her mouth so much that she could only gurgle and fought to breath through her nose.

"Fuck... Oh fuck, girls..." Yoyo scooted backward and collapsed atop Punk instead of Zoë, quite aware that he was avoiding getting his cum on himself. "Thank you for that. That's a good start after being pent up a few days."

Punk turned her head and found she could finally give Yoyo that kiss, taking a few long seconds to make it count. "Mmm... You didn't have to pull out, you know. That's what the condom was for."

"I... couldn't go through with it. Zoë sounded like she needed some help anyway."

"Oh? So she ~was~ pawing then?"

Yoyo gave the human an assuring look and matching nod, one of his paws still playing with one of her nipples. "Not exactly. She just needed to know she was wanted, so I showed her how much she was." He leaned in closer to the struggling girl's ear and whispered, "I'm not ignoring you, y'know."

"But... you and Adrian..."

"Did I hear that right?" Punk sat herself upright, sliding Yoyo onto Zoë. "What about you and Adrian?"

"We're dating, and Zoë here feels left out." Iolvin pushed himself up as well, but instead of slowing down he reached for the toggles on Zoë's pants. "And what's it matter? It's not like you called out ~his~ name at the end there."

"What? I don't remember--"

"You were thinking of Ellie, weren't you?" Yoyo grinned as he started lowering those pants, panties going with them. "That's why I couldn't finish with you. It's also why I think you should have a long talk with her before we ever try this again. Don't need you regretting anything."

"Regret? I don't regret that at all." Punk nuzzled Yoyo's neck and gave some playful nips to prove her point. "If I thought I'd regret it, I wouldn't have let you take my first time."

"That was your first?" Yoyo stopped playing with Zoë for a moment and sat himself up on his knees. "I don't even know what--"

"Don't act that way. It was a gift, for hearing me out and making me feel better." Punk pulled herself back to the headboard and curled her knees up to her chest, her sex clearly in view for all to see. "I was saving it for someone that can't have it now anyway. You're the next best person I found in this new world."

"Well thank you, I guess." Yoyo grabbed his cock and leaned over Zoë's crotch, plunging himself into her folds on the way down. "Gods, you're tight."

"She's like, fourteen. You seriously have no limits, do you?"

"Fifteen, actually." Yoyo took no time in bringing up the pace, even if he kept his thrusts shallow. "She's bound to me in any case. And if I'm right, she thinks she's useless because I haven't tried to fuck her yet. Right?"

Zoë gasped, which caused her to choke on the volume of jizz still in her mouth. "Kuh!... Uh... More or less..."

"Don't worry, Zoë. I do care for you. We just need to work you into Dee's favor before this can become a regular thing." Yoyo slowly started to go deeper and deeper until he bumped against the girl's cervix. "But for now, I have a free pass and I owe you like, a billion orgasms. Hey, that feel good or bad when I do that?"

Zoë gave up on holding the cum in her mouth, spitting it out and groaning in pleasure. "I don't know what you're doing, but it feels ~amazing~."

"Wow, I think she's taking more than I did."

Yoyo tested the waters with a few trying presses of his hips, finding to his surprise that the human's tight inner mouth was actually starting to give way. "Oh yeah? Well watch this. Zoë, sorry if this pinches a bit." He fell onto the girl with all his weight and drove through her impossibly-tight cervix, his tip now resting softly on the far end of Zoë's womb.

"F--!" On a startling cue, Zoë hunched forward and reached for Iolvin, completely unable to enunciate through her broken gasping. "Hnng!... Fu...!"

"Woah, crap!" Yoyo shut his eyes as the human clamped down the tightest vise-grip he'd ever felt on the whole of his cock. Zoë's eyes rolled back in her head and she started rapidly convulsing like she was having a seizure. "Damn, kiddo. You cum like a freight train."

Punk stared at the juncture of the two in amazement, both at the slight bump in Zoë's tummy and the way Yoyo was still slipping his engorged length into the girl until his engorged knot met her nethers. "Holy shit, Yoyo. Is that even safe?"

