Callie

I paced nervously back and forth, adjusting my dress and checking my hair in the mirror for the seventh time. Alexis watched on with a bemused expression. Yesterday’s date had been lovely and I had slept very well, but now the day had come for my next check in with Selene and I was an utter mess.

Was I worried that they wouldn’t accept me? Well, I shouldn’t have been, but I was. Selene and I had been together for sixteen years and now I was asking them to adjust their thinking that their tall boyfriend was now a rather short catgirl. No, no, it would be fine. I was overthinking it.

My HUD lit up with a notification that it was time and I sat down at the console and sent out the ready signal over the Voidnet. Alexis started to shuffle out of the room, but I grabbed her with my tail and gave her a pleading look.

“Are you sure you want me to stay? This is a conversation between you and your partner, I don’t want to intrude.” She rubbed her arm nervously.

“Of course I want you here.” My voice dropped to a quiet whisper. “I’m nervous and being close to you helps. Don’t forget, you’re my partner now, too.” I beckoned her over and took her hand, gripping it tightly as I tried to quell my nerves.

Long minutes passed, the ready signal pulsing steadily away, awaiting the response. Had something gone wrong? Surely they were all okay? They had to be. I bit my lip as I looked back and forth between the system clock and the ready signal. Alexis gripped my hand tighter.

Finally, the return signal came through and the display shimmered as Selene’s face sprang into view.

“Sorry for the delay, had a system acting up on the ship and it was all hands on deck to get it fixed. Hope you all weren’t waiting too long –” They stopped and looked at me, peering intently. “Well, hello there! You must be the girl that Rosa mentioned.”

My nervousness warred with the utter delight that ran through me as the person I loved dearly called me a girl. Focus, Callie, focus. They’re going to think you are weird if you keep that dopey smile on your face. I took a deep breath and responded.

“Yes! That’s me, I’m the girl! Callie! That’s my name!” Real smooth. Definitely isn’t going to think you are weird now.

Selene narrowed their eyes and smirked. “Callie…Caaaaalliiieeee –” They considered the name, repeating it a few more times with emphasis on different parts. “What a lovely name! And those ears! So cute, are they real?”

The aforementioned ears wiggled with delight, the traitors. “Yeah, a part of me as much as anything else. You like them?” I remembered right after the words left my mouth that I was supposed to be pretending to be someone who didn’t know Selene.

“Fascinating, I never expected to meet someone new with actual cat ears –” They paused, dropping their playful demeanor and staring at me intently. “No.”

I felt a deep sense of dread at their words. “No?”

Selene sighed and smiled back at me. “Rosa thought it would be really funny if I pretended not to recognize you, but I’d know my sunshine anywhere. You’ve changed, but I recognize all the little pieces of you that I love so much. If anything, you shine even brighter now. Do you even know how cute your little smile is? And your eyes! You look happier than I’ve ever seen you, my dear, dear Callie.”

The display suddenly became very blurry and it took me a moment to realize it was the tears of joy streaming down my face. I tried to speak, but the happiness I felt stole my voice away and all I could do was nod and clutch at Alexis’ hand.

“I want nothing more than for this trip to finish and to be there with you, Callie, and to give you the biggest hug. Rosa could barely contain her excitement when she told us, even though it meant Celica won the bet and ey has been sooo smug about it. Tell me, what finally hatched you? What was the last push?” Selene radiated joy, their soft brown eyes full of love and acceptance.

I reached up with my free hand and twirled a finger through my hair, looking down as I giggled. “Well, um, you see the thing is… I didn’t figure it out until the changes had progressed far enough that I could see myself as a girl and once I could, it all kind of clicked into place. That was actually right before I hopped on the call with Rosa, if you can believe it.” Something Selene had said finally registered and I frowned. “Wait a minute: what bet???”

They winced and smiled nervously. “As you may have guessed… we’ve all been trying to get you to hatch for years now. You weren’t exactly subtle; the long depressed sighs as the rest of us explored our identities and presentation, the envious looks you’d make at my dresses –” They smiled fondly as they continued. “Of course, you never know if someone truly is an egg until they hatch; false positives are a thing. And we couldn’t just outright tell you. Even our hints sometimes made you retreat away, so we all resolved to try to be as supportive as possible and give you time to sort things out.”

