Mirror Cycle

                            By:

                         Fox Cutter

    Chapter 14

I winced slightly as Oria's brush caught at a knot in my
hair. She tisked softly as she worked at it, using her claws
to pry it loose. "Fox, you need to keep your hair in better
shape. Now that you're letting it grow long, it's going to
become prone to being a mess."

"Yes, ma'am," I commented, keeping my eyes closed, but
purring happily. She worked at the knot for a few more
moments before getting it loose, then returned to the brush,
working it back down through my black hair.

There was no easy way I could hide how much I was enjoying
this. I was purring contently as I rested in my chair, Oria
in a second one behind me. She had been working over my hair
for the last half an hour, and it felt wonderful. This was
something she had not done for me before, not slow and
loving like this.

She continued with the brushing, tickling my ear gently as
she neared it. My purr deepened in response. It felt quite
nice to purr; it was kind of a rumbling deep inside my
throat, almost soothing in it's own way. I quite enjoyed it.

This was all going on in the Mess on board _The Falcon_. We
ere two hours into our trip, and almost to Cain's base. It
had all started with a simple comment, and had flowed from
there. I was going to have to look into this; if she could
make me feel this good with what hair I have, I could just
imagine what I could do with her body of lovely fur.

The ship was filled compared to what it was before. Milgrove
was flying once again, but Kalie had elected to stay home
for the moment, and to watch over the kids. Ravindar and
Santhara were both on board, and of course Oriana. Rhea had
joined us as well, and she was laying by my feet, asleep for
the moment.

"I love you, Oriana," I purred as she stroked my hair. As
always, the words were known, but it felt good to speak them
aloud.

She kissed my ear, "I love you, too, Fox," she purred in
return, then hugged me around my neck. I returned it as best
I could for the moment.

Breaking away after a few seconds, she began braiding my
hair into the usual pig-tail. She was very careful about it,
feathering it down the back of my head, pulling in more hair
with each passing row. When finished, she tied it off, then
gave it a flick. "There, perfect," she said, walking around
to the front of me.

I smiled at her, pulling her into my lap, and nuzzling her
neck. She broke into a fit of laughter, pawing at my sides
gently. "Hey, watch it," she giggled.

Pulling back just for a moment, I stuck my tongue out at
her, then gave her a kiss. She returned it happily, wrapping
her arms around me as we embraced, kissing deeply for the
moment.

Her body pressed closer to mine as we continued the kiss. I
wrapped my arms around her back, my fingers tickling at the
base of her tail. She broke away, laughing. "Hey, that's not
fair! You don't have a tail!"

"Yep," I answered, giving her nosepad a quick lick. "At
least for the time being. You'll have all the chanced you
want to get my tail next time I'm female."

Santhara shoot us a strange look from the table where she
and Ravindar had set themselves. He had the majority of his
attention focused on the gun I had brought from Cain's base.
Ignoring this, she started to ask him something. He stopped
her with the flick of an ear, never diverting his attention
from the gun.

"You know, we're really going to hurt her head when she
finds out about me," I commented to Oria, my fingers playing
with the tuft of fur on her tail.

She flicked it out of my touch, twitching her ears in a
suppressed giggle. "It hurts my head when I try to work it
all out," she purred, giving me a second light kiss on the
lips.

I returned it for a moment, then hugged her close again.
"Well that's why I have Ken around. He can work all of this
out for us, and we don't have to worry about it!"

"We don't," she said with a smile, "but you do," she told
me, running the side of her paw down my face, flicking
gently at my ear.

I purred happily at her touch, my own fingers working up to
tickle her ears. Then tracing the around her hairline, I
moved one hand to the back of her head, the other I pulled
back away, leaving just a single finger placed at the top of
her muzzle, between her eyes.

She returned the gesture on myself for a few moments before
we both pulled away, and into a hug. "I'm glad I have you,"
she whispered into my ear.

"I'll never leave again after this," I whispered in return,
nuzzling her gently. "Not if I can help it," I added a
moment later, somehow suspecting my life wouldn't allow me
to stay away from such adventures for long, or allow such
adventures to stay away from me.

