A Catian's Dream Ch. 02

Jon let out a deep, contented yawn. He felt like a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Felicia's hand went to his cheek, her thumb tracing his lips. She smirked, reveling in the fact that she had exhausted him.

"Come on, sleepyhead. Let's get you to bed."

She took his hand with the intent to lead him back to shore, but after a few, wobbly steps she leaned against him, buffeting herself on his shoulder. Jon cast a questioning look down at her, and Felica let out an embarrassed chuckle.

"I guess... I'm a bit worn out myself!" She panted.

Jon smiled and circled her shoulder with his arm. Together, the two spent lovers made their way, side by side, to the shore.

Just as they reached the edge of the water, Felicia began to chuckle. Jon looked down to see her gaze focused upon his half-erect penis. She reached down to poke at it once, and it flopped back and forth. She giggled.

"Biggest Cock in Catia, indeed." She whispered in her playful, mocking tone. Jon scowled at her, then reached around to grab her with both hands by the hips. "Wait, what are you-"

He lifted her bodily into the air, his arms straining as he threw her over his shoulder. Felicia let out a delighted squeal as he carried her, laughing back to the bedroom.

* * *

Jon awoke the next morning to the sound of a blaring alarm interrupting his dreamless sleep. He groaned, his eyes peeking open to the sunlight now flooding into his room. He glanced at the holo-clock by his bedside as he blearily rubbed at his eyes.

NAA Embassy Meeting Today. Takeoff in one hour. Chirped the alarm in bright green letters.

He let out another groan, glancing down at the Catian lying fast asleep on his chest. Felicia did not so much as stir from the sound, though one red ear at the top of her head twisted in the direction of the alarm.

With more than a few romantic reservations, Jon peeled himself from her grasp, her head falling limp against his bed as she curled up into a protective ball beneath the sheets. Jon smiled for a long moment at Felicia, lying like a fiery goddess in repose. He ran his fingers once through her shock of cherry red hair, feeling the pleasing softness of her fur as she cooed into his hand.

Withdrawing his touch, he hurried to his dresser, throwing on a dress shirt, a crisp blue suit and belt, as well as a pair of black dress socks. He adjusted his dark tie as he hurried through the still-silent mansion, making a beeline for his office as sunlight flooded through the tall window panes.

He entered his office, finding it tidier than when he had left it two days ago. Rikka had obviously been through here in his absence. Tut-tutting himself for his carelessness, the Diplomat sat down in his chair, tying his shoes as he looked at the console on his desk. There were doubtless going to be a number of dispatches he had to respond to that he had neglected in his two-day sojourn with his newfound...

"Girlfriend?" He asked the air around him, tasting the word on his tongue.

He shook his head. Perhaps that was an imprecise term for what they'd become. He'd barely gotten the chance to even discuss the idea with Felicia, so caught up in the whirlwind of events that had overtaken them both. He shoved the pleasing, somewhat terrifying thought from his mind to focus on work before he had to leave.

He opened the message system on his console, his shoulders drooping as he looked at the number of dispatches in his inbox: over one hundred in the last day alone, half of them delayed messages just arrived from Earth, a few dozen from the other two Human Embassies, and the rest from the Catians. It was a light day by most standards, but still disconcerting given his limited timescale this afternoon. He cracked his knuckles and moved to answer the most pressing ones before he left.

He was just finishing with his ninth dispatch a few minutes later when the door to his office slid open. He looked up, caught off guard at the unexpected intrusion.

Ambassador Zanari poked her head through the entryway, her purple eyes affixing to Jon for a long moment. Jon straightened in his chair and gestured for her to enter. The ambassador smiled and swept into the room, her body language graceful and deliberate.

As always, she was dressed impeccably, the collection of bright colors on her ceremonial robes contrasting well with her formal appearance. Her violet hair was done up in a modest but professional bun, her face a carefully cultivated beauty, highlighted by her makeup which was done in traditional Catian style.

Dark lipstick accentuated the corners of her lips, like the tip of a spear sticking out across her cheek. Her yellow eyeliner ended in sharp points that tapered off near her temples, and a long band of similar yellow stretched across her hairline. A single, small red diamond was painted upon her right cheekbone, a representation of the Heart of Catia.

