“You know what Hiron? You spent the trip here testing me, I think it’s only fair that I return the favor.” Chuck began gently raking his claws along Hiron’s throat. “Ronovin helpfully demonstrated this technique. I’ve found it to be an excellent way to determine a Gaoian’s true intentions.”
Chuck again stroked his paw across Hiron’s neck, sending shivers down his spine.
“Of course, I tried it against him first. He wasn’t very happy about it at the time, but admitted later that it had been a good idea.”
Each stroke was torture; Each pass triggering the feral instincts of his subconsciousness, telling him to fight, telling him to flee. But he wouldn’t, oh no. If this was Chuck’s challenge, if this is what it would take to calm the human, he would defiantly rise to meet it. He would show Chuck that Ronovin was not the only Whitecrest with the will challenge a Deathworlder. “Bring it” growl “…on, human.” He snarled, just barely able to enunciate.
Chuck simply smiled, continuing his taunts. “It seems that Gaoians have a rather… jumpy fight or flight reflex. If you touch them in just the right way-”
With that, Chuck released his other forepaw from around Hiron’s chest, leaving him secured only by the massive hindlimbs wrapped around Hiron’s lower body. Chuck then used that additional paw to begin prodding other sensitive areas. Without conscious thought, Hiron jumped upright, painfully contorting his spine in the process. This, of course, failed to accomplish anything useful, as the lower portion of his body was still held fast. Hiorn cursed his lack of self control as he regained his bearings.
Chuck had immediately ceased his attacks after hearing Hiron’s yelp of pain. “Do you need me to stop?” He asked, concerned.
Hiron took a moment to catch his breath. He turned to take a good look at Chuck. Fyu’s nuts! Chuck was looking at him like a mother concerned for her cub! That was completely unacceptable! As a proud Whitecrest operative, he refused to be pitied. He taunted Chuck with a sly grin. “Was that all it took to scare the ‘mighty’ Ronovin into submission? C’mon Chuck, quit playing around and start your Keeda damned test already.” Hiron didn’t quite feel that he had the discipline necessary to follow through on his words, but still he refused to back down from this challenge… He was going to regret this, wasn’t he?
Laughing manically, Chuck pulled Hiron back down with a forelimb, then rolled over on top of him. Chuck ‘manhandled’ him much more aggressively than he had before, his pokings, proddings and scratchings becoming a maddening storm of torment.
But Hiron would not give in, he would fight it! He clenched his muscles, straining to remain composed. Before long, his refusal to submit transitioned to a complete inability to consider it, as his predatory instincts overwhelmed him. He had to fight! He had to flee! Escape! His paws scraped fruitlessly against the ground, claws scarring his shop’s flooring. What could he do? He had to do something! He needed a target… Ah! Balls! He kicked as best as he could, trying to hit his mark… Ah, naxas dung. Human balls were up much higher; He couldn’t reach there. What else? Limbs? Torso? Too strong. Oh! The snout! Quite a weak-looking thing, for a human that is. He braced himself; This was gonna hurt. With one, quick, jerk of his neck, he slammed the top of his head up into Chuck’s face.
Hiron awoke laying on his back, the overwhelming smell of rich blood filling his nostrils. He slowly opened his eyes to see Chuck staring at him with a pitch black fluid streaming down his face. “How are you feeling, buddy?”
Still operating on instinct alone, Hiron immediately reached for his stun gun, cursing his earlier tunnel-vision. But something in the back of his mind stopped him. No, stop. Pull yourself together Hiron. He dropped his paw and carefully turned to study Chuck. There was nothing aggressive about his demeanor; His face only showed concern. The fight is over. Calm down. Hiron layed back down, slightly embarrassed.
He replayed Chuck’s words in his mind, trying to catch himself back up. Suddenly a burst of pain made itself known, emanating from the top of his head. He winced, and took a deep breath as he finally recalled Chuck’s question. “Uhhh, like someone hit me on the head with a Keeda-damned mallet.”
Chuck belly-laughed, each bark of laughter driving bolts of pain through Hiron’s skull. He quickly quieted down when he saw Hiron’s reaction. “Never seen a Gaoian try anything like that before.”
After a few attempts, Hiron managed to sit up. His muddy mind began to slowly clarify. It no longer took monumental concentration to merely understand Chuck’s words. “It… wasn’t the best idea.”
Chuck shrugged. “I never saw it coming.” He sat beside Hiron and began stroking the top of his head with one paw, while waving his other in front of Hiron’s snout. “Hiron, I want you to follow my finger with your eyes.” In spite of not understanding the purpose of Chuck’s instructions, Hiron allowed himself to do as the human asked. Chuck continued rubbing his head, gently at first, then more firmly, until it started becoming painful. “Hmm, I’m not feeling anything soft or broken.”
