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From: "Stasya T. Canine" <stasyatk9SPAMUNDESIRED@juno.com>
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Subject: {ASSM} (rp rev) BioMates - Station Twenty - Any More at Home Like You?"  (1/?)  M/wolfess military-scifi zoo nosex (Stasya T. Canine)
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Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2005 23:10:04 -0500
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M/wolfess military-scifi zoo
---

For those of you unfamiliar with my 'BioLab' series, I'll summarize it.

Just over 100 years ago, as a result of a top secret project, some species
of animals were genetically modified for enhanced intelligence and speech.
 The details of that are in the 'BioLab 13' series. Essentially, human
genes were used as part of the modification and as a result, in the early
years, males of the modified species were cross fertile with human
females.  More time and experimentation produced females who were fertile
with the modified males.

BioLab 6 was the project that dealt with the modification of equines.  In
the one story written so far, there are hints of the time and effort spent
to get the modified animals legally recognized as humans and given the
same rights.

The BioMates series deals with Sophia and Ted Larson, who first meet
online and then when he is older, they meet in person when he joins the
'BioPartners'.  The BioPartners are the human animal teams that are a
result of the BioStructs (as they are now called, even though they are
self reproducing) needing human help to interact with the world.  As Ted
points out in the story, If you become a BioPartner, you link your life to
that of your animal partner and become their hands.

Sophia, a BioStruct wolf, has chosen security as her career.  Note that in
the BioPartners, it is the Struct' who is in charge and who makes all the
decisions instead of the human member of the team.

Settled into their relationship and jobs, Sophia and Ted live and work in
space as a highly specialized security team. 

---

Bio-Mates - Station Twenty
Chapter One - Any More at Home Like You? 
by: Stasya T. Canine

---

The long corridor was a typical low-g station corridor.  Service-mechs and
fifteen people had been placed so they simulated what we would probably
see during a normal working day.  Everything had been positioned before
Sophia and I were called through the service entry.

As we got ready for the practice rescue drill, we were putting on our duty
suits and discussing how we would handle the situation. Michael, head of
the crew that handled publicity for the station, was comfortably seated in
the main chair back at station monitoring and waiting for us to tell him
we were ready.  Someone had decided to broadcast this one live and I
wasn't happy about the decision.

Once we were in our suits, we opened our private comm channel so we could
test our communications before we sealed.  We also continued our
discussion.  "Ted, you know we can do this.  It's just another rescue
drill.  Think of later."  Her laughter was soft.  "Should be plenty of
incentive for you to get this over with in a hurry."

"Bitch.  Now I'll be distracted."  I chuckled briefly before I returned to
my complaint.  "Anyway, I think Michael is nuts.  Filming this is one
thing.  Doing a live feed?"

Her voice lost its laughter.  "Ted, it was the Station Commander's
decision and I agreed with it.  Many of the people here still don't trust
me.  This is a chance to let them see me doing what they are paying me to
do."

I sighed.  I didn't need to make an issue of the old fears that had
surfaced when we arrived at Sophia's newest duty station.  The intensive
training I'd undergone in the last five years had only made it worse. 
"Hate, distrust...  You'd think these folks would know better."

"Most do."  Sophia's voice was filled with regret.  "But, to see an animal
in charge of a human and to know that under the right conditions that
animal will also be in charge of them...  Some people can never accept
that, Ted."

"Sophia, you aren't an animal."  This part of the discussion was a stale
argument for both of us but I had to make the comment.

"The point is that I'm not a human.  So let's prove I have what it takes
to lead humans.  OK?"

"OK."

She stood and I heard the quiet noises that indicated she was finishing
her suit check.  I did the same.  "Sophia.  How come the dumping of the
corridor air while people are in it with us?  I'm afraid of Murphy."

With the planned air loss, people could die if Murphy's Law kicked in and
something went seriously wrong.

I knew that each person was a volunteer and had an emergency air supply
with them, just in case.  I also knew that all of the corridor lights
would start flashing at a preset time after the drill started--to let them
know they should use those supplies.

Our job was to get everyone to safety before the lights started flashing. 
My unspoken point was that during the years we'd pulled station duty, both
of us had developed an almost paranoid belief in Murphy's Law.

