FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Part 1

Kaily opened her eyes. There was a bad smell in the air, like when Daddy had started a fire in the fireplace but didn't clean out the avian nest. She didn't like that smell. Her seat-belt was still fastened but the car wasn't moving anymore so she reached down and clicked the little button that opened it. Her present was on the floor the white box lying on its side with the red ribbon pressed against the front seat. She reached down and picked it up slowly then looked over the back of the front seat.

Mommy and Daddy always said she should move away from that smell whenever she smelled it so she opened the door and got out slowly. The bad smell was worse out here, mixed with the smell from when Daddy said they had to get gas. Carefully looking both ways she walked off to the side of the road and sat down by a tree hoping that she was far enough away.

She wondered why Mommy and Daddy didn't come with her. She stood up and was about go back to look for them when she heard a loud bang then another one. It scared her so much that she just turned and ran into the woods away from the sounds. She wasn't that far away when a louder BOOM knocked her off her feet and she landed heavily on the box that held her birthday present. For a long time she didn't remember anything else.

* * * * *

"Tony, why are we going to the south side?" Andrew was panting kind of heavily as he tried to keep up with his slender companion. "Is it 'cause of that rumor? Dude so they said it was a Raccoon like you that doesn't mean anything." He tried to place a hand on Tony's shoulder but couldn't reach him and was left scurrying to follow in his friend's foot pads.

Tony's whole focus was on getting to the spot of the sightings as soon as possible. He remembered what it was like being alone and young on the streets and he didn't want that to happen to this kit whoever it was.

The two teens skidded to a halt just outside of a yellow police taped off area. Both hunched in their too thin ripped jackets and surveyed the sight before them. The news had been full of pictures earlier showing in detail the accident that happened here two days ago. A carrier truck had smashed into a personal vehicle crumpling the front end and most of the drivers side. The resulting explosion seemed to have blown the rear passenger door open and displayed remains of the two people as the paramedics took charge of the bodies.

Both boys turned away from the sight not wanting to see the charred spot on the pavement where it all went down. Instead they turned to the wooded area just behind the road and headed off in that direction. "Tony? Tony! What if the kit got out of that car?" Andrew couldn't help thinking about how messed up that would make him. Not to mention the burns and stuff that must have happened to the kit. "Maybe we should call the cops and give them an anonymous tip? Let them handle it?"

But Tony was too focused on what he was doing to listen to his friend's concerns. He started sniffing around low to the ground trying to sort through all the scents to find one that was most like his own. It took a while before he was able to find the light almost dissipated traces of raccoon scent that lead toward the older part of the park. With Andy following along like a faithful canine he most certainly wasn't, Tony poked his nose into anything that looked even remotely like it might hold a small raccoon.

It took almost two hours for the boys to find what Tony was after. In an old abandoned ditch pushed so far back that only the eyes, which glowed golden in the dim light, were visible was a small raccoon child. He, or she it was hard to tell, hissed warningly as they got closer.

Tony was impressed, the spot was well hidden and easily defensible, had it's own water supply, not that he'd trust the muddy liquid that flowed past his feet, and was within a short distance of the nearest source of food, the dumpsters behind three take out restaurants. Who ever this kit was he was smart.

Andrew came puffing up behind Tony and looked over his shoulder. "Shit! Kit looks small enough to be feral! Are you sure you want to do this Tony? He could have rabies or something worse!"

But Tony was already in motion. First he crouched down on all four, then he started inching forward through the mud and grime all the while uttering a soft purring sound that he remembered his mother making when she wanted him to feel safe.

Andy gave up trying to talk his friend out of this mad scheme, found a comfortable looking rock and sat down to wait. He kept fidgeting with the bag he carried, hoping the doughnuts inside weren't too squished.

* * * * *

Several people had come by in the last few days. They didn't all see her which was good, the ones who did had either laughed at her and threw things or tried to get her to come out. Mommy and Daddy had told her never to go with strangers so she stayed hidden hoping they would just go away and until now they all had. But it had been days now since she'd last seen Mommy and Daddy. She was cold, wet, hungry and thirsty. All she wanted was to go home but she didn't know where home was or how to get there.

