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Starfall: Chapter 18: Confrontation

Scrambling off the bed, and tucking her tail between her legs. Uskao winces at the sensitivity of her privates wile laying her ears back.

‘Okay, don’t panic… That device Angela used only said about fifteen percent compatibility. There’s no calendar in here, and the clock is half busted. So chances are my heat ended normally and not because I’m knocked-up with a Bio-Morph kit or kits…’

Hearing movement behind her, Usako covers her chest with her arms and crotch with her tail. Spinning around only to see Charlie siting up, ears lowered with a submissive posture.

[Knew you’d react like this once you woke up. Doesn’t make me feel any better over what happened…]

Raising her ears a little, Usako sighs. ‘Thank Karma they taught me a good portion of their language, we were running out of paper to use to talk with a month in… speaking of which, did that Bitch disable the ‘no talking’ thing on the collar? I vocalize a lot while in heat…’

Stepping back a step and bracing herself against the bunk with her free arm and taking a deep breath, she lets it out. “I…”

Charlie instantly locks eyes with Usako’s, as hers widen.

“I” Usako coughs a few times. “I’m allowed to talk again.”

Nodding, Charlie moves to sit on the edge of the bunk, just as naked as Usako is. [They disable it on the collars of those who go into heat. The noises you made would’ve triggered it even if Angela didn’t set it to what she did.]

“That’s what I hoped for, but didn’t want to get my hopes up.” Flattening her ears again and lightly growling, Usako glares at Charlie. “Stop looking at me and find me something to wear!”

Usako acks as Charlie throws the thin blanket they were sleeping under, over her.

[Don’t act like this is my fault! I didn’t want to be locked in here with you while you were in heat. Angela pulled out her gun again when I refused the first time. I also resisted as long as I could. You cannot imagine how much someone’s heat scent messes with you when you can’t stop breathing it in as a male.]

Sighing, Usako wraps herself up in the thin piece of fabric and sits down on the floor with a slight wince. “Sorry, I only vaguely remember being coaxed in here. Then nothing till I woke up a moment ago.”

Looking up, she then looks away as Charlie’s still naked. “Still, you didn’t have to give in. I know I must’ve screamed and begged for you to fuck me. You could’ve just ignored me.”

Sighing, Charlie grabs one of his pillows and covers himself. ‘Says Ms. Oblivious that her own heat scent is still lingering in here and making me hard.’

[You ‘really’ don’t know how much it affects males do you? Look I know you just had a bad heat, considering how much I’ve overheard Mom and Pippi talk about ‘heat’ and they have had gaps in their memory on bad ones. So let me explain it to you. It starts with constant arousal, which for a guy can get painful. You’re also easily distracted, that more or less sums up the first day locked in with someone in heat. You’ll also have a wet dream, if you manage to sleep that is. I didn’t get much with you whining, yelping, and begging.]

Usako looks away and lowers her ears.

[I had to watch myself on the second day, my thoughts became scattered and I would repeatedly trail off to thinking about fucking you. All the while I made sure you ate food and drank water because weren’t interested in doing it on your own.] Charlie nods to the stacks of empty and full containers on the table in the residential container.

Usako’s eyes widen. ‘There are more full containers than empty…’

Charlie lets out a sigh. [Then there was yesterday, the third day. I was starting to hear voices, and seeing you where you were not. I felt like I was going crazy, so…]

Her posture collapsing, Usako whines as she looks at Charlie. “So you gave in, and fucked me… Three days… My heats normally last Seven to Ten.” Usako pauses for a moment. “Wait, you said we’re locked in here?”

Nodding, Charlie looks over to the door. [The Mercers put a bar with a, um, combination lock on it over a container’s door with the two they want to ‘mate’ inside and enough supplies to last a week. Don’t know how they know when to open them up.]

‘Most likely the collars… Oh Karma, I’m carrying aren’t I?’ Folding her ears back, Usako starts growling loudly.

[Please don’t blame me… I tried my hardest to not do it…] Charlie slowly backs away off the bunk to the table in the back. ‘I don’t want to hurt her more than I’ve already done…’

“I’m going to fucking kill that fur-less excuse for a bitch! Not only did I NOT want to be saddled down with a single kit if I’m lucky or a litter like my mother. That hairless Monkey put us both in this situation!” Standing, Usako holds onto the blanket with one hand while stomping to the front of the container. Ear’s flat back, tail lashing about.

Letting it fall the floor, Usako grabs the door with both hand-paws, growling as the door refuses to give way. “If this was back home I’d be considered just as guilty of raping you Charlie as you would be of raping me!”

Sighing, Charlie sits back down onto his cot. [It’s the middle of the night Usako. We have another four to five hours till morning, so we’re stuck in here till then.]

Usako ceases pushing on the door. As she turns around, her anger deflates with her posture. “So how long did we, um?”

Charlie tilts his head to the side. ‘Out of everything that happened in here the past three days, ‘that’s’ what she wants to know first?’ Sighing, he puts his muzzle in his hands and elbows on his knees. [Well I wasn’t exactly lucid at that time, but I think um. I tied you at least twice, maybe three times after I gave in? It takes about fifteen to twenty minutes for my knot to deflate so.. um we were fucking for a bit over an hour.]

Laughing with sharp barks mixed in, Usako collapses onto the thin blanket beneath her. “This is just a sick joke Karma’s playing on me. I survive a crash, which would’ve killed less qualified pilots, find out I’m on an earth in another dimension. Then everything else leading up to me being stuck in here with you, and I wasn’t even conscious enough to enjoy what sounds like the best sex of my life. You know, despite the fact it was forced upon me because of ‘her’.”

‘And I’m stuck in here with someone who’s lost it…’ Charlie swallows quietly, then looks away. [Can you cover up again. Your heat scent hasn’t gone away in here and…] With his tail moving between his legs as much as the bed allows, Charlie slowly backs away from Usako.

