Michelle strolled into the rear section of the sub. As she did, something rose from out of the shadows. It was tall, bipedal, and apparently robotic. It stomped towards her, extending its upper limbs, which sprouted long, serrated claws.

Michelle yelped and stumbled backwards, fetching up against the bulkhead behind her. She whimpered as the creature came within goring range.

It suddenly stopped in its tracks, the yellow stripes on its gunmetal-hued exterior actinic in the lights, and its wedge-shaped face split open with a hiss of gas. From within came a shortish, white-and-black muzzle, along with two sparkling eyes and an amused grin. "Gotcha!" the face hooted.

Michelle grizzled. "That wasn't funny!"

Lina laughed again. "Thought I'd introduce you to your suit!" She clunked to one side, letting two others come up alongside. Their faceplates whirred open to reveal Daggett and Flink. "Yours is waiting in the equipment bay."

Michelle gathered herself and squeezed past them to get there, heading through the short stretch of corridor and catching sight of Ames slipping into her own suit. "Hey there," the Fox chirped as she spotted Michelle. "Lina scare you? Yeah, we do that with everyone."

Michelle still struggled to contain her blush as she approached the vacant suit. Daggett had run her through the basics of operating this thing back on the ship, and so she concentrated on remembering his instructions as she climbed into the suit, fastening the safety harness around herself and closing the large access panel over her front. The faceplate came last; Michelle grimaced as it pressed against her ears and forced them down. It barely accommodated her muzzle, as well. "Oh, that's tight," she gasped, her voice tinny in the confines of the helmet.

Ames loped up beside her. "You wanna check everything's working alright," she told Michelle. "Test your claws. It's the red button beside your paw."

Michelle looked down at her right arm, fitted as it was into the relevant armature of the suit. She found the button and squeezed it, and she was nearly thrown backwards by the recoil as those serrated claws fired from the paw grip. "Oh!" she gasped as they wound back in. "Yup, they work alright." She ran an eye over the readouts on a screen hovering by her face, and it informed her that all seals were holding. It was airtight and ready to go. "All good here."

Ames chortled. "Great." She whirred out of the equipment bay, and Michelle fell in behind her. Despite the apparent mass of the suit, it felt easier than she had expected it to be while moving. Lightweight alloy, probably. At any rate, it was better than her swimming costume – at least this suit didn't show off her stupid awkward body.

Lina and the others were already filing into the small hallway next to the access door. It was a tight fit, with Ames and Michelle barely getting inside. Lina pressed something inside her helmet, and there was a buzz of static. "Rafferty, you reading me?" the Badger said. "Comm test, one-two. Y'all come back, now."

"I read you, Team Leader," Rafferty's voice replied, filling Michelle's helmet. She instantly felt comforted and safe. "Just gimme the word and I'll let you out."

"Close interior hatch and open the vents," Lina told him. As she finished speaking, a heavy door slid closed behind Michelle and, as it sealed, water began to fill the cubicle. Michelle whined. It felt cold, despite the fact that she was in a climate-controlled space. It flowed over her chest and then her helmet, and the display in her helmet bleeped as the oxygen pump kicked in. The air tasted sharp and metallic, but it was breathable.

"Rafferty, pop the outer door," Lina told the pilot. The sub's outer hatch slid open, and then there was the seabed, stretching away into the darkness. Lina motioned to the others. "Let's get moving, bambinos."

Michelle traipsed out of the airlock and down the ramp. Her boots hit the seabed with a puff of chalky rock. Her suit display continued to chirp, ensuring her that the pressure and salinity were all five-by.

She looked over to the right. Just a short distance away was the excavator; the huge vehicle was lying practically on its side by the edge of the trench. Michelle couldn't make out any damage from here, but she knew it would become apparent as she edged closer.

As the team set out under the leadership of Lina, Daggett and Flink seemed to be in their element. Their motions were fluid and almost exuberant. Lina had obviously picked up on this as well. "You two having fun?" she asked them.

Flink laughed at her.

Michelle envied him and Daggett. She was in completely the wrong environment. She felt the pressure closing in on her, no matter what that screen said. She wanted to be above the water, back on land. She couldn't bound around in this murky world. She jumped as something huge and orange floated past her faceplate.

