The Unexplored (For Frankfly)
 

Kit sighed as she fiddled with the little control panel in front of her, absently tapping at the screen of the radar, hoping that something would appear on it. The fox morph absolutely hated this trip. They'd been floating through unexplored space for damn near six days now and they hadn't sighted one hostile object. That was quite annoying to the weapons specialist. But it wasn't like she would have had much to do on the ship to begin with. She was on a scientific exploration team, with a bunch of humans and a few other stragglers who had no formal training in blowing things up! Heck, for all their sciency talk, they still couldn't tell what gender he was... and t hat was a load of fun for the fox.

"Something wrong, Kit?" Captain Amia asked from her chair at the top of the bridge. She brushed a few strands of red hair from her face, glaring down at the lazy alien. She was a tough captain, and enforced a strict measure of discipline over her ship, but it really didn't do much to sedate the natural trickster tenancies of their resident fox.

"Not at all captain, just making sure everything's in working order," she said, bored.

"Well stay vigilant. Never know what's going to happen out here in the unxplored territories.

"If the past six days are anything to go off of... NOTHING will happen."

"Well, let's just hope it stays like that." She nodded and looked around to the rest of the bridge crew. "Status report," she said, wanting to make sure everything else was running smoothly.

Lanka appeared on a holo screen nearby and nodded, rubbing her head nervously. "Um, um, all engines running at nominal capacity ma'am..."

The emotionless face of a beautiful blonde woman turned to face her captain. She was sitting behind a nearby console, observing a variety of blinking lights and screens which seemed to be displaying a great deal of information.

"Captain Minxe," she greeted in a monotone. "All propulsion thrusters are functioning normally. All power levels are normal. The spacecraft interior regulator is functioning normally," the woman continued on with the dull report. Her lack of enthusiasm wasn't due to the fact that the nature of her status report was quite boring, but rather, as an android, she had difficulty showing emotions, especially when given an order, such as 'status report'. "All other minor systems are functioning normally," the robot finally concluded, after listing nearly twenty other components of the ship, classifying them all as 'functioning normally'. "Status report ended," she stated simply, turning back to her wall of screens and buttons, painfully unaware that she had just bored anyone listening half to death.

"Ugh, finally," sighed the face of a woman who had appeared on a separate holo screen next to the one bearing Lanka's image. Apparently, this woman, whose bob haircut was a violent shade of bubblegum pink, had been waiting to speak. "Nothin' to report," she said curtly. "Delra out."

With that, the screen on which her face was on disappeared.

Tipi, the cabin girl of the star ship, looked disdainfully at the spot where Delra's face had just been. In Tipi's mind, Delra was lucky to have been able to become a navigator, and when she behaved in such an unprofessional manner, it tore the cabin girl up inside. Even though she was fairly certain that she could do a better job than Delra, Tipi didn't say anything. After all, she was the lowest rank on the ship... Not even part of the crew, really.

"Um... Captain? I-Is there anything I can do for you?" Tipi asked nervously, a timidness that could be seen in her red eyes. The girl was only looking for approval... She knew that if she did well here, it could lead to better things for her.

The captain smiled at Tipi. "You can bring lunch around. It's about time for midday meals." She leaned back and rubbed her head. "But just remember that Kit and Delra are on half ration until further notice for their behavior."

Kit rolled her eye. "Aww come on, how was I supposed to know that switching a few pipes would make hot water run cold?"

"You knew because you were the one who took the schematics from my room," Amia scolded. "Anyway, Tipi, just bring the stuff around and join us for lunch up on the bridge."

Tipi had to quickly stifle a smug smile as the captain informed her that both Kit and Delra were on half ration. Kit was another member of the crew that annoyed Tipi: always quick to make jokes, and thoroughly unprofessional. Just to make sure that any of the crew hadn't caught her quick, gloating grin, she tossed her shoulder-length purple hair (a trait common for women from the planet Taelon, as was her pale, blue skin) and muttered, "Yes, captain."

Tipi left to perform her duties, the captain's last words still hanging in her mind as she absentmindedly retrieved the crew's lunch. She had been given permission to eat with the crew! It was almost like being a real member of it, but yet, it was so far off at the same time. Food was quite unglamorous stuff: thick, circular white disks of varying sizes. This disk was then supposed to be heated to the amount specified on the package. When prepared, it replicated the taste of various foods, while having perfect nutritional value as well. Tipi selected the finest flavors for the captain, Lanka, and herself. As for Kit and Delra, however, Tipi selected a single ration of chicken soup a piece, and didn't even bother to heat it all the way. She knew it was wrong, but it was her personal way of punishing those who she was so jealous of.