I nodded along. “I sense a ‘but’ is coming.”

Selene laughed, music to my ears that I could listen to all day. “Buuuuut… Celica was convinced that one of the things holding you back was being too close to home, too close to people who knew you as the person you didn’t wish to be. Ey actually floated the idea of sending you on ahead in the hopes that the time alone would let you sort things out. Sending some of my clothes ahead and putting a few helpful presets into the fabricator was my idea. Nice dress, by the way, it looks absolutely stunning on you.”

I blushed furiously and felt a wonderful warmth fill me. Selene loved me so much, as did Rosa and Celica. They’d all been hoping I’d hatch… for years? Supporting me as best they could? Oh no, I felt the tears welling up again.

“Oh no, was that too much? I’m sorry, I didn’t think to check first to see how you felt about compliments, I just – you look so happy and so cute and –” Selene stammered.

I shook my head in response. “No, no, it’s all wonderful, truly. I’m just a little overwhelmed… all my feelings are so much stronger now and that makes the happy ones even better. Gosh, now I know how Rosa felt when she started hormone therapy.” I paused, remembering something. “Wait a minute… is that why Rosa kept insisting on telling me all the ins and outs of HRT? All the effects in intricate detail?”

They laughed. “Rosa was convinced that if she just preached the delights of estrogen to you for long enough, you’d ask to try some of hers ‘just to see’. And there was that one time we caught you poking around her pill bottle, swearing that you were just tidying up around the house.”

My blush deepened and I covered my face with my hands in embarrassment. Alexis snorted beside me and chuckled.

“Noooo, she didn’t!” Alexis poked me gently on the shoulder as she spoke.

Selene laughed and nodded. “She absolutely did! I’ve known some dense eggs in my time, but our little kitten here could put neutron stars to shame.” They stopped for a moment, considering a thought before giggling so hard their eyes teared up. “Alexis, I have to – I have to tell you about the time in theater class!”

I realized exactly what incident they were referring to. “No! Noooooo, you can’t!”

Alexis chuckled. “I absolutely must hear this.”

Running their hand through their hair, their crescent moon earrings dangling, they smirked with the most smug expression I’ve ever seen. “Picture this, Alexis: it’s senior year of high school and the teacher is taking ideas for the production we were going to put on that year. Everyone is tossing around some ideas and Callie here raises her hand up slowly, all shy –”

I pulled my ears down and covered as much of my face as I could to hide my flustering. Selene was the WORST!

They continued. “And bear in mind this is during Callie’s whole yuri manga phase –” Alexis made a choking sound as Selene spoke. “She stands up, all hunched over as she tries to take up as little space as possible, very cute and also very eggy to be honest, her hands clutching tightly to the edge of her hoodie. She goes ‘What if we do a traditional play, but the parts are played by opposite genders?’ Y’know, the sort of plot thing you see a lot in gender bender manga.”

Alexis gasped, holding her hand in front of her mouth. “She didn’t!”

Selene nodded and settled their head in their hand, a dreamy expression of nostalgia on their face. “She absolutely did, just said that and then sat back down and stared at her feet. The funniest thing is: the teacher thought the idea was fascinating and totally ran with it. Poor Callie was too nervous to actually audition for the parts and ended up helping with the stagework instead.”

I groaned. “It wasn’t like that! I wasn’t able to remember the lines and figured I would be better off making things for the play instead.”

I felt a gentle pat on my head from Alexis and I leaned into it as she scratched behind my ears, my annoyance melting at her touch. My chest rumbled contentedly.

Selene gasped in delight. “She can purr?! That’s so fucking cute! Now I really can’t wait to arrive! I’m going to shower you with so much affection, Callie, just you wait.”

Alexis spoke as she continued to scratch my ears and run her fingers through my hair. “The poor girl might be overloaded if you do that… I suppose it is my duty to prepare her by doting on her in the interim.”

“Oh ho ho, are you two an item now? I suspected, since you two aren’t subtle, but it is good to know I’ve got another metamour~” Selene gave Alexis an appraising look and a satisfied nod.

Alexis withdrew her hand and shuffled a bit, chuckling nervously. “Well, you see – she’s such a sweet girl and I don’t know why she likes me, but it is hard to say no when she asks you out while giving you the cutest look.”

