FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Head Case

By Zatarra L. Vulpe

The window took not even a full minute to open. Jek poked his beanie capped head in. Nothing. It was pure white inside, kind of like those utopist colonies near Saturn. He didn't know they still sprung for the fancy stuff on earth, but he supposed this kind of compound could afford it. Then you'd figure they could also skim for a point defense system or at least a decent alarm.

Jek slipped in and felt a twitch in his eye. His vision flicked over to electromag. Not a thing. Jek knew this place was off the grid, but he'd never been in a facility without so much as a pressure trigger or microcams, even those mini mikes they can practically weave into clothing now. Just the lights, and even those weren't motion sensitive. At least... So far as he knew.

He didn't even come into a room, just a hallway with white everywhere, not even seams on the walls and flooring. Even his short profile was suffocated in whiteness.

"So? No radio shielding?"

"No, nothing."

"What do you mean nothing?"

"I mean nothing, no security, I should be lit up like a fusion core and I'm getting nothing here."

"That can't be right."

"Just sayin' what I see man."

"Just scan the place, you give us the go ahead and we'll be in."

"Right."

His legs are sort of splayed, he moves down the hall slowly at first, but after a full three or four minutes he starts up his comms.

"Hey, cops?"

"Nothing."

"Shit, they're really open here."

"Watch out man, they've probably got something hidden in there."

Jek saw just one thing to tip him off: a tiny arrow set in the wall at about eye level, pointing down a hallway. Jek glanced left and right, then down the hall. He set his eye to everything, overlaying thermals, electromag, radio vid, nothing. He was broadcasting like a beacon but the rest of the room was beyond ordinary, it was just dead. Jek made it through the doorway at the end. He was in a perfectly smooth room. The hall behind him was sealed off as though it hadn't even been there.

"Uh, guys?"

"Yeah we're here."

"I'm a room that just sealed."

"Uh... Okay, so is anything happening?"

"Nope, just... Wait..."

Another doorway had opened. Jek took a few steps closer.

"I'm gonna flip on my sim, is Maks on the line?"

"He will be in a sec, you'd better not die in there."

Jek's sim flipped on. He liked to think he could feel it, his nerves transmitted to anyone picking up his streaming. He was pretty sure that was just Maks at the moment, but he liked to think he'd be in the sim-grams someday.

The next room started in a long walkway over what looked like a center vault. The room around it was totally empty, just a thick, black box with a handle. Jek frowned.

"Maks says that looks pretty suspicious."

"Oh no kidding."

"Alright, just hang out there, we're gonna move to where you came in and bring the punch gear. Maks is keeping in sim to watch over your shit."

"Great."

Jeks wasn't armed. More of a liability if corporate security found you. Generally if he acted like he'd just wandered in somewhere there was about a fifty-fifty whether or not the private security goons would buy it, the other fifty would rely on how much it would cost to be a 'short-term customer.' Worst case he'd end up in a cell till someone else needed a job done.

Which is why he nearly dropped a load when the other end of the hall opened up. Jeks went all smiles and tried not to think about the weird robes happening on this person. Jeks was pretty sure the only places robes are worn are on the fantasy-construct-sim-grams and in cults. Corps were easy to predict, they were all business, cults not so much.

"Oh, hey, uh, sorry, I was just looking for some rock and-"

"What are you doing in this sector?!"

Jeks jerked slightly. "Uh, what?"

The robed woman had a long hood, covering the whole of her face. Jeks was pretty sure she was a woman because her voice was high, but it could have been a guy with null-augs or a man sized security drone, problem being her movements were too even to be natural, too uneven to be artificial. It screamed ritual practice. Cults.

"What are you doing in this sector of the compound? You are not scheduled for maintaining security in this zone."

"Uh, I just got here."

"That is not an excuse for improper security procedure. And you're in the improper uniform."

She seemed to growl. Jek just kind of shrugged. "Listen, maybe I should go-"

"No no no no no! You need to follow proper procedure, come with me."

Her robe raised and grabbed his arm. He tried to use it to balance for a roundhouse to her stomach. His leg made contact, and rebounded. He felt a shock of pain arc up his calf as it came back down. She must have been some kind of droid, her flesh didn't give at all. Jek wasn't strong, but he liked to think he could do damage. She didn't even flinch, especially didn't let go of his arm.

"Don't struggle, you need to be re-educated and assigned to your correct zone."

