Disclaimer: I do not own Zootopia or any of its characters, they all belong to Disney. Rated M for sexual themes.
Chapter 14
"Captain," the sensor tech said, "a large FTL signature off the port side at 10,000 miles."
"Admiral, your gift from the Explorers has arrived," Captain Wilde said and she smiled.
As they'd explained since she and her husband had helped discovered the conspiracy that sparked the revolution it was the least they could do.
"Captain," the communication tech said, "we are being directed to dock."
"Please provide that information to our navigators."
He looked down at Catherine and Sofia and smiled.
"Captain," Catherine said, "We will dock in 17 minutes. Sofia will be in charge."
Nick watched his daughter sit a bit straighter in her seat and then begin the docking sequence. Nick looked at his bunny and smiled. The docking procedure was automated, but the operator needed to provide input and if necessary to be able to dock the ship manually. A real time of view of their new ship was being made available over the fleet internet as they approached. When they were within 200 miles the doors for massive docking bay opened and two minutes later Zootopia II passed through them. They shut behind the ship and the Zootopia II was moved into its magnetic cradle.
"Communications Officer, please open a channel ship wide," Captain Wilde said. "Crew of the Zootopia II this is Captain Wilde. Over the last year you have performed very well. Welcome to the Zootopia III! Let's go see our new ship and meet out new crewmates." Nick looked at the Communications Officer and she closed the channel. "Ensign Wilde, excellent job!"
The Zootopia III was the largest ship ever constructed by the Explorer race. As with all Explorer ships it was a sphere and had a diameter of 1000 miles with all the latest Explorer technologies. The FTL drives consisted of both types – galactic and intergalactic. The slower galactic FTP covered one light year per second and other was one hundred times faster. The shields were multilayered and multidimensional which made the ship impervious to all know weapons. Of course the Zootopia III had every offensive and defensive system in the Explorer arsenal. Although the Explorer race tried to resolve all disputes with other races with diplomacy they wouldn't hesitate to defend themselves if necessary. In the recent war with the Civilization Destroyers Admiral Wilde's solution had impressed them and they now wished to give her every option available.
The combined crew would now consist of all known spacefaring races from the Milky Way, most races found so far in the Lesser Magellanic Cloud, a smattering from the known Explorer galaxies, and of course the Explorers themselves. The crew would no longer only consist of races with the common body plan of bilateral symmetry, but ones which exclusively walked on all fours or more, aquatic, non carbon based, and non-oxygen breathers to name a few. To accommodate these differences this necessitated the ship to be designed differently. Different races with similarities would be grouped together out of necessity to keep Zootopia III from being more complicated than it already was. With the additional crew and dependants the number of people aboard the ship numbered 2,723,476.
The Zootopia II would be disassembled and incorporated into the new ship. The eight gardens would be moved intact to much larger enclosures and then expanded. They would join the fifty gardens already aboard which represented worlds of the new crew. Of course, any crew member was allowed to visit and with the permission of the current occupants would be allowed the live in any of the gardens. Most of the crew opted to live in the ship's cabins. The Admiral with the agreement of her family opted to live in the garden which had been setup for the spacefaring Rabbit race. They were also joined by a new influx of Rabbits from Pollux.
"Now it'll be just like BunnyBurrow," Nick said gave Judy a squeeze, "without being overwhelmed by your siblings." He saw her tear up. Emotional bunnies, he thought and took her into his arms. "Judy, I'm sorry."
"Oh hush! I'm just happy!"
Nick knew had Judy badly missed her parents, friends, and siblings. He kissed her cheek and tucked her head under his chin. Then he padded her bottom and she giggled.
"Horny old Fox!"
Nick chucked.
"I haven't heard any complaints so far," he said and his bunny swatted him. "We haven't made love today … much."
Judy rolled her eyes and stared at her Fox. Then Judy started counting on her fingers.
"One – before we fell asleep."
"That was yesterday!"
"It was after midnight."
"OK, I'll give that one."
"Two – went we woke up."
Nick grinned remembering.
"You were wonderful and I could barely keep up."
Judy blushed.
"Three – in the shower."
"And who started it?"
Judy's blush deepened and Nick smiled.
"Four – on the couch."
"Well when you were bent over putting those books up and your little fluffy tail was so…"
"Nick!"
He chuckled and hugged her tighter.
"I love you," he said and kissed her.
When the kiss ended he stared at her and smiled.
"No," she said and swatted him again. "Now I want to see this garden and meet with the Rabbits."
"Later?"
"Yes," she said and smiled at her Fox.
"Now it is a little bit later," he said and gave his bunny a Fox's grin.
She rolled her eyes and took him by the hand.
"Come on you horny old Fox!"
"Who you callin' old!"
Once they'd walked out of the forest and into open a meadow. The garden was so large that they could actually see the curvature of the land before them. Judy remembered that this particular garden was 50 miles long, 30 miles wide, and a mile high. Then they started toward the nearest burrow which was a mile away. She was followed by Nick who was now nude and on all fours with their six kits. They were now almost a year old and were three feet tall when they walked upright. Currently they were on all fours playing a game scrambling back and forth under their father. Every once in a while their father would lick one of them elicited a giggle.
A large shadow passed over them and the kits instinctively scrambled closer to their parents. Judy looked up to see a Dragon flying near the roof. Like on the Zootopia II she guessed they had the access to all the gardens here too. She watched the Dragon turn on its wing and head down toward them. Seemingly at the last moment it flared its great wings and gently settled to the ground. It had passengers and dropped to all fours to let them dismount. Judy recognized the Dragon as the first one she'd met and its riders – Eshu and Joan.
The Dragon arrived first and she hugged his head. He lifted off her off the ground and she laughed. The kits had all run back to their father and hid under his body. The passengers arrived a few seconds later.
"Judy!" Joan said and then hugged and kissed her. "I see you brought your kits. We came to see you and this new garden."
"I'm glad you did," she said. "I'm sure you want to see the kits and Nick."
She hurried to them and Judy watched her hug Nick. Her Fox kissed the human and Judy rolled her eyes. He felt Eshu standing next to her watching them.
"So how've you two been doin'?"
"Quite well," he said and hugged the Rabbit.
