FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 1, All things change

He woke up with a cold sweat. The young man, no older then 24, had woken up yet again from the nightmare he'd been having for so many years now. In his mind, what he kept seeing was a young woman in a green dress shouting his name and disappearing into a shadowed hall.

Lieutenant Richard Mayven, Orion Squad leader, known as Rick by his wing-mates, had been shipped into deep space as part of a task force to defend the Double Eclipse space station. But today he had been informed a fleet was incoming to take over for them, so he would finally be able to go home to Tricegna 7 of the Tricegna system, about 50 light-years from Sol.

Rick looked over to the digital alarm that read 0720, across from the bed. He says in his somewhat boyish voice, a tint of confusion and fear mixed together accompanying it as he rubs his eyes and wipes the sweat from his forehead, "It can't possibly be that late in the morning."

"C'mon Rick, get up already, you'll miss breakfast"

Rich sits up and stretches his arms, and then he lifts himself off the bed and steps over to his sink. He turns the water on and reaches over for a washcloth, he then runs it under the faucet letting it dampen and then he rubs it against the bar of soap. After cleaning his face and then combing his hair, he then goes into the bathroom.

He eases free his member and then places his hands against the wall, just wishing to lean against something to make the job easier. The toilet flushes and a female voice sounds from a sensor attached to the plumbing, "Remember Rick, wash your hands when you're done." He just sighs and steps back to the sink to wash them. He pulls a uniform out of his chest and a few minutes later he's answering the door, which is being rapped on with knuckles only to see his friend.

"Well it's about time, you doofus!" spoken in the sweetly sarcastic tone of the young lady standing there.

He smiles wide as she reaches forward to ruffle his hair, even though she is 3 years his junior. "Hello Roxandra, sleep well, last night?" To this she replies, " well of course Rich, why wouldn't I, I'm surrounded by steel bulkheads and the music in the ventilation system." Shakes her fist at one of the shipboard intercoms, but then she smiles and lowers her hand and shoves it forward grabbing rick's hand. "C'mon slow poke let's go get something to eat"

10 minutes later, the two of them are seated together in mess-hall D enjoying some biscuits and gravy, the cook's special of the day.

"Roxy, I had that dream again, you know the one of the lady in green being torn away from me." She looks at him seriously, " are you sure you don't know who the woman is?"

"Of course I'm sure, I would recall her if I did know her, but she seems to know me which is the odd part. I mean the way she is begging me and calling my name, it's like she's close to me or something"

The two of them look up and see a particularly tall and muscled form holding two trays of breakfast instead of one. Together Rick and Roxy speak in a half-cheery tone "morning Mike."

He grins and sits down next to Rick and sets the two trays down in front of him on the Glass surface and starts digging into his food, just barely keeping control of their manners.

In between bites he starts talking to them, hey did you guys read the bulletin this morning, and it seems Admiral Mikale's Armada should be here by 2300 hours, "he swallows a big chunk of food and then continues," means we should be sent home soon, I can't wait to have some vacation time."

Mike had wandered off after he had finished his breakfast, leaving Roxy and Rick together again.

" Well ,Roxy, I need to be off to the training center soon," he looks over his tray , he uses his fork to snatch the last piece of biscuit and uses that to scoop up a little bit more of the white gravy. He then brings it up to his lips and let's it disappear past them and chews thoughtfully as he looks at her, then he swallows and reaches for his tea to chase down his meal with it.

She smiles at him and then turns to face sideways, planting her shoes on the floor and lifts herself up fully, a slight bounce of her breasts noticeable under the sapphire hue of her uniform, several men nearby forgetting how to chew as they stare. She glares at them when she catches their eyes on her and they all look away immediately, then she turns and smiles to Rick and picks up her tray and his own, stacking them together along with the forks and replies to his words, "Then I guess I'll see you down there won't I."

He smiles and nods, then he raises to his feet and looks around, watching the room start to empty. "Ok see ya then Rox!"

Those two walk off on their seperate paths.

While walking down the corridor, he's imagining his next message to his father. His message is following along these lines at least as he thinks it. "Dear father, how is everything back home? I hope all is well at the space-yard. Did you know pop , that those star fighters you were telling me about, the new ones off the line, well it seems those have recently arrived and all the squadrons are being handed a few. But enough of the technical talk, how are you doing? I know you will be busy in the next week so maybe I'll come see you at the yard as soon as I am planet side. Oh, I've had that vision again father and I still have no idea what is going on with it. Maybe I'll find out someday. Until we meet again father take care for me. I love you". He figured at least his thoughts were organized as he stepped around a corner and out through the threshold into the massive chamber.

