(This story takes place near the end of "Up from the Ashes")

The lights came on in the vacant cabin of the freighter at the touch of a control. Into the room walked a shapely female rabbit with a big smile, followed by the ship's chief engineer. The raccoon struggled with her two large suitcases, and a desert fox wrestled with an even larger trunk behind him. The antigrav pallet they had used to bring up her luggage was too wide to fit through the cabin doorway, so for the final distance the heavy containers had to be hand carried.

Lorelei Patricia Easter followed them into the room and was amazed at the amount of space in her quarters. Most of her stellar travel in the past included tiny rooms on whatever transport her military family happened to be on, and this one was huge when compared to them. She could hardly believe her luck, and while it was only a common freighter, Lori was pleased to have been hired onto its crew.

Tanis set her trunk near the couch and let out a small yip at the sudden sharp pain to his lower back.  As a cargo-mover and a medic, he knew to bend his knees instead of his back when moving heavy objects, but he had stolen an appreciative glance at the way her powder blue bell-bottom slacks fit her curves, as well as the white silk blouse with half the buttons open, and forgot himself for a moment.

Lori was instantly at his side. “What's the matter?” she asked in a genuinely worried voice. Her large blue eyes were concerned and he tried to wave her off.

“Just stood up wrong,” he answered with a pained grin.  Pockets snickered. He had seen Tanis stare lustfully at the newcomer.

“Here, let me help,” the cute rabbit replied.  Before the medic could say anything more, Lori moved behind him and began to massage the muscles of his lower back. He leaned against the trunk and closed his eyes with her ministrations, acutely aware of her perfume... instead of his pain.

Pockets blinked twice at the image they presented and wondered if he could fake an injury. He shook his head silently at the thought. It would be his luck that Tanis would be the one to treat him instead of the lovely bunny.  He did not even know Lorelei yet and he already felt a little envious of the attention Tanis received from her.

After a few moments, Pockets tired of watching and headed for the doorway. The action was enough to get the rabbit's attention and she stood up to back away from Tanis a step. “Thank you,” the desert fox said to her. “That feels much better.”

“You're welcome,” she said sweetly. Lorelei moved toward the raccoon and reached out both hands toward him. Without thinking, he raised his hands up to meet hers and she held them gently.

“Thank you, Pockets,” she said. “You and Tanis are gentlemen for helping me with my belongings.” With that, she leaned over and kissed the engineer on the cheek. She smiled at his reaction and then moved back to the medic. She leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek too, but Tanis narrowed his eyes with a smile and tiptoed up slightly so that her kiss landed on his lips instead.

Lori pulled back with a grin and winked at him. She pushed him away with a finger to the tip of his nose and then winked at Pockets too. “If you'll excuse me now,” she said with a slight tilt of her head, “I need to start unpacking.”

“Of course,” Tanis replied. He nodded to her pleasantly and then moved toward the door.  Pockets started to follow, but held back to ask a question.

“Lorelei?” he asked. “Have you ever made baked Jinkies?”

“My little brother is crazy about them,” she said with a smile. “Of course I do.”

“Make them for me and you'll have a friend for life,” Pockets said with a grin.

Lorelei's eyes crinkled in amusement at this silly little raccoon as she opened a small suitcase. The container was upside down, so when the sides opened, the contents spilled out onto the carpet at the engineer's feet. Pockets knelt down with her to pick up the items and was puzzled at what he saw.  There were beaded necklaces, incense sticks and a multitude of crystals in various shapes, all threaded through with silver or gold colored strings.

Lorelei picked up one particularly large spherical crystal and held it up so the cabin lights reflected off of its faceted sides.  The rabbit's eyes widened at the sparkles and Pockets got the distinct impression that she was awed by her own trinkets.  She giggled and picked up another crystal, this one diamond-shaped.

The raccoon stood up slowly and put the things he had picked up onto her bed beside the suitcase. Lorelei no longer seemed to notice him as she stared transfixed at the crystals.  Pockets frowned and left the room. Tanis leaned against the corridor wall with an amused expression on his face.

“Now, that was unexpected, wasn't it?” he asked.

Pockets looked at him and shook his head. “You saw?”

“Yeah... mesmerized.”

The engineer stuck his hands into two of his many pockets and frowned.  “She's cute and friendly, but I'm beginning to wonder about her.”

Tanis nodded his agreement. “It's only a first impression,” he said in a whisper, “but I think she's a ditz.”

Pockets looked over at him and twitched his whiskers. “It must be an act,” he replied. “She's probably an egg-head.”

“Ooh, pretty colors!”  Lorelei's voice cooed from her open cabin door.

“Egg-head? How about a scrambled egg?” Tanis asked with a laugh.  “C'mon, let's get the antigrav pallet back down to Durant.”

