FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"I...I'm sorry Karus, I didn't mean to..."

"No biggie," he waved off in a higher pitch than normal, "But mind if we kinda...walk quietly for awhile? This place is stirrin' up more bad memories that I figured." Karus was being completely honest, he thought that the 'sleep aids' he had used in the past, and was planning to acquire soon, helped squash these memories. It was clear now that it was not such a bad decision to signal his dealer before.

While Karus and Percival were deep in morbid thought, Ts'Sai was amazed at the sights around her. So many Anthromorphs, of all species, sizes, and colors. Some had the typical fur and scales that one would expect, and others had all sorts of strange and unique colors. Bright neon green, vibrant purple hues, royal blue and many more. And they were doing so many different things! An orange-furred otter with dozens of piercings was performing just off the main strip of the passageway, playing a very upbeat composition on the most outlandish instrument she had ever seen, with several holographic keyboards surrounding him. An occasional passer-by would drop a few credits in a funny-looking hat.

Vendors of all types were pushing their wares in mini-outlets along the bulkheads. An extravagantly dressed rat stood on a small stool, attempting to draw attention to his 'Arachnid-woven' clothing selection. A plump, matronly bear was gesturing enthusiastically towards her hand-made trinkets and good luck charms. Several patrons were gathered around a rather astute-looking cat selling various electronic devices.

And then...a nearly mystical force overpowered Ts'Sai. The most heavenly smell that she had ever experienced gripped her little nostrils with clear intent. They were passing by several food vendors...but this one particular scent...it quite literally sent a shiver down her spine. She knew to stick with the group...but she _had_to know what this otherworldly perfection was.

Percival nearly missed it, being deep in his thoughts about Karus. He knew being here must be hard on him...he just hoped that this environment would not encourage him to slip into his old habits. The raccoon never noticed Ts'Sai leave his side, and it was a stroke of luck that the vendor she was straying to was an extremely loud hyena that was excited to see a customer.

"Greetings there, little one! What've I got here, that might interest you? I got grinders, hoagies, mea-"

"Those!" she said, standing on her tippy toes to see over the counter, pressing her paw against the glass, towards a large pan of simmering links of meat, finally finding the source of the miraculous smell.

Looking up, hearing the exchange, Percival experienced a shock at the unexpected separation. "Karus!" he shouted, breaking the wolf's bleak thoughts. The wolf turned to see him pointing a finger at the vendor and their sidetracked companion.

The sales pitch of the hyena ended as soon as he heard Karus's name shouted. He looked upwards to see the wolf and raccoon approaching hastily.

"Oh! Ah, I didn't know she was with you! Seriously, take all the hot dogs ya want!" The cook cried, seeming to shrink behind the counter.

"For fu...I mean, crap! Look, bud, have you _ever_heard about me stooping so low as to rob a street vendor?" Karus asked in an irate tone. He looked to the bouncing kitten, trying her best to press her face into the glass. "Heh, guess it has been awhile since you've had anything but lousy synth replicated food, hasn't it buddy?"

Ts'Sai pried her face from the glass and put on a little display to get her way. "So...hungry," she said, grasping her little tummy with one paw and leaning on Karus's knee with the other, from 'fatigue.' "Can't...go...on..."

"Alright, kiddo, no need to over do it...although you've been learning quick from how I beg Percival for my share of credits," he said with a grin, reaching into his vest pockets for some of his credit chits. The hyena ducked slightly as Karus withdrew his paw.

"Look, champ, keep actin' like that and I won't tip you," Karus told him, picking out a chit with eighty-two credits on it, enough to buy most of his display of foodstuff. He tossed it over to the vendor, and said, "Give her a couple, keep the change. I don't do the sorta thing you're thinking about anymore."

He watched as the vendor straightened up, and how his eyes widened upon examining the chit. Immediately he began fixing up two hot dogs for the 'starving' Ts'Sai. Percival was shaking his head, both from Ts'Sai wandering off, and the response of the hyena to Karus's prescence.

Karus took time to appreciate Ts'Sai, who was still fixated utterly on the 'quality' food she was about to receive. Out of everyone, Percival who was wise enough to determine what kind of past he had, and every creature on this station, who had either experience with him or had heard it through the rumor-mill...Ts'Sai was the only one who could still view him without all of that baggage.

The now-happy hyena handed a small paper plate, heavily weighed by fully loaded hot dogs, to Ts'Sai. The kitten could barely maintain herself. Without warning, she immediately took one and practically engulfed half of it in a single bite.

"Sorry, uh, sir," the hyena attempted to explain, "I-uh...just..."

"No worries. Just uh...don't tell your pals 'round here that I got a generous streak. I can't possibly afford all of ya. You just won the jackpot 'cause my co-pilot here picked your spot out," Karus said, waving off any form of apology.

"Goodness, dear! Please, at least try to chew!" Percival interjected, as Ts'Sai rapidly stuffed the remainder of the first hot dog into her already stuffed cheeks.

