FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Steam filled the black tiled room, covering the lone mirror and damping up the ceramic toilet. Warm water poured out of the shower head, soaking Vex as he winces in pain. With a pair of tweezers, digging into the wound the Slasher left him on his arm. Feeling around, choking back a heavy growl. He knew something was in there... He.. just.. had to-

With a gasp of pain mixed with relief, Vex pulled out a bit of bone from the wound with a set of tweezers. Blood now gently seeping from the reopened cut. Mixing with his fur and water, draining down the shower drain into the ship. Feeling he was done, Vex looked to the control pad. Swiping a finger over it's simple white and grey color scheme. Quickly, all the water shut off. Leaving only a couple of drips from the head, even soon that coming to a halt.

Soaked, Vex shakes for a moment. Sending water and fur everywhere. Flinging from his tail and fluff. The single glass door defogged, sliding open as Vex took his first step out. Grabbing the bright orange towel to dry up the excess water. In a rough fashion, he rubbed the towel all along his arms and legs. Only taking care around his cuts and slivers from the Slasher fight. Wincing slightly as he tapped them dry.

Approaching the mirror, Vex looked upon himself. Steely bluish grey fur, deeply colored cyan eyes, two little grey circles under his eyes, fluffy muted teal-colored ears, and, of course, two narrow fangs. Leading people to always question what he was. Other than feline. However, his facial features weren't of concern, as he took a small washcloth and dabbed it with peroxide. Looking at the small lacerations on his cheek. Pressing and wiping away at them with the cloth. Even as the stinging sensation dug into his face. Cleaning up the wounds, pressing a paw against them and eyeing them in the mirror. Checking if they were clean.

"We need to talk about the object." With a startled huff, Vex looked up and around the bathroom, wrapping the towel around himself.

"You know I enjoy my privacy in here." He begins, taking a quick step over to the cabinet to grab a dryer for the fur. Instinctively gripping its handle as if it was a gun.

"Can you wait till I at least have a pair of shorts on?" With a quick whirring of the machine. Vex blew his fur, watching it puff out. Water flinging and drying from the thick layers. Once he was finished drying, he quickly threw on some undergarments. Leaving his torso to dry out in the air of the ship. Just before he leaves, he looks at the mirror and pops it open. Taking a small orange bottle, tossed three pills into his paw. Downing them in a single go, shaking his head slightly with a bleh sound from the distaste.

Exiting the bathroom to strike up conversation with BB again. "So what have you noticed about the orb?" Vex asks, moving through a bedroom. Grey bedding on a black frame, contrasting the white interior walls of the ship. Accented by deep reds of rosewood. Modern and comfortable.

"The orb?" The AI speaks, his voice echoing through the ship. "It's giving off this pulsating signal, but I can't pinpoint its data." Vex nods and lets out a shallow sigh, the bedroom door shooting into the wall as he neared; guided by an orange light. "While you were busy digging slasher tail out of you, I tried multiple times to connect with the object. Though it resisted all efforts, which is quite odd by normal standards."

Frowning and walking across a hallway, another door shoots open into what was once a plain storage room, now host to work benches, and all forms of equipment scattered about. Armor, weapons taken apart for cleaning, and a holotable in the far corner. Having it installed years ago, Vex almost regretted getting it until now. Which upon its cold blue tech surface. Sat the orb which he collected, that the gentle pulsing could be felt in the room. Making his fur stand slightly on edge.

Bracing himself, Vex walked over to the table. Eying the orb while striking up BB for information. "So you've still received nothing from the orb?" He asks with a tail swish. "Nothing, I assume it's been inactive since you touched it in the ruins. However, I may try to power it again by diverting the ships' resources to it momentarily."

Giving a inquisitive hmm, Vex crosses his arms and strokes the fur on his chin. Wondering what secrets the orb possessed, especially if it was anything like the message he received on Io. "Do it." He commands, and with that the ship's lights flickered. As some of the power systems fluctuated, causing the room to grow darker. Except for the fiercely cold blue growing from the holotable. The orb as well, shimmering against the dark ship. Huffing, Vex stepped forward to present himself to the object. Reaching a fuzzy paw out to make contact with it. Feeling ever more tempted by its fictional offers. The cold, the warmth, this indescribable feeling. He could feel its power grow the closer his paw got, until it made contact with its smooth glassy surface.