He always did feel awed when he entered this chamber. There were technicians working at computer stations, in one corner of the several hundred meter space was a series of Star craft prototypes in various states of construction. An entire third of the steel alloy cavern was crammed a series of machines supported by hydraulic systems and metal framework. These were the combat and flight simulators, always being updated to simulate the latest equipment. A commander of several squadrons was nearby holding a discussion with various squadron leaders on different tactical maneuvers. Rick strolled over and delivered a crisp salute to the commander.

"At ease Lieutenant," Commander Wolfe gestured to the other officers there and then continued," it seems that according to the boys at Defense Control, that our incoming replacement fleet is being chased through subspace and I need you men to prepare your squadrons for a possible confrontation"

A few murmurs spread between the officers and a few glances between them and back to the commander. The commander crosses his arms waiting for silence again and then he speaks" Yeah , yeah I know we were going to be each getting some vacation time, but that will still happen." The heads of the audience nod acknowledged of this before the commander dismisses them to their duties.

Rick had usually done pretty well at these simulation tests, but today was different. He had spent some time ahead of time, checking that the systems were all functioning properly and making sure the techs knew what they were doing. The flight test had been going well; he had finished a tactical challenge, and also a maneuvers challenge. While he had been taking the advanced version of the tactical challenge, the screens had gone black all around him in that sealed cockpit and there was a strange sound almost like a voice coming in through the computer's voice system, he couldn't quite make it out for a bit and then it got louder and clearer.

"Such a pathetic being this is" another joins in, a low rumble of a voice, " yes, but this one seems to be a most delicious morsel"

Suddenly the screens come back to life and the sound of an emergency distress signal, this accompanied by the system's female AI demanding that Lieutenant Richard Mayven eject. Rick let's go of the steering column between his knees and tries to take a deep breath at the suddenness of the voices he had heard, clutching his chest with one hand in in an attempt to steady his pounding heart. This is a man who has never been afraid of his adversaries in combat, but those voices had been thick enough with evil intention that he seemed there should be spots of oily grime dripping from the speakers.

Soon Rick has his breathing and his heart rate under control when a when a somewhat irate voice comes over the on-board intercom "What the hell happened in there Lieutenant, you went unresponsive and allowed yourself to fail."

The canopy of the cockpit lifts away to reveal a tech on the platform nearby watching internal video footage of the simulation not sure where the lieutenant went wrong, the lapse in operation not even detected by the equipment. Rick climbs out and the canopy then lowers back into place and starts rebooting for the next trainee, he looks over the readouts on the man's hand-held computer, confused that he isn't seeing any recorded signs of the lapse and the voices. The tech notices the confusion on Rick's face and he turns toward him fully to ask him about it" what is it lieutenant?" Rick just shakes his head and answers," it's nothing, nothing at all." Rick stood there for a bit looking at the simulator, studying it, looking for anything externally that may be out of place and not seeing any hints of such. He never heard the fading steps of the tech or the quickened steps over the stairs up to where he stood.

A pair of arms slips forward around his waist; he looks down and recognizes the slightly pale skin of those slender fingered hands that were protruding from the uniform sleeves. He shivers only slightly as Roxy's voice enters his ear. "What happened in there Rick?" She rests the underside of her jaw upon his shoulder, her dark hair tickling his cheek and continues, "You're always doing so well at these tests." He lets go of a sigh, her arms around him relaxing his jumping nerves somewhat and somewhat silently answers as best as he can, "Well it's hard to explain, but it's like those dreams I've had," she interjects him for a moment," you mean you saw the girl and the darkness in your mind?" Rick shakes his head," no it wasn't that, it was just me thinking I was hearing voices." He turns his head just enough to see her face, he smiles at her and goes on" maybe I'm just losing a few marbles." He smiles watching her move around him so that she is now facing him, as they line up he leans forward and kisses those soft lips of hers, her hands exploring his hair while he holds her close, when their lips part, her voice starts coming out in a hushed tone for this, as though his lips stole her breath away," well rick I wouldn't say you're crazy, maybe just stressed, maybe when you take me to meet your father after all of this you'll be able to relax." Rick smiles and nods," let's hope that will do it huh" he sits there in his thoughts after this, the memory of those voices still leaving him a bit nervous, but looking at Roxy's shimmering hazel eyes lets him know he really ought to just relax"

Roxy is there, running through the checklist for the simulator, Rick standing nearby watching on the screen that a tech has given him. He looks up to her and smiles as she climbs into the open cockpit of the simulator, the same one he'd been in about 5 minutes ago. He carefully studies in the internal video via the screen, making sure there's nothing strange on the inside.

