By click to reveal content warnings sexism, unspecified trauma, blackmail, profanity, banter, and more.
Spaceport Beta-09
Gazing over the bustling port below, Juniper rubbed a clawed hand over her aching neck from a horrible night of sleep in the port’s cramped, traveler bunks. The faded mustard yellow pack, speckled with a patterning of green leaves and ladybugs, strapped to her back was comforting. The weight of the pack may have been on her shoulders, but in that moment, it weighed on her mind.
It had only been 12 standard orbits since she’d first set paw on this very port, carrying all of her belongings in this very bag and the haunting memories of the past in her heart. Everything, yet nothing, had changed since then. For one, she was twice the age she had been and her pack had been free of sewn-on patches in various earth tones.
But some things hadn’t changed. She still carried the weight of her fathers’ death. She was still a murderer. But that was in the past. She’s an academic now, on her way to gather samples on some distant, hostile planet in the outer-rim of Borealis. She’d been on several excursions into the field, but something was different about this excursion, and Juniper wasn’t sure what.
Her silver-gray eyes landed on a cruiser like none she’d ever seen in civilian territory. An odd choice for a research excursion. The vessel in front of her and the fact that Dr. Poston had made her sign not one but three non-disclosure forms for this excursion had raised her suspicions. But, with her recent stunt in the biochem lab, she was in no position to question authority, so the lynx just shrugged it off. She didn’t have much to lose, but freedom was a valuable thing, and this lynx was not putting hers on the line any time soon.
Despite the growing list of peculiarities, Juniper was excited to get back in the field again. Her very life force seemed to be fueled by adventure and discovery. Unlike most academics, the curvy lynx preferred dirty field work to rubbing elbows with snobby academics and grant sponsors.
What could Poston be up to now, she thought to herself. The short, puff-ball of a tail that peaked out of an opening in her jumpsuit at the base of her spine swayed slowly as she examined the cruiser, nibbling a finger claw. Next to her, a hiss-like scoff came from her reptilian colleague’s nostrils and a sharp claw brushed her tufted elbow, a Lago Gesture of greeting. Juniper guessed that they too noticed the peculiarity of their circumstances.
The burly alligator, Day, stood like a statue to her left in olive green cargo pants with a black sleeveless shirt tucked into the waist. Their sharp amber eyes cut across the port. If a look could cast physical power over the world, Day’s could kill a stray idiot in a heartbeat. They looked like a soldier, arms crossed over their chest, accentuating their muscled shoulders and toned biceps, and a thin stick with a small line of smoke floating out of the end protruded from their elongated jaws.
Day’s appearance may not be considered approachable or friendly by most furs, but Juniper found that to be an added bonus to their friendship. A curvy, petite lynx wearing colorful, skimpy clothing and a friendly smile accompanied by a dark, intense alligator with snake-like locks of hair, often wielding scowl, was an odd sight to passing eyes. Despite their differences, Day and Juniper got on well. Day with their knowledge of wildlife, hunting, and humane sedation, and Juniper with her knowledge in geology, botany, and pollinators were an unbeatable team. The duo was often the first choice for research excursions. Not to mention that they had been the best of friends for the last several standard orbits.
“What the fuck is that? Looks sketch.” Juniper uncrossed an off-white furry arm to jab a lazy clawed thumb in the direction of the ship. “I hope it at least has a functioning waste system.”
Day chimed in with thick green scaled arms folded over their chest and brown snake-like bundles of hair adorned with gold rings cascading over mountainous emerald shoulders, “Dunno what Dr. Poston is doing with a private vessel. Why not just use a SCT?”
SCT stood for Standard Civilian Transport, which most civilians and research facilities used for general transportation. Unlike the cruiser they now scrutinized, SCTs didn’t usually have weapons. The team for this excursion shouldn’t need weapons of that size with Day around.
Before Juniper could respond the most dude bro PhD in Borealis decided to gift them with his stupid presence 30 minutes after their meetup time, Euc in claw.
“Too expensive,” the koala drawled, obviously feeling the effects of the alcohol he was sipping for breakfast.
Euc is Juniper’s least favorite alcoholic drink. It reeks of medicinal eucalyptus leaves and sour alcohol. Of course Jax liked it. She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. He tilted his gray round head down, black eyes peeking over gold aviators, black dot eyebrows raised. Jax’s gaze lazily slithered over Juniper’s figure. The lynx’s lips lifted to bare feline fangs.
She was in her usual charcoal gray jumpsuit covered in pockets containing various vials and botany tools. When she wasn’t in the field, it was almost always tied at the waist, exposing the earthy colored patterns along the Fur that covered her left shoulder spreading across her collarbone and down into a honey yellow cropped tank. The soft belly between the top and tied jumpsuit was exposed to the Starlight where more earthy patterned patches painted the creamy colored fur that coated most of her body. She was proud of her curves and wanted to show them off, even if she wasn’t what other feminine furs wanted. She wouldn’t be considered toned and her stomach was malleable to the touch, but she and her partners had always been fond of her figure. The wandering eyes of some colleagues did piss her off from time to time. Like this Wake Cycle. The frown on her face intensified.
