FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Set her down over there, on the table." Elliot instinctively reached for a pair of latex gloves before inspecting the native Sydney in any depth. "Thanks, Yoyo. I'll need the room so I can start some scans, please."

"Sure thing. Keep her ticking, doc." Yoyo looked around for a sink and migrated towards it to clean off a few small cuts on various limbs and his tail his broken shield left behind. "Damn, that was too close. Zoë, you're not hurting anywhere, are you?"

The human stared at Ellie through an aluminum window before perking up a few seconds when she was called. "Huh? I uh... I'm sorry, but could you repeat that order, milord?"

"Not that stuff again..." Yoyo pulled out another shard of nanite-strengthened air from his forearm and allowed it to revaporize. "I was asking if you were hurt. Are you cut or anything?"

"I... I'll be fine, milord."

Yoyo homed on a streak of red running down Zoë's side and rejected her answer. "You're bleeding. We need to fix that before it gets infected."

"I'm sorry, milord. I will take better care of myself as my liege desires."

"This isn't out of neglect, Zoë. It's alright to admit you're hurt when a bomb blows up an arm's length from you, ya' know." The otter pulled up Zoë's shirt and checked the wound, finding only a surface cut that barely managed to get past her garment. "Oh, it's not bad. Here, wash it off while I find some bandages."

"No! My lord must not do a servant's work!" Zoë immediately started rummaging through cabinets, even though she probably didn't know exactly for what she was searching. "You should rest, milord. I'll find the bandages and tend your wounds."

"Zoë, that white bottle you just touched..." Yoyo waited until she backtracked to the correct item, a bottle of spray-on foam bandage. "That's it. Bring that over and I'll show you how it works."

"But Lord Iolvin, surely you shouldn't--"

Yoyo gave up on arguing with Zoë and snatched the bottle from her hand. "I don't know what's gotten into you, but I'm bleeding. Look, this stuff just sprays out--Ah, damn!--and holds the cut closed. Burns like a motherfucker too."

"But I..." Suddenly Zoë adorned an expression of absolute helplessness. "Should I... Am I not useful to you, my liege? Should I rid you of your burden?"

"What?" Yoyo finished sealing his wounds, then chucked the adhesive as he stopped Zoë from grabbing her rapier. "Zoë!? What the fuck!?" He pulled her closer and gave her a strong hug. "Don't you ever think of doing that!"

"But I'm useless and broken, milord..." Zoë sobbed into Yoyo's shoulder as fear finally set in for her own actions. "I... I couldn't protect you... and once again, you had to save my life! A life-servant owing two debts is unheard of, but... I also...!"

"And it's just more of what makes you special!" Iolvin practically ground Zoë's head into his shoulder as he drove his point home. "I didn't save you this time because I had to or it was the 'right thing to do'. I saved you because you're ~family~, Zoë. I ~wanted~ to save you."

"God... M-Milord--"

"Family don't use titles, Zoë."

"S-Sorry, but..." Zoë stole a few much-needed breaths and slowed her rampaging heart. "I... I need to be a better servant to my liege. I cannot disgrace this tradition any further."

"Of all people to come save your life, you had to let it be the anthropologist." Yoyo put a little distance between himself and Zoë and stepped to the hallway bulkhead for a change of scenery. "I understand where you're coming from. Lots of traditions in my family as well. If you need to tighten up on the life debt, I won't stop you." He offered a paw to the human, imbued with raw confidence and charisma. "But if you ever need family, I'll always be here. The choice is yours whenever you make it."

"Th-Thank you, milord." Zoë took that paw with her hand and allowed Yoyo to abruptly drag her into the hallway. "Oh... Are you planning something, milord? What will you have me do?"

"Well all that talk of family's got me shaken up. I need my mate, in more ways than one." Yoyo found the nearest elevator shaft and turned into it, grounding his floating self with his tail wrapped under a low railing. "Offer still stands if you want to leave us alone. I know you don't enjoy all of our bedroom time and I'm not gonna hold you to that line-ofSight rule."

"Thank you, milord, but I must protect and serve at all times." Zoë hopped into the gravity-free zone and Yoyo kicked upward, pulling the human behind him. "Isn't Mister Adrian busy with repairs at the moment?"

