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Starfall: Chapter 28: Fitting in: Epilogue: Part-One Usako.

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Mercer Family Farm, Six months later.

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“Ugh…” Groaning, natural urges wake the Arctic Fox. Uncurling herself and stretching out her limbs, she shakes off the feeling of a dream that she knows is weird, but can’t remember what it was.

Eyes glowing in the pale green light cast by the alarm clock’s seven segment display, she eyes the time. ‘Who needs an alarm clock when you three kick my bladder at the same Karma damn time ‘every’ morning for the past several weeks.’ Using the same claw tip, she shuts off the alarm, then taps the lamp to light up the room.

What was Mark’s childhood room mere months ago, has been more decorated to the Vixen’s taste. Gone are the boyhood and teenage guy’s posters. In their place are soft bluish-white painted walls. Furniture that was a mix of childhood and young adult have been replaced with smaller kid’s furniture. Painted and stained to look more to an adults taste. Including the bed, what once was a twin-sized affair, is now a toddler's first bed also made to look more adultish.

Small for a human toddler despite who it was made for, it’s pretty large for a mammal her size as she sits up and pats her bulging belly. Trying to get the kits within to calm down and stop hitting her bladder, only having recently entered the third trimester.

It still amazes her. An alien, who’s closest living relatives are feral’s just barely clinging to life in the now ice free year round arctic, living in Zoo’s, or as pets for humans who want something more exotic, yet not intelligent like Bio-Morphs.

A Bio-Morph she’ll always call a friend somehow got her pregnant. ‘This is the smallest toddler bed they could get, yet it’s the size of a small-mammal Twin-xl back home.’ She moves to dangle her legs over the side, then glances back at the alarm clock.

‘Just barely a half hour before I’m supposed to get up anyway… Gonna be glad once you three are out of me.’

Pushing herself off and standing, she grabs a light robe draped over the headboard to cover her form. Summer cobalt bluish, brown, dark tan colored fur, trimmed down to millimeters to deal with the Texas summer leaves little to the imagination, making it ill-advised for her to walk around with anything less on. Not that she would go naked in her normal summer coat anyway.

Her hand-paws pick up the remaining personal item on the night-stand that she needs to be decent to the world. What once was a Bio-Morph slave collar, Is the ‘way to tell the world she’s free and not a Bio-Morph’ that the company Aquis had to make to comply with the court ruling her a sentient being.

A ruling, which was upheld by the Supreme Court last month. Much to the surprise of the religious voting populace, considering the last president appointed a reformationist to the court.

Neon green, the collar lacks a taser unit and the anti-tamper dye pack the white ones have. It does have the bio-metric sensors like said white collars, and the connection to the registration network. The GPS system is in it for safety reasons. Telling the system, wherever she goes, she’s ‘not’ a Bio-Morph.

‘Also providing my location in case anyone tries to abduct me and treat me as a Bio-Morph.’ Usako muses, going over the same selling points in her mind again.

Running her hand-paws over it and the manual latch, keyed to her and only her DNA and fingerprint. She smiles lightly, sighing while her tail wags happily back and forth a bit.

‘Maybe Steven was right. I wanted to bring change to the world back home for foxes like me in a more positive sense compared to ‘him’.’

Brining it up, Usako puts the collar around her neck, it clicks in place followed by the servo noises of the lock engaging. It also sizes itself snugly to her neck so it won’t just slip off her head, while also not being tight enough to choke her.

‘And while I didn’t do it back home, here in this dimension, I made the first strike for Bio-Morph freedom. Yea I didn’t open the door, but my foot-paw made a significant dent in it.’

She adjusts it to a more comfortable position, ties her robe closed, then heads for the door to her room. Not long after the initial trial, but after moving all of Mark’s stuff to the basement storage, Steven modified the door to take into account her smaller size. Moving the handle down to just about two feet from the floor.

‘I understand why they want to keep it, but it’s not like Mark is going to walk through their front door. He’s dead, and I inadvertently killed him by hitting the ship he was on.’

Pausing and blinking a couple of times, Usako shakes her head as she remembers a bit of the weird dream she had upon thinking of Mark. Yet as quickly as the threads of such a weird experience emerge. It dissipates like so much smoke in a breeze, leaving nothing than a feeling it was there.

‘Yea, that was a weird dream, annoying I can’t remember a bit of it other than that. Mom did say she had weird dreams like this when she was carrying me, sas, and dal. It’s ‘so’ reassuring to know I’m going through ‘everything’ mom did. Including being woken up by the kits before any sort of alarm because they kick my bladder.’ Usako’s ear’s splay and her tail goes still at the displeasure, and the ribbing she’d get from her mother over it. If she was here.

‘After being over the moon because she’d have grand-kits, from the daughter she least expected to get them from. I mean Sasaki was getting close to someone at that maker group, though she wouldn’t give mom confirmation of his species.’

Opening the door also brings in the scents wafting up from the kitchen on the first floor, reminding her she’s now eating for three as she heads for the bathroom. ‘Gotta take care of what woke me up in the first place.’

A few minutes later, Usako passes by Steven’s room with a slight but happy wag in her tail and a smile her muzzle as she heads for the stairs. The wide farm-house stairway now stands divided into two sets. One third of the width on the side of the railing’s sectioned off with stairs more fitting her smaller stature. Instead of a rush job like the door, each step made and styled like the human sized steps, it almost makes it look like it was there from the beginning.

If one ignores the years of wear and tear and repair visible on the human side compared to the pristine look on hers.

‘So glad Steven put these in for me, wouldn’t be able to climb up the human sized stairs carrying these kits.’ Grabbing both railings, she slowly makes her way down with a slight wobble. Turning her head to look into the living room once a third of the way down to the ground floor.

[Good morning Usiee.] Pippin waves from the couch with one hand while the other one rests on her own baby bulge, bigger than the vixen’s, and not just because Pippin’s a larger mammal.

Usako waves back with a wave of a hand-paw. ‘Could be worse, could be carrying four instead of three. I’m just glad Steven and Angela have her living in here now. They sold off the bastard who took advantage of her heat… So she’s not in danger, it’s more because she, like me has a hard time getting around with our passengers.’ Her tail stops wagging.

‘Not that I liked the fact they did so, still, he had to go. After attacking Anna thinking he was now in charge. Nor after Anna told Steven and Angela what he thought about them. He was a danger to the Mercers and the rest of the Pack. He would’ve eventually had tried again, and the question would become who would get hurt in the process.’

By the time she makes it to the bottom of the stairs, Pippin’s waiting for her wearing a similar robe to cover her similarly thinly shaved body. Trying and failing to kneel down, so she can hug the Vixen like she’s done several times as they take their pregnancies day by day.

The wolfess just settles for patting Usako’s head finding her belly too big to allow her to actually kneel.

Only for both yip loudly as the life they carry in them also decide to kick their respective mothers when Pippin’s hand touches Usako’s head.

“I see they’re glad to see each other too… And don’t call me Usee, only Steven gets to call me that.” Usako holds her belly futilely to stop at least one of them from moving and in turn moving her internal organs with them.

Pippin whines while she wobbles and leads the way back to the couch. [Aww, but it’s such a cute nickname. Not to mention you and him are cute together. Doesn’t matter if you’re carrying bro’s pups.]

Pippin smiles and then winces at another kick one of her pups delivers to her organs. [Woke you up early too, didn’t they?]

Sighing loudly, Usako heads for what once was her ejector seat, now a chair with most of the bits and frame replaced for its new use. Living room furniture. “Yes. Just like it did with my mother when she was carrying me and my siblings. According to what I remember of what mom used to tease us over.”

Hefting herself up onto the cushion relief flows through her form from being able to be off her foot-paws for a moment.

Pippin opens her mouth to speak but stops upon hearing the yipping and barking laughter coming from the kitchen, instead she just pins her ears back in frustration. Anna emerges wearing a dress and an apron even as she lightly limps into the living room. The only reminder of her putting that bastard in his place.

Putting her hands over her eyes, Pippin groans. [What’s so funny mom…] Fully knowing the answer.

Patting her daughter on the head while wearing a full toothed grin, she smiles down at Pippin. [Just having some enjoyment seeing my daughter get the treatment she and your brother gave ‘me’ when I was carrying you two. The odd cravings, the libido, the lack of sleep.]

Trying to ignore her mother, Pippin looks over at Usako. Trying to at least politely not pay attention to the mother ribbing her daughter. Not at all for the fact she’d be the target if she got Anna’s attention. The elder wolfess having more or less adopted the zootopian arctic fox as another daughter. [Are you ‘sure’ you’re okay with this Usako? Steven can handle it all himself, you don’t have to go with him considering you’re gravid with pups.]

Smiling at the elderly and still part-time Alpha-Female Bio-Morph, part-time Mercer Matriarch. ‘I’m not looking forward to being ‘Charlie’s’ Alpha-Female… I mean he’s a good friend now, but it’s Steven I’m…’

[Mom, you and I both know she considers this a date with Steven. I mean sure she’s carrying bro’s cubs. But her heart with our human brother, not bro. Even if they do seem to be good friends now.] Pippin pipes up as Usako just looks at each of them.

“I can speak for myself you know. No, I am not calling this off because my belly gets in the way. Yes I’ve fallen for Steven, I’m also kinda curious and excited to ride in an honest to Karma supersonic jetliner. They were too noisy, so they never went past the prototype stage back home.” Keeping her ears forward, they fall a bit as her stomach grumbles again.

‘I also wonder if I can use my celebrity status to get a glimpse at the cockpit. I miss flying…’

[Speaking of cubs, sounds like my grand-cubs are hungry.] Anna laughs once and makes her way back into the kitchen, a few minutes later, she returns carrying a tray filled to the brim with waffles, sausage, bacon, and eggs.

[Eat up you two, you need it to have my grand-cubs nice and healthy.] She places it on the coffee table that’s become the defacto kitchen table over the past few months. Followed by a couple of plates and silverware for the two pregnant females.

