It was a quiet morning shift aboard the cargo vessel Swiftpaw. The crew began to stir to life as the captain, having already been up for hours, began reading over various reports she had received overnight. The stars in the endless void of space twinkled outside, totally unchanged even as time passed and as they sped through space at unimaginable speed. She settled in her office located conveniently next door to the bridge, silently nursing a hot cup of coffee and looking out of the large window. As she took a sip from her cup of coffee, a beeping from the desk-mounted computer screen caught her attention. A little envelope icon blinked in the corner and she reached up and tapped the screen with a claw. She tapped a few more keys on the touch screen and read the message addressed from the main office back on Earth.

A few decks below, the hallways were filling with various furs setting out to report for their morning shifts. Some ragged and messy with their fur all tangled and messed up, and the others all clean and groomed, looking like they could take on anything the day gave them, rookie spacers obviously. And then others were very slow at awakening for good reasons? Colin was snuggled up close to Niromi as the alarm on the wall chronometer beeped. The obnoxious beeping making him open one eye and then smacking the off button. He ruffed softly as he picked his head up from the pillow and then sat up in his spot as he tried to wake up more. Wiping his eyes for a moment, he looked at the gentle sleeping face of his fiancé. Her snow-white fur was rumpled and matted against her face but she still looked like an angel to him. She stirred and yawned softly. "Aawwwwwnnnnn, hmm, morning already?" she asked. He smiled down at her and nodded. "I'm afraid so honey," he answered as she too sat up slowly. "I'm glad we got to do our shifts at the same time when we got back to work." He kissed her cheek softly and she smiled at him, her green eyes sparkling in the dim light. "I love you," she whispered. His heart beat faster as he gazed back at her. "And I love you." Their eyes twinkled as they snuggled against each other for a long moment. Finally Niri heaved a sigh, letting her paws fall to her side. "Well duty calls." She stood up and stretched, scratching at a sore spot and clad in absolutely nothing. Colin whistled appreciatively and she turned around, giving him a warm smile as she modeled for him. "Silly wolf." Colin chuckled as she got out of the bed and repeated her actions, scratching and stretching, and started towards the shower unit. She was a white artic wolf, her fur thick and her body smooth and sleek. Colin, however, was quite the opposite in everyway; his jet-black fur ruffed and matted. He did a few toes touches and then started after Niri. His tail swayed slowly behind him as he pinched her rear playfully. "Need a male to wash your back ma'am?" She wiggled her rump and nodded. "Why yes, yes I do. And I just happen to know the right wolf for the job." They embraced and kissed deeply as they stepped into the shower cubicle together.

"Enter." the captain called out as her door chime sounded. The door slid open in a almost soundless hiss of compressed air and Colin stepped in, looking much better then he previously did. His head fur combed and his green flight suit clean and pressed. He gave her a salute and stood there in front of her desk. "Good morning, have a seat Young." The ocelot behind the desk turned her chair towards the wolf as he sat down. The captain swiveled her desk monitor around to face him. "Have you heard of relay station outpost LV-1201?" Colin nodded and leaned back against the chair. "The LV communication stations relay messages from the asteroid miners in the Belt to out lying stations in the system. There's dozens of outposts out there." She nodded and clicked a button on her keyboard and a stellar map blinked and pointed to the one outpost. "They need a replacement tech to run their operations. It seems their last officer stole a shuttle and headed out into the belt. The miners were on strike; therefore nothing was going on in the belt and therefore, no Comm. traffic. When the control tower called him, he said he only 'wanted to have some fun.' She gave a idle wave of her paw. "Seems he went mad with boredom or some such nonsense." Colin looked back at her with a more then slightly confused look on his face. "What did they do with him after that?" The captain shook her head. "He didn't come back. They're looking for him, but they need someone to take over his post till they can get a replacement from Earth." The wolf nodded and sighed. "And they want me to do it..." The ocelot pushed a folder across the desk. "Here are the particulars. We are the closest ship to the Belt at the moment and they were very impressed by your skills. They talked with the head office back home and gave me your orders." Colin opened the folder and flipped through the plasti-sheets. "So how long will it take for their new operator to relieve me?" The captain flicked an ear and looked somberly towards him.