"Drop the 'mister' before I lose it or die from laughter, please." Yoyo caught a railing near the maintenance deck to slow their ascent as well as right the two for its inverse orientation. "And I don't care what he's doing; I need to hold Dee right now."

"Ah, admirable. You made your intentions sound... crass for a moment."

"Oh, I intend to make his tail stand up for a week when I'm done with him." Yoyo looked around until he found a light in a nearby nook. "Whatever we end up doing though, I'm gonna lose my mind if I don't feel his soft fur on mine soon. Almost exploding makes you appreciate what you've got."

"I envy that--the two of you. I'll never have a love as strong as yours."

"You will, one day. I'm sure of it with that great personality of yours." Yoyo slipped into the corner before the light, then darted out ready to tickle his mate. "Surprise, babe!"

"Eek!"

Yoyo froze at the shriek, then flushed pink beneath his fur when as he gazed upon Ademeus and Carmine--A very naked, sweaty pile of Ademeus and Carmine. "Oh, shit. Fuck, I'm... uh..."

"Gods... I'm--!"

Car's eyes bulged as he tried to wriggle himself free of the liger's strong grip. "Wait, we said--!"

"Fuck! Too late, kid!" Adem grunted through those words, and for a few seconds thereafter, as he hilted his barbed cock into bunny pussy. "Shit, that's good..."

"But Adem...!" When the liger finally let go of the hare's hips, a devious grin told the rest of the tale. "Hey, we were having a moment there! Why'd you have to ruin it!?"

Yoyo stepped back and raised his paws apologetically. "I'm sorry! I thought you were just my mate and--"

"No, you're... Gods, you saw all that..." Carmine groaned as he pawed at his drooling crotch helplessly. "The bastard side of my Adem is who I meant. We agreed not to... risk pups..."

The grins and smirks on Adem's muzzle quickly soured into a grimace as his better side exerted dominance once more. "Crap... I must have lost it with that fright. I... I'm sorry, Carmine. Can I... make it up in any way?"

"No... It's fine. I think it's a safe day anyway." Carmine sighed and gave up with his cleanup. "You're doing better, and we just need to get it into that numbskull's head that he's not in charge anymore."

"Um... Let's go, Zoë..."

"Oh. You were looking for Dee, right?" The hare slumped against his new liger, unable to fight back a smile as he did so. "Don't tell anyone about us yet and I'll help out. Deal?"

"Might be hard since my sister's been talking about you guys for a while now, but deal."

"Cool. Dee and that... ~other~ Robyn went down to the engine room. Or is that ~up~ to the engine room?"

Adem nodded and pointed to a different alcove in the dark. "They left the hatch over there open so they could hop in and out for something. Probably the easiest way down if you watch the gravity change."

"Not exactly easy, if you ask me." Yoyo tried to find the hatch but only stared into darkness. "Wait, you can see a hatch?"

"Cat eyes, friend. Actually, the automatic lights just went out a few minutes ago."

"Ah, got it. Thanks." Yoyo couldn't help but check out the pair quickly, as if it might be the last time he'd see either in the fur. "You two have fun. Carmine? I'd recommend condoms, just in case. And big guy? Take it easy on him; he's half your size."

"I'd never hurt my Carmine."

"Good enough for me." Yoyo slunk into the darkness, and sure enough the lights flickered up as he moved. "Alright, Zoë. Let's find Dee so he might suffer the ~same fate~."

"I'm not sure he's suffering, milord..." Zoë tapped her ear and both slowed down to clarify their hearing, but nothing of note came to the surface. "Huh. Maybe I imagined that?"

"Maybe. Oh, I see some light leaking in over--"

"Nn... Ah..."

Iolvin perked up at the androgenous whimpers and scurried quickly to the hatch. "Dee? Babe?" He pulled the hatch door open and immediately locked eyes with a fur on the other side--one beneath his fiancé. "Babe... uh...?"

"You just got really tight! Did you just...?" Adrian hunched forward and slowed his bucking hips, slight tremors rippling up and down his spine and tail. "Gods, fuck! I... I haven't had much experience with this and... uh, sorry... Robyn? What is it?"

The wide-eyed squirrel turned her head back to Dee, but her eyes stayed fiercely locked on Yoyo's own. "Don't just dolly around! Grab something to hide us!" Robyn pulled up on her pants as far as they would go before encroaching on otter tail. "He can see my fanny clear as day, love!"

