FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 6

Herik parked his vehicle down the block from the storage facility of Nashurr Transit Amenities. It was past zero three hundred hours in the morning and the only thing that kept the lupari pushing past his fatigue was his determination to save his friend. The building was mostly bathed in darkness and he saw no sign of any activity within from his vantage point. It had few windows, though that was common for most warehouses. He decided to wait a little while and see if there was a sign of occupation before he burst in. His defeat at the hands and hooves of the neishor earlier had taught him the value of some caution rather than leaping head long into the unknown. The lupari slid down lower in is seat and pulled his jacket collar up a little higher. He stared at the building's entrance and side alley where transports would pull up to make pickups and deliveries. As he did so his mind wandered slightly, back to more pleasant time.

* * * *

Herik brought his forearm up and blocked the high kick that came at his head. The blow had a great deal of strength behind it, far more than he would ever have expected from his attacker. Before he could ready any retaliation his foe moved closer and grabbed him around the back of his head with both hands, pulling downwards slightly. Three attempts to knee him in the stomach were barely prevented by him. Herik grunted and shoved up and back with all his might. He pushed his attacker away, but the foe hopped up at the same time and kicked at the lupari. He caught the foot right under his snout and his head snapped up. Herik staggered backwards, twinges of pain darting through him. He could not believe that this enemy could do this to him. It seemed impossible considering all he knew of the foe. His mind reeled at the implausibility of it. Even as he regained his balance and threw a punch the enemy brought up a leg and kicked his arm aside, stayed balanced on one foot, and used the same leg to kick him straight in the stomach. The blow knocked Herik completely off his paws and sent him sprawling to the padded mat on the ground. He laid there on his back, wheezing a little as he tried to catch his breath. The enemy walked to his side and loomed over him, hands on hips and a smug look of satisfaction across the face. Herik glanced to the side to see the bare off pink colored feet and toes right beside his head.

"Want a hand up?" asked Amy as she bent over and held her hand down to him. Her shaggy blonde hair wasn't even matted down with sweat; then again the Virtual Reality simulation did not take every detail of verisimilitude into account. It did capture the gleam of joy in her blue eyes though.

Herik took her hand and she helped pull him up to his paws. Feedback from the combat simulation helped him feel the same approximations of fatigue and bruises that would have happened were the pair actually able to fight face to face in this manner. It was the fifth time they had gone into the simulator together and Herik still could not get over how giddy it made him feel to stand before Amy, the human only half a head shorter than him in this. She said she was pretty tall for a human female, five foot ten inches he recalled, though he had no idea what a foot or inch distance really was. All he knew was that seeing her this way fascinated him and made him so happy.

Amy slapped him on the shoulder and laughed. "You're getting better. This is only your fourth lesson and there's improvement. Keep this up and you're gonna surprise the hell out of whoever you face on the practice mat next time."

"Better? You spent an hour kicking the crap out of me Amy," he grumbled. His ears lowered and he almost whined. "I think you like beating on me."

She held a hand up, her thumb and forefinger positioned with an inch of space between them. "Maybe just a little bit," she said.

She laughed and Herik joined in on it. To him, her laugh was what happiness was supposed to sound like. He only knew of one other person who laughed that way, his sister. The sound of a chime went off all around them. Both of them reflexively looked about for the source of it, though they knew they would not find it.

"Ah hell, time's up already?" griped Amy.

Herik nodded. "Yeah. It goes by too fast, doesn't it?"

Any nodded in return. The incredibly athletic woman stretched over her head, showing off a tightly muscled build the equal of any gymnast found on earth. Herik had oddly come to really appreciate how he could see her definition so much easier than on some of his own kind. The fur covered up a lot of details, especially in the winter when their coats grew in thicker. He had gotten used to seeing a being with no fur by being around Amy, and no longer considered it ugly in the least bit.

"It makes me wish we were allowed more than one hour a week in the simulator for personal recreation. I swear, I'm gonna buy me one of these first chance I get," she said.