She was pretty sure the Nana's knew but it was hard to talk to them. They listened just fine but they couldn't talk back so she wasn't able to get directions from them. They had kept her from drinking the water here, every time she tried they turned into an angry red light which she knew meant danger.

The sore spot on her forehead was throbbing again but she knew better than to touch it. That would just make it hurt more and make the Nana's get all red again. Most people didn't have Nana's. Daddy said they were a special gift he gave her and Mommy and she wasn't supposed to talk about them with other people. She didn't understand all of what he said about the Nana's, all she knew was that they were there to help her and protect her when Mommy and Daddy couldn't be.

There was a boy looking at her. He looked kind of like Daddy.

* * * * *

Genus: Procyon Sapient.

Species: Raccoon.

Gender: Male.

Development: Subadult.

_Genetic Compatibility: 73%. _

Threat Assessment: 7%.

* * * * *

There was a boy looking at her. He looked kind of like Daddy.

There was another boy too, he didn't look like Daddy.

* * * * *

Genus: Pumas Sapient.

Species: Cougar.

Gender: Male.

Development: Subadult.

_Genetic Compatibility: 52%. _

Threat Assessment: 19%.

* * * * *

There was a boy looking at her. He looked kind of like Daddy.

There was another boy too, he didn't look like Daddy.

She missed Daddy. Slowly she moved forward a little, her eyes blinking as the light nearly blinded her after so long in her hiding place. Maybe the boy knew where Daddy was? She clutched tighter to her present as it started to slip forward, toward the boy. The boy who looked like Daddy. Daddy? Where was Daddy?

* * * * *

"Daddy?" the small bundle of raccoon said as whatever was holding it in place inside the ditch suddenly let go and it came tumbling, along with a mangled box that had once been wrapped in pretty white paper and scarlet ribbon, out into Tony's outstretched arms.

Part 2

Hot. Blistering. You could fry eggs on the rocks beside the road. The smaller of the two suns was almost incandescent white as it blazed in the eastern portion of the sky. The larger sun was a normal gas giant, but it's heat added to that of the more brilliant star, so there was no relief. Sweat poured off Venn's body, dripping from his fingertips, his nose, puddling in his boots to make his socks squish. His shirt was dripping, and his pants fared not much better as he plodded along the side of the road heading for the front of the slow moving convoy.

Fifty-seven other men, the entire platoon, were in similar condition. Meathead, the platoon's clown, couldn't even muster the energy to call out one of his stupid jokes as the horse plodded past. He had his orders: His team was headed for the nearest outcropping of trees, 50 or so kilometers distant. They had gotten word from headquarters that the oasis, surrounded by the trees, might be booby-trapped. Stupid kid had no idea what he was talking about, babbling on about snipers and the safety of the mission. Mission. Some mission. A whole platoon to guard one irresponsible diplomat, her three unwed daughters, and two truck-loads of supplies on a five-day trip into the Badlands of Durango Minor. The only reason the kid was leading this mission at all was because he was the whippet bitches only son.

"You think Humans would've designed us better. If they were gonna send us out in this kind hellish nightmare, the least they could have done is given us a more efficient cooling system." Venn grumbled as he caught up to where Adam was idly chatting with their other guest on this trip. She was a blue tick hound, her white coat so speckled with black that it almost looked gray. She and her cameraman, a brown mink, had been granted two of the seats in the second scout vehicle. Something that didn't sit well with the scout teams.

"Oh, quit your moaning, pony; it's too blasted hot for that," Adam said just before he spat off to his left. Venn actually found it surprising that the Cacomistle still still had anything left to spit in this heat. "What's the news from command?"

