NOTE FROM AUTHOR: Hello Hello! I am a first-time writer embarking on my first dumpster fire; input is most welcome. I'm not the best self-editor, so get your hiking boots on. It's rough out there. Whenever I read it, I find or create more errors (:
OPTIONAL READS: For the Retro Computer or Programming Enthusiast OR if you are open to other formats of story telling. I tried to combine my love for programming as an UNDERSTANDABLE way to tell a story through a Visual Experience in the Command Line Interface;
A Stand-Alone VISUAL ASCII 'Programming Terminal' Story Prologue. Follow through(Screen Shots of my Command Line Interface) the UNE-EYE Observational Satellite Terminal as Kable extracts Classified Data about his Beloved Military Unit, THE HUMMINGBIRDS, a flying exoskeleton unit. This includes the origin story of a Technology Tree in Book 1.

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INDEX

1. DEADCOAST - THE HUMMINGBIRDS PROLOGUE -> HERE <-
   
2. DEADCOAST - COMPLETE ILLUSTRATED INTRO -> HERE <-
   
3. HEAT & GRIZZLY REDS - CHAPTER 1 ILLUSTRATED -> HERE <-
   

"Deadcoast Book 1: Heat and the Grizzly Reds" transports readers to a 2063 Earth, a world on the brink, where the scarcity of fresh water has led to previously unseen geopolitical tensions. Amidst this backdrop, the nation-backed militant group DAGGR has emerged as a formidable force, leveraging advanced technology to assert control over Canada’s abundant water resources. At the heart of their arsenal is 'slugTech,' a technology pioneered by James Broadshaw, intended for ecological restoration but repurposed for militaristic dominance.
The story unfolds with the chilling invasion of Vancouver, marking a turning point as DAGGR makes its ambitions clear, culminating in the assassination of the Canadian Prime Minister. This act of aggression leaves the country reeling, exposing vulnerabilities and igniting a global reaction.
The UNE-EYE satellite is central to the international response, a significant narrative element representing the world's most advanced orbital tracking system. Once decommissioned in favour of privacy, the Dutch reactivated the satellite as a strategic move to monitor DAGGR's movements and coordinate a unified international effort against the aggressors. This revival of UNE-EYE symbolizes a crucial turning point, highlighting the global stakes and the interconnectedness of nations in the face of a common enemy.
As Canada grapples with its plight, the DAMU (Deserted American Military Units) rise in solidarity, breaching borders to fight alongside their Canadian counterparts. This act of defiance is mirrored by international forces, including the Netherlands and Ukraine, each bringing their unique strengths to the coalition, underscored by the strategic oversight provided by the UNE-EYE satellite.
Amidst the geopolitical chaos, a man who had all but given up, a boxer on the ropes, emerges from Vancouver's Gastown. Known as HEAT, this leader of the Grizzly Reds becomes a symbol of resistance and hope. HEAT's story, and that of the Grizzly Reds, is one of resilience, rallying not only Canadians but also global citizens to stand against DAGGR's tyranny.
" Deadcoast Book 1: Heat and the Grizzly Reds" is a compelling narrative of survival, alliance, and resistance. It deftly weaves together elements of advanced technology, international politics, and the indomitable human spirit. The inclusion of the UNE-EYE satellite serves as a testament to the complexities of modern warfare and the critical role of global surveillance and coordination in maintaining security and freedom. But something else stirs amongst it. The UNE still shrouds its use, albeit assuring it is for record-keeping purposes- there is no way to be sure. Join HEAT and the Grizzly Reds as they navigate the challenges of Time, War, Science and liberating their fellow man in Vancouver. THE GRIZZLIES NEED YOU, in this action-packed, emotional saga, speaks to the resilience and camaraderie inherent in the human condition.
CHAPTER 1 - The Blood Spattered Maples
ILLUSTRATED VERSION -> HERE <-
The early morning sun cast a serene glow over Vancouver, its golden rays gently coaxing the city from its slumber. The harbour lay still, bathed in a tranquil blend of crimson and amber, defiantly calm as if aware of the day's latent potential for tumult. The awakening streets, pulsating with the vibrant beat of daily enterprise, transformed into bustling arteries of life.
Amidst this urban renaissance, Ryan stood by his apartment window, one eye still tinged a fading shade of deep lavender from last night's ordeals. He absorbed the duality of the world outside – a peaceful façade masking an undercurrent of chaos, much like his own existence. The apartment, a silent guardian of his life's chapters, was awash with tangible memories; some stood proudly like trophies, and others lingered like indelible scars.
"Eugh, need to sort out this money mess," Ryan muttered, his voice a gravelly mix of resolve and weariness. He gingerly touched the bruise beneath his eye, a stark reminder of the previous night's fight. He wasn't just a boxer but a living, breathing paradox. His undefeated record of 12-0 was more than a tally of victories; it was a map of a life spent dancing in and out of shadows. At 17, he was a beacon of hope for Canadian Olympic Futures. Now, at 33, he was a spotlight in his subconscious, illuminating the relentless passage of time and a road riddled with 'what ifs.' Eleven of those wins were echoes from a past steeped in the sweat and blood of the ring before life's currents swept him into the city's gritty underbelly. There, he became an enforcer, not out of choice but a necessity, bound by ties, not of blood but of unbreakable bonds forged in adversity. Stepping back into the ring at 33, Ryan wasn't chasing glory; he was hunting redemption, a chance to rewrite a narrative that had veered off course.
Today's boxing was far from what he once knew; it had transformed into a digital spectacle, a charade he refused to partake in. The sport now paraded fighters adorned with loud chains and face tattoos, pretending to live a life of crime they don't. Vile symbols of fame he doesn't wish for. Ryan had always skirted the fringes of the spotlight, respecting the sport but despising what it had become - a glorified masquerade that he believed led the youth astray. He stared out at the awakening city, contemplating his place in this ever-changing world, just as the first notes of a familiar yet unwelcome voice crackled from the vintage radio on his shelf.
"Ah, jimmy2piece," he scoffed, the name leaving a bitter taste. The vintage radio crackled on, announcing the dazzling exploits of the heavyweight boxing champion, an embodiment of everything Ryan detested about the sport's current state. Ryan's hand lingered over the old radio, a relic amidst the bountiful thrift and trinket that abundantly filled his apartment. The announcer's voice, overly flamboyant in its praise of 'jimmy2piece,' clashed with the morning's tranquillity, grating against Ryan's every nerve. With a flick brimming with contempt, he silenced the intrusive chatter. The ensuing silence was a stark reminder of his path's divergence from the once-noble art of boxing to a life mired in moral ambiguity.
"Enough of this nonsense," he muttered, the disdain in his voice mirroring the snarl on his lips as he spun the dial back to silence.
*Click*
Ryan was a man of contemplation; opening his balcony door, he let the morning breeze mingle with the memories that haunted him daily. These reflections were a tormenting ritual, no matter the joys and love surrounding him. His only respite was constant movement – hobbies, work, art – anything to fend off the sharp claws of the past that threatened to shred the remnants of his self-respect. He had lost ten years to choices and actions that replayed in his mind relentlessly every single day.
"This 'jimmy2shoes' or whatever...pal throws pillows, a poser pretending he's about that gang life; I can see it in his eyes, he's not a killer," he grumbled, gazing out at the awakening city. This day promised a respite from his underground fights – at least for a while. His recent backstreet brawls, a far cry from the glory of the boxing ring, were what paid the bills now. "At least I've bought myself three more months..."
Leaning on the railing of his miniature balcony, Ryan cradled a cup of steaming coffee, his gaze drifting over the streets below. At this moment, the chaos of his life seemed distant, replaced by a transient calm. Despite his bruised, rough presentation, a certain peace enveloped him, a rare stillness that belied the storm of his existence. His thoughts meandered through the serene hum of the city and the gentle brush of the ocean breeze. The skyscape, with clouds dancing to the ocean's rhythm, offered a brief escape from his turbulent past.
Memories of Robin, his mentor and friend, floated into his consciousness. Robin's untimely death in Dubai was a wound that never healed. The sacrifices he had made to keep Robin safe, only to be absent on the fateful trip that claimed his friend's life, weighed heavily on him. "Why did it have to be you, Robin?" he whispered to the horizon, the question, a haunting torment upon his daily routines.
Ryan was a thinker; as he slid over his ashtray from the stool, he sparked up A morning 'dart' (cigarette), as he called them. His past began to creep into his head, as it did every morning. With each inhalation of addiction-soothing nicotine, his blazing thoughts followed as his brain began to become fully active from his sleep. It was a raven on his shoulder tormenting him, pecking at him ever haunting his consciousness. No matter the love he may have found or the happiness, friends, or family surrounding him. The time to reflect was always grim and consistently unbearable. If he stood still, the Ravel's claws sunk more profoundly; the only reprieve was constant distractions. It's why he kept so busy, creative, and active. Ryan constantly kept moving with hobbies, work, or art. Pushing off the switchblade thoughts ready to cut into his subconscious and bleed out whatever self-respect he had left that day. He threw away ten years of his life, and he relives them every. Single. Day.
"Damn man, what's the point of it all?" Ryan's voice was barely a whisper, lost in the morning breeze. His gaze lingered on the horizon, eyes clouded with confusion and pain. "Robin's gone, and here I am, a ship adrift; up shits creek without a paddle. What good can I do? What purpose do I serve? My skillset? My knowledge? Ive wasted my life, nothing is applicable." The questions hung in the air, unanswered. Ryan's life had indeed been a storm of violence and turmoil, from the gritty days working alongside Robin, watching his back to his hard-fought victories in the boxing ring. He had dreamt of leaving the world of fights behind, yet fate seemed to have woven a different path for him, one that he couldn't escape...
The distant sound of boat horns broke his train of thought. These weren't the usual rhythmic calls that echoed along Vancouver's shores; they carried a sense of urgency, growing louder and more frantic by the second. Ryan leaned forward, squinting into the morning light. The sight that greeted him was anything but ordinary. Dark, ominous and foreboding shapes were cutting through the waters toward the Seawall – military-grade ships that seemed like phantoms against the sun's bright backdrop.
"What the...?" Ryan murmured, a wry smile touching his lips as he recalled a line from a 1930s radio show. "Ah yes, the 'Anti-Frackers' upping their game, bravo!" He often found solace in humour, a shield against the world's harsh realities. Ryan was an unbreakable anvil to the world, always struck to sharpen others' steel. But what about his iron resolve? He bore the burdens so others didn't have to, a silent guardian shouldering the world's weight in stoic silence. Yet beneath that armour of stoicism beat the heart of a man grappling with his vulnerabilities, a man with a core as soft as it was intense.
Just like that- The world as we knew it, changed forever.
The morning's peace shattered abruptly as sirens wailed into life, slicing through the air with a sense of impending doom. The tranquil dawn was now a backdrop to a nightmare unfolding in real time. Ryan's eyes, mirroring the turbulent hues of a stormy sea, narrowed in primal alertness. These were not friendly vessels coming to grace the city's harbour; they were harbingers of chaos, their arrival a silent scream in the gardens of Vancouver's tranquility. As the city around him carried on, blissfully unaware of the looming threat, Ryan's mind shifted into high gear, honed by years of confrontation, conflict and reading other peoples intentions. He understood the unspoken language of death, the subtle shift in the air that preluded catastrophe. The serene calm that had greeted the day now seemed like the deceptive stillness before a devastating storm.
PFFFFT~~
Ryan's coffee ejected out his mouth, a clean mist dispersed, dancing in the ocean winds.
His eyes widened in shock. "That... No, that's not right. That honeycomb structure on the bow – that's rumoured military tech, not something you'd find on a civilian vessel. That's definitely not one of our decommissioned ships; Canada has always had a modest military budget- It's not the U.S. either; they've moved on to those massive city carriers," he muttered, recalling the recent unveiling of the U.S.'s latest naval behemoth designed to be a self-sustaining war ecosystem.
"These are destroyers...carriers...and what in the world are those landing crafts?" His voice trailed off as a wave of realization washed over him. A heavy breath escaped his lips, his heartbeat thundering in unison with a growing sense of dread. This kind of military might, sleek and menacing, was straight out of the pages of a dystopian novel. Ryan's pulse quickened, adrenaline coursing through his veins, mingling with an unsettling fear. Vancouver, with its serene beauty and peaceful reputation, was the last place one would expect a military invasion. Yet, as he stood there, the city around him persevered in blissful ignorance. Laughter and the sounds of daily life echoed up to his balcony, starkly juxtaposed against the darkening horizon of his thoughts.
Something sinister was unfolding, and he felt an urgent need to act. "Ah, damn it!" he exclaimed, frustration boiling over as he hurled his mug to the ground, where it shattered into razer sharp ceramic shards—a glimpse of futures past.
The walls of Ryan's apartment, once a gallery of memories from a life half-lived, now felt like they were closing in on him. The space that had been his refuge, adorned with mementos of a tumultuous past, suddenly felt like a prison. He felt trapped, not by physical barriers, but by the weight of the unfolding crisis. Who could he call? Who would believe him about an impending military assault? Was there even time?
Each option seemed as hopeless as the next, leaving him feeling powerless. His fists, which had once brought him victory in the ring, now seemed futile in the face of this immense and unknown threat.
BOOM
A thunderous crash tore through the city's fabric, piercing the veil of laughter and routine. Giggles changed to Shrieks, the buzzing of cars in the city turned screeching of panicked tires. It was a boom resonating with such force that it seemed to shake the very resolve of the most robust steel, a sound that demands attention and captivates a person, a sound of death; it rattles you to the bone. This explosion marked a pivotal moment that would forever alter the course of Vancouver's history and, indeed, the world's.
The resounding echo of the first explosion heralded a declaration of war on all that was ordinary. In Ryan, the shockwave ignited a transformation. Despair morphed into an unyielding determination, a fire kindled deep within. His skin prickled, each hair standing on end as if his nerves were braille, spelling out the moment's urgency.
"Are they firing at us?" Ryan's voice was a mix of disbelief and rising panic. The thought seemed almost too surreal to entertain. He hesitated momentarily, grappling with the reality of the situation. The explosion's roar, so fierce it shook the foundations of his apartment, jolted him back to the present. Racing back to his balcony, what he saw confirmed his darkest fears.
The ships in the harbour were no longer silent, ominous spectators; they had unleashed their fury, sending plumes of smoke and debris skyward. Vancouver's skyline, once a proud testament to peace and progress, now served as a harrowing backdrop to an unfolding apocalypse. Below, the streets descended into chaos. People scattered in a frantic attempt to escape, their screams piercing the air, a chorus of dawning terror.
Ryan's heart pounded against his chest, each beat a call to action. He was no hero, never the 'good guy' in his story, but he did value life above all. Standing there, witnessing his city being torn apart, he knew he couldn't remain a passive observer. Indecision and shock gave way to resolve.
"MOTHA FU-" he cursed, his words lost in the burst of an explosion, spotted at the last second.
The world around him had erupted into a maelstrom of fire and fury.
An air burst shell detonated with ferocious intensity a mere 50 meters from Ryan's sanctuary. The explosion ripped through the building, an unforgiving hatred that jolted reality itself. The blast wave, a monstrous force of destruction, assaulted his apartment, shattering the windows with an ease that mocked Vancouver's fragility. Glass shards, transformed into lethal projectiles, hurtled through the air with a hunter's precision, each piece seeking its target. Instinctively, Ryan lunged for cover, his only protection a vintage oak promotional board, a relic of a bygone era. This wooden guardian, decorated with the iconic image of Stan Lee, stood as a stoic defender, a symbol of comic heroism now repurposed to shield flesh and blood from the brutal onslaught.
A low hum erupts from the depths of his being as the fireball swirled around him. "Breathe... I can't... don't fall asleep... don't...sleep..." he whispered, fighting the encroaching darkness. His cobalt eyes, glazing over open, fighting to the last light, flickered between consciousness and oblivion. The distant, muffled voices of mentors past echoed in his mind, a fading chorus in the theatre of his memories. Ryan looked to his left, cast one last lingering look at the Vancouver sky, a canvas of blue that seemed so distant now. As his vision began to narrow, a tunnel drawing him away from the light, Ryan felt the grip of darkness pulling him under heavy, yet weightless. Once so vivid and alive, the world around him was fading into shadows.
Amid shrapnel-induced unconsciousness, Ryan's mind catapulted him back to a pivotal moment from his youth – the Ontario Canadian Olympic Trials.
The stadium's noise swirled around him, but it was an entirely different world within the ring. There, it was just Ryan and his opponent, every move a testament to the sacrifices he and Robin(Ryan's longtime mentor both inside, and outside the ring) had made together.
Ryan's style in the ring was unique, a blend of calculated ferocity in speed and agility. He adopted the elusive, angular movements that Robin had honed while serving alongside the hardened Ukrainians on the frontlines of Kyiv. This style was compelling and unpredictable, frustrating his opponents with swift and efficient strikes. Ryan's ability to slip away from counters, almost serpentine in its execution, left them grasping at straws.
Point fighting for the Olympics was a system that worked well with Ryan's style but not necessarily with his mindset. Ryan was a fighter at heart, and sometimes, when pushed, the disciplined techniques would give way to a rawer form of combat. Robin, who always believed in Ryan's potential, saw this as his greatest fault and biggest asset to "push past." In his gruff but encouraging voice, Robin would often spew "The stink in that mind, You've got a head on you that'd make an onion cry," highlighting Ryan's occasionally impulsive nature, and inability to control his emotions when it mattered. This characteristic made Ryan fearless in the ring but also sloppy, open, and vulnerable. It often led him into trouble outside of the solace in prizefighting.
In these trials, Ryan's physical attributes – his slender frame, broad shoulders, wide back and a peculiarly long wingspan that gave him an imposing presence in his weight class – it made him stand out. His frame synchronized with his style, creating a truly unique spectacle of genetic gifts, hard work, and skill.
These memories blended nostalgia and pain as they flickered through Ryan's mind. They were reminders of a path once trodden, a journey shaped by the influence of a mentor and the determination of a fighter's spirit.
As the Olympic Trials set to begin, Robin looked to Ryan to instill confidence for his upcoming bouts, but Ryan was in his element. It was fight day, the fun day, the day to show off all of the hard work. Ryan had confidence, and his style in the ring displayed it in full. He moved with an angular rhythm that was both art and battle – slipping, landing a quick stiff counter cross, then gracefully stepping out of reach inches from returning fire. He made it look fun and easy, as if playing with his prey before fangs clench throat, delivering the killing bite. Looking closer, you can only see fire and determination in his bright eyes. He found purpose in the beautiful science of boxing. His strategy was that of a technical boxer, The Counterpuncher; 1. To bait his opponent into committing, then counter, fight long, fight smart. 2. Beat em' up, Frustrate em', then start slinging the heat in the uppercuts and lead hooks.
The bell rang and the fight was officially underway. Ryan controlled the ring with his long frame. Each exchange was rapid yet controlled, a dance of precise strikes and evasive maneuvers. The world's complexities faded in these moments, leaving only Ryan and the pure essence of the sport he loved. He felt invincible, a force of nature within the confines of the ring. To Ryan, the fight was more than a competition; it was a performance, an exhilarating escape from the mundane. It was true Purpose.
The intensity of the round reached a frustrating outburst by his opponent, who grabbed Ryan by the back of his head– 'SPLIT' called by the referee, his hand placed between them. A judge calls for a correction, catching the referee's attention only for a split second. In this second, Ryan's Opponent saw an opportunity. Lifting his head to move away, Ryan locks eyes with his Opponent, sporting a grin and delivering a sly headbutt as a parting gift. It's against the rules, but part of the game's harsh reality if gone unnoticed. Expelling energy and detesting it was a waste of fuel. It was a jolting reminder of "at all times"(protect yourself), a stark contrast to the discipline and respect Ryan upheld, starting his boxing journey in Thailand under "Muay Thai" rules, ideology of the worrior spirit and discipline. There was a sense of Honor in Lumpinee Stadium.
The outcome of these unsavoury tactics here is an advantage for the opponent. Ryan's inner pools erupt, his mind swirled with raging white waters, crashing and colliding against each other, two oceans with opposite currents meeting in his consciousness. His once technical thoughts, muscle memory mixed with fight iq burst with flames, erupting and incinerating all strategy in his path. His eyes widened, open like he'd found his primal genetic ancestry hidden deep within. The slaughter and the war of history. The bloodshed of 1000 lifetimes. He felt it all. Manic in thought. Ryan wanted to take his glove off and rip his cheeks open from the inside out--
BREAK - Ryan snaps back into it, erupting in stoic, silent, primal rage.

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The fight escalated, Ryan's disciplined technique unravelled under the seething tide of his rage. The finesse and agility that once defined his footwork gave way to a heavier, more aggressive stance. His feet, usually light and swift under his commanding frame, now felt anchored to the floor, each step driven more by fury than finesse. This transformation in style played perilously into his opponent's advantage. Ryan, usually a master of stick-and-move tactics, found himself engaging in close-quarter brawls, trading his advantage for a risky gamble. His in-and-out maneuvers, once a blur of grace, turned into brutish, in-the-pocket exchanges. This was a terrain where his more muscular and compact opponent had the upper hand. A raw, primal contest of power replaced the tactical dance that Ryan excelled at. Ryan's precise strikes became wild swings, his movements predictable to his seasoned adversary. Seizing the moment, the opponent unleashed a devastating barrage of inside hooks with their compact frame. A vicious right hook, lands clean in the exchange, thrown with the grace of a milkbag, the power hooks brute force, cut through Ryan's defences. The blow landed with a bone-jarring impact, sending a shockwave through Ryan's frame. His world spun as he stumbled, his once dominant presence in the ring now faltering under the weight of his unchecked emotions.
The ground rushed up to meet him as he crashed onto the canvas, the taste of iron and the sting of defeat mingling in his mouth. The crowd's roar faded into a distant echo, a stark reminder of how quickly the tides of battle could turn. Robin's voice sliced through the ringing from the corner, resonating with a force that commanded attention.
"Get your shit together, JUMPIN JESUS RYAN! HEART OF GOLD AND HEAD OF STONE – GET UP, YOU LITTLE COWARD! YOU'RE LETTING IT WIN, AGAIN! STOP THIS ONION HEAD NONSENSE AND DANCE, BOX THIS FELLA – YOU'RE BETTER THAN THIS, ACT LIKE IT, BELIEVE IN IT!"
His words were more than just a call to action; they were a lifeline thrown into the stormy seas of Ryan's mind. Each syllable was drenched in the raw, unfiltered wisdom that only a life spent in the cauldron of combat could forge. Robin's tone was a volatile cocktail of fury and concern, the urgency palpable in his voice. His palms crashed against the ring mat; each hit thunderous punctuation to his fiery sermon.
"You've got the talent, kid, but it's as good as ash if you keep burning it to the ground. I'M HERE FOR YOU, IM RIGHT HERE. SNAP OUT OF IT AND BOX THIS PLASTIC PATTY! MOVE GOD DAMNIT, GET UP!"
On the canvas, Ryan lay dazed, the echo of Robin's voice ringing in his ears. It was more than a mere pep talk; it was a wake-up call that struck a chord deep within him. Amidst the haze of the crowd murmurs and the pulsating pain that coursed through his body, clarity began to emerge. Lying there, Ryan grasped the essence of Robin's message –
"coward? letting it win? Playing my ego are ya Robin...hes right though. Im throwing this shit away."
This moment, sprawled on the canvas under the glaring lights and the crowd's gaze, became a crucible of transformation. The raw emotion and the hard-hitting truth in Robin's words ignited a spark in Ryan. It was time to rise, shake off the shadows of rage, and embrace a fighter's true spirit like he had learned in Thailand – not just with fists but with heart and mind in unison.
Staggered yet stirred by the dual impact of the physical hit and Robin's piercing words, A padded fist crushed into the rings canvas, followed by a kneee and the eruption of the crowd. Ryan was back, and he began to pull himself up from the canvas. His resolve, momentarily dimmed, now reignited with a fierce, clear, calculated intensity. Memories of the gruelling hours spent in the gym flooded back to him – the relentless sparring sessions, the time spent in Thailand, the sweat and toil, and the invaluable lessons etched into his being under Robin's stern tutelage.
With a renewed spirit, Ryan stepped back into the battle, his movements now embodying controlled power and a fluidity to his step. He recalled his time fighting beside the backdrop of the "Sarama" a traditional Thai music played when in combat. The times of learning to move, fight with the music, to flow, to be fluid, to be concise. Ryan finally put it all together in the heat of battle. He had merged his inherent ferocity with the disciplined technique that Robin relentlessly drilled into him, and the mindfull practises of the years he spent under Burklerk Pinsinchai in the jungles of Chiang Mai. His style was now fully displayed, raw and visceral yet refined by countless hours of practice in mind, body and spirit.
The final rounds bell clang to a start in a clinic of skill and sheer willpower. Ryan, driven by a blend of desperation and unwavering determination, unleashed a barrage of calculated and explosive strikes. Each punch and maneuver was a nod to the efficient, no-nonsense Ukrainian style that Robin had imparted to him. Ryan moved rhythmically across the mat, steps measured and precise, executing short, angular movements and deft outside counterpunches. He had returned to his element – the dance of combat, where he felt most alive, a symphony of movement where every step and punch was a testament to his life's journey and experiences as a human being first, and as a fighter second.
In this wake-up call, Ryan reinvigorated and reminded himself of his love for the sport, the exhilarating blend of art and athleticism. He was not just fighting to win; he was celebrating boxing, combat, honouring the path he had walked with Robin, and reclaiming what it meant to be a true fighter through Burklurk Pinsinchai's Teachings.
The round pressed on, and Ryan executed his maneuvers with a surgeon's precision. First;
-- The counterpuncher; a display in timing and accuracy, delivered with the full force of training and innate skill. --

1. He deftly slipped his opponent's cross, a move as fluid as it was swift.
   
2. He angled off, creating a space wide enough for his next move.
   
3. With an almost predatory precision, Ryan unleashed a powerful right cross, targeting his opponent's cheek from the angle he had just created. But Ryan wasn't done yet.
   
4. He slipped out again, evading any potential counter from his disoriented opponent. The rhythm, he danced in and out with his precise timing, perfected down to inches and angles.
   
5. In a final, decisive movement of the exchange, Ryan slipped in. He timed his step with a long cross that came off-beat, catching his opponent utterly off-guard. The punch landed with a satisfying impact, culminating in a perfectly executed combination. As he watched his opponent stagger, Ryan couldn't help but think, 'cya sleepy boi,' a silent acknowledgment of his dominance in this singular exchange.
   

This sequence was a statement. Ryan was not only back in the fight but also commanding it.
ONE!…TWO!…THREE!…FOUR!…FIVE!…SIX!...SEVEN!..EIGHT!
Ryan's opponent stands, admirable, but futile, driven by sheer will but hampered by sluggish movements, the man rose to his feet, it was clear the fight was reaching its zenith.
The opponent, gathering his remaining strength for a final stand, launched a jab, a last-ditch effort relying more on brute force than finesse. But this was a fatal mistake in Ryan's world – playing right into what Ryan was best at. Counters.
Ryan read the move with the clarity of a seasoned fighter. As the jab came, he effortlessly slipped to the right, evading the punch with a short angular step that spoke of his ring intelligence. Instantly, he countered with the same sharp cross from his right hand, followed by a devastating hook that cut through the air with lethal intent in his left. Grasping at straws, reeling from the counter, Ryans opponent threw a desperate, looping last stand punch, Ryan dipped down and left, rolling the punch with an elegance that made it seem almost effortless. He was Hunting for the Kill Shot. Seizing the moment, Ryan unleashed a ferocious left uppercut, the force of the blow lifting his opponent's chin skyward. He followed up with a right overhand, but just before impact, he halted the punch. There was no need for it; his opponent was already collapsing, the "Lights were on, but no one was Home". The fight was effectively over, Ryan's last combination is the final note, a crescendo that echoed through the ring.
As his opponent hit the canvas, the crowd erupted. Ryan stood in the center of the ring, his chest heaving, every fibre of his being alight with the thrill of victory. This wasn't just a win; it was a performance, a display of skill, heart, and the indomitable spirit of a fighter who had walked through fire and flames to the otherside and emerge victorious.
The final bell Rings with not a single chair in the arena warm; a thunderous clap erupts from the crowd. It was more than just applause; it was an acknowledgment of a battle fiercely fought by both men. In that moment ringside, in a triumphant victory, Ryan and Robin shared a look that spoke volumes, a connection far beyond the usual bounds of mentor and protégé. Their bond, tempered in the crucible of hardship and struggle, was now sealed in the glory of this defining triumph.
Standing amidst the cheers and the adrenaline-fueled euphoria, Ryan found himself momentarily lost in the tide of memories. It was a poignant reminder of the journey that had brought him here, a path marked by triumphs and losses. Robin's teachings transcended the confines of boxing; they were life lessons imprinted deep onto him. Ryan began to slowly step out of the ring; the weight of these reflections settled upon him. The victory was sweet, but it carried the weight of all sacrificed to achieve it. Robin's presence was felt strongly, a guiding force that continued to shape his path, illuminating the way forward even in the most challenging times.

