{ "submission_id": "2634366", "keywords": [ { "keyword_id": "85", "keyword_name": "anal", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "131994" }, { "keyword_id": "5424", "keyword_name": "antelope", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "1581" }, { "keyword_id": "678", "keyword_name": "anthro", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "226450" }, { "keyword_id": "1785", "keyword_name": "bad", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "1596" }, { "keyword_id": "1911", "keyword_name": "badger", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "7353" }, { "keyword_id": "780", "keyword_name": "bath", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "5132" }, { "keyword_id": "61", "keyword_name": "boy", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "82562" }, { "keyword_id": "303", "keyword_name": "canine", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "195748" }, { "keyword_id": "79", "keyword_name": "cum", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "196911" }, { "keyword_id": "1908", "keyword_name": "cunnilingus", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "12915" }, { "keyword_id": "1462", "keyword_name": "cunt", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "5406" }, { "keyword_id": "3", "keyword_name": "dog", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "175868" }, { "keyword_id": "2193", "keyword_name": "fantasy", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "27528" }, { "keyword_id": "123", "keyword_name": "female", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "1105156" }, { "keyword_id": "3803", "keyword_name": "femboy", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "40461" }, { "keyword_id": "12252", "keyword_name": "f/m", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "6568" }, { "keyword_id": "236", "keyword_name": "gay", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "152443" }, { "keyword_id": "15093", "keyword_name": "gazelle", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "1734" }, { "keyword_id": "1594", "keyword_name": "giraffe", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "3266" }, { "keyword_id": "897", "keyword_name": "hardcore", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "1301" }, { "keyword_id": "1396", "keyword_name": "hermaphrodite", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "19010" }, { "keyword_id": "305", "keyword_name": "horse", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "60456" }, { "keyword_id": "1440", "keyword_name": "human", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "109937" }, { "keyword_id": "13382", "keyword_name": "humanoid", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "16511" }, { "keyword_id": "1696", "keyword_name": "humiliation", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "13365" }, { "keyword_id": "2843", "keyword_name": "humor", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "5770" }, { "keyword_id": "759", "keyword_name": "humping", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "5255" }, { "keyword_id": "10729", "keyword_name": "language", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "552" }, { "keyword_id": "1069", "keyword_name": "lesbian", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "20717" }, { "keyword_id": "165", "keyword_name": "male", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "1215328" }, { "keyword_id": "942", "keyword_name": "m/m", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "51345" }, { "keyword_id": "1013", "keyword_name": "multiple", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "1944" }, { "keyword_id": "13534", "keyword_name": "multiple characters", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "10833" }, { "keyword_id": "416", "keyword_name": "oral", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "68830" }, { "keyword_id": "265", "keyword_name": "orgasm", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "35645" }, { "keyword_id": "86", "keyword_name": "orgy", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "12622" }, { "keyword_id": "3441", "keyword_name": "pig", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "8841" }, { "keyword_id": "186", "keyword_name": "rabbit", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "141103" }, { "keyword_id": "112", "keyword_name": "rape", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "32338" }, { "keyword_id": "1196", "keyword_name": "rave", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "1583" }, { "keyword_id": "7521", "keyword_name": "relationships", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "410" }, { "keyword_id": "1637", "keyword_name": "reptile", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "28980" }, { "keyword_id": "9745", "keyword_name": "revenge", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "1278" }, { "keyword_id": "2953", "keyword_name": "rimjob", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "4338" }, { "keyword_id": "461", "keyword_name": "rimming", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "13502" }, { "keyword_id": "449", "keyword_name": "school", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "9114" }, { "keyword_id": "76", "keyword_name": "sex", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "135105" }, { "keyword_id": "451", "keyword_name": "skunk", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "34716" }, { "keyword_id": "528", "keyword_name": "slave", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "9866" }, { "keyword_id": "15536", "keyword_name": "species", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "1884" }, { "keyword_id": "241", "keyword_name": "spooge", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "5016" }, { "keyword_id": "120", "keyword_name": "straight", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "42237" }, { "keyword_id": "720", "keyword_name": "tentacles", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "20548" }, { "keyword_id": "268", "keyword_name": "tiger", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "39415" }, { "keyword_id": "499", "keyword_name": "tongue", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "33994" }, { "keyword_id": "73", "keyword_name": "twincest", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "2485" }, { "keyword_id": "196", "keyword_name": "vagina", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "84062" }, { "keyword_id": "77", "keyword_name": "vaginal", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "53341" }, { "keyword_id": "969", "keyword_name": "violence", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "4511" }, { "keyword_id": "1846", "keyword_name": "voyeurism", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "4978" }, { "keyword_id": "164", "keyword_name": "wolf", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "196255" }, { "keyword_id": "32621", "keyword_name": "wolftaur", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "80" } ], "hidden": "f", "scraps": "f", "favorite": "f", "favorites_count": "1", "create_datetime": "2022-01-25 07:01:44.239093+00", "create_datetime_usertime": "25 Jan 2022 08:01 CET", "last_file_update_datetime": "2022-01-25 06:59:41.924857+00", "last_file_update_datetime_usertime": "25 Jan 2022 07:59 CET", "username": "silver2075", "user_id": "338330", "user_icon_file_name": "95760_silver2075_icon_image_for_profile_10_fa.gif", "user_icon_url_large": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/usericons/large/95/95760_silver2075_icon_image_for_profile_10_fa.gif", "user_icon_url_medium": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/usericons/medium/95/95760_silver2075_icon_image_for_profile_10_fa.gif", "user_icon_url_small": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/usericons/small/95/95760_silver2075_icon_image_for_profile_10_fa.gif", "file_name": "3892925_silver2075_united_fur_org_chapter_iii_local_history.doc", "file_url_full": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/full/3892/3892925_silver2075_united_fur_org_chapter_iii_local_history.doc", "file_url_screen": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/screen/3892/3892925_silver2075_united_fur_org_chapter_iii_local_history.doc", "file_url_preview": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/preview/3892/3892925_silver2075_united_fur_org_chapter_iii_local_history.doc", "thumbnail_url_huge": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/huge/3892/3892925_silver2075_united_fur_org_chapter_iii_local_history.jpg", "thumbnail_url_large": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/large/3892/3892925_silver2075_united_fur_org_chapter_iii_local_history.jpg", "thumbnail_url_medium": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/3892/3892925_silver2075_united_fur_org_chapter_iii_local_history.jpg", "thumb_huge_x": "253", "thumb_huge_y": "300", "thumb_large_x": "168", "thumb_large_y": "200", "thumb_medium_x": "101", "thumb_medium_y": "120", "files": [ { "file_id": "3892925", "file_name": "3892925_silver2075_united_fur_org_chapter_iii_local_history.doc", "file_url_full": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/full/3892/3892925_silver2075_united_fur_org_chapter_iii_local_history.doc", "file_url_screen": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/screen/3892/3892925_silver2075_united_fur_org_chapter_iii_local_history.doc", "file_url_preview": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/preview/3892/3892925_silver2075_united_fur_org_chapter_iii_local_history.doc", "mimetype": "application/msword", "submission_id": "2634366", "user_id": "338330", "submission_file_order": "0", "full_size_x": null, "full_size_y": null, "screen_size_x": null, "screen_size_y": null, "preview_size_x": null, "preview_size_y": null, "initial_file_md5": "b226f7b4a4ee0788a615396955e9365e", "full_file_md5": "b226f7b4a4ee0788a615396955e9365e", "large_file_md5": "", "small_file_md5": "", "thumbnail_md5": "0737a15a6ac8a4558ef0e21ee43a9da7", "deleted": "f", "create_datetime": "2022-01-25 06:59:41.924857+00", "create_datetime_usertime": "25 Jan 2022 07:59 CET", "thumbnail_url_huge": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/huge/3892/3892925_silver2075_united_fur_org_chapter_iii_local_history.jpg", "thumbnail_url_large": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/large/3892/3892925_silver2075_united_fur_org_chapter_iii_local_history.jpg", "thumbnail_url_medium": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/3892/3892925_silver2075_united_fur_org_chapter_iii_local_history.jpg", "thumb_huge_x": "253", "thumb_huge_y": "300", "thumb_large_x": "168", "thumb_large_y": "200", "thumb_medium_x": "101", "thumb_medium_y": "120" } ], "pools": [], "description": "Jon talks to his new alien associates to explain some of the local economy his family's role in it. There isn't any sex but I did include the long list of tags as it is part of a larger story. This chapter just tries to set up the local setting and some of the character back grounds.", "description_bbcode_parsed": "Jon talks to his new alien associates to explain some of the local economy his family's role in it. There isn't any sex but I did include the long list of tags as it is part of a larger story. This chapter just tries to set up the local setting and some of the character back grounds.", "writing": "Chapter III: Local History\n\n``How much time do you guys have? Bhors said you guys were running behind schedule,'' Jon inquired once they were dressed and leaving the auditorium.\n\n``Bhors, you and your damn schedule. I'm not ready to go back to that drab hotel,'' Abby complained with a grimace for the less than exhilarating accommodations.\n\n``Well, I would love to take you guys for a short drive and tell you a little about the area. We do have an excellent burger joint. I highly recommend the mushroom swiss burger with added apple wood bacon,'' Jon offered as he tried to hide his excitement. \n\n``And here I was considering driving you around for a second time,'' Bhors teased with a chuckle. \n\n``I think it is my turn to drive,'' Jon bantered back quickly.\n\n``I could agree to that if you promise a good long drive instead,'' Bhors laughed as he checked his data pad.\n\n``I have room in my car,'' Jon offered as they approached the sheriff.\n\n``Should I have your transport brought around?'' Tom offered as he held the door. \n\n``I don't think it will be necessary. I think we're going for a little drive to take in the scenery,'' Frank declined with amusement for the sheriff's obvious disapproval before he had even formerly declined.\n\n``I wouldn't recommend that Bhors, but if you insist, please utilize your transport or I can drive you,'' Tom urged anxiously.\n\n``I can drive them. I think that is what they hired me for anyway,'' Jon volunteered as he wondered if this was actually true.\n\n``Sort of... Your government has been kind enough to provide us a transport, but it isn't the type of transportation to promote socialization with locals. The position is for someone who can help facilitate a more personal interactions with locals, which would include local history as we travel to help us understand their local culture, views, opinions, and or needs. We need someone to show us what is important to local citizens so we can avoid conflict and ensure cooperation to achieve our company goals for the current project,'' Abby explained with a scowl of bitterness toward the oversize armored vehicle. It wasn't the entire truth, but it was the company's provided explanation. The truth was always more complicated than it needed to be. They did need a better feel for locals. It was never profitable to anger locals. It was best to keep things cordial and polite as possible because once the legal branch of the company was involved things were usually out of your hands.\n\n``You just don't like it because it doesn't have portals,'' Bhors teased with a chuckle. He had already heard her complaints of the overkill on their security, but security was something that the company was notorious for excess. He supposed it may change some with the new man in charge but so far there hadn't been many drastic changes that he could see from his perspective.\n\n``If you're concerned for our safety, you are free to join or follow us. It isn't a request, but I wouldn't protest if you wished to do so,'' Frank offered as a compromise.\n\n``I can't believe you plan on... Never mind, I'll cooperate with you fully,'' Tom continued to protest until he caught Jon's almost pleading eyes. ``Where are you planning on taking them?'' he probed cautiously.\n\n``Well, I thought we may grab a burger at the Dugout. I wanted to swing by our place to show them around a little. We could see if Ricky is hungry. He didn't do well in his interview. Maybe, he could redeem himself. He actually does need a job,'' Jon explained carefully. It wasn't the entire truth. His cousin needed a job, but not for the reasons most people needed one. His cousin didn't necessarily the income, but he needed to get off the mountain and interact with people again... even if they were aliens.\n\n``I should have known it was something like that. I assumed he didn't do well by the way he passed me at a trot. I stepped out to see if he was okay and he was high tailing it up the mountain before I cleared the door. You might want to just skip inviting him to dinner. Just let him be if he wants to be left alone to sort things out. He can apply for a job next week or the one after. It isn't as if this project will be over any time soon. If you folks need anything else, I'm headin' home after this. I'll be there all night if you folks need anything at all. Just give me a call... and Jon, keep it slow and drive safe,'' Tom instructed with a scowl and wag of his finger he hoped would convey his seriousness once he understood the young man's intentions or at least thought he did. He should have known what the boy was doing. It was for their family business. That boy was driven. He was always about the family business. That was the reason the boy chose that deathtrap in the first place unless he was mistaken.\n\n``Of course. Take it easy, Tom,'' Jon replied with an eager grin. He wasn't the driver his cousin was, but the roads home were hardly dangerous. If he was sure, he could manage the old course and keep them all alive he would give Bhors the ride of his life in the old rig. ``Right this way. Your chariot awaits,'' he announced as he urged them to their ride.\n\n``Holy shit! Is that... a jeep? I didn't realize there were any of these things around anymore except in museums,'' Frank exclaimed as they rounded the corner to the sole vehicle in the parking lot except the police cruiser and armored troop transport issued to them. ``I need to let the young man know that we'll call him if we need him,'' he added before he trotted over toward the armored vehicle where he expected to find the young soldier, who had been lucky enough to draw the easy assignment of driving their armored car around, sleeping away the afternoon. \n\n``What's a jeep?'' Abby questioned as she approached the completely open-air transport.