"LT says he wants us to scout that stand of trees ahead; thinks the oasis might be booby-trapped or some other bloody childish notion. As if anybody would hang around in this hellhole." Venn shifted the carry strap of his rifle more to the center of his back allowing a rivulet of sweat to give him some minor relief from the heat as it trailed along his backbone. "What do you think? "

Without slowing or turning, the Cacomistle once more spat to the side. "I think this is a milk run, and so do you, V. Seriously? A whole platoon to guard one little whippet bitch and her litter? We're in a war zone; wouldn't you think she could have taken the pups back to the embassy, where they'd be safe?"

"You know it's political, Adam. She's showing her power to move freely about through the area. It's supposed to strike fear into the hearts of her enemies." Venn frowned at the trees the sergeant had mentioned; something seemed off there. This planetoid didn't have avians. It was something that bugged Venn; he liked the flighty little critters making noise and being a nuisance. Here, the only place they could fly was at the spaceport in their little gravity cages. He missed seeing them moving about between the trees, missed the way their nests built up year after year. The thought stirred up his nostalgia, and without thinking about it, he asked, "Been a while; are you going home after this one, Adam? Take some time off and see the worlds?"

Adam snorted. He did a fair impression of a horse when he did that, but then he had learned from the best. "Did you forget I was born on this shit-hole, V? Only escape for me and the rest of the family was enlisting, and then they go and station me here." He spit again, this time with disgust, directly under the wheels of the ground car that was transporting their current assignment. "Guess I'll have to fall back on Old Faithful -- find me a lady's got enough money and clout to get us off this rock." He flashed a winning smile at the lady reporter even as he put some distance between himself and her decidedly interested ears.

"Adam, I've told you before: It doesn't have to be a lady, you know." Venn brushed his shoulder against the cacomistle's. "I'm more than happy to take you and the whole family off." It was an old argument, one that Venn knew he had no chance of winning, but he couldn't help putting it out there yet again.

"No, man; we've talked about it, and I know how you feel, but I just can't..." Adam ran a black-furred paw over his face and forehead, dislodging his helmet for a moment before he righted it again. "It's fine for you and Yoel, because you're made that way. It's not my thing." They fell into silence, each caught in his own side of the silent argument, so they didn't notice Jake coming up behind them.

"What's the word, Pony -- are we moving out?" the short yet sturdily built mouse asked.

"Yeah, Jane."

The mouse's face darkened in a sweat-soaked frown. "I hate it when you call me that."

"What? Your last name's Austin, even if it's spelled wrong. You're Jane Austin. Get used to it." Venn paused then added dryly, "Gather up the boys; we're going on a wild goose chase. Drop your gear with the second scout car and grab two full canteens each; we're double-timing it over to the Oasis. LT wants to know if there's turkeys in them there trees." He bobbed his head in the direction they'd be taking cutting across the open scrubland while the rest of the convoy follow the road.

Private Austin grumbled a little as he walked away from the horse, heading across the convoy towards the other three waiting members Venn's team.

"Kid having a hard time fitting in?"

Adam's comment pulled Venn around to shoot a withering look at him, then turned back to watch as his team assembled. "No, just the usual. It's his first tour, so he's kind of touchy. He'll settle in." Both Venn and Adam had seen this before -- new recruits got a nickname they didn't like from some of the veterans in the squad, and it took a while settle down. They didn't understand: The more you fought the nickname, the faster it stuck.

Venn shouldered his combat weapon and pulled the plastic coated map out of his pocket as he headed towards the second moving scout vehicle. Shoving the cameraman's feet off the base of the machine gun platform, he spread the map out and beckoned his team around, including Adam in the group since, as the other team lead in the same squad, he would also need to know what the plan was.

"Where about here," Venn said, placing his large finger on what looked like a dirt track on the map. "LT wants us to scout the scrubland between here and right over here by these trees." He indicated the oasis maybe 70 km along the road. "But as you can see, we're talking only about maybe 30 km of scrubland; the road takes a detour around some of the worst of it. We figure if we send the first scout vehicle -- that would be your guys, Weasel." He purposely used Adam's nickname as a way to drive home his earlier lesson to private Austin. "They should provide enough of a distraction to anyone waiting there that we can sneak in the back door." He grinned at his fellow corporal. "Yep, you're playing bait, Weasel." At this comment, Adam waved his team in so they could be in on the briefing.

