This is actually one of two Thursday Prompt tales, as the prompt lent itself to them. They will both be posted at the T-P website.

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Considering

A Thursday Prompt story
© 2018 by Walter Reimer


Prompt: The novel relationship prohibits the applied universe.



The shower wasn’t large enough for three, so Meredith waited while Kiran and Varan cleaned up. All three had woken up at about the same time, aware that they had a duty shift coming up. So, a quick breakfast, and the mare waved the two shlani to the shower.
Her ears swiveled at the sound of the fur dryers, and after a moment Kiran stepped out of the garderobe. “You’re still here?” the kam asked.

Meredith nodded. “It wouldn’t be good manners to stroll down to my cabin smelling like I do.” She waggled her eyebrows. “People would start talking, you know.”

Kiran laughed and lowered his voice as he pulled on his singlet. “I think people are already talking.”

“Aka, we don’t want them talking too loudly then.”

“G’reget. I’ll see you at the command deck, Meredith.” He smiled as he finished dressing. “I had a wonderful time last night.”

The palomino held out her paw. “So did I, Kiran.” He reached to take the paw, hesitated, then just brushed his fingertips across her palm before leaving.

Her tail twitched. What was that all about? she thought before shrugging and heading to the garderobe to get ready for the day.

She was getting dressed when Varan came back into the bedroom, wearing her uniform. “So, what did you think of him?”

Meredith paused while rubbing a polishing rag on her left hoof. “He seemed a little unsure this morning,” and she looked up at her lover and grinned, “but was anything but unsure last night. Is that usual, among kami?”

“I’m not sure. Should we discuss it with him, do you think?”

The mare got to her hooves and smoothed out the wrinkles in her uniform jumpsuit. “If he wants to talk, he’ll talk.”

A few moments later they joined the rest of the command crew in a lift. Kirian, the shift’s Weapons Officer, was craning his neck to see what Kiran had on his comppad. They glanced up at Varan and Meredith as they entered. “Narchak, you two,” Kirian said. “Come take a look at this.” The vir and the mare gathered around to see.

The ship’s infonet had received a packet from a local information network about deteriorating relations between the Empire and a neighboring race. Not the Terran Confederacy, which made Meredith feel somewhat relieved. The head of the Combined Military Services had been summoned to speak with the Emperor, as had the civilian Defense Minister. “That’s not encouraging,” the Terran mare remarked.

The others looked nervous, and Kirian said, “It’s not.” The lift doors opened and the group entered the command deck for shift change.

The shift passed uneventfully, with no further news forthcoming from the infonet. Meredith touched Varan on the shoulder and asked, “Would you care for dinner with me? We could play the game – it might take our minds off the lack of news.”

Varan smiled. “That would be lovely. I’ll drop my cabin and change. Agreed?”

“Yes.”

Meredith entered her quarters, stripped out of her uniform and underwear, and opened her comppad to see if there had been any news. There was still no word from the Imperial homeworld, but a small blinking icon indicated that she had personal mail awaiting her attention. A touch of a finger, and the message opened.

To her surprise, it was Captain Kodai, her commander aboard the Rani Anitra. The Shiba Inu was seated at his desk, his curly tail visibly twitching nervously behind him. “Lieutenant d’Estcourt, I want to first apologize for this message as it may distract from what you might be learning from the officer exchange program. Still, Admiral Supandi has told me to send this to you. Similar messages are being sent to other participants by their respective commanders.” His ears dipped.

“The Confed government has received word from the Empire that they are going to begin hostile actions against the Ichoniik within the next few days. What that means for you, Lieutenant, is that the Empire does not want to have you – or any other Terran – aboard one of their warships.

“I expect that the captain of the ship you’re on will be getting orders to put in at the nearest station, and I will expect to see you again. Kodai out,” and the message ended.

Meredith put a paw to her muzzle, her ears straight up and her tail slack as she considered the news, and the order that Kodai had passed on.

What do I do?

What do I tell Varan?

Her stomach’s rumbling broke her train of thought and she got something to eat, reminded that she had to get the game set up. They had managed to reach Level Nine, and Varan’s kobold mage character had managed to avoid dying so far.

Still, Meredith was saving the program frequently.

She had set out drinks and snacks and was dressed in a filmy robe of Kashlanin make when Varan showed up. After a few minutes, they started to play.

Level Nine’s chief obstacle was another coffee shop, presided over by a gigantic wolverine barista armed with a weaponized espresso machine. The barista screamed, “Venti or Trenta!?” and discharged a flood of boiling, corrosive coffee, only to have Varan’s character deflect it using a freezing spell.

“Good counter,” Meredith said as her own character fended off a fusillade of hardened biscotti, taking some damage as a few got around her shield.

They toasted each other’s success with Markellan whisky as they succeeded in advancing to the next level. “Varan?”

“Ulnt, lir demef?”

Meredith gave the vir a long look, then sighed. “Something’s come up. I got a message from Captain Kodai.”

Varan set her drink down. “Does it have something to do with the news?”

“Yes.” She briefly outlined what the canine had told her.

“I see.” Varan refilled her glass and sat back, studying the brown liquor before she said, “There are those who’ll miss you.”

Meredith tossed her mane and looked at her. “You?”

A warm smile. “Of course I’ll miss you, my love. But others will as well, I think.”

“Why? Kirian still thinks I smell.”

The vir’s tail made a gesture that could be interpreted as obscene. “That for his opinion, but other members of the crew don’t share it.” She sipped her drink. “Before you came aboard, we distrusted Terrans – so many different types, just so different – but when they saw you trying to genuinely reach out and learn, opinions began to change. And when you and I became friends – that was quite amazing to a few shlani.”

Meredith reached out a paw and Varan’s tail wrapped around it to the elbow. “Surprised a few people, did we?”

The vir chuckled. “You did.”

The mare had opted to sleep alone that night, thinking over what Varan had said. When she had started her shift the next day the main topic of conversation was the announcement from the heads of the Combined Services.

It would be war. All four fleets were being mobilized.

Captain k’Jen was in his office, studying the ship’s status reports, when one ear flicked at an annunciator’s chime. “Enter,” and he frowned as the door opened. “Nurgorwan d’Estcourt?”

“Yes, Gartabin.” The mare was in her duty jumpsuit, and not in her blue Confederate uniform. “May I come in?”

“You may.” He sat back and indicated a chair. “Please be seated.”

“Thank you, sir. Have you received any word? About me, that is?”

The kam frowned. “Yes, I have. How do you know about it?” Meredith explained and the kam gave a soft huffing sound at the back of his throat. “I will tell you the truth, Sublieutenant. I have orders to deliver you to the nearest station that has a Confederacy presence, and leave you there. What this ship’s orders are after that, you do not need to know.”

“I understand, Sir,” the mare said, “but, tar gar mevik, I do not wish to leave.”



end