FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Alright, the Admiral wants this done quickly so lets split up." Tom said. "I'll take the west, Shark, Longsword with me."

"Wilco Bullseye." they both replied.

"Alright, Hotshot and Yinyang with me. We're headin east." April said.

The pilots replied affirmitively, and moments later the squadron split up, as April, Yaolin, and Danny peeled off in a sharp u-turn heading east, while Tom, Yuri, and Kelly continued heading west. Both groups had pulled the throttles back, slowing to just above Mach 2, and dropping down to 13,000 feet altitude so as not to miss anything. Of course the sensors in the Raven and Raven II could have done so easily at higher speed and altitude, but nonetheless it worked well.

Reaper flew the tanker south, taking scans of the uninhabital parts of the planet in the process of making her flightpath match up with where both groups would meet up on the opposite side of the planet needing to refuel. She was holding an altitude of 15,000 feet so the scans weren't quite as detailed, but given there wasnt much to see on this part of the planet it hardly mattered.

The first hour was rather boring, scanning pretty much what they expected to find. Algae, fungi, insects, and a few rodent-sized mammals. None of which showed particular signs of intelligence.

Then a few minutes later, April said on comms excitedly; "Bullseye! I got something you shoud see! Transferring coordinates!"

"I have it. What is it?" Tom replied. "We're on our way."

"I don't know sir, but it says C.J.P.S.A. on it." April replied. "Reading one lifesign on board, human male, vary faint."

"Could that be...?" Hotshot asked.

"Cletus." Tom said. "That Kentucky astronaut that tested an experiment trying to travel faster than light. just after the war. Everybody thought his capsule exploded when the drive engaged. He was supposed to land on mars."

"Yes we all know Dixie experimented with antimatter." Yuri said. "But how did he end up out here?"

"What if the drive worked." Kelly theorized "What if what everyone saw as an explosion was a radiation flare...and then if he miscalculated when to throttle down...."

"He's lucky he didn't end up inside a sun." Yaolin said.

"Be advised I'm attempting communication." Tom said. "I tale full responsibility."

"Noted bullseye." they all said.

"Cletus this is Bullseye, C.S.A.F. registry 21774920338." Tom said, figuring he'd fill the astronaut in on the details later explaining that he was a mercenary now."

*static* *weak cough* "Tom? Am I dreaming?" *coughing and sputtering*

"Its really me, Cletus." Tom said. "Just hang tight, we'll get you out of there."

"Sir, our orders are to advise and wait." Danny reminded.

"That man needs our help now." Tom said. "The Admiral also said pilots' discretion if its an offworlder, and it clearly is so its my call. Yuri find us a place to set down."

"Yes sir." the pilots replied. then "There is a flat stretch fifteen kilometers long half a kilometer from here." Yuri said.

"A brisk walk but not terrible." Kelly agreed.

"Alright, follow my lead." Tom said. "Once we're down get your gear and move fast. Reaper spot us and guide us from the air." then he called it in letting Maya know what they found and what they were doing as they landed one by one, shut down their engines, and proceeded to extract themselves.

Once out of the cockpit with their full field kits, they headed out in serch of the crash site. The murky conditions of the ground made walking slippery and difficult, and in light of the fact, Tom swapped his standard Canid AR for Yuri's Kalashnikov for the sake of reliability in case they ran into something bigger than the insects and rodent size animals they detected.

"A very interesting design." Yuri commented, looking the Canid rifle over as they walked.

"Yeah. Just be sure you pull it back real tight against your shoulder. It kicks like an 8-guage shotgun." Tom said.

"At least its not a BFG personal autocannon." April added. "But I like my Kentucky Automatic Rifle just fine."

"Thanks." Yuri told Tom, then; "I would have thought you would trade for one of theirs." meaning April or Danny.

"Nah. The Kentucky Automatic Rifle's a fine gun, but in conditions like these, you can't beat the reliability of an AK47." Tom replied. "Even the Canid rifle I traded you, advanced as it is, still cant match the reliability in adverse conditions."

"I am glad you approve." Yuri said. "How do you read the fire selector on this thing?"

"I can read Canid." Tom said. "It was set for 3 round burst when I gave it to you. One click forward is full auto, one click back is semi auto mode, and all the way back is safe. Its already chambered."

"Thank you." Yuri said.

They made conversation like this until reaching the crash site, and thankfully hadn't ran into anything dangerous yet. Tom slung the AK 47 across his back, and tried his communicator while April set door charges around the hatch. "Cletus we're right outside. If you can hear me get as far away from the hatch as you can. we are about to make a very big noise."

"Ok...*static*...hurry...*coughs*"

"Light it up." Tom said.

They all ducked and covered their ears, as April hit the detonator. The door charges shredded the locks and hinges, blasting the hatch inward and sending a rush of much needed air into the crashed ship.

Tom led everyone inside where they found a malnourished middle-aged man otherwise matching the astronaut Cletus' description. He seemed to be breathing ok now that the air was fresh, but he clearly showed signs of dehydration as well. April, Yuri, Kelly, and Yaolin all thought it was a miracle he'd survived this long, but Tom knew the experimental ship was loaded with several years worth of supplies, as Cletus' mission was supposed to be to set up a research lab on mars for long term study of the red planet. As such Tom reasoned his supplies lasted until recently, and from the look of the damage he had no way of opening the hatch himself to gather water and food -assuming any of that gross stuff was edible- even if his instruments had been working to tell him the air was breathable.

