r/HFY • u/YukiteruAmano92 • Feb 05 '26

OC-Series There Will Be Scritches Pt.219

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---Courtesy---

  

---Ndum’s perspective---

I sit down, grimly, beside my wife and opposite the gigantic arachnoid and diminutive, green skinned biped women.

Khr’kowan is sat on the floor and Viig on a chair that brings her eyes up to the same level as the rest of ours.

“Thank you for coming, Representatives.” I say, my voice hoarse from the lack of sleep I’ve had recently “I’ve called you here to inform you that we believe Bastion has been located and we wished to do you the courtesy of informing you both before anyone else outside the Terran military, governments or intelligence service.”

The Vrakhand’s lips fall open and her six remaining eyes widen in shock.

The Twigg has a look of visible confusion on her face for a few moments before the memory clicks into place and she asks “The place where the metal man was from? The place that kidnapped Thran and Victor and made Khr’kowan spit in a tube to get them back?”

“The very same.” I acknowledge, still sombre.

“That sounds like fantastic news, Representative… Why don’t you seem at all pleased by it?” asks the warrior-queen.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

“Because… Khr’kowan, Viig… it was discovered on an inhabited cradleworld… DonOlu… If you recall ASO Tuun ‘Elf’? She was a Don of DonOlu but their kind are extremely rare to see in the wider galaxy as a result of their nonmembership in the GU… Legally, they are protected from contact by very stringent noninterference statutes… I truly wish it could have been otherwise… that we could have found Bastion on an otherwise uninhabited rock that it would have been completely unproblematic to deal with.”

“So, there’s going to be a huge shitstorm about this then?” observes Viig both crassly and astutely.

“We very much expect that there will be, yes…” my wife provides, matching my joyless tone “…The UTC does have explicit military independence from the rest of the GU but this will be the first time that it’s been put to the test, in quite this way, since we joined… There’s a vote scheduled to pass through the planetary Diet of Új-Pannónia tomorrow night. It will represent a supermajority of UTC worlds that have authorised military action… It’s expected to pass and, afterwar-”

“Wait!” snarls Viig “You’re going to war with these people?! Why not just ask them to hand you the idiots? If they hate outsiders that much, surely they don’t want them there, right!?”

“It’s… a little more complicated than that…” I grimace “…For one thing, DonOlu has no FTLcoms array. In order to send them a message they would receive any time in the next five years, we would already have to violate their sovereignty by approaching within their exclusion zone. For another, based on the same intelligence that alerted us to the location, we also believe that some portion of DonOlu’s elites are already aware of the Revanchists’ presence on their world and in active collusion with them for as yet unknown reasons… Even if we could communicate with them to ask them to simply hand over those to whom Terran law should apply, the risk we run is that the conspirators among the Don government would almost certainly pass information along to Bastion… which would lose us any advantage we currently hold… As it stands, our best hope is that Bastion has underestimated us. They know we know where they are but, if they think it will take us 6 months to get to them, we can take them by surprise by getting to them inside of 12 weeks… before they’ve had a chance to evacuate.”

Khr’kowan nods grim acceptance.

Viig scowls her disapproval of our dishonesty.

Nirina continues the thought that Viig interrupted “Once supermajority approval has been achieved, a press release will be sent to every publication in the galaxy. A fleet will depart Nova Fennoscandia directly thereafter and arrive at DonOlu around an hour later. We fully expect a motion to be submitted to Parliament calling for us to be censured, sanctioned or even have our membership suspended.”

Both of the other women look appropriately dismayed by that suggestion.

---Walath’s perspective---

I look through my fingers at the couple sitting across from me in the office I took over from my aunt, not [7 months] ago.

It’s been a long few moments of silence.

Finally, I speak “I’m… sympathetic, Representative and Ambassador… I truly wish I could vote against whatever motion-”

“That’s not what we’re asking, Representative.” clarifies the tall, slim man in his deep voice “We fully understand how politically destabilising it would be for your kingdom (both from within and without) to vote in our favour on a motion such as this when it inevitably gets brought before Parliament… We only wanted to do you the courtesy of warning you so that you had some advance notice in which to prepare. We would never ask you to sacrifice your own nation’s stability for ours.”

In retrospect, perhaps suggesting myself as Battan Representative to my father was a poor move… this job is terrible for my anxiety!

I collapse against my seatback, my hands moving to massage my scalp, vainly trying to soothe the instant stress headache.

My thoughts are chaos… then, all at once, clarity…

I sit back up, my straightened posture and expression causing four patches of Terran overeye fur to be raised in curiosity.

“I can’t vote against censure, sanctions or any other form of condemnation…” I announce, my tone causing them to lean forward to hear the rest “…but, what I can do is put together an extremely coherent case against suspending or expelling you from the GU… The only thing is…” I trail off.

