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Expedient
© 2019 by Walter Reimer
Thumbnail art by
steamfox
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right. The seats are designed – “
“I’m sorry.”
“ – to be easy to clean, so – “
“I’m sorry. I haven’t had anything like this happen since my spots went away.”
Akiko and Pima both chuckled. “Don’t worry about it, Matvei,” the goat said. “This is your first time in space; everyone gets a little nervous their first time out.” The husky noticed that the goat was trying hard to keep from reacting to the smell. She didn’t envy him; she was a meter or two apart from him.
The buck’s superior merely sniffed and shook his head. Without getting out of his seat he said, “Matvei.”
Matvei stopped apologizing and his ears swiveled. “Yes, sir?”
The feline looked up from his notes with an absent smile. “Stop apologizing. As far as I know, no one has ever died from embarrassment. Now, be a good fawn and go clean up. These people have seen you furclad at least once, so no need for modesty.”
The buck wrestled momentarily with his seatbelt and stood up. “Yes sir.” He glanced nervously at the two offworlders. “Will I have to lose my loincloth?”
“It’ll be cleaned,” Akiko said, the husky refraining from telling him that it, and the metabolic residues on it, would be sampled for analysis. “Pima?”
The goat gave her a look that promised a long discussion about an increase in pay. “Sure. Follow me, Matvei. You won’t need to go around naked.”
“I won’t?”
“No. We have spare clothes in storage. I’m sure at least one of them fits you – what?” he asked, glancing behind him and seeing the buck’s eyes widen. “Come on, we’ve got to get you cleaned up.”
“Clothes? You mean – actual clothes?” the young cervine asked. At the goat’s questioning look he added, “Apart from these,” and he nodded at his loincloth, “nobody wears clothes on Tempest except for real special things. Even this took a while to make.”
“Really?” Pima asked as he led Matvei back to the ship’s bathroom. That was a bit of information Sociology might need, and he repeated it a few times in his mind to make sure he’d recall it long enough to actually write a note.
It sucked vacuum at times to be one of the few furs aboard who didn’t have a cybernetic implant. He kept planning on having a suite installed; maybe when they got back to Moncayo.
After showing the buck what he needed to clean himself, he took a sterile sample bag from a pocket and shook it open. “I’ll make sure it’s cleaned, and you’ll get it back.”
“Thank you,” came the buck’s voice from behind the partly-closed door. He took the bag, and after a few moments gave it back to Pima. “Again, I’m really sorry about this.” The door closed all the way this time, and he could hear the younger fur fumbling about.
Pima sealed the sample bag and snorted disgustedly in an attempt to clear his sinuses. Whatever the diet was for herbivores on Tempest, it certainly had rather unfortunate end products. Thankfully, the bag was opaque, and he tagged it to give to one of the techs after they docked.
The buck stepped out of the toilet booth dressed in the same blue jumpsuit that the CDT team seemed to favor, and the goat noted that he’d managed to figure out the zip closure by himself. Cleverer than he looks, maybe? He wondered. “You look good,” he said. “Come on, you won’t want to miss this.”
“Do I need to clean the seat?” Matvei asked.
Pima shrugged. “From what I could see, your loincloth caught it – apart from the smell. What do you eat?”
Matvei returned the shrug. “Mainly plants – seaweed, fruit, vegetables. We get fish every now and then. Why?”
That certainly explained the smell. “Just curious,” Pima said.
Akiko had finished wiping down the seats and after Matvei thanked her profusely he sat back down, instantly transfixed by the view from the window.
Tempest moved below them, a vast ocean with a smattering of islands and varying shades of blue to denote shallow seamounts and deeper guyots. Matvei was pressed against the window, staring openmouthed at the view, and Pima remarked, “Impressive, isn’t it? That’s your home.”
“I’m so glad . . . “
“Eh?”
The young buck turned to the goat, his eyes wide in awe. “I’m so glad that you came, Pima. I can’t wait to tell Grandfather about this, and I’ll tell my grandfawns about it when I’m old.” He looked back at Tsien, and saw that the feline was also looking out the window. He could hear him muttering about his fellow Committee member for Astronomy, muttering “lost opportunity” over and over again.