Pippin and Usako look at each other, then let their stomachs do the talking the moment the plates touch the table. Grabbing them and filling them with enough food to sate their ravenous hunger.

“One thing Mom never told me, was I’d be eating like a full sized lupine if I got pregnant!” Muttering to herself as she looks over to Pippin whose stuffing her muzzle full of sausage before the vixen does the same.

It’s not long after Usako’s ears twitch and focus on the stairs. Hearing Steven get up, do his business, then take the human proportioned side of the stairs down to them. Each of the furry lobes track his movement precisely.

“Kits woke you up early again Usee?” Steven smiles, only to chuckle as Usako turns her head. Half a sausage sticking out of her maw.

‘I’m kinda glad there’s no way to contact her home dimension, I’m sure they wouldn’t like the fact she’s developed a taste for beef and pork, since both animals are sentient there.’

Usako bites off the end and lets the rest drop back onto the plate before chewing and swallowing. “Yea. Starting to wonder if I should even set the alarm anymore.”

Anna hands Steven a plate and some utensils. [Better grab some before they eat it all. Honestly I don’t know who packs away more food now. Usako or my daughter.] Laughing, Steven gives Anna a hug after taking the utensils from her hands.

He smiles again at Usako. “That would be the moment they stop waking you I’d bet.” He turns to Anna. “Have you seen Angela? She wasn’t in her room when I got up.” Carefully Steven makes his pick of the food, making sure to avoid the advances of two hungry and pregnant women. One bio-Morph, and one arctic fox.

[Careful Steven, they may eat your hand.] Anna giggles some upon seeing how Steven cautiously navigates breakfast buffet she made. Only to harden her features and look towards the side of the house that had the empty field mere months ago.

[Already up when Balto and I got up, so he could take the pack to work. Working on the additions you wanted for each residential container. I still think you don’t need to bother, it was nice enough of you to have them moved next to the house and not all stacked together like that. We don’t need porches better roofs and an um… A ga za bo?]

After stuffing a waffle into her muzzle, Usako looks up nodding. “Gazebo. She’s trying to earn your respect back Anna. She’s shaped up a lot in the past several months. Yea I’ll never really forgive her for putting me in the situation that got me like this, ever. Yet, even I’ll admit she’s gone well out of her way to make up for her previous mistakes, making my overall less angry at her.”

Steven sighs. “Anna you have my full permission to drag Angela back inside kicking and screaming before it gets too hot. It’s supposed to hit in the low hundred and teens today ‘before’ any heat index crap. I don’t need her killing herself trying to earn your forgiveness. Speaking of which, can you at least show a ‘bit’ of trust with her? Despite her earlier actions, she came in clutch in the trial. In turn helping convince Mark’s employer to hand over both his pay and the accidental death payout. We’d be in dire straits if it wasn’t for all that money flooding into our account, since the majority of our customer base cut ties with us out of protest over both the win and how we now treat you, as ‘free’ range Bio-morphs.”

Lowering her tail and ears a bit Anna sighs. [I know… But she hurt my son, got my daughter taken advantage of in her heat, and over all mistreated us.] Taking a piece of bacon handed to her by Pippin, she munches on it before raising her ears. [I’ll give her one chance, throw her an um, olive branch? Yea that’s it if I remember the book you’re helping me read Usako.]

Usako nods. “Still can’t get over the fact most of your customers were more pissed at you going ‘free-range’ with the Bio-Morphs compared to winning the court case and getting me declared a legal person.”

Placing the now empty plate on the coffee table, Steven chuckles. “Public attention is fickle like that. An honest to Christ alien became old news over the method of management in someone’s private company. Still, if it wasn’t for that, we wouldn’t be having our little trip to Winnipeg Canada for the grocers trade conference. So you wouldn’t be taking a trip in your first supersonic suborbital jetliner. Didn’t they have at least a version of the concord in your world? I seem to recall you mentioning as such.”

Usako doesn’t even bother trying to stop her tail wagging at the thought of flying in a plane, which up till her arriving here, was pure fiction.

“No. I mean there were ‘plans’ for a civilian supersonic craft. Except, like the military craft. They were too noisy to be used where they would be needed the most. Without the government backing their existence, thus being able to ignore noise complaints. No airport wanted to service even the prototype after its first flight and half a state registering noise complaints to the airliner.”

Usako, finally feeling full, places her plate on the table while Pippin goes about finishing off what’s left at the same pace she started eating at.

‘I’ll be glad once these pups are out of me, all this food I have to eat is making me get fat. Among other things…’

“Yea the concord back in the nineteen seventies and eighties here had the same issues, plus quality control issues as well. Anyway, go get dressed and I’ll meet you in the truck. We need to get to the airport to make our flight.”

Standing, Steven moves to help Anna clean up, as the elderly Bio-Morph works on convincing her daughter she’s had ‘enough’ food.

Much to Pippin’s annoyance and disappointment. Out right whining to her mother, whom doesn’t relent.

Pushing herself up out of her chair, Usako smiles lightly at the scene… And at the food that part of her wants to have yet ‘another’ bite of.

A quick trip, for a six-month pregnant vulpine back to her room to get dressed. In a dress because without a grace of Karma will she fit into shorts with three kits in her.

Purse slung over her shoulder, and neon green collar still prominent around her neck. Usako approaches Steven as he waits next to a new purely electric truck, their luggage already in the bed. Placed there last night, so they could get moving faster in the morning.

Parked next to the classic one now fully repaired after what happened six months ago. Not looking any worse for wear, like the incident never happened.

“Nice dress Usee.” Steven smiles, opens the passenger side door. Then helps the pregnant Arctic fox un-ironcily into a kid’s booster seat attached to the passenger seat, otherwise the vehicle won’t move.

“You say that every time you see me in it, even though ‘you’ bought it for me when I stopped being able to wear pants.” Placing her purse next to the child’s seat as Steven closes the door. Her head follows him, looking through the windows. He moves around the front of the vehicle and to the ‘drivers’ side. While he can technically manually drive it, the vehicle will only let him if the self-driving system fails to turn on or dies mid drive.

Opening the door, Steven gets in and straps in. “Doesn’t mean I’m not telling the truth. Do you have your phone, Id, and electronic passport device? I see you’re wearing your collar like you should.”

Nodding, Usako pats her purse as Steven turns on the electric truck and sets it on its way. Both of them watching as it pulls out on its own, and both waving at Angela who’s putting up a wooden roof over one of the several Bio-Morph residential containers.

Angela waves back as she nails down a sheet of plywood. Having gotten a bit trimmer and gaining some muscle in the past six months, as much as her body seems to be able to form considering her frame.

Other containers in a circle sit around a half built gazebo, already have theirs done. Done by contractors before they bailed due to the backlash of their new Bio-Morph management style. More or less ‘stop working on it, or lose all other contracts’.

Usako doesn’t hate them for their decision.

“All in my purse, and by Karma I know I am supposed to never take this collar off outside the house. Anyway, is that suitcase all we’re taking? I know my clothes don’t take up much room. Neither do yours for the day or two we’ll be gone. Wouldn’t we need more room for more product to get more buyers though? That’s why we’re going right?”

Leaning back in the seat, Steven nods. “Good, because this is your first excursion into the public since the trial. The trip’s only to meet one customer though, the CEO of a large chain of groceries in Canada. If he likes it, then that’s the only customer we need with how many stores they have, and how much is on the table pay wise.”

Pausing a moment, Steven sighs. “Also I miss Mark. For some reason I was thinking about him last night before falling asleep. He would’ve gotten along well with you. Probably have beaten me to dating you if his crush on Pippin didn’t work out. You’re kinda his type, then again you’re my type. So that just means it was yet another thing we had in common…”

Usako giggles. “That wouldn’t have happened. Pippin seems like the type of girl who latches onto her man and never lets go. In a good way, not the crazy psycho kind of way. So she’d make sure the relationship would work even if she had to completely change herself to keep Mark interested in her.”

‘Kinda like what a vixen does for a todd, or vise versa with foxes.’ One of Usakos ears twitches.

Her hand-paw soon finds Steven’s hand and his squeezes hers gently. No words need to be spoken. Steven knows Usako’s not at fault for Mark’s death. No way she could’ve known.

“Yea, Pippin can be as stubborn as Angela sometimes. Almost like their sisters.” Steven pauses and then chuckles at his own words.

Usako laughs at that statement. “Well didn’t you just say recently Pippin and Charlie are the brother and sister you were too blind to know you had since you all grew up together? You even treat Anna as a second mother to you now. Karma knows she’s enjoying treating you like an actual son. Let alone how Balto is enjoying it after of years being an unofficial father to all of you.”

Smiling a bit, Steven nods. “Yea, my only regret is ignoring the obvious and not recognizing the truth sooner. Granted that would’ve meant convincing our parents too. Dad could be too stubborn sometimes, kinda like Mark was.”

Smiling and squeezing the human’s hand back. Usako doesn’t really reply. Just quietly observing things going on outside the vehicle.

The Giant crowd of people at the edge of their property six months ago during the trial is now only a hand-paw full. With half of them just being wacko’s holding signs protesting their more humane treatment of Bio-Morphs.

The rest only want photo’s of her.

From there, Usako would be hard-pressed to tell the difference between this dimension full of human and human adjacent Bio-Morphs. To her home one outside the fact that vehicles are not as uniform back home.

Rush hour traffic, though with self-driving cars only means slightly slower movement. No more stopping and going. Ad’s littering the highway, and everyone goes about their day just like any other. Only Humans instead of the entire mammal kingdom on display.

It’s not long until the vehicle pulls off the highway and onto a side street leading to the international air and spaceport. Causing Steven to chuckle as Usako plasters her muzzle against the windshield to get a better look at the craft taking off and landing from the place.

VTOL craft, similar in design to the one, which picked up Steven when he was deployed to Antarctica. Legacy jetliners retrofitted with the new engines those VTOL craft use instead of the fossil fuel jet-engines they were originally designed for also land and take off on domestic short range flights.

