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Planet of the Damned

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Chapter 1: The Arrival

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Initiating waking procedures......

Subject: Cyrus Clawson

Species: Wolf

Age: 31

Planet of Birth: Galbatoria, Rosetta System

Date of Birth: 45th Junos 690 F.C.

Rank: Master Sergeant

Military Branch: Interstellar Special Operations Corps - Delta Division

Assignment Location: Tarrachion Prime

Assignment Parameters: Classified

Waking procedures complete.

Bright light flooded his vision as the cryostasis pod door opened. It pierced his eyes like spears but he was unable to remove them. He tried shutting his eyelids tighter until all he saw was darkness. Cyrus tried to go back to sleep but the berth in the pod pushed him out and the door was closed shut before he could fall backwards into it. Luckily for him, a servant bot was on station to assist him. The insectoid robot propped him up with its claw-like appendages and helped him down onto a nearby bench. Cyrus was stark naked and cold, he was shivering hard and it made him even sleepier. The bot handed him an electric blanket to keep him warm and while the blanket did its job, it went to a dispenser to retrieve a glass of water and some nutrient pills for Cyrus.

The dispenser was an interesting piece of technology as it was not connected to a delivery tube connected to the med bay. The dispenser had a built-in molecular constructor and tanks of different atoms. It could create water and combine several atoms to form the required nutrients that made up the standard nutrient pill. Such dispensers were not widespread but it proved to be rather convenient and useful for synthesising things without having to wait. As long as the required building blocks are available, the constructor could synthesise any medicine. It took only a few seconds for the constructor to create water along with three nutrient tablets. Once it was ready, the bot placed the pills and glass of water on a tray and brought it to Cyrus.

"Your pills are ready, sir," said the servant bot in a feminine monotonous voice.

"Straight out of the oven. Gods, I hate these multi-nutrient pills," Cyrus muttered while grabbing the pills and popping them into his mouth. He then emptied the glass in one single gulp before letting out a sigh. "These things still taste like charred skitts," he added and handed the drinking glass back to the robot.

"Your clothes, sir," the robot said while handing him his uniform and retrieving the drinking glass from him at the same time.

The robot left without waiting for Cyrus to tell it to leave and disappeared around a left turn that led to the med bay. He was all alone in the pod chamber and all the other pods were empty and dark. There were several changing rooms nearby but since he was all alone, Cyrus decided to put on his clothes in the pod chamber itself. His uniform consisted of fatigues with dark and olive green camouflage patterns, a patrol cap, and a pair of heavy combat boots. Nothing too fancy since we was not on duty yet. As per military regulation, Cyrus had to keep his tail neat and tidy as well so he spent about a minute or two grooming it. Just as he put on his cap, someone came into the chamber. He heard the footsteps coming from behind him and turned around to see who it was.

At the doorway stood a familiar person, an old acquaintance he had known since joining the marine corps. It was First Lieutenant Caitlin Fairbanks, a lagomorph who was born a native of the contested planet Bakura. She was one of those rare ones where their ears were drooped instead of standing up straight. Sometimes, Cyrus wondered how she could even hear him when her ears were constantly covered. Caitlin wore a navy blue blouse and skirt. Her name tag was above her right breast pocket and she wore a pair of stockings and high heel shoes. Her usually curly hair had been straightened and to Cyrus, it suited her very well. A smile appeared on her face and she crossed her arms.

"Had a good sleep, fluffy?" she asked.

"Are you...Caitlin?" Cyrus asked while narrowing his eyes as if he was unable to see her.

"The one and only," she responded. "I'm happy to see you haven't forgotten me."

"Well, I almost had you mistaken from someone else. Your hair looks different and...damn, did you get an expansion too?"

"My assets are au naturale," Caitlin said while feigning a hurt tone. "I'm surprised it took you this long to notice."

"Hard to take notice of anything when you have Black Angels after you all the time. This is the first time in a very long time that I'm able to stop and relax a bit," said Cyrus. "Where have you been all this while, ma'am? I haven't seen you since our escape from Bakura."