Holding me tighter was her only response.

We stayed like that for a few, short moments, before I
noticed Ravindar was standing a few feet away. He was
looking relaxed, his tail swaying gently, a slight smile,
almost hidden, on his muzzle as he watched us. Once he
noticed my attention, it quickly slipped into a more serious
look.

"It's time for work, love," I told Oria.

She nodded, giving me a little pout as she slid out of my
lap. I took the opportunity to run my fingers over her rear,
I got her tail in my face for my troubles.

With a laugh, I brushed it away, relaxing slightly in my
chair as I turned my full attention to my bodyguard. "So,
what's up?"

"The gun you brought with you from Cain's base," he said,
his posture changing slightly. "You said that it would not
fire at him?"

"That's correct," I answered.

"I have been looking over the weapon, and I believe I
understand how it does this," he explained, taking a step
over to his table, where the gun lay. A piece from the
handle had been removed, and set to the side. It revealed
some small bits of circuitry.

Picking up the gun, he held it pointed to the ground. I rose
to my feet, and walked over to him. "Care to fill me in on
the secret?"

He nodded, turning the weapon to show me the exposed
electronics. "The barrel of the gun seems to have some kind
of sensor net woven into the metal. It works in conjunction
with this to provide a biometric reading of the subject in
the gun's sight. If it matches one in the system's memory,
it puts a small shield over the primer of the gun when the
trigger is pulled, preventing it from firing."

"Clever," I commented, rubbing my chin, "but seems a bit
academic, unless you know how to reprogramming his weapons."

"Not easily, I fear," he answered, adjusting the position of
the gun. "But I can change this weapon's systems so that it
will prevent a shot at you instead of Cain. It might be
useful if you can switch this with whatever gun he may have.
It will give you an advantage that he will not be
expecting."

I laughed, "That is a very good piece of thinking," I told
him, placing my hand on his shoulder. "It might be worth the
extra effort to try," I paused, turning back around to look
at my wife. "What do you think, Oria?"

"I'm not sure it's practical," she commented, twitching her
ears as she thought. "It would be hard to switch his gun for
that one, and even then you couldn't be sure it hadn't been
switched back."

"I would agree with Oriana," Santhara added, taking a small
step forward. "This seems more like a plan of convince than
assuredness. There is also the problem of the ammunition
being slightly larger than standard size. I suspect you have
nothing that would fire safely. That would limit you to the
few rounds you brought with you, once they are expended, the
gun will become dead weight."

I looked between the two ladies, then back to Ravindar. "I
think you have been overruled. They both have some very good
points. If this was something where I had more of an
advantage, and we could guarantee the weapon would be used
by him, then it would be useful. It is a good idea, I will
give you that, just not for this situation."

He nodded his head, his tail standing still behind him. In
his position I would have been quite discouraged to have my
idea so casually shot down. I suspected he was feeling much
the same way, but excelled at hiding it far better than I
ever could.

"May I continue my investigation of the weapon?" he asked,
in a much more formal tone. "I might fine a way to use our
knowledge of it's design to disable them from a short
distance."

I couldn't tell if he was pissed, embarrassed, or just what,
but it was clear he wasn't very happy. Such a formal request
was not normal from him, and it felt strange having him ask
me such a simple question in that manner.

"You don't need my permission for that," I told him. "You
are free to do what you feel is necessary to protect my
safety. Some ideas don't work, it's nothing you should worry
about."

He nodded his head, though it was more of a snap than a nod
really. Then settling back down at the table, he returned to
his work.

To be honest, I wasn't quite sure how to respond to this
situation. The idea did have some merit to it, and in
another situation I would be more than happy to use it as he
described. In this situation, on the other hand, it would
not be practical. Not to mention I would have to set aside
one of my normal guns to carry the extra, which would have
inconvenienced me more.

The situation was broken by the intercom flaring to life for
a moment. "Fox, can you come to the cockpit," Milgrove
asked, hir voice calm. "There's a ship identifying itself as
the _Benthic Explorer_ holding position behind us. It's very
large, and doesn't appear to be armed.."

