FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The next few days passed quickly, the two of them spending most of their waking time sifting through the massive amount of scrap, separating the usable from the recyclable. Spark enjoyed scampering around the wreckage, now wearing a new outfit pieced together for her by Rick since her old outfit was not durable enough for this kind of work. The two of them stayed silent most of the time except when Spark would pop up near Rick to show off some gadget or random part she had found that could be used to help fix some of the other damaged things she had been working on all over his ship. By the end of the second day Rick had to admit that he was growing fond of the slightly hyperactive creature, her enthusiasm was contagious and her ability to repair that which was falling apart was a heavy burden off his shoulders. Unfortunately, he had no documentation that could prove she was his, and station security had many rules against bringing in unlicensed pets even if they were part of the crew. For what seemed the hundredth time that day, Rick again headed to the cockpit, checking their ETA and scanning the area for any of the illicit dealers that tended to hide amidst the myriad of asteroids that made up the inner rings. Usually, these scans would be to avoid such attention, but for some reason Rick was starting to hope he would find one, if only to purchase documents to validate his keeping Spark onboard. Sighing again as the scan reported negative, he headed back to the cargo bay to complete his work and finally sort out all the largest pieces of scrap. Calling out for Spark as he entered the bay, he was a bit surprised to not see her pop up amidst the wreckage. Deciding she must be asleep in his room, he closed the door and disengaged the gravity in the hold to begin moving the largest pieces into secure piles for reprocessing once they arrived at dock.

Spark drifted across the deck, twisting and writhing in fluid motion to the music that played in her head. Her mind was on the music, letting her body flow with the sounds as she danced in the large open space. She had always enjoyed dancing, and had enjoyed countless hours practicing for her previous owner who seemed to enjoy watching her perform and encouraged her in that aspect though she was discouraged from singing. Now however she was free, and her voice filled the empty space as she sang her heart out to the music in her mind, dancing free without a single care in the world. As she danced, she began to feel strange, her movements becoming strained as something began to push against her unseen. Suddenly pain shot through her body, the world around her fading as she woke up to find herself floating in the air, pinned between two large pieces of scrap, a large jagged edge pressing against her making it hard to breathe. She cried out as the metal twisted from some unseen force, ripping across her arm and tearing easily through her borrowed clothes, a long trail of blood now flowing from the gash that seemed to explode across the length of her arm. Rick, hearing the sudden howl of pain grabbed the edge of the large sheet he had been pushing into place and flung it across the bay, cursing as he frantically searched for Spark.

Seconds passed like hours as Spark fought to free herself from the twisting wreckage, finally managing to get the leverage to push the large sheet off of her, a shower of blood gushing from her wound as the metal was ripped away. Rick rushed over to her, looking at the wound and cursing again at his stupidity. He pulled off his shirt, ripping it into long pieces then used them to tie up her arm, the shirt quickly becoming soaked with her blood. Using the magnetic grappling hook he had been using to get around the wreckage, Rick propelled the two of them towards the door then hurried to get the crying kit to safety. Upon arriving in his room, Rick pulled the first aid kit from a drawer and immediately began working over the wound with the dermal regenerator, fearful at the amount of blood pooling on the bed beneath the crushed and heavily lacerated limb. Spark Kept as still as she could, the pain in her arm a small nova as the cooling touch of the regenerator slowly and painstakingly began to seal her wound. Her sight began to fog from the pain and loss of blood, her body shivering uncontrollably. Rick worked as fast as he could, the small unit not intended to seal such a gaping wound. He could feel her beginning to shake beneath him and in a moment of panic almost slipped with the tool but caught himself at the last moment, finishing the work and applying a nano salve to the remainder of the wounds. Seeing her still shaking he began to wrap her in blankets, doing his best to keep her warm as the nanites began repairing the cells and replenishing the lost blood, hoping he had made it in time and that the expensive salve wasn't just a wasted effort.

