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Hello there, readers! Been wanting to add to the SSB fan-story-verse for awhile now! Credit goes out to BlueFishcake for their story, Sexy Space Babes, which inspired this fanwork. And thank you to everyone who took the time to answer my questions over on the Discord.

Magic 101 (Chapter One)

by

Shadow Lion

Lady Rue'alla was lost in thought as she made her way to the Headmistress' office. It wasn't every day that Zutilla Academy, one of the premiere elite schools on all of Shil, received a new professor out of the blue like this. Let alone one as... exotic. Honestly, she could still hardly believe it. A human, and a male one at that! And she was going to be the one to help him get settled into his new office and on campus apartment! She wondered if maybe he'd be around her age.

"Rue-Rue!" A voice called out, halting her in her tracks. She turned to look down an adjacent hall to see a well-dressed gray-furred male erbian bounding towards her in excitement. Coming to a stop, he brushed off his tailored green Hallian silk jacket and matching trousers, not that there was a speck of dust to brush off.

"Good afternoon, Professor Lumeritas," Rue'alla said in a formal tone but with a soft smile.

"I thought I told you that for you, dear cousin, I am now and always will be your precious Vanji!" Vanji pouted with his hands on his hips. Rue'alla sighed, actively ignoring a few giggles from a gaggle of nearby students passing by that clearly overheard.

"Fine, Vanji, it's good to have you back." Vanji smiled at that, quickly looping his arm around hers. She rolled her eyes and began to walk with him down the light magenta halls.

"And it's wonderful to be back! Make no mistake, I love a good growing competition, but still, one can only look at so many emerji berries before the whole thing becomes stale! As for my duties regarding the inspection of several artificial biomes, that went about as well as could be expected. By which I mean almost half of them had some form of contamination! And then the overseers get so frustrated with little 'ol me just because I found their screwups!" Vanji huffed, puffing out his cheeks.

"Screwups that I imagine were very costly to fix and ultimately led to starting over, putting their projects back to square one."

"... Maybe," Vanji said, deflating a little, followed by his ears perking right back up. "However, enough about family obligations. What's this I'm hearing about our quaint little academy finally getting another male professor? Because I swear, between me, Syllis, Vlonja, and even Mezza, things have just been getting a tad repetitive."

Rue'alla chuckled at that.

"Well, he's definitely going to make quite the splash here, being a human and all..." She let that piece of information just dangle there for a moment, giggling upon seeing the erbian's long ears shoot straight back up in shock.

"A male human?! How ever did our esteemed headmistress manage to swing that?!"

"You know Auntie Sharna. When she sets her sights on something,"

"She can be very determined."

"That's certainly one way of putting it. Anyways, I was just on my way to meet with him, if you're interested." She felt Vanji squeeze her arm in excitement.

"Interested?! Earth is easily one of the most diverse garden worlds we have ever encountered! Their whole silly Union of Sol has made just getting images of their amazing world such a hassle! Plus, I can't wait to learn about whatever unique fashion and makeup the men of Earth have been holding out on us!"

Finally reaching the office of Headmistress Sharna, Rue'Alla disentangled her arm from Vanji so that she may hold the door open for him.

"Gentlemen first."

The erbian snickered as he entered, followed by his 'escort'. The two fell silent as they heard the ever amicable headmistress speaking rather animatedly. Seeing how her aunt was gazing at a man who seemed to be studying one of the many star charts on display, it was easy to see why. The man, with his slightly pale complexion and salt and pepper hair that was neatly trimmed, was still very fetching for an older male. If she had to guess, she'd place his age at around his early thirties, by the Imperium calendar. Remembering how Earth used a different system of measurement, she believed that with the Union's calendar, he'd be around fifty. Old enough to be her father, actually. But definitely ripe for the plucking for Headmistress Sharna.

The simple brown three piece suit he wore certainly didn't hurt, especially since the body underneath seemed to be somewhat toned, though not overly muscular. However, Rue'alla did take note of the frown that the man seemed to be sporting. Noticing that they were no longer alone, he turned to look at her and Vanji, his steely gray eyes freezing them both on the spot from the pure intensity of his gaze, which quickly shifted back to the star charts.

"We call that section Lumisi's Garden, due to the unusually high number of garden worlds we were able to discover there and add to the empire. I was serving aboard The Sabre at the time when we first stumbled upon it." Lady Sharna puffed out her chest a bit in pride as she spoke, always loving to regale others with her tales from her time in the Navy.

"I see. That is most interesting," said the human in fluent vatkireye. His voice was even and devoid of any emotion. "But it seems as though we have a couple of visitors in our midst."

Sharna looked over curiously at Rue'alla and Vanji, flashing them both a mischievous smile.

