Vixen A.D. 2 | Chapter 4

Lunch in Delta

They finally sat down for some food.

Mace had grabbed some breakfast meals from the back, earlier. He didn’t have the time to prepare an entire meal, so instead resorted to the pre-packaged stuff. Luckily, it wasn’t too different from something freshly prepared, only because Mace had chosen the expensive, gourmet stuff instead of the cheap MREs.

Ahead of him, Faye and Cinder sat at the brushed steel and aluminum alloy table. Mace thought it was interesting the commons looked utilitarian and the smaller, more-restaurant like dining rooms (which were right around the corner from the suites) had better wood and stone tables.

Meant for the rich officers, he thought.

Cinder took a bite of her omelet and wagged her fluffy, kitsune tail. He could see her cheeks blush a little in delight. “Oh my god, food,” she almost purred, taking another chomp at the cheese and ham egg dish.

Faye was busy downing orange juice, bacon, and sausage. Her tail swayed, too, delighted by the meals. “Why does this taste so much better than the other stuff we found?”

“I got the good meals. The cheaper MREs are here, too.”

Cinder let out a satisfied sigh, smiling. “Well, how much is there? I don’t want to eat all of them,” she worried out loud.

Mace smirked. That was cute. There was no way any of them, even if they’d gone fully gluttonous, would ever be able to finish the stash of gourmet meals stored in the common kitchen’s freezers, pantries, storerooms, and refrigerators. “Don’t worry about that,” he consoled her. “There’s no way we’ll eat all of them, even if we tried.”

“Good,” Faye said. “Because I am going to.”

Mace smirked. He returned to his toast and over-easy eggs, sipping on a coffee.

Another thought came back to him: wouldn’t it be better if the two fox girls just stayed here instead? If something happened to him, they would still be safe.

“So, I think we should start planning the day together,” Mace said.

Faye nodded. “Yeah, that makes sense. Maybe meet up like this?”

“That’s what I was thinking,” Mace replied. “We can all set up the plans for the day, like a meeting.”

“Alright,” Cinder said, wiping her mouth. “What’s the plan for today?”

Mace clasped his hands together. “That’s what I wanted to talk about. See, there’s a power problem in the SL TRAM 2 subsystems. I’m not sure what, but the only way to deal with it is go down there, access one of the maintenance shafts, and find the junction.”

“Why can’t we see it from up here?”

Mace shrugged. “I don’t know. We should be able to see where the issue is from up here and there should be some sort of back-up junction, but something is wrong.”

“That sounds scary,” Faye said. “Dangerous.”

Mace nodded. “That’s why I think you both should stay up here while I suit up and go down there to figure out what’s going on. If something happens to me, you’re still secured enough and safe enough in these areas of Delta.”

Faye shot upward. “What? No!”

Cinder did the same, leaning forward. “You said we’re a team!”

Mace leaned back, a little surprised—

(but was he really)

—and wondered why he didn’t expect such a reaction beforehand. “I… I just didn’t want you two to get hurt.”

“And we don’t want you to get hurt, either,” Faye said. “You helped me out and her. We’ve saved each other before. Do you think her and I want to be alone up here? You got another thing coming. We need you,” Faye finished, her breath hot and fiery.

Cinder nodded. “Yeah. She’s right. And besides, you said something about cuddles, right? How can we do that if you’re hurt or something?”

He waited to see how Faye would react, to see if she’d hesitate, but the kitsune did not. “Yeah, how can we date you if you’re dead, huh?”

Cinder glanced at her, speechless. “I, uh, I mean…”

Mace, for the first time, was the one that had to fight the red accumulating in his cheeks. “You… both want to date me?”

Faye folded her arms. “Oh Cinder,” she said, “don’t act like you’re surprised. Anyway, you’re an idiot if you think we’re letting you go down there by yourself, Mace.”

He stared at them both. What was he supposed to do? Tell them no? They’d probably follow him down there, anyway.

“I just don’t want either of you getting hurt,” Mace repeated.

Faye shook her head. “I don’t want you getting hurt either. I’m sure Cinder doesn’t, as well.”

“Alright. Fair enough. But follow my lead. Listen to everything I say. Period. Understood?” Mace asked.

Cinder let out a long sigh. “Thank god. And yes, sir.”

“I–we will,” Faye murmured.

“Alright,” Mace returned to his food. “Let’s finish breakfast. We’ll need to grab a few weapons and suit up.”

“Sounds good.”

Mace glanced up at them both. What would they do after fixing the problem with SL TRAM 2’s power? He pondered for a few seconds.

“Well, we should still plan what we’re doing for the rest of the day. What do you two want to do after lunch?” Mace smiled.

Cinder tapped her fork on her lower lip. “I don’t know. You said this place has everything?”

Mace nodded. “Yep. I was thinking we should relax.”

“Relax sounds good. And dinner. A big dinner,” Faye grinned.

Cinder nodded excitedly. “Yeah, a big dinner! And… maybe a movie?”

“Dinner and a movie sounds like a date,” Mace teased. “Am I taking you both on a date tonight?”

Faye blushed, the nodded confidently. “Yes.”

“I mean it’s just hanging out. It’s not like we’re fucking,” Cinder giggled.

The room fell silent. An awkward rolled between the three of them—not because it was an uncomfortable suggestion, but because it’s what each of them wanted. They wanted each other, and they knew it and soon, they would find out how much.

Mace laughed. Faye burst into her own wild giggling. “You’re funny, Cinder.”

Cinder blushed. “I, yeah, haha.”

“I’d be in charge,” Mace said. “Just saying.”