Blinking, Usako sighs… ‘And I’m scaring him again… Just breath in, and breath out. Calm dow…’ Stopping mid breath, Usako lowers her muzzle and sniffs…

“By Karma I reek, why didn’t I notice!?”

Groaning out loud, Charlie face-paws. [Now you notice.] Only to ack as Usako yanks the other thin blanket off the bed. Marching over to the combination sink, toilet, and tiny shower like apparatus.

[What are you doing?]

Dropping the two blankets next to the tiny shower, Usako sighs. “I’m going to try to wash myself as best I can. It should help with the scent in here so ‘no’ peeking. Okay?”

Rolling his eyes, Charlie turns his back to the back of the residential container. ‘Never mind the fact I’ve already seen all of it.’ Only to tilt his ears a bit.

‘There’s a noise coming from outside?’

Standing, and leaving the modesty covering pillow behind. Charlie creeps closer to the door. Ears forward trying to listen through the metal door. [Who’s there?]

[Just a second son.]

Charlie hops back from the clang, then thud as something long and metallic hit the ground outside. [Dad?]

Balto pulls the door open, snorting at the wave of air hitting him. [A skill from a past life son. Anna and I heard Usako trying to push the door open.] Lowering his ears, he glances behind himself to Anna, whom also has her ears lowered as she looks at her son.

Stepping up, Anna embraces Charlie. [I’m sorry.]

“What’s going on out there.” Usako peeks her soaked head around the bit of wall that doesn’t give a bit of privacy.

“The door’s open? Who unlocked it?”

Walking inside and sitting down on his bunk, Balto quirks an ear at Usako. [I did. It took me longer than I used to be able to do though.]

Charlie puts his hands on Anna’s shoulders as she lets go. Tilting his head at this. [But you were pushing for me and Pippin to get you grand-cubs.]

[Of both yours and Pipi’s choice.] Anna looks over in the direction of another container down the row with a locking bar across it.

Then back to Charlie. [Not like this though. Not forced upon you.]

Walking out from behind the minimal privacy wall, wrapped in both blankets used as towels, Usako looks between the three of them.

“Yet you didn’t stop Angela when she forced your son and I in here. Not to mention Pippin and whomever that was in the container down the row.”

Anna, Balto, and Charlie fold their ears back at this.

Charlie puts a bit of an edge in his voice. [I said earlier, Angela had a gun. We couldn’t do anything.]

Following his son, Balto also puts an edge to his voice. [I may not be Alpha-Male anymore, but I didn’t want anyone to get shot as we wouldn’t get medical attention since Angela isn’t stupid enough to incriminate herself for breaking our lease.]

‘I know she must be angry over this but why take it out on us?’

Anna lets go of Charlie to stand next to Balto.[If we did something, someone would’ve died. Haven’t we had enough suffering?]

Resisting the urge to shake herself, Usako uses what’s left of the dryness of her impromptu towels to get the last of the dampness from her fur. “And Angela is not a soldier. Unlike before, Charlie, Balto. You have the entire pack in here. I’ve learned there are two types of mammals when you hand them a gun, and expect them to shoot someone when they’re untrained.”

Throwing one blanket aside, Usako uses the other as a robe to cover herself before showing one finger. “The first type will freeze, like they’re having trouble comprehending the amount of other mammals coming at them.”

Usako adds a second finger. “The other would just shoot randomly. Considering the visible kickback of her revolver, Angela would’ve missed anything she was aiming at. So you could’ve rushed her and stopped her.”

Lowering her finger’s Usako starts to look around the tiny area on the floor. “Where in Karma’s name are those stupid Bio-Morph clothes I was wearing earlier.”

Walking inside, and over to Usako’s bunk. Anna grabs a set from a pile of them at the end of the bunk, and hands it to her. [So you would’ve preferred that we jumped Angela, rather than let her force you and my son in here. Not to mention my daughter in the other container with someone she can’t stand?]

Turning so her back is facing the two males in the small space, Usako dons the unisex shorts and tube bra. Her white winter coat fluffs up around them. “Better than being knocked-up with an alien kit, or kits.”

[Watch it! Those are my grand-cubs in there.] Adding an edge to her voice, Usako backs away from her.

“Okay, Noted…” Lowering her ears back, just a bit submissively, Usako sighs. “Look. I didn’t want this. You just said you didn’t either. I scared Charlie here earlier because I’m an emotional MESS over this.”

‘That and my mood is normally a mess when I exit heat…’

“Lets just say, I’ve had enough of both being treated like a slave, and waiting for Steven to return and set things right again.” Moving past Anna, Usako climbs up to her bunk. Crawling over to the unused part of her bunk, she rummages through the pile of stuff there.

Looking up at Usako, Balto sighs as Charlie puts on his own set of ‘clothes’. [I told you he’s not coming back. If the military took him, he’s most likely dead.]

‘Found it!’ Usako smiles.

“And Angela has been taking me inside the house. To use me as a damn maid every so often, so I’ve been able to get a glimpse or two at the news. The whole situation in Antarctica’s been a staring contest kind of stalemate for the past six months. Outside isolated incidents that both sides are quick to back away from of course. Nether side seems to want this conflict, but both sides can’t back down. Simply because they fear they may just be wrong. I was waiting for your stupid interplanetary resource system to work itself out, but that doesn’t seem to be an option anymore.”

Holding up the metal Name-tag Charlie found when Angela forced them to bury the wreckage. Usako grins at the three of them. “So, who wants to test a theory I have about these fucking collars?”

Blinking, Balto tilts an ear while Anna shakes her head and holds onto Balto. Her ears folded down and her tail still. [I’ve been hurt enough by these collars. No more.]

[I’ll do it.] Anna and Balto stare over to Charlie as he sits back down on his bunk.