Jek was practically dragged, even planting his feet wouldn't stop her from pulling him forward. He swore a few times and kept hoping the guys would be bringing noise sometime soon.

Jek had lost track of where they were. The hallways all blended together, it didn't help that she was practically running. When Jek tripped the third time she just picked him up and ran him along. Jek tried to sock her in the face with his fist but she simply ignored it. Jek shook his hand and hoped he hadn't broken anything.

She stopped in front of another door panel. It slid open and inside was a fairly open room. There are several glass tubes and a large, central panel of neon green fluid and grand, glowing computer monitors.

"Chirurgeon Animi."

A large chair from behind what appears to be a large, glowing tube of fluid turns toward Jek and his captor.

She was huge, like nearly seven or eight feet tall. She had brilliant green fur with jet lines from the tip of her snout to her long, triangular ears. She was wearing a thick set of robes, but she was barely contained within them. Her muscles were easily defined through her fur. She was large, obviously powerful, but had a strange lithe muscularity, she was more graceful than sheer bulk.

"Ah, centurio securitatem, you appear to have one who's lost their way."

"Yes, this one does not follow procedure."

The great wolf amongst her glowing fluid stood and pressed several buttons, several of the tubes lighting up, running through several roman numerals.

"Put this one in the first."

"Okay!"

The tube slides into an open position, the large plastic lifting enough to for centurio to slip Jek inside. The tube slid closed and Jek stared in amazement as the large thing that had carried him here slides her hood back and is gently pet by the large green wolf. The woman in the robe was a large yellow wolf herself.

"Good girl Centi, you did a very good thing today."

Her muzzle fell open and she panted gently, her knees folding as she fell to all fours. The green wolf pressed a few other buttons, but never stopped rubbing the muscular wolf girl behind her ears. As soon as she finished she leaned in and lapped at Centi's neck.

"Go inform Imperitor, I'm sure she'll have a lovely reward for you."

"I will Churi! I'll tell her how nice you were to me too!"

The green wolfess laughed as she waved. Meanwhile Jek watched a set of tentacles reeling out of the bottom of the tube. One attached like a skullcap and another like a rebreather, just in time for the tube to fill with neon green fluid. Jek didn't really mind, the skullcap sent a charge straight into his body and shut off his senses.

Maks just started screaming. Conn and Telo ripped off his trode headband and pulled the battery out of his 'slate.

"Shit, he's pretty much fried."

"Black ice?"

"Nah, wouldn't have been so obvious, something must have happened to Jek. He said he could handle sim."

"Jek might be dead."

"Could be."

"Might also have force-cut his sim."

"Might have."

They waited five minutes. Then ten. Then fifteen. Nothing. No signal from Jek, no mobilization of security, none of the private security groups. Conn and Telo were thinking the same thing: Jek smashed, grabbed, and bailed on them. Not a big surprise in their line of work. That said, Jek had a big corporate bounty on his head.

Conn was loading his shotgun with the stunner shells while Telo put his shock gloves on over his carbon-fiber fists. One of them could knock the wind out of a charging bull elephant in must, much less a scrawny break-enter-boy with delusions of grandeur. They set the van to auto-drive and buckled Maks into the passenger seat. They hustled up to the very same window Jeks had been to almost a half hour previous.

Jeks was no longer Jeks. The Chiurgeon Animi had been sure to clean out those thoughts. She sent him through the standard stuff: time dilated indoctrination program while a few retro-virii and nanite swarms remade him.

Jeks wouldn't mind, of course. By the time they were finished he'd spent years among his soon to be sisters, many like himself who'd been through the same initiations. Certainly he'd been resistant at first, but a good measure of subliminal messaging and specially programmed and adaptive trust exercises made quick work of that. As far as Jeks knew, he'd spent a good sixty years in Paradisum, the coming paradise as envisioned by the Imperator.

And it had been rough. He started in a watery cave, nearly drowning, as all the sisters had. He was short, but eventually passed the drowning that comes before rebirth. Jeks had never been in a natural cave before. As he coughed and sputtered, he crawled upon the flat stones that would be his first time on land, as many creatures had evolved according to the Imperator. He would spit out the water and find his way through the cave. He would then find the entrance, leading him to a thick forest. He would be lost for days, amid sweltering heat and never ending hunger.

