FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

An expanding plume of rocky, metallic dust signaled the ignition of the Prospector's engines. Four powerful thrusters howled silently in the emptiness of space, kicking up the remnants of a successful dig and sending smaller chunks of asteroid sailing off into the endless, starlit abyss. Hangar doors slid shut, and landing gear gradually retracted as the huge mining vessel dusted off, leaving its payload of sixteen ore collectors to probe the massive twenty-kilometer asteroid upon which the ship's crew had taken claim. The mining rigs' automated systems set to work as the Prospector climbed, signaling an array of rail gun turrets to switch on and stand by to eliminate any potential claim jumpers.

The bulky vessel pulled away from its rocky fortune, pointed its bow toward a clearing, and trudged forward, engines blazing brilliantly in the otherwise pitch-blackness of the void. Onboard, a tired crew prepared to undertake the final step of this week-long expedition: Departure.

"We're clear of the rigs. Engines to full."

"Forward path is clear. Shields holding. No alerts."

The usual chatter of a busy bridge was like music to Captain Zeeva's ears. The reptilian woman kept her chin up and shoulders straight, but the crease in her green-scaled brow betrayed the fatigue weighing heavily upon her mind and body. The paperwork alone had been a nightmare; securing the claim against other would-be diggers had taken close to three weeks, even before they'd felt safe enough to so much as approach the metal-rich rock. The usual rules of "finders keepers" outside of SolGov space was frequently forgotten when large sums of credits were on the line. Thankfully, Zeeva had convinced the local peacekeeping militia to remind her competitors of these rules, in exchange for some of the profit.

The whole process had been incredibly taxing, but oh, was it worth it. This gigantic hunk of rock was rich in practically every metal ore in demand, and a recent platinum shortage in a neighboring system had given Zeeva all the leverage she'd needed to make bank. The actual numbers were still down there in the rocks, waiting to be crunched, but she'd worked with her crew to secure a down payment from the colonies in most desperate need, to be fulfilled as soon as the ore had been processed. For the first time in ages, Zeeva got to bargain from the high ground, and everything felt pretty damn good up there.

Getting off that damn rock felt even better. A hot bath, soft sheets, and about fifteen hours of straight, uninterrupted sleep in a quiet room all sounded pretty fantastic after all that work.

"Warp tech to the drive core." Zeeva's usual firm, commanding voice carried an air of relief over the intercom today. "I don't want to spend another minute out here, and I wager you don't either."

She didn't really care to stand on the bridge any longer, either, for that matter. She watched the crew at their stations; bleary-eyed men and women of all species tapped at screens and monitored the ship's subsystems, subtly aided by the vessel's AI in keeping the metal colossus running smoothly.

Said AI chimed in from Zeeva's command console, its synthesized voice level and pointed: "Engineer Niira has reported to the drive core and is prepping for subspace immersion."

"Good. Headcount?"

"All present and accounted for."

"Fantastic. Thank you, Atlas." Zeeva allowed herself to smile. Soon there'd be time to relax. Even the increased hustle behind her didn't break that hopeful grin. Her console pinged, alerting her to the spinning up of the subspace amplifier nestled within the Prospector's core. "Lock in our destination and synchronize warp signatures."

"Working." Atlas's mechanical voice went silent. A holographic image of a large, brightly-lit station flashed on the captain's console, then dimmed once more as the AI worked the precise coordinates of their impending jump through its calculations. Another ping brought Atlas back to the console: "Coordinates set. Warp signatures stabilized. Engineering reports all systems go. We are clear to jump."

Captain Zeeva found her seat and leaned forward, staring ahead at the main viewscreen. The vast emptiness of space lay out before them, infinite in riches, danger, and mystery. It would have taken many lifetimes to make their next voyage on conventional drive. Now, just a hop, skip, and a jump was all it would take. Soon the Prospector crew would have something lively to look at for a change. The reptilian captain pressed back into her seat and breathed in deep. "Make it so, Atlas."

"Commencing jump sequence." Atlas's voice boomed over the ship-wide intercom. "Priority Alert: All hands, prepare for subspace immersion. Report all anomalies to engineering, command staff, or myself."

There was a gradual halt in activity as the warp to subspace began. Tension tangled the air across the entire vessel as everything went eerily quiet.

"Warp signatures holding." Atlas kept Zeeva in the know through her console. "Commencing realspace field capture."