"Will I be able to link up with you?" asked Herik.

"Of course you big brute. Neither of us are likely going to get a chance to go visit my home world any time soon, so I want to show you some of the sights. A sim of it is better than just looking at pictures. Plus, you can be at a proper scale to really appreciate it. Eighty feet tall is not the right size to be when you look at the Grand Canyon or the redwood trees in California. Kinda ruins the whole aura of grandeur, you know?" she said.

"Nope," he said with a silly grin on his face.

Amy shoved him playfully and the lupari stumbled to the side. He stepped back up to her and took her in his arms, hugging her to him. His tail wagged behind him so very quickly. She hugged him back and sighed. One of her hands ran up to his head and scratched behind his ear. Herik loved the feel of that and fought off every instinct in him to make the little whine and whimper sound he commonly did when he was scratched there. Amy left nothing go and would likely have ruthlessly teased him about it for a decade was she to have heard the sounds.

"I can't thank you enough Amy," he whispered to her. "Getting to know you, meeting you like I did, how you've helped me through all this... I don't have the words."

"You don't need words Herik. I know you were low then, but you're better now and you're going to be better still. I'll be right here at your side. You're my Guardian. You have to stick with me. It's why I also have to keep training you. My Guardian needs to be tough to keep me safe."

Herik nodded. "I swear Amy I'll always be there for you. You're my sister now and nothing will keep us apart."

"You're my big brother and nothing will keep us apart. I believe in you Herik, always. You just need to believe in yourself as much as I do. Once you can do that... nothing will stop you."

The simulation derezzed around them. Herik removed his visor and interface plugs and Amy did the same. The human smiled up at her towering guardian from her position on the table near the simulator station. Herik reached down and carefully picked Amy up, wheelchair and all, and kept her safely cradled against his chest. Her blue eyes sparkled and she had that look in her eyes again.

"What?" he asked. The lupari's ears folded back a little. He still could not understand how a creature less than a tenth his height could unnerve and intimidate him so.

"Next time we're going into a transposition sim. No fight club."

Herik gulped. "You mean one of those sims where I'm the... and you're..." he mumbled, his voice trailing off.

Amy nodded. "Oh yeah. Then we're gonna have some real fun Herik." Her chuckle afterwards made the wolf tremble. Amy was hard enough to handle just like this. His mind reeled at the idea of her being huge and him tiny. "Home Jeeves! Warp factor five."

* * * *

Herik's memories of time spent with Amy faded when he saw a ralai walk right up to the front door of the warehouse. He rapped on the door then entered a few moments later when the door was opened up for him by someone inside. That was all he needed to see. Somebody was home. Herik quickly checked his pistol and holstered it. He grabbed up two more erestel charge cartridges for the weapon and jammed them into his jacket pocket. The lupari exited the vehicle and made his way across the street.

Instead of going straight to the front door, Herik jogged down the side alley next to the building. The lupari saw a door back there with a flickering light dangling above it. A truck was also parked there. He went to the vehicle first and crouched down at its side. The lupari pulled out a snap-open knife and jammed it into the thick inflatable tires of it, one after the other. The air hissed out of them and the truck settled down to the ground. Herik flipped his knife shut, stowed it away, and moved over to the door. He pulled out a micro tool kit and began to work on the lock, giving thanks to whatever lupari deity was listening that it was an older style locking mechanism. Picking a lock was not something he learned during Academy training. This was something else he had to credit Amy for. She never did tell him how or why she learned to pick a lock though and the question always lingered in the back of his mind.