"Here." Tom gave Cletus his canteen and a power bar. "Drink then eat. we got a long walk ahead of us."

"Any of you got a cigarette?" Cletus asked, taking the things Tom offered.

"Here." April handed him a pack of Marlboro 27's and a box of waterproof matches. "I dont smoke but its standard procedure for Confederate soldiers to carry a couple packs in the field for barter purposes." She shook his hand "April Dawn, Louisiana 104th. CSAF."

Cletus drained half the canteen, and inhaled the power bar, then lit up a smoke and began to describe what happened, how he ended up so far off course, crashing on this rock and living here for years.

"We all thought your ship exploded." Tom said. "The radiation surge when you engaged the drive..."

"Was just that. A radiation flare. The drive worked...sort of. It accelerated the ship to FTL speeds...but the computers couldn't cope with the physics of hyperspace so I had no reliable way to navigate. I did my best to try to plot a course to mars, and then tried getting back to earth, but I just ended up exhausting the supply of antimatter and when I went sub-light I had just enough chemical fuel to set an orbital descent burn on this rock, and ended up crashing anyway. fortunately the conventional nuclear reactor was undamaged so I had power, and my supplies held out until recently. I've had to drink pee but it was better than nothing."

"Understandable." Tom said. "April, download everything from this ship's computer to a datapad."

"Yes sir." April replied.

"CJPSA finally sent another one up?" Cletus asked next.

"Not exactly." Tom said. "The Confederate Air Force has several ships in orbit, and you'll be riding with Hotshot as The Raven isn't a two seater like the Phoenixes are."

"Sounds good to me." Cletus said. He extinguished his cigarette, and finished off the canteen then handed it back.

"Admiral Maya will want to speak to you as soon as Doc Natalie clears you." Tom said.

"Fine with me." Cletus said. "I didnt know we were planning to send out a joint mission with the Chinese, Russians, and UK though." gesturing to Yuri, Yaolin, and Kelly.

"A lot has happened since you were gone." Yuri said. All countries of the global alliance work together to defend Earth."

"Yeah...we are not alone." Kelly said. "We are actually on our way home from defeating evil aliens that attacked Earth. Good aliens helped Earth develop proper Hyperdrive."

"You met these aliens?" Cletus asked.

"We all have." Yaolin said.

"In fact we're working for one." Tom said. "I'm a mercenary now...and Admiral Maya....She has the drawl, but she is a very sexy extraterrestrial."

"A bipedal anatomically correct kuvasz?" Cletus joked, poking fun at how everyone knew the war hero Bullseye was a zoophile.

"Actually yeah you're dead on." Tom said. "You'll meet her soon enough."

"I'm done here." April informed.

"Alright, think you can walk. Its about half a kilometer to where we parked?" Tom asked.

"I'll carry him sir. he needs to recover his strength." April said.

"Alright." Tom said. "Lets move out."

And with that, April lifted the malnourished man easily, slinging her Kentucky Automatic Rifle across her back, and they set off back across the slippery muddy terrain back to where they'd landed. Walking was treacherous enough, but taking off on this soft surface would be a real pain. Not quite as bad as taking off on ice, but pretty close.

"Damn." Cletus remarked as they walked. "I know I lost weight, and you cajun women are tough, but I can't be that light. You're not even breaking a sweat."

"I'm half kuvasz." April said., swinging her tail around for him to see. "You cant see my ears for my helmet, but I'm Bullseye's daughter from Admiral Maya. One of them anyway. I got the more human appearance aside from my ears, tail, and private parts, but most of my siblings look a lot more canine."

"Nice!" Cletus said. "I bet that strength comes in handy a lot."

"It does." April said.

"Its not much further now." Tom said. "Just over this next hill. And just so you know, mind your manners in front of Vice Admiral Karen....I know she looks good, but Gator wouldn't be too happy about it if you made a pass at her."

"Noted." Cletus said. "Whats the deal with that anyway?"

"Canid society is female dominant, its normal for an Admiral or Vice Admiral to be female." Tom said.

Not long after that, they crested the ridge, and April put Cletus in the back seat of Danny'a Phoenix, then helped him strap in. After that she made her way to the Raven II, strapped in and mentally ran through her preflight.

Everyone did the same, then closed and pressurized their cockpits, and Danny warned Cletus of the coming noise before firing up the engines. Everyone else got their engines started moments later, and Danny told Cletus "Put your mask on. I'll try to take off easy as you don't have a flightsuit, but you still need the mask." Cletus did as he asked, and soon they all accelerated across the slippery ground struggling to keep heading straight ahead until they reached takeoff speed.

At last the six fighters, heavy one Confederate astronaut, lifted off and accelerated smoothly as they climbed away from the planet.

"Bullseye, Reaper, I'm in position, ready for refueling operations."

