Security log. “After our hasty departure from the Hybras station, due to their imminent repairs and reconstruction. I have found myself wondering how to spend my days here on board Veneration. The running of the Operations department requires me to patrol the decks often and quite rigorously. Mostly to make sure no one is philandering or sleeping on the job. We have an officer’s dinner every week. Rixva always talks about her progress on fixing the EXO’s after the station battle, this always makes Fera describe her fight in the vents, quite vividly, I might add. I have heard that story four times already, each time slightly different from the last, and becoming more and more graphic. She invited me over to the mess today so we could eat dinner together and discuss the placement of my guards. She claimed to want to know for how long we could hold off an attack, before the enemy reached the bridge. I think Melora is asking her to get along with me, sometimes I feel Melora wants someone to always watch me since the station riots. She has grown more diligent and, dare I say, disciplinary. Other than that, everything is quiet. Major Elinsys, Head of Operations logging off.” She sat back in her chair and looked around her office, it was wonderfully decorated, and all traces of her outburst a few weeks ago were gone. They always do that, try to cover anything up. The nobles, the Interior, the Army and Navy definitely, too. Trying to hide their secrets behind authorization codes and high ranks. If no one can see them, they didn’t exist. But here? Here I have the second highest code, only Melora outranked me, no secrets were being kept from me here. Elinsys got up and left her office. It was almost dinner time and she skipped breakfast today. It was stupid of her, she was starving, but she was eating too much lately. Melora had said something about how this is a good sign, how she isn’t sick anymore. She ate three portions later for lunch and was still hungry, terribly peckish. Elinsys was walking down the hallways. The bright lights made her feel hazy and the sound of her steps produced a rhythm of some kind; she heard it before, faster, but she couldn't place it. "Major, could we talk?" She was pulled out of her daze, it was Gelln like always. "I am sorry I was..." She rubbed her eyes clearing away the grit forming on them, why was she so sleepy lately? "In a daze? Aren't you supposed to take a pill to help with that? Is it not working?" He always was nosy, wasn’t he? "Yes, I didn't take one today. Felt fine in the morning. Supposed to take them when I zone out." "Well, take one now. Do you need a glass of water? You could get one in the mess." He pointed down the hall they were walking. "I... don't have any on me. I keep them in my bathroom so I don't take multiple by accident. Don’t want to take more than one by accident.” Gelln was quiet for a bit, then he opened his mouth as if to ask Elinsys something, before closing it again. He did this a lot lately; to be more precise, they did this dance everyday now. He would come up to her, ask about Nilni and if Elinsys had received any news. “Gelln, I have not received any news, there is no direct communication in space.” She could swear she explained this before, the first time he asked she almost spit out her tea. “As I have explained to you before.” “I know, I am just worried, constantly. Worry and nothing else, do you know that feeling?” He was sad, so very sad, the shell he created had cracked and his emotions, which were trapped for so long, have begun to leak out and wreak havoc on his life. “Yes, I do. Waiting to see if your soldiers make it back or not…” Elinsys was worried too, very worried, but deep down she knew Nilni would be fine. “Nilni will be fine, she is stronger than we give her credit for.” “I know she is strong. Kind and funny, but strong as well.” He smiled, but wiped it off his face when he saw her looking at him. “I do not...” “Love her? You do, Gelln, you do. Now, it might not be romantic, I doubt you can be romantic, to be fully honest.” Gelln shot her a nasty look, but relented after she smiled at him. “You care for her, for she is your subordinate and your friend. You care for her professionally and personally, you do not have to like her in any other way, but you must accept that you care for her as a friend.” Gelln was quiet for a minute, but spoke back up before they reached the mess. “I try to keep that stuff hidden. My dad told me that showing emotion makes you vulnerable to girls who want to exploit you for sex. Now I realize that my dad had problems and was paranoid, but well, every time I thought his advice wrong, someone proved him right. The first girl I slept with left as soon as we were done, told her friends and then...nothing, but her friends came later, asking if I would... sleep with