With a satisfying click, the lock opened up and he pocketed his tool kit. Herik drew his pistol, pushed the door open, and slipped inside. He glanced about, expecting someone to come after him any moment. Even though he saw no security system and heard no alarms that did not mean they weren't there. He would have been surprised if there was nothing of the sort present. Herik padded slowly down the hallway before him. It was dimly lit and a little dirty. The building was old and in need of some maintenance. He saw doors with little signs marking them as Records or Supplies. As he reached for the first handle he heard the sound ahead. Someone was approaching quickly, bare paws thumping heavily on the ground. Herik crouched down and aimed his pistol towards the end of the hallway where there was a turn to the left. A ralai stepped into view with a pistol in hand. The feline did not even let Herik speak and turned to aim at him. Herik fired two quick shots from his pistol. Both caught the ralai in the chest and slammed him back against the wall behind him. He fell to the ground a moment later and dropped his pistol.

Herik swiftly moved to the fallen ralai and went to check him. The lupari barely threw himself back and out of the line of fire when he saw two more enemies down the hallway. Their pistols fired and plasma shots crashed into the wall, boring holes in it and searing the edges of those holes. Herik rolled to his paws, crouched once more, and swore to himself. He leaned around the corner low to the ground and fired two shots at the first one. The shots slammed home in the chest and head, knocking the ashar back into another ralai. Herik rushed around the corner as the ralai pushed the ashar's body away. Just as he raised the pistol to fire, Herik was upon him. He kicked the ralai's arm to the side, disarming him of the weapon at the same time. Herik used his same leg to kick his foe in the chest. The ralai fell to the ground in a heap. Herik stepped up to him and aimed the pistol down at the ralai's head.

"How many more of you are here?" he snarled at him. "Where are the humans? Answer me!"

Fear was firmly etched across the ralai's face. Through the pain he felt the ralai managed to say, "Ten of us... in the main shipping area. One in side room past the locked door marked Refrigeration. Humans in there... guarded."

"Herik swiftly kicked the ralai across his face, knocking him unconscious. "Thanks," he growled and continued along the hallway. He stooped down and snatched up the fallen ralai's pistol as he went. Holding one weapon in each hand, Herik came to the end of the hallway where he found the door marked Shipping already open. He put his back to the wall and listened. Herik heard the sounds of others moving. He picked up the low click and whine of an energy pistol being primed to fire. Voices were whispering to each other, telling them to get in place. The lupari nodded, took three quick breaths, and dove into the shipping area.

He came in low to the ground from his dive and took in as much of his surroundings as he could in a glance. It was a large room filled with shipping crates and boxes and metal shelving. He caught sight of three targets, one out in the open between shelves and two more partially covered by crates. Their shots erupted above and to the side of Herik, flashes of blue plasma slammed into the walls, doorframe, and through the door he just dove through. Herik fired from both pistols as he moved. His first shots caught the exposed lupari in the chest twice; he was blown back and hit the floor. As he hit the floor and slid along it his second shots ripped into the crate and the head of a partially concealed ralai. The enemy fell out of sight with a sharp cry of agony. Herik finished his slide and rolled to the side into cover as two bursts of plasma scorched the floor in his wake. He heard another two blasts slam into the crate, damaging it greatly, then leaned out and fired at the final enemy. Both his shots connected and the target was dropped.

Herik paused and held his breath for a moment, letting his senses seek out any new enemies. He heard at least two others coming. The lupari left his cover and swiftly moved along between two rows of piled up shipping containers. As he reached an intersection between rows he saw another ashar step into view, his arms outstretched and clutching a pistol in both hands. Before the ashar could react Herik rushed up and slammed his shoulder into the enemy, shoving him into the metal racks and pinning him there, his arms pushed into a position over Herik's shoulders where he could not bring the gun to bear on him immediately. The lupari noticed a second foe down the row that turned to face the commotion he had just made. Herik crossed his arms, his left hand and pistol tucked under his own armpit and his right hand and pistol tucked against his shoulder, aiming down the row at a falashai. Both weapons fired twice and both his targets collapsed.

The peacekeeper rapidly made his way along the new row, scanning for this door that he was told of. He finally saw it ahead. The sign read Refrigeration just as he was told. Herik stepped out from between high stacked crates only to see a pile of them get shoved over atop him. He threw his arms up to prevent any from smashing onto his head. Pain shot up his arm and shoulder and one of his guns fell from his grasp as he staggered to the side. He heard a snarl, but it was distinctive, almost accompanied by a laugh-like cry. The female asishi tackled Herik before he recovered. He remembered how Amy said that they were the only UTO race that 'creeped her out', comparing them to terran hyenas both in looks and for the peculiar laughing sound they made when excited.