Pima tapped the buck on the shoulder, and pointed. “That’s the Expedient. We’ll be coming in to dock shortly.”
Matvei stared at the ship, an ovoid shape that loomed over the lander, dwarfing it. “How – “ he swallowed hard. “How big is it? It looks almost as big as the Tau Beta.”
“Only about half as long,” one of the pilots replied, glancing over his shoulder at the buck. “Lot fewer people, too.”
“You’re no longer using sodium reactors,” Tsien observed, peering out the windows at the approaching ship.
The pilot blinked at him, then caught the reference and gave a slight chuckle. “I’m afraid they were a transitional design. It couldn’t compete with antimatter reactors.”
The feline blinked. “Antimatter?” He looked at Akiko.
The husky smiled. “I’ll add the engines to our list of things to see while we get the generators loaded. The Expedient is powered by a tenth-generation antimatter reactor, very efficient.” She glanced at the pilot. “ETA to the ship?”
“About five minutes, Ma’am,” the canine replied. “They’re maintaining position over the archipelago at the request of one of the sociologists. Qandus-jih.” The husky didn’t reply, but her ears dipped and the pilot returned to paying attention to the controls. He touched a finger to his headset. “Docking Control, confirmed AI override enabled, on approach.”
The ship drew closer and Matvei gulped audibly. “Are we going to crash?” he asked in a small voice.
“Not a chance,” the pilot said. He jerked a thumb at his companion and added, “Jak and I’ve done thousands of landings, and if we do have trouble, the Expedient’s computer will take over. You’re as safe as if you were in your mother’s arms.”
Tsien reached over and laid a paw on Matvei’s shoulder. “It’s certainly one thing to be told about the Out There, and another to actually see it, eh young fellow? I confess that I’m quite overwhelmed by it all.” The buck nodded, struck dumb as the lander reoriented itself to enter the bigger ship’s docking bay.
Akiko heard the feline, and her ears dipped again while she wondered if she’d done the right thing to bring the two along. There was a possibility that cultural shock might set in.
That brought up another consideration. “Tsien-san?”
“Eh? Yes, Akiko-san?”
“I was wondering something.” That drew the feline’s attention away from the windows as the lander settled into its berth and the docking bay started to repressurize. “Would you and the Sergeant-at-Arms – “ no harm in giving the buck back a little bit of his dignity “ – agree to a brief medical examination?”
Tsien blinked. “How long would that take?”
“Not very long. A small amount of blood, and the rest of the scans aren’t intrusive.”
The feline’s ears flicked. “You’re worried about inbreeding, aren’t you?”
Akiko’s eyes widened. How did he know about that? “Yes. You see, you have such a small population – “
Tsien nodded. “Yes, I quite understand your concern. My fellow Member for the Economy would be the one you’d need to talk to, really, but I do know a few things.”
“Economy?”
“Oh yes, my dear colleague. Standing Order Twenty was written by the Captain on the advice of the Tau Beta’s Medical Officer. It addresses the need for people to marry outside their family, clan or tribe, and never allow cousins to have children. My, yes. Economy will be the one to talk to, he keeps the family registries. But I see no problem with an examination.” Ears perked at the slight change in air pressure as the lander’s hatches opened.
Technology clapped the Sergeant-at-Arms on the shoulder. “Come on, my boy, we have wonders to see.” He smiled at Akiko. “But first, a brief detour for a medical examination.”
The feline and the husky started to leave, and Matvei finally tore his gaze away from the view from the window.
“What? Tsien-san, wait!” The buck trotted after his superior.
© 2019 by Walter Reimer
Thumbnail art by
steamfox“I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right. The seats are designed – “
“I’m sorry.”
“ – to be easy to clean, so – “
“I’m sorry. I haven’t had anything like this happen since my spots went away.”
Akiko and Pima both chuckled. “Don’t worry about it, Matvei,” the goat said. “This is your first time in space; everyone gets a little nervous their first time out.” The husky noticed that the goat was trying hard to keep from reacting to the smell. She didn’t envy him; she was a meter or two apart from him.