I moved over to the intercom as she spoke. "Thanks," I
responded, "I'll be right there."

"I'll be right back," I told everyone, before climbing the
steps into the hallway. It was a short distance to the
cockpits, only seventy feet at most. I took my time though,
or at least tried to. I was feeling kind of nervous. All of
our plans revolved around getting the fold opened again in
short order.

Once there, I hit the open button for the door. It split
down the middle, the seam made up of overlapping sections of
the doors. It was strong enough to withstand hard vacuum on
either side, along with any attack someone could put up
against it.

With the doors opened, I stepped inside the small room. It
was dominated by one large chair, set in front of the
controls for the ship, and the view screen, Milgrove sat
alertly in the chair, her paws resting on the flight
controls.

The rest of the cockpit was made up of some side consoles
along one wall, to be used by people in my current position
of standing behind the pilot. The other wall had the access
hatch to the gunner's cockpit bellow, my usual location,
when it was needed.

"Have they hailed us?" I asked, glancing over Mil's
shoulder.

Sie shook hir head, touching the communication controls.
"Not a word from them, they've just matched course and speed
with us, following us in."

"Right," I said, stepping back to the console, and calling
up the communication system. It took only a moment to have
it request a channel to the larger ship. Once it was opened,
I started speaking. "_Benthic Explorer_ this is The
_Falcon_; I'm glad to see you have joined us. I would like
for you to head to the base that's about," I did a quick
check of the distance, "20 light minutes ahead, and take up
a docking position. We'll be right behind you."

Their response came a few moments later, "Acknowledged
_Falcon_, course has been approved, executing now. _Benthic
Explorer_, over and out."

"Good," I said, shutting down the system, and turning back
to Milgrove. "Tell the rest of the fleet out there that
we're expecting this ship. Then pull back a bit, I want to
see this."

Sie craned hir head back to me, hir fingers dancing over the
controls with practiced ease. "What are you hoping to see?"

I smiled, placing a hand on the chair, my other hand
reaching over to the view screen controls, turning on more
of the systems. In the blink of an eye, the plain white
ceiling and walls of the cockpit flashed away, leaving us
with a wide view of the space around us.

"That's not an answer," sie scolded, adjusting her headset
slightly. "And I wish you wouldn't play with the controls
like that." Hir short spiraled horns caught the starlight as
she spoke, causing them to glitter for a moment.

With a short chuckle, I turned to the console, pulling up
the local area map. The other ship stood out clear as day,
huge next to us, and starting to overtake us. Only five
miles away, it should be something of a view. "I've never
actually seen one of the R&D ships," I explained, "This is
my chance to take it all in. Once we get to the base,
everything will be to busy too just stop and admire it.
Could you up the zoom on the view screen?"

Sie nodded, dialing it up a few notches, then lifted hir paw
to motion me to stay silent as sie relayed the orders to the
other ships, still hanging in orbit around the base. They
were broadcasting a navigation beacon so we could find the
base easily enough from this distance, as it wasn't even a
speck of light yet.

Taking a step back from the console, I waited, it was only
another minute before the ship started to pass us. It was
going to be a fantastic sight. I didn't even bother to look
as Rhea joined my side, sitting on her haunches, looking up
at the twinkling stars. Oria, on the other hand, got my
attention as she slipped her arm around my back.

I wrapped my own arm around her, pulling her close. I could
feel the tension in her body, just under her fur. She didn't
like being in the cockpit, it was the main reason why she
wasn't flying the ship, as had been the original plan a
lifetime ago. It brought back memories of a tragic accident
she, and a few others, had lived through, that many others
had not.

As I stroked my fingers through her soft hair, we waited in
silence, as slowly, silently, above us the ship slide into
view. It was hard to describe in words; it wasn't a
magnificent ship by any measure. There was no art to its
shape, simply ease. The front was made of a large cone,
covering the whole width of the ship. The once white
surfaces were pelted with small craters from years of travel
in space.