"What!?" Dee spun around as quickly as possible given his partner and quickly lost the look of having a heart attack once he realized who was peeping. "Oh gods, Yoyo... You scared the shit out of me."

"Sorry, babe." Yoyo climbed out of the hatch very carefully, making sure not to fall as the gravity shifted back around. "Damn, that's confusing. So... what's ~going on~, babe?"

"I'd like my knickers back about now, yeah!?" Robyn worked herself away from Dee, but still had to wrestle with his manhood deep inside her. "You mind, love? Hard to run off with a cock in your tunnel."

Dee noticed the squirrel's flustered grip on his moderate length and tried to calm her down. "Robyn, it's just my mate. We didn't do anything wrong, and if you keep that up you'll just--" A faint pop could be heard by all, but the two lovers' eyes flared wide in renewed frenzy. "Shit! You ripped it!?"

"You wouldn't let me loose!" Robyn wiggled herself free, a copious volume of minty green otter trailing his manhood on the way out. "How much spunk did you pump in there!? You could at least have pulled out sooner!"

"More than I wanted to." Dee sighed as he realized he couldn't fix the fact that the condom snapped. Then he groaned as another few spurts of jizz shot out his dick. "And I didn't think I should pull out if I was still adding to the mess. I can cum a lot."

"And you'd better be ready for more." Yoyo slid up behind his mate, flipped him around, and immediately locked lips for an infinite minute. "Hah... Damn, babe. I need your touch..." Yoyo's cock popped free of his suit and loincloth, bumping against Dee's thighs and nudging Robyn's clit. "Let me show you how much you mean to me."

"What's... gotten into you all of a sudden?"

"High explosives and a sudden appreciation for the most precious person in my life." Yoyo collected some of Dee's cum on his tip for lubrication, then angled up against his pucker. "So let me fill you with my love, Adrian."

Robyn immediately backed away as that monster of a cock disappeared inside her recent lover. "You're... homosexual? But what about what we, uh...?"

"His lordship and his mate have relations with both sexes, though it seems Adrian prefers men." Zoë helped Robyn find a seat and then promptly placed her face between the squirrel's thighs. "I should clean up after my family's mess. It doesn't look good on his lordship if things aren't kept tidy."

"Oi! I don't swing that way, missy!" Robyn shoved the human back and started scooping the cum from her drooling flower by paw. "I don't get what the livid hell is happening."

"Bro? That you?" Now Ilaria joined the mix, idly walking up to her brother from the ether like nothing was happening. "Oh. Bad timing?"

"Very." Yoyo hilted himself in Dee and paused his assault on the creamy otter's ass. "I'd like to focus on my mate, Lulu. What's up?"

"My own family issue. Looking for my whelps. They're not on the ship, and for some reason Prisma's not responsive enough to help."

"And there's bombs going off in town. Fuck." Yoyo resumed his thrusting, evoking a few squeaks from Dee. "Hard to stop now... I'll help in a minute. Sorry, babe; no knot for now."

"I'll, uh... I'll keep trying Pris... ma..." Ari spun around to return to her search, but ended up locking eyes on a very familiar--and very ~exposed~--squirrel. "Oh for fuck's sake!"

"Ah... S-Sorry, miss." Robyn stood and tried to address her clothing, but only ended up bent over in a sloppy, inviting mess as she went for her pants. "I'll... The, uh... The repairs are on the house!"

"That's... not my main issue here." Ari forced her bodysuit leg to clamp down, holding a large rod of flesh against her leg rather than poking out rudely. "I... I have kids to find. Just fix my ship, please."

"Aye..." Robyn's eyes would have exploded from her head if they weren't tidally locked to the huge bulge peeking out from beneath Ari's sirat drapes. "Well bugger me... Aye, I want to be on--I m-mean, I'll get... right on that..."

---

"Young ladies, please stop!" Prisma shambled to a shaky stop as if her physical body hit an imaginary wall. "I'm already pushing my limits. I can't go much any further from the Starbreeze without risking memory corruption."

"You heard the metal woman. Stop this now and your god may just forgive you."