The buck’s superior merely sniffed and shook his head. Without getting out of his seat he said, “Matvei.”
Matvei stopped apologizing and his ears swiveled. “Yes, sir?”
The feline looked up from his notes with an absent smile. “Stop apologizing. As far as I know, no one has ever died from embarrassment. Now, be a good fawn and go clean up. These people have seen you furclad at least once, so no need for modesty.”
The buck wrestled momentarily with his seatbelt and stood up. “Yes sir.” He glanced nervously at the two offworlders. “Will I have to lose my loincloth?”
“It’ll be cleaned,” Akiko said, the husky refraining from telling him that it, and the metabolic residues on it, would be sampled for analysis. “Pima?”
The goat gave her a look that promised a long discussion about an increase in pay. “Sure. Follow me, Matvei. You won’t need to go around naked.”
“I won’t?”
“No. We have spare clothes in storage. I’m sure at least one of them fits you – what?” he asked, glancing behind him and seeing the buck’s eyes widen. “Come on, we’ve got to get you cleaned up.”
“Clothes? You mean – actual clothes?” the young cervine asked. At the goat’s questioning look he added, “Apart from these,” and he nodded at his loincloth, “nobody wears clothes on Tempest except for real special things. Even this took a while to make.”
“Really?” Pima asked as he led Matvei back to the ship’s bathroom. That was a bit of information Sociology might need, and he repeated it a few times in his mind to make sure he’d recall it long enough to actually write a note.
It sucked vacuum at times to be one of the few furs aboard who didn’t have a cybernetic implant. He kept planning on having a suite installed; maybe when they got back to Moncayo.
After showing the buck what he needed to clean himself, he took a sterile sample bag from a pocket and shook it open. “I’ll make sure it’s cleaned, and you’ll get it back.”
“Thank you,” came the buck’s voice from behind the partly-closed door. He took the bag, and after a few moments gave it back to Pima. “Again, I’m really sorry about this.” The door closed all the way this time, and he could hear the younger fur fumbling about.
Pima sealed the sample bag and snorted disgustedly in an attempt to clear his sinuses. Whatever the diet was for herbivores on Tempest, it certainly had rather unfortunate end products. Thankfully, the bag was opaque, and he tagged it to give to one of the techs after they docked.
The buck stepped out of the toilet booth dressed in the same blue jumpsuit that the CDT team seemed to favor, and the goat noted that he’d managed to figure out the zip closure by himself. Cleverer than he looks, maybe? He wondered. “You look good,” he said. “Come on, you won’t want to miss this.”
“Do I need to clean the seat?” Matvei asked.
Pima shrugged. “From what I could see, your loincloth caught it – apart from the smell. What do you eat?”
Matvei returned the shrug. “Mainly plants – seaweed, fruit, vegetables. We get fish every now and then. Why?”
That certainly explained the smell. “Just curious,” Pima said.
Akiko had finished wiping down the seats and after Matvei thanked her profusely he sat back down, instantly transfixed by the view from the window.
Tempest moved below them, a vast ocean with a smattering of islands and varying shades of blue to denote shallow seamounts and deeper guyots. Matvei was pressed against the window, staring openmouthed at the view, and Pima remarked, “Impressive, isn’t it? That’s your home.”
“I’m so glad . . . “
“Eh?”
The young buck turned to the goat, his eyes wide in awe. “I’m so glad that you came, Pima. I can’t wait to tell Grandfather about this, and I’ll tell my grandfawns about it when I’m old.” He looked back at Tsien, and saw that the feline was also looking out the window. He could hear him muttering about his fellow Committee member for Astronomy, muttering “lost opportunity” over and over again.
Pima tapped the buck on the shoulder, and pointed. “That’s the Expedient. We’ll be coming in to dock shortly.”
Matvei stared at the ship, an ovoid shape that loomed over the lander, dwarfing it. “How – “ he swallowed hard. “How big is it? It looks almost as big as the Tau Beta.”
“Only about half as long,” one of the pilots replied, glancing over his shoulder at the buck. “Lot fewer people, too.”
“You’re no longer using sodium reactors,” Tsien observed, peering out the windows at the approaching ship.
