FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The trade across far distant planets was a job not often sought after by those who grew up in the age of the universe. Though it had initially been with their risks, piracy in space was another issue when routes had fully been established. In knowing it, the Interplanetary Forces were formed long before the problem came to surface, having had established a number of safe travel routes under constant surveillance to ensure citizen safety. As much as there were incidents, rogue ships rarely attacked these routes, as they were often unmatched in weaponry and technology.

Of course, then came the problem that these routes were often slower to travel than attempting to venture uncharted space; the increased risk of attack for the sake of convenience. For those doing intergalactic trade, this was truly their only viable option. Do it fast, or don't go anywhere at all.

For Carlos Jarrod, this was his way of life. A driver from Carrier Wolves, he was one of the many who aided transportation of goods and services. As much as teleporting beacons were useful, they still required someone on watch in case of thieves or pirates. Though the wolf was still young at 25, he had become part of one of the most important frameworks.

"Jarrod, you've got a briefing, five minutes." He rubbed at his eyes, letting rest drift away. His bright, bluish-purple eyes met that of his teammate, the Shiba Inu with a slight frown of impatience.

"Thanks for the tip, I'll be right on my way."

"Not if you aren't going right away." Carlos sighed. Taylor Lawrencev was a nice person, but when it came to orders and responsibility, it was clear that he bested Carlos by far. He gave in, pushing the idea of getting any more rest out of his head. He still stood taller than Taylor if that earned him any points at least.

The station didn't belong to Carrier Wolves. That was handled with the lease with the IPF. Do business, get quicker access and easier transport. Plenty of NDAs though. It also got them the briefing room that Carlos walked alongside with Taylor to.

"Your task is to deliver 30 kilograms of paper documentary, from Wikipaw Printers to their new establishment at Arcticus. This is only a minor job, but also one of high priority." The dark wolf at the front spoke very firmly, a tone that Carlos hadn't heard ever being used before.

"The timeframe unlike most of your jobs previous is only 14 days, and they have requested top-tier service. I trust that you will be able to do so, though it will be the first time that this service has been requested. Any questions?"

A brief silence filled the briefing room. "Right then, dismissed. You will depart tomorrow at 0730."

The dark wolf left the room, and Taylor remarked. "Well, that I hadn't expected. Anderson being serious, and a top priority job on our paws!"

"Wow, neither did I." Carlos had been doing mostly low priority jobs on and off for the past few months. To be assigned the first top priority job... It was making history.

"Right!"

They both stood and left to make preparations to make the quickest delivery across the Milky Way.

* * *

Meanwhile, in another location, other preparations were being made. The dark wolf spoke in hushed tones to a tiger.

"So, you've briefed them," spoke the tiger. "Can you assure the IPF that they can deliver those documents in that timeframe?"

"Without a doubt. They're the most experienced and well-travelled couriers of this galaxy," responded Anderson.

"It is of utmost importance that they do. Our intelligence networks right now are too vulnerable with the latest wave of break-ins. Those documents are a one-of-a-kind, and we can't risk a mole within our forces, hence why we've tasked this job to your company."

"I understand fully, Farren."

A slight frown formed on the tiger's face "Don't call me that. We might be friends, but even so, this is official business. Even if it happens to be top secret."

"Oh, sorry," the wolf chuckled. "I'll hold my tongue from that!"

"Anyway," replied the tiger, eyes rolling, "I'd grant a military escort, but that'd be way too risky, too suspicious."

"Oh. So they're basically going to go with standard defence outfit, dual lasers and a mini beam?"

The tiger grinned slightly, half-nodding, half-shaking. "By appearances yes. But I've had some of our R&D working on that issue. They'll have a little more firepower by the time they're done with it. This normally wouldn't be the case, but it's all we can do without bringing attention to what would seem to be a couple of messengers."

"Ah," said Anderson, "so you're not upgrading our entire fleet, are you."

"No," laughed the tiger. "You built that reputation for your company by yourself. No need to tarnish that image yet!"

"Indeed not," smiled the wolf.

* * *

"Okay, everything seems to be set," Taylor spoke, flicking the systems off the ship. "Aside from fuel for our beacon launches, we should be fine. Impulse drives are well operational, as well as shielding and door controls."

"Cool," said Carlos. "Looking forward to making history?"

"Well, yeah! Who wouldn't?" said Taylor. "We'll be travelling for the first time solely via long distance FTL beacons! Travelling faster than the Kestrel? That's an opportunity I wouldn't want to miss!"