She returned it and Eshu kissed her. That surprised Judy and her ears came up. If it had been anyone else she would have probably been angry, but Eshu was inexperienced in emotional relationships with females. The only males Judy had kissed up to that point had been Nick, her father, a few of her brothers, and Ben.
"Did I do it correctly?" he asked and lifted an eyebrow. "Joan's been teaching me."
"Well she's done a pretty good job," Judy said and smiled.
"We weren't allowed to show affection toward our females," he said still holding Judy close. "I do enjoy this type of closeness with Joan too. I can actually just hold her like this after we mate … no she says making love. I do understand the difference."
Judy felt the tears in her eyes and hugged him again.
"Eshu, I'm so glad we rescued you and your people."
"How is it going with the other Mellin?"
"The language difference made things difficult at first, but we have translators now and we've been learning each other's languages. Since we know now that we there isn't any possibility of our species going extinct so I only mate with Joan. Judy, can I ask you a personal question."
"Of course."
"When you married Nick I assume you knew that you couldn't reproduce."
That did make her think back and remembered those doubts she'd had especially with violent opposition of some animals. She'd wanted kits, but she loved her Fox. They'd talked about adopting, but with the changes to their bodies that had become moot. But then again they'd adopted anyway.
"We knew, but we loved each other."
"I know Joan wants children, but with me it's impossible."
"Unless you two were to have the nanofibers implanted in you bodies."
"Could that be done?"
"Yes."
"I'll speak to Joan."
"Just let me know what you decide."
"So are you going to the burrows?" he asked and pointed down the valley. Judy nodded. "We'll go with you."
"Come on," she said and put an arm around him.
Her Fox was right about one thing it was a lot like BunnyBurrow. There were several houses scattered down the valley with farmland between them. She saw Rabbits working in the fields and felt herself tear up again.
"Judy, is there something wrong?" Eshu asked.
"This just reminds so much of my home back on our world."
Eshu put an arm around her shoulders and gave her squeeze.
"Let's go talk to these Rabbits," he said and smiled. "Some Mellin may be interested in living here too. I'll call them."
The first rabbit that came to meet them was a young buck. He was about a foot shorter than her and gave her a smile.
"Welcome to our home," he said moved closer. "My name is Sefu. You're a beautiful doe."
She smiled and then felt herself blush just a bit. Apparently these bucks learned to smooth talk a doe at a young age, she thought. It must be universal with bucks.
"Thank you," Judy said meeting his eyes and making him blush. "I'm Judith Laverne Wilde."
"Judy, I think he wants to mate with you," Eshu said in his language.
She felt her blush deepen just a bit.
"You're correct," she said in the same language.
The Sefu looked at them in confusion.
"You're the Admiral, right?" he asked.
"Yes."
"My father's crew," he said with pride in his voice. "He told me about you and the war. How you destroyed them all!"
Judy winced hearing that. She'd ordered that race to be sterilized and restricted to their planets. They'd captured and removed fertilized ova which would revive that race without being indoctrinated with their genocidal religion.
Nick and Joan arrived with the kits and Sefu squatted to examine them.
"These kits are yours?" he said looking up at Nick.
"And mine," Judy said and he glanced up at her surprised.
"So you two …"
"Nick is my husband," she said irritatedly.
He sat and lifted one of the kits to examine it. First he stoked the ears and looked at Judy. He gave the kit a scratch and it giggled. Then looked at it long fluffy tail and looked at Nick. The kit squeaked and his siblings soon joined him covering the Rabbit. Sefu laid on his back as the kits true to their predatory nature nibbled on Rabbit. Judy sat beside the buck and began to play with the kits too. She was soon joined by the others. Then other Rabbits soon came out of the burrows and joined them. Since it was close to lunch they brought food.
Sated everyone lay back on the grass either snoozing or playing with the kits – both hybrid and Rabbit. Judy felt her Fox take her hand and give it a squeeze. She looked at him and smiled.
"Are you enjoying yourself?" he asked and moved a bit closer.
"Yes," she said and stroked a Rabbit kit. "I love days like this where I can just relax."
Another kit hopped up and joined the first.
"Me too," he said and chuckled looking at the kits. "You're just a buck magnet."
The first kit snuffled through her fur and found a nipple. It began to suckle and was soon joined by the other. Judy smiled and stroked them.
"Judy, I was wondering since the war's over and things are winding down a bit," he began and Judy looked at him with raised eyebrows, "if you'd you might like to be a mother again. I know you don't want to have as many kits as your mother did, but I would mind being a father again."
She pulled her Fox close and kissed him. Then she sighed and purple eyes met green ones.
"Nick, do you why I married you?"
"Because you fell in love with me."
"Yes, that was one reason," she said and put forehead against his. "Another is that you truly fell in love with me."
Nick smiled and then actually blushed. Judy kissed him again.
"Actually I'll admit I did want to make love with you too," he said.
"That's the difference. You wanted to make love with me and not just have …"
Judy just sputtered on the last word and Nick kissed her. Then they heard giggles from behind them.
"Here I am an innocent impressionable 14 year girl watching my parents making out in public," Ann said dramatically. "I'm going to the scarred for life."
Nick and his bunny sighed. Judy thought her daughter was too smart for her own good and ever since she hit puberty she'd become too interested in … in mating. Then she had many questions some of which Judy was too embarrassing to answer. Ann was smiling at her father again.
"Nick, aren't you handsome today," she said and moved beside him. "When we get to Zootopia please introduce me to some of your friends."
Nick's eyes flicked to Judy pleading help.
"Is my sister givin' you two trouble again?" Sophia asked.
"Where's Mike?" Judy asked concerned. "You were supposed to pick him up after school."
"Dragons," Sophia said and pointed.
Mike loved the Dragons and begged to be taken to the Mellin Garden daily. Judy saw him sitting on the back of the back of largest one. Then she started to look for the kits. Eshu and Joan were playing five of them and she started looking around for the sixth.
"Mom, look down," Sophia said and pointed.
The sixth kit rested under her hand happily suckling away. Judy laid back and laughed until tears leaked from her eyes.
"Oh God! I needed that," she said and then turned at her Fox. "To answer your question Nick I would."
