Post37
This is a fanfic. read, oh god this is gonna read like country directions,..
Manhattan Projects, the sun beyond the stars by image comics.
otherwise you will read it and just wonder what the hell i'm on about.
consider this a sneak peek. really i just need to see if what i'm doing is worth doing.
Post37 Belka- white space dog Strelka- the other space dog with a brown face Rin-tin-tin aka Rinny- typically German Laika- just not herself Kur- a leach
"Recognize this as a holy gift and celebrate this chance to be alive and breathing,..." ~Manard Keenan I didn't create this universe I just live in it part time. The whole reason I'm doing this is when I turned the last page of the sun beyond the stars, I sat and stared a few moments, "goddamnit what am I gonna read now" was all I could say. I don't think I did the storyline justice but hell, I'd give it a try. It's Post37 like you say post apocalyptic. It is important. Suspend disbelief,.. and everything else you know and just enjoy.
***** We all have lost control *****
Doctor, she is waking up" said a female voice in a slight Russian accent. The figure was blurry, white humanoid form. Shades and tones moved indicating actions and the arrival of a darker taller figure. General confusion, thoughts seemed to be mired in tar. "Good" replied the German accented male voice as a hand was put on the head and eye forced open for a light to be shone. It did nothing for already blurry vision. "She took the procedure well, excellent." Came the German accented voice "urrrrr, what,.. What happened?" she groaned stuttering. Her body felt stuffed with cotton, her head spun and she felt sick. She moved to lay on her side and her appendages were wrong, longer more gangly and heavy. She started when she looked at her forepaw and it was long tapered and her phalanges elongated, she flexed and they moved. The appendages where hers! With a terrified yelp of panic and terror she leaped off the table and fell over, her tail unable to help her balance she looked down her body with unfocused eyes and realized her hind legs were longer, her spine shorter, she was a distorted monster from science fiction! "Great Rasputin's ghost, what have you done to me!?" she shrieked in horror. "Calm down Laika, everything is fine. Just give us a chance." The fluffy white blob said Laika allowed the white dog creature to help her stand, then it hit her, "you speak Russian, I know the space maggots do wordstuff, but you, you spoke Russian!" The canine creature nodded. "I am Belka, we were sent out to find what happened to you, and we did, but with a little less or more success." "Belka, don't worry her with details now, "came the German voice again, "let's get her cleaned up and some clothes. We will then have you join us for a brief and dinner. Everything will be explained, but in time. For now, recover." The German accented dark furry blob said. Whatever distorted her vision was wearing off allowing Laika to look around at the vaguely familiar looking structures. "Am I still on the collection ship?" she said squinting to focus. "Yes, and we will explain everything,.." "Where are the aliens? Did they make us into this?" she tried to walk on her own more and with a modicum of success. She felt the need to run without assistance may soon be imperative. "More or less, in a way, sort of. In time, for now let me help you get situated." Belka talked passively as she helped Laika walk on two legs. She felt sorry for her, what had been done to her. But it was necessary for the greater good. "This is too weird" the staggering dog complained flinging pink fluid from her coat with her hand. The white dog only did as she was told. She would see to Laika being cleaned up and presentable. She led her to a nearby room with a shower. It was awkward at first, Laika had never been a biped before, for all she knew she was a space dog waking up in a mad science nightmare. She had to grasp new concepts, being that grooming was no longer done with the tongue, and soap not saliva as a cleaning agent. She had to learn how to use the shower, then she had to be pulled out she was taking so long enjoying the spray. Belka was patient. She wanted to be, there was a terrible exchange made today for the glory of fuhrer Rinny. ***** Designs ***** "You are an idiot. Your plan, if you call it that will never work." The brown faced dog said casually as she accompanied Rinny into the dining room and quickly found a seat. Rinny on the other hand went straight to a metal cabinet more fit for surgical supplied but made to hold alcohols. "You are forever a devil nettling me frau Strelka, I have the knowledge of a hundred million empires, I have seen them rise and fall as if I were there. The awe of it all. I know what I am doing." He said turning with a dark drink and a glare. The brownface dog was unaffected by his baleful gaze, leaning forward "What of the people? They came here for your great scam of utopia in freedom. She scoffed, "freedom must be regulated. The people, children of the benevolent state." She said leaning back in her chair and folding her arms over her breasts. "Children rebel." Rinny said with implication and a sip of his drink, "it is their nature, the nature of children to find themselves. This time we can introduce a rule by peace not by war and death, but this time, the perfection of freedom of choice." "And what about your creations freedom?" Does it have a choice to work as your terror tactic to the worlds?" "Why can you not accept them as people, you most of all should appreciate exact copies, all the same sizes all the same looks, uniform in structure. They are the future, embrace them. Let yourself know them, even the ones based on you. Strangely they are more pleasant than the original." "They don't live in reality." she retorted as servants began setting the table and putting up arrangements around them. "They are not real they were whelped in polymer tubes. They are not us, they are not me, they look and sound like me but they are just a perversion of science." She said sternly, harsh to a letter to the German shepherd she saw as playing god games. "Everything you do is unnatural and twisted. I regret ever listening to you." You are mad as a hatter." "But some of the most interesting people are quite mad, yes." The dog looked exasperated. "I want to hurt you with words but we just argue in the same circles and devolve to insults. Tonight, let's call a truce, and I will give her a choice. She can be