The Carlson Chronicle Chapter 1
Chapter 15

14-Mar-2346

Cygna huddled next to the fire she had built in the cave they sheltered in, high in the Black Mountains. From the mouth of that cave, she could see the total devastation wrought by the Garshans, then the follow up devastation wrought by whoever it was that destroyed that Garshan task force. As she tossed a few more twigs onto the fire, Furball plodded into the cave carrying several mountain hares by their long ears. He looked gaunt, mainly because he hadn’t eaten in days. He set them down next to her and the fire, then collapsed onto his side.

“I’m surprised you didn’t eat at least one. There’s more then enough here for me, Brave one.” She said to him, stroking his side.

<You’re the brave one. You need to keep your strength up. If it comes to that, I want you to eat me, to survive.> She looked at him in shock.

“If it comes to that, if our situation grows that hopeless, I’ll port us both into the void, and let it be done with. I’ll not eat you.” She replied, rather flatly, taking a knife off of her belt, and preparing the half dozen hares for a stew. Within a few minutes, a wonderful smell could be found wafting through the cavern. Using a curved, round rock, she scooped out a healthy portion for herself, setting the kettle before him.

“Eat, and worry not for my strength. You are the hunter, and without your strength, you’ll surely become the prey.”

Between slurps and gnashes of his great teeth, he replied.

<Your skills as a chef have not gone undiminished, Cygna. I’ll enjoy this meal, for it is to be our last. What I didn’t tell you before is, the fires from the attack, have spread to everywhere not made of stone. These are the last game animals to be found here, or anywhere I’m afraid.> He said, as he finished what was in the kettle, licking the still warm bowl clean. She finished her helping, set the rock into the kettle, and curled up next to him. He placed a great paw about her shoulders, and held her as she quietly wept.

“I..I haven’t been...this out of touch...with Ashia...ever. Do you think they survived?”

<I doubt they did. Temple Square was hit with a weapon that literally vaporized most of the Imperial City, and reduced the farms and villages around it to burnt cinders. If we are to survive, we must replace a way off of this planet. Barnard knew of a place. Didn’t he ever take you anywhere in that vessel of his?>

Cygna thought long and hard, and even though she had seen Center from a viewport, she had never gone a board the mighty sphere.

“Just one place, but I’ve never been inside. He called it a “World Sphere”, a giant metal ball with people and plants living on the inside.”

<Then that is where we must go. Try Cygna, you must try. We won’t survive here much longer if we stay, and if we die here, then the Garshans win forever. But if we live, and can show them that we survived their attempts to kill us all, then, then ours will be the just reward.> He spoke to her. She looked at her hands, wringing them absently, as she tried to remember even the slightest detail of Barnard’s talk about the station, something, anything that she could use as a reference to avoid ’porting blind...

Grabbing him around the neck, she kissed his cheek lovingly, rolling him over and scratching his chest. His deep, rumbling purr told her he was at least happy for now, despite all they had seen.

Wrapping her arms tightly about his neck, she thought of the station she had seen from the port-hole on Barnard’s ship, and willed them to it...

Within seconds, the air that stung her nostrils was clean and fresh, and rushing by as though forced through a straw. She still held tightly to his neck, and his mental yelp told her everything: They were falling!

Looking down, she saw farmland far, far below. Concentrating, she tried to port them up to stop their falling velocity, since with all teleporting, you retained orientation and velocity when you ’ported anywhere. But when she tried to port them up, nothing happened, and her world dissolved into welcome blackness...

When next she awoke, her surroundings were very different. A room, decorated with pictures of males, they looked like Garshans, though their hair was blonde like Loren’s or brown like Cylus’. They looked a lot like Barnard’s people, he called them ‘Humans’ and wondered if she really had ported herself and Furball all the way to Center. Suddenly, she felt a hand go around her waist, and realized she was indeed in a bed, but not alone! Rising with a start, she also noticed she was naked, not even her Sha-lang! A light came on, and the face of a small human boy was looking at her.

“Hi kitty! Glad to see you’re awake.” He said in the tongue Barnard had taught to her. He was young, no more then 12 cycles, and was wearing a cloth body covering with what looked like dancing bears on it. She choked down a giggle, as he rolled over and grabbed a brush off of the table where the light sat.

“My Pa’s off in town for the next couple a days, trying to get us a decent coin for our heads of cows. He left me and my sister here alone, but she keeps running off with Bobby Gallagher from the ranch next door. Suits me fine I suppose, let’s me have the house to myself. So, where’d a Gideon lioness like yourself come from? I found you out in the vegetable garden behind the wood shed. I have food in the kitchen if’n you’re hungry, but that gardens’ been dead ever since Ma passed away last spring.” He finished as Cygna tried to take it all in. She phrased her next question very carefully.

“This is inside of Center, right?”

“Yes ma’am. We’re 30 klicks north-northeast of New Duncanville. I must say you were a mess when I found you, but to look at you, you look just fine now.” He finished with a smile, his eyes fixated on her C cup breasts. Though they were covered in a soft yet short fur, the nipples could still be seen, and for some unknown reason, her’s were getting erect.

It hit her almost as fast as it hit her; she was going into season, and Marrokian Heat waits for no one. She only hoped she didn’t kill her unwitting host and that he was indeed of age.

Several hours later...

