FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Hugging his long, worn and sand pelted coat around himself, Art squints at the listings tacked to the announcement board inside the window of the local transfer station as the passing sand storm blows out the last of its might before dying down. The tall hunk of equine sighs as he scans the help wanted listings he had seen yesterday that turned him down.

Despite his mechanical specialty and physical prowess, all of the advertisers turned him down because he was asking for more pay than they could offer. After his father had passed and the sandship business they worked for began to fold under, Art had to find other means of pay to take care of funeral costs and support himself.

Just as the horse was about to give up, a new listing scribbled on a partially folded napkin caught his eye:

_ Fun! Adventure! Fulfill your wildest fantasies and MAKE MONEY DOING IT! Need skilled weapons expert/ navigator/ and ship mechanic. Serious inquiries only. Contact Jack via inter-city mail code: OR-57 or find me at shipping yard 9D. Look for the fastest vessel there!_

At first, Art thought it was a joke. Some transfer station troll that wanted a good laugh. He scoffed and was about to turn away when the memory of his father's nagging voice stops him.

"Arthurus! Don't walk away when I'm talking to you!"

Though not related at all to his current situation, the comedic memory made him think twice. What did he have to lose? Quickly, the equine scribbles the info down in a small notebook he kept and then walked away.

-

Varkis Marovik had to figure out some way to get down to the planet's surface. The tall, Yellow-throated Plated Lizard was down to his last few credits, and those needed to be used for food and lodging.

Looking around the station's pub, he saw a few familiar, and attractive, faces that he knew.

They were captains that he knew provided transport to various locations, Dune Ridge being one of them.

"Single malt scotch please," he ordered of the bartender. As he was waiting on his drink, he spotted an extremely familiar face across the bar sitting at a table in a corner studying what appeared to be maps. He smiled mischievously as he stood up, adjusted the red tie he was wearing with his black suit, and sipped his drink as he made his way to that particular table.

"Well, Elvin," he stated as he sat down across from the handsome Blue Tongue Skink he had spotted from across the bar. "How have you been?"

"What do you want, Varkis?" Elvin replied a little annoyed as he looked up from his maps.

"Oh come now," Varkis replied, feigning hurt, "is that any way to speak to an old friend?"

"What do you want, Varkis?" He repeated, firmer this time.

"Well, since you are going to be all about business, I will cut to the chase."

Varkis sipped his scotch before continuing, "I need to get to Dune Ridge, and out of the pilots here, you are the only one I trust."

"You know my transport fee: fifty credits one-way, one twenty-five round trip."

"See that's the thing," Varkis responded taking another sip, "I don't have that much money."

"Then I can't help you," Elvin stated matter-of-factly.

"Not even to help out an old friend?"

Varkis gently placed his right hand on top of Elvin's left, his face softening a bit.

"Remember that night we spent on Sirius together?"

"Oh, I remember," Elvin replied as he sternly jerked his hand away from the lizard in front of him as he blushed. "It's credits, or you stay here."

A sly smile crosses Varkis's face.

"Well, I am sure we can work something out," he says as he looks at Elvin with bedroom eyes while licking his lips and suggestively running his finger around the rim of his glass.

About an hour later, the transport ship touched down at Dune Ridge's port and the rear cargo hatch opened. Varkis sauntered down the hatch carrying a large suitcase leaving Elvin behind him sitting on the floor of the cargo bay with his pants around his ankles and a quickly softening erection.

Varkis wiped a bit of white off of the corner of his mouth with his pinky and licked it off as if it were cake icing.

"Well," he said taking in his surroundings, "time to make money."

He walked over to the ad board and scanned it. Out of all of the professional and semi-professional ads posted, it was the one on a napkin that caught his eye:

_ Fun! Adventure! Fulfill your wildest fantasies and MAKE MONEY DOING IT! Need skilled weapons expert/ navigator/ and ship mechanic. Serious inquiries only. Contact Jack via inter-city mail code: OR-57 or find me at shipping yard 9D. Look for the fastest vessel there!_

"Navigator, eh." He arched an eyebrow as he said, "9D," to no one in particular before walking off.

-

"Art, please reconsider. If you just give us a couple months, we can scare up more work."

Sandra, a tall lynx, begs the big horse as he packs up his tools into his roll away tool box. Art sighs as he pauses to look at a picture on the wall of him and his father standing next to a huge anti-grav coil they had repaired together. The pang of loss still hurt deep inside. He missed hearing his father swear even though Art is soft spoken himself.

"Sandy, if I don't come up with the credits I need to pay for my father's burial, they are just going to ash him. He doesn't want that. He was born here and he want's to be buried here."

"I know you love your father and you want to carry out his wishes, but we can't maintain without you! Art, you're the only one left here that can rewire anti-gravs. We need you! I mean.. how much is this person paying you? Can they keep paying you?" The big, chestnut colored equine sighs and takes the picture down and stuffs it into the top of his box before locking it up and unlocking the rolling wheels. He turns to Sandra.

"He is paying all of my funeral costs and ensuring me that I will always have work. I'm sorry Sandy..."

Exasperated, the lynx watches as her big mechanic rolls his tool box out and into the back of a small transport ship.

-

The short Leopard Gecko sat on the edge of her bed at the inn she had just checked out of, holding a small framed photo in her hand. The photo was of her as a young hatchling riding on the shoulders of her muscular father.

