Cerinia
Krystal stared into the abyss. At least it looked like an abyss, and certainly felt like it. A dark circle filled the view from the Great Fox 2's bridge, an ink-black void that blocked out the stars behind it. Only a thin blue crescent, light bent by an atmosphere, gave away the fact that they were looking at a planet.
"Is this your home, Mommy?" Marcus clung to her leg.
Krystal's mouth was dry and her voice hoarse. "Yes, well... it was."
The kit's forehead wrinkled. "Why no lights?"
Her heart sank, if it even could sink any further. After she lost her memories, she had believed that she was the only survivor, but still hoped against hope that Cerinia wasn't doomed. All the long talks with Kayuq and the others should have prepared her, but they hadn't. During her journeys she had learnt that wherever there was civilisation, there was always light: sometimes only little specks, other times megacities lighting up a planet's night side. Seeing Cerinia dark and void like this, confirming her worst fears, made her speechless.
"Can you pick up any radio transmissions?" said Fox.
Krystal looked over her shoulder at her husband sitting in the captain's chair. The whole crew was gathered on the bridge, everyone's eyes focussed on Fay and Kabura who sat on either side of ROB, the three working away at one monitor each. Everyone except Kayuq that is, her face turned towards what little light her damaged eyes could pick up, while her ears swivelled, keenly tuned into the discussion.
"There's only static on the common Vixon and Wolven frequencies," said Kabura, holding a headset to his left ear.
"Analysing atmospheric composition," ROB droned as his metal fingers tapped away at the controls. "Oxygen and CO2 levels are consistent with simulations, indicating lack of photosynthesis for the past ten years."
Fay sighed and rested her muzzle in her hand, mumbling, "Not even a subspace signal."
For thirteen days they had travelled, thirteen days and thirteen nights Cornerian time, only to find nothing. Krystal had hoped that seeing the planet would stir up some memories, but her mind was blank. Her life before arriving at Sauria was still as dark and void as the planet before her, as if Cerinia wanted to keep the secrets of its doom.
"I need to go down there," she said. If she could see something familiar, she would remember. She was sure of it.
"Out of the question," said Kayuq bluntly.
"We're so close!" Krystal surprised herself with the anger in her voice. She found her hands clenched into fists, kevlar claws digging through the thin gloves and making a grinding noise against the metal plates in her palms.
"We've discussed this." Kayuq's tone was as calm as ever. "You agreed."
Krystal hung her head and closed her eyes. She had agreed.
She opened her eyes reluctantly, awoken by the body next to her stirring. Fox's smug visage grinned back at her.
"Good morning, sleepyhead." He planted a light kiss on her forehead. "Tired from overusing that telepathy of yours?"
She grunted. It wasn't just yesterday's escapades on Fichina that had made her tired. She smiled and ran her fingers through his fur, from his muscular chest and along his flat stomach towards his waist.
"Just five more minutes," she mumbled into his shoulder.
"The gathering is at eight o'clock." He moved but she wrapped her arm and a leg around him. "If we get a move on we can get some breakfast first."
He wriggled out of her grip. With a sigh, she pulled the comforter up further, so that only her nose and ears poked out. She took in the view, letting her gaze wander up and down his toned body as he picked up clothes that had been strewn on the floor the night before.
"I know what you're doing, perv," he said with his back turned on her and pulled on a pair of boxers.
"Killjoy."
She closed her eyes and pulled the covers over her muzzle. The bed was too comfortable with the warmth and scent of his body lingering. The day before had been eventful for everyone, their son included. Marcus had stayed awake way too late, running around excited and overtired, until he finally had crashed in Fay's bed, dead to the world. Fay refused any suggestion to move him, too afraid to wake him, and had climbed into the upper bunk herself.
Fox and Krystal's cabin was equipped with a double bed however, although on the small side and with a bunk over it where Marcus usually slept. Though exhausted, they had been too worked up to sleep at first, and had made the most of the moment to themselves. It had been a night to remember.
Her ear switched at the sound of the cabin door. She opened an eye just in time to see a blue blur before the excited kit pounced on her.
"Wake up, Mommy!"
He tried to pull the covers off her, and she held on for dear life. They giggled during their short tug-of-war, which Krystal fortunately won; she was well aware of the fact that she wore nothing but her fur under the comforter.
