FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Rayne had been through breakups before, but this one had hurt like hell, so to go from so down to being so thrilled was almost dizzying. He strolled out of the precinct with a spring in his step, making his way toward the landing bay of the spaceport. He almost opened the secure channel to call Shade, but decided to contact Ami first. The link connected and the familiar brown-furred android appeared in the corner of his vision.

"Hey," he said, grinning. "Where are you?"

"You sound excited," she noted, surprised. "What, the Lieutenant give you some more vacation days?"

"Better," he said. "I've been assigned an undercover mission to infiltrate and report on a certain criminal duo the UGDF has had its eyes on for awhile."

"Ah," Ami said. "How long do you think Lieutenant Forest has known about you and Shade?"

"If you mean how long has she known about me letting the two of you get away with whatever you want," Rayne said, "probably since we started. If you mean how long has she known about me and Shade being a thing... probably--"

"Since you started," Ami said. "I figured as much; she's the know-it-all type."

"What do you know about the Lieutenant?" Rayne asked.

"I scope out the local law enforcement on every planet we land on," Ami said. "I can't access the areas guarded by other androids, of course, but your precinct's database is laughably poorly protected."

"And now I'm assuming you know more about me and my coworkers than they know about themselves?" he chuckled.

"Probably," Ami said. "Where are you?"

"Headed to your ship," he said.

"I just picked up our latest shipment, I'll meet you there," she said.

***

Rayne felt a nervousness overcome him, not unlike his first day on the job, which technically this was.

The ship sat on the landing pad, the same as it had ever been. A dingy old Silver Comet, a model they'd stopped making a few years ago. It was compacted now, with a squarish shape if you ignored the rounded corners and the point of the cockpit at the front, but he'd seen it take off enough times to know it had wings that folded out when it took flight. It was kind of like Shade himself, made to blend in and take up as little space as possible when it had to, but when it took off, it soared.

He couldn't count the times he'd seen that ship take off, and the feeling of dismay that had accompanied it each time. The last time had been the worst of any, just after their unofficial breakup. But now he was back. For good, he hoped, or at least for awhile.

"You just gonna stare, or do you want in?" Ami's voice said from behind him.

He turned to see her smiling, pushing a crate toward the ship, the box hovering inches off the ground. There was a whirr as the cargo ramp opened and descended and he turned to see her again, standing at the top of the ramp. His head spun for a moment before he remembered that androids could split their consciousness across multiple bodies. Both of them were her, running the same mind.

He followed the one pushing the hover crate up the ramp and it closed behind them.

"You look different without your uniform," one of her said. "More casual. It's nice."

He just grinned.

"Where's Shade?" he asked.

"In bed," she said as they passed into the hallway, one proceeding straight into the cockpit, the other pointing up the ladder in the middle of the four way junction. "He was moping before I woke him. I've already explained the whole thing with your cover--"

She stopped, as did Rayne's heart, briefly, as a shadow fell over the ladder. Shade didn't bother using it, just dropped through the ceiling. There was a silence of maybe a few seconds as they stared at each other, Rayne looking into those brown eyes.

They both ran forward and then that fur was around him, that lovely, dark, soft fur, that warmth. Rayne pulled it against him, holding him, feeling Shade's chest expanding and contracting. Shade's strength was evident as he clung to Rayne. He could feel Shade's every shape, the firmness of his muscles, and down lower, just a bit of soft fat, right under his tail.

"Mmnn," Shade groaned, a happy sound. "You just can't help yourself, can you?"

There was a subtle grind from the lup?n, maybe one he didn't even mean to make, and Rayne took a little pleasure and satisfaction at the idea of teasing him into losing control, even just for a second, before he pulled away.

"You know me," Rayne said, smirking, making sure to show off his fangs in that way he knew Shade loved.

"Yeah, I do," Shade said. That blush was adorable.

Rayne grabbed him and kissed him, felt Shade's soft tongue drag along his teeth, feeling the canines. When he pulled away, Shade was panting softly, and one hand went up to grab the side of the ladder, steadying himself.

"Up," he gasped.

"You first," Rayne growled. "I wanna watch from beneath as you go up that ladder."