As always, thank you to for the wonderful universe that is NoP! Thank you to for proof reading and helping me make this chapter as good as it can be, you're the man! Honestly LoM wouldn't have gone very far without him! If you haven't you should absolutely go read Foundations of Humanity! It's very good AND it just updated!
A big thanks to for helping with proofreading! He writes Out of Our Elements which is a very good one! If you like a good fic in the wilderness and a pair of cute 'friends' ;) you'll love OOE!
Also thank you to ! For this wonderful fanart of Taisa. And this one! She's so cute I'm gonna die
And thank you to ! For this adorable fanart of Chris and Renkel! Dear god help he's adorable I love him so much
Thank you , or AsciiSquid on Discord, for makin' Vengineer Taisa Gamin'. She's absolutely adorable, I love her lil' workers apron. She looks so excited to get to work!
Thank you ! For this astounding Pixel Art of Taisa after a few range day dates with Chris! Her little hat and gunbelt are absolutely astounding!
Thank you ! For this Artwork of Taisa and Chris as characters from One Piece! I've never seen or read it before but it's incredibly cute!
Thank you to for their wonderful work of several LoM fanfics!
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Memory Transcription Subject: Taisa, Venlil Starship Engineer, Crystal Star Shipping Co-Owner
Date [Standardized Human Time]: October 15th, 2136
Stars above… is this even enough?
The distant fleet that hung in the void around Earth and her moon behind Mercy's vast hull plates seemed like they’d count as many as the stars themselves if you took the time. Venlil ships, old and new, hung next to Humanity’s lithe strikers and vast behemoths, the herd hoping against hope to stop what was coming. I still didn’t think they could even put up enough of a fight to delay what was coming by a pawful of minutes, let alone turn it away altogether.
Mercy’s silhouette shrunk as we backed away from her rearmost port-side hangar, the doors grinding shut while the now distant figures of refugees quickly disappeared into her meandering maze of corridors. A blinking amber light popped on and off with an alert chime, the Mercy’s hail-code sprouting to life on the screen between Chris and I before he quickly accepted the hail with a sturdy voice.
“Mercy, Polani, go ahead.”
“Polani, Mercy CnC, we’ve been ordered out. Exit corridors are closing in t-minus six hours. Advise you do whatever needs done and take the chance to get gone.”
Chris paused, his lips tightening as he glanced out the window to the blue and green marble hanging to our starboard. “Affirmative, Mercy, thanks for the heads up.”
The line was quiet for a few long, hanging moments before the now familiar voice of the Mercy’s controller came through again accompanied by another ping from Polani’s PA, all measure of ‘business’ falling away as he spoke. “Moose and I pulled some strings, you’re clear to land out in the mountains to see what you can do and they shouldn’t give you any hassle in London ‘neither… Not that I think anyones really in the mood to care about landing procedures at this point.”
“Thank you, Charlie, it means the world. If we all make it through this I owe you and the Captain a round or three. Good luck, stay safe and keep her engines hot.”
“You too, big-man, you too.” The hail ended with Starliner’s trademark ‘farewell’ chime, the last of the Mercy’s helper ships slipping free from her holds before blinking away to scatter across the stars.
Silence hung in the helm as I stared at Chris, studying his face as I could see the tempest in his mind. He was still frozen stock-still when I rose from my seat, stepping to his side to lay a gentle paw on his shoulder as Mercy’s gigantic hulk nosed around VP-ward before blinking away in pursuit of her retinue. He pulled in a sharp breath of surprise at my touch, like I’d startled him from his thoughts before he shook his head.
“What are we going to do, Heartwood?” I whispered, my paw gently kneading his shoulder as my tail wrapped around his wrist.
“Not sure…” He mumbled, his face falling with a flash of grief as he slumped back into his seat.
“We could always try again.” I sighed , resting my head on his shoulder as I peered past him out the window at Earth below. “Shine a little light, maybe?”
“Best we can do, I guess.” He nodded, setting his jaw before he blinked the start of tears from his eyes. “You sure you want to risk it?”
“Wouldn’t have it any other way, Heartwood.” I whispered, trying my best to wrap my arms around his shoulders - well, shoulder for a hug.
“Alright then.”
Chris let out a solid grunt as he hauled Polani’s nose around, burning us back down to Earth with fresh determination, the dampeners groaning with routine protest as I scampered back to my seat. The hungry flames of re-entry lapped at the edge of the viewscreen as Polani shuddered and shook beneath the buffeting anger of the atmosphere below. The vast expanses of Earth’s oceans broke through as the fire faded, replaced by sparkling waves that were dotted with seemingly miniscule ships. Before long the ocean fell away beneath us, rolling into the rising rocks and basins of green that pulled up into the mountains Chris’ family called home.
“Darlin’ I need to be honest with you.” Chris sighed, easing back on Polani’s throttles as he finished his last braking-manuever to bring her around on course.
“I do prefer that.” I replied, sending coolant through Polani’s now protesting thrusters.
“If they stay… I-I don’t know that I can leave.”
“We’ll shear that when we come to it, Heartwood. Let's focus on getting them to safety first. No sense in being down on it.” I whistled, doing my best to keep my voice high and hopeful as I watched a seemingly silent city scroll by below us.
So… Empty.
Chris nodded, raising the back of a clumsy hand to wipe away the glimmer of tears pooling in his eyes as the top of a mountain passed below our starboard side. “O-Okay, Darlin’.”
The comforting thrum of Polani’s systems were the only sound in the helm again as I watched Chris pull us around into another bank toward the distant mountain his family's home was on.
Just listen, Darlene, please.
[Advance Transcription by Time Unit: 1.5 Hours]
Stubborn, Stubborn, Stubborn, STUBBORN.
I had to step out. I couldn’t - wouldn’t - listen to the same four reasons over and over again. Bolting outside while Chris continued to pound his head against a quartet of immovable walls had felt like the best, if not only, thing I could really manage at that point. Darlene, Michael, Ryan and Annabelle were great people but no less stubborn than Chris was when he’d made a decision, not that that was surprising.
The distant crash and rattle of the screen door slamming shut lingered beneath the thundering stomp of Chris’ boots on the house’s wooden porch as he called back a frustrated shout into the air behind him; the storm of curses drifting on the wind just outside the translator's range were all too familiar to my ears as he trudged toward me. The rolling call of one of the cows in the field matched Chris’ voice, earning a derisive, aggravated wave of his hand as he finally strayed within the translator's range.
“-uckin’ hard headed, short-sighted, suicidal dumbass. ‘Make up for what you missed’ my fuckin’ ass. Just fuckin’ helpin’ to keep Ma’ an’ Pa’ in harms way.” Chris’ angry voice settled into a malcontented grumble as he plopped down onto the old bench at my side.
“Nothing changed, I take it?” I whispered, studying his face with one eye as I watched the curious cows inspect Polani’s gleaming hull.
“Not in the slightest, Darlin’. Not in the slightest.” He sighed, shaking his head as my tail found his wrist.
Silence fell over the two of us, the mountain’s quiet air filled only with the distant whisper of rustling leaves and chattering birds as we stared into the distance. After a few minutes I found my voice, gently breaking the silence with the question that strained my heart-strings, as much as it hurt to think of the answer. “So… what are we going to do?”
“Get you home, first things first.” He grunted, the leading edge of a choked sob stifled behind his hand as he ran it through his beard. “Th- KHEM -Then after that I… I guess I'll wait it out with Ma’, Pa’ an’ Ryan.”
“I-I can’t fly Polani myself!” I replied, letting out a pathetic, pup-like mewl as my ears fell at the thought of coasting into the Heartwood hanger alone.
“I can program her to get you to VP’s orb-…” Chris’ voice fell away as an all too familiar feeling sunk into my wool. That horrid, bone-gnawing cold that I’d known for far too long, one I thought I’d finally managed to stave off…
Loneliness. Here it comes again.
A chill ran down my spine, shuddering my wool as the vibrant colors of the world around me drained away, replaced by the horrid void of loss, Chris’ voice growing further and further away. My chest tightened just the same as my tail, my claws digging into the soft, aging wood of the bench beneath me. Every bit of me was coiling, tighter than they ever had before, around whatever I could find to try and anchor myself, to pull myself free from the sucking mire dragged me down into the painful thoughts lurking in my mind.
None of it worked.
Please no, not again, I c-can’t be alone again, not like this. Not aft-
So quiet…
Renekl’s room was eerie, the soft burbling of his ‘fishy-tank’ accompanied by the unskilled plucking of a guitar far too large for him. A poor mockery, and a hopeful tribute to the music he could make it sing. I could hear Renkel’s heavy tears plip onto cold brass, the scratching of his unskilled claws on wire suddenly stopped by the ting of a string snapping. A choked sob fills the air as I step into the room, my little brother dropping the far-too-large instrument to the floor before rushing to pull me into a tight, tear soaked hug.
My wool twists into knots in his grasp as he bawls into my chest, the pain a faint echo behind the tearing in my chest.
Solace lost…
The waking nightmare fades, the suffocating comfort of Renkel’s hug and the muffled sounds of his sobs slipping away to the cold nip of twilight’s whispering breeze and the babbling gurgles of the River in the forum as I stand beside our bench. There’s no crowd, no music and no reverie in the air; only a pawful of coats congregate at the forum’s edge, chattering quietly amongst themselves as they watch me like I’m little more than an oddity. Nothing marks where I’d fallen in love with him, no plaque, no note, no mark, there was nothing. Like we were never here in the first place.
Like he was never here…
But I can still feel it: the void of what I’m missing sinking like a talon into my heart. My mind reels, every passing second hoping to hear even just a few notes, a passing whisper of his voice on the wind, a glimpse of him hiding in the corner of my eye or to catch a whiff of his taste in the air. But he’s gone… and it’s my fault I’m alone.
And he wouldn’t be coming back no matter what you, or anyone else, did.
The hollow warmth of the Warren's hearth drives the biting cold from my wool, the hardwood planks beneath my feet and the yawning void of the hall behind me calls out a mote of false hope that he’s asleep in bed, just waiting for me to join him. The soft, distant tinking of ice and gin swirling in a glass catches my ear as Mama sits staring tiredly into the crackling fire alone. Her gaze drifts, barely focusing on the deep indent in the couch where Chris always settled in, a wave of sadness presses her ears back as she pulls another long draught from her drink, her free paw gripping at the joint of her leg as she notices me.
She says something I can’t grasp, a statement of solace, of apology, of comfort. Something to try and help, but she knows, as well as I do, that it’s not enough; nothing will ever be enough again. Before long she’s pouring another glass and knocking it back with the same familiar fervor she’d had so long ago trying to drown an entirely different pain. She rises, the solid tap-kerthunk-tap-kerthunk following her up the stairs as she tries once more for sleep.
Fortunes faded, possibility passed…
My mouth filled with the now putrid taste of an abandoned workshop; oil, parts and dreams left to time in our hangar as the creaking sighs of the old warehouse mangled my ears. Where once there had been heavy machinery and beautiful chests of tools were now cleared and dusty concrete, Darno’s help long since passed on to the next job. Words of comfort I couldn’t truly hear hanging in the air just past my ears were now long forgotten as a claw traces a line through the dust covering a paper strewn desk. The familiar burn of his whiskey doing little to drown the pain rotting in my soul as I stare at the swooping, messy handwriting on every order and bill he’d signed. The kind of pain I’d seen consume Mama when everything seemed lost.
The kind of pain that’d lead me to the end.
Projects left to rot…
The taste of sawdust and mildew filled my mouth as the hangar’s office slipped from my grasp, the door to Papa’s woodshop hanging open just beyond, lit from within by a pitiable light. The fields were overgrown again, fruits and crops left to fester on the baugh without the extra hands, or the will to carry on, to help. The weight of failure dragging Papa and the farm down as he trudged through every paw, just as much a ghost lost in the world as I was.
Never knew how much he liked him…
The door creaked like a protesting dulbet as I gently pushed it open, shattering the silence that filled the now dank and dusty shop. The sound harvested Papa’s attention, his ears swung my way, gray with worry and strife long before their time, doing their best to push past his own sorrow to try and comfort me as best he could.
His paw rests on the last thing of Chris that I have, a broad pine box filled with parts. His birthday present for me had arrived the day after we’d gotten the U.N.’s ‘call’. And then it sat. Waiting for us to build it. Papa would try to prod me onward into working on it, into doing something positive with his memory but it wouldn’t take.
Not before they’d have come for us, anyhow.
A dream without a purpose…
Polani’s Helm and halls were empty, cold and desolate as I worked at maintaining systems that no longer had a daring, handsome pilot to lovingly push them, and me, past their limits. Retiring to a lifeless, sad quarters and trying desperately to keep every scrap of his taste and presence with me for as long as I could manage. Hats and coats that I wouldn’t dare touch or move hanging from the rack he and Papa had made draw my eyes, their gleaming buttons tarnishing with time draw my heart down at the thought of Earth spinning on as a polished ball of glass, blowing with the ashes of my dreams and the man who’d helped bring them in reach. The man I’d have left behind.
Alone again…
I’d be the one leaving this time, abandoning everything of the last few months to the fires of anti-matter and the blooms of fate, but the result would still be the same. I’d be alone again and the one person in the last [Solar Decade] to actually make me feel wanted would be gone, cast to the side to save myself. All the growth, all the life, all the love I’d grown to feel in the last few… months would turn to ash the same as him.
Alone. Again.
I-I can’t do it… I-I can’t be alone again!
No. No you can’t.
What about Mama? Papa? Renkel? They don’t deserve tha-
What about YOU? Do you deserve to lose everything AGAIN? To live a life alone after the Federation takes back VP? To live as an outcast or, stars forbid, locked in a facility drugged to the stars and back for even considering giving Humanity a chance, let alone trying to start a life with one?
… no…
Then do it. Make a choice for yourself… like the last one that led you to him.
The hollow, cold quarters fell away, replaced by the warm rays of sol and the vibrant colors and sounds of the mountains around us slipping in to replace the horrid monochrome that had dominated my mind. Chris was still talking, his hands that were clenched into tight fists shook with barely restrained terror as he stared off into the pasture, watching the cows graze ‘neath Polani’s shade. “-ce you’re in orbit you hail Darno and let him know… If he don’t pick up you can tr-”
“I love you.” The words tumbled from my mouth, just like Annabelle had taught me, stopping his voice in its tracks.
“I-I lo-...” Chris’ voice faltered, stammering as I saw countless, confused thoughts bloom in his along with a small, almost pained smile on his face…
Before he shook his head. “D-Darno should be able to ge-”
He was trying to get me to leave anyway. I couldn’t blame him… I’d have tried to do the same. “And I’m not going anywhere.”
“T-Taisa plea-”
“No.” I stated bluntly, cutting him off as I pushed myself to my feet and bounded in front of him, and again when he turned away. “I’m not going back to - to the nothing’ I had before you! And I won’t leave you here either. I’m staying. Even if it gets me turned to ash.”
“What about your parents? Renkel?”
“I’ve done everything I can in my life to live for everyone else! Tail chasing everyone else and what they wanted around never got me anything. I made a choice, for me, to join the exchange and it’s gotten me more than I ever could have dreamed. I’m done choosing things to make others happy. Now, I’m making a choice, for me, to choose what I want. This is what I want, Christopher Dewey: You.”
“... nothing I can do to change your mind?” He all but whispered, his eyes squeezed tight as his jaw quivered weakly.
“Not a damn thing.” I whispered back, wrapping my paws around as much of his middle as I could to pull him into as tight a hug as I could before saying it again. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Darlin’.” He replied, a choked sob bouncing in his chest as he spoke, kneeling to pull me into his arms, holding me like he could never let me go. “I’ve loved you from the first time I watched your eyes light up talkin’ ‘bout Pa’ an’ I’s truck, and I’ll love you till our candles go ‘cross the basin.”
The drifting songs of terran birds around us and the rustling sighs of the trees accompanied for a few long, hanging minutes, like Earth and Sol themselves joined our embrace as we both fought off tears as best we could. It was odd, standing there knowing what was coming for this world, knowing that within a paw it might all be gone to ash, seeing so much life around us. Chris’s voice split the air as he let out a stiff cough, fighting down the quiver in his voice before he finally spoke.
“So, Darlin’, where’d you pick that one up?”
“Your sister helped.” I answered, a tide of warmth flooding across my ears and snout as a bloom spread under my wool. “I uhm… I had hoped to say it during the festival but… well.”
“I was wondering why she said it was good to see you again!” He gasped a small, rueful laugh slipping through as his face broke into that smile I’d come to love so much.
“Was a little worried about that; thought she’d spoiled the harvest on that one.” I whistled, a small wag in my tail as I climbed back up onto the bench. I savored his warmth as I leaned gently into his side, letting out an appreciative mewl while I watched a puffy white cloud drift across the open, pale-blue sky. “You didn’t figure that one out, eh?”
“I figure I earn at least a little credit there, Darlin’, we’ve been kinda busy.” He replied, his fingers deftly playing through my tail tuft as he spoke. Then, like a fog had been lifted I heard his voice clear as the basin’s waters as he spoke in, mostly acceptable if not thoroughly accented, Venlil. “I love you too.”
>Not Fair!< “Hey!!!” I bleated, jabbing his side with a blunted claw as he wrapped a heavy arm across my shoulder to press me in tight to his side. “When did you pick that up?!”
“Your Ma’.” He smiled, his eyes beaming bright with pride as he stared down at me, one hand rubbing sheepishly at his bustling hair. “She said my ‘whistling sounds like an old coat’ I... don’t think it was meant to be a compliment.”
“No I don’t think it was, Heartwood.” I whistled back, barely stifling my own laughter at the image of Mama’s tail thrashing about with frustration every time he hung onto a whistle for too long like Parnel and Farnel… or like Papa’s Papa always did… “When were you planning to say it?”
“Well I had intended it to be another surprise alongside the truck kit for your birthday but I guess both of those are spoiled now!” He sighed with mock exasperation, hanging his head as his barely restrained laughter sprouted through.
“That would have been nice.” I lamented with a sigh of my own, pressing closer into his side as a flock of birds danced across the sky.
“Yea… Your Mama thought so. Was kinda surprised she took me up on it, if’n I’m honest.”
Mama.
“Oh stars…” I whispered, leaning back on the bench as my ears fell. “How do I even tell them?”
Chris’ smile faded, the joy of the moment falling away as he thought about my question.
Stars above I hate to see it go.
“The truth, I suppose… Just gotta tell them what you told me.”
The pad in my tail pouch felt like a block of lead as I slipped it free; waking the thin pane of tech suddenly became the most arduous task I’d ever undertaken. Right up until I was staring at the message-client, a bright, happy picture of Mama and Papa judging me from atop the screen.
My claws hovered over the digital keys, my mind spinning in freefall at what I would even say. How do you tell your parents that? Tell them that you’re, once again, choosing to sit in the way of the kind of danger that just destroys everything.
That their little girl might not ever come home.
Chris’ hand gently squeezed my shoulder, rooting my mind as he gave me a tight-lipped nod.
Mama, Papa, Renkel,
Chris’ parents aren’t budging, and we won’t leave them behind, I can’t do that to Chris.
Don’t be mad at him, this is my choice. He was set on sending me and Polani home, on auto-pilot if he had to. I made the choice. This is my harvest to haul, not his.
I can’t lose everything again. I can’t feel that alone again, not anymore. The last few ‘months’ have been the best of my life and if this is how it ends then at least I’ll be happy and with the person I love when the time comes.
I hope I get to see you all again.
I’m so sorry, and I love you all, so much.
Taisa
---
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As always, thank you to u/SpacePaladin15 for the wonderful universe that is NoP! Thank you to u/cruisingNW for proof reading and helping me make this chapter as good as it can be, you're the man! Honestly LoM wouldn't have gone very far without him! If you haven't you should absolutely go read Foundations of Humanity! It's very good AND it just updated!
A big thanks to u/Saint-Andros for helping with proofreading! He writes Out of Our Elements which is a very good one! If you like a good fic in the wilderness and a pair of cute 'friends' ;) you'll love OOE!
Also thank you to u/brotanics! For this wonderful fanart of Taisa. And this one! She's so cute I'm gonna die
And thank you to u/Jimdandy117! For this adorable fanart of Chris and Renkel! Dear god help he's adorable I love him so much
Thank you u/SlimyRage, or AsciiSquid on Discord, for makin' Vengineer Taisa Gamin'. She's absolutely adorable, I love her lil' workers apron. She looks so excited to get to work!
Thank you u/Braquen! For this astounding Pixel Art of Taisa after a few range day dates with Chris! Her little hat and gunbelt are absolutely astounding!
Thank you u/VeryUnluckyDice! For this Artwork of Taisa and Chris as characters from One Piece! I've never seen or read it before but it's incredibly cute!
Thank you to u/creditmission for their wonderful work of several LoM fanfics!
Special thanks this chapter to u/ SavingsSyllabub7788, AKA for lending a hand, and a character, in the form of Kurlek and his 'Against the Herd' show! If you don't know what fan-fic they've written I'd be surprised but they're responsible for Death of a Monster, I highly recommend it! (And they also have their own non-NoP story called 'Looking for Friends, Will Travel' and it's astounding!)
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Memory Transcription Subject: Taikel, Venlil Farmer, Venlil-Human Exchange Host
Date [Standardized Human Time]: October 14th, 2136
Off they go again, Stars only know if this ends well. Polani guide them, please…
The fading crackle of Polani’s engines split the black void of night as my daughter bolted off for yet another Paw of doing what she thought was right. Taisa had said they’d had them stop doing only individual runs after they’d transported the last of Lentan’s refugees here, now they were attached to ‘The damned Mercy again’, according to Chris. Spending the last paw, and it looked like this one as well, taking holds full of refugees up to another ship before going right back down to get more. Most of them ended up in the capital before being shuffled about to whatever shelters, or willing citizens, that could be found with any room.
The Festival was in full swing and, despite the slowness these last few paws, I was doing well! The pawful of Human families that ventured out from the shelter had shrunk under the watching eyesof so many Venlil, doing their best to look as non-threatening as they could manage. Many of them had decorated their visors as well: twining flowers, painted skies and twisting, pastel landscapes adorned the masks instead of Chris’ plain, shattered visor.
They were smaller than I’d expected after spending so long with Chris as my only reference, from what I’d seen of him helping the new-comers last paw, the man towered over most of them. Their gaze didn’t bother me anymore, after all that’s happened in the last herd or two, but they still tried their best to not look at any of us directly. Chris and Taisa had said it was, apparently, the directions they’d been given by the U.N. to ‘avoid any possible negative incidents’ before boarding Polani.
All I knew was that they were all, in spite of everything that was happening on the Arm, just as nice as Chris had always endeavored to be. They certainly liked my scrambles! And Ervena’s Hikic and Tentrel’s ‘Pierogies’ were stampede-setters this Night from humans alone! At this point more than a pawful had come back for seconds and, I was starting to think, to see a friendly herd of coats. It seemed, considering the company, that Tevyin had made an effort to put the more Human friendly merchants in the same row which I suspected was Lentan’s idea; or request, at least.
It was nice, and somehow unsurprising, to see how they treated their children and just how familiar their pups behaved. Renkel, Ervonen, a few of their new herd-mates from school and a pawful of Human children were happily playing not far from the lapping waters of the basin, a chorus of laughter and up-beat whistles dancing on the last whispers of night’s gentle breeze. Renkel and Ervonen, it seemed, had made even more friends now as the pair enthusiastically told them everything they knew about VP’s flora and fauna. The Human children weren’t quite as cautious as their parents, staring at Renkel and Ervonen with rapt attention as the pair enthusiastically fielded questions whenever they sprouted up around them.
“Excuse me, Sir?” A measured, quiet voice asked, drifting to my ears as I watched the pups play. “W-What are you selling?”
I brought my eye-line around to peer at its source, raising an ear in question as I found a wiry, short Human woman looking pointedly to my side. >Hello! Friend!< “Taikel is fine! This is just my best approximation of a Human ‘Breakfast Scramble’! Made, mostly, with Venlilian vegetables and a few po-tay-toes that Chris and Taisa brought us!”
“Th-Thank you. I’m Sasha, by the way.” Her posture shifted, a bloom of confidence raising her spirits and filling her voice as she spoke. “That sounds good! Can you do three? My parents would probably love those.”
“Three? No problem, Sasha!” I whistled back, my tail swaying with exaggerated happiness as I dumped three, and a half, helpings of vegetables into the skillet with a burst of steam and the delicious sound of sizzling firefruit oil. If there was something I could do to help the refugees brave enough to leave the shelters feel more welcome then I’d do it without a thought!
“That smells astounding.” She commented, her voice carrying the familiar sound of an interested Human I’d grown to appreciate over the last few herds.
“Tastes even better.” I answered, swirling and tossing the rapidly browning chunks, shoots and leaves around the skillet before topping off three bowls and setting them on a broad stained-amarek tray. “I’ll be needing this back but it’d be a shame for you to spill your meal!”
“Thank you!” She replied, her voice beaming with positivity as she turned to root around in her bag. “How much are they?”
“Free of charge!” >No Need, Enjoy!< I whistled, holding my paw up to decline her payment. “Just happy to help.”
“Really?” She hesitated, her visor twitching to look down at the food. “You don’t want anything for them?”
“Nope, enjoy!” I whistled, doing my best to approximate a smile as she scooped the tray up from my counter. “Just make sure you come back to let me know what you think!”
“I’ll be sure to, thank you Taikel!” She called as she slowly walked away, carefully balancing the tray.
Just a little bit of light.
---
Memory Transcription Subject: Lentan, Venlil Head Exterminator, Heartwood River Exterminator Office
Date [Standardized Human Time]: October 15th, 2136
It worked…
The chill air of night breathed through my wool as I stood at the front gate of the Night-ward Shelter. One of the ‘peace-keepers’ the U.N., assigned to help keep the facility safe, that stood close by my side kept quiet as I surveyed the buildings. I had thought Elena was exaggerating with the expediency the Humans could erect such structures but yet here I stood seeing it with my own eyes.
The buildings, excluding the materials at least, matched much of the new construction Heartwood had seen over the last few [Solar Years] which certainly helped quell some fears in town. The effort flattened some ears, won’t deny that, but that braying by Farzen and Marlek left a foul taste in my mouth. I thanked my parent’s stars that they were one last solid infraction away from my chance to dump them on another department for ‘regional training’ or whatever other reason I could make take root.
A pawful of Human families milled about the shelter’s common courtyard, bouncing with hushed voices of concerned adults drifting beneath the up-beat laughs and giggling squeals of playing children who either didn’t understand why they were here or wanted to ignore it as much as any one of us. Beautifully, there wasn’t a single empty room in the shelter. I’d double, triple and quadruple checked, it was at capacity and fully stocked but for a few Human-specific medicinal supplies Elena had informed me Crystal Star Shipping would be delivering at the end of this paw, once they were done with their other assigned tasks.
Thank the stars for her efforts. Now it's in Polani - and the fleet’s - paws to keep them safe. May her star shine ever brighter.
The gate swung open with a whispering, motorized whir, the peace-keeper in the gatehouse giving my escort an inscrutable nod from behind his visor as we passed. The conversation among the adults ceased as their visored eyes fell, pointedly, all around me. The excited calls of the children doubled down when they noticed me, the herd of excitedly curious, visored pups being held at bay by nothing more than the calls of their parents and the presence of my escort as they watched me plod a trail to one of the still-gleaming tables the Humans had gathered around.
I glanced around the herd- no, ‘pack’ was the correct word for Humans, I believe -gently bowing my head before I spoke. >Friend. Talk?< “Good Morning, I am Lentan, the local head exterminator. I trus-”
“Exterminator?” A low, almost hissed, voice burbled up from across the rubber coated metal, belonging to a broad Human male tossing his hands about in odd gestures as he spoke. “What do you want? Here to tell us to keep our ‘predatory claws’ away from your town?”
Is that Human hand language? Fascinating, perhaps Elena can teach me more.
I let out a small, placating laugh that tumbled from my snout as I shook my ears in the negative and held up my paws, doing my best to mimic Chris’ ‘no harm’ gesture I’d seen him use a pawful of times. “No, quite the opposite, actually.”
A surprised, almost oppressive silence settled across the table as a tide of visors stopped trying to look around me. “I’m here to check in on the shelter's progress and ensure you’ve been provided everything you need to settle in comfortably. Anything else you need you can either request through the U.N. or through me. Although it might be a more Venlilian version, I will try my utmost to ensure it is here as quickly as can be managed, given the circumstances.”
“Hell you care for?” The same Human asked, leaning forward to study me, his gruff voice sounding more like the river during the glacier-melt than a man. “Last I checked it was you’s guys that was comin’ to bomb us in the first place.”
“Sir please, I have no ill inten-”
“Oh?” Another voice from the pack spoke up to cut me off, higher pitched than the man and far closer to Elena in register than Chris, though the words beyond the translator were certainly different I could still feel the suspicion lacing them. “And how do we know you won’t just send your jackboots in to deal with us when you get the first excuse?”
“I assure you, as the person who offered Heartwood as a possible refugee center in the first place, that I’ve no such inclinations, ma’am.” I replied, my voice shearing past the mumbled agreements from the surrounding pack. “And so far I’m quite happy with that choice. I hope you all, should you choose to stay in the long term, can settle into Heartwood just as well as Christopher has managed.”
A wave of confused murmurs passed across the gathered pack, lurking beneath the calls of excitement from the playing children.
“If you would like me to leave I will happily abide.” I started, pulling their full attention back to me with a polite flick of my ears. “But, as I said, I simply wanted to ensure your facilities had everything you felt you needed. Heartwood is, keeping the U.N.’s- hmm -advice on interactions in mind, open for you all to visit. We have several wonderful restaurants, shops, the open forum and plenty of friendly coats that I am sure would be happy to help you, and your children, feel more at home in this… difficult time.”
The man and woman from earlier stayed quiet, their visors watching the children busying themselves with a black and white ball. Silence fell across the Humans in front of me as they stared at me from the sides of their visors, the blooming question of what they looked like sprouted in my mind before I cut it low. I doubted that was something they’d be comfortable doing with me at this point, all things considered. Stars, they’d probably worry I’d ’send in the jackboots’ as an overreaction. No, I’d ‘take the win’, as Elena put it, for now.
Nothing but the raucous sound of playing children, the building whispers of a nightward wind and the gravel shifting beneath the soles of uncertain feet filled the air as I waited for a response.
It did not come.
Very well then.
“Uh- hmm… with that I will leave you all to think it over. Please, do not be strangers, the town, and myself, are here to help.” I sighed, taking a step back as my escort turned to follow close behind, his posture as indecipherable as the face behind his visor.
As we walked toward the gate I heard one of the Human kids call out, something about keeping a head up. I thought it an odd piece of advice, given heads are usually up anyhow for most species, though I didn’t realize it was directed at me until it hit me.
Literally.
With a solid thump and a hollow, rubbery pang the ball the children had been playing with had bounced off the side of my head, ruffling my wool and putting a persistent ring in my ear as it fell to the ground a few short tails ahead of me. My head was reeling as I shook the fog free from my mind only to find my escort bent over me trying to get my attention.
“Lenta- -ou oka-?”
I shook my head again, ruffling my wool out as the ringing faded and I pulled myself to my feet. The spots in my eyes faded with each rapid blink, a gentle paw rubbing at the stinging spot beneath my wool confirmed that my ear was most certainly still there despite the numbness. “Yes, yes, Peacekeeper Manzia I’m fine.”
“Good.” He stated, standing up and turning toward the, presumably, wide-eyed kids that had crowded around us.
Stars, how long was I on the ground?
“Who did it?”
A flurry of hands rose, pointing all around the pack at different children as a chorus of ‘He did!’ ‘No she did!’ ‘ Uh-uh he did!’s sang out. I stepped forward, tentatively picking up the ball and hefting it in my paws as I heard the sound of feet on gravel from the approaching parents undercut the children’s voice.
“If no one fesses up then you’ll lose the ball for the da-“
“Mr. Manzia, it’s quite alright.” I stated, stepping up to his side, ball in paw. “My chimes may have been blown about but it’s nothing a glass or two and a good meal at the Rekan can’t fix.”
The ball made the same twangy pang as it had against my skull as it bounced to the ground before I awkwardly kicked it over to the nearest pup. I wasn’t sure how you were supposed to kick this ball but that certainly wasn’t it. “Please, don’t stop your game on my account. I hope you all have a good rest of your paws.”
A mumbled wave of agreement passed over the adults as one of the children scooped up the ball and watched us make way for the gate once more.
Stars that one hurt.
---
Memory Transcription Subject: Rensa, Venlil Farmer & Ex-Exterminator, Venlil-Human Exchange Host
Date [Standardized Human Time]: October 15th, 2136
Polani, please, hurry them home.
The cold Night winds called through the festival’s stalls like the distant howls of a nightside predator rasping against the windows of the Warren. The wafting tastes of cooling ovens and muffled whispers drifted through the air around us as Taikel and I settled down onto our Festival spread. Renkel happily pushed himself between us, letting out an upbeat beep of excitement as the bonfires by the basin side lit before his tail fell still and his ears swiveled to the empty space to Taikel’s left.
“She’s gonna be alright, Rekan.” I whispered, my tail tightening around Taikel’s as I passed a comforting paw through Renkel’s crown.
“They’ll be home before you know it.” Taikel affirmed, pulling us in a little closer to him before giving Renkel a reassuring nuzzle. “And I’m sure Chris’ family will love to meet you, Son.”
“I hope so…” Renkel all but whimpered, his paws worrying at his tail like Taisa had used to do when she was scared.
Like you used to do…
The lights strung through the stalls behind us tapered away to little more than a dim glow, casting long shadows across the ground around us before finally fading away to the black void of night. Kelthen’s long, drawn out whistle signaled across the silent basin, echoing for a few long moments before a hundred candles flickered to life along the shoreline. The flotilla of light cast off into the glimmering black waters of the basin, turning the flat, glass like surface into a mirror of the tapestry above us. This was our first festival where Taisa wasn’t here with us, through university, through her applications and through the job, and her blooming relationship, no matter what she was un-endingly excited for… she was still here for the festival.
But now she wasn’t.
And I understood it. As horrifying as it would be to the ‘me’ of only a few herds ago I understood. If they could manage to get another herd of Humans off Earth, another herd of people out of harm’s way then it would be worth it. If they could get Chris’ family, favoritism that it might well be, I’d still love to see them safe…
I hope so too, little Rekan, I hope so too.
---
Memory Transcription Subject: Ulmic, Gojid Exterminator, Heartwood River Exterminator Offices Rank: Honored Exterminator Officer
Date [Standardized Human Time]: October 15th, 2136
Protector help me if I have to respond to another panicked ‘Human’ call from a shut-in gray-snout this paw I will lose it.
“No, Ma’am, the humans cannot ‘hypnotize us with their voices’. They just have a lower register than mo-.”
“But what if you’re wrong?! These humans-”
The grannie’s voice dissolves into a mess of whistling in my ears, and I breath a long… long sigh. This lady thought it was good and neighborly to tell me about some paranoid nonsense while I had a snout full of strabundt, clearly on my meal break given my noticeable lack of silver, and had barely given me the space to finish the wrap in my paws.
“Ma’am, if they could do that, then-” I tried to calm her just as I was saved by the blessed beeping of my alarm, “Oh dear, look at the time, that must be the office! It has been lovely chatting with you, but I really should take this call!”
She fumbled about in her tail pouch for a moment, pulling her pad free and opening it to reveal one of Rux’s ridiculous articles about how ‘Humans can hypnotize you with a glance’. “But what about this! Rux says he has proof!”
“Uh huh.”
“A-And I’ve seen them do it! That predator here in town! There’s no way so many of my herd would fall to him if they couldn’t!” She all but squealed, following me toward the edge of the Forum while tapping insistently at her pad and a video from outside of the Rekan at the last ‘Music Night’. “You have to look into it, it's true!”
“Absolutely.” I answered around the meal pack I was very deliberately securing before slinging it across my shoulder with a grunt. “Yep. I’ll make sure the office will see right to it, Ma’am. Have a good paw, now.”
Hoo! Blessed be, thank the Guide that’s over with.
Night’s cold, whispering winds were at my back as I quickly padded out of the forum, howling through Heartwood and lifting golden leaves to dance through long shadows cast by streetlights. Cold had never really bothered me, not that it ever got this cold in Dawn Creek, but I was certainly feeling it this paw as the lingering warmth of Bernia’s Starrise Simmer rested comfortably in my belly. Bernia and I had come to agree, after the last herd or so of paws, that Heartwood was the right move, not just for me but for us!
Well. Despite the News.
The arrival of this new wave of Humans was slightly unsettling; I’m not ashamed to admit I was ready to douse some fires, but even with a whole pack of humans at our gate Heartwood was still so… Calm. Dawn Creek wasn’t so bad, not before the humans showed up, but even on its best days I had to check my tank the next waking. Here, I feel like I don’t even need to carry it! Something about a town as small as this just feels so right. I wouldn’t call myself a ‘local’, not now and not for a while yet, but I could certainly see us staying long enough for it, even if the Humans stuck around. Still, I couldn’t banish the nagging worry in my gut about them.
Cool wind rippled through my quills as I tugged my suit back up over my shoulders, hauling the zipper shut while I thought of last waking’s briefing that flicked through my mind. Despite the dreadful duo’s complaints Lentan had been adamant that he’d planned for everything and was more than willing to ‘accept the risk’ of helping another sapient being to avoid extinction; predator or not. The Office was split, but I was surprised to find myself agreeing with him! He wasn’t wrong, the Humans, from the token few I’d met and seen on the holo-screens, seemed barely any different from the rest of us. Protector preserve us, but Bernia and I had even taken a liking to some of their shows!
It was odd, even a little worrying sometimes, watching these things - these people - I knew to be predators showing emotion, feelings, concern for their friends, families, their fellows, even animals… Feelings that I knew all too well myself! After all my [Solar Years] of work in the Office I found myself deciding a predator, a sapient one at that, should not only be allowed to exist but had as much of a right to it as the rest of us did.
Every passing paw brought more news from the U.N. about the extermination fleet’s progress as they made their seemingly inevitable march toward Earth. I couldn't help but feel we held some responsibility to make sure the ones that ran, like Bernia and I would have, had somewhere to run to. Even if it made me uncomfortable.
The Federation I’d known and grown up in felt so far away every time I watched FedCom broadcasts about the fleet, all that pilot-lighting about a people who’d professed nothing but a want for peace. For a people who still hadn’t hurt anyone, on VP at least. The loss of the Cradle still hung heavy on my heart but I couldn’t blame the Humans for it after the videos I’d seen of their soldiers putting themselves between civilians and Them.
The steps of my new office met my feet before I knew it, lifting me from my pondering as I walked up the paw-hewn slabs of swirling valley-stone to the broad, dark-wood doors. I shook the cold from my joints as I stepped in from my second meal break, quickly met by the drifting sounds of a pair of paws hard - who am I kidding - hardly working in the locker room reaching my ears.
They were listening to that idiot again. Kurlek and his absolutely idiotic ‘against the herd’ program Farzen had become so infatuated with that she was still trying her hardest to pull Marlek in with her. There was a time when even naming your show that would’ve been cause for an investigation.
“During all this my dear viewers, we have to ask a simple question: How? How has a predator managed to gain this much support from our Federation leadership, so much that eleven leaders have fallen for their lies of supposed peace?! Sure, Tarva is understandable, she has always been a weak and ineffectual leader riding on the backfur of the incompetent previous administration; but those eleven included Kolshian leader Nikonous himself! How could the humans gain such support?”
Oh this ought to be good.
“Well my fellow herdseekers, it’s the same reason so many Venlil are in support of the Exchange Program: Clearly the predators can force predatory taint to be spread through their gaze alone! What is more likely? That thousands of Venlil and major trusted leaders of the Federation have simultaneously come down with predator disease, or that the scorched flesh eaters have some way to force prey to their will via gaze alone!”
How does that even make sense? They wear visors.
“Luckily for all of us watching, we might soon be talking about this in theory, as 38 species managed to come to their senses and are attempting to save us from the predators on our streets! Hopefully after their inevitable victory the sight of forward facing eyes and blood soaked fangs will be forgotten history. We’ll be back with a special guest after a word from our sponsor!”
Guide save me, a few herds ago and I might have agreed with this idiot.
An upbeat jingle played as an advertisement for some schlock supplement or another claiming to ‘keep you safe from the predator’s gaze’ spewed from the speakers of Farzen’s pad. Had that been what I’d actually thought? The kinds of things I would have agreed with before all this? Just flippantly deciding to condemn an entire race to death for sins they can’t even atone for? For things we only thought they might do?
“Stars above we’re in deep.” Marlek sighed, torquing the nozzle on the flamer in his paws down tight with a whistley grunt before continuing. “Hopefully the fleet does its job.”
“Before long we’ll be free of it all again, treated like the heroes we actually are. Deluded fools, the lot of them. Can’t even smell the taint beneath their snouts; were it up to me we’d’ve burned that wretched thing before it even stepped off the shuttle. If we weren’t stuck here I’d b-be…” Farzen’s voice stumbled as she harvested a glance over her shoulder, seeing me standing in the doorway, my posture, presumably, displeased.
“Go on. You’d be what?”
“I-In the fleet.” She finished, the Nevok’s gleaming claws tightening around the flamer in her grasp as she let out a wary honk. “Doing what we’re supposed to do.”
“You mean what you want to do. Don’t conflate your desire to destroy what offends you with what our purpose is.” I growled, jabbing my claw down into the table at the reminder of why I’d been hired. “It’s like you two fuel huffers want a war. Is that what you want? Just so you can have your vindication?!”
The worst kind of Exterminator, a self-centered one. I’d happily take the extra desk work if it meant Lentan firing these idiots.
Silence filled the gear room, the pair didn’t say a word, just staring back at me with barely restrained disdain plain on their features as I straightened my back and turned around. “You’ve still got more maintenance checks and requisition orders to do. Lentan has authorized me to put you two back on field duty if you complete them on-time, correctly.”
Not brokering a response I took a few steadfast steps across the hardwood floors back out into the office proper as the whining complaints of Kurlek spilled into the air accompanied by the measured responses of whatever wool-brained ‘scientist’ he’d decided to invite on.
Warmongering hate-filled idiots that’ve done far more harm to this office than good. Waste of a good set of suits.
I shook my head as I turned towards Lentan’s office, a new purpose in mind beside my end-of-shift report.
Disgusting. Bound to be a better way than this.
---
Memory Transcription Subject: Taikel, Venlil Farmer, Venlil-Human Exchange Host
Date [Standardized Human Time]: October 15th, 2136
If only they’d just turn ‘round and go home.
The hollow howling of Night’s returning winds roared overhead, whipping at the hanging lights and loose decorations strung from the rafters flailed about wildly. When I’d been a pup my Papa had told stories about pups he grew up being whisked away to the night because they didn’t pay attention; I’d realized they were just a way to scare me to be safe pretty quickly, but they certainly worked for a few [Solar Years]! Pup-stealing or not, these winds were still an inevitable force that always felt like they’d never end, their tugging claws stymied only by the wind-breaks and a healthy dose of caution.
Just as inevitable as that damnable fleet.
More news from the U.N. had come, and it was far from good. The Humans had pulled into themselves the last few paws, barely leaving their shelters as that final bit of weight finally settled onto them. Stars, aside from Sasha only a paw-full of Humans had popped by last waking to say a quick hello before picking up a few meals of their own and disappearing again.
Taisa and Chris were still gone, off doing everything they could to help before the inevitable finally arrived. They hadn’t come back at the end of their ‘shift’ last paw, electing to stay as long as they could manage before it all came apart. My heart had nearly turned to ice when she told us they were staying to help the Mercy with her last trip, promising to be out of harm's way before the fleet arrived.
That little tumbling stone in my stomach had grown heavier and heavier over the last few claws since, remembering the horror I’d felt when they’d returned from the Cradle. The sight of my daughter’s pride and joy beaten, scorched and toasted, the stains on the deck and her. In my heart I knew there was no way to get her to change her mind, for all that timidity she’d had when she was a pup she was still her mother’s daughter and Stars help me if I’d ever tried to get either of them to drop something, once they’d gotten their claws into it.
For now though, it wouldn’t do me any good to worry my tail off on it; Rensa was at my side helping to finish the prep-work for this paw’s cleaning, and Renkel was safely in class for at least another half-claw or so. Other than the odd sale and the howling wind it was unusually quiet for this time of the festival, not that that wasn’t without good reason but it was still far too… unnerving.
A skillet’s clang against the table at my side cut through the festival’s silence as my love let out an unbelieving gasp. I found Rensa leaned against the table, her pad in one paw as the other gripped tight against where her leg met her prosthetic. There were tears in her eyes as she dropped the pad to the table at my side, rushing forward to wrap her paws around me as tight as she ever had. A hard, wracking sob poured from her snout as she bawled into my wool, the prosthetic buckling a little beneath her as I pulled her tighter into the hug, doing my best to comfort her, even if I didn’t know the source of her anguish.
She was rambling, babbling and sputtering incoherently into my wool as soaking tears poured free like an open flood gate. The weight in my gut grew, pulling at my heartstrings with the weight of the world. I'd only seen her like this a few times before, when she’d lost her parents and when she’d finally cracked after being injured. Rensa didn’t crack easy.
Then I saw it, the message on the screen from Taisa.
And my heart stopped.
---
First Prev. Next

