FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Episode three in my sci-fi adventure story series. Following some advice, I tried to give more detail into what was happening and describe the surrondings a bit more. The first half of the story, being mostly charactor and dialog driven probably reflects more improvement, but by the end I don't know just how well I was able to keep it up. Let my know what you think. Was it an improvement? Should I try to continue adding more than this even? In any case, enjoy the story and leave a comment.

---

Stellar Wayfarer: Three

First officer Cassa Meryn's star log: Coalition date 173.6.9. Headquarters has seen fit to reward Captain Merrolth and the Aurora Zephyr with a bounty for the discovery of the smugglers' ship a week ago. The logs he recovered proved to be all the information needed to bring their crew up on charges of transporting dangerous exotic animals, had there still anyone alive to make it to court. I was none too pleased with the decision to scuttle the freighter, but between the biological contamination and pre-existing damage there was little other choice than to destroy it. A shame that some members of society have to resort to despicable actions like that, in place of public service for the greater good.

"System, end recording." The white and black mouse says, getting up from the bed she was sitting on and stretching."That fox had better have found some more work by now. I figured giving a little more freedom to search would have us jumping at the next opportunity, but all we've done is fly around wasting fuel."

These rooms are quite a bit larger than I had expected compared to some of my previous assignments. I knew that I was going to be getting solo bunking this time, but there is actually enough space in here for more than just a bed and storage chest. Do all these Wayfarers really travel in such luxury? I am left wondering what the captain's quarters much be like if normal rooms have real carpeting, and this rather gaudy wood paneling...

Shaking my head to clear idling thoughts, I finish putting the rest of my light green Coalition uniform on and make my way to the bridge. Even the hallways are carpeted on board the Aurora. Merrolth's father must have spent some fortune to be able to have all this installed.

My admiration of this fine ship is cut short by walking into the scene it's crew cause on the bridge. "Hey come on! Give it back!" Sevin yells jumping up to reach something out of the captain's hand. "It's not funny! I don't take your stuff like this! Come on, that collar is supposed to be a gift. I don't want it damaged."

"Oh, a gift eh?" The taller red fox teases, grinning as he holds the black leather collar up above the shorter one's head, out of reach. "To who? Who's the lucky girl? Everyone else on board is years older than you. I've got to know who little Sevin's got the hots for."

"None of your business." He responds, still trying to get to the prize just outside his grasp. "Now come on, give it back already!"

"Captain Merrolth!" I shout from directly behind the fox, shocking the life out of him and sending the immature fox stumbling forward into Sevin. "If you two are done playing around, I was hoping to discuss a few things with you today."

The short brown fox grabs up his collar in the panic, and the captain turns around to face his assailant before speaking. "Geez! That was uncalled for. We were just having a little fun, there's no reason to scare me like that. I was going to give it back soon anyway."

"You were the only one laughing Merr. I didn't want my present getting ruined by you getting your stinky fur all over it." Sevin replies, putting the collar back on his neck after sniffing it moment.

"Hey! I don't stink anymore." The larger fox retorts. "That was more than a week ago, and I've washed up every day since. At least I'm not the one with a thing for older women almost twice my age."

Sevin stomps his paw on the short pile carpeted floor and glares at the captain. "She is not that old! Only a few years. That's all."

"And just what is wrong with older women, Merrolth?" I ask, crossing my arms looking him dead in the eyes. "With the way you're both acting, all of us on board are older than you children."

The captain quickly changes his tone as his ears droop and grins his teeth in embarrassment. "Err, well, you see... What I meant was that maybe little Sevin here might be better off trying to date someone his own age. You know how it is, different generations having different interests and all."

"Well I'd say he'd have found miss right if you were only a vixen." I reply, watching the boy return to his command console on the left side of the room. "But since that doesn't seem to be the case, just who might you have in mind then, if you're so interested in the ensign's personal life? You are the captain after all."

Squirming and shifting around uncomfortably, Merrolth backs down having had his little game turn against him. He slinks over to the center captain's console at the front of the room nearest to the doors, directly in line with the large primary display screen. I sit down at my station on the right side of the room, the second of the other four helm panels in the room, and angled towards that main display.

"If we're all done playing around then, I suggest we get down to business today." I say as I check the day's scheduled maintenance and work on my display in front of me. "First, it's been more than a week since the Aurora did anything, and I have given you plenty of freedom to find something. I know for a fact the Coalition could use more resupply and scout ships."