One deck down was the recreational area. At the moment, only three occupants were taking time off from their workday playing cards off to the side of the massive room. And even through quarter inch thick the steel plates and miles of wiring and pipes, the three heard something that startled them. "WHAT?!!? They all looked at each other strangely but then turned back to what they were doing.

Niri sobbed as he sat on the edge of her bunk. "I'm really sorry love, it was a surprise to me too." he said as his gentle paw stroked her back soothingly. The sobs softened and she lifted her head, her facial fur streaked with tears. "A whole year!?" He could only nod. She sat up and buried her face in his shoulder, his arms slipping around her waist to try and sooth her. "Our next stop is Phobos, we get there in 3 weeks," he whispered. "The captain gave me shorter shifts to give me a chance to study their setup." Niri didn't answer, she just tightened her grip on him. He then whispered into her ear softly. "We both have the last two days off." Finally, he roused a reaction from her. She picked her head up and looked at him with her tear soaked cheeks, her lips curling up in a soft smile as he leaned his head down to kiss her deeply"

Niri moaned as he felt Colin lick along her back. "Mmm do I taste good?" she giggled and then eeped as he buried his muzzle into her neck. "Just wonderful." He whispered into her ear. She lifted her rear up and then gave a loving cry as he slid his hardness into her sex for behind. "Oohhh, Colin unhh yes." The two panted heavily in the darkened room, Colin murring softly in her ear as he thrust slowly and lovingly into her. "Ohh, yeah." The bed creaked under them as they made love, small gasps and grunts filling the air. She started making small gasps as she neared her first climax, and when he thrust deeply and grunted as he squeezed her breasts, she cried out and shuddered under him. Several times he brought her to sweet explosion and when he pushed into her his deepest, he too exploded and filled her with his hot cream. He tilted his head back and his howl joined hers in a crescendo of passion and joy.

The black wolf heaved a great sigh as he looked out of the window in his cramped cabin. It had been so hard to leave Niri at Phobos station. He had never wanted to let her go and she had felt the same way. He patted the small carry on duffle by his side, containing all of his gear he was allowed to take. The other necessities he needed would be issued at the station. And since he was the only passenger on this automated run, the Phobos station crew had packed the free space on the ship with needed supplies and cargo. Lucky for him, they didn't pack the kitchenette or bathroom with crates as well. The ship had been cruising through space for one week, with Colin having only boxes to talk to. And, until he got to the asteroid outpost, no radio contact either. He rubbed the soreness out of his neck as he sat up in bed. His bunk was built extra small too, but he found it hard to sleep anyway without the warmth of Niromi's body next to his. At last he sighted the outpost, a large metal structure on the outside of a even bigger asteroid, the port opened to let the cargo thruster dock.

Colin huffed as he hefted his small carry on duffle. The gravity plating on these small outposts never felt right to him and he had the odd feeling he was leaning to the left all the time. The cabin allotted to him was decent enough he thought. He sat down onto the single bunk and stretched his arms over his head. It wasn?t too bad; single bed, bathroom and a desk with fold down computer monitor. It seemed small and cramped but at the same time, huge and empty without Niri. After dropping off his gear, he headed to the commanders office.

"Ah welcome Mr. Young. Please, come in." The commander smiled as the door opened. He was a jolly looking sort, a badger with graying hair and a beer gut, wearing a similar standard issue flight suit with the name tag reading... "Permission to come aboard, Commander Willis." Colin saluted half-heartedly. The badger nodded. "Granted, have a seat." Colin sat down, as did the commander, and then slid his papers across the desk. Willis looked through the papers silently and then nodded in approvement. "Hmm. Yes, yes you'll do fine," the badger said as he slid them back across the desk. "Um. Thank you sir." The badger leaned back against his chair and clasped his paws together on his gut. "You came at the perfect time Mr. Young. The miners have called a strike. Work and traffic have stopped completely. Your shuttle was the first ship to dock in days. The darnedest thing I ever saw." Colin scritched the back of his neck and then shrugged his shoulders. "How long do you think it'll last?" he asked. The badger only shook his head. "God only knows. You know how things like that work." Uncomfortable silence. After a while of pondering, Colin stood. "I, uh, I'd like to familiarize myself with the station before I begin duty, get the layout and the like." The commander nodded. "By all means, go right ahead. It's not like we're busy at the moment." Colin then stepped back and saluted once more, then turned and walked out the door. He padded down the corridor towards the comm room the only other sound with him was the thumping of his boots on the iron plates and the low hum of a power source below him. He wrinkled his nose at the smell of something foul in the air and almost gagged. "Ugh.someone should really check that." He muttered to himself. He turned a final corner and finally came to the control room door. But as he got closer, the door didn't open for him. He thumbed the control beside the door and still nothing. After a brief moment of thought, the door slid open with an experimental smack against the panel. "That too."

