FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The title of this short story is still a work in progress and is subject to change.

Space, it's cold, unforgiving, inhospitable, deadly. But strangely it was also welcoming, beautiful, with all its wondrous features. Black Holes which, as far as science had theorized, destroyed light and time, nothing existed within one. Nebula's with their vast array of colors, sometimes harboring a hostile environment that could tear a ship to shreds, or make for one wonderful flight of spectacular colors in almost all of the spectrum. Space, it's so vast, empty, yet it's not. There are horrors and amazing things that await for us out in space, it's the only frontier we, as humans, have yet to explore ourselves, see these things with our very own eyes up front. We can watch it all through a telescope, launch drones to take pictures and videos of the galaxy and send it back to us so we can analyze and view it. But we have yet to physically go ourselves and see those things for our very own eyes. Many people have many theories on space such as, are we actually all alone in this vastness of our galaxy? Is there a friendly species out there willing to make contact? Maybe a hostile alien force that would rather see us be conquered? Or possibly an organism that's sole purpose is to assume control of its hosts, to spread? What kind of creatures and organisms are out there waiting for us to stumble upon them? We won't know until we, ourselves, explore out into that vast, beautiful, horrific, emptiness of space. This story is a work of complete fiction and should be taken as such. I hope that those reading this story do enjoy it. I love science fiction ranging from the popular series such as Star Trek, Star Wars, Stargate, BSG, Halo, Firefly, and many many more popular sci fi titles out there. Without further ado, enjoy this science fiction story set within the Guardians universe that i am still working on building and hope to do so with these "short" stories.

The date is August 23, 2741. Location is a remote station named Aura Station on the outer rim of the Unified Galactic Systems Military border in the Epsilon Aurigae System. Jack, a White furred with small sections of black running up his sides and muzzle wolf. The torso of his flight jacket as hanging loosely around his waist allowing the fur from his chest to waist to be seen. His tight lean muscles showing. The guys he met always loved that. He watched as the mottle of space in Jump returned to it's normal view of space, stars had reappeared and Aura Station was now in view. Alarms went off all around him, the computer boards in front of him flashed with warning signs showing that the engines were overheating, several subsystems had started to fail as well. He hit several switched on his board and the alarms stopped. The Avius, a small G Class freighter that was, at the least, forty years old. He had purchased is about ten years ago at a small scrap yard and had fixed her up. Unfortunately a lot of the repairs he had made to her were beginning to fail and he hoped that, with this last job, he would have the money to get her into a dry dock and fix her up, this time for good. She had done him a lot of good, through ion storms to cruising there several dangerous nebula's to avoid pirates, the ship had earned his respect and love. He flicked onto the stations frequency and pulled out a cigarette as a smooth female voice came over the radio, "Freighter Avius, welcome to Aura Station. Please state your purpose and transmit your permits for landing approval."

He cleared his throat and said with a bit of raspiness in his voice, "Aura Station this is Freighter Avius, delivery for a Doctor Henry Levin. Transmitting permits now." He punched in a few commands and saw the data begin transmitting over to the station.

It was several minutes before he heard back, "Freighter Avius you are cleared for docking at landing pad thirty five." Came the voice.

"Affirmative Aura Station, will maneuver into position for landing." He replied as he flicked the end of his transmission. The massive circular station spun slowly on its Y Axis in a circle. Dozens of ships coming and going from the center entrance of the station. A long line of lights showing in front of it the basic approach vector for ships wanting to enter the station. He maneuvered the Avius slowly but surely into a proper approach vector and began to enter the station as a massive Liner flew over his ship. Once it had cleared the entrance it began to pick up speed and was gone. Once he was inside he saw several large circular structures with steel glass material showing the inside of them lining with trees and if he looked close enough he could see hundreds of people, both Human and Pelzigan moving about in there. He examined his HUD on the screen and saw that he had to reorient himself to line up with the pad and done so. Within a matter of a few minutes he had landed smoothly onto the pad and felt the deck underneath his feet shutter as the engines turned off and the pad began to descend into the station. A door above him slid shut and his status boards showed that oxygen had begun to be pumped into the small landing area. The ship stopped descending after only a few meters and then was turned around and pulled into a massive hanger where several ships ranging from medium to large were left on several pads with crews working to either repair, refit, or refuel the ships. He smiled a bit as the pad slid into a slot a few meters away and the stopped moving complete. A large ramp was extended outward to the pad and he could feel it click into place. He punched in a few more commands and allowed the rest of the ships systems to shut down. He got up and began to pull the rest of his flight suit over his mottled dingy fur and zipped it up. He hadn't exactly had the chance to bath for the past few days, what with the pirate activity within this system apparently increasing for multiple reasons. He had little to no sleep, maybe only ten hours in total within about a five day period due to the amount of times he had to maneuver his ship into a better position to avoid detection from those pirates. Unfortunately he hadn't always avoided them. At least twice he was spotted and chased after and has taken fire and damage to small sections of his ship. The poor girl. He made his way through the small hatch and towards the living quarters of his ship which had a round table with a booth for people to sit in one corner of the room, opposite of the path way that lead to the airlock. A small TV hooked up so that he or his guests could watch the latest news or shows, if he ever got any during his travels. There was a small food dispenser built into the wall to the left of the dining area with a very small kitchen next to it and a fridge with perishable goods that he had bought. The whole room was about eighty feet long and wide. Opposite of the pathway to the airlock was the pathway to his living quarters. There were only three rooms in that area. To the right of the dining table was the last pathway to the engine room and cargo hold. Each pathway had a bulkhead door that required a manual release to open. Damn automatic sensors had gone out two years ago. He hit the small release switch at the top right of the frame and the bulkhead shuttered as it slid upwards to open. He stepped through and hit the release on the other side and it shuttered shut behind him. He stretched his aching muscle as he reached the airlock door and punched in a command to open it. It slowly rose upward and cool air ruffled through his exposed fur.

