FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

A slim and triangular silver starcruiser slowly pulled into the atmosphere of the mountainous planet of Arysylle, landing carefully in a low valley. The mountains seemed to claw against the bright morning sky, casting jagged teeth like shadows on the valley floor. The light freighter's belly opened its hatch, a long ramp protruding out and tilted downward to touch the ground firmly. Out walked a tall male crocodile, slightly muscled yet toned and lean, with long silvery-gray hair tied back, twisted into neat, even dreadlocks. He was dressed in a long vermilion colored armored coat, the hem stopping just above his knees, a pair of dark baggy cargo pants and knee high combat boots. His steps on the metal ramp thumped rhythmically as he exits his ship, pressing a few buttons on his small control console fastened to his left wrist. A holstered laser pistol and an oddly shaped vibroblade were fastened to his belt, hidden behind the length of his coat. As he walked off the ramp and onto Arysylle, the starcruiser creaked and groaned softly as the ramp slides back into the hatch, locking the entry on the crocodile's command. The ship began to disappear as the active camouflage activated.

The reptile approached a large mouthed entrance to a cave near the base of the mountain facing his starcruiser. He had heard stories of tribes of psionics that lived on Arysylle inside the mountains that held immense treasure. Psionic artifacts from all over the known galaxy always fetched a good price. The crocodile kept his stride even and steady, his senses alert and wary, yet confident and resolute. He entered the cave, it felt desolate, whatever tribe that may have occupied it probably vacated years ago, or was eliminated. Either way, the reptile felt a sense of emptiness from the large wide cave. He put on a pair of goggles over his crimson eyes, activating the incredible night vision mechanism as he explored around.

His search led him deeper inside the mountain as he felt an incline as he walked aimlessly, his eyes wandering around the rocky terrain. His boots made soft shuffling noises as he stepped up to what seemed to a staircase leading to a second level within the cave. Impressed with the inner design and the ingenuity of the psionic tribes, he continued his trek, taking the stone steps at a steady pace. As he reached the top of the stairs, he looked around and noticed he entered a wide, flat circular room, the walls of the cave smooth all around as well as the floor. The light from Arysylle's sun shone through the holes in the top of the mountain, giving the room almost a pious feel, like a lost holy temple. In the center of the room stood a lonely small stone pillar, the light casting crooked rays upon the stone. As the crocodile approached the pillar, a small round orb like stone resting in a carved out shelf. The stone appeared to be an ore of some type, perhaps a gem; it had a polished finish, yet had a dull natural silver tone. He reached for the silver orb and picked it up, turning it over in his large hand. It was light, almost airy, and half the size of his palm. The smoothly cut orb impressed the reptile even further, he silently admired the psionic tribes as a civilization.

Suddenly, he felt a shift in the air and a second later he felt the barrel of a laser pistol pressing against his back. The crocodile then heard a voice that just didn't match the situation, which could be really well or extremely terrible.

"Alright, drop it or you'll be scraping your breakfast off the rocks."

The tone was high pitched, somewhere nestled between low soprano and high alto, much higher than the crocodile's growling baritone. The reptile turned swiftly out the barrel's path, gripped at the hilt strapped to his waist, and swung his whirring blade in one fluid motion. The vibroblade hummed and sliced the barrel in an instant, the laser pistol destroyed before the crocodile could clearly see his opponent. He only saw a flash of scarlet hair, then he looked down taking his first look at....a short and lanky female hyena, barely standing up to the reptile's shoulder. Her violet eyes widened in a mix of awe, unease, fear and admiration upon being disarmed in such a swift and deft manner, taking a small, measured step back. Her short red hair stood haphazardly on top of her head, ears twitching sporadically. The slender, tomboyish hyena was wearing a long loose black hoodie with baggy ripped blue jeans, revealing tufts of spotted gray fur. Her awestruck eyes hid behind a pair of goggles that glowed of standard night vision. The reptile chuckled after a moment of silence, slipping the orb into his coat pocket.

"Oh, shit. My bad, did I break your concentration?" He couldn't help but taunt the stunned hyena, chuckling to himself. He deactivated his vibroblade and sheathed it to his belt. The disarmed female had difficulties moving from her spot, her eyes transfixed on the reptile and his skill in combat. She gulped and cleared her throat to speak.

"Y..you're not gonna kill me?"

"Nah, you ain't got your persuader anymore. Unless you have a Plan B, you're not much of a threat. See ya around." The crocodile started walking his way past the hyena and back the way he came towards his ship when he heard footsteps coming from the stone walkway. As they got louder, the reptile began to see the figure coming up the stairs, a figure he recognized all too well. A tall male owl made his way up the stairs, his lofty plumage a dark green, wearing a long flowing business cloak that concealed most of his tall figure, colored black as midnight. The avian's ebony eyes lit up upon seeing the reptile, a glint of rage sparking dimly. His voice was tinged with malice behind his smooth, sing-song speech.

"Well aren't you just a noble space cowboy, Kettenkrad?"

"What the hell do you want? I clearly remember telling you to go fuck yourself." The crocodile's demeanor changed, his teeth gritting and his hand ready to quick draw his vibrosword. He took a slow deep breath. "Is this little thief another pawn of yours?"

"Always with the useless snarky banter, my friend. I see you've met the help, just as useless, but that's what I get for hiring freelancers.... Rysk, was it? You're fired. Your services are no longer needed." The owl waved her off haughtily, his dark coat ruffling with his proud, almost regal movements.

The crocodile turned his head towards the tomboy hyena. "Damn, no persuader and no paycheck. That's what you get when you work with this asshole. He brings bad luck to everyone he meets in the galaxy. Ain't that right, Ulysses?"