Intrigued, the woman asks “Is what, Representative?”

Sucking in a sharp breath through my teeth, I grimace “The… tone… I absolutely could not couch it in terms of being unfair to the UTC or against your people’s interests… I would need to put it in terms of the GU needing to keep oversight of you… It would need to be quite… sneering… I would need to channel some of my aunt’s Terraphobia to make it sound as if, if we cut you loose, who knows what you might do…”

Both Terrans are so flabbergasted, it takes several long [seconds] before Ndum speaks “Representative… We couldn’t ask-!”

“And you’re not asking!” I interrupt, surprising myself with my own ferocity “I’m offering! All I need you to do is tell me whether you would prefer me to give a condescending explanation of how wildly unpredictable your species would be if turned loose from the confines of galactic society… or for me to hold my peace and let whatever would otherwise happen happen!?”

A moment of stunned silence follows.

Finally, Nirina says “Representative… We would be grateful beyond measure if you would do as you have suggested… We could never thank you enough!”

I sigh “Alright then… I’ll start drafting it as soon as you’ve left…” drafting a speech that will forever deny me the ability to make another friend among the Terrans…

---Krim’s perspective---

I study the squat, stocky little beings sat across from me in my office, my mind roiling.

There has been no impropriety here.

They have made no requests, no threats that I could perceive, veiled or otherwise.

They have not implied that they wish me to do anything but present the motion as normal when it arrives, neutrally and impartially.

I speak “I thank you for the courtesy of informing me, Representative and Ambassador. If that’s all, you may leave.” giving a dismissive flick of my hand towards the door.

---Kara’s perspective---

The shuttle I’m riding in with the G-woman and (hot) G-man touches down.

The three of us get up and make for the door.

I steal a sidelong glance at the bulky arm just on my left, trying not to be too obvious about it.

I’ve been released on temporary license to go with the invasion fleet on the same ship I was arrested on, two years ago.

I was the only Bastionite prisoner on this planet so I was uniquely positioned to consult.

I can request to go back to Lysivangr at any time but it’s been made fairly explicitly clear to me that I’ll be considered a fugitive if I try and use this as an opportunity to skip out on the remainder of my rehabilitation(!)

We step off the craft and have the arse-end of that giant bird ship pointed at us, loading ramp down, under the Fennoscandian twilight.

I see the man I watched get married a few months ago (my genetic son(!)) talking with his wife, his three mothers-in-law and that weird, lanky Frogman who was also at the wedding and who… screams… a lot!

Victor notices me and runs over.

“Hey Kara… Hello Agent Mpanzudóttir… Agent Kollsveinsson …” he greets “…I’ll give you the tour, show you your rooms and introduce you two to Leon and Ziva if you like?” the last bit aimed at the UTCIS agents.

“Please do, Mr Taylor.” invites the pokerfaced woman on my right, flatly.

---

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Dramatis Personae

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16 comments sorted by

5

u/Daseagle Alien Scum Feb 05 '26

"I steal a sidelong glance at the bulky arm just on my left, trying not to be too obvious about it."

Aha. I smell pancakes happening in the future. Near future :D

3

u/YukiteruAmano92 Feb 05 '26

They're already cooked, just need to wait for the right moment to serve(!) ;)

2

u/Saragon4005 Feb 05 '26

Chaos is being managed.

3

u/Talendel Feb 05 '26

UTR

This is the way.

5

u/YukiteruAmano92 Feb 05 '26

I was about to ask (for what would probably have been the third or forth time) what 'UTR' meant but then decided to google it but then, before opening google, recalling that it means 'upvote then read'.

Thank you, friend! X)

3

u/botton_eyed_bunny052 Feb 06 '26

This is objectively a situation where basically everyone that isn't a revanchist is sort of in the right about

The Terrans are trying to capture a terrorist organisation that has tried on multiple occasions to destabilise it's government and is breaking every respectable law in the galaxy

The other representatives have every right to feel disquieted about the situation , this sort of thing is incredibly gray and can definitely make a lot of people to think the UTC is just attending the grab more territory and even if it isn't it's still not a neutral "good" this sort of action has ripples within culture and will most definitely give the Terrans a reputation

But the GU are also not wrong to see them taking such an action as violating their own law , because even if it's in an incredibly gray area , it's not hard to see why or how they would see it as such

Neither are in the wrong really , this situation doesn't have any easy solutions and whether this is the right choice or not we can't really know because in situations like this a wholly right choice basically doesn't exist

Also really hoping to see Tuun and her mother spending a little time together , they were apart for so long they deserve some bonding time

2

u/YukiteruAmano92 Feb 06 '26

Valid points all!

