Disclaimer: I do not own Zootopia or any of its characters, they all belong to Disney. M for sexual themes.
A Honeymoon in Africa
Chapter 2
Doctor Liles cracked open the door and peeked through at the room full of the reporters. More than usual for their regular quarterly press conference, he thought, but announcing the discovery of a new species of cheetah would and apparently did tend make a difference. He smiled and turned back to his staff and the three waiting Cheetahs.
"You sure you really want to do this?" he asked and all three Cheetahs chuckled.
"Of course," Ben said and grinned. "It'll be interesting to see how long it takes them to catch on."
"We certainly can act like animals," Joe said and then smiled at his older brother who returned it.
"Idiots!" Sarah said, rolling her eyes, and then cuffed both of them.
The humans laughed.
"Ok then, let's do it," the Doctor said and opened the door. He walked to the podium and set down his notes. "Ladies and gentlemen thank you for coming. As we have reported on our website we have discovered a new species of Cheetah. We will let you see them momentarily, but first I assume you all have many questions."
Every reporter's hand shot up and Doctor Liles picked a woman in the middle of the front row. She stood.
"Anne Jones, Times, after all this time how is that possible!?" she asked and Liles smiled, anticipating that this would most likely be the first question asked.
"As you may remember there had been some very bad storms several weeks ago," he began. "About 50 miles from here there was a landslide and it opened onto a new... ah... place." He smiled. "One of these Cheetahs came through and found his way to the farm of Mark Lang who you'll meet a bit later. He called me and we were led back to this place where we found more of these Cheetahs."
"The cheetah led you back!" Anne exclaimed.
"Yes."
"Didn't you think that was unusual?"
"Yes, but at the time we just wanted to see where he came from," he said and shrugged. "The other thing is this new species is extremely human tolerant."
"That seems...," another reporter began.
"Hard to believe," Liles continued and then smiled. "Well then we'll just let you judge for yourselves." The door reopened and Lang and several of the doctor's staff entered followed by the three Cheetahs. All three felines sat, facing the reporters. He came from behind the podium and placed a hand on each one as he said their names. "Ben, Mike, and Sarah."
"And their wild," Anne said.
"Ben had never seen a human before me," Lang said and shrugged. "I fed him a steak and he was quite happy."
"They are larger," another reporter stated.
"Heavier and faster too," Liles said. "We've clocked Joe at ninety miles per hour. For comparison let's bring in one of our ambassador cheetahs." Another of the staff led in another cheetah on a harness and she sat beside Ben and leaned against him. Then her purr started and several of the reporters chuckled. "Apparently Dawn can't tell the difference or at least doesn't care." The reporters laughed.
"You don't have Ben or the other two on leashes," the female reporter said.
"As I said they are extremely human tolerant," the Doctor said.
"I could touch any of them?"
Joe rose to all fours and trotted over to her. He sat and golden eyes met Anne's blue ones. Then she tentatively reached over and scratched behind one ear. He leaned into her hand and she slid to the floor and sat on her legs. Then Joe lay across her lap and she continued her caresses. Then his purr began and the reporter smiled. For a few minutes she continued and everyone else only watched. She felt the soft fur and powerful muscles. Then she looked at Doctor Liles and smiled.
"As I remember you have an adoption program," she said and everyone laughed.
Then between Joe's purrs she felt a difference vibration like he was laughing too. Of course that was impossible.
The bus pulled up at the end of a newly built gravel road and stopped near a large hole. Then the reporters, staff, and Cheetahs filed out and walked toward the waiting jeeps. Joe followed the Anne and sat beside her when they stopped. She patted his head and of course his purred began.
"Each of the Jeeps can take four plus the driver," Liles said and climb aboard the nearest one. "It will take several trips to get everyone now there."
"Who owns this land?" Anne asked.
"The center bought it last week with a few recent donations," Liles said and grinned.
Anne climbed into the back of a Jeep and Joe followed and sat beside her. One of the other female reporters sat on the other side of them and experimentally felt his fur. His purr began again and she looked at Anne and winked.
"I petted a leopard once and it felt a lot like this," she said and the cheetah leaned against Anne. "Maybe you should adopt him."
Anne laughed and then the Jeep began to move. Twenty minutes later the group was reassembled.
The reporters looked around at other animals in the distance as the three Cheetahs walked among them. They rubbed against the humans and in turn received tentative caresses in return. Anne raised her hand.
"It looks different," she said and then pointed up through the hole. "The sunlight looks different and so does the land and plants." Other reports nodded in agreement. "I still don't understand how wild cheetahs can be so friendly."
"Because we aren't so wild," came a new voice from beside her.
She looked down at Joe and it seemed as if he was smiling. Then she heard his hips pop and he stood. She took a step back and looked up into golden eyes.
"I'm Joe Clawhauser," he said and watched her jaw drop, "and that's my brother Ben and sister Sarah." He indicated each of them in turn. "Welcome to our version of Earth."
The town itself wasn't very large and kind of looked like any other in South Africa except all the animals wore clothes and stood upright, Anne thought as they walked. Some animals looked at her and the other humans, but tried their best not to seem like they were while others stared openly. A few even following them around. Anne looked at Joe and he winked.
"We did tell everyone you were coming and it looks like you humans have become quite the center of attention."
"You three were same at the center."
"But then again we were only animals," he said and winked. "What would happen if you took me to one of your cities and I walked upright and wore clothes?"
