Characters and story by KobyFennec

Spark Hunter

Paul sat at his desk, drumming his fingers idly against the hard surface as he watched the clock. Usually Paul ignored the time, instead focusing on the teacher or his studies to keep himself occupied and out of trouble but after the field trip that day everything seemed to just take far too long. Back in his old school, he would have been punished in front of the class for daydreaming and might even have gotten his fingers smacked with a ruler for drumming on the desk but in this school he was allowed to get away with a few minor mistakes. Finally after what seemed like two eternities the chime sounded, indicating the end of the school day. Paul forced himself to calmly pack up his things, walking out the door and into the city before picking up speed and running towards the park. As he approached the overlook, he noticed a lone being sitting on one of the park benches. The being turned towards him then, ears perking up at his approach, its tail swishing idly back and forth behind the bench. Spark smiled at Paul as he ran up, giggling as he tried to catch his breath and voice a greeting all at the same time. "I was hoping you would be here, you didn't wait long did you?" Paul asked, panting as he caught his breath from the long run from the school to the overlook. Spark just smiled at him and shook her head, her shy nature finally catching up with her. Feeling suddenly nervous, Spark forced herself to look at Paul as she spoke. "You asked me to meet you here and I said I would show up so here I am. What was it you wanted to talk with me about?" Paul took a few deep breaths, calming down a bit before replying. "Well, I want to hear about you! As I said before, I have never seen a Kit before and all I know about them is what I read in books. I'm really interested in learning about all types of beings and who better to tell me about Kits than a Kit? I'm sorry, I don't mean to keep referring to you that way I'm just excited. I mean, it isn't every day you get to meet someone completely new, especially around here." 

Spark frowned, her ears folding back a bit as he kept calling her by her old title, nodding at his apology when he realized what was bothering her. Once he had finished speaking Spark stood up and stretched before starting to talk, walking slowly towards one of the shadier garden paths. "Well, what did you want to know? I can tell you what I remember about our home and the process that my people go through when we are taken away. I guess I could even tell you a bit about my life before my dad found me but that is another story all together." Paul followed her down the path, listening intently as she talked, pulling a small data pad from his school bag and beginning to take notes. "Back home, we have no cities or large structures. Everything we had came from the land, my old home from what I can remember was little more than a large hole dug out by my mother and furnished with the hides of a native creature we called a Grark." Spark paused a moment, noticing the confused look on Paul's face she decided to elaborate just a little bit. "The Grark look similar to a bear from Earth but with long curved horns, thick leathery hides coved in short soft fur and enormous hooves at the ends of their legs. I was too young back then to hunt with my parents and other siblings but I did watch them and the Grark seemed to put up quite a fight even when heavily outnumbered. The meat was a bit tough though the flavor was excellent and I have yet to find anything that tasted quite like it since." Spark turned down another trail, continuing deeper into the gardens as she talked, the trees and bushes forming a natural barrier keeping the buildings out of sight as the two of them continued their walk. "It was two years later that I was finally allowed to hunt with my parents, my older siblings having moved out to find or make homes for themselves and my younger siblings were just starting to become old enough to come along on the hunts. Before this I had been left behind to take care of the little cubs, since they were still too young to hunt and my parents had seen early on that they seemed to respond well to me. I still don't understand it all but I was finally allowed to join the hunt and after another year it was time for me to finally move out and find a place for myself and to start a family of my own. Unfortunately it was at this same time that the beings came and took away my younger brothers and sisters. I tried to free my siblings but I was caught and placed in a cage. Later on I awoke with a throbbing headache, my body ached all over and my legs and paws felt strange and heavy. Later on I figured out that I was under heavy sedation, the pain they had caused me still not yet known as I struggled to try and stand up but my legs just wouldn't work and making any sounds vocally felt like trying to speak with a million angry stinging insects ripping at my lungs and throat. For two weeks I was unable to stand, and once the medication wore off and the pain took hold, my whole body seemed to burn with an unseen fire. Those first two weeks I cried myself to sleep when I was able to do so, every waking moment filled with unimaginable pain as my body accepted the changes they had forced on it. Finally after what seemed like forever the pain slowly began to fade. It took a whole month before I was able to stand up without feeling like I was tearing myself apart and just walking was a challenge as they had altered my feet to be more human in appearance and I was always loosing my balance. Two months later I was again brought from my cage into an operating room where they altered my fur color at the roots and pronounced me fit for training. It was at this point that I was first introduced to humans, the beings that had captured me resembling lizards of some kind and though I have seen a few of them around the station here I have yet to learn the name they call themselves. I tend to try and avoid them whenever possible because just looking at them brings back some very vivid memories that I would rather just forget." 