Sophia's voice was slightly strained when she answered.  "Because everyone
here needs to know we will do the best we can, no matter what Murphy tries
to do to us.  So, we get as close to the potential situation as we can
during the drill.  That means they dump the air."

"Sophie, I don't like it when it's this real."  I took a deep breath and
then closed my faceplate.  "I'm ready."

Sophia lifted her head back and then brought it down quickly before she
abruptly stopped the movement.  Since our private channel was open, I
heard the distinctive 'snap' as the latches on her faceplate closed.  She
turned and raised herself so she could place her front feet on my chest
and look through my faceplate to examine the duplicate readouts that were
behind my head.  I checked hers and spoke one word.  "Green."

She gently pushed herself away and settled next to me.  "You're green too.
 Ted?  It's just another drill.  We've cleared the corridor in half the
time we've been given today."

I heard her voice on the station channel.  "Michael, we're ready."

Instead of an answer all the corridor monitors went live.  I wanted to
swear but held it to a muffled grunt of annoyance.  Michael's voice
sounded strained.  "While you were getting ready, I did the introduction."

There was a long silence before he took a deep breath and let it out in a
long and extremely resigned sigh.  I guess he had his own objections to
what we were about to do.  His next word was softly spoken.  "Show time."

Before the audible and visual air loss alarms finished their first cycle,
Sophia had taken off at almost her full speed.  As she headed down the
corridor she angled in the direction of one of the walls. Before she
reached it, she jumped, flipped herself sideways and pushed off so she
would hit the ceiling over the first mech.  Her initial duty was simple. 
She had to locate the people in the corridor and make sure all the
emergency chambers had opened.  She kept up a commentary that let me know
where she was, and more importantly, where the people were.

I had a different job so I was able to jog rather than run but I still
used the walls or ceiling when I needed to get past an obstacle.  As I
reached where each person had been reported by Sophia I needed to make
sure they had reached the nearest safety chamber. Once each section had
been cleared I made sure that the section chamber resealed and the
emergency air supply had activated. Stationers ran their own drills, so I
didn't expect to have to do more than verify things were working.  Since
this drill didn't have any simulated injuries to deal with, I was using
part of my attention to search for air leaks.

That search for leaks almost got me killed.

Everything was routine until I bounced off the ceiling over a mech and
found myself staring at the business end of a welding laser that was on
and moving in my direction.  About the same time that I was realizing I
was under attack I heard a yip of surprise and a grunt as something
happened to Sophia that she hadn't expected.  The next thing I heard was a
very angry snarl that was followed by the sound of her combat laser
powering up.  Not good.

"Ted."  Her voice was unnaturally calm.  "Combat mode.  Someone's shooting
at me."

I didn't have time to switch suit modes or answer because my training had
taken over as I spotted the laser lining up.  I had just enough time to
wish my suit was in combat mode before I reacted by dropping down and
rolling into the woman's legs.  My first move was to grab the laser so she
couldn't use it on me.  There was a brief flurry of movement as we fought
and suddenly she was down, her arm broken and flopping uselessly at her
side.  I couldn't stop my grin as I bent down and caught her as  she tried
to scramble away.  "It's over.  You're going to be out until someone
decides you should wake up."  I applied the knockout and watched to make
sure it took effect.

As I straightened up I remembered Sophia's order.  "Combat mode." It
didn't sound like much of a command because I was out of breath, but the
circuitry understood me.

"Ted!.  Ted!!  Answer me!"  Sophia sounded frantic.

"I'm OK.  I didn't have time to switch modes until after I put her down
and out.  I'm  OK and don't have a scratch on me.  She had a welding laser
but never got a chance to use it."  That reminded me of it so I recovered
it and squeezed the barrel until I felt the internal parts shatter.  With
that done, I placed the now useless laser on one of the mechs so it would
be out of the way.

The distinctive sound of laser fire hitting Sophia's suit caused me to
duck behind the nearest mech.  I carefully shifted so I could study the
corridor ahead.  Sophia was caught in a crossfire.  "What's taking you so
long?  Do you want me to take out the one closest to me?"