Behind the cone was the majority of the ship. Dark and light
metal, crisscrossed within a maze of pipes and conduits, all
wrapped in a thick scaffolding. In a few places, there was
some hull plating covering the frame of the ship-- only what
was needed to show the ships name and registration.

The ship continued to sail by. The lights from scattered
windows illuminated it's bare structure. After a short time
the layout changed. A large open section in the hull showed
itself. Docked inside were a dozen smaller craft, each
hanging open in space, their windows dark, with the
exception of one. The last ship had its running lights on,
and I could see people moving inside, prepping it for use.

After the docking bay, the ship thinned down to the basic
scaffolding, with a few pipes and other needed devices
wrapped around them. Halfway through this section came a
large ring, circling around the whole ship, attached to the
framework. A massive explosive bolt, designed to separate
the ship in two, if ever needed.

Why such things would be needed was clear a few moments
later as the hull was once again filled. This time with a
massive tank, painted a bright red with writing down the
side in white. In over a dozen languages it reported itself
as liquid fuel, and to be handled with the utmost care. The
tank was specially made of layer upon layer of some of the
hardest metals and alloys known wrapped inside a shield that
had its own power system. It was the weakest point of the
ship, and had to be protected at all cost.

As the tank passed, there came the return of hull plating to
the ship's structure. Not a smooth transition, but more of a
ragged edge that slowly picked up into a constant layer of
metal. Under it pounded the heart of the ship, a massive set
of four power systems, some of the largest ever constructed.
Behind which sat fifteen of the most powerful engines in use
today. The bell of each was over a hundred feet tall, and
half that wide. Even at the low level of power they were now
using, it was to bright too look at. The display
automatically blocked it out.

"How can anyone afford a ship like that?" Oria asked as it
passed us by. "It's huge, it must be over a mile long," her
voice was a mix of shock and awe.

"This is one ship of three," I explained. "Meant for ten
year missions without ever resupplying. I have to admit that
I've no idea how such things could be paid for, but once
they are launched, they are totally self-sufficient. You do
lose some things, though; at that size you could never get
the ship into hypospace."

"Too big for my tastes," Oria commented, pulling herself
against me. "I much prefer _The Golden Phoenix_ large enough
to find quiet spots in, without getting lost."

I smiled, kissing her nose. "I'll second that." I turned my
attention to Milgrove. "Well, the show's over," I said with
a smile. "Follow them in to the base."

Sie nodded. "Yes sir, we should be there in just over an
hour and ten minutes."

Oria laughed, wrapping her tail against my wrist, "Good,"
she purred, pulling me out of the cockpit. "We'll be back by
then."

I let out a soft laugh as she pulled me through the door,
taking her tail in my hands, and following her like a lost
cub, the pair of us purring all the way.

* * *

Two hours later, I was once more in the room from whence
Cain had escaped. Some of his blood was still on the floor,
dried into a set of black smears along the ground. That had
all happened less than a day ago, but it felt like years.

Rubbing my wounded shoulder, I waited against one of the
walls as a few of the _Explorer's_ techs were running
around, working on the control panel for the portal machine.
They thought it could be reactivated to the same location,
but were not completely sure.

Oriana was next to me, her eyes darting around the activity
in the room. She was nervous, and understandably so. She
knew, just as well as I did, that if we could get the fold
open to Cain's destination, I was going to follow him right
then and there.

Rhea was also in the room, but not with us. She was at the
center of the fold chamber, sniffing at the air, her tail
flicking in slight agitation. This was the first big thing
to happen to me that she wasn't a part of, and she was
trying to get a feel for it.

"Fox," Ravindar said, stepping in through the doorway. "Your
friend has arrived."

I nodded, turning my attention to the door as Re'ka stepped
through. He was short for most of the elves I knew, standing
a hair under five feet tall. Dark skinned with bright green
eyes, his face was framed by his long white hair, which
parted around his long ears. He broke into a smile as he saw
me, walking over quickly and taking my hand.

"It's a pleasure for me to see you again, Fox," he said.