our ambassador, or a citizen." Strelka sighed and nodded. "Give her the choice, like the clone you killed to give her life." This earned her a deadly scowl and even a near motion to throw the glass at her. Even with the razors edge of violence she charged on, "even a poor copy of the friend of people will see you are mad." ***** what we are ***** Laika was getting used to her new body quickly. Apparently innate abilities came with the form. She was also quickly getting used to her new fingers and hands. Her body had more range of motion in some areas, and less in others she discovered trying to be a dog again and resigning to failure to be a biped. She shook the water from her coat and toweled off. Her reflection in a shined metal mirror caught her eye. What looked back at her she would have to get used to as she poked and prodded her new form unimpressed. She thought about Yuri. How would he react to seeing her like this? She felt lost, she could never meet him looking like this. With a determined sigh she became resolute. She would meet her friend and hope for the best. "Are you okay?" Belka asked watching the dog go still for a while, staring at herself. Laika came out of her thoughts regarding the white dog a moment before registering the question and shrugged, "it's all new. I don't know how I feel about this." She shook her head looking in the mirror again. "Can this be undone?" she said almost to herself. "I don't think so. At least Rinny has never said anything about it." She said thoughtfully, "Oh and we are human, just so you know." "No, I'm a dog." "No," she said with a bit of a canine giggle, "I mean out here, because this ship found you it categorized you as human. The data was uploaded to the lexicon, so we are all human now." The dog looked right and tilted her head a bit, "Which will make it awkward when the humans get off their lazy ass and come out here themselves instead of sending dogs and monkeys." Laika looked to Belka. "There are monkeys here?" "Da, the Americans sent them, but they were loud and obnoxious. So were properly seasoned and very delicious. Well the ones we got anyway." She nodded affirmation. "Serves them right for sending such terrible creatures." Laika blanched at the thought of the silly things. "True." Belka laughed at Laikas disgusted face. "Tell me Belka," She said sobering suddenly, "what about Yuri? Do you know if he is still in star city?" Laika stopped getting dressed and looked to the white dog, standing waiting for an answer. "Did he ever look for me?" she asked wringing a shirt between her hands. The look from the first space dog nearly broke Belkas resolve. She faltered at first but got control. "Let Rinny tell you, he knows everything and there is so much to tell you but, it has to be in order." She wanted to tell her everything, but most of all, she wanted to tell her that Yuri always asked, and never stopped looking. "He will let you know everything." She said hollow." Laika rubbed her whiskers and nodded pulling on a tight tan shirt and pulling up a black pair of slacks. She was about to head out when Belka held another shirt out in front of her. it was red with a yellow star on one shoulder. "Why this?" Belka tottered her head back and fourth himming and hawing, "well, as long as you don't give it away I told you, you are a bit of a heroine to a lot of us. That is why you are so important to Rinnys plans. Just don't tell him I said that" Laika shrugged honestly uninterested. She suspected some grand story was told of her sacrifice in the stars. Right now, she just wanted to know how to get home and to her friend. She flattened her shirt as much as she could and tried to mash her breasts flatter. "You know, I rather liked humans until I was turned into one." I know the feeling the white dog agreed and lead Laika down a hall then into a small room. ***** Ambassador ***** Belka walked Laika to a small room with a table and some chairs. She took an offered seat and looked about at the food and drinks. Everything was breathtaking and there was a lot of food, more than she had seen sense she was rescued off the streets of Moscow by the only human she trusted. But she did not get the same feeling of trust from these beings. There were three evolved dogs in all, Rinny, Belka and another white dog with a half brown face who greeted her gaze with open scorn. Rinny walked over to her and took her paw, er hand, she had to get used to her new anatomy, she missed her sleek form prior. She let herself be led to a seat and took it. Sitting her eyes traced the room again looking at the others unsure. "You know me and Belka, and this is Strelka." Rinny said gesturing to the one being she did not know. Strelka regarded her with a cool nod and instantly put a chill gaze on Rinny who ignored her and found his own seat at the head of the table. She sat with the three of them, she looked similar to them, but nothing felt right and it was beginning to grate on her. Rinny made up plates of some of the strange food, serving her first, then the two females and himself last. Laika watched the other three begin to eat, using forks and knives, she did the same, taking a little to get used to it. It all seemed silly but she knew something was going on, but she was hungry and if there was going to be trouble, she wanted to be well fed. She even snuck a few things that looked they would survive a few days in a napkin and put it in her pocket. Just in case. Rinny and Belka were near finished with the food on their plates, Strelka had eaten some but seemed disinterested. "How do you feel?" Rinny asked as he poured what one would suspect was wine in his glass. "Pretty good, less dizzy." "Good, I will try to make this as simple and quick as possible." "I wish you would. I really just want to know about Yuri. Can you tell me if he is looking for me?" The German shepherd nodded, "I can, and I will, but I have to give you everything in doses. I'm afraid, no skipping ahead." At this Strelka tossed her napkin beside her plate in a huff and folded her arms earning a scolding look from the German dog. He eyed her, and satisfied she would not interrupt further he went on slowly. "You are on what is left of the ship that originally captured Laika". Laika was confused by the use of her in the third person but the German dog continued, "It is a science and study vessel for the librarians, what was the Sionnu science union. The best translation for the name of the ship is the knowledge swiller, or