Space Bunnies!

Chapter 47: Little Ship

Within the conning tower, Maxion and Tommy played their usual game of rock, paper, scissors. And for the first time, Tommy was winning. "What? You beat me again? Hm, I'm going to admit... I wasn't expecting that." Maxion said he was just slightly annoyed. But he was good at hiding his emotions. "It's a game of chance," Tommy repeated to Maxion the exact words he'd said when they started this ritual two years ago. "Shut up, don't quote me," Maxion said playfully. Tommy's tail, which had been limp up to now, started to move triumphantly; it was soft but noticeable. "That's never happened before." Maxion pointed out. He looked Tommy in the eyes; he wasn't that happy these days, so seeing him in a good mood was pretty amusing. "Feeling a little happy are we?" Maxion teased with a sharp-toothed grin. "No! I'm not happy."

"Liar," Maxion commented. He knew for a fact Tommy was lying— truth sight didn't work right sometimes, but when it did, the feeling was unmistakable. "What?" Tommy inquired. Maxion sounded like he was sure. Tommy wasn't aware of Maxion's unique ability, so to him, such claims were just a 'know it all' trait, which Tommy did not appreciate. He didn't want to admit that Maxion was right. Tommy opened his mouth to respond, but they were interrupted by Russell, who moved out of the turbolift, flanking the control center. He moved across the control room, his hands clenched into unforgiving fists. "Haven't you two been paying attention to the cameras?" Russell growled, annoyed. They were supposed to be on watch. But there was nothing out there to see... so the power switch had the monitoring system time out if there wasn't anyone there to move the mouse actively. "I mean... we were taking a break; not everyone is a workaholic like you." Maxion huffed; Russell pressed a few buttons on the nearest console, and on the giant display in the center of the room, materialized a view of two starships and a shuttle in space. The shuttle, which was identified as a yacht, was dead in the water. While the larger ships danced in combat, firing beams of weaponry at each other. The smaller craft was more maneuverable, but the larger one was more powerful. Tommy scurried over to Russell's position. "That's the Trinity!" Tommy sprayed a battalion of spit on Russell's cheek, and the bunny wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Say it, don't spray it, god, Tommy!" Russell hissed, "Sorry..." Tommy replied sheepishly, and then Maxion cruised along. "What's a Trinity?" He asked the most obvious question; Russell sighed, wiping off the spit from his cheek with a grimace. Tommy answered the question immediately, "The Trinity is the flagship of the Dynamic Patrol commanded by Captain Holloway. But... what's she doing all the way out here? They're supposed to be on a shakedown cruise."

Maxion raised an eyebrow. "The Dynamic Patrol? What are they doing here? Isn't this supposed to be the off-limit zone?" Russell nodded, his expression growing serious. "That's what we're trying to figure out." Tommy still fixated on the viewscreen, added, "The yacht caught in the crossfire is probably a civilian ship. We can't just stand by and watch. We have to do something." Maxion considered the situation; his annoyance from the interrupted game was replaced with annoyance toward these people playing in Omeocoon's backyard. "Well? What about the other one? Is it a DP ship?"

"No, it isn't. I've never seen a configuration like that. And by the looks of it, neither has the Trinity." Tommy informed me that he was the expert on DP ship configurations, so he was the point guy. Maxion nodded exaggeratedly, "I see... and why do we care?"

Tommy commented. "We shouldn't; the Trinity is going to win; whatever's going on, it's none of our business." Russell pulled up long-range scans and called up the genetic research Cam was working on two years ago while incarcerated. Of course, the research for 'the arm sleeve power-up' had dried up because Cam and Russell were free, and there was no further reason to communicate with the mouse unless he stubbed his toe or caught a cold. Cameron told me that there's a spike that Omeocoon family trees share. He informed me that if you and Kieran were put through a scanner, you'd see the same pattern. See the yellow line here?" Russell pointed, "It's like a familial watermark; it aligns with you and your brother; you submitted this sample," Tommy nodded, and he remembered volunteering for Cam's experiment, "It's unique to you and your family. See, there are two because, in your case, your mother split to create you and your brother; if she were here, she would have the exact same watermark. It was passed from her body to you and your brothers. If I took a sample of your goo and your brothers' goo. You'd have matching ones that link you back to each other. He says it's like... a uh..." Russell stamped as he waited for the reference to return to him; he snapped his fingers when it returned to him, "A fingerprint..! He said it's like a fingerprint."

"But there are three lines?" Tommy scrolled down to point out two more lines. Both of these were grayed out as if the computer didn't have enough information to determine who the other watermarks belonged to. "That's what we couldn't figure out. But the station's been running continuous scans since they came into range, and it's picked something up." Russell paused and manipulated the controls. The grey lines became lovely shades of red and pink, respectively. "Someone on that yacht is related to you," Russell said, looking toward Tommy; he went wide-eyed. "W--Wait? Are you saying I have two more brothers?" Tommy was unusually excited, but Russell rolled his eyes as if the answer was obvious. "No, goofy, they're similar enough to flag but different enough to mark them as something else... they're more... cousins? But we won't know for sure until we examine them."

"Wait? Hold on? You can't go over there; it's too dangerous." Maxion warned he was worried about the safety of the people on board but more concerned for his friends, which was logical. They were launching torpedos out there, for god's sake. "There's more; I'm detecting about 40 Omeocoon life signs on that attack fighter." Russell continued; that was enough to push Tommy over the edge. "If our people are out there, then we have to rescue them before they get blown to pieces. Tell Kipp and D1 to prepare the Falcon." Tommy ordered; his decision was made. Russell was coming; the duo moved toward the elevator, and Maxion followed. Tommy stopped him at the lift, "Not you, Max; we need someone here to watch over the station in case something happens, and what better than our..? What did you call it again?"

"Concierge. I'm the concierge and part-time tailor. " Maxion said; he rubbed his chin. "I suppose being in command of the station would be amusing... sure. But do be careful... I don't think I can be the Chancellor, and these people need you, Tommy."

"You come back too, Russell and your son will be worried." Maxion teased; he would've kissed the bunny if he hadn't thought he would end up with a nasty bite on his lip. "He's not my son," Russell added before the doors were sealed shut, and they were on their way to the docking bay.