FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 9

The storm raged, lightning flashing across the dark sky and thunder rumbling after it moments later. The rain fell in sheets, soaking all it touched. It cast a somber mien across the entire city now, folk huddled in their homes together to avoid the downpour and keep out of the winds. Stores that had dared open this day had little to no customers coming in to shop at them. Almost no one was out in the streets save for the rare few who had to brave the elements for necessities or had to work, even on the weekend.

She also walked through the rain as well.

The Rider still carried the gamp with her, held over her head, though it did little to stop her from being wet now. The winds were too strong, blowing the rain almost sideways and under the protective canopy she carried. She was drenched from head to toes but it did not bother her at all. She carried it as a formality, to blend in better. The lesser races seemed to stare incredulously at one if they did not take some manner of effort to conceal themself from the rain. It was illogical. Water from the sky was harmless to them yet they ran from it as if it was a threat. They had no concept of what a threat was. She would show them. They would all learn. All they needed was for the lesser races to overstep their boundaries one more time.

She came to a halt at an information kiosk. It had a half-dome over it to shield anyone using it and the screen on it from the rain. She stepped up to it, casually dropping the gamp to the ground at the side of her where it began to slowly roll away as the wind gripped it. Her eyes never once drifted to the discarded item as her fingers began to slowly tap at the screen. She scanned over the menus presented to her, some allowing her to make use of verbal prompts.

“City map."

“City map provided. State the location or address you are looking for," said the computer search aide in a cheerful female voice.

The asishi stared at it. “Anatalay Center for Bio Studies," she said slowly.

The map image slid along the screen until the ACBS appeared at the northern most point of the city's outer boundaries. Data for how far away it was from the kiosk appeared as well as trivia about it printed down the side of the screen. The computer voice began to recite that very same trivia, a service for those who could not see it well.

“Stop. Name of current director of ACBS."

“The current director of the ACBS is Administrator Harnuresh Jurrn. He has been director for the last seven cycles and…"

“Stop. Does Dr. Tahkmethrahn Sakheema work there?"

“Processing. Negative. Dr. Tahkmethrahn Sakheema is a retired xeno-biologist with past affiliation to the ACBS. He retired nine cycles ago and is living on Katia in the capital city of…"

“Stop. Update data. Is Dr. Tahkmethrahn Sakheema currently in the employ of the ACBS."

“Processing. This terminal is not cleared for internal private data of the ACBS."

The Rider ignored the words of the computer and proceeded to tap away at the screen for a few moments. She halted when the screen went back to the starting menu. Her arms sank to her sides and she stared it with a vacant gaze. The Rider inside Tyryenna began its work. To any observer the asishi merely gazed at the terminal, doing nothing at all. However it exploded into life a few seconds later. Code streamed across the screen and various windows flashed on and off it. Programs were run and the system was methodically and effectively sliced into. Layers of encryption melted away and access to data was granted to a kiosk that normally was little more than a glorified extranet search engine with highly limited practicality. What would have taken most Union slicers a few hours to accomplish the Rider had finished in under a minute. Once it was done the screen returned to its original appearance though a few small lines of new data scrolled along the top left of the screen.

“Update data. Is Dr. Tahkmethrahn Sakheema currently in the employ of the ACBS."

The computer was silent for a few seconds but spoke after they passed. Its voice was jittery and stuttering but still the female voice from before. “D-Dr. Tahkmethrahn Sa-Sakheema is currently in the employ of the ACBS in a con-confidential capacity. He receives a salary of…"

“Stop. What is Dr. Tahkmethrahn Sakheema's official capacity in the ACBS?"

“He is the cur-current operating director of the A-Annelid Studies Department and temporary ef-effective Assistant Directorrr of the ACBS."

“What is… an annelid?" the Rider asked.

“Annelid-lid is the current name ascribed to a currently un-unidentified species of alien first encountered on plan-planet RT-4522. Actual name of species is is unknown. It was named annelid as that is the w-word that most closely describes what group of species it closely res-res-resembles. They appear like…"

“Stop. Names of full staff working in the Annelid Studies Department of the ACBS."

As the computer began to print out and say the names of the data requested the Rider was distracted by hearing a loud rapping on the clear dome over half the kiosk. She turned her head to see an ashar standing there, smiling up at her, and holding her closed gamp in one hand, an open gamp in another to ward the rain off. He rapped on the divider with the closed gamp as she looked at him and it only seemed to make him happier to have gotten her attention.