Title: Get Ready for Some Epic Twitch Streaming!
Hey there, fellow gamers and stream enthusiasts!
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🎉💥 Happy streaming, fellow gamers!

Player Name: Titaniumskin
As someone living with ADHD, maintaining focus and finding enjoyment can often be challenging for me. However, diving into 'Fighter Adventure' has proven to be a game-changer, quite literally. The sheer joy and engagement I've experienced in this game have been unparalleled, offering me a level of fun and fulfilment that I haven't felt in months. Moreover, it has also had a significant positive impact on my mental health, providing a much-needed outlet for relaxation and escape.
The ensuing evaluation encapsulates the perspective of an individual previously unacquainted with MUDs, lacking prior experience in their realm. Initially apprehensive about what to expect and how to navigate MUDs, there lingered a sense of unfamiliarity and uncertainty regarding gameplay. While the initial reception may not have been overwhelmingly favourable, with encouragement and perseverance, a noticeable transformation occurred over more than 100 hours spent in 'Fighter Adventure'
In an era inundated with visually stunning graphics and transient amusements, 'Fighter Adventure' emerges as an epitome of immersive gameplay. Having delved into its depths for over a hundred hours, I confidently attest to its profoundly captivating journey, redefining my expectations of online gaming.
The gameplay experience offered by 'Fighter Adventure' is nothing short of exceptional. From the moment of entry into its virtual realm, a diverse tapestry of possibilities unfolded and continues to expand with each passing day. The extensive range of character customization options, the intricacies of combat portrayed through ASCII graphics, and the sheer breadth of content have collectively contributed to hours of engrossing gameplay. Each moment feels purposeful and gratifying, accentuated by the bespoke ASCII graphics tailored to my preferences for specific abilities within the MUD.
What distinguishes 'Fighter Adventure' profoundly is its vibrant and inclusive community. Genuine connections were forged with players worldwide, whether seeking guidance, sharing anecdotes, or participating in lively discussions. The camaraderie cultivated within this virtual realm is truly noteworthy, a testament to the dedication of both players and the committed staff behind the scenes, whose support significantly enriches the overall gaming experience.
To merely label my experience with 'Fighter Adventure' as immersive would be an understatement. From meticulously crafted environments to nuanced interactions with NPCs, every facet of the game is meticulously designed to immerse players deeper into its fantastical world. The meticulous attention to detail infuses each interaction with authenticity and significance. Whether traversing perilous landscapes or unravelling the mysteries of unexplored skills and areas, I found myself wholly absorbed in the wonders of 'Fighter Adventure'.
In summation, my extensive stay with 'Fighter Adventure' has been truly remarkable. It underscores the enduring appeal of immersive conversations between friends and community-driven gameplay. Whether a seasoned veteran of MUDs or a newcomer like myself to the genre, 'Fighter Adventure' offers an experience that is both timeless and unforgettable. It transcends the realm of mere gaming; it is a voyage into the very heart of adventure itself. 'Fighter Adventure' sets the standard for what a MUD should aspire to be: immersive, engaging, and above all, unforgettable. With its rich gameplay, vibrant community, and unparalleled sense of immersion, it offers an escape into a world of wonder and adventure unlike any other.
What has stood out to me the most about 'Fighter Adventure' thus far is the remarkable level of acceptance I've experienced. As someone who was completely unfamiliar with MUDs and primarily engaged with games like Diablo and Last Epoch, stepping into this new world was both exhilarating and eye-opening. My introduction to the game was serendipitous, sparked by a chance encounter with the "Lead Dev" during a late-night session of Last Epoch. The conversation that ensued led me down a path I never imagined, revealing the existence of a game genre I had never even considered before.

Howdy y'all. (if you just wanna "know" which most people seem to, scroll down to the bold)
I was hoping to make a third video about this, and do this or that - but it's clear that's not entirely desired. I'm still gonna do it, but for now I'm gonna divulge what I think is enough missing information that it hopefully gets a lot people involved again:
First things first - I am not posting through any other accounts but my own. I have been here a long time. I have a theory about why sock-puppet accts would show up right now, but I'm not too concerned about it - the small posts I have seen are pretty neat. I have posted quickly on them, so I know how it looks. I'm just gonna stop posting for a while. I'll stay on discord if anyone is interested, and I'll still make videos because they are as much for me as y'all -- but --
I consider people who love FEZ to be my friends of a kind - likeminded. I don't want to be at war with you. I know I've made a lot of you upset, and that's not my intention. Something about cryptography and going through a lot of work makes you want to simultaneously keep the secret, as though you're in some new club -- but I don't feel this in my heart. I want to please the community.
If you're actually interested in following the things I create with hopes of trying to solve something I know, don't keep reading. After you read this, you can decide for yourselves. You can do this work or not. Idk.
HERE WE GO, ZUONS, THE HEXAHEDRON:
The poster on the crypt door, and on the boiler room wall is a key to a map.
The symbols are in fact 3 numbers and a dot:

• These are the numbers of the black monolith in space odyssey with an error at the origin.

- (1² 2² 3²) = 049. (the 0 is an error, this will be a repeating idea for the rest of the monolith puzzle - and this is why I KNOW this is the monolith puzzle, and you'll see its kinda been around the whole time.)

• The dot at the bottom means "look for this number" on the Hexahedron. It's a coordinate, or an origin. You can find a face that has "049" on it next to each other. The 4 is where you should consider the dot.

- The next step is to use another map to tell you where to find 3 numbers that are important. The coordinates on the wall to earth is, as I've kept saying - META. You are LEARNING that triangles are important. Triangles have 3 points - and they are more specifically a² b² c². This is the "sum of three squares." This makes the Gold Bug reference in the crypt VERY punny - because this is Legendre's Sum of Three Squares Therom, and the character in gold bug is Legrand. Legendre/Legrand - very punny!
- The Hexahedron is a head - it has 6 faces like every cube. Look at the Zuon cube, etc. Look at the throne mega-statue thing - the secret symbol sits in the middle. There is a face on the hexahedron that is a face, and that symbol sits RIGHT where the zuons wear the headband (and where the ghost has his headdress more or less).

• Use the alien hieroglyph to align the dot and find the three numbers to square. You will find that the sum of these squares is an ascii character for "Z".
  
• You are looking for "ZU" which is written on the red tapestry in Zu. The throne in Zu City (House Empty) is the same tapestry, but comes up and around the back of the throne. (think about that hard)
  
• Ultimately, you are unfolding the cube like the hypercube in the soundtrack - or like the shape of Zu City. There will be two arms. Follow the red tapestry. In the same location on the 4 faces you will read: "FZU", a confirmation that this is intentional beyond a doubt.
  
• Bottom to top: 0 6 9 / 0 36 49 = 117 `u`, 7 5 4 / 49 25 16 = `Z`, 5 6 3 / 25 36 9 = `F`
  

Three Squares - I obfuscated the letters because I wrote them I just wish I hadn't.
I'm not spoiling the rest of this for the community without a video - it was too awesome to find on my own and I want to give others a chance to find it - there is a 4th important number. EVERYTHING IN THE HAIKUS MATTERS. A whole heap-ton of it.
To reiterate, there is more on this hexahedron.
Welcome to, what I've been calling, FEZ 2. - A NEGATIVE for EVERY POSITIVE.
How to figure this out:

• ZU is written everywhere - it's a "header". In cryptography we call this a STEREOTYPED BEGINNING. (kinda like wearing anaglyph glasses at the beginning of a game after you beat it and need to start a new beginning)
  
• The soundtrack has numbers in sets of 3 with one missing number.
  
• The hypercorpus painting, obviously :)
  
• Zu City is in this shape - and you do an unfolding cube net puzzle in ZU at some point.
  
• POSTERS: You will see a poster with a SIGMA on it next to a square. It looks like an E. It's a SIGMA. It means sum this iteration - the iteration being the squares which need to be squared. Meta.
  
• It's been 12 years. I've literally printed this cube out and carried it on vacations, I've practically worshipped the cube, fallen into discordianism and come back out.
  
• The unused letters on the Tome are FACES of the Letter Cube - you will see that a face is never rotated and only 5 faces are used. This is consistent with a "missing item". If you study the letter cube, you will find that all of the alphabet consistently rotates, except the face with "A" on it - it rotates a different direction. Interesting.
  
• The letters of the Tome TESSELATE TO MAKE GOMEZ LOOKING UP, matching the position of the Zuon receiving the map on the hieroglyph. This mimics how the edges of the hexahedron perfectly tesselate. (what a challenge this must have all been to achieve).
  

The Unused Letters of the Tome
What next? Next steps if I were someone who took me seriously:
After you get this, consider now that ANYTHING is game. Like the eye in the triangle I posted. In the Myst lore, Atrus' grandmother taught him well, LOOK AT THE WHOLE. (that's meta too!) It'll be like wearing a crown. Remember, the telescope taught us to look at LT RT as 0 1 ascii/unicode. METATRON puzzle taught us to look at the identity. This is teaching you something too. Those dates in the soundtrack aren't just space travel dates... something else happened.
There is LOTS of word play, and I've chuckled several times on "the path." Also, you'll basically need a way to view the levels and game content. It's my firm belief that someone wearing a love hat must have been responsible for sharing the initial rip in the first place. NOT EVERYONE HERE IS WHO THEY SEEM TO BE. I can't prove that, though I know it in my bones.
Now - PLEASE let me make the videos - they are way cooler than all of this typing, and if you reach out to me (ideally with kindness?) on Discord, I have been VERY receptive to talking to people and helping them.
Also, assuming that this is even accepted, I don't really mind that I was called a troll. I was in a sense egging you all on, saying "there's more" and "get excited." I didn't anticipate that it would be so frustrating, though I suppose reflecting I'd be kinda frustrated too. It's been a long dodecy for us all.

First. Index. Prev.

Ah, yes, the mythical whole fucking entire month upload schedule. That's what several 400-level courses and midterms and 2 projects and midterms again and rewriting a section and midterms again will do to you.
I like to imagine Cas' childcare capacity as being similar to an aunt or uncle. She's supremely good with kids for short period of time, but God fucking forbid you entrust one into her care for any serious amount of time.

Chapter 11

Modelling a crash between two spaceships is a somewhat contrived affair.
At its simplest, an outcome can be predicted with the kinematic equation for inelastic collisions: m1v1 + m2v2 = (m1 + m2)v.
At its most complex, simulations have to account for internal density, hull integrity, skeletal ductility, deflection angles and approach vectors, nearby gravity wells, crumple zones, and even the surface temperatures of the bodies involved.
The fact is, however, any amount of effort is pointless.
No matter what method is used, how many variables and parameter are thrown in, no matter how perfectly tuned the calculations are or how many hours of work are expended in the pursuit of realism, there’s absolutely no use in applying any amount of math to a spaceship crash.
Because an immutable constant of physics lends itself to a simple, all-governing rule of thumb: the larger of the two ships never loses.
And for the fated meeting of a 1,200-some ton industrial barge, and a 350-some ton severely damaged patrol ship, this fact holds
as
true
as
ever.
Socivotychek, Nascent AI.
Aware Shipboard Personality (ASP)
—————
Wow, I’m alive!
My skeletal structure has about three major fractures, I have no propulsion, my hull is basically for looks at this point, and I’m getting about a bajillion diagnostic alerts every tick, but mostest super importantest of all, I’m alive!
It’s honestly getting a little crowded in this corner of space with all these wrecked ships! There’s me, the really wrecked ship I came here to investigate, the super wrecked patrol ship that shot me down, and.... Cas’ ship. Which is still in the process of smashing into the other one. It looks like the cockpit on her ship is one big crumple zone, since it’s eating the damage and folding in on itself, and so is the..... whole entire everything..... on the other ship.
It doesn’t look like they’ll be done anytime in the next one-sixteenth of a second, which way is longer than my attention span, so I leave them to it.

Sender "Sociv” Socivotychek (Tnet ID: MzSRTM1Iz3mF1ePN) has created and joined the room.
Could not find an operator! Activating fallback.
Recipient TAC_SYSADMIN (Tnet ID: 0000000kle5iN) has joined the room.
Sociv: Haiiiiii system administrator!!!!
Sociv: I’m just checkinggggg innnnnnnn
TAC_SYSADMIN: Hello, Socivotychek.
TAC_SYSADMIN: Has the spacer I deputized made contact with you? With a more equal parity of force I believe I can negotiate your safe release without ever escalating to violence.
Sociv: Not yet!
TAC_SYSADMIN: No?
TAC_SYSADMIN: What do you mean “no”?
TAC_SYSADMIN: What’s she been doing this entire time? Where is she?
Sociv: Cas is here!!!!!!!
Sociv: She’s just
Sociv: A little bit busy ramming the other ship right now.
TAC_SYSADMIN: I see.
TAC_SYSADMIN: By steering her ship into a low-velocity collision course, she can signal a willingness to escalate into lethal force without risking a warning shot being misinterpreted.
TAC_SYSADMIN: A solid negotiating tactic.
Sociv: I think Cas maybe potentially probably perchanceably had something else in mind
Sociv: because she shot exactly five hundred autocannon shells into the other ship
Sociv: and then she exploded it with rockets
TAC_SYSADMIN: She fired live munitions?
Sociv: and then AND THEN she rammed into it at eight-hundred and sixty five kilometer per hour and they’ve JUST finished smashing into one another right now
TAC_SYSADMIN: Please clarify: she fired live munitions?
Sociv: So I think we can start planning the negotiations you wanted im gonna say hi to her byeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!
Room closed (MzSRTM1Iz3mF1ePN has terminated the connection)
Sender "Sociv” Socivotychek (Tnet ID: MzSRTM1Iz3mF1ePN) has created and joined the room.
Recipient “Cas” orreryMillwright (Tnet ID:bpItf8RRE4neMbWk) has auto-joined the room.
Sociv: Hi!!!
Sociv: Hello!!!!!!
Sociv: Haiiiii!!!!!!
Cas: ���مع���_م��س_ ��ـهـشـ�

Wow, this is my first time interacting with someone who isn’t my mom or a system administrator! And my first time talking to an organic! And my first time talking to someone who isn’t using the 126-character ASCII alphabet!
I wonder how my mom’s doing. I don’t think she knows I’ve intruded on hundred thousand year old hallowed ground and gotten shot and investigated a crime scene and broken the law and watched a ship with real life people in it get lit up with autocannon fire, all before my first birthday.

Sociv: heyyy im sorry i know every other language to have ever existed is better but because I don’t have the drivers for UTF-128 can we talk in ASCII
Cas: man its weird how straight up everyone around these parts speaks the old tongue
Cas: straight up not regretting that extra ancient language credit
Cas: anywyay im assuming youre the kid the sysadmin told me about
Cas: you hangin in there allright champ

...Organics type weird! And slowly, really slowly. But that’s okay because apparently they have to press actual physical buttons one at a time using their meat bodies instead of the hygenic way.

Sociv: Good!
Sociv: okay I lied bad!!!
Sociv: okay I lied really bad!!!
Sociv: hey since you’re a spacer with an entire fabrication ship at your disposal can you help repair me because I’m really really badly damaged
Cas: id love to
Cas: dont get me wrong
Cas: but im a little busy waiting for our mutual acquaintances here to turn tail and run.
Cas: and also i think im already more or less on babysitting duty
Sociv: wuhh?
Sociv: Why do you think they’re leaving?
Sociv: Wouldn't they’d want to stay and shoot back??? if you shot at them first??
Cas: naw naw naw think about it with me here
Cas: if youre a barely paid mercenary, ankeley or whatever tim asid theyre called, and ur prancing thru space shooting down
Cas: >defenseless four month old infants
Cas: to.steal their. man i dont even know what theyd steal from you copper wire or some shit
Cas: then yo’ure also probably the type to run away from a fight u cant win
Sociv: But they haven’t run away!
Sociv: Or moved or left out of their ship or reacted or sent any signals or done anything at all!!!
Cas: and thats wiggin me out
Cas: b/c with how much that shitty ass hull mustve padded the imapct on their end they shouldve gotten back on their feet a while ago
Cas: i mean unless they juggling knives buck ass naked or turned off the crash grav compensators or some equally suuisidal shit IDK
Cas: suicideal.
Cas: scuidial.
Cas: suicadal. man i give up trynna spell that you know what i mean
Sociv: Suicidal! It stems from the ancient ASCII method call “suici();”, which terminates the current process without ending any of the children ones.
Sociv: Hey anyway if you two are at a stalemate are you going to negotiate with them????
Sociv: the system administrator really really really really wanted you to negotiate
Cas: heh
Cas: as soon as Tim wakes up i might board that ship and start fuckin negotiating with them allright
Sociv: Tim?!?!???
Sociv: Hey who’s tim??

The System Administrator didn’t say anything about Cas’s ship having anyone named Tim on it! And there’s absolutely_ nothing_ useful in the million bajillion search results, either! This must mean he’s a mystery!
I love mysteries!

Cas: He’;s a.
Cas: uh.
Cas: okay so full disclosure I dont know his species because he didnt tell me when he introduced himself.
Cas: so I assumed it was private and didnt press
Sociv: Oh, that’s okay! Where’s he from?
Cas: uh.
Cas: okay so full disclosure i dont know that either b/c i didnt ask him
Cas: or anything else about his background.
Cas: I know hes radioactive tho
Cas: and uh. Hes from a splinter state or something. or his home region was a splinter state and now it isnt idk
Cas: he also said something about circus performers and how they cant swim so im assuming they have clowns qhever hes from as well
Cas: and thats litearlly the extent of what i know
Sociv: Don’t feel bad that’s some pretty fun trivia!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sociv: Also! What is a clown?
Cas: ohhhhh man youre gonna regret asking that question
Cas: short answer theyre an entertainment subspecies of human w/ pretty severe facial and mental deformities
Sociv: oh...
Cas: its honestly heartbreaking and i say this as the poster child species for how fucked up the human form can get
Cas: like i saw this video of one the other day and the poor thing kept trying to blow up a baloon from the wrong end and getting confused
Cas: like it straight up wasnt intelligent enought to comprehend what wasnt working
Cas: I think they’re extinct for ethical reasons. All the videos of them r ancient media anyway
Sociv: Wow! I never knew they made a human version of pugs!
Sociv: They like pugs, right? You have to tell me if I’m getting that right or not.
Cas: man i live in space you think i actually have enough terrestrial animal knowledge to know what fresh hell a pug is
Cas: Probably tho theres some fucked up heirloom animals out there
Cas: anyway i just plugged it in and im now gonna turn on my webcam so u can tim for yourself.

It’s incredible how knowledgeable Cas is about human species! Especially her deep clown lore, because I get basically nothing about them being a subspecies online. That must be the ethnic consciousness of the nomadic spacer coming into play!
Closing about a clown-related billion tabs to clear up some memory, I fire up my image recognition software and set the input stream to the Cas’ webcamera feed. It’s worth letting the neural network bake, though, because both Cas and Tim have their very own meat bodies! And Tim’s meat body doesn’t match up with any common subspecies!
I also want a meat body!!!!!!!
That’d be so cool! I could feed it and water it and take it on walks and clean up after its messes and if I got really bored, I could even set my timescale to a million bajillion speed and watch it turn into a pile of festering decay.
Ahahaa nevermind those things are stupid expensive! That’s okay because I can probably do all that when I adopt a crew of my own!
Sociv: Wowie, so that’s Tim! He looks..... Limp.....

Cas: haha yea hes fine tho i cjecked
Cas: p sure my beds pasenger retention system knocked him the fuck out
Sociv: that’s a thing that can happen??
Cas: ohhh u have no idea do u.
Cas: man i s2g if youre ever bored look up RPS failure compliations those thigns are honest to god bungie cords that were born with hatred instead of whimsy in their hearts
Cas: Anyway my guess is he didnt calibrate his species so it assumed he was a spacer with like 80 extra kilos of metal in him and it just fuckin. Zipped him right into the padded wall.

In fact, now that the neural network has had even more time to make sense of him, Tim’s body plan makes even less sense: It doesn’t correspond to any known subspecies, even the extinct ones. The only things it seems to think he is, is the spacesuit he’s in, and a pretend subspecies called “centaur”.
There’s something that for all I know isn’t even human in Cas’ ship. That’s weird. That’s really weird.

