“Report, Imperator.”

The young officer sighed and ran his fingers through his short cropped brown hair. He took a moment to compose himself before addressing the scowling face on the screen in front of him. “It’s a mess down there sir.”

“Well, that much is obvious, Nix.” The older man on the vid screen chuckled mirthlessly. “I don’t suppose you can give me something a little more… insightful?”

The young Imperator, Vanser Nix, smirked ruefully and shook his head. “No, I really can’t. I wish I could say I’m surprised that the three of them managed to escape, but really I’m surprised more haven’t done it. Their security system is wildly outdated, the policies in place are laughable and their staff is frankly incompetent.”

The superior officer sighed and nodded. “Well, you know what they say about the people who enter into the security forces.”

“That they couldn’t hack it in the real military. I know.” This time Vanser’s amusement was a bit more genuine.

“So. What is your recommendation Nix?”

“That this place needs a total top-to-bottom overhaul.”

“I meant about our fugitives.”

Vanser shrugged. “Well, while I’m sure I could handle this mission solo, it never hurts to have a little backup. Consider this my formal request.”

The elder man’s eyebrow cocked quizzically. “Are you talking about who I think you are?”

“Likely.”

“She’s been discharged.”

“Really? Well,” Vanser shrugged indifferently. “There’s always Article Forty-Two.”

“You realize that would put you out of the lead position on this mission, seeing as she’ll have seniority.”

Vanser smirked. “I think I can handle that.”

*.*.*.*.*.*.*

As the doors to the shuttle from Valhalla Station opened with a hiss and a redheaded woman stepped down onto the disembarking plank, Pryvani couldn’t but be a little smug. After all, she’d wanted this exact outcome- Brinn’s return to Avalon- and here it was.

She hadn’t even done anything to bring it about, beyond floating the offer Brinn’s way. The Universe had made the rest happen all by itself.

Pryvani liked it when the universe worked in her favor.

She’d wanted Brinn for her skills, of course the same as she had Rixie who was currently looming behind her… But like Rixie, Pryvani liked to think of the young veterinarian as her friend. If nothing else, Pryvani owed her after her assistance with Zhan’s care.

Brinn blinked in the light of the docking bay and looked around for a brief moment before seeing where Pryvani and Rixie were standing. Her face lit up with a bright smile and she waved cheerily, beginning the short trek over to where the other women were standing.

“Brinn!” Pryvani greeted, grasping Brinn’s hands in her own. “I’m so glad you made it safely. Hello Nick.” She turned and smiled at the human sitting on Brinn’s shoulder, who smiled shyly and waved back at her.

Brinn smiled. “Yeah, I’m glad we made it here okay too. There was some talk of there being a delay at Telonius Colony but it turned out to be nothing. Hello Rixie.”

“Nice to see you again, Brinn.”

Pryvani nodded and she and Rixie both bent to pick up Brinn’s bags. “Well, we’ll have plenty of time to catch up later, but for now I’m sure you’re tired and want to settle in. And after that I’m sure you’ll probably want to see Zara and Taron. Why don’t we help get these bags back to your room?”

“That sounds good to me. Lead the way.”

Pryvani hefted the bag onto her shoulder and the trio of Titanesses, (and one human,) left the landing pad.

*.*.*.*.*.*

It had been a long time since Sophia had had to roll out of the way to avoid being stepped on. The last time this had happened, the person had deliberately been trying to kill her. This time, the giant woman in question was just distracted and upset.

Of course, Sophia was irritated at almost having been crushed by the offending appendage, but her anger cooled into concern when she saw the expression on the face of the person it was attached to. Besides, she knew the risks inherent in walking around on the floor; so it was partially her own fault as well.

The little woman quickly pulled herself back to her feet and jogged after Zara to see if there was some way she could help. She followed her titanic friend into the bedroom of the suite they’d been living in since arriving on the moon of Avalon. Once there, the distraught Titaness threw herself onto the bed burying her face in the pillow with a dismayed groan.

Sophia gazed up at the mountainous piece of furniture. It was by no means the first time she’d ever had to climb up a giant bedspread, but that didn’t make it any less a daunting task. She tried calling up to Zara to see if maybe she could get a lift, but the giant woman was unable to hear her over the sound of her own misery.