With a sudden glint in his eye, Chuck pulled a small device from a satchel. He passed the device over Hiron’s head. “Hmm, you do have a concussion. But nope, nothing too serious. I think you’ll be okay. How’s the leg?”
Hiron considered inquiring about the device, but was interrupted by Chuck reaching for his hindlimb. Hiron involuntarily took a deep breath and held it as he forced himself to allow Chuck to reach his leg. Keeda’s balls, how long would it take him to control this involuntary response to the Deathworlder? It was his decision to continue past his point of ferality, not Chuck’s.
Chuck watched Hiron with concern as he began gently rubbing the strained limb. Fyu’s balls! That felt amazing. Hiron groaned happily as the tension from his limb’s earlier twitching slowly drained away. “It’s doing better.”
Chuck smiled. “Good.” He moved his paw up Hiron’s hindlimb and continued. “Man, you’re really tense. I can help you with that.”
“Where did you learn to do this?” Hiron allowed his tongue to hang lazily out of the side of his mouth.
“Ronovin. He needed some help unwinding and, hell, I don’t mind.”
Hiron growled in pleasure again as another knot fell away. He didn’t mind either. “So Chuck, did I pass?”
Chuck had moved on to his shoulders. “Did I?”
Hiron looked at Chuck, unhappy with the answer he must provide. “I… don’t think I’m allowed to say.”
Chuck nodded, smiling. So, no answer there.
“…But I think so.”
Chuck grunted in amusement. “You did just fine.”
“Did I beat Ronovin?”
Chuck laughed. “You did. It wasn’t even close.” He scratched under Hiron’s chin. “I wonder if I should tell him that.”
“Go right ahead.” Hiron allowed himself a nice, hearty chitter as he fell into a reclined position. “I’ll beat him again, if I have to. He did seem awfully soft.”
Chuck chuckled as he pulled Hiron in closer. “You beat him before?”
“Yeah… kinda? I dunno. I didn’t lose.” Hiron perked his ears in concern as he recalled the moments just before unconsciousness. “Did I hurt you, Chuck?”
Chuck smiled. “I’ll be fine. I pushed you hard, your response was all but inevitable.”
Hiron shifted over towards Chuck to take a look. There was a lot of blood. Chuck winced as Hiron carefully poked at his snout a few times. Remembering Chuck’s earlier actions, he reached down and grabbed Chuck’s device. What… is this? He scratched his head, resulting in a painful reminder to stop doing that.
“That little switch there.”
Hiron did as Chuck suggested. A holographic view of Chuck’s face appeared. With a few swipes he was able to identify the site of the injury. There was some bruising, but no broken bones. Something else, however, was indeed broken. Wait… what? He hadn’t even hit bone? He ran his paw across Chuck’s snout once more, then across his own. Hesitantly, he tapped his paw on Chuck’s head a few times. By Fyu’s whiskers… It was fortunate that he had hit Chuck’s snout, or he may still be unconscious!
“Having fun there, Hiron?”
Hiron realized, much to his chagrin, that he was still absentmindedly tapping Chuck’s skull. He stopped and sat back down. “I’m sorry, Chuck. Please continue.”
“It’s ok. I’m used to it.” Chuck resumed his massages. He really did seem to be enjoying himself. “You want to know something, Hiron? When I first saw you here in this store, the first thing I wanted to do was run up and hug you. You Gaoians are just too damn adorable.”
Adorable? Hiron turned to Chuck and attempted to stare menacingly at him. Another loosened knot ruined the effect, as his eyes rolled back into his head. It was another moment before he was able to properly rebut. “Well… I’d hate to disappoint. Don’t let me stop you.” …That was not a rebuttal. With a contented sigh, Hiron surrendered himself to Chuck’s surprisingly skilled paws. He wriggled himself up closer to Chuck, and began to stroke the human gently with his claws; Dignity would just have to wait its turn.
All too soon, Chuck departed for the evening. With a sigh, Hiron glanced at the time. Fyu’s balls! He’d been ‘wrestling’ with Chuck for over three hours! He softly chittered. No wonder Ronovin had spent so much time alone with Chuck! Hiron would have to voice his displeasure at being excluded from their previous sessions. Perhaps he could even show the brute the foolishness of teaching one’s secrets to others. With a satisfied sigh, Hiron crawled his way to his nest-bed and immediately fell asleep.
1y10m3w4d bv, 5 days after arrival
Public Lounge, markets of Local Refueling Station
Sharon Kwolek
The first day after her arrival, Sharon had taken time to explore the station. It was not a particularly large or interesting station; Its name was as accurate as it was banal. Still she had found a nice, quiet spot to sit and read near the small loop of local shops. Sharon sat down on her chosen bench and set her bag on the table in front of her. She began the day’s studies by reviewing the challenge before her.
