FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Kinou's first likely destination is a small space station in the human territories. Well, small by his standards. All things considered it is an appreciable size as the system its around has built this thing up on its own for the past few decades, even going so far as to build their own Gate as well. But the size available from the resources of a single planet pale in comparison with Foznetal, but then almost everything would be considered small compared to that station. Whereas Foznetal is almost like a pill surrounded by a ring, this one is more of the top construction. A single core pillar down the middle where their command and hydroponics is housed and a single ring around the epicenter of the pillar, attached solidly and spinning with the entire assembly to create a sense of gravity.

But all that aside Kinou slips into his assumed identity, boisterously complaining about the situation. His records would say he came from Foznetal, so spends as much time outright complaining about the station to anyone that would have the hear to even listen. Which, all things considered aren't going to be much. One of the nice things about the orbs is that someone only has to overhear what is being said if they want to and allow their orb to calibrate to him. So he can just act as belligerent as he wants about it and doesn't have to worry about anyone talking back as they'd have to calibrate their orb or his and then he can rope them in. And to make it more believable he acts more than a little bit drunk on top of it all.

But he's not green. He knows full-well that there won't be anyone biting on him right away. There will be people recording everything he's saying so that it can be run through something to guess at a translation. Something that his slurred speech would likely make very difficult. But if they are able to track the language they'd have access to the recordings of the Customs agent he was talking to since those aren't supposed to keep any records of what languages they're picking up, not that it makes much of a difference in most situations. But no one in their right mind would just come up to someone just coming out a ship from Foznetal and immediately go and start trying to give them all the juicy secrets. It's a long-con. Being boisterous and drunk will aid a lot into them thinking that he might have a bone to settle but it won't be right away. If they're smart, they'll make a note of him and then once he's sobered up send out some feelers on how genuine his disdain is and how likely they'd be able to use him to aid in their efforts. But if he never sees any of that in the next few days, then it's simply a sign they're too skittish or not here and that he should move on. That's what they're all told to do.

Eventually they'll be able to get a lead. But for now all he has to do is play up the play up the role of having been a tourist on the station and left in disgust at how the mythics are controlling everything on the station and whatever else he can think up at the time. It's actually something they've been given quite a bit of information about from the human members of their group. A list of key phrases and ideologies that are most likely to be uttered by people that these would likely be trying to convert. Unfortunately, it'd be far too obvious to make it much closer to what was done for the attempts, in getting someone with a long-standing opposition to one member of the station. Just coming out and saying how violently he's always been against one of them, especially after having just come from there is too big a yarn to sell. So instead he has to play a bit smaller market. And hope that someone recruits him to help out on a plan that is using one of those people with long-standing grudges.

For the most part his only mission is to hunt things out. Given the anti-mythic sentiment it's no surprise that trying to seed these places with informants has always been a bit difficult. There are a few, but they tend to just relay information secretly through Gate transmissions and are almost never making any statement themselves. They are paid for their service, of course, and that is why he was chosen for this location. He knows that the person funding these operations has been here a few times, meaning that there are resources here that he takes advantage of. If for no other reason than that this is a fairly large hub for the humans, at least in regards to one that would allow someone to smuggle things. The Family makes use of this station a lot as well, though he would never try to seek them out here. The Family on the Station are in favor of the station and what it represents. To everyone else, it's just a place the leaders can go that would protect them from the law. There is no guarantee of any compliance from the Family out here.

Thankfully, one advantage of being a lynx is that he doesn't really have a tail that he needs to hide from all the locals. So he's able to be as close without having to adjust anything that may give him away. For the most part he can simply be a tourist and when asked simply give the story that he is still on vacation, it's just he originally was planning on being on vacation for a couple months at Foznetal and got sick of all the aliens and went somewhere more comfortable. That usually is enough to get people to stop suspecting. Being an obvious bigot would make people do one of two things, either just walk away in disgust as is the reaction for most normal people, or agree, at which point he has someone to monitor. For now, though, his job is observation. At playing the role of the angry fool that everyone just ignores and see how everyone reacts when they aren't looking. During the nights he'll actually change things up a bit, employ a bit of a stronger illusion to make them not notice him as much and just follow when people don't think they're being observed. He's not nearly as capable at this as that feral was, but he can get by. Most people don't think to pay attention to such things anyway.

Back on Foznetal, after the experience that was the humans returning to the council chambers Anyol decides that the best way to unwind is to do a little bit of sword practice. He was absolutely correct in how they were behaving but that doesn't make dealing with all that any less annoying. Especially when considering what they were asking of him. His planet is still in Mythic space, as is the reason his quarters are on the Mythic sector, but it is close to the border and he has garnered trade deals on both sides of the border. He currently has magnetic weights strapped down to his feet to help slow his footing a bit and is only up against a drone, but it is still a drone designed to help him improve. There is visual feedback along the walls, watching his movements and gauging his technique against the database and then will exploit weaknesses and adapt. Theoretically it could eventually beat him no matter how good he was but he wasn't concerned about that this time. He wanted a good fight but also a winnable fight. This time the drone was set to a skill just under his own. And since it'll develop its own preferences, he'll be able to adapt and eventually beat it. Not as good for training but he's not trying to train, just unwind.