The Admiral followed Captain Wilde onto the bridge of her new flagship. Captain sat in 'The Chair' and the Admiral took her seat beside him. Nick took his bunny's hand a squeezed it.
"Catherine, are we ready to jump?"
"Captain, all systems show green."
"Please take us to FTL when ready."
Twenty six seconds later the Zootopia III entered FTL using the galactic drive and 3,507 seconds after that it returned to normal space. They were now just outside the Lesser Magellanic Cloud at the furthest from point from where the war was fought. This was the part of this small galaxy which had yet to be explored.
"Captain, the jump was successful and all systems are still showing green," Catherine said. "We are current outside the galaxy and the closest star is 9.7 light years. No artificial electromagnetic emissions are being detected."
"Catherine, Sofia, please launch the probes."
"The launching of our current compliment of 6,324 probes will require 546 seconds and will commence now," Catherine said touching her screen. "128 launch tubes opening." They felt a slight movement to the ship. "First 128 probes launched." Three seconds passed. "Probes have entered FTL and second 128 launched."
"Catherine, please pick a star and after all probes have been launched please jump us too it."
She touched her screen several times and studied it. She touched it again and turned to the Captain.
"Captain, I have selected a yellow dwarf star much like the one in the Zootopia system," she said and smiled. "It's 35.7 light years from our current position."
"Admiral, Leader Lax wishes to speak to you," the communications tech said.
"Please put her on the main screen."
"Admiral, I have spoken to the other captains and we like permission to deploy our ships from here."
"Catherine."
"Ma'am that will require us to remain here for an additional 711 seconds."
"Leader Lax you may deploy your ships."
Five minutes later docking bays across Zootopia III opened and 106 ships of varying designs and from 24 races exited. When they were at a safe minimum distance they entered FTL.
"Captain, 6,323 probes are away and have entered FTL," Catherine said. "One probe had a minor technical fault and its AI decided to return to the ship. All 106 ships have entered FTL successfully and have arrived or will be arriving shortly at their assigned stars. All probes and ships that have arrived at their destinations are replying with the 'I'm alive' signal."
"Catherine, please take us to our assigned star."
Fourteen seconds later they entered FTL and 35.7 seconds after that they arrived between the orbits of the fourth and fifth planets. The Captain watched Ensign Wilde work on her console.
"This solar system contains eleven planets and three asteroid belts," she reported. "Planets three and four are in the Goldilocks zone, but three only marginally so." A few seconds passed as she read the incoming data and then launched a probe. "Planet 4 is habitable. The probe will arrive in 16 minutes and we will be in orbit in 53 minutes."
As the probe went into orbit information flooded in. The planet had nearly the same land to water ratio as Earth and Zootopia. The gravity was 99.2% of that of Earth and it had one moon which was just a bit larger than Luna, but orbited twice as far away. The planet's climate was more temperate as the temperature being on average was about 70 degrees from pole to pole and the land was covered by grassland and forest. Large rivers that were fed by a multitude of tributaries cutting across all the continents. There were mountains, but most of those were worn down and covered with trees. There were no deserts found on the planet whatsoever.
"Admiral, the colony administrator would like to speak to you," the communications tech said.
"Please put her through," Admiral Wilde said and looked to her pad.
"This planet looks perfect!"
"I agree, but give us a day to complete all the scans and before you make a final decision."
The Zootopia III carried three complete colonies to be planted in this part of the galaxy. Judy had suggested it might be a good idea to establish a foothold here and all the races found so far in this galaxy had agreed. They, many worlds from the Milky Way, and some from the Explorer galaxies had provided the colonists.
Judy snuggled up to her Fox and laid her head on his shoulder.
"It's a beautiful world," Nick said and then nibbled on her ear. "Might be a nice place to raise some kits."
Judy looked at him and smiled.
"Once we find Zootopia you wanta go back being a cop?"
Nick looked at his bunny and gave her a sad smile.
"No."
"So you caught the bug too," she said and hugged her Fox. "I like seeing what over the next hill. I wanta explore. I like seeing new things. I like being the Admiral."
"And I like being your Captain," he said pulling her atop him.
"You mean you like being under me?" she said sitting up and straddling him.
"As much as possible!"
Judy's ears turned pink and she giggled.
"You horny old Fox!"
Judy grabbed his face fur and shook him. Nick chuckled and looked at her seriously.
"I mean I'm not being to … to demanding, am I? I know it's different for females. I'm not hurting you, am I?"
His voice rose and Judy put a hand on his muzzle cutting him off.
"Nicholas Piberius Wilde," she said and Nick knew he was in for it. Then Judy laughed. "Don't you think I want you as much as you want me?"
"Yes, I suppose that I always have from our first time," he said remembering how careful he'd been.
"That was my first time," she said and smiled, "but it wasn't yours."
He blushed.
"No, there were a few vixens."
"Nick, did you love any of them."
"I always convinced myself I did, but ..."
"Then you never had fallen …"
"Once."
"And she wasn't a vixen."
"No, she was a wolfess."
"And she loved you too."
"Yes, but we had to keep a secret," he said and looked at his bunny. "Even before we left home! Those damned terrorist! Just because two animals love each other!"
"Please tell me what happened?"
"When I was 22 and I was on the streets, you know. I saw her everyday and one day I just said hi. Then the next day I said hi and we started talking. One day we met at the grocery store and I carried her bags back to her place. We talked some and then she kissed me." He smiled and his bunny raised an eyebrow. "Well one thing led to another and we made love." Judy blushed and smiled. "I would've asked her to marry me, but you just couldn't those days."
"What happened?"
"We had to keep our relationship a secret," he said frowning. "We went to eat together like friends, but we never touched each other in public. We could only be together in her place and that's all. We saw other couples holding hands or have an arm around each other, but we couldn't. Then about year after I met her there was flu epidemic. Who died of the flu now days?"
"Oh Nick!" she said and hugged him.
"I found her unconscious and took her to the doctor. He put her in the hospital and she just died."
"I didn't mean to …"
"It's OK Fluff," he said and tears ran down his cheeks, "I wanted to tell you about this, but …"
"Nick, it's OK," Judy said and put her head against his. "I love you."
"And I love you too," he said taking her face in his hands. "Judy, I'll admit to you that I still think of her once in a while."
