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The Mutara Trade Ruse: Chapter 1

Slick was a good name for him.

Slippery as a topsail schooner in a fully armored galleon, she spent the better part of two months chasing the ship simply known as the Wilde. Around the moons and across seas of stars, she had hunted this one prize; the most wanted pirate in the Mutara sector. And when she finally had the ship with black sails in her sights, the battle was grueling. While parts of her own ship smoldered and billowed black smoke into space, she ignored the blood dripping down her face as she banked around and away from the bow cannons. She heard the fighting behind her as it reached the doors of the bridge. Tactically sound, swift. Sly. He always managed to board without being noticed, strike before there was time to react.

As the doors to the bridge exploded inward and four armed mammals stormed in with pistols drawn, she turned to see the scruffy red fox wander in at a seemingly leisurely pace. Dressed all in black and crimson, slim and tall, with a long muzzle that held a smirk that said he knew he had won the day, he stopped and held his paws up in mocking surrender as she drew her own pistol and leveled it at his chest.

“I have to give you credit, Captain Fluff,” he said, his head cocked to the side as he glanced out towards his ship. She knew it was turning to drop another volley, more than likely on command from the fox in front of her if his boarding action failed. Captain Hopps didn’t turn her eyes away from the deep emeralds that refocused on her. “You live up to your reputation of never giving up a chase once you have your eyes set on what you want. But there is nowhere to go, and surrender is the only option.”

Her muzzle curved into a vicious little grin as she swept the red cloak out behind her, placing foot and paw on the wheel to brace the ship as the countdown in her head ran to zero. The explosion was magnificent; the dozens of cloaked explosives lacing the hull of his ship tearing it apart, triggering the core. It was enough to turn black alloy and crew alike into a ball of molten fire that burned as brightly as a sun for a moment, and forced the stunned fox to shield his eyes from the glare of his loss. After the shockwave struck, when he found his hind paws and could look at her again, that savage grin remained on the bunny’s muzzle.

“I accept your surrender, Captain,” she said, watching his brows drop into an unhappy line when he realized he had fallen into her trap. “Now… Let’s talk terms.”

“Terms?” The vulpine pirate chuckled darkly as he raised both paws level with his shoulders in surrender, the fox letting his pistol dangle from one finger while he waited for the weapon to be removed from his possession. “Typically, one talks terms of surrender before ships are blown up, not after.”

Captain Hopps’ eyes narrowed as he nodded her head towards Captain – no, former Captain Wilde; couldn’t be a Captain without a ship, or a crew. Two of her Federation Marines reacted immediately, one stripping the weapon from his paw while the other struck the backs of his legs with a swift kick, forcing the fox onto his knees. With his pistol secured the pair promptly secured his wrists behind his back before sliding a silvery collar around his neck, the device closing with a metallic clink. “Yes, that would normally be the case,” Judy began as she holstered her own pistol, “However, you forced me to play my hand when you boarded my ship and blew open the doors to my bridge. Although your ship may be a smoldering grave for the rest of your crew, that doesn't mean the rest of you have to die.”

“Tell your crew members to stand down, Wilde.” Captain Hopps knew she had a reputation amongst the Federation Navy for being cold and remorseless, but that only really extended into battle; once the last cannons had been fired there was no need to spill more blood after the victory had been secured. “I do not want to have your mammals killed, but I will personally put a bolt in each one of them until I have your absolute surrender.”

The rabbit officer watched the former ship captain’s eyes move rapidly between her and the four remaining members of his vulpine crew. The serious expression left his face as he cocked his head to the side and that devilish smile spread across his lips. “So, do you want ‘absolute surrender’, or do you want to ‘talk terms’? I might not be a ‘learned’ fox, but I know enough to tell you that those two demands are contradictory.”

Judy’s muzzle curled into an annoyed sneer as he held out a paw towards Nick’s kneeling form. “Sergeant? If you would, please.”

“Rah, Ma’am.” Came a Federation Marine’s reply, and it was all of the warning Nicholas Wilde received before a powerful charge of electricity shot through his body. If she was to be honest with herself, Captain Hopps disdained the Neural Network Interference collars, or ‘shock collars’ as they were more commonly known as; the lapine officer wasn’t one for extreme forms of corporal punishment. Despite this she watched with interest as the fox clenched his back and pulled his muzzle from the deck, the pirate’s expression was hardened in concentration and he held his head high. It was an amazing feat, in her mind at least; that amount of current usually left mammals his size quivering masses of pained flesh. Perhaps he had some fight left in him after all?

            “I think that you’ll find ‘absolute surrender’ the best option you have for you and your crew to make it out of this alive.” Judy replied cooly as she raised her left paw to wipe a little blood out of her eye before she crossed her arms underneath her breasts; it didn’t escape her notice that the fox’s emerald eyes watched the action with great interest. The rabbit officer’s own violet eyes moved off of the red furred scallion in front of her and focused on the four foxes that were surrounded by eight of her marines; they were all holding their pistols at the ready, as if waiting on a signal to perform some slap dash last stand.

Three males and a female: one was tall and muscular with silver fur; another fox was older with burned and patched fur. The two younger foxes were in stark contrast with one another, with the female having a pink, champagne colored fur while the male had a normal black, red, and white coloration; his head fur was, however, cleanly groomed to what Captain Hopps recognized as Federation Marine Corps standards. A former marine working in a pirate’s crew? Her lip curled into a small smile, she would be very interested in interviewing these pirates later on; there was no doubt in her mind that a shady and mysterious mammal like Nick Wilde must have had a hell of a time recruiting them. Or he must have had a lot of credits.

            “Alright, absolute surrender it is!” The vulpine pirate laughed sullenly as he turned his head to face his rag-tag boarding party. “Guys? I think it’s time we give up, yeah? We had a good run, all things considered; at least we got to taste freedom one last time.”

            Captain Hopps’ sneer formed into a small smile as she leaned back against the ship’s steering wheel. Her grin broadened when the four crewmammals looked at one another before slowly, reluctantly, handing over their weapons before dropping to their knees and placing their paws behind their backs. The female fox muttered loud enough for the whole deck to hear. “Whelp, we’re dead anyways. Might as well live a little longer.”

            Judy’s grin faded away as she listened to the vixen’s words; did she truly believe that she would execute them after all of the effort she and her crew expended to capture them? Captain Wilde’s- no, former Captain Wilde’s words brought her attention back to him. “Say, Captain Carrots… there isn’t any possible way I could convince you to let them go, now is there? You’ve got me already, you don’t need them. Maybe we can make a little deal-sy?”

            The seriousness of the fox’s words belied his playful tone, and she watched him with great amusement; the bad ones always tried to make deals once they had been caught. “Go on, Captain Wilde, I’m listening.”