"They say anything about keeping an eye out along the road? Any indications of trouble along that way?" the cacomistle asked, knowing that Venn would have gotten as much information out of the higher-ups as they were willing to part with.

"The only place they suggest you scout individually was right here, where the southern road meets what looks like the road to a local village. Serge said as far as he knows the village is neutral, but we both know 'neutral' can mean 'hiding enemies.' They don't expect anything else along the roadway." At Adam's nod, Venn continued to address his own team. "Our task is a little more difficult; we don't get to ride in one of these nice vehicles." He patted the tailgate of scout vehicle fondly. "We get to run double-time through the scrub without drawing attention to ourselves to scout from the backside of the oasis in."

He held the map in place to give all the men a chance take a look at their assigned routes and see the difficulties that lay along both the road and the proposed path to the scrub. When each of them had nodded and stepped back, he folded the map up and grinned at them all impartially. "This is where we earn our pay, boys. Those of you on my team: Service weapons only, two full canteens, and expect to be ready to go in two minutes." He nodded to each of the other four members of his team term, patted Adam on the shoulder, and headed back down the convoy to collect his own two canteens of water.

* * * * *

Everything had gone according to plan. They were somewhere around 10 km off the oasis when Adam's team started moving again. They'd spent maybe a half-hour scouting around the fork in the road, making it very obvious what they were doing.

Venn's team was in pretty good shape, none of them too winded or overly exhausted by the heat. He gave a silent signal to move out, started closing in on their objective. The team was so focused on moving without making much sound or draw any attention to themselves that they didn't notice what was happening at first. Austin suddenly threw his fisted paw up, calling for a halt, then pointed to something in the distance along the path the Scout vehicle was taking.

It took a few moments for Venn to figure out what he was trying to get across, there being a few meters between them, but as the mouse's paw signals grew more frantic, Venn's eyes widened and he whipped his head around to stare at the unfolding scene before him. The scout vehicle was moving slower than it had been for the first 30 or so km, with two of the team walking in front to either side and two walking back to either side.

What Austin had seen and brought to his attention could easily have been mistaken for an avian nest. It was about halfway up one of the taller trees on the outskirts of the road and looked like misshapen lump, flat on top but bulky underneath. To further fool the mind, whoever set it up seemed to have put pieces of leaves or paper on a string at random intervals around the tree that would flutter in the breeze to mimic the flight of small avians. The ruse worked; if it hadn't been for Private Austin's sharp eyes, none of Venn's team would've realized anything was amiss.

Unfortunately they weren't close enough to do anything except break radio silence. Venn weighed the options, crouched between scrub plants and an outcropping of rock as he watched Adam and the other scout team draw closer and closer to the waiting ambush. Silently castigating himself, he turned, shaded his eyes, and looked back over the convoy. Everything seemed all right there, but behind them, he could see multiple dust trails approaching at a much faster pace than they were moving.

Looking at his team, he made up his mind, reached up, and activated the display on his helmet. Plastic slid down from between the helmet's metal casing and padding that kept his head comfortable to cover his eyes. He counted three, and when it didn't come to life, he smacked the side of his helmet with the heel of his palm. The display screen flickered, then steadied, little green letters and numbers appearing, darting across the screen just fast enough for him to follow. Tech on this world was spotty at best; the ever-present dust got into everything, and without constant maintenance, delicate things like the helmet readouts and instant radio contacts where some of the first things to go. He was in luck: His helmet seemed to be working today.

Venn scanned the oasis paying special attention to the tree Austin pointed out and spotted not only the sniper nest but an additional five heat signatures hidden among the rocks and scrub around the road. He turned again to survey the the road and the convoy not overly surprised to find the heat signatures of mines planted beside the road and as his scan took in the dust trails behind the convoy he started cursing.

