Forerunner's Child (21) (Patreon)

Distracted or not, Abel's game was still a chance to spend time with her new friends. It didn't really matter if the rules were new to her—Kit's natural bravery and determination easily made up for any disadvantage she had.

She even made it to the end of the game without collapsing. She was so determined to be a great player and not let anyone down that she didn't mention her previous work shift a single time.

Not until they made it through to the “enemy ship,” and took control of the helm, redirecting it from a relativistic collision with Mara. It was then, with the drama resolved and the crisis averted, that Kit's superhuman resistance to sleep abruptly ran out. She settled comfortably into the captain's chair, wrapped her tail around herself, then sorta... drifted.

She opened her eyes a little later, and found she was moving. "Emma?"

"You passed out," Emma said. "Don't worry, we're almost to your quarters."

"We are," Jay added, just beside her. Those must be his arms carrying her tail. Emma probably didn't need the help—but letting Jay feel useful was like her too. "Could've delayed the game ya know."

Kit whimpered, ears pressed flat to her head. "I thought... thought I'd be able to make it," she squeaked. "Sorry. Didn't mean to..."

"And we're here." Emma carried her to the bed, stooping slightly to fit in the undersized bedroom. Not by much, but those huge ears would definitely scrape on the ceiling otherwise. She set Kit down on Jay's bed, where she could sink into the pillows and stuffed toys. "You did good, Skirra. Just take a nap before next game, promise?"

"I... pom... ise..." She flopped sideways, pulling her tail around in front of her to have something warm and soft to hold. 

"Close enough." Emma tugged off her costume shoes and socks, then stood. "If it happens again, I'm going to cut your stimulants." She left.

As soon as the door closed, Jay crawled in next to her, and the lights went off. "You were gone a long time."

"Yeah." She lifted her tail reflexively, making room for him. "It was important."

Jay tossed and turned, before rolling next to her, and tugging her jacket off. She groaned at being disturbed but let him do it. The costume wasn't exactly great for sleeping in. 

Finally, he tugged a blanket over them both, using her tail as a pillow. "Like what? You've been in space forever and ever... couldn't it wait?"

"Not about space," she answered. "It's about here. I didn't wanna wait." 

"Oh. Okay." There was a long silence, almost long enough for her to drift back to sleep. Not quite, because he wouldn't stay silent. "Are you going back outside?"

"Yeah."

"Are you scared?"

"Yeah."

"You don't have to go," he said, urgent. "Nobody else goes out there. You don't hafta either."

She shrugged. "I can't do amazing... science magic. But I can do this. I'm going."

The mouse wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. "Be careful, Kit. Make sure you come back."

"I will."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Only with that pronouncement did the mouse finally let her sleep, clinging protectively to her until they were both unconscious.

She slept a long time, much longer than any human should. She felt Jay leave, tucking the blankets in over her, then she was gone again.

Eventually she woke and went back to her usual routine. There was more studying to do, more friends to visit, and competency tests to complete. The more she wanted to do to help the Institute, the more tools she had to master and more systems to understand. 

Kit never had to act interested in these things, even with such a dramatic mission looming over her. Her template took care of that, making whatever task happened to be in front of her the most novel and incredible new thing she'd ever seen. 

There were even some rumors that Abel might be close to getting the database backup working—but when she sent messages asking, he only sent her away.

Kit was really starting to learn her new home. She barely needed Forerunner's direction to find her way around, and prolonged exposure meant she almost never got anyone's name wrong.

Other things were still difficult, a quiet reminder in the back of her head that Kit wasn't a full person anymore. She could find her way around, but taking care of herself sometimes took little reminders. Otherwise, she might spend a week in feverish devotion to a task, not caring what she was doing. 

Despite her hopes, the rover wasn't ready to drive after just one sunset. Once their first set of replacement and refurbished parts were in place, the first diagnostic gave them a fresh wave of complaints. There were more systems to replace, more parts to lubricate and springs to tune. 