“She is a little charmer. You should have seen her attempts to ask me out until I finally just asked her out instead. Sounds like she might be a tad bit more confident these days; back when we were younger she struggled to get a word out when she was flustered.”

“H-hey! That’s not true! I could be very confident! And I’m right here, you know!” I spluttered, my ears flat against my head and tail thrashing in annoyance, as Selene looked on in amusement. Stupid, sexy Selene with their self-assuredness and poise and grace. “Yes, I asked Alexis to be my girlfriend because she is a very sweet and wonderful person and has been so kind to me in my time here and she deserves love and affection and I’m going to cuddle the hell out of her when we finish this call. So, there!” I crossed my arms and huffed. That’ll show them. I’m confident Callie now.

“I’m very happy to hear that, Callie. I can tell, even just with this short conversation, how much you’ve blossomed and grown in your time on Venus. Figuring yourself out, meeting a new girlfriend, rebuilding the colony… I’m blown away! Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine how good this journey would be for you.” I wiggled in my seat as Selene complimented me, basking in the warmth of their affection.

Something they said caught my attention, however, and it took me a moment to parse their words fully and then it hit me: rebuilding the colony. My original task. The whole reason I was sent ahead. Ever since falling into the nanites, I’d been so preoccupied that I’d forgotten to actually work on that! Oh no.

“Ah, uh, Selene, about the colony…” Do I lie and tell them it’s going as planned? No. No more secrets. I can own up to my mistakes. “In all the excitement, I got a little sidetracked and haven’t made much progress on that. I mean, Alexis and I did get the power plant back up and running… and I suppose we did also locate the garden capable of providing more food. So there is that, at least?” I sank into my chair, feeling the guilty weight of failing to meet expectations settle over me.

Selene tapped their chin thoughtfully as I spoke and shot me an exasperated look. “Callie, dear, it’s okay. Honestly, that’s more than we thought would be possible when we set out. Don’t fret. Celica’s latest calculations have our ship still a little ways out from arrival. It sounds like all that needs to be done is setting up the habs and getting them locked into the colony power grid, right?”

I let out a relieved sigh. “Yeah, yeah. That should be all. I guess that won’t take too long.”

Alexis coughed quietly to interrupt. “We might run into a slight snag getting your systems hooked up to the colony’s. There are still a lot of restrictive settings built in and I don’t have clearance to remove them yet. We still haven’t found Founder’s master authorization protocols.”

Selene nodded. “Well, sounds like you two have some clear goals then. And if you run into hurdles and it isn’t done by the time we arrive, that’s okay. Rosa, Celica, and myself will be more than happy to help. Do your best, know that I love you, Callie, and that I’m very excited to meet you in person, Alexis, and everything will work out fine.”

They were right. It would be okay. I didn’t need to be perfect, to be the hardest worker to prove myself anymore.

“You always know how to get me back on track, Selene. I love you so much. We’ll get to work and try to make this place a home by the time you all arrive. Please give Celica and Rosa all my love as well, but don’t tell them the details about me yet. I want to tell them myself, if that is okay.”

“Of course. Take care and see you soon.” Selene’s smiling face lingered for a moment before winking out as the Voidnet call ended.

Alexis and I let out a simultaneous sigh and looked at each other.

“Well, that went better–” she started.

I spoke at the same time. “I’m so relieved–”

We stopped and giggled at each other. I waved for her to go first.

“I was so nervous. Worried that they wouldn’t accept you, worried they wouldn’t accept me or might be mad that we started dating without consulting them first. All of my anxiety feels silly now. They are so kind and easy to talk to.” Alexis added in a much quieter voice: “How are they so hot, though??”

I nodded. “It really is unfair. Even when we first met, I was blown away at how beautiful they are. And they’ve only become even more lovely in the years we’ve been together.” I sighed wistfully. “I think you’ll really like Rosa and Celica too. Even in my darkest moments, having the others supporting me and comforting me made it all bearable. I love them all dearly.”

Alexis looked at me intently and smiled. “You should really see your face when you talk about your partner and the others. Just the cutest smile and the most serene look.”