Raising his head to sit upright in his chair, the captain speaks up. "Oh, uh, I don't think that'll be necessary. Sevin and I found a job a couple days ago, and we've been in route since. And this one is paying good credits too. Better than the last one."

"Yeah, 10,000 down and another 10,000 when we're done." Sevin adds, not looking away from the emitted display that the holo computer projects from atop his left wrist.

My black mouse ears flatten in irritation at the duos' answer. "And just what kind of work is this, that you felt it unnecessary to let me know? I really wish you had told me about this sooner. As the ranking Coalition officer I feel it is necessary to be included in all major shipboard decision making." Pausing momentary to cool off, my eyes focus on the fox with the silly white armored breastplate in the front of the room. "So just what did you two find then? This better not be something that you'll regret signing up for."

"Oh, no. Should be a piece of cake." Merrolth replies. "We're supposed to meet up with a transport ship leaving out of the Selde system and escort it to the mining base over on one of the moons around Blain six." He leans back in his chair and props his digitigrade legs up on the terminal to slump back in the chair before finishing. "Easy money. That stretch of space is pretty empty and nobody is going to bother us there."

"Empty, except for passing near the Iorth cloud." I respond, rather matter-of-factly. The captain waves his paw and shakes his head at my comment, serving only to annoy me further. This, coming from the fox who just the other day embarrassing himself when our new science academy bird asked him if he wanted some infertile Avittan eggs for breakfast, only to say that he didn't know Avittan laid eggs like that. He must have thought they give live birth like Firnulfians or something. Even Sevin was laughing at him that morning.

Another two days later we rendezvous with the freighter Maribisu, in orbit around Selde three. Their captain, a jet black Resalvan male, gives us the course headings and transfers the down payment into the ship's account. Everything checks out fine, and our 19 day journey gets under way. I'd begin to think that maybe this will end up being easy work after all, but something about that rabbit leaves me a little... unnerved.

"So, Cassa, how come you never talk about yourself at all?" The chirpy avian voice of Catio asks, causing me to lose the concentration of eating my lunch. "You're always so serious all the time. Catio thinks you need to loosen up and live a little. There's more to life than just work."

I pause my mealtime and actually start thinking about hir question. I know that I've always put duty and responsibility first. It's what my father taught us, being a Coalition mouse himself. "I don't know what to say. It's just the way I was brought up."

"Birdie's right you know. You spend too much time worrying 'bout little things and not enough where things matter." The brown and partially cybernetic mouse sitting across from me adds, bobbing the fork in his right hand as he speaks. "You 'ought to take it from me. Let the little guys handle the little messes. Why do you think I'm head engineer 'round here? Getting to tell all 'em boys and girls to do my job is much better than doing myself."

Something about Nimir's attitude rubs me the wrong way, and my face shows it by raising one eyebrow and flattening out both ears. "Course, I still lend a paw in the big jobs. Sometimes you got to help 'em out or else they gonna break something." He finishes saying with a grin. And here I thought that mouse might have been a respectable hardworking Maedallan. It seems that you really can't judge a holo novel by its cover.

"Yeah, so what do you do for fun Cassa?" Catio questions between stuffing more of Chef's lunch in hir beak. "Catio wants to know. You've got to do something fun. Maybe something Catio can join in on too?"

The usual little brown fox decides to pipe in from the table next to ours, trying to provoke a response out of me as well. "Yeah, this I have to know." He says, tilting his head backwards at us. "Whatever does our stoic commander do when she's not being the big bad mouse. Come on, tell us. Don't be shy."

"Well, I... I suppose sometimes, when I have the time, I enjoy playing the pipe organ and singing." I respond nervously, drooping my whiskers and feeling as if being judged.

"You?! A musician?" Sevin roars loudly enough that the entire mess hall can hear him, and my sudden shame. "Wow, I didn't know you had talent for anything like that."

I can hear the entire rest of the room chatter away about their newfound discovery while I turn my head towards the table in humiliation, regretting having said anything. As much as I'd like nothing more than to just get up and leave, doing so would only make things worse for me. They'd brand me a coward on top of all this. I will not lose all my pride and self respect.

"That's great!" I hear Catio say amidst the rabble and my own lingering self-doubt, being the catalyst to bring my gaze back up to hir. "Catio likes to play the mandolin. We should get together and play together!"