<We can't hear, idiot.> Michelle and Mikhaila yanked Siamun to a hard stop near a street lamp, with Mik brandishing a pistol to the African wild dog's neck while Chelle created readable holograms. <And you are not our goddess. You betrayed us!>

"I have my reasons for my choices." Siamun checked the android behind them, finding her struggling to even stand up straight. "And I also assume there's a reason you're leading us away from that vessel? Is this elemental bound to the ship?"

<We don't know. Probably.> Chelle wobbled a bit in place and Mik tried to check on her, failing due to her status as official weapon-pointer. <Damn. This is far enough.>

"Far enough for what?"

<Leaving you to your new masters.> Chelle regained her composure, but then Mik fell to a knee. <Get... Get over there by that... so... tie you... up...>

Prisma walked over and caught Chelle before her drowsy body slumped to the street. "Young ladies? What's wrong?"

Mik barely managed to sign something as she passed out. <...Sleepy...>

"Well, guess I'm free now. Sorry to leav--" Siamun's body tensed up, flushing briefly with an entirely foreign expression. "No... We need to... save them..."

"Miss Viola?" Pris looked briefly to the unconscious hybrids on the ground and then back to the diametrically opposed wild dog. "There's apparently something poisonous in the air that my sensors obviously cannot detect. I'll lead you back to the sick bay and we can return with aid for the younglings."

"No... Help them f-firs-st..." What small glimmer of Viola had shown disappeared, but the remaining Siamun still acknowledged the occurrence with a look of fear. "I though... I had control over this body... I'm a god, yet this mortal..."

"Miss Viola, we should do ~something~. What's it gonna be?"

Siamun stared at his borrowed paws in a new light. "My future is too uncertain to begin a new kingdom. Let's... honor the girl's request for now. How can we carry these two?"

Pris knelt, wrapped her arms around the otters' waists, and stood without any noticeable effort. "I'll carry them back if you feel well enough to clear the way."

"Yeah, I'll do that," Siamun mentioned as he took the prompted lead, turning back to note, "but in return for helping you, please remind these girls of this deed. I would rather not have them attempt to murder me or leave me for dead again."

"That's... an acceptable agreement. I have one condition:" Prisma more noticeably huffed the twins over her shoulders for added mobility. "Don't give them another reason to chase you."

"...Agreed."

---

"Damnit. She's just gonna blow through another hydraulic pump at that pace." Olivia spun around in her wheelchair, switching tracks from watching as Ilaria scurried down the starboard hallway to looking towards Rhyme. "You're her boyfriend now, right? Can't you talk some sense into her?"

"You're just angry you never had a chance to ~stretch your legs~ like that." Rhyme chuckled and gave the ermine a pat on her back. "Sorry, too perfect. And I already told her not to stress her body too much. That's what a crew is for."

"Yeah, but in her case it's even more pertinent." Liv rolled herself backwards and out of Rhy's range, her sense of touch currently intermingling noxiously with visible color. "It's more than just her fake parts that concern me, you know. I like to think I get to look after all of her, not just her limbs."

"I heard about the time you looked after her ~dick~. Fun story." Rhy smiled and shook her head. "She's just worried about her children. It's a mother's duty, right? Sort of... poetic."

"That's odd to hear coming out of a guy's muzzle, but yeah." Liv sighed and started heading back to her room. "I'll have my tools ready. Let her search to her heart's con--"

"Liv?" Rhyme turned to check on the ermine, finding a horde of trouble heaping in through the airlock. "Girls? Hey, uh... Prisma, where'd you find them?"

The automaton perked her head up, then after a delay the intercom answered for the android. "Commander, Michelle and Mikhaila are at the starboard fore airlock and may need medical attention." The android turned her head towards Rhyme and suddenly became a little less stiff, her next words holding more life to them. "Please bring help. I don't know what to do since their biology isn't in my memories."

After a moment a nearby panel lit up with Carbon's visage. "On it."

"Shit, my whelps!" Ilaria came sprinting back and barely managed to catch herself as she tripped over her own leg. "Prisma, thank the gods! What happened?"

"They... They just collapsed."

"How long were they outside?" Carbon jogged into the hallway from his post on the bridge. "It was a couple of hours, right?"

Pris nodded enthusiastically, visibly hopeful that the hybrid knew what was happening. "About an hour and a half, yes."

