FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The Hive. A sprawling city where industrial citadels rose into the choking skies like metallic mountaintops. A place where there was no such thing as sunlight; only a watery glow filtered through haze and smog.

Those fortunate enough to be owners or even stakeholders of the industries were a world unto themselves. Laws meant nothing to them. After all, who'd want to prosecute the very people who made The Hive into the bustling city that it was? But for the rest of the 20 million people who called this place home, they were at the mercy of the city's electronic emperors. To them, the people of the city were seen as expendable; as easily discarded as an outmoded processor.

Argon was one of those unlucky bastards.

The young Badger rolled over and unplugged the charging cable to his prosthesis. He flexed the fingers, each movement causing motes of orange light to run up the carbon-fiber arm. He shivered slightly as a fresh stream of hot piss soaked his already damp diaper. The Badger growled as he pushed his shaking body up to a sitting position, his sodden diaper squishing lewdly as he did so. His left shoulder throbbed as he used his natural hand to grab his pill bottle.

Instead of the familiar rattle of his pain pills, he was rewarded with silence.

"Fuck!" he shouted, his voice echoing around his cramped apartment. He looked at the clock on his bedside and threw his blankets aside. His circuit board patterned diaper was swollen and yellowed with a night's worth of urine and the pungent scent of wet diaper hung in the air. Argon got up and headed to clean himself up, his diaper drooping and swaying as he waddled to the bathroom.

Five minutes later, clad in a fresh diaper and a white t-shirt with some stains of unknown origin, he grabbed an energy bar out of a torn open bulk package on the countertop and wolfed it down. He tossed the wrapper towards the overflowing trash can, not caring if the wrapper actually ended up in the trash and quickly threw on a set of camouflage cargo pants.

Pants weren't something that Argon usually wore but he didn't want to give the Hive's overzealous police forces any reason to issue him a fine (read: shake him down). That and his usual watering hole frowned on pantslessness. Locking his apartment door behind him, he stepped around a puddle of vomit and headed for the elevator atrium.

As he pressed the button to head to the lobby, he looked around. The acrid odor of urine, alcohol and tobacco still remained. Two sad looking potted plants flanked the elevator in a pathetic attempt at bringing some nature into the decrepit apartment. Letting out a breath, he entered the elevator and pondered what he was going to do for today. The elevator stopped as a young Iguana wearing a minidress that left little to the imagination entered. Her tail brushed against his leg, making him flinch.

Argon's nostrils were filled with the scent of alcohol and cigarette smoke as the Iguana suddenly rubbed up against him. He yelped and backed away from the Iguana. His eyes traveled to the fine web of scars on her scaly head that marked her as a Lemma -- a brain-chipped prostitute. Most Lemmas were harmless...if creepy but there were a few that could become violent if their advances were rejected.

He tentatively backed away as the Lemma made a grab for his crotch and hammered the button for the lobby. His heart raced as he danced around the elevator, trying to avoid the Iguana. His nerves were starting to weaken his sphincter and he could feel himself dribbling into his diaper. Finally, the elevator announced its arrival with a sharp buzz and he practically bolted out of the stuffy metal box.

He ducked into a small L junction that provided access to a bathroom. The Badger took a moment to catch his breath and get his racing heart under control. He peered around the corner and watched the Lemma exit through the doors. He sighed in relief as he exited onto the smog-choked streets of the Hive.

***

Argon sighed and rubbed his forehead as he took a sip of the potent synthetic alcohol cocktail. His diaper grew warm as the burning liquid flowed through him. The ache in his prosthetic shoulder began to fade away like a shut down computer monitor. He swiped his cash chit through the reader mounted on the countertop.

"Rough day, Argon?" the bartender asked as he wiped the countertop. Heavy industrial rock boomed out from the battered radio in the corner.

The Badger groaned. "No shit." He snorted as he shoved the empty glass back. "I'm fucking broke." He noticed the bartender's metallic fingers as he took the glass and placed it under the counter into the automated washer.

The bartender chuckled. "Well, we do often have people coming in here for...shall we say, questionable jobs."

Argon sighed and shifted in his barstool, making his diaper squish audibly. He swiveled around and looked at the patrons. Many of them had visible augmentations and/or scars. A group of reptiles in the corner played a loud and raucous game of poker. He considered himself lucky that he hadn't been killed or beaten up in this craphole of a bar but it was all he could afford.

His ears pricked up as he saw someone approaching. The Badger looked over the newcomer. It was a reptile of some sort wearing nothing but a bandolier and a diaper...that appeared to have been used by the looks of it. He scowled. He gets thrown out for entering De Kard sans pants but the reptile gets a free pass. Granted, the newcomer had an unusual body shape too. Instead of standing upright, its green tail and body were parallel to the ground. When he got a good look at it, Argon immediately recognized it as a Compsognathus. They were uncommon in the Hive but they did exist. But judging by its looks, it didn't seem to be a native. Its scales were too clean.