"If you're looking for more band mates, I think Bhyrt has some kind of brass horn or somethin' I've heard 'him play before. He's not all that bad." Nimir replies, scratching his muzzle with his metallic paw. "Yeah, you all might be able to put yourselves a 'lil band together and play down here. I'll talk to Gilnei and see if that mouse can't find us an organ on the cheap. Dunno how 'he does it, but crafty 'lil bastard always manages to get what'err you're looking for."

Sevin begins to snicker in his seat behind me. He's probably right to be laughing too. Everyone else did too, when I told them I wanted to learn to play music. None of my brothers and sisters had any talent, so why would I have had any? All those years spent sneaking into the old theater when I was a pup to try and learn by myself. What was I thinking? And then the less than formal lessons during academy life back on Maedalla. I should have taken up something better than this.

"Yeah, like I was say'n, some live entertainment would be much better than having to watch old holo vids over and over." Nimir says, not aware that I hadn't heard anything he may have just said. "If I have to watch The Mysterious Planet one more time, I'm gonna throw myself out an airlock."

The fox rolls his eyes back and sticks out his tongue at the mouse's comment, having apparently moved his chair over to our table next to me at some point. "Tell me about it. It's like every night the same boring crap gets played over and over. When are we going to get something new? I've seen all the episodes of Vinde the Virtuous Vulpine Vagabond already. There's only so many ways you can save the kit who fell down the well."

"Ooo, Catio hasn't seen that one yet. Is it any good?"

"Maybe the first time, but not the sixth."

"In that case Catio will just wait then. So Cassa, do you want to play music together?"

Turning my attention over towards the Avittan, the first sounds out of my mouth are little more than incoherent mumbling. "Uh... I... I suppose so. As far as I know, there isn't an organ on board the ship currently to play. I don't really want to be a burden to all of you like that."

"Nonsense, " Nimir interrupts, drawing the word out with a smile. "Gilnei'll get one no problem. We can set it up in here right in the back of the room. Get the boys to build a 'lil stage in front of the windows. It'd look great. Much better than these lousy metal tables and chairs."

Catio brings hir taloned hands together against the white mantle covering the green feathers of hir flat chest and speaks, head tilted sideways towards the grid of lights that cover the ceiling. "Oh it'd be great, and so romantic to be up on stage playing in a band again. Catio hasn't been able to play Catio's mandolin with others in so many years."

"Hahaha, this is going to be so great to see." Sevin replies with a laugh. Our little commander serious-all-the-time getting up on stage for something other than telling us how we're all worse than a bunch of first year cadets."

The brown mouse morph reaches out and points a finger at the fox boy with his artificial arm, wagging it in a display of castigation. "Hey, you'd not even be old enough to enlist yet." He says in defense of me. "So your 'lil tail is worse than a cadet's. Maybe we 'ought to have dumped you back off on Firnulf where you came from. Dig a few more of your fox holes 'fore sneaking aboard ships."

"You take that back!"

"Make me, pup."

Sevin and Nimir both stand up supporting themselves on the table with their arms as they stare each other down. I hear the brown fox growling as his ever so slightly taller adversary just grins at him. The rest of the mess hall must have felt the energy of the pair, as all eyes are on them at this point. Part of me wants to exert my position and break up their little match, but another wants to see the fox taught some discipline.

Ultimately however, I don't follow through with either and try to slink away after returning my empty dishes to the counter. Both the fox and mouse are still throwing insults at one another when I reach the door. It's not the sound of fists hitting fur that startles me, but the voice of the Avittan still seated at the table.

"Oh Cassa, Catio will let you know when we can all play our beautiful music together. This is going to be so much fun." Sie calls out, waving hir feathery arm at me.

"Oh, yes. I'm sure it will be." I turn around and answer slowly. "Let me know how everything goes later. In the meantime I need to be getting back to the bridge." Forcing out a grin for the bird, continue my escape back up to the bridge.

Try as I might, I cannot shake this anxiety from our mealtime conversation. Worry looms over me all the way up to my destination. No amount of logical and reasonable thinking helps. It's not exactly easy to find a pipe organ out in space. They'll probably forget all about it in a few days. No, wait. That gives them too much credit. If there is anything I have learned about my new crew, it's that these people only remember and learn what they like to hear.

Standing outside one of the two large metallic doors to the bridge long enough to regain at least some of my composure, I exhale deeply one last time and step forward for the door to slide open. If there is one person I cannot show these weakness' to, it would be my commanding officer. Someone has to be able to keep the Aurora in check, and I don't know how that fox would be able to do it without me.