So there really was nothing else but to grab ahold of the bedspread and begin the arduous ascent up the side of the bed.

It didn’t take long for Sophia to reach the bed’s summit. When she pulled herself up, the little woman found she was situated right next to Zara’s thigh. She used the waistband of the giant woman’s pants to climb up onto her back, which was bare due to Zara wearing what on Earth would have been called a sports bra.

Walking carefully, Sophia travelled along Zara’s spine, feeling the flesh underneath her feet shudder at her ticklish footsteps.

“Sophia, is that you?” Zara called over her shoulder, her voice carrying the tone of artificial happiness a person uses when they are upset but don’t want others to know about it.

“Of course.” Sophia replied with a smile. “Who else would it be?” The human passed between the shoulder blades and continued climbing up onto the left shoulder, being careful not to trip or get tangled in the mane of long dark hair in front of her.

Zara chuckled as she felt the smaller woman take a seat in the hollow of her neck on her left side. “I don’t know maybe a little crawly rodent or something?” She teased. “Why did you climb up the blanket? Were you on the floor?”

Sophia rubbed the back of her own neck. “Um, maybe.”

Zara sighed and rolled her eyes. “You know better than that. You could have gotten stepped on or something.”

Sophia wisely decided not to mention just how close she’d come to that very situation. It wouldn’t help anybody to make Zara feel guilty just then.

“Anyway, enough about that.” Sophia said, trying to change the subject. “What’s got you all mopey?”

“I… I’m not mopey!” Zara responded evasively.

Sophia rolled her eyes. “Zara I’ve known you long enough to know when you’re trying to bullshit me.”

“Bull… shit?” The Titaness eyes narrowed in confusion.

“Don’t try and pretend you don’t know what it means.” Zara pointed her finger at the larger woman reproachfully. “Now stop trying to change the subject and tell me what’s wrong.”

“All right, fine.” Zara sighed, dropping her face back onto her pillow. “I just got word from the University’s science department that my grant money is being rescinded.”

Sophia’s eyes widened. “Why would they do that?”

“Well, I told them I’d give them a study on a real ancient human culture. That culture doesn’t really exist anymore.” The Titan’s words were muffled through the pillow, but Sophia could just make them out. “Not only that but they’re calling into question my ability to maintain a professional distance from the subject, considering what Taron and I did after Trell attacked.”

“But that doesn’t make any sense! What were you supposed to do? Not help them?”

“As far as research committee is concerned, yes. I interfered with the ‘natural progression of the Avalonian culture’ the moment I stepped into the city.”

“…They do realize they’re talking about a ‘culture’ that was artificially manipulated into worshipping a Titan as a goddess… right?”

“Yes.” Zara turned her head to the side and her words became clear again. “But the point is that Titan wasn’t supposed to be me or anybody from my team.”

“It’s still pretty stupid reasoning.” Sophia responded.

“Somewhat.” Zara agreed. “But they do have a point. You don’t get involved with the subjects of your research.”

“But what else could you have-”

“I don’t regret what I did, Soph.” Zara interrupted, sitting up slowly so as not to dislodge the human on her shoulder. “But that doesn’t mean those actions aren’t going to have consequences, both on this moon and out in the rest of the galaxy. Right or wrong, it was their decision to make. I can accept that.”

“It still sucks.” Sophia muttered.

“That I can agree with.” Zara sighed. “After all, I said I accepted the decision, not that I liked it.”

Sophia chuckled softly. “Well, I’m here to cheer you up. What can I do to help?”

“Mm…” Zara moaned as she laid face down on the bed again. “I don’t know. Having you here to talk to does help, though.”

Sophia chuckled and walked down the Titaness’ spine until she was standing between her shoulder blades. From experience she knew there was a particular spot nearby that, if she could hit it just right, would cause the giant woman to relax almost instantly.

She probed at the tan skin on Zara’s back, rubbing carefully at the musculature underneath. The skin beneath her became covered in goose bumps and Zara shivered slightly at the little woman’s touch.