He took a moment to try and straighten what fur he could as he saw a Human Male, Caucasian with red hair and wearing your typical lab coat with the UGSM Insignia on his left and right shoulder walked to his pad with several armed guards. He stepped down from the airlock and tried to make himself look as professional as he could. All of the guards surrounding the man were Human as well, however, their features were hidden behind full body armor. Each of them carried a moderately sized rifle in their hands. Probably better than his small pea shooter that he had strapped to his right leg. "Time to be friendly to the Human." He muttered to himself as he began to walk towards the ramp that lead onto the walk way the group of Humans were walking down. He met them at the end of the ramp and nodded to the man wearing the lab coat, "Doctor Henry Levin, pleasure to meet you sir." He said giving his best smile. "Your goods have been delivered, no damage to them at all."

Doctor Henry Levin, who was definitely shorter than Jack himself, glared up at him. "Doctor Levin would be fine enough for you to say to me, Mr. Lockhart. And the goods better not damn well be damaged, or I WILL have your hide." He growled out.

Jack grimace, wonderful guy. "I can guarantee there is no damage to the products you requested, sir. And please, call me Jack." He said.

"Very well then, let's check them out and once I am certain that they are undamaged, you will get your full pay Mr. Lockhart." Doctor Levin said. Jack took a quiet deep breath and thought to himself, this guy was a true hardass, or at least that was the vibe he was getting from the man. Doctor Levin scrunched his nose as he walked by Jack and he could have sworn he heard the man say "Smells fucking rancid." as Doctor Levin walked past him and towards the Avius. He gave a quick glare at the short Human and huffed. A Lot of Humans forgot that alot of Pelzigans had better hearing than them and he knew he smelled bad, but professionalism, which he prides himself on, should be kept when doing a business transaction. Doctor Levin had an air smugness around him and the guards seemed to have a cold detached sense about them. The Avius was nothing special in design. She looked more like a large rectangular shape with the aft bottom part of it cut out and engines slipped into it. There was a twin laser gun underneath the cockpit and the hull itself showed its age with dents, burn marks, and charred pieces of the hull. The original black and white painting that the ship had when he got it was almost completely faded.

They moved to the aft section of the section of the ship just ahead of the the engines and were the engine room would be and Jack reached up and slid a small panel on the hull open and punched in a code. There was a loud pop followed by a soft hiss as a part of the bottom opened up and a rack was lowered to the ground in front of them. Secured by harnesses was four large containers all having the notable Unified Galactic Systems Research and Development insignia on it, the typical large planet in the center with a dagger going through it and a set of planets with orbiting rings around the large planet and dagger. In small lettering around the tops were the words Biohazard. Jack had never liked transporting any kind of medical cargo, primary the kind for the UGSRND. Typically spelled out trouble, almost like his first time running a similar cargo to a station within the Sol System where the individuals who met him were guerilla fighters who ended up ransacking his ship and leaving him stranded on the old station until a Human vessel heard his distress call and came to his aid. He had received jail time due to that incident for him losing the cargo and a lot of money on that trip. Doctor Levin walked up to the containers and then pulled out a small data pad from his pants pockets and tapped it on. He put in a few commands and began to scan the containers. He nodded at the results of the scan and looked at Jack. "Everything is in excellent condition, no damage. Good job, Mr. Lockhart. Your payment will be transferred to your account immediately. If you want a suggestion, how about you rest up here for a bit and maybe shower and fix this old bird up." The Doctor said snidely.

Jack growled quietly, "Why, what a helpful piece of advice, sir." He said sardonically. Doctor Levin smirked at him.

"Take the containers away, get them to their designated labs and tell the teams to get started. Mr. Lockhart," Doctor Levin said, "Pleasure working with you." He smiled a toothy grin, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Doctor Levin extended his hand out to Jack who clasped the small Human hand in his large paws. "Pleasure is mine." Jack said and then watched as they moved the containers away and they all left. He went back into his ship to the cockpit and turned a panel to the left of the chair on and checked his account. Good, the two million was deposited into his account. He keyed his com on and asked for the mechanic station and put in his requests. With all repairs and refitting, as well as refueling, He was out about sixty percent of what he made. He stored half of what remained into savings then got up out of his chair and made his way out of his ship. Time to go find a place to sleep and relax. Maybe a little fun. He smirked and made his way into the interior of the station.

