REDEMPTION

by Jeff Karamales

Copyright

Furmankind © Copyright Ted R. Blasingame.

All rights reserved.

"Redemption" © 2014 Jeff Karamales.

All rights reserved.

CHAPTER 1

"Choices"

Nikoli Talova entered the small house with a sigh of relief, relishing the warmth after walking in the cold rain from the trolley stop a few blocks away. He smiled at the feeling of being home as he placed his hat on the hook next to the door, another sigh escaping his mouth as he regarded the chipped and faded paint. He’d simply let things slide in the years since his wife’s passing, not even keeping up with the little things that needed doing when it came to maintaining the little house. Most times it was all he could do to go to work at the communications center and deal with customers, repair crews and people complaining about problems with their Net connections or phones. It wasn’t his fault that the storms that winter had been so intense.

“Sofiya? I’m home,kokhanyy,” the man called, tripping the release for his leg.

It felt good to pull his thigh out of the cup of the prosthetic appendage. Yet another souvenir from the short war when Russia tried to re-annex Ukraine. While the replacement was fit as well as could be to the stump that was left after a grenade blast took the rest, it still ached, especially in inclement weather, and his relief at taking it off was always one of the small pleasures of the day.

He noticed the newspaper was untouched on the side table in the little foyer and still folded to display the most noteworthy articles. In bold Cyrillic, the headline focused on the most sensational event in the world at the moment. A judge was quoted saying an American, Brian Barrett, had been found guilty of murdering one of the people that had joined the Furmankind project. Apparently the decision regarding the young man was to be a death sentence, his execution to be carried out by another of what were being called Furs, one that hadn’t been able to deal with the changes put upon him and gone quite mad. Shrugging in dismissal of the fate of the murderer, Nikoli hung up his coat thinking a nice cup of tea was in order after the chill rain outside.

“Sofiya?” he called again.

Grabbing his crutch, Nikoli moved further into the house. It was in the living room he found his daughter. She’d not even been back half a year and while he was glad to have the most precious thing in his life returned to him, the grizzled veteran wished it had been under happier circumstances. She sat on the little sofa, a small silver picture frame in her hands of her wedding to Aleksandr Orisov, the man she’d met while still in school. The tracks of earlier tears were clear on her cheeks, as were the spots on the glass pane of the picture frame that was always kept pristinely clean.

On the cushion next to her right leg was her pistol. Even from a distance of several feet the man could tell the little Walther P99QA was loaded with the magazine in the well of the grip with the hammer cocked. Nikoli swallowed hard and moved slowly towards the young woman. “Kokhanyy,” he whispered, “are you all right?”

Sofiya looked up at her father, absently brushing her honey blonde hair back. She silently shook her head before burying her face in her hand as she held the picture to her breast, silent sobs wracking her small frame. Without any hesitation, Nikoli stepped forward with the aid of the crutch and sat down, casually picking up the pistol as he would a book or other mundane item, de-cocking it easily and setting it on the end table next to the sofa before pulling his daughter to him. His heart broke as she grabbed hold of him and cried like she did when as a little girl she’d been told of her mother’s death.

“Why, Poppa? Why does everyone I love get taken from me?”

The man sat rocking the woman that would always be his little girl, one arm around her shoulders, the other stroking her long hair. “I don’t know, kokhanyy. I suppose it is our lot in life. Maybe it is because God knows that we are strong enough to carry this burden where others are not.”

“I don’t feel very strong right now,” she mumbled where her face was pressed into her father’s coarse wool sweater. Sofiya lifted her face a little and looked at the picture again.

The image was only three years old, but it seemed like it had been taken so much longer, almost a lifetime, ago. Aleksi was so handsome in his tuxedo and he looked at her with such adoration and affection. They had gotten married in the summer, both just out of school before taking their postings with the United Nations as investigators for the section that looked into Human Rights violations.

They were going to work together to make the world a better place.

“I miss him and Mamma so much,” she whispered.

“I know you do,” Nikoli told her as his own tears began to fall. “You know that if I could exchange places with him, I would, just to see you happy again.”

The house grew dark with the setting of the sun, yet neither moved as they continued to hold each other, father and daughter drawing and giving strength to the other. When they finally let each other go, Nikoli took the young woman’s hands.

“Why don’t you and I go to Yalta. We can go boating like when you were little,” he suggested.

Sofiya wiped at her intense blue eyes. “But what of your work?”

“After twelve years of not missing a single day? I think I am entitled to a little rest!”

With a small smile, the woman nodded, returning to the embrace of her father’s arms.

***

Though chilly, with the beginning of summer still officially two months away, the days were pleasant enough for the pair to enjoy time on the water. Her father might be missing most of one leg, but that didn’t diminish his steady hand with the tiller or lines of the little sailboat they’d rented. After spending hours chasing the wind, they would put into one of the little marinas that surrounded the coastal city of Yalta and return to their hotel for supper before retiring for the evening.

On the last night of their holiday, sipping hot cocoa doctored with generous portions of peppermint schnapps, Sofiya got out of her chair and sat before her father, leaning against his good leg as she had when still a child. Even though his hair had gone grey, Nikoli seemed like he’d always been this age, a timeless edifice for the young woman to depend on. She rested her head on the knee of his whole leg and smiled as his strong hand began to stroke the back of her head.

“So, there is something that you want to tell me,” the man observed, a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. The only times that she had ever sat at his knee like this since turning ten was to talk about something serious. He didn’t think that his daughter realized that there would always be things that told him of her state of mind, with Sofiya chalking it up to the almost mystical nature of him simply being her Poppa.

“How do you know that I wish to talk?”

Nikoli chuckled easily. “Because I am your Poppa, that is how. And I also know that this is very important to you and you are not sure how to say what is on your mind or in your heart, so I will tell you to just be truthful.”

Sofiya nodded slowly. “That is the hard part. I do not know how you will take what I have to say, and I don’t want you to think that this is because of you.”

“Just say it,kokhanyy. I will not be angry.”

Sofiya sighed heavily. “Something happened to me after Ale…Aleksi was killed.” She swallowed at the lump that started to form in her throat. “Poppa? I…I don’t want to be here anymore.”

“We can go home if you-”

“No,” the young woman said with a shake of her head. “Not Yalta. Here. This world. I…I don’t want to be here anymore. But there’s more. I don’t think I like people anymore, either.” Sofiya heaved a sigh. “W-when Aleksandr and I first went to work with the UN, we saw terrible things, but we thought that we could make the world a better place. The things that we saw people doing to each other…” There was no helping the tear that rolled down her cheek. “Then…then when I saw him killed…Poppa, I just don’t care about those people anymore. I don’t care if they kill each other in their stupid wars. I really wouldn’t care if everyone on Earth died. They…they mean nothing to me. It is like something inside of me has died as well.

“For a year now I have been thinking upon something, but I do not know how to tell you.”

Nikoli sat silently, knowing that saying nothing was the best course of action. Sofiya never had done anything without thinking it through, and whatever it was she had to say would have been given serious consideration. He let her know to continue with a gentle and reassuring squeeze to her shoulder.

Sofiya reached into the back pocket of her jeans and pulled out a pamphlet of some sort and unfolded it before handing it to her father without meeting his eyes. The man took the pamphlet and read the heading in Ukrainian, though there was also Russian, Czech and Romanian on the glossy red paper.

Do you seek adventure?
Does the thought of life on another world appeal to you?
Do you crave a new beginning?
The Anthro Human Colonization Project
May have the answers you seek.

Nikoli read through the entire contents of the brochure and slowly closed the pages. His eyes squeezed shut against the sudden stinging feeling in them as he handed the pamphlet back.

“You know that once you begin the changes, there is no turning back? It will be forever.”

“I know, Poppa.”

Nikoli sighed, his hand returning to stroking her soft hair. “If you feel that this is what you need to do, I understand. You, out of all the people that I know, deserve this new beginning. You have endured much, and I think I can understand why you would wish to do this thing.”

Sofiya jerked around, her eyes wide. “You…you aren’t angry?”

Nikoli looked at his daughter, his eyes misting over and took her hands in his. “My Sofiya, how can I be angry? While you will look very different when all of the changes that you will go through are over, you will still be my daughter. I do not care that you will look different, or that you will have fur…it will not make me love you, or wish the best for you, any less.”

The young woman got to her knees so that she could throw her arms around her father’s neck. “Thank you, Poppa!”

When they separated, Nikoli smiled warmly. “You know, if I could get a new leg, I would be tempted to go with you, but that is not to be.” His heart warmed at the slightly amused look from his child. “Now, do you know what type of Fur you wish to be? And of course you will have to let me know when it is alright to visit. I would very much like to see what you will become.”

Sofiya nodded. “Do you remember when we went to Uncle Oskar’s farm the first time?”

Nikoli laughed. “Ah, yes! That was when you saw your first wild fox! I thought you were going to spend the entire summer out in the field just to see it again!” He had to wipe his eyes at the memory. “Then when the fox showed back up with its mate. I thought you were going to burst with excitement. I won’t forget my brother’s reaction when you let all his chickens out so the foxes could eat well!”

“I thought Uncle Oskar was going to take a strap to me,” Sofiya told her father earnestly. “He seemed so angry!”

“Feh, your Uncle hated raising chickens,” Nikoli told his daughter with another chuckle. “The only reason he had them was your Aunt Elena insisted as they were the only animals shewasn’t afraid of!” The man sighed as the laughter left, though he still regarded his daughter with affection. “Just do me a favor and do not to forget how to write to your Poppa.”

“Never,” Sofiya said with another hug for her father.

CHAPTER 2

"Fifteen Months Later"

The conference table was well lit by the daylight coming in through four walls that were built entirely from glass, the only non-transparent elements being the steel bracings the gigantic panes were mounted to. The table itself, a wonder of function and elegance, was oval shaped, though only a single person sat at one of the ends. The tall man, either consciously or not, established his dominance over the others seated, though there was no denying the power and wealth he possessed. All the others, seated around the circumference of the table and each place with its own computer terminal in the form of transparent touch screen and holographic keyboard, paid deference to Ásmundr Gustavsson.

Despite his age, Gustavsson was still as trim and vivacious as he’d been in his youth, and while his already pale blond hair had gone almost completely white with just a few darker streaks of blond above the temples, his ice blue eyes were as sharp and shrewd as a hawk’s and looked past a strong, straight nose. He regarded each of the men and women, the foremost specialists in genetic research, medical sciences, engineering and the physiology of Furmankind, the four new species developed by combining human and animal DNA for the purpose of extraterrestrial exploration and settlement.

“Iwillnot accept this failure. To surrender Bastien would be not only the waste of untold man-hours, millions of dollars in preparation and materials, with the loss of over two dozen Furs, but it would be a poor testament to those brave souls that died!” Ásmundr declared firmly, one fist tapping the surface of the table in emphasis of each word. “Bastien has the ability to provide not only desperately needed resources for this planet, but has the potential of becoming one of the greatest of the new worlds for human and Fur alike!

“Are we positive that the incident that killed the Felis colonists won’t harm a contingent of one of the other Furman types?” Gustavsson asked the man to his immediate left. The olive skinned man stroked his almost comically thick mustache in thought, a small furrow appearing between thick, black brows. “I need to be assured, Dimitri. I won’t condemn others to the same fate, but I don’t want to surrender Bastien if we don’t have to.” He steepled his fingers together. “Will what wiped out the Felis colonists affect the other three Fur types? Would the Vulps be safe? Will thehumans that come later be safe?”

Dimitri Kavalos was the foremost expert on Furmankind physiology in the entirety of the Anthro Human Colonization Project while specializing in all of the nuances of the Vulps, beings that shared their human origins with the features and capabilities of different foxes. The tall Greek ceased stroking his mustache and looked squarely at the Project President with intense, dark brown eyes. “Without the actual subjects to study, I can’t be one hundred percent certain, but from our communications with the two surviving colonists, I would say that the incident won’t be repeated with a contingent of Vulps. The two survivors have consumed the flesh of the same animal with no ill side effects at all.

“I would say, with no small measure of conviction, that a colony effort comprised entirely of Vulps would be safe from a repeat incident. As for the effect on humans, a simple field test could determine that.” Dimitri loosened his tie and leaned back slightly. “If I may ask, sir, why weren’t the two survivors brought back to Earth with the return of the ship that deposited the Adirondack Institute contingent? The ones calling themselvesSecond Chance? I’m sure I could be more thorough in my investigation of the incident, as could Doctor Mirinov, if we could have interviewed Doctors de Chevalier and corroborated their observations and findings and tested samples.”

Olya Mirinov, the specialist and go-to authority for Felis Furs nodded emphatically. “It would make our research into the event much more concise,” the woman said with a noticeable Slavic accent.

Ásmundr shook his head. “I’m sorry, but the two of you are not cleared for full disclosure. Suffice it to say that the two survivors are alive and well and still sending regular updates. There are mitigating circumstances that I’m unable to divulge at this time in accordance with a directive from the Terran Colonization Coalition.” The President of the AHCP turned to his assistant and protégé, Kurt Gruber. “What is the minimum time frame for the formation of a second colonization attempt with a strictly Vulps contingent?”

The relatively young German brushed his long blond hair back before adjusting the cuffs of his tailored suit jacket in deep blue, his gold cufflinks winking with the gesture. “Utilizing Classes from all four Institutes, with accelerated training for the two Classes that have just begun at the Adirondack and Toyohashi Institutes, sixteen months. That will give us a mission of twenty eight colonists, bringing the total number up to thirty, should Doctors de Chevalier decide to remain, though they will be qualified for reassignment as their five year obligation will be complete.

“It will also give our own labs a chance to finish their trials of improved equipment and a few new items that have been developed specifically for Furmankind usage. Though the request has been made when our own Furs here go on their colony simulation that they also field test the new equipment in a…ah, working environment. I’ve already forwarded the pertinent information to your personal terminal, and the recommendations for a colony leader based on previous occupations, academic scores, the personality and Marniwiecz-Forbes tests.”

Ásmundr nodded slowly. With a slight beetling of brows, the man then looked at those assembled around the table. “I need a show of hands for those that are positive that sending another colony attempt to Bastien is approved. If you aren’t convinced that this isn’t going to be an arbitrary death sentence, do not vote. Before I get your votes, I would like for you to know that this will be on record should another incident occur. If any of you have any doubts, now is the time to make it known.”

The first person to vote for sending a completely Vulps contingent was Dimitri Kavalos. Unable to hide a small smile at the man’s conviction that the Vulps were safe, Ásmundr waited for the others to raise their hands in favor of the plan, his own going up last. Knowing the attachment the Greek had for his charges, especially as the Wing Doctor for the Stockholm Institute itself, Gustavsson was bolstered by Kavalos’ confidence.

“Kurt, inform the logistics department to begin planning for the deployment of a new colony venture to Bastien,” Ásmundr said as he stood, his raising from his plush leather seat a sign that the others were dismissed. He turned to the young German. “Also inform the Terran Colonization Coalition that I would like a meeting tomorrow to discuss the deployment of a Vulps contingent. I think Mister Tavington is in London at the moment for a conference on extraterrestrial agriculture. I’ll fly into Heathrow to meet with him at my preferred club for dinner.” Before the others could leave, Ásmundr looked each of the attendees in the eyes. “And no word of this is to leave this room. This decision and the discussion we’ve just had is strictly confidential until I determine the proper time for disclosure of our consensus.”

Kurt nodded and set off to do as he was instructed while the others acquiesced then filed out. Once the others had departed via a large circular staircase to the lower floor, Ásmundr stepped to a small platform that rested on the forest green carpet of the conference room and waited the ten seconds before the platform revealed itself to be a lift to the floor above. The room that Ásmundr found himself in was similar to the one below with all four walls being comprised of large one-way glass panes, though it was ten feet shorter on each side, with window-walls that looked out over the four cardinal directions and over the grounds of the AHCP Headquarters complex with the actual Stockholm Furmankind Institute lying to the north a little under two miles away.

He stepped towards his desk, four pillars of polished steel supporting a single slab of black glass, similar to what the great pyramid that comprised the main complex building was sheathed in, though this desk was rife with elaborate circuitry that would turn the entirety of the surface into a touch sensitive computer terminal. A slight detour took the man to the coffee service that sat on a matching polished steel and ebony island and made a cup of Turkish coffee for himself before assuming his place at the desk. He placed a palm with spread fingers within a silver circle on the right side of his chair.

“Good Morning, Ásmundr,” the computer said, the warm contralto voice speaking in his native Swedish as the main surface of the desk became illuminated with the AHCP logo as electrons flowed through delicate circuitry.“How may I assist you today?”

Gustavsson sipped at the coffee, smiling as the strong, rich flavor tantalized taste buds even as the aroma tickled his nose delightfully. “Please open the file for colony leader candidates that Kurt has sent you,” he told the computer, not hesitant in the slightest about talking to a machine.

“Of course, Ásmundr. Would you like me to bring up the news as well? Or perhaps some music?”

The computer wasn’t a true artificial intelligence, but after more than a year it had logged his requests and ‘learned’ his preferences from regular use. “Yes, music would be quite nice. Mozart if you would. Symphony forty one, please.”

As the first strains began to play from speakers cleverly hidden throughout the private office, the files for the Vulps colony leader candidates came up, the lowest scoring of the top four first. Ásmundr preferred to look at the lowest ranked qualified candidate, score wise at least, first. He by no means always selected the one that scored the highest in the various tests. What Gustavsson looked for was a quality that even he couldn’t describe, but it always manifested itself in the eyes of the prospective candidates.

This time was interesting as the four potentials came from each one of the four Institutes. He read the files carefully, but when he came to the last, and interestingly enough, highest scoring, he knew he had the individual that would serve not only the colonists the best, but also the interests of the AHCP and TCC as well. With a smile he dismissed the previous files and brought up the background information on candidate number four, sipping his coffee as he delved into the former human’s past.

***

Sofyia lay on the grass under the shade of a tree, her tongue lolling out as she panted away the excess heat from her exertions. Beside her in a similar state was one of the members the Canis Wing of the Stockholm Furmankind Institute. Sascha Ivanov was a grey wolf furman, his black and dun colored coat even more insulating than Sofiya’s vulpine fur. Before their transformation that had melded their human genetic makeup with those of the Earth’s top predators both would have simply perspired in an effort to cool themselves down. Now being as much animal as they were human, neither had the ability to sweat, except from their palms and feet, and had to shed excess heat in the manner the animals they’d derived their hybrid forms from did.

They each looked at the other and assumed toothy grins.

“I never thought that you would ever beat me in a race!” the wolf said with a chuckle as he spoke in their native Ukrainian. “You foxes are faster than I thought!”

The vixen chuckled. True to what she’d told her father, Sofiya had selected the Vulps, men and women that were combined with the different foxes from around the globe. While a little smaller than most of the other Furs, she believed with a fierce conviction that they were far more versatile, even surpassing the Felis in their ability to adapt. “Not I,” the female said with a resurging smile. “I am just a little red-tail.”

Sascha snorted as he rolled first to all fours then stood upright, genetic manipulation and reengineering of all the Furs giving them the ability to walk and run on two legs or four. “Yes, throw my words back at me. I deserve it,” the wolf told her with a shake of his head.

“Poor Sascha,” the female said with a pat to the side of the other’s head, turning it into an ear scratch that made the other’s eyes close in pleasure. “Now…what was the wager again? I forget.”

“You are a crueldivchyna. But I remember. I must do your laundry and cook suppers for one week.” The wolf Fur shook his head again. “And what is worse is that I am not the first to lose to you!”

Sofiya shrugged. “It is because every male here thinks they are the best at everything. I have not had to do laundry since our Class first arrived. All of you have moreyayechko than brains and think with the wrong part of your anatomy!”

“Can you blame us, little red-tail?” Sascha said sarcastically then leaned forward and tried to steal a kiss, though the vixen ducked away expertly.

“Ne. No. You aren’t the one.”

“Still waiting on your Prince Charming?” the male asked with a grin, though there was a bit of frustration as well. While all of the females of their Class had been willing to share time with the males, regardless of their particular Wings, Sofiya had been the exception. She would flirt occasionally, but that was all. That there were no males in her group of Vulps had made some question her preferences, though it eventually became clear that the little Vulps female was simply unattainable.

“He will show up one day,” Sofiya commented softly as she turned to head for the Educational Wing where she and the rest of Class 19 resided now that their transformations were complete, tossing her vest top over a shoulder and not the least bit self conscious about baring her chest. The fur that covered her body was more than adequate to conceal her attributes, though she had grown up going to topless beaches that were the norm throughout Europe, with most of those being completely clothing optional.

She didn’t see the undisguised interest in Sascha’s bright yellow eyes as she sauntered off, heading to her room to shower and change before supper.

As soon as she made the main door of the Educational Wing, she started laughing to herself. Sascha, while attractive and intelligent, held himself a little too high in his own esteem. Of course many of the males here thought along the same lines and she’d been able to get out of doing a great deal of work by making the chance to spend a little time with her a challenge none of them could ignore. Each little challenge, such as the race with Sascha, the game of chess with Rupert or even shooting against Nelson had not only deflated egos, it had given her a steady supply of house-boys to do her menial work.

No sooner did the vixen make it to her room than her housemates that had gone through the transformation of the McEwen Process with her entered the dorm-like suite to congratulate her.

“That was brilliant!” Siobhan Hanlon, the resident seamstress from Dublin, Ireland, crowed with delight.

“Look!” a desert fennec Fur, Maria Paccini, the former librarian from Rome instructed. “Another broken heart on the list for Sofiya!” She pointed to where the wolf still stood outside, obviously trying to figure out how he’d been duped so easily.

“It is sad. Most men I’ve met, even the furry ones here, are the same,” Sofiya told the other vixens, slipping into the more commonly used English that nearly all the Furs at the Institute spoke, her accent barely noticeable, though she had trouble with contractions and tended to roll her R’s slightly. “They think that females are delicate and should be protected.” She snorted in amusement. “I should like to see them have to go through a monthly cycle or bear children.”

Siobhan also laughed. “Well, we wouldn't’ have a population problem, would we?”

The other Vulps also started laughing at the observation and age old joke.

Sofiya tapped the door to her room closed with a foot that no longer looked like her human one had. The toes were shorter with the ends tipped in retractable claws and the overall design was wider. The soles were actually thick pads on what used to be the ball of her foot and also on her toes, like a real fox’s, and over it all, all the way up to her knee was glossy black fur. The rest above that was a deep, coppery red with the exception of her inner thighs which turned creamy white and ran all the way up her belly to her chin. Likewise, her forearms were black furred along with her ears and she had a black slash type mark on either side of her muzzle. Like all foxes, the tip of her tail brush was also white. The overall effect when combined with her golden blond head hair made her rather striking and a little more exotic in appearance than either Siobhan or Charlotte Bujold, the latter having joined the Anthro Human Colonization Project from her home in Calais, France, and both also having selected European red fox donors.

Without any more hesitation than she’d shown when removing her top in front of the wolf, Sofiya slid out of her shorts and put them in a hamper for Sascha to wash later and moved to the small bathroom to shower. The others were still there when she reemerged almost forty minutes later, having used a good ten minutes in the full body dryer. While the hot air had been blasting her coat dry, Sofiya wondered if she’d be able to do without one when she and the others were sent off-world. Surely there were no considerations in the colony supplies for what would be classified as a luxury item, not to mention getting enough electricity to run the unit would be near impossible. She would be sad to leave them behind.

One of the other females had made a small carafe of good, strong coffee and no sooner did Sofiya exit the small bathroom, wearing as much as when she’d gone in then Maria put a cup in her dainty, paw-like hands. “Oh, yes!’ the red fox vixen cooed. “This is just what I needed!” She sipped appreciatively, savoring the strong, acidic flavor of the coffee and how it played against the sweet richness of real cream.

At least they would have cows to take with them for cream and milk, though there wouldn’t be any coffee once that limited supply ran out.

“I wonder if when they send us to a world if there will be more males available?” Charlotte pondered. I certainly don’t want to be part of a harem.”

“You are the last person that I would think would balk at that,” Sofiya commented, taking a seat on her bed and putting her back against the headboard. They would have to do without much, so for now she was going to savor every possible thing she could. “You have been very popular with many of the other males in the Wings.”

The third of the red fox vixens waved her hand in casual dismissal. “It is because I am French. They think that I am…easy.”

“But you are,” Siobhan said with a giggle. “French, that is,” she amended after getting a feigned glare.

“I cannot help it if I like my men,” the French Fur declared. “I am a liberated woman!”

It was Maria’s turn to giggle. “You’re a horrendous flirt and strut about like a dancehall girl!”

“Hmphh!” Charlotte snorted in mock indignation.

All conversation paused as Sofiya’s PBJ began to play Tchaikovsky’sThe Waltz of Sleeping Beauty to indicate an awaiting message. “Who in the world could possibly want me right now?” she complained, setting her cup down and wrapping her furry fingers around the dual screen device. Flipping it open, she read the message, working the menu on the touch screen with her claw instead of the incorporated stylus. As she read the missive, the PBJ chimed a second time and as she brought up the second message Sofiya’s eyes went wide. “Layno!” she hissed vehemently under her breath.

“What’s wrong?” Charlotte asked when her friend snapped the device shut and rolled off the bed, heading to her wardrobe.

“The first message is to let me know that I have been granted nearly unlimited access to colony records. The second is that the Director wants me in his office immediately,” the Fur said pulling a clean set of shorts in dark green out and sliding them on, pausing only to adjust her thick brush of a tail before grabbing a robe-like top that was vaguely Oriental looking in lavender. As an afterthought Sofiya put on a pair of the sandals that had been specially made for Furmankind feet, something she rarely wore and preferred the feel of the ground under her pads.

“Did you do something wrong?” Siobhan inquired with her ears dropping slightly, her golden brown eyes filled with concern.

“Not that I know of,” Sofiya informed the others. “All I have been inquiring about has been access into some of the colony archives, includingSecond Chance. I don’t think that I have done anything wrong.”

“He might want to tell you to stop bothering him,” Charlotte added. “You are rather persistent.”

“I suppose I’ll find out.”

CHAPTER 3

"Something Old, Something New"

Joachim Kessler, the Director for the Stockholm Branch of the Anthro Human Colonization Project, Furmankind Institute, was involved in a conversation with Doctor Dimitri Kavalos when the receptionist rang through the intercom.

“Ms. Talova has arrived, Director,” the woman, Miss Egil informed him.

Joachim smiled at the small video screen on the interoffice phone. “Excellent. Allow her in, please,” he instructed. Less than thirty seconds passed before the heavy wooden door opened, revealing the Vulps female who looked around the office a little warily having only been in the domain of the Institute Director once before when she first arrived. “Welcome, Sofiya,” the man said cheerfully. “Please come in and have a seat. This is an informal meeting. Can I interest you in refreshments?”

“Water please, Sir.”

While she was a little intimidated by the Director, who reminded her a great deal of the classic actor Max Von Sydow with his height, short styled grey hair, merry blue eyes and deep bass voice, the other occupant was an individual she was quite fond of for his similarity to her father and smiled warmly, not having seen Dimitri Kavalos for some time as he was busy with the latest Class of volunteers.

“Sofiya, you are looking well!” the Vulps Wing Doctor said as he stood up to give the Fur an embrace.

“Thank you,” she said happily before claiming the other available seat and accepting the requested water.

“I suppose there’s no reason to really prolong our talk,” Kessler said as he picked up his tea. “Sofiya, you received my message about the colony records?” He smiled as the vixen nodded. “Good. Now, before we go any further, I would like for you to understand that until a formal announcement is made, everything that is said here today is to be kept confidential. I cannot stress the importance of keeping the information you are about to receive to yourself for the moment.”

The Fur nodded as she sat up straighter, though her interest was exhibited by her suddenly twitching tail. “I understand, Sir.”

Joachim smiled in acceptance of his request. “The next colony mission has been approved. Despite the apparent success of Second Chance and sending a mixed Fur colony out, the event that precipitated that decision has been under review. I know that you’re familiar with the incident on Bastien. What isn’t common knowledge is that there were two survivors of the Bastien event. As there were no medical personnel within the Felis group, two volunteers, a married couple that are both doctors, accompanied the mission. They are the only two that weren’t affected by the illness that obliterated the Felis.

“Because of their apparent immunity to this illness, and several other factors, it has been determined that Bastien is to be reseeded with a second colony attempt. This is one of the reasons that you have been granted access to the colony archives. The mission to reclaim Bastien is to be comprised of the same Fur type as the survivors, who, just so you know, are still sending regular updates. And you, my dear, have been selected to be the leader of the Vulps contingent that will do this.”

Sofiya blinked twice as what she’d been told sank in. “The survivors are Vulps, a mission is being sent to reestablish the colony, and you want me to be the colony leader?”

Joachim nodded. “Yes.”

“Sofiya, I know that there is some concern about a return mission to Bastien, but you have my assurance that the illness that devastated the Felis colony doesnot pose a threat to you or the other Vulps,” Doctor Kavalos told her, his gaze unflinching. “I have also given this same assurance to Ásmundr Gustavsson. This decision was not taken lightly, and if I hadn’t agreed, it wouldn’t have been approved. I swear to you, the illness does not pose a threat to non-Felis.”

The vixen let out a slow breath. “If another had told me the same thing, I would not have believed them. To hear it from you, that is all the reassurance that I need.” Sofiya looked at Dimitri and smiled before turning to Director Kessler. “What I do not understand is why I am being selected as colony leader. Surely there are others that are more experienced…morequalified for this than I? I am not so old to have the same experience as others.”

Joachim chuckled. “Granted, youare relatively young, but even at twenty seven you have experiences that others certainly don’t. We asked for, and were given, full disclosure of your time with the United Nations as an investigator. We know that you are familiar with hazardous situations, are able to make decisions that aren’t colored by personal preference, but by what is best for the whole. That and while you’ve been here at the Institute, you, and every other volunteer, has been given a series of tests that are used to determine the best candidates for the position we’ve just offered you. You were the highest scoring individual from all four Furmankind Institutes and beat out the other three candidates by a substantial margin.”

“Sofiya, if you feel you need, you may decline,” Dimitri told the Fur. “This is an offer for the one we feel would do the best job, it is not mandatory or something that you have no choice to.”

The vixen looked at the Director who nodded to indicate the Doctor spoke the truth. “But if I decline, who becomes the leader for the colony?”

“One of the other three candidates. They’ll go through the leadership courses that you would have,” Kessler told her.

Sofiya brushed her hair back in thought. The AHCP had proven to be very thorough from the start and left as little to random chance as possible. Granted, she did have some leadership skills from her time as an investigator, but at the same time her last assignment had gone horribly wrong costing the lives of three of her team members and husband.

“We know of the…situation that caused you to resign from the UN,” Joachim told her in a soft voice. “That you were able to make it out of that, and save one of your team members is a testament to your resourcefulness and determination. All of us, especially Ásmundr, feel that this is precisely what the reseeding attempt needs.”

“President Gustavsson feels this?” Sofiya asked, gulping slightly.

Doctor Kavalos nodded. “He selected you personally.”

“That he has,” the Director confirmed. “Which is why the three of us will be dining with him tonight.” He was able to hide his smile at the Fur’s sudden display of nervousness. “He is very interested in meeting you.”

Sofiya looked down at her clothing with a feeling of dismay and plucked at the hem of her robe top.

“Don’t worry,” Dimitri said with a grin. “You look fine. I think you’ll be rather surprised at Ásmundr, and as he is the primary designer for most of the clothing you Furs have, I don’t think he’ll be upset that you are not dressed in an evening gown.”

“Speaking of which, we should head over to the other complex,” Joachim told the other two after looking at his watch.

***

Sofyia had no opportunity to balk at the sudden dinner appointment as the two men all but lifted her up and carried her outside where Joachim had a small electric cart waiting near the main door of the administration building. The Vulps female sat on the front passenger seat next to Director Kessler while Dimitri Kavalos took the back seat.

They passed through the Stockholm Furmankind Institute grounds at a speed that was a little more brisk than a jog. The buildings that were a curious but attractive combination of Alpine style stone and plaster with heavy timber construction and only a few hints of modern technology in the form of solar powered street lamps interspersed by planters with decorative trees, both deciduous and coniferous, that lined the wide, paved pathways and surrounded the large grassy fields that were used for training and relaxing alike. Several Furs were sprawled on the immaculately groomed lawns, bathing in the warm light before the sun dipped behind the trees for the night. The overall effect was more like a quaint vacation village, though the size of some of the structures indicated that this was no simple resort.

The large iron gate was opened by one of the Institute guards as they approached, the man dressed in a smart combination of white dress shirt with open collar, blue blazer with the Anthro Human Colonization Project logo on the left breast pocket, tan slacks and black casual shoes. The attire only further enhanced the feeling that the facility was some form of resort until one noticed the distinct bulge of a sidearm in a shoulder holster.

An incident a little over a year before at the American Institute had prompted an increase in the number of and improved arming of the security personnel at all four Furmankind Institutes.

The gate let the trio out onto a lane that could have been anywhere in Europe, the green trees and rich scents of the forest soothing to Sofiya, and she found her earlier unease at the sudden change in plans dissipating. At one point a rabbit ran across the road, and the Fur, lulled by the dark verdant light, smells of the deep woods, and extended period since lunch, almost gave in to the instincts that were now a part of her and launched herself after the tasty looking little creature. The vixen was only restrained by the calm, reassuring hand of Dimitri Kavalos on her shoulder. When she turned her head to thank him, Sofiya found the Doctor smiling at her knowingly.

The tree lined lane ended after almost two miles and let out in an area that looked like something from a movie. The grounds here were even more park-like with wide patches of manicured lawns, fruit trees and flower beds laid out in mathematical precision around buildings that were completely modern in appearance. These housed laboratories, workshops, testing stations and the living quarters for both staff and visiting dignitaries or guests.

While the base of each structure was dark granite, the upper portions, differing but complimentary geometric shapes with clean lines and angles, were made of black glass, the panes fit together so carefully that impossibly huge flat surfaces looked almost to be a single piece of obsidian. In the center of it all stood the actual headquarters building. Looming over the entire complex, much like the ancient structures that once dominated Egypt, was the great black pyramid of the Anthro Human Colonization Project.

Sofiya had heard that Ásmundr Gustavsson enjoyed archeology as a hobby, and had borrowed the most recognizable building feat from humanity’s past to show how far the species had progressed, utilizing the old with a very modern appearance. The pyramid loomed over the entire facility at the geographic center of the AHCP, its sheer size seeming to weigh down on the Fur with its presence.

Only a little less impressive was the fountain that rested before the main entrance. The enormous circular pool was crafted out of granite as well, and the basin was black, giving the water a far deeper appearance and acting like a gigantic mirror, reflecting all around it. In testament to the contributions of the affiliated nations that supported the project were flagpoles around the circumference, the colors of countries from all over the globe flowing in the light breeze. The centermost poles had the Swedish national flag of a light blue field and gold cross and next to it was the AHCP ensign of a blue field with human and furman hands clasped over a generic looking planet.

A small square plot opposite the two tallest flagpoles had a small torch that flickered fitfully surrounded by small, souvenir type flags of countries that weren’t affiliated with the AHCP, and some that even violently opposed what it did, but represented individuals that had come through the program and was set for recognition of the deeds and sometimes sacrifices of those brave people.

Like others all over the world, Sofiya had seen pictures of the home of the Furmankind program, but it really didn’t prepare her for the unadulterated magnificence of the place. It was with some embarrassment that Joachim glanced at her and chuckled heartily.

“Sofiya, please close your mouth. You look like a tourist!” Dimitri chided gently, also laughing.

The Fur did as she was told, her jaws making a clopping sound, though she continued to look around as they continued on to the main entrance with wide-eyed astonishment. Just as they pulled closer to the pyramid, the glass sides caught the setting sun and seemed to flare to life with red fire.

Another of the security guards was waiting for them as Joachim stopped the cart. As yet another at the main doors nodded, the first got in the cart to remove it to a parking area. Two huge slabs of the obsidian colored glass parted in virtual silence, a breath of cool air washing out over the trio.

While the grounds outside looked imposing, it paled in comparison to the main lobby of the pyramid. Instead of the black and grey that predominated the exterior, the interior was full of greens and browns. The flooring, what Sofiya thought at first to be ceramic tile turned out to be some form of resin casting. She learned this as the dress shoes that both men accompanying her hit the tiles with a muffled sound as opposed to the crisp clicks from outside.

The lobby was divided into small nooks that while open gave a sense of seclusion as low boxes filled with ferns and tall grasses provided dividers. What was most astounding, though, were the plants that sat in encapsulated nooks that were quite obviously not native to Earth. There were small trees, shrubs, flowers and vines of extraterrestrial origin that were exotic beyond imagining and in colors that went against everything Sofiya was familiar with.

One vine was red with indigo colored leaves and vibrant orange flowers. A small bush in grey with huge blossoms of magenta rested in one cell, the flowers actually moving to follow the slowly revolving sunlamp above it. There were other things that the Fur couldn’t even put a name to in all the colors of the rainbow, though each one was hauntingly familiar and identifiable as either grass, shrub, tree or flower.

In the center of the lobby was a bronze fountain and statue combination. The statue was one each of the four furman types. The Canis, Felis, Ursis and Vulps faced inward with their right arms lifted, their extended fingers stretched forth and supporting a globe that was obviously Earth. It was no secret that Ásmundr Gustavsson saw the Furs as the potential salvation of the planet, and the statue only confirmed this. From a shallow bowl beneath the different paw-like hands and globe flowed a shimmering curtain of water to splash musically at the bottom of the fountain.

A circular reception desk sat past the statue and fountain combination, staffed with both men and women in the AHCP uniforms. A young man with black hair smiled and stood as the two men and Vulps female drew near. “Mister Gustavsson is ready for you,” he told the small entourage in crisp English. “If you’ll follow me, please?”

The Director nodded and led Sofiya along behind the staffer to a secluded elevator that was made of one-way glass and vanished into the ceiling almost fifty feet above. Still overwhelmed by the headquarters complex and wonders of the inside of the main lobby, Sofiya followed mutely, though she did notice that the elevator, while it didn’t start counting floors until they reached the ceiling level, went farther up than she’d thought. Apparently there were twenty eight levels to the pyramid, most of the floors visible through the doors. Many of the hallways she saw looked like offices, though some of the floors were obviously large labs that even had a few Furs helping out with different projects.

When the doors finally opened on the twenty fourth floor, the young man gestured for the group to exit, riding the lift back down once the doors closed. The vixen again found herself staring at the room around her. While the center was dominated by a large table surfaced in a mosaic of bright hued exotic looking woods, the walls were decorated with images, both two and three dimensional, of alien vistas and landscapes. These were obviously from worlds where Furs like herself had gone as advance scouts and explorers. The images were just as astounding as the enclosed alien plants and even other displays of what appeared to be insects and various life forms between them.

An older human rose from his seat as the trio made their way into the large space, and stood before a large window that looked out over the complex grounds, a warm and inviting smile on his face. Ásmundr was taller than Sofiya had thought, easily six feet, and looked just as approachable and confident as he did in all of the pictures that she’d seen of the man. He held out his hand once he drew close enough.

“And this must be Sofiya Talova,” the head of the AHCP said pleasantly. “It’s quite the pleasure to meet you.” He took her hand in a firm, but comfortable grip.

For her part, Sofiya was completely caught off guard by being in the presence of the icon. Gustavsson was a brilliant scientist, to be sure, but his true genius was using his knowledge with foresight, intuition and a vision of a better future to turn it into a multi-billion dollar business. That he had some of the most talented geneticists, mechanical engineers, as much collective brain power as Oxford, MIT and CalTech combined, plus a bevy of other professions to call upon was staggering.

“It is truly an honor, Sir,” the Fur replied softly.

Ásmundr chuckled, the sound coming easily from the man. “No. Just Ásmundr, please. We still have a few minutes before supper. May I interest you in a drink?”

Sofiya was hesitant before answering. “A tonic water with twist of lime, if I may.”

The Anthro Human Colonization Project President nodded. “Dimitri? Would you mind getting Miss Talova her drink? I’d like to chat with her before we eat.” He turned to look at the vixen. “I’ve never cared for lengthy or heavy discussions during a meal. It throws everything off and when the subject is fascinating, the food gets cold as the conversation warms!”

Acquiescing, Sofiya let the man lead her to a series of low, comfortable chairs near the window, sitting as ladylike as possible, something she hadn’t really done for quite some time. Keeping her knees together, she draped her long, full tail over her thighs and paid attention to Gustavsson. She thanked the Greek as he handed her a glass, fortunately it was one of the wide tumblers that would allow her to lap without sloshing the contents too badly.

Of course, lapping at the tonic water in front of Ásmundr was a rather embarrassing prospect, one that the human was able to tell was causing her a moment of consternation.

“Sofiya, I think that I have seen enough Furs at their best and worse not to be dismayed by anything you do,” Gustavsson told her with another easy smile. “I remember back when we had our first Class of Furs come through…of course much of the complex was still under construction and the actual Institute grounds were a few years down the road. I decided to throw a simple dinner party for them once they came out of the floatation tanks. You were sent to Sebra Space Station instead, and unfamiliar with the waking process. To have sixteen nearly fully formed Furs all waking at once was quite the sight. And all of them were ravenous!

“After so long without solid food, it was astonishing to see them eat! Fortunately I was familiar with the dietary changes they’d all gone through, and it did me good to see that my efforts for a good supper were appreciated. So have no fear about offending me. You’ll find I’m made of far sterner stuff than most!”

The vixen smiled in gratitude. Like so many others, with her new facial configuration, it was impossible to be dainty with certain things. Though still a little self conscious, she drank from the straw the Doctor had added to her drink. It was a little embarrassing to have to drink like a child, though none of the men in the room paid it any mind.

Ásmundr crossed one leg over the other, a glass of red wine in hand and draped an arm over the back of his chair. “I’m sure that you are feeling a little confusion at being selected for the position of colony leader, and the decision to resettle Bastien. I wanted to talk to you about this, but I also wanted to meet you. I’m asking you and the other Vulps to undertake a challenge that many others would walk away from, and I wanted you to know that if we had any doubts about your safety in regards to what happened to the Felis contingent, we wouldn’t be sending another group back out.”

Sofiya nodded. “Doctor Kavalos has assured me that what happened with the Felis will not happen to myself or the other Vulps. I know that the Doctor cares about us very much, and that he would not lie.” She dropped her head before looking up and fixing Ásmundr Gustavsson with her yellow-green eyes. “Though I do not know if I am the leader that you need for this.”

“Maybe not yet,” Gustavsson told the vixen with a grin. “That’s why you will be focusing most of your study time on the leadership training we provide. As you’ll be going to Bastien, your other studies will be specifically directed at the information that has been gathered on that world by the previous colony.” He took a sip of his wine after gently swirling the contents around in the glass. “I would like to make the announcement at the beginning of October about the mission. At the same time you and the other Vulps here will be flying to America and one of the new training centers that are being constructed around the world for more in depth colony preparation.”

“America?” Sofiya asked with surprise.

Ásmundr nodded. “Budgetary increases have enabled us to secure several sites around the globe for training facilities. These regions are rather remote, which makes them perfect to set up colony simulations in conditions that are similar to a number of worlds. While they will only be simulations, they will enable more in depth immersion into the type of situation that you will find yourselves in. As such, the Olympic peninsula of Washington State in the U.S. has a very similar climate to the colony site on Bastien. Not to mention the United States has a number of convenient launch facilities when it comes time for your group to head to Sebra for final departure.”

CHAPTER 4

"Changing Winds"

“Nearly two years ago, an illness devastated the Felis colony on Bastien. While the event was tragic to say the least, it has been determined that the cause for the incident is limited to that particular furman type. Due to the amount of information that was gleaned from the presence of a colony for nearly four years, the potential wealth of the planet, it is the decision of the directing board members of the Anthro Human Colonization Project and myself, that a new group be sent to pick up where the Felis contingent left off and reseed the world of Bastien.

“Since the event, there have been two survivors that have continued to live at the original colony site and have maintained weekly reports to AHCP headquarters. Through their efforts, our own research, and corroboration of pertinent data, it has been deemed that a replacement colony consisting of all Vulps will be sent out in a little under one year from now. The two survivors, both Vulps themselves and qualified medical doctors with vast experience in field research, have indicated that this particular Fur type will be immune from what devastated their Felis counterparts.

“With the completion of a training facility in the wilderness of the Olympic rainforest of Washington State in the United States, Vulps from the other Institutes will be sent to the Adirondack Branch of the Furmankind Institute for final training before being sent to this new facility. Once there, the colony group will have to function as if they were already on a far off world with no contact outside of the colony training area save the same communications device that is already in use with extraterrestrial settlements.

“I would like to take this time to introduce Sofiya Talova, the Bastien reseed colony leader.”

In the auditorium of the Clark Savage building at the Adirondack Institute, the entirety of Classes 17 and 18 watched the smart screen behind the stage as the President of the AHCP gestured to the female Fur on his right. As she began to speak, one of the males of the Class 17 group snorted and crossed his arms over his chest.

“They’re putting a girl in charge of us?” the red fox Fur complained in a harsh whisper.

The silver fox male that sat, quite begrudgingly, next to his housemate raised an eyebrow in irritation. “Last time I checked it didn’t really matter what a person’s plumbing was to be a good leader and example for others to follow,” he whispered back.

“She ain’t even American! I don’t want some Russian leadin’ me on an alien world. And Bastien?Bastien?!? Man, I tell you, Rikki Tik, this deal’s gettin’ worse by the minute!” The first fox snorted in derision. “Nobody said nothin’ ‘bout goin’ to no graveyard!”

“I told you not to call me ‘Rikki Tik’,” the second Vulps instructed the other, his words flavored by a slight snarl. “As for Bastien, deal with it. We go where they tell us. Just like the contract says. What did you expect? Why don’t you lock down that provincial streak of yours and shut up so I can hear what she’s saying.”

“Geez, Rick, what’s got you in a snit?”

The silver fox turned back to the screen ignoring his housemate.

While most of her speech was fairly straightforward and the standard honor to serve with and promises of doing her best to keep her co-colonists safe, Richard wasn’t really paying attention to that. Hewas paying attention to her body language. A little less than two years as a Fur had helped him learn to read the body language of others, particularly Vulps, and what he saw gave him a feeling of confidence in the vixen. She believed what she was saying and it showed.

He’d seen enough of people that thought talking a good game was all that was required to direct others. Not so with this lady. He also got the impression she could back her words, which was even better. That she was a downright knock-out for a Fur was also something to note.

Richard chuckled silently to himself at that thought and tried to focus on the broadcast from Stockholm. With the news that they were going to a colony, the last thing he needed to fantasize about was romancing their colony leader. Chances were that she was already seeing one of her own housemates or something like that anyway.

The broadcast ended with another address by Ásmundr Gustavsson himself that more information would be transmitted to the Vulps via Personal Business Juxtapositioner and signed off. As the lights in the auditorium came up Marcelo Delgado took his place behind the wooden lectern on the stage in front of the screen.

“I’m sure that many of you have questions, but those will have to wait for the time being,” the Adirondack Director informed the crowd that had started to buzz with low conversation. “Beginning later this week we will be hosting Vulps from the other three Institutes, the first being the group that will be coming in from Stockholm, including the colony leader for the mission. As such I’m going to ask that all of you treat our guests with the utmost courtesy and assist them with anything they might need.”

Marcelo looked directly at Richard causing the silver fox to sit up straighter.

“Richard, would you and the other Vulps see to it that the rooms they’ll be occupying in the Educational Wing are aired out and set with fresh linen? I’m putting you in charge as the liaison between the Institute and our guests. As no two facilities are run quite the same, there may be a little difficulty in getting our friends comfortable.”

The silver fox Fur nodded. “I’m on it, Marcelo. Do we know what day they’ll be arriving?”

“No later than Thursday afternoon,” the Director said.

As Marcelo began to relate other details about the upcoming colony mission, the Fur next to Richard leaned over with a sneer. “Gonna be the teacher’s new pet? Maybe we should call you Gopher instead of Rikki Tikki Tavi!”

The anthro silver fox continued to try and ignore his former housemate, though his patience was wearing dangerously thin.

***

“Matthew is such a troglodyte!” Tiffany ‘Tipper’ Harper snarled as the Vulps, minus the male that was being discussed headed to the cafeteria for a late supper. Tipper, and woe be to the person that called her Tiffany more than once, snagged a willow tendril and began to methodically tear it into little pieces while her tail lashed back and forth in extreme irritation. “How did we put up with his crud during our transformation period?”

Charity Hanover, the last member of the Vulps Wing from their Class 17, snorted in wry amusement. “Who was it that had a crush on him when we first got here?”

“Yeah, that was before he opened his mouth and told me to go make him a sandwich,” the Arctic fox vixen growled.

“You know he’s going to wind up embarrassing us, right?” Charity asked. The grey fox Fur shook her head. “He’s going to be nothing but trouble.”

“Trouble?” Matthew asked as he trotted to catch up with the rest of his Wing group. “Talking about anyone we know?”

Matthew Sykes was a former construction worker from the backwoods of West Virginia, and his views were more than a little backwards. He’d been raised in a location where women were still considered inferior to men, and had brought more than just that prejudice with him upon joining the AHCP. As if to demonstrate his inability to remove himself from the less enlightened period of the previous century, he drew up alongside Tipper, his paw-like hand sliding around her waist. He let it stay there for a moment before letting it drop far lower.

“That tears it!” Tipper screamed, spinning and pushing the red fox away, her dark brown eyes flashing dangerously. “I’ve told you more than once not to touch me! Do it again and you’ll be pulling back a bloody stump! Understand?”

“Aww, c’mon, Tippy,” Sykes pleaded. “How’s ‘bout a little attention?” His ears drooped slightly when the vixen stepped to the other side of Richard, putting the male between her and the other fox. “How come they spend time with you and not me?” Matthew groused, his yellow eyes growing hard.

“Maybe it’s because Richard doesn’t act like a caveman,” Charity said having also stepped to the other side with Tipper. “Maybe it’s because he treats us with respect and doesn’t act like we’re here to serve his needs like some weak willed floozies. We have brains, and we’re just as good as you are at the things we need to do.”

This had been going on for far too long, in actuality ever since the group had first arrived at the Institute, and Richard was too tired of trying to explain things in a civilized manner to the other male. While most volunteers that gravitated to the Vulps tended to be average height and build, Richard had been rather large and the transformation had barely altered his solid, six foot tall form much in size or mass, dropping him to a muscular five foot ten. With his fur coloration of smoky blue-grey overall and deep black extremities, a lot of people mistook him for a member of the Canis Wing. Never mind he had the tell-tale white tail tip.

Using all of his size to his advantage, the silver fox Fur stepped in front of the other and looked down on him with bronze colored eyes.

“Hey, everyone’s had it with this redneck attitude you’ve been throwing around since we got here. It’s old and we’re tired of it. Start treating the rest of us with the same respect you expect, or there’s going to be trouble. You get me?” Richard’s voice was low, but there was no mistaking the growl that accompanied and flavored each word.

The two shortened, claw tipped fingers pointing directly at the red fox’s chest and jabbed to accent every syllable were also hard to misread.

“We’re going to need everyone when we get to Bastien, but right now, you’re a liability. You’re dangerous because you want to go your own way. That’s not going to cut it. SoI’m tellingyou to knock it off and get squared away right now.”

Sykes bristled at the challenge, his chest puffing up as his hands curled into fists. “And what if I don’t?”

Richard let a smile cross his face, exposing his teeth. “Then I take you behind the nearest building and beat you so bad they’ll leave you here when we ship out.” The silver fox looked at the other. “And don’t think I can’t.”

Matthew had an inkling of the other Fur’s background, despite his normally soft spoken and gentle demeanor, and backed down, his body language indicating submission to the other male. Before coming to the Institute, there’d been no way he would have backed down, but an altercation with one of the Ursis volunteers early on in their tenure had shown the former construction worker from West Virginia that not only could Richard, as the old saying went, talk the talk, he could walk it as well. As it stood, the silver fox was one of the few individuals Matthew was genuinely afraid of. He watched sullenly as the two vixens and Richard continued on to the cafeteria.

Turning to head to his room in the Educational Wing, Sykes began to tremble, though not with the unease when his former housemate had bucked up on him. Anger seethed in him for the other fox making him submit. That he’d done it in front of the girls was like salt to an open wound.

Much like Tipper had, the red fox Fur took his frustration out on the Institute foliage before vanishing into the building.

***

Instead of the V-22 Osprey that was available for the use of the Adirondack Institute, the Stockholm Furs were brought in on a Boeing 234ER-K helicopter that began life as the military CH-47 Chinook. The paint scheme was far from anything resembling its military predecessors, the bright blue and red tandem rotor helicopter with the air company’s name in prominent white letters on the fuselage.

Richard stood next to Marcelo at the far edge of the landing pad normally used by the Osprey, and watched as the huge helicopter settled on its wheels. Like the few other times he’d seen the vehicles before, he was amazed at how quiet it actually was. He watched as Institute staffers approached before the side door was open with a set of aluminum steps that were carpeted and shallow, easier for the digitigrade legs of Furs to cope with.

“Everything’s ready in the Educational Wing,” Richard told the man next to him. “We have all of them set up on the fourth floor in rooms 403 to 411. There should be enough rooms for the rest of the colony group when they get here. The Class 18 guys are taking care of the cleaning while Tipper, Charity and Matthew follow behind to set up fresh sheets and stuff.”

Marcelo smiled. “Thank you, Richard. You’ve been a great help.”

The Fur shrugged, though before he could say anything the Stockholm group began to descend the small stair block. Leading the contingent was a blond haired vixen, the one from the broadcast that they had all watched. As she and the three females approached, Marcelo stepped forward, able to speak with the engines of the helicopter winding down to the point he wouldn’t have to yell and extended his hand.

“Welcome to the Adirondack Furmankind Institute, Miss Talova. I’m Marcelo Delgado, the Director here. This is Richard Tavington. He’ll be your liaison between your contingent and myself. As such, if you need anything, don’t hesitate to call upon him for anything you may require.”

The red fox Fur took the proffered hand and smiled in a friendly manner, keeping her teeth concealed. “Thank you, Director Delgado. This is appreciated.” She nodded pleasantly to the silver fox. “Tavington?”

The Adirondack Fur grinned sheepishly. “Yeah. My dad’s Nathan Tavington. Don’t hold that against me, though.”

“I am surprised that the Director of the Colonial Operations section of the TCC would agree with the decision of his son to join the Furmankind Project,” Sofiya admitted with a curious look.

“Maybe,” Richard muttered. “I don’t think this is the time to really delve into my reasons for joining.” He looked at the Director. “I know you have a lot on your plate with the other Vulps showing up. If you want, I can get everyone squared away and we can get together later on so you and Miss Talova can discuss the training schedule.”

Before Marcelo could agree, the vixen chuckled. “Please. I am Sofiya. We will be working together for a very long time and it is best, I think, to start as friends.”

“A sound decision,” Marcelo told the vixen before nodding in appreciation to the male from his own facility. “And you’re correct in that I have a lot of work to do.” He turned back to the Vulps colony leader. “Sofiya, if you don’t mind, I’m going to let Richard begin his duties as liaison starting now. I would, however, like for the both of you to meet with me this evening in my office to discuss the training situation.”

“Of course,” the vixen said with another smile. “If anything I have learned that you and the other directors take on far too much work than is good for you.”

Marcelo looked skyward and held his hands out in a supplicating gesture. “Finally! Someone that understands!” With a smile the man stepped over to the electric cart that was sequestered for his personal use and headed back to his office.

“The big question now is do you wish to ride to the Educational Wing, or would you prefer to walk?” Richard asked the blond vixen. “I guess it depends on how much luggage all of you have.”

“Walking would be preferred. We have spent far too much time sitting and the stretching of legs is in order,” Sofiya told the American Fur. “We all have just bags with a few personal items in them. We were told that the Institute would be able to provide new clothing.”

Richard gestured to the heart of the complex. “Well, let’s get you all to your rooms, then I’ll show you where supply is. If you want to take a nap or something first, that’s cool. Then when you’re ready I’ll show you around the grounds.” As he turned to walk beside the female, noticing the other three vixens that had been with Sofiya were looking at him and whispering a great deal. The other four, two males and two females, held back a little, though it wasn’t as if they were trying to separate themselves from the others. “Oh, I also talked to the chefs in the cafeteria to prepare foods that I think you might like. I know American food has a tendency of being a little heavy.”

Sofiya graced the silver fox with another of her smiles. “That is very thoughtful of you, Richard. Again you have my thanks.” Something occurred to her and she looked sideways at Richard. “Did you think of that, or did someone recommend you do such?”

“That was my own idea. I’ve been to Europe and know that unless you’re raised on some of what we enjoy, it can be a little much. Though there are times the English put us to shame,” the male said.

“So…your own initiative. An admirable trait.”

It was Richard’s turn to chuckle. “Not to hear some people tell it.” It was hard meeting the other Fur’s yellow-green eyes, and he was able to cover his realization that the only males in the Stockholm group were obviously taken by pointing out certain things that they passed. “Um, your rooms aren’t really well stocked, so if you need anything the shoppette is right there. The stock it carries is limited, but they have a pretty decent assortment of necessities.”

“This is good,” Sofiya replied. “There are indeed things that some of us need.” The vixen looked around at the different structures they passed. “Some of these buildings are very old. What was this place before becoming the Adirondack Institute?”

“Um, well, it was basically a facility for criminals,” Richard said with a distinct note of discomfort. “The different Wing buildings were all completely renovated so a lot of those features aren’t immediately noticeable. Fortunately the Educational Wing was built by contractors for the AHCP, so it doesn’t look any worse than a college dormitory, or barracks.”

“You are familiar with these kinds of places?”

“Yeah. I was able to get a year of college in before I got fed up with it and left. There was more politics and trying to squeeze as much money out of the students instead of focusing on classes than I cared to deal with.”

Sofiya tried to keep her tone light. “I see. And you went where?”

“Lots of different places,” Richard answered cryptically. “I backpacked Europe for half a year, spent time in Africa and then headed to India and parts of Asia. I ran out of money while in Japan and was able to catch work as a hand on a freighter heading back to the U.S. and signed on. Eventually I landed in Alaska and found something that I liked doing for while before coming here.”

“You ran out of money?” the vixen inquired. “But the Tavington family is well known for their wealth.”

“No. Myfather is known forhis wealth. He had no use for a son that had ideas of his own. What I spent I earned. I don’t want any of his money.”

The last was added with enough venom that it caused Sofiya to jerk slightly.

Before she could ask what he’d done in Alaska Richard stopped them before a large building that looked like any flat complex back in her home country. “And here’s the Educational Wing. Everyone’s up on the fourth floor, rooms 403 through 411. Your name tags are attached to each door. No one told me about those of you that are couples, but if you want to share a room, that’s cool with the Director and staff. I’ll be back in a couple of hours to show all of you the grounds unless there is anything pressing you need right now.”

“I think we will be fine from here until you get back,” Sofiya told the male. “Thank you for all of your help, Richard. It has been quite the pleasure to meet you.” She extended her hand to the other Fur.

“Same here. Still, if you need anything before I get back, I can be reached on my PBJ.”

The Stockholm Furs watched as their guide stepped back and walked away. “Americans are so…odd, sometimes,” Charlotte Bujold commented as she and the others watched the silver fox round a corner.

“Maybe,” Siobhan said with a wicked grin, “but after seeing ourliaison I think I’d like a little bit o’ a private tour o’ this place with that one. He can liaison with me anytime!”

Maria was also watching the retreating Fur with undisguised interest, causing Sofiya a moment of consternation and jealousy which irritated her. She’d just met the American and had no claim to him.

So why was her friends’ obvious interest in the silver fox bothering her? Shaking her head to clear it, the red fox turned towards the main doors. “I do not know of the rest of you, but I think I will follow the advice given and take a rest.” Without waiting for a reply, she entered the building, finding the elevator easily.

Once ensconced in her new suite, her door firmly shut, she cast a critical eye. Scrutinizing the room as her state of pique with not only herself but also the other vixens, she wanted to find faults with it to mollify her sour disposition. The only thing that she could find fault with were the sheets on her bed of a pale yellow, not one of her favorite colors at all.

Sofiya unpacked the few items in her travel bag, setting most in the little closet next to the door to the small bathroom. At least she had a fur dryer here as well. As she finished up and turned to the bed to stretch out and close her eyes for a little while she saw the small glass tube on the table with a sprig of tiny pink roses just beginning to open and a little envelop with her name on it written in flowing letters.

Curious, the vixen picked up the envelope and pulled the little card out. On the front was a cartoon red fox gallivanting in a field of comically large flowers chasing a blue butterfly. There was a simple message written in the same hand on the inside, and as she read it twice, her earlier irritation vanished.

Just a quick word to say ‘Welcome!’
We look forward to getting to know you and I
for one think the AHCP has chosen our leader well!
Richard

There wasn’t anything more than that, and certainly nothing to suggest the silver fox was offering more than friendship, but after five years of keeping others at arm’s length, it made the vixen smile.

Sofiya tucked the card back into the envelope and set it on the nightstand, looking at it for several minutes before her eyes closed for a desperately needed nap, the smile still tugging at the corners of her mouth.

CHAPTER 5

"Success and Tragedy"

Marcelo Delgado, Director of the North American Branch of the Furmankind Institute looked out over the training field near the lake that sat on the grounds of his facility and smiled. He could find no problems with the Anthro Human Colonization Project’s choice of leader for the upcoming mission to Bastien as the vixen ran not only the Vulps that came with her from Stockholm, but his own Furs and those that had arriving from the other two Institutes in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Toyohashi located in the Aichi Prefecture of Japan, through a series of exercises. She was working hard making sure that the different groups were well mixed instead of congregating with friends and the individuals they knew. It was a wise move to get so many from different backgrounds to work towards a common goal.

Sofiya Talova herself had experience in working with those from different lands, not only from her time with the United Nations, but within her own Class of Vulps and the one preceding as they all claimed different countries of origin. With Marcelo’s permission, she even had a reward system for the teams that performed their tasks better than the others or had the better time for certain exercises. Normally it was something simple such as being taken off Institute grounds for lunch at one of the burger joints in the nearby town of Saranac Lake, things that would motivate the varied groups but wouldn’t foster sore feelings, anger or regret.

The Director smiled and wondered how much of what was being done to get the various Vulps working together via rewards was initiated by one of his own Furs. Richard Tavington had gone from being the liaison between the visiting anthrofoxes and the Director himself to becoming Sofiya’s right hand and the two could often be found together going over training procedures and performances.

Today was no different than many of the previous ones spent outside going over the equipment that they would be using. While all of them knew how to put up the geodesic domes that would serve as their shelters and storage for vital equipment or stores, it was very much a challenge to get them up with the frigid late October downpour that hissed through the evergreens around the facility. Even Marcelo, under the cover of his cart shivered in his coat as the blurred forms of the Vulps struggled against the rain and moderate wind as they erected frames and fastened panels. He smiled at Sofiya, who was also out in the weather with a mixed group of Buenos Aires, Stockholm and Toyohashi Furs, working on setting up what had always been called the Great Dome, a structure that was like the others, just far larger. She clung to the upper supports as panels were passed up to her. Running around and helping with the smaller domes was Richard.

Work on all the domes halted as a sports whistle blasted shrilly from a small group on the other side of the exercise. All of the Furs, even those at the Adirondack Institute that were in other Wings now carried the inexpensive whistles. Sofiya had gone to the Shoppette and ordered boxes full of the things, with a specific purpose and sound reasoning as far as the Director was concerned. Sometimes it would be necessary for the Furs to send an alarm that shouting might not suffice for, nor would putting the call out on their Personal Business Juxtapositioners as it might require precious seconds. Nothing that Marcelo had seen had worked as effectively as the whistles, and he wondered why no one had thought of it before. Not only could they serve to alert others of danger or call for help, but they might even serve to frighten away potential threats on an alien world.

Right now it was being used to call for help.

As Marcelo started to rise from the seat of the cart, he saw Sofiya spin on one of the frame supports like a gymnast. Not even letting her arms fully straighten before dropping to the sodden grass and mud. Sofiya hit the ground and took off like a shot to where the trouble was. It was only peripherally that he caught Richard leaping out of the dome he was working on, sailing through the framework to land on all fours hot on his leader’s trail. Only slightly slower was one of the medically trained Furs, Valerie Muir of Adirondack Class 18, the fennec vixen having been a pediatrician before joining the program.

Unable to get his cart to where the trouble was without the distinct possibility of it bogging down in the saturated turf, Marcelo had just started to slide out from the seat when Sofiya, Richard and Valerie made their way out of the grey, pouring rain, another Fur riding piggyback on the silver fox. The Vulps that was being carried was Mina Brinkley, a swift fox another of the Adirondack Class 18 Vulps and the youngest Fur out of Marcelo’s two groups.

“What happened?” the man asked as he gestured for Richard to deposit the female in the back of the cart.

“Me being clumsy,” Mina replied, hissing slightly as she bumped her right ankle trying to shift the way she was sitting so her tail wasn’t pinched. “I was carrying too much and hit a patch of slick mud then fell on my keister and twisted my foot.”

Valerie got in the cart as well, pushing her medical pouch out of the way. “I think it’s just a bad sprain, Marcelo, but I’d like to have Doctor Ramirez take a look at it as well. Maria’s been working with me on Vulps anatomy, and this would be a good chance to learn more.”

Marcelo smiled at the initiative shown. “Send Maria a message asking her to meet us at the Hospital Wing.” He turned to look at Sofiya. “Aren’t you coming?”

The soaked vixen smiled and squinted as a rivulet of water ran into her eye. “I trust Valerie to see to Mina’s wellbeing. I have others that must be reassured. Even a small injury can demoralize. If I act in a way that is relaxed, the others will know that this is a minor thing, not to belittle Mina’s pain, and they will then continue with what they need to do which is best for all.”

Marcelo couldn’t find fault with her reasoning and nodded. “When do you plan on bringing them all in? You’re Furs, not fish.”

“When all the domes are complete we will call an end to the day,” Sofiya informed the man.

Marcelo raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that a little harsh?”

“Bastien will be forgiving?” the blond haired vixen countered with a shrewd look.

“You do realize that Bastien has had the previous colony for four years, right?” the Director inquired.

“And Earth has had mankind for many millennia. Accidents and encounters with wildlife still occur. The Vulps must know that there is danger, no matter what, and that despite injury or accident a job is to be done,” Sofiya countered.

“Are you sure you weren’t a Marine instructor before coming here?” the man half joked.

“I am just a little red-tail,” the Ukrainian Fur said with a grin before turning back to the group to get them on with the exercise. Richard fell in step next to her.

“I don’t know about you, but I’ll be glad when we’re finished,” the silver fox commented as Marcelo headed to the Hospital Wing. “As it is I think we might run out of hot water fairly shortly with all of the showers that the others will be taking. I must weigh an extra hundred pounds from the mud alone!”

Sofiya nodded in agreement. “I feel the same, but we must train in the worst of conditions so that if they do happen, we will be ready.”

Richard chuckled. “I had a friend that was in the Army. His favorite saying was‘If it ain’t raining, we ain’t training!’ I think I finally understand what he meant.”

Sofiya halted before they drew within earshot of the others. “And I would like to thank you for acting as fast as you did. Fortunately it was not a serious injury. After we are clean, I would ask that you come to my room to share a drink.”

The offer caught the American Fur off guard. He’d been spending quite a bit of time around the vixen already but hadn’t let his attraction show, especially as she had started to depend on him to help in the working relationships she was trying to foster among the different groups. He didn’t let his hopes get too high and assumed a neutral expression while consciously fighting the automatic reaction that tried to set his tail to wagging furiously.

***

Mina Brinkley's injury was simply a sprain and Maria Ramirez, the Vulps Wing physician recommended that the swift fox take it easy for the next few days. Sofiya was in full agreement, and decided to extend that to all of the Vulps after the completion of the exercise near the lake, informing the others of her decision when they all gathered in the completed Great Dome.

“The rest of the week is to be used in relaxation and rest,” the red fox told the Furs standing around in the completed shelter, many huddling close together for warmth. “You have all done very well. I will talk to Director Delgado about a possible trip into town for all to enjoy a few hours in the shopping plaza there this Saturday coming.”

This announcement was immensely popular with the would-be colonists and Sofiya dipped her head in slight embarrassment at the clapping and whooping that came from many of the others before they dispersed to their rooms to clean up. Saranac Lake wasn’t a large town, but it offered more than the Institute alone did.

“Not bad, Sofiya,” Richard said with a grin. “You really are a natural at this.”

The vixen sighed and leaned against part of the frame where a door could be attached and looked out at the rain lashed lake surface. “Then why am I so afraid of what I must do?”

“What do you mean?”

“I am very much afraid of failure. To not do the best I can may cause the death of any one of them,” the female said and gestured to the last of the retreating Vulps. When we get to Bastien, it is I that they will look to for answers. It is I that they will depend on to keep all safe. What if I make a mistake?”

Richard fought against the urge to take her dainty paw-like hand to comfort her. “That’s why we train,ulyublenyy. So we will know what to do.”

Sofiya jerked as if she’d been burned and regarded the silver fox with her eyes so wide that the whites showed. “What? Why did you call me that?” she asked with absolute shock.

“What? I…I’ve been trying to learn Ukrainian,” he admitted quietly. “I thought it might make…well, that it’d be nice for you to be able to talk to someone in your own language.”

“Do you know what the meaning of that word is?”

Richard scratched his head in confusion. “Um…I thought it meant‘good friend’.” He saw the look she gave him as she shook her head.

“It means lover. As in one you are intimate with and is word of extreme affection.”

The silver fox swore under his breath. “I’m sorry! I…I didn’t mean…I mean, I…”

The tension was broken by Sofiya letting loose a laugh of relief, though she admitted silently to herself that it had been rather nice hearing Richard call her such. “I think you were looking for the word‘tovarysh’.” She smiled while shaking her head. “If you wish to learn Ukrainian, I will teach. And you can help me with my English. This way we do not make mistakes. Yes?”

The silver fox relaxed a little. “Sure.” He looked outside the dome. “I think the rain’s letting up. Think we should make a break for it?”

“Very much so. I do not think that I can get any more soaked than I already am, and very much wish to take a hot shower.” She paused with a tentative hand on the other Fur’s arm. “Just do not forget that I owe you a drink. I will be very sad if you do not come by to share one with me.”

Again fighting his body’s reaction to set his tail wagging, Richard smiled back. “As soon as I’m clean, dry and dressed.”

Sofiya’s look became mischievous. “Race?”

“Huh?” Richard intoned, but before the sound could leave his muzzle, the red fox Fur had already dropped to all fours and was on her way to the Educational Wing, her long strides kicking up mud, water and bits of grass.

While there were times that it was easier to go on all fours, Richard still found the notion a little odd sometimes. As he struggled to catch up, he noted how the Stockholm Fur used her entire body to run, just as a real fox would. Her front hand paws would touch the ground first with her body stretched out to its full length, then bunch as her foot pads came down just behind. Sofiya would then dig her toes and retractable claws into the turf a split second before using her powerful leg muscles to launch into the next stride.

It was extremely difficult for him to focus on this exercise in physical mechanics as he kept getting distracted by the way her rump looked, her tail straight out behind her.

While he’d adjusted fairly well to the physical and psychological changes of becoming Furmankind, there were aspects and observations that often caught him off guard or he simply found astonishing. When he had been fully human, a woman with curves and toned form had been the height of beauty to him. Now he looked at the vixen in front of him and discovered that there were things that the fox aspect within him found remarkably enticing.

The first thing that his hybrid psyche noticed was that the vixen’s coat was very vibrant and full, an indication that she was free from disease and illness. The colors were sharp without any dullness that would have indicated a dietary deficiency. Next was her fullness in body that told the new part of his brain that she was well fed, and that indicated she was a proficient hunter and could carry her own weight in bringing down prey. They hadn’t had to hunt for their food, but the vulpine aspect didn’t differentiate between the cafeteria and bringing down game, only that she ate adequately.

Her eyes were bright and clear, another indication that she didn’t suffer any of the aforementioned maladies and were also fetchingly expressive.

Finally, she was very…symmetrical. While a true fox wouldn’t be able to comprehend the concept of genetics and the fact that good symmetry indicated good genes, this was incredibly intriguing to the vulpine part of his perspective and told him that Sofiya was a very desirable mate and would make a fitting partner.

Of course the intellectualhuman aspect of his brain still found her to simply be smoking hot. She still had the curves of a woman in all the right places with the ability to move the way a human woman would with everything in motion and oh, so very graceful.

Unfortunately these observations caused a very specific response that was quite natural, though rapidly became painful with the binding and chafing of his wet clothing. Richard was extremely happy when they reached the door to the Educational Wing. Sofiya had won the impromptu race by several lengths and was grinning in triumph when Richard stopped at the door.

“Back at the Stockholm Institute I often challenged the males there to little contests like racing. If they lost they would have to do my laundry or other chores,” she told him with a laugh.

“What happened if you lost?” the silver fox inquired with a sideways look.

“Then I would let them have a kiss. But then, I never lost.”

“Is that a challenge?”

“Maybe. But then you are mytovarysh, and friends do not do that to each other.”

Richard, still on all fours until he could get himself under better control, looked up at the vixen who stood over him. “I don’t know,” he drawled. “The rewards certainly outweigh the risks.”

Her reaction was simply to laugh as she opened the door and held it for the other Fur. “Then we will have to figure out a proper challenge! Now, don’t be late for that drink!”

She stepped into the elevator and smiled as the doors closed, leaving Richard to either wait for it to return from the fourth floor or to take the stairs. With no one around, and finally able to tug his shorts loose with a sigh of relief, he opted for the stairs. Whenever he’d gotten worked up in the past, some form of exercise always helped, and right now he truly needed the distraction.

He made it to his room without encountering any of the other Vulps and was pleased to note that once at his door he could stand without embarrassing himself. The silver fox was also pleased to find that there was still plenty of hot water after hanging his furman vest and shorts up to dry before they went into his hamper. He’d learned long ago that once something was mildewed there was no getting the rank smell out short of burning the fabric with an entire jug of bleach.

By the time he stepped from the full length dryer unit, he was feeling a little tired, but it was the fatigue that comes with knowing that he worked hard and bestowed a certain feeling of satisfaction. Richard put on a pair of clean shorts in dark blue and matching vest that he left open and that still smelled slightly of the detergent that he used, preferring to do his own laundry instead of dropping them into the laundry chute for the staffers to handle. Thus clean and dressed, he stepped from his room and walked silently on bare feet down the hall to Sofiya’s room.

The red fox vixen opened the door after he knocked softly, concealing herself behind it until he stepped into the room. He’d expected to find her in furman clothing as well, a pair of shorts at the very least. What the Ukrainian Fur was wearing was completely unexpected.

Instead of the normal shorts and one of the different style tops, Sofiya wore a lavender robe of what was undoubtedly silk, though that wasn’t what gave the silver fox pause. What caused Richard to stare was the hem barely covered her thighs, and was lifted high enough by her thick tail to be considered quite a bit more than risqué. Apparently his expression was one of shock because the vixen did a slow pirouette with her arms out.

“Do you not like this?”

There was no possible way to keep his tail from wagging this time and he felt his chest tighten more than a little. “I like it a lot,” he mumbled, unable to keep his eyes off her.

“It was one of my favorite robes before becoming a Fur and I did not want to leave it behind,” Sofiya told him as she stepped to the small kitchen efficiency. “Go sit and I will bring you the drink I promised.”

The only piece of furniture, apart from her bed, that the vixen had in the room was a short sofa that was set to face the triangular shelves in the corner where a flat screen television rested. Next to that was her photo album that she treasured more than anything else. Trying to get comfortable, Richard looked up with surprise when a glass tumbler with ice cubes, straw and a clear liquid appeared before him, the drink so close to his nose that he went a little cross-eyed trying to focus on it which elicited a chuckle from Sofiya.

“Sip, do not gulp,” she warned.

Sofiya took the other end of the short couch, curling her legs underneath her and draping her tail over her thighs, sparing the male from seeing anything that might cause him further distraction, of which he was thankful for, yet also disappointed by. He felt a little guilty, though. She’d made it clear on a number of occasions that they were friends, close friends, but no more than that. He silently berated himself for trying to read more into the invitation and her mode of dress than said friendship.

“So,” Richard asked and focused on the drink in hand, “what shall we drink to?”

“To us.”

“Wh-what?”

“We drink to us. The newest colony.”

The silver fox regained his equilibrium. “Right!” he said a little too loudly. “To the newest citizens of Bastien.” He took a sip from the glass after touching it to hers.

And immediately began coughing as his breath was stolen from him.

“Oh…dear…Lord!” he spluttered. “What is this?”

“Vodka,” the vixen said sipping casually from her own glass. “Real vodka. Not the weaktsiyaty kin’ that is sold here in the United States!”

“Holy smokes,” Richard wheezed, tears coming to his eyes. “There’s no way this is vodka! You’ve slipped me jet fuel!”

Sofiya laughed musically, her contralto voice rich with the characteristic thrum all Furs developed. “Like I said, you are too accustomed totsyaty kin’. You do not know good vodka!”

“What does that mean? Tse…tsee-yahty ken? What is that?” he asked with a small smile, though it still felt as if his lungs and throat were on fire.

“The pee of horse. Same as all drinks you have here in America. Very weak and no flavor.” She stuck out her tongue in emphasis and made a face that there was no mistaking for anything but revulsion, though on the vixen it was rather comical. As she took the straw between her vulpine lips for another sip, Sofiya covertly watched her friend.

“Now that the inside of my mouth…and everything else, has been burned clean, this really isn’t so bad. That or my senses of smell and taste are forever wrecked.”

Both Furs sat and sipped silently for a while, though it really didn’t take much before Richard began to feel the effects. It might have been his new chemistry, or simply the fact that he hadn’t had anything stronger than the occasional cup of coffee for almost two years, but the glass was just nearing the half empty point and he was feeling a little too relaxed and he could swear the that his triangular, black nose was going numb.

“Richard I…I would like to thank you for being a good friend,” Sofiya said and reached out to touch his arm, not really paying attention as she ran the pads of her fingers over the soft fur, or the effect it had on the silver fox. “I was very worried when I was made colony leader, and even more so when we came here to America. You have helped to make things much better than I could have hoped and I owe you a great amount. I…I do not think that I could do this were it not for your help.”

Before he could stop himself, Richard leaned forward, encouraged by the contact Sofiya had initiated. As his face neared hers he watched as her mouth opened slightly, her eyes seeming warm and expectant. He drew close enough so that he could feel the warmth of her breath on his nose and shivered with the way it caused the long whiskers he now bore to quiver. No sooner had they closed the distance enough to actually feel the heat radiating from the other than an insistent knock sounded on her door causing the red fox to pull back suddenly, a guilty look on her face.

“Layno!” she whispered vehemently before turning to face the door, withdrawing the contact of her fingers with the other Fur’s arm. “Come in!”

Not sure who could be knocking on the vixen’s door this late in the day, both were surprised to watch Marcelo walk in with a woman that Richard knew to be the Institute psychologist, Angelina Flynn. The Director took in the scene with a quick glance and blushed slightly. “I truly hope we aren’t interrupting, but something’s come up and we need to speak to you,” the man told Sofiya.

“Is there a problem with the colony?” the Fur asked with sudden alarm.

Marcelo didn’t immediately respond. He looked at the silver fox. “Richard, could you excuse us for a while?”

“I do not wish for him to go unless it is absolutely necessary,” Sofiya said, suddenly nervous at the behavior of the Adirondack Director and the strange woman. “If it is same to both of you, I would wish for him to stay. Please.”

Marcelo and Angelina looked at each other for a moment before the woman nodded slightly, causing the Director to sigh in surrender.

“It’s fine by me.” He looked around but didn’t see any other place to sit and spent a moment trying to decide if he wanted to clasp his hands behind his back or put them in his pockets, though Marcelo eventually settled on the former. “I hate to be the one that brings bad news, but your father is in the hospital, and his prognosis isn’t good. I’ve been instructed to get you on the Osprey tonight to catch an AHCP plane that is heading to Europe from JFK airport. It’ll make a diversion to Kiev where a car will be waiting for you before continuing on to Stockholm.”

Sofiya blinked, her tail sliding off her legs as if its weight had suddenly increased and her ears fell. “Poppa? My Poppa? What is wrong?” she asked, her tone growing frantic.

Angelina stepped forward and took the Fur’s paw-like hands in hers. “Sofiya, your father is very sick. He has been for quite a long time. The doctors are trying very hard to help him, but the best they can do at this point is to make him comfortable.”

Sofiya looked at the two humans and Richard. “But…a flight? How…”

“It was ordered by Ásmundr Gustavsson himself,” Marcelo informed the two Furs. “I already have the pilots doing their checks on the Osprey to take you to LaGuardia airport.” He gave her a look filled with compassion. “You can take someone with you if you’d like.”

“I’ll go with you if you want,” the silver fox said as Sofiya’s head whipped around to regard him intensely. “Give me a moment to pack a small bag.”

The vixen looked at the other Vulps with gratitude. “Thank you, Richard. I…I do not know if…I…I need a friend to be with me.”

“That’s what I’m here for.”

CHAPTER 6

"Mercy Flight"

Less than two hours later the pair of Furs were in a small Hawker 4000 business jet that had the blue and white colors of the Anthro Human Colonization Project. They would refuel once in Iceland before continuing to Ukraine. There was only one other individual, besides the flight crew, onboard. Edmund Mallory was British by birth, though like so many other Europeans, he considered himself a citizen of the entire continent. The man was in his early forties, and while he looked like a scholar for the most part, there was a healthy tan to his skin and his short, reddish-brown hair had a sun bleached cast to it indicating he spent quite a bit of time outside.

Edmund was delighted to have two Furs on the flight with him and took it upon himself to play host for the pair of Vulps.

“It’s rare that I get to interact with actual Furs, even though I’ve been with the company for almost ten years. I can’t begin to tell you how thrilling this is for me.” Edmund made sure they had refreshments, and while a little despondent that the vixen seemed distracted, staring out the window that her seat was next to, it didn’t stop him from trying to engage Richard in conversation.

“You’ll understand if she’s a little distant,” the silver fox said after informing the man that they were headed back due to a family emergency. “The news of her father’s condition has hit her pretty hard.”

“Oh, the poor dear,” the man said, his look turning to one of concern. “It’s not the largest, or even the most comfortable, but there is a bunk in the back of the plane she’s more than welcome to. That and I have a small selection of, hmm,medicinalsin my travel bag, should she require. Sometimes they are the only way I can get to sleep myself. I truly hate flying.”

“Thank you, Edmund,” Richard told the man sincerely. “I’ll check and see if she feels like following your suggestion.”

The silver fox Fur made his way from the small galley where he and the man had been talking and knelt next to Sofiya’s seat. When he took her hand in his it was most gently.

“Edmund told me that there’s a bunk in the back that you’re more than welcome to, and if you feel you need it, he has something you can drink.”

The vixen looked at her companion and smiled weakly. “I think I would like to lie down,” she admitted. “You are not bothered if I do this?”

“Nah. I’ll be okay. I’m just worried about you,” he replied with a smile.

Sofiya declined the offer of a drink, though she let Richard lead her back to the small cubicle that contained the bunk. It was narrow with room for one only, much to the vixen’s disappointment. The thought of having Richard hold her was incredibly tempting. As it was, he helped her get situated and pulled the light blanket and sheet up after hanging her robe-like top on an available hook that protruded from the faux wood paneling. She then watched as the other Vulps increased the airflow, lowering the temperature in that part of the cabin to something more comfortable and dimmed the lights.

“You will be near if I should need you?” Sofiya asked, her eyes wide and almost childishly imploring and took his hand with what bordered on desperation.

“I’ll be right here,” he told her as he sat on the edge of the bunk.

Holding her hand, Richard watched her for only a few minutes before the day caught up to the little red fox Fur. Her eyes fluttered and her breathing became deeper and more even and as her grip on his fingers loosened, Sofiya rolled onto her side, curling up and clutching the pillow to her.

He waited a few long moments before he was sure that she was asleep before returning to the main part of the cabin. Richard snagged a flavored soda before he dropped into one of the seats and winced as he pinched his caudal appendage against the seat back. With a muttered curse he shifted and pulled the black and white tipped brush of his tail over his thighs then sighed as he rubbed at his eyes.

“It’s been a long day,” he commented drily.

“I can understand that sentiment,” Edmund agreed as he poured a small travel bottle of gin into a plastic cup of tonic water.

“So, what is it you do with the AHCP?” Richard asked with a glance at his traveling companion.

The man smiled as he took a sip of the mixed drink. “Ah! One of the more interesting jobs, truth be told. I lead a harvesting team.”

“What’s a harvesting team?”

“We’re the ones that go out and get samples of genetic material for use in the McEwen Process that turns you and the others into Furs.”

Richard was suddenly interested. “So, you spend your time traveling to zoos?”

Edmund chuckled. “Not just zoos. We also obtain samples from animals in the wild. While zoos are a great source for the genetic material that is used in the transformation process, the number of captive animals is rather limited, even with all of the different preservation facilities around the world.

“To supplement those samples, and to provide increased genetic diversity, we also have personnel that obtain material from wild animals. When we are given our required lists for the year, normally a collection of thirty or so different donors for each furman type, we go and set up temporary field laboratories so that we can screen the animals for diseases and illness after capture. The process is much more streamlined than it used to be and an experienced team can get up to ten animals in one day if fortune smiles upon them.”

“You actually capture the animals used for donors? How do you do that?”

“It’s completely harmless and temporary, of course. We use a variety of methods, though the most successful are live traps and tranquilizer rifles. Then again, for many of the subjects we test, it’s best if they are asleep to begin with. Many animals such as bears, wolves and lions truly dislike being poked and prodded overly much.

“When we select subjects, normally after several days of observing the targets, we begin to capture them as quickly as possible so they may be released just as quickly to reduce the trauma of even temporary captivity. A proper field lab can process up to four subjects at once. We screen their blood, take tissue samples, measure weight, dimensions and log what gender. Once that is done and we determine that the donor is clear of sickness, a specified amount of matter is harvested, tagged with a small transmitter and the animal is let go. We can actually get the entire process done before the tranquilizers wear off and have them back in the wild before the creature is aware it has had little more than an induced nap.”

“Geez, you aren’t kidding when you call it harvesting, are you?” Richard asked with a grin.

“It truly is. I’ve personally gotten to handle some of the most exciting predators from all over the world! I just hope that I’m taken off the non-viable list soon,” Edmund commented.

“The what?”

“Oh, the non-viable list means that my job is too important at the moment for the AHCP to pass my application to join the Furmankind Project at the present time.” The man sighed. “It really is disappointing. I would love a chance to go through the process so that I might go to another world. Think of the animals I could document then!”

Richard had to nod in agreement. He’d already been studying some of the animals that the original Bastien colonists had discovered and found that absolutely fascinating. A chance to do the same for a person that already documented terrestrial animals, and was excited about it, would almost be in their version of heaven to do the same on another planet. He listened to the man describe his work for the AHCP all over the world, but eventually began to feel exhaustion creeping up on him. Unable to stop himself, Richard yawned widely, his tongue curling on itself.

“Pardon me,” the silver fox told his companion with an apologetic look. “It was already a long day of training, and it looks like things are catching up to me.”

Edmund chuckled quietly. “There’s no reason to apologize. I have an inkling of the training schedule that you’re on, especially with the announcement of the new Bastien mission. Go ahead and get some rest if you can.”

The Fur nodded his thanks and got up, heading to the small cubicle to look in on Sofiya. She was still as he’d left her, curled on her side with the pillow held tight to her chest. It took some creative maneuvering, but Richard was able to insinuate his frame between the bunk and the divider that separated the tiny cubicle from the lavatory compartment and watched the female sleep.

As his own eyes started to grow heavy, a sound that was different from the humming whistle that the plane’s engines generated brought him back up from the slumber that had been creeping up on him. He heard it again and after blinking his raw feeling eyes a few times to clear them and realized that the sounds were coming from the vixen who was apparently having bad dreams. Somehow managing to get his arm up, he placed his hand on the top of Sofiya’s head and gently ran the tips of his claws and finger pads over the velveteen fur of her ears, going with the lay of the fine hairs and whispered to her.

“You’re okay. There’s nothing to be afraid of. I’m here. I’ll always be here.” His words were soft, barely louder than the breath that carried them, but the effect was the little female calming immediately. He had to smile when she shifted a little in her sleep to increase her contact with his paw-like hand.

When sleep came upon him, it was with complete stealth and he slipped into a dreamless void.

CHAPTER 7

"An Uncomfortable Silence"

Turbulence as the plane descended woke Richard from the deep sleep brought on by the events of the previous day, though he was wondering why he was crammed into a tight corner and also why his arms and legs were numb. As his eyes opened, feeling gummy and tired, he realized that he was still on a plane, and still wedged in the little spot between the bunk and the wall of the cubicle.

His left arm was sore, but the right was completely immobile and hurting. As he turned his head he discovered the reason for this was that Sofiya was laying on it, still asleep, her furry cheek resting on his palm with her own hands cradling it to her as a child would a teddy bear. Richard couldn’t help but smile at the content expression on her face, though that turned to one of irritation when he tried to gently extract himself from where he’d sat for far too long.

As the silver fox struggled, another buffet shook the plane, this time enough to wake Sofiya. Her eyes came open, the yellow-green orbs with their vertical pupils looking far less tired than they had before.

“Dobroho ranku,” she said with a smile, then realized through the fog of her physical and emotional exhaustion that she’d spoken Ukrainian. “Good morning.”

“I think it is,” Richard replied, also smiling. “At least somewhere.”

The vixen realized that she had a hold of the male’s hand and let it go, albeit reluctantly. “Have you been there this whole time?”

“Some,” the silver fox mumbled and rubbed at his own eyes. “It sounded like you were having some unhappy dreams when I came in to check on you. I guess I fell asleep.”

“Here. You take the bunk and get some rest.”

With a smile and shake of his head, Richard put a hand on her shoulder, a small part of him enjoying the feel of the soft fur of her coppery coat and solidity of her arm underneath. “No you don’t. You stay there. I’m here to support you, remember?”

“And you have done this thing.” Sofiya sighed with closed eyes and opened them to look at the male with an earnest expression. “Just having you near…it…it means more than I am able to say.”

“Like you said, Sofiya, we’re friends. It’s what friends do for each other.”

Much like it had been in the vixen’s room just hours earlier, there was a tension between them, though before either could say or do anything more than look into each other’s eyes, the plane bounced again and the overhead speaker pinged as the seatbelt indicator lit up.

“This is Captain Faulkner,” a very rich baritone with distinct British accent said over the intercom.“We’re on final approach to Reykjavík, Iceland. We’ll only be down long enough to refuel before resuming our flight and for a commissary van to restock some of our onboard supplies. With present wind and weather conditions, we should be making Kiev a little before ten hundred hours this morning. Now if you don’t mind, I would ask all of you to take your seats and fasten your restraints. Faulkner out.”

“You gotta love the Brits and their by-the-book way of doing things,” Richard quipped with a grin as he got to his feet and held out a hand for Sofiya, the tension shattered and both slipping into the roles that were becoming almost second nature.

The pair made their way out to the main part of the small cabin and took their seats on opposite sides, the large reclining units set two to a side, and fell silent, each deep in their own thoughts as the plane made its way to the runway below.

***

Kiev and the rest of this part of Eastern Europe was already blanketed in the first snow of the season and Richard looked out at the combination of aged architecture interspersed with modern skyscrapers and the people that moved about the city in their daily lives, seemingly oblivious to the frigid conditions. At thirteen degrees, Fahrenheit, parkas specifically designed for Furs had been given to them as soon as the limousine collected the pair of anthrofoxes almost as soon as the door of the Hawker 4000 had been opened and the steps lowered.

The driver wore the livery of the Stockholm Institute, though he wasn’t one of the guards or staffers that the vixen was familiar with. That wasn’t too surprising as the Institute and headquarters complex had hundreds, if not thousands, of men and women in its employ.

While comfortable, Richard was both looking forward to and dreading the end of the journey. He would be happy to be up and about moving on his own and smelling something other than the scent of plastics, nylon, rayon and varying types of fuels, but it would also mean that Sofiya would need him more than ever when she saw her father.

Though she didn’t say anything, nor did she let the anxiety show in her tone or on her face, inside she was a seething mass of nerves, fear, trepidation and regret. How had she not noticed how sick Poppa was? There’d been no indication before she joined the Furmankind project, nor during the time that he’d visited her at the Institute. He hadn’t said anything in the letters he sent her, nor the times they had spoken by phone.

Why hadn’t he said anything?

Almost as soon as that question crossed her mind, Sofiya knew the answer. Because he was her Poppa and didn’t want her to worry. It was simply the way he was.

Eventually the car made it to the outskirts of Donetsk, and the red fox Fur began to make out landmarks she knew well as she came out of her reverie and contemplations. Slipping from the speedway, they entered a very familiar area and after only a few miles passed the primary school Sofiya had gone to as a little girl. She pointed this out to her companion, along with other notable places from her time here, the impromptu tour dredging up memories both happy and sad.

Sofiya did not, however, point out the tall, wide branched oak in the little park they passed. It was under that tree that she had first kissed Aleksandr, knowing even then that her beloved Aleksi would become her husband.

When she first met the boy, she had thought him something of the fool, too carefree and a little weak, and yet he always had a smile. Especially for those that needed one. It was during a school project that she discovered the same boy was just a kind soul and enjoyed helping others. What she’d taken as weakness was Aleksi’s way of finding a solution to problems that didn’t involve confrontation or fighting when older boys picked on him. That wasn’t to say that he wouldn’t stand up for himself, but he saw no point in it if there were options.

Those were such happy and joyful times.

She remembered when it came time for the young man that she was growing rather fond of to meet her father. Nikoli had been raised in the old ways, and insisted on sitting down with Aleksi in the living room and learning about this stranger that had his daughter so flustered. Sofiya recalled waiting in the kitchen, her stomach in knots and a full of nervous energy as the two spoke. Then there was the sound of both laughing and she knew then and there that Aleksandr had passed her father’s inspection.

It was with a start that Sofiya realized the same things that her Aleksi made her feel, so did the American that sat next to her staring out his own window.

Being from Eastern Europe, the one thing that all women there believed was that there was, somewhere out in the world, the other half of them, their soul mate. This person would embody everything that a woman found good and would be there always, supporting and caring for them. It was what Aleksi had been to her before he was taken away.

Wasn’t that how Richard had been towards her as well?

It was enough to make her tremble. Was it possible for her to find two men that were suited for her? Aleksandr had been the one for her while she was human. Could it be that Richard was meant for her now that she was a Fur?

That, of course, brought the thought that with the both of them being sent to Bastien, would she have to lose him as well? Of course the planet had nearly half a decade of data from the previous colonists, but that did not mean that it was completely safe. There were still animals that were unknown, weather that could turn violent and any number of hazards that could strike. And Richard’s tendency to protect the others around him, to protecther meant he would never be completely safe.

No. Sofiya couldn’t go through that. Not again. Losing her Aleksi had almost been the end of her, causing her such a deep depression that she had seriously considered committing suicide, no matter how brief that actual moment of contemplation had been. No. It was best to deny the comfort that she craved, the closeness she longed for. She couldn’t bear the thought of having to say good-bye to another that she so wanted to give her heart to.

Not when she was also on the way to do the same to her Poppa.

***

The hospital was one of the more recent additions to the renovation and renewal of Donetsk after the war. Tan masonry work seemed to frame the large panes of blue-green mirrored glass, and the whole edifice was surrounded with small decorative trees to further foster a healthy and caring atmosphere, though to the vixen it all looked bleak with the trees little more than twisted, dark scrub brush as the leaves had all fallen for the winter. The sunlight that made it down through the high, thin clouds was weak and watery, making the world seemed washed out and devoid of color.

With deft precision, the driver pulled up under an awning to the main entrance before turning the vehicle into the parking garage. As soon as he found a parking space closest to the doors he shut the engine off and moved to the back to retrieve his passengers. Once they were all out of the car, the man triggered a small remote, arming the car’s security system before turning to the two Furs.

“I’m sorry we didn’t have time to speak earlier. I’m Alois Zimmer. I’ve been informed of the nature of this visit Miss Talova, but I received orders from Mister Gustavsson himself that I am to accompany you at all times. I know it’s a terrible inconvenience, and I’ll stay outside the room while you visit, but I cannot deviate from my instructions. I hope you understand.”

“We need a chaperone?” Richard asked with surprise.

“It’s a little more than that, I’m afraid. Anti-Fur activity has been on the rise, and it’s a precaution against potential trouble.” The driver motioned the parking attendant over and accepted a claim ticket and handing the youth several large denomination Euros, speaking in rapid Ukrainian that impressed Sofiya. When he turned back to the pair, he slipped easily back into flawless English. “My job is to ensure that you return to the Adirondack Institute safe and sound. That’s all.”

Sofiya wasn’t concerned about that, though, and simply nodded before heading for the hospital lobby and information desk.

Both Furs had left their parkas in the car and trusted their own fur coats to protect them for the short distance to the interior of the building. Being dressed in furman clothing that not only came in both primary and patterned colors but different styles, the two were striking enough to elicit the attention of every person they passed. The receptionist at the front desk had trouble figuring out what to do.

Of course the woman was familiar with the Furmankind Project, but she never expected to meet one. While they could talk and were obviously intelligent, the hospital had strict policies on allowing animals into the premises, even though the two before her weren’t just merely animals. Then again, they weren’t entirely human either.

“Please!” Sofiya finally wailed at the woman’s waffling. “I need to see my Poppa! His name is Nikoli Talova. This will most likely be my last chance to ever see him alive again, madam. I have to tell him I love him!”

That was the only argument that it seemed could have broken through the woman’s indecision and she brought up the information on a computer that had seen better days. She frowned as she looked at the information over her thin reading glasses. “Ah…here he is. Room 523.” She pointed to the Furs’ left. “Go to the elevators, fifth floor, and then turn right.”

“Spasiby!” Sofiya told the receptionist, already heading to the elevators, leaving Richard and their escort to hurry their steps to catch up.

The vixen all but bounced on her feet in nervous anticipation as the elevator seemed to crawl its way up and wrung her dainty paws together. As soon as the floor counter chimed they’d reached their destination, Sofiya leapt out of the car, turning to the right and rushing to the room labeled 523.

And stopped as still as a statue in the doorway.

“Poppa?” the Fur asked in a tremulous voice, unaware of the silver fox behind her.

Richard was able to see over Sofiya’s head and looked at the individual on the bed, a battery of monitoring machines, IV tubes and sensors on him making the poor man look more like a science project than a person. He turned his head at the sound of the vixen’s voice, only half of his face registering in a smile while the other half remained immobile and lifeless looking as clay.

“My Sofiya,” Nikoli mumbled, forcing the words out as clearly as possible. “My beautiful Sofiya.”

Uttering a strangled cry, the vixen darted to the bedside, falling to her knees and taking her father’s hand in hers, sickened by how pale and cold the skin was. Sofiya sandwiched the limp fingers between her paw-like hands to try and get some warmth into the chilled flesh, focusing on that task while she mustered the strength to look her Poppa in his eyes. “Wh…what has happened, Poppa?” she asked with her eyes starting to sting and her throat trying to tighten.

“Shh. We must talk…and we have…little time,” the man was able to wheeze out in Ukrainian. He tilted his head, looking up at the other Fur that stood near the doorway. "And… who is… this?” Nikoli asked in English, a little more animation causing his grey visage to brighten slightly.

“This is my friend, Richard,” Sofiya whispered.

The half of the man’s face that still functioned broke into a smile. “A little…more than a…friend…I think.” Nikoli managed to lift one arm and gestured at the silver fox. “C-come closer, Richard.”

Sofiya felt the male move closer and silently took strength from the hand that was placed on her shoulder. Richard looked down at the supine form on the bed, trying not to let his nose wrinkle at the smell of decay and sickness, even the encroaching death that was inexorably stalking the human and would soon claim him. “It’s an honor and pleasure to meet you, Sir. I’ve heard quite a bit about you.”

A gurgling rasp came from Nikoli, and it took both Furs a moment to realize that the pitiful sound was Nikoli laughing. “I…I l-like this…one.” He drew in a ragged breath, letting it out slowly in a wet sounding rasp before taking in another and reaching for the silver fox’s hand. As he was met half way, he took the other’s furred fingers with surprising strength and fierceness. “Richard…pro…promise that will take care…of my Sofiya. Promise…you will…wa-watch over…her. What…whatever happens.”

The anthrofox swallowed hard, impressed by the man’s love for his child that he could see in the other’s rheumy eyes. “I will, Sir. I swear to you I will.”

Nikoli nodded, sinking back into the pillows and marshaled his strength for a moment before looking at his daughter. “He…is a good…man,” the human said with a smile. He turned to the vixen. “So many…things I wished to do…for you,” he said dropping back into Ukrainian. “So many…regrets and…not being a better father.”

“Don’t think such,” Sofiya admonished. “You gave me everything I ever needed and saw to it I never wanted for anything.”

Richard turned when Alois touched his shoulder and gestured to the hallway with his chin. With a nod of his own, the Fur followed their driver out, leaving Sofiya and her father alone.

Almost an hour passed before the light over the door began to blink in time with a chime that sounded down the entire length of the hallway. As Richard tried to figure out what it meant, a team of nurses following a doctor in a long white lab coat came rushing down the hall and pushed into the room. Before the door swung shut on the pneumatic return, Sofiya slipped out.

The anthrovixen’s body language said it all. Her ears were all but touching her shoulders and her tail dragged on the floor as she shuffled out of the room, her steps slow and wooden. Even as she drew near, Richard had his arms open and enfolded her as she moved unerringly to him. He felt her trembling but said nothing, letting the contact between them convey his sorrow at her loss. They stood that way for several minutes before the door opened again and the doctor that had gone in with the entourage of nurses came out.

The man spoke at length with Sofiya, the silver fox unable to keep up with the rapid fire words that were traded back and forth in her native Ukrainian. After several exchanges, the doctor looked at the other Fur and human. “I am to being sorry. Must I have Sofiya papers of to be sign,” he informed them in broken English.