Roxy's checking the switches inside the chamber around her, the seat actually adjusting to her and her form, the cushion shortening a bit for her frame , upraised areas molding to curves of her body as to help her concentrate on the task at hand. She looks over watching as the simulator seals shut around her. Her heart starts pounding and she isn't sure why, but suddenly the AI requests her pilot number and she has to take a deep breath and types it in. The computer states to her in its singer's quality voice, "Pilot Id confirmed, have a good flight Lieutenant Summers."

After 30 minutes have gone by, the simulator powers down and lowers itself back into position, the hatch, which runs nearly the length of the device, lifts up on its airtight seals with the sigh of escaping air. A tech now standing by along with Rick greets Roxy as she steps out, the machine going into reboot once it has no occupant.

"Ah Lieutenant Summers, it seems you are doing quite well, you've nearly aced the advanced tests." He turns his screen around and shows to her the numbers which represent the scoring of her trials. She smiles and turns from the tech towards Rick and takes his hand in her own, a smile on her face, "let's get out of here and go out to the observation deck.' Rick smiles and lets her lead the way.

Several hours later Rick wakes up from a nap he'd been taking next to Roxy in the observation chamber. He looks to his side and smiles seeing Roxy there next to him, her arm across his chest and her cheek pressed to his shoulder, lost to sleep. He then looks up towards the transparent roof to look out at the universe beyond, a scene or asteroids floating by and starlight streaking past them. He takes in a deep breath, deeply enjoying the scent of the vegetation which ranges from the dark green grass underneath his back to the weeping willows and even the woodland wildlife one would expect from the home world Earth.

Rick brought his other arm up and brought his fingers across his chest and brushed the tips against Roxy's cheek, the edge of his thumb along the ridge, enjoying how well defined her cheeks are, he then takes in a deep breath and folds that arm back, resting his head on it now, he watches a comet shoot across the distance with Roxy snuggling closer to him, his touch having made her even comfier.

About 30 minutes later Roxy was finally coming to, her voice from the effect sleep still holds on her mind, "Rick, I'm hungry." Rick smiles hearing her voice and works himself to a sitting position and gently pulling Roxy into his lap, his right arm around her back just under shoulders and his left arm meeting her arm and taking her hand in his.

"Tell you what my love, let's go grab a bite then, surely they would still have some lunch this time of the day."

She smiled up at him, happy to be in his arms and his lap, then she used her hand , reaching up to the back of his head and draws him close slowly until their lips met, she held him there for a bit, melting in the warmth of his embrace. When she needed to take a breath she slipped her lips away and smiled yet again.

"That sounds good to me." She slips out of his lap and sits up , then she places one foot at a time underneath herself and once standing offers her hand to him and helps him up when he takes it. She proceeds to step forward slipping her arms around his chest and buries into his chest as his arms go around her waist and murmurs, "I could really use a burger!"

He leads her away from the spot they chose on the artificial yet organic hillside and down along a trail towards the hatch leading back to the metal hallways and corridors. His time with her having already cleared his mind of the strange happening from that morning, he leads her thru a few long corridors and into a mess hall. The smell of 21st century oriental, and what they called American food along with an assortment of foods from the centuries since; all popular cuisines, all combined and quite pleasing to the human senses, filled the air in that scene from what could have been the food court of a shopping mall.

A bit later the two of them were halfway through some burgers when the announcement went out over the speakers.

"Admiral Mikale's fleet will be here within two hours, there is no new news other than that."

Hearing this announcement, Roxy and Rick smile at each other and soon finish their food and take their trays back to the rack. When Rick's sitting down the tray, he looks down at it only sparing it a few seconds but then jumping at what he sees, there's a black form staring back at him, a grin stretched across a maw of fangs and a pair of blue eyes embedded to either side of the snout which occupies a majority of the dark leathery looking face. His eyes study it for a bit, his mind telling him to freak out but something is holding his attention; he looks over the horns framing the face and shudders. Then he rubs his eyes and the image is gone showing nothing but the white material of the tray. He looks up and around and to Roxy who's looking at him trying to figure what is wrong, being completely oblivious to what he had seen.

She looks him over, noting the worried look in his eyes and speaks softly" You look like you've seen a ghost." She reaches up and brushes her fingers over his cheek, trying to soothe his obvious distress. He places his hand over hers and closes his eyes; he takes in a deep breath and whispers to her" let's go back to my quarters and I'll tell you what happened." She nods and lets him lead the way.