\n\n``The only thing on this, which is actually a jeep part is probably the grill and hood. The rest of it is customized stuff to make it resemble one. This is or was an off-road buggy. The open fenders make it illegal for road use. Well, it is illegal on any road here with painted lines on it. That is why we have a slow-moving vehicle sign on it to pass it off as agricultural equipment. I don't know if it is technically legal, but it does get us a way to skirt around the law around locally. The problem is we can only drive about thirty-five miles an hour on a road with painted lines, so it is technically being used as a slow moving vehicle. We just take the sign off when we're not on a road with painted lines. Of course, no one cares once we're on the dirt roads. I would still hate to run into a state trooper on the way home. They tend to take things too seriously,'' Jon explained with a mischievous grin.\n\n``How do you close it?'' Bhors asked curiously as he examined the odd wheels.\n\n``You don't. It isn't supposed to rain, so we'll be alright,'' Jon reassured.\n\n``Oh, damn,'' Abby squealed in delight as she bound off towards where her personal photographic equipment was stored in the armored transport.\n\n``I don't know if I have ever ridden anything quite like this,'' Bhors concluded as he finished his examination of the strange transport.\n\n``Oh, I assure you, that you haven't. Here just climb up the wheel and hop into the back,'' Jon urged and was concerned when the big man's head was nearly as tall as the roll bar. ``You'll have to do your best to talk Ricky into taking you for a ride in this thing. He used to be so much fun when he was younger,'' Jon replied with a grin for the old memories of better times for his cousin.\n\n``Oh, what happened,'' Bhors inquired curiously.\n\n``A series of random unfortunate events have left him... well, you'll see,'' Jon replied with a sigh.\n\n``See what?'' Abby questioned as she returned with Frank and her photographic device. Her personal device could capture images, but they just weren't of the same quality a device dedicated to that purpose. She watched Frank climb up over the side of the vehicle as if he had done this sort of thing before. It only took her as couple seconds to remember the man was human only a couple years ago and reasoned just as quickly that he most likely had done just that.\n\n``I guess you get to ride shotgun. Let me give you a hand,'' Jon announced before he boosted the light doe into the passenger seat. \n\n``He was just telling me a series of unfortunate events had a profound effect on his cousin,'' Bhors explained as he tested the sturdiness of the bar by his head. He was sure the thing was meant to protect him, but he was just grateful it was padded before he rested his head against the bottom of it.\n\n``Oh, like what?'' Frank asked in hopes to find out the rest of the answers to his many questions.\n\n``Well, Ricky was always different, but'' Jon began before the motor rumbled to life. ``Just listen to that. It's sweeter than poetry to my ears,'' he grinned before he began to back out of the parking space. ``I suppose a little family history is necessary to understand fully. You see back in nineteen-nineties a retired factory worker bought one hundred acres down here to live out his retirement. He built a house where he lived out his retirement, which also served as a bunk house for family members to take vacations in the great mountains of West Virginia. The property was passed down the generations and the family kept that same purpose until one heir was successful enough to set up a trust fund to support the property. Somewhere along the line the government decided to sell off sections of the surrounding national forest to reduce the crippling national debt. Money from the growing trust fund to maintain the property was used to expand the property to nearly two thousand acres, while the mining company bought the vast majority of the available government land. Coal had all but been banned but they had turned to drilling for natural gas by then. Of course, natural gas took a huge hit when they started ramping up the carbon taxes to fight climate change. This also drove electricity cost up which took a huge toll on the world economy. The former coal company turned to alternate forms of income to stay alive. They now owned nearly a quarter of a million acres across three counties. Their chief income was from timber, but someone in the family had convinced them to open their lands for tourism. The trust fund was once again tapped to build a main lodge and dozens of cabins across our land to rent out to people who wanted to explore the mountains in vehicles such as this by traveling across rugged timber roads. Those were good times for the local economy. Everywhere you looked there was a repair or fab shop. People would bring their rigs down and drive them until the wheels fell off. If they couldn't get them repaired, they would rent rigs from the resort or one of the other local sources for off road vehicles. At the height of our family's expansion, we had two lodges with plans for the third, a full-time animal hospital and wildlife rescue, several on site repair and fab shops, several hundred small cabins, larger chalets, and villas scattered across close to five thousand acres skirting the former coal company lands. It was a huge operation. Then your company bought the old coal company out and put an end to the tourism on your purchased lands. We did our best but only one lodge remains in good repair, and it has been closed for some years while the other will require more attention. When we were young, I worked summers at the lodge with Ricky. He was a different person back then,'' he explained with a grin for the fond memories. \n\nHe paused in his story to wave at the sheriff sitting on his porch as they passed. ``I think Tom's place and our family's property are the only two parcels your company doesn't own along this section of highway,'' he observed as much as complained as they continued down the road. ``Don't get me wrong Ricky was always different. His father has always been eccentric to say the least, and he had Ricky doing things... that weren't very common. Back then the family could afford eccentric hobbies. Then Ricky has always been someone of extremes. It didn't matter what he did, or I suppose I should say does. He does it one thousand percent and his father had him doing all kinds of crazy stuff. He had Ricky start Judo when he was three or four. It turned to mixed martial arts by the time he started preschool, but by then he had started small bore competition shooting as well. He didn't play regular sports like most kids. He didn't play baseball, football, or regular team sports. The closest he came to a team sport was cross country when he was in high school, but he always ran for conditioning for the mixed martial art thing. I think he only signed up for the cross-country team because he was interested in a girl who ran for the girl's team. Anyway, he was awesome at whatever he did because he took everything that serious. All of us kids wanted to be him because he was such an over achiever. However, things started to change when he lost his mom. She was killed by some lunatic screaming `Allah Akbar' while she was on a business trip with Ricky's father. They said he wasn't an actual terrorist tied to any of the known terror groups, but it didn't matter to Ricky. He became withdrawn that summer and began to study Arabic online and anything else Muslim related. I was working with him that summer and it was obvious to me that he was obsessed to the point it couldn't have been healthy. Everyone else thought it was just a faze even when he started talking about ROTC and military career instead of college and running the family business. We were on our summer break the next year when he asked me and another classmate to form a team so he could compete in a national teen shooting event being held over on Spruce Knob. He even talked Tom the sheriff you met into being the team coach. I thought maybe they had been right. Maybe it had been a phase. I thought I would do anything if I could help him return to his former self. Ricky was as good as I ever saw him for that event. He was smoking the rest of us shooters for the most part and there were teams from all over the country. He was only one event away from essentially sweeping the competition. We were in the restroom joking around before his last shoot. I was teasing him about the chance that I could actually beat him in the long rifle competition if I scored just a little better on my last flight of targets. I think that was the last time I ever saw him laughing and having fun, real fun. One of the other coaches thought it would be a good idea for the boys from his team to do their best to rattle him before he shot his last flight in his last event. They caught us in the bathroom. I still don't know everything they said to him, but I was told the gist of it. You see they were a west coast team from a private Islamic school and simple internet search would turn up Ricky's mothers name and what happened to her. All I do know is one of the boys reached out to him. I don't know if it was to poke him or push him, but it didn't matter. Ricky came unhinged, by the time they drug him off those boys they were bloody and beaten. He nearly killed the one boy. The boy was in a coma for a week. Ricky was arrested and charged with attempted murder as a hate crime and he was to be tried as an adult, because of what had happened to his mother and his recent obsession with everything Arabic. He was disqualified from the competition, expelled from school, and spent the following year in jail without bail during the trial due to his father's wealth making him a flight risk. I don't know what happened to him while he was there, but I can't recall him smiling much if any since. The only reason he isn't in prison now, is the fact that he had on his body cam, which he wore for the competition. It was pure luck that he had forgotten to turn it off after his previous shoot and it captured the whole encounter including the boy reaching for him as well as their prior threats and taunts. It was eventually declared he acted in self-defense but as I understand it, it was a miracle that was the verdict. Some people were outraged and there were even riots. I hate to admit it, I knew him, and I couldn't say that he didn't want to kill those other kids. I was there and... it was as if he was rabid. I could agree that it was temporary insanity, but it wasn't self-defense no matter what threats they made. They never stood a chance against him even if they had him outnumbered ten to one. It was even more suspect when that consulting company on his resume hired him and picked him up at the courthouse the day he was released. He hadn't even turned sixteen to get his driver's license yet. I tried to stay in touch with him while he was working for them, but it was heartbreaking... it still is. I had grown up idolizing him, but he was so changed. I wish I could just get him to do something he used to enjoy or... he just acts so different and distant now,'' he concluded with great sadness. ``Well, welcome to the entrance of The Great Outdoors Adventures,'' he announced to change the painful subject as he turned off the paved road to what used to be the main entrance to the resort which was uncharacteristically paved unlike the other private dirt and gravel road which he usually used to the location of the original house on the property.\n\n``Our family built this for off-road tourism,'' Jon announced as the main lodge came into view. It was a massive lodge or resort clad with composite materials to resemble a gigantic log paradise. ``There are five floors with guest rooms above ground. It has four floors below ground, which house amenities such as a full gym, pool, banquet rooms, indoor shooting range, convention floor space and armory. There's an underground parking garage to house all guest vehicles and trailers they would use to haul their personal off-road equipment such as this. The family business did well and continued to grow despite the downturn in the economy due to the increased carbon emission taxes until the day you guys shut down your land for the off roading. We even started building electric off-road buggies to comply with the extreme environmental regulations. As I said, at one time, we had hundreds of chalets and villas, or cabins scattered across three counties. We had several twenty-four-hour repair shops including a twelve-bay facility here, which we will see shorty. We were a pet friendly facility with a fully staffed veterinary clinic and wildlife animal rescue shelter. I along with nearly every teen in the family spent their summers working here in one form or another as we grew up. Rick's father is the current heir or director of the trust, which allowed Ricky to live here year-round and he was part of everything. He gave gun safety courses and demos as well as driven tours by the time he was fourteen. He gave classes on the wildlife and private tours or hikes. He taught tracking and forestry like a true woodsman or park ranger. He made the national news once when he tracked down a little girl who had become lost over in Dolly Sods. He was only twelve and tracked her down and brought her out safe and sound in two days minus a few scrapes where she slid down a hillside. He managed it before the trained rescue dogs could or the air rescue people. He was a local hero for a long time after that. Everyone talked to him, and he didn't know a stranger back then. I just don't understand how he has become so withdrawn and distant,'' he paused for the troubled thoughts of his once good friend and cousin. He had once had a huge crush on his cousin, and it had broken his heart to watch his friend grow apart from him. It had been a close relationship. The relationship they now had was strained at best. ``Anyway, that was before, your company bought the failing former energy company and closed the off-road park. Our family tried to keep the main lodge open on tourism on our remaining land, but it was bleeding the massive trust fund dry quickly. Ricky's father decided to shut everything down and keep the remaining funds to maintain the properties the best he could the year I graduated high school. I had always believed I would move down here and work here full time after I graduated college. I went to work for a restaurant chain and went to school for a business degree on the side to get into management. My dream is to get the main lodge reopened and return it as it to its former glory days so I can run the bar and restaurant. That's why I'm so desperate to find a living soul to approach with my proposals. I have tried to contact someone in your company since I graduated high school and today was the first time I've managed to talk to a live person. I really loath your automated answering service,'' he declared with a chuckle for his thoughts of how his day had turned out.