Setsuna returns to Earth

Setsuna returns to Earth pt 1

Standing at the head of the conference table, the Wolfkin captain said, “We have problem. The Earth people know we're here.” He cast a quick glare at Setsuna's mother, Nikiri. “They have been sending us transmissions, asking us to come down and speak with them. We have been ignoring these requests. The question is, will they take our refusal to answer as if we've left, or possibly take it that we are hostile and begin searching for us intently?”

Nikiri told him, “When Setsuna landed, she found Earth humans helped her and helped protect her. She made a few friends in her visit. It is my belief if we answer and treat them well, it will help our relationship with them and possibly lead to cooperation and us finding out more about them.”

“Nonsense!” The navigator stated. “It is well documented how violent Humans are!”

Mr. B offered, “I met the ones who Setsuna was with. Yes, they were wary, but not violent. They were happy someone came to retrieve Setsuna.”

The Communications officer said, “The transmissions I've been getting were offers to meet and greed and possibly understand each other. Look at if from the human perspective. They know they have an alien craft in orbit, and they may be getting nervous about us. Meeting with them, we can show them we are here for scientific study only and will not harm them.”

“Our mission was to monitor, record and stay hidden,” The First Officer stated. “Since we have been discovered, we should break orbit and leave.”

“I agree” the navigator announced. “It is not safe to stay near this planet now they know we are here.”

“Since when has space flight in general been safe?” Mr. B asked. “We all knew from the time we left, that anything could have happened to us on the way. Even where we are now, in orbit around Earth, we're constantly dodging satellites and the occasional rocket they send up. THINK people! The more we learn, the better understanding and more information we'll have to return home with.”

“And if they become violent?” the first officer asked.

“If they become violent, we immediately break orbit and head for home,” The captain said firmly, “No matter who is where.”

The communications officer asked, “Even if we have people on the ground?”

“Yes,” the captain stated.

“I vote we send a small group down to talk to the humans,” Nikiri said.

The captain eyed her. “This is not a democracy! I gathered this meeting to get opinions, not to collect votes!”

Mr. B raised his paws up. “What are we doing here?” he asked. “We came to collect all the information we could on Earth and humans. If we leave, that won't happen. If we don't talk to them, there may be vital information we're not getting.”

The navigator pointed a claw at him. “Then YOU go down and talk to them! If we send a transmission, they may be able to track us.”

Mr. B eye him. “Fine! I'll go. Captain, request permission to go to the surface.”

“I'm going with him,” Nikiri stated.

“I have not yet given permission for anyone to go,” the captain stated.

“What are you afraid of?” Nikiri asked. “We take my shuttle, launch and contact Earth and ask permission to land. Wether or not they let us, the transmission will not be coming from this ship. The ship will remain safe, the hazard will be all ours.”

Mr. B nodded. “That should satisfy everyone with very small or no genitalia.”

All the other officers glared at him. He looked around at them. “What?”

The captain's voice came out in a growl. “I suppose to maintain our current mission, that would be the best solution. No matter what happens to Officer Nikiri and her scout ship, our ship will be safe an we can record the level of violence the humans respond with. Nikiri, you may launch. Stay in stealth until you are far from our ship, then uncloak and announce yourself.”

“Mr. B?” Nikiri asked.

“I'll go make sure our ship's ready to go. You know Setsuna will want to come.”

Nikiri sighed. “Yes she will. I'll go get her.”

.

“We're going back down?” Setsuna asked, her tail swishing in joy. Her paws clenched in front of her. “Can I see Coco, Hanna and their friends?”

Nikiri shrugged. “We'll see. Since we will be announcing ourselves to Earth, I'm sure they will have a place they want us to land at.”

“Ohhh, I want to go get General Zso's chicken again! That was soooo good!” Setsuna said bouncing in place. “And Mom, you need to hear
Earth music! Coco sings really good and there's all kinds of music they play. It'll make you feel like dancing!”

“Let's get down there first,” Nikira said firmly, hoping to dull her excitement a bit. By her look, it didn't help. “Get packed, if we get to land, we're going to be down there for a while.”

Setsuna nodded and raced to her room. She made sure she brought the 'cell phone' she'd acquired on Earth.

Nikiri went down to help Mr. B with the preflight checks. She no more than got to the hanger when Setsuna raced by, her sack of belongings over
her shoulder. She watched Setsuna practically race up the ladder and into the ship. Yeah, she was just a bit excited.

Once they were ready, Nikiri piloted them out under stealth. She flew out a little farter in the same direction of satellites and once they were over the pacific ocean, she turned the stealth systems off.

“Wow,” Mr. B said raising an eyebrow, “We got six different radars banging on us. They know we're here.”

Nikiri picked up her coms. “Earth, this is Nikiri Okami, Wolfkin visiting your planet. May we break orbit and come down to the surface?”

The reply came a moment later. “This is NASA flight control in Houston. Welcome! We have your track. An escort is being launched to come meet you in atmo. They will guide you to Nellis Air Force base. We heard about your brief appearance in London. The pod your crew
member landed in is there if you wish to retrieve it.”

“That was easy,” Mr. B noted.

Nikiri replied, “Thank you Houston, beginning decent. We should be in thicker atmosphere at 60,000 feet within fifteen minutes.”

Instead of the slow, stealth entry, Nikiri just plummeted down, letting the flame of their entry flail out around them. In a few minutes, they were in thicker atmosphere and slowed down to under mach 2. Nikiri let them drop down to 60,000 and kept slowing until they were only going just under mach 1.

“Got two contacts approaching dead ahead. Look like those fighter planes,” Mr. B said.

Shortly a pair of planes zipped past them to their right. A coms came in.

“Escort one here, was that a space shuttle?”

“Escort 2 here, where'd they dig that thing up from?”

Nikiri keyed her com. “Wolfkin scout here. We saw what you used for orbital flight, so we copied the look so we'd be less noticeable.”

With a chuckle, a reply came. “Escort 1 here, you're a couple decades behind. It's been years since we used those. We're catching up. Slow to 400 Knots.”

“Escort 1, I am not familiar with that terminology. Wolfkin scout slowing. Tell me when I'm going the correct speed.”

In another couple minutes the planes came up beside them on either side. “That's good, Wolfkin scout. Escort 1 will lead the way. Just follow me.”

“Escort 2 is moving behind us,” Mr. B noted.

Nikiri let Escort 1 lead and kept up with him. She also noticed Setsuna was up in between their seats, watching.

“Shouldn't you be still strapped in?” Nikiri said with a strong hint.

“All the rough manuvers are done for now, aren't they?” Setsuna asked.

Mr. B stated, “When you assume you make an ass out of yourself. Strap in!”

“Ugh,” Setsuna groaned and went back to her seat.

Bringing up a map of Earth ground. Mr. B located Nellis Air Force base. He brought the base into closeup. Looking at the runways, he got on the coms. “Escort 1, Wolfkin scout, do you know which runway we'll be landing at, and where we're supposed to park?”

“Not yet, Wolfkin scout. We should be getting that information shortly.”

Right after they flew over the west coast, landing instructions came in. Mr. B noted the runway and the hanger number they were to park in. He showed Nikiri where she had to go.

.

General Packer stood near the hanger with his men and several reporters and cameramen as they waited for a real, alien spacecraft to arrive. Noting their excitement, General Packer smirked.

“General, can you tell us when they are to arrive?” a reporter asked.

General Packer grinned. “In about five minutes, they are making final approach. I hope you're not expecting some silver flying saucer. By what our pilots reported, these Wolfkin wanted to look like a ship they'd seen from our orbital craft so the duplicated an old space shuttle.”

“But, it is a rel space ship?”

“Of course. How to you think they got here?” Looking off into the sky, he nodded and said, “Here they come.”

All camera turned to the sky past the end of the runway. Two fighter planes flew off to the side. As he said the shape of an old space shuttle came on, lowering down at it approached. There was no tip to it, it came down flat. It passed low over the runway. Everyone was expecting the landing gear to lower. The ship slowed as it came on 20 feet above the runway. A low hum came from the craft. Slowing to below any flight speed, it didn't drop. Nor did the landing gear lower. Jaws dropped as it came to a stop even with the hanger. It then pivoted, hanging in the air and backed up towards the hanger.

“That isn't a real space shuttle,” A Captain said.

Only when the Wolfkin ship was just outside the hanger, did it stop in the air. The landing gear came down, then it landed and backed into the
hanger. All the cameramen and reporters rushed over to keep their sights on it.

The Admiral strode into the hanger with his officers, guards made a living fence to keep the reporters out.

A ladder dropped out of the bottom of the craft behind the front landing gear. The first figure slid down the ladder. With no helmet on, they could all see the white fur of the wolf looking head and a more or less human face The figure pulled something behind him and a long white fluffy tail appeared and wagged a bit. He was about six feet tall. The next one down was slightly shorter, again no helmet and another wolf headed form. The third one that came down was shorter, maybe five five, They also released their tails. The shortest one waved with a smile.

The middle one came forward and nodded to the General. “I am Nikiri Okami. This is my husband, Mr. B, and this is my daughter, Setsuna.”

General Packer smiled and extended his hand. “I'm Genral Lewis Packer, This is Captain Freeman, and Lt. Jackson. Welcome to Earth, Nikiri Okami.”

Cameras caught it when they shook hand to paw.

Nikiri looked at all the cameras and asked, “May I speak to them?”

Packer motions and said, “Yes, of course.”

All the microphones pointed as Nikiri as she approached them just behind the line of guards. She nodded to them. “Greetings, humans. In case you are wondering why I can speak your English, We have been orbiting your planet for six of your years, nearly seven, collecting all the data we could. We also studied your languages so when we did come down we were able to communicate effectively. I am sure you have questions for me?”

They all stared asking at once, so Nikiri pointed to one of them. “You.”

The woman reported beamed, “I see you have your husband and daughter with you. Do you usually bring families on your trips through the stars?”

“It was a long trip,” Nikiri replied. “Setsuna was born on the way here. Mr. B and I were much younger when we started out. You would call us teenagers then. As I have studied your planet's trips around your sun, I would be about 50 of your years old now. The same with Mr. B.”

A man quickly asked, “Why do you call your husband Mr. B?”

“That is his name, what he prefers to be called.”

Hands when up this time, Nikita pointed to another man.

That reporter said, “From sources, I understand that Setsuna had landed on Earth before in the London area. Is that true?”

Nikiri grinned. “It is. She accidentally ejected herself when she was doing maintenance in an escape pod. She's learned to be more careful.”

That got some chuckles out of the reporters.

“As it turned out,” Nikiri added, “That was a happy accident. From the communications we received, your broadcasts that do reach out of your solar system, we had been sure humans were a violent and warlike race that enjoyed constant fighting. Setsuna landing on Earth and finding friends who stayed by her made us realize that not all humans were like that, and it was possible we wouldn't be killed upon making contact.” She then pointed to another reporter.

That woman said, “Your craft looks like one of our old space shuttles, but by what we saw when it came in, it sure doesn't fly like one.”

“Indeed, it doesn't,” Nikiri agreed. "Our craft does have things like inertial dampeners, a limited energy field and anti gravity coils, which are a modified form of time displacement units. From what I know, truly understanding space-time is still new to your race.”

The next reporter asked, “Will you help our scientists improve their knowledge?”

Nikiri winced. “That is a tricky subject. Understand that before one uses any tech, they must fully understand how it works and not just the theory. Much harm can come from attempting to use anything you partially understand.”

“Does your military work like ours? With ranks and divisions of responsibilities?”

Nikiri shook her head. “We don't have militaries. If you are speaking of job specialties, yes we have those. For instance, I focused mainly on piloting, command responsibilities and navigation. Mr. B focuses on engineering, medical and navigation. Setsuna has yet to pick a field to focus her studies on.”

A woman she picked asked, “Does your species have marriages? I mean dedicated one male, one female relationships?”

“If you mean do we pick out mates? Yes, for life.”