"Oh crap!" A surprised voice yelps out as the sound of door opening reaches him. "I completely lost track of time."

The fox's reaction comes at some surprise to me as well, hearing the sound of a number of little items of some sort all crash against each other. Looking for the source of the racket I catch a glimpse of the captain sprawled out in the middle of the carpeted floor trying to gather up whatever mess he had apparently been making.

"Captain? What's going on here?" I call out to him as he scrambles to his feet. "What were you doing on the floor down there? And what was that noise just now?"

"Uh, uh..." Merrolth stutters holding one arm behind his back away from my view. "It was nothing. Just getting back to work now."

The ruby red fox keeps that same arm hidden as he sidesteps his way back around to his console with a look of guilt plastered all over his face. I hear something drop to the floor and kicked under the terminal before he speaks again. "Yeah... Nothing to worry about. Everything's fine here."

"Is that so?" I respond and look down at where he was sitting previously. Apparently in his haste the captain had gotten a little sloppy cleaning up his mess. "You seem to have missed a piece." I continue, bending down and picking up a small painted block of wood.

Complete terror strikes the fox's face as I hold up the green rectangular block, roughly ten centimeters long. He looks down to the hidden stash under the control panel, then back up to my hand again. "I... can explain." Merrolth says. "It's not what it looks like."

"And just what does it look like then?"

"Okay. So it's exactly what it looks like. You caught me. I was playing with building blocks."

I step over to the captain and place his errant toy on the terminal, watching him flatten his ears and look away from me in disgrace. "I only do it from time to time, when nobody else is on duty up here. Found the bag a couple months back, and it's been the only other thing to do around here than just sleep."

The implications of his situation leave me standing speechless. It's as if looking in at myself from the outside. No, this isn't the time for silent reflection. It's bad enough we're both awkwardly standing around the bridge. No need to make things worse right now.

"You're not going to tell anyone, are you?" The captain asks, rubbing the top of his muzzle and almost whining. "Please don't, Nimir and Bhyrt and Ria won't ever let me live it down. I've got an image I'm supposed to uphold."

Sighing as I shake my head at Merrolth, the thought doesn't cross my mind. Something about doing that seems so... hypocritical and wrong. "No, I won't say anything Merr. Let's just be past all this now. Best to not dwell on these kinds of things."

"Really? You mean it? I owe you one then Cassa." He replies in a much lighter tone.

"Yes, I do." Answering him as I take a seat at my terminal. The course heading estimate another week and a half to Blain. But we'll begin passing along the Iorth cloud in two days. If something were to happen to us, it would happen then I believe. The density of the cloud field, a mix of tiny rock, ice, and dust particles makes an effective shield against most sensors. We'd need to be within half a light year to effectively scan it. And at that range it's like walking around a pond full of predatory reptiles.

Business seems to carry on as usual after our small episode. Contact from our employer is sparse and brief, until their ship drops out of warp unexpectedly. Our scanners didn't pick up any anomalous disturbances either from them or ahead on our way. I give them a few minutes to initiate first contact with us, before ultimately the hail is initiated from the Aurora.

"Captain Dervog, has something happened? Do you need assistance? Please respond." I message, waiting for their reply. Several more minutes pass before they finally do. It's no surprise to see Sevin lacking any interest in the current situation, but Merrolth really should show more concern. He is supposed to be in charge, after all.

The main screen fills itself with a video feed of the intimidating ebony Resalvan in his chair, who responds to our offer of help. "Ah, captain Merrolth and Commander Cassa. We seem to be having a little engine trouble right now, but my crew informs me it should be taken care of shortly."

"Do you need us to send anyone over or anything like that?" Merrolth asks.

"No, no that won't be necessary." The rabbit responds with an almost inappropriate grin. "We will let you know when we're ready to get going again. Sit tight."

"Captain, we're currently dangerously close to the Iorth cloud. Might I suggest the Aurora tow you a short distance further from it?" I inquire. Something about this whole thing feels off, but I can't say for sure what.

"Oh, no. I'm sure we'll be fine. I'll get back to you in a few hours with an update." The screen cuts off before anyone can say anything back to Dervog, returning to its usual display of starry space in front of us.

Sevin raises his arms to stretch, letting his long red fox tongue stick out of his mouth as he yawns. "More sitting around and waiting? Great. I hope they don't take long to fix whatever happened over there. This trip is already boring enough as it is."