"I see your point," she said and looked at him up and down. "Not that you wear much anyway."
"I didn't hear any complaints when I wore nothing at all," he said and saw her blush. "You do have wonderful hands."
"I heard your purr," she said and then quickly changed the subject. "Your version of South Africa is quite different."
"We wondered just how long it would take for you reporters to catch on," he said and grinned.
She rolled eyes and then smiled.
"Is your world like ours?"
"More or less just no humans."
"I knew that!" she said and playfully swatted him. "I meant the planet itself."
"Doctor Liles did show us some maps and it looks pretty close to me," he said and rubbed his jaw. "The continents looked more or less the same, but we have some islands you don't and vice versa and some are bigger and others smaller. We do have some animals you don't have now, but did in the past."
"Such as?" she asked and he took out his smart phone and after a minute handed to her. "That's a..."
"Would you like to meet her?" he asked and Anne looked at the picture for a long moment.
"Yes!"
They walked into the grocery store followed by a few of the other reporters and a few seconds later a very large Lemur came out of the backroom carried two large boxes - one under each arm. Then she looked at them and set the boxes on the counter.
"So you weren't just telling everyone a story," she said, stepping closer, and a few reporters took a step back.
"You're a Lemur," Anne stated and put out a hand.
"Yes," she said and smiled. "I'm Rebecca."
She shook the woman's hand.
"You're a lot larger than any of the Lemurs we have a home," she said and several other nodded in agreement. "I remember reading that in the past there were lemurs as large as or larger than a human."
"I wonder what happened," she said and then looked at Joe.
"I see that Cheetah tricked you into coming here."
"He purred," she said and the Lemur laughed.
"That purr and those golden eyes is all it usually takes," she said and both females smiled.
Joe rolled his eyes.
"Anyway, it's good to see you too," Joe said.
Rebecca smiled and then looked the group.
"Is anyone hungry?"
Later that afternoon the world government had arranged a town hall meeting with their human visitors. Any Animal from around the world could call in, text, or email a question. It would be broadcast on television and radio and streamed on their world's version of the internet. Since there were twenty-three reporters, Doctor Liles, Mark Lang, and three staff members from cheetah breeding center they drew lots on who would answer questions in what order for the two hour long meeting. Anne had chosen the paper with the number six.
Before questions were taken Doctor Liles described and showed pictures of their Earth and explained about humans and the animals that lived there. Then Mark told the about his family's meeting Ben and Maria. Next Animal reporters asked questions of their human colleagues. After that the first questions were answered from the audience. They were rather mundane such as how do you like it here, how are we different from the animals on your Earth, can we visit your planet, etc. The sixth question was somewhat different.
"I've seen videos of you and Joe online walking around the town together," the caller began and Anne smiled. "Do you like him?"
She looked at him.
"Yes, of course," she said and he smiled too.
"I mean as a male," the caller said and Anne looked at the floor.
"No," she said automatically and hesitated for a moment. Then she blew out a breath. "That's not true I actually have."
"Really," Joe said somewhat surprised.
"Yes," she said and began to blush.
"We just met today."
"Just how long does it take?" she said and smiled.
"Apparently not as long as I thought," he said and chuckled.
Then she stood, went to him, looked into his eye, and laid her head on his chest. His arms went around her and his purr began.
"Look what they've been writing about us," Joe said and handed her his smartphone. As she read and scrolled down she began to blush. "It's a bit embarrassing."
"A bit!" she exclaimed. "They make it sound like we've been..."
"Lovers ever since we met."
"Oh my God!" she said as she continued to scroll. "They even written fictional stories about us!" Joe bit his tongue not to chuckle and she looked at him. "You think this is funny!"
"I wonder what people will say when you go back home," he said and shrugged. "I'm sure that some of the other Animals have showed this to other human reporters by now."
"Oh my God!" she said again and covered her face with her hands. "And we're alone in your hotel room!"
"I hadn't even thought about that," he said and winced.
"Right," she said string out the word.
She glared at him for a few seconds and then smiled.
"Although you're such a handsome Cheetah," she said and hugged him. "Maybe..."
"As you said we just met today."
Then she met his eyes, reached up, and caressed his face.
Of course it hadn't been love at first sight, but she did find him quite interesting. They'd talked for a while, then went out walk around the town a bit more, and later went for dinner. She did find it surprising that for the most part the food was mostly vegetarian. They did have fish, chicken, and turkey on the menu, but of course no red meat. Without thinking she'd asked him and he'd reminded her that here all the animals were intelligent. Then she thumped her forehead and he only grinned and winked.
"Ben did tell me about the steak that Mr. Lang had cooked for him and he was thoughtful enough to bring some along for us before the meeting."
"What'd you think?"
"Oh God, it was better than anything I'd ever tasted!" he said and she laughed. "It oughta be a big hit with us preds!"
"I wouldn't doubt it," she said and then took another bite of her salad.
"So how do you like the food?" he asked and dipped his chicken in barbeque sauce.
"Everything tastes great!" she said and speared a piece of grilled squash. "This is wonderful and I love these different dipping sauces."
"We've become quite good with vegetables over the last thousand years."
"So what happened back then?"
"Now that's a long story."
She read the passage on his smart phone and then looked at him.
"So he came here too!"
"Yes, and he taught predators and prey to live in peace."
"That's incredible!" she exclaimed and then looked thoughtful. "I wonder what people will think of this back home?"