Rick sighs and looks around his room and then to Roxy sitting in front of him on his cot. "Roxy , earlier today in the flight simulator , I had heard some strange voices and a bit ago there when we were finishing up lunch I saw a face on the tray, like a reflection but not of anyone who was there, and just like that it was gone." She looks at him carefully and swallows then speaks in response" what did you see?" He sighs and continues," I saw something dark and leathery, it wasn't alien looking it was more...... like something from the earth legends. I think they called them demons, you know those things from that book of myths, the bible I think it was called."

She looks him over carefully, never having known him to be crazy or a liar, she then slips her arms around him and pulls him close, rocking back and forth slightly with him, shaking a bit" what can it mean, I know you're not crazy , so what is going on"

He just shakes his head and lets out a deep breath before speaking," I really don't know, maybe I shouldn't worry so much about it." He holds her close and closes his eyes. They hold together like this for some time, taking comfort in each other's presence. After what felt like forever, the two looked at each other and then to intercom, both wearing a look of confusion to the latest announcement.

The message that was being announced and it sounded as bad as it really was, was this "Incoming projectiles .... Wait... shit... that's Mikale's Fleet!" . Admiral Mikale's fleet had only partly arrived out of hyperspace, what was left of it seemed to be on a collision course for the fleet already stationed there. The next message to follow thru the intercom was now blaring these words.

"All crew to battle stations, all crew please get to your battle stations. We are under attack!"

The Heavy Cruiser UFS Lauderdale suddenly rocked to the side, tossing most of its onboard crew into a wall or across a room. One of the incoming ships had smashed against the hull of the United Frontier Ship which fortunately has had just recently a modification to give its hull far more integrity. It still didn't look pretty, a nasty crack ran across several layers of decking, exposing the poor innocents in those areas to a fate of drifting frozen in space. The UFS Clearwater was now drifting nearby, it's bow crushed from impact, and all guns were turning towards its victim.

Rick lay there against the wall, trying to clear his mind of whatever had just joggled it, thinking it clearly had something to do with the metal of the wall and he looks down to Roxy splayed out across him like a rag and tries to get her attention," hey you ok?" She nods and manages to right herself and looks around and then suddenly gets to her feet and pulls him up to his own, "Come on, they need us at the hangar bay." Those two had run as if their lives depended on it and little did they know but it did, blast doors were sealing shut behind them as they ran on, finally making it to the hanger with the rest of the squadron pilots.

Lieutenant Richard Mayven had gathered up all his wing mates and was giving them a quick briefing even though he didn't understand it all himself. The only person who could see how well he was hiding his own fears was Roxandra, also listening to his briefing and nodding. When he was done all the pilots nodded and went rushing off to their crafts, all except for Roxy. She pulled close to him and wrapped his arms around her." Promise me you'll be ok flyboy." He nods and brushes his cheek against her temple and then responds" I will, promise me you will be ok too." She nods and turns around in his arms and kisses him fully on the lips, lingering there for a bit before pulling her lips back and nods to him.

"Let's do this!"

The others were seconding this," Yes, she's right, let's do this. "Let's go stop these crazies" Among other shouts.

Meanwhile, in a world yet to be discovered by the human empire, an ancient looking man was suddenly waking up due to an unseen but oddly felt force. Jorian the prophet sat up in his bed and looked around the dimly lit space which was his room, his eyes falling upon a drawing that resembled bursting stars along with small objects scattering outwards from each one. He sighs, knowing something is happening and then slides his legs from the bed and lowers his feet to the wooden floor, he grabs a nearby candle and lifts his frail body to its feet and steps over to a set of robes covering a chair and slips into them, the dark hued fabric masking how frail his form is under the folds of it. He pushes the door open and steps out into the hall. He raps on a nearby wall and shouts into the dark hall, "wake up my apprentice." A young woman with forests for eyes steps out of one of the other doors in the hall holding her own candle and draped in a simple gown.

"Yes, what's going on master?"

He motions for her to come closer and when she steps closer he finally says more" it is time Merelda, time to get to the chamber and prepare the ritual." She nods, now fully awake and follows the elder down the hall and through a sloping passage up to a large room full of candles that flickered to life when the old man entered. Inside the room was a pedestal with a bowl carved out of its blue marble surface which contained a shimmering liquid. Nearby along the wall was a oversized ornate mirror that was currently full of darkness, even with the candlelight.

Merelda was looking through a book of scriptures, she had set it to a certain selection and continued to do the same with the other books, and each sat on their own display rack. She was a commonly attractive woman, having just emerged into the fullness of womanhood; she had markings in her skin, faint but slightly visible, similar to the stripes of a cat, her human-like fingers, long and slender , were perusing the pages at a rapid rate. She was a Gaishean, a bipedal species that was known for its individual markings, and their extreme grace, not to mention slightly feline claws that could extend from their fingertips when they needed extra grip. The wise man Jorian, was also such a being but he was advanced in age and not nearly as capable as the younger generations. He had passed the age of when one was considered fit decades ago and his family which continued to work the family farm even till this day decided he may keep to his hillside home which was also where he performed the arts.

