Carpathia IV: Episode 8 - The Catacombs
Space, Polaris Deep, NCCS Shadowdancer
Amenaru was the only one in the Shadowdancer's gym, as the rest of the crew and the on-board scientists were taking advantage of the facilities on the station. Though he felt it would have been nice to have a sparring partner, a chance to have the gym all to his own was a very rare privilege indeed. Without anyone to throw around, Amenaru practiced nekomi-style mixed martial arts while allowing himself to get lost in his own thoughts.
Amenaru: Hup! Hup!
Next, Amenaru started practicing punches with a song playing in his head. Only dimly aware of his surroundings, he was unworried about hitting someone when there was nobody else there. Over and over, he circled the matted floor with knees bent and back straight throwing one punch per step with a corresponding "hup" with each one. The song in his head helped him keep a rhythm.
On he went, long since losing track of time, and all was well, until his fist connected unexpectedly with a loud slap against something immovable. Amenaru recoiled instantly, cradling his fist in his other hand.
Amenaru: Ow!
Amenaru looked up, astonished to see Kit standing before him with his arm outstretched, the palm of his hand facing outward. It was clear that this is what Amenaru had just hit. In Kit's other hand was a small messenger bag and upon his face was a stern, matronly expression.
Kit: You're late.
The muscles in Amenaru's wrist now ached a little and he shook out his hand, which made it feel better.
Amenaru: How did...
Before Amenaru could say any more, Kit cut him off in mid-sentence.
Kit: We're supposed to be installing these new communication relays now.
Amenaru scratched the side of his nose and looked away. Clearly time had gotten away from him while he was practicing.
Amenaru: Is it that time already?
Even before Amenaru finished his sentence, Kit was already walking away.
Kit: I'll be waiting for you at the access tunnel.
And then Kit disappeared through the gym's exit door. Amenaru rubbed his wrist a few more times before rushing back to the change room to get into his uniform. A shower would have to wait until later.
Deck 18, the lowest deck of the ship, and also known as the catacombs. The corridors were much more like a cyberpunk labyrinth than any of the decks above, with slanted walls and systems conduits spilling over onto the deck. Even lower than deck 18 were the access tunnels running through the v-shaped underbelly of the ship. Down there, it was impossible to stand anywhere except in a few hubs sprinkled occasionally around the area. Also ever-present, from lack of insulating material, was the vibration and low hum of the various systems doing their work.
Amenaru trotted through deck 18, still fastening his belt and avoiding obstacles at the same time, leaping, ducking, and rounding exposed conduits sticking out everywhere. Though he managed without major incident, his ears did brush some low-hanging tubes more than once.
Arriving at the access point to the lower tunnels, Amenaru found Kit with his arms folded across his chest and leaning against the bulkhead, the messenger bag of new communication modules sitting on the floor next to him.
Amenaru: Sorry about that. I lost track of time.
With no acknowledgment, Kit turned to the tunnel hatch and grabbed the handle. With a loud, metallic thunk and then a hiss, the door opened.
Kit: Through there and down to the bottom. Do you want to go first, or should I?
Amenaru wasted no time climbing into the access tunnel.
Amenaru: I'll go! You can drop the bag into my arms when I get down there.
Amenaru wriggled his way through the tunnel and then peered down the ladder to the hub point at the bottom. Kit followed behind, pushing the bag in front of him. After scanning the drop carefully, Amenaru curled himself into a ball.
Amenaru: Bombs away!
And immediately thereafter, Amenaru rolled into the opening and dropped out of sight.
Amenaru: Weeeeeeee!
Amenaru uncoiled himself and landed on all-fours with a resounding "thunk" on the deck below. From there, he looked up the shaft to see Kit peering down at him, his face having shifted from stern disappointment to genuine concern.
Kit: Are you okay?
Amenaru smiled and as he stood and patted his hands together.
Amenaru: That was fun! I almost hit my head, though. There's not as much room down here as I thought. Now toss the bag down to me.
Kit tarried for a moment, contorting his face in puzzlement, before he disappeared back down the tunnel and re-emerged with the bag. Amenaru patted his hands together again and held out his arms, signalling his readiness to receive.
Kit: Ready?
Amenaru: Ready!
Amenaru watched and waited as Kit wrinkled his nose and twitched his ears. All Amenaru could do was wait and project as much of an air of confidence as he could muster.
Kit: Okay, um... bombs away?
Amenaru smiled at Kit's feeble attempt to use the same expression. He only had a moment to enjoy that, for Kit dropped the bag and Amenaru steadied himself to catch it. The bag landed into his arms without incident and Kit climbed down the ladder to join him. It was a tight space for two.
Amenaru: Okay, where should we start?
Kit: I suppose it's easiest if we start here and work toward the rear exit.
Right away, Amenaru squeezed past Kit to the access panel on the wall and slide it open.
Amenaru: Sounds good to me.
Inside the panel were at least two dozen, wallet-sized control modules, each with a switch next to it and a number.
Amenaru: Okay, which ones do we replace?
Kit sidled around the hub and kneeled as best he could to unzip the bag, his body brushing up against Amenaru's as he did so. Sifting through the contents, Kit found a tablet and tapped the screen.