"Yeah, I wouldn't either," laughed Carlos. "Bit of a larger jump, but it should compare much more safely compared to short-distance beacons."

"Yup... It's a big test of new technology. Nothing has been achieved quite like this."

They hopped off, and took a shuttle back to the residential district. Not much was said between the two, helped by the fact they had been work partners for a good 4 years now. As much as they lived within the same area, they didn't share the same apartment, being positioned at opposite ends on the same floor. Carlos ended up splitting his expenses by sharing an apartment with another, one Robert Collins. That fox was an interesting one, for a scientist. His thoughts turned from that when he found themselves at their apartment floor.

"So I guess we'll see each other for the next fortnight from tomorrow, eh? Guess we should treasure the time we'll have alone, right?" said Taylor, a semi-mocking tone in his voice.

"Yeah. See ya tomorrow." Carlos had gotten used to that kind of remark. He had joked about the idea of going to the local bar and trying to catch someone, but he had never followed through with it. 'I'd be spending more time with Taylor than with whoever I picked up,' he thought. The idea of asking Taylor out, however, seemed a bit too ridiculous however to justify.

In the end, he cooked up some leftovers, and tried not to think about his personal situation at hand. He would need the concentration for the trip. He could think about that later.

Carlos took his time when washing up, letting the shower spray soak him in warm water. He really enjoyed them because they relaxed him so much, easing away any stress that the day had brought on. No matter how much he had arrived home hot and bothered, the shower had always been one of the places to be. A spa would have been just as good, but no-one would possibly permit that in such enclosed spaces.

A quick blast of air dried him promptly, and as he settled in bed, he knew that he would once again have the bed all to himself. The idea of the fox sleeping next to him had initially rattled him, but Professor Collins was never there when he went to sleep, woke up in the middle of the night, nor when morning came when he went to work, so he guessed that he actually lived elsewhere.

He went over the assignment details using his handheld computer. As much as it seemed unusual that the job didn't seem that important, he knew that it would be good pay for Courier Wolves.

The sleep came before he realised it, and it was over way too soon. Carlos suddenly sat up in his bed, the warmth in the room suddenly realised in his fur. He tried to shake it off, but it was still way too warm for him to rest comfortably.

Leaving the bed, he headed over to the bathroom. 'I... What dream was that?' he questioned. 'It couldn't have been good...' Carlos knew that though dreams rarely actually correlated to reality, it'd have an effect on his performance. That on top of the fact he was going to be sleep deprived as well. 'Only 4 AM... Damn.'

He shook it off as he rinsed his face, cold water cooling his fur as the air brushed past him. He checked up on his computer; not much had happened. The dream however continued to trouble Carlos. For the most part, they were ordinary, nothing as crazy as tearing a ship apart with his bare paws. He tried to recall what it was he had felt, seen, but couldn't. Though he was sure that it wasn't going to be something major, it couldn't be helped as he struggled to try and sleep again.

It was only a little time before the alarm went off. "Ugh, 6 AM?" Carlos mumbled as he dragged his body out of the bed again. His body tried to make him go back to sleep, but he shrugged it off, setting the coffee machine as he showered. The coffee wasn't the real stuff, but it wasn't easy getting it up, and it was much easy to synthesise caffeine, flavour it and call it next to the real deal.

Dispensing a disposable cup, the machine began delivering. Carlos dressed up in his uniform, a simple fitting uniform with the Carrier Wolve's flag and logo pinned to the front. Under that, his name tag. It was a bit odd wearing it all the time on deliveries, but he had gotten used to it over time. He snagged the cup on his way out, and found Taylor already in the lift, waiting for him.

"Well, you were faster than me by how much this time, Taylor?" Carlos asked as he entered the lift alongside.

"A minute or so," he replied. "Did you have an odd night or something? Normally you're the one that's ahead of things."

"A little. Got woken up at 4 AM for some reason. Probably something that I ate last night. Nothing big," he shrugged. Mentioning a weird dream probably wouldn't help Taylor any, and he was fairly certain that he wasn't looking into the future or anything. It was something that had probably come about as result of his worries about the job.

As the lift descended to ground floor, Carlos asked, "So, how about you? You slept okay?"

"Pretty much. Took a bit of time to fall asleep, but that's only because I was a little excited." Taylor smiled, and Carlos smiled back. Most of the trip there was spent quiet, knowing that small talk was not on either one of their minds. As they boarded the shuttle to the military station however, Carlos decided to bring up the subject of the dream. "I read something interesting about dreams last night."

"Oh? What was it about?" Taylor hadn't much interest in the superstitious arts and activities, quite dismissive on the subject.