Rick looked around at all the other craft and slipped into his headset, the canopy was lowering itself and the inner walls suddenly lit up, covered in displays, some of those showing his wing mates. He looked to them all one at a time, checking his connection to them was good and as he called their names, each one nodded to him.

Outside the Lauderdale, the Clearwater opened fire, energy blasts so silent out in space but definitely noticed as they punched through the hull of the Lauderdale, one striking the reactor. The Lauderdale used what power it can afford to fire its hellburst torpedoes across the several thousand meters to the Clearwater, tearing into its hull and exploding on the inside.

Rick watched the other pilots pass through the airseal into the battle beyond and he piloted his own craft through it. What he saw was not something so uncommon besides the fact that it was humans, their allies, which were firing on the stationed fleet. He rolled his craft to the side as suddenly one shockwave came his way, the computer warning him just seconds beforehand. He looked over his shoulder and dropped his jaw in dismay as he watched the Lauderdale burst apart in several sections, the fragments jettisoning from each other in different directions, the short-range blast wave smacking into the glowing shattered shell of the Clearwater, that ship then itself detonating. He turned away and gulped and watched two of his pilots disappear from the screens in seemingly silent screams, but that was only due to the fact that the computer was unable to receive their final moments when they were caught in the explosions of the shipboard shield matrixes. He was not given time to mourn for his comrades as seeing he was suddenly a target. He guided his craft through the tight maneuvers of evasion and when he had performed a nearly 180 degree turn and opened fire, the red crosshairs on his screen lining up perfectly with the pilot window on the other craft, several rounds suddenly pierced through the pilot inside that ships and several other parts of it too, he never noticed the shadowy form leaving the craft and vanishing from existence at that moment since he was already turning to save a wing mate from another such pursuer.

Admiral Mikale was suspended from the closet clothes rack in his cabin by a cable like cord, along with his first mate. Such scenes were similar all through the ship, most of the lower crew men were willingly serving the.... replaced.... crew. The creature which was piloting the ship in the guise of Mikale had cast an illusion over the eyes of the cadets and sent a horde of inferiors to possess the pilots of most of the squadrons that this fleet still had after the mid jump attack. The demon looked around at all the devastation on the screens and smiled widely, his dark tongue flicking out past his lips, a tongue that seemed inhumanely long as though a larger mouth was supposed to hold it. It had brought its legion out of the blackness of space and then slipped into the fleet of ships that had been oblivious to their presence, then he himself had followed the captain and his first mate to the captain's quarters and had lifted them both by the throat and just by an act of will had stolen consciousness from them, he had then hung them both so they would die a slow and painful death. He had secured the officers and had some of them replaced with his, an allure that not even the computers could detect, showing them as human or whatever other species they happened to be. The rest of the crew had been cast into a trance and were being fed lies as to what they were doing. He smiled at how well this attack had worked on these mortals, though he was angered that some of the ships had caught on and tried to fight back, those were now floating lifeless and void of life out in the dead of space. He knew in his mind the image of a certain human that was not supposed to be allowed to escape the destruction; he had been fed this image from one of his superiors.

The battle had been going for several hours, both fleets, what remained operation of them were now just visible in the distance for Rick, he and his squad had chased down a fleeing communications ship and had disabled it, at least they had thought they did. His attention was on the far distant explosions when the sudden detonation of the communications ship left his craft spinning, an entire wing along with a section of the engine had been shorn away. His last words went out to Roxy; he had no idea if she answered him or not seeing the concussion had knocked his helmeted skull hard against one of the panels.

Merelda and Jorian were chanting together at that moment, realizing what was needed at this point from a curtain of light that was changing colors rapidly, as though matching a heart rate. A column of white light appeared in the mirror, it seemed to be reaching out for something and at the apex of the chanting it disappeared.

Rick had come to at the alarms his computer was sounding; he looked up to one of the transparent canopy panels and noticed there were cracks spider webbing across it. He suddenly couldn't breathe, so he ripped off his oxygen mask and took in a deep breathe, intake making him wince as though something was wrong inside his chest. As he was passing out from the lack of enough oxygen and thinking he was dying , he noticed a massive white light filling his view, even shining through the cracks and he let death take him, the words" I love you Roxy" entering the dying computer and being broadcast.

Work is being done on the next section right now. It is not known exactly when the next chapter will be finished.

Thank you for your patience and have a good day!