A small tear trickled down her cheek and splattered on the glass covering the photo.

"I will find you, daddy." She said as she gently touched her father's face in the photo.

After drying her eyes, she packed the photo into her large black duffel bag which contained the photo, some clothes, and a few weapons.

Down in the inn's bar, she sat and ordered a beer after placing her bag at her feet. She hadn't been able to find any leads on her missing father's whereabouts, so she decided to find a ship's captain and try to join a crew.

She sat at the bar for a few minutes nursing her beer when a cocky male panther sat down next to her.

"How's it going there, sweet cheeks?"

"Don't call me, sweet cheeks." She responded icily.

"Okay, okay doll. My bad." He said as he undressed the curvy reptile with his eyes. "How about you join me and my crew. I think you would be a good fit for us."

She rolled her eyes as the clueless male continued his heavy-handed advances. He was so fixated on bedding her and calming his own raging libido that he didn't notice her right hand slide to the handle of the large combat knife in the sheath on her right hip.

"Fuck off," she responded as she was rapidly becoming annoyed.

At that moment, Venton, the Red Panda bartender walked over to the group.

"I wouldn't mess with her, Jago," he warned.

"It's okay, Venton, I've got this," Sierra said waving him away.

"Yeah, Venton, she's got this," the panther mimicked.

"Okay. Your funeral." Venton said as he shrugged and walked away.

"My funeral?" Jago scoffed. "What are you gonna do? Crush me with these beautiful things?"

As Jago threw an arm around her shoulders and groped her ample breast, she saw red.

In a blinding flash of movement, she removed the panther's arm from around her and removed the large knife from its sheath. She then placed her assailant's hand flat on the bar, and pinned it there with her knife.

The panther screamed in pain as she slammed his head onto the bar with her left hand and held it there. All Venton could do was smile with an "I told you so" look on his face.

"Listen here, asshole," she said as she pressed down on his head, "I don't know what kind of tavern tarts you and your dipshit crew are used to dealing with, but I am not one of the them! When I say 'fuck off," I mean FUCK...THE HELL...OFF!"

She then jerked the knife out of the panther's hand causing a little blood to spurt from the gaping wound.

She paid for her single drink, and left the wounded panther clutching his hand as it bled freely.

Once outside the inn, she began to walk to the transport station's notice board to see if she could find a crew to work with.

Before she reached it, a gust of wind blew a napkin right into her face.

As she removed it and was about to throw it away, she noticed something was written on it:

_ Fun! Adventure! Fulfill your wildest fantasies and MAKE MONEY DOING IT! Need skilled weapons expert/ navigator/ and ship mechanic. Serious inquiries only. Contact Jack via inter-city mail code: OR-57 or find me at shipping yard 9D. Look for the fastest vessel there!_

"Sounds promising," she shrugged as she walked to the shipyard.

-

The shipyard bustled with activity as Jack loaded crate after crate into the loading bay of his modified class C transport vessel. Sweat coated his black and white fur and soaked the sleeveless white shirt he wore. He was given a short period of time to load and leave and wanted to keep under the radar of the dock inspectors that roamed about. The boxes he was currently loading were definitely not filled with processed protein supplements like the shipping slip suggested and he didn't want suspicious inspectors popping a crate open to find pulse cannon cells and cobalt mag rod rounds stacked inside.

"Um.. Jack, sir?" A deep but timid voice startled him for a moment before he turned to see a large chestnut colored horse standing behind him holding a duffel bag. Jack's face lit up.

"Art! You made it! I'm glad you found me. I don't suppose I could get your help with these crates, could I?" Art nods and sets his bag down and begins loading two crates at a time with Jack.

"Your tools arrived just a bit ago. I had them secured in the mechanical room in the ship. That is also where your quarters will be. I want to thank you for your correspondence. I was hoping to get answers quick." Jack explained as the two started loading some longer crates in.

Sierra had searched the shipyard for about an hour trying to find "the fastest vessel there" with no luck until she happened upon the ship Jack and Art were loading. From her time in the military, she knew that class C vessels could really scoot so she figured this must be it.

"Excuse me," she said adjusting the strap of her duffel bag on her right shoulder, "Is one of you, Jack?"

The sweat covered wuski stops and turns to her.

"Why yes! And you are?" he says smiling widely.

"Captain Sierra Zyne, 4th Regiment, Able Company...well...formerly anyway. Munitions and Firearms are my specialty. I saw your advert for a weapons expert, and thought I would see if I could be of service."

"Uhh.." Jack quickly glances at the crates.

"Yes! You are just in time! I usually like to take things slow," he says with a sly wink before continuing, "but we are a bit pressed for time. You're hired! You can drop your things just inside and give Art here a hand with some of these crates. We weigh anchor in about thirty minutes!"

Art smiles shyly and gives her a polite head nod as he heaves a very large crate onto his shoulder and carries it up into the sandship.

Sierra places her bag down just inside the cargo bay. The bag did not leave her shoulder as smoothly has she had intended, dragging the right shoulder strap of her black tank top with it exposing the right half of her black bra.

"Shit." The shoulder strap of her bra had slid off of her shoulder as well.

As all women do when about to be exposed, she was quick to make sure the cup of the bra stayed in place as she re-adjusted everything. She turned, blushing ever so slightly, and began to help Art load the crates.

