Nathan sat on the small bed in his cage as he'd come to consider it. He thought two days had passed, but all he had to go on was his internal clock. He stretched, and then dropped to the floor to do pushups while his mind wandered. I've been in this hole for several days, no one has told me why, or when I'm going to get out of this bloody white room. And I've been poked by that goddamned medical droid more times than I can count. When is this going to end? Almost as an answer to his thoughts, a voice came over the speaker on the wall, the same person as when he first woke up. "Good morning, Mr. Ericson." They sounded rather nervous. "Yeah, sure." Nathan grumbled, "What's good about waking up in a sterile white room? What's good about constantly being poked and prodded by robots? The only thing I got going for me is, I look damn good for being over 500!" "You know, you do." The person on the other side snickered. "Anyways, I have some good news for you. The medics have determined that you are still a perfectly healthy and uncontaminated species of human. So, as soon as the paperwork is finished, you're free to go." "Now we're talking." He got up off the floor and sat back on the bed. "So, I have a couple more questions for you." "Hit me." "What do you know about the ‘PDD'?" "Well, I work for them." The speaker said, "And I'm aware of the offer they made you, I would recommend thinking about it for a couple of days." "I know, I'm not sure I want to stay military." Nathan sighed, "But, I happen to lack a place to live, and if the US government doesn't exist anymore, then I also have no means of gaining money. Hell, if they were still around, I could sue for back pay." "425 years of pay, that would be a nice sum of money." The speaker agreed. "But, that's why I'm here, I've got a place for you to sleep until you get back on your feet. So long as you don't mind sharing an apartment." "Beggars can't be choosers." Nathan chuckled, "If I'm going to be living with you, I aught to at least know your name." "It's Tiera." "Just Tiera?" "Very few these days use last names." Tiera explained, "Only when it really matters for status. Such as being from a wealthy family or an extremely high rank in the PDD." "Hmm, I suppose things do change a lot." "Yeah, they do." There was the sound of conversing on the other side of the speaker, then a series of beeps. "Paperwork just came through. I'm going to warn you, my appearance will come as a shock." "Eek, I've been abducted by aliens, who have spent the last two days doing tests on me, and telling me I'm in human hands." Nathan chuckled, rising from his bed as the door hissed open. He stumbled back in shock as the beast walked in to the room, towering at least a foot above him, the facial features of a wolf, complete with the elongated fangs. Grey fur where it wasn't wearing a tight fitting suit that seemed to shift from blue to black. "I never said I was human." She said, trying not to look imposing. ".... Wh.. What are you?" For his part, Nathan was not so much scared, as shocked. "I'm a wolf." Tiera smiled, stating the obvious. "I feel like I'm in one of C.J. Cherryh's books." Nathan mumbled to himself. "No, then I would be a feline." ". . . True." Perhaps more confusing than returning 500 years later, and meeting a giant wolf that walked on two legs, was that wolf catching a reference that was 75 years old when he left Earth. "There's a lot I need to explain." Tiera said. "I think the medical staff is going to get irked if we sit here. Don't worry, I don't bite. At least, not on the first date." "That's reassuring. Although, if you wanted to kill me, I probably wouldn't be standing here." Nathan shrugged. "Lead on." Tiera smiled, "There's a slightly more shocking sight than me just outside the door, just so you know." Nathan tried to brace himself for anything as he walked out the door, and almost walked right in to a tower made of the same material as Tiera's suit. Then he realized that it was something in one of such suits, and he looked up. "... A .. Minotaur?!" He squeaked, almost falling over. The Minotaur grinned and squeaked right back. "A... Human!?" "Be nice Aerix." Tiera chided. "He's fragile." Aerix nodded and extended a hand to Nathan, "I am called Aerix. I apologize if my appearance is alarming. Unfortunately I cannot help my size." Nathan hesitated a moment before shaking Aerix's hand, and was rather surprised that his own wasn't crushed. "It's clear that I have a lot to learn." Tiera nodded, "Aerix, I think we'll be okay." "You sure