“We’ll wait right here until you’re done,” Richard informed her.

The vixen nodded and tried to smile, though the gesture failed and she let the doctor lead her away to an office to take care of the pertinent paperwork that there was no escaping.

As soon as she was taken from their presence, Richard looked in as the nurses exited, behind them the sheet-shrouded form of Nikoli rested on the bed, the stillness seeming oddly peaceful after witnessing the condition he’d been in, and removed his PBJ from the pocket of his furman robe.

The message he typed out with a claw tip was rather lengthy and he hit the send icon just before Sofiya stepped from the office back towards the desk station near the elevators. “Alois, is there a hotel or someplace that we’ll be staying?”

The man nodded. “Arrangements have already been made by Ásmundr Gustavsson’s office. I’ll be taking you there straight away once things have been concluded here.” Their chaperone looked at the Fur as she was escorted back by the doctor, the man seeming to have no problem in interacting with a Fur and spoke with her as they ambled along. “I have a feeling you are in for a difficult night.”

“I don’t care. She needs me,” the silver fox said softly, missing the knowing look and small smile on the man’s face.

***

Once checked into their two bedroom hotel suite, Sofiya went to the bathroom to soak in a hot bath, leaving Richard to his own devices as he sat pensively in the main salon. She hadn’t said a word since leaving the hospital and apart from seeking his arms in the moments following her father’s passing, had kept her distance, even shrugging off his attempt to comfort her by holding her hand.

The silver fox realized that there was no real way that he could understand how the vixen was feeling. He’d never had the kind of relationship with his own father and mother that the other Vulps had enjoyed with her father. He’d had friends die, but never a close family member, and was ill prepared in helping the female cope with her grief.

Not sure of how to help other than simply being there when she decided she needed him, Richard idly flipped through the channels on the television that was situated opposite the faux fireplace , feeling a certain amount of nervous energy. He gave up on that endeavor as there wasn’t a thing he could find that he understood and clicked the set off.

Realizing that it had been a while since they’d eaten last, he picked up the room service menu and tried to figure out what was what, thinking that both of them could do with a solid meal. The silver fox quickly became frustrated that the list of offerings was printed out in Cyrillic until he flipped it over and found other languages, including English and began making a selection of things he thought Sofiya might like and reached for the room’s phone when the vixen emerged from the bathroom.

She wore one of the thick terrycloth robes that were included with the suite, the garment not really fitting right as it was meant for a human and not a Fur. Sofiya stepped towards the other fox, still hurting and in shock, the vixen’s demeanor still as it had been at the hospital. She stopped with only a foot between her and Richard and sighed.

“W-would…would you hold m-me?”

Richard let the menu fall to the red and gold carpet and closed the distance, pulling the Fur to him with gentle strength. As if that simple contact was what was needed, the roiling emotions in the anthrovixen were finally let go and given vent. She wailed as she hadn’t since the death of her husband and let the grief tear through her as her friend held her up. Sofiya wasn’t aware when the silver fox picked her up. Cradled in his arms, he carried her to a plush settee and sat with her, saying nothing as sobs tore from her throat, simply rocking her and letting her deal with things on her terms and in her own time.

CHAPTER 8

"A Season for All Things"

Pale blue-grey light began to seep through the glass doors that led to the balcony of the suite as night gave way to the new sunrise, the rest of the world moving on despite what Sofiya had just experienced, and still Richard held the anthrovixen. Her sobs and tears had long ago run dry, and even the trembling that shook her had finally subsided.

When her arms slid up around his neck so that Sofiya could pull the two of them together before she gave him a kiss on the side of his head the silver fox almost dropped her on the floor in shock.

“Um…what was that for?” he asked slightly bemused.

“Poppa was right,” she whispered, her voice gravelly and hoarse from the ravages of her earlier crying. “You are a good man.” Sofiya held herself tightly to the other Vulps for a long moment, a sigh escaping her throat before pulling back. “Would you mind calling for breakfast? I must clean up. Then when we are done eating, I think we must have a talk.”

Richard nodded and let the female slide off his lap, his hands on her waist only long enough to make sure she had her feet under her and wouldn’t fall before letting go. He watched as she went back to her set of rooms, his heart hammering in his ribcage before taking a deep breath. The menu was where he’d dropped it and it didn’t take long for him to make a selection to call in.

As soon as he hung up the phone, his PBJ chirped at an incoming message and he flipped it open, sparing a glance at the partially open door to Sofiya’s bedroom. The anthrovixen was in the process of dabbing her face with a wet cloth in front of a dresser mirror, and looked to be whispering to herself. Richard cocked his head in confusion until he opened the metallic blue clamshell device and tapped the screen to open the message. His eyes bulged slightly to find that while he’d sent his request to Marcelo Delgado, it was Ásmundr Gustavsson that had replied.

Considering what he’d asked, he was more than a little shocked that his request had not only gone through so quickly, but that the President of the AHCP had taken a hand in it as well. Richard took it under the assumption that Ásmundr’s interest in the matter was due to his support of the young Fur that would be leading the colony mission that he felt was so important.

The anthrofox was a little dazed when he automatically turned to the door and the polite knocking coming from the other side. A young man in the hotel’s livery waited patiently, but when he opened the door the boy screamed something in frightened Ukrainian before running back down the hallway, his already pale skin having gone several shades of white lighter, his eyes bulging out of their sockets.

Another door opened up across the hall and an alert Alois looked out of the room. He was dressed in only a set of pajama bottoms in dark red silk, and in his right hand was some automatic pistol that looked sleek and lethal that he held along his right leg. When he saw Richard standing in the open doorway, a room service food cart before the open door, he chuckled while shaking his head.

“Go back inside and enjoy your breakfast,” the man said. “I’ll go calm whoever you just frightened twenty years off of.” He reached behind him and snagged a robe, dropping the pistol into one of the large pockets before stepping into the hallway. “I was wondering why someone was out here screamingwerewolf.”

Richard did as instructed, quickly pulling the tray into the suite before shutting the door. He pushed it to the small dining table as Sofiya emerged from her rooms looking a little better.

“What was all of the screaming about?” she asked as she glanced at the cart, wondering what the other Vulps had ordered, though not really caring so long as there was plenty of it.

He told the vixen what happened and after staring at him for several seconds, he saw the first hint of a smile on her face since the day before…or was it two days ago that they got the news of her father? He was too tired to care at the moment, worried only about Sofiya and was pleased and relieved to see that despite everything that had transpired she could find a little amusement in the attendant’s reaction to seeing Richard.

“You are very imposing,” she commented as the silver fox held a chair out for her and began to uncover dishes.

“Blame Doc Ramirez. She’s the one that gave me my injection,” he said and passed a serving spoon to the female. “I didn’t ask to be…well,Foxenstien.”

There were several interesting dishes and as soon as Sofiya loaded up her plate, Richard availed himself to the selection. The most recognizable thing he found was a kind of open faced egg and toast sandwich, but what really intrigued him was what looked like a casserole with salmon, potatoes and eggs that had bits of diced vegetables and herbs throughout.

They ate in silence, and only when all of the food was gone and both felt sated did Sofiya seem to warm back up to her companion. She poured both of them a fresh cup of coffee and took his hand, pulling him to the large sofa in the main salon. With gentle but assertive gestures she got the male to sit before also sitting down. Then she did something completely unexpected and leaned over so that she was all but lying on his lap.

“Richard…I do not know how to begin this…so if I say something wrong, please give me a chance to make it more clear before you make a conclusion.” She turned her head up to look in his eyes and waited for him to nod before continuing. “I am realizing how you are feeling about me. I…I feel very attracted to you as well. But there are things that you must know. There are things that I must tell you about me before we may consider anything beyond this moment.” She drew in a deep breath and let it out, turning her head and looking at the far wall.

Richard was suddenly very nervous. He had no idea of what she could want to tell him, and the worse thing he could think of was that she was gay and he had no chance at all. It was almost like being back in junior high school and coping with his first crush all over again; the feelings of uncertainty and doubt with elation and joy thrown into the emotional maelstrom. He swallowed hard and waited for her to continue.

“You already know that I was once with the United Nations. I worked as an investigator with others to document crimes against Human Rights. Myhusband and I both were investigators. Most of our work was being in the Middle East and in Africa, but we were also sent to Asia and once to the Baltic. It seems that those places are always having wars. So much hate and anger…”

She sighed again before continuing.

“It was to the disputed region between Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia…another place that has seen too much of war, that our team was assigned. There were stories of entire towns that had been attacked and burned with horrible things done to men and women and children that my husband and I were ordered to see if they were true.

“For twenty years the two countries have committed crimes against the other, but it is always the people that suffer so. But this was the job that Aleksi and I chose to do, to try and make the world a better place, but I see now that will never happen. We thought we could help make the world safe and happy.

“We…we found the town that had been attacked. Richard…it was so horrible. There were homes that had been set to fire…the families shot by guns as they tried to escape the flames…”

Richard shuddered at the horror in her voice from the event and put a paw on her shoulder to try and comfort her. Sofiya patted his fingers in gratitude before resuming her tale.

“I will never forget the smell as I stepped through the wreckage. I had been through that village before. Houses of white with dark wood, now all of it black and burned. I found a family in front of their house…holding onto each other in the end, but they looked like blackened bits of wood that were only in the shape of humans. There were two larger ones holding three little bodies…each one even tinier than the last, the walls behind them filled with bullet holes.

“The team had just began to take pictures of it all, both photographs and video to show our superiors when men came rushing from the woods all around the village. We tried to run to our trucks, each one, and even ourselves clearly belonging to the United Nations. The men did not care. They…they began shooting. I watched two of my friends fall…I did not need to look closer to know that they were dead.

“I ran to the woods with my Aleksi and one other, our friend Mikail. We fell to the ground when the shooting began, crawling through the ash and mud and…things I do not wish to think about. We went under the trucks and made it to the woods. Until I heard the sound of a single gun. When I turned to look back, I saw my Aleksi lying on the ground.”

Sofiya paused in the telling of her story to wipe at both eyes.

“He only glanced my way once to make sure that I was away safe. The men…the men, they did not even ask any questions or try to use him for gain. As I lay under a thorn bush, one walked up a-and put his gun to Aleksi’s head and pulled the trigger. I had to bite my hand so I would not scream, my own teeth drawing blood.

“We hid as the bodies of our friends…of my beloved husband were searched for anything of value. They did the same to the trucks. It did not take them long to be done with things. They must not have seen Mikail and I escape because they did not look for us.

“When it got dark, I helped Mikail stand as he had a bullet wound to his leg and though he could walk, it was not very well.” The vixen looked up at the other Fur, her pupils dilated to their fullest as she recalled the events. “We left that village to find help…and my entire world lay dead in the street…shot like an unwanted dog. I really didn’t care if the men came back and killed me, too. The only reason I went on was to find help for Mikail. He had just learned of the birth of his first child. For some reason that seemed to be the most important thing in life at that moment, I knew I had to get Mikail safe so he could one day see his new son.

“It was near morning when field workers found us on the road. We had almost made it to the little hilltop place where a UN force was. I begged them to take my friend to get help. His leg was bleeding very badly and I was afraid that if he lost anymore blood he would die. They agreed to help…for a price.”

Richard immediately knew what she meant and breathed a soft, “No.”

The vixen nodded. “There were six of them. I… but I did not care at that moment. My body was a negligible price. They had their way, then took us most of the way to the outpost, the others still using me as we traveled.

“After that, I did not care about anything anymore. I no longer cared if people killed each other, or what happened. This planet could have burned, too, for all it meant to me. I still do not care about most people. I am a Fur now. I will worry about the others like me, the friends I have made, and let the others take care of themselves. That is why I joined the AHCP. So that I could leave this planet for another one, to find a world where there is no war.

“My last reason for caring about anything on this planet has been taken from me.”

Sofiya rolled to a sitting position, putting distance between her and the silver fox. “I…I am not proud of what I did. It was necessary to save the life of another. Since then I have never let another man touch me in that way and the last man that I have ever kissed was my husband on the day that he was murdered. I promised myself that no other man would ever be with me unless he could win my heart, but he would also have to know of the things that I have gone through, of the things that I have done, and accept that as well. I will not lie or hide what has happened to me. I also know that you must be disgusted, that you see me as little more than apoviya…a who-”

Richard put the finger of his hand to her mouth to prevent her from finishing the word and shook his head. “I don’t think that at all.” He ran a hand through his black head hair and shook his head again before regarding her with a smile. “It does explain a lot, though. Why you are the way you are and try to help so many of the other Vulps.”

“But…I…I amzemlya…soiled! No one can want me! Not like that!”

“That doesn’t make you any less of a person,” the silver fox said as he moved closer to her. “It shows that you will do what’s necessary to protect another. It shows that you can think of more than just yourself. And it shows me why Aleksi was in love with you.”

“But I am-”

“A victim. You did what you had to, to survive and to protect another and get him the help he needed. I think you’re one of the strongest people that I have ever known, Sofiya. And one of the bravest. I know why you were chosen to lead us on Bastien.”

Richard looked at her and within him a silent war raged, so many emotions that he had trouble sorting out one from the other. He felt anger at what had been done to her and his heart broke at everything the little vixen had endured. Protective feelings welled within him, and at the same time he knew that he had to show restraint.

Tell her! one part of him screamed. He resolutely turned from that, though. It was too soon and she needed time to mourn, to gain her mental and emotional equilibrium. Looking at her, gazing into her yellow-green eyes, he knew that she was waiting for him to say what he wanted as well.

Before he gave into a moment of weak selfishness, Richard stood and took her hand, pulling her to her feet and led her to her room. With his free hand he pulled the covers on her bed down and nodded to the clean sheets. “C’mon. You’ve been through enough for one day. It’s time to get some sleep.”

“But-”

He smiled warmly. “Nobuts. We’ll have time to talk again later. I promise.”

Sofiya slid up onto the mattress, moving far enough over so that there was room for the silver fox. When all he did was pull the blankets up over her and under her chin she looked at Richard with disbelief. He didn’t even attempt to give her a kiss, the only form of affectionate contact was the brushing of her still human head hair back before withdrawing and exiting the room and shutting the door after turning off the light.

“Ya tebe liubliu, Richard,” she whispered as a single tear rolled from her eye. “I love you…”

CHAPTER 9

"Carry On"

Returning to the American Furmankind Institute was done by commercial air carrier, and while Sofiya and Richard sat in First Class, it didn’t prevent the other passengers of the plane from staring at the two Furs, or the pointing of fingers and whispering. Even though they spoke, were polite, many of the other people, the flight attendants included, were a little too intimidated to approach closely to the anthrofoxes unless they absolutely had to.

This wasn’t as upsetting to the vixen as it could have been and the little red fox was somewhat relieved by the lack of intrusion. It was difficult enough dealing with the loss of her father. The four days that had passed since the man succumbed to the series of strokes he’d suffered resulting from blood clots that had formed around the amputation site of his left leg, had given her the time to overcome the immediate shock. She doubted that she would have fared as well as she had without the individual next to her.

It seemed that ever since Sofiya had come to the Adirondack Institute that she’d been depending on the silver fox male, Richard. From overseeing preparations to the quarters for the Stockholm Furs, then the others from Toyohashi and Buenos Aires and getting the disparate individuals acquainted, he’d been there for her. When she doubted her own abilities, Richard had bolstered her with his faith in her.

In retrospect, doing all of this without the other Vulps would have been very difficult at best, though she felt it would have been impossible without the stalwart Fur.

Sofiya could let her guard down around the American. She didn’t have to always be the colony leader and was allowed to be herself, express her doubts and voice her hopes. Richard placed no expectations on her to always have the right answers to problems, nor did he jump in to solve her problems for her, content and confident in her abilities to handle difficulties that might arise.

Richard treated her as a complete equal.

And then there was the moment when Sofiya had finally admitted her feelings about the male.

She’d been terrified at first, reluctant to give in to the attraction she felt. Sofiya was still too used to men, even the ones that were furry and no longer fully human, that felt females were delicate and should be protected. Even Aleksandr had acted that way to a degree. It was understandable as she had felt the same way about her husband, wanting to shield him from things. But Richard was not only willing to let her face her own trials, hetrusted her to be intelligent enough to ask for help when a problem was too great for just her, and that there was no shame in seeking that aid, but until she did, he would support her, but he wouldn’t fight her battles for her.

He’d summed up his view just as they boarded the plane. “We’re part fox now,” the American had said. “You don’t see any battle of the sexes when it comes to males and females working to bring down game or defending their range or den. They work as equals. And you know what? I’m okay with that.”

Richard had held off telling her the extent of his feelings until just a few short hours ago prior to boarding the plane that would carry them back to New York. When she’d asked him why he’d waited, the reason was the most sound, most sincere, that she’d ever heard. He had wanted her to deal with the shock of her father’s death, to mourn before adding to her already taxed emotional burden. As Nikoli had told her, Richard was a good man.

Her father had been right.

Again.

“You have a new life now, my Sofiya,”Poppa had said from the hospital bed. Despite the numerous little strokes he’d suffered with the final one that had been physically devastating and eventually killed him, he’d been very passionate when he spoke to her.“Go to your new world and leave all of the pain that you have suffered on this one behind. That young one behind you…he loves you, my child. I can see it in his eyes and the way that he fights to keep from reaching for you with every tear that falls. Take the opportunity that you have been given and find a better life than this one with him, and if you cannot find it, build it! Raise your children on your new world better than we have raised ours here on this one and avoid our mistakes. All I ask in return is that you plant roses for your mother and me when you get there to remember us.” He’d grasped her hand with such strength then.“And Sofiya…remember that I will always love you…my daughter.”

Those had been his last words he’d spoken to her.

It had prompted Sofiya’s tale of what had led her to the Anthro Human Colonization Project in the first place. What had amazed the vixen was that Richard hadn’t rejected her after the confession.

Now they were on the way back to their friends, the Atlantic Ocean beneath them, and Richard’s paw-like hand entwined with hers. Even though she was still grieving over the death of her father, the future lay ahead of her and she had a partner that she could face it with. Their entire relationship was built on a foundation of trust and respect.

And love. Oh, yes. There was most certainly love.

Together they would carry on and soon go and create that world her Poppa had mentioned and dreamed of for her.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a small child with flossy white-blond hair that had a tiny green ribbon in it and large blue eyes appearing next to the arm of her seat, a delighted smile making her pink cheeks puff out.

“Doggie!” the little girl enthused and stood on tip-toes to reach a hand out and pet Sofiya’s arm.

Despite the lingering ache in her heart, the vixen couldn’t help but smile at the child. “No,” she said softly. “I am a fox.”

“Foxxie!” the girl crooned loudly with a giggle

“Yes. That is correct,” Sofiya encouraged.

Emboldened by the friendly response, the little girl made her way to the Fur’s knees and climbed up. The process was aided by convenient handfuls of Sofiya’s leg fur and eventually her clothing. Once on the red fox’s lap she promptly sat down and grabbed one of Sofiya’s hands, holding onto her thumb while running her hand over the smooth fur where it turned black.

Several other passengers had heard the commotion and watched the interaction. At first there were wide-eyed looks of fear, wondering if the strange creature, no matter what they’d heard about Furs from the news, would gobble the little girl up. At the female Fur’s response, taut expressions softened, and not a single passenger in the first class section could look away as anthrovixen and child treated each other tenderly, the little girl awed with her wonderful new friend, the red fox with gentle patience and delight.

The child’s mother appeared at the divider between the first class and business sections, though one of the flight attendants stopped her and put a finger to his smiling lips before pointing out where the little girl sat with the furman female. The woman’s first impression was that a situation was about to unfold and her daughter was in mortal danger. Then as she did a double take, she realized her baby wasn’t in danger at all. If anything she was giggling as first one Fur and then the other would playfully flick their tail at the little girl’s neck, tickling her and getting a high, pure laugh in return. Never one to really believe that Furs were as benevolent as many of the news stories and magazine articles had claimed, the woman watched. While she didn’t feel anything physical, her perception shifted on her entire outlook on the world, as did those of many of the other passengers from the chance encounter.

The child finally figured out what was happening and with surprising speed reasoned out who was going to gently tickle her and wound up catching both of the Furs’ tails in her arms and buried her face in the soft, luxurious brushes of white tipped copper and ebony with unabashed delight.

The woman walked up to where the two Furs were entertaining their unexpected visitor, a smile of wonder that matched the one on her child’s face. “I hope Abby hasn’t been too much of a bother,” she said in a clear English accent as the little girl let go of the two tails and caught the vixen in a hug, laughing again as a cold nose was pressed into the skin of her neck.

“She is a delightful little girl!” Sofiya replied happily, careful to keep her teeth from showing overly much. The vixen carefully passed the girl back to her mother. “You should be very proud of her.”

“I am,” the woman said, her head inclining in gratitude for the compliment. “We’ll leave you to enjoy your flight, but I hope you won’t be too upset if she finds her way back to you again.”

“Not at all,” Richard informed the woman, also smiling. “Maybe one day we can have a daughter just as lovely.” He added a wink and grin when Sofiya’s head whipped around to regard the silver fox.

“I’m sure you will,” the woman said with another genuine smile before turning back to the seats she and her daughter had, the child waving energetically.

“And there’s a person that will never again see us as beasts or monsters ever again,” Richard said as he leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. Without looking, he unerringly found Sofiya’s paw-like hand and gave it a squeeze before lifting to his muzzle and brushing his thin, vulpine lips across the furred knuckles.

“Did you mean what you said about a daughter of our own?” Sofiya asked after several long moments.

The silver fox cracked an eye open and looked at the vixen. “Yes. But only if you agree.”

Sofiya reclined her seat back and also closed her eyes, still holding onto Richard’s paw and sighed. “I do not think we shall stop at just one. I think six would be sufficient.”

“And if we have a son, we’ll name him Nikoli,” Richard commented without stirring, though there was no hiding the smile when Sofiya kissed him softly.

***

Marcelo was waiting at the gate to the complex grounds with his cart as Martin pulled up in the passenger van that the Institute had been approved to purchase that summer and tried to put on a warm and inviting expression as the facility guard got out and helped the two Furs out, handing them their small travel bags with a small smile and nod.

The Vulps looked a little rumpled and drawn, but their demeanor, especially Sofiya’s, didn’t look as if they were debilitated by their grief.

Of course, the Director noticed that the two were holding hands and were a little more friendly and warm with each other than before they left.

“Sofiya, I wish there was something I could say that would help,” Marcelo began, “just know that you have my condolences. If there’s anything I can possibly do, please let me know.”

The vixen smiled wanly and unashamedly touched the man on his upper arm with gratitude. “Thank you, Marcelo. It is most appreciated and you are being a good friend. To be truthful, I am simply looking to getting a full night of sleep.”

Marcelo nodded and took Richard’s hand in greeting. “I thought that might be case. I’ve had the cafeteria drop some dishes off in both your rooms for you.” His expression became slightly mischievous. “Though I think I could have had them delivered to just one.”

Sofiya only smiled while Richard looked slightly guilty. “Um…well…” the silver fox stammered.

“Richard, you’re an adult. I think we can trust the two of you to approach this maturely, don’t you?” Marcelo asked. “Put your bags in the cart. I’ll drop you off. And I don’t want to see either of you working until tomorrow. Agreed?”

“I will certainly not argue,” Sofiya replied.

“It’s been a long week,” the silver fox concurred.

“Though after we have recovered, it will be good to return to training for the mission.” The vixen put her bag in the very back and grabbed the canopy bar to swing herself onto the back seat.

Once at the Educational Wing building, Sofiya went to her room while Richard headed to his, a promise to return in a few minutes once he had his travel bag situated and grabbed the food that Marcelo had delivered so they could eat together. The vixen was unprepared for what waited for her, though.

When the silver fox knocked lightly before opening the door, he found her sitting in the middle of the room crying. A quick look around told him why as every available flat surface that could hold a vase, bowl or pitcher was covered with something that contained flowers, some purchased while others had been handpicked, and cards from the rest of the Vulps contingent and no few of the Institute staff.

Richard had to settle for putting his tray on a chair as there was no other space available and sat down next to the vixen, his arms wrapping around her as he pulled her close. “I think you were missed,” he said with a smile and rested his head against hers.

CHAPTER 10

"What's In a Name?"

Throwing themselves back into their training regimen, Sofiya and Richard hardly noticed the passage of time and before either knew it New Year’s had come and found the Furs throwing a small party before returning to their preparations. More and more time was spent outside instead of the classroom to practice in harsh conditions following with Sofiya’s philosophy of hard training made for better preparations. The routine had also enabled the vixen to get the time needed to cope with her loss, and while it didn’t abate the pain, it did lessen it. This was countered by her growing relationship with the American.

With Richard’s help she’d set up a small navigation course in the woods within the Institute perimeter fence and different points where the four teams of seven Furs would figure out their way, then perform a specific field exercise at the established waypoints. Each point was designed to test the different Vulps’ knowledge of standard equipment such as chemical testing kits for plant, animal and mineral matter, documentation of flora and fauna, and a multiple choice academic test with the entire course being used to test land navigation.

Because they were also evaluating the different teams, Sofiya and Richard were in separate groups, and were to be treated as any other Fur for the duration of the exercise. The team that had the best time, most accurate readings and answers would be getting a pass to go into Saranac Lake for a night at the cinema. So there would be impartial judges, two of Richard’s friends from the Canis Wing had been approached and offered the positions of referees for the exercise. Paul Olsen and Tricia Kramer, both having chosen grey wolves, called the teams out of the cafeteria to run the course and would time them. The catch being there were four different courses to prevent the teams from following the tracks of the others.

The other two Canis Wing members, Mandy Helfers and Lance Fleming, the former having also selected a grey wolf and the latter a Siberian husky and one of the Felis Wing members, a snow leopard Fur, Candace Marsden, would play the role of ‘alien animals’ for the teams to document.

Because of the challenge of the course, Marcelo and a few of the instructors were also observing. If it went well, there had been talk of submitting the idea to headquarters to implement it as a standard training practice. The Director had already asked for, and gotten permission, to use Sofiya’s reward system of simple treats like lunch out, having discovered early on that it motivated the Vulps to try harder to succeed in their training.

The Ukrainian red fox went out with the first team so she could log their progress and then watch the others. Leading the effort, the choice for team leaders having been randomized by a sort of lottery that had different colored scraps of paper mixed in with white and put into a waste basket so everyone had to blindly draw a piece, was a young Asian red fox from the Toyohashi Institute, Kizu Ananori.

Kizu had been a nurse in the city of Nagoya. At twenty four, she wasn’t the youngest of the Toyohashi Furs, but Sofiya wanted her to get more hands on experience in areas besides the medical field, having plans of setting up two survey teams and wanted one medically trained individual with each. Kizu didn’t disappoint, either, studying as much information as she could get her hands on and taking Sofiya’s recommendation for courses.

Team One had a final time of one hour and sixteen minutes, and considering that it was a multi-phase course, Sofiya was extremely pleased.

As the different teams went out and came back, the others that weren’t on the exercise sat in the cafeteria sipping hot drinks of hot cocoa, tea and hot spiced cider, the popularity of the beverages going up as individuals came in from the cold. It would have been worse had they not all had their winter undercoats come in several weeks before.

Sofiya was going over the results from the first two teams when Kizu approached and set a cup of cocoa down in front of the Ukrainian Fur. The Japanese vixen differed from most as the only part of her coloration that was black was her hair that had grown back in thick and glossy after the completion of her transformation while her coat was russet with a splash of creamy white over her front. She smiled warmly as she sat down and engaged in idle conversation until the next team came in and the other vixen waited for the results from the observers and referees.

“So far you are having the best time, Kizu,” Sofiya told the Japanese Fur with a warm smile. “You did very well.”

“I was very nervous,” Kizu confided. “I don’t know how you can so calmly accept the responsibility of being the colony leader.”

The Stockholm Vulps chuckled. “It is much like I told Myao Shin the other day. I have others that know their responsibilities that I trust. All of you have worked very hard to learn everything that has been given to you, and I am very proud of all that each has accomplished. I know that it is frightening to be going to a planet that so many others have died on, but I truly believe that we will be very successful.”

“As do I,” Marcelo said as he joined the duo, unzipping his parka with a cup of hot cider in his hand. “I believe that this course of yours is going to be implemented as standard training. Even if it isn’t approved by headquarters, I have certain flexibility as the Director and think I’d like to use this as part of the regular field training program.”

“If it helps, it is good to use,” Sofiya agreed. “I do not anticipate serious hardships on Bastien, but it is good to be as prepared as possible.”

“I’m hoping that you’re right, though I agree with the need to be prepared,” Marcelo told the Stockholm vixen. “As it is, you have another task that’s somewhat important.”

“Oh? I have not forgotten something, have I?”

The man chuckled and ran a finger over his Van Dyke beard to straighten it. “Well, it’s something of necessity. You’re going to need to come up with a name for your colony. You could go with the original name that the Bastien site was given of Aquenvsvsi, the Cherokee word for Home, but you’re forming what’s essentially a new colony, and maybe a name change would be fitting. A clean slate, if you will.”

“I must come up with this name?” Sofiya asked a little overwhelmed by the thought of yet more on her shoulders as the Director sat down after removing his parka.

“Well, the last colony to go out was the entirety of Classes 15 and 16 from here, and as they were sent to Bonestell, where the previous colony group of humans never landed, they took a vote and came up with the name Second Chance. Maybe not the most conventional of names, but it was rather fitting. Perhaps in more ways than you will ever know,” Marcelo said, briefly thinking of one particular individual. “As a reward, the winning entry earned the one that submitted it a twenty four hour pass. I don’t think Avon, the Fur that won the contest, had that good of a time, but he did at least get to spend time off of Institute grounds.”

Sofiya contemplated the suggestion. “I think that is an excellent idea! I will see to it that an announcement is sent to all the Vulps to participate in. Do you have a suggestion for reward as well?”

“Now that you mention it, thereis a special reward…” the Director said, grinning widely, making the two vixens wonder what the man was up to.

***

Offering a chance for a twenty four hour pass as reward the same as Marcelo had done with the two previous Classes that had gone on to form the colony of Second Chance set the collected Vulps buzzing with excitement. What was different this time was that the pass would be spent in New York City with the one whose submission was selected appearing with one other on the Andy Skarbek late night talk show. There wasn’t a single member of the Vulps contingent who weren’t a little stunned at this bit of news. The winner and his or her companion would be staying at the Pinnacle, one of the most modern four star hotels in the world as guests of the TV network. The agreement to have Furs appear on the show was part of the Anthro Human Colonization Program’s most recent publicity campaign.

The submission period was four days starting on Monday, ending on Thursday, with the winner being voted on by all of them on Friday. The winner would then go on their pass the following week from Monday to Tuesday with the other two Vulps.

Friday night and the announcement of the winning name came, much to the excitement of the Vulps. The final tally of the votes named Maria Paccini the winner by a three quarter margin for her submission of the name Abeona.

It was no surprise that the former librarian was also a history buff, and had explained along with her submission what the name meant. According to Roman mythology, Abeona was the goddess that watched over children the first time they left home. Even though she and her fellow Vulps were going to attempt another colony on a planet that’d had a settlement on it for four years, for all ofthem, it was their first time off the world of their birth. Maria then went on to explain that she hoped the name would bring them more luck than the unfortunate Felis colonists.

The news about the TV show had been a shock, though, especially to Sofiya and Richard who sat in the silver fox’s room watching the man’s program to get an idea what their friend might be in for. Andy Skarbek had been a comedian before landing his nightly program almost two decades before, and was best known for his acerbic wit when it came to political humor. While he was more than willing to make fun of fools, they couldn’t fault him his fairness in dealing with guests, or avoiding certain topics that could be construed as uncomfortable, and he even mentioned that he would have a few individuals of Furmankind on his Monday night show as the two foxes watched.

“I am not sure what to be thinking of this,” Sofiya said with her stomach twitching in nervousness at the thought of two of their number appearing on television.

Richard gave the vixen a little squeeze where she leaned against his chest, his arms holding her to him and nuzzled the point just behind her jaw where both had discovered they had sebaceous scent glands, like in a mundane fox, and allowed them to scent mark each other. That contact of that nature had the added benefit of being as exciting and satisfying as kissing. Both saw it as simply an added benefit of their new bodies and essentially being a new species.

Before the silver fox could actually say anything in reply, enjoying Sofiya’s reaction to his display of affection, there was a sharp knock on the door to the room that they had been all but sharing since returning to the Institute.

“Come in!” Richard called, wondering if the two of them could ever get a little uninterrupted snuggle time and had half joked about installing a glass door as often as they were interrupted.

One of Sofiya’s housemates from Stockholm came in, a bundle of sewing notions under her arm and a somewhat frantic look in her eyes. “Thank goodness you’re both here!” Siobhan Hanlon said as she saw the other two Vulps in the room. She seemed rather pleased with herself. “I need your opinions on how Maria and Daniel look.”

“What do you mean?” Sofiya inquired, hiding her own irritation at the intrusion.

“One of the fellas from this Institute’s Class 16 left a few things behind when they headed out to Bonestell, and one of the Felis found them and gave them to me to help out. Maria’s I had to take care of on my own and make from scratch.” The vixen poked her head back into the hallway then made way for the two Vulps that entered the room.

Using the same type of fabric that their standard clothes were made from to alter some of the items that were available for Furs, Siobhan had fashioned an attractive skirt and blouse combination for Maria. The skirt was a dark brown with the blouse a golden yellow that went well with her sandy tan, light brown and cream colored fur. The former librarian looked as if the new clothing was helping her feel a little more confident about herself, though Sofiya had to wonder how much of that was the clothing, and how much stemmed from her recent pairing up with the American that was going with her.

Daniel was dressed in jeans of all things. The rest of his clothing was a light button down shirt in slate with a black corduroy jacket complete with suede elbows and accents over that. While the AHCP certainly didn’t make jackets for Furs, whatever Siobhan had done to make it fit over Daniel’s frame better was so well done that neither Sofiya nor Richard could tell it hadn’t been tailored from the start.

“You two look excellent!” the Ukrainian Fur exclaimed with a wide smile. “I never thought to see one of us in blue jeans ever again, and that skirt is wonderful. You may have to make one for me!”

Richard nodded, his expression indicating his was rather impressed. “I remember the guy that had the jeans made. It was just about the only thing he wore unless he was out running. Mountain lion that went off to Bonestell. I never got a chance to meet him. Did you have to do a lot to them?”

Siobhan shook her head. “The legs were a little long and I had to take in the waist a bit, which was about it.” She turned and looked at the pair. “Think this’ll work for when they’re on the telly?”

“I think they look wonderful,” Sofiya said with a smile.

“At least the jacket still fits,” Daniel told them. “I wasn’t the biggest guy before all of this. About the only thing Siobhan had to do was put a cut in the back for my tail.” The grey fox couldn’t help but wag said appendage when he looked at the fennec.

The pairing hadn’t surprised Sofiya. Knowing her friend’s penchant for books it seemed as if it was only a matter of time before she gravitated to the former biology professor. They were certainly the grey matter when it came to helping the rest of the contingent learn about the wildlife that the Bastien Felis colonists had been able to document. Of course, Daniel was thrilled with the little vixen as he hadn’t been what one would have considered popular with the ladies prior to joining the AHCP and found almost any reason to dote on the Italian Fur. The pair had turned into Sofiya’s go-to individuals for advice on the fauna of their soon-to-be home.

“I am glad that it was you that won the little contest,” the Ukrainian vixen said with a smile. “I think you will charm the audience as no one else could! This should be quite the enjoyable outing for both of you.”

Maria shrugged. “Ask me that again after we do the show. If I don’t throw up in front of the camera, I might answer yes to that.”

CHAPTER 11

"Spotlight"

Every Fur at the Adirondack Institute, even those from different Wings, sat in the auditorium as the broadcast of the Andy Skarbek Show was piped through on the large smart screen. The Vulps were spread out amongst the friends from other types of Furs as they all wanted to see how well the two foxes did. There had been talk of appearances possibly becoming a regular occurrence if tonight went well, and even the other facilities working in conjunction with different variety shows where they were.

Sodas had been passed out and bowls of popcorn and other snacks were passed around, the general air of the group positive and upbeat. Maria hadn’t failed to charm anyone that she met, and nearly everyone had found the little fennec female an absolute dear while Daniel had increased his popularity by helping anyone that needed it with the academic portion of their training. Each of the Furs was sure that the appearance of the two Vulps could have a very positive effect on the overall view of the Furmankind program.

“I am hoping that this goes well,” Sofiya told Richard quietly where the two of them sat, their hands clasped as they leaned against each other. The red fox chuckled. “Maria is the one that will be on camera, butI am the one feeling nerves!”

“That makes two of us,” the silver fox admitted. “I think we might be underestimating Maria and Daniel, though. They sure don’t have a problem getting up in front of the rest of us to help the instructors. I’m thinking they’ll do better than I could hope to do.”

Before Sofiya could reply, the opening theme song for Andy Skarbek started and the screen came to life with a video montage of different parts of New York City. The montage cut away to a moving shot of the show’s in house band that fused a combination of rock, jazz and classic rock. The camera continued past the band to the blue curtains that backed the stage where the shimmering bolts of cloth parted to reveal the host of the show standing in the middle. The audience began clapping wildly and Andy bowed slightly in appreciation before another camera panned over the crowd.

“There must be five hundred people there!” Sofiya exclaimed in surprise.

“Well, Skarbek is the most popular late night show host in the country,” Richard told the vixen. “Apart from his stand up routine, he’s pretty well known for lambasting politicians, and for us Americans that never gets old! We like someone that has the brass to tell a congressman, governor or even President he’s being an absolute ass-a-lope.”

“Good evening! How’s everyone tonight?” Skarbek asked his audience to which he was answered with even more applause and cheering.“I’m going to take that as a good sign!”

The Furs and no few of the staff of the Adirondack Furmankind Institute watched with quiet interest as the show host recapped some of the more notable news blurbs and added his own comedic twist with a bit of ad lib commentary for a few minutes. When he was done, Andy put his hands in his pockets and smiled.

“Tonight’s show should be rather entertaining. Fresh from the set of the sequel to Paris on Fire is actress Chelsea Moore!” The audience began cheering again, the young woman being very popular with the eighteen to twenty five year olds for her girl-next-door looks and penchant for doing films that enabled her to show the most skin.“I thought some of you would like that. Our guest band isWide Open Throttle!” Again the audience voiced its pleasure.

The man’s expression grew a little more serious as he looked squarely at the camera.“But first, something that has never happened apart from recorded news interviews. Since its beginning, the entire program has been met with either rousing support or violent opposition from equally passionate sides. Whether you agree or disagree, there’s no denying that the Anthro Human Colonization Program has had substantial impact on the exploration of far off planets.

“By altering the volunteers through genetic manipulation and giving them the traits of some of the most successful predators of our world, these brave men and women are made better suited to the harsh and sometimes hostile environments they may encounter.

“Tonight, for the first time ever, we have two individuals that belong to the mission that will be leaving later this year to take over the Bastien colony that was lost a year and a half ago.”

Before Andy Skarbek could continue, the audience did something that caught the host off guard, even causing the man’s mouth to fall open in surprise. A reaction hat was mirrored in the auditorium of the Clark Savage building by the Furs and human staff.

Causing static over the audio pickups, it seemed as if the entire crowd exploded in raucous applause and cheering, whistling and screaming. As cameras panned over the throng, only a few people could be seen leaving. The rest of the crowd was thrilled and as the band was signaled to cut into a quick musical score prior to commercial, even the wailing of the guitarist’s electric six string was drowned out.

“I didn’t expectthat!” Richard said as he overcame his shock, Sofiya agreeing silently, but fervently, with him.

***

Sofiya knocked politely on the door frame leading to Marcelo Delgado’s office and waited politely for the man to look up. “Come on in,” he said and gestured to one of the two chairs facing his desk before turning back to the computer screen. He tapped a button and spun his chair a few degrees to face her, a wide smile on his face. “So, what did you think of the show?”

The red fox nodded with her own smile. “Maria and Daniel did very well. Despite the insults the young woman threw at them. I am very proud of how they dealt with the situation.”

“You and I both. It seems Miss Moore’s prejudice against Furs has caused a substantial decline in her popularity after that little incident. Pity. I rather likedParis on Fire, too,” Marcelo quipped. “And it seems that Ásmundr is also very pleased with the way the broadcast went.”

“This is good,” the Fur replied.

The Director chuckled lightly. “Possibly. It depends on your perspective.” He paused long enough to see the slightly perplexed look Sofiya gave him before continuing. “As it goes, Ásmundr was so pleased that he’s done something that has never happened before. Andy Skarbek isn’t the only one of his family that has a popular show. His sister, Victoria, has a televised daytime news magazine. While it tends to be oriented towards women, it has a substantial enough following that Victoria has almost as much sway as her brother.

“There’s also the press campaign that the AHCP is presently engaged in. Anything that can be done to shed a more positive light on the program is being considered by headquarters. With Maria and Daniel’s shining success on Andy’s late night show, the board of directors has granted permission for Victoria Skarbek to come here with a camera crew and document the rest of the training that you and the other Abeona colonists are going to be going through.

“This means that she’ll be doing interviews, sitting in on classroom time, and even looking in on how the graduated Furs live and train. There’ll be some access, albeit limited, to the volunteers that are still in the process of transformation as well. Many places, such as the labs, will be completely off limits, and we’ll be posting guards in the Wings to guarantee this is enforced.”

“Why do I feel as if there is more to this than having journalists poking their noses into things?” the vixen asked with a sinking feeling.

Marcelo snorted. “I did say that her news program was female-centric. You, being the colony leader for Abeona andfemale, are of particular interest to her. Her stories tend to be about extraordinary women, and you fit perfectly into the kind of material that Victoria likes to focus on. Starting next week, and for the next few weeks following, you are very much going to be in the spotlight.”

CHAPTER 12

"Tails and Shadows"

Waiting at the front gate as the pair of vans containing Victoria Skarbek and her camera crews pulled into the parking area were Sofiya, Marcelo, the Vulps wing physician Maria Ramirez and Maria Paccini, the fennec having been brought along as she was still the subject of conversation in several circles.

Despite being overcast, Marcelo squinted against the glare from the fresh snow that had fallen that weekend. “Once we get our preliminary greeting over they can go ahead and get set up in guest cabins three and four. Would you see to that, Maria?”

Both the human woman and fennec Fur looked to the Director. “Which Maria?” they both asked simultaneously before looking at each other and laughing.

“You know, there are times that I don’t think I think things all the way through,” Marcelo lamented. “Doctor Maria, you are here as a courtesy greeter.Fennec Maria, would you show them to the cabins, please,” the man said, trying hard to keep a straight face and failing as he began to grin widely. “Maybe I should just give the two of you numbers. That might make it easier.”

“But not nearly as much fun for us,” Doctor Ramirez commented wryly just before the passenger door of the lead vehicle opened.

Dressed in clothing that would have looked at home on the slopes of a posh and trendy ski resort, Victoria Skarbek slid out of the van, her designer boots making muffled crunching noises in the fresh snow as she approached the gate that one of the guards opened for her.

“Welcome to the North American Branch, Adirondack Institute of the Anthro Human Colonization Program, Miss Skarbek. I’m Doctor Marcelo Delgado, the Director here.”

The woman accepted the hand that was extended to her, giving what Sofiya felt to be a patently false smile.

“Please, I’d really rather I were addressed as Victoria,” the woman said with the hint of a Bostonian accent. As she let go of Marcelo’s hand her eyes roved over the other females. “And everybody knows Miss Paccini from my brother’s show,” she said in a dry voice, the slightest hint of distaste on the word ‘brother’. “You are quite the celebrity, Maria.”

“Thank you,” the fennec replied, huddling in her furman parka, not at all comfortable in the cold despite her rich fur coat.

“May I introduce Doctor Maria Ramirez, the physician in charge of overseeing the transformations and wellbeing of the volunteers for the Vulps Wing,” Marcelo said with a gesture to the dark haired woman at his side.

“Quite the pleasure, Doctor,” Victoria informed the other woman.

“Just Maria, please,” she informed the journalist. “Here at the Institute we’ve found it’s far more comfortable to simply use first names.”

“Of course, Maria.”

“And this is Sofiya Talova, the colony leader for the upcoming Bastien mission,” Marcelo said as the red fox stepped forward.

Victoria’s eyes seemed to light up, and the smile that split her lipsticked mouth was almost predatory, like a shark that has detected wounded prey. “Most certainly a young lady I want to meet!” the reporter enthused. “I will definitely want to be sitting down with you more than once to talk.”

“I am at your disposal, madam,” Sofiya responded, trying to keep her hackles from rising at the other female’s touch.

***

“Bloody hell,” Rupert Campbell, one of the males from Stockholm Class 18 swore as he tripped over a power line for the third time during the exercise as the camera crews that had accompanied Victoria Skarbek moved the recharge point for their equipment for the fifth time and failed to properly cover or even mark where the cables lay in the snow. He deposited the pine boughs he’d been half carrying, half dragging and knelt next to Richard and Sofiya with his tool bag. “How much longer are we going to have to put up with these blokes?”

“At least another week,” Sofia told the former mason from Bude in southern England, her voice sympathetic. She tried to ignore one of the camera operators that moved in to where the three were working on building an emergency shelter.

It was standard for all Furs to learn how to construct impromptu shelters in all sorts of weather with a variety of materials as there was always a chance of getting caught out in the elements while exploring a new world. The exercise for the day was not only setting up a shelter, but also learning how to get a fire going using only the materials that were immediately at hand. It was an extreme case scenario, but one that the red fox vixen wanted her people to know, believing that the more knowledge each colonist had, the more likely they would survive a potential incident with calm reasoning.

The cameraman leaned in a little too close to see how the three Furs were progressing on putting together a lean-to roof of interwoven branches of pine when he stepped on the British Fur’s tail and inadvertently ground it painfully into the snow under his cleated boot.

Rupert’s yowl of pain turned into a snarl of anger but before he could wheel around on the human that was just trying to do his job, Richard had a hold of the other Vulps and kept his reaction from getting out of hand.

“C’mon, Rup,” the silver fox told the other, almost dragging him away. “Looks like your lady has a fire going already. Maybe we can get her to heat up some tea.”

The other fox let himself be led away and Sofiya was grateful that Richard had been able to defuse the situation so quickly. She had to admit that after four days she was getting a little tired of the constant intrusions as well and had almost lashed out in anger when Victoria had barged in on her and the silver fox during an intimate moment. While nothing had really been going on, that was where things had been headed, and the vixen had been quite frustrated at the interruption.

“I-I’m sorry,” the cameraman said, realizing not for the first time that the Furs weren’t just people in funny animal costumes. They were both human and predator and, if provoked, quite capable of violent reactions.

“What is your name?” Sofiya asked the young man casually.

“I’m Rob,” the young man said as he shifted his camera.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Rob.” The red fox smiled. “You have to understand that we are under a great amount of pressure to learn as much as is possible in a very short time. Sometimes we, just like you and other people, let our anger get away from us. While we do not blame you for being here, to most of us it feels that we are performing for someone else’s amusement…like trained dogs or circus animals. It can be…frustrating.”

The young man nodded in understanding. He lowered the camera after switching it off and knelt on the snow and began to adjust it until Sofiya realized it was a sham. The human looked around surreptitiously to make sure there wasn’t anyone else from his crew around before looking down at the camera. “I need to warn you,” Rob began in a whisper as he opened the compartment for the battery. “Victoria has ordered us all to try and get either pictures or video footage that could be really embarrassing. She doesn’t really like the AHCP or Furs at all. Everything she’s doing, all the smiles and sucking up, it’s all a show. You guys need to be really careful.”

The red fox considered this, the information confirming her dislike of the woman. She then cast a curious glance sideways at the young man. “And why are you telling me of this? If found out, might this lose you your job?”

Rob smiled even as he continued to look at the camera and turned the battery over in his gloved hand. “I didn’t understand you guys at first,” he admitted. “I didn’t really get what all of this is about. But after seeing how hard all of you are working, and listening to some of the doctors talk about the pain that you’ve gone through and what the instructors are trying to teach and why, I really respect you all. You have a really tough job ahead of you.”

The human looked at the Fur and grinned while his cheeks turned red, and not from the cold.

“That and I’ve met a couple of you that I…um, kinda like.” He snapped the battery back into the camera and closed the compartment before doing an actual test of the recording device. “I think you are all some of the coolest people I’ve ever met.”

She watched as the youth cast a look at another small group of Furs that were working on a shelter and smiled knowingly. “Ah. I see who it is that you are liking,” Sofiya quipped with a spreading grin. “If you wish, as a way of thanking you for your warning, I can introduce you. Charlotte is a very good friend. We went through the process together.”

“You’d do that for me?”

Sofiya nodded, her grin growing even larger. “You are acting as a friend, and it is what friends do for each other. Tonight after supper would be the best time.”

Rob gave the Fur a look of surprise and gratitude. “I…I don’t know what to say…”

She laughed and nodded at the camera. “Do not worry. But it would be best to pick up the camera and to act as if nothing is wrong. One of the others, the older woman with the always unhappy face is coming this way.”

The young man finished tinkering with his equipment and stood, switching the unit on just as the production director neared.

“Problems Robert?” she asked angrily.

“No ma’am. Battery leads had a bit of dirt on them. We’re good to go, now.”

The woman scowled at the camera operator for several moments before turning the same look on the vixen before walking away to find someone else to make miserable.

“When you go to Bastien, maybe you can take her to feed to some alien monster,” the youth snorted. “Though you’d probably give it the worst case of indigestion ever!”

***

“Do you trust this young man?” Marcelo asked Sofiya, a furrow forming between his black brows.

The vixen nodded. “He was very sincere and did not give any of the indications that he was lying.”

“It would fit with some of the stuff that’s been going on,” Richard agreed. “I found one of her people, that Thomas guy, lurking around the Educational Wing when everyone else was out training or in the classrooms. He said he’d gotten lost, but if that’s the case, then I’m the President of the United States. After pointing out the exit, I followed him and caught him on the Felis floor. When he acted like he was getting ready to slip into Melanie’s room on the third floor I made sure he knew that I was watching him.”

“Then there are the cases of some of Victoria’s people visiting Furs at very…ahem,personal moments, all for a supposed interview,” Sofiya added. She reached into a pocket and pulled out a small rectangle. It was dark grey with a small circular screen of gold and a swatch of some sticky substance on the back. “And I found this in my room attached to the underneath of my table.”

Marcelo picked up the object, his expression one of surprise that rapidly turned to disbelief. Then he became angry. “A bug? You found a bug in your room?”

“As soon as I discovered it, it conveniently found itself in a cup of coffee,” the red fox said calmly. “Which was very much a pity. I was looking forward to that coffee as well.” Sofiya straightened her blue robe-like top. “As it goes, because this young man feels he is owing favors, and is becoming very fond of us, he will do what he can to ensure that no recordings that could be misconstrued or be shameful to both Vulps and the company last very long.”

Marcelo went silent for almost a full minute as he scrutinized the covert listening device.

“So, what are you planning on doing about this, chief?” Richard asked.

“To be honest, I don’t know. I’ll have to inform Stockholm, of course, but apart from that, I don’t know.” Marcelo put the bug on the desk and leaned back in his chair, rubbing at the bridge of his nose with a thumb and forefinger before fishing out a bottle of aspirin from his desk and shaking out a number of the capsules.

“I have a friend…” Richard said with a grin. “He’s kind of an electronics buff. Knows all sorts of neat things about radios, computers…bugs. He lives in Virginia and could be here in about eight hours.”

The Director eyed the silver fox suspiciously. “I’m listening. Go on.”

“Well, with a little time, he could sweep the entire Institute clear of anything that wasn’t supposed to be here. I mean, he’sreally good.” Richard gave the man across from him a feral grin, an expression Marcelo started to match. “Fuel up his truck, buy him a steak dinner and a beer, and he’ll be more than happy to come up and take care of things.”

“Is that all it would cost?”

“Jack’s the kind of guy that doesn’t really need money. He’d do this mostly just for the fun of it.”

“Well, it’s either that or I get law enforcement involved. I’d really rather not go that route if I can avoid it, though I don’t think I’ll have much choice.” Marcelo eyed the aspirin bottle again before dropping it back in his desk drawer. “Can he be discreet?”

Richard laughed. “Jack’s the soul of discretion.”

The Director nodded. “Call him.”

***

Jonathan ‘Jack’ Baines pulled up in the parking lot outside the Adirondack Institute just after sunrise the next morning. Waiting outside the gate, Richard grinned when he saw his old friend and called out as the man slid from the driver’s seat of his SUV. Despite the large size of the vehicle, the suspension groaned as Jack pried his heroically proportioned form out and looked around.

“It took you long enough. How many times did you stop for breakfast?” Richard asked as he drew near the man who even the guards were staring at with stunned expressions.

“Holy smokes!” the rotund man drawled in a thick southern voice that was booming even in what he considered a conversational tone. “Rick? Is that really you?”

The silver fox held out his arms and smiled widely. “I got a little fuzzier.”

Moving with astonishing speed for one so large, the newcomer rushed forward and picked up the anthrofox in a bear hug, laughing loudly. “Man! This is unreal! I can’t believe you went and did it! Your ol’ man has gotta be ticked off!”

“Put me down!” Richard wheezed. “You’re going to break my ribs!”

Jack set his friend down but didn’t let him go as he looked the Fur over with amazement. “I knew you were talking about doing this for a few years, but I never thought you’d actually go and doit!”

The smile fell from the silver fox’s face. “Well, I needed the change, you know?”

Likewise the human’s expression sobered. “Yeah. I can dig it.” Jack looked around and put his fists on his hips with a nod. “So this is where they do it? This is one of them Furmankind Institutes?”

“This is it,” Richard said.

“And you need an exterminator?”

“Yep. Bad bug problem.”

Jack snorted. “Ain’t found an infestation yet I couldn’t lick. Show me where to get a cup of Joe and we’ll go talk to this Marcie guy.”

“Marcelo,” the anthrofox said with a snort of laughter. “His name’s Marcelo, and I’ll show you the cafeteria. You’ll be able to get whatever you want while you’re here from there.” Richard gestured to the gate and the cart he had waiting.

“Hold on. Let me get my flipbook first.” As with his speed, the large man was also fairly agile and turned to the SUV to retrieve what looked like a normal business laptop, though like the Institute issued PBJ’s, there was more to the common computer than showed. “What are the hours on this cafeteria of yours? I need to know if I’ll have to stock up on snacks.”

“Open round the clock,” Richard answered with a grin.

“I love this place already.”

***

“So far there’s about twenty five or so of these little guys just from the cafeteria to here,” Jack informed Marcelo, Sofiya and Richard as they sat in the director’s office. Not even that room had been safe and upon entering the man had found three different listening devices which now resided in a pitcher of water at the sideboard. Jack took another bite of a bread roll stuffed with bacon, cheese and mayonnaise. “It’s not like they’re expensive or anything, and pretty easy to make as well. These? These little guys are pretty crude as far as bugs go. Mighta been state of the art stuff ‘bout forty years ago,” he continued around a mouthful of his third such sandwich in twenty minutes.

“Is there anything you can do about them?” Marcelo asked, his anger rising with every passing moment at the way his, and the AHCP’s trust had been betrayed.

“Well, sure!” Jack replied with a laugh. “I can sniff ‘em all out, I can burn ‘em out where they are, or I can even lock in on the frequency they’re using and cook the receiver. Ya see, each one is only a little different than the others, figure three to five hertz transmission variation for each one, this way you ain’t recording over another bug’s signal…don’t want to lose something juicy from one bug ‘cause another picked up the sound of the can flushing or something. Like I said, crude, but it works. Get a computer to digitally record all the stuff these things are picking up and pick and choose what you wanna hear. Just like flipping channels on your TV.”

“What about stealing the signal?” Richard asked.

“And using them to get information on Victoria Skarbek?” Sofiya added looking at her partner with a shrewd grin.

“Ooo! I like the way yer girlfriend thinks, Rick!” the portly human said, his term causing both Furs a bit of embarrassment. “Yeah, I can do that. Nothing I like better than upstaging some poseur. If they want to go this route, they really need to hire a pro.”

“Like you,” the silver fox commented.

“That’s right. I get big money for a reason,” Jack said with pride.

Marcelo paled slightly. “And how much is this going to cost me?”

The rotund man gave a belly laugh that set his entire impressive girth to shaking, much like Father Christmas from the stories. “Shucks, Marcelo! Richard’s a friend and yer his friend. I can’t charge ya’ll fer this being friends and such! Besides, I like it here. Ya’ll are real hospitable like. Reminds me of Home!”

CHAPTER 13

"Et tu Brutus?"

“Sofiya!” the voice of Victoria Skarbek called across the field.

Trying her best not to shudder at the shrill tone from the detestable woman, the vixen fixed a friendly expression on her muzzle and turned around, not at all happy about yet another delay on her way to the lesson that she’d been looking forward to attending. “Dobroho ranku,” she told Victoria in a neutral tone, though with the characteristic vibration in her voice, the human thought she was being exceedingly pleasant.

Trudging through the snow and trying to keep up were one of the video technicians and a sound coordinator. The cameraman was one of the men that had come with the journalist that Sofiya had disliked from the instant of their meeting. Dennis Foley struck her as an unstable individual, and often she found him looking at the Furs with undisguised malice. The girl that ran the sound equipment was nice enough, but extremely naive. The third member of the technical group was Robert Knowels, the young man that had given the Fur warning that things weren’t what they seemed with Victoria or most of her entourage.

The covert look he gave Sofiya immediately set her on guard.

“You are a hard lady to get a hold of!” Victoria declared in an exaggerated manner. “I was wondering if we could get another interview this morning. I’d love to get your perspective on some of the things that I’ve learned about the colony group.”

The Fur shrugged noncommittally. “If it can be done before the class I am on my way to.” Without waiting for an answer Sofiya resumed walking towards one of the buildings that was used for classes and lessons that were ill advised or too disruptive to conduct in the Clark Savage building. Or in this case where privacy was desired.

“Ah! What are we studying today?” the woman asked solicitously, trying to keep up with the anthrovixen. Despite Sofiya being shorter, her strides through the snow that had accumulated on the pathways were far more surefooted and Victoria struggled to keep up.

“Field medicine that is focused solely on Vulps physiology. Today is an important lesson.” The red fox saw the journalist’s immediate interest. “We are studying the birthing of children and what to be expecting when it comes time to start families.”

Victoria gave the other female one of her predatory smiles, pleased to have something that wasn’t common knowledge outside of the Fur and Anthro Human Colonization Project circles. “That could be very interesting, indeed! Especially as I have learned that there are going to be sixteen women and only twelve males. I think that it’s about time that we ladies were given a chance to show the rest of the world that we have the ability to run things as well as any man…probably even better!”

The sexist angle was one that Victoria had been playing upon her entire stay at the Institute and one that vexed the anthrofox greatly. “There is no contention of males against females while at colony,” Sofiya replied. “It is far too dangerous to play games when all are needed to be successful.” She was unable to contain the snort of derision that escaped. “All are equal and must respect each other or all will fail. Only a fool would think otherwise.”

Victoria bristled at the last and was unable to conceal her irritation, unaware that Sofiya saw her reaction, though the Fur hid her smile by feigning a yawn.

“But you can’t deny that gender-wise things will be a little uneven. “Don’t you think that will affect the group dynamics? Even just a little?” the journalist prodded.

“As long as all act with responsibility, what does it matter? All will need to be working hard to guarantee the survival of the colony. The crops will not care that they are planted by a male or a female. Likewise, the livestock will not worry about things if it is a male or female that brings it feed and fresh water. When it comes to hunting, the prey will not concern itself as to gender of the hunter.” Sofiya straightened her hair after slipping the hood of her parka back. Now that the transformation was complete, her blond tresses had grown back at a surprising pace. She put her paw-like hand on the handle of the door then paused. “Oh. I am sorry. Only Institute staff and those of us that are Furs are allowed inside. I do have free time after lunch until late this afternoon. I will try to find you then and we may be talking more,” she informed the reporter with false cheer before slipping inside the building.

With the bugging incident, Marcelo had started placing not just the Institute security personnel on greater watch, but the rest of the staff as well. The reporter and her team were no longer allowed into many of the classrooms and any Fur that wanted to avoid talking to the woman simply had to retreat to one of the many safe areas that had been established. After several incidents of roaming the Educational Wing with the cameras recording, Victoria had also been prohibited from conducting interviews when the Furs were in their rooms or even approaching them.

Sofiya nodded to Doctor Ramirez whowas giving a quick lesson on Vulps birthing and what the ladies might expect to endure. No few of the males of the colony group were also in attendance as they’d already formed long term relationships and wanted to support the females they were with. Maria made a notation on her Personal Business Juxtapositioner. “Running a little behind, Sofiya,” the dark haired woman said with a smile to show she wasn’t admonishing the vixen.

“Small rat problem,” the red fox commented.

That had become the phrase to let another know that Miss Skarbek was about and warned the others to be on their guard. Sure enough, as soon as Sofiya removed her parka and hung it up she found one of the woman’s little listening devices stuck under the hood. She peeled it off and dropped in a small jug of water that had become standard in a great many of the rooms throughout the facility.

Doctor Ramirez simply shook her head in exasperation as the vixen made her way to a desk next to Richard Tavington, the silver fox taking her hand as soon as she was settled. “We’ll only have to put up with her for a more days,” he said with an apologetic expression.

“This I know,” Sofiya replied tiredly. “I just wish we could tie a rock to her neck and push her into the lake. It would be the solution to many,many irritations!”

Maria dimmed the lights and activated the large screen at the front of the room, the image that of a Vulps couple holding a small, blanket wrapped bundle. She stood to the side of the screen and gave the individuals in the classroom a wide smile while her dark eyes sparkled merrily in the illumination. “While no one is ordering you to do it, many of you may feel the time is right to start families when you reach Bastien. Of course the choice is yours to make whether the time is right or not. While you may have experience with human babies,Furchildren are more than a little different. Here are some of the things that you should expect when you decide to have kits of your own…”

***

“That was certainly…educational,” Richard commented as he and Sofiya left the classroom a few hours later. “The technical terms certainly took a lot of the romance out of it all.”

“This is most important to know,” Sofiya said as she walked hand-in-hand with the male. “It will be odd to have a figure again, though,” the vixen commented wryly as she looked down at her chest.

All around them the other Vulps also digested what they had learned, many of the females looking thoughtful while most of the males appeared to be slightly horrified at the very graphic pictures and videos they’d just seen. One of the few exceptions to that was the pairing of Daniel Holt and Maria Paccini who were both smiling dreamily at each other and had their arms around the other’s waist.

Richard pulled Sofiya a little closer and bumped shoulders with her in a bit of love play that the vixen seemed to enjoy so much before pulling her closer. “So, do we hazard the cafeteria, or do we go to our room for lunch?”

“Cafeteria,” the vixen replied. “After the past few days I am a little tired and do not wish to be cooking and doing dishes.” Her stomach growled slightly and she chuckled. “And I have no patience to be waiting for food. Your vixen is hungry now and wanting something tasty!”

“Then your wish is my command!” the silver fox said, pausing only long enough to pick the vixen up, toss her over his shoulder and head for the cafeteria at a lope while Sofiya squealed in surprise then laughter.

It only took a few minutes to get to the cafeteria and once inside the warmth of the building both foxes shucked their parkas and made their way through the line, each getting cups for something hot to drink and bowls of the chicken soup that seemed so popular during the cold weather. Sofiya led the way to a table that was near the windows and sat down, not even getting a chance to put a little bag of Earl Grey tea in her mug before an incident outside caught her attention.

“Pozashlyubnyy suchyy syn!´she exclaimed before jumping up so quickly that it almost upset the table and sloshed soup and hot water over her tray and on the floor.

Richard glanced at the movement outside the window for the briefest moment before following the vixen through the dining area and back down the entrance hall.

Outside the window Rob was being thoroughly thrashed by one of the other video technicians, the larger man, Dennis Foley, having already bloodied the other’s nose and split his lips. Before anyone could stop him he picked the smaller youth up by the front of his jacket and landed two more blows. As he screamed into the smaller man’s face, flecks of spittle flying from his lips, his words were easily heard through the thick panes of glass.

“All of it!” the older man bellowed angrily. “You erased all of it! All the video…all the audio! ALL OF IT! You little backstabbing weasel! I’ll kill you!” Even as he yelled at the dazed Robert, his arm shot forward twice more, rocking the younger’s head back with each strike.

Before a third blow could land, Sofiya made it outside and launched herself at the larger man, using velocity to overcome her small mass, driving both humans into the snow. While Dennis got up, sputtering curses, Robert lay in the snow unmoving. With the sneak attack, the larger man turned his anger on the anthrovixen. She dropped to all fours over the body of the younger human, standing protectively before him, her teeth bared and a low growl issuing from her throat.

“Have you lost your mind?” Dennis bellowed at Sofiya. “You want some of this, you freak? A stinkin’ abomination is what you are! I’ll show you!”

The man took a single step towards the red fox before the sound of another growl behind him froze him in his tracks, his arm still raised and ready to strike. As Dennis turned his head, he found Richard ready to attack, not quite on all fours but set more like a football lineman ready to charge, his teeth also exposed and a dangerous look to his bronze eyes. Behind the silver fox were other Furs. Arrayed so there could be no escape were wolves, dogs, bears, several foxes and different cats, all angry, all ready to assist one of their own.

The situation became almost like a standoff from a movie as the man realized he was sorely outnumbered but too stunned to lower his arm while the various anthro-beings waited for something to happen which would give them leave to fall upon the human bigot.

“Stand down!” Marcelo yelled as he hustled down the path, having left his office so quickly that he hadn’t even had time to grab his coat. Even as the Director shuffled through the snow Institute guards came running from all corners of the facility. “I said STAND DOWN!” he screamed again.

All of the Furs save Richard and Sofiya who still maintained a protective stance over the unconscious young man while the male was ready to defend his partner, relaxed slightly.

“Martin! Vincent!” Marcelo hollered. “Take him into custody! Put him in isolation cell three. When you’re done with that, gather up the rest of them and put them in holding! This ends NOW!”

As the two guards hustled to do as ordered Marcelo stepped to the vixen. “Sofiya?” he said in a soft but firm voice, knowing that her blood was flooded with adrenaline and the fight-or-flight instincts within her mind and body were set tofight. “I need to look at Mister Knowels. I need to see if Robert’s okay.”

Only when Dennis was securely cuffed and being led away did the anthrovixen fully relax, spinning almost in place and dropping next to the beaten youth. “He was discovered erasing the recordings,” she said by way of explanation as Richard knelt down next to the female. “He did as promised, Marcelo. We must help him.”

“We will, Sofiya,” Delgado told her quietly, not liking the condition the younger man was in and touched two fingers to Rob’s neck to feel for a pulse. “I promise we will.” He looked around for a moment before pulling out his own PBJ. The message was short and quick, and the sound as he snapped the dual screen device closed seemed overly loud in the near silence as the foxes regarded their friend and the other Furs watched them. “Richard, go get my cart and a litter. There’s a stretcher in the closet by the entrance to my office. Bring me my coat, too. Gabriel and Donald will meet us in the Hospital Wing. Now hurry!” He turned to the other Furs. “Someone bring me a couple of parkas! We need to get him warm! Now!”

Ignoring his own shivering, Marcelo hoped that the damage was superficial, both thankful for and hating the cold. It would keep the damaged areas from swelling too badly, but it could also throw the boy into shock. Looking up at the vixen he knew that this was rather traumatizing to her, especially considering her past, which she had told the Director about. With an expression he hoped was reassuring, he put a hand on her shoulder.

“We’ll make this right, Sofiya.”

***

Gabriel Aristotle stepped out into the hallway from the emergency surgery theater and tugged at the neck of his scrubs. At the man’s emergence, Marcelo, Richard and Sofiya stood, the vixen holding onto the shoulders of Charlotte Bujold who’d been spending time with the young man.

Aristotle waved the others down. “He’ll be fine. Slight concussion and he’ll be black and blue for a while, but there’s nothing major. MRI and ultrasounds are clear. He just looks, appropriately, as if he’s just had the ever loving tar whipped out of him.”

“May I see him?” Charlotte inquired with a desperate tone as she scrubbed at her eyes.

“Let Doctor Renwick finish putting the sutures in and you can,” Aristotle informed the red fox. He turned to Marcelo. “Are we done with this charade now?”

The Director nodded. “All the rest of Victoria Skarbek’s people have been taken to the holding cells. Copies of her activities and young Mister Knowels’ affidavit have been signed with copies sent to Stockholm. We’re just waiting for the proper law enforcement agency to come pick them up.”

“Good,” Gabriel huffed. “That woman was turning this into her own private circus.” The Doctor tugged on his scrubs again and turned to head back to the Canis Wing. “Maybe we can get back to work, now,” he growled to himself, though it was clearly heard by the others.

No sooner did Donald Renwick exit the surgery theater then Charlotte rushed inside. The brunette Fur had grown rather fond of the human and had been beside herself with worry and anxiety since hearing about the incident.

“He’ll be sore for a few weeks, and will look even worse, but apart from a little scarring I don’t see any lasting problems,” the Felis physician told the Director. “I just can’t believe that this amount of damage was done with fists. It looks more like he was beaten with a club and a rock.”

“If you’d met the guy that did it, you’d understand,” Richard snorted. “The guy’s definitely a throwback to caveman days.”

Marcelo opened his mouth to reply when his PBJ chimed. It only took a moment to read the message, his face hardening with grim satisfaction. “All of that is now moot.” He looked at the Felis Wing Doctor. “Thank you again, Donald.” Marcelo turned to the two Vulps. “You two come with me. Victoria Skarbek is about to have an incredibly bad day and I think you two will want to see this. You’ve earned it.”

CHAPTER 14

"Allies"

Marcelo Delgado had seen his share of difficulties during his tenure as Director of the Adirondack Branch of the Furmankind Institute. Years of experience had taught him to take things in stride with a certain flexibility and resilience when challenges arose. By far, one of the most irritating challenges now burst through his office door.

“Why are you holding my people captive?” Victoria Skarbek inquired in a shrill voice, her eyes narrowed while her face reddened in indignation and anger. “I demand you release them at once!”

With the utmost calm, Marcelo folded his hands together and set them on the desk as his dark eyes locked with the woman’s. Without the slightest twitch, bolstered not only by the knowledge that he was the one with power and authority in this situation, not to mention the presence of the two Furs behind him, Jack Baines who had settled his astonishing mass on the Director’s couch, and the woman that stood behind the door with her eyebrows raised in surprise at Victoria’s entrance, Marcelo replied with a single word delivered in a tone of voice that was as solid and cold as iron.

“No.”

The woman was taken aback. No one had told herno in a very, very long time. Mostmen knew better. “How dare yo-”

“Quiet!” Marcelo barked, the delivery and volume of a level that would have done a military drill sergeant proud. “You were accepted here as a guest, but your actions, particularly the instructions that you gave your people, the use of unauthorized recording devices and the violence perpetrated by one of your own people has shown that our trust inyou was rather misplaced. Your people have all been placed under arrest in accordance with Furmanitarian Laws.”

As the woman began to work herself up to a heated denial, Jack pulled a bucket around from the side of the couch. Inside, still dripping with water, were nearly a hundred of the bugs that the woman’s crew had been dropping everywhere they could.

“Not only do I have my own recordings, of which I amauthorized to obtain by law, I have proof of you instructing individuals in your employ to disperse these devices, I have your own words ordering employees to‘get some dirt on these mongrel half-breed abominations,’ by any means necessary.” The Director continued to glare at the woman. “I also have the sworn statement by one Robert Uriel Knowels attesting to you directly ordering certain underlings to foment dissension amongst my clientele here at the Institute, illegal entry into the living quarters of unsuspecting parties, and directions to seduce, coerce or steal classified information from AHCP staff.”

Victoria was unaware that Marcelo’s time around individuals that were the ultimate blending of human and predator had taught him to assert his dominance by eye contact alone and found that despite his calm demeanor she couldn’t continue to look him in the eyes. Especially when all of what he said was true. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she countered weakly as she looked to the carpeting on the floor.

“I think you do, you bitter old hag,” Jack said from where he half reclined on the couch sipping on a vanilla ice cream float. “You ain’t nothing but a man hatin’ bitter old busy-body and can’t stand to see no one makin’ their way alright in the world. More so if’n they got danglies.”

As Victoria wheeled around to lay into the large man that had just insulted her, her eyes fell upon the other individual in the room that was hidden by the door. She was an attractive woman in her late thirties and dressed in a no-nonsense business suit of black with teal blouse, her black hair cut shoulder length in a simple style.

“I’m not so sure Mister Baines opinions are too off the mark, but that really isn’t my concern. The fact that you’ve maliciously and flagrantly flaunted not only the law, but willingly violated the contract that you agreed to for being allowed access to the Institute and Furs to generate a false impression of what transpires here, thereby putting said Furs in danger,that is myconcern,” the woman said. “And after the events in the recent years, it’s myjob to take things like you’ve done and conspired to engage in very seriously.”

“Who are you?” Victoria Skarbek demanded imperiously, standing straighter to look down her nose at the other woman.

“Oh,” the woman said with a smile. “I forgot to introduce myself.” The smile fell from her face to be replaced by a look that was cold and hard as ice as the woman brushed her jacket back to reveal a badge attached to her belt. “I’m Annie Carter, the U.S. Marshal assigned to the Furmankind Institute and ensure that their rights and wellbeing are protected.” When Victoria blanched, her mouth working up and down silently, Marshal Carter shook her head. “I don’t think they’ll allow you to continue your show from Leavenworth,” she said, indicating the most notable maximum security Federal penitentiary in the country.

The others watched as Annie read Victoria her rights and put a pair of cuffs on her wrists, having to raise her voice to be heard over the television host’s increasingly vocal protestations. When Victoria began to thrash around as the ramifications of what was happening became clear the Marshal used a standard tactic to quiet prisoners.

“Ma’am,” Annie said coldly, her hand tight on the chain between the cuffs and pulling up high enough so that it put an uncomfortable strain on the other woman’s arms. “If you don’t settle down, I will be forced to either Tazer you, use pepper spray, or both. Now, are you going to behave?”

Mustering every possible ounce of dignity she could, Victoria straightened and nodded silently. She let out a breath of relief as the pressure on her arms was lessened and fixed everyone in the room with a look of purest hatred and malice.

“That’s a good girl,” Annie said in a condescending tone. “Marcelo, my office already has all the pertinent information. If you could inform Mister Knowels I’ll be back later this week to take his statement, it would be appreciated. You’ll let me know if there’s anything else we can do?”

The Director smiled. “You can count on it, Annie. And thanks.”

The Marshal smiled warmly. “Hey, it’s the least I can do. Maybe when I come back out you can take me to that little steakhouse in town that looks out over the lake. Unless the chef in the cafeteria is doing that salmon dish again.” She led Victoria from the office. “I think I should get a medal for this. And just so you know, you have theworst talk show ever.”

***

“We are very appreciative of the help that you have given,” Sofiya told Jack as he sat with her and Richard in their now shared room in the Educational Wing.

“It weren’t nothin’,” the huge man said with a sheepish grin. “I owe Richard a lot.” Jack ran a hand through his long brown hair. “Shucks, I owe Richard my life. Anything I can ever help him with, well, he’s got it.”

The red fox vixen looked first at the man then the silver fox next to her. “His life?”

Richard shrugged. “I don’t know if I’d go that far.”

“Because it ain’t you that owes someone big time,” Jack countered. He turned to Sofiya, and earnest look on his face and his normally jovial expression gone. “Richard ain’t told you what we used to do or ‘bout our past, did he?” When the vixen shook her head no, Jack gave the other Vulps a sharp look. “That ain’t right, brother. She deserves to know your story, just like you know hers.”

“It…it just never seemed to be the right time,” Richard countered, his voice lacking conviction.

“Never does, man.” Jack set his soda aside and took a deep breath. “I wasn’t always this slim and sexy, mind you,” he said with a grin. “Ol’ Richard and I went to school together, so yeah, I know all about his family. His dad wanted him to go to Yale or Harvard, or some other Ivy League school, but that wasn’t what Rick here wanted to do.

“Our last year of high school, Richard got the idea in his head that he wanted to be a Marine. Needless to say when his ol’ man found out, there was more than a wee bit of yellin’ and the like, and next thing he knows, he’s outta his dad’s house and on his own. My family always thought the world of Rick, so he was more than welcome with us and he camped out in our guest room until shipping off for Parris Island.

“Well, I couldn’t let my best friend go and become a jarhead without me, so I signed up as well. I don’t think I’d have made it through boot if it weren’t for Rick. My parents came down to the Island for graduation and took us out to dinner to celebrate, and the next day, Rick and I headed off to our unit.

“Those four years were nuts, I tell you. If there was a bad place, we got sent there. We saw things that no one should see, and you know the stuff I’m talking about ‘cause you seen the same things. When the time came and we signed our release papers, we kinda went our own ways. I’d always been into computers and ham radio and electronics, so I took my money for college and studied everything I could and been doing that ever since.

“The food thing was a way of dealing with some of the residual trauma, or at least that’s what I been told by the head doctors. Personally I think it’s just ‘cause I like to eat.

“Rick? He just up and vanished for a few years. It wasn’t until later that I learned he just started traveling. His first stop was Europe. From there he got this idea to go on some kinda spiritual quest and headed to Asia by way of parts of Africa.”

Sofiya had taken the silver fox’s paw-like hand in hers and gave his fingers a squeeze to show affection and support but remained silent.

“I think it was to show myself that the parts of the world that we saw in the Corps weren’t just the only thing out there,” Richard said quietly.

“Can’t say I blame you, brother,” Jack said. “I had my own thing going with electronics and stuff. Anyway, one day I get a message from Rick saying he’s in Alaska. Seems he found what he wanted to do working with the wildlife department out there and acting as a wilderness guide.”

Sofiya cocked her head to the side and looked at the silver fox. “Why did you leave?”

“There wasn’t a whole lot of reason for me to stay when the woods I lived near got cut down and the river was dammed for some oil company to put up another refinery. That and I was told that I had to leave my house because of ‘imminent domain’. I got a payout for maybe a tenth of what I shelled out for the land, but that wasn’t the worse part. Everything I built with my own hands was gone, so after indulging in self-pity for about a month and drinking myself into stupidity, I figured I’d sign up for the Furmankind program and go to a world where the chances were pretty good that would never happen again.” Richard gave the vixen a squeeze. “Best idea I ever had because if I hadn’t I wouldn’t have met you.”

Jack watched the two gaze lovingly at each other for several long moments before clearing his throat uncomfortably. “So let me ask ya’ll this; Are you happy bein’ Furs? I mean,really happy?”

“I am,” Richard said without hesitation. “I truly am.”

Sofiya nodded. “I was not caring for people when I joined. Now I have a new people that I can care about. And someone I can love and know he is feeling the same for me,” she said with a warm look for the silver fox. “It is as my Poppa said, we will find our better new word, or we will build it.”

Jack simply nodded, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

***

Robert Knowels was released from the Hospital Wing three days after Victoria Skarbek’s arrest. As he made his way around the Furmankind Institute, many of the Furs treated him with warmth and friendship. This confused the young man until he asked Charlotte, who hadn’t let him out of her sight since his release.

“Do you not understand?” the vixen asked the human with a merry twinkle in her citrine eyes. “You did all of us a great favor to help us, and when discovered, instead of protecting yourself, you continued to stand up for us, even though you got hurt for it. Many of us wish there were more like you and feel that we are indebted to you.”

“But…but I was just doing what I felt was the right thing to do!” Robert protested through still swollen lips and looking at the Fur with only one good eye.

Charlotte gingerly wrapped her arms around the young man and placed her nose under his ear and gave him a teasing lick on the sensitive skin of his neck. “That is what all heroes say.”

CHAPTER 15

"Leap of Faith"

With the Victoria Skarbek debacle past, the Vulps of Abeona, the new Bastien colony, were able to return to the last of the lessons that they would need and bent themselves to their studies with a sense of relief that the woman and her people weren’t continuously interfering. The rapport with Andy Skarbek was used to disseminate what transpired before the news made it through other venues. The appearance of Maria Paccini and Daniel Holt on his show having been one of the factors that had caused the man’s sister to also try and access the Furs, though for her own gain and agenda, Andy felt somewhat responsible and began correspondence with Marcelo Delgado to produce proper documentaries for public consumption.

Of course, with the rather cold relationship the man had with his sibling, he was more than happy to assist in any way that would show the world what kind of person she really was.

Pleased that the late night show host was so willing to workwith the Institute instead of against it, Marcelo made a proposition after going into greater detail about the events. When he received word back, the Director of the Furmankind facility couldn’t help but smile. The smile was still on his face as he left his office while putting on his jacket and headed for the Educational Wing.

***

“I’d love to be able to have the funding to do areal documentary,” Rob Knowels said with barely contained excitement as he looked at the man in charge of the Adirondack Institute. “It’s one of the reasons I put myself in debt going to school. I just don’t know where I’d find backers willing to take that kind chance for something that might not net them a return on their money.”

The others in the room looked at each other before focusing on Marcelo.

“It just so happens that I havetwo investors willing to finance a documentary. And they’re willing to do it without expectation of any kind of return. All you would need to do is ensure that the filming, narration and final product are honest and unbiased,” the Director told the younger man. “None of the stunts that Victoria pulled, no attempt to access information that is restricted, respect for the subjects you record…essentially everything that you’ve already demonstrated. Andyou would have creative control.”

While Robert’s mouth fell open in surprise, Charlotte, the Fur that he had become rather fond of, squealed with delight as she grabbed the man’s hands. “This is what you were telling me that you always hoped for! A chance to show that there is such a thing as proper journalism without the personal agendas! I am so happy for you!”

Robert only winced slightly as the vixen kissed his cheek noisily, the bruising from the beating he’d received finally fading, though he was still a few days away from having the few stitches he’d needed from being removed. “And I’d have control of it? None of the garbage that Victoria tried? I wouldn’t be told to do things that…that just aren’t right?”

“Complete control,” Marcelo said with his smile returning.

The younger man tried to frown in thought but his abused face still wasn’t ready for that level of mobility and display of expression and he winced with the lingering pain. “I guess I’d have to meet the investors…” He looked up at Marcelo. “Why me?”

“Because we know we can trust you.”

Jack Baines nodded in agreement. “He’s right about that, kid. You coulda just done what you were told, but you chose to do the right thing instead. That makes an impression on people.” The enormous man leaned back in the recliner he sat in, one that had been made with one of the Ursis Furs in mind, and sipped at a large mug of coffee before speaking again. “As for one of the investors, well, I’m right here.”

“Wow. Really?” Rob grinned when the large man nodded. “Who are the others?”

“Only one other,” Marcelo said. “And that would be Andy Skarbek, Victoria’s brother.”

The young man laughed, his normally soft voice high and clear. “Now that’s ironic! I knew of the rivalry between them…we all did! This is just too much!” Rob stood and held his hand out to the Director, still grinning. “You got yourself a deal!”

Jack also shook the young man’s hand. “Go ahead and start getting together a list of all the equipment, cameras and support gear, sound pickups, mixers and the like that you’ll need. Chances are I’ve already got everything, but let’s make sure. Also get together a list of people you trust. You’ll need a camera operator, sound tech, editor and all that.”

“I thought I was going to shoot the documentary?”

Jack shook his head. “If you want to do it like that survival guy that just runs around the woods with a little digital camera, sure. But what we’re looking for is a good and proper job, which means you’re gonna be busydirecting. Get it?”

Robert looked like a fish out of water as his mouth worked up and down several times without any sound coming forth.

“That and in little more than half a year we’ll have the next Class of volunteers coming through,” Marcelo informed the young man. “That’ll give you time to get a crew together, maybe do a little filming until then to get into practice. When that Class starts, you can set it up so that you’re with them from day one until they get their certifications as Furmankind. And before you ask, headquarters has already approved. You may even be approached about doing documentaries of the other three Institutes depending on how your work on this one turns out.”

Richard and Sofiya had sat silent during the entire discussion, pleased that the young man had been offered the opportunity of a lifetime. “See, Robert? Sometimes the good guysdo finish first,” the silver fox said.

***

Embracing his friend before also giving the vixen with him a hug, Jack stood next to the open door of his SUV and looked at the Institute rounds on the other side of the fence one last time and smiled.

“And to think, the next time I come here it’ll be as a client,” the large man said with a chuckle.

“Are you sure you want to do that?” Richard asked with a slight tilt to his head.

“Yeah, I do,” Jack said after several seconds. The man sighed, his breath fogging around his head for a moment in the cold air. “I guess we’ve got that in common…theneed to be a part of something…to do something that hasmeaning. Hell, all I’ve been doing these years since we got out of the Corps is spin my wheels. Money ain’t made me happy. Trust me on that one. I’ve seen and done near everything I can here. Maybe doing something like exploring another world will fill that place inside me that feels empty.”

Richard nodded and put a paw on his friend’s shoulder. “I know,” he said softly. “Believe me, I know. It’s a hard thing to live without a purpose, brother.”

The moment passed and the two males tried to lighten the mood with banter until both again fell silent.

“Do you know what you will choose?” Sofiya asked giving both something else to think about.

Jack nodded. “I’m bouncing back and forth ‘tween two. I don’t know if I wanna go Canis, or if I should do the smart thing and choose Ursis. I’ve always liked wolves and stuff, but even if I lost weight, I think my build would make the bears a smarter choice. I’ll be talking to Doctors Aristotle and Lacross to figure out what would be the best way to go. Doctor Aristotle thinks I’d make a pretty good wolf or one of the larger dog breeds, but he definitely recommends I lose a little weight first.”

“Just remember that we can still receive messages from Earth, and would like to stay in touch with our friends,” the red fox vixen said with a smile as she gave the large man another hug.

“You bet I will,” Jack replied, his voice growing a little thick and the Fur all but vanishing in the circle of his huge arms.

“You better,” Richard told his friend, also embracing the man once more.

Jack stepped back. “I guess this is so long then, ain’t it?”

“Yeah. I suppose it is,” the silver fox agreed.

“You two keep each other safe, alright?”

“We will, Jack. It was very good to meet you,” Sofiya said.

The large man smiled before turning to open the door of his vehicle. No more was said as he worked his bulk in behind the wheel and started the engine, though he did wave once before putting the SUV in gear and headed out of the parking lot. As soon as Jack made the first turn on the road that connected the Institute with the state highway, Richard and Sofiya turned to head back into the heart of the complex.

“What is wrong?” the vixen asked, taking Richard’s paw in hers and cradling it between the pads of her palms.

The silver fox sighed. “Realizing that there’s one person I’m really going to miss when we leave. Jack’s a really good guy.”

“He is like family,” she commented with conviction.

“Yeah. He is.”

“I do believe that he will do well if he volunteers. It will give him what he is needing. Both of you…even myself, we need a purpose. Now our purpose is to go and create a brighter future.”

Richard looked at the vixen and smiled, his bronze eyes warm and full of affection. Before Sofiya could react, the silver fox pulled her into a tight embrace and she could feel the slightly shuddering breath he let out. “Do you know how happy I am to have you?”

“As joyful as I am,” the vixen replied with a twinkle in her yellow-green eyes.

They squeezed each other a little tighter before resuming their walk back to the Educational Wing. They both waved to some of the other Furs from different Wings as they walked.

“There is one more thing that I need to discuss,” Sofiya told the male next to her. “It is being very serious and important.”

“Oh?”

“I need to select a first officer…someone to lead the colony if I am not there. Or if something happens to me.”

Richard nodded. “That makes sense. Do you have anyone in mind?” When he looked down at the vixen he found her looking up at him with a pointed and serious expression. “No…oh, no! Not me!” he said with a chuckle.

“But…you have experience leading. From when you were a Marine. It is the logical choice,” Sofiya countered. “I also discovered that you were one of the potential candidates for the position of colony leader. It is best for the group!”

The silver fox shook his head. “Maybe the logical choice, but not the smart one.” He saw the red fox bristle slightly and hastened to explain. “I might have experience, but we’re…well, we’re a couple, right? The others might see it as favoritism…of you giving me the position because we’re together. That would cause more problems than it would solve.”

“But you are the best choice! Surely the others would understand this?”

Richard shook his head again. “Intellectually, maybe. But whenever there is more than two people involved in anything, intellect has very little to do with accepting things. Do you know who the other candidates were?”

Sofiya nodded. “Lu Chin Yao from Toyohashi and Hector Alejandro de la Vega from Buenos Aires. Their scores were just a little below ours.”

“So who had the higher score out of the two, and who is the one the others get along the best with?” Richard asked as he opened the door to the building, following the vixen into the Educational Wing and the stairs, both having chosen to use the elevator as little as possible.

“Lu Chin had the higher score, but Hector tends to be more…outgoing. He is also very experienced being in the wild and used to work with the Amazon Conservation Agency. He is very skilled in the wilderness.”

Richard smiled. “Well, there’s your answer. If he was traipsing around the Amazon, he should be pretty good with things on Bastien. At least he won’t get so wrapped up in something he doesn’t pay attention to what’s going on around him. The Amazon’s a dangerous place”

“Let us go talk to him, then,” Sofiya decided. “We do not have long before we go to the training center in the State of Washington. It would be good for others of the group to learn that he will be the one to talk to if anything happens to me or if I am unavailable.”

***

“Come in, my friends!” Hector said cheerfully when the other two Vulps knocked on his door. He was at the opposite end of the corridor from where Sofiya and Richard stayed.

The former Argentine had selected a South American grey fox as his donor, and the fur coloration was complemented by the Fur’s black, wavy hair that had already started to silver at the sides before undergoing the McEwen Process. He’d been a lawyer in the city of Buenos Aires, but had used that to fund his staunch support of conservation of South America and its rain forests, realizing like so many others that the slash and burn methods of clearing land for agriculture was killing the planet. Despite his best efforts with other conservation groups, he’d been fighting a losing battle and decided to join the AHCP to go to a world that promised a better way of doing things when the tract that he’d been focusing his efforts on was destroyed.

“Do you have a few minutes?” Sofiya asked pleasantly.

“Of course! I just finished making coffee that my cousin sent to me. I believe it’s his way of thanking me for giving up my law practice, and eliminating half of his competition. Please, come in and share a cup,” the grey fox offered.

“If it tastes as good as it smells, absolutely!” Richard replied enthusiastically.

Hector set about getting the coffees, putting them in temperature stable plastic cups with straws built in that had become all the rage with the fully formed Furs. “So, what can I do for you today?”

Sofiya set her drink down without tasting it. “I have something very important to ask you, and it is something that I have spoken to Richard about and we have come to the agreement that you are the best choice. When we leave for Bastien, I am to be selecting a person to be my first officer…a second in command of Abeona. I offered this to Richard, but it his idea that this might be misunderstood by the others and my choice would be because of our relationship. I contacted headquarters at Stockholm and learned that you are one of the other three that was considered for colony leader. For this reason, and as you have experience of being in the wilderness, are very intelligent and trusted by the others, I would like for you to have this position.”

This was the last thing that Hector had been expecting, not even aware that he’d been considered for the position of colony leader. He stroked the fur on his chin, almost as if he still had the well trimmed beard he’d worn prior to joining the AHCP. “I didn’t know this,” he admitted. “And it is certainly something to give thought to.” He chuckled. “To be honest, I never thought of anything like this. If anything, I was expecting to be part of the exploration and survey team, not the assistant colony leader!”

“You will still be able to be on the exploration team,” Sofiya told him quickly. “This is more of a precaution should something happen to me. And it will also help the others to come to us if there is a problem and one or the other is unavailable.”

“Senorita, we shall fervently pray that nothing happens toany of us!” Hector told the other two Furs sincerely. “But I can understand this line of thinking.” He sipped at his coffee, obviously relishing the rich flavor and aroma, letting the hot liquid roll over his tongue before speaking more. “May I ask for the indulgence of a few days to think about this? I don’t want to rush to a decision and would like to give it the contemplation it deserves.”

“You may absolutely have a few days, Hector. I know it required some time for me to think about the offer of colony leader.” Sofiya turned the conversation to lighter topics so that she and Richard could enjoy the shared beverage, as was only good manners, before making ready to leave.

“A moment, senorita,” Hector told her as he stood when the other two headed for the door. “If I may, why did you accept the offer of colony leader?”

It was a fair question and Sofiya nodded. “I did not know any of the rest of our group, and was worried that another might not keep the lives or safety of my friends as important when we were sent to a colony.”

Hector nodded and smiled. “Perhaps a better reason than many others I have heard. And an admirable one, I might add. As it is, I will have an answer for you in two, possibly three days at the very latest.”

“Spasiby. Thank you, Hector,” the vixen replied. “That is acceptable.”

The door clicked closed behind the two foxes as they turned and headed for their shared room. “You know, I think he’ll make a great second,” Richard commented.

“I truly hope he accepts,” Sofiya admitted.

CHAPTER 16

"Mending of the Heart"

Gathering for one of the last assemblies in the auditorium of the Clark Savage building, the different Vulps of the Abeona group mingled with the friends and families of those that could attend the farewell party Marcelo had put authorized. The Furs from the other Wings also attended to say goodbye to the friends they’d made among the various anthrofoxes, and it seemed that there was a never ending stream of individuals that wanted to meet Sofiya. By the end of the first hour her head was spinning at trying to remember all the names of those that had been introduced to her. Fortunately Richard appeared with a cup of chilled juice and led her away from the throng of well-wishers and to a quiet corner of the auditorium.

“My knight in shining armor,” the vixen said with a warm smile for the silver fox.

“You looked a little lost. I couldn’t just stand by while you were mobbed.”

The vixen laid a gentle paw against the side of her partner’s face and graced him with an adoring gaze. “You are very kind,charivnyy. I will have to think of a way to show proper gratitude,” she told him with a mischievous look.

Before the silver fox could reply, Sofiya looked past him, her eyes growing wide with surprise.

“I did not think you would be making it,” the vixen said to whoever had approached from behind Richard.

“You were very…persuasive, young lady,” a man’s voice that was very familiar to the male Vulps said.

Spinning around, Richard found himself eye to eye with his father, a man that he hadn’t seen in almost fourteen years. For the briefest moment, he felt extremely intimidated before realizing that he was not only grown, but had seen and been through far too much to be considered the boy that had become alienated from his own family.

“You’re looking well, Richard,” Nathan Tavington said.

The Vulps’ heart was beating hard at the unexpected appearance and it took him a moment to find his voice. “You’re looking well, too, Dad. A little thinner than I remember, but not too bad.”

There was the slightest battle of conflicting emotions on the elder Tavington’s face before the barest of smiles tugged at the corners of the man’s mouth. “Being a Fur seems to suit you, son. I think you’re one of the more impressive examples of Vulps that I’ve ever met.”

Richard closed his eyes for a moment to get his mental and emotional equilibrium. “Not to sound like a complete ass, but what are you doing here, Dad? I mean, I’m glad to see you, of course, but…”

“You can thank the young lady behind you,” Nathan told his son with a snort. “As I said, she’s very persuasive.”

Richard spun to look at the vixen, his eyes full of trepidation, anxiety, but most importantly there was the flicker of hope.

“Richard…we need to talk. We need to…well, it’s something that we should have done years ago,” the man told the Fur in a soft voice. “Is there somewhere quiet we may retire to?”

“Classroom three is being open,” Sofiya told the pair. “Take a little time. I will be by in a short while with refreshments.”

Both males agreed, Richard giving the red fox a quick nuzzle in gratitude and to draw strength from her before taking his father to the indicated room. No sooner had the two stepped out of the auditorium than Marcelo approached the anthrovixen and pressed a doctored cup of punch into her dainty, paw-like hands.

“That was a serious risk you took,” the man said looking in the direction the two Tavington males had gone.

“I could not let this opportunity pass by,” Sofiya said, turning eyes that were a touch misty to the Director. “We do not know what may happen when we leave, and this must take place or both will be filled with regret the rest of their lives. I love Richard and would not see him suffer so.”

Marcelo smiled. “I think I need to warn Angelina Flynn. She has some competition when it comes to helping others, it seems.” He sipped at his own punch. “I’m just impressed that you were able to get Nathan here. The man isn’t known for backing down once he’s established a position on something or a point of view.”

Sofiya shook her head. “But there is more than just that, Marcelo, and that makes all other considerations inconsequential.”

“Oh?”

The vixen nodded slowly. “He is a man that loves and has missed his son very much.”

***

When Sofiya paused before the door to the classroom, she wondered if the reunion between father and son had gone as she hoped and wondered if an hour and some minutes had been long enough for the two to reconcile. After knocking softly on the door with a furred knuckle she opened the door slowly. What the vixen saw caused a lump to form in her throat as man and Fur, father and son both clung to each other in an embrace that was over a decade overdue. Both held on to the other as if he were the last solid thing in the world.

She tried to make a quiet exit to give them more time, the drinks in her paws all but forgotten, when Nathan Tavington called to her. “Don’t you dare leave, young lady.” Sofiya stopped and froze like a deer caught in headlights, a look of anxiety in her eyes. “Come here, please.”

As she approached, Sofiya saw that both males had damp eyes. As she drew up alongside Richard, the silver fox’s father took the paws of the two Furs and put them together before retreating half a step, a warm smile on his face, the first such expression she’d seen on the dour human.

“I really don’t know what to say,” Nathan began. “For so long I resented Richard for not following the path that I had chosen for him. I never realized or took the time to see that he was my son, not a younger version of me. He had his own directions to take…his own choices. I was too stubborn to understand this.”

“You weren’t the only one guilty of being stubborn,” the silver fox said with a self conscious smile, his ears lowered in chagrin.

“At least we didn’t kill each other,” the man said with his own sheepish expression. “I used to pride myself on being an intelligent and educated man…now I see I’m not as bright as I thought. I owe you a great deal, Sofiya.” Nathan turned back to his son. “I never stopped loving you, my boy. And I have never been more proud of you than I am right now.”

“Even though I’ve become a Fur?”

Nathan shook his head. “I don’t care what you look like. You aremy son. Nothing, not even becoming a Fur will ever change that. Nor will it change the fact that I love you.”

“I love you, too, Dad,” Richard said with a tremulous whisper before the two caught each other in another hug.

As they held each other, Sofiya felt her own eyes fill and hoped that somewhere her own Poppa and Mamma were proud of her. When they parted, Nathan took her hands in his and put his lips to her furred knuckles. “And you…welcome to the family, Sofiya. Welcome, indeed.”

***

Richard's mother, Amanda Tavington, joined the small family group an hour later, her flight from the home she and Nathan had in Florida having been delayed due to a series of storms that had blessedly passed to the south of the Institute. She knew nothing of the machinations of the vixen that had partnered with her son, but was thrilled at the outcome. As her husband was the Director of Colonial Operations for the Terran Colonization Coalition, she had quite a bit of sway and power of her own and when she told Marcelo Delgado that she was taking her children into New York City for a couple of days, there was little that the head of the Adirondack Institute could do to argue.

“You’re the one that my son has chosen and I want to get to know you before you leave,” Amanda informed Sofiya while patting her hand in a matronly fashion. She then spent the rest of the evening monopolizing the vixen’s time.

Nathan and Richard were all but forgotten as Amanda sat close to Sofiya, learning everything she could as father and son watched. “I see Mom hasn’t changed in the slightest,” the silver fox said with a chuckle.

“There are actually some things in the universe that are a constant,” Nathan commented in agreement. The man caught the Institute Director’s attention and waved the other man over. “I hope you aren’t too vexed with Amanda, Marcelo. When she gets a notion in her head, there’s no stopping her sometimes.”

Marcelo laughed. “They still have a week before they depart for the West Coast. I don’t see the harm in both Richard and Sofiya disappearing for a couple of days. To be honest they could probably use the rest.”

“I take it they’ve been busy?” the elder Tavington asked.

The swarthy head of the facility snorted. “These two are always the first ones to jump in when there’s a problem. It doesn’t matter if it’s with the colony tables of organization and equipment or one of the other Vulps couples having difficulties, they’re both there for them. Then there’s the training and coming up with exercises for the others to better prepare them for life on Bastien.”

That bit of information actually made Nathan stand a little taller, his chest puffed out and a look of admiration for his son. He grasped the Fur’s shoulder in parental pride. “I know you’ll be able to send messages and images back while you’re on Bastien,” the man told the silver fox beside him quietly. “Just make sure we get pictures of our grandchildren when the time comes.”

***

“You are not angry with me?” Sofiya asked from the small bathroom of the room she and Richard shared, the door pulled to with a narrow gap so that they could talk with no difficulty.

“Why would I be angry?” Richard asked in reply from where he lay on the bed, his PBJ propped on his chest as he went over some of the reports from the original Bastien colony group that the vixen had forwarded to him.

“I was afraid that sending the message to your father would anger you.”

Though she couldn’t see it, Richard smiled warmly. “I think it was the best gift that you could have given me.”

“What…what if I said I had another gift to be giving you tonight?” the vixen asked after a few moments of silence. “I talked to Doctor Ramirez earlier…”

The silver fox looked up in the direction of the bathroom in curiosity, just in time to see the red fox Fur emerge. She wore her favorite robe from before becoming a Fur, though unlike every other time, save the night that she’d first invited him to her room for a drink, she wasn’t wearing furman shorts under it. Sofiya walked slowly to the bed and untied the sash, letting the robe fall open to reveal nothing but her own fur beneath.

“Wha…Sofiya,” he whispered, his bronze colored eyes widening. “Are…are you sure?”

During their months as a couple, they had foregone anything more than warm displays of affection and had only slept together, simply enjoying the closeness of the other. They hadn’t gone further than that, and the look in the vixen’s eyes said tonight promised to be very different.

The robe puddled on the carpet of the floor at her feet as she let it slide from her shoulders and took the final step to the bed. “I am very sure, miy liubov.Ya tebe liubliu zavzhdy, Richard.”

“And I’ll love you always, my beautiful Sofiya” Richard whispered as he took her in his arms, a tremble of anticipation running through them both.

CHAPTER 17

"So Long and Fare Well"

Blue skies with only a few thin streamers of clouds greeted the Vulps of the Bastien mission as they filed out of the auditorium for the charter buses that would take them to the train station in Rennselaer which also served Albany. Despite most of the Furs coming from different Institutes, Marcelo had gone with something that had become a bit of a tradition and each had an envelope containing a personal letter from him.

