I'll admit, I never expected to ever be a father. Knowing how MY father was, I wasn't sure if I could break that mold and actually be a GOOD father. I'm told that it is absolutely adorable when Arctyc and I are asleep on the couch together though.

Apparently, the phenomenon is SO adorable that there are now several pictures around the house of a sleeping white haired human, with a pure white skunktaur cub asleep on his chest. I think even most of the band members of 'The Token Human', yes, the name stuck, have copies of it. I swear by all that is holy, if it ends up on an advertisement somewhere I may just run screaming. Commander Shylin was good to his word. JC McClellan was listed as dead in the riot and explosion that subsequently occurred that day so long ago. Maximilian Pilumnus is now listed as a Chakona citizen with two Denmates and now a child. Of course, this was all contingent on me going to Starbase 241 for examination and deprogramming. On the upside, Fleet offered Swytch and Jackie both positions on the station as contractors for the Star Corps while I was supposed to be there. On the down side, all of my clearances were revoked until final say so from the head of Starbase 241 was given that I had a clean bill of health. We were given as long as we needed to get things in order before we needed to depart. We were informed we had a standing place on whichever ship was heading to the station when we were ready. From what research I could actually access, legally, the station was set close to the border of LNAW space and was the first of its kind designed with the sole reason of LNAW relations and the deprogramming of liberated slaves. Their genetic and medical facilities were second to none on a space station and being as close as they were to LNAW space, they carried the best in offensive and defensive technologies. They even had two escort class Fleet vessels assigned as a permanent protection detail should the need arise, and from what I had also seen in some of the news feeds, they'd already had to chase off a few tentative pirate attacks.

For a decent handful of weeks after Arctyc's birth, Swytch and I took a little time off from working. Our pay from a year in the arctic was enough so that we didn't have to go back to work right away. The head of the ARCS station personnel division let us know that if we wanted to continue a rotation with them, they would be happy to keep a spot open for us. They even made concessions that since we were mated and had a child, we could bring Arctyc with us; since together, we were already a team that fulfilled the requirements for personnel at the site. Now, I just had to get my clearances back so I could work again. I had even been visited by a couple of representatives from Clan Blackpaw wanting to know if I would be willing to go through anchor training and go onto their active anchor list. It seems strong anchors, while not an endangered species by any stretch of the imagination, were still fairly few and far between. The annoying part of the whole recruitment spiel is that the representatives arrived astrally just to test my abilities.

They were quite impressed with how easy it was to locate my mental beacon as it were, as well as how quickly I was able to yank them to my location without really even knowing I was doing it. Of course, they did have a tendency to show up right in the middle of ummm... Well let's just say they had really piss poor timing... When I informed them, quite diplomatically I think, of what our current situation was and where we were about to head off to, they said they would be more than happy to put one of their high level astral walkers, and a local anchor here on planet, at my disposal and hy would be more than happy to train me in my free time even on the station. Being caught mid-coitus, and more than a little put out at the interruption, I agreed just so they would leave. I think Jackie thought I was losing my mind since to her, I was talking to thin air. I got to spend a good bit of time with my son when hy wasn't nursing from hys mother or sleeping. Hy went with me everywhere actually. I managed to find a type of backpack I could carry that hy could ride in and still see over my shoulder. We went to band practices together and hy had the time of hys life laughing and clapping with the music. It looked like my boy was going to be a music lover as well. That's not to say Arctyc didn't spend a lot of time with hys Aunt Brightstreak. They were always to be found together when not with their respective parents. It started to get to the point where if one went somewhere, the other wanted to go, too. They might as well have been siblings, so we made allowances for them of course. What parents wouldn't?