"Bmmph imph oooo gfffg," was her reply, as mustard coated the fur around her mouth.

Karus gave an informal salute to the chuckling hyena, and started to lead the group once again to Chudnov's weapons bay. Percival took the plate with the remaining hot dog from Ts'Sai, despite her gargled protest, just to avoid having the ravenous kitten choke herself. Ahead of the group, Karus pressed another credit chit to a vending machine to electronically take the funds, and popped a button with his fist to drop out a small beverage.

Walking backwards, he looked at his feline friend struggling to swallow the enormous bites she had taken. "Here ya go, bud," he said, tossing her the bottle with an open smile, "Remember: _savor_the taste, don't just inhale the thing."

Ts'Sai examined the bottle curiously, and twisted off the cap quickly. She put it to her lips, and nearly fainted at the wondrous sweet, bubbly, and fruity flavor that trickled over her taste buds. Finally swallowing the wad of hot dog in her mouth, she could finally speak intelligibly. "Aww...Karus, it's strawberry! You remembered!"

"Steel-trap mind, kiddo," Karus laughed, pointing to his head, "Now...if only I could remember where this place is..."

"Wait, you've been leading the party and don't remember where we are going!?" Percival asked with frustration. "Why didn't you just ask for directions when we were speaking to Beatrice?"

"All the passageways look the same here," Karus said in his defense, standing in a four-way intersection, "And I didn't wanna bug her with something as easy as directions. Just hold on for a moment, both of ya. You'll enjoy this. Lemme hold that for a moment, Ts'Sai."

Karus took the bottle and Ts'Sai frowned in response. They all stood together in the intersection, waiting, Ts'Sai impatiently wanting to be given the rest of her meal, and Percival standing tapping his booted footpaw against the floor wondering what was going on.

"Well, Karus? Why are we just standing here?"

"It's 1728 right now," Karus said using militarized time, "Less'n two minutes to go, assuming he hasn't changed his schedule. Sometimes they gotta move his little storage space anyways, when he gets a bit over-eager."

Ts'Sai continuously poked Percival, who was about to relent and surrender the remaining foodstuff to her. Their companion shook his head, saying, "I don't think y'all are gonna want anything in your paws..."

The two confused shipmates shared a confused glance, and sighed heavily. Percival was about to complain to Karus, but at that moment, he noticed several other Anthros in the passageways checking the time on various devices. Many began halting their conversations for a moment, holding their paws and claws up, and then plugging their ears.

At that moment, a thunderous \ **BOOOOOOOM** echoed from the passageway to their right, shocking both Percival and Ts'Sai, along with a few other travelers who were unfamiliar with the procedures of the station. They both jumped several inches into the air, Ts'Sai practically bounded into Percival's arms, and their fur frizzed straight out.

Karus doubled over with laughter at his two friends, barely able to hand the drink back to Ts'Sai. "A-hahaha! You shoulda seen the look on your faces!" he chortled, their eyes still wide with bewilderment, "1730 is weapons testing time, for security forces here, haha! Chudnov always takes a random explosive from one of the storage units and tests it. Oh...geez guys...that look was priceless."

Percival set the kitten down, and handed her the food. "Karus...please...I think we've dealt with enough surprises for today," he said in a tired manner, grasping the hover-tractor weakly.

"Well, hah, I factored that into our landing time here, boss. So here's a good surprise," he said, leading the way towards the explosion, "Chudnov's _always_in a great mood right after he blows something up. Will prolly give us a pretty decent price for this ordinance..."

He led the way into the cavernous outing in the passageway, a much larger entrance than any other outlet or merchant was permitted. The compartment was dimly let, and racks upon racks of all sorts of weapons lined them, protected by light blue ray beams. Launchers, blaster assault rifles, 'old school' ballistic rifles...nearly every type of lethal weaponry one could imagine was displayed.

The arrangement of the room made sense to Percival, considering that Karus mentioned Chudnov was a dragon. Placement of the racks was far too wide for convenience of smaller species, and they were exceptionally tall, as well. Luckily, for him, the wide placement of the storage racks made for easy maneuvering of the hover-tractor.

Ts'Sai was not feeling as lucky. The eerie lighting, the giant weaponry, and dangerous glow of ray beams only served to heighten her apprehension. As an even younger kitten, out of her limited amount of memories, she recalled bedtime tales of dragons gobbling up naughty youths. Certainly, those could never be true...but...this lair of a compartment definitely stirred up the images her parents had woven with stories.

Karus walked up a small set of stairs to an enormous force-fielded counter. Within the display were sidearms and bladed weaponry of all types, complete with miniature holo-displays to showcase the weapons in action against dummy targets. The various screens showed some of Beatrice's security forces firing each weapon with precision, or devastating dummies with exotic blades, ranging from rare alloys sharpened to the molecule, or even rarer 'displacer' blades, that were formed of a directed singularity, that literally warped the atoms of the hapless target apart.