“I know what you’re doing, Sophia.” Her words were muffled by the pillow again.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Sophia replied mildly as she continued to stroke the skin underneath her.

“Yes you do. You’re looking for ‘the spot’. Well it doesn’t exist.”

“Yes it does.” A teasing grin lit up the human’s face, although Zara couldn’t see it. “I’ve hit it before.”

“That was… just a fluke…” Zara’s voice sounded unsure, even through a pillow. Sophia knew the Titaness would never admit it, but Zara hated the idea that she (and her species) might become just as flustered by a human’s touch as humans often were by Titans.

“If you say so.” Sophia grinned, even as she pressed and twisted her fist into a spot on the inside of Zara’s left shoulder blade, just to the right of dead center.

The enormous body beneath her stiffened suddenly, almost knocking Sophia off her feet. After about a half a second, Zara’s entire body seemed to melt and Sophia heard a sigh of pleasure escape from the giantess’ mouth.

“Told you it was real.” Sophia called out, not even trying to hide the smug tone in her voice. The body underneath her shifted in what might have been a shrug.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Sophia rolled her eyes and continued probing at Zara’s muscles. She could hear the giantess making pleased sounds in her throat as she continued to work.

“Like a big kitten.” The tiny woman muttered a small amused smile on her lips. “And they call us the pets…”

“Mm… what?”

“Nothing…”

The two of them continued on in silence, Zara laying there almost dozing and Sophia working diligently at the knots on her back. Sophia let her mind wander aimlessly for several minutes. Her thoughts became formless as she worked. Until a sleepy sounding voice rumbled underneath her feet.

“Soph… Tell me a story…” Zara murmured

Sophia paused, and stood up, rubbing her knees where her legs were beginning to tire. “A story?”

“Yeah.” The Titaness yawned. “Tell me a story. A good one. Like something from your world.”

Sophia blinked, stopping her work. She hadn’t really been expecting to be asked to tell a story. Then she shrugged. If Zara wanted to hear a story, Sophia could oblige.

“What kind of story would you like?” She asked, amusement coloring her voice. “I know, how about a story with a Titan in it?”

“Sure. Why not?”

“All right. Once upon a time…” Sophia began, returning to her kneeling position and rubbing at Zara’s back again.

“Why do you always start stories that way?” The Titaness wondered with a yawn.

“It’s tradition, now shush.”

“Sorry.”

“As I was saying… Once upon a time, in a land called Greece, there lived a Titan by the name of Epimetheus.” Sophia began her story.

“That doesn’t sound like a Titan name to me, Sophia.” Zara interrupted again, knowing it would irritate her human friend.

“It’s not. It’s a Greek name, now stop interrupting me or I’m not going to tell you the story at all, okay?”

“Right.” Sophia could hear the grin on the Titaness’ face. “Sorry.”

“Sure you are.” Sophia muttered. “Where was I? Oh yeah. So, Epimetheus had been given the task of giving every species of animal some trait that would help it to survive. To the birds, he gave flight, other animals were given strength or speed or camouflage. But Epimetheus was somewhat foolish and tended not to think ahead, so he didn’t keep track of what he was doing. And so by the time he got to humans, there was nothing left to give.

“Well, he certainly didn’t give you the gift of size” Zara snickered.

“Hey, who’s telling the story here?” Sophia griped, smacking the skin beneath her sharply with her palm.

“I’m just saying…”

“And I’m just saying stop interrupting me.” Sophia glared at the back of the giantess’s head, but of course Zara was oblivious. “Not being sure what to do, Epimetheus sought out his brother Prometheus…” Sophia felt the muscles underneath her suddenly tense up, and was momentarily afraid she’d accidentally pinched a nerve.

“Are you okay Zara?” She asked, gingerly touching the spot she’d been pressing into.

“What? Oh, um, of course I am, keep… keep going with your story.”

“Oh, uh, Okay…” Sophia muttered, confused by the giant woman’s reaction. “So, uh, he goes to see his brother Prometheus to ask what to do about the little situation.” Sophia suddenly had the sense that Zara was paying a lot closer attention than she had been previously.