Things started to settle into a comfortable routine for a while until Fleet started to send reminder messages that we were expected on Starbase 241 sometime soon at our earliest convenience of course. So, we started to get things ready for a week-long space voyage. Jackie seemed quite excited since she had never been in space before and I think Swytch was as well, although hy was still loathe to leave hys family behind even for a relatively short time. The hardest decision was whether we were going to leave Arctyc with Swytch's parents while we were gone or bring hym along. As you can guess, Swytch and I were both a little apprehensive about leaving our child behind, but, while Starbase 241 was safe enough for families with children, it was still a star base next to LNAW space, and not the safest place in the universe. We dithered over the decision for a couple of days and the cubs actually made the decision for us.

They had grown close enough that one would fuss every time the other wasn't close by. Riot and Jynxy assured us that it would be no problem for them to look after little Arctyc while we were gone. Heck, they had more than enough voluntary babysitters from the band members that seemed to always be over hanging out anyway.

So, a week later, after many hugs and nuzzles and well wishes, Swytch, Jackie, and I headed to the spaceport to shuttle up to the transport carrier Bright Future. True to hys word, all we had to do was check in at the front desk and we were queued for the trip up to the transport. Jackie almost crushed my arm when we took off and headed into space to dock with the transport. We were shown to a small room aboard the ship that was barely big enough for the three of us, and not too long afterwards, we were in warp and heading for Starbase 241.

We learned not to spend too much time cooped up in our room. Tight quarters make for short tempers even when people love each other. We started spending a large chunk of time in the recreation area instead. Jackie and I took the spare time to work on songs for the band and to practice vocals as well as guitar since she had brought hers with us. It didn't take long before we started garnering a crowd of people each evening as we practiced.

According to the Steward, many of the passengers enjoyed a relaxing beverage while we played and sung lowly in our corner; I guess we made pleasant background atmosphere. Apparently enough so that the Captain asked if we would hold a small performance one evening since many of the guests on the ship hadn't heard many of the old songs that I had brought with me from Earth. So, one evening found Jackie on her acoustic guitar and me on vocals as we sang a few of the older tunes for the ship's crew and passengers. We ended up running out of prepared songs long before everyone ran out of patience and had to resort to some songs that weren't as well practiced. All in all, it was a pleasant night; I even gave the Captain a small portion of the music I had stored, for the ship's personal use, with his promise of sharing them with whomever wished a copy. It was in this way that time seemed to fly by and before we knew it, we were at the starbase.

Other than a few Fleet and Corps personnel, we were the only ones to exit onto the station. We made our way through in-processing and when we presented our credentials to the security personnel, we were asked to drop our things off in our quarters and to meet with the head of the research department that was working on deprogramming the LNAW freed slaves. We were assigned a security escort who showed us how to navigate the station and he led us to the personal quarter's section of the station. Our quarters, while not large by any sense of the word, were quite well appointed and laid out to make the best use of the space available. We dropped off our meager belongings in the bedroom, and after freshening up, we followed the security escort to the office of the lead researcher for the station.

The office to which we were led, and asked to wait in, looked vaguely familiar. We all three took seats and waited patiently. The door behind us quietly whooshed open and a familiar voice said, "I'm sorry to keep you waiting." Turning in my chair, I nearly fell out when I saw the purple furred and spotted chakat speaking. It was Dreamspirit...

I think Swytch noticed when my brain ground to a halt because hy quickly looked at me, then at Dream and then back again. I think that the fact that my mind was babbling incoherently may have led her to guess who the lead researcher was before Dream even introduced hirself.

"Welcome to Starbase 241. My name is Lieutenant Commander Dreamspirit. Let's see..." Shi looked at hir PADD, "You would be Nurse Lapigne," shi said as shi shook Jackie's hand. "You're Swytch of Clan Redpaw," shi said again shaking Swytch's hand. "And you would be my new Guinea pig, Maximilian Pilumnus." Shi shook my hand and stopped, cocking hir head at me for a minute. "Have we met before? You seem familiar somehow."

I wasn't sure if I was supposed to tell hir who I really was. Would I get in trouble for telling hir? Would shi get in trouble for knowing? How much did shi already know? Ugh, I was going to have to contact Commander Shylin for confirmation. I didn't want anyone getting in trouble on my account, not again anyway. So, the only thing I said was, "Perhaps in another life, Ma'am."