Sofiya watched as the swarthy man spoke to each of the Adirondack Furs in turn and as a group while she monitored the individuals climbing aboard the two buses with Hector’s assistance. As she watched a few of the Institute staffers loading their personal luggage into the underneath storage bins, a touch on her arm caused her to turn around. She smiled when the Director grinned at her.

“It has truly been a pleasure to have met you and I’ve enjoyed your time with us immensely, Sofiya,” Marcelo told the vixen earnestly.

“You are a good man,” she replied as Richard came to stand beside her. “I can see why you have had so many outstanding Furs come through your Institute. It is because you have shown great care in their time with you.”

“I like to think they were all outstanding before coming here,” Marcelo told the red fox. “It takes a special kind of person to do what all of you are doing. If what I’ve seen during your time with us is any indication, I don’t think you’ll have many problems on Bastien you won’t be able to overcome.”

“We will,” Sofiya said with conviction. “This is a very good group. We will doing better than just succeed, I believe.” She watched as the last of the foxes climbed onto the buses and Hector waved with a nod and the universalA-OK sign before she turned back to Marcelo. “I think I will be missing you, too. I hope for nothing but the best for you, Marcelo.”

“The same goes for you, Sofiya,” the Director said as he accepted a quick embrace before shaking the paw-like hand Richard extended.

Without further hesitation, both climbed the steps and took the front seat, their hands clasped tightly. “We are ready,” the red fox told the driver.

Nearly all of the Furs on the two buses looked out the window back at the Institute, some having been there for just a few months, others saying good bye to what had been their home for almost two years. Other furman types carried on as always, training in the crisp air and snow covered ground while yet more that hadn’t fully progressed in their transformations also moved about, human instructors and staff interspersed among them.

Sofiya leaned back against the seat, her mind on what she had learned here, the friends she had made, and how she would take from it skills that would be used in the rapidly approaching future on Bastien. She was brought out of her reverie by the voice of Matthew Sykes.

The red fox Fur had been irritating when she’d first arrived, acting like a petulant child. A long talk with Richard and some of the others like Rupert, Hector and Joel had seemed to have gotten the male to straighten up and mature, and now he was well his way of becoming one of the major contributors to the colony group. “You know, I think I’m gonna miss Sunday football the most,” Matthew lamented. “Barbeques…cold beer…”

“Football?” one of the Buenos Aires foxes, Ruiz Tomas Vallejo, a former mechanic asked with his ears standing up. “You mean American football, yes?”

Sykes laughed. “I keep forgettin’ that’s what the rest of ya’ll call soccer!” He watched as the Argentine Fur that had selected a bat earred fox as a donor nodded. “Yeah. American football. And baseball! Nothin’ like a hot dog while watching a summer baseball game!”

“Chocolate ice cream,” Tipper said with a dreamy look. “Or a Valentine’s Day box of candy. And sundaes.”

“I think I’m seeing a trend here,” Richard observed with a laugh.

Conversation turned towards what everyone would miss, the things that they’d had access to all their lives until someone called from the rear of the bus. “What about you, Sofiya? What’ll you miss?”

The vixen turned in her seat and gave the Furs behind her a smile. “I might miss coffee, a good, strong cup with real cream first thing in morning…for a while, at least,” she said. “But there is much I willnot miss!” She saw the interested look from many of the others and smiled again. “No pollution is one. Always hearing of sad news on the television. No young people with their very strange ways of dressing! What is point of showing underwear?” The vixen sighed. “I have read in the reports that the sea that the colony is near has water of deepest blue. I wish to see the sunset on that water. And I want to see these trees that have wood of so many different colors. Or three moons! Imagine lying under the stars in grass that is tipped in what looks and feels like feathers and seeing three moons!”

Sofiya sighed happily.

“No, I do not think I will miss much.” She turned and gave the silver fox next to her a look of warm affection. “I have too many things to look forward to.”

That steered the conversation to a more positive light, and soon all of them were talking about the wonders that they would see for themselves. Someone asked Maria and Daniel what they were most looking forward to during a lull in the conversation and both foxes smiled.

“We’re looking forward to creating a school for the children that we’ll eventually have,” Maria told the rest of the bus.

The rest of the journey to Rennselaer was filled with talk of the hopes and dreams that all of them would take to the planet of Bastien.

***

Because of the nature of the passengers, the Furs for Abeona were given a private set of cars that only railroad personnel were permitted to pass through. The Vulps were given two lounge cars, three sleepers, and a dining car for their use. Many of the Furs were excited as they’d never been on a train before, and the large windows enabled them to look out at the countryside as they traveled, though most of the first leg was plagued by snow, obscuring much of the outside.

Richard appeared at the small booth he and Sofiya were sharing in the dining car with a cup of tea for the vixen as the train clacked over a bridge that ran over a segment of frozen river, the female looking with a sense of joy at the small herd of deer that stood on the edge of the woods looking out over the iced over watercourse, completely nonplussed by the racket of the train. When the cup of tea with a touch of honey and milk was set before her and he touched her arm lightly, Sofiya looked up with a wide smile.

“I have always loved to be on trains!” she enthused. “It was how Poppa and I used to be going to Yalta for holidays of sailing on the Black Sea. We also were taking it to see my Uncle and his farm.”

“Believe it or not, this is my first time on a train,” the silver fox admitted. “Whenever we went somewhere when I was a kid, we flew by private jet. I kind of like it.”

The red fox picked up her tea and hid a smile that was almost girlish behind the rim of the cup. “I have never been in a sleeper car, though. I think it will be feeling like a mother rocking her baby to sleep.” Her grin grew more pronounced. “Though I will be preferring your arms.”

Richard chuckled as he leaned closer, the tips of his fingers touching the female’s elbow. “Are you hinting at something?” he asked with one eyebrow raised.

Sofiya’s grin grew so large she was unable to sip her tea.

Before the conversation could get any more intimate, Tipper passed the table, a black case in her left paw while the Buenos Aires Fur, Ruiz, followed with a guitar. “What is this?” Sofiya asked cheerfully.

“Ruiz is going to teach me some of the songs from Argentina and I’m going to help him learn a few old American Folk pieces,” Tipper said cheerfully, the Arctic fox vixen excited at having someone to play music with. “Fortunately I can still play my viola. If anything, the claw tips actually help.”

“It will be nice to have someone to play music with,” Ruiz said, though the bat eared fox’s expression was clearly saying he sincerely hoped for more. The former mechanic had been quite smitten with the white furred vixen since the arrival of his group at the Adirondack Institute.

“It will be good to have music when we get to Bastien,” Sofiya agreed.

The pair continued on to the lounge car with their instruments all the while talking excitedly about music and favorite artists.

“I’m amazed at how you were able to get everyone to come together like you did,” Richard said as he sipped his coffee with a straw so he wouldn’t have to lap at it.

“It was more than just my efforts. You were most helpful,charivnyy.” She took his paw, twining her fingers with his and stroking the fur of his shortened index finger with her thumb pad. “You are as much the motivation behind this as I am.”

Richard shook his head while laughing, “Oh, no! Not me, Lady! I simply did my job as liaison!” He gave the vixen a warm look. It was you, sweetie. You brought everyone together. You didn’t give anyone any time to form little groups or let any kind of prejudice get in the way. From the start you treated all of us as if we were already on Bastien.”

Sofiya developed a guilty look and was unable to meet her partner’s eyes. “It was Americans like you I was most concerned about,” she admitted.

“Really? How come?” the silver fox asked with a bemused expression.

The vixen sighed. “There have been too many troubles between East and West. So much miscommunication and feelings that have been hurt. I am thinking it is because both of our peoples are very passionate about those things they believe in, and we do not like to have those beliefs challenged. In Eastern Europe, friends and family are the center of our lives, the most important things to our hearts. From what I knew of Americans before coming here, your people are very independent and passionate about your freedom.”

The vixen sighed again.

“To be very truthful, after meeting you and the others from your country, I am thinking that you are better able to go to other worlds and tame them than any other people from any nation. To explore and discover…it is in your blood and the very center to the culture that you have built. I have since learned that my misconceptions were clouding my judgment and I was being very stupid in my misunderstanding.”

Richard smiled widely. “So, you were worried that we wouldn’t get along, and that we’re the best suited for this because we’re a bunch of…of cowboys?” He developed a thoughtful look. “You know, I think that’s how most of the world sees us. I guess we haven’t really done anything to dissuade this perception.”

Sofiya nodded mutely.

The silver fox laughed. “You know, I never saw us like that. Americans, I mean.” He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “You do realize that none of us will be Ukrainian, or American, or German or any of the other nationalities for much longer…if we even are right now. We’re Bastiens…or Abeonans…Abeonians? We’ll be on a different world. One that we can do what your father said. It will be better than this one, or we’ll make it so.”

Sofiya smiled in return. “And I cannot tell you how happy I am that I will be with you when we do this thing.”

Instead of answering with words, Richard leaned forward and rubbed his muzzle with hers, trading scents.

“Hey guys!” Charity called to the couple from the other end of the dining car. “Tipper and Ruiz are giving a sort of concert! They’re really good, too!”

Richard and Sofiya smiled at each other as they got up from the booth, their hands twined together even more tightly than before, their eyes never leaving the other.

CHAPTER 18

"Simulation Blues"

AHCP Facility TS-7, or as it was more commonly called by the Anthro Human Colonization Project personnel that ran it, the Arboretum, was specifically chosen and established for its similarity to the colony sites on Bastien and Monarch. A small monitoring station was located at the far eastern edge of the land that had been purchased and kept track of potential trespassers. The three hundred square mile facility was divided into four training sites and offered several terrain types ranging from mountains, lakes and rivers, bogs and the thick woodlands Washington State was known for.

There were no roads leading to the different training zones and delivery of the Abeona colony group was done by a civilian model of the Sikorsky CH-53 helicopter that was one of the largest available and able to transport all of the colonists at once. Twenty eight Furs sat in the jump seats along the sides of the interior, the simple steel tube and nylon seats providing a somewhat crowded compartment. They were blind to their approach to the training area as the huge aircraft had no windows they could look out of and had no indication of what waited for them.

Closest to the rear cargo ramp that formed the door were Sofiya and Hector. The red fox watched as her First Officer swallowed hard at a stomach churning buffet, not at all thrilled with flying.

“You ain’t gonna get sick, are you?” the loadmaster for the large helo asked from where he stood next to the ramp, one hand on a safety rail while the other was hooked by his thumb in the equipment belt worn over his light grey flight suit with the AHCP patch on left breast and shoulder.

The South American grey fox started to shake his head no when another lurch caused his stomach to heave and he nodded vigorously. The loadmaster was able to get him a sick bag right at the last moment before the Fur’s breakfast wound up on the deck.

“Don’t worry, buddy!” the man said, running a finger under the headband of his flight helmet as he worked a large wad of chewing gum around his mouth for all it was worth. “This ol’ bird ain’t falling outta the sky today! And at least it ain’t like my last job on one o’ these babies! Used to get shot at a lot! This ain’t nothing!”

Hector smiled weakly before plunging his snout back into the bag.

“So who were you with?” Richard asked with interest.

The loadmaster looked at the silver fox, figuring the Fur would never have heard of the unit. “1799th Pararescue outta McDill Air Force Base. I don’t reckon you’d have heard of us.”

“Are you kidding?” the silver fox said with a grin. “Good group! Real professional!”

The man cocked his head, his jaws working on his bubble gum even more furiously. “What were you with?”

“Marines. We all heard about the 1799th’s rescue of the Embassy in Venezuela. Like I said,real professional!”

The loadmaster grinned in response. The Embassy personnel had already been evacuated when the trouble started over a U.S. company pulling out of a bid for access to the rich oil fields, which would have meant a number of jobs for Venezuelans. Instead, one of the Arabian consortiums had gotten in and brought their own work force with them. It had caused quite the uproar in Caracas and when the protests targeted the diplomatic complex, the only ones left by the time the irate crowd arrived were the Embassy Marines.

Further conversation was halted when the small box next to the loadmaster flashed red. “Okay, folks! We’re two minutes out! Before we crack the hatch, we’ll be treating this as an actual landing. That means you’ll need to wait the approximate time for a ship to cool off before you can depart, and then, ‘for we crack the door, the pilot will be reading us the conditions outside.

“The cargo containers with your materials and equipment are already on the ground, so once you’re out you can go ahead and start settin’ up. While a real ship would be down for a few days so’s the crew could get a little down time, we’ll be headin’ out after half an hour on the ground. Any questions?”

No one had anything to ask and the loadmaster nodded before giving Sofiya and Richard a wink. They’d all been debriefed prior to boarding the helicopter and knew that the training protocols that had been established would treat the drop off at the training site as authentically as possible. It wasn’t as realistic as their actual landing on Bastien would be, but it was a fair facsimile.

With a long turn and sudden drop, the helicopter landed with enough of an impact that many of the Furs grunted as they were crushed down momentarily into their seats. From the cockpit the pilot and copilot shut down the turbines that powered the gigantic rotors and within moments the whole of the CH-53 went still and quiet. The loadmaster looked at his watch and waited for the requisite time to pass before signaling that he was ready to the flight’s captain. Over an intercom system that was nearly useless while the aircraft had been in flight due to the noise, the pilot read out the atmospheric conditions outside. Everything from the actual composition of the air to temperature, relative humidity and wind speed and direction were called out.

“Roger that,” the loadmaster said with a final crack of his gum, which he pulled out and stuck to the strut next to the rear door. “We’re popping the seal.”

Cool, damp air flooded the compartment, dissipating the seemingly permanent reek of jet fuel. Sofiya, others in the compartment mimicking her, closed her eyes and turned her nose to the clean air that wafted over her. It smelled of recent rain, forest loam, plants, growth and decay along with a number of different animals that had been in the immediate area before the helicopter landed.

“You are clear to disembark,” the loadmaster told the Furs with a grin.

Sofiya had learned that many of the colony leaders before her had a small ceremony that each performed upon stepping foot for the first time on their respective worlds, but she was still undecided as to what would be fitting for taking over from another group, and simply exited the aircraft and motioned the others to gather round her while the flight crew got out and stretched a bit before flying back.

“We have much to do. This weather may change at any moment, and it is most important to get shelter and supplies taken care of first.” She saw many of the Vulps agree with her and pressed on. “First to be done are the Great Dome, operations, medical and storage. If there is time then to be putting up personal domes will happen.”

The red fox vixen picked up a stick and knelt in front of a patch of bare dirt and began to draw a diagram.

“From pictures and reports of Bastien, the layout of the colony is being very random. That and we are unsure of the condition of many domes, so it is my thought to put everything in a large circle around the most important domes. Having the doorways facing in to the center is best.”

Hector and Richard looked at the crude drawing and both nodded in approval. “That will enable us to help keep an eye on each other without being intrusive,” the South American grey fox said. And with the Great Dome, medical and operations in the center…I think this will work very well.”

“It reminds me of the way the Roman Legions set up encampments while on campaign. It was easy to defend if something happened, the layout was efficient,” Richard agreed.

“What do we need to defend against?” Suki Oniwa, an Asian red fox vixen from the Toyohashi Class 12 group asked. The former electronics technician had a furrow between her golden colored eyes. “The other colonists were there for four years and nothing harmed them.”

Sofiya looked at the other female. “This is true,” she agreed, “but I would rather be ready than not. Four years is not so long to learn all, and there are large predators that we know of from the reports that they sent to Earth. I would prefer to have all protected. It is easier to keep watch for trouble.”

“But what about the domes that are already there?” Rupert Campbell asked. “Why don’t we just move into those?”

This was another point that Sofiya had considered, but the idea hadn’t sat well with her. “I do not want to use the domes that the original colonists established,” she told the group. “I want to maintain the original site, but as a memorial for those before us. I would not sleep well in a dome that one of the other colonists had lived in for so long before dying. It feels…wrong.” Before any questions could be hurled at her, the vixen pressed on. “Of the pens for the animals, we will use, just as the equipment that is still there. But I do not wish to disturb where the Felis colonists lived. To me it would feel as if putting a house in a cemetery.”

“I didn’t think of that,” Hector said as he contemplated what Sofiya wanted. He was ready to dismiss the idea of setting up and moving into what the Felis had already established, though as he listened, he had to agree. It would mean more work, but that was negligible to claiming the home of another Fur that had died in the manner the Felis had. “I, for one, would prefer not to begin our lives on Bastien living in a mausoleum.”

The others nodded or vocally agreed once their leader’s reasoning had been stated, and Richard, sitting next to his vixen, had to admire how Sofiya got the others to follow what she wanted without making it an order. While she might seem soft spoken, there was a core of steel in her and if it came to it, she could bring her formidable will to bear. His chest tightened more than a little in pride and admiration for the female that he loved.

“If there is nothing more, we must begin. We must get the Great Dome built soon I am thinking,” Sofiya told the group as she cast an eye towards the sky that was growing a deeper grey by the minute. “Sleeping in mud is not the way I wish to start the next eight weeks!”

***

All of the Abeona colonists took part in the construction of the Great Dome. Each Vulps grabbed a batch of materials, either panels or segments of the frame. As one half of the contingent headed back for the cargo containers that had already been dropped off before their arrival, the other half began to assemble the structure that would be large enough for all of them to sleep in once complete.

Sofiya, Richard and Hector each made several trips for more materials before assisting in putting the structure together. The vixen was one of the first to start climbing the frame and linking the supports together in the triangular pattern that made the dome. As the last few struts locked into place, the vixen started accepting the clear panels and fasteners.

“Hector!” the vixen called out as she hung upside down with another panel in her paw-like hands. When the grey fox paused and looked up, he had to smile at the vision of Sofiya looking more like a chimpanzee than a fox as she dangled from the upper portion of the structure by the backs of her knees. “Gather a work team to begin the building of the animal pens. Richard, we need to be getting the water storage put up so preparations for food can begin.”

“We’re on it,” the silver fox replied cheerfully, standing as tall as possible to give the vixen a quick kiss.

Sofiya accepted the kiss with a smile then turned back to her task. One of the other advantages to being up in the framework of the dome was that it was easier for her to look around at the progress the rest of her people were making. With initial set-up being done so efficiently, two teams of three had begun working on getting equipment unpacked that would go into the kitchen section of the central structure, including the communications system.

Two more teams were setting up the pens and two Furs were helping Richard with the water storage system. The new item for colony use employed a frame similar to what the domes were built from and would contain a large bladder made of a semi-transparent plastic that would use sunlight to heat the water it held. Small solar powered units would pump the water through a series of ceramic, charcoal and fibrous filter disks while a device incorporated into the design would bombard the water with a small, but powerful, ultraviolet LED’s to kill microbes. The entire unit only weighed twenty pounds, and three of them could process almost ten gallons each per minute. The filters were so effective that they could actually process grey water and make it potable, not that any of the Furs really wanted to test that.

One of the other new items were a refined solar shower, a refillable bag that absorbed sunlight to heat water, that had been in use with campers for decades, though the units they’d been given to test were supposed to be more efficient. They would be taking six of these with stalls that could be sealed to use on Bastien.

At the far side of the simulation site work crews had begun to construct the domes that would be used for feed and supply sheds for the livestock and another group was preparing to dig the pits for the latrines. Before the latrine crew could even begin to break ground, Sofiya dropped down from the upper frame of the nearly completed dome. “Charlotte, please be seeing that the last panels are installed. I will be with the sanitation team.”

The other red fox nodded and scrambled upwards to take her friend’s place as the other vixen loped across the compound. Sofiya arrived at the same time as Matthew Sykes, the Adirondack Fur seeing the same problem that she had.

“Whoa, guys! This isn’t the best place for these!” the American said as he waved his arms at the work crew.

The group was being guided by Neelu Rajpur. Before joining the AHCP, Neelu had been an artist in India specializing in wood carving and painting. The economics of her native land had forced her to give up her passion and she’d volunteered when unable to find a sponsor for emigration. The Asian red fox Fur looked hp from where she and the others had been ready to start digging.

“Isn’t this far enough away from the rest of the colony? I measured it first,” Neelu said as she looked past Matthew to the line of personal domes that were being set up.

“Oh, they’re far enough away…until it rains,” the former construction worker said with a chuckle. “It’s a little hard to see, but from here the ground slopes right down into the middle of the whole place. If we get a hard rain…well…”

The sanitation team looked horrified at what the American had just suggested with one of the other vixens, Nan Pi-lei Quang from Viet Nam, rattling something off in her native tongue. There was no mistaking the look of disgust on her face or the shudder of revulsion.

“I ain’t sure what you said, Nan, but I think I agree with you!” Matthew said with a laugh. “I saw a little spot over to the left here that slopes the other way that might be better, and it heads away from the river, too. I think there might be less rock as well. C’mon, I’ll give ya’ll a hand. It’ll go quicker with all of us workin’ on it.”

Sofiya was impressed at the red fox male’s ability to explain why the place the team had selected for the latrines wasn’t safe, and nodded at his solution and offer to assist. He smiled at her as they passed by, a bundle of stall panels on his back and a pick-axe in his paw as he led the crew to a better location. Sofiya wasn’t sure if they could get cholera or other diseases that stemmed from poor sanitation, but she was happy to forego experimenting to discover the answer. She’d seen enough of the havoc poor sanitation could cause from her time with the UN.

Once the Great Dome was completed, the kitchen equipment set up inside, and what would be the colony operations dome, a place that she could always have at least one Fur working that would know how to get hold of her or Hector at all times and route communications if need be, smaller domes began to pop up at about one every twenty minutes. The paddock fences had already been set up with yet more test items in the way of simple, inexpensive motion sensors for the fence posts that would detect any animal approaching the livestock that was larger than a house cat and sound an alarm.

Like so many other things they would be taking, the sensors were solar powered. The tops of the devices were half spherical photo-sensitive cells that would recharge batteries that were the latest in lithium-ion technology with a more efficient recharge rate and longer charge life. They were also in the flashlights that were charged by shaking them, and the small but durable radios that had been redesigned for Fur use.

Most of the colonies that had already been sent out used solid state hand transceivers that could clip to the waistband of shorts, or lanyards or even be put in a pocket. The ones the Abeona group had were even smaller with casings that were the same sort of ballistic plastic many militaries used in their equipment, and there were even little earpieces that would loop around a Fur’s ear with a thin boom microphone for hands-free voice-activated operation, though they could also use the radio in the traditional hand-held manner. The antennae was entirely contained in the radio, that part made of a thin alloy wire over a mile long if it were stretched out and coiled within the device. An external antennae was also available for extending the distance and could almost double the device’s range to fifteen miles on relatively flat ground.

Apart from the necessary domes that Sofiya had wanted up first as essentials, a third of the personal domes had also been erected. The latrines had been dug with a total of six stalls, and the livestock had been corralled with feed and roofed over shelters. The water storage unit was already full with four hundred gallons of treated, completely potable water available. The next few days would see improvements being made such as hoses being laid out for spigot and fountain points throughout the compound. However, priority for the next day would include the primary solar collector stations for the colony to use as its power source.

Most of the work had been finished just as rain began to fall in earnest and the Furs headed into the cover of the Great Dome. There was hot food waiting as three of the Vulps colonists had gotten permission to begin cooking for the others, the meal an interesting blend of American, Eastern European and Asian as the cooks had been Mina Brinkley of the Adirondack Institute, Victor Rushenko from the Stockholm facility, and Myao Shin of Toyohashi. There was also a selection of hot drinks and one of the furs had a stack of warmed towels available for those that had got caught out in the weather.

Conversation filled the dome with voices that were tired from the hard work of the day, but there was a sense of satisfaction as well. Sofiya waited until everyone was finished with their meals before standing up from the table and bench she and Richard had been sharing with Hector, one of his housemates from Buenos Aires that had selected a North American kit fox as her donor, neither of the other two missing the way Hector doted on the young vixen.

Emanuella Diaz had come from a family of farmers and had taken it upon herself to oversee the livestock, making sure that there was sound shelter for the animals before getting her supper, and thus was one of the last Furs to come in out of the rain. Hector had immediately been there with a warmed towel for the vixen and sat with his arm about her shoulders as she finished a bowl of soup.

“Before we all get too sleepy from the wonderful supper that we have had, I would like to tell all of you that today was a good day!” Sofiya began. “You have all worked very hard, and much was accomplished. With this level of cooperation, the simulation colony should be completely functioning within the next two day.

“There are some subjects that we do need to work out. The first is that many of you will notice that your Personal Business Juxtapositioners are not connecting to the Net or anything outside of the perimeter of the colony site. This is not because your devices are broken or damaged. Each of our PBJ devices has been temporarily closed out while we are here. That is why the technician wished to inspect all of our PBJ’s. Once the colony simulation has been completed, the temporary lock-out will be released.

“The second is that we will be treating this exactly as we would being on Bastien. That means that there will benich okhorona…night guards. It is still cold, but I have been warned that some animals are already up and moving about, and it is still very much warmer than at the Adirondack Institute. There will be a watch of two at the pens, and two teams of two walking the colony at all times.

“I know that this will interrupt sleeping, which is why Richard and I will be taking the midnight to four AM guard. I will need volunteers for the other team and for the watch on the livestock pens.”

Several hands shot into the air and Sofiya smiled at the willingness of others to take what was generally considered the worse shift possible.

“Thank you Hector, Emanuella, Kizu, Joel and Neelu. As for the other times, those that wish to also volunteer, Hector will take your names. It is important to see to it that your relief guards are awakened thirty minutes before hand so that they may wake up fully. Viktor and the other cooks have already promised to have hot drinks and tasty things to eat available at all times. Also, Yun Chu Shi has brought in the container of rain clothing for all to use. Unfortunately we do not have boots to wear, but cold weather footwear may be recommended for some with the wet and the mud.

“Finally, all guards will have radios, hand lights and the devices the Richard will now demonstrate. If there are any questions, please come talk to either myself or Hector.” The red fox Fur gave the other colony members a warm smile and sat down as the silver fox stood, an item that looked like a white baton in his hands.

“One of the things that the engineers in Stockholm came up for us to use are these shock rods. It works like a cattle prod, or personal stunner protection device. All you have to do is touch the end to whatever is giving you trouble, push the trigger button, and it’ll zap them with enough juice to either stop it cold or make it run away.” He depressed the thumb trigger. Between the two nubs an arc of blue-white electricity crackled loud and bright enough for all to see and hear.

“Just like the firearms, these will be stored in the armory module when not in use, and you will log in to carry one. Night watch, the first teams will sign for theirs now. When you wake up your relief and hand the rods over, make a note in your PBJ who gets it and send it to me.”

Richard had been appointed as the colony safety officer, a position that no one had balked about, much to Sofiya’s relief. She wanted her partner in a position of authority simply for his knowledge and experience.

“These aren’t toys. These are very serious weapons…as serious as any of the firearms. Treat them with respect. The first individual I find misusing them will find his or her tail shaved before the end of the day, I can guarantee you that. All rods will be returned to the armory module by oh eight hundred in the morning so they can go on the charger.

“And as these are experimental and Stockholm wants a complete field trial and evaluation, losing one may cost you your five year bonus. So let’s make sure I get them all back in the morning, okay?”

The rest of the contingent nodded and voiced agreement with the occasional weak chuckle before Richard reclaimed his seat and Sofiya stood back up.

“I realize that it has been a very long day, and many may want to seek their beds. We will all stay in here tonight, and tomorrow night we will have all of the personal domes up for privacy. As such we need the tables and benches moved to the sides. While it is more than acceptable to be talking and spending time with friends, all I ask is that we are being considerate of others and talking is done so quietly.”

Many of the Vulps agreed that it had been a long day and the combination of hard work, laboring in the cold rain, bellies full of a hot meal had many yawning and more than ready to call it a day. The main area of the Great Dome was cleared, tables and benches stacked against the inner wall opposite the door and sleeping pallets were doled out with pillows and sleeping bags.

There wasn’t as much conversation as Sofiya had anticipated, and those few that stayed up a little late talking did so in whispered tones that were easily lost in the hissing of the rain on the plastic panels of the structure. With another smile at the assorted Furs, Sofiya set up a pallet for her and Richard as he handed out the shock batons and gave last minute instructions to the watchers that would soon be heading out and making sure that the promised hot drinks were available. She was already laying down when the silver fox joined her under the sleeping bag that had been unzipped so they could both snuggle under it against the chill air. With a wide yawn, her tongue curling over on itself, the red fox settled against Richard’s chest and the circle of his arms.

“At least we will have a small rest before taking our turn on watch,” she murmured drowsily.

“I don’t know how you do it, but you’re doing everything right,” the male whispered in her ear. “If me and Jack had had an officer like you back in the Marines, we’d have followed him anywhere if he’d done the things you’re doing.”

“I am doing nothing special,charivnyy. I do what is right and it is only proper that I share the same burdens as all the others.”

Richard nuzzled the juncture behind her ear before shifting to kiss her on the cheek. “And that’s what makes you so good at this.”

Sofiya didn't hear the last as she slipped from waking to sleeping in the space of a single heartbeat.

CHAPTER 19

"Night Life"

Sofiya had the hood of her rain poncho pulled over her head, though that did little from keeping the frigid rain from finding its way down her throat and after less than fifteen minutes her upper body seemed as if it were soaked all the way down to her skin. The rain hadn’t let up at all, and she now knew why the Olympic Peninsula was considered a rain forest. She hadn’t seen steady precipitation like this since Africa. Unlike that continent, Washington State was well above the equator and being wet and cold was challenging her endurance.

Richard wasn’t any better off and she knew that despite the cheerful demeanor he exhibited, her silver fox was just as miserable. Though he might be used to rough conditions from his past, that didn’t mean he liked them anymore than she did. They met up with the other perimeter watch.

“Apart from the rain, I haven’t heard or seen anything,” Hector told the other two Vulps.

“Heh! In this rain you could run a train through and we would not hear it!” Emanuella snorted without humor. “Of course I wouldn’t be able to hear anything with my teeth chattering the way they are.”

Sofiya looked at the kit fox vixen with a pang of sympathy. “Do not be forgetting there is hot coffee, tea and cider for us. Go get some and warm up.”

“Are you positive?” Hector asked, also looking miserable. He was used to the heat, and even the rain, but the present weather had the South American grey fox convinced that a new Ice Age was beginning. Even though his donor fox type was as adapted to the cold and heat, he was on the opposite seasonal change as the Furs from the other three Institutes and it had been summer when they had come to join the colony group. As such, none of the Buenos Aires Furs had their winter coats in yet.

“I am very sure,” the red fox told the others with a smile as she looked down the lane at the other side of the compound and the structure that also had the food stores, thinking that she’d heard something but saw nothing other than shadows and rain in the dim illumination of the few safety lights they’d gotten up. “I will be here until all of you return.”

“Why don’t I stay…” Richard began before his partner cut him off.

“Because I told all of you to go get something to drink. You can bring me back a hot cider if you wish,” she said with a hand to her lover’s face.

The silver fox shrugged and reluctantly turned for the Great dome with the other two, the sound that the vixen thought she’d heard earlier coming again, though with their backs to that direction and the rain on their poncho hoods, all of them were doing everything but yelling to be heard.

As the others headed into the Great Dome, Sofiya made her way to the storage dome, her sandaled feet squelching in the mud and plant debris. When lightning flashed for a moment, she saw that the door to the dome had been wrenched violently to the side, the hinges completely twisted into so much junk and the panel that had sealed the opening hung crazily to the side with a crack running through it. From the opening came a deepwhuff! accompanied by a heavy, musky animal smell. Before Sofiya could even adjust her grip on the baton she carried, a large dark form burst from the doorway with an earsplitting roar.

If not for the greater agility and speed granted by her transformation, Sofiya would have been disemboweled by the swipe of the large paw and sharp, curving claws. As it was, the anthrovixen was already leaping backwards when the bear swung at her, its claws snagging the rain poncho she wore and shredding the water repellant fabric easily. Sofiya landed several feet back, going to a three point stance while her paw-like hand tightened on the baton and wondering if it would be enough to dissuade the huge ursine.

Motion from the corner of her eye caught her attention as she faced the bear, and realized at the last possible moment that it was Richard. The silver fox had heard the roar even over the sound of the rain. Unfortunately the bear had been alerted to the Fur’s approach by the sound of his feet splashing heavily in the puddles as he ran to assist the vixen. With surprising speed and accuracy the bear turned as it reared on its back legs, one huge forepaw swinging out to catch the other Vulps in the shoulder. There was enough mass and strength behind the swing so that even though it should only have been a glancing hit, it was enough to send Richard sprawling.

At seeing her mate in danger, something within Sofiya snapped and the fox aspect was released in full. With a snarling leap, she darted forward and buried the prod into the bear’s side, her thumb holding the button down with so much force that the claw began to burrow into the plastic.

The bear roared with the sudden unexpected pain and swiped at the fox even though it was still focused on the other Vulps. The vixen had been expecting such a reaction and darted to the side even as she ducked before launching herself forward. Sofiya knew that she didn’t have enough mass to really affect the bear or deflect its relentless onslaught on her mate, and after raiding the food storage dome, it knew that there was easy food to be had, one of its only concerns after a long hibernation.

That the animal had recently been in hibernation aided Sofiya. With its winter slumber, the bear had lost vital weight and muscle mass and its reflexes were thankfully still sluggish. This didn’t diminish the danger the animal presented, and it had to be dealt with decisively. With a snarl, her teeth bared in determination, Sofiya landed on the ursine’s back, using her claws in hands and feet to scale the beast.

With a roar of rage and confusion, the bear tried to shake the fox that dug painfully into its hide. The pain caused the anger, the confusion came from the fox being so tenacious and aggressive. It had dined on more than a few foxes during its six years of life, and this creature, while larger than the other foxes it had encountered, along with a scent that was slightly off, should have tried to run from it. Instead, the vixen had attacked, and that was completely outside of the bear’s realm of experience. The main concern at the moment was getting the bothersome little beast off its back.

Sitting between the huge shoulders, Sofiya dug in even harder, her nose filled with the scent of the bear’s blood as her claws pierced its thick skin save the paw that held the shock baton. Still snarling in defiance, the vixen plunged the end of the rod hard against the bear’s neck, her own extremities tingling in the residual discharge that made it to her through the wet pelt as rain continued to fall on her and her adversary. The roar that the bear released was deafening and the hearty shake it gave slewed her to the side. In a desperate act, the animal tried to dislodge the fox again, its claws grazing Sofiya’s back and opening three furrows in her flesh before she could resume her perch on the massive shoulders.

There was no alternative now. The bear knew of a food source, and now it had Sofiya’s blood in its nostrils. Even as Richard pushed himself up and shook his head to clear it, forgotten by the bear for the moment as it dealt with the most immediate threat, Sofiya tossed the baton away and threw herself over the thick neck, her arms snaking around and locking across the animal’s throat as she grasped her own wrist. As the bear shook and bounced up and down, frantically trying to dislodge the anthrofox, Sofiya added to her purchase by clamping down with her own jaws on the thick, dank smelling scruff even as she began to haul upwards with every last ounce of strength she possessed.

Air was suddenly cut off to the ursine’s lungs as the arms tightened around its trachea. With the loss of air, all thoughts of food, even its anger at these strange foxes, were forgotten as it felt overwhelming fear and the need to flee. As its head was forcibly lifted up and back, it was denied the two things that it wanted the most and experienced panic for the first time in its life as it was forced to look upward at the dark sky, rain falling into its snout and bulging eyes.

Sofiya didn’t relent, and just as she thought she was at the last of her reserves, she dug deeper, her need to defend her mate and her den overriding all other considerations. From her vantage, the vixen brought her knees up, placing them at the base of the creature’s head and with a final surge of the increased strength that being a Fur had imparted, yanked up with arms, back and legs, her efforts rewarded by several deep, wet sounding cracks as the neck vertebrae finally gave way.

The final surge of exertion was all that she could manage, and as the body beneath her went limp and started to collapse, Sofiya all but swooned into her own personal oblivion as she fell with the dead bear. Even as they landed in the mud, the bear rolling partially on top of her, there was a sense of satisfaction that she had done all in her ability to protect what was hers and lay on her back, water and mud soaking into her fur as raindrops fell against her closed eyes, into her nose and open, panting mouth.

Unable to do anymore than gasp for air, feeling as if she would also expire after the titanic struggle as exhaustion claimed her, she was vaguely aware of the weight of the animal on top of her moving. For a moment she welcomed the possibility of dying if it meant an end to the pain that ran hotly through her body. When a large, dark head appeared over her, Sofiya was unable to restrain the final act of defiance against the bear and swung her left arm, the limb feeling as if it were weighed down with lead. Her hand connected with the shape that blurred in her vision, fairly sure that a child could have hit with more force.

“What the hell was that for, lover?” Richard asked with confusion as he started to scoop the vixen up.

“Yakyy?...Richard?...”

“It’s okay, Honey. I’ve got you,” the silver fox told the female softly as he cradled her to his chest. “I’ve got you.”

***

The titanic battle that felt like it had lasted hours…even days to the vixen had, in reality, only lasted a little more than a minute. There had been enough time for other Furs to boil out of the Great Dome and see the vixen riding the dead form of the bear into the mud before collapsing. Even as the other Vulps poured out of the dome to see what the noise was all about, many having been frightened out of a sound sleep by the bear’s raging screams, Richard was pushing past them with his mate in his arms, his face a curious study of concern and worry mixed with beaming pride and abounding affection.

“Clear that table!” the silver fox ordered as he stepped in out of the rain. “Riva! Valerie!”

The vixens didn’t need to hear their name twice, and the little fennec and bat eared foxes were already moving forward with their medical kits, Riva Weicz of the Stockholm Class 18 group only a moment behind her counterpart. Valerie would assist the other vixen as Riva had been a trauma surgeon in Tel Aviv prior to volunteering for the AHCP. Both noted the shredded remains of Sofiya’s clothing was sodden with not only mud, but also a substantial amount of blood as well.

“Victor, I need hot water and blankets,” Riva directed of her partner. “Richard, you also get a couple of blankets. Valerie and I need to work and would prefer a little privacy. Also we will need lights.”

The silver fox did as he was instructed after putting the vixen on the table that had been cleared for the limp form and had Charlotte and Siobhan hold up a make-shift screen while grabbing a couple of portable lamps and began setting them up.

Victor had a far easier job as the water that was available was already clean and purified, and was able to heat several large pots of water quickly as the two physicians began cutting away Sofiya’s clothing to assess the extent of her injuries.

As she was tended to and cleaned up, her ruined clothing winding up in a pile on the floor of the dome, Sofiya opened her eyes to find Richard looking down at her with tears in his eyes. She smiled when he cupped the side of her head with tender affection.

“What do you think you were doing?” he asked in a thick voice.

“Had to. Too much of…a danger to…everyone,” the vixen breathed. She wrapped her fingers around the silver fox’s wrist. “Was a…danger…to you.”

“You beautiful, brave, stupid girl,” he said with a chuckle. “Next time at least call for help!” There was no stemming the dampness that welled in his eyes or the drops that rolled down the fur of his cheeks. “I’ve waited thirty three years to find you. I’m not going to lose you now.”

Sofiya smiled for a moment before her eyes fluttered closed. Richard looked up to see Riva putting away a syringe that was now empty.

“We need to sew up the lacerations after they’re cleaned,” the bat eared vixen told the male. “It will be best if she’s asleep while we do that.”

“Is she going to be alright?”

Valerie laid a hand on the silver fox’s forearm. “Most of the damage is superficial, Richard. She’ll be right sore for a few days, though, and it would be best for her to take it easy.” The fennec laid out a kit with soft plastic brush and iodine solution for wound cleaning. “In the morning you should get her set up in one of the completed domes.”

It took a little over an hour for the two physicians to remove the mud and blood from Sofiya’s fur and get the wounds cleaned and apply sutures where dermal adhesives wouldn’t work. She started to stir at the end of the process, the major work done with. She said something in Ukrainian that Richard didn’t catch, but there was no mistaking the tone and she reached up to rub at her head.

“What was that?” Richard asked as he knelt down next to the vixen.

“No more cheap vodka,” the red fox female groused. “My head is feeling as if it is splitting open.”

The silver fox looked at the two doctors who only smiled and shook their heads to indicate nothing was wrong. “Yes, cheap vodka is bad. What about a bear, though. Do you remember the bear?”

Sofiya nodded before trying to sit up. “I need a towel…or blanket.”

“Are you cold?”

“A little. I do not wish to talk to others with just my fur on, though.”

Richard cocked his head curiously but reached over for a clean blanket and draped it around the vixen’s shoulders then helped her off the table. Sofiya was a little unsteady and moved gingerly, every inch of her body protesting. Even her tail ached and she smiled ruefully at that even as she depended on her lover for support.

Charlotte and Siobhan lowered the blanket from where they had used a couple of poles and fabric to make a privacy screen and regarded their friend with the same look of stunned awe that the rest of the colonists looked at the vixen with.

“This is why I was wanting to have watches established,” Sofiya told the group, her voice sounding tired, but her words were clear. “If this is to be happening here, on our home planet, what might happen on Bastien? Yes, the Felis were there for little more than four years, but there will be much that we do not know about and there will always be dangers to guard against.”

Sofiya all but sagged into the silver fox’s arms as her strength rapidly faded and the effect of the pain medication Riva and Valerie had given her made her head swim.

“Do not be afraid of what has happened. Just remember to always be watchful. Guard against danger and keep each other safe.” The red fox vixen snugged the blanket a little tighter around her body and looked at Daniel Holt. “It is time for bears to be coming out of hibernation, yes?”

“Oh, most definitely,” the grey fox said with a nod.

“And what are the chances of this happening again?” Sofiya asked.

Daniel shrugged. “I would have to say that the odds are maybe one in five hundred, but I can’t be sure. This is completely a wilderness area. We have food and the bears that’ll be coming out of hibernation are going to be ravenous. They’ll be able to smell what we have over a great distance, so precautions are certainly in order. Then there’s the livestock and, I hate to say it, us.”

Sofiya nodded. “We must keep all stores fully sealed and any refuse is to be burned. If any one is to be going out of the compound, it is never to be alone.”

The vixen almost fell as her legs started to give out and she was only held up by Richard.

“Other…precautions we will be discussing…tomorrow,” the vixen said before the silver fox lifted her off her feet and carried Sofiya to the pallet they had been sharing, making sure she was covered and offering to get her something to drink.

When the red fox shook her head no with a warm smile and finally succumbed to exhaustion, Richard sat looking at her for several minutes, realizing along with the others that what she had said was correct and that if this could happen here, there was no telling what might occur on Bastien. He only stirred from his silent vigil when he felt a touch on his shoulder and found Riva and Valerie standing behind him with another cleaning and suture kit.

“Now that she’s asleep, let’s take of that shoulder,” the fennec said as she parted the long tear in the male’s robe top to expose the long gouges that he hadn’t even been aware of having.

CHAPTER 20

"Visitors"

Three days after the bear incident, Sofiya woke when a soft knock sounded on the frame for the door of the dome she and Richard shared. To say that she was still recovering from the battle was an understatement and ever inch of her hybrid body ached as if she’d been thoroughly beaten, which was an appropriate description of what had happened. With a slight grunt of discomfort, the red fox lifted her head from the pillow to see Maria Paccini enter with a tray of food and small dispensary cup with her medications.

“How are you feeling today?” the fennec inquired with a concerned smile.

“I cannot say as I am trying to not use bad language,” Sofiya joked weakly. “I am also needing help sitting up, I think.”

The other vixen‘Tsked’ and set the tray down on the floor before moving to help her friend. “And it is no wonder. I don’t know if even Richard would have been able to do what you did!”

The red fox winced as several joints popped and her muscles creaked, though getting into a sitting position was enough of a small victory to make her tail twitch a few times in an attempt to wag. “No, Richard would have done much better. He is very brave and strong.”

“But he didn’t fight a bear and win!” Maria pointed out with a grin.

“It was a small bear.”

The first thing that Sofiya took from the tray was a cup of coffee, knowing that her mate had prepared it for her as there was the proper amount of cream and the slightest hint of honey sweetening the hot drink. She sipped appreciatively through the straw and smiled. It seemed that no matter how often she brushed her teeth, she could sometimes still taste the bear’s pelt and blood and the coffee drove the memory of the taste away. When she looked down at the rest of the tray she was amazed to see a plate full of strips of seared meat and what looked like mushrooms.

“Where did this come from?”

Maria chuckled. “Daniel has been finding the mushrooms all through the woods surrounding the colony. Riva has tested them and ensured that they are safe to eat.”

“And the meat? Where did it come from? Did we lose one of the goats or cows?” Sofiya asked in alarm.

The fennec shook her head. “You,” the former librarian said brightly. “It’s bear meat! Richard showed all of us what was edible and what parts weren’t as he used to hunt them. It’s very good, too!”

Without hesitation, the red fox vixen popped one of the strips into her mouth. As she chewed, her eyes almost rolled back into her head with the sheer bliss of real, red meat and not something processed or freeze dried from their store of rations. That she had been the reason for the windfall wasn’t really something she considered, but there was a certain satisfaction thatdid enhance the flavor.

“I am thinking that it is very good that no Ursis are with us,” Sofiya commented wryly. “I do not think I would like another fight after being accused of killing a cousin!”

Maria laughed at the sally, pleased that her friend was doing so much better and told her as much accompanied by an impulsive hug. “When you are done with your breakfast I’m supposed to show you all of the things that have been accomplished. Riva and Valerie both have said that while you are to rest, you should get a little exercise.”

As if speaking their names had summoned them, the two Vulps physicians entered the dome, Riva pulling a syringe from the pocket of her robe top along with a vial of clear liquid.

“What is this?” Sofiya asked as she eyed the vial suspiciously.

“It’s for any pain and lingering soreness,” Riva said with a curious look as if the red fox female had just asked why the sky is blue.

Sofiya shook her head. “Just standard pain relievers. When we are living on Bastien, we will have a very limited supply. I do not feel any more discomfort now than when the transformation was at the worse part and I am getting better. Pain and some discomfort is something that will have to be dealt with by all. We are not going to be able to replenish what is used and that might mean we will not have it when it is truly important.”

Riva and Valerie looked at each other.

“You’re right,” the fennec said. “We will have a finite supply.” The female shook her head. “I’m so used to being able to order what I’m running low on that I never really thought about that.” She sighed. “It doesn’t mean that I have to like it, though.”

Sofiya nodded. “We must learn to conserve and recycle almost everything possible. We must also learn to be stronger and accept that not all will be happiness and good times.”

“I think you’ve proved that quite well,” Riva said earnestly. “Iwould, however, like to look at your wounds.”

“Of course,” Sofiya said with a smile as she resumed her breakfast. “Then the three of you may help me get out of bed and get dressed! I think it would not do for me to limp around without any clothing!”

***

Richard had been working with Rupert and Matthew to coordinate the building of a wall of brambles, branches and other obstacles around the entirety of the simulated colony site after explaining to Hector why a palisade would be a prudent idea. There were what essentially equaled two gates with one that let out directly in the direction of the river and the other to the animal pens. A third opening, but far smaller was set on the far side, the silver fox saying that it wouldn’t be wise to trap themselves if something happened.

When Hector asked what kind of event could prompt an evacuation of the colony, Richard only shrugged. “I don’t know, but after seeing Sofiya fighting a bear, I don’t want to take any chances!”

With Maria and Riva’s assistance, the red fox vixen took a tour of the colony site, more than pleased with the amount of progress. Not only were all of the personal domes up, but the Vulps had already begun improvement efforts. There were three shower and wash points, the stalls resting on raised platforms of logs. The runoff was collected beneath, and as they were taking biodegradable soaps with them, the used water would be diverted to the plot where they had already planted crops that were known to do well on Bastien. The same was being done with the water from the two laundry stations. Hoses had already been laid and there were four water points around the colony besides the main location at the Great Dome that were attached to drinking fountains and small plastic sinks and spigots like you’d see at a fair or street festival.

Sofiya slipped up next to Richard as he was discussing another palisade around the animal pens and put her arm around his waist with a playful pinch to the base of his tail even as he paused to nuzzle her cheek ruff with the end of his muzzle.

“C’mon, Rup,” Matthew said lightly with a wide smile. “Let’s let these two have a moment while we see what we can find for this project.”

Richard and Sofiya smiled at the other two Vulps before the silver fox led the female around the compound to show her what improvements had been made. “I think the biggest help is that it hasn’t rained since our first night,” Richard told his mate as they strolled around with his arm around her waist, careful about not touching any of her injuries.

“So, I am not needed,” the vixen quipped with a grin. “I think I shall find one or two of the younger Furs to wait on me and feed me grapes,” she said loftily.

“Oh, no you don’t!” the silver fox said with a laugh. “If anyone feeds you grapes it’ll be me!”

As the pair stepped around the far side of the Great Dome, Sofiya spied something on makeshift a rack that she couldn’t identify. “What is that?”

“A little trophy,” her mate replied. “That’s the pelt of the bear. I used it to show the others how to cure a hide and now it’s drying.”

Unable to stop herself, Sofiya approached and looked the skin over along with the skull that had been boiled clean. “It does not look to be so big, now.”

“Big enough, Honey. Before dressing it out, it had to weigh almost four hundred pounds. That’s not a bad size for a black bear, and they’re not predators to take lightly.” Richard showed her the claws on the front paws and the vixen had to admit they were good sized, each one over an inch and a half long. “This bear was fairly young, which means he was strong. That you took him down without any weapons isn’t something to dismiss lightly. They’re lethal by their third year and more than a handful at two hundred pounds.”

Snippets of the fight came to her memory as she regarded the skin, and if she looked closely, Sofiya could see where her own claws and teeth had punctured the hide.

“All I ask is this,” Richard said as he turned her away from the hide and other parts that he’d cleaned so she could have them as trophies. “Please, don’t ever do that again.” His paws cupped her face as she looked up at him and his warm, bronze eyes that he blinked rapidly to keep clear. “I love you and don’t want to lose you. I…I don’t think that I could go on if something happened to you. You…you make life worth living, Sofiya.”

***

Following standard procedure of weekly updates, Stockholm was made fully aware of the incident with the bear with headquarters even going so far as putting the monitoring station on alert for possible medical evacuation. Sofiya and Hector clarified the situation and informed the monitoring station that med-evac was unnecessary and that the situation was well in hand. Headquarters was impressed with the concept of the palisade and using available materials for defensive precautions and requested greater detail for application in future training programs.

As she healed up, Sofiya returned to her normal level of activity and as the colonists threw themselves into the exercise, keeping on top of the small chores of basic maintenance and almost continuous site improvement. Those that had skills that could prove useful began to impart that knowledge to their fellow Vulps.

Hector was skilled in utilizing natural materials for fashioning a variety of tools and helpful items and with some of the other Furs that had experience in manual trades, came up with different methods of producing a wide range of items ranging from bowls, eating utensils to hand tools for planting and harvesting. Even Tipper and Ruiz got into the spirit of experimenting and the two were able to carve a pleasant sounding pair of flutes out of a few of the bones obtained from Sofiya’s bear.

The red fox was also very proud of her mate and was thrilled with Richard imparting what he knew of hunting to the Furs that wanted to learn. Because of his skill, and the frequent lessons that he was asked to teach it was rare that offerings from the colony cooks didn’t include either fresh game or fish. Apart from hunting, Richard and Hector also taught land navigation and how to dead reckon their way through the forest to return to the simulation site from random points in the forest.

By the start of their second month, Sofiya was confident in the abilities of the Vulps and believed with all of her being that they were ready for life not just on Bastien, but nearly any world that they might be sent to by the AHCP.

Crops of different legumes and fast growing greens were already starting to come in, and apart from game, meals were being supplemented with forage from the surrounding woods. To further the other Vulps experience with life on another planet, anything they found or that looked remotely like it might provide some sort of sustenance, even the things that were known to be food, were tested thoroughly. One of the things that they wouldn’t shortage of for a number of years were the field testing kits. The small analyzers for field use only weighed a few ounces, and they would be taking quite a few crates of the kits. Of course, all findings were verified by Valerie, Riva and Daniel when it came to possible foods.

The weather had also improved dramatically, the days warming quite nicely, though nights were still a little cool, and while they received rain on an average of four days out of seven, it wasn’t nearly as difficult as the first night at the site had been. Sofiya and Richard were strolling through the compound holding hands and looking at the equipment that would be most important during their tenure on Bastien, such as the solar collectors and water purifiers, when the vixen’s PBJ chimed with an alert even as the silver fox’s head jerked up and he turned east, his ears standing erect and swiveling in on a sound that caught his attention.

“It is from Stockholm,” the red fox said with a frown. “A helicopter is to be arriving this morning…”

“Yeah,” Richard said lifting his arm and pointing. “It just cleared that notch between those two peaks.”

Sofiya looked at where her mate indicated. “I don’t know why, but we’ve been ordered to assist if we can.”

“Assist with what?”

“I am thinking we will find out.”

Other Furs stopped what they were doing or came out of their domes as the helicopter neared. It was small enough, being a Bell Jet Ranger model, to land outside the colony perimeter. What intrigued Sofiya and Richard was the markings on the side identifying it as a Washington State Police aircraft. As the engine died and the rotors slowed, a man in blue fatigues with a badge on his left breast pocket and name strip on the right pulled a ball cap on and trotted the edge of the palisade.

“Is there a Sofiya Talova here?”

“I’m Sofiya,” the vixen said as she kept the barrier between her and the policeman.

“Is there somewhere we can talk, Ma’am?”

The red fox Fur nodded. “Toshiro! Would you be kind and show Mister…”

“Trooper Gibson, Ma’am.”

“Trooper Gibson to the Great Dome. Also find Hector and send him to us, please.”

The Asian red fox Fur bowed quickly in acknowledgement and led the Trooper to the nearest gateway through the brush and brambles before pointing to the large dome in the center of the site.

“I wonder what this is about?” Richard commented as he filled a cup with hot tea for his vixen and a cup of coffee for himself and another for the visitor.

“To say that I am a little nervous is an understatement,” Sofiya admitted. “State Police has a very different meaning in the part of the world I come from.”

“Don’t worry, Ma’am,” the Trooper said with a slight grin. “I’m here to ask for help, not arrest anyone.” The young man nodded in thanks at the coffee, curious as to the straw that was incorporated into the cup until he saw the two Furs drink and realized that it would probably be easier for them as their lips couldn’t form a seal otherwise. “Thank you. I really need this right about now.”

Sofiya nodded. “So what is it that we are to be helping with?”

The policeman swallowed his sip of coffee and adjusted his cap. “About eighty miles from here, a family is out camping in the Olympic Range. Last night their son wandered out of the camp into the woods. We’ve had a search party out since three O’clock this morning, but we haven’t been able to find him and we won’t be getting the search and rescue dog teams in until tomorrow as most of them are still on site with their winter jobs in Montana and Colorado at different resorts as ski patrol.

“I remembered reading about the AHCP setting up a training site out here for you Furs, and contacted the company headquarters to see if you folk could help us out. I wouldn’t have bothered you all, but the kid is only four and the weather is still a little raw. That and apparently he’s on some kind of medication that he needs on a regular basis.”

The State Trooper fidgeted a little.

“I know that I don’t have any right asking this of you guys, and that a lot of people out there have been really crummy to you, but it’s a little kid we’re looking for. I’m going out on a limb for this, and I know you’d have not only my gratitude and that of the boy’s family, but any help you can give would be appreciated.”

Sofiya held up her hand for the Trooper to pause and stepped to the doorway of the Great Dome and put her sports whistle to her mouth. She let go with three shrill blasts. Within moments every single colonist was gathered around. “Hector, go get climbing gear for three Furs. Riva, you are with Richard and I. Get your medical bag and a backpack.” She pointed at Mina. “We will need extra clothing from the stores. Also rain ponchos. Victor, find something to put some of the bear meat in. Two pounds each for four people.” The vixen looked at her mate. “Richard, you know the rest of the equipment we will be needing.”

The State Policeman watched as the different anthrofoxes hustled to carry out the instructions that were given to them.

“Toshiro, you have climbing experience as well. Help Hector get what is needed, and please hurry,” Sofiya directed, nodding at the Asian red fox as he darted off. “We will be ready to depart in ten minutes,” she told the officer.

“Really? You’re coming? Just like that?” the young man asked incredulously.

“Just like that,” Sofiya said with a smile. “We will need things that the boy was wearing, or bedding…something that will have his scent.”

CHAPTER 21

"Wearing a White Hat"

“Everything you requested is waiting for you,” Trooper Gibson told the three Furs over the headsets that were perched precariously on their heads. The earphones hadn’t been designed with anthrobeings in mind, and they had to hold the sets in place over their triangular ears.

“How far out are we?” the black and smoky grey fox asked as he looked at the ground rushing by beneath them.

Gibson looked at the pilot the woman turning to face him and held up her hand with fingers splayed then closed two. “About eight minutes.”

It was a tight fit for all four of the Furs in the passenger section of the small helicopter and Sofiya was all but sitting on her mate’s lap. She leaned closer to the door, looking at the heavy woods below. It didn’t look as if the ground was too rough, but that was deceptive. Beneath the verdant foliage could be small ravines, streams and a number of obstacles that might hinder the search for the missing child. Those same obstacles could provide other challenges as well in the form of hiding places and potential hazards for the kid and foxes alike.

A gap in the canopy showed the worn track of the fire road that allowed access to the forests in this region. The tire tracks looked fairly fresh as the pilot shed some of her altitude before coming in over a clearing that was filled with a variety of different vehicles. Most of the cars and SUV’s that they saw were different law enforcement units including local Sheriff’s, State Police and Park Service vehicles. There were also two news vans and one moderately sized RV and an ambulance.

The pilot dropped the helicopter with deft touches of the stick and cyclic, lowering the small aircraft gently onto the damp grass that whipped outwards from the wash of the rotor, the downdraft kicking up moisture and stems that swirled in a maelstrom around the Plexiglas windows. Needing no real prompting, the Furs opened the doors and piled out, all three snagging their small packs as they exited. Gibson joined them a moment later and motioned them to follow, leading the way to a large box truck with Park Service colors and logos on the doors and side panels.

Sofiya noticed that many of the people that were milling around hadn’t been expecting them and expressions ranged from jaw-dropping surprise to a few of revulsion and one or two that eyed the Furs with open hostility. None of the Vulps paid any attention to the other humans that were gathered around and headed straight to the box truck that was serving as the communication point for the rescue effort.

As Sofiya neared the open back, searchers and reporters that were sipping at steaming paper cups of coffee or tea parted, though the vixen’s access to the vehicle was blocked by a State Trooper in a slightly rumpled shirt and tie with brass oak leaves on his shoulder tabs and his ‘Smokey-the-Bear’ hat in hand who glowered at the female.

“Before you come in here thinking that you can jus-”

The man was cutoff not by either of the vixens, or even Richard, but by Toshiro who bared his teeth at the human, a growl escaping from his throat as the hackles on the back of his neck rose. The man’s first reaction was to let his hand twitch towards the pistol in the holster at his belt until Sofiya stepped between the Asian red fox and the policeman.

“Calm down, Toshiro,” Sofiya said with a hand on the other Fur’s arm, her tone and touch having the effect of instantly getting the male to relax. She turned her yellow-green eyes on the human. “We are not here to do anything other than find a child that is lost. Nothing more and nothing less.”

“Major, they can find the kid faster than-”

Gibson was silenced by the glare directed at him. “So you go and bring back these…thesefreaks? We don’t need thesethings to find the Ropper boy!”

“Fortunately you aren’t in charge here,” a woman in a Park Service uniform said. “This is aFederal park, not State. The only reason we called your department was out of professional courtesy.” The woman pushed past the State Trooper and extended her hand to Sofiya. “Sorry about Major Lambert. Personally, I’ll take all therealhelp I can get.” She smiled warmly at the Fur before extending her hand to the other three Vulps in turn. “I’m Supervisor Wilson, but you can call me Carol. Is there anything you need? Anything I can get you?”

“We are ready to begin soonest,” the vixen told the woman, liking her immediately and her level of professionalism. “I am Sofiya and these are Richard, Riva and Toshiro.”

“It’s a pleasure” Carol said with another smile. “Terrence said that you wanted to access clothing or something else of the boy’s?” At Sofiya’s confused expression the woman smiled. “Sorry. Trooper Gibson. Let’s get you four to their campsite. I’ve had the rest of the search personal clear the area.” The woman gave the vixen an embarrassed look. “I wasn’t sure how you would start looking for Mickey, the boy that’s missing, but from what I’ve read about you Furs, I thought you might also use scent.”

Sofiya nodded with a small smile to put the woman at ease. “It is part of the transformation. All of our senses are enhanced to aid in life on another planet. Many times it is used to accurately determine if something that might be used for food is safe or not.”

The small mixed group drew near to the family’s campsite consisting of little more than a large tent that could be divided into rooms, a pop-up shelter with portable table and chairs and an SUV with small trailer. A man and woman sat at the table, both with vacant looks on their drawn and tired faces while two more children, one about thirteen, the other around ten, a girl and boy respectively, fidgeted off to the side. The man stood with the approach of Carol and Terrence accompanied by the four Furs.

“Are you here to help find my son?” the man asked in a desperate voice, his brown eyes frantic. He was bandaged in several places and there was the beginning of a spectacular bruise on the side of his forehead.

Sofiya nodded. “His name is Mickey?”

“Michael,” the man said with a nod. “But we’ve always called him Mickey. Are you going to find him?” The man had taken one of Sofiya’s paw-like hands in his, completely unmindful of what she was, only hopeful that someone else might be able to help find his child.

The red fox put a reassuring hand on the man’s shoulder. “We will find him, Sir. Of that you may be confident.”

Trooper Gibson stepped in and guided the distraught father back to his chair, the man already having had a rough night.

While Gibson deflected the frantic man, Carol took the Furs to the tent and offered a selection of clothing and the boy’s sleeping bag. Without any self consciousness, Sofiya and Richard sniffed the different fabrics, the vulpine aspect of their brains cataloging the child’s personal scent into a sort of file that was already being used to identify other things through their olfactory capabilities. Toshiro and Riva also followed suit and nodded when they were ready.

“We will work out from the tent,” Sofiya instructed the others. “When one of us finds the trail, mark it with this.” She pulled out a bundle of bright red strips from her pack and handed several strands to each of the other Vulps. “I am thinking that we will find the direction he took a little ways out from this place.”

One of the things that the vixen and Richard had both been studying had been search and rescue processes from some of the other colonies that had had Furs that either got lost or separated from the rest of their groups for one reason or another. Methods had been learned and developed using the enhanced abilities of Furs, and this was the plan that all four had agreed upon during the helicopter trip.

Each of the foxes took a direction, their back and forth quarter-circle pattern taking them to the edge of the individual to the right and left. As was expected, all four found traces of the child’s scent and marked these, removing other tags for older scents to narrow their focus. It was Riva that found her trail went further and tied two fabric tags to a sapling before whistling for the others.

“Did you take your son in that direction for any reason yesterday?” Richard asked as he pointed at the place Riva had marked.

The man shook his head. “No. We kept Mickey just around this part…close to the tent.” His eyes widened to the point where they started to bulge. “Have you found him already?” he asked excitedly.

“Not yet, sir,” the silver fox replied. “But we have found the direction he initially took.”

A quick conference with Carol and Terrence got all of them on the same radio frequency and the medical teams standing by as the four Furs turned for the deep woods. Before the quartet was out of sight of the large tent and emotional parents, distant thunder rumbled through the woods to add to the urgency of the situation.

“Richard, you are better at tracking. You will lead,” Sofiya told her mate then turned to the others. “Toshiro will go next followed by Riva. I will be last in line. Now, let us go quickly. I am thinking we have very little time left.”

***

Evolution had given foxes a better sense of smell than most canid types, though the trade off was diminished eyesight. The genetic engineers attached to the Anthro Human Colonization Program had actively rectified this deficiency with eyesight that was normally a bit better than 20/20 vision once the transformation from human to Fur was complete, along with the ability to maintain the ability to see colors. Of course hearing was still far better than what a human had, and enable the Furs to hear frequencies that Homo Sapiens were deaf to.

Richard Tavington used all of these senses as he followed the scent trail of the wayward four year old boy they were hunting for. What wasn’t helping him or the others at the moment was time. Over the thick emerald canopy of the Pacific Northwest woods clouds darkened and roiled, filled with moisture that would soon come down upon the area in a torrential storm.

They had already come a little more than four miles through undergrowth that even they found daunting as briars, vines and undergrowth that snagged clothing and fur coats alike while leaf debris and moss hid rocks and divots that caught feet, toes and fingers as the Vulps made their way through the dense foliage on all fours. Considering their difficulty, the silver fox surmised that human searchers might have gone around terrain like this with the logical but mistaken belief that the tyke wouldn’t have been able to make it through either.

What the searchers wouldn’t have factored in was the sheer stubborn factor of a little boy that wanted to explore and not see such terrain as an obstacle at all, but a fun challenge. Had he not had a scent to follow, the silver fox might have surmised the same.

Richard had to smile at that thought as he followed the little boy’s trail. He could recall a time in his own childhood where he would have also found it a fun obstacle course.

The smoky colored fox halted, his ears cocking forward as he strained his auditory senses, a feeling of dread filling his belly. “Sounds like a waterfall ahead,” he told the others quietly. “We need to hurry!”

“Go as fast as you are able without losing the scent,” Sofiya told him just as quietly, her own ears picking up the sound of rushing water and urgency coloring her words. “We can keep up. That is another reason I wanted us to all wear very bright clothing. We will still be able to see you and each other.”

Richard nodded, taking strength even now from the little vixen as she drew from him, and dropped his head, his steps faster than before. So intent was he on the trail of the lad’s passing, his ears filled with the sound of the ever-nearing waterfall that the male Vulps encountered the ledge that suddenly opened in the edge of the wood and looked down a rock face to a turbulent watercourse thirty feet down.

“STOP!” Richard cried, leaning back on his haunches. There’d been no warning that the forest ended so suddenly, or that the river had cut a track right up to the trees. There’d been no increase in light with the heavily overcast sky obscuring the sun, and if not for slightly better reflexes, the silver fox Fur might have gone right over the side himself.

“Which way does the scent go?” Sofiya asked, a hint of frantic desperation in her voice.

“Straight over the rocks,” her mate said, the icy feeling in his gut increasing.

The red fox lowered herself to her belly and inched forward as far as she felt she could safely go and peered down for a long moment before pulling back. “Get the ropes and harness!” Sofiya ordered as she pulled her pack off her shoulders. “It looks as if there is a shelf of rock twenty feet beneath!”

It only took a few minutes for the others to rig three ropes for the Fur, Sofiya being the lightest of the group, and the ends were secured to a tree further back as she got the harness in place around her waist and thighs. A quick kiss from Richard for luck was all that was needed before she leaned backwards over the edge and kicked off with her powerful legs. With the strength that had been bestowed upon her with her transformation, the vixen found lowering herself to be fairly easy, and from the training that she’d had the Abeona colony group going through, she knew that she had powerful enough arms to also climb back up if need be.

The rock wall already sloped in a little bit from the overhanging ledge above, but at twelve feet down it cut in drastically. There were roots dangling out of cracks that in a worst case scenario she would more than likely be able to use to get back up with. Another nine feet down the rock formed a thick shelf that had the appearance of flooding occasionally when the watercourse that roared in her ears swelled with rainwater. Tucked into the back as far as he could go was a little boy with sandy blond hair. He was huddled in a flannel blanket that could use a good washing after the leaves and twigs were removed, similar to the pajamas with little racecars that he wore.

As Sofiya made the ledge, she saw that the little boy wasn’t really the worse for wear. He had a few scratches and scrapes that cleaning and antiseptic would do well for, but that was all she could detect. Mickey was also sound asleep, his rosy colored cheek pillowed on his own folded hands.

“Richard! He is here!” the vixen said into her radio, the sick tension of expecting to find either a broken little body, or worse, nothing at all, vanishing. “Let me have a few minutes to wake and secure him and I will let you know when we are to be coming back up!”

“We’ll be waiting, Honey,” her mate’s voice said back, relief evident in his tone as well.

Making sure there was enough slack in the rope and pulling the excess along with her, Sofiya made her way to the child. She reached out a gentle paw-like hand and brushed dirty hair back from the boy’s head. “Mickey? It is time to be waking up, little one,” she said softly. “It is time to go home.”

The child opened his eyes at the touch and sound of his name. When he was finished yawning and saw what was talking to him, a look of wonder took over his face along with a delighted grin. “Frannie!” he all but screamed in joy before launching himself at the Fur

The vixen was almost knocked off balance and if not for the hand paw that she threw behind her, she and the boy would have tumbled to the rock surface of the ledge. As it was, she couldn’t help but laugh at the last reaction she’d anticipated. “I do not know ‘Frannie’,” she replied, one arm curling around the child protectively, her furred cheek resting against the boy’s. “I am Sofiya.”

“But you’re Frannie Fox! I watch your show on TV!”

The Fur chuckled again. If being this ‘Frannie’ character helped her get the child back up the cliff and to his parents, then Frannie she would be. “You are right. I have come to get you back to your mother and father. They are missing you very much!”

“How come you sound different?” Mickey asked.

The Fur chuckled again and pointed at her nose. “Cold.”

“Oh!” the boy said before grabbing her and kissing her nose with an exaggerated sound. “I make it all better!”

It only took a few moments to fashion a way for the child to hold onto her back, further secured by a harness that Sofiya tied around her body. She radioed up to her mate before turning so she could see the little boy. “Are you prepared?” He nodded enthusiastically and held on with his hands firmly grasping the ropes she’d looped around her shoulders. When she swung out over the edge of the shelf and began hauling herself and the boy up, her ascent was assisted by Richard and the others pulling on the ropes to speed up the process.

Mickey was astonished to see the other Furs and called each of them a different name. Richard was now some character named Wendel and Riva became Fiona. Toshiro had already headed back to the campsite to inform the others that they’d found the boy as the weather was preventing them from getting through on the radios.

Once the ropes had been retrieved and stowed, Riva had examined the boy and given him his medication, a different kind of harness had been tied so that the child could ride on Sofiya’s back while they ran back to the camp. He laughed and chortled as the three Furs sped through the woods and the people that were waiting for them.

***

Paramedics were waiting with the parents and took the boy to be readied for a trip to the hospital after receiving Riva’s diagnosis. The Furs sat at the table under the pop-up shelter enjoying hot drinks with blankets over their shoulders once they were dry enough , the last half mile being through the heavy rainfall that they’d almost outrun, and all of them had gotten soaked.

“When Toshiro came back because the radios weren’t getting through and said that you all had found Mickey at the river, I thought…well, I thought the worse,” Carol Wilson admitted. “That river is some kind of dangerous. We have at least half a dozen kayakers that try to shoot it during the summer that pay the final price. A lot of us wish we could just rope it off, but the trout fishers that come here every year, not to mention the salmon run in the summer, prevents that.”

Trooper Terrence Gibson nodded in agreement. “We get almost a dozen calls a year because of that section. Class 5 rapids aren’t what you want to try and go down.” He tipped his cup to the Furs. “I’m just glad you guys were able to find the kid so quickly. Things don’t really turn out so well after the first twenty four hours. You all have my thanks.”

“And mine,” Carol agreed fervently.

Sofiya set her cup down and looked at the two humans. “What I do not understand is who this ‘Frannie Fox’ is and why Mickey called me this name?”

Before anyone could answer, Toshiro had his PBJ open and passed it to the red fox vixen with a wide grin. “According to the Net site, this is a children’s animated series, and one of the most popular shows here and in Japan. And not just with children, but also adults and has started a new trend of toys, clothing and even binto boxes with the characters depicted in rice cakes.”

On the screen was a cartoon character and when she tapped the arrow icon on the screen, it began playing. The animated short was definitely geared towards a younger audience and had the main character, a blond haired anthropomorphic vixen getting into a series of adventures with different friends named Wendel and Fiona and a whole host of others along with human friends. It was easy to tell that she and the other Furs were the influence for the characters. There was a moral to each segment, normally of accepting others even though they might be different, and every single episode had a happy ending that would appeal to a child. When the credits rolled, Sofiya paused the screen and pointed to two prominent names in the credits.

“Produced by Skarbek Entertainment Group and directed by Robert Knowels,” Richard said with a grin. “Yeah. That would explain it!” the silver fox exclaimed with a bark of laughter.

“You know these guys? My nieces and nephews love this show,” Terrence told the Furs.

The foxes told the two humans of the events that brought Rob Knowels to the Adirondack Institute, and the link to Andy Skarbek. The humans found the story interesting and were smiling by the time the Furs concluded. Then Terrence brought up something else.

“So what was the deal with the bear skin back at your guys’ training site?”

CHAPTER 22

"Back to the Grindstone"

Despite the success of the Furs in finding Mickey Ropper quickly, many of the other rescue party members avoided the camper and large awning that had been assigned to the four Vulps to use until the weather cleared enough for them to be returned to the training site. The exceptions were Carol Wilson and Terrence Gibson and many of the other Park Service employees who found the Furs not only extremely helpful, but also quite engaging and stopped by to meet the heroes of the day. None of the four anthrofoxes showed any signs of the supposed evil that opponents of the AHCP and Furmankind Project said they were.

Before following their son to the hospital, Mr. and Mrs. Ropper demonstrated how very grateful to the Vulps they were, even getting pictures of their wayward son and other two children with the Furs and giving all four exuberant and warm embraces, not seeing them as animals, but people and heroes that saved the life of their youngest child. As it was, Mickey would most likely be a staunch supporter of the Anthro Human Colonization Project if his condition prevented him from joining as soon as he was old enough, as would his brother and sister who were just as enamored by the foxes.

Rain continued to fall in torrential sheets, obscuring anything outside of the camper that was further away than twenty feet while the rumble of thunder and flashes of lightning accentuated the storm. Trooper Gibson had stepped out a few minutes earlier to make sure the pilot and helicopter were taken care of, leaving Carol Wilson with the four Vulps. Richard was wrapping up the story of Sofiya and the bear, the woman completely enthralled with the tale and looked at the vixen with wide eyed wonder.

“Whatever possessed you to take on a bear?” Carol asked in stunned awe.

Sofiya shrugged. “It was a danger to others. When it turned to attack Richard something in myself refused to let that happen.” She took the silver fox’s paw-like hand and looked into her partner’s bronze eyes before leaning against him, feeling the fatigue from the busy day they all had. “He is mine and I am his. I know he would be doing the same for me. I will not lose another that I love if I can stop it.”

The woman smiled. “I guess that confirms that the two of you are definitely mated. I’ve seen wild foxes act that way when one of the pair is threatened.” Carol then heaved a sigh. “Maybe if more people were like that, the world would be a happier place.” She tossed back the rest of her coffee and snorted a quick laugh. “Of course, if people were like that, I wouldn’t be in the middle of my second divorce right now.”

Further conversation was halted as Gibson reentered the camper, his police fatigues completely soaked and his boots squelching with each step as he’d been securing the helicopter. “Just got word from the weather service,” he began and deposited a gym bag on the floor of the camper. “Looks like this storm is going to last the rest of the day and well into the night.” He looked apologetically at the Furs. “We’ve been officially grounded so I guess you’re all stuck here until tomorrow. Sorry about that.”

“No big deal,” Richard said. “Hector knows what to do.”

“He was the right choice for first officer,” Sofiya agreed with a nod.

Carol drew a thoughtful look. “You know, I’ve heard of the AHCP letting some of you Furs out to train in different things with various groups and organizations and some trades. I wonder, what with the training center not that far from here, if we could get a few Furs to work with us during the year? It would be good experience for both sides, and it would sure help us out. That and I can’t begin to say how great it would be if we have campers getting lost to have someone that can find them as quickly as you guys did.”

“Asking has never hurt anyone,” Sofiya said with a smile. “And I think that many Furs would be happy to be outside of the Institute for even a small time. It would very much enable experience to be gained. Useful knowledge is always a good thing and grants confidence.”

“I’ll have to see what I can get started, then,” the woman told the vixen. “You four really came through today. I can’t begin to tell you how much you’ve helped.”

***

Carol Wilson had one of her staff use the large SUV that was part of the park’s small vehicle fleet to drive to the closest store for steaks, trimmings, sodas and beer to properly thank the four Furs. Trooper Gibson was able to change into dry clothing from the spares he kept in the helicopter so he could relax in relative comfort, not wanting to return to the nearest State Police barracks while his helicopter was sitting in the middle of a field. Before long Terrence, Richard, Riva and Toshiro and a few others that stopped by to meet the Furs were kept amused as Supervisor Wilson and Sofiya started singing along with the different songs that were coming in over the radio from the human woman’s preferred oldies rock and roll station. Never mind that most of the songs were several decades old, the two females sang loudly and without the slightest concern about their dignity.

One of Sofiya’s favorite songs came on from the 1970s, a period that Richard was more than happy to leave in the past, and started singing even louder with Carol, both sporting wide, toothy grins. Even Terrence joined in on the chorus, smiling just as wide. When the station took a commercial break, everyone was trying to catch their breath from laughing so hard.

“What?” the vixen asked with minor irritation. “Andy Kim is great artist of that time andRock Me Gently* is his best song!”

“Yeah, but we all look like that old commercial where all the animals jump into that guy’s car as he’s driving through the woods and sing the same song!” Richard told her, holding his sides where they ached from too much laughing.

When the station came back from the advertisements, the song that came on was Sweet’sFox on the Run*, something that thrilled Sofiya to no end. The impromptu sing-along continued for the next thirty five minutes with the woman and Fur singing along with the BeeGees and ELO until a large figure appeared in the gloomy downpour outside the light of the lamps that had been set up under the large pop-up shelter. As soon as he stepped under the protection of the open sided tent, Major Lambert removed his hat and regarded the furs with a sober expression, his earlier hostility gone.

“Huh,” Richard said with a neutral expression after several moments of no one moving or speaking, though his voice carried to everyone. “Now this is really awkward.”

The moment continued until the senior State Trooper hung his head. “I…I owe all of you an apology,” the man began in a deep voice. “My behavior earlier was inexcusable. I doubt if the day would have had the happy ending it did were it not for you four, and I…” the man paused again, swallowed hard, and when he looked back up his eyes held deep pain. “My daughter and her husband…they’re…theywerevolunteers. Like you. Furs, that is. They didn’t make it. I…I let my pain…my loss…I let that prejudice me against you…against what you are.”

When the man lowered his head again, everyone glanced at Terrence who only looked at his superior with a stunned expression having never heard this before.

Richard watched as Sofiya stepped up to the Trooper and put a gentle paw on his arm, doing what she always did in situations like this. She acted like the leader she was.

“You are not the only person that has let feelings change the way of viewing others,” the red fox said softly. “It is something I have had to work very hard with myself. It is something all are guilty of.”

Lambert shook his head. “I can’t afford to do that in my job.”

Sofiya smiled and gave the arm under the raincoat a reassuring squeeze. “But you cannot always be the police man. You were thinking as a poppa would.” With gentle nudging, the vixen encouraged the tall man to join them and guided him to a chair, getting him a cup of black coffee and putting it in his hands. “Tell me about your daughter,” Sofiya said. “Why did she join? Where did she and her husband go?”

***

Major Lambert, who the others were instructed to call Aaron, sat looking at the ground as he told the others of his daughter and son-in-law.

“They were so proud to have been accepted into the Furmankind program. Shawna and Thomas had met in college where they both shared a few classes, though it was astronomy that they were both crazy for.” The man paused and chuckled. “If the weather was good and the sky clear you could always find them outside at night, their telescopes and notepads out looking for whatever they could. I won’t forget the first time she asked if he could spend the night.

“Being a father…well, you know what I thought that meant, so imagine my surprise to find both of them outside wrapped in blankets asleep at those doggone telescopes! Looking at the heavens was fine for both, but what they really wanted was to go out there, to make their way on another world. Unfortunately there weren’t any openings for colony personnel, so they put in their applications for the Furmankind Institute.

“I was a little upset when they told me, but it was their decision. Then Shawna sprung the news on me that she and Thomas had eloped. I think that hurt a little. I’d always wanted to walk her down the aisle. We had a sort of make-up ceremony, but I think that was something they just did for me and her mother. It wasn’t a bad wedding as those things go, I guess. Lord knows it went better than when I married her mother. They didn’t wind up knocking the cake over.

“Then the day came when they got their letters telling them to get to the bus station to head to New York.”

Aaron paused and rubbed at his eyes.

“I got letters and mail on the net while she and Thomas were undergoing…whatever it is they do to you folks, sending pictures as she and her husband changed and she was happy, they both were, talking about the things they were learning, stuff I never even heard of before and had to look up. The excitement never faded and they were so ready to go out into space, to do what they’d always dreamed of. I was able to see them before they departed. Funny thing was, I didn’t see her as she was, her new body or Thomas’. I saw her as my little girl still. They were so happy, couldn’t help smiling. Always smiling…”

When the man paused again it was to lower his head as he wept silently.

“Then…then the news came. It wasn’t just them but their whole group that died. Some kind of illness or something…it just took all of them,” he snapped his fingers. “Just like that.”

Sofiya’s eyes were bright and damp looking. “They were on Bastien?” she whispered.

Aaron nodded. “And I had just gotten the news a couple of weeks before that I was going to be a grandpa.” He gave the Furs a raw look full of hurt and loss. “I never got to say good-bye. I can’t even put flowers on her grave.”

Without even hesitating, the red fox vixen reached out and took one of the man’s large hands in both of her dainty paws. “We are being sent to Bastien,” she told the Trooper softly. “I would take flowers for you if you would like.”

It was heart rending to see the vulnerable look on the man’s face, the way his jaw and lip trembled with the emotions he tried to hold in. “You…you’d do that for me? After the way I treated all of you?”

“Of course we would,” Richard said, Riva and Toshiro both nodding in agreement.

“I…I don’t know what to say…” Aaron murmured.

“There is no reason to say anything,” Sofiya replied with a smile. “You are a father that loved his daughter and if it will be helping you, we would be very happy to do this for you.”

The man looked as if her were about to lose all composure and accepted the embrace the Fur offered, letting the loss of his child go while his eyes seeped sad, bitter tears. “Your mother and father must be very proud of you.”

“I am hoping so,” the vixen said, her own voice catching slightly.

***

Hector Alejandro de la Vega looked out the door of the smaller operations dome at the rain that was visible from the safety lights while it pattered on the upper panels, the sound soothing and took a sip of coffee from the plastic cup in his paw-like hand, wincing at the flavor of the instant brew. He would certainly lament the loss of being able to have real coffee, but saw that as a minor inconvenience for the grand adventure they would all soon embark upon. A snarled curse behind him caused the grey fox furman to turn with a curious look at the individual covering the present operations shift. “Whatever is the matter, Tipper?”

“I just completely lost my connection to the net!” the female lamented, her expression sad. “My friend was telling me about going to the hospital to have her baby, then I lost the connection and I don’t know if she had a boy or girl!”

The Argentine fox made a sympathetic sound. “I told you the release of the lock on the PBJ’s was only a temporary thing. Now that Sofiya and the others found the boy they are back to being closed to outside traffic.”

“That’s so not fair,” Tipper grumped and set the clamshell device down while crossing her arms over her chest. If she’d been able to, she would have pouted.

“Well, as this is a simulation, consider it a simulated solar flare that has temporarily interrupted communications,” Hector informed the other with a wry look. “And, when we are done with the simulation, you will have something that will be worth reading instead of the mail that I received offering me a deal on time shares in Costa Rica or skiing in the Alps.”

“Really?” the Arctic fox Fur snorted before growing thoughtful. “I wonder if it snows on Bastien?” Then her eyes lit up. “I wonder if we could make skis to fit our new feet? I haven’t been skiing in years!”

The Argentine grey fox chuckled. “If anyone can figure out how to make skis for us Furs, it will be you and Ruiz. You two are quite the innovative pair.”

“He’s sweet,” Tipper agreed, a rather dreamy expression on her furry face. “Just yesterday I found a bunch of wildflowers in my dome…” The vixen sighed happily. “Hector? Are we allowed to get married? I mean, being Furs and everything?”

The grey fox shrugged. “To be honest, senorita, I don’t know. I’m not sure if marriages between furman are recognized yet.” Then he chuckled. “Then again, I am not even sure that it matters! Why do you ask?”

“Well, a lot of the others are sort of pairing up, but there aren’t enough guys to, you know, go around. And Mina and I are both…well, we both like Ruiz. As inlike like. I don’t mind him being with someone else, but he says he could never…um…you know…without being, um, married.” The vixen found it difficult to look at the other fox and had her head lowered, looking at the flooring of the operations dome.

“Ah. I think I understand the problem,” Hector told the female as he moved away from the door and sat down in what was essentially a modified camp chair of folding frame and nylon fabric, though there was a square hole at the bottom of the back rest for tails. “Ruiz comes from a rather old fashioned family. He was raised to honor women, to respect them, of which I have only the highest esteem for. He is truly much more courteous than many other men from that part of the world. It is his way of respecting you, senorita. Do not take offense to it.

“I’m sure that he will eventually, what is your phrase, come around? Perhaps if you and Mina were to both sit down and talk to him, be honest with not only each other, but yourselves, I’m sure you will find that everything will work out. As for weddings, I think that the colony leaders on other worlds have performed such. Maybe you should talk to Sofiya when she and the others return. I’m sure that she will know far more about it than I do at the moment.”

Before Tipper could reply, another fox sauntered into the dome. “Your shift is over, Tipper,” the other vixen said with a smile. “Mina made sure to save you some supper and has it waiting.”

The Arctic fox Fur smiled. “Thanks, Neelu.” She then looked at Hector. “And thank you. It might be time to do what you recommended.”

The grey fox gave an almost courtly bow from where he sat. “It is my pleasure, senorita. Just remember; Honesty.”

Tipper nodded and all but skipped the few feet to the door of the Great Dome, her ears perked and her tail held up off the ground.

The male took a sip of the coffee in his cup, again wincing at the flavor. “Madre de Dios! If this terrible coffee is the worst that must be dealt with during the rest of this exercise, I shall be very happy, indeed!”

***

Despite the damp weather of the previous night, the morning sun broke through chinks in the clouds that gave small glimpses of the flawless blue sky beyond. As it was, the weather was good with hardly even a breeze as the four Furs of the impromptu rescue party were conveyed back to the AHCP training site. Gibson didn’t linger long, he and the pilot, Trooper Keechan, being requested in another area as soon as they dropped off Sofiya and the others with a quick stop at a small airfield for refueling. The rest of the Abeona colonists gathered round the four in the Great Dome to listen to the tale of finding Mickey Ropper. Once the story was over, Sofiya, Richard and Hector headed into the operations dome so the First Officer could brief the red vixen on the happenings while she was away.

“I am thinking that having everyone train in search and rescue would be a prudent thing,” Sofiya told Hector when the rest of the colonists dispersed to tend to the various chores and duties that were a part of their day-to-day lives. “That and the lessons that you and Richard have been working on. Staying calm is very important should one of our friends become lost.”

The grey fox nodded. “A calm attitude and knowledge that help will come is important. We can fit in practice scenarios during our remaining time. Also, simulating different injuries would help in teaching the others how to tend to one of our number that’s incapable of returning on their own.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Richard agreed. “Everyone has some knowledge of first aid, but field triage is a completely different story.”

The three Furs discussed plans for starting training later that day and came up with different injuries. As Richard left to finalize different situations on his PBJ, Sofiya told Hector of learning about the cartoon that was based on the Furs that Robert Knowles had met at the Adirondack Institute. “I was expecting the boy to be afraid when he saw me, not to be so happy!”

Hector laughed as he was told of the child’s reaction excitement at meeting the four foxes, seeing the good that could come from the encounter. “Then I would have to say that while the event was harrowing, the result is certainly something to be proud of.”

“So I am hoping,” the vixen agreed. She also related the story of Major Lambert and his request.

“Then I must say that I agree with your decision. What a terrible thing. No parent should ever have to lose their child thus,” Hector said with a shake of his head. “Fortunately things were far from exciting here. I am coming to learn that boredom may not be such a bad thing as it means there are no crises to tend to! The worst we had was a little rain and a young raccoon that wondered into the operations dome while Neelu was on duty.”

Sofiya smiled. “Uneventful days will be most welcome!”

CHAPTER 23

"Surprise Guests"

Sofiya and Richard looked over the swatch of land that had contained the simulated colony, the rest of the Furs behind them. Apart from the cargo containers awaiting retrieval, most of the terrain looked the same as when the group had first been deposited in the wilderness setting a little over two months prior. The latrine pits had been filled in with bags of enzyme agents to assist biodegradation and the bramble palisade had been broken down and burned in the central fire pit with the remnants buried while the building materials and equipment had been stowed and sealed in the containers. The group had been instructed to leave the animals in the pens for a wrangling team that would collect them later. Within weeks the local vegetation would reclaim the site and erase the last traces of the group.

“I am almost sad to be leaving,” Sofiya told her partner, holding onto the silver fox’s paw-like hand. “It almost seemed to being home…”

“As far as I’m concerned, home is wherever you are,” Richard whispered with a smile which turned into a grin when the vixen’s tail wagged happily, thumping against his leg. “We learned a lot here, though, became closer as a group. In a way I’m going to miss it as well.”

From between the peaks of the outlying mountains came the staccato thrumming of crickets and frogs deep in the forest undergrowth. Most of the colonists milled around, a few carrying canteens of water, the only supplies that they would be taking as the group performed a survival march back to the operations center. “The next time we are doing this will be forever,” Sofiya said quietly. “Richard…you were a Marine. Are you feeling that we are ready?” She fidgeted slightly and squeezed his fingers, “Do you feel we are truly prepared?”

The Adirondack Fur nodded slowly, almost solemnly. “We are,miy liubov. We really are. There’s no way that we can be ready for every single thing that we’ll encounter, but we’ve seen that each of us is smart enough to stay calm, use our heads, and that there are others to help. A lot of the Marines I’ve been with, good, dependable men and women weren’t this well trained or prepared.” Richard squeezed her fingers back and looked down, giving the blond vixen a warm smile and wink. “We’re ready. We can do this.”

Though she didn’t suffer the doubts in her abilities to lead her fellow Furs as much as she had upon first accepting the position of colony leader, her mate’s support and encouragement never failed to bolster Sofiya. There wasn’t a single Vulps Fur from her group that she hadn’t spent time with getting to know as well as she could, and it was daunting at times to see the blatant trust in their eyes, that she would do what was right or that the little vixen would fail to keep them all safe enough to see the end of their first five years. Sofiya doubted that she would have been able to shoulder her responsibilities were it not for the solidarity of their group, the unwavering love and support of her beloved Richard and the attitude from the entire colony group that showed they were confident with the lessons that had been learned and the abilities that the simulation had honed.

“This next part is to be a test of what we have all been learning,” Sofiya told the others that looked at her. “Since we’ve been here at the simulation site, all of us have learned new skills and put to use the lessons that were taught at our different Institutes. According to the GPS and the marked waypoint, the training facility center is less than twenty three miles. It should take two days to make our way back, though this will mean that we will be making it with very little in the way of shelter and the only supplies are to be the canteens of water.”

A paw-like hand rose from the back of the assembled Furs and Sofiya nodded. Yun Chu Zhi, one of the Toyohashi Vulps bowed slightly. “Twenty three miles is very far. How is it that it will take only two days?”

Richard stepped forward and smiled. “The average person can walk twenty six miles in a single day, but I don’t think we can be called average!” The silver fox’s assessment was met with several chuckles and voiced agreement. “Our advantage is our increased stamina, speed, ability to travel either upright or on all fours. We’re in the best shape of our lives, and that includes me, and you all know what I used to do! While the best path would normally be a straight line, we do know that there is some rough ground from our time here. That is why the Vulps that have requested being on the scouting and survey teams when we get to Bastien will be running ahead of the rest of the group.

“Their job will be to find the easiest, safest path in the direction that we need, marking the trail as they go. That’s also why the rest of us have certain jobs during this part of the exercise. Some of us will be fanning out when we stop for rest breaks and camp tonight to pull water detail and hunting. While the water is almost guaranteed, the food isn’t. To be honest, the protein would be nice, but our main concern is everyone staying hydrated.

“We’ll be stopping for thirty minutes every four hours and bivouac at sunset.” Richard nodded at Toshiro and two other Vulps with him, Maria Paccini and Daniel Holt. “You three are tail end to help anyone that starts to lag. If it gets too bad, give out one whistle. Riva? Would you mind working with them in case anyone gets a sprain or hurt?”

“Good idea,” the bat eared vixen said and nodded. “We’ve got this.”

Sofiya stepped back up and smiled. “We are now having enough light. Scouting team can begin. The rest of us will be following your markers,” the red fox said, pointing at the colored strips of cloth that the four members of the scouting team carried, two of the members of that team being her own Richard and Hector. They would be accompanied by Nan Pi-Lei and Rupert Campbell, the two Furs that had impressed everyone with their adaptability to the wilderness.

Before he left, Richard nuzzled Sofiya with a grin. “Heads up,” he told her.

“Eyes on the horizon,” the vixen answered, finishing what had become the motto for the Abeona group.

***

Rupert Campbell cautiously pointed past the brush of fern leaves he crouched behind and shook his head. “That’s just too bloody big!” he whispered vehemently.

Richard and Hector both nodded. “Even if I had one of the rifles I wouldn’t chance it,” the silver fox said. “That moose has to weigh a good twelve hundred pounds, and with that calf, she’s more dangerous than a bull. Plus she’s young and strong. I saw one tear a truck apart in Alaska once. The driver hit the animal and that only succeeded in making it just a bit angry.”

“This is a pity. We could feed the entire group quite well with her,” the grey fox from Buenos Aires observed.

“For a bloody month!” the former mason from Great Britain agreed.

Richard shook his head. “Maybe if we were hurting for meat, but there’s no reason to harm her or the calf. None of us are starving, and it’s too much of a risk. Not to mention a waste because if we killed one, we’d have to kill the other. I’d rather skip a meal or two instead.”

“What are you doing?” Rupert inquired as the silver fox started to stand.

“That’s the best path, and skirting around this little meadow will add time. This would be a good spot to bed down for the night, but I’d prefer it if she and the calf were elsewhere.” Without waiting for a reply, Richard rose to his full height and began to move around, stomping his padded feet in the debris of the forest floor to make noise, something that was actually difficult with his vulpine-like extremities.

Motion caught the attention of the moose, and the noise was making her anxious as the cow moved her bulk between her calf and the strange creature. Sticking to the edge of the clearing, Richard walked almost casually, though he never took his eyes of the gigantic cervine. While the animals were normally rather placid and avoided humans, more people were injured by moose than wolves and bears combined and were surprisingly fast when they charged. The cow snorted in warning when the anthrofox’s scent reached her oversized nostrils and she pawed the ground as her brain registered the smell of a predator. Using her rump the cow nudged her calf to the edge of the woods, herding it while still facing Richard. Even at this distance the Fur could see her muscles trembling as the largest member of the deer family contemplated fight-or-flight, opting finally for the latter once her baby was in the wood line.

The others joined the silver fox once the moose had vacated the area, leaving the good forage of the meadow for somewhere that the strange predator wasn’t, and within a few seconds, all of them could hear the animals’ hooves churning leaves and twigs as they fled. Rupert was grinning as he came alongside the fox that had been put in charge of the colonists’ safety protocols.

“Do you think we’ll have anything like that on Bastien?” the red fox asked with a tone of awe to his voice.

“I haven’t seen anything in the information that the original colonists gathered, but who knows? Four years wasn’t all that long a time to document everything,” Richard replied. He then turned to Hector and Nan. “I think dinner’s taken care of, by the way. This whole meadow is chock full of rabbit holes. Rup? Nan? Why don’t you two go ahead and head back to the rest of the group and guide them in. Hector and I are going to go ahead and start chasing down some bunnies for supper.”

Hector grinned and nodded as the other two Furs smiled and headed back the way they’d just come.

By the time the rest of the colonists arrived at the meadow, the silver and grey foxes had a substantial pile of meat for the others in the form of rabbits, chipmunks and squirrels, both having continued on with the training exercise and used field kits to test one of each critter. While they knew what they were catching was edible, it didn’t hurt to continue setting the example for the others to follow.

***

Her belly full and the first of the night watchers set, Sofiya set about gathering a little more in the way of grass for a sleeping pallet. Other Vulps had simply gathered with one or two friends or significant others and followed the same process or lay down in the meadow. Already more than half of the total number of colonists were already sound asleep, many of them tired from the day and full of the meat that had been added to along with forage that they had all been gathering during their stay at the simulation site. The red fox vixen smiled as her mate joined her after checking the status of the watch and the ones that would take over in a few hours.

“I am thinking that you should be tired,” Sofiya quipped with a grin. “Running scout and then ensuring there was food waiting.” She waited until the silver fox stretched out on the temporary bedding before straddling his legs and massaging his shoulders.

“Oh, man…” Richard sighed with a smile. “That feels good!” He let out his breath in a sigh as the vixen worked muscles that were tight and tired, his spine popping a few times, the release of pressure in the menial fluids causing his head to swim slightly. “We made good time today. I figure if we can keep the same pace, we should be back at the site operations center by about six tomorrow evening.”

“That would be good,” the vixen agreed, the smile evident in her voice. “I am thinking that I would like a very hot bath to soak in.” Sofiya felt the male relaxing under her hands, pleased that he was enjoying her attentions. She worried at times that Richard took too much upon himself and that his eagerness to help the others wasn’t good for him. It wasn’t really a bad thing, as they were all going to rely on each other even more very shortly, but it seemed that he did far more than he should. The vixen needed to find some way to slow her mate down.

“You know, there’s another reason that I’m looking forward to getting back to the training center,” the silver fox mumbled from where he rested his head on his folded arms.

“And what is that,miy liubov?”

He smiled and raised his head, his eyes sparkling mischievously. “We really haven’t had any alone time…”

***

The AHCP TS-7 site had housing for not only the Furs that would be utilizing the training areas for simulations but also visiting technicians, inspectors and guests, but was loaded with amenities that made it seem more like a resort than training center. The rooms had been designed by the same team that a prominent hotel chain used and the décor was based around the colors and cultural uniqueness of the Pacific Northwest. Art on the wall was based on themes that barrowed from Salish, Tilamook, Chinook and even Inuit Native Peoples while the colors of the rooms were cooler shades of blues and greens offset with rich earth tones. It was a comfortable place for the Furs to relax prior to being shipped to Space Station Sebra in a week’s time from the launch facilities at Vandenberg Air Force Base.

Each of the suites that the Furs were assigned had not only beds and the usual bathroom set-up but also small salons for small groups as an occupant could entertain visitors. As it was, most of the Abeona colony group met on large deck that looked out over the deep green woods or splashed in the heated swimming pool. There was a small cafeteria with a dedicated staff, though the Furs were encouraged to also utilize the kitchens as well.

Sofiya and Richard spent most of the time going over the results from the training simulation and were enjoying a gloriously clear day when a familiar voice made Sofiya jump up from the chair she was reclining in with her Personal Business Juxtapositioner.

“You know, you are allowed to relax occasionally, Sofiya,” Dr. Dimitri Kavalos said, his mustache conforming with the wide grin he wore as he held his arms open for the anthrovixen.

“Dimitri!” Sofiya exclaimed as she and the Doctor embraced warmly. “What are you being here for?”

The olive skinned man laughed. “Careful, Sofiya! You’re going to hurt me if you aren’t careful! I’m not the young, resilient man I used to be!” They parted and the Doctor looked over his former charge. “You are certainly looking well. And as for why I’m here, I suppose you could say it’s something of a well-earned vacation. Oh, that and I brought four more Vulps along. My latest graduates, if you will. They’re being assigned to your colony.” Dimitri looked over at the silver fox fur, his eyebrows rising in surprise when the Fur stood. “And this must be Richard Tavington. It has been a while since I’ve seen you last,” the man said. “Good heavens, what did Maria Ramirez feed you?”

The silver fox held out a paw like hand with a self-conscious smile. “She said something about being one of the bigger Vulps that she’d had go through her Wing, but I thought she was joking.”

“Hardly!” Kavalos replied with a chuckle. “I’m willing to wager that you’ve been accused of being from the Canis Wing as well, haven’t you?”

“A few times,” Richard answered.

“A vacation?” Sofiya asked when the Greek was finished scrutinizing her partner. “There is nothing wrong in Stockholm, is there?”

“No, nothing like that at all. The different Wings back in Stockholm are being equipped with the latest gene sequencers and other equipment. It’s going to take some time for the new equipment to be installed and tested, so the different Wing Doctors have been given almost a month of furlough. As it is, I’ve not only brought you the latest four Vulps from Stockholm, but I’ll be going up to Sebra with you to attend a few conferences.” Dimitri motioned the newcomers forward. “This is Amanda Sterling,” the man said as a fennec vixen stepped forward, her hair almost the same shade of her fur that was a uniform light, sandy color all over. “Enola Bellingham,” Dimitri indicated another vixen with dark red fur and brown hair, “Kurt Reichmann,” a strange Fur with white coat and dark grey patterns of a platinum fox and blond hair stepped forward, “and finally a young lady that says she knows you very well, Elena Amirova.”

Sofiya’s paw-like hand darted to her mouth while her eyes went wide. “Elena?” she asked in stunned amazement. “Is it really being you?”

The last vixen was the same size as Sofiya though she had selected a platinum fox as well, her fur was a uniform gold color with the only white showing being a lozenge at her throat and the tip of her tail. She brushed her auburn hair back and gave the red fox a toothy grin and nod. “Da, miy tovarysh!” the last of the four new anthrofoxes said.

Rapid conversation in Ukrainian flowed between the two females that Richard and the others couldn’t follow, though both vixens’ tails were wagging furiously and they hugged often. Finally the two slowed and calmed a little, though their tails continued to churn the air behind them. “Elena, this is my Richard, Richard, this is Elena. She and I were almost as close as sisters during school!”

The silver fox couldn’t help but smile as he shook paws with the latest arrival, “Pleased to meet you, Elena.”

The platinum fox said something in Ukrainian that both amused and embarrassed the red fox, though her response was somewhat long. Sofiya then greeted the other Furs, noticing not for the first time that she was also associating the new Vulps by smell as well as by their physical appearances. While this was happening, the Greek moved closer to the American Fur, the man with an amused gleam in his dark eyes.