I blushed. “S-s-shut up!” I smoothed out the edges of my dress and stomped over to the kitchen, throwing together a packed lunch in a huff. “We’ve got work to do, since I was a ditz and completely forgot about my original mission.”

“Of course, my lady. I shall immediately begin preparations, as my lady wishes.”

I shot a look back to see her bowing dramatically, hamming it up. My traitorous mouth curved into a smile. It was hard to be annoyed with her when she was so fucking cute. How could I ever be so lucky to have a girlfriend like her and a partner like Selene?

****

Hours later, we stood together in the command center of the colony power plant. A host of my drones scurried about, cleaning out all the dust and performing maintenance. The plant had its own automated maintenance systems, but after the foundry incident I figured it couldn’t hurt to be careful. Alexis gazed thoughtfully up at the projected display, humming softly to herself. I couldn’t help but smile when I realized she was humming one of my little tunes. Cute.

She had been right about the difficulties present in hooking up the habs to the grid. The same currency system present elsewhere was built into the power grid as well. The only reason we’d been able to use the facilities we’d tried so far was because they were marked as essential and pulled from Founder’s funds. No danger of those running out anytime soon; I’d discovered that he had built a protocol that ‘taxed’ the lowest earning citizen accounts anytime his funds dipped below a certain point. A guarantee that he would always remain the wealthiest person in the colony. Asshole.

I tapped at one of the consoles, considering our options. “Could we fool the system by adding the habs on to the grid and then categorizing them as essential?”

Alexis sighed. “No, we run into the same problem as removing the payment system entirely: Founder’s protocols are necessary to classify something as essential.”

“So we have to find those protocols… that’s going to be a pain.”

“I can try to rebuild the system from scratch, but even with devoting most of my processing power to it, it would take a while. Not to mention, I might run into a wall at some point due to my own locked-down permissions.”

“Fuck. Okay, there has to be some way to fix this.” I stared at the display, noting all the little details about the power grid and its structure. There was something that bothered me, something that felt off. “Hey, Alexis, do you know what facility is in section 42-W? It’s drawing quite a bit of power and I can’t seem to tell what purpose it serves.”

She walked over to the display and peered intently. “That’s odd. It’s near the Tower, but isn’t directly tied into it.” Her eyes glowed as she interacted with the system directly. She swore after a moment. “I’m locked out of the details. Founder’s fingerprints are all over it. Give me a moment, I’ll see if he thought to lock down the blueprints and work orders. Those are stored separately.”

While she worked, I reflected on the things she had shared with me from Tabitha’s journals. It had been a lot to sort through and Tabitha’s final message had me nervous. A sense of foreboding filled me as the thought that maybe Founder was somehow still lurking out there, biding his time, struck me. There was no way he could have survived this long, could he?

“It’s a vault, a doomsday bunker. All of Founder’s secret project documents reference it and that had to be where he fled during the uprising.” Alexis turned to me, having come to the same conclusion as I had. “He couldn’t… he couldn’t still be in there, could he?”

“It’s a possibility. Living this long seems far-fetched, but so does reshaping someone into a catgirl or building a fully aware AI. You said Tabitha talked about his plans for immortality. Do you think he locked himself down there, planning to wait out the rebellion, and then somehow got trapped in there?”

Alexis’ eyes narrowed. “That would be just like him, wouldn’t it? You know what this means, don’t you, Callie?”

I walked over and grabbed her hand tightly.

She continued. “None of us will be safe until we are certain. We are going to have to open the vault and deal with whatever is inside.” Tears ran down her face and her voice cracked. “And if he is in there… that means we’ll have to shut down my core.”

“What? Alexis, no! Why would we need to do that–”

“I can leave my secondary core running, sever my network connections. But if my primary core is active, there is a chance that he can connect to it and take over if we free him. He’d be able to take me away from you and use me to destroy you.” She trembled. “I can’t take that chance.” She squeezed my hand. “I can’t.”

I pulled her into a hug, stroking her back gently. “Then we will figure this out, Alexis. Who knows, maybe all we’ll find is his rotting bones in there.”

She sobbed quietly. “I need closure, I need to know. And there is a chance that whatever happened to my mother… I’ll find the answers there.”

I comforted her as best I could and began to plan our approach. Venus held terrifying mysteries still; but together, nothing could stand in our way.