"Yeah me too." Merroth replies doing the same. "Still, I can't help but feel bad for them. Ship problems aren't any good to have."

Are neither of these two concerned for the safety of the ship in the slightest? We're sitting right outside the scanning range of the cloud. Has the thought that something could happen not crossed their minds at all? Am I legitimately worried here, or just being pessimistic?

These thoughts all run though my head, keeping me from speaking momentary. "Captain, might I recommend we go to tactical alert. Something about all of this feels wrong."

"Wrong? How so?" He says.

"Think about it. Their ship suddenly breaks down as we're passing the closest to the Iorth cloud, leaving us just sitting here at the mercy of anyone who might jump out."

Merroth scratches the side of his head right below his ears. "What are you getting at? Are you trying to suggest it's a setup?"

"It could very well be." I answer, turning to face him. "Dervog might take it as a sign of aggression if we were to raise shields and ready weapons right now, but I think we should be ready to do so at any moment."

The red fox sighs and looks out at the freighter on the display before staring back at me. "Alright. We'll play it safe this time. Sevin, keep scanning whatever you in out the dust cloud. Let Nimir and Ria know that something might happen."

The captain stands and stretches himself again with another yawn before finishing. "I doubt that cargo freighter is going to put up much of a fight. If they're really planning to do something, that rabbit would need some help to take down the Aurora."

"And that's exactly what I'm worried about." I respond, trying to share my attention between the sensors and captain. "Who knows what could show up from inside there. Granted, anything much larger than the Aurora would have a difficult time trying to traverse the cloud field, but based on how our last encounter went I'd worry about any ship that might attack us."

Merrolth looks away in shame, knowing exactly what I meant. That first battle was nearly our last. "Ensign, let me know the minute you detect anything out there. We may only have mere minutes to ready ourselves for combat if it comes to that."

And so we all sat there staring at monitors and scanner reports for the better part of three hours. I did not enjoy excusing Sevin to use the toilet either. It meant being a fox down for several minutes. Perhaps I should consider having a rest room installed closer to the bridge, just for situations like this. Or at the very least maybe a bucket in the corner of the room. Decency be damned.

The last time I remember doing lookout like this was a few years back during my last posting on board the light cruiser UFC Solar Alacrity. We were assigned to defend the Arazhevyn fringe system from Linbadellian attacks. There were several moons and asteroid belts with deposits of heavy metals critical to Coalition expansion in that system, but very little in terms of livable worlds. Those lizards just didn't want us to have them.

We spent more than four months out there without a peep from them before they started to come. The Alacrity could take two or three of their frigates without much problem, but they just kept coming. After a two week siege and the loss of five horizon class ships, one moon base, and the scuttling of another light cruiser due to damage to its warp drive the Linbadellians finally pulled back. A steep victory, but the uranium and other resources were greatly needed.

"Cass, I see something on the scanner. It looks like it really could be a ship this time." The little brown fox speaks as he points at his display. "This one is much bigger than last time. And it's heading right for us."

I confirm his reading, and quickly send word to engineering. "You may have been wrong about that chunk of ice, but this time it's real. Hail the approaching vessel ensign. Captain, send word to the Maribisu about possible danger. They really need to hurry with their repairs."

"Commander, the freighter isn't responding to our calls. And now it looks like they've powered up their shields." Merrolth says as Dervog's ship begins to turn and take a more defensive position.

"The other ship isn't answering either! Systems show it'll be on us in less than two minutes." Sevin adds, sounding worried.

Outside on the Aurora's wings, the plating covers for the ship's electromagnetic linear acceleration cannons slide open and the weapons emerge from their respective bays as I ready us for the potential upcoming conflict. We reposition ourselves around to face the new ship head on.

By now sensor data is in, and our mysterious friend is identified as an old cicada class frigate, the predecessor to the horizon class. They're a little smaller and more agile then the Aurora, but unless they did some major overhauling to that one, they shouldn't be much of a match for us in terms of firepower.

"They're here!" The ensign shouts, "and neither ship is answering us! What do we do?!"

Merrolth growls, rather loudly too, at the situation. It's a veritable standoff at the point. The tension is thick enough to cut with a knife. We wait for somebody, anybody to make the first move. I can hear the tapping of a foot behind me, a clear sign I'm not alone in frustration.