Jack bit his lip. He wanted to say it, but he knew he shouldn't. Not now. There's a time and a place. This may be a good enough place but definitely not the right time as one of the auditors were beginning to eyeball his ship suspiciously. He filed the thought of seeing her breasts in the 'ol spank bank and started going over his fake inventory sheet to give the dock clerks.

Varkis knew he had found the right ship by the looks of the individuals loading the crates onto it.

'Poor girl,' he thinks to himself after watching what happened with Sierra, 'she probably doesn't even know her proper sizes.'

He walks over to the black and white wuski and extends his hand.

"I would assume that you are Jack, correct?" the wuski, looking up from his inventory sheet, gets a nervous look on his face, and holds up his hands.

"Look, I know some of the crates came in a bit heavier than logged. Distribution had a heavy run and wanted to get the extras without clogging up production. I'm going to let them that they cannot do that anymore. Cut me a break, I'm just the transport guy."

Varkis lets out a barking laugh.

"No no no!" He laughs as he gently places a hand on Jack's shoulder. "I'm Varkis Marovik. I'm here to be your navigator, and I couldn't care less about what is in those crates...but what is standing in front of me is a different story."

He undresses Jack with his eyes. The wuski squirms a little under the reptile's gaze.

"Uh-h-h right! You're hired! We're heading off in about twenty minutes. Go ahead and set your things inside. Nav station is second level right behind my seat. I hope you are familiar with galactic A-class nav systems. I found the class C transport limited to my...needs. Don't ask where I got federation spec nav systems...it just uh...fell off a crate...yeah! Anyways, set a course for Gall Canyon City. I have a few things to acquire there."

"Roger that, Captain." Varkis eyes him once more. He liked a challenge. "Lieutenant Marovik, ready to serve."

He gives Jack a small salute and walks up into the ship.

As he enters the cargo bay, Art catches his eye. Varkis can't help but check out the young stallion with a smile as he passes by.

Art looks up from where he was bent over setting a crate down and blushes under Varkis' smile. He never really had anyone look at him like that before, and it made him feel...different. Not wanting to upset Jack on his first day, the stallion quickly finishes loading up the last of the heavy crates.

With the cargo bay mostly full, Jack quickly drops off the paperwork with the dock auditors and hurries back to the ship as Art and Sierra finish pushing empty carts away from the sandship.

"Alrighty! No time for pleasantries, it's time to head out!" The wuski barks as he quickly ushers the two into the ship.

Once inside, he orders them up to the main deck where Varkis was planning their first trip. As they all are strapping in, a voice comes in through the radio.

"Attention transport 3117. This is Benjamin Dougherty, officer of shipping inspection and compliance. We have some questions about your freight before you go. Could you come down to the dock so we can take a look?"

Jack immediately becomes tense and starts adjusting a dial on the console in front of him. Heavy static starts distorting the voice coming through asking for confirmation.

"Sorry officer! I can't hear what you're saying! Must be another sand storm coming in disrupting the frequency! I've got a schedule to uphold so call the number on the sheet if you have any questions! Good day!" The captain barks through the intercom just before firing up the anti-grav and immediately going full throttle out of the ship yard, almost hitting a couple ships as he maneuvers his way out and leaves the stunned and frustrated shipyard auditors waving their hands.

"No, that's not suspicious at all," Sierra quips sarcastically as she lets go of the console she had grabbed to keep herself upright due to the ship's sudden acceleration.

"I agree," said Varkis, "however we are not the captain, so it is not our place to judge."

"Yeah, but we are part of the crew, and if the captain does anything illegal," she sneers, "we go down with him."

"I am Varkis Marovik, by the way," he says extending his hand.

"Sierra Zyne," she replies shaking his hand.

"And some friendly advice, hun," Varkis said as he lightly pulled on the shoulder strap of her tank top, "You might want to re-measure your sizes. I think you are wearing just a hair too big."

Sierra lets out an angry hiss as she says, "My sizes are just fine, pretty boy!"

"The ladies must love your sunny personality," Varkis quips dryly.

Sierra was starting to shake from anger.

"Why you son of a --"

"Alright!" Barks Jack, immediately demanding everyone's attention as he hits auto pilot, pulls off the headset he was wearing, and turns around in the captain's chair. They had reached a pretty fast speed and were on a course away from main shipping routes.

"Here's the deal. I won't lie, I'm horrible at it anyways. You two," the wuski motions to Sierra and Art, "just loaded several million credits worth of high grade federation munitions in the back. We are currently aboard a modified class C ship fitted with some of the most advanced weaponry available and we are headed to Gall Canyon City."

He sighs a little before continuing. "I understand if you want nothing to do with this, and I have no problem dropping you off somewhere if you wish to leave but hear me out. I need a merc crew. I have several jobs lined up worth a substantial amount of money, but I can't do it alone. We won't be killing innocent people, we won't be stealing...at least not from somebody that doesn't deserve it...and I will never put you in harm's way unless you are okay with it. This will be equal pay for everyone because I expect everyone to pull their weight. Whaddya say?"

"Oh, okay," Sierra says as she places her left hand on her hip, "So that's why you were loading pulse cannon cells and cobalt mag rod rounds in the cargo bay. You're looking to re-sell."

"No."