“Ah, hello. Sorry to disturb you but I noticed you didn't have a gamp with you and one was rolling down the street away from you and the kiosk. I figure it might be yours. You looked pretty distracted and might not have noticed that it got away from you," he said.

She stared at him in silence just long enough for his smile to fade and his whiskers to begin to twitch nervously. He glanced side to side, realizing he was alone with the asishi. The ashar lightly shook her gamp. “Um, is this yours… or um… if not, I'm sorry to bother you. You appear… busy…" he said slowly. His eyes ran to the kiosk screen and he caught sight of some of the data on it. It was nothing more than a collection of faces and information, none of which was familiar to him."

The Rider looked to the screen and back at the ashar. She stepped out of the kiosk, rain falling on her immediately and drenching her further. She held her hand out for the gamp.

“"O-oh! So it is yours. That's good to hear. You didn't have to step out. I could have handed it over to you inside so…"

His words were cut off as her hand shot out and grabbed the ashar's throat instead of the gamp. He let out a slight strangled cry, dropping both gamps. She shoved him backwards until his back slammed against a parked hovercraft right near them and the kiosk. The impact made him groan, dented the passenger door in, and cracked the window. The smaller alien's eyes were wide with fright as he stared at her. She wasn't even glaring at him. No expression of even sign of hate or anger. There was nothing at all in her face, an emotionless void. He gripped her arm with both hands and shook it to try and release her grip on him. The asishi leaned closer, bracing herself against the car with her other hand, and began to bash the ashar's head against the vehicle over and over again. The window cracked then partially shattered from the repeated impacts. The side of his head was already bloody and he was dazed from the beating.

She stared at the door of the vehicle, reached inside, and fumbled around with the locking mechanism for a few moments until she got it open. The rider dragged the moaning ashar back so she could open the door up then pushed his head partially into the vehicle; his body slumped onto the ground in a way that kept his head in place there. The smaller alien whimpered and started to groggily beg her stop. She let go of him and slammed the vehicle's door against his head immediately. A terrible crack was heard. She continued to slam it against him several more times, blood and gore falling to the curb as she crushed his head completely. It mingled with the rain and the red was slowly washed down the street. The ashar's body twitched a last time and went still.

She crouched down and picked up her gamp, not even giving another glance to the ruins of the ashar she had just killed. The Rider reentered the kiosk and looked back at the screen. There it was; what she was looking for. She tapped the screen once.

“Personnel file selected. Kendra Forrest. Terran. Female. Age 41. Trained and licensed medic. Trained and licensed rescue worker. Previously licensed to pilot three classes of starship; all piloting licenses currently suspended. Degrees in veterinary science and xeno-medical practices. Highly trained in biology, pathology, and parasitology. Prior work as Captain of the USC Capher, a rescue and retrieval vessel. One of only two survivors of the crew after the incident on RT-4522. All data on the incident is redacted. Receiving ongoing psychiatric treatment for PTSD and chronic night terrors brought about by the events of the RT-4522 incident. Currently employed by the ACBS in the Annelid Studies Department. Current status: Logged into ACBS security system and present in Annelid Research Lab 23B. Sub-level 8. Biographical data is…"

“Stop," said the Rider. She tapped another name on the screen.

“Personnel file selected. Imacha Tachai. Tordenchi. Male. Age 31. Genius level intellect rating. Trained and licensed rescue worker. Holds dual degrees in planetology and xeno-biology. Currently in studies for a third degree in genetics. Diagnosed with Tripitchi Syndrome; a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication, along with restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests. Prevented acquisition of Guardian license at age 19. Prior work as crew member of the USC Capher, a rescue and retrieval vessel. One of only two survivors of the crew after the incident on RT-4522. All data on the incident is redacted. Currently employed by the ACBS in the Annelid Studies Department. Current status: Logged into ACBS security system and present in Annelid Research Lab 21. Sub-level 8. Biographical data is…"

“Stop. Queries completed. Purge all data search history in kiosk. Purge all video and audio recordings of kiosk."

The screen flickered then went black. The kiosk went dark, lights from above shutting down. The Rider inside took care of the removal of any other information it did not want to be known about its intrusion. It left the terminal a sliced, dead husk, a simple stand to keep others out of the rain. Its purpose for delivering information had ended. She stepped out of the kiosk and raised the gamp over her head, popping it open as she did so. The Rider took a few steps then paused. She looked up at the rain shield over her head for a few long moments then let it drop to the ground at her side. The Rider connected to the host's tactile pathways to briefly exalt in the natural would. The rain fell across her face and she did not mind the feeling at all. It was cool and refreshing, revitalizing her desire to fulfil the demand placed upon her. The gamp started to roll down the street again, caught by the wind, chasing the blood flow's path.

