FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Sunlight nearly blinded the ermine when he stepped out from the tunnel in the side of the mountain. Once his eyes adjusted to the sunlight, he was able to see the small structure built among the trees. The two leaders of the planet's survivors were standing near the structure, the younger one holding a rifle and aiming it down the range.

A burst of shots echoed off the mountainside. Tiriaq was far from the target but even at this distance he was able to see that the shots were off by more than just a few centimeters.

"Keep the weapon tighter against your shoulder," instructed Yelena. She was looking through the scope at the target. "And try to breathe more shallow to keep it steady."

Another burst of gunfire pierced through the target downrange. This time the shots were closer but not perfect.

"Quick learner," muttered Tiriaq. The sight of someone so young training reminded him of Yukiomaru's training. He still had old scars as a result of being one of the fox's trainers.

"Captain Dewitt," said Jun Fa, after he lowered his weapon. "Any complications with your mission?"

"No sir," the ermine answered. He approached them while Commander Cassander examined the weapon. "The building was razed and the tunnel sealed off."

"How many does that make?" asked the Commander, setting down the rifle.

"Twenty-three," answered Tiriaq. "In addition to the four that Aggressor brought down, that makes up to ninety-five percent of the city has been razed."

"We need to start moving into the tunnels and burning them out of their nests," said Jun while he reloaded his weapon. "I want to organize a team to take the lead on this; to explore the tunnels and clear them out. Then we'll have fire teams go in to collapse those tunnels."

"The Creeper invasion is still a serious threat in the city, and in the other cities around the world," Tiriaq mentioned. "We can't sacrifice the victories we've won by trading territories."

"We've hardly won any victories," muttered Jun. The marten fired another burst of gunfire. "We thought we were winning on the surface but they've just been moving down into the planet. Where it's warmer, and where they can feed off of the planet's energy to grow and supply their armies." He fired again, one of the shots going straight through the target's center. "You're leading the team into the tunnels, Captain, and I will be going with you."

The young marten fired several more short bursts down the range but few shots hit near the center. The shots weren't horrible for a young recruit but Tiriaq was used to the professionalism and skill of Admiral Alexander's crew.

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea, sir," Tiriaq said once the echoes of the gunfire faded. "You're head of the Fa family while your parents are still missing and Tang is off planet. You command all of us, and without you there is no civilian commander left. Commander Cassander can't handle the military operations and refugees at the same time. We can't allow you to be put at risk."

"A good commander doesn't sit behind the front lines while his army fights the war," Jun said, setting his rifle down and turning to look at the ermine. "Heroes take the fight to their enemy, even if it means their death. Saving our civilization killed Pilot Sky, and now Yukiomaru because the decision to go to the frontlines. I will not disappoint them."

Tiriaq stared at the marten, a little surprised. His lips curled slightly, and with his icy glare it made an intimidating appearance.

His mind is made up, the ermine thought. He continued to stand rigid as he stared at the marten before he finally broke eye contact. He's just like the Admiral. That fox's behavior left an impression on this pup.

"Besides," continued the marten, while he refocused his attention onto his training. "You'll need someone to analyze the tunnels before they're burned."

"Very well, sir," said Tiriaq, returning his gaze to Jun. "I will have some of my soldiers guard you while you study the alien tunnels. My team will be assembled and ready to go first thing at sunrise."

"We'll leave two hours before sunrise," Jun declared, squeezing off another short burst of gunfire. "The local Creepers are weaker after they've had no exposure to sunlight so I want to go in when they're weakest but give us enough time to complete the mission before the sun rises."

"I have a lot of work to do then before I turn in tonight," Tiriaq said. Jun remained focused lining up his sights without bothering to give him another glance. Commander Cassander was whispering advice into his ear. "My team will meet you on the pad, sir."

Tiriaq turned to head back into the tunnel and choose who would be on his team.

"Captain," Jun's voice said loudly before the ermine could step any further away. He turned back to look at the marten, who's eyes were now focused on the ermine. "I will be sitting in on your briefing."

