FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

(Author's Note)

"Speech"

-Computer Writing/ On Screen Text-

{Luna Talking}

|| * * * | | | * * * || = End Chapter

* * * = Scene Change

// // = Major Scene/Time Change

Landing on the Old:

I don't know how long it was that we flew in that ship, coursing through the dark of the galaxy. What I do know was that it was long enough that the crew started to get antsy. Close quarters like that, and just the personality conflicts.

Not a good combination for long term flight, that's for sure.

With my head down to my chest, my eyes closed, I listened. The conversation between Eclipse and Po was quiet, barely making my ears twitch. Little more than white noise by now, I suppose.

Sighing deeply, I must have made more noise than I thought, because Drougar looked over at me. "What is it?" He asked softly, his draconic face filled only with concern.

I shook my head slightly, sighing deeply again. "It's nothing. Just thinking is all," I said, trailing off and keeping my gaze on my hands.

"Thinking isn't the best thing for a soldier," Jaeger said softly, arms crossed over his chest as his back rested straight against the wall of the transport. "Makes you question things that shouldn't be questioned."

The Edjharra looked over at the grey Susuv, his dark eyes narrowing. "And that is exactly why a soldier should think, if not necessarily act on questioning thoughts," Drougar said, almost coldly.

The atmosphere, already cold, became downright frigid at that as Jaeger opened his eyes. I looked up just in time to see the Susuv place his elbows on his knees, and rest his chin on his hands. "Really? Is that what you believe, Drougar?" He asked, looking the dragon right in the eyes.

I shifted my gaze over to watch the reaction, and say as the dragon nodded. "Indeed it is what I believe. If I did not, I would still be a member of the Dominion." I could almost hear the growl in his voice as he said that, and it sent chills down my spine.

Jaeger's eyes narrowed even more, and he opened his mouth to speak, right as a crackle of static came over the coms. "Hey, get ready back there you guys," I heard Karen say. After a moment, she continued, "we've been on com silence, and you guys know how this area of space is. Damn computer can't do it solo," we could all hear the soft thump of her hitting the dash. "Anyhow, we've been rerouted to Peshran, sixth planet in the Pash system..."

"Why the hell are we going there," I could hear Po mutter, his head tilted slightly, and his ears cocked so that he could pick up all the information Karen was giving us.

"That's why we've been in slipspace for so damned long. So, here's the gist of it: we go in, land, work our way through some dozen kilometers of potentially hostel terrain, find some old temple, find the science team there, and get them back to the shuttle. I'll give you guys a better lowdown when we touch dirt in," there was a small pause, and we could all hear the Washai muttering something, "fifteen standard minutes. So, all of you strap in and get ready. We'll be going in hot and fast."

"Bloody great," I heard Po mutter, even as the soft sounds of clothing ruffling and the harnesses clicking in sounded throughout the ship. "Last time we were sent to save a science team, we found some thousand-year-old-A.I. system."

Looking up for a moment so I could grab the harness, I continued to listen to Po grumble under his breath. "So what'll it be this time? Well, science team means either technology, or elements. Hope the second, but why send us then? Unless those elements are technologic, of course," the Neko continued, answering his own question.

"Oh stop whining, Po," I heard Eclipse say, a laugh tinting his voice. "I'm sure that it'll be nothing. And hey, she said 'potentially,' means that there might not be any enemies." he finished with a grin.

"Or that there are shit-tons of them," I heard Po say. I think he was going to take a breath to talk more, but right at that moment, we felt the ship take a sharp dive.

"Hold on tight boys!" I heard Karen holler over the radio, even as I felt G-forces starting to take their toll on me. Reaching up to grab ahold of the bar, I started to white-knuckle it, shutting my eyes tightly and muttering a prayer under my breath.

{God, I hope she's as good as her record says!} I heard Luna mentally scream at me. That actually made me laugh a little, as I was thinking damn near the same thing.

"Oh, fu-" I heard Karen mutter, must have forgotten that the radio was still on. The next part though, I know she knew the radio was on. "We have heavy AA fire coming up at us from the ground. Hold on to your britches boys, and be ready to change them when we touch down!"

The next few moments, I just closed my eyes tightly, praying that Karen could get us to the ground in one piece.