"It dropped from room temperature to about eighteen centigrade in the last three hours. That doesn't seem like much normally, but to us it's more like fifteen to five centigrade." Carbon reached up and took Mik from Prisma, then headed to the nearby recreational room. "They're freezing. For a Yangurran hybrid even, that's still enough to force their hibernation if we don't warm them up."

Ari took a moment to parse the concept, then snapped back to action when it all made sense. "Crap. Here, let me--"

"I'm stronger than I look, Ari. Save your strength to be with them." Prisma followed Carbon for a bit, but paused to point at Viola with her 'snout' before entering the rec room. "Don't let that girl hide. Miss Viola prompted the twins to leave."

"Really, now?" Siamun tried to bolt, but a combination of Vi's resistance and Ari's stature prevented the maneuver. "Don't worm away, you sneaky bastard. I just want some answers, then you can go brood all you want."

"Damn..."

Rhyme nudged closer and stole the African wild dog from the otter. "I'll watch her. Take care of your kids, Ari."

"Thank you, Rhyme. Just watch for anything sharp near her." Ari slipped into the rec room and found Carbon throwing blankets over the girls on a set of sofas. "Oh, we just need to warm them up? Please tell me it's that simple."

"Worst case scenario, they drop into a forced hibernation and sleep it off. It'll throw their chemistry off for a few weeks, however." Carbon placed a tendril to Mikhaila's and nodded. "I think we caught them early enough though. Right Eve?"

"Yep. Their core temperature isn't too low." The phantom looked around for more blankets or heaters to no avail. "We'd stand a better chance of helping them if we could warm their extremities. Maybe warm bodies would help?"

"Ooh, good idea. Ari, strip down." Carbon easily peeled out of his bodysuit and slipped beneath the blankets with Mik. "They'll be better off if you add some heat to the mix, if you get me."

"Oh... Yeah, sure." Ari checked around and removed her clothes once she verified they were alone. "I just hope this doesn't bite me in the tail when Michelle wakes up."

"Perks of being a mother?" Carbon shifted a bit until he found a comfortable way to snuggle Mikhaila. "Truth be told though, I'm having a bit of a problem that's poking Mik from behind. We both might be in that same boat. Oh, uh... and sorry."

"I trust you and I trust their judgment. No need to apologize for being attracted to them physically." Ari slipped behind her other daughter, the conversation soon giving her the exact same problem below the waist. "What... What else do I need to know? Any potential issues or anything?"

"Nope. Just keep them warmer than most furs." Carbon sighed in embarrassment as the others entered the room. "I'm concerned how they got like this, though. I've got the same fur as them and I can't ever stand being ~that~ cold."

Ari closed her eyes and focused on her daughter's breathing for a few seconds. "Maybe they were fighting through it for some reason? Something important?"

"Prisma, you were with them." Carbon scooted and turned a bit so he could look at the robot. "What were you guys doing out there? And didn't you hear the explosion?"

"I wasn't sure what that sound was, but an explosion makes sense now. The twins likely didn't register it at all either." Pris found a seat nearby and rested in it, or at least emulated rest. "However they wouldn't have cared much. The girls were focused on Miss Viola the whole time."

"Vi? You mean she was out there too?" Ari propped herself up a little, sliding her child's head to rest in her modest bosom. "What the hell were they trying to accomplish? I told everyone to stay on the Starbreeze until we returned."

"Your children only followed after Miss Viola. They surveilled her until she--" Prisma paused as she forced herself to stop thinking like a ship and more like a living being. "They were just looking out for everyone else and trying to right a wrong."

Ari squinted her eyes at the AI and forced her paw. "You're keeping something from me, Pris. Don't make me override you as captain. If anyone's safety is at risk, I need to know the details."

"I don't... want to hurt anyone..." Pris drooped her head, then slowly raised it as she came to a decision. "Miss Viola was talking with the bad guys--with Yangurraa."

"There's plenty of perfectly innocent Yangurraa on this planet, Pris." Carbon sat himself up now as well so he could chip in where necessary. "Apparently the good ones fled to Earth rather than start a war in this universe."

Ari scoffed at that comment. "Except for the ones that want to blow everyone else up, you mean. They want a war, alright."

"But that's my point! Miss Viola was talking with ~those~ Yangurraa!" The android donned an apologetic expression directed towards the wild dog in question. "Your children discovered she was working with them back on our Earth and wanted to catch her red-pawed."