\n\n``Where are you taking us if it wasn't the lodge,'' Bhors asked curiously. He was aware of a good part of UFO's activities in the area to make this current project possible, but he hadn't ever considered what the company's activities had done to the local economy. He knew the global warming and environmental laws had been largely due to their need of carbon for another planet lacking carbon in its atmosphere to promote photosynthesis and plant life on a scale to make colonization profitable. He was also very aware of how crippling those policies had been to Earth's global economy which had been an unintended consequence which until this point had been considered a bonus for reducing costs of purchasing land as well as preordering of essential materials. Some steel mills have been stockpiling what little they could produce while maintaining their strict carbon emission regulations for nearly a decade. However, UFO was going to open every closed coal mine and oil well on the planet Earth to harvest the carbon rich deposits very soon. They would be purchasing half of the planets production of steel alloys for years to come by last estimate as well. There was even talk of leaking the truth about the importance of maintaining carbon in the atmosphere so the governments would loosen the carbon emission standards to allow more steel production for UFO's consumption. This project should stir enough economic stimulus to return Earth's financial markets back to where they should have been while increasing the value of the shares the company already held in Earths markets and minimizing the total cost of altering the new planet they had discovered for colonization. It was working out for the most part better than anyone had ever dared to project. There were several managers looking for new locations to apply what is being called the `Environmental Deception Tactic' or EDT for short. Meanwhile, they would use those carbon rich fossil fuels to not only power older technology power plants to aid the colonization energy needs but convert the carbon deficient planet to a thriving colony over the next century. The extensive construction projects to harvest and export the raw material should basically cause an economic boom for Earth and provide huge growth for UFO as well. The planning of this project had already been in the works for over two centuries and it was a true testament to UFO's long-term strategies for growth. Colonization of a new habitable planet made for very lucrative investment in the galactic community. He wasn't sure but he wouldn't be surprised if it easily surpassed the profit margins of weapon systems or platforms long term. First, they needed to build an orbital lift and space station to make transporting the materials from Earth into orbit more economical. Most people just didn't realize the cost of transporting heavy goods out of the gravitational pull of a planet. It required vast amounts of energy and energy cost credits. Energy was always a substantial cost of any operation but transportation off planet surfaces were some of the highest energy consuming operations. \n\nEnergy costs was one of the reasons the company had not only bought all the coal and gas rich land it could but also bought huge tracks of land along the river valleys. They owned over half of the properties in the town itself which would be at the bottom of a lake in a few years once the hydroelectric dams were completed. They should have owned more by now, but there had been growing competition for properties over the years. It had only been the odd small properties they had missed at first, but the size and number had grown drastically more recently. There was an investment company, which had nearly bought every property of interest that sold along the Cheat River valleys for almost two years. In some cases, the investment company was buying properties before UFO even became aware they were coming onto the market. They still didn't know what the other company's plans were. They didn't even know how to contact anyone from the company. The competition had managed to cover their activities under multiple false companies before UFO had even figured it out, which was the same strategy UFO had deployed to prevent competition into driving up the cost of purchasing land on the speculation that they could profit by selling it to UFO when they needed it or when the value skyrocketed at the completion of the construction projects. UFO still didn't know how anyone on Earth figured UFO have been buying properties through multiple fronts to even speculate on the land purchases. They would soon have to start dedicating more resources to identify those behind the investment company and deal with them as upper management saw fit.\n\n``Well, we have to stop here to change vehicles,'' Jon answered as he pulled up to the large building which once served as the main repair and fabrication shop for the resort. He waited for the overhead door to open before he pulled inside. ``This is and will probably always be my favorite vehicle here, but it just seats four. We will switch to what we used to call the limo. It is that six-wheeled monstrosity over there. Don't get me wrong. It is very capable with six-wheel drive, but it is massive and powered by a less than excessive electric power plant. I suppose it may have comparable power, but it has three rows of three pivoting captain's chairs in the back and a driver and passenger seat in the front. It also has windows that can be rolled up to the retractable roof if it is raining, which adds tremendous weight. It must weigh four times this buggy. The axles have less travel to keep those big fat agricultural tires from rubbing the passenger compartment. It looks mean but realistically, it is all show. It was popular for families to go on tours, but it was never meant to take on any of the tougher trails. It was always kept on the tamer gravel roads such as we came down the mountain from the lodge on,'' Jon explained as he parked. ``Then I will take you to what we call the original house. It was rebuilt back in twenty-one thirty-three, but the family has kept it very close to the original design. It is just slightly bigger, with larger guest rooms and a locked vault for the family armory. But it is the only building still in use and where I live with Ricky,'' he continued while he lowered the back steps of the former off-road limo. ``I moved down here after my employer filed for bankruptcy, for a place to live in exchange for trying to keep the lodge from falling apart while it wasn't being used. We have tried to keep most of the chalets and cabins in repair, but we only have a small budget. Ricky is one hell of a worker, and he knows how to do a lot of maintenance stuff including plumbing and simple electrical repairs such as replacing a light fixture or wall switch. He will work you to death if you try to keep up with him on anything labor intensive. I hate cutting firewood with him. I usually just let him have at it, while I work on something else... anything else,'' he added as he jumped into the driver seat. There just wasn't the satisfaction from the whine of the electric motors as there was from the old combustion engine, but it would still serve his purpose. ``Anyway, we will pick Ricky up there, before we head back to town for dinner,'' he promised but deep down he was hoping it would work out that simple for him. \n\nThe quiet soft whine of the electric motor allowed Jon to drive quiet enough to witness Ricky sitting on porch with his shirt off as usual, but with the small fawn in his lap while he fed it from a bottle. Jon never said a word, but he was more than convinced this scene was sure to get his cousin a job. Of course, the gentle manner Ricky tried to quiet the frightened fawn as he drove closer was more evidence of what he felt was his cousin's true character no matter what brutal violence he had witnessed in that bathroom years ago.\n\nAbby was taken back by the scene before her. There simply was no way it could be staged. If it was, those two had remarkable skill or unbelievable luck to pull it off as they had. Neither of which was displayed at the strange young male's interview. She would admit that she hadn't known what to expect from her first laborer applicant, but she expected more than the young man gave her. She had spent countless hours with bureaucrats but that isn't the same as the common worker. She expected a more comfortable and leisurely interaction. The young man's interview was anything but comfortable. She remembered being excited when the two healthy young males entered the room. She didn't really care which one she interviewed. She just wanted to talk to a real male instead of a lying and conniving political functionary for a change. Of course, being a healthy young male was just a bonus for her. She hadn't ever been with a human male before and the thoughts of what may lay hidden under all his clothes weighed heavy on her mind as he had approached. He was tall and slender but had a nice attractive color to him. He wasn't as dark as some humans while not looking sickly and pale like some of the other humans she had met. He had more of a brownish red tint to him which was very similar to her summer coat. ``Please sit down. I'm Abby,'' she had greeted as she extended her hand in the human greeting, but she was puzzled when he handed her his papers instead of accepting her hand in the human manner as she had expected. \n\n``Yes, ma'am,'' Ricky replied as he sat nervously in the chair after handing over his resume.\n\n``Your name is Rick,'' Abby continued as she scanned the forms. ``You're a linguist?'' she read as much as asked as his multiple human languages nearly leapt off the page at her.\n\n``No ma'am,'' Ricky answered uneasily as he stared at the desk in front of him.\n\n``It says here that you are fluent in five languages,'' Abby continued as she studied the young man. \n\n``I'm a common laborer or simple repairman, ma'am,'' Ricky corrected through his gritted teeth. He should have read it, before he left the house. He knew his cousin meant well, by trying to help him, but he just didn't need the help or a job despite his father and cousin's insistence that he did.\n\n``You did repair work or consulting for this Falcon consulting group,'' Abby questioned as she continued to study the young man who refused to look up at her before she glanced back at the resume in her hands. It listed four years employment but lacked any details to what the job pertained. Then there wasn't any employment listed for the last three years.\n\n``I'm sorry ma'am, but I'm not at liberty to discuss any details of my employment with that company,'' Ricky replied reluctantly.\n\nAbby was taken back by the young man's ambiguous statement. She glanced back towards where Frank was watching over them and noticed the young man had perked the former human's interest. She decided to continue when she caught Frank's nod as he stepped a little closer. ``You have quite an interesting list of skills and hobbies. Was your work there of a security matter?'' she continued to probe once she recognized a couple human fighting discipline ranks listed towards the end of the resume. However, the young man just sat in silence until it became more awkward than it already had been. \n\n``I... I'm sorry ma'am. I can't discuss... I'm sorry to have wasted your time,'' Ricky apologized before he stood to leave.\n\nAbby still didn't know what to think of the young man, who had stood up abruptly and walked out on her before his interview had much more than started, as she disembarked from the strange transport. She barely recognized the others follow her lead as she stepped forward slowly, while the young man cooed and shushed the small youngling that could very possibly be Earth's feral equivalent to her own species in his lap. She watched with genuine interest as he fought to get her to take to the bottle in his hand. ``Maybe, I could help,'' she offered in a soft coo when she realized she was within arm's reach, while the fawn became fixated on her. She took the bottle from the young man's hand, before the fawn began to nurse hesitantly at first, but more enthusiastically once she began to stroke it with her other hand.\n\n``Thank you, ma'am'' Ricky expressed his sincerest gratitude for the woman's help, but his words began to trail off as he looked up at the familiar voice for the first time. He had been angry when he heard her voice. He couldn't believe his cousin had brought the strange alien home with him. Then he was relieved when the fawn in his lap finally resumed eating, but his thoughts had shattered at the vision before him. \n\nJon began to think his cousin had finally broken what was left of his mind as he slowly passed the fawn to Abby before he staggered into the house while rubbing his eyes and shaking his head as if he was hallucinating. ``I take it, he didn't look at you the whole time he was at his interview,'' he stated in disbelief as he watched Ricky go. ``Give me a sec, and we'll be on our way,'' he added without waiting for a confirmation before he darted in after Ricky. It took more effort, than he ever imagined possible to get his dysfunctional cousin into a shirt, but he did manage it. ``Take care of your pet so we can go get some dinner ourselves,'' he instructed but received no reply as he pushed Ricky back outside where their guests were watching Abby play in the yard with the fawn. \n\n``I take it that is part of the wildlife rescue you had mentioned,'' Bhors inquired while he questioned the probability of the coincidental scene. The odds of having the fawn at their house gave evidence to the whole thing being set up or staged, but he just couldn't imagine how they had managed it or knew to have one in advance.\n\n``It would be, but I'm afraid our permits for that part of our family business are long past expired. Its mother was killed down the road a bit, and it followed someone home. At least, that was the story,'' Jon answered but nearly laughed at his cousin's obvious blushes. ``Go on put her in the barn. You realize you're the one cleaning up after her too,'' he instructed before he jumped into one of the passenger seats in the back. \n\n``You're not driving,'' Bhors questioned with concern. He realized he knew very little about the other young man, but he didn't get a warm fuzzy feeling about letting the man pilot a transport when he could barely look up from the ground more than a few seconds at a time except for the one moment he stared at them while working his mouth like an aquatic out of the water.\n\n* * *\n\n``Well, look who came into town. Where have you two... Oh, my lordie,'' Rose exclaimed in greeting before she simply gasped and stared in disbelief.\n\n``Rose, this is Bhors, this little thing is Abby, and that stern looking fellow is Frank,'' Jon introduced in pure delight at his old friend's expense.\n\n``Oh, lordie,'' Rose repeated while she tried to gather an ounce of composure.\n\n``They're from that UFO company,'' Jon explained as he put his arm around the plump older woman to comfort her.\n\n``Well, of course they are,'' Rose choked out under obvious strain. ``You should've called me. I'm far too old for this kind of a shock,'' she complained playfully before she hugged the young handsome man. ``I'm sorry sweetie. I was expecting little green or gray men with big buggy eyes or something,'' she tried to explain before she did her best to embrace the slight framed doe, which had walked in on two legs behind two of her favorite customers. \n\n``You wouldn't want a visit from the gray men. They're not very sociable with the other civilized races in the galaxy and the green men... Well, I think the gray men have mostly wiped them out. Our company has given a few green men employment for their safety, but there are too few of them left. They may never be able to recover their numbers,'' Abby replied while she was engulfed in the big woman's embrace.\n\n``Really?'' Rose replied for lack of knowing what else to say. She hadn't known there were gray men or green men for that matter. She had just said it, because of the old movies.\n\n``It's true. We don't know a whole lot about the gray men. They're from a remote area of the galaxy which we haven't spent much time exploring. They didn't like the little we did do. They're not above trying to blast scouting ships to smithereens with no warning. We've never let it escalate to an all-out war as far as the galactic council is concerned, but we have exchanged shots on more than one occasion with them. It makes us wonder just how sparse inhabitable planets are in their self-proclaimed territories. It would explain their unwarranted hostilities,'' Bhors explained as he stepped forward once the round woman released Abby. He knew full well it was more than a few exchanged shots. The only thing that kept it from being declared a war by the galactic council was neither side had attacked each other's home worlds, which could be attributed to distance and lack of resources for a successful attack. Both sides were hesitant to commit the resources for further escalation. Losses on both sides had been heavy as it was. It was decided that they were too evenly matched for any escalation to be profitable.\n\n``And look at this handsome hunka, you've brought me,'' Rose tried to compliment despite her nervousness. She took a deep breath before she gathered her courage to hug the large black bear standing in her restaurant. \n\n``I have never coupled with a female human,'' Bhors stated as he returned the woman's forward embrace. At least, he thought it should be rather forward for human standards. It was so difficult to tell with the inadequacies in the species behavior guides.\n\n``Slow down there Casanova. She was just being friendly,'' Frank managed to choke out despite his hearty laughter.\n\n``Who says?'' Rose teased as she turned to what appeared to be a black panther with penetrating jade green eyes. ``I may be getting along in my years, but I'm not dead,'' she joked as she hugged the simply gorgeous feline. ``Ricky... Are you going to give me a hug today?'' Rose asked with a sigh as she turned to Ricky who had followed up in the rear. She already knew the answer. ``You used to hug me when you were little. You remember those days, when you boys would sneak over to my place for piece of black raspberry pie,'' she continued to tease as she shook his hand.\n\n``I'm sorry, but I don't understand. Is she saying she wants a little playfulness?'' Bhors inquired curiously. There was no hiding his blush when the woman joined Jon and Frank with side busting laughter. He didn't know why he blushed, but he couldn't stop his irrational reaction just the same. \n\n``Come on stud. Let's get you all seated,'' Rose laughed at the big man's teasing.\n\n``That's a shame. I was beginning to think I may be able to mount both a human male and female in the same day,'' Bhors admitted his disappointment. That should be some sort of record.\n\n``Humans don't talk about that sort of thing openly,'' Jon corrected after nearly stumbling over his own feet at hearing the man's words.