FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Gale Bracken had his hindpaws propped up on the dashboard of the command console. Lazily leaning back in his seat, he followed the wolf's movements with his half-closed eyes.

They occupied an exploration vessel that was salvaged after Aggressor's defeat. It wasn't a large ship like Drach'n Fury but it was large enough to make long trips. The civilian vessel remained dark most of the times but the central maps were activated that lit up the bridge with holographic dots that represented the stars.

The wolf was illuminated dully by the holographic lights, but it was still enough for Sergeant Bracken to see the scars around his eye. The scars were the best outcome the wolf could have hoped for, considering the wound he suffered nearly cost him his life or at least an eye.

The holographic map that lit up the room changed to the recording of Drach'n Fury firing on the shipyard that built it. The video was changed again to the hatchling that killed armored pirates with nothing but its bare claws. Both videos replayed multiple times until the feed was cut out while the wolf rechecked their trajectory many times over.

Their mission wasn't to find Drach'n Fury but to find the commander who once led it, Admiral Yukiomaru Alexander. The first couple months took them all over their ruined home planet but a static-filled video image suggested that the one who took the fox escaped off the planet. This Velmarian hatchling, and that was their only lead.

Chasing ghost, Sergeant Bracken thought again, as he had many times since this mission had started. "Find anything, Captain Redding?" he asked once the wolf paused the image just as the static started to consume the image.

Gale was ignored while the Captain attempted to isolate the stars from the static. Their search felt hopeless to him but he couldn't argue with the reasoning why they were chosen. The Commander and young Fa were terrified if Admiral Alexander were to become infested like the hatchling. Captain Redding was one of the best soldiers still alive, and just about the only one that Admiral Alexander didn't know as well as the other officers.

If the infantry captain, Captain Dewitt, were sent hunting after the fox, the fox would already know all of the Captain's moves since the ermine was once his trainer.

Not to mention that they were some of the newest soldiers and the least attached to him. If anyone would be able to pull a trigger on the savior, Gale was confident that it would be them.

The wolf growled, distracting the hare from dozing off. The video and map was erased from the bridge, and the wolf started again. He started falling asleep again while he watched the wolf search for some clue on where the Velmarian went.

Through the static and among the stars, the hare's gaze was drawn to a specific star he recognized. It looked familiar but his curiosity didn't stop his mind from drifting off. What did startle him was the wolf swiping away the entire hologram again.

Cursing under his breath for the constant interruption, the hare started to stand to leave to the living quarters when he saw the Captain was frustrated but excited.

"What you find?" Sergeant Bracken asked, scanning the thousand stars with his eyes. The wolf zoomed in on one of the stars, the same one that was seen in the video, but the surrounding stars didn't match at all.

Captain Redding pointed at it and waved his paw toward the computers, commanding the hare to scan it for a better view. He obliged and started typing at the computer, without even bothering to take a seat.

The image of the star sharpened, until they both recognized it for what it really was: Drach'n Fury. Less than a tenth of a lightyear away, and moving off.

"What is it doing out here?" muttered Sergeant Bracken, staring at the blurry image of the Drach'n Fury. He knew the onboard intelligence went rampant but there were rumors of it being seen guarding the system, such as when it destroyed the shipyard.

Captain Redding growled to get the attention of the hare before ordering him to set a course to follow the flagship.

Obeying, the hare sat down behind the main computer terminal again and set a new course to follow Drach'n Fury. He pushed the engines up to maximum, in hopes that they'd be able to keep up with the much faster ship.

Not much time passed before they realized that they were gaining on the ship. Drach'n Fury was moving much slower than even its cruising speed, almost like it was searching for something.

Captain Redding slowed their vessel himself to match the speed of the ship they now followed. He made a few gestures with his paw, ordering for Gale to find out where the ship was heading.

Wasn't it someone else's job to find this ship? Gale thought while he searched for potential destinations in the path of the flagship. What are the chances of it being out here when we're...

"Captain," Sergeant Bracken said turning around in his seat. "The intelligence, Fury, might be tracking the infected hatchling too."

Jun Fa, the marten that acted as an advisor and friend to the Admiral briefly brought up the possibility of Fury trying to find Admiral Alexander but that theory was dismissed. After the Admiral was captured, the ship evacuated its crew and was seen fleeing the battle rather than attempting to save the fox.

The Captain's orange eyes gazed at the hare for a moment while he contemplated the idea. With a nod, the wolf turned back to his work.

A hundred theories tormented the hare's mind, slowing his work. Focusing on the numbers helped force the theories out of his conscious mind though while over an hour passed. There were several systems in the path of the ship but none had anything significant about them.

He continued to check the hundred other stars in their path but the formation started to seem familiar. The stars were recognized, even at the different angle.

He turned to inform Captain Redding but before he could speak, the ship's alarm sounded. Over the holographic table, Gale witnessed Drach'n Fury surrounded by a fleet of smaller vessels. Velmarian pirates but their ships were in excellent condition compared to what the reports over the pass hundred years have been.

Even with the startling condition of the ships, they blossomed in fire when they tried to attack the rogue ship. The ships relentlessly attacked but Drach'n Fury's defensive lasers were enough to destroy any pirate vessel that came near.