Paul typed as fast as he could on the data pad, taking down everything she was telling him though the story she had told so far made his story pale in comparison. He couldn't believe that anyone would do such cruel things, the idea of not only capturing a sentient being and holding them against their will was one thing, but to surgically modify them to sell off as pets... or even worse in some cases. Some of the passages he had read referred to the untrainable 'animals' as being sold off either as exotic pleasure slaves through the black market or as a cheap food source on the open market. Just the thought of this made his stomach churn as he forced himself to keep writing, the two of them having stopped in front of a small artificial pond deep in the gardens, the sounds of the city surrounding them silenced by their surroundings. "I won't go into detail about my training, most of it I don't remember too well anyways but what I do remember most is pain for not following orders and being allowed to rest only after I obeyed. Pain back then was a constant ache accented by the various whips, electrified prods, and other devices they used to ensure obedience. When I finally thought the torture was over, my behavior apparently sufficiently modified that I was only being punished a few times a day I was again moved to a new location, this time to the house of the human who had purchased me. My new owner was a wealthy scientist, most of my knowledge of electronics and machinery I learned from watching him and from studying the books in his library. My first few years there I was restricted to only a few rooms in the house, but after I proved my obedience I was eventually allowed to sit and keep the master company or play with the children, he had two young sons both in their preteens and a daughter who had just entered the teenage phase. I always enjoyed playing with the boys, they were kind to me and never pulled at my fur or grabbed me by the tail and they always seemed to have a treat handy when nobody was watching. The daughter however never seemed to be at all interested in playing with me, only showing me off to the boys that she brought over like I was some sort of exotic creature to be paraded around then ignored. Years passed and the daughter married and moved away, the boys finding other things to occupy their attention and I was left alone most of the time to entertain myself. It was during this time that I spent countless nights in the library while the rest of the house was asleep reading through all the master's books and teaching myself how to manipulate machines so that one day I might make my escape. About the time of my 25th season, nearly 8 years after I had been taken from my home I finally got my chance. My master had taken me with him on one of his business trips, intending to use me to help show off his latest invention when our transport was attacked by a group of pirates. I was able to free myself from my cage and hide out in one of the escape pods while the thieves tore apart the ship, my master and a number of other passengers were led back to the pirate ship before the rest of the passengers were forced into one of the small storage rooms. I watched from the window of my escape pod as the pirates then placed a large explosive charge in the cargo bay, one of them checking the readout beside my pod but thanks to my knowledge I had been able to trick the system into thinking the bay was empty so they left me alone. Once the pirates had left, I managed to eject my pod and escape from the ship before the bomb went off but the blast knocked the engine on the pod offline and I drifted for almost two weeks before my dad found me and rescued me from my prison. After rescuing me my dad took me to a nearby station where another doctor used that device on me, turning me young again and giving me the symbol you saw earlier. My dad left on a dangerous business trip a few days ago, I wanted to go with him but he made me stay behind. I miss him a lot but he promised me he would spend an entire week with me when he got back to make up for it, no work to get in the way just the two of us."

Spark finally finished her story, Paul shaking his head in wonder as he saved the file and put the pad away. Both of them stayed silent for a long while after that, the two of them lost in thought, Paul taking Spark's paw in his hand and giving her a comforting hug as they sat there beside the pond. Perhaps they would still be sitting there had another couple not wandered into the same clearing, the two teenagers surprised to see their private spot occupied by what appeared to be a boy and his pet sitting beside the pond in quiet reflection. Spark was the first to notice the teenagers approach, her ears twitching as she turned to look at them before letting go of Paul's hand and standing up. Paul turned as he saw Spark look behind them, surprised to see the pair standing only a few feet away. Blushing he quickly gathered his schoolbooks and followed Spark out of the maze of plants and back into the sounds of the station. 

Later that evening Spark sat at her work station, the scattered pieces of the holographic array spread out before her as she continued to modify its design. The last message from her father had put a deadline on her work, having wanted to have the device finished by the time he arrived back from his trip. Spark picked up the focusing crystal and once more examined it. The device was simple, just a crystalline structure artificially manufactured with a slanted cut to reflect the image into a 3 dimensional space but the limitations seemed to stem not from the crystal itself but from the design of the cut imposed upon it. Since her discovery of this Spark had begun growing her own crystals, each with their own individual unique properties to combat this problem but they wouldn't be ready for another 22-24 hours and her deadline wouldn't allow for any mistakes at this point. Sighing Spark reassembled the crystal chamber, setting her work aside and heading to the bathroom to get ready for bed. She had promised Paul she would meet him after school in the park again and she still had a lot of work to do before Rick got home. She had let her chores slide a bit and the apartment would need to be cleaned before he returned and she still had a ton of homework that needed to be finished as well. 

