Oscar took some pleasure in how flustered the Silken Feather looked after the Captain's single-word question. The holographic Karnakian's crest bobbed for a moment, but then settled back down in determination as she rolled on. "[It matters not if my fame has not reached your ears...yet. What matters now is that I possess an article of great interest to two separate Sacred Paths. I am willing to give either of them a chance to possess it.]"

"[For money, of course,]" said Ma'elge'yk. She tilted her head. "[How much do you want?]"

"[No! There will be NO payments or bartering!]" yelled Ck'Trrk'Ka. "[The Claw of Ta'irrl'qc is the property of the Thirty-Third Sacred Path, and it will be returned to us!]"

The other Matriarch tilted her head the other way. "[Your possession of the Claw is only a historical accident. The founder of our Sacred Path had just as strong a claim to it, if not for your founder absconding with it.]"

The Silken Feather tapped her fore-claws together. "[Excellent! It seems we have the start of a very profitable bidding war.]"

Rgrarshok let out a clicking growl. "[May I remind the 34th Path Matriarch that paying for stolen goods is a felony. Even in Diarchy space.]"

The Silken Feather's yellow collar of feathers fluffed out. "[True, but that depends on where the transaction itself takes place, hmmmm? Forgive me, dear Captain, but I must cut this amusing conversation short. I wouldn't want you tracking this signal, that would ruin all the fun! I'll be in touch.]"

The hologram winked out.

Rgrarshok now performed the Migraine Salute with both paws at her temples, then sighed and dropped her hands. "[Kgrashak, [Oscar], please round up the team and meet in the rec lounge. I've got to report to the Senate and we need to plan our next steps.]"

"[I insist on being present for any-]" began Ma'elge'yk.

"[You will stay in this hangar and not move from it until I say so.]" said the Captain.

"What about our boy Tarky here?" asked Oscar as he pointed his thumb at Tk'rii'na. The gray Karnakian didn't look quite as miserable as before, and he even brightened upon Oscar declaring him 'our boy'.

"[Is he stable?]" Rgrarshok asked the medic.

"[He seems to be. I'd like to keep him under observation for a [hour] just to make sure there are no internal injuries.]"

Rgarshok pointed at Frick and Frack. "[You two. Escort him to our sickbay and watch over him. Notify Kgrashak if he is in distress. I'm holding you two personally responsible for his safety.]"

"[Now hold on! Those two are mine to command.]" said Ck'Trrk'Ka. "[I should be giving them orders!]"

In response the Captain whirled with surprising grace for someone her size. She then pointed at the airlock door on the far side of the hangar. After that silent threat, she spun again on her heels and marched out without speaking further.

Since Hrathra was considered a 'subject matter expert', she was the only non-crew member allowed into the rec lounge for the strategy meeting. The Captain was still off making her report, and sent word to Egwreh to start without her.

"[Bgrarh and I traced the Galnet signal from the...ugh...'The Silken Feather' to somewhere in this cluster of stars,]" said Egwreh. The engineer gestured at the rec lounge display, which obediently projected a lattice-like array of pinpricks of light. "[There's at least three separate colony planets within the cluster, plus the usual profusion of stations and habitats. It's sparsely populated...call it about sixty trillion souls all told.]"

"[Is it all Karnakians?]" asked Ngralh.

"[It's in Diarchy space, but close to their border. The population is a mixture of the Senate races...minus [humans], of course.]"

"Of course," said Oscar dryly. "This might be a dumb question, but is it possible this Silken Feather character bounced the transmission through that star cluster from somewhere else?"

"[She almost certainly did,]" replied Egwreh. "[Given a longer transmission, we might have been able to trace it further. But at least we have a place to start.]"

Oscar gave the displayed stars a sour look. "Yeah, we've 'only' got to search among sixty trillion people."

"[Zis is still Diarchy space,]" said Bgrarh. He twiddled one of his waxed 'moustaches' as he thought. "[Ze 'Silken Feather' implied that any transaction would occur out of zhe Diarchy's jurisdiction. Therefore she eez not here.]"

Ngralh nodded. "[I concur. We'll need to work it from the other end, when she was pretending to be [Ka'iirt].]"

"Track her through ship manifests and such?" asked Oscar. "That assumes she didn't have a ship of her own stashed and ready to go. It's clear she's been planning this for decades."