"It's a long story and please, call me Caitlin. I don't really like people addressing me formally."

"Whatever you say, Caitlin."

Just then, the PA system came online and the voice of the ship's captain came through it. At the same time, the two felt the ship decelerate as it exited Alternate Space and into real space. The captain announced that they were about to arrive at Tarrachion Orbital Port and he wanted all soldiers gathered at the briefing room.

"You better get going, Cyrus. Don't wanna miss the briefing," Caitlin remarked.

"Yeah, I guess I'll see you groundside then," said Cyrus.

"I'm afraid not," she said with a sad expression. "We're only docking for a couple of hours and we'll be on our way. There's still some fighting going on at New Constantinople and the Terrans have requested for our help."

"Must be pretty bad if they're calling for help."

"No doubt. Listen, take my number. Be sure to call me when you have time, alright?"

She handed him a paper slip with the number 9011-0899-1123 written on it. It was her phone number but before Cyrus could stop her, she had already exited the chamber. She seemed to be in a hurry but then again, so was he. He muttered something about 'Lora killing him' and kept the paper slip in his breast pocket. As he made his way to the briefing room that was just before the command bridge, Cyrus stopped near a window to take a look at Tarrachion. He heard stories about the icy world, a planet far from its parent star and hardly habitable. Yet StarTech Corporation chose it to be the base for its research facility. He could only guess the reason. Perhaps it was so far away that Confederate forces could not find it, thus making it a safe place. Orbital traffic was minimal here, no doubt the company wanted to keep the place as secluded as possible. His ship was only a few hundred kilometres away from the port and all Cyrus saw was a troop ship and a light destroyer. Even the port was small in size and it looked it was only a few kilometres wide. A regular orbital port was hundreds of kilometres in length and could accommodate up to seventy medium-sized ships and ten large ships. Tarrachion's port looked like it could hold only 5 ships.

The planet seemed like a giant ice ball with brown cracks running across it. It was dimly lit as well for the parent star was very far away, only point of bright light if one were to look at it from the surface. There were signs of civilisation on it as there were bright lights coming from facilities on the ground. Cyrus saw that the lights were arranged in a circle of multiple layers and spokes, like the wheel of a cart. Neat and tidy, just like how StarTech loved them to be. The orbital elevator that connected the port to the surface was at the centre of the circle of lights. Other than that, the surrounding areas were in perpetual darkness. He saw a storm broiling up north, the clouds were circling an eye. It seemed to be moving southwards, poised to hit the facility. They would surely prohibit the use of the elevator once it hits. Not wasting any more time, Cyrus took a quick jog to the briefing room, passing by a couple of ship personnel who were busy reading something on their personal data pad. When he entered the room, the other marines were already seated at the table and the captain had just turned on the hologram.

"Ah, there you are, Master Sergeant," said the captain. "We were just about to begin with the briefing. Please, have a seat."

Cyrus nodded his head and took a seat next to a feline corporal. He gave him a glance as he sat down before returning his attention to the captain. The captain was an elderly feline with a face full of fur and it made him look rather thick. Cyrus had met him before while on Bakura 4 years back and he was surprised that the person that saved his life was actually part of the stellar navy. He did not seem to change much but the captain was a lot less energetic than how he sounded years ago.

"Welcome to Tarrachion Prime, marines. According to your superiors, it'll be your home for the next six months. It's not my business to know the rest so I'll let StarTech's Director of Operations brief you on your assignments," said the captain.

With that said, the hologram showed the word 'connecting' for a few seconds before it changed to 'communications link established'. The word dissolved into static and was replaced the a hologram of rodent with a neat ponytail and a pair of rimless spectacles. With her business attire and tie, she had an authoritative look and an aura of toughness about her.