General Packer raised a hand and announced. “People! I understand we all have a million questions for Mrs. Okami, but they do need to
get settled, so I'd like to have a question and answer period tomorrow with the press. Main conference room in the admin building.”

Nikiri waved. “We'll see you tomorrow.”

.

Getting settled was easy, the hanger door was shut and after a shot discussion, Nikiri was going to keep her family in the hanger and on their ship. General Packer left two guards inside the hanger to be sure they weren't disturbed. He also offered any food and services they would need. He also reminded Nikiri that scientists were going to want to study their ship. Nikiri and Mr. B went with him. They told Setsuna to behave herself.

Not knowing what to do while they were gone, Setsuna noticed one guard was looking at her. The other looked bored. No wanting to be bored herself, she went over to the one watching her. He saw her coming, blushed and looked away.

“Hi, I'm Setsuna,” she said brightly.

He looked back at her. “Kevin,” he replied, still blushed.

Setsuna eyed him. “Kevin, are you hot or something. Your face is kinda red.”

“Ahh, no... maybe.” he offered weakly.

“Did you have some Genral Tso's chicken? I know that makes me feel warm,” she offered.

The other guard said, “He thinks you're cute.”

Setsuna glanced at the other guard briefly, then back to Kevin. “Really? I'm just me. You think I'm cute?”

Kevin shifted in place. “Yeah, it's just, I mean, with your fur and that tail … you just look nice.”

“Thank you!” Setsuna beamed. Tipping her head slightly she studied him and said, “You know, I think you're kinda cute too. Not enough fur, but your smooth skin looks nice. You're cheeks are getting redder.”

The other guard laughed. “Kevin there is afraid of girls.”

Kevin frowned. “I am not!”

“Are too.”

“Am not, most girls are just plain looking.”

“Yeah, so what's so special about Setsuna here?”

Focusing on the other guard, Kevin said, “Just look at her! Those ears just look too damn cute, don't you think? I mean yeah, she's got
plenty of fur but her face is really cute too. I also think she probably has better tits than most girls I've seen!”

Setsuna eyed him. “What are tits?”

Kevin spun his head back to gape at her, flushed deeper realizing what he said and mumbled, “Nothing.”

The other guard laughed. “He means your breasts, you know, knockers, boobs, those rounded things on your chest?”

Setsuna looked at him then down at herself. Pointing to herself, she asked, “You think these are cute too?”

Squirming in place Kevin looked away. “I mean, all of you is cute,” he offered.

“Really? Even my tail?” she asked and turned around to wag her tail at him.

“You're going to make him pass out,” the other guard said.

“Shut up, John!” Kevin barked.

John grinned, pursing his lips. “Kevin, just tell her she's hot.”

Setsuna eyed him. "No, I'm not hot, the temperature in here is fine.”

John chuckled. “I mean, Kevin there thinks you're sexually desirable.”

Setsuna looked at Kevin. He flushed deeper. “Are we getting relieved soon?” he asked with a groan.

Setsuna thought briefly. “We have a station for that on the ship. I can take you in so you can relieve yourself if you want.”

Kevin stared at her. John laughed out loud. A belly laugh. Kevin frowned at him, then looked back at Setsuna.

Trying to figure out why Kevin looked uncomfortable, She offered, “You can ask me anything you want, I don't mind.”

The way his mouth opened and shut without saying anything made Setsuna think he was nervous about her. “You like my fur?” she asked.

Kevin nodded, she she leaned closer. “You can touch it if you want.”

Kevin swallowed. He reached up and gently pet the side of her head. “Wow, that's soft,” he whispered.

“Ohh, behind the ear. Give me a scratch?” she asked leaning towards him.

Kevin did. He also seemed to know just how hard to scratch. “Ohh, yeah, like that!” she said eagerly. Her tail began wagging.

Mesmerized by the soft feel of her fur, Kevin scratched each ear, then rubbed the inside gently to feel the fleshy inside. Setsuna's eyes half closed. '”Mmmm, that feels nice,” she said in a low pur.

Kevin felt his pants tightening up.

Just then, Setsuna's communicator cam to life. “Setsuna! Have a guard show you to the mess hall, we're going to have lunch.”

Setsuna frowned. “At a messsy hall?” she asked.

John chuckled. “That's what we call the cafeteria. You better go show her where to go, Kevin.”

Kevin nodded. “Right, Come on Setsuna, follow me.”

Setsuna walked beside him up the hallway. “This place isn't gross messy, is it?”

Kevin grinned. “No, it's just what they call it. Military has strange words for things.”

“Good.” she stated, then eyed him. “Why is the fur you got so short?”

He grinned again. “We have to cut our hair and shave.”

“Shave?”

He rubbed his face. “Yeah, shave all our facial hair off.”

Setsuna frowned. “That's mean!”

“It's required,” he replied with a shrug.

Setsun frowned. “Someone tries to shave all my fur off, I'll bite'em!”

Kevin stared at her. Setsuna opened her mouth in a snarl and growled. “No shaving me!”

Seeing the size of her canines, he agreed, “I doubt anyone is going to try to shave you.”

“Well, in London, I did get my knees shaved.”

“Why your knees?”

“Hanna said to look more human when we walked around town,” she explained.

“That worked? I mean, what about your tail? That kinda sticks out there.”

“I put it up under the long raincoat I had. No one saw it until I was eating General Tso's chicken. Eating that, my tail started wagging all by itself. I was sitting down so no one noticed.” she explained.

“I take it your tail wags when you're happy?”

“Yeah, and at times, it betrays me,”

Kevin had a good chuckle at that. “Ahh, it's an emotional indicator?”

“Yeah.” Setsuna agreed. “You can call it that. I call it traitor.”

Kevin grinned. He guided her into the mess hall and showed her how to grab a tray and silverware, then led her through the line. He guided her on what was good and what wasn't. After they got through the line, another guard by a door said,” Setsuna Okami? Your mother said to eat in here with the officers.”

Setsuna took a step and noticed Kevin didn't follow. “Well, come on,” she prodded.

He shook his head. “I can't go in there. That's for officers only.”

She frowned at him.

“I have to eat out here with everyone else.”

Setsuna didn't think that was right. “Then I will too.” she decided.

“Setsuna, you need to...” the other guard started.

She snapped her head to him. “I'm eating out here with Kevin! You got a problem with that?” she asked in a hard tone.

“No Ma'am.” He said weakly.

She eyed him them asked Kevin, “Where do you want to sit?”

Setsuna had a fun lunch with Kevin. He had a collection of 'CD's, disks that played music. She found out they both liked the band Aerosmith. Funny name, because none of the band could fly themselves in the air or make anything that flew. Kevin thought that was hilarious. He also liked blues, and was impressed she'd not only met Coco, but stayed in her apartment in London the last time she was on Earth.

“Speaking of Coco,” Setsuna said and pulled out her cell phone. Seeing Kevin watch her, she explained, “I promised to call her if I got back to Earth.”

Kevin's eyes widened. “You have her phone number?”

Setsuna nodded. She paused then said, “Hi Coco, It's Setsuna, I'm back! … Oh you were told? … You're coming here? We're at an air
base called Nellis …” She looked at Kevin. “Could you tell Coco how to get here? She's on a plane, on her way.”

Kevin sported a wide smile. He was going to personally talk to the famous Jazz singer Coco!

Setsuna returns to Earth 2

Kevin was grinning widely as he explained to Setsuna after the call that he got to speak with Coco. Cheerfully he said, “She can't come on the base, but I told her how to get to a hotel that's not far away. She should be here before dark tonight. I can drive you out there.”

Suddenly a big wolf sat down eyeing Kevin. “What's this about you driving my daughter out to a hotel?” he growled.

Kevin froze, heart in his throat.
Setsuna cried, “Mr. B! Kevin's going to take me to see Coco, she's coming just to see me!”
Mr. B looked at Setsuna. “We need to find out if you can leave the base, first.”

“OH, please?” Setsuna begged.

“I'll let you know soon,” Mr. B promised. He got up and left.

Kevin swallowed. “Well, that was a bit scary.”

Laying a hand over his, Setsuna softly said, “Mr. B will not hurt you, OK?”

Kevin gave her a weak smiled and a nod. Yeah, he hoped so.

.

Nikiri sat with General Packer and Captain Freeman while Mr. B went to check on Setsuna. She explained to them, “The Captain of our … ship in the area is very nervous about us being known to you, as I've told you. There is no way he will allow humans up on his ship. Just us coming
down here and he's ready to flee all the way back home. Mr. B had to chide him just to let us come back down. He's paranoid, General, and
with reason from some of the things we've found on the way in.”

General Packer nodded. I've been in contact with the President and several important people. Obviously, we're very interested in the tech you have. I've also made our people aware of how nervous your people are. From what I've gathered, Wolfkin are a peaceful race. Something we've yet to fully accomplish. Can we bring in scientists to discuss theories on how your systems work?”

“That would be fine, General, for the systems we use on our scout craft. Items like folding space for interstellar travel and fater than light travel, we can't talk about.” Nikiri explained.

“I undestand,” he conceded

“Well, look at the bright side,” Nikiri offered, “Our scout ship can get you to Mars in a few days, and much safer than your purely chemical
propulsion can do. From information through our collecting your transmissions, I know you're very interested in exploring that planet.”

“Can you give me a hint?” he asked with a grin.

Nikiri grinned back. “Copper. Ground up and highly negativly charged copper put in a solid container that is also negativly charged. The exit port, or nozzle positvly charged is a good, cheap chemical propulsion. Add oxygen and a spark to ignite it and it has a powerful thrust factor. Put a magnertic ring on the output to pull the expelling plasma away faster, and it's a better propellant than your oxygen hydrogen mix.
Also elecromagnetics can do many things besides pushing things around. It's the base power of everything at sub-atomic levels.”
She slapped her paw on the table, “Even this table, if you look down into the sub atomic world, is held together with electromagnatism. You saw us do what looked like floating above the airfield. Gravity is a product of how a mass bends space time. What we were actually doing was rotating at the same speed of Earth and cancelling the bend in space time.”

The General scrubbed his head. “That's a bit above my scientific knowledge.”

Nikiri grinned. “You'd have to understand high level physics. How the universe works is quite complex. My point is what we have on our scout ship, we're ready to share with you. What we can't share are items we can't actually show you. I'm sure just showing you what our scout ship can
do will vastly improve your knowledge and ability to move through space time.”

He chuckled. “I am certain of that also.”

Mr. B came in and at by Nikiri. “Setsuna wants to leave the base to go see her friend Coco from london when she arrives. General is that permitted, or can Coco come here?”

“I'm concerned about security,” Packer said. “Bringing reporters on base, I cringed at, but I was ordered to allow exposure due to the freedom of
information the President insists on. There is an on base housing area that is not classified. There's also stores there and a club for our personnel. I think that would be a good place for them to meet. Let Lt. Jackson know where to pick her up. I'll make sure he knows
the details. I do want at least one guard accompanying Setsuna at all times outside your hanger.”

Mr. B nodded. “I know just the guard.”

.

When Kevin got called to go see Lt. Jackson, he was nervous that he did something wrong. When the Lt. informed him he was to escort Setsuna to see her friend on the outer base, he was happy. Of course he would be 'on duty' the whole time so he had to watch his behavior and carry a
service pistol, radio and stay in contact with the security forces just in case.

Setsuna was pleased with this also, she liked Kevin. The way he blushed at her and liked to touch her fur and scratch behind her ears was nice.

Kevin called Coco and found out when she'd be at the outer fence gate. Signing out a humvee, he drove Satsuna out to the gate and parked in the small visitor lot. He and Setsuna got out and leaned against the back of the vehicle, watching for Coco to arrive.

Looking down, she saw the radio on is hip and a bulge under his service jacket. She tapped the bulge. “What's that?”

Kevin sighed. “I'm your guard so I have to carry a pistol.”

Setsun raised an eyebrow. “Pistol, isn't that a type of gun? Why?”

“It's required. I'm your guard.”

Frowning at him, she said, “Don't go shooting anyone, OK?”