Looking back at his parents Charlie sighs. [Least I can do considering everything that just happened.]

Climbing down with her metal name tag in her hand-paw, Uskao walks over to Charlie and climbs up onto his bunk. “Well, I’m pissed at the situation, not at you. Not after you explained things to me. I never considered what it does to males, other than make them approach me more often during a mild season. Let alone a rough heat.”

Walking on the mattress to stand behind Charlie, she gives Balto and Anna a small smile. “So, remember when Angela shaved me six months ago?”

Anna nods, Balto nods but lowers his ears a bit.

[Still sorry about having to hold you down Usako.] Balto sighs.

Moving to try to look back at Usako, she stops Charlie with a gentle hand-paw on his head. “It’s okay Balto, and Please don’t move Charlie. This is going to be tricky enough as is.” Letting go of Charlie’s head, she folds and shapes the name tag with her hand-paws

“Well, I’m no electrical engineer, but I know the kit level basics of electrical circuits. Anyway, two tiny prongs got stuck in my fur for a moment and Angela had to carefully work them free. That gave me an idea that I’ve been mulling over since then. Again, I’m not an expert, but I think the collars use them to help detect stuff like tone of voice and such to determine when to shock you.”

With the tag shaped to her liking. Usako holds it in one hand-paw with the other one slips in between Charlie’s neck and the collar ever so gently. “Well, here’s the thing though. They’d have to retract ‘away’ from body or the electronics running it would be fried by the built-in taser.”

Balto’s ears shoot up and his eyes widen causing Anna to look at him confused. [Jesus Christ, that’s so obvious. You’re going to use your name-tag to short out the collars… Here I thought they were the new kind of taser, not the old style. Making that near impossible.]

Stopping when she finds the two thin prongs on Charlie’s collar, Usako tilts an ear. “You mean those cold plasma ones they advertise on the television?”

[Yes, I’ve seen the ads when they used to have me work in the house.] Balto sighs. [I feel stupid not realizing it sooner. I mean, I wasn’t the smartest person when I was human.]

He looks at his hands. ‘I’ve always felt smarter after waking up like this than when I was human…’

Then looks back up to Usako. [Yet, even I knew back then about short-circuiting things.]

Anna tilts an ear. [Electricity is what makes the lights in here work right? I remember you teaching Charlie and Pippin about it, So why is it also in the collars? I thought it couldn’t be stored.]

Smiling, Balto drapes his arm over Anna’s shoulder. Giving her a short hug before letting go. [I’ll explain later.]

Carefully, Usako slides her name-tag onto one of the prongs on Charlie’s collar. “Tasers are considered ‘near lethal’ back home. So law enforcement uses fast acting tranquilizer darts as the first level response, then Tasers, and only after than do they use actual firearms, unless they know they’re going into a lethal situation like an armed robbery. In which case it’s guns first. I find it strangely weird despite being only two species here. Tranquilizer darts aren’t used.”

Walking around back to Charlie’s side, Uskao looks over at him. “Alright, now all you have to do Charlie is make the collar shock you.”

Swallowing, Charlie nods. ‘Not that I ‘want’ to get shocked by it again… Sigh, If it gets this collar off of me, I’ll do it. It’s been weighing heavier on my neck since Angela took over.’

Reaching up, one hands grabs the collar on his left side, the other on the right. Taking another breath and holding it, Charlie tries to yank the collar open.

Ignoring the loud warning beeps from it, he continues trying to pull it apart. Everyone winces as It lets out one final shrill beep. A moment later, Charlie stiffens, and falls over. Forcing Usako to take a few steps back, least Charlie lands on her.

The moment his torso hits the bed, the collar clicks open and falls off his neck.

“It worked!” Quickly moving to pick it up, Usako yelps and drops it onto the floor. “Owe. Didn’t think it would get that hot.”

Kneeling on the bed next to Charlie, Usako helps him sit up as he slowly regains voluntary muscle control.

‘So this is what it feels like to not have a collar on, This is what freedom feels like. No wonder why Pippin had a crush on Mark after he removed her collar.’ Forcing himself to stop panting, Charlie reaches up and rubs the thin fur where the collar sat.

Smiling at the sight of his son without a collar, Balto looks over to Usako as she climbs down off the bed to where she dropped the collar.

[What’s your plan? Someone will have noticed this. These are connected to a network in the house after all.]

Testing to see if the collar’s cool enough to touch with a toe, Usako picks it up and removes the name-tag from the prong. Tossing the dead collar out of the residential container a moment later. “Well, once I get my collar off. I can use the loose section of chain-link fencing on that upper panel of this enclosure to get out. From there, I plan on confronting Angela. After that, I don’t know. Maybe let the rest of the humans know I’m an alien rather than keeping this a secret. Kinda making this up as I go along since my original plan was to wait for Steven to return and put his sister in her place.

[What about us?] Anna chimes in, with a worried whine underlying her voice.

Usako’s ears and tail droop. “I don’t know. It’s not like I can tell everyone you’re sentient when your entire media in this country says otherwise and I’m just one Mammal. I could help one or two of you escape so you could make it to a country, which will treat you like a sentient being. I doubt any of you would want to leave your pack behind though.”

She looks at Balto, Anna, and Charlie.

Anna whines and shakes her head, while Charlie folds his ears back slightly. [I’m their Alpha, I, I can’t fathom abandoning them so selfishly.]

Balto lays his ears fully against his head. [No. They’re just as much my family now as Charlie and Pippin are my children. I can’t abandon them either even though I’ve retired from being their Alpha.] Raising them back up, he smiles.

[Here’s an idea. How about, once you, I, and Charlie get these collars off. You get out of this enclosure, then let us out. I have to pay Angela back for what she forced me and Charlie do to you six months ago.]