Samantha had just arrived at the hangar where the Blue Horizon resided. She had been out getting supplies for the new vessel, was about to recruit a few of the guys to help her unload them from her rented truck and take it all inside the ship. The cargo bay door was fully open and she saw Durant as he wandered the large space to inspect the contents of all the storage lockers.

“Hi, Sam,” the grizzly said to her as she neared him. “Have a good time shopping?”

“As always,” she replied cheerfully. “Is anyone else around? I need help unloading the last of the supplies I felt we needed.”

“Pockets is in his new engine room drooling over the new tools,” Durant answered. “I think Renny and Tanis are upstairs somewhere. Max left with the captain a little bit ago.”

“Thanks, Durant.”

“Did you get the music I requested?”

Samantha smiled up at him. “I got everything you wanted except for the new album by Wulf,” she said. “That one has not yet made it to Pomen.”

The bear shrugged his shoulders. “Oh well, maybe I can find it at our next destination. Thanks for getting the others for me.”

Sam put a hand on the load master's arm. “You're welcome, Durant.  I picked up more music and movies for the Rec room, linens, janitorial supplies, cargo tie-down supplies, computer software, spare parts for just about every system on board, stationary, books and magazines, and a whole lot more.”  She moved toward the lift as she continued to speak to him over her shoulder. “It is been tough trying to think of everything we might need, starting off with an empty ship to supply. I'm sure we'll think of more things after we get underway, but I think I got most of it. Every time I think I'm done shopping, I remember more we need.”

Durant watched her walk away with a smile.  Samantha had been instrumental at keeping up the spirits of the crew during their downtime, and while he might argue with her from time to time over the cargo manifests, he was glad to have her as a friend.

Samantha rode the lift up to the second level and stepped out into the corridor. She looked toward the left at a sound and saw a cabin doorway open just where the hallway curved around out of sight. She had not learned who had chosen which room yet, so was not sure who was inside. Soft music issued from the open door, so she moved toward it with a smile.

“Hello?” she said when she reached the room. She put her head inside and it took her a moment to comprehend what she saw.  A black-light lamp was the sole source of illumination in the dark room, which gave all light-shaded objects an eerie phosphorescent glow. A small disc player on the desk issued the music that Sam recognized as Terran disco. Beads and crystals hung from the ceiling in a seemingly random pattern and there was the faint scent of jasmine incense burning somewhere.  She glanced at the bookcase where several paperback volumes had not yet been stacked neatly and she felt her face flush beneath her fur when she read the risqué titles.

The Border collie tilted her head to the side when a humming came from the lavatory, and a moment later, a white rabbit came out into the room. She wore a pair of cutoff blue jeans that barely covered her behind and a rainbow-colored, tank-top tee shirt. She saw Samantha and grinned widely.

“Hullo!” she said merrily.

“Uh, hi,” Sam replied hesitantly. “Who are you?”

“My name's Lorelei, but you can call me Lori.” The rabbit stopped in front of the canine and leaned forward until her nose almost touched Sam's. “I'm your new cook!”

The Border collie leaned backward a little to put some distance between them. “Hello, Lori,” she said hesitantly. “I'm Samantha.”

Lorelei grabbed the collie in a tight embrace and did a couple of little excited hops. “Hi, Samantha!” she said cheerily. “Captain Sinclair told me there was another woman on board.”  Sam pushed her away gently, not quite sure of how to take the newcomer.

“Uh, Lori, please give me some room,” she said. “I don't usually get so close to other girls.”

The rabbit released her and stepped back with a finger under her chin.  “Oh, I get it,” she said in a lilting tone with a grin. “Don't be alarmed, sweetie. I'm not like that either, but I do like to hug my friends. It makes us more like a family, which is what a starship crew is supposed to be like, right?”

Samantha managed a small grin of her own. “Uh, supposedly,” she admitted.  “Have you met any of the others?” she asked.

Lori sat down on her bed and drew her legs up beneath her. “Lessee,” she replied in a faraway tone, “Pockets and Tanis helped me bring my things on board, and I also met a cute little doggy. I think he said his name was Max, but I think he's shy.”  She looked up at Sam and asked, “Is he old enough to mate?  He looks nice, but he seemed frightened when I flirted with him.”

Sam swallowed back her thoughts and answered tightly, “No, he's not old enough. Better leave him alone... he's the captain's nephew and he's under age.”

Lorelei shrugged her shoulders. “Oh well, I understand there's plenty of other males on this crew.”  She narrowed her eyes mischievously at the collie and added, “The captain's got a nice tail. I wonder how long it will take me to get into his bed.”

Samantha sputtered and looked at the bold newcomer in disbelief.  “You don't have a chance with him,” she said angrily. “You can forget that little idea!”