"Good evening, marines, and welcome to Tarrachion Prime. I'm Annabelle Everett, Director of Operations of StarTech's Tarrachion facility. I've been told by ISOC higher-ups that you're the best of the best," she said in a no-nonsense tone.

"If I may be excused, Miss Everett?"

"It would be best, captain."

After the captain left, her hologram leaned forward as if to take a closer look at the marines. For someone who was supposedly middle-aged, she looked rather good and Cyrus overheard some marines whispering things about her.

"I want you all groundside before Hurricane Beaumont hits so I'll get straight to the point. We're in a bit of a......situation. The facility has experienced some weird things according to the workers and the security guards aren't much of a comfort to them. There have been reports of workers going mad, wanting transfers off-world, and in some extreme cases, murdered," Annabelle said grimly. "Not just regular murders but their bodies have been cut open and blood smeared on the walls. To date, we have no culprit yet."

"You make it sound like as if the Cult of Jarod has been here," Cyrus remarked.

"That cult is a lot more tame compared to this. At least they don't try to drain a body dry or dismember it," she said and Cyrus winced a bit at that statement.

"So in other words, you dragged us all the way from Bakura and Montressor just to babysit your facility? Why not hire the Black Angels while you're at it?" the marine beside Cyrus said, not noticing the master sergeant glaring at him for mentioning the Black Angels.

"I assure you, Corporal Kane, that were it not for the fact that even members of my security team are killed too, I wouldn't bother contacting the military for assistance. Also, I won't associate myself with an all-women mercenary group with a bad reputation for BDSM. Am I clear?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Just out of curiosity, Ms. Everett, how is it that your company have the authority to call on the military for help anyway? I thought we're to be separated from civilian affairs," said another wolf marine and judging by his insignia, he was a lance corporal.

"Normally that is true but StarTech has been the military's biggest benefactor. I'll only say that much because our agreement is strictly private and confidential," she answered. "I trust you all have your data pads? I'll be transmitting your assignment parameters to you now. Once you reach groundside, one of my assistants will show you to your quarters. I expect all of you to carry out your duty within three hours. Everett out."

At the same time her hologram dissolved, their data pads began to beep in unison. Everyone took out their data pads to check on them and when Cyrus saw what he was assigned to do, he shook his head and let out a little breath through his nose. Patrol duty. He hated patrol duty and he had not had one since joining ISOC. That was a long time ago. As much as he loathed it, he was in no position to object to it. Cyrus turned to look at the others and he saw all 15 marines were either shaking their heads or moving their mouths, muttering curses at menial tasks.

"And here I thought we were here to kill something. I got patrol duty. What about you guys?" Cyrus asked.

Each one of them had either patrol duty or training new security personnel.

"Why couldn't StarTech call for some grunts instead of spec ops? I doubt some secluded planet have the chance to experience a FUBAR situation aside from getting hit by a snowstorm or a blown generator. Fuck that, I signed up to fight Confederate bastards; not babysit a group of self-absorbed eggheads," said a husky sergeant.

"I heard that StarTech has the military by the balls and when CEO High-and-Mighty asks for help, we respond. We may as well be its private army," Cyrus added.

"You heard?" Corporal Kane said and blew a raspberry. "Sarge, I'm pretty sure you know that very well. Incident on Bakura? Ring any bells?"

"Hey fuck you," Cyrus growled and flipped Kane the middle finger. "Don't ever remind me of it."

"Oh, touchy touchy," a lizard gunnery sergeant remarked.

"Knock it off, Kane. Cyrus has done a lot to save the Republic side of Bakura and he's definitely been through hell for that. How would you feel if I put you through two months of stalking a target while having to evade the Black Angels at the same time and getting tortured and nearly mindfucked by some Confed sympathiser from StarTech? How would you like if tentacles -" the husky sergeant said to Kane while scowling at him.

"We don't need to go into the finer details, Joaquin," Cyrus muttered dangerously.