Rubbing his sore muscles, Charlie nods. [Not to mention recent events…]

One of Usako’s ears lowers while the other one stays up. ‘Hmmm. To be honest I hadn’t thought of exactly what I could do to Angela. Being a size class larger than I am gives her the advantage even if I surprise her again like when I first arrived. Balto and Charlie though, they’re a bit taller than Angela and in her size class. It’ll also be three against one.’

Raising the ear back up, Usako smiles. “Alright. Let’s get out of here.”

-

An hour later.

-

Looking up at the loose section of chain link mesh, Usako hmms. ‘Would’ve liked to do this sooner, but I had to wait for Balto to recover from the shock. I keep forgetting he’s an old mammal. Well at least it gave me a chance to let my night vision kick in. Sigh, I can fit through that gap, but I’ll have to do it naked or risk getting snagged by these rags.’

Glancing back to Charlie and Balto, Usako points up to the section of mesh. “One of you will have to hold my clothes, and no peeking as I climb up okay?” Not waiting for an answer Usako strips off the tube top bra and the unisex briefs. Tossing them over to the two, resulting in Charlie scrambling to catch them and Balto chuckling.

[You do mind if we stay underneath you in case you fall, right?] Balto swivels his ears a bit in the slight winter breeze while his tail stays still.

“I thought that was a given.” Stretching her limbs and her core muscles, Usako ignores the slight soreness that lingers from being shocked by the collar. ‘Hopefully that’s the last time I’ll feel that…’

Walking up to the chain link that makes up the walls of the enclosure Usako pops her fingers. ‘Alright, here we go. Just think of this like you’re back in basic and having to climb that karma damn wall again.’

Reaching up, she puts her three fingers through the hole, using her thumb to help stabilize her grip. She lets out a grunt at the feeling of the same thick wire digging in between her toes from holding her weight.

Holding the two garments in a loose ball, Charlie makes a canine whistle. [She’s actually doing it. Here I thought it would give way the second she tried to climb it.]

Looking over at his son as Usako transitions from the vertical wall to the angled sections making up the beginning of the top of the enclosure, he shrugs. [If either of us tried it, the mesh would buckle from our weight. Or it would break off entirel…]

Charlie puts his hand on Balto’s shoulder and moves them back a step.

[She’s at the loose section.] He points up.

‘Alright, now or never.’ Looking across her belly as she hangs on the chain-link mesh. Usako tightens her grip with her hands to near painful levels as she brings her feet closer, one hole at a time.

‘Glad I don’t contort myself like this more often, arching my back this much is uncomfortable.’ With her feet close enough, Usako lets go of the secure part of the chain-link mesh with one of her hand-paws.

Slowly, as to not unbalance herself, Usako grabs the loose section. ‘If it can be pulled into the enclosure it’ll be easier to climb out rather than pushed ou…’

Yanking on it, Usako yelps as something gives with a series of audible snaps. Charlie and Balto cover their heads as the rusted metal ties holding the section give way and part of the chain-link mesh greatly sags into the enclosure leaving a wide open gap between support tubing.

Clamping that hand-paw onto the nearest solid point, Usako grunts. “You guys alright down there?”

Charlie sighs and looks back up. [Just rusted pieces of metal falling on us… Better than that section falling off next time a bad storm rolls through. How about you?]

Looking over the hole this created, Usako smiles. “This isn’t exactly comfortable. Yet, that just made the whole process of climbing out easier to be honest.”

‘While also making me getting naked completely unnecessary, sigh, just a little while longer and I’ll be out of this enclosure.’ Usako climbs over to where one of the now exposed cross-bars is. Moving slowly, just in case something else may give way. Grabbing onto it with her hand-paws, her feet let go of the chain-link mesh.

Dangling by her arms she silently snarls to herself. ‘Okay, I just need ONE pull-up and I can straddle this to the outside of the enclosure.’

Fighting the pain the lactic acid buildup in her arms is causing, Usako grunts, then whines as she pulls herself up. First past her muzzle, followed by her upper torso. Her arms shake a bit as she’s able to raise herself up enough to straddle the cross-bar.

‘Now I’m really regretting taking those clothes off.’ Wincing from the cold metal.

Taking a few breaths, Usako scoots herself across the bar and to the edge of a solidly attached section of chain-link mesh. Using her arm’s, she plants her rear end onto it, pulling her legs up a second later.

“Alright, I’m out. You two go meet me at the entrance and I’ll let you out once I climb down.”

Both Balto and Charlie give Usako a thumbs up.

Looking over to his dad, Charlie straightens out Usako’s clothes as he follows him. [So, what are we going to do with Angela? I know we can’t kill her or that would be our own deaths.]

Balto shrugs. [Scare her a bit, past that, I don’t know. Guess we’ll play the whole thing by the edge of our tails as well.]

Nearing the security gate for the enclosure, both chuckle at the white streak that is Usako. As she dashes for the control-box and leaps into the air a bit in front of it.

Grabbing the top edge of the metal box, Usako climbs up on top of it and kneels to stick her claws under the lip of the panel door. ‘Please don’t be locked.’

She fist-pumps as it swings open and bangs against its hinges from the breeze. “Alright! I’m going to let you guys out now so Charlie I want my clothes back.”

Lowering herself down, Usako plants her feet on the inside floor of the box while holding the top with one hand-paw. Flipping the two levers with the other before dropping back down to the ground. Ears up and tail wagging like a kit on Karma’s day.

‘Damn it feels good for something to go my way for once.’

Only to ack as Charlie playfully tosses her, her clothes. Forcing her to scramble or lose them in the breeze. “Very funny Charlie…” Rolling her eyes, Usako quickly dresses herself.

Sobering up from her good mood, Usako looks in the direction of the farmhouse, then back to Charlie and Balto. “Lets go.”