"Something about this person having dreams that correlated to reality. Events that had happened in the past, current ones, and in the future. It was a bit weird, as this guy, Barlington Zoh put it."

"Right... Tell me something that's believable please? Like he was looking stuff up the night before in his contact lenses?"

"Well, he admitted himself to a medical institution recently. Not that I believe this article."

"So then, what opinion do you want me to give?" He looked at Carlos, a slight frown of challenge appearing.

"I want to know if it's even possible to see such events, such visions at all."

Taylor took a moment to think, something that Carlos rarely saw when Taylor was being told to consider an argument by others. He looked up at Carlos and responded, "I think that just because we see weird things in our dreams, and that it happens, we shouldn't assume that those visions are tied to us. It's *Not a Cause for a Cause*. If you made an idea and some famous director puts it in a film, you can't argue that they copied the idea from you."

"Well, that makes plenty more sense then," said Carlos, his mind now more slightly relaxed at the reinforcement.

"What were you thinking about the issue anyway?" asked Taylor, pressing the matter. "We don't discuss these things often, and we know it."

"Well, I... I dunno really. It just felt like something I ought to discuss with you, for some dumb reason or another." Carlos felt a bit silly and foolish then, but it was better than telling Carlos about his own worries.

Before Taylor could delve any further to the matter, the shuttle had arrived at its destination. They departed and headed to the meeting room for final briefing. It was a bit of a customary thing to do, to ensure their pilots were in top shape, and also a reminder in case they happened to have forgotten for some reason.

"...Alright, that will be all from me for now," Anderson spoke, in a much more formal manner. "This will be the first trip ever conducted with the Hypercharge drives. As much as it sounds stupid and cliched, this is the evolution of delivery. Today will mark history in FTL travel. Dismissed."

Though the media coverage had been relatively minimal due to IPF policy on media inside a millitary base, there had still been substantial exposure over the internet, streaming across the galaxy. Risks were present about competitors potentially attempting to sabotage the technology, but being under IPF security, it checked out, and most of the other companies were still trying to develop the technology for themselves.

The two headed for their ship, and they began their final checks.

"...All systems are in order," said Taylor. "We're good to fly."

"Payload's arrived just now." Carlos motioned to Taylor. "Help me get this stuff on-board."

For a high priority job, the amount of paper that was being transferred seemed almost disappointing. This, Carlos had reasoned was probably why they weren't taking one of the larger spacecraft out for this particular job. A box of paper, who would have thought would be the first job for a technology so new?

It was soon on-board, and it was secured in a blast container, a precaution in case of fires and explosions should anything happen. It hadn't happened at all yet, but the company had decided that there was no room for risk with the inevitable future where criminals would too roam space. It was already there, and no chances were taken.

"Initiating take-off sequence for ship CW-167," announced Carlos, now seated next to Taylor in the pilot cabin.

The radio crackled to life in response. "Acknowledged, CW-167, bay doors opening in 90."

"Copy that. Thanks for being around."

In space, the issue of sound, or rather, the lack of it was a very large issue as it forced crew to always have their eyes open at all angles to ensure there weren't any hazards around to smash into them. The invention of visual sensors along with the improvement of software allowed these sensors to be able to distinguish space from physical hazards.

"Alright then," said Taylor, "I suppose you know what you're doing to get this hypercharge drive operating, yeah?"

"Oh yeah, that's something I should tell you about. We're going to have a nice tour."

"A tour?" For a moment, Taylor looked confused, but it changed to a frown as he suspected what was going to happen. "Oh... You're about to do something very dangerous, aren't you?"

"We need the energy, Taylor, and our best power source is that bright light over there." Carlos pointed over to the sun.

"You've got to be shitting me..."

Carlos shook his head. "You better hold on tight because we're going in 15 seconds."

Taylor's eyes widened. "What!? 15 seconds!?"

Before Carlos could respond however, the engine kicked into a dangerous sounding whirr, before their ship blasted forwards towards the sun. The solar filtering system struggled to keep the light out as the ship began to accelerate far beyond normal. He flicked a few switches and pushed the thrusters to maximum as warnings shone on the monitors. Taylor actually felt terrified as the ship shuddered, and he shut his eyes as the ship got pulled in closer by the sun.

Sparks suddenly flew across the console as the ship blazed dangerously close by, and the two were suddenly pinned down as it shot forwards, the solar system quickly left behind. Taylor opened his mouth to yell something, a scolding remark at Carlos, something about dying, but everything went dark as he lost consciousness.