FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Augtober 5, 1106

The rain was pouring, as was usual for the city. Not that she minded rain, but she couldn't help but wish that someone else had been sent on this assignment. Maybe a duck. They liked the rain. Unfortunately, however, unlike other species, they weren't sentient. She was also in Seattle on business anyway, so she figured she was probably the best for the job, or at least the closest.

She walked down the empty street, the streetlights shining in the mist, making everything outlined by a soft orange glow. She stopped when she reached the bar. Glad to get out of the rain, she stepped inside, despite the late hour.

“Sorry, we're closed." The bartender said, as she strolled in. “Come on, can't you make one exception?" She said, opening her coat quite seductively. “I, guess I can make one more drink." He was an average looking badger, couldn't be over thirty. He seemed well kept, but a bit nervous. “So," he said, sliding her the drink, “What's a girl like you doing out this late?" She sipped the drink, and brushed back some of her long, dark hair. “I guess the same thing as you. My job." “What kind of job has you working this late at night?" “I could ask you the same question. Weren't you supposed to lock up hours ago, Mick?" The badger looked stepped back, confused. “I- I don't know what you mean." “Look, Micky, I know you've been staying late to grab some quick cash. But the thing is, so does your boss." The door to the stockroom burst open, and an angry looking cougar with a shotgun came through the door. “You sonnofa-" BLIP, BLIP! The cougar fell down, moaning in agony. The badger turned around to see the young lady had drawn out a small pistol (silenced of course). “Next time you wanna try stealing something, at least turn off the cameras." She took one last swig, paid for her drink, and went back out in the street.

“By Odin's beard, Cache, do you have to be so crass?" She heard, over her earpiece. “Hey, you know the deal, Mantissa. You track them, I glack them. Heard anything new from the boss?" “Yeah... actually. Said he needs us on a new assignment." “Already? I have a meeting with the N.C.R. defense minister tomorrow." “We can leave right after, then." Helena sighed, her brown fur getting wetter by the minute. “I just hope it's a lot less wet, then."

Normally, Ingrid provided the intel, and communicated with the boss. Helena would be in the field, and take out the threat. So she was surprised when Ingrid showed up in an S.U.V. outside city hall. “Since when do you come out to the field?" Helena asked, impressed at the beefy car. “The boss was very specific this time. Said to take some… precautions." “Doesn't he know how we work by now?" “Trust me when I say this time, it's needed. I'll explain on the way." Helena simply scoffed, and stepped into the car.

“So Alex had gone rouge?" Helena asked, as they drove eastward on the abandoned highway, out of the city. “And apparently," Ingrid said, “it got the others into danger." “See, that's why our method is better." “And what method is that, exactly?" “Divide and conquer?" Ingrid shook her head, and got back on topic. “Anyway, they were ambushed by those weird agents. The ones we could barely find anything on before?" “Except that we did find one thing." Helena corrected. “You would think that power crazy people would do a better job of keeping their ultimate goals secret." “Well, apparently the boss has a lead." “What is it?" Helena asked, her interest having been suddenly sparked. “Oppenheimer Electrics. They make the gear of those goons, and their HQ is located somewhere in the wastelands." “So that's why you bought the SUV. And here I thought you were finally abusing your role as Governor to get some nice things." “You know as well as I do there can only be bad things out there. And, I took the liberty of upgrading it's defensive capabilities. Don't look at me like that." Ingrid caught Helena looking at her with a hurt look on her face. “You know I can protect both of us, plus ten more, right?" “Your four feet tall, and your bark is worse than your bite. I should know. Unless you've already forgotten?" “Your never going to let that go are you?" “Anyway, from what Alex said, the higher ranks are extremely dangerous. We'll have to be ready for anything." “Always am." Helena replied. They continued to drive for several hours, out of the country, and into the Deadlands. It was mainly quiet the rest of the way, with Helena occasionally checking the time.

