Piers and the Wolf (Bougene Station ATU)

[Grav_Moped]

Vignette: Welcome to… (5)

"That bulkhead isn't supposed to be there," I tell Ronni, "or at least it wasn't there on the one I flew back in '02."

She looks up at me, square-on, not puzzled -- but I can see her starting to go there. "Perry -- you said this one had more freight space than usual. Does that iris valve lead to the cargo hold?"

"Right. Looks like the ship's locker is a lot smaller though; it's over there by the airlock." I point to my right and then a little back, next to the elevator we've just stepped out of. Air/raft bay is right here, if you missed the sign." I know she hadn't; her eye roll confirms it.

We proceed into the cargo bay. "Hey," she declares, "Looks like it'll hold a standard minor lot. Four tons of incidental in the Air/raft bay if we give that back for now. Definitely workable for light speculative cargo -- especially value-dense stuff. We'll be rolling around in credits in no time!" She lights up with optimism; I know she's already got plenty of cash as it is, but her mood's infectious and I grin at imagining her literally doing that. Never thought I'd think of a Scout/Courier, even an advanced one, as a profit center. But this could work for us...

"OK, weapons turret's back there," I say, pointing to the near corner by the elevator shaft. "No entry hatch though -- looks like it's got an autoloader, probably remote-fired from the flight deck. Kind of expected that from a Rhylanor ship."

"That's about it for this thing except for the drive room, right?" Veronica observes.

"Yep. That and the fuel tanks, of course," I reply. "Let's take a look at the engines, then get lunch and head back to the hotel."

 

[Grav_Moped]

Vignette: Welcome to… (6)

The elevator opens, revealing a low and cramped space in the midst of heavy machinery. "Perry," I declare, "that fusion reactor is just the cutest little thing! And it's supposed to power this thing at three Gs accel or almost ten light years in a Jump?

"Yep," he answers, "it really does; it's Rhylanor tech. It even does the main Jump drive fast-burn, too, instead of the integral reactor that the standard one has. That's why that's so small; it's just the field generators. Really impressive tech. Can't really say the same for the maneuver engines -- those are almost obsolete machinery, and I really don't get that. But it all works, according to the ship specs*.

"Oh," I say, not ducking for the low ceiling, while he does. "It's making sense now. I've got this -- all I need is the tech manuals.

"And the acceleration couch here is doing the tail cutout slot thing. I think the ship likes me." I notice, wagging the aforementioned tail. Piers seems relieved I'm ok with the craft.

"Floor hatch lets you work on the jump drive down there," he says, opening it and pointing, then closing it again. Shouldn't need much work, though -- these small scoutships never do. And that's the ship."

"We can work with this. Did you ever tell me what it's name is?" I ask him.

"Officially, it's just the ship's registration number -- no name. Scout Cyrus, the last guy who had it, called it Miley, for 'Mighty Little'. That work for you?"

I think for a moment. "Yeah, it'll work if we can't think of anything better."

-------------------
* The TL-15 drives are from LBB5, and he's comparing them to the usual Size A drives from the LBB2 version. Yeah, I really don't get it either (in-universe, anyway).

Oh, posted for no reason (ok, posted because of the "pygmy pony" and Types S are supposed to be Ponies)....

 

[Spinward Flow]

"Yeah, it'll work if we can't think of anything better."

Just as an aside, I kind of like the idea of calling the ship ... "Zip It" ... which can then have multiple different interpretations, depending on context.

• Zip It ... means close the zipper on clothing (including vacc suits).
• Zip It ... means "my lips are sealed" on not sharing what you know and the keeping of secrets.
• Zip It ... means get there faster!
• Zi pit ... means "the pit" (for parts, spares, time, money, hopes, dreams, futures, you get the idea).

 

[Grav_Moped]

Just as an aside, I kind of like the idea of calling the ship ... "Zip It" ... which can then have multiple different interpretations, depending on context.

It could work, particularly for for a reg # ending in XXX-08 ("zip-eight").

On the other hand, under the numbering convention I have used IMTU, that would indicate a build date of 1008, since the last two digits are the year, and in-narrative it's not 1108 yet.