“So, Richard, is it true what I heard about Sofiya fighting a bear?” Kavalos inquired lightly.

The silver fox laughed at the red fox vixen’s chagrined look. “See? I told you it would become the stuff of legends!” He nodded as he turned back to the man. “I don’t know exactly what you heard, but she fought a bear and took it down. I can even show you the pelt and skull. I thought it would be good for her to have some trophies.”

Kavalos looked at his former client and shook his head with awe. “You never cease to amaze me, Sofiya. Truly you are an astonishing young lady!”

Richard promised that he would meet back up with the others in a while, but wanted to introduce the other three Furs and Dimitri to the colony group, giving Sofiya a chance to get reacquainted with her friend. The two vixens sat down at the table, the red fox still surprised at the appearance of her friend.

“I had no idea that you were in the Class after mine,” Sofiya said, dropping easily back into Ukrainian as she regarded her best friend from her days in school. “Whatever made you join the AHCP? The last I heard you were living in Kiev and happily married to Sascha.”

The platinum fox waved her hand negligently, a moment of chagrin crossing her vulpine features as her ears pressed back against her skull. “That ended rather poorly when I discovered that Sascha had not only me but two other women that he was seeing. Our parting was a rather ugly matter. It seems that all of the decent men from our country have vanished. I did not want any of his money or his things and decided that perhaps it was time to pursue something very different.” Elena’s expression sobered and she reached across and took the other vixen’s paw-like hand. “I heard about your father. I cannot begin to tell you how sorry I was to hear of his passing. He was a good man, almost like a second poppa to me.”

Sofiya accepted the other female’s condolences, enough time having passed that it didn’t hurt as much as it had. “Fortunately I was able to see him one last time. Knowing now how sick he was, perhaps it was for the best.” Her yellow-green eyes narrowed a little and a small smile twitched the corners of her mouth. “I still cannot believe that you volunteered. This is so amazing!”

“And now I will be going to Bastien with all of you,” Elena agreed. “Not only that, but you are our colony leader. I think that the right person was certainly selected!” The vixen developed an amused look. “So tell me about this Richard of yours! Is he really the son of Nathan Tavington? And very handsome as well!”

***

Richard introduced the other three Vulps to the rest of the Abeona colonists, Dimitri Kavalos tagging along, having met silver fox Fur years before when the now furman had still been a young boy of fifteen. “Judging by the reports that were sent to Stockholm while you were engaged in the simulation, I should think that your group should do rather well on Bastien,” the Greek commented with a warm smile.

“I’m hoping so,” the silver fox replied. “We’re about as prepared as training can make us, and I’m confident in everyone being able to think clearly if something goes down.” Richard pointed to a table that overlooked the woods and waited for the human to claim a chair before sitting down as well. “The only way to improve will be for actual experience.”

“Fortunately there is already information on the world available,” Dimitri replied, liking the sensible adult the American Fur had become. “I must say, though, I am surprised that Nathan Tavington’s son chose this life,” he told the other with a light tone. “I’m sure it’s quite the story.”

Richard chuckled and shook his head. He told the man what had prompted his decision, the events and directions that he’d taken before joining the AHCP, and that he didn’t regret volunteering in the slightest. “Of course, if I hadn’t, I never would have met Sofiya, so I’m not complaining,” the Fur said with a wry expression as his eyes flicked to where his mate was still talking to her friend animatedly.

Kavalos chuckled happily. “She is a rather remarkable young woman.”

“You can say that again.”

“So, considering your experiences, do you think that Sofiya is a good leader?”

The fox nodded. “She has a knack for it, that’s for sure. I had some good officers in the Marines, and the way they interacted with us grunts made you want to follow them because you trusted them. Sofiya’s the same way. The others know that she cares, but that she still looks at the overall picture. As far as she’s concerned, she knows the colony has to succeed, but in order for that, and the company’s interests, it needs the others. It’s like she’s aware of the different angles all at once. I know I trust her.”

“So, why didn’t she nominate you for the position of her first officer? You’ve grown into a rather calm and level-headed adult, Richard. Not at all like the rebellious teenage boy that I recall meeting!” Kavalos expression was one of mischievous amusement, his dark brown eyes sparkling merrily.

“She tried,” the Fur replied with a laugh. “Boy, did she try! I never thought I would see one of us capable of pouting, but she did a pretty good job of it. By then we were a couple and I didn’t want it to look like she gave me the job because of our relationship. If anything it would have hurt the regard the others have for her.”

Dimitri grinned. “No, you certainly aren’t the boy that I remember. I must say again that I’m impressed with the adult that you’ve become. I hope your father knows…”

Richard nodded. “He does. Doctor Delgado allowed us a farewell party, and somehow Sofiya got my father to show up. Dad and I worked out our problems and…well, we’re good, now.”

“Excellent. He’s a good man, but believe me when I say I know how trying your father can be, especially when he is set on a particular course of action.”

It was the anthrofox’s turn to grin. “Don’t I know! I definitely inherited that aspect from him. I can be pretty stubborn as well.”

“That isn’t a bad trait with what all of you are doing. A certain level of tenacity will serve you well,” Kavalos pointed out.

Richard began to form a reply when one of the new vixens walked by. There was a strange quality to her movements, the motion of her legs and arms seeming to be slightly wooden. Likewise there was a certain lack of vibrancy in her pale yellow eyes. The fennec vixen, Amanda Sterling, looked at him with golden brown eyes, but the scrutiny was oddly cursory as if she didn’t recall meeting him just a little while before.

“Well, that’s….” the fox shook his head. “What’s with Amanda, Doctor Kavalos?”

“No, no. I’m Dimitri, Richard.” The human looked at the anthrovixen, his eyes containing a strange mix of sympathy and something else. Kavalos shook his head. “I’m sure that you know the AHCP accepts criminals for the task of starter colonies, though one of the stipulations is a memory wipe. Miss Sterling is...well, she isn’t really a criminal or one of those being banished for illegal activity. This is her salvation, of sorts, though I think it would be prudent not to let the rest of your people know this just yet. Her case was…unique.”

“That might be a little difficult. We’re a fairly tight-knit group, now.” The fox’s eyes locked on to the female and watched as she ambled around the perimeter of the large deck, pausing to look at the other groups. It was evident that she wanted to join some of the others she saw, but there was a certain amount of timidity. “She isn’t going to be a danger to anyone, is she?”

Dimitri shook his head. “Good heavens, no! As I said, Miss Sterling’s case was rather unique.” The man sighed. “Before the incident that brought her to the program, Miss Sterling, and no, that is not her actual name, worked as an aide in a children’s hospital. Mind you, she was an aide, not a nurse or one of the doctors. During the bought of resurgent Avian Flu that hit Europe three years ago, the lead nurse of the hospital instructed the poor girl to help make rounds and administer medications as they were incredibly short-handed with most of their staff also ill.

“Unfortunately Miss Sterling was given the wrong medication to dole out and there were a number of deaths. The poor girl was devastated, of course, and because of the accusations of the head nurse that had provided the medication, Amanda thought that she was to blame.”

Richard swore scathingly, to which the Greek nodded in agreement.

“Eventually the truth of the matter was discovered,” Dimitri continued, “but by then the damage had been done. Amanda spent a little time in prison until the true culprit was arrested, and then for a time in a mental hospital, languishing over something she thought was her fault. She suffered depression, nightmares, and eventually it began to affect the rest of her health. The head of that particular mental asylum was a schoolmate of our Director in Stockholm, and between the two of them, they helped the girl get a new identity through Euro-Pol, the continental police agency, a memory wipe at her request, and acceptance to go through the program. While tampering with someone’s memories is far more accurate now then when it was first used, she lost a little more than that particular period. Even the other Vulps that went through the process are unaware of just what transpired and I have deemed that there was no reason to inform them.

“Amanda’s a wonderful young woman and completely harmless. She truly is one of the most caring and gentle souls that I have ever encountered. If not for the actions of the head nurse at that hospital, I think she would have had a very bright future indeed. As it is, this was the only way that any of us could see to help rectify a situation that never should have happened in the first place. What is unfortunate is that chronologically she is twenty three, after the procedure her behavior and mental capacity is more in line with a mid-adolescent. As she is now, the poor girl is a complete innocent.”

“So, what are her qualifications for a colony setting?” the silver fox inquired, feeling a pang of deep sympathy.

“Oh, she’s been thoroughly trained to assist in any administrative aspect, though her real talent lies in working with the livestock. That girl is one of the most natural horse handlers I have ever seen. Back in Stockholm, if I couldn’t find her in the Wing it was a safe wager that she was at the stables grooming the horses or tending to the sheep and cattle.” Kavalos smiled warmly. “Amanda is completely enthralled with horses, though, and most accomplished in equitation. Apart from that, we’ve made sure that her training will aid her and others in almost every aspect of colony life. You should have her cook for you some time.”

Both watched as the vixen they spoke about made her way back to them and stopped a polite distance away. “Doctor? Richard? May I join you? I don’t see any of the others to sit with.”

Before Kavalos could speak, the silver fox stood and pulled one of the two remaining chairs out for the Fur. “Sure,” Richard said with a smile. “You’re welcome here. And you can tell me what you think about going to Bastien with us. I hear that you’re very good with horses, too.”

Amanda seemed to light up at the mention of horses and the semi-vacant expression was banished as a grin split her tapering muzzle. “I’ve heard that instead of European bred horses or Arabians that we’re taking American breeds like Tennessee Walkers! Is that true?”

“I told you she loved horses,” Dimitri said quietly while smiling.

Richard chuckled. “That’s right,” he confirmed with a nod. The assessment of the Doctor put her mentally around a girl aged ten to twelve, and he’d never met a girl of that age that wasn’t thrilled with equines. “Walkers, a few Belgian draft horses and four Frisians.”

The vixen giggled delightedly and leaned forward in interest. “Tell me all about them!”

***

Tipper Harper had her arm linked with Ruiz Vallejo, Mina Brinkley on his other side, the two vixens carrying instrument cases while the male fox had his guitar case strapped across his back. The Arctic fox did a double take where her former housemate sat with the human Wing Doctor from Stockholm and one of the new vixens, noting the way the fennec fox was beaming at her friend and touching his paw-like hand. “What’s going on there?” she asked softly.

The other two looked as well, Mina suddenly scowling. “Is she putting the moves on Richard?”

“That’s what it looks like to me,” the white furred vixen replied acidly.

Mina nodded in agreement. “Who does that hussy think she is? Coming here and on her first day making eyes at him? How dare she!”

“I don’t really think that it is any of our concern,” the former mechanic added drily.

“What?” Tipper barked, looking at the bat eared fox in irritation. “Richard’s our friend and so is Sofiya!”

“And both are adults that can make their own decisions,” Ruiz continued adamantly. “This is a personal matter for them to deal with as they see fit. I do not see her…putting the moves on Richard at all. Even if she were, it is not our concern.”

“But…it’s not right!” Mina complained.

“It is none of our concern,” the bat eared fox said again with more force.

The two vixens allowed themselves to be led to the other side of the huge deck where Ruiz began to unpack his guitar, though both continued to send withering glares at the desert fox that sat with their friend and former housemate.

CHAPTER 24

"Crime and Punishment"

The Pacific Northwest weather reasserted itself, bringing heavy clouds and rain on the second day since the return to the training center’s main facility. Despite being forced inside due to the weather, there were more than enough distractions for the Furs to occupy themselves while they waited for the day that they would be ferried to the launch facilities at Vandenberg. As she had when meeting with the rest of the Vulps under her command for the first time, Sofiya Talova interviewed each of the foxes that had accompanied her former Wing Physician.

Kurt Reichmann was an older Fur that had been the groundskeeper for a wealthy family before his employers had passed on due to advanced age. The children of the family he’d worked for had dismissed him prior to selling of the familial property in a grab for money. At forty-one years of age, he was hard pressed to find work in the German Forestry Department and had opted to join the Anthro Human Colonization Program and utilize his skills on some remote world. The red fox was a quiet individual, used to hard work, though blending in with the background and Sofiya, after discussing his experience leading hunting parties for the famed boars of the Black Forest felt he would do well on one of the survey teams.

Enola Bellingham had entertained dreams of going into space as a little girl, but a childhood illness had thwarted any chance of joining an official space program. Not only did the AHCP offer her a chance of leaving Earth, the McEwen Process had reversed the effects of her infirmity and given her a new body that functioned flawlessly. An interest in the burgeoning study of exobiology meant that the vixen would most likely be working with the different doctors of the group and Daniel Holt to study and document the different life forms of Bastien, expanding the base knowledge the original colonists had compiled.

Sofiya’s friend, Elena, had discovered a passion for athletics, and prior to joining the AHCP had started engaging in long backpacking forays in Europe, Africa and Asia. The platinum fox vixen would have enjoyed being part of an exploration group, though she assured Sofiya she would be happy in nearly any capacity. While having studied at the University in Kiev would help, there really wasn’t much call for a jewelry designer in a colony setting.

By far, out of the four newcomers, the one that was the most difficult to consider placement for was Amanda Sterling. Despite her absolute joy of working with the livestock and horses, once the colony was established, the animals wouldn’t require the amount of care that would initially be required in the set-up phase, and the red fox was at ends on where to put the young vixen. Never mind that Amanda was an absolute dear, Sofiya finding her guileless and open, her unbridled joy and affection refreshing. Many of the tasks that the colonists would need to engage in on a daily basis were boring, very trying, or things that could have a potentially detrimental effect to the young Fur’s fragile psyche. That and because of Dimitri Kavalos’ support and affection of the female, Sofiya felt much the same.

Dimitri had never found the time to establish a family, and he had taken the paternal affection that should have gone to his own children and directed it to his furmankind charges, becoming so much more than just the physician that eased them through the transformation process. Sofiya was, of course, horrified by the situation that had brought the young woman to the AHCP. It seemed as if Amanda’s need for redemption was as great as the red fox Fur’s own.

Because of the tragic events in Amanda’s past, there was a sense of almost kinship, with the Abeona colony leader rapidly developing strong bonds of friendship to the young Fur, and with that came a desire to try and keep the innocent and almost delicate seeming fennec as safe as possible.

During a late supper with both Richard and Doctor Kavalos, Sofiya voiced her doubts and concerns to the two most influential males in her life. While Dimitri was sympathetic to the red fox’s quandary, it was Richard that came up with the most practical solution.

“So…make her your personal assistant,” the silver fox told his mate with a grin. “I know I’d be worried sick if she did any long distance explorative forays, and there’s only so much that she can be asked to do around the colony site, even though that alone will be a substantial amount of work when it comes to the day-to-day routine, but you’re going to have your hands,” he paused and chuckled warmly, “er…paws full, so let her help you with certain things by being your assistant.”

Dimitri began to grin widely. “That is a spectacular idea! And it’s not as if Amanda is useless. She’s quite the hard worker, but she would do well in helping out. She has very well developed organizational skills that you could use.”

“I think that one of the reasons that Sofiya and myself are so worried is that she’s small, even for a fennec Fur, but that she also seems so…young.” Richard shrugged. “She’s like that girl that all of us knew as kids that was just too nice, too happy and everyone’s friend.”

Sofiya nodded emphatically. “I always wanted a little sister, and Amanda is being like this of sorts.” The red fox slipped her PBJ out and sent a quick message to the Vulps in question before returning to her supper of roast and baked potato.

***

“Your assistant?” the fennec asked, looking almost toy-like as she sat in the suite’s recliner with a cup of hot cocoa, her bright red colored furman shorts and vest top only adding to that particular quality. The young Fur’s muzzle split into a grin. “I’d love to!”

“It isn’t as simple as it sounds,” Richard warned lightly. “Despite the previous colony’s observations, we’ll be gathering a lot of new data and information that you’ll have to help sort through and prioritize before it’s sent back to here to Earth.”

Amanda nodded emphatically. “I can do this!” she replied before turning her eyes on Sofiya. “You’ll have more than enough to do monitoring the colony. The help will be very important to you!” Despite the way that she was sitting in the chair, it was easy to see that her tail was trying to wag enthusiastically.

“And when duties are allowing, Emanuella has already said that you are most welcome to assist her with the horses and livestock. That might also be a chore as we may need to gather in the animals that the previous settlement was having,” the red fox added.

Dimitri had remained silent during the impromptu interview and smiled, not simply at the other two Vulps going extra lengths to ensure that the fennec would have a position where she could be useful, but also at the manner in which they went about it, making the offer seem far more important than just make-work for the diminutive desert fox. He had been thrilled to learn that it had been Sofiya that had been selected as the colony leader for the Bastien reseed mission, and after seeing her interact with her people and the reports that Ásmundr had shared with him, including glowing praise from Marcelo Delgado of the American Furmankind Institute, the Greek was more positive than ever of the colony’s chance for success.

His ruminations had distracted him, and it was with some surprise that he found the fennec Fur before him. Much as he had in Stockholm, the man automatically opened his arms to accept the young fox’s hug, much like a parent would their child, before she went and did the same to Sofiya. Though, when it came time for her to say goodnight to Richard, there was a noticeable change in her demeanor and she only shrugged and smiled at the silver fox before departing, her head lowered coyly.

“She is having a crush on you,” the red fox told her mate with a wry expression once the door was shut and the trio was again alone.

Richard blinked his bronze colored eyes as he regarded his partner. “What?”

“It is true,” the red fox persisted, her expression amused.

Dimitri nodded as he sipped at a cup of Earl Grey tea, something that Ásmundr Gustavsson had caused him to grow extremely fond of. “She is a healthy young lady of twenty three, Richard. That means there is a certain predisposition to seeking a mate, more so now that she is a Fur…almost a drive.” He grinned, causing his mustache to reverse its normal direction. “As such, the part of her that belongs to the fox will be attracted to the most viable specimen of male fox, and you are a rather spectacular specimen. But, yes, Sofiya is correct in that she has a crush on you.”

The silver fox swallowed and shook his head vigorously. “Oh, no! I’m very happy with Sofiya, thank you!”

Laughing at her mate’s nervousness, the blond vixen got up and moved behind Richard’s chair. “You are being very sweet and chivalrous, of which I am very appreciative,” Sofiya said softly with a nuzzle to the side of the silver fox’s head. “But a few of the others and I have been talking…a little girl-talk if you will, and we know that if we are to begin having families that some of us may have to be sharing certain affections of our males. There are too many of us vixens and not enough of males for traditional relations.”

“Wha…but, well, Amanda’s just a kid!” Richard sputtered.

“In point of fact, she isn’t,” Dimitri replied. “Sofiya does have a valid argument, though. Perhaps in a generation or two the ratios of males and females will balance out in your colony, but for the time being, some of you may be required to step outside of norms of conventional thinking in regards to relationships.”

Richard turned to look up at the red fox. “And you’re okay with this?” he asked, his tone indicating shock and a little nervousness. He was used to American women that liked to occasionally play games to test the loyalty of their significant others, and was wondering if this was the opening ploy in just such an exercise.

“There are a few of the others I would be agreeable in sharing you with,” she said with a slight giggle. “Amanda is one. Elena is another. I am knowing that they could be accepting of this.” Sofiya giggled again. “That and I am liking them both as friends.”

“You’ll forgive me if I take a little while to get used to this idea of yours,” Richard told her sullenly, crossing his arms over his chest with a sour expression. “I chose to be a fox furman, not a lion, and you’re offering me a pride.”

Dimitri began laughing so hard that he had to set his cup down before he sloshed the hot contents on his lap. “You have definitely changed, my friend! Here you are, all but given permission to follow most men’s ultimate fantasy ofcarte blanche, and you are irritated by it!”

“Yeah, but it makes me feel like a stud being bid on for mares,” Richard groused.

Dimitri finished his tea and gathered his PBJ with its metallic red clamshell that had a small translucent sticker of the Greek flag on the casing. “Well, a good laugh before bed is almost a guarantee of pleasant dreams, and after that, I think I will call it a night. Though, I am sorry that the laugh is at your expense, Richard.”

The silver fox shook his head, the ghost of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “No big, Dimitri. You aren’t the first, and I seriously doubt you’ll be the last.”

The Doctor let himself out and once the door was shut Sofiya slipped around the chair to sit on the silver fox’s lap, her arms sliding around his neck. “You are angry with me, yes?” she asked with an almost demure tilt to her head.

“No. I’m not angry,” Richard admitted. “It’s just…we haven’t really discussed this, and I’m not sure how comfortable I am being passed around.” Despite his reassurances, his expression said it all. “I don’t know if I can do something like this.”

Sofiya nodded. “You are a rare person, indeed,miy liubov. Many men would love to be with a woman that gives permission for him to seek other company. As it is being, there is the need of others to think of. I have seen this during the simulation, and it is best that…arrangements are being made now before we are so far from Earth. Even Maria is realizing that Daniel will also not be exclusively hers.”

“I didn’t see anything like that, but then I wasn’t really looking.” The silver fox sighed. “And you’re really okay with this?”

“I am,” the red fox replied with a nod. “In a perfect world, we would not need to, there would be equal numbers of all, and everyone would be as happy as you make me. But it is not perfect, and because of what and who we are, others that are left without a partner such as mine will also need comfort and affection.” Sofiya snorted. “Actually this is something that I have been considering for a much longer time.”

“How long?”

“When we were still being in the Adirondack Institute. It was Victoria Skarbek that was pointing out the disproportionate numbers. And now with the additional Vulps that have come with Dimitri, the numbers are still leaning towards more ladies than gentlemen.” The vixen snuggled closer and slipped her head under the other Fur’s chin. “If it were my choice, there would be you and I, and we would be happy. I cannot have this, but I can be working with you to help both of us understand the ones that would be best for both of us if I am to share you. Try to see it as being a very unique family.”

As she spoke, Richard’s arms tightened about the vixen and she felt as well as heard the sigh that he let out. “I don’t want anyone else. I want you. Ilove you.”

“And I love you, my beloved Richard.” Sofiya sighed as well. “This is where it all becomes difficult to me and causes hurt because I also love the others, but I must be thinking about the success of the colony as well. To deny some the same things I need and also enjoy will be leaving hurt and anger for those that are alone with no one. At least in discussing this with you, I can tell you who I would trust to share with, who I am knowing will not use you to hurt the two of us. And that is Elena and Amanda.” She pulled back and smiled. “Elena is like my sister in spirit and she is one that I trust almost as much as I do you, my love. And I trust Amanda for the very reason that she is the kind of person that will never hurt anyone simply because her heart is being too big.” Sofiya caressed the fur of the other fox’s face. “And most of all, I am trusting you.

“There were so many times before…before you went home with me to say goodbye to Poppa, that you could have had your way with me. So many times that I wish you would have. But you refrained from doing so. You were tender and gentle. In fact, often I am finding it very difficult to be believing you were a soldier.”

“Marine,” Richard corrected automatically with a warm smile. “Thereis a difference.”

Sofiya chortled. “Yes, a Marine. But it is nonetheless true. You were very gentle and never pushed, never forced or tried to take advantage of me like other men would have. And I know that even if I must be letting others share your affection, you will always have my heart, and I yours.”

Richard looked at her for a moment before nuzzling her face and neck then pulled her into a tighter hug. “So, how do we go about letting the others know, and warn them that it might take me a little while for me to get used to this idea. You’ll know that I need time to myself if you find me hiding under the bed.”

The visual that brought to mind caused Sofiya to let out a snort of laughter. “I will talk to Elena. As for Amanda, she is already very fond of you. Simply spend time around her and don’t do anything to be frightening her. While I think that she is far stronger than many are giving her credit for, she is still a delicate girl. Remember this and I am thinking that it will all be for the best.” Her paw like hand moved up from where it rested on his neck to pet and gently scratch the velvety triangles of his ears, something she found he liked and soothed him. “Just be gentle and tender with Amanda as you were me.”

“And what do I do about you?” Richard asked with a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

“I think you are knowing the answer to that!” the vixen replied as her vulpine lips met his.

***

Sofiya’s advice of simply getting to know Amanda as a friend first seemed to be working. Two days after their discussion, the silver fox found the other Fur in the stables helping the training facility staff tend to the permanent livestock that were kept for subsequent simulation exercises. The young vixen was shy at first, but when Richard started to help curry one of the more enthusiastic horses, talking to it in a soothing voice to calm it, Amanda had warmed up to him immediately. Before long they were joking as the pair moved to the next stall and began to muck it out in preparation for fresh straw.

While she was cleaning the feed and water bins, Amanda began to grin before giving the other fox a quick blast from the hose she was using. When Richard looked up, the fennec acted as if nothing had happened and was preoccupied in making sure the water trough was free of algae. So intent was Amanda on trying to act innocent that she didn’t see the silver fox sneaking up behind her and didn’t realize what was happening until his fingers dug into her sides to tickle her.

With a shriek of surprise that gave way to laughing, Amanda dropped the hose as she attempted to protect herself and the onslaught, squirming as best she could, though all of it was to no avail as Richard seemed to be able to hit her sensitive sides no matter what she did. After a few minutes of intense play, she was completely out of breath and might have fallen over had the larger Fur not caught her in his arms. When she looked up into his black furred face, the fennec found a new reason for her breathless state as her heart pounded furiously in her chest.

There was no denying that Amanda had found the American Fur to be extremely attractive, and often watched him from a distance, finding all sorts of excuses to be in the same vicinity as the other fox. He was with their colony leader, though, and the fennec knew that no matter how much she wished otherwise fantasies were all she had. So it was with some surprise when she found her mouth pressed to Richard’s in a languorous kiss. Then there was the realization that the handsome silver fox was kissing her right back.

It was the fennec that pulled back, a horrified look in her dark, brown eyes, her head shaking as she trembled with what she had just done. “No!” Amanda whispered. “I…I can’t do this! I w-w-want to! But I c-can’t! You belong to Sofiya!” Despite the requested memory wipe, Amanda recalled her first boyfriend when she lived in Inverness, Scotland, and how she felt at finding him in the arms of another girl under the bleachers during an interschool rugby match and now she was doing the same thing! Tears began to flow from her eyes at the realization that she was acting the strumpet and was disgusted.

Amanda tried to pull away, but found that Richard’s arms held her tight, preventing her from fleeing. He loosened his hold and took her paw-like hands in his and nodded slowly. “Which means that right now is the perfect time to talk about something that Sofiya and I have already discussed.” The silver fox smiled warmly, the expression enough to make the vixen’s legs go weak and let herself be led to a work table next to the tack room and a simple wooden stool. “Now, the question is, where to begin?”

As the two talked softly, both were unaware of a pair of vulpine eyes that regarded them both with searing anger, fox-like lips lifted in a silent snarl that revealed sharp teeth. Neither Richard or Amanda saw the flash of a white furred tail as the spy left the stables in a fit of almost incontrollable rage.

***

It took most of the afternoon for Richard and Sofiya to explain to the fennec that they were more than happy to make Amanda part of their little family and why, much to the amazement of the younger Fur. They even invited her to have supper with them that evening, and that if she wanted to the sandy colored vixen was more than welcome to move her things into the suite the couple already shared. For her part, Amanda alternately laughed, cried, smiled and trembled. Before joining the AHCP, the fennec’s family life as a human had been best described as lacking. She spent alternating weeks with divorced parents feeling that neither her mother nor father really wanted her and that she was a bit of a strain on both. It was a wonder that her mother bringing home a slew of dates that never lasted past the third time out or her father’s excessive drinking hadn’t warped her into a person that was far less caring and gentle than she was, or perhaps she was the soul she was now because of it. Either way, she had a chance now at something she’d always dreamed of and hadn’t dared hope for.

Wanting to shower and change clothes after working in the stables before joining the other two foxes, the fennec was in her own little world of wonder and joy as she made her way to the next floor up where her suite was located. Amanda was humming to herself, a tune that she couldn’t remember where she’d heard it before, completely lost in the emotions that bubbled up inside her that she didn’t realize that she was being followed until she was shoved roughly from behind.

Amanda hardly had time to yelp in surprise before she was snagged by the hair and forced into a janitor’s closet, the carpeting of the hallway giving way to the cold linoleum tile of the little room. Before she could say anything the fennec was spun around and caught a balled up fist to her lower stomach, the blow bending her over with a grunt of pain, then her vision exploded with stars as an open hand cuffed the side of her head.

Fighting to regain her breath, Amanda was unable to struggle as her wrists were quickly wrapped with engineer’s tape, her ankles quickly following. It was only after her muzzle was also wrapped in the adhesive that the fennec was able to look up at her attacker. She hadn’t had a chance to meet the white furred Arctic fox yet, but she’d seen the other vixen around the facility.

“I don’t know who you think you are,” the white fox began with a snarl, “but you leave Richard alone! I saw what you were doing in the stables.”

More accusations were leveled at her, and Amanda did the only thing she could think of, trying to tell the other Fur that she hadn’t seduced the silver fox or any of the other things that she was being accused of, her protestations coming out as weak whimpers as tears streamed down the fur under her eyes as she shook her head vehemently. Her protestations only earned Amanda another slap across her muzzle.

“Those are my friends and I’m not going to let some little floozy wreck what they have!” The white fox stood up and glared at the smaller anthrofox for another moment before turning for the door. Then pausing, her paw-like hand on the lever, Tipper spun and brought her padded foot down on the end of the fennec’s tail, the resultant stomp accentuated by a pop of breaking bone and a muffled screech of pain.

As Amanda whimpered in pain, the damage to her tail sending electric jolts up her spine, the other vixen left, closing the door behind her.

***

It was only through long years of practice that Dimitri Kavalos didn’t over trim his mustache at the sudden and insistent pounding on his door. Setting the scissors down on the edge of the sink, the man tightened the belt of the lounging robe he wore and exited his suite’s bathroom, unable to make it to the door that led out in the corridor before someone beat on it again, the whole of the panel rattling in the frame.

“Patience!” he called out with a little frown beetling his brows. “I can only move so fast!” When he opened it up the Greek was surprised to see the South American grey fox that had been appointed the first officer for the Abeona colony. “Hector? What on Earth is wrong?” the human asked, noting immediately the agitated state of the Buenos Aires Fur.

Hector’s hackles were raised while his thick brush of a tail looked as if it had a bad case of static electricity, every single strand of hair standing on end. When the furman spoke, there was even an underlying growl to his words. “We need you to come to Sofiya and Richard’s suite. There’s been an incident.”

“What? What kind of incident?” the man asked in alarm. “Surely not something between those two!”

The grey fox shook his head. “No. It’s Amanda,” was all Hector was able to say intelligibly around the snarling growl that rumbled from his throat. “You may want to bring your medical bag.”

Worry filling him, Dimitri grabbed the aluminum case that contained some of the items of his trade as a physician that went everywhere with him and headed for the rooms the two foxes shared so fast that Hector was hard pressed to keep up despite the man’s protestations before he answered his door. As soon as he got to the room the pair shared, Dimitri found himself looking at the snarling expressions of Richard and Sofiya, the much smaller form of Amanda between them where they sat on the bed, the fennec still crying softly. Both of the older Furs calmed when they realized who it was that came through their door, turning back to the vixen between them and soothing her as best they could.

“My, God,” Kavalos whispered as he knelt down and opened his case. “What has happened?”

“One of the other Furs thought that Amanda was trying to come between us,” Richard said. “She’s been roughed up a little and the end of her tail’s been broken.”

Dimitri examined the vixen quickly, years of experience in working with Furs, primarily Vulps, enabling the man to deduce her physical state quickly. “There’ll be some bruising under the fur for a few days,” the Greek commented softly as he used a small penlight to look into the fennec’s eyes. “No concussion.” He then moved to her tail, gently feeling along the last third of its length. “Ah. Not broken. Just dislocated,” Dimitri said. He looked at the fennec vixen, knowing that he had to hurt her to fix the literal kink in her tail. “Do you want me to give you something for the pain?”

Amanda shook her head as the Doctor brushed away a fresh tear. “I have to learn to be strong like Sofiya and Richard,” she almost whispered.

“That is not meaning you have to do without medication now,” the red fox vixen chided gently, “and getting something for pain does not make you weak.” Sofiya stroked the other female’s large ears as she spoke, a gesture that was both affectionate and soothing at the same time.

Dimitri smiled as Amanda turned from the other Fur and looked at him with a nod, closing her eyes as the man pulled a small pressure dispenser and ampoule of analgesic solution. There was no need to sterilize the injection site as there wasn’t a needle involved, and the Greek expertly parted the fur on the fennec’s thigh, the nozzle of the unit following. A small hiss and a slight tingle was all Amanda felt, though the fast acting drug no sooner entered her body than a slight warming sensation followed as the medication began to work.

“This will make you a little drowsy,” Dimitri told his former client, maintaining the soft, calm tones that he often used when dealing with his Furs. “We’ll give it a moment to work, then I’ll fix your tail, alright?” He smiled when the desert fox nodded and closed her eyes, somehow snuggling against both of the other foxes at the same time. Looking at his watch, Dimitri made sure that ample time had passed and taking Amanda’s tail into is hands, he deftly popped the two dislocated sections back into place. “There we go. You won’t even have a kink in it. There will be a little swelling, and it’s going to be sore, but it shouldn’t be too bad, little one.”

The fennec hiccupped quietly and let out a sigh, once the two sections were back into joint most of the discomfort receded, relief evident as her facial features relaxed. Sofiya and Richard helped her sit up, the red fox vixen resting her head alongside the other female’s while the silver fox gave her a little kiss on the side of her head. “Come now. Hector will stay with you while we are having a talk with the one that has done this,” Sofiya said, helping the other Fur lay back down on the pillows while smoothing her sandy colored hair back. “Are you being fine until we return?”

“I’ll be alright,” the fennec replied with a smile and small nod. She closed her eyes as Richard brushed the back of his fingers over her cheek and moved away so Dimitri could tend to the places where the tape that had been used to bind her limbs and muzzle had pulled out some of the fur.

With a look to each other and a nod from Hector, Sofiya and Richard headed for Tipper’s room.

Neither spoke until they were out in the hallway.

“I am not believing that Tipper was responsible for this!” the red fox vixen hissed, her words colored by an uncharacteristic growl of anger.

Richard only shook his head. “This is somewhat uncharacteristic of her,” the silver fox told his mate. “Regardless, I want some answers. An attack on a fellow Fur is a serious offense, no matter what the motivations.”

The quarters for the training facility were laid out in a large ‘V’ shaped building with the main deck that had become so popular for the Furs to lounge on between the two wings of the multistoried structure with wide corridors that met in the center allowing access to a glass enclosed elevator and two sets of stairs. The walls were comprised of glass that collected some of the solar radiation and converted it into power to reduce the building’s reliance on an outside power source. Instead of waiting on the elevator, both foxes took to the stairs in an effort to work off excess the energy of their agitated states.

The suite that Tipper Harper had been assigned was on the opposite wing of Sofiya and Richard’s and one floor up. As they strode down the central corridor, both anthrofoxes glanced at the closet that Lu Chin Yao had found the fennec vixen. If it hadn’t been for Amanda’s PBJ chiming from messages that both Furs had sent there was no telling how long the desert fox would have been hidden in the closet.

When they reached the Arctic fox’s door, it was Richard that knocked, his fingers curled so tight that his claw tips dug deep into the fleshy pad that comprised his palm, his knuckles striking the wood panel with so much force that each of the three raps were almost as loud as a firecracker.

Ruiz Vallejo answered the door, the smile on the bat eared fox’s muzzle vanishing as his ears laid back against his skull as he saw the expressions of their colony leader and safety officer while the scent of the two foxes anger hit his sensitive nose. “Sofiya? Richard? Is something wrong?” the Buenos Aires Fur asked as his tail unconsciously pressed against the backs of his legs and his head lowered.

The two Furs in the corridor looked past him and saw Tipper sitting at the window table with Mina Brinkley, the smug expressions on both faces of the two vixens falling when they saw who was at the door.

“Ruiz, we are needing to talk to Tipper,” Sofiya said, her tone low and more than sufficiently flavored with anger to cause the Arctic fox vixen to shrink in her chair.

“Whatever is the matter, senora?” the smaller South American Fur asked. “Has something happened?” Before either the red fox or Richard could answer he stepped back holding the door open.

“Da,” Sofiya replied tersely. “We are going to ascertain why Tipper saw fit to be attacking Amanda Sterling before we must be disciplining her in front of the rest of the colonists,” the red fox told Ruiz in a chill tone, her eyes never leaving the white vixen.

***

It was only a matter of minutes with the two other foxes glaring at her before Tipper broke down, spilling out how she’d seen the new Fur acting around Richard, and then seeing the two flirting while working in the facility stables. When she saw Richard and Amanda kissing, she became angry that one of the recently arrived Vulps thought she could interfere with the pairing between Sofiya and Richard. Then when she saw Amanda heading to her room to shower, Tipper was so angry that she claimed she couldn’t help what she did.

At the end of the telling, the silver fox looked to Mina, the swift fox Fur also sinking into her seat. “Did you know about this?” Richard asked, already knowing the answer.

“Yes,” the vixen replied, unable to meet the silver fox’s burning eyes or furious expression.

“And you didn’t see fit to tell Sofiya or Hector?”

Mina silently shook her head.

“Another Fur was being attacked, and you were keeping silent?” Sofiya asked, her look incredulous.

It was then that Ruiz stepped up, almost as angry as the other two Furs. “Why? How? To do this thing is…it is beyond me to even think about!”

“I’m sorry!” Tipper wailed, tears streaming from her eyes.

“Sorry is not good enough,” the bat eared fox whispered before looking at Mina. “And you…you are just as guilty for knowing and not saying anything!” Without waiting for a response, the South American Fur gathered his guitar and a few other items before pausing at the door. “This is too much to stomach right now, but I think that I will be sleeping alone for some time, and that the two of you have a great deal to do to make this right.”

As it was, both vixens winced as the door closed behind Ruiz, leaving them alone with Sofiya and Richard. When they looked up the silver fox was still glaring at both of them.

“I trusted the two of you,” he began softly. “After everything that we’ve been through together, to think that you would do something this…thiscowardly!” He snorted loudly in contempt. “Has it occurred to either of you that there is a serious lack of balance in the colony? That you two aren’t the only ones that have had to make accommodations? That even though she hasn’t been with us for more than a couple of days that Amanda isn’t deserving of someone to care for her as well? Did you stop tothink that maybe you should have asked Sofiya or I about what was going on before taking it upon yourselves to act so stupidly?”

“Wha…what’s going to happen n-now?” Tipper asked tremulously.

Sofiya crossed her arms over her chest and leveled a flat look at both of the other vixens. “Your actions have succeeded in putting another of the Abeona colony Furs in danger. As such, and according to the laws regarding members of a colony endeavor, you are both sentenced to administrative discipline. Any subsequent actions that adversely affect assigned colony members will mean a second sentence of administrative discipline and following infractions will be meaning the forfeiture of all prize monies, deferred posting for future endeavors will not happen, and punishment up to and including exile once we reach Bastien.”

Sofiya saw both jerk upright with wide eyes at the last and nodded slowly.

“Yes, what you have done is being very, very serious. If there are any more problems, I am authorized to expel you from the colony to attempt survival on your own without the help of the rest of us.”

“Please!” Tipper wailed. “Please don’t! I’m sorry! I can’t t-t-tell you how sorry! Don’t exile us! At least Mina! She didn’t do it! I did!”

The Arctic fox had slipped from her chair and landed on her knees, looking up at the other Vulps that had, until recently, been her friends.

“There is no exile,” the red fox said. “Not yet. We will attempt administrative punishment first, and this should be enough. But the both of you are being warned. I will not allow anyone to doanything that puts another of us at risk. Am I being very clear?” Both of the other two vixens nodded emphatically. “Richard. You will be staying in here until I have the rest of the group in the conference room. I will message your PBJ when we are being ready.”

The silver fox nodded and turned back to scowling at the two vixens while his mate left to assemble the others, his paw-like hands still clenched tightly. Several minutes crawled by while the two females wondered what their punishment would entail, neither one able to look their former housemate in the eyes.

“Do you know what really gets me?” Richard asked them softly, doing an exemplary job of keeping a growl out of his voice. “I’ll tell you. It’s that Amanda has done nothing but try and be nice to everyone. You don’t realize just what she had to go through to get here. You think any of us have had it tough? Amanda had to have a memory wipe before she went through the McEwen Process. She was falsely accused of something that caused the deaths of almost a dozen children, took the rap for someone else’s screw up, and it almost killed her.

“Then, when she finds a way where she could leave that behind, get a fresh start, deserving it more than anybody in this whole damn group, you have to do this. That’s what gets me the most, Tipper. I didn’t think that you were capable of something like this. Just be very, very glad that it wasn’t worse.”

The Arctic fox vixen’s jaw was trembling as tears began to fall anew. “I’m sorry, Richard,” she whispered, her eyes pleading for forgiveness.

The silver fox just shook his head, his Personal Business Juxtapositioner chiming before he could say anything in response. He read the message and closed the clamshell case before dropping it into his pocket. “Let’s go,” he ordered, hooking his thumb in the direction of the door.

***

Dimitri Kavalos elected to stay with Amanda while Sofiya, Hector and Richard took care of the discipline proceedings. Security members from the facility staff kept Tipper and Mina in a secluded alcove until they were called for while the red fox vixen addressed the rest of the colony group.

“Something has transpired that I was thinking would never happen,” the vixen told the others, standing next to the podium for the large assembly room and foregoing the use of the microphone. “Earlier today one of the latest Furs from Stockholm was assaulted by another of our number. While her injuries are being slight, this is not something that I was thinking anyone here was capable of doing.

“I did not anticipate ever having to actually give out a punishment to any Fur of this group. I especially did not see having to it before we are leaving the Earth. To say that I am disappointed is hardly the truth of what I am feeling. If I am to being completely honest, this is making me sick in my heart only slightly more than it is making me angry.” Sofiya paused for a moment to take a deep, calming breath, realizing that possibly vomiting in front of the other Furs wouldn’t help her in the slightest. “Unfortunately there is more than one that is guilty in this case as the actions of the attacker was being known and it was not reported.

“In accordance with the laws established by Stockholm and the directing board of the Anthro Human Colonization Project, I am having to enforce administrative discipline. Unlike when we were all being at our different Institutes, it is required by the rules that govern all colony groups that you must be in attendance to witness the punishments. While I am sorry that all of us are having to see this, it is my hope that it will be enough to prevent future incidents of this nature.

“I will not be tolerating any action that may bring harm to anyone in this room. Not now, and most certainly not when we are being on Bastien. As colony leader I am entrusted with the success of our colony, but that also means that I must look to the safety and wellbeing of all of you, something that is most important to me. Should any of you ever have a question or a problem, it is the reason that Hector and I are here, so that you may be coming to us to help.

“And that is why we are here now, because another decided to handle matters instead of talking about it to the ones that were affected by the situation that was witnessed. As such, it was a matter that I and Richard were involved in and no one else, but instead of asking for clarification, inappropriate actions were taken that led to an attack on another. While we are appreciative of the concern, at the same time it was very much a personal situation and not the affair of others.”

Sighing in disgust, Sofiya turned to the alcove and motioned for Tipper and Mina to be brought out. Once both vixens were standing before the rest of the group, the red fox nodded solemnly.

“The following administrative procedure has been determined to be the best course of action. As such, this will be a two-part punishment. Tiffany Harper, you will confess to the others the reason for your being here. Once you are done, Mina Brinkley, you will confess as to why you are also being here. Once you are finished telling the rest the reasons you are being punished, your tails are to be shaved in accordance with AHCP doctrine. Are either of you having any questions?”

Both Furs shook their heads before Tipper lifted her eyes to look at the others in the room. She swallowed hard after a couple of false starts and related seeing Richard and one of the new Furs, Amanda Sterling, and their antics in the stables. She thought that the other vixen was coming between her two friends and later, when she encountered the other Vulps in the corridor, let her anger get the best of her. She gave a detailed accounting of what happened and when she was done dropped her head in shame.

Mina wasn’t able to look at any of her fellow colonists and told of being made aware of what happened, and instead of reporting what she’d been told, had actually congratulated her friend. “It…it was wrong. Tipper for what she did, and me for not telling someone what I knew. Amanda could have been hurt bad, but we didn’t think of that.” The swift fox finally looked up, the fur under her eyes completely soaked. “We were wrong, and we’re sorry.”

Tipper nodded in agreement. “We…we also kn-now that it’s going to take a lot for any of you to trust us again.” She snorted in self derision. “And I don’t blame any of you if you hate us for what happened…for what I did…for attacking and threatening Amanda, or Mina for not turning me in. I…I have no excuse and I deserve to be punished.”

Sofiya nodded, satisfied at the confessions. “As the appointed leader for the Bastien colony mission and the authority that I am having according to the AHCP, I am going to suspend further punishments at this time.” The red fox saw both of the other vixens jerk in surprise, their looks of disbelief almost comical, though Sofiya found nothing about the situation in the slightest bit amusing. “This is the only time that I will be suspending a sentence and I am hoping that I will never have to be doing this ever again. Either with the two of you,” she turned and looked at the rest of the assembly, “or anyone else. There are being enough dangers and hardships that we will all be facing very soon, and I am depending on every one of you to help me in my goal of keeping all of us safe.”

Sighing again, Sofiya waved her paw-like hand in the air.

“All are dismissed,” she said in a lackluster tone.

The rest of the colonists filed out, stunned by not only what happened, but the clear warning that they’d been given. Tipper and Mina looked as if they wanted to talk to the red fox, though the vixen shook her head and closed her eyes as she pointed to the exit. She didn’t know how long she stood there before she caught Richard’s familiar scent and felt his arms slip about her body as he pulled her into a much needed embrace.

“Did I do the right thing?” the vixen asked tiredly

“I think so,” the silver fox said softly, stroking her long hair while his other arm pulled her tight against his warm, solid chest. “You made them tell everyone what happened, and they will have to earn the trust of the others back, and lenient by not dragging it out longer by shaving their tails, which might have made things a little awkward longer than necessary. This also goes in their permanent records with the company. All in all, I’d say you handled it very well.”

The blond Fur luxuriated in her mate’s embrace for several minutes before pulling back and looking up in his eyes. “So you and Amanda were kissing? And how does she kiss? Did you find you liked it?”

“It wasn’t too bad,” Richard admitted. “She’s young and has a lot to learn, but I still like your kisses.”

“Prove it,” Sofiya said impishly, smiling when the silver fox Fur kissed her deeply. When they parted she drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Let us be calling this a night and go to our suite. I’m tired, I wish for my supper, and Amanda is needing both of us.”

“You know, that’s the best suggestion I’ve heard all day,” Richard told her with a smile.

CHAPTER 25

"Footloose and Fancy Free"

Word arrived from the desk of Ásmundr Gustavsson, President of the Anthro Human Colonization Project that the Furs of the Bastien mission would get twenty four hours in the city of Seattle, Washington prior to transport to Vandenberg Air Force Base and one of the closer launch facilities that could transport the entirety of the Abeona group in one trip. It would be the last chance that any of them had to spend on Earth prior to boarding the slipship that would carry them to the world of Bastien where they would assume control of the colony attempt that had claimed the lives of the Felis volunteers that had been obliterated in a matter of hours due to an unknown plague.

Though the trip to the city was still a few days away, most of the colonists were excited and the entire group was abuzz with conversations of subjects that had nothing to do with establishing a life on a far off planet. Not even the appointed colony leader for the upcoming mission could hide her enthusiasm. Sofiya Talova thought about the things that it would be nice to do or see in the city with those that mattered most to her, and as if that thought were the catalyst, she turned her head to look at where they still lay in the large bed sleeping while the anthrovixen enjoyed a cup of rich, strong coffee.

Richard had insinuated himself into Sofiya’s life effortlessly, becoming a source of strength, succor and confidence. The silver fox male had seen her at her worst and her best, and were it not for his steadfast companionship, the vixen was sure she would have lost herself in the grief of her father’s death. Even when she would have surrendered herself to him had he only given her the word, Richard had refused to take that route, proving that his heart and sense of right and fairness were larger than life itself. He might have started off as her friend, but now he was so very much more.

Now the silver fox lay in the bed, still sleeping from the night exercise that he’d taken the four recent additions to the Abeona group, doing his best to get the most vital lessons all of them had honed over the past few months. Granted, in Richard’s off-hand manner he’d called it a hunt, but he’d used the pretense to teach, pleased that all of the new Furs had not only listened, but demonstrated that the lessons he imparted were absorbed. That one of those new Vulps was still curled up with him attested to the rigorous physical exertion that they had put out.

It had only been a few days since Sofiya suggested, with her full blessing, that Amanda join the older foxes as part of their family. Because of the very lopsided number of females to males, some fairly unorthodox relationships were forming, the situation between Sofiya and Richard being one of the examples. The small fennec had not only been brought into their little circle, her demeanor and ability to care for others had increased the affection the other two foxes had for her. Put simply, she was a sweet and charming young female, and rarely failed to make those around her smile, imparting the almost effervescent joy in her soul with those around her.

As it was, looking at the two members of her little group sleeping brought a pleased look to the vixen’s muzzle as she sipped her morning brew, content to let them laze in bed.

The situation was enough that if she didn’t maintain control, Sofiya would have started laughing. She’d had no indication that her life would have taken this particular direction, and realized that just a few years prior, if someone had suggested such a thing she would have recommended psychiatric help. Now, though, looking at things, there was a level of contentment and peace, her entire being filled with love and affection for those around her while she had a goal to aspire to, and she would have it no other way. Sofiya had lost much in the course of her life when she was still human, but she had gained much as well, almost as if the universe was making an attempt to compensate her for the trials and things that had been taken away and to make life as wonderful as possible now that she was a Fur.

As the last bit of her morning coffee, doctored with heavy cream and a touch of honey rolled over her tongue, the vixen decided a shower was in order before she indulged in a second cup and got up, selecting the first garments that were tailored to her size that she reached for, not needing to disrobe as she had slept in her own luxurious copper colored fur. It was a violation of AHCP rules regarding hygiene, but there was something about the feel of having her beloved Richard and even Mandy next to her with nothing but their own fur that was exceedingly comfortable and fulfilling.

Stepping into the bathroom and closing the door before activating the light, Sofiya regarded herself in the mirror. Mussed hair aside, it was almost difficult to remember what she had looked like as a human woman, and the face that had looked back at her the first twenty six years of her life was like something from a dream that faded upon waking. There were times that it seemed she’d always been furmankind, a blend of human and animal, that she had always had the body she now wore. She could recall those that had mattered in her life before so readily; her father, her late husband, Aleksandr, her mother… But when it came to trying to recall what she herself looked like, it was like trying to see a picture that was obscured by smoke and age.

Furs had been around for two decades, a little longer if the experiments that were carried out on hardened criminals were also taken into account. Sofiya wondered what her life might have been like if she hadn’t chosen the path that had taken her to joining the United Nations with her Aleksi. Would both of them still be together? Most likely they would have been assigned to the world of Monarch where the first Vulps colony had been sent. Would Aleksi still be alive, or had he always been fated to leave the mortal realm before her?

Shaking her head at such deep thoughts so early in the morning, the blond haired vixen chuckled lightly, dismissing her weighty ruminations and turned on the water to let it heat up as she snagged the two plastic bottles of her favorite shampoo and conditioner. Both were biodegradable and she had a supply to take with her to Bastien. It wouldn’t last forever, but there was no reason that she couldn’t enjoy that simple indulgence in the meantime. Once the shower was at a comfortable hot temperature, the anthrovixen stepped into the cubicle and slid the frosted glass door shut, letting the nozzle soak her thoroughly before opening the first bottle and breathing in deep the scent of melon.

As she always did, Sofiya started with her hair. She always liked to get her hair out of the way first, and enjoyed the way it felt to work her own finger pads and claw tips into her scalp. She had just worked up a solid lather when the sound of the shower door opening caught her attention, though she was unable to open her eyes because of the shampoo.

"Do you mind a little company?"

Richard had often joined Sofiya in the shower, but she wasn’t expecting the high, clear voice of Amanda, the Fur’s timbre matching her small size. The two had spent the last few nights cuddling together in the bed with Richard, but there was nothing more intimate than the almost instinctual need for contact and simple, platonic affection. It wasn’t uncommon for mundane fox skulks to be sociable, and it seemed that that particular trait was also part of the Furs themselves.

"I wouldn’t be minding the company at all," Sofiya replied smiling widely, though she kept her eyes tightly closed.

Still working the lather into her hair, the red fox vixen felt her way along the cubicle wall to make room for the fennec vixen to slip under the spray. She was a little surprised, however, when she felt tiny hand-like paws start working shampoo into her back and shoulders.

"You have the softest fur," Mandy commented with a touch of envy. "No wonder I like snuggling against you!"

"It is all because of the conditioner," Sofiya replied with a chuckle, enjoying the attention. "It was taking almost a year before I was discovering what worked best. There is also the added benefit of my shampoo and conditioner being inexpensive!"

"No wonder you always smell so good," the fennec commented, smiling at the way the other vixen sighed as her back was scrubbed.

The two females tended to each other, and while most would have gotten the wrong impression, to Sofiya and Amanda, it was a form of bonding. As both toweled off prior to stepping into the full sized dryer unit, the younger Fur gave the red fox a warm hug. "What is this?" Sofiya asked gently.

"I just want to thank you again for letting me be a part of your and Richard’s lives," the desert fox said, her words thick and full of emotion.

"Miymalen’kyy sestra, you make us very happy, too," the red fox said as she returned the embrace. "You arerodyna. Family."

"What was the first thing you said?" Amanda asked, a curious expression on her delicate face.

"Miy malen’kyy sestra. My little sister."

The fennec nodded and hugged the other vixen even tighter. "I like that."

When the two finally parted, looking at each other and laughing lightly. They turned almost at the same time to see Richard looking at them, his arms behind his head and grinning widely. "You know, that was quite the sight to wake up and see," he told the vixens with a grin and wink.

"You take the left. I will be taking the right," Sofiya said as she dropped to all fours and began stalking towards the large bed, the fennec Fur following her lead.

When they pounced on the silver fox, their efforts couldn’t have been better coordinated.

***

Modern touring coaches with repulsor lift modules arrived to convey the entire Abeona group to Seattle, the trip taking far less time than if they’d first gone to the northern coastline and caught a water going ferry. Washington State was one of the most dedicated to using green technology, and had actually helped entrepreneurs establish recharging and hydrogen refueling stations for more ecologically sound transportation. The citizens of the State had embraced the change so thoroughly that it was actually a misdemeanor offense to have a vehicle or device that utilized fossil fuels. The changes that had been wrought, the use of clean, renewable resources had demonstrated that green technology had increased the number of available jobs while substantially reducing air and waterborne pollutants.

As far as the Furs were concerned, it was a novel thing to enter a city where the air wasn’t redolent with the reek of fried hydroflourocarbons, and even the people that called the huge metropolis their home looked healthier than those people in other cities.

The hotel that had agreed to host the Abeona group for their twenty-four hour stay was one of the most celebrated establishments in the country, and it brought a substantial number of tourists that were there for no other reason than to say they stayed at the renown Visions. From the outside the building looked like any glass sheathed business tower, the slightly blue reflective glass. Inside was a testament to the imagination of mankind.

Each floor and the suites on that level of the hotel were dedicated to visionaries throughout history, whether they were authors, movie directors, innovators or inventors. The first few floors were dedicated to directors such as Lucas, Spielberg, Whedon, Roddenberry and others. The next series of floors were modeled on the worlds created by different authors such as Heinlein, Wells, Niven and Foster. The Furs had been offered suites on one of the more popular floors, the level dedicated to Jules Verne.

Taken to their floor in groups, all of the Furs gathered in a large area in the center of the building as they’d been told that someone rather important had wanted to meet and speak to them personally. As they milled around all of the Vulps were in stunned awe at the décor. Instead of drywall and carpeting, the room was floored in wood and the walls were made to look similar to riveted metal like something from the end of the Industrial Age, with fittings and trim of polished copper and brass. Instead of pictures, cleverly disguised flat screens depicted realistic computer animations of the worlds that Jules Verne had imagined with steam powered contraptions, skyships, submarines and cityscapes where propeller driven aeroplanes and zeppelins moved through the air above slender skyscrapers.

"It’s almost like beingin the story20,000 Leagues Under the Sea!" Richard said with a grin as he looked around, Sofiya and Amanda both holding one of his paw-like hands, just as taken with the hotel.

"Well, that’s what we were hoping for," a well dressed man in his mid forties said. He had short, well trimmed hair that was an indeterminate shade of brown, dark green eyes and an easy smile. Instead of the latest trend of wearing two ties, he wore a sort of modified Nehru suit of dark blue with tasteful silver embroidery at the cuffs. It was easy to see that the man tried to take good care of himself. Then he saw the slightly perplexed look on the three foxes’ faces. "Sorry. I’m Jeremy Carver. Welcome to my little playground."

"You’re the guy giving Blackthorne a run for his money on new slipship designs," Daniel Holt said from the side, his eyes a little wide. When the others nearby looked at him in surprise, the American grey fox shrugged with an impish grin. "I’m interested in more than just biology."

Carver laughed, an honest sound that put many of the Furs at ease. "I’m not, personally, but the engineers and physicists that work for me are!" The man held his arms wide. "And if I may, welcome to Hotel Visions!" He gestured to the large open area and his greeting had included all of the Vulps. "Despite all of the other stuff my family is into, I’ve always liked the people that dared to look towards the future to see what might be. Each floor of this hotel is dedicated to those that had a story or a thought or influenced the world we have today. How many different conveniences do we have and use that first existed as something in a movie, or a TV show? Roddenberry’s communicators and tricorders became cell phones and personal coms and field computers.

"Perhaps it was Lucas and Spielberg that made some young boy or girl think that it really was possible to go faster-than-light, thus the slipships we have, and one that will, in fact, be taking all of you to your new home in the upcoming weeks? So much we have now were things that someone thought of, visions of something thatcould be, and now they are reality.

"And then there are all of you. How many books, stories and even comics had men and women altering themselves to become better than what they were? Whether it was using cybernetic implants or even genetic manipulation, mankind has always wanted to bemore than just what he or she was born as, and now we haveFurmankind! You!"

Jeremy Carver regarded each of the visitors and gave them a warm, genuine smile that also reached his eyes.

"I can’t begin to tell you how jazzed I am that all of you are here, and I really want to make your stay with us as fun and exciting as possible. In fact, I think that I screamed a very enthusiastic ‘Yes!’ at Mister Gustavsson when he and his assistant called and asked if there was room for all of you!

"As it is, I’ve decided to put all of you on one of the more popular floors, the Jules Verne. Every room is based on the things that he envisioned in his stories, blending how he saw the future, with flavors and accents of the height of technology found in his own time. There will also be assistants at all times for your convenience during your stay, with a list of activities and shopping venues throughout the city, and our hotel’s own shuttle service will be more than happy to provide transportation.

"Now, if you would all be so kind, Craig and Emma," the man gestured to two liveried hotel workers near the elevators who smiled at the Furs, "have your room assignments, and I would like to personally show Miss Talova and her party to theirs so I may speak to them, and once again, welcome!"

Without hesitating in the slightest, Jeremy stepped up to Sofiya, Amanda and Richard, his eyes twinkling with a wide smile on his clean shaven face.

"It’s a definite pleasure to meet you, Miss Talova," Carver began in a more conversational tone. He offered his hand and didn’t shrink in the slightest about touching a Fur, then offered the same hospitality to the other two Furs. "I decided to put the three of you in the ‘Nemo Suite’, and considering Mister Tavington’s earlier comment, I’m going to guess that was a good idea."

"You are knowing who we are?" Sofiya asked, pleased, but puzzled.

"Very much so!" the man exclaimed as he directed them to a set of large double doors at the far side of the circular room that were made of stained oak with a large ‘N’ of brass in calligraphy style. "Ásmundr made sure that I had pictures of all of you so I knew whom I was addressing. I look forward to having him stay with us again."

"So you know Mister Gustavsson?" Richard asked.

"And your father, Nathan. For some reason they prefer to stay here each year when they come for the Vancouver Space Expo." Jeremy looked at Richard with a grin. "Your father is a complete nut for the Lucas and Spielberg floors, while this one or the H. G. Wells tends to be Ásmundr’s preferred accommodations. You’ll forgive me, but I didn’t think some of you would have found the rooms based on the book ‘Island of Doctor Moreau’ to be in good taste, though that is one of the suites that is sort of dedicated to you Furs."

The suite was a combination of aged copper ductwork, gleaming brass fixtures and black iron works with polished, stained woods all brought together with items that were the height of Victorian fashion. The large bed was covered with blue satin and surrounded by thick curtains, velvet padding along the frame of the same sapphire shade, and brass framed mirrors.

"I can see why this is a popular hotel," the silver fox commented as he looked around, his gaze drawn immediately to a large smart screen framed in polished copper with large rivets that had an underwater panorama playing and combined with the inward curving walls made it look as if they were in a sub that was actually moving, the other flat screen monitors synched to do the same. "Especially if you’ve paid as much detail to the other suites as you have this one."

Jeremy shrugged, though the grin he gave was like a little boy that was both proud and a little embarrassed at having the best toys. "I was one of those kids that didn’t have too many friends growing up, but that was okay because it gave me more time to read! Anything sci-fi was fair game. Of course, that only proved that I was even more of an anomaly in that I liked real books over e-readers and such. I like the feel of a book, the smell of it. Science fiction led me into actual science, though considering that the family business was one of the few private space firms back then, it shouldn’t have been too surprising.

"With slip-drives, we were able to do things that people had only dreamed of and literally reached for the stars! Then, when all of the money started rolling in I decided to do something to honor the men and women that influenced me." He stepped closer to the silver fox and gave the fur a conspiratorial wink. "Besides, don’t all little boys, at one point or another, wish they could have sailed with the notorious Captain Nemo?" Carver motioned for the Furs to relax on a very opulent settee while he took a wing backed chair. "It’s more than space exploration now. Carver Applications has expanded into the fields of aquaculture, desert reclamation, and we’re working with the AHCP on designing new equipment or improving materials for extraterrestrial colonization.

"That’s one of the reasons that I was so happy when Ásmundr asked me if I could put you up for the night! I’ve only met two Furs before this, but I’ve always admired what all of you are doing as a whole, and the sacrifices that you make as individuals. In fact, many of you will probably get asked a lot of questions by the staff members who feel the same. We’ve had a few celebrities come through, but this will be something to remember!"

The four individuals spoke for almost half an hour before Jeremy Carver eventually left to make sure the rest of the group was settled in and comfortable, leaving the three Furs to their own amusement, though he had told them that he would have a rather lavish dinner waiting for them at seven PM in the main dining room.

"I almost feel like the Queen Mother!" Amanda commented as she explored the suite even further, giggling at the different things she found. "It really makes me feel like I’m on the Nautilus!"

"Doesn’t it?" Richard chuckled.

When Sofiya yelped in surprise after entering the bathroom the other two foxes rushed to see if she’d slipped or hurt herself. They found her ogling the set up and had to agree with her assessment. Apart from the standard fixtures, albeit highly decorative ones, that a bathroom was supposed to have, the center of the room was dominated by a large brass and copper hot tub that could have easily fit six persons. The spigot and controls were shaped like seashells and there was a metal rack with all sorts of bathing condiments.

"Um, you said you wanted to do some shopping, right?" the silver fox asked with a grin, noting the way that both females were eyeing the tub like one would a long lost lover.

"Did I?’ the red fox answered distractedly.

Laughing at the two vixens’ reaction to the tub, Richard took both of them in arm and steered them back into the main room of the suite. "Let’s go do our shopping, then after dinner we can come back and you two can stew until we leave tomorrow."

"Promise?" Amanda asked.

***

It was evident by the conversations at the different tables of the dining room that the rest of the colony group found their rooms just as wonderful as Sofiya and Amanda did. The meal itself was incredible with meat and vegetable dishes that came from all over the world and were expertly rendered by the executive chef in the kitchens. Jeremy Carver asked almost all of them about their opinions on their upcoming mission, how they felt, and listened to their responses. He also asked what the Furs thought of their day in Seattle and if his staff had helped them sufficiently, and was quite pleased when the Abeona colonists had nothing but good things to say about his employees. He did notice that several of the Vulps were starting to show signs of being tired from a full day and laughed at his own enthusiasm.

"Look, if I don’t behave, I’ll be keeping all of you up the whole night. Just don’t forget that there’ll be a breakfast buffet waiting for you in the morning before you leave." With that the human excused himself allowing the Furs to make their ways to their various suites.

As per promise, Richard got the water for the huge tub going so his vixens could soak, Elena joining them for a relaxing evening. Sofiya had gotten a back rub and was sitting in one sculpted niche with a glass of wine while the silver fox tended to Elena, the platinum fox Fur’s sighs of contentment causing the other two to chuckle. Mounds of suds released a pleasant vanilla scent that filled the room and the soft lighting made for a very relaxing atmosphere.

"And where were your wanderings taking you today?" Sofiya asked her friend with partially closed eyes and a pleasant smile on her muzzle.

"Ah. There was a jewelry store that I was visiting," the gold colored vixen replied, leaning back against Richard. "I found presents for all of us that I thought were fitting."

The silver fox smiled as he listened to the two females talking. It was easy to tell that they’d had the same teacher in English as their methods of speaking were incredibly similar. He personally thought it was cute, and at times the only way to differentiate which one of them speaking was by their different tones, Elena having a slightly higher pitched voice, though it wasn’t as high as Amanda’s.

"I will be giving them out later tonight," the other Ukrainian fox said with a grin. Elena looked around. "Speaking of, where is Amanda being?"

"Right here," the fennec said, holding a gigantic glass that contained a pink substance with copious amounts of whipped cream and enormous strawberry and sliver of banana on top. She had to set the glass down and let her robe fall before retrieving her glass and started to step into the tub.

"What in the world is that?" Richard asked. "And be careful. The tub’s slip-"

No sooner had the desert fox stepped down than she dipped under the water and vanished beneath the voluminous layer of bubbles, though she was able to keep her glass above the contents of the bath so it wasn’t ruined. Before anyone could help her, Amanda popped back up, sputtering as she tried to clear suds from her little black nose, her sandy colored bangs completely sodden and falling over her eyes.

"Is my milkshake okay?" the fennec asked, more concerned about her treat than the possibility she could have been hurt.

"Good save," the male commented with a nod and grin.

Elena took the glass while Richard handed her a small towel, the tiny vixen getting herself situated with a grin. "Oops!"

"What is that?" Richard asked indicating the enormous glass.

"Strawberry banana milkshake!" Amanda replied brightly. "I was waiting on room service to bring it up!"

"I thought you were a desert fox, not adessert fox," Richard chuckled. Amanda simply batted her large brown eyes at the silver fox.

"May I try?" Elena asked, her eyes sparkling. The fennec nodded and chuckled when the platinum fox’s eyes widened in surprise. "This is beinggood!"

"My turn!" Sofiya said. She let the milkshake roll around on her tongue then looked at her wine in distaste. "Now I am wanting one," she said with an almost pout.

"I know," Amanda said as she reclaimed the glass, needing both of her paw-like hands to hold it. "I almost got the chocolate raspberry one, but then I found out that I could get this!" She took a sip, her eyes closing in bliss. "I can’t have them too often, though."

Richard smiled. "I don’t think that as a Fur you have to worry about desserts going to your hips."

Amanda shook her head. "I…I’m an ice cream junkie," she admitted sadly. "I don’t want to get too used to this before we go to Bastien." The fennec sighed and looked at her glass. "I’m going to miss milkshakes."

Elena slid off of Richard’s lap to the intercom that was next to the tub, the device fashioned to look like an old call tube complete with copper funnel and ordered two more milk shakes from room service, the chocolate raspberry for her, and caramel and vanilla for Sofiya and instructions for the one that was making the delivery to come to the bathroom. As she was doing that, Amanda shamelessly took her place so the silver fox could give her a massage as well.

"You are being a sneak!" the platinum fox Fur said with a laugh when she turned around and found herself displaced.

"Well," Amanda began winsomely, "Richard was looking lonely."

It hardly seemed that any time at all had passed when a voice called into the bathroom. "Room service."

"Come on in," the silver fox answered, still massaging the fennec’s shoulders, the vixen sitting on his crossed legs so she wouldn’t slip under the water again.

The young man was dressed in the uniform that looked like it was part sailor’s uniform and wholly appropriate for the theme of the floor they were on and doled out the large glasses to the cooing delight of the other vixens. Then he realized that Richard was the only male in a tub of female Furs and shook his head, speaking before he even knew what he was saying. "You lucky dog," the young man breathed.

"No," Richard replied with a grin. "Luckyfox."

***

The breakfast buffet that was waiting for the Abeona group before they caught a shuttle to Vandenberg took a serious hit with the ravenous Furs that descended upon it, the cooking staff and chef smiling at the justice the different Vulps were doing to their efforts. Appetites were in overdrive as many of the Furs had tried to cram in as much activity as they could the day before, much of it including shopping, sightseeing, the cinema and museums. In a tentative gesture, still a little miffed about what had transpired, Ruiz had agreed to accompany Tipper and Mina to a few music stores, though it was easy to tell that that particular relationship was still a little cool.

Being the person that she was, Amanda had already approached the other two vixens and told them that she forgave them, that simple gesture having more of an impact than the punishment that Sofiya had handed down. The fennec’s gentle words and demeanor had rapidly reduced the Arctic and swift foxes to silent tears, and Richard and Sofiya were both glad at that point that the red fox had foregone the standard penalty of shaving the two vixens’ tails.

At their own table, Sofiya, Elena, Amanda and Richard were all wearing the gifts that the platinum fox had found. The necklaces were more like collars with large links that wouldn’t snag fur or pinch the underlying skin, and the colors corresponded with the shades of the one that wore them. Richard’s was silver while Elena and Sofiya wore gold and Amanda’s chain was white gold. "It is to be showing that we are a family," the platinum fox said, having given each of the others their necklaces and a kiss on the cheek. As it was, all four Fur’s new jewelry got appreciative looks and comments from the rest.

As breakfast wound down, and a few were enjoying one last cup of tea or coffee before boarding the shuttle buses that would take them to Sea-Tac airport to catch the flight to Vandenberg, Jeremy Carver made an appearance with several staffers in the standard hotel livery of one-piece jumpsuits in light grey and silver piping that looked reminiscent of something from an old televised space opera. The staffers carried a large plastic crate each.

"So, did everyone enjoy their stay?" the man asked the Furs, getting several called out affirmatives and smiles all around. He looked around the dining room that had been reserved for the Furs and saw pleased expressions on all of the faces that looked back. "Excellent! I do have a little something for each of you before you go, though."

With a nod from Carver the hotel staffers moved around the different tables and gave each Fur a small black gift bag. The tags had a single word, ‘Thanks!’ in bright red script on them.

"I know that you have all of the equipment you’ll need for your colony, but I thought I’d add a little something to show my appreciation for all of you.

As the Furs began to look in the bags, many were surprised at the contents. There were packs of chewing gum and candy of all different flavors, emergency Mylar blankets that were tightly rolled up into the size of a pair of socks, flexible sunglasses that would fit the heads of the Vulps and could be adjusted, a mirror of polycarbonate plastic that was nearly unbreakable, small travel brushes and combs, a notebook, pen and mechanical pencil and finally a multi-tool that had the standard knife, scissors, pliers and screwdrivers, but also a small magnifying glass, magnetic compass plus a fire starting kit of magnesium and steel striker rods. The multi-tool came in a weather resistant pouch that could be clipped to clothing and also had a lanyard so it could be worn around the neck.

"I once learned the hard way that it’s better to have and not need, than to need and not have! Of course, I was only ten and camping in the backyard, but the lesson was learned! I just hope that some of the items you won’t need and that the other things will serve you well. I would also like to tell on behalf of the staff that it has been our pleasure having you stay here with us. Now, as there is still a little time before you need to depart, I’ve had one of the smaller conference rooms set up with additional communications terminals so you can make calls to anyone that you might want to talk to before heading to Vandenberg."

The man then gave the assembled Furs a nod and another smile.

"Godspeed, Abeona colony."

Before the Vulps could applaud their host, Carver and his staff gave that accolade to the Furs before departing.

"Well, that was an unexpected thing for Jeremy to do," Dimitri said as he joined the table with Sofiya and the others.

"I didn’t know that he was such a big supporter of the program," Richard said, nodding in approval at the quality of the multi-tool. "Too bad we have to turn these in before lifting to Sebra."

***

The coach that was waiting to take the Furs to Vandenberg was completely blocked by a small crowd that carried signs decrying the opinion that Furs were a crime against nature and humanity, though they were blocked from entering the hotel by a small knot of Seattle and State Police. There weren’t more than a dozen protestors, and it looked as if the group had been hastily organized as the signs and sections of poster board looked to have just been put together with the same tired arguments hastily scrawled with markers and spray paint.

Richard looked out of the windows that lined the lobby and shook his head. As far as protests went, this one was barely notable, and while the sign carriers had linked arms and were blocking the doors to the coach, the crowd they attracted was far larger. The police, while vigilant, seemed fairly unconcerned, though they weren’t letting their guard down.

"Compared to the protest at the Institute before we got there, this isn’t too bad," Matthew Sykes said, looking past Richard and the vixens, Charlotte Bujold and Nan Pi-lei holding onto his arms, their ears back and more than a little agitated.

"What happened?" Nan asked softly, her eyes wide and nervous.

"Someone actually brought a firearm," Richard said casually. "I think one of the Furs got shot. Nothing severe, so it wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been." The silver fox looked at the simple watch he wore. "The only problem is this might delay our arrival at Vandenberg which could throw our whole launch off."

"What are you planning?" Sofiya said, sensing her lover was about to do something rash.

The Fur looked at the crowd and shook his head. "This is really slap-dash. These people weren’t planning this. That one works at a bank or something, that girl over there is a student or something, and that one," Richard said looking at one girl that was dressed in the latest trend of completely distressed clothing and filthy looking dreadlocks before shaking his head, "well, I don’t know what he is…maybe one of the neo-hippies, but there’s no…seriousness to this. I’ve seen serious protests. This ain’t it."

Much to Sofiya, Elena and Amanda’s chagrin, he slipped free of the vixens and walked out the door. As if on cue, the chanting about the Furmankind program being evil and morally reprehensible stopped, and the only sounds were the ground cars and normal urban buzz from the surrounding blocks. Everyone watched as the silver fox strode directly to the coach, almost as if the crowd wasn’t there, his gait completely casual and nonchalant. He stopped when he got in front of the dreadlocked girl and smiled.

"I hate to bother you and this fine protest, but we have to get to the airport to catch our flight. You wouldn’t mind moving, would you?" Richard asked politely.

The girl had to look up to make eye contact as her mouth worked up and down silently several times. "You talk!" she squeaked in disbelief.

Richard was unsure why it seemed that most people were astounded when a Fur spoke. "All my life," he replied, though there was a tone of sarcastic humor to his voice. A few in the crowd that could hear the exchange chuckled along with most of the police officers.

Not sure what else to do, the girl moved as she’d been asked, thankfully taking her downwind from the Fur who waved to the others inside. He’d been correct in her lack of bathing, a trend that was all too common with the neo-hippie movement, most of the adherents thinking it brought them closer to nature. The rest of the protesters regarded the silver fox with some surprise that he’d spoken as well and had edged away giving the police the chance to block further interference.

As he leaned against the side of the coach, the rest of the group hurried out and boarded, thankfully kept from view once inside the vehicle by the tinted windows. Richard looked at his cohorts as they got into the coach, giving Sofiya and the other two vixens a wink when they brought up the rear. As soon as his mates were on, Richard turned to the protesters and gave them a toothy grin. "Thanks, guys. Have a good day!" he said and slipped inside.

The driver had been anticipating more trouble and before the door was shut he had the bus moving, heading to the freeway as fast as possible. "I thought those yay-hoos were going to be a problem!" the man exclaimed as Richard took the seat behind and to the side of the driver.

"No. They were too hastily organized to be a problem," the fox said as he allowed the three vixens to give him kisses. "That was a spur of the moment thing and we just happened to be a target of opportunity."

"How could you tell?" Amanda asked from the seat across the aisle as she sat back down.

"The three suits," Richard replied. "They kept looking at their watches, and the signs had just been put together. If we’d been there another day then it might have been a problem."

***

There was no delay at Sea-Tac Airport. The directors that oversaw the facility that served the Seattle/Tacoma Washington region had decided to reduce potential issues with the Furs strolling through the main terminal and had directed the coach to one of the outlying hangars that had the aircraft that would carry the colony group to Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The VTOL was similar to the Adirondack Furmankind Institute’s aged Osprey in basic design, though instead of huge rotors on tilt points at the ends of the stubby wings, this one used ducted fans that were powered by hydrogen engines with four nacelles to provide lift and thrust. However more efficient the design was, it was easy to tell that the aircraft had certainly evolved from the V-22 Osprey concept.

The flight crew was all USAF personnel, and as the Furs disembarked from the coach, if any of them were prejudiced against the anthrofoxes, they kept their comments to themselves. One of the crew was a woman with short red hair and reflective sunglasses looked over the Vulps with an impassive expression as she counted the Furs, adding Doctor Kavalos to the count as well and nodded to herself. She conferred with the pilot, the man having a silver oak leaf on his collar denoting a Lieutenant Colonel. The man nodded and stepped away from the aircraft and put his hands on his hips as he regarded the group.

"How’s everyone doing today?" the pilot asked. There were a few verbal responses and nods in reply, all of them positive. "Good. We’ll be in the air a little under four hours with our arrival ETA at fourteen thirty hours. There’s a small patch of storms that are moving in off the Pacific just north of Sacramento, but that shouldn’t have any effect on our flight today.

"Once we land at Vandenberg, there’ll be a cattle car waiting to take you to the prelaunch facility. Keep your personal bags with you and once you get onboard you can stow them in the overhead rack. As we don’t have facilities on the bird, the latrine’s over there in the hangar. I can give you fifteen minutes, but after that we’ll need to get airborne. Likewise the only refreshments we’ve got are bottles of water. I hate to say it, but we really aren’t meant for shuttling civilians, so you’ll forgive us for the lack of comforts."

The Colonel gave them all a disarming smile that was actually rather charming.

"While the rest of you are hitting the facilities, would I be able to speak to…" he looked at the Tech Sergeant that had been counting heads and comparing it to her list and listened to the woman’s whisper, "Sofiya Talova?"

"That would be myself," the red fox said.

"Excellent. The rest of you may want to go ahead and use the facilities. We’re on a bit of a schedule."

As the rest of the Furs made their way to the two bathrooms in the hangar, Richard hung back, his ears swiveling to catch what the Colonel was saying. Most of what was said fell along fairly standard lines of what kind of behavior was expected, safety protocols and such. It was also something of a professional courtesy for the pilot to meet the leader of any group. Both laughed when Sofiya apologized beforehand about potential shedding in his aircraft and the two parted, the Colonel boarding his aircraft to begin preflight checks while the red fox rejoined Richard and the line for the restrooms.

***

The flight to California was almost text book perfect, and most of the Furs wound up drifting off, snoozing a substantial portion of the flight. The high, smooth drone of the four ducted fans weren’t as choppy as other aircraft, and the insulation along the fuselage dampened the noise enough so that it didn’t hurt the sensitive ears of the Furs. The only major discomfort came at the conclusion of the flight when the hatch was opened and the hot, damp air of Southern California rolled through the troop compartment. It seemed that almost everyone wilted a little at the heavy humidity and after retrieving their travel bags were more than happy to make the air conditioned interior of the transport to the prelaunch building.

The vehicle that they traveled in wasn’t a bus, and Richard was the only one familiar with the pseudo-trailer that had a few seats, windows and handrails, looking more like the mating of a cargo trailer and old school bus that almost everyone in the military that had ridden in them called ‘cattle cars’. The former Marine remembered being hauled from the barracks to the range in just such a contraption during his time in Basic Training, and found he hadn’t really missed the uncomfortable beasts.

A short walk again in the sweltering heat had some of the Furs lamenting that they hadn’t put on sandals when their foot pads were slightly burned on the sun baked asphalt until they were once again in blessed air conditioning. An Airman took the Abeona group into a room that was longer than it was wide that had padded chairs along both walls and told them that the flight surgeons would be by shortly to begin checks to ensure that everyone was healthy enough for their pending launch.

"We aren’t going to get that sleepy drink?" Matthew Sykes asked in surprise.

Before the Airman could answer, Dimitri Kavalos answered. "Not on this flight. Unlike the space plane that took all of you up to Space Station Sebra last time, today’s trip will be on OSP-42." The Greek pulled out his PBJ and smiled at the Airman. "Please let the flight surgeon know that I have the baseline for physical standards if he or she is unused to working with Furs. Some of the readings aren’t the same for humans, and what is normal for them may cause some confusion."

"Yes, Sir," the Airman replied crisply. "I let the Major know, Sir." The Airman looked as if he should have been in high school and still had a bit of the awkward, gangling lankiness that would hopefully disappear as he got older. As it was, is military haircut made his ears look a little large for his head. He pointed out the different amenities for the Furs, his attitude clearly demonstrating that this was his first time in dealing with furmankind, and he tried not to stare before he left.

"So we get an actual rocket launch?" Matthew continued once the Airman left, a grin slowly spreading across his muzzle.

"Very much so," Dimitri said. "Personally I was hoping for another ride on either theBranson or one of her sister ships." The man noted some of the sick looking expressions on the faces of a few of the Vulps and chuckled. "Don’t feel bad. This is my first time on something like the OSP-42 and I’m a little nervous as well."

As soon as she heard that they were going to be launched on a rocket, Enola Bellingham had her PBJ out. No sooner had she typed in her inquiry than a flood of information popped up on her dual screen device. "Let’s see…" the vixen said as she scrolled through the information using her claw tip. "The Orbital Space Plane…OSP-42 is an off shoot of the X-39 program from the early 21st Century…reusable, perfect flight record. Huh. Essentially it’s a big space bus. Inexpensive, reusable launch vehicle. An average of 3g’s on takeoff. Why, it’s not even as bad as some of my favorite roller coasters!"

"Some of us don’t like roller coasters," Nan Pi-lei muttered with a dejected expression. She brightened a little and smiled bravely when Matthew gave her a little hug.

The Furs didn’t have to wait long for the flight surgeon who was able to determine that all of them, so far as she could tell, were healthy enough for the pending flight. The Major made a notation in her computer tablet, the device built more for durability than anything else and certainly not as flexible in different applications as the Furs’ PBJ’s. Once the brief physicals were concluded, a senior sergeant came in and gave all of them a quick briefing on the flight and also had them stow all loose items in their bags and attach tags so they could retrieve them onboard Space Station Sebra. He then began to describe the flight that they were about to undertake.

"We’ve been using the 42 for routine space launches to ferry both materials and personnel to space-based assets for over a decade," the Sergeant began without preamble, activating a video screen that had simple animation, his narrative synching perfectly with the government made cartoon. "Launch will be carried out by the Hermes class first stage, a five engine rocket that utilizes a cluster of four, reusable SRBs, or solid rocket boosters affixed to a liquid bi-fueled T-1 rocket engine core. The four SRBs put out over one million pounds of thrust each. At two minutes and ten seconds, the SRBs will detach and fall back to earth to be reused in subsequent future launches while the T-1 liquid fuel rocket engine will put you into a Low Earth Orbit.

"Once the T-1 engine is spent, the OSP, in your case the ‘General Chuck Yeager’, will detach from the T-1 module and continue until it reaches rendezvous orbit with Space Station Sebra. Because of the altitude the T-1 engine will be at precludes its recovery, the unit will maintain a low orbit until it is recovered by an automated orbital tug for eventual refuel and reuse for future missions, though as of late most T-1 engines have been used for hauling cargo modules to Mars or other high-risk unmanned missions."

The Sergeant took a sip of water and used a laser pointer as the next few images came up.

"The OSP-42 is the direct descendant of the X-39 unmanned space delivery vehicle that was developed when the original Space Shuttle fleet was retired. Utilizing advanced materials engineering, the vehicle is lighter, more durable with greater range and mission length capabilities. As the OSP utilizes mission variable internal modules, it is one of the most flexible, inexpensive space delivery systems still in use and can perform multiple tasks per launch.

"Your flight this evening will not only include you, but also replenishment stores for Sebra, and prior to docking with the space station, orbital delivery of a satellite. Mission flight time from launch to docking with Sebra will be approximately three hours and seventeen minutes. Unlike civilian carriers that service Sebra, you will be required to remain in your seats at all times during the flight, though certain exceptions will be made if there is a need for use of facilities."

The Sergeant loosened up a little at that point and gave the assemble Furs a small smile.

"Now, I know that this makes it sound like a boring trip, and I’ll be the first to tell you that boring is good. Excitement normally means some kind of emergency. We like boring. Welove boring. But, just in case there is some excitement, under the seats that all of you will be strapped into, we have one of these." The man pulled out a bright yellow and red bundle that looked like a backpack. "Now, I’ve been instructed that all of you have been up to Sebra during your time with the Furmankind Institutes, and were briefed on the rescue balls, but it’s my job to make absolutely positive that you know how to use them, so before we get started, stand up, get a little water, stretch your legs and we’ll move on to this next part, okay?"

Many of the Furs, happy for the break, didn’t hesitate to do as recommended. Richard was smiling as he stood and stretched before dropping to all fours and giving himself a good shake. "This is way too much like being back at Parris Island," he told his vixens with a grin.

"They didn’t do this for us when we went to Sebra the first time," Amanda said as Elena rubbed the other vixen’s neck.

"Yeah. The military has a set way of doing things," the silver fox replied with a smile. "Normally they’re trying to get the most amount of information imparted in the shortest amount of time." Richard turned when he felt a tug on his vest and saw that Sofiya was nodding at the Sergeant who had approached.

"Did I hear you say you were in the military?" the man inquired.

"Jarhead," Richard said with a chuckle.

"Well, this ol’ wing nut won’t hold that against you!" the Sergeant said grinning. "You wouldn’t want to help with the next portion, would you? I don’t know if you folks ever got to see one of the rescue balls deployed, and that’s the next part of the briefing. Once the others see you do it, they’ll get a chance to try it as well. Granted, it’s a completely different game when you’re in zee-gee and getting ready to breath vacuum, but it might help keep panic down. Just in case, mind you."

Richard nodded. "Sure, thing, Sergeant."

"Nah. Call me Howe. Ya’ll are civvies, so I won’t make you use my rank," the man, Howe, told them. He looked around and saw that most of the Furs were finished with their little break. "Alright…er…"

"Richard."

The man smiled. "Alright, Richard. Let’s go up front and you’ll show everyone how to deploy a rescue ball."

***

The Sergeant instructed all of the Vulps on the use of the rescue ball using a video aid, then had Richard demonstrate the steps. Once he made sure everyone had a working grasp, each of the Furs got to do a timed exercise of getting the training units deployed and getting into them. During the timed portion of the exercise Amanda actually had the best time, the nimble fennec inflating the device the rest of the way while sitting in it while Richard actually had the longest, finding it difficult to get his larger size into the inflatable sphere, though it was well within the excepted time frame.

"The most important thing to remember," the Sergeant said at the conclusion of the training exercise, "is if you find yourself in vacuum, do not hold your breath. Exhale slowly and remain calm. Help will get to you within the allotted time that your rescue ball has air for. Of that you can be assured." He glanced at his watch again and nodded. "And that concludes our debrief. Now, if you would all like to hit the facilities once more, it’s about time to get all of you loaded up on the ‘Yeager’."

Once last minute runs to the latrines were completed, the Sergeant took the Furs to a door at the back of the classroom and down a circular ramp. At the bottom of the ramp was a small tunnel with an electric powered tram with several cars that were little more than wheeled platforms with benches.

"And this is where we all say good-bye," Howe told them. "Have a good flight, and Godspeed to your new world, folks."

The tram, driven by a lower ranking Sergeant carried the Furs almost two miles to a small room and elevator that would carry them up to the staging room, and from there they would take a second elevator up the gantry support and board the OSP. Because of the need for proper weight distribution, names were called for specific seating arrangements. As the Vulps were taken up four at a time in the completely enclosed elevator cars, no one got to actually see the Orbital Space Plane or even outside one last time. Because they were being separated, many of the Furs were kissing their significant others one last time before boarding, Sofiya, Elena, Amanda and Richard no exception.

The interior of the passenger module had seats for fifty, twenty five per side, with a ladder incorporated into the aisle of what most of the Furs considered the floor. The panels over their heads was a light shade of blue with the seats and padded sections between them a muted beige, all colors that were supposedly supposed to be calming. Technicians helped each of the Furs strap into their seats, though many were a little miffed when they had a foot placed on their shoulders to push them down while the straps were cinched tight.

"Gott himmel!" Kurt Reichmann swore as he was crammed into the seat, grunting with the rough treatment while on the other side of the aisle, Richard underwent the same.

"It’s better than bouncing around, Kurt," the silver fox grunted.

"Ja, but does it have to be so tight? I can barely breathe!" the platinum fox replied wincing.

"I know it’s a pain, Sir," the technician said with an apologetic look, "but it’s better than slipping out and winding up plastered on the rear bulkhead. By the time the ship hits ten thousand feet, you’ll be doing a little over Mach two. Even a short fall will pulverize bones if you tumble out. Not to mention hitting other seatbacks on the way"

The German Fur’s eyes widened slightly. "Ja, that would not be pleasant."

Richard watched as the techs moved up the ladder in the center aisle, making sure the others were properly secured, then before anyone was really prepared for it, the hatch was closed and sealed. Many of the Furs worked their jaws or forced yawns to compensate for the increased air pressure as the cabin was filled with almost pure oxygen. From the outside there were sounds of bumping and other things and vibrations that ran through the entire module. It wasn’t until they came to life that the Furs discovered the seatbacks they faced had small viewing screens. A woman and man in orange pressure suits looked at them from the screens and smiled.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen. "I’m Colonel Alvin Michado and I’ll be your pilot and mission commander for tonight’s flight." In the background they could hear the woman that was next to him talking to Mission Control, though her voice was subdued, being on a different channel than the intercom. "We’re about fifteen minutes from liftoff at this point. The screen in front of you will cycle through different cameras that are scattered about the surface of the ‘Yeager’ here, and you can cycle through the different views by touching the circular arrow icon on the screen. Unfortunately, the cameras will be blacked out when we do our satellite insertion for ten minutes prior to and after deployment so you’ll have no visuals at that time. I will, however, notify you as soon as we come into visual range of Space Station Sebra so that you may watch our approach. Now, sit back, enjoy the flight, and welcome aboard."

As soon as the Colonel was done speaking, the screen switched to a pale blue sky with streaks of high level clouds stained magenta with the setting sun. "What’s that?" someone asked. "It looks like a painting."

"That’s what the view from the cockpit is," one of the other Furs, Toshiro from the sound of the voice, replied.

Throughout the cabin of the module, some of the Furs were talking, a few were praying, all were feeling the anticipation of being blasted off into space.

CHAPTER 26

"Zero Gravity Waltz"

To most of the Furs onboard the OSP-42‘General Chuck Yeager’, it seemed that they were leaping upwards before the deafening roar of the powerful rockets filled the passenger module, and instead of the gentle seeming lift-off of rocket launches that most had seen in movies and news clips thought that their craft had been shot from a giant gun. All of them felt as if they had been kicked in the back while enormous weights were dropped on their chests, and only one or two didn’t grunt as they were blasted upwards against the pull of gravity. A few realized that the ride could have been more turbulent had it not been for the inertial dampeners the module was equipped with.

A few were struggling to draw in breath and no sooner filled their lungs than the air was forced out in whines and yips of surprise or fear. One such was Conchita Elizabeta Minaz, one of the Furs that had been part of the Buenos Aires Institute contingent. Like most of the others in her group, she’d chosen a South American grey fox, and as the Orbital Space Plane blasted upwards she struggled with the terror that filled her. Between the pressure on her chest, the unbelievably violent vibration the shook the entire module and the roar in her ears, the vixen just knew that this was going to be the end of her life and began praying, words of devotion and supplication tumbling from her mouth in a frenzied torrent.

In her fear of a violent, fiery death, she didn’t realize that it wasn’t the armrest of her seat that she gripped so tightly, but the arm of the American Fur, Richard Tavington. Despite her labored breathing, Conchita prayed to every single Saint that she could remember from her childhood and became so engrossed in her hasty devotionals that she didn’t realize that the roar had subsided and the feeling of being pressed into her flight seat diminished slightly. She didn’t open her eyes until the third tap on her paw-like hand.

“Conchita, you’re drawing blood,” a calm voice said from next to her, bringing her out of her terror filled praying. “I don’t mind you squeezing my hand, but your claws are completely sunk into my arm.”

The vixen turned her head, the words finally sinking in and looking at the Fur next to her in shame, she let go, alternately swearing in English and her native Spanish. “I am so sorry, Richard!”

The silver fox chuckled and made a show of taking her hand. “It’s not over, yet. We still-”

Before the American could finish his sentence there were a series of muffled pops and vibrations that shook the module, though not nearly as intense as the lift-off had been as the SRB’s detached and fell away. A few seconds later the Furs again felt a kick behind them as the T-1 engine came to life, slamming all of the colonists back into the thick padding of their seats. Conchita let out a yelp, reverting to eyes being tightly closed with more prayers tumbling from her vulpine mouth.

The T-1 engine burn seemed shorter and the separation of the OSP from the main body of the launch vehicle threw all of the Vulps and the single human traveling with them against their straps before inertia reversed itself as the Space Plane’s own motors were activated, firing just long enough to put them in the proper orbit to make their satellite delivery prior to rendezvous with Sebra.

There was no way for Richard to see if anyone else had activated their view screens, and he reached forward and brought the one in the seat back in front of him to life. It cycled through the view of the cockpit to a black field with a few stars that the camera in that direction could detect. He paused at the next angle that showed the direction they had come from, the trail of condensation and exhaust gases a visible line all the way back to Vandenberg Air Force Base. Other details were visible for a moment; a highway that snaked like a grey thread through the southern desert before vanishing, splotches of color in the sun bleached white and tan of agricultural centers. The sprawl of Los Angeles was easy to make out in the distance along with the discolored smudge that should have been San Diego. And past all of that was the deep, serene blue of the Pacific.

Richard was so enraptured by the view that he was unaware when Conchita released his fingers with a pat to the back of his paw-like hand in gratitude.

Unlike some of his fellow Marines he never trained for space based operations, and apart from videos or photographs he’d never seen the world like this. He’d viewed it from Sebra when he and his Class had shuttled up via the Branson, but most of that particular trip up and back had been spent asleep. It truly was something else to see his home planet falling away like it did at that moment.

The silver fox couldn’t help but smile as he, like so many others, realized that there were no dividing lines, no borders, no forms of demarcation between States, or countries, or even continents. Earth just simplywas.

As the‘General Chuck Yeager’ continued along its flight path, the blasted deserts of the Southwest gave way to the beginning greens and golds of the Midwest. Mountains looked like ripples frozen in brown water, and it was interesting to see slopes and peaks that would have proven formidable climbs resembling nothing more than minor wrinkles in fabric.

The thought crossed his mind if more people could see the planet this way, see just how beautiful it was, if world leaders could make a journey to space and realize what he did, if that would it bring an end to war? Could they see that it was one world? That all of the ideals that so many fought and bled for were moot? Maybe if they could, then they would realize that God, or Allah, or any of a dozen names for whatever…whoever had created man, didn’t see lines on a map or the differences that so many liked to point out?

When the screen blanked out, the silver fox Fur felt a moment of irritation until he recalled that the video feed was going to be blacked out for twenty minutes, not counting the time it actually took to place the satellite that was part of the OSP’s payload. He sighed and let the feel of Zero G lull him, not really feeling the stomach churning effects of freefall.

“You look deep in thought,” Conchita said softly. “And I am sorry about your arm. I suppose I would never make a very good astronaut.” She chuckled about her own fear; much like a child would after experiencing their first thrill ride at an amusement park.

“It’s no big,” Richard replied. “It’s already stopped bleeding. I’ll get one of the docs to take a look at it when we’re on Sebra.”

The vixen smiled. “You are a good man, Richard.” It seemed as if she wanted to say more, but the feeling of the OSP changing attitude caused her to gulp then let out a low whine when the ship shuddered a little accompanied by the vibrations of the cargo bay doors opening to release the satellite in their payload. “I am afraid I have never dealt well with flight. I was absolutely terrified when we flew from Buenos Aires to the Adirondack Institute.”

“I’m sorry for being so blunt, but it looks like you might need this,” the silver fox said as he lifted a sickness bag for the panting Fur.

“I’m hoping not,” Conchita said with a weak smile. “Though it would be best to have one available. Just in case. To be very truthful I am truly looking forward to being on Bastien and never having to fly ever again.”

“Would you like for me to keep talking? It might help distract you,” Richard offered.

The grey fox Fur nodded emphatically. “Yes. Talking would be appreciated.”

“So, what did you do before joining the AHCP?” he asked. “I don’t think you’ve ever told anyone.”

Conchita chuckled, though there was little humor in the sound. “I am most likely the least useful out of our group. Even the youngest of the Furs have some skills that will help, but not me. Before joining, I was a model for Sao Paulo Cruise Lines. Whenever they needed a girl in a bikini on one of their ships or on a beach, it was me.”

The silver fox’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding me!” Richard grinned a little. “I’ve seen some of their commercials. You were stunning!”

The vixen smiled even as her eyes closed as more noises came from behind the passenger module and she tightened her grip on the armrests. “You are kind to say so. I did that for eight years. I was only seventeen when I started after winning a beauty contest. At the time it was a dream come true. My family was not…well to do, so the money was very enticing. No one warned me about how dangerous it would be.”

“Dangerous? How?” Richard asked in genuine interest.

Conchita snorted. “The money…the lifestyle. Parties every night, being wined and dined by the rich and powerful. No one ever tells you that at some point you cease to be a person, and instead you become an object. Something pretty to be admired, lusted after, coveted… No one ever tells you about needing to be up to do a photo shoot with the sunrise after you have been up all night…or the simple little pills that will make you feel good for a little while. Just a little while.”

The vixen sighed and leaned her head back.

“I think the little pills are the worse. After a while, one is not enough. Then two are not enough. Before long you need more and more. Finally it reaches the point that you will do anything to get them. By then it is too late, and you discover that you have traded your soul simply not to feel sick.”

Richard saw the glitter of a tear in the corner of her eye and dabbed it away before it could start floating in the cabin module. “What did they hook you on?”

“Poquito Diablo Blanco, ‘Little White Devil’. In the United States, you call it ‘Slag’.”

Richard hissed, his brows furrowing slightly. “That’s some bad stuff,” he said softly.

Conchita nodded. “You truly don’t know how bad. As I said, you wake up one day and find that you have traded your soul. When Sao Paulo Cruise Lines found out that I was an addict, they terminated my employment, even though it was their people that helped me become a junkie. At that point I would do anything to get enough to fight the cravings, take the edge off, if you will. I came far too close to selling myself by accepting parts in…certain kinds of movies, if you understand what I mean.

“Fortunately I have a cousin that cares about me very much. He was able to put me in a hospital before I made a grave mistake. It took almost a year, but once I was released, I was no longer addicted, but no one wanted to hire me. My exploits were very well known by then and I was considered a bad investment. Then my cousin suggested that I look into the AHCP. Even though I had no real skills, I discovered that I would learn what was needed. My family will get the prize money if I reach five years, and I will be on a world where my past cannot harm me and I can show that I am not just a has-been model or another pretty face.” She touched the fur of her cheek. “Orwas.”

Richard nodded, understanding some of her reasons for volunteering. “Conchita, please believe me when I tell you that you are beautiful.” He accepted the look of gratitude and nodded. “You really are. And from what you’ve just told me, your cousin sounds like an extraordinary person.”

Conchita gave an actual laugh, her mood lifting somewhat. “I should say he is. He is also our colony’s first officer!” she whispered with a wink.

Suddenly it all became clear to the silver fox why Hector hadn’t formed a relationship with the South American grey fox female and he shook his head at not piecing together rather blatant bits of information earlier. The silver fox couldn’t help but grin. “That certainly explains why you and he aren’t an item.”

“That would be more than a little awkward,” the grey fox agreed, the conversation distracting her from her earlier fear and nervousness. “I don’t know if any of the others would be able to accept a former drug user, though. I…I haven’t been a very good person.”

“You can stop that right now,” Richard told her with a slight hardening of his tone, though he kept the volume of his voice down. “None of us can be judged by any standard except how hard we try to work together to survive and succeed when we get to Bastien. That’s what counts. Everything before doesn’t matter. It’s what we do in the here-and-now that’s important. And I’ve seen you working just as hard as everyone else. I’ve also seen Toshiro noticing you as well,” the silver fox said with a grin. “In fact, he’s beennoticing you since we were all at the Adirondack Institute.”

“H-he…he has?” the vixen asked hopefully.

“Oh, yeah. You know, when we’re on Sebra, we’re going to be put in the E-G section for a bit, and there’s a great little restaurant near the spinward side of the shopping zone. It’s a rather romantic little place that I plan on taking my vixens to.”

Before he could stop her, Conchita placed a soft kiss on the side of his muzzle. “You are a good person, Richard. And you are fortunate to have the love of your three ladies. I know a number of us have been noticingyou, myself included. But I think as it stands you have your family, and I’ll have to make time to speak to Toshiro.”

The thump and vibration that shook the passenger module didn’t cause the South American Fur as much distress as it had earlier, her thoughts distracted as she tried to see where the Japanese fox sat. The vixen did tense a little when the OSP’s engines fired to begin the final leg of their approach to Sebra. Precisely ten minutes later the video feed from the external cameras was restored, and most of the passengers watched their approach to the space station with interest.

***

It seemed as if the space plane’s pilot, Colonel Michado, had a sense of humor as he looped a music recording to play throughout the passenger module and those Furs that were fans of classic cinema were treated to the strains of Strauss’ ‘Blue Danube’ during the maneuvering and docking phase. When it came time to transit into the reception area of the Z-G section, the Abeona Furs were greeted by a man they’d never met before. His green jumpsuit was fairly dull in comparison to his shock of red hair that was cut short, though it was fairly easy to tell that were it any longer it would have been tightly curled. His dark blue eyes had the look of a person that smiled a great deal, and when he spoke, it was with a very thick Irish accent that had Siobhan Hanlon grinning at encountering a fellow denizen of the Emerald Isle.