            Despite the fact that the rabbit was now carefully inspecting the claws on her right paw she could clearly see the fox’s demeanor shift; gone was the morose mask of defeat, and in its place sat a masterfully crafted domino of aloofness and glib. The fox pirate’s proposals should at least be entertaining to hear if his skill with speech was a sharp as his ability to captain his ship. “I’m waiting.”

There was dead silence in the walkways of the GFN Burrow, not a single soul made a sound as the boots of four foxes and eight rabbits echoed across the cold expanse of Titanimite alloy flooring. A Left, then a right, another left, then another right; the number of different paths they could have been taken to the bridge of the Federation ship was dizzying; the infamous pirate Nicholas Wilde half wondered to himself how he and his crew ever managed to find the vessel's command deck at all. He thoughtlessly stepped over a twisted, smoldering section bulkhead, the product of his vessel's plasma cannons, but he really didn't pay it any mind. Were ships suited to rabbit crewmammals always this dizzying? More importantly did they design it in such a way to confuse boarders such as himself, or was it to make their lapine crew feel more at home? Interesting.

"You seriously offered to be her body servant? Unbelievable! My brother is dead and you’re joking about servicing the rabbit that killed him!?"

Ah, so it was Felicity that broke the silence first. "There were twenty-four other souls aboard too, Felicity. You’d do well to remember that. Everyone lost somebody today." Nick effortlessly wormed his way through fallen bundles of cable and debris in front of him, a feat considering his paws were flexi-zipped behind his back, and paused once through, turning around to face the vixen. She was of the red fox breed, such as himself, tall and lithe; the pink, champagne color of her fur was rather fetching. Absentmindedly he wondered why he hadn't thought to try and take her to his bed before. “Besides, if I could spare the noose for the four of you by servicing the enemy, then you get to live, and I get to live. Freedom for you, fun for me-”

Immediately she bared teeth and slammed her forehead against the tip of his muzzle. The force of the blow caused Nick to reel backwards, nearly tripping over the two rabbit marines acting as the advance guard. The pain was jarring, but not blinding as it should have been. Once he regained his balance the Nick gazed at her intently; the fox's pink tongue lapping at the small trickle of blood that flowed from his nose.

"This wasn't part of the deal, Wilde! No one was supposed to die! They were supposed to- ahhhhhhh!" Felicity's anger filled words were cut short as blue electricity danced over her form. Nick winced. The rabbit's didn't seem all too hesitant to utilize their Neural Network Interference collars. Once the shock disappeared Nick watched as the pink furred vixen collapsed to her knees, however she received no respite despite the trauma, and she was pushed to her feet quickly by a steely faced marine. "Keep moving, and no talking!"

"I would highly advise that we do as the rabbit says, Lemonade, we can talk about this another time- argghhhh!" Nick's entire body locked up as his own 'shock collar' fired off, the fox going ram-rod straight, his snout pointing towards the ceiling as his tail shot out behind him. Once the charge had tapered off the fox struggled to stay on his hind paws, but with a lot of effort and concentration he managed to retain his bearings. When his head dropped to look at the rabbit that had triggered his collar, his fangs revealed themselves menacingly. "I'm trying to keep my crew under control. If you don't want them to cause any more trouble I suggest you let me do my job as their captain-ngghhhh!"

Nick's knees gave away this time; the electricity that surged through his form was far stronger this time. When he could breathe again it came in heavy pants, and his emerald eyes turned towards the devil-rabbit. "Without a ship you aren't a Captain anymore, scum." The lapine marine raised the rifle in his paws to strike him, and Nick tensed to receive the blow, but when it never came the fox opened his eyes and was shocked at what he saw.

A larger rabbit, this one with sergeant stripes on his breast plate and shoulder pauldrons, was holding onto the trooper's rifle by the barrel; his disapproving frown and stern brow appeared to be etched into his features. "We're Federation Marines, Private Hayseed. We don't beat our prisoners. I suggest you stow your attitude before you find yourself on shore without a uniform or a paycheck. Rah, Devil?"

"Rah, Sergeant, understood." The enlisted marine replied before he lowered his rifle with a solemn expression. With that he leaned forward and gripped Nick's arms and helped him to his paws. The fox thought of a few verbal jabs, but he decided that it was better to let the comments rest; he knew the next shock would more than likely knock him on his tail. He winced as he was shoved forward once more, the fox continuing to weave through more of the ship's battle damaged hallways. The walk only lasted a few more minutes, the seemingly endless passages finally ending at a large junction with two other alleyways and a large, open air personnel elevator.

"Halt." Came another rabbit's voice, and Nick along with his four other crew members stopped in place. "Captain Wilde, step off to the side; the rest of you move into the lift."

"Excuse me Sergeant," The vulpine ship’s captain asked tentatively as he stepped compliantly out from the head of the column. "Mind telling me where I am going?"

“You will find out soon enough, Captain.” The marine sergeant replied quickly, “As soon as your crew is secured below deck we will discuss your arrangements.”

Nick looked at his ship mates as they passed him one by one. Rosco, a grizzled pirate with patchy fur, strode by silently with his permanent scowl affixed to his muzzle. "Captain."

Falcon, a young red fox like Nick, walked with carefully measured steps, his head and eyes locked forward; despite being a pirate the former Federation marine didn't seem to let anything break his military bearing. "It's been a pleasure serving with you, sir."

Conklin was a large fox, the blood that had matted his head stood in stark contrast to the canine's natural silvery fur. His hulking frame paused by Nick for the briefest of moments, the crewmamammal nodding his head slightly before he continue towards the lift. "See you on the other side, Captain."

Felicity was the last to pass him, unlike Conklin she stopped next to him, the vixen looking up at him with wide eyes. "You promised to take care of us, Captain." Her eyes dropped away briefly, but they returned to his. "You did the best you could, Nick. Able was happy serving under you. I know that I was…" The champagne furred fox leaned up and placed her lips to his cheek before she too moved onto the lift, a quartet of rabbit marines flanking them. Nick watched with sad eyes as the doors closed, shielding them from his view.

"Sergeant?" Nick turned his head towards the non-commissioned officer and arched an eyebrow.

            “Don’t worry about your crew,” The lapine non-commissioned officer murmured, “Despite Private Hayseed’s unctuous disposition we’re a regimented lot; we’ll take good care of your mammals and ensure that they arrive safely to the Federation for a fair trial.”

            “To your left, Captain Wilde, if you would please, sir.”

            Nick turned his head and glanced down an adjacent alleyway when the marine gestured towards it. It was non-descript, same as the rest of the brown and grey titanamite alloy passageways, but it appeared to be undamaged by the battle before; he did note that there were a number of symbols lit up on a small panel above it. While they held no meaning to him, he was certain that they had some sort of connotations for the rest of the GFN Burrows crew; many ships used icons that were unique to them to denote certain important areas of the vessel while eschewing galactic standard texts. It was a boon for the crew defending a ship, and a bane for hostile parties that wished to board. How exactly Falcon managed to find the command deck in this confusing warren of passage ways Nick thought he might never know.