“I'll try hard not to,” he said with a crooked grin.

.

Coco arrived in her rented car. She and Setsuna ran together in a hug. Setsuna introduced Kevin who was beaming with joy at meeting Coco. He held the doors for them and drove them to a burger shop on base where they sat ate and talked. Kevin was so focused on meeting a star like Coco, he barely realized the softness behind him. At first, he thought Setsuna had an arm around him, but both her hands were on the table,
holding her burger as she chatted with Coco. Looking down, he saw the tip of her tail in his lap. She had her tail around him. He didn't mention it.

“Your club's doing well?” Setsuna asked.

“It is. The normal crowd is larger since you were there,” Coco explained. “I think some people saw you there and come to find out if you'll come
back,” Coco hinted.

“Sure, if I can,” Setsuna agreed. “At the moment though, I had to get permission for Kevin to bring me out of our hanger this far. The General here is pretty paranoid about security.”

“Why did you land on a military base?” Coco asked.

Setsuna shrugged. “It was the only way to land officially. I think Mom didn't want me to get chased around again.”

Kevin then felt the tail tighten slightly around him as she added, “And Kevin here is protecting me. He really is a nice guy.”

Coco cast a smirk at Kevin, then told Setsuna, “You better be careful. I see what your tail's doing.”

“Huh?” Setsuna's face then blushed. She pulled her tail back to hang behind her. “It... acts on it's own at times.”

Coco laughed. “Maybe it knows what you're thinking.”

“I'm not thinking anything.” Setsuna complained.

“Right,” Coco said smoothly.

After they finished eating, Kevin drove them to the on base bar. Here, his humvee was just another one of many in the lot. Stepping in, the crowd wasn't thick, but people were all around. Kevin held the door for them. Coco didn't cause much of a stir, but when Setsuna followed her in, all heads swivelled to look at her.

Noting this, Setsuna stopped and slid a little closer towards Kevin. She waved a paw. “Hi everyone.”

On woman sitting with a guy blurted out, “Holy shit, it's true! There's Werewolves on base!”

“Wolfkin,” Setsuna said raising an index claw. “That's what we're called.”

“That's friggin awesome!” a guy at the bar announced. He raised up his glass. “Come have a drink!”

Although it was obvious that Setsuna was the center of attention, no one was mean or threatening to her. One guy even bought them drinks. The pink fruity drink that was set in front of Setsuna did taste good. The table they sat at quickly filled up with more curious people standing nearby.
Setsuna answered questions and described her life in space. She also had a few more of those fruity drinks that were really good. As she
talked to people, her tail again sought out Kevin and wrapped around him as if to hold him close.

It was a fun time until Kevin's radio spoke. “Coprpral Anderson, guard change, return to the command post.”

Kevin looked down at his radio. He picked it up. “Coporal Anderson, understood. On my way. I have to escort a guest off base first.” He then looked at Setsuna. “We have to go.”

“awww,” she complained. Her tail tightened around him.

Coco chuckled. “I should be going anyway. Come on Kevin, I'll help you get Setsuna out.”

“I can stand,” Setsuna said firmly with a little slur in her voice. She did get up with her tail holding to Kevin tightly.

“As bit tipsy?” Coco asked.

Setsuna tried to eye her. “I'm not as think as you drunk I am.” As she thought about how that came out, people laughed. She added, “ I'm English
to new... I mean ...”

“Enligh is new to you,” Kevin offered.

“Right!” Setsuna announced confidently.

Going out, Kevin and Coco got Setsuna's tail to let Kevin go as the poured her into the front passenger seat. Kevin made sure her tail that was seeking him out, was fully in before he shut her door.

Heading back to the visitor's lot, Kevin got out to help Coco out. She got out and motioned him to the back of the humvee. “You know what that tail thing is?” she asked.

“Helping to keep her upright?” Kevin guessed.

Coco tapped him on the chest with a finger. “It's a sign of affection. Setsuna really likes you. Don't break her heart,” she said firmly.

Kevin paused then said, “I really like her too. I'll be sure to watch out for her.”

“Good man. Thanks for the night.”

Kevin got back in the Humvee. Once Coco drove out, he headed back for the hanger. By the time he got there, Setsuna was curled up sleeping on the other side. He parked and tried to coax her out. Sleepily, Setsuna did partially sit up, to wrap her arms around his neck. He lifted her out
in a bride's carry. Her tail automatically went around his waist.

“Wondrful,” Kevin muttered. He told himself it was irritating that he had to carry her. He was also enjoying her wrapped up in his arms. Going to
the hanger, he kicked the door with his foot to knock. “It's Coporal Anderson. Open the door.”

The guard inside opened the door. He frowned at Kevin. “What happened?”

“Too many Pinya Coladas,” Kevin replied. He went into the hanger and looked at the ladder up into the ship where Setsuna and her family was staying. “And this is going to suck,” he grumbled.

Walking over to the ladder, he saw up through the hatch the lights were on. He sighed. How was he going to get her up there? He called up, “Anyone home? Setsuna can't really climb up.”

No answer. Shit.

The new guard came over. “Having trouble?” he asked.

Kevin thought about it. He let Setsuna's legs go and held her kinda upright against him. “I don't want to drop her going up,” he said quietly.
Hearing a soft moan from Setsuna, he said gently in her ear, “OK, hon hold tight onto me.”

Her legs came up and wrapped around his waist like her tail was. Her arms also tightened around his neck.

The other guard grinned. “Too bad I don't have a camera.”

“Shut up.” Kevin grumbled.

Climbing the ladder like this wasn't easy, but doable. Getting to the top, he managed to stand upright with Setsuna clinging onto him. Feeling her

start to slip, he put his hand under her butt to hold her up.

A firm voice said, “It's really good you are still dressed.”

Kevin spun and nearly fell over. Nikiri was eyeing him unkindly wearing her underclothes. A short top that draped over most of her flat, bare
belly and sleeping shorts. He opened his mouth to explain, but nothing came out. He swore his heart just pulsed a ton of blood into his head.

With a sigh, Nikiri came closer. “A bit much to drink?” she asked.

The word didn't want to come out, but he forced it out. “Yeah.”

She turned and waved for him to follow. “This way.”

Kevin followed her down a hallway with doors to the sides. Nikiri passed a paw over a red button on one. The door opened and the light turned green. She motioned him in. “This is her room.” she said flatly. “Make sure you cover her up.”

Kevin went in. The bed was against the wall. Focused on his task he ignored he rest of the small room and tried to lay Setsuna down. Her legs released when he got her on the bed, but he had to pull her tail from around him, then her arms. She curled up. He put the silver blankets over her.

Nikiri was still there, leaning her shoulder against the wall when he came out. He also saw she was eyeing him. She passed a paw over the button, shutting the door.

“Kevin,” she said firmly. “You need to know, Setsuna has begun her mating cycle. With us, the mating cycle is when we look for our mate for life. I do mean, for life. You need to think hard on that.”

Through his dry throat, he said, “Yes, Ma'am.”

“Don't forget it. I'm going back to bed, you know the way out.”

“Yes, Ma'am.” he said sheepishly. He went back to the futuristic looking room with panels of lights and screens, and went back down the ladder. Somehow he swore he could still feel Setsuna in his arms. Damn, that did feel nice.

Later on back in his own barracks, he dreamed about holding tight to Setsuna and making out.

Setsuna returns to Earth 3

“Owww!” Setsuna complained in a moan as she held her head, curled up in her blankets. She felt like a wet, wrung out cleaning rag someone had squeezed hard to get all the moisture out, then thrown down in a heap.

Opening her aching eyes, she saw she was in her room. Alone. Where was Kevin? She had a vague memory of holding tight to him, him holding her in an intimate carry. Dream maybe of him here with her.

Getting up was hard. Even pushing herself up to sit made her head throb with ache. She was thirsty, so terribly thirsty, her throat was dry and she swore someone had to have beaten on her when she was asleep.

Groaning up, she stumbled to the sink and downed water that her throat first protested, then accepted. Her head protested every movement she made. She also noted she was still in last night's clothes. Going out to the medical cabinet, she found the pain supresant and ate some, then downed more water.

What did this to her?

“Finally awake I see,” Nikiri said.

Setsuna looked up at her mother who was sporting a smirk. “I feel terrible.” she admitted.

“We came back for some lunch and see if you finally peeled yourself out of bed,” Nikiri told her. “You do know this kind of behavior is not good for you. Stop drinking human alcohol drinks. It's not good for you.”

“OK, Mom,” she agreed.

“Get cleaned up and changed. Today, you're supposed to do routine checks on the ship. Mr. B and I will be busy with meetings with human scientists. We won't be back until dinner time, so behave yourself.”

“OK, Mom.”

Nikiri left.

Setsuna went in and took a long shower. The water felt great and seemed to cure some of her aches. She got her light brown jumpsuit on and started the computer diagnostics. While this ran, she grabbed the structural analyzer and climbed down the ladder to check hull integrity.

Kevin was on guard with John when he saw Setsuna climb down the ladder with what looked like some kind of suitcase sized device. She didn't to bad climbing down with one hand while the other held the device. Still he saw she was struggling, so he ran over to help. She saw him coming and stopped.

“Give me that before you fall,” he said reaching up.

“Thank you,” she said and gave it to him. Her tail twitched. He climbed down the rest of the way a little easier.

“What is this thing?” he asked.

Setsuna took it and set it down. She tipped it and the top came open. As she put on a set of goggles and pulled out a thick floodlight looking thing, she said, “It's a hull scanner. One of the common dangers of space flight is running into very tiny objects at very high speed. These
particles won't make holes in the ship, but they will do tiny damage and erode the hull to make it weak. This detects that damage so the
hull can be repaired before a catastrophic failure happens, like a blow out, or sudden peeling away of section of hull.”

“So, looking for damage is real important.” Kevin concluded. He then asked, “You're talking like small bit of comet or asteroid?”

“Stuff like that and tiny particles,” Setsuna agreed. The dark goggles hit her eyes when she glanced at him. She then pointed the floodlight looking thing at the ship. Kevin didn't see anything, not even a light, but she began at the nose and slowly scanned. She added, “Even atomic
sized particles that smash into the ship won't immediately punch a hole, but they will heat the hull when they impact. Heating from
thousands will degrade the hull and make it easier for more serious damage to happen,” she explained as she worked.

Kevin noticed she was watching the ship, not where she was walking. He grabbed her sides gently as he saw she was about to walk into the case she'd brought down. “Stop, you're about to trip yourself!” he warned.

Setsuna stopped moving. He moved the case. “I'll keep you from tripping while you work.” he offered.

“Thank you,” Setsuna replied. “How's this, Hold onto my tail and you can guide me?” Her tail raised up.

“OK,” Kevin clasped the middle of her tail, which wrapped his wrist and forearm. For some reason, the spiral of fluffy fur felt good against his skin. He felt this was like holding hands. It also made his pants tighten up. He watched her movements to be sure she didn't trip over anything
as he just held out her tail as her tail was holding onto him.

Setsuna scanned the hull, and even though this was only a scout ship, there was a lot of hull. She also didn't say anything as she inspected it.

“Do you have to do this often?” Kevin asked.

“Every time before the ship flies, and every time it lands.” Setsuna replied as she slowly worked the scanner. “Even if there is a minor crack or
even a deep blemish, the heat, be it from reentry or just a mass of particles hitting it can cause a failure. Even a bad one where the hull is breached. Hull breaches can cause a catastrophic failure that rips the ship apart. Not to mention dumping all our air out into space.”

Kevin nodded. He then remembered some news he heard. “OK, yeah, I remember one of our shuttles like this burned up during reentry. It started as a tiny patch, but ended up burning the whole shuttle up and breaking into pieces. Everyone on board died.”

Setsuna nodded briefly. “That's why hull inspections are important.”

It took a while for Setsuna to scan down to even the right wing, slowly moving along. Kevin watched where her she was going, and held her tail the whole time. Once she covered the leading edge and bottom of the right wing, she stopped and took her goggles off. She rubbed her eyes.