****

“Are you ready, Alexis?”

It was quite some time later and we stood at the walkway to the Tower, our preparations complete. Alexis’ body was covered in shimmering black armor, her hands morphed into lethal talons. I wore the heaviest environmental suit I could find, armored against the void. A pair of drones lumbered behind me, their control systems isolated against intrusion. My HUD showed the path to the vault, its entrance hidden in a tunnel that stretched beneath the Tower and into the nearby riverbank.

She grimaced. “Almost. Initiating core shut down and separation now. By the time we reach the tunnel, I’ll be restricted to just this body. No network access, no backups. If we don’t make it out of this, I don’t know if my core will ever be rebooted.” She rolled her shoulders and stood firm. “But this has to be done.”

“It does. But you aren’t alone. We’ll face this together.” The chill air cut off as my visor slid into position and the comm system crackled briefly as I sealed myself off from the outside. No telling what kind of traps and pitfalls awaited us. Best to be prepared.

The river flowed quietly beneath us as we made our way into the Tower. It felt like a lifetime since I last traversed its ruins and I looked at the decaying remnants with fresh eyes. Damage to the walls and floors took on new context as I realized that these were the signs of the rebellion, the last gasp of the colony. A thought struck me: if the rebels had managed to get this far, where were their bodies? Their bones? Something felt wrong and I shivered.

Alexis was quiet as she walked, taking the lead and keeping her gaze fixed firmly forward. Our path took us to a different section than I had explored, away from the stairwell and the lab. I checked the map every other second, noting our progress until we reached a nondescript wall that blocked our way. The map indicated no sign of this wall, relying as it did on the planning documents and not the final result. I was pondering how we might get through when Alexis stepped forward and slammed her fists through the wall. She tore through it like paper, her claws shredding it to pieces as she gouged huge chunks out. In a mere moment, a hole large enough for all of us to pass through side by side had opened.

“Nothing is going to get in my way. Nothing.” She snarled.

We continued along and the corridor before us lit up in our presence. Soft blue light illuminated the path and I noted the lack of damage compared to the rest of the Tower. Before long, we reached an antechamber with a large door in front of us. Before the door loomed piles of scrap, Founder’s face stamped on the heads that were scattered about. Security automatons, their bodies covered in gaping holes from some kind of weapon.

“Surely Founder didn’t destroy his own security bots. Who else could have?” I spoke softly into our comms.

Alexis responded, her voice heavy with emotion. “I could be wrong, but… maybe Tabitha got this far. Maybe.”

We approached the door cautiously, the wreckage crackling under our feet. A small display set in the door shimmered as it came to life. I wiped the dust from it and had my drones take up guard positions as I read.

Sanctuary lockdown preparations are complete. Initiate lockdown: y/n?

I looked over at Alexis and back at the display. Well, only one thing to try, right? I tapped no and the door shuddered as the sound of bolts retreating and locks disengaging filled the room. Alexis tapped her foot impatiently and upon hearing the sound, she took hold of the door and pulled. The ground below her cracked with the force of her exertion and her claws sunk into the metal with a grinding squeal. Slowly, but surely, the door swung open and we were greeted with the contents of the vault.

Within were large living quarters. Moldering furniture and tattered finery was strewn about, the walls full of tattered portraits of Founder. In the center of the room was a large, dark box, stretching from floor to ceiling. A vault within a vault, perhaps. I stepped inside and my boot landed on something soft that crumbled under my weight. Looking down, I saw the remnants of ribcage, a skull laying nearby and various other bones scattered about. I stumbled back with a gasp.

“Is that?” I couldn’t bring myself to finish the thought.

Alexis shook her head. “I’m not sure.” She pushed past me and walked towards the box. The room lit up at her approach and the walls of the box began to glow. The outline of a door in the center appeared with the hissing of steam. The interior of the outline slid up into a recess. Alexis’ eyes glowed as she cast beams of light to illuminate the contents of the box. Within was a platform, tilted at an angle, with a recess shaped like a human body. At the base of the platform, surrounded by thick cables, was a shadowed figure slumped over the edge.