“That is not us. Ever."

She looked ahead again and began walking. She wasn't far now. This would all be over soon. She had all she needed; found where her Elder and the targets were, all together in the same place. Providence.

The rain washed away all impurities, just as she would start in motion that which would wash away all else the rain did not.

Chapter 10

Imacha grumbled and groused profusely as he trudged through the storm, clutching his human friends to his chest best he could. At least he knew for sure they were dry. He had transferred them to under the poncho while they took mass transport to get them to the city outskirts more swiftly. It may have been dark under there but it was certainly warmer for them and gave them total protection from the elements. That didn't help him though as the rain and winds buffeted him all along the last stretch of the road to the ACBS. It was a distressingly long walk in these conditions. Pleasant when the weather was nice, but not now. He could just begin to make out the outer perimeter check point, the sing that he was almost there finally.

“Are we there yet?" called out Wei's slightly muffled voice from under the poncho.

Imacha scowled. She had been asking him that an annoying amount of times and he had had it up to his ears with the question. “Yes, we are almost there!" he shouted over the crash of thunder and winds. “Can you please stop asking that question incessantly? It is utterly pointless to ask that question as it does not behoove me to move any swifter to reach the destination for fear of tripping and landing atop the both of you, which would lead to both of you being crushed."

She fell silent for a little more time, the tordenchi closing in on the security booth. He saw the neishor on duty look up and meet his gaze then gesture for him to come over.

“So, what you're saying is… we're not actually there yet," called out Wei. The sound of Kendra struggling not to laugh was heard as well by Imacha.

He let out a cry of anguish to release his pent of annoyance rather than shout at Wei pointlessly. She was clearly doing it to humor herself and likely Kendra as well. He felt betrayed that Kendra would laugh at such a juvenile prank. Choosing to focus on the neishor, Imacha walked over to the booth and stood in the light shining down over him. The door opened and the looming, smiling neishor stood before the far smaller tordenchi. He wore a simple tan and black uniform, yutri and truncheon clipped to his belt. The burly figure crossed his arms before his chest.

“Good afternoon Sek Tachai," he said in a deep but pleasant voice. “Work today?"

“Yes, no rest for me this week. Cleared to enter?"

“Sure you… hold on," said the neishor as his eyebrows suddenly rose up along his forehead. He saw the slightest bit of squirming and motion come from under the poncho and immediately realized those weren't the tordenchi's hands moving. “Are you… bringing a pet to work today with you Sek Tachai?"

Imacha sighed and rolled his eyes. “No, of course not. I have two humans with me."

“Miss Forrest, that you under there?" the guard asked.

“Yes Murhahm. It is," she called out from under the poncho. “He's just keeping me dry under here."

“All good Miss Forrest but I'm afraid I have to take a look under the poncho to see the other. I'll get that for you Sek Tachai." Imacha stood still as the neishor carefully gripped the bottom of the front of the poncho and raised it up high enough to see the two human women cradled in Imacha's arms like little dolls, pressed up against his chest. Kendra raised a hand and gestured to the neishor in greetings. Wei gave him a big toothy grin.

“Hey there!" called out Wei. “I'd like to report a tordenchi trying to smuggle two humans across border lines illegally sir."

“That is blatantly untrue," grumbled Imacha.

The neishor chuckled. “I kind of figured that. All right, I need your name and to see your personal ID, then I can let you in under Sek Tachai's and Miss Forrest's surveillance." He pulled his Yutri out as Wei got out her Union identity cared.

“Wei Sheng." She held the tiny card up towards him while he aimed his huge yutri at her.

“Close your eyes please," he said. She did and he scanned the card, a red light running across it and most of her at once. The neishor looked over the card's details and seemed satisfied. He stepped back, putting his yutri away. “All clear Miss Sheng. Good to see you as usual Sek Tachai. Have a good day."

The poncho fluttered back down, Imacha gave the neishor a farewell, and continued on the way to the facility. “Must you cause me so many difficulties Wei?" he called down to her after more thunder rumbled.

“No, but it's fun and it means I like you Imacha. If I didn't bother you it means I don't care about you one way or another. I used to bother Adam like that too and he did the same to me. So, stop smuggling humans you vile mouse you," she teased.