The wolf learned against against the counter, a slight crackle sounding as the force-field of the counter worked to repel him. Ts'Sai began to shrink behind Percival as he waited for the transaction. Karus banged on a buzzer to summon the arms dealer about a dozen times before shouting out, "Get your scaly-butt out here, Chudnov! Ya've got company! Where's the manager, I wanna file a customer service complaint!"

"Yah, yah, I ees koming," a thunderous voice boomed from deep in the smoky recesses of the room, "Keep trousers on yourself."

The kitten's slight discomfort before rose to full-blown fear at the sound of the dragon's voice. She gripped Percival's leg tightly with one arm, her soda pulled snugly into her chest. "Oh, fine, here is your other hot dog. Just try to eat like a proper lady this time!" Percival said, misreading her reasoning.

The floor shook with a loud \ **thump* * as Chudnov began moving from the testing zone in the back. Ts'Sai shook her head vigorously and with her drink shuddering in her paw, gestured towards the darkness.

"Oh, that. There's no reason to be afraid, little one. He's just a dragon. They're typically very large as adults, true...but no more inclined to viciousness than you or I. In this setting...I'm assuming he's a bit more like Karus, however. Nothing to worry about. Here, take your hot dog, and settle down."

She nervously took the food, although she had to admit to herself the comforting taste helped mask the fear. That part was essential, as a giant form began to manifest in the shadows, towering above everything.

"Ha-ha-ha!" The tremendously powerful voice roared in something of a mechanical fashion, "Draconian-made Nova Mk. VIII rockeets. Make probleems eento no such beeg probleems anymore. Now, now...who leetle ones pestereeng poor old Chudnov?"

The gargantuan form emerged, still very dark, as his scales were as black as the space beyond the edge of the galaxy. A slight red trim followed the bones of his wings, and around his belly scales. There was something of a regal look to his head, as a series of horns appeared to form a half-crown of sorts, with two larger horns extending outwards near his ear holes. He was forced to turn to see the crew of the Marco, as his right eye was presumably missing, covered by a steel plate. His left eye, however, was a bright gold hue, which hid a bit as his pupil expanded at the sight of them.

"Karus! You leetle trobul-makeer! Kom heer frieend!" The enormous dragon cried, his toothy maw opening in a warm smile, smoke from his weapons test still streaming from him.

Chudov tromped towards them, the floor shaking with each gravity-laden step. Ts'Sai was still nervous about the enormous creature, but could not help but grin, seeing such a massive being acting so giddy at seeing an old friend. The dragon towered over the group behind the counter, his wings folded inwards to avoid knocking into anything, and his arms outstretched wide before Karus.

"Ah, shit," Karus muttered under his breath to his companions, before being scooped up by the enthusiastic dragon. He was brought in tightly against the dragon's chest, squeezed roughly, but relatively gentle for a dragon. Percival and Ts'Sai could actually hear Karus's vertebrae popping under the intense pressure of the bear hug.

"Ooohh, I have meesed you so! Always keeping station on toes, yes?" The dragon celebrated with his limp plaything, "Teel me what you have beeen up to, old frieend!"

The wolf struggled to find the air to respond. "Before...this hug...I...was...breathing."

Chudnov laughed heartily, bouncing the helpless pilot about with his chest. "Oh-ho ho! You eez always a jokesteer, Karus!" he said before gently setting him back down with his crewmembers. "And who are these other fuzzies you breeng?"

Karus had to reorient for a moment, getting oxygen back to his head. "Well, this is Percival, my new boss," he said, pointing to his captain, who tipped his hat with his cane in a small salute.

"Ah! You eez lucky, rakoon, many powers would lov to have Karus as theer pilot. He gets job done, no matter how many holes in kraft! Eet is eentertaining, much so, to see how many shoot at heem during a job, ha-ha!"

"Ah, yes," Percival responded, looking unsuccessfully at Karus for guidance on how to continue, who merely shrugged, "I am very pleased with his performance, he's kept us safe through several close scrapes."

"And who eez the leetlest one weeth you?" Chudnov asked, seeing Ts'Sai peek over the hover-tractor, now more curious than afraid, seeing the dragon react so warmly.

"Heh, this is my co-pilot, Ts'Sai!" Karus said with a smile, reaching back to scratch her ear, "She's keepin' me on the straight-'n-narrow now."

"Awww," the dragon sighed with a bit of disappointment, "So rumoors are true, that Karus no longer plays Game with scoundreels and rogues?"

"'Fraid not, champ. Travelin' around with a legit trader raccoon, and pretty little princess beats the heck outta backstabbin' and thievery any day."

"Oh weel old frieend, I ees glad that you are glad. Although, I alreeady mees your hijeenks here. You play Game well, veery entertaineeng to see who was afteer you next."