“Where’s the one we’ll be taking?” She sits back down to satisfy the alarms the vehicle plays for her getting up out of the seat while it’s moving.

Steven taps the nav screen to choose one of the available long term parking spots and paying for it. “Already landed. To deal with the still louder than normal noise they make there’s only short window where they can take off and land. Mainly during the day when everyone’s awake. That’s why we got up when we did. Not even eight in the morning yet, and we will be in Winnipeg before eleven.”

Usako pouts. “I wanted to see what it looked like landing. You can tell a lot about a plane that way.” Picking up her purse as the truck parks itself, then shuts down and opens both passenger and ‘driver’ side doors.

Steven’s quick to exit and closing the door behind him, so he can go around the vehicle and help Usako down before taking out their luggage. Her custom shoes protecting her foot-paws from the detritus and trash on the public parking asphalt.

Both her and Steven ignore the looks of the surrounding humans. Her neon green collar and still widely circulated photos making it obvious who she is. Even to the few ‘pet’ breed Bio-Morphs being brought with traveling families take notice of her.

‘Don’t know what’s worse. The looks of the humans at ‘why I should be free’ or the looks of those pet breed Bio-Morphs in collars and leashes looking at me with envy for the same reason.’ She thanks Steven for the help by a small lick on his hand.

“Do you need me to carry you? We need to get moving to make it through check in and the kits might get in the way.” Steven returns the affection with a pat on her head as he holds his hand low for her to hold as they walk while the other pulls their combined suitcase. Well he walks, Usako wobbles and wonders if it would be okay to go all four’s from the strain of the kits in her.

‘No. Not here. Maybe in another month back home I’ll have to cope with doing that, but not here in public.’

Shaking her head both at the thought and at Steven’s question. “No I can manage. Let’s get inside though. Clothing, even with my nearly fully shaved down coat of fur makes it almost too hot out for me right now.” She fights the urge to openly pant and is only mildly successful.

Nodding, Steven leads the way. Keeping an eye on the surrounding crowd that slowly coalesces as they all are heading for the same terminal entrance. Family’s with kids and either a domestic cat or dog ‘pet’ Bio-Morph on a leash. Maybe even a mouse or an exotic breed. It still pains Steven seeing this while now noticing the intelligence in their eyes.

Mixed in are your typical jet set corporate fliers that while well off. Aren’t well off enough to have a private jet. What’s left and rounding out the crowd are your random single travelers either for business or pleasure.

They all form a semi defined line at the entrance, where the newest security ‘check’ have been installed. Yet another hoop to hop through for air travel. ‘At least the TSA wen the way of the dodo last century.’ Steven eyes the crowd a bit. Wondering if someone will get caught this way, or if they would be smart enough to avoid it.

All done in response to the public outcry from Faith’s hybrid nature coming to light at the trial. On the spot DNA readers. Each non Bio-Morph having to stop. Place an arm into a medical device, said device automatically takes blood and skin samples. Runs a DNA check, and if you’re fully human. It lets you go and you can go inside with a scan-able wrist band.

If not, well….

A man wearing baggy clothes at the front of the line. In the typical young adult style, with one to many belts sticks a hairless arm into the device under the supervision of airport security and police.

‘His other hand is clenching the handle of his baggage tight enough to go white…’

Steven looks down at Usako, who only takes a sniff of the air and nods confirming Steven’s suspicions, the man is a hybrid. All the while the Bio-Morphs around them look away. Not that anyone but Usako and Steven even pay attention to them. Their ‘owners’ just pay attention to their phones or other things than this mindless security theater.

For a moment the device sounds like it did for the person in front of him as it replaces all the internal medical implements with new sterile ones. Then goes through the same sampling process. A prick on the palm similar to a diabetes lancet, as a scraper takes skin from the forearm.

Instead of giving the man a bracelet and letting him go, a clunk noise of the device clamping down on his arm makes many in the line jump. Followed by the device lighting up red. The officers descend on the man, taking his luggage. Pulling out his arm and cuffing him while at the same time gagging his mouth.

Without a word from anyone in the line other than the Bio-Morphs stating the hybrid was an idiot thinking he would be able to fool it with a shaven arm. The man’s dragged off and out of sight as a feline tail slips out of his baggy clothes.

The machine’s reset, and the next person’s told to come up and get checked. The device passes everyone, including Steven without another incident.

“Why isn’t your Bio-Morph on a leash and is dressed like that?” The officer stops Steven from continuing on into the airport terminal after removing his arm from the device.

Not letting him answer for her. Usako glares up at the law enforcement officer. “Because I’m not a Bio-Morph. First as you can see, I can talk. Second, were you living under a rock for the past year? Third.” She taps her neon green collar.

“Your system should be telling you I’m not a Bio-Morph.”

Snorting once, the officer pulls out a tablet and unrolls it. The latest I-something model. A few taps, his eyes going wide, then blinking. The officer puts the tablet away. “Sorry Ms. Chasofito. You don’t need to do the check, your clear to go in.”

He quickly prints out and hands her a bracelet like Steven’s.

Now it’s Usako’s turn to get stared at by the Bio-Morphs. All angry and envious at how ‘she’s being treated simply because she can talk and has that green collar compared to them with their white ones.

A look that doesn’t stop once they get inside as those inside also saw the attempt to get past the check. ‘Steven says it’s not my fault, but I can’t help feeling otherwise.’

They look at each other, knowing it’s not a good idea to speak about it in the public like this, so Steven just takes her hand again and leads her while dragging their luggage behind himself. Leaving Usako to just look back at the humans and Bio-Morphs looking at her while they head for the check in for the specific flight.

A frown forms on Usako’s face as she gets the same treatment from the check in clerk. Yet the frustrated huff dies in her throat as once they’re let into the waiting area. There’s a floor to ceiling, wall to wall transparent aluminum window giving full view of all the aircraft, and all the terminal walkways.

Sitting right there, front and center, as it’s being serviced to allow passengers on it, the hyper-sonic suborbital jetliner they’ll be taking.

A long thin cylinder with a nose tapering to a sharp point makes up the main body, but what interests her the most is the adjustable delta wings. Extended and swept forward right now for a less aggressive profile and slower take off speed with the tail fins on both of them deployed.

Usako can also see the signs on the craft that they can move to a more aggressive triangle shape, as well as feather up allowing smooth re-entry with just minimal thermal shielding.

Slipping her hand out of Steven’s, she wobbles up to the window to get a closer look. Already imagining how the bird would control from her previous experience with craft that have adjustable wings.

Steven just chuckles at the sight of her acting like a kid, only for Usako to look back at him. “What’s so funny?”

Moving to stand next to her. “Just the way you were almost drooling at the sight.”

Lightly rolling her eyes, Usako lets Steven lead her back to the seats in the waiting area and helps her up into one.

‘Oh I’m going to be ‘so’ glad when they’re out of me and walking is not so much of a pain.’

“Can’t a girl appreciate the looks of a wonderful craft like that? I mean sure, she’s not built for the high speed maneuvers that are done when you’re testing fighter-craft. Yet from what I’ve learned of those new pulser engines that you replaced jet-engines with. She’d be no slouch despite carrying passengers and cargo. If I wasn’t carrying kits, I would love to take her up and put her through her paces. I wonder if she can break the sound barrier in less than five seconds.”

Usako rolls her eyes again as Steven lets out a small laugh. Drawing attention to the two of them from others in the waiting area. All of whom were too absorbed in their electronic devices as they wait to board to notice her till Steven laughed.

“Hey is that the Alien?”

“So she is pregnant. Wait, doesn’t that mean she ‘is’ a Bio-Morph?” The husband of the wife who just spoke corrects her. “Nah, convergent evolution according to the news.” While their house-cat breed Bio-Morph just glares daggers at Usako and her green collar.

An envious look in his eyes as he does so.

Lowering her ears and moving to lean against Steven, Usako sighs. “Well that killed the excitement.”

Steven lightly drapes his arm over her. “Don’t take it the wrong way… I know you hate him, yet, I think it may be a good idea to practice what he preached. Don’t let things like that get to you. It’s going to be years before your fame fades enough you won’t draw attention wherever you go.”

Usako opens her mouth, then shuts it. Further pinning her ears back while her tail tries to show her momentary displeasure. ‘Yea I hate that sorry excuse of a fox… But Steven’s right, I can’t let shit like this ge…’

The intercom for the waiting area activates and the check in clerk starts speaking, derailing Usako’s train of thought. She looks up at one of them placed in the ceiling.

“We will begin boarding flight Six-Seventy-Five express to Winnipeg Cannada, but before that. Canadaian Sub-orbital would like to welcome one Ms. Chasofito for choosing our services over our competitors. In thanks, we’ll be giving her and her companion a free upgrade to first class and first boarding club.”

Steven and Usako look at each other. The eldest Mercer Sibling helps the pregnant Arctic Vixen off the seat. With one hand holding hers, and the other on the handle of the suitcase. He leads Usako up to the boarding gate where the clerk waits to collect their passes and passport devices.

Both ignore the stares and glares of the rest of the passengers as best they can. The twitching of Usako’s tail though signals her displeasure of the whole situation.

“Your boarding passes and passport devices please?” The clerk smiles at the two with a service smile. One the woman strains to maintain when Usako holds out the wristband to be scanned, then her passport device to be checked.

She inserts the devices into an arm mounted reader, both slots lighting up green signaling genuine articles.

Usako only has to hold her hand-paw out once while twitching her fingers in a grabby motion to get the clerk to hand hers back compared to Steven getting his without asking.

“Welcome aboard!” She moves out of the way for the two to head down the walkway. “Your seats are the first two upon entering. Drinks and snacks are complementary. Sadly since this is an international flight. Meeting the other flight crew’s not allowed. International safety regulations, sorry.”

Still holding Usako’s hand. Steven leads her onto the gangway to the plane, even as the vixen gives an equally fake smile, with a bit of tooth that she wouldn’t have gotten away with at home. Back at the clerk.