\n\n``Are all humans like that? I thought it was just the overstuffed bureaucrats,'' Abby admitted as she glanced at Bhors who appeared genuinely disappointed. She didn't put as much stock in those species guides as others did. It was a good place to start and gave you things to consider but she really liked to examine the individual when possible. \n\n``Well, I'm not most people. How was he Jon?'' Rose teased and wasn't disappointed when he turned two shades of red. It had only been a hunch, but his blushes told her she was right. Of course, it wasn't as if the big bear man would have had many other choices of males for that sort of mischief in this part of the world. If she could think of something else to say, she may get Jon to turn purple at this rate.\n\n``He was pretty good, but I have to warn you they are very open sexually. It was very... erotic,'' Jon admitted quietly despite the urge to crawl into a hole and die.\n\n``Is that so,'' Rose questioned as she led them to a table. ``Your favorite table so you can watch the door,'' she offered to Ricky as she let them seat themselves. She knew Ricky had developed some rather unusual habits after his mother had passed and sitting where he could watch the door was one of them. ``Honey, please sit here so he has to look at your pretty face whenever he looks at the door. He could use a little of that openness if you can break through that wall, he has built around him,'' she teased as she now watched Ricky blush despite his insistence to stare at the table in front of him.\n\n* * *\n\nJon had never been happier to get his hands on the menu, for the excuse to change the subject. It wasn't as if there had been anyone else in the place, and it wasn't as if Rose and Ricky didn't know he was gay, but he still wasn't quite as used to the candid conversation of his sex life as Bhors obviously was... or Rose evidently. He was even more delighted when the conversation eventually turned to business, which continued well into their dinner.\n\n``I don't know if I can open the lands up for an off-road park until the construction of all our slated projects are complete to know exactly which land would be available or just how much would be acceptable for such use. However, I'm more than interested in you reopening your lodge and other lodging sites. You see we'll be bringing a rather large number of UFO workers from other locations to help train and work alongside the human workers we take into our employment. We can house a good number of them on the ship we'll be using as a headquarters when it lands, but the accommodations on a ship can begin to feel rather cramped quickly for our workers. Of course, it can be rather noisy as well, since we will be using it for a landing platform until we have a suitable loading and unloading dock built. It would be good for them to have safe places to stay to give them a break from living on the ship. We have considered building temporary housing units for some of the workers, but we are afraid we'll be already pushing the limits of available workforce which is already spread too thin. We have what are more or less freight containers which contain bedding we use as well as market for temporary or very short-term housing for remote sites and start up colonies, but they are even less comfortable than the accommodations on the ship and this is far from a short-term project. The only benefit of them is they are cheap and plentiful. All this would make accommodations off the worksite a more attractive option. How long do you suppose it would take for you to have some of your housing units open and available? Would you require any upfront payment for use of the properties if we wanted to use them for the next ten years or so?'' Bhors inquired curiously.\n\n``You mean you would want to rent every room for ten years?'' Jon questioned in disbelief of what he thought he had heard.\n\n``Well, to start. I don't know the numbers of employees we require to circulate through an operational platform. That isn't part of my scope of this project. I would have to do some research of other operational facilities to have an accurate estimate for you,'' Bhors answered before he took the last bite of his greasy sandwich. They would most likely build some housing once they could spare the manpower, but that wasn't part of his assignment. A different project manager would have to handle that project. If he could arrange off site sleeping and recreational areas for workers to get a little time to reset, it would greatly reduce the urgency for the need of separate housing from the banks of bunks for sleeping in the massive ship's hulls. ``I just don't understand why such a greasy, salty, and generally sloppy sandwich can be so delightful. I'm starting to understand why Frank is always asking for these things,'' he added after taking a moment to savor his last bite.\n\n``I... I think we can have the main lodge you saw earlier open in a few days, one week at the latest. It would take longer to get all the remaining cabins, and such cleaned up and ready for guests though. I would only need a handshake from you to get started. I would have to work out some figures before I can give you an estimate on the cost of renting the whole lodge. You must understand that you can't just cram ten people into a room though. The safety inspectors would shut us down if you did,'' Jon answered while trying to hide his excitement.\n\n``Five or six is more common for those who enjoy multiple partners in a night. What about you Rose? Do you enjoy multiple partners?'' Bhors inquired as she approached their table. \n\n``Oh, honey I haven't enjoyed the company of a man in what seems a coons age let alone more than one,'' Rose laughed at the absurd suggestion until she wiped the dampness from the corner of her eye.\n\n``What? How... but... I... your human ways seem so odd. It is a complete travesty that no one takes care of your needs. I would...'' Bhors began to offer until his data pad began to sound. ``Please excuse...'' he began as he glanced at his device. ``Oh, the timing. We need to go to Thomas. Our ship has finally been cleared for landing and the captain intends to do just that before someone changes their mind. I'd love to offer my services to see to your needs, but I'm afraid I really do need to see to a few things. Maybe if I can get back this way, I'll see if I can satisfy you,'' Bhors offered but became confused when the woman continued to stare at him until he became uncomfortable. ``I could find another male if you wish. Would you prefer a canine or feline for playfulness? Oh, I'm sure there will be more than one equine with the ship. If you have never been with one, you must take one for a ride. You'll be sore when he's done with you, but it is so worth it,'' he continued until he realized he had assumed she preferred males. ``Of course, there will be plenty of females wanting a little playfulness with their first human if you prefer female company,'' he was very uncomfortable by the time a smile began to grow across her face.\n\n``I thought you were just teasing. I... I can't believe I'm considering... I... maybe if you could find a male to join you, I would like to try that,'' Rose finally stammered out despite her better judgement, before she began to question her sanity at hearing the words from her mouth. She didn't even know if she could do it with someone she barely knew. She never even imagined such behavior and she had just agreed to carry on with two strange men, which weren't even human. They were aliens from a different planet! She decided she had lost her damn mind. She tried to convince herself she would never see the man again. He was just flirting or teasing. He couldn't be serious.\n\n``Is there anything you want me to look for in the male,'' Bhors inquired with genuine concern.\n\n``Just surprise me. Jon has my number if you ever get back this way,'' Rose answered and began to ponder the odds that she would ever see the man again. They had to be very long. She had to admit she wasn't a spring chicken anymore, but his faked passes at her did make her feel better. She was sure she would never see him again, which was fine with her. She couldn't help smiling at him, nevertheless. It was nice to feel wanted by a handsome man for a change even if he was an alien bear. She shook her head for her foolish thoughts. \n\n``We do have guest rooms in the house. I don't want to let go of this deal just because your ship is landing. I could punch up some numbers tonight and give them to you when you wake in the morning,'' Jon offered quickly. He didn't want to let this to slip through his fingers. The glare he received from Ricky for his efforts nearly startled him.\n\n``We need a few days to... redecorate,'' Ricky corrected once he was convinced his insane cousin wasn't going to recognize his concern.\n\nIt took Jon a few seconds of thought to identify his cousin's source of apprehension, but he did remember something Abby had explained as she ordered her mushroom, swiss, and bacon burger instead of the fresh salad Rose had promised to prepare for her. She had explained that every species of the civilized galaxy was of predator stock as far as she knew. Prey just didn't seem to survive to evolve into higher societies was the current scientific theory in layman's terms. She even went as far to display her teeth, which were nothing like the teeth of the whitetail deer like the fawn back at their house. ``I do believe he is concerned about some of the decorations or trophies on the walls. They would resemble well, you, as he nodded towards Abby. We have a few bear rugs for decorations as well. Of course, the lodge is decorated with all manner of stuffed wildlife. I hope that isn't a problem,'' Jon explained carefully.\n\n``I assure you, that isn't a problem. Most species of the galactic community are fascinated when they discover a feral equivalent to their species on planets they visit. I realize that is a generalization and will not apply to everyone but will be true for the majority of our employees. It may be possible to come across someone who takes offense, but it would be extremely rare. You should also keep in mind that there are several species that will in fact have trophies of developed species such as mine. The same could be said of most of the galactic community, but it would be considered as rare as to those who could take an offense. It isn't practiced much or legal in a good majority of the galaxy but there is still the odd single combat victor who will have it done to his defeated foe in locations which would be considered backward by most of their civilization. Like here on Earth, there are multiple cultures and practices held by about every species,'' Bhors replied with a chuckle. ``You look shocked. The galaxy is still very dangerous and sometimes quite uncivilized place,'' he added after a short pause.\n\n``I... That just seems so wrong,'' Jon stated while he wondered if the man was telling the truth. He realized he was hoping the universe wasn't like that. He had no reason to doubt Bhors and he didn't see how it could be a joke. \n\n``Don't worry. I haven't ever heard of anyone having any human trophies. They're not considered that dangerous by most of the galaxy,'' Bhors tried to assure honestly. ``I mean no offense, but they just don't believe humans could be very dangerous without modern weapons and most combat challenges or duels are conducted with the most basic primitive weapons or unarmed combat,'' he tried to explain once he realized he had just insulted the entire human race. There were some races in the galactic community that took such matters very seriously and the company wouldn't look upon it kindly if he landed himself in a mortal combat for his loose tongue. Of course, he didn't know if any of the human cultures practiced old traditions such mortal combats or trial by combat, but there were still quite a few sects of among various galactic communities that did practice them although it was rare. Generally, it was considered unprofitable to find yourself caught up in those kinds of ceremonial rights and entanglements. The company would dock your pay if not worse even if you did survive something of that nature.\n\n``That still seems rather barbaric,'' Jon observed in thought. He had several nice mounts and two bear rugs serving as decorations in the main lodge of which he was quite proud, but he just hadn't ever imagined doing it to someone... like a person even if they were from a different planet. \n\n``That religious war, cleansing, or whatever you guys had in Europe, was only what a few years ago. That was brutal and barbaric,'' Abby replied without thinking about it. \n\n``No one will disagree with you there, honey, but it is best to put those days behind us,'' Rose urged as she patted Ricky on the shoulder to comfort him whether he wanted it or not after hearing part of their conversation as she placed the bill on the table. She just ignored his flinch, but let it go when he pulled away from her. She had no idea how that loving child of her memories had become this full-grown man afraid of the simplest or casual touch. \n\n``Oh, I'm sorry,'' Abby apologized as she reached out to his hand once she remembered Rick's loss of his mother was at the hands of one of the radical religious zealots. She felt worse as his hand slipped beyond her reach before she could console him. Her heart throbbed as he stood and left the table. ``I'm so sorry,'' she continued to apologize as he left them.\n\n``Don't you fret, honey. He'll be okay. He has just had a real hard time adjusting,'' Rose tried to reassure as she stared after the troubled young man.\n\n``I just wished I knew what he was thinking sometimes. Sometimes I'm glad I don't,'' Jon mumbled to himself more than to the others. ``Damn, this conversation has definitely taken a dark turn. Let's try to turn this back around before I lose business. We can pick you up on our way back through town if you want to have your little party,'' Jon tried to salvage the night.\n\n``Call me first,'' Rose replied absentmindedly. She almost wished she had declined the mad offer. She tried to justify her insanity by telling herself she could always tell him it had grown too late when he called or make up some other excuse. It was nice to think one man let alone two would be interested in her though.\n\n``I can do that. Well, I better get you guys to Thomas. I would love to see this for myself anyway,'' Jon agreed as he dropped some cash on the table to cover the bill and tip.\n\n``Thanks sweetie,'' Rose offered as engulfed Jon in another embrace. ``Take care of him,'' she whispered quietly in his ear. She had no idea what he could do for his cousin, but she did care for the two young men. She had known them since they were knee high to a fairy diddle. \n\n``You know I'll do my best,'' Jon whispered in reply.\n\n``Come here big guy,'' Rose beamed with a blush as the Bhors wrapped her up in his thick arms. She looked up into that fat face and thought for the briefest moment he was going to kiss her. She had no idea how many shades of red her face had changed before she was released from his strong embrace. ``Look how you make me blush like a silly smitten schoolgirl,'' she chuckled at her own foolishness.\n\n``I hope to do more than that when I come back,'' Bhors promised with a wink.\n\n``Come on Casanova,'' Frank groaned with a roll of his eyes.\n\n``If you want to be the other male just say so gorgeous,'' Rose joked and wondered if it was possible to make a black panther blush as she wrapped him up before he could stammer that he was married.\n\n``I don't think I have ever seen you so shaken,'' Abby laughed at Frank's expense as she took her turn to bid her farewell to the friendly human female.\n\n``I like her. She's so... familiar. It's like one of those women, who's everyone's aunt,'' Abby declared with fondness once they exited the quaint dining establishment.\n\n``Well, even aunts need a little loving from time to time,'' Bhors chuckled with an eager grin for his thoughts. Two humans in one day, that would be something to brag about to his mate. \n\nJon noticed the laughter quieted quickly as they neared the limo where Ricky waited. He had assumed his cousin had run home as usual instead of waiting on them. His cousin always seemed to do extreme things when he was upset or stressed like running up a mountain or split wood as if he was going to heat the lodge with firewood. ``Are you okay?'' he asked quietly as he approached the driver's side. He didn't get any more than a slight nod, but he was grateful that he got that much. He didn't say anymore and neither did anyone else as they clambered aboard and took their seats. He wasn't disappointed when Ricky pulled onto the road headed for Thomas instead of home. He continued to point out things of interest while they traveled as best as he could, considering the lack of real important landmarks on the short trip. He told them about the mythical origins for the name of wild Maggie's curve and the like for lack of anything better to spark interest in their community. It took him a while to realize Abby was taking pictures of everything they passed as well as him while he talked to them with what he assumed was a camera like nothing he had ever seen before. However, his words failed him as they crossed Backbone Mountain to a sight he never could have imagined.\f\n\n", "writing_bbcode_parsed": "Chapter III: Local History

