The Falcon's Eye: Remembrances An Anthropomorphic Short Story by Bookshire S. DraftWood (bookshir@mailandnews.com) All parts of this story including, but not limited to characters locations, and events are the property of the author. This story may be freely distributed through any electronic media such as web pages, FTP sites, Email and the like in it's original, un altered state. This work may not be published in any type of 'fan-zine' or other physical media without the permission of the author. The character 'Todd F. Riverden' is the property of Craig Fox (toddfox@megsinet.net) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The Spacer's Bar on board Space Station: First Light had been described often by it's customers as a place where anything can and usually did happen. Not that there were frequent riots or the place was generally unruly. It simply was a place were anyone could go to completely hang loose. Situated, as it was at the edge of one of the very top corners of the station, it had a very excellent view of space, provided by the huge clear trextainium dome. It was the perfect place to come and relax, meet friends and listen to the latest tunes. It was in this place that Jonathan found himself a few hours after he had returned from his first flight aboard The Falcon's Eye as it's Chief Engineer. Like most others, he was still in uniform even though he was off duty. It simply was that the uniforms of the Hectairian fleet were exceedingly comfortable and functional, both as a dress uniform as well as for off duty activities. As Jonathan headed for the bar, he looked around at all the familiar sights. This was one of the few places on the station he was no stranger to, having frequented it regularly when he was between assignments. He walked over to the bartender...a short, amusing skunk, by the name of Patterson. "Evening, Commander," he said as Jonathan walked up "What can I get ya?" "You get in any new drinks since last year?" Jonathan asked. "Define new," Patterson said "Seems every new world discovered either has drinks that are poisonous to us or if they ARE edible, then they're just some variation on something we already have. I guess taste is fairly universal." "Hmmm, in that case, just give me an ice cold double vanilla soda, straight up," Jonathan responded. "Coming right up," Patterson replied as he began mixing it. Replicators were nice, but there was something to be desired in the personal touch. As he handed Jonathan his drink, Todd and Bookshire happened along and smiled. "Hey there," Todd said "If it isn't our newest member." "Hey guys," Jonathan said, taking a drink. Todd and Bookshire both ordered ice cold soda with double the syrup as Bookshire talked. "So, what do you think of us so far?" he asked. "I can't say I have any complaints," Jonathan responded "When do we get to go universe hunting?" "Impatient already," Todd grinned taking a swig of his drink "Don't worry. Knowing us, we'll probably get a call for an assignment by tomorrow. They don't give us much of a break around here." "Good thing, too," Bookshire said "Things get boring here pretty fast for the likes of us." "To true," Todd said. The three took their drinks to a table near the edge of the dome and sat, looking out into space. After a moment Jonathan smiled. "So, I just gotta ask," he began "How did the two of you meet, anyway?" Bookshire glanced over at him and smirked. "You sure get right to the heart of the matter, don't you," he grinned. "He better if he wants to stay a part of this crew," Todd said with a wide grin. Bookshire grinned too. "No kidding," he said with a smile "Anyway, here's what happened. It was about five years ago..." Bookshire's shuttle docked at the main hangar bay. He stepped out onto the deck of the station, wearing his uniform of a blue robe over a white, comfortable body-suit. He gripped his bag nervously and headed off the deck, looking for a lift to take him to the check in lines. Thus far it had been an overwhelming week. Not forty-eight hours after being promoted to Gatherer, had his Mentor immediately assigned him to duty. Not only had she done that, but his post was NOT going to be in one of the many science and research centers that practically covered Hectairia Five. Instead, he had been posted to a newly commissioned explorer ship that was in need of a Science Officer...The Falcon's Eye, it was called. He sighed some as he found a lift and it whisked him away through the station. He'd never been much of a space traveler. Instead, he preferred to keep his feet firmly planted on the ground. Then this assignment had to come along. He prayed he didn't get space sick his first time out. As it was, he was constantly getting sickness medication from the shuttle's on-board dispenser during the flight to the station. Once he located the check-in lines, it was a