Yoyo shrugged as he ground his knot against Zoë's petals, the absolute tightness forcing huge globs of his pre to slop out. "My sister's about her size inside, so... Gods... I think she can take it. I think her womb's her weak spot too, looking at her now."

Punk reached over and felt Zoë's new bulging lump in her belly. "I knew us girls were stretchable inside, but damn." She looked over to the now passed-out human and then up to Yoyo's heaving chest. "Well if that's the case, might as well wake her up for your finale."

"What? Nah, I can wait--" Without any real warning, Punk reached out and pulled Iolvin into Zoë by his hips, sending him off balance enough that he couldn't stop from falling forward. "W-Wait!"

Zoë screamed awake in pleasure and pain as Iolvin's knot forced its way inside her. Immediately the both of them reached simultaneous, explosive orgasms. Zoë idly stared at the ceiling, moaning and groaning as a sudden warmth welled up inside her precious core. The first massive blast of thick batter was enough to drive the girl silly, but then Yoyo started really opening the floodgates. In moments Zoë's tummy swelled until she appeared to be carrying triplets or even quadruplets, with Punk rubbing her paws over that smooth bubble in disbelief.

Soon Yoyo's enormous load built up far too much pressure to be contained, his knot blasting free with a loud splorch. "Agh!... Fuck it." Still firing rope after rope across Zoë and the bed, he moved over to Punk, lifted her legs by surprise, and effortlessly slammed into her cunny down to the knot. "Might as well... fix that heat..."

Punk howled as her inner chamber resounded in pain, but her heated instincts dulled the sensation. "But... condom..."

"Sterile..." The added lubrication of fresh, searing cum freeing up his options, Yoyo chose to wedge his knot into the wolf so her instincts would be satisfied. "I'm sterile... so knot..."

Punk nodded in need and rocked her hips as the pressure inside her built, though the flow started tapering long before she managed to sport a child-sized bump. The warmth tingling inside her was enough to send her over the edge however, another howl preceding a soft bite to Yoyo's arm. "Fuuuuuck..."

Yoyo fell to the side, bringing Punk with him. "Hah... Damn, I think... that was all of it..."

Punk eventually came down from her high and released any and all death grips she had on the otter, sans the one linking them together. "Wow... So that's what... sating a heat feels like?"

"Nah." Yoyo swallowed hard in an attempt to lubricate his raspy throat and steady his breath. "If you get knocked up it's supposed to be better. Virtually no chance of that with me though."

"Well that's good... I guess..." Punk looked down at the modest ballooning of her stomach and then gave Yoyo's chest a tender kiss. "I hope it works at least. Going into heat sucks, especially the seasonal ones."

"Yeah, I hope so too. The reason I'm so horny is because Dee had to endure two days of fucking a heat out of someone. First day didn't take and he was dying already at that point."

"Really? But how's that affect you?"

Yoyo reached for his tender balls and gave them a light grope. "I'm sore after just the two times. He went... eighteen, I think. We're on a sex hiatus now."

"Ouch." Tried to reach the much taller otter's face for another kiss, but had to settle for his neck while Yoyo kissed her forehead. "Well I'm glad I really did end up helping you. Just... Ah!... Just warn me next time you're going to impale me to death."

"Ah, sorry about that. I don't always thing straight when I'm dumping a gallon of cum everywhere." Yoyo looked down at Punk's new bump and then over to a very satisfied, babbling, and orgasmically-overdosed human. "Does it hurt? I can man up and take the pain if you need me to pull out."

Punk grit her teeth a bit as Yoyo shifted his position, then braced him with a strong hug. "Not if you hold still, it doesn't. Can we... just stay like this for a while?"

Iolvin looked down to Punk and kissed her head again. "Sure thing, babe."

"Almost... there..." Ilaria reached as high up as she could manage while hanging off a ladder in a large shaft of the ship. "Damn, who's idea was it to... put this here?"