They arrived at the edge of a thick forest, leaves carpeting the ground. Ingrid got out of the car to inspect the road ahead. “Looks too dense to drive through directly. Coordinates shouldn't be to far away, we can probably walk the rest of the way." Helena jumped out as well. “If we're going on foot, I'll need some equipment. She went to the back of the SUV, and began gathering some gear. She pulled out a grenade launcher, a sniper, and a light machine gun, along with some ammo. “You are not going to need all that." Ingrid said, once she saw the scene. “Well I'm not going in empty handed." “Fine. Take the sniper. Your coat hasn't started changing, anyway. You should be able to blend right in." Underneath her fur, Helena blushed. Most snow fox's were quite proud of their coats, both in summer and winter. Helena, on the other hand, had always secretly been self conscious about her summer coat. “Come on, Mantissa; before the sun goes down."

They walked through the forest, until the sun was just setting. It was hard to see in the dimming light, but Ingrid could still make out where they were. “Hold up, do you know where we are?" Ingrid asked. Helena tried to guess. “Looks like a valley, or a divot." Ingrid turned to Helena, and spoke in a solemn tone, “This is one of the sites." Helena looked at Ingrid, “Do we need to worry about radiation?" “I don't think so. Just background levels. But why would anyone in their right mind setup here?"

They continued for a few more feet, before noticing a faint glow in the middle of the crater. “Is that a building?" Helena said. Ingrid squinted, trying to make out a definite shape. Suddenly, the building was illuminated by a circle of spotlights. “Well, I guess that answers that question." Ingrid said. In the new light, they could make out a lot of equipment. The building was clearly very large, almost like a warehouse. They could see figures, probably workers, moving around the site. There were no definite markings or identifiers that they could tell.

“How should we proceed?" Helena asked. Ingrid concentrated, processing the information they had discovered. “I'll go in close, see what I can find out. You stay here, and cover me with that thing." “You're going in? Alone?" “I'm not completely helpless, Cache. You forget I had a life before I met you. And besides, I thought you were a good shot." Helena sneered, and moved into position while Ingrid made her way down.

When she was right outside the illuminated area, she called Helena. “Are you good?" “I've got vision of the entire western side." “Alright. I'm going in." She started to make her way across the muddy ground towards the building. Now that she was down there, she could see a lot of unmarked crates and boxes. “Mantissa, got a line on a worker, headed right for you. Go back to that shipping container, and take a left." Ingrid did as she was told. She crouched down, and did her best to make little noise. “Okay, now keep going for about a hundred feet, and go right. After that, you should be clear." “Got it." As she made her way, she couldn't help but notice there seemed to be a lot of excavation equipment. “Looks like their looking for something. But I don't see any dig site." “Maybe there's something inside the warehouse. Can you get inside?" “I think so, doesn't look like there's any sort of lock. Strange."

Ingrid took a deep breath, and went through the door. She almost collapsed when she realized what she was looking at. “Hey, Mantissa, you there? What's happening?" “I… I think I just found the dig site." “Inside the building? Why would they hide it like that? It's just a crater." “No. No, it's not just a crater. I'm sending you a picture now."

“Oh my god." Helena couldn't believe what she was looking at. On the screen of her data pad was a picture of a metallic structure, made up of several geometric shapes. It looked to be about 90 meters long by 50 meters wide. It was partially buried in what she could only guess were centuries old dirt. Several areas were heavily degraded, and much of it was still buried. But there was no denying what it was. “Is that… what the hell is an antediluvian structure doing here?" “I don't know. But it looks complete. And they're digging it up." “Isn't that illegal?" “Very. And if the boss was right about our enemy, then this is not good. Who knows what they could do with that tech?" “We have to do something, right? Those shipping containers- what if we blow this whole place? There has to be some explosives nearby." “Too risky. I can try and get government officials to investigate, but… the wastelands have always been a grey area." Ingrid noticed a small metal case nearby. It didn't look as if it had been there very long, and there were some files on the top of it. She looked inside, and couldn't help but smile. “Either way, I think I might have something to even the playing field." She picked up the case, and started to make her way out of the warehouse. “Mantissa, you need to get out of there, now." “On my way." “Too late, something must have tipped them off. I can make out several helos two clicks out, and everyone is evacuating the area. I can keep them busy, but you have to be quick."

