Caretakers

The female vulpine looked out over the vast expanse of trees from her mountaintop perch. 

Found guilty on about eight thousand counts of financial fraud, coercion, and a half-dozen other crimes that the Council could pin her on, at least... 

...A seventeen-thousand-year sentence.

Ironic that what had once held someone else for a time was now being used to hold her. 

The Cat’s Paw was no ordinary ship: A nature preserve flying through space. 

A giant greenhouse and wildlife sanctuary. For the vixen it was to be her prison. 

Orphea pulled her robes closer around her. 

There were worse places the council of planets could have thrown her, she supposed. She likely had someone to thank for her current residence. 

At least it was nice and quiet. 

If she really wanted to, she could probably escape or worse... but she no longer had the will to do such things. 

What was the point anymore? It had only brought her to this moment. 

She blinked - the shine of her artificial eyes obvious in the shadows. 

They weren’t as functional as they once were but she could still see far better than any other species. 

She saw the stretch of wilderness below her. 

Maybe if she had left well enough alone and not pushed the limits she wouldn’t be here. If she hadn’t helped the sinister creation of her forbearers. 

She had done much to limit the damage on those that did not deserve it, and perhaps that was another reason she wasn’t in a worse place. 

Was she too arrogant? Too clever? What ultimately led to her downfall? She shook her head and focused instead on what she had lost.

Why hadn’t she learned boundaries before it was too late? Because no one ever taught her about them until later. By then things were in motion she had already set. 

At least Todd had forgiven her. It was nice to finally reconcile with her brother:

A long overdue reconciliation. 

They had held each other for a long time and cried as brother and sister: Not just about what had happened recently, but for their father and so many others that had been lost to the crimes of their family.  

It had been Todd and his ship that had delivered her. After a long and raucous party, she and Todd had a final last hug before he left for the stars, leaving her in this prison. 

It was then, a beautiful robotic bird nestled on a rock beside her, its plumage was gold mixed with colorful glass.

“Mistress, do you require anything?” it asked in Orphea’s own voice.

“No Phoenicia,” Orphea replied, chagrin at her own servant’s question.

She might have to see about recalibrating the bird’s voice module. The interdimensional criminal wasn't sure how much of her own voice she could take in her isolation.  

The bird cocked its head. 

“You have a guest approaching. I shall give you two some time alone.” With that the bird-automaton flapped away into the far-off tree branches. 

Orphea smoothed out her skirts, tail twitching as she wondered who it would be. Her ears cocked at the sound of footsteps. When the visitor came into view her muzzle parted in shock. 

“Theodore!” she gasped, sitting up straight and folding her paws together. “My fox!” 

Despite the vulpine alien addressing him as a ‘fox,’ he was - in actuality - a human. He looked tired now: a far cry from the heroic ship captain she had first met him as - Blonde hair in a mess, tired eyes. 

Her nemesis turned lover: Theodore Sphinx, formerly a captain of the Star Patrol. 

“Hello, my darling vixen,” he nodded as he approached. Dressed in the monk gi that he had worn during his time on the Cat’s Paw.

Orphea folded her arms, ears flattening. “I suppose I have you to thank for me being here?”

He smiled sadly. “My word still has some worth it seems.” 

“Ironic,” Orphea sighed. “You were once here, and now I am.” She looked at the dirt between her paws, trying not to weep - trying not to show any weakness. 

“Have you come to say goodbye and see me off?”

He shook his head. “No, not at all. You don’t understand.”

“Understand what, hmmm?” Orphea asked.

“I’m not going anywhere. I’m here to stay. The ship that dropped me off is already gone.” 

The words hit her like a meteorite. 

“Y-you’re staying?” she questioned. “But... You should be free...” 

He hung his head. “It was my choice.” 

Orphea sat down on the rock, tears leaking out. Despite her artificial eyes she still had tear ducts. 

“Why?” 

He approached her and knelt in front of her, gently holding her padded fingers in his hands. “You know why. But if you want me to say it, I’ll say it. Because I love you Orphea.”

“Oh, my love,” she wept as she threw her arms around him, drawing his head to her breast and holding him in place. 

He held her back, both crying now. “You didn’t have to.” Orphea sobbed.

“I want to,” he replied through the tears.

Orphea straightened up and Sphinx picked himself up and sat next to her, an arm around her as he pulled her towards him.

Orphea sniffed. “Ironic. All the times I tried to keep you somewhere, and now you’re choosing it.” 

He chuckled. “Never thought of it that way.” 

The vulpine snuggled closer. “It’s romantic, isn’t it? The two of us alone here as caretakers of this artificial wilderness.” 

“We won’t be alone exactly,” he replied.

Orphea sat up and looked at him, fixing him with a gaze in her eyes. “Explain.”

He held up a pair of cylinders and Orphea’s ears parted.

“Are those what I think they are?” she exclaimed.

He nodded. “Perfectly preserved in stasis. Our genetic materials spliced together. What we can’t do naturally. Not for lack of trying.”

“Our children,” Orphea whimpered as she caressed the cylinders.

“Whenever we’re both ready, we should have the proper facilities on this ship. They are ours to raise, until they’re ready to see the galaxy. I’ve been assured they are allowed to leave when they are of age.”

Orphea embraced him. “Oh, my love. My clever fox. I feel alive, now. For the first time in a long time I well and truly feel alive.”

The two embraced as the ship continued its slow voyage among the stars. They would care for the place, entertain the odd tourist and researcher, and raise a family. 

The two of them were so different, but love would see them through. 

It was a new beginning for both of them.