He gave Jun a curt nod before returning to the tunnel. Inside the depths of the mountain, the ermine couldn't grasp the concept of time without the sun. For the next several hours he prepare for his mission by reserving gear and soldiers for the mission as well studying the tunnel readings that they've gathered.

From his PawPad he gave the orders for a dozen of his best soldiers to meet him in the cabin, along with Jun Fa. With the orders sent, Tiriaq left the hole in the mountain that he called his own and was the first to arrive at the cabin. The setting sun had a red tint to it as the light shined through the large windows.

Commander Cassander arrived early but soon Jun Fa, and the rest of the team arrived. With the Commander's support, Tiriaq briefed them all on the mission he formulated in the pass several hours. He emphasized on the fact that his team stayed close to him throughout the mission before he excused the team.

They left the cabin with only the Captain and Commander staying behind.

"You don't like him," stated Commander Cassander stated, supporting herself on the table with one paw.

"It's not that I don't like him," Tiriaq responded while he shut down the computers. "He's young and inexperienced."

"So was Yukiomaru," Commander Cassander declared. She sat back down in her seat and stared out the window as more stars started to shine in the sky.

She still calls him that, he thought. Following her gaze, he gazed upon the stars remembering how each one now posed a threat. "Mister... Admiral Alexander was trained almost since birth; and he's a prodigy. He reached the rank of Admiral in one year, which normally takes sixty years for a normal officer to achieve."

"Jun Fa is the heir to the Fa family while his sister is off planet," the Commander reminded him. "He is young and immature but he's shadowed some of our best minds, including Yukiomaru. Don't give up hope on the marten, he has a lot of potential."

"I will follow his orders, do not worry Commander," Tiriaq said, picking up his PawPad and heading towards the exit. "Our entire command structure along with nearly our entire military force has been eliminated. Jun Fa is all we have."

Without another word, he walked out of the cabin and into the darker halls. She sees Alexander in the marten too. I hope she isn't clinging onto him because of that.

Back in his room, Tiriaq lied on his cot and closed his eyes. There was no door to shut behind him, even with him having one of the officers' rooms, but he allowed himself to undress and pull a sheet over himself.

His mission would begin in approximately six hours so he forced himself to sleep, despite his chaotic mind covering every detail of his mission.

The dark walls gave way to large clear windows, and through the window there was a toddler fox sitting behind a computer terminal. Mathematical formulas to determine gravity forces scrolled across the screen while the fox wrote on it.

"My mission was interrupted to train younglings?" asked Tiriaq, infuriated about this supposed secret mission. "I'm not with the orphan program, General."

"We are aware of that, Lieutenant," answered the fox wearing a General's uniform. "Your work on Velmarian outposts is why you're here: To train this kit."

"Those mission are code black," Tiriaq replied, folding his arms in an irritated manner. "They don't exist, never happened. Wait, I'm to train one, single kit?"

"You and another dozen officers," said the fox with nothing but confidence showing. "You're to train him in melee weapons, primarily the spear."

"General Vale, how is it that you know about my missions and specialties?" Tiriaq demanded. The auburn fox remained expressionless. "And what's so special about this fox kit?"

"It was a significant more amount of resources to acquire this kit than simply pulling an officer from a black coded operation. And a lot more will be going into the training this prodigy."

"Prodigy?" he repeated. The only other real prodigy he's heard of was Pilot Sky and no one has been referred to as such since then. "Very well, I'll test this kit on his skills but am I required to train someone in an art they're not adaptive to?"

"Those who are running the program will decide that," answered General Vale. The fox turned and walked out of the hallway, with his fluffed tail following.

Tiriaq glanced back through the window and the white fox kit and wondered why the military was investing so much into one youngling.

Outside of the academy, on one of the many open green fields stood the kit with Tiriaq. Both held wooden poles and both were panting but otherwise unruffled.

Without any preceding movements, Tiriaq jabbed at the fox with the end of the weapon. The fox dodged but didn't have time to recover as the other end of the attacking weapon was swept directly at his head. The attack was blocked but the force of the hit knocked the fox on his tail.

The fox kept his momentum and rolled back onto his hindpaws before spinning and smacking Tiriaq on the thigh with the wooden pole. The hit didn't hurt but the fact the toddler scored a hit on a black operations soldier caused him to pause long enough for another hit to impact across the cheek.