“And Prometheus, he decides that the humans’ gift would be fire. Previous to this, of course, fire had been under the sole ownership of the gods. So Prometheus goes to Zeus- who was the king of the gods- and asks Zeus if he can have a bit of fire to give to humans.”

“And Zeus said yes?” Zara wondered.

“No. He denies the request. He tells Prometheus that fire is best kept under the gods’ control, because if Humans were ever given fire, with it would come knowledge that was dangerous and could one day threaten the gods themselves.”

“Really? He… he said ‘no’?”

Sophia’s brow knit in confusion. “Yeah, why?”

“Nothing. I was just clarifying.”

“Um, so Prometheus decides that Zeus is wrong and plans to steal fire from Mount Olympus, where the gods lived, so he can give it to mankind.”

Sophia paused and dug into a particularly stubborn knot in Zara’s back. When she finally got it to loosen, she was rewarded by the pleased sigh that erupted from Zara’s mouth.

“So…” She continued her narrative. “He’s walking along the seashore and he finds this stalk of fennel.”

“Fennel?”

“It’s a type of plant. Don’t worry about it. So he takes this fennel and sneaks into Zeus’ throne room where the fire was kept, and he steals an ember and hides it in the stalk.”

“Wouldn’t that burn the plant thing?” Zara wondered, an amused tone to her voice.

“Yeah, but, it’s… I don’t know. It’s magic fennel or something. Look, it doesn’t matter all right?”

“Right, sorry.”

“Sheesh, ‘wouldn’t that burn the plant thing?’” Sophia muttered to herself, mocking Zara’s voice. “I’m trying to tell the story here… keep interrupting me…”

All right. I’m sorry.” Zara was barely able to control her laughter. “Keep going, what happens next?”

“Well. Um. Prometheus brings fire to the humans… and basically jumpstarts civilization. With fire comes ability to cook food, work metal, all kinds of things. That’s pretty much it.”

“What? That can’t be the ending!”

“Well, Zeus gets mad and as punishment has Prometheus chained to a mountain where his liver gets eaten by a giant bird on a daily basis.”

“Ew.”

“Yeah.” Sophia laughed. “Zeus was kind of a jerk, sometimes.”

Suddenly there was an electronic chime.

“Someone’s at the door!” Zara jumped up from the bed and set Sophia back on the mattress. “Wonder who it is…?”

*.*.*.*.*

“You’re looking uncharacteristically somber today Alex.” Rixie said playfully as she stroked the top of his head with her smallest finger. “Is there something on your mind?” She was laying back on her bed, her head propped up by pillows, with the human seated on her thigh.

Alex blinked up at the smiling Titaness, having been startled out of his train of thought.

“It’s nothing much.” He muttered softly. “I’ve just been thinking…”

“Well, don’t hurt yourself.” Rixie joked, a fond smile on her face.

Alex smirked, but then his demeanor became serious again. “No, but, really… I was just thinking… have you ever thought about me getting chipped?”

“What!?” Rixie suddenly sat bolt upright, all the amusement gone from her face, and her eyes wide with alarm. “No! Of course I haven’t! Why would you think-”

Alex held up his hand, cutting off her protests. “I know you wouldn’t do it, Rix. What I’m saying is that I’ve been thinking about it and… I think it would be a good idea.”

Rixie blinked, her brow knit in confusion. She gaped at him for a moment before finding her voice again. “I… Alex… why…?”

Alex sighed and sat up again, resting his arms on his knees. He looked down at his feet. “Look, Rixie, I’ve been thinking about that whole incident with Trell. What I did was stupid. It all worked out okay in the end, but it was still stupid. The fact of the matter is, if it hadn’t been for Nick and Sophia’s tracking chips, all three of us would likely be residing in Trell’s colon right now.”

Rixie opened her mouth to speak but then sensed that Alex wasn’t finished, so she let him continue.

“And if I’m perfectly honest, I can’t guarantee I’ll never do anything stupid like that again… so I think it’s in my own best interest if you have a way to come save my butt when I do.” Alex looked up finally and flashed a self-deprecating grin at her.

Rixie frowned, her brow creasing. “But… Alex… I don’t know about this. I mean, are you sure? This seems so… humiliating for you…”

Alex shook his head. “Don’t you see Rix? The fact that you think that makes all the difference in the world.”