"Excellent timing! Godric, may I introduce you to my niece, Lady Rue'Alla Oloria Viz Lachalla! And of course, the ever delightful Vanji Lumeritas! I asked for the former to stop by and show you to your apartment as well as give you a little tour around the campus. The latter I assume simply invited himself along as is per usual for his antics."

Vanji took a moment to pout before flashing the human his most winning smile and holding out a fist to bump.

"It is truly a pleasure to make your acquaintance! And it is [i]Professor[/i] Lumeritas, head of the natural sciences and Professor of Advanced Alien Biology! One would think after five years a man wouldn't have to keep reminding his headmistress about his official title, but here we are."

"It is good to meet you. I suppose that for the duration of my... deployment here I shall be adding the title of Professor Godric Stormbringer to the many other titles and names I have acquired over many years. For the next few semesters, I shall be teaching the Introduction to Magic class." The human bumped his fist against the erbian's.

Rue'alla saw Vanji's ears twitch, something that always happened whenever he tried to hold in his excitement. Wanting to avoid him asking any awkward questions, she shot her hand out, held open in the way she had researched was traditional for many Earth cultures so that it may be shaken.

"Professor Rue'alla Lachalla, though I only recently became a professor. I'm the head of the Engineering and Robotics department." The human known as Godric paused, and she could see the corner of his mouth twitch a little, as though he were fighting back even the slightest of smiles. He clasped his hand with hers, and she was struck by how strong his grip felt, as well as the callouses.

"Charmed," Professor Godric said, his mouth returning to the frown it had been in earlier. Rue'alla suspected that that was his face's natural state.

"Well, as much as I would love to continue entertaining Mister... I'm sorry, Professor Lumeritas made an excellent point. Professor Stormbringer, I assume that after such a long trip you'd like to be shown to your campus apartment?" Sharna looked pointedly at her niece who nodded.

"Yes, I would appreciate getting to see my quarters as soon as possible." Godric nodded, pulling from the vest of his suit a silver pocket watch. With a click it opened, and Rue'alla couldn't help herself but to take a peek. Instead of seeing symbols representing some kind of numeric system, there were different colored balls of fire lazily bouncing around. Godric nodded and closed the strange device before slipping it back within his vest.

"Very well. It truly was a pleasure to meet you, Professor," Sharna gave Godric a wink that he simply raised an eyebrow at. "And please remember that my door is always open for any and all staff who are in need of assistance."

"I appreciate that, headmistress," Godric said with a slight bow, before turning and heading towards the door. Rue'alla nodded to her aunt before rushing off to hold the door open for the older male. He eyed her curiously for a moment before mumbling his thanks and heading through. Vanji followed close behind, his ears twitching again in excitement. Rue'alla let out a restless sigh, knowing that her cousin wasn't going to be able to last much longer.

"So is it true that there's more than one sentient species sharing your homeworld with you?" The erbian man was practically bouncing alongside the human as they headed in the direction Rue'alla was leading them.

"Yes, a large number actually. Each one unique in their own ways."

"Now this claim about magic... is it real? I know that it was the deciding factor in the confrontations between the Union and the Empire, but still, I just assumed it was some form of superior technology mixed in with religion."

Godric's frown deepened for the briefest of moments, yet Rue'alla saw it clear as day. Without saying a word, the older male held his hand up and snapped his fingers. A tiny bright green flame popped into existence, dancing delicately on the tip of his right index finger. The erbian man jumped a little, clearly startled, but still fascinated. Godric flicked the tiny green flame towards a nearby potted Halpsha flower. The green flames spread across the plant. But instead of making the bright blue petals blacken and drop off, they grew, blooming larger and larger while the rest of the plant burst forth from the confinement of the pot. Soon, its roots were digging into the table it had been sitting upon and even into the purple wall behind it. When the last of the flames had gone out, all that was left was a Halpsha plant five times bigger than it had been before, its blue petals all now glowing with an otherworldly light within. Vanji, like Rue'alla, was speechless.

"In short, yes, Professor Lumeritas, magic is real."

Vanji opened and closed his mouth a few times before he was finally able to speak.

"Astounding!"

The trio continued on their way, passing by groups of students just now getting out of class. Many, girls and boys alike, stopped to stare at the human man, who simply rolled his eyes. They walked on in silence until they finally came upon the campus apartment complex. A tranquil pond rested just in front of the stairs that they walked up before stopping at a silver door. Rue'alla pulled out her omnipad and waved it over the gilded knob, producing a light chime and a louder click. She once more opened the door to let the two gentlemen enter first.

"Okay, Professor Godric," the shil'vati said with a smile as she looked down at her omnipad, following the directions down the halls and stopping in front of a stark white door, "here's your new apartment!"