He staggered from the blow and the world blurred for a moment. Through his blurred perceptional vision, he saw the wooden pole heading straight for his abdomen. His instincts brought his own weapon to deflect the attack. Tiriaq counterattacked by aggressively and recklessly swinging at the tiny fox.

The fox blocked but the strength of the adult broke through the block and smacked across the muzzle. The two of them staggered away from each other, giving the ermine a chance to recover from the relentless attack.

Rubbing his paw against his cheek, Tiriaq pulled his paw back and noticed blood coloring his fur red. The cut burned to the touch but he forgot the pain once he realized that the fox was sitting on the ground with his paws pressed firmly under his ear. Tears leaked from his golden eyes from the pain but he still did not sob.

This is only the second day of training, the trainer thought. How did this kit hit me? He barely knows how to speak!

"Ready," the high-pitched voice from the fox announced. Tiriaq gazed at the fox in astonishment. The pain was keeping the fox's right eye from opening but he stood in a fighting stance with the wooden pole in his paw.

Quick learner. Yukiomaru Alexander, you are a prodigy.

A dark veil started to fall over the training grounds, consuming everything until a slight buzz was the only thing the ermine could hear. He realized that he was now staring up at the dark ceiling of his earthen room.

Rolling over on his cot, the ermine stood up and stretched before he began getting dressed. The luxury of bathing hasn't been allowed to anyone almost since the invasion. First to arrive was the Captain but Lieutenant Sherman soon joined him, along with the rest of the team. Jun Fa stood among them, his fatigue hidden almost as well as the trained soldiers he stood next to.

"You have already received my list for equipment to be carried by each one of you but let me remind you to arm yourself for close-quarter fighting," Captain Dewitt said once his team lined up near one of the scavenged benches. He finished gearing up by strapping an old-style across his back. "Corporal Mane, I'm changing your weapon to a short range 'shotgun' class ballistic weapon since I don't want you to be anywhere near the fighting while you're carrying the explosives."

"Jun," he continued. "You'll be with Corporal Mane so you two can cover each other. Bring whatever gear you feel necessary but keep in mind that we won't be staying in one spot for long. Team, you know your job so stay behind Lieutenant Sherman and me while we take point. Our ship is waiting on the pad, let's go."

Through the dark and quiet tunnels, the team walked toward one of the exits. A couple of the soldiers idly chatted about their encounters with Creepers but most of the soldiers remained silent.

They were outside in only a few minutes, with nothing but the dark starry sky to greet them. A transport ship waited for them in an open field, surround by small patches of snow. Tiriaq was the first to step on the ship, and the team followed him on. Without a moment wasted, the ship lifted off the ground and headed straight for the city.

"This war will be over within the year," one of the recruits boasted. Tiriaq stared out the window but he listened to their idle chatter. "We've already taken back the city that's been hit hardest and it's too cold for them to travel too far from the warmer climates of the planet. I'm telling you, this war is won."

"For this war to be over we have to kill every last one of them," said another recruit. They both sat near the hatch exit and were the only two talking to each other. "And I heard they've found another way to find a fuel source. They're sucking the life out of whoever they capture to grow."

"That's just a rumor," replied the first recruit.

"There's hundreds of fire teams burning out those graveyard nests," replied the other. "It's not rumor. These Creepers must have invaded colder planets than ours so they must have some way to keep themselves alive without a star feeding them."

"Even if that's true, then it'll only be a matter of time before we destroy all these 'nests' and they won't be able to capture very many citizens so easily after that. We're all in our bases now."

"I heard that infected animals are attacking some of the cities so they don't need to feed off of us."

"My point is we've taken back the capital city; their foothold on this planet. Without it..."

The recruit's voice died away when the city came into view, or what was left of it. Gazing out the window, Tiriaq could see the city even in the darkness but only because it was nothing more than red smoldering ruins. The ground glowed red, showing what remained of the buildings but it also showed that not a single building was left intact.