Marcus soon grew tired of the game and dashed out of the room again, leaving Krystal with a moment to herself to get dressed. She checked the time: 07:51 Cornerian Coordinated Time, which was as good as any in space. The meeting was about to start, and Fox could be a stickler for punctuality while onboard, so she'd better make a move. She quickly put on a comfy tracksuit - it would have to do - and put her flight jacket on top for good measure, not that she'd exude much authority anyway, and she probably didn't need to.
Stepping outside the cabin, she saw Marcus carefully guiding Kayuq along the corridor.
"Good morning," said Krystal "I hope you had a good sleep."
"Reasonably." Kayuq smirked and slipped into Krystal's mind uninvited. Although there was a certain... disturbance.
Krystal's mood soured. You shouldn't eavesdrop.
Oh, there was no need to. Some emotions are too strong and hard to ignore, even if you want to. Her smirk widened to a grin. Did you know that a couple making love sometimes sets off a chain reaction amongst Cerinians?
Krystal bit her lips and felt the warmth of a blush on her cheeks. Perhaps living amongst other telepaths would be harder than she'd thought. There were consequences she hadn't considered. Marcus frowned and his gaze went from Kayuq to his mother and back, and Krystal found herself wondering if the kit was starting to develop some early psionic abilities. Was he aware that the adults were having a conversation he couldn't listen in on yet?
She made a beeline for the common room, where she found Hope and Mitsuru helping themselves to the leftovers of a simple breakfast buffet that had been set on a spare table. There were juices from concentrate, hot beverages, yoghurt cups, canned fruit, granola and protein bars, and other things that were relatively easy to store for longer periods.
Mitsuru chatted away, oblivious to the fact that Fox's old communicator - which Hope still used - hadn't been updated with Cerinian. She looked at him with a blank face, so he tapped his temple with a finger. Krystal assumed he tried to conjure up an image and link telepathically to Hope, and from his wrinkled brow it seemed quite the effort. But it also seemed to have the desired effect, because she cracked up in a wide smile and nodded frantically as they walked out of the common room.
Krystal grabbed herself a decaf coffee and a rehydrated berry muffin before hurrying after Hope and Mitsuru up the stairs, finding that she was the last one to arrive on the bridge. Marcus sat on top of ROB's shoulders, using his vantage point to look out every window. His mouth hung slightly open as his head swivelled this way and that.
"Are we going backwards?"
Krystal tried to follow her son's darting gaze. She walked to the front of the bridge where Kabura stood erect with his hands on his hips, staring into space as if holding guard. Her heart sank a little. The cluster of stars ahead did look smaller and further away than when they first arrived through the gate, thanks to the distortion from travelling at near light-speed. Likewise, the blue-shift made the red giant Beta Kandesca burn a warm yellow, while Alpha seemed a bright blue.
Marcus echoed her thoughts. "Why are we so far away?"
"It's just an optical illusion, son." Fox smiled smugly where he sat in the captain's chair.
"Octipal?"
"It's because we're going so very fast." Fox offered. "It makes the stars in front of us seem further away, just like the rain seems to fall straight at us when we're driving in the rain."
"At least the way you're driving," Krystal remarked. Fox harrumphed and Marcus scrunched up his face even more. She could imagine the cogs churning in his head, trying to make sense of the analogy.
"Thanks for getting here on time." Fox stood up and looked at each one in his audience in turn. "Although I'm sure we all would have liked to sleep a little longer."
On cue, Miyu yawned and stretched where she sat sideways in the co-pilot's chair, her short legs nonchalantly slung over an armrest. Mitsuru stood behind her and gave one of her ear tufts a flick with a finger, drawing an angry hiss from the lynx.
"Will you stop that?"
"Sorry, I don't understand Lylatian very well," Mitsuru answered in his own tongue, but his knowing smirk showed that he had understood enough.
"Does he ever take anything seriously?" She motioned towards Mitsuru while looking at his older brother. Kabura just shrugged.
Fox cleared his throat. "We have a long trip ahead of us with plenty of opportunity for some downtime, but first we need to work out some practicalities. I suggest we take turns at the helm with the one Lylatian and one Cerinian representative during each 6-hour shift, so that the bridge is manned 24/7. Although we have some twelve days to our destination, we should start that routine now, in case we are approached by either Vixon or Wolven."
He was answered by a unanimous murmur of approval, except from Fay who piped up. "But Miyu and I are not licensed for a ship of this class."
"We're in no-man's land." Miyu rolled her eyes. "Who's gonna care?"