"Since our Earth?" Ilaria sat upright as she realized the details. "Of course! Nobody stays in the hold like she does, so when the girls moved the ship debris around--"

"She saw it and called in the calvary." Carbon grunted as he tucked himself back into the blanket, hinting that Ari should do the same. "I can only assume who flooded the aft section too."

"Son of a bitch..." Ari looked down as Chelle shivered against her, then retreated beneath her blanket as well. "You're lucky I'm stuck under here or I'd dent your skull, bitch. Fucking Siamun!"

"She--" Pris unnecessarily leaped over to Viola in defense. "She had to have a good reason! The other man inside Miss Viola wasn't in full control!"

"No... My intentions weren't good." Siamun moved the android aside and took ownership for his actions. "I was promised my own kingdom, ruling over all of the planet. Now I realize that I am not fit to hold such a position. A god cannot allow others to control him." He stepped forward a few paces and then fell to his knees in some odd form of prayer. "This Viola must be my high priestess. She guides me where I am wrong and only wants my reign to stay benevolent."

"You could have gotten my whole crew killed!"

"And for that, I will repent." Siamun looked up to Ari, a rare glimmer of sorrow in the dog's eyes. "Viola merely desired her family, her old life. She should not be punished for such aspirations. However we both share a body now..."

"Then give it back." Ari grit her teeth as she fought the urge to strangle the selfish idiot. "If you really hold her in that much regard, give her back her body. Learn to share, oh holy one. If you can do that, there might be hope for you yet."

"You ask a god to give up his only throne!" Suddenly Siamun's eyes went wide as Viola forced him to bow forward in repent. "She... demands this of me as well...?" The African wild dog slowly sat back on her heels, barely able to hold herself upright. "Very well. I shall relinquish my fleshed throne as my priestess desires. Where the holy priestess lacks however, I shall take command. Is this pact agreeable?"

"No. That's not enough." Ilaria pulled her pup closer and wrapped her arms around her. "For the sake of my family and my crew, you're helping us fix whatever deals and damage you've caused."

"I will give my full support of this effort." Siamun struggled to stand, then found the door to the hallway. "My exchange of power will take time. Let us all heal our wounds and rest, so we may better combat the coming challenges."

"Do what you have to. Just be ready to act." Ari nuzzled her child, making sure her erratic breathing and shivering had ceased. "When my children are awake, we're getting out of here. They're gonna drop our refugees off at a hospital and we're going home." She nodded as she silently pinged her brother. «Yoyo, you still... busy?»

«Cleaned up and ready. I heard the intercom and felt whatever ~that~ was from you... The girls are alright, right?»

«They'll be fine. They got too cold, apparently. I was upset about... other things. We'll discuss that later.» Ari gave her pup a kiss on the top of her head. «I need you to post a perimeter and hold it. James will help you put together a team.»

«Sure, I'll get that started. We planning on staying a while?»

«Until the girls are back up and running and the engines are fixed.» Ari paused as she watched Vi's shared body leave the room. «I have it on good authority that some Sect guys followed us to this universe somehow. They're probably in charge of that bomb, and they definitely know where we're at.»

«Yeah, got it. Definitely hold the line then.» There was a pause on the other end, then a hint of fear beamed over with the rest. «We've got a big family to protect. I've got this, Lulu.»

«I know you do, lil' bro. We've always got each other's tails.»

«In more ways than one.»

«You always leave me out of the sappy chats.» Adrian joined the conversation in his typical style, presenting gleefully but feeling a bit of dread. «My man's way too sexy when he's on a mission though. Let's go kick some ass.»

---

"Mister... uh, Yoyo? Sitrep, if you'd please."

Iolvin clutched his radio and chuckled for a moment at James' confusion. "Just Yoyo's fine. Um..." He picked up his rifle and scanned around the dark space dock from his vantage point atop the Starbreeze's hull, finding little changed since a minute ago. "Everything looks clear. Still a few dock workers freaking out."

"That's about what we've been seeing on the perimeter." There was a bit of silence as the giraffe poked around with his flashlight at something. "Might have something here. Can you spot that from up there, Yoyo?"

"Just me!" Cid held up her pistol and free paw innocently in the beam of light. "I just came out to help. Didn't know what radio channel you were on until you started talking. Sorry, guys."