The XO growled in frustration. "[If it were up to me, I'd just forget this whole affair and let the two Paths sort it out between themselves.]"

He had just finished speaking when the lounge door slid open to reveal Rgrarshok. She'd clearly heard his statement, and raised one ear in curiosity. The XO just shrugged sheepishly.

Oscar cleared his throat so as to get attention on himself. "What's the word, Skipper?"

The Captain walked into the center of the lounge. "[This has become even more of a political mess. Now there is a concern of an economic dislocation in both Blessings if these two Sacred Paths get into a bidding war for the Claw.]"

Oscar gave a disbelieving laugh. "What, seriously?"

"[They both have significant investment portfolios, [Oscar]. If they each try to pull together cash in a hurry, the resulting sell-off of properties could flood the markets and create a serious problem.]"

Oscar rubbed his forehead and thought about what they'd have to do next. "We're gonna need some additional manpower on this. Tracing that Galnet signal was a bust, so we've got to track Katy-bird's movements from when she ditched Tarky."

Rgrarshok looked at the star cluster in the display and smiled. "[Was our trace really a bust, though? Let's think it through.]"

"[Ah, yes, Cap-tin!]" Bgrarh began pacing in front of the display. "[We must consider zhe fugitive's requirements for a hiding place. First, eet must be a planet or station that does not look too closely at one's identity. Ideally, eet should be outside not only the Diarchy but outside of Senate space. Third, eet should have a thriving black market.]"

"[Why that third requirement?]" asked Hrathra.

"In case a deal with either Matriarch fell through," said Oscar. "She'd already be in a good place to sell the Claw without taking the risk of more travel."

Rgrarshok pointed at the display, and at the unspoken command from her implant the star cluster slewed out of view. More stars whipped past until the middle of the display was taken up by a red giant. Alien text pointed first at the center star, then at a near-invisible speck orbiting nearby.

"[Oh dear,]" said Ngralh. "[You really think that...he's involved?]"

Rgrarshok gave a negative flick of her ears. "[No. That one tries to stay out of affairs that could bring attention from the Senate. I'm sure the Silken Feather is just using it as a convenient base of operations. It's close enough to that star cluster to bounce a Galnet signal through it. But he doesn't know that she's there.]"

Oscar folded his arms. "Does this mystery man have a name?"

Rgrarshok gestured again, and the tiny speck expanded into an arid-looking planet. The globe consisted of tan-colored desert with almost nonexistent polar caps. A thin band of green around the equator was the only visible vegetation, and that band was broken up by regular and perfectly circular oceans. The latter were clearly artificial, and Oscar felt the hairs go up on the back of his neck as he was reminded once again of just how powerful the xenos were. They sculpted planets to order.

"[This planet is ruled by a [Jornissian] named [Sssnnathor],} she said. "[He's old, over [eight hundred] [years] in age. I've dealt with him in the past. He's a...what's that [human] phrase...a nasty customer.]"

"Is he like a pirate king or something?"

"[No piracy,]" replied Ngralh. "[At least not directly. That planet is in unclaimed territory, so in theory the Senate has no jurisdiction there. [Sssnnathor] wants to keep it that way, so he walks a very careful line when it comes to actively supporting piracy or slavery.]"

Oscar blinked in surprise. "Wait, you guys still have slavery? What the fuck for? It can't be for labor, you guys have lots of drones and robots for that...oh. Oh no."

"[Oh, yes,]" said Rgrarshok sadly. "[It's not common, and the market for slaves is thankfully very small. Those who desire such sadistic hedonism tend to be older, which is one reason we discourage those seeking immortality.]"

While they spoke, Hrathra slithered closer to the display and fixed her unblinking eyes on the desert planet. "[I have heard of this man, this Sssnnathor. He used to be a powerful politician in our Federation, but as he aged he became more cruel and was forced to retire. He's quite the connoisseur of ancient artifacts, so I agree he would make a logical back-up customer.]"

"[Zis is all still just an exercise of ze little gray cells,]" said Bgrarh. "[We should make sure of our hypothesis.]"

"[I agree,]" said the Captain. "[That's why we're going to backtrack a bit and see what we can find out. [Tk'rii'na] has told us where this 'Silken Feather' character left him. We'll head there, collect what evidence we can from her departure, and then use that information to track her movements forward and confirm that this is her current abode.]"