Spark felt herself slipping away, the pain now a distant ache as she felt something wrap around her but unable to comprehend what was happening. She thought she was moving, but everything seemed numb. She heard someone calling out to her from far away as she drifted further into darkness, the light fading as she struggled to return to the surface. Rick felt her stop moving in his arms as he rocked her, crying for her to come back and telling her how sorry he was that he had done this to her and how could he have been so stupid and it was all his fault. Pulling the emergency kit closer, Rick looked inside for something to help but could find nothing that would bring her back. A gentle shiver from the kit solidified his resolve as he carried her to the shower, turning the water on and turning up the temperature as high as he dared before unwrapping her and stepping inside, holding her close to him as he used the warm water to try and coax some life back into her, calling out for her to return to him. In her dark place, Spark felt a warmth envelop her, the voice getting closer as once again the light began to fill her world, slowly at first then faster and faster as the warmth coursed through her. Opening her eyes, she was surprised to find Rick holding her, his voice filled her ears and she looked up at him, giving a weak mewl before drifting off into sleep. Rick sighed, feeling her breathing steady as he held her close, rocking her in his arms. He had nearly lost her, and for reasons he didn't understand that was now unthinkable. Until a few minutes ago he hadn't realized just how much he needed her, not only for her skills, which were impressive, but also for her company. Feeling her shivering dying down, Rick stepped out of the shower again, gently setting her on the floor and removing her clothing before drying her off and wrapping her up in a dry blanket. Only after he had placed her into his bed to sleep did he then turn to take care of himself, changing into a dry jumpsuit and heading back to the cargo bay to finish his work though he would check back every half hour to see how Spark was doing, just in case.

Hours passed, Rick managing to finish his work and return to sit beside the bed, watching as Spark slept, her injury now completely healed though still visible as a bald spot in the fur along her arm. Her breathing and heart rate was at a normal level and a medical scan showed that though she had lost a lot of blood she would survive. Rick busied himself cleaning up while he waited for her to awake, picking up the spilled medical supplies and tossing the wet garments into the cleaner to be washed. Finally, Rick went to the cockpit to once more run his usual sensor sweep, ignoring his first instinct to run when a familiar blip arced over his console. Instead, he turned his ship towards the marker and set the autopilot to stop within the distance designated from the automated signal he was following. A few minutes later a synthesized voice came over the speaker of the communications console and Rick placed an order. It would cost him most of his cargo along with a large portion of his remaining funds, but he had managed to get the one thing he wanted: Official papers for Spark. An hour later he pulled out, resuming his course towards the station but his cargo bay was now nearly empty, most of the scrap metal and half the electronics missing. On the seat beside him sat official papers from the directorate, licensing him the possession of 1 (one) Kintessian Kit license number JA124C-7395a and a matching collar with identification tags for Spark. The tags and papers were legal, the extra fee having been paid to register them with the Bureau of Exotic Pets on Altair 6, his home planet.

Spark woke up slowly, her eyes clouded and her head pounding. Slipping out of the bed she slowly worked her way back to the galley, managing to find the drawer of nutrient bars and ripping into one ravenously. The foul-tasting paste slowly began sating her appetite as she regained control over herself, her vision finally beginning to clear as her ravenous hunger waned. She sat down in a corner, forcing down another nutrient bar and recalling what had happened earlier. She had been exploring the far side of the cargo bay; looking for anything they had missed the first time through when she had become tired, drifting off to sleep amidst the wreckage. The last thing she could remember after that was waking up in pain and then the sound of Rick's voice and the warmth of the water from the shower. THE SHOWER! She jumped up, suddenly realizing with shock that she was naked, the clock on the wall letting her know she had been out long enough for them to have docked by now, and where was Rick? Why had he left her in bed naked? She hadn't remembered seeing her clothing anywhere about the bed but she had been so hungry and hadn't really noticed her condition until just now either. Did he intend to sell her off after all? She tried to remember what she knew about the sale of her kind, though having only vague memories of her prior sale she couldn't really remember if she had been dressed or not for the event. These thoughts and others raced through her mind as she looked for a place to hide, the only place she could see was inside one of the nearby cabinets. Ducking inside, she pulled the door closed enough to make it look closed but not enough to activate the latching mechanism, her ears perked for any sounds of movement.