"Good way to get yourself shot. Cid, was it?"

"That's right. Figured my expertise in security would serve us better out here than cooped up with Carbon."

Yoyo hit his radio into sound activation mode and peered through his scope at the meerkat. "Looking good in that suit, Cid. Still got your spacesuit on under that?"

"Yep. Like a ~glove~."

Yoyo smiled at the cheerful tone the meerkat took, like she was at home while guarding someone. "Well James is the only one without a buddy, so stick with him and I'll keep your tie nice and clean." Yoyo waved a paw and called Zoë over closer. "Zoë, keep an eye on those workers while I scan some more. The one near the gate was only just starting to act strange. Might be changing shifts, but..."

"Yes, milord."

"'Milord'? What's up with that?" James huffed in inquiry.

Cid answered first. "The human girl is bonded to Yoyo. I don't know the details, but she addresses him like--"

"Lord Iolvin!" Zoë tapped on Yoyo's side with the pommel of her rapier. "That chipmunk man is gone!"

"The gate guard? Hey guys, heads up."

James pointed his rifle at the guard booth, and soon a few other laser pointers collected there as well. "Bravo, Charlie--go check it out."

"Aye."

"Aye, sir."

Yoyo spun his rifle around to point at the booth as well, but some sort of red glimmer caught his eye in the process. "Did one of you just point a laser at me?"

"Uh..." A second passed with no response. "No, not on purpose anyway. My teams are trained for safe handling."

Yoyo looked in the direction of the oddity, then settled back into his scope. "I swear I was just hit with one. Something doesn't feel right."

One of the teams promptly reported their findings. "Sir, I see a boot. Possible casualty on the civvie."

James' response was loud enough Yoyo could hear it faintly beneath the radio. "Shit! All teams, we have an intruder. Last position is the northern gate."

"No... that's too obvious..." Cid mumbled over the radio, likely forgetting her own mic was set to automatic. "Oh, but I suppose... Yeah."

James called her on it. "Cid, cut that thing off."

"Oh, sorry. I had a point, but the girls stopped me." Cid clicked on a flashlight, held it below her pistol, and pointed it in the exact opposite direction. "Yoyo, that thing have thermal vision or anything? I think they're going right under our noses."

"I don't have anything special attached, but..." Yoyo formed a flat lens out of nanites, then slowly morphed and shifted the view until the infrared of the laser sights lit up clear as day. "I've got ~something~. Everyone, slowly wave your lasers around at waist height. I think I know what's going on."

"Uh... Right." James looked to each of his fire teams and then started doing as requested. "Bravo, stay on the gate. Everyone else, lay down a net with those laser dots."

Yoyo scanned around the darkest, most obscure areas of open ground. "Come on... Guys, focus on the dark spots." In a few seconds the security team caught on and waved their lasers into a web as requested, finding nothing at all until-- "There you are..."

"You found something?"

Yoyo indeed spotted an anomaly, a hazy silhouette of infrared light that almost looked like glass. He fired a single warning shot ahead of the target and ended up accidentally wounding another unseen one. "Shit. Right where I shot! They're cloaked, but one's bleeding!"

Cid spun to the spot and lit up the floating spatter of indigo blood with her tactical light. "Got 'em!"

James fired a few times over their heads as a warning. "Stop or we will use lethal force!"

Yoyo tweaked his custom sight until the bands of light it filtered allowed a faint haziness over the camouflage of the targets. "Enough of that trial and error... I count five, with two holding some heavy stuff."

"Explosives, maybe?" Cid strained to spot the intruders until her symbionts recognized the differences in light and highlighted them. "Yeah, two holding something large. I'll get the one closer to me if they run for it."

"And I've got the other..." Yoyo suddenly perked his head up as his sensitive ears picked up a scraping on the hull, opposite Zoë. "Clever girl..."

A vine flew out to sting the otter, but before Yoyo had a chance to react Zoë already lunged with a slice. "Down!" The vine sliced in two and snapped back to its owner, a smaller Yangurran that was clear save for the copious amounts of indigo coating the wound. "Are you okay, milord!?"

"I'm fine." Yoyo pulled out Matilda and primed her, exaggerating the clack of the bolt to intimidate the enemy. "However you won't be if you try that again."