``How much time do you guys have? Bhors said you guys were running behind schedule,'' Jon inquired once they were dressed and leaving the auditorium.

``Bhors, you and your damn schedule. I'm not ready to go back to that drab hotel,'' Abby complained with a grimace for the less than exhilarating accommodations.

``Well, I would love to take you guys for a short drive and tell you a little about the area. We do have an excellent burger joint. I highly recommend the mushroom swiss burger with added apple wood bacon,'' Jon offered as he tried to hide his excitement.

``And here I was considering driving you around for a second time,'' Bhors teased with a chuckle.

``I think it is my turn to drive,'' Jon bantered back quickly.

``I could agree to that if you promise a good long drive instead,'' Bhors laughed as he checked his data pad.

``I have room in my car,'' Jon offered as they approached the sheriff.

``Should I have your transport brought around?'' Tom offered as he held the door.

``I don't think it will be necessary. I think we're going for a little drive to take in the scenery,'' Frank declined with amusement for the sheriff's obvious disapproval before he had even formerly declined.

``I wouldn't recommend that Bhors, but if you insist, please utilize your transport or I can drive you,'' Tom urged anxiously.

``I can drive them. I think that is what they hired me for anyway,'' Jon volunteered as he wondered if this was actually true.

``Sort of... Your government has been kind enough to provide us a transport, but it isn't the type of transportation to promote socialization with locals. The position is for someone who can help facilitate a more personal interactions with locals, which would include local history as we travel to help us understand their local culture, views, opinions, and or needs. We need someone to show us what is important to local citizens so we can avoid conflict and ensure cooperation to achieve our company goals for the current project,'' Abby explained with a scowl of bitterness toward the oversize armored vehicle. It wasn't the entire truth, but it was the company's provided explanation. The truth was always more complicated than it needed to be. They did need a better feel for locals. It was never profitable to anger locals. It was best to keep things cordial and polite as possible because once the legal branch of the company was involved things were usually out of your hands.

``You just don't like it because it doesn't have portals,'' Bhors teased with a chuckle. He had already heard her complaints of the overkill on their security, but security was something that the company was notorious for excess. He supposed it may change some with the new man in charge but so far there hadn't been many drastic changes that he could see from his perspective.

``If you're concerned for our safety, you are free to join or follow us. It isn't a request, but I wouldn't protest if you wished to do so,'' Frank offered as a compromise.

``I can't believe you plan on... Never mind, I'll cooperate with you fully,'' Tom continued to protest until he caught Jon's almost pleading eyes. ``Where are you planning on taking them?'' he probed cautiously.

``Well, I thought we may grab a burger at the Dugout. I wanted to swing by our place to show them around a little. We could see if Ricky is hungry. He didn't do well in his interview. Maybe, he could redeem himself. He actually does need a job,'' Jon explained carefully. It wasn't the entire truth. His cousin needed a job, but not for the reasons most people needed one. His cousin didn't necessarily the income, but he needed to get off the mountain and interact with people again... even if they were aliens.

``I should have known it was something like that. I assumed he didn't do well by the way he passed me at a trot. I stepped out to see if he was okay and he was high tailing it up the mountain before I cleared the door. You might want to just skip inviting him to dinner. Just let him be if he wants to be left alone to sort things out. He can apply for a job next week or the one after. It isn't as if this project will be over any time soon. If you folks need anything else, I'm headin' home after this. I'll be there all night if you folks need anything at all. Just give me a call... and Jon, keep it slow and drive safe,'' Tom instructed with a scowl and wag of his finger he hoped would convey his seriousness once he understood the young man's intentions or at least thought he did. He should have known what the boy was doing. It was for their family business. That boy was driven. He was always about the family business. That was the reason the boy chose that deathtrap in the first place unless he was mistaken.

``Of course. Take it easy, Tom,'' Jon replied with an eager grin. He wasn't the driver his cousin was, but the roads home were hardly dangerous. If he was sure, he could manage the old course and keep them all alive he would give Bhors the ride of his life in the old rig. ``Right this way. Your chariot awaits,'' he announced as he urged them to their ride.

``Holy shit! Is that... a jeep? I didn't realize there were any of these things around anymore except in museums,'' Frank exclaimed as they rounded the corner to the sole vehicle in the parking lot except the police cruiser and armored troop transport issued to them. ``I need to let the young man know that we'll call him if we need him,'' he added before he trotted over toward the armored vehicle where he expected to find the young soldier, who had been lucky enough to draw the easy assignment of driving their armored car around, sleeping away the afternoon.

``What's a jeep?'' Abby questioned as she approached the completely open-air transport.

``The only thing on this, which is actually a jeep part is probably the grill and hood. The rest of it is customized stuff to make it resemble one. This is or was an off-road buggy. The open fenders make it illegal for road use. Well, it is illegal on any road here with painted lines on it. That is why we have a slow-moving vehicle sign on it to pass it off as agricultural equipment. I don't know if it is technically legal, but it does get us a way to skirt around the law around locally. The problem is we can only drive about thirty-five miles an hour on a road with painted lines, so it is technically being used as a slow moving vehicle. We just take the sign off when we're not on a road with painted lines. Of course, no one cares once we're on the dirt roads. I would still hate to run into a state trooper on the way home. They tend to take things too seriously,'' Jon explained with a mischievous grin.

``How do you close it?'' Bhors asked curiously as he examined the odd wheels.

``You don't. It isn't supposed to rain, so we'll be alright,'' Jon reassured.

``Oh, damn,'' Abby squealed in delight as she bound off towards where her personal photographic equipment was stored in the armored transport.

``I don't know if I have ever ridden anything quite like this,'' Bhors concluded as he finished his examination of the strange transport.

``Oh, I assure you, that you haven't. Here just climb up the wheel and hop into the back,'' Jon urged and was concerned when the big man's head was nearly as tall as the roll bar. ``You'll have to do your best to talk Ricky into taking you for a ride in this thing. He used to be so much fun when he was younger,'' Jon replied with a grin for the old memories of better times for his cousin.

``Oh, what happened,'' Bhors inquired curiously.

``A series of random unfortunate events have left him... well, you'll see,'' Jon replied with a sigh.

``See what?'' Abby questioned as she returned with Frank and her photographic device. Her personal device could capture images, but they just weren't of the same quality a device dedicated to that purpose. She watched Frank climb up over the side of the vehicle as if he had done this sort of thing before. It only took her as couple seconds to remember the man was human only a couple years ago and reasoned just as quickly that he most likely had done just that.

``I guess you get to ride shotgun. Let me give you a hand,'' Jon announced before he boosted the light doe into the passenger seat.

``He was just telling me a series of unfortunate events had a profound effect on his cousin,'' Bhors explained as he tested the sturdiness of the bar by his head. He was sure the thing was meant to protect him, but he was just grateful it was padded before he rested his head against the bottom of it.

``Oh, like what?'' Frank asked in hopes to find out the rest of the answers to his many questions.

