REDEMPTION

— by Jeff Karamales

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 the USS 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 ship Leif 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. The Leif 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 the Leif 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 vessel Leif 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 the Leif 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 the James Cook, but they have more cargo space due to the lack of a slip drive for interstellar travel. Instead they are docked with the Leif 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 a flick. 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 the schnee 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 called chepples, 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 the USS 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 the Cook, 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 film Big 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?”

— NEXT CHAPTER —

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