them. Had to move to finally get rid of them.” Elinsys was quiet. There wasn’t anything she could say to him. She was unlucky with men when she was younger, then the invasion, then the rebellion, now this trip… “She is one of the only people who… well, respects my boundaries, she only makes those comments of hers if she knows I won’t mind and if she ever crosses a line, she makes sure she never does it again.” “I see… keep her close when she gets back. I fear we didn’t even get to talk, she had… an incident.” Elinsys hadn’t told Gelln what happened, only Melora and Henera knew. They recommended keeping it quiet for now. “An incident? I guess something dust related, can’t believe I wanted that rock in my room.” He looked down the hall, as if mentaly going to his room. “Can you go into details, or is it classified?” He had a hopeful look in his eyes, ready to break the rules just to hear if Nilni was doing fine. Love over duty, eh? Elinsys thought to herself. “She is doing better, not from okay to good, more like from terrible to bad. Slow, but steady progress.” She wanted to be candid with Gelln, but also protect him. “That is good to hear, even if it's the smallest step in the right direction, it's still a step.” He smiled at Elinsys, she smiled back. “I do have to go now, Gelln. Fera is waiting for me in the mess. You can join us if you wish. I am sure Fera would like to tell you about her fight in the service corridors.” “No, no.” He shook his head and his hands. “I’ve already heard it a few times, I have no interest in hearing about it again for… third time I think? Doesn’t matter, enjoy your meal Elinsys. Goodbye.” He walked down the hall, before turning around and saluting Melora. “Terribly sorry, Major.” That seemed...abrupt. * Elinsys entered the mess hall. Fera was sitting with a few others, talking to them, while they watched her silently, as if she was revealing the mysteries of the universe to them right then and there. She stopped when she spotted Elinsys coming towards her, and gestured to others to give her and Elinsys some privacy. They stood up, saluted when Elinsys got close and then walked off. “Hello Major, how are you on this most fine day?” Fera asked, looking up at Elinsys. Elinsys sat down opposite Fera; by the goddess she was big. “How often do you sharpen your claws?” Elinsys blurted out, for some reason Fera’ long black claws caught her attention. Fera was taken back for a moment. “Uhh, well, I guess once a week. I am not sure really, when I feel they get too dull.” She showed off her claws. They were beautiful, in a big and deadly sort of way, perfect for their function. “I should cut them soon, they are getting a bit too long. Thank you for...” “No, they are beautiful… and very useful in self defense or cutting open letters.“ Elinsys muttered out the last part. By the goddess she was making this awkward for Fera. Why am I still speaking? Fera laughed and showed off her claws more to Elinsys, then she put her hand next to Elinsys’. “Ha, I guess they are useful for self defense, don’t know anything about letters, only the nobles still send those. Maybe some old fashioned people. Never took you for one.” Elinsys had never actually written a letter. She didn’t know why letters were her first thought, but Fera smiled at her comments. “I am not, I hope so at least, but they are pretty and useful. I would keep them.” “Yes, I guess you are right. I got my fair use out of them in those air vents, you know? Let me tell you, so there I was...” Elinsys didn’t pay much attention to Fera’s story, this was the fifth time she heard it, it was always the same, she had to fight them in melee to not damage the ventilation systems. How she rushed from one to another with her stun baton, taking them down one by one. “I cut her throat with this claw. I enjoyed it. Looking back, I can’t tell if that was adrenaline or bloodlust?” Fera was looking at her claw, spinning it around slowly. “What did you say?” Elinsys was taken back, Fera used a baton, not her claws. “I thought you...” “Used a baton, yes I did, in the start, but then… one of them knocked it out of my hand. I did not like that, so I… slashed her, right across the throat down towards her chest.” She extended her other fingers and slashed with them the air before her. Elinsys felt queasy, butterflies flitting about in her stomach... She felt a shiver slowly making its way down her neck, towards her chest, as if she was imagining how the woman felt when Fera slashed her. Fera looked up from her claws to Elinsys. “Keep that a secret. I enjoyed it in the heat of the moment, but I regret it now. I visited her later, to apologize, but… she didn’t want to hear it, called me a...” “Titless Dog? Hairball? Wall-pisser? Knotted skank? Mongrel?” Elinsys offered in a helpful tone, not realizing what she said. the