3rd NOVEMBER 7082, CITY OF SENNETT, RILO KILEY

The sky in the city of Sennett was bright blue, not a cloud in the sky, and the air was cool and clear above the Mass Metro.

Not that Sorcha could enjoy a second of it as she was smushed to insensibility in a crowd of what looked, from her harried viewpoint, to be a crowd of frilly lampshades. The dresses worn by Riloan women made moving about next to impossible in even moderately confined spaces and, in spaces any smaller than that, one was destined to have one's muzzle buried in a puffy, voluminous sleeve or nearly trip over a skirt or fifty.

Sorcha shuffled her way onto the waiting metro car, being rushed aboard by a tidal wave of material coming in from behind and trying to keep hold of her travel rucksack. She crashed into a pretty young Shiba Inu who skirled something indignant – Sorcha couldn't make it out over the noise – and tried to shove her off, entangling Sorcha in the massive ribbon around her waist. Sorcha stumbled and stepped on the woman's mary-jane-shod foot, feeling toes crunch under her sneaker. The Shiba howled and swiped at Sorcha with a paper fan, forcing her to retreat, and so she hurriedly untangled herself from the narked Dog's ribbon and desperately sought a window seat. She squeezed into one opposite a Fox wearing a dress the size of a parade float, and watched the city begin to roll by.

Rilo Kiley was definitely not Summerkin, she reflected dully. Everything here was huge – the biggest orbital platforms around Summerkin couldn't even measure up to the smallest buildings here, and the noise was overpowering. This hot, stuffy, overcrowded metro car was Rilo Kiley in microcosm. I'm here to see Nia, she thought stubbornly. I'm here to see Ni-ni.

Sennett West Station was no less crowded than Sennett East. Sorcha sighed wearily as she waited for the Fox to steer herself off the train, wondering briefly if that dress had wheels, or maybe an outboard motor. Would eliminate the risk of drowning, she thought.

The Shiba Inu Sorcha had accidentally wounded had staggered to a bench and slipped her shoe off, nursing her injured toes. Sorcha made it a point to avoid her, and headed swiftly for the exit.

As she went, she noticed females – and even some of the males – giving her disdainful looks. Most of that, she knew, was being directed at her outfit; she was wearing a light, summery shirt with the Package Pups logo on it, along with denim jeans and chunky basketball sneakers.

Apparently, she wasn't fitting in well. "Whore," she heard one dress-wearing Dog yelp as she went by. A skulk of Foxes fixed her with a death glare, and the transport officer behind the desk at the barriers had something to say as well. "Get your damn camel toe out of here, you slut," he barked as he verified her ticket.

Sorcha rolled her eyes and did as she was told. Out on the massively-wide-but-still-packed-out street, she boarded a bus heading for Nia's neighbourhood.

During the time she had known Nia, Sorcha had been privy to some of her personal details, including the fact that her parents were OSA scientists and that her family was fairly well-placed, but nothing along that line of discussion could have prepared Sorcha for what she was seeing as she stepped off the bus and left thirty or so dirty looks behind. It was nowhere near as crowded as downtown Sennett, giving her the opportunity to stand and stare.

Each house on this street would comfortably pass for a five-star hotel on Summerkin, all of them were fronted by gardens that looked more like parks, and some even featured... "Boating ponds?" Sorcha cried. She shook off her awe and rechecked her itinerary. "Forty-Nine Maple View," she muttered. A quick glance at the plaque beside the nearest gate revealed her location to be Twenty-Two Maple View. She had a little distance to walk.

Up the street, Sorcha paused outside Forty-Nine and rang the buzzer beside the gate.

"Hello? May I help you?" a voice said from wherever the other end was.

"Hi there," Sorcha said brightly into the mike. "I'm Sorcha. Sorcha O'Riordan. I'm here to see Nia."

"Just a second," the other voice intoned. "Checking your bio-sig. Alright, come on in."

The gates whirred open mightily, and Sorcha walked in. She couldn't even see this house from the street; its garden was gigantic, and dotted with outbuildings, water features, play areas, follies... and there, at the end of the winding drive, five storeys tall and at least a mile in area, stood the Goodwin residence.

Sorcha goggled as she walked up to it. "It's the size of a bloody village," she murmured. She went over to the enormous front door and pressed the button beside it. The bell rang thunderously.

When Sorcha's ears had stopped ringing with it, the door creaked open and a Labrador in a dress popped her head out. "Miss O'Riordan," she said primly. "I believe you are expected."

"You're believing correctly," Sorcha said with a grin.

"Do come in," the Labrador said, stepping aside. "The lady of the house likes shoes to be removed before guests enter."

A delighted squeal of "SOR!" rang through the hall inside. Sorcha looked up to see a white blur in a green dress moving at considerable velocity in her direction. It stopped just short of violently ejecting her back through the door and revealed itself to be Nia Goodwin. The Arctic Fox hopped up and down excitedly, shrieking with joy. "Oh, Sor!" she screeched. "Sor, I've missed you!"

Sorcha squeaked as Nia buried her in an iron cuddle. "Hey, Ni-ni," she laughed.