At the same time there is another issue that must be addressed and he speaks out loud to a recording device, trusting its discretion over using his aide in this. She's off running other errands for the time being. She's also rather happy for this arrangement at the moment. Sent by his planet for him to serve as a mentor, she is here to help him and learn from him. A good kid, but easily bored by the minutia. This gives him some time to draft some messages to be delivered to some of the delegates. It is for the most part only a formality. Most of the other politicians already know the letter is coming that his world may not be able to honor all of its contracts. But it is still a good idea for him to draft the letters and either he or his aide will deliver it depending on who the letter is for. Very few of the other politicians really like him. Anyol is perfectly fine with this. He's on good terms with the only one he really cares about but she isn't representing any system.

Anyol definitely would consider himself a skilled fighter. He would even go so far as to stroke his own ego and declare himself the best swordfighter on the station, but that isn't really all that much of a distinction. Not many bother learning the weapon, not when there are other weapons far better suited to life on a station. And even if he did have a sword and she did not, he still did not think he would have any chance of beating the Head Guardian in a fight, at least not from what he's heard. He's had no reason to ever engage with her, especially since she is a Silver. But the few times he's talked with Guardians or sparred with others in the station, there was always this rumor circulating that she was the best fighter on the station. How much was grandstanding to give a sense of security that the person in charge of their safety can handle anything, Anyol couldn't say. All he can say is that he has yet to see someone who can fight better with a sword than he could. He even participated in a few competitive events in the past before he became a politician.

He knows his weaknesses, and who he is amongst the biggest of them, at least when it comes to politics. In fighting he can't manage Sym or Dis magic all that effectively. He gets too caught up in the moment to keep the barrier up over his entire body and that is the reason he knows he couldn't beat the Head Guardian, because a Sym Mage that knows how to fight close range would destroy someone who has skill in technique but not in magic. The politicians know who he is, what he represents and when they see him they undoubtedly see him as that first, which breeds suspicion. But he is skilled at the long game. And to that end his people are happy. There have been troubles in getting trade deals, but overall it's turned his planet from a small, isolated world into one with a pretty massive economy. And it's these kinds of skills he would want to teach his aide. It's one thing he is good at, trying to find what all people want and are willing to give up in exchange so that eventually he gets everything he wants from them. She's new and prone to getting things wrong when he poses courses of actions she should choose from but she's learning. She wants to serve their planet, it's just a matter of getting her to the point where she can, assuming she doesn't just give up and they send someone else.

As he finishes up his duel with the little drone he reflects on that. His planet is content with what he's done for them. And though the other politicians don't like him, even amongst the other Mythics, they still respect what he does. He's proven himself enough with them. They may hate what he represents, but he hasn't ever backstabbed any of the others. But if he can get his aide to be able to perform at his level of skill then he may actually hand it off to her completely and maybe play as the subordinate for a while. Of course then he might be able to try and initiate the relationship more fully without any regard to being seen as just trying to curry favoritism, not that it would mean much in that location. He half chuckles as he considers that, and what his Prime back home would think of the situation. And with his training done it's just a matter of putting things away and then waiting for his aide to return so that he can go over with them how best to deliver the messages to the other delegates.

Richard yawns as he approaches the rest of his squad mates. Though he was able to get a bit of a nap, his roommate starting to move around didn't really let him get any really restful sleep. Instead he just kind of dozed off for a while.

"You doing all right?" Allenpo says, their head tilting mechanically to one side.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Richard shrugs. "Just tired is all. Had a friend insist on taking me out to the observation lounge to go watch something called an hourglass eclipse or something."

"Shoot!" Edgar exclaims. "That was today? You should have told me. I totally would have joined you."

"Well he didn't exactly tell me that's what we were going to do at the time. He just insisted I wake up early to meet him outside. I didn't realize it was something you would have been interested in anyway."

"Well ordinarily, no. But how many people can say they've seen an hourglass eclipse live on a station? I'll still probably catch a vid of it later. So it's all good. Would have liked to see it live, though."

"I saw a feed of it during breakfast," Mijhanero shrugs.

Richard is somewhat surprised that they even were interested in something like that. At least when considering he had never heard any of them mention anything at all about it coming up. He had just thought it was something that Mige had put more importance to than anything else. "Though that reminds me," Richard says, remembering the advice that Mige had given him earlier. "He had told me some advice earlier as well. Told me to ask you about something called a scan-sweep?"

The habenceun suddenly perks up in response, though Richard can't exactly read her expression very well through their environmental suit. "That's a great idea! Really help fold you into the group."

"I don't understand what all that is."

"Don't worry too much about it for now," Edgar says. "I'll take care of setting everything up for tonight after our shift. Let's say aim for about two hours station time after our shift?" he asks, the rest of the group looking their time pieces and nodding, the habenceun actually going about typing something into hers. "For now we should probably go about getting geared up for our patrol. You know how much of an ass they can be if we aren't punctual in scanning for the errant ship that doesn't belong or who knows what."

Richard nods, hoping that Mige didn't just get him way over his head in anything. But Edgar was correct. Speculating about what all it means right away isn't going to mean much to him when he doesn't have the contextual references they all have. And he's sure that just bringing it up they're bound to be discussing it while on patrol since that's what they mostly do during these patrols anyway. Richard decides to at least attempt to try and follow the conversation a bit more this time, confident that his skill in piloting is getting to the point he doesn't need to rely on the lights nearly as much anymore. And thankfully, once again their scouting patrol is mostly quiet. There are a few signs that there have been some ships that weren't supposed to be there in the recent past and after reporting it in they'll make sure the are gets patrolled a bit more thoroughly in the near future. He's still nowhere close to being confident on actually engaging in an actual firefight at this time, though there is going to be some skirmishes between some of the squads coming up.