There was a soft sigh of relief.  "I needed to know what condition you
were in.  I was going to leave these two the same way."  The words were
matter-of-fact but the anger was unmistakable if you knew her as well as I
did.

I heard her take a deep breath.  "No.  I'll handle them both now that I
know you're OK.  Get back to getting those people to safety." I heard the
thump as she hit something very hard and then there was the sound of two
shots from her laser.

Something was nagging at me...  The alarm.  It hadn't gone off yet and I
knew it should have. "Condition red!  Get out of the combat zone!  Get to
safety, NOW!"  The suit's speaker was blaring as I turned it to full so I
could be heard in the thinning air.  The remaining people moved faster but
they weren't moving fast enough to keep me happy.

I switched to the public channel.  "Michael!  Get the area sealed."

"We've been trying to break through to you.  We can't.  Someone used a
command override on the controls down there."  His voice fell to a
whisper.  "Ted, we're still live on this.  It's up to you and Sophia.
Nobody can get in to help."

Sophia interrupted us.  "I heard.  Ted, you get to the air lock and use
the manual override to seal that leak.  I'm going to work my way back down
the corridor and check all the chambers.  Let's make sure the lights on
them are telling the truth.  The ones at the lock lied to me."

I heard Michael's gasp and then he was bellowing orders.  It sounded like
Senior Colonel Michael Forrester hadn't lost his command skills during his
retirement.

I looked at where I was going and sighed.  I was going to hurt when this
was over.  That didn't stop me from taking my first step and launching
into a power assisted run that had me bouncing from wall to ceiling to
floor in a pattern that would get me down the corridor as fast as
possible.  "I'm moving.  What about your opponents?"

"I shot their lasers and then knocked them out.  We'll rescue them later,
if we have time.  Right now we have to worry about some people who are
more deserving of a chance to live."  Sophia's words were broken by grunts
as she worked her way back along the corridor and made sure everyone was
safe.

After I arrived at the airlock I tried the security overrides and wasn't
surprised when they failed.  Somebody had wanted Sophia to fail in a big
way.  I looked at the useless control panel and then reached for the
manual controls.  As I felt them disengage the powered controls I thought
about the effort that had gone into the attack.  It had been pretty well
planned and executed but at the same time whoever had planned this must
have had a huge blind spot.  I toggled to the open channel and sent some
good news to Michael and the world. "I should have us sealed in a few
minutes."

Sophia was curt and on the combat audio.  "Good.  Those people are all on
their emergency air.  Every chamber has been sabotaged. Control doesn't
know yet and I don't plan on telling them until the briefing."

I nodded and then realized she couldn't see me.  "Understood."  By then I
had settled and found a good grip on the external hatch. "Stupid.  They
forgot to wreck the hinges on both hatches."  I hit the release lever that
disconnected the powered systems.  "Didn't even bother to disable the
manual override.  Careless."

Sophia was more pragmatic.  Well, she did have more experience at this
sort of thing.  "It must have been their back door.  If they'd succeeded,
we'd be dead and they couldn't go back to the station."

I grunted as I finished closing the outer hatch and let the suit servos
help me spin the locking wheel.  "Outer door secured."

I watched the readouts for my external sensors and sagged with relief as
the pressure slowly built to normal.  Training let me close the inner
hatch while my mind was wondering what would happen next.

I was still on our private link.  "Both hatches secure and the pressure is
nearing normal."  I leaned against the wall and let go of the tension. 
"We did it."

"That we did."  There was a long pause.  "I've sent the all clear. It's
going to be awhile before a crew can get to us.  Now that all of us are
safe, they are securing the rest of the station."

Something in her tones warned me to stay on the scrambler.  I chose my
words carefully.  "It would have been convenient if there had been a near
total, or total loss of life here.  Especially if two of the lives lost
were ours.  It would have been even better if there had been a similar
accident in another area and everyone survived without our help."

Sophia sounded smug.  "There was an industrial accident in another part of
the station.  Whoever caused it, they weren't quick enough to get out
before Michael ordered the area sealed.  Be glad you're not linked to the
command net.  Station security is having problems protecting the people
involved in the accident.  People are pretty upset right now."  She
laughed softly and I winced at the overtones. "Suddenly people are
insisting that all the Partners go on emergency duty and cover the major
areas because nobody feels they can trust the humans on duty."