Said Compy then entered the bar and approached the bartender. "What will it be?" he asked.

"I'm looking for Argon." The Compy's voice was girlish but it still had a hard edge to it. Almost like a doll with a knife hidden inside. Of course, the fact that she was half the height of Argon didn't help matters.

Argon felt his stomach sink and a familiar wet warmth spread throughout the crotch of his diaper. For someone to know his name meant that they were up to something. Things only got worse when the bartender pointed to him and the Compy approached him.

"So you must be Argon," she said as she looked him over.

The Badger could only nod. The stench of the Compy's messy diaper became suffocating as she got even closer and examined him.

"I see. I have a job for you. It won't be easy...but it'll pay handsomely. She reached inside her bandolier and fanned out some cash chits like a deck of cards. Argon's eyes widened as he looked at the sum she held out in front of him. It was enough to buy him enough opiates for two months. He gritted his teeth as his shoulder began to ache again.

"Half now and half later when I'm done." The Compy bared her teeth in a grin as she noticed that Argon was practically salivating at the cash.

"What is it?" Argon asked.

"Simple. I have to steal some plans from Hybernia Biological Electronics. You see, my company's interested in what they're testing out in this dump. But it's not like they can simply ask about them."

"And my role?"

"You're going to be helping me remotely. After all, that's what you're good at, right?" The Compy looked at him.

The Badger could only nod his head. He looked around to see if anyone was paying attention. Thankfully, it seemed the industrial rock had occupied everyone's attention.

"Good. Go home, log onto this node using this information and we'll proceed from there." She passed him an unusually thick bundle of paper, which he stuffed into his pocket. She then exited De Kard.

Argon rubbed his forehead, swiped his cash chit on the reader and typed in a small tip for the bartender. He then exited and began the slow walk back to his apartment.

***

The first thing that hit Argon when he entered his apartment was the sharp scent of urine. Paying the odor no heed, he flopped onto his bed, diaper squishing loudly as he did so.

He placed his headset on and almost immediately a screen appeared before his eyes prompting him for a node designation. He unwrapped the paper package and found exactly half the credit chits he had been promised. He smiled. Looks like the Compy was for real. The other thing he noticed was that the Compy's name was written on it: Thkrla. The node number he was supposed to use: 379b51eceb2afdd6ec7cc86add1616fa9b73f946.

He typed it in and was immediately rewarded with Thkrla's girlish voice. "Glad to see you! Now then, what I'm going to do is see if I can get you remote access to the systems inside."

Argon scowled. If she could get remote access, why the hell was she asking some console cowboy to help her? As if reading his mind, Thkrla spoke. "Fucking hell, Argon, you should know this! Nortons ain't stupid! They keep all their vital stuff off the grid!"

If her overly clean appearance didn't peg her as a non-native to the Hive, her use of the slang "Norton" for IT security personnel clinched it. Hive natives never used that term. Instead, they called them "Scanners"...or something much more vulgar.

"Now then," Thkrla continued. "Once you're in, I need you to keep an eye out and make sure I don't get interrupted."

The Badger snorted. He picked up his headset and console, got off his bed and went to the kitchen to get an energy drink. He popped the top and drank the tangy-sweet liquid with its yellow flavor. A fucking color was the only way to describe the drink's flavor -- it was _that_artificial.

He placed the large can on his nightstand and lay down. The screen floating before his eyes just showed the black background along with a constantly scrolling grey line that displayed the node number he was logged into.

Argon sighed and sipped his drink. This was going to be a while.

***

A seeming eternity passed before Thkrla's voice woke him up. His shoulder ached as he pushed himself to a sitting position. His diaper was now cold and clammy and starting to smell a bit but he didn't seem to mind.

"Okay, you're in! Use this node number: 1d42658d34f4c71f70af90b130f37c66."

Argon did so, opening a new screen and typing the new node number. To his surprise, he was treated to a view of Thkrla inside what looked like a server room. Wires snaked across the floor and into computer cabinets. LEDs blinked on and off in a technological dance. He could tell that one of the servers was experiencing an error but the others seemed to be working. He could barely make out the flash drive that she had inserted into a USB port.

The Compy was now wearing a clean diaper, a headset much like the one he wore and a bandolier. She waved to the camera. "I need you to grant me access to the staff elevator in this area."

Argon nodded as he brought up a new screen with the control room map that Thkrla had helpfully given him access to. There was a dot indicating Thkrla's position but other than that, it was a fairly typical electronic map of a large factory. With a quick movement of his fingers, he switched to the camera in the hallway, revealing a bland steel hallway with carts containing computers that were to be repaired or scrapped. Soon, he saw the tiny form of the Compy come into view as she emerged from the server room.