* * *

Up in the cockpit, the Washai was thinking the same thing as she jerked the controls to the left, the ship responding as soon as she made the movement. "Come on girl, please be as good as I know you are," she muttered, slamming down on a button.

Looking up at view-screen in front of her, she allowed herself a small smile when she saw the three decoys launch. "That'll give 'em something to think about," she chuckled, quickly bringing her attention back to the still heavy anti-air fire coming up at her.

Muttering various entry paths and trajectories to herself, the computer quickly plotting them out as she spoke them, she continued to jerk the ship left to right, up and down, in a truly random pattern. Still, all it would take is one direct hit, and they would be little more than dust.

And that little fact is why she was trusting the computer to find the best course this time. Normally, she would do it herself, but complicated situations called for complicated answers, sometimes.

Quickly typing into the pad next to her, her gaze fixed on the view-screen so she didn't miss any of the bolts of green launching up at her, she jerked the controller to the side, not fazed in the least by the sudden shift in g-forces.

Glancing down at another screen, she saw that the computer had plotted out an angle of approach, and a decent one at that. "Good job," she muttered. "Now, ready flares, and get the AG weapon online." She said, slapping another set of controls.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the screen flash the message -weapon system and flares online- and then it scrolled a little, -awaiting fire mission-

"Good, now, when we get to 100 meters, I want you to pepper the ground if there are any hostiles in the area. Launch flares at twenty and ten kilometers from the L-zed, that should give us plenty of time to get the ship hidden," she muttered the last part, suddenly throwing the sleek ship into a spin to avoid a a plasma blast.

-orders received and understood- the computer screen flashed as an affirmative, -flares at the ready and...- right at that moment, Karen jerked the ship up from it's mostly downward flight, leveling out for the first time in almost a minute. Although, she had not even noticed. -firing-

Karen was to busy keeping the ship low to the ground to notice as the first decoy was launched, and still busy when, five seconds later, -firing decoy- flashed, and the second launched into the clearing.

-hostile presence detected at LZ- the Washai saw the computer say, -initiating LZ clearing protocols- the screen scrolled a bit -air to ground cannon... firing-

Karen couldn't help but smile as she heard the dull roar of the multiple barrel cannon in the bow of the ship start. Suddenly jerking the controls again, she looped around the landing zone twice, quickly dropping in speed. Pulling on a control lever, she heard the faint hiss of the landing struts extending, even though the cannon was still firing.

"Alright, cease fire, I'll have the DG squad clear the area." She said, watching the counter on a screen that said -time until touchdown, 10, 9, 8...- Karen started to countdown as well, softly talking. "3, 2, 1, touchdown," she grinned broadly, feeling as the ship settled.

She wasted no time though, slamming the com button. "DG squad, move and clear the area! I'll provide manual targeting from up here."

* * *

I could feel as we touched down, having heard every bit of the conversation she was having with herself. Or... the computer... both maybe? I don't know, it was confusing to me, that's for sure.

What I did know was that this planet was hostile, and our landing zone was still hot, even though we had touched down.

Looking over, I saw as Po and Jaeger both undid their harnesses, throwing on their helmets. Knowing that we'd be in a firefight soon, I followed suit, clicking the harness and locking it back into place above me.

"Ten seconds!" I heard Karen yell at us from the radio, and I went into overdrive in getting ready.

Reaching under the bench we had been sitting on, I grabbed an assault rifle, almost identical to the one I had used in training. Biggest difference though, was that it had a red dot sight. Much easier when getting a target on the move, that's for sure. Also, it had live rounds, not training.

Sure, I've killed before, so it was nothing new to me. Still, that rush of adrenaline, that surge of energy just before the inevitable firefight. I swear, I don't know if I'm getting addicted to it, but I am starting to love it.

{There is a reason for that,} I heard Luna say, snapping me out of the trance I had fallen in. {It's because I am here. Your senses are sharper, your reaction time as fast as a supercomputer,} she continued, {and it's all because I am here, helping you,} she finished, almost whispering. {Now, get your HUD on.}

Right, I'd forgotten about that, getting caught in a mental conversation with Luna again. Blinking a few times, I slipped on my helmet, the one thing that had saved my life before, and pressed a button on the side.