Besides, even if it's just for my own amusement, there's still the multi-dimensional pun thing going on there.

(Which, in retrospect, may have been fully intentional rather than a contrived coincidence...)

 

[Spinward Flow]

It could work, particularly for for a reg # ending in XXX-08 ("zip-eight").

On the other hand, under the numbering convention I have used IMTU, that would indicate a build date of 1008, since the last two digits are the year, and in-narrative it's not 1108 yet.

No need to go that far, it's a bit far down in the weeds for what amounts to a joke/pun.
It would actually be better if the registration # "lends no support whatsoever" to being twisted into that kind of joke/pun.
That way the registration # doesn't "stand out" as being obviously associated with the Zip It name, meaning you have to go out of your way to make that association (at the admin level).

Besides, even if it's just for my own amusement, there's still the multi-dimensional pun thing going on there.

(Which, in retrospect, may have been fully intentional rather than a contrived coincidence...)

I'm thinking that a far easier/simpler "origin" for the name Zip It for the ship could come about ... just simply P & V doing what amounts to a "check ride" in their new scout, meaning they take it out of the berth to "get a feel for her" and one of them makes the comment that the extra G of maneuver makes the ship "zippier" at getting around.

Doesn't take too much work to go from there to "Zip It" ... especially if they're wanting to do any kind of commercial activity to defray their living expenses.

"Need to get from here to there faster than usual? Zip It." ​

P & V can share a laugh over the idea, before realizing ... "hey, that's not half bad" ... and the rest is storytelling (and comedy value).

 

[Grav_Moped]

No need to go that far, it's a bit far down in the weeds for what amounts to a joke/pun

Ok, fine.
Miley Cyrus (pop star) was Hannah Montana (Disney star).

The pigmy pony on which Frank Zappa would ride the range harvesting dental floss in his song, "Montana," would be named "Mighty Little" (and as noted in my in-story post, could be shortened to "Mi-Li", or "Miley").

Did Billy Ray Cyrus actually name his daughter after a small horse in a song by Frank Zappa? I just notice things.

(And no, Google doesn't return anything on it.)

 

[Grav_Moped]

Also, the name of this vignette series is a reference to a game:

Welcome To...

Design the most appealing 1950s neighborhood, with fences, parks, and swimming pools.

boardgamegeek.com

 

[Grav_Moped]

"Yep. That and the fuel tanks, of course," I reply. "Let's take a look at the engines, then get lunch and head back to the hotel."

Vignette: Welcome to… (7):

Well, we skipped lunch in favor of stuff from the Snax-o-Matic upstairs, and a nap -- it'd been a long morning for her. I managed to get the machine to produce Scout Nutrient-Adequate Food Unit Bars. She whipped up some Snack Sausages for herself. They'll do for now, along with the synthesized fruit punch packets; we'll get a real dinner later on when we go out dancing.

I kick off my boots and slide all the way to the bulkhead, pulling the blanket over me. She removes her own boots and her running gloves, then gets onto the bed herself. On all fours, she turns around twice before settling down against me. I hand her the loose end of the sheet -- it's not like she'll need the blanket with her fur. Verni draws the sheet over herself and lays her head on my arm.

My datapad has the template for her preferred ambient background -- I copied it from the Robot Unicorn's database. It's from the inside of a lean-to in a rainy evergreen forest on the Reserved world Grant/Jewell (SM1607). So now it's projected, lifelike, onto the room's walls as the rain and sounds of distant wildlife play over the speakers.

"Perry!" she exclaims, "you saved it for me! Thank you," she says happily, snuggling close to me again.

I'd planned to read some of the ship's manuals on my pad while she napped. Well, that's not going to happen -- she's snoring quietly, and it's contagious.

--------
Writer's note: Yes, he got SNAFUBARs and she got Snausages.

 

[Grav_Moped]

Advance request for suggestions/content:
They now have a ship with Jump-3, so they're in range of Kinorb/Regina (SM2202) from Boughene Station. I'm looking at sending these two there (you know, the good Kinorb) on business, with the writing (out-of-universe) objective of comparing the culture of Kinorb to Menorb. The main one I can see is that Menorbians (excepting the Vargr) don't think much about technology at all nor care about it, while Kinorbians know about it and do care -- and know exactly how advanced they want to be, and wants to stop right there thankyouverymuch.