“Need a break?” He asked. She'd been at this for a couple hours now.

She nodded and set her things down in front of her. “Something to drink and sit a bit?”

Kevin agreed. “Sure, in the back there is a small kitchenet. Drinks, snacks and we can sit. Come on.”

They walked to the back of the hanger, Kevin still holding her tail. He just pointed out the drink dispenser and snack-racks. Setsuna got them drinks and cinnamon rolls. They sat close together, Kevin still holding her tail. He wasn't even thinking about it now. Holding onto her tail just
seemed right.

After a good swig of cherry coke, he asked, “You have to do these hull inspections yourself every time?”

Setsuna shook her head and swallowed her bite of cinnamon roll. “Not me, we have service droids and a dock crew on the ship. Mr. B guides them. They aren't here and Mom and Mr. B are busy, so I have to do it here.” Her tail tightened briefly on his arm. “Thanks for helping.”

Kevin nodded and briefly tightened his hold on her tail. “Any time. I don't want you to fall and get hurt.”

As they sat, Kevin moved his hand to stroke the fur on her tail. Setsuna blushed. She cast him a soft look, then shook her head. “Ahh, Kevin? I can't be distracted. I need to concentrate to finish the hull survey.”

He stopped stroking. “Sorry, it's just that your tail is really soft.”

She wanted to tell him that when he stroked her tail she could feel it all the way into the intimate parts of her body. She decided not to. She really liked that, but for the moment she needed to work and enjoying that sensation might lead to other things.

.

Continuing on with the hull survey, they worked thought the guard change for lunch. Kevin told the relief guards, he was fine, he had to stay to keep Setsuna safe. After walking around the ship inspecting it, she had to to the top also. She led Kevin up into the ship. He let go of her
tail to climb up in, then his hand was quickly reclaimed by her tail as they walked through the ship to the upper hatch. Another brief
separation as they climbed up to the top of the ship.

Up here, Kevin could easily see why holding Setsuna's tail was a good idea and she scanned the ship with her goggles. The upper hull was rounded, then chances of her slipping and falling to the hard concrete below was very real. Getting to the wings, Setsuna bent down and touched a small bar on the hull. A ladder grew out of the hull so they could climb down onto the wing. Again, she scanned every inch of the wing, Then the climbed back up to the top. She retracted that ladder and extended one on the other side. After that wing, she moved on to survey the hull and tail.

It was late afternoon by the time The hull survey was complete. Climbing back up into the ship. Kevin watched Setsuna open a panel and put the goggles into what looked like a microwave oven. She closed the panel and tapped a touch screen on the outside.

She explained, “I visually scanned every part of the hull. This will now do the same to find any micro fractures or pitting I missed.” She turned to him. Her tail tightened slightly on his arm. “This will take a while, want to go do something until it's finished?”

Kevin noted her cheeks looked warm. His cheeks felt a bit warm too. “Sure, maybe just a walk outside? You know, see some scenery?”

“OK, let's go.” she beamed.

Going back out to the hanger floor, Kevin went over to the side door where two other guards now stood. He explained Setsuna wanted to see some of the base outside, and would go with her. They nodded, John was smirking.

“Have a good time,” John said.

John and Pete watched them go out the door. Pete asked, “Should we go with them?”

John shook his head. “No, our job is to watch that ship. Besides, I think they are going out for some private time. Didn't you notice the looks on their faces?”

Pete eyed him, “You mean they're going to make out? I mean she's an alien wolf, is that even possible?”

John grinned. “I think they'll find out soon.”

.

This base was usually most active at night. Daytime was rest time for the 'vampire' crews that came out after dark to test and fly experimental planes and flying craft. During the day, it was only security forces out, and they usually watched the perimeter and air fields.

Having been on their feet most of the day, Kevin found a good spot to sit behind a supply hut. Sitting down to lean back against the wall, Kevin pointed out land features and the scrub of cactus and other plants as he stroked Setsuna's tail that had reclaimed his arm. He then noticed
she was looking at him intently.

“You like stroking my fur?” she asked softly.

“Yeah, I do,” he admitted. “Kinda makes me want to stroke more of you.”

“OK, can I stroke you too?” she asked softly.

Gazing into her light blue eyes that mirrored the clear sky, he asked, “Please?”

Their first kiss was tentative and cautious. The next wasn't as cautious, on the third they got into it, holding each other close.

“I need you,” Setsuna whispered.

Kevin replied just as softly, “I really need you too.”

Before he knew it, Kevin was loosing his clothes as was she as he petted them off each other. Her claws were a bit sharp a she gripped him tight. He didn't mind in the slightest.

.

On their way back to the hanger from their meetings with human scientists, Nikiri's ears popped up upon hearing a strange sound. A long howl of joy mixed with a human cry in unison that sounded mixed with pain. The dual cry sounded out for a long moment. She and Mr. B looked at each other. “We better go find them,” he said firmly.

General Packer got a phone call.

“Packer.”

“Captain Freeman here, sir. We've had an incident with the Wolfkin. Corporal Anderson has been admitted to the medical clinic. He's been mauled. You need to come down here.”

“How bad is he hurt?”

“Multiple slices of opened skin on his back, long cuts. That Setsuna Wolfkin is with him, she's very upset and won't leave his side. She's growling at anyone who tries to get her away from him. After seeing what Anderson looks like, no one's brave enough to try and pull her away.”

“I'll be right there.”

.

Setsuna returns to Earth 4

Mr. B grumbled, “General, I know what happened. Wolfkin females can be very aggressive during mating. Myself and Nikiri heard them, they were definitely mating. See, with our thick fur and tougher skin, The tight grip usually doesn't cause any damage. Human skin is thinner, and
well, you don't have fur. That's the reason the corporal's skin is all torn up. We will make sure this doesn't happen again.”

General Packer sighed. “So he was injured during sex.”

“Yes, and seeing what she did to him, Setsuna is rather upset. Nikiri has already let Setsuna know of our displeasure of her carelessness.”

“They were having sex, unbelievable,” General Packer repeated, gazing off at nothing.

“They are young, and the young do like to experiment,” Mr. B said with a shrug.

A nurse came out of the treatment room. She told the General, “Anderson is patched up. 167 stitches and five butterfly closures. I highly recommend no further sexual contact between our species. We also got the Wolfkin girl to take a sedative to calm her down. My medics are getting very nervous around her.”

“Can Anderson return to duty?” Packer asked.

“Light duty, noting strenuous. I am sending him back to his barracks.”

“Thank you nurse.”

.

“I am really, really sorry!” Setsuna whimpered, sniffling as she held Kevin's hand.

The Nurse had given him the instructions, go back to your room for the day and rest. Alone.
Kevin sported a weak smile at Sestuna as they stumbled for the door, Kevin from his pains, Setsuna from the aftermath of their vigorous mating that was making it hard for her to walk. Kevin had a much bigger shaft than she'd expected and she was still pleasantly sore from it. Nikiri
followed then. “Hey, it's OK. We'll just have to be a little more careful next time,” Kevin offered.

Behind them, Nikiri stated, “There won't be a next time. Setsuna, go get back in the ship. NOW!”

“But mom....”

“NOW!” Nikiri barked, making nervous humans take a step away from them.

Out the door, Kevin and Setsuna cast each other pained smiles, then were guided apart. Setsuna back to their ship, Kevin to his barracks room.

.

Getting back into their ship, Setsuna had an idea. “Mom, if I wear those insulated mittens, then I won't dig into Kevin's skin, right?”

Nikiri frowned at her daughter. “Right now go clean yourself up, you've got HIS blood all over you! We will talk about the consequences of what you did AFTER.”

Setsuna let out a heavy sigh and did as her mother asked.

.

Kevin got to his room and eased himself down to sit on the bed. His back did hurt, but worse it itched like crazy. Still all his pains felt minor compared to the utter ecstasy of making love with Setsuna. The warmth, the passion, it was more than intoxicating. It had felt like he was in heaven. Yeah, he hurt now, but it was totally worth it.

Of course word of what happened was getting around base. His sergeant knocked on the door frame and stepped in. Eyeing Kevin, he said, “What did you do to that Wolfkin girl that made her try to kill you?”

“It wasn't like that,” Kevin moaned.

The Sergeant chuckled. “Heard you got ripped up from your shoulders down to your ass. She use you as a scratching post?”

Kevin let out a weak chuckle. “Kinda, yeah. At the time, I barely felt it. Now, I'm feeling it a lot now.”

“So, why did she go all wolverine on you?”

Wincing Kevin said, “We were making out and … we just went way too far.”

“You fucked her?” the sergeant asked, wide eyed.

Kevin frowned at him. “We made love.”

“You rode the
hobby horse, had an intimate rodeo. Hope you enjoyed it, there's going to be repercussions, you know that.”

“Yeah.”

“I'm taking you off the roster until the Doc clears you. Get some rest, and stay away from the furry girls.”

.

General Packer tried to keep the incedent quiet, but somehow, the reporters got wind of 'an Air Force guard' being mauled by on of the aliens. Not having any facts, they reported an attack for 'unknown' reasons, which brought FBI and Homeland Security onto the base, wanting answers. The Air Force tried to stifle the news, but it was already out on news stations. The base went into lock down.

General Packer was told to do a press conference to explain what happened. He also wanted one of the wolfkin there also to tell the press what happened.

In receiving the reports of the alien attack for 'unknown' reasons, the Wolfkin ship feared reprisal and fled orbit.
Setsuna was restricted to the ship. Nikiri and Mr. B were not happy with her. She wanted to go visit Kevin and see how he was doing. Not being able to leave the ship, she did watch news item and was horrified to find out she was being accused of attacking him. By the broadcast, the Airman in question was horribly mauled and barely got away with his life.

“You lie!” she cried at their TV receiver. Setsuna desperatly wanted to go tell someone what really happened, but she knew if she left the ship she'd probably make things worse. All she could do was sit down and cry. She disabled the receiver, she didn't want to hear any more lies.

A news station announced an air Force General who knew what happened was going to make a statement. The press room was filled to capacity with reporters, eager for the 'terrible' truth of events.

General Packer came out to the podium in his dress uniform. The place went silent, all microphones aimed at him.

He took a breath and said, “I have been listening to the allegations about the indecent on base that seemed to have been greatly exaggerated by news stations. I have personally talked with everyone involved, and I will tell you, there was no malicious assault by anyone. Here is the truth. The younger Wolfkin girl had a courtesy guard with her wherever she went to help prevent possibly problems. It appears they did get along well. Very well. They were becoming romatically involved. That by itself was not a problem. What was the problem is that Wolfkin have a thicker skin than humans as well as thick fur. They also have claws on their hands and feet. I am sure most of you know that becoming intimate, the ones involved do not think completely rationally, especially younger people. In this case, that caused many minor lacerations in the Airman's body. They did come to the medical center for treatment. The Airman did require many stitches but was not in any danger to his life. The Wolfkin involved stayed with him and was very upset at what she'd done. Currently, the Airman had returned to duty and the Wolfkin is restricted by her own people from leaving their ship. Questions?”

One man who raised his hand asked, “General, you are saying a human and one of these Wolfkin had sexual relations?”

“Yes, apparently very vigorous sexual relations.”

A woman asked, “So we are compatible with these Wolfkin physically. Do you know if we are compatible biologically?”

Packer said, “I don't know. That has yet to be studied. As far as the physical aspect, it's apparent that mating is possible, but also contains
hazards that have been discovered.”

Another woman asked, “General, why wasn't there procedures in place to prevent such an incident from happening?”

“Frankly, the possibility of such a thing happening was never even thought about,” he replied honestly. “The physical differences between human and wolfkin are enough it wasn't a concern. That it happened was a shock to everyone. At the moment, we are keeping the parties involved
separated for their own safety.”

Next, a man asked, “General what do you see as a solution? Will these two be able to get back together? Apparently, they are romatically involved.”

