“We’ve finally analysed all the recordings from the station. It’s now clear that we are dealing with a major outbreak. The only solution is to shut down all other projects and to hunt down the escapees. We have to stop them before it comes to a war on an even larger scale.”

- Research Diary of Ouluk Kelemdar

***Deep Space***

***Silith***

I quickly glance back at Antioch, who is regarding the prisoner with a wary expression. It shocked me when he spaced that Raimund guy out of nowhere. Not that I cared in the slightest whether Raimund lived or died. The few lines which he managed to barf out of his mouth were enough to form a firm opinion of him. In other words, I wouldn't have allowed him to join us in any case.

Yet, the fact that Antioch killed him without hesitation or remorse shocked me. When we first met it seemed like I was the bloodthirsty one, while he retained an attractive charm of innocence in his character. Since then, a darkness has grown within him. Or it was always there and I simply didn't see it. There seem to be certain things which set him off. One of those things is this Ouluk fellow, the other is losing me or having our relationship threatened.

I have to keep this in mind. Had I realized it sooner, I wouldn't have considered to include Lisandra in a more intimate relationship. Though, it might not be such a bad idea to coax Antioch into a little more open-mindedness. No matter how I look at it, it can't be a healthy mental state if someone lashes out with deadly force as soon as a simple insult is issued towards a partner.

The prisoner in the cell opposite from Raimund's scuttles forward. Her bushy tail is twitching behind her and the fluffy ears bend backward against her head. Now that she isn't dirty, I can tell that her hair colour is a reddish brown. All of our prisoners are some kind of animal morphs, but I recognize this one. She kneels down and touches the isolated floor of her cell with her forehead. “Please don't space me!”

“What's your name?” I ask, definitely liking this one better.

“Fiona.”

“So, can you answer my questions from earlier, Fiona?”

She looks up. “That's a tad bit complicated.” Tweezing her fingers, she tries to convey that the explanation will take time. “We thought about revealing ourselves, but the longer we waited, the clearer it became that you were on a quest to create your own race. No matter which faction you belong to, helping you would create enemies for us. I know enough of faction politics to tell that more races would cause others to lose significant influence and manpower. Leaders who have influence and power seldom want to give it up without a fight.”

Fiona wriggles, clearly uncomfortable with her next words. “We didn't want to get involved. None of us have a mentionable reputation within the V.C., so we aren't in a position in which we can afford such a thing. Raimund kept pushing for us to wait. The plan was to jump ship as soon as we were in a system which allowed us access to a warp-drive.”

“Just that we never stopped in such a system,” Sam concludes her explanation with a simple deduction.

I purse my lips and regard the prisoner through squinted eyes. It's clear that she is trying to paint the situation in a rosier light than it actually is. “How convenient that the one who is to blame for your bad decisions is drifting through space and can't be interrogated.” I look at Antioch.

He avoids my eyes. “It's more likely that the brute is already a smudge of pasta...”

Lisandra shudders. “I hope that he went head first through the event horizon.”

Min furrows her forehead. “Why?”

“That's because it would have been over quickly,” Sam explains. “Imagine passing through with your feet first. It would feel like your body is being cut into tiny slices until just your head remains.”

My daughter shrugs. “He clearly was an asshole, so I would root for him to go feet first.”

Fiona turns her attention to the kids. “Sam and Min, right? Are you the Samuel and the Minerva from the Lifer-faction? The admins?”

The kids look at her, a strange light in their eyes.

“You have heard of us?” “Are we already that famous in the V.C.?” “Do you have news from the reality feeds?”

“Ah, no, sorry.” Fiona shakes her head. “I went to reality 1.0 before you two came here. We didn't even know that you were out to create a new race.” She glances at me and clears her throat. “Ahem, I am sure that it will be a great success. The theme seems to be spot on.”

“We got ourselves a great designer!” Sam pats my left thigh.

“What do you think? Would you like to join us?” Min pats my right thigh. “Being a survivalist must be boring. If we manage to actually found the race, you can switch sides and be safe.”