Tiera?" Aerix sounded genuinely concerned. "I've heard humans can be tricky." "Aerix, are you forgetting who you're talking to?" Tiera smirked. "You may be able to wrestle a snake, but I did get Kilin pinned in a submission hold." "True." Aerix nodded, not sounding very happy. "Just call for me if anything goes wrong." "You worry too much Aerix." Tiera grumbled, "Now get." "Yes'm." Aerix sulked, walking away. "What was that all about?" Nathan finally asked once Aerix was out of sight. "Aerix is like an older brother to me. Extremely protective of me." Tiera said, "Been that way since boot camp." "Ah. Makes sense." Nathan nodded. "So, seriously. What are you?" "I am a wolf, as I said." Tiera said, leading him through the med bay corridors, "We were created late in the 21st century, the project was actually in the works when you launched. The military built us with the idea of a genetically engineered soldier, able to perform tasks most human could not. Wolves, for example, were made for close combat on battlefields. Our senses and reflexes are superior to a human, and we also have the natural pack hunting instincts. Give that an assault rifle and body armor and you have a killing machine. "Over time they produced an assortment of species, with different uses. Like minotaurs were created be able to carry equipment places vehicles usually couldn't. The average minotaur can lift about four times what an exceptional human can, and run faster for longer with it. "We were also used in the space colonization program, because we were considered expendable. It didn't matter if the colony didn't work out and the construction crew didn't make it back. We were just things, more effective than robots. "Then came marketing. In the 21st century, people with a ‘furry fetish' grew in numbers rapidly, this continued in to the 22nd century. A genetics company realized they could make a fortune making custom furry pets. Especially since at that time we were not classed as animal or human, so there were no real laws about what could be done with one of us. "After the war, our kind quickly became dominate. There were more of us in the space colonies because we were used to build them. Over time, humans dwindled. The last recorded one died right at the end of the 25th century." "'The last recorded one died'?" Nathan repeated. "You mean, humans are extinct?" "Yeah." Tiera sighed. "I'm sorry, I should have told you sooner." "Fuck, I need a cigarette." Nathan mumbled. "Good luck finding one." Tiera said, "There are precious few places that one can smoke, and due to the limited agriculture space, tobacco is extremely expensive. As far as I know, no one produces them anymore." "Good. I didn't need to start smoking again anyways." "You've had Zero-G training, right?" Tiera asked as they approached a door way. When Nathan nodded, she hit the switch and stepped out in to thin air, grabbing hold of the wall on the other side. "The main body of the space station spins, this area is the support and holds the control systems for it. It's also a lot faster to get to the residential district this way." She then started pulling herself along the wall. "So no magic nanotech that make gravity?" Nathan chuckled as he followed her in to the service corridor. * * * Deep in the bowls of Lunar Command, down a forgotten hall way, inside a small dark room, sat The Doctor, an ancient snake. The Doctor was currently engaged in studying texts on genetic engineering, pondering his past failures. And playing chess against a super computer. A small light flashed, indicating that he had a call. "Odd. None calls me here. But one does call me here." He hit the button to turn the screen on, it was one of his underlings stationed on the Jump Pad. "Greetings, Doctor." The underling said. "I have some news that might interest you. We recently picked up a ship, an old ship. It was launched from Earth 2061. One of her crew survived. We have a living, breathing, 21st century human walking around on the station as we speak." "A human, you say?" The Doctor was intrigued. "Yes, Doctor. He's presently in the company of one of our crew." The Underling shuffled a few papers. "Also, presuming my machine decrypted the conversation accurately, the Admiral wants him dead. How shall I act?" "Forward me the conversation, and any data on this human. Then observe and report, your information shall be rewarded, underling." "Yes, Doctor." The underling closed down the line after sending over several heavily encrypted files across to the Doctor, who erased any trace