Robyn looked up from below, futilely trying to think of another access point for the power transfer node they were wrangling. "I don't have a clue with these shafts, love. I think they were designed with low gravity in mind, so mind the fall."

"Yeah, I'll do just that." Ari gave up on staying fully on the ladder and shot towards the access panel, her right leg still holding her up on a rung while her arms latched her midway across the large duct. "Ha! This'll do. So what's the goal? Shut off the power entirely?"

"Hmm... Lend me a moment, yeah?" Robyn pulled up Ari's tablet and used it to study the relevant schematics. "Should be three settings on a big lever. You want the one with the green triangle, Ottah."

"That's a funny way to label something." Iolvin came cruising into the area from the port hallway, followed by Zoë. "Why can't they just make it clear English?"

Carbon entered as well from the other direction with Cid in tow, quirking her head as she spied the climbing otter above. "Because the build team was from seven nations and English was a tertiary language for two of them."

A loud set of clacks and grunts preceded Ilaria huffing out for her orders before she got tired. "Done. Do I mess with anything else? I see a primer bar of some kind."

"That's... a circuit breaker. Flip that and we're all kittens and rainbows. Ottah."

"So how's it going, girls?" Yoyo joined Robyn below his twin sister, smiling to the point of chuckling when he noticed he could see right up her sirat to her unclad crotch "~Breezing~ through the upgrades?"

Ari's eyes went wide and she summoned her nanites to make a clip that held the drapes of her sirat pinched against her. "Very funny, lil' bro." She returned to the strenuous task at paw, each of her paws grabbing the massive pull lever. Then the lever gave way under her weight, shifting her downward roughly enough that her leg twisted in the rungs of the ladder and detached from her stump. "Oh shit! Help!"

Iolvin rushed forward and positioned himself beneath Ari, grabbing her in a wobbly piggyback ride. "I got ya'. Just calm down."

Ari sighed in relief and held herself up against the wall, only to stretch back up to the access port. "Hold still; I still need to reset that breaker." She pulled herself higher by a metal lip and shoved the breaker lever back into place, only then falling limp on her brother's shoulders and offsetting their mutual balance. "Now let me down, silly!"

"Not if you ~insist~ on working!" Yoyo took a few prancing steps, purposefully throwing his sister off balance but holding her tightly so she couldn't fall. "You know you love this."

"Do not! Ah!" Ari belted out constant giggling and laughter as she rode her brother like a bucking bull. "Heeee!... Yoyo! I'm serious! We have work to do, ya' playful idiot."

"Alright, alright." With a huge grin plastered over his muzzle, Yoyo slowly lowered his sister next to the ladder and even grabbed her artificial leg for her. "Here you go, ya' party pooper."

Carbon moseyed over with the remnants of a chuckle still hidden under her breath. "You two are crazy. So Robyn, how ~is~ it going? Today's the deadline, you know."

"Slice o' fried gold, it is." The squirrel pulled up the tablet and showed her checklist was complete, sans a few tasks that she assigned to Adrian and her father. "We're just a test away from history, mate."

"Wow, and it's not even noon. I underestimated you guys." Carbon looked for a command console nearby and jogged back into the hallway to hack it with her glowing paw. Then the entire ship's intercom sounded with her voice. "Patrick? Adrian? Could you report in on your progress, please?"

A pawful of seconds later and the wall panel spouted Dee's voice. "I'm all done here. Just double-checking my numbers right now."

"Good. Thanks, Dee. Robyn's done up here too. Pat?"

"Ah..." The speaker fizzled out as some sort of interference or background noise muddied the line. "Finishing up right now, mates. Oi, Robby? That coupler ~was~ shot, rusted over from a bad seal. I'm replacing it, so don't use the hydros. Yeah?"

Carbon answered in her stead. "Yeah, copy that. We're waiting on you now, so meet us in the reactor room when you're done."

"No worries, mate. I'll be there Fizzy-pop."

