Work Permit By: Fox Cutter 09/14/1999: The midday sky was overcast, thick with rain-laden clouds, casting everything in a grey light, muting the bright colors that should have surrounded me. The Great Market seemed to move like waves as Ravindar and I sat at a small outdoor table, finishing the last of our lunches. "Where is she?" the tiger asked, casting his eyes up to the clouds above us. I leaned back and brushed my fingers through my beard. "Probably lost," I replied as I glanced around the Market. The little coffee shop we were waiting at was well away from the main streets, and could be hard to find if one didn't know how to get to it. I pushed my own plate away, and glanced up at the suns, hidden behind the heavy clouds. "Though I hope she gets here before the rain does." "That's why I usually prefer to meet at the office," Eliza said as she walked up to the table. The mare looked a bit flustered, as she brushed her short hair back from her forehead. "I'm sorry I'm late, the tube from Praxis jammed." I nodded, and motioned for her to sit down. "Still, I'm glad you made it." "So am I," she replied as she sat in the chair, and placed her purse on her lap. I gave her a smile. "Thank you for doing this for me. Though I have to say that I was surprised to find you had left the Prid News Service." Eliza nodded, "It was getting boring working there. I wanted to get into research and reporting, and they refused to let me be more than a photographer," she said with a sigh. "When I got the job offer from Kenterra, I was thrilled to take it." I smiled slightly, I hadn't been surprised to find that Eliza was currently working for Elena. It made sense in its own way, and it didn't hurt that I had hinted to hir that Eliza would be good in the job. "Is it living up to what you expected of it?" I asked the young mare. She couldn't have been any older than I was. She nodded, "Yes, and more. I'm doing and learning things I never expected to, and finding skills I never knew I had. I'm loving every moment of it." "I'm glad to hear it. From what I've been told you have a talent for this work." "Thank you," she said, digging through her purse and coming out with a trio of PADDs. "This is the information I've found about the Neverending," she said, handing them over to me. I nodded as I took them from her, and flicked the first one on. I skimmed over the contents of the PADD, and nodded as it rolled past. "Looks good," I said. "It is good, but a bit thin. There are a lot of scattered bits and pieces, and most of them probably don't have anything to do with what you are asking about," she said. Turning off the PADD, I set it down on the table. "It's more than I had before, and that's enough for now." She nodded, and rested her arms on the table, taping her thick fingers against the surface. "So... What is this Neverending, and why are you so interested in it?" I chuckled, "I don't know what it is, which is why I'm trying to find out. All I know is that it is interested in me for reasons that are not easily explained. I'm interested in it, because it is interested in me, and I don't like being on one side of that sort of thing." "I see," she replied with a smile, and casting her eyes towards Ravindar, "and who is your friend?" "Ravindar," I replied, motioning to him with my hand. "He's my bodyguard." "I wouldn't think that you would be the kind of person who needed a bodyguard," she replied, looking him over. Ravindar preened just a little at her attention, something that he would have never done when I had first met him. Ravindar replied before I could. "There are others who belive that he is, and so I am here. Fox, like all powerful people, has those who would wish to hurt him." I shook my head, "Don't listen to him, he takes his responsibilities far too seriously. I don't have nearly that much power," I said with a smile, which faded slightly. "But there are people who wish to do me harm." Eliza nodded and brushed her fingers through her hair. "From what Elena tells me, you have the ear of the head of the Consortium. That does give you quite a bit of power." The smile returned to my face. It was true that I had Rachel's ear, along with the rest of her if I just asked. Oriana had given me permission ages ago to get back together with the vixen if I wanted. I've never taken her up on it; I wasn't comfortable with it yet. "Less than you think," I said, "She's been busy with the new Capital, and when things are finished, she'll be moving there, but I'll be staying here on Prid." "But doesn't she live at your house?" I chuckled, "Yes, she does, which means she has her own security force, but she generally keeps them out of the house itself." "You live a complicated life," Eliza said after a few moments of