"Oh my, this is lovely!" Vanji said with a leap for joy.

"And why is that?" Godric asked.

"Because that's my apartment right next door!" The erbian man pointed to another white door a little further down the hall, flanked on each side by tables with potted plants in full bloom. "We get to be neighbors!"

"... I see. Yes... that is most... fortunate."

"If you'll just give me the number for your omnipad, professor, I can send you the electronic key that will allow you to lock and unlock the door," Rue'alla said.

"No need." Godric gave a wave of his hand and the door clicked and swung inward. Entering showed a very lightly furnished living room with a fireplace. Next to it was a kitchen and a hallway leading off to some other rooms. "This will be adequate."

"Huh... your luggage should have been delivered already," Rue said, giving an apologetic smile. "I'll just call up the--"

"Again, my dear, there is no need," Godric said, pulling a brown folded piece of paper from within his coat pocket. He proceeded to unfold it multiple times before he was holding a large paper thin brown rectangle. As Vanji stared at the paper, it seemed to be a lifesize picture of a suitcase. Godric tapped the center of the paper, only for it to make a loud thunk! What was once two-dimensional popped into a third dimension as Godric now held a well-worm brown suitcase. With a free hand, Godric snapped his fingers and the suitcase popped open. Leaning over to peer inside, Vanji and Rue'alla's breaths both got caught in their throats. It was as though they were looking into a pitch black void.

Waving his hand, objects began to fly out of the depths of the impossible container. A bookshelf that was fully stocked with many a massive tome. Then came some tables, followed by beakers and tubing and containers of liquids and powders. Godric's frown deepened as he gave a flick of the wrist, but nothing else came out. He did this a couple more times before he let out a frustrated sigh. He flipped over the suitcase and gave it a violent shake. There was a very audible POP, followed immediately by a shriek and a yelp. Two young humans, a male and a female, had landed in a heap together on the floor. They quickly extricated themselves to stand up before a very unamused Godric and a still amazed Rue'alla and Vanji.

"Damien. Erica. What is the meaning of this?!" Godric's voice boomed, and the two humans, whom Rue'alla realized must be adolescents, both cringed while looking at their feet. The boy, who seemed a bit tomgirlish in appearance thanks to his athletic build and closely trimmed blonde hair, was wearing a pair of torn blue jeans and a simple white t-shirt. The girl, whose long brown hair was tied in a ponytail with a green ribbon, was in a matching knee-length dress.

"I... w-we," Erica began, stuttering a little before the larger and meatier hand of Damien came to rest reassuringly on her shoulder. She looked up at him with her large hazel eyes, as he gazed back down with his light green ones, before turning to face the adults.

"It was my fault, Colonel Stormbringer! When we were tasked with packing up your office into your Suitcase of Holding, I elected to try out a spell to have everything sucked in as quickly as possible. Erica here tried to talk me out of it, but I casted it anyway and well, it technically did work... it just also kinda sucked us both in as well."

Godric's frown deepened into a scowl, before it instantly abated. He let out a long sigh. "I imagine both of your families are worried sick. I'll get in touch with the embassy and see about contacting them to let them know you two are both fine. And considering how time is meaningless within the suitcase of holding, I imagine you are both now behind on your studies. Wonderful." He proceeded to rub his temples before turning to the two non-humans in the room.

"My apologies Lady Rue'alla, Vanji. May I introduce you to two of my more wayward students, Damien Thorne and Erica Riversong."

At being introduced the boy and girl both snapped to attention and gave what Rue'alla and Vanji surmised were a type of salute, their closed right fists resting over their hearts.

"I will see to their departure back to Union space as soon as I am able. And rest assured, they will be properly reprimanded for their reckless behavior."

"But sir, it was an accident! And if anyone should be punished it's me!"

"An accident, yes, one that could have been easily avoided had you followed my instructions!"

The two teens looked visibly deflated, with Damien blushing a little and Erica looking like she wanted to sink into the floor. Rue'alla, while still shocked from this sudden turn of events, was struck by a sudden idea.

"Wait, Professor Godric?"

The human wizard looked up at the shil'vati woman, an eyebrow raised.

"You just mentioned how these two students of yours must now be behind on their studies. While I may not understand just how your peoples'... abilities work, surely by the time they return home, they'll be even further behind, correct?"

"I suppose. Why?" Godric felt a sudden sinking feeling in his stomach, and the beginnings of another headache sure to follow.

Vanji, ears perking up in excitement as he immediately grasped what Rue'alla was getting at was practically bouncing on his feet.

"Why not simply have them enrolled here at the academy? This way you can personally ensure that not only will they be staying out of trouble, but see to it that they catch up academically to where you feel they're supposed to be!"

Just as Godric opened his mouth to object, Vanji leapt in the air and let out a cheer.