Both nod before following her down the gravel road, then onto the main paved road.

“Well the lights are off.” Usako looks up as they approach the house. Stretching her arms above her head.

Looking up into the sky at the low hanging moon for a moment. Ignoring the glittering lights on it in favor of where it is in the sky. Balto looks back at the house. [If I had to guess it’s getting on to early morning, she ‘should’ be up by now.]

Charlie shrugs, following behind his father with Usako leading the way. [Like she’s been reliable lately.]

“Like I care about her.” Usako snarks, then shrugs. Leading them up to the front porch, then to the front door, Usako glances back at Charlie and Balto. Both of them move closer to her, only for Balto to move protectively in front of Charlie.

Reaching up, Usako takes the door handle in both her hand-paws, pauses for a moment, then opens it.

All three of them wince at the stench of alcohol hitting their muzzles as the door swings open, hitting the door catch.

“She’s been drinking again, that’s why she’s not up yet.” Folding her ears back, Usako steps inside.

Balto winces as he enters next. [I don’t remember her ever drinking. Let alone this much.] Only to lower his ears as he takes what little he can see. ‘Sigh, reminds me of my mother…’

Letting her eyes adjust a little more to the darker interior Uskao sighs. ‘I may hate her, but I’m not a monster. She lost her parents, one of her older brother’s at the same time the eldest gets drafted. To her, her entire family’s gone.’

Looking back at the two, as Charlie pushes the door closed enough so it’s only slightly ajar. “She has for a while now. Normally when she does, she has me play ‘maid’ to clean up after a night of her drinking. If I recall how the place smelled last time, she’ll most likely be over there.”

Uskao nods to the semi prone figure on the couch. Her head slumped over an armrest with a half full ‘glass’ bottle of beer in her hand. A handful of glass and aluminum beer bottles stand or lay on the coffee table as well as dishes and occasional take out container litter the floor.

Charlie frowns at the passed out drunk form of Angela. [So that’s why she shows up at ten or eleven in the morning some days with shades on.] Lowering his ears, he mentally sighs again.

Folding his ears back, with a stern look on his muzzle, Balto walks by Usako and grabs Angela by the shoulders. ‘God dammit, why can’t life be so easy as to just stay angry at her…’ Sub-vocally growling, Balto grab’s Usako’s attention.

‘Sigh, I guess someone has to be the parent here. Usako has an anger streak, and my son isn’t even older than I was when I made some bad mistakes.’ [Son, lights. Usako over here.] His tone of voice instantly has Charlie fumble to, and paw on the lights as Usako walks over to him.

All three wince once at the lights coming to life as their vision adjusts. Then again seeing the mess Anglea is as she looks up at Balto with swollen bloodshot eyes.

“Wha?” What little of a top Angela’s wearing is a mess. Food, Booze, and vomit stain it. More of the same covers her pantless legs.

Balto looks over to Usako as she stands next to him. Ears back and with a look of ‘don’t you dare question me’ on his muzzle. [Translate for me since she won’t understand otherwise.] His tone of voice causes Usako’s ears to fold back slightly and her tail tip to twitch.

‘I know that tone of voice, reminds me of my father.’ Usako nods, then looks over to Angela. “Are you awake? I hope you are, because Balto here has something to say and I’ll only translate it once.”

In an instant Angela’s posture changes. Her hands clumsily, but quickly grab at Balto’s arms. Despite his age, he deflects Angela’s flailing blows, grabbing her arms just bellow the wrists.

Lifting her up, Balto slams Angela back down onto the couch, pinning her in place with a growl.

[To be honest Angela, I don’t care that your family enslaved me. I was going nowhere with who I was before I was converted. Here though, I have a Family and a Pack. Both treasures I didn’t know I wanted till I had them. I learned the satisfaction of a hard days work and the simple pleasures of a simple life.]

Angela locks eyes with Usako’s. Her confused look meets the arctic fox’s anger as Usako dutifully translates Balto’s words to the best of her ability.

[I knew I lucked out when I was sold here with a bunch of other Lupine breed Bio-morphs. Having seen how badly others treat them when I was a gang-banger made me hope I wouldn’t be treated that badly after I was converted. So I did what I needed to do to be the Alpha Male of the pack, to make sure what relationship we had stayed on the good end. I also did what I could to look after you, Steven, and Mark as you three grew up. Seeing you as a shot at redemption for what I did, and the lack of the family I had growing up.]

“Let go of me! What’s going on? How did you three get out?” Angela gasps when she sees none of them wearing collars.

Only to get her attention drawn back to Balto as he slaps her across the face with the back of his hand, not once, but twice.

Usako shrugs. “I don’t know what Balto has planned, my original idea was to get some revenge for what you did to me. Beat you up a bit, that sort of thing.”

Angela glares back at Usako in anger only to scream as she’s forced face to muzzle with Balto. Her eyes finally meeting the gray, with aged silver and white lupine Bio-Morph’s. The yellow with a tinge of green eyes staring back at her with an intensity she’s not seen since childhood. Since she was scolded for doing something completely idiotic with Mark, even if her father didn’t have a muzzle full of ‘sharp’ teeth to bare like this. Like he’s doing right now.

[Listen to me Angela Mercer!] Balto slams her into the couch again.

[That bond of trust, though ill-gotten by being changed against my will and sold as a slave. Like my previous life’s ancestors ‘may’ have been. Still grew to be something that kept your parents and your brother’s from abusing me, abusing my pack and my family.]

Angela’s eyes widen, first from fear, then from revelation as old childhood memories surface while Usako translates. Of her enjoying being watched over by her ‘doggie’. ‘After all… I was the one who named him Balto, after that animated film I saw the day before the Bio-Morphs were bought.’