``Well, Ricky was always different, but'' Jon began before the motor rumbled to life. ``Just listen to that. It's sweeter than poetry to my ears,'' he grinned before he began to back out of the parking space. ``I suppose a little family history is necessary to understand fully. You see back in nineteen-nineties a retired factory worker bought one hundred acres down here to live out his retirement. He built a house where he lived out his retirement, which also served as a bunk house for family members to take vacations in the great mountains of West Virginia. The property was passed down the generations and the family kept that same purpose until one heir was successful enough to set up a trust fund to support the property. Somewhere along the line the government decided to sell off sections of the surrounding national forest to reduce the crippling national debt. Money from the growing trust fund to maintain the property was used to expand the property to nearly two thousand acres, while the mining company bought the vast majority of the available government land. Coal had all but been banned but they had turned to drilling for natural gas by then. Of course, natural gas took a huge hit when they started ramping up the carbon taxes to fight climate change. This also drove electricity cost up which took a huge toll on the world economy. The former coal company turned to alternate forms of income to stay alive. They now owned nearly a quarter of a million acres across three counties. Their chief income was from timber, but someone in the family had convinced them to open their lands for tourism. The trust fund was once again tapped to build a main lodge and dozens of cabins across our land to rent out to people who wanted to explore the mountains in vehicles such as this by traveling across rugged timber roads. Those were good times for the local economy. Everywhere you looked there was a repair or fab shop. People would bring their rigs down and drive them until the wheels fell off. If they couldn't get them repaired, they would rent rigs from the resort or one of the other local sources for off road vehicles. At the height of our family's expansion, we had two lodges with plans for the third, a full-time animal hospital and wildlife rescue, several on site repair and fab shops, several hundred small cabins, larger chalets, and villas scattered across close to five thousand acres skirting the former coal company lands. It was a huge operation. Then your company bought the old coal company out and put an end to the tourism on your purchased lands. We did our best but only one lodge remains in good repair, and it has been closed for some years while the other will require more attention. When we were young, I worked summers at the lodge with Ricky. He was a different person back then,'' he explained with a grin for the fond memories.

He paused in his story to wave at the sheriff sitting on his porch as they passed. ``I think Tom's place and our family's property are the only two parcels your company doesn't own along this section of highway,'' he observed as much as complained as they continued down the road. ``Don't get me wrong Ricky was always different. His father has always been eccentric to say the least, and he had Ricky doing things... that weren't very common. Back then the family could afford eccentric hobbies. Then Ricky has always been someone of extremes. It didn't matter what he did, or I suppose I should say does. He does it one thousand percent and his father had him doing all kinds of crazy stuff. He had Ricky start Judo when he was three or four. It turned to mixed martial arts by the time he started preschool, but by then he had started small bore competition shooting as well. He didn't play regular sports like most kids. He didn't play baseball, football, or regular team sports. The closest he came to a team sport was cross country when he was in high school, but he always ran for conditioning for the mixed martial art thing. I think he only signed up for the cross-country team because he was interested in a girl who ran for the girl's team. Anyway, he was awesome at whatever he did because he took everything that serious. All of us kids wanted to be him because he was such an over achiever. However, things started to change when he lost his mom. She was killed by some lunatic screaming `Allah Akbar' while she was on a business trip with Ricky's father. They said he wasn't an actual terrorist tied to any of the known terror groups, but it didn't matter to Ricky. He became withdrawn that summer and began to study Arabic online and anything else Muslim related. I was working with him that summer and it was obvious to me that he was obsessed to the point it couldn't have been healthy. Everyone else thought it was just a faze even when he started talking about ROTC and military career instead of college and running the family business. We were on our summer break the next year when he asked me and another classmate to form a team so he could compete in a national teen shooting event being held over on Spruce Knob. He even talked Tom the sheriff you met into being the team coach. I thought maybe they had been right. Maybe it had been a phase. I thought I would do anything if I could help him return to his former self. Ricky was as good as I ever saw him for that event. He was smoking the rest of us shooters for the most part and there were teams from all over the country. He was only one event away from essentially sweeping the competition. We were in the restroom joking around before his last shoot. I was teasing him about the chance that I could actually beat him in the long rifle competition if I scored just a little better on my last flight of targets. I think that was the last time I ever saw him laughing and having fun, real fun. One of the other coaches thought it would be a good idea for the boys from his team to do their best to rattle him before he shot his last flight in his last event. They caught us in the bathroom. I still don't know everything they said to him, but I was told the gist of it. You see they were a west coast team from a private Islamic school and simple internet search would turn up Ricky's mothers name and what happened to her. All I do know is one of the boys reached out to him. I don't know if it was to poke him or push him, but it didn't matter. Ricky came unhinged, by the time they drug him off those boys they were bloody and beaten. He nearly killed the one boy. The boy was in a coma for a week. Ricky was arrested and charged with attempted murder as a hate crime and he was to be tried as an adult, because of what had happened to his mother and his recent obsession with everything Arabic. He was disqualified from the competition, expelled from school, and spent the following year in jail without bail during the trial due to his father's wealth making him a flight risk. I don't know what happened to him while he was there, but I can't recall him smiling much if any since. The only reason he isn't in prison now, is the fact that he had on his body cam, which he wore for the competition. It was pure luck that he had forgotten to turn it off after his previous shoot and it captured the whole encounter including the boy reaching for him as well as their prior threats and taunts. It was eventually declared he acted in self-defense but as I understand it, it was a miracle that was the verdict. Some people were outraged and there were even riots. I hate to admit it, I knew him, and I couldn't say that he didn't want to kill those other kids. I was there and... it was as if he was rabid. I could agree that it was temporary insanity, but it wasn't self-defense no matter what threats they made. They never stood a chance against him even if they had him outnumbered ten to one. It was even more suspect when that consulting company on his resume hired him and picked him up at the courthouse the day he was released. He hadn't even turned sixteen to get his driver's license yet. I tried to stay in touch with him while he was working for them, but it was heartbreaking... it still is. I had grown up idolizing him, but he was so changed. I wish I could just get him to do something he used to enjoy or... he just acts so different and distant now,'' he concluded with great sadness. ``Well, welcome to the entrance of The Great Outdoors Adventures,'' he announced to change the painful subject as he turned off the paved road to what used to be the main entrance to the resort which was uncharacteristically paved unlike the other private dirt and gravel road which he usually used to the location of the original house on the property.

``Our family built this for off-road tourism,'' Jon announced as the main lodge came into view. It was a massive lodge or resort clad with composite materials to resemble a gigantic log paradise. ``There are five floors with guest rooms above ground. It has four floors below ground, which house amenities such as a full gym, pool, banquet rooms, indoor shooting range, convention floor space and armory. There's an underground parking garage to house all guest vehicles and trailers they would use to haul their personal off-road equipment such as this. The family business did well and continued to grow despite the downturn in the economy due to the increased carbon emission taxes until the day you guys shut down your land for the off roading. We even started building electric off-road buggies to comply with the extreme environmental regulations. As I said, at one time, we had hundreds of chalets and villas, or cabins scattered across three counties. We had several twenty-four-hour repair shops including a twelve-bay facility here, which we will see shorty. We were a pet friendly facility with a fully staffed veterinary clinic and wildlife animal rescue shelter. I along with nearly every teen in the family spent their summers working here in one form or another as we grew up. Rick's father is the current heir or director of the trust, which allowed Ricky to live here year-round and he was part of everything. He gave gun safety courses and demos as well as driven tours by the time he was fourteen. He gave classes on the wildlife and private tours or hikes. He taught tracking and forestry like a true woodsman or park ranger. He made the national news once when he tracked down a little girl who had become lost over in Dolly Sods. He was only twelve and tracked her down and brought her out safe and sound in two days minus a few scrapes where she slid down a hillside. He managed it before the trained rescue dogs could or the air rescue people. He was a local hero for a long time after that. Everyone talked to him, and he didn't know a stranger back then. I just don't understand how he has become so withdrawn and distant,'' he paused for the troubled thoughts of his once good friend and cousin. He had once had a huge crush on his cousin, and it had broken his heart to watch his friend grow apart from him. It had been a close relationship. The relationship they now had was strained at best. ``Anyway, that was before, your company bought the failing former energy company and closed the off-road park. Our family tried to keep the main lodge open on tourism on our remaining land, but it was bleeding the massive trust fund dry quickly. Ricky's father decided to shut everything down and keep the remaining funds to maintain the properties the best he could the year I graduated high school. I had always believed I would move down here and work here full time after I graduated college. I went to work for a restaurant chain and went to school for a business degree on the side to get into management. My dream is to get the main lodge reopened and return it as it to its former glory days so I can run the bar and restaurant. That's why I'm so desperate to find a living soul to approach with my proposals. I have tried to contact someone in your company since I graduated high school and today was the first time I've managed to talk to a live person. I really loath your automated answering service,'' he declared with a chuckle for his thoughts of how his day had turned out.

``Where are you taking us if it wasn't the lodge,'' Bhors asked curiously. He was aware of a good part of UFO's activities in the area to make this current project possible, but he hadn't ever considered what the company's activities had done to the local economy. He knew the global warming and environmental laws had been largely due to their need of carbon for another planet lacking carbon in its atmosphere to promote photosynthesis and plant life on a scale to make colonization profitable. He was also very aware of how crippling those policies had been to Earth's global economy which had been an unintended consequence which until this point had been considered a bonus for reducing costs of purchasing land as well as preordering of essential materials. Some steel mills have been stockpiling what little they could produce while maintaining their strict carbon emission regulations for nearly a decade. However, UFO was going to open every closed coal mine and oil well on the planet Earth to harvest the carbon rich deposits very soon. They would be purchasing half of the planets production of steel alloys for years to come by last estimate as well. There was even talk of leaking the truth about the importance of maintaining carbon in the atmosphere so the governments would loosen the carbon emission standards to allow more steel production for UFO's consumption. This project should stir enough economic stimulus to return Earth's financial markets back to where they should have been while increasing the value of the shares the company already held in Earths markets and minimizing the total cost of altering the new planet they had discovered for colonization. It was working out for the most part better than anyone had ever dared to project. There were several managers looking for new locations to apply what is being called the `Environmental Deception Tactic' or EDT for short. Meanwhile, they would use those carbon rich fossil fuels to not only power older technology power plants to aid the colonization energy needs but convert the carbon deficient planet to a thriving colony over the next century. The extensive construction projects to harvest and export the raw material should basically cause an economic boom for Earth and provide huge growth for UFO as well. The planning of this project had already been in the works for over two centuries and it was a true testament to UFO's long-term strategies for growth. Colonization of a new habitable planet made for very lucrative investment in the galactic community. He wasn't sure but he wouldn't be surprised if it easily surpassed the profit margins of weapon systems or platforms long term. First, they needed to build an orbital lift and space station to make transporting the materials from Earth into orbit more economical. Most people just didn't realize the cost of transporting heavy goods out of the gravitational pull of a planet. It required vast amounts of energy and energy cost credits. Energy was always a substantial cost of any operation but transportation off planet surfaces were some of the highest energy consuming operations.

Energy costs was one of the reasons the company had not only bought all the coal and gas rich land it could but also bought huge tracks of land along the river valleys. They owned over half of the properties in the town itself which would be at the bottom of a lake in a few years once the hydroelectric dams were completed. They should have owned more by now, but there had been growing competition for properties over the years. It had only been the odd small properties they had missed at first, but the size and number had grown drastically more recently. There was an investment company, which had nearly bought every property of interest that sold along the Cheat River valleys for almost two years. In some cases, the investment company was buying properties before UFO even became aware they were coming onto the market. They still didn't know what the other company's plans were. They didn't even know how to contact anyone from the company. The competition had managed to cover their activities under multiple false companies before UFO had even figured it out, which was the same strategy UFO had deployed to prevent competition into driving up the cost of purchasing land on the speculation that they could profit by selling it to UFO when they needed it or when the value skyrocketed at the completion of the construction projects. UFO still didn't know how anyone on Earth figured UFO have been buying properties through multiple fronts to even speculate on the land purchases. They would soon have to start dedicating more resources to identify those behind the investment company and deal with them as upper management saw fit.