As he entered, the three ladies sat up and blinked almost in unison. Serena felt her tail frizz, Zoe whickered softly, and Ana growled softly in the back of her throat. All the while, the only other male in the room still snored loudly, oblivious to the world around him. Colin squinted in the dim light and surveyed the mass of exposed wire and open panels that was, the radios. Food wrappers littered some of the empty stations and others looked like they were patched together haphazardly. The main control unit was held on with duct tape for the Christ's sake! The females were practically drooling over him as he continued his examination. Soon into the tour of the stations, he felt eyes on him and looked to each of the ladies. "Uh? Hello." He said to all of them at once. "Hello there." The others said in a single, soft voice. He turned back to the panels and resigned himself to a long overhaul. He left the comm room with a heavy sigh and headed towards the galley. "This is going to be a nightmare." he said to himself. When the door closed, three females stared blankly to at the door, then at each other, and then scrambling out of their chairs, scattered and followed him...

The first to get to him was Serena. She stuck her head in and spotted the wolf at a table choking down the bitter coffee the station replicators offered. She looked herself over quickly, brushing a few strands of lint off her uniform and even adjusting her fairly large chest. Then she put on her best "come get me." smile, and walked over to Colin with much more swing to her hips then her usual. "Hi there, stranger." she said in a sultry voice. Colin looked up and offered a gentle smile in return. "Oh, Hi." "I'm Serena, what's your name?" She took a seat right beside him with her hungry smile still sparkling. "I'm Colin, nice to meet you Serena." he said and stirred his coffee. Serena then tried to make small talk but Colin was so exhausted from the trip over, he hardly heard anything she said. He took another swig from his mug and then grimaced, finally deciding to crawl into his bunk and sleep for a year. "I'm sorry Serena, but the ride over just killed me. I think I'm going to turn in. Nice meeting you." Without another word, he stood up and walked out of the mess hall, leaving behind a confused looking and maybe even slightly hurt vixen in his wake. Serena huffed and then rested her chin in a paw "Damn, didn't even nibble." she grumbled. She looked at the forgotten cup of coffee Colin left and then took a swig as well, suddenly remembering why she kept her own supply. "Bleh, Battery acid. That's probably what they use."

The wolf huffed as he locked his door and slumped onto the bed. He hung his head low as he sat there, silently cursing the fates for his current situation. He glanced over to his duffle bag and then brought it onto the bed beside him. He unzipped it and slowly went though the contents. "Sigh. lessee here: VID discs, ear buds, reading material." The station would issue whatever clothes he needed so he didn't need to pack anything of the sort. As he sorted through the videos he brought with him, he noticed one at the bottom of the stack. He smiled as he recognized Niri's handwriting. 'For when you're lonely. Niromi' He ran a paw along the line softly then put it aside. At the moment he was more tired than lonely so he stripped off his flight suit and climbed into bed. 'Surprisingly comfortable.' he thought as he reached over to the light panel and shut off the light.

The next morning, he sighed as he surveyed his assigned station. As much a mess as he remembered from yesterday. He moved the chair aside and moved under the console on his back to see what he could do with what he had. As he worked, he was unaware of the eyes looking him over. As she worked at her console, Anna could not help but stare at the handsome male. Her mind wandered in and out to thoughts that were not on the job at hand, but were a bit more impure. She wagged her tail slowly through the tail slot of her chair, staring at Colin and smiling slightly as she pictured him in nothing but his fur. Around the time she was in her bunk with him in her mind, Colin came out from under the panel and dug through his toolbox. He pulled out a wire stripper and then looked up to a soft sigh. He caught her eying him like a meal to a starving, well a starving wolf. She suddenly blinked and then returned to reality, frantically pressing buttons and avoiding his eyes and pretending to be working once more. Colin knew what was happening now. "Oh this is great." He rubbed his forehead gently and then laid back down to resume his work.

