Chapter 16: Out Of All The Planets In The Universe They Had To Pick This One!
Zig Zag was so tired, the trip to Massachusetts had taken a lot out of her. The studio was much like she left it but still one thing really puzzled her. She wondered why Sabrina hadn't come to talk with her, could it be she didn't know. It had been on all the news. Then she thought that Sabrina had a lot of things on her mind, with her sisters and all. It was quite possible she didn't know; she pondered for a moment then thought it best she find out. She picked up the phone and dialed her extension.
"Sabrina." The voice answered.
"Hi, do you have a moment to come and see me?"
"Sure Zig, although if it's about the layout, I haven't got it done yet."
"No it's not that, just come by when you have a chance."
"Sure thing."
"See you."
Zig put down the phone and moved over to her computer. She brought up the studio's main page, it didn't have much on it just the studio's logo and a warning that you were about to enter an adult site. She clicked an Icon of her own head, a drawing that Sabrina had done of her as an animated character; it was a cute touch.
The next screen was all the legal jargon that all adult pages had but this one had a bonus. It had a fully animated figure of her in a bikini swinging her hips back and forth on the sides of the text. It was so cute; she remembered when she had suggested it to Sabrina to do. She had just rolled her eyes, and Zig just grinned.
She then pushed the 'enter' button and this led to the main page. It was nicely laid out with a gallery, vid, and purchasing information links easily available. She clicked on the gallery; here there were various stills from the videos and some more candid shots. They were rotated once a week with new content, she also noted the hit counter and was impressed; almost 5 million hits since the site went up. Nice she thought, the forum was alive with conversations as well. This was a good addition to the site; she got lots of ideas from the fans as to what to produce. She had to thank Sabrina for it all, before she didn't have a web presence and that left her out of a huge market.
Now sales had almost doubled with the web page exposure, enough so that she had to hire a couple of furs just to do the mail orders and subscriptions. The next thing was live web casts; she hoped they would be up and running soon. Although that took some very expensive equipment, the furs who were installing it seemed to know what they were doing. She logged onto the forum and chatted for a bit, under a disguise of course. She liked doing this, she felt free to have fun; not too long into it Sabrina came knocking.
"Come in."
"Hey Zig." Sabrina said as she came into the office and promptly sat down. "So, what's up?"
Zig was happy to see Sabrina but wished she had better news to tell her. "Have you been listening to the news lately?"
"No, not really; been busy."
"I kind of thought so." Oh boy she thought.
"Oh, is there something I should know?"
"Yes, you know I've been away."
"Yeah Massachusetts of all places."
"Well, Cheetaur was there."
"Oh, hey that's cool how is she?"
She found this hard to say, "I thought you already knew, Cheetaur is in a hospital there."
"Oh no, nothing serious I hope."
"Yeah it is." Sabrina gasped, "Seems she was in a shopping mall where a fur with a gun went nuts and tried to take all he could with him; including some small children."
Sabrina swallowed hard, "Oh no."
"Cheetaur threw herself into harms way to try and save the children." Sabrina covered her muzzle with her paw. "She took 5 bullets, 2 of which went through her."
Sabrina stared in disbelief, "Is she going to live?"
"That's why I went to Massachusetts; there is a 50/50 chance right now. If she slips any further the doctors said she'd die."
"Oh no."
"I thought you knew, I'm so sorry Sabrina, I know she's your friend. I guess I should have said something earlier."
Sabrina shook her head, "What about the children? Did she save them?"
Zig nodded, "The police said she did, she's a hero in their eyes and if she gets better she'll be more popular than ever."
"Oh my."
Zig bent down and pulled a paper from her bag, "Here, there is an article in here about what happened. I picked this up at the airport there."
Sabrina took the paper hesitantly, "Zig?"
"Yeah."
"Thanks for being there for her; she's had a rough life."
"Yeah, we talked."
"How'd you hear?"
"Her driver called here, I'm her agent, remember."
"Oh…yeah, forgot." Sabrina got up; her eyes had begun to tear. She liked Cheetaur a lot and to know that she was hurt made her ill. "Zig?"
