The sewer reeked of oxidized metal and decay, thick with stagnant water and the cloying musk of mildew. Every step Tienerra and Velora took splashed through the muck, echoing in the tight corridors of the underground system. The distant hum of active ventilation units buzzed overhead, and the flickering light from faulty ceiling lamps danced across damp, corroded walls. Tienerra's wings instinctively folded tight to her back, the narrow passage constraining even her breath. Her tail curled in a slow sway behind her, ready to snap to balance if the footing betrayed her.
Velora's violet-red purple fur shimmered faintly under the dim lights, mottled and slick from the humidity. Her booted feet made low, purposeful impacts against the wet stone, moving with the grace of a predator. Her fox-like ears rotated constantly, scanning every echo. Her long, bushy tail arched with tension, mirroring the subtle fury beneath her silence. Each motion carried the weight of her heritage—a Kitsurai warrior bred for agility and precision.
Without warning, Velora slowed. Her ears twitched again, then stilled. She came to a stop.
Tienerra paused beside her, her own scales prickling. Her glowing purple eyes flicked about, slit pupils widening to adjust.
"Do you know a way out of here?"
Velora didn't answer.
Instead, she whirled around, blade flashing.
Tienerra barely ducked in time, her wings folding as the steel hissed past her face.
A shout echoed from behind them.
"You three go that way! The rest, follow me!"
Tienerra's pupils narrowed further. That voice was too close.
Velora turned again, sharply, and led them into a wider chamber. The stale air was heavy with rust and mist, and the sound of dripping echoed in waves.
"YOU ARE THE REASON I AM IN THIS SITUATION!! YOU SHOULD JUST DO ME A FAVOR AND DIE!!"
Velora launched at her.
Her blade came down with animal rage. Tienerra ducked, wings snapping inward as she rolled. Her tail sliced water behind her as she twisted, the membrane tips catching droplets like a whip.
"Velora! Listen to me—"
Another blow. This one grazed her cheek. Tienerra recoiled, claws sparking against wet stone as she pivoted on one foot, her wings fluttering for balance.
"I have no idea what happened between you and your buddies—"
Velora surged forward, knee aimed at Tienerra's ribs. Tienerra blocked with her forearm, sliding back in the sludge.
"—but I have no connection with them!"
Velora let out a growl. Her blade swung through a rising mist as she stomped into the shallow pool—but Tienerra had already vaulted upward with a burst of powerful leg strength.
She descended, her long tail cracking through the air. The tip struck Velora's side with force, sending the Kitsurai crashing into a wall.
A data prism clattered from Velora's cloak.
Tienerra's hand shot to her belt.
Empty.
Velora coughed, rising slowly. Blood trickled from her lip. She snatched the prism and tucked it into the hidden seam of her armored vest.
"You're the main reason they think I betrayed them," she hissed. "You hacked my feed. Looped your sleeping image. Made me look like a fool."
Tienerra raised both hands, slowly approaching. Her claws stayed sheathed.
"I don't even know what you're talking about. But we need to—"
Energy blasts scorched the chamber. One slammed inches from her head.
"Get out of here before we're turned into stardust!" she finished, voice cracking into urgency, the silver ridges along her wings pulsing in reflex.
More shots.
Tienerra dove, sliding through water with a splash that echoed off the stone walls. Her claws scraped against the slippery surface as she launched herself behind a low-set pipe.
"Move!"
Velora darted into cover beside her, crouching low. Her vulpine ears twitched violently at each shockwave, rotating with micro-adjustments to track the locations of the shooters behind them. Her tail coiled instinctively around her thigh as her boots dug into the muck.
"We need to get off this rock," she said breathlessly, the growl in her voice more feral than frightened.
Their eyes locked. Crimson flared within Velora's irises, then slowly dimmed—less aggression, more calculation. Her fur bristled along the nape of her neck before flattening again.
Tienerra's pupils shifted into tight slits. She gave a single nod.