"Um, yes, sorry 'bout that Cyrus," he said while rubbing the back of his head. "Right, I suppose we better get going before Annabelle gives us an earful for being tardy. I was told that we won't need our luggage bags because StarTech has provided all our necessities. Of course, it's not a requirement to leave our bags behind, just be sure it doesn't burden you. Let's go, lads."

With that, the marines dispersed from the briefing room. One by one, they exited and Cyrus was the last to exit. He did not notice the ship's captain standing nearby and he let out a surprised gasp when the captain grabbed his arm and pulled him aside. When Cyrus turned his head to see who pulled him, his gaze met with the captain's and he saw a look of worry and concern in the old feline captain.

"Lad, you have a moment?" he whispered.

"Is something wrong, cap?" Cyrus asked.

"I have a bad feeling about this. A few months back, me son was sent back to Galbatoria in a straight jacket. He was an employee in this facility, a fine young feline with a sane mind. He came home insane, his eyes were always staring into blank space...as if his body was present but not his soul."

"I...uh, feel sorry for you, Jonas. But I don't see how that is related to my task."

"I have friends in the Tarrachion Facility and I've been hearing a lot of strange stories from them. They're scientists but here they are telling me they saw ghosts and demons lurking in dark corners."

Cyrus raised an eyebrow. "Captain, I assure you that this could just be due to mass hysteria. There're no such things as ghosts and demons. We're probably here just to provide them a sense of security instead of protecting from someone."

"Perhaps," the captain muttered. "But I want you to be careful down there. Ghosts or not, watch your back. You've been a good friend to me back at Bakura and I'd hate to see you go missing or...or turn up dead."

"Hey, don't worry, old man. I can take care of myself. Send my regards to your son, alright?" Cyrus remarked and smiled warmly.

There was nothing else to be said and he left the place. His belongings were already packed up and readied by the servant bot that had helped him earlier. When he went to double-check his room to make sure nothing was left behind, Cyrus noticed a photograph lying on the floor near the entrance. Quickly, he picked it up and held it tight in his hand for a while before putting it into his breast pocket where Caitlin's number was. It was the picture of his girlfriend and her name, Lora Kassel, was signed at the back along with a drawing of a red heart. Lora was a rodent from the colony world Equinox, a super Earth that was colonised two hundred years ago. Cyrus first met her in a bank 6 years ago at Galbatoria where she worked as an assistant secretary for the bank's CEO. Lora meant a world to him and though his duty as a soldier prevented him from seeing her all the time, she remained faithful to him, always ready to welcome him home with a delicious meal and chocolate cake. She almost always paid for his food and even their rent and bills. Cyrus thought about proposing to her after he was done with this assignment. He had enough of military expeditions and wanted to live a calm and quiet civilian life and start a family. Sure, the pay may not be as good as his current pay but at least he gets to keep his sanity. His life may still be in danger because once the Black Angels have a bounty to collect, they never let up. Given that the leaders of the Galbatorian Republic and the Federation of Terran Worlds have signed an open borders agreement, Cyrus thought of migrating to one of the Terran worlds. He heard that Kepler-22b was a great place for people who want to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life and live on an ocean world.

He wanted to remember the last time he made love with her but the PA system broke his train of thought. It was another reminder, albeit the last one, to get all marines to gather at the port entrance. Cyrus hurried to the docking bay and saw that the ship had already docked with the orbital port. Two security guards with assault rifles stood guard, clad in black battle armour with large shoulder pads that had the company's insignia painted on it. They were rather well-armed for company security though given StarTech's big budget, they could afford it. Cyrus joined his marines comrade and once they determined that everyone was present, they walked past the entrance and into the port. There was no need to go through customs and the marines were allowed to passed. While passing by an empty cafeteria, Cyrus noticed a flashing warning sign located nearby. The words 'Warning: Hurricane Beaumont hitting in 3 hours' blinked slowly and it seemed rather solemn and ominous.

"Looks like we're gonna have a busy first day," Joaquin said dryly.