On what seemed the last day, when Jeks seemed to be giving up, she would come. Her fur would be arctic white, a mane of hair long and drifting, like calm snow. Her eyes were piercing blue, or maybe amber, none were ever truly sure. She stood nearly twice the size of any who'd seen her, but had somehow preserved grace along with her musculature. Her expression was always serene, movements careful and precise.

"Oh man, who are you?"

Her paw would drift to Jeks as it had to so many like him, open with pinkish pads revealed, her muzzle conveying a simple smile with gentle lips. Jeks felt something stir inside of him, but he wasn't sure what. He also wasn't sure what made him reach for her hand, maybe desperation, maybe something else.

She would pick him up, easily. She could crush him, crush the world in her grip, but she let him lie amid her biceps as she walked, soon bringing him to a village. There were few actual dwellings, those that did exist were made entirely of leaves and wood, sticks and soft, gently woven wool. And there were others there. Green, pink, blue, violet, orange, striped, dotted, metallic gold. All of them in the image of the large wolf woman that was so tender to him. Not one of them, including himself, had a scrap of clothing, but no one seemed to mind. Jek quickly learned that there was simply no need, not amongst the sisters.

Time didn't get the chance to crawl for Jek. The sisters integrated him into their daily activities: Jek would choose a suitable boulder for them to train with, or a small mountain they could easily pummel into boulders. Even if Jek himself couldn't participate, he was almost constantly exerting himself, running from place to place, using what the Imperator had given him as a rough guide. Even then, watching the sisters joyfully heft rocks weighing in tons was quite the sight. Jek would be given something smaller to work with: a heavy tree limb, a comparatively tiny rock, swimming lessons, that sort of thing.

Afterwords, Jek would 'help' with the hunt. The sisters gave him a knife, with which Jek thought meant he would be the one doing the hunting. As it turned out he was merely on cleanup duty. The sisters would find and hunt down food, give Jek his own meal, then have him take care of what's left. Every they handed Jek the remains it was usually a mess, but the sisters assured him the animal never suffered. Not that he had trouble believing them, but he usually had to work past his revulsion to even start skinning the thing.

The first year was slow, gentle, indoctrinating. Even if Jek resisted the others would make it plain that this is the world the Imperator promises, that they had her to thank for bringing about all that surrounds Jek and the sisters. Jek kept nodding his head, mostly because he was sure they could flatten him without trying. But when the Imperator spoke... something... happened. It was like something was wearing away at him. He was skeptical, sure, but she was so beautiful, something about her purity made it hard not to see where she made sense.

She taught them, every day. The lesson might be a few mere words to meditate on, it might be various subjects for most of the day. The problem with Jek's resistance is most of it was based on things he already knew: the government collapses, privatized legislation, formation of the United Corporations, The Grid-Burnouts of twenty fifty-nine, Jek had lived for nearly half of it and heard the rest from the last genners before most of them died off.

Except it wasn't just history. It was stuff that made Jek's head spin. High level economics, corporate espionage, stuff that made Jek's b and e look microscopic. Jek was learning how to read human body language faster than an AR readout on his cyber eye. The whole time from that ever passive face, glowing with light and smiling with uninterrupted joy every time he answered a question correctly. He was almost attending more for that than the information.

Soon he noticed changes. His body was getting stronger, certainly, thicker muscle tone and leaner physique, but little things too: His nose was sloping forward, nails getting a little harder, darker, hair growing out red. Each little change was complemented by the sisters, touched and held by them. At first Jek found it too weird, then just sort of got used to it.

That was until his hips were widening, his gentiles shrinking. Chest growing. Emotions getting stronger.

Jek hadn't worn clothing for some time, he'd just gotten used to it, there was no need for protection here, but he found himself... embarrassed. He was so used to being covered that his nakedness hit him like a wall. Suddenly he didn't want to see the others, tried to hide or wander on his own. He found he was too attached. He felt this strange ache. He felt shame. He didn't want them to see him like this, this weakness.

Jek found his way back to the cave, where he'd started years ago. He hid inside of it, listened to the running water, tried to hide himself from the snakes and bats and other animals that called it home. He waited there for three days.

"Jek?"

He knew the voice, the one that never spoke without reason, ever level and ever gentle.

"Jek, what is wrong?"

Jek felt something catch in his throat.

"Are you okay Jek? Please, I am here Jek."

"I'm... I'm not..."

She remained quiet, but he could see from his spot in the cave: her normally serene face was gently marred by concern. Her expression rarely changed, in the years he'd known her, she was ever patient, ever optimistic. She must be truly worried for him.