“Oh? You think you’d run the show in a threesome with me and her?” Faye snickered.

Mace nodded. “Yeah. Cinder’s the sub.”

Cinder nervously chuckled. “Haha, yeah, would be the sub, sure.”

“I’d dominate your ass if Mace told me too,” Faye teased. “You know I would.”

Mace glanced at both of them. Cinder returned to her drink, her hands quaking subtly. “So, uh, this um… armory, what’s in it?”

Faye quietly accepted the change of subject. She turned to Mace, downing her orange juice. “Yeah, what kind of stuff can we get there?”

Mace smiled. The fact that they were teasing him about a threesome, and neither protesting, confirmed what he suspected. Then again, he kind of already knew that they wanted him.

And he liked the idea of having a harem of fox girls. “Guns. Bullets. Tech. Armor.”

“Sounds like we’re stocked,” Faye said.

“Yeah. So, movie and dinner, right?” Mace asked again.

The two nodded. “Yes.”

“I want to dress up,” Faye said.

“Oh yeah, the thingy does have clothes and textile fabricator stuff, doesn’t it?” Cinder wondered out loud.

Mace nodded. “Yes. It does.”

For some reason, that sounded exciting. He had a suspicion Faye would wear something goth-y but wasn’t sure on Cinder’s fashion sense. They could wear what they liked, though he had a couple predictions. Mace wouldn’t mind something slutty, either. At the least, he expected some skin to be shown.

And he wouldn’t be wrong, either.

***

Mace led them to the nearest armory.

The doors were thick, alloy, and filled with additional locks and armor. They didn’t spend too long there; it made more sense to get things over with. Still, Mace didn’t mind having them go over the rows of assault carbines, pistols, energy weapons, grenades, and other tactical armaments.

The armory was lined with more weapons than he could count. And this was only one of the many armories in Delta. Steel beams, alloy benches, and brushed-metal lockers filled out the walls and central portion of the area.

He quickly made his way to a rack containing carbines and handed them out. The assault carbines in Delta were somewhat more advanced and powerful than the older ones.

Mace turned, walking toward the two kitsunes with weapons in hand.

Faye beamed at the assault carbine Mace handed her. “This thing looks like it will pack a punch.”

“Same as the ones we found on the road, just upgraded. And Cinder, for you,” Mace added, handing Cinder a carbine.

Cinder gazed at all the gearand weapons in the room. “Can we come back later and get a better look at this place? I want to see what toys we have,” she smirked.

Mace grinned. “Of course. Make sure and grab some armor, too,” he said.

He pointed to a few racks of armor and other tactical, USF-issued clothes. Mace led them there and handed out different sizes of each—an XL for him, and medium for the kitsunes—before turning back and pacing to the door.

“Follow me,” he said.

Cinder and Faye trailed behind as he led them away from the armory and to south lock. After several minutes of winding corridors, a few elevators, and another ten minutes of sub-level corridors, they were before an airlock labeled SLT2 MAINTENANCE.

Mace turned to them. “Alright, there are some suits in there to protect against other elements. Mainly, mining and maintenance. They’re in different sizes, so we should be able to all find something that fits. Let’s go,” he finished.

He led them to the air lock and punched in a code, then waited for it to cycle. Eventually, the large, hexagonal doors split apart, releasing a mist of oxygen and other sterile gases. Mace felt the pressure difference quickly equalize before taking several steps in.

“Big airlock,” Cinder said as she entered.

Faye followed behind. The door shut behind her. She tossed her tail side to side, twitched an ear, then looked over to Mace. “You could fit a couple vehicles in here,” she said.

Cinder nodded. “Yeah, and we went through a lot of hallway back there.”

“It’s a big place,” Mace said. “Labyrinthine, if you don’t know it. Your chronometers should sync with terminals nearby for extra data, if need be. You can find out your precise coordinates inside the colony and facilities with it. If your chronometer is acting up, just go through the standard stuff.”

“Okay,” Faye said.

“They’re basically big PDAs with some extra functionality,” Mace explained. “And other things.”

After that, the group suited up. Mace showed them how to adjust the belts, padding, and overalls. The suits were thick; if anything, they protected against the sharp rocks and fragments from the cave systems that Delta’s maintenance, mines, power plants, and other infrastructure ran through.

“Everyone ready?” Mace asked.

The two kitsunes nodded. Faye glanced over her shoulder, gazing at her tail and backside. “These things have a spot for tails, too.”

Cinder smiled. “Good. I didn’t want to stuff that fluffy thing between my thighs.”

Mace smirked. “Yeah. They planned ahead, although I don’t think those spots were entirely for tails. But hey, it works out.”

Faye shrugged. “Guess so.”

Mace made his way back to the airlock control pad, dialed in another code, and watched as the entrance doors sealed shut. In front of them, the exit doors and the several surrounding beacons flashed yellow, then glowed orange.

CYCLING. 10%.

“How long does this take?” Faye asked.

“A minute or two,” Mace explained.

Cinder took a step forward. “What’s out past here?”

“A maintenance lift. There’s a multifaceted control room, too,” Mace said.

“Do you think there are any… monsters out there?”

Mace shook his head. “No. At least, I don’t think.”

“I hope you’re right,” Faye said grimly.

“Me too,” Mace agreed.

With that, the airlock doors finished cycling. They opened, revealing the maintenance control room and lift. The place was silent and cool.

The control room was etched and built into the cave’s wall, reinforced by Neo Martian rock and stone. From there, he hoped they could identify the power malfunction. Mace didn’t want to be there for long.

He had a date with the two fox girls later in the evening, anyway.