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Party
© 2019 by Walter Reimer
Thumbnail art by
technicolorpie, color by 
marmelmm
The planet known as New Birmingham was the fourth world from its sun, located in Colonial space a quarter of the way spinward from Point Mu Station. It required the raw materials that the Kiss Me in the Dark was carrying in order to supply the world’s orbital refineries and foundries.
As soon as the freighter phased out of hyperspace, Meredith contacted Traffic Control. “Kiss Me in the Dark to New Birmingham Control, requesting clearance for dock at your L2 point.”
The main screen showed a gazelle femme in a tight shirt. “Traffic Control, Kiss Me in the Dark, lovely name by the way. We have you cleared for L2-27,” and an inset displayed the course. “You’re a few minutes early, according to our data. Find a shortcut through hyperspace?” she asked with a grin.
The palomino mare grinned back. “No, just wanted to get this stuff to you quickly.” Her smile widened. “And we’ve got something to do planetside.” Her two engineers exchanged looks.
And winks.
“Gotcha,” the gazelle said. “Course sent; you have it?”
“Affirm.”
“Right. Let us know if you need anything,” and the image vanished from the screen, to be replaced by a map of the system with the ship’s course and local traffic.
Meredith sat back in her seat and glanced behind her, left and right. “So, you two ready for this?” She chuckled as Ginny blushed.
Elroy kept his eyes on the engineering monitors as he said, “I’d better be ready. She’d space me if I backed out now.” He turned to look at the rabbit in time to see her nod, and snickered as he resumed watching his board.
Ginny was about to say something, blinked, and pointed at the main screen. “What the stars is that?” she asked, as a ship’s ID strayed near their course. The computer enlarged the contact and showed its registry. “That’s a Confed ship?”
“Yeah,” and the rabbit, horse and beagle turned as Mikhal stepped into the room. “Not surprised you’ve never seen one. There’s only five of them.” The skunk sat down in the captain’s seat and pointed. “That’s a Collyer-class defense cruiser. Stupid idea,” he growled.
“Freighter conversion?” Meredith asked. “I’ve never heard of it.”
The skunk shook his head. “Built from the keel out. Some bright dimwit in the Navy designed it, and the stupid vacbrains went along with it. Let him name them, too.” He pointed. “That’s the Ratbag.”
Elroy frowned as Ginny giggled. “You’re kidding.”
“Wish I was. See those bulges running along the sides?” There were six of them, running the length of the ship. “Those are frangible, designed to break open if the ship takes a hit. Guess what’s inside.”
“More weapons?” Ginny asked.
“Nope. Junk. Literally trash. It’s supposed to vent that out at the attacker, clouding sensors and taking weapons fire until they can bring their own primaries on line.” Kwinton shook his head. “D’Estcourt, bring up the computer file. If you think Ratbag’s bad, wait till you see the other names the designer gave them.”
The mare complied, and three sets of jaws dropped.
“Collyer – that’s the class ship, Scavenger, Bonepicker, and Dumpsterdiver?” Meredith laughed. “Was he crazy, or what?”
Mikhal smirked. “More like ‘what,’ I think. He was clever enough to get it past the Admiralty, at least. Once they figured out that the ships weren’t good for much, they ended up on planetary defense duty.”
“And the designer?” Ginny asked. Her ears drooped as the skunk drew a claw across his throat. “Why?”
Mikhal shrugged. “Made something up, as they do. Pretty much didn’t like him making them look like fools and wasting money. They couldn’t scrap brand new ships, though.” He switched the view back to the one showing the various ships in the system as the Ratbag moved serenely away.
The Kiss Me in the Dark moored at L2-27 and short-haul lighters moved in to start offloading the freighter’s cargo. Mikhal waited until the last lighter had moved off before activating the ship’s allcall. “Okay, people, I’m calling for personnel shuttles. Anyone not interested in going groundside let me know; otherwise I’ll let the ship’s computer keep an eye on things.”