“Welcome to Sebra!” the man said once all of the Furs were in the large section after the airlock. “I’m Clancy O’Donnell and I’m the section coordinator while Miss Holden is on leave Earthside. As this isn’t the first time that any of you have visited the station, our briefing today will be just that; Brief!”

There were a few chuckles at the man’s light demeanor, though everyone listened raptly.

“Because of a slight delay on the departure of the slipship that all of you were supposed to leave on, you’ll be spending the next nine days onboard. As such, quarters have been provided for you in the E-G section of the station for the next six days. At that time, all of you will transition back to the Z-G section in preparation for departure to Bastien.

“At the present time there is a contingent of Furs that are undergoing their period of greatest change from the Toyohashi Institute. As you’ll be in the opposite portion of the Z-G module when you come back to this end of Sebra, you shouldn’t be disturbed too much, though I have had a request by Director Ashigi Hiritoshi if some of you would be available to visit with his Furs as something akin to mentors it would be greatly appreciated.

“In point of fact, when this contingent of Toyohashi Furs heard that you would also be here, they were quite excited. I’m not sure if any of you were aware of this, but you’re all something of celebrities and it would mean a great deal to them to meet with you.”

“I am sure that this will not present a problem,” Sofiya said with a smile where she floated near Richard, Amanda and Elena. “We would be happy to be meeting with them.”

Clancy grinned. “Excellent! Now, before we head to the lift to take you to the E-G section, does anyone feel that they need a refresher on zero gravity maneuvering, facilities or dining?” The Irishman looked around and saw that no one felt they needed to go through orientation, and a few were actually grinning at being back on the station, a few tails that wagged enthusiastically causing their owners to drift a little awkwardly. When Joel Eckard of the Adirondack Class 18 raised his paw, Clancy nodded at him. “You have a question, sir?”

“Could you tell us what that framework was we passed? Is another station being constructed?” the red fox asked.

“Ah! You saw that, did you?” Clancy replied. “That is actually the keel work for a joint venture by several countries. What you were looking at was the beginnings of the Terran Colony Coalition’s newest colony transport vessel. They’re calling herLeif Erikson for the Norse explorer who not only found the New World well before Columbus, but also established colonies and settlements. You can see the construction from the Z-G observation section. It’s been designed to carry almost seven hundred colonists and materials.

“The colonists will land by shuttles that are being built by British Aerospatiale while the cargo pods are being constructed by General Dynamics following the same design layout as the early Apollo Command Modules used in the Late Twentieth Century NASA missions, just much larger. The difference there is they can be controlled to a degree instead of dropping through atmosphere all willy-nilly. When it’s completed, theLeifErikson will be the largest slipship in existence! We’re all rather excited about this and taking part in something so monumental.”

“It’s great living in the future!” one of the Furs quipped eliciting no small number of chuckles and laughs.

“Yes it is!” Clancy agreed with an answering grin. “Now, let’s go ahead and make our way to the lifts, shall we?”

***

Sofiya lay on the bed in the quarters she’d been assigned and followed Richard with her eyes narrowed playfully as he moved around their shared cubicle, knowing that he was also watching her as she stretched languidly. The first order of business once they received their quarters in the E-G section had been a solid dinner, though because Space Station Sebra was on Greenwich Mean Time, it was actually breakfast for the people that were stationed onboard and those that were visiting. Now, though, was a moment of peace and quiet with just the two of them after what had been a very hectic twenty-four hours.

The anthrovixen couldn’t help the way her heart beat faster to see the silver fox still unclothed after their shower, his luxurious fur completely dry and the way certain things moved as he stretched an arm out from where he stood with his back to Sofiya to turn down the lights. “Long day, huh?” he asked casually.

“Very!” the vixen agreed, slipping her arms under the pillow her head rested on, letting her eyes flutter closed. “I am glad it is done. I feel like I could be sleeping until it is time to board our slipship.”

She barely stirred as she felt Richard sit on the mattress, though when he didn’t lie down and moved closer next to her, Sofiya couldn’t help but grin thinking that the other fox was interested in a little love play. While not opposed to the idea of a little physical activity before bed, she was pleasantly surprised when she felt the first pull of a long brush stroke down the fur of her back.

“Ulyublenyy, you are as tired as I am being,” the vixen murmured, already relaxing deeply with the attention. “You are not needing to do this.”

“I know I don’t need to,” the tone in his rich voice indicating that he was smiling. “But Iwant to. I like to spoil you a little.”

“You spoil your three vixens too much, I am thinking.”

“Maybe. Or possibly it’s my way of trying to show the three of you that you are appreciated.” Richard found a small snarl and gently worked it loose. “I’ve known too many guys that took their ladies for granted. I don’t want to be like them.”

“I do not think that is something you are capable of,” the vixen sighed as the other fox began working on her tail. As Richard moved on to her legs, she simply enjoyed the moment, though once he was finished she flipped over a little more energetically than she really felt and pulled the silver fox down next to her and snuggled close to his side, her arms wrapping around his body as Sofiya rested her head on his chest, enjoying the sound of his heartbeat. “Enough now. You are too good to me and it is time for us to rest. Right now all I am wanting is to sleep with you here next to me.”

An almost tradition that had began when the two Furs had admitted their feelings towards one another seemed to have followed the pair into space as well, and no sooner did they settle in the other’s embrace than the summons alert at the door to their quarters beeped.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Richard grumbled while Sofiya vented a torrent of Ukrainian words that while the silver fox didn’t understand them, the acidic tone was clear. “Enter,” Richard said as the locking mechanism on the door was also keyed to verbal commands.

Wood was far too heavy for use onboard Sebra, though most people that stayed on station, even for a short amount of time, had found the plastic panels used in the doors and walls to be depressing, and in an effort to make the surroundings for visitors more enjoyable, a layer of adhesive plastic that gave them a wooden appearance had been applied. The door opened on pneumatic actuators to reveal a small figure backlit by the lights in the corridor, though neither Fur recognized Amanda until she started to climb up on the bed.

“I woke up wondering where you were,” she told the two anthrofoxes as she settled. “I…I was a little scared because I forgot where we were…”

Giving each other an amused look, Sofiya and Richard shifted a little so the fennec could join them and all three held on to each other, a happy sigh coming from Amanda as she snuggled behind the silver fox. Before long the desert fox’s breathing deepened and evened out as she drifted into a content sleep, the other two soon following. Sofiya had to admit that there was a sense of completion with the fennec added to their little pile, and it would feel even more so if Elena joined them, though she wondered as sleep claimed her if the bed was actually large enough for all of them.

***

Sofiya sipped at the Italian soda a waiter had brought her as she sat at a small nook near the quarters the Furs had been assigned to, looking over the latest news articles on her PBJ, oblivious to almost everything else. Richard was with the other two vixens that she had started to think of as her skulk, the three others making use of the exercise facilities. She looked up from the dual screen device when motion caught her eyes and smiled as Dimitri Kavalos took the seat opposite her, some kind of fruit juice in his hand.

“Where is your little family, Sofiya?” the Greek inquired with a warm smile.

“Richard is making sure they are getting proper exercise. Elena was complaining of stiffness from all of the traveling that was being done and wished to be stretching and working of the muscles,” the red fox informed the man. “And how is ‘Poppa Dimitri’ today?” she asked with a grin.

“Couldn’t be better. I just returned from a lecture on the documented sea life discovered on Khepri. Fascinating stuff. Most of what has been discovered is quite compatible with some of the life on Earth. They even have a type of shellfish that is almost an exact match for shrimp, but they are almost as long as my arm! Apparently the richer waters have taken life forms that have exhibited nearly parallel evolution, but given them incredible size. If something like that could be grown rapidly, it might help ease world hunger here. Very exciting, indeed!” The human’s brown eyes almost blazed with his enthusiasm and enjoyment of such topics.

“That is why we are being sent to different worlds, no?” Sofiya replied, closing her clamshell device. “Resources and worlds to send people to be helping the Earth.”

“Yes,” the Doctor said, though his excitement dampened a bit. He sipped his drink before continuing. “You know, there has not been one person that I have watched make the transition from human to furman that I didn’t miss when they left. It’s difficult to explain. You, the others of your Class, those before and those after…I miss and worry about all of you. I know we try and do everything possible to prepare you for the trials ahead, but there are times I am very afraid for all of you.”

Sofiya took the man’s hand in her paw like one, squeezing gently and smiled. “This is why many of us call you ‘Poppa Dimitri’!” the vixen replied with a smile. “We are ready, Dimitri. We have trained and we are being a good team. We can do this. And all children must eventually leave home, no matter how much parents may wish otherwise.”

The man smiled at the Fur comforting him when it was normally the other way around while she and her housemates were undergoing their transformations. Before he could respond Amanda appeared, her eyes bright and smelling of the same vanilla soap that Sofiya preferred and threw her arms around the red fox vixen, nuzzling the side of the slightly older vixen’s head affectionately.

“You are done with you exercise time?” Sofiya asked as she leaned into the contact happily.

“And feeling great!” the fennec laughed, her high, bright voice drawing attention from some of the other visitors to Sebra, some glances casual, others smiling at the young Fur’s exuberance, a few scowling before moving off, finding the members of Furmankind detestable.

“And where are Richard and Elena?” Dimitri asked curiously.

“Oh. That,” Amanda said. “Well, he tries to take a little time to spend time with each of us during the day when we aren’t all together.”

“So this…arrangement is working well?” Dimitri asked with interest.

The red fox vixen nodded with a happy expression and wag of her tail. “It is. I have a good family and all of us are caring for each other.” Sofiya looked at the fennec. “Are you knowing what they are doing?”

The other Fur giggled and nodded, a look of extreme amusement on her vulpine face. “Elena said it was time for Richard to learn to dance!”

“I don’t see what’s so amusing about that,” Dimitri said with some confusion. “Dancing is a good activity and imparts coordination.”

“But Elena took him up in the Z-G section to do it in!” Amanda chortled.

The red fox’s eyes grew a little large. “I think I would be paying good money to see this!”

***

“Are you sure about this?” Richard asked, more than a little nervous, especially with the number of Furs from the Toyohashi Institute that were on Sebra deciding to observe.

The portion of the station they were in was essentially a large cylinder with padded sections all around that were covered in the fuzzy, Velcro-like material that worked in conjunction with the traction slippers some of the human crew used in this portion of the orbital facility. While the padding was thick, it wouldn’t do much to protect either of the Abeona Vulps if they impacted with too much force.

“Richard,” Elena said in a playful tone, “you are not being timid, are you?”

“No. It’s just…”

The platinum fox gave him a warm smile from where she sat on the opposite side of the chamber. “Just remember to being gentle. Let the music flow through you. You will try to be matching what I do, and I will be doing the same.” Elena slipped a memory stick into the small, battery powered player, her claw tip hovering over the Play button. “Ready?”

The silver fox nodded. No sooner did he give the other Fur his ascent than the cylinder was filled with Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. Richard watched as she gave the padded surface a nudge with her left foot, the little tap more than enough to send her unerringly towards him, but not at a breakneck speed. He followed suit, perhaps using a little less force than the vixen had, though he had greater mass. As they neared it was easy to see the trust and affection in her golden brown eyes. At the last possible moment, their arms stretched towards each other, Elena rolled over so that if they hadn’t caught each other they would have passed belly-to-belly.

As it was, their fingers intertwined, paw-like hands holding tightly, bringing both of them into a sort of orbit. As they spun slowly, their legs tucked up and tails following, the observing Furs thought they resembled a black and gold Yin-Yang. Letting Richard know that she was going to let go with one hand, Elena parted far enough to halt the spin and flew away, only to use the grip she still had to come right back, the silver fox’s arms automatically wrapping around her. The impact was enough to send them towards the inner surface of the cylinder, though it was far less of a collision than the vixen had experienced dancing a Tango in gravity, and once close enough kicked them back into the open space.

Listening to her quite instructions, Richard let her drift away while maintaining his hold on her to twirl her in a pirouette, reversing it after two revolutions and bringing her back. It took a few tries, but both got to the point that whichever one was closest to the wall would send them back into a slow trajectory towards the other side. The more time they spent, the better they became, adding acrobatic twists and turns around each other. After thirty minutes, Richard even had to admit that he was having fun.

Losing track of time, the two Vulps became one with the music and themselves, their antics becoming a display of agility, and for those that watched completely enthralled, a story of fluid sensuality in motion. When the pair finished, they were both face to face, arms about one another and looking into each other’s eyes and drifting lazily. Richard cocked his head in curiosity when Elena mumbled something in Ukrainian, her words too fast and too soft for the silver fox to keep up with, though there was no mistaking the meaning of the kiss that she gave him. “I am being very happy that Sofiya is willing to be sharing,” she husked softly, her fingers brushing the fur along Richard’s cheek. “Are…are you loving us, Richard? Amanda and myself?” She lowered her head a little. “I…mean truly loving us? Not just having us be bed partners?”

“At first I wasn’t sure what I felt because I was in love with Sofiya,” Richard admitted in a whisper. “But you know that I’m not lying when I say that I love Amanda, and I love you,kokhanny. We aren’t just bed partners. We’re a family.”

When Elena kissed him again, it was deep and long and left the silver fox more than a little lightheaded. “Now I am wishing that I had sealed the doors to this part,” the platinum fox whispered archly. “I have never been making love in Z-G before.”

CHAPTER 27

"Farewell, Mother"

One of the recent additions to the Abeona colony group sat before the large observation window with a furrow between his brows. Like so many individuals of furmankind that had passed through the Station, he regarded the swirled blue and white planet beneath Space Station Sebra with a melancholy heart. He was unaware of another slipping up to the observation rail until the visitor cleared his throat. Twisting his head then having to swallow as he was still unaccustomed to the way other Furs played against his sense of up and down with their floating about. “Guten tag, Herr Hector.”

“You looked rather upset by something,” the South American grey fox informed the other male. “I was wondering if it was something that I could assist with.”

Kurt Reichmann shook his head with a rueful expression. “I was just thinking that this was the last place I would end up. I always expected to live out my years on the estate I worked, to have my remains interred in the depths of the Black Forest, not unlike my father. I didnotexpect to go through this, and be sent to another world.” The German gestured at his body as he spoke the last part, though the gesture was rather abrupt and would have caused him to tumble if he hadn’t snatched the rail around the thick glassteel window. “It seems like a dream I am unable to wake from.”

Hector wasn’t much younger than the red fox and nodded in sympathy. “You are not the only one that has had such thoughts, my friend. It is a difficult thing to know we are leaving everything we are familiar with for what to us is the unknown.”

Kurt shook his head. “It is more than that.” He looked around to ensure that there were no others around to overhear and dropped the volume of his already quiet voice. “I find that I am viewing our upcoming departure most unhappily.” The red fox sighed as he turned back to the vista of Earth. “It is a terrible thing to admit that for what seems the first time in my life, I am afraid.”

Hector nodded in sympathy as he put a reassuring paw-like hand on the other male’s shoulder. “Then I hope you realize that you aren’t alone.” It was the Argentine’s turn to nod his head as the other looked at him in surprise to the admission. “Even I have my moments of apprehension. But at the same time I know that to stay on Earth would eventually drive me mad. Despite having had a very successful law practice, I never felt comfortable in the city.” Hector paused when Kurt silently signaled agreement at that statement. “I used to look forward to my exploits and sojourns into the rain forest of the Amazon, to be where no others were, no crime, no corruption. I liked the…honesty of the jungle.

“In that verdant paradise, I knew I had to maintain my wits, to be aware, but not from other men that would cut my throat for the money in my pocket, the credcard in my wallet or the possessions in my house. I had to be aware because, as Richard puts it, ‘nature has ever been red in tooth and claw’, and she is unforgiving of fools. It was a test for me, and I relished every moment.”

“Ja! This is how I felt in my beloved forest!” the German exclaimed.

Hector smiled warmly. “You are indeed in good company, then. Richard is much like us, though his love was for the wilds of Alaska. And keep in mind that we are going to a place that will certainly test us. It is unknown to us, and there will be that element that the three of us thrive on, that will challenge us. We three…I think that we are part of the last of a bygone breed. We were men that embracedbeing men. Not that we beat on our chests and acted like Neanderthals, but reveled in our gender and embraced it, sought challenges to temper ourselves against.

“Now we are going to a world that despite the previous colony that was there for a little over four years, is still quite untamed and unknown. Bastien…she will be a challenge, of that I have no doubt. But at the same time I see her as being the element that some of us were forced to give up against our wills. And we will need you, my friend. Your experience in the wilderness, your hunting exploits, those will be things that will enable us to do more than just survive. You are needed, Kurt.”

The German Fur smiled, the pinched expression vanishing from his brow as his posture relaxed substantially. “You are a good person,Herr Hector. I didn’t see things this way before. I was only lamenting what I was giving up.”

“It’s an adventure, of that you may be sure!”

“Ja. An adventure! Almost like the ones in the books I read as a boy.” The Fur slapped his knee in amusement, his earlier trepidation vanishing as he looked at the situation in a new light and perspective. “Come. Let us find Richard. We will return to the E-G section for a good beer and talk of the things men do and need. And, the two of you can tell me a story.”

“What story is that?” Hector inquired as they pushed off from the rail.

“I heard that our dear Sofiya killed a bear during an exercise. Is that true?”

Hector laughed as the pair floated to the access way wondering if he would ever get tired of hearing people ask about the incident with the black bear. “Very true. I’m sure if you ask her, she’ll be happy to show you the pelt and skull that Richard cleaned for her as trophies.”

The red fox grinned widely. “We truly have an astonishing young lady as our colony leader, do we not?”

“She is quite astonishing,” Hector agreed as they drifted to another section to find the American silver fox.

***

“And that’s how it happened,” Richard said as he ran his claw tip around the rim of the plastic drinking glass that had contained his beer and spun the straw inside around. “I’m just glad she wasn’t hurt worse. It wasn’t a large bear, but it wasn’t small either, and while an older one would have been cannier, a young adult is virtually fearless.”

“A good tale,” Kurt said as he leaned back in his chair wearing a content expression. “It sounds as if we do indeed have the right leader for our mission. I am glad. I am even more glad that it’s not I that will be in charge. I am too old and accustomed to certain ways of thinking. I will work hard, but I don’t have the flexibility of mind to lead. Sofiya has the eyes of youth to help see whatcan be, where I see whatis.”

Hector smiled while Richard nodded. “She’s doing a better job than I could,” the silver fox agreed.

“What do you mean?” Kurt inquired.

“Hector and I were on the list of potential leaders for the Bastien reseed mission. Normally it’s the AHCP board of directors that selects the leader, but Ásmundr Gustavsson chose her personally. I don’t know what made him select Sofiya, but I agree with the decision.”

Hector smiled. “As do I. She has the ability to convey that she cares about the rest of us. I do not think I would be able to do such.”

As if talking about her had summoned her, Sofiya, Amanda, Elena, Emanuella and Siobhan Hanlon arrived. The first three vixens surrounded Richard, gifting him with kisses and nuzzles while Emanuella sidled up to Hector. That left Siobhan out and she moved over to the German red fox. “May I sit with you?” she inquired politely.

Kurt swallowed hard and got up to pull a chair out for the vixen, a slightly bemused expression on his face. “Of course you may,” he replied quietly.

“We are not interrupting important talk among men, are we?” Sofiya asked with a grin.

“Not at all,” Richard said as he put his arm around her waist, doing the same to Elena while Amanda leaned over his shoulders with her arms around his neck.

Emanuella was doting on Hector and the other vixens were happily paying attention to the silver fox. Siobhan was one of the few vixens of the group that hadn’t really found anyone that interested her in more than a passing fashion, and unlike her fellow female Furs wasn’t sure what to think about sharing the affections of one of the males, and Kurt had intrigued her greatly. She liked that he was somewhat old fashioned in his mannerisms and hadn’t had a chance to say more than a few words in the entire time he’d been assigned to the group and found the opportunity too good to resist. She slipped her arm through his and lowered her head to look coyly up at the older red fox.

“I’ve always hated being the single girl when my friends were around their significant others, so maybe I’ll just sit here and fawn on you, if you don’t mind?” Siobhan suggested.

“I would be honored,” Kurt told her, his expression growing even more surprised and happy.

“Do you boys mind if we steal Richard?” Amanda asked. “Starting tomorrow we’re all going to be confined to the Z-G section and Richard promised to go with us through the spinward shops again.”

“An excellent idea!” Emanuella said before looking at Hector. “Can we?”

“Anything you wish,” the South American grey fox replied much to his vixen’s delight. “Besides, I think we’re leaving Kurt in quite capable care.”

The parting remark embarrassed both red fox Furs a little, though neither one complained at the sudden mass exodus of the others. Richard let the three females lead him to the stores they wished to visit one last time, though he gave the trio a confused look when they turned and looked back at where the two foxes still sat, their heads close together as they spoke. “Mission accomplished!” Amanda crooned with a grin.

“Do I really want to know what you mean by that?” the silver fox asked with a partial smile.

“Siobhan has been trying to figure out the solution to meeting with Kurt,” Sofiya told him.

“You and Hector were providing a perfect opportunity,” Elena added.

“Besides, we really do want to get a little shopping in, and seeing I want a little silk robe like Sofiya has, I can model it and you can tell me what you think!” the fennec finished with a wicked giggle.

***

Fourteen hours before the Furs would board their transport to Bastien, a rather frantic Kurt caught Richard in the corridor that led to the Z-G dining facility. He nodded at finding the silver fox alone, though the tension in his shoulders or the nervous feeling in his stomach didn’t abate in the slightest. The German Fur almost snagged the other Vulps’ sleeve in his haste though Kurt’s agitated state was enough to get the American’s attention.

“Could I speak with you in private?” the red fox pleaded, an almost frightened look in his eyes.

“Sure,” Richard replied cautiously, gesturing to the branch that led to the null gravity exercise room. A quick glance indicated that there was no one using any of the equipment and closed the plastic divider. “So, what’s up, Kurt? You seem a little frazzled.”

The other fox nodded vigorously. “I…I think I have done something very wrong.” He wrung his paw-like hands together in apprehension, unable to look the other male in the eyes. “I…I, er, it is Siobhan,” he finally blurted out. “And…and I, um…I slept with her…last night.”

“Why, Kurt!” Richard said with a grin. “You sly old fox. Congratulations!”

“No!” the red fox said, a horrified look in his eyes. “This is not good! Not at all!” he lamented.

The silver fox regarded his counterpart in confusion. “Um, let me see if I can get this straight. A pretty female, one that’s obviously attracted to you, winds up letting you on the playground, and this is bad?”

“Very bad!” Kurt replied, his ears flattening as his tail lowered against the backs of his legs.

“Why?”

“Because I am forty five!”

“So?”

“Richard, I am twenty years older than Siobhan! This is not the thing a proper gentleman does!”

The silver fox finally understood, and with the realization of what the other Fur was getting at caused laughter to bubble up that he steadfastly held back. “I don’t think age differences are really a concern, Kurt.”

“I am old enough to be her father!” the red fox replied hotly.

“But youaren’t herfather,” Richard pointed out. “Look, there are a lot of things that we’ve been raised to believe are the proper way to behave and do things, but a lot of that doesn’t count with all of us heading to Bastien. What works and is considered the way we should behave on Earth won’t have any bearing out there,” the silver fox said pointing at the side of the chamber. He saw the indecision on the other male’s face and decided a different tact. “Of course, Siobhan is a nice vixen. She’s also pretty lonely. I guess I can talk to my girls and see if they wouldn’t mind a fourth joining us. We all like Siobhan well enough.”

The dejected posture Kurt had been exhibiting was immediately replaced by raised hackles and a slight baring of his teeth. He didn’t relax until the other fox actually did laugh.

“See? You do care about her, don’t you?”

The observation worked like a dousing of cold water and just as quickly as it came, Kurt’s aggressive posture fell and gave way to one of amazement. “I…I do.”

“Was it really so hard to admit?”

“In point of fact, it was,” the fox answered glumly. “What…what will the others think?”

“That you are one lucky Fur,” Richard said with a grin. “As long as you two genuinely care about each other, what does it matter how old you or she is? I’m ten years older than Mandy, but that doesn’t matter. When I look at her I see a young female that is caring and compassionate. We treat each other with respect and deep, genuine affection, and that’s all that matters. As long as you and Siobhan are the same, and approach this as two, mature adults that realize you really care for each other, that’s all that counts.” He clapped the other Fur on the shoulder. “Kurt, we’re getting shot off into deep space to take over the colony of another group that didn’t make it. No one knows what the future holds for any of us, so my advice is live and love the best you can and treasure every single moment.”

“A sound philosophy,” the red fox admitted after mulling over what Richard said. “Being a Fur has taught you this?”

The silver fox shook his head. “No. Being a Marine and seeing too many friends die did. But it applies to this moment, right now, as much as anything else does. If you find love, no matter what, value it and make sure the one that loves you knows that you feel the same in return.”

Kurt began to smile. “I may be older, but you are far wiser,mien freund.”

Richard chuckled again. “No. Not wiser. Just different experiences and too many encounters that made me realize that I am very much mortal!”

The pair exited the exercise section and headed to the dining area. As soon as Kurt saw Siobhan, he floated up behind her and got her attention. Whatever it was that he whispered into the vixen’s ear had a rather dramatic affect as the female red fox spun immediately and launched herself into the male’s arms, carrying the two of them to the far wall. The kiss was languorous and deep and only ended when the rest of the Furs in the chamber began to applaud, much to the new couple’s embarrassment. With a wave at her dining companions, Siobhan led Kurt from the section with a very happy expression on her vulpine face.

With packets of waffles and premixed coffee in hand, the silver fox headed to the table where his three vixens sat, though he paused a moment before joining them, looking at each one and realizing that he did indeed love all three for who they were, and while similar, there was a slight difference in his emotions, but not in the power of what he felt. The silver fox couldn’t help but smile as all three females welcomed him happily into their little circle.

***

The slipship that docked with Space Station Sebra to transport the contingent of Furs to Bastien was one of the most recent additions to the fleet. As it stood, the‘James Cook’ had only made two trips out of the solar system and wasn’t showing the wear-and-tear that some of the older vessels were. The‘Thomas Cavendish’ that had originally been slotted to deliver the Abeona colonists had developed a slight imbalance with the slip-drive that utilized tachyon particle manipulation to achieve Faster-Than-Light travel and had been grounded for an overhaul.

Most of the Furs were parked around the observation window that gave the best view of the approaching ship while others watched on monitors that were located in the communal module. Several of the Toyohashi Furs that the group had made friends with were a little sad at the upcoming departure of the Abeona colonists, and were spending as much time with the Vulps as possible. In an out of the way nook, Dimitri Kavalos was saying good-bye to Sofiya, Elena, Amanda and Richard.

“You know that the four of you take my hopes and blessings with you,” the Doctor told the four foxes. He looked away from the others to rub at his eyes with the cuff of his shirt. “Blast it all. I’ve never liked farewells.”

Almost guaranteeing an emotional breakdown, Sofiya pulled the man that had almost become like a second father to her, wrapping her arms tightly around the Greek. “We will be missing you, too,” the red fox vixen said, her voice thick. “Now who am I going to be calling to for advice?”

Elena was more composed, though there was noticeable dampness around her eyes as she too embraced Dimitri. It was Amanda, though, that was the worst off of the three females. She wept openly, sobbing quietly as she threw her sandy furred arms around Dimitri’s neck. “I hate good-byes, too!” the fennec all but sobbed.

After all four got their crying out of the way, Dimitri motioned Richard over to their small, close group. “I don’t have to ask if you’ll take care of my girls,” the man said with a smile. “I know you will. But I want all of you to promise me that you’ll do your best to keep each other safe. Watch out for one another. And when you all start having kits, don’t forget to send Poppa Dimitri pictures, right?”

“We will,” the silver fox said, basking in the contact with the three females.

“Ásmundr chose properly,” the Greek said with a smile. “Then again, he always does.”

Before anything else could be said, the public address called for the Abeona Furs to make their way to the airlock in the docking module for boarding. Time was up, and it was time for all of the Furs to take the biggest step any of them could imagine. A last round of hugs was had by all before Dimitri fled, unable to contain his emotions any longer, and not wanting his foxes to see him for the last time as an emotional wreck.

It was a bittersweet moment, though Richard stopped the three vixens prior to entering the corridor for the docking module and pointed out the window at the Earth below them. “Take a look,” he encouraged. “Unless it’s in a picture or vid, it’ll be the last time any of us see her.” All four of the Vulps paused to regard the swirled blue and white orb of their home world with swatches of brown and deep green that showed through tears in the cloud cover. The silver fox put his finger pads against the window, the vixens following suit. “Good-bye Mom…Dad,” Richard whispered.

Elena said something too quiet for the rest of her family to hear. Sofiya remained silent, and Amanda scowled in concentration. “I don’t know why, but I feel like I’m sort of leaving something bad behind.”

Sharing a look with the others, Richard slipped his paws over her shoulders and pulled her back against his chest, kissing the back of her large ear before nuzzling the fennec’s cheek. “I think all of us are leaving something bad behind. We’re leaving some good things as well. All I know is that where we’re going, it will be the best place I’ve ever known because the three of you will be there.” He accepted a kiss and smile from the fennec and gave her a quick squeeze. “However, we need to scoot. I’d hate for us to be the reason we didn’t launch in time.”

***

Prior to the docking of the‘James Cook’, Sofiya had a briefing with the rest of the colonists, explaining that they would all be put into cryogenic sleep before the ship left Sebra as was standard procedure. Their own medically qualified Vulps would be working with the ship’s surgeon to get everyone sedated and prepared, though Sofiya told them that she would be one of the last ones to go under and one of the first to be brought out of her induced suspended animation. Conversely, Richard volunteered to go first to show the others that there was nothing to be afraid of. The statements of the two foxes had mollified some of the more nervous colonists, and it was with less dread that each of the Furs waited their turn. As Riva and the ship’s surgeon got ready to tend to the silver fox first, Sofiya, Elena and Amanda stepped up to give their male a goodnight kiss before the vixens were shooed out of the medical bay.

In groups of three the Vulps were anesthetized before having their blood replaced with the chemical soup that would enable them to be put into cold storage, slowing down their metabolic processes for the long journey. Sofiya greeted each Fur as they went in, giving each fox a few words of encouragement, promising that when they next woke they would be on approach to Bastien.

Finally it came time for Sofiya to also go under, though she waited until Hector and Joel were asleep and well underway for the process before holding up her paw-like hand to make a request of Riva and the ship’s surgeon. Once Riva understood the other vixen’s reasons for what she asked, the bat eared fox agreed before placing the anesthetic mask over the red fox’s muzzle.

Working efficiently, the former surgeon and ship’s doctor attached the necessary lines and tubes that would remove the last few Furs’ blood before attaching the stimulation netting that would apply mild electrical current to muscles in a random pattern to prevent atrophy. As the temperature of each fox was lowered, they were sealed in the capsules that would provide temperature stasis and protect their inert bodies during acceleration and deceleration and loaded into the rotational chamber to simulate gravity.

“And now it’s your turn,” the medical officer for the ‘James Cook’ said. Riva nodded and let Doctor Philippe Duval, a Canadian by birth, prepare her for the same procedure, the willow thin man showing his was stronger than he appeared as he helped the vixen onto the reclining bed. “There we go,” Philippe said with a smile. “Nothing to it.” He placed the mask specifically for the configuration of Furs over her muzzle and brushed her hair back as the vixen took a deep breath without prompting, her eyes fluttering almost immediately. Before she could let out her second breath and draw in a third, Riva was out.

With practiced skill, Philippe was able to get Riva situated, the time required being almost half the time that would have been needed for a larger Fur like one of the Ursis, and closed the cold-sleep capsule before activating the servos that slid the coffin-like into the ring with the other colonists. Once he shut the hatch, the rotational section began spinning.

Cleaning up the medical bay was fairly easy and once that minor bit of maintenance was complete, the human activated the intercom to the bridge. “This is the Doctor. Our passengers are secured.”

It was the voice of the First Officer that came back, the woman’s American drawl causing him to smile. “Awright, Doc,” Julie Henderson replied, the smile normally she wore evident in her voice. “I’ll let Captain Tananga know. Departure will be in approximately one hour. Bridge out.”

Shutting down the lights in this part of medical would help conserve power, and providence willing, Philippe wouldn’t need to step foot back inside this portion of the ship until it was time to rouse the colonists. Now the second part of his job as morale officer began as the ship would be in transit for a little over a month during its journey to Bastien.

CHAPTER 28

"Honor the Fallen"

Sofiya ran her tongue around the inside of her mouth, wincing at the flavor that her sluggish brain compared to old socks, burnt plastic and other unsavory things while chewing on aluminum foil. It was a wretched enough taste that it caused her to curl up in a coughing fit while gagging. Before she could roll off the cryo-bed, strong, sure hands held her down while someone spoke to her.

“Relax, Sofiya. Give it a few minutes and it will pass,” someone told her in English.

“Ohydnyy!” the red fox finally murmured. “My mouth tastes like it has been filled with goatlayno.”

“It will pass,” the voice said again after another chuckle. “And yes. I went through the same thing. I thought that someone had used my tongue to clean the latrines.”

The blond haired vixen winced when her eyelids were peeled back one at a time and a penlight was aimed into them. Sofiya was able to sit up with help, aware that her bladder felt exceedingly full and hoped fervently that she didn’t have an accident before being able to make it to the facilities. It took some moments before she was able to formulate her thoughts, and then translate them from her native Ukrainian to English. “What…what has happened? Where am I?”

A thermometer was placed in her ear and beeped after a moment then her wrist was taken in a firm grip so that the red fox’s pulse could be timed. “All of us are still on theJames Cook, and according to Captain Tananga we’re just outside of the point where Bastien can be seen by the naked eye,” Riva informed her friend.

From behind her, Sofiya heard a low moan and sluggish Spanish that was spoken with a low growl. Prying her eyes open by sheer force of will, she turned to see the ship’s surgeon helping Hector wake up, though she squinted at the overly bright seeming lights from the recessed LED clusters. “Bastien? We are here?”

“We are,” Riva replied with a smile. “The Captain ordered Philippe to wake me, then you and Hector. Fortunately you didn’t have as difficult a time as I did. I couldn’t stop vomiting for the first hour.”

Trying to muster sympathy for the bat eared fox, Sofiya found it difficult as she was far too focused on her own misery and needs at the moment. “Riva…I need to go to the toilet,” she informed the other Fur, incapable of stating her requirements more politely. “Please. I need to be hurrying!”

“Okay,” the other vixen said, slipping an arm under the other and helping Sofiya get her feet under her.

The first few steps were more than a little awkward, and the red fox was happy that she didn’t have much further to go than a few feet. As it was, she almost didn’t make it and once relieved opened the sliding partition enough to stick her head out. “I…I am needing new clothing…” she told the medical Fur with some embarrassment.

Riva gave her a wink as she passed a still sealed packet of fresh Furman garments to the red fox. “It happens. Remember, I was wearing lavender when we went under,” the bat eared fox said quietly as she indicated her now yellow vest top and shorts. “It’ll be our secret.”

Cleaned and changed, Sofiya dropped the soiled clothing into a disposal slot for refuse and exited in time for Hector to bolt into the lavatory. His sigh of relief was clearly audible, but instead of amusement, Sofiya could only feel a pang of sympathy for her first officer.

The more she moved around, the better the red fox felt, and before long she discovered that the next order of business was food as she felt absolutely ravenous. She and Hector let Riva and Doctor Duval lead them from the medical section to the center access tube. Unlike the rotational rings that moved in opposite directions to keep the slipship from gyrating and slewing off course through centripetal force, the access tube had no gravity, and the Vulps were suddenly glad of the time that had been spent on Space Station Sebra and re-familiarizing themselves with Z-G maneuvering. It was a different story as they reached the section with the ship’s mess and made their way to the ‘bottom’ where gravity again asserted itself.

“That will take a little bit to get used to,” Hector commented as he shook his head to clear a moment of vertigo.

“Would you believe that that’s where most slipship candidates flunk out?” Philippe Duval asked as he gestured to the food storage dispensers. “Apparently three out of four people can’t cope with the transition while moving from zero gravity to the point eight five that the rings simulate. At least not on the regular basis that is needed for slipship crew members.”

Sofiya only half listened to the discussion as she stood before the dispenser and read the selection of its offerings, finally settling on something that her Richard had introduced her to and the red fox had become most fond of; meat loaf and mashed potatoes. As she sat down, peeling the top off the tray, she had to admit that the contents looked nothing like the same dishes on Earth had, but the smell was the same and Sofiya smiled as she began to tuck into the meal with gusto.

The Doctor waited for Sofiya to finish eating, a good appetite one of the indicators that there were no lingering effects from the Fur’s period of cryo-sleep, before smiling at her and speaking. “The Captain wanted to see you once you were recovered sufficiently. If you need a little longer, that’ll be fine.”

“No. I am being quite happy, now,” Sofiya replied with an answering grin. “I am, however, thinking that I should apologize for my manners!”

Duval laughed and waved away any need for an apology. “You are no worse than many of the passengers and crew, and far better than most, myself included. The only time I act even more barbaric is when I’m home on leave in Nova Scotia. My mother makes the best baked lobster and it seems I can never get enough!” He waited for the vixen to deposit her tray in the proper receptacle and led her back to the access tube.

They reached the hatch that led onto the flight deck and the Doctor tripped the call button. Seconds later the hatch swung open and the man led Sofiya onto the flight deck.

“Ah. Miss Talova. Please join us,” the captain said with a wide smile.

Sofiya had met Beley Tananga briefly before their departure, and found the man confident and capable. She had tried to pronounce his actual first name, but couldn’t manage the preceding click of her tongue and decided to simply call him be rank or surname. He wore a dark blue jumpsuit that complimented his dark skin and hair, though it gave his smile and eyes a sort of luminous brilliance. The man was quite charming and charismatic with an air of confidence, precisely the thing one thought a ship’s captain should be. His deep voice was filled with an almost tangible quality, and while his English was clear and precise, it was accentuated with the flavors of his native Swahili.

“Thank you, Captain,” the Fur replied, unable to refrain from looking past the large man to the field of stars and brighter disk ofEpsilon Eridani on the large forward vidscreen of the bridge.

Beley laughed a deep, booming sound and shook his head. “I am sorry. We’re still too far out to see Bastien with the naked eye, though at this angle of approach, even if you could see her, she would only be a small sliver of illumination.” The man gestured the Fur forward, Sofiya utilizing the handrails on his seatback to steady herself as the Captain brought up an image at his station. He magnified the picture on the touch screen and traced a faint line of deep blue and followed a darker region that blotted out the stars. “And there she is. We are still days away, but when we begin our descent, it will be done so on the dark side of the world.”

The red fox couldn’t help but smile. After so much that had happened, all the training, they were within sight of their new home, their better world. “This is all so…indescribable!”

The man put his hand on the vixen’s shoulder. “And now you know the reason I am Captain of a ship. I feel what you are experiencing right now with every world I see.” Beley chuckled again at the bright, wide eyes of the Fur. “You would also be interested in this, I think. This is what your people will be going to bed under half of the year.”

Sofiya’s eyes grew so wide the human thought that they might fall out of the anthrofox’s head as the hull cameras showed what the night sky for this part of the planet’s yearly revolution would look like if the weather was clear on the planet they sped towards. Smeared cross the dark of space were the tattered streamers of spatial gasses and cometary debris lit byEpsilon Eridani, the light passing through suspended ice crystals to color it like a gigantic celestial rainbow.

“This is one of those moments that make our jobs worthy beyond measure,” Captain Tananga said with almost reverent tones. “Right now you are only seeing a very small portion of the cloud, and from the surface of Bastien it will almost stretch from horizon to horizon.”

“You have been to Bastien before?” Sofiya asked, unable to tear her eyes away from the scene.

Tananga laughed. “Never before this, but we have been talking to the two remaining colonists. That is one of the reasons that I asked for you here on the bridge. We will be in contact with them again on the next duty rotation and I thought that maybe you would like to speak with them. Needless to say Doctors de Chevalier are more than a little anxious to make your acquaintance.”

Sofiya nodded. “I am not imagining how difficult this time has been for them. To have seen so many friends…” She trailed off while shaking her head sadly.

“So very difficult,” Beley agreed. “They did wish for me to pass on the information that they wish to stay with your colony and not return to Earth, even though it is well within their right to do so.” The man switched his station screen back to the information that indicated the status of his vessel. “As I am sure that you have already been made aware of, you, out of all your people, will be the only one allowed access to the bridge at any given time. This is not because of any great secrets, but too many bodies would make already tight quarters even worse, and with the lack of gravity, floating bodies and random limbs might bump something important, and I truly wish to avoid any accidents.”

Sofiya nodded and gave the dark man a warm smile. “A wise decision,” she agreed before yawning. “Please be pardoning me. I am not meaning to be rude.”

The laugh that Tananga gave was friendly and disarming. “Do not apologize. I know that it will be several hours still before you are fully awake from the cryogenic process. As such, Doctor Duval has set aside quarters for you and your first officer to utilize. We still have four ship’s rotations to go before we start bringing your companions out of cold sleep. We will do that a little under a full Earth day prior to landing so that everyone will be ready to assist disembarking. Until then, feel free to use the onboard facilities as you need.”

The Captain’s words were meant to sound friendly, but still a dismissal and Sofiya took it as such, turning and heading for the hatch that led to the access tunnel. It was easy to make her way back to the mess facilities where Hector was still slumped over a packet of coffee and rubbing the bridge of his long nose. When the grey fox wordlessly slid a coffee packet to Sofiya, the red fox pulled the integrated straw out, breaking the seal in the process while Hector put his head down on his crossed forearms.

“I think I might have freezer burn,” the Argentine commented jokingly, though his tone indicated he was half serious.

“Believe me when I tell you a little light exercise will make all of the difference,” Riva commented with a smile. “The stimulation netting does what it’s supposed to, but it isn’t as good as actually moving and stretching.” The bat eared fox regarded their leader and quirked a grin at the other vixen. “And you have a look of amazement that hasn’t diminished in the slightest. Did you see Bastien?”

“Ne…no. Just a tiny sliver that was lit by our new sun. You’ll understand when you see the night sky for the first time.” Sofiya tried to describe the luminous cloud, but wound up shaking her head, still in complete awe and wondering if she would ever get used to seeing something so spectacular. “It was unlike anything I have ever witnessed.”

“Then I have something more to look forward to,” Riva replied with a grin. The vixen smiled at the red fox’s description. “Anyway, when the two of you are ready, I can show you the quarters that you’ll use until we wake the others. We still have a few days yet. Personally I’m going to recommend hitting the exercise stations and turning in. You really will feel better after a workout and then a littleactualsleep.”

Hector lifted his head and fixed the Israeli Fur with bleary eyes. “What happens if you did not remove all of the anti-freeze you put in us?”

Riva shook her head. “Nothing. It is readily broken down and disposed of by your own body. It’s mostly enzymes and proteins, but blood causes it to get absorbed and passed out the normal way wastes would, that’s why there is the sudden but urgent need to urinate after coming out of cold sleep. Well, that and internal muscles begin to function again, and the ones around the bladder tend to contract as you come out of suspended animation and the body warms up. But the solution is harmless. It has to be otherwise we couldn’t use it.”

“Ah,” Hector intoned and put his head back down. “I still think I have freezer burn.”

***

There were enough stores on board theJames Cook for all of the Furs to have a decent snack once they were pulled out of cryo-sleep and Sofiya was more than elated to be reunited with Richard and the other two vixens. She’d known that they were safe, tucked away in their cold sleep capsules within the ship, but she hadn’t realized how much she missed them, especially the silver fox, until all of them had rejoined the land of the living.

Spirits were high as the thirty six Furs were finally given orders to make their way to the troop compartment to strap in for atmospheric entry after cleaning the ship, something that was standard procedure prior to any planetary insertion. The truly wonderful thing was that due to the nature of theJames Cook seating arrangements were inconsequential. All of them took their seats in a section that looked not too dissimilar from one of the many coaches they’d been on, the major difference being that there were no windows.

The seats we set in pairs with two rows running down both sides of the compartment. Unlike earlier models of slipship, the seats of theJames Cook had nooks at the meeting of the seatbacks and cushion for beings with tails, though the pockets weren’t actually deep enough and required a little creativity on behalf of the Furs to be comfortable. Sofiya sat next to the bulkhead while Richard had the aisle seat. He stretched his arm out so that Amanda could take his paw-like hand in hers, much as the red fox had a hold of the other, her fingers gripping tightly, mute testimony to how nervous she was.

There were many that gave vent to minute sounds of nervous distress as the first buffets rocked the vessel as it skipped along the upper atmosphere of Bastien. Then with a mighty lurch that had several of the Furs believing that they’d left their stomachs in orbit, the huge ship dropped further into the atmosphere. The wild ride seemed as if it would go on forever, despite Richard chuckling at the bumps, shakes and sudden plummets that had many of the Vulps convinced they were going to make their landing on Bastien in a spectacular explosion resulting in a large crater.

When the ride smoothed out, there was a collective sigh of relief and no few sobs until the landing motors kicked in. Finally, after one of the longest seeming periods of their lives, theJames Cook settled on the ground. The sudden silence was eerie, though that was broken by the cheering when Captain Tananga’s voice sounded over the intercom to tell them that they were down, safe, and that in less than an hour the hatches would be open for the Furs to disembark and finally set foot on their new home.

***

When the other Vulps had gathered before the first cargo door they found Sofiya in quiet conversation with Captain Beley Tananga. He smiled and nodded before turning to the assembled Furs. “As the tradition goes, the colony leader is always the first to step foot on any planet, to say a few words if he or she is so inclined, followed by the official posting to station,” the man informed the others in his deep voice. “Once the general formalities have been taken care of, the rest of you will be permitted to disembark. He then turned to his First Officer. “Mister Henderson, you may open the hatch,” Tananga ordered.

With a grin, Julie Henderson activated the controls of the complex hatch mechanism, the hydraulic actuators pulling the huge door inward then up. Sunlight streamed in through the opened cargo hatch, though it was noticeably different than what the Furs were used to on Earth, the ambient glow having the slightly orange-white cast fromEpsilon Eridani to it instead of the yellow-white of Sol.

Riva slipped through the throng, the spritely bat eared fox having little trouble worming through the other Vulps to slip something into Sofiya’s paw-like hand. As the red fox glanced at her fellow colonists, she saw that many of them had lifted their heads, closed their eyes and were sampling the rush of air that flooded the cargo hold.

With a slight smile pulling at the corners of her mouth, the vixen stepped out of the ship and down the ramp, hesitating only a moment before her sandaled foot touched the odd, springy turf of the moss-like roots of what she automatically thought of as grass, the thin stems topped with a cluster of tendrils that looked like feathers almost four inches in length that stirred and swayed in the light breeze. Sofiya also sniffed at the air as her other foot came off the ram, finding the layered scents intriguing. The faintest one was the mineral scent of the ground that had been scorched clear by theJames Cooks’ landing motors mingled with charred vegetation. Another waft of the breeze brought a mélange that was reminiscent of cinnamon and citrus, sharp and tangy, and mingled with that the salty brine of the ocean that was a few miles away.

Sofiya only walked a few yards away from the edge of the ramp before she turned and looked at the Furs and humans that watched her intently. Taking a deep, centering breath with her head lowered, Sofiya let out her breath and looked up.

“There is a small part of me that is wishing this planet was not Bastien,” the vixen began, her voice gaining volume as she spoke. “If this were another world, it would mean that the colony before us would still be alive. They would most likely be celebrating their five year mark, knowing that they had done a good job in carving out a life here.

“While the ones before us were being Felis, save two, they were like us, people who believed that a better world could be made than the one we have traveled so far from. They were having hopes, dreams, and worked hard, giving their lives to be making something better than the home we have left behind. Honor their memory, my friends. Remember the sacrifices that have been made.”

Sofiya lifted the object that she’d been handed, lifting it up so that all of the individuals that looked at her could see that it was a vial of her own blood. They watched as the vixen pulled the stopper out and slowly poured the contents out, the crimson liquid appearing as black spots on the dark grass.

“I offer myself to our new home, not only in honor of our predecessors, but as a promise to all of you that I will do everything I am capable of to keep you safe, to watch you grow, to turn this into a world that we have only ever dared to dream of.” Sofiya replaced the stopper and put the now empty tube in her vest pocket then held her arms wide. “Welcome to Bastien, my friends. May she embrace us with the same enthusiasm that we embrace her!”

As if that were their cue, Richard, Elena and Amanda stepped out of the ship to join the red fox vixen in the light of their new sun.

As the Furs disembarked from the slipship, Captain Tananga stepped forward, unable to keep the smile off of his strong featured face at the way she and the other three Vulps held on to one another. “Shall we make this official, Miss Talova?” the man asked in an amused tone, though his words were heard by everyone and soon the two were facing each other with the only sounds the breeze and the creaks and clicks from the slipship while everyone else formed a circle without really thinking about it.

Sofiya nodded and assumed a serious expression while the dark skinned man withdrew a variant of PBJ made for use by slipship personnel in a bright red clamshell with his name and rank in silver lettering and the name of the vessel he was posted to on the outer casing.

“By the authority granted me by the Terran Colonization Coalition and the Anthro Human Colonization Program, I, Keo Beley Tananga, Commander of the TCC SlipshipJames Cook do confer the title and rank of Captain to Sofiya Yana Talova as Commander of the colony hereby named Abeona of the planet Bastien.

“Captain Talova, you have been briefed on the laws regarding your position as a colonial director and leader of the Abeona mission. Do you accept these duties placed upon you and the authority granted by the TCC and AHCP, to do your utmost to see the success of the colony endeavor known as Abeona, to safeguard those that have been placed under your command and solemnly swear to carry out your orders in accordance to the laws regarding interstellar regulations?”

“I do,” the vixen answered clearly.

Tananga opened his PBJ and used the incorporated print reader to confirm that he was passing command of the Bastien colony to the red fox, Sofiya following suit. As soon as both prints were recorded, the device linking remotely with the computers onboard theJames Cook, Beley smiled and returned the case to its normal pocket on his jumpsuit. “Congratulations, Captain Talova, and God bless you and your people here.”

“Thank you, Captain Tananga,” the vixen said with a smile. Before she could turn and give the orders to begin unloading the cargo bays of the enormous ship, a muttered oath from behind her caused all of them to turn and look.

Two strange Vulps regarded the group, one with a disbelieving expression, the other with relief, both had tears streaming down their cheek fur. Both were red fox Furs and the smaller vixen had a strange creature on her shoulder that looked as if someone had taken a parrot, a toucan and combined them with a ringtail lemur.

“Mon dieu!” the vixen exclaimed in a ragged whisper. “You have finally come!”

CHAPTER 29

"New Day Dawning"

Suzette and Etienne de Chevalier actually had tea waiting for the Abeona colonists and almost fell over themselves playing host to the new arrivals. The tea was actually something that the original Bastiens had been enjoying since their fifth month, and while very different from traditional Earth grown tea leaves, the two physicians informed them there was a definite caffeine content to the brew. It was sweetened with a substance that was similar to honey that was harvested by a burrowing arthropod that set up hive-like colonies in a particular species of fallen trees. The ‘honey’ was used as a winter food source after it dried into something resembling rock candy that dissolved easily in water.

By far, the most intriguing possession of the two Bastien Vulps was the pair of kits that Suzette had given birth to the previous autumn.

“This is Jean Michele,” the proud mother said lifting a tiny anthrofox baby with vibrant orange-red fur and almost black arms and legs with two white spots on either side of his muzzle, “and this is Abrielle.” The tiny vixen had a little more white on her front than her brother and the only black on her body was at the very ends of her pudgy fingers, toes and the tips of her ears.

Both had bright, amber eyes and looked just as precious as any human or animal baby. The other Furs that gathered around were absolutely enamored by the kits that hid their faces against their parents shyly, though no one was as thrilled as Julie Henderson, the First Officer of theJames Cook. What was amazing was the reaction of the kits, neither one finding the strange, furless creature that doted on them in the least bit frightening and let out soft yips of delight.

“Well,” Etienne observed with a chuckle, “I think we have found a nanny while we help you unload.”

Sofiya shook her head and smiled. “No, that would not be right. You have been through too much, I am thinking. That you have refreshments is already more than we could be asking for.” The vixen did speak with both of the original colony Vulps, Captain Tananga and Commander Henderson, determining that the placement of the new colony would be slightly closer to the ship, though well outside of the danger zone for the powerful engines that would carry the ship back into space.

As soon as the details were ironed out, crewmen began to ready the cargo trailers while a handling team led by Emanuella began to revive the livestock. No sooner did a group of herd animals get revived than they were guided to the pens that Suzette and Etienne had maintained. Sofiya noted with approval that there were far more goats, cattle, sheep and chickens than she’d anticipated, the amount almost doubling what the Abeona group brought along. The pens would have to be expanded, and a small work team began that task while adding the new sensors that they’d help test during their simulation.

As trailers were pulled from the ship and lined up, Furs descended upon them, knowing what needed to be done from their time at the simulation site in Washington State. They had learned from working together for so many months how to divide into efficient teams, and despite wanting to carry what she considered her fair share of the burden, Sofiya was politely, though firmly, told by the different groups of workers that they had things well under control. Just to mollify her own desire to feel as if she were contributing, the red fox began to shuttle materials to the different staging areas.

Following the same plan as they had during simulation, the colony was built in a circular pattern with the Great Dome in the center along with the smaller operations dome attached. When the two Vulps from the original colony attempt asked the new group why they didn’t move into the already existing settlement it was Hector that explained that Sofiya’s intention was to maintain the site as a sort of memorial to the Felis colonists that had died. This impressed the original foxes that the memories of their friends were being honored in such a way, and both were unashamed by the tears that were spilt. As far as that went, a new double dome with connecting walk-through was put together for the Vulps family within the new compound.

During the construction phase, upon completion of the kitchen facilities, Victor Rushenko, Mina Brinkley and Myao Shin Tam began the preparations for a fairly lavish supper. Despite trying to help the new colonists, the de Chevaliers were politely declined, though Valerie Muir and Riva Weicz were more than happy to accept their assistance on putting together the medical dome which was a little larger than the standard units being constructed and discussed some of the more recent medical breakthroughs and developments.

While the new site was being constructed to maintain the integrity of the previous colony domes and structures, Sofiya called Richard over and asked him to put together a team to start bringing over equipment from the first settlement, including all of the communications systems and the armory. By the time it was all moved over and work was halted towards sunset, more than two thirds of the site had been established, complete with water purification, latrines, expanded pens for all of the animals and the Great Dome.

Supper was again a mix of three different continental cuisines, something that the various Furs had grown accustomed to and enjoyed, as did Suzette and Etienne, the vixen happily nursing her kits after her own supper without any sense of shame or embarrassment. She smiled slightly chagrined at the other Vulps when she realized that some of them were staring at her, most with smiles, a few with a little surprise.

“I apologize,” Suzette said with a slight lowering of her head. “When…when we started having children, there really wasn’t time to head to a private place to nurse, especially if we were in the middle of a task. To be honest I didn’t even think about what I was doing.”

When the vixen started to rise, Sofiya waved her to remain seated and tend to her children with a warm smile. “Many of us are very much looking forward to having our own children. I am thinking that it is truly a beautiful and natural thing and for you not to be ashamed.”

“She’s right,” Richard said in agreement. “We already knew that a lot of the things that we have grown up with on Earth don’t apply, and this is one of them. As we have children, they will become more of a priority than the colony because they will be our future.”

“You…you are not offended?” Suzette inquired with amazement.

“Not at all,” Matthew Sykes said where he was lounging with Nan Pi-lei Quang and Neelu Rajpur. “We’ve already figured out that a lot of whatwas normal don’t mean nothing out here. I know I had a problem with things, but I had a friend help me understand that I was being a little thick. By the way, Richard, thanks for that. Well, that and not giving me a beating when I deserved it!”

The silver fox chuckled. “You’re welcome. I think.”

Captain Tananga and his crew sat with the Furs, mixed evenly with the colonists and not really clustered together. The large man nodded, his traditional Obo hat bobbing with the motion, the hat looking like the simple round Kofi that was popular on the continent while the top section resembled a beret. It was colored a deep, vibrant red with designs in glittering, metallic blue. “I have seen several ‘First Days’ on other worlds, having been on slipships for many years,” he began in his deep voice, “but I do not think I have ever seen another group work so well together. If this is an indication of what your time will be like on Bastien, then I think yours will be one of the most shining examples of success.” He lifted his plastic drinking cup of tea and stood, nodding to the assembled Furs. “I hope for the best to all of you, and may you all of you know long and prosperous lives.”

The sentiments were agreed with by everyone and the mood continued to lighten, the colonists for having made it to their new world, and Etienne and Suzette for new friends. The time that they had spent alone on the world, both trying and incredibly lonely, was now over and they were surrounded by other Vulps that seemed to be going extra lengths to make them feel wanted and welcome. It was a little overwhelming to the two that had endured an almost exile, and it affected them substantially to be part of a community again.

“What we didn’t understand was why the slipship that deposited the colonists for Second Chance on Bonestell didn’t retrieve us,” Etienne said. “First we were told that it would come for us, then when the appointed time for the landing came and went, and still no ship, we believed that not only had something terrible happened, but that we were, to be completely truthful, considered a loss as well. It is a terrible thing to feel so…disposable.”

Tananga shook his head. “You didn’t hear? No one told you what happened to theMeriwether Lewis?” He watched as Etienne and Suzette shook their heads, a gesture repeated by several other Furs. “She suffered damage when she encountered spatial debris as she entered this star system. It wasn’t that bad and there were no hull penetrations, thank the heavens, but the aft port landing motor suffered enough damage that was deemed to hazardous to attempt atmospheric reentry and liftoff. That and it looked as if some of the reentry heat shielding had been damaged as well. Even a small perforation in the heat resistant material could have a catastrophic effect.

“Because of that, retrieval was deemed unsafe and theLewis was ordered to return to the Terran Colonial Coalition’s dry dock in lunar orbit. It wasn’t until the technicians and dockyard crews began their preliminary inspection that they discovered the extent of the damage. There was a through penetration of the port wing, and as for the landing motor, if it had been activated, it would have ignited a small fuel leak and turned the ship into a very large ball of fire.”

“Mon dieu!” Suzette squeaked. “I am thankful they didn’t try to land! To think that more lives could have been claimed by this world…that would be terrible!”

Beley shook his head, surprised that it had been overlooked to inform the two Vulps why they weren’t going to be retrieved by theMeriwether Lewis. “I know the news was not released on Earth to prevent detractors of the colony efforts we are undertaking, well, and I hate to admit this, that and to ensure it was a completely random event and wasn’t deliberate sabotage. There are some very odd groups back on Earth that feel it is against their beliefs and will stop at nothing to halt the progress of interstellar expansion. The fools do not realize that Earth is literally being eaten to death with so many people. No matter what we do, what kinds of advances in agriculture, sea-farming, greenhouses and the like, we must find other worlds or we will slowly die off as populations squabble over diminishing resources.” He sipped his tea before accepting a refill from Myao Shin with a vibrant white smile. “Fortunately there are those like yourselves that will brave the unknown to find new homes, and to that, I sincerely hope for your success.”

“As do we all, Captain,” Sofiya agreed.

***

“TheJames Cook is on her way,” Amanda said as she closed down the transmission link to the slipship and set the communications terminal to stand-by mode. “We are now officially on our own.” She added a jaunty salute to Sofiya, though the giggle that bubbled up ruined the effect the fennec was attempting.

“At least the tachyon field of the slipdrive will keep them safe from what happened to theLewis,” Richard said as he leaned against the doorway to the operations dome. “Unless they pass too close to a gravity well like a star, they should be fine. Captain Tananga is a solid officer,” the silver fox observed and pushed off the door to enter the dome. “His ship’s in good hands.”

Sofiya smiled as Richard stepped up behind the red fox and began to massage her shoulders. “Mmmm. You can continue doing this all day,” the vixen mumbled happily as her head dropped forward. “I did not know I was being so full of tension.”

“I’d be more than happy to continue,” the male replied softly. “But there’s something rather important that we need to do.”

“Is it having to do with the crate that is having your name on it?” Sofiya inquired, leaning into her mate’s ministrations.

“It is.” Richard let his hands slip to the vixen’s shoulders and spun her chair about before kneeling in front of her. “It’s also…well,” he sighed and looked up with his bronze colored eyes full of sympathy. “The crate was a request that I put in with Marcelo and he passed it on to Ásmundr Gustavsson.”

“Now I am curious,” Sofiya told him. “What is it?”

“I really don’t know how to tell you this…I…I thought it would be proper at the time. When we were in Donetsk, at the hospital, I sent a message requesting help with your father’s funeral arrangements. Apparently Marcelo agreed with what I asked, as did Ásmundr. I…I asked them to let us bring his ashes. And I also asked for a selection of roses in the stasis tubes that the AHCP uses for plant specimens to take back to Earth for study.” Richard swallowed hard. “I know I should have asked, but, well, you were already coping with so much. I thought it would be…um, appropriate if he was with us, to be here as we make that new world the two of you were talking about.”

Sofiya’s eyes grew wide, her pupils dilating so far that the yellow-green of her irises were only a thin ring of color and her paw-like hand lifted to her mouth as tears instantly welled up in her eyes. Before the silver fox could react, she threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in the juncture of his neck and shoulder as silent sobs shook her body.

It didn’t take long for the vixen to get herself under control and she leaned back while wiping at her eyes with the back of her wrist and sniffing delicately. “Poppa would have liked that,” Sofiya husked. “I only wish Mamma…that we could have been brought her as well so they could rest together.”

“We did,” Richard said as he tended to a tear for his vixen. “Both of them are here. And roses to plant for them.”

That was all it took to completely break the red fox down, and as Richard held her, Amanda couldn’t help but get out of the other chair and join her family, trying to wrap both of the other foxes in her sandy colored arms. “And things like this are what makes you so special,” the fennec said as she kissed both of the other Vulps on their cheeks.

Pausing to grab a shovel, the three eventually made their way to the small meadow where Suzette and Etienne had buried their Felis friends. They looked around the peaceful little glade, two of the grave markers that bore the names of Shawna Lambert-Madsen and Thomas Madsen surrounded by a selection of wild flowers from Earth for Major Aaron Lambert of the Washington State Police. Sofiya had even taken pictures and sent them via the second communication message beamed to their former home planet.

“I think that Mamma and Poppa would be liking that tree,” the red fox vixen said as she pointed to what the original colonists had called a plume-pine, the branches of the strange looking tree having a rough cone shape though instead of needles there were long, furry looking tendrils that were a dark blue-green. “Mamma was always liking her garden and would have found this to be a happy little place.”

Before long there was a good sized hole, Richard panting a little with the effort as the morning sun climbed higher in the sky, the temperature climbing with it, though the breeze that came in from the southwest brought cooler, salt tinged air from the ocean and kept the colony site relatively comfortable. Resting the spade against the tree, the silver fox opened the small crate they’d all helped carry, revealing the contents to be two brass urns with plates that looked like electrum riveted to the vessels that bore the names of Sofiya’s parents.

“I’ll leave you two to do this,” Amanda said softly, though before she could do more than turn around, the red fox snagged her paw like hand and pulled her back.

“No. I would want my parents to be meeting all of my family,” Sofiya said as she hugged the other anthrovixen. “I am loving Richard, but that does not mean I am not also loving you, silly fennec! They would have been caring for you very much.”

Amanda was caught off guard by the amount of affection in the embrace, and stiffened for only a moment before melting into the attention, Richard unable to keep from smiling at the younger Fur’s reaction. Amanda was truly a happy individual, but seeing how she reacted to Sofiya, him and Elena was astonishing and was like watching the sun come out after a cloudy day. The shy, quiet and reserved desert fox truly thrived being part of their family group and it was sweet to see just how much that positively affected her.

When they parted both vixens stepped up and knelt down next to the hole and Amanda reached into the plastic shipping crate and pulled out the first urn, handing it to the red fox with something akin to reverence. Sofiya whispered something in Ukrainian, then looked at Amanda and smiled sadly.

“This was my Mamma, Ksenyia Talova. She was a teacher of history in school when she met Poppa. On the weekend she would teach students how to be playing the violin. I will always be remembering her from when I was a little girl, cooking and making of special dishes, especially for holidays.

“Her favorite pastime was to be in her garden planting flowers and things of beauty, though she was also having a small garden herbs and vegetables. She was always beautiful for Poppa and me, making sure she was dressed nicely with her hair in braids and ribbons, or falling free.”

Sofiya placed the urn in the hole and kissed her finger pads before touching them to the electrum nameplate. Then she accepted the second urn. As before she said something in her native language before looking at the fennec with glittering eyes.

“This is my Poppa, Nikoli Vladimir Talova. He was a hero in the little war with Russia when they tried to be taking our Ukraine again. He was a communications sergeant, and lost part of his leg from a hand grenade. Despite missing one leg when Mamma met him, she was knowing that this was the man that she would marry and be having a family with. Poppa loved her and me so very much. He would take us sailing on the Black Sea from the city of Yalta every summer when I was little, or there would be trips to my Uncle Oskar’s farm. He was always so strong and seeming that he would be around forever.”

The red fox Fur dashed away the tears that began to spill and smiled again as she put the urn next to the first, once more kissing her finger pads and putting them to the attached plate on the side.

“I learned so much from both of them. I…I am believing that they are watching me from heaven, and that is how I try to act. I wish for them to be proud of me…”

The fur beneath Sofiya’s eyes grew quite damp, and when she finally sighed and looked at Amanda, she found the fennec crying as well. “Then they are very proud of you,” the sandy colored vixen said with a catch to her voice, “because you make me want to be just like you. Strong, compassionate…the kind of person others can depend on.”

Sofiya pulled the other vixen to her. “You are being all of these things,malen’kyy sestra! You are one that brings love, joy and smiles to all, especially when they are needed most, my little sister! You are being very special, and that is how I know that Mamma and Poppa would have been loving you so very, very much.”

Even Richard had to wipe at an eye as he watched the two of his vixens, realizing not for the first time just how fortunate he was. As he considered the family that he was a part of, Elena stepped up beside him, her arm slipping easily around the silver fox’s waist. The two stood there for a moment before kneeling in the strange, feathery tipped grass to help cover the urns and plant the roses that had come across so many light years with them, all of them working silently though each happy as they regarded the others.

As Sofiya brushed the dirt from her pads and the fur of her fingers, she sighed with content and looked at the other vixens. “I am thinking that the rest of the colony can take care of itself for a little while, do you agree?” Amanda shrugged, though she caught the mischievous gleam in the red fox’s eyes while Elena was already smiling. “I am thinking we should get a little something from the Great Dome to be taking with us and then some of the horses and go and see this beach all of us had heard so much about.”

“I am liking this idea,” the platinum vixen agreed with a smirk.

“I’ll get the horses ready!” Amanda exclaimed, nuzzling each of the other Furs before loping off back to the colony site on all fours.

“I sort of wanted to look at the perimeter sensors,” Richard began before seeing the other two shaking their heads.

“Oh, no, my beautiful silver fox,” Sofiya said in a husky tone. “The three of us have been talking very seriously and there is something that we are feeling is very important to be done.”

“Um…what’s that?” Richard answered feeling a slight pang of nervousness.

“We are thinking that it is very important to be giving Abrielle and Jean Michele some friends to be growing up with, and you are being very crucial to our plans,” the red fox said as she stalked towards the male with a warm look in her eyes.

CHAPTER 30

"Trouble Brewing"

Sofiya leaned back in the padded chair of the operations dome and sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose for several long moments before shifting forward and picking up the small over-the-ear wire that had a thin microphone boom and activated the application on her Personal Business Juxtapositioner that would record her words spoken in her native Ukrainian.

“Addendum, personal log, Sofiya Talova, Captain of the Abeona Colony, Bastien. We have passed our three month anniversary since our official First Day, though back on Earth it will be a little under four. Despite the slightly longer day cycle, all of us have had little difficulty in adjusting. Personally I feel that this is due to not only the work that is required in maintaining the colony itself, but also in that there is still much for all of us to learn and discover about our new home.

“In retrospect I believe that we were well prepared for greater difficulties upon arrival, but finding so much of the previous colony’s supplies still intact has taken some of the edge off the need to prepare for difficult times, especially with the coming of winter not far off. I must give credit to our Felis companions in the management of their livestock and rapid learning of what creatures and plants were edible. At least until they discovered the creature that was ultimately their demise.

“From the samples that were returned to Earth and Stockholm, plus the research that we have been able to perform here, although very limited, indicates that a natural substance of what the original colonists were calling a ‘slink’ mutated a common, latent virus that almost all felines carry. Apparently even Furs that had come in contact with unaltered cats could easily become carriers and not aware of it.

“The virus itself is FPV;Feline Panleukopenia Virus. On Earth, this would lead to various respiratory issues, though if detected early enough it is easily treatable with basic antibiotics. Unfortunately here on Bastien, the secretion that is found throughout the meat and body fluids of the slink reacted with this virus and turned it into a most retched and virulent plague. Due to its nature as a respiratory disease, and the close proximity of the colonists, it was able to spread rapidly but with far more detrimental effects.

“What should have been a simple ailment became something not unlike some of the most vile diseases known on Earth, easily rivaling Yellow Fever, Hanta Virus, Ebola and Smallpox. Within hours all of the Felis were infected, and shortly after that they began dying. While objectively the deaths of the Felis were fairly quick, seeing the recordings and perusing the medical logs made me weep with what those brave people went through.

“The fevers that all of them had were high enough to cause hallucinations and dangerously delirious states. But what was the worst, by far, was that each slowly died with the build-up of mucus discharge and essential liquefying of their lungs accompanied by severe hemorrhages. At least the early cases. I cannot fault Doctors de Chevalier for assisting the euthanasia of the last ones to succumb to this dreadful sickness, though the worse part for all involved was watching the children die first.”

The vixen paused in the recording of her log to wipe at her eyes and compose herself, sipping at a cup of hot tea before resuming her audio journal.

“Despite Suzette and Etienne de Chevalier having also consumed the flesh of the slink, I have ordered that this animal is off limits to the colonists I have been given command of. I shudder to think what such a pestilence would do to the people that have very much become like a very large, extended family to me. No one is allowed to either consume, or even touch, one of these creatures. I am hoping that the AHCP and TCC scientists can determine if there is some form of medicine that can be utilized with the ones sent back on theJames Cook and the pathology samples. At least our field tests have determined that Bastien is safe forhuman colonization.

“On a much happier note, come the end of winter here at Abeona and the beginning of spring, we will be seeing a marked increase in our population as four of our number have learned that they are pregnant. Needless to say, this is rather happy news for many of us, and we eagerly await the birth of these children.

“As such, with the pending increase in our colony population, the crops that we have brought are thriving under the expert care of Emanuella Diaz, and Nan Pi-lei Quang has discovered several different fish and plants along the coast line that have proven to be not only viable foodstuffs, but are rather tasty. There is a small portion of the beach that has been found where small crustaceans that are very much like a cross between shrimp and lobsters congregate, and these little creatures have become one of the staples of our diets.

“The only true concern for the colony at the moment is the steady disappearance of some of Emanuella’s chickens, though there are no signs of any predators that are getting in through the fences. The only other possibility that has been formulated is that they are falling prey to a sort of raptor-like bird that has determined it is partial to the chickens that we have brought with us. The creature believed to be responsible has been labeled as a ‘Vawk’ by Matthew Sykes, a cross between a hawk and a vulture. While not large, it was odd seeing one for the first time as it has a slender body, though boasts two sets of wings and long tail feathers similar to a child’s kite. To me it resembles something more along the lines of a dragonfly, though the head is certainly vulture-like, but with a beak that is turned sideways. They are certainly large enough to carry away a hen, though certainly not one of the larger animals that we are raising, though lambs and kids from our population of goats and sheep may be in danger.

“Finally, I have authorized extended scouting forays. The survey teams are excited about this development, particularly Toshiro Kawa, as he is very interested in several geological features that the original Felis colonists were not able to investigate. He seems to be under the impression that there is something of value there, but as to what, he is reluctant to say, apparently not wanting to cause undue anticipation with the other Vulps. I must admit that I am also curious as to what he believes he has found. I am tempted to join the expedition as I have not had a chance to venture far from the new colony site, and am anxious to see our new world. Hector Alejandro de la Vega has proven to be a most competent first officer, and I trust him to oversee the colony operations for the week that we would be gone.

This is Sofiya Talova. End of entry.”

***

As was becoming their normal routine, Sofiya found her family lounging on a blanket on what was being called ‘The Commons’, the central area in the middle of the colony compound near the fire pit that was set every few days for all of the Furs to gather around and socialize, with supper waiting. As the red fox joined Richard, Mandy and Elena, enjoying warm hugs from all of them, she could tell by the smells coming from the different containers that Myao Shin was in charge of the kitchens as there was a distinct Oriental flair to the food. The three cooks for the colony traded off who would lead the kitchen in a rotation that helped keep their efforts not only a pleasant surprise, but gave each one a bit of a rest. Cooking for so many was a challenge and the arrangement seemed to be working well.

“Mmmm! This is precisely what I am needing!” Sofiya told the fennec vixen that handed her a plate that contained different grilled vegetables from the colony gardens and meats from local game that had been retested for safety. She then accepted a cup of what Rupert Campbell had made in an attempt to brew beer, though the resulting malt beverage was more akin to a cider in taste.

“That’s because you don’t know how to take a break and eat regular meals,” Amanda chided. “I’m supposed to be your admin assistant, but you aren’t giving me enough to do, and still doing too much yourself.”

Sofiya smiled as she popped a roll of stuffed bok choy into her mouth, the leafy vegetable being one of the plants that seemed to love the soil of Bastien and was filled with a mélange of ingredients that blended well together. “This is probably true,” the red fox agreed. “That is why I am thinking that in a few days we will saddle a few of the horses we are having and accompany Toshiro on his explorations.”

“Can we?” Amanda exclaimed, her eyes growing large and bright accompanied by a wide grin.

Richard nodded. “You know, that’s not a bad idea. It would be fun to get away from the colony for a little while.”

Elena nudged the silver fox with a playful shove. “You are just wanting an excuse to put on the present we all were getting for you so you can play at being a cowboy!”

“I know he can rope me up anytime!” Mandy said with a sly grin as she doled out the rest of the plates before filling her own.

The quartet of foxes paused in their supper to look over at the two kits Abrielle and Jean Michele who were yipping in delighted laughter as they chased the strange creature the de Chevalier foxes had adopted as a pet. The Bastien animal was as clever as any Terrestrial primate, exhibiting fairly substantial problem solving skills and because of the animal’s ability to get into mischief, driven by almost insatiable curiosity, the original colonists called them tree imps with this one bearing the name Marceau after the French comedian from the preceding century. As soon as one of the kits drew close the imp would dash back, engage in grooming of the kit that had the effect of tickling either Abrielle or Jean Michele and dart off again and the chase was back on.

The family group waved to Daniel Holt and Maria Paccini, the fennec vixen starting to show the children she carried and looking extremely content as she held her mate’s paw-like hand with her other gently caressing her slightly swollen belly. As far as Daniel was concerned, he was positively beaming and used Maria’s condition as a reason to dote on her more than normal. The pair stopped and looked back at the kits playing and smiled before slipping into their dome for the evening.

As the orange ball ofEpsilon Eridani slipped beneath the western horizon, any of the Vulps that were outside couldn’t help but look up as the vibrant stars and new constellations of their home came out, including the swath of rainbow-hued cometary debris that the original Felis colonists had namedAngel’s Breath filled the sky. The phenomenon was much further south than when they had landed and spent their first night staring up at the celestial marvel. While many observed the luminous cloud with wonder and fascination, the solar charged security lamps around the compound began to glow with the deepening twilight.

“I don’t know about the three of you, but after today, I’m pretty beat,” Richard informed the trio of vixens before yawning. “I think I’ll head to the dome a little early tonight.”

“You may be turning in, but you will not be getting much rest. At least, not yet,” Elena said as she pounced on the silver fox. She settled on the male’s lap, her arms wrapping around his neck and nuzzling his cheek. “We have all been too busy, and your vixens are wanting some happy time,” she added in a throaty whisper.

“Too right, we are!” Mandy agreed, pasting herself along Richard’s back and laying her arms over his while she nuzzled the other cheek.

“A little help here?” the silver fox asked Sofiya, though he failed to hide the smile that split his muzzle.

“No. No help,” the red fox answered with a smirk, her eyes warm and heavily lidded. “Besides, this was beingmy idea.” She joined the other two vixens. “Tonight I wish us to be one big pile of happy foxes.”

***

The shrill scream that ripped through the night caused Furs throughout the compound to wake up with their hearts pounding, eyes wide in fear, though a few were up and moving without conscious thought. Richard was one of the first to gain his feet and leapt for the door of the dome with a hasty, “Stay here!” thrown over his shoulder at the warm nest his vixens had been providing. The silver fox didn’t even hesitate to catch his gun belt as he darted past the operations dome, his three-limbed run a little awkward, though still faster than if he’d still been human and sprinting.

Other voices were calling out, most with questions, a few declaring that the screams had come from the direction of the latrines. With eyes well adjusted to the dark, the faint illumination that the security lamps provided was more than enough to enable Richard to see a flailing form being pulled on the turf towards the darker tree line while his ears told him that he wasn’t alone and that there were at least three others with him.

As he drew closer, the silver fox saw the Asian red fox vixen, Nan Pi-lei trying to kick whatever had a hold of her lower leg while her clawed fingers scrabbled in the ground for purchase, her voice ragged as she wept in pain and terror. Only getting close enough to see that something roughly the size of a large dog had her ankle in pincer-like mandibles and a glistening body of overlapping plates like a terrestrial insect, Richard flung the holster of his pistol away, bringing the firearm back to draw a bead in the center of the creature’s mass.

Training and experience in the Marines had taught him to use the ubiquitous ‘double tap’, and without hesitation sent two heavy rounds into the beast, the .357 caliber slugs punching through the chitin plates with gouts of ichor following the damage done to its shell. It was enough to make the creature release the vixen and rear up. As it did so, its flat head whipped around at the Fur with balefully glowing purple eyes while a high pitched screech erupted from it. The piercing screech caused Richard to wince as it rang in his ears more painfully than the barks from the revolver had.

That was all the vital target the smoky colored Vulps needed and bracing with his other paw-like hand put the next round down the beast’s open mandibles. As that heavy hollow point round hit something vital, the thing dropped like a puppet that suddenly had its string cut.

Pausing only long enough to ensure the huge bug-like monster was dead, Richard darted to Nan to try and assess her injuries but was nudged aside by Valerie Muir and Etienne de Chevalier. He let them work and stepped over the creature, the revolver that his vixens had gotten him as a present at the ready, though the leaking of thick, slightly luminescent body fluids that the silver fox could only assume was blood gave him hope that there was no life left in the weird looking thing.

“We need to get Riva’s opinion, but it looks like we’re going to need to do surgery to remedy this,” Valerie said, the fennec physician observed as she put an antiseptic wrap around the torn flesh of Nan’s lower leg.

“I will carry her,” Etienne said as he scooped the small red fox vixen up, Nan a little delirious from the encounter. “If you wish to prepare the operating theater, I’ll be along shortly.”

Valerie nodded and got up, slinging her medical pack onto her back and running on all fours back to the medical dome.

“Nan?” Matthew Sykes whispered worriedly as he appeared out of the darkness. “Oh, God! Nan!” He took the vixens fingers in his, the look on his face clearly anguished and might have been a nuisance had Sofiya not put her arm over the red fox’s shoulders in a comforting gesture.

“Richard, Hector. You are knowing what is needing to be done,” the blond vixen said over her shoulder as she turned Matthew away so Etienne could get the Fur to their modest facilities. “I want a report within the hour.”

As she helped the distraught male that had finally become a good friend to all of them, the silver and grey foxes nodded, Richard noting that she was also armed with one of the semiautomatics from the colony’s armory.

“Madre de Dios!” Hector muttered as he regarded the creature with a hand light.

“Ja,” Kurt agreed, joining the other two Vulps. “This is an ugly thing.”

Richard nodded and knelt down, though out of range should the thing somehow still be alive and able to strike. “Looks like some kind of arthropod. You know, a scorpion, or centipede. Ten pairs of legs. Those front ones, though…I can’t tell if they’re for digging or catching prey.” Moving a little, Richard was able to determine that the glowing eyes was reflected ambient light, a sign that the thing was either a sub-terranian dweller or nocturnal hunter. “I think the question that I really want to know is if these are solitary creatures, or if they have hives.” He stood and shivered at the way the creature seemed to still be looking at him. “Hector, I think we want to get Daniel in on this.”

CHAPTER 31

"Invasion"

"Suction," Riva Weicz directed Valerie Muir curtly as she tightened the thread of sutures that would dissolve over time, repairing damage to the tendon that was attached to the over-sized leg muscle that enabled Nan Pi-lei to walk upright.

The creature that had attacked her and clamped down on the vixen's left leg with astonishing strength, and it was only by chance or Divine Providence that it hadn’t completely severed the connective tissue that was attached to what would have been the ankle on a human, but for the Furs was the reversed ‘knee’ joint of their digitigrade legs. The Asian red fox had been extremely fortunate as far as that went, though there was enough other damage that was complicating the surgery. Fortunately there were no broken bones, though the damage to the soft tissue was enough.

While ensuring that Nan Pi-lei remained unconscious, Etienne observed the work the former Israeli did, the bat eared vixen’s expertise having been earned in the worst possible conditions while patching up soldiers and civilians caught in the never ceasing struggle of the Middle East. Likewise, Suzette watched intently as she monitored the vitals of the patient and Valerie Muir filled in as the surgical nurse.

Once the damage to the tendons had been taken care of, Rive reattached what veins she could, then turned to the muscle injuries. "I think we’ll close with a four-oh silk. And we’ll apply the inflatable cast. We’ll all check on her periodically and a regular cast will prevent us from being able to see how Nan’s progressing."

"I think you’ve had to do this too many times," Etienne commented in his French laced English as he began to put the anesthesia equipment away.

Riva applied a spray that would coat the wound in a degradable protein base adhesive, sealing the lacerations from airborne contaminants before tugging the surgical mask that was made for Furs from her muzzle. "You could say that. At least this wasn’t from a bomb, she isn’t a child, and I don’t have thirty more casualties waiting with the first choice always having to be amputation." The bat eared vixen sighed. "I often wondered what it would be like to be able to take my time on an operation. Let’s give her a few minutes then we’ll move her to the recovery dome. I’ll go talk to Matthew and Sofiya." She paused as she took off the disposable yellow gown she wore. "Good work everyone. It’s a treat to work with professionals."

As Riva stepped out of the dome, passing through a double door set up to keep the operating section as sterile as possible, she gave a reassuring smile and nod to Matthew Sykes.

"She’s fine. It’ll be a few weeks before she’ll be able to get around without crutches, but there won’t be any lingering damage, and even the scars will be minimal and mostly hidden by her fur once it grows back," she told the male.

"Can I see her?" the red fox asked with eyes bright due to unshed tears. Matthew was attempting to put on a brave show, though it was evident that he truly cared about the little Asian Fur.

"In a few minutes we’ll be putting Nan in the recovery dome. You can sit with her as long as you want, just let her sleep, though. It’s going to be a few days before we let her out to run around."

"That’s going to drive her nuts, you know," Matthew said with a grin, the tension and worry leaving the set of his shoulders.

Rive grinned. "Oh, I know it will. The big thing will be getting her to take it easy and not to push herself too fast or hard or she’ll be right back in here."

The red fox male nodded and Riva stepped to Sofiya motioning the other vixen outside.

"So Nan is to be making a full recovery?" the red fox female inquired.

"Definitely. Judging by the wounds, I don’t think that whatever that thing was is a predator. Predators do more damage when they bite. This was more crushing and pinching damage," Riva told the colony leader as they stepped into the great dome for a cup of tea. "A predator is effective because of the massive injuries it can inflict quickly, often letting prey bleed out, or giving it time for venom to work. I am interested in what Daniel will be able to tell us, though."

Sofiya nodded, her expression serious as she absently scratched lightly at her ear. "As am I. I do not recall seeing anything like this in the previous colony’s records. I am concerned that this thing was here. And am definitely worried there may be more."

It was Riva’s turn to nod in agreement. "Here’s hoping that Daniel will learn something helpful."

***

"I think that should do it for pictures," Daniel, the North American grey fox Fur, said as he put on a pair of safety glasses and readied the selection of battery powered tools that he would use to systematically disassemble the creature that Richard had shot. As the silver fox put the camera down on a plastic work table he finished donning a plastic gown and glasses as well. "Let’s begin with a general examination of the carapace."

Richard watched as the biologist moved from the head to tail, his observations being recorded to his PBJ, his expression one of rapt fascination.

"We have a well evolved body of overlapping plates, good articulation points. Richard, if you used one of the standard pistols from the armory module, I doubt you would have penetrated the outer shell." Daniel used a pair of calipers to measure the thickness of the entry wound to the body. "A little over three eighths at the first entry wound. Composition looks to be analogous with terrestrial arthropods…" The grey fox paused. "Now this is interesting. Look at this point," he said, pointing at a slightly discolored spot roughly three inches across. "This was an injury that has healed…fairly recently it appears."

Richard moved with the other Fur, though he did his best to stay out of the way. It might have been some of the prejudices carried over from his time in the military, but the silver fox was far more interested in learning how to put other creatures like this one down quickly if they posed a threat. Paranoid, to be certain, but being on a world that wasn’t their native planet, that trait might not be a bad thing.

"Ah! Look at this! These are air holes along the lateral line, but there’s something strange going on in here," Daniel informed his cohort in a distracted tone."Hand me that saw with the round blade."

Richard found the power tool that Daniel wanted. The bulk of it was the handle that contained the rechargeable battery with the actual saw blade a half circle of thin, stainless steel and an edge that was coated with an industrial grade diamond matrix. The motor would cause the blade to vibrate at a high frequency and could cut through a wide variety of materials, though it was fairly safe in that accidentally bumping the blade wouldn’t result in a laceration unless one applied extended pressure.

Daniel accepted the saw and activated the trigger with his furry thumb before cutting around the section that interested him. Once the section of the carapace was removed, the grey fox dove in with small instruments such as scalpels, forceps and an extra set of glasses that magnified what he was looking at.

"This is astonishing! Richard, it has both lungand gills! Not unlike some of the crustaceans we had on Earth. Things like crayfish, mudskippers…but this is far more evolved."

Richard was happy that Daniel was thrilled, and tried to follow what the other Vulps was saying, though he gave that up and simply handed off tools as asked and watched as the bug was taken apart. It seemed like hours passed, and then Daniel asked for a testing kit. The only things that the silver fox understood clearly was that the creature could live with ease on land and in water, actually ate decaying plant matter and carrion, more than likely burrowed to develop its lairs, and with the testing kit’s results, was completely edible.

"It’s like a lobster," Daniel told the other Fur with a wide grin. "Completely edible meat in the legs and the joints here along the body! And there’s a small repository of some kind of substance I need to look closer at, but I think there’s something that might be worth the entire endeavor of sending us out here!"

"What do you mean?" Richard asked, a furrow between his brows. "All I know is it chewed up Nan Pi-lei pretty bad and was hard to kill."

The grey fox shook his head. "The damaged point I showed you earlier is very recent! This…thisgrass lobster…lob-ipede?...healed that spot in a matter of days. Even the bullet holes you put into it are already closing! The tissue beneath the wound is filled with this substance…and it repaired it in a fraction of the time that should have been required." He snorted as the silver fox still failed to grasp what he was trying to say. "Enhanced healing, Richard! It might be something that can be modified for humans and Furs!"

"Possibly," the silver fox said, looking over the other fox’s shoulder at the plastic sample tray that held the gland and the thick, strange green colored viscous fluid. "Just remember that it was the secretions that came from the slink that killed the Felis colonists within a day."

The grin crumbled from Daniel’s face. "That’s right," he mumbled with a nod. "But this doesn’t show any of the chemical markers that the slink had."

"It still doesn’t hurt to be cautious, Daniel. If this turns out to be what you think, then so much the better. Until we know for certain, though, let’s just be careful, alright?"

"I am agreeing with this," Sofiya said from the doorway of the dome. "I would prefer more testing if you please."

"No, the both of you are correct." Daniel’s ears perked back up. "But here’s hoping! Something that can increase the healing of wounds and injuries like I think this does might get a permanent colony dropped here even sooner!"

***

Sofiya led the way out of the dome that had been added to the science cluster to the Great Dome where Elena and Mandy waited with cups of herbal tea for the other two Vulps. "Daniel may be correct in that a discovery that important may encourage a permanent colony," the red fox vixen said as she slipped her arm around the male. "I, however, am wanting to know where this…thing was coming from."

"You and me both," Richard said. "I don’t think it’s a truly dangerous bug. I think Nan may have stepped on it by accident. I still want to make sure it’s not part of a larger colony or hive, though." He sat down with Sofiya on the other side of the table and smiled as a slightly shaken Amanda nestled close to the silver fox.

"All I know is that Nan’s scream scared about ten years outta me!" the Scottish Fur husked, her eyes still a little wide, the fennec snuggling tight under Richard’s arm about her shoulders. "Is she really going to be alright?"

"It will be taking some time to heal," Sofiya said as Elena sat close to the red fox vixen. "Riva is being a very good surgeon and knows what she is doing. She will be quite alright I am thinking."

They sat talking for a while, Richard doing his best to project a calm, confident demeanor in support of Sofiya before tossing back the rest of his tea. "I think we’ll require hand lights until we can get a string of security lamps put up. The latrines aren’t near the main complex area and they’re far enough away that it’s a sensible precaution." He quirked a grin at Sofiya. "That is, if my Captain feels like it’s a good idea."

"Silly fox," the vixen chuckled. "I asked you to be safety officer for a reason."

"Well, I’ll get a crew and start on it in the morning. Right now I think I want to go back to bed. I was feeling all sorts of happy and warm before all of this tonight, and wouldn’t mind getting back to my pile of pretty ladies, then."

***

Two whistle blasts from the southeast caused Richard and every other Vulps to look up as Daniel waved his arms on the outside perimeter of the compound. As soon as the others joined he pointed to a strange discolored spot on the far hill ridge past the old colony site while passing a pair of binoculars to Sofiya. "I think that the bug that Nan found has relatives. I was out here following the tracks the first one made and saw that," the grey fox informed the rest as he pointed.

"Layno! How many are there?" Sofiya asked, her ears drooping.

Daniel shrugged. "A quick guess? Several hundred…possibly several thousand? It doesn’t look like they’re really forming a colony, though. They’re more like a biomass, like crabs form, but from what I could tell, it looks like they’re simply migrating."

"They give me the creeps!" Amanda said with a shiver, the fennec vixen’s ears flattening as her tail pressed against the backs of her legs and hugged herself to repress a shiver of revulsion.

"That makes two of us," Charity Hanover, one of the females that had gone through the program with Richard agreed with a wince and tremulous voice.

Daniel held out his paw-like hands. "At least we know they aren’t here to eat us. Their diet is vegetable and decaying matter."

"Maybe," Richard commented softly. "But those jaws of theirs can do some serious damage. We can’t afford to have them latch on to one of us like they did Nan, and I’d rather not have them chew on our equipment for any reason." He accepted the binoculars from his mate and gave the approaching hoard a better look. "At this rate we have maybe three hours before they get here, so if we’re going to come up with a plan it needs to be quick."

***

Ideas ranging from eliminating the rolling mass of arthropods to using fire as a deterrent were brought up, though most of the ideas were extremely spur of the moment and the flaws were rapidly pointed out. Fire was far too dangerous and likely to get out of control and there wasn’t enough ammunition in the armory module, even including the supplies salvaged from the previous colony, for the Furs to stop all of the creatures — not to mention that many of the foxes, Richard included, didn’t condone the slaughter of animals that had just as much right to live as the colonists, perhaps even more so as thiswas their planet.

It was Kizu Ananori that called attention to the fact the mass of creatures was moving through the old colony. Then the Furs noticed that the arthropods simply flowed around the original domes, not bothering anything on their way to the northwest that would eventually take them to the coastline.

"Maybe we should just let them through," Matthew said as he squinted at the beasts. "It’s like they see those old domes as just an obstacle to go around." He pointed to emphasize his point. "They ain’t chewing on anything, just going by it. Maybe the best thing to do is nothing."

Sofiya frowned and lifted the binoculars. Even the few domes that were open were given only a cursory examination when one of the hard-shelled creatures paused at an open doorway before they resumed their migration. The red fox vixen nodded to herself. "Richard, gather three others that are being good marksmen. We will all wait for these things to be passing through in the Great Dome. They are ignoring the structures, and simply moving. We will close the dome and let them continue on unharmed. All others will be inside so there are no chances to be taking."

Richard tapped Hector, Matthew and Riva who had the highest consistent scores on the range and led the way to the armory module in the command dome, passing out the rifles and live ammunition. As each of the Furs checked the action on their firearms, he also belted his pistol on, the Chiappa Rhino revolver providing a little more in the way of comfort as it sat on his hip, glad that his vixens had gotten him a fairly useful gift. As they armed up, the other Furs headed to the Great Dome where Sofiya began a head count and Suzette and Etienne brought in Nan from the medical dome. Once everyone was inside the panels that served as the door were closed and latched.

Many of the foxes huddled together with their significant others as the hoard approached, their sensitive ears picking up the soft chitters, chirps and high-pitched noises the arthropods made as they drew near the new colony site. Then the sounds of chitinous plates clicking together could be heard. It was Amanda that stifled a scream when the first shadowy silhouettes appeared at the lowest level of green, semi transparent fiberluminum panels of the dome.

Some of the creatures paused to examine the structure, their enormous mandibles clicking on the synthetic materials before continuing on. A few of the strange bugs even tried to climb over the obstacle, though when the panels didn’t provide any sort of purchase, they continued on. It took almost an hour for the mass of strange beasts to finish their passage through the complex, but at no time did any of the things attempt to enter the dome.

"Are they gone?" Emanuella asked in a quiet voice, her eyes wide, wanting nothing more that to have Hector hold her while she went through a serious case of the shakes.

"It looks like it," Daniel said, more curious than afraid. "I think, though, it might not be a bad idea to make sure there aren’t any stragglers in anybody’s dome."

Sofiya nodded in agreement. "Are you minding,kokhanyy?"

The silver fox smiled, the rifle stock resting in the crook of his hip. "Only because you asked so sweetly," He accepted a nuzzle or kiss from the vixen trio and nodded to Matthew to go with him, Hector and Riva moving to investigate the opposite side of the compound. "Looks like you made a good call," Richard told his former housemate with a smile.

"Well, when we looked at them through the binoculars, they weren’t eatin’ nothing. You know? And the bugs weren’t tearing anything up. I think it comes from when I was a kid and found a hornets’ nest. My cousin was the kinda kid that woulda poked at it, or thrown a rock, but I’ve been stung by one and knew better. I went my way and left them alone. It was kinda the same feeling here." The former West Virginian scratched at an ear. "Besides, there were a lot more of them things than there are us. I don’t want to lose no one, ya know?"

"I hear you," Richard agreed as they peeked into another shelter. "I think it might be prudent to discover where they came from, though. Those lobster-pede things…this might be like a game trail or something for them."

Richard paused and looked at his fellow Vulps. "You know, you might have something there. Etienne and Suzette said they’ve never seen things like that in the five years they’ve been here, but maybe you aren’t too far off. Game trail, or something like a salmon run."

"Mixed with those seventeen year cicadas," Matthew added.

CHAPTER 32

"Striking It Rich"

Toshiro unrolled the plastic sheet that had a simple map printed on it of the immediate area around the colony that had been sent along with their supplies. The image had been gleaned from the survey of the planet years before and while not overly detailed, it did contain relatively accurate topographical information. He then laid a clear plastic sheet over it that documented the previous colony’s explorative forays.

“This is the area that interests me,” the Japanese fox told the others. “Particularly this point here. Along the river here you can see the fault line and how the river followed that for the most part. I would like to survey this area here, and then return to the colony, stopping at these points here, here and here,” he indicated with a claw tip.

“How long would this be taking?” Sofiya asked as she looked over the map.

“Only two days at the fault line. The return along the river would require two, possibly three days, though on horse, the ride out should only take one.” Toshiro looked at his colony leader with a hopeful expression, fighting to keep his tail from wagging.

“And you are still not wanting to tell me what it is you think you will be finding?”

The male Vulps shook his head. “I truly do not want to get hopes up, Sofiya. If I were to say what I thought was there, and then turn out to be wrong, I would feel most ashamed at the disappointment of the others.”

“Meaning you don’t want to be lynched,” Richard added with a chuckle.

“There is that,” Toshiro agreed.

Sofiya continued to look at the map for several moments before pushing off the table and standing upright. “And you are not minding that we are coming with you?”

The Asian Fur smiled warmly. “I would be most happy for the four of you to come along with Conchita and I.”

Sofiya looked at her mate, the silver fox shrugging to indicate it was her decision. “Then we will be leaving tomorrow morning,” Sofiya informed the Asian Fur, unable to keep from smiling at the male’s own grin and wagging tail. “Richard will help to get the supplies needed for the journey. I will go speak to Hector about operations while we are gone.” The vixen paused after turning to find her first officer. “Let Mandy be taking care of the selection of horses. She has been working away from the stables and misses them terribly.”

Richard clapped the red fox on the back after Sofiya left the dome. “I don’t know if you’ll find what you’re looking for, but I know a little time away from the colony is just what I need,” the silver fox said with a grin.

“Here is hoping that I’m right!” Toshiro beamed.

***

Richard put his saddlebags over the back of his horse, a gentle Tennessee Walker by the name of Hobie, an animal he knew well that had been with the group at the Adirondack Furmankind Institute. Once the bags and his pack were secure the silver fox went to help finish loading the two pack horses with the rest of their gear, Amanda already with the pair of Morgans and checking the harnesses that would distribute the weight evenly.

The fennec vixen tightened the last of the buckles, a small furrow between her eyes as she stood and looked at the setup critically. “Something wrong, Mandy?” Richard asked, his paw-like hands settling on the smaller female’s shoulders while he rested his chin between her large ears.

The fennec sighed. “I remember the few times I went riding when I was at school, and I guess it just seems unnatural to have tack and saddles that aren’t made of good leather.”

Richard chuckled. “Well, the stuff we have is a lot lighter and won’t dry out or rot. It’s not like we can run to the nearest shop that sells tack and saddles.”

Amanda smiled as she let herself get pulled back against her mate, her eyes closing happily as his arms slipped around her. “I know. But there’s something about the smell of leather and horses that always seemed…comfortable. Good, you know?”

“Yeah. It is one of those good smells. But I bet our horses are happy not to have to get decked out with fifty pounds of gear plus us. That and there’s less chafing, too.”

“I still miss the smell of real leather, though,” the fennec persisted.

The others appeared shortly, each with a travel bag, freeze dried provisions that were a far cry better than the ones that Richard had while in the Marines, and small kit bags of equipment. “We are being ready?” Sofiya inquired, her mood light and almost carefree, looking forward to a trip away from the colony site.

“We just need to get everybody else’s stuff tied up,” Amanda told the other vixen with a grin and tail wag. “All the horses are ready. I checked their hooves and made sure none of them will come up lame. As long as the ground between here and where Toshiro wants to go isn’t too bad, I don’t think there’ll be any problems.”

“This is good!” the red fox said, giving the sandy colored female a pleasant hug and nuzzle.

“All we need are the radios, the rifles, flares and we’ll be ready,” Richard added.

With the last of the gear and rifles the small expedition turned their horses to the northeast, almost on a parallel to the track the grass-lobsters had taken. The name had finally been settled, though Daniel had wanted to give the beasts a rather convoluted name in Latin that hadn’t really stuck, the other Vulps calling them by their more familiar moniker. The trail left by the migrating creatures veered off to the south, much to the relief of the party, particularly Amanda and Conchita who still shuddered whenever the topic of the arthropods was brought up.

It was a little difficult for the Vulps to notice the gradual incline that they traveled until Conchita turned around to ask Elena a question and gasped, her eyes widening considerably as her mouth gaped open. “Madre de Dios! Look!”

The others expected trouble, Richard’s fingers tightening on the synthetic stock of the rifle, though he relaxed and smiled when he saw what had the Argentine Fur so excited.

Framed by the strange velvety trunks of the Bastien trees was a vista of rolling hills and small copses of woods. The tops of the colony domes were just visible, and beyond the next few smooth ridges was the deep, almost indigo waters of the sea. While the sky above was a dark, slightly off shade of blue, towards the horizon over the water it turned into a deep pink cast with the orange-white light of Epsilon Eridani.

“It is beautiful!” Sofiya said, turning her horse slightly.

“It certainly is,” Toshiro agreed.

Sofiya turned and smiled at her mate before noticing the curious expression on his face. “Kokhanyy? Is something wrong?”

“Hmm?” the silver fox intoned before looking at the vixen and smiling widely. “No. Nothing’s wrong at all. This is just one of those moments that happens from time to time that makes me realize I’m one of the luckiest people to have ever lived and I’ve made the right decisions.”

Nudging her mount, a rather docile mare named Blossom for her propensity of eating any flower she encountered, Sofiya reached out, letting her fingers settle lightly on Richard’s arm. “You are not alone in this feeling,” she said softly.

With plenty of pictures saved through their PBJs, the group pressed on, all of them wondering what other sights and discoveries waited for them.

***

Explorations would wait until the next day as the group finished setting up their camp by a burbling stream that provided a rather peaceful setting. Richard and Toshiro put the tents up with the backs against the large trunk of a fallen tree that had succumbed to age, giving them a modicum of security that everyone felt better for but didn’t mention. While this was happening Sofiya and Elena had put together a fire pit while Amanda and Conchita worked on readying supper for all of them, heating water for the different packets of freeze dried rations and cups of either tea or instant coffee. Once the tents were up, the two males took care of the horses, the animals finding good forage that had already been approved by the previous colony and rechecked by the Abeona group, then set small perimeter sensors that would provide additional security during the night.

“You know, Ruiz would enjoy this,” Toshiro chuckled as he set aside his empty bowl. “He said there is nothing that makes him feel at complete peace as playing his guitar while being outside and sitting next to a fire.”