"Hey, look at that," Daggett enthused as he saw it too. "Golden crested slider. Didn't know they came from here. Guess I'll be checking out the fish markets when we're back at base."

Michelle steadied herself. She was in an armoured shell. She'd be okay if a shark tried to bite into her.

As the excavator loomed larger, Michelle's eyes were drawn to a reddish glow emanating from the other side of the trench. Her screen happily informed her that it was giving off some serious heat readings.

"Volcanic vent," Flink noted as if reading her thoughts. Maybe his suit had flagged it as well.

Past that particular feature was the tread unit Michelle had spotted from the cockpit. There was also another item that she reckoned wasn't in the original manufacturer's specifications.

"Look at that rockfall," Lina declared as she flung a gloved paw at the offending geological phenomenon. A massive mound of dislodged stone had half-buried the enormous excavator, and there was no sign of any way inside on the unburied portion of the vehicle. She pivoted in Ames' vague direction. "Ames, you got your explosives?"

It was a pointless question, seeing as the bandolier of incendiary paraphernalia trussed around the Fox's suit was readily visible. "Sure do."

Lina motioned to the rockfall. "Get going." As Ames lumbered up the pile of rubble, Lina glanced at Michelle and the others. "Claws out."

***

Michelle snuffled as she dug her suit's claws into a small clump of rocks and dislodged them with a grunt. She felt like one of her evolutionary forebears, digging into the earth to bury a bone, or retrieve one. It felt as if she'd been doing this for hours. A quick look at her suit told her that her assumption was correct.

She looked up at the others; Lina and the water boys were similarly labouring to clear the rockfall, while Ames was putting her explosives through some of the larger boulders. "Clear!" the Fox howled as everyone braced themselves against the pile. A shudder ran through it as another device went off. Michelle sighed and resumed pawing at the obstacle.

"Hey, Sea Dog."

Michelle's heart soared as Brendan's voice piped through her helmet speakers. He was talking to her on a private channel, she noted. "Hi, Brendan."

"Hey, Michelle. You faring okay out there?"

Michelle nodded, even though he couldn't see her doing so. "We're getting there. You bored yet?"

Brendan snorted. "The pitfalls of being a pilot. You're confined to the cockpit while everything goes on outside."

"Think I'd rather swap places with you," Michelle grumbled as she stabbed into a rock that was refusing to come apart. She growled and hammered her claws against it, and it drifted into pieces.

"What's going on out there?" Brendan asked. "You get to the formium yet?"

"No," Michelle said morosely. "The excavator got buried by a landslide. We're not even close to it yet. We gotta clear the rocks."

Brendan sighed. "Looks like Shiffrin are gonna have to be patient."

Michelle rolled her eyes. "They're gonna be waiting for a while." She yapped as the rockfall rumbled again. "Sorry. That was Ames."

Brendan laughed. "Yeah, I kinda figured that. Listen, I gotta switch back to general comm. There's been a development topside. Weather-wise."

"Alright," Michelle said. "Talk to you later, yeah?"

"You got it, Sea Dog," Brendan said, a smile in his voice. There was a brief flick of static as he signed off, and then his voice came back on the main frequency. "Team Leader, do you read?"

"Loud and clear, Rafferty," Lina said. "Whatcha got to tell me?"

"Storm's beginning to move in," Rafferty said. "We have about half an hour before it hits here. It's left the mainland, so we'll be dry when we get back."

"Okey-doke. We're on our way back," Lina said quietly. "Ames, how far are we in?" she asked Ames when he'd signed off.

"Nearly there," Ames replied. Michelle stretched up to get a look at Ames' work. Her explosives had formed a tunnel through most of the rock; at the very bottom of the hole, there was a glint of hull surface. "One more and we'd be in."

Lina's voice dripped with disappointment. "Okay. We'll come back tomorrow." She motioned to Daggett and Flink. "Come on, we gotta go."

Michelle got to her feet and tottered down the mound, nearly slipping on a few loose stones. They'd be going back empty-pawed today, she knew, but she couldn't help but feel relieved to be going back.