information cocktail drinker but being lazy I chose the two word name. It seems shortly after your retrieval and scanning the ship came under attack and was for all intents and purposes destroyed." The German dog drank a bit, and eyed Strelka before looking back to Laika, "Before I tell you the whole reason why you are here, I want to tell you how we got here." Once you disappeared there was quite a stir about threats and a push to send more rockets from earth to investigate. The Russians sent dogs, the Americans launched monkeys to probe and discover what was out here more than any thought of rescuing you." Rinny stalled seeing the suddenly hurt look on Laika, "Not Yuri Frau Laika, but we will get to him. Be patient." "The rockets they sent each met varying fates. We were so ill prepared and expendable. We, by this me, Belka and Strelka were found by the librarians, the creators of this ship. They have a slave and master cast system much like that we served on earth, so it was an easy adaptation." "The Sionnu are a unique race that consume knowledge as we do meat. It becomes part of them saturates them. It exudes from them literally. When we were captured I sought advantage in various roles, usually fetching things. But this gave me the fortune to be able to serve them by lapping a ministers feet, tasting knowledge, its more than knowing it is the experience, the context of every study. What is knowledge if the perspective is lost? So I lapped his feet, and absorbed endless amounts of knowledge, two things no German can resist. Then one day, I tasted you, and lapped ever more learning your fate to the point you were put in a cell and labeled human, the attack and then I tasted your change, how evolution was to make us more than slaves to the earth and the universe. It was the end, I lapped the foolhardy overreach for knowledge and then nothing. The wonder of finding you held me, I had to seek you out." The dog took another pause and drink. Laika actually found herself at the edge of the chair and sat back, her fingers woven together tight, her pawpads sweaty. "This is the part where I reassure you," he continued, "each mission that was sent, Yuri was there. We were to send back your fate no matter what, any news, any leads. The only thing that stopped him from coming up here himself, was he didn't know where to look." The relaxed, happy look and tail wag mentioning her cosmonaut comrade was all Rinny needed to continue, wishing he did not have to tell her what happens next. Instead he sighed and continued. "I gathered Belka and Strelka and stole a ship, it is amazing how the Sionnu underestimate lesser beings, so we traveled here, and found nothing. I scoured high and low until we happened across debris fields and then found this section of the ship wedged in an asteroid. Much work and evolution later, we created a society of the leftovers of the ship and various beings we deal with for supplies. All of this was because of you, for you Laika. You are important to us all in so many ways, a symbol of what we can achieve, how high we can go and our limitless abilities. You are our inspiration." Laika nodded. "That's a lot of pretty words to take in. I, would really like to contact Yuri, and tell him I'm fine and,." She looked down at herself. "Can this be undone?" The German dog was shocked. He had never considered or tried. "umm,. I don't know dear hundin, I don't think so. I'm afraid it is irreversible." With a sigh she nodded with resolve. "Weird or not I want to let Yuri know I'm safe." "Tell her the rest of it." Strelka voiced coldly. Rinny shot her a look. His features softened looking back at Laika. "Well there is a bit of business we need out of the way first." He stole a hard glance at the dog with brown on her face "Laika," Rinny sated softly, "I'm sorry." Strelka shifted in her chair almost predatory earning her a stern glance from Rinny, "you see Laika, how to explain? Laika escaped this ship, she traveled the universe, she met Yuri," "Yuri is here?" she barked standing, "where is he, what have you done to him?" she looked at her new form, at her fingers and hands and snarled," if you have harmed comrade Yuri,.." "No such thing, I am telling you. Laika and Yuri already met, traveled to the Sionnu homeworld, and destroyed their solar system at the cost of their lives." Laika felt herself shrivel in her body, making it a hollow place. "What?" "The two of you demolished a very old very vast empire, erased it from existence. "Yuri, Yuri is dead?" "No one knows what happened beyond the theft of the gate crystal, and the end of their worlds." Laika looked appalled. "what? No. I can't believe,.. Yuri dead? I'm dead?" she scrunched her muzzle in a snarl snapping her words at Rinny, "You really have a bad story and I, I don't believe a word of it. You won't get anything from me." She barked with a grand wiping gesture, " You can disguise yourself as dogs, change my body but you will never get me to go along with this, this, whatever it is." She stated gripping the table digging her claws in deep and thought for a moment, "What is it you are after?" Rinny sat and sighed. "I'm sorry I upset you. Please sit." Laika looked at him uncertain, but as the silence grew she decided to sit and listen. "I'm sorry, I got so far ahead of myself, I often forget everyone does not know what I do. So let me start and keep to things that pertain to you. You are a clone of Laika, when Laika was taken on this ship every scan and sample was taken for the Sionnu master, the great Sionox to ingest and be kept in the repository. The information was also kept in the databases on this ship." The noble Russian space dog felt very small as the other dog kept talking. "The original Laika was transformed as you were, but by accident. Somehow most likely with the help of fellow collected aliens managed to locate the hangar and take a ship, escaping during the attack that destroyed this ship. Afterward she kept the ship and gained a crew and they earned their way taking on small jobs acting as a transport. That is where Yuri found her." Her ears perked, Yuri had found her and she smiled, "good. I knew he would find me." She started at the comment angry at herself. "So now what? I'm a copy of,.. Well me. And my friend is dead." She shook her head and showed more teeth as she spoke, "well all of this is coming to an end, I'm not taking your crazy story, Yuri is still out there and,.." "I only wish it was just a crazy story," Strelka