"I'm not... I'm changing, and I'm not... I'm not beautiful, or strong..."

Imperator's concern vanished, then a smile, a new one, bright, overflowing with happiness.

"Wh-what's-"

"You silly thing, no one ever said you had to be beautiful or strong."

Jek stared at her.

"No one will reject you for being weaker than they are, no one will take advantage of you, Jek."

Jek felt himself cracking.

"We love you Jek. I love you."

Jek ran to her, tears streaming down his face. She allowed him to hug her, as much around her waist as his arms could go. It felt like he'd cried into her fur for a day, but she never complained. Only when Jek himself looked up to her did she utter another word.

"Want to come back now?"

Jek could only nod. "I-I'll walk Imperator."

"Of course, I'll be beside you the entire time."

Her footfalls were gentle, even for being as large as she was. Never once was Jek scared of being caught underfoot. It took them nearly the entire day at Jek's pace, but they returned with only that gentle, passive smile of the Imperator and his own lopsided grin when he would look back at her.

"You're back Jek!"

"Are you okay? Are you unhurt?"

"We missed you Jek, we didn't have anyone to tell us stories after the hunt!"

Jek smiled and was hugged by them. Their impressive muscles easily coated him, but he was never in danger. Jek felt warm, fur ruffling against his skin.

He'd been there nearly a decade when the sisters asked him to join him on a hunt. Jek was essentially female, his muscles were large, close to human norm, but he had a light, downy coat of fur that thickened near his limbs. He would hunt, and he would do so their way; bare handed, onto a target of his choosing.

When he targeted a Skull Mammoth, the other sisters seemed to take on a grim cast to their features. Skull Mammoths were nearly the size of the Imperator herself, it would take more than one of them to take it down, much less Jek. He would be treated as all sisters are: he would be given a chance on his own until he asks for assistance. The sisters grew silent, moved in the trees and allowed him to work.

Jek whistled to the Skull Mammoth. It's trademark skullcap gleamed like polished metal. It's tusks were set with skeletal remains of lesser creatures. It was also in must. At mere sight of him, it charged. Jek saw the sisters in the trees stare on in shock as he allowed it to charge. The thing brought it's trunk down along with footfalls thicker than tree trunks. Jek's eyes widened, but he held until it was nearly upon him.

When he disappeared, the sisters held firm, but many were in shock, and prepared to spring upon the creature. That is, until they saw him climbing up the side, reaching the top in no time. The creature's fur was nearly a forest in and of itself. He ran across it's back with as much lightness as he could hope. It's trunk came down when he reached its shoulder blades.

There was a collective gasp from the woods. The Imperator looked on, her smile gone. The trunk shifted. None moved, even the Mammoth grew still. The air quiet, dusty, thick, like the world Jek knew. The weight surely should have crushed him there. The weight of those that couldn't trust him, of trillion and more dollar trades and ruthless efficiency. This kind of weight would have sunk Jek into a hole he'd never climb out of. He probably would have just been dead in the streets, addicted to something burning out his neurons piece by piece until he was a brain dead mess. He would fail, and no one would be there to mourn him.

The trunk rebounded. Jek stood, bruised but breathing. He was between the thing's ears before the trunk slapped the ground. The Mammoth bucked, then heaved forward. It's neck jerked as Jek brough his fist down at the top of its skull. It shook and fell on the second blow. It was still alive, but probably concussed.

The sisters cheered. Jek smiled, panting, aching, but forgetting about that. Jek felt his muscles burn distantly as he brought up his leg and put it down, into the thing's brain. He heard a heavy crack below him, though he wasn't sure if it was his own bone or the mammoth skull.

Jek was made an honorary sister that day, even given a title for her deed: 'Skullbreaker.' Titles were rare among the sisters. 'Jek' didn't even continue that day. Ever after, the creature that was Jek would be known as Skullbreaker, also shortened amongst sisters to Skull or Breaky.

Skull quickly gained more in the way of muscle. She wanted to prove her title to be truth, and thus did all things to her limit. Imperator was most pleased at her determination, and for it many times Skull was given affection by her and the sisters. It drove her, their lovely tongues, their warm bodies, the lovely way they would touch each other and sleep together. The Imperator loved this, even in the midst of duties or teaching, and would often join her daughters should they prove more affectionate than usual. Even their competition was light hearted, loving, always with the assurance of their acceptance of one another.

