It was raining outside. The patter of rain against the reinforced glass of the Port-A-Building played a calming melody over the temporary bar, set up on the temporary landing pad, on the rocky cliff. Through the window one could make out the lights of heavy machinery being operated in the storm, like dancing ghosts that called from the dark with metallic groaning.
Grey sat at the metal bar, paw curled around a shot of something the color of apples that had the tangy taste of blood about it. His other paw held up his head, which exhibited an expression of supreme boredom, the only thing to do was look at the multitude of stains which sat about the top of the bar. Around him the building crew sat at dull metallic tables, the drone of their conversation only slightly more annoying than the waves of unrestrained thoughts that formed a dark, invisible, miasma of emotion in the smoke filled air.
A male Llivori bartender looked over Grey, assessing how likely he was to become rowdy. The Lyiri gave him a skeptical look and motioned for his glass to be refilled. Apparently in the mood for conversation the bartender spoke as he poured the drink into Grey’s glass.
“Not many Lyiri around these parts.”
Grey raised an eyebrow, his whiskers twitched involuntarily. “No.” He replied. The Lyiri are a felinoid race. Grey was quite tall for a Lyiri, six feet at least. His fur was marked with the light color of metal, with darker stripes lining his arms like scars from deep cuts in battles past.
“Your ship dropping off supplies then?” The Llivori, a badger like creature, pressed.
“No.” Grey replied simply, he took his drink and brought it to his muzzle to sip from. His other paw collected the credits to pay for the drink from a pocket in his coat and slipped them towards the bartender, who with a sigh accepted them and walked away to serve another customer.
Movement on the barstool next to him drew the Lyiri’s attention and Grey looked across to see, to his surprise, another Lyiri. She was slender, if a little chubby from overeating, and a curious mix of fur coloring, from that of ice to that of clouds. Most interesting to Grey though was the smile. He recognized it. Just like her picture.
~You’re Chiaka then.~ Grey emitted telepathically after a moment, bringing his drink back to his muzzle to take a small sip from it. The second Lyiri perked her ears, a look of surprise wiping the smile off her muzzle, the thought reaching Grey. ~Y-yes I am... how did you...?~
~Hearsay. Lyri’s got to look out for one another, this far from home, wouldn’t you agree?~ Grey’s glass hit the bar top with a small, musical chink. He motioned to grab the bartender’s attention. “One for my friend.” The lyiri said, looking back towards Chiaka.
~How generous of you.~ Chiaka noted, she settled against the barstool, her tail swaying beneath it told Grey that she was somewhat comfortable. He smiled. ~What are you doing out here then?~ She asked telepathically, a mischievous smile creeping onto her muzzle. The thought was accompanied by a feeling that she might have her own plans for him.
Grey gave a light shrug. ~Helping out with a few jobs for the locals.~ He replied after a moment, giving a jerk to the stormy landing pad with his thumb. ~My ship’s out there. We do a lot of transport missions.~
So far from home, the mere fact that they were of the same race, was grounds enough to claim that they had much in common. They had little in common with the locals, that much was certain.
Chiaka followed the motion and peered through the heavy rain that pelted against the glass, her eyes just making out its silhouette. ~Seems a bit small.~
Grey shrugged again, his own muzzle curled with a small, knowing smile. ~Well usually we only transport small goods.~
Chiaka’s tail flicked happily and she drunk deeply from her glass. ~Bad tremors we’ve been having.~
~Indeed.~
The patter of rain against the glass was relentless, and it filled in the silence between thoughts. Both Lyiri watched the other with more than curiosity in their eyes. The sound of glasses rattling against each other behind the bar signaled the onset of another tremor. Grey looked down at his PDA.
~Got somewhere to be?~ Chiaka asked mentally. The thought was accompanied by a feeling of disappointment.