"Okay, so if you aren't a smuggler, and you have that kind of ammunition on board," her eyes suddenly light up as a thought crosses her mind.

"Are those rounds for the ship's guns," she asks excitedly.

The wuski chuckles at how adorable she looks getting all excited about destruction. He had a feeling this was going to work out.

"Yes, yes they are. And you are in charge of inventory, maintenance and firing of them... if you want."

"Oh absolutely I want!" She exclaims excitedly. "Just show me to my quarters, and I will get started looking everything over."

"Second one on the right down the walkway." Jack then turns to Art and Varkis. "And you two? How do you feel about it?"

Art shrugs timidly and glances over at Varkis.

"I am just here to navigate this ship and make money." Varkis shrugs.

Art slowly raises his hand and Jack laughs.

"Art, you don't have to raise your hand. I may be your captain but you may speak freely."

"Sir, I just wanted to make sure I can be back in Dune ridge in time to bury my dad. They have set the date for a week. After that, I don't care where I go." Jack's face softens and he leans closer to Art. "Listen, Art, I know what you are going through. I've lost loved ones myself, and I know how hard it is to keep from falling into depression. If you think you can't keep it together to do the job, you're putting all our lives in jeopardy. Please tell me now so we can get you back to where you belong. Consider the funeral costs a gift."

Art sighs and looks at the floor for a moment, deep in thought. He finally looks up and nods at Jack.

"I can do it, sir. It's what my father would want, for me to be happy. And being able to work ON an active ship is something I've always dreamed of. I think the distraction will be good for me." The stallion says, glancing over at Varkis for a quick moment.

Jack claps his hands together and stands, holding his hand out and shaking the horse's.

"Great! I promise we will have you there in time for your father's funeral." The captain then turns to face the whole crew.

"It's settled then! We are a crew, a family! I promise to take care of you if you take care of each other."

After retrieving her duffel bag, Sierra enters her small quarters.

"Well," she says looking around, "I guess it will have to do."

She begins unpacking her bag, placing her folded clothes into the drawers of the small table next to her small bed. She places the photo of her father on top of the table so it faces the bed where she could easily see it.

Once she gets to the bottom of the bag, she looks around to make sure no one is watching and removes a beautiful black dress on a hanger.

"Damn it," she said as she looks it over, "it's wrinkled!"

Down in the mechanical room, Art goes about unpacking and familiarizing himself with the shop setup. He opens his tool box and pulls out the photo of him and his father and looks at it with a smile for a moment.

"I did it, dad. I made it on a ship."

Up in the main deck, Jack turns to Varkis.

"So I'm gonna need to meet with everyone again once they are all settled in. We need to go over our first mission. Once you've finished routing our course, could you let them know?"

"Aye aye," he responds with a smile and a wink.

Once finished with the course plotting, Varkis enters his cramped quarters.

"Well, I have been in tailholes smaller than this," he says to himself as he goes about unpacking.

In the very bottom of his suitcase is a collection of leather straps, handcuffs, a leash, collar, a pair of leather shorts, and a ball gag. He leaves these in his case and slides it under his bed.

Art was the first person he decided to visit.

After knocking on the doorway of his quarters, Varkis asks, "Art, was it?"

Art looks up from sorting his wrenches, a little surprised. He smiles shyly at the reptile eyeing him.

"Yes. And you?"

"Varkis Marovik." He says as he shakes the young stallion's hand. "You can call me Varkis...or Vark if you wish."

"Listen, I understand you are going through a rough time after losing your father," he says placing a hand gently on Art's shoulder, "if you ever need to talk with someone, my door is always open."

He pats his shoulder gently a couple of times before saying over his shoulder as he leaves, "Oh, and the captain wants to see everyone once you are settled in."

Sierra quickly hangs the slightly wrinkled dress in her closet as she hears a knock on her quarters door. She had been doing her best to smooth as many wrinkles out of the dress as possible.

She sneers as she turns and sees Varkis standing in her door.

"Ah, so the tough little gecko has a girly side," he quips.

"You want to try it on...ma'am?" she asks icily.

"Sorry, not my style," he smiles playfully, "The captain wants to see us once you are settled."

He starts to walk away before sticking his head back in her room.

"I actually prefer the oriental style dresses with the slit up the side. They show off the legs." He smiles and blows her a kiss, then walks off.

Soon all four crewmates are sitting in their respective chairs in the main deck as Jack finishes entering some data into a log in the ship's computer. As they sit in silence waiting for the captain to talk, an unfamiliar female voice pipes up somewhere in the room.

"Hey Jack. Is it okay to come out now? It's getting boring in here!"

Art perks his ears up a little and looks around, trying to find where the voice is coming from.

"Is that what I think that is?" Varkis asks with a raised eyebrow.

"No way. It can't be!" Sierra laughs as she grows ever more impressed with the ship.

The translucent image of a female white fox suddenly appears leaning against Jack's chair. She is wearing a tight fitting white jumpsuit with red trimming around the ankle of the right leg and the left forearm.

"Hi guys!" She waves excitedly. "Sorry. Shiver-me-timbers over here won't let me out unless he's sure nobody will tell on him for having an A-class AI loaded aboard an unregistered, modded class C merc vessel."

"Really!?" Jack says turning to her and throwing up his arms.

"What? They seem nice. And it's been soooo long since I've socialized, you have no idea how BORED I am!"