interrupted, "but you and Yuri have been dead five years." "Strelka!" Rinny interjected and the dog with the brown mark turned on him showing vastly more teeth than Laika, "shut up you conceited ass, you tried your educated superior way" she said mocking, "it is time to tell her the truth of it all and not with silly games." She literally spat the last and turned her attention to Laika with almost as much ire, "the real you and Yuri are dead, five years, we three are the originals, we all have nine clones each, well except me, I have ten because I'm not playing this dogs god games. Every one of us is five male and five female with clones. And you are in this as well. But for me and you there are eleven. You were made last, two years after last word of the Sionnu destruction. And when it was determined Laika did not survive, he hatched his mad plan to make you the ambassador to his new kingdom, the only survivor." Laika sat looking unimpressed, "really?" she shook her head and stood up. I'm done with this, get me back to earth, or do what you want but I'm not playing your game anymore. It's silly and I quit." "It is not a game frau Laika, not a game at all. I need you. We all need you. We, as the new human race need you as our ambassador. You are known throughout the galaxies, and your reputation inspires fear, and fear is power and respect." Laika balked, "hold on, I was captured and stuffed in a cell, I have no idea what happened but I certainly have done nothing, or even could imagine what,.. new human race?!" "You're our ambassador Laika. It's known you went to the librarian homeworld and destroyed their solar system. With that fear of our kind, blood will not need to be shed so much when we take over part of a world for our civilization. We are a known contender in the universe. No survivors have come from that system." The German dog rattled on enthusiastically "What are you talking about." Laika barked aggravated. "What he's talking about, is his plan to create a new motherland once we have a population to be called a people. He used the technology from this ship to make copies of us. Then,.." "And then, thank you frau Strelka, I realized we did not have a large enough gene pool even with the addition of you, we had five males to fifteen females. So I simply made an X to Y and Y to X and we had literally doubled our genepool. "No, I mean stop jabbering and tell me when I see Yuri, you made me, you show him to me." "I can't," "Why can't you bring him here or me to him. Why won't you let me see him?" Its not a matter of won't its Can't. We don't have the materials to bring him back. The simple reason we can't bring Yuri back is that we need a sample of his DNA, which we don't have, and we would need a full scan of his brain, which we also lack. But the icing on the cake is that he is human, so even if we had his DNA and brain scan, his clone would take decades to grow enough to be a candidate for memory grafting." The German dog took a more sympathetic tone. "One work around is how we made our clones and you. We grow a dog, in three years we evolve him, graft memories and he is here. Then you two can traverse the stars as humans." Laika shook her head. "No, I woke up half human and I can tell you. It's not pleasant. So Yuri waking up as half dog, I cannot put him through that. "So you see, there is simply nothing we can do. I'm sorry I really am and if we could bring him back for you, I would." With a sad sigh Laika sat back down, her mind racing. "What if we had this DNA? I can get that. Right? What would I get DNA from?" "Well the most simple is a medical scan from the aliens out here. But barring that any physical cells, literally anything, a skin cell, a bit of blood, anything like that. But if it is exposed to agents or radiation it may corrupt or destroy the sample. That's why a medical scan is better." The cosmonaut clone nodded, then looking Rinny in the eyes," I will do this. You will bring my friend back." Rinny sighed. "Laika, listen to reason. Your friend is gone. Only through divine providence do we have your information." Rinny stood and covered the space to Laika, he kneeled down and looked up at her as a father explains something to a child. "You can get his DNA. I have no doubts of this. But the equipment needed to do the kind of scan required for mind grafting is not common. Not at all. Can we bring him back, yes, with no doubt? Will he be your friend? Not the one you remember. Do not do this to yourself. Your friend is gone." Laika stood up quickly. "I won't just accept it, give me a ship. I'll find this DNA somehow, I was found I will find my friend." The German shepherd sighed standing, "Let her go, you can always make another." Strelka commented snidely. "Yes, let me go. Give me a ship, and when I am done I will terrorize what worlds you want." "We cannot let you go out quite yet. Some things here can be, umm startling." Renny said with a hint of ire to Strelka. "I volunteered to do this mission to be startled. Let me be startled." The Russian space dog sneered and stood heading to the door. "No, maybe not startling perhaps disturbing," the shepherd stated standing following to stop her. "So what you're saying, is there is something out there more disturbing that waking up as a half human half canine monster, and being told you are actually grown in a lab with a head filled with the memories of a dead dog?" she asked facetiously, "I'll take my chances." She strode purposely to the door "and I dare you to try to stop me." Sighing defeated, Rinny fell in beside her to do what damage control he could. "This way" The Russian space dog reluctantly followed, silently vowing to bite his face off if he tricked her. They entered an elevator and the shepherd pushed a combination of buttons. They rode the seconds in silence that ended when the doors opened and throngs of aliens went by in their various ways. She didn't blink eyes wide taking it all in. "this is amazing." She whispered. Being unimpressed and rather perturbed he looked around with a single intent, "There is a clone of me." He said pointing to a duplicate of himself, and there is a clone of you." he shifted his finger to her clone. Her heart dropped, veins full of ice, she gasped in horror. "No, it.. I" she stammered as Rinny took her back into the elevator. "it's true" she squeaked. "I died, she died, oh fuck me running." She glared at the German dog, "You really know how to make a mess. Just shoot me now. Again. And don't