FSE

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formerly SoFurry search engine

The abrupt stop had sent both Facil and Baso plowing into the front wall, giving them a rude awakening. The duo sleepily scrambled about in pain, Baso having more motor control of his own body than before. The slider on the door opened once again with Miracle's glowering eyes on the other side. "We're here boys! Get your sorry asses in gear! The faster you get processed, the faster I can take a load off!" The wolf ordered as she shut them off from any sort of response.

The duo kept silent, only exchanging glances as they got themselves situated. They stood waiting at the doors as Miracle and her squad met up to release them. The sunlight poured in harder than before as the doors parted ways, nearly blinding both of them. Instinctively, they shielded the bright light from view as they made their descent off the cruiser. However, Miracle made it a point to bar Baso from leaving, pushing him back in onto his rump.

"Pick that damn can up, unless you want to recycle _it _now rather than later," she threaten him with words he didn't know, pointing him at the thermos. Baso grunted in frustration, following her orders anyways. It had honestly slipped his mind, but seeing it now forced him to remember his farced potty escape plan. He wish he hadn't left Facil down. However, he knew he still had time and a chance, he would look for any possible opportunity he could.

The crocodile left with the thermos in hand, he didn't empty it until his feet were on the grassy soil below. Shaking it drip dry, Baso screwed the cap back on and held it out to the red wolf... Who promptly shoved it back into him. "Wash it out first, then give it back you scaly-ass mongrel!" She refused to touch his dirty business. Baso rolled his eyes again without a word, taking it with him.

Facil was too engrossed with eyeing up the scenery, he hadn't seen nature as raw as this before. Empyreon had its faux outdoor parks, with plastic trees and overly stale turf. It only lacked the life of the birds in the sky, the wind grazing against his face, and the fresh wilderness scent in the air. The hedgehog was lost within the sight, wishing he could lay down, soak in the sun, and watch the clouds roll by. His plans were dashed as he was prodded by one of the lackey's gun barrels.

"Keep moving!" An ornery male's voice came from the full armored grunt besides him. "We don't have all day!" The soldier prodded again, this time forcing the hedgehog into step. Facil's eyes were now trained on the Empyrean base, which appeared more like a large hybrid of both a commerce and military outpost than what he envisioned in his mind.

A few other armor clad Empyreans were scattered about, enveloped in their own business of either guarding, training, or refueling and supplying their vehicles. It wasn't too chaotic for the hedgehog's taste, but it was hard to feel at home when soldiers with guns were stationed in every direction. Baso seemed to take it just fine, having previous experience with seeing and dealing with the Empyrean, mostly from his father's business with them.

The duo were eventually led inside the base through a more secluded passageway. Away from the garage gates and infantry doors. The room inside was cramped for the group and dimly lit, Only Miracle had followed the two inside. "Strip down boys..." Her vision bounced between them, though soon locking onto Facil's as she could sense his hesitation without a moment's notice. "Sterilization isn't optional here, and I want you two clean if you're going to be running your sandy foreign asses around in my base, got it?" She waited for their acknowledgement before leaving. They nodded without a word, watching her make her exit, the door closing behind.

Baso became free as a bird, nearly ripping his clothes right off in excitement. Unfortunately, he subjected Facil to his nude body once again, freezing the hedgehog in place momentarily as he was caught off guard. The crocodile himself was oblivious to the mental torture he was inflicting on Facil, as most Terrans were lenient when it came to full body nudity. Facil snapped himself out of the scarring trance, soon focusing on himself.

"Please remove your clothes," an automated female voice announced calmly, not helping the hedgehog's situation. Facil figured he was being watched at this point, and not only by Baso, who was a little too eager to see the hedgehog bare naked again. I guess things could be worse. Facil reminded himself, beginning to pull his shirt off and kick away his shoes. Peeling off his socks and dropping his pants, he was left with just his boxer briefs.

Baso hid his loud snickering behind a stifling hand, fueling the hedgehog's embarrassment even further. The voice clip had repeated itself again, reassuring Facil's suspicions of being watched by the system. Gripping the rim of his underwear with both hands, he mustered up the courage to shed them off as well. He refused to even look in the crocodile's general direction as he kicked his boxer briefs away.

"Now beginning the sanitation process, please keep your hands to your sides and legs apart," the voice instructed as a low siren bleeped for a few times before a mist of chemicals came from the top and bottom vents. The airborne moisture soon morphing into a cloudy fog, finding its way into every dimple and pore. The foggy effects had gotten a rise of two different reactions out of the duo.

Baso pushed the air about with his hands, like he was in a standing bubble bath, along with blowing it about with his lungs. However, Facil was terrified of the stuff, wondering if his pelt would peel and bleed from the foggy solution. Sheesh! We never had THIS shit back home! ICK! I wish my body would stop tingling!! He shivered about, but things only got worse for the hedgehog from there.