The dragon lowered his head to look at the curious kitten, and extended a single claw as a greeting. She grasped it, still larger than her whole paw, and shook as well as she could. "Pleeased to meet you, leetle one. You are veery specieeal, to konveence this wolf to leave Game. Not eeven the Hunter's Gueeld manageed to stop heem."

Ts'Sai managed a cautious smile, still not entirely over her intimidation regarding the large creature.

"Ah, I'm afraid our young companion is still a bit tongue-tied, you are the first dragon she has the honor of meeting, in person," Percival said on her behalf.

Chudnov chuckled, "Ah! That eexplains eet! Weel, my leetle lady, I hope you ees impressed by sight. Do not belieeve rumors, we dragons are only skarey to enemies, and you teeny keeten, are a frieend."

She cutely covered her smile and blushed, offering a little bow in response.

"Well, now that greetings are out of the way," Karus said, noticing the time on his visor and not wanting to miss the appointment with his dealer, "Let's talk 'bout business. Found these little toys out 'n not being used...figured you might like 'em here, and offer a fair price for 'em."

"Hmm, let Chudnov take look-see," the dragon said, picking up one of the smaller missiles with ease, "Ballista mark three, manufactured on Q'uerrat weeapons faktory by leetle mice. Eemage-rekogneetion targeteeng. Very good find!"

Ts'Sai could not help but chuckle at hearing Chudnov's think accent, while Percival was impressed at the dragon's encyclopedic knowledge of weapons. Chudnov gently laid the missile on the counter, and peered over again to take a closer look at the much larger torpedoes.

"Goodnees! Thees ees great find! Not the beegest boomers made by my kind, but veery efektiv. Mini ray shieeld on the teep allows peneetration of enemy shieeld, beelow that, mangneesium spike punch through hull, and-"

"Yes, we're very proud of our find, Chudnov," Karus said, attempting to finish this little necessary detour, "But, unfortunately, we're on a time crunch. Boss here has 'ta pick us up our next job, and we can't settle too long...we _might_have people looking for us."

"Leet me guess, wolf-pilot...grave robbing? Theese weapons not made for many yeears."

"Precisely," Percival answered for him, "Unfortunately, legitimate work is hard to come by, and desperate times...Well, we certainly don't intend to take such a risk again."

"Weel, weel...seex beeg boomers, full rack of meesiles...Karus ees frieend, and frieend's boss down on luck...leet me think," Chudnov said, pretending to act as if he were calculating, however, he could not help but show his grin, "Do you feegure seexty-thousand kover kost?"

Percival's eyes opened wide, and his jaw dropped wide. "_Sixty?_I mean," he said, trying to compose himself again, "That would be...more than adequate, my kind sir."

"Ha-ha...I ees betting Karus knew to show up afteer I weapon test. Een good mood always after eexplosions. But, to be fair, eet is not so much more than markeet price for such theengs. Creeminals from Terran space are geeting bolder. Theese may kome in handy to poke few holes een them."

"I must thank you, for your generosity, of course," Percival said, extending his digital pad to complete the transaction. Chudnov waved over the back wall with his tail, and a dragon-sized holographic pad appeared for him to type in the amount. "No proobleemo, as Karus say," Chudnov answered, as he typed in the amount, and with a wave of his hand sent it to be confirmed on Percival's pad.

"Leave traktor, I seend eet back by deelivery runner soon, so you go geet job. Karus, eet has been pleasure seeing you again!" Chudnov said happily, flicking his tail about to drag the hover-tractor on the other side of the counter.

"Same here, bud. Thanks for the deal, too. I know if anyone'll put those things to good use against pirate bastards, it'll be you."

Ts'Sai waved enthusiastically goodbye, and Percival gave a slight tap on his cap with his cane, to salute goodbye. As they headed out of the weapons bay, Percival took out his holo-display again to bring up the contact information of the job contact. "I suppose this is the next stop, then?"

"For you, maybe. I need to find out if we're going to be followed, or if anyone's tracking us right now," Karus said, hatching his plan to break from the group in order to meet the dealer, who would be at the prearranged meeting point in about twenty minutes.

"What? I thought Beatrice said that no..."

"No_experienced_hunters, boss. Small fries might be willing to take up that kinda bounty, just outta the amount of Game cred it would give them. If I'm able to head 'em off...or just figure out who they might be, we can prolly avoid having to shoot anyone," he said, giving a somewhat legitimate-sounding excuse for why the party should be split.

Percival, however, still suspected something. "Karus...I _know_how much you hate this being brought up, but...do you _really_think you should be going off on your own? I'm not trying to imply that you might be-"

"No, that's exactly what you're implying," the wolf responded defensively, "You think I'm gonna try score some hypos or something! Cool, I _won't_look out for us then."

Percival sighed, drooping his shoulders. "I'm sorry, you just have to understand it from my perspective, Kar. It seems every time you've broken off, you've...well, done that. I understand your commitment to Ts'Sai now, but...you haven't faced a temptation like being in this sort of environment since she's joined us..."