Sociv: Hahah yeah those videos are realllllllly funny I totally just watched a bunch
Sociv: hey for absolutely no reason I wonder where Tim’s people are and what they’re doing right now

Aus-Lamn-Katt
Lead Researcher of the International Bureau of Spaceflight and Colonization; Lowlands Republic Branch
Shish-Hash-Ait
—————
My desk’s landline phone rings.
It’s a genuine antique from the Autonomous Municipality; all brass and bakelite and little communist hatchet and wrench motifs on the edges. The bell motor’s been acting up for some time now; the entire telephone jitters, threatening to dance itself off the desk.
I lean back in my seat as I pick up the handset. “You’ve reached the Lead Researcher.”
“Evening, Doctor! It’s Ttaci-Li-Llea from the engineering department. We just finished the prototype you requested, though the specifications never listed what to actually do with the plans.” She pauses. “Or if you did, they were lost in transmission. There’s been a lot happening today.”
That there has.
And there’s been enough happening that I have absolutely no context for what the Chief Prototypist is calling me about. I sit back up in my chair, glancing over the mass of paperwork that’s steadily been accumulating on my desk as the day has gone on. There’s first contact procedures, news correspondences, signal analyses, and delegation procedures— but absolutely _nothing _about the engineering department or a prototype.
A small voice from the handset draws my attention back to the present. “Lead researcher?”
“I’m still Llea, though I’m afraid you’ll have to forgive a busy old man for forgetting: what prototype, exactly, are we talking about?”
“The one for our...” She peels her mouth away from the microphone, exchanging a few intelligible words with someone outside the call. “Representative, the intern, Mau-Aff-Tim. His translator.”
Right.
Of course.
It had slipped my mind that the sole representative of our species to the precursors was a sixteen-year-old high-school graduate who had absolutely no formal training.
I almost wish I hadn’t been reminded.
I sigh. “Over the network, compiled as a fabricator plan, please. And tell your girls they can go home for the night; I’ll have to coordinate with the finance department to get their overtime at some point.”
“You’d spare me the finance department?” She barks a short laugh. “Well, I appreciate the sentiment, Director. I’m hanging up so we can dial your office.”
The line goes dead, and a moment later, a set of characteristic tones begin to play over the speaker. I place the handset on my desk to let the process get on with itself. For every six months it takes the engineering department to squeeze a new technology out of the in-house artifacts, it takes the finance department six years to scrape enough pennies together for its adoption.
And we’re the ones ahead of the curve.
Three and a half forms later, the download finalizes. I hang up the phone— taking care not to introduce any new crimps into its cloth-insulated cord— and open the remote access window for Mau-Aff-Tim’s deep space survey ship.
And I’m greeted with a connection failure to his EVA suit.
That must be the Office of Defense having finally cut my access. I was wondering when they’d make their play, accounted for it, even. With the battery on Mau-Aff-Tim’s PDA bound to burn out at some point, IBSAC’s sole ownership of translation software offers a foot in the state department’s door they’ll have to accept sooner or later.
I just have to hope that the Chairwoman is up at this hour. I flick my stylus over the button to call Wau-Sae-Tetzil, though I’m surprised when she rings me first.
I accept, giving my former squadmate a polite nod as the commlink’s audio initializes.
“Chairwoman.”
“Lead researcher.”
Aus-Lamn-Katt, are you familiar with the technique of abandonment in interrogations?”
To think I’d been holding out on the slim chance she was calling for chit-chat. I narrow my eyes in suspicion. “Oblige me.”
She looks as if she’s about to say something, then stops, producing a comb from out of frame. The old woman spends a solid twenty seconds running it through the wool on the sides of her cheeks, then a further five to set it down.
I know because I watch them tick by on my desktop’s clock widget.
And then she speaks.
“There’s a few variations, I’ll keep things simple. An agent purposefully acts to antagonize the subject of an interrogation, then abruptly leaves the subject in isolation for a pre-select period of time. Afterwards, a second agent introduces themselves and states that the offender has been punished. It generates rapport; the subject feels both saved and vindicated despite no effort being expended.”
“Fascinating.” I flick my cursor over the ‘end call’ button. “Though I’m afraid it’s getting to be quite late in the evening, Tetzil.”
She leans forward. “Aus-Lamn-Katt, an employee of mine, Yah-Li-Qeltt, was shot dead two hours ago during a shift change that leveraged this technique.”
A sense of confusion washes over me; up until two seconds ago, I hadn’t known there was a spy named Yah-Li-Qeltt. Which spies are and aren’t getting gunned down in the capitol has absolutely nothing to do with me or my work.
Except, it ultimately does. Someone busy as the Chairwoman wouldn’t take the time to call me in the late hours of the night and personally deliver the news unless she had a very good reason to.
“My condolences.” I let my teeth bare just the tiniest amount. “Though I’d certainly hope, Tetzil, that you aren’t implying I’d be enough of a dipshit to call hits on federal agents who work for a woman I’m on speaking terms with.”
“I’d certainly hope not.” She briefly smiles, chuffing in self-affirmation, and then her expression darkens. “Aus-Lamn-Katt, the facts of his death coincide with a strong motive for IBSAC to want us uninvolved with alien contact. I’m not implying anything.”
And it’s funny— I can think of one other party who’d benefit from an outrageous killing like that. With a warrant, Tetzil could tie IBSAC up in an investigation long enough to secure a monopoly on the political capital gained from being the first to host talks with the precursors.
It’s absolutely what I would do if I was a ruthless young politician looking to secure some quick fame.
But is it what Wau-Sae-Tetzil would do?
...I genuinely can’t say.
I push my spectacles up the bridge of my snout. “For what it’s worth, Chairwoman, IBSAC fully intends to co-operate with any investigations of bad play. After more exigent matters,” I gesture towards the ceiling, “have been dealt with.”
She flicks her ears. “Which would give you more than enough time to cover your tracks, Katt. I’ve been in politics for too long.”
She’s sticking to her script. And to my detriment, I haven’t managed to deviate from it either. Whether it’s her or someone completely different, someone’s attempted to frame me, and if this conversation goes on like this for much longer I don’t doubt they’ll be successful.
I need to break her composure.
“And you genuinely think I care about politics,” I spit. “You and your politics can go to the bottom of the ocean and straight down to hell, Tetzil. I joined an international organization to get away from this kind of shit, to contribute to something bigger. Here I hoped something as monumentally big as first contact with an—the— alien race would wake us all up, but here we are, squabbling as usual.”
“You know, director, I thought that too.” Tetzil sighs. No good; I don’t have the initiative. I need something big, something shocking to force the conversation into an equal exchange. “If nothing, however, recent events ha-”
BANG.
The all-too-familiar sound of an office door being kicked inward startles us both.
Thankfully, it isn’t my office door being abused this time around. A young woman, dressed in the uniform of a communications tech, appears in the background of the Chairwoman’s webcamera.
“Ma’am!” She briefly salutes. “The subject is gone!”
Tetzil whirls in her chair, voice cracking. “Gone?”
“Uh-hh... yes, ma’am, the IBSAC Intern, Mau-Aff-Tim. We lost connection to his EVA suit two minutes ago.”
Something like that, yes.
“What’s that?” I bring my microphone closer to my lips. The small bars expressing my microphone’s volume quadruple in size. “Did I just hear someone say that the EMPLOYEE I PERSONALLY ENTRUSTED IN YOUR CARE, UNDER THE EXPLICIT CONDITION THAT HE WOULD BE SUPERVISED BY YOUR SUBORDINATES, HAS VANISHED? IS THAT WHAT I’M HEARING? THAT THE SOUTHERN LOWLANDS REPUBLIC OFFICE WAS SOMEHOW LOST A **SIXTEEN YEAR OLD HIGH SCHOOLER **IN SPACE?”
The chairwoman takes her own headset off, holding it at arm’s length as its speakers visibly bottom out. At the cost of my dignity, I’ve earned an opportunity to see what
And I am genuinely upset about the intern.
Placing her headset back around her neck, the chairwoman sighs. The woman’s four slit pupils flicker over text on a side monitor that she reads aloud.
“Social Agent Yah-Li-Qeltt was on-route to his personal vehicle when he was confronted by a trio of Ankelli mercenaries, two of whom were killed in combat. One remains unaccounted for. Normal operations, including the evening shift shift change, were suspended. Re-establishing contact with his assigned subject has proven unsuccessful.”
Implying that whoever called the hit had an intimate understanding of both the Office of Defense’s scheduling and normal operations. And further implying that she wasn’t confident whether or not I was a suspect, or I wouldn’t have been offered any pertinent information. Though alternatively, she may be operating under the hopes that I might divulge information at it’s mentio-
BANG.
The sound of an office door being kicked inwards startles us both.
And this time it is my door. A young woman, dressed in the uniform of Communications Coordinator, bursts into my office.
She’s significantly more out of breath than Wau-Sae-Tetzil’s courier. I swivel in my chair, offering her a perfectly patient expression as I wait for her to catch her breath.
“Aus-'' She pants heavily, doubling over. “Aus-Lamn-Katt- the intern- he-”
I offer her a feigned smile. “Yes. I know.”
As the communications coordinator makes herself scarce, I switch back over to the remote access window for the survey vessel. The angular steel vessel that the alien arrived on is gone, completely missing from the camera feeds, as are any subspace ripples or fuel trails that might offer a clue to its direction of travel.
“Tetzil, it’s gone.”
She blinks all four of her amber-colored eyes. “Come again?”
“We lost contact because the alien’s ship is gone. It’s completely vanished from sensors.
Tetzil makes a small sound and buries her face in her hands. “Our intelligence did suggest it might leave if left to its own devices,” she quietly admits.
“And does your intelligence” I flick my ears in derision at the word ”have any idea where he might’ve been taken?”
The old woman doesn’t phrase a response. Not at first— her focus turns inwards, going over contingencies, outcomes, paths, as the gravity of how monumentally, severely fucked the situation has become starts to actualize.
And then Wau-Sae-Tetzil, Supreme Chairwoman of the Southern Lowlands Republic Office of Defense, whispers, “Absolutely not.”
“Go figure.”
I hang up the call.

Next.

As always, thank you to u/SpacePaladin15 for the wonderful universe that is NoP! Thank you to u/cruisingNW for proof reading and helping me make this chapter as good as it can be, you're the man! Honestly LoM wouldn't have gone very far without him! If you haven't you should absolutely go read Foundations of Humanity! It's very good AND it just updated!
A big thanks to u/Saint-Andros for helping with proofreading! He writes Out of Our Elements which is a very good one! If you like a good fic in the wilderness and a pair of cute 'friends' ;) you'll love OOE!
Also thank you to u/brotanics! For this wonderful fanart of Taisa. And this one! She's so cute I'm gonna die
And thank you to u/Jimdandy117! For this adorable fanart of Chris and Renkel! Dear god help he's adorable I love him so much
Thank you u/SlimyRage, or AsciiSquid on Discord, for makin' Vengineer Taisa Gamin'. She's absolutely adorable, I love her lil' workers apron. She looks so excited to get to work!
Thank you u/Braquen! For this astounding Pixel Art of Taisa after a few range day dates with Chris! Her little hat and gunbelt are absolutely astounding!
Thank you u/VeryUnluckyDice! For this Artwork of Taisa and Chris as characters from One Piece! I've never seen or read it before but it's incredibly cute!
Thank you to u/creditmission for their wonderful work of several LoM fanfics!
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Memory Transcription Subject: Christopher A. Dewey, Human Merchant Ship Captain, Crystal Star Shipping Co-Owner
Date [Standardized Human Time]: October 12th, 2136
At least Heartwood is chipping in, guess it’s another little light in the dark.
Polani’s systems hummed along with happy determination and the distinct sound of her drive spooling down thrummed though her frame like a bow across a well-tuned bass as it pulled us from subspace. The stretched stars receded, their multicolored spectrums of light coalescing into distant, shining white dots amongst the sea of the void. Earth filled the viewscreen, bejeweled by a bustling spray of starships scattered within her orbit that were all hard at work evacuating and preparing for the coming fleet.
Night was falling again when we’d left VP, her polar winds all but throwing us into the sky as if the planet itself was urging us on. Taisa and I were happy to listen, pushing Polani for everything she had, even if it wouldn’t make the jump any faster. The people of Heartwood, with the help of a few human hands, had been building shelters near about as fast as we could deliver them, guided by massive flood lights that lit up the whole valley so much that even the Venlillian Night was held at bay.
Watching those buildings get hauled out of their compactor crates was something. An entire steel frame, walls, and roof were up in an hour with the interiors not far behind. One of the hands said both shelters were slated to be done later today or early tomorrow; seemed they just needed to check wiring and tie it into Heartwood’s grid. Either way, they’d be done before we were back with the first group of refugees.
The festival, in spite of it all, was still going on; Taisa and I figured they wanted to keep some kind of normalcy amongst everything. Apparently the town hadn’t missed a single festival in something like two hundred years and they weren’t gonna stop now! The prep was already done, after all, and I couldn’t fault anyone for trying to have a good time before… that happens. The response to the workers we’d brought in yesterday had been surprisingly accepting, though not without a little wariness from a few of ‘the usual coats’, as Taisa had put it. But between Lentan, Shenod, Salamar, Ulmic, a whole herd of helping Venlil and a few familiar vendors from the festival happily selling them all kinds of festival food, I was hopeful the workers and the coming refugees were going to feel welcome enough.
Lentan’s new U.N. liason, Elena, had sent us another authorization code for evac-landing, this time at the recently renamed ‘Dulles Interplanetary Space-Port’ and told us the first of our passengers for Heartwood would be there waiting for us. Polani’s helm let out a soft chime as I sent a hail to the controller, requesting a landing vector with the codes we’d been given attached. “Dulles Interplanetary, VP-2865-HR requesting vector to land under attached authorization.”
An answer came back immediately, a curt, quick voice snapping from the speakers alongside a plotted approach vector for us to follow. ”VP-2865-HR, Dulles Interplanetary, approved for landing, Pad 14-Bravo North. East approach over Chesapeake Bay, vector 2-7-8 your heading.”
“Pad 14-Bravo North en route from Vector 2-7-8 afirm. VP-2865-HR, out.”
Polani’s nose sparked with reentry flames that danced across the viewscreen as we struck the atmosphere, burning an approach vector out across the open ocean. The dull, well working groan of her inertial dampeners spooled to life as I hauled her nose over to brake our speed, clearing the encroaching red, orange and yellow of atmospheric fire only to be replaced by the shimmering deep blue waters of the Atlantic and Maryland Coast beyond.
The scrubby sea-washed coast rolled beneath Polani’s hull, her engines greedily sucking in the rich, cold coastal air and pouring out echoing calls across the rolling dunes. Small clusters of farmhouses, well beaten dusty dirt roads and brick towns zipped past as we rolled on along our vector. Taisa let out an appreciative whistle as she watched from her side of the viewscreen, her tail’s pleased twitching a far departure from the nervous wreck she’d been the last few paws.
We’d both been concerned, to some degree, that Heartwood wouldn’t accept any refugees, at least not in an appreciable number; but Lentan’s project was far more than either of us could have hoped for. Darno had let us know that Shining Waterfall was actively outright refusing any Human refugees, alongside an ocean of other rural towns doing just the same, but he and Natus had tried their best to get something set up in town. I appreciated the effort even if it, ultimately and unfortunately, hadn’t bore any fruit.
The peninsula beneath us fell away to dark, muddy brown waters of the Chesapeake and an ever-present procession of ships streaming out to sea. Some were undoubtedly working, taking shipments to where they needed to be and doing their damnedest to pitch in in any way they could for Earth’s defense; the others were, more likely, off to hide on the ocean, hoping the Federation couldn’t find them amongst the churning waves. Overhead in the distance we saw shaded outlines of star-ships of all kinds climbing ever onward to the void above, transporting refugees and hauling parts to the yards in one last-ditch effort to add just one more hull between Earth and those who wished to scrub her clean.
D.C.’s bustling skyline rose into view on the horizon, her vast sprawl pressing against the Chesapeke’s lapping banks. It wasn’t long until we’d be landed at Dulles, taking on another ship’s worth of scared, huddled people grasping for anything to keep themselves and their families safe. The weight of my pad was like lead in my pocket, tugging at my attention and prodding at the back of my mind to try again. To try to get Ma, Pa, Ryan or Annabelle to leave again.
The U.N. had been keeping tabs on the fleet and, more importantly, were publishing it for people to see. Guess they figured it’d be better to give people every scrap of information they could in the face of what just might be the end. They said they’d managed to hold them off an extra day or so with some odd off-and-on jumping, ditching subspace disruptors in their path and pulling a hit-and-fade before they could fully wake up. Apparently some runs were a lot closer than others.
The ‘how’ didn’t really matter to me, I didn’t know how it worked nor were the UN keen on talking about it; I was just holding out hope that it’d keep on working. Taisa said something about the buoys pushing out a fake gravity well to trick the drives into an emergency shutdown, which had a tendency to be rather disruptive. Either way it sounded terrifying from either end of the coin, diving headlong on a fleet that could wake up at any second in the hope of breaking something or just being a sitting duck in a tin can while a bomber fell on me like a ten pound hammer… Certainly wasn’t something I’d wanna deal with in the slightest.
“What’s that weird spire?” Taisa whistled, breaking me from my thoughts as the soft tinking of her claw on the viewscreen shattered the silence.
Weird Spire?
I traced the line of her gaze out across the skyline, finding her staring at the distant peak of the Washington Monument rising above the rest of D.C. Despite the weight that’d been hanging in my stomach a few seconds before, I couldn’t help but laugh as I eased back on the throttle to set up for our approach. “That’s the Washington monument. We built it… god, around two hundred and fifty years ago now? It's meant to honor my country's first president. There's some old baggage there but I’ve always liked seeing it when Ma’ an’ Pa’ took us to D.C. for the museums. Somethin’ about it just feels right, I suppose. Do the Venlil have anything like that?”
“Closest we have is the Cattle Memorial.” She grimaced, letting out a small whistle as the mall fell out of sight behind us. “What kinds of museums?”
“Loads of ‘em. Natural history, Art, entire buildings about specific cultures, beautiful gardens and my favorite - probably be yours too - the Air and Space Museum.”
Her ears perked up in that adorable way they did whenever she got excited about something as her tail tapped enthusiastically against the bulkhead beside her. “Oh?”
A wry smile tugged at the corners of my mouth as I saw her enthusiasm grow with every word. “Covers everything from our first flying machines to our, far more recent, discovery of FTL. Though their hangar is way more involved. Pretty sure they already managed to line up getting one of the prototype drives on display, now that I think of it.”
Her eyes were all but glowing as she stared at me across the center board, the familiar hum of Polani’s thrusters switching to reverse thrust pouring through the frame around us as we slowed down. “You have to take me there!”
“If everything wor-”
“When.” She stated, her voice firm with resolve as she stared me down, one paw hovering over her console. The droop in her ears and slowing of her tail betrayed the fear behind her words, but I was thankful she was trying for me. It helped. “When this all works out.”
“When this all works out,” I replied, pushing down the bitter worry eating at my heart. “we’ll have to go. Make a whole weekend of it! Good food, full museums and some amount of restraint so you don’t go rooting around in exhibit displays.”
“I’ll hold you to it, Heartwood.”
Silence filled the helm but for the sound of Polani’s systems as I eased her down on our marked pad, the soft crush of the landing struts welcoming us to Earth once again. The distant whir of hydraulics heralded the ramp’s descent, letting in the distant sound of someone calling groups to board. Taisa and I rose to our feet in silence, her tail slipping around my wrist as she padded at my side down the stairs.
The flitting early morning east coast light filtered into the hold alongside scattered, weary voices as we settled down to sit on the bottom step. Thankful eyes fell on Taisa and I as families filed aboard one by one, excited children frantically waving to who was probably the first Venlil they’d ever seen in person. It was refreshing to see the unquenchable enthusiasm of young kids, even if they didn’t know what was coming; they were still just so excited to see someone new. Boy… were they in for a treat when we got to Heartwood!
Elena’s message had said we’d have a hundred passengers aboard this run and a hundred on the next, families with children only. Taisa and I had wondered what Lentan was up to with his shelters, especially keeping them reserved for families, but as long as they got good people out of harm's way then we didn’t care. The ‘twenty minutes’ this was supposed to take passed by like molasses in winter as we sat and watched. Families and the bags they’d brought with them quickly flooded the deck as a handful of peacekeepers and organizers helped stow their luggage away for the trip.
Every passing minute made the weight pulling at my heart sink ever lower; Taisa’s pressing warmth at my side did little to quell the torrent of worry I felt brewing in my gut, but I would never give it up for anything. The last family hustled aboard as the embarking co-ordinator shot me a thumbs up before jogging off to their next pick-up. The weight strung taut as I stared at the smattering of people settling into the hold for the trip, tears welling in the corner of my eyes as I couldn’t find them anywhere in the throng of families before us.
They weren’t here.
Taisa’s tail squeezed my wrist as she pressed a little closer, wrapping me in a tight hug and whispering quietly before rising to her feet. “We can call them on the way, love. Maybe they just weren’t ready yet.”
I nodded, forcing myself up to follow her into the helm, the echoing thud of my boots on the deck under my feet punctuating the tempest of worry brewing in my thoughts. On autopilot, I slipped into my pilot seat, sending out my request for clearance to depart before hauling Polani’s nose skyward and zipping off. We clipped through a sea of clouds, punching out into a clear blue sky as we reached for the black void beyond. The storm of worry in my mind crystallized, coalescing into a single, tangible emotion.
Fury.
I had told them to be there, secured them a spot, be it in the shelter or with Taisa’s family, and pulled every feeble, tenuous string Taisa and I had to make sure they’d be able to get off world as soon as possible and they didn’t take it. Ma' and Pa' had said they would be here when we got here and then hadn’t followed through. So far as I was concerned, they’d lied to me.
Before long Polani escaped the bounds of Earth’s gravity well, her jump-drive automatically spooled up as soon as the sensors detected it was safe to jump. Within a few moments the stars had once again stretched into long streaks across the viewscreen as the constant thrum of the drive dropped an octave and launched Polani out across the stars.
I couldn’t say a word. Couldn’t make a sound, through the boiling rage I felt in my chest; Taisa’s tail was still wrapped snugly around my wrist when she rose from her seat and slipped into my lap with a sigh. “You want to call them?”
“Not sure I should right now.” I grumbled, my fingers finding their way into her wool. “Don’t think I’d have much pleasant to say.”
“Maybe ‘not much pleasant’ is what they need to hear.”
“Maybe…” I trailed off, my other hand resting on the pad weighing down my pocket.
“You have to at least try, love.” She stated, closing her eyes and pressing her head into my chest.
“I know, Darlin’, just hate havin’ hard conversations with family.”
She let out a small mewl of agreement before shifting to peer up at me with one big, amber eye. “Those are usually the most important ones though, aren’t they?”
“Yea…” I mumbled, pulling my pad free and unlocking it before staring at the call-log. “Doesn’t make it any easier though.”
>No it doesn’t.<
I held my breath for a long moment, staring at the call button and trying to will my finger forward before I let out a long, heavy sigh and tapped the button. The up-beat chiming song of the FTL-call filled the silence of the helm as agonizingly long seconds dragged by with, the smiling picture of Annabelle at the harbor dig in Cypress shaking back and forth with each beat. Just as I was about to cancel the call the chime stopped, Annabelle filling the screen with a quick flourish of her messy hair.
“Hey Big Guy, Taisa, wha’s up?” Annabelle asked, her thick drawl still present despite her travels, words tumbling past her heavy breathing as the edge of a broad pine crate just barely peeked into view at her side.
“Good to see you again, Annabelle.” Taisa whistled, forcing an upbeat tone into her voice as she shifted to better look at the pad.
Again?
“An’ you.” Annabelle replied, concern flashing across her face as she studied me through the pad. “Everythin’ alright, Chris?”
“Ma, Pa', an’ Ryan weren’t at Dulles.” I replied, pulling my hand down my face and out my beard with a heavy groan. “I know we tal-”
“I still ain’ goin’.” She chimed in, the view shifting as she set the pad against the crate to pull her messy auburn hair up into a single tie before letting it flop against her back, her attention shifting to Taisa. “As much as I’d adore getting to see your people’s festival, the museum’s far fro-”
“We know, Anne, we know. I think that’s a whole ‘nother issue we need to talk about but it ain’t the one I’m callin’ for.” I replied, stepping in before she tore off on another dissertation on every piece they hadn’t managed to get offloaded to the bunkers the U.N. had set up outside London. I loved hearing about her work, but now wasn’t the time. “I need help to get them on one of our next runs.”
She nodded, picking us back up and leaning against the crate, framing a bold red label: ‘Fragile: Handle With Care’. “I can try, but I don’ know that I’ll be much help considerin’ my own stance.”
Another long sigh tumbled from my mouth as I ran my fingers through Tai’s wool. “Better than nothing, Anne. Thank you.”
“I don’ want ‘em in harm's way anymore’n you do, Big Guy. I’ll try an’ help.” She replied with a sigh of her own, her video cutting out as she continued. “Now, I do still need to get these artifacts movin’, I’ll still be here, don’chu worry.”
“Gotcha. Gimmie a sec.” I replied, a mote of hope sprouting atop the ball of grief festering in the pit of my stomach as I pulled up Ma' and Pa’s contact card and put Anne on hold.
That same up-beat jingle of the FTL-call mocked me for a long moment before the smiling picture of Ma'and Pa' was replaced with a video-feed of them outside on the porch swelled into view while the drifting chirping chatters of distant birds filtered through the speakers.
We stared at each other through the connection for a few hanging seconds, the only sounds exchanged being that of Polani and the familiar tune of home. I finally broke the silence, my voice heavy with hurt, worry and anger as I spoke. “Where were you? We agreed that you three wo-”
“No, Chris, we didn’t agree.” Ma’ stated, cutting me off with a stern voice. “You told us what you’d managed to set up and expected us to go with it.”
“You should go.” Anne’s voice chimed in, startling Ma’ and Pa’ as Pa’ tapped at the screen with heavy, clumsy hands. “Ain’ no reason for you three to stay behind.”
“And there’s a good one for you to?” Ma’ retorted as she crossed her arms, staring daggers at the screen.
“Better’n whatever yours are now.” Anne sighed, the sound of roller wheels clacking on rough concrete punctuating her words. “I’ve got a duty to history. You two are just deciding to stay for stayin’s sake and Ryan wants to try an’ make up for whatever ‘failure’ he still thinks he’s gotta atone for.”
“No, we ain’t.” Pa’ rumbled, all but growling as he leaned forward. “Ryan may feel like he’s got something to prove an’ your Ma’ certainly doesn’t want to abandon the collection of our entire lives. Visitin’ VP’d be one thing, and god knows I want to, but leaving everything behind to let it turn to ash ‘neath these murderous assholes while most of us end up left behind? Now that I can’t abide.”
“Pa’ that ai-”
“And I refuse to be just another nail in the coffin for the Venlil if’n this fleet does manage to do its job. The U.N. don’t wanna admit it, but I’d put dollars to donuts that’s their next stop when’n they’re done with us. Either they do the same thing to us there and chuck our friends in the pot along with or it’ll be somethin’ far worse for the lot of us. If’n we don’t stop ‘em here there'll never be a safe place for us in the galaxy. Not VP, not some barren rock nor the void itself, it won’t matter, we’ll be hunted till the end of time.”
“Pa’ please…” I whispered, doing my best to meet my father’s eyes through the camera. “Tai’s family’ll have us, an’ if you don’t wanna stay there the shelter in town will take you in just the same. Don’t make me come ge-”
“You’ll do no such thing, young man.” Ma’ cut in, knocking my words short as she leaned forward and jammed a finger at the camera. “We’re not goin’ anywhere an’ you can’t make us, no matter how big you think you’ve got o’er the years.”
My heart plummeted as she pulled away from the pad with an all too familiar huff, her hands gripping her arms tight as she tossed her hair over her shoulder and refused to meet my eye, everything a stark reminder of a hundred ‘arguments’ I’d thought I could win when I was far younger. My mouth was dry as I spoke, the hope entirely gone from my voice. “That it then?”
“That’s it.” Pa’ stated with a small nod, his voice tight with a tinge of grief as he rolled his jaw. “Don’t know what’ll come of it, but it's what we’ve decided.”
“Pa…” Anne’s voice wavered, trailing off weakly as the echoing sound of her cart's wheels on the pavement came to a slow stop.
My chest tightened, Taisa’s tail squeezing my wrist as the helm fell quiet again while Pa’ and I stared back at each other through the pad for a long, hanging moment before he spoke again. “I wish you two luck, kids, hopefully this all rolls on by, they turn tail, run off and ain’t nothin’ come of it. But I doubt it… We love you all more’n anythin’ else on Earth.”
“We love you too, Pa.” I whispered, biting back tears as Ma’ gave a nod, squeezing her eyes shut tight.
“Love you too, Pa.” Annabelle sighed, her camera flicking on to show her leaned back against the crate beside her.
Pa’ gave a small smile, his eyes shifting across the screen; his voice was tight with worry as he tried to bolster some confidence into it. “Taisa, do your best to keep him safe, ya’ hear?”
“I will, I promise.” She whistled, sitting up a little higher as her tail tightened reassuringly around my wrist. “If you do change your mind…”
“Thank you, Taisa.” Pa’ answered, giving a small nod as he spoke, one hand casually brushing at his eye like he always did when he didn’t want anyone to see him cry. “We’ll let you know if we do.”
With that, I watched Pa’s finger reach across the pad, cutting off the call as his eyes started to well with tears.
“Fuck…”
“That didn’t go quite as well as you was hopin’, huh big guy?” Anne sighed, nervously running her fingers through her hair.
“No, Anne, no it definitely did not.” I mumbled, tightening my jaw as Taisa pressed into a close, comforting hug. “Don’t suppose I cou-”
“Nope.”
“Thought not.”
“Sorry…”
“It’s alright just- just stay safe, alright Anne?”
“I’ll do my best, and if I change my mind, you’ll be the first to know, promise.”
“I’ll hold you to it.”
“I’m sure you will. I love you, Chris.”
“Love you too, Anne.”
“Taisa?”
Taisa let out a small mewl of acknowledgement as her ears swung around to face Annabelle on the pad. >Yes?<
“Love him like I know you do; Lord knows he needs it.”
“I’ll do my best, Annabelle.”
“Thank you.”
I watched as she let out a long, heavy sigh, the distant sound of rollers on concrete fading in as she forced herself to her feet. She hesitated for a moment, staring at Taisa and I through the pad before nodding. “Good luck, Chris.”
“Good lu-” The call ended before I could even finish the sentence.
Fucking stubborn as always.
---
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Hey everyone, I am excited to share with you my latest work which is my first video game. I have no experience at all in game development but I put my heart in the game and I want to make sure I do things right. The game is kinda experimental cuz there aren't many games like it - it's ASCII art. I'd be glad if you send feedback so that I can know where to improve before finishing my game and publishing it. Here is the teaser: https://youtu.be/Xe26LuYCxCI?si=xtewz69UHDu12_dd If you liked what you saw you can subscribe to that YouTube channel to get the latest news about my game. Here is the official itch.io page: https://utopian-games.itch.io/war-and-peace-the-hidden-heaven

Hey everyone, I am excited to share with you my latest work which is my first video game. I have no experience at all in game development but I put my heart in the game and I want to make sure I do things right. The game is kinda experimental cuz there aren't many games like it - it's ASCII art. I'd be glad if you send feedback so that I can now where to improve before finishing my game and publishing it. Here is the teaser: https://youtu.be/Xe26LuYCxCI?si=xtewz69UHDu12_dd If you liked what you saw you can subscribe to that YouTube channel to get the latest news about my game. Here is the official itch.io page: https://utopian-games.itch.io/war-and-peace-the-hidden-heaven

Hey everyone, I am excited to share with you my latest work which is my first video game. I have no experience at all in game development but I put my heart in the game and I want to make sure I do things right. The game is kinda experimental cuz there aren't many games like it - it's ASCII art. I'd be glad if you send feedback so that I can now where to improve before finishing my game and publishing it. Here is the teaser: https://youtu.be/Xe26LuYCxCI?si=xtewz69UHDu12_dd