"We head to the docks."
A silent truce passed between them.
Tienerra dropped to one knee, her tail steadying her balance as she pulled a flashbang and smoke grenade from her belt in one fluid motion. Her claws flicked the triggers open with precise grace.
Velora held up three fingers. Her tail flicked once with each count.
Three.
Two.
One.
Velora lunged forward, her boots splashing silently in rhythm, body low and fluid like a shadow weaving through mist.
Tienerra tossed both grenades. Her arm snapped forward, and the grenades arced with pinpoint accuracy. Light detonated behind them, smoke curling in dense spirals.
They plunged into the tunnel—narrow, twisting, suffocating. Tienerra dropped to all fours, her claws gouging out small tracks in the slick surface as she scrambled forward. Her wings flexed in close, helping her stabilize through each twist. Every breath was sharp, every movement calculated to follow the rhythmic swing of Velora's bushy tail ahead.
Velora glided through the tight space, ears twitching, her boots placing each step with reflexive elegance, built on years of Kitsurai training.
Suddenly, she skidded to a halt.
Tienerra yelped as she slammed into Velora's hip, her tail lashing to keep them both upright.
"Why?" she growled, bracing herself as her wings fluttered slightly in irritation.
"Because," Velora muttered, tapping rapidly on a wall panel hidden in the grime,
"we're about to go for a walk—a short one."
The panel blinked. A blast door at the tunnel's end rumbled to life, casting flickering red emergency strobes along the cramped walls.
Screams and boots thundered behind them, echoing like the approach of a storm.
Tienerra's pulse spiked as Velora activated the panel. The distant echo of boots thundered like war drums, getting closer with every breath.
"I like—and hate—this plan," Tienerra hissed, her Soltarian tail snapping once in tense anticipation.
Without wasting another second, she tapped her wrist-mounted V.A.S.H. system.
The armor responded instantly.
A soft chiming hum filled her ears, almost melodic—then came the mechanical cascade. Her tactical suit pulsed with Aether-charged circuits as it began to shift and seal. Thin metal bands snapped outward from her forearms and chest, gliding over her limbs like flowing armor segments. The system hissed and clicked with Soltarian precision—lightweight plating locking magnetically along her shoulders, spine, hips, and thighs. Her scaled skin rippled subtly beneath the suit, reacting to the surge of internal pressure equalization.
Her breath grew audible inside the forming helmet as the airlock system sealed around her neck, the voice of the V.A.S.H. AI whispering:
"Suit pressure normal. Thermal stabilizers online. Host vitals: elevated—adrenaline detected. Syncing bio-feedback."
Her wings gave one last flick before the armor's shoulder recesses locked them into folded rest—curved panels shielding their joints without impairing deployment. The suit adjusted around the base of her tail, allowing free movement without sacrificing seal integrity. Across her visor, the HUD flickered to life with starfield telemetry, wind vectors, and gravitational readouts already plotting the void ahead.
Just beside her, Velora triggered her own system.
Hers activated more like a pulse—Kitsurai design favoring flow over structure.
A low resonance swept through her body, the armor rising like a second skin from her combat vest. Thin, interlocking plates unfolded across her limbs, guided by nanofiber cables coiled within the seams of her suit. They curled around her thighs and torso with serpentine grace, locking at her waist and shoulders. The armor was lighter than Tienerra's, but equally functional—built for agility and elemental control.
Her tail swished once in reflex as the armor's sheath coiled around its base, segmenting down to the tip with flexible bands. Her helmet deployed from the collar in a forward-spiraling motion, transparent panels sliding into place with a soft locking shhk. Inside, her breathing became rhythmic—steady. She blinked twice, pupils adjusting as her internal display synchronized to her vitals and surroundings.
"V.A.S.H. engaged," her system confirmed. "Oxygen compression stable. Aetherbind nodes—charged and sealed."