"That's a wonderful idea, Rue-Rue! Now, not only will our prestigious institution of education be getting a professor from Earth but even a couple of exchange students!"

"Wait, wouldn't there have to be something to exchange them with?" Godric asked, caught off guard. The bunny man simply waved a dismissive hand.

"Minor details at best!"

"But--"

"And my aunt... I mean, the Headmistress will absolutely love the idea! I'll call her up and explain the situation!"

"Hold on now! We don't even know where these two will be staying!" Godric huffed.

"OH! My precious nephew, Kerro, and his friend Pulla, were worried about what kind of roommate they'll be getting stuck with! Damien can solve that problem, plus having the added benefit of them already being enrolled in Goddy's class! And Rue-Rue, don't you have two students without a third in the dorms this year?"

"Trixivie and Bursa. They're actually enrolled into Professor Godric's class as well!"

"Goddy?" Godric sputtered incredulously.

Just then there was a knock at the door.

"Enter! And this better be good!" Godric scowled as the door to the apartment swung open. Lady Rue'alla turned to look and froze, her breath catching in her throat as she looked upon the most beautiful man she had ever seen. His shoulder-length brown hair was tied in a loose ponytail, just reaching the collar of his crisp white three piece suit. The figure beneath the suit had some serious muscular definition, yet as he walked the man carried himself with the grace of a dancer. His eyes were two deep blue pools that despite being behind the lenses of his glasses, as he approached, Rue'alla felt she could get lost in. She then took note of a long and wicked-looking curved scar starting from just underneath his right eye that ran down his cheek and his slender jaw and stopped at his throat.

"Sorry for the delay, Uncle," he spoke, the gentle smile on his lips bringing a blue blush to Rue'alla's cheeks. "I would have been here sooner to help you unpack, but I kept getting a bit lost through the halls." He stopped before Rue'alla and Vanji, his smile brightening in excitement while he held out his fist to bump.

Godric sighed. "Lady Rue'alla, Professor Lumeritas, this is my nephew, Arthur."

"Arthur Jessop. And it is a pleasure to meet you both!"

Vanji looked over at his cousin and rolled his eyes, giving her a slight nudge to break her from her stupor while he was the first to reciprocate the fist bump, the blushing Shil quickly following through, stammering through her own introduction.

"I must admit I am a little confused as to why Damien and Erica are here."

"Because they, like all my students, enjoy giving me a headache," Godric said with a grumble to his voice.

"Oh, kits are going to be kits and get into mischief, Goddy," Vanji said with another dismissive wave of his hand. "Besides, this is more of a happy accident! Now we get to have human students enrolled, the first academy anywhere in the empire!"

And there you have it! Chapter 1! Let me know what you think in the comments!

Heyo folks! Sorry that the second chapter took a bit of time to come out. Between work, the holiday hectic-ness, a family emergency, and then another one... ugh. But hey! It's here now! I hope that you all enjoy it!

Magic 101 (Chapter 2)

"What do you think he's gunna be like?" Kerro asked. The teenaged erbian's long ears were laying flat against his back. His fur was a light tan with a lighter shade running down his neck. He was wearing a blue uniform shirt with no sleeves that stopped at his midriff and a pair of matching blue shorts, his white puffball tail in the back twitching in anxiety. Kerro fidgeted a little as he checked his reflection in a nearby mirror to make sure that his make-up was still on point, a bit of a challenge due to the fur, even with special spreadable powders made for men of a fuzzy variety.

"Bold, Ker-Ker," said Pulla. The gray-and-black-striped rakiri boy struck a pose, his hip out a bit as he stood next to Kerro. While his uniform shirt went all the way down to the waist of his matching pants, it was cut to have a deep V, showing off a generous tuft of fur on his chest. "Our new roommate is gunna be bold."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, for starters, he's a human."

"So?"

"So?! Dear sweet Ker-Ker, haven't you heard of just how outrageous men from Earth are? They think nothing of just strutting around in public, completely shirtless! Deeps, they show it in their movies uncensored! And I'm not just talking about pornos."

"How would you know?" Kerro asked, an incredulous eyebrow raised, his hands resting on his hips. This wouldn't be the first time Pulla had made wild claims.

"My sister Anata got some smuggled media and has been selling copies around." Pulla gave Kerro a wink. The bunny boy sighed and shook his head.

"Unfortunately, that does make sense. Though I doubt I wanna know just how she got her claws on something like that in the first place."

"Anyways, to continue to answer your original question," Pulla said, applying some glittery lip gloss as he spoke. "There's the whole incident with the first fleet sent in to add Earth to the Imperium, and the subsequent conflict that it went and sparked."