So, if anyone (particularly @Spinward Flow and @The Pakkrat, but not limited to just the two of you) has backstory elements, people, places, or things from either your own ATU, from OTU sources, or even that you just made up, that you'd like them to bump into there, let me know.

I'm still planning to first do vignettes for "Stepping Out" (dinner, possibly re-introducing some of my NPCs and Boughene Station settings) and "Boogie Nights" (wherein your author -- who cannot dance, alas -- tries to describe 1970s disco moves in the Far Future, performed in part by an alien with slighty non-human anatomy...)

Thanks in advance!

 

[Spinward Flow]

backstory elements, people, places, or things

Starship watching by children living near the starport play the game of parsecs and planets ... where the rules are made up and the points don't matter. But what's important is that around the starport there are "observant young eyes" always watching for the ... unusual ... to come into/depart from the downport, because "ordinary" craft are worth fewer points.

Which means, that bright eyed children living and playing around the starport could potentially be a rumor mill for "unusual craft" that have come to/left from the downport (because the non-standard is more memorable, so "worth more points" in the game, which equates with bragging rights).

Kinorb/Regina/Spinward Marches

Kinorb has a warm climate and a standard oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere that has made the world very attractive to affluent retirees.
The IISS maintains a station in orbit around the outer gas giant Stallion. Stallion Station is capable of storing message traffic and refining fuel for the IISS XBoat line.

If P&V have to go to the scout base, it's going to be a "long haul" in normal space between the outer gas giant and the mainworld on maneuver drives.

Kinorb is ruled by a feudal technocracy, known as the Colum, and its nine members do an excellent job of keeping the peace from the capital city, Killiasport. The world government uses very strict planning controls to maintain its bucolic image, with policies that promote large farms and deter industry.
The citizens of Kinorb believe strongly in maintaining the ecology of their world. For this reason, all industrial activity is outlawed and the world is kept at TL–5 and all engines used must meet stringent pollution controls and standards. Some higher tech grav vehicles are used by the government for government purposes, but most of the vehicles are hand crafted on planet and therefore extremely expensive. Much of the population still rely on horse and anson power.

So, not exactly Amish levels of cultural insulation ... but anyone brandishing high tech is going to OBVIOUSLY be someone from "out of town" (and treated accordingly). The key point is that Kinorb is a place where people can live "the simpler life" without being in an industrial/high tech "rat race" along with being able to "retire with dignity" on a world that prioritizes its ecological wealth. So the feeling of "living in a time capsule" while being able to wander around The Great Outdoors™ is going to be pretty strong for tourists.

While not classified as an agricultural world, Kinorb does produce a surprising amount of grains, breads and meats. Kinorb's wines are known throughout the Spinward Marches, and their beer is widely believed to be among the best.

Ever heard of Hobbits?
Those guys are amateurs ...

To my way of thinking, the agricultural trade code means that a world generates a surplus of foodstuffs and thus has a vibrant (interstellar) export market for agricultural products. Kinorb has a rich, non-industrial world trade code, so it has "plenty of agriculture" but production is for the domestic market/population rather than the interstellar one. There are "some" exports of domestic agricultural production, but it's not done at mass production scales and is thus somewhat rare outside the system (possible to find/experience, but not likely).

Any "foodies" who come to Kinorb and get to eat local fare ... will start asking why they should ever live anywhere else ...
I used this background point to explain why Aislinn would choose to drink Kinorb beer whenever she got the chance, since she's a native of the world.

 

[Grav_Moped]

Noteworthy about Kinorb: It has Law 9, and a split tech level. TL-8+ (starport and gov't) but TL-5 everywhere else. The cynical view of this is "technologically elevated oligarchy," but that's too easy and I don't want to sucumb to the default OTU cynicism. The law level says it's a very effective government that can and does keep its citizens safe.

In a subsector where high technology often doesn't help with personal security, safety can be highly valued. Just look at Feri -- being TL-11 isn't ending their intractable civil war. Efate at TL-13 not only can't keep their citizens safe, it's given up trying! Their Law level 0 isn't what the government wants (note that it's under Imperial martial law), it's an indication that the government has completely lost its monopoly on the use of force.