As she lay snuggled against his back, he sleeping off what had to be his best time ever, she gently kissed the nape of his neck, happy that he was indeed mature enough and actually quite eager to have a girl fall all over herself to be with him in that manly way. She didn’t have the heart to tell him that she really had no choice or any say whatsoever in the matter, only that she was glad he enjoyed her and that she wanted to sleep some more. He brushed her hair then brushed her fur, and it was all she could do not to rape him. But as she lay there in the warm afterglow of good, if not great, sex, all her thoughts suddenly turned to Furball. She sat up with a start.

“Donnie? I was traveling with a big cat. Did you by any chance see him?”

“Yep, he was as beat up as you were, so I drug him with my scooter into the barn, covered him with a horse blanket and left him there. He still had a pulse, so I figured when he woke up, he’d come replace you.”

And replace her he did, as Donnie’s bedroom door damn near came flying off of its hinges, Furball standing 9 hands high in the semi-lit corridor. Donnie jumped over Cygna, hiding behind her shaking.

<CYGNA! Are you alright?>

“Easy Furball. I’m fine. He hasn’t hurt me, in fact, I am glad he was here.” She said with a knowing wink, and pointing subtlely at her waist. Furball grinned, plodded to the edge of the bed and laid his big head on the edge, she gently scratching him behind an ear.

<You did it! You got us to Center!>

“Yes, yes I did. Donnie, this is my companion, Furball. Furball, this is Donnie.”

<Hello Donnie, and thanks for that blanket. It was a little bit chilly out there!>

“He talked in my head!” He said with a scream of surprise.

<Yes Donnie, we both have that ability. Please don’t be alarmed.> She said into his mind. He blinked.

“Umm, I wanted to thank you ma’am, I was a virgin before a few hours ago. At least now the other boys at school will stop teasing me about not having a girl friend, or about waiting.”

“How many cycles are you Donnie?”

“Cycles? Oh! You Gideon types. Hahaha! I’m 15 this winter. 14 now, but almost 15. How old are you?”

Not knowing if eternals were widely known about or not, she decided to err on the side of caution.

“How old do I look?” She said, striking a rather seductive and quite scandalous pose, that got his attention both in the eyes and the loins.

“I’d guess maybe 19-20 in human years, 4 or 5 in Gideon ones.” He said, swallowing hard.

<Furball? Stand guard, kill anyone who approaches that doesn’t smell like some part of this structure, understand?>

<Aye Slayer, treat him gently.> He said with a wink and a grin, then padded out, as Cygna dosed the light on the table, and treating Donnie to 2,000 years as a pleasure slave...

21-Apr-2346

Wearing the clothes Donnie had swiped from his sister’s closet, a thigh high leather skirt, black button up long sleeve shirt, with a matching black leather vest and ankle high black leather boots, Cygna looked the part of a biker chick. Furball walked along side of her, a large spiked-adorned dog collar around his neck. Donnie had only a small amount of coin to share with her, but raided his sister’s coin bank for some more, citing that he always swiped a few extra coins from her whenever she went off to be with Bobby Gallagher. Hush money he called it.

Walking through Brown Sector, not sure where to go, she stopped every other person asking if they knew where she could replace Barnard.

No one seemed to know who she meant, but one nice man sent her to see Omar, so there was where she made her first inquiry.

<Um, Cygna, I don’t think this is a good place to start looking for Barnard.> Was all he said, and the last thing she heard before some kind of energy beam hit her, and she collapsed unconscious onto the ground.

“Well now boys, it’s not everyday we get such a beauty just wanting to be a loving slave girl. Chain up that saber tooth she’s with, and use the good stuff. He looks like he’s strong enough to rip a whole wall down otherwise.” Omar directed his workers, as he carried Cygna inside, stripped her and examined his latest catch. Slipping the collar around her throat, she awoke with a start as he branded her with the tiny rose brand, on her upper left thigh.

‘I’ve been caught by slavers!’ She thought to herself, looking up at the corpulent human who stood over her.

“Good, you’re awake. Pleasure me slave girl, or it’s the whip you’ll feel.” He said, holding up a cat-o-nine tails. Eyes wide, she slipped onto her knees, fumbled with his pantaloons, found his, hmm, manhood, short as it was, and serviced him with all of her skill. Granted, he was barely half a handful fully erect, but he did seem to enjoy her skill, so maybe she’d avoid his whip today. Mentally, she called out to Furball.

<Furball? Are you out there?>

<Agh, yes, yes I’m here Slayer. These slavers have me chained to a wall. Damn solid these chains. They have a food bowl here for me and a water dish. I’ll be fine for now, replace out what you can about Barnard.>

<Aye, call if they do anything to hurt you.>

<Aye.> And his deep rumbling purr told her he’d fallen back to sleep.

Re-focusing her attentions on Omar, she slipped up his front, pushing him onto his back, reading his version of eternity, and as odd as it was, he too, like Furball and every other eternal she’d come across, was a gray. Even Furball had said she read as a gray, even though she knew she had chosen light when she crossed over.

Since her time had passed, she didn’t worry about a conception, so, with all of her flexibility and skill, proceeded to pleasure Master Omar well into the wee morning hours...

And there she stayed, making quiet inquiries about Barnard and Claudia until one night, in 2352, when a drunken wolf with a Terran Empire Officer’s uniform stumbled into Omar’s looking for a hot one night stand, and offering over 100,000 credits for the right girl, did she replace the information she sought.

After servicing him, and again the following morning, she begged him to send Barnard.

“Please Master Flow, tell Barnard you found Cygna, and any riches you desire will be yours. He will give you the keys to his considerable kingdom for this information alone.”

“I found Cygna, ok. Be good kitty! I’ll see you again soon!” And he left. She sat back wondering if and when she would see him again...