“What a bitch, and I mean it in the human sense.” Steven speaks up as soon as they’re out of earshot, halfway to the plane.

Giggling Usako pats her purse. “For a moment there I think she was considering not returning my passport.” She sighs. “And I was hoping to see the cockpit too.”

Nodding once, Steven helps her up the narrow stairway and into the aircraft. Despite the exotic nature of the outside. The interior could easily be mistaken for one from the passenger jetliners a century prior.

Seats with just the barest hint of cushioning, narrow and without much if any legroom, even in first class.

Hefting the vixen up, Steven places her on the window seat before stowing their luggage under said seats. “Um, you’re not going to take it? I’m fine with the isle seat.” Her ears though betray her excitement in being able to look out the window. ‘In fact I might even need it if they start kicking again like this morning…’

“Nah” Steven buckles himself into the isle seat then helps Usako with hers. “It’s your first flight on one of these, You’ll enjoy the window seat more than I will.”

Usako glances out the window at the tarmac, then back at Steven. “Alright.”

Only to have to keep herself looking out the window as others board the plane. Considering they’re using the front passenger seats, everyone else has to pass by them. Many of them not happy about them getting a free upgrade. Especially the two who were knocked back to coach to facilitate it.

It doesn’t help that with her ears, she can hear the gossip throughout the plane. Steven though taps her shoulder after the stewardess shuts the door and directs everyone’s attention to the front of the plane.

Thanking everyone for choosing their airline, telling them the flight will last about four hours. She then goes into the standard safety speech.

The only thing different to the last time Usako flew as a passenger is supposedly inflatable survival shelters will drop from the overhead compartments in case of a loss of cabin integrity at cruising altitude. With that, the stewardess takes her seat just outside the cockpit.

Usako turns to look at Steven as they taxi for take-off. “So just that one CEO to convince once we get up there? How did you manage to get a hold of someone of that importance? Wouldn’t think someone running a company of that size would pay attention to just some random farmer.”

Taking out his phone, Steven sets it to airplane mode. Turning off the cell system in it and connecting it to the plane’s communication's repeater. “Well that’s the thing Usee, he contacted us. Not long after the news started reporting on our ‘new’ free-range Bio-Morph management style. Said he’s always on the look out for ethically sourced product, he invited me to the conference for a chance. If he likes our products, they’ll be sold across Canada. Which to be honest surprises me, I would think a producer in a free country would take precedence over one in a slave state.”

Usako does the same to her phone as the elder Mercer sibling talks.

“Yea, that’s a bit odd. Still, can’t complain. The money from Mark’s savings and accidental death won’t last forever in covering our lack of income.” Usako shuts her muzzle as to her better sense of hearing picks up the changes in the background noise of the plane.

Just to play with Steven, She moves to look forward in her seat and mimes flipping switches and pressing buttons. He only blinks a couple of times watching the interdimensional vixen that he now cares for act like this. Before the plane dumps power to the engines and Steven’s pushed back into his seat from the small increase in G’s as it takes off.

They both relax a few minutes later as the plane reaches it’s cruising altitude for the in atmosphere part of the assent till it reaches the point it can safely do a sub orbital insertion. “Your hearing clued you off, didn’t it?” Steven looks over at her and Usako just toothily grins back.

“So why everything else?”

Taking a peek out the window, then back at Steven, Usako sighs. “You can take the vixen out of the cockpit, but you can’t take the love of flying out of the vixen. Ignoring everything that has happened and my current condition. This has been the longest I’ve been outside a cockpit of a fighter or plane since before I started actively flying. I miss it, I miss it a lot.”

She looks down at her kit filled belly, and her hand-paws in thought.

Only to be interrupted by Steven gently petting her head. “I’ll look into a full immersive sim flight system for the house computer.”

‘And a more powerful computer to boot…’ Steven keeps to himself as he knows the house system can’t handle such games. Not by a long shot.

“After your kits are born and such. Maybe we can get something more real, though that would only be prop planes. Pulser jets are still out of our price range but with all the settlement money a two-seater plane isn’t out of the question to keep for a once a week flight.”

Usako blinks several times. Looking up at him, a feeling of happiness grows in her chest. “I don’t know what to say. It’s a lot of money just to throw at my hobby, Steven. Someone you’re only just starting to date, Someone…”

A gentle hand stops her. Taking advantage of the fact they’re at the front of the plane, leaving only the stewardess and the passengers just across the isle able to see them. Steven leans down to full on kiss her muzzle.

“Someone I’ve started to love dearly while thanking god for putting her in my life. Even if the road here was a bit rocky, making a few mistakes I wish I could take back along the way.”

Usako’s tail beats the seat she’s in to death as her hand-paws linger on his face to keep him close for just a moment longer.

“Now that we’ve filled the gossip quota for the other passengers. How about you take a look out the window. You’re going to miss the most interesting part otherwise.” Sitting up, Steven smiles at her.

Tilting her head for a moment, Usako glances around the cabin before focusing in on the window to her left. The blue sky outside already darkening, and with it, she feels another boost and the pushing of her body into the seat cushion.

The attitude of the plane soon matching her heart as the sky turns black. Orbital installations and resource runner ships twinkling in the distance, while the curvature of the earth and the smaller than back home North American continent stretching out bellow.

Plastering her muzzle against the window Usako takes it all in. ‘That was… Amazing. No violent rocking, no being pressed into a seat by over six g’s of force. Just a mild push, and we’re mostly into low earth orbit.’

Meanwhile, Steven just entertains himself with his phone as the vixen’s tail wags. When he’s not watching Usako, whose staring out of the window like a person possessed. ‘She really does miss flying, doesn’t she?’ When he tires of general entertainment news, he looks up the company and ceo he’ll be meeting in Winnipeg.

‘Huh, that must put a throne in a lot of his company’s dealings internationally. Not only is the CEO is a Bio-Morph, but a hybrid between two breeds, which is rare for them.’

He’s about half-way through reading a small memoir of the previous CEO to get a better idea of the company as the current one hasn’t been in charge long. When even he feels the signs of them reentering earths atomosphere.

‘And I thought our family had some complicated ‘times’.’ holding back a small chuckle while imagining how he’d rib Mark. If what happened to the CEO’s spouse, happened to him. Glancing to the seat next to him upon hearing Usako sitting back down and properly and buckling in.

“Got your fill?” Lightly ribbing the vixen considering the wing is now blocking the view as it’s in the feather position. He buckles in as she lightly razzes him in return.

“To be honest, not until I can take a bird like this up myself. This will have to do though.” Ears staying up with her tail wagging at a pretty good clip, shows Steven how much of a good mood she’s in.

Putting his phone away, he turns his attention to the Stewardess as she announces they’re arriving at Winnipeg international. She announces what the local time, and what the weather is supposed to be.

A nice warm and Balmy Eighty with a heatwave in the nineties tomorrow.

Usako folds her ears back. ‘There goes hoping I’d get some relief from the heat.’ “You really did mess up the planet if a place so far north is so hot, even in summer.” Her remark causes Steven to look over at her curiously.

“It’s been that way for a while. So what’s the temperature in your version of Winnipeg?” He’s genuinely curious. “Also, how did you avoid the whole carbon trap?”

‘I don’t subscribe to it being considered a filter for advance civilizations. It does make good sci-fi though.’

“Winnipig, as it’s called back home. Doesn’t even get any warmer than forty in the summer in what ‘they’ would call a heatwave. It can also get as low as negative fifty in the winter. Then again cities are either on or in front of the northern ice sheet from what I hear in that area of our Canada.” She idly takes a look out the window upon hearing the wings move back into standard flight mode.

“If you mean pumping billions of tons of it into the atmosphere yearly like you did for most of the past two centuries? If I recall my physics lessons in High-School and officer’s school. It’s that combustion engines for both ground and air vehicles have a size floor and ceiling. Put one in a car for rodents and it has to rev so high to get any work done that it eats through its fuel so quickly it won’t even last thirty-six minutes. Um in base eight. Nor would it be able to move well with a tank large enough to last hours at that rate. For the ceiling, well, That was more of a cost thing. Some rich elephants though have cars that are just train diesel engines on wheels. Other megafauna just ride public transport or walk.”

She pauses for a moment to look out the window at the approaching large city.

“From what I understand, that’s why tiny mammal vehicles like mice, rat’s and voles were electric from the start. Outside of paying another larger mammal to taxi them around. Before little-rodenta. It’s also why small mammal vehicles like cars for rabbits, foxes, skunks and the like started out equally both, but are now starting to be mostly electric. Only medium and smaller-large mammal vehicles started off and still are gas.”

“Yea, makes sense. We used to have giant diesel dump trucks that were measured in gallons per minute. They were only used on mining sites. Considered too impractical for other uses.” He then winces, memories of being constantly cold back in Antarctica during his deployment come to mind. “To be honest, I’m glad the weather isn’t like that here.”

Feeling the plane rock as the landing gear hits the tarmac, both human and arctic-fox grab onto their seat’s before their attention’s drawn up front to the stewardess.

“We would like to thank everyone for flying Canadian Sub-orbital and would like to welcome everyone new to city and hope you have a pleasant stay.” The stewardess stands at the start of the isle looking over all the passengers with that oh so common work smile.

“We will be docking at the terminal momentarily. Please put your tray tables back in their upright positions and be careful opening the overhead bins, your carry on luggage may have shifted during our flight. Our preferred boarders will exit first, followed by first class and then coach.”

Usako blinks and swears the stewardess has a slight sadness in her face behind the fake service smile as she continues to look down the isle.

“Pleas keep in mind that until you leave the terminal grounds, you’re still technically on United States soil. Your Bio-Morphs ‘still’ must be leashed and collars attached to their necks. Also, keep your passport devices at the ready. Someone will check them upon your exit.” She then motions for her and Steven to stand as the aircraft comes to a stop at the terminal.

