FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 1

The whole crew of the salvage ship Artemis was ecstatic at the find they discovered floating at the edge of the solar system. A massive warship outdated by about two or so centuries was spotted, and they all saw the biggest payday in their lives. Granted they had to see what sort of condition the ship was in, but if it was salvageable this would be big. Not only did a warship promise good material and parts but it also meant guaranteed precious metals. Only if the ship was in one piece that is.

"We are coming up on the Warship. Prepare to board" said the captain over the intercom. Kip and Circuit were strapped up in suited up in preparation for the lack of oxygen and possibility of no artificial gravity. On a ship like this the chances of power still being on was little to no chance. Kip fidgeted with his suit trying to get comfortable the best he could but failing to do so.

"These damn things keep riding up on me." Kip said.

"Well they were not designed for a tiger your size" Circuit replied as his suit was rather baggy and hardly fit his body. Though they worked with what they had. "You think you have it bad; this thing is twice the size of me. I can hardly take a step without tripping over myself.

"Cursed cheap suits. If this pans out, I am buying myself a custom fit." Kip said giving up on trying to adjust himself. Circuit grunted in agreement as the computer announced the distance from the docking bay.

10 Meters, 5 Meters, 3 Meters, 1 Meter...

The sound of metal on metal scraping together as the docking bay of the Artemis latched onto one of the warships open ports. "Any air?" Kip would ask the computer. "Minimum life support detected" The computer replied. The two prepared themselves as the first to enter, they were assigned to try and restore life support the best they could and evaluate the wreckage before they started tearing the ship apart. The doors opened and they walked to the warships closed hatch. Circuit slipped by Kip and pulled out a strange device riddled with wires and exposed circuit boards. He pulled the panel off the ship wall and with his small hands crammed one of the small cables from the mess inside. Pressing a few buttons, the door hissed as it released its locking clamps.

Kip grabbed the door and pulled with all his strength, dragging the door open and revealing what was inside. They stepped into the dark room and without saying anything the helmets of the suits they were wearing lit up the room. "Well?" Kip asked. "Ya the ship was right; I am reading life support and oxygen. The air is continently breathable." Circuit said and started to take off his helmet. The air was stale and was void of any smell. It was strange and bit spooky at that. Kip did the same thing, pressing one of the buttons on his neck and the helmet retracted into the suit he was wearing. "Well, we are not dead yet captain, so that's a good sign." Kip said over the radio. "Sounds good, keep going our scanners can't seem to look at the whole ship. Parts of it seemed to be blocked off. Not sure if that is a good thing or something bad but... Be careful" The captain replied, and Kip acknowledged.

"Come on Circuit lets get you to a computer." Kip said as he looked around. The room they were standing in must have housed EVA suits of some sort. Empty pods with oxygen hoses were against every wall but not a single suit was found. Kip thought this a bit strange but ignored it. "Well, if we want full access, we will need one of the main computers, something on the bridge would do." Circuit said and Kip nodded in agreement. Leaving the room and entering the hallway where they had more access to the ship. The lights in the hallway started to flicker and slowly turn on, though they were dim and not all of them activated.

"This girl seems to have some power left in her, damn that's impressive." Kip said as they looked for a sign indicating the direction of the bridge. Finally finding it on one of the bulkheads pointing them to the nose of the ship. Finding a massive hallway in the center they would take a left in the main corridor and walk themselves to the front. Passing open doors everywhere. In many of the rooms they passed things were thrown all over the floor as if someone had come in and searched the ship already, only to not find what they were looking for. Hardly anything was untouched but at the same time nothing seemed to be missing. Just a big mess in every room.

They finally reached the doorway to the bridge which was sealed shut. Kip peaked into one of the windows of the doorway and with a bit of a disappointed look, turned back to Circuit. "No good, the front window is blown out. This part of the ship is exposed to space. The captain of this ship and his bridge crew must have been sucked out or something. What a way to go." Kip said.

