Cuddlefish - 12. 12

Their steps were quick as Tilbei and Jasper strode through the throng outside the docking section holding the Hunnar ship. The very friendly Khassli greeter from the entrance had directed them there after Tilbei had inquired if the station worker had noticed a Sepida of slightly taller than normal height recently. The Khassli had sent them off with a gentle pat to the hat on Jasper's head that kept his ears held down in a way that wasn't too uncomfortable. The hybrid's lush tail was mostly hidden beneath the chocolate-brown skirt-like wrap he wore that hung to his ankles with a length of fabric that stretched from his waist, across his chest, to drape over his shoulder and down his back. Jasper had been held by the Hunnars for months. He had no desire to be recognized.

"Bei," Jasper said quietly, nodding at the sign above a docking hall that flashed the symbol matching the one on the card Jas held, kindly provided by the nice Khassli greeter.

The Hunnar ship was instantly recognizable. However, the trio of men that were huddled near the entrance of the ship were not. One was a raccoon, the other was a ferret, and the third a Kaynen. Were those explosives in their hands? Tilly took hold of Jasper's hand and rushed over to the three men. "Please tell me you're not planning on blowing that ship up," he insisted. "There are innocent people in there, including my best friend!"

The shortest of the bunch, a Kaynen Chihuahua, turned to address them. "Claro que no," he huffed. "Of course not. We're gonna help get some people out first and then blow it up."

"One of our friends was just captured, as well," the raccoon man informed. "We'll get them all out," He insisted as he glanced at the two newcomers. He then motioned towards himself. "My name's Jason. This is my partner in crime, Pedro and my partner in life, Daniel."

"I'm Tilbei, and this is my lifemate, Jasper," Tilbei responded, making the hybrid feel all warm and fluttery in his chest. "And my friend Pip's somewhere in there." Tilly's words squashed the nice feeling as fear for Tilbei's friend made Jas shiver.

The entire group ducked down when they heard the sound of two Hunnar grumbling.

::

"Can't believe that skinny little thing managed to land such a sharp punch," one of them hissed.

"Don't worry, we'll sell him off to the highest bidder. And, if that doesn't work, someone's bound to buy that fluffy Vulpan tail." The other one responded.

The first one made an aggravated noise. "Our funds are low all thanks to that damn Viceroy and his exotic tastes. I can't believe his puddle jumper was stolen under our own noses."

"Yeah, but if we didn't compensate him, he'd have spread the word about the escaped goods. Can't have our other wares thinking they can also escape."

::

"They call their captives wares and goods?" Daniel whispered. "Assholes!"

"You don't know the half of it," Jasper whispered back as he suppressed a shudder.

"What do you mean?" Jason asked when the Hunnars once again moved out of earshot.

"We were both captured by them at one point," Tilbei explained. "We're the ones that escaped, as a matter of fact. On the Viceroy's puddle jumper," he added with a smirk.

"I'm really starting to like you guys," Daniel commended.

"Wait. Then, you'd know your way around in there, no?" Pedro prompted. When Tilly and Jasper nodded, he grinned. "Muchachos, I think we should all team up."

"I was, umm. The Hunnars h-had me for a while. I can show which way to go," Jasper said, forcing himself to speak, wanting to help. His gaze dropped to the floor when the strangers' eyes converged on him. "I know where the holding cells are and a little bit of the rest of the ship from when they'd take me out to… to do things," he finished in a whisper.

"Those bastards," Jason hissed. "Don't worry, we'll make sure to protect you."

"Yeah, don't worry. We've gotten out of worse situations before," Daniel added.

"And if anything happens, we have friends in high places. Even Enforcers," Pedro affirmed.

"I'll be right here next to you the whole time," Tilly vowed as he gave their joined hands a squeeze.

Jasper's smile was brilliant as he looked at Tilbei and then the others. His posture straightened, no longer hunching as though trying to make himself small, to hide. He nodded eagerly. The half-Polkin's ears lifted, toppling his hat to the floor. He bent down to grab it as he heard a series of beeps in varying tones followed by the sound of an airlock opening and closing. When he peeked back to where the Hunnars had been grumbling at the ship's entrance, they were gone.