            When the sergeant motioned again the vulpine pirate sighed and nodded slowly before marching towards alleyway. Nick’s ears perked up when the NCO began talking as they walked. “The Federation has an upstanding tradition when it comes to prisoners.”

            A left, a right, and another left. A long hallway and then a cipher-locked bulkhead door, which was followed by another immediate right. “When the crew of a hostile ship is captured, they are placed below deck and kept separated from one another, while the Captain of the ship is moved elsewhere, away from the crew.”

            A few more twisting corridors and Nick found himself stopping when one of the rabbit marines trotted ahead of him halted immediately. “They are given the most basic of necessities, and we treat them with the respect due given by the Galactic Prisoner of War Treaty of 3001. The Captain of the ship, however, is given a little better treatment, out of respect.”

            ‘Respect?’ The fox chuckled to himself under his breath. There were a dozen reasons the pirate could think of off the top of his head as to why the leadership and crew were separated, the most important being if the ship’s Captain and crew were apart then organized resistance was far less likely. Nick took a small step back away from a thick blast door embedded deeply into the hallway as the marine NCO stepped towards it. The rabbit placed a paw on the nearby command console and moved his head towards a socket that extended from the wall; a number of small lights blinked in time with his words as he spoke. “Sergeant Rolins, Cookie.”

            Nick noted the small, musical chirp as access was granted and the door slid off to the side revealing a small, spartan room. There looked to be very few amenities, other than a small bed off in one corner and a tiny night stand right next to it. Well, at least the bed looked comfortable, the fox decided. “This will be your new home until we can get you back to the Federation. You can control the lights by issuing basic commands, and the lavatory is built into the wall opposite of the bed. The nozzle for the shower is above the grated floor in the corner; temperature is controlled the same as the lights.”

            The pirate’s eyes flicked over towards Sergeant Rolins when he leaned against the wall with a small smile on his face; given how aged and worn the rabbit appeared the grin looked decidedly out of place. “There isn’t a curtain, so don’t make a mess, my marines won’t clean up after you.”

            “Duly noted.” Nick smiled back ruefully as the flexi-cuff restraints were cut away and he was given a soft push into the room before the door shut tightly behind him. “No orange jumpsuit?” The fox chuckled to himself, “Ah! Not even a towel! How inconsiderate.”

The irony was not lost to him, considering he had boarded their ship, but his self-imposed light heartedness forced his spirits back up. With his paws free the fox rubbed his wrists tenderly before clapping as he surveyed his room with a more careful eyes; everything was the same as before, although he was able to see a small black bubble in the corner. Nick smirked as he waved at the shielded camera lazily, the pirate padding over to the bed before sitting down on the thin comforter. Experimentally he bounced up and down a few times before rocking side to side.

At least the bed was comfortable.

            Captain Judy Hopps did her best to not make a sound as the naval corpsmammal dabbed at the wound on her head with a staunch anti-septic. The brown furred rabbit frowned when she winced and tried to pull away, and he placed a paw firmly on the other side of her head as he firmly scrubbed at the dried blood around the finger-length gash that spanned across her right eye. “If you keep moving, Captain, I’m going to have to be far more forceful. What would happen if a serious infection took hold this close to your brain?”

            The lapine officer knew he let his words trail off on purpose, sometimes leaving things up to the imagination could work wonders for mammals that were averse to treatment. At least it helped get head-strong marines thinking about their personal wellbeing, however, she was not a primary school educated trigger puller. She was an officer, a different breed, and this was her ship; she wasn’t going to be lectured. Well, at least she wasn’t going to allow herself to be lectured to by anyone except the ship’s sawbones and combat medics; it was important to keep those that held one’s life in their paws happy. Besides, they were well respected tradesmamals, and they had the love of every mammal on her ship.

“I understand, doc, however,” A hiss escaped her lips as the antiseptic was replaced with a flesh bonding agent; the chemicals reacting with the blood to form a tight seal; the substance had the nasty tendency to get very hot while it bonded. “Sheeeeeitttt! I don’t think I need to be doted after like a child for a scratch like this, especially since there are sailors under me that could actually need medical attention.”

“Everyone else is already in medical receiving treatment. Very few serious injuries, despite the circumstances: a long, drawn out exchange of salvos and a boarding party?” The corpsmammal hummed to himself as he applied a pair of butterfly sutures to the wound before covering everything with a thick patch of self-adhesive gauze. “A few broken bones here, some superficial burns there, maybe a concussion… or twelve – but surprisingly enough, this head wound is probably the most blood I’ve seen since the battle commenced.”

Captain Hopps’ eyes narrowed as she let her gaze drop down to the medical rabbit that was packing his equipment back into his kit bag. “What do you mean by that, doc?”

“What I mean, Captain,” The corporal huffed as he lifted the single strapped bag over his shoulder, “Is that the foxes that boarded with, what’s his name, Captain Wilde was it? Yeah, they were running around the ship with their firearms on stun; so far there hasn’t been a single KIA tallied, although engineering still hasn’t reported in. Lazy bastards. Granted I think that the relay to the communications hub might have been damaged; so there is that to consider as well.”

The rabbit officer froze as a shock flooded her body: the boarding action hadn’t resulted in any casualties? Judy’s mind worked furiously as the corpsmammal leaned in close to her. “There’s a lot of scuttlebutt running around, Captain. Personally, I believe that they weren’t trying to kill us. It wouldn’t make any sense! I think that they were trying to capture the vessel and hold us up for ransom-!”

Judy’s swift, sweeping arm gesture silenced him immediately. “I do not engage in scuttlebutt, doc. I deal in facts, not rumors. You are dismissed, Corporal Bandoug, return to the medical bay and give Sawbones my regards. Also, have the good doctor compile a list of all casualties, their injuries, and how they were treated. I want it on my desk by 0800 galactic standard time.”

Captain Hopps didn’t pay attention to the medical rabbit’s frown at being dismissed, however when he saluted she returned it and collapsed into her command chair when he was off of the bridge. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she twisted the chair from side to side with the tips of her toes. Something didn’t feel right. Not right at all. Judy’s lavender eyes ran across the bridge from aft to port, taking in all of the battle damage this section of the ship had sustained; broken monitors, charred bulkheads, a cracked view screen, and a few sparking bundles of cables dangling from the ceiling. From her seat almost all of the damage looked cosmetic; none of the vital systems within the bridge had been damaged. When the GFN Burrows shields went down during the second salvo of fires exchanged, the foxes could have easily sent one of their Nighthowler-IV guided rockets directly through the bridge’s front viewport. A direct hit like that would have easily ended the battle: if the resulting explosion didn’t kill Captain Hopps and the bridge crew, then the depressurization of the command cabin would have sucked them all into space.