“That’s because Ruiz is a hopeless romantic,” Conchita added as she lay with her head on her partner’s lap while the Asian Fur gently stroked her ears. “That isn’t an altogether bad thing, mind you, but he is young and full of exuberance.”

“I’m just glad he was able to patch things up with Tipper and Mina,” Amanda said to the others as Sofiya brushed out her hair.

“Truly?” the South American vixen asked with a curious expression. “Even after Tipper attacked you?”

The fennec shook her head. “She didn’t realize what was going on, and she cares about Sofiya and Richard,” Amanda replied. “In a way I can’t fault her for that, but there was no permanent damage, and we have to be together. I can’t hold a grudge and all of us live together, too.”

“I think you are a better woman than I could be,” Conchita told the desert fox with admiration in her voice.

Typical of receiving any kind of praise, Amanda lowered her head and shrugged. “We’re all friends now, and that’s for the best, right?”

Richard set his rifle to the side and looked at the Asian fox. “Okay, Toshiro. It’s time to come clean. What do you think is out here that has you so excited?” he asked lightly.

“Oh, no, my friend! You will have to wait until tomorrow. I do not think I wish to spoil what may be a very pleasant surprise!”

Richard shook his head. “I guess it really doesn’t matter. All I know is I’m actually getting to see some of our new world, it’s a beautiful night, I’m surrounded by three very stunning vixens…what more can I ask for?”

“Dessert!” Amanda enthused, tossing out packets that the ones that had worked the kitchen had put together. The rough flour that the colony was producing had been combined with local fruits and a little ingenuity and in the small, paper wrapped bundles were like thin tarts. “I just wish we had ice cream to go with them,” the fennec lamented.

“You are a naughty girl,” Elena teased. “I will have to work hard to be keeping from getting fat!”

The rest of the group began to laugh at what was becoming the standard joke among many of the vixens, all of them knowing that with the physical work that was required at the colony none of them were in danger of gaining excess weight, that and their new metabolisms seemed to prevent any sort of gain that wasn’t in the form of muscle mass when a strange chirping noise caused all of them to look up and scan the darkness.

“That wasn’t one of those bugs, was it?” Amanda asked quietly, her eyes wide as her ears twitched to better pick up the sounds of something moving.

“No,” Conchita said, sitting up and moving closer to Toshiro. “That wasn’t one of the bugs. I…I’ve never heard that sound before…”

A slight rustling sound from overhead followed by more chirping made Elena look up. Her slightly fearful expression turned to one of amusement and when she started laughing the others looked at her then up, spying the source of the noise as a colony of tree imps observed them from the branches of the trees over the camp.

“They’re so cute!” Amanda exclaimed.

Richard set his rifle down and chuckled. “At least we know they aren’t something that can cause harm.”

“Perhaps not harm, but that does not mean they can’t be trouble,” Toshiro pointed out, the Japanese red fox recalling the mayhem that the de Chevalier’s little pet got into.

“Will the sensors be keeping us safe enough?” Sofiya asked the silver fox as she caressed the fur of his arm, her eyes glancing into the gloom outside the ring illuminated by the campfire.

“I think so. The tree imps didn’t cause the horses to get agitated, and they’re more alert for the presence of predators…even ones that are alien to them, or that they’re alien to,” the silver fox said with a grin. “I mean, we’re the new kids on the block, after all.”

“Do you know how safe you make me feel?” the blond vixen inquired as she took the other anthro fox’s arm in her paw-like hands. Her look was full of affection and a sort of contentment.

“That’s a two-way street. You make me feel safe as well,” Richard replied softly.

The expressions on the two Furs’ vulpine faces was something each knew well, particularly before leading to a romantic interlude, but before either could go any further one of the strange creatures that looked like a melding of bird and monkey dropped down from the overhead branch and landed on the fallen tree, scampering quickly to where Amanda sat on the other side of the silver fox. It looked at the fennec with a curious tilt to its head before jumping to Sofiya and Richard.

Without any hesitation or signs of caution it darted behind the male fox and leapt to his shoulder where it began to gently preen one of the Fur’s triangular ears. The toucan-like beak could easily take Richard’s ear, but the creature was exceedingly gentle and as it groomed the fox, its clever little hand stroked the silver fox’s head hair.

“Etienne said these things were as gentle as they were curious,” Richard said with a smile. “I guess he was right.” When the tree imp began making a strange, soothing cooing noise as it worked, the fox slowly lifted a finger and held it up, the imp not moving, and let Richard give its head a scratch, the cooing noise increasing in both volume and enthusiasm. “I think I have a new friend.”

“He’s too cute!” Amanda gushed, her eyes sparkling in the fire light.

“How can you tell it’s a he?” Toshiro asked.

Amanda pointed at the creature’s beak. “The males have that bright red streak that runs from just below their eyes to the tip. The females don’t have that according to them.” The vixen’s ears darkened as she gave a small laugh, “That and…well, his bits are showing.”

“He’s not going to do something to the side of my head, is he?” Richard asked with a certain level of nervousness.

Amanda shook her head and giggled. “No! He’s just…um, a boy. Well equipped, but not…um…happy, you know?”

A second and third tree imp joined the first and also began preening and grooming Richard. “This is becoming a little much,” the silver fox said as one of the newcomers, a female as she was lacking the splash of red on her beak, used her feet to latch onto the Fur’s robe top and looked the fox in the eyes as she stroked his whiskers back along his muzzle over and over.

“Are we needing to be concerned,kokhanyy?” Elena asked with a grin. “I am thinking to be rather jealous at this attention!”

Conchita was grinning along with the others. “They definitely like you, Richard!”

“I just don’t want them to poop on me if I move,” the Fur said as the third imp, also a female, joined the other in preening the fox’s facial fur. “Mandy? Are there any more of those tarts?”

“Huh? Yeah, I’ve got quite a few left.”

“See if they like them,” Richard said with a chuckle as his ear was tickled by the male that sat on his shoulder.

As soon as the fennec began to unwrap the paper around the pastry, all three imps turned to see what the strange noise was, all of them jumping down and chirping with curiosity displays that made the creatures look positively adorable. The curiosity from the tree imps only intensified as Amanda held out little pieces broken off the tarts, though that lasted only a moment before the little creatures were sitting on her lap and devouring the treat.

Amidst happy chirping and very animated antics, the imps jumped around and cavorted before disappearing back into the upper branches of the tree, their noises eventually fading and leaving the group of Furs alone again.

“You know, when humans eventually settle here, I see a great many of those tree imps being made into pets,” Toshiro said with a smile as he leaned back with Conchita in the circle of his arm. “I know they would be very popular back in Japan! It would start a whole new craze. Not just pets, but toys, anime, manga…”

Richard snorted in humor. “We haven’t even been here a year and you’re already looking at potential exports, Toshiro!”

“No. I will leave that to others, Richard,” the red fox said as he rested his head on his vixen’s shoulder.

***

The night passed quietly, and come morning the exploration group was more than ready for a day of adventure. Breakfast was consumed quickly, each of them anxious to see what the geologist thought they might discover and left the camp, though their supplies were secured against possible ransacking from local wildlife and took the horses a short ride to the place where Toshiro was interested in.

“It’s beautiful here!” Conchita exclaimed as they dismounted along a slow, shallow river, the trees overhead casting an almost primordial twilight around the Furs as the branches and rich foliage overhead blocked the morning sun.

Along the banks of the waterway, strange flowers and blossoms lined the low ledge that had been cut through natural erosion and from the blooms darted little four winged insects that the previous colonists had termedzip-bees, following the function of their Earth born counterparts in pollinating other plants. Despite looking like arachnids and having eight legs, the long tails resembled dragon flies, and the carapaces glinted in astonishingly vibrant shades of green and gold as if they were made from some form of metal. Thankfully the insects were sans stingers, and their large mandibles were used strictly for opening recalcitrant flowers for the harvesting of nectar and moisture.

Richard looked at the turgid water, the slow moving river quite clear and he could see what looked like fish moving in the depths the size of his forearm. “I should have brought a pole,” the silver fox said with a merry expression as he absently adjusted the sling of the rifle.

“Can you tell if they are fish the Felis documented?” Sofiya asked as she helped Conchita and Toshiro get some equipment out of his saddle bags.

The silver fox shook his head. “Not from here. That and there really isn’t enough light for me to see any markings that look familiar.” Richard smiled. “Daniel would love this place.”

“New critters for him to study?” Amanda asked between taking pictures with her PBJ.

“No!” Sofiya laughed. “Daniel is crazy for good fishing! He and Richard have had many discussions about places to be catching good fish!”

Still lamenting the fact that he didn’t have a pole, Richard watched as the Asian red fox made his way to the edge of the water and scooped up a bit of the dark sand and began to swirl the contents with a bit of water. Living in Alaska, the silver fox recalled the people that would go to that state to pan for gold, many of the amateur hunters doing exactly what Toshiro was.

“Gold,” Richard said, making the connection. “You think there’s gold here.”

Toshiro didn’t look up, but he began to grin wildly. “Not thinking, my friend. Proving! See!”

The mention of gold and the sudden enthusiasm on the red fox’s face brought the others around him with sudden interest. They watched avidly, five sets of vulpine eyes widening at the wash of yellow amidst the black sand. While some of the flakes were small, most of what was uncovered were pinhead sized nuggets and a few that were even larger.

“When we were still on Sebra, I saw that there were some strong similarities to the terrain features here and the ones in Alaska and Canada,” the Asian said. “Because of the extreme similarities, I figured that the chances were better than even of finding something like this!” Toshiro swished a little more water in his find, removing even more sediment. Even though he didn’t add any more material to what he’d already had, it seemed as if there was even more gold than before. “I know that we are all bound by contract for the rest of our lives, but those that follow, the next generation of Vulps, they can be rich! Our children can use what is here to build a world that we have only ever dreamed of!”

“But…our contracts,” Amanda said, a frown appearing between her sandy colored brows. “It says that the AHCP gets a sixty percent share of anything of value that is discovered during initial colonization.”

“And leaves forty percent to the colony,” Conchita continued. “I think that forty percent of this is still rather astonishing!”

Even Sofiya was caught up in the moment, but stopped her laughing and carrying on when she noticed that Richard was looking at the pan, then the river and woods around them, a frown on his vulpine face. She stepped over to her mate and placed a paw on his shoulder. “Richard? What is being wrong, my love?”

“I lost my home when oil was discovered on the land there. That was the reason I joined the AHCP. Look around. Look how wonderful this place is. I…I don’t know if I could stand seeing the same thing happen here,” the silver fox said. “I don’t want to see the same thing happen here that has happened on Earth.”

The others heard what the fox said and went silent, regarding the former American as he continued.

“There are whole places in Alaska where there aren’t anymore trees, and there’s just bare ground because miners have gone in to strip the soil down to rock to get at the last traces of gold. Some places look like a desert where there were once trees and forests and all sorts of wildlife.” He pointed at the pan that Toshiro still held. “We’ve seen what is useful in the few months we’ve been here, and gold is kind of useless, isn’t it?

“Unless it’s used in electronics, it really doesn’t have much use. You can’t make tools with it because it’s too soft. You can’t make cooking pots because it melts too easily. But if…no,when word gets back to Earth about this, there’ll be mining operations set up, equipment, they’ll strip the land to nothing and it will be the same thing all over again. We’ll just be wrecking another planet for gold.” He pointed at the land around them. “Is it worth destroying all of this just for that?” Richard asked and turned his gesture to the contents of the prospecting pan. “We won’t even get a chance to discover if there are plants that can make medicines, or if there are animals here that can benefit anyone before it’s all gone.”

“But…we can mine without causing any much damage to the land,” Toshiro pointed out. “We don’t have to destroy anything when it’s so easy to find.”

“We don’t, but do you think that will stop others?” the silver fox inquired shrewdly.

“Hector told me of vast areas in the Amazon that are dead because miners used mercury to pull the gold out of the dirt. Whole areas are poisoned and lifeless now because it was a very cheap way to get the gold, making the miners much more money,” Conchita told the others. “I have seen the pictures and it is very sad. Many of the children near those places also have the most terrible birth defects. The ones that don’t die, that is, because their water for drinking is filled with mercury as is the land where they grow their food.”

“I don’t want babies with birth defects!” Amanda cried, suddenly distraught, her hand going to her belly.

“Your babies will not be having birth defects,kokhanyy sestra,” Sofiya said as she put an arm around the fennec. “We will not be using mercury. There is nothing to be afraid of.”

“You mean it’s not already here?” the young vixen inquired fearfully.

Toshiro shook his head. “Mercury must also be mined, and normally it is very deep in the ground in veins of rock called cinnabar.”

“No mercury, sweetie. I promise,” Richard answered slowly, stepping to the desert fox. “Why are you so worried about mercury?”

Amanda swallowed hard, her eyes still watering from the tears from the thought of children being born with birth defects. “Be…b-because I’m pregnant,” she whispered. “I…I only found out a couple of days ago and wanted to surprise you!”

Richard’s eyebrows raised, giving him a rather comical expression while Sofiya and Elena grinned happily. “You…you’re pregnant?” the silver fox asked, more than a little stunned. “Really?”

Amanda nodded, an almost pout giving her an adorable look. “I…I wanted to surprise you…” she whispered again.

Richard caught the little vixen in his arms, lifting her off the sand of the river bank, laughing joyfully as he spun her about, crushing the fennec to him. “I’m surprised alright!” he told her with a kiss after setting her back down, Sofiya and Elena joining them in their embrace.

“You aren’t mad?”

“Honey, why would I be mad? This is wonderful!” the silver fox told her, holding the vixen close again, his head resting between her ears.

“But…well, it means…um, we can’t…you know…” Amanda said while her ears turned a deep pink. “And I like…you know…when you and I…um…”

The confession warmed Richard all the way to his soul and he squeezed the other Fur just a little tighter. “We still can for a little while. When we get back to Abeona we’ll talk to Suzette and Etienne. They know more about this than anyone else at the moment.”

Sofiya and Elena both kissed Amanda on the cheek, both of them still grinning. “I am thinking that we will be needing to make our little home a bit bigger!”

Richard brought the other two vixens further into the embrace, his own eyes warm and bright with unshed tears of happiness. “I’d say we definitely struck it rich, and it doesn’t have a thing to do with gold!”

CHAPTER 33

"Seasonal Shift"

Despite the base of her hybrid form having evolved for a desert climate, Mandy found that part of her enjoyed the cooler weather that heralded the groups’ first winter on Bastien. Fennecs were able to accommodate rapid temperature changes, dealing with the heat of their natural environment with ears that had evolved to work as radiators while also coping with the nearly forty degrees Fahrenheit change when the sun set, using that as their primary hunting period. This, however, hadn’t been her consideration when she was given an option of choosing what furmankind body she wished to have.

The young woman that had been given the name Amanda Sterling had chosen a fennec fox donor simply because it had been cute.

As the late autumn sun fell upon her sandy colored fur, her colony chores for the day done as Sofiya had standing instructions for all of the females that were expecting to only perform light duties. Amanda wasn’t as far along her term as some of the others, but was showing, and as such was only allowed to fill the water troughs for the horses and other livestock or to curry one or two of the mounts and nothing more. While she felt a little like an invalid, she had to admit that it was nice to be able to have the free time to just lie in the sun while her paw like hand caressed her growing belly.

Feeling rather lazy, Amanda didn’t open her eyes until the cooler air reasserted itself with a shadow falling over her and opened her dark eyes to see thick, grey clouds coming in that blocked the orange-white light ofEpsilon Eridani. With the clouds came a few flakes of snow, one falling perfectly into her ear, making her sit up and shake her head vigorously as it melted. Sitting up she watched a few more flakes fall lazily between stalks of the tufted Bastien grass before the amount of snow increased substantially.

Though she’d had a memory wipe for some reason, Mandy could remember always being excited as a little girl at the first snows when she was growing up in Scotland and found herself on her feet, head up and arms thrown wide as she reveled in the first snow of her new home. Laughter behind her showed that she wasn’t the only one that was excited. Tipper, Mina and Ruiz ran out of the Great Dome and began cavorting about while others paused in their work to look up at the white flakes falling from the sky.

It wasn’t until the first crash of thunder and strange flash of lightning that Amanda even considered heading indoors, the nearest structure being the Great Dome, her heart pounding.

Suzette looked up from where she was watching her kits play with wooden building blocks that some of the other Furs had made, a smile splitting her muzzle. “TheThunder Snow is early this year,” the vixen commented.

“Thunder snow?” Amanda asked, her eyes wide as her ears tried to lay flat.

Suzette nodded. “It has happened every year we have been here. The very moist air from the west reacts with the dry air to the east on the other side of the mountains and the first month of snows always has thunder and lightning. It is actually very pretty when you become accustomed to it.”

The fennec vixen went to sit with the red fox, an embarrassed smile forming. “I don’t know if I can get used to that. I almost wet my knickers!”

“It happens every year,” Suzette repeated with a pat to the back of the other female’s paw-like hand. “Then at the end of winter theAngel’s Breath will turn the snow all different colors if there is still any on the ground. It is verytres magnifique! You will see.”

Before Amanda could say anything in response, Richard entered the dome with a very shaken looking Matthew Sykes, the red fox male visibly trembling and laughing nervously. “So note to self; when it starts to snow here, get the heck down from the doggone water tower!”

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Richard inquired as the two drifted to the section of the Great Dome that had carafes and urns of hot tea waiting for anyone that needed something to drink, the brew that the Vulps that had been with the original Felis colony introduced the Abeona group to slowly replacing the stores of coffee as the drink of choice.

“A little twitchy,” the red fox said. “If I weren’t faster than I used to be I know I’d have broken my fool neck.

“I’d still feel better if you got one of the doctors to check out your shoulder. That tubing material is flexible, but you hit pretty hard,” the silver fox persisted.

“Was there an accident?” Suzette inquired as she stood, glancing at her kits to make sure they weren’t in any immediate danger of getting into trouble. At almost two years old they had begun to intersperse their yips, barks, growls and infant babbling with actual words and demonstrated a penchant for names and the word ‘no!’ in several languages, particularly when it came to eating their vegetables.

“It’s just a bruise, Miss Suzette,” the former construction worker from West Virginia said quietly.

Richard couldn’t help the smirk and wink he gave Amanda, finding the fact that Matthew was completely intimidated by the French born physician incredibly amusing. Nan Pi-lei’s encounter with the grass-lobsters and a concerned Matthew had pushed the red fox vixen’s patience to the end and when the American Fur had continued to try and tend to the injured vixen, getting in the way of her treatment, Suzette had physically picked up the male and deposited him outside before sealing the door of the medical dome without a word. Since then Matthew had paid her deference that he didn’t anyone else. Never mind that both she and her husband were serious students of Savat and capable of enforcing their orders before patching up anyone that pushed them that far.

“I will be the judge of that,” Suzette told the red fox firmly. “Take off your top,s’il vous plait.”

“Yes, Miss Suzette,” Matthew relented almost demurely.

As the vixen looked after the other Fur, Richard let Amanda pull him down next to her on the bench she sat on, accepting a happy nuzzle from the fennec. “I saw you bolt when the thunder boomed,” the silver fox teased the smaller vixen. “It didn’t scare you too bad, did it?” He asked as he lifted Amanda up and set her on his lap.

“Too right it did!” the fennec hissed in a whisper before giggling and slipping her arms around her mate’s neck. “Near peed myself over that! I’ve never heard of thunder and lightning with snow.”

Richard nodded. “I saw it once when I was a boy, but it wasn’t like this.” Another flash of lightning was accompanied a moment later by a loud boom that was felt as well as heard. “It’s kind of cool, though,” he said looking up through the fiberluminum panels at the snow that had begun to accumulate.

“Well, I suppose we could always get Sofiya and Elena and head back to our dome and all snuggle under blankets with some tea…” Amanda suggested archly.

Richard smiled warmly at the fennec, liking her idea immensely but was interrupted in his response by Suzette stepping up. “Richard, I’m going to have to put Matthew on light duty for the next few weeks.”

The silver fox’s ears twitched in interest. “Did he bang himself up that bad?”

“Not terribly so, but his shoulder is sprained. If he pushes too hard it will take longer to heal and he may make it worse. As it is I would like to take him to the medical dome and give him an anti-inflammatory injection. There is swelling and the shoulder is feeling a little too warm.”

“Do what you feel you need to, Suzette,” Richard acquiesced. “You’re the expert. We all know that Matthew will push himself too hard and brush it off.” The last was added with a pointed look at the red fox.

“Aw, c’mon. This ain’t that bad,” the other American said plaintively.

“You heard the doc,” Richard countered as he managed to pull his PBJ out and documented the injury, finding it a challenge to do so with his arms around Amanda. “She says light duty, then light duty it is. Besides,” he added with a sly grin, “this’ll give Nan and Neelu a reason to dote on you for a change, right? I don’t want them mad at me for denying them this chance!”

Matthew grinned in return and shook his head as he walked away. “I am in so much trouble,” the red fox muttered as Suzette left her kits playing for a moment, knowing they were in good hands as she headed for the infirmary facilities.

“Now,” Amanda said as she resettled on her mate’s lap, “when Suzette comes back, I think we need to find the others for that tea and snuggling we were talking about.”

***

The thunder and lightning tapered off near sunset, though the snow continued to fall until there was a good three inches of powder on the ground before stopping, prompting many of the Furs to arrange an impromptu party. A bon fire was put together and the various cooks for the colony whipped up simple meals that could be consumed easily as the others cavorted around the fire or broke out into spontaneous snowball fights, no few of the combatants getting into wrestling matches that turned into something else. Couples and groups of three and four would vanish for a bit before reappearing, smiling and a little mussed, the cooler weather having an odd effect on several of the ladies of the group.

It was Riva, coming back with a stunned looking Victor Rushenko, her longtime partner from their first days at the Stockholm Institute, that explained it to Sofiya and Richard as Elena and Amanda had gone to get hot drinks for the rest of their family.

“Foxes mate in the last part of winter, but I think that this is something that we will be seeing more of during the colder months as we aren’t fully vulpine or human.” Riva settled back in the circle of the Russian Fur’s embrace, both suffused with a happy glow. “If we are adapting to our new world and our new bodies, then this may be the norm from now on. I think we will have more children come summer, which is fitting as that’s when the crops and livestock will be the most plentiful.”

“Or it could be that all have been preparing for the winter and this is being the first chance for relaxing and having fun,” Sofiya commented drily. “I have been having everyone working hard. Perhaps too hard.”

Before Richard could say anything, Riva and Victor halted that line of thought.

“No,Sofichka,” Victor rumbled jovially. “We are from countries that know the cold. You are showing that you are thinking ahead. With the snow I am happier to have been a busy little ant than a lazy grasshopper!”

“Victor’s right,” Riva agreed. “This is our first winter here and it’s better to be over prepared than caught unaware. Besides, no one is complaining. Most of us are working as hard as we did in our jobs on Earth, some of us less so, but we are doing so without many of the things that we relied on.We are growing our food, not getting it from a store.We are carving out a life on a world that is far from where we were born. I think we’re doing rather well.”

“I agree,” Richard tossed in. “When we were all training together we knew it wouldn’t be a picnic, and we’ve accomplished a lot. If anything we should be proud of what we’ve done. And you are doing a great job of seeing to it we do our jobs and succeed.” The last was added with a kiss and nibble to the red fox vixen’s neck causing her to giggle happily.

“Stop that! I am already feeling…privyazcivyy, er…affectionate.”

“Most of us vixens are,” Riva mumbled happily.

Victor seemed to forget that he and his bat eared vixen were in mixed company. “I think tonight is going to be a very long, happy night.”

Ruiz had gone and gotten a sort of guitar that he’d been working on since the colonists first week, carefully hand carving the wood in his off hours and taking sinew that had been meticulously culled and cured from not only the Abeona livestock but also the different animals obtained through limited hunting. The native Bastien wood had been painstakingly hand-rubbed until it glowed dark red and black with green veins. To many of the Furs it sounded a little like a cross between a medieval lute and a mandolin, but the tone was pure and it resonated beautifully.

As the South American fox began a tune that was soft and gentle, Richard spun Sofiya around and wrapped his arms around her. “You know, one of the things that you and I have never done is dance together.” His right paw-like hand slipped into her right while his left arm slipped about her waist. “I think that this would be a great time to remedy this oversight.”

Sofiya looked up into her mate’s bronze colored eyes, the fairly low-level tension that had filled her over the past few days flaring into something far more primal and powerful. She let Richard guide her as they danced and felt everything besides the two of them fall away, almost like it was when they first discovered their feelings for each other. There was no colony, none of the other Furs, and it was something that the vixen had needed.

Before she was truly aware of what was happening, caught up in the moment, the two of them were back in the dome they shared with Elena and Amanda, though the other two foxes were pleasantly absent. Sofiya loved the other two females that she shared her Richard with, but tonight she needed him all to herself.

“Give me children,miy liubluy,” the blond vixen whispered. “Just as we talked of so long ago when Poppa died.” She sighed as she looked up at her silver fox, his eyes seeming like two jewels in the dark shadows of his face as a sense of urgency filled her, smiling as her beloved joined her on the sleeping pallet and exulting in the feel of warmth and affection that suffused both of them.

***

“Your mother and I were a little surprised by this…expansion of your family,” Nathan Tavington said in the recording that Richard and the vixens watched, the message from the silver fox’s parents having arrived with the latest transmission from Earth. “I suppose that it’s a practical expedient, though, considering the disproportionate ratio.” The man in the video cast a glance over his shoulder before resuming.“Don’t say anything to your mother, but I’m rather envious, son. From your descriptions I know they’re exceptional ladies. Though your mother is thrilled that one of them shares her name and I have to tell you that all of them are most fetching, but then I’ve always found the different Furs to be somewhat enticing, something else we really don’t need to tell your mother. She was hoping that each of them could send her a short message when they find the time.

“The progress on the new colony ship that you saw on your way to Sebra is coming along rather well. There were some material delays, unfortunately. Things are again heating up in some of the less stable regions of the planet that the TCC runs contracts through. It’s caused a slight delay in hull construction. I know it has my particular office in a bit of a budgeting uproar and I’m wondering if your mother and I shouldn’t put in our names for colony detail. I don’t know if the world has always been this dangerous, or if it’s being continuously bombarded by the news twenty four hours a day that just makes it seem that way, but I think that I would rather face some strange critter than some of the fanatics we have here.

“I did talk to Ásmundr Gustavsson and it seems that the AHCP research teams are thrilled with the reports that you’ve been sending back on the new equipment. Who knew that a more efficient water filter could make such a drastic difference? That will certainly come in handy when Bastien or some of the other planets are cleared for permanent colonies.

“Ah, that reminds me. Your friend, Jack, has just completed his run to Sebra himself. In just a few more months he and the other Canis from around the world will be headed to New Zealand to undergo their immersion training and simulation. Like you, he’s an impressive specimen of his chosen Fur type. Seems he found a young lady himself, one Connie Durant. The lass chose one of the latest Canis furmankind types that Ásmundr's office approved…a maned wolf. She looks more like she’d be at home in the Vulps ranks, but I’ve been assured that she’s definitely Canis. It’s rather heartwarming to see the two of them interact. Jack dotes on her to distraction, but they’re good for each other.”

The elder Tavington looked at his expensive wrist watch and chuckled to himself.

“I’m going to have to wrap this up. I might be the Director of TCC Colonial Operations, but even I can’t surpass the time constraints for a burst message. Just know that you, Sofiya, Elena and Amanda all have our love and that we wish you the best.”

The screen went blank and Richard blinked several times, feeling a strange tightening in his chest that he never associated with his father. It wasn’t until he took a deep breath that the silver fox realized that all three of the vixens that were part of his family were touching him and he drew strength from the contact.

“I didn’t know your mum and I had the same name,” Mandy commented happily. “I like that!”

“Is this Jack the same that you were telling me about the same that was taking care of the mean woman?” Elena asked with interest.

Richard nodded. “Yeah. Jack kept her from making the Adirondack Institute and all of us Furs from looking bad. He also helped the kid that warned us to do that documentary we watched that was sent last month. I was impressed. No wonder Ásmundr put him on the AHCP payroll.”

Sofiya slipped her arms around the silver fox’s neck, leaning over his back and shoulder to place her head next to his, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “Jack is being a very good person. And it is good to hear that he has found a lady love.”

“You’re just saying that because you’re biased,” Richard said with a grin as he spun in his chair and brought all three vixens in for an embrace.

“Of course I am being biased,” the red fox quipped. “When a woman is in love she wants all of the world to be in love with her.”

“’course keeping all of us so happy might also have something to do with it,” Mandy added with a mischievous gleam in her dark eyes.

The moment was broken when a rather frantic looking Charity entered the operations dome, the fur under the American grey fox’s eyes damp and worried. “Richard? Have any of you guys seen Joel? He didn’t come back from his shift on watch last night?”

CHAPTER 34

"The Fox and the Dragon"

Winter had brought the first snow, but it was fairly mild compared to what Kurt Reichmann was used to in his beloved haunts in the Black Forest back in Germany, and he believed that the colonists would fare extremely well in the careful utilization of their supplies as well as salvaging what was available from the previous Felis settlers. The snow had been light with the only oddity the occurrence of thunder and lightning with the falling powder. Surely it was a rare enough event back on Earth, but in their little niche of Bastien it seemed to be a common phenomenon according to Etienne du Chevalier.

Kurt could trace his family line back to the heady days of European colonialism, and the brave princes of Prussian ancestry when exploration of the New World was the en vogue undertaking of established nations. As such he respected and admired the courage of the Felis that had come before him and the rest of the Abeona colony as much as he admired the courage of his fellow Vulps and had taken it upon himself to try and maintain the grounds and domes of the first group as a way of honoring them.

Today, however, was a day to contribute to the meals that his fellow Vulps enjoyed, the former grounds keeper stalking game with one of the modern bows that had been included in the armory module with a full quiver of broad head, graphite shaft arrows. Hunting was literally in his blood, his paternal Great Great Grandfather being one of theJaeger Meisters, the Hunt Masters, to Kaiser Wilhelm himself before the Great War, and had been a passion handed down from father to son for generations.

Tracks outside of the colony perimeter contained prints from an animal the previous Felis colonists had called arab-zelle, a curious creature approximately a hundred and fifty pounds that looked like the odd pairing of a gazelle and, of all things, a rabbit. The fur on its hide was incredibly soft, and with its winter coat established, would make a fine blanket for him and Siobhan to cuddle under. The hooves had two larger toes facing forward and two smaller ones facing back giving the animal surprising stability. While the head was somewhat cervine in shape, the snout was a little wider with the fuzzy nose pad forming from the upper bifurcated lips, and the four long, spiraling horns that sat in front and behind the long, lop ears had been turned into excellent musical instruments or different tools by the South American grey fox, Ruiz.

The tracks approached the pens where the livestock was kept before meandering close to the fencing then angling sharply to the trees on the eastern ridge. Kurt smiled as he surmised the rab-zelle had discovered the wires were electrified when it tried to get in to share the fodder of their terrestrial animals and bolted. While great sprinters, the rab-zelle didn’t have much in the way of stamina, and it was likely the beastie was in the woods trying to figure out just what happened.

Kurt was most cautious when he approached the woods, ensuring that there wasn’t an errant breeze to carry his scent to his prey. If anything the air was almost dead calm and the platinum fox, his white and speckled coat actually aiding in his own winter camouflage, as did his sun bleached furman clothes that had gone from pale blue to light grey, slipped an arrow from the quiver on his right hip and knocked it to the string.

The Fur had to admit that he’d first had his doubts about volunteering for the Anthro Human Colonization Project. But after meeting those like Hector de la Vega and Richard Tavington, not to mention his relationship with the Irish vixen that had so efficiently snared his heart, life was a most enjoyable thing to Kurt. He was a better hunter now thanks to his heightened senses, new body and found that he was more at ease than ever before when it came to traipsing through the woods, even these strange lands of this new world.

Bastien was a challenge, and he reveled in learning about his new home, how it worked, the creatures that inhabited it, and how he could better fit into the grand scheme of things. That was one of his personal philosophies that had helped the most. Too many people saw the world around them and wished to shape it to their needs, where Kurt wished for a more symbiotic relationship, and relished learning how to adapt his own perspectives and skills to where he was.

To put it simply, he felt alive, and was finding his life more enjoyable, fun and fulfilling than ever before.

Crouching down to move more quietly and reduce his visibility, something that was far easier in his furmankind form than when he’d been a man, Kurt followed the tracks between the velvety trunks of the Bastien trees, his yellow eyes darting from the ground to left and right before jerking back down again, following the tracks, but also not wanting to inadvertently run into the rab-zelle.

Marks in the thin snow that had drifted down between the trunks of the dormant trees that were now colored a strange combination of red and purple without their curious tendrils being filled with chlorophyll, Kurt found where the animal had nibbled at the snow for either moisture or forage before wandering on.

Then as the fox stepped down with his left foot, he paused, the shadowy depths of the woods suddenly feeling different as a musty scent like wet dog mixed with fresh bay leaves caressed the Fur’s nostrils, the smell telling him that the animal he stalked was near. Kurt drew the string for the bow back, most of the motion being an extension of his left arm as he raised the bow, his right paw-like hand pulling arrow and string back so that his thumb was just behind his jaw and sighted down the shaft of the arrow.

The rab-zelle moved between two trunks, its head lifted as it nibbled from low branches with a little winter foliage, the bifurcated lips working almost like fingers as it deftly pulled the choicest tendrils from the Bastien plants to be nibbled upon. It hadn’t seen the anthrofox, and Kurt couldn’t ask for a better shot to ensure a clean kill.

Letting out his breath slowly through his partially opened mouth, the former German entered that moment where thought and action were one, his furred, clawed fingers releasing the bow string with a muffledthrump! that the animal only had a moment to notice before it crumpled where it stood.

Never one to let an animal he hunted suffer needlessly, Kurt leapt forward, his hunting trousse at the ready, the broad knife that had belonged to his grandfather of good, hand-forged high carbon Solingen steel ready to deliver a coup de grace if necessary. No sooner did the platinum fox kneel, blade poised, his palm pads on the rab-zelle’s neck when he let out a sigh of relief. The kill was clean, the arrow having found the beast’s heart. He smiled warmly at the creature, the curve of the back set of horns telling him this was a buck, the Fur petting the animal’s neck.

“Thank you for the gift of your life, little brother,” he said softly in his native German as the knife went back into the sheath at his back, just to the right side of his tail and he put both paws on the creature as if in benediction. “May your body sustain the lives of my family and friends as your spirit finds solace in the plains of the afterlife, and when we meet again, may I sustain you as you have me and thus continue the cycle of life as it should be.”

As he began to methodically dressing down the carcass, pausing a moment to partake of a few choice tidbits with all the reverence of a form of communion, Kurt thought about all of the places that he’d hunted, the different peoples that he’d accompanied back on Earth, and smiled at the similarities between the Aborigines of Australia, the bushmen of Africa, and the Native Peoples of the United States and Canada that had almost the same prayer of thanksgiving for the creatures they took down in their hunts. It always struck him as more than proper to thank the animals he killed. This creature deserved to be consumed by his new family, being more than worthy of aiding them in their new life, and it felt proper to honor his prey.

On a more mundane level, Kurt was rather proud of the rab-zelle buck being the largest he’d brought to ground so far. It would go quite far in filling up the colony’s food supplies, never mind that Siobhan loved to eat grilled cutlets of the beastie and Kurt enjoyed feeding them to her in the privacy of their dome.

Once the meat and various parts that the Fur discovered were quite the delicacy were rendered down into manageable cuts he wrapped everything in the hide and put together a travois to haul his bounty back to the colony. Humming softly to himself, a song that his grandfather had taught him long ago in the deep woods of the Black Forest, Kurt began the short trek back to Abeona, the path almost the same one he’d followed. It was a little more direct to angle towards the small pond that sat almost a mile from the eastern perimeter of the settlement, the glade that was formed a popular place for many of the Furs to enjoy picnics or use as a swimming hole and such when the weather was nicer. It had also been a place that Kurt himself had enjoyed several times with his Siobhan.

He idly noted the thin scum of ice that had formed on the shallow pond, seeing something slightly out of the ordinary for several seconds before realizing just what it was. Distortion from the angle that he looked at the curiosity from combined with the rather dim daylight made details hard to distinguish, finally aware of just what he saw due to the bright green clothing the Fur wore. Dropping the poles of the travois, the red fox leapt forward, going as fast as he could in the frigid water until it rose past his waist and trudged resolutely on.

Whichever of the colonists it was had been in the water long enough that rigor mortis had already come and gone and the eyes had already developed a milky white hue. It wasn’t until Kurt lifted the limp, waterlogged form from the pond that he realized it was one of the Adirondack Furs.

“Joel,” the German said in a shocked whisper, placing the name and vulpine face to its owner, having noted the American not by anything outstanding that he did, but by the simple reason Joel performed every task that had been asked of him without complaint and without stopping until it was complete and the manner that he devoted himself to the wisp of a vixen, Charity Hanover. He had been quiet and rather unassuming but also very polite.

When the head lolled back on limp neck it exposed a deep cut that started at one ear and followed the line of his jaw shape. Then Kurt noticed that the red fox was far lighter than he should have been and as he lifted the body up his robe-like top fell open revealing that most of the furred flesh approximately six inches below his throat was gone, exposing off-white bone.

Kurt had seen animal kills in his time, but he’d never seen someone heknew in such a state and couldn’t help it as he dropped the body back into the near freezing water and thrashed wildly on his way back to the shore, panting and fighting his rising gorge. It took several moments of deep, calming breaths to stop his head from spinning or his stomach from wanting to empty itself and when he felt a little more in control, the red fox got the small radio from his pack at the end of the travois.

“This… this is Kurt…” he panted heavily, squeezing his eyes closed as another wave of nausea struck.

“This is Operations, Tipper speaking. What’s up, Kurt?”

“I need… I need Sofiya… at the pond. I’ve found…. I think I’ve found Joel. He… he’s dead.”

***

Riva finished her examination, a grim expression on her face as Sofiya stood with Richard, Kurt and Hector. Elena and Mandy had remained back at the colony to comfort a distraught Charity. The German was looking resolutely at the body, the corners of his mouth taut in a frown. “This is a predator kill. I have seen them before. Whatever did this was able to take him and brought him here to feed.” He turned to the red fox vixen. “We…weneed to find what did this. Too much of him is missing. It is not like a predator from Earth. I think it liked the… the way he tasted. I cannot allow something like that to threaten the others.”

“You won’t hear me arguing,” Richard agreed with a nod. “There were bears in Alaska that developed a taste for human flesh and once they began stalking humans there was only one way to solve the problem. Whatever did this might be seeing the rest of us as something new and palatable.”

Sofiya weighed what the two males were implying as she turned to the bat eared vixen. “Riva? Can you be giving an approximate time as to how long Joel has been out here?”

The former Israeli pulled the plastic body bag over the Vulps’ remains and peeled the thin rubber gloves from her hands as she stood. “Without the proper facilities to do a proper autopsy I can only guess, but I’d put it between ten and sixteen hours. Rigor mortis has come and gone in the intact extremities, and the eyes aren’t cloudy enough yet for it to have been much longer than that. Whatever animal did this killed her the same way the predators we’re used to would, biting down on the throat to suffocate, but it also caused deep lacerations. What’s really weird is that there should be two wounds like the one that’s on his throat, but I’ve only found one.”

“Then it is something that the previous colony hasn’t seen, nor have we,” Hector told the others.

Richard shook his head. “I’ve gone over every documented animal the Felis encountered and there was nothing in their archive that I saw that could make wounds like that. Some of the other predators, therock devils,dire cats and things are sort of aggressive, but none of them are big enough to pull someone even as large as Joel all the way out here.” The silver fox sighed. “Kurt, you’re a better hunter than I am. Feel like helping me find tracks? Maybe we can get an idea of what did this and neutralize the threat it poses.”

The red fox male nodded solemnly. “I have a full field kit, plus the meat from the rab-zelle I took down. We’ll have provisions and the ability for a fire.”

“What of shelter? You will need a tent and other gear,” Riva said with a look of concern.

Richard smiled. “I don’t plan on doing a lot of sleeping and I don’t want to be weighted down with gear or have to bring a horse to carry everything. Hector can leave Kurt his rifle, plus we have my own, a pistol and his bow. I’ve been in worse places and situations with less. We’ll be alright.”

“When you leave, take the same path you made coming here,” Kurt instructed the others. “If there are tracks it will mean less chance of obscuring a trail. We have already made enough of a mess here.”

Hector passed over the rifle along with a pair of spare magazines for the semiautomatic weapons. “I am not sure that this is a wise decision…” the grey fox confessed. “We do not know what kind of animal this is. It might be more than the two of you can handle.”

“If it is more than Richard can be confronting, then it will be too much for anyone else,” Sofiya said, giving her mate a nod as she stepped up to the smoky furred fox. “I am confident in myliubyy.” She pulled her mate closer and ran her cheek alongside his. “Just come home safe,” Sofiya whispered, the look in her yellow-green eyes as she pulled back intense with a hint of worry.

“We’ll call in every two hours for progress reports,” Richard promised. He kissed his vixen while Kurt helped Riva with putting Joel’s remains in the body bag. “Tell Siobhan… tell her…”

“You’ve gone hunting,” Riva supplied after sealing the zipper and putting a paw on the male’s arm. “I liked Joel. He was a good person. Make sure that this doesn’t happen to another of our people.”

Kurt nodded silently and waited for the others to depart with Richard standing close, the silver fox scanning the snow covered ground. As soon as the others were out of sight, they split up to canvass the perimeter of the pond, the German calling for the other when he found substantial evidence of the event between two snow frosted hummocks along the edge of the water.

“It brought him from that direction,” Kurt pointed out. “It is no wonder we didn’t see it earlier. The ground is so irregular that even with the snow the drag marks are difficult to see.”

“He was still struggling,” the silver fox said as they examined the marks. “Not a lot, but he was still alive when whatever it was got her here.” Richard pointed at a clear impression in the snow. “Look here.”

Kurt knelt to examine the track more carefully. “These are long strides. Almost two meters… six feet from print to print.” His nose twitched as he sampled the air over the mark in the thin snow before his muzzle wrinkled in reaction. “It has a most unpleasant, pungent odor.”

Richard followed suit, his reaction similar. “Wow. That’s some powerful stink. I wonder if it rolls around in carrion?”

“There are many predators back on Earth that have strong scents to them. I am not of the mind that those here should be different.” The red fox continued to look at the print, examining the ground more closely before finding another print that seemed to be moving away from the site where the unknown animal had feasted on their fellow colonist. “The prints have not only pushed the snow down, but they have also pressed into the ground. I would put it at nearly one hundred fifty kilograms.”

“Three hundred and some odd pounds…I’d agree,” Richard said. “Especially considering the size of the prints.”

“These marks here, these are looking to be some very formidable claws.”

“I’m guessing it’s bipedal. If it went on all fours there would be one print right behind the other. Now I know it’s not something that’s been documented. These head off to the Vestibule, that small glen the Felis traced the river to at the foot of the mountains.” Richard narrowed his eyes as a small rip in the overcast sky passed over them, bathing both Vulps in white-orange sunlight before the scudding grey clouds closed up. “That would make sense. It’s only a few miles and has suitable caves for shelter and would be well within a hunting range for a large predator that moved into the area.”

Richard stood facing the direction the tracks led but was halted by Kurt’s hand on his arm. “I don’t like killing animals for no apparent reason. I don’t kill what I do not eat or use to feed the others. This creature, however, must be put down. It is a threat to all of us. That is something I cannot allow.”

The silver fox looked quizzically at his cohort. “I know, Kurt. I don’t like killing anymore than you do, but I’m not going to let something jeopardize the others either. Not when I’ve got kids on the way.”

Kurt nodded. “I… I know this. It’s just that I am…unmanned by the thought of something that threatens Siobhan.”

“We’ll make sure that you two have a long time to make little Kurt and Siobhanfuchs kinder,” Richard told his friend with a grin.

The smile was infectious and Kurt couldn’t help the return grin as he nodded and the two followed the tracks in the snow before the breeze filled them in anymore than it already had with the loose powder.

***

The remains of several tree imps and a juvenile rab-zelle along with more tracks indicated that the two Vulps were indeed on the right path when they found a small area that was completely trampled outside of a cave that was partially sheltered by a fallen tree. Strange droppings and piles of scat were further evidence the two anthrofoxes were correct in assuming they’d found the predator’s den.

“We only have about an hour of light left,” Kurt whispered, his breath fogging before it was carried away on the turgid, cold air. “I do not think it would be advisable to go in there.”

“You aren’t kidding,” Richard agreed. “Personally I’d give a lot for a grenade or five right now. Or a white phosphorous. Willy-Pete would definitely be my choice for this. It’s too much like a horror movie.”

“Should we set a snare or try to lure it out?”

Richard shrugged, looking intently at the dark opening. “I’d rather get a look at this thing, first. We really don’t know what we’re dealing with. I think it might be bes-”

Before the silver fox could finish his statement a rain of snow and tree debris in the form of the normally fuzzy looking bark that had dried to a desiccated crust fell upon the foxes. Jerking their heads up, both Vulps felt a thrill of fear run through them as they spied the animal they’d been tracking, simultaneously intrigued and repulsed.

The creature let out a trilling screech from its open maw, a high pitched sound not unlike a discordant whistle; its throat bobbed up and down rapidly with the noise before it leapt from its perch on the side of the tree that had concealed it, taloned toes digging deep into the wood like a bird roosting on a vertical rod. The animal spun in mid air, landing on its rear legs, facing the pair of anthrofoxes, and balanced on its rear legs, reminding Richard of the depiction of velociraptors from a decades old movie about cloned dinosaurs that escaped their island captivity.

That, however, was where the similarities ended.

The feet followed the standard seeming configuration for most of the creatures on Bastien with two, large forward facing toes and two rear facing, though there was a substantial black, curving claw at the ends and a strange webbed membrane that filled the gaps between the pairs of digits. The chest was deep and narrow, giving the animal a look that bespoke volumes about its speed, and even through the matted, mottled grey and dirty white coat of coarse, shaggy fur it was easy to see the rippling of muscles as it shifted weight from one leg to another. A long, serpentine tail helped counterbalance the creature’s lowered stance, and the end had a wicked looking spade-shaped flaring of serrated bone.

The head bobbed up and down, side to side on an ‘S’ shaped neck, but the rest of the animal was the stuff of nightmares.

The arms had a pair of rudimentary manipulative organs, like extra jointed fingers. Where a third finger might have once been, the animal had evolved a long, sickle-like claw, making it look like some strange cross of dinosaur and praying mantis. If the animal had grabbed Joel using those, it was easy to see why the wound to the fox’s throat had been so odd.

It was the head and the completely alien features that caused fear to grip the two Furs, though. The long, tapering skull ended with three triangular teeth that fit perfectly into the notches formed by two similar ones on the lower jaw, each on glistening white and sharp, much like a sharks. Behind those, instead of more teeth were long, serrated ridges that seemed more like shears.

The long, wide ears resembled those of a bat, and homed in, swiveling left and right, on the two Vulps. It was the absence of anything remotely resembling eyes that was the strangest feature, where ocular organs should have been was a series of membranes that a strange clicking noise emanated from that neither would have heard while they had been fully human.

When Kurt swore in whispered German, the animal turned to face him, its mouth opening as a snake like tongue flicked the air in the platinum fox’s direction, though instead of a bifurcated end, it had three tentacle-like tendrils and was colored an unwholesome purple.

“It uses echolocation!” Richard hissed, his words drawing the creature’s attention to him.

“Was is das? Sound?”

“Yeah,” Richard grunted as he clicked the safety off his rifle. “Sound.”

The report of the round being discharged from the rifle caused the creature to shriek in sudden pain, its large ears folding back as it shook its head vigorously, its whole body recoiling at the sudden painful noise. At the same time, the sickle shaped claws snapped up as the beast raised its arms and the fur along its back stood on end with a series of short spines as it adopted a clear threat posture.

Kurt had nearly screamed with the tension that filled him and then the sharp crack of the other fox’s rifle, but he had enough of his wits to realize that Richard had been right. Putting his whistle in his teeth and blowing with all of the breath he could muster, the platinum fox shouldered his rifle and took aim. As his second lungful of air blasted through the simple noisemaker his finger tightened on the trigger.

So enraged and frightened was the animal at the strange, painful noise that it seemed oblivious of the bullet that slammed into its chest, blood that that was black and thick looking spurting from the wound. It made as if it were going to lunge forward, unsure which of the two strange beasts it wanted to attack first, the sickle-claws raking the air in agitated, ineffectual swipes as its head whipped left and right.

Richard followed Kurt’s lead, his own whistle in his mouth, blowing every time he let the breath out of his lungs in short, shrill chirps. His own shot was a little to the left of what the silver fox automatically thought of as the keel bone of the animal’s deep chest, that wound also dripping the almost ichor that the creature used for blood. When the dark fluid began to foam, Richard knew that it he’d hit a lung, though it was Kurt’s next round that put the animal down, the seven millimeter round either striking the heart, or close enough so that hydrostatic shock of the bullet caused enough internal trauma as it passed from air into solid matter.

Both watched intently as the animal sagged, Kurt’s whistle falling from his mouth to dangle on the lanyard around his neck as he started to lower his rifle. Perhaps it was never taking for granted that an animal was down until the last shudder ran through it, or the enhanced reflexes of his hybrid body, but Kurt was able to raise his rifle across his body to catch the sickle shaped claws as the animal lunged forward bringing both of its natural weapons down in a lightning fast attack. The platinum fox was able to catch both, one on the heavy alloy barrel of the rifle, the other on the carbon composite stock as he was driven to the snow covered ground.

“RICHARD!”

The silver fox felt a moment of horror flood him as he wondered how he would tell Siobhan that he’d gotten her mate killed before years of instinct and training snapped a lid over his emotions, allowing him to slip into the mental place that had become all too familiar during his time in the Marines. Not even considering the danger to himself, the Fur leapt into action, his weapon leading the way and almost placed the muzzle of the rifle barrel in the oversized ear the strange creature had before pulling the trigger.

That last shot did what the ones to the chest hadn’t, separating the brain from the rest of the body, though the convulsions were bad enough as the predator that was unlike anything either anthrofox had seen before went through a series of death spasms for several long seconds.

It wasn’t until the beast fell over, the twitching and jerky flailing of its limbs and the final deflation of its chest that the silver fox moved to help his friend up. Once Kurt was on his feet, both panting heavily that Richard felt the strength of his body leave him. He sat down hard, barely registering the platinum fox’s startled exclamation, only aware that something was wrong when the German began to shred his own top, wadding up some of the cloth and pressing it to the silver fox’s side.

“The tail,” Kurt muttered. “I saw it hit your side.”

Richard looked down, his eyes widening as he saw the amount of damage, astounded that he hadn’t felt anything. “This isn’t good.”

Kurt worked furiously to tie strips of more cloth around the other male’s body to hold the impromptu bandage against the injury. “I need to get you back to the colony. I cannot treat this well enough.”

“Radio Abeona,” Richard said as he recognized his lassitude for shock and shook his head to clear it. “If I travel it will make the bleeding worse. Call for a wagon. You’ll have to meet them to guide them here. It’ll be dark soon.”

“I cannot leave you!” the platinum fox snarled. “It is cold and getting colder. It can kill you!”

Richard again shook his head. “It’ll help for the time being. I can’t run, and I really don’t think I can walk.” He placed his paw-like hand on the other’s arm. “Believe me, I don’t want to die, either.” He saw the indecision and chagrin in Kurt’s eyes. “It’s okay. I’ve had worse, and I’m a lot tougher now. Help me make a little fire then go. I’ll keep the rifle, I’ve got my pistol and a flare gun. I’ll be good for a couple of hours.”

Kurt did what was asked, pausing only to relay a quick message back to the operations dome, thankful that none of the silver fox’s vixens were on duty at the radio before checking on his friend one last time. He knew that Richard was correct in that he’d have to lead the rescue party to where Richard was, but it still tore at his sense of duty as he dropped to all fours and ran as fast as he could in the direction of the colony.

***

Richard did everything he could to stay awake and lucid, but the loss of blood was substantial and he lost that battle after less than half an hour. He doubted anything would approach the den of the animal that he and Kurt had dispatched, but scavengers were both bold and timid, constant opportunists that would be observant for any chance at a quick, easy meal, something he didn’t relish in the slightest.

As his thinking became more muddled, less clear and a little disconnected, the silver fox really didn’t think too much of it as he was treated to visions that were wholly outlandish or a parade of human faces of people that he’d once knew that had worn the same uniform as he had in a time way-back-when. In fact, Richard didn’t think this strange at all until he watched a figure materialize out of the gloom around the little grotto he and Kurt had found the creature. Even Joel only paused a moment before shaking his head with a small smile, swallowing hard as Sofiya’s father, Nikoli, came and sat down next to him.

“That is being a very bad wound, Richard,” the man said. The ghost made a show of holding his hands out to the fitful little fire the Fur had and smiled ruefully. “Ah. I have always been liking a good fire, but I am thinking that this isn’t really enough to keep you properly warmed.”

Richard blinked at the man, not trusting himself to speak, his heart fluttering in his chest.

“I am thinking that it was a very foolish thing, just two of you trying to face the unknown. Very foolish indeed, Richard. How are you to take care of my daughter and the children if you are dead?”

“I… I couldn’t risk… anyone else,” the fox stammered in his defense. “Too dangerous.”

Nikoli gave the Fur a withering look. “No. It is because you feel you have to be,” he smiled in amusement, “superman. Trust those that are with you. They are being very capable. If you would let them, that is.”

Richard wanted to reply, but Nikoli’s face began to change, almost like a sped up film of the process that he and the other Vulps had gone through at the different Furmankind Institutes.

“You need to pay attention,” the constantly shifting features of Nikoli said firmly.

“I…I’m trying…”

“Not hard enough. Richard! Look at me!”

Nikoli finished the shift from human, but he had taken on the features of Riva, becoming a bat eared fox who regarded him with intense, citrine eyes.

“Come on, Richard! Stay with me!” the vixen yelled, tapping his muzzle sharply with two fingers.

“Riva?” the silver fox asked, his eyes rolling behind lids that felt so heavy. “Where’s Nikoli?”

The Israeli vixen swore as she shined a light into the male’s eyes. “Hurry up with that IV feed, Valerie.”

Richard was only vaguely aware of the slight sting as a large needle was pushed into his arm and tried to look at the others that had materialized around him, most of them holding up rechargeable lanterns.

“Alright, we’ll give this a few more minutes to bring his blood pressure back up, and then we’ll get him in the wagon.” Riva directed the others, her orders crisp and clear as to what she wanted what seemed like half of the colony personnel to do, and made no exceptions. Once she felt that the silver fox was stabilized enough for travel, the group got the Fur into one of the wagons that had been brought, wrapping him in blankets and chemical warming packs before starting the trek back to Abeona, the second crew that had come gathering the animal that the two foxes had killed.

“Where did Nikoli go?” Richard asked again as his eyes opened once more just before they rescue party came into view of the lit domes.

“We don’t have a ‘Nikoli’ in the group, Richard,” Riva informed him as she checked the IV flow that carried plasma into the wounded silver fox.

“But Sofiya’s dad was there. I was talking to him…”

The bat eared vixen shook her head as Richard slipped into unconsciousness once more, this being far from the first time she’d had a patient that had become delusional from injury and blood loss. She was simply thankful that there weren’t a dozen more patients lined up for her to treat after tending to Richard. “Okay. Let’s get him into the dome,” she ordered as they stopped next to the colony’s infirmary.

CHAPTER 35

"Fire and Ice"

Richard required several moments of blinking before he recognized the faces around him when he awoke, smiling as Sofiya, Elena and Amanda leaned in closer, relief evident despite the damp fur all of them sported under their eyes. When all three found some way to touch him, to reaffirm that the silver fox was still within the realm of the living, Richard also found himself experiencing a wave of deep emotion.

“You were having us worried,miy liublyy,” Sofiya told the male fox softly.

“How…how bad…was it?” the silver fox asked, far too sore to even try sitting up. His tongue felt thick and had a sweet, plastic taste on it, recalling the way anesthetics let a peculiar flavor from when he had to have his appendix removed when he was seventeen.

“Bad enough,” Mandy said, fresh tears welling in her eyes. “It took Riva and Etienne nine hours to get your innards back inside you all proper like.” She rubbed at her face. “You’ve been out for about two days.”

“Huh. No wonder I feel this bad.”

“And you were losing much blood,” Elena added. “You needed much plasma.”

With a sigh the silver fox slipped back into a fitful doze, something that the vixens had been told would be the norm for the next few days. Getting up from her desk, Riva stepped over and peeked in at her patient. “This is normal. He’ll need a lot of rest after what he went through.” The bat eared fox looked at the other females in turn before looking at Sofiya directly with an apologetic look. “Richard’s out of immediate danger, but I want to keep him here for the next week. I’ll ping your PBJ’s when he wakes, but apart from that, I just don’t have enough room in here for everyone.”

The red fox nodded. “And we are still having duties and tasks to complete,” Sofiya said as she stood straighter, putting on a brave front for her skulk. “I am also waiting to be briefed by Kurt and Daniel and what they were discovering. Joel was taken too easily in my opinion. We need to be protecting the colony if there are more of those…things.”

“Too right!” Amanda agreed with quiet emphasis, her eyes a little wide. “I don’t want whatever it was near here ever again!”

“Schnee drache,” Riva supplied. “It’s German for ‘snow dragon’.”

“A very fitting name for the creature,” Elena added with a shiver that had nothing to do with the cold air outside the medical dome.

“Da. It is being a very fitting name,” Sofiya agreed. “Let us go so that Richard can be getting better. We will be seeing him tonight when we are bringing him his supper.” With that the red fox ushered the other to females out as Riva again looked over her patient and monitored the amount of saline solution fortified with different minerals and vitamins that flowed into the silver fox in her care.

***

Kurt sat across from his colony leader with a cup of tea in his paw-like hands, letting the warmth seep into his padded fingers and palms. “Thirty feet from the nearest dome. That’s where thedrache took Joel. Almost to the door of his own shelter. That it did so without detection is disturbing.”

“We’ve learned a lot from examining the animal, though,” Daniel added. “Enough to set up deterrents if there are more in the area.”

The former biologist looked thoughtful prompting Sofiya to push him into telling her more. “There is being something else. I am not caring if you have suppositions, Daniel. I want to hear what you are thinking.”

“Well,” the swift fox said as he leaned forward on his camp chair, “there is nothing, physically speaking, that indicates this is the creature’s normal range. It’s simply not built for our area. The animal is, for want of a better term,designed for snow and mountains. The thing evolved for coping with the cold and a lot more rugged terrain. It’s like finding a polar bear in San Francisco.”

Sofiya listened intently, letting the two that were far more knowledgeable about animals hash out their ideas.

“Then why was it here?” Kurt asked. “If it is like a polar bear, this should still be too warm for it, even though we have snow on the ground.

“Something must have pushed it into our area,” Daniel replied with a shrug. “Some kind of event or a change in where its normal habitat is, perhaps. Or even a shift in the patterns of its normal prey like migration or depleted numbers. It could be almost anything.”

Before any of them could add to the conversation a rumble that seemed to emanate from beneath the dome shook all three anthrofoxes, their fur standing up along their spines a moment before the temblor struck.

“Was that being an earthquake?” Sofiya asked in alarm, her fingers gripping the arms of her chair tightly.

“It was,” Daniel said, looking around as his ears swiveled of their own accord as if searching for a noise. “I lived in California long enough to know exactly what those feel like!”

Shouting from outside the dome drew the attention of Sofiya and she as out the door before the two males could react. Outside most of the other colonists were looking and pointing to the north, the partly cloudy skies enabling them all to see the huge plume that originated well over the horizon.

“A volcano,” Toshiro said without looking to see who it was that joined him. “It must have been a most impressive eruption! That plume must be almost eighty, possibly one hundred miles away.”

“And we would be feeling it so far south?” Sofiya asked, awed by the kind of power that something so far away would have to generate for them to feel it.”

“Most certainly,” the Japanese red fox informed the vixen. “We are not so far from a fault line that the shocks would go unnoticed. “We are tectonically stable, though, or that little ripple we felt would be much, much worse. That would explain why our livestock has been a little nervous today.”

“Would animals that were closer to the volcano be sensing it sooner?” the blond vixen inquired.

Toshiro held his paw-like hands palm up. “Possibly. I know that there are many instances where animals can sense certain events well before they happen. Particularly if there is activity prior to something like a volcanic eruption such as minor quakes or new formed geysers as the aquifer is heated quickly. I know of one geologist that believes the land begins to smell different in some instances, prompting many of the animals surrounding a potential eruption to flee. Perhaps he was right.”

“That would be something enough to drive theschnee drache into our area, especially if it was fleeing something such as this,” Kurt said as he shaded his eyes and stared at the ash cloud, flashes of lightning visible even at this distance.

Sofiya chewed at one claw as her thoughts raced furiously in her head, unaware of Toshiro’s question until he touched her shoulder. “Da?” she asked, her eyebrows rising.

“I was wondering if I could put together a team to investigate?” the Asian red fox asked with a hopeful expression.

“Absolutely not,” the vixen replied firmly. “If this is what the dragon was fleeing, there are possibly being more things that we are not being ready to face. I am to be suspending all surveys outside of the immediate area,” Sofiya continued, ignoring the look of disappointment on Toshiro’s face or the way his tail drooped. “In point of fact, I am going to be re-purposing all survey team members to scouting the immediate area for potential danger.”

“What kind of danger?” Kurt asked after swallowing hard.

The Asian fox spoke when the vixen gestured to him. “In Japan, our biggest fear with any eruptions or earthquakes, apart from immediate damage to buildings and such, were tsunami…what many call tidal waves. It is like throwing a pebble into a pond, but the ripples are tens, sometimes hundreds, of feet tall instead of a fraction of an inch and we are close to the sea. That and many volcanoes on Earth are part of a chain of such geologic phenomena. If one explodes, it may set off others, and judging by the orbital survey maps, we are at the lower most point of a mountain chain that has three dormant volcanoes.”

“Well, so much for me sleeping tonight,” Daniel said with a sick tone to his voice.

Kurt shook his head. “I still don’t understand.”

“It means we may be having to move the colony,” Sofiya told the others as she turned back to the growing plume. “Previously undiscovered animals are only part of the danger this may pose,” she said and pointed at the roiling cloud of ash and smoke.

***

When Richard next opened his eyes he was a little surprised to find Matthew Sykes in the chair next to the medical bed, a somewhat despondent look in the red fox male’s sunshine yellow eyes. “Matthew,” the silver fox husked, letting the other pour a cup of water from a pitcher that was close, but in Richard’s condition still a little too far for him to reach comfortably. “Is something wrong?”

The other Adirondack Fur shook his head and gave a weak smile. “Nah. Not really. Just don’t like seein’ the guy that’s turned out to be about the best friend I’ve ever had being all bunged up is all.”

The response wasn’t what Richard had been expecting and gave the other fox a curious look, knowing that it would probably be best to let Matthew speak his piece than to interrupt his line of thought.

“You know, I was a little sore when I first got to the Institute and all. I didn’t really let it show, but I was an angry fella back then. Didn’t have a lot of choice about signing up really. My business was falling apart with the sudden drop in new housing when the economy tanked a couple of years back, girl I thought I was gonna marry was sleepin’ ‘round on me. Then the bank started to hassle me ‘bout the mortgage and the loan on most of my equipment... There wasn’t a whole lot of choices for me and I signed up with and signed a portion of my bonus off to my creditors. I guess the way I was actin’ towards y’all was wrong. I felt like a failure and was takin’ it out on you an’ the girls.”

Matthew smiled ruefully.

“I ‘spose I should thank you an’ Tipper an’ Charity for not thumpin’ on me for bein’ a jerk. I’d have deserved it, though. You guys were patient an’ I guess I saw with the way you were treatin’ everything that it wasn’t as bad as I was makin’ everything to seem. Now I gotta job, a couple of great ladies that love me and I love right back. We gotta whole world to make a better life like you an’ Sofiya are always goin’ on about…”

Richard only looked at the other fox, still maintaining his silence as he let the other Fur get whatever was on his mind out in the open.

“I guess…I guess I just wanna say thanks. Thanks for puttin’ up with my crap and still bein’ a friend to me. I ‘spose I realized just how much a friend you’ve been when you came in all tore up and I haven’t been able to get a lot a sleep ‘cause of that.”

When the red fox’s face began to contort with the emotions that were welling in him that Matthew couldn’t give voice to having been raised that men were only supposed to act a certain way and never to show anything but the baser emotions, Richard sat up, wincing at the pull to the wound on his side to place a paw-like hand on the other male’s shoulder.

“Of course you’re a friend,” the silver fox said. “And you’ve proven that. You’ve also proven that you are desperately needed here, Matthew.” He gave his former housemate a mischievous grin. “Besides, I got kids on the way. I need their Uncle Matt to show them how to swing a hammer, right? Not to mention those all those future fishing trips.” Richard’s smile helped lift the somber look in the other fox’s eyes. “And I’m happy to be your friend. I wasn’t in the best place either, but I think we’ve both found our pla-”

The temblor caused things in the medical dome to shake, small plastic and glass vials clicking and tinkling together as the entire dome vibrated.

“What was that?” Matthew whispered worriedly while his ears tried to press harder against his skull.

“Earthquake. Not bad, but I bet some of the others are a little freaked.” Richard tried to swing his digitigrade legs over the side before the other fox pushed him with gentle insistence back onto the bed.

“Uh-uh. I let you up an’ you pull them stitches out an’ Sofiya’ll skin me alive! You stay here an’ I’ll find out what happened and come back to tell you,” Matthew informed the other Fur.

“That’s a good idea,” Riva commented from the doorway. “You get up before I tell you to and you’ll find yourself strapped down, mister,” the bat eared vixen said as she leveled a finger at Richard. Once assured that her patient knew she was serious the former Israeli looked at the red fox. “On your way to find out what’s going on, send Kizu to me and any of the other medically trained Furs. I have a feeling life just got a little more interesting.”

***

It was the Furs from Japan that had the most experience in dealing with volcanic activity and imparted what basic survival information they could to the rest of the colony. Most of the quick lessons were delivered by Toshiro, the Asian red fox having gotten into geology due to watching Mount Shinmoedake in the Kirishima range from the middle of the Miyazaki prefecture as a child and finding himself in awe of the power he witnessed. Toshiro explained the different dangers that weren’t as obvious as being close to magma spews or scalding hot landslides and that the two greatest dangers were gasses and ash.

“There are very exotic mineral and chemical compounds beneath the ground,” the red fox told the assembled Furs. “Gas is the most dangerous as it is invisible, normally odorless, and very deadly. You can be in danger before you know, that is why it is best to avoid low places where the wind is unable to reach.

“Ash is capable of blocking waterways, contaminating the soil and the things that use filters may be damaged by the very fine particulate matter that follows some eruptions. One task that all of us will have is to watch the direction of the winds so that we may be properly prepared if the cloud begins to travel in this direction.”

“Are we really going to move the colony?” Emanuella Diaz asked, the kit fox vixen huddling under Hector de la Vega’s arm, the colony’s second in command doing his best to reassure his partner.

“It is a possibility,” Sofiya said as she stepped up to where Toshiro stood in the middle of the commons to address the entire Abeona group. “If there is sufficient danger we will be relocating.”

“What of the satellite? How will we keep in contact with Earth?” Myao Shin asked where he sat with Suki Oniwa, an Asian red fox vixen that had taken a liking to the young student turned cook.

“There is limited maneuvering capabilities that all colony satellites have for just such emergency scenarios,” Sofiya told the group. “Our communications equipment has a beacon that the satellite will follow, adjusting of its orbit as we move, though we can only change our location by a few hundred miles. If we move too far, it will put the satellite in a position where we may still be in communication with it, but it will not be capable of contacting the Earth. That will still be giving us plenty of flexibility to be relocating if we find ourselves threatened.

“We have already sent a message saying as much to Stockholm and should be hearing back from them in a day or so. As this is being so serious, I would like for the survey teams to coordinate a search for a new colony site to the southeast. Remember that we will be having to transport everything in the wagons with several loads and return trips, but only if there is no other recourse but evacuation.”

Sofiya looked at each of the Furs under her command and stood straighter, trying to be a source of confidence for the other Vulps, though in her heart she wished that her Richard could be at her side.

“These are precautions, and while we did not train for an event of this nature, all of us are more than capable of doing what we must. In point of fact, I do not think that there has been a colony group that has better prepared than we are being. I am hoping that all of this will simply be an interesting spectacle to our first year on Bastien. But if that doesn’t turn out to be the situation, we must be prepared for the worst scenario.”

Hector stood, Emanuella standing with him, the look on the South American grey fox’s face also confident. “We can do this, Sofiya. You and Richard have seen to it that we have had the best possible preparation. We can do this!”

The unofficial motto for the Abeona re-seed colony was repeated by all the Furs, the enthusiastic raucous even causing the children Jean Claude and Abriella to try and mimic their various aunts and uncles.

***

“You know how much I am hating this,” Sofiya said as Richard waited for the rest of the medical equipment that could fit in the wagon he rode in was loaded around him.

“About as much as I hate not being able to help you and be with you,” the silver fox replied glumly.

The blond vixen was already fighting back the tears that threatened to spill at having to send her mate away, also filled with the frustration that in moving the colony it was like she’d ailed in her capacity as leader. “Please do not be angry with me,” Sofiya said softly, moving closer as her paw-like hands sought his, Richard wrapping his fingers with hers automatically. “I feel enough of a failure and can’t bear the thought of you being upset.”

The silver ox dashed that line of thinking away when he pulled the vixen to him or a kiss and nuzzle. “I don’t think I could ever be angry with you. If anything I’m ticked about not being able to help or be there for you. None of us asked for that mountain to pop its top or the winds to change. We just have to make do. You aren’t a failure, Lover. This shows me that you’re the right choice for being leader because you’re putting everyone’s safety first.” He gave his vixen a rueful smile. “Even mine.”

“Kohkanyy, I need to know you are being safe,” she whispered tremulously. “I cannot be doing what I need to if I am worried. I know that I am needing to be strong for the others, but I just want all of this over so you can hold me and tell me that it will all be fine.”

Richard didn’t hesitate in pulling his mate closer, feeling the shuddering breath that she let out at the strength he gave, the feel of his warmth. “You are strong. Don’t ever doubt that. Not for a moment. You have gotten us this far, and you will get everyone through the move. Just remember I’ll be at the new site with our home waiting for you and arms to hold you tight with.”

When Sofiya kissed the other fox again there was an almost desperate passion and need to the moment that was broken when she pulled away. “You are making me a little crazy, now,” she told him, smiling at the way he made her not care at the show of affection in front of the others. “And now you and the other must be going. We will be following in a week with the last of the colony materials.”

Richard only nodded, looking at Kurt and Siobhan along with Matthew. “You guys keep her safe for me,” he said, his words sounding thick and full of emotion to his own ears.

“Do not worry. Sofiya is like my sister, and I will not let harm come to her,” the German red fox said with the most serious expression he’ ever worn.

Matthew nodded. “That’s right. Just make sure there’s something hot waiting for us and we’ll be seeing you in five or six days.”

There was no more time for the silver fox to say anything as the wagon gave a lurch, Kizu and Riva riding up front with the bat eared vixen driving the team of horses that pulled the rig. Richard waved jauntily, smiling as Sofiya stood separate from the others, a proud tilt to her chin to show that she was going to be strong for the one that loved her.

Watching until the wagon dipped below the first hill, Sofiya didn’t take her gaze from her lover for a moment, as if she were saving every possible detail she could. With a breath and firming if her internal resolve, she finally turned to the others. “Let us go ahead and be getting the tents set before we begin the final dismantling of the remaining domes.” The vixen cast a critical eye at the approaching cloud of volcanic ash that had shifted and seemed to spread out over a greater area as she watched it. “If it is going to be taking too long we will abandon the materials we cannot be loading in the next three days and return for them later."

The rest of the remaining Furs dispersed to do as instructed save Siobhan. The Irish vixen put her arm around her friend and graced Sofiya with one of her trademark smiles that had males of other Wings back in Stockholm swooning. “This is just a minor setback. We’ll be up to par in a matter of days, don’t you know?”

Sofiya nodded silently, a pang of guilt running through her. “Are you thinking that I should have told Richard that I am being pregnant?”

Siobhan thought about it, her mouth forming a strange moue with its vulpine configuration. “No. I don’t. He’ll be worried enough as it is, and you don’t need him hampering his recovery anymore than necessary. It just means you get to direct the rest of us and take it easy, right?” the other vixen asked brightly.

“Taking it easy is the last thing that I will be doing,miy tovarysh.” Sofiya replied with a slight smile as they turned to the work at hand.

CHAPTER 36

"Memory Crash"

Four days of travel had put the colonists almost seventy miles from their original settlement site. The ground was higher and almost twice the distance from the coastline, the survey team led by Hector having found a valley in the fork of the foothills that eventually grew into the range that had been born of the geologic activity that had also spawned the volcano that had forced the colonists’ evacuation. The primary benefit that Richard could see as the wagon rolled into the new setting that had been selected was that there was a meandering river with clear water that would make it easier for the colony to get that precious commodity, and there were dense woods that would provide plenty of game on the eastern side of the waterway.

The actual vale that had been chosen was mostly flat with thick grass that much of the already transplanted livestock was helping itself to, causing Richard to smile a little as Amanda rode next to the wagon he was in on her favorite mount. That the grass was dry and dusted with snow didn’t seem to bother the different herds of goats, cattle or horses that were roaming a large portion of the immense field that had already been fenced off. It wasn’t until Elena reined in her horse and gasped that the silver fox was pulled from his approving contemplation of where Hector and his team had decided to reset the colony site while a miserable Amanda curled against his side.

“What’s wrong?” Richard asked.

The golden colored platinum fox shook her head slowly as her eyes widened far enough for the whites to show. “Istynna Pravda! I…I have never seen such!”

Turning where he sat and trying not to grunt with the strain it put on his still healing wound, Richard craned his head to look at what his second mate regarded. The first thing that the silver fox thought Elena was referring to was the location itself. From the river there was a gentle slope that disappeared over a wooded rise before continuing to the mountains that looked dark purple in the distance.

It wasn’t until the animal moved that Richard’s eyes also went wide. “Wow…” he breathed, not sure what else to say as a large figure seemed to detach itself from the nearest copse of wood while Amanda held his arm in tense silence.

The animal reminded the silver fox of a primitive form of wild cattle that he’d seen in a museum once, though it was almost as big as an Indian elephant with a twisting horn on either side of its head that had to measure a solid twelve feet from tip to tip. The shaggy fur was coarse looking and while there were some mats that were visible, the dark black and reddish-purple strands reached all the way to the ground.

Richard felt Mandy stiffen against him as her fingers dug into his arm through the sleeve of his parka when the creature pulled a dead branch almost four inches thick from a tree and began to grind it between huge molars, their vulpine ears easily picking the sound out of the crisp air.

“We are calling it anaurodon,” Hector said with a grin as he nudged his own horse close to the wagon that Richard and Elena rode in. “Sort of a combination of the European aurochs and a mastodon. Impressive, is it not?”

“Are they being…nice?” Elena inquired softly.

“Completely. Emanuella thinks that there won’t be any problem at all in domesticating them. Two of them with two passes apiece could plow the same size field we had this past season for crops that took a week to prepare. These animals are even more passive than our own cattle.”

Richard nodded, already imagining how much easier turning the soil for crops in the spring would be with a team of aurodons to pull the plows. He then noticed work on the far side of the few domes that were already built with several more half way through their reconstruction. “Hector? What’s going on over there?”

“Ah. That,” the South American grey fox said with a pronounced lowering of his ears. “Rupert…Rupert wanted to make sure that the colony had plenty of protection. Joel was his friend, you see. He is taking your idea of the palisade from our simulation and using logs to build a wall. It might not stop something like the snow dragon, but it may slow it down enough to keep a predator from harming another one of us.”

Richard settled back into the wagon, the fingers of his right hand stroking Amanda’s arm through her parka. “You know, Rup’s been itching to actually build something. And even I can tell from here that he’s being meticulous as all get out. Do you think tha-”

Before the silver fox could say anything else Amanda let out a yelp, her eyes closing tightly as she curled herself into a tight ball, the arm that was around her mate moving to wrap around her belly.

“Riva! RIVA! I need help here!” Richard yelled as Amanda let out another scream of agony.

***

Just as it had been during the initial set up of the Abeona colony, the Great Dome, operations and medical structures were the first up, though the medical dome this time was far larger with the equipment from two colony modules to draw from. Despite the luxury of excess equipment and additional supplies, it was the training of the professionals that was taxed as Riva Valerie, and Suzette struggled with the premature birth of Amanda Sterling’s kits.

Richard had been sedated to keep him from causing himself more harm as he wasn’t nearly healed enough and his nearly manic behavior at the fennec’s condition threatened his well being. Still, the drugs that coursed through his veins couldn’t abate the fear and worry that filled the silver fox as Kizu Ananori kept the addled Fur from barging into the surgery theater.

Assisting the Asian red fox nurse were Elena, Hector, Rupert and Myao Shin, the young colony cook having found something between an older brother and the father he’d never had in the Adirondack Fur. It took all of the Vulps to hold Richard down when a weak, muffled scream reached them from the adjacent dome, the silver fox swearing at each of the others in turn with an almost maddened vehemence.

Then things went too quiet for far too long. When the framed plastic panel that formed the doorway between the two structures opened, all of the foxes looked up to see Riva step out.

“Mandy?” Richard asked desperately.

“She’s resting. This was very hard for her,” the bat eared vixen said softly. “We’re going to let her sleep for a while.”

“And the children?”

Riva looked at her friend for several long moments before shaking her head almost imperceptibly. “I’m sorry, Richard. It…it was too soon. Recent events, the trip here…things were just too much at once for her, I’m afraid.”

Groping without looking, the silver fox found Elena’s paw-like hand, not looking at the platinum vixen until she squeezed his fingers back in a show of empathetic solidarity, his bronze eyes finding her yellow-orange orbs as a steady stream of tears soaked the fur of her cheeks. She lowered her head, Elena’s expression pain filled and questioning, asking silently ‘why?’, to which Richard had no answer, and could only wrap his arms around her as she all but collapsed onto her mate, her body wracked by harsh sobs.

Without saying anything, Riva guided the other Furs away and began to move one of the other medical beds next to the one that Richard occupied. Once it was in place she placed a sympathetic paw on the silver fox’s shoulder. “As soon as she’s ready we’ll bring her out so she can be with you. Amanda will need her family with her.”

Richard nodded as tears of his own finally pushed past the drugs in him that were muddling his thoughts, unable to stem the grief that welled in his heart for the youngest of his vixens as the others drifted out of the dome, Rupert wordlessly heading to a spot to begin digging the graves for his friends’ children.

***

It was well after midnight when Amanda opened her eyes, blinking her dark brown eyes several times to try and abate the gritty feeling under her lids before she realized that she was nestled against Richard, her nose and long familiarity of sleeping next to him and his scent telling her she was in the safest place possible. As she saw the soft light reflected in his bronze colored eyes, the events of the day came flooding back and she felt the place inside her, physically and spiritually, that was now, so very empty.

“I…I’m sorry…” the fennec husked. “I lost us our babies.”

“What? No! It wasn’t your fault, Mandy!” the silver fox said as he pulled the much smaller vixen closer, Elena stirring and adding her own arms to the embrace. “Don’t you think that! Don’t you ever think or say that. It…it just happens, Honey. It just happens,” he said and nestled his head into her sandy blond hair, feeling her tuck against him as she curled up into almost a ball. “There was just too much going on and it was a little too stressful, that’s all.”

Amanda shivered in the warm hug from most of her family and hiccupped a small sob. “It’s just like before!” she hissed.

Elena lifted her head, her worried look meeting the one reflected in Richard’s eyes. “What is just like before?” the platinum vixen asked in a tremulous whisper.

“The children. When I was given the wrong medication to dispense. God’s punishing me for making all of them die.”

“You…you remember?” Richard inquired, his stomach knotting at the thought Amanda might remember the reasons for her memory wipe.

The fennec nodded. “S-some…some of it.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” the silver fox told the young desert fox with conviction strengthening his voice. “A nurse gave you the wrong medicine and you trusted her. She was arrested for that. Do you remember that part?”

“N-n-no…”

“I swear it’s true, Amanda. You weren’t to blame and the nurse tried to let you take the fall for her mistake. That…that’s why you asked for a memory wipe.” Richard pulled the vixen even more tightly into the circle of his body, cradling the fennec to him almost fiercely. “You weren’t guilty of anything! I swear it!”

“He is telling the truth,malen’kyy sestra. Dimitri told us of what happened. You are not being guilty of anything but trying to help others,” Elena said as she stroked the other vixen’s hair and ears.

It took almost an hour for both Furs to calm Amanda, that losing the kits wasn’t her fault. Riva heard the conversation from where she sat at her desk in a partitioned alcove and stood ready with a syringe of sedatives until she was reassured by Richard that they could handle this. After the worst of the emotional storm was over, the fennec looked up, her eyes raw and pain filled.

“No offense, but I wish Sofiya was here, too. I…I always feel better when all of us are together,” Mandy told the other two. “I love all of you so much…so much….”

“We love you, Amanda,” Richard replied, kissing the sandy colored vixen between the ears before brushing away the worst of her tears with his thumb pads. “You fill all of us with joy and happiness and we can’t do this without you.”

“Really?”

“Really. I have never lied to you, and I’m not going to start now.” The silver fox crossed his heart with a finger and raised his hand in a ‘scout’s honor’ pose. It was enough to elicit a weak smile from the traumatized Fur.

Amanda simply basked in the love that the other two tried to demonstrate, taking comfort from the touches and petting of her fur, her tail thumping the mattress of the bed a couple of times before she spoke again. “Richard,” she began in a whisper that was hardly louder than her breath. “I don’t want this to stop us from trying to have kids again. I want to be a better mother than mine was. Promise me this. Please?”

“You’ll be a great mommy,” the silver fox said with an affectionate hug. “We’ll try again as soon as you’re better.”

Even in the dim light it was impossible to miss the smile and look of gratitude the fennec gave her mates as she nestled deeper into the crook of the silver fox’s arm and closed her eyes, drifting into a fitful sleep she was also comforted by the presence of the other two Furs.

Richard received a slow, gentle nuzzle from Elena before she also snuggled against the male fox, reaching across his chest to touch the other vixen, mindful of her mate’s injury before also drifting off. The silver fox was only able to remain awake a few moments after that, the exhaustion compounded with his wounds and the lingering effects of the sedatives he’d been given ensuring that he followed his vixens shortly.

Once all three were asleep Riva returned to her desk, picking back up on the notes she’d been storing to her Personal Business Juxtapositioner. Despite the sad events of the day she couldn’t help but smile at the way the three vixens and the American Fur never let things tear them apart. If anything every trial and tribulation seemed to tie the four into an even tighter family group. It was with these thoughts that the bat eared fox smiled as her relief entered, passing off what had happened with Valerie Muir who would watch their patients until morning. Seeing the way Richard and the other two ladies acted towards each other made the Israeli Fur crave her own mate’s embrace something fierce.

As she made her way to the dome she and the Russian red fox shared that was close to the medical dome, she promised herself that Amanda Sterling would indeed get her wish of being a parent if Riva had anything to say about the matter.

***

Sofiya and her team arrived at the new colony setting five days after Amanda’s loss, the group looking tired with their parkas heavily smudged by ash, piles of the fine substance still caked into the nooks and crannies of the last of the equipment they brought in on their four wagons. Kurt and Siobhan looking on with idle curiosity as a slightly tired looking Elena pulled her friend off to the side and spoke with her at length. Even Matthew and the others of the team couldn’t help but look over when Sofiya let out a loud sob, her paw going to her mouth as her ears and tail fell before bolting to the dome that the platinum vixen pointed out.

“What’s going on?” Matthew asked in concern as he led his horse to where the others stood, all of them watching as their colony leader dashed off.

“Mandy lost her wee ones,” Rupert told the group as he took a break from leading a work crew on the palisade. “To hear of it, we near lost her, too. It’s been a little glum here to say the least.”

“Mein Gott, nein!” Kurt exclaimed with a sad look. “The poormachen.”

Rupert nodded in agreement. “It’s been difficult. Apparently the loss caused something in Amanda’s memory wipe to come undone. I didn’t think something like that was possible, but Etienne said that a traumatic enough event can undo some of what was done with a wipe, especially if one of the events was particularly bad. Seems that losing her kits made her remember what happened at that hospital she worked at, though not a lot else. Still sad as hell, though.”

“How are Richard and the other girls taking it?” Matthew inquired, concern evident in his posture and voice.

“They’re coping one day at a time. Now that Sofiy’s back it will lift some of the worry from the others. Poor Elena’s been running herself ragged trying to take care of the others, but I think it’s because she’s trying to distract herself from all that’s happened.” Rupert shook his head. “I don’t think that she’s been taking it well either and keeping herself busy so as not to think…orfeel too much.” He let out a breath explosively before calling to a couple of the other Furs and gestured to the horses. “I’m going to get them over for something hot to drink. Can you take care of their mounts?”

Emanuella and Conchita nodded as they took the reins of the horses, motioning Myao Shin, Lu Chin Yao and Victor over to help. “We’ll park the wagons by the corral so you all can figure out what to do with the dome supplies and get the animals brushed and turned out,” Emanuella said, giving the others a subdued smile. “Welcome to Abeona Part Two.”

As the rest of the team was being taken care of, Sofiya all but burst into the dome that had been built for her and her family, nausea roiling in her belly at the news that Elena had delivered. Her eyes fell upon Richard lounging on the pallet they all shared while Amanda took care of redressing the bandage on the silver fox’s side. Both looked up at the blond vixen’s entrance and the couple of steps she covered before kneeling next to Amanda.

“Oh,kohkanyy,” Sofiya whispered before pulling the fennec into a fierce embrace. “I am so very sorry!”

As Richard looked on, it seemed that Mandy had kept a little of her grief within that could only be alleviated by Sofiya, and the fennec vixen wilted within the arms of the red fox, the grief that had resolutely held on bleeding away as Elena also came and joined the family group.

“Shhh,” Sofiya whispered as she held Amanda with one arm, her other paw-like hand stroking the fennec’s hair. “There will come a day when you will be a mamma, and a very good one.”

“You don’t blame me?” Amanda asked in a small voice.

“Of course not! This has been a very crazy time for all of us. This is not anyone’s fault. Not yours, not Richard’s. No one’s. But there will one day be children for all of us to be loving.”

The fennec wiped at her eyes. “Do you really think so?”

Sofiya nodded. “I do. As soon as you are feeling better and are able, there is no reason that you cannot try to be having more babies. I know that you will be making very beautiful children.”

The worry that had gnawed at Amanda had been the possibility of Sofiya rebuking her, but the contact and reassuring, gentle words had allayed those fears. It wasn’t until the fennec had had sufficient hug time that she pulled back and noticed the state that the red fox vixen was in. “It looks like you had a rough trip. You could use a bath!” Mandy declared in a far lighter mood.

“The cloud of ash was almost catching us. I was afraid we were having to leave some of the materials, but we succeeded in loading the wagons just in time,” Sofiya told the others as Elena finished making tea for the other foxes and began doling out cups. “It was very frightening.”

“Well, it just so happens that I was getting ready to give Richard his bath,” the fennec said winsomely. “And I like putting my hands all over you as much as I do him…”

Sofiya feigned a shocked expression having become used to the Scottish Fur’s equal opportunity affections, though nothing that could have been considered truly terrible. “You are a naughty vixen,” she admonished, though the smile indicated it was simply one of the ways to two females teased each other.

Amanda lowered her head demurely, though the wicked grin she sported and the all too enthusiastic manner that she reached for the overly large zipper to the red fox’s parka said otherwise, one of her favorite pastimes being to lay completely unclothed, save the fur each sported, saying it felt more natural and right.

As Elena joined in on the fun, Richard couldn’t help the smile as he thought that perhaps everything would turn out alright after all.

CHAPTER 37

"New and Improved"

Relocation of the colony saw several improvements to the general layout of the settlement and Sofiya was more than proud of her people as she saw everyone taking the forced move in stride. The plume from the volcano was still visible on the northern horizon, but the danger it posed had been negated by the move. With the reassertion of normalcy for the group she felt less of a failure. Logically the blond vixen knew that there was no way that she could be held responsible or having to move the settlement, but coupled with the loss of Joel Eckard and then Amanda’s miscarriage, events had caused her to doubt her abilities to lead. On top of that were the injuries that Richard had suffered as he and Kurt Reichmann hunted down the animal that had killed the other Adirondack Fur.

Her mate was on the mend, the fennec that formed a quarter of her family was on the rebound, Amanda’s grief having mostly run its course and her spirits were again on the rise, though much of that was due to Mandy’s age and relative innocence. So caught up in her ruminations, Sofiya was unaware that her first officer had entered the operations dome until he called her name a third time.

“I am sorry, Hector,” the vixen said with a tired shake of her head and wave of her paw. “What were you saying?”

The South American grey fox looked at his friend with concern. “Are you alright, Sofiya?”

The red fox nodded. “There has just been much happening of late. Too much, perhaps.”

“Sofiya, these things that have happened, no one could have prevented them. We have had very little difficulty until just recently. We have been very fortunate, senorita. That so many trials happened at once would test anybody’s strength. I shudder to think what might have happened had it not been for you to guide the others.” He took one of her short fingered paws with both of his in a reassuring gesture. “We knew that when we came here that it could be much worse. Much, much worse. You have done a great deal, senorita, and have kept your promise to see to everyone’s safety and success. There is no reason for you to doubt yourself.”

Sofiya smiled gratefully. “Thank you, Hector. It is kind of you to say such. But…still, there is something in me that thinks I could have prevented some of these tragedies.” She let out a breath, her ears and tail drooping with the expulsion of air. “And we still have four more years to go.”

The grey fox pulled the Ukrainian Fur to her feet. “Come with me.”

“Where are we to be going?”

“Just come with me,” Hector said without releasing her paw. All but physically hauling the red fox outside, he gestured to the colony around them. “Look. I mean truly look. We have reestablished ourselves, we have moved almost one hundred miles and are again functioning, exploring, learning about this world. No one is sick, our stores are still full with much of that being what we brought along, we have permanent structures being made, and we even have stone and paving so that we do not track muddy feet into our domes! Sofiya, what more can we ask for?”

Looking around, the red fox vixen had to admit that Hector was correct. The deposit of something that was similar to an extremely frangible limestone had been found by Rupert Campbell and he’d begun using the crushed rock to build paths throughout the colony with the chippings from producing the makings of blocks and mortar for the actual buildings he’d gotten permission to construct. Other Furs had jumped in on the project with unrestrained zeal, also wanting something besides their geodesic structures to live in, Matthew Sykes being one of the most enthusiastic and going so far as to make tools to help before Ruiz joined in.

Seeing the progress did indeed lift Sofiya’s mood, and she had to admit that the wall that now surrounded the colony made her feel a little more secure. It also helped that the local herd of aurodons, who were placid enough with the colonists, didn’t react kindly to a variety of predators and almost functioned like additional sentries.

“Sofiya, take a few days to be with your family. Relax a bit. You are doing yourself no good by worrying so much, and you certainly aren’t behaving properly for one in your condition,” Hector told her pointedly.

The vixen recoiled slightly. “What are you saying? One in my condition?”

The grey fox laughed deeply. “Sofiya, you are pregnant. I don’t know why you are trying to hide this, but it is rather futile. Even if you aren’t showing, it isn’t hard to tell,” he informed the other fox by tapping his nose while giving a sly wink. “Why do you think Richard, who still isn’t fully recovered, is adamant about doing everything he can for you? Or Elena and Amanda? They know as well.” Hector looked at the vixen pointedly. “I am curious as to why you haven’t told them, though.”

Sofiya sighed again, something that she’d been doing a lot of it seemed. “It was not seeming right, not with what Mandy has endured. It is almost like pouring the juice of lemons on a cut…”

“Have you thought that perhaps this would make her happy as well?”

The vixen shook her head. “I thought…perhaps it would be like showing a child a toy that they could not be having. I know that she was so looking forward to being a mother. It seemed…cruel.”

Hector gave the younger Fur a warm smile even as he turned her in the direction of the dome she lived with the others in. “No. It would be cruel not to impart this news. I must admit that I was a little curious as to how you sharing Richard would work, but in these past months I have watched all of you grow close, to develop bonds of genuine love for each other. Believe me when I say it is for that very reason that you should tell them. Do not hide things from each other. That is what has ruined more marriages than anything else I’ve ever seen when I was a lawyer.”

“Perhaps you are correct,” Sofiya said after a moment of contemplation. “I should be telling them. I know that Richard will be happy.”

“Tell us what?” the silver fox said as he and Elena stepped out of the medical dome next to operations and moved to the other two Vulps.

“Are the sutures out?” Sofiya asked as she stepped away from the South American grey fox and into the arms of the American and her oldest friend.

“Yep. Riva says that I’m healing up nicely but doesn’t want me to do anything strenuous for a while, though I’m being encouraged to do light exercise and duties. I think I’m looking forward to taking a real shower most of all.”

Elena snickered and pinched the silver fox’s tail base flirtatiously. “Are you not enjoying the baths that we have been giving you?” the golden furred vixen asked archly.

The insides of Richard’s ears flared a dark pink and he coughed with a surreptitious glance at Hector. “No…no. They’ve been fine. Really. I just really want to sit under some hot water for a bit, you know? Work some of the kinks out.”

“If you feel up to it, why don’t you go visit the springs that Toshiro and his team found?” Hector offered with a mischievous grin. “I think that you would have all of the hot water you could stand there.”

“Which is sounding like a very good idea,” Sofiya told the others decisively. “Hector has ordered me to take some time to be relaxing, so perhaps a trip to the springs is certainly in order.”

Elena was thrilled and clapped her paw-like hands in girlish enthusiasm. “It is only an hour’s ride! I can fetch Amanda and we can be putting together a picnic!”

“That is a very good idea,” Sofiya agreed. “But pack more. I think we shall take a tent as well and be making a small trip of this. It has been too long since all of us were doing something like this,” the vixen declared, pointedly ignoring Richard’s attempts to suggest otherwise.

***

Conchita found her cousin looking over the daily reports at his desk in the operations dome and didn’t hesitate in giving the other grey fox a warm embrace. “I see you finally got Sofiya to take a break,” the vixen said in her and her cousin’s native Spanish. “She has been working too hard.”

Hector nodded as he finished writing in a notation with his claw tip and set the PBJ aside. “This is true. But then she is very worried about all of us. Too many things have happened. Speaking of which, has Charity started showing signs of getting better?”

Conchita took one of the camp chairs and shook her head slowly. “She and Joel were just starting off as a couple. His death has been very traumatic.”

The other grey fox looked at his cousin. “I thought they were together before coming here?”

“No. They were close friends, but not like I believe you are thinking. Then again, Joel was close friends to many of us vixens, but it wasn’t until this past summer that Joel thought of settling down.” She saw the slight frown on Hector’s face. “Do not think ill of him for being so. There are too many of us ladies, and it was only natural for Joel, and a few of the others I might add, to enjoy the disparity of numbers.”

“You as well?” Hector asked with a slight edge to his voice.

“No. I had enough of such before you convinced me to volunteer. Besides, it takes a little more than sweet words and a handsome face to attract me. You know this, cousin!” she added with a chuckle. “Not all can be as dedicated as our esteemed leader and her family. And I am very happy with Toshiro. He’s a very attentive person, caring and gentle.” The vixen sat on the edge of the table, her padded feet swinging idly as she looked at the floor without really seeing it. “I think it’s harder for Charity than it would be for one of us to deal with. Especially considering why she volunteered.”

Hector looked at his cousin in curiosity, though maintained his silence, letting her impart what she knew in her own time.

“I suppose that it’s not really a secret. Charity was an orphan. She never learned what it was to have a family…not really. Because of that she is very cautious as to who she lets into her heart. Bad boyfriends, a rough time finding a good job where she wasn’t taken advantage of. She felt that by volunteering she might find the things that she was missing. Not to mention that you and I know all too well there are many that would prey on a young woman. ”

Hector nodded and leaned back, his padded thumb and forefinger stroking his chin as if he still had his beard. “All too true, cousin mine.” He sighed and looked up into the vixen’s eyes, a wry look on his vulpine face. “I wonder at times if the Furmankind Project didn’t come about to save the people that were worth salvaging. Almost everyone that I have talked to has given similar reasons for volunteering.”

Conchita smiled at her cousin. “Perhaps. I know that I like Sofiya’s ideas of building a better world.” The vixen was silent for a moment before slipping from the table and putting her hands in the pockets of her robe-like top. “Will we really be able to stay here after our five years are done?”

“That’s how it has normally been done. I know sometimes Furs can volunteer to go to a new world if it’s close-by, but for the most part they stay on the original world they’ve been sent to. Even when a permanent colony is established there is much to learn. We have seen but a small part of this planet, after all. That and it will be up to us to help the other people that will eventually settle here.” Hector pushed himself up out of his chair and shook before motioning to the door. Like the rest of the Vulps he found the cooler weather to be somewhat invigorating and not all that uncomfortable. “Now, I don’t know about you, but my stomach is telling me that it’s lunch time, and the smells that have been wafting in from the kitchen are far too enticing to ignore any longer!”

“Then I say we find Emanuella and go see what is on the menu today,” Conchita replied as she took the other grey fox’s arm and headed to the Great Dome.

“What of Toshiro? Won’t he be joining us?”

The vixen chuckled. “He’s out examining the site where Rupert and the others are getting their stone. If you wish to keep him happy, give him a handful of rocks and a map!”

***

The tendrils of steam rising from the hot springs and the fire that Richard built sufficed to keep the four Furs warm as they dried out from a leisurely soak in the mineral rich water. The silver fox lay on his stomach with his chin resting on the fennec’s thighs as Sofiya ran a brush through the fur on his back while Elena was busy putting simple but elaborate looking braids in Mandy’s sandy blond hair. It didn’t escape the silver fox’s attention that all of them were touching in some way, all of them seeming to draw comfort from even casual contact of their skulk. Even Richard had to admit that he was more relaxed and comfortable when all of them were together, which led to a bit of self examination.

When he’d been human, particularly when he’d worn a uniform, he’d found contact with others less than comforting. If anything being in close proximity to others had caused feelings of unease. Even in the few amorous liaisons Richard had had were temporary things, a sating of needs and nothing more, his rendezvous carried out with all of the attachment of a business dealing, which was what no few exactly were. Becoming a Fur had changed more than his physical appearance it seemed.

Now he liked touching and being touched, to be with his coterie of ladies that all held a substantial bit of him, and socializing with his fellow Vulps. As he thought more about it he found that the changes had occurred as his body was sculpted and molded into its new form, the development of these new perspectives just as slow, which was why he hadn’t really noticed them until now. Richard couldn’t help but smile as he came to the conclusion that it was all for the best.

In retrospect, Richard Nathaniel Tavington hadn’t been a person he liked at all when he first stepped foot into the Adirondack Furmankind Institute. The man that he’d been knew anger better than anything else, just as likely to engage in a fist fight as others would casual conversation. It had seemed that with the loss of his humanity that he’d been able to let go of the knot of bile and avarice that his drinking bender had only fueled before volunteering. At one point he’d been a compassionate person, caring, always trying to do the right thing.

Perhaps his time in the Marines had changed that, or at least started the process. Then losing all he’d worked for upon settling in Alaska. Or maybe losing a place that he’d felt so comfortable in had simply been the catalyst that condensed all of the things that he’d seen and done into a sort of emotional abscess. Whatever happened, as he grew into the Fur that he was now, something in his psyche had shifted, drawing Richard closer to the person he’d once been and was far happier for it.

“What are you thinking about?” Amanda asked as she looked down at the silver fox where his head rested on her legs, the pad of her finger gently massaging the furrow between her mate’s eyes.

Richard snorted lightly with a short laugh. “Just some deep thoughts,” he commented, his relaxed state making it more of a mumble. At the three vixen’s prompting he told them of realizing that he really was a far happier individual, how he had been turning into exactly the kind of person that he’d never really liked and that in giving up being fully human had helped him rediscover the things that he thought were lost.

Touching Sofiya’s furred leg before rolling over, Richard looked into three pairs of eyes, his head still cradled on the fennec’s crossed thighs.

“I think…I think that if I hadn’t volunteered, something…well, I would probably have drunk myself to death. Or committed suicide. It wasn’t until just now that I discovered just what I’d lost and gotten back.”

“This is being your redemption as much as it is being mine,” Sofiya said softly, leaning forward where she still sat straddling the male’s legs before leaning down to nuzzle the silver fox.

“Yeah. It is,” he agreed in a slightly choked voice. Richard wasn’t aware of the tear that rolled from the corner of his eye until Elena brushed it away with the back of her finger. “It also helps that for the first time in my life Ifeel like I’m loved…”

“Too right you are!” Mandy whispered huskily. “But that’s how I feel, too.” The fennec smiled and closed her eyes as Elena placed a gentle kiss on her cheek, the other cupped by Sofiya while Richard nuzzled his face against the soft fur of her belly.

“I am thinking that love is something we certainly have much of,” the platinum fox told the others. “I wasn’t thinking that I would be finding my heart lost to another after finding Sascha was seeing other women. Now I am having three that hold my heart and it is being very wonderful!”

Sofiya grinned at the other vixen. “Yes. It is.” She winked at her friend before turning to Mandy and finally the silver fox, her tail starting to wag energetically. “I am thinking that our kits will be having the best family possible.”

“I was wondering when you were going to spill the beans,” Richard said as his arms slipped around the vixen’s waist to hold her tight as his eyes grew misty.

“You were knowing?” the red fox inquired.

All three nodded. “Yep. And we couldn’t be happier!” Amanda crooned as she and Elena shifted to add themselves to the hug.

Sofiya luxuriated in the slightly damp but still warm pile of fur and affection before pulling up slightly. “You areneslukhnianyy for knowing and not telling! But I am glad that you are being happy. What is important at this moment is how you are feeling? Is your side hurting?”