“That is a question we are dealing with,” Packer said firmly. “The risk of interspecies intimate contact is high, there is no doubt about that.
There is also the question of mental health for the parties involved. I have learned that Wolfkin do mate for life. If her mate is taken away permanently, that by itself may cause further problems. We are working on how to resolve this situation in the best way possible.”

Packer then motioned to the side. “I would like to introduce Nikiri Okami, Setsuna Okami's Mother.”

Nikiri came out, Packer moved away from the podium. Nikiri stepped up to it.

“Greetings, everyone. I have to admit, Of all the problems we anticipated landing on Earth, this one is what you'd call, 'out in left field'. Myself
and Mr. B were horrified when we found out what my daughter and the guard did. Not the intermixing of species, but the way he ended up.”

She raised her paws up, claws extended. “If you note, my claws are not very long but they are sharp. They are designed to grip and hold. With another Wolfkin, our fur and tougher skin will prevent damage. Thinner human skin will not. Currently we are trying out various mitten type gloves
to keep human skin damage from happening. As for the other aspects of mating between our species, that seems to be the only real problem.
As far as interspecies breeding, if anything can come of it, we are looking at DNA differences very closely. That is going to take a while. As far as the number of strands of DNA, we found humans have 23, we have 25. Inspecting these strands for actual DNA content in each strand, that work we be ongoing for a while.”

Nikiri picked a woman with her hand up.

“I must ask, being Setsuna's mother, do you have a problem with her choosing a human to be with?”

Nikiri shook her head. “I do not. Mr. B is also not a true Wolfkin. I only want Setsuna to be absolutely certain she is choosing the right mate for her.”

Another man was next. “Mrs. Okami, is there a chance that more Wolfkin may visit, and possibly intermingle with humans?”

Nikiri said, “No. Upon receiving word through your media that a human was mauled by Setsuna, they were worried about repercussions and fled this solar system. Wolfkin view humans as hostile and violent from the media we've picked up from your transmissions we received. It is a very
long trip from our planet to yours. I highly doubt anyone will be back in the next four or five generations, if at all.”

“We scared them away?” a woman asked.

Nikiri nodded. “You did, by reporting the incedent as much worse than it was. Instead of an accidental damaging, you promoted it as an act of aggression. Our people are peaceful. The Captain of our ship was very nervous about us coming down here to begin with. I know he was
expecting reprisal so instead of possibly getting into a conflict, he left to save the rest of his crew.”

Another man asked, “Then if you return to your planet, you'll have to use the shuttle looking ship you came with?”

“Our ship is a scout ship, made for short range. It doesn't have FLT capability. We cannot return home on it,” Nikiri stated. “Unless our main ship
returns, we are stranded here.”

General Packer came over to lean towards the mike. “Perhaps your news agencies might want to think twice before broadcasting sensationalist stories before finding out the facts. Thank you all for coming.”

,

A couple days later Setsuna got the best news. Her confinement to the ship was over. Not only that, she was going to have lunch with Kevin! He was coming to get her. Setsuna put her 'protective' mittens on and went down into the hanger. She was approaching the guards to find out when Kevin was coming, and he walked in.

“Kevin!” she cried and ran to him. Kevin opened his arms and hugged her as Setsuna's arms and tail went around him. After a longing kiss, she
asked, “How's your back?”

“It's better,” he replied grinning at her. “I was thinking about getting a wolf-fur jacket for … you know.”

Setsuna showed him her mittens. “No need! I got these mittens so I won't claw your skin up,” she beamed.

“Great! Come to lunch with me?”

Setsuna nodded firmly, hooked her hand on his arm and her tail around his waist.

.

Mr. B and Nikita had another day talking to scientists. Unlike their previous meetings, today they all knew, the Wolfkins weren't going back to
their orbital ship that had fled, so they began planning trips off Earth. The first would be a quick trip to the moon. Get there, spend a couple days, then return with as many samples as they wanted. NASA was going to provide containers, and since they could go anywhere on the moon they wanted to, they were also going to look for water ice to bring some back.

After a trip or two to the moon, next would be Mars where they would go and collect samples and perform some experiments. Even as they sat here and talked about it, mission plans were furiously being written.

Having only so much room on their scout ship, the maximum crew they could comfortably carry was 8.

Besides the supply limits, the ship only had 4 bedrooms. They would need to make two more. As they talked, it occurred the the scientists this would be less like a rocket launch and more like an airline / space station trip. The first mission to the moon was scheduled for just as soon as
NASA could supply the sample boxes and equipment they wanted taken.

Mr. B and Nikita returned to the ship in the afternoon with Ron Conrad and Benny Davidson to help plan where the modifications would go and what supplies they'd need. Ron was a scientist, he stayed with Mr.B to plan where to put the sleeping quarters and equipment. Benny was an astronaut, he went into the cockpit with Nikiri to learn about the ship's functions and controls.

Going up the ladder into the monitoring room, as Nikiri called it, she showed Benny their on board equipment and sensors. Going around the room, Nikiri pointed out the monitor screens and controls.

“This is the fuel loading station, by it are the level indicators. Here is the hull integrity panel, under it is the controls for the exterior drone
...” As she went on Benny's eyes widened. “You have a gravity control?”

Nikiri grinned. “Yes, this one is for external gravity, above it is for internal gravity. The actual units are all along the bottom of the hold deck.”

Benny grinned. “This is sci-fi shit.”

“No, this is keeping your footing and being comfortable shit,” Nikiri replied. “Strange things like bone and muscle loss happen when there's no
gravity.”

“So our trip is going to be more like a airplane ride,” Benny concluded. “Why are some panels blue and others green?”

“Every blue panel has a duplicate panel in the pilot's console. The green ones, you have to be in here to read and use.” Nikiri explained. “If
you note, most panels are blue. There's a lot to read up in the Pilot's seats.”

Benny saw another panel that got his attention. Seeing him trying to read the blue panel, Nikiri offered, “That's the stealth envelope generation
panel.”

“Stealth?” Benny asked in surprise.

Nikiri nodded. “We can form a space time field around the ship that light, all electromgnetic waves, and even medium sized solid bodies can be bent around the ship. It's useful for travel in open space and avoid being seen. When it's on though, normal incoming communications don't work.”

Benny snorted. “I bet that's handy.”

“Very, most space debris will be deflected by it. That helps keep the hull from taking damage. It's also how we landed on a rooftop in London to
retrieve Setsuna.”

“This is some very advanced systems you have,” Benny said firmly.

“We have the latest tech from when we launched from our planet. That would be about 35,40 years ago for us. I'm not exactly certain about how long ago that would be in normal space time, I'm thinking a hundred fifty, maybe even a few hundred years ago. I'd have to do a complete star
map to figure it out.”

“Light speed travel?”

“FTL, our ship was going faster than light,” Nikiri explained. “I wasn't one of the main pilots on the way here, so I don't know for sure how fast we
were going.”

“Does your stealth shield increase your ships speed?” Benny asked.

“It can at maximum power, but that takes a ton of energy. We can't hold it for long at those power levels. It drains our reserves fairly fast.”

After the tour of the monitoring room, she took Benny up to the 'cockpit' as he called the pilot's station.

There were two seats facing the long console with two more behind it. Benny noted both seats facing the console had the same controls. The ship could be controlled from either station. He also saw all of the blue panels from the monitoring room were here.

“Have a seat,” Nikiri said as she took the left side seat. She showed him all the controls and had him copy her movements on control sticks, switches and buttons. There were quit a few of those.

“I'm going to have to study these and commit them to memory,” he noted.

“Yes, you are,” Nikiri agreed. “A trip to your moon will only be a couple hours. If we go out to Mars like NASA wants, it'll be a week each way. Maybe longer, depending on where it is in it's orbit.”

Benny looked at Nikiri and said with a grin, “If we can build these ships, I want one.”

.

Setsuna and Kevin came back up into the ship for dinner. The scientists, Benny and Kevin also had dinner on the ship. Nervous about what dinner was, the humans were happy that it was a proper balanced meal with some meat, vegetables bread like thick disks and a fruit paste for the bread. Ron also noted that during the entire meal in a small dinning room, Kevin sat close to Setsuna and her tail stayed wrapped around his waist the whole time. They were curious about why Setsuna was wearing those mittens.

.

It took another 3 weeks for NASA to decide to decide where they wanted Nikiri to do on the moon. When the 'launch package' was finally sent, there were a list of places and things they wanted. Also, everything they did had to be recorded. Four sealable sample containers came along with a special video camera to use on the moon, as well as a tracking beacon Mr. B put on top of the hull so NASA could watch their movements.

While they waited, 2 new bedrooms were made from a storage area for two of the scientists. Mr. B and Nikiri had their room, They also allowed
Setsuna and Kevin to both sleep in her room. Each scientist and Benny the real astronaut got their own rooms. Having to make storage
areas into bedrooms, supplies went in under everyone's beds. The containers they got were strapped down in the cargo area that had the
external door just in front of the starboard wing.

NASA loved their 'mission planning' sessions and strict flight paths. Knowing their ship's capabilities better than NASA, Nikiri modified their plans. It took her and Mr. B to convince NASA so that they could modify the flight plan as they saw fit.

The day came, and it was not a normal 'NASA' launch. With cameras rolling to film this 'historic' event,

Nikiri power the ship up and rolled out of the hanger. Mr. B rechecked all systems, Benny sat 'co-pilot' for Nikiri. Verifying everyone was seated and stripped in, Nikiri energized the anti-grav units. The ship picked up vertically right our of the hanger,. When they got to 300 ft above the
hanger, Nikiri lit the engines. They shot away and turned vertical up into the sky. At 10,000 feet, Mr. B activated stealth and watched for satellites to be sure they didn't run into anything.

Once they were clear of Earth and orbiting objects, Nikiri engaged the ship's internal gravity and allowed their crew to move about. By the time
all the humans had gotten up and took turns looking through the view ports, whey were approaching the moon. Nikiri had everyone get
back in their seats for a very close approach to the moon.

Setsuna returns to Earth 5

Approaching the moon, Nikiri showed Benny hold to read the moon's gravity and adjust the external gravity to cancel the effects, then slow the ship as they approached the surface.

Bringing up their target list and the map of the moon, Nikiri said, “We'll head for this hole NASA wants to look in first.”

“The one China was sending a drone to,” Benny said with a nod.

“Remember, by adjusting the external gravity by tiny increments, you can lower or raise us in relation to the moon. Do your best to stay 200 feet above the surface we're traveling over.”

Benny looked at her.

“You're driving now, I'm the instructor,” Nikiri stated. She set the distance to object, that showed a line on the vertical reading. She pointed to it.
"Use your view and this line to guide you. Don't plant us in the dirt.”

Benny did as she said, watching closely out the front view port as well as eyeing the line. He then noticed a small holograpghic red arrow impressed on the view port glass.

“The arrow shows where that hole in the surface is.” Nikiri explained. “Use thrusters to line us up.”

Benny did as she directed. A smile grew on his face. “I really want one of these.”

Nikiri chuckled, “I'm sure NASA wants to build one for you.”

Benny did well with the controls, very well since this was the first time he'd sat in the pilot's seat. Flying low over the surface, he found the dark
spot with a rover at the edge. Nikiri coaxed him into landing. Gear down, stop their forward motion, let half-moon gravity bring them down to touch down, let the full gravity hold them in place. Internal gravity at Earth standard inside the ship.

With the internal gravity on, They got ready to go walk on the moon. This was a look and see mission, so the cameras, light and a metal/kevlar rope was brought. Mr. B had the rope coiled over his shoulder.

Jane stayed inside the ship with Setsuna and Kevin. The others suited up, and after the air was pumped out of the exit lock, They tested coms, then went down the ladder to step on the moon's surface. Nikiri held the camera, recording. Benny explained what was happening, In the ship, Setsuna was broadcasting their words back to earth.

“We're here on the moon,” Benny explained. “The first goal is to look and see what is in these holes in the surface. There's been much speculation about them, now we get to see inside one first hand.”