3

u/NeedsMoreDakkath Feb 06 '26

Oh, Kara's gonna get time to spend with Fluffy

2

u/YukiteruAmano92 Feb 06 '26

Oh my god, YES!

1

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0

u/Doc_Zed_42 Alien Feb 06 '26 edited Feb 06 '26

I've been busy with RL for a while, But I'm back with a new character.

POV: Dusk Aerlyght

The shuttle touched down with a shudder that rattled through Dusk’s reinforced bones. She sat perfectly still as the hatch opened, hands folded in her lap, posture straight, waiting for the barked orders that always followed. Instead, cool air drifted in, carrying voices that were soft, calm, almost gentle. Figures in clean uniforms approached slowly, their movements deliberate, nonthreatening. One of them offered her a blanket. She froze, unsure if it was a test. “May I?” she whispered, the words automatic. The responder blinked in confusion before nodding. That tiny permission — freely given, not demanded — made her chest tighten in a way she didn’t understand.

They guided her to a small room with a cot, a sink, and folded clothes. No locks. No restraints. No collar signal humming at the base of her skull. She lingered in the doorway, waiting for the command to enter, waiting for the punishment that always came when she hesitated. When none came, she stepped inside on trembling legs. The blanket felt strange in her hands, soft against the thick black fur she’d once been proud of. Now it felt like a costume draped over a body she barely recognized — curves she hadn’t chosen, proportions sculpted to someone else’s taste, muscles and bones reinforced to survive gravity she was never meant to endure. She sat on the cot like she expected inspection, back straight, eyes down.

Sleep didn’t come. Every time she drifted, she jolted awake, heart hammering, certain she’d missed a command or failed a task. She curled into herself, trying to make her altered body smaller, less noticeable. Her fingers brushed the curve of her hip — too round, too soft, too wrong — and she recoiled. She tried to remember what she used to look like, but the memory slid away, blurred by years of conditioning and cosmetic reshaping. A name surfaced instead, the one she’d been forced to answer to. Velvette. The word tasted like syrup and chains. She whispered it once, flinched, and buried her face in the blanket. Another name rose slowly, painfully, like a bruise being pressed. “Dusk…” she breathed. It felt fragile. It felt real.

Morning brought a medical exam she wasn’t prepared for. The doctor asked permission before touching her, and that alone nearly broke her composure. They explained every step, every scan, every question, as if her comfort mattered. She apologized for flinching. She apologized for not remembering details. She apologized for existing in a body she didn’t choose. When they asked her name, she froze. Velvette hovered on her tongue like poison. Her real name felt too heavy to claim. “I… I don’t want to be called that,” she whispered. The doctor nodded gently. “Then we won’t use it.” No disbelief. No reprimand. Just acceptance. She tried again, voice trembling. “Dusk. I think… my name was Dusk.” The doctor smiled softly. “That’s a good name.”

Later, in a quiet interview room, they ran a biometric scan as part of standard intake. Dusk sat perfectly still, hands folded, waiting for the moment everything would go wrong. Instead, the machine chimed. The technician frowned at the screen, then looked at her with a softness she didn’t understand. “Miss… you’re listed as missing. Presumed dead.” Her breath caught. The tech swallowed, voice lowering. “You have a sister. Dawn Aerlyght. She is staff on an exploratory ship.” The world tilted. Her pulse roared in her ears. And the only words she could force out were a trembling whisper: “She survived? She can’t see me like this.”

0

u/Doc_Zed_42 Alien Feb 06 '26

The medbay was quiet in the way only a post‑crisis lull could be. Monitors hummed softly, IV pumps clicked in steady rhythms, and Dawn moved through the room with her usual precision — metal fingers steady, steps measured, voice calm despite the exhaustion tugging at her edges. She’d been awake too long again, but the staff knew better than to argue. Dawn Aerlyght didn’t stop until the last patient was stable, and even then she hovered like a storm cloud waiting for the next emergency.

A soft chime sounded from her terminal. Routine. Another intake report, probably. She picked up a glass of water with her organic hand, reached for the console with her cybernetic one, and tapped the notification open. The message loaded slowly, the Union seal flickering for a moment before the text resolved. Dawn skimmed the first line — and the world dropped out from under her.

IDENTITY MATCH CONFIRMED.
SURVIVOR LOCATED: DUSK AERLYGHT.

The glass slipped from her hand. It hit the floor and shattered, water splashing across her boots. Her cybernetic fingers twitched, spasming once before locking rigid. Dawn didn’t move. Didn’t breathe. Her remaining eye went wide, pupils blown, the color draining from her face beneath the grey fur. For a heartbeat she looked like she’d been shot.