"Book your flight anytime Sabrina, the company will pick up the tab."
Sabrina smiled, "Thanks Zig, I won't forget this."
"No problem. I'm sorry Sabrina I really thought you knew and I didn't want to upset you any more than you have been. With everything else going on in your life, I'm sorry to have to be the bearer of bad news."
"No, it's not your fault. Its furs that think guns will save them in the end." She turned to go but remembered something just before she left, "Oh you'll be getting an invitation for Ti's wedding soon."
"She finally nailed a date, huh."
"Yeah, well with everything happening she thought it best to get this done. Heather is getting married too, a double wedding in fact."
"Yeah good for them, OK I'll look out for it."
Sabrina put on a fake smile, waved good-bye and took off for her office. It seems she had some reading to do.
Tarra: Afain's Home.
Lyja was so tired she could hardly keep her eyes open, she could feel her paws scraping the floor. Her first duty before retiring was to find her guardians and tell them of her progress. She found them easily cuddling in the living area watching the vid screen, it was showing the news across Tarra. Their keen hearing heard her approach, although she was making no attempt to sneak up on them.
"Lyja?" Kira said.
"Yes, it's me Kira; I'm really tired so I'll make this report quick." She sat down and faced them. Afain could clearly see that she was exhausted.
"Maybe you should just go on to sleep, you need rest."
"I have enough energy to explain. Then I'll gladly go. To begin with the core is out and on its way to be incorporated into the power grid. It still has some life in it enough for a couple of years of power. It took forever to get it out though, bolts snapped and hoses tangled; it was a mess. But it's out, the ship is now completely on external power. Alex and the ship's AI are progressing well with the command structure learning how the ship operates and should, by tomorrow, have everything operational."
"That's great news." Kira said.
"The decontamination process is proceeding well; good estimation is a couple of days. I can take some readings then. Once they fall to a certain level exposure should not be a concern."
"That's great news Lyja, thank you very much."
"It was fun, between my cursing."
Afain looked at her with eyebrows raised, "Lyja?"
"No one was about; it was just frustrating in some spots."
"You just watch your tongue around here."
"I will."
"Now off to bed with you, tomorrow is another day."
"Ok, that I'm ready to do, night."
"Night." They both said in unison.
Lyja had just settled when Afain came into her room.
"Yes Afain?"
"I brought you some herbal tea to help you sleep." She placed the glass next to her on a small table. Then she sat on the bed, "We both want to thank you very much for working so hard on this."
Lyja smiled, "It was fun."
"Well, it was a lot of work too and I appreciate that." She kissed Lyja on the forehead.
"Does this mean I can forget school?"
Afain smiled, "Not on your life."
Three days later:
Kira and Afain announced officially to the Emperor of their findings and she was thrilled to hear that things were progressing. She had many things to do but once those were out of the way she would join them in a celebration. The morning had passed quite quickly, they all were eager to get to the ship. The radiation had dissipated and it was safe to open the ancient craft. What wonders did it have, where had it been all these years? They were questions they hoped to find answers for very soon.
Ottawa Canada: Heather's Computer Emporium.
Sabrina and Heather just looked at the almost full bay. It seems they had ordered a lot of stuff. "Ah…Sabrina, is all this stuff ours?"
"Yup, a lot of work too."
"I can see that, who's it all for?"
"A small company, they ditched all their old pc's -which, by the way, we picked up for nothing- to move to all new stuff. You should see the bill for all this."
Heather rubbed the top of her head, "I can imagine."
"I really don't think you can."
"We did get half up front though, to help cover some of the costs."
"Well, it seems the business is doing better than I thought."
"Oh, I forgot." Sabrina handed Heather a letter, "You might find this interesting."
"Oh." Heather looked over the letter, "BUSINESS OF THE YEAR."
"Yeah seems a few of our customers nominated us, we won."
"This is great news!" Heather said; she had never won an award.
"Yeah Hector said you would freak."
"That Hector, I'm going to freak all over him when I next see him."
Sabrina laughed, "It's good to have you back."
"I'm glad to be back, I thought I'd never see this store again."