The hybrid bounced a little, noticing the keypad set into the metal next to the Hunnar ship's airlock. It looked like a model that his mother had replaced on her ship and had allowed him to play with. The buttons had been made without numbers or letters to allow them to be used across species and cultures. The buttons were color-coded, but his mother had also explained how there was a different note to the beep of each button, allowing it to be used by species who saw a shorter range of colors.

Jasper's mother had eventually attached the old keypad to a simple wood box. Inside, his Polkin mother would place a treat or prize. The code would be a section of the melody from his music lessons. Jasper had practiced studiously and learned how to read music, so at the end of each week when his mother would set the box in his lap and tell him which stanza of notes comprised the code, he would have the tones ready in his head.

The hybrid would quickly hum through the song until he came to the notes of the code and rapidly punch them in. Jas never wanted to wait to go and look at the music sheets. As a result, he never missed a chance to open the treasure box, and Jasper was rather good at playing the handful of instruments his parents had owned. Over the years he'd learned to play the flute, two stringed instruments, short chimes, long chimes, and the yulim. It had made his mother nearly pop with pride.

"I think I can get us inside," Jasper responded excitedly as he turned to his companions, his upright rabbit ears twitching.

::

Not too long afterward, the five men were safely inside the Hunnar ship. As they rounded one corner to the next, they started to realize something strange. Gates that Jas recognized as leading to the prisoner quarters had screens that flickered with static. Every now and then they had to clamber over knocked out Hunnar on the ground, some with vicious injuries.

"What the hell went down here?" Daniel wondered aloud, echoing all their thoughts.

"Are those...bite marks on this Hunnar's tail?" Tilbei questioned.

"Does it really matter at this point? We can head into the prisoner quarters now," Jason pointed out.

As if recalling their important tasks at hand, the five men rushed forward, checking one door to the next.

"Vasio…" Pedro whispered. "This entire hallway is empty!"

Tilbei's mauve eyes followed the trail of beaten Hunnars. "Then we should see how far these bodies go!" he suggested as, once again, the group rushed onwards.

::::

Not too far from the other group, Zane and Pip busily freed the prisoners one door at a time. Though the human didn't really know all the details as to why they were breaking into a Hunnar ship and freeing all kinds of aliens along the way, he didn't question it and just attacked anyone in their way. The Hunnars were surprisingly easy to take down between him and Louie. As soon as they realized he was a good fighter, they tried to run away. Louie was too fast for them, and Zane's long strides helped him easily catch up.

"One left in this hall, and then I think that's all of them!" Pip instructed, not realizing that he hadn't spoken English and Zane had no idea what he'd said. Zane seemed to get the idea, however. The little Sepida hadn't remembered to speak English since they'd come onto the ship. Pipolphi's emotions were running so high he hadn't noticed that Zane was simply reading Pip's body language and coloring while going along with whatever the Sepida had been doing.

Zane trusted his lover utterly and, after seeing how competent Pip had been with mixing up the vaccinations, the human had no issue with letting Pip do whatever the Sepida thought needed to be done. He probably would have been slightly less sanguine about Pipolphi tapping frantically at every video screen they came across if he'd known that the Sepida had no idea what the screens said and was hitting random buttons and icons in a mad attempt to find anything that might help him find Tilly.

As they opened the last door, they were relieved that no Hunnars were inside, but there was an instant sense of despair when Pipolphi realized that Tilly wasn't present, either. The slender tentacles on Pipolphi's head waved in his distress as the Sepida's skin flickered in shades of black and gray. Inside was a Vulpan not much taller than Pip. The captive took one good look at the Sepida and promptly let out a girlish shriek.

"I don't want to be raped by tentacles!" Sifta glanced from one person to the other before he noticed the canine. "A Kaynen!" He gasped as he fell to his knees in front of the dog. The small bruise on Sifta's cheek standing out against skin gone ashen with anxiety. "Please hear me out! My mate's a Kaynen just like you… I have to get back to him. He'll get so upset if he can't find me. I mean, I got lost once when he took me to the Ferinsk Exhibit of Solaris Equin. I was just going to the restroom real quick and got turned around. He was banned for life after punching through a wall when he could smell me on the other side." Sifta groaned. "And I was fine. What will he do when I've really been kidnapped?"