The pilot blinked at him, then caught the reference and gave a slight chuckle. “I’m afraid they were a transitional design. It couldn’t compete with antimatter reactors.”
The feline blinked. “Antimatter?” He looked at Akiko.
The husky smiled. “I’ll add the engines to our list of things to see while we get the generators loaded. The Expedient is powered by a tenth-generation antimatter reactor, very efficient.” She glanced at the pilot. “ETA to the ship?”
“About five minutes, Ma’am,” the canine replied. “They’re maintaining position over the archipelago at the request of one of the sociologists. Qandus-jih.” The husky didn’t reply, but her ears dipped and the pilot returned to paying attention to the controls. He touched a finger to his headset. “Docking Control, confirmed AI override enabled, on approach.”
The ship drew closer and Matvei gulped audibly. “Are we going to crash?” he asked in a small voice.
“Not a chance,” the pilot said. He jerked a thumb at his companion and added, “Jak and I’ve done thousands of landings, and if we do have trouble, the Expedient’s computer will take over. You’re as safe as if you were in your mother’s arms.”
Tsien reached over and laid a paw on Matvei’s shoulder. “It’s certainly one thing to be told about the Out There, and another to actually see it, eh young fellow? I confess that I’m quite overwhelmed by it all.” The buck nodded, struck dumb as the lander reoriented itself to enter the bigger ship’s docking bay.
Akiko heard the feline, and her ears dipped again while she wondered if she’d done the right thing to bring the two along. There was a possibility that cultural shock might set in.
That brought up another consideration. “Tsien-san?”
“Eh? Yes, Akiko-san?”
“I was wondering something.” That drew the feline’s attention away from the windows as the lander settled into its berth and the docking bay started to repressurize. “Would you and the Sergeant-at-Arms – “ no harm in giving the buck back a little bit of his dignity “ – agree to a brief medical examination?”
Tsien blinked. “How long would that take?”
“Not very long. A small amount of blood, and the rest of the scans aren’t intrusive.”
The feline’s ears flicked. “You’re worried about inbreeding, aren’t you?”
Akiko’s eyes widened. How did he know about that? “Yes. You see, you have such a small population – “
Tsien nodded. “Yes, I quite understand your concern. My fellow Member for the Economy would be the one you’d need to talk to, really, but I do know a few things.”
“Economy?”
“Oh yes, my dear colleague. Standing Order Twenty was written by the Captain on the advice of the Tau Beta’s Medical Officer. It addresses the need for people to marry outside their family, clan or tribe, and never allow cousins to have children. My, yes. Economy will be the one to talk to, he keeps the family registries. But I see no problem with an examination.” Ears perked at the slight change in air pressure as the lander’s hatches opened.
Technology clapped the Sergeant-at-Arms on the shoulder. “Come on, my boy, we have wonders to see.” He smiled at Akiko. “But first, a brief detour for a medical examination.”
The feline and the husky started to leave, and Matvei finally tore his gaze away from the view from the window.
“What? Tsien-san, wait!” The buck trotted after his superior.
Category Story / General Furry Art
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 120 x 87px
File Size 47.5 kB
Listed in Folders
The "reform of the curriculum" that 
eocostello alluded to in the first chapter wasn't made clear, but probably had nothing to do with inbreeding, as that's Economy's brief. Personally, I think that the reforms basically involved giving up trying to call for help and basically trying to make something of the world they have - rather than pine for a world that was lost and only a few of the very old (like herself) can remember.
eocostello alluded to in the first chapter wasn't made clear, but probably had nothing to do with inbreeding, as that's Economy's brief. Personally, I think that the reforms basically involved giving up trying to call for help and basically trying to make something of the world they have - rather than pine for a world that was lost and only a few of the very old (like herself) can remember.
Being perfectly fair to Ms. Chiuri, she'd have rather a point - the solar panels and batteries were failing, most of the liner was uninhabitable and useless due to lack of energy and maintenance. Better to stop mourning and start living.
Of course, the decrease in solar flux and the ability to call for help has completely destroyed that plan.
Of course, the decrease in solar flux and the ability to call for help has completely destroyed that plan.
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