Back on the sub, Michelle sat with Brendan as the little vessel began to lift off from the seabed. She had practically leapt out of her suit and yipped happily as her ears stood back up. She took a deep snoot of recycled air and sighed with pleasure.

"Heading back for the surface," Brendan said. He smiled at her, showing his buckteeth. "You look a bit more chipper."

Michelle nodded. "I feel a bit more chipper." She looked up through the viewport, watching hungrily for the light of the sun.

The ascent felt quicker than the dive, and soon the sub was breaking the surface of the sea. Angry black clouds were wheeling overhead; Michelle started as a web of lightning broke the gloom for a split second. Thunder was beginning to roll in as well. "Let's get out of here," Brendan muttered, spinning the sub about and kicking in the thrusters. And then they were away, firing up spray as they shot back to the safety of the port.

"We nearly got in," Michelle was telling him as they travelled. "Nearly broke the hull of that thing." She felt a sinking in her stomach; Lina's sullenness was contagious. "If it hadn't been for that bloody rockfall, we'd be away with at least some of that formium by now."

"Scrap Alphas, season four, episode ten," Brendan said.

Michelle's maw hung open for a second as she processed that. Yeah, that had been the episode where Glas and his team had had to wait out a meteor shower before they could reach the orbital platform just overflowing with valuable scrap. They'd been waiting for days. "You've got a point there," she told him. "I take it Scrap Alphas was a regular watch for you?"

Brendan nodded. "One of the first shows I watched growing up. Fetcher's Fee, too."

Michelle licked her muzzle. She was loving him more by the second. "You have great taste in programming. Like me." She shot him a cheesy grin.

Brendan winked at her.

Michelle smiled and watched the waves shoot by. Before too long, the port was appearing on the horizon. The cloud was beginning to thin as the storm passed, and lazy evening light warmed the buildings and docked ships. Michelle let out another happy sigh as the sun spread over her fur. Back on dry land.

"I'll just put her in the garage," Brendan was saying as he turned the sub toward the Lougheed and eased the craft through the accessway. He spun it around and backed it onto the small platform, then hit a series of switches to close the outer door. The water still in the hold began to drain. "There we are," Brendan said brightly. He unclipped his harness and got to his feet. "You coming?"

Michelle did the same. "Right behind ya."

The others were already disembarking. Lina and Ames looked similarly relieved to be out of the sea. "Whew," Lina said, surveying her team. "Nice job from all of you today! I think we've earned some rest and relaxation, wouldn't you say?"

"We say," Daggett said.

Back in the crew commons, Michelle slumped onto one of the couches facing the ship's entertainment unit. She hadn't realized how tired she truly was; her body felt like it was made of lead, and her eyelids drooped dangerously.

A light shuffling noise announced the arrival of Brendan. The Squirrel twitched his nose and put an arm over the back of the couch. "You okay?"

Michelle blinked. "Shattered," she woofed.

"You, uh, wanna take a nap?" Brendan asked her. His eyes twinkled.

Michelle suddenly felt wide-awake, sitting upright. Her mouth worked furiously as she struggled to reply. "I... uh, won't somebody hear us?" She looked over the commons; everyone was present. "It's just that... they... might..."

Brendan looked uncertain. "Uh, why? Do you snore?"

A coy giggle escaped Michelle.

Before she could offer a comeback, Daggett broke the moment. "Nap?" the Otter snorted. "Mate, we're on a new world. It gets dark, we go check out the nightlife!"

"Yeah," Lina put in. "I hear this town has quite the bar scene. We were gonna go check it out in a bit."

"Town like this, it's gotta have some Beaver chicks," Flink added.

"I could use a drink," Ames said. "And I mean a real drink. Not Fizz-Shake."

Brendan huffed and looked to Michelle. "Or, we could do what these yipyaws said."

Michelle licked her chops. "Okay."

Lina got to her feet. "So, yeah? Everyone in? Great." She grinned widely. "I'll be right back. I have just the thing for a night on the tiles." She hared into the dorm.

"Wow," Flink observed dryly. "It's almost like she was planning for this."