Shi squinted at me as if chasing down a memory or thought and then shrugged. "Well, from what Commander Shylin sent me, not only have you been genetically tinkered with by an unknown organization, but you've also been conditioned and so far, they only know one of the triggers?" shi asked curiously.

I nodded at hir. "That's correct, Ma'am. The only way I was even able to break the only trigger I know about, was because my mate and unborn child were in danger. That, and the fact that Swytch and I had inadvertently bonded on such a deep and inseparable level gave me the strength I needed to break the mind lock. How much did Commander Shylin tell you exactly, Ma'am?" I asked. "I'm honestly not sure what I'm allowed to talk about and what I'm not allowed to talk about."

Dream made a sour face. "Only what Starfleet Intel decided I needed to know. I know who you are, who is thought to be behind your genetic tinkering and programing, and what the first trigger is. I was also informed of your extraordinary bond with Swytch as well as a few files from your T and E scans. Everything else, you'll have to share if you're allowed. I'd recommend contacting Commander Shylin and asking for clarification."

I nodded at hir in understanding.

"Now, Nurse Lapigne, you are being assigned to medical team 3-Bravo. They are responsible for the more serious cases of the slaves we get here; the ones with serious genetic modifications, that need more than basic medical attention to survive and prosper in normal society." Shi then handed Jackie a PADD with hir assignment information on it, "You will be under Doctor Luke Spiritweaver. He is an excellent physician in Starfleet and outstanding at his job." Next shi handed a PADD to Swytch. "Swytch, you will be working in 'power systems' under Engineer Babcock." Swytch took the PADD with a nod and read over hys assignment. "And Mr. Pilumnus, your only job is to be poked, prodded, and basically pestered by our best geneticists," shi said with a teasing smile. "I recommend bringing a few books on a PADD with you. It might get a tad boring, but you know how medical exams are. If there are no questions?" shi looked around expectantly. We all shook our heads. "Good. Mr. Pilumnus, I will see you here bright and early tomorrow morning at 0600. Everyone else needs to contact their new department heads to find out when and where to be. Now if you'll excuse me all, I have an inordinate amount of PADDs waiting for my attention."

We attempted to navigate our way back to our quarters without the help of the security escort. We were going to have to figure it out eventually anyway. "So THAT was Dreamspirit?" Swytch asked.

I nodded still a tad stunned. "Shi hasn't changed a bit either; still a workaholic. Wait, why didn't shi recognize your name? Didn't you send hir a message?"

Swytch managed to look contrite. "About that... With everything that happened it kind of slipped my mind."

I nodded a bit glumly. "Well, that explains that then. Jackie, what do you think?" I asked

Checking her PADD, Jackie shook her head, "I think I'm going to be busy. Do you know how many liberated slaves are on this station?"

I muttered, "Yeah, one more..."

As soon as we got back to our room, I put a request in to speak with Commander Shylin, or at least receive a message from hym about whether or not I could tell Dreamspirit about my real identity. Swytch and Jackie contacted their respective department heads and were scheduled for duty and in-processing the next morning. So, we all decided on a replicated meal and early bed. It was going to be a long day tomorrow for all of us.

The next morning found me wide awake quite early in a bundle of mixed fur. Extricating myself without waking anyone up, took a bit longer. I ran through the shower and got cleaned up but only put on a comfortable robe and loosely tied it around my waist as I puttered about the small kitchen unit. I managed to replicate a cup of coffee and sat down with my personal PADD to check messages. Riot had sent a video file of Arctyc and Brightstreak playing in the yard under the watchful eyes of Jynxy. The band sent a few 'Hellos' and well wishes, and low and behold a message from Commander Shylin.