"Reaper, Bullseye, perfect timing." Tom said. "We're sucking fumes after that long afterburner run taking off in that slop."

Tom led them all in to refuel off the tanker moments later.

"Reaper, Bullseye." Tom said. "Be advised Hotshot is heavy one passenger so adjust airspeed accordingly." Tom said. Then "Excalibur, Bullseye, we've got Cletus, and we're wheels up, and headed home as soon as we top off our fuel."

"Copy Bullseye." Maya said. "Be advised yer all gonna go through Natalie's decon chamber after that stunt. The fuck's ya thinkin landin lahk that. without backup 'er medical support."

"Respectfully you'd have done the same ma'am." Tom said. "I know he's not Aces, but still, as you said yourself, we dont leave our people behind."

"Yeah Ah reckon yer right." Maya said. "Still, Ah want full quarantine protocols. don' want y'all bringin back some nasty microbe from that rock."

"Wilco Excalibur." Tom said. "Bullseye out."

Once all their fuel tanks were full, the six fighters headed back to Excalibur, followed by Reaper in the Tanker bird, as there was little more to be learned from the planet for the moment. Natalie's bioscans in the decon chamber, and samples off their boots would determine if further investigation of the planet was warranted, or even safe for that matter.

The good news was Cletus was found alive. The bad news was now they all had to endure twenty-four hours quarantine in the decontamination chamber to ensure they hadn't brought anything back with them the decontamination sprays, gels, and various bursts of UV rays couldn't kill. The actual decontamination process itself was not unpleasant. In fact that part of it would actually be relaxing. It was the quarantine period that they all dreaded. Still, it was worth it. Bringing the first human ever to travel faster than light-entirely by human technology- home at last. They all had to admit that felt good.

"Great." Kelly said on comms. "Now we got to sit in the same room with a bunch of naked sweaty guys."

"Yes that is unfortunate." Yaolin said."

"Why do I have to though?" Reaper asked.

"Admiral's orders. I know you didnt land but we'll be exposing you when we all land." Tom said. "If there is anything to be exposed to."

"I dont mind." April said. "Nothing wrong with it at all."

"Yeah besides, I'm zoo." Tom said. "I wont be looking and even if I saw a reflection or something it means nothing to me."

"Yeah Bullseye, I know you are no pervert." Kelly said. "But the others..."

"I'm zoo too." Cletus said. "Had me a sexy husky girl for a long time."

"I'm engaged to one of Mike's daughters." Danny said.

"I guess that means all you lovely ladies get to enjoy a handsome young Russian pilot like me then." Yuri said.

"See what I mean." Kelly remarked.

"Relax Longsword." Tom said. "Shark has a unique sense of humor, but its all in good fun."

"Alright. Not like we have much choice." Kelly relented.

They landed not long after that, and fighter bay techs in hazmat suits led them all to a quarantine booth where they removed their contaminated clothing, and then into the decontamination chamber, then the hazmat workers collected the clothing, and packaged it according to biohazard sample collection protocols for Doc Natalie to examine later.

Doc Natalie was inside the chamber in a hazmat suit herself, and set about starting Cletus on IV fluids and nutrient replacement, before proceeding to direct everyone to apply the decon gel and await the first decontamination cycle.

Once Natalie left the room, confident Tom's medical training was enough to care for Cletus after that, the first UV cycle began.

Kelly, Yaolin, Thelma, and April took turns rubbing eachother down with the various biogels dispensed by the decontamination chamber, while the guys did likewise.

"What is that stuff anyway?" Cletus asked as Tom helped him to apply it while Danny did the same for Tom and Yuri for Danny. "Canine medical biogel." Tom said. "Each one targets various types of virii, fungi, bacteria, amoebae, insect larva, and various other infectious nasties."

"It smells like bitch pussy, in heat." Cletus said.

"It has a synthetic version of the antiseptic enzymes in Estrus Honey in it among other things." Tom said. At that point Yuri and Danny traded places so Danny could help Yuri apply the gel to parts of his back he couldn't reach himself.

Once that was done they all lay back stretching out on the cots in the room while the next UV cycle did its work.

"This isnt so bad." Cletus said. "Kind of relaxing actually, like a sunroom.....How many sexy huskies did you say are here anyway?"

"Several dozen." Tom said. "But as I said this isn't a pleasure cruise, we're mercenaries."

............

Half an hour later Karen spoke to them from the other side of a transparent glass crystal window. (double pane with combat foam between like a fighter canopy to reduce risk of containment breech). "The good news is Doc Natalie found no trace of anything the standard decontamination process would not eliminate." Karen said. "The bad news is she still wants to keep you all here for the full 24 hours." she paused sliding trays and bottles into an airlock, then cycling it to send it through to the chamber interior. "I brought you all some food and water and a couple bottles of liquor. Would you like anything else?"

"A deck of cards would be nice." Tom said.

"Alright I will send someone by as soon as possible." Karen said.

"Vice Admiral, could you tell me what the plan is for exploring the planet further?" Kelly asked.

"Gunner's squadron made another scan of the surface and found nothing more of interest." Karen said. We will be leaving orbit in the morning, and jumping to hyperspace tomorrow evening."