Louie gave a soft bark and licked Sifta's face. The Vulpan blinked at the canine. That was awfully forward for a Kaynen he'd just met. Usually, only close friends kissed cheeks. Sifta let out a shuddering breath. Clearly, the Kaynen was trying to calm him, the Vulpan thought, to show that he could be trusted as one would trust a dear friend. Thank goodness for people who were so clever that they could convey so much with a simple gesture. Sifta started to feel better immediately.

"We're not going to do anything badto you," Pipolphi clarified, reaching down to pull the Vulpan to his feet. "We're looking for my best friend. Have you seen him? He's a Nubra that's inky black with orange spots."

It took a good moment for the Vulpan to completely calm back down enough to grasp what was happening and that he was, indeed, not going to be molested. "I-I was the last person they brought in. I haven't seen anyone like that. Please, would you help me get back to my mate?" Sifta begged. "Before he breaks the whole station?"

"Of course!" Pip assured, taking Sifta's hand and beginning to lead him out of the cell. "We let everyone else go. You are the last one. I'll have to keep looking through the ship to find my friend, he has to be here somewhere, but I'll make sure you get out safely. Zay and Louie took care of all the Hunnars that are between here and the exit."

Before they could step into the hall, there was a thunder of footsteps, and the doorway was full of rough-looking men rushing inside. Zane stepped in front of Pip and Sifta, ready to defend them. Louie sat on the floor and cocked his head curiously to the side.

"There will be no tentacle-raping today!" One of the men hissed. "Unhand that Vulpan!"

Behind the strange men, Pip saw Tilbei enter the room cautiously with another stranger.

"Tilly!" Pip shouted.

"Daniel! Pedro! Jason!" Sifta said happily.

"Pip!?" Tilbei gasped.

"Tilly?" Zane said, looking around for Pip's friend. There was a lavender-skinned person with rabbit ears and a long wrap skirt. That must be her. Zane didn't see breasts, but from previous experience on the station, he knew breasts weren't necessarily a requirement in women of other species. Zane nodded at the rabbit-eared person. "Nice to meet you, Tilly."

Jasper blinked at the giant of a man who was speaking a language his chip didn't know. "Umm, Bei?"

"He's not Tilly! I am!" The Nubra huffed as he pulled Pip into a relieved hug. The two of them were practically cemented together at that point.

"Tilly, thank the cosmos!" Pip keener as he clung to his best friend. "Sorry I took so long. I crashed and was hurt, and Zay saved me and...Zay!"

Zane walked over to take the hand that Pip offered him. "Zay, this is Tilly," he explained in English as he motioned towards the Nubra. He then gestured to Jasper. "And this is his…"

"Jasper," Tilbei responded, immediately wrapping an arm around the hybrid's waist. "My lifemate."

Pip let out a happy squeal and hugged the half-Polkin tightly. "Zay, this is Jasper, Tilly's umm...Tilly's husband!"

The human couldn't be more confused. "Wait, so Tilly's not a girl?"

The Sepida let out a noise that sounded suspiciously like a snicker. "No, Tilly has twig and berries!" He replied.

"He does? Where?" He questioned, not seeing anything even when briefly glancing at the Nubra's crotch area where Tilbei's penises were sheathed and hidden from view inside his body. "I'm so confused right now."

Pip shook his head and once again spoke in Sepida. "This is Zay, he's my lifemate, though he doesn't fully understand what that means yet...and this is Louie. Don't be afraid! He's a good carnivore. A great friend! Right, Louie?"

Louie let out a woof as though in agreement.

"We better get you back before Lox tears the whole port apart," Pedro insisted. "Jason, Daniel, can you guys wrap things up without us?"

A feral grin formed on Daniel's face. "Oh, we got this," the ferret responded as he pulled out the explosives.