thought. I tapped the tip of my claws against the table top as I suppressed a small smile. "You have no idea," I said, putting a strong, and slightly sarcastic emphases on the negative. She nodded, then glanced upwards as the first drops of fat rain splattered down onto her muzzle. "Oh," she said as more started to fall onto her fur. I gathered up the PADDs and smiled at her as I stood up, "I guess that ends this little meeting of the minds. Keep looking for more information, and drop me a line if you find anything. Your paycheck will be wired to you in a few hours." She nodded and stood up, slinging the strap of her purse over her shoulder. "I'll keep my ears up," she said with a smile. "And tell Elena 'hello' from me," I said as Ravindar moved to my side. "I will," Eliza replied, and a moment later went off into the Market, her tail swatting at the falling rain. I started back through the Market, heading for the exit. Ravindar followed in his familiar position a few feet behind me as the rain started to pick up. I wasn't hurrying. Occasionally it was nice to get out into the rain. It didn't bother me all that much; it was still a warm rain, and felt good as it ran through my hair. The denim jacket keep most of the water off the rest of me, but Ravindar had no such protection, his thin shirt was already wet through, and his fur was starting to flatten down. He was happy to get out of the rain once we reached the entrance of the Market, where we easily picked up a taxi. The driver looked a bit annoyed about the water dripping from our clothing, but said nothing as he drove us home. By the time we got to the house, the rain had really picked up, and it had gotten cold, making the rush to the front door unpleasant for the few moments that it lasted. Once inside, I was pleased to find that someone had started a fire in the living room fireplace. Rhea was curled up in front of it, looking pleased with herself as she lay there, half asleep. I shrugged off my jacket, and hung it in the closet. "Go get changed," I told my bodyguard as I set the PADDs down on the end table. "I'll be fine here for now." He nodded and said, "Very well," as he left the room. I sat down next to my sister, my legs tucked under myself, and stroked my fingers through her fur. "Enjoying yourself?" I asked. She lifted her head, and flicked her ears in my direction. <> she said in her usual telepathic fashion. No one was still quite sure how she had gotten it, but the best guess was that it was an accident of genetics. The strange thing was that she wasn't doing anything special with her broadcast, so I shouldn't have been able to hear it. No one yet was quite sure why I could, and I wasn't pressing for an answer. "I'll be on all fours in a couple more days," I replied. She turned her head slightly, <> she said. I laughed and shook my head, "You know, when I do shift, we could sneak off to the old place, and go for a run around the woods. It would be just like old times," I suggested. Her tail flicked up as a low rumbling purr escaped from deep inside of her, <> she said. "I'll make plans for it, though I doubt Ravindar will be happy about them. I would be out of his sight for three days, and the tracker implant probably wouldn't be enough to satisfy him." Rhea nodded, and shifted onto her side, stretching her long body out to its full length, arching her back in the process. <> she said as she settled down. "Like?" I asked as I picked up her tail, and played with the tuft of fur on the end. <> she said, glancing up at me, <> I smiled, stroking my fingers through her fur. "That's a very good idea. I wonder if we can talk him into it?" "Talk me into what?" Ravindar asked as he walked back into the room, his clothing clean, and his fur dry, though it was sticking up slightly, in a somewhat undignified manor. <> Rhea asked. "The only other male in the house is Adric, and he's too young to talk to at all," he replied as he came over to the fire, and settled down next to us. "So, what are you going to talk me into." Rhea glanced up at him, and flicked her ears forward. <> she said. He blinked, looking a bit surprised, "Oh?" I nodded. "It would allow you to keep up with me when I'm in my full lioness form," I answered. "I see," he said, making it clear that he actually didn't. I wasn't too surprised about that. He had never seen me shift into my lioness form, so he wouldn't know about the norm shift stone. "I wasn't always a shape shifter, you know," I told him, not that I really was one yet, I still hadn't learned to control my abilities without the twin crutches of the pendent and the stone. "There is a way, so think about it, but keep in mind that Rhea and I are going to be taking a run around the woods by the old house. If you