"Sounds like a good plan," said Oscar. "Let's go kick the Matriarchs out of our hangar and get going. The Thirty-Third Path guys can hitch a ride back or something."

Rgrarshok rubbed the back of her neck. "[Ah, yes. That was another directive from the Senate...]"

Ngralh's mane fuzzed out in irritation. "[No. No, no, and no. There is not enough 'no' in the cosmos for that idea.]"

"[It's not an idea, it's an order. They want [Ma'elge'yk] to join this...expedition, or whatever one may call it, until the Claw is in our custody. I have already spoken to her, and she has agreed.]"

The XO stared at his commander in shock. "[You have got to be kidding me!]"

"[I have to say I agree with them, Ngralh. {Ma'elge'yk] might go behind our back and cut a separate deal with the thief. Keeping her on board will mitigate that.]"

"[She's gonna want two guards,]" grumbled Ngralh. "[Because the other Matriarch has two guards, and we can't have an imbalance there, oh no.}" He put his hands on his hips and stared off into space in thought. "[The First Pack alone knows where we're gonna fit in the new quarters. We'll have to squeeze in on the rec lounge...maybe the gym too?]"

Myyreh's ears perked up. "[The gym? No way! How are we supposed to remain in combat-ready condition without exercise?]"

Rgrarshok grinned. "[I have faith in your inventiveness, seeing how you and [Oscar] keep finding new places to have your fun.]"

Oscar and Myyreh coughed simultaneously and looked at the floor.

The humans wound up among those invited to the 'seeing-off ceremony' for the 34th Path Matriarch. Officially, Ma'elge'yk was going into seclusion for a period of meditation and spiritual renewal. Maria was still uneasy around Karnakians in general, but the invite was a not-to-be-missed opportunity to see some genuine Congretory Speaking.

Oscar had already seen one of these during a Karnakian funeral. He didn't quite understand her excitement, much to her irritation. He strolled along beside Maria with a carefree air. "I mean, it was nice, sure, but it was just a bunch of trills and such."

She rolled her eyes as their surrounding Karnakians escorted the group from the Claw out into the main chamber of the Temple of the 34th Sacred Path. That entrance arch led to a gently-sloping stone ramp that ran down to a raised circular dais. Around that dais and under the dome-like roof, thousands of Karnakians packed themselves together into a feathered quilt of every color.

"What you saw was like the first impromptu jam session of a new garage band," said Maria. "These are the professionals. Most of these disciples have been practicing together for longer than we've been alive."

The group were directed to a viewing platform that overlooked the huge expanse. Ma'elge'yk already stood in the center of the dais, and after the visitors from the Claw were seated she gave them a deep bow.

Maria replied with an equally deep bow, and after a moment so did the rest of the crew. She grinned in anticipation as she reached up and fished the translator bead out of her ear. As she pocketed the device, she noticed Oscar staring curiously at her.

"Do it," she said. "The translation matrix will be useless anyway once they get started. It'll just interfere with your hearing."

"Why's that? This is just a bunch of them singing together, right?" he asked. But he did follow her lead and reached up for his own earpiece.

"No, I've heard recordings of this, their language changes when they speak together. It has elements that incorporate counterpoint harmonics, and they can fit huge amounts of meaning into a single musical phrase. It's like giving an entire doctoral dissertation in one verse of song. Now shush."

"Yes ma'am," he murmured with a grin, then fell silent.

Ma'elge'yk pointed her muzzle to the heavens and let out a low trill. The first rows of Karnakians arranged around the dais also raised their heads and responded with a higher, more harmonic note which thrummed through Maria's feet.

Her breath caught as the song spread through the ranks of aliens, their feathers raising in time with the outward spiral of song. The harmonic logic of it was odd but utterly captivating, like a repetitious Bach chorale set to an alien key.

She now understood the reason for the dome-like shape of the chamber's roof; it acted like a resonant amplifier that made her bones shake with the united alien song.

The meaning of that song hovered just out of her grasp, there were elements of frustrated longing, of recognizing the majesty of the cosmos and yet being unable to reach final communion with that majesty. She at last just gave up and lost herself in the song, swaying slightly to the syncopated beat suggested by the sea of bobbing crests before her.