Kerro shuddered at the thought. A few of his aunts had been a part of the invasion fleet. The stories they told, while thrilling, still sent shivers down his spine. And that's if even half of their whispered wild claims were true... which was hard to either prove or disprove due to the Interior essentially placing a gag order on everyone involved. Of course, these were navy and marine girls, and some boys. The gossip was inevitable.

"And finally, there's the fact that apparently he stowed away somewhere in our new Professor's luggage... with a girl." The rakiri boy's tail began to slowly wag mischievously as he drew out the syllables for that final word.

"I'm pretty sure my Uncle Vanji said that it was an accident..."

"Regardless," Pulla said in a tone indicating he clearly was not convinced, just before he turned to face Kerro, taking both of the other boy's hands into his own. "This is just so exciting! Just imagine all the stories we'll be sharing, the new recipes to learn, and, best of all; we're gunna get in on the ground floor of what is sure to be the latest fashion crazes that will soon be sweeping the Imperium!"

The two were interrupted by a sudden knock. Pulla practically bounded to the door while Kerro double-checked to make sure his outfit looked presentable. The rakiri opened the door, his tail a blur of excitement as there stood before him Vanji, Lady Rue'alla, and three beings he recognized as humans. He froze when he got a good look at Arthur and his suit, doing his best to memorize every detail, a few ideas on how to replicate and expand upon its design already sparking in his mind. He then took notice of the other two humans. His heart skipped a beat when he realized the one with the long brown ponytail was the girl.

"I... h-hello," Pulla stammered a bit, surprising Kerro as the latter approached with a raised eyebrow. Pulla was normally very chatty when meeting new people... and in general.

"Good morning, gentlemen!" Vanji said, leading the others inside their student apartment. The older erbian gave his nephew a hug, taking a second to lick his thumb and wipe at a smudge he detected in the boy's blush.

"Uncle!" Kerro said, squirming away.

"Sorry, my boy, I can't help myself sometimes," Vanji said with a chuckle. "Now I'd like for you two to meet your new classmates, Damien and Erica, as well as your new professor's Teaching Assistant, Mr. Jessop!"

"Actually, I prefer to just go by my first name, Arthur," the adult human male chimed in, to which Vanji nodded.

"To each their own. Now boys, as I stated in my text earlier, you and Damien here are going to be roommates, provided you two have no objections?"

Pulla, who'd been sneaking curious glances at Erica, looked Damien up and down and nodded, his tail beginning to wag again.

"No objections here!"

"And you, Kerro?"

Having the focus of the group suddenly on him, Kerro's ears fell flat against his back as he gulped nervously. He looked at the human boy, seeing his muscles and his torn pants, even spotting a few scars on his left arm, and felt a pit form in his stomach. This new boy looked like he could be trouble. Almost as soon as he'd had that thought, he chastised himself. Damien wasn't from the Imperium, and if the rumors about the Union were true, that meant that the boy could've been living in a completely lawless land! Kerro decided right then and there to help Damien adjust to living in society.

"Kerro?"

"Oh! Uh, I'm okay with us finally getting our third roommate."

"Excellent! Now, we're going to show Erica here to her campus apartment and roommates, Trixivie and Bursa, so you three can get to know each other better. Then a little later we'll arrange a shopping trip to help Damien and Erica get themselves some much needed necessities, as their arrival here was... shall we say, a last minute surprise? Anyways, you two are more than welcome to tag along and maybe assist the two in gathering what they'll need."

"You had me at shopping trip!"

A short while later...

"So what do you think this new gal's gunna be like?" Trixivie asked, not once looking up from where she was sat on one end of the couch, her silver eyes focused solely on the miniature battle mech and other assorted pieces and tools splayed out on the table in front of her. The nighkru's stark white hair was tied in a loose, and rather messy, ponytail. She was wearing a blue uniform tank-top with matching cut-off shorts that showed off the strange multi-colored bioluminescent markings along her gray furred arms.

Not hearing an answer, she looked over to where her roommate sat coiled up on the couch, the golden-scaled and rather buff senthe staring at her omnipad with very little blinking involved. No doubt fully enamored with a mech fight. Due to the lack of legs, the senthe's options for lower body wear was pretty much limited to skirts. Still, keeping in line with the uniform, it was the same blue as her sleeveless shirt, which made it easy to show off her muscles.

"C'mon Starblade! Get up!" Bursa hissed in frustration as she watched her favorite mech flop around on its back as the opposing mech, this one all shining silver, approached like a hungry predator.

"Bursa!"

Trixivie's sudden outburst caught her attention, causing the senthe to pause the video.

"Huh?"

Trixivie rolled her eyes.

"The new girl?"

Bursa just continued to stare at her with a blank expression on her golden-scaled face.

"Our new roommate?"