Karus gritted his fangs, hating himself intensely at the moment for lying so much to someone who was looking out for him. He just doesn't understand the necessity. Can't fly without sleep, and it's no good being a whiny bitch who can't deal with yourself, Karus's inner thoughts told him. It's easier to make this up. Protects them from knowing anything, and you get what you need."I understand, boss. It's not easy for me to be here, honestly, but, I still wanna keep you two outta trouble. There could be a hunter or two, and if I can flush 'em out and drive 'em off, I know where to go. If we both go do our thing, you get us that legit job, I go make sure trail's clear, it saves time and limits our exposure on this station."

The raccoon could not doubt the truth of that statement, although, he still doubted Karus's intentions. He _wanted_to believe the wolf, and it was true, he kept himself much more restrained and calmed down since the introduction of Ts'Sai to their crew. Perhaps it could work...besides, he did not want to have a complete confrontation now. So far, this trip had been profitable...perhaps he could trust him...

Karus saw Percival struggling with the decision, and knew it was time to maintain the press of justifications to him in order to guarantee the 'win.' "Keep the money with you, boss. If I was gonna try to score junk here, I'd have asked for my cut already. Junk ain't cheap when it's high in demand 'round here," he said, knowing the Percival had no idea what the cost of drugs would be.

"Well...I suppose it is best for us to ensure that we are clear before departing. I certainly would not want to begin a new contract with an engagement right off the bat. The question remains, what do we do with our little one?"

Ts'Sai let out a miniature burp, after finishing the rest of her fruity soda. "Can't I just go with you one of you guys?"

"Ah," Karus said, feeling a deeper pang of guilt, and stressing himself even more to maintain the act. Truly, if he did not need_this fix, he would love to take her to see the hydroponics domes, or to the more age-appropriate shows aboard the station...but if he did not make this pick up, it may be weeks without a 'sleep aid.' "It's prolly not the best idea for me to be taking you with me, kiddo, 'specially if I'm looking for trouble...to _avoid it," he said in an aside to Percival.

"I, too, worry about bringing you with me, Ts'Sai. If the contact worries about us bringing such a youth with us...we may not be awarded the contract. It may be best for you to wait on the ship, under wa-"

"Oh,_heck_no!" Ts'Sai protested, "I've been cooped up on that ship for months now! I gotta stretch my legs." She dropped to the deck, and flex-stretched her back in a high arch on all fours. Karus spotted a frog staring a bit too hard in the crowd...he caught the frog's attention with a wave, and slowly drew his thumb across his throat with a viscous scowl.

"Don't do that too much, buddy," he said after threatening the leering amphibian, "Look...I know it sucks...but this really isn't a very good spot for sight-seeing. Hopefully our job'll take us to a real planet, alright?"

Ts'Sai collapsed in the middle of her stretch, falling to the floor in defeat. She knew it would be pointless to debate with the two, and was resigning herself to more boring time on the Marco. "Alright...I'll stay...But you owe me _so_many of those...hot dogs! Yeah, I'll stay put for food, but you better not forget!"

"Heh, sounds good. You got that, boss? I mean, you're the man with the pay stubs and all?" The wolf said with a smile, for their benefit.

"I can handle that, good sir. Well, I suppose we must be off, I am contacting this robin to meet with us, I can find his temporary office easily enough, it isn't far from the docking bay."

"Well, we got our plan, let's get to it!" Karus said, still worried about the time ticking down to his appointment, "If ya need me, give me a holler, either of ya!"

The pilot carefully controlled his departure, to not give the appearance that he was in a particular rush. He guided easily through the crowds of Anthomorphs moving to and fro. Once he was certain that his crew was out of line-of-sight, he stepped up his pace considerably, and his face contorted in anger.

He hated lying to them. He hated missing out on the opportunities to spend quality time with Ts'Sai, or just have innocent fun with Percival. Most of all, he hated himself, for his weakness, and inability to come to terms with events many years past...

_This'll be the last time. I'm changing._He said in his own mind, trying to convince himself, and oblivious to the masses, and not paying them much attention. Karus was walking the route without even bothering to look, too entranced in his own inner battles with the transaction that was about to take place. If he had been aware, as he used to practice in this setting, he may have noticed the eyes following him from a dark corner of the passageway, sending out a message to cohorts....

* * *

Percival had dropped off Ts'Sai on the ship, while Beatrice's workers were busy making minor refits, such as replacing the shield gasses with the Xenon that the raccoon acquired through spacewalking, and swapping out circuits worn or fried, from the harsh maneuvering of Karus, or speeding so close to the coronas of two stars.

The workers were boring, however. They just wanted to finish their jobs, and go back to a smoke break or get off of their shift. Ts'Sai attempted to start conversations with each of them, almost immediately after Percival told her not to and left. Responses varied, but the end result was the same. A reddish-skinned horse adjusting interior shock absorbers merely answered 'yup,' to anything Ts'Sai said, not even listening to the dialogue. She was finally able to realize this by asking, "You are just a gigantic turdmuffin, aren't you?" As she expected, "Yup," was his response, without even looking away from his work.