Shade laughed breathlessly and started to climb, Rayne right behind him.

"I'll just take off then, shall I?" Ami called from below, a laugh in her voice.

***

Shade opened his eyes and smiled, watching Rayne lie there peacefully, breathing steady, his face smushed up against the pillow, his fur ruffled. Relishing in post-coital bliss was one of his favorite pastimes, though he did enjoy the coitus itself.

Rayne's eyes opened and his muzzle parted in a smirk, which widened as he pulled himself closer. But instead of going for a kiss as Shade thought he might, his nose dipped down and his mouth pressed against his neck, those two pointy teeth nipping between his fur.

"Ah! Fangs!" Shade gasped.

"Nnnn, furrr," Rayne purred, nuzzling into him. "It's that lup?n blood..."

"Hmm?" Shade said.

"I'm only half lup?n," Rayne said with a soft laugh. "Of course, my human half gives me greater adaptability, more dexterity, which I'm sure you appreciate..."

Shade groaned, arching his back as Rayne's fingers traced through his fur, trailing down his sides.

"... But that lup?n blood... and that thick fur..." Rayne sighed, his breath on Shade's neck, an incredible feeling. "... That's what makes you so warm."

Rayne pulled his arms around him, and Shade sighed happily.

"I'll bet the fact that I've got a thing for cuddling doesn't hurt either," he laughed.

"Hell no," Rayne said, grinning.

After a long moment of indeterminate length, Rayne rolled off of him, lying on his back and looking up at the ceiling. Shade saw a glimmer of doubt in his eyes.

"Hey, what's up?" he said.

"Nothing, just I... it's like starting over, you know? I don't know how to be a criminal. Not like you."

Shade smiled and rolled on top of him this time.

"Well, someone will just have to teach you then," he said. He felt Rayne laugh, a hearty laugh that sent vibrations through his chest.

"How long until we get to... wherever the hell it is we're going?" Rayne asked.

"Usually at least two days," Shade said. "Two days on Lup?, so a little longer on Earth."

Rayne let out a breath.

"Guess we've got some time to kill," he growled playfully.

"I guess we do," Shade said, smiling.

***

They met Ami in the cockpit awhile later.

"So what's your cover story supposed to be exactly?" Shade asked.

"Oh, I'm an ex-cop who got fed up with not being able to solve problems within the bounds of the law," Rayne said.

"A little on the nose for a cover story, but you can definitely play it well," Ami said.

She stood up, drawing something from a pocket.

"If you're gonna commit to this criminal backstory..." Ami said, tossing a small gray nub-shaped gadget to Rayne.

"A holo-disguise?" he asked, peering at it.

"Yep. Projects a thin holographic layer over you to make you look different," she said. "Your color, at least."

"Where's it go, up my--"

"It's external, you organic mush-brain," Ami laughed, cutting him off. "Just stick it anywhere. Externally."

Rayne reached up and stuck the tiny thing on his upper arm. It adhered to his fur, blending in with it seamlessly. Even looking right at it from inches away, it probably looked like little more than a speck of dirt.

"Now..." Ami said, and Shade knew she was tapping into the thing wirelessly.

There was a flash of light from the little thing, a pulse that passed over Rayne, with the tiny dot at its epicenter. As it swept over him, his fur went from dark gray to a sleek black, and his eyes shifted to brown.

"Oh, you look kinda like me," Shade said.

"Well, I was already handsome, thank you," Rayne said, grinning.

"Yep, I thought that'd be weird," Ami said. "It was."

They laughed. The device flickered, the disguise fading out.

"If we wanna go with the negative color scheme..." Ami murmured, and the holo-disguise activated again, Rayne's dark gray fur changing to a much lighter almost white color, while his eyes became a golden yellow.

"Whoa..." Shade said as his eyebrows shot up.

"Right?" Rayne said. "I kinda like this."

"The one I think we should go for, though, is much simpler." Ami murmured, then pointed at Rayne.

As she did, the disguise flickered again, and this time Rayne was practically unchanged. For the most part, he was still his usual dark gray, but it was covered in red markings, tribal patterns common among the more brutal of Shade's kind. But the most notable change were Rayne's eyes, red as blood.