"As I you. I wish it could be under better circumstances
than this," I told him as I released his four-fingered hand.

He looked me up and down for a moment, and chucked softly.
"Got quite a tangle of magic about yourself. It seems to
suit you, as do your eyes," he looked past me, towards Rhea.
"And you seem to have a connection to the feline lady in the
back room there," he closed his eyes for a moment, humming
softly before looking at her again. "Well, well, well, she's
you, and you're her, almost. You're also no longer human.
Which also suits you."

"You're quite observant," Oria commented, taking a step
around me.

He smiled to her. "I've been around for quite a long time.
You have to learn to keep your eyes, ears, and magics open,
or else you end up dead. I can not easily observe who you
are, other than someone important to Fox."

"Oriana, I'm his wife," she responded, offering her paw to
him.

Re'ka took it, but instead of shaking it, he brought it to
his lips and kissed the back of it. "A better husband you
could not find."

"Nor could I find a better wife," I told him, pulling her to
my side.

He smiled, taking a step back. "It's good to know that
you're both so happy with each other. Now, might I see this
machine that you called me for?"

I nodded, stepping away from Oria, and escorting him first
to the control panel, then to a large opening in the rock
wall, which we had discovered an hour before. Inside of it
was a massive wall of equipment, most of it doing things I
couldn't understand.

Re'ka clicked his tongue as we looked over everything, some
times humming a bit. "It's about what I would expect," he
commented as we looked at the fold room. "A few things are
done differently than I would have done them."

"You've been planning a machine like this?" I asked, then
paused for a moment. "Not that I'm surprised that you have."

He chuckled, as he looked behind one wall panel, "Of course,
I suspected it would take a few more centuries to perfect.
I'm surprised to find a working machine so soon."

I smiled, bending down to pet Rhea's neck. "Your being
surprised is something quite unexpected."

As he removed himself from the wall, he ran his fingers
through his hair. "Oh, I'm always surprised, this universe
is too wondrous not to be. I also think, with what I learned
at the Temporal Event. I might just be able to make a
working time machine."

"How long do you think that would take?" I asked, my
curiosity piqued. I knew I was going to need access to such
a machine when the children were grown up.

He shrugged, bending down next to me, petting Rhea's ears
softly as she placed her head in his lap. "I can't say until
I get down to it, but maybe fifteen years, twenty at the
worst perhaps. If I can get the funding... the cost will be
astronomical."

I grinned, tickling my sister's whiskers. "You'll have full
funding for as long as it takes."

"Really?" His face showed deep lines of surprise, his eyes
glowing softly. "I wish to finish my research on the Event
first, once that's done, I suspect it will go faster."

I nodded. "Don't take too long, we do have a timeline to
keep in sync."

With a long laugh, he shook his head slightly. "I suspected
something along those lines. Don't worry too much, time has
a way of keeping itself in check."

I nodded again, lifting myself to my feet. "Back to the
matter at hand. Any chance you could get this thing running?
I need to track where it went last time."

He hummed, petting Rhea one last time. "Perhaps. This does
seem to be locked into one location, so you won't have to
retrieve the coordinates for the destination. That also
leaves it open to be a trap."

"I really don't think so," I commented, walking to the
control panel. "This seems more like a back door to escape
through. I don't think the base was ever meant to survive
any situation where it could be used."

"That could be," he answered, looking over the control
panel. Most of the buttons had been labeled in Prid standard
once it had been worked out what they were connected to, but
that didn't tell us what they did.

With my arms resting against the top of the panel, I watched
the elf as he skimmed over the controls. "Does it make any
sense?" I asked.

"In theory," he responded. "We know what most of the
controls do, and I know what type of order they need it to
be done in. I should be able to activate this now."

"Care to risk it?" I asked Oria as she drifted behind my
shoulder.

She placed her paw over my hand. "The sooner you go after
Cain the better. If we can open this now, then you should do
it whenever you're ready."

'Go and kick his ass,' Rhea added, moving to stand next to
us, her tail brushing against my other hand..