Her next statement was matter of fact.  "Ted, it would have been a major
blow to the BioPartners' reputation."  She laughed again. "Instead,
Geo-Station Twenty is going to be gifted with a BioPartners investigative
board."

I groaned.  "Wonderful."  Sophia kept laughing longer than my comment
deserved.  "Sophie!  Snap out of it.  It's over!"

Her laughter cut off and she walked over to me.  Contact communication?

"Private.  For us only.  Grrfeth will be in charge of this one. They'll be
here in three hours."

Three hours?  The time was either too long or too short, depending on
where he was launched from.  I saw the only answer but it didn't make
sense.  He'd already been on his way when the drill turned real. "Did he
know?"

Sophia was still for so long I bent down to check her readouts.  All
green.  So, what was bothering her?

I looked back at her eyes and they were gleaming.  "Remember the request
we made two years ago?"  Before I could remember, she told me.  "He's
agreed.  He and Liandra are bringing the surgical crew." Then she answered
my question.  "No.  He didn't know."

She switched to external audio and greeted the people who had quietly
joined us.  "Everyone OK?"

"We're roughed up a bit, but otherwise we're fine."  The woman who
answered curtsied slightly and then looked directly at Sophia.  "I'm the
senior Lieutenant for this bunch.  Who do we owe our thanks to? They
didn't tell us that a BioPartners team would be wearing the latest in
combat armor during an ordinary drill.  Sorry we couldn't do more to help.
 We were off duty and didn't expect to need combat gear.  What do you want
us to do with the bodies?"  She pointed upwards in a universal gesture as
she spoke of 'they' and then swung her hand over to point at our
attackers.

To my surprise, Sophia flipped her helmet open.  Her deep inhalation
through her nose told me her reasons.  She faced the woman calmly. "They
aren't bodies, only unconscious.  Detail some of your people to keep an
eye on them.  As for who we are, do you really have a need to know?"

The woman blushed.  It was obvious she hadn't expected Sophia to be so
direct.  Her embarrassment didn't keep her from maintaining eye contact
with Sophia.  "I think we do.  We owe you a life debt.  While the two of
you were distracted with whatever you wanted to say in private, we talked
it over and decided the best way to repay that debt, if the rumors are
true, is to join up."

She grinned and the grin took years off of her face.  "We're station
grunts.  Isn't a one of us wouldn't do each other dirty to get a chance
wear armor like yours for regular duty."  There was a chorus of laughter
and agreement.

Sophie's ears flicked in what seemed to be amusement as she tilted her
head slightly to the left.  I knew better.  Being in security meant that
we didn't trust our own communications under certain conditions. 
Considering how close we'd come to being killed, I didn't blame her for
her caution.  To save time and keep our conversation private she'd used
some of the  signals we'd worked out and let me know she'd made a field
decision to treat these people as passed recruits.  Wonderful thing, a
wolf's nose.  Sometimes it cut past a lot of paperwork.

"Junior Colonel Sophia Larson, BioPartner Security. My partner and mate is
Captain Ted Larson.  If you folks picked up the rumors I'm thinking of,
you may have heard of us already.  She suddenly flipped her faceplate
closed and laughed through her speaker.  "Unlatch, Ted, and tell them who
we are before you give them the basics."

I reached up and opened my plate.  Before I did anything else I took a
deep breath and savored the station air.  There was laughter as they
realized I was clearing the suit air out of my lungs.  "Easy, Captain." 
That was one of the men.  "I saw that sprint to the airlock.  Must have
been rank in that suit.  Take your time.  We heard the announcement about
it taking awhile before we could get back to work."

I rested a hand on Sophia's suit and took the time to examine the scorches
where she'd been hit.  "Not bad.  Scorched but no penetration past the
ablative layers."

I turned back to face my audience.  "The wolf-bitch likes to play her
little games.  She seldom gets a chance to play them after combat. 
Usually we're in a debrief before our armor has cooled."

"Anyway, she's Tialira and I'm Fyrenth.  Maybe you've heard of us?" I
waited for the shoe to drop.