"Oh, I've got so much to tell you!" Nia whooped. "Come in. Don't worry about your shoes, either. Mom's such a stick-in-the-mud." She motioned to the Labrador. "Jolene, I believe Mom asked for those tables upstairs to be dusted?"

The Labrador hurried away.

"Nia?" A male voice called out from somewhere behind the house. "She here?"

"Oh!" Nia squeaked. She motioned to Sorcha. "Come on, Sor. Let's go in the back yard. Come meet Dawson and Isabella."

Sorcha followed Nia out of the back door into the rear garden, which could have passed for a meadow on Summerkin. Sitting on a bench next to a large ornamental pond was a male Arctic Fox with a bundle of fabric in his paws.

"Nia's told me all about you," the male woofed. "I'm Dawson. Nia's husband." He extended a paw.

Sorcha shook it. "Sorcha O'Riordan."

"Nice to meet you, Sorcha," Dawson enthused. Nia pointed at the bundle in his arms, and he nodded, passing it to her. Nia turned back to Sorcha, showing her the tiny furred face that poked out from one end. "Sorcha," Nia whispered, "meet Isabella Patricia Goodwin."

Sorcha giggled. "Oh, Ni-ni," she cried. "She looks just like you."

Isabella's eyes opened. They were the same lovely shade of cobalt as Nia's, and they sparkled in the sunshine. The little pup opened her muzzle and let out a shrill squeal, waving her stubby paws. Nia snorted. "Aww. She's moody today."

Sorcha grinned. "Yeah. She's got nothing on me."

Nia laughed, bobbing Isabella up and down. "Yeah, Sorcha. You told me 'bout the lolly incident."

Sorcha held out her paws. "Mind if I hold her?"

Nia nodded. "Sure, Sor." She carefully ladled the wriggling pup into Sorcha arms. She felt warm and comforting; Sorcha hugged her close, delighting in the chirps and yaps that Isabella was making. "Oh, she's just the cutest thing, Ni-ni! Ooh, I'm so jealous!"

"You and Aiden gonna have one of your own?" Nia prodded.

Sorcha snorted. Thoughts of Minerva suddenly floated into her mind, thoughts of glittering cyan eyes and radiant smiles, thoughts of what they had shared on the FSV. Stories. Memories. Kisses.

Each other.

At first, Sorcha hadn't known how to feel about it; maybe she and Minerva had been so overwrought at their losses, she seeing the Daybreak Cannon destroyed and Minerva losing most of her crew, and so perhaps they had found comfort in each other. Conversely, Sorcha had also mused that it had merely been an expression of mutual joy at having survived the incident. She knew now, however, that it went much deeper. Every time she thought of Minerva, or remembered their time together, she lit up a little. To think that something so wonderful could have come out of something so terrible... it brought tears to her eyes.

She had told Aiden everything, and to her relieved surprise had found him quite receptive. Of course, he had seemed particularly attached to the idea of all three of them being involved at once; Sorcha had decided she would have to make some hefty decisions about their relationship going forward. It had been fun with Aiden, but with Minerva it was... different. She had also debated with herself on whether or not to let Nia in on the issue, but opted not to. No sense in complicating things; Nia had enough on her plate with a kit to raise. "We have no immediate plans, Ni-ni."

"Sure you don't, Sor." Nia grinned, her face quickly darkening. "So, uh, listen," she began, the joy beginning to seep out of her voice. "I heard about the Daybreak Cannon. About the Nelvana."

"Oh," Sorcha moaned. She'd known this discussion was coming. "Oh, Ni-ni. I'm so sorry."

"Hey," Nia woofed. "You have nothing to be sorry about, Sor."

"Nia," Sorcha said evenly. "Everything we worked on, everything we worked for, is a cloud of debris in the middle of nowhere. The OSA ain't gonna want to put up what they put up for that expedition again. We're done with it. I know we are."

"Sor," Nia yipped. "So what if we are? We'll always have the Sun Dogs. You know, the Sun Dogs Program is going from strength to strength because of you. New teams are joining. So what if one project goes a bit loopy? You have so much to be proud of, Sor."

"It's just... all the people who died," Sorcha whimpered.

"It's not your fault, Sor," Nia said. "Please don't blame yourself."

Sorcha swallowed and nodded. "Okay."

"Oh, Sor," Nia sniffled. The front door bell suddenly rang. "Ooh. That'll be my mom and dad." She turned to Dawson. "Honey, you wanna help my folks with the shopping?" She glanced at Sorcha. "We're having quite a feast tonight, Sor. My folks are delighted to have you over." She motioned to her husband. "Daw."

They both left, Nia promising to be back in a second. Sorcha looked down at the pup in her arms. Isabella had calmed down, and was looking up at her with wide eyes. She snuffled, obviously not knowing what to make of this new face.

Sorcha tickled her ears. "Isabella," she whispered, "I'm going to do everything I can to protect you and your mammy." She looked up into the sky, past Rilo Kiley's moon, and into the stars beyond, knowing what was out there. "I promise."

THE END