The arctic vixen doesn’t protest as Steven unbuckles her, lifting her over to the isle, before pulling the carry-on out from under their seat. Only then does he stand behind her, ready to disembark. Usako tries to ignore the stares as they wait for the stewardess to open the door. Both her and Steven eagerly leaving the craft after the stewardess pushes it to the side. Wobbling out onto the gangway proper, she waits for Steven to stand alongside her.

“Thank you for allowing me to come. Wasn’t quite what I needed to scratch my flying itch Steven, but it helped. I was getting a bit stir crazy being on the ground for so long.” She smiles up at him and then holds up her hand-paw for his hand. Once the elder Mercer sibling takes it, she leans into it a bit, her foot-paws already a bit sore.

An imposing man about a foot taller than Steven in heavy police gear greets them at the exit to the terminal, asking for their passport devices in a gruff tone. The officer does nothing other than check Stevens upon being handed his. The officer returns it politely.

It’s only when Usako reaches up to hand the officer hers that his demeanor changes. Instead of checking it, he forcefully grabs her wrist, tossing the passport device aside. It clatters against the linoleum and comes to a stop next to a pole holding up a rope partition.

“If you’re going to fake a collar Mr Mercer, at least get the color right. They’re white, not neon green.” Steven reaches to grab the officer’s arm as the officer grabs Usako’s collar.

“There’s been some mistake.” Trying to reason with him.

Usako doesn’t restrain the growl or baring of her teeth, she ‘does’ restrain herself from lashing out like she was trained to get out of a hold like this.’No more repeating the same mistake as with Angela’ For the officer makes the mistake she expects him to. Trying to remove the collar, and as an unauthorized person it triggers the alarm now put in the slave collar system for this exact situation.

Alerts blare out from other officers and any terminal connected to the slave network nearby.

Other officers around the terminal soon arrive in short order upon receiving the alert. So he’s soon forced to let go of Usako and pulled off to the side by other officers. Usako combs her neck fur back into place as a female officer approaches her. Steven instinctively moves in between her and Usako only to calm as the officer shows her hands in ‘I mean no harm’ manner to him.

After relaxing, Steven picks up Usako’s passport device off the floor.

“I deeply apologize Mr. Mercer and Ms Chasofito. The guy’s a rookie, and we had a tip today someone was going to try to smuggle Bio-Morphs across the boarder posing as family pets. You’re more or less free to go, I just need to read her passport device for the paperwork to certify your visit to Canada.” She non-aggressively holds her hand out to Steven who’s still holding Usako’s device.

Looking back at Usako, who nods her approval. Steven hands Usako’s passport device over to the female officer. Giving a polite smile, she sticks it in the reader and like before they boarded the plane it turns green. The office pulls it out and politely hands it down to Usako.

“I am truly sorry Ms. Chasofito. People should be smarter than to think you’re a Bio-Morph. You shouldn’t be treated like this on top of being stuck in a dimension not your own, away from all your family. I can’t imagine how hard it is to never see your parents or siblings again.”

“Yea, but sadly it’s not going to stop. So I am going to just have to get used to it.” Usako sighs, then gives the female office a polite smile goodbye as Steven leads her with as much haste as her wobbling walk can handle. Past the gate, and onto Canadian soil. Away from the officers and United States jurisdiction, for now.

Only stopping once they’re past the sign saying ‘Welcome to Canada’.

“Well that was a shit show if I ever saw one.” Steven sighs, then kneels down to look over Usako, who adjusts her dress, purse and then the collar. She smiles at Steven for a moment over his concern of her well-being, before licking the side of his face in thanks.

“Well other than that, and the dirty looks from the lady at the gate getting on the plane. I had an enjoyable flight. So lets get this meeting over with, and then we can play tourist, okay? I want to see what’s different in this place compared to when my family vacationed here during the summer when I was fourteen.”

Steven quirks a brow. “Base ten or eight?” Only to have Usako grin up at him.

“What do you think?” Putting a bit of snark behind her voice.

Patting her head, Steven smiles. “Alight.”

‘Okay, now we just need transport.’ The elder Mercer sibling looks around for a rental terminal. All the while ignoring the few stares they’re getting because of Usako’s celebrity and only momentarily pausing on scenes of families removing collars and leashes from their Bio-morphs, then embracing them as family and not pets.

‘So it was real and not just a way to harass travelers.’

Spotting a terminal without a line, he holds Usako’s hand-paw in one hand, their luggage in the other, then heads over to it at a pace the pregnant vixen can handle.

Twenty minutes later, and they’re both in a completely self-driving sub compact car, on the way to the university of Winnipeg Canada. Usako’s looking at the human with her head slightly tilted at what she’s been told.

“So let me get this straight. Both the states and Canada more or less ceased giving public money to universities and the like due to corruption and political indoctrination about a century ago. Now it’s normal for universities to sell space on their campuses for private events public and private to help make ends meet outside the now lower amount of money they get in tuition? So that’s why we’re heading there instead of some conference hall attached to a hotel?”

Steven nods. “Yup. In this case the university sold access to their indoor sports stadium for the conference as they’re playing an away game now.” He pulls out his phone and brings up historical articles about the level of corruption some universities had due to the sheer amount of guaranteed government money they would be getting from both state backed student loans and research ‘grants’ and lets her read them.

University staff living like millionaire’s and even billionaire’s as their students struggled to pay tuition.

He puts it away as Usako looks out at the city, passing through the high rises in downtown. Then to smaller buildings, only a few stories tall, if that, as they get closer to their destination.

“I wonder if they’re like that back home. The corruption I mean, anyone with half a brain knows they push one side of the political spectrum. I always thought the large amounts of money they brought in was all spent on research, nothing else.”

She pauses and winces at a building in the brutalist style.

“Also, I miss the building designs from back home. All you humans seem to want to make are boring glass or concrete rectangles. Where’s the twists, the arches, the fancy flora, all that?”

Steven shrugs. “Don’t know. Ask an architect if you meet one? Well, that and remember, all the buildings except for the university we’re going to, are a hundred years old at least. They wanted a different style back then.” He pauses, then points to the next large intersection with a large sign.

“We’re here.”

After a wait at the entrance light, the vehicle turns onto the main road to the university campus and past a large holographic sign stating as such. Ignoring the large and ‘very’ busy parking lots on either side of them. Their rental drives them right up to the curb of the entrance to the main building and the less fancy sign stating the grocery conference going on this week in the stadium.

Opening his door, Steven exits first, grabs their suitcase from the back compartment, and then moves around to help Usako. Who rubs her back and adjusts her purse upon exiting the vehicle, having been unable to find a comfortable position using the provided safety seat.

After the doors are securely shut, and they’re on the curb does the vehicle drive away.

“Is it going to park itself?” Usako looks up at him. Only for Steven to shake his head.

“No it’s um, I think they call them public transport vehicles now, not Taxi’s. It’s going to the next person who rented a unit. We’ll call another one later to get us when we’re done here to take us to the hotel.”

Twitching an ear, Usako watches it drive further off. “Weird. But kinda neat it can do so on its own like that.” Only to sigh upon seeing the ‘map’ placed next to the sign. “I have to walk ‘that’ much?”

Looking down at Usako, Steven shrugs. “I can carry you if you want?”

Twitching an ear, Usako looks around at the crowd of people and Bio-Morphs. The longer they stand there, the more attention they seem to get as more recognize who she is. ‘Yea I can hear what you’re saying, I have the same hearing as you…’ She looks at a few Bio-Morph students. Mice and feline breeds looking at her and talking.

“Nah, lets just take it slow. No need to draw any more attention to myself.” Setting a neutral look on her muzzle, remembering what Steven said earlier about copying that damn pelt from back home to deal with her ‘fame’. She takes his hand, and they both slowly walk for the main doors.

Only for the door in front of them to open before Steven can let go of the suitcase to do so himself.

A female vulpine breed Bio-Morph, dressed smartly in a business suit smiles at the two. What isn’t covered in what would be out of place from a board room, shows peach to human skin tone colored fur. Only slightly darkening at the ear tips and tail tip.

‘Is… is she a hybrid?’ Usako blinks as she makes eye contact with the vulpine Bio-morph. Instead of vulpine slits, she has human eyes. Causing the vixen to tilt her head a bit.

[Let me get the door for you two. Seriously they need to have some better service for those who’re pregnant. Like an auto opening door.] She holds both the inner and outer door open for Usako and Steven. Only letting them go once the two are completely inside the main campus building.

Turning around, Steven extends his hand to shake hers in thanks. “Thank you Ms?”

The unusual colored vulpine Breed Bio-morph, now that she isn’t holding the doors open. The curves and proportions of her body become obvious to Usako.

[Mrs. Elizabeth Stradder, Alpha-Female of the Stradder pack.]

She takes and gently shakes Steven’s offered hand. Only to pause before her ears and tail shoot up. [Wait a minute! I knew you two looked familiar, Steven Mercer and Usako Chasofito. The Alien and the human she’s staying with. To be honest I should’ve figured you would’ve shown up here considering the trade your in Mr. Mercer. It ‘is’ a multi-national conference the university is hosting. Just wish they gave us employees a bit more warning. Traffic to get in and park is horrendous, I only ‘just’ got in myself. Now I’m not so angry about running late!] She gives them a full vulpine grin.

Letting go of her hand, Steven smiles. “Yea that’s us. We were invited by a CEO of a supermarket based here in Canada as a potential supplier for them. Mainly because they saw us on the news and how I’m going free-range with, well you know…” Trying to dance around the subject that he ‘technically’ owns Bio-Morph slaves.

“Well we would have to have run into at least one person who would recognize us and doesn’t just point and gossip or do other things.” Usako mutters. Then looks up at the Bio-Morph.

“Mrs Stradder, Just curious. Are you a hybrid? You don’t exactly look like one or ones I’ve seen. Odd fur color and well, more human ‘proportioned’.”