of them being transferred. "Now, this shall prove interesting. Don't you think Hal?" The Doctor asked his computer as he returned to his game of chess. * * * Terrance poked his head in to Uncle Bob's office, "Hey Boss, ya busy?" "Nope," Uncle Bob replied, "What's up, Terrance?" "I got the information on the human survivor." Terrance said, "His name is Nathaniel Ericson. He was the chief mechanic on the ship. He would be useful to have here, even if he wasn't a human. His resume is rather impressive, I bet he could get some of these old things we got here working. "Also, I wrote up a request to purchase the derelict craft, including an offer. I think you will find the details of the offer to your liking." Terrance tossed the document on Uncle Bob's desk. "Good work son." Uncle Bob took the document, read it over once. "Excellent offer, I'll go 50% higher if I have to. I'm going to write up an offer to the human, then I'll have you deliver both of them." "Got it, boss." Terrance bounded back out of the office to go dust something. * * * "Now that we're away from prying ears," Tiera said, flopping casually in to the mound of blankets that made up her ‘bed', burrow as Aerix always called it. "There are a lot of people who won't be happy about the existence of a human, so you need to be careful. That's why I told you not to accept the PDD's offer. The offer was not one of kindness, it was a set up to get you killed." "Great," Nathan sighed, sitting at Tiera's computer. "I've been here three days and I already have people wanting to kill me." Tiera nodded, thinking. "We'll figure something out though. Unfortunately, our current admiral is a racist bastard, so I'd bet the order to have you killed came down from him." "On a different subject," Nathan began, "can I get my personal effects from the ship?" "Probably, let me call down to the docks, see what we can arrange. Maybe you can even look at her logs." Tiera leaned over Nathan at the computer, he noticed for the first time that she had 6 breasts, although the two pairs lower on the chest were significantly smaller. She hit a couple buttons, and waited for a response, when the screen came up it was a male wolf on the other side, jet black fur, and a scar over one eye. "Hey Marv, I have a favor to ask.." "No, you're not taking the Black Mamba out for a cruise!" Marv growled. "I don't care how much you flirt with me." "Hmpf. I wasn't gonna ask." Tiera said, "It's about the derelict." "Oh, in that case, how can I help you?" Marv sounded friendlier now, about as friendly as he could. "Well, I know none-authorized personnel aren't allowed on it." Tiera smiled sweetly, "But Nathan here would like to get his personal effects off of her. And check the logs, see if he can make heads or tails of them." "Hmm, you know he's still part of her crew, so technically he is still authorized." Marv smiled. "Just make sure not to break anything." "You got it, Marv. Thanks" Tiera killed the com channel, and then turned to Nathan. "Looks like we can get it for ya." "Are you in the habit of breaking things?" Nathan asked with a grin. "Only when I'm in Marv's hangar." Tiera said, heading for the door. * * * Ezekiel Darkmoon was sitting at his desk, stretched out and relaxed, distracted. At first he ignored the incessant beeping that indicated a call was waiting for him. Then he began to wonder where his secretary was, and why she wasn't doing her job, until he remembered that she was under his desk, doing her other job. Which was also why he was distracted. With a grunt he kicked her away and hit the button to patch the call through. "What do you want?" he snapped, without even paying attention to the screen. "You would do well to show more respect, Admiral." The speaker on the other end hissed, a certain note of sarcasm on the title. On hearing the voice Ezekiel sat up straight, tensing. "I am sorry, Doctor. I have been somewhat distracted." "By your secretary blowing you under the desk?" The Doctor hissed with contempt. "Is that how you spend your time, getting fellatio from a feline floozy? That and making orders to have a human killed." "Well, sir. I figured you to be busy with your research." Ezekiel scrounged for a quick explanation. "I decided it would be best if I just handled the minor situation, rather than disturb you with trivial details." "Trivial details? The last living human is a TRIVIAL DETAIL!?" The Doctor growled, raising his voice. "Look here, mousey, you are not in your position to think, you're in that position to be a public figure