The faint glow of Aether flickered through the violet-red fur exposed at the base of her neck, dancing in ghostly rhythm to her elevated heartbeat. Her ears twitched at the final calibration clicks—responding even to the subtle shift in magnetic field that followed suit lock.
Tienerra stole a glance at her.
Velora's stance was low, her boots firmly braced against the metal floor, tail angled to balance her center of gravity. Her crimson eyes gleamed behind her visor—not with fury now, but focus.
Tienerra gave a short nod.
The blast door roared open.
And the void answered.
Instantly, the pressure dropped. A violent vacuum snatched them forward like invisible claws, tearing them from the tunnel and hurling them into space. The sound was gone—replaced by crushing silence. It wasn't just the absence of noise; it was the weight of nothing, an overwhelming stillness that swallowed screams before they could be born.
Tienerra's body jolted outward, wings instinctively flaring even as the vacuum ripped the air from around them. Her powerful Soltarian tail snapped outward in reflex, trying to counterbalance the spin that took hold of her the moment gravity vanished. The leathery webbing of her wings, designed for atmospheric gliding, fluttered uselessly—catching no air, no resistance, only the phantom memory of movement. The internal structure of her suit responded automatically, stabilizers attempting to interpret each limb's twitch and counteract the disorienting tumble.
She rotated head over heels, glowing nebulae and fractured starlight spinning across her visor. Her HUD glitched momentarily, recalibrating orientation as her vitals spiked.
"Tilt correction—failed. Pulse elevated. Engage manual thrust?"
She gritted her teeth.
"Yes. Now."
Compressed gas hissed out from her hip and shoulder thrusters—short, staggered bursts. Her tail curled to assist in mid-roll correction, but the lack of anchor made the motion feel alien. Slowly, her tumbling slowed. Stabilized. A breath returned to her lungs, shallow but steady.
Beside her, Velora tumbled in silence, her Kitsurai body limp.
Her violet-red fur floated weightlessly beneath her segmented armor, suspended in the vacuum like flowing silk. Her long, bushy tail had flared during the launch—an instinctual attempt to ground herself—but now it drifted behind her in lazy arcs. Her fox-like ears, once so reactive, now drooped. Her boots twitched, but the motion lacked control. No vector correction. No resistance.
The Kitsurai weren't built for space. Their instincts thrived in forested terrain, urban shadows, grounded environments—not the vast, pitiless infinity.
Her HUD locked onto Velora.
VITAL SYNC ACQUIRED — STATUS: UNCONSCIOUS
OXYGEN REMAINING: 01:26 MINUTES
INTERNAL TRAUMA DETECTED: CONCUSSION — FRACTURE — AETHEREAL DISRUPTION
Tienerra's pulse hammered against her ribs.
"Hang on…"
She re-angled her body, curling herself into a controlled posture. Her wings tucked tight, locking into aerodynamic stow, and her Soltarian tail shifted again—this time used not for balance, but as a stabilizing rudder. She initiated a slow burn from her shoulder and hip thrusters—deliberate and minimal. In space, every motion was a commitment.
The cold void offered no comfort. Without resistance, there was no feedback—no proof of motion save for the creeping change of starlight around her. She reached out through the dark, every second stretching into eternities.
Velora drifted just beyond reach, her limp form silhouetted against a field of stars. Her violet-red fur caught the faint light, giving her the eerie appearance of a comet's core. Her long tail floated behind her in slow waves, ears bobbing gently like kelp in deep current.
Tienerra reached out, fingers trembling slightly inside her gloves—more from the adrenaline than fear. Her HUD blinked.
CONTACT — SUIT INTERLOCK INITIATED
Her arm wrapped around Velora's midsection and pulled her close. The suits clicked together again with a soft ping, stabilizing them. The telemetry between both systems fused, bringing Velora's critical data into full focus.