"Cant you convince the Admiral to let us out of here? this place is no fun." Cletus said.

"Possibly, but I have no desire to do so." Karen said. "I agree with the Admiral's decision, it is best to err on the side of caution especially with microbes capable of surviving in that environment." Then she pulled her pants down, and lifted her short tail, bending over, displaying her canine (Y) vulva, and spreading her canine anus for Tom. "That's from Admiral Maya." she added. with that she pulled her pants back up and left.

"Not exactly my type, but damn that was hot." Cletus said. "I know you said she's Gator's girl, but you ever take that fortune cookie yourself, or use her sweeter hole?"

"Both actually." Tom said. "He's done Maya too. Canine marriage isnt monogamous."

"I think I'm gonna have a lot of fun on this ship." Cletus remarked. "Still, after so long with nothing but old zoo porn on a flashdrive, it would have been nice if she'd at least left some honey and anal gland scent on a couple paper towels for us to sniff."

"Yeah." Tom agreed. "Her butt smells absolutely divine."

"Lets see what we got here to eat and drink." Danny said, hauling the trays and bottles out of the airlock chamber. "Looks like Meat-o's, Cheese soup, sausage sticks, hot pepper poppers, water, lioness milk, vodka, Kentucky Bourbon, and something called Excalibur Moonshine written in sharpie on a paper post-it note label." he said. "And there's some cigarettes for you Cletus, the rest of the pack April opened for you earlier. and the box of matches."

"I never heard of any of that food but it smells delicious...and is that real or just a name?" Cletus asked.

"Its real lioness milk, and all the food is delicious. We have Dairy lionesses on the farm deck, as well as more traditional farm animals for meat. I've done the milking myself many times....and got in some hot sex in the process. usually anal, but sometimes I get both holes." Tom explained.

"Fuck thats hot." Cletus said. Then after trying a meat-o "And this is the best thing I ever tasted."

"Its addictive." Tom said. "The taste of Canid food is so much more potent you'll lose your taste for human food eventually. I did."

They spoke little after that, for everyone was too busy enjoying the delicious meal to talk much.

After everyone had finished, and they began passing the alcohol bottles around, they each took turns filling Cletus in on all that had happened since he'd left on his ill-fated mission. It was time-sonsuming sure, but as each pilot explained things from a different perspective, it also helped to paint a clear picture of all that had happened and how it had affected everyone. Exactly as Karen had hoped, the alcohol helped to lighten the mood as they recounted good times and bad, The Xian War, and the various complexities of day to day life in the fleet.

Afterward, Cletus reciprocated, explaining everything he'd experienced since the day the drive had sent him so far off course, and the things he did to pass the time and keep from getting too terribly bored as the days stretched into years. Fortunately his ship's computer had a good selection of books and movies, as he had intended to spend so much time on mars anyway, but since he wasn't on mars, he had attempted to carry out his mission where he was instead, studying the rogue planet as best he could without being able to actually go outside due to the damaged airlock. He also had to get creative, using the lab equipment to synthecise nicotine tablets when his supply of cigarettes ran out, and before that, to brew moonshine to help make movies he'd seen a dozen times more enjoyable.

Not long after that, Hank brought them a deck of cards and a datapad when he stopped by to check up on them. He also said that the data Cletus had collected combined with the sensor readings they'd taken had led to the discovery that one variety of algae down there could be used to treat fabric to increase its tensile strength without adding stiffness, potentially allowing future bullet resistant vests to be lighter, and making existing designs more effective. He said the mining ship was currently in the process of collecting as much as possible in the alotted time, as the nature of a rogue planet meant finding it again would be difficult.

"Better off that way anyway." Tom said. "If the stuff works that well, the demand will be so high that stripping the planet's narrow ecosystem would be a very real danger. "

"Good point." Hank agreed. "The datapad has a map of the ship for you Cletus, and some other stuff you will find useful. I better get going now. I'm sceduled to fill in for Molly on the bridge while she gets her colonoscopy."

"Alright see you later then." Tom said.

Once Hank left, Tom set about shuffling the cards while Cletus looked over the map and stuff on the datapad.

"This ship is huge!" Cletus remarked. "It would be easy to get lost in all those corridors."

"Yeah, and look at all the unused space we have left...and that's with the survivors of three Confederate battlecruisers living here too." Tom said. "You all know how to play poker rught?"

Everyone replied affirmitively, and with that the game began. "I'll deal the first hand, then we change dealers in a clockwise rotation." Tom added and then proceeded to deal out the cards.

..................................

Admiral Maya was in the firing range, both to put a few hundred rounds through the Kentucky Automatic Rifle she recieved as a birthday present, and to test out several examples of bullet resistant clothing treated with the algae as well as some untreated as a control. Ballistic dummies of various races wore the materials being tested, and she also had a variety of other weapons to test on them once she determined how well they performed against the long pointy 105-grain VLD boattail bullets of standard 6x51mm CSA caliber ammo.

Like all human sized weapons, the rifle was small for her size, necessitating a large stock extension to be attached in order for a proper fit. The recoil, while sharper than that of an AK 47 which she also tested with a similar stock extension, was still hardly noticeable and simple for someone of her stature to control. She really liked the innovative features like the reflex sight, and large capacity clear polymer magazines that made it easy to see remaining ammo, but her large furry hands made stuffing fifty rounds of 6x51mm into those magazines difficult.