It did and I got total silence from my audience.  Finally... "Station
Nine.  The bootleg tape..."  It was an awed whisper.

I looked at the Lieutenant and was rewarded with a new blush. "Rumors? 
Nice touch, ElTee."  I studied the one who had mentioned the tape. 
"Except the tape wasn't bootleg.  We jinxed the security ourselves and
only the other BioPartners have ever known the truth."

"Why us?  Sir."

"You want the long story or the short one?"  He started to fidget when he
realized I was still studying him.

"Whatever you decide to give us, Captain."

Sophie's voice was a barely audible buzz in my ear.  "They all smell
clean.  Nervous, but they think they know what they are getting into.
They'll do OK."

I took a deep breath and smiled.  "I can give you both in one sentence. 
It's a recruiting tape and we aren't getting enough ground-pounders who
pass the entrance exams."

Now that I'd started with the explanation, I knew I needed to let them
know the full situation, just as Sophia had let me know what I was really
getting involved in before we'd partnered.  "Everything we did in that
tape was honest.  No acting.  There are some downside perks we couldn't
show you but it should have been obvious that the Partners do a real good
job of taking care of their own."

"As for the negatives involved, if you remember any of your tac training
and have looked around you, it should be obvious that there are a hell of
a lot more problems than most people can handle for long."  I settled
against the wall.  "Today's exercise was one of the major problems letting
us know it was still around."

"You folks still want in?"  There was a clamor of affirmatives from
everyone but the Lieutenant.  "Problems, Eltee?  You can drop the
formality.  Partners don't use it except on ceremonial or other special
occasions.  In the field it can get a person killed."

She shrugged slightly.  "I'm Lieutenant Stella Myers.  Yes.  I have a
problem."  She raised an eyebrow and I nodded for her to go on. "You said
there was more than one major problem.  You gonna tell us about any others
now that you know my idiots have more hormones than brains?  Like maybe
your biggest one?  How come the GPs don't pass the entrance?  I can guess
since you're a lowly Captain and the Wolf is a JayCee."  She took a deep
breath.  "Captain Larson, sir, I think they better hear that reason *and*
the reason you're still in security with her--from you.  Hell, I know *I*
need to hear the answers before I decide to toss the dice."

A snort sounded from Sophie's external speaker and that broke the tension.
 Some folks laughed nervously but Stella held her ground. "Well?"

I let my eyes shrug before I answered her.  "I guess you may have it
right, since you know the questions to ask.  There isn't any way to
sugarcoat things.  Once you team, you've given up every right to choose
your own path through life.  The Biostructs use us, with our knowledge, as
their hands in order to survive in this world we've stuck them with.  If
they change assignments or careers, we do too. No option unless you want
to break up the team.  There's always that option and I have to admit
there are some structs and humans who enjoy that sort of pass-along. 
That's where security is different. We discourage 'pass-along' when it
looks like it's going to happen. Too much depends on the small things. 
Usually, it's the lives of those around you.  We humans have one rule we
*never* violate during training or combat.  'I come first, then my
partner, then everyone else.'  Generally, it works out."

My eyes must have hardened because she flinched back slightly.  "I read
you, Ted."

"It's not as human-selfish as it sounds.  The structs are a lot faster
than we are.  If I'd barged in while she was in combat mode, I might have
distracted her or drawn other fire and put myself in trouble.  If she had
been doing a sweep with her laser, she could have injured me.  Once she
knew I was OK and out of her field of fire, the battle was as good as
over."

The man who'd mentioned the tape spoke again.  "I nearly missed it. She
was beautiful.  Bounced off a wall, hit the ceiling as she shot the first
attacker and then twisted and nailed the second one before she hit the
other wall.  Poetry she was.  Lovely lady and I ain't ashamed to say so."

"Stella?"  She nodded slowly.  "There's the second answer for you. Love."

She smiled slightly.  "I thought that was it."  She took a deep breath
that caused interesting things to happen inside her overalls. "I was born
out here and there is no way I'm going to pass up the chance of a
lifetime.  I never thought GP's had any brains and what you've said proves
that most of them don't.  I'm in.  Any more like her at home?"