``Well, we have to stop here to change vehicles,'' Jon answered as he pulled up to the large building which once served as the main repair and fabrication shop for the resort. He waited for the overhead door to open before he pulled inside. ``This is and will probably always be my favorite vehicle here, but it just seats four. We will switch to what we used to call the limo. It is that six-wheeled monstrosity over there. Don't get me wrong. It is very capable with six-wheel drive, but it is massive and powered by a less than excessive electric power plant. I suppose it may have comparable power, but it has three rows of three pivoting captain's chairs in the back and a driver and passenger seat in the front. It also has windows that can be rolled up to the retractable roof if it is raining, which adds tremendous weight. It must weigh four times this buggy. The axles have less travel to keep those big fat agricultural tires from rubbing the passenger compartment. It looks mean but realistically, it is all show. It was popular for families to go on tours, but it was never meant to take on any of the tougher trails. It was always kept on the tamer gravel roads such as we came down the mountain from the lodge on,'' Jon explained as he parked. ``Then I will take you to what we call the original house. It was rebuilt back in twenty-one thirty-three, but the family has kept it very close to the original design. It is just slightly bigger, with larger guest rooms and a locked vault for the family armory. But it is the only building still in use and where I live with Ricky,'' he continued while he lowered the back steps of the former off-road limo. ``I moved down here after my employer filed for bankruptcy, for a place to live in exchange for trying to keep the lodge from falling apart while it wasn't being used. We have tried to keep most of the chalets and cabins in repair, but we only have a small budget. Ricky is one hell of a worker, and he knows how to do a lot of maintenance stuff including plumbing and simple electrical repairs such as replacing a light fixture or wall switch. He will work you to death if you try to keep up with him on anything labor intensive. I hate cutting firewood with him. I usually just let him have at it, while I work on something else... anything else,'' he added as he jumped into the driver seat. There just wasn't the satisfaction from the whine of the electric motors as there was from the old combustion engine, but it would still serve his purpose. ``Anyway, we will pick Ricky up there, before we head back to town for dinner,'' he promised but deep down he was hoping it would work out that simple for him.

The quiet soft whine of the electric motor allowed Jon to drive quiet enough to witness Ricky sitting on porch with his shirt off as usual, but with the small fawn in his lap while he fed it from a bottle. Jon never said a word, but he was more than convinced this scene was sure to get his cousin a job. Of course, the gentle manner Ricky tried to quiet the frightened fawn as he drove closer was more evidence of what he felt was his cousin's true character no matter what brutal violence he had witnessed in that bathroom years ago.

Abby was taken back by the scene before her. There simply was no way it could be staged. If it was, those two had remarkable skill or unbelievable luck to pull it off as they had. Neither of which was displayed at the strange young male's interview. She would admit that she hadn't known what to expect from her first laborer applicant, but she expected more than the young man gave her. She had spent countless hours with bureaucrats but that isn't the same as the common worker. She expected a more comfortable and leisurely interaction. The young man's interview was anything but comfortable. She remembered being excited when the two healthy young males entered the room. She didn't really care which one she interviewed. She just wanted to talk to a real male instead of a lying and conniving political functionary for a change. Of course, being a healthy young male was just a bonus for her. She hadn't ever been with a human male before and the thoughts of what may lay hidden under all his clothes weighed heavy on her mind as he had approached. He was tall and slender but had a nice attractive color to him. He wasn't as dark as some humans while not looking sickly and pale like some of the other humans she had met. He had more of a brownish red tint to him which was very similar to her summer coat. ``Please sit down. I'm Abby,'' she had greeted as she extended her hand in the human greeting, but she was puzzled when he handed her his papers instead of accepting her hand in the human manner as she had expected.

``Yes, ma'am,'' Ricky replied as he sat nervously in the chair after handing over his resume.

``Your name is Rick,'' Abby continued as she scanned the forms. ``You're a linguist?'' she read as much as asked as his multiple human languages nearly leapt off the page at her.

``No ma'am,'' Ricky answered uneasily as he stared at the desk in front of him.

``It says here that you are fluent in five languages,'' Abby continued as she studied the young man.

``I'm a common laborer or simple repairman, ma'am,'' Ricky corrected through his gritted teeth. He should have read it, before he left the house. He knew his cousin meant well, by trying to help him, but he just didn't need the help or a job despite his father and cousin's insistence that he did.

``You did repair work or consulting for this Falcon consulting group,'' Abby questioned as she continued to study the young man who refused to look up at her before she glanced back at the resume in her hands. It listed four years employment but lacked any details to what the job pertained. Then there wasn't any employment listed for the last three years.

``I'm sorry ma'am, but I'm not at liberty to discuss any details of my employment with that company,'' Ricky replied reluctantly.

Abby was taken back by the young man's ambiguous statement. She glanced back towards where Frank was watching over them and noticed the young man had perked the former human's interest. She decided to continue when she caught Frank's nod as he stepped a little closer. ``You have quite an interesting list of skills and hobbies. Was your work there of a security matter?'' she continued to probe once she recognized a couple human fighting discipline ranks listed towards the end of the resume. However, the young man just sat in silence until it became more awkward than it already had been.

``I... I'm sorry ma'am. I can't discuss... I'm sorry to have wasted your time,'' Ricky apologized before he stood to leave.

Abby still didn't know what to think of the young man, who had stood up abruptly and walked out on her before his interview had much more than started, as she disembarked from the strange transport. She barely recognized the others follow her lead as she stepped forward slowly, while the young man cooed and shushed the small youngling that could very possibly be Earth's feral equivalent to her own species in his lap. She watched with genuine interest as he fought to get her to take to the bottle in his hand. ``Maybe, I could help,'' she offered in a soft coo when she realized she was within arm's reach, while the fawn became fixated on her. She took the bottle from the young man's hand, before the fawn began to nurse hesitantly at first, but more enthusiastically once she began to stroke it with her other hand.

``Thank you, ma'am'' Ricky expressed his sincerest gratitude for the woman's help, but his words began to trail off as he looked up at the familiar voice for the first time. He had been angry when he heard her voice. He couldn't believe his cousin had brought the strange alien home with him. Then he was relieved when the fawn in his lap finally resumed eating, but his thoughts had shattered at the vision before him.

Jon began to think his cousin had finally broken what was left of his mind as he slowly passed the fawn to Abby before he staggered into the house while rubbing his eyes and shaking his head as if he was hallucinating. ``I take it, he didn't look at you the whole time he was at his interview,'' he stated in disbelief as he watched Ricky go. ``Give me a sec, and we'll be on our way,'' he added without waiting for a confirmation before he darted in after Ricky. It took more effort, than he ever imagined possible to get his dysfunctional cousin into a shirt, but he did manage it. ``Take care of your pet so we can go get some dinner ourselves,'' he instructed but received no reply as he pushed Ricky back outside where their guests were watching Abby play in the yard with the fawn.

``I take it that is part of the wildlife rescue you had mentioned,'' Bhors inquired while he questioned the probability of the coincidental scene. The odds of having the fawn at their house gave evidence to the whole thing being set up or staged, but he just couldn't imagine how they had managed it or knew to have one in advance.

``It would be, but I'm afraid our permits for that part of our family business are long past expired. Its mother was killed down the road a bit, and it followed someone home. At least, that was the story,'' Jon answered but nearly laughed at his cousin's obvious blushes. ``Go on put her in the barn. You realize you're the one cleaning up after her too,'' he instructed before he jumped into one of the passenger seats in the back.

``You're not driving,'' Bhors questioned with concern. He realized he knew very little about the other young man, but he didn't get a warm fuzzy feeling about letting the man pilot a transport when he could barely look up from the ground more than a few seconds at a time except for the one moment he stared at them while working his mouth like an aquatic out of the water.

*     *     *

``Well, look who came into town. Where have you two... Oh, my lordie,'' Rose exclaimed in greeting before she simply gasped and stared in disbelief.

``Rose, this is Bhors, this little thing is Abby, and that stern looking fellow is Frank,'' Jon introduced in pure delight at his old friend's expense.

``Oh, lordie,'' Rose repeated while she tried to gather an ounce of composure.

``They're from that UFO company,'' Jon explained as he put his arm around the plump older woman to comfort her.

``Well, of course they are,'' Rose choked out under obvious strain. ``You should've called me. I'm far too old for this kind of a shock,'' she complained playfully before she hugged the young handsome man. ``I'm sorry sweetie. I was expecting little green or gray men with big buggy eyes or something,'' she tried to explain before she did her best to embrace the slight framed doe, which had walked in on two legs behind two of her favorite customers.

``You wouldn't want a visit from the gray men. They're not very sociable with the other civilized races in the galaxy and the green men... Well, I think the gray men have mostly wiped them out. Our company has given a few green men employment for their safety, but there are too few of them left. They may never be able to recover their numbers,'' Abby replied while she was engulfed in the big woman's embrace.

``Really?'' Rose replied for lack of knowing what else to say. She hadn't known there were gray men or green men for that matter. She had just said it, because of the old movies.

``It's true. We don't know a whole lot about the gray men. They're from a remote area of the galaxy which we haven't spent much time exploring. They didn't like the little we did do. They're not above trying to blast scouting ships to smithereens with no warning. We've never let it escalate to an all-out war as far as the galactic council is concerned, but we have exchanged shots on more than one occasion with them. It makes us wonder just how sparse inhabitable planets are in their self-proclaimed territories. It would explain their unwarranted hostilities,'' Bhors explained as he stepped forward once the round woman released Abby. He knew full well it was more than a few exchanged shots. The only thing that kept it from being declared a war by the galactic council was neither side had attacked each other's home worlds, which could be attributed to distance and lack of resources for a successful attack. Both sides were hesitant to commit the resources for further escalation. Losses on both sides had been heavy as it was. It was decided that they were too evenly matched for any escalation to be profitable.

``And look at this handsome hunka, you've brought me,'' Rose tried to compliment despite her nervousness. She took a deep breath before she gathered her courage to hug the large black bear standing in her restaurant.

``I have never coupled with a female human,'' Bhors stated as he returned the woman's forward embrace. At least, he thought it should be rather forward for human standards. It was so difficult to tell with the inadequacies in the species behavior guides.

``Slow down there Casanova. She was just being friendly,'' Frank managed to choke out despite his hearty laughter.

``Who says?'' Rose teased as she turned to what appeared to be a black panther with penetrating jade green eyes. ``I may be getting along in my years, but I'm not dead,'' she joked as she hugged the simply gorgeous feline. ``Ricky... Are you going to give me a hug today?'' Rose asked with a sigh as she turned to Ricky who had followed up in the rear. She already knew the answer. ``You used to hug me when you were little. You remember those days, when you boys would sneak over to my place for piece of black raspberry pie,'' she continued to tease as she shook his hand.

``I'm sorry, but I don't understand. Is she saying she wants a little playfulness?'' Bhors inquired curiously. There was no hiding his blush when the woman joined Jon and Frank with side busting laughter. He didn't know why he blushed, but he couldn't stop his irrational reaction just the same.

``Come on stud. Let's get you all seated,'' Rose laughed at the big man's teasing.

``That's a shame. I was beginning to think I may be able to mount both a human male and female in the same day,'' Bhors admitted his disappointment. That should be some sort of record.

``Humans don't talk about that sort of thing openly,'' Jon corrected after nearly stumbling over his own feet at hearing the man's words.

``Are all humans like that? I thought it was just the overstuffed bureaucrats,'' Abby admitted as she glanced at Bhors who appeared genuinely disappointed. She didn't put as much stock in those species guides as others did. It was a good place to start and gave you things to consider but she really liked to examine the individual when possible.

``Well, I'm not most people. How was he Jon?'' Rose teased and wasn't disappointed when he turned two shades of red. It had only been a hunch, but his blushes told her she was right. Of course, it wasn't as if the big bear man would have had many other choices of males for that sort of mischief in this part of the world. If she could think of something else to say, she may get Jon to turn purple at this rate.

``He was pretty good, but I have to warn you they are very open sexually. It was very... erotic,'' Jon admitted quietly despite the urge to crawl into a hole and die.

``Is that so,'' Rose questioned as she led them to a table. ``Your favorite table so you can watch the door,'' she offered to Ricky as she let them seat themselves. She knew Ricky had developed some rather unusual habits after his mother had passed and sitting where he could watch the door was one of them. ``Honey, please sit here so he has to look at your pretty face whenever he looks at the door. He could use a little of that openness if you can break through that wall, he has built around him,'' she teased as she now watched Ricky blush despite his insistence to stare at the table in front of him.

*     *     *

Jon had never been happier to get his hands on the menu, for the excuse to change the subject. It wasn't as if there had been anyone else in the place, and it wasn't as if Rose and Ricky didn't know he was gay, but he still wasn't quite as used to the candid conversation of his sex life as Bhors obviously was... or Rose evidently. He was even more delighted when the conversation eventually turned to business, which continued well into their dinner.