Cid shook her head and chuckled. "Is that even ~English~?" She quickly remembered the daughter of the Kiwi standing right next to her and raised her paws apologetically. "No offense."

"Nah, no worries there, mate. All in good fun."

Ari finished snapping her leg back into place and carefully walked over to her wife. "Come on. Let's get things ready."

Carbon led the way, taking a slower pace since it sounded like Pat would be a while. "So how long will it take until we know it's working?"

Ari hugged Robyn from the side as they walked. "Takes a while to spool up, right Pillow?"

"Well you need to heat up the plasma, and that normally takes a while." Robyn paused a moment as the twins kicked and shifted in her womb, then continued down the hall with a smile. "We set up capacitors to feed the magnets though, so we can pump up the juice at first."

"So it uses magnets? That's a tokamak then?"

Robyn shook her head and grunted as she tried to simplify her phrasing for Carbon. "It was, but that's not the best design for a compact space. We changed it into a six-pointed möbian stellarator design."

Yoyo fell back next to Cid and shook his head at the shop talk. "You understand any of that?"

"Not a word." Cid diligently checked each of the rooms as they passed, even though the whole frigate was on lockdown from the outside by the rest of her crew. "Then again, I'm not paid to think about that. I'm here to keep you safe."

Yoyo gave the meerkat a nudge on the shoulder and lowered his voice so he wouldn't disturb the others. "So you still pissed about that incident with your guy and Ashe?"

"I... don't think we should talk about it. It's between me and Jeremy."

"And Ashe, who's sort of my sister." Yoyo watched the others pop into the reactor room, but threw out his arm to bar Cid's entry. "She_propositioned _him, if it means anything. She likes to sell herself out, apparently."

"That doesn't excuse a guy for fucking on the clock, Iolvin." Cid tried to pass under the taller fur's arm, only to have a leg cross his path and elicit an annoyed growl. "What exactly do you want out of this?"

"I know you need to punish the guy. He deserves some of it, for sure. That's unprofessional of him." The otter removed his blockade now that he had Cid's ear, making his final point and planning to be done with it. "I just don't want Ashe to hear that she got the guy fired. What he did for her made her feel good about herself, and I don't want that ruined for her. Ashe can't see and has no true family. Don't take away one of her only hobbies too, even if you think it's crass."

"Hobby, huh?" Cid rolled her head back and forth, then gave Yoyo a punch to his arm. "Fine, I won't fire him. He's a good worker when his pants are on anyway. Just don't think I'll allow that girl near my guys in the future though. And it's still demeaning to other women, so I won't endorse it."

"I've got no issues with that. I'm not entirely sold on the prostitution thing either, but I can respect what it does for Ashe's self-esteem." Yoyo walked in the room, winking his ears shut as the supermagnets started to clack in sequence. "Let's call her an anomaly of the trade and leave it at that for now. Ellie and Ashe are willing to sit and talk it through later too if you've got the time. Okay?"

Cid rolled her eyes as she agreed to at least a neutral stance on the matter. "I can deal with that. You got it, pal."

Yoyo nodded and ran past the loudest, unshielded part of the room to shout to his sister. "Hey! Is that safe?"

Ari shot her eyes wider open and threw her paws up in the air. "Not sure! Maybe in low doses!?"

Robyn flipped a large, double-protected switch and grinned to the twins. "It is now! Lithium layer's flowing just as planned!"

Cid finally passed through to the control room and Robyn shut the outer door, dramatically lowering the ambient noise but ~not~ Cid's own voice. "Is it supposed--!?" Everyone had a chuckle as the meerkat retried her question at a normal amplitude. "Is it supposed to be that loud?"

"Only while we're jumping the magnets to their limits." Robby flipped a few more switches, but halted with her paws hovering over the controls. "Well then... I need my dad's end to work now. We can idle here for a while though."

As if on cue, Dee and Pat came up to the rear door of the cabin and pounded on the glass. "Hey! Open Up!"

Robyn tapped the console and allowed the two inside before shutting it again. "My bad, blokes."