As always, thank you to for the wonderful universe that is NoP! Thank you to for proof reading and helping me make this chapter as good as it can be, you're the man! Honestly LoM wouldn't have gone very far without him! If you haven't you should absolutely go read Foundations of Humanity! It's very good AND it just updated!
A big thanks to for helping with proofreading! He writes Out of Our Elements which is a very good one! If you like a good fic in the wilderness and a pair of cute 'friends' ;) you'll love OOE!
Also thank you to ! For this wonderful fanart of Taisa. And this one! She's so cute I'm gonna die
And thank you to ! For this adorable fanart of Chris and Renkel! Dear god help he's adorable I love him so much
Thank you , or AsciiSquid on Discord, for makin' Vengineer Taisa Gamin'. She's absolutely adorable, I love her lil' workers apron. She looks so excited to get to work!
Thank you ! For this astounding Pixel Art of Taisa after a few range day dates with Chris! Her little hat and gunbelt are absolutely astounding!
Thank you ! For this Artwork of Taisa and Chris as characters from One Piece! I've never seen or read it before but it's incredibly cute!
Thank you to for their wonderful work of several LoM fanfics!
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Memory Transcription Subject: Lentan, Venlil Head Exterminator, Heartwood River Exterminator Office
Date [Standardized Human Time]: October 10th, 2136
Stars above, this has been horrible.
The faint, rumbling crackle of thrusters roaring to life filled the cool twilight air, rousing me from my thoughts and pulling my gaze from the Heartwood’s shifting canopy high above. The gleaming, polished skin of Polani rose from behind the walls of the port, her nose slowly slewing over skyward before zipping off to leave the distant crack of the sound barrier lingering in her wake for a moment. A long, hanging breath slipped from my snout as I shook the lethargy from my wool, turning back towards the heavy hewn doors of the office to attend this paw’s meetings.
A good name for her so far, hopefully she lives up to it again. Now on to helping her manage it.
There were few things I felt like I truly believed in anymore and thankfully Polani was, in some ways, one of them. Her and the Cause. For now though, I believed most in doing as much good as I could manage with what was before me, even if the route was… distasteful.
The usual silence of the office was undercut by the malcontented grumbling of Farzen and Marlek as Ulmic sat finishing his start-of-paw paperwork. Cistara and Barast had aired their relative grievances with my plan earlier, though unlike the other pair, they were far more concerned with security than they were about taint or corruption. It pleased me to see my younger officers had taken to shaking off the shackles of such restrictive thinking, Cistara’s feathers had hardly ruffled at all.
The troublesome pair’s voices quieted as they watched me pad past the lobby, making purposeful strides to the light that spilled from my office's cracked door. Ulmic glanced up, flicking me a brief, formal >Hello, Sir.< “Good Waking, Lentan. Your first… appointment is waiting in your office, Sir.”
>Thank you.< “Have they been waiting long?”
“Ten minutes at the most. Said the-”
A loud, angry grunt belted from Farzen’s mouth, cutting Ulmic off as she stared daggers at the door to my office. “This is incredibly shortsighted, Sir. Just one has done far too much da-”
“Quiet.” >Do not.< I stated, my voice flat as I briskly passed her. “You’re already on withered soil, don’t even start with me. Ulmic, find something.”
Her mouth snapped shut, Ulmic letting out an amused, clicking grunt as he rolled himself back from his desk, beckoning the two to follow him. “Ya know, I think the fuel aerators need the accelerant buildup scraped clean. Again. Should only take a claw or so, and I will be double checking your work.”
The pair let out another weak, protesting grumble before slinking off to do as Ulmic ordered. The graying Gojid turned, his posture assuring me he’d do his best to keep them out of my wool for the paw.
Good hire. Lucky to have him now. Never does to have spoiled pups in the guild.
The door to my office gave a familiar, welcoming creak as I gently pushed it open, softly rapping my claws across its wood to announce my approach. “Good Morning, Ms. Rabonette, apologies for the delay.”
The Human seated in front of my desk looked up from a broad, multi-colored padfolio that contrasted starkly against her dark gray clothes, Amarek-bark-brown hair speckled with gray locks and skin as white as the sands of the burning. She did her best to not bring her visor to look directly at me as I quietly closed the door before swiftly padding behind my desk. “Good waking, Mr. Lentan; Elena is fine. It was no worry at all, you’ve given me a good break and some time to get my documents in order which has been… a rare commodity these past few days.”
“It’s been hectic for us all, I suppose.” >Consolation.< I agreed, sliding into my seat with a long sigh before collecting my pad and swiping through the collected files. “I needn’t tail-chain you, Elena, I assure you I can handle being looked at.”
Her visor hung for a moment, remaining pointed at the wall as she replied with a hesitant voice. “Are you sure, Lentan? I’ve met a few Venlil who say the same and then lock up fo-”
“I’ll be fine, Elena. You don’t need to worry for my sake.” I answered, receiving a non committal shrug as her visor rose to fully look at me.
“I must say, we’ve gotten plenty of inquiries from mayors, town committees, business owners and average citizens alike, but I think I can count on one hand the number of exterminator offices, especially rural ones , that have called offering a space to build refugee shelters.” She stated, flipping to another sheet in her pad as she continued. “So, what makes your office one of the outliers?”
“I do.” I replied absently, sliding my pad across the desk to her, displaying a sat-map of Heartwood and a few clearings circled in orange. “The town’s population, as of the last census, was four thousand two hundred and fifty eight of mostly Venlil. I would like to keep the Human refugee population to 10% of that, or lower, for peoples ‘safety’. It would not do for my office to have to give up other important duties to ke-”
“Four Hundred people?” She asked, the slightest hint of surprise sprouting in her voice as she set a brass pen down on my desk with a loud clack. “Not the biggest allowance but not nothing, especially for the area. What’s at those locations currently?”
“Nothing.”
She paused, her visor fixed on the pad sat upon the desk before drifting to me. “Nothing?”
“Nothing. One site is the open field just dayward of our festival grounds which is owned by the town, the other is a flat, dry clearing dayward from town near the river bank, which I personally own, and the third is an area atop the valleyside which has severalof zoning disputes.” I answered with a reproachful whistle, panning the map around to highlight each location. “I have listed them in order of ease of use and availability. I would suggest two camps, one at zone one and one at zone two.”
Her visor’s gaze hung on my snout, the emotion behind it unreadable through the polished surface, though the concern in her voice apparent as she spoke. “Land is all well and good, sir, but it's not a shelter. Where are they going to actually live?”
“That, I think, is something your people have a far better answer for than we do.” I whistled with an upbeat note hanging in my voice, relishing in the pleasant shift in her posture as she leaned back in her seat while I loaded the next file. I turned my pad to show her a story about the ‘renovations’ to a place on Earth called ‘McMurdo Station’ and a flyer for a company named Archer Prefab that had provided the buildings. “Your companies have done an astounding job with quickly filling such a demand at the proper ‘scale’ for Humans. Four of their largest barracks units in each camp, or ten of their mid-sized ones, and a pawful of support buildings would more than fill the need!”
She sat, thinking for a moment and nodding in the same, familiar manner as Christopher before speaking. I couldn’t see her face and, though she had no tail to speak of with which I could read, I could hear the interest weaving through her voice. “And I presume you also have a solution for getting them here and putting them up?”
>Of course I do.< My tail bounced at the question, a pleased whistle slipping past my teeth as I swiped to the next file on my pad, showing Elena a gleaming picture of Polani plying through the sky over Heartwood. “There is, of course, a local shipping company formed from the exchange program that, I think, would be more than happy to handle shipping of both materials and refugees. As for construction, we have plenty of eager paws that our local Human has made a good impression on that I’m sure would be ecstatic to help welcome more of your kind under Polani’s watch.”
“So I’m aware; Crystal Star Shipping is the company name, correct?” She asked, jotting something down in that blocky Human script I’d tried, and failed, to begin familiarizing myself with. “And they’re under contract to help with the evacuation efforts already?”
“Yes, and Yes.” I responded, flicking to the next file which showed her Christopher and Taisa’s contract, which my long-time friend had been so eager to send when she’d heard of my plan. “I should think this would fall under those responsibilities, yes?”
“That it would…” She responded, her voice trailing off as she tapped away at her pad, letting silence fill my office as she quickly wrote a few more things down on the padfolio in front of her before quickly tearing it out and sliding it across the desk. “They are currently servicing the Hope and the Mercy’s North American corridors for L.A., D.C., Chicago, Toronto, Ontario, Boston and NYC so they are occupied. Their planned duties for tomorrow are changed. They will have two deliveries of the compacted frame and internals of the buildings, as well as forty extra experienced hands to make sure they’re put together right along with them. If you have your volunteers ready and waiting then it should be done before you blink!”
She paused, looking to me to make sure I was keeping up before I hefted my pad and gave her an encouraging flick of my ears to continue. “If those volunteers have any issue working directly with Humans, that they do not feel they can push through, but still wish to help, I am certain something can be found for them to do. The day after that, they will be bringing in two sets of passengers: two hundred per run.”
“They’ll be done that fast?” I asked, my claw hanging over the screen of my pad as I looked up to her, my ears falling back with surprise.
“Mr. Archer is adamant his buildings, ‘assembled by his trained technicians’ as he put it, take no more than thir- er… six or seven claws to complete. Even the barracks sized ones. Though for packaging purposes, these will be the twenty person buildings, not the fifties.” She confirmed, swiping her finger in a fluid motion across her pad before turning it to me and tapping at a clean line above her own. “Sign this and we’ll get everything in order.”
That easy? Another step on the path taken with just a signature?
I left my mark with a flourish, feeling a heavy weight falling free from my shoulders at the thought of having helped take at least some Humans out of harm's way. “Done.”
“Thank you, Mr. Lentan. Now, if you’ve nothing else I’ll get out of your hair… or wool, as it were.” Elena stated, rising from her seat and hesitating a moment to adjust her visor before taking a step to the door.
“One thing, Elena.” I breathed, my claws tracing the familiar, worn in lines under my desk as I looked up at her visor.
“Yes?”
“What do you look like? Without the visor, I mean.”
She was quiet for a moment, her hand slipping free of the door handle as she studied me through her visor before she finally spoke. “Are you asking me to take my visor off, or to describe myself?”
“The former, if you are comfortable with it.” >Certain.< I answered, straightening my back and raising my ears.
Her posture relaxed as a dextrous hand ending in fiery red nails rose to the edge of the visor, hesitating a moment before a cautious, if not slightly joking, tone slipped into her voice. “As long as you promise not to set your torch toters on me.”
“You’ve my word, Elena.” I replied, raising my tail high, receiving a nod before she slowly slipped the visor free.
Her face was soft, her features rounded and welcoming like many of the pictures of Humans I’d taken the time to study over the paws since they’d arrived. A small nose sat above eltavi-bloom lips and a tapestry of spots on her skin that I’d read the Humans called ‘freckles’, all framed by those long, curling brown and gray locks. The image of a Human’s face in person was far more interesting than the pictures I’d studied thus far.
But most interesting of all were her eyes.
I had prepared myself, of course. Studied pictures, anonymously talked to a few Venlil exchange partners and forced myself to push past the fear I knew lurked in the back of my mind at the thought of those eyes despite all my efforts. But those dark, burnished copper eyes that peered back at me were far more energetic than anything I’d seen on my pad. They looked more like freshly tilled, rain kissed soil than the murderous black beads belonging to the predators on our standard-issue training material; not that those were even accurate in the first place, anyhow.
No, these had depth, intelligence and soul behind them just like any person I’d ever met. As I watched her fidget in place they shifted, from rich brown to gold-flecked and back again like a full fall of Heartwood’s own sun-lit golden leaves drifting down before the tapestry of the Stars. They were absolutely beautiful.
If people only took the time to look…
Silence hung in my office as the seconds ticked past, Elena’s mesmerizing eyes flicking off of me to the wall over my shoulder and back, only to turn her face away and start pulling her visor back down. “You ok Lentan? Didn’t take you for the freeze-y type.”
“Sorry.” I whistled, shaking my wool free of my stupor before continuing. “Just… first time I’ve seen a Human in person. Well, there’s Chris but I’ve never actually… taken the time to… ahem… you have very pretty eyes. You can keep the visor off for now, I will be fine.”
A flash of surprise lifted her eyebrows as those captivating eyes flicked back to me before a small smile tugged at the corners of her cheeks. “That’s good to hear, Lentan. Certainly helps build confidence for this endeavor if the local Chief Exterminator is this accepting!”
I sat back in my chair, a small twitch of happiness zipping down my tail at the musical sound of her laughter as she set her belongings back down next to her.
[35 Solar Years] ago I’d have fought someone that said a predator could make such noises. Stars, I was a fool. Maybe… Maybe she could understand…
“Elena, you asked what makes the HREO different earlier. Do you still want to know?”
She studied me for a moment, checking the gleaming time-piece on her wrist before answering. “I've got a few hours before I need to be on my way to my next meeting, I don’t see any harm in it.”
Someone who, for once, wouldn’t scream to the stars and have you destroyed…
“Very good. This conversation may not leave this room. If that is acceptable to you, then I will continue. If not, you are excused.” I answered, flicking my tail to her seat as I stood and padded to the door, pausing and allowing a moment for her to decide, before silently locking it. “Feel free to sit back down if you like but I’d prefer we weren’t interrupted by my subordinates.”
“Ok… I can do ‘hush-hush’.” She whispered conspiratorially, her gaze lingering on my back as I returned to my desk; the sound of her seat scraping on the floor was almost deafening in the quiet office. “So why is your office different, then?”
“The answer is still the same: Me.” I stated, my claws still tracing the familiar lines set into the bottom of my desk. “Me and my friends.”
A confused look crossed her face as she glanced over her shoulder at the door before looking back to me with a soft, low voice. “Your friends?”
“Indeed, my friends. When I was a younger coat in the force I was… enthusiastic.” I sighed, pulling up some photos on my pad to show her. My black wool clad in the exterminator suit, spattered only by a few of my Mother’s white flecks instead of the basin of gray that dominated it now. “Fully invested in everything the exterminators believed, stood for, and practiced. I met and exceeded every statistic, mark, and quota my predecessor, Hienet, had set for the office. Topped extermination efficiency, burn rates and aptitude evaluations for everything I could and if I wasn’t first for everything else I wasn’t far off from it.”
“Within a lawful of [Solar Years] I was doing the lead work for a farmer’s share of Heartwood’s extermination calls and I loved it. Until one paw I didn’t anymore. One paw, when I was working alone, long before anyone in the office’s employ now was hired, I was sent out to find a Kelach one of the day-ward farmers had reported in their treeline.”
“A Kelach?” Elena’s voice split me from my recounting, her head tilted like a pup hearing a new sound for the first time.
“Large night-ward predator. Eat mostly fish and smaller animals… though I’m not convinced that’s all. Anyhow, which predator it was isn’t the important part. I started looking for it, tracking it the best I could to put it to the torch, to do my job. Before long I was deep in the wood, following tracks, dung and broken foliage along the riverside,” I swiped through my pad as I spoke, pulling up one of the Dawn Creek Natural History Museum’s over-dramatized pictures of a Kelach to show her. “That’s not particularly accurate but it's at least mostly the right shape. I found myself going in circles, following its footprints before I finally had to stop to take a rest after nearly a claw of following it.”
Elena muttered under her breath, something about a ‘weird looking [Earth Predator]’ as she looked at the pad, motioning for me to continue before setting the device back on my desk. “I settled down with my back to a tree, catching my breath, eating and hydrating before I continued after it. I only had another half claw I was approved to search for before I’d have to return for my rest claw and I’d be scorched if I left it out there to hurt someone if I could help it. It took a moment, amongst my panting and chewing before I’d noticed that everything had gone silent. Nothing but the sound of the wind in the trees and the thump of my heart in my chest reached my ears. And the heavy, grunting breathing of something a lot bigger than me.”
Elena’s eyes went wide while she listened, her jaw tightening with worry as I continued the story. The sentiment was endearing, considering the obvious conclusion of me not being dead. “It was right there, no more than two, maybe three tails from me. The size of my exterminator van and staring at me. I just froze. It knew I was there, knew I was food, I was certain of it b-but it didn’t do anything. It just stared at me and I stared back, the both of us stock still before it let out another loud, rolling grunt and turned to walk away.”
“I couldn’t do anything but watch as the predator that could have split me in half with barely a thought just… chose not to. It just chose. A predator had looked at me, at its prey, and decided not to eat it. It had thought about it and came to a conclusion that I just couldn’t understand. And didn’t understand for a long time.” I sighed the last few words, my ears batting away the memories of paws upon paws of being unable to think of anything but the encounter. “Nobody believed me, they all said I’d been mistaken. That it wasn’t possible, that if I kept up talking like that I’d end up in a facility, all except for one.”
A panel in my desk clicked, the familiar weight of cold metal falling onto my paw pad before I quickly gripped it tight. “She was fascinated by my story, wanted every detail of it I could remember and then some. She was relieved that we’d never found that Kelach afterwards, relieved that a predator had been left to roam free so close to Heartwood. At first that didn’t sit right with me, like it was wrong for it to even exist at all.”
I set my paw on the desk, drawing Elena’s gaze, the trinket still held tight in it as I continued talking. “Then she showed me statistics and charts and tables and a whole weave of evidence about what good a managed population of wild predators could do for a rural community. Reminded me that, despite it having been free to roam for herds of paws it hadn’t hurt anyone. She showed me that it was all connected. That predators weren’t bad. I know for you Humans it's obvious, I’ve managed to get a pawful of the more restricted publications translated for my own consumption and… and you prove it, you prove she was right.”
My paw opened, dumping the metal links to the desk with a soft, jingling thunk as Elena leaned forward to look at the symbol. “I know this doesn’t mean anything to you but for me? For me, the last few herds of paws have been… vindicating. I’m just sad I couldn’t do more with the time I’ve had, so many good ideas and progress thrown to the winds of night just to stay safe, so much suffering, so many injured friends and an endless mountain of loss all for nothing.”
Elena was quiet as I finished, leaning back into my seat, doing my best to hold back the burn of tears at the thought of the friends I’d nearly lost to injury and the ones truly taken by accident, attacks, and the guild’s plain negligence. “Why’d you keep doing it?”
A quick paw brushed away the tears as I sat back up again, shaking as much of the grief free of my wool as I could before I answered. “Because if I didn’t someone else would, for all the pain this office has brought we’ve done far more good than most others manage. I’ve added plenty of orders and tasks that aren’t torching predator pups and parents to the roster and it's helped. My officers, save a pawful, are less radical than those in districts that just patrol, patrol, and patrol all the time. Even with that I just feel dirtier and dirtier with every passing paw.”
“I don’t think you should, Lentan.” Elena whispered, running her thumb along the links with a thoughtful hum. “It's gotten you this far and you are helping and I think that’s what's important.”
“Thank you, Elena. I needed to hear that from someone else for once.”
“Even if they are a Human?” She asked, her voice lifting with a note of amusement as she slid the symbol back to me.
“I-I think that might actually make it more important.” I answered, taking the chain and slipping it back into its compartment with a solid click. “It’s proof.”
“Well, I’m happy I could deliver the proof you needed.” Elena smiled, a small laugh dancing in her voice as she collected her belongings, pulling her visor down as she stood and extended a hand.
“It is certainly reassuring.” I replied with a laugh of my own before taking her hand in my paw. “Ah, yes, the ‘handshake’.”
Her hand slid free as she turned to the door, taking a step forward before stopping and slipping her visor back up as she held out her pad. “If you ever feel like you need some more ‘proof’, give me a call?”
I stared at the pad for a moment, thoughts of conversations unimpeded by time, or the federation’s snooping, sprouting in my mind as my tail started to slowly wag behind me. “That sounds lovely, Elena, thank you.”
She tapped her pad to mine, trading contacts before dropping it back into a pocket on her coat with a sigh. “Guess that means it's back to the grind for me. God help us if this doesn’t all work out.”
“I have hope that it will and, apparently, hope’s done well by me so far.” I whistled back, slowly padding over to quietly unlock the door.
“Hope might be all we’ve got in the end. This has been nice, Lentan. Please do keep in touch.”
“I assure you I will, Elena. Though you might end up with more questions than you think you’ve bargained for.”
“I look forward to it, have a good rest of your paw, Lentan. Hopefully your meetings go better than mine” She smiled, giving an upbeat chuckle before pulling her visor down as I started to open the door.
“You too, Elena.” I replied, watching as she made her way toward the lobby, being greeted by Salamar and Shenod on the way as they returned from a call.
In the office’s best paws. May Polani watch over you, and the rest of your kind, Elena.
“Now onto the mayor.” I mumbled to myself before letting out a sigh, turning to look at our dispatcher across the room and whistling to get her attention. “Estera, send my next meeting in when he gets here, please.”
>Understood.<
Stars, I feel better.
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As always, thank you to u/SpacePaladin15 for the wonderful universe that is NoP! Thank you to u/cruisingNW for proof reading and helping me make this chapter as good as it can be, you're the man! Honestly LoM wouldn't have gone very far without him! If you haven't you should absolutely go read Foundations of Humanity! It's very good!
A big thanks to u/Saint-Andros for helping with proofreading! He writes Out of Our Elements which is a very good one! If you like a good fic in the wilderness and a pair of cute 'friends' ;) you'll love OOE!
Also thank you to u/brotanics! For this wonderful fanart of Taisa. And this one! She's so cute I'm gonna die
And thank you to u/Jimdandy117! For this adorable fanart of Chris and Renkel! Dear god help he's adorable I love him so much
Thank you u/SlimyRage, or AsciiSquid on Discord, for makin' Vengineer Taisa Gamin'. She's absolutely adorable, I love her lil' workers apron. She looks so excited to get to work!
Thank you u/Braquen! For this astounding Pixel Art of Taisa after a few range day dates with Chris! Her little hat and gunbelt are absolutely astounding!
Thank you u/VeryUnluckyDice! For this Artwork of Taisa and Chris as characters from One Piece! I've never seen or read it before but it's incredibly cute!
Thank you to u/creditmission for their wonderful work of several LoM fanfics!
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Memory Transcription Subject: Taisa, Venlil Starship Engineer, Crystal Star Shipping Co-Owner
Date [Standardized Human Time]: October 8th, 2136
A quiet first paw back. Safe, simple, profitable and fast. Just what we need.
Polani’s thrusters all but sang, urging Chris on as he sent her into her first real cycle in paws, the pin-pricks of distant stars dancing in the viewscreen were a familiar host of companions as we returned home from the Capital. The hold was empty again after we’d dropped our load off at one of the communication arrays over the Capital; something about parts, rations and more than a fair share of crates we weren’t allowed to even think about looking in. Now Polani was light and free to burn to her - and Chris’ - heart’s content, but for the few crates of liquor Ervena had asked us to bring back for her. At least our account was just a little fuller, neatly making up for the more… expensive of our repairs.
Two good paws in a row with my favorite people in both! Stars above, thank you for all of them; I don’t know what I’d do without Mama, Papa, Renkel or the rest of Heartwood…
A long sigh slipped from Chris as he leaned back in his seat, stretching his arms out over his head before casting his eyes over to me. “Well, got another hour… to wait ‘fore we gotta de-orbit…”
But most of all, him.
“Are you asking if I wanna be productive, or if I want to cuddle?” I sighed back, feigning exasperation in my voice as my tail flicked back and forth with amusement. “‘Cause I can think of more than a few system checks we could run!”
“I mean, I didn’t say that.” He laughed, an adorable smile spreading across his face along with a small, rosy blush. “Though, we always could add ohhh I don’t know, ‘five more minutes’?”
“Oh? Well I’m sure I could almost certainly find something for us to work on for a half claw or so…” A twitch of fondness flicked through my tail as a purr poured from my snout, my feet finding their way beneath me to stand while my claw tapped sarcastically against my snout in thought before a poor imitation of a smile tugged the corners of my lips. “Oh who am I fooling; come on Heartwood, that bed isn’t gonna warm itself.”
“Aye aye, Ma’am!” He laughed in return, his hand taking my tail in a wonderfully warm grip as he followed me to our cabin.
My tail bags slid free alongside my satchel, the buckles on the pile of cloth letting out a metallic clink as I set them on the desk beside the still-gleaming model of Polani. The now-empty vase of flowers I’d gotten him when I had confessed caught my eye as he passed me, steady footsteps stopping at the closet before moving onwards to the bed.
I should get him more of those, he said he liked how the Eltavi smelled the most.
Chris’ boots sent a loud thunk through the deck plates before the familiar whoosh of him hauling the heavy covers harvested my attention to him sliding into bed, his arms wide for me to crawl into his comforting embrace.
A soft purr built in my throat as I climbed up onto the vast bed and into his arms. My tail tapped against the covers while he pulled them back up over us before pulling me in close, a suddenly surprised look crossing his face as I let out a wall-eyed gasp. “Wait a second! This isn’t maintenance! Stars above I’ve been tricked again by my Human’s dastardly wiles!”
“And now that I’ve got you where I want you you’re not going anywhere!” He replied, a broad smile and a belly laugh splitting his mouth before planting a warm kiss on my crown that I happily nuzzled into.
“Oh noooo, the horror!” I giggled back, closing my eyes as I rested my head against his chest with a contented sigh. “Seriously though, we’re definitely going to have to check the levels on loop three again. I thi-“
“I know, I know Darlin’. We can do that ‘fore we get landed. Rather not crush the gear on her first flight back.” He replied, resting his chin on my crown as one of his hands worked through my back wool, leaving delightfully warm traces as he went. “For now though we can just lay here and rela-“
CLICK
My ears perked up at the sound of an unsilenced pad unlocking in his other hand behind me as an expression of embarrassment bolted across his face. I let out an amused whistle as I started to turn to get a good eye on the pad, the thumping of my tail renewed. “Whatcha lookin’ at the-“
“NOTHIN’!” He exclaimed, the hand at my back quickly shooting up to cover my eye, and most of my snout, before getting caught by my paws long enough for me to see what he was looking at.
“Tru-k ki-s?” I asked through his wrist, my ears perking up with interest as I tried my best to shove his hand aside.
A long sigh spilled from his mouth, sounding astoundingly like when Mama caught Papa doing something he knew he should’ve been more careful with. “Yes, Darlin’. Truck kits.”
“Why?”
“If I say it’s a secret will you drop it?” He asked, desperate hope in his voice as the hand returned to the wool on my back.
“Not likely.”
He let out a long - now feigned frustration - sigh, shaking his head with a barely noticeable smile. “Cause your Mama said your birth-paw was coming up soon, and I know you’s in-fatuated with mine and Pa’s. They ain’t that expensive anymore, plus Detroit Consolidated is runnin’ a special, so I figured it’d make a good present and we could probably write off under the business anyhow...”
Scheming as usual, I see.
My tail’s assault on the covers renewed at the thought of spending our downtime between resting in the forum and assembling my own custom truck! “I will do my best to forget I saw this, and act real surprised on my birth-paw, so long as you promise to build it with me.”
“Wouldn’t dream of any other way, Darlin’.” Chris smiled, shaking his head with a small chuckle as he squeezed me a little. “Now, you didn’t see nothin’ so get on back to snooz-“
Ping!
He went silent for a long moment, his embrace loosening as the second turned to a minute. “Fuck.”
“Everything alright, Heartwood?” I asked, a chill running down my spine and out my tail that felt horridly familiar. His hand slid aside as I started to turn over in his arms, letting me look at the open message in stark black Human and Venlil Script that stared back at us.
—
To: Crystal Star Shipping Concern,
From: United Nations Fleet Command
Subject: Clause 1.14.5 Enactment
Under Clause 1.14.5 of Contract 42317890-EX-7 you are ordered to report to the attached nav-beacon coordinates in the Sol system to aid in the evacuation of Earth within 24 hours. Primary operations corridor is also attached. Federation Extermination fleet is expected to arrive in the Sol System within seven (7) days without delays or intervention. Joint Human-Venlil operations are ongoing to slow or deter their approach.
Failure to abide by this summons will invoke Clause 8.3.1 of Contract 42317890-EX-7 and result in the forfeiture of provided assets, exchange program benefits and any and all preferential treatment on behalf of U.N. authorities, immediately.
The Crystal Star Shipping concern is to be compensated at triple rate for this time and any expenditures pursuant to duties required during this period.
Your service to the U.N., and all of Humanity, is greatly appreciated.
Addendum: Stars above I’m so sorry to do this to you both again, but I know you wouldn’t stay away anyways. I wish you both well and the best of luck; for us all. -Tarva, No Relation
Attachments:
Nav. Cord. 485-4118-7963-Ma
Pri-Op. Corridor: NA/EU-Zones
—
“Fuck.” I agreed, my heart turning to ice as the phantom growls in my ears echoed like rolling thunder and my blood ran cold as a nightside wind.
A long, hanging pall of silence fell across us, broken only by the diligent, eager thrum of Polani’s systems. My pulse was racing as I stared at the message, reading it and re-reading it over and over again, the horrid memories of the Cradle bolting through my mind. The growls roared in intensity, sending my attention flicking around the room as I could feel the echoes and putrid warmth of that monstrosity's breath pushing across my snout. I shrunk back, pressing myself fitfully into the safety of Chris’ mass, wishing I could just hide from everything again.
Pathetic.
Polani and her Herd above, please not again. I can’t do this again. Don’t ma-
And the Humans can? They deserve help just as much as the Gojid did.
I don’t want to die*. L-Last time was too close. Don’t want to be some horrid pred-*
Horrid what?
Arxur… Horrid Arxur’s meal.
Then what ar-
“What are we going to do?” Chris’ voice rumbled, rolling through me as his hand in my wool massaged at the worries in my gut. “I… I gotta go. I can’t leave people behind, not again, ‘specially not my family. But I’m not gonna haul you into harm's way again. You don’t deserve to suffer any more for what we do.”
My voice failed me as my mind scrambled against my own thoughts, my paws clenched, digging my claws into the wool of my tail, forcing a small whimper of pain to slip from my chest even as his voice softened in my ear. “You could stay home, keep Polani up and running and I-I’ll make do. Maybe ask Darno and see if he’d be willing to help… again. Don’t worry, we’ll do our best to stay safe. Hopefully be home long before the Federation ever gets to… to Earth.”
His voice broke on the last words, holding back the tide of emotions I knew he was feeling, knew that they were far more similar to mine than they were different. I could feel his chin shift against my crown, choking back tears as he shook his head, trying to shuffle off the crushing weight of what this all meant. Memories of the vast cities of Humans we’d flown over flitted through my mind like flowerbirds on the wind, wiped away by the searing flash of anti-matter, leaving behind craters of glass in their place.
Stars, no.
Well?
Well what? We can’t stop it. Can’t stop them just because we want to.
So help him. You know he’d move the stars for you, wouldn’t he?
My paws slipped up from my tail, gently pulling my ears down flat against my head, slowly tracing the jagged, new curve. Chris was silent now, unmoving as he stared at the viewscreen set in the side of the cabin down to the surface of VP far below.
What about home? When their fleet is gone and Earth has been ‘purged’, what happens next?
We’re next. Mama, Papa, Renkel and everyone else…
“I’m going.” I stated, keeping my voice as solid as I could while I turned over to look him in the eye. “You don’t deserve to go into this alone and I can’t- no. I won’t -let you. I’m with you, for better or for worse.”
A single, warm tear fell into my wool as he pressed his head down onto my crown, his voice a soft murmur as he spoke. “Thank you, Darlin’. I-I’ll do my best to keep us safe.”
“We both will.” I replied, pulling myself up into him as a knot of guilt in my chest that I hadn’t known I’d been holding onto split loose. “I promise.”
“Together?”
“Together.”
Memory Transcription Subject: Mercet, Sulean Captain, Owner Operator of Federation Shipping Vessel Stellar Companion of the Companion Shipping Concern.
Date [Standardized Human Time]: October 9th, 2136
Auras preserve them.
The meadow of stars cast across the galley’s viewscreen and the sound of my crew conversing around me did little to ease the anger burning in my throat. The fleet had slipped their moorings and gone underway to leave Federation space no more than a rotation or two ago, charging off to burn the Humans’ Earth to ash. It was stupid, childish and shortsighted; far from anything even remotely resembling a coherent plan.
Everything I’d come to expect from Sand-brained Captains like Kalsim and Malins.
I’d never seen them in combat, the blessed auras had seen and preserved me far from anywhere near the Arxur lines, but I’d certainly dealt with enough of their captains. They were hot-headed, short to temper, rarely above water on their finances and even more rarely taking, or selling, routes with any measure of safety. Then again, at least they stayed true to their deals unlike those aura polluting Nevoks and Fissians.
If this fleet was going to succeed it would do it by strength of numbers and staying in the fight, and, it would seem they’d chosen to absolutely abandon the latter. I was no pred-hugger like those idiots who’d voted to support the Humans but I certainly wouldn’t have turned down someone else pitching in against the Arxur, even if it was just to put them to the torch at the first point of convenience, but I could certainly see a bad plan for what it was. Thousands of ships had made the jump, possibly one of the largest singular forces the Federation had fielded in a hundred rotations! All to turn a single planet to glass.
And they’d left the logistics at home.
“Auras, Protector, Inatala, the Stars and everything else DAMN them!” I slammed the cup in my hoof down on the table in front of me, tossing my antlers back with a frustrated bellow as the galley fell silent. “What happened to TOGETHER? All this cold-air about ‘doing everything for the herd’ and when the time comes they leave us behind!?”
“Captain?” Betek’s voice drifted to my ear, filling in the silent wake of my outburst as I turned to fix my herd in my sight, finding the Takkan only a pace or two from my side. “Are you alright?”
“Far from it, Betek.” I replied with a sigh, gesturing to the seat across from me and turning my gaze from the surprised faces staring at me back out onto the stars shining in the great void beyond. “It’s cold-sand, every weight of it. Shortsighted, wind-brained nonsense to send the fleet like this.”
“Ah.” She agreed, settling into the seat with a creak as she turned her own eyes on the viewscreen with a grunt. “I am not particularly a fan of the Krakotl’s choice for starting another war, either.”
“Bah.” I spat, waving a hoof through the air to brush the statement away as Kitsen and Valletho slid into the other seats at the table. “I couldn’t care less when, or if, we do it. I care far more about how. They’re predators; if we don’t deal with them now, or point them away at the very least, we’ll be stuck with them down the trail anyways. And if that happens, then we’ll have to deal with them eventually just as the Venlil are.”
“So you,” Kitsen’s voice trailed off, the start of a question hanging in the air as he wiped the spilled juice from my outburst off of the table. “want the Humans destroyed?”
Doubt crossed my mind at the question, the memory of the Human ambassador’s impassioned speech echoing as distantly as the stars behind the viewscreen. “I didn’t necessarily say that.”
“I told you Nikonus knew something was coming!” Valletho squawked, landing on the silence like a falling tree, tossing his head to the side as he ruffled his feathers in agitation. “I say turn them to glass! They destroyed the Cradle, killed my friends in the Corps and tainted Aafa. Inatala’s light will burn them, and their wretched world, clean before we purify the Venlil; or at least the ones that can still be saved.”
“Stars…” Betek whispered, wide eyes staring at Valletho as she pulled back in her seat a little. “Valletho, you watched the speech, I know you did, how could you say that? They’re not the Ar-”
“They’re PREDATORS, Betek! They just control it better than the grays.” The green Krakotl screeched, his claws biting against the soft, faux wood of the table. “They’d rip our throats out just as soon as they looked at us! Inatala protect the poor Venlil that have, foolishly, allowed them into their homes. The fleet’s action will be swift, decisive and total; those Predators have little more than a sordid fleet of old Venlil ships to defend themselves. Like a flight in a breeze as far as I’m concerned.”
“Unless the fleet runs out of munitions, food or fuel.” I grunted in return, gently squeezing the fruit in my hoof. “Then they’ll be little more than targets.”
“Hah! As if those primitive apes could stand against us that long!” Valletho’s chirping laugh filled the galley, grating on my ears as he continued. “No, Captain, I know my fleet, they don’t stand a chance. Logistics left behind or not, the Humans will crumble like Dossur before a hurricane.”
“And if they don’t?” Kitsen asked, taking a bite from his Wax fruit before continuing. “What if the Humans dig their heels in and put up more than the fleet’s prepared for?”
“They can’t.”
“Well, you heard it here, everyone. The Humans are finished because Valletho says they can’t possibly be a problem.” Betek replied through a booming, mocking belly laugh that poured from her as she slapped a heavy, sarcastic hand across her knee before the up-beat rise of her ears fell away. “Valletho, have you taken even a moment to think about why they deserve this?”
“Because they’re predators.” He answered, with the same confident finality as saying the desert is hot.
“That’s it? Nothing they’ve done? Nothing about what they’ve said? Nothing about who they are beyond that they are Predators?” She honked, a flare of annoyance flooding into her voice as her ears flapped angrily at the smug, preening Krakotl.
“I don’t need anything else. It’s the Krakotl’s purpose after all, Betek.” Valletho leaned back, folding his wings across his chest with a smug flare of his crest as he let out a self-assured twitter. “We protect the herd and you can be sure we’ll do it night and day; even if the herd does not want us to.”
“Valletho,” Betek sighed, a forlorn sadness crossing her eyes as she stared at the security officer’s vibrant colors. “who says the herd needs saving from them? They want to help. Want to make friends and allies not dest-”
“Predator-shit LIES!!!” Valletho squawked, jabbing a claw into the table as he rose from his seat. “They are predators, Betek. They will say and do anything to get near us, if it means an easier meal. The very fact that you believe their lies are why the fleet is necessary!”
I watched as the pair bickered, plucking a Jumen nut from my bowl to slowly gnaw away at it as my gaze drifted back out the viewscreen while I thought. Betek had a point, even if they may have just been candied words, the Human ambassador had spoken of friendship, of helping us drive back the grays. Helping make us safe again.
But Valletho was right.
They were predators, gifted orators or not; they were still bloodthirsty, flesh eating abominations with Auras that were surely bleaker than Jiln’s most sun seared deserts and darker than the void itself. They had invaded the Cradle, all but inviting the grays to fall on the already embattled Gojid like a hammer blow to turn their world to little more than ash, glass and death. In so far as we knew, the only Gojid alive were either on Federation worlds or were… cattle.
“-ek, Kitsen, I’m sorry you two can’t understand it bu-”
“He’s right.” I stated with a snort, turning my eyes from the stars back to the crew at my table and around the galley. “I may not like how they’re doing it but they’re doing the right thing. People or not, the Humans are still predators. And the Fleet protects the herd.”
“See!” Valletho let out a triumphant, almost deafening, squawk, flapping his wings erratically as he hopped from his perch on the back of the seat. “Before long, the terror these predators have wrought on our herds will be nothing more than a distant, sordid memory.”
Betek was quiet, the broad Takkan engineer flicking her ears solemnly as she leaned back in her seat, her gaze more focused on her hands than on Valletho or myself. “Whatever you say, Captain…”
Kitsen rolled his shoulders and let out a low nicker under his breath as he studied me; his ears were spread broad in that ever familiar splay of confusion he had when he wasn't sure what to say. My friend stood with a sigh and shook his fur with agitation as he turned to amble back to his stateroom. “It's been a long day and this has, somehow, been an even longer conversation. I’m going to go get some rest. I distinctly remember receiving, and distributing, your orders to your stations. I suggest you both get them squared away.”
Betek let out a low, begrudging sigh before pushing herself to her feet, actively avoiding looking at the ecstatic Valletho as he hop-walked from the galley off to his security station. She lingered, as the doors slid shut behind him, leaving us, mostly, alone in the galley but for the primitive. “Captain, are you sure?”
“Yes.” I replied before popping another Jumen nut between my teeth and crushing it with a solid crack. “Yes I am.”
>Understood.< She stiffened, turning to quickly walk from the galley aft to her engineering spaces.
Are you?
I shook my head again, slapping the thought away with my antlers as I closed my eyes tight. This was no time to second guess myself, or the Federation. Not once in my life had they failed me. In all my [Solar Years] amongst the stars I’d never seen a singular Arxur vessel within light-years of me. That had to mean something about their effectiveness.
As I opened my eyes, forcing myself to my hooves, Tefen caught my attention. He stared at me from across the room, his paws clenched tight on either side of his untouched meal. To say I was unfamiliar with how the primitives emoted would be an understatement, but there was one sentiment I could recognize anywhere.
Disappointment.
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As always, thank you to u/SpacePaladin15 for the wonderful universe that is NoP! Thank you to u/sruisingNWfor proof reading and helping me make this chapter as good as it can be, you're the man! Honestly LoM wouldn't have gone very far without him! If you haven't you should absolutely go read Foundations of Humanity! It's very good!
A big thanks to u/Saint-Andros for helping with proofreading! He writes Out of Our Elements which is a very good one! If you like a good fic in the wilderness and a pair of cute 'friends' ;) you'll love OOE!
Also thank you to u/brotanics! For this wonderful fanart of Taisa. And this one! She's so cute I'm gonna die
And thank you to u/Jimdandy117! For this adorable fanart of Chris and Renkel! Dear god help he's adorable I love him so much
Thank you u/SlimyRage, or AsciiSquid on Discord, for makin' Vengineer Taisa Gamin'. She's absolutely adorable, I love her lil' workers apron. She looks so excited to get to work!
Thank you u/Braquen! For this astounding Pixel Art of Taisa after a few range day dates with Chris! Her little hat and gunbelt are absolutely astounding!
Thank you u/VeryUnluckyDice! For this Artwork of Taisa and Chris as characters from One Piece! I've never seen or read it before but it's incredibly cute!
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Memory Transcription Subject: Taisa, Venlil Starship Engineer, Crystal Star Shipping Co-Owner
Date [Standardized Human Time]: October 7th, 2136
I could stay like this forever.
The gentle warble of birdsong lilting from the speakers of Chris’ window-screen stirred me from my sleep as the dim, blossoming light of a mock earthly sunrise filtered through the room. The wonderful warmth of the heavy, loving arms wrapped around me tempted me back to the void of sleep, eager to reclaim the first calm rest I’d had in paws. As the weight of sleep pulled at my eyes I felt the mountain beneath me shift with a long, grumbling groan before giving me a tight, loving squeeze.
I breathed in the new paw, cool and sharp with the chill only a new harvest and her new Sun could bring, my heart alight with Chris’ own that beat against my ear. The soft, everpresent rise and fall of his chest pushed me too and fro as I nuzzled closer, reveling in the warmth of him. My ears bobbed, knocking the covers aside to look out beyond the old familiar weave of our blanket. I admired his room and the work he, Papa and I had put in to pull it all together. He shifted again, the groan solidifying into a coherent attempt at speech this time, along with another of his tight ‘good morning’ squeezes.
“Good Morn’, Darlin’.” Chris rumbled, planting a soft kiss on my crown before letting out a long, cavernous yawn as his fingers worked through my wool. “Sleep well?”
“Better than the last few paws.” I responded with a groggy, quiet mewl as I gently nuzzled into his neck. “No shade-terrors, which is nice. What about you, Love?”
“Like a rock.” He replied as his hands slipped from my back to spread in a broad stretch above his head before shifting to scoop up his pad in one hand, flicking it open with a deft movement as the other fell upon my back again. “Like a rock…”
My gaze drifted to his face, the screen in his hand cast long shadows across his features, exaggerating the slight scowl that tugged at the corner at his face. “Are you sure?”
He hesitated, a small lump sliding down his throat as he swallowed and pursed his lips before letting out a small sigh. “Not really, Darlin’, not really.”
“Ryan?” I asked, shifting on his chest to better meet his eyes.
He nodded, a shine in his eye as he swiped a finger across his pad to open a message window, a small picture of Darlene smiling brightly popped up at the top of the screen. “Ma’ says he’s doin’ better, been helpin’ Pa’ out with some of the chores, feedin’ the animals, clearing some brush and whatnot but…”
My tail slipped around his raised thigh, giving it a soft squeeze to tell him to continue. A heavy sigh slipped out from underneath me as he gently shook his head, his off-hand nervously working its way through my wool, building a purr in my chest despite the subject. “But I just can’t help but feel I could’ve stopped him from needin’ to get better in the first place.”
“Love,” I started, stretching my arms around him for a hug as best I could from atop his chest. “if we hadn’t gone back at all he wouldn’t have the chance to get better in the first place. Things could’ve gone better, they could’ve gone a lot better, but they could’ve gone a lot worse too.”
“A-And I know that, Darlin’, it’s just th-”
“That you feel like it wasn’t enough?” I sheared in, pressing my head deep against his chest with a comforting whistle.
He was quiet a while, his hand still working through my wool as he stared down at me before letting out a quiet, almost ashamed answer. “Like it wasn’t even close.”
My ears fell as I pulled myself up closer to his face, nuzzling into his neck as I spoke with a comforting mewl. “Well, I think we put in everything we could.”
Silence filled the room, but for the still rising sound of an earthly day as Chris’ hands continued to massage away the tension that strung through my back. The small, roiling sound he made when he was thinking poured into my chest as I laid there, waiting for him to be ready to face the paw. At least we didn’t have any plans to get to now that Polani’s hull was patched and squared away; even if the new panels were a shade or two darker than the ones around them.
Eventually he grunted, giving my back a final, deep, and thorough scratch that sent an arch down my spine and through my tail as it slipped free of his leg. I let out a dreary mewl while a long, satisfying stretch wracked my body as I reached my paws up and out to repeatedly tap them on his face. “Ready to get going, big guy? I think I hear Papa cooking up first meal.”
“Yea, yea I’m goin’.” He laughed, taking my paws in his massive hands, pulling them gently to his lips with a smile, before sitting up and pulling me into a tight hug. “Now, c’mon, don’t want your parents gettin’ too curious.”
“Oh? About what? We’re not doing anything!” I asked, mock innocence in my voice as my tail lashed about mischievously while I stretched my neck as much as I could to plant a kiss on his lips.
“Mhm.” He chuckled, a warm smile spreading across his face before he pulled me all the way up to him and pressed into another kiss for a long, wonderful moment before pulling back again, letting out what almost felt like a possessive growl. “Totally innocent.”
“Absolutely!” I responded with an amused, bouncing whistle, sticking my tongue out at him and hopping down from the bed to stretch my legs, a nagging pang of worry bolting through my heart as I felt the last of his warmth, and its safety, fall from my wool. I took a small step back before slipping my tail around his ankle, gently tugging at it to beckon him out of bed and after me, doing my best to claw back that confidence I’d had only a few moments before. “Innocent and hungry! Wonder if Papa has any of your Ma’s peaches left.”
Chris twisted in bed, running his hands through his beard and rubbing at his eyes before forcing himself to his feet with a long groan that burbled into a happy laugh. “Of all the things I expected you to latch on ta’, peaches weren’t it, Darlin’. Next we’re back on Earth I’ll make sure we get plenty of ‘em for ya.”
“You better!” I teased, softly poking a claw at his side as I turned to pad out to the kitchen, my tail falling free of his leg to wrap tight around his wrist.
The savory, smoky taste of Papa’s first meal drifted about the air of the kitchen as we stepped out into the hall, the warm sound of my family sitting around the island chatting about the paw before them, beckoning me on just as much as the food itself.
“-aw away from everything before the night? Could do, maybe go out to P-” Mama paused, her ears swinging to me as her tail curled happily and a warm, amused purr poured from her snout. >Good Waking.< “There you two are! Was wondering when you’d join us!”
“Just one of those morn’s. Slept a little too well.” Chris rumbled with a laugh, sliding into his seat with a small smile as Papa slid him a steaming bowl of chopped vegetables. “You got any of Ma’s peaches left over?”
I let out a pleased trill as I hopped into my own seat next to him, watching Papa pull a few slices of peaches from one of the glass ‘canning jars’ Darlene had sent them in, setting them in the bowl along with my first meal. “Thank you Papa!”
“You’re welcome Little Star.” He purred back, returning to his own first meal before dolling out another scoop as Renkel loudly clanked his skewer against the now empty wooden bowl.
“So, what was that about a ‘paw away from everything’?” >Curious.< I asked with an interested whistle before popping a deliciously sweet slice of peach into my mouth.
“Oh, nothing interesting.” Mama whistled back, happily munching away at her side of steamed vegetables next to her stringfruit. “Just deciding what to do for the paw. I had figured you two would have more to do on Polani.”
“We didn’t have anything planned today, not that I know of at least. What’d you have in mind?” Chris replied, jumping in ahead of me before setting about digging into his own meal.
“A few things around town, drop Renkel off at school, run some errands, relax beneath the Heartwood and then whatever else we want, I suppose. Just a nice, relaxing paw away from the farm now that the next harvest is in the ground.” Mama replied, her ears twitching happily as she popped a chunk of sturen in her mouth with a trill. “You two are welcome to tail along if you like!”
My ears rose with interest as I chewed at my food, the idea of a paw out with my family certainly sounded better than just clawing about in Polani’s walls and hiding from the shadow prowling in my vision. “Could we stop in at Parnel’s?”
“I don’t see why not.” Papa answered, glancing at Mama with a questioning tilt of his head, receiving a quick >Yes.< in return. “I need to speak with Balmun about getting some more Sunsap planks for the bean trellises and a few parts for the crop pickers as well so we’ll be getting two or three crops with one harvest! Maybe once we pick that up we can go to Tentrel’s for some of those ‘pierogies’ of hers, might need to see if I can’t snag her recipe.”
>Confusion< “But Mama you said we were going to the Rekan to see Ervone*-*” Renkel started, looking up at Mama with big eyes as she reached over to tap his snout quiet.
“For last meal, Rekan. Papa’s talking about second while you are in school!” >Quiet.< Mama replied, gently kneading her claws through Renkel’s crown. “Now go get your stuff, don’t wanna be late to school for your first paw back from the rest paws now do you? Then you wouldn’t get to tell everyone all about your fishies until second meal!”
>No! No! No! No!< Renkel’s eyes went wide as his tail flailed about behind him and he hopped down from his stool to bolt upstairs to his room. “Fishies!!!”
“That sound good to you two? Rensa and I can head out now to drop him off at school and meet you in town if you like.” Papa whistled, pulling Mama close for a loving nuzzle before letting her go to ker-thunk up the hardwood stairs after Renkel.
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Chris stated, sliding his now empty bowl away from himself before hurriedly standing and giving a soft kiss to my crown, earning an amused look from Papa at his now turned back. “I am gonna go get ready to head out so we don’t miss them.”
“Well, Little Star, we’ll see you in a bit. Meet us at Balmun’s?” Papa asked, setting the dishes in the cleaner before easing the door shut with a click followed by the heavy whirr of the machine coming to life.
At the lumber yard? Why not the forum?
“Balmun’s? That works I suppose, I’ll let you know when we’re on our way.” I replied, giving him a small hug and a thankful nuzzle before starting to pull back.
“I look forward to spending a nice paw with you… and your boyfriend.” Papa whispered with a small laugh, pulling me back in to happily headbutt my crown. >Teasing.< “A little surprised that the Human is the best one I think you’ve ever brought home.”
“Papa!” I all but bleated in response, a rush of bloom spreading across my snout and up my ears as I pressed them back flat in embarrassment.
“Am I wrong?” >Amusement.< He asked, squeezing me tight as a proud purr built in his chest before he stepped back, letting me free of his arms. “Might not be anywhere near what your Mama and I had pictured but I certainly like him.”
A hanging quiet fell over the two of us broken only by the low rumble of the cleaner and the distant, excited brays of Renkel collecting his school supplies for the paw. “He’s my favorite too.” I finally answered, my tail slowly swaying behind me as the embarrassed bloom fell away to a content, happy warmth at the thought of my Christopher.
“I’m happy to hear it.” >Love you.<
>Love you too.<
[Advance Memory Transcription by Time Unit: 2.5 Hours]
The familiar, muffled sound of Balmun’s lumber yard filled the air as our truck rocked to a stop next to Papa’s, the shearing roar of the mill growing all the louder as Chris excitedly threw his door open, slipping his cracked visor back on his face. The delightful taste of fresh milled lumber touched my tongue as I pulled in a crisp, cold breath before letting out a contented sigh and bobbed my ears towards Chris. >Interested?< “Tastes like someone has a fresh load of Amarek on the blocks this paw!”
“Wonder what he’s asking.” Chris rumbled, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he swung the door closed with a solid thunk. “Gotta get back to workin’ at some point now that she’s good and ready I suppose.”
“Yeah, yeah we do.” I replied, my ears betraying me as I padded along towards the door at his side.
He hesitated on his next step, a heavy hand finding its way to my back just shy of the door as he kneeled down to bring himself, and his gleaming visor, eye level with me. “We’ll be fine on cash for a while yet. We can wait till you’re ready, Darlin’. I’ll be right here for ya; every step of the way.”
The worry in my shoulders eased a little at the assurance as I leaned forward to thankfully headbutt up into his chin, letting out an appreciative mewl as I did. “Thank you, Heartwood. You still want to see if you can get a few bands for cheap, don’t you?”
“Oh abso-lutely.” He laughed, planting a small kiss on my crown before standing up straight with a wide, tightlipped smile wrinkling his lips. “Even if it’s not for selling, I’d love to do a little personal work.”
“Oh I’m sure Papa would be happy to help!” I whistled back, my tail swishing happily as he swung the door open in front of me, beckoning me inside.
“I’m sure Taikel would be happy to help but I’d have to know wha-”
“Happy to help with what?” Papa mused, his tail flicking about with interest as he looked up from the sample planks Balmun had set out in front of him and Mama.
“Not sure yet; wanna see what my favorite lumber supplier has in store for his favorite Human!” Chris laughed, sliding onto one of the heavy, paw-made stools in front of the sales counter.
“Stars above, I wish I’d never said that.” >Amusement.< Bulmun responded with a whistling laugh, his ears high and happy as he slid the plank samples Papa had gone through down in front of Chris. “Went straight to your ears.”
“Oh come on Bulmun, even if there were other Humans in town we both know I’d still be your favorite!” Chris retorted with that same tight-lipped smile, running his thumb along the polished surface of a thick Heartwood plank.
“Depends on if the other ones spend more money or not.” >Teasing.< Bulmun stated, watching Chris inspect the samples with an interested eye before it wandered to me at his side. His eye lingered for a moment on my ear, a flick of questioning concern passing through his tail as Chris sat and thought.
>You Alright?<
>Arxur on Cradle. Hurt a lot. Doing better. Safe now.<
>Scary. Happy to see you two safe.<
>Thank you.<
His attention slipped from me and back to Chris at my side, a mock tone of impatience slipping into his voice as he spoke again. “What were you thinking of making, big man?”
“Bookshelf for my cabin on Polani. Something good and heavy so it doesn’t get knocked around too much when I have to haul her over hard.” Chris replied absentmindedly as he set aside the sunsap sample with a shake of his head before sliding the heartwood and amarek planks forward with an assuring tap. “What’s the best price you can do me on twenty or thirty board-fe- er, sorry. Ten or fifteen board-tails of these, squared and planed.”
Bulmun’s tail curled in thought as he tilted his head, pulling the samples close to himself with a hum. “At that volume? Fifteen credits a board-tail for the amarek and twenty four for the heartwood. Give me the dimensions you want and I can have them done and ready by early next paw.”
Chris let out a surprised whistle as he leaned back in his seat, shaking his head for a moment as he thought. “Bulmun that’s near half more than you charged us last time!”
“Well last time you two bought lumber from me you bought it in the hundreds of board-tails not a pawful more than ten. This is a fair sight less than that so you’re not getting the bulk discount. If you want to haul off a shipment worth then it’d be ten and eighteen.” The gruff, gray Venlil responded, shaking his wool out before continuing. “And at that point I’m hardly taking home a profit. So, which will it be?”
“The few tails of heartwood for now I suppose, but damn if you ain’t runnin’ me out for it!” Chris laughed, tapping the plank of dark golden wood on the counter. “How’d the slabs we brought on back from Earth sell?”
“Gone within a few paws! Got plenty of folks clamoring to get more of it next time you’re looking to fill some empty space in the hold. Never fails to put a bob in my tail watching folk rush to get their claws on every board-tail they can of that Earth lumber; especially the coats I distinctly remember bleating in the forum about the ‘Human threat in town’ just a few paws prior!” >Satisfied.< Bulmun replied, quickly tapping out a work order before turning back to us and Papa with a playful laugh. “Now, you made a decision there, Taikel? Can’t have you just standing there wall-eyed stuck on choices for a half claw again.”
“I’m thinking, I’m thinking!” Papa stated, his snout resting squarely between his paws as he stared down at the bright yellow plank of sunsap next to the thin, pale gray planks of basinwood, his tail flicking about in thought. “Just not sure what would hold to the wind be-“
“Oh stars above, sweetheart, just get both of them.” Mama blurted with mock exasperation, her tail coiling lovingly around Papa’s as she slid her credit chit across the counter to Bulmun.
“Sweetheart that’s far too much lumber fo-“
“At worst, it saves you a trip later this harvest for something else, right?” Mama answered, cutting him off before he finished the statement with a happy, teasing purr. “Besides, I know you’ll be back here for one or the other within the herd to make something for me anyhow.”
“I’m sure I will, love.” Papa replied, returning the purr with a small headbutt before filling out the order pad and sliding it back over to Balmun.
“Yours should be ready at the same time as his, I can have Yethen deliver it out to the farm if you like…” He trailed off, looking over to Chris for a moment before continuing. >Amusement.< “And I suppose I can waive the delivery fee for my favorite Human and his hosts.”
A broad smile split across Chris’s face as he spread his hands in that adorable shrug of his he did when he was excited. “See! Can’t deny it, Bulmun, I got witnesses now!”
“Hey! I was here last time too door denter!” I bleated with mock offense, reaching up to gently swat a paw at his cheek.
“Well yea, but now I got more’n one. That there’s legal standin’ where I come from! Probably…” Chris laughed in response as he got to his feet from the stool and quickly nodded to Bulmun before meandering towards the door. “Now, I think someone needed to go pick up some drone parts?”
“Indeed I did.” Papa responded, flicking a quick >Thank You.< to Bulmun before following after Chris and I. “But we already managed to get them on order with Gevon so we can either go to Parnel’s or Tentrel’s first.”
“I’m partial to Parnel’s but I think that’s obvious. We could stop in at Tentrel’s and get some to-go though.” I replied, stepping back out into the cool twilight air with a contented sigh as my tail slipped around Chris’ wrist.
Mama and Papa exchanged a glance, their entwined tails slowly swaying back and forth before Mama spoke up. “That’s fine by us, just can’t get too carried away in there.”
“We’ll see about that.” Chris laughed at my side, running his warm fingers through my tail tuft. “Y’all want us to follow or ride along with you?”
“Follow works; stars only know what she’s gonna decide to bring home to your hangar anyways.” Papa answered as he and Mama turned to pad off to their truck.
Chris gave me a quick shrug before gesturing towards the dirty white of our truck. The doors gave a solid clunk as we pulled them shut, the mill’s sounds falling to little more than a muffled din behind them and the idle of the engine. I felt Chris’s eyes fall on me as the truck’s heater breathed to life, a concerned interest spread out across his now visor-less face. “Feelin’ a bit better today, Darlin’?”
My tail stopped, curling in confusion at the question as I turned an eye on him. “A little, why?”
“‘Cause that’s the first time you’ve called me Door Denter in days.” His hand found my paw, giving it a small squeeze as his face softened back into a small smile. “I’m just happy to see you happy is all.”
My tail twitched against his wrist as his words took root in my mind, a blossom of warmth spreading in my chest as his fingers stroked through my tail tuft. He wasn’t wrong, this was the best paw I’d had since the Cradle and I certainly wasn’t going to complain.
[Advance Memory Transcript by Time Unit: 3 Hours]
The dancing, golden leaves of the Heartwood high above drifted down around us as we walked to the forum to settle in and relax for the last half claw of the paw. Despite nearly a half claw in Parnel’s yard, I’d managed to avoid getting too filthy for once, aside from the slight pall of dust that Chris had had to knock from my wool after I’d fallen out of the service panel of an old Starliner M110 Shuttle while foraging for anything useful I could till up.
Mama, Papa and Parnel had laughed their tails off at the image of me sprawled out in the dirt while Chris had only let a small chuckle slip past his visor as he helped me to my feet again. Still, I’d managed to pull a functioning spare balancing gyro for Polani for my trouble. It’d been the primary gyro for the shuttle but it was the same part number all the same!
Chris gave my tail a small, teasing squeeze as he looked up at the twilight sky, a tight smirk crossing his face before he looked down to me. “So, basejumper, have a good trip this paw?”
“Oh don’t you start that with me, Door Denter! I’m sure I can find more embarrassing nicknames for you than you can for me, mister ‘Blacksburg Burner’!” I retorted with a snorting whistle, my tail lashing his wrist about back and forth as we walked. “Besides, got the part I wanted, didn’t I!”
“Don’t know that I’ve ever seen you not find what you’re lookin’ for, Darlin’. It’s honestly pretty astounding to watch.”
“A good engineer always gets her part!” I whistled, bumping against his side as the wall on my right fell away to the open air of the forum.
“That it would seem she does.” Chris replied, slowing to a stop as Mama and Papa kept walking onward to the Rekan, an upbeat, self-amused tone falling into his voice. “And a good pilot always makes his times.”
“What does that even…” I started to ask, my voice trailing off as I looked away from the forum and the river beyond to follow his gaze to the bustling front door and patio of the Rekan.
A veritable field of tables and chairs spread out from the broad, open windows of the Rekan’s interior, herds upon herds of people were sitting, happily chatting with each other over food and drinks. A soft blue light lit the stage just inside, casting long shadows off of the familiar instruments resting in their stands.
There, hanging above the entrance was that same sign I’d helped Mama and Ervena put together last time proclaiming another ‘Human Music Night’ was happening this paw. Chris’ voice pulled my attention from the vast herd in front of us as a few of the Rekan’s servers poured from the door toting familiarly brown drinks, food, and menus out to the waiting herds. “Surprise, Darlin’. Sorry for bein’ quiet about it but your Mama wanted it to be a ‘perfect paw’. I-I hope it’s not been too much.”
“Too much?” I started, watching the happy herds reveling in each other’s company as I thought about the wonderful paw I’d had. Thought about how little I had thought about it. About how little I’d felt that breath on my neck. The eyes on my back. The teeth in my ears. My voice caught in my throat as I started to answer my own question, a few warm tears tumbling forth into my wool. “T-This paw has been wonderful. I-I think this was a good start for what I needed. Thank you, Love.”
“Wouldn’t settle for anything less for you, Taisa.” He replied, kneeling to wipe the pawful of tears away and pull me into a soft hug.
“So,” I whistled quietly in his ear, my tail slipping from his wrist to happily wag behind me. “got your songs all planned out?”
“O’Course I do.” He gasped, mock offense in his voice as he pulled away, a broad smile painting his face.
“Well then, you’d better get to it; wouldn’t wanna keep all your fans waiting.” >Encouragement. Do great.< I laughed, following at his side as he started to walk towards the Rekan’s waiting front door, picking up roving ears and interested tails from the waiting herds along the way. A shiver of excitement zipped down my back and out my tail as the sound of the bar rose around us. The distant sound of Mama and Papa greeting Ervena and Tronen reached my ears, while Renkel and Ervonen chattered away with his picturebook between them, driving away that ever-present whispering growl that haunted my mind.
This is… better. Not perfect, but certainly better.
---
First Prev. Next