There was a tone from the airlock controls and then an override beep from
my suit speaker.  "Both of them will be at home if Ted doesn't get this
outer airlock open real soon."

Sophia was so surprised that she jerked her head around to face the
airlock.  "Grrfeth?"

"Liandra decided she was tired of wondering what shape you two were in so
we left the shuttle and came the rest of the way on our own. Besides, it
was an excuse for us do a space walk.  Get this lock open before somebody
notices we're out here."

I was resealed and moving as soon as I recognized Grrfeth's voice. In
minutes I had company and the outer door was sealed again.  When I reached
for the repressurize switch Liandra stopped me.  She shifted position so
our helmets could make contact.  "Air carries sound and we need to talk."

First Sophia, now Liandra.  This was turning into a day I knew I'd be glad
to put behind me.  "Talk."

She sighed and than gave it to me in simple words.  "Bad news.  Both of
your suits are bugged.  As long as you're out of combat mode, you can be
monitored.  If you stay in combat mode, nothing can get past the
scramblers."

Bad news?  What an understatement.  "We haven't dropped combat mode yet. 
SOP saved us some more grief."

"Got it, Ted.  The grapevine is telling us that nobody knew our duty suits
are really disguised combat suits.  They know better, now." She sounded
resigned.

I thought about what had happened.  "Any way to do some damage control?"

Liandra did some thinking of her own.  "Maybe.  From an analysis of the
video, we know neither of you was operating at top speed.  What you did
was near the top end for normal gear.  We might be able to use that as a
decoy."

"What about Sophia?"  How are you going to let her know?"

"Ted, sometimes..."  She laughed.  "She and Grrfeth are wolves.  You know
any humans who can understand pure wolf when they talk at full speed?"

She had a point.  "I don't know any who can reliably translate when they
talk slowly."

I could see a smile form when she finished what I was about to say. "Plus,
these two are litter mates and deliberately obscuring their usage.  Let's
go.  She's up to date and so are you, for now."

I hit the pressurize switch and we waited.  If anyone had noticed the
slight delay I was prepared to blame it on airlock problems. Nobody asked.

Grrfeth and Liandra looked calm only if you didn't pay attention the way
they moved.  Somehow they always managed to move so they covered each
other's blind spots.

"Sister, when are you going to retire to teaching so I can stop picking up
the pieces?"  He opened it with his usual greeting.  That meant he was
pleased about something.

"As soon as you stop field testing new combat gear, brother."  New? What
had he told her?

Liandra laughed as Grrfeth snorted with resignation.  "You want the job? 
I thought you preferred recruiting."

Now it was my turn to chuckle.  "She might but if I have any influence
left she'll never take you up on the offer.  Besides, this time she got
you.  We don't have all the names yet but except for the three that are
out of it, these grunts not only joined us, they have their own ElTee."  I
flipped open my faceplate so he could see my smug grin. "Station Nine
worked."

He and Liandra did an intricate maneuver that let them both study the
small group.  He flipped his own face shield up, took a deep breath and
then snapped it closed.  "Colonel?  How much did you tell them?"

Sophia was calm.  "We didn't tell them anything.  We confirmed what they
already knew or suspected."

I could hear his astonishment.  "Confirmed?  They're too relaxed about
this!"

Sophia had the sense not to back down.  "They'd just survived a firefight.
 Stationers repay life-debts.  Plus, they've seen the Station Nine tape." 
She got up and joined the silent group of people before she turned to face
Grrfeth.  "Commander Grrfeth.  I'd appreciate it if you welcomed the
newest batch of BioPartners."

He shook himself and I could see the tension leave his body.  "Lia? Do you
believe this?"

She sighed.  "You telling me you don't trust Sophia's nose *and* your
own?"

That got a chuckle that was abruptly cut off.  His tail flagged some
orders.  'Trouble.  The scouts have discovered there's a team with a
door-buster getting ready to blow the main door.  The scouts have cleared
everyone else out.  Sophia, Ted, get those recruits out of the line of
fire.  Lia and I will deal with the door.'

"Follow Ted!  Move it!  We've got seconds to get out of the line of fire
of a door-buster."  As Sophia made her announcement I headed for the
nearest doorway.