offensive nature of her words seemingly lost on her. Fera's jaw dropped, and she stared in horror as the string of epithets poured from Elinsys. “No.” She was silent for a full minute. “Bitch, she called me a furry bitch.” Fera started to eat her meal again. Then she put her fork down and looked at Elinsys. “Where did you hear such… terrible names?” “Miss Kre’na down the street, she always shouted those at our Rakiri neighbours, until… well, she got shot. In the rebellion I mean, the whole street was blown to smithereens by orbital strikes.” Elinsys enjoyed the food, she was quite hungry. Ravenous, Fera would say. Fera always talked like how Elinsys imagined nobles to talk, but the idea of a ‘noble’ noble was shattered in her mind, she’d seen far too many nobles to still believe that. “Huh.” Fera ate. “You know, maybe don’t… say those? I mean ‘hairball’ and ‘furball’ I heard before used affectionately. I would suggest never to use the knot one. Unless you want to get claws over your face.” Fera put her hand onto Elinsys’ cheek. “You never know, a girl might like that.” Elinsys smiled, it was the most cocky smile she had ever made. The fingers touching Elinsys’ face jerked in surprise. “Especially if she has a few scars already.” She pointed to the scar across her left eye, she had others towards her chest, but her uniform hid them away from Fera’s gaze. Elinsys didn’t feel like taking off her shirt, maybe later if they were alone. She shook her head to try and empty such thoughts out of her mind, Melora was rubbing off on her. Melora and her love of Rakiri. Fera was blushing, barely, but Elinsys could make it out. “I... you see… there is a ….” Fera was looking around for some way out, some way to let Elinsys down gently, to change the subject. “Fera...” Elinsys said, making her voice as pleasant to hear as she could, Fera glanced at her. “I am pulling on your tail.” A weight fell from Fera's shoulders and she breathed a sigh of relief. Elinsys looked down at her meal, she had a few bites left, time really flies by when you are having fun, doesn’t it? “Anyway, tell me, Fera, do you have any plans for a leave soonish? I could use a proper few weeks off after that hospital visit, or do you think the administration will count that as my vacation?” She let out a slight smile, to show she was joking, mostly. “I wasn’t planning on one any time soon, this is a very long posting.” Fera finished her meal. “Elinsys, I am terribly sorry, but I must leave you now.” Fera stood up and gathered up her tray. “My dinner is over and I must return to the bridge and make sure the ship won’t crash while I am asleep. If you are heading that way I would happily escort you.” “Yes, that would be lovely, dear.” Elinsys got up and left with Fera. * The bridge was emptier than usual, most were asleep or resting in their rooms or recreational areas. There were a few navigators and pilots around, but they were walking around slowly, asking each other if all was well. They gave Elinsys a glance, mostly focusing on Fera, but a few were following her with their eyes. “Here we are. You go to Melora’s office, if you need me I will be near the others, but I do plan to go to bed soon, after a few final checks.” Fera bowed her head slightly and then stormed off towards her subordinates who looked very happy Fera had arrived, probably to solve some navigation error. Elinsys went to Melora’s office, pausing when she saw the locked sign on the door. Was Melora drinking again? She was doing so well for the past week, the riots seemed to have lit a fire in her, was it gone again? Elinsys pressed her wrist to the door and waited for Melora to open it. She looked at Fera again, she was smiling and tapping away at her omnipad. After a few seconds the door opened to reveal Melora and Henera sitting and talking, a glass in their hands. “Major Elinsys, how wonderful to see you, I was wondering when you would appear.” Henera raised her glass to Elinsys. “Do you want some? I haven’t had any yet.” When did Henera start drinking for fun? And didn’t she ask Melora to stop, and Fera to keep a close eye on her? “No, no thank you. I have been asked by my doctor to keep any alcoholic beverages out of my system, especially the heavy ones.” Elinsys pointed to the rather expensive bottle that Melora had opened. “I thought we would keep Melora away from the drink, no offense, Commodore.” Melora put her glass down and stared at it for a few seconds. “Yes, we did promise that, I am sorry. I was… carried away by the good news. Which is...” She swirled her drink in her glass, looking for the words as if hypnotized by the dark moving liquid. “We found something for you to do!” Henera blurted out, as if pulling her superior out of the Sea of Souls. “Well, if you want, of course. It is rather sensitive and might impact you badly, that is why