By the time the shuttles arrived, it was easily apparent that the entire crew wanted to visit the planet. While not all of them were going to the wedding, everyone on Ginny and Elroy’s shift were attending the civil ceremony. The beagle and the rabbit had transmitted the application while the ship was still in hyperspace.
The spaceport at the planetary capital, Rowley, was rather old, and the crew milled around as Elroy and Mikhal argued over the city directory. One of the crew of the night shift, a black and brown-furred canine, kept looking around nervously until another of the night crew, a mink, asked, “Never been planetside before?”
“Just a little nervous,” the canine admitted.
The mink nodded understandingly. “First time?”
“No, I’ve been nervous lots of times.” A few of those in earshot laughed or groaned at the exchange. The night shift’s senior engineer, a bear, started hitting the canine and the mink with his hat, a billed cap that bore the name of his last ship, the Ventnor. Vinzen Garry, the helm on the night shift, merely covered his eyes and shook his head.
It was hard to tell at first whether the Scottish Fold was laughing or crying, but when he lowered his paws and started yelling at the trio, Meredith could see that the feline was trying hard not to laugh. “Break it up, you bums, or Mikhal will have you fired.” That settled things down before a crowd could gather, and the twenty furs headed for the city’s government center.
There was an oddly piebald rabbit doe, her fur made up of blotches of blonde and slate gray, seated in the lobby, reading her padd. “Mama!” Ginny cried, and ran to the doe as she set her padd aside and stood up in time to take her daughter in her arms. “I’m so glad you could make it!”
“Like I’d miss my favorite daughter’s wedding,” the older doe said tartly.
“I’m your only daughter, Mama.”
“Not my fault you got all the X chromosomes,” and the piebald doe released her daughter after a final peck on her cheek and looked at the others. “I’m Tehani Edwards, Ginny’s mother.”
The skunk stepped forward. “Mikhal Kwinton. I’m captain of the Kiss Me in the Dark.” He jerked his chin at Ginny as he offered a meaty paw to Tehani. “Her boss.” He glanced at Meredith. “Her shift supervisor.”
The rabbit took his paw and shook it before shaking the palomino mare’s paw. “Pleased. Now, Ginny, where’s the poor fool you’ve convinced to marry you?”
The beagle stepped forward and Ginny took his arm. “Elroy al-Najar, ma’am.”
“Call me Tehani.” She took the beagle’s paw and shook it. “Welcome to the family.” She glanced behind her at her padd. “We still have a few minutes before your appointment.”
“Will the boys be coming, Mama?” Ginny asked.
“’Boys?’” Elroy asked.
“My brothers,” Ginny replied.
“She has five of them,” Tehani said, “and they can’t make it. Faranq and Jorj are on the other side of the Sphere, and the others are here and there. They all sent congratulations.” The doe glanced at her padd again. “Right, you two get to the registrar’s office. We’ll tag along.” The happy couple headed for the office, and Tehani remarked to Mikhal, “They seem to like each other. Any trouble during their shift?”
The skunk shrugged. “Told them not to snog while on duty. If they are, I never catch ‘em at it.” He gave Meredith the eye.
The mare promptly said, “They haven’t been snogging while on shift, Mikhal.”
“I see.” Tehani chuckled. “Ex-Navy, you two?”
Mikhal shrugged. “Most of the crew are from the Fleet. Problem?”
“Hell no,” the piebald lapine snorted. “Just wondering. The Star City’s reported overdue and missing.”
Another mephit shrug. “Shit happens,” he growled, and Meredith just flicked her ears. Things did happen at times – ships fell foul of engineering problems or undetected anomalies in hyperspace. The missing Madinat al-Nujum could have had anything happen to it.
The assistant registrar for the planetary government was a macaque, who was smiling through a pair of interface glasses at the lapine and the canine as the rest of the group came in. “I see we have all of your witnesses here,” he said, “and your application was received and approved by the government’s AI. Will this be religious?”