"Well, could always try one of those science labs, some of the signs we passed mentioned a few of them." Circuit replied. "I have been mapping the ship while we have been walking. I think we can go back a ways and take a right instead of that left we took. Should lead us near the back of the ship but that will be where engineering and science would be. It's our best bet."

"Alright sounds like a plan." Kip said and started the long walk back to the spot they had made the turn. Passing the hallway back to the Artemis they continued heading deeper into the belly of the ship. The signs started pointing out residences, then cafeteria, then finally science labs. They took the turn down to the science labs as directed and came to a closed door. Circuit once again pulled out his device and pried the wall panel out. Slipping his smaller fingers inside he hooked his scanner up to the door and started typing away. Kip was surprised when circuit couldn't get the door open immediately like the last one. "Something wrong?" Kip asked. "No just... its strange... Its like the code for this door just keeps rewriting itself. I go to crack one part, and it changes a second later. I can hardly keep up with it. Just give me a second I got an idea." Circuit said as he sat on the floor and propped the device up against the wall. Pulling a black collar up out of his suit so it was visible. He tapped something in the air and started vigorously darting his eyes left to right as if he was looking at something and yet nothing was there.

Kip waited patiently as long as he could, but he was growing tired of waiting to get inside. He finally growled and pulled from his side a torch of some kind and started it up. The tip started to glow purple and turned a bright blue when he touched the tip to the center of the doors crease. Dragging the torch down to the floor slowly. Circuit stood up and cursed to himself at his failure. Seeing that Kip had given up and decided the best approach was by force. He just waited for Kip to finish. The internal clamps of the door finally gave way after a few passes with the torch, and he turned it off. Waiting for the metal to cool before reaching in and trying to pry the door open. When it did finally cool Kip pulled at the door along with Circuits help and the metal doors screeched along the rails. Finally, they were inside.

This room was different than all the others they had passed on the way to the bridge. Nothing was touched in here and the air felt heavier as if it had been the focus of life support for some reason. Along the right-side wall was a set of computer terminals which Circuit quickly dashed for. In the center was a tube of some sort that had a faint blue glow to it. Kip walked up and touched it, quickly pulling his hand back in surprise. "You ok?" Circuit asked looking away from the terminal he had just gained access to. "Ya just... really cold" Kip said as he tried again, this time to wipe away some of the frost built up around the outside of the tube. He couldn't see anything inside aside from a shadow of some sort deep within. "You find anything yet?" Kip asked.

"Something like that... This is strange... The ship is completely dead, it is running on its last legs basically but from what I am reading... It has been keeping this room powered for over a hundred and fifty years... Something called a priority one request. It looks like whatever that is you touched, is the source of the power drain here. Let me see if I can turn it off and give us a bit more light around the ship to explore some more." Circuit said.

"Not sure if that is a good idea, I think... I think this is a pod of some sor-" Kip was interrupted when an alarm sounded.

Power Loss in Science Lab A, Power Loss in Science Lab A, emergency restoration procedures activating.

The computer belted out at them and repeated the same line repeatedly. "God dammit Circuit I said I didn't think it was a good idea" Kip yelled.

"Ya well I was already halfway done when ya said that so!" Circuit replied speaking over the computer voice. He punched a few commands into the terminal and silenced the computer. The pod in front of Kip hissed and liquid pooled at his feet. Then it started to move. Laying back so it was horizontal as opposed to vertical. The pod clicked open, and the door lifted. Mist fell to the floor from the pod and within Kip could finally see what the shadow inside was. Within the pod in a pool of hibernation fluid which had defrosted was a humanoid animal. Looking like a dog of some sort mixed with a few other kinds of species wearing a uniform that Kip could not recognize. A red collar sat around his neck.

"Circuit... You have to see this." Kip said and Circuit promptly rushed over. He quickly pulled out his scanner once he saw the figure and started a scan. "Kip... This guy has been asleep for over a hundred and fifty years. We need to get him to a medical bay immediately. The things this guy might know..." Circuit said with a sound of wonder and curiosity.

"Captain, we found someone." Kip said.

"I am guessing you mean you found some skeletons?" The captain replied.

"No... We found someone... Alive."