The Unremarkable Disappointment was capable of sustaining a little under a kilolight with its standard reactor and FTL. With such a small craft to drive, the pirate’s FTL could theoretically push the craft at tens of kilolights, though the pod’s crappy wiring had limited it to only three kilolights on her trip here.
A small Gaoian caught her eye. He sat on the opposite end of the pavilion and stared at her, unmoving. Sharon had just started getting used to some of the more alien behaviors out here; Simple observations of an unfamiliar non-sapient was hardly a cause for concern. She turned back to her datapad and resumed her study of the ship’s drivetrain.
…The energy cell was certainly capable of delivering enough power to run the FTL at full speed, but it only had enough charge for another day or so at those discharge rates. These emergency cells rarely lasted more than a day or two in larger craft. Hers had only lasted this long due to the Unremarkable Dissapointment’s unremarkable performance and, consequently, unremarkable drain rate.
She glanced back up at the Gaoian. He still sat there, staring at her. The Gaoians were known to be predators, and this one in particular was beginning to creep her out. Alien, Sharon. It’s an alien. A completely different culture. Sharon closed her eyes and took a deep breath before resuming her work.
So… in order to get her little vessel ship-shape she would need to reroute some more suitable cabling, then find a better source of power. Either a better reactor or -more likely- a small stack of energy cells.
She glanced up again. The small Gaoian was approaching her. Up close, she was finally able to study the alien. The poor thing had been torn apart from head to tail. One ear was missing, the other barely attached. Huge gashes were torn in his face and limbs. Nearly half of his fur was missing. As he moved close to her, he spoke several words in an Oriental-sounding language.
“Give me a moment.” She held up a finger as she spoke. It was unlikely that he would be able to understand it, but hopefully the unfamiliar speech would deliver the intended message. She dug through her packs, trying to locate a translator. She pulled one out and turned it on.
The Gaoian tried again. “Hi there. You’re a human, right? Mind if I join ya?”
Hearing such an eager voice startled her for a moment. “Yeah, sure.” It took her a few moments to collect her thoughts. It had been days since she’d had her last conversation. “I’m Sharon, Sharon Kwolek.”
He took a seat on the bench across from her. “Nice to meet ya, Sharonkwolek. I’m… well, friends call me Daar. You can too.” He grinned as he spoke. “Daar has seen you here the past few days, sitting here all alone.” The Gaoian glanced over his shoulder.
Sharon followed his gaze. A group of three other Gaoians had stopped their own discussion and had turned to glare at Daar.
Daar turned back to Sharon. “Let me tell you all about Daar. He is one of the greatest Gaoians that ever lived.” He flexed his scrawny arms. “Daar can beat any other sapient with his bare paws!”
Sharon stared, confused, at Daar. What was he… Her eyes were drawn immediately to the pack of Gaoians. They began to approach with clear hostile intent.
“‘Scuse me a moment.” Daar nodded to Sharon, then stood and turned to face the other Gaoians.
The largest of the three spoke. “Just what do you think you are doing, runt.”
“I’m spreading the word of Daar!” he grinned, panting.
Enraged, the large Gaoian attacked Daar, soon followed by his two companions.
Sharon squealed involuntarily as she stood to break up the fight.
One of the Gaoians turned to stop her. “This is between the clanless. Please, do not get involved.”
“Like hell. I’ve been alone up here for days!” She pointed at Daar. “Daar here is the only one who has even bothered to talk to me! I’m not just going to let you kill him!” The other two Gaoians stopped their assault.
Daar coughed up some blood then feebly spoke. “Daar… enjoys talking in third person, at times.”
The three clanless shared glances with each other. After one final parting swipe, too fast for Sharon to even consider countering, the three of them departed.
Daar lay there, bleeding and groaning on the floor. Sharon helped him back onto the bench. “We need to get you to the medical bay!”
Daar grumbled before speaking. “Nah, I’ve been in worse.”
Sharon pointed to his chest.
Daar’s gaze followed. With each heartbeat, blood was squirting out. “Ah. Maybe I should do something about that.” He pulled out a medical kit from a pouch, then applied bandages and gauze with well practiced skill. “Think I’ll need this too.” He pulled out a small stasis capsule and extracted a bag of blood. Wrapping a strap of cloth around his shoulder, he hung the bag under his arm. He yelped slightly as he jammed a needle into his flank. “That should do it.” He chittered slightly before recoiling in pain.
Sharon sat dumbfounded. “What the hell was that?”