"I understand," she said and smiled. "How could you not since she was you first love."
"You're the most understanding female in the universe."
"I heard they found a hot spring back in the hills."
"Let's go!"
It took a week to get the colony up and running. This included putting two space stations in orbit and leaving several ships to do a complete detailed survey of the system. Also, several Ris ships arrived as part of a larger force to be stationed in part of the galaxy permanently.
"Catherine, please take us to our next star," Captain Wilde said and watched her initiate the jump to FTL.
Eleven seconds later the ship entered the other dimension and in 52.4 seconds reentered real space a billion miles above the plane of the ecliptic.
"A binary system," the Admiral said seeing at the orange and yellow dwarf stars. "This should be interesting."
"There is a red dwarf orbiting the yellow dwarf at 2 billion miles, but not in the plain of the ecliptic," Catherine corrected. "I wanted compare this system to the one containing Outpost 1274."
"Are there any others nearby?" the Admiral asked.
"I found three others with 200 light years of the colony," she said and turned to the Admiral, "but of course none of those will be the Zootopian system. After examining your memories your system has only the one yellow dwarf star and 11 planets – two of those are habitable. Probes have been launched. They system contains 16 planets of which 12 orbit the yellow dwarf, two the orange dwarf, one the red dwarf, and last orbits the gas giant within the Goldilocks zone."
"Sounds like you picked a twin to our honeymoon system," Nick said and looked at his bunny.
"We still be in orbit of the habitable planet in two hours, twelve minutes, and thirteen seconds from now," Sofia said and touched a spot on her console.
"How precise," Captain Wilde said and winked at his daughter.
"Sir, I'm just learning from the best," she said and smiled.
Nick rolled his eyes, but as predicted they appeared in orbit down to the last second. Although his daughter was facing away from him he could see her muscles pull tight in a grin. This habitable world was more like Earth and Zootopia with frozen polar caps and was more geologically active. It orbited far enough from the gas giant so not to be tidally locked or for its weather not to be adversely affected by the larger planet's shadow.
"Captain," the scanning tech began and he turned to look at her, "in three days there will be a total solar eclipse of the main star across the entire central northern continent."
"That should be interesting," he said and turned to his bunny and smiled.
Within the first day it was agreed that the next colony would be established here on this world, but on the continent straddling the equator. Over the next two days the two space stations were placed in orbit and hundreds of shuttles brought down equipment for the new colony. They were helped by all the other ships in the fleet requesting shore leave on the day of the eclipse. Since they weren't really on a set schedule the Admiral allowed it. On the second day ships started to arrive from the Ris, Mellin, and Rabbit worlds too.
"I didn't think it would be such a big thing," Judy said looking at her Fox. "Who knew everyone and their brother would show up! Explorer ships from Andromeda and other nearly nearby galaxies arrived this morning!"
"I think they just want to meet 'The Admiral'," he said and chuckled, "and this is just an excuse."
Judy had met quite few people over the last few days. Then she checked her pad and it still was over an hour to totality. She changed the display to show the disk of the sun with piece already covered by the gas giant. She put on her glasses and looked.
"Admiral Wilde," came a voice and she looked up.
"Hans Brooker!"
She stood and hugged the human. For a moment she felt him stiffen and then returned the hug.
"Admiral, I …"
"Hans, we're off duty. Just call me Judy."
He blushed and then smiled.
"Come on! Sit down next to me and tell me what you've been doing."
She tugged on his arm and he sat. Then she glanced at her Fox and he smiled giving her a wink. One of her kits crawled in her lap and looked up at Hans.
"Your kits have grown so much!"
Judy smiled and tickled the kit. He held out a hand and it nibbled on his fingers.
"Can they talk?"
"A few words here and there," she said. "I'm going to have six more in a few months."
"Congratulations," he said and hugged her. "Was it a surprise?"
"Hans, it's almost never a surprise for a Rabbit."
He looked at her for a moment and then thumped he forehead.
"So what are you two talking about?" Nick asked sitting next to his bunny and followed by five kits.
"Rabbits, kits, and reproduction."
Nick chuckled and Hans looked at the Fox and smiled. Nick held out a hand and they shook.
"So Hans what have you been up to?"
"Just work and exploring the ship."
"You should come to the Rabbit garden where we live," he said and winked. "There are a few unattached does."
Judy poked her Fox in the ribs.
"Well then maybe you could show me around."
Judy rolled her eyes and checked her pad again. Ann returned and sat beside Hans and smiled at him.
"I remember you," she said and touched his arm. "You were the one who was interesting in mom."
"Sorry Hans," she said a blush a bit. "Ann just hit puberty."
"Mom!"
Hans grinned.
"Ah!" Hans said drawing out the word and smiled at the girl. "So do you have a boyfriend?"
"Not yet," she said and looked at her father. "When we get to Zootopia I going to find a Fox like mom did. Well not as old as Nick, but around my age. He did say in the movie that he knew everybody. You seen the movie, didn't you?"
"Yes, I did. Your parents where quite the heroes."
"My favorite part was the DMV," she said and then mimicked Nick's voice. "What do you call a three humped camel." Then Flash's. "I don't … know. What … do ... you call ... a three humped … camel?" and back to her father's. Pregnant! Then Flash tells Pricilla the joke and mom got so frustrated she banged her head on the counter. That was great!"
She laughed and Judy looked at Nick. He shrugged and knew he was going to hear about this later. Hans looked at Nick and smiled.
"My favorite part is the museum. We knew Nick wasn't going savage, but when her bit Judy I almost expected to see blood."
"Me too!" Ann said. "Hans, if you want to see the movie again they're setting up a big screen about a mile that way."
She pointed off vaguely to the east.
"Hi!" Sofia said and set down the food and drinks. "Commander Brooker, I haven't seen you in a while. I think I brought enough for everyone."
"No, I just stopped by you say hi to your mother."
"Hans, you don't have to go," Judy said and put an arm over his shoulder. "Just stay and watch the eclipse with us."
"OK."
Over the next twenty minute Judy saw several more shuttles land. Mike came back riding a young dragon. When they'd finished lunch there was still ten minutes left until totality.
"Admiral."
"Lax, you made it!"