After what could very well have been ages, a transmission comes though at last. "Surrender your ship and prepare to be boarded." The audio only response says. There may not be a video feed, but the voice sounds very much Resalvan.

"Not happening!" The captain retorts, actually standing up to yell at the monitor. "Who the hell do you think you are to be trying to order us around like that?"

"I don't think you know what you're getting yourself into, boy. Look around you. It's two on one. Don't be a fool." The voice answers, rather calmly too despite the captain's rather bold words.

Merrolth pauses the transmission to speak as he sits back down. "Damnit. Cassa, what are our odds here? Can we take them both?"

"Individually? Yes." I reply. "Simultaneously? Possibly, I'm not sure. We don't know how well they're both armed. I suggest disabling the frigate first. It poses a higher threat than the freighter."

"Bring us around to fight them first then. Target their weapons if possible." The red fox says before reopening communications and giving the other ships his piece of mind. "No. You two surrender. The Coalition may be more lenient to pirates than we will."

Laughter fills the transmission as both rabbits give us their answers before cutting off. Almost immediately after the Aurora is shaken as weapons fire from both ships strikes our shields, creating a very brightly lit display.

"Returning fire!" I call out, entering commands and issuing orders across the console. "Direct Hit! I'd wager they weren't expecting that from us. They were probably expecting to use their agility against slower tracking plasma weapons."

Merrolth grins ear to ear as he hears my comment. "And here you thought these old things were just old fashioned. My old fox knew what he was doing."

"Shields down to 63%!" Sevin yells out as we're hit again. "What was that thing you were trying to teach me Cassa? About getting more shield power?"

"Transfer the power from other non-essential systems, ensign. Pay more attention." I answer returning fire again. "Captain, bring us around to the far side of the frigate. Put it between us and the freighter. That will make it harder for at least one ship to hit us."

He snaps his fingers at the suggestion. "Good idea commander. Why didn't I think of that."

His words simply make me roll my eyes and sigh. This is a very basic maneuver. Why do I have to do everything?

Another volley at the frigate, and we can see it's shields beginning to fail. They must not have upsized them at all. They've got to be almost 40 years old then.

"Captain! We've blown two deflector relays down here!" Nimir calls out over the ship's intercom system. Although faint, I can make out the sound of something hissing in the background. "She's only got two left, and we don't have any spares. There weren't enough credits on hand to buy spares last time."

Merrolth pounds one paw onto his terminal. "Damnit. Sevin, how much shield do we have left?"

"Uh... 47..." The ship is rocked yet again before he can finish, nearly knocking the fox from his chair. "I mean 32. Down to 32%!"

"That one did it! Their shields are down." I respond, lining up the next shot to try and finish them.

The captain tries to send another hail calling for them to surrender, but their answer is only another round of weapons fire. "We gave them a last chance. I hate to do this, but Cassa, fire when ready."

The solid cored slug hits dead on with the center of their ship, missing the top mounted turret by a few meters, but tearing though the metal plating with ease. The round exits out the other side leaving a significantly larger exit wound and a wake of metallic debris. The frigate must have lost power at that point, as its engines and the majority of the lights cut out.

"One down!" The brown fox cheers with an arm raised in delight at our apparent victory.

"I repeat, surrender and stand down." Merrolth says again, trying to end this fight without having to destroy both ships. "Your friend's ship has been totaled, and I won't hesitate to do the same to you too."

Several minutes pass before either side makes another move. I try and patch things together as much as possible in our brief respite. The Aurora moves around to ready a shot at the Maribisu should it come to it.

"Fine. We give up, you fox bastard." The black rabbit responds over the transmission. Dervog's face is twisted in hate at their loss. "Great thing we had going here too. And you just had to ruin it."

"And just how is piracy such a great thing, captain?" I snap in disgust at his words.

The Resalvan's visage remains unmoved as he slams one arm down onto the control panel in front of himself, actually shattering one of the small displays in a shower of glass. "We wouldn't have to be doing this if your fucking Coalition weren't strong-arming itself into every facet of peoples' lives. We used to be legitimate traders. Then they cut into our trade routes in the name of protection and freedom. Some freedom it was."

"The Coalition would have gladly accepted you as supply convoys. There is always a need for materials and resources to be moved." I reply, watching the foxes around me sit dumbfounded.

Dervog raises his arm up off the broken terminal, blood dripping all over as he waves it around. If that rabbit was in any pain, he wasn't showing it at all. "And just what kind of life would that be? Being ordered around like some kind of dog by people who don't even care about the individual. No freedom to choose. No freedom to fail. No freedom to change. Just day in and day out the same until you get blasted by whatever enemy they just happen to protecting us from that day."