"I guess some'll believe and others won't."
"Can't argue with that," she said and chuckled. Then she returned his smart phone.
"Would you like a copy of his story?" he said and pointed down the street. "I noticed a bookstore down that way a couple of days ago."
"I think I would," she said and put a arm around her.
They were returning the next day, but she stayed up, reading the book until 4am. It still amazed her that the Animals spoke English which they called Zootopian and even used Roman letters. She woke to a knock on the door and then looked at the alarm clock: 9:23am. She'd forgotten to set it and had promised to meet Joe at 9am. Quickly getting out of bed and putting on a robe she opened the door.
"Sorry, I overslept!" she said and he smiled.
"No problem."
"Come on in and I'll take a quick shower and get dressed."
"OK," he said and stepped in and shut the door.
When she stepped out of the bathroom he was lying on the bed with his eyes closed. She smiled and sat on the edge of the bed. He was beautiful and she touched his face.
"Are you awake?"
"Yes," he said, but his eyes stayed closed. "That feels nice." She let her hands wonder and his purr began. "That feels nice too."
"I can tell," she said and he smiled.
She felt his arms go around her and gently pull her atop him. Then his hands began to wonder too.
"This feels nice too," he said and she giggled. "There's something missing."
"Which is?"
"I keep expecting to find tail here," he said as she felt one of his hands slide down to her lower back.
She buried her face in his furry chest and laughed.
Anne almost expected the South African Army to be waiting for them, but there were only a few people from the Cheetah Breeding Center with a few buses. Also a couple of dozen new Animals of varying species had joined them.
"Ben! Joe!" a Fox shouted and they turned.
They turned and soon two Foxes and Rabbit caught up to them.
"I see you made it," Ben said and smiled. "This is Nick and Judy Wilde and Catherine Wilde, mayor of Zootopia."
"And soon to be President of our Federation government," Nick said, sounding proud of his mother.
"And they let you come!?" Anne said.
"Who better to speak to your politicians," she said and smiled.
"Oh you'll have a lot of fun talking to them."
"Of course I have an advantage," she said and grinned. "None of them have ever dealt with a vixen."
Anne chuckled.
As they rode back Anne interviewed Catherine along with every other reporter on the bus. As they pulled into the compound the first TV truck pulled up behind them.
"Madam President, I think your moment in the spotlight has arrived," Nick said and smiled.
"Remember you're not too old that I can't put you over my knee," she said and Nick looked a bit worried. Judy snickered.
Catherine stood and stepped toward the door and her bodyguards quickly followed.
"Mom, you think this is a good idea," he said as a reporter and a person carrying a camera hurried toward the bus.
They stopped short as they caught sight of the Animals stepping off the bus.
"You're a Fox!" the reporter exclaimed.
Catherine stared at the woman for a moment and then glanced back over her shoulder.
"Uh oh," Nick said.
"No, I'm an alien from another planet," she said and smiled, showing all her impressive dentition. "Please take me to your leader!"
Catherine's TV interview went worldwide within the first ten minutes and the first officials of the South African government arrived twenty minutes later – namely the local game wardens. Doctor Liles met them at the front gate.
"Chief," he said and smiled. "Something I can do for you?"
"I was at home for lunch and they cut in on the TV."
"So you came for a visit and brought some friends."
"I saw the animals..."
"Have you heard from your superiors?"
"No."
"Well then," he said and smiled again. "Why don't come and have a talk with some of them."
"Talk."
"They do all speak English," he said, opened the gate, and then he got into their Land Drover. "Please park in front of the main building as usual."
He led them inside to the auditorium.
Chief Game Warden Jones watched for a minute as the Fox continued to answer questions from several reporters. Then Doctor Liles touched his arm, directing him and his men to the back of the room where the rest of the Animals waited. Most of them were African animals – Hyena, cheetahs, gazelles, and even a springbuck, but there were others that weren't – puma, grey wolf, elk, and reindeer. There were a few he couldn't identify – one was the size of a gorilla and another was a large reptile. The door at the back the opened and a human entered followed by animal that simply dwarfed all the others. He'd only seen artist's pictures that what this animal might have looked like in the distant past since it was extinct. Then their eyes met and he unconsciously took a step back. The saber tooth cat smiled and walked toward them. He extended a hand.
"I see you recognize my people."
"Only from pictures," Jones said and took the proffered hand.
"John," the Smilodon said and shook. "So then my kind are extinct here."
Yes," he said and released her hand. "Apparently of the prey went extinct in the last ice age about ten thousand years ago."
"Our world didn't have one at that time."
"Then it makes sense, you're here," he said and chuckled. "Let's talk.
Catherine was about to answer the last question when they heard the sound of helicopters in the distance.
"It does sound like we finished at just the right moment," she said and smiled at the TV reporter, "but to answer your question I do hope to quickly establish trade between our two worlds. We are technologically more advanced and we do produce a surplus of food each year. Now let's go see just who our visitors are."
The vixen stood and started toward the door and soon everyone followed. The Chief Game Warden and his men hurried forward and caught up with her just as they stepped outside.
"Ma'am," he began and glanced at one of helicopters that just flew over them.
"Please call me Catherine."
"I'm Robert, the Chief Game warden in this district," he said and she raised an eyebrow. "Catherine, those are military and that one landing isn't." She stopped and turned to him.
"At least we might not get hauled away by your military just quite yet," Catherine said and smiled. Then she motioned toward the people carrying portable TV cameras to follow.