"I wouldn't miss it, but that's not the only reason I'm here," she said and leaned close. "We found something interesting."
She handed Judy her pad and hit play. She watched for a moment and then looked up at her friend.
"This isn't the Mellin homeworld, is it?"
"No," Lax said. "Now we have three worlds with Mellin and three with Rabbits."
"Who's doing this?"
"They've been on those worlds a very long time."
Judy called Eshu from Lax's pad.
"You're here on the planet."
"Yes."
"I'm sending you a video."
Judy checked on the eclipse.
"I'll be over there in a little while."
As they flew back to the ship Eshu was unusually quiet. Joan thought that she'd grown to know her lover quite well. He wasn't the type of person to make small talk, but if there was something important or something he was interested in he would hesitate to state his opinion. Now she though she knew what was occupying him. When they got back to their garden she sat on the couch and patted the spot beside her.
"Eshu, what did you think of Lax's video?" Joan asked and put an arm around him. "But if you don't want to talk about it I'll understand."
He looked at her and then pulled her into his lap.
"Now there are two other worlds with Mellin and they live lives without …"
"Being treated like …"
"Food!"
"Eshu," she said and looked him. "I'm sorry, but I really don't have any answers for you. I can't think of anything that won't sound like a cliché. Do you know that word?"
Picking up his pad he touched the screen. Then he said the word and read. He laid his head against hers and he just held her for a while. Then his stomach rumbled and she laughed.
"Come on. I'm a bit hungry too. Let's get something to eat. And we have to feed the cheetahs too."
"When do the cubs start eating meat?"
"Soon," she said and got up to start fixing supper. "We can start them on meat broth and see how it goes."
Through supper he was still a bit quiet. Afterward they washed the dishes and prepare the 'meat' for the Cheetahs. It wasn't real meat, but according to Catherine was exact the same only grown for the predators by the ship's automated systems. According to Nick it tasted exact like what he'd eaten on their honeymoon and on Earth. Joan hadn't tried it herself, but she guessed she might try grilling some of it.
Joan hadn't needed to sequester the male cheetah from the females and their cubs. Unlike some other large felines male Cheetahs tolerated the cubs even before hundreds of years of selective breeding and gene manipulation. They hand fed them daily and this time let the cubs lick their fingers.
"It's interesting that any of the cubs will feed from either female."
They could only tell which cub was born to which female from the microchips that had been embedded in all the cheetahs just after birth.
"Even wild cheetahs do this."
All the cubs now were crawling onto Eshu and nibbling on him. She smiled as their small teeth pricked his skin.
"I guess I'm dessert."
After playing with them for a while they went for a walk. They spread out a blanket and then sat to look at the 'Moon' and 'stars.'
"So what did you think of the eclipse?" Eshu asked and pulled his mate closer.
Joan loved the feel of his soft fur against her skin. He licked the back of her neck and she giggled.
"I saw one on Earth once, but it lasted only a few minutes," she said and felt him nibble on her ear. "But three hours!"
"The gas giant is much larger than Luna," he said and gently bit her neck.
Joan gasped.
"Are you becoming a predator?"
"You do taste good," he said and she giggled. "Would you be my prey?"
"Yes, always!"
He chuckled and he helped her remove her clothes. Then he let a hand roam over her body. She sighed.
"You enjoy my touch."
"Yes."
"Do you want to make love?"
She laughed.
"I like it that you always ask me."
"I'm a polite predator."
She giggled.
His hand touched her sex and he saw her bite her lip. Then he kissed her and then gently slipped inside her. She gasped and he licked her throat. Then there was all that seemingly furless flesh. She did have a fine fur over her entire body, but it was like it wasn't there at all. He enjoyed the feeling as his pads as he touched her. He was always careful with her when they made love. She was more delicate than a Mellin female and he had to restrain himself. But he'd found it much more satisfying to make love slowly and she always enjoyed it. It had been a new experience for him to give her as much pleasure as he felt. He guessed that's what the concept of love meant was to please you partner more than you did yourself.
Joan felt him enter her and gasped. His body temperature was higher than a human's and his fur was touching her body in hundreds of places. The first few times they'd made love she had to urge to take his time. He learned quickly and now was always so gentle with her. He was just so much different from a man, but that was part of what excided her. He turned her head and his mouth was on hers again. Then his mouth was on her throat and his fur tickled. She felt herself shutter and internal muscles squeezed him. He moaned, but kept up his steady pace. He was wonderful lover!
Eshu felt her body tense and then she shook. He was happy that he could give her pleasure. That was something he could never do for the Mellin females. He hadn't felt the same for them what he did now for Joan. He continued for a while and felt her shuddered again. Even he couldn't make love for an infinite time although his stamina was greater than hers. He tensed and then felt her cry out and then he climaxed.
Joan felt herself shutter again and wondered how long her could make love to her. Later she felt him tense and unconsciously she cried out.
"Eshu!"
Then she felt his warmth spread within her. She opened her eyes and his red eyes glinted as he looked down at her. She reached up and stoked his face.
"I love you," she said and smiled.
"As do I."
He still lay with her enjoying their closeness. Then he rolled over and pulled her atop him. Her ran his hands down her back and patted her bottom. It was so odd not to find a tail. He felt her giggle.
"I have another question for you."
"What?"
"If we could have a child together, would you?"
She turned to look at him surprised and then smiled. She kissed him.
"Yes, my love."
"Then I think we must have a more permanent bond."
"Marriage!"
"Yes," he said and smiled. "Joan, would you be my wife?"
"Yes, of course, but how we could have a child?"
Obgu, Suas, and Eshu walked through the woods toward a small town.
"I still think it would've have been simpler to just have met our brothers on their space station," Obgu said in the native language.
"Judy's idea to get to know them first is a good one," Eshu said and put a hand on Obgu's shoulder. "When we met you at least you knew there was other intelligent life and of course the war was ongoing."
"Captain, it was quite a surprise when we discovered the radio signals from the Rabbits," Suas said and shrugged. "In this instance I think the Admiral was correct."
Obgu signed.
"At least the language isn't that different from ours," Obgu said and looked at Eshu. "How did you pick it up so fast? You sound all most like a native speaker."