* * * * *

"Alpha-1 to command! Come in, command!" He held his breath for a moment, if they had a saboteur among the new recruits, now would be the time for them to strike. "Alpha-1 to command! Come in, command! Come on, Radar, can you hear me?" Those of his team close enough to hear his outburst hastily clicked on their own helmets and began their own survey the area. He heard soft curses as they too realized the pincers of the trap the convoy was walking directly into.

"Aww Hell, Pony, how did we not see that?" Specialist Pallensen muttered even as he grabbed Private Falana by the shoulder and turned him in the direction of the Scout vehicle.

"I don't know, Pallensen, but you and Falana better run like the wind if you intend to stop it. Stay low! Stick to cover!" He motioned the ferret and cheetah to take off and called the other two members of his team in close. "Alpha-1 to command! Come in, command!" He gave the radio one last try, then cursed it as useless and pulled the still mostly-full canteen over his head and thrust it into the mouse's paws. "Austin. Austin, listen: You're the fastest runner we have. I need you to hightail it back to the convoy and warn them that they're walking into a trap. When you get within 100 meters or so, I want you to shoot that first outcropping, set off the mine." He placed his paws on the mouse's shoulders and stared into his eyes, hard. "Can you do that for me?" He waited till the trembling recruit nodded twice. "Alright, while you're doing that, Nejem and I are going to circle around behind the oasis and take out some of those snipers. Stay low, but move like the wind. Go!"

* * * * *

"Lieutenant?" Radar turned away from his console for a moment to look at the Lieut. then back again. "Lieut., I'm showing helmet activity but not getting any telemetry."

"What are you babbling about? They are supposed to observe radio silence for this maneuver, not to have their helmets on." The large whippet pushed himself forward and shoved his smaller radio officer out of the way, examining the panel himself. At first it was just one helmet, but then four more jumped to life. "Humans take us! What the hell does that recon team think they're doing out there?"

"If you'll excuse me, Sir," the corgi said, managing to right his own helmet and make some sense out of what was going on. " Cpl. O'Brien is attempting to make radio contact. I've got him, but it's faint. Shall I find out what's going on?"

"You'd better! I want to know why that soldier isn't following orders!"

---

* * * * *

"Radar, thank Man! It's about time! You're rolling into a trap! About 10 clicks in front of you, the road is spotted with mines; telemetry says they are set to remote detonate, which is probably why the Scout vehicle got through." Venn pushed the side of his helmet closer to his ear trying to hear the faint sounds of Radar's voice over the crackling radio. "Radar, do you copy? Command, do you copy?"

* * * * *

For a moment, the young corgi just sat there, staring at his console, listening to the static from the recon team. The Lieutenant was standing over his shoulder, demanding to know why his soldiers were breaking silence, spouting all kinds of dire consequences if they didn't get back to their assigned tasks immediately. Radar let his eyes shift to the left, where First Sergeant MacIntosh and Sergeant Cameron where having a quiet conversation out the open window of the command vehicle, the Sergeant holding onto the mirror as he rode along on the step board. If only they would tell him what he should be doing right now, it would make things easier for him. But the two veterans were deep in their own discussion, leaving the corgi to deal with the Lieutenant on his own. He did note, however, that Sergeant Cameron had his own helmet display up, and he was looking back behind them along the road.

"Did you hear me, Private?" The whippet practically yelled into his sensitive ear. "I told you to get those men back on radio silence right now! They have no business changing their orders in the middle of a maneuver! They could have compromised the whole mission! Give me the radio; I'll tell them myself!"

"Yes, Sir!" the corgi responded, then flicked a switch on his console and passed a mic to the lieutenant, making sure it was turned on to the correct frequency. "Radio's all yours, Sir." Then he scooted back and to the side in his chair to make space or the whippet to move in closer if he wanted. (And to unconsciously distance himself from the shit that was about to hit the fan.)