we locked the door.” Henera smiled at her, but briefly, her face showing only concern. “We wanted to make sure you were... willing.” Elinsys didn’t like that word. Willing. “Willing for what?” Her heart beat faster, as if she knew what was coming. Her mind started to swirl with dark thoughts, were they sending her back to be experimented upon, to be cut into pieces by some mad scientists? For her to have to go to therapy? Or was it much worse? What could be worse? “We have... acquired… something special.” Henera looked at Melora, who pulled out an omnipad. It was in very bad shape, with a cracked screen and… were those scratch marks of… symbols on the back? “It’s an omnipad which belonged to the crazy cannibal lady who kidnapped Nilni and you. Rixva was able to pull its memory card out and restore some of it. She is still working on it slowly, but surely, she assures us. For now we have only a few entries from her private journal.” She looked towards Henera, who had now placed her drink on the table, as did Melora. “We want you and Rixva to dig into these, see what you can gather. You see, we have new orders, only known to Henera, the Admiral and myself.” She picked up her drink and downed it. “We are to secretly follow the path of the dust, find its origins and then… well, the Admiral was unclear about this part. No, that’s not right. She was perfectly clear. She wants it destroyed, and Henera and I agree with her.” Melora was very reluctant to speak the next part. “The Empress, or the military high command, wants it retrieved for… ‘study’, so the government can create safety measures if this dust is encountered again.” Henera looked at Elinsys with a look of ‘yeah, right.’ “We are to uncover any traces of the dust or its crystalized form and transport it safely to the Hybras space station, where it will be kept safe until an Interior ship can come and secure it. If any data is found on the source of this drug, be it its location, origin, chemical properties, means of production, etc., it must be brought to Hybras in one piece. Any attempts at ignoring or circumventing this order will be punished as if high treason was committed against the Empress herself.” Melora covered her face and let out a long sigh. “So it’s either high treason or possibly introducing an extremely dangerous drug to the civilian population. And even if it’s kept a secret, it could be used against future client races to the Empire.” Melora glanced at the bottle next to her. “Elinsys, as my head of Operations and a friend, I beg of you, do your worst. Rixva will fix it up, I want you to read those files, write down what you find out in them… and if you find too much, destroy those files.” Melora pointed her finger at Elinsys, a look of dread in her eyes. “If you wish, we could give this task to someone else. Melora and I would be more than happy to claim this ‘honor’ for ourselves. We are only considering you, due to our rather busy schedules.” Henera said. “Yes, very, very busy. I have not had more to do in the last ten years than now. We would be most happy if you accepted this duty and carried it out with utmost speed and diligence.” Melora winked, just in case her point was not getting across. “Here is the omnipad, Major, do us and the Empire proud.” Melora saluted her and then showed her out of the office. The door closed behind Elinsys and she was left looking at the bridge and the now even smaller crowd of officers, doing fair approximations of cattle. Most turned to her after she was basically thrown out of the office. She held the omnipad in her hands, it was even worse up close. Her heart was beating fast, as if all the knowledge of the universe was in her palms. Maybe now she would finally find out what the deal with that crazy bitch was, find how to help Nilni… and herself. Elinsys left the bridge in a hurry, only giving a quick wave to all who were there. Rushing through the hallways to her room, as if the wind was carrying her, pushing her towards the truth. Her heartbeat increased, she could hear only it now, not her steps, not the greeting of fellow crew members, nothing but her heartbeat. Then she heard a most angelic voice. “Elinsys, what's the rush, darling?” Fera was standing in the doorway to Fera’s quarters. Fera’s room was decorated with a few plants and was about the same size as Elinsys’, only Fera had a larger bed. “You are sweating like crazy, are you sick?” Fera asked again, her voice bringing such pleasure to Elinsys’ ears. She looked at the black furry ears of Fera’s; she must be able to hear for miles with those. “Elinsys, look into my eyes and tell me the truth.” Fera gently tilted Elinsys’ head so she could stare right in her golden eyes. “Are you okay?” Her melodic voice sent a shiver down Elinsys’ spine. “Elinsys?” Her voice was driving her insane, she couldn’t