It took him nearly and hour to finally find a room to buy. He stood in the shower, naked with his forehead resting against the back wall of the small shower letting the warm water wash through his fur and he felt relieved. Five days of avoiding pirates, five days of little to no sleep. He had gotten word from the mechanics that it would take at least a week for his ship to be finished. Before he had gotten in he had made orders to get food and supplies sent to his ship, an extra one grand to get all the necessary supplies he so sorely lacked. He stood up straight and ran a paw along his chest feeling the scar that was there. The fur around it was a lighter color where a boarding Lothian he had ran into several years ago got a good slash into. He had made sure that it was the only one. Damn thing's skull had been caved in for what it did and he nearly bled out getting to a medical station where he was hospitalized for at least a month. The muscles around the scar were still a bit tender and ached once in a while. He took a deep breath and started to wash himself off. He did enjoy jerking himself off in the shower and kicking the spunk down the drain. Once he was done he turned the water off and walked out and began to dry his fur off. Once that was done he laid in the comfy bed and smiled. It may take a week for his ship to be finished, but he was going to enjoy that week. He thought of it as a vacation for himself. He slowly dozed off, naked in the bed and fell asleep.

...

Doctor Levin walked back and forth in the observation room, as the team of scientists down below began to open one of the containers. They began to pull out several oddly shaped specimens that were black with what looked like yellow puss that was oozing from them before they were frozen. The team was wearing hazmat suits and they moved carefully around the container with the specimens into glass containers mounted on the walls of the circular room. A table was at the center of the room with a multitude of different scientific instruments laid about the table and a large arm hanging above the table with other instruments as well. He smiled as the door opened behind him and a young man walked into the room. Doctor Levin turned to face the man. He wore a stark black uniform with the UGSM Insignia on it, a large planet surrounded by several smaller planets with orbiting rings around it, and a Rear Admirals insignia, a gold star, attached to the collar of his uniform. The young man could be no older than twenty five, and yet had achieved the rank of Rear Admiral. An achievement not to sneer at. He was a caucasian man with tanned skin and a scar along his right eye, his hair was cut short and was a dirty blond color. His sky blue eyes watching Doctor Levin. "Rear Admiral Whitcomb, nice of you to stop by sir." He said in the nicest tone he could manage.

"Doctor Levin, I came to see how you are doing. I hope that mutt didn't damage the specimens." Whitcomb said.

"The specimens are in perfect condition. No damage to them. We made the payment to the thing and then brought them here to be taken out of the containers and placed into observation." Doctor Leaving said. "Tell me again, where did you find these?"

"They were on board a derelict Lothian vessel that had drifted into the Epsilon Eridani System, it was detected by the Yurin Station." Whitcomb said. "When a team was sent to investigate they found, the entire crew had been killed. Apparently, torn apart or eaten by whatever those were. Some of the crew were still alive and attempted to attack the team that was sent. Only one casualty was reported."

Doctor Levin smiled even more. "And that one casualty?" He asked.

"Ended up becoming like the crew of the ship that had attacked them. When they were finally able to contain the man they found a small parasitic organism attached to his cerebral cortex." Whitcomb said. "The possibilities of making this a weapon we can use to stop the Lothians, think about it." He continued. "And the possibility to use it against the Pelzigans when the time comes to subdue them is amazing."

"Yes, it truly is." Doctor Levin agreed. He and Rear Admiral Whitcomb had both agreed on their vision of a future where the Human Empire could reign once more as the dominant species. Back in the First Contact War they had found out that Human technology was less than Pelzigan technology and that it was very possible that, if the Pelzigans had decided to launch a full scale attack they would be able to make their way to Earth within a matter of weeks. However, for any number of reasons, most notably their culture itself, the Pelzigans never launched a full scale assault. Merely allowed the Humans to pound away at their defenses, only capable of making a scratch on there defenses. It wasn't until Humanity developed a much more effective ARC system that they were actually capable of making a bigger dent in the Pelzigan defenses that the Pelzigans started to take them as a credible threat. Doctor Levin took a deep breath and clasped his hands together. "Give me a few weeks, maybe a month or two, and I will have results for you Rear Admiral." He said. "Of course, we will need," he made a clearing noise with his throat, "test subjects to begin our study."

Whitcomb smiled at that. "We have a few dozen subjects ready for you to have. Although I can guarantee that they won't be so willing to allow you to experiment on them." He walked up to the glass and watched as the specimens started to move within their glass containers. The black things left a thick layer of puss wherever they went as they slimed along the walls of the container. Dozens of small little parasite like creatures trying to find a suitable host to attach to. "Of course, a majority of them are of um....younger age Pelzigans. Believe they call them pups, cubs, or some shit." Whitcomb said. "Poor things were orphaned when the 'Lothians' killed their parents during their attacks." He said with a hint of humor and sarcasm in his voice. "We also brought you a few adult Pelzigans and Humans for you to experiment on."

Doctor Levin seemed to gleam with joy at that. "Perfect, once we are ready, we will begin experimentation, sir." He said. Whitcomb smiled and they both stood there, watching in fascination at the small things and the science team moving them about. "This will be interesting." Doctor Levin said chuckling.