"I think I can help you with them," he said, took out his pad, and booted it up. He touched the screen several times and then handed it to her. She read over it and then smiled.
The helicopter's rotors spun down and several people exited. The Animals and humans walked forward to meet them.
"Federation President-elect Catherine Anne Clawhauser," she said to the man who she'd guessed was in charge. Then she just saw a hint of surprise on his face and smiled. She extended a hand. "And you are?"
"The President sent me to bring you to the capital."
"With the military," Jones said.
"And you are?"
"It's usually polite to introduce oneself to a visiting foreign dignitary," he said. "I'm the Chief Game Warden of this district, Robert Jones."
"You're not involved."
"Wanta bet," he said and handed his pad to the man. "Read this." As he read three Land Rovers entered the gate and parked at the main building. "By the way I called an old friend."
"But..." he began.
"Only Game Wardens have jurisdiction over animals unless we request the military's help and I'm not," Robert said and Catherine looked at the other man and chuckled.
A dozen men exited and walked toward the group.
"Robert!"
"Your Majesty."
"I've never met a King before," Catherine said and took his hand.
"And I've never met a Vixen before," the Zulu King said.
"Then it's your lucky day," she said and winked. He laughed and patted her arm. Then unconsciously he started to feel her fur. "You have a nice touch." He quickly took his hand away. "Oh and I was just staring to enjoy it." He laughed again and she put an arm around his shoulders. "Let's go talk."
"But the President..." the government man begin.
"I'll just give him a call," the Zulu King said and Catherine steered him back toward the main building.
Her bodyguard and his followed as did everyone else.
"Your mother is really good at this," Judy said.
"Oh Carrots, you have no idea," her Fox said and winked.
"That was a good talk with the President," she said and padded his hand. "Thanks for helping me out.
"I think you'd done perfectly well without me," the Zulu King said and smiled.
"Aren't you the smooth talking one," she said and cocked her head. "You remind me of someone else I know." She looked pointedly at her son and certain Rabbit giggled.
"I can take you to Pretoria tomorrow," the King said and she raised an eyebrow. "I meant all of you."
"Ah," she said. "I guess we'll need to find a hotel then."
"You can stay at my house," he said and again Catherine raised an eyebrow. "I meant all of you."
"Of course you did."
"I think we have enough guest rooms."
"If not, some of us just might have to double up."
The look on his face was just priceless and the vixen laughed.
Anne woke and felt his furry body pressed against hers. She'd quickly learned when you sleep with a Cheetah you certainly didn't need any extra blankets. She reveled in his warmth and then felt him nuzzle her neck.
"So you're awake," she said and then a rough tongue licked her behind the ear. "Do I taste good?"
"Delicious," he said and she laughed.
"So what would you like to do now?"
"First a shower and then breakfast," he said and sat up.
"You're the perfect gentleman or would that be gentlemale?" she asked and smiled.
"I did enjoy sleeping with you," he said and smiled. "It was like when I was a cub, sleeping with Ben and Sarah."
She laughed again.
Breakfast was setup outside on several picnic tables under a large tent since the dining room was not quite large enough for everyone. A mesh fabric hung down from the sides to keep the insects out and the entrance had two layers, acting like an airlock. Various meats and vegetables were provided for the Animals and the usual breakfast fair for the humans.
"This meat tastes wonderful!" John said and took another bite.
"I just hope we don't run out," Nick said and Judy poked him in the side.
"I'm quite sure I could find some more," he said and smiled at the Fox.
He flinched and Judy giggled. A few minutes later another platter was brought in from the grills and set on the predator's table.
"You just got lucky," Judy said and poked him again.
The passenger plane reminded Catherine of something that had been in service when her mother was still a kit. It was certainly large enough for all the Animals and humans. A few of the Animals had to drop to all fours, but they all fit in the seats. They were traveling to one of the South African capitals. She thought it interesting that they had three – Pretoria for the executive branch; Cape Town for the legislative branch; and Bloemfontein for the Judicial branch. Soon the plane began to taxi and lifted off for the two hour flight.
They landed on time and then taxied to a private part of the airport where three buses awaited them. Then they were driven through the city to the executive offices and were shown into a large conference room where a dozen people waited. She immediately recognized the South African President along with several others.
"Mr. President," she said and extended a hand to the man. He looked at her hand and then up at her. "I'm sure you met a vixen before." The man smiled and took her hand.
"Just not one with fur," he said and Catherine laughed.
"As I told someone else recently," she began and looked at the Zulu King, "then today's your lucky day."
Then the President laughed.
"Madam President let me introduce you to some of the members of my government," he said and Catherine recognized them all from what she seen and read on the internet.
The last person was the commander of South African military.
"General," she said and shook the man's hand. "There's someone in our party I think you'll want to meet. This is John Mendez, Commander of all our military forces – land, sea, air, and space."
"Space," the man said unconsciously and looked at the Smilodon.
"I did read that South African has a space agency, John said and the man nodded. "We currently have several bases on the moon and Mars, six space stations in orbit of Earth, two over Mars, one over the moon, and space elevators on all three."
"And we're in the process of terraforming Venus," she said.
"That's a civilian project," John responded.
"Of course, but your ships are escorting the ones bring in the ice," she said and smiled at him.
"That's just a safety precaution only because we don't know what we might find in the Oort cloud."
They looked back at the humans and they all looked stunned.