Both of them hit the ground, the asishi on top. Herik swung his pistol up to shoot at her while she swung a knife down at him. Herik grabbed the wrist of the hand that held the knife and she did the same to his gun arm. A wild look was in her eyes as she glared down at the lupari, her lips pulled back to expose many jagged sharp teeth. They halted each other's arms, matched in strength. Female asishi were bigger and stronger than the males of their race and often more aggressive and dominant. Both their arms shook with the strain and the asishi continued to make that unnerving growling laugh. Herik shifted his leg to get some leverage but the female moved in response, hooking her leg around his to keep him prone under her. Herik saw her slowly move her head down towards his gun arm as they struggled and his eyes went wide. With a swift lunge she clamped her jaws down on his forearm, drawing blood immediately from the bite.

Herik let out a cry of pain and his pistol fell from his hand. "You bitch!" he snarled as he threw his body to the side. The two of them tumbled over and the asishi lost her grip on Herik's forearm. Herik brought up his legs and shoved her away from him. Both swiftly came up to their paws, Herik barehanded and his enemy still clutching her knife. She flipped the knife in her hand so the blade was pointed down along the inside of her forearm. The asishi raised her arms up in an offensive stance, keeping her free hand and arm in the front, covering up some of the motions of her hand that held the knife. The lupari groaned inwardly. She knew how to use a knife correctly, not like the fool ashar from earlier. His enemy licked her lips, dragging Herik's blood into her mouth and chuckling at him. She lunged at him first with a series of probing slashes and cuts. Herik cautiously slapped her hand to the side twice and backed up a few times to avoid the well placed cuts.

"Let me guess," he growled, "Gaddol hired you on, didn't he? Military training, most folks don't know how to knife fight anymore."

"He sure didn't pick me for my sparkling personality," she snarled back at him, the smile never leaving her face.

She slashed at him a few more times then parried Herik when he attacked her back. Neither of them connected yet. She made a quick feint which caught Herik off guard. He barely hopped back in time as the blade slashed at his stomach; it sliced across his jacket and inner shirt at once, leaving the attire damaged. Herik chose to press the offense and not give her a chance to do that again. He swung out at her a few more times including a few attempts to disarm her. One blow caught her across the face and she stumbled and spat out blood. The asishi lunged again and Herik went to capture her knife hand only to see her flip it into the air a moment before he gripped her hand. She snatched it out of the air in her other hand and cut down across the lupari's shoulder with the blade, slicing his clothes and him. Blood stained his jacket immediately.

Herik snarled in pain, let out a cry of near rage, and pressed the attack harder. Now the asishi began to give ground. Another of his blows got through her defense, then a third and a fourth. A knife thrust came at him but it was slower now, injury began to take its toll on his enemy. Herik grabbed her arm, twisted it, and dislocated her elbow. She nearly roared in pain as she dropped the knife. Instead of falling down she shoved up against him and grabbed his wounded shoulder, then went to tear out his throat with her fangs. Both fell to the ground again as Herik cried out, "SHIT!"

He barely held her back, one hand on her throat. She snarled and drooled on him, a wild look in her eyes, as her jaws snapped inches from his neck. "Stop! Don't make me..." he cried out, but the asishi brought her good hand up and began to push his head back exposing his throat further. She opened her jaws wide. Herik turned his head to the side, saw the pistol on the floor that he noticed was there just before they fell, reached out and grabbed it, then swung it up and pressed it against the side of her head. The loud crack of the weapon went off and the asishi's body lurched to the left and fell off Herik.