Elroy and Ginny looked at each other before looking back at the man and shaking their heads. “All right, civil it is. Take each other’s paws, please, and recite what you see on the screen.” He placed his paw on a reader screen, establishing himself as the official witness. “When you’re ready.”
They each took a breath and recited:
”I declare that I am of sound mind,
And free to make this decision:
I accept this person as my lawful spouse;
Companion, friend, lover, supporter,
Partner and parent of my children, until
We choose to part; and we call upon
Our friends to witness this oath.”
The registrar smiled and nodded, and everyone cheered and applauded as the newlyweds kissed.
“All right,” Tehani called out over the applause. “I’ve got a reservation at a bar down the street. Drinks are on me.” There was another cheer.
Ginny came up to her mother, Elroy in tow. “Mama! Can you afford it?” she asked.
“Shush,” her mother said. “What's the use of having money in the bank if you can’t piss it away for a good cause? Captain?” she asked Mikhal. “I bet you fifty marks I can drink you under the table.”
The skunk gave a lopsided grin. “You’re on, lightweight.”
***
“ – And I can’t recall how I managed to get back aboard the Kiss Me, Varan. I think I’m still a bit drunk, and it’s a good thing we don’t have to leave for our next stop for another two days. Ginny and Elroy are planetside, and they’ll come aboard before we leave.
Oh, I almost forgot. The game! Just fighting those swamp golems had me saving the module more than we’ve had to do, on average, but the wizard controlling them finally got killed. And Deus, am I glad I saved the game before opening the chest the Amulet was in.
Recall it’s called the Amulet of Sadness? They meant it; it’s a spork, and I’m sorry to say that your character barely survived and mine committed suicide. Twice. I finally figured out to keep the thing in its box, and we took it to the portal before throwing it at the creature guarding the gate. And it really worked. The creature burst into tears, sobbed about ‘The unbearable lightness of being,’ and disintegrated so we could get through to the next level.
I can’t wait to see you again.
Love, Meredith”
Transmission Ends
© 2019 by Walter Reimer
Thumbnail art by
technicolorpie, color by 
marmelmmThe planet known as New Birmingham was the fourth world from its sun, located in Colonial space a quarter of the way spinward from Point Mu Station. It required the raw materials that the Kiss Me in the Dark was carrying in order to supply the world’s orbital refineries and foundries.
As soon as the freighter phased out of hyperspace, Meredith contacted Traffic Control. “Kiss Me in the Dark to New Birmingham Control, requesting clearance for dock at your L2 point.”
The main screen showed a gazelle femme in a tight shirt. “Traffic Control, Kiss Me in the Dark, lovely name by the way. We have you cleared for L2-27,” and an inset displayed the course. “You’re a few minutes early, according to our data. Find a shortcut through hyperspace?” she asked with a grin.
The palomino mare grinned back. “No, just wanted to get this stuff to you quickly.” Her smile widened. “And we’ve got something to do planetside.” Her two engineers exchanged looks.
And winks.
“Gotcha,” the gazelle said. “Course sent; you have it?”
“Affirm.”
“Right. Let us know if you need anything,” and the image vanished from the screen, to be replaced by a map of the system with the ship’s course and local traffic.
Meredith sat back in her seat and glanced behind her, left and right. “So, you two ready for this?” She chuckled as Ginny blushed.
Elroy kept his eyes on the engineering monitors as he said, “I’d better be ready. She’d space me if I backed out now.” He turned to look at the rabbit in time to see her nod, and snickered as he resumed watching his board.
Ginny was about to say something, blinked, and pointed at the main screen. “What the stars is that?” she asked, as a ship’s ID strayed near their course. The computer enlarged the contact and showed its registry. “That’s a Confed ship?”
“Yeah,” and the rabbit, horse and beagle turned as Mikhal stepped into the room. “Not surprised you’ve never seen one. There’s only five of them.” The skunk sat down in the captain’s seat and pointed. “That’s a Collyer-class defense cruiser. Stupid idea,” he growled.