"I did tell you that we're a bit more technically advanced," she said, turning to the humans, and smiled.
"Then maybe we should them about our first starship," John said and winked.
Their talks lasted until the afternoon of the next day. It had been decided to travel to the portal the next morning.
"Since yesterday my government has been getting requests from other countries to come here and hold talking with your government," the South African President said.
"From my point of view its odd hearing about other countries."
"And from my point of view its odd hearing about a united world."
"It's certainly not perfect," she said and shook her head. "We have crime and disagreements, but almost every Animal has a job and a home. At least for the last thousand years we haven't had a war."
"God, I wish we could say that!"
"I've read about human history," she said and he stared at her. "Doctor Liles gave us access to your internet."
She pointed to the cluster of dishes on a hill nearby. "They're accessing satellites in orbit. Of course we had to buy several dozen of your computers. We currently have some of our computer experts working on it so we'll have direct access from our version of the internet to yours."
"And vice versa?"
"From I've been told that'll be possible."
"We talked about trade..."
"But we left monetary exchange open," she said, "but I spoke to our treasury Animals. You think these would do?" She reached onto a pocket and handed him several coins.
"Gold and silver," he said, looking at the coins.
"Platinum, palladium, rhodium, Iridium, Rhenium, ruthenium, osmium," she said, counting them off on her fingers. "You name it and we have access to it."
"You planet is that rich in metals?!"
"It's much same as yours, but as I said we have access to space," she said and winked.
Over the next few days the portal was being widened by construction crews on both sides. They wanted to see how wide it was and far it extended above and below the ground. On the morning of the second day they discovered its width to be approximately a half a mile when the blade on a bulldozer's blade was sliced off on one side. On the opposite side clearing rock was done a bit more carefully, sacrificing only shovel blade in the process. After the rock above was blasted away the height was determined to be over a quarter of a mile by use of weather balloons. By the lunchtime the second day it was determined to be shaped like this '()' with less than half of it still below the ground.
Then it was decided to build a road down its center and to fly aircraft through in both directions. Both helicopters were landed successfully on either side. Five minutes later the South African President heard a rumbling coming from the Animal's side of portal and then silence. Two minutes later a flying saucer floated through noiselessly. The President looked at Catherine.
"No, we haven't met aliens," she said and smiled, "at least not yet. This is one of our space shuttles." Its legs extended and it settled to the ground. "Wanta have a look?" The President laughed and then they, their security, and their staffs started toward the ship. "We do build these commercially and we also sell them to companies and individuals."
"Really!"
"And we have an easy payment plan too!" she said and he laughed again. "The best part is the fuel."
"Hydrogen?"
"Water," she said and smiled at the expression on his face. "We have a device that cracks water and then the ship burns the hydrogen, using the oxygen as an oxidizer." Two trucks trundled up thought the portal and stopped beside the ship. "They're here to top off its tanks. Mr. President how would you like take a trip into space?" Behind them came a second shuttle through the portal, settling itself beside the first one.
The South African President stared wide-eyed into the darkness of space.
"It's beautiful!" he exclaimed, turning to Catherine.
"I agree," she said. "How are you handling weightlessness?"
"No motion sickness."
"You know where the bags are," she said and smiled. "We haven't got artificial gravity yet, but I know they're working on it. If you don't get sick you might make a good astronaut."
"Really."
"We always looking for good people," she said, "and you can't be President forever."
"God, I hope not!" he said, leaning closer.
Catherine laughed.
"Maybe, I'll look into it after I get leave office too," she said and patted his arm. "Any advice?"
"Listen to your advisors, but make you own decisions."
"That sounds like good advice," she said and nodded her head. "I'll havta keep that in mind."
"We'll rendezvous with International Space Station in thirty-six minutes," the pilot said over the loud speaker.
It began at a bright dot in the distance, but after twenty minutes it resolved itself into its individual modules. Of course they'd been in contact after their ships crossed the Earth's limb and they soon received permission to dock. As soon as they rendezvoused each ship extended its universal docking collar. They contacted the hull around two of the International Space Station's airlocks and magnetically sealed themselves to it. Then inside each collar a flexible rubber inner ring attached itself to the hull, making the collars airtight. Engineers on each ship made sure the seals were one hundred percent and then pressurized them. The inner door was opened and the first group floated out. All the spacesuits were checked to make sure they were airtight and the inner door was closed and immediately thereafter the outer door opened. Their security went first.
"Ready Mr. President?"
"Yes, Madam President," he said and they both laughed.
"Just pull yourself forward with the handholds along the wall," she said and took hold of one in hers side of the tube. "It's only twenty-five feet." They quickly floated to the others waiting at the ISS airlock and they heard and felt the outer airlock close on their ship. "You OK?"
"I feel fine," he said and set his feet on the deck. His magnetic soles locked on to the metal deck as did Catherine's.
The ISS's outer airlock opened and they entered. Then the door shut and almost immediately the inner airlock opened. Their spacesuits automatically checked that the outer air and registered it as breathable. They opened their faceplates.
"Welcome," a man said, floating forward. "I'm the current commander of the ISS, Victor Romanov."
"Catherine Anne Wilde," she said, removing her helmet and smiling at the expression on the man's face. "I'm guessing you weren't expecting to meeting aliens from another world today."
The Commander looked at her for a moment and then laughed. The others began removing their spacesuits too.
"No, not at all."
"This is the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa," she said and the two men shook hands.