Ames slipped off her shirt and picked up her bright orange slogan top from beside the table, where she had apparently left it earlier. "I'm ready."

Michelle briefly considered putting her whackball shirt back on, but decided to keep her outfit as it was. She doubted she was much of a clubber. Brendan seemed to feel the same way.

"Ooh-er!" Flink exclaimed as Lina re-entered the room, prompting everyone else to look in her direction. The Badger was wearing a pretty silk blouse and dark trousers, and had a clutch bag under her arm. On her feet she wore a pair of soft velvet slippers with beautiful embroidered floral patterns.

Ames pulled idly at her shirt. "Huh. Talk about upstaging the drones."

"You look fabulous, Team Leader," Daggett told Lina, layers of mock smarminess in his voice.

Lina giggled. "You 'orrible lot are too kind," she chirped. "Now, then. We've earned this night out, so let's make the most of it."

"You certainly are, Team Leader," Ames said with a smirk.

"Hey, hey," Lina reprimanded her lightly, "I'm not Team Leader right now. I'm just plain ol' Seldin."

A moment of mirth circled the commons. "Let's paint this town," Lina declared.

The streets were still wet as the team left the Lougheed, a testament to just how much rain had fallen here during the storm. Now, though, the air was cool and pleasant, and people were beginning to fill the streets once more.

Michelle stayed close to Brendan as they walked through the town's main thoroughfare. Street lights and neon signs began to flare as the sun disappeared, and the effect was comforting.

"Now, I'm not saying I researched this," Lina said, "but there's a great little club down the street called The Tail Shaker. That's where we are going."

That club was slightly further down the road. It was early and so it wasn't overly busy, which suited Michelle. Once inside, the team were shown to a table and given some menus. Michelle wasn't a drinker either, and so she ordered a Coke.

"Daredevil," Brendan said archly as the waiter left with the drink orders.

Michelle gave him a withering look.

Lina shifted in her seat. "So, everyone, I suppose I'd better tell ya why I'm really taking you out tonight, seeing as it's a gross misuse of the company dollar." Everyone looked at her. The Badger's muzzle split in a toothy grin that was purple in the garish lighting. "When we got back to the ship, I had a commflab with Shiffrin. They're gonna give us more time to get the formium."

"That's it?" Ames asked sceptically.

Lina snorted. "Apparently, formium went up on the Core Resources Index by point three." She grinned again. "We are gonna party tonight."

"Yeah-he-hes!" Flink bellowed.

Michelle felt her maw plop open. "Point three?" Even she knew that was a massive increase in value.

"Forget the drinks," Ames whooped. "I'm gonna dance my furry arse off!" She stood and skipped off in the direction of the dance floor.

"We are going to join her," Daggett announced, pulling at Flink's arm. They both left, and Lina giggled at Michelle and Brendan. "Well," she started to say. She abruptly leapt out of her seat. "Screw it, I'm gonna dance too!" She sprinted off.

Silence fell on the table. Brendan let out a long breath. "Woah," he said. "Woah." Michelle's mouth went dry as he looked into her eyes. "Guess we'd better mark this wonderful occasion, huh?"

Michelle was starting forward before any kind of coherent thought could form in her head. She felt her muzzle press softly against his, and her body lit up like a star. She mumbled softly as the kiss went on, seemingly caught in time. Then the universe sped back up, and she pulled back.

So did Brendan.

His face was a puzzle of surprise and confusion, and he looked anything but happy. In fact, he looked embarrassed.

Michelle panted, that surge of passion ebbing away. "You okay?"

"Oh," Brendan stammered. "Oh, oh, Michelle. Oh, no."

Michelle's eyes began to brim. "Oh?"

Brendan shook his head. "Oh, Michelle. Oh, Michelle. You are... you are so sweet. But I think you've made a miscalculation somewhere. I... I'm not...

"You're not what?" Michelle cried, feeling suddenly enraged. "You know what, Rafferty? Don't tell me." She got to her booted feet and stormed to the exit, emerging into the night air with a snarl. She snorted furiously and stumbled back along the street in the direction of the ship, her mind a whirlwind of upset, embarrassment and betrayal.