Yes, we've taken back the city, the Captain thought. He stared at the brightest patch of burning ruins, remembering his mission yesterday that resulted in the destruction of the building. We've burnt it to the ground.

"One minute to drop," the pilot announced.

The city never left their view while the ship decelerated and lowered towards the far edge of the city. A partially standing building now lay beneath them and before the vessel could land, it's main guns roared over the engines and rattled the ship.

"Four hostile contacts down," said the pilot. The rattling ceased but the ship jolted one final time as it touched the ground. "We're down. I'm opening the hatch.

Tiriaq unfastened himself from his seat and stepped toward the hatch while it started to open.

"Remember to stay with me," he said to his team, looking particularly at Jun. "Stay together and do not get split up. If you get split up, radio us over the headset so we can rendezvous. No causalities today, am I understood?"

"Yes sir!" they said, overlapping each other.

He turned toward the open hatch and stepped out, his weapon raised and scanning the top of the half-collapsed building for the enemy. Only a few dead lay scattered around amongst the rubble. Tiriaq led his team forward, toward the rubble where a stairwell once stood and was now the only way into the building.

Glancing through the small opening into the broken stairwell, three infected citizens were seen. While his team gathering around, the Captain aimed on the furthest infected form and fired a shot through its neck. Two more shots disabled the other two aliens from controlling the bodies of their hosts.

Tiriaq signaled for his team to follow before dropping through the opening in the stairwell, being careful not to cause the rubble to cave in after him or falling down the stairs. The rest of the team followed him in and they proceeded down deeper into the ruined building. The building had a few infected civilians and soldiers scattered around but they didn't meet any real resistance until they reached one of the lower basements.

The rooms and hallways were dark, but their helmets were equipped with a light-enhancing display allowing them to see into the parking basement of the structure. Behind a line of cars that survived the cave-ins of the basement was Captain Dewitt and his team. The ermine was attempting to count how many enemies blocked their path from entering the botanical tunnel on the other side of the garage.

"There's at least two dozen," he whispered to his lieutenant. Through his display, Tiriaq scanned over the vehicle to see over a dozen creepers standing in groups around the parking garage. Not one of them were moving while they stood like statues overgrown with the infectious alien plant. "What're they doing?"

"I don't know," answered Lieutenant Sherman. The lemur was knelt next to Tiriaq, trying to get an accurate count as well.

"They look like waiting for a fuel source," Jun said, who was on the other side of the Captain. "There's vines coming down from the floors above us, and each cluster of Creepers are surrounding them. Without those feeding rooms, they might be waiting until the sun rises."

"Are they that smart to wait for morning?" questioned the lemur.

"Some flowers don't open up until the sunrises," Jun muttered. He turned away from the Creepers and leaned back against the vehicle. "And they coordinated and launched a surprise attack on our base. I'm sure they're a lot smarter than just a bunch of dead walking wights, even the basic infections such as these."

"We'll take them out fast then," said Tiriaq.

After waving his team to spread out, the Captain also silently ordered them to wait for his signal. The team was seen moving through the dark and behind the cover of the other vehicles. A few seconds later, they were spread out enough to allow them to hit multiple groups simultaneously.

Tiriaq aimed over the hood of the vehicle at the nearest Creeper along with Jun and Lieutenant Sherman. Taking aim at the nearest Creeper in the nearest cluster, he slowly squeezed the trigger. His first shot was pierced through the neck of his target, blood, fur and botanical substances.

That instant the garage echoed with the shots of over a dozen weapons. All around the garage, the alien-infestations fell. Those who weren't shot immediately quickly reacted and attempted to counterattack. Their attack failed as each one was quickly targeted and torn to pieces by the gunfire.

Fifteen seconds passed since Tiriaq first pulled the trigger to the time the last shot echoed from the enclosed garage. He waved his team forward before stepping out from behind the vehicle and walking toward the massacre.

Stepping over the bodies, the team approached the entrance to the tunnel that was large enough to fit a large vehicle through.

"We're avoiding as many intersections as we can so we don't get lost, or cut off," Tiriaq informed his team. "Let's move."

The dozen soldiers, and Jun Fa, stepped into the dark tunnel. They were now on the enemies' territory.