Grey looked back towards the ice and cloud colored Lyiri and thought for a moment. He smiled. ~Not for a while yet. Another drink?~
It was still raining heavily when the bar closed, the scent of it filled the air. As the lights shut down inside the small building on the edge of the rocky cliff, Grey and Chiaka stepped out, Grey holding her arm in his, as he lead the somewhat flattered Lyiri through the mud towards the barracks. Instantly their fur was drenched in the unforgiving rain, but for both Lyiri it was a refreshing feeling, banishing some of the edge of the alcohol.
~Walking me home?~ Chiaka enquired telepathically with a quirking of her eyeridge, her muzzle curling with a slight amusement.
~Yes.~ Comes Grey’s eventual reply, the slightly annoyed flick of his tail indicates he’s noticed her amusement.
Rain had been pelting the landing pad heavily for several days. Forecast said that the storm would only get worse. It seemed to Chiaka that every day, the clouds on the horizon only got darker.
They sat on the edge of the landing pad, tails curled up beside each other, communicating telepathically, shielded from the blasting rain by the wing of a shuttle that had landed there.
~You’ve been here for a few days now.~ She noted, he muzzle light with a soft smile.
Grey’s eyes were directed at the slow moving machines that labored to lay down more landing room about the landing pad. He nodded and brought a paw up to scratch an itch at the back of his neck. ~The crew hasn’t finished unloading.~
As Grey’s paw lowered she curled her own around it and held it gently. ~I’m glad...~
A small blush crept onto Grey’s nose and he looked away from the machines to her face, touching his nose briefly to hers. ~As am I.~
The position is held for a moment, each taking in the scents and emotion of the other. ~I haven’t seen your crew unload anything...~ She thought to him after a moment.
Grey leaned backwards and pulled a disappointed face at her.
The rain continued to pour all around them. In the distance something flashed, and the crack of thunder rolled slowly, faintly across the sky.
~What is it you do?~ The female Lyiri asked after a moment, she squeezed his paw gently in hers.
Grey looked away, back out into the rain. In the distance, through the rain, he could hear the ocean beating against the cliff face. The air carried the scent of salt water up to the landing pad. He’d always hated the smell of the ocean, it made his nose twitch. ~I transport things.~ Grey replied after a while.
~You’re lying.~ She pointed out, smiling as though it didn’t bother her.
~I am.~
Chiaka laughed to herself. No other man, she thought, he was like no other man. She tugged gently on his paw. ~Come.~ She thought, getting to her foot-paws beside him.
Grey’s mind probed gently, looking for any kind of hostile intent nestled among her thoughts. He found none. The Lyiri stood, each holding the others paw, and Chiaka pulled Grey gently towards the barracks.
As they stepped out of the cover of the shuttle wing rain once again intruded upon their time, seeping into their fur, dripping off their whiskers, weighing down their tails. There were a few Llivori about the landing pad that day, they parted respectfully to let the pair through, whether it be from Grey’s intimidating, if dripping, appearance, or Chiaka’s influence Grey knew not.
They found themselves at the keypad into Chiaka’s quarters in the barracks, Grey had expected it to be big, but not that big. The scent of new plastic was strong as the door slid open. Her quarters took up a third of the barracks wing, generously furnished with more chairs than she needed, a couch that Grey looked enviously at, and a desk that dwarfed his own. He expected as much from the daughter of a major corporation owner.
The pair padded slowly towards the center of the room, Chiaka’s muzzle lit with a mischievous smile, one that had grown on Grey. Her tail swayed happily as she thought to him. ~Undress me.~
Grey’s smile was knowing as it curled the edges of his muzzle, his paw reaching out to touch softly against her cheek, he felt that she was alone, and his own longing for another seeped through his touch. Through that touch they knew each other well enough, each smiled. Grey obeyed. With his help she shed her wet clothes, and hooking a paw into his side, she led Grey into the bathing unit, where they made love.
Afterwards they lay on her bed, Grey curled around the outside of Chiaka for mutual warmth, breathing softly, asleep. The female Lyiri stirred a little, noting Grey’s lack of a reaction she squirmed out of his embrace and sat on the edge of the bed, placing one paw tenderly on the other Lyiri’s side, before she stood and made her way over to his discarded coat. She bent over and searched through its pockets one by one, setting the coat aside when she found what she was looking for, a collection of datachips.