Ingrid hurried up the slope, the sound of distant helicopters approaching. Shots rang out, and she saw Helena shooting. “Don't stop!" She kept running, and looked back. Several agents in strange white armor were after her, though they were being kept at bay by Helena. They began shooting, however, and puffs of dirt formed where the shots hit the dirt. She was about three fourths of the way up when a shot hit her shoulder. “Dammit!" She shouted, but kept going. “Ingrid! Are you okay?" “I'll live, but we need to leave, now!"

Finally, she made it up top, and they sprinted back to the S.U.V. Helicopters hovered nearby, their search beams lighting up the dark forest. “How the hell are they still on us?" Helena asked. “The case, it must have a tracker!" Helena got in the driver seat, and Ingrid rode shotgun. “Well then, you better disable it, fast. Whatever you stole must be really important if they're sending this much after us." Working with one arm, Ingrid examined the case. In the lining, she found a small metal rectangle with a blinking light on it. “Think I found it." She pulled out a pistol, and used it to smash the tracker. “Hopefully that did the trick." “Now for the hard part."

They had stopped in some ruins, a few miles back west. Fortunately, Ingrid had packed some medical supplies, and had patched her arm up as best she could. Helena made sure that they weren't being tracked, and that they were in no immediate danger.

“Think we're clear for now." Helena said, getting back in the SUV. “How are you holding up?" “Bullet passed through, missed the bone. I'll live." Helena pulled the case from out the backseat. “Let's see what the hell is here that made them want to kill us so badly." She popped the case open, and pulled out the contents. “They just look like metal fragments. I thought you said it was going to even the playing field." Ingrid pulled out a folded up paper. “According to this, it will.

The note read:

Specimen: k10-k25

Site: 37b

Found in: lower manufacturing

All pieces found are in good condition. They appear to be the only usable pieces found at any site so far. Tests should determine the exact nature of the relics, though at first sight, they appear to be weapon components. If so, that would make these the first functional fragments found.

Other: Transport to base is to proceed. Security protocol Sigma-12. No room for error.

“That can't be right." Helena said in disbelief. “There's no way they've been doing all of this all this time." “I didn't believe it the first time I read it either." Ingrid said. “But if all of it is true, then not only did we manage to beat them to it, but we may have the upper hand." “Not if we're dead by then. I hate to say it, but we may have to bring the others in on this." Ingrid pulled out her data pad. “That may be a problem." She held it up, the screen clearly shattered. “Mine too. Wait, what about the radio?" “We're too far from the city to get a signal. We're all on our own." “So what do we do?" Ingrid thought for a second. “Honestly? I'm not sure. But no matter what, we can't let them get a hold of these fragments. I'm willing to guess only the chumps have been sent after us so far. After this, they'll probably sent the big guns." “At least we have one thing going for us." “And what's that?" “Boss will probably send someone after us when we don't check in. And you know the boss. Seems to know everything about everything." “Well. let's just hope they can do more than we could."

The next day, they ventured back into the city limits. Fortunately for them, it didn't appear as though they had been followed. “Where do we go now?" Ingrid asked. Helena parked the car. “I know a place. But that won't help us if we can't communicate with the boss." “Well, he managed to find us before. Let's just hope that he can find us before they do."

They drove to a shoddy looking apartment building, on the outskirts of the city. They grabbed all the gear from the car, and went into the basement. “We should be safe here for now. I'll go take care of the SUV, you stay here and try to figure out the purpose of those things." “Be careful. We already had a close enough call." Helena smirked. “I'll be fine. Just focus on your arm, Mantissa."

Half an hour later, Helena returned. “Now, if they find the SUV, they won't know where we are. Did you find anything out?" “No, unfortunately. I'll keep trying, but I think we'll have to turn them over to the boss. Maybe he'll find out more than we can. For now, I guess we'll just have to stay put." “Aren't you supposed to be good at this stuff?" “I know enough to get by." Ingrid replied, slightly annoyed. “This is something more suited for Ansi or Wetzel." She looked around the basement, rations lining the walls. “So, anything interesting to do around here?"

Ingrid put down the scanner. She had analyzed the relics for the twelfth time. No matter how closely, or how thoroughly she looked at the things, she couldn't even determine what exactly they were. The chart had said they were weapon fragments, but they seemed to be far from it. She had seen weapons from all the ages, yet she had never quite seen anything quite like this. In fact, she guessed that this was the first time anyone had.