Under the poncho, in the dark, Wei asked Kendra a question in a softer tone of voice to keep it between them. “Hey, is my translator on the fritz or something by the way? I kept hearing the neishor call Imacha 'sek' or 'sick' or something like that. Was that an error or does it actually mean something like sir?"

“You heard it right. Sek is sek. Some words just don't easily translate due to their cultural significance to a race or their highly specialized meaning. So the yutri translation program leaves them as it, in this case sek in the native tordenchi."

“So what's it mean?"

“Sek is one of those big concept kind of words. A tordenchi can be called sir or mister or doctor or a lot of varying titles, based on who they are or degrees they earn, same as most all other races. To earn the title of sek though, you have to be given it from another who has the title already," said Kendra.

“So it's like giving someone a noble title."

“Not exactly. By earn it I mean they really have to earn it, in bold faced capital letters. You can't be born into sek like nobles were born into titles. Sek means you have embraced something you study or practice and excel at it to such a degree that it exemplifies the work in general, setting you apart from others in the field under question. It's like achieving the title of Grand Master in a martial art. Not everyone can earn that though millions might practice it. Some tordenchi spend a lifetime in a field and never earn the title of sek."

“Huh. So how'd Imacha earn it?" asked Wei, clearly impressed.

“The director of annelid research before Dr. Tahk was a tordenchi named Sek Matchki. He was a brilliant xeno-geneticist and researcher. He's the one who helped set up all they needed to break the annelid's brutally complex genetic code, though he never got to see the fruits of his labor. He worked with Imacha in the facility for a little over a half cycle but his age caught up with him. He stepped down but not after recognizing our big mouse's intellect and dedication to the study of the annelid. Sek Matchki gave him the honorary of sek on his last day before being replaced by Dr. Tahk. He died a quarter cycle ago on the tordenchi home world."

“Whew. All right then. Big honor for our mouse. I suppose he deserves it."

“Yeah, he does."

Imacha didn't react but he heard all that they said, even though the storm and winds made a racket. A feeling of pride filled him to hear his friends speak of him so.

* * * *

Wurgaryn stood up and smiled when he saw Imacha step into the lobby. He liked the short tordenchi a lot, even if he was stuffy and sharp tongued with him at times. He watched him approach the security desk he stood behind and immediately picked up the scent of Kendra with him, as well as another human who he was sure he never met before. Imacha shook his head as he approached, tilting it upwards so the hood of the poncho slipped off him and let his big ears spring out to either side.

“Well well well, look who's working on the worst day of the year. Good morning Sek Tachai. Starting up a human collection are we?" he chuckled.

“No," he snapped at Wurgaryn as he carefully slid Kendra and Wei out from under the poncho and deposited them on the desk, letting them stand up safely first. The two of them casually removed their ponchos and folded them up while the big brown furred lupari smiled gleefully at them, his tail wagging behind him rapidly.

“Lookit the big woofy," joked Wei. “Nice to meet you."

“Good to see you too Wurgaryn. How did cards go last night with the others?" asked Kendra.

The lupari lowered his head closer to the desk top to get a much better look and sniff at Wei. She walked right up to him and pet him on his big black nose. The lupari spoke softly. “Pleasure to meet you too. As for the cards Miss Forrest, Tahjek slaughtered all of us. He's too good at playing the odds."

“Now that pleasantries are over, Kendra and I will be heading down to speak with Dr. Tahk for a while. Would you be able to keep our associate Miss Sheng occupied until we return?" asked Imacha curtly.

“What? You're leaving me?" Wei began to protest but Kendra simply raised up a hand and frowned at her a little. She didn't need to say more to calm the other woman down. “All right. I'll stay here with the woofy." Wei turned and faced the lupari. “Looks like you and me woof. Wanna arm wrestle?" she joked.

The lupari's grin only grew wider and his tail wagged faster. “No worries Miss Forrest, Sek Tachai, I'll take care of her until you return."

“Thank you," said Kendra as she climbed up into Imacha's waiting hands on the desk top. He held her close to his chest once more and headed off to the elevators. In a few seconds they were out of sight.

Wei watched them vanish and let out a slight sigh. “And off they go to convince the head brain to let me see the…" A loud barking sound stopped her from talking immediately, rattling her slightly since she was so close to the lupari who made the noise. She faced the lupari and waved her arms a bit angrily. “What the hell was that for? Almost made me piss my pants and go deaf at the same time!"