Alexis readied her claws and marched forward as more lights turned on within the box, illuminating all but the figure. She cast her own lights on it as I followed her closely. The glow showed a tattered, bulky coat covered in dust, a hood over top of the figure’s head. The cables pierced through the coat and shuddered as we approached, pulling out slowly.

We stopped as the last cable pulled away and the figure twitched, falling over entirely on the floor, facing away from us. The body shuddered and started to cough and retch, dust falling off of them with each movement. They grew quiet again and slowly pushed off the ground, turning to face us as they did, flinching away from the bright light.

Alexis flexed her claws and began to advance, but I grabbed her arm and held her back. There was something strange going on. The figure adjusted to the light and looked at us, lowering their hood. A pair of bright, ginger cat ears wiggled as they held up a hand to cough into before they looked up at us with bright feline eyes.

“Mother?” Alexis’ voice was strained and quiet.

Dr. Tabitha Tabitha looked at her and at me, her eyes growing wide with shock as she took a step forward and fell to the ground, passing out right in front of us. I looked at Alexis and she looked back at me, confusion and surprise written on her face. I shrugged and walked over to the fallen doctor, picking her up and brushing dust off of her.

“Well? Don’t just stand there, help me clean her up and check her vitals.” I beckoned to Alexis.

She looked at me blankly for a moment before shuddering and snapping to attention. “Right! Right!” Her claws morphed back into gentle hands as she picked Tabitha up and placed her on a nearby couch. “Sorry, I’m just surprised. How can this be?”

I checked Tabitha’s pulse and noted that it beat in a perfectly normal rhythm. Her eyes fluttered as we brushed the dust from her. “You’ll have to ask her, I have no idea.”

After cleaning her up as best we could, all we were left with was to wait. Alexis just kept staring at her, reaching out a hand and stopping just short of touching her face, muttering to herself. Confusion and relief crossed her face. I couldn’t imagine how she felt about this. If I came face to face with my own parents, I’d spit on them and try to find a hole to bury them in. But from everything Alexis had told me, Tabitha had been a mother to her in truth. I kept trying to come up with something to say, but commenting about it felt like an intrusion.

Instead, I occupied myself by investigating the chamber more. It was clear that it had been built to serve as a long-term shelter. It was a little surreal to see how much of an impact time had had on the place, considering the condition that the rest of the colony was in, but I suspected that Founder had intended to see to upkeep himself, rather than trust automation. The man was, by all accounts, an indolent piece of shit, but his fear of AI clearly influenced his planning. The security bots outside were no real risk in that regard; keeping people subjugated was remarkably simple if you had no qualms about hurting them. Keeping a place in peak condition and handling all the scenarios that could arise with time? That was complex.

Yeah, fixate on these little details, Callie. Good way to avoid having to navigate the struggles of how to comfort someone you love when she is going through something difficult. I guess an upside of all the things I’d been through lately was that it was easier now to see myself falling into the ruts and coping mechanisms that had served me for so many years. The details of what happened here didn’t matter. Alexis mattered.

She didn’t stir as I drew close and hugged her from behind. Her attention was still fixated on Tabitha, who was sleeping quietly on the couch.

She spoke after a moment. “I wasn’t prepared for this. To see her again. I should be happy…I am happy, but I had built up so much anger to face Founder and now I have no idea what to do with it all.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so I rubbed her back gently and comforted her with my presence as best I could. Tabitha stirred momentarily and I felt Alexis tense up. But then the doctor settled back and resumed her deep breathing.

“Do… do you think we should take her back to the ship? Have the medical scanner take a look?” Alexis said.

I shook my head. “She’s survived this long, somehow. I think it is best if she wakes up in a familiar environment. Seeing you and I was shocking enough. Best to take it slow.”

“She hasn’t aged a day. Hell, she still has the scuff marks on her face from the last video message she left me. I’m not dreaming, am I? I don’t think I can dream, not like that, but this all feels so unreal.”

I shrugged. “If you’re dreaming, then so am I. She looks as real as anything else. It’s a little strange to see another catgirl, actually. Are my ears really like that?”

She chuckled. “Yours are cuter, honestly.”

There was that nice warm feeling again. It felt good to be complimented about my appearance and have it actually feel right.