Vex felt himself being transported to another world, at the very least in his head. A bone-chilling wind against grains of sand. Deep in copper-colored, whipping away cliffs of sandstone. This was Mars for sure, all a dream once again. Much like the Io dream until he was ambushed by... something. Would it happen again though?

Picking himself up he felt gentle snowflakes melting against his face, eventually building up the courage to stick to his thick fur. Protecting him from the snowy chill. Then the smells hit him, the smell of smoke and fire. The smell of burning and melting steel, and bodies burning. It sickened him to his core, even with all the death he's seen over the years. Screams of humans and anthros alike filled with fear could be heard miles off. Gunfire echoed behind those screams, and the screeching of missiles. Then the bone-chilling howls and laments of.. Something like a machine. It sounded like speech, but yet it was so mechanically alien.

Maybe all this belongs to those who made these orbs? A warning? A threat? Millions of questions raced through Vex's head, too busy to notice the sand behind him shifting under something else's weight. Ears twisted to listen in on the thing behind him, soon Vex turned the entirety of his body to face it. Though it was too late, as a face of metallic and matte black figure screeched and pounced!

As if it was all a nightmare, Vex woke up on the floor feeling a chill through his fur. The lights dimmed in the ship, as he groaned and rolled around. Wondering for a second what had just happened, his head pulsing almost in rhythm to how the orb was. Using the table to help himself up, he then leaned against it. Rubbing his aching head, and swaying the tip of his tail.

'The hell do I take those pills, if I feel like this?', he thinks to himself. Taking a breather and looking around the room.

"What did you see in there?" BB inquires him, with Vex moving to rub his head once more with a low groan. "Mhnf... Mars. Like that the whole damn planet was on fire."

"That really sums it up, doesn't it?"

"Give me a second damnit, my head is aching from that thing." With another breath and a minute passed, Vex felt he had enough control over the headache. "Anyhow, BB, I was on Mars. It was snowing lightly, and it seemed everything in the distance was in a battle. Till I was jumped by something."

"Something?" BB inquires, wondering what Vex was going on about. "Yes, something-" He moves off the table, strutting his way through the ship to his kitchen. Following the growl of his stomach. "I don't know what it was, certainly not human."

Pondering his vision, BB fell silent as Vex wandered through the shiny kitchen. Opening up his freezer to pull out a few strawberry strudel. Pulling it out of the package and tossing it into the microwave, tilting his ears to listen to its low hum. "Anything?" Vex asks the AI impatiently. Giving the feline a low droning "Ugh-" BB thought for just another moment. "Given your lack of seeing anything substantial, all we have to go off of is Mars and something will be attacking it or you. Perhaps both."

Hearing a gentle beep, Vex shifted his attention to the microwave once more and took out the strudel. Giving it just a moment to cool as it steamed in the air. "Then I need to find more of these orbs. Perhaps we should start on Mars." He took the strudel to the nearby table to enjoy it, taking a single bite, then sitting down. Curling his tail up next to him.

"I wouldn't oppose going to Mars. However, with the only ruin we know of being under government hands." Vex with discontent at BBs' words. "You would need to find a way past the government they have set up there." He was right, no way he would get past the troops and scientists, and into those ruins without government holding his paw and watching every step. And he sure as hell wasn't going to get it at this moment. "Shite!" Vex protested out of irritation, taking another quick bite to reallocate his thoughts. If Mars was a no go at the moment, he and BB had to think of something else. He contemplated his choices, though there weren't many. Eating away at the strawberry strudel, using it to slightly calm his thoughts.