"No worries, baby girl. How's she holding together?"

A quick check of the various instruments and Robyn perked up with a smile. "Wonderfully. We have plasma... and a pip of fusion. You get the rats conked out the gears, dad?"

Pat nodded as he gave the readings a second check. "These numbers... Brilliant, Robby. She's all yours."

"Hydros... are responding. Good." Robyn clicked a toggle switch and another loud system came roaring to life. "Let's see... Oi, we have direct conversion already! Looks like... about ten percent efficiency, but we're making power!"

Carbon smirked and started to clap, leading the others to join her in suit. "Congratulations! You've got a running fusion reactor."

"That's nothing new, I'm afraid." Pat groaned as he checked one of the gauges. "We need to prove it's actually sustainable now."

"Hit the diverter for me, dad." Robyn hopped over to another console and wrestled with the controls. "Good... Time to see if I'm right about that stuff."

Pat slapped a few industrial buttons and the sound of the reactor changed pitch. "She's purrin' like a kitten, love. You do the honors."

Robyn smiled as she grabbed Ilaria and Dee's paws, then placed them over a large starter button. "We all had a piece in this. Figure we all deserve some glory. Cheers, loves."

With Robyn's paw leading them, they all pressed the last major button in the startup sequence. The fission reactor kicked into action, a pawful of pumps feeding neutron-contaminated lithium into the reaction chamber. There was a secret to this added step in the form of the reactor's control rods. One was replaced with a small capsule of oxydium, which in the presence of free neutrons and ionized radiation managed to create its own oxygen. As the molten lithium passed through, it cleansed itself of excess neutronicity and returned to the fusion core to start again refreshed.

"Lithium is coming back... squeaky clean. We have proper containment." Robyn fidgeted between various displays, her mind racing as fast as her heart. "Aha! What a beaut!"

"Hmm?" Ari checked the meters as well, but didn't know what she was supposed to find. "Something more to it?"

"You'll love this, Ottah." Robyn clicked a switch to enable the steam turbine, then skittered over to the original console. "You know what makes one of these lovely ladies stop running?"

"Fuel, I guess?"

"Hit the pin right on the head." A flip of a switch and Robyn spun around with a huge smirk. "Well we're now ~making~ fuel from the exhaust of the fusion core. We're not only sustainable, but we're running green as well!"

Carbon checked over the instruments and let Eve verify the results. "Really?... Oh fuck, you're right. That's not... physically possible though."

"Until you mix in some oxydium." Robyn gave Carbon her own schematics via her tablet and let her see for herself. "I figured the free neutrons could convert into any simple elements, and noble gasses fit the bill. The radiation knocks some free before forming to oxygen though, and you get isotopes of hydrogen." She pointed to one of the fuel tanks that contained liquid deuterium, noting the slow rise and fall in stored levels. "We're making extra heavy water and tritium now. The little waste left is shot out the engines as propellant."

"That's... a creative use for oxydium, but why do we need to use it for this rather than--"

Robyn cut the Major off with a happy squeak. "Because we have enough now to make her ~fly~."

Ilaria picked up her squirrel and hugged her from behind, endless kisses adorning her ear and neck. "You're one step closer, Pillow. Good for you."

Robyn wriggled free of the embrace and grabbed Carbon's paws, then pulled her in for a celebratory kiss to the clear face of her mask. "We did it! I held up my end of the wager, Carbon. ~Please~, can I keep working on her? I'm so close to ~flying in space~."

Carbon popped the face of her mask upward and brought the squirrel's paws to her muzzle for a polite kiss. "After all you guys have done here, I don't see why not."

Robyn threw down her paws and pulled Carbon in for a proper, enthusiastic kiss. "Thank you, love! Oh, thank you!"

Carbon stepped back aghast at the hyper little woman's reaction, an amused chortle sneaking past her lips. "You're quite welcome, Robyn. Guess that makes it official. Welcome to the team, ~Chief Engineer~."