``I don't know if I can open the lands up for an off-road park until the construction of all our slated projects are complete to know exactly which land would be available or just how much would be acceptable for such use. However, I'm more than interested in you reopening your lodge and other lodging sites. You see we'll be bringing a rather large number of UFO workers from other locations to help train and work alongside the human workers we take into our employment. We can house a good number of them on the ship we'll be using as a headquarters when it lands, but the accommodations on a ship can begin to feel rather cramped quickly for our workers. Of course, it can be rather noisy as well, since we will be using it for a landing platform until we have a suitable loading and unloading dock built. It would be good for them to have safe places to stay to give them a break from living on the ship. We have considered building temporary housing units for some of the workers, but we are afraid we'll be already pushing the limits of available workforce which is already spread too thin. We have what are more or less freight containers which contain bedding we use as well as market for temporary or very short-term housing for remote sites and start up colonies, but they are even less comfortable than the accommodations on the ship and this is far from a short-term project. The only benefit of them is they are cheap and plentiful. All this would make accommodations off the worksite a more attractive option. How long do you suppose it would take for you to have some of your housing units open and available? Would you require any upfront payment for use of the properties if we wanted to use them for the next ten years or so?'' Bhors inquired curiously.

``You mean you would want to rent every room for ten years?'' Jon questioned in disbelief of what he thought he had heard.

``Well, to start. I don't know the numbers of employees we require to circulate through an operational platform. That isn't part of my scope of this project. I would have to do some research of other operational facilities to have an accurate estimate for you,'' Bhors answered before he took the last bite of his greasy sandwich. They would most likely build some housing once they could spare the manpower, but that wasn't part of his assignment. A different project manager would have to handle that project. If he could arrange off site sleeping and recreational areas for workers to get a little time to reset, it would greatly reduce the urgency for the need of separate housing from the banks of bunks for sleeping in the massive ship's hulls. ``I just don't understand why such a greasy, salty, and generally sloppy sandwich can be so delightful. I'm starting to understand why Frank is always asking for these things,'' he added after taking a moment to savor his last bite.

``I... I think we can have the main lodge you saw earlier open in a few days, one week at the latest. It would take longer to get all the remaining cabins, and such cleaned up and ready for guests though. I would only need a handshake from you to get started. I would have to work out some figures before I can give you an estimate on the cost of renting the whole lodge. You must understand that you can't just cram ten people into a room though. The safety inspectors would shut us down if you did,'' Jon answered while trying to hide his excitement.

``Five or six is more common for those who enjoy multiple partners in a night. What about you Rose? Do you enjoy multiple partners?'' Bhors inquired as she approached their table.

``Oh, honey I haven't enjoyed the company of a man in what seems a coons age let alone more than one,'' Rose laughed at the absurd suggestion until she wiped the dampness from the corner of her eye.

``What? How... but... I... your human ways seem so odd. It is a complete travesty that no one takes care of your needs. I would...'' Bhors began to offer until his data pad began to sound. ``Please excuse...'' he began as he glanced at his device. ``Oh, the timing. We need to go to Thomas. Our ship has finally been cleared for landing and the captain intends to do just that before someone changes their mind. I'd love to offer my services to see to your needs, but I'm afraid I really do need to see to a few things. Maybe if I can get back this way, I'll see if I can satisfy you,'' Bhors offered but became confused when the woman continued to stare at him until he became uncomfortable. ``I could find another male if you wish. Would you prefer a canine or feline for playfulness? Oh, I'm sure there will be more than one equine with the ship. If you have never been with one, you must take one for a ride. You'll be sore when he's done with you, but it is so worth it,'' he continued until he realized he had assumed she preferred males. ``Of course, there will be plenty of females wanting a little playfulness with their first human if you prefer female company,'' he was very uncomfortable by the time a smile began to grow across her face.

``I thought you were just teasing. I... I can't believe I'm considering... I... maybe if you could find a male to join you, I would like to try that,'' Rose finally stammered out despite her better judgement, before she began to question her sanity at hearing the words from her mouth. She didn't even know if she could do it with someone she barely knew. She never even imagined such behavior and she had just agreed to carry on with two strange men, which weren't even human. They were aliens from a different planet! She decided she had lost her damn mind. She tried to convince herself she would never see the man again. He was just flirting or teasing. He couldn't be serious.

``Is there anything you want me to look for in the male,'' Bhors inquired with genuine concern.

``Just surprise me. Jon has my number if you ever get back this way,'' Rose answered and began to ponder the odds that she would ever see the man again. They had to be very long. She had to admit she wasn't a spring chicken anymore, but his faked passes at her did make her feel better. She was sure she would never see him again, which was fine with her. She couldn't help smiling at him, nevertheless. It was nice to feel wanted by a handsome man for a change even if he was an alien bear. She shook her head for her foolish thoughts.

``We do have guest rooms in the house. I don't want to let go of this deal just because your ship is landing. I could punch up some numbers tonight and give them to you when you wake in the morning,'' Jon offered quickly. He didn't want to let this to slip through his fingers. The glare he received from Ricky for his efforts nearly startled him.

``We need a few days to... redecorate,'' Ricky corrected once he was convinced his insane cousin wasn't going to recognize his concern.

It took Jon a few seconds of thought to identify his cousin's source of apprehension, but he did remember something Abby had explained as she ordered her mushroom, swiss, and bacon burger instead of the fresh salad Rose had promised to prepare for her. She had explained that every species of the civilized galaxy was of predator stock as far as she knew. Prey just didn't seem to survive to evolve into higher societies was the current scientific theory in layman's terms. She even went as far to display her teeth, which were nothing like the teeth of the whitetail deer like the fawn back at their house. ``I do believe he is concerned about some of the decorations or trophies on the walls. They would resemble well, you, as he nodded towards Abby. We have a few bear rugs for decorations as well. Of course, the lodge is decorated with all manner of stuffed wildlife. I hope that isn't a problem,'' Jon explained carefully.

``I assure you, that isn't a problem. Most species of the galactic community are fascinated when they discover a feral equivalent to their species on planets they visit. I realize that is a generalization and will not apply to everyone but will be true for the majority of our employees. It may be possible to come across someone who takes offense, but it would be extremely rare. You should also keep in mind that there are several species that will in fact have trophies of developed species such as mine. The same could be said of most of the galactic community, but it would be considered as rare as to those who could take an offense. It isn't practiced much or legal in a good majority of the galaxy but there is still the odd single combat victor who will have it done to his defeated foe in locations which would be considered backward by most of their civilization. Like here on Earth, there are multiple cultures and practices held by about every species,'' Bhors replied with a chuckle. ``You look shocked. The galaxy is still very dangerous and sometimes quite uncivilized place,'' he added after a short pause.

``I... That just seems so wrong,'' Jon stated while he wondered if the man was telling the truth. He realized he was hoping the universe wasn't like that. He had no reason to doubt Bhors and he didn't see how it could be a joke.

``Don't worry. I haven't ever heard of anyone having any human trophies. They're not considered that dangerous by most of the galaxy,'' Bhors tried to assure honestly. ``I mean no offense, but they just don't believe humans could be very dangerous without modern weapons and most combat challenges or duels are conducted with the most basic primitive weapons or unarmed combat,'' he tried to explain once he realized he had just insulted the entire human race. There were some races in the galactic community that took such matters very seriously and the company wouldn't look upon it kindly if he landed himself in a mortal combat for his loose tongue. Of course, he didn't know if any of the human cultures practiced old traditions such mortal combats or trial by combat, but there were still quite a few sects of among various galactic communities that did practice them although it was rare. Generally, it was considered unprofitable to find yourself caught up in those kinds of ceremonial rights and entanglements. The company would dock your pay if not worse even if you did survive something of that nature.

``That still seems rather barbaric,'' Jon observed in thought. He had several nice mounts and two bear rugs serving as decorations in the main lodge of which he was quite proud, but he just hadn't ever imagined doing it to someone... like a person even if they were from a different planet.

``That religious war, cleansing, or whatever you guys had in Europe, was only what a few years ago. That was brutal and barbaric,'' Abby replied without thinking about it.

``No one will disagree with you there, honey, but it is best to put those days behind us,'' Rose urged as she patted Ricky on the shoulder to comfort him whether he wanted it or not after hearing part of their conversation as she placed the bill on the table. She just ignored his flinch, but let it go when he pulled away from her. She had no idea how that loving child of her memories had become this full-grown man afraid of the simplest or casual touch.

``Oh, I'm sorry,'' Abby apologized as she reached out to his hand once she remembered Rick's loss of his mother was at the hands of one of the radical religious zealots. She felt worse as his hand slipped beyond her reach before she could console him. Her heart throbbed as he stood and left the table. ``I'm so sorry,'' she continued to apologize as he left them.

``Don't you fret, honey. He'll be okay. He has just had a real hard time adjusting,'' Rose tried to reassure as she stared after the troubled young man.

``I just wished I knew what he was thinking sometimes. Sometimes I'm glad I don't,'' Jon mumbled to himself more than to the others. ``Damn, this conversation has definitely taken a dark turn. Let's try to turn this back around before I lose business. We can pick you up on our way back through town if you want to have your little party,'' Jon tried to salvage the night.

``Call me first,'' Rose replied absentmindedly. She almost wished she had declined the mad offer. She tried to justify her insanity by telling herself she could always tell him it had grown too late when he called or make up some other excuse. It was nice to think one man let alone two would be interested in her though.

``I can do that. Well, I better get you guys to Thomas. I would love to see this for myself anyway,'' Jon agreed as he dropped some cash on the table to cover the bill and tip.

``Thanks sweetie,'' Rose offered as engulfed Jon in another embrace. ``Take care of him,'' she whispered quietly in his ear. She had no idea what he could do for his cousin, but she did care for the two young men. She had known them since they were knee high to a fairy diddle.

``You know I'll do my best,'' Jon whispered in reply.

``Come here big guy,'' Rose beamed with a blush as the Bhors wrapped her up in his thick arms. She looked up into that fat face and thought for the briefest moment he was going to kiss her. She had no idea how many shades of red her face had changed before she was released from his strong embrace. ``Look how you make me blush like a silly smitten schoolgirl,'' she chuckled at her own foolishness.

``I hope to do more than that when I come back,'' Bhors promised with a wink.

``Come on Casanova,'' Frank groaned with a roll of his eyes.

``If you want to be the other male just say so gorgeous,'' Rose joked and wondered if it was possible to make a black panther blush as she wrapped him up before he could stammer that he was married.

``I don't think I have ever seen you so shaken,'' Abby laughed at Frank's expense as she took her turn to bid her farewell to the friendly human female.

``I like her. She's so... familiar. It's like one of those women, who's everyone's aunt,'' Abby declared with fondness once they exited the quaint dining establishment.

``Well, even aunts need a little loving from time to time,'' Bhors chuckled with an eager grin for his thoughts. Two humans in one day, that would be something to brag about to his mate.

Jon noticed the laughter quieted quickly as they neared the limo where Ricky waited. He had assumed his cousin had run home as usual instead of waiting on them. His cousin always seemed to do extreme things when he was upset or stressed like running up a mountain or split wood as if he was going to heat the lodge with firewood. ``Are you okay?'' he asked quietly as he approached the driver's side. He didn't get any more than a slight nod, but he was grateful that he got that much. He didn't say anymore and neither did anyone else as they clambered aboard and took their seats. He wasn't disappointed when Ricky pulled onto the road headed for Thomas instead of home. He continued to point out things of interest while they traveled as best as he could, considering the lack of real important landmarks on the short trip. He told them about the mythical origins for the name of wild Maggie's curve and the like for lack of anything better to spark interest in their community. It took him a while to realize Abby was taking pictures of everything they passed as well as him while he talked to them with what he assumed was a camera like nothing he had ever seen before. However, his words failed him as they crossed Backbone Mountain to a sight he never could have imagined.\f

", "pools_count": 0, "title": "United Fur Org: Chapter III: Local History", "deleted": "f", "public": "t", "mimetype": "application/msword", "pagecount": "1", "rating_id": "2", "rating_name": "Adult", "ratings": [ { "content_tag_id": "4", "name": "Sexual Themes", "description": "Erotic imagery, sexual activity or arousal", "rating_id": "2" } ], "submission_type_id": "12", "type_name": "Writing - Document", "guest_block": "t", "friends_only": "f", "comments_count": "0", "views": "143" }