An awkward silence filled the room as Zanari folded her hands behind her back. She looked like a restless guard dog, taking in every detail of the room as if searching for something incriminating.

"...You're up early." Jon said, breaking the ice.

Zanari refocused on him. A small smirk grew on her lips. "I could say the same for you."

Jon huffed but ignored the implication. "If you were hoping for a formal meeting, then I'm afraid you've caught me at a weird time." He said, "I was just about to leave."

"To where?" Zanari asked, in a tone of voice that said she already knew.

Jon played her game, "The orbital embassy. I have a face to face meeting today with my team."

"Then I wish you the best of luck." She replied in an easy tone.

"Can you let everyone know I will be out late? I probably won't be back until tonight."

"Of course, Jon." Zanari replied, crossing the distance between them. He watched her approach from behind his desk with slow, graceful steps, like a ballerina poised to perform a mesmerizing routine. "Will you be joining us for dinner tonight?" She asked.

"I should be home before Rikka gets done with the cooking." Jon said, eyeing her as he polished off the final dispatch and hit send. He powered down his console and folded his hands together on the desk. "-Though I wouldn't want you to hold up a meal on my account."

The immaculate creature took a seat across from Jon at his desk. "You have nothing to worry about on that account, Mr. Koller. Beimei's stomach would never allow it." Jon chuckled, and Zanari spared him a glint of her elusive smile. "...May I ask as to the purpose of this trip?"

If it were a human diplomat that he was speaking to, Jon would have considered the question a severe breach in diplomatic etiquette. However, he had learned that Catians required a far more open approach. "My subordinates have expressed some growing concerns regarding our work relationship. I'm going up there to convince them it's in all of our best interests to maintain my presence here on Catia until the Embassy is built."

Zanari nodded in a thoughtful manner, folding her hands together in her lap. "A sensible course of action."

Jon steepled his fingers. "Hopefully the NAA Council agrees with your opinion."

"Why wouldn't they?" She tilted her head, "We have already accomplished so much in the short time we've worked together."

Too much. Jon thought to himself. He sighed. "Perhaps. But there are still concerns about my... 'unconventional' decision to live in such close proximity with a fellow diplomat."

"I don't see why it is such an issue." She said, shifting position and planting her knee upon her leg, "This 'proximity' is what has allowed so much productive dialogue to occur between our two nations."

"Funny thing about that." Jon said, picking up a datapad next to his holoprojector and shoving it into his briefcase. "What you call 'dialogue' they see as fraternization."

"And just what might have given them that idea?" She replied, perhaps a bit too innocently.

Jon closed his briefcase, stood to his feet and made for the door. Zanari rose and joined him as he did so, walking with slow, deliberate steps in time with his own. When he reached the door, she put a hand against it, stopping it from opening.

Jon turned to look at her, quirking an eyebrow. "...Madame Ambassador?"

She smiled, flashing her dainty fangs. "There's a small matter that we still need to attend to regarding your trip."

"And that is?"

"Your chauffeur." Zanari said. "Since our usual pilot is otherwise indisposed due to..." Zanari's knowing eyes met his. There was the slightest twist of a smile. Jon winced. "-A lack of sleep, I took the liberty of procuring you a temporary replacement."

"Who did you find?" Jon asked, his suspicions rising. Zanari smiled and removed her hand from the door. Jon glanced at her in uncertainty, then pressed the button to open the door.

As he walked out into the hallway, turning to the left in the direction of the hangar, he felt the shadow of another Catian fall in line behind him. He nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Sereana!" He said, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end. "Jesus, you scared me half to death!"

The tallest member of Zanari's pryde shrugged. "My apologies." She said, in her typical, calm tone. Her eyes were red and angular: sharper, more predatory than her pryde-siblings were. They narrowed on him as she folded her arms behind her in a basic military at ease. She shook her head of long black locks, like a lion's mane from side to side.

She was larger than her fellow pryde-mates: thicker in muscle, akin in scale to a human, rather than the more petite Catian race. She gave the impression of towering over Jon, despite being about the same height as him. She wore a simple, functional black jumpsuit, with a pistol attached at her hip.

"...You're a pilot?" He asked. She nodded. "I had no idea. Are you familiar with piloting a shuttle?"