"ROB can pilot the GF2 on his own," said Fox. "You'll only be here to keep an eye on things, and Krystal and myself will take turns sleeping, so one of us will always be on standby."
Krystal winced mentally. She'd been in a good mood and looking forward to more snuggles with her husband.
Kayuq stood next to Kabura, likely using his eyes to see, with a thousand-yard stare in her own unseeing eyes. "I still think we should head straight for Omega Kandesca."
"I need to see Cerinia for myself," Krystal snapped back.
"We've been through this. It is not safe for you."
"I'm sure we can fend off a few scruffy wolves." Miyu flexed her claws.
"It's not just the Wolven I'm concerned about." Kayuq's brows furrowed. "If Krystal's memories come back too quickly, it can cause a severe shock... or worse. I might not be able to help."
"She's right, you know," Kabura deadpanned. "It happened to several of us on the starship. A few succumbed to their memories of The Doom: the screams, the fear, the agony..." The large fox shuddered.
"You'd be best to be amongst Vixon if you have a recall." Mitsuru nodded frantically, leaning on the backrest behind Miyu.
"I know, it's just..." Krystal sighed. She saw the logic, but she had a nagging feeling that the key was on Cerinia and, crucially, in Wolven lands. What had happened when The Shield fell? She had been there. And why had she left Randorn's care? She knew she had to find out, and that meant going to the surface, sooner or later. "And you're sure there are survivors?"
"I'm positive," said Kayuq. "Four starships and a number of smaller vessels were constantly on standby, ready to ferry a small population to safety."
"I've been meaning to ask about Kamuy's starship." Fox scratched his neck. "I've been curious why you built them. I was under the impression that Cerinians stuck to themselves."
"Officially it was to explore and potentially colonise other star systems." Kayuq waved a hand. "But the real purpose was always to ferry survivors to Omega."
"It was a case of classic arms race as well." Kabura shrugged. "The Wolven built ships to explore the universe, so we had to build bigger ones."
"The exodus was never spoken about openly." Mitsuru frowned. "The first time I heard of any doomsday plans was when The Shield fell and Kabura took me to the starship."
"It was all just preparation for a worst-case scenario that no one believed would actually happen," Kayuq continued. "Research stations were built, doubling as emergency accommodation, and with vaults to store plant seeds and animal genome for repopulation. People were chosen, some by skill or position, others by lot, and then they went on with their lives. There was no need to talk about it."
"And this safe haven is Omega?" Krystal cocked an eyebrow.
"The second planet from Omega Kandesca, a small white dwarf star, is rocky and barren, but at least small parts can be terraformed. The Wolven were never interested in it, because it's poor in metals and minerals, but that's where the Vixon will be."
"What sort of reception could we expect... if there are survivors?"
"For you, just fine..."
Krystal noticed Kabura glancing at Miyu. Ryuga wore a poker face, but Mitsuru put his foot in his mouth.
"Except perhaps the dog and the cat-" Miyu hissed at him again, and Fay looked perplexed. "-I mean... not all of us are like Kamuy."
Krystal frowned. She'd wondered if all Vixon perhaps were a little xenophobic, considering how Kamuy's people had treated Corneria, and their thinly veiled hatred of the Wolven. "But you practically stole a starship intended for rescue."
"Yes, I'm not proud of it." Kayuq lowered her head. "We are basically mutineers in The Matriarch's eyes. The consequences will be less severe for Ryuga, Kabura and Mitsuru, since they were merely following orders. As their spiritual leader, however, I will be held responsible for the loss of the starship in Eldey's absence."
"Hence why you hope I'm a person of interest," Krystal deadpanned.
"True, and I admit that. In any case, I've led my followers home and let you meet your kin. That's good enough for me."
The old vixen's remorseful aura at least seemed sincere to Krystal. She'd grown to trust the old vixen more and more. "But Kamuy had somehow had contact with Lylat."
"There was an explorer from Lylat several years ago. Kamuy was the only one trusting them. For some reason, The Matriarch did not, and the visitor did not stay for long." Kayuq paused and frowned slightly as if debating what to say next. "But amongst the Vixon leaders you find the most gifted telepaths, The Matriarch herself arguably the strongest of them all. That's why you're best to be amongst them if you have a recall."
The change of subject wasn't lost on Krystal. Kayuq did not like talking about Kamuy. "But we'll go to Cerinia first."
"Only to orbit and search for life." Kayuq was stern. "For your own safety, and for your family, promise that you won't go down to the surface."