“Looking a bit glum this morning, doll. Why not spare me a smile? You look pretty when you smile.” The slimy koala flashed an idiotic smirk in the lynx’s direction.
“Fuck you how about that, Jax,” Juniper growled, with an eyebrow raised and a flick of her chin opposite his direction. She hated when they were required to take Jax along. The koala never did anything except piss everyone off.
“Careful, doll. Don’t want to have anymore ‘accidents’ like last week’s incident,” Jax replied with mocking air quotes and a wink. “But I do like when you’re angry. So cute.” He puckered his thin gray bottom lip like a joey.
Juniper’s fury was intense, it felt like she might actually kill Jax with fire, which is pretty close to what happened in the biochem lab the previous week. A swarm of hornet-spider hybrids had broken out in the lab while Day, their sedative expert, was on the toilet. But you know who wasn’t on the toilet? Day’s flamethrower.
“I’d rather fuck a cactus than the likes of you, so stop with the bullshit unless you’d like me to tear those raisins out of your pants and shove them down your throat,” Juniper calmly inspected her claws without looking away, letting him know he wasn’t worth her energy.
At that, Day choked on a snort, long tapped Juniper’s shoulder (a gesture to calm down), and threw their duffle bag over a deep emerald scaled shoulder. Before Jax could reply, a furry gray finger frozen midair on the verge of a comeback, the alligator barked, “Get scale rot, Jax. Let’s go, kids,” Day shoved past the two, claws and thick armored tail scraping against the floor towards their new home for the next few weeks. Juniper skipped close behind, but not before knocking Jax’s euc on the floor with a petty “teehee” and a bat of her lashes.
Jax protested, arms squared and chest puffed in the air, “Hey! I am the team leader! I’ll announce when we depart!”
Juniper and Day both snorted in disbelief and continued their trek towards the docking station.
“Hey! Listen to me!” Jax threw up his arms, jogging after his colleagues with a snarl. “You owe me a euc!”
The dark asphalt was painted with white reflective lines drawn in various directions around the starlit port. Juniper’s booted paws marched across the landing. Her wide eyes landed on a sleek, muscular form with a long face marching down the cruiser’s ramp in the researchers’ direction. The captain of this expedition. The rogue looking stallion radiated raw, silent power. Juniper was picturing the captain snapping Jax over his knee like a twig when the dark stallion appeared to say something into an earpiece before giving it a gentle tap and fixing a steely gaze in the trio’s direction.
Friendly was not a word she’d use to describe the stiff figure stomping down the ramp. She had been hoping for a lighthearted and relaxed addition to the team; someone to balance them out. This fur did not give off any sort of calming energy.
He’s like a cactus. All prickly and tough. She tilted her head in thought, with a smirk on her full lips. But if he is like a cactus, they are usually sweet and juicy in the center. She licked her fangs with narrowed eyes.
Most cacti Juniper crossed paths with found her to be grating, annoying, and even immature. Some even went so far as to call her crazy. This guy gave her the impression that he was not going to be comfortable around the trio with their extraordinarily different personalities grafted together, like trees of wildly different species that shouldn’t work together. She had to admit, they didn’t work well together. Day and Juniper were close, but Jax didn’t get along with anyone.
The left side of her mouth curled of its own volition into a grin. This will be fun. I want to watch him squirm. At minimum, it would be entertaining to watch the four of them try not to kill each other in such small living quarters. No matter what happened, it wouldn’t be so bad to gaze upon a handsome, brooding stallion for the duration of the excursion.
The trio stopped with their belongings and equipment in paw and over shoulders just in front of the dark captain, who bore a scar across his right eye and cheek. Juniper cocked her head, bearing a devilish grin as her steely gaze drifted over the captain wondering what lay under the black, high collared overcoat. She refrained from licking her fangs. Not a bad view indeed.
“So, you’re the captain Poston hired for our research excursion. Don’t look much like an academic do yuh?” Juniper smirked with fire in her cloudy eyes, clawed hands placed firmly on her curved hips.
To her surprise, he didn’t skip a beat. “You are correct on both accounts and on the second, entirely on purpose.” He paused briefly, “Dr. Juniper Ceniza, I presume.” He remarked dryly before flashing a glance to her other companions. “Along with Doctors Collins and Creek, I’d wager.” The stallion paused for a short beat but spoke again before anyone could verbally respond. “I like to keep ground time to a minimum, so unless I am mistaken about your identities, please follow me onto the ship. You may call me Aries. And this is my ship, the Severance. My ship is equipped with a navigation AI by the name of Navir.” The stallion placed a thick tipped finger to his earpiece once more, before stiffly gesturing to the slender cruiser. “Up the ramp and into the hallway, please.”
Juniper crossed her arms over her full bust as her eyes rolled to the sky. She shared a knowing look with Day, then gave the alligator’s shoulder three short taps followed by a claw dragged gently down, warning them to stay alert. No fun at all. This is going to be a very long trip.