Rick walked back to the bedroom, noticing the blankets on the floor and the absence of Spark; he began to look around for her. First, he checked the bedroom, making sure she wasn't anywhere in the room before heading to the galley. Upon entering the room however, the only sign that she had been here were two discarded nutrient bar wrappers. Returning to the cargo bay he assured himself the lock was still active before again searching the bedroom, calling out for Spark gently. Back in the Galley, spark slipped silently out of the cabinet and down the hall, listening to what Rick was saying as he searched for her in the bedroom. "Come on out Spark, its ok. We haven't docked yet and I have a surprise for you that I think you will like. Please don't be mad at me, I didn't mean to hurt you and I really feel bad for doing so. Please Spark, don't hate me." Spark sighed and closed her eyes, gathering up her nerve before stepping into the room and into his line of sight. Rick looked up as she entered, smiling happily upon seeing her, suddenly noticing for the first time that the fur on her chest and belly was a soft white color while the rest of her was a light gray. He picked up her old outfit and held it out to her, watching curiously as she took it and began to dress, pulling up the pants and fastening the clasp above her tail before pulling on the top, her ears flattened to her head as she did so only to have them perk up as the console in the cockpit beeped a warning. Sighing Rick stepped past her, heading to the cockpit to see what had interrupted them, returning a moment later with the collar in his hand.

Spark dressed quickly, feeling more than a little embarrassed to be doing this in front of Rick, a human who was neither her master or for all she knew, even her friend. She climbed up onto the bed to wait, her ears and tail drooping when she saw the collar Rick carried, her lips parting to reveal her sharp vulpine teeth as she growled deep down in her throat at him. Rick stopped in the doorway, a surprised look on his face. He hadn't expected this kind of a welcome, and the look that Spark was giving him sent a feeling of sorrow rushing deep into his core. He watched her closely, her claws digging into the mattress as she watched him, ready to attack. Her eyes seeming to be fixated on something... the collar? Of course! He dropped the collar onto the floor, sighing and kicking it out into the hallway, out of sight. "Spark I, I'm sorry. I know what you must be thinking but you have it wrong." Keeping an eye on her he slowly moved into the room, sitting down against the wall by the door and watching her, now at eye level. "I don't know what happened to you in the past, but that is over now. While you were asleep, I took a little detour and used the bulk of the salvage to purchase your freedom."

Spark looked at him in shock, her ears unfolding from the back of her head to perk up questioningly, her claws retracting from their death grip on the bed as she processed this information. 'He sold his cargo, everything that he worked so hard to get... and used it to buy my freedom? Why? Does this mean I can stay?' She thought to herself as her final reservations washed away, jumping towards the startled human and burying her head against him she cried, letting out all her pain and sadness. She felt his arms wrap around her, holding her gently and she thought she heard him cry a bit too, but the two of them remained that way for the next few minutes. Finally, Spark looked up at Rick, mewling softly and licking his hand gently. Rick nodded, letting her go and getting up to retrieve the collar. He held it out for her, not wanting to scare her again as she examined it. After turning it over a few times, Spark nodded to Rick, stepping up to him so he could put the collar on her. The collar felt cool against her fur, the self-adjusting mechanism fitting it to her with no discomfort, the tags giving a quiet jingle as they clicked together. Looking up, Spark found that once again she was alone, Rick having headed to the cockpit to finalize docking maneuvers and leaving her to look over her papers, all of which stated that she was his and that nobody could take her away. Spark lay down on the bed, one paw idly rubbing at her new tags as she thought about what had happened, and just as importantly what this would mean for her in the future. She had an owner again, and though she could have done a lot worse, she also knew from experience that nothing was ever free, and the amount that had been paid for her was quite high. Still, Rick had been nice to her so far and perhaps she could even become friends with this human. She was still working these thoughts over in her mind as the ship docked at the station, Rick appearing and taking her hand, leading her out of the ship and back into the civilization that hated and enslaved her kind but for the first time she didn't feel afraid. The other humans seemed to look at her curiously, a few of them even had lustful looks in their eyes but they all stayed away, her new tags enough to keep her safe as long as she stayed with Rick. The two of them headed paw in hand out of the hangar and into the main concourse of the station, their adventures only now beginning.