The avian smirked and shrugged his shoulders smugly. "Modern man must hustle, my friend. But, I have a feeling you're not just going to let me walk away like you spared the thief."

"Draw your blade, I know you're here for a duel, you pretentious bastard." The reptile plainly said, his scaly hand poised firmly on the hilt of his vibrosword. Glancing over his shoulder, he grimaced towards the hyena. "Sorry you got thrown into this mess. You should get out of here while you can."

Like an arrow in the night, the avian instantly closed the gap between him and the reptile, vibrosword in hand, his tall agile body turning swiftly. The crocodile drew and activated his blade just barely in time, distracted for a moment of showing good will towards the slender hyena. The two vibroswords clashed violently, their humming blades sending waves of vibrations throughout the cave. The two swordfighters danced around each other's strikes and parries, neither combatant having an obvious advantage. Their incredible footwork and aggressive swordplay inside the cave's altar was a sight to behold as each swordfighter turned his sword towards his opponent with expert precision. The hyena watched the duel, wide eyed with awe. Her short scarlet hair fell over her violet eyes as she stood and observed the two's prowess with the vibroblade. The intense tremors with each clash shook the walls, causing the lanky female to shudder and wobble in her place. She definitely wasn't expecting the crocodile or her now former client to have such skill, their bodies moving and dodging and twisting with their blades, swinging and turning with such deftness. She was confident in her marksmanship, but what good is that when your opponent can cut you down before you can even blink, let alone squeeze a trigger. She barely registered the avian's initial movements when he advanced on the reptile. She has heard about people becoming psionic warriors, able to enhance their movements and strength through sheer mental discipline with immense training, but the hyena has never seen such speed and control with a blade in her galactic travels.

The crocodile swung his sword fiercely. The avian parried the strike, then the owl countered. The reptile blocked the graceful slash and pushed aggressively with his blade. Reverberating echoes shook the altar, rattling the stone walls with a cacophony of tremors. The owl swung his rapier-like blade with brisk precise strokes, while the crocodile's style seemed wild, yet controlled as he slashed with his unorthodox, rectangular shaped vibrosword. Their blades clashed and locked against each other, the harsh dissonance echoing throughout the stone room. The duel continued until the avian smirked deviously, jumping back and slashing the air swiftly, his blade humming fiercely as it creates a shockwave of solid force, sending the crocodile flying backwards, his smooth forest green scales smacking hard against the rock wall with a low thud. The owl called Ulysses chirped out a small chuckle, making his swift departure down the stairs and out of the cave before the reptile could recover. The hyena gasped softly and tentatively walked over to the crocodile who was sitting with his back against the wall, groaning quietly, "That's a new trick...."

"Hey, you alright?" The lanky female inquired, her ears twitching and her gray spotted tail swaying behind her.

"I thought I told you to get out of here, what the hell are you doing gawking at me?" The crocodile's teeth were gritting as he slowly brought himself onto his own two feet, deactivating his blade and used it to steady himself firmly on the ground. After a few deep breaths, the reptile sheathed his vibrosword and crossed his arms, his goggled crimson eyes staring down at the hyena.

"If you recall, I didn't have much of a chance. Maybe you shouldn't worry about the well-being of thieves when in a duel." She retorted back sharply. "Shouldn't psionics be more aware of their surroundings?"

"I'm not a psionic, I'm just a guy who does odd jobs. Most days I'm just a delivery boy." The reptile started walking towards the lower level of the cave, hurrying towards his starcruiser. As he descended the stairs, he heard the hyena's footsteps behind him. "Don't even think about picking my pockets."

The tomboyish hyena rolled her eyes, her goggles sitting crookedly. "I'm not that dumb, especially seeing how quick you are. How the hell did you block that first strike? I barely even saw him move!"

"Got lucky." The tall crocodile shrugged his wide shoulders nonchalantly as he reached the bottom of the stairs and turns towards the cave mouth.

"Bullshit." The hyena sardonically said, her violet eyes squinting in the low light. Her arms crossed over her petite chest as she follows the reptile.

"Bless you." The reptile snapped back with his usual snarky tone. As he neared the entrance to the cave, he took off his goggles and heaved a sigh, his crimson eyes glistened in the afternoon sun. At least his starcruiser was untouched, the active camo was turned on and concealed his ship, but not too far off he saw a pillar of smoke rising in the distance. He took a few more steps and heard the hyena gasp.

"That bastard! He couldn't find your ship so he blasts mine."

The crocodile shook his head, he was getting used to the misfortune that Ulysses brings. At least the lithe hyena kept her life. "I can take you as far as the Xenio system. I'm sure you can find some work there, if you're resourceful enough. Least I can do for your bad luck." The crocodiles walked towards his silver starcruiser, the camo deactivating as the ramp slides down to allow entry. "So, what was your name again?" He turned towards the female as they walk up the ramp.

The violet eyed hyena half-smiled gratefully, despite the circumstances. Her ears twitched along with her tail as she removed her night vision goggles. My name is Ryskiris Kiersennik, but everybody just calls me Rysk." She introduced herself rather formally, which surprised herself for a moment.

"Nice name. I'm Yuuki Kettenkrad. Despite the situation, it's a pleasure to meet you in this backwoods corner of the galaxy, Rysk."

"Likewise..." She replied softly.

The two walked into the starcruiser, the ramp slowly sliding back into place and hatch door hissing closed. The spacecraft powered on and slowly started to rise from the valley floor, turning its nose to the sky as it picks up speed, darting out of Arysylle's atmosphere and into open space to embark on its journey through the unknown abyss.