[At first I thought you broke it because you didn’t care anymore. Working us harder than we’ve ever been. Treating us worse than what the rest of your family has ever done. Even your parents wouldn’t lock two uninterested members of my pack into our residential containers to force them to mate. They’d at least wait to see if the two ‘could’ hit it off first. You made my son rape Usako, and someone my daughter hates, is most likely raping her as we speak.]

Usako’s tail whips around at this as she clenches her hand-paws, but otherwise does what Balto asked of her.

Angela’s body freezes with the intensity of Balto’s voice despite the translation. ‘He’s going to kill me…’

[I won’t lie, I’m angry. No, Livid, at what you’ve done. The old part of me, the gang banger, wants an eye for an eye. To throw you around, beat you up, then rape you.] Gripping Angela’s shoulders tightly, he then lifts her up. Being several inches taller than Angela allows him to hold her feet dangling just out of reach of the floor for a few moments before setting her down on her feet.

Charlie looks over to Usako. His ears folded down, tail tucked between his legs as they follow Balto dragging Angela to the first floor bathroom. ‘I’ve never seen dad this angry before…’

They stop at the doorway and watch.

Angela stares up at Balto. ‘Jesus Christ he’s going to rape me and then kill me…’

Balto doesn’t even wince as Angela loses control before she’s dragged into the shower. ‘Sigh, at least I got her to the bathroom in time…’

[Now though. Seeing you like this, covered in booze, vomit, and now more unpleasant things. I have to be the adult my mother, nor my dead-beat dad never where. I have to push that all aside because it’s obvious now. Obvious you’re in pain. You lost your parents, and Mark within two weeks of each other. Then Steven gets drafted and is most likely now a frozen corpse in Antarctica. You have no outlet, no way to cope. Other than take it out on us, on Usako.]

Angela doesn’t even make a sound, standing there while Balto rips off her soiled and useless clothing. Revealing even more puke stains on her body.

Dropping them to the floor he sighs. [It’s beyond my understanding if what happened was accident, so I’m going to take Usako’s word for it as she’s a pilot and I’m not.]

Not taking his eyes off of her, Balto ignores the curves of her figure, nor the fact Angela isn’t trying to cover her shame. Only focusing on the fact she’s filthy.

With one hand he grabs the shower head. Removing it from its base, and the other, the water control lever.

Shaking, out of everything but cold. Angela glances over to Usako, whom she sees is staring at her with contained hate. Followed by Charlie, who looks like he neither wants to see her like this, nor be here.

Only to start shaking out of cold as the freezing blast of water from the shower head hits her across her chest.

[I can’t forget what you’ve done to us in the past six months, nor am I ready to even think about forgiving you. Both of those things can come later. Right now we have more pressing concerns. First, neither your brother’s nor your parent’s, god rest their souls, would want to see you like this.] Balto picks up the soap bar after letting go of the water control handle.

[Arms up Angela.]

With a thousand yard stare, and without a word. Angela raises her arms before Balto goes about washing her.

Backing out of the bathroom, Usako walks over to the coffee table, climbs up it, and kicks an empty glass beer bottle so hard it flies and smashes against the wall. All the while Charlie goes about picking some of them up. Just to give himself something to do.

[What was that for?] He looks at her.

Panting and huffing, Usako growls. “Because as much as I fucking hate Angela. Because as much as I wanted to come in here and by Karma Dammit, beat her to a bloody pulp!” Usako’s shoulders, ears, and tail droop.

“He’s right. Your father is right. Angela’s hurting at losing most of her family, and she has nothing to take it out on than some alien who’s to blame for Marks death and the Bio-Morphs she’s suddenly fully in charge of.”

Taking the bottles into the kitchen, throwing the empty ones into the trash, and emptying the half drunk ones into the sink before doing the same. Charlie Sighs. [But it was an accident, you said you didn’t know that other ship would be there.]

Following him, Usako lets her tail whip about. “Yes it was, but I could’ve prevented it. I, I had a feeling when I was in the cockpit that something was off. I had the authority to scrub the launch. I didn’t though.”

Grabbing a trash-bag, Charlie hands it to Usako. Silently taking it and opening it, she follows Charlie back into the living room. [Hold it open please. What’s scrub mean? Other than to clean something.]

Usako does so. “It means to cancel. If I had, I wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t be possibly knocked-up with an alien kit… Your alien kit, and wouldn’t have been treated as a slave for six months. It would mean I would be home, back with my sister and family, only branded as a coward when push came to shove.”

She holds up a bit as Charlie stuffs a pizza box into it. “News at eleven, Usako Chasofito proves she’s a fox like all other’s. Wasting millions of tax-payer zbucks by scrubbing a launch when no physical problems could be found with the prototype.” Usako mimics to the best of her ability the voice of a famous snow-leopard news anchor.

Charlie tilts his head, and starts to open his mouth, but shuts it as he and Usako hear the sounds of more than one vehicle approaching the house through the crack in the front door along with the light of dawn creeping in.

-

Half hour earlier in the nearest town.

-

Sighing in relief as he steps off the train line from Kansas City. Steven looks up at the black sky through the train terminal’s glass ceiling. The stars drowned out by the town’s lights. ‘Forty degrees feels like mid summer heat compared to the cold in Antarctica. Sigh, it’s good to be back home. Just hope Usako and Angela haven’t killed each other yet.’

Shaking his head, he makes his way through the tiny crowd and to the luggage carousel. Ignoring the Bio-Morphs walking around the throng of people while cleaning the floors, windows, and anything that could collect dust.

‘At least I was able to pick up new clothes, don’t know how they lost them at the staging base.’ Hefting the new wheeled suitcase containing his complete army kit, extra clothes, and travel gear in case of delays. Steven heads for the exit.

Only to be stopped by two police officers. “Citizen Steven Mercer?” The young woman on the left with orange hair, almost the color of carrots stops him, while the Irish looking red head young man on the right observes.