The deafening silence buzzed into a low, thrumming hum that permeated the entire ship. The starry abyss outside vanished, replaced by a thick, impenetrable darkness as local space closed around the Prospector. Metallic asteroids dimmed to shadows, then faded entirely to black. The front monitor flickered to a blueprint display of the Prospector, now shrouded in a faint ovular overlay, shaded green against the ship's gunmetal tone.

"Realspace field at optimum integrity. Subspace immersion commencing."

Captain Zeeva sank back in her chair as a momentary vertigo overcame her, and the rest of the crew mirrored her reaction. The Prospector's hull shuddered and groaned as space folded and twisted around itself to wedge them into a space that, in all traditional physics, should not technically exist. The vessel shook violently for several seconds, then fell still and silent once more. The hum faded to nothingness.

"Subspace immersion successful. We are gliding." Atlas projected its voice through the captain's terminal.

"Good. Kill the engines." Zeeva leaned back and pinched the ridges of her reptilian snout. The vertigo would pass momentarily, but it was never a welcome sensation. "Tell Niira she can skip the next meeting if she wants. Otherwise, have all idle and non-essential crew assemble in the briefing room in five. It'll be nice to deliver good news for a change."

The exhausted captain slumped in her seat as the announcement went out. Finally, some real money, and some much-needed rest...

Boop-boop... Boop-boop... Boop-boop..!

Lin stirred. Something clearly wanted its circuits rearranged, else it would not have dared to make one mechanical peep.

Boop-boop! Boop-boop!

"Shut the fuck up..!"

"I am terribly sorry to disturb you, Master Lin." Atlas pinged the panda's bedside console again. "Captain Zeeva has called a meeting."

"I literally have not slept in days." groaned the half-asleep miner, all twisted up in his sheets. The panda rolled over in an attempt to ignore the AI's nagging, one idle hand reaching over to tug his blanket back over his bare backside. "Tell her I'm sick."

"I apologize, Master Lin, but I--"

"Can't lie to the captain. I know. I fucking know." Lin threw his blankets across the room and stumbled out of bed. He glared at the flashing green light on his console. "I liked you better when you were fucking my ass."

"I am delighted to hear you remember our physical encounter so fondly." The AI's stoic tone did not exactly portray the implied joy. "If you attend the meeting, perhaps I will entertain the idea of an encore."

Lin paused mid-way in slipping on his slacks. The boy's cheeks reddened slightly as he recalled the finer details of that evening. Gorgeous red-orange fur, the throaty purr in that slightly feminine synthesized voice as they romped in zero-g... There really hadn't been much time for any... rendezvous lately. "You promise?"

"I cannot tell a lie, Master Lin."

"Fine. I'll go listen to Zeeva complain about the mess hall..." he began with a roll of his eyes. He grabbed a button-up shirt from his closet and slipped it on one sleeve at a time. "Or the toilets..." One button. Then two, then three. "Or the showers, which totally wasn't only my fault, seeing as I'm not the only one with fur. It could have easily been Flora or Anders or frigging Chad from engineering. Seriously, Chad's a hairy bastard." Satisfied with his attire, Lin shut off his cabin lights and meandered into the hallway. "And that fur wasn't necessarily all black and white."

Lin hung back, allowing other crewmembers to pass him by on the way to the briefing room. Sleep still tugged at his weary mind and body, each step an exhausting ordeal. It was days like this that made him pine for his last job; sure, it involved a lot more shooting, but at least that was balanced with a healthy dose of sleeping in. Then again, at least on the Prospector, he had an actual bed to return to each night. No burnt-out wrecks, crumbling buildings, or creepy woods to sleep in here.

His meandering thoughts were derailed by a flash of pink fur and a fuzzy tail bapping his face. Lin flailed his arms to try and grab the offending appendage, grunting as it swished out of reach. "Morning, doctor."

"Is it?" Dr. Flora, a rosy-furred vixen, grinned as her tail went in for another attack. That tail, currently sticking out through the back of a modified labcoat, matched the bright pink tone of her body fur, save for the creamy white of her lower jaw that trailed down her neck and beneath her concealing clothing. A cluster of deep blue flowers sat nestled around her left ear, further standing out from her long brown hair and attached to a green vine. The verdant protrusion trailed downward, coiled delicately around her throat, and disappeared down the back of her coat. "You do look like you've been snoozing."