It wouldn’t of mattered how they died, either way the result would have been the same – Nick Wilde’s escape.

No. This was pure speculation, she had one of the best rabbit pilots in the Federation at the helm of her ship; no doubt Petty Officer 3rd Class Sheer’s skills at the wheel had helped them avoid a majority of their foe’s ship-destroying fire. Granted Judy did have to take the helm when the spotted rabbit fractured both of her wrists, the wheel having jerked away from her during a particularly harrowing salvo from the Wilde; PO3 Sheer was in the infirmary being treated. Slowly Captain Hopps turned her head towards one of her junior officers, her niece Linda was frantically typing away at the damaged console in front of her. “Ensign Hopps.”

“Yes, Captain!” The brown furred doe squeaked as she turned her chair towards Judy.

“Scan the wreckage for survivors. If there are any escape pods, we’re picking them up. And make the scan thorough.”

“Aye-aye, Captain! Our sensors are heavily damaged though, so it will take some time. I feel like I’m looking through a straw.”

“Your complaints are noted, Ensign. Make. It. Happen. Ensign Cooper,” A black furred buck with white-tipped ears spun his head to look at Judy. “It’s been nearly an hour; I want those battle damage assessments in my paw yesterday.”

“I have them nearly complete, Captain, but engineering still has not sent me their report over the system yet!”

Captain Hopps deadpanned as she leaned forward in her chair dangerously, one paw on the armrest and the other on her right knee. “Do you have legs, Ensign Cooper?”

The junior officer froze slightly his eyes wide. “Yes, ma’am?”

“Well then use them! Run down to engineering and get me my damn BDA!” Judy hadn’t meant to shout at the rabbit as he darted past her and off of the bridge, but by the Mother rabbit and all that was holy in the galaxy, the officers the Galactic Federation Naval Academy has been churning out lately didn’t even know what to do when communications to sections of their own ship had been damaged! Judy took a deep breath before she addressed the rest of the officers on the deck. “Lieutenant Summors, if you would, please compile me a list of all pirate activities within the Mutara sector for the past ten years: dates, times, locations, actions, casualties, lists of all items and cargo stolen… everything. I also want the lists of known pirate ships that’ve been active in this region.”

“Aye-aye, Captain.” Lieutenant Junior Grade Sommers replied with a quick salute, the snowy furred buck spinning in his chair back to his console to begin his newest task. Judy smiled when the other rabbit sitting next to Sommers spun in her chair, her black furred paw coming up to her brow. “I take it you want me to do the same for the sectors surrounding Mutara, Captain?”

“Always astute, Jay-Gee Winters. Cross-reference those reports and highlight the ships that have been seen operating in both sectors. If there are any differences with how they’ve conducted their affairs, depending on which sector they’ve been active, highlight it. I want it on my desk in forty-eight hours.” Captain Hopps stood up from her command chair and turned towards the blown out doors leading to the command deck, the rabbit walking up to a pair of rabbits arguing with each other in hushed tones. One of the rabbits was a few years younger than her, Commander Savage, her executive officer and ‘Number One’. The other was Master Chief Petty Officer Kenneth Hopps, one of her many, many uncles, and he served as her senior Non-Commissioned Officer on the ship.

Commander Savage and Master Chief Petty Officer Hopps had two very different roles on the ship. Although both were leaders, in their own right, they each had their own niche and responsibilities on the ship. Non-Commissioned Officers, like MCPO Hopps, were responsible for looking after the welfare of the marines and sailors under them, and in certain cases ensuring that proper order and discipline was maintained among the ranks. Commander Savage’s responsibilities were just as important, but they were far less involved; he was responsible for maintaining the day to day operations of the ship, and serving in lieu of Judy when she was not on the bridge. Both jobs were vital to keeping the GFN Burrows in order; however, like all good officers and NCOs, these two were at constant odds with one another. Judy smiled as she stepped up to the pair and looked them both up and down; sometimes keeping these two rabbits away from each other’s throats was a full time job in and of itself. “What seems to be the problem, gentlerabbits?”

“Let me cut to the chase, Judy,” MCPO Hopps began, one paw absentmindedly rubbing at a vertical scar that crossed his left eye. “You look like 5-kilos of bruised, rotting carrots in a 2-kilo bag, sweetheart-”

“Captain Hopps, Chief.” Commander Savage interjected angrily. “Captain. Or ‘ma’am’. We’ve been over this a thousand times; familial relations do not give you the leeway to act so casually with our commanding officer-”

“She’s my niece, Jack; I’ll talk with her as frankly as I please! By the Mother I’ve given thirty-two years of my life to this Navy, and I’ve seen more than enough combat in my time. Judy’s been working herself half to death! She needs a day off, Commander Savage. If she doesn’t pump the brakes then she’s going to fall out in the middle of the deck-”

“Enough.” Captain Hopps said lowly, dangerously. “If you two want to argue, the briefing room is down the hall. Yell until you’re blue in the face. However, you will not put on a display like this in front of my officers or my sailors. Am. I. Understood?”

There was a saccharine smile on her face, but her eyes promised something far more sinister. When they both nodded in silence the sweetsy-sweet smile disappeared as one far more exhausted replaced it. “Good. Now, as my senior NCO has reminded me, I look like shit. And I more importantly I feel like shit.”

“Your words, not mine.” Her uncle said with an amused smile on his face as he clasped his paws behind his back and looked at the ceiling. Judy rolled her eyes at her uncle’s antics and continued.

“I am going to retire to my quarters. Number One,” Judy patted the younger officer on his chest, the rabbit’s oddly striped ears perking up as he listened intently, “Look at the BDA and send it to my room, I’ll get around to it when I wake up. Put the ship on course for the nearest station with a dry-dock that can house us and get the repairs started. Uncle, see to it that the sailors are taken care off in the mess tonight. Let Cookie break out the ice-cream; I’d say they’ve earned it.”

“Aye-aye, Captain.” Both mammals replied, snapping a crisp salute to their commanding officer before parting ways.

“Commander Savage has the bridge!” Judy called out as she left the command deck and headed towards the bridge’s direct lift to her quarters, echoes of the command ringing out in the distance as she left them all behind her.

Why was she suddenly so tired?

Could it have been the wound to her head? A mild concussion perhaps? Or was it the strange yet exhilarating battle that had taken place only a few hours before? Speaking of the battle, where was the usual elation she felt whenever she had defeated a particularly difficult foe? Hundreds of similar questions ran through her mind at a thousand kilometers per second, and despite the fact that there were so many things that didn’t add up; her body began shutting down on her as soon as she opened the blast door to her small room.

Judy barely had any energy left to strip the clothes from her body before she hit the bed. Lying on her back, one paw resting on her belly while the back of her other paw laid against her forehead one thing was for certain.

This didn’t feel like a victory.