"Did the others make it in OK?" she asked just a John floated into the module followed other Animals and members of the ISS crew. Several of the ISS's crew drifted away. "I see they did." The Smilodon stood upright and bumped his head on the ceiling.
"This place was not built for my species!" he announced, rubbing the spot on his head, and everyone laughed.
"The tour was most interesting," Catherine said as they reentered airlock module.
"I agree," Cyril said.
"How would like to come over for dinner?" she asked. "And then you can get a tour of an alien spaceship."
Several of the ISS crew chuckled.
"Sure," he said and looked at his people. They all nodded enthusiastically.
"Let me contact our engineers," she said and typed on her pad. A moment later she received a response. "No air leaks in the docking collar since we've been over here. So we won't need the space suits." The outer airlock door opened on the ship and ISS. When nothing leaked both inner doors opened too. "Let's go!"
They crossed over to the ship and all four doors shut behind them. Then the docking collar began to retract.
"Why...," Victor began.
"You don't want your food floating off your plate, do you?" Catherine said and winked.
It only took five minutes to spin the ship up to half a 'g'.
"Is everyone comfortable?" Catherine asked and ISS crew nodded. "The simulated gravity is directed toward the edge of the saucer and it'll increase as we get closer to the dining room. If anyone needs any help please let us know. Now follow me."
Because of the gravity's orientation and as got closer to edge of the ship they began walking along the walls until they arrived in the corridor leading to the dining room. When the door was opened a staircase led down to the room. Everyone was seated and the food was served.
"This is wonderful!" Victor said and rest the ISS crew agreed. "It's certainly better than having to eat from a tube and drink from sippy cup.
"And we don't have worry about crumbs!" one of the other ISS crewmembers said.
"Actually we do," Catherine said. "When we're done all the air will be pulled from this room and any dust and crumbs will be caught with the filters."
Several people chuckled.
"You have space stations?" Victor asked.
"Yes, there are several in orbit of Earth, the moon, and Mars," she said and smile. "Would you like to see one?"
"Sure," he said and she picked up her pad and tapped the screen. A few seconds later the large monitor lit and one of them orbiting their Earth was displayed.
"It's a wheel like in 2001!" he exclaimed and the Vixen cocked her head. "How large is it?!"
"The ship taking these pictures is on approach," she said and winked at Victor. "Just watch."
Over the next ten minutes the station grew in size until it filled the screen. The ship eventually matched the station's speed and rotation and then the docking bay door opened and it entered.
"Oh my God!" Cyril said.
"That ship..." Victor began.
"Is a just bit larger than this one," she said. "If you think that's large let me show you one of our ice haulers."
After dinner the ship was spun down and then redocked to the ISS.
"Have you been one of those stations?" Anne asked.
"Once," Joe said and smiled, remembering. "I won a vacation in a lottery."
"What was it like?"
"It's like being on Earth just with a much better view," he said and she laughed. "You know I'll bet at some point they'll want to send some of your government types from your Earth up to see them..."
"And some reporters will probably go along," she said and he pulled her closer.
"And if a reporter just happened to have an Animal friend who's been to one, they might..."
"Be chosen."
"Who knows," he said and smiled.
She touched her lips to his and a few second later he began to purr.
The trip back to South Africa was uneventful, but their landing in Pretoria was just a bit more exciting. It wasn't everyday that a flying saucer landed and apparently everyone and their brother was there to gawk. Since the saucers didn't match the height of the terminal walkways the cargo ramps were lower and the passengers walked across the tarmac to waiting buses, but they did take time to wave at the crowds. Then they were driven back into the executive offices in the city to a meet with ambassadors from various countries the next day.
"This should be interesting," Catherine said as they were led to their rooms.
"Since your world has no counties it ought to be a new experience for you," Cyril said and smiled.
"I suspect that dealing with our various Animal species might be somewhat similar," she said and winked. "We'll just have to see."
The next morning breakfast was served promptly at 9am and the Zulu king joined them.
"To bad you couldn't come with us," Catherine said.
"Always busy."
"She told me they do sell the ships," Cyril said and he raised an eyebrow.
"Are they expensive?" the King asked and she told him.
He winced.
"She also told me that they have an easy payment plan," Cyril said and the vixen laughed.
The King rubbed his chin and wondered if he could get enough from his old plane to at least make the down payment.
"Maybe we can work something out," she said and winked.
Both men laughed.
It was same the conference room they'd used to meet the South Africans a few days earlier. Fourteen ambassadors awaited them along with one aide each seated against the wall behind them. Each of the ambassadors had a plaque with the name of the country they represented with a small flag beside it. All of them stared at the Animals as they entered and took their seats. Cyril rose.
"Thank you for coming here today," he said and indicated the vixen. "This is Catherine Anne Wilde, President-Elect of the Federation government of their Earth."
She stood.
"Since our government represents our entire world we have no ambassadors or diplomats so I elected to come myself to represent the Federation," she said and smiled. "I assume you have a great many questions." Catherine indicated the man sitting opposite her.
"Lord Smith representing His Majesty's government of Great Britain," he said. "Madam President-Elect, why did you...I mean your people come here?"
"That was simply happenstance," she said and then indicated Ben and Maria.
"We were on our honeymoon and noticed a landslide," Ben said and place his hand on Maria's. "My wife noticed a reflection."
"Then we climbed the slide and came out here," the Gazelle said and winked. "We immediately knew that we were somewhere different."