“Freighter conversion?” Meredith asked. “I’ve never heard of it.”
The skunk shook his head. “Built from the keel out. Some bright dimwit in the Navy designed it, and the stupid vacbrains went along with it. Let him name them, too.” He pointed. “That’s the Ratbag.”
Elroy frowned as Ginny giggled. “You’re kidding.”
“Wish I was. See those bulges running along the sides?” There were six of them, running the length of the ship. “Those are frangible, designed to break open if the ship takes a hit. Guess what’s inside.”
“More weapons?” Ginny asked.
“Nope. Junk. Literally trash. It’s supposed to vent that out at the attacker, clouding sensors and taking weapons fire until they can bring their own primaries on line.” Kwinton shook his head. “D’Estcourt, bring up the computer file. If you think Ratbag’s bad, wait till you see the other names the designer gave them.”
The mare complied, and three sets of jaws dropped.
“Collyer – that’s the class ship, Scavenger, Bonepicker, and Dumpsterdiver?” Meredith laughed. “Was he crazy, or what?”
Mikhal smirked. “More like ‘what,’ I think. He was clever enough to get it past the Admiralty, at least. Once they figured out that the ships weren’t good for much, they ended up on planetary defense duty.”
“And the designer?” Ginny asked. Her ears drooped as the skunk drew a claw across his throat. “Why?”
Mikhal shrugged. “Made something up, as they do. Pretty much didn’t like him making them look like fools and wasting money. They couldn’t scrap brand new ships, though.” He switched the view back to the one showing the various ships in the system as the Ratbag moved serenely away.
The Kiss Me in the Dark moored at L2-27 and short-haul lighters moved in to start offloading the freighter’s cargo. Mikhal waited until the last lighter had moved off before activating the ship’s allcall. “Okay, people, I’m calling for personnel shuttles. Anyone not interested in going groundside let me know; otherwise I’ll let the ship’s computer keep an eye on things.”
By the time the shuttles arrived, it was easily apparent that the entire crew wanted to visit the planet. While not all of them were going to the wedding, everyone on Ginny and Elroy’s shift were attending the civil ceremony. The beagle and the rabbit had transmitted the application while the ship was still in hyperspace.
The spaceport at the planetary capital, Rowley, was rather old, and the crew milled around as Elroy and Mikhal argued over the city directory. One of the crew of the night shift, a black and brown-furred canine, kept looking around nervously until another of the night crew, a mink, asked, “Never been planetside before?”
“Just a little nervous,” the canine admitted.
The mink nodded understandingly. “First time?”
“No, I’ve been nervous lots of times.” A few of those in earshot laughed or groaned at the exchange. The night shift’s senior engineer, a bear, started hitting the canine and the mink with his hat, a billed cap that bore the name of his last ship, the Ventnor. Vinzen Garry, the helm on the night shift, merely covered his eyes and shook his head.
It was hard to tell at first whether the Scottish Fold was laughing or crying, but when he lowered his paws and started yelling at the trio, Meredith could see that the feline was trying hard not to laugh. “Break it up, you bums, or Mikhal will have you fired.” That settled things down before a crowd could gather, and the twenty furs headed for the city’s government center.
There was an oddly piebald rabbit doe, her fur made up of blotches of blonde and slate gray, seated in the lobby, reading her padd. “Mama!” Ginny cried, and ran to the doe as she set her padd aside and stood up in time to take her daughter in her arms. “I’m so glad you could make it!”
“Like I’d miss my favorite daughter’s wedding,” the older doe said tartly.
“I’m your only daughter, Mama.”
“Not my fault you got all the X chromosomes,” and the piebald doe released her daughter after a final peck on her cheek and looked at the others. “I’m Tehani Edwards, Ginny’s mother.”
The skunk stepped forward. “Mikhal Kwinton. I’m captain of the Kiss Me in the Dark.” He jerked his chin at Ginny as he offered a meaty paw to Tehani. “Her boss.” He glanced at Meredith. “Her shift supervisor.”