"More than you." She replied, her voice the epitome of sarcasm.

Jon chuckled, "Fair enough. You're hired."

Sereana gestured towards the front of the villa. "Lead on, Mr. Ambassador."

"Have a safe trip, you two." Zanari said, her smile growing as Jon cast a last, annoyed glance back in her direction.

Together, Jon and Sereana made their way to the shuttle garage, climbing the ramp into the cramped cabin of the boxy ship. Sereana took her seat at the pilot's console and began immediate liftoff preparations.

Jon sat down next to her, strapping himself in before casting a long look out the front viewport. She said nothing as the engines began to rev up.

"...Did you end up finishing the movies I gave you?" Jon asked. Sereana met his gaze with an aloof side-eye.

"Yes. All of them, in fact."

"...And?" Jon said, glancing down at his communicator as he tried to finish a last, few dispatches before takeoff.

"They were quite good, if a bit confusing at times. I particularly enjoyed the martial arts movie you provided. Despite the absurd hand-to-hand combat, Lee Bruce is quite the talented warrior."

Jon smiled. "It's Bruce Lee."

She shook her head, her black mane shifting from side to side. "No, I believe it was Lee Bruce, that is what the credits at the end said, at least."

Jon's smile widened. "You read the given name from left to right, not right to left."

Sereana let out a little sigh. "...Your language is confusing."

"I'm still impressed you can read it at all." Jon joked, "I spent the better part of two years trying to memorize your people's forty letter alphabet."

"You cannot catch a Duckbilled-Nox without first observing how she runs." She said, glancing at the ship's fuel gauge. "The same is true for Humans."

"I'm surprised you bothered to put in the effort at all." Jon said. "It's not like you're Zanari, reading every dispatch I send."

Sereana shrugged, "Her interest in your language is pedantic, mine is philosophical."

"Is it now?" Jon said, not sure how to interpret her response. The shuttle's engine blazed to life.

Sereana flipped the switch to allow the garage's roof to open. Jon felt the engines buzz, then lift. The bottom went out of his stomach as this ship - which already made the conventional astronautic technology back at home look like a glorified theme park ride - rose gracefully into the sky, pivoted in the direction of the space station, and fired off into the air.

Despite the gentle pull of the gravity-stabilizers, Jon found himself unconsciously gripping the seat's armrest with white-knuckled hands. He was a diplomat, not an astronaut, and the journey to space always gave him the jitters. Everything was too fast, the unnatural smoothness of the journey through the upper atmosphere made his teeth grind.

As if subconsciously sensing his stiffness, Sereana cast a short glance over at her Human companion. Her bushy tail twisted back and forth behind her. "You don't need to worry. I am a competent pilot."

Jon forced himself to unclench his hands, adopting a nervous grin that he hoped looked more convincing than it felt. "...Sorry, force of habit."

"You should try to break that habit. It won't get any easier for you." She remarked, her voice empty of irony. "Until the Embassy on the planet is finished, you will probably be making a lot more of these journeys."

"Thanks for reminding me." Jon said, his stomach turning at the idea.

The two remained silent for a long moment as the ship broke into the upper atmosphere of the planet. The huge, pangea continent that made up the landmass of Catia stretched out before them like a hyper detailed map painting. The continent was almost rectangular in shape, straddling the equator lengthwise, leaving most of the continent covered in dense jungles, arid savannas, and rain-drenched foothills.

The planet itself was almost entirely rural - a surprising fact to learn, given the Catians' astounding level of technological advancement. The one exception to this fact was the Captial City: a sprawling urban megalopolis that stretched for over thirty thousand square kilometers along the coastline of the westernmost side of the continent. It glittered like a silver coin across its surface, facing the shimmering blue of the world-sea.

Catia was a beautiful planet: a garden world in the strictest sense. Much like Earth, it was filled to the brim with flora and fauna, some of which once thought to have been scientifically impossible. Most of it was clustered within the deep rainforests and rugged highlands of the interior.

Mile-high Liger trees dotted the surface, and massive, four-winged Kryll birds nested in the highest reaches of the branches. Uncounted millions of predators and prey jostled for superiority in the still largely untamed wilds of the planet. The Great Jungle, whose edges licked the borders of the Capital, stretched across an area vaster than the Sahara Desert. Catians often referred to the place as the Mother Garden, or the Jade Infinita.