"Aren't we always? Same thing happened when we arrived at Bakura. Hell, it was a shooting gallery," Cyrus remarked. He flexed his free arm and added, "I'm glad this'll be the last assignment. I'm done fighting."

"Whoa, are you quitting the military?" said a squirrel corporal. "I thought you enjoyed fighting. Whatever happened to 'For the Republic'?"

"I outgrew that," he replied with a dismissive wave. "I was young back then, an idealist. Now that I've seen some good 7 years of fighting and near-deaths, I feel that we're getting nowhere in this pointless conflict. I'd still shoot those Confed scum but...eh, war just isn't for me."

The lizard gunnery sergeant placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "Where will you go next then?"

"Since the humans have signed the open borders agreement, I was thinking of moving to Kepler-22b. Heard it was a water world. Live there and smell the ocean air."

"I'm guessing there's another reason for you to retire. You wanna get married, right?"

"It's been a long time, Julius. I think it's time to settle down."

"Pfft, lucky bastard," Private Kane muttered.

"Maybe if you stopped being a pussy cat in battle, you can get hitched, sonny. ISOC ain't for yellows bellies and tail-tuckers" Joaquin said with a chuckle and the other marines laughed while Kane grumbled angrily.

They arrived at the elevator station and just in time, the doors opened for them. The elevator was heavily shielded from the planet's magnetic field as well as solar particles from the star. While inside, all communications were cut off. The marines entered the elevator and after Cyrus pushed the down button, the doors closed. At first, nothing happened but after five seconds, the marines felt their stomachs become heavy as the elevator made its descent to the surface. Above the elevator doors were two panels. The left panel showed the speed of the elevator while the right showed the current height. As more time went by, the elevator went faster and faster until they could hear rumbling coming from the middle where the elevator grinded against the mast. One of the marines turned on the exterior cameras to see how things looked like on the outside. The empty white walls came to life and changed into a full 360-degree panoramic view. By that time, the elevator had re-entered the atmosphere and the cameras showed a plasma envelop around the elevator. Were it not for the advanced heat shields, the whole thing would have exploded. Cyrus felt a little queasy and he fought to hold in his stomach's contents. Kane, on the other, hand, seemed to enjoy the ride.

After passing through the cloud layer, a different view showed. It was a dark world with lights lighting up the surface. They could see several VTOL transport planes flying from one end of the facility to the other end, carrying precious cargo and supplies. The facility looked very much like a well-developed city albeit lacking office towers and sky bridges. There were smoke stacks emitting smoke and not too far away, there was the unmistakable blue glow of StarTech's advanced fusion power plants. Powerful, efficient, and clean, the facility had only five power plants and that was enough to light up the whole place. The facility's boundaries were marked by walls and wall towers and now that they were closer to the surface, the borders were actually quite far. It was far larger than what Cyrus thought. The elevator began slowing down its descent and the humming and rumbling sounds softened as a result. The heavy feeling subsided, replaced by the familiar feeling of natural gravity. The marines were surprised that Tarrachion's gravity was similar to Galbatoria's. A comparison chart showed up on one of the doors, a comfortable 10.7 m/s2 while Galbatoria's gravity was 10.82 m/s2. When the elevator reached the docking station on the surface, there was a loud click followed by the sound of the elevator powering down. The external cameras went offline and the doors slid open silently.

_"Welcome to Tarrachion Prime. Please prepare your badges and wait for the security guards for an identity check. Thank you for your cooperation,"_the elevator's announcer said in a rather cheerful voice.

"Heh, we don't need no stinking badges. We're marines," Julius said while picking up his bag. "You alright, Cyrus? You're look rather green."

"I said it before: I hate orbital drops," Cyrus muttered and retched a bit. "Gods, I can taste those pills."

"Don't wanna throw up in here, mate. Annabelle would probably make us clean your mess," said First Sergeant Bonnie Cameron. "That's an order," the red-furred doe added.

"I'll do my best, ma'am," Cyrus said softly.