Marcus latched on to Krystal's leg, hugging her tightly. She looked around the room. Fay seemed nervous, Miyu had a frown on her face, and Fox had a pleading look in his eyes. She sighed. "Alright, I agree."
Krystal couldn't take her eyes off the dark circle. She scanned it over and over again, trying to see something through the darkness, even just the outline of a continent. Northwood Forest where she'd spent her early years were down there somewhere. So was Animus, the Wolven capital, where she had grown up. But the planet remained a dark void, silent, just like her memories. Her heart sank.
Alpha Kandesca rose over the planet's horizon, bathing the bridge in its yellow light; a light that gave life as easily as the star's flares could take it.
"We... umm... should get moving," said Fox's voice somewhere behind her.
"Analysing solar probe data," ROB announced in his monotone voice. "Radiation levels and particle flows are within parameters. No flares are imminent. We are safe. For now."
"Still, the Wolven could be upon us any moment." Kayuq's voice was grave. "Beta is much closer than Omega."
"How long would it take them to get here?"
"A couple of days for a warship," said Kabura. "A few hours for a small fighter launched via warp coil, and if they detected the energy signatures of us dropping out of light speed before... they could be here any minute."
"That's all I need to know." Fox's voice exuded authority as he slipped into his leader role. "Full steam ahead, ROB."
"Engaging fusion drives. 100% power."
Marcus squirmed and Krystal looked down to see his outstretched arms. Willingly, she picked him up and held him against her chest. His muzzle turned forwards and his eyes took in the wonder of the scene before them. Cerinia drifted out of view, then Alpha Kandesca, before the universe slowly seemed to shrink in front of them. Colours shifted towards the blue on the spectrum as the ship accelerated.
"Are you okay, Mommy?"
Krystal realised she was crying, tears slowly rolling down her cheek fur. She held her little boy tightly and planted a kiss between his ears.
"With you, I will always be okay."
As the Great Fox 2 sped away from Cerinia, a swarm of micro-satellites came to life. Small enough to fit in the palm of a hand, they had gone silent ever since announcing the detection of the foreign ship. Now, they unfolded their antennas again, transmitting the data they had recorded in short bursts, virtually impossible to detect.
Hackles hurried through the crowds, sullen because he'd had to leave half a bowl of perfectly edible stew behind in The Homestead. What bothered him even more was that he'd been interrupted before he'd had a chance to ask Freya on a date. Life had been busy since he'd been knighted with an increasing amount of chores, and with Randorn's funeral and whatnot, he'd not had the opportunity to ask Freya out. Or perhaps he'd had the opportunity, but not the courage, he admitted to himself.
Still, Sabre's message had been urgent. After clearing security to the knight's domains, he caught sight of his former master; since being knighted, he reported directly to Marshal Magnus, a timber wolf with the longest service of the knights, and who oversaw the home defence forces and equipment. Sabre on the other hand had become Knight of the Fleet leading the navy turned space force, instead of taking over his late father Randorn's role as Grand Wizard, the name traditionally given to the position as head of science.
"What's the hurry?" Hackles jogged to keep up with Sabre as they entered The Castle: a section on the lower levels of the tunnel system, where the king and his closest staff worked, and which also served as the knights' headquarters.
"A development on Cerinia, is all I know." Sabre marched along narrow corridors carved out of the rock, politely but hastily greeting people they met.
"The Chamberlain has called for a meeting of the Royal Court."
"But... I'm not a-"
"Including Grand Marshal Magnus, who is off duty, so in your position as acting Marshal, you're his stand-in."
"Ah..."
Chamberlain Carla - a middle-aged maned wolf who was the King's private secretary as well as coordinator of the King's Hall - waited for them and ushered them into a small room. Even wearing low shoes, she was an ear taller than Hackles. A few knights as well as Dr Bowman were already seated around a round table with a holographic projector in the centre. Sabre and Hackles took their seats, soon followed by Stuart Sigurd, a surly looking coywolf in his 50s who was treasurer and minister of the interior.
"Thank you for gathering at such short notice." Chamberlain Carla closed the door and handed Sabre a remote control before taking the last seat at the table. "Without further ado, I'll hand over to the Knight of the Fleet."