Kinorbians have clearly chosen to trade some freedom and innovation for security, but they have the security, and are happy with that state of affairs. It's not oppressive for law-abding citizens, which most people are because they're part of their small local communities.

 

[The Pakkrat]

Temporal Tonic Wine - Traveller

wiki.travellerrpg.com

 

[Spinward Flow]

The cynical view of this is "technologically elevated oligarchy," but that's too easy and I don't want to sucumb to the default OTU cynicism. The law level says it's a very effective government that can and does keep its citizens safe.

It's a Feudal Technocracy (Government: 5).

In a subsector where high technology often doesn't help with personal security, safety can be highly valued.

The more sophisticated a system becomes, the easier it is to disrupt.

Just look at Feri -- being TL-11 isn't ending their intractable civil war. Efate at TL-13 not only can't keep their citizens safe, it's given up trying! Their Law level 0 isn't what the government wants (note that it's under Imperial martial law), it's an indication that the government has completely lost its monopoly on the use of force.

Efate is a "corporate town" and the law level is zero, because ... every man for himself!
The corpo types want laws to work only one way ... binding for thee, but not for me.

It's also an error of the first order to assume that the "government" (whether world local or imperial interstellar) has "lost its monopoly" on the use of force. Instead, you want to be thinking more in terms of "warlord-ism" ... but the battles happen in the boardrooms rather than in the open fields. The troops/conscripts are the corporate wage slaves. The battles ... are for industrial profits, rather than "blood & soil" type gains.

So Efate is very much a "the only law around is the one you bring with you" ... and the corporate oligarchs can "bring more than you can" whenever they want to, however they want to.

Kinorbians have clearly chosen to trade some freedom and innovation for security, but they have the security, and are happy with that state of affairs.

I'd argue that a kind of symbiotic equilibrium has been reached, with the technocrats in charge.

It's not oppressive for law-abding citizens, which most people are because they're part of their small local communities.

Population: 6.
The "largest non-industrial" you can have, but you're still dealing with less than 10 million people on the whole planet ... so there's "plenty of room" for everyone who needs elbow space.

 

[Grav_Moped]

It's a Feudal Technocracy (Government: 5).

Feudal, so there's a heirarchy.

The more sophisticated a system becomes, the easier it is to disrupt.

Good point.

Efate is a "corporate town" and the law level is zero, because ... every man for himself!
The corpo types want laws to work only one way ... binding for thee, but not for me.

It's also an error of the first order to assume that the "government" (whether world local or imperial interstellar) has "lost its monopoly" on the use of force. Instead, you want to be thinking more in terms of "warlord-ism" ... but the battles happen in the boardrooms rather than in the open fields. The troops/conscripts are the corporate wage slaves. The battles ... are for industrial profits, rather than "blood & soil" type gains.

That gets you a low law level, not the anarchy that exists. Again, even the Imperial Marines enforcing martial law (from the wiki entry) can't get guns out of circulation -- which you'd think they'd want to! (And the law level says they aren't even trying, because they are the law and it's not happening.)

Efate is business-friendly, but far too populous to be completely lawless. It's also dealing with -- and not winning against -- Zhodani infiltrators and Ine Givar terrorists (is there an echo in here?) They'd love to be able to arrest you for illegal weapons, but juries keep nullifying those charges because, well, it's just not safe out there! So they don't bother anymore.

[ETA: I see Efate as being in mid-collapse (which may or may not be reversible, depending on meta-plot and PC actions), you see it as being the continuation of a long-standing status quo.]

Back to Kinorb

I'd argue that a kind of symbiotic equilibrium has been reached, with the technocrats in charge.

Fair enough.

Population: 6.
The "largest non-industrial" you can have, but you're still dealing with less than 10 million people on the whole planet ... so there's "plenty of room" for everyone who needs elbow space.

Two big cities. One is the Startown metropolis, the other is Gangburg. It's not clear whether the planetary capital is in Metro Startown or yet a third city. Everyone else can be anywhere they want.