"How?" Lord Smith interrupted.
"The land, the plants, and even the sky was different," she said. "We walked for a while and saw a truck and followed. Then we met Mr. Lang and later Doctor Liles and afterwards we lead them back to where we came through."
"And the entrance to your Earth is in Africa too?" he asked and Maria looked at Catherine.
"Yes, the longitude and latitude match exactly," she said and tapped on her pad. The monitor at the front of the room showed the planet from space. "This is our Earth. There are some minor differences in the land masses and ocean, but basically it's the same planet, but just a lot more green."
"But no humans."
"Or apes or monkeys, but we do have Lemurs and they also come from Madagascar," she said as each different species were displayed. The pictures stopped on one of the human-sized species. "We do have several species that you don't have currently and a few that you've never had."
The humans looked at the picture and then at John.
"My species survived because there wasn't an ice age ten thousand years ago on our world," he said, standing. "And many others did also."
Catherine indicated the woman next to Lord Smith.
"Patricia Major, Federal Republic of Germany," she said in German and her aide began to translate.
"You speak our language!" Joe said in the same language.
"You speak German?!"
"It's our old species language," Ben said and smiled. "All Animals now speak a common language that we call Zootopian which you call English. But each of our species do retain their old languages."
"This is my old language which you'd call Spanish," she said and the Spanish Ambassador spoke.
"And you're perfectly understandable."
Each of Animals spoke in their species languages, but there were two which none of the humans present spoke.
"Fascinating!" Lord Smith said. "Do you..."
"Maybe the German ambassador has another question," Catherine interrupted.
"Sorry," he said. "You're quite right."
"Do you know why all the animals are intelligent on your world?"
"Our scientists have been working on that question for centuries and of course they have various theories," she said and smiled, "but personally I think that's just simply the way God wanted it."
"So you have a religion."
"Yes," she said and close her eyes for a moment, remembering. "A thousand years ago predators and prey were at war. There was a virgin birth and he was a Fox and taught us not to fight, but to love each other. One of the governments captured him and he was crucified and three days later he arose from the dead. Later he returned to heaven, promising to return. Also nearly every Animal on our world is Christian." She was surprised at the looks on the humans' faces. "We haven't spoken about religion. Is there a problem?"
All the humans began speaking at once.
"I guess that was quite a surprise for them," Joe said and smiled.
"We talked about religion," Anne said and squeezed his hand, "but I guess no one else did. I know that Nick and Judy are married as are Ben and Maria..."
"All he said was for us to love one another," he said and drew her close.
"That's nice to know," she said and touched her lips to his.
The Ambassadors reported the information they'd learned during their talks with the Animals to their various governments and needless to say all of them were worried about what reactions would be if those revelations were made public. After hearing back from their respective governments the ambassadors requested a meeting with the South African President.
"Sir, we request that you restrict the animals access to the media and your public," Lord Smith said.
"Well it's already far too late for that," he said and then looked at his computer.
"Why?!"
"As of two hours ago their internet is now connected to ours," he said and tapped on his computer for a few moments. Then the monitor at front of the room brightened, displaying a webpage: Welcome to the City of Zootopia.
The reaction to the Animals' version of Christianity was about what one might expect. Some people thought it was blasphemy while others thought it was the conformation of the existence of God. Others thought that the Animals were lying about having a similar religion to fool humanity for some unknown reason. This was soon proved false when videos and pictures taken by human reporters of churches from various cities on the Animals' Earth began to circulate on the internet and then published in various reliable media on the human's world.
"So Madam President-Elect you certainly have stirred up a hornet's nest," Nick said and grinned.
"Nick!" Judy said and poked his in the side.
"It's not like I meant to," she said, raising an eyebrow.
He chuckled.
"Famous last words," he said and felt his bunny poke in the side again. This time it was somewhat harder.
"Where'd you get such a smart mouth?"
"For some reason I think it might be genetic," he said, but this time Judy couldn't help herself and giggled. Catherine laughed and then cuffed him lightly. "Ouch!" He rubbed is muzzle. "Hitting your poor innocent son."
"I can still put you over my knee!"
"Wouldn't that look good in the news."
"Only cause they don't know you like I do," she said and he chuckled.
"So what are you going to do now?" he asked and she looked thoughtful.
"I know," Judy said, interrupting her husband's and mother-in-law's musings, and grinned. "Why don't you invite some of our priests to come here?"
"Out of the mouths of bunnies," he said and Catherine looked at her daughter-in-law and smiled.
A week later a hundred Animals came marching though the portal led by a large reptile and Catherine waited to them at the rim.
"Your Holiness," she said, taking the Dragon's hand, "thank you so much for coming!"
"My daughter, you've made a very exciting discovery," she said and the vixen smiled.
"I was just as surprised as everyone else!"
"To be honest at first I guess was too, but then I realised obviously God must be everywhere," she said and smiled. "I guess none of us should really be surprised."
"I suppose you're right," she said as they boarded the buses taking them Pretoria. "Arrangements have been made and your flight to Jerusalem will leave the day after tomorrow. Most of this world's religions leaders have agreed to meet with you and your priests and priestesses there."
"Excellent."
Their plane took a lazy pass over the holy city and then landed at a nearby military airport. The rolled up to the terminal and they quickly deplaned and were ushered into the terminal.
"That was the first time my plane was escorted by military aircraft," Catherine said as they entered the terminal.