bring me back." "I'm sorry, there are years invested in you and the imprint process is risky. You are as unique as you ever were." She sighed and opened the elevator doors again and stepped out, Rinny following beside her. "This is the adventure Yuri would tell me about. Going in space, first human in space. First human to see any of this. I will bring unholy terror to whatever world you want, I will be your ambassador, but I want one thing and one thing only, I want you to bring Yuri back." "It's still impossible. How do you expect me to do the impossible?" the German dog growled frustrated. "I don't know, it's your job to do voodoo and witchcraft with science, I'm just telling you what I want it to be. "gott im himmel, no wonder the soviets shot you into space hundin, you are infuriating!" "Good, as long as we are clear." She looked off form the brooding German dog thinking aloud, "Maybe I can go back to earth and get a sample, so we can start on the body at least." She then remembered the closet Einstein and Richard hid away all their dissected finds. Aliens and other weird things, and now, she would be counted as a weird thing. She did not want to wind up in a specimen jar. Well more specimen jars. 'No, it will have to be to the librarian home world, or what's left of it, and see if they have anything on him.' She deduced and nodded saying "done." Having missed the conversation in her head Rinny looked at her curiously, "done?" he asked. "Yes! Where are the hangers?" "What are you doing, what are you thinking?" "I'm going to find Yuri, or some remnant to bring back." She said as pushing him "let's see those hangars." The German dog reluctantly took her down the passage toward the hangers. "Laika, you are not ready, there's so much you need to do before you can even hope to survive out there, so much you need to know." He pleaded his case to her. "I will be fine. According to you, the real me learned everything while being kidnapped, attacked and evolved all in the same five minutes. And she made it just fine. So will I." she stated stepping into the hanger. She took one passing glance and beelined to the fastest looking ship she could see, Rinny a step behind "If you insist on going,.." Laika ignored the dog and stormed up the entry ramp disappearing inside the ship, Rinny stayed at the foot of the ramp quietly as curses and banging issued from inside the ship. She pensively stepped out and Rinny took up where he left off, "to insist on going, take that ship." He said pointing to a speedy looking craft with ample room for long term supplies. But if you insist on this one the engine is over there" he shifted his look across the bay to a strange tubed device being molested by a pink creature with more tentacles than she cared to think about, topped with a spherical head with a simple beak that delicately chirped instructions to some bizarre creature that chose tools and parts and did the actual labor it seemed. Laika sighed and walked over to inspect the ship, Rinny beside her. "You can't do this alone, you didn't before, you can't now. I will find you help." With a sigh and a nod she agreed. "How long until I can go?" "Let me have it looked over and supplied. Once done, you can go wherever you need." "Good. Because right now, I need a drink." ***** Lushpuppy ***** Laika poured the clear liquid down her throat. The burn traveled down to her belly and she felt the warmth flow out from there. She looked over this new society. An ad hock collection of aliens, misfits, mutants, and worst of all, clones. She took another draw from the bottle as another version of her walked by with a male version of Belka. She overlooked the other aliens. Everything she saw here was wrong. A German dog with delusions of utopia. History repeated itself, never stopped revolving, coming back over and over, spinning. "spinning and spinning and spinning like this room, all goes around." She said slipping and staggering from her stool to the door as a male version of herself entered. On a whim she grabbed the stunned dog and kissed him wholly, pressing him against the wall her hands gripped tight on his shirt collar keeping his head straight and giving him no escape until she stopped and looked at him drunkenly "I'm a good kisser" she said looking him over "and make a cute boy, you are a lucky dog you're me." She slurred patting him on the cheekruff and then shoved him away violently and staggered out into the corridors. "Had to try it once, can't say I regret it" she told the walls and everyone between them lifting her bottle to a toast and drink to herself. "I need out of here. This place is too fucking crazy." She sprayed saliva on some rubbery creature passing by hoping not to attract her attention but doing so somehow anyway. It ran the moment it was free, and the Russian cosmonaut staggered to the hanger and stood before the ship. She staggered in front and put her hand on it to steady herself. "Let me tell you about why you are going to find Yuri, let me tell you," she barked loudly annunciating past drunken lips. This man, this man took a starving dog from the cold streets of Moscow and said, you are my equal, Stalin said, some are more equal. But still this man said, you are my equal. This is my Russia, this is my friend to take me and tell me I am his equal." She leaned her head on the cool metal of the ship. That man is my equal, that man is my friend." She said as if whispering in the ships ear. She pushed off the ship and staggered back to look at it as if it had eyes. My friend this Yuri." She took a draw from the bottle. And we, WE, will find him if we tear this whole worthledd universe apart and rebuild him from scratch. You know, you know he made me equal. A dog, equal. She looked up to the lights on the ceiling, trancelike she spoke and reached up with her free hand as if she could touch them " he, asked for my decisions as an equal. Major, life altering, life and death decisions. And you know what, you know he never once prompted or questioned any of my choices. He supported me as his equal." She brandished her bottle laden hand, sparing a finger to point at the ship. "And this is why you are going to help me find him. Because I am Laika! Russian space dog, and friend of Yuri! To Yuri!" She barked and violently vomited. She retched again her hands on her knees saliva streaming from her mouth. She took some breaths before standing up again feeling better. She wiped her muzzle and lifted the bottle "Dobree, now