Of course, the time came. Skull had been prepared. The day her fur was full, her eyes were a brilliant yellow, when she stood over even many of her fellow sisters. Skull Mammoths were as toys to her, she'd rarely push herself past the point of exertion anymore, but that point was beyond even many of her fellows.

The Imperator stood at the foot of the cave with her.

"Are you prepared to be my agent in the world, Skullbreaker?"

"Anything for you, Imperator."

"Good, you have done very well here among us. You know enough to rule that world which lies outside, but never forget this: you are among your sisters. No matter your title and your strength, you must always have them in mind, dearest Skullbreaker, and with your size, you must protect them, protect our founding of utopia. Can you bear the weight of our civilization and maintain your loyalty?"

"I will my lady."

The Imperator smiled brightly. Skullbreaker swore she could see tears staining her fur.

"Then go, take my love and the love of your sisters with you."

"I will my lady, you shall always have my heart."

It was then that she opened her eyes.

Conn and Telo were sitting on either side of the hallway. There really wasn't any security in this place. They were pretty sure Jek made it to the end of the hall without any resistance. They even made it into the same room Jek was in not thirty minutes ago. Everything looked clean, the safe was still closed, for all they knew he'd never even been there.

"The shit? Do you think that guy was a sec. force snitch or something?"

"Not that idiot, are you kidding?"

"Maybe it's an act."

"Would have to be a pretty good act, I saw that guy doing sim-rides like it was a drug."

"Well shit, maybe they got him or something."

"With what? This place is-"

The door slid open.

Conn had his shotgun up in a second, but she was practically on him. She had a tight thong around her hips. Rather than a bra, she had more of a pair of black tape marks over her nipples. She stood a full head taller than Telo, hardware limbs and all. Her left biceps was bigger than Conn's chest, easily. Her fur was bright red, primary color red. Her under fur was a little more creamy, but it was her eyes that shook Conn, their piercing yellow. Her every movement seemed to reveal more of her impossible muscle tone, the strange grace of her powerful limbs almost alluring if they weren't totally nightmarish. She smiled at them.

"Hi boys, coming along quietly?"

Conn replied with a stunner shell to the chest. At that range, easily lethal, the bag inside would hit harder than a car crash and was the size of a brick. It slapped into her abs and bounced off, slamming into Telo's left leg and shattering the prosthesis off at the knee. Telo fell and put a carbon fiber fist into her knee, full strength. The arm made a sick crunching noise, like a pop can.

Skullbreaker glanced between them. "Done?"

Conn shot her dead on in the forehead, the shotgun's kick nearly throwing it out of his hands. The bag rebounded off of her skull with a thick slap of force on skin, though for all it affected her it might as well have hit a brick wall.

"I think you need to be more careful with your toys."

Skullbreaker grabbed the shotgun, pried it easily out of his grip, and snapped it between her fingers, chucking the remains down toward the safe. She then picked them both up under her arms. Telo kept trying to hit her with his functional limbs, and when that became tiring she brought his leg under hers, separating it at the knee and leaving it on the floor. She then gripped his elbow with her teeth and bit straight through it, dropping the forearm daintily and assuring her grip wouldn't hurt the wiggling torso.

Skullbreaker sniffed, following her nose back to the Churi's office. She was careful not to go too fast, didn't want to bump into something and break it.

The Chiurgeon's eyes lit up with surprise when she returned.

"Calvarium Ruptor?"

"I scented these two a moment ago, I thought you might be interested in them Churi."

She stared at the fellow wolf woman for a moment and then smiled brightly. "Well done Skull, I think you'll have the entire east coast soon at this rate."

Skull smiled. One couldn't see her blush, but the way her ears twitched were intimately familiar to Churi. The green wolfess reached up to pet her and they shared a gentle kiss before she relieved her of the pair, throwing them into tubes and starting up the process. Skull's tongue hung out of her muzzle and she wiggled her hips in a sort of puppy way while her tail wagged.

"Which is good, the Imperator believes she'll be moving up her plans."

"We'll make her manifest?"

"Soon, love."

Skull grinned as Churi grasped her paw. "I think these two can handle themselves. Shall we meet with the other sisters to discuss the Imperator's plans?"

Skull lapped her muzzle gently. "Of course Churi, lets."

The pair of muscular wolf women trotted toward the door as the men would wake up in a distant cave.