As always, thank you to u/SpacePaladin15 for the wonderful universe that is NoP! Thank you to u/sruisingNWfor proof reading and helping me make this chapter as good as it can be, you're the man! Honestly LoM wouldn't have gone very far without him! If you haven't you should absolutely go read Foundations of Humanity! It's very good!
A big thanks to u/Saint-Andros for helping with proofreading! He writes Out of Our Elements which is a very good one! If you like a good fic in the wilderness and a pair of cute 'friends' ;) you'll love OOE!
Also thank you to u/brotanics! For this wonderful fanart of Taisa. And this one! She's so cute I'm gonna die
And thank you to u/Jimdandy117! For this adorable fanart of Chris and Renkel! Dear god help he's adorable I love him so much
Thank you u/SlimyRage, or AsciiSquid on Discord, for makin' Vengineer Taisa Gamin'. She's absolutely adorable, I love her lil' workers apron. She looks so excited to get to work!
Thank you u/Braquen! For this astounding Pixel Art of Taisa after a few range day dates with Chris! Her little hat and gunbelt are absolutely astounding!
Thank you u/VeryUnluckyDice! For this Artwork of Taisa and Chris as characters from One Piece! I've never seen or read it before but it's incredibly cute!
First Prev. Next
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Memory Transcription Subject: Salamar, Gojid Exterminator, Heartwood River Exterminator Offices Rank: Extermination Officer
Date [Standardized Human Time]: October 5th, 2136
Can finally get back to work. Another paw, another pile of ash on the wind.
The rumbling warble of my alarm woke me from a deep and dreamless sleep as the familiar bronze light of the venlillian sun filtered into my cold, empty, apartment through the gaps in my blinds. My claws tugged at my quills as I ran them across my face and out across my back, squeezing my eyes shut and trying to shake the alluring call of returning to sleep from my muscles. The covers fell to the floor with a soft, almost distant whumf as the dacham weave crumpled into a heap of gray and pink textiles.
Stars burst across my closed eyes as I tried to rub free the fatigue clouding my vision and mind before sitting up with a long sigh, swinging my legs out from the bed to plant them on the hard stone floors to shove myself up to a waiting first meal, followed by a warm bath. “Come on, Sal, Lentan said he wanted you in early this paw.”
Protector save me; if it’s my first paw back from ‘leave’ and that Ven has me watching them aga-
The annoyed sentence fell apart in my mind, faltering as I thought about the ‘Protector’ and what it’d ever actually done for me, or my people. She’d let me be abandoned here. Let me wander scared, hungry, and alone for nearly [0.75 Solar Years]. Now the Cradle was gone. Not lost. Not captured. Not subjugated with some hope at future freedom.
It was gone.
Glassed by the grays into, from what few pictures the public had been shown, little more than a polished ball. A few good pawfulls of people had made it through in the deeper raid shelters, a few hundred thousand but… But that didn’t fix what had been done. Didn’t fix that it was still gone.
It was where my parents had met; though that was the end of any love I had for it. I was left to flutter in the wind, no uncle, or aunt, no grandparent or cousin; nobody who would raise a claw to catch me. Before they all stampeded off to that ‘cradle’ and left me behind to fend for myself alone on a planet I’d hardly known. A place I’d never even seen; nor would I ever get the chance to. The place that I should feel something about. Some hate towards the Humans that had invaded it in the first place? Some loss? Some sorrow? Some anger?
Some… something.
But it wasn’t there.
That burning pit of rage in my chest that I felt like I should be feeling… never sparked.
No. All that was there was apathy. Apathy and loneliness.
At least there’s something to look forward to next paw… Could always ask the Huma-- Chris abo-
The clatter of my lashing, frustrated tail smacking into the side of the hardwood table at the end of my bed snapped me from the depths of my mind with a start. I let out a small grunting laugh as I shook my head at the thought. I doubted it was something he’d want to talk about, certainly not with me.
I skewered a few vegetables and scooped up a pawful of amarek seed pods for first meal, tossing them in my mouth as I poured myself a glass of water to tamp them down with. The perfectly ripe mel roots and sturen gourds cut cleanly as I crunched away at the zingy, sap-filled pods. When we were still working together, Rensa had always mothered me about having so much sugar so soon after waking, but I suppose it never really stuck.
The sound of water filling the bath filled the air as a thin pall of steam drifted through the small bathroom, setting moisture onto the tips of my quills as I watched the waters roiling, soap slicked surface. Warm water spilled into my fur as I slipped into the tub with a long groan, soaking for a few blessed minutes just enjoying the warmth. A long, tired sigh slipped from my snout as I thought about everything I’d need to get done this paw. Outside of work, one thing stuck out far more than the others.
I hope Lentan has good news this time.
[Advance Memory Transcript by Time Unit: 1.5 Hours]
My walk to work was just as chilly as it had been every paw for the last [19 Solar Years]; not that it was a particularly long commute anyhow. Nor was it ever lacking in something, or someone, to watch. The Heartwood’s golden leaves twirled as they fell through the warm light that filtered through the sky above, painting the clouds beyond a beautiful array of purples, reds and oranges. The friendly, familiar hustle and bustle of Heartwood’s people welcomed me as I padded past the forum, staring up at the rustling golden canopy high above.
Eyes and ears followed me through my commute as people of the town watched me go. Some were with their herds, no doubt gossiping about me, the office and, of course, the Cradle. Others were alone, sympathetic tails curling in my direction as they went about their own paws or tended to their storefronts. It was odd, having people be sympathetic to you for a loss you didn’t even feel. Feeling like they were mourning the loss that should’ve been yours more than you ever would or could.
The heavy, sharply-chiseled blocks and broad Heartwood doors of the H.R.E.O. came into view as I passed Town Hall. Lentan's old tray-truck was in his reserved spot beside the street, signaling that the Chief was, as always, here early. The welcoming, whining creak of the aging, unoiled hinges sounded out into the office’s quiet lobby as I swung them open, finding the slight but familiar tinge of ash and accelerant hanging in the air.
The office felt more like home than my apartment ever really had.
As annoying as some of them may be, my coworkers were the closest to a family I’d ever managed to find since I was abandoned. Aside from the few wispy memories of my parents I still clung to, some of the best I ever had were last-meals at Rensa’s or Shenod’s, or winding down after long paws of field training, or of helping with the festival.
I missed having Rensa around more than anything I felt about the Cradle, about my ‘family’ that was still the- were still there. My ears flapped as my tail thumped annoyedly against the ground, trying my best to drive off the encroaching thoughts before I stepped into the office proper with heavy, plodding steps towards my desk. I slung my satchel across the back of my seat, collecting my duty kit and slipping it onto my belt with a grunt of frustration as I looked to Lentan’s office.
The door was open, light spilling across the floor like a wash on the riverbank as the rhythmic sound of the Chief’s claws tapping away at his pad danced through the opening while I made my way across the short distance. I hesitated just shy of the light, listening intently as his voice drifted to my ears. “-ic, I think you’ll find the H.R.E.O. to be just what you’re looking for. Quiet, friendly, wonderful food for when the cubs come to visit and well off the pa-...”
Lentan trailed off, the silence being filled by a curious, unfamiliar grunt before his more familiar, amused tone called me out. “Salamar, you’re no cub anymore, no need to hide in the door. Come in.”
A rush of warmth flooded just beneath my fur at the mock reprisal as I stepped forward and slowly slid the door open the rest of the way. >Apologies< “Good Waking, Sir. You wanted to see me?”
“Indeed I did.” He replied, flicking his ears to the chair in front of his desk on my left, and the broad, slightly graying Gojid with well kept white quills sitting in it. “I thought you might like to meet, and thank, our newest officer.”
The man turned in his seat as he stood, grunting out a gruff, if not welcoming, greeting with a shallow bow. “Good waking, Salamar. Lentan has told me plenty about you, and your more… recent duties. I am Ulmic.”
My quills shook with annoyance at the thought of my last few paws of work before my mandated ‘leave’. It was far more like a one man pup-sitting service just keeping Farzen and Marlek’s hides out of the fire, and trouble. I spared a glance at his satchel before returning the bow, spying the gleaming, well worn mark of a Senior Exterminator. “And you, Ulmic. I wish you better luck with them than I had.”
“We’ve met before, unfortunately. I’d bet credits to greeol I’ve handled far worse in my time at Dawn Creek.” He replied with a deep, rolling belly laugh, as his tail thumped against his leg. “These two are more like spoiled cubs than anything else and I assure you I’ve got experience a-plenty with cubs, young and grown, at this point.”
>Good to hear.< “Is there anything you’d like my help with? I’ve got the full report from their last incident at my desk.”
“I think that’d be a good start, yes.” Ulmic answered, taking a step before stopping and turning to Lentan. “Unless you’ve anything more for me, sir?”
“Nothing pressing. More immediately, Salamar, you are to get Ulmic situated; he’s at the desk across from yours. Once he’s squared away, make sure he has any equipment he needs and give him a tour of town along with Shenod, once he’s in.”
“On it, Sir. Would you like us to take Farzen and Marlek with us to keep an eye on them?” The question tumbled from my mouth as I slid clear of the door frame to let Ulmic pass.
>No.< Lentan shook his head, his tail mirroring the motion. “Estrea will keep an eye on them, they could do to get caught up on their paperwork this paw. Dismissed”
>Yes Sir.<
Ulmic stood over the empty desk in front of mine, rooting about inside his oversized satchel for a moment before producing a wood-set holo-frame, setting it down in the corner and turning it on with a tap of his claw. Images of a happy family flickered to life across the screen as Ulmic let out a warm, affectionate chuff before digging back into his bag for a few other personal items.
My heart panged like an empty canister as I slipped past his side to pull the file from my desk, watching as the image switched to the next in queue, showing Ulmic and the woman from the last picture pressed tight with each other in a well lit park with high, happy ears. “Beautiful family, Ulmic.”
>Appreciation.< “Thank you, Salamar.” He answered, accepting the file with open paw and plunking it onto his desk before flipping it open to skim. >Welcoming.< “You should come by some time, Bernia makes the most delicious Tefek Roast.”
“Tefek?” >Unfamiliar< I replied, smoothing my quills out before sliding into my seat.
“It’s a traditional recipe she got from her mother.” He answered, his voice a little distracted as he read through the report from the festival. “Big chunks of Tefek in a rich broth with a few other savory fruits and vegetables.”
“I can’t say I’ve heard of it, unfortunately, I was born here.”
“Me too, and neither had I before I’d met her. It’s really quite popular back on-” Ulmic hesitated, his quills flaring as his ears fell to the sides of his head and he finished with a sigh. “It was quite popular on the Cradle.”
“I’m sure I’d like it then, but I wouldn’t want to be a burden…” I hesitated for a moment, the distant sound of the office’s front doors swinging open harvesting my attention before I returned to watch the older Gojid pull his eyes from the file in front of him to stare at the Holo-frame. “Did… Did you lose anyone?”
“No- well yes a few but no one I was… close to. A few distant cousins and an aunt that were still planetside but we’ve not spoken in quite some time. I suppose I’m one of the lucky ones.” Ulmic’s eyes lifted, searching my face as he spoke in a soft, pained tone. “I’ve been informed my Brother and his family were evacuated in the first wave, thankfully. Though I have little information on where they ended up once the glass was cold, outside of being ‘On Earth’. And the Humans’ ‘U.N.’ has been far from helpful in trying to get in contact with them.”
“Ulmic?” I began, chewing at an idea that popped into my mind as Ulmic’s attention sullenly returned to the report in front of him. “How do you feel about Humans?”
He stopped, looking back up from the report again with a bewildered look on his face as Shenod’s heavy footsteps entered the room. >Confusion< “Currently annoyed but… I’ve met a few seemingly good ones now, at least. Why?”
“Because I think,” I started, grunting a little as I pulled myself from the chair and gave Shenod a quick flick of acknowledgement before tapping a claw on the singular string of blocky Human script farther down the page. “that one might be able to help.”
“Ah, yes; the big one. We’ve met…” Ulmic replied, a flick of recognition crossing his ears as Shenod came to a stop between our desks.
“Well I’m sure we’ll come across them at some point this paw.” Shenod responded, placing a broad, sympathetic paw on Ulmic’s shoulder before continuing. “For now though, it’s been a while so we need to get caught up and make sure you’ve got everything you need.”
[Advance Memory Transcript by Time Unit: 2.5 Hours]
The solid thunk of closing doors punctuated the cold, quiet twilight air as Shenod, Ulmic and I dismounted from the van at the rear of the office, overlooking the distant basin and the darkened, quiet festival grounds. Ulmic let out a long, appreciative whistle as he rocked on his heels, his quills flaring along his back arching in a broad stretch. “I think I might be getting too old for those jump seats. Feel like my back’s been put through a dacham-thresher.”
“They’re certainly not comfortable.” Shenod grunted, padding around the front of the van to stop at our side. “But they’re still better than those ones they had when we started!”
“You mean those hardened hydro-plastics? Might be one of the worst seats I’ve ever had the displeasure of sitting in.” Ulmic laughed in return, turning his attention from the fields in front of us to split it between Shenod and I. “Would you believe we still had a pair of the old trucks with them mounted in the bed?”
“Stars above, why?” Shenod asked, his ears an incredulous splay of confusion. “We got rid of our last one… [8 Solar Years] ago now and it couldn’t have been a day too soon!”
“They were always one of those problems that weren’t quite pressing enough to be a top priority but just annoying enough to always come up in the office reviews. Well, that and the budget, I suppose.” Ulmic sighed as he turned his attention back to the open, gently waving field between us and the choppy waters of the basin. “This where the town has its festival?”
“That it is.” I answered, stepping forward to his side after Shenod had prodded me forward, pointing at the shore as his ears traced the rim of the valley. “It's held at the basin side. We pitch in with whatever the organizers need to get running. Usually it’s help moving the wind-breakers in place, clearing any overgrowth, lending a paw to the vendors and lighting the bonfires.”
“Not far off from what Lentan has yo-” He hung up on the sentence for a moment, setting his jaw before correcting himself. “Sorry, it's been ages since I changed offices. What Lentan has us doing to help the farmers with their fields. Can’t say I’ve heard of many offices pitching in on civilian affairs.” >Odd.<
“It's certainly similar.” The answer shot from my mouth like a Talkan lighting off from the basin. My words fell short, being swept away by the gentle breeze dancing through the valley this paw leaving behind an awkward, empty silence. A memory came to mind as I watched Ulmic’s tail tap against his leg in thought. “He told me, when I’d asked why he was making so many changes, when I was barely more than a cub, that he ‘felt we should be more than just a shield against the predator’.”
Ulmic’s attention turned to me, keen interest in his eyes as he listened. >Go on.<
“He said that ‘Exterminators should be a core pillar of the community itself and be ready to step in for anything that community could ever ask of them’. Then that next festival he sent us, Shenod, Rensa and I, to see Yinav and offer her anything she needed.” My quills pressed against the cold metal of the van as I leaned against it and looked to the drifting spectrum of clouds filling the sky beyond the Heartwood. “I hadn’t understood it at the time. Hadn’t understood why, or how, anything other than destroying predators could be the best thing we could do for the town. Couldn’t begin to grasp how it was even remotely helpful to carry someone else's load to their stall, clear their fields or help set up some festival when I could’ve been at their side with my torch keeping them safe instead.”
“And now?” Ulmic grunted, the interest in his eyes was dripping from his voice as he shifted, tilting his head my way.
Now?
A small ember of warmth in my gut told me how I felt just the same as the memories that came to mind of the paws spent helping Yinav, old as she was now, get everything started and ready for the festival. Or the pride at paws spent carefully torching fields to prepare for the next crop rotation before helping Coleck with hauling his new equipment down from the delivery truck so he could get it configured.
“Now I look forward to it. I enjoy helping around the festival more than ‘normal’ exterminator work. It feels… productive helping the community, giving back to the people that took me in when I was alone.”
>Admirable< Ulmic’s attention turned from me back out to the distant festival grounds, the area left empty but for a small herd having a picnic beneath its awnings. “I should think it's quite rewarding, then. Certainly sounds a far more peaceful, if perhaps more strenuous, brand of community work than we’d had in Dawn Creek. And you, Shenod?”
“I’ve been on-board with it since Lentan first enacted the schedule. Chief’s had my name first on the list to help for the last what… [14, 15 Solar Years] now?” Shenod replied with a hum as he hefted his pack up onto his back before hoisting mine up towards me and turning to head out into the street, beckoning us after them. “I quite like exterminating, working to keep the community safe. But helping it flourish? That’s a glowing reward all its own and the kind of work I love.”
>Cautious Excitement.< “I think, if watching that pair of overgrown cubs will allow for it, I’d quite like the work myself.” I answered, swinging my own pack around onto my thermal-suit-clad back before padding after Shenod out onto the soft, black asphalt.
I followed the pair through town, noticing more and more sympathetic ears and tails following us as we went. That creeping weight of feeling like I was lesser for not grieving as much as the herds around me for a loss that wasn’t really theirs pulled down at my heart again. Ulmic’s tail dropped, his quills rising defensively beneath his suit as a mote of grief fell into his shoulders.
Before my thoughts could get away from me I heard the familiar, drifting notes of Chris in the forum accompanied by the new, far less practiced sounds of Renkel and his ‘ukelele’. I still couldn’t believe the Human had decided to teach the pup music, let alone that he’d bought him an instrument himself and, according to Rensa, insisted he teach him to play for free. Ulmic’s ears perked up at the sound flitting on the wind, his head tilting with curiosity as the tightness in his shoulders faded away.
“Little early for them this paw, eh Salamar?” Shenod grunted, shifting the pack on his back a little as we turned the corner to the edge of the forum, finding our view blocked by the herds milling about at its edge.
“Little early for who?” >Confusion.< Ulmic asked, standing a little straighter to see over the mass of Venlil in front of us before letting out a knowing grunt. “Ah, the Human. Lentan has informed me of his ‘departmental policy’ where he, or any other Humans, is concerned.”
“That won’t be a problem for you, I hope.” Shenod stated flatly, fixing Ulmic with a curious ear as his eyes stayed on Chris, Taisa and Renkel along with the smaller herd that’d formed around them.
>Just fine.< “I’ve no intention to be involved in another near diplomatic incident and I have no problem with Humans so long as they aren’t making one on their own.” Ulmic responded, his ears twitching with amusement at the discordant notes and raucous giggles Renkel was tugging from the strings of his instrument as Chris leaned close to instruct him. “Is i- he -teaching the pup music?”
“I was just as surprised when Rensa told me.” I answered, watching as Chris slid Renkel’s paw a little further up the length of the instrument, the sounds gaining a sprout more structure as Chris guided the pup through the right motions. “He’ll surprise you, usually in good ways if you’ll let him.”
“That seems to be the trend with them, at least the ones I’ve met.” Ulmic chuffed, his tail tapping against his leg as he shifted his position to get a better view. “They are… not what I had expected.”
“Not what I’d expected either.” Shenod hummed as he and I stepped forward to ply through the crowd and out into the forum proper, earning a flare of surprise from Ulmic’s quills before he started to follow after us with a grunt of protest.
Chris spotted us over the well groomed flower beds and short, stunted trees, giving us a pleasant wave as we approached, sending the attention of the herd gathered around him towards us. He’d lost the lower part of his visor while they’d been gone, leaving his mouth exposed as he called out a greeting to us. It was surprising, looking at his teeth without the ‘context’ of his eyes was not nearly as horrifying as I had thought it might have been.
“Afternoon, Gentlemen and… Ulmic? Guess you really did get to thinkin’ about takin’ up a new office!” Chris laughed, slapping one of his broad hands against his knee as his surprisingly familiar looking teeth flashed past the shattered edge of his visor.
“That I did, Bernia and I felt it was finally time for a… a change of pace after so long in Dawn Creek.” Ulmic responded, the press of his quills against his suit falling as Shenod and I settled down onto our usual ‘bench’ at the side of one of the planters.
“Well we’re happy to have you, Ulmic. Stars, we might need to invite Alvi and them over one paw!” Taisa whistled from over Renkel’s shoulder, her tail wrapped tight around Chris’ wrist as she ran her claws through her brother’s wool, prompting the pup forward to Shenod and I.
A flash of something passed across Ulmic’s quills as she spoke, a happy, burbling laugh spilling from his mouth before he responded. “I suppose you might, although I think Bernia and I would like to get settled in before having any ‘emotional umbrellas’ around.”
Taisa met his laugh with her own, leaning gently against Chris’ side as she spoke. “Well you just say the word and I’ll give them a call. Now, I trust Uncle Shenod and Salamar have given you a good tour?”
“That they have, just as beautiful as I remember it…” He trailed off, shifting uneasily on his paws as he looked between the two of him, his ears flapping with thought.
Chris watched him for a moment, his hand tugging through the fur on his jaw as he leaned back on the bench. “Something on your mind, Ulmic?”
Ulmic hesitated, his mouth opening and closing as he looked for the right words. “Just… you two were on the cradle, right?”
The pair, and the herd around them, tensed. Chris and Taisa shared a glance, Taisa’s lopped ear flicking slightly as she pulled herself a little closer to Chris, the sound of Renkel’s barely restrained beeping while he climbed into Shenod’s lap the only sound amongst us.
“Yes, yes we were.” Chris rumbled, warryness lacing his words as his fingers ran through Taisa’s tail tuft. “Why?”
“I was… looking for someone, my Brother and his family. I know they were evacuated bu-”
“Where were they?” Taisa whistled in quiet question, her ears swiveling about with concern as her coiled tension started to unwind.
“They lived in Comet’s Gate, it’s- er, it was -the largest city on the Sandall Islands”
“The Sandalls…” Chris leaned back with a contemplative hum, his fingers working through his beard again as he thought before letting out a stiff grunt. “Those islands were under the Hope’s aid corridor. She dropped off her refugees in Houston, not too far from the port if I remember correctly. I’ve got some friends there and I’m sure our U.N. rep’d be happy to help, if’n he’s the time of course. Just have Shenod or Salamar send us their names and I’ll get on it here in a few hours.”
“Thank you…” Ulmic replied, his mouth hanging open for a moment as he started to look for a seat.
“Not a problem, Ulmic, we’re more than happy to help.” Chris replied, his usual more upbeat growl returning as he pulled the guitar back up into his lap, pulling lilting, happy notes into the air and earning a happy squeal from Renkel as he squirmed free of Shenod’s paws before bolting to his own, smaller instrument.
Ulmic settled down onto the bench at my side, pulling in a deep, relieved breath of the thick, flower laden air as we watched the pair of ‘musicians’ before he leaned towards me. “It wouldn’t be a burden at all to have you over for last meal, Salamar. I’m sure Bernia would love to meet you.”
I thought for a moment, watching Chris’ fingers dancing across the instruments strings as the twirling, golden leaves of the Heartwood rained down on the forum around us. “I think I’d like that, Ulmic.”
>Very good.< “I’ll let Bernia know you’ll be along then.” He responded, pulling his pad from his pack and sending off a message before leaning back and staring up at the Heartwood’s canopy high above.
We sat and watched, for a time, letting the paw pass us by as we watched the ‘terrifying predator’ give music lessons to every pup that would listen, just waiting for a real call to inevitably come.
It never did.
That Tefek sure does sound good.
---
First Prev. Next