Sensors and high speed cameras inside the dummies recorded every aspect of the test, as Maya fired a burst into each target at ranges varying from point blank to 250 meters with expert precision. The long pointy bullets starting out at 3150 ft/second were originally designed to bore through yankee body armor, and while the Confederate body armor and Canid body armor used in these tests was much more effective, it was still a good test of how well the augmented vs non augmented materials worked.

Next Maya tested the various materials against the standard 122 grain FMJ 7.62x39 bullets from an AK 47, firing a burst at each dummy from point blank to 250 meters. As before her aim was flawless, putting the rounds exactly where Tina wanted them to get the best reading from the sensors.

FOr comparison she tested a standard Canid Assault rifle as well, which favored high kinetic energy and big heavy bullets compared to the smaller diameter high velocity bullets of the Earth AR's.

Then she tested various sidearms, from standard Canid sidearms to the 9mm (UK, Russia, and China) and .52 Texan Magnum CSA automatic pistols, as well as Tom's old Magnum Research BFR. (7.5" barrel variety) he carried as his custom officer's revolver in The War.

The final test was using first an Earth .50 caliber machinegun antimaterial rifle, and then a Canid BFG personal autocannon. both of which were more than sufficient to devastate the protective gear and obliterate the dummies beneath, but nonetheless the data gathered would still be useful.

At the end of the test they went over the sensor logs and high speed camera footage, and it was found that the initial projections had been dead on. Not surprising as it was Rena who theorized the stuff could be used in this manner, but still, an increase in overall effectiveness of 50% and a reduction in kinetic energy transfer of 30% was impressive. It still wouldn't stop a .50 mg round or a BFG bullet of course, but it greatly improved survivability against standard small arms fire nonetheless.

...............................

"Tactical alert! All personnel to battlestations!" Karen's voice resounded through internal comms throughout the ship.

"What's that about?" Cletus asked, taking another puff from his cigarette after he spoke.

"Tactical drills." Tom said. "Karen is running a tactical drill while Maya is busy doing whatever she's doing." He discarded for two fresh cards as he spoke.

"I was not informed we would be running a tactical drill today." Reaper said.

"Of course not." April said. "It wouldn't be a 'surprise drill' if it was sceduled."

"Good point." Reaper said.

Tom won that round with 3 aces and 2 kings.

They played a few more hands after that, and then made idle conversation for a bit before finally turning in for the night.

The cots in the decon chamber were not as comfortable as their usual beds, but nonetheless they served the function well enough.

.........................................

It was late in the afternoon the next day when Doc Natalie finally released them from Decon (after bringing Cletus up to date on modern vaccinations and collecting a sperm sample of course). The good doctor had even brought them all fresh clothing from the ship's tailor, and Lily who was with her issued Cletus a communicator, and said "The Admiral wants to see you in her ready-room immediately after dinner."

"No problem." Cletus said. Of course his mind was elsewhere as he marveled at the sexy husky's body. The minute Lily turned around he siezed the opportunity and quickly pulled her pants down and goosed her then and there.

"Not here Tom..." Lily started to say, but when she looked back and saw it was Cletus who had goosed her she changed it to "What was that for!"

"You are very beautiful." Cletus said, sniffing his finger "And you smell delicious too!"

"You're as bad as May!" Lily said, pulling her pants back up. "I guess I can hardly blame you being alone all those years, but still you're supposed to sniff first, and then take things further if your perspective love interest flags you and then returns the favor. Its not polite to goose first."

"I cant help it." Cletus said. "You look so much like Her."

"Your lover back home?" Lily asked. "Well I'm sure she will be happy to see you soon we're only a month out."

Cletus slumped his head sadly.

"Earth canines have even shorter lifespans than humans." Tom explained.

"My brother trains huskies for security work." Yuri offered. " Come see me in St Petersburg while we have shore leave, and I will get you a bitch."

"That would be nice!" Cletus said. Then to Lily "Are you sure you dont want to have some fun?"

"Another time perhaps." Lily said. After that, she and Doc Natalie left, and Tom got a utility cart and drove them all to the transporter room, so April could return to the Lee, and Yuri, Yaolin, Kelly and Danny could return to their ships as well, and then he drove himself, Cletus, and Reaper down to the mess hall.

Here's where we go our separate ways." Tom said once he parked. "We'll stand together in line, but once we get our trays, I'll be going to the senior staff table."

"You can sit with me if you want." Reaper said. "I'm sure Hammerhead, Pokerface, and the others will be glad to see you're alive after all this time."

"Thanks." Cletus said. "This ship is really something!"

"Yeah that's for sure." Tom said.

After that, Tom led the way and they all stood in line to get their trays. Fortunately May was in front of Cletus so he didnt get a chance to goose Celia or Serenity whom were both in front of May.

Cletus looked about the massive room in awe as the line slowly moved forward as it progressed towards the galley where they would get their trays. The sheer number of people in the room, both mammilians of various species and breeds, and humans alike, was incredible but the fact that so much of the room was unoccupied was even moreso.