Mr. B walked over to the edge right beside the rover. “Good anchor point,” he noted, then wrapped the end of the cable around a leg of the rover
and tossed the rest down the hole. He turned back to the group. “Who's first?”

The camera on the drone turned to look at him, then up at his face. Mr. B smiled and patted the top of the camera. “Thanks for the help bud!” he said brightly.
.
In China the man at the visual rover monitoring station looking down into the hole at the rubble on the bottom jerked back in surprise upon seeing the cable fall down into the hole. “What?” he gasped.

“Turn the camera, where did that come from?” the supervisor asked.

He turned the camera and saw legs. His eyes opened wide. Panning up, he saw the helmet and the wolf looking face looking into the camera. The wolf patted the top of the camera, then moved in front of the rover. The operator watched in disbelief as the wolf climb down the cable.
Suddenly, everyone in the room was over his shoulders, looking.

“There's aliens! They're going in!” a woman cried.

The phone rang. The supervisor, watching the alien decend, picked it up. “Yes sir, we're watching it now...We have no idea where they came from! They just appeared!...Yes, yes we will! Operator do a scan of the area, see what else in on the surface!”

The operator scanned around the rover as another went down into the hole. He scanned until he found the scout ship. “That... it's one of those
American shuttles! They didn't decomisioned them! They modified they to get to the moon!”

“How did they do that? WHEN did they do that? Why to aliens have it?”

Moving their camera again, then saw a human man climbing down the cable. One more man was at the top, looking down into the hole. The rover then tipped forward. The camera hit the inside edge of the hole and the picture went to snow. So did all the readings they'd been getting from the rover.

.

“I got it!” Mike said with a slight strain in his tone. “It's not falling all the way in.”

“I'm down,” Ron replied. “Can you pull it back up?”

“Yup … it's a bit heavy, but I'm getting it back up. I'm going to stay with it and support it so it doesn't go over the edge again.”

“Good!” Benny said. “We got tunnels in both directions. The walls are smooth, they don't look like lava tunnels, we're on the roof debris that fell. They walls curve into the ceiling, like the inside of a Quanset hut. The floor is perfectly flat. This looks made.”

“I'm getting it all,” Nikiri stated as she panned the camera around. “Using the reference of when we came in, the left side goes straight, then turns
right in a long bend. The right side tilts down and out of sight.”

“Should we check it out?” Mr. B asked.

“We move far from the hole and we'll lose the feed,” Benny noted.

Nikiri said, “Benny, stay here. You should be able to hear us and relay what we say up to the ship. If we go far enough to lose coms, we come back.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Benny agreed.

Another voice came into their coms. “This is Houston control. What happened to China's rover?”

Benny replied, “We used it for an anchor to drop down into the hole. It tried to follow us down, but Mike caught it and pulled it back up.”

“They lost their signals.”

“Yeah, we probable broke it, sorry. Do they want it back? We can bring it back with us.”

“Retrieve it if possible. Be very careful exploring those tunnels, watch your air supply.”

“Will do, Houston. I'm going to relay what our team finds.”

.

While NASA and the US dealt with an angry China for breaking their rover, Nikiri and Mr. B walked slowly down the tunnel, scanning ahead with light and the camera. The slope down was gentle and fairly straight. They moved about 200 yards and came to a flat wall. Inspecting the wall, Mr. B pointed to a long, straight crack on one side, then one on the other side. Nikiri followed his hand with the camera.

“We found what we thought was a flat wall,” Mr. B said. “But by the thin, straight lines on the sides, this is probably a door. There is no operator on this side we can see to open it.”

There was a short pause, then Benny said, “Relayed your information topside. Get good footage of it, then head back. We got about a half hour of air left.”

“On our way” Mr. B told him.

Getting back to the hole, Mike held the rover in place as they climbed back up. Out of the hole, Mike and Mr. B carried the rover back to the ship and loaded it on board.

.

The next destination was to inspect the landing spot of a probe NASA had crashed into the surface. It had made a decent dent in the surface and completely destroyed the probe. NASA didn't want the pieces back.

After that, they went to the south pole to look in craters for water ice. They found one that was nice and shiny on the bottom. Benny and Mr. B were lowered on their cable to chip some of the hard surface for samples, then were pulled back up to put their sample in a container and wrote
on the container where they'd gotten it from.

Their next stop was a feature on the 'dark' side of the moon NASA had questions about. Going to the location, they did see the tall spike rising up
from inside a crater. No one had to leave the ship this time. They hovered the ship close and got material readings from the monitoring room. Moving up the spike, they also found a brief signal that pulsed out of the top.

“Well, that's interesting,” Mike noted.

“I got the frequency and the duration!” Jane said excitedly. “It was a broad band transmission. I got a copy of it. I LOVE THIS SHIP!”

Holding the camera, Mike beamed, “And I got a vid of the pulse wave to take back.”

Nikiri could feel it was getting late. She announced, “It's 2300 by Houston time, Let's get back to the Earth facing side. We can transmit what we
found then grab some food. We've been at this all day.”

Benny nodded. “Yeah, I'm getting a bit hungry.”

By the time they flew halfway around the moon, it was 4 AM Houston time. While they flew, Nikiri had everyone else go get some food and rest. Setsuna cooked with Kevin's help since she was forbidden to take her mittens off while Kevin was nearby.

Nikiri had Benny take them to their last stop, the old original Apollo landing site. There, they set down and got their own dinner. Mr. B stayed up,
everyone else was asleep by now. They ate and went to bed.

On their way to their room, Nikiri heard soft music from Setsuna's room. She banged on the door. “Get some sleep!” she barked.

.

In the morning, 9 AM by Houston's time, Benny sent the transmission to Houston they were at their final stop. They had breakfast together, Setsuna all but in Kevin's lap, her tail tight around him. Although they'd spend plenty of time in their room, they both looked a little tired.

Their task here was to bring back the cart the previous Apollo mission used to run around the moon with. Not for any museum, but to be refurbished so they could use it to run around mars on later. By 11, they were all strapped in and Benny lifted them off under Nikiri's watchful eye as they headed back to Earth.

.

Getting back to Earth, Nikiri showed Benny how to do a stealth entry back into atmosphere. Of course it took longer, but there was no fire trail and they only ended up on radar after they were back into thick air. With a larger mass than the moon, Nikiri watched Benny carefully, but let
himd drive all the way down to the runway where he flew down the runway to stop, floating in the air. Nikiri turn the ship and backed
it onto the pad in front of the hanger, then put the landing gear down and settled them onto the tarmac.

A platform lift was brought over to the cargo door so Mr. B and Mike could take the Chinese rover out onto the lift. Nikiri shut the door behind them, They rode the lift down to a truck that took the battered rover away.

The NASA people and scientists were thrilled at the information and samples they got from the moon. It was gong to be crated up and sent back to China. Nikiri then back the scout ship into the hanger.

.

There were no reporters this time. NASA took the only footage of the landing and the Rover being crated up with good protection for shipping, so the condition of the rover was well documented before transport. The NASA broadcast also left out the information about the tunnels and the
radio beacon on the far side of the moon, though they rushed to try and decode what that tower had transmitted.

Kevin also got a new assignment. He was now the official Air Force guard for the Wolfkin Scout ship. It was good PR, and General Packer figured he was lost to his command anyway. Benny and the scientists were also designated as the crew for Nikiri. When they went on their Mars
mission after a week back on Earth, they would all be going together again. Benny was very pleased with this, so was the Air Force, since
he was learning how to pilot that ship.

The big mystery of the trip was, who'd been on the moon to build that tunnel and whatever was behind that door? As scientists tried to figure it out, others decoded the transmission that tower had broadcast.

Once they had the answer, it was another meeting in the conference room. The whole crew of the Scout ship was brought in with General Packer and his staff and lead men from NASA and the vice President.

The man who'd decoded the transmission stood at the front of the room in front of a projector screen. He looked over the crowd in front of him and said, “The transmission was in digital format, We finally figured out is was binary and in 18 bit lengths. After we found that, we also
discovered it was a picture.”

The projector came on and it showed the famous face on Mars. “This was the entire transmission. If you notice, that face here is clear and in much better shape than it currently is.” He tapped the forehead. "The center of the forehead is flat. The nose between the brows dips close to the eyes, it may be worn down by weather now, but there is an opening down to the left eye. We believe that is the entrance into the face. Whoever
was on the moon we believe came from Mars and left this transmission for us to find. This does prove that at one time, Mars was inhabited.
They left that message for us to find. They wanted us to go enter that face.”

“Once we prove we had the spacecraft to get to the far side of the moon,” General Packer stated.

“Thanks to the Wolfkin, we do.” The Vice President said. “The President has authorized a mission to Mars to discover the truth and what we can
learn from that relic. Mrs. Okami, please take whoever you need to find out what's there. This is an important piece of the history of our solar system. The timeline for this mission is all yours. Until this mission is complete, it will be classified as Top Secret.”

Nikiri nodded to him. “Thank you, Mr. Vice President. I will let General Packer know the details as soon as we now for sure what we're going to need.”

.

The position of Mars was not good for any Earth made craft, It orbit, it was far behind of Earth, they'd have a long trip there, and possibly a longer
trip back. Using NASA's calculations, Nikiri figured it would be 8 days to get there. The Earth orbited the sun faster than Mars did. Depending on how long they stayed, it could be 10 days getting back. She got her crew together to find out what they'd need, allowing for a total of a 1 month trip.

Setsuna and Kevin both needed space suits for the Mars trip. Setsuna thought is was like clothes shopping. Nope. Benny Davidson being an astronaut has one of the bulk suits, Nikiri and Mr. B had their own suits, as did the scientists, but neither Kevin not Setsuna had real space
suits. They had to be flown to Cape Canaveral and go to the Kennedy space center to get suits made for them.

The first think Setsuna noted was that they were expected. A few times, others they met gathered around her and Kevin for pictures. It seemed everyone wanted their picture with her.

Both she and Kevin had to stand still while they got measured, The men and women here had discussions on how to 'suit up' her tail. The most comfortable way to keep her tail tight to her was to wrap it around her belly. They measured her like that.

Kevin was lucky, they got his space suit done first – he was easier, being human. When Setsuna's suit was done, it was similar, but her gloves and boots had internal metal formed in so her nails wouldn't puncture the thick fabric. The suit was hard to get on and needed someone to fit
her boots, gloves and helmet on. There was also the large oxygen pack that reminded her of a suitcase. She also noted that with this suit
on, the middle was expanded out. She thought it made her look pregnant.

Once the space suits were done, they were packed in crates, and the plane flew them back to Nellis.

Getting back, Setsuna noticed the lift platform that had taken the Chinese rover off the ship was still in place. It was being used as an external
elevator in and out of the ship so they didn't have to use the ladder. Taking their suits into the ship, Setsuna noticed the cargo bay was getting full. Mr. B was there to store their space suits in place.

“What is all this stuff?” Setsuna asked, looking at the wall of things strapped to the far wall.

Mr. B pointing said, “That cart we brought back from the moon was too degraded, so we got a new cart that holds 6 people, with solar and battery power. Four large work lights, Two battery packs, that case is helmet and suit mounted lights, A tool chest with basic hand tools, a folding
ramp to get off and on the ship at the cargo hatch here, and enough food and water for 12 weeks in space as long as we use the recycler.
Two samples cases and up in the monitoring room, we can now sit on the cases of equipment the scientists are bringing. Yeah, we're a bit
pack up now.”

“How long are we staying on Mars?” Setsuna asked.

“Scheduled 1 week,” Mr. B said. “2 to get there, stay a week, they 8 to get back. An extra week of supplies if we need them.”

Seeing Kevin eyeing him, Mr. B added, “On our way to Mars, it will be coming towards us. Coming back to Earth, we'll be chasing it. Mars moves
slower through it's orbit than Earth does.”

Kevin thought about it then nodded. “OK, I can see that.”

They were still 3 days from launch. The longer they waited the more Earth was moving away from Mars. That meant a longer trip back.