Description

The Mutara Trade Ruse: Chapter 1

Slick was a good name for him.

Slippery as a topsail schooner in a fully armored galleon, she spent the better part of two months chasing the ship simply known as the Wilde. Around the moons and across seas of stars, she had hunted this one prize; the most wanted pirate in the Mutara sector. And when she finally had the ship with black sails in her sights, the battle was grueling. While parts of her own ship smoldered and billowed black smoke into space, she ignored the blood dripping down her face as she banked around and away from the bow cannons. She heard the fighting behind her as it reached the doors of the bridge. Tactically sound, swift. Sly. He always managed to board without being noticed, strike before there was time to react.

As the doors to the bridge exploded inward and four armed mammals stormed in with pistols drawn, she turned to see the scruffy red fox wander in at a seemingly leisurely pace. Dressed all in black and crimson, slim and tall, with a long muzzle that held a smirk that said he knew he had won the day, he stopped and held his paws up in mocking surrender as she drew her own pistol and leveled it at his chest.

“I have to give you credit, Captain Fluff,” he said, his head cocked to the side as he glanced out towards his ship. She knew it was turning to drop another volley, more than likely on command from the fox in front of her if his boarding action failed. Captain Hopps didn’t turn her eyes away from the deep emeralds that refocused on her. “You live up to your reputation of never giving up a chase once you have your eyes set on what you want. But there is nowhere to go, and surrender is the only option.”

Her muzzle curved into a vicious little grin as she swept the red cloak out behind her, placing foot and paw on the wheel to brace the ship as the countdown in her head ran to zero. The explosion was magnificent; the dozens of cloaked explosives lacing the hull of his ship tearing it apart, triggering the core. It was enough to turn black alloy and crew alike into a ball of molten fire that burned as brightly as a sun for a moment, and forced the stunned fox to shield his eyes from the glare of his loss. After the shockwave struck, when he found his hind paws and could look at her again, that savage grin remained on the bunny’s muzzle.

“I accept your surrender, Captain,” she said, watching his brows drop into an unhappy line when he realized he had fallen into her trap. “Now… Let’s talk terms.”

“Terms?” The vulpine pirate chuckled darkly as he raised both paws level with his shoulders in surrender, the fox letting his pistol dangle from one finger while he waited for the weapon to be removed from his possession. “Typically, one talks terms of surrender before ships are blown up, not after.”

Captain Hopps’ eyes narrowed as he nodded her head towards Captain – no, former Captain Wilde; couldn’t be a Captain without a ship, or a crew. Two of her Federation Marines reacted immediately, one stripping the weapon from his paw while the other struck the backs of his legs with a swift kick, forcing the fox onto his knees. With his pistol secured the pair promptly secured his wrists behind his back before sliding a silvery collar around his neck, the device closing with a metallic clink. “Yes, that would normally be the case,” Judy began as she holstered her own pistol, “However, you forced me to play my hand when you boarded my ship and blew open the doors to my bridge. Although your ship may be a smoldering grave for the rest of your crew, that doesn't mean the rest of you have to die.”

“Tell your crew members to stand down, Wilde.” Captain Hopps knew she had a reputation amongst the Federation Navy for being cold and remorseless, but that only really extended into battle; once the last cannons had been fired there was no need to spill more blood after the victory had been secured. “I do not want to have your mammals killed, but I will personally put a bolt in each one of them until I have your absolute surrender.”

The rabbit officer watched the former ship captain’s eyes move rapidly between her and the four remaining members of his vulpine crew. The serious expression left his face as he cocked his head to the side and that devilish smile spread across his lips. “So, do you want ‘absolute surrender’, or do you want to ‘talk terms’? I might not be a ‘learned’ fox, but I know enough to tell you that those two demands are contradictory.”

Judy’s muzzle curled into an annoyed sneer as he held out a paw towards Nick’s kneeling form. “Sergeant? If you would, please.”

“Rah, Ma’am.” Came a Federation Marine’s reply, and it was all of the warning Nicholas Wilde received before a powerful charge of electricity shot through his body. If she was to be honest with herself, Captain Hopps disdained the Neural Network Interference collars, or ‘shock collars’ as they were more commonly known as; the lapine officer wasn’t one for extreme forms of corporal punishment. Despite this she watched with interest as the fox clenched his back and pulled his muzzle from the deck, the pirate’s expression was hardened in concentration and he held his head high. It was an amazing feat, in her mind at least; that amount of current usually left mammals his size quivering masses of pained flesh. Perhaps he had some fight left in him after all?

            “I think that you’ll find ‘absolute surrender’ the best option you have for you and your crew to make it out of this alive.” Judy replied cooly as she raised her left paw to wipe a little blood out of her eye before she crossed her arms underneath her breasts; it didn’t escape her notice that the fox’s emerald eyes watched the action with great interest. The rabbit officer’s own violet eyes moved off of the red furred scallion in front of her and focused on the four foxes that were surrounded by eight of her marines; they were all holding their pistols at the ready, as if waiting on a signal to perform some slap dash last stand.

Three males and a female: one was tall and muscular with silver fur; another fox was older with burned and patched fur. The two younger foxes were in stark contrast with one another, with the female having a pink, champagne colored fur while the male had a normal black, red, and white coloration; his head fur was, however, cleanly groomed to what Captain Hopps recognized as Federation Marine Corps standards. A former marine working in a pirate’s crew? Her lip curled into a small smile, she would be very interested in interviewing these pirates later on; there was no doubt in her mind that a shady and mysterious mammal like Nick Wilde must have had a hell of a time recruiting them. Or he must have had a lot of credits.

            “Alright, absolute surrender it is!” The vulpine pirate laughed sullenly as he turned his head to face his rag-tag boarding party. “Guys? I think it’s time we give up, yeah? We had a good run, all things considered; at least we got to taste freedom one last time.”

            Captain Hopps’ sneer formed into a small smile as she leaned back against the ship’s steering wheel. Her grin broadened when the four crewmammals looked at one another before slowly, reluctantly, handing over their weapons before dropping to their knees and placing their paws behind their backs. The female fox muttered loud enough for the whole deck to hear. “Whelp, we’re dead anyways. Might as well live a little longer.”

            Judy’s grin faded away as she listened to the vixen’s words; did she truly believe that she would execute them after all of the effort she and her crew expended to capture them? Captain Wilde’s- no, former Captain Wilde’s words brought her attention back to him. “Say, Captain Carrots… there isn’t any possible way I could convince you to let them go, now is there? You’ve got me already, you don’t need them. Maybe we can make a little deal-sy?”

            The seriousness of the fox’s words belied his playful tone, and she watched him with great amusement; the bad ones always tried to make deals once they had been caught. “Go on, Captain Wilde, I’m listening.”