Elizabeth kneels in front of Usako with a polite smile and holds out her hand to shake Usako’s. Which the arctic vixen does. [I was expecting you to ask that. Yea, I’m a hybrid. My mother’s a vulpine pleasure model, thus the giant boobs and wide hips. My father’s human, thus the fur color. I’m also not surprised you think hybrids don’t look like me. If my family lived in the states I’d be mistaken for a pure Bio-Morph pleasure model and treated as such. My brother could’ve passed as full human with the right clothes and contacts though.]

Standing back up and straightening her suit. Her tail gives a curious twitch as she looks over the two at how Usako’s hand-paw finds Steven’s hand upon letting go of her own hand-paw.

‘Oh what I wouldn’t give for a sample of her dna to look over. I know Steven’s not the father from the media. Still, Bio-Morphs are mostly human so does that mean her species and humans are compatible? Great, going to be wondering about that all day as I review the latest black box results into the Bio-Morph genome…’

She turns her attention back to Steven. [That you’re treating your Bio-Morphs as well as you can in the salve state of the United States? Yea that whole media storm got gossiped about up here too. Honestly it was kind of tiring to hear about after the second week.] One of her ears twitch.

‘Hold on, ‘Chrissy’ said he found an ethical source of product from the states the other day… could it be them?’

Stopping the ear from twitching and the tip of her tail too, Elizabeth smiles again. [So who’s the person you’re here to meet? Just curious, they're few chains here in Canada willing to do business with companies in the states over the whole slavery thing.]

Steven pulls out his phone and pulls up the email to double check. “Another hybrid honestly. A Puma and Komodo Dragon cross by the name of Christopher JR. CEO of ‘The Paw Mart’ No last name given.” Only to blink and watch as Elizabeth gains a full on vulpine grin, one even has Usako tilting her head at.

[In that case, let me take that suitcase of yours while you carry your girlfriend who looks exhausted. So she doesn’t have to walk with that pregnant belly of hers. I happen to know ‘exactly’ who you’re here to see after all. I grew up with him. The son of a friend of my mother, he took over the family’s business from my father because neither I nor my brother wanted to be a CEO of a grocery store chain.]

‘And I was going to bug him anyway during lunch. So I guess win-win for me?’

Both Steven and Usako glance at each other, before the former hands off the suitcase to Elizabeth, and the latter’s picked up in Steven’s arms. Less in a bridal carry and more of allowing Usako to sit in the crook of his elbow like a kid.

Grinning up to Steven, Usako giggles lightly. “I could get used to this.” Speaking in a joking manner. Only getting a light chuckle from Steven, let alone Elizabeth in return.

So she just lightly razzes her ride.

[The university stadium we’re renting out for the convention is this way.] Grinning, Elizabeth nods in the direction she’s leading them through the crowd of people.

Settling into Steven’s arms, Usako relaxes to the sound of the human’s heartbeat. Watching everyone else as they walk through the campus. ‘Would this be like home if we could travel between this dimension and mine?’

“What do you do here Mrs Stradder?” Steven speaks up, slightly rousing the vixen in his arms from her train of thought.

Elizabeth’s tail twitches in front of them before speaking. [I’m the lead researcher for Winnipeg University for genetic studies. Started off studying chemistry here and transitioned over to genetics half-way through my stay here as a student when I found I had a knack for it. Right now I’m running the university’s black-box reverse engineering project of the Bio-Morph genome. So people like me, my husband and children, let alone my mother and other family and pack members. Aren’t beholden to Yakeru-tech of China for any medical knowledge, drugs, and disease treatment.]

Blinking in confusion, Usako looks between Steven and Elizabeth. “Wait, isn’t Canada free though? Why should that matter when you’re a person here?”

Leading the group down a side corridor, avoiding most of the crowd of students and convention attendees, The pinkish fur vixen sighs loudly like a weight’s been placed on her shoulders.

[Yakeru-Tech plays both sides, it’s why China’s a superpower now like how the United States was mid twentieth century. Selling Bio-Morphs as property to other slave states in one hand. Yet, because they internationally patented the genome with the ‘United Nations’. They have a monopoly on medical drugs and treatments for the Bio-Morphs in free states like Canada. Luckily international patent law allows for clean room or otherwise known as black-box reverse engineering. So life’s gotten better us over the years, when I was born the best doctors could do is over the counter drugs and a public list of what drugs worked and what ones to avoid for a Bio-Morph.]

She gets them to wait for a moment to allow the crowds to thin, thus allowing them back into the more crowded part of the campus, near the entrance of the indoor stadium.

[For example, and something I recommend you look into Ms. Chasofito since your so biologically close to Bio-Morphs as to be fertile with them. Earlier work before I started allowed the development of a pain reliever safe for both the mother and child. Unlike my mother, who had to birth me and my brother unaided.]

‘Something she never shut up about when I was pregnant.’

Opening her muzzle, then shutting it before speaking, Usako makes a mental note of finding said drugs. “I’ll keep that in mind… To be honest, thinking about that, is something I’ve been avoiding even if I’m only about three months from giving birth.”

Steven also makes a mental note about this as they enter the stadium. ‘Pippin is going to need it as well.’

Despite the amount of people and Bio-Morphs in attendance, it’s no where ‘near’ as noisy as either of them expect it to be upon entering the stadium. Compared to everything else looking like they expected. Neat rows of booths with fancy decorations and advertisements of various agricultural producers, equipment manufacturer's, and grocery chains. All large, in bright colors to catch the eye of those walking around.

“To be honest, I was expecting something different from your normal trade show.” Usako looks up at Steven then back at Elizabeth.

[What were you expecting?] Asking as she’s scanning over the Isle numbers for a specific one. ‘Chrissy’s booth is at E-6, where’s the E isle?’ Finding the E isle, the human skin tone colored vixen leads them down the row to booth number six. It’s still a bit of ways away since they’re at the other end of the isle, in the thirties.

Usako shrugs. “Conferences, talks, and panels about things going on in the industry. Etc. Not just a group of advertisement booths with people milling about in suits or what-not.”

Chuckling a couple of times, Steven shifts how he’s holding her a bit, so he can pat Usako’s head playfully. “What, like those shows you saw about the old Japanese animation fandom a century ago? Before the entire western style died and just did it as the Japanese draw?”

He points to a booth for a tractor company as they pass by it, before going back to patting her head.

“It’s all business in these things. Booth decorations are less to sell, and more to intimidate competitors by flaunting their most cutting edge stuff. Most if not all the discussion in these things are negotiations and deals between companies. Either in a customer to business or business to business way. Sure you’ll get a few people coming in because they’re fans of agriculture or the equipment used in it. They’re not the norm though.”

Only moving his hand away from Usako as she playfully swipes at it. Much to the amusement of Elizabeth.

‘They really are a couple… Ah here we are. E-6.’

Standing six and a half feet tall, a cougar Komodo dragon crossbreed Bio-Morph in a full business suit stands. Talking to a couple of humans also in business attire, a table between the three. All around him sits a booth decorated in the style of his grocery chain, complete with a cartoon arctic fox mascot.

Usako chuckles a bit at that.

As the three of them approach, the Komodo cross shakes hands with each human. His Komodo Dragon like claws neatly polished to a shine and trimmed. His fur, where he has it and is visible, is neatly trimmed, combed, and shines with a healthy luster. The patches of scales on him of the same shade of brown as his fur gleam in the lights of the stadium. Showing they’ve been polished to a shine.

Elizabeth waits for the two human businessmen to leave. Then letting go of the Mercer’s suitcase and allowing Steven grab it. She walks up and hugs the Komodo dragon cross around the lower to mid abdomen since he’s a good couple feet taller than her.

[Chrissy!] before letting go and smiling up at him while letting her tail wag back and forth in an exaggerated manner.

Only for her to gack playfully as Christopher Jr places his entire hand over Elizabeth’s face and muzzle, gently pushing her back a bit. Giving him his personal space back.

[Aren’t you supposed to be at work right now? It’s not lunchtime yet.]

Reaching up, Elizabeth removes his hand-paw from her head, then straightens her head fur. [I was running late coming in this morning because of ‘this’] She points to the floor. [Conference and the sheer amount of traffic it caused. Then because of ‘that’ I ran into the most interesting couple.]

Grinning like the vulpine she resembles up to him.

[Who just so ‘happen’ to be the people you were planning on seeing today.] Moving to the side a bit, she motions to Steven and Usako to come forward. The latter standing on her own foot-paws as Steven has set her down while the two were ‘talking’.

Glaring at more or less his ‘sister’ for all intents and purposes. Considering he and her and Alex grew up together as siblings. His features soften as he plasters a professional smile on his muzzle while being careful not to show the large Komodo dragon teeth in his mouth.

[Ah Mr. Steven Mercer, and the now famous alien, Ms. Usako Chasofito. How was the flight up here? Good I hope.]

Usako wobbles and follows Steven up to the booth’s table as Elizabeth steps aside. [Good luck you two.] She then looks up to her brother. [I’ll be back later during lunch. Don’t go ‘too’ hard on them.]

Elizabeth gives the larger Bio-Morph another, more familial hug and walks off at a brisk pace.

‘Going to have to stay late to make up the missed time. Just hope none of my interns have done anything foolish.’ Halting mid step she lets out a loud sigh. ‘Who am I kidding! They most likely ‘have’. Question is, how much damage control will I have to do.’

Watching her go for a moment, Christopher Jr turns his attention to the Human and Zootopian Arctic Vixen. Whom he quickly moves chairs for them to sit in front of the booth table as they talk.

Steven helps Usako up onto one of the chairs as he sets their suitcase next to the table before sitting in the other one. She speaks up before Steven can. “Other than a few misunderstandings about my standing as a free citizen. I enjoyed the flight up here, Mr.?”

She smiles back, also keeping her teeth from sight since he is.

[Stradder, even though my mother and father are different then Elizabeth’s. My mother got adopted into their family and pack due to her special mental needs. My family history is not why I invited you and Mr. Mercer here though. It has come to my attention that you treat your Bio-Morphs rather humanely if not down right fairly considering where you live Mr. Mercer. As the CEO of a grocery chain priding itself on treating Bio-Morphs fairly and humanely, I am rather interested in your products and hoping we can become business partners.]