At some unknown signal, the whole congregation stilled. The chamber was still for a minute, then Ma'elge'yk lowered her muzzle in another bow to those present. She hopped off of the dais, and the Karnakians obligingly parted to make room for her as she trotted up the ramp and out of the chamber.

Beside Maria, Oscar finally let out a shaky breath. "Holy fuckin' shit."

She resisted the urge to smirk when she saw Oscar's pole-axed expression. "There's a very old Karnakian legend that says if every Karnakian spoke at once they could say the true and full name of God." She turned and patted his substantial forearm. "But that's just an old story."

"|You will be in charge of the day-to-day operations until I return,|" said Ma'elge'yk.

The Second Claw took another and much more uncomfortable look around the Matriarch's office, which was now going to be his office for a significant while. "|But why make this trip, Reverend Mother? Our Sacred Path has been cleared of any wrongdoing. Let those heretics chase after their stolen property. We should stay out of this whole affair. It'll make us appear as the more magnanimous Path.|"

She reached forward and nuzzled at his neck, soothing his ruffled feathers. "|It's not just about the Claw. Ta'iirl'qc's Final Sutra is engraved upon it. One of our most precious secrets is now out in the open for all to see! Not to mention it's a priceless opportunity to get ahold of the Claw itself.|"

"|The heretics won't like that,|" he replied. "|For generations we've avoided direct conflict between our Paths. Keeping the Claw would bring that peace to an end.|"

Ma'elge'yk's snout stretched into a sly smile. "|And if we were to perhaps gain possession of the Claw and then return it to the heretics? How much more magnanimous will we appear then in the eyes of the Diarchy? Or even the Senate?|" She rubbed her clawed hands together. "|That accursed Ck'Trrk'Ka will be forever and publicly in my debt!|"

Almost all was well in Maria's world. On the plus side she had been exonerated of a serious crime. More importantly, she'd been reunited with her beloved Überduffel. On the minus side the ship was now even more stuffed with crazy Karnakians. Poor Ngralh was tearing out his fur trying to keep the current housing situation from blowing up into an all-out dino-war.

Maria had suffered through the divorce of her parents, and the current atmosphere on board the Furious Claw of Inquiry felt just like that chilly, awkward period which happens after the relationship is definitely dead but before one of the parties can move out of the house. There was a lot of double-checking by the Dorarizin crew to make sure that the two factions didn't co-habitate the same spaces by accident. Meals had once been a communal affair, but now there had to be two shifts per meal.

To her surprise, Tk'rii'na was one of the 34th Matriarch's guards. Maria gave the mother of all double-takes when she saw him on board after their departure. She waited until the day after departure, when the two of them met each other in the main corridor. He gave her a stately nod of his gray-feathered crest as he passed, while Maria glanced around. There was nobody else in sight, so she reached up and grabbed at his arm.

"[Eh?]"

She began pulling him towards a secluded side-corridor. It was like trying to single-handedly tow a barge, but after a moment of puzzlement he allowed her to pull him out of view.

"[Have I given offense?]" he asked.

Maria let go of his feathered arm and glared up at him. "What the hell, dude?" she hissed. "Why are you here guarding that she-bit...the Matriarch? She had you beaten!"

Tk'rii'na lowered his head to her level but didn't meet her eyes. "[My sins are great. I have wronged two Sacred Paths, and I must atone. Not only in my heart, but I must also show external contrition and a desire to serve.]"

She shook her head. "I don't get you at all. Aren't you scared she'll hurt you again?"

"[I was not hurt that badly,]" he replied. Now he did look up, peering into her eyes. "[And if I obey, she will have no cause to hurt me again.]"

Maria swallowed hard. They were now almost nose-to-snout, and she could feel his warm breath wash over her face. She wondered what her 'soul aura' looked like to him right now. "Sometimes people don't need a reason, Tarky. Some people just like hurting others. I wanna make sure you're okay."

He pulled back his snout. "[Why should you care? I've wronged you as well, even if it was only indirectly.]"

She summoned all of her courage and brought her hand up to rest on the pebbled skin of his snout, right above his fanged mouth. The huge creature froze at the contact, his eyes going wide.