Spark awoke the next morning as the artificial sunrise shone in her window. After a quick breakfast she began the work of cleaning up the apartment, making sure all her equipment was put away and properly labeled before tearing into the rest with a rag and spray bottle. After a few hours the apartment was once again spotless, all the surfaces dusted and polished with everything put away where it belonged. Taking a short break Spark headed out to the store to buy groceries for the week then sat down at her desk to check her crystals and begin work on her studies so she would have time to meet with Paul once he got out of school. Her most recent courses of study were a bit off topic for her, since she had taken an interest in the holographic projector she had decided to study up on the subject and thought he material had helped her in her designs it has left her with more questions than she cared to admit. True the field was still new and the technology wasn't perfect but there was still something that could be said for detailed design specs. So far she had looked over 12 different designs and each time there was always a part missing that the designer had specified as 'unique' thus making that design useless for development except by the original maker of the product since those pieces were always kept secret and their design carefully guarded. Most of the time it was in the creation of the crystals used to project the image, something that could not be obtained by merely disassembling the parts though there was a single study done that described in detail the making of the crystals and that was how Spark now came to have 12 jars sitting on her shelf each with a crystal growing inside of it. A soft beeping sound from her console let Spark know that she needed to get going or she would be late meeting Paul, her designs and the rest of her studies would have to wait for later. Packing up her things, Spark headed to the kitchen and packed a small lunch for herself as she had been too busy studying to grab something to eat earlier.

Spark arrived at the park early, sitting on her usual bench and just finishing her sandwich as Paul came into view, a paper clutched in his hand as he waved excitedly to her. "Hey Spark, I got some good news! Looks like someone at the school board finally did some research after seeing my grades this semester and decided that the best place for me would be in work-study courses instead of regular classes since I already did those and more years and years ago. I know it doesn't sound like much but they approved my request to begin research on racial interaction and the study of racial behavior on both fixed and mixed racial stations in the area. I did a bit of talking with the trade commission and even got a line through to your dad and I managed to get assigned to your dad's ship to study the relations of beings at the stations you visit on your runs... though that is up to you and your dad, I'm still waiting to hear back from him on it. I did mention that I knew you so he may be waiting for a reply from you before he makes any decisions but isn't that wonderful? We will be able to work together!" Paul kept going on and on, Spark listening to him happily though she wasn't quite sure yet if she wanted to share her special time with her father just yet. She finally stopped Paul as he took a breath between sentences and asked him firmly "So what did you want to do today? I know you didn't invite me here to talk my ears off." Paul gave her a funny look, then realized he had been talking non-stop for over an hour and his cheeks turned red as he blushed "Sorry spark, guess I just got excited is all. Been trying for almost half a year to get them to transfer me into a study program and now that all this is going on I guess I just got over excited." Spark nodded, noticing that Paul looked really cute when he blushed, something she had never noticed in anyone before. She kept that observation to herself however, instead standing up and stretching before speaking. "Didn't you have something planned for us to do today? You had said something earlier about having a surprise for me." 

Paul nodded and looked at his watch "Yeah, and if we don't hurry I'm going to get in trouble. From what you told me yesterday I can tell you like working with machines and my dad works in one of the research labs on the outer shell. Well I talked to him last night and he agreed to show you around the lab as long as you promise not to touch anything without asking first. I told him you were doing a school project and wanted to see how a real research lab was set up so you might want to take some notes in there too. Sorry for not asking first but I figured you would enjoy the trip." Spark listened as Paul talked, her tail swishing happily behind her, picking up speed as she became excited. Once he had finished speaking Spark surprised Paul by giving him a happy hug "Ok, when do we go? I really am interested in the labs up there, especially their work on hydroponics and gravitational fields." Paul just shook his head, completely lost on those subjects though he returned the hug a bit awkwardly before taking her paw and starting towards the outer edge of the station, blushing again slightly. "Well, we are supposed to meet my dad outside the research labs in just under half an hour, so if we hurry we will just make it in time. As for those subjects well, you will have to ask my dad about that since I really don't understand anything outside of the medical field and what I have learned about social structures through my research into becoming a sociologist." A short time later Spark and Paul were in the elevator headed to the laboratory sector, the guard at the door glaring at Spark but the pass presented clearly indicated that she was to accompany Paul so he gave no argument. Spark looked out over the city through the glass front of the elevator as they ascended towards the labs and couldn't help but wonder what was waiting for her there.  

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