Even though the shields of the ship could handle taking more than a few impacts, every inbound missile was destroyed by the laser system as well. The ship was taken every precaution not to have one missile get too close to the hull. The action was familiar to Sergeant Bracken lately, while they fought It took a few minutes before Sergeant Bracken realized that the attacking ships were infected. The way they attacked seemed like they were guarding something.

"Sir, they're infected," Gale mentioned while they watched the battle. The Captain didn't react but continued leading their ship straight for the battle. "We not on a military vessel, Captain Redding. We can't fight them."

The flagship didn't slow but the infected ships continued to pursue and attack. Soon enough the science vessel the two resided on was entering the debris field, making the hare very uncomfortable.

If any infected debris touches our ship, we're dead, he thought but kept his silence. Looking at Captain Redding, he knew that the Captain was determined to not lose their only lead, and a promising lead it was. Following the estimated trajectory of the hatchling after the shipyard was destroyed they hoped to find an infected vessel transporting it at best and instead they found Drach'n Fury and a fleet of infected ships.

"We're getting close to the battle, we should stay back a bit," suggested Gale, watching the maps on his own screen carefully. "Velmaria isn't far from here."

The wolf glanced at him briefly before returning his gaze to the holographic battle in front of him. Drach'n Fury hardly slowed while it left behind a wake of debris. Their science vessel had no choice to follow through the wake.

The alarm sounded more persistently few a few seconds before the entire ship shuddered from an impact. In the debris field, the scanners were having difficulties identifying threats from the floating junk. Redding was nearly knocked to the ground, whereas Gale was thrown out of his chair.

"We've been boarded," said Gale, after checking the internal cameras. "Three infections, and the impact site is already spreading an infection."

Captain Redding checked the damage himself with the central hologram.

"Captain Redding," a familiar voice said over the intercom. "Head to Velmaria and abandon your ship." The voice caused Gale to frantically search through the images of the internal cameras for the source but he was unable to find it. It was the Admiral's voice. "Your ship has been infected and it must be destroyed once you abandon it. I'll need your assistance on the planet so both of you need to get out alive."

It took a moment for Gale to recognize the voice as Fury, the rogue artificial intelligence that controls the flagship Drach'n Fury.

The ship shuddered again. Now with the ship damaged, other infections were moving in like a pack of scavengers.

Gale glanced at the wolf, who plotted the new course toward Velmaria and locked in the commands. From his belt he pulled his sidearm glanced back at the hare. With a nod of his head, Gale followed him off the bridge of the science vessel with his own weapon drawn and ready.

Through the corridor they could hear the screams of the infected while they thrashed around in another part of the ship but nothing was seen yet. Following the wolf to the pilot's lounge, Sergeant Bracken was feeling uneasy obeying the commands of an intelligence prototype that went rogue.

They made it to the lounge without any infections crossing their path, even though they could hear the infested near by. They hurried to change into their full armors and pack up as much gear as they could stuff into their packs.

Armored and armed, they hurried back into the corridor toward the only escape vessel they had. Exiting the door, they were immediately blocked by an infected creature. It was a Velmarian.

Captain Redding didn't hesitate and elbowed it across the head, knocking it back a few steps. He snapped up his rifle and shot through its neck. Gale followed closely as they stepped over the body and headed toward the only shuttle they had on the ship.

It didn't take long to cross the small ship but they left a trail of infected bodies behind them before they arrived in the hangar. The shuttle was smaller than the drop ships Drach'n Fury used, but it could at least hold the both of them efficiently enough. Crawling over it was more than a few infected Velmarians.

Several shots rang out as the wolf started to clear them off the hull. Gale followed his example and aimed up at the nearest infection on the ship. It was clear that they were trying to infect the shuttle. Strings of vines were attached to the ships and suspended the infections that they were attached to before they snapped under the weight.

"That's odd," muttered Gale from behind his helmet while he finished searching the exterior of the ship. The simple infected forms of primitive species have only been seen as combatants rather than infectors.

They both went into the shuttle and sealed the door behind them. Sergeant Bracken sat in the pilot's seat while the armored wolf took the copilots seat. Within a minute, the science vessel's bay doors opened, sucking all the air and bodies out forcefully, and the shuttle exited.

"The planet is being guarded well," Fury's voice said inside Gale's helmet. "I'll fly you in but once you're in the atmosphere, I can't help you."

"Is the whole planet infected?" he asked, turning toward the small orange dot that was nearly blotted out by the system's sun. No answer came. He turned to look at the Captain, who was staring at his PawPad through his helmet. The wolf didn't even look bothered by the fact that they'll now be stranded on a hostile planet that's most likely infected by an alien race known to have devoured thousands of planets.

"Whatever the cost," muttered Gale, when he thought back to their mission briefing. As long ads Captain Redding thought he was on the right path, he'd sacrifice everything to complete the mission.

He kept an eye on Drach'n Fury as it continued to battle the infected ships and protected their shuttle. The Creepers were more interested in intercepting the flagship more than the shuttle so they didn't require very much defending. In the much slower ship of the shuttle, it took nearly another three hours to be close enough to the planet to notice the dark green spots on the usually brown landscapes.

Captain Redding gave him some coordinates to a specific location on the planet's surface, but even the wolf looked surprised by seeing the forests on the desert planet. The last scans of the planet was only a few days before the invasion, and it was a barren as it always has been back then.

"An entire Creeper ecosystem," Fury said, the massive ship floating above the shuttle.