Aside from what Tom said was the Senior Staff table, Cletus noted that the tables were all mixed and matched, humans and mammilians of various rank filling the benchlike seats at the large tables seemingly randomly.

When they finally made it into the galley to get their trays, Tom explained what the various condiments were and what each was best for, and then after they had what they wanted added to their trays, he watched Tom set out for the Senior Staff table, and then followed Reaper to find a seat.

Tom sat between Karen and Belle, while Hank sat between Karen and Molly. Maya sat across from Karen, between Kayla and Callie, and not long after that the rest of the ship's senior staff filled in the remaining seats.

"S' who is this Cletus exactly?" Maya asked, as they all began to eat. "Ah mean, Mike showed me the footage a' the launch an' the malfunction, but other'n that..."

"He's a Confederate test pilot and early space explorer." Tom began to explain. "He walked on Earth's moon to remove the tyrannical yankee flag and plant the Confederate flag instead, was the first man to fly Mach 12 in a hypersonic test plane, and the designer of an antimatter based FTL engine which he was testing with the intent to land on Sol 4, or Mars in Earth language, when the accident occoured. Keep in mind this was before you made first contact while chasing those insectoid pirates. At the time, the leading Confederate Scientists were working on various fast subluminal speed propulsion technologies to reach Sol 4, solar sails, fission detonation engines, and hydrogen plasma ion propulsion, to name a few, but all would have still taken months to arrive, while Cletus' 'Hyperlight Drive' could make the trip in the blink of an eye. It was scary to think about. No one had ever flown that fast before, and there was a lot of negativity from scientists saying it would never work...but with the Russians and Chinese also in the race to explore the red planet, the decision was ultimately made to go with Cletus' design, and after multiple computer simulations, the ship was loaded with provisions and the mission launched on scedule. He reached escape velocity and broke orbit using conventional chemical rockets, and got the go ahead to engage the hyperlight drive. Everyone assumed the drive exploded as the only telemetry we ever got back was of the radiation surge, and the Confederate space program suffered a major setback. FTL flight had been shelved indefinately until you showed up, and Canid technology along with knowing there is intelligent life on other worlds sparked a renewed interest in FTL and space travel in general. The rest is history."

"Makes sense." Maya said. "But still Ah reckon it was a bold move. "d they even know how touchy antimatter is?"

"People knew it was dangerous." Hank said. "But without the sort of technologies we have here, no one knew the full extent of it. There were plans to build antimatter nukes which could fit in a standard air to ground missile but thankfully the war ended before we actually had to use one of those things. Although just knowing we had the capability probably helped break the tyrants' back so to speak."

"Barely." Tom said. "We were halfway to D.C., flying Mach 3 full stealth, when our tanker broke radio silence to say President Landry had recalled us. The tyrants had surrendered, the war was over."

"Good thing too." Karen said. "I'm sure your weapons researchers accounted for the gamma radiation spread, but you probably didn't even know about delta or epsilon radiation the detonation would have released. both of which could have easily reached Richmond giving your own people a very nasty radiation poisoning they knew nothing about."

"Yeah." Tom agreed

"Y' reckon we'll get a bonus fer bringin' Cletus home?" Maya asked.

"Probably." Hank said. "He was something of a hero himself, a pioneer in the Confederate space program. I'm sure a lot of kids look up to him too. 'astronauts' as we called our early space explorers are 'cool' afterall."

"That's good." Maya said.

"He's a bit...eccentric... but he's been alone for a long time." Tom said.

"Yeah Ah heard about what happened with Lily." Maya said. "Ah don' blame 'im. Ah'd be pent up too after that long.... Ah'd give him a sympathy romp, but Ah reckon ah'm not his type."

"Yeah me too." Karen said. "I know he needs it, though."

"Maybe Celia or Leshka would be interested." Tom suggested. "I know Lily looks more like his girl he had before...but he didn't exactly make a good first impression."

"Yeah maybe." Maya said. "If not then Ah'm shure one of the others will. An' Ah wouldn' count Lily out either. He jus' needs t' use the proper approach."

"Yeah." Tom agreed.

"As for his engine design." Karen said. "I've been over all the scematics downloaded from his ship, and I have to say for such a technologically primitive world to achieve such a thing is impressive. The radiation shielding was even adequate...barely, for the delta and epsilon radiation given off by the reaction chamber. It was very crude, but nonetheless effective."

"If they had antimatter why didnt they use it on the dickheads when they attacked?" Molly asked.

"There was only one missile per fighter for each of us." Hank said. "The Flying Gators that is. After the war all of the missiles were stripped of their antimatter to fuel Cletus' ship. "

"Makes sense Ah reckon." Maya said.

........

"What do you think they're talking about over there?" Cletus asked, gesturing to the Senior Staff table.

"Probably something to do with starship operations." Reaper said. "Mmm Mmm I still cant get over how good this food is."

"Yeah its something alright!" Cletus said.

"Sure is." Hammerhead added. "I dont know what they're talking about and honestly dont really care. They keep the air and heat and gravity going, the electricity and water flowing, its none of my buisness what they're doing."