"I knew the old language and I'd learned your language so picking up this language wasn't that hard," he lied which was something new for him.
Where it had taken them several weeks to learn the language with his new nanofibers he'd accomplished it in only a few days. The download from the AI into his mind only took an hour, but actually learning to speak the language correctly took a few days even with the help of Leader Lax's ship's AI. This was something he really wanted to do. He missed Joan, but she had her duties on the Zootopia III and they gone on to search other stars. His thoughts were interrupted by a noise ahead of them.
A female Mellin burst out of the forest into the clearing they were crossing. She slowed a bit when she saw them, looked behind her, and then ran toward them. They stopped and waited.
"Run!" she yelled and then something large and furry followed her into the clearing.
It stopped, growled, and charged.
"Weapons!" Obgu yelled.
Oran ran passed the males and saw they weren't moving. Fools, she thought. She ran for a few more seconds and heard a loud chatter. She spared a second to look behind her and three males were still alive. The Tirizar was lying face down and not moving! She stopped and watched for a few seconds. The males moved forward and one of them raised a weapon and fired again. She saw the Tirizar's body shake as the bullets hit it. One of the males stopped and started to walk back toward her. He was the largest of the three and carried a rifle. She waited until he reached her.
"Are you injured?"
She looked at the rifle.
"No."
"I am Obgu," he said looking her over. "Are you positive that you aren't injured? One of my companions is a doctor and he can examine you."
"The Tirizar never got close to me or I'd be worse than injured," she said looking at him closely. "I'm Risa."
He looked different in a way she couldn't put a finger on and spoke a bit oddly too, she thought. The others too came up and stood beside him. Obgu and one other male looked similar and third one was shorter and was different from either of them. He looked at her directly in the eye just like he was accessing her. His red eyes bore into her and she couldn't look away.
"I am Eshu," he said and touched her arm. "Did the Tirizar injure you?"
She noticed his friends turn and stare at him.
"No," she said. "You're the doctor?"
"Yes," he said. "I would like to exam you?"
She looked at him for a moment and then smiled.
"If you feel it's necessary."
She watched him swing his backpack off his shoulders and then pulled out a blanket. He laid it on the ground and indicated that she should lie down. She complied and he quickly and professionally examined her. She started to rise and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Wait," he said and removed a pad computer and connected it to a corner of the blanket. "Please do not move." He tapped the pad and she felt a slight vibration from the blanket as it went rigid. She closed her eyes and she counted to twenty. "Examination complete. You may sit up." He tapped on the pad and looked at her. "There are no injuries and are in good health." He reached back into his backpack, pulled out a bottle, and handed it to her. "You're a bit dehydrated. Please drink this." She looked at it and yellow liquid it contained. "This liquid contains a restorative and you'll find the taste interesting." She opened it and took a small sip. Then she took a larger one. He smiled. "You like it?" She nodded and he looked back to his pad. "So you are a quite muscular for a female." She wasn't offended, but it wasn't something she usually heard from a male. "You are 24.3 years old, 6 feet 2 inches tall, and weigh 287 pounds. All your in internal organs are functioning within normal parameters, you've never been pregnant nor mated, and you will begin your estrus cycle in 16 days."
She felt her ears grow warm and stared at him.
"That blanket is a monitoring device."
"This computer only reads its output and produced a diagnosis if a disease, injury, or malfunction with the body is present. It can even make repairs to a body if necessary."
"Who are you?"
"We are Mellin just like you," Obgu said.
"Not just like me," she said. "I'm a biologist. I was here to study the Tirizar. Even you three aren't the same."
Eshu studied her and then smiled.
"We all Mellin, but only difference is our peoples have been separated by a great span of time," Eshu said. "My people have been separated from Obgu's by about 10,000 years and yours by 15,000."
"Eshu should you …" Suas began.
"She's already figured it out," Eshu interrupted. "If she wasn't a biologist we would have just been different and probably have explained it away. But I see no sense in attempting to lie to her."
"So you're not from our world."
"There were two other worlds."
"Were?"
"Mine was destroyed by an asteroid strike."
She looked at Obgu and Suas.
"Our world is more advanced technologically than yours," Obgu said. "We did study your world to learn your language and culture. But we as a species are not all so different on our outlook of things. We've come to contact your people on an individual basis."
"So you wanted to meet us as equals."
"Yes, but we had help," Obgu said and winked. "There are other species in the universe."
"How many?"
"In this galaxy … Eshu?"
"We've found 52 so far."
Eshu tapped on his pad and brought up a series pictures of all the races. He handed it to Risa and showed her how to step through the pictures. She sat on the blanket and Eshu sat beside her. Her tail thumped the ground several times as she viewed them.
"Some of the pictures disturb you?" he asked and she stepped back a few pictures. "That is a Ris."
"They are predators."
"Yes."
"They eat meat."
"Of course."
"And they aren't aggressive toward you."
"No," he said. "Let me tell you of my people."
As he told the story of his world Risa began to look ill, but as the story finished with their rescue and the marooning of their predators she looked angry.
"I would have destroyed them all."
"At first I thought much the same thing, but leaving them on that planet and having them now do everything for themselves is a much better punishment."
She laughed and hugged him.
Eshu guided the fifty guests to the mess hall of the Mellin ship. Leader Lax thought it more prudent to introduce them to the Alliance on a ship which was crewed mostly by their own species.
"Risa, what do your people think of us so far?" Eshu asked and raised an eyebrow. "I hope you didn't think I meant the people from your world are any different from the rest us."
She rolled her eyes and chuckled.
"I doubt you'd know how to offend anyone," she said and received nods of approval several of the others. "Of course not everyone on this ship is even Mellin."
"Most Alliance ships now have mixed species crews."
"I think everyone has enjoyed themselves so far."
"Does everyone want to go to the Mellin homeworld?"
"Yes, but I think most everyone knows others who like to come along too."
"That's not up to me," Eshu said, "and this ship is scheduled to leave tomorrow. Maybe after formal contact is made larger groups could be taken."
The shuttle set down in the Mellin capital city and the visitors were first taken rural guest house outside it. After a few hours rest and a meal the Mellin leader and other government officials came to see them. Interesting enough one of the visitors was distantly related to the Leader of their world and promised to introduce them when formal relations were established. The first two days they were taken into the city for tours cultural sites and museums. On this tour they did get to meet some average citizens.