"Trying." the sleepy panda grumbled, this time managing to take hold of that playful tail and squeezing it against his chest. "Mmm, yeah... I could fall asleep right here."

Flora's manicured fingers brushed over the boy's rounded ears. She glanced this way and that at the other crewmembers filing past, green eyes viewing the world through half-moon spectacles. "If Captain Zeeva's called us all up, it must be important."

"Better be, or I'll quit."

"Just don't spacewalk home."

Lin only hummed his concession. A weary grin spread over his lips, and he leaned in to whisper to her. "Maybe we can 'wind down' a bit later?"

The vixen's white cheeks momentarily attempted to match her tail's tone, and she loudly cleared her throat. "I might be able to... 'prescribe' something for you, yes."

"Don't worry. I'm a good patient."

"I know you are." Flora's tongue slipped out and flicked across her lips, and her flowers' petals quivered. She composed herself once they rounded the corner to the briefing room, slipping a respectful distance away from Lin and brushing over the azure flowers around her ear with her well-cared-for fingernails. "Well--ah--Mr. Shou. It was nice... talking to you."

"Likewise, doctor." Lin stuffed his hands in his pockets, a knowing smirk on his lips. Yeah, this job's perks far outweighed the shit he used to deal with.

The briefing room had filled up quickly. Lin and Flora shuffled in near the back of one of two groups. Captain Zeeva and Executive Officer Anders, a middle-aged gray wolf who carried himself in a militaristic manner, stood before the crew. Everyone from miners to engineers to the ship's cooks had lined up, chatting idly amongst themselves while they waited for the rest of the crew to gather. It took only a quick glance for Lin to see it: the exhaustion. Slumped postures, darkened eyes, uncomfortably-shifting feet. Everyone had pushed themselves to their limits for this dig.

"Alright, I think everyone's here." Captain Zeeva stood up straight, despite her own fatigue. "Are we broadcasting, Atlas?"

"Intercom is live, Captain." the AI responded in its usual stoic tone.

Zeeva gave the nearest camera a nod and continued. "Good afternoon, crew. I doubt I need to ask how we're all feeling." She waited until the crowd's agreeing groan subsided. "It's been a difficult month; really, a difficult couple, if you were involved in both the dig and the... negotiations."

"What a joke." Anders quipped, earning him a snerk from the captain.

"It was. But we held fast and fought hard. And for those of you who spent long hours on the surface of our prize; those who kept our people safe, healthy, well-fed, and clothed; those who kept our hulking home among the stars running on our tight budget..." Her eyes flicked this way and that, glancing among the crowd before her. "Every one of you played a part in making this dig successful."

"She's never been this enthusiastic before." Lin murmured to the vixen doctor beside him. "Are we being laid off?"

"I've been on this ship for five years, and this is new to me, too." Flora appeared to share his concern. She straightened up again when Zeeva's eyes moved their way, and Lin followed suit.

"I'm pleased to say that, with Atlas's help, we've managed to work out an... appropriate way to make this exhausting month worth the long hours." An uncharacteristic grin spread into her reptilian lips. "I won't bore you all with the details, but suffice to say, we won't have to struggle for a while. That means better food, shorter hours, and some desperately-needed upgrades to our rigs and the Prospector as a whole. Our loadout update will be posted in the mess hall by tomorrow if you're curious. But that isn't all." She turned to her lupine XO. "I'm too old to be this excited, Anders. Why don't you tell them?"

The wolf snickered and stepped forward, one excited fist pumping into the air. "Basically, we made bank. That means bonuses!" He silenced the building energy in the crew with a raised hand. "I'm not done yet. Captain and I have gone over the number of hours worked, and we've decided that three weeks of shore leave would be... adequate."

"We're en route to New Luxor Station as we speak." Zeeva announced over the cheers that now rose out from the crowd. "Estimated time of arrival is, at present, two days. In the meantime, it's business as usual, so no slacking!"

The resulting cheering and whooping was the last thing Lin needed. As happy as he was to have some down time to look forward to, the one thing on his mind right now was to get some goddamn sleep. He slipped away from the crowd, giving Dr. Flora's tail a parting tug as he made for the hallway toward his room. The starboard quarter of the Prospector was practically empty right now, the metal hull casting a ringing silence into the air and giving irritating volume to his steps. The slightest little bump or clank made the sleepy panda jump, and he almost overlooked the open bedroom door on his left.