After spending a few hours working on his busted panel, he took his lunch break. He was sitting at a table in the mess hall, shoveling in the brown goop that was said to be edible. Apparently that's if he didn't try and taste it however. He was about to leave to go back to his work when Zoe walked up. "Hi there, mind some company?" He looked up and offered a smile at the mare. "Oh no, not at all." he said sincerely. He offered her a seat and they started talking. The conversation went through both their careers with the company, Colin even told her all about the trips he had been on. Zoe was especially interested about his vacation at Gaia. Then the conversation steered to relationships. He smiled softly as he talked about Niri. Zoe listened, but wasn't too disappointed to hear he was taken. 'Cheating only counts if you're in the same ship.' she mused. She gave him a saucy smile and 'accidentally' flicked his leg with her tail. Colin's ears perked up slightly at that. Zoe leaned over the table top between them sighing and resting her arms on the table. "I'm not surprised you have someone waiting for you back home." She said, her voice had a tad of a sad tone to it. She also leaned forward onto the table; her arms subtly making her breasts jut out as she did. "I don't have anyone and I couldn't tell you how lonely it gets here." Colin couldn't help but glance down at her chest when she leaned in towards him. He gulped and then stood up a little quickly. "I uh, Sorry to hear that Zoe, but I've got to get going now, bye." He then walked out of the mess hall quickly and almost sprinted back to the Comm. room.

Colin was lying back on his bunk, relaxing after the days shift with one of his holo-novels. It was still early and he was terribly bored. While he did keep himself busy during the day trying to sort out the hideous mess of the controls upstairs, now he was at a loss during his off time. He rifled through his gear and came across the vid disk from Niri. He stared at the disc in thought. "Why not?" he said to himself. He moved to his desk and slipped it the desktop reader. The screen flickered and lit up and he smiled as he saw Niri sitting cross-legged on their bunk, her breasts clearly outlined in the black tank top she was wearing. He sat back against his chair and watched. "Hmm, she must have made this when I wasn't looking." he muttered to himself. "Hello my love." the wolfess on the screen murred. "I'm sure you must be terribly busy there, so I'm thinking you have things to keep your mind off of me." Colin sighed and shook his head. 'Oh yes. I'm having the grandest of times here.' he thought. The female on the screen then moved slightly closer to the camera and then leaned forward slightly to both almost whisper and to show off her cleavage. "that's not the case here Colin, I miss you so much." he felt a lump form in his throat and then he found himself leaning forward towards the screen, his ears perked up slightly as he watched her tease him over the video. "In fact," she said with a twinkle to her eyes. "I miss you so much, that I'm going to give you a little gift."

The lump vanished from his throat and moved to down to his sheath as she moved to kneel there on the bed and grinned mischievously into the camera. She slowly peeled off her tank top over her head and he bit back a moan at the sight of her gorgeous breasts. "I love you Colin, you're sooo sexy." Niri purred. Colin glanced over at the door to his cabin to check if the 'LOCKED' indicator was lit and then leaned back in his chair. Niri's white paws moved over her stomach and slowly made their way up her body, one running over her left breast and the other running through her black hair. Colin couldn't help but growl lowly in his throat as she looked into the camera and licked her lips. He perked his ears as the female on the screen slid a paw back down her front towards her crotch, and his paw did the same.

