Author's Note:
So, I've been sitting on this story for a while, and recently came back to it because... wait for it... my girlfriend and I started a one-on-one campaign using the Genesys TTRPG system. So, expectedly, I've been fixating on this. So... here you go!
It was as the extrasolar shuttle exited the gravity well of Neptune's L3 Lagrange point that Charis Linch started to wonder at how many different vehicles were needed to get him from his home on the Titan Colony to the Hades Naval Academy.
Let's see
, he mused to himself, crossing one leg over the other and leaning forward, elbow to knee and chin resting on his fist.
There was the intra-orbit bus to take me from the mansion to Titan Station. Then a moon-hopper to get me from Titan to Saturn. The first
actual
shuttle from Saturn to Cerberus, at Neptune's L3. And finally Hades, on the far side of the Kuiper belt.
The young man shivered as he briefly tried - and failed - to picture just how far away from home he was. And how much further away from
Earth
, the homeworld, he was.
Space is far too big
. A burst of raucous laughter from the far side of the shuttle drew Charis' glare.
The same can't be said for this shuttle.
The shuttle was a massive affair, so big it didn't even bother with 'proper' seating - just some benches spread throughout the massive main cabin and plenty of room. Despite that, the nearly thousand cadets from the twelve species that made up the Sol Hegemony made the vast space feel utterly cramped, despite the roughly three square meters of space each cadet could have in the open area. For some, like the deer-tauric Valkarians, that was barely enough. Others, like the appropriately mouse-like siirril or the few bunnygirl Amyin, barely took up any of the space. Of course, mingling occurred, and some groups had formed, taking up even less space than what they would individually. But still, some were...
Charis glared at the particularly loud group near him - four humes like himself, three men - or perhaps more appropriately 'boys' - and one woman. One rather headstrong Wivex, though the moth-like futa kept her gaze respectful around her hume betters. Another male, a canine Idsir, also made his presence known, though a bit more loudly than the Wivex; an upheld chin and challenging eyes displayed that.
Though he couldn't hear them, Charis knew a joke when he saw one, and the loud laughter a few seconds later only confirmed it. Bored curiosity nearly tempted him from his seat atop his luggage, but a Masthecsh female about a third of the way around the group caught his attention before he committed to the idea. The somewhat lizard-like xenogyn was glaring with narrowed eyes at the group, a thoroughly unimpressed look on her face. After a moment, she noticed Charis' attention, and looked over at him. The two sent wry smiles at each other, rolling their eyes in mutual annoyance at the loud sextet of numbskulls.
Charis Linch
, he thought at the girl.
Rizarak Mithiori
, she replied.
A slight smile tugged at the corner of Charis' lips.
You're quite clear.
Rizarak smiled lopsidedly.
C-Grade. I'm better at skimming than comming, so I appreciate the compliment, sir.
At the unannounced proffering of information, Charis did a little skimming of his own, and was surprised to find that Cadet Mithiori, while curious about Charis' grade, wasn't necessarily
expecting
him to reciprocate.
I'm an A-Grade myself
, he replied, suppressing a chuckle at the slight widening of the Masthecsh's slitted eyes.
No wonder you're so clear. Or why I only felt your skim because I was watching for it.
Charis couldn't help the laugh that followed.
Care to join me? Looks like we've each only got one case apiece, and it should be several hours before we reach Hades.
Rizarak's smile was less lopsided this time, and she stood, picked up her luggage, and quickly navigated over to where Charis was sitting. He admired the way her nanobot-uniform showed off her... well, everything, just about. Cadets' uniforms were nearly identical to those of active-duty personnel's spacer uniforms (since it was the lowest rank for naval ship service), barring the difference in color and decoration. As such, all of the female cadets' uniforms - while technically covering everything - were transparent over most of their body, with the exception of a few small opaque spots: what was effectively a C-string and pasties, both in bright blood red coloring. The rest of the suit was clear, though it reflected light almost like plastic, and covered everything below the female's neck, where the nanobots that made up the suit emerged from the metal collar, about two centimeters tall by one centimeter thick. For Rizarak, this meant that her pert, A-cup breasts; toned, flat belly; long, smooth legs; and tight little ass were all placed on tantalizing display for anyone who cared to look, with only her nipples, areola, ass, and cunt hidden from appraising eyes. It also revealed the spattering of scales across many of the softer, fleshy parts of her body, all violet in color.
The males' uniforms, by comparison, were considerably more conservative; red jumpsuits with thin black lines running down the front and back of each arm and leg, as well as down the spine and midline of the front of their chest. Rather than a metal collar, the nanobots that made up the mens' uniforms came from a small, two-centimeter wide disk that was positioned over their heart - or where the heart would be on a human, slightly left of the center of the chest. All this did little to actively conceal that Charis was of a light build, tall, pale, and overall handsome.
The Masthecsh cadet set her suitcase about 45 degrees to Charis' right, then sat down on it. "You said your surname was 'Linch?'" she asked tentatively, her slitted, violet eyes slightly narrowed in thought.
Charis huffed a short laugh. "Yes, yes, sole legitimate heir to
Linchpin
, son of Christoph Linch. As far as all
that
is concerned, I'm just a hume from Titan - no special considerations or accommodations."
Rizarak raised her eyebrows. "Did Lord Linch..."
Cadet Linch shook his head before she could finish, his black hair swishing softly across his ears. "No, no. I'm still the sole legitimate heir and, should something happen to Father, I'd be all set to inherit. No, the... 'issue,' as some might call it, is that unless and until Father is unable to execute his responsibilities as CEO - an
extremely
unlikely scenario - I've nothing more than a safe home to return to and modest comforts therein. Father will support any pursuit I engage in, but I'll not receive any special consideration or assistance for being his heir. Unlike those humes." He ended his explanation with a jerk of his chin towards the group of loud humes and their hanger-ons, a note of disdain in his voice.
Cadet Mithiori glanced over her shoulder at the group, a smile that mixed genuine amusement with some small measure of disgust decorating her dark face. "They are rather... much."