She returned to the bridge with the meal fully prepared, and began to distribute it among those on the deck, serving the captain first, before finally sending Delra's meal up the chute that led to the navigation deck.

Amia nodded and smiled at her, sniffing her food. "Ah, thank you Tipi. Prompt as usual."

Kit growled a little bit as she sipped her soup. "Ych... Captain, my food didn't finish cooking! Grr, the lil cabin girl isn't doing her job properly!"

Amia sighed. "Kit, no need to be so sensitive, I'm sure it's fine."

"It is not fine! Grr!" She turned and glared at the Taelon, ears laid back.

Amia frowned. "tipi did you not finish heating her food all the way?"

Tipi looked around uncomfortably as Delra's face appeared on the holo screen once more.

"Who made this food?" the pink-haired woman demanded angrily. "And why am I only getting half rations?"

The pale blue skin on Tipi's cheeks was darkening as her face grew hot with embarrassment. She decided it was best not to lie to the captain.

"Well, captain," she began, her regular, quiet voice now reduced to something of a squeak. "Um... N-Not all the way... No."

She looked fearfully at the captain.

"I-I just thought that since..." she couldn't speak anymore, hoping the captain would see that her intentions were really just more humorous than anything, and hoping her commanding officer would agree with her that both Kit and Delra deserved it... However, this was seeming more and more unlikely by the moment.

Off to the side, Lady, the android, was curiously watching the scenario unfold.

Amia sighed. "Delra, you and Kit are on half ration for your terrible attitude and your lack of professionalism. As to the food not being cooked properly..." she looked over at Tipi. "Tipi, please follow me to my quarters. I believe that a disciplinary session is in order for this."

Kit snickered gently to herself. "Heee, Tipi's gettin' a spankin'," she said in a sing-song voice, leaning back in her chair."

"Kit, if you want to be next, then by all means, keep it up."

"Shutting up, shutting up, hee."

Amia sighed and stood up from her place, motioning for Tipi to follow.

Tipi's blue face grew a darker shade. The fact that she was about to get punished for her actions was bad enough, but the jeering from Kit made it nearly unbearable for the shy cabin girl. Was a spanking really what the captain had in store for her? She had never been spanked before...

"C-Captain, please, reconsider," Tipi pleaded, but followed the captain as she had been commanded to. "I swear, it won't happen again!"

What would it be like? Would the captain hit hard? Would she bare her bottom? The questions flew frantically through Tipi's mind as she followed her commanding officer down the hall. Maybe spankings weren't as bad as they sounded. Tipi found herself instinctively reaching to cover her bottom, which was covered in tight, form fitting black spandex, similar to what all the other crew members were wearing. Tipi's rear wasn't really round or large, but a bit wide...

As the captain and Tipi left the bridge, the curvaceous blonde android looked to the fox.

"What is a 'spankin''?" the robotic woman asked Kit in a confused tone. She had just searched her databases, and "spankins'" did not seem to be a part of any spacecraft procedures.

The fox looked back at her. "Hm? Oh, well first off, it's actually called a spankinG, with a G on the end. It's a form of punishment meant to embarrass the spankee. Basically, what happens is that the spanker will put the spankee in several different positions, like over the lap or bent over a chair, and slap their bottom several times with either their hand or a bunch of other implements." She grinned. "Doesn't always work the way it's supposed to, though, hehehe."

The captain lead Tipi into her quarters, a large circular room which was the most spacious of the crew. She took the younger woman's arm and had her stand off to the side as she went over to her dresser and rifled through a drawer for a few moments, before turning to reveal a wide, comically large hairbrush. Judging by its size, it was not meant for brushing hair. "This is your first offense Ensign," she stated. "So with that in mind, I will be lenient on you, but I want it known that I won't tolerate such petty behavior on my ship. And since you acted like a child, you shall also be punished like one." She sat on the edge of the bed. "Approach me."

"Oh," Lady said, although it was clear that she still didn't understand very well. "Is a spanking," she made sure to pronounce the 'G'. "Standard protocol on a ship?"

Meanwhile, Tipi's eyes had already started to water. This was exceptionally embarrassing for the ambitious young cabin girl. Still, she approached the captain as instructed, knowing that if she disobeyed orders or argued, that she would only make it worse on herself. She was only thankful that the captain hadn't asked her to lower her pants... yet. She reached the captain's side, and awkwardly waited for further instruction, her hands behind her back, and her red eyes filled with fear.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, although she was certain that it was too late to apologize.