In less than a heartbeat, my eyes were flooded by a mass of information, and it took me several blinks before I could process it all. When I could finally understand what was in front of me, my breath went out for a moment. In the bottom right corner of my vision was an ammo counter, telling me how many rounds were left in my weapon, as well as sensing the four extra clips I had clipped on my chest and belt.

Not only that, but in the upper left was a basic map of the area, giving a simple, but potentially lifesaving, overview of the area for a hundred meters. Hell, it even had a directional arrow to show which way I was currently facing. Damn, if only I had this back when I was in the regular forces.

{HUD's like this are extremely expensive,} I heard Luna tell me. {That's why Federation weapons have an ammo counter on the side, to help give them the advantage of this type of setup, but at fractions of the cost.} I suddenly could see something take over my vision, and.. bloody hell!

When I thought that, balking a little, I could hear Luna laughing loudly. {Now you can finally see me!} She said gleefully, seeming to jump and clap her hands. {This is why I love these HUD's! Now then, so I'll not distract you,} she suddenly vanished from my field of view, until I my eyes darted around again. That's when I saw her sitting in the top right corner, waving at me. {There, now if I need to, I can point out, and not have to directly take control as much anymore.}

I probably would have taken more time to understand what all my HUD had going for me, but I felt Po shoving me, and shouting. "Three seconds! Ready! Ready!" He paused, hovering a paw over a button labeled -down ramp- He waited for what seemed an eternity, before he hit suddenly slammed it.

The soft hiss of the door opening, and it slammed to the ground. I didn't even realize that I was the first out of the ship, because I was to focused on clearing the area. In the back of my mind, I processed how the area around our ship was scorched and pocked with craters from the cannon, but that was of little concern.

Swinging my rifle around, bringing it to bear on a Balina warrior, who was raising his own weapon to fire. I pulled the trigger twice, feeling as the rifle lurched into my shoulder. The last I saw of the warrior was him falling into the foliage, vanishing from sight, the area behind him painted with his blood.

Quickly scanning the rest of my area, I heard gunshots from behind me, undoubtedly Drougar or Po. After ensuring that my sector was clear, I shouted "area secure!"

"Good," I heard Po say, scanning, and I could see the Neko scanning his own sector with that shotgun of his, in my mind's eye. "Scales, secure?"

There was a seconds hesitation, before I heard Drougar grunt. "Yes sir, area secure. Permission to scout the perimeter." He asked, head still low to his rifle as he continued to look over the forest edge.

"Granted, and take him with you," Po said, clapping me on the back. "Second set of eyes never hurt."

"Yes sir," Drougar said, holding his rifle up. "On me," he said, walking off.

Quickly turning on my heel, my back remained hunched over slightly, my grip tight and yet loose on my rifle, ready to snap it back up to firing position. Still looking around, I fell into position behind Drougar, my head on a swivel.

Both of us were deathly silent as we cleared the forest edge for a hundred meters in all directions. We didn't encounter a single soul, but saw several bodies of our enemy. When we came across a Edjharra though, I watched as Drougar's wings went even more limp, a sad look coming over his face.

Here, we paused for a moment, and he knelt by the body. Bowing his head, he pressed his hand into the chest of the fallen warrior, and started humming a slow... I don't know how to describe it. It seemed like a prayer, at first, but it quickly became more like a promise.

I could only stand, watching in silence as Drougar continued, when I heard Luna start talking to me. She filled up my HUD's vision as she spoke, her lithe white frame for once seeming still and respectful. {'Brother, brother, you have fallen. Fallen in glorious battle in the name of the Fatherland. By blood, by bone, by steel, by air, by land, and by water, you have fought and bleed. Until, at last, you have given your all. Rest now in peace, and drink with the honored fallen in the halls of Heaven. Until you are, after the Long Rest, given heed to grace our realm with your presence once more,'} she softly translated, bowing her head in respect as the dragon finished his prayer.

{The Prayer of the Fallen,} she explained, seeming to watch Drougar as much as I. {An oath given if possible to those Edjharra that fall in battle.} Tilting her head curiously, she slowly faded out of my HUD again. {You should feel honored. No one outside of the Edjharra race has ever heard it before.}

"C'mon, let's move on," I suddenly heard Drougar say, spinning on his heel and walking off. I glanced at the body, and noticed that the strip of cloth that had been tied to the fallen soldier's left arm was gone. Looking at Drougar, I say it hanging in his grasp, clenched, as he tied it onto his belt.