"I'm more curious as to what goes on in those weekly meetings." Pokerface said. "All the fleet captains locked in the conference room with the Admiral and Vice Admiral, security guarding the doors, for hours on end."

"Maybe they're having a giant orgy." Cletus said. "I mean, come on. They're not exactly my type, but damn, the Admiral and Vice Admiral both have very nice rumps."

"Maybe but I doubt it." Chuck said. "I went a few rounds with that Komondor girl, Laci last week, and I definately see why you all love bitchsex so much, but you still cant beat a winking mare."

"Oh come on boys, they're not having orgies in there." Reaper said. "For one, Captain Mike is married, and so are the Admiral and Vice Admiral. Besides I blew Captain Patterson after one of those meetings and didnt taste any girls on him."

"Why him?" Hammerhead asked.

"I was drunk and he was the first to stop by the latrine after the meting planning to take a leak before returning to his ship. It was totally random." Reaper said.

"He's not my type." Hammerhead said. "I'm omni, sure, but I like bigger guys and girls, like Captain Mike, or April, or the wolf bitch at the senior staff table, or the husky boy at the table across from us."

"Thanks for the heads up, I was going to sneak a little." Cletus said. "How can you tell he's male though?"

"We showered together." Hammerhead said. "Other than that its about impossible to tell fully clothed."

"Figures." Cletus said.

.........

After the meal was finished, Tom had to go help Doc Natalie in Sick Bay as part of his continued medical training, meanwhile Cletus was to report to the Admiral's ready room at once.

As he checked the map on his datapad to see how to get there from the Mess Hall, Cletus couldn't help feeling as he had back in highschool when ge got called to the principal's office for smoking in the bathroom. Of course logic told him he was not in any sort of trouble now, sure he'd goosed someone but surely that didn't warrant punishment. nonetheless the analogy was the best description of how it felt. He'd barely been aboard this enormous magnificent battleship 24 hours, most of which he'd spent in decontamination, and now he was being called before the most powerful woman in the fleet, for reasons he could not begin to guess. He seriously doubted he was in trouble for the goosing, but whatever it was, he doubted Maya would simply spank him as the principal had. No. If he was indeed in trouble, he reasoned the Admiral's punitive measures would be far less pleasant.

It was frightening to think about, he knew nothing of these people or their customs. What if he had committed some sort of terrible offense in their view. On the other hand, reason told him that couldn't be the case. For war heroes like Tom and Hank to have signed on with them, these people had to be trustworthy. Such freedom fighters would never follow a tyrant. Following that, the rational side dictated the Admiral simply wanted to meet him privately and ask him some questions. That made him feel better, but the worry never totally abated for the entire trip.

Steeling himself, he finally knocked on the door.

" 's open." came the Admiral's brisk drawling reply.

Cletus let himself in, and snapped to attention offering a Confederate salute. "Mission commander Cletus reporting as ordered ma'am." he said.

"At ease." Maya replied, moving to lock the door so they would not be interrupted. "Take a seat." she gestured to the chair before her desk.

Cletus was eyeing the sizeable pistol strapped to her right hip. It was shiny, and considerably larger than the Texan Magnum sidearms of the Confederate military. The grip he could see was customized with a (Y) canine vulva swollen with estrus inlaid in its center. The heavy clank of the locking mechanizm clicking into place drew his attention away from it and for a brief moment sent a chill down his spine. He was locked in now, so there was really nothing to do but take a seat as Maya had said. So that's precisely what he did.

Maya took her seat moments later, and retrieved an ornate amber bottle from under her desk. "Y' look lahk y'kin use a drink." she said, promptly filling two glasses. Cletus reached for the glass she offered him, and Maya cautioned; "Careful 's Canid Whiskey, humans gotta sip it slowly."

"Thank you Admiral." Cletus said. "Mind if I smoke?"

"Naw go ahead, make yerself comfertable." Maya said.

Cletus did just that, and as he lit a smoke, he finally worked up to asking; "Is this about the goosing incident?"

"Naw it ain't nothin lahk that." Maya said. "We jus' need t' talk. Mah mate Tom tol' me bout the launch an' what ever'one thought was an accident, but Ah wanna hear yer sahde a' thangs."

Cletus took a deep drag from his cigarette looking thoughtful as he remembered it all. After exhaling he took a sip of his drink, commenting on the potency and flavor, and then began his tale. He recounted everything from the moment he'd engaged the experimental engines, to crashing on the rogue planet, and all he did and thought about up to the point he was rescued. When he had finally finished, he'd been through two cigarettes and about half his drink. "You have no idea how good it felt seeing Tom standing there when they blew the hatch." He added. "The great "Bullseye" of Louisiana's 104th squadron. At first I thought it was a hallucination, but once I knew he was really there, I knew I was going to be ok."

"Yeah he's special that's fer shure." Maya said "S' what're ya gonna do when we git back?" she asked. "We'll reach Earth in a little less'n a month. Ah reckon a lot a' people're gonna be surprised t' see ya."

"Yeah." Cletus said. "I dont know. With ships like the fleet, I reckon astronauts lke me are old news."