"You've had me."

"Yeah but one can only take so much of your swash buckling, cosmos sailing, 'Arr! We're gonna take down those feder-'"

"OKAY OKAY OKAY! Just...let's go on with introductions so I can brief them on our first job."

"Lovely to meet you, ma'am," Varkis says with a flourish of his hand and a bow. "I am Varkis Marovik, and I am your new navigator."

"I am Sierra Zyne," the gecko said with a slight bow of her head. "I am the weapons expert, and I am ultimately trying to find my da...father."

She looks at the floor blushing slightly.

Art rubs his thick, muscular neck nervously as he realizes it's his turn to talk.

"Uh...ahem. My name is Arthurus Zervos. Art for short, please. I am the mechanic for this ship now. I had to quit my job at the sandship repair station back at Dune ridge because they couldn't pay me enough to cover my father's funeral fee. He passed away recently and his wishes were to be buried where he was born, not burned to ash. Um...yeah. That's it, I think."

The female fox walks over and puts a hand gently on Art's shoulder. Though there wasn't really anything there, he still felt a little tingle like his body was expecting something to touch him.

"I am very sorry about your loss, Art. Jack will take care of you." she says before standing and stepping away a little so everyone could see her.

"My name is Quipi! Quantum Utilized Intelligence and Protocol Interface...Quipi! I am your AI, but I'd rather you think of me as a crewmate. I just sleep in the wires instead of a bed." She giggles before continuing.

"I can control pretty much everything on the ship and can be holographically depicted just about anywhere in or around the ship. Questions?"

Varkis suddenly blushes as he rubs the back of his head.

"What exactly are you able to do inside our quarters?"

Quipi breaks out into laughter for a moment before composing herself and putting a slender hand over her still grinning mouth. She had a sense of humor unlike most military AIs.

"Well, I respect my crew mate's privacy so I usually don't go in there unless I am called upon or someone is in danger." She giggles a little again. "And don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

"Will you come if we ask for you? Like...if we just want someone to talk to?" Sierra asks.

"Why yes, of course! I absolutely LOVE talking to people! It's how I learn more about how to be fun." Quipi says, excitedly.

"And she's very good at it, trust me." Jack chuckles. "Okay, so you all know as much about me as you need to know. I am Jack Rackum, the captain of this vessel and am ultimately responsible for each of your lives. I am from off planet and have...been around. I've collected contacts around Rouan that are willing to pay big money for...help. That's where you guys come in and leads us to the next item of business."

As if on cue, Quipi holds out her hands in a bit of a flourish like she's showing off some product at a game show, and a holographic screen appears next to her. On it is a picture of a rather scraggly looking fennec fox wearing a bright yellow button up shirt that is not tucked into the far too loose brown slacks that are being held up by a belt. He is standing near a small, two-person sand ship and wearing sun glasses. He appears to be waiting for someone on the side of the street and is holding a paper bag.

"This is Jorem Mikay. He is the owner of a small operation that supplies a major water purification tablet manufacturer with a crucial ingredient to make the tablets."

Quipi then swipes her hand across the holo-screen and the picture shrinks down into the lower left corner while a 3D model of a chemical composition pops up and spins slowly.

"This is NaDCC or Sodium dichloroisocyanurate. A mouthful, I know. It is the crucial ingredient in making the cheap, but effective, water purification tablets that a majority of the more rural citizens use on Rouan."

"As we know, the past mining operations the Federation carried out on this planet have left a majority of the soil that our groundwater seeps through biologically toxic. Those that are lucky enough to live near the city, and can afford purified water from a plumbed source, don't really have to worry, but the vast majority that make up the expanses of desert out here rely on these tablets to be able to drink water."

Once again, Quipi shoos away the picture of the chemical and another picture of a large manufacturing building appears.

"This is Aquetos. It has been making these tablets for the past fifty years and, for the most part, has a majority hold on the purification tablet market. However, smaller businesses are beginning to creep up on Aquetos' market sales."

A chart slides in from the side of the holo-screen next to the picture of the manufacturing company. The chart shows a steady increase in sales from three different purification tablet companies and a slow decline in Aquetos' sales.

"Aquetos has learned from analysis of the NaDCC they receive from Jorem's business, that the fox is cutting the ingredient with a dangerous combination of cyanuric acid and melamine. He uses a cheaper and faster way to produce the ingredient that increases the yield but leaves a harmful substance in that is otherwise removed by normal manufacture." Quipi flicks the pictures of the chart and building away with a giggle and pinches at the smaller picture of the chemical from earlier and pulls it back up to larger size. Reaching out, she flicks the spinning model, and it spins a little faster until it changes into something slightly different. A list of possible health problems including death pop up next to it along with the skull and crossbones symbol.

"Aquetos has employed surveillance and gathered numerous photos of Jorem selling the substance to the other manufacturing companies, a direct violation already of a contract they had with him previous."

Several photos of the fennec pop up over the spinning chemical symbol showing him handing various bags and containers to other shady looking individuals.

"It is believed that he has more than doubled his income as a result while putting life threatening chemicals into production of who knows how many tablets. Aquetos has already recalled a large amount of tablets so far and is ensuring the public that they are investigating the matter. They have not yet released an exact reason and are expected to soon or they face investigation from the local health board as well as the authorities."