I'm seeing the "policies that promote large farms" as fostering a myriad of co-ops comprised of small farms that appear independent but have little control over inputs or mandated outputs (Monsanto goes in, ConAgra comes out). Clusters of these farms comprise small communities, and those are generally the largest common social groupings encountered outside the cities.

On-world migration and off-world emigration is freely allowed. Those who find the rules chafing can move on, minimizing disruption. Again, the government isn't oppressive, they just enforce rules that pretty much everyone would follow regardless.

 

[Spinward Flow]

That gets you a low law level, not the anarchy that exists.

Not necessarily.
Examine the presumptions of your assertion.

Just because the (world) Law Level is zero ... does not ipso facto mean that there is Law Level zero everywhere.
What the UWP code is reporting is the global law level ... not any of the local law levels.

Now, usually, we look at mainworlds (on the map) through a and think that everything is uniform all over from a single number value.
So any world that does NOT have Government: 7 (Balkanized) therefore automatically has a One World Government™ ... and that's the end of it.
Same deal with Law Levels.
Whatever the UWP code is for the Law Level ... that's the degree of law enforcement EVERYWHERE on that mainworld.
There are no variations (or local texture, if you prefer) allowed.

So if you've got (world) Law Level: 0-1 going on ... the populace are all "open carry" with everything from poison gasses to nukes in the sidecar of their grav bikes (because, who's gonna stop me? YOU?!? ).

To loop this back around to something more akin to an American Federalism/EU Coalition type of explanation (to give you something to grab onto by way of analogy) ... the "top level" of Efate world government may be Law Level: 0, but the "layers" of governing underneath that "top level" can be different. In other words, the Global Government allows Law Level: 0 ... but "localities" are free to impose/employ their own restrictions and rules/laws that apply to their own groupings. So you start getting into the federal/state/county/local jurisdictions type of distribution of responsibilities for keeping the peace.

Maybe there's "no law" on the Great Plains away from the towns, but inside of town there's a Sheriff on payroll whose job is to keep the peace and "encourage" troublemakers to relocate elsewhere (and become somebody else's problem). For people who are "too obnoxious, too consistently" you then turn to bounties (wanted: dead or alive) for freelancers to bring people to heel. And yes, I'm quite deliberately analogizing to the proverbial "one horse town" western entertainment tradition, where the only "law" is the Law Of The Gun before the West Was Won™ (or words to that effect).

Only now, you're talking about Efate ... an Industrialized world where a population of BILLIONS requires life support technologies just in order to survive (because, no "shirt sleeves" environment outside, because Atmosphere: 4, thin/tainted). If you've watched the movie Total Recall ... you have an idea of what can happen when a civilian population has to depend on their Corporate Overlords in order to live (cheap domes and not enough air to filter out the rays) and there's a terrorist insurgency going on, which no one can pin down and root out without taking extreme measures.

Efate is business-friendly, but far too populous to be completely lawless.

The global government doesn't impose any laws ... but the companies operating on Efate almost certainly enforce their own.
Vandalism of "company property" (which could include personnel, preventing them from working!) would be one of the first things to be made "impermissible" within the territories that company (towns) control.

Remember, when the Law Level is ZERO ... people HAVE NO BASIC RIGHTS ... except for what is "granted" to them (or what they can take for themselves). That means that if you "fall afoul of the system" ... the system is under no obligation to respect your bodily integrity if they want to torture you.

Remember, you need MONEY and POWER to protect yourself ... which is FINE for those who HAVE money and power ... while everyone else is left to fend for themselves against the rich and powerful. Fertile ground for an insurgency to take root in and flourish, wouldn't you say?

It's also dealing with -- and not winning against -- Zhodani infiltrators and Ine Givar terrorists (is there an echo in here?)

Denial is a powerful drug.
So is the notion of ... Somebody Else's Problem.

After all, when no one is responsible for a problem ... no one is at fault for it.
You can just play pass the buck credit ... and blame all of your enemies for the problem that everyone (including you) is having.
At that point, you start getting into Prisoner's Dilemma regions of gaming theory for who is collaborating with the infiltrators/terrorists (to make use of them) and who is just turning a blind eye (so long as they don't bother ME) and who is actually paying attention to the problem enough to want to do anything about it.