            Despite the fact that the rabbit was now carefully inspecting the claws on her right paw she could clearly see the fox’s demeanor shift; gone was the morose mask of defeat, and in its place sat a masterfully crafted domino of aloofness and glib. The fox pirate’s proposals should at least be entertaining to hear if his skill with speech was a sharp as his ability to captain his ship. “I’m waiting.”

There was dead silence in the walkways of the GFN Burrow, not a single soul made a sound as the boots of four foxes and eight rabbits echoed across the cold expanse of Titanimite alloy flooring. A Left, then a right, another left, then another right; the number of different paths they could have been taken to the bridge of the Federation ship was dizzying; the infamous pirate Nicholas Wilde half wondered to himself how he and his crew ever managed to find the vessel's command deck at all. He thoughtlessly stepped over a twisted, smoldering section bulkhead, the product of his vessel's plasma cannons, but he really didn't pay it any mind. Were ships suited to rabbit crewmammals always this dizzying? More importantly did they design it in such a way to confuse boarders such as himself, or was it to make their lapine crew feel more at home? Interesting.

"You seriously offered to be her body servant? Unbelievable! My brother is dead and you’re joking about servicing the rabbit that killed him!?"

Ah, so it was Felicity that broke the silence first. "There were twenty-four other souls aboard too, Felicity. You’d do well to remember that. Everyone lost somebody today." Nick effortlessly wormed his way through fallen bundles of cable and debris in front of him, a feat considering his paws were flexi-zipped behind his back, and paused once through, turning around to face the vixen. She was of the red fox breed, such as himself, tall and lithe; the pink, champagne color of her fur was rather fetching. Absentmindedly he wondered why he hadn't thought to try and take her to his bed before. “Besides, if I could spare the noose for the four of you by servicing the enemy, then you get to live, and I get to live. Freedom for you, fun for me-”

Immediately she bared teeth and slammed her forehead against the tip of his muzzle. The force of the blow caused Nick to reel backwards, nearly tripping over the two rabbit marines acting as the advance guard. The pain was jarring, but not blinding as it should have been. Once he regained his balance the Nick gazed at her intently; the fox's pink tongue lapping at the small trickle of blood that flowed from his nose.

"This wasn't part of the deal, Wilde! No one was supposed to die! They were supposed to- ahhhhhhh!" Felicity's anger filled words were cut short as blue electricity danced over her form. Nick winced. The rabbit's didn't seem all too hesitant to utilize their Neural Network Interference collars. Once the shock disappeared Nick watched as the pink furred vixen collapsed to her knees, however she received no respite despite the trauma, and she was pushed to her feet quickly by a steely faced marine. "Keep moving, and no talking!"

"I would highly advise that we do as the rabbit says, Lemonade, we can talk about this another time- argghhhh!" Nick's entire body locked up as his own 'shock collar' fired off, the fox going ram-rod straight, his snout pointing towards the ceiling as his tail shot out behind him. Once the charge had tapered off the fox struggled to stay on his hind paws, but with a lot of effort and concentration he managed to retain his bearings. When his head dropped to look at the rabbit that had triggered his collar, his fangs revealed themselves menacingly. "I'm trying to keep my crew under control. If you don't want them to cause any more trouble I suggest you let me do my job as their captain-ngghhhh!"

Nick's knees gave away this time; the electricity that surged through his form was far stronger this time. When he could breathe again it came in heavy pants, and his emerald eyes turned towards the devil-rabbit. "Without a ship you aren't a Captain anymore, scum." The lapine marine raised the rifle in his paws to strike him, and Nick tensed to receive the blow, but when it never came the fox opened his eyes and was shocked at what he saw.

A larger rabbit, this one with sergeant stripes on his breast plate and shoulder pauldrons, was holding onto the trooper's rifle by the barrel; his disapproving frown and stern brow appeared to be etched into his features. "We're Federation Marines, Private Hayseed. We don't beat our prisoners. I suggest you stow your attitude before you find yourself on shore without a uniform or a paycheck. Rah, Devil?"

"Rah, Sergeant, understood." The enlisted marine replied before he lowered his rifle with a solemn expression. With that he leaned forward and gripped Nick's arms and helped him to his paws. The fox thought of a few verbal jabs, but he decided that it was better to let the comments rest; he knew the next shock would more than likely knock him on his tail. He winced as he was shoved forward once more, the fox continuing to weave through more of the ship's battle damaged hallways. The walk only lasted a few more minutes, the seemingly endless passages finally ending at a large junction with two other alleyways and a large, open air personnel elevator.

"Halt." Came another rabbit's voice, and Nick along with his four other crew members stopped in place. "Captain Wilde, step off to the side; the rest of you move into the lift."

"Excuse me Sergeant," The vulpine ship’s captain asked tentatively as he stepped compliantly out from the head of the column. "Mind telling me where I am going?"

“You will find out soon enough, Captain.” The marine sergeant replied quickly, “As soon as your crew is secured below deck we will discuss your arrangements.”

Nick looked at his ship mates as they passed him one by one. Rosco, a grizzled pirate with patchy fur, strode by silently with his permanent scowl affixed to his muzzle. "Captain."

Falcon, a young red fox like Nick, walked with carefully measured steps, his head and eyes locked forward; despite being a pirate the former Federation marine didn't seem to let anything break his military bearing. "It's been a pleasure serving with you, sir."

Conklin was a large fox, the blood that had matted his head stood in stark contrast to the canine's natural silvery fur. His hulking frame paused by Nick for the briefest of moments, the crewmamammal nodding his head slightly before he continue towards the lift. "See you on the other side, Captain."

Felicity was the last to pass him, unlike Conklin she stopped next to him, the vixen looking up at him with wide eyes. "You promised to take care of us, Captain." Her eyes dropped away briefly, but they returned to his. "You did the best you could, Nick. Able was happy serving under you. I know that I was…" The champagne furred fox leaned up and placed her lips to his cheek before she too moved onto the lift, a quartet of rabbit marines flanking them. Nick watched with sad eyes as the doors closed, shielding them from his view.

"Sergeant?" Nick turned his head towards the non-commissioned officer and arched an eyebrow.

            “Don’t worry about your crew,” The lapine non-commissioned officer murmured, “Despite Private Hayseed’s unctuous disposition we’re a regimented lot; we’ll take good care of your mammals and ensure that they arrive safely to the Federation for a fair trial.”

            “To your left, Captain Wilde, if you would please, sir.”

            Nick turned his head and glanced down an adjacent alleyway when the marine gestured towards it. It was non-descript, same as the rest of the brown and grey titanamite alloy passageways, but it appeared to be undamaged by the battle before; he did note that there were a number of symbols lit up on a small panel above it. While they held no meaning to him, he was certain that they had some sort of connotations for the rest of the GFN Burrows crew; many ships used icons that were unique to them to denote certain important areas of the vessel while eschewing galactic standard texts. It was a boon for the crew defending a ship, and a bane for hostile parties that wished to board. How exactly Falcon managed to find the command deck in this confusing warren of passage ways Nick thought he might never know.

