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TOP SECRET - "PERSEUS" (EYES ONLY)

PERSONNEL: O'Connell, Night. Profile: Programming genius, project head - revolutionary VR technology. Location:_Vacation resort, downtime reward for exceptional work. _Status: Recovering from brief hospital stay.

PERSONNEL: Kovach, A. B., 1st Lt. Profile:_Recon fgtr pilot, _Starhawk III, exemplary record, auth. In-flight plasma shuriken testing. Location: Star Cruiser _Heartwielder,_Gorgonea Tertia region. _Status:_Training for Snake Lady squad, Medusa project.

MISSION PROTOCOL: Reliable intel indicates viable project results within production and testing parameters. Medusa programming vital. Secure project details by any means necessary.

TARGET PERSONNEL: Expendable.

AUTHORIZATION: OORT CLOUD ZERO ZERO ZERO

"Night?"

Sleepily, his eyes still closed, the large, muscular tiger shifted slightly and grunted, "Is that a noun, a farewell, or my name?"

"Night..."

"I'm gonna go with name."

"Night."

"Mm?"

"Where are you?"

A quick frown crossed the tiger's brow before it ran away again, afraid of waking the great beast fully. "I seem to be curled up next to a warm, well-formed, and inquisitive hyena." He pushed his muzzle lazily against his lover's side, sniffing softly, sighing. "A particularly nice-smelling if inquisitive hyena."

"Are you sure that's my scent, or is it yours?"

"They mix well."

For several long moments, the hyena made a great show of slowly licking and nibbling at the tiger's ears. Night stretched gently, eyes still closed, fighting the urge to purr, since he didn't want to give the game away too easily. It was a near thing; Donovan knew exactly what buttons to push, which was one of the reasons that their relationship had been building more steadily than most in Night's life. It's only natural to want more of what it is that makes you feel good. That thought took on a physical component, moving warmly through his body like a sweet, gooey sludge that seemed to bring various parts of him slowly more awake. Well, slowly in some places, more quickly in others.

The rough, wide tongue paused; Night could feel the warm breath in his ear, as the hyena whispered again, "Where are you?"

The tiger pressed his body up against his lover, eyes still closed, the tiger's head barely a dozen centimeters from the powerful hyena's. "Donovan, what are you talking about? I'm right here."

"Mitternachtstiger..." The canid's voice betrayed a great sadness; Night could sense his lover shake his head slowly. "Come back to me."

Night sat up sharply, his eyes snapping open, cursing. "What in--"

His breath caught in his throat as he looked around him. The room was familiar, even though he would swear that he'd never seen it before. Small, not cramped; "efficient" was perhaps the word, compact, organized, like a ship's cabin. He had no sensation of being on the ocean, and he couldn't see through the thick curtains across from the bed. His nose twitched, sniffing the air for clues to his surroundings, his ears pivoted forward like dual dish antennae, searching for sounds. A metallic smell, a touch of something like ozone, as if electricity crackled somewhere. It made his fur twitch. Sounds were minimal, hushed, distant, beyond well-insulated walls of some unknown material. He pushed the bedclothes away from his naked body; he shook his paws twice to get rid of them -- he had to calm himself enough to retract his claws, peeking out at the end of his fingers just in case they were needed. The floor below his hindpaws felt strange, as if having a subtle vibration of some kind. He wasn't even entirely sure about the substance of the floor; it wasn't clear in the near blackness of the room, but he didn't want to risk a light just yet. A peek beyond the curtains first, figure out where he was.

He got more than a peek, although his mind could not yet process what he saw.

Above, below, all around him, an infinity of stars...

* * * * * * * * * *

Night's ears splayed in shock, then pivoted sharply toward the door of the cabin as they locked in on something. Faint words, like an announcement onboard a ship. He couldn't make out the words, yet the tone seemed familiar, as if he'd been accustomed to hearing such announcements, like an aural carpet or background, something he'd learned to live with during his life aboard the star cruiser Heartwielder.

He shook his head. That bit of information had more or less simply appeared in his fevered brain, yet it had the feeling of being old news. Heartwielder was a flagship of the line, its own city in space, designed for transport, diplomatic hosting, and well-announced visits to various corners of the galaxy, with goodwill its intent and peaceful coexistence its hallmark. It also hosted a fleet of the most incredibly fast and surgically accurate single-pilot defense ships in the known sky, as well as the finest cadre of paramilitary fighter pilots ever assembled... of which he was one.

As if being put on alert for an upcoming mission, the tiger felt something ripple through him, tip to toes, his muscles feeling as if they had suddenly been reprogrammed to the purpose of flying a Starhawk-class fighter ship at top speed, space-stitching through enemy fire to deliver one hit - for one was all that was needed to disable the target, destroy it if required - and escape through the remaining wave of exploding energy and debris to rise back again into the eternal darkness of space, yet another mission accomplished without error or defensive casualty.

Forepaw to his head, Night reeled, fell back to sit on the bed once more. What was all this? Where was it coming from? This was his life, he remembered. It was memory, it was all his own experience and memory, just as he had lived it for these past two and a half decades and change, all of his experience, all of his training, learning, doing, accomplishing, all that he could remember, this was his life.

And he knew nothing at all of it until a few moments ago.

A soft chime announced itself inside the cabin. "Lieutenant Kovach... wake-up call for Lieutenant Kovach... please report to General Briefing in 30 minutes."

"Acknowledged." The word was out of Night's muzzle before he could stop it, as if from habit of long standing. The chime and the announcement ceased. "Lights, half." From unknown and virtually unseen sources, mild light illuminated what he could only think of as his cabin. Kovach. His mind told him that the name was his, yet it wasn't. Or it didn't used to be, or something like that. His name was... was...

The tiger breathed deeply. His eyes focused, and everything fell into place. He had time for a shower before the briefing. There should be food and drink there; this was a scheduled conference, not an emergency scramble. That could happen before long, because there was some tension here in the borderlands, but it wouldn't be a problem. For today, preparation, instruction, drill if necessary - the basics, always good to practice. Meanwhile, it wouldn't do to be late.

Lieutenant Ambrose Bierce Kovach rose from his bed and got his day started.