As always, thank you to u/SpacePaladin15 for the wonderful universe that is NoP! Thank you to u/cruisingNW for proof reading and helping me make this chapter as good as it can be, you're the man! Honestly LoM wouldn't have gone very far without him! If you haven't you should absolutely go read Foundations of Humanity! It's very good!
A big thanks to u/Saint-Andros for helping with proofreading! He writes Out of Our Elements which is a very good one! If you like a good fic in the wilderness and a pair of cute 'friends' ;) you'll love OOE!
Also thank you to u/brotanics! For this wonderful fanart of Taisa. And this one! She's so cute I'm gonna die
And thank you to u/Jimdandy117! For this adorable fanart of Chris and Renkel! Dear god help he's adorable I love him so much
Thank you u/SlimyRage, or AsciiSquid on Discord, for makin' Vengineer Taisa Gamin'. She's absolutely adorable, I love her lil' workers apron. She looks so excited to get to work!
Thank you u/Braquen! For this astounding Pixel Art of Taisa after a few range day dates with Chris! Her little hat and gunbelt are absolutely astounding!
Thank you u/VeryUnluckyDice! For this Artwork of Taisa and Chris as characters from One Piece! I've never seen or read it before but it's incredibly cute!
First Prev. Next
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Memory Transcription Subject: Taisa, Venlil Starship Engineer, Crystal Star Shipping Co-Owner
Date [Standardized Human Time]: October 1st, 2136
Transcript begins in Dream Format. /// WARNING: Dream Content Includes Events Viewers May Find Distressing. /// Load Relevant Output Format? Y/N
N
Loading Transcript in Conscious Format Beginning at Earliest Resumption.
No no no no no no please no. Y-You’re dead, you c-can’t hu-
I woke with a start and a yelp, the fleeting image of the Arxur’s open maw and echoing, bone-chilling laughter etched into my mind as I scratched and scrambled against the covers and broad arms that held me fast. Frantic fear flooded my mind as warm breath poured down my neck and I tried to pull away in my panic, my claws gripping into flesh and cloth as my legs thumped at the mass beneath me, doing everything in my power to get away from the specter of death haunting my mind. The arms snapped aside, letting me free to bound to the floor, whipping around with a high, angry hiss as my eyes fell on the broad figure on our bed.
The figure shifted as Chris’ gasp and rolling groan of pain snapped me from my fervor, the sound sliding into a pained, cooing voice. “Ach- Ea-Easy Tai. It’s j-mph-just me.”
Frantic panic washed away to horrid guilt, the unsettling warmth running down the tips of my claws matching the pair of angry red slashes that dug across Chris’ forearm. The breath in my chest fell short as I took a hesitant step forward, grief flooding my mind as he looked past the gashes to me. Concern shone in his eyes as he slipped free of the covers, holding his arm level before gently slipping the other around me and pulling me tight.
The wet warmth of my own tears flowed into my wool as I stared down at thin puddles of red filling the shallow lines criss-crossing his forearms. “O-oh Stars no…”
“It’s alright, Darlin’, it’s alright. You’re home and we’re safe. Can’t say I’s havin’ the best...” He shook his head, cutting the sentence short before switching to another track. “I’ve had girlfriends do far worse than a few–tch–cuts and scratches before.” He answered with a small laugh as his other arm pulled me tighter, his heavy chin resting softly on my crown. Chris’ gaze drifted, his chin shifting through my wool as he looked to the window-screen and the swaying, tranquil video of the mountains near Chris’ home at night before a long, almost whining yawn fell from his mouth. “Damn if I don’t need some more sleep though.”
A small nod bobbed my head as a murmur of agreement tumbled from my snout, my tail gently wrapping around his uninjured forearm as I slipped from his embrace to pad a few paces over to the armoire for my tail pouches and satchel. My voice came out unsteady and wavering as I pulled a reef of dacham weave, and a small tube of sanitizer I’d picked up when we were in Tokyo from one of my satchel’s many pockets. “I’ve g-got some bandages and some disinfectant.”
Chris leaned forward, offering me the arm without hesitation as a small smile crossed his face. “Always prepared, huh Darlin’?”
“You wo-wouldn’t believe how n-nasty a cut can get i-f you leave it be.” The edge of building guilt in my stomach blunted a little as I remembered the times I’d helped classmates patch up cuts and scrapes they’d gotten in our labs, doing everything I could to try and make my way into any herd I could find. “W-what did you mean that this isn’t the w-worst thing you’ve had a girlfriend do to you?”
Chris let out a small laugh, interrupted by a sharp gasp as I gently spread the disinfectant across the cuts, his eyes scrunching shut as he balled his fist tight. “Damn that stings. I–heh, lookin’ back it’s kinda funny –well one of my exes out in Houston when’n I was younger, pretty blonde girl named Darlene, weren’t too happy none with me goin’ out on another rotation ‘board Thunderer only a few weeks after I’d got back from the last un’ and uh…”
>Continue< My ears perked as I wrapped the fresh bandages tight around the cuts, cinching it off before giving the arm a small, affectionate lick of apology. Chris rubbed his other hand through his hair, gently hauling my tail off with it as a mock grimace flashed across his face. “Well, we had an argument about it and I guess she wasn’t a big fan of ‘Darlene it’s my job, I told you that when’n I met ya’ as an answer. That started a whole fight, she said things, I said things… she got real upset, I said something stupid I can’t rightly remember and then I got to movin’ when she pulled her Pa’s ol’ Sharps rifle down off the wall and clicked back that hammer. I ain’t lyin’ when I tell ya that thing sounded like thunder and the devil comin’ after me all in the same.”
My wool stood on end with surprise as he finished the story with a laugh before rolling his wrist and testing the arm. A small, worried beep popped from my mouth as I spoke, ducking under his arm to press against him while my tail slipped around his uninjured arm. “I’m sorry… I-I just sa–”
“You don’t gotta apologize, Darlin’. I ain’t goin’ anywhere and ain’t no one gettin’ their grubby damned claws on you e’er again.” Chris rumbled, his hands pulling me close against him as they ran through my wool in comforting reassurance before a broad yawn split his mouth. “‘Cept maybe the bed.”
The idea of curling up warm in bed for another claw or so certainly sounded like music to my ears rather than pacing a warren where every shifting shadow felt like another danger just lurking to pounce on me. “That sounds nice, Heartwood…”
He gave a slow, groggy nod before standing, hoisting the covers aside and unceremoniously falling to the soft mattress below, turning to me with open arms to invite me in. The mattress gave way beneath my paws as I clambered up beside him, pushing close to the comforting warmth of my favorite person on the arm while the weight of the cover fell across us like a shield against the world beyond.
Safe…
Hopefully.
[[Advance Memory Transcript by Time Unit: 6 Hours]]
Stars above she’s gonna need some love.
Polani’s shining hull stood tarnished and beaten on her pad in front of us, the erratic pockmarks and dents marring her polished plating looked more like scars on an old veteran than the battered void-panels of a starship. Chris let out a long, appreciative whistle as his eyes scanned her broadside, his cracked visor hung from his hip brushing against my tail that wrapped tight around his wrist.
“Damn… We ought find whoever built ‘er and buy ‘im a beer. I’ve no idea how she got us through that.” He rumbled, pointing a surprised finger up at an angry notch that ended in a divot kicking out from the hull. “But I’m damned happy she did.”
“Starliner certainly know their craft…” I answered with a quiet voice, my ears twitching to search the horizon as I trailed off.
The hollow, whining screech of Darno’s shuttle called out across the sky as the distant dot flitting about the treetops grew ever larger on approach to the port. The old, grimy hull of the shuttle had been cleaned at some point in the last couple of paws to reveal a fading livery from ‘Iten’s Shuttle Services’. A small bloom of excitement sprouted in my chest as the shuttle touched down with a sigh, sagging down onto her gear as the ramp hummed and sank to the ground.
The old Yotul padded down the ramp before turning and hurrying over to us as his tail slowly swayed with pride, a pair of dark woolgrass bags bearing the logo for the Mist Drinker in his paws. “Cap, Chief, good to see you two. Natus wanted to make sure I told you two hello, and that she’s happy you’re safe. Also made me promise to make sure her ‘favorite exchange partners’ got their meals.”
“Good to see you too, Old Timer.” Chris replied with a small laugh, his fingers gently scratching through my wool as his gaze turned back up to Polani.
“Day warms you, Darno.” I whistled, my attention split between him and Polani’s wounds as my tail gently tugged at Chris’ wrist with a restrained wag. “I hope you’ve had a… better last few paws than I have.”
Darno’s posture softened as he looked me over, his tail slowing slightly as he set the bags down between us and sighed. >Comfort. Safety.< “I’d be lying if I said I’d rather be back there getting shot at than here spending time with Natus and tooling about with Day-Lee Cruiser. What’d you have in mind for Polani? I thought you two’d said the U.N. had handled everything that needed doing while you were lookin’ after Ryan?”
>Thank you. Appreciated.< “I’m willing to agree there.” I replied as a shudder racked through my body, shaking my ears out to try and knock the prowling memories in my mind away. “They got the big problems fixed, and I definitely intend to double check their work and redo the service fluids, but right now I’m more worried about her hull than anything.”
Darno’s graying snout perked up, his tail swaying a little faster as he turned his eyes up to the battered hull. “I think I might have just the thing!”
“Oh?” Chris rumbled, shooting a side-eyed glance down at him before stooping to scoop up the bags of food with a smile. “Lead the way then, bud.”
The old Yotul all but ran up Polani’s ramp and to his quarters, leaving Chris and I scrambling to keep up as he dove into his berth and started loudly rummaging around in the various drawers and cabinets lining the walls before letting out a happy, satisfied chuff. “There you are!”
“And what exactly is that, Darno?” I asked with a weary chirp as I leaned in through the door, studying the mass of electromagnets, oscillators, thick wires and steel he held in his paws. “Looks more dangerous than helpful…”
“That all depends on how you use it, Chief!” Darno responded, a loud, barking laugh bouncing from his throat as he turned it over, revealing a broad metal diaphragm.
An idea sprouted in my head as I looked down at the odd contraption and the not-so-distant memories of my harmonics classes flooded back to me with a squeak of excitement. “Is that what I think it is?”
“Depends, do you think it’s a hyper-acoustic-fault-finder?”
My tail was lashing back and forth as I nodded excitedly, jerking Chris’ arm about beside me as he looked between the two of us with a high-browed expression of confusion splayed across his face. “A what now?”
Darno opened his mouth to speak, hesitating on the answer for a moment before flicking his ears for me to answer. >Go Ahead.<
I could barely contain my voice from bolting off as I turned an eye to Chris. “A H.A.F.F.! I got to make one as a project in one of my classes! You mount them to the outside of the hull and they pour a sine wave, or something like it, through the hull and measure the returns. In the end the problem that we ran into, and really the point of the lesson I suppose, twas power. To really get much out of them you either need a lot of them or a lot of it, and batteries just can’t feed it enough.”
“So it’s… just a big ass speaker?” Chris asked, tilting his head a little as he stooped to get a better look at the device in Darno’s paws.
“Kind of? More like the driver and the hull is the speaker! Good thing the hanger’s still on the grid; it’d take a whole…” My voice trailed off as another connection flashed in my mind while I stared down at the thick blue cable that ended in a broad federation standard high power socket head. “Unless of course you just plug the thing into the drive and pull power from there! My professor always said that portable units like that never really bloomed on the market since he’d ’never met a Chief Engineer ok with letting someone else touch their drive outputs’. Stars above Darno, when did you find the time to even build this thing?”
Darno’s ears splayed out with a conspiratorial flap, his tail thumping the metal cabinet at his side with a soft clang as he spoke with a low, rolling chuff. “Well you two spend a whole lot of time in quarters during jumps so I gotta entertain myself somehow!”
A rush of warmth spread across my snout and up my ears as I felt Chris’ hand tighten a little around my tail, a choked cough slipping from his throat before he did his best to brush past the statement. “F- Achem -Fair enough. Is it just the one? Is that gonna be able to… measure? All of her? Seems like a lotta hull to cover with just one sensor.”
“By my tail no that’s not enough.” >Amusement.< Darno barked, setting the H.A.F.F. down on the bench beside his bed before slinging the doors to his cabinet open and all but diving back inside. “I don’t rightly remember if it was two or three more but I assure you, Cap, I’ve got enough to do the job right.”
“Well I suppose that’s why we hired you, eh Old Timer?” Chris chuckled, leaning around the side of the cabinet door as Darno lept back out, a trio of H.A.F.F.s in his paws.
“Four total! With a hull like Polani’s we could probably manage just fine with three, but four should give us [Leagues] more resolution! Just need a quarter claw to calibrate everything and get ‘em singing!” >Pride< He exclaimed, thumping the trio down on his workbench next to the first. He hesitated a moment, his eyes lingering on the devices before flitting back over to me, a twitch of hope rising in his ears as he spoke. “It’s your ship, Chief; what do ya think?”
Chris’ smile went wide as I stepped forward to examine the quartet of devices, my tail gently tugging at his wrist excitedly as it fought the comforting anchor. >Appreciation.< “I think you’ve done a job as bright as starlight Darno, and I’m happy to see it!”
“Good shit, Darno.” Chris followed, gently scooping up one of the H.A.F.F.s to turn over in his hands as Darno’s tail floated pridefully. “Helluva job… You need help calibrating them or should we get started on something else while you get ‘em set?”
“Thank you, Chief! Thank you, Cap!” Darno barked, seemingly startling himself with his own voice as his tail set to wagging. “Ahem. I think I can do the calibrations myself, just need to get them on the hull and tune them; not really hard, just time consuming is all.”
“Hop to it then, Old Timer.” Chris replied with a laugh, gently handing the lump of polished steel down to Darno. “Means we got some work to get to ourselves then, eh Darlin’?”
“You bet, we’ve got plenty of maintenance work to double check!” I whistled, my tail tugging at his arm at the thought of getting paws-on with Polani as Darno slipped the H.A.F.F.s into his tool satchel.
“Sounds like a plan, Chief. I’ll let you two know when I’m ready to start diagnostics.” Darno chuffed, his tail happily and excitedly swaying about behind him as he hurried off to the hold.
Chris’ eyes drifted down to me, a small, comforting smile on his face as he gently scratched my tail tuft. “Ready, Darlin’?”
>Yes.< “When you are, Heartwood.” I replied as a little warmth bloomed in my chest before flooding up my snout to my ears.
We walked down the quiet hall, the click of my claws bouncing around the rafters opposite the thump of Chris’ boots on the deck plates. The glint of a divot in the bulkhead harvested my attention, drawing my eye to the last, faded flecks of stained blood the U.N. cleaning crew hadn’t managed to clear. A shiver ran out of my tail, coiling tighter on Chris’ wrist as we stepped into Engineering. That familiar, welcoming hum of the core helping to chase off that horrid voice waiting in the back-fields of my mind.
“What first, Wool Ball?” Chris asked, a jump of humor in his voice as he gave my tail a gentle squeeze.
A long, mock sigh tumbled from my snout as I unwound my tail from his wrist to slap his side with it, receiving a soft chuckle as I headbutted his shoulder with a whistle. “Fluid levels and error codes. The ramp is still a little jumpy and I saw a callout for thrown codes from the thrust vector actuators they replaced, it’s not hard to trip those if you install them wrong so it’s not terribly surprising. After we’ve got those all harvested Darno should probably be done getting everything prepped for the H.A.F.F.s.”
“Then let's hop to it, I suppose.” He replied, clapping his hands together as he fell in behind me on the way to the reservoirs.
It was therapeutic, getting my paws to work again with Chris at my side, that nagging worry in the back of my mind fading further and further away by the second as I ran purge cycles and pulled dipstick after dipstick from their reservoirs, wiping them clean and checking their levels, happily finding them all to be right where they needed to be. All except one, the hydraulic loop for the rams on the cargo ramp was low by [.35 Liters], enough to account for air that’d gotten trapped in the system when the line blew.
“Chris can you get me the hydraulic fluid? Brown jug on the third shelf.” The request slipped from my mouth without a second thought, earning me a soft kiss on my crown before the steady thump of Chris’ boots plodded off towards the storage cabinets on the far side of the space.
Silence fell across the engine room but for the constant low humming of the core, sending a chill down my spine as the excitement of Darno’s new toys fell away only to be replaced by the feeling of distant eyes boring into the back of my head. My tail tightened on Chris’ wrist finding only air as I took a step towards where he’d been as the echoing laughs of the Arxur prowled in my mind setting my nerves on fire with fear and worry. My ears flitted around the room as I searched fro somewhere to hide, somewhere to feel safe.
The hard metal of the bulkhead met my back as I pressed into the corner to hide and slid down to the cold deck plates below me, my breath heaved in my chest as my tail found it’s way to my kneading, nervous paws.
It’s dead. It’s gone. You’re safe. It’s dead. It’s gone. You’re safe. It’s dead. It’s gone. You’re sa-
“Easy Darlin’. I got ya.” Chris’ soft, whispered voice found my ears as his hand gently touched my shoulder, slowing the building stampede of my mind and helping to calm my frazzled nerves. His other hand slipped under my paws, holding them tight as he slipped to the deck at my side with a sympathetic hum before gently pulling me to his lap.
We sat in silence for a few minutes; warm, gentle fingers helping to pull me back from the brink of panic, my erratic panting falling away to measured, even breaths as I pressed close to Chris’ chest with an embarrassed sigh. “Th-thank you, Heartwood. I… I’m sor-”
“Don’t need to be sorry, Darlin’. I’m here for ya no matter what.” He replied, the warmth in his voice pouring into my heart as he pulled me close. “Never need to apologize, certainly not for this…”
Does he…
You know he means it.
His voice trailed off, hesitating for a moment like he’d wanted to say more before gently squeezing my paw as I craned my neck to lick his chin and responded with a mewl. “Thank you, Chris. That… that means a lot.”
“You mean a lot to me…” He sighed, leaning forward to plant a kiss on my crown with a happy grunt, sending a bloom of warmth through my chest. The soft thump of his head against the bulkhead reverberated around the room, his warmth falling into my wool as his other hand slipped into the wool of my stomach. “So, just the codes left?”
I nodded, my tail coiling tight around his thigh as a contented whisper slipped from my snout. “Y-yea. Can you hand me my pad?”
“Of course.” He answered, slipping his hand from mine, pulling the pad free from my tail pouch before pressing it into the now open paw.
With a flick the screen lit up and I navigated to link the pad to Polani’s monitoring software and booted the diagnostics screen. A pair of errors popped up, declaring a ‘Thrust Vector Actuator Failure- Starboard Actuator 13-B Code-48195-EC Inverted Electrical connection’. “Yep, installed it backwards. Ten minute fix…”
“Faster we get it done, faster we get to sit down and relax while Darno ge-” Chris and I both stopped, listening as the pitch of the core’s consistent hum dropped, shifting downward with a new load.
A building whine interrupted him as the bulkhead, decking and Polani’s very frame came alive with an oscillating whine. “Nevermind… faster we get it done the faster we get to play with Darno’s toys, I suppose. Damn if that don’t sound like an old ass amp…”
I crawled from Chris’ lap, tugging him to his feet before we got to work fixing the last thing on our list. It was a simple fix, done in only a pawful of minutes. It took longer to get the thruster panel off than it did to flip the connection and fix the error, although the building hum wasn’t exactly pleasant to listen to.
Another minute or so and we were outside watching as Darno fussed over his pad before letting out a triumphant bark as his tail rose with pride. “There you are! Good and calibrated, now let's get you lot put to work! Everything squared away, Chief?”
I nodded, peering around his shoulder at the pad as Chris and I slowed to a stop beside him. “Sounds like you’re all ready to go. Need any help?”
“Nope, was just waiting on you two.” He answered, tapping a claw on his pad as the high, whining resonance emanating from Polani intensified for a few moments before fading away completely.
“Well? What’ve we got, Darno?” Chris asked, leaning over the old Yotul to stare down at the colorful 3-D map of Polani’s hull.
“Nothing too terrible.” Darno replied, leaning to turn the pad so I could get a better look. “I think we’ve got three, maybe four, panels that need replaced from buckling, couple spot-welds, and a whooole lot of buffing. Otherwise everythings held up pretty alright.”
“Looks about right to me.” I agreed, reaching out to pan the model around the screen to make sure he hadn’t missed anything. “I’ll see if Parnel has some left over from the scrap hull, if not I’ll just have to order some. Shouldn’t be a problem with what the U.N. left in our account, shipping might be an annoyance though… Probably take a few paws to get here and another to mount them up but that's about it.”
“Sounds like that’s about all we can get finished up for today then.” Chris nodded, looking up at Polani’s hull with an appreciative eye. “Darno you can stow the H.A.F.F.s in the hangar for now if you like. Add ‘em to the diagnostics setup you two was talkin’ about.”
>Agreed.< “Sounds good to me, Cap.” Darno chuffed, padding over to Polani to disconnect the nearest one. “I suppose let me know when the new panels are due in and I’ll be here, unless you’ve got something else in mind to get done?”
Chris and I shared a glance. >Nothing here.< “Not that I can think of. Thinking about touching her paint back up but I think we can handle that on our own if we do.”
“Tell Natus we said hello and thanks for the food, bud. Have to get her out here one of these days, if’n she’s willin’ to fly in your rustbucket, of course.”
“Hey!” Darno barked back, his tail swaying about with amusement as he pulled down the second and third H.A.F.F.s. “I’ll have you know that that ship can’t rust, thank you very much!”
“Alright, alright fair ‘nough ya got me there.” Chris put his hands up in defeat, a smile playing out on his face as he let out a belting belly laugh before looking over to our waiting truck.
“I’ll see if she’d like to come, she’s certainly been talking about wanting to take a ride on the Day-Lee and see my new shop. Be a good opportunity to clear two fields with one harvest.” Came the muffled reply from Darno on the far side of Polani, the hollow metal clung of the last H.A.F.F. dropping free echoing out across the port and fading as Darno trudged back into view on his way to the hangar. “You two can get going, I’ll go ahead and lock up once I’m done, wanna service my machines now that we’re back.”
My tail set to wagging at the idea of getting to do more work with my paws, another extra distraction to stave off that ever present feeling of dread building in the back of my mind. A hopeful ear turned to Chris as I took a step forward towards the hangar, my tail tapping his side with every wag. “We could always help…”
A small smile and a laugh broke out on his face as he bent over to pull me into a tight hug. “That we certainly can. Well, you can help, I’ll probably do some paperwork and see what business I can drum up over a whiskey… or three. Just remember some of us have to actually sleep and setting up a fish tank and teaching guitar to someone else’s baby brother is something better done rested.”
Stars, I love this man.
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As always, thank you to u/SpacePaladin15 for the wonderful universe that is NoP! Thank you to u/cruisingNW for proof reading and helping me make this chapter as good as it can be, you're the man! Honestly LoM wouldn't have gone very far without him! If you haven't you should absolutely go read Foundations of Humanity! It's very good!
A big thanks to u/Saint-Andros for helping with proofreading! He writes Out of Our Elements which is a very good one! If you like a good fic in the wilderness and a pair of cute 'friends' ;) you'll love OOE!
Also thank you to u/brotanics! For this wonderful fanart of Taisa. And this one! She's so cute I'm gonna die
And thank you to u/Jimdandy117! For this adorable fanart of Chris and Renkel! Dear god help he's adorable I love him so much
Thank you u/SlimyRage, or AsciiSquid on Discord, for makin' Vengineer Taisa Gamin'. She's absolutely adorable, I love her lil' workers apron. She looks so excited to get to work!
Thank you u/Braquen! For this astounding Pixel Art of Taisa after a few range day dates with Chris! Her little hat and gunbelt are absolutely astounding!
Thank you u/VeryUnluckyDice! For this Artwork of Taisa and Chris as characters from One Piece! I've never seen or read it before but it's incredibly cute!
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Memory Transcription Subject: Taikel, Venlil Farmer, Venlil-Human Exchange Host
Date [Standardized Human Time]: September 30th, 2136
Transcript begins in Dream Format. /// WARNING: Dream Content Includes Events Viewers May Find Distressing. /// Load Relevant Output Format? Y/N
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Loading Transcript in Conscious Format Beginning at Earliest Resumption.
Stars I hope they’re alright.
The rustling clatter of mine and Rensa’s auto blinds whooshing open stirred me from a restless dream with a start. The heavy weight of dread in the pit of my stomach floating away as the last vestiges of the dream faded from my memory. My attention drifted from the ceiling, and the loosening pit, to my wife still fast asleep at my side as she let out a contented, peaceful purr and laxed her tail’s grip on my own. The Warren around us was quiet, lacking the now familiar click of Taisa’s claws padding off to go wake Chris for the paw. It almost felt more empty under the light of the harvest sun of their return than it’d been the last few paws without them here at all.
Gently I slid my way from under the covers, leaning forward to give Rensa one last comforting lick on her snout before padding to the door and out into the dim, cold hall. The soft clack of my claws echoed off the walls as I passed Renkel’s room, peeking inside to see the pup fast asleep in his bed with his Rekan held tight to his chest. His newest toy still sat in its box where Chris had left it on the floor beside the bed, waiting to be set up so he could undoubtedly marvel at it for claws on end.
Renkel had been ecstatic last waking when he learned that they were coming home, the pup had refused to have anyone help him set up his new ‘fishy-tank’ but Chris and Taisa. The concept had concerned Rensa and I, but Chris in what short time we had had explained that it wasn’t much different than the holographic nature displays Taisa’d shown him in town. Rensa was, surprisingly, interested in seeing how it worked, barely managing to keep her tail from swaying as we’d looked over the box and books that Chris had brought for Renkel.
In fairness, she’d taken this all far better than I had. Stars, it almost seemed like she was proud that our daughter had nearly thrown her life away. I couldn’t wrap my tail around the idea of being so ready to accept that our daughter had participated in that; I couldn’t accept that she’d have so willingly gone back into it all again and again. My paws flexed and released with frustration as I pulled away from my son’s door and turned to descend the stairs. The feeling of my claws pressing into my pads, spurring my mind to greater heights of angst as I stepped into the kitchen and stared at the burner sat waiting on the counter.
Even knowing they were on their way back, alive and safe, that mass of worry and fear festering in my gut refused to break and abate with what little I’d been told by Taisa and seen on the news. My mind swam with worry for the pair, remembering the videos of Humans and Venlil working together to save Gojids that’d trampled each other in terror, doing their best to put everything back together alongside the horrid videos showing the Arxur fall on those very same cities. The same one’s they had been in. The same one’s Chris’ brother had been wounded in.
Taisa had said they’d take a few more paws to get home.As much as it hurt Rensa and I to have her gone that little bit longer, we at least knew she was safe again. Chris had stayed by his brother’s side in the hospital until he’d woken up and she ‘wasn’t going to leave him when he needed her’. Then the U.N. had wanted to speak with them, arrange for any necessary repairs and do a ‘mental health check in’. To me, and Rensa, that only meant one thing.
Predator Disease.
No.She said that wasn’t what it was. Said that Humans don’t have a concept of Predator Disease. That they just wanted to make sure they were ‘ok’ after what th—
My ears flapped, hopelessly batting away the encroaching thoughts as I let out a dragging sigh and turned to pull the produce for this waking’s first meal from the refrigerator. Sturen, Stringfruit accompanied by a ‘zuccini’ and a ‘potato’ from Darlene’s garden, all mixed in with a generous helping of that delicious seasoning. My usual excitement to play chef with the new, alien vegetables just wasn’t there this paw though as I brought a smattering of oil to heat and slowly chopped my way through the vegetables.
The sizzling pop and hiss of the firefruit oil filled the kitchen as I slid the mass of freshly chopped produce down into the pot, feeling a sprout of hope bloom in my mind as the taste of roasting food and fragrant spices danced on my tongue. Upstairs I heard the groggy, whistled greeting of Rensa waking Renkel and ushering him off to the bath to get ready for the paw. The soft thud and pattering click-clack of her and the pup’s paws on the floor echoed down the stairs before the soft burbling and splashing of the faucet filling the bath replaced them alongside the bubbly, happy whistles and beeps of Renkel telling Rensa all about how excited he was for them to come home this paw.
The tip of my tail twitched, a small happy flick at the thought of my son playing with suds as he babbled about the interesting fish he’d seen in the first book Rensa and I had decided to give him from the stash. The taste of crisped stringfruit touched my tongue, snapping my attention from my distracted thoughts and back to the food in the pot in front of me. I scrambled to scrape the food free from the pot, portioning out a trio of servings as the muffled, almost melodic sound of the wool dryer accompanied Renkel’s elated squealing emanating through the floor that marked the end of the pup’s bath time.
The pair made their way down the stairs, the soft ker-klunk of Rensa’s leg punctuating the happy beeps and whistles of Renkel telling her all about how much he’d been enjoying his first week of classes and how many new friends he and Ervenonen had made. From the sound of it the pair were, as usual, inseparable and happily making friends with every other pup they could. Renkel was far from hesitant to tell them all about Chris, the books, his new Ukulele and all the other ‘Cool Human Stuff’ the big Human had shared.
Rensa’s paw found my side, pulling me close with a mewl as she stretched up to lick my cheek before gently nuzzling my neck and collecting her plate. “Sleep well, Sunbeam?”
My mind lingered for a moment, grasping back at the wisps of that now long forgotten dream, sending a shiver down my spine and out my tail as a sigh spilled from my mouth. “As well as I could.”
>Family is Safe.< Her eyes softened, a sweep of sympathy swinging her ears back as she spoke. “Still worried?”
>I know< “Just… can’t get it out from between my ears.” The answer tumbled from my mouth, punctuated by the chatter of plastic on polished stone as I slid Renkel’s first meal across the counter, receiving a happy, disconnected beep of thanks before the pup dug into his meal.
Rensa stopped, setting her bowl on the counter next to her seat as she turned back to me, the soft thump of her leg on the floor and the hollow clunk of Renkel’s skewer against the bowl being the only sounds in the kitchen. She pulled me into a close hug, her tail coiling around my own as she let out a soft, comforting whistle. “You know, you were just like this everytime I went on call.”
A small, rueful laugh bubbled in my chest amongst the worry, grief and sickening nausea that I could feel tugging at my heart with the comparison of the profession that had taken my beloved’s leg in the first place. “I know… I-I still just can’t wrap my tail around it.”
“Then I think you’ll just have to ask them about why they did it.” She responded with a proud purr, her ears flicking at my chin playfully as the warm sound helped to loosen the tension in my shoulders ever so slightly. “I know I certainly will.”
Her tail tightened around mine as we hung in the embrace for a moment; I knew her interest in the question came from a different place than my own but it still comforted me that she was interested in the answer nonetheless. She pulled back a little, giving the wool of my shoulder another, loving groom before letting out a whistle loud enough for Renkel to overhear. “Now, how about we eat and get on our way to the port? Wouldn’t want to miss them landing, now, would we?”
Renkel perked up at that, his ears flicking between the two of us before he looked down at his bowl and started eating even faster. Rensa’s tail slipped from mine, giving my leg a soft, motivating tap as she padded to her own seat and slipped into it to enjoy her own first meal. I glanced down at the bowl of still steaming vegetable chunks, picking up my skewer to quickly enjoy my meal.
[[Advance Memory Transcript by Time Unit: 1 Hour]]
The truck gently rocked as the soft crunch of gravel beneath rubber faded to the hard, echoing rumble of pavement casting out across the valley as we started our drive to the shuttle-port. It was cold this paw. Birikia’s forecast had called for a good snowstorm to come rolling in from night in the next few claws and he certainly wasn’t wrong this time. I could see the clouds brewing at the edge of night, blotting out the tapestry’s twinkling lights. It looked like more than enough to give the whole valley a good dusting but for now it wasn’t doing much more than dropping the occasional flake, knocking the truck about and blowing clumps of Puft-Tails across the fields and over the valley’s edge.
The town felt empty, despite the warm, welcoming store lights and pawful of herds relaxing in the forum and milling about outside the Rekan, steaming Hiikic in paw. The dim glow of the streetlights cast long, flitting shadows across the ground, each one catching my eye and setting my wool alight at the thought of what my daughter, and Chris, had been through only a few paws ago. Renkel let out an ecstatic beep in the back seat as we rolled to a stop at the intersection in the center of town, happily waving to a pair of pups gripping their gray pelted mother’s tail and receiving a familiarly ecstatic greeting in return.
The tails in the town around us signaled confusion, interest and, for some, worry as eyes and ears turned inquisitively to the sky in search of something I couldn’t quite hear. The electronic whir of the truck’s windows was quickly drowned out by the distant, familiar crackling roar of Polani’s thrusters as a burning streak fell from the tapestry above, lighting up the twilight before snuffing out to little more than a dancing, silver glint as she approached the port.
Rensa’s tail gave mine a small squeeze as she rolled the window back up, breaking my distraction and spurring me to drive on while that distant sparkle amongst the stars grew. Renkel didn’t seem to have noticed the spectacle, happily returning to his book after greeting his new herdmates. A frustrated beep slipped from his snout, prompting a small snicker from Rensa and I. We stole a glance back, finding him clumsily holding his pup-pad up to translate the blocky, Human text on the page as he marveled at the flat, spotted fish on the page.
Polani grew ever larger as the shuttle port came into view, Taisa’s pastel painting of Polani’s star on her side stood out against the rest of her silvered skin as she disappeared beneath the buildings and warehouses lining the port's outer rim. The truck gently bounced as I wheeled it up the ramp and onto the tarmac, the sound of Polani’s thrusters flared one last time before spooling down with a soft, echoing whine. Renkel perked up, his book and pad all but forgotten as he set to bouncing and wriggling in his seat with upbeat, excited whistles of anticipation.
I, on the other paw, was not nearly as excited as he was when Polani came into view, sitting on her pad in front of their hangar. She looked tired, beaten and beleaguered as she sagged down on her landing gear, like she wanted nothing more than to go those extra few tails to rest on the cold tarmac itself. Her hull was cast in long shadows by the scant twilight rays, exaggerating familiar features. I felt, for a moment, that if Polani was as she was when she’d left, it couldn’t have been that bad. Felt like, despite all the worries that’d bolted through my mind these last few paws, I’d worried for nothing.
Then, as if to dash away my hopes under their own harsh light, the port's flood lights flashed to life.
Long streaks of soot and unburnt powder trailed away from the cannons on her nose while the broad muzzles and rounded faces of her turrets were stained a chalky, flaking black. Gashes, scrapes and gouges marred her skin, tarnishing her brilliant shine that Taisa was so proud of. Uncountable dings and dents pockedher hull, and some still carried stubborn slugs that hadn’t shaken free or melted away on re-entry. Her once pristine blue livery that Taisa and Chris had spent near a whole paw lovingly mocking up and painting was chipped, pitted and splashed with the soot of las-fire.
At least the Polani kept her eye on them enough to get home.
Polani’s ramp started to open as I brought the truck to an easy halt next to the hangar, the groaning rams all but pleading for rest. Rensa reached back and released an excited, squirming Renkel from his pup seat to gently set him on the tarmac at her side, pointedly guiding his paws to her tail as she padded to my side. A gentle paw found its way into the wool at my side, Rensa pulling me tight against her with a beep of reassurance.
The harsh, echoing clang of the ramp falling to the tarmac resounded across the empty pads, revealing a cavernous, empty bay. Rensa nudged my side, prompting me forward and up the ramp after a brief, hanging silence had dominated the air around us. Small bumps beneath my paws drew my attention down to the cold alloy below me, finding more spattered slugs and shining gashes marring the dull, textured surface.
My gaze lingered for a moment as my attention hung on a broad, darkened splotch across the deck of the hold while the unmistakable taste of bleach breathed against my tongue.
Blood? Ryan…
The solid, unmistakable thump of Chris’ boots and soft Click-clack of Taisa’s claws on the decking snatched at my ears, hauling my eyes from the tarnished, forlorn splotch on the floor and up to the stairs at the far end of the hold. Their steps hesitated for a moment, just short of the stairwell, the familiar sound of my daughter’s quiet, worried voice meeting my ears sent a jolt of concern through my wool, standing it on end even if I couldn’t pick out the words they were exchanging. After a few seconds that felt like an eternity Chris’ heavy, black-bottomed boot fell into view, planting firmly on the step at the same time as Taisa’s own close-shorn foot.
The twisting knot in my chest loosened, spooling free like a ball of woolgrass yarn as I finally laid eyes on the pair, my worries for my daughter, and Chris’, safety being dashed away like a wisp-bloom on a day side wind. Each step down they took pulled at that tension bit by terrible bit until they were standing in front of us at the foot of the stairs, her tail wrapped tight around his wrist as her ears flic-
My world spun, the sound of a raging wind filling my ears as every tail of that knot reeled back tight in my chest while my eyes hung on Taisa. On the piece of her that was missing.
Her left ear was clipped – No. Bitten – off nearly halfway down in a nasty, jagged line that was only marginally dulled by the tightly wrapped line of snow-white bandage that stood out in sharp contrast against her russet wool. Words failed me as my thoughts ran wild at what had happened, just how close my daughter had really come to the Arxur. To death.
An excited bleat slipped from Renkel as he let go of Rensa’s tail and charged to his sister, wrapping his arms around her chest and holding her tight as her tail slipped free to a happy, gentle sway and her shoulders relaxed like the weight of the federation had slipped free from them. Rensa at my side let out a small, reassuring whistle before padding after Renkel as her paw gently squeezed my side. >Family here. Safe. Love You.< “Bet that one hurt, didn’t it, Little Star?”
>Better now. Love you too.< Taisa nodded, her mangled ear twitching away from Rensa’s snout as my wife joined Renkel in the embrace. “Didn’t hurt much at first. Got a lot worse once we were out of…”
A soft, comforting purr poured from Rensa as she responded, pulling Taisa’s snout closer under her own. “I understand, you don’t have to say anything else.”
“Thank you, Mama. It wasn’t Chris’ fault…”
I felt Chris at my side as my focus shifted from Taisa inward, the big Human said something I couldn’t make out as my mind still swam in an ocean of questions. I could feel my tail lashing about behind me as I grasped at any emotion I could find to anchor myself. Horror that my Daughter had been that close to death? She was still alive, here in front of me held tight by a loving family, even if she was injured. Hate? A simmering pain at the back of my mind that the only reason she had been there at all was because his people had called them up? No. She’d signed the contract to harvest a dream she’d always held tight, knew what it said and what it could mean and was willing to risk it for what she wanted. Concern that he’d let her be hurt in the first place? He’d leapt into the river to save a child he didn’t know. If there was one thing I could count on him for it was to do his best to keep her safe.
After what felt like an eon my scrambling thoughts finally found something to hold onto. Anger.
A burning, scornful voice slipped from my mouth as I turned an eye up to Chris, finding him staring back down, his face a mask of concern that shifted to confusion as I spoke. “Why?”
“Why?” His heavy, rumbling voice passed through me like a ringing Glyndi. “Why what?”
“Why did you go back?” I growled, the wool on my tail flaring as I stared up at the big human, his confusion evaporating into a flat, stonewall as he met my eye. A chill bolted down my spine as I held his gaze, the knot in my chest spinning free into a painful, raging fire. “Why did you put my daughter, your partner, in danger?”
Chris didn’t speak, his gaze wandering from me to Taisa, Rensa and Renkel for a moment as he thought, giving a small nod to Rensa before her attention shifted to me. Her gaze bored holes into me as she quietly comforted Taisa, one ear on our daughter as the other focused on Chris and I. Slowly, like a glacier on the basin Chris’ eye’s swung back to me, a voice as hard as the valley’s walls poured from his mouth. “Taikel…”
The word hung in the air alongside Renkel’s happy, muffled squeals emanating from between his Mother and Sister. The pause pushed my anger forward, motivating a short, angry hiss of a response to slide past my lips as I planted my feet beneath me as best I could. “What?”
“If’n it’d been you.” He rumbled, his sharp, predatory eyes still bearing down on me as he nodded at me with a stiff, jerky motion. “You and your family trapped on a dyin’ rock, scramblin’ for safety as Heartwood burned around you and the Arxur was comin’ down like hail; holed up wherever y’all could find jus’ prayin’ for a miracle. Prayin’ that someone would swoop down from above to help. And you knew there was someone in orbit with more than enough room to get you, and the rest of the town, to safety would you want them to? Would you want them to risk their own lives for yours? Or would you rather they’d run? Leave you all behind to save their own sorry, cowardly, yellow-bellied asses?”
The fire in my heart faded and withered away as a retort faltered in my mouth, my gaze shifting to Taisa’s ear and then to Rensa’s hard, iron leg. Both injuries earned by people I loved doing what they thought was right. My voice was an echo of the burning anger I’d felt a mere few seconds before as a quiet, regretful whimper tumbled from my mouth as I realized what he was really asking. “No…”
Chris kept going, his voice softening as he eased into a short crouch at my side and turned back to Taisa as her gaze found him past her Mother, the small mote of panic flitting down her tail abating. “Those people’d have family too, Taikel. People that’d be worried just as much ‘bout them as you’re about Tai and, hopefully, me. Worried that they ain’t gonna make it home just for tryin’ to save people they don’t know and probably won’t ever see again.”
“We didn’t do it ‘cause we was chasin’ danger. Didn’t do it for money nor for fame or any other dumb shit, Taikel. We did it ‘cause it was what was right. ‘Cause it’s what ought be done. And, I’ll be honest, your daughter was the first one to speak up to tell me we had to.” A rise of pride bloomed in Rensa’s ears as she swung her full attention back to Taisa, pulling her close against her as she whispered something into her ear only to earn a flash of thanks, a small titter of laughter and a swell of tears pattering into her and Renkel’s wool.
And with that tear, the last smoldering ember of anger crumbled, falling to ash only to be swept away by a warm, washing tide of pride for my daughter and the man who’d been at her side when they’d tried their best to do what was right. Alongside my swaying tail and the thought of a special last meal to celebrate that they were safe I sent a small, hopeful prayer out into the distant tapestry dancing in the sky.
Polani above and stars beyond, I hope you keep us safe from whatever comes next.
---
First Prev. Next