Jack takes a breath for a moment, Quipi smiling at him.

"This is where it gets...fucky. Aquetos has been involved in a large scale tax evasion for several years. It is the only way they've been able to sell the pills for so cheap and maintain business. If they involve the authorities in the matter in any way, the tax crimes will most likely be found and the business will be shut down. They are offering us...a lot...to take care of Jorem. They keep a very hefty savings to keep people quiet about their money issues. They don't care if we kill him, bury him, or blast him off into deep space."

"The chairman of Aquetos wants Jorem's operation. They want to take it over and have a monopoly over the whole thing. Now, normally I would be against that whole thing, but these other manufacturers took the NaDCC KNOWING that it was bad and used it anyway. Aquetos just wants to make it right. They have enough money to facilitate producing as much as they need but they don't have the proprietary information that Jorem has."

With another flourish, Quipi shoos away everything off the holo-screen, and a picture of a thick sandstone walled building surrounded by a high sandstone fence appears. There are several guards around the entrance to the fence and different locations around the building. It appears to be on the outskirts of Gall Canyon city.

"Jorem has invested his newfound fortune into securing his operation with hired help from a major thug gang that now guards the compound. This is why Aquetos hasn't tried jumping in themselves. They do not have the muscle or know-how to get in and get out without blowing everything up. They need the information on how everything is made." Quipi minimizes the picture with a pinch and a giggle, and then swipes in another picture of some sort of large computer equipment. It has a series of heat sink fins around a central oval bubble that was glowing blue and several tubes and wires that were coming from it's base and going into some other piece of machinery.

"We have an added bonus on top of the pay."

Quipi starts hopping and clapping excitedly until Jack gives her a side glance and she settles down.

"Sorry Cap'n" she giggles before covering her mouth and then standing patiently. "The quicker method that Jorem uses employs the use of a large nano drier that processes a certain plant to extract the melamine. The drier has an advanced CPU cooling unit attached to it because of it's large scale plant structure analysis process. It is supposed to be able to extract the most melamine out of the plant but requires a lot of computing power. It just so happens that this exact cooling unit and the CPU it cools are compatible with Quipi's holographic processing unit. If fitted into the ship's central processor, Quipi's projection will be significantly more...realistic. You'd swear she was real instead of the usual ghosty look."

"OOooOOo-o-o-O-o!" Quipi mocks a ghost moan before giggling.

Jack gives her a look again and she stops giggling but makes a face back at him.

"Aquetos has said that they will allow us to have the unit and the pay in return for making Jorem and his goons disappear." Jack says as he turns to the four.

Quipi waves her hand and the holo-screen disappears.

"Well, what do you guys think? You in?"

"As long as no civilians get hurt, I am." Varkis answers. "I am pretty much just here to make money."

"I get my hands on that little bastard, and he is dead!" Sierra replies through clenched teeth. "How can someone knowingly poison innocent people just to make a profit?"

"Based on past behavioral analysis, Jorem falls under the classification of a sociopath. He does not care in the slightest about anyone and usually stays isolated when not delivering his product." Quipi explains.

"I don't think he was hugged enough as a kit." She frowns.

Um...ack, sir?" Art timidly speaks up.

Yes, Art?"

I... know him..." Everyone turns and looks at Art who begins to squirm a little, suddenly uncomfortable with so many staring at him.

"You what?"

"My father recommended me to do some work on that sand speeder in the picture. He needed one of the anti-grav coils repaired and the overdrive unit replaced. Jorem couldn't pay for everything after I was done." The large stallion shifts uncomfortably in his seat. "He tried to offer...other payment methods."

"Such as?" Varkis asked suddenly interested.

"Um...he...he wanted to do...stuff...to me. He tried to convince me to let him," the stallion blushes deeply and crosses his muscular legs. "I told him to just forget about it, and I left." He says, covering his face in embarrassment.

'My gods,' Varkis thought to himself. 'Have I been making people feel like this for all of these years?'

He gets out of his chair and walks over to Art and kneels down in front of him.

"It's okay, Art. There is nothing to be ashamed of." He says placing a reassuring hand on the young stallion's shoulder. "As long as you said no, then you have nothing to be embarrassed about. Some people are just assholes that way. Believe me. I know."

Art smiles shyly and looks away.

"So...so Jorem wanted to do something sexual with you?" Jack asks, still a little stunned. Art just nods. Jack sits back in his chair as a plan begins to formulate in his head. Quipi tilts her head a little.

"Did he touch you at all?" she asks.

"He tried to...I backed away and left."

"Oh, he is so dead!" Sierra says as she cracks her knuckles.

"Indeed." Varkis says as he stands up and turns to face Jack. "He must pay for trying to poison these people, and for attempting to destroy someone's innocence...and I want the killing shot."

Varkis doesn't know why, but he feels drawn to the young stallion, like he needs to help him.

Jack finally sits up. "I will not ask you to put yourself in that situation again, Art. However, I think we need to make use of this new bit of information. I don't want to go in guns blazing...as much as I know you guys would like to. Aquetos was specific in their instructions that none of the equipment is harmed. I want this to go off without a hitch so we can have a good payout. We need an inside person...man specifically, I suppose."

"That would be me," Varkis volunteers. "I have no trouble using sex to try and lure men into giving me what I want."

"Why does that not surprise me?" Sierra quips. "Will you be needing that oriental dress, Vikki?"