"Oh shit..." Shade muttered, a blush coloring his cheeks.

"Not much of a change, really," Rayne murmured, looking himself over. "I don't--what?"

He'd looked up and seen Shade's face, and a smirk went across his muzzle.

"N-nothing," Shade said quickly. "It just, it looks... good. Nice."

"Wait for it," Ami said, smirking to Rayne. "You'll get there."

She was watching the gears turn in Rayne's head, and Shade figured the revelation was imminent. He saw Rayne's eyes light up as he put the pieces together.

"Oh, yeaaah," he said, his tone slyer. "It's a cultural thing, right? Lup?ns see the color red as more dominant, while blue is more submissive."

"Technically, it's 'cause red represents males while blue is the color for women," Ami pointed out, "but yeah. Sexist origins aside, the color scheme still induces a psychological response in lup?ns."

She glanced at Shade with a smirk of her own.

"And if you combine a red color scheme with something--someone--already seen as dominant..." Rayne said, catching on, his smirk widening into a grin.

"Seen as dominant by a certain lup?n, at least," Ami said, her tone just as sly and smug as Rayne's.

Shade's ears flicked back and he glowered. They were having too much fun with this.

"It's not a very effective disguise," he mumbled. "You still look like you, just--"

"Hotter?" Rayne said.

"Red," Shade said. "I was gonna go with red."

"Sure you were," Ami said.

"I was!"

"Yeah, but you were thinking 'hotter,'" Rayne said.

"Is this whole trip just going to be the two of you messing with me?" Shade huffed.

"This trip?" Rayne laughed.

"At least!" Ami said at the same time. They laughed, and Shade rolled his eyes.

"We could just never let you leave the ship," Shade said sarcastically. "That'd prevent anyone from recognizing you."

"How're you gonna do that, cuff me to the bed?" Rayne challenged.

Ami snickered, and it was clear she'd surmised this to be a reference to their more private activities. Shade rolled his eyes.

"We do still need an effective disguise," he said.

"Do we?" Ami said.

They looked at her. She shrugged.

"Facial ID won't flag you as long as I'm hacking any program that glances at you--you're welcome--and we won't run into anyone you know on smuggling runs," she said.

"She does have a point," Rayne said.

"She always does," Shade said.

The disguise flickered out and Shade couldn't hide the disappointment on his face, try as he might.

"Shut up," he said when he caught Rayne's smirk.

Rayne tapped a button on his holo-UI and the red eyes reappeared.

"I am so wearing this to bed," he chuckled.

"You mean tonight?" Shade said, a hand on his hip. "You realize we've got like ten hours of daytime left?"

Rayne scoffed.

"Who said anything about sleeping? Get your butt upstairs."

***

Feeling refreshed, Rayne strolled down the hallway, leaving Shade asleep in the bedroom. There was a room across the hall from the bedroom that he'd always wanted to see: Ami's workshop.

He was a little worried he wasn't allowed in there and that she'd bust him for even getting close to it, but to his surprise the door slid open at his approach. The room inside was bathed in blue light, most of which came from the three charging chambers, one on each other wall.

Two of them, the one on the left and the one at the opposite wall, held two of Ami's bodies within, currently inactive, their eyes closed, but there was a distinct difference between the two; one was bare and featureless, with no nipples or anything below the belt, just a smooth body covered in fur, clearly designed only to appear organic while covered by clothing. The other one in the pod straight ahead, however, was remarkably organic, not just anatomically correct, but impeccably so, looking for all the world like a beautiful female lup?n frozen in time.

Ami herself, meanwhile, stood in the middle of it all, behind a table covered in various spare parts, many of which Rayne couldn't identify. Rayne's eyes widened, seeing Ami's chest and belly were open, the metal plates beneath her synthetic flesh moved aside, revealing her power core, a glowing blue ball of light in her chest. She was using a pronged instrument of some kind to install new wires within her chest cavity. She glanced up with a smile.

"Hi, Rayne," she said.

"Ami," he said. "This is... wow."

Her smile widened and the plates moved back into place, sealing her up, and he could see this current body was anatomically correct as well, almost indistinguishable from the one behind her. She pulled her shirt on.