He looks over to Steven, even as the lone human of the trio takes out sample after sample of products Mercer Traditional Produce and Meat produces. Placing them on the table in a neat row. Label facing the CEO.

“And I thank you for the opportunity. Customers have been rather scarce lately and the settlement money from my younger brother’s untimely death, along with his savings, won’t last forever in keeping the company afloat.” Steven looks up at the larger Bio-Morph with a business smile of his own.

Letting out a small sigh, and recognizing the boring part’s starting. Usako just digs her phone out of her purse as the two start to talk business. Busying herself by looking up information on the history, make and model of aircraft they flew in on. Imagining actually sitting in the cockpit controlling it and how much fun it would be.

--

A bit later. Genetic research wing of Winnipeg university.

--

Elizabeth pulls her ID wrist band out of her inner suit breast pocket and slips it on, waving it over the reader for the laboratory entrance.

‘I just hope they didn’t go about making things glow again when they’re supposed to be looking through recombination results from the sims. I don’t care if they can make a lab-mouse go RGB, even if it’s a Bio-Morph mouse breed doing it…’

Pulling open the outer door, she repeats the process with the inner one. ‘Still, going to have to find some way to reward Victor for somehow making a viable genome of a full on lizard looking like a western style dragon, that can fly, AND breath fire to boot. Despite it slowing down other work on the department’s systems. That took some talent to be honest.’

Opening the inner door, she comes to a stop. Ears forward, and tail still. The lab’s quiet to her senses, too quiet. All her interns and other research colleagues should be here, talking, and playing music. Yet they’re not.

[Where is everyone?]

Her ears swivel in the direction of footsteps before her head does.

“Oh good. You’re finally in. Mrs. Stradder.”

Elizabeth stands there stunned as the head of the university walks around the corner from near her office. “I was hoping you’d come in soon, being merely delayed from the traffic, and not taking the day off. I sent everyone else home for the week.”

Blinking a couple of times, a bit of dread grows in her stomach. [Are we getting our funding cut? I know we haven’t had giant breakthrough’s, but we’ve mapped and decoded the purpose of a good three to four percent of the genome this last month alone… Pretty good for black box reverse engineering by anyone’s definition of the word.]

Folding her ears back, the Vixen hybrid keep her tail still as she walks up to older human who runs the university.

“No you’re not getting your funding cut. One of your department’s benefactors has come to talk to you personally.” He politely motions for her to follow him as her ears shoot back up in surprise. Her tail floofing out as well.

[Who? The university’s mostly funded by both tuition and renting out unused space to anyone who can pay. The hoops to legally be able to donate money for ‘projects’ turns away the majority of people who want to.]

He gently and reassuringly touches her shoulder as she stands next to him, and she can now smell the nervousness rolling off of him in waves. Confusing her even more. Nor does he answer her question as he leads her past the main part of the lab. To her office, and the lab’s own super computer system in the back.

That is until they arrive at her office door.

It’s open, and not the way she left it. A younger man in a gray suit with an attaché case sits far too casually in front of her desk.

“Not when they made those hoops to begin with Mrs Stradder… Look this is way above my pay grade, and he specifically asked for you. So before you ask, there’s nothing I can do. Just see what he has to say, and we’ll go from there. You have my full support.” He pats her on the back lightly and her ear twitches at the fact he does everything but a full out run to get out of the lab a moment later.

‘Coward…’

Taking a deep breath, raising her hackles, and by all means throwing around her Alpha Body language. Elizabeth strides into her office and eyes the man sitting there, fully preparing to throw him out. Only to stop on the way to her desk as he begins to speak in the most dangerous tone she’s ever heard a human use without being threatening.

“Mrs Elizabeth Stradder. Age about forty-five. Mother of two. Alpha female of the Stradder pack. Hybrid of a human and a Bio-Morph. Your birth let alone your knack for genetics and intellect make you a rare person.”

[Who are you, why are you in my office and why is my boss scared shitless of you?] She makes no effort in hiding the growl in her voice.

While she isn’t particularly religious, even Elizabeth can see the devil’s grin on the man’s face trying to feign politeness to her.

“I hate to be cliché.” He places the attaché case on her desk and motions for her to take her seat behind it. Something she does without breaking eye contact and keeping her hackles raised.

Once seated, he puts his hands on the claps keeping it shut. “I’m here to make an offer that, if you're the kind of person our files say you are. Won’t refuse.” His fingers undo the latches and he opens the case.

She expects it to be filled with valuable metals or something of great monetary value. Only to sit there stunned. Instead, what’s inside is computer drive, and multiple properly preserved samples of fur and blood with an honest to god generic office folder under it. An anachronism considering quantum cryptography has made digital more secure than paper.

He ignores everything but the folder, pulling it out.

“I’m sure a woman of your intelligence understands the geopolitical situation we find ourselves in, right?”

Her ears pin down further. ‘That confirms he’s from the government… What do they want and why though means such as this?’

[I do, but wh…]

“That’ll do as an answer for now Mrs. Stradder. I’ll be doing most of the questioning here till you agree. So do let me continue.” Closing the business accessory and moving it to the side, he slides the folder, about half an inch thick of paper in front of her but keeps his hand on it.

“Both the people's republic of China and the United States are at a stalemate in this new Cold War over who can extract more wealth from other worlds and what not. The states having a few more worlds, while China has earth where they want them, addicted to Bio-Morph labor. Except…”

He opens the folder and the first page is a photograph of Usako Chasofito. From the trial of the century.

“An opportunity fell into our laps. A tool against those still pushing a failed ideology from a lazy man who did nothing but whine and leech off others. Not a Bio-Morph, but with a few tweaks she could be the basis of a species of non Chinese made Bio-Morphs. Tipping the favor of this conflict in the U.S.’s thus Canada’s favor.”

The mere insinuation of what he proposes pisses her off!

“You… Want… Me… Too… Make… A… New… Slave… Species.” Elizabeth uses a secret she and her family have kept hidden for years, but in her anger at this proposal. It feels fitting to convey her feelings as how guttural it sounds to the ear.

Barely audible and guttural, she still is able to speak English. Slowly while sounding like monster.

The man just smiles all the same and moves the photo of the alien out of the way, proving that while she may have sounded like a monster. The man in the suit in front of her is the real monster in the room. Pictures of her family, her own children, her husband. Her mother and father and everyone else she cares about. Laid out in front of her. All from moments she thought were private.

The only one missing is her brother who disappeared along with everyone else in the joint u.s./canada colony mission twenty years ago.

He flips through multiple pictures, making the message clear to her. [You’ll hurt them if I refuse.]

He holds his hands up defensively like he’s harmless. “Oh not directly. A tip will be placed with your husband’s former owners, and a few choice photos in a few right places. So Canada’s didn’t see, don’t know policy stops affecting him. Not to mention your mother and aunt Christine, despite being in their sixties, still have an open escape slave files on them. Same with your ‘adopted brother’ who’s also on campus and his mother too. She’s still wanted for murder of the Yellowstone pack Alpha and costing the state good money on him. Oh, let’s not forget, we’ll pull our funding from this project and direct it to others more willing.”

He pauses and moves to aerial photo’s of a primitive set of huts and houses on a planet that’s not earth. Taken from orbit, his hand covers a portion of it, and he pulls it out of sight a moment later.

“I’m not all stick though. I have a carrot or two to give you if you comply. Your missing biological brother for instance. We know where he is, what he is too for that mater. We can even drop a letter off or two if you want and can also speed along your research. Possibly even giving you a minor gene treatment that will let your dear mother Jackie Stradder live a few years longer and not leave her husband alone in his latter years. I seem to recall this was a driving force for your research.”

He looks her directly in the eyes, causing Elizabeth to shudder down to her tail-tip. “All you have to do is say yes and with the information and samples I’ll give you. Someone of your talent should be able to have a prototype one hundred percent American made Bio-Morph done in about a week. After all, all you have to do is tweak her height, add a finger and take away some vocal cords along with putting in some pack instincts. Shouldn’t be that hard. Like overhauling one of those old gas cars really.” Waving his hand dismissively.

“So what do you say Mrs. Stradder?”

Folding his hands together on the desk, the man in a gray suit stares at Elizabeth, awaiting an answer.

This wasn’t a decision she was expecting to have to make when she got up this morning. Nor is it one she thinks is fair for anyone to have to make.

‘I either lose everyone I care about, or be unable to look any of them in the eyes again knowing I’m making intelligent life who’ll…’

It’s a fight, and one she wins to not show any outward signs of an idea hitting her mind considering what an intern has done earlier this week.

‘He is right, it would be simple for me to do all that in a week considering the years I’ve spent studying genetics. So easy, I can also add a few surprises. Something that under the right conditions, would help them gain their freedom… I just have to work with this person and enslave a species to begin with… I’m really going to have to thank Victor, his little side project is going to be most helpful to me, to them.’

Even with her plan in mind, it’s a fight against her Alpha genes to lower her ears and change her body language to more of a submissive look in front of the monster in human skin. Rather than rip his neck out like her instincts are demanding. [Fine. You win.]

The man in the gray suit claps his hands once, with a genuine smile on his face. That in her eyes makes him even more of a monster. “Good, now let it be known I’m a man of my word here. In the bottom of the folder you’ll find a hard copy for the previously mentioned therapy.”

He pulls out the photo’s and slides the stapled paper in front of her. “As well as a password to get into the file on the drive that has a sequenced retrovirus for the treatment.”

Elizabeth takes the paper and moves it to the side. [Now what about my brother. He and that colony ship disappeared twenty years ago. Everyone we try to get information from stonewalls us as soon as we ask.]

He slides the now fully uncovered photo in front of her. His hand covered a magnified portion showing a pregnant red-fox vixen directing multiple breeds of Bio-Morph in building more permanent structures. Brick structures, looking hundreds of years more advanced compared to the huts that look down right Stone-Age in design.

