FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Distant Light ~

Written by: A.S. Ayshilvange

-Prologue-

"The Great Storm"

The universe is a vast, dark place...

A place with many different worlds and creatures, different galaxies and solar systems strewn throughout a seemingly infinite void that spans the distance between them. Whether there happens to be a common ancestor, a common place of origin for life, for the many species and varieties of existence that are possible within such a broad spectrum; or if its all truly just random chaos, sometimes there exists within traversable distance the start of similar beings, creatures whose origins mimic each other with only minor differences to their individual appearances.

Occasionally two distinct paths taken by the same ancestor occur upon the same planet, both sentient and not. And at times, species who's origins came from one singular planet become spread across the same galaxy throughout multiple worlds and solar systems due to traumatic or climactic events. This story begins within the occurrence of one such event, many aeons after the initial catastrophe that spread a once ancient and prosperous world across the stars.

***

Scattered within Es Dretas Amreos are many species who once inhabited a single world. A world that long ago - through means that are still unclear - underwent a massive and catastrophic shift. Many of the races inhabiting that world were displaced and relocated to other systems and planets, saved by the once naturally occurring portals that dotted the lost planet of their origin.

While most of that world's magicks were lost with it, some lingered in the surviving species', becoming a part of their very being and helping them to survive where others were less capable.

One such displaced species found themselves in the solar system of Etos upon a planet they came to know as Feiros. The Feiroan species - an intelligent and bipedal wolf-like race - had long since evolved beyond their natural lineage and developed space-faring technology, broadening their horizon in search for the Others spoken of in their common mythos. After establishing multiple off-world colonies and exploring to the far reaches of their own solar system, the Feiroan's eventually caught the attention of another space faring species.

The Techeorian's weren't the friendly creatures the Feiroan's had hoped to meet, however... instead, the large, bipedal feline race used their far more advanced technologies to invade and take over the Etos system, indoctrinating the Feiroan species into the Techeorian Empire as slaves and laborers aboard their vessels and outposts. Feiros itself was not invaded directly, though the effects of the Techeorian rule still extended to the planet under threat of direct invasion and revocation of basic liberties.

Several decades after the installation of Techeorian rule, however; a small group of Feiroan's began to rebel against their imposed masters and collect the discarded technology forgotten amongst the wreckage of their initial battles.

***

Hovering in orbit above their home, a crew of Feiroan's readied themselves for their first deep-space venture, testing technology they recovered from the wreckage of a Techeorian scout vessel. They had spent months in preparation and inspection, and were in the final stretch of diagnostics when they decided to test their new craft out for themselves.

"Etos system, in orbit of Feiros. Check. Is the drive ready?"

"Green across the board. GdC operational, Quantum drives ready for jump."

"Alright... Now you're sure this'll work, right Jeine?"

"Of course! ...Ninety-nine percent sure. Maybe Eighty. It'll work! Don't look at me like that..." Jeine chuckled and looked back at the other wolf. "C'mon Blaez, it's new technology to me! The Techeorian's don't exactly 'share' this stuff willingly!"

"Yeah yeah, just make sure it won't blow us to kretthu alright? You're the tech here, I'm just the pilot!" Blaez grinned and spun around in his seat, facing the view screen and the variety of course displays and readouts presented to him. "Everyone else ready? Best get seated, we don't know how this'll go! Noel?"

"Ready!" Noel called as she buckled in her safety harness.

"Crest?"

"Check!" Crest grinned as he poured over the engine readouts.

"Jan?"

"Of course I'm ready!" Jan barked sharply with a flick of his curly tail.

"Darrik?"

"They did do trial testing for this didn't they?" Darrik questioned hesitantly, looking over the relatively sparse reports.

"Maybe! We'll find out in a minute if it was successful!" Blaez smirked as the rest of his crew groaned and braced, watching their displays closer now. "Alright, lets see what she's got! And keep an eye out, we don't wanna get caught up in the cat's claws due to carelessness!" the wolf took a moment to look over his controls before raising the relatively small craft out of orbit and setting them on a course that Jeine had programmed in, their new drives humming to life.

Guiding them out past Feiros' moon, Blaez readied the ship as their untested engines warmed up and Jeine prepared the final flight plan. "We should jump to just past the outer edge of our system before we drop out of FTL, and we'll have plenty of time to go over the diagnostics on our way back, so we'll have an accurate report of the modifications performance by the time the council confronts us about this little venture..." Jeine smiled and glanced over to Blaez, giving a nod. He grinned in reply and did what he'd been waiting to do for months, punching the throttle.

In an instant the ship jumped into an FTL stream; leaving nothing but a distorted ghost of light in their wake.

"All systems nominal, slight shaking in the hull, but within reasonable tolerances. A few minute adjustments to the gravitic field should compensate for it next time." Crest perked up, his tail wagging as he watched his console.

The others monitored their own readouts, nodding in confirmation to what their mechanic was saying, not that anyone took their eyes off their screens long enough to see. Blaez, though, was transfixed at the view he had; watching as shimmers of light streamed around their craft on all sides, flowing off its smooth edges like neon water... But there wasn't much time to enjoy the view, as their test was only meant to last half a minute at best. And sure enough, the whirring engines began to quiet, and the entrancing display of light began to fade along with it.

Moments later their craft emerged back into normal space, though their location wasn't at all where they had planned. They found themselves at the edge of an unknown system of planets, a thick gaseous field lying between them and the solar bodies at its core. They only had moments to check their displays however, as they soon realized they weren't alone.

"Kretthu! How long till we can do that again?! Have they spotted us?" Blaez spun around and stared at Jeine expectantly, though scowled as she stumbled over her reply while checking her consoles.

"I-I don't know! Nothing should be here! How far did we jump?!" Jeine, in turn, looked to Noel, who turned to everyone else, no one having a viable answer.

"Well I can definitely say that they've spotted us! Are the engines operational? Can we maneuver at all?!" Blaez huffed and tried every control he could, watching in horror as the Techeorian vessel they dropped out behind slowly turned and opened its docking bay, extending an energy tether to engulf their ship and draw them in.

"W-we've got nothing...! The jump must've fried our systems. Dammit! This is what happens when things aren't properly tested Blaez!" Jan growled and slammed a fist down against his useless console, glaring at the wolf in the front of their craft.

"No time for blame guys, looks like our run is up... We'll figure a way out of this, alright?" Jeine sighed and hung her head, paws braced on her consoles as she watched their vessel get hauled in.

"We should've masked the transponder better! You all know what we're facing, we've all heard the stories!" Jan cried in panic, the rest sharing his worry.

"There's nothing we can do about it now Jan! Just be quiet and do what they say, We'll make it out of this eventually..." Blaez huffed and slumped into his seat as his arms crossed over his chest; staring out the view screen and watching, helpless, as the bay doors closed around them.