long and boring wait for him before he got up to the counter and checked in. He made little conversation as the person behind the counter handed him his vid disc of instructions and gave him his room assignment. Finding his quarters was no easy thing. The lift he got on seemed to have no idea of where it was going and he soon found himself wandering aimlessly down a long corridor. As he walked along, he saw a tall male fox walking in the opposite direction down the corridor. He wore the black body suit of the fleet officers and the red robe with gold stripes of command...a Captain to be precise. "Excuse me," he called out uncertainly. The fox stopped and smiled. "Yes?" he asked. "Ummm...could you tell me what deck I'm on?" Bookshire asked uncertainly. The fox smiled some. "You're on deck 567," he replied. "Really?" Bookshire asked "Well...uhhh...great. OK, do you happen to know where room 1976 is?" The fox smirked. "Turn around then tell me if you need to ask again," he said with a grin. Bookshire blinked and turned to look at the door he was standing next to...1976. "oh...well, thank you very much, Captain..." he stopped not knowing the fox's name." "Riverden," the fox replied "Captain Todd Riverden of the Falcon's Eye." "Woah, woah," Jonathan said as he threw back the rest of his soda "You met Todd the same way I met you?" Bookshire nodded with a grin. "Amazing isn't it," he said "That's why, this morning, I commented that bumping into you like that was bound to happen. Seems most people meet that way around here." "Incredible," Jonathan said "What happened next?" "Well," Bookshire said "Needless to say I was surprised..." "Really?" Bookshire said "What a coincidence, I'm you're new Science Officer. Gatherer Bookshire S. DraftWood." Todd blinked a moment and smiled, extending his paw. "A pleasure to meet you," he said as he shook the raccoon's paw "Looking forward to the assignment?' "Well," Bookshire began "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous." "What's to be nervous about?" Todd asked. Bookshire blinked some, deciding if the Captain was joking or not...tours of duty on Explorer Ships were inherently dangerous considering all the unknown situations they were always going into. "Ummm well," Bookshire stammered slightly, looking for the right words. He figured it's best to be honest from the start so... "I've kinda got this motion sickness problem...with space ships," he said. Todd blinked some and looked the raccoon over a moment. "Drop your stuff in your quarters and come with me," he said. Bookshire blinked in surprise. "What? Why?" he asked. "You're my new Science Officer, so it's only proper that I buy you dinner," Todd answered with a smile "Besides, I might be able to help you out with that problem of yours." "How?" Bookshire asked "The last doctor I saw said the only permenant correction was an implant and I DO hate having machinery inside me." Todd laughed briefly a moment. "Just trust me," Todd said "I've got just the thing...but dinner first, so drop your stuff and lets go." Bookshire smiled some and nodded, going into his quarters and dropping everything off. The Captain struck him as the kind of man that was very forceful and thus quite capable of making sure his orders are carried out. The perfect Commanding Officer, Bookshire thought. He smiled and joined Todd out in the hall and headed off to the bar... "So you used to get space sick," Jonathan asked with a grin "I can't picture you like that." "Picture it, Jonathan," Todd said "He still does." "You do?" Jonathan blinked at Bookshire. "Yep," Bookshire said "Though never as bad, and, in fact, hardly at all any more. That night, Todd taught me a calming breathing and meditation exercise. I do it once a day and I usually do quite well." "I suppose I was drawn to him from the start," Todd said "After all I couldn't have him throwing up all over my ship." Bookshire laughed softly and smiled at Todd. Jonathan watched them for a moment. "Well, I can certainly see the chemistry between you two," he said "When did the both of you realize you were in love?" "Oh well, that wasn't until much later," Bookshire said "About six months later." "Speaking of Chemistry," Todd said, looking towards the bar then at Jonathan "That female's had her eye on you for the past half hour." Jonathan blinked and looked over casually to see the slender female feline standing on her own at the bar. She was a civilian, judging by her manner of dress...but that hardly ever mattered...and he WAS feeling a little fiesty tonight. She glanced at him some what and smiled slightly. Still, he had other questions. He turned his attention back to Todd and Bookshire a moment. "So where does Gabriel Saxxon fit into all this?" he asked. Todd and Bookshire blinked at each other. "Are you blind, man?" Todd blinked in surprise "There's a female over