Helena spent her time trying to figure out a plan to make sure they stayed alive until help arrived. Although they had plenty of weapons and ammo, there wouldn't be much they could do against an army. Well, there may have been one thing...

“Hey, did you hear what I said?" Ingrid asked. Helena shook her head. “Uh, what?" “Did you hear what I said? About the fragments?" “No, what was it?" “I said that they must have been made by processes centuries advanced from what we have now. What are you reading anyway?" Helena tried to close the book, but Ingrid managed to catch a glimpse of what she was reading. “'Pagan rituals?' What, are you trying to get Cthulhu to help us?" Helena put the book down, annoyed at Ingrid's lack of respect for personal space. “It's none of your business, but as you may have forgotten, I do have a life. And I happen to find many aspects of the old religions fascinating." Ingrid could tell there was more to it than that, but was stopped from asking questions by a sudden thud from above. “What was that?" Helena picked up a pistol. “I'll check it out. Make sure nothing happens to those." She went upstairs, and after a few minutes, Ingrid heard a struggle. After a few more minutes, Helena returned, dragging an unconscious man.

“Look at what I found." She said, seating him in a chair. “Caught this one asking the landlord about us." “Is he an agent?" “I wasn't sure at first since he lacks the armor, but after I searched his pockets, I found this." She handed Ingrid a small paper square. On the square was:

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: RETRIEVE PACKAGE.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVE: IDENTIFY THREATS.

At the bottom of the paper was a watermark symbol used by Oppenheimer electronics, along with another, strange symbol.

“Guess there's no question about it then. Think he knows something?" “If he doesn't," Helena said while she tied the agent's hands and feet to the chair, “We can at least have some fun."

It didn't take too long for the agent to wake up. He immediately noticed his situation, and saw both the girls sitting in front of him. Despite this, he said nothing. “Well, look who's awake." Helena remarked, getting up out of her chair. “Now that your up, we can have ourselves a little talk. How about you start with your name, and who you work for." The agent said nothing. “Okay then, how about what you were doing here?" He still said nothing. Ingrid spoke next. “Not the conversationalist, are you. Well, that's too bad, because we were hoping you could tell us about these." She got up, and placed the open crate of fragments on the chair. The agent tensed up, his previously calm face now showing signs of anger. “Oh, so you do know something. Care to share?" The agent forced a smile. “You have no idea just how screwed you are. They said your organization was efficient, but I never knew how disorganized it really was."

“What the hell are you talking about?" Ingrid asked. The agent simply laughed, and said “When I get out of here-" “You'll what?" Helena asked. “These things are obviously important. I'm guessing your bosses wanted you to bring these back intact, based off of this." She held up the note, making a point to show the primary objective. The agent squirmed, trying to loosen up an arm, or a leg. “So, I'm guessing it won't be good if something were to happen to these." She lifted up a sledge hammer, and started to swing it downwards. “STOP!" The agent shouted. Helena put down the hammer, her eyebrow lifted. “I'm sorry, what was that?" “Stop. If they're destroyed, he won't be happy." “He? Well, that's a start." Ingrid decided to intervene. “Unfortunately, that doesn't give us much. So, unless he gives us anything solid, like if he were to say that Oppenheimer Electronics is in the N.A.C, then we haven't really gained anything." The agent snorted in response, but quickly realized the trap. “So, they aren't in the country."

Before they could ask him any more questions, he started convulsing quite violently. “Dammit, what the hell?" Helena rushed over, and pried his mouth open, but by then the convulsing had stopped. “Is he-?" “Cyanide pill. Must of had a false tooth." There was a brief moment of silence. “At least we managed to learn something. Not much, but something." Ingrid turned away from the dead agent. “Wasn't expecting that. Guess whoever these guys are, they really don't want any leaks. You realize he's probably not the only one, right?" Helena sighed, and looked at the dead agent. “Then let's hope Wetzel finds us first." Ingrid couldn't think of anything to say, but she did wonder about everything that had just happened. True, they had faced tough missions before, especially when dealing with relevant threats. She just hoped that this would be over soon. “What the hell have we gotten ourselves into."