A much nastier rat told her to go play in the turbines as they ran engine tests. The large brown bear sitting on the wings welding in replacement heat plates was much kinder, offering to to set up a mini random light beam for her to chase...but she was not _that_young. After the lead technician, a chubby, middle-aged beagle with an extremely bushy mustache, (that was incredibly distracting to Ts'Sai,) told her to leave his team alone, she decided to hatch a plan. But not before poking at that caterpillar-like object on the technician's face, much to his annoyance.

Ts'Sai re-enacted 'sneaking' as she had seen done in holo-vids and 'toons, with overly exaggerated steps on her tiptoes, pausing every so often to do a dramatic few 180's, to check if she was being spotted or not. She snapped to the edge of a bulkhead, sliding along the surface to a supply closest just outside the mess that she knew would contain an extra datapad. The red horse was laying on a small anti-grav lift to easily reach the the shock-absorbing modules along the roof of the passageway. With her hazel eyes locked, unblinking on her potential adversary, she stuck her right footpaw out carefully...and tapped the door release with a tiny toe. Immediately snapping back down, she almost started to hum, and pretend to be doing nothing...but the work-oriented horse did not even look up from the hydraulic-hissing door opening. These guys are really taking the fun outta being all sneaky-sneaky, Ts'Sai thought to herself.

Dropping the little game she had been playing, she sighed and sagged her soft shoulders, wishing these guys would at least play along. She took up a data pad, and typed a few commands Karus had taught her. Most importantly, that the portable pads and consoles linked with the_Marco_were able to lock onto the digital signature of his visor. Taking that information and plugging it into navigation...she now had a digital map of how to follow him.

She did not want to cause trouble...but, she certainly did not wait this long to land and then spend more time aboard the craft. Besides, she was not planning on going up and greeting Karus exactly...but seeing him do his thing from a distance would certainly be more interesting than cooped up here.

Casually striding out of the cargo bay, Ts'Sai held the datapad in front of her with her tiny paws. Apparently Karus had arrived at his destination, a large multi-roomed compartment with a 'BAR' symbol over it, named 'Bruster's.' The kitten too, looking straight ahead with the map, never noticed the figure watching her movements, reporting every step to their ill-intentioned allies.

The dark, trench-coated figure stepped out of the shadowy alley once the kitten had passed. They thanked their luck, for having both Karus and the little one in the same place made things so much easier. Now, all they would have to do themselves is intercept the raccoon on his way back from whatever meeting he hurried to. Lighting a cigarette, the figure leaned against the bulkhead and waited for the quarry to appear...

* * *

Karus stood outside the gaudily-lit entrance to Bruster's Tavern. An ancient neon-lamp lit up with the name of the bar, supposedly for the 'character' it added to the place. Several other signs flashed as well, several saying 'Girls, girls!' and accompanied with massively-breasted, scantily-clad female Anthromorphs. Being an equal-opportunity tavern owner, Bruster had also displayed signs along side the entryway saying, 'Get your boi toys here!' along with several youthful male images, highlighting their obvious assets.

The scent of liqueurs, smoke, and sex overpowered the air. Outside of the doorway, individuals and groups were coming and going, some as couples apparently not waiting to return to their berthing to begin their love-making, others getting noisily sick from their gluttonous debauchery. Karus flexed his arms a bit, and cracked his knuckles, in case his trigger-finger was required. His gritted his teeth, despising himself for coming back to this element, but hoping it could be over with quickly. With deliberate stretch, he popped his neck, and looked up again after transforming into the Karus he was in the heyday of his time playing the Game.

Striding confidently, he pushed his way past individuals waiting in a line for entry. A gecko-couple stopped their heavy-tongued make-out session, and one shouted, "Hey, back of the line, asshole!" Karus abruptly turned, his chest up in a threatening manner, and his dark eyes flaring as if they could fire a blaster. The intimidated lizard awkwardly turned back to his girlfriend, attempting to shrink away from his complaint. Glaring for a few moments more, to let the implied threat sink into the surrounding crowd, the renegade wolf resumed his approach.

He stopped at the bouncer's podium, behind it a very buff hippopotamus, with biceps as large as Karus's head. "Weapons check in here," the burly hippo said, paying more attention to his holographic display of guests.

The wolf merely crossed his arms, and raised his un-visored eyebrow incredulously. "Gonna take 'em, big guy? I'm a preferred customer, and don't have time to fuck with this."

The bouncer looked up, and after a brief look of surprise, grinned, waving the hound on inside. "Sorry, mate. Didn't recognize ya without shooting at someone. Just, try not to do that this time. We've gone about four days without a murder."

"No promises," Karus responded, side-stepping the security scanner and heading through the door that hissed open before him.