"Yoyo?" Cid diverted her attention between the group and the individual. "You alright up there?"

"Eh, just an assassination attempt. Nothing big." Yoyo's pistol settled in his grip as the thrill rode itself out. "I've got this one covered. Just don't tell my sister."

"Got it." Cid returned her attention to the group under her control, only to spot one of the load bearers charging her way. "Stop! I'll shoot!"

In the alien's own tongue he shouted, "<They cannot see us well, brothers! For the glory of Gaia!>"

"<I can see you. Stop." The group began their assault, but a few wavered at Cid's words for a multitude of reasons. "Ah, fuck it. Easy way it is." When the apparent leader approached James however, Cid fired twice directly into his head. "They're moving! Open fire!"

A torrent of lead from all directions quickly exploded into a fine mist of bioluminescent indigo. After the whole area had become saturated in Yangurran blood, James picked up his radio and made a call. "Cease fire! Conserve ammo in case there's more. That shit's expensive."

"Damn, that's cold. I like you." Cid smiled as adrenaline pumped familiar life into her veins. "That's all of them. I don't see any others."

Yoyo took his lens up to his eye and quickly scanned the whole dock to similar results. "Ditto. Just the one up here left."

"Yussiir samunthe kas doraas--!"

"Don't think about it, fucker!" Yoyo raised Matilda back to the remaining Yangurran and slowly approached with Zoë. "Stand still and let us take you prisoner. We won't hurt you any more if you do as we say."

"Yoyo, she was saying we're a butchers or something." Cid wiped some glowing spatter from her coat, groaning as it didn't entirely come out. "And you owe me a new tie."

"Send me the bill. So you know she's a 'she', huh?" Yoyo approached the girl carefully, then stepped back as another tendril flew forward and was painfully sliced free. "She can hear you over the radio. Talk her down."

"<Girl, do not attack. You will only bring harm to yourself, and possibly death.>"

The Yangurran hissed in a very feral manner as she backed away, clutching her wounded vines painfully. "<If you're going to kill me, you'd better do it now! I... I'd rather die quickly than by torture!>"

"I think she's scared. Hold off a minute, Yoyo." Cid holstered her weapon and hinted for Yoyo to do the same. "<We are only defending our own lives. We have no quarrel with you. However, you must stay with us as a prisoner until we are sure we will be safe.>"

"<You... You won't torture me?>"

"<No. That is against our ways, and is only a last resort. Cooperation is preferred.>"

"<Then... I will cooperate. The messengers of Gaia lied about your true strength.>" The girl deactivated her stealth camouflage in a show of trust. "<I believe they sent us here expecting the whole of us to die. Their slight miscalculation will be their misfortune.>"

Yoyo played with the grip of his pistol anxiously. "Cid, what's up? Itchy trigger finger here."

"She's backing down. Toss her the radio." Cid brought her own radio closer to her muzzle and softened her voice. "<We appreciate the help. Before that though, let us get those wounds cleaned and bound. Oh... Do you have a name we should call you?>"

"<I am only 'assassin' now. Perhaps wrongly so now, I've forsaken my Terra-loving family and their names.>" The girl pulled back her hood and revealed a masked yet familiar head. "<But before that time I was named after a Terran flower.> Rose."

"Well shit." Yoyo motioned for Zoë to stand en guard as he approached this world's native Rose. "I'm not gonna hurt ya', Rose. I just need to check for weapons."

"<Tell him to stop!>"

"Yoyo, wait." Cid sighed and tried to work out the next steps. "<The place your 'messengers' come from is also where we are from, and in our world you speak our tongue. Is it a stretch to guess you do here as well?>"

"<I can understand most of it, but it's been too long. I can't speak much Terran in return.>"

"Yoyo, she can understand you mostly, just not respond." Cid clutched her radio closely and whispered assuringly. "<I will personally take you to our infirmary. Let Iolvin take any weapons you have on your person and I will be right up.>"

Rose nodded and offered the radio back to Yoyo as he finally began his pat-down. "Trust small woman. No you." She practically growled as her eyes settled on Zoë and her stained blade. " No trust you."

"Well she won't attack unless you do. She's simply bound to protect me." Yoyo laughed as he clicked his radio again. "Ha! So Cid, she thinks you're a ~woman~. That's a good one."

"Y-Yeah... Don't rub it in..."