Lin stopped and peered through the doorway. A slender figure clad in a dark cloak sat crosslegged in the center of the room, facing a wall-sized viewing port that looked out into the lonely, lightless void. Glistening gunmetal skin barely shimmered in a curious ethereal light that pulsed rhythmically around the seated figure, and shoulder-length tendrils draped down over the lowered hood of the cloak. The subtle rise and fall of delicate shoulders beneath soft fabric coverings provided the only sign of life within the room.

"Odd that she'd keep her door open." Lin thought as he quietly ventured nearer. One hand leaned on the doorframe as he leaned in for a closer look. The room was dark, save for the pulsing glow that seemed to surround the other's body, and not a sound came from within. No music, no mumbling. Not even white noise. Maddening.

The kneeling female stirred only slightly, her head inclining just a hair. Then she turned, two luminous blue eyes focusing upon the nosy panda. "Oh. Hello Mr. Shou."

"Hey... Niira." Caught. He leaned back past the doorway, trying to ignore the hot wash of embarrassment flowing up into his neck and cheeks. "I wasn't--um, sorry. I didn't mean to bother you."

"It's no bother." the warp technician's smooth, tendrilled head canted to one side. "But... can I help you?"

"No! No, well, I mean... Your door was open."

"It was?" Niira studied him for a moment. The faint blue glow of her eyes shifted ever so slightly as they flicked to the door panel to the right. "Oh! No wonder it was so dry in here. I was so tired, I guess I just forgot."

A silence fell between the two, which Lin broke with an awkward chuckle. "Well, we've all been busy. Makes sense."

Niira smiled and averted her eyes momentarily. The luminous azure spheres of her irises, so bright against black sclera, struggled to find something to focus on. She finally shifted around to face the open door, a tiny smile on her lips. "Would you like to come in?"

"I--well." Lin cleared his throat. "I don't want to bother you."

"It's no bother!" she leaned forward, that diminutive smile evolving into a mysterious grin. "Besides. You want to."

The panda's attempt at a retort caught in his throat. He smiled wryly and stepped through the doorway. "Right. Empath."

Niira giggled musically and waited for him to sit beside her. She signaled the door to close and set her humidifier to high, then addressed her guest. "You really can't hide much from a selka."

"I guess not." That didn't bode well for a huge pervert like him; those thoughts would have to be stifled, rather than just ignored. He floundered about, trying to find something to talk about with this girl he barely knew. His gaze wandered to the empty viewing port. "So... What were you looking at out there?"

"Oh!" Niira put her hands together and glanced back toward the window. "The Space Between."

"You mean subspace?"

She gave him an enthusiastic nod and laced her webbed fingers. "I know it doesn't look like much to you. I can see through the realspace bubble." Three additional eyes, these as black as the void outside, slid open; one above each standard orbit, and the third on her forehead. These eyes were angled, their corners slanted toward the center of her face, with the central eye sitting vertically in the center of her forehead. "It helps to have the right equipment."

"So what does it look like?" Lin took a long look out the window. The protective forcefield surrounding the ship kept the harmful effects of subspace out, but it also completely enshrouded its inhabitants from all sources of light from the outside.

"That's a question for the ages." the selka's tri-eyes gazed into the void. "The Space Between isn't really three-dimensional, and light behaves strangely within. We navigate it more by sensation rather than sight, and we use our natural attunement to sort of draw an image in our minds of what it looks like and how we're oriented within it. Each selka has his or her own interpretation of how it 'looks'."

"Ah..." That would have flown right over his head even on a full night's rest. In this desperately-sleepy state, it might as well have been in Korean. Still, they were talking! It was a nice start, and that iota of bashfulness Niira had shown from the start melted away pretty quickly once she started chatting. He pressed, despite his fatigue. "So you look with those eyes, but you don't... 'see' with them?"

"It's hard to put into words." Niira once more produced a musical laugh, one webbed hand moving to idly play along the dreadlock-like tendrils draped over her shoulders. Her deep blue eyes kept drifting around the room, but always wound up back on his. "Suffice it to say, I know subspace and the Prospector perfectly well, and you can trust me to keep us going straight and smoothly."

The whole thing was still a little mind-blowing to Lin, but she was right--she hadn't crashed them into a star or gotten them shredded by an unprotected immersion. He shrugged, content to simply accept what he could never fully grasp, and mumbled through a yawn. "I trust you."

"Sorry. Are you bored?"