"I know you remember what it felt like when the Matriarch and her goons beat on you." she whispered. "Am I right?"

Tk'rii'na let out a single wordless croak, then nodded once.

"You felt helpless and alone, am I right?"

There was a long pause, and he gave another single nod.

"I'll tell you a secret. I feel like that all the time." She stroked her hand further up along his muzzle. "I'm stuck in the middle of a pack of creatures who could end me without a thought. I know none of you ever would, of course, but my fear is still there. I don't want anyone else feeling like that, not ever. If you need help, Tarky, you will let me know, won't you?"

Her caresses must have hypnotized him, because it was several seconds before he shook himself and nodded. Maria got only the briefest glimpse of his claws reaching out before her face was mashed into his chest-fluff.

Before she could protest, his voice thrummed through his chest and into her body. "[I will. And I will also protect you, you have my oath on that. As Ta'irrl'qc said in his Ninety-First Sutra, 'The strong have a duty to protect the weak.' Please believe me, [Maria]. I will die before I allow you to come to harm.]"

Maria thrashed ineffectually, and after a bit Tk'rii'na realized her distress and released her. She spat out a bit of dino-fluff as she regained her composure. Maria didn't have the heart to give him a tongue lashing for the unexpected hug, so instead she pointed a finger right between his first pair of eyes. "I'm gonna hold you to that, you twerp."

At first Oscar was nonchalant about the Claw's gym getting halved in size. Then he found out that, among the casualties from that change, the first would be the human-sized weight equipment. His protestations fell on deaf ears, so now he was down to using elastic bands for his strength training. The rest of the gym was taken up with two treadmills plus a complicated weight-training machine...all of which were Dorarizin-sized.

"This sucks," he grumbled. Right now he was doing bicep curls while standing on the band to get more resistance out of the thing.

Maria was doing a light jog nearby on one of the alien-sized treadmills, which made her look a bit like a hamster in too big of a wheel. She grinned upon hearing his complaining. "You could always use their equipment."

"It's not the right proportions for me," he replied. "Plus I might barely be able to use that thing at its lowest settings."

"I don't know what the big deal is with using rubber bands. Resistance is resistance, right?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, but it's harder to fine-tune the amount of weight. Plus the plates feel like I'm actually doing something, you know?"

Maria wiped some sweat from her forehead. "The bands aren't manly enough for you?"

Oscar chuckled. "Hey, I'm perfectly secure in my masculinity. I'd better be, around this bunch."

As if to illustrate his point the door slid open and Myyreh stalked in. Even though she was small for a Dorarizin, her body seemed to take up much of the gym's unused space. She took in the reduced room and sighed. "[Um, how much longer will you be?]"

"Almost done, just a few more sets," said Oscar.

"And I'm done now," said Maria. She reached up and tapped the treadmill's control panel, then slid off the end of the belt as it slowed to a stop. The treadmill obediently folded itself flat into the floor as Maria finished mopping her head with a towel.

The two women then leaned against the wall and looked on as Oscar wrapped each end of the band up around his forearms and started doing squats. He tried to concentrate on his form, which was harder than it should have been since he could feel two sets of eyes on him.

"I'll be done in couple minutes, honest," he said in between reps.

Myyreh gave a little rolling click of her teeth. "[Oh, take your time sweetie. I'm just admiring the view.]"

"So you do like that?" asked Maria. "I mean, I'm a human so I'm supposed to find him attractive."

"What's that 'supposed to' crap mean?" asked Oscar as he grinned back at the leaning pair.

Maria snorted. "It means you are too old for me, Muscle Boy." She looked up at Myyreh, who was still staring with laser-like focus at Oscar. "You really are ogling him! But he's got no fur or claws or any of that."

"[True, but he's adorably clever and cheeky.]"

"You forgot to mention devastatingly handsome," grunted Oscar in mid-rep.

"[Quiet, you. Over time I've come to appreciate the [human] form. Surely you are attracted to at least some aspects of us and the other races?]"

"I mean, I guess so? You guys and the Karnakians are fluffy and give nice hugs. The Jornissians make great beds. But I don't find any of you attractive in, er, that way. No offense intended."

"[None taken. I'm surprised, though. [Humans] are getting quite a reputation for being adventurous.]"

"Wait, what?"