Fiona quickly looks at my horns and my tail, trying to make it not too obvious that she is also checking out my other assets. “Ah... yeah... being a succubus...” She smiles. “I... eh... admit... that would be something new to me.”

“Hell, yeah! Where can I sign? I would do anything just to get out of this cell! I actually played as a succubus in Hell666! That's a nice reality. Learned the whole kama sutra by heart. I even know of some nice techniques which involve the finer arts of pleasure. Just let me join and I'll show you all the tricks,” another girl calls from her cell. I think her name was Jenny.

Raising an eyebrow, I look down at Min and Sam. “What is she talking about? I thought that succubi are some sort of famous fantasy characters in human culture.” But the twins are avoiding my eyes and it even seems like there are pearls of sweat on their foreheads.

They start whispering. “You tell her.” “No, you do it.” “Why do I have to be the one.” “She is that kind of woman anyway – why should she be mad?” “I don't want to be the one.”

That causes a fuss from all the other prisoners who kept quiet so far. “Oh, boy.” “She doesn't know!?” “Way to go, kids!” “Heads will roll!” “You coaxed her into making a succubus race, and she doesn't even know what succubi are?”

When I get no explanation from Sam and Min, I turn my questioning gaze to Fiona. The slave girl fidgets around, but after a few moments of silent staring, she explains. Indeed, she explains in great detail.

Several minutes pass while I listen, frozen. When Fiona is finished, I grab Min and Sam at the back of their necks and lift them, shaking them like sacks. “We aren't going to be succubi! Think of some other appearance! There is no way that I'll put up with that kind of reputation, even if it's just because of our looks!”

“That's why the brute behaved like an idiot!” Lisandra joins me and glares at the kids.

“Ah, no. He actually was that stupid,” Jenny yells from her cell. “All you needed was to flash a pair of nice boobies for his faculties to shut down.”

I drop the kids. “That doesn't make it any better.”

Something tugs on my tail and I let out a silent squeal, turning around, I face Antioch. He smiles evilly, holding the end of my tail and testing the heart-shaped spike with his fingertip. “I don't find it that bad. After all, it seems like you managed to catch the essence of the tale by its... tail. Hahahaha! Though, now I know why we are missing wings.”

Heat builds up in my face and I turn even redder than I already am. “Let go! That's sensitive!” I snatch my tail out of his hands and press the tip protectively to my chest.

Antioch doesn't show any mercy. “I vote for keeping the overall appearance.”

Fiona gingerly raises a finger. “If I am allowed to point something out, you probably want to get rid of the tip. That heart-shape is way too suggestive in human culture.”

“Nooo!” Min complains. “That's what makes it cute! Don't do it, Mom. It may seem like it's embarrassing, but a lot of people will join us because of it. Everyone has dirty thoughts and hidden desires. That's what makes us human.”

“Enough!” Lisandra calls out, suddenly angry. Not understanding why she is so agitated, I shut up.

“So far, I was holding back because I am new, but, but, aren't there more important things at hand?” she stutters, clearly trying hard to overcome her shy nature. My sister returns her attention to the prisoner. “We are getting way off-track with this conversation. Min and Sam offered you to join our race. How would that work?”

Sam nods. “Once we reach the founding stage, which we need three progenitors for, the progenitors can allow other races to join us. Unfortunately, if they join us, Fiona and her people will be counted as traitors to the Survivalists. Their fellow beastmen will get a quest to slay them.” Seeing the doubt in our eyes, he quickly continues. “Not to mention that there are also certain advantages. Like the fact that the first traitor of each race who betrays them to another race counts as a progenitor. We would get to choose some perks from the Survivalist skilltree.”

So that means that we could get our race founded right here and now if Antioch was up to it. I wince. It will probably take a while to get him to fulfil certain conditions to actually finish the quest.

Sighing, I face Fiona again. “That doesn't sound like you guys would do such a thing willingly.”

“No, problem! Why do you think that we are playing as Survivalists?” Jenny joins in from her cell. “We did it because this race is about freedom. Losing the ability to join it hurts, though I would go traitor if you keep the succubus style!”