Kit spent much of her time helping in Engineering. But by then, Maddie and Kaden didn't need her the way they first had. After all that time working, the foxes now understood the rover almost as well as Kit herself. Maddie didn't ask whether each new change was going to break something or confirm three times that every replacement part was correctly installed.

Kit wasn't useless after that, though her single unique advantage did fade. That turned her back into the worst technician in the Institute, still not even certified to use most of their machines.

But that was okay. She could still hold work lights, squeeze under things, and help lift heavy parts. They didn't cut her out completely.

After intense labor, they finally finished the last bit of work. Every warning light turned green; every diagnostic returned without a single error reported. When Kit tested the controls in the workshop, both motors responded to their respective pedals, the breaks engaged, and the steering obeyed her commands. She drove a slow circuit around the workshop, with half of Engineering following just behind her.

They had already converted the front cargo area into a second seat, where Maddie sat now. She held so tight to the modified seatbelt that her hands went white; her ears folded all the way back and tail emerging from between her legs. 

"You're driving it!" she said, in the same voice a kid might use riding a roller-coaster much scarier than anything else they'd ever tried. "You! Manually!"

"Yep!" 

Even with the suspension restored, Kit's seat was far from comfortable. Her huge tail meant no flat back would ever be ideal—either she sat too far forward, or she squished the tail under her own weight. Mostly she did the former. "I flew my ship here too! My computer plotted the warp, but I knew the numbers. A rover in low gravity is nothing!"

Maybe a little more than nothing. They'd removed the windshield without replacing it, so a slow breeze whipped in their faces, sending Maddie's wild hair out behind her in a little cloud. "If you say so! I'm not the one who has to ride it." She pointed to a spot near the double doors. "Right there! We should recharge it before sunrise."

Kit had not driven much of anything manually since waking up with a tail. She got the rover more or less into the empty spot—close enough that the charging connector could rise up from underground and latch onto the battery compartment.

"Still not happy about that. I would feel better if we found a way to fix the old one. Forerunner can still shut us down." 

Maddie didn't move at first, still resting uncomfortably in her seat. Her breathing still raced, and her hands shook when she tried to unbuckle herself. "Forerunner controls the air in your suit, too. You have to trust him for some things."

"Unfortunately. Are you sure we can’t fix one of my suits? There were four in that lander."

Maddie tried and failed to suppress her giggling. "A low-speed rover is one thing. But if I tried to send you out there wearing an antique, Forerunner will take away my spot faster than I can blink." She finally got her hands on the buckle, and it clicked open. "I'll be joining you for the first test. Try not to crash."

"I won't." Kit got up, then hopped down on the two newly-installed side steps to reach ground level. The other engineers caught up a few seconds later, looking somewhere between amazed, terrified, or just overwhelmed. 

Kaden was the first to reach them, catching Maddie as she tried to climb down, and spinning her around once before settling her on the ground again. "You liked it."

The fox looked away. "It was more enjoyable than I expected. We'll have to build one of our own—carts, maybe? We could race them around the ring!"

"That would not be permissible," Forerunner said. "But I do have specifications for realistic pilot simulation cockpits. Perhaps you could assist me at scaling down the controls for citizen use."

"That sounds much better," Rich said. "I can't believe you let her drive it! What if she crashed?"

"I wasn't gonna crash," Kit snapped, puffing up her tail to full size. "I've driven rovers like it a thousand times!" Of course, none of those trips were spent riding in a booster seat. But if she could weave her way through the workshop, she could certainly stay on the huge flat roads outside the institute. All she had to do was avoid a few craters, and she'd be fine.

"There are a few more checks to make," Kaden said, circling around the rover. "A few more tests. But unless something happens we don't anticipate, it should be ready by sunset. How much should we charge it, Maddie?"

"All the way," she answered, maybe a little too quickly. "Just in case."