Oscar figured he'd heard enough of this particular conversation and with great ceremony finished his final rep and stepped off of the band. "The gym's all yours, sweetie."

Her paws settled on his shoulders as she moved behind him. "[You're not going to stay and watch?]"

"Nah, I figure I've ogled you enough in the past."

He could hear the pout in her voice. "[Aww, but I like it when you ogle me.]" Her nose touched to his ear. "[If you stay I'll do that thing with my tongue that you like,]" she whispered.

"Well fine, if you're gonna twist my aaaaarrrm." His last word wavered up in pitch as she gave his earlobe a teasing lick.

Maria shook her head and pushed off of the wall. "You crazy kids have fun. I'm gonna go and ruin my hard work with some namptha balls."

She didn't get far, as the door was suddenly filled with a Resh'skk-sized blockage. "Reshy! Wanna go eat something unhealthy with me?"

The big Jornissian poked his hood through the door. "[Er, I was hoping to work out but it seems there's no room.]"

"[I won't be too long,]" said Myyreh. "[Just going through a little reflex exercise.]" As she spoke, she folded the rest of the equipment into the floor while Oscar pressed himself into the corner next to the door. He'd seen her do her this before and knew that she needed the space.

Both Maria and Resh'skk watched from outside the room as Myyreh used her implant to call up several blue hard-light target spheres around her, each the size of a baseball. Oscar had once listened to an explanation from Egwreh of how solid holograms worked; after about three sentences in he'd gone all cross-eyed.

Myyreh took up a crouching ready-stance in the middle of the ring of floating blue balls. "[Ready.]"

The spheres began careening around Myyreh like a swarm of bumblebees on methamphetamine, and in response Myyreh turned into a blur of action. She struck at each sphere with the closest arm or leg, and every successful strike was accompanied by an orange pulse from the struck hologram along with a 'beep'. That metronome-like beeping filled the room as Myyreh beat the hell out of her holographic foes.

Oscar leaned against the wall and felt a goodly amount of smug pride as he watched his girlfriend work for a few minutes.

"[Second stage!]" yelled Myyreh from within the blur of hard-light holograms.

Instead of merely zooming around, the spheres now began to teleport at random. Myyreh turned into a brown-furred maelstrom as she went even faster. Each successful strike now removed the offending sphere from existence. Within seconds Oscar gave up trying to keep track of Myyreh's moves, and instead looked over at the door to see the others' reactions.

Maria's eyes were wide as saucers as she instinctively clutched at Resh'ssk's arm. The Jornissian, in contrast, had his hood tilted thoughtfully as he took in the simulated bout with a practiced eye.

Maria had to raise her voice to be heard over the chorus of beeps filling the room. "That seems a little extreme for exercise."

"[This is a standard program,]" said Resh'ssk with a tone which was just as thoughtful as his expression. "[It's handy for when you don't have the room to spar properly.]"

After another two minutes of effort, the last of the holographic targets fell to Myyreh's claws. She stood up from her war-crouch, perhaps breathing a little more deeply than usual but otherwise showing no signs of stress.

"[Where did you train?]" asked Resh'skk. "[You must have been with a front-line unit.]"

Myyreh paused, then shrugged as if to say the Hell with it. "[Grnar'gh's Growlers.]"

The Jornissian's hood spread out, an indication of shock. "[Oh. So you were one of those who survived...]"

"[That's right.]" Myyreh's interruption was her only outward sign of stress; her voice and face were otherwise calm. "[How about you? You were in special forces too, I'll wager.]"

"[Admiral Var’Shrak's personal team,]" replied Resh'skk.

"[He's a hard-charger,]" said Myyreh. She gestured to the center of the gym as she walked over to Oscar. "[Have a go, if you like.]"

Resh'skk gave her a very respectful bow of his hood and slithered into the center of the room. He coiled himself into a tight and complicated knot. "[Reset to second stage, please.]"

Myyreh folded her arms and gave a skeptical little wurf as the Jornissian became suddenly surrounded by a swarm of blue orbs. They blinked to random points in space around his coiled body as he took in a deep breath and closed his eyes.

Then he spoke a single word. "[Ready.]"

Oscar had the briefest glimpse of Resh'skk's long body exploding outward, whipping around in all directions towards every sphere at once...