"There!" he whispered into his headset. He swiveled the camera to point to an elevator just opposite Thkrla. She reached up and pressed the down indicator button. The elevator opened its doors and Thkrla entered. As the doors closed, he switched over to the camera inside the elevator. There was a keycard reader along with the usual array of buttons.

Argon adjusted the camera until he could get a clearer look at them. One of them stuck out: Testing Level. "Testing Level?" he asked.

Thkrla nodded. Her diaper bulged out slightly under her tail as she soiled herself.

The Badger smiled and with another flourish of his fingers, the keycard reader beeped as the light turned green and the button for the Testing Level lit up. Argon took the pause to take another sip of his energy drink. He had a feeling that things were suddenly going to go to shit soon.

The elevator stopped and the doors opened and he lost sight of Thklra. Instead, two German Shepherds entered the elevator. Despite the lab coats they wore, the two canines looked more like bouncers than scientists. One of them looked straight at the camera. Argon dampened his diaper in shock but he reassured himself that it was impossible for them to see him. He looked at the map and switched to a camera outside the elevator. To his surprise, this area was much busier. He could see several scientists walking the hallways and pushing carts of what looked like augmentations. Again, boxes and other detritus were lined up against the walls. He scowled as he realized the Compy was nowhere to be seen but his map showed that she was in the area. Argon noticed a box move as Thkrla scuttled out from under it and into a door that a careless worker had left unlocked. He moved the camera and focused on the nameplate on the door: Information Archives.

He opened up yet another window which showed the camera inside the information archive. Again, it looked like the server room that Thkrla had placed her malware into but there was a computer present. And she was sitting at the chair and copying everything of interest onto her flash drive. Of course, he couldn't see it given that her body covered the screen.

It was then that the camera feed from the outside showed a white-coated Frilled Lizard entering the room. "Thkrla!" he exclaimed. "Someone's coming in!"

He watched as Thkrla scampered beneath the table. Unfortunately, her tail protruded out. While the camera had no sound, he knew she had been discovered when the scientist's neck frill flared open and he made a grab for the Compy. Fortunately, she was very quick and agile and she ended up tripping the scientist. As he stumbled, Thkrla unmounted the flash drive and made a run for it. Argon shut down that window. Almost immediately, a red pop-up informing the control room (and him) of intruders. It was then that he realized that they had both been caught.

The camera outside the lab showed a group of guards chasing Thrkla. "The fire extinguishing system!" she shouted as she bolted for the elevator. Argon flinched as her shout assaulted his eardrums. He watched as she pulled an oxygen mask out of her bandolier and donned it. He thumbed through the commands he had access to and activated the fire extinguishing system. Almost immediately, a dense white fog roared out of nozzles in the ceiling, blotting everyone out from view for a few seconds. When it cleared, Thkrla was frantically hammering at the up button for the elevator. Around her were the unconscious guards. As she entered. Argon switched over to the elevator camera.

"The ground floor." Thkrla's voice was calmer but he could still hear the excitement in her voice.

Much like before, the keycard reader beeped and the light shone green as the button for the ground floor lit up. The elevator doors opened, revealing the same empty floor as before.

Thkrla bolted through a set of doors that appeared to lead to the loading dock. His fingers danced over his console as he switched cameras just to keep up with the Compy. He watched as one guard made to grab her but when he activated the fire door, it slammed shut on the unfortunate guard's arm. Argon watched as the other guards radioed for the control room to open the door so they could free their companion.

"You got everything?" The loading dock camera showed Thkrla scrambling down the concrete steps towards the gates. Argon opened the gates for her and watched her squeeze through the gap. He then locked them in that half open position as he watched her bolt down the grimy industrial street. There were some beggars and other derelicts around the area but none of them paid heed to her.

"Yeah! Good work! Now log out and I'll be on my way to pay you!"

Argon sighed and did as told. The holographic screens in front of his eyes faded away as he logged off and powered down his console. He sighed as the energy drink he had came out of him as a hot stream of piss that warmed his diaper up. Luckily, despite the visible bulge and sag of the padding, he was fairly confident it wouldn't leak.

The Badger placed his equipment on the bed and helped himself to another energy bar. He sat back down on his bed with a squish as he waited for the doorbell to ring. It was then he became aware of how much his shoulder ached.

A seeming eternity later, the chime of the doorbell sounded through his apartment. He looked through the peephole and saw Thkrla. He opened the door.

"Well, you fulfilled your end of the bargain." The Compy passed him the remainder of his payment. "Anyways, I must be going. My boss wants this tonight." She then walked down the hallway and turned towards the elevator atrium.

Argon watched Thkrla's loaded diaper swish and sway with every movement. He took his eyes off of the reptile's rump and then shut the door. He looked out the window. The skies were still a poisoned silver.

The Badger sighed. Only a few more hours until he could get his pills. It was then the pain in his prosthetic shoulder began to rapidly grow in intensity.

If he didn't die from the pain first.