Amenaru: Here, we need to replace modules 706538-C and D. Pull those out and I'll hand you the new ones.
Amenaru scanned the modules for the correct numbers. Finding both right next to each other, he flipped the switches on each, unlocking them from their cradles and pulled them out.
Amenaru: Got 'em.
Amenaru cradled the modules tightly to his chest, as there was little room to maneuver his arms with both of them in the same cramped room, and carefully twisted to his side where Kit held up one of the new modules. It took a little time to awkwardly exchange the devices between each other. While Kit returned the old modules to the bag, Amenaru slid the new ones into their designated positions and locked them into place.
Amenaru: Ready for the next one?
Kit slung the messenger bag over his shoulder and then sidled around the hub to one of the hatches leading to another tunnel. After opening the hatch, he crawled inside.
Kit: Be sure to get the door.
Amenaru crawled in next and closed the hatch behind him. The access tunnel twisted and turned in all directions, weaving up and down, left and right, through the various systems crammed together underneath the ship. As Amenaru followed, he was transfixed by the view of Kit's tail in front of him. It was more spade-shaped, like from a deck of cards, rather than a fluff ball, and with white fur on the back end, switching over to blonde, the same color as Kit's hair, on the rest of it.
Though Amenaru had opportunities to see a tokki tail up close, specifically Nalma's, he was always too busy with other things to pay close attention and he grew fascinated by how it reacted to Kit's movements. When Kit was crawling straight, the tail stood upright, curving slightly toward Kit's head. When they reached an incline in the tunnel and Kit strained to climb upward, the tail bent down, almost pointing directly at Amenaru during more strenuous moments. What was most amusing is when Kit became a little flustered by a tight turn or a narrow point where a wide pipe intruded into the tunnel. Kit would slow down and his tail would wag in vivacious little bursts of energy as he struggled to navigate the tight space.
Finally, Kit stopped in the middle of the tunnel by another systems access panel and carefully maneuvered himself into a seated position.
Kit: Okay, here is the next one. We need to replace 706554-A, B, and C here.
Amenaru opened the access panel and began removing the modules.
Amenaru: I'll set these here and then you can pass me the new ones. That way, we won't get them mixed up.
Amenaru laid the old modules on the tunnel floor and took one of the new ones from Kit. As Amenaru took the module, his hand brushed up against Kit's, which sent Amenaru's ears fluttering. Hoping that Kit didn't notice, Amenaru hastily shoved the module into its place and locked it in before carefully reaching for the next one.
With the new modules placed, there were three sets left to do, and Amenaru followed Kit to the next hub area. In that hub, they replaced the third set of access modules and then it was time to proceed to the next. This time, Amenaru, ears slightly flattened on his head, opened the hatch to the access tunnel and gestured for Kit to go first.
Amenaru: After you.
Amenaru watched Kit proceed into the tunnel and felt guilty as he watched him go. This was not a gentlemanly gesture, but an opportunity for him to get a good look at Kit's posterior once again. Skinny as he was, Kit did not have a particularly nice rear end, and though the tail was amusing, it wasn't much more than simply that. Kit had an air of mystery that surrounded him like a fine mist, which accentuated all of his features. There was his demeanor, more forceful than anything he'd seen from him on the bridge, and, most of all, that Kit stopped Amenaru's fist dead cold earlier with seemingly no effort at all. Kit, Amenaru thought, was pleasing enough to look at, but Kit the full person crawling in front of him, who just so happened to have an adorable tail that seemed to have a mind of its own, was something he found very titillating indeed. What started as a run-of-the-mill systems upgrade was now turning into something much different than he expected.
In the access tunnel, there was another systems access panel and another exchange of modules before they finally proceeded to the last hub area closer to the stern of the ship. There, after replacing the final modules and closing the access panel, their hour-long journey finally ended. However, there was one more thing that Amenaru wanted to know.
Amenaru: Hey, sorry again that I lost track of time. I can take those old modules to the recycle center.
Kit took the messenger bag from his shoulder and handed it to Amenaru.
Kit: Okay.
Kit turned and put his foot on the ladder leading up to a tunnel that exits back onto Deck 18.
Amenaru: Wait... um...
Kit paused, foot still on the ladder, and turned his head to face Amenaru again.
Amenaru: In the gym, when you came to get me, you stopped my punch with your hand like it was nothing. How did you do that?
Kit lowered his head and smirked, which was yet another expression Amenaru had never seen from Kit before.
Kit: Just be glad I didn't use my feet.
Kit turned back to the ladder and looked up. Then, after bending his knees, launched himself like a missile up the tube. Amenaru ran to the ladder and looked up just in time to see Kit's feet at the top, catapulting himself down the access tunnel to the exit hatch. From there, all he could hear was the hatch door open. In mere seconds, Kit was all the way back on Deck 18, leaving Amenaru both impressed and flabbergasted at the same time.
Commissioned art in this episode from:
Jenova87
Zelbunnii
Less_End
Thatwildmary
Colourbrand
All city pictures from SimCity 4