Next they were taken into the countryside to visit farms and relax. Risa woke to the smell of breakfast. She washed and brushed her fur and then went to find Eshu. She found him cooking.
"Have a seat and it'll be ready in a minute," she said and smiled at her. "Go ahead and start on those greens."
The farmer's wife handed her a bowl with mixed greens.
"Thank you," she said in her language. They looked at her blankly. "Sorry, thank you." These were a few of the words Eshu had taught her over the last week. "Eshu, it's frustrating not being able to speak the language."
"Where's your translator?"
"In my room," she said and left for a moment.
"This is done," he said and turned around with frying pan. "Would you like to try some?"
"It smells good," she said and inhaling deeply. "The plant comes from the human worlds and we grow them on the Zootopia III. They're called potatoes."
He put one piece on everyone's plate. Once they tried them he had to fry another batch.
"Where did you learn to cook?"
"We were forced to make our own food, but my mate taught me how to cook these."
"As much as you told me about her I am looking forward to meeting her."
"You'll have a lot in common since you work in basically in the same field," he said and smiled. "She works with predators and sometimes she brings her work home with her." Risa raised an eyebrow. "Trust me. It'll be interesting."
The final day they were shown the heavy industries that all had been moved into space. They were even given a chance to pilot some of the new small private spacecraft that started being built since the end of the war. At the end of that day they boarded Captain Obgu's ship for the trip to the Zootopia III.
"Entering normal space," the navigator reported.
"Receiving standard hail," the communication said. "Captain, the Admiral wishes to speak to you."
"Please put her on the main screen," he said sitting straighter in his chair and her face appeared.
"Captain Obgu, you made it right on time," she said and smiled. "No problems?"
"No ma'am," he said and return her smile. "Admiral Wilde we've brought you fifty guests."
"Please let them have a look at the flagship and let us know when you are ready to dock. We'll meet you when you arrive."
The passengers were ushered into the observation deck and ship did an orbit of the Zootopia III. Captain Obgu connected to the audio pickup from that room and listened to the comments and exclamations. He smiled. When his ship passed through the massive doors and into docking bay he had to chuckle. There were a few complaints from the passengers about having to go through decontamination again, but they had no choice. He heard them sigh with relief when the last set of doors opened.
"Eshu!"
A moment later his wife was in his arms and her mouth was on his. When their kiss ended she pulled back to look at him.
"I missed you so much!"
"As did I," he said and only then did she notice a female Mellin standing beside him. "Joan, this is Risa. We met on her world and have been working together."
"Eshu has told me a lot about you," she said and smiled. "We even work in the same field. I'm a biologist and would like to see the predators you work with."
Joan smiled and put her arm in his.
"Nice to meet you too," she said. "How'd you meet?"
"They killed a Tirizar that was chasing me," she said and put a hand on his arm. "Then we went back to their ship and to the Mellin world. We spend a week there and I'm looking forward to seeing your garden. He tells me it's based on you homeworld."
A crowd of friends and fellow Mellin had gathered around them.
"It sounds like you've had an exciting time," Nick said and put a hand on Eshu's shoulder. "And looks like you found an interesting companion too." He extended a hand to Risa. "Nick Wilde, I'm Captain of the Zootopia III and this is Fleet Admiral Judith Wilde, commander of the Alliance fleet."
Risa took his hand and then the other. She apprised the pair.
"You are a Rabbit," she stated looking at Judy.
"Yes."
"You're a bit taller and heavier built than the ones I've met," she said and stepped a bit closer. "May I touch you?"
The Admiral heard her marines move and held up a hand.
"Yes," she responded and her ears came up.
Risa's eyes flicked up and she smiled.
"Ears like that must have been helpful to your ancestors for detecting predators," she said reaching up and gently running a hand over an ear. "My work recently has been mainly with predators." She looked at Nick and smiled. "And you're a predator."
"Yes," he said returning the smile.
"I haven't seen any information on your species."
"Currently I am unique."
Risa raised an eyebrow.
"And you have Rabbit for a mate," she said and rubbed her chin. "I'm a bit surprised."
"You're not the first one!"
Then her eyes widened.
"You're speaking our language!"
While Risa was occupied Joan pulled her mate away from the crowd and Eshu cocked his head and looked at her questioningly. Then he pulled her into him arms and kissed her. Not that Joan minded, but she really needed to speak to him alone.
"I want make love to you," he whispered and smiled.
She giggled.
"Me too."
"We should really wait until we get back to the garden."
She swatted him and smiled.
"You didn't mention her in your message."
"I wanted to surprise you," he said and still holding her close. "I thought you'd like the company of another female with similar interests."
You being one of them, she thought. Couldn't he see it! She hated being jealous. He might have mated with every female on his planet, but when it came to relationships he was a virgin.
"And where are they going to be staying?"
"In the Mellin garden, but since Risa was interested in you and your work I thought she could stay with us."
She couldn't get mad at him since he was new at this. To him everyone was an open book without any ulterior motives. Then she would have to be blunt.
"Eshu, Risa likes you."
"And I like her."
"No, she likes you as a male."
He frowned.
"I told her that you are my mate."
"Eshu, I don't think she really cares."
The frown returned.
"I should speak to her."
"Let's both speak to her."
They let Risa enter the Earth garden first and she stopped in awe. For once she was completely silent for a full minute and then looked back them.
"This is what Earth looks like."
"Only a part of one continent near where I lived."
"There are a few places on my world like this too."
"Come let's go to our house."
As they walked Risa walked on the other side of Eshu. Joan watched her, but she never touched him or moved any closer. Then Joan saw the male Cheetah trotting toward them.
"Now you'll meet your first Earth predator."
They stopped and Joan bent to greet the big cat. His purr began as soon as she touched him. He licked her face and then her throat. Then he lay in her lap and had his belly rubbed.
"Is it tame?"
"There are prey animals here in the garden and he and the females hunt for themselves sometimes," she said and noticed that she was standing closer to Eshu. "The females have recently had cubs so I am keeping them near the house. Come over and get to know him."