"It's about damn time!" Lieut. Moghadam snarled as he snatched the microphone from Radar's unresisting fingers. He started to speak without the pressing the button that allowed his voice to be transferred over the air. "This is Lieutenant Moghadam speaking." Then stopped and smacked the side of his helmet a few times with his paw. "Is this thing working?" he demanded turning his snarling face towards Radar.

"Y-yes, Sir; you just have to hold down the button on the side." Radar cautiously pointed to the indicated button while keeping his paw back far enough that, if the whippet decided to bite, he'd still have all his fingers.

"This one?" The with that he jabbed at the button a few times making the speakers and their helmets crackle and causing everyone who could hear the radio to wince. "Ah, I see." He pulled himself into a nearly standing position in the cab of the truck and glared out the windscreen in the direction of the recon teams. "This is Lieutenant Moghadam. I wish to make it very clear that you are to resume radio silence and not break it again until given further orders from command." It would have been bad enough as he left it there, ignoring Intel from more experienced personnel when that Intel indicated that a change of plan was necessary. However the whippet had to take it one step further. "The next soldier who breaks the order for silence will find himself facing a court-martial on charges of gross insubordination."

First Sergeant MacIntosh jerked his head away from Sergeant Cameron, his eyes looking like they were lit from within by some fire that Radar didn't want to know about. "Lieutenant Moghadam," his voice was strangely calm and every word he spoke was clear and precise, "were you aware that we have unknown bogies coming straight up our ass?" Private First Class "Radar" Johnson was glad the suppressed anger he heard in the First Sergeant's voice was not directed at him.

* * * * *

"Lieutenant? Lieutenant Moghadam?" Venn's radio crackled and then went silent. "Well, fuck!" The horse smacked his paw into his forehead and ran his palm down over his face. He took a deep breath and looked out over the scrub. Private Austin was making good time, he'd taken Venn at his word and was running, with only the barest regard to maintaining cover, toward the outcropping of rock that Venn had told him to blow up.

He glanced at specialist Nejem and followed the whippet's gaze back to where the other half of their squad was closing in on the Oasis. "Guess we are on our own, Pony?" came his dry assessment of the situation, "You figure Apple will take him to task for that?"

Venn nodded absently, "More than likely, but that's not going to help us now. You see anyplace we can get to without too much trouble, where we can take out that shooter in the tree before he gets the other half of the squad?" He was scanning the area himself, but never hurt have another pair of eyes on task.

Nejem was silent for a moment as he too contemplated what lay before them. He sucked air through his teeth then offered up, "Ideally, I'd like to come at them from the other side; that outcropping of rock just northeast of their position offers pretty good cover. But since we're not likely to get around them in enough time to be useful, we could try that little gully a little south of the well; if one of us stays in the bushes on this side to lay down cover fire, the other should have a pretty good shot at the avian's nest."

"That's kinda what I was thinking, too; I was just hoping you saw something better." Their course of action laid out, the horse and whippet both started creeping through the underbrush, headed toward the gully and the dubious cover it offered. "I'm the better shot, so I'll take the more exposed position... but dammit, you better make sure I don't get no holes in my hide."

They reached their objectives within moments, Private Nejem holding back at a good spot in the scrub where could survey most of the action and cover Venn's movements into the gully. Venn tried to position himself with as much cover as possible, but he still felt completely exposed to the sniper in the tree. He shifted around until he had a good view of the avian nest and pulled the service rifle into position, trying to get a bead on the sniper. He had to wipe the sweat from his eyes several times before he was able to differentiate between the nest material and the sniper's head.

As his enemy came into focus, he realized that the other soldier was aiming at something in the direction of the other recon team. "Oh no you don't," he breathed, almost like a prayer to the ancient Humans as his finger slowly put pressure on the trigger of his service weapon. He saw a flash of light and a sudden jerk of the sniper's rifle just as the report of his own rifle sounded and light obscured his vision.