Richard shook his head as he gave the blond haired and copper colored vixen a curious look. “I’m actually feeling pretty good.”

“I am very glad to be hearing this,” Sofiya whispered as she adjusted the way she lay on her mate, her yellow-green eyes warm and full of affection as she felt the silver fox react to her attentions.

CHAPTER 38

"Turning of the Wheel"

Sofiya stood in the spring air outside the gate that let into the colony and watched the activity in the fields on the other side of the river. An Aurodon pulled a plow that Emanuella Diaz and Nan Pi-lei Quang had designed, the angled arms turning furrows in the rich dark soil. The fifteen foot wide contrivance cut ten rows per pass which other furs immediately began seeding, trying to get the planting done before the skies opened up with another rain storm. Further out Richard worked with a team to finish digging a series of irrigation ditches, the silver fox pausing to accept a canteen and waving at the red fox before taking a long drink. Sofiya waved back before turning with a sigh to return to the reports that she needed to finish compiling and send to Earth. With a sigh the vixen slipped a hand under her belly, her gait unsteady with the babies that were growing in her womb and the change in her center of gravity making it a little difficult to walk with anything remotely resembling grace.

One of the developments as she began to show was a change in her body’s chemistry as it supported the new life inside her, though it had the distinctly unpleasant side effect of making the blond haired fox feel decidedly unattractive. The other two vixens in her family did their best to reassure Sofiya that she was far from ugly, though it was Richard that had the best response to her fits of pique by wrapping his arms around her while nibbling at her neck and telling her “Pregnant ladies are very sexy!”

A rumble of thunder caused the red fox to pause and look up just as the first fat drops of rain fell to the ground. The colony had been seeing rain squalls once every few days, but as she resumed walking slowly to the operations dome Sofiya frowned, the skies looking a little darker than normal and suppressed a shiver that ran down her back. She would be extremely happy to finish the reports and transmit the data to the satellite in orbit so she could return to the house that had been more of a test of building materials.

The blocks and mortar had been developed by Rupert and Matthew along with Rupert’s mate, Ella Stauffen, the German red fox vixen having worked in her mother’s ceramics shop before volunteering for the Furmankind program. Upon seeing some of the materials that were being brought back, Ella began to experiment and now her ceramics were being employed for a number of projects.

Once proven sound, the rest of the colonists had surprised their leader and her family by saying that the structure had been more than a test and insisted that Sofiya and the others of her family move into the five room house. The circular structure had a central room complete with fireplace, two bed chambers and a kitchen that was even connected to one of the water towers with a simple wood oven and stove surface. Sofiya had found it very comforting and cozy, and was quite convinced that her aspect that belonged toVulpes vulpes felt it was a very suitable den. Windows and the door had been fashioned from spare panels from the dome materials and could even open on the flexible hinges that had been made from cured leather.

As the rain increased, Sofiya wanted nothing more than to retreat to her house, others in the colony also having completed structures of their own, to curl up in front of the fireplace with her family. She made the operations dome before the rain started in earnest, slipping in front of the terminal that was easier to use as her fingers had begun to swell periodically with her pregnancy and the actual keyboard and large touch screen were easier to operate than her PBJ.

Becoming engrossed in her work, Sofiya was unaware of the patter of the rain on the panels of the dome increasing in volume until she was finished compiling the reports on recent developments, new species discovered and general progress and sent the condensed information packet to the satellite overhead that would in turn convert the message to a tachyon burst. It still amazed her sometimes that she could relay information that would reach Earth in a little under two days, and as her claw tip tapped the ‘SEND’ icon on the screen, she leaned back in her seat with a sigh, only then becoming aware of the drumming of rain on the transparent panels.

Ruing the thought of returning to the house in such a downpour, the vixen contented herself with sipping at the cup of tea she’d made earlier. When her ears perked of their own accord, Sofiya realized that somewhere out in the storm someone was blowing one of the whistles she’d given all of her people with long shrill blasts. Lurching to her feet, Sofiya sent the cup skittering across the floor as she leapt for the door, her pulse jumping drastically.

***

Richard was setting the tools he’d been using in the supply shed next to the gate when he heard the whistle of the day watch that patrolled the platform along the top of the wall before hearing a commotion outside. He only had time to look up as Ruiz Vallejo stuck his head past the door, his eyes wide with his large, wet ears plastered to his head. “Richard! The bridge!” the bat eared fox all but screamed before ducking out.

Not even thinking, the silver fox dropped his burden of shovel and grubbing hoe before running back out into the rain.

The river was nearly thirty feet across, and to get to the other side a bridge of hewn timbers and pilings had been built. It had been more than sturdy with the slow moving expanse of water that the Furs were accustomed to, but the rains had caused the level to raise drastically, the normally lazy flow of water turning into a torrent of muddy sludge that had bits of debris and tree branches bobbing in the swift flow. Already the far end had succumbed to the floodwaters, the support pilings having washed out as the trusses in the river gave way. Nearly to the end was Kurt, his arm wrapped around the closest piling with his other arm stretched out and his fingers locked desperately into Siobhan’s robe-like top.

Siobhan in turn was holding onto Elena, the platinum vixen trying to maintain her grip on Amanda. Behind the fennec Myao Shin and Enola Bellingham fought to get closer to the others as the planks slewed crazily and began bucking with the water that pounded mercilessly at the bridge, shredding lashings and pegs with the cracking of timbers that was easily heard over the roar of rain.

“Rope! Get some rope!” someone called, Richard turning to do just that as Hector ran towards the danger, two coils over his shoulders.

Without hesitating, the silver fox grabbed one end, tying a quick loop and slipknot that he threw over his body, Rupert and Matthew along with several others holding on as Richard was fed slack.

“I am good!” Kurt yelled over the constant roar from river and sky. “Get the others!”

Richard stepped onto the edge of the causeway, the planking pitching erratically, though he was only just able to spread his feet for better support when a terrible crash sounded from beneath the water, a large support beam ripping loose and bobbing so violently in the churning wash that it seemed to stand straight up before toppling over.

Both Siobahn and Elena screamed as the heavy support timber started to fall towards them, both letting go a moment before the section of wood crashed down. The impact was enough to finish the bridge and the silver fox looked on in horror as two of his mates, Enola and Myao Shin were swept downstream.

“NOOOOO!” Richard screamed before leaping into the rush of debris filled water. He didn’t hear Sofiya’s matching scream as the vixen watched her entire family get swept downstream in the raging flood.

As he was carried along, Richard was barely able to keep his head above the current as his tail worked like an anchor, threatening to pull him under. He almost reached the yellow top that Amanda wore, the once sunshine yellow cloth now a dingy color from the muddy liquid. Then the rope that was still around his body pulled taught, biting hard into the line of scar tissue on his side below his ribs. The silver fox got a mouthful of choking water as he was pulled beneath the roiling surface before fighting free of the safety line. He was able to get back up, sputtering and coughing, just in time to see other Furs trying to get ropes to the vixens, each attempt falling short.

With a strength born of desperation and fear, the fox began to kick and swim with the current, catching up to Amanda as they swept past a small hummock where Myao Shin and Enola were able to grab on before being carried further down the river. He grabbed hold of her tail, feeling the bones pop where it had already been dislocated before, the fennec’s scream of pain turning into a choked sounding gurgle as she went under the water before struggling back up. With a surge of renewed energy Richard was able to get the two of them to the shore, making sure that Mandy had a hold of the thick grass along the bank with other Furs running to them to assist and let go to go find Elena, the river again sweeping him away from safety.

***

The river that ran along the colony perimeter slowed and widened two miles down into a large lake, the surface speckled with the rain that had finally begun to slacken and dotted with debris that had been swept down river. Exhausted and slightly battered, Richard caught a glimpse of red to his left just barely floating on the surface, the same shade of red that Elena had worn that morning, and began to make his way to the spot of color. With a strangled sound, the silver fox found the vixen floating face down and rolled her over before making for the muddy shore.

Elena seemed too limp as he struggled to haul the female up onto the grass. Sucking in air, his entire body shivering with cold and shaking with fatigue, Richard got the platinum fox on her stomach to push water from her lungs, brown fluid dribbling from her slightly open mouth as he pushed furtively on the Fur’s back before rolling her over, each action taxing already depleted reserves of strength and energy.

“C’mon, Honey…” the silver fox panted. “Don’t give up…don’t give up!”

He peeled the sodden robe top open, completely unmindful of the barely noticeable swell of her breasts and found the point just above her sternum and began chest compressions, his paws locked together, wheezing out a count as he threw his arms, shoulders and back into the resuscitation exercise. After ten compressions Richard crawled tiredly to her head, his muzzle pressed over hers, the vixen’s lips too cold and not at all as warm as the kisses they had shared that morning, his shortened thumb and forefinger pinching the nostrils of Elena’s foxen nose closed as he filled her lungs with his breath twice.

More compressions followed, Richard ignoring the burning feeling in his back as muscles protested the added strain, tears soaking unnoticed into the fur under his eyes. “You gotta live, Honey!” he rasped. “You can’t leave us!”

No matter how hard he tried, how he pleaded and cajoled and begged, the platinum vixen’s golden-yellow eyes stared unblinking at the cloudy sky overhead, the words of her mate falling on ears that didn’t hear. When the rescue team mounted on horses found them half an hour later, Richard was barely rocking her body as he continued to perform CPR that had been modified for furmankind but still refused to give up the fight.

***

The rainclouds had begun to break up near sunset with the stars winking across the sky with cold light, the cometary cloud called the Angel’s Breath lighting the sky with all the colors of the rainbow, but no one felt the normal joy they had with the celestial phenomena after the day’s events. Richard was given a thorough examination by Riva and Suzette before Rupert, Matthew and Kurt carried him to the house that had been built for the silver fox and his family. Sofiya had them place her mate on the bed near the fireplace where a small blaze of local woods crackled, the indigenous wood giving off a scent similar to incense as the flames danced brightly.

All Richard could do was stare at the fire between bouts of slumber that he woke from with jolts as various muscles cramped painfully that the red fox had to help rub away. He already knew that Amanda had died shortly after she was pulled from the water, her tiny body battered by debris from the bridge that had pummeled her badly and caused internal injuries that even the most modern and well equipped hospital would have been hard pressed to repair.

“Kohkanyy,” Sofiya whispered, her paw stroking the fur along the side of Richard’s head and his ear as lay with his eyes open but unseeing. “You need to eat,” she said, a bowl of rich, thick soup in her other paw. “You must be getting something hot in you,miy liubov.” She watched him for several seconds before sobbing. “Please! I cannot be losing all of my family in one day!” the vixen wailed quietly, her face pinching itself into an expression of anguish as tears flowed freely.

Nothing else had moved the silver fox, but the words that Sofiya uttered seemed to cut through the black depression and he reached out, placing his paw over hers where it stroked his fur.

“I…I failed them, Sofiya,” he croaked, his voice ravaged by the cold, water and screaming. “They…looked to me to protect them…to save them. And I failed.”

“No!” the vixen cried as she put the bowl down, all but throwing herself onto her mate. “You almost died to save them! You did all that you could and so very much more!”

It was as if the touch of the blond haired vixen was the catalyst needed and he slowly wrapped his arms around Sofiya, his wince at the pain of protesting muscles lost as his face crumbled and a long howling wail ripped from his abused throat. “I tried!” Richard sobbed, his body convulsing with the outpouring of his grief. “I tried so hard!”

“I am knowing this,” Sofiya replied, pulling him tight against her, her heart hurt and broken at the loss of Elena and Amanda, yet joyful that her Richard was still with her. “And they were knowing of this! They were knowing that they were being loved so very, very much! Loved by you…loved by me. They were knowing this.”

The two gave and received all the comfort the other could muster, using that to succor themselves as they shared tears and hurt. “I’m sorry,” Richard finally whispered from where he had his face buried in the juncture of the vixen’s neck and shoulder. “God forgive me for not saving them!”

“He does,miy liubov,” Sofiya whispered. “As do I. Now you must be forgiving yourself for something that you had no control over.” To emphasize her soothing words she pulled the silver fox even more tightly to her, willing the warmth that she had into her mate with all of the love in her heart that had always been his.

CHAPTER 39

"News from Home"

Rebuilding the bridge that had claimed the lives of Elena and Amanda, the incident almost claiming Myao Shin and Enola, had taken priority for many of the Furs, with the number of pilings and the depth they were sunk being doubled. Richard had taken it upon himself to oversee the entire project with a vow that another similar incident wouldn’t happen if he had anything to say about it, Sofiya and the rest of the colonists agreeing wholeheartedly. As spring gave way to summer, other projects were initiated to reduce the danger of another flash flood of the river, a series of baffles being erected from wood reinforced stone that would slow the rush of water while small nooks were dug into the banks for others that might find themselves in the water to use to get to shore along with a series of safety lines of various heights.

Richard viewed each undertaking with an almost holy ambition, seeing the river less of a physical characteristic of the terrain and more like an enemy that had to be defeated. It wasn’t until the last line was strung, the lines attached to brightly painted poles that had solar powered lights attached that he finally let go of the tension that filled him since the funeral for the two foxes that had shared his and Sofiya’s hearts and love.

Other storms rolled through the valley, though none dropped the sheer volume of rain that had occurred on that fateful day. A scouting foray led by Hector and Toshiro had verified that much of the flooding that had occurred had also been from added snow melt that the rain had caused far up into the mountains that formed the eastern wall of the valley.

As life resumed something akin to normalcy, Richard slowly returned to the mental and emotional state that he’d been in prior to losing his other two mates, though more and more of his efforts were directed towards the blond haired vixen that carried his children. As such Sofiya found herself more often than not monitoring the goings-on of Abeona from a chair that had developed a number of additional cushions in the operations dome. It was during one such day, the door to the dome open to let in the warm breeze that caressed the valley while going over crop estimates with Emanuella that the communications console chimed with an incoming message.

“Isn’t it a couple of days too early for a message from Earth?” the South American Fur asked as she looked at the console, her ears perking up in curiosity and surprise.

“Yes, it is,” Sofiya replied. She turned the chair to the console and touched the ‘Receive’ icon on the screen, her own ears standing straighter as the word ‘PRORITY MESSAGE’ flashed in bright red on the dark blue field of the screen. Beneath that was a list of recipients for personal messages including two for Sofiya and Richard.

“Tell you what,” Enamuella said as she closed her Personal Business Juxtapositioner with a small click, slipping the yellow encased device into her pocket. “You take care of that and I’ll get with you later to go over the estimates.”

“That is being a good plan,” Sofiya told the other distractedly as she summoned her mate on her own PBJ. The wallpaper on both screens returned to a picture of her and Richard with Elena and Amanda as she finished and sent the message.

As soon as the other vixen left the dome, Sofiya brought up the priority message first. She was a little taken aback to find herself looking at the recorded image of Ásmundr Gustavsson himself.

“Sofiya, even though it’s quite some time after the fact, I can’t begin to tell you how sorry I am to hear of the loss of your and Richard’s mates. I never had the chance to meet either of those two ladies, but Dimitri assures me that they were some of the most spectacular vixens he’s ever had come through the Institute. He is also including a short message to you, but for now, please know that you and Richard have my deepest sympathies.

“I’m almost hesitant to impart the real reason for this message, almost as if it makes light of the personal tragedy that you’ve suffered, but there has been a certain development, or several for that matter, that you need to be made aware of, and I wanted you to hear of it directly from me.

“As you know, between the time the previous Felis colonists spent on Bastien, and add to that the time that you’ve been in command of the Abeona group, more than five years have passed. In actuality, Bastien has had Furs on it for a little under six years. After receiving not only the samples that were returned from the flight that deposited you, but also the findings of your research, the time table for the viability of putting a permanent colony on Bastien has arrived and the Terran Colonization Coalition’s Office of Colonial Affairs headed by its new director has approved a full contingent for settlement purposes as the plague that obliterated the Felis colonists isn’t communicable to humans. In fact, we’ve been able to synthesize something of a vaccine for the Felis with the samples that we’ve received so if the Felis ever return they won’t succumb to the same event.

“I know that this is well before the time period you expected, but the wealth that all of you are sitting on cannot be ignored. You should be seeing their arrival at the end of third year. Yes, I know it may seem a bit premature, but it does take quite a bit of preparation to send out a contingent for full settlement.

“Now, normally you and your people would be given a chance at either maintaining your colony or opting for reassignment at the end of your five year tenure. As there are no other planets that are currently being considered for either exploration or permanent human colonists, I would ask that all of you remain on Bastien. I know that this is highly irregular as far as these things go, but it is, at the moment, the plan to establish another two groups of Furs on your world in different areas. Oh, and due to the number of available Furs that are now on Earth, we will be sending a small contingent to assist in the expansion and bolstering of your present colony. Other colonies will also be receiving additional Furs as they are, for the most part, simply cooling their heels as it were.

“I will, of course, be sending you regular updates on the departure of the colony contingent as often as possible. And that brings me to the other part of this message.

“Since your group’s departure from Earth, certain advances have been made and new technologies have been developed to assist the settlement of other worlds. As such, Bastien has been selected as a sort of testing ground for a new delivery method of materials upgrades. There are other worlds that have been selected, though I’m unable to mention those to you at the moment.

“We, in conjunction with the TCC and Carver Aerospatial Industries, have developed a new series of autonomous ships based on the unmanned probes that actually first surveyed your world and others so many years ago. These ships are designed to carry specialized cargo pods that are similar to what theLeif Erikson, a ship that I’m told you’re a little familiar with, will be using when it’s finally completed. We would like to try and utilize an equipment drop for your colony and get your honest assessment of its validity and accuracy using these new unmanned ships.

“Needless to say, if this test is successful it may have a very substantial impact on future colony establishment and might also be used to send necessary materials and desperately needed resources back to Earth. Truly exciting stuff! Should the drop go as planned, I would also like for your colonists to do a series of evaluations for the equipment that will be arriving.

“Unfortunately I must sign off. I will ensure that you receive information and the time table for these test runs within a reasonable time period. May the fates smile upon you and yours, Sofiya.”

The screen went black for a moment before the AHCP timestamp for the recording of the message flashed on the screen in blue lettering, then returned to the selection menu for messages.

“Well, that’s definitely some impressive news,” Richard said from over his vixen’s shoulder.

“It is very exciting and encouraging, is it not?” the red fox said as she turned her chair slightly to smile at her mate.

“It sort of reminds me of the resupply drops the military uses. Fast, fairly safe. It could mean the difference between a colony succeeding or failing. I wonder how it would work in sending somethingto Earth, though,” the silver fox mused as he pulled up a chair and took the vixen’s paw in his, something that he’d been doing quite often as of late.

“I am sure that we will be finding out when the time comes,” the red fox said. “There are also two personal messages for us if you would like to sit with me?” She left the question hanging though there was no mistaking the hope in her eyes that her mate would stay and she was unable to hide the warmth in her eyes as he pulled a chair over next to hers.

“It’ll be easier than trying to watch it on our PBJs,” he said and slipped his arm around the vixen’s shoulders.

Reaching out to type in her personal access code, Sofiya began the first message. Both were mildly surprised to see Dimitri Kavalos, and while he smiled and greeted the two Furs warmly, it wasn’t long before tears rolled unceasingly down his cheeks as he told them of just learning about Elena and Amanda. It went on like that for some time until the Doctor couldn’t continue any further and had to sign off. The message had caused emotional reactions in both Furs as well and it took a few minutes before Sofiya could bring herself to start the next message, hoping that it wasn’t someone else sending their condolences, unsure if she or Richard could deal with any more emotional outpourings.

Both were surprised to see a grinning wolf furman with off-white and cream colored fur and darker buff hued highlights walking around with bits of the Adirondack Institute behind him.

“Hey guys! It’s Jack here! Well, as you can see, I went and did it! Got a couple of surprises for y’all, but first I have to ask why the two of you didn’t tell me that being a Fur would make me feel so good? I didn’t know I’d be stronger and faster…though I guess with the weight I dropped it ain’t too much of a surprise! Doc Aristotle cleared me after I dumped about a hundred pounds and said the transformation process would take care of the rest. And Sebra was a complete trip! Man, I dig space! If someone like me could be graceful in Z-G, the two of you must have really been somethin’ else!”

Someone else was walking ahead of Richard’s friend to hold the video camera, but it wasn’t the Fur that joined the wolf. She, and there was no mistaking it was a female, looked like a Vulps Fur, though her proportions were a little off. Her limbs were almost lanky, but she moved with surprising fluidity to her arms and legs. That and her markings were certainly nothing that either fox had ever seen on another Vulps.

“This here’s Connie! We met when we both wound up in the Canis Wing. Connie was feeling a little bummed and I told her that what we’d be goin’ through weren’t nothin’ and then told her all about you two. Well, I guess I did a lot more than that because next thing I know is we became a bit of an item…”

“Hi, Richard! Hi Sofiya!” the female said with a smile and wave.

“She almost looks like one of y’all, don’t she? Pretty as you please, but she chose a Maned Wolf from South America. They just approved that type last year along with a couple of other Fur kinds. It’s even cooler here than before with some of the new types of Furs walking around, that’s for sure, brother!

“So, before we get to far afield, I just found out that our group is headed to your same immersion training facility in Washington State. It seems that we’re going to be a follow up group to Bastien. Can you believe it? Well, half of us are. The other half is getting sent to Khepri with the original Canis colony they dropped there some years back! Together again, brother! Ain’t that something?

“Okay…hold on. Someone else wants to say hi and I need to hold the camera…”

The picture jostled around a bit as the wolf was handed the video recorder. The two Vulps were greeted by the smiling visage of an unknown red fox Vulps.

“Hello Sofiya! Richard! It’s me! Robert! I know this can’t be too long because of message limitations, but I thought you might be interested to know that the documentaries I made got a couple of awards and was actually picked up by theExplorer Channel! Andy Skarbek is producing the whole thing! Can you believe it? There’s a whole team of production crews now and they’re circulating them through all of the different Institutes! Between that and the cartoons that you guys found out about, I helped make some of the most watched series on TV and the Net according to the ratings review this year!

“But there’s more! We’re doing a new series on individuals from start to finish. Kinda like a video journal. And you’re looking at the star for the first one! That’s right! Here we are on my first day of the rest of my life! When I went to Stockholm to meet with Mister Gustavsson I found out that they had plans to send a permanent human colony as well as more Furs to you guys and asked if I could volunteer! I even waived my bonus if I could get put through the program. Mister Gustavsson said that if I could handle jumping in a little behind the others he could get me approved to go through, and I said yes!

“Unfortunately I didn’t get to go to Sebra Space Station. They had to put me in a floatation tank. I just got out last week so I’m still only partway through, but I’ll be going with Jack and the others to the training facility so we can get ready for our trip to Bastien! I’ll be a full furman by the time we get done with our training scenario. By the way, did Sofiya really kill a bear with her bare hands…er, uh, paws? That’s beyond cool! But then Sofiya is a really tough lady, isn’t she?”

The young Vulps sobered slightly and looked down before facing the camera again.

“Look, I know it’s been a while, and that she’s probably found someone else, but if…well, if you could tell Charlotte it’ll be good to see her again it would be appreciated. I know she’s probably with some really great guy and all, but…I guess you know how it goes.

“After learning the things I did about you guys there was no way I couldn’t join. I mean, I know I’m not nearly as brave or tough as the rest of you, but, well, I feel more a part of you guys than I do people now…er, humans. I met up with some friends from film school and all they could talk about was what movie they were working on, what celebrities and stars they’ve met, and it was such BS! It was like we were from completely different worlds.

“I don’t really have anything in common with the people that I know anymore, and, yeah. Sorry. I’m running out of time. Just tell Charlotte I look forward to seeing her and you guys too! Gotta go now. Take care!”

The view on the camera shifted as Jack spun it around, not quite getting himself fully in the picture.

“The kid’s right. We need to cut this short, but we’ll see you all real soon.”

The message ended with another time stamp and returned to the main menu.

“Wow,” Richard said with a stunned look. “Robert actually did it. And Jack!”

“And they are to be coming here!” Sofiya added with a tone of astonishment. The vixen’s expression grew mischievous. “I am wondering if we should be sending a personal message back to be telling Robert that Charlotte still speaks fondly of him or that she has not settled for any one male?”

“Why ruin the surprise for the kid?” Richard laughed. His chortle was cut short when Sofiya’s grip on his fingers tightened sharply. “Is something wrong, Honey?”

“I…I am not knowing…layno!” Sofiya started before her face scrunched up in discomfort and she began to pant heavily. “Richard…I am thinking…that you need to be getting…Valerie and Suzette…” she said brokenly as her paw slipped over her belly. “I am thinking…it is t-ti-TIME!”

Richard watched as his mate leaned forward with her first major contraction.

***

Less than an hour passed from Sofiya going into the medical dome than Suzette emerged, a stunned look on her face. Richard stopped the pacing of the gravel path in front of the dome, all but pouncing on the vixen as others also waited for the news.

“Valerie and I are of the mind that that has been the easiest delivery we have ever witnessed,” the French Fur said with a chuckle. She looked up at the looming silver fox. “Oh, go on in and meet your son, Richard,” she told the fox almost as an afterthought.

When he entered the dome, Richard found his mate nursing a kit while Valerie sat in a chair after cleaning up the debris. “How are you feeling?” he whispered with a stunned look in his bronze eyes.

“I am being fine,miy liubov,” the vixen said happily, looking a little tired, but well. In fact, as far as her partner was concerned, she was glowing.

“You know, this really isn’t fair,” Valerie said with a grin. “Most women that I’ve helped through birth had the good grace to be tired, not looking like it was simply another day at the office. Maria was in labor for several hours before her delivery.”

“And Maria was having twins,” Sofiya pointed out. “I was only having one.”

“Sofiya, your one weighs almost as much as both of hers put together,” the fennec pointed out. She looked at the silver fox. “Nine pounds, three ounces, before you ask.”

“Can we still be naming him Nikoli?” the red fox asked as she looked at the nursing baby Fur.

Richard moved to the bed and turned the blanket down to look at the fluffy copper colored head of his son, his eyes soft and luminous in the light from the bedside lamp. “Of course we are!” He watched as Sofiya let their child finish his first meal before placing him on her shoulder and patting his back, the kit belching loudly before smacking its mouth and yawning. “Yup. Definitely my son!” the silver fox said with a grin. “No manners at all!”

“Feh! It is only proper appreciation for a good supper,” Sofiya quipped with a smile of her own.

“There is that,” Richard said as he pulled the blanket to get a glimpse of unfocused blue eyes. “Well met, Nikoli Talova. Welcome to Bastien.”

“Ne. No. Nikoli Tavington,” the red fox vixen said with a proud tilt to her chin.

CHAPTER 40

"Sounds of the Heart"

Not for the first time, Sofiya thought that if she could have chosen a kangaroo for her furman type that it would have made it much easier to get work done as she shifted her son to the other arm and resumed logging in data to her PBJ. A pouch would have freed both hands and made her daily duties much easier to complete. Fortunately the touch screens of the device worked as well with a claw tip as they did with the incorporated stylus that had decided to go missing a few weeks into their first day. She’d just made a notation on the addition of several calves and lambs along with a pair of foals when a soft knock on the frame of the operations dome door pulled her attention away.

“I’m sorry. I’m not bothering you, am I?”

Sofiya smiled and shook her head. “No. Please come in, Charity,” the blond vixen said with a warm smile. “I am thinking that it is being time to get something tasty from the kitchens anyway. I didn’t think that my appetite would have grown with Nikoli no longer leeching off of me! Although he is having his Poppa’s ability to eat!”

“He’s adorable!” Charity told the other vixen with a smile before her expression melted away. “Joel….Joel and I had talked of having kids. Before…before he…”

“We all miss him,” Sofiya said, reaching out and pulling the other vixen further into the dome. “He was being a very good and brave Fur. And also the very best of friends to everyone here.”

Charity sighed as she let herself be guided to a camp chair. “He was. And I did care for him…”

When her kit started fussing, much like Suzette had when the Abeona colonists had first arrived, Sofiya opened her top to nurse her baby not thinking anything of what seemed so natural despite mixed company. “What is bothering you, Charity?” she asked in genuine concern.

The grey fox fidgeted slightly, dropping her gaze as her ears drooped. “I…I don’t really know how to begin this.”

“Just be honest and open,” the other vixen said as she adjusted the way she held the kit at her breast. “I will also be honest and open and this way there are no misunderstandings.”

Charity swallowed hard before sighing. “Well…you know I haven’t…um, been with anyone since…since Joel was killed. It’s been kinda lonely, being in a dome by myself and all.” She looked up for a moment before again dropping her gaze. “I…I know I can’t replace Mandy or Elena. And I wouldn’t want to because I know how special they were! That’s not what I want at all! But…well, when we were at the Institute, I…I sorta had feelings for Richard…”

When the grey fox looked up her yellow-brown eyes were miserable and the fur beneath was dark with tears.

“I can’t do this!” the vixen muttered and stood, though before she could flee Sofiya snagged her wrist.

“No, Charity. Honesty.” Sofiya told the young vixen with a friendly smile. “It is not wrong, this thing that you are feeling. I am knowing of the times that you and Richard were spending together when you first arrived at your Institute. And we women do not always have a choice in the man that we lose our hearts to, do we?”

“No,” the grey fox answered softly. “I guess we don’t…”

Despite her love for her mate, Sofiya had also been thinking that her and Richard’s relationship seemed a little empty without others in it, and she missed having other females as close as Elena and Amanda had been, having grown accustomed to sharing her life and herself with more than just the silver fox and the comfort of a skulk. “Are you here to ask to be joining in our family?”

Charity nodded, trembling silently at what she knew was going to be the response.

“To be very truthful, Richard and I have been wanting to have another to be sharing ourselves with. And I know that you are a very kind and caring woman,” Sofiya said while trying not to chuckle at the stunned look of disbelief on Charity’s face when the other vixen jerked her head up. “As long as you are not offended if we are both affectionate to you. We do not want another that would be angered by such. We are both being very free with showing our love and care with another…”

“Do…do you mean it?” the younger female asked in disbelief.

“I am meaning it,” Sofiya said. “Would you be liking to join us and being a part of our family?”

Charity slid from the chair to put both of her paw-like hands on the ends of the red fox’s knees, looking up at the other vixen’s yellow-green eyes with hope filling her own. “I would! I really, really would!”

Sofiya accepted the nuzzle the other vixen leaned forward to give, the two trading scents with Charity sighing in relief and joy. “Then here is what we shall be doing…”

***

Richard toweled off and shook vigorously before stepping into a pair of freshly laundered furman shorts, frowning slightly as he adjusted the notch for his tail. His leg still tingled slightly from where he’d brushed the wires for the electrified fencing when his work crew began to expand the paddock for the horses, the call over the radio warning that the power was still on coming a few seconds too late. He had only himself to blame and had laughed at his own folly. It had certainly helped to wake the fox up better than his morning coffee. Digging the holes for the new posts had felt good, a certain level of physical activity that had left him feeling invigorated with a sense of accomplishment at having added four more acres of grazing to the growing herd.

Going topless with the warm sun on his back, Richard looked forward to the supper that Sofiya had messaged him about making in their own kitchen, many of the other Vulps doing the same so that the kitchen staff only worked on providing lunches for the rest of the colony as the majority had houses of their own now and had taken to making more meals for themselves. There was also something that was far more satisfying about cooking food that they had raised or grown, that particular aspect filling Richard and his mate with a sense of accomplishment.

As he made his way past the gate and to the white block house he shared with Sofiya, he couldn’t help but smile at the other part of the message that had been sent to his PBJ that his mate had a surprise for him and that it was imperative that he shower before returning to their home. The few minutes that he’d seen her during a break from expanding the paddock fences had shown him that his red fox was feeling rather frolicsome, something that she hadn’t exhibited since well before giving birth to their son, and with the kit now a month old, he figured that enough time had passed for her body to repair itself of the trials of carrying a child and giving birth and she was feeling affectionate. As he’d also been feeling the strain of his own physical needs and it was with a little spring in his step resulting in anticipation that he entered the house.

The smell of seasoned and seared rab-zelle meat tickled Richard’s sensitive nose as he stepped through the door swiftly followed by the scent of green tomatoes and the cheese; that was a result of Neelu and Nan Pi-lei’s efforts roasting in one of the ceramic Dutch ovens that Petra Stauffen had been teaching other Furs to make and it caused the silver fox to close his eyes in pleasure. A small container of stewed greens and fresh baked flatbread completed the smells that wafted over the fox.

“So what’s happened that you feel I deserve such a feast?” Richard inquired as he paused at the basinet that his son slept happily in before stepping up behind the red fox to wrap his arms around her waist and snuffle the fur behind her ear.

“You will be seeing,” Sofiya answered enigmatically with a smile, leaning into the silver fox’s embrace for a moment before turning the meat that sizzled in her clay skillet. “Go sit down and relax. I am knowing that you worked hard today.”

With a final nuzzle, Richard did as instructed, smiling as the red fox vixen began to shuttle things the short distance to the low table. It wasn’t until all of the different dishes were on the table that he noticed a third place setting. “Um, are we expecting company?”

Sofiya smiled warmly. “We are,” she said before turning towards the door to the room that had gone unused since the loss of Amanda and Elena. “You may be coming out, now.”

Looking up, Charity was the last Fur that Richard expected to see. That she was dressed not in standard furman clothing, but a sort of sarong made out of the same fabric in cerulean was a sure sign that something more than her being a guest for supper was in play.

When Richard and Charity had first arrived at the Institute there had been some mutual attraction and they had even engaged in some rather heavy making out a time or two, but then the changes had begun and both had become distracted by what was happening to them. Then once that was complete there had been the courses that all of them had tried to cram into a short period of time. It wasn’t that they’d suffered a falling out of any sorts, but had simply been distracted from pursuing anything more. Then Richard had met Sofiya while Charity had started making friends with the Class that followed theirs. The silver fox had also stepped back when Joel had told him that he’d started to develop rather strong feelings for the grey fox vixen.

By the time Amanda and Elena had become part of his family, Charity and Joel had been a fairly solid pairing and Richard hadn’t thought anymore about it.

Until now.

As she stood there with Richard staring mutely at her, his expression unreadable, the feelings that she’d harbored for so long flared before withering at the scrutiny. Charity couldn’t help it as her tail and ears fell, her heart feeling as it did when Joel had been taken from her all over again. “This…” she began softly, “this might have been a mistake.” Closing her eyes tightly against the sudden stinging feeling, Charity let out a shuddering breath before turning for the door, only to find an impassable barrier in the form of Richard blocking her exit.

“I don’t know about it being a mistake, Cherry,” the silver fox said, using the nickname he’d given her long ago. “But we won’t know until we talk. C’mon,” he said, giving her one of his grins that she remembered so well, the expression just as attractive with him being an anthrofox as it had when he’d been fully human. “Let’s sit down and enjoy the dinner that Sofiya’s made and then we’ll see what happens. Okay?”

Sofiya came and pulled the other vixen back to the table putting the grey fox between herself and Richard, though she didn’t release the paw she held, her look saying much to her mate who reached out and took the other.

“Besides,” the red fox began as she smiled warmly at the startled look from Charity, “I am thinking that this is all too much food for just Richard and I.”

***

Richard snugged his arms a little more tightly around the vixen that lay panting against his chest, smiling when Charity wove her fingers into the fur under her paw-like hand, trembling almost as if she were chilled. “Are you alright?” he whispered, snuffling her ear affectionately.

“Better than alright,” the grey fox chortled as Sofiya reentered the chamber they used for a bedroom with Nikoli in her arms. As soon as the red fox sat down, Charity reached out to touch the other vixen. She’s heard of friends doing what she’d just done while in college, the whole ménage-a-trois, or worse, but none of them had ever been like this. It had been far from the wild, almost lewd abandon that she’d heard about and was instead so very warm, caring and comforting with genuine affection given and received. “I’ve felt so alone…so very alone. But I don’t feel like that now. I feel…special. This felt special…”

“It is being very special,” Sofiya told the other vixen softly. “And you can be a part of this if you are wanting.”

“You mean that?” Charity asked with hope causing her yellow-brown eyes to sparkle in the gloom.

“If we didn’t mean it, we wouldn’t have let this happen, Cherry.”

Instead of answering verbally, the grey fox gathered the two others in her arms and wept with joy and relief, getting more than something she’d idly fantasized about with none of the guilt that had come with the rather explicit daydreams. Like the other two Furs there would always be a place in her heart for the one she lost, but there was still room for love and being part of something wonderful.

Sofiya placed a kiss between Charity’s ears before turning her baby around. “Nikoli, I want to introduce you to your Mamma Charity. She’s going to be with us for a very long time.” She then gave the other vixen a wry look and grinned. “And perhaps, if she is feeling up to it, she will be giving you brothers or sisters to be growing up with.”

“Yes please!” Charity said before nuzzling the kit happily while still holding on to the other two Vulps and weeping anew.

***

“It’s good to see Charity so happy,” Matthew commented as he and Richard pulled the latest batch of building blocks from the oven that Petra had built for the firing of the ceramic material. “She’s a good kid.”

“Yes. She’s fitting in well with us,” the silver fox agreed as he stepped back from the heat boiling out of the opening of the large oven and picked up a canteen before pulling the drinking tube open. “Nikoli sure is smitten with her, that’s for sure.”

The red fox looked at his friend and gave him a pointed look. “She ain’t the only one that seems happier, either.”

Richard chuckled lightly. “Don’t get me wrong, I love Sofiya and I always will, but the house seemed a little empty after…”

“Yeah. Don’t go there,” Matthew said with a slightly pained look. “If I’m still hurtin’ over that, I know you are, too. Just don’t go there.”

The silver fox nodded. “Yeah. Best to think of happier things. Speaking of which, how’s Neelu coping?”

“Looking forward to bein’ a mommy, just like most of the other girls,” the red fox said, brightening considerably with his own impending sojourn into fatherhood. “I just wish we had more spices that we’d brought with us. She says she’s cravin’ chicken tandoori somethin’ fierce! I can do a pretty good fried chicken with what we got, but don’t know nothin’ ‘bout that!”

Richard couldn’t help but laugh. “I know what that’s like! When Sofiya was in her fifth month it was borscht! The beets didn’t do so well last year and I have no idea how to make sour cream. I didn’t even have any chocolate to offer her as a way of apology.”

The pair got the next batch of clay filled molds ready for the oven and slid them in before again retreating from the heat when the red fox looked at his friend. “Ya know, I think I’m happier here than I’ve ever been in my whole life.” He scratched his ear and drew a perplexed expression. “That don’t sound too weird, does it? I mean, I work like I never had before, I’m pretty bushed when I finally hit the sack, but come morning I can’t wait to do it all over again. Am I the only one that feels this way?”

“Nope,” Richard answered with a grin. “Most of us feel this way. What we have we’ve built. We’ve worked for this and it has a lot more value than something that can just be bought back on Earth. I think that’s all the difference right there.”

Matthew thought about that and had to nod as a smile grew on his vulpine face. “You know, that’s it exactly! I mean, when I was on Earth and I finished a job all I could think was ‘thank goodness that’s over and where’s my paycheck’. Now, I look at the houses, the wall, the fields full of good crops and I think ‘I helped do that!’ and it feels…I dunno…justgood. Like real good.”

Richard nodded and passed the canteen to the other Fur. “Maybe this was how the pioneers felt when they headed west,” the silver fox commented. “You know, when we were on the train after leaving the Institute, Sofiya told me that the American contingent was her biggest worry because she thought we were a bunch of cowboys. Maybe too independent to work with others, but after seeing how we functioned she felt that perhaps we were better suited for exploration for those very same reasons. I have to admit that we do tend to have a certain level of tenacity and sense of adventure. I think that might be part of what we’re feeling as well. We’re fairly independent here, we’ve not had to struggle like some of the other colonies. Granted, it hasn’t been a picnic, not by a long shot, but we take pride in what we’ve done.”

“Cowboys, huh?” Matthew chuckled. “I s’pose. All I know is I like this feeling, I like where we are, what we’ve done. Maybe this better world that y’all talk about really is possible.”

CHAPTER 41

"Mail Call"

Richard roused before the sun came up and sat up in the gloom blinking the sleep from his eyes. He was able to make out the shapes on the pallet around him, Sofiya with her back to her mate, Charity on his other side, her paw-like hand moving a little as if seeking him out of its own volition. The silver fox furman may have made it out from the tangle of blankets and limbs without alerting either of the vixens, but a careless paw on the tip of the grey fox’s tail fully woke her and she yipped softly, the sound very vulpine-like, before blinking large eyes as she sat up. Richard gave the newest member of their family an apologetic expression before helping Charity from the bed and exiting the room. Sofiya slept on, her body curled around Nikoli’s and completely oblivious to the activity as she breathed softly.

The kit would wake his mother soon enough with whines, yips and gurgles for his breakfast and the other two Vulps looked on the sleeping mother and child warmly before making their way to the main room of the house. Without even thinking about it, Richard put a pot of water on for the tea that Suzette and Etienne had been using as a replacement for coffee prior to loading the small stove with split chunks of wood and getting the blaze going, ensuring the simple flue was open. As he straightened, the silver fox smiled as arms slipped around him from behind, his tail wagging as Charity ran her finger pads and claw tips up and down his stomach and through the softer fur of his front.

“You’re going to turn me into a hedonist if you keep that up,” Richard mumbled happily. He could feel the vixen giggle as she held him tighter and doubled her efforts, her warm breath making it through the thicker coat of his back.

“You know I had a dog when I was growing up, and between her and being a Fur now, I know that nothing beats a good belly rub in the morning!” she whispered happily.

“I think you might be right,” the male answered in a gently rumbling voice as his eyes closed. “Still feeling up for today?”

Charity nodded, turning the response into an excuse to bury her nose in the thicker ruff around Richard’s neck, finding his scent comforting. “You bet! I wanted to learn more about hunting when we were doing the colony simulation but…well, I got a little distracted.”

The silver fox snorted in amusement. “Yeah. I know. Those domes weren’t all that sound proof, you know.”

“Joel was just brushing out my fur,” the vixen replied defensively, her ears drooping as the insides flared pink. “Honestly!”

The silver fox turned and wrapped his arms around the smaller female and rubbed his nose to hers before kissing her chastely. “Must’ve been one heck of a brushing, then,” Richard continued to tease.

“And who was it that got all happy and growly with some other interesting sounds the other night?” Charity replied with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes as she gently poked his chest with a forefinger. “That was just a good brushing!”

Richard squeezed a little more tightly. “Guilty as charged.” He sighed as his throat was nuzzled. “Now, what would you like for breakfast? Kurt doesn’t really stop for lunch when he’s out, though he might with Siobhan coming with us as well, but in case he doesn’t I’d recommend a good, hearty meal.”

“I like it when you do that seared meat and eggs stuff.” Charity pulled away and smiled as she shook her head. “I used to be happy with just a bagel or something. I never thought I’d get to the point that I could do a fourteen ounce steak and quarter dozen eggs! I still like my eggs scrambled, but just getting the meat warm in the center is good.”

“I think that’s part of being as much fox as we are human, now,” the silver fox answered as he got the vixen to go sit down with a pat to her fur clad rump, admiring the view and the way her tail swayed side-to-side for a moment prior to getting the breakfast request out of a cleverly built storage cubby built into the juncture of the wall and floor, the ceramic blocks keeping things surprisingly cool. It wasn’t as good as an actual refrigeration unit, but for overnight storage or small sundries it was rather effective. Most of the available space was taken up with containers of milk, both cow and goat, for Nikoli when his mother needed a break. “But then I never liked my beef overcooked, and I’ve always been a bit of a nut for sashimi.”

As he began to get the different ingredients out to cook up, the silver fox had to chuckle to himself. Most people on Earth used a cooking spray or margarine when they cooked, or on their toast, but here he was light years away, living with what amounted to technology from the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, and using real cream butter to cook with. Granted it was what the colonists themselves had made from cows that they had all helped milk, but it was honest-to-goodness butter. He shuddered at the thought of margarine, the substance just a small molecule nudge away from being plastic.

It didn’t take long for the food to cook, the different skillets, pans and pots that Ella had fashioned working rather well. Everything was put on a sort of communal platter that both he and Charity would eat from, Sofiya joining in if she were awake. There was also plenty for the red fox vixen when she finally stirred; the whole thing would be kept warm from the residual heat of the stove’s fire and the crockery itself.

Charity and Richard dressed from a selection of laundry that all of them helped take care of, the silver fox pointing out that colors more subdued would be a good idea. He had to smile and shake his head when the vixen opted for only a pair of shorts with the argument that it would be easier for her to move and that the weather wasn’t all that bad to warrant a top. Richard paused before they departed to give the still slumbering Sofiya a kiss and nuzzle, doing the same to his son with Charity also saying a silent goodbye before tucking a small pale blue flower behind the other vixen’s ear.

The plan was to meet Kurt and Siobhan on the far side of the eastern fields after withdrawing bows from the armory module in the operations dome. Richard grinned at Hector, who was already at the main desk and looking over his PBJ. “Either you’re up early, or you haven’t gone to bed yet,” the silver fox quipped as he moved to the module and entered the code to unlock the unit.

“No. I’m up early,” the South American grey fox answered with a smile for both Furs. “How are Sofiya and Nikoli?”

“Still sleeping,” Charity answered for both. “And how’s Emanuella?”

Hector shook his head. “Morning sickness is her greatest lament; that and heartburn. I wasn’t thinking that we Furs could get heartburn still.”

Richard chuckled as he passed one of the compound bows to his second mate. “Then stay away from Matthew’s attempts at chili. You’ll get to remember exactly what heartburn and indigestion are like. Even Neelu thinks he uses too much in the way of peppers, and she’s from India. Ifshe says something’s too hot, I know I don’t want to try it!”

Hector shuddered and closed his eyes with a frown. “I think I shall definitely pass, then. Where are the hunters heading to today?”

Richard helped Charity sling her bow and got the quiver with ten arrows situated so that the vixen could travel on all fours if need be without worry about spilling the shafts. “Kurt mentioned something about heading to the far side of the hot springs and a bevy ofjack-a-woks. Leave it to him to discover everything possible that we can eat.”

“And that it tastes good, too!” Charity added with a grin.

Hector smiled and was about to respond when Kurt entered the dome with an enthusiastic Siobhan. The two vixens greeted each other with hugs while Richard and the German clasped paws. “Today is looking like we shall have very good weather,” he said with a smile.

Richard chuckled as his only reply. As far as Kurt was concerned, any day he could hunt or be out in the wilderness, regardless of the weather, was a good day.

Hector leaned to the side and regarded the speckled platinum fox male. “What is that over your shoulder?” the South American grey fox inquired with a surprised expression.

Grinning even more broadly, Kurt drew the slung item that rested high on his back, holding it in both hands before passing it to the first officer. “A little project with Ruiz. When he began telling me of the durability of some of the woods we have here, I thought I would experiment a little and had him make this. As crossbows go it isn’t very powerful. Only a hundred and seventy pounds of draw and the cable is dried sinew that must be kept oiled and waxed. It's certainly not as powerful as others I have used made of modern materials. The quarrels are of the same wood with the vanes being made of pickled bone that is less brittle and a little more resistant to abuse.”

Despite the lack of metal fittings, the improvised weapon was rather elegant looking and well constructed, both Richard and Hector looking admiringly at the ingenuity required. “What are the tips made from?” the grey fox asked with interest.

“Ach. Ella was very helpful in firing three dozen heads out of her marvelous ceramics. They are tough with good penetration, but I will not lament their loss should that happen. I was surprised that they sharpened as well as they did.”

Hector accepted one of the quarrels after passing the crossbow to Richard and promptly cut his thumb. “Madre! It is sharp!” he exclaimed as he put his lacerated pad into his mouth before pulling it out and examining the shallow cut.

“I warned you,” Kurt said with a stern look as he took the missile and put it back in the quiver at his hip.

“Is the trigger and cable catch bone?” Richard inquired with interest.

The platinum fox smiled. “No. It is more of Ella’s cleverness with ceramics. The things that she is making are very durable it seems. The tension on the cable will keep it taught without the need for a spring until squeezed to the stock. It is also rounded so that it will not wear on the string.”

“I have always been impressed with the German attention to detail,” Hector commented after determining the cut on his thumb pad was superficial and no real worry. “You’ll have to tell me how you do with this. Maybe we can make more for some of us that are not as proficient at hunting so we may also contribute.”

Kurt shrugged and accepted the device back from his silver fox friend. “It only took three weeks to construct. I am sure that making more will not be difficult as Ella still has the molds for the lever trigger. Of course, she is also most intrigued and wishes a report on the function of this,” he added a pat to the stock of his new tool and turned to Richard and Charity. “Are you ready?”

***

“There…between those two hummocks of grass,” Richard whispered, leaning so that the vixen could sight down his arm to where he pointed. “Do you see it?”

Charity strained to look at the rab-zelle that her mate pointed out, ready to growl in frustration when either the animal or the feathery tipped grass must have shifted slightly as one moment to the next the animal was suddenly there. “Ohmigosh! I see it!” she whispered happily. Then the vixen’s expression became confused. “So what do we do now?”

Richard smiled at the grey fox and lay back in the grass, his paws behind his head. “Nothing. We have enough game for now to take back.” He lifted one arm to poke the other fox gently in the stomach, “Including the two jack-a-woks you already ate!”

Charity smiled and lay next to the silver fox, nestling against the fur of his body with a happy sigh, more than a little pleased with the day, having caught her lunch plus three others by not shooting them with the bow but running them to ground with Richard’s help. Then a thought crossed her mind and the smile faded as a small furrow developed between her eyes. “Richard?” she began softly. “Do…do you still miss Elena and Amanda? I mean…well, I still miss Joel sometimes, but not like I did when he was first killed. I mean, it still hurts sometimes, but not like it did.” She sighed in frustration. “You know what? Forget I said anything.”

“No,” the silver fox said and pulled the vixen closer, his hand stroking her hair that she kept in something like a pixie style cut, never having liked long hair to begin with, even when she’d been human. “That’s an acceptable question and the answer is yes. I do miss them from time to time.” He gave the female a sympathetic look. “It’s okay to talk about them. Joel and Elena and Mandy were important parts of our lives. You don’t forget about the important people you loved.”

Charity nodded, her frown becoming more pronounced. “It’s just that…jeez, this is going to make me sound like a total tramp, but when Joel and I first hooked up, I looked at him more like a consolation prize because I was still hung up on you. It wasn’t until we had our simulation and then in Seattle at that hotel that I realized I really did love him. I just wish I could have told him that more often, you know?”

“Hung up on me?” the silver fox asked in surprise.

The vixen nodded. “I was hot for you from the time our group boarded the bus to go to the Institute! You were handsome, kinda quiet and shy, but you also made me and Tipper aware that you were there for us. I mean, we were really scared and all, but you were so calm and cool with everything! I think that’s what helped us out so much. Then you also kept Matthew from bothering us too much as well, and a girl kinda gets certain ideas when a guy gets all protective over her.

“I was so ready to let you do whatever you wanted with me after our first week. And you made me and Tipper not feel like ugly freaks when our hair fell out…then again, letting us draw on your bald dome with magic markers was fun! But you made all the weird and scary stuff so much easier to deal with.

“Now here we are, I got what I wanted after all, and I know I’m not just another…and I hope you won’t be mad about the pun, but just a piece of tail for you or a notch on the bed post. I really like being with you and Sofiya and I love little Nikoli, but I feel kinda guilty because I loved Joel, too. I’m happy, but I don’t want to forget him, either, and it sometimes makes me feel like I’m the worst person ever for being happy and Joel not sharing that.”

Richard let her finish and felt the tension that filled the young vixen. It wasn’t difficult for him to pull her up so that she was all but laying on him, knowing that she was like him, or any of the other Furs, and that comfort was derived from touch and contact. He also stroked the short triangles of her ears alternately, letting his forefinger and thumb pads massage the tips, something he already knew soothed the anthrovixen.

“It’s not wrong to remember the people we loved, and it doesn’t make you a bad person. Sofiya and I still think about Mandy and Elena, so you aren’t alone. Like I said, we don’t forget the people that mattered, and we shouldn’t. There are still times I wonder if I could’ve done something different or maybe if I’d been a little faster or a better swimmer that things would have been different.

“And it hurts. I know that Elena and Amanda will always have a substantial place in my heart, just like Joel will for you. It’s when we forget what they meant to all of us that we do wrong, and I don’t think either of us will ever do that. At the same time we all knew that what we were volunteering for was dangerous and that bad things could very easily happen to anyone. But we also have a job to do, and the best way we can honor Joel, Elena and Amanda is to do that the best way we can, just like we honor the Felis that came before us. We have to make this the kind of world all of us talked about because they are worth it.”

Charity lay against the other fox, absorbing what he said, his words as comforting as his touch and eventually felt a strange lightness fill her, like a weight was pulled off her heart and shoulders she’d been unaware of. It wasn’t until Richard sighed that the vixen lifted her head to look at her mate.

“You know I didn’t push things with you because Joel came to me to say that he was very interested in you.”

The vixen jerked upright and stared with wide eyes at the silver fox. “Are…are you serious?”

“Very,” Richard answered simply. “Then I fell in love with Sofiya and that was it for me.”

“If…if you and I had gotten together, would Sofiya still be a part of our…our family?”

The silver fox shrugged, turning the gesture into a hug. “I honestly don’t know. I can tell you when she first talked about bringing Amanda and Elena into our group I was more than a little opposed to the idea. At first I thought it was some kind of test like some wives and girlfriends pull to see if their guy will be faithful. Then I was a little sore when I found out she was being completely honest.

“Sofiya pointed out that things were going to be a little unfair with some of you vixens going without a male because of the disproportionate numbers, and that sharing was inevitable, but at least this way she could share with others that wouldn’t hurt or try to sabotage what she and I had. And she was right, both from a logicaland emotional view point. Then as things progressed, I found myself loving all three of them. The way I felt for each of them was different, but not any less in its intensity. That they all loved each other helped as well. Elena was like a sister to Sofiya, and as for Amanda, her heart was just too good and pure not to love her back.

“What really made the difference was that all of us really cared for the others. We could depend on each other, no matter what. It didn’t matter if it was help with chores or duties, or giving a hug when we were down, or even just something as simple as a smile. None of us were alone, and being so far away from everything we had on Earth, that made all the difference.”

“Never mind that you were with the three most beautiful vixens out of our group!” Charity snickered.

“I thought so, too, but then I was biased,” the other fox quipped with a grin. “But you aren’t anything to turn away, either. Sofiya and I both think that you’re a complete knockout.”

The vixen’s eyes grew wide and her ears perked up significantly. “Really?”

“Really.” Richard went so far as to cross his heart and hold up his fingers in a scout’s salute. “Cherry, for a Fur and when you were human, you are very beautiful.” He fished in the pocket of his shorts and held his closed paw up. “In fact, Sofiya and I were wondering if you’d be interested in wearing this.”

When the silver fox opened his fingers, between the claw tips of his finger and thumb was the end of the chain that Amanda had gotten the fennec back on Earth, many of the other Vulps chagrined that they hadn’t had similar thoughts.

“Are you serious?” Charity whispered, her gaze softening as it locked on to the slowly swinging, gleaming links of white gold.

“Very serious.” Richard swallowed before meeting the vixen’s eyes. “We care about you, Cherry, and we’d like to let everyone know that you are a special part of our family.”

“Put it on me, please!” the grey fox asked as she sat up and spun so that her back was to the silver fox as her left paw lifted her hair so he wouldn’t have any difficulty with the clasp. No sooner did the little mechanism click into place than Charity spun again, throwing her arms around Richard, her enthusiastic kiss driving him backwards into the grass, leaving the silver fox breathless when they finally parted.

“Wow. I guess that helps answer my question if you’d be okay with this,” he chuckled.

“I am so beyond ‘okay’!” the grey fox giggled.

***

Nikoli had woken Sofiya up with soft yipping barks, wanting his breakfast. Nursing her son had the same effect it always did of filling the anthrovixen with a sense of completion that was both powerful and subtle, and she enjoyed looking into the kit’s eyes, marveling at what she and Richard had made with their love. Was what she felt the same joy that her own parents had experienced because of her? It was an interesting thought to turn over and examine as the child nursed until he had his fill. It only required a few pats to Nikoli’s back before the kit belched loudly and smacked his tiny muzzle in drowsy satisfaction.

“You are so your father’s son!” the vixen laughed and buried her nose in the fur of her baby’s neck.

Ensuring that the sleep sack that the other mothers of the colony had developed was still clean, learning quickly that traditional diapers and fur were a very messy combination, Sofiya nestled her son close to her and snuggled back into the bed, the kit already falling back to sleep, happy and warm. Sofiya had no qualms about lazing about, Hector having taken the brunt of duties for the week, and just drifted off when her PBJ chimed with the instrumental pieceAir on a G String.

Sighing with mild frustration at having failed to turn off the sound, Sofiya picked up the device and flipped it open, her yellow-green eyes widening as she read the message, the news waking her up fully with a sense of anticipation. Rolling out of bed and placing the pillows and blankets around Nikoli, the vixen rushed about the room in an attempt to make herself presentable, brushing her fur quickly, especially her cheeks where she’d been laying down, and threw on a fresh outfit of shorts in dark blue and green vest. She then found the sort of sling that had a pouch for Nikoli and got her kit situated before heading for the operations dome.

Sofiya paused long enough to get some of the meat that Richard had cooked for him and Charity before taking the other vixen hunting, the quick breakfast getting wrapped in a loaf of flatbread that she tore into on her way to where Hector was.

“I thought you were taking the week to relax?” the South American grey fox chided good naturedly.

“Did you receive the message?” the red fox asked as she pulled a tiny shred of meat out of her sandwich for her kit.

Hector shook his head. “I have the sound muted. I was reading Toshiro’s report and didn’t want to be distracted. Is something wrong?”

Sofiya grinned. “I will be letting you read the message for yourself.”

It was amusing to watch the myriad reactions as Hector read the message from Earth before he looked up at his leader. “It’s here? Is it my imagination, or did that seem rather fast?”

“Hector, it has been a little under a month and a half for us, which means a little longer for Earth. Call in the scouting teams. I am sure that everyone will be wanting to watch the drop of the cargo pods from the automated ship!”

***

“There it is!” Kurt exclaimed as he pointed up to the swath of stars overhead, one of the small, bright points moving quickly in a Northeasterly direction. From the surface of Bastien it looked like a plane moving across the night sky, something that seemed marvelous to the Furs that had gone for so long without such things.

“It doesn’t look like it is moving very fast,” Myao Shin said from where he sat with Enola, the two red foxes sitting close on the blanket they’d spread on the turf of the commons.

“Figure it’s cruising along at about fifteen thousand miles per hour,” Richard quipped where he sat ensconced by Sofiya and Charity, his son in his arms with Nikoli looking up in an effort to mimic the adults around him.

“When will it drop the cargo pods?” the Chinese Fur asked as he continued to look up without blinking.

Toshiro chuckled from near-by. “It already has. The pods need to hit the atmosphere at the right angle so they don’t tumble and slow down enough for the parachutes to eventually deploy.”

“Is that them?” Enola Bellingham asked excitedly as four spots of light seemed to flare for a split second before leaving a trail of red fire behind each of them.

Hector smiled. “That would be the pods.”

Everyone watched in rapt fascination, Rupert recording the drop with a small video recorder from the colony equipment locker. It was several minutes from the pods growing dark as they slowed enough to deploy parachutes to the point the locator strobes began blinking, three of the bright blue-white lights around the circumference of the cone shaped pods and one on the top. Each flash of the lights illuminated the bright, reflective fabric of the chutes, and several Furs gasped as jets of maneuvering thrusters pushed the slowly descending cargo units closer to the colony.

It was quite evident that the pods were going to come down outside the wall of the Abeona settlement, coordinates having been relayed to Earth for the meadow that claimed the southern portion of the land around the colony. The animals that normally grazed in that portion of ground were already on the north side. Everyone rushed to the top of the wall to watch as the first pod landed in a controlled crash, a series of landing bags deploying at forty feet to further cushion the impact.

“They must have taken lessons fromSoyuz missions. Landing in water is fine, but Russia is having more land than water!” Victor Rushenko laughed. “Still, is feeling like holiday and instead of reindeer and sled, Father Christmas is using rockets!”

Charity blinked where she stood holding onto Richard’s arm. “Wow! Those things are as big as one of our houses! We could live in one of those!”

“They are being made to be dismantled and recycled by colonists,” Sofiya said as she watched the second pod land, the bright orange chutes collapsing slowly. “For being run by computers on Earth, the drop was being fairly accurate,” the vixen observed.

Richard nodded, no less excited than the rest of the Vulps. “A lot more accurate than some of the resupply flights I saw in the military,” he agreed. “I know that everyone wants to go and crack them open, but we should probably let them cool a little before we get close. I don’t think they’re going anywhere.”

“While we are waiting I will be starting my report for Stockholm,” Sofiya said with a pleased expression. “This could make it easier to be helping colonies keep going instead of having to send rescue missions!”

CHAPTER 42

"Territorial Dispute"

Sofiya looked over the equipment that had been unloaded from the pods with a curious tilt to her head while Ruiz attached the last of the four airfoils to the second wind generator included in the drop. Once finished the South American Vulps would be helping the other Furs with the rest of the equipment that had been delivered via orbital drop. The base was anchored to the ground with long stakes that ran through the three extended legs and the heavy, cast alloy base plates. It would take a substantial gust of wind to topple the device, but the added electricity the generator would provide was most welcome. At least with the new power units the colony’s already employed solar and wind stations wouldn’t be taxed with the additional drain from the four vehicles that Richard and the others were assembling.

Looking like small, misshapen motorcycles with large balloon tires, the silver fox had commented that they seemed similar to the all terrain vehicles so popular with outdoor sports enthusiasts, though the batteries the conveyances ran off of would limit their range. As such, small solar rechargers had been included with each that comprised a converter for energy that would be gathered by a flexible collector that could roll up for easy storage and transport. Each of the small vehicles had two wheels in the front with a third in the back that housed the actual electric motor. The saddles for the tricycle-like machines had obviously been intended for use by up to two Furs as there were padded channels and sort of tray over the fender of the pinion seat for a tail to keep the appendage from getting too close to the rear wheel.

“But why did they send us this stuff?” Charity asked as she stood with the red fox vixen. “I’m not complaining, but the horses do well enough, and it’s not like we can use these to haul a lot of stuff even with the little wagons that came with them.”

“There will be a human colony…apermanent human colony here very soon,” Hector said as he wiped grease on a bit of rag after assembling the hitch for a trailer then attached it to the nearest three-wheeler. “They have tested these, to be sure, but no test on Earth will compare to actual use on another world. That and there is no guarantee that the next settlement will be close to us. We are almost a hundred miles from our original site and I am rather sure that we will be needing to go back and forth between our settlement and the next one once it is established.”

Richard looked up from tightening a bolt to the wheel hub on one of the small utility trailers. “That and you don’t often need to worry about predators eating a scooter. I think that Hector’s got the right of it, though. We’re supposed to test this stuff as well. We don’t even have a tenth of the number a permanent colony will. Soon there’s going to be about five hundred or more people here, and you can’t practically carry that many horses for all of them. They’re going to need things to move materials, get around and perform scouting runs that are inexpensive, dependable and easy to fix.”

“Besides, they look like fun!” Ruiz tossed into the conversation as the bat eared fox released the brake on the wind generator’s primary shaft. “These are very similar to machines back home that many used to race on Saturday mornings back home. It was very exciting!”

Tipper and Mina, both having worked long and hard to make amends to the third member of their family group, not to mention the rest of the colony, shook their heads at the South American’s enthusiasm. “No racing for you, mister,” Tipper told the former mechanic with a chortle.

“I am not thinking that we will be letting that happen, Ruiz,” Sofiya cautioned, the looks from the other two vixens being grateful for her intervention. “Like our other equipment, we will be needing to take great care in how they are treated.”

“Si, Sofiya,” the small male answered with a short bow of his head and subdued expression. “Still, as the one that will be keeping them in repair, it would be necessary to, how should I say it, put them through their paces!”

“You are a very naughty person, Ruiz,” the red fox vixen laughed.

The bat eared male shook his head emphatically, causing the long, glossy black ponytail he wore his still human head hair in to swing wildly. “No,Senora. Just being very thorough!”

“So long as being thorough is not getting anyone hurt,” Sofiya admonished with a hard look that was softened by grin she gave the bat eared fox a moment later. “How long before the new wind generators may be connected to our equipment?”

“The cables are all standard to what we have,” Ruiz replied while wiping his paws clean until he could bathe properly later that evening. “We can connect them when you wish.”

Richard looked over at the new pair of machines. “Those cables are fairly tough but I’d feel better if we could bury them. It’ll protect them a little better and reduce tripping obstacles. We’ll hit that later this afternoon. I want to get the new seeds and other equipment stowed for now.”

Sofiya looked up with interest. “Do we know what the other equipment was being?”

“Something about portable diagnostics units for the infirmary. There were some other things for the medical group that were included in the drop that we’ll take over, then I want to put up a couple of small domes to use as garages for the ATVs that will be large enough for the charging stations.”

Sofiya nodded as she stepped up to the silver fox and gave her mate a small lick to the side of his muzzle. “Then I will be leaving you and Hector to do what you feel needs to be done. Do tell Riva and the others that I would like a report when they are finished with looking over their new items so I may be putting it in our equipment lists. Now I must go get Nikoli. I am sure that he is very interested in his lunch by now. Suzette is already having her sanity tested with Jean and Abrielle,” she informed her mate as Charity also gave the silver fox a parting kiss.

Richard smiled as his mates turned and headed back into the walled portion of the colony, his gaze lingering on the red and grey fox vixens as they dropped to all fours and the way their tail swished back and forth with each step before turning back to the wind powered generators. Not for the first time, the silver fox Fur realized how fortunate he was, indeed and let his eyes linger for several moments before getting back to work.

***

The communications console chimed to let Sofiya know that her message had been received by the satellite and her report had been sent to Earth in a condensed tachyon burst. The vixen busied herself with closing down the device and leaning back in her chair, legs stretched in front of her while her arms went over her head, fingers and toes extended. There were times that she felt she spent too much time in the operations dome and not enough time with her fellow colonists or family. Through the semi-transparent panels of the dome the sun was an orange blob just above the wall of the colony, its western position showing that it was later than the vixen had originally thought.

With a sigh Sofiya began to put things away for the next day when she’d log a more detailed missive on the new equipment. A polite knock sounded on the frame of the dome’s doorway distracted her from tidying up and she turned her head to greet her visitor, expecting Richard to meet her for their planned shower prior to a quiet evening with the silver fox and Charity. Sofiya raised her eyes, surprised to find Shen-zhyi Ning, one of the Toyohashi Furs regarding her with a furtive expression. Shen-zhyi had been one of the Furs of the colony that was often overlooked due more to her reserved behavior and penchant for being quiet. Her contributions to the colony were neither outstanding nor abysmal, aiding her near obscurity, the Asian red fox being almost painfully average in her performance. She was, however, the only one of the colonists that had volunteered for the project that was married prior to joining, her husband being Yun Chu Ning, both having selected Asian red foxes as their choice of Furs.

The only reason that either stood out in Sofiya’s mind was that they had adopted the Western tradition of placing their surname at the end of their names instead of the beginning, a tradition that was becoming more and more popular in Hong Kong and the small republic of Taiwan.

“Do…do you have a moment to spare, Sofiya?” the small, ebon haired vixen inquired.

Before she could answer, Sofiya caught the scent of not quite fear, but extreme emotional distress from the other, and looking at the Chinese Fur she could tell that the other was shaking so bad that she almost vibrated. Standing and all but pulling the other vixen inside, Sofiya closed the panel that formed the door to the dome and guided the trembling Fur to the chair she’d been using. “Of course I am having a moment,” the blond fox replied softly, feeling the trembling that made it to the other female’s paw-like hands. “What is being wrong?”

Shen-zhyi sniffed delicately, her head lowered as she regarded the plastic flooring of the structure. “As…as our colony leader, you have the authority to perform marriages, yes?”

“That is one of my happier responsibilities,” Sofiya confirmed. “But you are already being married. Correct?”

“I am,” the vixen answered bitterly. “Is this also meaning that you have the authority to grant a divorce?”

Sofiya jerked back a little, though she didn’t release the paws of the distressed fox before her. “I…I am unsure.” She looked behind her and spied one of the other chairs in the dome and hooked it with her foot and pulled it closer, dropping into the seat and wincing when she failed to keep her tail from being pinched, still holding the other vixen’s paws. “This is not something that I have had to be looking into. But before I do, I must be knowing the reasoning for such a request.”

Two huge tears slid from Shen-zhyi’s eyes and fell upon her blue robe-like top, making the spots where they soaked into the loose weave fabric appear black. “I…I can no longer sub…submit to Yun Chu. I am tired of being ordered to perform my…mywifely duties to such a cold, cruel husband!”

Sofiya felt like a lump of ice suddenly formed in her stomach and prompted the other Fur to continue.

“Mine was an arranged marriage,” Shen-zhyi told the other vixen softly. “The dowry that was paid to Yun Chu and his family was meant to bolster his business, to ensure our prosperity, even though I was opposed to such. Yun Chu,” his name almost spat out like a swear word, “was from a very old family. It was my parents’ hope that our marriage would elevate their own standing. Unfortunately Yun Chu squandered the money from my dowry away on frivolities. Gambling, drinking, spurious business ventures…other women. He became indebted to very dangerous men. Criminals. Volunteering was the only means of escaping the situation that Yun Chu had wrought.

“Unfortunately coming from an old family that is very enamored of traditions, Yun Chu believes that it is my duty to produce sons for him, even if I wish otherwise. Women…we are property, to be treated as such, even though both of us came from somewhat Westernized provinces. It is something that Yun Chu very much enjoys. It galls him greatly that he must also be here, so far from the comforts that he is accustomed to, and with a woman leading us no less. Because of this he…he has been very strict about reminding me of my place.”

Sofiya swallowed hard before asking the question she must, more than mindful of her own past and simultaneously frustrated that her inquiry had to be made in a language that wasn’t what she was raised speaking and feeling almost bullishly clumsy. The ice that had seemed to form in her stomach was replaced with hot rage when Shen-zhyi nodded slowly, her chin almost touching her chest as she lowered her head further in shame.

“Stop that,” Sofiya directed as she lifted the other vixen’s head, forcing the other Fur to look at her. “You are not the only one that has endured such.” With more calm than she believed possible, Sofiya related her own ordeal of losing her first husband and what followed when she was a human. “You are not being alone, and I am very positive that there are others with us that have suffered such. What I am needing to know at this moment is if there are being others that you are feeling safe with?”

Shen-zhyi opened her mouth to speak, closed it and frowned before speaking. “I…I have become very good friends with Siobhan and Kurt. I also am friends with Enola and Myao Shin. I would…I would stay with them and join their family if allowed.”

Myao Shin and Enola are very good Furs,” Sofiya agreed. “They will be keeping you safe? Myao Shin is not the…strongest of us,” the vixen added delicately.

“I would be safe,” Shen-zhyi repeated firmly. “They are very good friends.”

There was an inflection that said the Asian vixen felt there was more than safety involved, but it wasn’t her place to interfere in that regard. As it was the request for a divorce was meddling enough, though it was also Sofiya’s responsibility to put the consideration of her fellow Vulps’ safety as a top priority.

“This may be taking some time to sort out,” Sofiya told the other. “It also means that I will have to be hearing Yun Chu’s version of this. It is not that I am disbelieving of you, but as Captain of Abeona I must be getting all of the facts. Until this matter is being settled I am ordering you and Yun Chu to be staying away from each other as much as is being possible and will tell him such. I will be needing to consult with Stockholm, Hector and Richard on this, though.”

“I…I don’t have to go back to my dome or Yun Chu?” Shen-zhyi asked hopefully.

“No. But I cannot let you be staying with Enola and Myao Shin at the moment. Because of the nature of the situation I will be placing you with others that can be protecting you. Just in case, I assure you. As such I am going to be asking Kurt and Siobhan to let you be staying in their home.” Sofiya finally released the other vixen’s paws and slipped her PBJ out of its normal pocket and sent a multiple message to the Furs in question, wincing slightly at the sudden knot of tension in her shoulders and twinges of a headache that was forming.

As her claw tip caressed the SEND icon, she wondered if other colony leaders faced similar challenges that weren’t as easily remedied as other problems that life on an alien world presented.

***

Richard sat in the house he shared with Sofiya and Charity, his mate next to him with Hector on the opposite side of the low table while Charity was in the other room with Nikoli, allowing the three Furs to talk without interruption. Before them sat cups filled with some of the last of the coffee that the South American Fur had brought with him, the amount limited due to weight constrictions placed on personal items when they’d all boarded their slipship transport.

“I have looked over the regulations regarding marriages for colonists,” the grey fox said, a furrow forming between his eyes. “I found that not only can you perform marriages, but as your first officer, so can I. There was, however, a distinct lack of information regarding divorce. I am of the mind that this hasn’t really been much of an issue in the short history of our kind and being sent to explore foreign worlds. Most domestic partnerships are nominally agreed upon situations without more formal measures by the parties involved, it seems.”

“The problem is that they were married before volunteering,” Richard pointed out, sipping through the incorporated straw of his cup slowly so as to savor the brew that was becoming something of a rare commodity. “How did the interview with Yun Chu go?”

“Feh!” Hector snorted. “He is a throwback to bygone days! Shen-zhyi is property plain and simple as far as that creature is concerned. Not only has he admitted that he has forced himself upon the poor girl, he is almost proud of the fact! That Shen-zhyi is so young and unsure of herself only complicates this entire mess.”

“There are other places where such arranged marriages are being normal,” Sofiya added with a frown of her own. “I have also been seeing this in Africa, and Neelu has told me that it is still a practice in her native India. Unfortunately, as this is not being covered in the colony bylaws, we must await a ruling from Stockholm. My concerns are reaching much farther than the immediate moment, though.”

“How’s that?’ Hector inquired, his ears lowering slightly.

The vixen took her cup in both paws and almost slumped over it before straightening up. “Even if divorce is granted from Headquarters, this will be having lasting repercussions for us all. We will have one Fur who will be experiencing a new freedom of choice, to be spending time with those she wishes and, albeit limited as we are here, will be living on her own merits. We will also have one Fur who will be seeing this as a grave insult and will be harboring great anger and possibly jealousy to any that Shen-zhyi is becoming friends to or even begins a relationship with. I know that some of the targets for these feelings of anger and animosity will be the three of us.”

“There’s not a whole lot we can do about that,” Richard pointed out. “Yun Chu will still be bound by the laws regulating a colonial existence, but that really doesn’t mean squat way out here. And there isn’t much I can do as safety officer. I can do even less than the two of you can as colony captain and first officer. So long as he behaves, that is.”

“And should he notbehave?” Sofiya asked. “All of us know that Yun Chu can be petty and cruel, at least according to Shen-zhyi. The question now is will he also be vindictive. Are you thinking that he may try to show his anger towards us by causing Shen-zhyi harm? Or even Kurt and Siobhan for protecting her? And what of Charity or Nikoli?”

“If that happens then the punishments that we can employ are quite clear,” the silver fox answered coldly. “Essentially anything you see fit, up to and including exile.”

“That is a frightening thought for anyone,” Hector pointed out. “Colony life is far from easy, but together we have done fairly well as a group. I don’t think that any of us would do well on our own, Richard and myself included. For one of the other Furs, I think it would be a short, miserable existence ending in a death sentence.”

***

Word arrived from Stockholm three days later, the additional day of delay attributed to the AHCP’s battalion of lawyers reviewing the legal ramifications of the request. The findings were that due to the treatment of one spouse by another in a manner that would be considered grounds for divorce in most countries, the final decision was left to Sofiya as the direct representative of the AHCP and what she determined would be best for the colony as a whole.

“Well, at least they made it clear that no foolishness would be tolerated by either Yun Chu or Shen-zhyi,” Richard said as he looked over the return verdict from Earth. “Shall we go tell them what your decision is?”

“Where are they both now?” Sofiya asked, her voice soft and her expression pinched with yet another headache.

“Both are in the Great Dome. Kurt and Matthew are acting as guards and they’ve got shock batons just in case,” Hector said.

The vixen nodded and stood up. “Then let us be done with this. The sooner we are being finished, the sooner I can be sending the report back to Earth. Once we are being sure that the decision will be honored I am wanting you to take your family to the hot springs. After this I am thinking I can use the rest.”

“I know Cherry would like it,” Richard commented as they headed for the door of the operations dome. “She hasn’t spent a lot of time there.”

Both Richard and Sofiya paused to look at each other before stepping through the door and the bright Bastien day and delivering a judgment that would be causing quite the stir within the small community. The horizon held soft edged, puffy clouds, though nothing that looked as if it would develop into any kind of inclement weather, though the sky above the colony was clear as could be.

“Pity that such a beautiful day is so marred by this incident,” Hector told the other two Furs.

Neither Sofiya or Richard had anything to add and resumed the short walk to the Great Dome. The tables and benches had been rearranged so that the table Sofiya and Hector would sit at was at one point where they could see the other two tables, the layout forming a triangle with Matthew and Kurt in a position to keep the two foxes in the center of the present debacle away from each other. With Richard standing behind his mate and her first officer the trio looked briefly at both Yun Chu who scowled in anger and embarrassment while Shen-zhyi looked hopeful though cowed by her husband’s demeanor.

Without speaking, Sofiya activated a small camera device that would actually record all of them, the fish eye lens able to take 360 degrees of video that would be used for other colony efforts as this was a first as far as anyone knew and the precedence would be recorded and sent to Earth for use if a similar situation ever arose again. The vixen then set her PBJ in front of her before regarding the Furs at the other tables.

“Yun Chu Ning, Shen-zhyi Ning, both of you are being here for a divorce proceeding that has been requested.” Sofiya looked at both for several long moments. “As Captain for Abeona, I am authorized to be performing marriages, but this is being the first time that a colony leader has been approached for the purposes of divorce, and as such we were having to await word from Stockholm.

“At this time I would be hearing from each of you as to whether we should be continuing with today’s proceedings. I will instruct both of you to maintain civil behavior to all that are being here today, and especially with each other. That being said, Hector and I have been informed from Stockholm that the final decision is being mine to approve or deny the petition for divorce. Yun Chu Ning, you will speak first.”

The Asian red fox remained seated and glared at Sofiya with barely controlled anger and contempt. “You cannot grant a divorce!” he spat. “The laws and traditions that I follow are very clear in this and I choose not to recognize your authority to interfere in what is most obviously a personal matter! Shen-zhyi is my wife and she will continue to behave as such!”

“The laws and traditions that you follow are superseded by the laws established by the Terran Colonial Coalition and Anthro Human Colonization Project, as you agreed on your contract upon volunteering,” Hector informed the irate Fur in a clear, crisp voice. “As such, and with your signature to said contract, you agreed to the recognition of this fact and waived your rights to the laws and traditions of your nation of birth and citizenship.” Hector gave the impression of raising an eyebrow as he pulled out his PBJ. “In fact,” the South American grey fox continued as his stylus tapped against the dual screen device, “the clause in question has just been sent to you for you to look at as a reminder.”

Yun Chu did indeed look at the excerpt from his contract, his ears drooping slightly. “Ta me duh…” the anthrofox muttered, Shen-zhyi wincing at his epithet. “This…this is still of no consequence! Shen-zhyi ismy wife!Mine!”

Hector, Sofiya and Richard both saw Matthew shift his position a little while Kurt adjusted his grip on the shock baton he carried at the tone the Asian red fox used along with the dark look cast to his wife.

“Your argument is noted, Yun Chu Ning,” the South American fox said in clipped tones.

“Shen-zhyi, will you please inform us of your reasoning to be petitioning for divorce?” Sofiya asked the other vixen.

No one that was in attendance could help but feel disgust as the incidents that the black haired red fox vixen was forced to suffer at the behest of her husband, and though she was quiet at first, her voice grew stronger and filled with anger at the indignities that Yun Chu had forced his wife to endure. Shen-zhyi finished describing the latest incident of attention from Yun Chu when the other red fox cut her off.

“You are my wife! It is your duty to submit to my wishes!” the male Asian red fox almost screamed with an underlying snarl that sent flecks of saliva flying as he suddenly stood, Matthew and Kurt reacting immediately to interpose themselves between the couple.

“Sit down!” Sofiya ordered in a voice that most of the Furs had never heard before, her words laced with a snarling growl as she asserted her dominance. “The behavior that we have heard of today is being the most reprehensible possible, something that all of us were thinking we left behind when we came here,” the vixen continued after Yun Chu reluctantly assumed his seat. “As such, and with a clear understanding of the situation, I am granting Shen-zhyi Ning her petition for divorce, the findings and decision to be sent with the report that will be following these proceedings. Are you also supporting this decision, Hector?”

The grey fox furman nodded solemnly. “I am.”

“Then let this recording show that we have been giving this matter the greatest consideration and with the permission of AHCP headquarters in Stockholm, we grant Shen-zhyi Ning divorce from her husband, Yun Chu Ning. At this time you may be resuming your maiden name with the change being noted to your original contract on file with Stockholm, Shen-zhyi.”

“I wish this,” the ebon haired vixen replied, still stunned that she’d gotten the divorce she’d petitioned for. “I would be known as Shen-zhyi Feng-li.”

“So noted and recorded,” Hector informed the gathering as he and Sofiya both tapped in comments on their Personal Business Juxtapositioners.

Sofiya looked up after storing the request and looked squarely at the two other Furs. “I am truly hoping that the two of you can be facing this new situation as adults. I am realizing that there will be some difficulty in adjusting to this great change in your lives, but I will be reminding you both of certain facts; We are all contracted to be staying here for several years yet. We will all still be having to work together to make our livings upon this world, and we will have to be seeing each other every day.

“Finally, I will not be tolerating any behavior or actions that put the other Furs of this colony in jeopardy. Hector and Richard are also feeling this way and will be supporting this order. Go your separate ways peacefully and continue to respect each other. Shen-zhyi, Kurt and Matthew will be escorting you to the dome that you and Yun Chu were sharing so that you may retrieve your personal belongings without molestation. Yun Chu, you will let her take her things. Do you both understand what I have just said?”

Shne-zhyi replied with a soft, “Yes,” while Yun Chu simply glared at Sofiya.

“Then you are being dismissed,” the blond vixen told the others, maintaining a hard expression until the newly divorced couple were led from the dome. Once they were out of sight, Sofiya seemed to deflate as the tension drained from her with a long exhale. “Would either of you be thinking less of me if I were to be saying that I am very happy that this ordeal is over?”

Richard slipped up behind his mate and began to massage her shoulders, working at the residual knots. “Not at all,” he said softly, hoping that this really was the end of it.

With the proceedings out of the way each returned to their various tasks, Hector and Sofiya having a meeting with Rupert after lunch to discuss new construction the former mason wanted to initiate while Richard met with the survey teams to ensure all of them knew how to use the electric vehicles that had been part of the cargo drop. As each returned to the job of maintaining the colony none were aware of the anger filled pale yellow eyes that watched them, anger and humiliation smoldering in their depths.

CHAPTER 43

"Standoff"

Myao Shin Tam politely cleared his throat as Richard finished doing an inventory of the armory module and stored his notes in the clamshell device all of them had been issued. When the silver fox turned around, Myao gave the older Fur a polite bow causing Richard’s ears to perk up at the rather deferential greeting, though he also noticed the rather furtive looks the Asian red fox gave any noise that came from outside the dome. “What’s up, Myao? And why are you nervous?”

“My apologies, Richard, but may I speak with you? It…it is rather personal, but I am not sure what to do and…you have been more than a good friend to me. You areYangfu.”

The silver fox slipped his PBJ into the chest pocket of his overalls and smiled, knowing that the younger Vulps looked upon him as something akin to a favorite uncle or older brother, sometimes even seeing him as a father figure. It was understandable with Richard having learned that the Chinese Fur had grown up with distant relatives after losing his own parents at an early age and was only twenty one, volunteering for the Furmankind Project as soon as he turned the acceptable age of eighteen. “Sure. I’m always willing to help when I can. You know that,” he said lightly, placing a paw on the other’s shoulder.

Myao relaxed noticeably and gave the older fox a weak smile. “I am having…domestic troubles. It is Enola and Shen-zhyi. I think that they are expecting me to be like you, to be…to be with both of them. How do you live with and love two women at the same time?” The young red fox swallowed and gave the older American Fur a nervous expression. “I do not know if I can do this. The situation is very much a problem at the moment.”

Richard couldn’t help the chuckle that bubbled up as he guided Myao to a long plastic crate and sat down next to the younger fox. “Do you know how many guys back on Earth would like to have yourproblem?” The silver fox sobered a little when he saw how uncomfortable the red fox was, even sitting down Myao’s tail tried to press against the backs of the Vulps’ legs. “You know, when Sofiya first pointed out that the numbers of males and females were rather unbalanced and told me that it would be necessary for, eh…sharing, I didn’t know that she meant that more for me than the rest of the guys with us.

“I’m going to be honest, Myao. I was a little angry at first. I love Sofiya with all my heart. I really do. The thought that she wouldn’t be the only female for me was…well, it made me wonder for a little while if it meant that she didn’t want me and that maybe throwing other ladies at me was a way of keeping me distracted. That wasn’t it at all, though. Sofiya knows that all of us, men and women…or Vulps in our case, need affection. It keeps us healthy, it’s part of what we are. Both the human parts and the parts of us that are foxes. She knew that in order to keep the situation from degrading to a dangerous point that certain things we’ve all grown up thinking were proper didn’t have a place with what all of us were getting ready to do. And she was right.

“You see, even though Sofiya wants the same things as the rest of us, a family, love and children, she also has to think about the rest of us and Abeona as a whole. We have a job to do, and she has to make sure we can do that. She did choose who the two of us would be sharing our lives with. Sofiya told me that there were a few other vixens that she trusted not to hurt either of us or cause problems, that’s why Amanda and Elena became part of our family. I was cautious, but soon came to love them as well. It wasn’t the same as the way I love Sofiya, but then neither of them were her; they were their own as individuals, but they were also willing to be part of our family and understood that while none of them would have an exclusive relationship, they were cared about and cared for.”

Myao Shin looked up, his dark yellow eyes widening as his ears stood fully erect for a moment before drooping. “You still mourn Amanda and Elena,” he whispered, chagrined when Richard’s own expression fell.

“I do,” the silver fox admitted as his eyes began to sting. “The logical part of me,” he said tapping his head, “knows that I tried my best to save them. But here,” he added with a claw tip to his chest, “feels that I could’ve done better. They were depending on me and there will always be a part of me that feels I let them down, and now they’re gone.”

Myao felt tears fill his eyes and roll down the fur of his face. “I…I would give my life to have them back, Richard,” the younger Fur told his friend in a shaking voice. “You and Sofiya have suffered much, and I would happily face my death to see your family whole again.”

Richard looked at the earnest young Fur and smiled tiredly. “I know you would, Myao. And the sentiment is appreciated. Sure, we all knew the risks when we signed up and had a chance to back out, but it doesn’t make it any easier to deal with when tragedy does strike.” The silver fox sighed and shook his head. “But that’s not what we need to be talking about.”

The red fox seemed to sink into himself. “No…it is not.” Myao sighed and laced his fingers together with his elbows on his knees. “Enola is accepting of the thought, and there are times that she seems to enjoy being around Shen-zhyi…it confuses me,Yangfu. I do not know what I should do.”

“You know, I had it explained to me by Daniel, Suzette, Etienne and Riva, and what they said made a lot of sense.” Richard leaned back and got more comfortable. “Back on Earth in the wilds, male foxes normally roam before and after breeding season, but female foxes tend to form groups called skulks. They work together for the welfare of their skulk, all of them assisting in raising the kits, hunting and protecting their range. It seems that the urge to form skulks is a part of our ladies now. It’s just another sign that none of us are fully human anymore. We have our intellect and reasoning, but there are parts of us that belong to the fox aspect and will find comfort in behavior that wasn’t with us before our change.

“The females like to be around each other and that’s okay. It makes them feel more comfortable and safe. Considering what Shen-zhyi has gone through, that need to feel accepted and safe may be stronger than what some of the other vixens feel. Just remember, it’s these feelings…instincts I guess, that make us better suited for living on alien worlds than full humans. They make us more adaptable, more resilient. At the same time, we’re still the same people that we were before undergoing the furmankind changes. Even the other Furs that were with us before we left Earth were starting to exhibit the traits of their particular choices and if you think back I bet you’ll remember seeing it.

“The Canis liked to be in groups, or packs, just like wolves or dogs, a lot of the Felis felt the urge for contact with other Felis, not all the time or in a romantic way, but they felt comfortable lounging together but were still independent. The Ursis could and did work as a group or part of a team, but they also liked their alone time. A lot of us Vulps, the guys at least, have little trouble being alone, but we also like spending time with our ladies.”

“I have noticed this,” Myao admitted. “It is strange because before joining the AHCP girls made me…nervous.” The red fox ducked his head again, his ears twitching back in an expression of embarrassment. “Is it the fox part of me that becomes full of…yi-yin…enflamed with certain thoughts of…” Myao gesture to his lower half, his ears all but trying to vanish along the sides of his head, “when I smell flowers?”

Richard looked at the almost mortified young fox. “Um, are you telling me that you and Enola haven’t…um, well…been together?”

Myao shook his head slowly. “I did not wish to be like…like Yun Chu,Yangfu. I…” for the first time since the conversation started to become somewhat personal, the red fox brightened. “Enola fills me with joy and great happiness. I would rather die a thousand deaths before I dishonored her!”

“Myao, you need to talk to her about this. It isn’t dishonorable to love someone and show them that love. It’s very natural and…” Richard swallowed. “Just go talk to her. There is a very good chance that she is hoping for that kind of expression of affection.” The silver fox shook his head wondering just how he got into these kinds of conversations. “Be honest, and talk to her about Shen-zhyi as well. In fact, it might be good for the three of you to go on a little picnic, get away from the colony for a bit and get everything out in the open. This way there won’t be any surprises or confusion.”

“And what of the smell of flowers? Why does that make me-”

“Oh, no. You’ll have to discover that little bit on your own. If things work out the way I think they might, you’ll discover that on your own,” Richard said with a laugh as he playfully scruffed the younger Fur’s neck with his paw-like hand before standing and guiding the red fox to the doorway to send him on his way. “Now, you keep calling meYangfu. I don’t know what that word means. I’m having a hard enough time keeping up with Ukrainian, so you’ll need to help me out on that one.”

Myao Shin grinned as he turned around and gave the silver fox a quick bow. “It means one who is ‘little father’, not my parent… a foster father,” the fox answered before heading to the ceramic blocked house he shared with Enola Bellingham, and now Shen-zhyi.

***

Mina finished depositing the large strainer of local tubers that someone had namedbastots, or Bastien carrots despite the resemblance to parsnips, into the enormous pot of soup base and worked on rinsing a basket of greens that would also be added eventually. A few pinches of salt that had been gleaned from sea water before the colony relocated helped savor the slowly cooking bits of vegetables and cuts of meat from one of Kurt Reichmann’s hunts. Other native herbs and plants that had been discovered as edible went in before the vixen turned back to her cutting board to render the greens into strips, scratching her head at the sudden disappearance of her cleaver. Mina scanned the kitchen area as she rubbed at her chin in thought, wondering where she could have possibly set it down.

Looking at the preparation tables, around the plastic cutting board, even on the plastic flooring of the kitchen dome, Mina started to become completely flummoxed as to where she could have put the cutting utensil, wondering if perhaps she’d knocked it between some of the storage containers for dry goods. As it was, the vixen was unaware of the shadow that darted from the doorway while she was preoccupied in her search.

***

Siobhan Hanlon looked at her handiwork, more than pleased with the result of applying her seamstress skills to some of the incredibly fine leathers and furs that her mate had tanned after his hunting forays, her friend looking like a vulpine warrior-queen from some fantasy movie that recently was all the rage with young people on Earth. Her model for the leather garments was less than convinced, despite having more than enough to cover the various parts of her body that the standards of modesty and decorum they’d all grown up with required.

“I am not being so sure of this…” Sofiya said as she tried to look down at herself. “I feel like apoviya!”

“A what?’ the other red fox asked as she looked up from her scrutiny of the tooled design that had been colored by bone instruments dipped in dye. The dye was made from a berry that had had been discovered along the banks of the lake that had proven inedible but when roasted and boiled and mixed with methyl alcohol that was used for lantern fuel made a permanent dark purple stain.

“A...a street girl…” Sofiya explained as she plucked at the half vest that was also fringed with accents of fur that matched the ones on the strange skirt. “You are knowing…a lady of the evening…”

Siobhan broke out with a laugh, already wearing some of the other things that she’d made like a hair catch with pin that had thin strands of leather with feathers and colored rocks or ceramic beads, braided bracelets, though the handbag that she had fashioned for herself was hanging on the back of a handcrafted chair with the hide from a rab-zelle. “Sofiya, you’re wearing more than you do with our furman clothing,” the former Irish tailor pointed out as she eyed the way that the back of the skirt tapered down to a point that would keep her friend more than concealed if she had to go on all fours.

“But the way it is made is making it feel like less,” the blond vixen commented sullenly.

“Then we’ll have to get the opinion of someone else,” Siobhan said. “Kurt! Could you come in here, Love?”

“Ja,leiber…,” the German said, not looking up until he entered from one of the side rooms where he’d been fashioning points for the crossbow and quarrels that Ruiz had helped him make. When he did lift his head, the platinum fox stopped, his eyes widening as his tail fell before wagging in a twitching manner that showed he was trying to calm his response. “Mein Gott! Sofiya…you are stunning!”

“I am?” the vixen inquired in a small voice. “I am not looking like…a girl of the night?”

“Of course you are not,” Kurt told the vixen firmly. “You look incredible and I know Richard would feel the same.” The German smiled before leering at his mate. “In fact, I’m going to insist that the next such dress Siobhan makes is for herself! It is not proper for me to be so appreciative of another’s vixen, especiallymein friend’s.”

“I don’t mind you looking,” the other vixen said with an almost girlish giggle. “You’re a guy, you can’t help it. Just so long as you don’t touch, that’s the important part!”

Sofiya was simultaneously warmed by the affectionate interaction of her friends, but also a little embarrassed by it, though the assessment mollified her somewhat. She had to admit that the clever way in which the designed cutouts were placed in the supple, almost delicate leather kept the outfit from being too warm, and the combination of clean hide with only a little fur left on for accentuation was rather attractive, it did leave her belly exposed, and not even when she was a human woman had she worn anything like that, her swimsuits for the beach always having been one piece. Once becoming a Fur she’d gone topless, but this made baring herself in such a way feel risqué.

“I know what you’re thinking, Sofiya,” the other vixen teased. “And you’re right! It’s what isn’t shown but only hinted at that’s the most enticing.” Siobhan seemed that she would have said more, but a knock on the door caused her to pause as Kurt went to answer.

“Ach. Come in. You are just in time,” the speckled platinum fox said, moving aside so that Charity could enter the house.

“Yeah. I didn’t know that you wanted me here earlier. I sorta left my PBJ on the…holy smokes!” the North American grey fox exclaimed. “Sofiya, you look beautiful!”

“Do you truly think so?” the blond haired red fox asked as she turned slowly, her arms held up.

“Oh, yeah!” Charity turned to Siobhan. “Please tell me you can make something like that for me? I’ll do your chores for a month!”

The Irish Fur almost doubled over with laughter at the reaction from the younger vixen. “You’d better be very glad that I’m not going to take you up on that!” Siobhan informed the third member of her friend’s family group. “As it goes, I already know your measurements and have this for you to try on.”

***

Sofiya and Charity walked back to the house they shared with Richard, the new outfits in their arms, holding paw-like hands in a way that seemed completely natural while the younger vixen tried not to run. “I don’t know why you didn’t want us to wear them,” the grey fox pouted before breaking into a grin. “You look beautiful! It makes me wish I’d chosen a red fox, too!”

“You are very pretty, and I am thinking that you are perfect the way you are being,” Sofiya told the other vixen with a squeeze of her paw. “Besides, I am wanting it to be a surprise for Richard, and we cannot do such if we are wearing them now,” she told the other with an almost girlish giggle. “I think he will be liking our new dresses very much.”

Charity nodded. “We’ll know just how much by how quickly he tries to get us out of them!”

The blonde vixen looked at the other, the only thing keeping her from stopping in the middle of the graveled path being the insistent tug on her arm. “Cherry!” Sofiya exclaimed in shock and wide-eyed surprise. “You are being very wicked!”

“Hardly! Wicked is what the two of you did to me last week when…” The grey fox trailed off as she looked at the house the three Vulps shared. “Funny. I thought I shut the door.”

“Could the breeze have been blowing it open?” the red fox inquired.

Charity shrugged as she stepped inside. “I suppose. So what time is Richard supposed to be getting back?”

“It will certainly not be too late. I know he was wanting to be starting an inventory of supplies for the survey teams,” Sofiya told the other vixen as she set the wrapped outfit in the bedroom nook. “I must be getting Nikoli from Suzette soon. She is very happy to be letting the children play together and giving time to us, but I am not wanting to be taking advantage of her offer.”

“I’ll go with you,” the other offered as she put her own new clothing into the storage chest all three shared.

Neither noticed the furred fingers that gripped the leather hanging that separated the main sleeping chamber with the smaller nook that had been added for Nikoli or the flash of steel.

***

“I don’t know,” Richard told the assembled teams as they discussed the new methods of protecting the members of survey forays. “To have every one carry a rifle or pistol with two full reloads is a lot of ammunition,” he said, Hector nodding in agreement. “But with some of the indigenous wildlife I don’t know if I’d feel comfortable with anything less.”

Lu Chin Yao raised his paw, the Asian red fox looking thoughtful. “Then, perhaps, we should take a lesson from history.” A grin slowly spread over the former academic’s muzzle, “And the lessons learned from our own simulation back on Earth.”

“I do not think that I am following you,” Hector said with a confused expression.

Lu chin smiled more broadly. “It is simple. We have limited bullets for our firearms, of this we are all in agreement. At the same time we must be protecting ourselves. When our own ancestors began to explore, they did not have modern firearms. In many cases they were fortunate to have bronze weapons and tools, and many more had little more than stone.”

The Fur stood and stepped to the spot where he’d hidden a personal project and smiled at the looks of surprise at the seven and a half foot long spear.

“For thousands of years, all humanity had were simple weapons, yet they carved vast territories and built empires with just such tools. In the process, those early humans met many threats in the form of animals and other tribes. Why must our answer be what we are accustomed to? Why not look to the history of the people we originated from? Even our most honorable Kurt has embraced primitive technology with his crossbow. Why can we not do the same?”

Richard blinked at the spear in surprise before chuckling. “Um, Lu Chin? I don’t know how to use a spear.”

“Ah,” the red fox said with his orange-red eyes sparkling. “But you do know how to use a knife! And what is a spear but a knife with a very, very long handle?”

“What is the tip made from?” Hector inquired. “It can’t be steel! We don’t have any.”

“Ah. That would be the other metal that we have found mining the stone for our homes,” Lu Chin said with a grin. “Silver is not the best metal for this, but it is better than none, and can be hardened a little. As such it is a little more durable, thicker for strength, sharp enough to shave, though we do not need to do that anymore, and more effective than simply sharpened wood.”

Richard and Hector looked at each other for a long moment, grinning at Lu Chin’s answer to their quandary when a scream from inside the colony perimeter pulled their attention away from the meeting. “That was Sofiya!” the silver fox spat as he spun and dropped to all fours, Hector only a moment behind.

Other Furs that had heard the scream gathered around the scene that Richard was desperately trying to reach. No one complained as the American shoved and bulled his way through the crowd as each tried to see what was amiss. As he passed, the path the silver fox plowed immediately closed up, almost as if he were moving through water until he was at the forward edge of the colonists, his heart dropping to his stomach.

On her knees, a look of supreme fear on her face was Sofiya, her arm outstretched imploringly as tears flowed freely from her eyes. Next to the red fox was Charity with the same expression while several yards away in the doorway of the house all of them shared stood Yun Chu, his yellow eyes wide with a mad look and his lips pulled back to reveal his teeth while drool and foam flecked his muzzle. His gaze flicked to Richard once and he held up both paw-like hands to show the American that in one he held a cleaver, and in the second, bawling at being held by the scruff of his neck was Richard and Sofiya’s son.

Fury boiled up in Richard at the threat to his child, and it was only by the barest margin that he kept from leaping forward to attack the threat to his family. Never before had the silver fox Fur come so close to giving in to the portion of his new DNA that shared half of its make up withVulpes vulpes, and the desire, the need to feel Yun Chu’s blood washing over his tongue, to taste and drink down the hot and coppery sweet fluid was staggering in its intensity.

He didn’t know how long that particular battle raged within, but Richard’s intellect and reasoning reasserted itself, though the pure, animal hatred at Yun Chu lurked in the shadows and ready to take hold again.

“You don’t want to do this, Yun Chu,” Richard told the other fox, his voice rising in timber as he recovered from his internal struggle and pushed up onto two legs, the tremulous quality vanishing by the third word.

Some expressions were difficult for Furs, pouting being one, sneering properly being another, though the Chinese Vulps was able to sneer first at Sofiya, then the American more than adequately. “You deny me my means of having a son! Why should you be allowed to have yours?” the unstable red fox screamed, shaking the kit and renewing the child’s yipping cries of pain.

“You hurt my son and there won’t be enough of you left to bury!” Richard snarled through gritted teeth.

The red fox, his eyes darting to look at Sofiya with every frightened whimper that came in response to her child’s suffering only seemed to fuel Yun Chu’s madness. The fox began to rant and rave as much in Mandarin as he did in English. Then after one particularly long tirade, the mad Fur saw his former wife on the edge of the crowd. With a look of purest malice, he beckoned with the cleaver, the honed steel coming precariously close to Nikoli with the gesture.

“Shen-zhyi! Return to me and I will let our beloved leader’s bastard child go!” Yun Chu screamed in Mandarin. When the vixen straightened, wiping the tears from her eyes and a look of resolve forming, the mad fox smiled without mirth. He would show these others what a real leader was like and command the respect he knew he deserved. “I am waiting Shen-zhyi and my patience is waning!”