Even Luna didn't have an answer for me, so, shrugging slightly, I fell back into pace behind the dragon. The rest of the ten minute patrol went smooth and without a hitch, so we both headed back to the ship.

As we came through the foliage, I tripped on a root, making me stumble out of the woods. Thankfully, I caught myself before I made to much of a fool of myself.

Still, there were snickers from the others, and I dusted myself off and stood tall, listening as Drougar gave the report. "Nothing at all sir. Several bodies, but no further hostile forces in the immediate area," the dragon said, standing tall as he made his report.

"Good, good," Po said, turning over to look at Eclipse. "Now, you have a map of the area?"

"O'course I do, sir." The fox said with a smile, producing a hologram from his back pocket. "Orbital feed is down, so we'll be relying on motion sensors and our markers for most forces," he said, clicking the three-dimensional map on. "We are, here," he said, pointing to a blue ship, and surrounded by several blue points that must have been us. "The temple is here," he said, shifting the map to reveal a massive complex, that extended several hundred meters into the ground. "Research team is at the temple. Between us and them?" He asked, rhetorically, "about ten kilometers of forest and enemy forces."

"Lovely," I heard Jaeger say, the Susuv sighing deeply. "And I'm going to guess we have to hump it?"

"Yep," Karen answered, before Eclipse could. "Those triple-A batteries they have are to strong for me to get any closer than this. And, if we want to get out of here, we're going to have to take them out. Here," she said, flicking her hand, "give that map here."

The fox gave a small nod, happily handing the map over to the eagle. "Now," she switched the map over to their surroundings, "this here is the shortest path," she said, pointing at a sheer rock face that led up to a plateau. "We go up this here, then travel five kilometers down, following the rock face, we'll come right up on the rear of the temple." Sighing, she leaned back, "theoretically, the weakest point."

The jaguar-Neko nodded in agreement, obviously not finding fault. Honestly, I couldn't either. "Good," the cat said, "then get the stealth field up, and let's move out." He finished, shouldering the strap of his shotgun. "C'mon all, we don't have all day!" He said suddenly, making all of us move quickly.

After all, why waste time?

Still though, there was a nagging in the back of my mind. {No, it's not me. That's all you,} Luna said softly to me, making me jump a little. Although, I don't know if that was a good thing it wasn't her, or not. So, letting my rifle hang in my grasp, I started studying the heads-up-display more in depth.

It was damned awesome. It had a grenade count, how much ammo was in my weapons, how much I was carrying: damn, this'll come in handy in a firefight. {Watch this,} Luna suddenly said, grinning a little. The HUD cut out for a moment, making my head twitch to the right, searching for it. A second later, it came back on. {There now, little bit of my own... additions,} she said with a smirk.

Now, the HUD wasn't the same boring white it was before. Instead, it was actually a sky blue. But, when I looked up at the sky above, a strangely Earth-like sky, the HUD color changed to a dark-maroon-red. That was strange. {Color transition. Automatically takes into account the colors, and makes the sharpest contrast so that you can still keep track.} That'll come in handy, actually.

We'd been walking, for maybe ten minutes, with me at the back and talking with Luna. I hadn't really paid attention to my squad mates, but when my gaze passed over them, I almost started again. They had faint blue halos around them, giving them all a strange, but very easy to identify look. {Little thing I added. Also, there are shot tracer programs that I installed, as well as several other minor things that will make you more likely to survive.} Luna said, smiling at me.

All I could do was sigh and shake my head as we all continued towards the rock face. Me, Po, Jaeger, Draugar, and Karen. Strange mix, that's for sure, but hey. Greatest armies are diverse, I suppose. Still, I could only wonder at how well we'd fare in a pitched firefight.

|| * * * | | | * * * ||

ah, I'll bet you're all just happy to see something from me ^.^ Well, anyhow, hope you enjoyed, yada yada,

legal: all characters and ideas in this story are mine and mine alone. Ask me first before you make a written story with them, although visual art I'll accept, if you send me the link ^.^