REDEMPTION

— by Jeff Karamales

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…a permanent 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…my wifely 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 not behave?” 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 is my 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.

— NEXT CHAPTER —

Unless otherwise noted, all material © Ted R. Blasingame. All rights reserved.