Everything was checked, then verified by another check by Mr. B, and each scientist, Benny and Nikiri. The day before they left, the whole crew was in a conference room with General Packer and a cameraman. Nikiri used a projector to show their flight and return paths, using 50% stealth.
Plenty to avoid any small debris, and low enough to ensure they retained plenty of power to get there and back.

The morning of the launch began with everyone on board and a final check of all systems and supplies. The lift was pulled away from the ship, cargo door closed and they all got in their launch seats. Nikiri contacted the flight control. They got clearance to launch.

The ship rolled out of the hanger, rose up to 100 feet off the ground. The landing gear came up, then they moved forward and up, then vanished.

Nikri piloted, Benny watching closely for anything they might run into. He also controlled the internal gravity and kept the external gravity controls
on full repulse as they shot up through the atmosphere.

In the monitoring room with Ron and Mike, Setsuna and Kevin watched displays as they got into then though orbit and left Earth behind. Although NASA insisted they all wear their Space Suits the entire trip, those were bulky and restrictive, so all the suits were packed away until they
needed them.

.

Nikri announced, “We are stable on our flight path, no significant debris detected. It's safe to get up and move around. Lunch in 3 hours.”

Getting up, Kevin looked out a view port. “This is almost like riding a regular plane, but we really are in outer space.”

“Mom's got a good ship,” Setsuna replied and hip-bumped him. “Let's go practice those songs we're going to sing.”

“OK.” they headed for their bedroom.

Back in the kitchen/lunch room, Mr, B showed the crew an enlarged photo of Mars. “Here is the clydonia region.” he tapped the photo and it
expanded. “This here is the face we're going to. To the side, a few miles away are what some think are pyramids. Other assured us they
were just natural formations. We are going to find out for sure. The plan right now is to spend two days on the face, then move over to
these pyramids and find out if they are nothing but natural features, or if there is something there we can identify as not natural.”

He then put up the picture of the face they'd made from the moon transmission and split the screen to show the best picture of the face as it currently looked. “Looking at the Moon photo, you can see the current face has been dergraded by wind and the dust storms Mars experiences. The dust storms can come up suddenly, and have been known to blanket much of the planet, or even the whole planet. We see a dust storm coming, and it's everyone back in the ship so we're protected. By the erosion pattern we can see here, the wind usually comes from the left,
hitting the left side of the face the hardest. This is a problem because what we've gathered, the left eye is the entrance to the inside. That's what we suspect. That may or not be the case.”

Ron spoke up. “There has to be a reason that tower showed us a picture of that face, so there must be something in there.”

“Agreed,” Mr. B said. “We're allowing two days to find that entrance and see what that tower wanted us to see. If it takes longer, then it does. That
is the primary point of our mission. Any time we have left after that, we go look at those Pyramids.”

“Mr. B?” Jane asked. “Can't we split up. Say two of us go inspect the pyramids while the rest investigate the face?”

Mr. B shook his head. “No, we stay together. Nikiri insists on it and remember, we will be very far from Earth. If anything happens, we're on our own. Better fairly safe than sorry. Getting lost or hurt on a vacant planet that can't sustain you is a very miserable way to die. We don't want anyone to die.”

Setsuna raised her hand. “Can me and Kevin go out this time?”

Mr. B nodded. “If you are needed. Before we decide who goes out, we need to do an initial recon over the whole face as it is now. Photos, readings, anything we can find. Only then do we plan what comes next. We take it slow and serious.”

.

Kevin had always thought going to Mars would be an exciting trip. It wasn't. Staying couped up in their ship, it was getting boreing. After 6 days of
travel, He and Setsuna decided to sing their Aerosmith songs after dinner for the crew to break up the routine. Everyone thought it was a good idea. Nikiri agreed, though she cringed a bit on what those songs might be. Jane decided she wanted to videotape them.

Setsuna and Kevin brought out a disk player and a pair of large speakers and put the in the doorway to the cargo bay. They also erected a pole for the microphone. Hooking everything together, Setsuna went first. She turned the music on and did her best to copy Steve Tyler when she
sang.

Everyone applauded her. Kevin went up to her, they hugged. Most noticed and that Setsuna was bare pawed.

"Mittens!” they all yelled.

It was Kevin's turn. Setsuna sat down watching him as her tails wagged.

Setsuna returns to Earth 5b

Kevin got behind the mike and noticed Setsuna's tail wagging. He hoped she liked this. He turned the music on and did his best to sound like Steve Tyler

He did well and got applause and some chuckles. When he went to sit, Setsuna play punched his arm, then hugged him. They shared a kiss.

“Go to your room for that, and put your mittens on!” Nikiri yelled, which brought more mirth.

Setsuna and Kevin had started a trend. Instead of just their routines, the next 'day' after dinner, they all took turns with making an event. Benny, on his off pilot time, challenged the guys to a push-up contest.

Mr. B won, but Benny stayed in there until he just couldn't push himself up one more time.

They were also close enough to the red planet, they could see it in the distance. Nikiri and Benny in the cockpit, Mr. B at the radar and nav controls, they plotted Mars' path and theirs. Nikiri checked for hazards, then lowered their stealth so they could read Mars and whatever was around it clearly. As they were plotting their entry vector, they got a communication.

“Wolfkin Scout ship, this is the Wolfkin Explorer. It's good to see you got away from Earth. Stand by for coordinates to our location.”

Nikiri grumbled, then answered, “Wolfkin Explorer, this is Wolfkin scout ship. I thought you fled back home?”

“Wolfkin scout, the Captain has ordered you to return to the ship.”

Nikiri grinned at Benny and said, “We are on a join scientific mission with humans. Do you really want us coming aboard?”

There was a pause, then in a hard tone, “Mrs. Okami, this is the captain. Who authorized you to take on a mission with humans on board?”

“General Packer authorized the mission and asked for our assistance. We gave it. You may want to consider this a mission of join cooperation. We will be landing on the surface of that red planet they call Mars for scientific study.”

“Okami, when you get there, leave the humans on the surface and return to our ship!”

“Can't do that, captain.” Nikiri told him then handed the mike to Benny.

Benny nodded. “Captain, this is Major Benny Anderson of the US Air Force. Mrs. Okami has been very helpful and cooperative with us. Understand, your order of leaving us to die on Mars is not only immoral, but may be considered an act of hostility. We do not act well in response to acts of hostility.”

Benny and Nikiri waited. It took two full minutes for a reply to come. “On behalf of the Wolfkin race, we apologize for the previous hostile actions of Setsuna Okami on your planet. Once your mission is over, we would like you to let our Wolfkin return to our ship. We will punish Setsuna for her agresivness.”

Seeing Nikiri hold her hand out, Benny gave her the mike back. She said, “The incident with Setsuna has been dealt with. If anyone does, I, as her mother will determine any actions concerning her. We also begin our approach to the Mars planet. We'll discuss this more later. Scout ship out.”

Setsuna's voice came on. “You tell him, Mom!”

She'd forgotten everyone was now interlinked on the coms, and they were being sent back to Earth.

Mr. B came on. “The clydonia section is identified, and the trajectory to it. Nikiri, just follow the path and actions in as you go.”

“Thank you, Mr. B. Everyone in their manuvering seats for entry. What do we have for atmosphere?”

“Very light, low and thin. Gravity is just below .4 Earth gravity. Much more than the moon had, but still bouncy.” Mr. B explained. “Not getting any
Geo-magnetic readings. Could be why the atmosphere is so thin, the solar wind is blowing it away.”

“Adjusting for conditions,” Benny said. “Hang tight, we're going in.”

Setsuna returns to Earth 6

Nikiri coaxed Benny when he needed on the way down. He got them to the surface, flying low over the land. When they got to the face, there was no missing it, it was like a mountain in the shape of a face. First, all but hovering, they moved around the base low, videoing every bit as
everyone looked at the giant structure. This close, it was obvious not a natural formation. Many thousands of years of dust storms had done their erosion work.

After moving around the base, Nikiri took then up from the bottom of the chin and slowly over the face. Getting to the tip of the nose, Benny said,
“Look at the left eye, or rather, what's left of it.”

The camera showed an eye shape that had a large hole in it. The eye socket on the outside edge also looked very weathered.

Mr. B stated, “The dust storms, hundred of thousands of years of them have done their work.”

“That hole looks to be at least 50 yards across. Can we fly in there?” Ron asked.

“We study it first,” Benny stated.

“We do,” Nikiri agreed. “Benny shift us vertical, nose down so I can get the landing lights in there. Mr. B, What's the measurements of that hole?”

Benny moved over the hole in the eye, then carefully manipulated the gravity controls so they were pointed down in the hole.

Mr. B replied. “Fifty six point 4 meters long, top to bottom of the face, Forty seven point one wide, side to side on the face. It's big enough if we
want to go in.”

“Looks like a sand covered floor,” Nikiri said. “Humped up some, the inside chamber is larger than the entry hole.”

“So, do we go in?” Barry asked.

Nikiri thought hard. “We'll fit, but if a sandstorm comes, we won't see it coming, and I'm sure the air will get real turbulent in there.”

Mr. B said, got a distance reading. “The bottom of that chamber is 130 meters down. Guys, this is the windward side of the face. I'm thinking we look at the other eye before we try to go in there.”

“Agreed,” Nikiri said firmly. “Benny, back us up a bit then move to the other eye.”

Benny maneuvered them over the other eye. This one had a stone pupil in the center that had radial iris around it. Looking at it from close above, Mr. B said, “See that pupil? It reminds me of a hatch.”

Slowly, Nikiri said, “It does. Benny, move us over near the tip of the nose and land. This is the lee side, safer if a dust storm comes. We'll use
anchors to help hold the ship in place.”

Once they were down and the wheel brakes locked, Nikiri went back into the monitoring area and strongly said, “Everyone into your space suits,
help each other put them on. There's hardly any air out there, and what there is, is toxic! A little less than half Earth gravity, so watch your step when you go out.”

It took a few minutes to get everyone suited up. Once she had hers on and sealed, Jane got the camera with the light on it. “Mr. B, tell me what's
happening,” she said as she turned the camera on him.

He pointed to Nikiri who was pumping the atmosphere out. “We've landed on Mars. Right on the face, right cheek actually. We've suited up to go out, and Nikiri's pumping the air out of the cargo hold. The right eye on the face looks like there might be an entrance. We're going to see if there is.”

The door opened and the ramp was pushed out. “Watch your step!” Nikiri said again, then went down the ramp. One by one they gathered at the expanse of the eye. Unlike the ruined one, the long curve of this eye was capped by the iris and pupil.

Mr. B had tied a rope around his waist. He handed the other end to Ron and Mike. “If I fall, stop me.”

They nodded. He walked out cautiously onto the eye and stopped by the iris. After tapping the iris with his foot, he took a tentative step, then walked slowly to the pupil. Bending forward a bit, Mr.B's voice came into their coms. “It looks smooth and solid. No cracks, nothing to indicate it's a hatch.”

Kevin's voice was next. “Hey, over here. Setsuna found the way down, steps in the right side nostril!”

“Yeah, we just go up his nose!” Setsuna said happily.

Nikiri looked over to see Kevin wave to them. She wasn't happy they wandered away from the group. But they did find the way down.

.

At their boss's since lab where one of the things they monitored was the surface of Mars, using the European Observer's feed. The tech watching cried out, “We got movement on the surface!”

Hanna and three others raced over to the screen.

“A shadow?” a man asked.

Hanna looked close then her face spread into a smile. She pointed. “There! I know that ship! It belongs to Setsuna's parents!”

The tech frowned. “It looks like an old space shuttle. How'd it get to Mars?”

Whoever was controlling the feed, moved the camera in a jerk to watch the shuttle flying over the land and away. It was lost over the horizon, but the tech was studiously copying the footage. Everyone looked at Hanna.

“I saw that ship, close up in London,” Hanna explained excitedly. “Remember I told you about the Wolfkin girl? Her parents made their scout ship
look like a space shuttle the Americans used. They thought they'd blend in and not be noticed.”