there who wants your attention." "Yeah," Bookshire said with a grin "We'll tell you about Gabriel another time, now get over there and do our ship's reputation some justice." "Not to mention your own," Todd said as he stood up "We're heading to our quarters. Be in the hangar at 1100 hours tomorrow. In the meanwhile, good luck." They both patted Jonathan on the back as they headed out. He smiled some and looked over to where the feline was still standing at the bar. She smiled warmly at him as he got up from the table and walked over to her. * * * * That night found Todd and Bookshire returning to their quarters for some much needed sleep...though they highly suspected that Jonathan wouldn't be getting much. As Todd emerged from the bathroom, having just had a shower, he saw Bookshire standing by the window, overlooking the vastness of space, wearing only his fur. Todd walked over to him and massaged his shoulders. "You feel tense," Todd remarked as he worked "Something wrong?" Bookshire mmmmed softly as his mate massaged him. "I don't know," he replied "Perhaps I'm worried again..." "Of what?" Todd asked. "I don't know," Bookshire responded "I keep thinking of Gabriel." "Now look, Book," Todd said, gently turning the raccoon to face him "Gabriel was a bad seed. He wasn't like us." "He took all the same risks we did," Bookshire said "Maybe you and I know he wasn't like us, but after an incident like this, just how much longer do you think the Admiral can keep us from being thrown out of the fleet. We're walking a VERY thin line, and I'm worried about falling off." "Bookshire DraftWood, if I didn't know better, I'd say you were feeling paranoid," Todd smiled as he licked Bookshire's nose "Yes, the Admiral's support helps, but the fact is, that we're where we are because of our own deeds. We've done good things for this fleet, and the ones in charge of it aren't likely to forget that anytime soon. That's why we've stayed out of the courtroom...because we get the job done. And once you take away the rules and regulations, getting the job done is all that matters." "True," Bookshire smiles "We've certainly earned our infamous status, haven't we." "Damn right," Todd said "Now cheer up. Even if things go down the tubes eventually, that's all the more reason to enjoy what we have now, right?" "Right," Bookshire smiled "You know, you always know how to cheer me up." "There are a couple of other things I know how to do to you too," Todd grinned "Shall I demonstrate?" Bookshire grinned and nodded as he moved to turn off the lights and let Todd demonstrate all he wanted. * * * * The next morning, the comm began to buzz at a very early time in Todd and Bookshire's quarters. Being the lighter sleeper, Todd noticed it first and carefully un-tangled himself from his mate's body before getting up and walking a little stiffly into the next room to answer it, slipping on a robe as he did so. He sat down in front of it and turned it on. "Yes?" he said. "Ah, good morning, Captain," Admiral Cartwright said as her image appeared on the screen "I trust you slept well." "Of course, Admiral," Todd said with a smile "What can I do for you?" "I'm bumping you up on the duty schedule," Cartwright replied "The Falcon's Eye will head out today for it's next search mission. I'm assigning you to sector 46 at the outer rim." Todd blinked, slightly startled. "That's rather distant," he said "May I ask why the sudden change." "Call it instinct," the Admiral replied "Gabriel's having his preliminary hearing this morning, and I've got this bad feeling in my mind that you and Bookshire ought to get as far away from here as possible." "Why?" Todd asked "There's no possible way he could implicate us in anything he did." "Don't be too sure of that, Todd," the admiral said "He's a wily SOB and I wouldn't put ANYthing past him. Look, just head out by noon, and I'll cover your backs here." "Yes, ma'am," Todd said "Thanks for the warning." "Good luck," Cartwright replied. "Thank you, Admiral," said Todd. He clicked off the comm and checked the time. Only 0500. He had time for a little more sleep. He got up and went back to the comforting warmth of his mate's arms. * * * * At 1100 hours, Todd and Bookshire were busy getting the ship ready for flight when Jonathan came in wearing his usual uniform and a smirk on his face. He had had a great night and everything about him showed it. When he walked into the command section of the ship, both Bookshire and Todd looked up and noticed it. "Somebody had a good time last night," Todd commented. Jonathan grinned. "Is it really that obvious?" Jonathan said. "Very much so, Jonathan," Bookshire said as he reviewed his instruments "Is the ship's rep still intact?" "And how," Jonathan said "And she said I could look her up anytime." "Now that's what I like to hear," Todd said "You won't see her