As the fates conspired against him, Anna had just gotten off of her shift. She figured she would try her luck at the fresh meat and made her way down to his cabin, humming and smiling. Inside, the male was about to begin when the door chimed. "Argh, Dammit!" he cursed and stopped the video. He stood up and he crossed over to answer the door. The door slid open and Anna stood there her jump suit unzipped more then usual this time. "Hey Colin, I just got off duty and thought I'd drop by and ya know, introduce myself." The female smiled warmly. He didn't exactly feel like company at the moment, but he thought it to be rude to refuse so he let her in. He shut the door behind her and then grabbed a discarded green shirt off of his desk. "So, you must be Anna right?" he asked as he slipped on the shirt and sat back down on his chair. She took a seat on his bunk and nodded, smiling up at him. "That's right, how did you know?" He smirked slightly and flicked his tail through the tail slot in the desk chair. "Well there are only three females on board and I've already met the other two." "Oh, of course, silly me?"

They talked a bit about nothing in particularly special, just getting to know one another and such, and Colin felt a little uncomfortable more and more as time passed. For one, he still had a very large bulge in his pants that he tried to hide by crossing his legs. Of course with Anna's sense of smell, it was no use to hide it, she knew he had a hard on. And that was the other thing; the female sitting across from him was looking at him like he would a venison platter after he had been starved for a year. She was looking him over and not being shy about it either. More time passed and Colin looked at the clock on his desk. "Whoa, we've been talking for a good two hours." He stood up slowly. "Well I'm sure you must be tired, early shift tomorrow and all that." She looked up at him and smiled, still sitting in his bunk. "Crap, he's kicking you out girl! Think fast!" She shook her head and leaned back on his bunk. "Actually, I have tomorrow off, I could stay a bit longer, if you want." His ears shot up and he looked at her as she leaned back slightly. "Oh no, I couldn't deny you any needed sleep." Anna drooped her ears slightly and then stood up. "Oh? Well alright then. I guess we have plenty of time to get to know one another," she said, defeated. "Yes plenty of time, goodnight Anna." With a paw on her back, he 'guided' her outside and waved. "Night." The door whooshed shut and he slapped a paw down to lock it. He gave a sigh of relief and sat back on the bunk. Outside, Anna stood there at his door, staring and scratching her head fur in confusion. "I don't get it, he had a hard on for me the instant I stepped inside. Why am I just standing here?" She heaved a sigh and then padded down towards her cabin. "Why isn't he fucking me silly? And, why am I talking to myself?"

Colin huffed and slid out from under his console. "There. Finally done." he said with satisfaction. He stood up and dusted himself off. He looked over the repairs he made and now it looked to be, at the very least, in fair condition. It was a vast improvement. The panels were properly fastened and as he flicked the switches, it all worked perfectly. 'And it only took a week." He thought. Zoe smiled as she and Anna came over. "Wow, it looks brand new," Zoe guessed. She really had no idea what a new one looked like. "You're very good at that Colin," the wolfess said. There was a beeping coming from Anna's station and the female went to go answer it. Zoe was playing with a few of the switches and then looked at him. "Do you think you could fix ours up too Colin?" He thought for a second and then nodded. "I suppose I could, if one of you come and handle my station while I do." Anna grinned from her station and yelled out before the mare could. "I'll do it!" She ran over and sat down in his chair before Zoe could sputter her protests. "Hey! I asked first." Anna stuck her tongue out at her and laid her ears back against her head. "Well I'm here first." Zoe snorted and then walked over to her seat, sitting down with a disgusted huff. Colin looked down at Anna and she grinned up at him. "Mmm, seats still warm."

By the end of his shift, he had barely scratched the surface. He rubbed his sore neck and shut his eyes as he sat there, the room deserted as the others, except Zoe, had already left for the night. She put her hands on his shoulders and began to rub a bit. Colin flinched slightly but settled down quickly as he hung his head and let her rub his aching neck. "Mmm, that feels good," he muttered. Colin looked up and she smiled down at him. "You're welcome, now go to bed, you're exhausted." Too tired to argue, he walked to his quarters and forgetting even to lock the door, slumped onto his bunk. He stripped off his shirt and then lay back, struggling out of his shorts. The last of his energy gone, he laid on top of the covers and was asleep in moments.