Familiar sights and sounds greeted Karus upon entry of the main compartment. Hundreds of Anthros, committing every type of sin imaginable. On the dancing floor, grinding genitals created a stench of sweat and lust. There were several stages, with exhibitionists of every species imaginable tantalizing a desire-driven crowd. Alcohol was being poured down maws, muzzles, and gullets, and drugs of all kinds were being swallowed, shot through hypos, or inhaled. A typical bar fight between a rhino dockworker and an off-duty security lion was weaving its way through the crowd, with many spectators cheering and jeering.

It was not difficult for Karus to maintain the scowl on his face. He despised this culture, with no regard for anything else but immediate gratification, abuse of others, and such a throwaway attitude for life. Most of all, he hated himself for being associated with them.That's why you're here, idiot. You want to forget. Go, get the stuff, his addicted mind told him.

First things first, he argued back in his head. Security. We MIGHT have a hunter, there's no way to know. Might as well take proper precautions, even if that was just the scheme to get here.

The hound did a quick survey of the scene, and noticed several of the drinking girls and boys also scoping the crowd for those needing services, or those drunk enough to get easy credits from. Being so experienced at watching the crowd, these seemingly non-entities in the background of these tavern settings were the best way to hire someone to watch your back.

Casually leaning against a railing above the dance floor, Karus raised a paw requesting service, and held it there in a bored fashion, as if he had been doing so for much longer and was annoyed that he had not been noticed. The drink-delivery group looked amongst one another, and an especially busty white mouse girl claimed the customer. She wove her way through the lively crowd, stepping deliberately to highlight her shapely hips and hindquarters. Several customers made some gropes and slaps as she passed, and she playfully chided them, telling them to buy more if they wanted to get friskier.

Approaching the waiting wolf, she bounced intentionally to make her bust jiggle in front of him, and leaned a bit too far into him to rub them against his chest. "What'chya wantin', hot stuff?" she said, acting the role of a bimbo as much as possible, even biting her lip with her mousey teeth. "I'd _love_to get it for you," she said, gently stroking Karus's resting arm.

"Heh, well, there, little mousey, can't fault ya for trying," he replied, softly scratching her inner ear, "But gotta say, you're not my type. In _that_sense. But how'd ya like to make some money _without_doing that shit, and getting to hit me on top of it?"

She confusedly kept up the flirtatious charade, not quite sure of what he meant. "What are you getting at, stranger?"

Karus chuckled, and drew her in closer so he could speak against her cheek. He understood that the electronic music pumping and rancor of the crowd would keep him from being heard, but he knew that even an average hunter should learn reading lips, for precisely this reason.

"Someone in this dump might be hunting me," Karus whispered, and the mouse's bright sapphire eyes lit up in understanding, "and I want someone to be watching for me, someone who blends into the background." Karus performed a bit of slight-of-paw, flicking out one of his less valued credit chits, and slipping it into the mouse's bikini-bottom, but appearing to all onlookers as just a pawful of groping. "There's two hundred creds to start, with a bonus if you follow up with anything, alright?"

"Yeah," the mouse said without any pretense of flirting, "You've got a deal, mister. Now, what was that about getting to hit ya? I've got some frustrations to take out after another night of being groped by these pricks."

"Hah, good girl," he said with a slight growl, "Now, I want anyone watching this to assume I've made a failed pass at you, so...I'm gonna make a statement, grab my junk, and I want you to sock me a good one. Sound like fun? Please avoid breakin' the visor, and no hitting the 'nads. Good stuff?"

"Ugh," she responded, wishing there was an opportunity to nail a male in that one spot. "Okay, go for it, hotshot."

Karus grasped her shoulder with one paw, and grasped his crotch, (partially for protection,) and started to shout, "So, baby, ready to get do-"

He wasn't even able to finish his false chauvinist statement before the little mouse gave him a mean right hook right across his jaw. For such a petite little thing, she packed quite a wallop, and the wolf's jaw was snapped shut and he caught himself on the railing before stumbling too much.

"Piss off, you nasty pig!" she yelled, selling the ruse very well. "No offense, sweetie," she mentioned to a swine customer at a nearby table, and then huffed off.

The rogue spent a few moments of waiting, 'dusting himself off' for anyone that may have been viewing that exchange. Once again checking his visor displaying the time, he realized he was about 10 seconds late so far for the meeting. He fixed up his vest and holster belt, then moved with a quick pace towards the booths in the back.

A gothically-dressed male naga was coiled into a 'seat' in the exact corner of the bar booths, signaling Karus over. The hound knew this dealer, as he had requested his services often in the past. His chosen garment was a black leather jacket, not like Karus's vest, but more for appearance than functionality. Intricate tattoos ran from his humanoid midriff to his face, depicting death, poison, and suffering.