Lorelei shrugged again. “S'okay,” she said with a smile. She did not seem to even register the collie's tone of voice. “Want me to see if I can arrange for you to occupy his bed?  I know a lot of tricks that would get even someone like you under the sheets with him.”

Samantha coughed into her fist and really, really tried to contain herself.  “Someone like me?  Listen, Lorelei... you are getting on my bad side and we've just met. You know nothing about this crew, so don't come in here with ideas on what you think should or should not happen!”

Lori looked at her quizzically and held up her hands.  “Okay, okay, Samantha,” she said. “I'm sorry I assumed too much.  You and the captain have similar facial fur markings.  Are you related?”

The collie could not believe her ears.  “No,” she said through clenched teeth, “we are not related. It's only coincidence that he has a similar facial pattern.  That doesn't keep us out of bed together...”  She suddenly clamped her lips shut. She had said too much and knew it when she saw Lori's expression of delight.

“Ahh... now I understand,” the rabbit said slyly.  “Sammy's sleeping with the boss.”  She put a finger to her lips and winked at the collie. “You can trust me to keep it a secret from the rest of the crew.”

Samantha sighed deeply and put both hands on her forehead. This simple little conversation was giving her a headache. This was not the way she normally greeted new crew members.

“Does your head hurt?” Lori asked her in a worried tone.  “I have some herbs and teas that will take care of such things.”

The supply officer looked up at the newcomer and shook her head with a scowl. “Thanks, but we have plenty of medicine in the Infirmary. I'll just...”

“Oh, no, that just won't do,” Lori interrupted. “Manufactured drugs are unnatural and bad for you. What I have is healthier. I wouldn't trust anything produced by those evil pharmaceutical companies.”

“Evil...?” Samantha felt her hackles beginning to rise.

“Yeah, companies like Holden Pharmaceuticals or Thayer Drugs are only out to hurt people for profit,” the rabbit said as she rummaged through a box beside the bed.  She stopped and then looked over at Samantha with an amused expression.  “You said your last name was Holden, didn't you?  Same as that drug company... funny, huh?”  She went back to searching through her box and did not see the look of fury on the collie's face.

Samantha was about to inform the irritating rabbit that Holden Pharmaceuticals was her late father's company, but a knock on the door behind her caught her off guard. Both females turned and saw a slender cheetah leaning against the doorway, one foot partially held up off the floor. He wore a pair of black form-fitting jogging shorts and a purple tank-top.

“Sam?” Renny said to her as he glanced at all the strange decorations in the cabin, “Durant said you needed help bringing supplies on board. Pockets and Tanis are already down there with the pallets. I was going to help, but the captain still won't let me move heavy objects until my foot heals further.”

Samantha nodded to him, appreciative of the interruption. “Thanks, Renny,” she said.  “I need to get down there.”  She moved past the navigator toward the nearest lift without looking back at the rabbit.

Renny looked over at her and smiled.  “Hello,” he said. “Is there something I can help you with?”

Lorelei grinned widely at the cheetah and was drawn to his large, golden eyes.  She moved closer to him and leaned up against his chest. “You can start by telling me your name, handsome. I've signed onto your crew and will be seeing a lot of you.”

“Renny Thornton,” he said, acutely aware of the points of contact between their bodies. “I'm the ship's navigator.”

“Hi, navigator,” she said with a big smile. “I'm Lorelei, or Lori, as my intimate friends call me.  I would like you to call me Lori...”

Renny grinned at her and put his hands on her shoulders. He pushed her gently away from him and said in a quiet voice, “I would love to, Lorelei... but I'm afraid I can't right now.”

The rabbit knew he was interested, but something was holding him back. “What is her name?” she asked.

Renny nodded with a smile. “Taro Nichols. She was badly hurt in the crash, but we have not heard anything about her condition in three months.”

Lorelei stepped away and put her hands behind her back. She looked solemn and replied, “Captain Sinclair told me about the crash. I'm sorry for you all.”  She allowed a smile to creep across her face again and added, “but if you feel lonely and need to snuggle, please don't hesitate to find me. I'm always willing to help out.”

The cheetah bit his bottom lip gently. He had no doubt that she would be willing, but he cared deeply for Taro and until he found out anything about her, one way or another, he would not seek out anyone else.

“Welcome to the Blue Horizon,” he said to her.  “I'm sure we'll get more time to talk later, but I need to get back to the duties Merlin assigned to me.”

“Okay, Renny,” Lorelei said with a smile. “I'll see you later.” 

The cheetah withdrew from the room and headed for the bridge. Lorelei watched him go, admiring his shorts and grinned to herself as she turned back to her unpacking. There were opportunities to be had here, she thought to herself. This new crew would be well worth investigating.