(For context see 1st place here: https://demozoo.org/parties/4760/#competition_18679 or a video of the effect here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgfG7aX1rDY)
After getting a request for the source code (and because I m proud of it), I tried to do a short write up of the inner workings of this effect. Let's start with the code:

[org 100h] les ax,[si] next16bitPixel: dec ax stosw add ax, [es:di+bx] rcr ax, 1 dec ax ; not-needed (only added in compo-version to speed up progression) dec ax ; not-needed (only added in compo-version to speed up progression) xor bl, 160 jmp next16bitPixel 

How does it work:
At it's heart this effect is not a plasma, but it is a fire-effect. What those normally do is: They iterativley update video memory by replacing a pixel by the average of its neighbouring pixels and its old value. For the fire to fade out, the new value also gets decremented by a fixed amount every frame until it reaches zero.To preserve the fire burning and not turn completely black, you do add new hotspots of random noise to the image. Those then get smoothed out and slowly fade away by all the averaging and decrementing.
This is what is happening at the heart of "Text plasmosis" as well, but with the following specialties:

• The random noise is implicitly added by the fade-out: The `dec ax` does not stop when reaching zero. It wrapps around to the highest value possible. This saves code twice: You do not need to check for zero and you don't need code for adding random noise.
• This code does does only do _one_ "averageing"-operation (`add ax, [es:di+bx]` and `rcr ax, 1`) per pixel. This calculates the average of the last pixel value written and one pixel other pixel in video ram. This other pixel is alternating between the next pixel that will be written and the one exactly one line below it. This is achieved by doing `xor bl, 160`, which flips the bx register back and forth between 0 and 160, which is added as an offset to the memory operation `[es:di+bx]`
• The effect does calculate the 'fire' using 16bit values. Because of the specialties of the text mode memory layout, where two bytes make up a character on screen (one byte color, the other the ascii code of the character), this makes the upper 8 bit of the fire define the color and the lower 8 bit define the character (which is of minor importance for the visuals). This leads to very smooth outlines of the color patches, because the upper 8bit of the fire do change much slower than the lower ones.

I first discovered this effect in graphics mode (see: https://demozoo.org/productions/337776/) and had the problem, that it was hard to get the fire started. You need enough asymmetries in video ram initially. Often the effect turned out to show the same values for all the pixels that just kept iterating through the palette. The smallest version I could get working in mode13h needed 20 bytes, so I decided to add music and release it as a 32 byte effect. In graphics mode this effect looks a bit different because it has vertical stripes that stem from the alternating high-byte and low-byte of the 16bit pixels the calculation uses.
So when realizing, that that those 16bit values perfectly matched memory layout in text mode, I got lucky trice:

• I got rid of the vertical stripes which made better visuals.
• I got rid of the code to initialize graphics mode, because you start in text mode by default.
• There already were enough asymmetries in text mode memory initially, so I could get one of my smaller version working, that did only 'blinking' in graphics mode.

The first version i had needed 14 bytes, but it did take quite long to come out of initialization phase (where the asymmetries distribute across video memory and start showing the plasma effect in the visible part of it). And because I did not want to make the audience wait for 3 minutes, I used two more bytes to speed up progression. (see code above)
That's all I can think of so far ...
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p.s.:
Addendum:"... standing on the shoulders of giants."
I deeply need to thank all the others size coders whose work I built upon. For example I never would have figured out myself how to make `les ax,[si]` load 'es' with an address that can be used to write to text video memory.
It's so great to do coding in a area of demo coding, where you can have a look at the code of the amazing creations of others to learn from those, because they are sooo small. Any disassembler will do. :-)
Thanks also to all the maintainers of http://www.sizecoding.org/
... and many thanks to the orga team of https://lovebyte.party/ because they did such a great demo party and because they allowed my entry in even after the deadline and did the extra work of re-doing part of their preparation. (That was necessary, beause I had the idea for text mode during one of the competitions ... so the entry is completely party coded :-) )
p.p.s. I later found an even shorter version (only 13 bytes) of the effect with slightly different visuals using 8bit values:

[org 100h] les ax,[si] nextPixel: dec ax stosb add al, [es:di+bx] rcr al, 1 xor bl, 160 jmp nextPixel 

edit:

• added link to youtube capture of the effect.