Both she and Eshu sat and the male sniffed them both. Then he licked Risa's hand and rubbed his face under her jaw. Tentatively she stoked the golden spotted fur and his purr began again. She looked at Eshu and he smiled.
"He's a contented Cheetah."
When they got to the house the male followed them in, hopped on the couch, yawned, and fell asleep. Lisa looked a Eshu and raised an eyebrow.
"I told you she brings her work home sometimes," he said and shrugged. "Sometimes he even sleeps with us." He chuckled at her expression. "Sometimes they all do. Well at least before the females had their cubs. I told you it'd be interesting."
"Eshu, thank you for bringing me here. I'm sure I can help you and Joan with your work."
"Sound like you intend to stay a while."
"I would like to since I'm alone and really no ties back home to speak of."
"Why are you really here?"
"I told the truth when I said I wanted to work with you both," she said and put her hand on his. "I want to become Eshu's mate."
"But!"
"Joan," he said in commanding voice. She stared at him. He'd never raised his voice to her. "Getting angry won't help."
"I misspoke and should've said his second mate."
"Do you love him?" she asked surprising herself by using a calm voice.
"He is a strong male and I enjoy talking and being with him," she said.
Eshu pulled Joan into his lap.
"Joan, this reminds me what happened after we were rescued. Even after we we're together I still mated with Mellin females."
"That was because there were so few of you."
"True."
He put his hand on her belly.
"And you are pregnant with our child."
Joan touched his face and smiled.
"Yes."
Risa's eyes widened, but she said nothing.
"Since our child will be a hybrid Risa and I will both be here to help you. Also, she will soon begin her estrus and our child will then have siblings."
"You make sound so logical."
He smiled.
Actually Joan was surprised how well Risa had had fit in with them. She never got between them when they wanted to be alone. When she'd gone into estrus a few days after she moved in she apologized profusely. Joan had hugged the female Mellin and told her that she understood. It was a natural process that she had no control over. Eshu had told her that Risa had never mated and he wanted her first time to be special. She hugged her mate and then kissed him. She felt a few pangs of jealousy as she watched them holding hands and walk in the forest near their house, but tamped them down. It wasn't like they were going behind her back.
As their pregnancies developed over the next few months she and Risa got to know each other quite well. Risa did help them with their work as doctors picking up things quite rapidly. She became their unofficial nurse. When they dealt with animals she and Joan work together as equals. James, now Catherine's husband, came to check up on her frequently as her time neared. Since Mellin had a much shorter pregnancy than humans Joan's internal AI determine that she would deliver 182 days after conception. In that time she had no problems or complications with continuing help of her AI and nanofibers. Risa would deliver her kits soon after.
"How do you feel?"
"Perfectly fine!" she said after Eshu asked for the fourth time. "My water has broke and here's no pain. Hold the mirror up. OK, just a bit to the right. Perfect! I'm almost completely dilated."
"Delivery should begin soon," James said and smiled.
Five minutes later the first the Human/Mellin hybrid was delivered. He was quickly cleaned and was put to a breast where he suckled happily. As with Judy within an hour there was no evidence that she'd ever been pregnant as her body was return to a pristine state. Half an hour later she was up and showing her child to friends and family.
"He looks like his father," Judy said holding the newborn that was searching for a nipple.
They looked at James and Eshu.
"Your both mammals and rabbit milk is just as nutritious maybe more so," James said.
Judy sat, pulled up her top, and put the kit to her nipple. She smiled and Nick put a hand on her shoulder. She delivered her second set of six kits the previous week. Then she saw Nick go to speak to Catherine.
At that same time probe 12784 was 4326 light years away examining an ordinary red dwarf star. It had stayed in this system longer than expected since this only the sixtieth red dwarf found in the Lesser Magellanic Cloud found to harbor life. But it was unique because that life was sentient and sapient. The AI knew that first contact mission would soon be sent. Its mission completed here it powered up and moved out of the plane of ecliptic to jump to its next destination. As it powered up its engines it received several unrelated transmissions. The signals were quite strong and must be coming from within a few light years. It could see how this was possible since there was no other star with fifty light years. It considered a ship, but the transmissions were so varied. The AI concluded that it must be coming from a planet.
Probe 12784 jumped five light years in the line of the transmission and there weren't any. So it returned to the origin point and the transmissions were still present. It repeated this until at two light years the transmissions remained. Then it started again to jump, but at one tenth light year increments. At 2.7 light years of the origin point it found a disk and it was full of stars! Probe 12784 jumped in a pattern to determine its size. When it jumped behind the disk there were no transmissions or stars. It jumped back to the others side of the disk being care not to jump through what it had determined to be its limits. Then it moved close to the event horizon and sent through a small probe. It passed thru and then returned. Probe 12784 examined it and found no problems. It then repeated the procedure five times all with the same result.
Probe 12784 reported all of it findings to the Zootopia III and slowly crossed the event horizon. It examined all of its systems and could find no faults. Then it tested its jump engines by jumping one tenth of a light year toward source of the transmissions. When it returned to normal space and it rechecked all its systems and again found no faults. Then internal programming took over. This was a new star system and needed to be examined. It jumped into the system within the Goldilocks zone above the star and found the system has only the one yellow dwarf star and 11 planets – two of which were habitable. The transmissions were originating from the fifth planet and began to examine them closely. One was transmissions was a Thompson's Gazelle speaking to a cheering crowd. Probe 12784 watched as the speech ended and the Gazelle began to sing.
The Zootopia III's AI received the report from Probe 12784 and analyzed the data. It noted that Probe 12784 was no longer sending the 'I'm Alive' message. It looked to contact the Admiral and found Catherine was with her. Transferring the data to the AI would be far simpler so she contacted the Fox. For a picosecond contemplated having a organic body and reviewed the data on other AIs who had done just that. It sounded interesting. She transferred the data.
Catherine stood motionless of a moment and then looked at Judy. She was busy feeding the hybrid kit. So she motioned to Nick and gave him the information. He smiled and kissed her on the lips. Catherine was a bit surprised.
"Everybody," he began and conversations died. "Probe 12784 has found Zootopia and …"
He waited enjoying the expectant looks on everyone's faces.
"Nick?" Judy said standing.
"It's in a different universe."