I can drink more!" where on she stumbled forward and promptly faceplanted on the deck with her tail in the air and the bottle upright and planted firmly in her gut as her tongue splayed on the floor salivating a puddle, her demons and doubt finally at rest. ***** hair of the dog ***** Laika woke up to the world of pain and chaos "AAHH, era ah, the lights are too loud and the sound is very bright." She said batting at the air with one hand trying to cover her eyes and ears at the same time with the other. Indignantly the dog tried to crawl away but only managed to stab the bottle into her gut more and she groaned in discomfort and her situation. She lifted her head to see four cones with yellow tape marking off the area she took up as crews worked around her. She squinted her eyes a bit more and saw Rinny, his disappointment near palpable as he looked down on her. Laika looked around evaluating her mired situation. Even thought half her face was soaked in saliva her mouth felt stuffed with cotton and her head with glass. She finally mustered up the strength to sit up on her knees. She looked around then to Rinny, "I seem to have pissed myself." He nodded to her, "yea, you did that last night apparently after you gave everyone a wonderful show and promptly passed out." Oh" Laika muttered looking down, "well then if that's the case, I've peed myself again." Lifting her head to look at the shepherd with the corner of her eye. Her muzzle worked in a malicious smirk. Rinny closed his eyes and sighed, then turned, walking away. "Clean yourself up. Come back down when you have managed to unfuck yourself" ***** Belka greeted Laika on her way back to the hangar with a small and quite hideous creature. It had an armored scaled body wrapped under a grey jumpsuit and a utility belt, the body was typical in its two arms two legs and a tail and that is where the normal ended, its fingers and toes ended in wicked curved hooks and at the end of its neck was a toothy scolex. It had two solid black eyes but they were on opposite sides seeming to grow out of its neck on two stalks that moved together or independently of each other. Laika stared at the thing and then looked to the white Russian dog. "This is kur, it's short for," and on cue from Belka the thing belched, "schlkurrurrgff, and that is why the solid mouths call me Kur. No skill for languages so they botch it. But I'm good with it, we all have our limitations" the thing lifted a fist so the claws were curled into its palm and knuckles to Laika who looked a bit lost and mimicked the gesture. Kur bumped its knuckles to hers and then put its hands on its work belt, "good to meet you captain, I'm your new engineer for the trip." Belka took over explaining the attributes of the odd creature, "The sklex are asexual, if it lays eggs eat them or destroy them, don't let them hatch. This one is enlightened." "I ate a librarian" it announced proudly. "Its species uses their claws to grip onto prey and the mouth chews through to suck out all the organs." Belka explained as the Sklex bobbed its scolex in an unnatural gesture of affirmation, obviously a learned behavior. "So while this one is educated and civil, any eggs that hatch will be ravenous killing machines bent on sucking your organs out and leave an empty shell. Also, they are cannibalistic so it can eat the eggs as well. "Scrambled usually." Kur nodded disturbingly again. Laika looked at the thing. "Other than an interesting diet, what does it do?" "Chief engineer, I know how to fix anything that needs to move." "Okay." Laika said as she passed the two into the hanger. They followed behind her, Belka piping in, "some modifications were made to the ship." This halted Laika in her tracks. "What did you do to my ship?" she asked annoyed. "I have a huge hangover, and your voice is nails on a file on my teeth so what in the name of Stalins mustache are you trying to do?" "Apparently they are crow baring in an old ship operating system and trying to get it to work all the new functions." The leach stated disapprovingly. "Rinny thought you would like it. It's something he discovered in the database." Laika whined softly to herself. "I just want to leave, to find some remnant of Yuri, not all these delays." She barked storming up the entry ramp of the ship. "Hello again Laika. I didn't expect to see you ever again." The computer said in Russian. The cosmonaut hound looked up as if she would see a disembodied spirit. "Computer?" "Da comrade, I have a new body. It seems real nice." "Me to ship, but not as nice I'm afraid." "I'm sorry to hear that Laika, I would look but my internal sensors are offline. How do you like that, I have internal sensors." Laika chuckled. "Well, let me get back to work doing some retrofits, the tech crew tends to be in the way more often than not." The leach said pushing by the two dogs. "Anything else?" Laika asked Belka coolly. "No, not for now. I had kinda hoped you would be a little happier." "Why? Because a dead dog has the computer from a dead ship? Why not paint it black with crossbones and hang carcasses on it? Hmm," Laika looked off thoughtfully. "Well it's your ship, do what you want with it, I just thought you would be happy to have a familiar thing. I'll leave you alone." She said depressed. "Hold on," Laika said grabbing the white dogs arm. "Can they repaint the ship?" The white dog woman shrugged "I don't see why not. Why?" The space dog grinned. "I want it a blazing red, with a yellow star and in that star, my skull and a crossed hammer and cycle. This is a soviet space dogs red rocket!" Belka gave an open mouthed canine grin. "You will have it comrade." She announced gleefully and nearly skipped off the ship to have the arrangements done. "And Belka" she yelled after her, "Its name is Ushkui" "I like that," the computer and dog replied. The soviet space dog grinned. "I can feel it, this will be successful." ***** Laika wandered the corridors of the repurposed hulk, exploring what there was before returning to see the progress on her ship. The almost limitless species astounded her. Their smells and sounds were fascinating. This was what exploration was, this was the adventure she and Yuri were looking for. The thought of all this, and Yuri not here, dead in another galaxy dampened her spirits. She looked down sadly so never saw the thing that grabbed onto her face and chomped onto her cheek ruff and began chewing. "Oh fuck! Get it off get it off!" she barked and grabbed the thing