They moved and seconds later all of us, including our unconscious
prisoners, were sealed inside what looked like some sort of storage area. 
Before I closed the door I caught a glimpse of Grrfeth and Liandra as they
moved towards the threatened hatch.

"Colonel Larson?"  It was Stella.  "If that's a buster on the other side,
how are they going to stop it?"

Sophia sounded distracted as she contacted me privately.  "Ted, you handle
it.  I'm busy."

I looked at Stella.  "She's probably tied into the station video systems. 
Somebody has to be the observer during field testing.  She got elected."

"They aren't going to stop it.  They're going to open the door and destroy
the weapon before it's fired."  I was greeted with skeptical silence.

"Meaning no disrespect, sir, but that's either impossible or crazy. I'm
armor qualified.  Opening that safety hatch with just two suits? Can't be
done."  There were murmurs of agreement.

"You'd be right if any of us were wearing regular forces armor. We're not.
 We're wearing  BioStruct designed security suits.  What if I told you we
weren't stressing our suits earlier?  Those two..." I was interrupted by a
concussion that shook the walls.  "Are the joint heads of security AND
they are field testing the latest suits and weapons to come out of our
labs."

In the sudden silence we could hear a couple of faint screams and then a
series of small explosions that became one big one.

"I'm going to speculate, based on what a security person has to know
rather than what he is supposed to know.  I'm guessing that Grrfeth and
Liandra were wearing at least one railgun each.  If they were, someone in
our weapons lab solved the recoil problem.  That's one problem and if it
*was* solved, the lab also solved the other one. Their power source is the
surrounding magnetic fields.  With that sort of control, I suspect one of
them cranked up their shields and ran through the door.  That was the
first concussion.  The rest was the cleanup and destruction of the
missile."

"Cap?  Something isn't tracking.  For a station grunt you seem to know a
lot more than you should.  Comments?"

I jerked a thumb in Sophia's direction.  "No secret about that.  She and
the boss are litter mates.  He found his partner early.  She put her
career on hold until I grew up.  We're in recruiting but she's also next
in line for top spot in the security division.  The four of us spend our
R&R making sure we all know what's going on."

"They were already inbound for some R&R?  Station Twenty doesn't have a
lot to offer.  I've been wondering about the response time. Seemed odd
that they got here less than one hour after it fell apart."

I couldn't help my slight smirk.  "Stella, would you spend your R&R with a
GP if you had a choice in the matter?"  She blushed and there was muffled
laughter.

"Hell no, Cap.  She's station AND service.  She's pretty picky about who
she spends her off time with."

I didn't try to stop my chuckle.  "Same way for us.  We're picky. Plus, as
upper command, Sophie and I don't have a lot of choices unless we want to
really fuck with morale."

"Got it."

"Knock it off, Ted."  Sophia was back with us.  "The action's over.
Stella, you wondered if there are any more like me.  There aren't, but
there will be as soon as Ted gets those stem cells Grrfeth has finally
agreed to donate.  You copy, ElTee?  In less than a year, if you survive
the intro course, I *might* give you and your squad a chance to nursemaid
my kids.  In a couple more years, those of you who haven't partnered will
get a chance to see if maybe you and the kids can get along with each
other."

Stella glanced at her squad mates.  I noticed that her eyes glittered when
she turned back to us.  "We copy, Colonel Larson."

"Bitch."  I mumbled it softly and with amusement.

"That's *Colonel Bitch* to you, Captain Larson."

"Yes Ma'am.  I can't wait until you're pregnant.  Colonel Bitch, Ma'am."

She flipped her plate open and indicated I should join her.  "We're off
combat alert.  This area's secured."

She stood and shook herself before she faced me and locked her eyes on
mine. "There is only one male that's ever going to breed with me. You. 
Everyone else is for recreation."  Her lips quirked and her ears quivered
in her version of throaty laughter.  "But before that happens, I have some
tension to work off.  Think you're up to helping me do that?  Captain?"

---

Stasya T. Canine
May 15, 2001

-- 
Pursuant to the Berne Convention, this work is copyright with all rights
reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated.
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