want to protect me, you're going to need to keep up." He nodded, and gulped slightly. It was almost unnoticeable, but still out of place. I think the teleport curtain unsettled him. "As my job is to protect you, if there is a way for me to stay with you, I am obligated to take it," he said. <> Rhea said, with a strange smile that didn't quite work with her large muzzle. <> she said with a laughing growl as she twisted around and butted her head against his leg. Ravindar shook his head, but said nothing. I bent down, and wrapped my arms tightly around the lioness's neck, nuzzling my cheek against her warm fur. "This is going to be fun," I whispered to her. <> she replied, the tone of her 'voice' made it clear that she had sent the message only to me, so Ravindar wouldn't hear. I held myself against my sister for a few more minutes before I pulled away, feeling bits of her fur cling to my beard. Brushing them free, I sat up, and then rose to my feet. "I hate to break this up, but I need to review the data on those PADDs. I'll be in my office," I smiled to Ravindar. "You can stay here if you would like." He shook his head as he stood up as well. "It's my job Fox, I can't simply decide not to do it." I smiled. "Same speech as ever... come on, then," I gathered up the PADDs from the end table, and smiled at Rhea, who had rolled onto her back, and was drifting off to sleep. She liked to sleep like that, but I suspect it would end as soon as the kids were mobile enough to pounce her. Walking down the hall, I thought about the norm shift stone. If it worked for Ravindar, then it would work for Oria as well, and maybe even for my fox form. It would allow all of us to go out together. Ravindar settled into his position outside the office door as I unlocked it. I had decent security on the door, and only Oriana and I knew the codes. I just had too much access to critical information, about the Shipyards, the Consortium, and the Consortium Security Council not to take precautions. Slipping into the office, I closed the door behind myself and settled down at my desk. Turning the chair slightly to face the windows, I kicked my feet up onto the sill and started to read over the data on the PADDs. Eliza had been right. The information was pretty slim, more like a shot gun at five hundred feet. There were lots of small hits, but nothing that jumped out at me as being important. It was going to need a lot of distillation. Sighing slightly as I moved to the next PADD on the stack, it was then that I heard a small, hardly noticeable squeak from the general direction of the office door. It could only had been caused by someone putting their weight on the barely loose floorboard just inside of the door. The sound made me want to perk up my ears, which of course I couldn't do, being human at the moment. Instead I relaxed and started to play with the PADD, trying to not show that I heard the noise, but still listening intently for anything else. The fact that it had been so soft said a lot about it. If someone had just walked through the door, the sound would have been a lot sharper and easier to hear. The only reason it would have been that soft was if someone was trying to sneak in. Considering that Ravindar would never let anyone in that I didn't know, at least not without enough noise that most of Prid would have heard it, it meant that I knew who ever it was. I could think of a handful of people who would try to sneak up on me. Oria for one, but she would have know to avoid the squeaky floor, Rachel, but she was off world, or Ken, but to be honest, he didn't have the skill for that. That left one last person who would be trying it. "Welcome back, Samantha," I said as I scrolled the data on the PADD. She let out a small huff, and walked around the desk, not bothering to hide her footsteps. "How did you know I was here?" she asked as she came into view. "Trade secret," I said with a shrug. Samantha nodded, but I could see her annoyance by the slow arch her tail made as it swept behind herself. "Don't get into a huff about it. I know this office as well as my own bedroom. You would need the same knowledge to sneak in without my knowing." Knowledge like the fact that I had put the squeaky spot in the floor myself. "I suppose," she replied, settling herself down in the chair. "How was your trip home?" I asked her. A smile passed over her face, giving her eyes a special kind of brightness. "It was great! It took some time to settle back in with my parents, but they are ecstatic to see me again." I nodded, and set the PADD down. "That's good to know. How much did you tell them?" "Enough. They know about the Multi-Verse, and my various powers. I didn't tell them all of what I did when I was lost, but I told them