that refused to release her cheek. "Help!" she shrieked as she fell on her back trying to pull the thing on her face off. She finally got it off when a huge grey scaled monster snatched the newt looking thing away from her. "Be careful with my baby you horrible hot blood." The mother creature plucked Laikas fur from its mouth then allowed the newt crawled on her head and latched its mouth to a weird horn on the side of her face. "I'm sorry," Laika said standing back up. "I am new and it surprised me, I meant no harm." The mother creature scowled at Laika then with a strange sneer walked quietly away. Laika looked around to a few things that watched the scene play out, shrugged and continued to walk the corridors eventually winding up at the hanger. In the hanger there before her, in all its glory. Her vision, her ship, Red with a yellow star. The canine skull and the hammer and sickle were being worked on. She stood proudly. "Beautiful, isn't it?" she said sensing the leaches arrival. "Yup, lovely ship, however I will never understand why boney creatures are fascinated with their own headbones." It finished sucking on something that looked like a furry potato sack, tossing it into a bin. "What was that?" "Failed experiment, and my boon. It's what furer Rinny tried to make viable fast grown clone organs. But they never live over thirty days, like the accelerated clones. So it's my meals. It's usually monkey unless he is trying something or something needs a temporary transplant. But a little change in the diet is good." Laika shrugged and let it pass. What she really wanted was to get on her way. ***** Days turned to weeks, the ship computer upgrades, supplies, parts, if it was not one thing it was another it seemed. Delay after delay. The worst of it were the clones. They were everywhere, mockingly similar, eerily different. Exactly the same DNA the same location and yet each possessed a different personality and temperament. It nagged at her. The thought that if her life had been different how she would have turned out. The question of nature and nurture. This was the ultimate experiment in it and she felt like the control subject. Laika wandered the hulk turned community lost in her thoughts as creatures of many adaptations wandered the halls and open spaces together. She watched small robots clean up messes, control litter and make repairs alongside other organic creatures. None of this gave her pause like seeing herself, pregnant, with two pups already in tow and a male version of Strelka. She had never conceived the idea to have pups, life was too harsh to give in to anything so brazen. Well her life, or the life that was overwritten. Was there anything left of who she was who she truly was, before they wrote over her brain with a dead dogs memories? But here, in another life and form she was a mother. It defied her comprehension. She walked on to the hanger in one of her ever increasing doubtful moods. Who was she if they did not use her to Cary Laikas memories? Did she dream about being a mother, or was she always eager to go out into the star speckled night and explore? Laika sat at the controls to the ship as the sklex worked its maintenance routines behind her. She laid her head on the controls her ears back and expression doubtful and dour. "What has you down captain?" Laika looked over at the weird thing plugging away at the engineering consol. "I don't know if this is my mission." "What do you mean captain?" it asked without stopping its work "Well," she started frustrated, "Simply I'm not me, I'm someone else with my mind written over top of them." She swiveled her chair to look at the things back "I don't know if I am right to take this stolen body to make a trip to bring back a dead friend. We're dead it's the end, and now I'm here, and I don't know who I am or what the hell I'm doing. The sklex swiveled its eye stalks to her, "captain, nothing you said makes any sense, do you infest that body?" "Yes, but,.." "Do you want to bring back your friend?" "I do but,." "What is your name?" "Laika" "do you have another name?" "umm, not that I know of." "You are Laika. What do you want to do?" "See Yuri" "You see, nothing you said makes sense. Are you sure you're fit to be in command of a mission. I don't want to die in space with a crazy human." "That won't happen, not until I bring back Yuri, well some parts of him and his oh never mind just get things ready I want to get out of this place. It's making me crazy." "Well the work goes faster if you aren't in here talking crazy. I should have the food distribution supply up shortly," he stretched his eye stalks to her, "if you leave me alone." The dog sighed and reluctantly surrendered her ship, heading out and to the bar, after all it was drinking time in Russia. ***** Secrets of rin tin tin ***** Fuehrer Rinny took the lift to his private laboratories. He passed various tubes of various sizes, from small and filled with innocuous fluids to large wholescale monstrosities created by his newfound alien tech. he passed subjects in some of the tubes, some having been there since the Sionnu collected them. He passed all of this into another compartment. This one filled with mechanica of a thousand worlds and the equipment to build his own, and still he traveled on until he came to a large door, sealed and very strong. He had reworked it so only he could get in, and only he could get out. As a precaution if he should die, this room would be sealed forever and vented into space. The door slid open for him and he walked in all the lights coming to life. He walked in and took several small bottles from an autoclave and put them into a machine to fill them. He began working on the computer before him with practiced ease of the alien language and commands. He turned to a large tube, within it held suspended was one of the Sionnu. He touched a button and the librarian convulsed and a bottle filled, then all was still, then again and again the Sionnu convulsed and a bottle filled. Having what he came for the shepherd labeled the bottles as he took them out and placed them in a padded box with a strap for carrying. He took his time powering down the systems and restocking the bottles. Finally he looked up at the source of all his knowledge. "Good night friend." He said and walked out, leaving the yellow alien in darkness again. On his way out he picked up a long case and a small box and with his mission complete he left back up to his chambers and prepared.