“I…”

“It’s like the clothes thing.” Alex went on. “Me being naked is only a humiliation when I no longer have a choice in the matter. The fact that I have that option changes everything. It’s the same here. The fact that you wouldn’t force a tracking chip on me tells me that I can trust you with this.”

Rixie shook her head and carefully scooped Alex into her hand before raising him to her eyes. “But that’s not the end of it Alex. This chip represents more than just an ability to find you if you get into trouble… In order for it to work, I’d have to register you. Legally… It would mean I own you…”

“Isn’t that just a matter of semantics at this point?” Alex asked, arching an eyebrow. Inside, Alex was thinking that Rixie already owned him in every way that actually mattered, but there was no way he’d ever say that to her out loud.

Rixie shook her head, which made her braids rustle around her face. “No. It’s important, vitally important to me that you understand you aren’t stuck with me, okay? I need you to know that if you ever decided you wanted to live in Atlantis or with another titan or some unknown third option… that I would let you go.”

“But I don’t want to leave…”

“And I don’t want you to go, either.” Rixie smiled softly. “I just want you to know that you can. It might kill me to let you go, but I would still do it… okay?”

Alex smiled. “And that’s exactly what I’m talking about. Who cares if, in some Archavian database, I’m listed as your ‘property’? You know the truth and so do I. That’s all that matters.”

Rixie sighed. “Okay. I still don’t like it, the idea of doing this to you makes me very uncomfortable… but it’s your body, so it’s your decision.”

Alex nodded with a smile.

“But I insist Brinn do the procedure. I don’t trust another vet not to treat you like a dumb animal.”

Alex’s brow furrowed and he looked up at the Titaness. “Is there another vet on this moon that I’m not aware of?”

Rixie stopped short and blinked. “Shut up.” She muttered as Alex broke into laughter. “That’s not the point.”

*.*.*.*.*.*

With Nick safely tucked in between her breasts, Brinn walked through the corridors of Pryvani’s mountain compound before finally arriving in the residential section. She stopped in front of one of the doors to the living suites and pressed the call button on the side of the doorframe.

She could hear muffled voices from the other side of the door that suddenly went quiet when she’d pressed the button.

After about a minute’s wait, there was a slight hissing sound as the door opened. Before Brinn could react a body flew into her and almost knocked her to the ground. Brinn tried not to gag as Zara’s arms wrapped themselves around her neck.

“Brinn!” Zara shouted, pulling the other woman in tight. “It’s you! What are you doing here?!” Her body pressed against the redheaded Titaness, and Nick found himself in the questionable position of once again being squished between two pairs of literally titanic breasts. Just like the first time, he wasn’t sure whether to enjoy the experience or be terrified by it.

“Well… I quit at the clinic. Or I was terminated, depends on who you ask, I guess. Regardless, Dr. Kezwic and I had one too many differences of opinion.” Brinn’s tone was laced with amusement as she gently extricated herself from Zara’s embrace. “Careful, you’re squishing Nick.”

“Oops, sorry. Hi Nicky! Sophia will be glad to see you!”

“I’m glad to see both of you Zara.” Nick laughed.

Brinn smiled. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed her friend’s exuberance. This, more than anything, made her feel like she was finally home. “So anyway, Pryvani was rather adamant that we return, and so, lacking any more enticing option, here we are.”

“For good?” The childlike look of joy on Zara’s face was radiant.

“For the foreseeable future at any rate, yes.”

“Oh, well…” Zara’s tone suddenly dropped half an octave and her expression went from childlike to strictly post-pubescent. “I’d say your arrival is cause for celebration… wouldn’t you agree?” She reached up and brushed a lock of hair back behind Brinn’s ears, her fingers tracing lightly down her neck and across her cleavage line, ruffling Nick’s hair in the process.

“Hmm… probably.” Brinn felt her heart rate increase slightly. Nick felt the temperature rise around him as her flesh became increasingly warmer.

“Good.” Zara smiled softly. “You look tired after your trip, why don’t you come in?”

“I’d say that sounds like a fantastic idea…”