The Journal Entries

Nickolai craned his neck back to look out from the exposed bubble at the grey-white world hovering overhead. Crowded, clouded swirls crossed the sky completely and allowed no view of the land underneath. Nickolai found himself wishing to get down to that land, to put his fingers onto radioactive books and hold in his hands the blasted refuse of the dead, dead world.

A three-tone chime alerted him to a shipwide announcement. "We have established Sdisk contact with the ground on schedule. All personnel transferring to ground stations will report at the previously designated times."

A glance at his wristwatch told him he had four hours before his previously designated time was to come. Furry and he had spent all yesterday packing and they were already fully ready to head down to the surface. Their gear, and Roger's, had been sent to the forward hold as cargo.

"Nickolai?"

'Yes?" he asked, glancing upwards in the universal gesture of addressing the local AI.

"There is a call for you from Jofuran's mother."

"I'll take it." To his left, a display screen shimmered momentarily to be replaced with a view of a Markal who now looked exactly like his beloved. "Helena!" he said as a grin spread across face.

"Kolya! So good to see you. Was the voyage terribly dull?"

"We had the reports from your advance group, Helena, so no, it wasn't terribly dull. We kept up with the latest from the ground. I can't wait to see you and Morrail in person, however."

"We feel the same way. I wanted to tell you that we have reserved a space for you and Jofuran in the old school ground. If you want to avoid living in a tent, we have provided for that as well."

"Thank you, Helena. I'm sure Furry will appreciate it."

"As am I. When I called, she was unavailable according to the AI. Give her my love and we will be waiting for you when you both come down. And thank you for that language report. It made much more sense after you had filtered it."

---

"I don't remember ever seeing a more blasted and depressing country," Roger said as he ordered the displays to flicker by rapidly, watching as each one showed the same scene of snow, ice, and bitter cold.

"Get used to it," Nickolai advised. "We're going to be seeing a lot of it for the next couple of years."

"I know."

Furry walked into the room with a bundle of clothing. "Hey, are you two gonna keep talking like typical males, or am I going to get some help putting all the clothes and stuff away. Roger, don't you have a room of your own?"

"Yes, I suppose I do. You would like to be alone with your husband, I take it?"

"That would be nice," Furry agreed.

"See you sometime soon, then, Roger."

Roger grinned. "Don't wear him out too much, Furry. I need him to do translations for me."

"Don't worry, Roger. I'll see to it that he gets enough rest." She smiled back at the Pamthreat as he made his way from the room, closing the door behind him. She looked around. "You know, Nickolai, this feels just right."

"What, like being a student again?"

"Yeah," she grinned. "Little dorm with a front room and sleeping area." She put her hand on the wall. "Bad paint designed to last a millennia-- and it has at that." She walked over to him and looked up into his eyes. "Makes me feel like a college kid again."

"Did we ever stop being college kids?" he asked as he wrapped his hands around her waist. "I mean, we never really graduated. We've just been going from project to project and never did quite get around to getting the sheepskin."

She smiled. "No, I hope we never stop being college kids."

"Oh, I don't know. I like the better diet and dress code. Reconstituted noodles and four days of unwashed denim don't really do it for me anymore."

"That's not being a college kid," she said as she kissed his chin. "That's," she kissed him again, "laziness."

He murred at her wet touches. "Shall we find out if the bed supports our weight?"

"Nix said it would," she murmured.

"Nix doesn't have to make love in it," he said, taking her hand. She grinned back at him as together they made their way into the rear sleeping room, a long, narrow room that housed one wide bed suited to a 'taur body. They collapsed into it together, Nickolai's hands roaming his beloved wife's body, touching her and caressing her as he had for nearly a century now, loving this short, soft fem who had wandered into his life and nearly started a war in the process. "I love you," he said.

She didn't say anything at first, slowly stripping off his shirt instead and kissing his chest, nibbling on his nipples, making him squirm and struggle slightly. "I love you, Nickolai," she finally sighed as she crawled over the length of his body to kiss his lips with her short, mussine muzzle. "I'll love you forever."

His hands reached up and turned onto her butt, grabbing both cheeks and squeezing them tightly with his hands. "I'll love you longer," he said as a challenge. "Forever and a day after that."

"Only one day?" she asked as she opened up the clasp holding her own pants on. They rolled onto their sides and both struggled with their clothing for a moment. Naked, they fell into each other's arms, her fur feeling warm and familiar against Nickolai's naked skin.

"Forever and ever," he said. "And ever after that. Forever with every date doubled forever."

She giggled. "Good!" Her grasp on his was fierce and reassured; Nickolai's erection poked between her thighs. As they had so many times before, they rolled over, Nickolai on top, his penis pressing up between her thighs. He slid into her just a millimeter before encountering resistance. "I'm dry."

"Just a little," he said, withdrawing and then re-entering her. A few short strokes and he coaxed enough of her juices to allow him to slip completely within her. They lay there, mel and fem, joined, and stared into each other's face. "You're wonderful," he sighed.

"Love me," she breathed. He pulled out just a little, then pressed into her. It never ceased to amaze him how it felt, the opening of the way as he slid into her, the sensation of her body, her flesh, giving way just for him. He would never take it for granted. The way she arched her back just so as his pace picked up, the way her eyes closed.

Together, they made love in the oversized bed that, they both knew, had once been too small for its user. Jofuran opened her eyes to look into Nickolai's and knew that he was both lost in the pleasure and entirely there for her, all at the same time. His eyes had lost focus as his hips repeatedly hit hers. She felt the impact of his body against hers and felt the ripples of it course into her womb. His mouth was open and she could feel his warm breath. His cock slid in and out of her body, filling and emptying her. She wanted more of him.

His lovemaking took on an urgency she recognized. His arms trembled with the effort of his holding back, of his pushing forward. The look in his face as he got closer to orgasm would have been impossible for a Markal to manage, the skin so expressive. His mouth opened in a silent shout of pleasure as his hips furiously hammered out the last few strokes of his pleasure.

He opened his eyes and looked down. She smiled up at him, her own pleasure complete with his. "Thank you," she gasped.

"Thank me?" he asked, rhetorically. He knew what she meant. He kissed her muzzle softly, then rolled off to the side and cuddled his beloved closely. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Sleep," she said. "And let me."

"I'll do that," he agreed, his eyes already closing with post-coital bliss. She watched him retreat into the depths of slumber before turning the light off completely and cuddling down beside him. So far, it was a good start to a good job. A lot better than her parents' introduction, at any rate.