Tilting my head, I keep eyeing Fiona. “Is the redhead... alright up there?” I tap a finger to my temple. “Are there traits which reduce intelligence?”

The beastgirl closes her eyes and lets out a painful sigh. “Yes, you see... she is probably one of those who are switching camps from time to time. I have a theory that she isn't actually a bitch, but a- someone who likes to play one. She is calculating. Even if we can't see it right now, to her, there are probably benefits in joining you. Or she simply would like to be a succubus.”

“I see.” I chew on my inner cheek.

Antioch coughs. “You mean that she is a guy who...”

Fiona nods.

“Hey, don't talk about me as if I am not here! I am one hundred percent woman. Inside and outside. Tell them, Martin! You know that I am not lying.”

The guy in the cell next to Fiona’s lets out a choked cough.

The other prisoners groan and one of the other girls cries out, “What does she mean by that? Martin, I thought that we two are... you traitor!”

Martin whines, “I don't know what she is talking about. Please, get Raimund back. Jenny is going to be intolerable without him. She is just trying to sow discord.” He continues babbling whatever comes to mind.

“Hey, just because you know me, it doesn't mean that you can snitch on me, Loverboy,” Jenny complains. “I am simply a very accomplished social animal who needs a partner at her side. Raimund is gone, which leaves just Antioch and you. But I can already tell that the relationship-web around that poor Antioch is going to tighten up. I have no interest in getting entangled in that. Which leaves you, Martin. I know that you are a loose cannon when it comes to your partners. You had every girl in these cells, except for Fi. The poor girl looks like she went through three years of drought.”

Antioch stops smiling. “What is she talking about? What web?”

Fiona's expression tightens and she strains her neck to get a look out of her cell. “Martin, is that true? You and her? What about Raimund? What about the others?”

Jenny doesn’t have any mercy. “I just pretended to be with the big oaf, so that we wouldn't have to kill him. It costs reputation to kill within our own race, so I took the easy way out. I thought that was obvious!”

“Martin, we are going to have a word about this!” another girls hisses.

“You said that you love me!” “And what about me?” “I thought that I am-” “No! He always liked me!”

Suddenly, all three of the remaining girls in the other cells are complaining. I take a step back to look at the male who is standing at his cell's door with a pained expression on his face. With one hand, he is digging his fingers into the fabric of his shirt at chest-level.

It looks like he is about to get a heart attack. Then he starts chuckling, “Hahaha... It's always like this when they find out.”

“Maybe it would be easier to space them all,” I mumble. Don't they realize that they are negotiating for their lives? Then again... they aren't negotiating for their lives. I should probably get used to the idea that the people from the V.C. are simply messed up in the head.

Fiona's face crunches up in dismay. “Martin? Does that mean that I was the only one who didn't get a good fuck in the last few months? You did it with all of them? How did you manage to keep that a secret!? It was such a small room!”

“I am sorry, but you reacted so violently when Raimund tried to make a pass on you. If I had known that you also want some attention... but then again... I was so busy with the others.” He looks to the side, glancing out of his cell. “Girls, come on. Don’t act so surprised. Wasn’t it clear what went on? Raimund was the Alpha who thought that he has all the girls, while I was the Beta who actually got into their pants. The alpha is never the father.”

His voice is drowned out in a chorus of female screams. Covering one ear, I reach out and switch off the speaker system.

“Silence.” I close my eyes and draw in a deep breath, trying to calm myself. “Peace and silence.”

“I have doubts about letting them out,” Lisandra comments.

“They are-” Min begins. “-eccentric!” Sam finishes. “... And a little mad,” he adds after a moment of contemplation. “Must be because all of them were living in such a small space. Cabin fever, that's it.”

Antioch tugs at my tail, looking concerned. “Please explain the part about the relationship web.”

I smile and take my tail back. “Later. It's nothing of immediate concern. And don't turn tugging on my tail into a habit!” I didn't lie when I said that it's sensitive.