Several things happened at the same time, as if the report of his rifle was a starters gun: The sniper's head jerked wildly back and forth, then slid down out of sight along with his rifle, leaving only the barrel visible. PFC Pallensen and Private Falana broke from cover and laid down a fire pattern that took out four hidden guerrilla insurgents and broke the cover of two more. Specialist Nejem took care of one of the remaining two fighters, who broke cover close to Venn's exposed position, standing sharply, calling out "You move, you die!" as he held the last insurgent in his sights. Alpha 2's entire team dropped to the ground where they stood, taking as much cover as was possible in the sparse brush around the roadway and the Scout Vehicle. Private Austin reached his goal, giving the convoy the warning that they needed... or at least that's what Venn assumed the explosion of the target landmine meant.

Pallensen and Falana helped secure their prisoner, tying his paws behind his back and sitting him next to the disputed well, while Venn looked toward recon team Alpha-1. "MEDIC! We need a medic over here!" Adam's new private was kneeling over someone in front of the scout vehicle screaming for a medic, but they didn't have any medics with them. Venn's nostrils flared as he ran toward the pair, the men were only carrying minimal equipment and that meant that only he and Adam had medipacks on them.

"Who got hit?" he demanded as he dropped down beside the private reaching for his medipack. As he looked at the fallen soldier, the private pulled his paws away from the soldiers wounded chest and gave Venn a clear view of the hole in Adam's left torso. "No! Fuck, no!" he exclaimed in disbelief as his paws fumbled for the gauze pads in his kit. They seemed tiny when compared to the task he was asking of them.

Adam let out a wet sounding cough and weakly asked, "How bad is it?"

"Bad enough; hold on, the convoy is coming." Venn put more pressure on the gauze then was strictly necessary, "Private, get into his medipack and get me more gauze... Private!" Venn realized too late that the private was going into shock and looked around at the gathered men standing a few feet away. "Hodges! Get into his medipack; I need more gauze. One of you, get this kid out of here so he doesn't puke on the corporal." Given orders, the men hustled to get about them, though Hodges didn't look too pleased about being selected to play nurse to Venn's medic.

"How long till the convoy gets here, Pony?" Adam asked, his voice still sounding weak and far too bubbly for Venn's comfort.

Venn reached up to the side of his helmet and turned his radio on, "Alpha-1 to command. Man down. What is your ETA?" The horse held his breath as he waited for the snap and crackle of the radio to clear and Radar's voice to come back to him.

"Convoy is under attack. You're on your own, Alpha-1. What's your situation?"

"Alpha-1 to command. Man down, critical. The sooner you can get us some help out here, the better."

Adam uttered a sound that, under better circumstances, would have been called a chuckle, but now, bloody bubbles spilled from his lips. "I thought you said it wasn't that bad?"

"Nah, I just wanted to light a fire under them." Venn did his best to keep his voice level and calm, though he could hear a click in his throat when he swallowed. "You're gonna be fine; just hang in there." He took fresh gauze from Hodges, refusing to meet the ferret's eyes. As he exchange the bloody gauze for fresh, he tried not to think about the bubbles that were forming in the bloody mess that was Adam's chest every time the cacomistle took a breath.

"V," Adam wheezed. "V, promise me you'll get them off? All of them, not just Yoel. Promise me!"

Venn shook his head. "No. You're going to meet some girl on the next leave, and that will be the last time I see you." He found himself blinking rapidly; something must've gotten caught in his eye.

The cacomistle reached down and put both his paws over Venn's. "Vincent O'Brien, you promise me you will get my family off this rock! I have to know they will be safe." Adam's breathing was getting harder now, bubbles appearing at the corner of his lips with each word, each labored breath. "Please, V, you have to do this for me."

Venn looked into Adam's eyes and nodded slowly, "Alright, alright. Sure, whatever you want, just stay with me! Stay with me!" Adam started to lose focus, his eyes drifting. "Adam! Corporal Alatan Hirsch!" Venn was losing him, but he kept trying. In his best Drill Sergeant voice, he snapped out, "Report, Corporal! What's your status?"

This pulled a weak, bubbly chuckle from Adam, who whispered, "Still straight as a flag pole." He took one last laboured breath and died.