Weeks passed and the three females left him alone, not even bothering to speak to him. He was bit surprised at this but was glad that at least they weren't stalking him. They stayed in their quarters and he had the whole control room to himself. Not that there was much traffic to deal with anyway, so he spent most of the late hours with his feet up on the console and sound buds in his ears playing his electronic music as he read one of his 'less-then-pure' novels. One night, he was watching the stars outside the viewport when he sighed heavily. His ears shot up when he smelled something he hadn't in a long time. "Huh? What's th-? With a heavy 'whoof', a furry form attacked him at his side and he thudded to the deck. The lights were dimmed so all he could see was a silhouette and the weight of a hot body pinning his down on the floor, paws and not so sharp claws scrabbling at his uniform. The loud music thudded in his ears as his claws scrabbled at the deck plating. With a desperate twist and a tug, he managed to push his attacker off of him and clamor to his feet. Who or whatever it was that attacked him, it recovered quickly and stood there as Colin bolted down the corridor. His foot found a puddle of water from a leaky pipe and he fell to the hard deck plating, hitting with a loud thud. He lay there groaning and coughing as he stood up quickly and staggered to his door. He shut it quickly and then slapped the lock again, panting heavily and pressing his back against the steel door. He sighed and sat down onto his bunk, looking himself over as tears across his chest showed in the thin fabric. He sniffed at the tears and his ears shot up once again. No wonder they were staying in their rooms, they were in heat! He wondered for a second why that one had targeted him then figured that they hardly had much of a choice. The captain; old, fat, short and therefore hardly on any females wish list. The only other male he had seen was the bear that spent all his time sleeping in the control room. Curling up in his bed, he shivered with the adrenalin and tried to fall asleep.

Colin murred as he felt an intense warmth envelope his member and a warm body sit on top of him. His lover slowly pushed down onto him as she took hold of his paws and brought them to her breasts. He kneaded them and she moaned over him loudly. but, that didn't sound like... He jerked awake and still felt the warmth over him, only Serena was sitting there. The vixen looked down at him with a lustful grin and her hair hanging over her face in disarray. "Hey baby." Colin jerked away only to smack his head against the side of his bunk, making him yelp in pain as the world around him shut out like a light. He stirred awake a few minutes later, his head throbbing and an angry gash across his forehead. He blinked and looked around the dark room, the only sounds being the hum of the ship and a soft breathing, not his. "Morning stud..." He jumped and rolled over at the voice, falling out of the bed and looking up at the ceiling. Serena giggled and looked over the side, down into his wide eyes. She smiled and brushed a lock of her hair out of her face and swayed her tail over her. "Was it as good for you as it was for me?" she said with a grin. Colin felt his heart stop. "Oh god!" he yelled, getting up and backing against the far wall. "W-what the fuck? We didn't!" He looked down and realized he was naked so he then grabbed at the sheets on the floor, covering his shame. She rolled onto her stomach and looked at him, resting her chin in her paws, a very satisfied smile on her face. "Oh you bet we did." He felt his skin under his black fur turn pale as she confirmed his fears. He turned and moved into the bathroom, jumping into the shower and beginning to wash himself vigorously.

As the hot water rushed down over him he shivered. 'How could this happen? WHY?! How could I have done this to Niri?!? The shower door opened and the vixen stepped in putting her arms around him. Colin looked behind him as the female and snuggled against his back. "You okay lover?" she murred softly, her tail wrapping around his leg. He tried to pull away but she held him tightly. "Hey, I'm not your lover," he growled, pushing her off of him and moving to get out of the shower. She still held tightly and then wrapped her arms around his neck. "Aww don't be like that Colin. Its no big deal." Colin turned and grabbed a towel. "Oh god, what did we do last night?" he asked. She murred softly and looked at him, standing in the shower and letting the water cascade down her body. "We had sex, and it was fantastic." He groaned and ran a paw through his hair. "But I'm engaged!" Serena shut off the water and grabbed one of the towels, walking past him into the main room. She stopped beside him and leaned up to lick his ear. She whispered and then giggled as she gathered her clothes, dressed and then left without another word. Her words echoed in his ears as he stared at the door, asking himself what he has done. "She doesn?t have to know. No, she never will."