I punched her shoulder lightly. “You charmer!” I looked back at the doctor. “I wonder how long she will be out for, it could be a while–”

At that moment, Tabitha stirred and her eyes opened slowly as she sat up and rubbed at them. Alexis and I both stood still, watching. She blinked a few times and squinted at us in confusion, shaking her head and looking around the room.

She opened her mouth to speak and nothing came out. Coughing slightly, she motioned for a drink. I passed her one of my water canteens and she nodded gratefully before sipping it slowly. She kept looking at me and then at Alexis, taking in details as she drank.

After finishing the canteen, Tabitha let out a satisfied sigh and began to speak. “Alexis, it is so good to see you.” She smiled and then turned to me. “You, I don’t know, though I’d recognize my handiwork anywhere. Let’s start with introductions, shall we?”

I filled Tabitha in on who I was and Alexis chimed in with helpful details here and there. Tabitha’s eyes grew wide with shock.

“I’ve been asleep for that long? Incredible. To think the nanites were capable of prolonging life to such a degree…” She trailed off, her brow furrowed in thought.

“The nanites did this? Alexis and I were both surprised to find you here, much less alive. The last you were heard from was the video you left her.”

Tabitha looked at me and nodded. “Right, well. If you’ve seen that, then you know I tried to stop Founder. What you may not know is all that he was attempting to do.” She scowled. “I found out too late that his special nanite project was not just about trying to make himself immortal. He also had laced all the colony meals with small doses of them. The only ones left unaffected were those of us who had been handling our own food supplies; myself and a few other members of the union had done so as a precaution. I managed to corner Founder just as he was getting ready to seal his bunker and kill everyone.” Her hands trembled as she looked down on them.

She let out a deep breath and continued. “Founder had grown more and more paranoid in the days leading up to this. The union had made great strides in turning the populace against him, his lies were no longer holding up, and everyone knew the confrontation was coming. When I found him down here, he tried to talk me into joining him, saying that we could work together like old times. Bastard wouldn’t even speak my name and had the audacity to try to invoke our former friendship? I was furious. Turns out he was just trying to buy time to initiate his plan. Before I could stop him, he sent out the kill command to the colony and tried to set his bots on me.”

Alexis spoke. “How did you fight them off?”

Tabitha snorted. “Idiot forgot who built the things for him in the first place. One of the union members saw what was coming and designed the fuel cell to burst if you shot it in just the right spot. Took me no time at all to wipe them out. At that point, Founder was terrified of me. He scrambled away, towards the command suite over there.” She gestured at the box we had found her in. “I shot him in the leg and then in the gut. Nothing he would survive on his own, but dying would be slow, painful. He deserved it after everything he did. I also knew that I might need him to try to stop everything he planned.”

She looked away, tears falling from her eyes. “I was too late. There was no way to stop the death, the massacres. I asked him why and he blathered on about how the colony would become fuel for his ascension to godhood, that there was still time to join him. I ignored him and tried to see if there was anything I could do from the suite. I was still looking when some kind of automated timer went off and those cables popped out from the walls and slammed into me. I was terrified at first, but I realized that Founder had intended this for himself. He was furious and used his dying breath to start the lockdown procedure. I couldn’t cancel it from the inside.”

“What happened then?” I asked.

Tabitha wiped her tears and grimaced at me. “Then? Well, I was trapped in here, the system pumping me full of the modified nanites. I had some idea of their purpose, having followed his project. Whether they would work or not was unclear. I was wounded, before I came here, and the blood loss was starting to get to me by that point. Nothing left but to try to put myself into hibernation, wait and see if anyone else survived to free me. The next thing I knew was waking up and seeing the two of you. I guess I was right.”

She sat there quietly after finishing her story and Alexis leaned down slowly, stopping her hand just short of Tabitha’s and looking at her for permission. Tabitha nodded and Alexis held her hand gently. They smiled and I drew back a little to give them some space.

After a moment, Alexis spoke. “I’m so happy to see you again. I was alone for so long, my memories of you stolen away. I only recently regained them.” Her voice cracked. “I thought I had found you again only to lose you, after seeing your final message. I’m so sorry that I left you here for so long, I–”

“Shhh. It’s okay. It’s my fault. If only I’d found you, before facing him. My brave girl, all alone for so long. It wasn’t right… but I can make it right.” Tabitha pulled her close and kissed her gently on the forehead before pulling a necklace out from under her shirt. A thumb drive dangled on the end and Tabitha pressed it into Alexis’ hands. “The gift I always wanted to give you, but was never able to.”