I let out a soft sigh. "I wish it was that easy," I
muttered. With a quick turn, I gave the rest of the room my
attention. "Everyone who doesn't need to be here now, please
step outside. I don't want anyone getting hurt."

With some muttering and groaning, most of the techs filed
out of the room. Ravindar and Santhara helped them out, and
closed the door behind them. The only people left in the
room besides Rhea, Oria and I, and Re'ka, we're a pair of
techs that the elf had brought with him, and he insisted on
having them stay.

Once that had all been settled, he started to work at the
control panel. With a slow, deliberate grace, he started
working the controls. Like music conducted under his knowing
fingers, a familiar hum started to fill the room. At the
same time both the inner and outer doors of the fold chamber
slid closed.

I took Oria's paw in my hand as the hum continued to grow.
Rhea was at my other side, her head against my free hand. I
held onto them both as the noise grew in intensity.

"The system is automatic from here," Re'ka said, coming up
behind us. "In a few moments the door should open, and you
can step inside the chambers."

As if on cue for his comment, the noise of the machine
kicked up another notch as the outer door opened. The smell
of ozone filled the room once more. Everything was unfolding
just has it had before, but there was an eerie quality about
it all.

"Take this," he said, handing me a piece of paper. "When you
are inside the inner chamber, activate these systems in this
order. That should open the fold. Good luck."

I nodded to him, holding the paper tightly in my fingers as
I pulled Oriana to me, and gave her a kiss. "I'll be back as
soon as I can."

"Don't take too long my love," she responded, before letting
me slip out of her grasp.

Pulling in a deep breath, I took a few quick steps to the
chamber, stepping past the outer doors. I stood there, my
back to my love and my sister, waiting for the inner door to
open.

It seemed like hours, but finally the machine grew another
notch in volume, and the outer door closed behind me,
trapping me between the two walls of metal. A few moments
later the inner door opened as the smell of the ozone grew
heavier.

Stepping inside the chamber, the inner door closed as well,
locking me inside. There was an energy in the small room, a
kind of static that filled the air. I could almost hear it,
twisting its way around the walls tighter and tighter as it
went. Through the window I could see Oria and Rhea watching
me, both had looks of worry on their faces and ears.

I gave them a short nod, to let them know I was all right,
then turned to the small control box by the door. Labeled as
well as the control panel outside, I used the quickly
written directions to press the buttons in what I hoped was
the correct order.

The shaking of the machine started to run it's way up my
legs, making my knees feel watery. I quickly pressed myself
against the wall of the chamber, the static in the air
gaining cohesion in the center of the room. The noise inside
growing into the range of my hearing, and then louder.

Then, as if I was suddenly thrown into the eye of the storm,
it all stopped. The noise, the shaking, it had all ceased,
leaving only a blanket of stillness in the chamber.

I found that I had closed my eyes at some point in time.
Upon opening them, I saw what I had been hoping for. In the
center of the chamber was the large jagged fold. It's edges
were like tears against the empty space, twisting and
writhering as if the air itself was in pain.

It felt different from this side of the glass, but I didn't
have much time to study it. I could already feel it starting
to lose cohesion. With a quick glance back to my loved ones,
I mustered up all my courage, and stepped through.

The transition was rough, like back when I had first used
the folds, only more so. Twisting and turning, in ways I had
never felt before, it was like I had been shot through a
meat grinder, then put back together again on the other
side. Only it took a few tries to get everything in the
correct order.

As I reached the other side I was disoriented, and almost
ill. Crouching down over my knees I took a few gasps of air,
panting hard. My mind was still spinning and only slowly
were the bits coming back into place.

On the other hand, I was coherent enough to recognize the
feeling of the barrel of a gun pressing gently against the
side of my head. And a woman's voice speaking the words. "So
Cain, we meet again."

   To Be Continued...

-----

This story is copyright 2001 by Fox Cutter, hardcopy
reprints limited to one per person, all other rights
reserved. This story may not be distributed for a fee except
by permission of the author, and this copyright notice may
not be removed.