“Yes that’s me.” Steven nods, but keeps himself from quirking a brow at the hair color. ‘Poor girl, her parents, or grand-parents must’ve done that cosmetic gene editing for that color.’

The police woman politely smiles. “Sir, you’re not in trouble, but there’s been three 10-127’s reported at your residence. Do you mind if we take you there? It would save you cab fare.”

Steven’s blood runs cold. ‘Unexpected death of leased Bio-Morphs on your property. God dammit Angela, what did you do?’

Hardening his gaze, he looks over the two. “I’ll consent to this.”

The police woman nods “Then follow us please, our cruiser is nearby.”

-

Present

-

The, sleek, seamless police cruiser slows to a stop on the Mercer’s driveway. Followed moments later by Frank’s older looking vehicle in comparison. A person sized rectangular portion of the cruiser moves out an inch, then slides up over the roof. Steven steps out carrying his luggage, glancing back inside the vehicle at the two officers talking to dispatch before glancing over to Frank.

Closing the driver’s side door manually while the door behind Steven closes automatically. Frank walks up and hugs Steven. “You’re back, that’s good, I was starting to get worried you may have died.” Frank sighs. “I wish it was under better circumstances though.” Letting go and backing up, he picks up his medical suitcase.

Steven looks over to the house bathed in dawns light, but able to see only the downstairs lights on. Turning his attention back at Frank, he nods “Same.”

Upon hearing the sound of the police cruiser opening up, both step to the side to allow orange haired police women out, otherwise paying her no heed. “Frank, please tell me you tried to keep tabs on Angela? To keep her from doing something stupid?”

Sighing, frank shrugs a bit. “I did what I could Steven. I called her every few days, and she sounded fine.”

‘Didn’t want to ask her about Usako since it was a public line’

“I Couldn’t spare the time to visit unfortunately. Out of the five other vets of my skill level in the tri-county area, all of us were citizens but only I was past the draft age. So my workload quintupled. I also kept tabs on your Bio-Morph pack electronically via their collars, which is why I’m here. I got the alert three of them died earlier this morning.”

‘You have every right to be angry Steven. I should’ve paid more attention than I did. Then Angela wouldn’t have killed Balto, Charlie and Ms. Chasofito. Damn mess Angela made…’

“Alright.” Steven sighs. ‘First Mark doing something stupid, now Angela. No way I can help her if she did this through negligence or spite. I just have to hope the leaser doesn’t call the remaining amount on their lease. We won’t be able to pay it off without selling most of the farm.’ Shaking his head, Steven steady's his nerves. “Time to go see my sister and find out how she screwed up this badly.” Turning, he’s stopped in his tracks by the orange haired police woman.

Squaring her shoulders, she looks up at Steven. “I’m sorry sir, but the precinct’s informed us your security system’s reported your front door has been ajar for at least thirty minutes. We need to check to see if it’s safe.” Only to watch as Steven takes a step back to his luggage on the ground.

Quietly opening it, Steven pulls out an infantry rifle with some ammo. “I just got off of deployment, ‘you’ stay behind ‘me’. I know my house better than you.” Loading the rifle then flipping the safety off, he carefully approaches the front porch with it pointed down at the ground.

‘Sorry to have doubted you sis, just please be safe…’

The police woman draws her own pistol, falling in line behind Steven as her partner exits the vehicle. With Steven and the police woman taking point, the red haired policeman stays closer to Frank as follows a few yards behind them.

Walking slowly up to the front door Steven pauses. Ignoring Frank staying at the edge of porch, and the two officers quickly moving up behind him. Both taking positions near the door. Steven raises the rifle with one arm, using the other to slowly reach for the door. ‘I can hear the downstairs shower running.’

“Hello Steven.” Usako opens the door fully.

Nearly droping the rifle, Steven quickly forces the safety on and points it to the floor. Seeing this, the police officers lower their pistols as Frank lets out a sigh of relief.

‘Good, Angela didn’t kill her.’ Frank looks her over. ‘Why is she wearing that?’

“Hello to you Frank as well, and.” Usako pauses, her tail tip twitches. “Two police officers judging by the uniforms. Charlie and I could both hear and smell you approaching the door.”

Unloading the rifle, including the round in the chamber. Steven just stares at Usako wearing the typical Bio-Morph clothing. Seeing this, Usako sighs as Charlie stands nearby with a ‘deer caught in the headlights’ look on his muzzle. “Yes Steven, your sister fucked up.”

“Did that Bio-Morph just talk?” The police woman points to Usako. “And where are their collars?” she then points to Charlie.

Sighing, Steven’s gaze follows the policewoman’s finger. ‘Good question, how did they get them off?’ Usako politely steps back from the doorway, letting Steven in.

‘Large trash bags, the smell of beer in the air…’ Turning to Frank, the older gentleman shrugs before he enters as well. Crossing the threshold, Frank’s politely pulled to the side by Usako.

Looking up to him, Usako sighs. “I’m going to need to talk to you later in private.”

Frank nods. “Alright.”

Once he’s inside, Steven turns to the officers. “Excuse the mess, come on in and sit down. Looks like we can’t keep any of this a secret any longer.”

Both officers look at each other and shrug their shoulders. The police woman enters first followed by his partner who politely shuts the door after himself.

Walking over to the living room, Steven clears away what Usako and Charlie haven’t cleaned yet to give them room. As soon as Frank and the two officers sit down, the shower shuts off. Ears perking up, Charlie dashes for the downstairs bathroom. Earning him the attention of everyone.

Once he’s out of sight, it lands onto Usako.

Taking a deep breath in and out. Usako looks over to the police officers. “Hello, I’m not a Bio-Morph, though I may look like a young one to you. My name is Usako Chasofito, I’m a Pilot in the Anamalia Air Force and an adult Vulpes lagopus. I crash-landed on the Mercer’s farm just over Six Months ago. I was injured from the crash and I had entered their home seeking help for it. Whereupon they mistook me for a Bio-Morph and collared me under the name Trinity.”