"Are those explosives!?" Pipolphi gasped.

"No time to explain!" Tilly admitted. "We better all get out of here now!"

Everyone agreed and bolted for the door. Louie let out an excited bark and loped at Pipolphi's side, almost hoping he'd get a chance to bite another of the hairy-people who had scared Little Salty Pup. As far as the Irish Setter was concerned, frightening Pip was absolutely not allowed. Louie always tried hard to be a Good Dog. However, exceptions had to be made for certain situations. Besides, Salty Pup had cooed and hugged him after Louie had chomped the first bad guy and Zane had praised him. Louie was still a Good Dog.

"But, isn't blowing up the ship with the unconscious Hunnars still in it wrong?" Pipolphi questioned even as they rushed down the hallways. He hated Hunnars as much as the next Sepida. But he couldn't stand to just watch them all being wiped out.

"Naw, the blast is only going to be for their controls and to total the ship," Pedro pointed out. "It'll be contained. Those rats ain't going anywhere before the Enforcers get to them."

"Will the Enforcers really capture them?" Jasper asked tremulously. Even ship-less Hunnars were dangerous.

"They're already on their way," Pedro affirmed. "Like I said, we have friends in high places."

Two of the Hunnars that had first been attacked began to stir near the exit. However, Zane and Tilbei made short work of them, ensuring that they stayed knocked out. The human was quite impressed with how agile the Nubra seemed to be. His previous image of a female Tilly, tiny and more petite than even Pip, was quickly being rearranged to the real Tilly before him. The ebony and orange-skinned man wasn't nearly as tall as Zane. However, Tilbei couldn't be called petite either. There were muscles under that dark skin, and he used them well in a fight.

When they finally made it out of the hangar, they saw Jason and Daniel rushing along behind them. They were stuck in the hallway when the explosives detonated, so Jason quickly pinned and shielded Daniel against the wall as the entire ship shook with the force. The group on the dock merely gaped as the entire control area of the ship was blasted away in a flash of light and debris.

Jason and Daniel stumbled out of the hangar on unsteady feet just as several armed Murisians arrived on the scene.

"They're all in there," Jason pointed out. "We had to fight for our lives!"

A small sense of justice filled Jasper as he saw Hunnar after Hunnar being escorted out as prisoners flanked by four Enforcers each. Tilbei held him tightly as if to assure him that he wasn't alone. Not anymore.

"Man, do you guys ever miss the days when we were just simple outlaws?" Daniel griped. "I mean look at us, doing all kinds of undercover Enforcer work…"

Jason and Pedro looked at one another and shook their heads. "No, better to be on the side of the Enforcers than against them," Jason decided.

"I still have many mouths to feed, amigo," Pedro pointed out. "We're staying clean."

"You alright there, Sifta? Ready to go back?" Daniel asked the Vulpan.

"Hey wait, we haven't properly thanked you for everything," Tilbei called out to the other group.

"No need, we were a good team," Pedro pointed out. "We have another stop on the way back home, so we're kinda pressed for time."

"Then, take this," Tilly offered as he handed them a card with the code for the Viceroy's ship. It had been tucked inside Jasper's hat, just in case they'd needed to give an escaping Pip or the authorities the contact information in a hurry. "We'd like to hear from you again."

Jason couldn't help but smile. The raccoon reached into one of his pockets and handed Tilbei a card with the code for their ship, as well. "Same goes for us."

The two groups then wished each other well and good-bye. Zane, still unsure as to what was going on, merely shook everyone's hand. A moment later, his arms were full of Sepida again.

"Zay, we're going home," he told him in English. "My home and Tilly's home." He then told Tilly and Jasper the same thing.

"We'll meet you there, then," Tilbei affirmed.

They separated once again to get into their individual ships. Once back on Pip's ship, the Sepida gasped. "Zay!" He had completely forgotten to even warn him. "Zay taking tea with the in-laws! Meet the parents!"

Louie leaned against Zane's leg as the human got a funny look on his face. The canine just hoped that wherever they were going had good treats and people who liked dogs.