CRITICAL: OXYGEN 0:58
NO ACTIVE PROPULSION — THRUSTER FAILURE DETECTED
Tienerra didn't hesitate. She curled her legs beneath them, wrapping her tail securely behind Velora's knees to minimize drift deviation. With one arm locked across the Kitsurai's chest and the other at her own wrist display, she manually queued the last remaining micro-burst in Velora's depleted system.
Her HUD traced the predicted trajectory.
TRAJECTORY MISALIGNED — ADJUST COURSE OR MISS RENDEZVOUS
Tienerra exhaled sharply through her nose.
"Alright, one shot…"
She primed Velora's last second of burn and activated her own limited backup reserve—just enough to compensate.
"Three… two… one."
They surged forward.
The Sentinel loomed ahead, quiet and vast. The blue guidance lights from the undercarriage reflected off the curve of Velora's helmet. The boarding ramp extended halfway, steady and silent, a beacon in the dark.
But they were off by a fraction.
Too low.
Tienerra rotated mid-drift, throwing her weight and bracing her feet against empty space—every Soltarian muscle in her legs coiling with tension. Her wings flexed wide, instinctively trying to grab onto something that wasn't there. She gave a final twist of her spine and lashed her tail forward, aiming for the ramp's edge.
The impact cracked through her back like a thunderclap.
The flexible, prehensile tip of her tail snagged the edge—just barely. The reinforced sheath wrapped tight, anchoring her to the ship in a sudden, painful halt.
Her shoulder wrenched.
Velora's momentum continued.
The magnetic lock disengaged.
"No—NO—!"
Tienerra lunged, her clawed fingers reaching, trembling, desperate. The Kitsurai's limp arm drifted—then, in a final stretch, Tienerra's clawed glove latched onto the forearm of Velora's suit. Her fingertips scraped across the armor seams but managed to find purchase.
GRIP HOLD — LINK RESTORED
Muscles burned. Her vision swam.
She yanked Velora's body back into hers, relinking the magnetic clamps and coiling her tail tighter against the ramp edge. Her HUD pulsed red with structural warnings. The Sentinel's docking AI pinged her location.
"Tether connection recognized. Retracting ramp."
The mechanical whir of the ship began again. The ramp extended fully beneath her tail—sensing the hold—and retracted both of them inward.
Tienerra crumpled forward as the gravitational field normalized.
She and Velora tumbled onto the steel-plated bay floor, their suits colliding with a heavy clank. The airlock sealed shut behind them with a pneumatic clamp, cutting off the stars in one final flicker.
The low hiss of pressurization filled the cargo bay.
The artificial gravity returned with a thud, and the cold hum of the Sentinel's life support kicked in.
Blue lights warmed.
Tienerra lay sprawled across the deck, wings splayed beneath her, tail twitching erratically. She could feel her spine pulsing with delayed pain, her head pounding with every breath. She looked to her side.
Velora lay still.
Her ears twitched weakly.
"Nyx…" Tienerra rasped. "Med bay. Now."
The ship's AI responded with a clinical voice.
"Acknowledged. Emergency response drones en route."
As the doors to the cargo lift opened, a pair of hover-med units descended from their ceiling ports, softly chirping as they scanned Velora's vitals. Blue stasis light enveloped her.
Tienerra pulled off her helmet, breath fogging in the air-conditioned bay. Her hair clung to her forehead in sweat-matted strands. Her scales flickered with faint pulses of Aether energy—residual panic discharging.
She staggered upright and took one last look at Velora as the med drones lifted her onto the gurney.
"…You owe me," she muttered softly.
She and Velora tumbled onto the steel-plated bay floor, their suits colliding with a heavy clank. The airlock sealed shut behind them with a pneumatic clamp, cutting off the stars in one final flicker.
Tienerra leaned against the inner bay wall of the Sentinel, her helmet dangling from one clawed hand. Every breath felt like it echoed through her entire body—lungs straining, spine aching, and tail limp from the exertion of anchoring them both.
She'd saved Velora this time. Whether the Kitsurai would thank her—or hate her—was still a breath away.