The first thing he did after exiting the elevator was to head for the nearest washroom. It seemed like a customary thing for Cyrus to make a mess after a rough orbital drop and more often than not, he either makes a mess inside the drop pod or whatever vehicle he was in or he throws up outside. Luckily for him, the washroom was just next to the elevator station and it was empty. Cyrus saw a fennec fox in a black business suit coming out from the washroom. It had to be the director's assistant, he thought. He seemed bemused to see Cyrus rush past him in a hurry and entered one of the stalls and shutting the door with a loud bang. When he heard the marine retch and throw up, he just nodded his head and went on his way. When Cyrus was done, he rejoined his group. The same fennec fox he saw earlier was talking to the others outside the elevator station.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Cyrus and said, "You certainly were in a hurry to get rid of your food."

"Yeah, and I'm hungry now," Cyrus said with a wry smile.

"You'll be getting your meals later. Now, let me introduce myself," the fennec fox remarked in rather fine yet effeminate voice. "I'm Derek Adler, assistant of Miss Everett and manager of the facility's weapons research and development department as well as for employee resource. I'd like to welcome you all to Tarrachion Prime. It's not the nicest place in the galaxy but at least we have the resources to get by."

"Better than Bakura and Montressor I bet," Bonnie said jokingly.

Derek smiled and said, "Yes, better than both planets despite being under constant threat by our friendly neighbourhood hurricane. I can guarantee you all that this world will be safe from Confed and space bandit attacks. We're isolated enough that they don't know where we are."

"That's fine and all," Julius said with crossed arms. "But why are we here? What is the matter that warrants that much attention from us?"

"I'm sure that Miss Everett had told you about your assignments. There's all there is to it," he said. "I suggest we don't waste anymore time in here because once Beaumont arrives, this place will be automatically locked down and trust me, you don't want to be stuck in here for the next three hours."

He snapped his fingers and right on cue, a couple of guards came in with suits in their hands. The suits were white in colour and looked like fur coats complete with a mask to cover their faces with. They distributed the suits and masks to the marines.

"They may look like ordinary winter coats but if you look inside, it's state-of-the-art insulation material designed to minimise heat loss. It's a fashionable thing too," he said happily while putting on his own custom-made coat that made him look like a lady.

"This guy must've watched a lot of Catwalk Chronicles," Bonnie whispered to Joaquin.

Cyrus frowned when he felt the material. He recognised it. "This is Insular Composite Ferro-Mimetic Polymer," he said.

"My, aren't you an astute one," Derek said, impressed at Cyrus's observation skills.

"Hardly," Cyrus corrected. "I've encountered enough Black Angels to know that those 'latex suits' they wear are made of the same material. Charge it with power and it becomes a convenient bullet-resistant suit."

Derek huffed and crossed his arms. "It's really terrible to see such wonderful technology fall into the wrong hands. Perhaps it gives you bad memories but you don't really have a choice here, marine. Without it, you'll freeze to death outside."

"Bad memories, yes," Cyrus remarked while putting on the coat. "But it ain't stopping me."

"I would also like to warn you all to never ever take off your mask while you're outside. Tarrachion Prime may have breathable air but the cold air will kill you in two minutes. Should you ever find yourself outside when Beaumont hits...well, just hope we can find your body later. Any questions?"

The marines were quiet. All of them had their masks on and were ready to leave the place.

"Good. Let me show you to your quarters then," Derek said and slipped on his mask as well. "Enjoy your stay because you're gonna be here for a while."

• End of Chapter 1 -

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A/N: I've always wanted to write a furry-centric story but I never got around to doing it until now. Your reviews and suggestions are welcomed and do feel free to point out mistakes or suggest better writing styles so I can improve on them. Just a note, I'm not really one to write detailed sex scenes, only fleeting mentions. So if any of you writers out there want to write an 'extended version', be my guest. If you are interested in knowing the background of the story, technology, characters, etc., feel free to ask me too. I'm more than happy to explain.