They'd love to be able to arrest you for illegal weapons, but juries keep nullifying those charges because, well, it's just not safe out there! So they don't bother anymore.

What juries?
Try corporate arbitration boards (that are on the payroll of the corporations) and you'll be "getting warmer" to the Shadowrun Dystopia that you ought to be reaching for.

 

[Grav_Moped]

Denial is a powerful drug.
So is the notion of ... Somebody Else's Problem.

After all, when no one is responsible for a problem ... no one is at fault for it.

I'm not seeing it as a blame game, but as a state of affairs. Sh!t's on fire, yo.

https://imgur.com/6NfmQ

They had to call in the Imperial Marines to secure the Downport, and are reduced to askng random civillian ships to help with potential disasters ("A Dagger at Efate") because the navy and local forces are busy defending the Scout Way Station from a pirate raid. (Admittedly, the latter was written in the context of a small-ship universe, but still...)

This is not business as usual.

What juries?
Try corporate arbitration boards (that are on the payroll of the corporations) and you'll be "getting warmer" to the Shadowrun Dystopia that you ought to be reaching for.

I'm not reading (or writing) it as an ongoing dystopia. I see it as a failing state (world) that's desperately trying to pretend things are still mostly ok even as it's falling into a dystopian condition.

 

[Grav_Moped]

Vignette -- A Lot of Peaches (0):
"Kinorb?" I echo, with a little side-eye. "Sure, if they want you to check the place out -- it's not like there's a full Scout Base there, just an XBoat station. And we can make a bundle on high-end agriculturals on the trip back. But tell them we need to wait here at least another week before Jumping out. Even if Feri accepts the offer and cancels the price on our heads, it'll be a couple of weeks at Jump-2 for that news to reach Kinorb."

"Right," Piers agrees. "Not terribly high risk, but until we get confirmation it's best to not chance it. XBoats don't go that way, and we can't count on any J-4 traffic from Feri beating us to Kinorb.
"So, what do you think, Ronni? Does the Feast Factory still sound good for supper?"

"A mid-tier buffet? That'd be great -- let's go! We'll get dressed up for tonight at the hotel afterwards."

--------------
Re: Title.
"Band praises peaches, fights ninjas."

 

[Grav_Moped]

[Minor edits done. Needed one more semi-cold read...]

Vignette – Hello Liquor*

Looking back on it, we’ve had better ideas than stopping at the liquor store on the way back to the hotel. Hello Liquor! (No, really! That was the shop’s name.)

I found a twelver of Anosarr Ale – cheap local beer from my youth on Menorb. Similarly, Verni picked up a few bottles of Temporal Tonic, to my surprise. “What?” she asked me, “you think I’m not beneath it? I’m flattered, Perry, but this girl ain’t quite that much of a lady to pass up a cheap buzz.”

The Tonic is a notoriously fortified Vargr sweet wine that had long since drifted from its original ritual purpose on the far side of the next subsector. Reminded me of the time I had to cover for my little sister when she got sick-drunk on the stuff. Fortunately nothing came of it, but she did swear off drinking. Managed for a year, too! I suspect Mom knew, though. She always did, but never said anything.

The meatcheese pie delivery gal beat us to our room by about ten seconds. That timing got her a really good tip. We settled in, split the pie, popped a can and poured the wine, and found some trashy holovid on the hotel vidscreen – one of the first Valley of the Ultravixen vids. I think it was Journey to… Whatever. Cheesier than our slices of meatpie, outdated practical effects, and not a square centimeter of scenery left unchewed – but as always, the Minx of Menorb did all her own stunts. And looked hot doing them, too.

Not hot enough to make my cheap beer palatable, though. Verni shared her wine instead – and it wasn’t bad, actually. So we each had another cup. She had a plastic stemless snifter to lap from; me, one of the hotel’s glasses. Can’t say it was a great pairing with the pie, but after downing a few it didn’t really matter.

Verni fell out of her chair laughing during a scene where the villain sliced away the Minx’s bustier, but I didn’t get the joke. “Whass so funny?” I slurred.