anytime soon, though. We've been bumped up on the schedule. We're heading out to find a new universe so you should get your quarters on-board stocked up with whatever you need. We head out in one hour." Jonathan blinked, caught off guard by the news. "We're heading out today?" he asked. "That's what I just said," Todd smiled "Sorry you don't have more time to get the feel of the ship, but the orders come from the Admiral herself." "No problem, I'll adapt," Jonathan said "In that case, I'll go get some of my stuff from my station quarters." Jonathan headed back to his quarters to gather up some of his things to load up on-board the ship. Having never really unpacked, this was a quite easy thing to do. He unpacked a couple of things he figured he wouldn't be needing and took the rest of his stuff back down to the ship and got a good look at his quarters for the first time. It was a decent sized space, providing just enough room for one person. There was a medium sized window to see out, and a large, comfortable bed. Next to this was the food dispenser and a number of shelves and drawers to unpack his stuff. there was even a computer monitor and several drives for entertainment or reading of whatever else Jonathan would happen to want. For the size ship he was on, it was a good set of quarters. After getting unpacked, he headed back to the bridge where Bookshire and Todd were as ready as ever. "You ready, Jonathan?" Todd asked from his seat. "All set, and ready as I'll ever be," Jonathan replied, getting into his seat and powering up the engines. Bookshire grinned as he double-checked his instruments. "You better be," he said "I have a feeling you're going to be in for the ride of your life." Jonathan nodded as Todd got the ship airborne and headed out into the main hangar once again. "This is Capt. Riverden of the Falcon's Eye requesting launch clearance," Todd said into the comm. "So we do this again, huh?" came the commander's voice. Todd smirked. "I don't have to ask you know," he said "Watch this." He shifted the Falcon's engines to full and the ship shot forward, straight out of the space station, on it's way into deep space. "I think he's going to make you pay for that someday," Jonathan said as they got clear of the station's perimeter. "Well, he's not going to today, that's for sure," Todd said "Bring the dimensional jump engines online." "Got it," Jonathan replied as he activated the appropriate engines on his control panels. Todd nodded and programmed in the co-ordinates for the outer rim area of dimensional space. "All stations ready?" he asked. "Science station ready," Bookshire responded. "Engines charged and ready. Engineering station ready," Jonathan reported. "Then lets rock n' roll!" Todd said, activating the jump. Like every inter-dimensional jump, the ship accelerated to seemingly impossible speeds before completely blinking out of the known universe... * * * * The Hectairian System was an oddity in and of itself. The fact that it consisted of eight planets was nothing spectacular. The fact that they were all in the same loose orbit together, and all had given rise to life, was. Each planet had given rise to a different species, but in this day of unity under the same flag and government, the species tended to mingle among each other on each other's home world. Hectairia Four was the native home of the badgers. Being the enlightened race they were, it was only natural to base the empire's highest courts there as well as other judiciary functions. It was also the place where Space Fleet Court marshalls were held. And so, naturally, it was on this planet where Gabriel Saxxon awaited his. Despite the setting sun in the area of the planet where the main courts where, it was only 1200 hours, standard fleet time, and that was the clock by which all court marshalls were held. Gabriel, himself, was currently sitting in a small room with a table and a couple of chairs in it awaiting his lawyer. The hare paced around the room restlessly for a number of minutes before his court appointed lawyer, a fox named Simon StarGazer, and a Lieutenant in the ranks, arrived. "Do have a seat, Gabriel," Simon said "We have much to cover. The prosecution's prepared a deal for you." "Do tell," Gabriel responded. "Apparently, they want your associates more badly than they want you," The fox stated "if you care to testify that your Captain and Science officer were both in on this, and you can prove it, then they'll give you the minimum sentence for testifying at their court marshalls." "oh really?" Gabriel said with a grin "Just what kind of proof do I need?" "Well," the lawyer hesitated "I'm not supposed to tell you this but...they want them so bad, they'll accept circumstantial evidence." Gabriel's grin deepened. "I think I can swing that," he said "How long do we have?" "A week," Simon said "That's