"Let me show you some transmissions received in the last half-hour." Sabre dimmed the lights in the room and turned on the projector, which showed a glowing spot against a backdrop of stars, the speck of light growing into the outlines of a ship. The video feed was of low resolution and in grayscale, but Hackles could still see the general shape of it: a quite plain vessel, resembling two rectangular tubes that had been fused together. There was a structure at the stern, probably a bridge or observation deck, as well as four angled stabilisers.
It entered orbit around Cerinia. A timestamp ticked by quickly, showing that the feed had been sped up. The ship circled Cerinia once, just stayed there for a minute in the feed, corresponding to a couple of hours in real time, before the engines ignited and the vessel left in a hurry.
"I'll open a channel to a squadron that was dispatched as soon as the initial intrusion alarm went off," Sabre continued.
After a few seconds of static, the call was answered. "This is Knight Ylva en route to Alpha Kandesca." Her voice was distorted by the high compression of the long-distance subspace transmission. "ETA in 40 minutes."
"Perhaps it would be appropriate to prepare a frigate with reinforcements," Steward Sigurd side-eyed Hackles over his reading glasses, "considering the generous budget the Home Defence is allocated."
"It will be too late, I'm afraid. The unknown vessel has already departed." There was the briefest flash of a smirk on Sabre's face at putting the Steward in his box, before he turned his attention back to the gathered knights. "Any initial impressions we can pass on to Knight Ylva and her team?"
"It's definitely not one of our ships," said Sigurd.
Hackles tilted his head. "And it kinda looks too blocky to be Vixon."
Sigurd cocked an eyebrow, seemingly unimpressed with Hackles' choice of words, but Sabre nodded in approval. "My thoughts exactly. We're dealing with something unknown here. Can we tell where it went?"
"Allow me." Knight Ingrid of Intelligence was a golden jackal in her early 30s, wearing a yellow and silver tunic of her clan, her long blond hair tied up in a ponytail. The light reflected in her alert eyes as she leaned forwards and put her fingers in the hologram to change the display to a zoomed out view of Cerinia. "The solid red line is the known flight path, and the dashed line a projected trajectory. It seems to be heading towards Omega Kandesca."
"Has there been any word from our Vixon spies," Sabre continued. "Or any comms about interstellar alliances?"
"None at all." The ponytail swung from side to side as Ingrid shook her head. "It's been business as usual over there."
"I've received the data and am approaching the unknown ship's flight path," said Ylva. "The sensors are picking up faint traces of ionised helium-3. That seems like an older type fusion drive to me. The sneaky foxes wouldn't leave a trail like that, unless it was deliberate."
"Do you think they might be laying a trap for us?" Sabre scratched his chin.
"Impossible to say." Dr Bowman's gaze was focussed on the hologram. "Could you please increase resolution to see if we can get a better picture of the unknown vessel? Any identifying markings, perhaps?"
Ingrid rewound the feed and put her fingers in the holographic controls again. As the image processing software worked its magic, the picture slowly grew clearer, but the vessel was between the star Kandesca and the camera, still showing little more than the outline. There was perhaps a logotype of some sort near the stern, but even the computers couldn't brighten it enough to make sense of.
"I have found a partial match in my database." Dr Bowman consulted the data pad in her paws. "It could be of Lylat origin. My home system."
The room fell into silence, all eyes focussed on the red fox, and a few maws hanging open.
"Well, then we definitely gotta check it out," Ylva interrupted. "My squadron's ships are fitted with ultra-long-range fuel cells, fully charged before departure. We can make it to Omega and back."
"You're cleared to proceed," Sabre confirmed.
"One more thing." Dr Bowman looked up from her data pad. "Peculiarly, it's an older ship, a troop transport vessel."
"Troop transport?" Steward Sigurd looked dumbfounded. "What would that be doing here?"
"That's impossible to tell with current data, but it is of Cornerian design."
"Belonging to the Cornerian Army?" Carla's forehead wrinkled with concern. "Your master's adversary?"
"Indeed, the capitalist oppressors of Lylat. When my master used his scientific knowledge to stand up against them, they not only banished him to an inhospitable planet, but were not satisfied until they'd conquered that world as well." She looked down at her clasped hands. "I miss him, and I miss my home."
Her comment made Hackles' skin crawl just a little. It wasn't what she said, but how she said it; the complete lack of emotion in her voice clashed with her words. He discretely glanced around the room. Didn't anyone else notice that?
"Well, that is cause for concern." Carla's tone was grave as she rose. "Any last counsel before I prepare my report for the King?"
"Approach with caution, Knight Ylva."