The rabbit took his paw and shook it before shaking the palomino mare’s paw. “Pleased. Now, Ginny, where’s the poor fool you’ve convinced to marry you?”
The beagle stepped forward and Ginny took his arm. “Elroy al-Najar, ma’am.”
“Call me Tehani.” She took the beagle’s paw and shook it. “Welcome to the family.” She glanced behind her at her padd. “We still have a few minutes before your appointment.”
“Will the boys be coming, Mama?” Ginny asked.
“’Boys?’” Elroy asked.
“My brothers,” Ginny replied.
“She has five of them,” Tehani said, “and they can’t make it. Faranq and Jorj are on the other side of the Sphere, and the others are here and there. They all sent congratulations.” The doe glanced at her padd again. “Right, you two get to the registrar’s office. We’ll tag along.” The happy couple headed for the office, and Tehani remarked to Mikhal, “They seem to like each other. Any trouble during their shift?”
The skunk shrugged. “Told them not to snog while on duty. If they are, I never catch ‘em at it.” He gave Meredith the eye.
The mare promptly said, “They haven’t been snogging while on shift, Mikhal.”
“I see.” Tehani chuckled. “Ex-Navy, you two?”
Mikhal shrugged. “Most of the crew are from the Fleet. Problem?”
“Hell no,” the piebald lapine snorted. “Just wondering. The Star City’s reported overdue and missing.”
Another mephit shrug. “Shit happens,” he growled, and Meredith just flicked her ears. Things did happen at times – ships fell foul of engineering problems or undetected anomalies in hyperspace. The missing Madinat al-Nujum could have had anything happen to it.
The assistant registrar for the planetary government was a macaque, who was smiling through a pair of interface glasses at the lapine and the canine as the rest of the group came in. “I see we have all of your witnesses here,” he said, “and your application was received and approved by the government’s AI. Will this be religious?”
Elroy and Ginny looked at each other before looking back at the man and shaking their heads. “All right, civil it is. Take each other’s paws, please, and recite what you see on the screen.” He placed his paw on a reader screen, establishing himself as the official witness. “When you’re ready.”
They each took a breath and recited:
”I declare that I am of sound mind,
And free to make this decision:
I accept this person as my lawful spouse;
Companion, friend, lover, supporter,
Partner and parent of my children, until
We choose to part; and we call upon
Our friends to witness this oath.”
The registrar smiled and nodded, and everyone cheered and applauded as the newlyweds kissed.
“All right,” Tehani called out over the applause. “I’ve got a reservation at a bar down the street. Drinks are on me.” There was another cheer.
Ginny came up to her mother, Elroy in tow. “Mama! Can you afford it?” she asked.
“Shush,” her mother said. “What's the use of having money in the bank if you can’t piss it away for a good cause? Captain?” she asked Mikhal. “I bet you fifty marks I can drink you under the table.”
The skunk gave a lopsided grin. “You’re on, lightweight.”
***
“ – And I can’t recall how I managed to get back aboard the Kiss Me, Varan. I think I’m still a bit drunk, and it’s a good thing we don’t have to leave for our next stop for another two days. Ginny and Elroy are planetside, and they’ll come aboard before we leave.
Oh, I almost forgot. The game! Just fighting those swamp golems had me saving the module more than we’ve had to do, on average, but the wizard controlling them finally got killed. And Deus, am I glad I saved the game before opening the chest the Amulet was in.
Recall it’s called the Amulet of Sadness? They meant it; it’s a spork, and I’m sorry to say that your character barely survived and mine committed suicide. Twice. I finally figured out to keep the thing in its box, and we took it to the portal before throwing it at the creature guarding the gate. And it really worked. The creature burst into tears, sobbed about ‘The unbearable lightness of being,’ and disintegrated so we could get through to the next level.
I can’t wait to see you again.
Love, Meredith”
Transmission Ends
Category Story / General Furry Art
Species Horse
Size 120 x 120px
File Size 51.6 kB
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