"Only if it comes to that, Cici." he replies as he winks over his shoulder at her.

"Okay, settle down you two." Jack barks. "Varkis, this is dangerous. There are over a hundred guards posted there and each one is equipped with at least a Red Class plasma rifle. I don't want you to do this unless you are sure you can handle it."

"I appreciate the concern, Captain." With a flick of his left wrist, a small throwing knife appears in Varkis's hand, and he begins nonchalantly spinning it in the palm of his hand and twirling it between his fingers. "But, all I need are a few blades, and I will be fine."

"Gotta hand it to ya, Vikki," Sierra says with an impressed look on her face, "I am good with a blade, but I am not that good."

Jack looks between the two and chuckles as he shakes his head.

"Okay. We will need to figure out a way in. Jorem is never usually outside the compound unless he is delivering. His guards are sent out to get stuff for him, but that is about it. He doesn't go to bars, he doesn't socialize. This will not be easy." The wuski rubs his chin in thought.

"Just find out the kind of stuff that he is...into," Varkis says with a smile, "And I am pretty sure I can get him to...open up."

"He, um...he said he wanted to see how my..." Art squirms uncomfortably again. "...my stallionhood looked under a skirt...if that helps."

Varkis stops twirling the knife in his hand.

"And so it comes to that," he sighs as the red scales lining his lower jaw darken.

Sierra begins laughing hysterically while clutching her sides.

"D-don't worry, Art," she tries to say through her laughter. "I'm not laughing at you, honey. I'm...I'm laughing at the...(snort)...at the thought of, Vikki here, p-prancing around in...in a sk-sk-skirt a-and heels."

She barks out another fit of laughter, and tears begin to trickle down her face.

Quipi stifles laughter of her own by putting a hand over her mouth and grinning.

Jack just chuckles a little and stands up.

"Okay okay! So is that something you are willing to do, Varkis?"

He takes a deep breath.

"I will do it, however...I don't have any of the clothing I need or anything else that will work," he says composing himself, and trying to will the darkening of his red jaw scales to go away. "I will have to check my funds to see what kind of clothing I can afford."

"You can use some of my make-up," Sierra offers.

"I appreciate the offer." He says as he looks at Sierra with a half smile on his face. "And for your information...SIR...I don't prance. I sashay."

Sierra flips him off.

"When we get to Gall Canyon City, I will give you my bank card and you can go get what you need." Jack says, looking at Varkis. He then turns to Sierra with a little grin.

"Guess what you get to do."

All Sierra can do is look at Jack open-mouthed in shock that he would ask her to do something like that as Varkis laughs.

"Don't worry, sweetie," He places a hand on her shoulder as he walks over to her.

"It'll just be a girls day out." he says in a husky feminine voice.

"Jack, you can't be serious." Sierra implores.

"I know I said I won't make you do something you aren't comfortable with but there are times in this business that we must step out of our comfort zones to make a payout happen. We don't want anything destroyed, and those trigger happy guards don't have very good aim. We need you to lure them away enough to prevent anything from happening until we take care of Jorem and secure the building so they can't get in and break anything."

He grins. "After that, you can do with them what you want. Most of them deserve it anyway."

"Okay," she sighs defeated as color begins to rise in her cheeks, "if it's for the good of the crew, then I will do it."

She gets up and starts to walk back to her quarters.

"Um...Sierra..." Art stops her for a moment.

"Thank you." the horse smiles.

Sierra gives him a weak smile in return. "You're welcome, hun."

Varkis watches her walk away, his brow furrowed in thought. 'I wonder what is wrong with her. It's like someone just told her her puppy died or something.'

"Okay, we have a plan. We'll be at Gall Canyon City here soon so take this time to prepare. Art?"

The stallion looks up to Jack. "Hm?"

"Are you familiar with cloaking systems?"

"Yes. My father had been contracted by the federation quite a few times and learned about them. He taught me how to repair and tune them."

"Good, I need you to look into the ship's cloaking system. It quit working some time ago, and Quipi can only diagnose so much without actually removing anything."

Art nods and stands up.

"Will do captain!" He says as he heads out and down to the mechanical room.

Jack turns to Varkis and then looks over at Quipi. She stares at him for a moment before getting the hint.

"Okay! Fine! I'll go find someone else to talk to." she says before suddenly vanishing. Jack sighs before looking back to his navigator.

"Okay, I can tell you aren't a greenhorn. I just want to make sure you're safe. I have some lightweight armor that could probably fit under a dress. At the very least, let me give you one of the pocket, short duration plasma shields in case it gets bad."

"Sounds like a plan to me, sir. I was specialized in stealth tactics and silent takedowns, so hopefully I won't need it. But, as my grandfather used to say, it is better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it."

Jack nods.

"Good. Armory is just aft of the potable water holding tanks on the lower deck. There will be a passageway forward of the cargo hold that leads under the main deck. Armory will be the first door on the right. It also has a nice selection of blades."

"Oooh," Varkis said as he walks away rubbing his hands together.

Sierra walks into her quarters still looking downtrodden. She walks over to her closet and removes the little black dress, still on it's hanger, that she had worked so hard to de-wrinkle just minutes earlier.

She still remembered the day her mother gave it to her.