“I'm pretty sure you were going to say something I shouldn't know about and to be honest, I don't want to know about," said Wurgaryn. “I do know from rumors that the folks down in sub-level 8 are working on something seriously secret. I'm head of security here but I'm not privy to any information about it other than the protocols of who is allowed down and when and how. I also don't think you're one of their current or new staff of scientists either. You don't have that air about you or the smell of them. So, you're likely here in the same capacity as how Miss Forrest showed up; a consultant position. That's fine by me as long as it's all cleared."

“The… smell?" asked Wei, a lopsided grin on her face.

“When you deal with scientists and medical personnel all the time there is one pervading scent all of them have in common. They work in clean rooms. Sterile. Everything is scoured with various disinfectants so often that that scent becomes a part of them too."

“So what do I smell like?" she asked.

“You really want that answer?" asked the lupari. “Most folk don't actually understand how keen a sense of smell we have and what we can tell about them. Scents linger, even after you wash, because traces of old scents get trapped in places on the body and can be picked out easily, even days after they are encountered. It can lead to some, shall we say, embarrassing revelations."

“Sounds like a hell of a party trick but I think I'll pass on it. All right, sorry I almost said something you didn't want to hear. You got a seat or dollhouse around here somewhere?" Wei was clearly joking with her question but the lupari ducked out of view behind his desk and came back up a few seconds later. What he held between his big furred fingers was a sturdy metal chair with cushions attached to it. He set it down beside her. His other hand rose up and placed a small desk before the chair with a holo projector built into it. Wei burst out into laughter. “Okay, ha ha! Now that's a party trick. You keep those there all the time?"

“Always," he chuckled. “We don't get many human visitors here but I like to make sure to have things prepared for our smaller guests. I have food and stuff down here as well if you want it."

“You lupari sure go the extra mile for us. It's appreciated," she said as she took a seat. She wiggled on the cushion a few times then sank back into the chair and folded her arms behind her head, getting comfy.

“We'd much rather smell pleasant scents of love and happiness than bad scents like sadness or anger. So we try to make others feel content, always."

“Huh, I didn't realize that negative emotions actually smell bad to you. I haven't talked to a lot of lupari though so I haven't had one tell me that before."

The security head pulled his chair closer and took a seat before Wei, smiling down at her still. She could see how happy he was. Most of them always looked happy to be around humans. It made her wonder many times in the past how this alien race wound up being so close to earth dogs and wolves. The odds of it seemed impossible, yet here he was before her.

“Do you like cards?" he asked her.

“Hmm? Oh yeah, sure. I've played it a lot when I was in training with the others in camp."

“Every play baccat?"

“That… I've never even heard of. Teach me the rules though and I'll be good to go. Is it here in the holo unit?"

“Yes it is!" barked the lupari happily.

“Cool…"

She spent a short time getting used to the rules of the game and found it to be pretty simple to grasp. It was no more complex than poker and had just about as much an even spread of skill and luck involved in winning in too. The two of them played a few hands to start and she quickly grew accustomed to the game. By the fifth hand she won for the first time and had already begun to notice a few tells on Wurgaryn when he had a good hand or not. He was a terrible bluffer. She realized she couldn't bluff easily against him due to his ability to smell emotions, but she could see his and that was way more important. Wei pulled her cred card out of her pants pocket and idly waved it in the air over her head. She had a cute but wicked little grin on her face.

“So… wanna bet a few credits as we play?" she asked, sounding as sweet and innocent as she could muster up.

* * * *

Imacha sat in the chair opposite Dr. Tahk on the other side of the arkatian's huge desk. Kendra stood on the desk itself and leaned against a large, empty mug he had on. The mug was bigger than she was tall by far. For the first time both she and Imacha saw the doctor look angry. Possibly. It was hard to tell with him as, for an arkatian, a race that often wore their emotions on their sleeves; he was very good at remaining calm. Still, the sight of a scowling arkatian was something to give anyone pause, big or small. Some of his fangs poked into view, making his long mouth appear much more menacing. The doctor slid aside the data pad he was using when they came in and focused fully on both of them now. He pressed his hands together, long fingers interlaced.

“I am most disappointed in the both of you," he whispered.

They had spent several minutes explaining Wei to him and what happened with her. How she had come to see Kendra and how her brother's death had haunted her now. Kendra tried to stress how much pain she was in too and how she was wrapped up in all of this as much as she was. She did her best to put all the blame on herself for bringing Wei here but Imacha staunchly demanded that the blame was equally shared. They watched the arkatian grow solemn and silent until he said what he just did.