enough. They would like to come to Prid if they could." "That could be quite a shock to their system," I said. She shook her head, "Not as bad as you think. Take a look at this," she said, as she reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a bundle of pictures. Flipping through them, she came up with one, and leaning over the desk, held it out for me. I took it from her, and looked at it. It was her, and her parents, and something that looked like a six foot tall wolf-morph. I looked closely at the picture, my attention focused on the wolf; if it was a costume, it was the best one I had seen, as it looked real. Its fur was natural, the head was the correct size, even the color and shine of the eyes was correct. "What is this?" I asked, offering the picture back to her. She smiled as she took the picture. "An alien. Apparently they made contact with Earth a couple years ago." "Now that's interesting," I replied. She nodded and put the pictures away. "It is; apparently the aliens showed up in time to save the world. It's changed the culture a bit, but things seem to be shifting back to the way they were before." I nodded, "I'll have to look into it some day," I replied. "So, my parents have seen aliens before, so I think they would handle being on Prid for a week, if you'll allow it?" she asked. I smiled, "Of course I'll allow it. We have plenty of room for guests, and I can arrange from some translator ear pieces for them. They only work with Prid Standard, but it's better then the implants." She laughed and nodded. "I'll arrange for the trip in the near future," she said. "Just give me a few days warning before they come in." "I will," she replied, reaching out picking up one of the PADDs "So, what has got your attention?" she asked. I shrugged, "Nothing of importance to you; I'm just looking into some minor matters," I said, half lying. She nodded, and skimmed over the text on the PADD, "The Neverending," she reading, pausing slightly, "Why does that sound familiar?" "I don't know, but I'm sure it will come to you." "It probably will," she replied, skimming over the text, then snapped her fingers, "Right, right... the son of a bitch who gave Cain the scar on his face mentioned it... what was his name?" she said, not noticing my wince when she mentioned my double. "If this is someone who knows about the Neverending, I would like to talk to him," I said. She smiled, "If we can find him that is, though after you're done with him, I want to get my hands on him." An evil smile spread over her face. "That bastard tried to rape me, and I never got to thank him for it." I smirked, "I'll help with that, then," I said, picking up the last PADD and flicking though what was on it. "That would be helpful... Now what was his name?" she tisked softly, tapping her fingers on the PADD, whispering sounds under her breath. Finally she smirked happily. "Grasion!" The PADD in my hands let out a loud crack as the case fractured from the pressure my suddenly clenching hands put on it. I felt my jaw go tight as my teeth ground together. Samantha lifted her eyebrows. "You know of him?" "Tall guy, natural, bald as a Q-ball, and the same color?" I asked. She nodded. I growled softly, and dropped the damaged PADD onto the desk. "I know exactly where he is-- right where I left him, rotting in a cell in the high security prison, where he is going to stay for the rest of his natural life." "Wow, the son of a bitch must have really hurt you," she replied. "Where he failed with you, he succeeded with me," I replied. She frowned and nodded sadly. "I understand, and I'm sorry." I sighed as I realized I probably shouldn't have said that. "Please, don't be sorry. It's in the past, and it will stay there. I've known that he had some information, but I have no wish to talk to him." Samantha nodded again, "I can understand that, and sympathize," she paused, rubbing her nose slightly as she thought. "I have some contacts in the less civilized parts of the universe, I could try to see if they have any information about this Neverending." "Thank you, but don't put yourself at risk for some silly information," I replied. "I'll keep that in mind," she said, placing the PADD on the desk and stood up, her tail swaying behind her. "I need to get cleaned up, but I want to thank you again for taking me home. It means a lot to me." I smiled, "I'm glad I could do it for you," I replied. "I hope I can repay you for it some day," she said, hiding a slight smile as she walked out of the room. ----- This story is copyright 2004 by Fox Cutter. Hardcopy reprints limited to one per person, all other rights reserved. This story may not be distributed for a fee except by permission of the author, and this copyright notice may not be removed.