"No, no. I just haven't slept in days."

"True." Niira frowned. The selka sucked on her lower lip, then reached over to give his shoulder a gentle squeeze. "We've all been working hard. Even without a jump to maintain, I was running around quite a bit, myself. I can't imagine the hours you guys on the drill team put in." There was a pause, then a conceding shrug. "Well, I can, technically--and more. But I'll refrain from sampling your exhaustion, if that's alright with you."

"I wouldn't wish this on anyone. But at least the job's done for now." he almost let himself slump into that hand. Any source of comfort or cushioning was extremely tempting to just settle into. He watched her for a long time; longer than it was probably polite to do so, distracted by fatigue and all those weird sciency things she'd thrown at him. And those big, pretty blue eyes. A shake to his shoulder woke him from his daze. "Wuh?"

"Lin? You awake?"

"Yeah! Yeah, sorta."

The young technician raised her hairless brow ridges, then grinned at him. A hint of color had flushed into her cheeks. "Am I so lovely that I leave you speechless?"

Lin felt that familiar wash of heat, and he stumbled over what might have been words before something managed reach his tongue. "No--I mean, not that you're not--"

"Relax!" she giggled, sliding back to give the bashful panda some space. The faint halo of light surrounding her pulsed brightly in that brief moment of giddiness. "I'm only teasing you. And besides, I know, remember?"

"What exactly can you pick up, anyway?" Lin gave her a sideways glance. Just how careful did he have to be to keep her from feeling out any pervy thoughts?

Niira once again approached, her delicate hand reaching for his. Rounded-off claw tips grazed through the fur above his knuckles. "Without trying? Only surface feelings. Simple things, like joy and sadness, anger, certain desires." She paused on the last word and stared straight at him. "If I focus on it, I can ascertain specific sources of emotions; from vague ideas to some finer details. Depends on how much effort I exert." The gentle selka seemed to pick up on the trepidation in Lin's smile, and she tapped her nail on his hand. "But I cannot 'read your mind', as it were. Things like thoughts, exact wording, inner dialogue--they're all hidden to me. I see images; flashes of lights, colors, faces, sometimes even full memories if I really dig deep. Most times, I just feel what you feel." The tiniest frown crept into her expression. "And you feel vulnerable because of this."

"It's just that..." Lin averted his gaze. Somehow he figured she could read it better than he'd explain it, but he couldn't just say nothing. "I don't want to give a bad impression."

"I can usually judge a person's intent within the first few moments of speaking to them." Niira gave the boy's hand a squeeze, and her smile returned. "You're a naughty boy, that much is true. But you didn't walk in here for a tumble beneath the sheets."

So, his reputation had preceded him, but hadn't given him bad cred. That was a first. Lin breathed a sigh of relief, his fingers finding hers and returning the gentle squeeze. "We've been working together for half a year, but never really got the chance to talk. We kinda live separate lives."

"I'd like to change that." Niira's free hand rose, and an outstretched finger poked at Lin's nose. "But for now, you look like you're about to collapse. Get some rest."

"Yeah, I'm surprised I haven't already." he slowly rose on shaky legs, stopping at the doorway and glancing back at his crewmate. "Thanks for the chat. I don't think I'll ever understand the whole... subspace thing. But I'm glad we got to sit down and talk."

"You came and talked to me. That means more than you know." the young selka waved him off with webbed fingers, her strange glow now pulsing rapidly around her cloaked form. "I'll see you around, Lin. Maybe catch me in the mess hall in the morning?"

"Assuming I'm awake." The two bid one another goodnight, and Lin made his way down the hall toward his quarters, unconsciously brushing his fingers over the hand she'd so tenderly squeezed. There was something there that hadn't been before; a sense of unity, of oneness, like she'd flipped through the pages of his being and left something warm and pleasant in her wake. Empaths were weird, but at least selka were a good kind of weird. And she had the cutest smile...

Lin found his way to his quarters and locked the door behind him. He flopped unceremoniously onto his bed, then wiggled out of his shirt and half-way out of his pants. "Atlas." he grumbled, "Set my alerts to 'priority only'."

"Very well, Master Lin." Atlas pinged from Lin's console. "Shall I make good on my promise tonight?"

"Nah, when I'm more awake." the panda idly swished his hips in recollection of their first session. That eager motion didn't last long, though; days' worth of fatigue finally caught up, and Lin slept like the dead. There would be time for fun later.