“Men don’t relly care ‘bout ‘em,” she replied, similarly impaired. “Don’t wann foreplay, sometimes it even keeps things from working! Big ones are just for human audiences. Hormones make ‘em bigger.”

“No kidding?”

“Yeah. Sometimes crosses back; a thing men want even when they shouldn’t care. Fashion, kinda. I did it too, myself. I don’t think you mind it though -- do you?”

She makes inappropriate gestures, and laughs. And I’m… drunk and incoherent. And blushing, and trying not to stare.

“Um. Um. Uh. Er.” What the hellworld am I supposed to say here? “You’re gorgeous, hon,” seems safe.

That must have been the right answer; she stops laughing and hugs me. But that hug's not all good – I can feel her starting to retch. I scan the room, find the trash can, dive for it, and quickly stumble back with it.

In time!

I hold her, stroking the fur between her ears and down her back as she fills the trash can. “Gonna be ok, Verni. Gonna be ok.” For her, anyhow – I smell it and now I’m feeling ill, but I’m stuck with it.

“Thanks, Perry. Yeah, I’ll be fine now.” She takes the washcloth I offer, cleans her muzzle, and walks unevenly to the bathroom, leaning on furniture as she goes. Water runs – she’s washing up, and spits into the sink.

I stagger after her. She notices. “Perry, are you ok?” she asks.

“No.” I stumble to the toilet in the vain hope of achieving what she’d just done so effortlessly. “Gotta puke. Can’t. Spacer’s reflexes.” Vertigo tolerance is usually good, as is an inability to spew one’s previous meal into a vacc suit helmet. Right now, not so good.

“Oh no, poor baby,” she says, deeply concerned. Just worry, no condescension. She sits on the floor next to the toilet, pulls me down to her. “Let Mama help, ok?” she suggests.

“Ok,” I answer. She’s blurry but her mismatched eyes are so pretty – if only the room would just stop spinning, I’d be all right.

She gives me a hug, then runs her claws through my hair. I return the gesture; she kisses me. Kisses? I mean, this really isn’t the time for it… but it anchors me a little and the dizziness recedes. Besides, puppy breath – wait, how did she even do that?

And her tongue, more delicate than usual. I reciprocate. So. Much. Tongue. Mmm. So. Much – TOO MUCH! I'm choking, gagging; she whips my head around to face the bowl, and up comes all the wine and pie. I try to catch my breath.

Ok, that wasn’t all of it.

There. That was it.

I spend a few moments gasping and trying to compose myself.

“What the hellworld, woman!?” I demand.

“You wanted help. I helped, like a little pup getting food from her parents. You feel better now, right?” She looks a little worried.

I sigh. “Yes, I do. I know you meant well. But please, please – don’t ever do that to me again. If I need to throw up, I’ll stick my own finger down my throat. Ok?”

“That’s so sad and lonely. It’s like you expect you won’t have anyone to care for you!” she declares.

“Veronica,” I tell her, “we’re aliens to each other. Usually that doesn’t matter. This time, it does.”

“All right. But if you --”

She really does mean well. “Ok, ok. But not unless I specifically ask.

“Let’s get over to the bed,” I suggest. I try. She tries. It’s not going to happen.

“How about against this wall?” Verni counters. “Drag those towels over here if you can reach them.”

The towels aren’t particularly good pillows, but they’ll have to do.





-----------------

* Hello Liquor is an actual store in a nearby city.

Male Vargr attitudes toward female secondary sex characteristics and foreplay follow from real-world canine reproductive behavior. If you need details, they're out there. This isn't the place.

And yes, wolf pups transition from nursing to solid food by getting fed from parental regurgitation.

 

[Grav_Moped]

Vignette -- Goodbye Liquor

She's looking a bit frizzy over there on the other side of the hotel bed. I'm sure my hair doesn't look any better -- there's just less of it. Neither of us dried off well after washing up.

"Perry," she tells me, "let's not do that again."

"No more cheap booze," I reply. "Right."

"Cheap booze? Yeah, I'll go with that," she says. But I've got a sneaking suspicion she meant more than that, and that'll be awkward. We'll sort it out later.