-

It was after she had just graduated from basic training. They were at home, and her mother walked into the room carrying a gift-wrapped box with a pink ribbon tied in a bow.

"I got you a little present, sweet pea." Her mother said handing her the box.

Sierra's eyes widened and she let out a small gasp of surprise as she accepted the box.

Once she had removed the wrapping paper and exposed the contents, she gasped, placing both her hands over her mouth before removing the little black dress from the box.

"Oh my gosh," she exclaimed as she gently held it in her hands. "It's gorgeous!"

"It's the one that you tried on in the shop before you left for basic training," her mother smiled. "It looked so good on you that I couldn't imagine you without it."

"Thank you, Mama." She said as she hugged her mother.

"Your father would have loved you in it."

-

"I was hoping to be able to wear this for something more than a distraction." She sighs as she places the dress back in her closet.

She then walks over and sits on the edge of her bed.

"Daddy, have I made a mistake?" she asks to no one in particular as she picks up the photo from her bedside table. A beeping noise rings out from the keypad next to the door to her room before Quipi's voice can be heard over it's intercom.

"Heya, Sierra! I was wondering if I could come in and hang out."

"Sure, Quipi," she says as she places the photo back on her bedside table. "Come on in. What's up?"

The room door slides open automatically and Quipi skips in. She could have just appeared inside but her ever growing fascination with living beings has caused her to try to stay among them as much as possible so they forget she is an AI and treat her like one of them. She sits down on the bed next to Sierra and looks around.

"Wow! I forgot how small these are."

Her gaze comes across the picture on the table.

"Who's that? Is that your father?"

"Yes," Sierra replies with a little sadness in her eyes, "I was about seven when that picture was taken."

Statistical body language analysis told Quipi something was wrong. She could identify the subtle facial changes and sense the minute variation in the gecko's heartbeat from the ultra sensitive sensory inputs scattered throughout the ship. Sierra was sad and it had something to do with her father.

Quipi wanted to feel what it was like. Deep within the algorithmic mish-mash of advanced bio-chemical processing and quantum data exchange, she wanted to feel it. Her beautiful white face softened as she knew was the most accepted behavior when conversing about sensitive subjects.

"He looks very handsome. What did he do? For a job, I mean." She asks, wanting to tread lightly on the subject for now.

"He was career military. He worked on weapons systems for starfighters and things like that. Daddy was a brilliant man."

She blushes after realizing what she just said.

The white fox watches her for a moment before smiling. "He sounds like it. I bet you two were very close."

"We were," she says smiling at the memory of her father. "He was my daddy, and I was his little princess."

She wipes a single tear from her eye before continuing.

"He went missing after I turned seventeen. Just disappeared one night, he never came back to our quarters in the station, and no one knew where he was or where he went. I spent eight years in the military toughening myself up so I could find him and bring him home...alive...or dead."

Comforting was a difficult thing and Quipi knew it. There were so many variables involved and everyone was different. The white fox scooted over and placed a holographic hand on Sierra's shoulder, knowing touch was beyond her capability but at least wanting to show a gesture of comfort.

"You are very strong, Sierra. I believe you can do it. Love is very powerful." She could not feel it herself, but Quipi knew how much love affected others. Maybe one day she could learn.

Sierra smiles warmly at Quipi's gesture. "Thank you, sweetheart."

She pauses for a moment as if she were considering something.

"My problem, Quipi," she begins, "is that this whole tough bitch personality is something I have adopted to help me survive until I find my father. I am really a girly girl. I usually like wearing skirts and cute clothes...and I am honestly really excited about going shopping with Varkis."

She is blushing intensely at this point.

"Honestly, I don't know how long I can balance the two personalities, and this crew is my only hope of finding my father."

Bio-electrical neurons fire intensely as Quipi begins pulling up volume after volume of physiological works and cross references study after study, looking for an answer in the brief moment she allowed for her depiction to seem like she's processing what the gecko said.

In a moment of frustration as the white fox couldn't find the right phrase to provide optimum balance between comforting and advice, something Jack said to her some time ago suddenly replayed clearly from her memory bank as a keyword she had spat out seemed to match something he said. Jack had never steered her wrong.

"Sierra, we are family now. We look after each other no matter what. What makes you happy, makes us happy. Jack has never wronged me or anyone he cared about, and I believe him when he says he will take care of us. Even if Varkis seems like a bitch, I feel he has a softer side, and the look Art gave you after you reacted to what Jorem did to him and how you agreed to do something that you seemed you didn't want to do...hun, you have shown you care and you heard how he would do anything for those that are close to him with how dedicated he is to carrying out his father's wishes."

Something inside the fox's thought formulation clicks and Quipi's hologram glitches for a very brief moment as something that has never happened before shocks her to the core processor. A new neurological connection zaps together within the glowing bio-electrical quantum processing center in the middle of the ship, and suddenly what Jack said made sense.

"Sierra, we're here for you. We're here for each other now."

Sierra smiles. "Thank you, sweetie. If I could hug you I would."

Quipi giggles a little and leans closer to the gecko as if giving her a hug. "That's okay, just talking with you makes me feel better!"

The white fox really did feel something significant was gained. A new connection that she could explore.

Jack's voice suddenly comes over the intercom.

"ETA to Gall Canyon City twenty minutes! We will go over our objectives for the day once we arrive and eat. I'm sure you guys are getting hungry. I know I am."