"You've never seen my workshop," she said. "What do you think?"

"It's... crazy," he said, looking around. There were tools and parts on the walls as well; it was odd to see entire arms and legs, even eyes and sets of teeth, sitting on racks next to various weapons. Some parts were more organic-looking than others. Wires trailed out of some while synthetic viscera hung out of others, looking sickeningly lifelike.

"What's the difference between...?" he trailed off, gesturing between the bodies.

"Ah," Ami said. "Well, this one I'm in now is the most similar to the original one the Silen Empire built for me when they first created me, designed to walk that line between organic and machine. Built for convincing infiltration, with realistic synthetic organs, pumping veins that'll bleed if I'm cut, but it's got plenty of weapons, too. I've put in my own upgrades over time. This one's still the one I naturally default to. Colloquially, Shade and I call it the 'bodyguard' frame, made for avoiding detection and posing as an organic, but completely capable of kicking ass when we get into trouble."

"Which you always do," Rayne said. Ami laughed.

"This one, meanwhile..." Ami said, and Rayne's ears perked as he heard it from a different source, from the incredibly realistic android body behind her as it stepped out of the chamber. "This one's built for hyperrealism. It doesn't fold open like the others, you've gotta cut into it, so upgrading can get messy. Not one part of it is metal or plastic, all of it is lab-grown organic, except the power core and brain."

Rayne's eyes widened as the second Ami stepped forward.

"The others just fool scanners by hacking them, intercepting the scan and replacing it with a model of an organic body. This one would appear purely organic under all but the most scrutinous of scanners."

The organic Ami grinned brilliantly.

"This frame is also fun for long flights," she said. "Shade and I both get frisky sometimes, and this one usually provides a better experience than the quickies I can do with the bodyguard frame. Unfortunately, this one also sacrifices any hope of embedding weapons in the flesh and can't take a hit nearly as well as the others. It can still remotely hack things, though."

"This one, though," the third of Ami's bodies said, stepping out of the left chamber, "this one's built for muscle. No squishy organic bits, it's got an arsenal packed under the fur, enough firepower to take down an army."

Rayne's eyes widened as her limbs opened and an array of weapons emerged from compartments in her body. Rifles, chainguns, rail guns, even a few rocket launchers... it was an arsenal.

"It's made of a proprietary alloy stronger than silen steel. You could blow up the planet I'm standing on and it wouldn't kill me. And the best part?"

He watched her chest open this time, light spilling out. It was like staring into the sun and he had to turn away, shielding his eyes from the intensity of it. A warmth emerged as well, the heat from within increasing the temperature of the room.

"Thermium power core," Ami said as the chest cavity closed. "An element found only on Silos. There's a reason they call them crystal stars. That core alone could run me for a thousand years, give or take a century or two."

"Damn," Rayne murmured.

He watched the chest close and then said, "A thousand years sounds lonely."

The hyperrealistic organic body moved up and hugged him and he smiled. At this distance, he realized this one even had its own pheromones, a scent.

"Sooo, if two of these frames of yours are, say, 'organically accurate,'" he said, "would that mean you could use both at once and have sex with two guys at the same time?"

Ami grinned.

"Maybe."

"You ever use both at once on each other?" he asked.

"Shade does bring ladies back to the ship a lot," Ami said. "And they're not always open to a threesome, so yes. Not that I can't get my own partner, of course, but that method is easier. And to answer the question you're about to ask, I'd qualify it more as self-sex than masturbation, but that's just my opinion. Unfortunately, I can't describe what it's like in terms you'd understand."

"Well, maybe next time Shade and I get handsy, you and your... other you can join," Rayne said, turning toward the door.

"I'll keep that in mind," Ami said. "I should also note that I've got swappable parts. Androids don't have the same view of gender you organics do when we're so customizable."

She winked.

***

Rayne stepped down off the cargo ramp and took his first breath of air on a new world--and immediately wished he hadn't. The air of Bombard, the moon of Silos, was hot, dry, thick with smoke, barely breathable. This was supposedly where the infamous Red Claw Rebellion made its home, at least according to Shade and Ami, right under the nose of the very empire they fought. But he saw no settlements in sight, not even an outpost.