“Do you both not realize the gravity of what we do here? How important this is?" he asked.

All they could do was nod their heads slowly in agreement.

“Our research here is exceedingly sensitive and must be kept under the tightest reigns of secrecy. Only individuals of impeccable integrity and dependability can be entrusted with this. We can only accept those who are best trained and capable to work with us."

Imacha peeked upward and raised his hand slightly as if signaling that he wanted to speak. A glance from the arkatian made him drop his hand again.

“So I must ask you both this one simple question," continued the arkatian. Kendra and Imacha both felt that this was where the proverbial hammer dropped on them. “How could you have been in contact with a fully accredited terran exo-marine, the new best trained soldiers your planet now produces, and not contacted me immediately to request she join as a member of our security team here in sub-level 8?"

The two of them looked up at Dr. Tahk and stared at him, both trying to work his words through their heads over and over to make sure they heard him right.

“Wait, you want to… hire… Wei as security here in the lab?" asked Kendra slowly.

“Certainly."

“Then, you're not angry with us?" chirped up Imacha, looking much more relieved.

The gaze that fell on the tordenchi made him shrivel back into his chair. “I never said I was not angry. I am, to put it pleasantly, furious. However, an outburst worthy of my kin at my age likely would put a stop to both my hearts and that simply will not do. I have too much work left ahead of me with the annelid and we have the Security Council to eventually convince they are making a mistake. I need you, both of you, to achieve this. So, what is done is done. There is no taking back what you have revealed to Wei Sheng. She now knows and, barring slamming her head repeatedly against my desk in the hopes of inducing severe amnesia in her, she will continue to know the secret of the annelid going forward. You left me with only two options. Either send all three of you to the Security Council and let them decide your fates or bring her into the fold and continue our work as normal. Both of you are too important to lose. I choose the latter course of action. That way I can both pick her for some information, make use of her talents if ever necessary, and keep a tight leash on her going forward."

His eyes fell to Kendra next. “I am not heartless however. I have two of them as I just said. I do sympathize and feel for her with both of them, the loss she suffered and not knowing what happened to a loved one. So I do not blame her for wanting to know this and pushing at the two of you until you acquiesced to her desires. I do blame you though Kendra and you Imacha. If you ever reveal this information to another living soul without my express consent and my meeting them before hand and vetting them properly, I will make sure personally both of you wind up somewhere no one will ever hear of either of you again. Am I clear?"

“Crystal," said Kendra. “I… I'm sorry Dr. Tahk. I couldn't help it when I saw her. I just…"

“No more. I have said my peace on it Kendra and we move forward now, no need to speak of my anger any further. I am too old to bear grudges or hold hate in my heart; to be petty. I do what must be done and just want to work with the both of you going forward exactly as we did the past days. The Union literally depends on it. I put my trust in you both to carry on after me as well. I do not have many cycles left to me, so I need to know that there are dependable individuals to helm the ship, so to speak."

“There are Dr. Tahk," said Imacha. “You have always had my deepest respect and loyalty."

“Mine as well," added Kendra. “Considering all the bosses I've had in my past, you're by far the best of them. Even over this short time, it's been a pleasure to know you."

The arkatian nodded his head. “When you are both done showering me with just accolades, you may fetch the sister Sheng and bring her here. Make sure to clear the details with Tahjek first as usual." He raised one hand slightly and gestured at them, as if shooing away an annoying animal or insect.

Imacha hopped up to his paws and immediately scurried out of the room in his haste to be away from Dr. Tahk at the moment. Kendra stood there on the desk and stared after him until he was gone, the door hissing shut behind him. She looked back up at the doctor, a blank expression on her face. The looming arkatian smiled down at her and shrugged. The door hissed open again, the tordenchi reentering the room a few moments later, and zipped up to the desk. He gathered up Kendra, pressing her against his chest a little more firmly that usual which made her grunt in annoyance. She punched his chest hard. The tordenchi winced slightly but nodded towards Dr. Tahk.

“Forgot something. Sorry. Going now."

He scurried back out of the room with Kendra in his arms, the little human complaining to him as they left. The door hissed shut once more after they departed. Dr. Tahk shook his head side to side and laughed softly to himself. He slid the data pad back into his hands and continued to go over more status reports before they interrupted him.

'What a curious and delightful couple they make,' he thought. 'Even after all this time, in the twilight of my life, this wondrous galaxy of ours can still show me new surprises.'