“Someone get the boss, he's going to want to see this!” a man stated loudly.

.

“The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out, they eat the boogers from your snout,” Kevin sang as they went down the stairs inside the nose.

Setsuna giggled. Nikiri said, “Kevin, enough.”

“Sorry,” he replied sheepishly.

All their lights on, Jane recording their decent into the face. Setsuna pointed to a glass looking orb on the ceiling. “Is that an ancient booger?”

“I think it used to be a light,” Mr. B said firmly.

“So the worms got all the boogers.” Setsuna concluded.

Kevin chuckled.

“Guys! This is serious, keep a close watch out.” Nikiri scolded.

Going straight down a couple hundred feet, the stairs turned left. The opening beyond was a room. They went in. The only thing in the room was a stone statue. It looked like a tall, thinner human, the head looked the same as the face they were in. On the statue, the thing that was
around the face was not a solid ring, but carved to look like hair. The left side thin arm was raised up in greeting, the right was motioning to an entrance on the the right that had more stairs going down.

“I want to get a good vid of this statue,” Jane said.

They waited as Jane videoed the statue from every angle.

“They were taller than us,” Benny noted. “I imagine due to the lighter gravity. This proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Mars was once inhabited.”

Mike nodded. “It was, and some of them went to Earth's moon to leave that message. But why not just land on Earth?”

Ron spoke up. “Think about it, Earth is heavier, more gravity. I don't think these people could have handled it. Plus, Mars had been dead for what
we think as millions of years. A tall, thin person would be lunch meat to any prehistoric animal.”

“Earth is also pretty violent at times,” Mike added. “Always had been with wild weather, earthquakes and volcanoes. Add animals big enough to eat you, and it makes sense why they went to the moon.”

“To wait for intelligent life to develop.” Jane added.

“Are we there yet?” Kevin asked vacantly.

Mr. B laughed. He patted Kevin on his helmet. “Getting there, kid.”

The next opening was wide, like a three lane highway wide. All along the walls were reliefs, not carvings. The relief pictures showed what they took was daily life for these people. One was a kitchen scene, women cooking, the next was kids playing a game in bushes, chasing each other.
Another with people by the water, some in the water swimming and boating. There were scenes of tall men in what looked like meeting
rooms, maybe arguing, one man holding a thin finger up as if making a point. All along this hallway, it showed the common lives of these
people. People living their lives on a planet that had plenty of plants and water. There was a lot here, showing they had made everything humans had so far. One was what looked like a theater with a seated crowd. Another was a car race, then a flying machine race. The walls showed an active, vibrant community.

Finally coming to the end of this hallway, there was a doorway that was bracketed by statues. Both statues had their heads down, one hand on their face as the other motioned towards the doorway.

Alerts beeped in helmets, Mr. B noticed his oxygen supply was down to half. Nikiri noticed this too. They'd been walking slow and inspecting. Nikiri said, “Time's up for today. Everyone, back to the ship. We'll see more tomorrow.”

Walking back at a normal pace, Ron said, “I think that next room is not good news.”

“The beginning of something happening,” Mike agreed. “Damn shame. They looked like some decent folks.”

.

Getting back to the ship, the sun was down. They all got in and closed the door then pressurized the cargo space. Getting his helmet off, Mr. B frowned. “Whatever it was, I think they knew it was coming.

They made this place long before their civilization collapsed. They recorded everything.”

“Protected in stone,” Benny agreed. “Possibly so whoever found it, knew they were here and what happened to them. Hence the tower on the moon. At least some of them escaped.”

“Maybe some of them are still alive on the moon, underground?” Jane asked.

“Someone did make that tunnel we found,” Benny said. “Tunneling isn't instant. Neither is building a tower. They were there for a while, anyway.”

“We should go back and see.” Ron stated.

“We will,” Nikiri replied. “First, let's at least find out the whole story, or as much of it as we can.”

Checking her 'Houston' time, it was just past 4 PM. Nikiri said, “OK, food and rest. We're going to start out early, very early at 3 AM, so Setsuna
and Kevin, NO fooling around tonight. We'll also be taking spare oxygen packs so we have more time below.”

.

Sleep was hard after what they found. Kevin behaved himself. He still cuddled up close with Setsuna as she did with him, her tail wrapped tightly
around him.

“Those poor people,” she said softly.

“Yeah,” Kevin breathed. “Kinda wonder if that will happen to us eventually.” He slowly stroked her fur.

They stayed awake for a while just holding each other. Eventually, they drifted off to sleep.

.

Morning came early and harsh. Nikiri wasn't waiting for lazy risers. She and Mr. B banged on doors and shouted to get everyone up. Breakfast was fast, pre-made food packs (and cold). By 4 AM they were all in the cargo bay, putting their suits on while finishing munching down breakfast.
They checked their equipment and seals on their suits, then the cargo bay air was pumped out to Mars pressure and they headed out with extra air packs and back up into the nose of the face.

.

NASA had purposely avoided taking any more photographs of the face on Mars. Today they did. Not a grainy or blurred photo, but one with clear resolution. They found the face and the 'Space shuttle' parked on the right cheek.

General Packer had come to Houston the day after Nikiri's ship was due there, and he got to see confirmation that is was.

The NASA commander, eyed him. “You said they launched last week.” he accused.

“They did,” Packer replied. “I didn't quite believe Nikiri when she said they'd be there in a week, but there they are. Looks like they have a ramp
coming out of the ship.”

The commander asked, “How in the hell did they get there so fast? A trip to Mars takes months!”

Packer shrugged. “That ship may look like an old shuttle, but by what I've been told and seen, it is much more advanced. Nikiri talked about anti-gravity and warping space-time. Much of it was over my head, but I guess that ship can do damn near anything except travel faster than light.”

“Are we going to copy it?”

“We're going to try like hell,” Packer stated. “And if anyone asks, we don't know a thing about it.”

.

The second day they marched straight down to the door to the second chamber. Jane began recording there. In the second long hallway, the scenes on the walls had a different tone. No one was just walking around, no one was smiling. Men ran, men were building the five sided pyramids nearby with a mass of labor, some working inside to erect a large machine. Women were in a line, bringing them food and water. Some
were watching the sky, Others huddled children together like they were comforting them. No one looked happy, they looked harried and worried. One scene showed an explosion high in the sky. Another showed what looked like meteor impacts. Another showed a large, cylindrical ship being built.

Farther down the hall, the pictures got worse. More impacts, a tsunami wave approaching the shore as everyone ran. In the background on the
water, water burst high in the air. Another was even worst. It showed a large meteor coming down. Something was above it. Something with a
triangular shape.

Jane zoomed in on the shape. There wasn't much detail, but she said, “That's a ship! By the way this was made, it looks like that ship guided the incoming asteroid down onto them!”

“So, it wasn't a natural disaster,” Benny noted.

“They were wiped our on purpose,” Benny said blankly.

Another picture showed the cylindrical ship being loaded as the pyramids shot streaks up into the sky. High above, one streak hit something, showing an explosion. Another picture of the pyramids showed the pyramids firing again, this time one exploded out to the side. In this picture the
rubble of homes and buildings were seen.

The last picture in this room was huge, and the worst of all. Tiny ships were around a huge asteroid and headed straight for Mars. Far below on the picture, people were running, their mouths opened in silent, wide eyed screams.

Ron pointed to the asteroid. “That, right there explains it! We always thought, by the odd shape of Mars, something huge impacted it and drove right to the core to stop the natural core function of generating a magnetic field around the planet. That would also explain why most of the atmosphere was blown away.”

“Someone killed this planet on purpose,” Mike said grimly.

“This is sick,” Mr. B said heavily. “Why murder an entire species?”

“Unforgivable,” Nikiri said with a sniffle.

Setsuna looked at the next doorway. There wasn't any statues by it. She hugged herself. “Do we have to go in there?” she asked weakly.

“No,” Nikiri said firmly. “Only myself, Benny, Ron and Jane to record. Mike, keep Setsuna and Kevin out here.”

“You got it,” Mike agreed.

Mr. B grabbed Nikiri's hand. “Lets get this over with.”

Setsuna looked at Kevin, he held her hand. “How can anyone be so horrible?” she asked with a sniffle.

Sadly Kevin said, “I don't know. What I do know is Earth is preparing for possible impacts from space. I think knowing this will hurry along those
plans.”

.

Although Setsuna didn't go into that room, she heard the coms.

“Here, their ship got off the surface and got away.”

“Damn look at this one, the ground cracking, the huge far off mushroom cloud, right on this next one, it kinda looks like a concussion wave … is that another asteroid coming in?”

“Yeah, looks like it. Hey, this one here isn't finished, I think someone was trying to duplicate the moon, that cylindrical ship is pointing at it.”

“Ugh Guys, look at the floor. Those dust ridges look like bones.”

“Being so old, they could well be. There's very corroded tools on the floor too.”

Nikiri sobbed. “They died trying to document what happened.”

“Whoever did this to Mars and it's people needs to be taught a very painful lesson!”

“Let's get out of here. Jane you got everything?”

A sobby, “Yeah, let's go.”

Nikiri came out first, not looking happy. “Come on, we're going back to the ship. We're going back to the moon and see if we can find any of those
people!”

.

Having only spent 3 days on the moon instead of a week, the trip back to Earth was going to be a little faster. It only took a couple hours to verify
hull integrity and pack everything up to travel. It would be even faster still, if Nikiri could get some help. Right after they launched, she opened a channel to their ship.

“This is Nikiri Okami, I wish to speak with the Captain as soon as possible!”

“Scout ship, the captain has ordered you to leave the humans with you on that planet. Did you do so?”

Nikiri scowled at nothing. “I've got vital information for Earth and I need to get to Earth's moon as fast as possible. I've got no time to negotiate with you! Will you help or NOT?”

“This is the captain. Mrs. Okami, since when to you give me orders?”

“I'm not ordering anything. I'm asking for help to get to Earth's moon. Will you help? There well may be lives as stake.”

“Lives do not concern me, the safety of my ship does.”

Nikiri nearly crushed the mike in her grip. “No one on my scout ship will exit or cause any damage. We just want to get there as fast as possible.”

“I cannot allow humans on my ship!'

In a growl Nikiri said, “If you're so useless, then go home!”

In a stern tone, the captain said, “You are being insubordinate! I relieve you of your responsibilities. You are no longer a commander on this ship!”

“That's right, I'm not. I'm doing something that may save the lives of a very few left of a species who may be there. If you can't help with that I
don't want to be part of your ship. Okami OUT!”

She then powered up full stealth. “Mr. B, plot a course to Earth's moon at full stealth. We're going to light speed!”

A moment later. Mr. B replied, “Course plotted. You know this will all but drain our reserve power. We won't be able to move very far once we get
there.”

“Can't be helped. The captain's mad and pulling his fur out and we need to evacuate the area and get to the moon fast as possible.”

Mr. B snorted. “We be pirates now?”

“Aye matey! Sending the course to the pilot's station. Don't over shoot or we might run into the moon going very, very fast.”

Benny laughed.

25 minutes later, Nikiri dropped full stealth. The moon was in front of them. She set the coms to Houston's frequency. “Houston control, this is the
Scout ship. We're 16000 out from the moon, we'll be searching for something on the dark side. Very important. I'll fill you in when we find it.”

“Scout ship, this is General Packer. Dare I ask how you got back here so fast? Can you give me a hint on what you're looking for?”

Nikiri grinned. “Don't drop your mike, but it's possible there's live Martians living in the moon. If they are there, we'll find them.”

There was a click in response, then nothing.

“We start looking by the tower?” Benny asked.

Nikiri nodded. “They probably aren't far away from it. Mr. B, scan the surface for everything once we get to the dark side. We might find thermal hints, detect something metallic, or maybe something visual.”

“Got it,” Mr. B replied. He got to work and recruited help from the scientists to cover all the sensors and turn on all the exterior lights. If there
were any live Martians left, they were going to find them.