"As much as I'd hate to do it, perhaps go back to the Io ruin to collect the orb there?" Vex's skin crawled at the thought of going back to Io. The sulfur pits, pirates, hellbugs. He wanted nothing to do with any of them. Though admittedly he regretted leaving the orb back there on Io. It was the one that led him here to the one on Venus, as well as an odd set of charts. But neither of the two could decipher them.

"Let me think, there could be other options and Io is a trip from here." vex didn't argue with BB on that. If anything, a wash of relief came over him, but what was BB planning? He was morbidly curious, but elected to finish his strudel first. With a final sweet swallow he pipes up. Ready to discuss their future moves.

"So Io and Mars are out of the picture. That would leave any other ruins here on Venus or perhaps Earth. I could try again with the orb tomorrow and see if it results in anything." He says with a paw wipe over his muzzle, pushing any crumbs that fell onto the table into his paw. Cleaning up the little mess he had made. "If it can give me a location or another vision, I may be able to piece it together. We just know too little shite." He says ever so slightly miffed, that these orbs only ever give him visions instead of tangible information. "Well if you'd would've just taken my first suggestion a year ago and look into turning it into the government."

Vex rolls his eyes, annoyed at BB's suggestion. "And trust those useless idiots?"

"Never the less, they wouldn't take me seriously." Shaking his head, he leans over the counter. Thinking slightly, silently and droning out the world. If this situation was life or death, why was it so vague? His head started to pound again. A thump, thump, thumping at the back of his skull. Letting out a slow and steady breath as he closed his eyes. Feeling like the pain wouldn't go away. Agonizing him more than the slasher wound.

"BB do me a favor and dim the lights." Just as Vex said that, the lights dimmed throughout the ship, keeping everything to a low glow. Opening his eyes slowly, he looked around. Thoughts nagging about his bed. "Damn head." Mumbling while slowly walking his way back to the bedroom, easing himself into the comfort of a blanket and pillow. Ruffling it all against his fur. The light casted a gentle autumn light over the ships' wood and tile. Almost as if it was careful of his pain. Even if the harsh glow of a holopad interrupted that peace.

Waving and tapping his paw gently on the screen, his fatigued expression gazed upon anything that might seem of interest. Using his connections to either find more ruins or perhaps a small job on the side. Different articles passed by on the bluish lens. Another Martian politician scandal, new exhibit opening at the Ishtar zoo, a science crew missing after a brief expedition on Earth. He didn't pay attention to most of it. All of it was useless, mostly time killers. He browsed a bit more, moving to his personal email soon. Most were boring bouncer job offers, which he stopped doing years ago. The workflow was mostly dry now, since he started ruin hunting, and most couldn't afford his prices now anyway. However, one message caught his eye. Raising a brow, he opened it to read.

To Vex Kader,

Hopefully this invitation finds you well. Ten years have passed since our graduating class of 2717 at Aedar Viccs High. To celebrate the coming and going of the class, we will be hosting a party and get together at Leda Waterfront Park. We here from the old organizational team would be happy to have you here. Along with any partners you have.

Vex let out a tiny huff at the letter, looking through it. "Surprised those bastards even remembered me, I wonder how they even got ahold of me..." He mumbled to himself, reading through the rest of the short note.

Drinks and food are provided through catering. You will not have to worry about it. We hope to see you there-

Signed, Lena R. Miles F. Zev. C - Aedar High (Former) Student Planners

Followed by it was a time and date, as well as a few more specifications for the location.

Vex was almost amused at this, how they even remembered him, and how they got this contact information to begin with. This was his private account, meant for business. Work. Not whoever wanted to contact him, but assuming the party had alcohol. A soft clack whispered throughout the room as he set the holopad down on the night stand next to the bed. He pondered a bit about the party. It certainly wouldn't be the first occasion he's been to. Employers have often brought him into their own functions, often with alcohol and the like. But Vex never had a solid relationship with any of them, and he certainly never had a good relationship with those he went to school with. Often feeling more like an outcast than anything else, since home was so different from everyone else's. Though upon more thought he figured a quick dip in wouldn't hurt, after all it's been almost ten years since he'd seen anyone from school. And alcohol can liven up any occasion.