"Ah wouldn' be s' shure." Maya said. "Them ships still need captains, an' they'll always be a need fer test pilots."

"Yeah but...what about here?" Cletus said. "I mean, I'm sure you need test pilots too. Are you taking recruits?"

"It aint tat simple but yes." Maya said. "Here, if'n yer serious, fill this hout." She handed him a thick set of papers and a pen. "When yer finished, y'kin take the oath, an' then Ah'll sex ya in."

"Really?" Cletus asked unsure if he heard right. The idea of being sexxed in was very appealing to him...or so he thought."

"Shure 'nuff." Maya said. "We're mercenaries, s' yer initiation." She held up her combat knife and began to wipe the blade down with a cloth dipped in Canid whiskey as she spoke.

"Kinky." Cletus remarked.

" S' fer the oath not the sex." Maya said. " 'S a blood oath."

"Makes sense." Cletus said. He focused his attention on the thick multipage form he was expected to fill out after that, finding it a bit odd he was listed as a dog, but otherwise it was easy enough. The questions ranged from simple things like food allergies and phobias to very personal things such as sexual orientation, mate status, and even whether he had ever sired puppies, and if so how manny litters. Any addictions (he ticked the box next to ''smoking') and so forth.

While he worked through questions about prior training and what skills he had, Maya asked; " S' how'd ya start? Smokin ah mean. Ever' smoker Ah met 's got a story."

"I was in Jr High whin I stared." Cletus said, not looking up from his work. "It started as a way to relax afterschool and helped me stay focused on my homework. before I knew it I was hooked."

"Makes sense Ah reckon." Maya said. "Drinkin' helps me relax." she paused then; "Y'know Doc Natalie's bin workin on puttin' medicines in cigarette form if'n yer interested."

"Yeah that would be nice." Cletus said. "It would be much more convenient as I always hated taking pills.They always try to get stuck in my throat."

Not long after that he finished filling out the form and handed it back.

"Yer absolutely shure about this?" Maya said. "Once yer in, 's no goin' back."

"Yes ma'am." Cletus replied. "I love my homeland, but this is a dream come true for me."

"Fair enuff." Maya said. She handed him a booklet which explained all her rules, as well as the oath he had to recite. "Take yer time an' read that carefully. If'n y' don' understand anythin', jus ask."

"Thank you Admiral." Cletus said, and set about reading through the booklet carefully.

Several of the rules jumped out at him as being similar to Confederate laws, whit similar punishments, despite the date they were enacted being far in advance of the Earth laws coming into existance. In particular were the rules against female canine mutilation or estrus suppression in any way, which carried the death penalty. The Confederate law that mimiced that rule was one of the few on the books which carried a death sentence as well, and similarly aimed at protecting female canines. It had been enacted to save the species which the tyrannical yankees had tried to mutilate into extinction, and made the Confederacy the safe haven for canines that it was today.

Most of the other rules were common sense stuff, which dealt with everything from security concerns and safety precautions, to how the chain of command functions, and was all easy to understand. Finally he came to the Oath, and took his time memorizing it carefully, and finished off his drink before saying; "Ok. I'm ready."

"Begin." Maya said.

Cletus placed his right hand over his heart, and spoke calmly and confidently : " I, Cletus, Former Mission Commander of Mars 1, do hereby affirm my deire to sail the stars as a soldier of fortune under Admiral Maya Dawn. I swear to serve Admiral Maya Dawn and my home, the starship Excalibur to the best of my abilities, and to uphold the honor and rules of the Avenging Aces. I accept the responsibility that comes with the job, and as a citizen of the starship Excalibur I pledge to defend Admiral Maya and our home so long as I draw breath. I swear to never divulge the secrets of our home to any enemy, under duress of torture and to follow every order given by my superiors without question. I affirm that I understand this is a lifelong commitment, and that I will never give up no matter how difficult things get. I will respect my shipmates, and learn all I can to make myself a more effective mercenary. Above all, I will honor, respect, defend, and obey Admiral Maya and Vice Admiral Karen so long as I live. I will follow their lead to the ends of the universe and beyond, never wavering in my service.

"Very good, an' spoken from the heart." Maya said. "Ah kin tell y' really feel it yer not jus recitin the words."

"Yes ma'am, with every fibre of my being." Cletus said.

"Good." Maya said. "Hold up yer right hand, an' don' flinch."

Cletus did as she ased. At first he felt the cool wet alcohol cloth on his bare palm, and then, an instand later, he gritted his teeth in pain as Maya drew the blade of her combat knife across it, the razor edge easily flaying through his skin and flesh opening the blood vessels beneath. It took all he had not to scream in agony, but he managed to hold his tongue.

Face scrunched in pain, Cletus watched the Admiral turn the knife on herself, and then press their bleeding palms together.

"Welcome aboard Ensign Cletus." Maya said. She held their hands together, and let their combined blood drip onto the desk. Once it had pooled sufficiently she used the blood to ink a (Y) stamper, and stamped the form Cletus had filled out, and the crew file she'd written on him with the official Avenging Aces seal.

Once that was done, Maya bandaged their hands with tape and whiskey soaked cloth, and directed Cletus to strip. Then she proceeded to do the same.