"Nice display, I'm assuming you are worried about being followed?" The naga asked with a slightly bemused tone, leaning his humanoid body forward on the table, "I'm not entirely sure why you are taking precautions for your survival, what you are asking to purchase will kill you easily enough. A hunter might be a swifter and more merciful end."

Karus immediately recalled why he hated using this dealer. "Knock off the shit, Hazzakh, I don't need life lessons from a friggin' trafficker," Karus said, with a genuine grimace on his face.

"I just provide what people ask for. I could easily offer you a glass of tea," the serpentine dealer said softly, swaying almost imperceptibly side to side in his spot, "But that just doesn't have the same...kick...does it?"

The visor Karus wore alerted him to a potential visual trick, and he quickly averted his eyes from the slithering dealer. "Knock it off, I'm serious. Your tricks didn't work before, and they won't work now," Karus warned the reptile. He was thankful he added that recognition program to the visor, as nagas were known to 'mesmerize' potential prey in ancient times, but had adapted the technique for modern times in order to secure more profitable 'agreements' from unwary customers.

"Ah, can't blame a working man for trying, now can we?" Hazzakh said with a chuckle, and taking a sip from a tall, thin wine glass. His blend of human and serpentine features were quite unnerving to Karus. Scales merged with skin on his torso and arms, and his vaguely human head had an extended scaled hood. Combining his appearance with constant predatory movements put the canine on edge.

"Look, let's keep this quick, and to the point. You got the stuff?"

"Drugs, Karus, let us not attempt to soften the impact of what you are buying here with disassociating terms. And yes, I have plenty. Necrosia and Zephract, to be precise. Is this correct?"

The wolf gritted his teeth and dug his claws into the bottom of the table. "Yes, Hazzakh, that is correct," he replied, without opening his tightly shut jaw.

"Well...well...that is certainly an..._interesting_combination, isn't it?" Hazzakh observed. "Necrosia to dull senses and induce a death-like sleep, and Zephract to jolt awake, yes? You _do_realize what this combination does, don't you? Necrosia, _especially_the potency you are asking for causes kidney and liver failure, neuro-"

"Please, just shut up," Karus begged, his cheeks burning red, with his ears drooped low and frazzled golden locks hanging about his face in a manner as depressing as he felt inside. He hated his weakness being flaunted in front of him, in such a manner.

But the naga continued, seemingly to draw pleasure from the tortured creature. "Neurological damage, including paralysis, stroke, and brain death...Zephract can kill one a bit quicker, with heart-failure in under a year, with regular usage."

Karus was well-read on the effects of these narcotics already. He had done his research on how best to sleep...and forget. While these dosages and drugs were certainly dangerous...they were readily acquired as they were a synthetic mix of easily attainable chems, and therefore cheap, on his budget. They did not leave odors, markings, or other signs that he was using, and so it was possible to keep his habits under Percival's watch. If he were required at a moment's notice from the daze of Necrosia, then a quick dose of Zephract could bring him right back to 'normal.'

"You already know that I'm aware of the risks...and you're the one selling it, asshole. Why go through the long-winded explanation?

"Because," the snakey salesman said with a cruel grin, "I know I can repeat this as much as I want, and you're still going to buy it. I'm obvious a bit intrigued by the subject of death, and it's always fascinating to watch a sentient creature rush headfirst into oblivion."

"Enough," Karus said, attempting to keep his voice to a low snarl, "What's the damage for what I asked?" In his own mind, he was safe. Plenty of users took these drugs, far more than the mortality rates should be if they were so truly dangerous. You'll be fine,_Karus's mind told him, _Besides, this is just your last dose to wean off of it. It'll take awhile, which is why you're getting a larger amount in this one go. You're just trying to ease off, you're not in danger like this idiot is saying.

"Well, that's the other reason I must go on my tirade...This combination in particular...kills my customers. I need to raise the rates to offset the cost incurred by damage to my reputation, of course. Even though I warn each one how miserably they will die, they insist, and I deliver, but still...some seem to think my products are tainted. That couldn't be farther from the truth...they are utterly pure...but even using as advertised _will_result in death."

The wolf had enough of the serpent's taunting, and chose to move on in a business sense, ignoring the jab. "Fine, whatever. Gimme the price."

"As this may be my last time dealing to you...I want an appropriate sending-off gift. Two thousand credits, take it or leave it, friend."

Although Karus was holding just under three thousand credits on him, that price was insane. Easily twice the amount that such narcotics could be found. However...he did not really have the time to search the slums of the station for any average dealer, like he would have done in the past.

"No_freaking_way, Haz. You know you might as well rob me at that price," Karus argued, hoping there was a way to debate his way into a lower price.

"Hah, robbery is more your line of work, you fuzzy rogue, and besides...we both know I could get up, slink away, and you would beg on your knees for that price again..."

"Fine, you little bastard, her-" Karus began to say, just wanting to get the encounter over with. Out of the corner of his eye, however, he saw the young white mouse approaching, trying to appear natural. Oh, shit, he thought.