The rabbit looks over at one of the other crewmen on his bridge and says something while the communication cuts out for a moment. "No, I think I'd rather die a free Resalvan than live on my knees a slave to your system. I won't give you Coalition dogs the satisfaction of taking me down in the name of freedom either." He turns back over to the mouse he just talked to and continues. "Do it Orrain, overload the warp engines."

"Captain Dervog, you don't need to do this. I'm sure we can..." The transmission cuts out before I can even finish speaking. Outside, the main display shows the rabbit actually went through with it. A small explosion in the aft of the freighter is the prelude to a second, much larger one which sets off a chain reaction throughout the rest of the Maribisu, completely destroying it and the two cargo containers it was carrying.

The loss of the Maribisu is the least of our worries now, as we have a slight problem to deal with first. "17 seconds to shockwave impact!" Sevin shouts as he scrambles to try and route any power possible to the shields.

"Get us away moving from it Merr!" I respond franticly trying to do anything possible to minimize the impending disaster.

"I'm working on it! We have to turn around completely to move away." The captain yells out, dancing his paws across the controls in a fevered pitch. "It's going to be close!"

"5 seconds!"

"Come on! Move! Go!"

The entire ship is jolted forward as the shock hits us from behind. Several warning lights go off on every command terminal as the last of our shields protect us from the blast.

"Is everyone okay?" Merrolth asks shaking his head. "Sevin, find out how Nimir and Ria are doing. Give them whatever help they need."

"Captain, what happened to the other ship? Did the shockwave destroy it completely?" I reply, trying to look for a camera feed of it behind us.

Apparently the frigate didn't survive either. The only thing out there I can find are a pair of debris fields. We should count ourselves lucky the destruction of the other vessel didn't take us with it. There's been enough destruction here for one day.

Merrolth rests his head on his paw on the console and curses himself for getting us into all this. "Had I just said something to you maybe we wouldn't have had to go through all of this." He pounds his other paw on the terminal, but doesn't lift his head. "Damnit. This is all my fault."

"Captain, it's not entirely your fault. These people were criminals. They would've run into their fate eventually. It just so happened to catch them now." I respond.

"You heard what he said, he wasn't always like that." The fox retorts.

Is it true? Was Dervog really driven to that because of the Coalition? Did he really get pushed into this life because of people like me? I've lived my entire life believing the Coalition was always looking out for everyone. It's why the organization was founded more than 170 years ago after our four collective races came together to work towards a common goal. Surely this one Resalvan was just trying to blame others for his own wrong doing?

"Nah, I think that rabbit was just a whackjob." I hear Sevin say, bringing me out of thought. "He just wanted it all for himself and didn't want to contribute to society any. I mean plenty of people work for the Coalition and still get to do what they want. Look at us."

"Maybe, but we're sort of an exception in that regard. Not everyone has it as good as us." Merrolth replies, having sat back up in his chair at some point. "Cassa is only here because she has to be. I'm sure that mouse might have someplace more important she'd rather be than babysitting us."

"Hey, I resent that. I am not here to babysit any of you. I'm here to ensure that you repay the costs of repairing the Aurora Zephyr to the Coalition though work." I respond, slightly irritated at the notion.

"That sounds like babysitting to me." The captain replies, rolling his eyes. "In any event, send a message to headquarters about the situation. Maybe there's another bounty for stopping these pirates. I'm sure we could use the credits after taking the damage we did. Thanks to your little bathroom rules I've had to hold myself in for more than an hour. I'll be back later after checking in Nimir and them."

The other fox gets up to leave too, claiming hunger. I can't imagine wanting to eat after going though all we just did. Here I am again, alone, on the bridge. And thinking about it, the worst part of today isn't that we just destroyed two ships and were the primary cause of death for probably almost 100 men and women, or even that we nearly got ourselves killed again. It's the seed of doubt that continues to bother me.

---

Like it? Hate it? Let me know your opinion. These first couple of chapters have not been quite as enjoyable to do as I'd have hoped, as the really interesting stuff isn't happening yet. I've got story ideas that I feel are more sci-fi-y than everything so far, but the story has to build up to it, I guess. The next one should hopefully be more in the spirit of going out and exploring space, rather than just doleing around trying to make a buck.