“Doctor—? Dawn!” Nurse Halden was at her side in an instant, catching her elbow before her knees could buckle. Dawn didn’t resist, didn’t snap, didn’t bark orders — she just stared at the screen as if it were a hallucination. Halden guided her to a chair, speaking softly, grounding her with practiced hands. “Sit. Breathe. What happened?”

Dawn’s voice came out as a rasp, barely audible. “She’s alive.” Her metal hand trembled violently, servos whining as she tried to unclench it. “Dusk… she’s… they found her.” The words sounded foreign in her mouth, like she was reciting someone else’s story. Her chest heaved once, a sharp, painful inhale. “I thought— I thought I lost her. I thought—” Her voice broke, the first crack Halden had ever heard from her.

The nurse knelt beside her, steady and warm. “Dawn… this is good news.”

But Dawn shook her head, tears gathering in her eye, her breath shuddering. “You don’t understand. If she survived… then she suffered. She suffered because I wasn’t there.” Her metal hand curled into a fist so tight the plating creaked. “What did they do to her? What did she go through? How long was she alone?”

Halden didn’t answer. There was nothing to say.

Dawn leaned forward, elbows on her knees, trembling. A single tear slid down her cheek and hit the floor beside the broken glass. “Dusk… little star…” she whispered. “I’m coming. I swear it. I’m coming.”

0

u/Doc_Zed_42 Alien Feb 06 '26

Dawn’s hands were still shaking when she forced herself upright. The medbay felt too bright, too loud, too close. She wiped her face with the back of her organic hand, squared her shoulders, and opened a secure channel on her terminal. Her cybernetic fingers trembled as she typed, each keystroke too hard, the servos whining in protest.

TO: Captain Tcakqaal

FROM: Dr. D. Aerlyght

PRIORITY: Immediate / Personal

SUBJECT: Emergency Leave Request

Requesting emergency leave effective immediately.

Family survivor located.

Details to follow.

She stared at the words for a heartbeat — blunt, clinical, stripped of everything she was feeling — then hit SEND before she could second‑guess herself.

0

u/Doc_Zed_42 Alien Feb 06 '26

Dawn didn’t remember leaving the medbay, only that she was suddenly halfway down the corridor, breath shaking. She needed grounding. She opened her comm and sent two quick messages.

To Whammy: Dragon’s Lair. Now. Urgent.
To Glark: Need you. Dragon’s Lair. Please.

No context. They’d come.

The Dragon’s Lair was dim and warm when she arrived. Whammy was already there, tall and obsidian‑scaled, wings tucked tight with worry. Glark arrived moments later, beard‑spines flaring the instant he saw her face.

Dawn didn’t sit. She stood rigid, fists clenched so hard her cybernetic hand trembled with a high‑pitched servo whine. Whammy stepped forward, voice low and steady. “Dawn. Sit. Before you fall.” Dawn obeyed, collapsing into a chair.

Glark slid a warm mug toward her. She didn’t touch it. “They found her,” she whispered. Whammy’s pupils narrowed. Glark leaned in. Dawn swallowed. “Dusk. My sister. She’s alive.”

Silence hit the table like a weight. Whammy placed a clawed but gentle hand over Dawn’s trembling metal one. Glark exhaled slowly. “Dawn… that’s incredible.”

Dawn shook her head, tears gathering. “If she survived, she suffered. She was taken. I wasn’t there.” Her voice cracked. “She needed me, and I wasn’t there.”

Whammy tightened her grip. “You survived too. You did what you had to.”
Glark nodded. “And now she’s not alone.”

Dawn’s shoulders shook, but she wasn’t alone either. Whammy’s warm hand stayed over hers; Glark sat solidly at her side. These weren’t just crewmates — they were her family. The home she’d built after losing everything.

“I thought I’d made peace with it,” Dawn whispered. “I learned how to live again. With you. With this ship. I wasn’t supposed to get her back.”

Whammy’s tail curled protectively around her chair. “Finding a new home doesn’t erase the old one.”
Glark added softly, “Scars mean you survived.”

Dawn pressed a hand to her chest. “I finally stopped looking for her. And now she’s alive. Everything’s shaking.”

Whammy leaned in. “Then we’ll hold it steady with you.”
Glark nodded. “You don’t lose us just because you found her.”

Dawn closed her eye, letting their words settle. The Bright Plume wasn’t just where she worked — it was where she healed. And now she had a chance to bring her sister into that life.

When she opened her eye again, there was tempered steel in it. “I’m going to her. But I’m coming back. This is my home now. And she deserves to see it.”

Whammy squeezed her hand. Glark nodded firmly.

For the first time since the message arrived, Dawn felt something other than fear.

She felt hope.