"Well not a lot has changed; Mr. Glen still calls almost every day."
"Heh, He's a fine old fur, loves his computer."
"Yeah, Max had to go there not too long ago, the HD was beginning to fail. We brought it here, cloned the drive and sent it back same day. He was impressed and gave Max a big tip."
"Oh he's one for doing that, he has money. Could have bought a system anywhere but no, he came in one afternoon, no haggling and bought my best system."
"Heh, you never know who has money and who doesn't."
"Yup you're right. We'll I think I'll get back into some trouble shooting and get my brain working again."
"Yeah you've been sitting on it for a long time now." Sabrina grinned and stepped just out of reach of Heather's paw.
"Sabrina!!!!"
Tarra: Hanger 1518
The ship loomed before them, Cleo had done a micro analysis of the ship's air to ensure it didn't contaminate the group and had deemed it acceptable.
"It's finally here." Afain said excitedly as she gripped Kira's arm tightly.
"Yes finally, I didn't think it was going to happen but it's like you said it's finally here. Alex; open the door!" Kira commanded.
"AFIRMATIVE!" Alex's voice echoed throughout the hanger.
There was a loud click then the huge door along the side of the ship began to move aside. A landing ramp also began to descend towards them. As the ramp settled they walked up and into a piece of history. It looked so old to all of them, Lyja couldn't believe this thing actually flew in space; it was a death trap.
"You know I thought this ship would be bigger inside." Kira said out loud.
"Well the hull is very thick and it has maintenance shafts running down each side of it. So that reduces the interior space, they made up for it by making this overly long." Lyja pointed out and went off to check on some other things.
Kira and Afain wanted to see if the AI could retrieve the records and start copying them over to Alex's database. The machine was ancient and Kira was trying to figure out what was what. Most of the switches and descriptions were in ancient Zargozian. It wasn't too soon as they got into it when Lyja came back looking very puzzled.
"Uh…Kira, Afain, I think you better come back and see something."
"Oh." Kira thought there wasn't much mechanical that would interest them. As they followed they questioned Lyja but she just remained quiet until they entered into the hyper sleep chambers.
They both stood there with mouths agape. There were supposed to be nine pods but there wasn't, only eight were present. One had been removed rather abruptly, it seems that who ever took it out didn't know how to remove it properly but that wasn't the only surprise.
Kira wiped off the condensation of one of the pods. A Zargozians face stared back at her. Its eyes closed in rest, either that or dead.
"Don't tell me it's alive."
"Ok I won't but they are." Lyja said sarcastically.
"They?" Afain said.
"There are two of them."
"Great, are you sure they're alive?"
"According to the pod's computer, yes and my portable scanner confirms it."
"Ok, big decision time." Kira said, "Lyja can you disconnect the pods from the ship without disrupting the power."
"Yes, there would be a nanosecond where it didn't but I think I can even compensate for that."
"Good get to work on that, I'm calling Shearah and Tolare. They will want to see them."
Later:
Cleo had helped Kira figure out the computer interface and after eight hours, the downloads from the memory core were still going on. During that time it was Shearah and Tolare that couldn't stop talking. The discovery of the pods had them bouncing ideas off themselves at a furious pace.
The pods had been taken out easily by Lyja and had been transported to a private lab and sealed. It had taken days to finally get both of them to sit down a talk.
"Ok you two, you're still floating on clouds, come back down to Tarra and talk with us mortals; please."
"Kira, Afain you won't believe our findings!" Shearah said so excitedly that it was almost unintelligible.
Kira put up her paw, "Whoa slow down, we need to understand you."
"Tolare you tell them."
Tolare took up the reigns, "The two Zargozians are alive, to an extent that we believe that we can resuscitate them."
Afain and Kira just looked stunned. "You're kidding, right?" Afain said.
"No no, we're very serious; all that really is wrong with them is radiation decay. Over time the pods shielding finally gave way. It didn't totally irradiate them, so they are undergoing radiation therapy right now."
Afain and Kira just couldn't believe it. "Tolare, these beings are close to a thousand years old, do we have the right to bring them back to a world they won't even know?"
"We have taken an oath to preserve all life!"