And then something slammed into him, dropping out of the sky on the right, hitting him right in the ribs. He toppled, but got to his feet quickly, and wheeled to face the attacker. He stopped. No way...

For a moment, it was just a black shape before he managed to scramble back enough to get a look at the impossibly fast blur. A scaly body, long tail, and a pair of red, leathery wings--this was the legendary Xena, the leader of the Red Claw.

He assumed she was attacking him because he was an unfamiliar face. Shade and Ami she knew, them she trusted. He expected they'd pull her off him eventually, so he did what he could to struggle against her, but it was like pushing a wall as she grabbed him and shoved him up against the side of the ship. He kicked, but as fast as she was, as lithe as she looked, he was learning the stories of her strength weren't for nothing.

"Hey!" he growled. "What gives?!"

"Do you surrender?" she hissed, her voice low.

"What?" he gasped, still pinned under her forearm.

"Do. You. Surrender?" she growled.

It clicked. This was a test.

He brought his knee up into her gut, but as he figured this wouldn't be enough, he also swung his free arm out in a punch to her snout. Her grip loosened just barely and he slipped free, only to find her whip-like tail around his right ankle. He hit the dirt hard and her scaly, taloned foot came down on his head.

"Now?" she asked.

He tried to move, but her strength had him immobile.

"Fine, fuck!" he gasped. "I surrender!"

"Hey, don't feel bad," Shade said as the scaly woman got off Rayne and Shade helped him to his feet. "You lasted longer than I did the first time I fought her."

"Thanks," Rayne groaned, rubbing the back of his head.

"This is Xena," Ami said, nodding toward the silen-aran hybrid. "But you probably figured that out."

"So, this is your boss," Rayne said, extending a hand, but Xena just eyed him suspiciously, so he dropped it.

"This is just how she says 'hi," Shade said.

"He's new," Xena muttered. "You know I don't like it when you bring new people."

"He's good," Shade said. "You can trust him."

Xena scoffed.

"You can trust him. I don't trust anyone," she said. "As for good..."

"He got a hit in, didn't he?" Shade said, crossing his arms.

"Two, actually," Ami said.

"I went easy on him," Xena growled.

There was a pause, all of them looking at Rayne, Rayne not sure where to look.

"You seem fun," he said, deflecting from his uncomfortable sense of incompetence.

Shade and Ami laughed. Xena hissed.

"I'd like to see how long it takes you to beat Ami," Rayne said, "if you can."

Xena snarled and grabbed the first of the crates of weapons from the bottom of the ramp, then turned and started toward another ship nearby, one which must have been cloaked when they landed. It was a tapered shape, like an arrowhead, and clearly silen in design, judging by the number of spikes on the outside of it.

"She did fight me, once," Ami said. "Still a bit of a sore spot."

"Ah," Rayne said. "You won, didn't you?"

"2.2 seconds," Ami said, smirking. Shade chuckled.

There was a rush of air and Rayne turned to see Xena landing nearby, wings outstretched, the red membrane pulled taught between long black fingers before they folded in again. It would've been an intimidating sight even if he hadn't just been attacked by her, and he couldn't help a flinch.

"Wait, Xena?" he said as it clicked. "Isn't that a character from that like ancient human show?"

For the first time, possibly ever, a smile broke over the snout of the scaly dragon-like woman.

"Figured it fit," she said simply. "My father is a ruler, after all. Groomed me to be heir to his empire."

She walked over and grabbed another crate.

"Besides," she said, wheeling it toward her ship and pushing it like it weighed about two pounds, "I'm not going to go with the name my salshik father gave me."

Sometimes the translator implants didn't work on words that had complex cultural meanings, and Rayne figured he was better off not knowing that one.

"Which is what?" he asked.

Xena stopped and turned with a surprisingly wicked, eager grin.

"Oh, don't start with that," Shade said, grabbing a crate himself and pushing it toward Xena's ship.

"I'll tell you if you can tell me Shade's real name," she said. "You're UGDF, yeah? So you've got the reports, the files on him and Ami?"

"They've been going back and forth like this for years now," Ami said, taking the last crate.