"Of course we do have ones like that," John said, "but we've never had to use them."
A man lead by a retinue of security officers and soldiers walked toward them.
"Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel," he said and extended a hand. "Please call me Bibi."
"Federation President-Elect Catherine Anne Wilde," she said and took his proffered hand. "Thanks for meeting us and please call me Catherine."
"Trust me, I would have missed this for the world!" he said and glanced at the other Animals for a moment.
"This is John Mendez, Commander of all our military forces – land, sea, air, and space," she said, indicating the Smilodon.
"I saw your flying saucers on TV," the Prime Minister said.
"And how else would you expect aliens to arrive," she said and he laughed.
"We do sell them," John said and smiled at the vixen.
"Really," Bibi said.
"I love mine," Her Holiness said, coming up behind them.
Bibi look up and up until he saw the speaker's face, her head almost brushing the ceiling.
"Bibi, this is Her Holiness Mary, head of our church," Catherine said and Bibi looked at the vixen. "She's a..."
"Dragon," Mary finished. "My people come from several small islands in what you'd call Indonesia."
Bibi reached up and she took her hand.
"On the plane I read about your country," she said and smiled. "If you have some time, let's talk."
"They do have quite a few soldiers stationed around this place," John said as they rode the elevator up to the main floor of the convention center.
"You did read their recent history," Mary said.
"As you suggested," he said. "The humans do seem to have many problems between their religions."
"We've have a few just within ours too over the last thousand years."
"But none recently."
"True enough."
"Wasn't the last one over whether females should be priests," he said and she looked at him and raised an eyebrow.
"And that was five hundred and twenty years ago," she said as the elevator dinged and the doors opened, "but we didn't fight a war over it."
"Point taken," he said as they both bent down and stepped out into the outer hall. "Thank God the ceilings aren't any lower!" She chuckled.
"I'm sure God accepts your thanks in the way it was given."
"I'm just glad that you have a sense of humor."
"In my position I have to," she said and he smiled, "and trust me I've heard worse,"
"Me too," he said and they both chuckled.
She looked out on the sea of human faces and smiled. Most of them were males, but there were a few females.
"My name is Mary," she began and then tasted the air with her tongue, "and I'm the leader of our church. Also, as you can see I'm not human nor are there any hominids, great apes, or monkeys on our world. All the species of mammals and reptiles on our Earth are intelligent, but our scientists have no idea why. I myself believe it's simply the way God wanted it." She heard a few murmurs. "Now let me tell you a bit of our church's history and religion."
"A thousand years ago predator and prey fought in a great war for decades. In time there was a virgin birth to a vixen named Mary and he was the Christ. In time he began his ministry and taught predator and prey to stop fighting and to love one another. One of the governments took him and he was crucified, died, and was buried. On the third day he rose and in time returned to heaven, promising to return in the future."
There was more murmuring from the crowd.
"Each of you have been provided with the book of his words." Most of the humans had already opened the it and started to leaf though it. "It will take you some time to read his words so I wish to show you a movie based on his life produced by our church. It will begin in ten minutes."
One everyone was reseated the light lowered and the movie began.
"So how was it?" Nick asked.
"After the movie there were many questions," Catherine said.
"I'll bet," he said and chuckled. "I wish we could've come."
"The Israeli security was very good and no one else brought their own personal security into the hall."
"How do you think they – the humans – felt about our version of Christianity?" Judy asked.
"I think most of them believed us, but of course some were skeptical."
"Mary did invite them to come and visit our world."
"Do you think they will?" Nick asked.
"Oh yes," she said with obvious certainty and smiled.
"Even the skeptics," the Rabbit said.
"Oh them especially," the vixen said and her eyes twinkled, "just to try and catch us up in a lie."
"So just what do you think'll happen?" Anne asked, snuggling up to her Cheetah.
"A very good question," Joe said and licked her neck.
"Ouch!" she said. "That tongue of yours is so rough! I don't want to bleed again like last time."
"I did clean it for you."
"I think you were just tasting me."
"As I've said before you do taste wonderful," he said and then despite herself she laughed.
"You didn't answer my question."
"I didn't, did I," he said and nibbled on her ear.
"No biting either!"
"Maybe I ought to write these things down," he said and she laughed again. "But as to you question I think the humans will accept us."
"I have," she said and smile. "I do love you."
He smiled and then kissed her.
"And I love you too."
"I do have one question."
"Oh, that seems like a second one," he said and she rolled her eyes.
"We've grown close, but..."
"We haven't made love."
"True."
"But we're not married."
"Is that a proposal?"
"No, but this is," he said and smiled again. "Will you marry me?"
"Yes!"
They watched as the first of the buses carrying the human religious leaders drove through the portal.
"They got that highway done in record time," Catherine said and put an arm around Mary.
"On both sides," she said and smiled.
"I think with a bid of influence from the church," the vixen said.
"On both sides," Mary said and they both laughed.
Then they noticed several Animals and humans approaching.
"Nick, Judy," his mother said. "So what's going on?"
"Joe and Anne have a question for Mary," he said and a Cheetah and a human stepped forward.
"Your Holiness would you marry us?" Joe said and she looked back a forth between them several times. "Yes, I meant to each other."
Everyone laughed.
"Of course," she said and smiled.
"So where are you going on you honeymoon?" Judy asked.
"Africa," Anne said.
"Which one?" Nick asked.
"Both of them!" they said in unison.