The gym resounded with overlapping beeps which merged into one angry blatt of sound. Resh'skk then spun to a stop in the center of the room with a smug grin on his snout.

Every single holographic target was gone.

Myyreh let out a barking laugh. "[Show-off.]"

The Jornissian bowed again. "[Just a cute little party trick, nothing more. It's a pity there's no room on the ship to properly spar.]"

"[Agreed,]" replied Myyrah. "[Perhaps we can have a session some time in the future?]"

"[It's a date,]" said Resh'skk.

"[Hey, do you want to talk about it?]"

"{Hmm?}" Myyreh had been staring at the ceiling for a while without really seeing it. Instead she'd seen faces from her past...and one face in particular she hadn't thought about for a long time. She could still imagine with laser-like clarity his cheeky grin and carefree air...an attitude, she realized, that matched [Oscar's] quite well.

She looked down at the small creature nestled into her chest. "{Talk about what?}"

"[Don't [play with your prey], you know damned well what I mean.]"

With a caution resulting from long practice Myyreh hugged him closer and mashed his tiny head under her chin. [Oscar's] scent washed over her, a complex mélange of individual smells which filled her head.

There was her own residual scent, of course, along with those of her pack. It told her hind brain in no uncertain terms that [Oscar] was hers. Under that top-level information was 'his' scent with its own interleaving mix that told her that he was sleepy (as usual), that he was healthy, that he was mostly happy. There was a sour little tang in there that she knew came from him worrying about her.

When she'd first smelled [Oscar], she'd had the same reaction as any other Dorarizin; namely, she thought he smelled like a pup. But over time she'd come to realize how wrong that first impression was.

[Humans] had a clean smell, but one that was much more complex than that of any Dorarizin child. There were layers and nuances to a [human's] scent that made them endlessly fascinating and, of course, endlessly adorable.

She realized she hadn't said anything in response to his questioning. "{I don't want to burden you with it.}"

And that was the truth, even if he didn't have the nose to properly smell her sincerity. Her new lover was such a precious little thing, he didn't deserve to know how nasty the galaxy could be.

In response [Oscar] nuzzled himself further into the nape of her neck, an action that made her heart melt. "[I know what you're thinking.]"

She smiled at his presumption. "{Do you, now.}"

"[You're still thinking of me as some cute creature you have to protect. But I'm not a kid.]"

"{I know.}"

"[Do you really?]" [Oscar] wormed himself upward to stare into her eyes. "[I know that you know it up here.]" He reached up and poked her forehead, right between her eyes. "[But do you know it here?}" His finger came down and booped the tip of her nose.

He followed up the boop with a little kiss in the same place. "[I've been in the shit. I've had good friends die. I had half my leg blown off, for [First Pack's]-sake, so I know a thing or two about combat stress and how hard it is to leave all that behind. I'm not gonna press, but just know that if you need to talk I'm here for you.]"

He nestled himself back into her neck. Myyreh felt tears begin to sting her eyes as her arms lovingly crushed his smaller figure into her chest fur.

"{Do you know what you mean to me?}" she whispered.

"[I hope so. But I can be kinda dumb sometimes, so tell me anyway.]"

For a long while there was only the sound of their matched breathing. Myyreh finally broke the silence. "{I...was with somebody. He died, of course, along with most of the others in my unit. I think you'd have liked him, he was a real smart-ass like you.}"

[Oscar] didn't respond, he merely waited in companionable stillness for her to continue.

"{One day, I may tell you the details of that action. Or I might not. I've spent a long time trying to put it behind me. And mostly I've succeeded. Mostly. I joined Rgrarshok's pack and was able to integrate with them in almost every way. There was only one thing I couldn't do, and that was be...physical with any of them.}"

Myyreh plucked him away from the crook of her neck and held him suspended right over her face. She felt her heart swell anew as she saw no fear in his eyes, just concern and love. "{And then you came along, you cheeky little [monkey]. With that cute little smile of yours, that laugh, that way you face down the universe in spite of your fears. All of that, all of you, it blew right through my defenses.}"

She mashed her forehead right up into his chest. "{So do me a favor and don't die, okay? I can't go through that again.}"

She felt his arms go up around her head and gently stroke around her ears. "[I promise. Even if the forces of [The Underworld] bar the way, I'll always come back to you.]"