            When the sergeant motioned again the vulpine pirate sighed and nodded slowly before marching towards alleyway. Nick’s ears perked up when the NCO began talking as they walked. “The Federation has an upstanding tradition when it comes to prisoners.”

            A left, a right, and another left. A long hallway and then a cipher-locked bulkhead door, which was followed by another immediate right. “When the crew of a hostile ship is captured, they are placed below deck and kept separated from one another, while the Captain of the ship is moved elsewhere, away from the crew.”

            A few more twisting corridors and Nick found himself stopping when one of the rabbit marines trotted ahead of him halted immediately. “They are given the most basic of necessities, and we treat them with the respect due given by the Galactic Prisoner of War Treaty of 3001. The Captain of the ship, however, is given a little better treatment, out of respect.”

            ‘Respect?’ The fox chuckled to himself under his breath. There were a dozen reasons the pirate could think of off the top of his head as to why the leadership and crew were separated, the most important being if the ship’s Captain and crew were apart then organized resistance was far less likely. Nick took a small step back away from a thick blast door embedded deeply into the hallway as the marine NCO stepped towards it. The rabbit placed a paw on the nearby command console and moved his head towards a socket that extended from the wall; a number of small lights blinked in time with his words as he spoke. “Sergeant Rolins, Cookie.”

            Nick noted the small, musical chirp as access was granted and the door slid off to the side revealing a small, spartan room. There looked to be very few amenities, other than a small bed off in one corner and a tiny night stand right next to it. Well, at least the bed looked comfortable, the fox decided. “This will be your new home until we can get you back to the Federation. You can control the lights by issuing basic commands, and the lavatory is built into the wall opposite of the bed. The nozzle for the shower is above the grated floor in the corner; temperature is controlled the same as the lights.”

            The pirate’s eyes flicked over towards Sergeant Rolins when he leaned against the wall with a small smile on his face; given how aged and worn the rabbit appeared the grin looked decidedly out of place. “There isn’t a curtain, so don’t make a mess, my marines won’t clean up after you.”

            “Duly noted.” Nick smiled back ruefully as the flexi-cuff restraints were cut away and he was given a soft push into the room before the door shut tightly behind him. “No orange jumpsuit?” The fox chuckled to himself, “Ah! Not even a towel! How inconsiderate.”

The irony was not lost to him, considering he had boarded their ship, but his self-imposed light heartedness forced his spirits back up. With his paws free the fox rubbed his wrists tenderly before clapping as he surveyed his room with a more careful eyes; everything was the same as before, although he was able to see a small black bubble in the corner. Nick smirked as he waved at the shielded camera lazily, the pirate padding over to the bed before sitting down on the thin comforter. Experimentally he bounced up and down a few times before rocking side to side.

At least the bed was comfortable.

            Captain Judy Hopps did her best to not make a sound as the naval corpsmammal dabbed at the wound on her head with a staunch anti-septic. The brown furred rabbit frowned when she winced and tried to pull away, and he placed a paw firmly on the other side of her head as he firmly scrubbed at the dried blood around the finger-length gash that spanned across her right eye. “If you keep moving, Captain, I’m going to have to be far more forceful. What would happen if a serious infection took hold this close to your brain?”

            The lapine officer knew he let his words trail off on purpose, sometimes leaving things up to the imagination could work wonders for mammals that were averse to treatment. At least it helped get head-strong marines thinking about their personal wellbeing, however, she was not a primary school educated trigger puller. She was an officer, a different breed, and this was her ship; she wasn’t going to be lectured. Well, at least she wasn’t going to allow herself to be lectured to by anyone except the ship’s sawbones and combat medics; it was important to keep those that held one’s life in their paws happy. Besides, they were well respected tradesmamals, and they had the love of every mammal on her ship.

“I understand, doc, however,” A hiss escaped her lips as the antiseptic was replaced with a flesh bonding agent; the chemicals reacting with the blood to form a tight seal; the substance had the nasty tendency to get very hot while it bonded. “Sheeeeeitttt! I don’t think I need to be doted after like a child for a scratch like this, especially since there are sailors under me that could actually need medical attention.”

“Everyone else is already in medical receiving treatment. Very few serious injuries, despite the circumstances: a long, drawn out exchange of salvos and a boarding party?” The corpsmammal hummed to himself as he applied a pair of butterfly sutures to the wound before covering everything with a thick patch of self-adhesive gauze. “A few broken bones here, some superficial burns there, maybe a concussion… or twelve – but surprisingly enough, this head wound is probably the most blood I’ve seen since the battle commenced.”

Captain Hopps’ eyes narrowed as she let her gaze drop down to the medical rabbit that was packing his equipment back into his kit bag. “What do you mean by that, doc?”

“What I mean, Captain,” The corporal huffed as he lifted the single strapped bag over his shoulder, “Is that the foxes that boarded with, what’s his name, Captain Wilde was it? Yeah, they were running around the ship with their firearms on stun; so far there hasn’t been a single KIA tallied, although engineering still hasn’t reported in. Lazy bastards. Granted I think that the relay to the communications hub might have been damaged; so there is that to consider as well.”

The rabbit officer froze as a shock flooded her body: the boarding action hadn’t resulted in any casualties? Judy’s mind worked furiously as the corpsmammal leaned in close to her. “There’s a lot of scuttlebutt running around, Captain. Personally, I believe that they weren’t trying to kill us. It wouldn’t make any sense! I think that they were trying to capture the vessel and hold us up for ransom-!”

Judy’s swift, sweeping arm gesture silenced him immediately. “I do not engage in scuttlebutt, doc. I deal in facts, not rumors. You are dismissed, Corporal Bandoug, return to the medical bay and give Sawbones my regards. Also, have the good doctor compile a list of all casualties, their injuries, and how they were treated. I want it on my desk by 0800 galactic standard time.”

Captain Hopps didn’t pay attention to the medical rabbit’s frown at being dismissed, however when he saluted she returned it and collapsed into her command chair when he was off of the bridge. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she twisted the chair from side to side with the tips of her toes. Something didn’t feel right. Not right at all. Judy’s lavender eyes ran across the bridge from aft to port, taking in all of the battle damage this section of the ship had sustained; broken monitors, charred bulkheads, a cracked view screen, and a few sparking bundles of cables dangling from the ceiling. From her seat almost all of the damage looked cosmetic; none of the vital systems within the bridge had been damaged. When the GFN Burrows shields went down during the second salvo of fires exchanged, the foxes could have easily sent one of their Nighthowler-IV guided rockets directly through the bridge’s front viewport. A direct hit like that would have easily ended the battle: if the resulting explosion didn’t kill Captain Hopps and the bridge crew, then the depressurization of the command cabin would have sucked them all into space.