Looking down upon the lush, green landscape, Jon could not help but once again feel awed. The twin suns of the Catian home system gleamed across his viewport, filling his vision with even more vibrancy. That was what Catia felt like to him at its most primal state: color. A riot of shades and dyes that spread across his vision like a stained glass fresco. But... brighter. More vivid than anything that could found on Earth.

"Did you enjoy your evening?" Sereana said, breaking the silence once they had cleared the upper atmosphere.

"I did." Jon said, tearing his vision away from the viewport to look at her.

"-And the previous one?" She asked, her voice lacking tone.

"...Yes." Jon said, picking his words with care. "Why do you ask?"

"We did not see you all day." Sereana shrugged, "Fel was also gone from the family bed. I missed her warmth in the evening."

"I'm... sorry if I kept her from you." Jon said.

Sereana shrugged again, "Don't be. She can spend her time how she pleases. And by all accounts, she seems to be happy with what she's found."

Jon huffed, "And what exactly did she 'find?'"

"Judging from the moans? A pliant bed partner." Jon nearly choked on his own breath. Sereana did not so much as smile. "I admire her tenacity. I had long since assumed you were uninterested - or at least, unwilling to indulge her. I was mistaken."

Jon sighed, feeling like a guilty teenager who'd been caught in a lie. "So what do you think about it?"

"What do I think about what?"

"Our... relationship."

Sereana turned to look at him. Her red, slitted eyes were impossible to read, frustratingly alien in a way that Zanari and Felicia's were not. Taishei Starport was coming at last into view.

"I suppose that remains to be seen."

The space station grew large in the shuttle's forward viewport. Taishei Starport was a gleaming image of Catian engineering, the first port of call for all would-be travelers from across the galaxy to the species' homeworld. All three of the Human governments were currently squatting inside the multi-mile long, oblong behemoth, which doubled as the planetary shipyard. One wing of the station had been reserved for the NAA's temporary embassy, and Jon stared in awe as Sereana guided them with effortless grace into the private docking bay.

The shuttle settled onto the landing pad with a thump as the landing gears descended. Jon peered out the viewport, and was for a moment taken aback to see an entire human maintenance crew begin to swarm beneath the ship. It had been several weeks since he had seen another living thing that looked like him without a tail or tall ears.

Looking out across the hangar bay, he could see both Colonel Baylor, chief of the military wing of the embassy, and Minister Shettley, his second on the diplomatic mission, standing alongside a blue-uniformed squad of marines, clearly his honor guard in waiting.

Jon let out a sigh and unbuckled himself from the flight chair. He was surprised to see Sereana do the same and stand up. Jon paused in his preparations, and the two had a short stare down.

"...Going somewhere?" He asked.

"With you." She said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Jon shook his head, "That won't be necessary; stay on the ship till I return."

Sereana's eyes narrowed, "You require a bodyguard."

Jon let out a terse chuckle. "Do I?"

Her hard stare made Jon consider her words for a moment. He put a finger to his chin, looking the somber Catian up and down, noting her professional demeanor. "Hm... do I?" The more he thought about the idea, the more he actually liked it.

"You know what? Yeah, stick close. Two paces to the right of me." He picked up his briefcase and made for the ramp. Sereana fell in behind him.

They descended the ramp and emerged out onto the hangar, the woosh of the ships engines ruffling their clothes as it powered down. Jon made a quick line for the circle of guards standing at attention behind the Colonel and Minister Shettley. He noted with a careful smile that everyone's eyes were drawn to the Catian at his back. Apparently he'd judged the situation perfectly.

As he came to a stop in front of them the Marines saluted, as did Colonel Baylor. The Minister merely nodded her head, her cold grey eyes turning to Jon only after staring at Sereana for a long moment.

Minister Shettley was a woman older than her years. Despite being about the same age as Jon, she had the air of an old aristocrat: immaculate, reserved, with a mousy face more suited to frowning than smiling. Her shock of brown hair was pulled up into a formal bun, and she wore a cool, calculated expression at all times.

The terse woman in the impeccable green business suit extended a thin arm. Jon took her hand and shook it. "Your Excellency." She said in a prim tone.