"Haha! Facil lose colors!" The crocodile had busted apart in laughter, pointing a finger at Facil's head while watching his hair dye melt away. Unable to look at himself, the hedgehog wondered what his friend was getting at, only to find it oozing over his face and back in a thick blue slime. Facil vocalized his disgust loudly, wiping and whipping the sludge away, careless to where it fell to.

Baso got his enjoyment out of it despite Facil's devastation and horror. "Gro-o-oss!" Facil flung the few bits and pieces off of his fingers, letting the rest dissolve with the fog. The fog dissipated soon afterwards, clearing the room once more. With the smoke cleared, a door leading further in had slid open, allowing them access.

"Please proceed one at a time to the next room," the voice had instructed, causing Facil to hesitate long enough to let the enthusiastic crocodile get the edge on him on first dibs. It was hard to understand if the crocodile was brave or just plain stupid. The hedgehog concluded it was an even mix of both as the door sealed him off from Baso, leaving him to his own devices.

Curiosity brought the hedgehog up to the door, placing an ear over it in hopes to hear what was in store for him. Cold silence... The doors were either or unbelievably sound proof, or whatever went on was incredibly quiet. Nonetheless, it only left Facil fearful of what was to come. "Baso?" He called out with a few knocks, "are you okay in there?" his question was unable to reach to the crocodile, bouncing off the durasteel plating. "Knock twice if you can hear me!" ...No answer.

An nerve racking sigh rattled from the hedgehog's lips as he pushed himself away from the door. He wondered if Baso would even wait for him on the other side. Though with the possibility of emerging alone, he was fearful most Empyreans would be like Miracle, harsh and unkind to new blood like himself. But before he could drown in his fears, the door opened up with the voice kindly ordering for the hedgehog compliance to enter.

Swallowing hard, Facil reluctantly entered the room slowly. He could feel Empyrean's eye on him, looking over his shoulder as the door slammed shut behind him. "S-so now what?" Facil managed to work out as he glanced about, finding just as much cramped space as the room before. But before he could get fully adjusted to the new surroundings a green horizontal light planted near the ceiling had scanned the hedgehog from head to toe.

The light had him petrified in place as he waited desperately for the creeping beam to cease. It shut off the instant it reached the hedgehog's toes. Leaving him with a set of new clothes provided by a hidden compartment jutting from the wall in front of him. "Enjoy your new casual Empyrean uniform!" The voice announced in a tad cheerier voice than usual.

Facil claimed his new threads, unfolding his shirt as he let the rest of the load drop to the floor carelessly. A plain black tee-shirt? The hedgehog was slightly confused with why it was so basic compared to everything else complex and fancy that Empyrean had to offer. At least he was thankful the fabric was soft to the touch, lacking any stiffness of brand new material had straight off the rack. It felt even better over his body, though his quills still managed to poke through as expected. He was sure the shirt would see a few uses before it had to be retired.

He finished making himself decent with the provided white boxer-briefs and grey pants. both held him as comfortably as the shirt did, bringing a bit of relief to the tension he carried in. Being less naked also helped the cause considerably. "Please proceed to receive your custom fitted comlink," the voice further instructed, another door opening to reveal the hedgehog's friend waiting patiently on the other side. Facil wasted no time bolting through the door to meet up with him.

"God, am I glad to see you!" The hedgehog happily proclaimed, almost ignoring the female samoyed assistant accompanying them. "...Who's this?" Facil wondered if Baso was trying to make friends during their time apart. Baso only gave a halfhearted shrug with a confused grunt to complement it.

"I'm Jennifer," she introduced herself with a paw extended towards Facil, holding a clipboard in the other. "I'll be your guide for the time being, it seems..." She muttered something or other the boys couldn't pick up as Facil shook her paw. "Anyways, if you could follow me, I can show you to your rooms," she took off deeper into the hallway without warning, not even bothering to shake paws with Baso.

The duo trailed after, keeping up with her lead. Facil was already brimming with questions. "So what happens after that? Do we get sent back outside? Do we get protective armor? Do we even get a meal?" His own questions flared his anxiety, wondering what the answers would be. Being through the process a million times before, the samoyed rolled her eyes with a mental groan.

"No, occupations are determined by Commander Rufis as she sees fit," the name buzzed around in the hedgehog's ears, wondering where he heard it before. "As for your meals, they're provided on a timely basis, if you want something fresh and warm, you'll want to show up on the hour it's served," she informed the duo.

"Commader... Rufis? Who's that exactly?" Facil asked, feeling he knew the name on the tip of his tongue but couldn't piece it together. The assistant answered with a small groan, already despising the new blood along with the daily rut and grind of her job.

"Commander Myra Rufis to be exact," the words had him nearly trip over his own to feet as the name registered in his head. "And she'd like to see you ASAP as well once we're done here," Facil was stuck in place, trying to swallow and digest the bombshell tidbit of news he received.