Chiaka padded silently across to where she’d left her PDA on her desk and inserted the datachips one by one into it. Blueprints of the landing bay flashed to life, accompanied by a schedule of the shipping plan for the next few months, and information on the administrative team of the operation, including her. Chiaka withdrew the datachips and slipped them back into the pocket of Grey’s coat, padding slowly over to the bed again. She looked at him for a moment, the thoughts gliding across her mind, before she slipped back into bed, and pulled his arm around her. As she shut her eyes Chiaka frowned.
Another day passed, and another night saw the Lyiri outside the bar as its lights slowly flickered off, one by one. They walked through the rain, this time Grey led her in the direction of the landing pad. Chiaka’s tail swayed behind her, showing her surprise, but she said nothing as the shapes of the vessels on the pad came closer.
Water dripped off both of their noses as Grey punched in the keycode to enter the ship, silently standing aside to allow Chiaka through. He followed after her, guiding the wet Lyiri through multiple hatches until they found his room. When they were inside he passed her a towel and led her to the bathing unit, as its door slid open she curled her paw about his and pulled him in after her. The smell of wet fur was strong in the enclosed space as they made love once again, the faint sound of rain drumming against the hull of the ship only slightly audible above that of the water from the bathing unit.
This time they slept in his bed, and once again Chiaka waited for Grey to be asleep before she wriggled to the edge of the bed, and stood. The female Lyiri looked down at him with a soft smile, once more stroking the fur of his side with her paw before walking across to his desk. She slipped a key from his pants and unlocked the draw of his desk, withdrawing another datachip from it and slipping it into her PDA. This datachip was what she was looking for, her ears perked and her eyes lit up at the prospect of finding out what it was the male Lyiri was doing on the remote landing pad on Kamsho.
~I was hoping I could keep you too...~ Came the thought, it dripped with menace, and Chiaka turned around to find Grey sitting on the edge of the bed, a plasma pistol leveled at her face. He wore the tired expression, of a Lyiri who had been disappointed too many times.
~This is why you are here?~ Chiaka’s thoughts were shaky and unraveling fast, her paw placing the PDA back on the desk. Part of her recalled she was naked, as was he.
~Yes.~ Grey replied, his own thoughts pausing a moment before returning in crystal clear tones. ~Though I had hoped you would not find out.~
~Not find out? It says here I’m your mark!~ Her rage practically screamed through Grey’s mind, causing him to cringe, she shook from the anger, oblivious to his weapon, the result of thoughts that had no-where else to turn. The safety flipped off.
~You’re quite beautiful...~ Grey replied after a moment. ~And you flatter yourself. You are not my target. That datachip said quite clearly you were a target of opportunity. But I wouldn’t even receive a bonus for your termination. Just a pat on the back. The Landing Pad is my target, a rival company my employer.~
The hum of starship engines filled the room, gently drowning out the drumming of rain. The ship was starting up.
Chiaka sat down on the edge of the desk, her head in her paws, she cried into them. ~How could I have been so foolish...?~ Was an unguarded thought that slipped across to Grey, her rage slipping away from her, angry thoughts subsiding to sorrow.
~It wasn’t your intellect that failed you Chiaka. It was your curiosity. I would’ve taken you away from here, where you could be safe. But you had to know. From the start, that was what drove you, wasn’t it. And this is your reward.~ Grey squeezed the trigger.
Grey’s starship slipped through the dark clouds, rain dripping off its hull as it rose far above the Landing pad in construction. There was the flash of lightening in the distance, and the roll of thunder that came ponderously, slowly across the sky.
The landing pad erupted in a shower of molten rock and plasma. The buildings nearby, the machines, the cliff, what wasn’t vaporized instantly slid into the ocean, to be buried by hundreds of feet of mud and rock.
The forecast showed that the storms would only get worse.