Recognition then dawned in Bursa's red reptilian eyes.

"Oh yeah! What about her?"

The nighkru sighed and shook her head.

"I wanted to know what you think she's going to be like."

"Ah... uh," Bursa absentmindedly scratched at a patch of scales on her neck. "Well, since she's from a planet overflowing with hot boys, she can probably help us get some guys of our own." Bursa smiled, proud of her own logic.

"You know there's more to life than boys and mech's, right?" Trixivie stated.

"Yeah... but we don't have either, so we can't really be sure now can we?" Bursa smirked and crossed her arms.

"Sad, but true. Anyways, I'm a little worried."

"About what?" Bursa already had her eyes glued to her omnipad's screen again. Seeing this, Trixivie set her project down and turned to look at her friend and roommate.

"You've seen the videos and movies that've been smuggled out of Union space. Apparently it's considered acceptable for women to hit their men there! For all we know, this new girl could be some boy-bashing bitch! And if we're seen with her, then people might think we're men-hitters too!"

"Woah now," Bursa said, pausing her video. "Let's not jump to any conclusions already, Trix. We don't know anything about this girl. Let's get to know her first, and if it turns out she is a boy-basher, we'll report her. Simple as that."

Trixivie looked to Bursa as though she wanted to say more, but there was a knock at their door. Bursa was quick to slither down from the couch and make her way over to open up.

"Yes?" Bursa stopped, her eyes going wide. While Professor Lachalla introduced Erica and Arthur, Bursa barely heard a word of it. She had a bit of trouble paying attention as she was unable to keep from staring at the gorgeous male Earthling. At first she was hopeful he was going to be their new classmate, but such hopes were dashed upon learning that he was actually going to be their new professor's Teaching Assistant.

Shortly after arriving the adults left, explaining they'd be back in about a half hour to collect them for the outing to the mall. Now it being just the three of them, Bursa gave the new girl a lookover. She was much skinnier than she'd been expecting, what with all the rumors about how fiercely the Union fought during the short conflict after first contact floating around. She couldn't help but feel that this Erica girl was a bit more on the delicate side, and even carried herself with a kind've boyish air. Sensing that Erica was nervous, and seeing Trixivie wasn't going to make the first move, Bursa slithered closer to the girl and held her fist out. Erica seemed to jump a little, but gave a soft smile as she returned the fist bump.

"So, Erica, right?" After the human nodded, Bursa continued. "I gotta ask... how many boys have you slept with?"

Elsewhere...

Just off campus, nestled right at the edge of the nature preserve that the academy overlooked, sat a derelict-looking shed. Red thorny vines crept up the back wall, while the faded and chipped purple paint showed a dulled and gray splintery wood underneath. The roof was partially caved in, and the door was hanging stubbornly on by a single rusted hinge. Unbeknownst to most who ever observed the structure, however, just inside the shed was a false floor, expertly constructed to remain hidden amongst the fallen leaves and general detritus strewn about. Concealed by this false floor was a hatch that led to a darkened stairway descending into a pitch black tunnel.

This tunnel led right back not only to the academy grounds, but extended all the way to the main building itself. It opened up to a series of rooms that were not on any recorded blueprints. Within these rooms were beds, restrooms, a small kitchen and laundry room, and a surveillance room with a wall covered with screens showcasing feeds from hidden cameras. As Milma sat next to her friend and partner, Sallus, the rakiri woman's eyes kept sliding back to the feed following Arthur. Her tail lazily thumped against the sides of the hole in the back built for those with tails.

"Gotta say, Sal, this is a pretty sweet assignment," Milma said, her tail thumping a bit more as she zoomed in on Arthur. "Basically getting paid to simply shadow some gorgeous exotic men! Yeah, the quarters here can get a little cramped, but it still beats tailing some yokel out on the periphery."

"Don't be so sure, Mil," Sallus replied, typing away on her omnipad yet another update regarding the subjects of their observation. "The men of that crazy world are a lot more dangerous than they look."

Mil perked up at that, her tail wagging faster due to the thrill of finally getting some information out of the normally stubbornly private Sallus, despite being partners for over a year.

"Oh? Yeah, that's right! I remember that it was mentioned in your file that you were part of that first fleet sent to liberate Earth!"

Sallus winced, but nodded. "That I was. I was technically already recruited by the Interior at that time, though I still held the rank of First Gunnery Sergeant. After the Liberation of Earth and we of the first fleet were recalled, I was to receive an early retirement from the Navy, with full honors, and then begin my training as an Interior Agent."

"But then the first fleet faced greater opposition than they'd been prepared for, so the second fleet had to be dispatched to try and get the new planet under control." Milam nodded as she looked pleased with herself for remembering what she'd heard about the first contact with the newly discovered planet.