‘Frankly I never understood the resemblance. I’m not even the right species…’ She looks across all their faces with only the police officers looking shocked.

“A few misunderstandings happened, causing Steven’s sister to hold a grudge. Steven kept her from acting upon it till he was drafted a short while later. Not long after he left, Angela used the collar to shock me almost to the point of unconsciousness. Then threw me in with the Bio-Morph pack. From that day on she started to over work them, and by extension me. Oh, and she set the collar so that even if I made the tiniest bit of noise, it would shock me, lets not forget that.”

Looking down and laying her ears back, she breathes in and out a couple of times to calm herself over the next part.

Looking back up she notices Balto and Charlie exiting the downstairs bathroom with a towel covered Angela. “Then just over three days ago now, I went into heat, and Angela locked me in a residential container with Charlie. The poor guy didn’t even last a week, so I may just be carrying his kit right now.” Looking at Frank as his lips thin on his face, then back to Steven and the officers.

“So yea Angela fucked up, and You’re all lucky Balto took charge once we got inside the house, otherwise I may have taken my frustration and anger out on her.”

Everyone but Usako looks over upon hearing Angela squeak as Balto picks her up. Then places her down onto the remaining empty seat on the couch. Hair damp and body still covered with water, she at least smells clean. Angela looks around at everyone, only to wince at her elder brother’s scowling face.

“Do you have proof of, um, being an alien Ms. Chasofito?” The policeman regains his composure while his orange haired partner just stares at how the Bio-Morphs and supposed alien are acting. The former Standing in the entrance to the kitchen, watching them, but lacking the slumped posture she’s seen in the precinct’s janitorial staff. The latter looking at them like equals despite her looking like a rather mature looking child Bio-Morph.

Usako nods once. “Though you’re going to have to dig it up. Angela didn’t want any proof of me ‘not’ be a Bio-Morph to exist, so she had us bury the wreckage. Not to mention she shot and burned the flight and cockpit voice recorder from my spacecraft. Never mind the fact that wouldn’t have damaged them anyway. Isn’t that right Angela?” She stares at Angela while she scoots back and shrinks in her seat.

“Mark was right…” She whispers.

Steven and the two police officers turn their focus fully onto Angela.

He looks at her with a confused look on his face. “Sis, what do you mean?”

Moving to hold the towels tighter around herself Angela whimpers as much as a human can. “Mark was right. Bio-morphs are intelligent thinking beings. If an animal is angry at you, they’d hurt you with no hesitation. An animal can’t hesitate, hesitation means death in the face of a predator. Balto… Balto was so angry with me, but he held back. He looked like he was going to kill me but instead he picked me up, took me to the shower and cleaned me up after my all night drinking binge last night. All because I thought you were dead Steven. Along with Mark, along with our parents. I thought I was alone, I was hurting, and I was angry. I took it out on all of them, I pissed Balto off, and he didn’t even hurt me in return.”

Standing up, Steven looks over at Balto and Charlie while the two police officers have a heated discussion on ‘what to do here.’ The orange haired police woman not believing what she’s seeing, while the red-head male wants to see if there is an actual spaceship buried on the property.

Looking at his son, Balto smiles. [Don’t move please. I’m taking a risk here.]

Charlie shakes his head and whines. Ears down, and tail sneaking between his legs. [Please don’t, we’ve done enough risky things today dad, why can’t things go back to normal?]

Sighing, Balto gives Charlie a momentary hug. [That’s no longer an option. We just have to move forward.]

Stepping forward, Balto walks over to Steven and looks him in the eyes.

Noticing this, Usako moves to stand by Balto. Looking up at Steven, she smiles. “I think Balto wants to say something to you Steven. So I’ll translate since they taught me some of their language.”

Gently, Balto places his hands on Steven’s shoulders.

Steven furrows his brow. ‘What’s going on here? What’s he doing? Translate what?’ Only for Balto to pull Steven close and embrace him in a fatherly hug. His ears forward and his tail slowly wagging.

[Welcome home Steven. I’m glad you’re alive and the lord hasn’t taken you like your parents and Mark.]

---

Notes:

Well, originally i debated if Usako 'should' be pregnant. Then i realized it would help for what's upcoming in Usako's plot line. So you get to see zootopian/Bio-morph flofs with infinite fur!... Eventually.

Collars and Tasers. Unlike the bands in the Jack/Jackie's line. these are more advanced. they have two sections, a bio-metrics section and a traditional taser section. the former uses two thin prongs that always make contact with skin to sense skin conductivity and vibrations. The latter is what you would consider a taser today just shrunk down while using retractable prongs.

This is compared to the cold plasma tasers, these use a lower voltage. They don't need to up the voltage and current to compensate for the rather poor prong and wire system. With the fact that cold plasma can go through cloths and most armor not designed for it, the shock delivered can be more tailored to the general frequency an electric current has to be to most disrupt a mammalian nervous system.

Gene editing. Starting about the end of the Jack/Jackie series in the Bio-Morph time line. cosmetic gene editing started to appear. Hair color, eye color, finger nail color became popular, then fell out of favor outside of reconstructive services when the teens and 20 year old women(and mostly women) had kids and realized, despite the ads, the changes were heritable. sometimes in unexpected ways. So from about 2060 onward you will see someone with 'unnatural' hair color, patches of skin, iris or scalia, teeth or finger nails occasionally. Though by 2100 they're a bit more rare as the kids of the 2060's generation most likely have had the changes cosmetically reversed.

This is why Jackie's children won't stand out, that much.

Also, i don't know why, but for some reason it amuses me to get Usako into a situation where she has to strip...