head. Get your job right, or I will find someone who can. "Now, I am going to make myself clear. I want that human, alive. I want to have him in my lab. I want to be able to taste his fear for the last moments of his life. You will not fail me, do you understand?" "Yes, sir." The mouse swallowed, nervous. He then put a call in to Kilin and waited for the response. The screen clicked on a moment later, Kilin looking rather anxious. "Sir, the human seems to be hesitant on our offer. One of my crew has taken him in." "It's no matter." Ezekiel said, dismissing the problem. "There's a change in plans, he is to be brought to Lunar Command, alive." "Sir?" "Do not question my orders Kilin!" Ezekiel snapped. "Lunar Command. Alive. Period!" "Yes, sir. Kilin out." The screen went blank once again, leaving Ezekiel in the silence of his office, his secretary returning to her work. * * * Aboard the Freedom 7, Nathan took a last look around the crew quarters after having recovered his belongings. Then on a whim he walked over to another bunk, and lifted a ring out of the drawer next to it. For a long moment he stood, studying the ring. Then he kissed it before dropping it in to a pocket, a single word escaping his lips, barely audible, even to Tiera's keen ears. "Kelsey." Tiera perked her ears and walked over to him, "Friend of yours?" "Yeah. More than a friend." Nathan sighed. "Kelsey Slaughter, enlisted girl, had a fiancé. But she signed up for this mission, same reason I did. We weren't told the full particulars of ‘extended service', and the pay was too good to pass up. Their plan had been for him to go through college and get a degree, while she was in the army. They'd be done about the same time and get married then. "Needless to say, her plans didn't work out very well. At first we spent nights just talking, it's so hard to sleep alone when you've slept with a loved one every night for the past 7 years. Over the year we spent studying the planet, Kelsey and I grew close. We had planned on remaining together after we returned to earth. "But you know what they say about the best laid plans of mice." "And men." Tiera finished. ".. No, men don't have anything to do with it." Nathan corrected, and watched in amusement as Tiera tried to figure that one out. From the crew quarters, Nathan headed up to the main bridge, heading for the master terminal. "What are you going to check for?" Tiera asked. "Well, I'm going to take a look at the logs, first." Nathan ran several series of numbers in, bypassing the broken audio control unit. "I want to see if the data is corrupted or deleted. From there I'm going to check the redundant logging systems.. Oh and..." He hit a button and music came over the speakers. "Helps me work." "You don't often hear music anymore." Tiera said with a sigh. "So few of my kind cares about any form of art." "No music? Music has been part of civilization since the beginning of civilization." Nathan began scanning over the primary log. "Didn't a scholar once say that the arts were what separated an from animal?" Tiera asked quietly. "I honestly don't know." As the time passed, minutes became hours, the tedium of searching the computers logs quickly became a mind numbing test of endurance. In the end, Nathan powered the computer back down with a sigh. "Find anything?" Tiera sounded hopeful. "Well... maybe." Nathan shook his head. "Near as I can tell, the logs are all corrupted. But the problem is the corruption is identical on each one. Examining it, it looks like someone erased the files and then intentionally corrupted the data. I suppose it's possible that there was some form of disturbance that effected all of the recording devices. That's really al that makes sense, no one would have found all the separate logging systems, and been able to crack the security on all of the." "So you're saying that your ship hit some type of undocumented magnetic field that fried all your recording equipment," Tiera said, and then adding, half jokingly. "Or, you were abducted by aliens who erased the records off your ship." "Neither would surprise me." Nathan shook his head. "Hell, I'm not sure if anything would surprise me right now. Anyways, I'm done here if you are." Tiera nodded "Let's go. Honestly this ship kinda gives me the willies." Nathan just nodded and headed out of the ship. From the ship they went back to Tiera's apartment. * * * (*quick edit to correct a misplac ed word that was driving him insane*) So ends the second installment. There'd probably be more, but I'm starting to pass out.