Xena looked at Rayne expectantly.

"That, you'll have to ask Shade," he said, crossing his arms.

Those two red eyes narrowed, the pupils closing until they were slits, like tiny black daggers.

"Hmm," Xena said finally, turning back and pushing the crate the rest of the way. There had been something in that glance, just before she turned away. Maybe just a hint of admiration. Regardless of what she felt about his combat skill, loyalty impressed her. Loyalty meant something.

***

He'd been nervous to start with, but the fight with Xena had been an unexpected blow to his confidence. But then this was nothing a long flight with Shade couldn't solve. This flight was briefly interrupted by a stop at an interstellar traveling space station, where they found a bite to eat at a forest-themed restaurant catered toward lup?ns, with plenty of meat-based meals.

"So, have you and Xena ever...?" Rayne asked Shade as they took their seats in the booth. Shade shook his head, sliding in next to Rayne. Rayne took a small moment to enjoy the feeling of Shade's butt against his. So warm...

"Nah, she only goes for girls," he said.

"She only goes for submissive girls," Ami said, "in every sense of the word."

"Probably something to do with her upbringing," Rayne mused, skimming the options on the menu, which was displayed on a screen on the tabletop. "Can't have been easy, being ordered around by a father like Azrak."

The tabletop screen froze suddenly and Shade sighed.

"Seriously, touchscreens?" Rayne said, rolling his eyes. "What century is this?"

He glanced up as they waited for the thing to unstick itself and looked to Ami.

"Have you and Xena ever...?"

Ami laughed.

"You heard me say she only goes for submissive girls, right?" she said. The three of them laughed.

But the laughter was cut short as a smell overtook them, the pungent odor of sweat, silen-brand alcohol, and the musk of a repulsively malodorous lup?n male.

"Well, maybe you just haven't met the right guy yet, gorgeous," said a grizzled golden brown lup?n, the owner of the stench. His fur was ruffled, his red eyes staring down the android with a predatory intensity. As bad as his general smell was, his breath carried an even stronger smell of silen liquor as he spoke, and there was a lingering hint of whatever meat he'd recently eaten.

"Bet I could get you to behave, if you come back to my ship," he said, grinning with yellowed teeth.

"I doubt it," Ami said simply, completely unfazed. She turned back and looked between Shade and Rayne. Shade looked to him, and Rayne raised an eyebrow.

"This guy's not giving up anytime soon," Ami said. "Rayne, you want the honor of first blood?"

This time, both of Rayne's eyebrows went up as it hit him. He wasn't a cop anymore. Not here. Before, he'd have to weigh his career against his eagerness to jump into a bar fight, and he never got to throw the first punch.

"Hey, come on, sweetheart," the guy was saying, "promise you'll like it."

This time, he didn't flash his badge. He didn't bother telling the drunk to back off, didn't bother with a warning or a stern stare or even a pointed shove. He just hauled off and decked the guy. And damn did it feel good.

Shockingly, the lup?n didn't go out cold, even after hitting the ground as fast as he did. This time, Ami stood. She bent down casually, like she'd dropped her napkin on the floor and was about to pick it up. She grabbed the dazed lup?n by the shirt, lifting him up. Rather than setting him back down, however, she hoisted him up into the air, his feet a few inches off the ground.

"Still think you can get me to submit?" she asked sweetly as the lup?n struggled and squirmed in her grip. She relished this for one or two more seconds--a lifetime for an android--and then dropped him. The lup?n stumbled, scrambling to get away.

"That was amazing!" Rayne laughed as he sat back down. "But why didn't you just punch him?"

"I could've," Ami said, "but my bones are solid silen steel and even if I'd held back, I probably would've broken his jaw. Not that he doesn't deserve it, but I don't think I would've been able to hold back."

Rayne and Shade laughed. Ami smirked.

"Don't we need to worry about my, uh, former cohorts, though?" Rayne said.

Ami shook her head.

"Not in this region of space. We're too close to silen territory for any effective law enforcement. Besides, no one's going to report a gross drunk for getting what was coming to him."

"Huh," Rayne said, grinning. "I'm beginning to see the upside to this job. Now let's order already, I'm starving."