The Asian red fox vixen was only able to take one step before Enola leapt in front of her. “You can’t! He’ll kill you!” the English Fur cried desperately.

Shen-zhyi shook her head. “I cannot let him harm the child,” she whispered, her gaze falling on her ex-husband. From the edge of her vision, she saw Richard attempting to edge closer to the tormentor that seemed as if he’d be in her life forever. “I cannot allow that,jia-zi.”

Richard had used the distraction to edge closer, his aim not to subdue Yun Chu, but to grab his son and get the child to safety. Just as he began to tense his legs for the short sprint that also seemed to be a mile, the Asian fox put the cleaver up to the side of Nikoli’s neck. “Do not think I am a fool,hun-dan Richard! The closer you get, the greater your son’s peril!”

Before the silver fox could react to the threat to his son, Myao appeared at the front of the crowd and began speaking in Mandarin, what he said being lost save those that were raised speaking the language.

“Why do you hold a child hostage, Yun Chu Zhyi?” Myao asked the other Fur in English so the rest would understand him as he took a step forward. “There is no honor in this. Take me. I offer myself as your hostage.”

“Myao?” Enola asked, her head whipping around as she heard the male’s voice. “Myao! No!”

The young Asian red fox held his paw up to quiet the vixen’s protests though his gaze never left Yun Chu’s. When he spoke again it was in Mandarin. Whatever was said had a galvanizing on the psychotic Fur who motioned the other male forward, waiting until he could place the cleaver against Myao Shin’s throat. Once his new hostage was secured, the deranged fox looked to where Sofiya still knelt with her paw raised towards little Nikoli. “Come take yourwang-ba-dan.” He lowered the kit, letting the child drop the last few inches to the ground.

Sofiya scrambled to retrieve her son, scooping the wailing kit up in her arms and to a point well away from Yun Chu, Valerie there immediately to ascertain the status of the child. As soon as his family was clear of the immediate danger, Richard felt the rage begin to surge in him once more, but Myao motioned the silver fox back with a flick of his fingers.

When Yun Chu spoke again, his voice little more than a growling hiss, his words were once again in Mandarin and intended specifically for the younger Vulps he held captive. As the cleaver was pressed harder against Myao’s throat, something happened that the rest of the colonists couldn’t really be sure of, but it was almost like the younger red fox turned into liquid and simply flowed out of the hold Yun Chu had.

What happened next was a blur as Myao Shin turned on the spot, his paws barely seeming to touch the other fox’s wrists, his movements fluid as he kept the older and larger fox at bay and the cleaver clear of his body. Then at some point, the younger Fur that had given himself as a hostage for the sake of his friends’ child simply turned his upper body, though the result was extremely drastic as Yun Chu went flying backwards with tremendous force.

As Yun Chu impacted with the block wall behind him, the air was knocked from his lungs in a grunt while his head bounced off the ceramic structure, dazing the mad Fur enough so that the cleaver fell to the ground. It was all the opportunity many of the other Vulps needed, and Richard led the charge to subdue the psychotic Yun Chu.

“Hector?” the silver fox called as someone handed him several zip-ties that Richard used to truss the offending Fur up with. “Take him someplace and put guards on him. I need to get to Sofiya.”

“It shall be done,” the South American grey fox said, a snarl on his muzzle as he and a few others hauled the still dazed Chinese Fur to his feet.

When Richard turned a splash of speckled white caught his eye as Kurt slid down off of the top of a dome almost halfway to the opposite end of the settlement, one of the scoped hunting rifles in his paws. It made the silver fox feel better knowing that his friend wouldn’t have let the situation escalate and had been ready to kill one of their own. All of that was moot, however, as Richard’s primary concern was his family. He reached the place where his mates and son were being looked at by Valerie, Riva, and Etienne and heard the fennec talking to Sofiya.

“He’s fine,” the dessert fox that had been a pediatrician back on Earth said with a smile. “His neck will be tender for a day or so, but Nikoli is like all children and fairly resilient.”

Etienne sighed with relief but continued to examine the blond haired vixen. “And you, Sofiya, will have a knot on your head, but nothing too serious. You are very lucky that you were only hit with the butt of the cleaver.”

Sofiya nodded silently, still trembling with the ordeal she’d just endured and held her arms open for her son, nestling her head against the kit’s as soon as he was handed to her, the red fox’s eyes closing in gratitude that her boy was safe. Once that part of her was satisfied, she accepted the attentions of her mates, melting into the embrace of Richard and Charity. It took several minutes of holding each other and no few tears before the silver fox was able to get his family indoors and still longer to learn what had happened. It was Charity that had to provide the information, though, as Sofiya was still too distraught and took Nikoli into the bed chamber and curled up around the kit protectively, staring at her son who drifted off with the soothing touch of his mother.

“Yun Chu…he…he was waiting for us when we came back,” the American grey fox told Richard as they sat at the low center table, the vixen holding a cup of tea in her paws. “We noticed a few things that seemed out of place, but really didn’t think about it. Then when we came back from getting Nikoli he jumped out and hit Sofiya. Then he grabbed Nikoli and said he was going to kill him, that if he wasn’t allowed to have sons, we couldn’t have ours.” Charity looked up, her eyes still wide and frightened. “He’s completely nuts, Richard! He’ll kill anyone that he thinks had a part in Shen-zhyi’s asking for a divorce. He also wants to kill Enola and Myao!”

“He won’t get the chance,” the silver fox said with a low growl coloring his words.

“But…what are we going to do?” the vixen inquired, her trembling subsiding as Richard wrapped his arms around her and gave Charity a long embrace.

“There is only one answer to the problem that Yun Chu has created,” Sofiya said as she emerged from the bed chamber. “He is to be exiled immediately.”

Without hesitating in the slightest, Richard rolled to his feet and pulled the red fox to him, feeling her sag at first then straighten as her resolve was solidified. “He could still pose a threat,” the silver fox pointed out.

“No,” Sofiya replied with steel in her voice. “If he returns, he will be shot. He has threatened my family, our son, and I will not be tolerating that. Yun Chu is being more than a danger to us. He is being a danger to Shen-zhyi, Myao Shin and Enola…every Fur that is being here with us! I will not allow such a danger to persist!”

***

The next morning found the entire Abeona colony standing at the gate save the four individuals on the wall, two of those Furs being Kurt and Matthew who were armed with rifles. The rest watched silently as Yun Chu was led from the storage building where the deranged fox had spent the night tied up and alone, save the sentries that had stood guard, on the bare floor without any form of comfort.

“The laws regarding the behavior that all of us were seeing yesterday are being very clear,” Sofiya told the other Vulps in a clear voice that carried on the cool morning air. “I was being assaulted and the life of my child was threatened. As such, with all of you as witnesses, the laws that are being used to guide all colony efforts say that the one guilty of such a crime is to be removed from the others forever.

“After consulting with Hector, I would be well within the rights given to me to be having Yun Chu Zhing shot for his actions. However, I am not wanting his blood to be on the hands of any of us that are standing here. With that being said, my decision is that Yun Chu will be exiled. Should Yun Chu ever be returning, for any reason, he will then be facing the punishment of death.”

Sofiya looked at the crowd of foxes, her yellow-green eyes hard as agates.

“I am not the only one that has been threatened by this Fur, nor is my son the only one that is being in danger. Yun Chu has also threatened others that are standing here. He has brought the worst of many problems that we thought we were leaving behind. But, as his actions directly affected me, that he has put my family in such peril, I am being less than impartial and will not be making this decision without all of you also being heard. If there is being anyone that is believing exile is not the punishment that should be given, speak now to Hector who I am giving full authority to in this matter.”

The South American grey fox stepped forward. “This will be rather simple, with the choice in the matter being exile,” Hector paused and let his eyes flicker over the other Furs, “or execution. Those in favor of exile from this colony and any other subsequent settlement endeavors, raise your arms.” Hector looked around, also taking into account the sentries on the wall. “And those in favor of execution?”

Again he looked, but there were only five Vulps that raised their arms.

“Richard and Charity, you have abstained from both votes,” Hector pointed out.

The silver fox shook his head. “Like Sofiya, we’re both more than a little biased. We can’t face this with impartiality either, so we’re abstaining.”

“Understood.” The grey fox turned to face Yun Chu, the bound Fur glaring hard at Hector, Sofiya and her mates. “Yun Chu Zhing, you have been found undeniably guilty of assault on your colony leader, threatened a child, have stated that you wish to do grievous harm to others of Abeona and demonstrated that you are a danger to the entire colony. As such, by the authority granted to me by both the Anthro Human Colonization Project and the Terran Colonization Coalition along with our colony Captain’s endorsement, I declare you to be an exile with a sentence of death should you return to this or any subsequent settlements.

“As such, you are to be given the following items for your banishment. One canteen, one change of clothing, one unused fire starter kit, and one rain poncho. You will not be allowed a weapon but must fashion your own. You will not be given food from the colony stores and will be forced to obtain subsistence through your own wit.

“Your personal belongings are forfeit with said materials being turned over to the colony supply cache, though personal mementos, religious symbols, and personal correspondences will be sealed in a container on the chance that it may one day be returned to any family you may have left behind on Earth.”

As Hector spoke, Toshiro stepped forward with the small bundle of listed items wrapped in the poncho and tossed them down on the ground at Yun Chu’s feet with a look of contempt at the other red fox before stepping back to the other colonists, his paw finding Conchita’s. Victor Rushenko was the Fur that had been tapped to act as guard, the Russian only a little smaller than the largest of the Vulps, Richard, and cut Yun Chu’s bindings before stepping back with his shock baton at the ready.

Yun Chu’s look had only grown more angered and hostile as he picked up the poncho wrapped items and took a step backwards, turning only after leveling a glare at the Vulps he hated the most. “I should have cut the little bastard’s throat,” the red fox snarled as he grinned malevolently at where Sofiya stood with her kit in her arms. With one final glare, Yun Chu stepped to the gate, only pausing long enough to urinate on the post, making sure that he made the final, defiant gesture as obscene as possible before pulling his furman shorts back into place and walking away.

There were several sighs from the assembled foxes, and once Yun Chu was out of sight, many turned to go about their daily chores with shaken and subdued behavior, though Sofiya pulled her family closer together, letting them salve her still reeling emotions.

Atop the wall, two of the sentries looked on as the exiled Fur passed the fields of livestock and crops and to the copse of woods almost two miles away. Kurt waited until the red fox slipped into the gloom of the Bastien vegetation. When the platinum fox looked at Matthew, the American red fox nodded slightly before turning for the armory to stow the rifle he carried.

***

Three days passed since Yun Chu had been banished and Richard had let the vixens sleep in, making sure that there was a good breakfast waiting for them when they finally rose for the day. With the immediate threat to his family gone, the lack of tension had enabled Sofiya and Charity to show off the leather clothing that had been made for them, the silver fox completely thrilled with the affect it had on him. The shared intimacy of the previous night had been therapeutic for all of them, a reaffirmation of their bonds as mates, and if anything, had served to bring the trio even closer together.

With a cup of tea in hand, Richard stepped out of the house, looking down when his foot impacted with something soft. One eyebrow raising in curiosity, the silver fox picked up the bundle that had been wrapped in a length of scrap cloth that that came from most of the older clothing the Furs had originally started off with.

Whatever was inside was pliable and almost felt as if it was padded and as Richard parted the last fold, he wasn’t sure what to feel about the object within. As he looked at the white-tipped, orange-red section of fur, he knew that there was only one Fur that the tail section could have come from. Tacked to the raggedly severed end with astone thorn, a curious plant that grew in the cracks of some rocks and was used by many of the colonists for pins and needles, was a note with clean, crisp script.

Problem solved. No, this was not done by me, but Bastien herself.

If you wish for the details, find me later.

~Kurt~

Looking about as he rewrapped the caudal appendage remnant, Richard ensured that no one else saw what had been left for him to find, glad that he’d been the first one out of the house, though Sofiya and Charity both would have probably been thrilled by the find, he carried it to the burn pile where the garbage would be incinerated later that day. With Yun Chu’s tail concealed deep in the pile of wood, the silver fox angled away from the Great Dome to the house the German shared, knowing full well that the platinum fox was as early rising as he was. It came as no surprise to find Kurt sitting outside of his house with his own cup of tea, lounging in one of the chairs that the canny hunter had made.

“I see you found my little gift,” the platinum fox said softly as Richard drew close, motioning the other male into the matching chair.

“I did,” the silver fox answered, looking at the thin, deep orange and magenta colored clouds on the horizon. “And you didn’t do it?”

Kurt shook his head. “Matthew and I left to go hunting, though game was not our primary quarry,” he admitted. “We found what was left on some of the rocks near the waterfall. It looked as if Yun Chu had been trying to get to higher ground when he slipped. There was a fresh spill of rocks and the ground was still damp from where they had been dislodged.

“It looks as if every scavenger in the area helped to get rid of that beast. The only reason we knew that it was him was his tail and the packet that he was given were still intact. Oh, I’ve returned the supplies he was given to the colony stores. No reason for us to do without.”

When Kurt snorted in dark humor, Richard cast a look at the other fox. “What?”

“I just find it very ironic. The trail that Yun Chu was attempting is one that Matthew and I have used several times and never had a hint that it was unstable. That he would try it and have such a thing happen…forgive me, but I am finding this result something along the lines of divine justice.” Kurt shrugged. “Of which I am not too terribly concerned about.

“I’ll admit that I went out with the intent of ensuring Yun Chu would never threaten anyone again. Our new world saved me from that task. I don’t think I will complain about the means to the end. Especially when it means that those I care about are safe.” The platinum fox smiled. “No, I will definitely not lose any sleep over this turn of events.”

Richard nodded and sipped from his cup. “I won’t, either. I suppose we should set up a hunting trip so that we can ‘discover’ this for ourselves. It’ll have to go into the reports.”

“As our safety officer, I will bow to your judgment. I can save you an unnecessary trip as I have plenty of still pictures in my PBJ.”

Richard nodded and stood. “That might be for the best.” The silver fox paused before looking at the platinum fox. “I wanted him dead, Kurt. I wanted him dead for what he did…to Sofiya and Nikoli. I wanted to taste his blood…”

“And you are not the first to have felt this way,meinfreund. It is natural when that which we love and have fought for is threatened.” Kurt looked up and nodded. “We are both human and animal, and those of either part that do not feel these things when the most important parts of their lives are in danger do not live very long. There is nothing to be ashamed of.”

“I suppose we should go out and bury what’s left. An unmarked grave is rather fitting, but I’m more worried about the reaction that others might have at finding his remains.”

“Yes,” the German Fur agreed. “We could do that. Or we could simply let Bastien have the bones. They will not last long where they are. In fact, I don’t think that we would be able to find much if we went out there.” Kurt stood and placed his paw on the other Fur’s shoulder when the other looked away and frowned. “It is survival of the fittest out here, Richard. Much more so than when we were on Earth. And if you consider the events that forced us to exile Yun Chu, I think you’ll see that what has happened is quite fitting.”

“You’re right, but I wasn’t thinking of that,” Richard said with the slight upturning of his mouth.

“Oh?”

“I was actually thinking that we still have to clear out that small pile up in the river to prevent flooding again and that this might be a long day.”

Kurt smiled nodded. “Yes. Today will most likely be a long day. It will, however be a rewarding one.”

CHAPTER 44

"The Demons Within"

Sofiya smiled as Charity snuggled closer with Richard, the silver fox having slipped out of bed almost an hour earlier. The sense of another cuddling up was comforting and the red fox let herself drowse happily as the other vixen ran her claw tips through the white belly fur of the former Ukrainian. It was an unconscious act as the other vixen was still sound asleep, not that Charity had ever really been an early morning person anyway. The pleasant contact was enough to keep the Abeona colony leader in bed a little longer, despite the amount of work that needed to be done with the autumnal harvest approaching.

It wasn’t until the smell of brewing coffee tickled her nose that the she even considered getting up. Evenings were far more restful now that Nikoli was sleeping the night through, and his graduation to solid foods meant that he was less dependent on his mother for his nutritional needs. Granted, that part of her son’s development meant that her body had returned to its normal state and she vaguely lamented the loss of her bust line, but not overly much as she’d anticipated, discovering that having a figure meant needing a bra, not to mention that particular vagary of the female form actually got in the way quite often than she remembered. The important thing was that Richard still found her more than attractive and demonstrated such on a very frequent basis.

The window incorporated into the ceramic block wall of the house showed that the sun was near rising, but still almost an hour away from peeking over the eastern escarpment, and the red fox realized that there was more than enough time for her to laze about. With a smile she rolled over onto her side and pulled Cherry closer, the grey fox vixen sighing happily with the contact, her tail thumping a little on the mattress as she worked her head under the coppery colored vixen’s chin. Letting herself drift into a delightful snooze, Sofiya couldn’t help but be happy, the moment filled with a deep sense of contentment.

When she opened her eyes again, Sofiya found that the light streaming through the window was substantially brighter and that neither she nor Charity had moved at all. While reluctant to get up, there was simply far too much to do. The other vixen whimpered softly as the red fox sat up, though Sofiya mollified the other female by tucking one of the pillows up under her chin and letting her finger pads caress Charity’s brow, the touch calming and soothing. By the second pass the grey fox was again asleep, a happy expression on her muzzle.

The smile that Charity had was mirrored on Sofiya’s face as she passed through the curtain that separated the bed chamber from the simple room in the center of the house that held the dining area and modest kitchen. The scene that greeted her only increased the magnitude of her happiness as Richard sat at the table with his son on his lap, sharing a plate of meat and lightly roasted vegetables with Nikoli gobbling down everything he was offered with gusto. This was the type of moment the blond haired vixen relished, the simple beauty of being where she was with those that meant everything to her, and hugged herself in an attempt to hold that feeling in.

“You look far too happy,” Richard said softly with a grin of his own that turned into a slight wince as Nikoli took the bit of meat that his father held out for him, the kit’s sharp, tiny teeth piercing the silver fox’s finger in his exuberance. “Hey! Easy. I need those, you know,” the fox told his son, getting a giggle as he snuffled the child’s neck ruff.

“I cannot be helping it,” Sofiya answered as she sat down next to the silver fox, her mate pouring her a cup of coffee. Dwindling supplies of the precious commodity meant that most of the Furs that enjoyed the drink could only have it once a day, and morning coffee with her family was one of the vixen’s greatest pleasures. “I am having you, I am having Cherry, and I am having our son. To me this is being like a small part of heaven.” She was able to sip from the cup before putting it down then reached out for the kit that began flailing his arms, his tiny paw-like hands clutching for his mother with an accompanying “Grrrr-yip!Muma-yip-urrrarrr!” his wildly flailing tail wagging excitedly.

“I think Nikoli’s fur is starting to get darker,” Richard pointed out. “I think it’s going to be the same shade of red as his Mommy’s.”

“And he is having my hair,” the vixen pointed out. “But he is having his Poppa’s eyes.” Sofiya hugged her son and nibbled his neck, much to the delight of the kit before setting him on the floor and watched Nikoli make his way on all fours to his favorite toy. The ball was made from soft rab-zelle hide and stuffed with dried grasses that he loved to alternately chase and gnaw on. To add to its enticement there was a long strip of furred hide like a tail that would flail madly when it was rolled.

“You know,” Richard said with a smile as he pulled the vixen onto his lap, “we really did make a good looking kid.”

Sofiya giggled at the way the silver fox tickled her neck as he buried his nose into the soft fur of her throat and nipped at her playfully. “If you are not being careful you will make me forget our son is in the room…”

Richard persisted, liking the way his mate pressed against him. “He has a full stomach and he’s playing with his tumbly-ball. He’s not paying attention to us in the slightest.”

When the fox began to let his paws roam, the vixen sucked in a breath and batted at him gently. “Behave yourself,” she admonished, though the gleam in her yellow-green eyes said she felt otherwise.

“Can’t help it,” Richard said before pulling the vixen closer and onto his thighs, nestling his face against her cheek to trade scents. “I was already half in love with you before we even met, and every day that’s gone by since then has just made what I feel stronger and deeper. Well, that and you make me feel like a randy teenager sometimes…”

“You…you were already being in love with me?” Sofiya asked and pulled back to look into her mate’s bronze eyes. “How was this being?”

“When Ásmundr sent that broadcast to the different Institutes. I saw you and thought you were one of the most beautiful things that I’d ever seen. Of course, by then I was getting use to thinking as a Fur, but you really were something to see. And then it was even better seeing you in person.”

“Oh?” the vixen asked playfully, her claw tips finding the place behind Richard’s ears that he loved to have scratched. “What other beautiful things have you been seeing?”

“Well, definitely you. Cherry, our son…” the silver fox said as he closed his eyes in pleasure. “My family is the most beautiful thing I know of.” When he opened them again, Richard saw his mate making sure that the kit was properly preoccupied and that there was nothing within reach that could harm the child. “You’re thinking something.”

“How can you be telling?” the vixen inquired with a chuckle.

“Whenever you’re planning something, your left ear dips a little lower than the right.”

Sofiya grinned and snuggled her head beneath the other fox’s chin. “You are being correct. I am thinking that we have time to ourselves before the others are getting up and that we can be waking Cherry in a very special way.” She licked her mate’s chin teasingly. “She is not so far along that we cannot be having fun, as long as we are not being too energetic…”

Without saying anymore, Sofiya slipped off of her mate’s lap and padded to the bed chamber on all fours, pausing in the doorway to give the silver fox a pointed look as she flipped her tail up before slipping past the curtain. The flirting was particularly potent as she was still clothed only in her own luxurious fur and the visual was almost intoxicating.

Richard quickly got to his feet with a hungry expression in his eyes that had nothing to do with food, and he realized that there were certainly far less enjoyable ways to start the day.

***

“If you don’t stop nibbling, we won’t have as much to put in our winter stores,” Kurt admonished his mate with a laugh as he laid more strips of meat to smoke and cure next to the four buckets of fish that had been pulled from the river.

“I blame you,” Siobhan said with a grin, still chewing on a strip of meat as her paw ran over the slight swelling of her stomach. “You got me in this condition.”

The filet of meat that the platinum fox draped over the rack was already rubbed with salt and other seasonings and would provide four Furs a solid two meals during the winter months. Once it was laid properly over the rack with the aromatic smoke and heat from the coal bed seeping into it, Kurt wiped his paw-like hands on a small towel before stepping up to the Irish red fox and nuzzling her affectionately. “If I remember correctly, you weren’t complaining at the time,” he mumbled happily.

“That’s true,” the vixen agreed. Siobhan luxuriated in the contact for a moment before pushing her mate away. “I think I should get back to work, though. I’m distracting you and you still have a lot of meat to smoke.”

“You know, it really is rather bothersome when you go and point out things like that when I’m enjoying myself,” Kurt said with a grin.

Siobhan gave the other fox a languorous kiss before stepping back. “Then I’ll have to find some way to make it up to you. Maybe I’ll get my things so I can finish my sewing out here with you. Would you mind?”

“Would you like me to get a chair for you,” the speckled male offered trying to be helpful.

“Kurt, I’m not so far along that you need to do things like that, yet.” The vixen gave the other fox a look that was appreciative. “When I look like a blimp with your wee ones and waddle like a holiday goose that’s ready for the kitchenthen you can fetch and carry for me. Besides, Maria wants to learn to sew, especially as she and Daniel are working on their next batch of kits. She’ll need a few extra blankets and sleep sacks and I can get her to help carry things.” Siobhan patted her mate’s backside. “Back to work with you.”

“Ja, mein liebe,” the platinum fox replied with another grin as he turned back to the cutting table that he’d made himself.

Kurt lost himself in his work, rendering the different parts of the game animals he’d taken into strips and filets, though some of the more choice cuts would go into the freezers for special meals. The rest would be preserved through smoking. He was rather proud that there were already two full cooler units full of his particular contributions, and with the different fruits and vegetables that some of the other Furs were working on, they should all do rather well making it through the winter, despite the number of children that seemed to be increasing at a rate of every six months.

“Need a hand? Or paw in our case?” Richard asked as he neared the table with Matthew. Both Furs were in good spirits, as it seemed the entire colony was, and had cleaned up from their earlier work in maintaining the irrigation ditches for the crops.

“That would be most appreciated,” Kurt replied with a warm smile for his friends. “I still have a little over two hundred pounds of meat to cut.”

“What are you doing with the bones?” Matthew asked as he doffed his vest and pulled a quick survey of what needed to be done.

“Ah, the ribs and like are being trimmed and smoked as well,” the platinum fox replied as he used his trousse to shave a decent sized sheet from the flank he was rendering down. “With all of the children that are about and the ones that are coming, we’ll need them for teething and chew toys…” Kurt paused and blinked as he thought about what he’d just said. “I never thought that I would say something like that about children!” the German laughed. “Especially ones that I would be having!”

“Well, I know having a couple of bones saved us from having Nikoli chewing on the furniture or random sticks he found,” Richard said with his own chuckle. “He sees a bone now and his eyes absolutely light up!”

Matthew looked up from where he began to work on a series of shoulder joints. “But…waitaminute. Our kids our born with teeth, right?”

“Milk teeth,” Richard said as he took the slices that Kurt passed over and rubbed them down before racking the cuts over the smoldering fire. “When wild fox kits are born, they need sharp teeth to puncture their mother’s teat for milk. Vulps kids aren’t like that, but they still have milk teeth, and let me tell you they are sharp! Found that out this morning. He’ll lose those in about a month, but even now he feels the urge to chew and gnaw, so Kurt had the idea of giving him a bone after dinner together one evening and he really liked that! I think he actually growled at Sofiya when she tried to take it away to put him to bed.”

Matthew grinned, the beaming joy making the red fox from West Virginia look a little comical, though it was an understandable expression. “I’ll have to double my order with the butcher shop, then,” the soon-to-be father said with pride.

“You know, I’m glad that Sofiya and Cherry are taking turns,” Richard admitted. “I don’t know if I could handle having both of them preggers at the same time.”

Matthew made a dismissive gesture though the smile remained. “Naw, it ain’t so bad. Neelu’s takin’ it better than Pi-lei. She’s so small that it really tires her out at times, but Suzette’s keeping an eye on her along with Valerie. We’re doin’ ahright.”

The trio bantered lightly back and forth and discussed being fathers, the love and admiration they had for their respective vixens, and found that the chore was far less work than it might have been. They finished up more than half of the remaining game and had started spitting the fish when Sofiya, Siobhan and Maria appeared, each carrying something. For the Irish and Italian Furs it was chairs and sewing supplies, the former librarian just barely showing that she was carrying her second batch of kits.

“I was thinking that this is being hot work and that a treat was being called for,” Sofiya said as the other two vixens set themselves up with their projects to work on. The blond fox opened the hand woven basket she carried and pulled out clay bottles that had the distinct look of something Petra would turn out. “Rupert has been working very hard on this and asked I would be bringing some to his friends for testing!”

Richard accepted one of the clay bottles after his friends received there’s and looked at his mate with a wry expression. “Is this the secret project Rup’s been working on for the past half year?” grinning when the red fox vixen only smiled and nodded. The silver fox worked the waxed plug out with a claw tip and sniffed at the contents, his mouth suddenly watering at the remembered scent.

“Mein Gott!” Kurt exclaimed with a stunned expression after tipping the bottle. “Beer! Real,wunderbar beer!”

“It’s like being back home…” Matthew whispered. “Outside, barbeque fired up, cold beer…” He grinned wildly. “Who’s up for some football? We can make it a party!”

Richard let the rich drink wash over his tongue, the flavor definitely wheat with a good finish of malt and hint of honey, though as there wasn’t honey on Bastien, the silver fox was as curious as to what ingredients his friend had used, though he was no less appreciative of the gift. “You know, that’s not a bad idea.”

“What, football?” Matthew asked.

“Sort of,” Richard said as he turned to Sofiya and pulled her close, offering her the bottle. “You know, we haven’t had a lot to celebrate since our First Day Anniversary, and that was a little, well, subdued. Maybe a harvest festival is in order.”

The vixen took a sip and then licked at the remaining flavor on her bifurcated upper lip. “Everyone has been working very, very hard,” Sofiya agreed. “It would be a good thing to be letting everyone enjoy something, and even though this was being a difficult year, we do have a great deal to be celebrating.”

“Yes, we do,” Richard agreed.

***

The announcement that the end of the week would be set aside for a harvest festival was greeted with delighted anticipation from the rest of the colony. As before everyone chipped in with dishes that they had made or in other ways to ensure the party was enjoyed by all. There was almost no end of food varieties, though instead of large meals many of the Vulps simply nibbled as they wished, trying to sample a little of everything.

Different games started up, one of them being football, with Matthew right in the thick of it. Other Furs played Frisbee, Enola surprising many of her fellow colonists when she jumped almost her full height in the air and caught an errant throw of the plastic disc in her mouth. As she tossed the toy back to the group that had been playing with it, the English red fox shrugged off her acrobatic display. “Myao’s been teaching me and Shen-zhyi Tai Chi,” she offered in explanation.

Suzette and Etienne watched as their children played with some of the other kits, most of it involving chasing one of the balls made from hide before it turned into a game of ‘chase-the-prey’. Abrielle and Jean Michel seemed to be aware that they were larger than the other children and were very cautious, both exhibiting their parents’ gentle and caring natures when it came to playing with their peers.

A little after midday Kurt set up a series of targets and got out a couple of the bows, making the announcement that he and Ruiz had been working together as time permitted and had made two more crossbows. He wanted to give them to away to others that enjoyed hunting, but as he was unable to decide who, he figured an archery contest would suffice. Many of the foxes, Richard included, agreed to participate, though the silver fox was the first to admit that he was better with a rifle or pistol and that bows really weren’t his style. Out of the ten Furs that participated, the two best shots turned out to be Rupert Campbell, the mason from Great Britain having always been interested in archery since catching one of the many renditions of Robin Hood as a young boy, and Charity.

The grey fox vixen was stunned that she’d done so well as Kurt handed her one of the crossbows and a quiver of bolts. “I didn’t think I was that good!” she admitted.

“You are a natural, I think,” Kurt said as the grey fox also accepted a hug and kiss from each of her mates, acting embarrassed at having done so well.

“Does this mean you’ll take me hunting more, now?” Charity asked Richard with a bright expression and wide smile.

“I think we can arrange that,” the silver fox replied with another hug.

“Then you will be needing to take both of us,” Sofiya told her family. “I have not done nearly as much hunting as I would be liking.”

Siobhan used the celebration as a chance to dole out many of the projects that she’d been working on such as blankets and sleep sacks for the various females that would be adding to the colony’s numbers and no few requests for outfits similar to what Sofiya and Charity were finally wearing outside.

It wasn’t until later in the evening that anything amiss happened when Richard looked up from where he was lounging on a throw blanket on the soft Bastien grass with Sofiya. Ruiz and Tipper were playing a duet that many of the others were dancing to and Matthew was getting the bonfire that would burn most of the night set up with Toshiro assisting.

The silver fox looked around, his ears drooping a little before jerking erect as he saw a small figure close to the edge of the river. With a snarled string of swearing, Richard rolled over and launched himself forward on all fours, his running spurred on by a ball of icy fear as the claws on his feet and paw-like hands ripped the turf. That the kit he saw near the river was his own son only drove the Fur on with greater desperation.

Charity looked up from where she followed the red fox kit, the end of the nanny tether that was fastened about Nikoli’s body tied to her wrist and looked up with surprise when Richard skidded to a stop and snatched up his son, cradling him to his chest, an uncharacteristic expression of smoldering anger in his bronze colored eyes.

“What the hell are you thinking letting him so close to the water?” the silver fox inquired hotly. “You should know better!”

“B-but I have him on a tether,” the grey fox began, shrinking back at the fury in her mate’s expression and posture, her tail pressing tight against the backs of her legs. “He wasn’t really that close…”

“The river’s dangerous, you stupid girl!” Richard persisted. “I would have expected you to keep a better eye on him!”

There was more, and before long Charity was reduced to a quivering mess, tears streaming down her furred cheeks as her lower jaw trembled. It wasn’t until his name was barked out harshly that Richard turned around to see a furious Sofiya glaring at him. “That will be enough!” the red fox vixen hissed as she pried Nikoli from her mate’s arms. “He was not being in any danger and you are having no right to be speaking to Charity so!”

It was as effective as a dousing of cold water and Richard realized that he had said some extremely hurtful things. Almost as if the hot anger and fear that gripped him had kept him upright, the silver fox seemed to deflate and lowered his head. “Cherry…I’m…I’m sorry,” he stuttered. “Sofiya’s right…”

It took several moments for Richard to realize that he’d made quite the scene, and despite the other colonists looking away or pretending that they hadn’t witnessed the uncalled for tirade, he knew that he’d been in the wrong and overreacted. The worst part was understanding the damage he’d done to one of his mates and not knowing how to make amends. Seeing the way the grey fox vixen flinched when he reached out a paw to her was like a knife in the heart and Richard turned away, walking off into the gloom, his tail all but dragging on the ground as his head was lowered in shame.

At a loss of what to do herself, Sofiya simply stepped up to the other vixen and put her arm around the younger Fur’s shoulders. “I-I r-really w-w-was keeping an eye on N-Nikoli,” the grey fox whispered tremulously.

“I am knowing this,” the red fox replied softly.

Both turned when gentle paws were placed on their shoulders and found Suzette looking at them with sympathy. “I do not think he has ever really come to terms with losing Elena and Amanda,” the red fox physician said quietly as the celebration resumed behind them, though far more subdued. “Has he ever talked about it?”

Sofiya shook her head. “No. At least not to either of us,” she said, Charity shaking her head as she continued to compose herself.

“I think he is still carrying that event with him,” Suzette told the other two. “He is brave and very resourceful, but I think he is still fighting with what happened, and this is an enemy that he cannot face alone because he is unsure how to defeat it.” The vixen turned to Charity and wiped the moisture under one eye away with a gentle touch. “Do not take his words to heart. Richard is one that feels deeply. Not just the love for both of you and Nikoli, but all of his emotions, including fear. He has been taught to hide that, to not let that fear show, and it sits deep in his heart and soul. He did not mean to hurt you, little one.”

“We are hurting the ones that we are loving the most,” Sofiya said as she looked into the gloom where her mate had gone.

Suzette nodded. “Very much so. Do not think that this diminishes his love. Please try and be understanding of the demons that he has been fighting with all of this time.”

“He was saying that night that we were losing Amanda and Elena that he was feeling as if he failed them, that they were depending on him and he was unable to do as he promised of keeping them safe,” Sofiya told the other red fox. “I did not know that his pain and suffering were being this bad, though.” She drew in a shaky breath. “Is there anything that we can be doing to help?”

“I can attempt to talk to him, if you wish,” the French Fur informed the other two vixens. “I worked in a hospital for a while that treated the victims of a terrorist bomb. The physical injuries were easy to treat. It was the wounds to the heart and soul that were the more difficult to tend, though no less important. I learned much about that kind of hurt.”

Sofiya looked hopeful. “You are willing to be helping?”

Suzette smiled warmly. “Of course I am! I would be a poor doctor indeed if I were ignoring one of those I have dedicated my life to helping when treatment is needed most, would I not? And I believe the sooner the better.” She embraced both vixens warmly and graced Nikoli with a kiss between his ears. “It may be a little late, but fear not. Richard will be home tonight.”

“You’re going to go look for him?” Charity asked in surprise.

“Certainly. The sooner that I can begin helping him, the better, yes?”

The pair watched as Suzette made her way to her husband and spoke with him, the other red fox nodding firmly before his mate headed off in the direction the silver fox had taken. Then his eyes met Sofiya and Charity’s before winking at them and giving them a look that was both confident and comforting.

***

Richard didn’t hear the soft foot falls that approached him, nor the sound of his name being called as he sat with his back to afribbon treethat had a strange bark that hung down the trunk like streamers of velour. His misery and self recrimination for the way he’d treated Charity and the things he’d said seemed to be tearing him up inside. The silver fox was only aware of the red fox’s presence when she tentatively touched his shoulder.

“Richard? I came out here to talk to you,” Suzette said with a smile that was warm and full of compassion.

“How did you find me?” he asked without shifting or trying to get away.

The vixen chuckled and tapped her nose. “Believe it or not, I have learned how to use this. Etienne and I spent a very long time alone and it was important to be able to find each other.” She gestured to the ground next to the other fox. “Do you mind if I join you?”

Richard shrugged. “Unless I plan on exiling myself, I don’t suppose I’ll be able to get away if someone really wants to find me.”

Suzette sat down so that she could still see the other Fur if she turned her head, but gave the impression of giving the other fox a sort of personal zone. “I am hoping that you aren’t thinking such. We, all of us, need you far too much for you to be leaving.”

“Even after what I just did?” Richard snorted. “Maybe Sofiya and Cherry are better off without me.”

“And why would you think this?”

“C’mon, Suzette. You heard what I told Charity. Hell, the entire colony heard me!”

The vixen nodded. “This is true. We did. But do you think that you, above all of us, are exempt from forgiveness?”

“What I did was unforgivable. Cherry didn’t deserve me yelling at her like that or the things that I said.” The silver fox shook his head. “If I’d heard someone else saying those things to another, I’d have beat the tar out of them.”

The vixen shook her head. “You are a fallible mortal, just like the rest of us, I’m afraid.” Suzette then looked intently at the other Fur. “The important thing is to discover why you reacted that way. Then once we find out why, we can work on fixing it so that you don’t do it again.”

The smoky colored fox mumbled something that Suzette heard clearly, but feigned that she’d missed it so that he would have to repeat it louder. It was one of the more simple tools for getting another to recognize the problem they were suffering from.

“I said it was because I was afraid,” Richard repeated louder. “I…I saw Nik close to the river and it was like…like I could see him getting washed downstream with Mandy and Elena.” The fox’s bronze eyes had a far-away look as the scene replayed over and over in his head with the additional image of his son being washed down the water course with the fennec and platinum vixens. A feeling of terror filled him and set his entire body trembling as in the persistent vision all three looked at him with accusing expressions and disappointment. “I...what’s going on with me?” he howled and wrapped his arms protectively around his own body.

Suzette turned so that she could hold the larger Fur. “It is called Post Traumatic Stress, Richard. You have had much trauma in your life. Both here on this new world of ours, and long before you became furmankind,” she almost whispered and gently plucked one of the other fox’s ears.

“Not all wounds can be seen, and the ones that are invisible, the ones on the heart and soul can be as dangerous and deadly as physical ones,” the red fox continued. “You and I will work on healing these hidden hurts. Etienne will help, of course, and we will be with you every step of the way.” Suzette smiled at the faint spark of hope that she saw and nodded. “This does not make you weak, my dear friend. It is something we can take care of, though.”

“I didn’t mean to blow up at Cherry,” Richard murmured sickly.

“She knows this. You have demons hounding you, and when we are frightened it is common to lash out in anger. Charity knows that you wouldn’t be hurting her intentionally and that you would die for her. Sofiya knows this, too. What they are needing though, and the rest of us as well, is for you to live for us, to not give up.”

Richard allowed the vixen to pull him to his feet and took his paw as she steered him back to the colony, the bonfire a point of bright light out in the gloom of night.

“For now, though, it is time to be putting you to bed. I am going to give you something that will prevent dreaming, though I will only do that for tonight. Nightmares are a way of our minds dealing with some of the terrible things that many of us have had to go through, but you are in too much need of rest. And tomorrow you and I will begin the journey to heal you.”

The silver fox nodded and felt as if a weight or some kind of pressure had been lifted and he stood straighter and took a deep breath. “I don’t like being broken,” he grunted as he stumbled a little on a divot in the texture of the ground.

“You are not the only one,mon ami Richard. I have also helped Sofiya and others.” She nodded at the look the larger Fur gave her. “Oui. I am knowing about her past. It was something that we discussed when she first learned of carrying Nikoli and was filled with doubt.”

Richard was about to speak when he realized that the reddish-orange vixen knew exactly what he was going through. After all, she and her husband had had to bury all of their friends from the previous colony. As the pair slipped through the gate, avoiding the other Furs, he paused and smiled as the French fox looked up questioningly. “Suzette? Thanks.”

The smile that she gave was warm and full of friendship and honesty. “It is what friends, and those that are like family, do, mon ami. It is what we do.” Suzette nodded to his house and gestured with her head. “You go on in and I shall return shortly.”

Richard nodded and opened the door to the house he shared with his mates and paused after stepping inside, the scents that wafted over him bringing a sense of peace as he closed his eyes. He took his familiar place at the low table in the center of the main room and waited, looking up when the door opened. It wasn’t Suzette, though, but Charity, the grey fox vixen pausing and looking at Richard with trepidation filling her eyes.

It was impossible for the dark colored anthrofox to keep his eyes from filling, large tears spilling down his tufted cheeks as his expression crumbled. “I’m sorry, Cherry,” he whispered, his words hardly louder than his breath and agonized. “I’m so very sorry…”

Charity closed the gap between them, letting the male come the rest of the way, her head tilted at an angle when he didn’t stand but made his way to her on his knees. When he wrapped his arms around her waist, his face nuzzling into the soft fur of her belly, silent sobs shaking his shoulders, the vixen couldn’t help but reciprocate, her arms pulling his head closer as she leaned protectively over her mate.

Sofiya found the other two in the same position when she stepped out and felt her heart lurch at the raw, vulnerable pain that gripped Richard and realized that by trying to shield her and others, he’d taken on too much; the loss of Elena and Amanda had been more than the fox could cope with. Almost every Fur in Abeona had seen Suzette or one of the other physicians at some point, even the colony leader. Everyone save Richard who had provided a solid emotional base and foundation for all of the others.

He hadn’t truly been angry at Charity, but the moment had brought everything to the front. Moving silently, her heart thudding in sympathy with what one of the foxes she loved was going through, Sofiya moved closer and held her two mates in silent support.

“We are always being here for you,miy lyubov,” Sofiya whispered.

“We really are,” Charity agreed fervently, “and both of us love you very, very much.”

For the first time he could recall, Richard felt safe enough to let the walls that he hadn’t even known existed fell and he sat before the two Furs that mattered the most to him feeling more naked than ever before in his life.

What was more remarkable was that it felt right.

“We will be making it through this, Richard. We will be there because we are loving you and the is nothing more that needs to be said,” the red fox whispered as the silver fox put an arm around her and held on.

As she clung to the male, Sofiya recalled how he had been there for her after losing her father and so many other moments when doubt, anxiety and fear had gnawed on her resolve and knew that it was time for her to return the strength and love that he’d shown.

“We can do this,” Charity said with a tender smile and touch to Richard’s cheek as she hugged his head to her belly, using the unofficial motto of the rest of the colony.

CHAPTER 45

"From a Far Off Star"

“Abeona operations, this is the colony transport ship USS Leif Erikson. Do you copy? Calling Abeona operations. This is theUSS Leif Erikson, over.”

Sofiya’s head jerked up, her eyes going so wide that the whites showed around her yellow-green irises before leaping from her chair and bounding to the communications terminal. There was a moment of confusion as she tried to answer before switching the setting to LOCAL, and triggered the button on the headset she hastily crammed on. “USS Leif Erikson, this is Captain Sofiya Talova-Tavington, colony leader of Abeona. We are reading you, over!”

“Greetings Abeona Captain! This is Captain Della Lambert of the colony shipLeif Erikson.Just thought we’d give you a friendly ring and let you and yours know that we’re approximately two weeks out. Seems we have some folk that are interested in talking with you. Unfortunately we only have a little while before your orbital shift to our entry vector renders comm inoperable.”

By the time the signal was lost, Sofiya had spoken to various individuals from the enormous colony transport for almost a full half-hour and stepped out of the operations center, the actual dome itself now sitting atop a ring of the ceramic building blocks that the different structures of Abeona were made from. It gave the heart of the settlement something of a look similar to the capital buildings in many countries, though for the red fox it meant more room to keep the files that seemed to have grown exponentially since their arrival.

Charity and Richard were halfway between their house and the infirmary, what many were jokingly referring to as ‘Bastien General’ from a popular soap opera in the United States. Suzette sometimes had more than just the silver fox in for therapy sessions and often brought in his mates. The other vixen and Richard each held onto one of Nikoli’s tiny paws and were swinging him with accompanying yipping laughter from the kit.

“I have just been receiving a message,” Sofiya told her mates without hiding her grin as they all drew together.

“From Earth?” Richard inquired as Nikoli trundled upright to his mother, smiling when Sofiya caught the kit and lifted him high.

“No. Not Earth. TheLeif Erikson has reached the edge of the system and is sixteen days from being close enough for the landing ships!”

“Wow! It’s a good thing we got the spring planting done, then!” Charity enthused. “With all of the new people to meet and greet no one will want to work!”

Sofiya nodded in agreement. “This is true. There will be a great deal of visiting and such.” She stepped to the side so that she and Charity could both hold on to one of Richard’s paws while the red fox scooped up her kit. The rift that had occurred a few months before had been dealt with and all three were as close as before the incident. “I am going to be calling all the rest to be joining us on the commons so I may be making the announcement.”

“That’s probably a good idea,” Charity agreed. “This way you don’t have to repeat the news over and over.” The grey fox paused slightly as they all headed to the Great Dome, the only unaltered structure in the compound. “Hold on…isn’t theLeif Erikson that ship that we saw them building near Space Station Sebra? It’s done?”

“I am supposing so,” Sofiya said with a shrug as Nikoli shambled off in front of his parents. “I am not knowing how long it is taking to be building such things.”

“Don’t look at me,” Richard chuckled. “I flunked interstellar ship design in high school. If you really wanted to, you could ask Lu Chin Yao. He’s an astronomer. Or was. He might know.”

“Or you could be asking the captain when they are arriving. It is only going to be a couple of weeks,” Sofiya pointed out with a wink and grin.

***

The entire colony had gathered on the grassy section just outside of the entrance of the Great Dome, many of them talking amongst themselves about the reason for their colony captain calling all of them together. The small groups nearest the dome went silent as the blond haired vixen stepped out of the structure, her family with her, other groups and individuals also going quiet as their interest in the unusual summons was increased with Sofiya’s appearance. Judging the light expression on the red fox’s face, the news wasn’t dire, causing many of the assembled Vulps to relax.

“Less than an hour ago, I was receiving a message that I was thinking all of you would be interested in,” Sofiya told the colonists while trying to repress a grin. “I was contacted by a woman being named Della Lambert. The reason this message is so interesting is that in two weeks we will be getting new neighbors.” The vixen gave in to the smile that she’d struggled to not show. “As of this morning, the colony vesselLeif Erikson was entering the Epsilon Eridani system with the humans that we will be sharing our world with and other Furs that have been assigned to Bastien. They will be joining our community.”

The different anthrofoxes broke into excited chatter before Sofiya got them to quiet down so she could continue, though it was easy to tell that all of the Furs were full of anticipation.

“Even though we have only been living here for a short while, and a good portion of that far from the original colony site, it will be up to us to assist the people that will be making their homes here. This means passing on the information that we have been learning, teaching them which plants and animals are being good for food, and instructing them on the dangers that we have discovered.

“I will not be making it an order, but it would be most appreciated if any of you were volunteering to be helping the new colonists with their initial set-up. From what I have learned after speaking with the leaders for the other two Fur groups that are coming, and the colony overseer for the humans, the information from the previous colony of Felis and our own has determined what crops are to be growing the best. As such they will be needing assistance in getting their planting done as soon as possible to achieve the optimum growing time.

“As for the other Furs that will be setting up their own colony starter site, two additional satellites that will be used in maintaining communications are going to be put in orbit. I am sure that they will be most appreciative of any information that we can be giving them. Even the most basic information that we have obtained could be making a very great difference, from the ease of harvesting different plants and animals for food, to the Bastien insects that we have discovered are either helpful or damaging to our crops, and the steps to counter possible threats.

“Remember, we are to be the guides for the families and individuals that are coming. We have been through much, just as the brave Felis before us, and endured hardships for this very event. As such I am trusting all of you to be as helpful to our new neighbors as possible. Even though some of the people coming, furman and human alike, may not be knowing it, they are here to build the better world that all of us have talked about. They are having dreams the same as we are having. Let us be doing what we can to see that this comes to pass.”

“Sofiya?” Myao Shin called raising his paw. “Do we know how many new Furs will be coming?”

The vixen nodded. “The first of the new Fur colonies will be comprised of Canis that will be setting up almost halfway between here and our original site. The other will be comprised of Ursis that are to be establishing their own colony much further east on the other side of the mountains. We will be getting twelve Vulps that have fully undergone the furmankind process and will be a part of our community. The humans will be establishing their permanent colony to the northeast almost five miles from our present location, but still be in the valley.

“That is all of the information that I am having, and I will be passing on any more that I learn through our PBJs. I just want all of you to be remembering that the entire reason that we were coming here was to be advance scouts for human colonists. This world is being large enough for all of us, but everyone that is coming is going to be needing our assistance. Let us help them as best we can to have the lives that they have dreamed of.”

There were other questions that Sofiya couldn’t answer as she didn’t have all of the details yet and repeated her promise of keeping everyone informed with updates as they became available. She dismissed the assembly, but like the others, Sofiya couldn’t help but talk about the landing of a permanent settlement.

“So, the big question I have is what do we do about some of the discoveries that we have made?” Hector asked as he and Emanuella joined the red fox and her family. “Specifically the discoveries of gold, silver and other metals.”

“We share the information,” Sofiya replied quickly. “After speaking with the human colony director I have the greatest faith that he will be seeing to it that the wealth Bastien offers is shared by all for the best interests of everyone.”

“What’s the man like?” Richard inquired.

The blond vixen smiled. “He is being fair, I am thinking. He will not tolerate foolishness any more than I would be. I am trusting him.”

The silver fox nodded. “Good enough for me. You know, we have a good place here. It might be that we can get another house or two built in time for the crew members that are on the ship to get some downtime here. It would certainly beat roughing it.”

“That would be the hospitable thing to do,” Hector agreed. “And it isn’t as if we are short on building materials. We could also put up some domes from the materials that we’ve put into storage. We also have plenty of supplies to share.”

“And possibly use that to trade for things that we’re short on,” Richard added.

“You really want a cup of coffee, don’t you?” Charity asked with a grin as she gave the male Fur a sympathetic look.

“You bet I do,” Richard agreed. “And poor Hector’s having even worse withdrawals than I am!”

The South American grey fox nodded morosely. “I would even be settling for instant, may the Saints forgive me for saying such!”

***

Daily duties were taken on with a new sense of vigor and Sofiya often found herself looking around the Abeona site as she saw where some of the Furs under her command were either improving something in some way or adding aesthetic touches such as flowers or the like to the houses. While it was good to see her fellow Vulps taking pride in what they’d accomplished, she wondered why the others were expending so much energy to their homes or straightening up equipment that was already stacked and stored properly.

Granted, the small improvements did have an effect on the appearance of the site, and it made the red fox smile. As a little girl she’d seen all manner of movies and shows on television that had depicted life on far off worlds, sans Furs, of course. In all of the shows or videos, the colonies had either a very modern, shiny quality, or looked like high tech Gypsy camps, but looked nothing like what surrounded her now.

Abeona looked more like a melding of the middle ages and modern day materials between the ceramic construction and the implementation of their domes with fiberluminum panels. One of the solar collectors with a hand carved rake or broom was common to her now, and it was almost as if Sofiya was seeing her new home for the first time. More of the Vulps were wearing simple outfits of skirts or kilts made from the leather they had obtained from game animals, or wore furman shorts and overalls with hide pouches sung over shoulders. Very few of them wore tops any more. With the warmer weather, most had something to conceal their nether regions, though that was understandable. A few years as a Fur wasn’t long enough to make most of the foxes comfortable with being clad in only their own body covering.

Another thing that caught her attention was one of the same things that had surprised her on their own First Day, and that was the number of vixens that showed no embarrassment at breast feeding their kits in view of others. On Earth, women doing such was still a point of contention and what was considered proper pubic behavior. Perhaps it was her time in so-called Third World nations that had caused Sofiya to lose her discomfort at women baring themselves, but now it seemed as natural as the rising of the sun.

A momentary thought flitted through her mind that perhaps she should mention to those mothers that were nursing to avoid such in front of the humans that were soon arriving, but she let that go. There was no reason that they should have to alter what was natural behavior for all warm blooded beings and a nurturing activity. Sofiya had discovered that nursing her own son had felt special, as if doing such had formed a bond between her and her child. No, she would let things stay as they were. There were a better than even odds that some of the human colonists would dislike the Furs no matter what they did, and all of them had endure far too much to alter their behavior. Some people would be offended no matter what others that were different did. She had seen that first hand.

Sofiya continued her circuit of the colony, the main activity taking place with most of the other foxes out tending to the burgeoning fields or livestock being Lu Chin Yao, Myao Shin and Enola setting up the older Fur’s telescope in front of his house. The Asian red fox that had been one of four candidates for colony leader was taking a reading from both his Personal Business Juxtapositioner and a compass, turning the dials minutely before nodding and saying something that had a positive sounding tone in his native Mandarin.

“Ah! Sofiya! This is so exciting, is it not? All of the things that we have been sent out here for are coming to fruition!” Lu Chin exclaimed as he closed his PBJ and slipped it into a pocket.

“It is being very exciting,” the vixen agreed. “May I be inquiring as to what you are doing?”

Lu Chin gestured to the telescope. “I am using the satellite and coordinates from the colony ship to set my telescope to see theLeif Erikson. It will only be visible for a little while before each sunrise until it is put in orbit to start ferrying down the other colonists.”

Sofiya nodded with a smile. “I would like to be seeing this new ship.”

“It will not be able to land because it is not designed for such,” the other Fur began in what the vixen had come to think of as his ‘teacher’s voice’. “It is far too large and would be torn to pieces if it tried. What I do know is that instead it will be using modified ships similar to theJames Cook, but they have more cargo space due to the lack of a slip drive for interstellar travel. Instead they are docked with theLeif Erikson, letting the larger vessel traverse the vast distance, then are used to ferry colonists and their materials to whichever planet they have been sent to. It was a topic of great interest amongst the astrological group I was part of.

“This is perhaps the best method as there are well over six hundred individuals that will be coming. Then there are the building materials, livestock and supplies for all. More of the necessities may be transported this way with greater efficiency and cost effectiveness. It truly is a marvel!”

“It is,” Sofiya agreed. “I know that Charity was wishing to speak with you about the ship. She was being curious as to how it was completed so quickly.”

“I am curious to this myself.” The older Fur admitted as he scratched at his chin. “Most likely it was done in the manner of the old space stations. Using modules that connected together. To be honest that is one of the reasons that I wanted to set up the telescope. I am extremely curious about this grand ship of the stars!”

The red fox vixen nodded and gave another smile to the excited Lu Chin. “If you would be sending me a message as to the time that it would be best for seeing the ship? I would very much like to be viewing this marvel.”

“It would be my pleasure, Sofiya,” Lu Chin informed her with a bow before turning back to his prized possession.

***

Siobhan had helped provide different things for some of the other mothers within the colony group, but Sofiya was convinced that one of the best was the sort of hammock that had been fashioned so that she could keep Nikoli with her as she tended to matters in the operations dome. The kit was curled into a little ball of fluff and snoring softly next to the table that served as his mother’s desk, the vixen pausing every few moments to look at her son before returning to the reports that she was condensing for transmission to the incoming ship. She had discussed sending as much information as possible to the different colony leaders on some of the things that had been discovered, augmenting the findings of the previous Felis colony.

Sofiya wasn’t sure how some of the slightly bothersome insects that had been discovered would react to humans, but as far as the Vulps were concerned, the primary nuisance had been what her people were calling aflick. The little creatures lived in tall grasses and were most active during the spring and fall and found that fur made a most excellent home. So far they hadn’t discovered any creatures like mosquitoes, fleas or ticks that found Vulps blood an excellent feast, though there were plenty of larger predators that would have happily enjoyed one of them as a meal. The most dangerous animal found so far was theschnee drake, or snow dragon, that had killed Joel Eckard.

Sofiya made sure that there were plenty of videos and still images to accompany her information packets. She also sent the testing information on which of the Bastien fauna would suffice for food, taking into account the nutritional requirements of the humans that would be landing shortly. It was something that Furs had less concern over, their altered digestive systems able to cope with less refined foodstuffs.

Once she’d double checked her notes, the vixen sent the information packet before leaning back in her chair, smiling when a pair of arms slid around her for a hug, the scent of the individual behind her making Sofiya relax into the hug. “I brought you some lunch,” Charity whispered softly in the other vixen’s ear so as not to wake Nikoli. The grey fox nuzzled the other female happily before retrieving a basket that had wonderful smells wafting from it.

“This is just what I have been wanting!” Sofiya said with a grin. “It has been far too long since breakfast.”

“I thought you might,” Charity told the other vixen, accepting the kiss to the side of her head with a happy squint and giggle. “And I know that Richard has his. He and the others won’t be back from setting the landing beacons that were in the cargo drop until well after sundown so I added extra into his pack.”

“You are being too good to us sometimes,” Sofiya said as the other female began to pull out the different bowls of food.

“No more so than the two of you are to me. Oh, I have some minced meat and peas for Nikoli, too. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a baby that loves eating like he does!”

The red fox smiled and nodded as she piled a section of flatbread with strips of seared and seasoned meat. “He is like his Poppa,” Sofiya replied happily.

The two enjoyed their meal together and the dessert that Charity had put together of fruit slices that had been soaking in their own syrup, Nikoli having woken at the smell of food before gorging and going right back to sleep. As she sighed happily, Sofiya looked at the other vixen, feeling her ear dip in the manner that Richard had pointed out whenever she was planning something. “I am not having any other tasks that are requiring my attention,” she began playfully.

“I don’t think there’s anything waiting for me,” Charity said. “Dishes are done and the house is swept. I did the laundry the day before yesterday.”

“This is good,” Sofiya said as she closed the basket with the empty bowls in it to be tended to later. “Then that means you and I can be going back to our home and I can be brushing out your fur and braiding your hair…”

Charity looked up with pleasant surprise, knowing full well that such would lead to a mutual grooming session then other things that both enjoyed. It was part of who and what they were, now, and the younger vixen enjoyed the times she could spend with the other female as much as she did the time spent with their silver fox. “You get Nikoli and I’ll go get the brushes ready!” the grey fox enthused.

“I like this plan,” Sofiya said as she stood. “I think I would also like to see you in your new dress that Siobhan was making. Then when Richard is getting home, we can show him that we were missing him very much!”

***

Richard closed the door quietly, turning around to find a simple supper waiting for him on the table. What caused him to pause was the subdued lighting from the lamps that burned sweet scented oil that the Furs made from pressing the flowers of what they calledchepples, the smell of the oil light and fruity and seeming to be a combination of apple and cherry. On either side of the table were Sofiya and Charity, each in their latest gifts from Siobhan. They weren’t the sort of outfits that either would wear out and about with the rest of the colonists and were put on solely for themselves as a prelude to romantic interludes.

The silver fox set his pack down, unable to pull his eyes away from the two foxes that had gone to great lengths to make themselves even more attractive to him, their hair braided and artfully accentuating their vulpine features.

“I didn’t expect to come home to this,” he said softy after swallowing hard. “I think I should take day trips more often!”

Both vixens beckoned the silver fox to the table and as soon as he was comfortable began taking turns feeding him his supper. It was one of the ways that the trio showed they cared for each other, giving and receiving affection and something treasured by all three. Richard knew that Sofiya and Charity played around both when he was there or out taking care of different tasks that called him away from the colony site, though it only served as a sort of precursor to the time they would share with him.

“Are we celebrating something?” Richard asked lightly.

“Just your mates showing that they missed you,” Sofiya said as she moved behind the other Fur and began a massage, letting the grey fox feed the third member of their family.

“I’m not complaining,” the silver fox said as he was thoroughly pampered.

“Good,” Charity whispered with an arch look. “Because tonight’s going to be one that I know you’re going to remember.”

Hours later all three were curled together happily on the pallet they slept on, Richard holding a vixen in each arm, tired with their activities, but a feeling of supreme contentment filing him that was shared by Sofiya and Charity. The silver fox smiled as the blond vixen snuggled closer, touching both of them.

“You are not allowed to be going to sleep yet,” Sofiya said quietly. “We only have a short time before we are to be meeting Lu Chin.”

“Oh? Why are we meeting Lu Chin?” Richard mumbled. “After that I’m not so sure I’ll be able to walk.”

Charity giggled wickedly as Sofiya simply smiled warmly. “Yes. It was being very enjoyable, but Lu Chin is using his telescope so that we may be seeing the colony ship.”

“Is that why he was setting it up?” the grey fox asked excitedly.

“Da. He has figured out where it is being in the sky. We can go out and be seeing the ship that is carrying our new neighbors.” Sofiya looked down at the drowsy silver fox and also giggled. “No. No sleeping, lazy fox!”

“You better figure out a way to keep me awake, then,” Richard said as he stretched a little and gave the two vixens a drowsy look.

“Challenge accepted!” Charity replied impishly.

***

“Ah! There it is!” Lu Chin exclaimed happily, the former astronomer’s tail wagging furiously. He muttered something in Mandarin before switching to English. “It is enormous! I was not thinking that it was so large!”

Sofiya waited for the other red fox to finish looking and making small adjustments to the compact but powerful telescope. She stepped forward when waved to the eyepiece and had to pull back before blinking and taking another look. “Dorohyy Boh! It is being larger than anything I have ever been seeing!” the vixen exclaimed, stepping back so that Richard and Charity could also look.

All were amazed at the sheer size of theUSS Leif Erikson and had to take second and third looks through the telescope before Lu Chin began taking pictures with the attached camera.

It wasn’t like anything any of the Furs had ever seen and far from the space going monstrosities from different movies or TV shows. Most of the ship looked like girders and scaffolding frameworks with cylindrical modules attached in concentric points that were spinning for simulated gravity in twelve segments. To the forward part of the modules were ships similar to the James Cook, Meriwether Lewis and other Traveler class freighters. They were docked to a central tube that ran the length of the entire vessel. The aft of the ship was a series of hexagonal attachments that contained massive engines and beneath those, deep in the framework were dozens of spheres with a large cone that most likely housed the tachyon based slip-drive. The fore of the craft had a large sphere that was dotted with what appeared to be windows with smaller modules behind it.

“What are those weird looking panels? I can see right through them,” Charity asked.

“Those are shields of sorts,” Lu Chin said as he began to transfer the snapshots to his PBJ. “They are made of very resilient plastic and protect the vital modules against spatial debris. They can also be used to harvest energy similar to a solar panel.”

“Those other ships that are docked,” Richard said, his voice tinged with awe. “Those are like theCook, aren’t they?”

Lu Chin nodded with a grin. “Either older ships that have been re-commissioned, or new ones that have not been equipped with slip-drives.” The red fox bent to the eyepiece again before consulting the images on his PBJ. “Jing-qi! There are other small ships attached that I have never seen before! And here! These are the cargo pods that we have already seen in use! This is utterly fascinating! What a wonderful way to recycle old parts!”

“Recycle?” Charity inquired. “What do you mean?”

“These modules are from the old third International Space Station! It was massive, but the problems that resulted when they had a docking mishap almost a decade ago made it impractical for crews to stay as anything for more than training or as caretakers. They have used those parts for the ship. Absolutely brilliant!” Lu Chin scrolled through more pictures or looked through the telescope as he spoke. “It is the most economical solution. A little framework and slip-drives, a reactor for power and you have an instant ship of unprecedented proportions!”

As the Chinese Fur carried on, Richard was reminded of the old actor James Hong and the notorious character of David Lo Pan from the filmBig Trouble in Little China* with the way he cackled gleefully. The silver fox could only shake his head in amusement indicating he’d tell Sofiya and Charity what was so amusing later. Eventually the excitement of seeing the enormous colony ship wore off and Sofiya and her mates made their way back to their house, leaving Lu Chin at his telescope to get more pictures before the rising of Epsilon Eridani rendered a visual impossible.

Both vixens chuckled at Richard comparing the astronomer to the actor James Hong, agreeing with the assessment as all of them got situated on their bed. As Sofiya snuggled against Richard’s side, Charity doing the same, she yawned and closed her eyes. “I am thinking that maybe sleeping in a little will be a good idea.”

“Well, until Nikoli wakes up and wants breakfast,” Charity said drowsily. “I’ll take care of that, then go back to bed myself.”

“I can get him,” the silver fox said with a kiss to each of the vixens.

“This is good,” Sofiya mumbled.

“You aren’t going to try and offer to get up with your son?” Richard asked with a chuckle.

“Of course not,” the red fox replied. “I am getting a chance to be sleeping in. Why would I be giving up such a luxury when my loves are being so anxious to do it for me?”

CHAPTER 46

"Dreams and Better Worlds"

For the fifth time that morning a sonic boom rolled over the valley as yet another ship from theUSS Leif Erikson began a long, slow circle to bleed off inertia from orbital drop before landing on the surface of Bastien. All of the foxes of the Abeona colony had rushed their morning chores so that all of them could watch the landing en masse of the human settlers and new Furs that would be sharing their planet.

Sofiya was no exception and stood atop the wall that surrounded to compound with her mates, Richard and Charity next to the blond vixen, the three passing a pair of binoculars back and forth. The grey vixen stamped her foot in nervous anticipation as she scanned the first of the large transport ships.

“Why don’t they open up?” Charity asked in exasperation. “The ships have had plenty of time to cool!”

Richard snorted in amusement at the younger fox’s enthusiasm. “They need to wait until the remaining ships are down first, sweetie. Don’t worry. It won’t be much longer.”

As the rest of the Abeona colonists also watched, another boom sounded across the valley, though instead of beginning a low orbit of the drop zone, the latest ship headed north, passing over the colony, apparently on its way to the other landing site for the Canis group that would be setting up.

“Look!” someone else further along the wall called out. Rupert Campbell leaned forward with his own set of binoculars aimed at the other side of the valley. “The first ship is letting the people out!”

Trading the field glasses around again, Sofiya and her family watched as the first ships were indeed letting their passengers out. As Richard accepted the glasses, he made a quick estimate of the crowd forming. “Huh. Looks to be almost a hundred people. I guess without the slip-drives there’s more room for passengers.” As he scanned the colonists milling about, most of them resembling little more than colorful specks against the deep green of the valley floor and the grey hull of the ship, the giant cargo doors began to trundle open. “Looks like they’re getting ready to start unloading the trucks and cargo containers.”

Sofiya nodded and turned to address the rest of the Vulps. “They have started their unloading,” the vixen said loudly. “I am promising that all of you will be getting a chance to meet the new colonists, but right now we are to be helping. Emanuella? Are the wagons and crates being ready?”

The South American Fur nodded and gave a ‘thumbs-up’ gesture. “They are. We can go when you are ready. We have tools packed and ready and enough food prepared for sharing a little.”

Sofiya nodded with a smile. “The work team that has already been chosen may go ahead and get on the wagons. It is time to be helping our new neighbors!”

Half of the Vulps hurried to the wagons, less concerned about the hard work that would comprise a substantial portion of their day than they were at meeting the new colonists while the other half stayed behind to tend to the Abeona colony and the children of the different Furs. To help out the Great Dome had been turned into an impromptu daycare with Suzette and Maria Paccinni monitoring the kits whose parents were on the work team. Sofiya climbed down from the wall and made her way to the seat of the first wagon in the line. Richard and Charity joined her with the silver fox taking the reins, waiting until others had piled into the back before flicking the leads.

“This will be a day to be remembering, I think,” Sofiya said brightly as she took her mates’ arms in hers and adjusted how she sat so her tail wouldn’t get pinched on the ride to where the ships sat.

***

For the Furs of Abeona seeing a human for the first time after so long of only having other Vulps to speak to was a little strange. While many still corresponded with family and friends back on Earth, the contact was distant and somewhat detached. That wasn’t the case with almost five hundred homo sapiens struggling to get cargo containers shifted and placed so that the process of setting up shelters would go more smoothly. The reaction from many of the humans was the same, many never having seen a Fur except in news articles or various televised specials.

Sofiya demonstrated again why she had been selected for the Abeona colony leader position and stood, using the height of the wagon to her advantage. “Rupert, Matthew! Gather helpers and begin the moving of the dome materials to the staging area. Conchita! If you would be getting assembly teams together to be helping these good people it would be very appreciated.”

Once her foxes were moving, the vixen climbed own and found the nearest human that was directing others with a bullhorn.

“I am Sofiya, the colony leader of Abeona,” Sofiya said warmly as she extended a paw-like hand. “It was believed that a little help would be something appreciated.”

The man stared at the Fur for a moment before grinning and taking the anthrofox’s paw, shaking it enthusiastically. “You bet! I’m Jim Harrington, the second in command. The extra help is definitely going to a long way in getting us going. You might want to go talk to our overseer, though. Our colony Captain is over in that tent trying to get everybody going in the same direction.” The man pointed to what looked like a flex-frame military style tent. “Just tell him Jim sent you.”

“Thank you, Jim. We are also having food and water in the wagons to be passed out when your people are needing the break,” the red fox told the human. “It is not much, but our thinking is that such would be better than having to be using field kitchens and cobbled together snacks.”

“Bless you, ma’am!” Jim enthused. “Go on over and see the Captain. I’ll radio ahead to let him know you’re on your way.”

Richard would have jumped in with the work crew but Sofiya firmly taking his paw stopped him as the vixen did the same with Charity. “I would like for you two to be coming with me,” Sofiya said. “I do not know why, but I am feeling a little nervous.”

The grey fox accepted the explanation, but Richard only looked at his other mate in slight confusion as she didn’t give any indicators of being nervous. What Sofiya was exhibiting was the drooping left ear that was her tell when she was scheming something.

The tent flap was opened for airflow and inside was a human that was giving directions to several others. He was of middling height and fairly trim bespeaking the man’s penchant for keeping in shape, though after being on Bastien for so long he looked a little soft to the three Furs. An aide tapped the man on the shoulder and pointed at the trio of Vulps that waited in the doorway. When the man turned around, Richard felt his jaw drop open in shock.

“Dad?!?”

“Richard!” the man exclaimed, his arms thrown wide as he stepped up to the silver fox and gave his son a warm embrace. “Well, colony life looks like it agrees with you, my boy!”

“What are you doing here?” the silver fox asked as he returned the hug, his eyes suddenly flowing with tears.

“Are you going to ask me the same question every time we meet?” the elder Tavington male inquired, pulling back to show that his son wasn’t the only one crying. “We’ll get to that in a moment,” Nathan said as he turned to the red fox and embraced her as well. “Sofiya! It’s good to see you again!”

“As it is you, sir.”

“Call me ‘Dad’ or something. I’ve got enough people around here calling me ‘Sir’.” Nathan then turned to the other vixen. “And this must be Charity. Richard and Sofiya have told me all about you. Welcome to the family, dear.”

The grey fox accepted the hug, a perplexed expression on her face at not knowing the proper way to react. “It’s a pleasure,” she mumbled, scanning her mates’ faces for help.

“We have others from our colony helping your people to be setting up. It seems that we are having a little experience in such things,” Sofiya said lightly with a negligent gesture as she waved her paw in the air. “We have also brought along food and water. It is not being much, but it should suffice until your people are setting up their kitchens.”

“You’re a godsend, Sofiya!” Nathan informed the vixen. “What we’re really going to be needing help with is getting the primary structures set along with water and sanitation, however I don’t want to see any of your people digging latrine pits. We’ve got enough backs for that little endeavor and a couple of small excavators. What I would like is for your Furs to work more like supervisors. You’ve done this already where my people have only had a few weeks of training for this.”

“I can be coordinating with your second. Jim is seeming like a sound individual,” the blond fox said with a nod. “This will be giving you and Richard a chance to talk, and for you to be spending time with Charity.”

Nathan nodded with dampness still streaking his cheeks. “Good call. Jim’s a good person. Dependable. Surprised me when he resigned from the TCC to join the rest of us out here.”

As Sofiya turned to go find the human group’s first officer, she paused and nuzzled the silver fox. “I was telling you that I trusted the human colony leader!” she said brightly before stepping out of the tent.

Richard was still reeling from the surprise of seeing his father. “Is Mom here, too?”

“Of course,” Nathan said with a grin. “Turns out I wasn’t the only one tired of jetting around the world and attending seminars, lectures and so on. Your mother said if she had to endure one more cocktail party with the wives of the various dignitaries or corporate heads we had to deal with that I would ‘regret it’. Something about them being ‘catty, sniping, gossiping busy-bodies’, and several more colorful descriptions I won’t repeat. Apparently those little events set your mother on edge.

“She’s coordinating the housing for the families that have children.” The man waved his son to the table where there were simple topographical maps of the immediate area. “Now then, water is one of my big priorities. We’ll have to get points set up not just for the colony, but the livestock pens. I was thinking of placing four points to start with along this river. Here, here, this spot…and here…”

***

The long day finally came to an end and Richard, Sofiya and Charity walked along one of the ‘streets’ that ran between a myriad of tents and geodesic domes with Nathan and Amanda Tavington. The food that the Furs had brought had taken some strain off of the mess staff that ran the kitchens, and the two humans had found the offers of foods that were native to Bastien had been met with delight by many of the human colonists. Nathan was the kind of individual that preferred a hands-on approach, and once planning had been concluded, he was out with the rest of the people under his charge, hauling materials, setting up shelters, nearly everything possible with the exception of herding the livestock into the temporary pens.

“Considering what our ‘First Day’ was like, that was pretty smooth,” Richard said as he surveyed the makeshift town.

“I’ll take that as high praise, indeed,” Nathan replied with a chuckle. “I read the reports that Ásmundr forwarded me. You and your Furs apparently had this portion down to a science.”

Sofiya smiled at the compliment. “I have had very dependable individuals that were also being very dedicated.” She squeezed Richard’s paw as she spoke. “That and ‘dependable’ is a quality that is being very important out here.”

Charity wasn’t part of the conversation as she was behind the group and speaking with Richard’s mother, Amanda Tavington. When the woman let out an almost girlish squeal, the others turned to see her with her hand on the grey fox’s stomach. “Do you know if you’re having more than one yet?” Amanda asked excitedly the dark haired woman’s brown eyes sparkling merrily.

Charity nodded with a beaming smile splitting her muzzle. “Our doctors think there’re two, but it’s still early yet. I won’t even start showing for at least another month.”

Amanda gave the Fur a one armed hug as they resumed walking, though the woman gave a very pointed look to her son. “So when do I get to meet Nikoli?” she asked archly. “Pictures are all well and good, but if I’m here I want to hold my grandson!”

“Now Amanda…” Nathan began in a placating tone before he was cut off.

“Don’t you ‘now Amanda’ me! We’ve known for the longest that we were coming here and it took everything I had not to break the news accidentally. I want to see my grandson Nathaniel Theodore Tavington, and I want to see him now.” The order was delivered a bit tartly, but there was no refusing the woman when she wanted something. “Besides, I have all manner of toys that we brought from Earth.”

The elder Tavington gave his son an apologetic look, eliciting a smile from both Richard and Sofiya. “I suppose we could. We’ve still got a few hours of light left,” the silver fox agreed. “And it would give you a chance to look our colony over. Maybe you’ll get some ideas that might help.”

“That and it’ll give you a chance to take the new Vulps to your site,” Nathan said.

“I was almost forgetting them!” Sofiya exclaimed ruefully. “They were helping with the livestock, yes?”

“I believe so,” Nathan replied as he pulled his radio from his belt and gave directions for the Vulps that had arrived with the human colonists to collect their gear so they could transit over to the Abeona colony site.

“I like the modular buildings,” Richard told his father as they waited by the last wagon for the additional Furs and looked over the mass of people, tents and domes with four prefabricated buildings near the western edge of the colony zone. “It would have made our set up easier.”

Nathan smiled. “Well, we did have the luxury of a little more room for cargo, and as Jim put it ‘a big honkin’ ship’ to load everything on. Apparently a group of almost half a thousand requires a lot of room for files and the like. Someone asked why we didn’t have more of them to use for housing. I don’t think that everyone’s appreciative of just what it takes to move three tons of prefab building across interstellar distances, much less four of them. And two are for the hospital at that. No, if the domes were good enough for you and your people, they’ll be good enough for mine.”

“Um, Dad, we don’t live in our domes anymore,” Richard informed his father with a grin.

“What are you using?” the human asked before his expression grew worried. “Please don’t tell me you’ve gone totally fox and dug dens…”

The three Furs couldn’t help but break out into laughter at the notion of dens. “No. We are having something very different,” Sofiya informed the two humans as a group of foxes approached from the far side of the new colony site. “You will be liking our solution, I think.”

The group of new Furs parted as a sandy haired red fox pushed his way through. “Sofiya! Richard!” the new Vulps called as he ran towards the Abeona colonists.

“Robert!” the silver fox replied with a grin, Sofiya also smiling as her tail wagged furiously. Richard caught the younger male in a friendly embrace, parting after some back slapping to let his mate also give the new Fur a warm hug. “Wow. You make a pretty good fox.”

“I hope so! It took a lot of begging to get to go through the program,” the filmmaker informed the others as he all but bounced nervously. “Not that I’m not glad to see you guys, but is Charlotte around?”

The group smiled at the inquiry, knowing how close the pair had grown during their time at the Adirondack Institute. “She is being at home and helping with the children,” Sofiya said.

Robert blinked and pulled back a little. “Children? Really?” he asked in a slightly surprised tone. “She has children?”

“No. Not her. The rest of us that came out to help,” Richard told the red fox. “I think you made an impression on her because Charlotte hasn’t gotten together with anyone else. In fact,” the smoky colored male said with a mischievous grin, “you are about the only one she ever talks about.”

“Seriously? I-I am?”

Sofiya nodded with a somber expression. “You are. She is still very much taken by you.” The vixen gestured to the two carts that were left, the other Abeona Vulps having headed back to their site. “If you and the others would be loading your belongings onto the carts we will be taking you home.”

“Home,” the sandy haired fox said before a smile split his muzzle. “Yeah. Home!”

***

Watching the reunion between Charlotte Bujold and Robert Knowles was one of the most emotional things that many of the witnesses had ever seen. For several long moments the two Furs simply stared at each other, almost as if to say anything or move would reveal the event to be a dream that would vanish like a tendril of smoke on the breeze. When they finally did reach out for each other it was with trembling paws, the awe they felt mirrored on the other’s face. By the time they finally embraced it was with much crying from both foxes, and the kiss that was shared was one of tender passion that stunned everyone. No one said anything as Charlotte led her beau by the paw to the house that had been built for her, though there were plenty of smiles.

“You know that tomorrow she’s going to be pretty ticked we didn’t tell her Robert would be one of the new Furs coming, right?” Richard asked his mate.

Sofiya wiped at her eyes, touched by what she’d just witnessed and understanding what her friend was feeling at that moment. “I think I may be handling it,” she said with a soft expression.

The rest of the Vulps that had just landed were handed over to Hector who showed them the one new house that had been built, despite work still needing to be done to the interior, and the four domes that were ready for occupants. Once the newcomers were taken care of, Richard, Sofiya and Charity headed for the Great Dome, the matter of introducing Nikoli to his grandparents taking precedence.

The kit trundled to his parents when he saw them, yipping and growling excitedly with partial words interspersed. Then Nikoli stopped short, tumbling forward tail-over-ears when he saw the strange creatures that were with his mothers and father and tried to stop suddenly. As the kit came to a rest on his rump, he cocked his head quizzically, a soft growl rumbling deep in his throat until one of the weird, furless things sat down on the floor and held its arms wide.

“Oh my goodness! Nikoli you are just too precious!” Amanda said with a look of unbound glee.

The kit looked to his parents, seeing their expressions and the wagging of their tails. Cautiously he moved forward on all fours, drawing close enough to sniff at the stranger. The examination was long, and the kit was unsure what to make of the woman until she pulled a bright blue rubber chew bone from her small backpack and mimed gnawing on it before handing it to the child.

Nikoli knew exactly what to do with such a gift despite never seeing anything of the like, and proceeded to start chewing on the end with fervor. As he began drooling in bliss, Nikoli determined that anything that brought him such treasures and had the trust of his parents was good and promptly climbed up into Amanda Tavington’s lap.

“Good grief, Amanda,” Nathan said with a laugh. “Now I know why you went to Super Pet Mart! I never thought the day would come where my grandchildren would get their toys from a pet super store.”

“I read the letters from the Furs on some of the other worlds,” Amanda said loftily. “Maybe you should send a message to Ásmundr and tell him that future colonies need chew toys. Heavens, Nathan! Not a single planner for colony missions thinks about the eventual children the different groups will have. If they had the R&D teams would have come up with suitable diapers.” The woman looked up at her son and his mates. “What did you do for diapers?”

“Um, we didn’t, Mom,” Richard said with a grin. “The second time you have to clean poop out of fur you realize they don’t work. Instead you make sure there are lots of rags and cleaner easily available.

Amanda made a face and turned back to Nikoli. “Good heavens. My son is turning into a complete caveman…”

The babble was just that to the kit. All he knew was there was something about the strange thing that only had fur on the top of its head that seemed familiar, had good things to chew on, and gave good tummy rubs. As far as the infant Fur was concerned, that was all of the important things.

***

The elder Tavingtons were shown the house that Richard, Sofiya and Charity lived in, both marveling at the ingenuity and accomplishments with extremely limited resources. After a hot meal together, Richard and his father took a walk around the Abeona site, the silver fox pointing out the different improvements they’d made.

“Richard, I can’t begin to tell you how impressed I am by all that you and your group has accomplished!” Nathan said with more animation than the silver fox had ever seen from the elder Tavington. “You, Sofiya…all of you have done the amazing. It makes me realize that we couldn’t have better trail blazers for us!”

“Was that one of the reasons that you volunteered?” the silver fox asked archly.

“One of them,” Nathan admitted. “There were other considerations, of course. I’ve seen about all of the Earth I’d care to. Tensions in the Middle East are tumultuous as always, pollution’s getting better, but there’s still a long way to go. More species have been declared extinct in the wild…” The man paused and put his hand on the Fur’s shoulder. “Mostly it was because I missed my son.”

Richard’s head jerked up and he saw the beginnings of tears filling his father’s eyes.

“We lost so much time, my boy. Too much. I can’t begin to tell you the regret I’ve carried in me all these years. If I could, I’d go back in time, do things differently. That isn’t the case, though. That, and if I could change things, would you and Sofiya still meet? Or Charity? Would there even be a Nikoli, cute scamp that he is? I don’t know. All I know is that we are here, right now, on this world with a new beginning ahead of us. And knowing…really knowing that I can share this with you, your family and your mother…well, that means everything to me.”

The silver fox made a choking sound deep in his throat before he threw his arms around the man in front of him, tears seeping past tightly closed eyes as Nathan hugged his son in return. “Maybe we can both let the past go and really live in the here and now. Sofiya has always said she wanted a better world. She promised her father before he died that she would find it or build it. Wanna help me make her dream come true, Dad?”

“You better believe I do, Richard!”

***

The weeks that followed found a great many of the human colonists ofAxis Mundi coming to study the Abeona site, to learn from the Vulps that had discovered how to do without, to improvise and begin the long process of becoming the first real citizens of Bastien. There were a few human colonists that weren’t sure what to think of the Furs they had settled near, but the ready help that all of the Vulps offered soon had even the doubters realizing that there was a potential for unprecedented cooperation. Before all of the domes had been erected, Rupert, Matthew, Richard and many other Furs were helping build real houses for the humans, showing them the process of making the ceramic building blocks and how to construct a wood burning kiln.

There was no shortage of help when it came time to plant the crops that the humans would soon become dependent on, or the different plants indigenous to Bastien that were edible. The reaction from the new colonists was rather amusing the first time they saw an aurodon, though there was no denying the speed in which the large animals could ready a field for sowing.

The different Vulps doctors, particularly Riva Weicz along with Daniel Holt formed a solid relationship with the human physicians and those that had science backgrounds, going over the results for the test kits, showing the meticulous examinations of everything that had been discovered thus far.

When it came time for foraging, Kurt was pleased that there were other serious hunters in the latest group from Earth, men and women both that saw hunting and the experience as more than just killing something, but treated it almost as reverently as the platinum fox.

Working with Nathan Tavington, Sofiya and the human began to schedule joint exploration forays. By splitting her survey teams and attaching them to human groups, the joint project was able to cover greater areas for longer periods. The added benefit of this arrangement was that the Furs were able to shorten the learning curve for the men and women that ranged out to learn more of their new world.

The different foxes of Abeona were old salts, now, and Nathan Tavington was adamant about his contingent learning all they could as quickly as possible. Ruiz and other Furs were called upon to demonstrate the fabrication of tools that were an actual improvement over some of the items that had been included in both groups equipment modules.

Then the day arrived that Richard received a message from Sofiya that he was needed at the Abeona operations dome.

The silver fox had been surveying land closer to the Furs’ colony with his father for the placement of actual houses, everyone agreeing that it would be better to move the two groups closer, though with a small buffer of land as each of the disparate colony endeavors were still acclimating to each other. Fearing something was amiss, Richard and Nathan all but sprinted to the center of Abeona operations.

Richard pulled up short when he found both of his mates talking animatedly with a strange Vulps, though as the pair drew closer they realized that the unknown Fur wasn’t a fox at all. It took the silver fox a long moment to place the familiar face and he stepped forward, panting slightly. “You’re name is Connie, right?” Richard asked the maned wolf uncertainly.

“It is!” the odd looking, though no less attractive Fur replied in a sultry contralto as she held out a paw. “Pleased to meet you in person, Richard!”

“Likewise,” the silver fox said. “But if you’re here, then where’s-”

Before he could finish the question, Richard was lifted off his feet in a huge hug and swung around. As soon as his feet touched the ground, the fox spun, a grey and dun colored wolf regarding him with a toothy grin. “What says, brother?” Jack Baines said.

“Holy smokes…” the fox mumbled before embracing his friend, feeling his emotions tumble over each other. “It’s good to see you!”

“It’s good to see you, too, Rick!” the wolf emoted and slapped the other Fur’s back happily. “We got all our people set up and cozy like with the first fields plowed and planted so I asked our colony leader if he’d like to come down here and get some pointers from the gal that wrote the book on Bastien.”

“I was not writing the book, Jack,” Sofiya interjected with a laugh. “You are very bad for telling such fibs. Much of the work was done by the prior colony in the four years they were here before us.” The red fox gestured to the white and russet patched beagle that had stepped out of the operations dome with her. “And this is being Edward Landry, the leader for North Downing, the colony the Canis have been establishing.”

Richard took the other Fur’s paw as the anthrobeagle extended it. “It truly is a pleasure, Richard,” the Canis Fur said with a distinct British accent. “Jack has told us quite a few stories regarding your group and Sofiya just confirmed the tale of her bear incident whilst your group was at the simulation site in Washington State. Absolutely amazing!”

“Yeah, Sofiya’s quite an amazing lady,” Richard commented with a slowly growing grin. When the other colony leader gave him a curious look, Richard simply shook his head. “Don’t mind me. I’m just amused. I can tell you’re from England, you chose a beagle, you came to meet Sofiya, a vixen. Given the sport of fox hunting in Great Britain…”

Edward had the good grace to look embarrassed before laughing in a rich tenor. “Good heavens. It never even occurred to me how inappropriate that might look!” He shook his head. “Well, if it’s any consolation, I never took part in one of those. Ghastly thing to be called a sport, if truth be told. What I am amazed to find, though, is the progress that your lot has made utilizing local resources. Granted it’s a bit of a haul, but I would relish the chance to have some of my Canis come down here to see what you’ve done.

“We’ve already started a wall around our colony site as well, what with the reports of that creature that you good people were calling a snow dragon,” The beagle shook his head, “A rather frightening beast, to be sure.”

Sofiya stepped up next to Richard. “I am thinking that having some of your Canis visiting would be more than acceptable,” the vixen said. “And we can also be sending some of our Vulps that were vital in our success to your colony site.”

Nathan agreed with the thoughts of personnel visiting the other colonies. “I think that cooperation would serve all of us well.” He nodded and cast a smile at the beagle. “It’s good to hear that your people are doing well, Edward.”

“I’d like to think so,” the beagle answered then waved a paw around to indicate the Abeona colony, “but this is what I’m really hoping to attain. This is absolutely magnificent! And I didn’t think there would be so many children already.” Edward continued to scan the area around the commons, his paw-like hands on his hips as his tail churned the air behind him. “In fact, I dare say if we manage to do half as well I’ll consider my people extremely fortunate.”

***

The sun rose in the eastern sky, an orange red ball that gave the world that Sofiya could see from the top of the wall surrounding Abeona a surreal glow, as if everything the light touched absorbed it and reflected it back at the sun. Already individuals from both Abeona and the human colony,Axis Mundi, were hard at work building houses and tending fields. In the distance a group of her foxes were helping the men and women that had come to Bastien in herding their livestock or putting grain out.

The red fox anthro couldn’t help but smile at seeing such things. All of them, human and Fur had come to create a better world, to live on the edge of explored space without the trappings of Earth, to trade modern conveniences for a more primitive way of life because all of them felt they could do better.

Perhaps they could. The two groups had thousands of years of history to learn from. Maybe they could put those lessons to good use and make the kind of world that so many dreamed about. It wouldn’t be easy, but then the things that truly mattered and had value beyond the mere material never were.

Nikoli looked up at his mother, his tiny paw patting her tufted cheek and when Sofiya looked down she saw something in his bronze eyes that were so like his father’s. It was almost as if the vixen saw gratitude, that her child was thanking her for what she’d lost and chosen to give up to be where she was. “This almost wasn’t the path I chose, my darling son,” she whispered in Ukrainian to the copper colored kit. “There was a moment not all that long ago when I considered death as the only way to end the pain that was in my heart.

“It seems like a lifetime ago, and perhaps it was. I had to endure things that no person ever should. But the moment passed, and I believed that there had to be another way. A better way.” Sofiya smiled at the kit and hoisted him higher so that she could rub her cheek against the son that she and Richard had made. “I made the choice to give up my humanity, to become something different that would guarantee I would have to leave the Earth. And I am so very glad that I made that choice. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t be here, I wouldn’t have our family, our friends, and I wouldn’t have you.”

Nikoli burbled happily, slipping the end of the rubber chew bone that was always with him now into his mouth and began gnawing, though his eyes never left his mother’s.

“Perhaps I was being punished for sins that I committed. Maybe it was for not doing enough to heal the planet that I was born on. I don’t know, and most likely I never will. I think that I have found my redemption here, though. Your Grand Poppa told me to find a better world. Find it or build it. I think that I am doing both.

“I have you, I have your father whom I love with all of my heart, I have your Momma Charity whom I also love so very much. I have our friends and those that are like family. And here…here we have a world that has never known war, sweet Nikoli. It hasn’t seen the trouble that the world I was born on has known. We will continue to grow this better word for you, for the other children, both human and Fur. Maybe here all of us can find redemption for what was done to the world that we left behind.”

Smiling at having spent more than enough time watching the activity of others when her own duties beckoned, Sofiya turned only to find Richard and Charity waiting for her. The other two anthrofoxes held their arms out to her, pulling the red fox into a long, warm embrace. As she felt the strength of her mates, the warmth and love that flowed through them and into her, Sofiya couldn’t help but smile with joy.

“What were you telling Nikoli? Charity asked as they made their way down the steps and onto the springy, moss-like Bastien turf.

The red fox nuzzled her son happily. “I was telling him that here, this beautiful place and all that are sharing in it, is our redemption and that here we will be setting a course for bright dreams and a better world.”

AFTERWORD

There are times that I feel I think too much. Then again, is there such a thing for a person that enjoys writing? Without the contemplation of things or events, turning the fertile soil of the imagination, there wouldn’t be stories to enjoy. There wouldn’t be ideas that others have come up with that are, for all intents and purposes, beautiful concepts.

At least this was what I felt with Ted’s Sunset of Furmankind story. Wow! What an idea. And like a lot of other people, I was thrilled by the tale he wove, the concepts that sprang forth. It was well thought out, a phenomenal tale, but ultimately the story of one man finding himself in a rather extraordinary set of circumstances as the price for a momentary lapse of judgment, of giving in to his passions and anger and paying the price for that lapse.

Jonathon Sunset was, to me, a believable and rather tragic character. I’ve been in the position he found himself in where the woman he thought loved him was unfaithful. I can understand his reaction. Unfortunately, instead of walking away, Sunset gives in to that moment of darkness with the result being…well, I won’t say as it might spoil the story for some.

The life that he faces is one where Jonathon Sunset believes all of his choices are either non-existent, or so limited they might as well be non-existent. For the longest time he’s convinced that the direction that his life takes is a punishment only slightly better than the most final of alternatives.

And that, my friends, is what really got me thinking.

What would cause a person tovolunteer for the Anthro Human Colonization Project? What would make a person give up their humanity and in the process find a guaranteed one-way ticket to an alien world?

I really have to wonder if such a decision would be one the average person could make. First there’s the uncertainty and anxiety of undergoing a transformation that turns a person into something that is both more and less than human. We’ve all seen how badly humans can treat others of the species because of their skin color, or the place of their birth. If anything, that is one trait that truly is blind to race, creed, color, religion or sexual orientation; the ability to hate. To undergo the furmankind process is an open invite for others to hate that person.

Then there is the pain of the transformation as the very DNA of the volunteers are warped, twisted and manipulated. Most people these days have an incredibly low pain tolerance. Sorry, but that’s my opinion after serious observations. Sure, I was in the Army. I’ve also been shot, stabbed, hit by a bus, a taxi cab, and Mazda Miata, of which I’m happy to say I totaled with nothing worse to me than severe bruising. My normal remedy was a hot shower and Motrin for the pain. Well, except the shot and stabbed parts. Those I simply had to endure, avoid watching anything that made me laugh and thereby made me feel as if I were going to bust a seam, though it was great for getting sympathy dates.

Still, the process to become a Fur is excruciating.

But this was the question that rumbled around my brain in the wee hours of the morning and I was completely fascinated by it! So began the process of getting some thoughts down and asking Ted if he would mind me taking a whack at a tale set in his other world. To be honest, I was already dreading this story. Born of Heroes was the longest thing I’d ever written, and I knew that this idea wasn’t going to be turning into a short story. Not by a long shot.

I guess Ted was happy with the way BoH turned out, because he said yes.

Right away I knew that I wanted a strong female lead. I know a great many ladies, my girlfriend included, that are pretty, very feminine, and are about the toughest people I know. One can even out shoot me any day of the week, but she gets upset when I say that, so we’ll just move along now…

So, strong female. Check.

Next was which Institute?

Well, we’ve seen the Adirondack facility and the people there, and I was curious as to what the headquarters of the AHCP would be like, and the corresponding Institute. As the first facility and home of such a program, nothing but stunning would do for the architecture. That, and having been to Europe for my work, I found that many of the Nordic nations love clean lines, geometric designs, and tie all of that in with a sort of postmodern zeal. I already knew the black pyramid was a must, and everything just sort of fell in place after that, though I think my two favorite features were the reflecting pool surrounded by the flags of all the participating nations and the furman fountain/statue inside the lobby. Then there were the actual living quarters of the Stockholm Institute and labs. I wanted these to look like a resort villa using traditional European buildings with a sort of Bavarian appearance. All in all, I’m really rather enamored with my take on the heart of the AHCP.

All of this, of course, brings us to Ásmundr Gustavsson, the man behind the whole AHCP and development of furmankind.

With the bits of background that Ted gave, the power the man commanded, I saw a person not unlike Sir Richard Branson. Urbane, charismatic, shrewd, but ultimately approachable. Still, it was daunting to exhibit such hubris and write him into the story. I was sure that Ted would put the kybosh on that. Much to my surprise, he really enjoyed my description of Ásmundr! I liked the thought that Ásmundr, while brilliant, wealthy and such an awe inspiring figure to the Furs was able to see the need for humans to colonize far off worlds, but still worry about the men and women that volunteered for his program. The man struck me as something of a military General in the middle of a war. He has identified the enemy and knows what measures must be taken, and he will order those measures to be done, knowing the entire time that it means some of the people under his command will die. It hurts him, and he wishes otherwise, but he’s still going to do what he sees as the best course of action for humanityand the Furs as a whole. I would have to say that Ásmundr was one of the most layered, and complex individuals that could possibly exist, and if there was a character that could be the basis for an entire story, he’s it.

There was the question of which of the four types of Fur to make my character.

Even as I was contemplating what to make my lead character; Felias, Canis, Ursis or Vulps, there was the conundrum of where they would go? Javan? Monarch? Both are Vulps worlds, Javan as mentioned in the 2nd chapter ofSoF, and Monarch as that was where Sissy’s brothers, both Vulps, went where one was killed. Would she be Canis and go to Khepri? Or Ursis and the world of Diamante…

The answer was really quite simple.

Bastien!

Why Bastien? Because Bastien would be both an easy world to send a colony to, but also a hard one. Easy because the Felis that were there collected almost half a decade of information and a replacement colony could move right in to the original site. Hard because Bastien was a ghost world. Save the two Vulps that were the endeavor’s physicians, the entire colony died within hours, four years into their stay there. Men, women, children…all of them gone. I know it’s a terrible comparison, but to me being told I was going to such a world would be the same as being told that my new house was going to be set up in the middle of a cemetery or that I would have an apartment in a mausoleum. No thank you.

At the same time, Bastien would be a desirable world due to the wealth of natural, raw resources.

This, of course, made the choice of Fur type for my main character rather simple. The only ones that survived the plague that eliminated the Bastien Felis were two Vulps, so, once again, foxes it was! Then again, I have foxes that live around my house, and I love the little critters. I’ve found they’re rather adaptable, fairly intelligent, incredibly agile, and they really help keep the rodent population in check!

After these plot tidbits fell into place, the other characters just happened. Granted, I had a good pool of already established characters to play with, but many of those wound up on Bonestell at the Second Chance colony. There were, however, peripheral humans that I could bring back. That gave a good supporting cast.

With Ted’s Second Chance group, we see the tensions that have arisen with an unbalanced gender ratio that’s leaning towards a greater male population. I wanted to go the opposite direction. I think that the potential for trouble when there are unequal numbers of males and females can be disastrous in the right, or more likely the wrong, situation. This, however, was something that I could use to a story telling benefit by utilizing a trait that foxes exhibit. The skulk.

Vixens tend to form small family groups that the females dominate because males, or dog foxes, roam before and after breeding season. While some males will return to the same female year after year, some don’t and will mate with any available female they encounter. If you look at some of the territories that foxes inhabit, particularly those that are in suburban areas, this trait makes a lot of sense. With the dog fox roaming there is one less mouth to feed and compete with for food, and that can have a drastic effect on the success rate of a skulk.

As I happen to live in a rural setting, I like having lots of foxes for the previously mentioned rodent issue. And rabbits. Nasty little things tend to do great amount of damage to my garden year after year, and the only reason rabbits exist is to feed everything else. I can, however, do without finding half eaten rabbit carcasses in my forge and workshop. It’s rather like theGodfather at times…

Back to topic, though. Vixens are comfortable in skulks, with all of the females taking part in the raising of the kits. They will band together to hunt prey that they wouldn’t attempt to take down otherwise, and the skulks tend to fare much better than a solitary vixen would. This translated easily to the Abeona group, and I thought it was a good example that my characters were no longer fully human. Incorporating vulpine behavior into people that are as much animal as they are human is both easy and challenging, but I’m pleased with the result.

All of this hasn’t really answered the driving question, though, and that was, why would a person volunteer for all of this?

Okay, first off there’s the $1 million in prize money to be awarded after the first five years of colony time. While all that’s fine and good, what would a Fur do with that money? They’d be on a foreign world, and last I checked, there aren’t a lot of stores. Sure, they could purchase goods and the like from Earth, but how long would it take to get those goods to a far off planet, if ever. Space travel is costly. Heck, flying from one country to another is expensive. While the money might be a good incentive to those in dire financial straits, it really is a negligible enticement.

I think that the reason one would volunteer for something like the Furmankind project is far more poignant. Each character that we’ve seen, both from Ted’s incredible story and my own humble offering is essentially an orphan or misfit of society. Somehow, with the exception of Jon Sunset, there is a disconnect of some manner each individual has with the world they live in. Some are poor, some are dissatisfied, in the case of Dante Capanari he’s already disconnected from the rest of the word. He’s estranged from his parents, living on the streets, hungry and tired of being a social pariah. But he sees something more clearly than all the other characters, and that is hope. Hope for a better life, of having a steady and readily available source of food, the hope ofbelonging. That in and of itself is a strong motivator.

For some of the others, their reasons are maybe not as evident, but they are no less powerful.

I think that the desire for something more, something with meaning would be the strongest factor for volunteering. To take part in something like an off-world colony where every individual is a contributing factor to success would be why a person volunteered for the AHCP. How many that may read this look at their lives, the same routine day after day, the lack of challenges and far too much time spent behind a desk and dream of something more? Or, in the case of us moderns, something less?

Life on another world would be a challenge of wits, of incorporating the traits of the animals that our brave explorers are blended with, learning how to use those traits to go beyond mere survival. Isn’t that what living is all about? I see people today that are so reliant on their electronics, of being constantly in touch with everyone around them, yet at the same time they are distant, easily distracted by the ring or chirp of a cell phone that actual social interaction means next to nothing. On the flip side, I have friends that like to leave the electronics behind, throw on old clothes and hit the woods for a little bit of primitive time where they can enjoy companionship without the constant bombardment of electrons vying for their attention.

I know that I would jump at the chance to leave most of the crap that I’ve filled my life with away. Granted, I like having access to the world’s collection of music at my fingertips, or the ability to watch almost any movie that strikes my fancy, but do I need it? No, not really. I for one would love to be in a situation where I was reliant on my wits, my skills, my ability to adapt to survive. Perhaps that was one of the reasons I joined the Army, or now make my way as a swordmaker. I have a desire for a less technologically complex life.

That and what a thrill to say that you were the first person to see such-and-such! Sure, in the grand scheme of the universe something like being the first individual to set foot on some alien mountain light years away would mean exactly spit, but to the person doing the stepping…well, it just doesn’t get any better.

So what kind of person would volunteer to become a Fur and be exiled off the Earth? I can tell you honestly, if such a program existed, I’d be one of the first in line! Long live us social misfits, those of us born with a vagabond soul and we upstart Bohemians that have the audacity to dream of a better world.

With my warmest regards, dear readers and dreamers!

Jeff Karamales