when the court marshal is." "Great. Tell them no problem, then," Gabriel responded "In the meantime, do I get bail or not?" "Yes, just don't leave the planet," Simon said. "Deal," Gabriel said. This was turning out better than he thought. * * * * Inter-dimensional space is a fairly complex thing. Unlike ordinary space, it actually has substance to a certain degree and it's certainly not black. It's more of a pinkish type color, where vast clouds of gaseous matter shifted and moved about by stellar winds and gusts. Powerful electrical lightning storms, on a scale no planet had ever seen were common. Still, there were paths through the space that Hectairian ships generally stuck to when they were trying to get from one universe to another. Explorer ships almost NEVER followed those paths. The Falcon's eye blinked into existance, still racing at high speeds, slowly decelerating as the crew adjusted the ship to function in the inter-dimensional environment. On board, Jonathan was checking the engine status very carefully. "We stable?" Todd asked back to him. "Almost...got it," Jonathan nodded and smiled "The engines are stable." Todd nodded. "Great," he said "lets get to work, shall we? We're heading out to the outer rim. No estimate on when we're going home. Hopefully we'll find something good out that way." "Good," Bookshire responded, checking his instruments again "I got a few leads for tracking down dimensions in that area off the FleetNet this morning." "Wonderful," Todd said "We should be getting to the general area of the outer rim sectors in about 8 hours. We won't have much time to look around before turning in." "How long do your missions last, on average?" Jonathan asked. "Around a week or two," Bookshire said "Though we had one once where we were gone about two months...that was the one where we got stuck in that universe of Iced Cappuchino." "That must've been interesting," Jonathan said. "You could say that," Todd responded "Took us a week to get the engines to function in stuff like that." "Hope we have better luck this time," Jonathan said. "Oh I'm sure we will," Todd said "Things are looking good, why don't you two relax for a bit, we've got a long trip ahead of us." Jonathan nodded a bit and decided to go relax in his quarters, while Bookshire did a couple of extra checks on his systems and went to his and Todd's quarters to watch some shows on the EntertainmentNet. * * * * Admiral Cartwright sat behind her desk in her office on board the Space Station, reviewing crew reports. She glanced at the clock on the desk, showing it to be around 1400 hours. Crew reports where the most boring part of her job, and she couldn't wait to finish them. Just as she was about to wrap things up, her comm buzzed. Clicking it on, she found herself looking at the face of Grand Fleet Admiral Stonewall...one of the most intimidating wolves she'd ever met. "Good afternoon, Admiral," she said respectfully. "Good afternoon," the wolf responded curtly "Tell me, is the crew of the Falcon's Eye still on board the station?" That was what she was waiting for. Inwardly, she was glad she was prepared for it. "No," Selia responded "I'm afraid they shipped out this morning." "Well, get them back," the Fleet Admiral stated firmly "They have some hard questions to answer." "Regarding what, Sir?" Selia challenged "Their role in Lt. Saxxon's actions has been determined." "Not to the court's satisfaction," The Admiral said "have Capt. Riverden, and Gatherer DraftWood report back to the station immediately and have them escorted from there to Hectairia Four." "I'm afraid that's quite impossible," Selia said "As you may know, ships on the outer rims of inter-dimensional space are nearly impossible to contact." The Fleet Admiral blinked and frowned deeply. "Well when they return, you are to send them here ASAP, are we clear, Admiral?" the wolf stated. "Yes, Sir," Selia replied "Perfectly." "Carry on then," The Fleet Admiral stated before disconnecting. Admiral Cartwright sat there, looking at the screen another moment before buzzing her secretary in the next room "Get Lt. Jefferson in here. Tell him it's urgent." The young Lieutenant arrived ten minutes later, saluting promptly as he was shown in. "You sent for me, Admiral?" he asked. "Yes," Cartwright said, returning the salute "I want you to get your people listening for news from Hectairia Four. I want to know all the details on Lt. Saxxon's Court Marshal. I don't care how many strings you have to pull, just get it done." The Lieutenant nodded and saluted again. "Yes, ma'am," He turned and left the office quickly. The Admiral hmmmed thoughtfully to herself. So it begins, she thought. She had a feeling somebody would try to implicate Todd and Bookshire in the scandal. Now she just had to uncover the nature of the implication...and stop it. To be continued . . .