It wouldn’t of mattered how they died, either way the result would have been the same – Nick Wilde’s escape.

No. This was pure speculation, she had one of the best rabbit pilots in the Federation at the helm of her ship; no doubt Petty Officer 3rd Class Sheer’s skills at the wheel had helped them avoid a majority of their foe’s ship-destroying fire. Granted Judy did have to take the helm when the spotted rabbit fractured both of her wrists, the wheel having jerked away from her during a particularly harrowing salvo from the Wilde; PO3 Sheer was in the infirmary being treated. Slowly Captain Hopps turned her head towards one of her junior officers, her niece Linda was frantically typing away at the damaged console in front of her. “Ensign Hopps.”

“Yes, Captain!” The brown furred doe squeaked as she turned her chair towards Judy.

“Scan the wreckage for survivors. If there are any escape pods, we’re picking them up. And make the scan thorough.”

“Aye-aye, Captain! Our sensors are heavily damaged though, so it will take some time. I feel like I’m looking through a straw.”

“Your complaints are noted, Ensign. Make. It. Happen. Ensign Cooper,” A black furred buck with white-tipped ears spun his head to look at Judy. “It’s been nearly an hour; I want those battle damage assessments in my paw yesterday.”

“I have them nearly complete, Captain, but engineering still has not sent me their report over the system yet!”

Captain Hopps deadpanned as she leaned forward in her chair dangerously, one paw on the armrest and the other on her right knee. “Do you have legs, Ensign Cooper?”

The junior officer froze slightly his eyes wide. “Yes, ma’am?”

“Well then use them! Run down to engineering and get me my damn BDA!” Judy hadn’t meant to shout at the rabbit as he darted past her and off of the bridge, but by the Mother rabbit and all that was holy in the galaxy, the officers the Galactic Federation Naval Academy has been churning out lately didn’t even know what to do when communications to sections of their own ship had been damaged! Judy took a deep breath before she addressed the rest of the officers on the deck. “Lieutenant Summors, if you would, please compile me a list of all pirate activities within the Mutara sector for the past ten years: dates, times, locations, actions, casualties, lists of all items and cargo stolen… everything. I also want the lists of known pirate ships that’ve been active in this region.”

“Aye-aye, Captain.” Lieutenant Junior Grade Sommers replied with a quick salute, the snowy furred buck spinning in his chair back to his console to begin his newest task. Judy smiled when the other rabbit sitting next to Sommers spun in her chair, her black furred paw coming up to her brow. “I take it you want me to do the same for the sectors surrounding Mutara, Captain?”

“Always astute, Jay-Gee Winters. Cross-reference those reports and highlight the ships that have been seen operating in both sectors. If there are any differences with how they’ve conducted their affairs, depending on which sector they’ve been active, highlight it. I want it on my desk in forty-eight hours.” Captain Hopps stood up from her command chair and turned towards the blown out doors leading to the command deck, the rabbit walking up to a pair of rabbits arguing with each other in hushed tones. One of the rabbits was a few years younger than her, Commander Savage, her executive officer and ‘Number One’. The other was Master Chief Petty Officer Kenneth Hopps, one of her many, many uncles, and he served as her senior Non-Commissioned Officer on the ship.

Commander Savage and Master Chief Petty Officer Hopps had two very different roles on the ship. Although both were leaders, in their own right, they each had their own niche and responsibilities on the ship. Non-Commissioned Officers, like MCPO Hopps, were responsible for looking after the welfare of the marines and sailors under them, and in certain cases ensuring that proper order and discipline was maintained among the ranks. Commander Savage’s responsibilities were just as important, but they were far less involved; he was responsible for maintaining the day to day operations of the ship, and serving in lieu of Judy when she was not on the bridge. Both jobs were vital to keeping the GFN Burrows in order; however, like all good officers and NCOs, these two were at constant odds with one another. Judy smiled as she stepped up to the pair and looked them both up and down; sometimes keeping these two rabbits away from each other’s throats was a full time job in and of itself. “What seems to be the problem, gentlerabbits?”

“Let me cut to the chase, Judy,” MCPO Hopps began, one paw absentmindedly rubbing at a vertical scar that crossed his left eye. “You look like 5-kilos of bruised, rotting carrots in a 2-kilo bag, sweetheart-”

“Captain Hopps, Chief.” Commander Savage interjected angrily. “Captain. Or ‘ma’am’. We’ve been over this a thousand times; familial relations do not give you the leeway to act so casually with our commanding officer-”

“She’s my niece, Jack; I’ll talk with her as frankly as I please! By the Mother I’ve given thirty-two years of my life to this Navy, and I’ve seen more than enough combat in my time. Judy’s been working herself half to death! She needs a day off, Commander Savage. If she doesn’t pump the brakes then she’s going to fall out in the middle of the deck-”

“Enough.” Captain Hopps said lowly, dangerously. “If you two want to argue, the briefing room is down the hall. Yell until you’re blue in the face. However, you will not put on a display like this in front of my officers or my sailors. Am. I. Understood?”

There was a saccharine smile on her face, but her eyes promised something far more sinister. When they both nodded in silence the sweetsy-sweet smile disappeared as one far more exhausted replaced it. “Good. Now, as my senior NCO has reminded me, I look like shit. And I more importantly I feel like shit.”

“Your words, not mine.” Her uncle said with an amused smile on his face as he clasped his paws behind his back and looked at the ceiling. Judy rolled her eyes at her uncle’s antics and continued.

“I am going to retire to my quarters. Number One,” Judy patted the younger officer on his chest, the rabbit’s oddly striped ears perking up as he listened intently, “Look at the BDA and send it to my room, I’ll get around to it when I wake up. Put the ship on course for the nearest station with a dry-dock that can house us and get the repairs started. Uncle, see to it that the sailors are taken care off in the mess tonight. Let Cookie break out the ice-cream; I’d say they’ve earned it.”

“Aye-aye, Captain.” Both mammals replied, snapping a crisp salute to their commanding officer before parting ways.

“Commander Savage has the bridge!” Judy called out as she left the command deck and headed towards the bridge’s direct lift to her quarters, echoes of the command ringing out in the distance as she left them all behind her.

Why was she suddenly so tired?

Could it have been the wound to her head? A mild concussion perhaps? Or was it the strange yet exhilarating battle that had taken place only a few hours before? Speaking of the battle, where was the usual elation she felt whenever she had defeated a particularly difficult foe? Hundreds of similar questions ran through her mind at a thousand kilometers per second, and despite the fact that there were so many things that didn’t add up; her body began shutting down on her as soon as she opened the blast door to her small room.

Judy barely had any energy left to strip the clothes from her body before she hit the bed. Lying on her back, one paw resting on her belly while the back of her other paw laid against her forehead one thing was for certain.

This didn’t feel like a victory.