"That... is how the Interior wanted what happened spun. To make our complete and utter defeat more palatable." Sallus practically had to spit out the words, just saying them left a vile taste in her mouth.

Milam's tail stopped wagging, and she could hear several of the other girls shift to look and stare. There were many Interior recruits who had been left in the dark about just what happened with the first and second invasion fleets, worried that The Consortium, or maybe even pirate forces, might take it as a sign of weakness or instability. Still, to Sallus, it felt like a disservice to all those who survived, and those who didn't.

"I witnessed things that should have been impossible even before the moment we made contact with that wretched world!"

Sallus took a moment to compose herself, feeling the eyes of the other agents boring into her. She took a deep shuddering breath and continued, never once looking away from the screens watching her assigned observation target. Godric was busy waving his hands about and completely changing around the inside of his quarters. Already there were error messages popping up as the AI was detecting that his apartment was growing larger on the inside than its dimensions on the outside could possibly allow. Not that it phased Sallus in the slightest.

"At some point when we passed into their solar system... we started to have dreams. Horrible visceral nightmares all urging us to leave. As we drew nearer, there were reports of the dreams changing, to shadowy figures interrogating them as they dreamt. I... we of the bridge crew had them too... Mine were of me in a small room, sitting across from this dark, hooded figure, a man I think. Just behind me, I felt something... vile... always right behind me, just out of the corner of my eyes. I don't know what it was, I just knew I never wanted to see what it was behind me!"

Sallus shuddered.

"The Interrogator... their voice was calm, even friendly... but there was this sinister aura emanating from him. I don't remember all of what he asked me, just that no matter what, I was answering him completely and truthfully, explaining in every minute detail everything I knew. From the Imperium and politics to our technology to biology, and so on. No matter how hard I fought and resisted, it all just spilled out of me. Even state secrets I had sworn never to reveal!"

"Everyone experienced them, regardless of rank or social standing. And everyone told who or whatever they were, everything. But then, just as quickly as they started, the dreams all stopped. And it was all quiet after that. That is, until we got to that damn planet."

She could hear the shuffling feet as more agents quietly started to cram into the room to listen. Sallus briefly recalled just how young most of the agents on this assignment were, most clearly being fresh out of the academy, all wide-eyed and curious about what she, their senior officer, had to tell of the mysterious planet.

"We arrived and began spreading out to begin targeting any and all military outposts and installations. Despite how... corrupted the vids from the observation drones sent in a year earlier had been, the data we'd been able to collect suggested they were a class six society, having achieved space flight and even visited their moon a few decades prior. And we thought that the planet was inhabited by only one intelligent species, the humans."

Sallus shook her head and balled her hand into a fist.

"The corrupted files... we later learned had been because the drones' cameras and sensors couldn't handle the data input of this... what the Union calls Magic. It's some sort of force or energy or... I don't know what. But our tech couldn't make any sense of it. And the other intelligent species, like those elves, it's so prevalent in them it's like a natural observational scrambler!"

"So they were using camoflage?" Mil asked.

"I'm not sure if they were for our drones. But they damn well sure utilized it when we showed up. As you probably can guess, when we started having the nightmares was when they became aware we were in their solar system. They were waiting for us. They just waited to strike once we were almost in position for a coordinated orbital bombardment."

"What happened?" Milam asked, now sitting at the edge of her seat, her ears twitched at the sounds of a couple of her fellow agents munching on some kind of crunchy snack as they listened to Sallus' tale.

"The impossible happened, Mil," Sallus said in a soft voice. "Giant creatures, reptiles with wings that were just as large as a battle cruiser, somehow flying up from the planet's surface, some even carrying riders on their back; completely unaffected by the lack of atmosphere. Then lone individuals flew up into the sky as well, surrounded by fields of different colored energy, some riding objects or even flying with wings of their own, firing off multi-colored beams of light and dealing devastating blows against our fleet. The void of space behind us just... shattered like glass, showing some strange darkness that burned your mind just to look at. From these breaks in reality itself... horrors beyond imagination poured out. I watched as Lady Maranna's private fighter, The Dagger, was snatched by some kind of... tentacle, and dragged into this void, barely able to register the garbled distress call coming in before she and her ship disappeared."

Sallus stopped and let the horrified silence settle. She knew that some, even after watching what Professor Godric had done so far, would still not be able to fully believe what she was telling them. But they would in time.

"Of course, we tried everything we had at our disposal to throw at them. But our weapons were completely ineffective. This wasn't a battle... it was a slaughter!" Sallus' fist came down on the console and she had to take a moment to compose herself.