“Oh, just a little fun.”
“You almost got yourself killed, and for what?”
Daar grinned. “Females like the scars.”
“Are you… trying to hit on me?”
Daar tilted his head. “What? No, no, I’d never hit a female.”
Ah, right, stick with literal statements. “So, why did your name piss them off?” …That was figurative.
Daar chittered. “Such aggressive language, I like you already.” He shifted his posture, wincing as he did so. “I’ve got a little secret to tell ya. My name is actually Darpin. Daar is a legend among the Gao. A mighty hero from our stories. Some Gaoians get rather upset when you start mocking the old tales.”
Sharon put her face in her palms. “So this was just a damn nerd fight.”
“Sure? Kinda, I guess.” He looked down. “See? Good as new.”
“You are still bleeding in at least a dozen places.” Sharron retorted.
Darpin carefully examined a few of the bloodier wounds. “Eh, it’ll be fine.” He waved a paw dismissively. “But enough about me, what are you doing out here?”
Sharon thought a moment. Was it safe to speak with this Darpin fellow? Wait… Was she seriously considering trusting him less than she trusted the Corti that had abandon her here? Hell, maybe he could even tell her where to find help. “I’m stranded. I escaped the Corti and ended up stuck here on this station. I’m trying to get my ship rebuilt so I can leave.”
Darpin tilted his head. “Broken ship, huh? I can help with that. Later though, not yet. First, we have to talk.”
This… seemed too good to be true. Sharon narrowed her eyes and stared inquisitively at Darpin. “Why would you help me?”
Darpin chittered. “Excellent question. Oh yes. So, Sharonkwolek-”
“Just Sharon.” She interrupted.
“…Sharon. Oh, yes, that’s easier to say. Sharon, where are you from?”
Sharon glared at Darpin. “You didn’t answer my question.”
Darpin waved a paw dismissively. “I’ll get there later. Gotta build up to it.”
Sharon sighed. “I’m from Earth.”
Darpin purred, briefly lost in thought. “That must be the human nest-world, correct? Information about your people is hard to come by.”
“Yes.”
Darpin nodded. “So, on Earth, do you have dangerous recreational activities?”
“Dangerous?”
“Yes, thrilling, terrifying. You know, fun.” He grinned as he spoke.
“Well, I suppose. There are things like skydiving, glacial biking, that sort of thing?”
“Just those?”
“Oh, hell no. There are so many assholes out there trying, and sometimes failing, to off themselves in the stupidest ways imaginable.”
“Hmm… maybe back it up a bit. Let’s let start with something not lethal to humans. There’s no fun to be had if survival is impossible. How about something thrilling and survivable.”
“Hmm, amusement parks maybe?”
Darpin perked an ear. “That name does sound promising. What are those?”
Sharon thought a moment. “They have rides. Roller Coasters, as one example.”
Darpin sat, eagerly waiting for her to continue.
“Gravity propelled vehicles that roll along a set of rails. Twists, turns and loops with dozens of meters per second of velocity and multiple Gee’s of acceleration.”
Darpin’s ears perked up. “Can you build one?”
“Uh… no, a lot of time and effort goes into their design and construction.”
Darpin’s ears sank. He sat lost in thought for a moment. “Could you at least design one?”
“…Maybe? That would be a lot of work.”
“Hmm. Any other ideas? Besides just this roller coaster?”
“Plenty. Hmmmm” Sharon scratched her chin. “How about Go-Karts?”
“Sport vehicles? We have those.” He stopped. “Would you call Go-Karts thrilling?”
“Well, yes, if you spec them right.”
Darpin began nodding. “Sold!”
Sharon scratched her head. “What?”
Darpin grinned. “Welcome to the Clan Fyunipper!”
“I hate to repeat myself but… what?”
“That’s my clan! You’ve passed your initiation rites!”
“You lost me.”
“Oh right, Associates need to know the history of the clan. I’m Darpin, Clanfather of Clan Fyunipper. Clan Fyunipper first started more than four thousand days ago. We were a clan of salvagers and mercenaries, a few dozen strong. Any time someone nearby had trouble, we were there to help! On this day, four hundred and fifty two days ago, we were attacked by pirates, and we won! The pirates all died, and we only lost all but three of our crew! The other two left, but I stayed on and will soon lead this clan to glory!”
Sharon waited a moment to make sure he was done. “How many are in your clan?”
“Two!”
“Who’s the other…” Sharon again buried her face in her palms. “You said you could help me fix my ship?”
“Of course, that’s what clan is for!”
Sharon sighed. Well, it’s not like I am any worse off than I was before. “Alright, I’ll show you what I’m up against.” She sincerely hoped that she would not regret this.