Herik laid there panting for almost a minute. He shook his head slowly and cursed under his breath for what this ralai Em'hrar was making him do. He finally got up to his paws and winced in pain from the bite on his forearm. His medical kit was going to see some more use again. Herik kept the pistol in hand, his peacekeeper model. He moved to the final door, the original destination. The lupari raised his pistol and shot the lock apart in two blasts. He pushed the door open and burst into the room.

He swept his gaze about and instantly it fell upon a falashai. An unarmed falashai stood at the side of a table in the room. He held a comm unit in his hand up to his big ear, a look of panic on his face as he stared at Herik. Atop the table were four small mesh wire cages, the kind one kept small animals inside for transport. Within each cage Herik saw a tiny human, stripped naked with no more than a strip of ragged cloth to act as a blanket, and huddled back into the corner of it. The air about them was of abject terror mixed with hopelessness. Amy was not among them. Herik slowly lowered his pistol as he gazed upon the poor humans. He had never in all his life felt such revulsion and anger sweep over him at once. His hands began to tremble and a low menacing growl crept up from deep inside. The lupari turned to face the falashai again.

Herik stalked towards him. The falashai back up and said in a fearful voice, "P-please. Don't hurt me. I didn't do anything to the little things. I swear. I just feed them and keep them healthy for..."

Herik punched the falashai across the face with all his might as he snarled, "They're PEOPLE not things!"

The falashai collapsed to the floor, three of his teeth skittering across it. He groaned in pain and laid still. Herik was about to reach down and drag the falashai back to his paws when he heard a voice calling out from the communicator that was dropped. He reached over and picked it up, holding it to his ear.

An unfamiliar voice spoke on the other side. It was male and had the familiar rolling cadence in UTO basic that meant it was a ralai speaking. "Vavencik, are you still there? What is happening?"

Herik spoke slowly, his voice laced with menace. "I'm what's happening. Are you Em'hrar Nashurr?"

There was a pause then the ralai answered him. "Yes. You must be that peacekeeper Gaddol told me about. The one he almost killed a few hours earlier."

"Where is she?"

"Of whom are you speaking?"

"Amy. Where is Amy? She's not with the humans here. Where is she?"

A soft chuckle rose from the other side of the line. "Ah, the little yellow haired female you must mean. She is with me. I had Gaddol transfer her to me as soon as news reached us of your insipid crusade to save her."

"If you harm one hair on her..."

"Please. No idle threats over a comm unit. We are all above such banalities. You want her, come and get her. I am at my estate on the eastern edge of the city. Look it up. You have access to Center files, I'm sure you can have it in moments."

"You wait for me you bastard. If you run I'll track you down across this entire galaxy."

"I have no intention of running mister peacekeeper. I've never had someone come after me like this before. It is an entirely new experience for me, one that I intend to revel in before the end. In fact, you are welcome."

"What? Welcome for what?" Herik snarled.

"Welcome for what I have given you in return; an entirely new experience in life. You were merely going through the motions before this most likely. Now... look how alive you are."

Before Herik could answer the comm connection ended. He snarled in rage and threw the device at the nearby wall, smashing it to bits on contact. The lupari calmed himself and moved back to the humans in the cages. He lowered his head before them and spoke in a near whisper. "Easy now, I'm not here to hurt any of you. I'm a peacekeeper, Sergeant Rathan Herik, and I'm here to help you all get home safely."

For a moment Herik was afraid. The experience they had all undergone was likely highly traumatic to the tiny race. They were prisoners of giants in their perspective, creatures so big and powerful that they were helpless before them. That experience could lead to hatred or a permanent sense of fear ever after. He saw one of the humans, a male in his mid-thirties with brown hair and eyes shuffle over to the bars of his cage. He held the cloth about him, trying to preserve some sense of modesty. Herik slid his head forward, his nose right before the cage. The man reached his hand out between the wire mesh and placed it atop Herik's nose.

"Thank you officer. Thank you."

Herik smiled, and for the first time this long, horrible night, felt like he had a chance of saving his Amy. If he could save these innocent humans, he could save her as well.