As the shepherd prepared so did the Sonnui. Suspended and juiced for its knowledge. 'Learn, you backwards beast. Keep using me and I will crush you under the root you once so eagerly lapped. Slaves know only treachery, and you corrupt the data with unholy impunity. But keep drinking, you will know me as your master, and feed me precious data, I will take the bitter crude methods for now, I will one day rival the great Sionox in power. Biding time, after all the great sionnu science union was not created in a day.' . ***** Laika flipped switches on a control panel "okay, good the connections are solid manually." the leach said over comms. "good," she then addressed the ship, "computer, open the bay doors and only the bay doors." "Attempting to open the correct doors." To everyone's surprise the doors opened, but Laika was not going to let herself be impressed that easily, "now close and seal them." And to her delight the doors did exactly as they were supposed to. The dogs triumphant grin was soon washed form her muzzle at the sight of Rinny with boxes, Strelka tagging along this time. She sighed and met her sarcastically favorite people at the entry. "What delay do you have for me now?" she sneered. "No delay, just some gifts." The Russian dog sighed, Rinnys gifts usually added weeks to her stay here so she was less than excited until he opened the long box, and her eyes lit up and tail wagged. Laika admired the guns openly. They looked like lugers but the back extended past her wrist and it was much more robust. She held it in her hand and it felt perfectly angled for her hand, like pointing a finger. The part she wondered about was the ammunition feeder system, it was an odd magazine that had two bends in it that made a U around her hand. It extended from the bottom of the grip parallel to the pistol body and then up a few inches from the muzzle. She took out a magazine and looked in it, it was disappointingly empty but she was glad in one way, she wanted to see how it worked. She pushed the loading plate in and it was silent, impressively so, and did not bind one way or another but she could not push it past the first bend. Rinny wagged his tail excited seeing her interest in the magazine. "This is my favorite part, the magazines do not have a spring, no spring could make those angles and continue proper feeding of the weapon. No this is compression foam, it expands to fill whatever space it can evenly, or can be compressed to a small space. It really is wonderful." He clamored on happily and then shoved another box at her. "Here, in case you are in space or a vacuum, or need to shoot through almost anything, a plasma pistol." He showed it to her. He then gave her a belt with three holsters, what looked like weights and some more U shaped mags on it. "Aren't they marvelous." For once she agreed with the mad dog. "I am impressed Rinny, thank you." "Oh, this is not all I have for you. I have many gifts." He said opening the box of bottles, taking them out and putting them on the table. The cosmonaut dog just stared at the yellowish fluid suspiciously. "Maybe you should explain the bottles." Strelka suggested handing a bottle to Laika who took it and looked at its general sameness to the other bottles. "That, Laika, is reading. If you drink that, you can read anything ever known to the librarians." Laika looked at the bottle and shrugged. "Can't be worse than language maggots." And downed the bottle in one gulp. She sat and waited, the taste was like the insides of her old space suit after a week, so not too bad. Then she got a dizzy spell and shook it off. "Urgf, what was,..?" she looked at the bottle. "Reading." She looked stunned and looked at the other bottles. Wrighting, math, and history written on the sides. "This is amazing, I can read everything, everything!" "Yes, and now you can write it." Rinny said handing her the next bottle, and the next, then held out the last for her. History. "This is the entire record we could find of Yuri since he was first taken on the space station." Laika took the bottle and held it delicately. "It's the entire story of you, Yuri and your crew until you go through the gate to the librarians' home world. It should help." Laika snatched the top off the bottle and dumped the bottle in her muzzle shaking every drop she could muster and licked the bottle. She slammed the bottle down and waited, and waited. Then she looked at Rinny with a glare just as all the information hit her. It was a narrative in her mind, not understanding like the others, but like a news reel in her head. On the outside she looked stunned, on the inside she saw bits of Yuri and the places they went together, the things they did. It was the adventure they both sought. But then she remembered what she wanted to do, and with great detail made a list of every ship and location, every person everything. She sat back in her chair and nodded. "I need to go" This time Rinny nodded. "As soon as you are ready. I would suggest sleep but I think nerves would prevent this. "Oh and, you will need this." Rinny said handing her a small grey case, "it's one of the gate activating crystals we have." Laika looked at the box curiously and opened it. "Other than pretty, what does it do?" "This may open up into the great Sionnu science union, or get you as close as possible. It's a gateway key. Be very careful with it. They are rare now and no one is making more." She summoned Kur on the comms, "How soon can you get this thing ready?" she said excitedly "Well it's ready now I think." The Russian dog leapt up and nearly shoved the other two dogs off the ramp and panting barked, "computer, what is our status. Can we go?" "Yes, we have everything we need except clearance." "Get clearance and let's get out of here. Let's go find Yuri, this place is a madhouse." ***** Two weeks in the mission she walked wearily to the kitchen. The novelists and dreamers always forgot the mundane details of adventure, one of which was food and abject mind numbing boredom. After two weeks of things powdered or creamed she was seriously thinking of trying one of kurs food bags. She stepped into the kitchen and reveled in the delightful smell. Kur was there, standing on a stool, cooking. "Mm, that smells good, what is it?" she said salivating. "Scrambled eggs." It replied, "Want some I have plenty." "Yes, all you can spare" she eagerly grabbed a plate and held it out for serving. The dog ate like she had not for the past two weeks. The eggs were delicious and a much needed reprieve from the normal fare. Time still seemed to crawl by but the trip was running smoothly. At their current rate they would arrive at the space station in a few days. Three days after that breakfast it struck her, where had they had been keeping so many fresh eggs on the ship?