resist it, how could she? “Darling, are you-” Elinsys kissed Fera on her big lips and pushed her into the room, closing the door behind them with Fera’s wrist. Fera was shocked at first, but when she realized what was happening, well, she grabbed Elinsys by her legs and held her up. “Oh, I didn’t realize this is how you felt, but I got nothing against it.” Fera laughed, her laugh was beautiful to Elinsys, every inch of Fera’s black fur was beautiful; her claws, which were holding onto her hips, were wonderful to the touch. Everything was perfect. “Quiet.” Elinsys said as she moved in for another kiss, this time it being longer and Fera reciprocating it fully. It felt like an eternity, a sensation of bliss for both Elinsys and Fera. When their lips finally parted, Elinsys breathed in deeply and then back out, slowly. Her warm breath reached Fera’s fur. “Come on, enough kissing, there is something else I want.” Fera looked at her confused for a few seconds, then she felt Elinsys hand between her thighs. “Oh you… well, who am I to stop you?” Fera lowered Elinsys onto the bed and proceeded to slowly strip her, then she started to do the same to herself. “I must say, who doesn’t enjoy ‘letting off some steam’ between two officers of equal rank?” She laughed so merrily, then lowered herself down between Elinsys legs. “It has been decades, maybe longer.” Elinsys was so excited for the moment when Fera would… “Decades?” She asked out loud, the mood falling apart. “Fera, you meant months, right?” She raised her head, but Fera was not there. In the place of the Rakiri was now something else. Its claws were much sharper and longer, almost as if they were talons. The fur was much darker, as if made out of the void of space, but had a starry look to it. The longer you looked at it, the less it looked like fur. The pair of ears, longer and wider, and its teeth, placed into a maw and not a mouth, much sharper and bigger than Fera’s. Elinsys couldn’t take her eyes off six things she had noticed. The first two were the pair of wings the creature had, which engulfed the whole room, blocking her escape. They also had stars in them, but also tears. The other four? Its eyes, a pair of big ones and then a pair of small ones right above the larger pair, all four black with green circles, a dark green, a most hostile green. “It would seem the masquerade is over. Is my form disconcerting to you, would you perceive it as disagreeable?” Her voice was beautiful, a stark difference to the rest of... Hers... Its…. body? Elinsys wanted to scream, but a hand covered her mouth. “No, no. You might be able to behold my most wondrous figure, but others cannot. Screaming will only get you in more trouble.” Elinsys kicked it and tried to crawl away over the bed, but a pair of wings would block her path wherever she tried to go. “Darling, please, I mean you no ruination, if anything, I wish for us to… consort with one each other.” It laughed, if one could call it that. It was a shriek if anything. Elinsys managed to crawl under one of the wings and get to the door. She pressed her wrist against it again and again, but nothing worked. “Open, by the goddess!” She shouted, kicking at it now. “My treasure, do not fret. I mean you no harm. If you were to only lend me your ear, or should I say, ‘our’ ear?” The thing laughed at her. Why was her voice so pleasant, why couldn’t she sound like a monster she actually was? Elinsys gave up on the door and ran for the bathroom. The wings tracked around her as if to try and block her escape, and then one of them curled around her, locking her in its embrace. “ I wish to converse with you, for us to unite our goals.” The wing slowly pressed around Elinsys like a boa constrictor, making it hard to breathe. Elinsys almost lost consciousness, but the monster relented. “Let us talk, yes?” Elinsys kicked the thing into its snout and sent it backing away in pain. It moved back, covering its snout with its claws. Elinsys ran into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. “Excuse me, I will return once you are feeling more ebullient. Sleep well, my dear.” It said, knocking at the door of the bathroom. “We will see each other when you feel better.” Elinsys sat down on the floor, trying to calm down. “WHAT THE FUCK!? WHAT THE FUCK!?” She looked into the mirror. A reflection stared back at her. Not hers, and most certainly not of the monster, but her doppelganger. She needed her antipsychotic drugs. Elinsys grabbed the pill case and took two, then she washed it down with some water. It was cold, but enjoyable. “You are in a nightmare, you are in a nightmare, everything is fine… maybe you just got some dust left in your system, all shall be well.” Elinsys looked into the mirror, she looked tired, so tired. She collapsed onto the cold floor beneath her and closed her eyes.