A month passed

Colin tried to keep away from any female as much as possible, be it crew or even the passing spacer. The constant attentions from Anna, Zoe, and Serena made it even more difficult. His daily shifts were filled with silence only the beeping of indicators and the hum of some hidden power source. His screen blinked with a small icon at the top of the monitor, a little movie camera to start a Video feed. He keyed a button and his post commander popped into view. "Yes sir?" Colin asked as he cleared his throat. The old badger shifted in his seat on the other end of the camera with a slight smile. "Mr. Young, there is some good news and some bad news." Colin looked back in puzzlement. "Err? okay, what's the bad news?" he asked a little nervously. "Well my boy, it seems there was a mix up with the staffing arrangements and I'm afraid you were meant for another station." The wolf stared at the screen blankly, a slow burning rage being kept in check but still looking as if it would explode at any moment. "What are you saying sir? I was supposed to be at a different station?" The badger nodded and chuckled slightly. "I know, it was a big computer error that they barely cleared up. The replacement for this station was supposed to be here before you arrived. Instead, he got redirected to LV-1210, the station you were meant for." Colin was fuming in silent rage. "And the good news, sir?" The older fur in front of him seemed to pick up on the wolfs growing fury. "The relief ship should be here by 0700 tomorrow. You?re going home about 9 months early." At the others last words, Colin seemed to lighten noticeably and all at once, his anger evaporated. "I-I can?" he asked. "That's correct, also one last thing. The corporation sent an apology letter to you; it should be waiting for you in your quarters."

Colin had just finished packing his belongings and other gear when a knock on the door made him look up. He moved to answer it, a little more bounce in his step than usual, only to have his mood killed by a certain vixen standing there. "What do you want Serena? I've got nothing more to say to you." The vixen stood there in the standard jump suit and her bust threatening to bust the zipper, just like normal. "Oh don't be like that, we had fun and you know it." she said with an amused smirk. He snorted and laid his ears flat against his skull. "No. You had all the fun apparently, I was knocked cold." She grinned and then tilted her head slightly, her tail swaying behind her slightly. "Well? aren't you going to let me in?? Colin stared at her incredulously, wondering how anyone in the whole fucking universe can be so dense. "You're kidding right? Well sure thing, just let me grab my things and it can be all yours, okay?" That confused her slightly. "Huh? Where are you going?" Colin hefted his duffle and another bag and stood there looking back at her. "Home, that's where. Do give my best to Anna and Zoe wont you?" He turned and then walked out of the room, once again, leaving Serena in a state of confusion.

Another month passes

The letter Colin had received was indeed apologetic, but that was all they were about to say about it. There was no explanation or compensation or anything besides them saying 'Oops'. That fact pissed him off even further. But no matter what, nothing could spoil his mood today. The shuttle was scheduled to arrive back at Phobos station to meet back with the Swiftpaw.

In the crew area of the ship, Niromi was busy with her newest hobby. The pencil in her paw traced the outline of a feral wolf figurine that sat on her desk. With her newfound free time, she had taken up drawing and sketching, and finding she was quite good at it. She was too immersed in her work to hear the door slide open. Her eyes were fixated on the figurine on her desk, moving her paw to capture even the minute details on its face. She smiled slightly and idly noticed that it sort of looked like Colin. She blinked and then shook her head, bringing a paw to rub at her eyes. THUD! Niri jumped as an obviously heavy object was dropped behind her onto the carpet. She spun in her seat with her hackles raised, looked down at the heavy duffle beside her chair and then froze solid as he eyes focused on the dark, bedraggled form standing there with a smile. The two stared at each other for what seemed to be an eternity before the dark one uttered to her softly. "Hello love." No sooner then the words register in Niri's mind, then she was out of her chair and throwing her arms around him, crushing him in a fierce hug. "Ohmigod, Colin!" she exclaimed, her face pressed against his shoulder as she clung to him. Colin smiled and silently gasped for air as his love squeezed him breathless. "Ooof! I think it's safe to say you missed me, right?" She giggled softly and looked up at him, her eyes sparkling slightly in the light as tears started to well up from her eyes. Colin took that as a 'yes' and smiled warmly down at her, bringing a paw up to her chin and leaning down to give her a deep kiss. The pair embraced for a long while, his arms wrapped around her, and hers around him, holding each other warmly as the door to their quarters hissed closed. The only sound to be heard was the hum under the floor plates.

The End