Mr. Pilumnus,

While we haven't informed Lt. Commander Dreamspirit about your true identity, shi does have the clearance to know if you wish to tell hir. Just be careful who you tell. While JC McClellan is officially listed as dead, it would be extremely inconvenient to have someone claim that he is really alive and living on Chakona. It is your decision, but, if it comes out who you really are, there will be nothing Starfleet can do to help you. We've already done all that we can do. Be careful who you trust.

v/r

Commander Shylin

Max leaned back in the chair as many different thoughts and scenarios skittering about his mind like moths around a flame. He wasn't really sure which one would actually happen and the loss of his fragile freedom weighed heavily on his soul. He had a family now, he had a child. He couldn't leave them alone. He would have to talk to Swytch and Jackie when they got up and get their read on the situation. Max rubbed his temples, the background noise on the station wasn't as bad as back home on Chakona, but it was significantly different. A station full of liberated slaves radiated a mixture of lust and subservience unlike anything Max had ever experienced. He had gotten used to the noise on Chakona and had learned to block it or at least live with it, the station was going to take a little getting used to though. Max moved to the floor and took a lotus position. He then worked on the mental exercises that Trypp had taught him. Little by little he worked at walling away the worst of the background noise to give his mind a bit of peace. He was so busy concentrating on it that he neither sensed, nor heard, someone behind him until a cold nose was pressed to the back of his ear making him yelp and flail over onto his side. He looked up to see a laughing skunktaur holding hys sides.

"Well, that wasn't very nice!" he chided hym with a grin.

"Hon, I could hear your thoughts even asleep and when you started walling everything up, you blocked our link and it woke me up," Swytch told him with a grin.

Max made a sour face. "I really need to work on this more," he said with a sigh. "Show me which one I blocked and I'll unblock it, I was simply trying to mute the background noise of the station, some of it is... Well... Distracting to be honest."

Swytch nodded, "Yeah, it took me a while to adjust everything, here, let me show you." And with a gentle nudge in the right direction hy showed Max what to unblock and what to block again. Once Max managed to adjust everything correctly hy nodded. "You're getting better at it love. Just takes practice."

Max handed Swytch the PADD and hy smiled watching the video of the kids playing and the 'Hellos' of the band. Then she brought up the note from Commander Shylin and read it. Max could sense Swytch's thoughts chewing over the note as hy looked at him.

"The question is do you trust hir?" Swytch eventually asked.

"That is a good question. A few years ago I would have said absolutely, but a few years ago I was a different person and probably, so was shi," Max said with a touch of bitterness.

Swytch gave him a hug wrapping hys tail around them both and they sat there on the floor for a while in silent support of each other. Eventually a sleep tousled bunny walked in rubbing her eyes. "You know waking up to a bed all by yourself is not the way I like waking up," she teased and then walked over and joined the furry pile on the floor. "Why are we cuddled up on the floor again?" she asked curiously.

Swytch handed her the PADD with Commander Shylin's message on it. After reading it over, she looked at Max. "I'd say hold off for a bit. Let me feel out some of the medical staff on their thoughts of Dream and see what is what. With hir being one of the leads on this whole project, the chances you'll even see hir very often will be slim I would think. Shi probably has more important things to do than to oversee your personal deprogramming. I know, from what you've told me, that you'd like to let hir know you're alive and re-establish communications with hir, but Shylin has a point. You're only safe as long as no one blabs about who you are. Take it slow on this one Max, I really don't feel like visiting my mate in prison," she said with a grimace.

Max nodded in agreement, "You're right of course. I have too much to lose now to be stupid about it."

Jackie grabbed Max's chin turning his face to hers and kissed him thoroughly then said, "Plus, my heat is coming up soon and you have a promise to keep!"

Max rolled his eyes and said in a resigned voice, "Yes, Dear."

Everyone went about their morning ablutions and were soon dressed and in uniform for their new jobs. Max wore his usual jeans, boots and hooded sweatshirt; it was a tad chilly on the station. Max made his way to the labs he had been directed to.