"A few ships tried to retreat... but they stopped. From Her Majesty's Spear we received a transmission claiming that somehow they were being boarded from what she called portals, and they were being overrun. The transmission then cut out, and a few minutes later their ship changed course and began to head back in the direction of Earth. It became clear that one way or another, we weren't getting away. So I had our intelligence officer overwrite the black box and include not only whatever recordings we were able to get from the battle, but also a narrative explaining exactly what happened. That there was technology here beyond our understanding and capabilities."

Sallus remembered the stoic expression on Captain Kallav, a seasoned captain who had led many successful campaigns destroying pirates and slaver rings. She had commanded from a vessel that was once 70% on fire with nothing but grit and pure determination in her eyes. And yet the look Sallus saw that day broke her heart. As Captain Kallav was clearly holding back tears of pure frustration and anger.

"We decided to use some drone feeds from the few that managed to survive long enough to still be working down on the surface. The ones that we were using were drawn to this towering mountaintop, where a lone human man stood, looking up at the sky with a scowl on his silver bearded face. They detected an energy spike in his exact location, but thankfully weren't getting too much interference from it... or perhaps I should say him. He held in his hands a spear as long as he was tall. I swear, it looked as though he were looking right through the camera and straight at us. He was wearing the pelts of some animals as pants and a cape as he held the primitive weapon aloft. My drones shorted out just after he roared and hurled it straight into the sky, leaving a crater all around him."

Millam's ears splayed flat against her head as she heard the venom dripping from Sallus' words now. The look on the shil's face was one of pure hatred.

"That spear rocketed up, honed in on our ship despite emergency evasive maneuvers, before it punched a hole right through the hull of the bridge and struck Captain Kallav in the chest! The emergency sealant gel was deployed just fine. But right there on the bridge our captain sat, a spear pinning her to her seat, a look of horror on her face to match all of ours. If that weren't enough, a pale blue light shone out from the wall behind the captain's chair. Somehow, this was a... portal I guess... to the surface of the Earth, as almost instantly, warriors dressed similarly to the one who threw the spear, spilled out from this impossible hole in space and time. They wielded swords, maces, clubs, knives, bows, arrows... all primitive weapons! Yet... it was like our battle suits were simple cloth. Deeps! it was barely even a fight before we were relieved of our weapons and tossed through the portal... taken prisoner by barbarians."

Sallus looked around at the other agents, some who seemed shocked, some looked a bit excited, and a few seemed to find the story amusing, no doubt disbelievers.

"I spent three years as a prisoner of war, until the peace treaty was signed and we were all returned to the Imperium. The point of my stories, ladies, is that these Earth beings, men or not, are dangerous. Do not underestimate them!"

At that very moment...

"We are gunna look fab-u-lous!" Pulla announced as their group entered the shopping center.

The rakiri boy, now with his arm linked with a reluctant-looking Damien's, tugged him along, with Kerro right beside them. Pulla was now wearing a black t-shirt that also sported a deep v-line but also cut off at the midriff and a pair of matching shorts. Kerro was now dressed in a white tunic with bell sleeves and white shorts. The girls, and Lady Rue'Alla, naturally, after some confusion on Erica and Damien's parts, formed a protective circle around the boys, with Arthur on the outside, but his arm linked with the Shil noblewoman's, who seemed to be walking on a cloud, even with Vanji on her other arm.

"So you served in the Union's military?" Rue'Alla asked, unable to keep the surprise from her voice.

Arthur smiled and nodded, looking around at all the sights to take in.

"That's correct. I was part of a small elite unit. Actually, two of my former party members are also here on Shil for other diplomatic purposes. In fact, there's one right now!" Arthur waved someone over. Much to Rue'Alla and Vanji's shock, a very large figure approached. They stopped just before the group, and, aside from the humans, the group all stared in open-mouthed shock at the sight of what appeared to be an enormous green male Shil'vati in a suit and tie, that seemed moments away from tearing apart from the size of the muscles underneath. He stood a good head taller than Rue'Alla, and his skin was a deep forest green.

"Arthur, it's good to see you again," he said, his voice a deep rumble like distant thunder.

"Hello, Caleb! I'd like you to meet my new friends and colleagues, Lady Rue'Alla Lachalla and Professor Vanji Lumeritas," Arthur said with a nod to the two.

"A pleasure to meet you both. I'm Sir Caleb Skullcrusher. And yes, I am aware that my species, orcs, bear a passing resemblance to the shil."

Vanji let out a laugh at that and doubled over, unable to contain himself.

"You could say that!" the older erbian said with an ungentlemanly snort that caused his nephew to blush and hide his face behind his ears in embarrassment. Vanji got himself under control and looked back up at the large orc. "Oh, I am going to have so much fun pestering you and Arthur and Goddy for information about your amazing world!"

There you have it folks! Lemme know what you think! And see you next time!