"I know but the mental ramifications of this, I ask that you do not awaken these beings until I speak with the Emperor on this?"
"Afain these beings deserve…"
She cut her off, "Yes, I know they deserve to live in a society which they know, this world is different than they ever knew. Wars have been fought; our whole society fell not long after that ship took off. Now you want to bring them back to a world that is so strange to them that it may as well be another planet!!!"
Tolare and Shearah looked at each other, this was the find of the century and now the brakes had just been put on. "Afain I…"
"Tolare please don't do this."
Shearah and Tolare nodded, "We will keep them sedated."
"Good, I'm sure we can find a compromise. Just give me some time."
Tolare and Shearah leaned towards each other and whispered then Shearah spoke. "There is one other bit of news that you should tell the Emperor when you see her."
"Concerning these two?"
"Yes." Shearah said.
Ohio: Port of Columbus Airport.
Warren took Sabrina in his arms and hugged her, he didn't want to ever let go. "Hi Dad." Sabrina tried to say but it wound up being very muffled.
"It's good to see you."
"Good to see you Dad."
"How was your friend Cheetaur?"
"Alive, barely. Dad, she was in so much pain, they had her drugged so much."
"I know dear it's all in the healing process, sometimes furs have to get worse before things get better."
Sabrina sniffed, "At least she knew me."
"That's good. Did you get to talk to a doctor?"
"Yeah, they said she's still not directly out of the woods yet but her being conscious is a good sign. She is much better than she was a few days ago. The doctor says if she keeps on improving then she'll be better soon."
"That's good hun; I hope she does continue to get better. I'm glad I got to meet her."
"Yeah, could we have her here, when she's better I mean."
"Certainly sweetie."
"So what have you and Mom decided?" That was a question and a half.
Warren was a bit distracted as he was picking Sabrina's suitcase off the ramp. "Huh honey? I didn't hear?"
"So what have you and Mom decided?"
"Oh it's been an interesting few days, we've talked with about five different doctors and your mother has been poked and prodded. She's been cranky ever since all this started."
"I can bet, sooo…" Sabrina led on.
"The doctors feel it's risky since your mother is on the older side, not that she's over the hill by a long shot."
"I know dad just a bit much for carrying a baby."
They started out towards the car, "They do say your mother is in excellent health and that it's not so risky as not to try at all."
"So does that mean?"
"Yup, we're going to try."
Sabrina dropped her bags and hugged and kissed her dad, she hadn't been so happy in a long time.
"I don't know how Tabitha is going to take this."
"You haven't told her yet?"
"No, and not for awhile, not until the pregnancy is more advanced. A lot can happen in the first few months."
"I see; I'm happy for you."
Warren took in a deep breath, "It's gonna be tough, we're discussing hiring a private nurse to help out."
"Dad I might pass the word through my friends to see if any of them need a job. I know it's a little ways off but I can do that for you."
"Let's get things a little farther off the ground before you go asking, I appreciate the offer though. In the long run that might just work out for us."
"OK Dad, just say the word."
"We had some news of the fur that Swallow attacked, she's going to live. Although I don't really know if I could call it living, her life is ruined."
"Dad, Swallow isn't herself, she wouldn't hurt anyone…you know that."
"Yeah I know; it's just that I'd like this whole mess to go away and just hold her. I feel so helpless."
They put the suitcases in the car. "Dad, it's not your fault; they'll find her and maybe with some help they can bring her back to us."
"I hope so hun, I hope so."
"So how's Chris? You should have him down here you know. Long distance relationships are hard to keep ignited." Warren raised an eyebrow.
"I know Dad, Chris is being very patient with me but there is a job opportunity he is trying to get up here. It's a long shot but he's trying."
"That would be nice, our little girl staying around the homestead so to speak."
"I didn't say it was a guarantee. Zig is not very happy about me leaving either. So she has her fingers crossed that Chris gets this."
"Sounds like Chris has a lot of prayers going for him."
"I told him about Zig and he laughed."
"Heh."
"Ok let's get out of this busy place. Airports, they never get any easier to get into or out of."
"You have that right."