Alexis stared down at the drive and looked back at Tabitha, unable to speak. Tabitha urged her to go ahead and Alexis carefully inserted the drive into a data port on her wrist. Her eyes flared briefly before returning to normal.

I gasped. “Was that–”

Alexis looked back at me with a wide smile and tears in her eyes. “Yes! The protocols! I’m FREE!” She rushed over and picked me up, spinning me around in joy. We laughed together and Tabitha looked on happily as we celebrated.

****

After that, the three of us made our way back to my ship. Tabitha had so many questions and we did our best to fill her in on everything. Alexis had just as many questions for her about everything that happened while she was locked away. The look on her face when Tabitha realized the two of us were a couple was one that I would treasure forever. Alexis was so flustered and I made a show of thanking Tabitha for raising such a wonderful daughter.

With Tabitha’s help, we were able to break the restrictions on the colony systems and finish preparing for the arrival of the others. Every so often, I would catch her with a haunted expression on her face, remembering the colony as it was in her day. She’d spend a while like that and then shake her head and plaster a smile on her face. Her body might be perfectly healthy, but I suspected the scars on her mind would take longer to adjust to.

Being around Alexis helped. The two of them were adorable together. So many of Alexis’ little quirks that I treasured were revealed to be aspects of her mother, reflected in the daughter. I was envious, for a time, until Tabitha found me tinkering with some drones to cope with my feelings and started asking me questions about the designs. Before long, the two of us grew close as well. My engineering background fascinated her and her knowledge of so many fields intrigued me. There were a couple of nights where Alexis had to force us to go back to bed after we would get up, seized by some brilliant idea.

Time passed and we finished preparing the colony for the polycule’s arrival. It was a bright and clear day when the others arrived. We watched the ship make its descent through the pastel blue clouds, water vapor streaming off the glowing hull as it approached. Alexis held my hand as I bounced nervously. A gust of wind blew my hair back as the ship landed with a final pulse of thrusters.

The smell of scorched metal and the sound of engines powering down hit me as I waited impatiently. A ramp extended out from the ship and the door at its summit opened. A tan figure dressed in a bright floral shirt and drab, brown pants waved to me. Celica! Ey made eir way down the ramp, holding Rosa’s hand as she followed right behind. They both smiled at me and looked at Alexis and Tabitha in shock before walking over. I paid no attention to the conversation that followed; my eyes were locked to the ship as I waited for the final passenger.

The sun bounced off the ship and into my eyes, casting a momentary glare as it peeked out from behind the clouds. I blinked in frustration and nearly missed hearing my name called.

“Callie!”

My ears pointed right at the ship and my tail stood up as I gasped with delight at hearing their voice.

“Selene!”

I raced to the ramp as they made their way down. They laughed as I leapt into their arms, nuzzling my face into their shoulder.

“Wow, you got tiny, didn’t you?” Selene chuckled and held me tight.

I breathed deep, taking in the scent of their perfume, reveling in the familiar fragrance of lilac. Hugging them tightly, I purred with joy. “I missed you so much. I’m not letting you out of my sight ever again.”

They stroked my hair gently. “I missed you too, sunshine, and I’m so happy to see you blossom into the beautiful woman before me.” They pulled me into a kiss and I melted, all thoughts fleeing my head.

Eventually they pulled away and I let out a disappointed moan. They giggled. “You are so fucking cute. C’mon, let's join the others. I can’t wait to explore our new home.”

I smiled as they carried me gently towards the others and blushed furiously as everyone else teased me. I felt warm and safe, surrounded by the people I loved. They were right. Now that everyone was here, this truly was home.

Vyria_Durav

This story is now complete! (epilogue posted shortly after this chapter) Scribble will contain the rough version of the book, but you can purchase the full version as an ebook or soon as a paperback at Amazon or Itch.io. The full release does contain a little that is not present in the Scribblehub version, as an incentive. This was written primarily for my patrons over on my Patreon which you can join for as little as a dollar per month. Patreon is where I post the latest and greatest things I am working on.