He speaks before Elizabeth’s able to open her mouth as she has no clue who this vixen is other than she has to be an Alpha.

“They didn’t disappear, we took them off the radar so to speak as well as converting all who signed up for the colony. To think they were thinking they’d just be frozen for the year-long trip. As for your brother, well, just the unlucky roll of the dice that conversion is, or maybe it runs in your family considering your ‘mother’ is a gender flip.” He shrugs far too dismissively. “He’s now your sister. That’s her in the picture. In all her pregnant glory.”

He silences her again as She just stares at him before continuing.

“We. Or should I just up and say the United States government, which I assume you realize I’m representing, if not. We overestimated your intelligence. Have been dabbling with a way to colonize multiple worlds at the same time ever since China founded their first one after we did ours. It’s called the boot-strap protocol. When we did a test run on the other continent of our first colony world, it suffered about a sixty percent attrition rate from local predators killing them in the night without warning.”

He taps the date on the photo.

She blinks. [This is eighteen years ago?] ‘He’s a she now… and because this devil in a suit hid that vixen, that’s Alex… My brother… What else have you gone through without your sister to help…]

“Yes. You see, we realized that instead of sending all the material to build a colony for the long term. We should instead just send the people with information on how to ‘boot-strap’ a functioning, all-be-it, lower tech colony with just enough supplies to get started. We also figured that the colonists should be Bio-Morphs, not to be slaves, but because of your heightened senses will allow them to not get surprised by local wild-life like the first attempt.”

He places more satellite and aerial photo’s in front of her. The next one shows the brick houses almost all completed with her ‘sister’ carrying kits in her arms supervising some remaining work. A large male fox Bio-Morph stands next to her.

The next one, a year later, shows the houses complete, agricultural fields near them seem to be the next task. Along with stone roads leading to belching furnaces a bit away from the houses.

After that, one dated only thirteen years ago shows a slightly older Vixen watching over what looks like a large group of three to five year old kits of vulpine and lupine species. Absent are the other breeds anywhere in the village.

The man taps it with a disturbing grin of a man playing god.

“Oh I like this one. It looks like the colony had a fracture along breed lines. With only vulpine and lupine breeds staying in their original settlement. The feline breeds headed east to more desert like climate, the rest went south towards a jungle like forest.” Placing down the final two pictures once he shuts his mouth.

One, dated only ten years ago shows the now full on small-village in all its glory. It wouldn’t look out of place from the late seventeenth to early eighteenth century European ones on earth. With the only anachronism of windmills powering electric lights being present. Her brother, now sister, looking a bit older than Elizabeth thinks she should at that age. Is in the backyard of one of the larger brick houses. Alex is teaching who Elizabeth assumes are her nieces and nephews how to use a bow and arrow.

All of them appear to be shooting at some targets after all. She does wince that they’re vaguely in the shape of feline and other breeds.

The man in the gray suit taps the last one. “This is the most recent, and last drone photo we took for obvious reasons. It was taken last year.”

Elizabeth looks at it, and can’t help grinning. Sure the town’s larger, it has walls. Wood palisade mostly, being replaced with stone, and an ominously large graveyard too. What has her smiling though is her ‘sister’. Though Elizabeth will never stop thinking of Alex as her brother and litter mate. Looking older than the forty-three she would be in this photo. Aiming a flint-lock rifle up at the drone with a snarling grin.

More or less saying ‘fuck off and leave us alone’ if she judges her posture facial expression right.

“This and the other two experiments on other worlds have proven a success. In twenty years, with only the information they were given, a year’s food and some pointers on how to make huts from local plants. They went from said huts, to full brick houses, gunpowder, steel, and just enough electricity generation to have lighting in the mornings and early nights. If they continue with this progress, they may have a full on industrial revolution if not beginning of an information age by the time Alex’s kids are her age. They may even reach space by the time your great grandkids are your age, if we leave them alone that is.”

Elizabeth gathers the photos up, determined to hold onto them like her life depends on it. They are the only things showing her ‘brother’ is still alive. ‘Mom thinks he died…’ The government man in a gray suit though makes no move to take them.

[Now what that your test is successful? Gather them all up and enslave them, then give the town and planet to humans?]

“Heavens no. We off the books converted them, that goes against at least one treaty with China. We’ll just claim they’re human from the start, keep them from leaving the planet and only let select runners go to the planet to pick up resources. All the while they can be free as they want on the planet, as long as they have something to be exported.”

Smiling a bit, he stands. Leaving his attaché case on Elizabeth’s desk.

“I’ve gotten what I came for. It does go without saying that if you go back on your word, the stick will happen. As for you getting into contact with your now ‘sister’, nieces and nephews. Have whatever letters you want to send to her ready and on paper when I return in a week for the ‘Vulpine-anthropomorphic-robots’ genome, or ‘Vulp-Morph’. Both female ‘and’ male. Sorry I forgot to mention that part. There are samples of male Arctic Fox genome’s on the drive as well, so it won’t be too hard for you to do that too.”

Elizabeth doesn’t hide her snarl at the man moves to leave.

He at least has the courtesy to take the chair with him and places it back under the table in the far corner of her office before exiting. Only when he’s out of sight and Elizabeth can’t hear his footsteps anymore, does she collapse onto her desk. Head in her hands lightly crying.

Something else she can do because of her father, and glad for it as it is cathartic.

‘While I will give them the biological ability to rebel, they’ll not only hate the change as they gain scales, wings etc. I’ll be hated by them for creating them in the first place.’

She reaches over and opens the attaché case with a single hand.

‘It was either refuse, resulting in me losing my job, my husband, my mother, my aunt’s and well everyone else. Dad’s so devoted to mom, he’ll likely die if he loses her… Or I become the most hated geneticist in generations, next to the woman who inadvertently made Bio-Morphs. She at least has the advantage of being anonymous. So no one knows her name, only that she was like me, a researcher. Everyone in the field knows who ‘I’ am though.…’

Picking herself up from the desk, and then picking up the drive. Elizabeth sighs. ‘Better get to work. I have a week to make a new slave species, encode a surprise to allow them to rebel, and make the treatment so mom and Aunt Christine, Diane, and aunt Christopher can live as long as Dad…’

--

A few hours later, in the stadium converted to conference hall.

--

“Well, I guess we’ve come to an agreement then.” Smiling, Steven looks over to Christopher Jr. after jotting the rough details down on his phone.

The Puma - Komodo dragon cross having tasted all the samples Steven brought, smiles. [Yes, not disappointed in the least about taking this risk.] His words rouse Usako from her phone as she zoned out due to all the business talk about distribution rights, royalty percentages etc being utterly boring compared to the history of sub-orbital flight in this universe in her mind.

Both Human and Bio-Morph hybrid stand, then politely shake hands. “As soon as we get home I’ll get our lawyer to draft an official contract and have it sent to your office Mr. Stradder. Until then, my girlfriend looks tired and bored. I did also promise her we’d play tourist till we head home tomorrow.”

Steven smiles at Usako, it didn’t go beyond his notice that she was utterly blasé through the whole process.

[Take it from experience growing up with a Vixen as a sister, the last thing you want is a bored fox. That means trouble with a capital T.] He grins, fully showing his teeth this time.

“Oh don’t I know it.” Steven chuckles. “You have a good day Mr. Stradder, and it was a pleasure doing business with you.” He moves to help Usako down but stops when Christopher Jr. speaks up.

[Here let me help. Wouldn’t hear the end of it from my sister and my wife if I didn’t help a pregnant lady.] Christopher jr. moves around the table and helps Usako to her feet while Steven zips up their suitcase.

“Thank you.” Usako smiles up at the Bio-Morph hybrid before straightening her dress and sticking her phone in her purse.

“Since you live here, or at least I assume you do. Where would you recommend we go for some food? I’m eating for three extra after all.”

Christopher Jr. chuckles. [Carnivore? Or are you an omnivore like your feral look a-likes here compared to where you’re from?]

‘Any mammal back home wouldn’t like how much I’ve gotten addicted to meat from the feral versions of sentient mammals back home…’ Usako files that thought away for later.

“Omnivore, but meat sounds ‘really’ good about now.” Her stomach also votes for it too.

Christopher Jr. looks around, trying to get bearing on where he is in relation to the front of the campus, then looks back at Steven and Usako.

[No need for a self-driving taxi. Just go out the main entrance.] He points in its direction. [Hang a left and go two blocks.] Turning his hand to so the same thing. [You’ll find a Japanese BBQ style restaurant there. I think you’ll like it, they allow you to cook your own meats and occasional veggie, plus it has large portions. Perfect for a meat craving pregnant vixen.]

He points in the direction of the restaurant.

‘Still amazed at how much Elizabeth packed away when she was pregnant.’

Steven and Usako commit the directions to memory as the Human reaches down to take the zootopian vixen’s hand-paw. “Thanks for the recommendation, I hope you have a good rest of the day and conference Mr. Stradder.”

Politely smiling and not showing his Komodo Dragon dagger like teeth, Christopher nods. [Please just call be Chris. I have a good feeling we’ll become good business partners. You also have a good rest of your day and a safe trip back home after you go feed your girlfriend and play tourist.]

“Alright Chris, and thank you for give us a chance.” With a return smile, He guides Usako from the booth and into the crowd of people and Bio-Morphs passing by.

With a grin plastered on her muzzle, Usako looks up to Steven. “Can I be carried there too?” Along with a joking tone in her voice.

“Nah” Steven grins, letting go of her hand-paw long enough to playfully pat her head. “But, maybe we can share a chair at the restaurant and I can hold you however long you want once we get to the hotel.”

Wagging her tail as she retakes Steven’s hand. Usako smiles to no one in particular, drunk on her own endorphins at the patting from her mate. “I think, more vixens would do better if they all had good humans like you as their mates. We wouldn’t have the stereotypes going around about what we’re like.”

Lovingly squeezing Usako’s hand-paw Steven lightly smiles. “Then I feel like the luckiest man alive to have the only Zootopian Vixen then.”