FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

I've settled on a name for the new canon. I'm calling it Shipborn, but I'm going to keep the "Sirius" name attached so that they're easy to find.

This chapter is going to seem short to anybody who has read the teaser, because only about half of it is new. But to everyone else here's the deal. This is a reboot of an old series of mine that's still on the site. I'm going to leave it up, terrible as it is, for you to read and enjoy.

IF you read the old canon, you'll see a lot of similar themes in the new one. There will also be significant changes. I hope you'll enjoy reading the new one as much as I've enjoyed writing this first chapter, and I'll see you next installment.

XXX

Shipborn

Chapter 1

Running water dripping down his form and the hum of the light-drive. Wet fur and the smell of cleanser. The occasional tremble of a slipspace shift. The wolf, Jasyn Emitt, was surrounded by familiar scents and sounds as he passed a brush through his fur, drawing any deep particles out and helping rinse the soap from his body. Standing under the spray of three heads, the wolf lifted his face and spoke.

"System, query."

Query open. Came the artificial reply.

"Mission Status Update"

SRS Falchion, en route to confirmed inhabited planet for peaceful first contact. Fourteen rounds estimated till arrival. Travelling at 98.6 percent Light Speed. Mission time index 80 cycles, thirty-three days, eleven rounds, and twelve Lines.

"Thank you, system."

You are welcome, Lieutenant.

A bump of the hand stopped the spray of water as the wolf shook his mane out, the lighter fur glistening in the faux-natural glow. Stepping from the stall, he was assailed by a heated blast of air, only briefly enough to remove excess water before the dryer head was pulled away. Tugging a cloth from the wall-rack, the wolf set about patting his fur dry as he walked, nude, toward the lockers in the shower hall.

A clock on the wall read 09.32.17, barely late enough to be qualified as morning yet, but then Jasyn always woke early. There was something soothing about having the shower hall to himself before the rush of bodies getting ready for or being relieved of their shifts. Tossing the damp towel into the chute, the wolf braced with an overhead handhold as the ship began to rattle again. The inevitable bump of a matter pocket in slipspace shook the ship, enough that were it not for his bracing he may well have lost balance. It was only a second of turbulence before the ship settled and the wolf continued to his locker.

A press of his hand cracked the seal, and he pulled open the compartment. A fresh uniform had been deposited last night after he had given the ship his dirtied one, and he reached in to pull this new one on. Grey material with blue across the shoulders, and adorning the flaps on the many pockets. His name was printed on the collar, along with his rank insignia-a pair of crossed lines, or xx. His eyes lingered happily on an image taped snugly to the inner door of his locker. He and a white fox-his friend Axis-on his eighteenth birthday last year.

In the photo the Fox's features were clearly visible. Shoulder length silvery hair tied back into a traditional tail, striking violet eyes expressive enough to grin as he fought for the present. Axis' brother had taken it as Jasyn had his arms wrapped around him, wrestling over the present the fox was adamantly refusing to give him. 'No' he had said 'C'mon Jay, after what everyone else got you it's stupid.'

Reaching into the locker, he grabbed the woven bracelet, made from bits of wire the fox had secreted away. He smiled fondly as he slipped it over his wrist before he reached in and grabbed his jacket, matching the colours of his uniform. Pulling it over his jumpsuit, he grabbed his boots as well before closing the locker quickly.

It was no secret that Jasyn fraternized with the fox, they were often seen joking around in the corridors or sitting in the ship's commissary enjoying a meal. But when Jasyn's other friends came around, the fox would excuse himself politely. He wasn't welcome by the others, and knew better than to argue, and Jasyn hurt every single time.

But it was life, he reflected, as he pulled his boots on and began the walk through the cramped corridors.

The Falchion was a frontline vessel, military but only just. She had been dispatched-voluntarily by the whole of the crew-many, many years ago to rendezvous with another species that had sent a signal directed towards them. Her guns were fully loaded, and her crew were combat trained, but there were no volunteers here anymore. Trained by their parents and groomed into their roles, three generations had passed, and now the children of that first group were beginning to disappear from age.

Jasyn wasn't bitter. He was excited, and nervous. Tomorrow they would reach the end of their long journey. They would finally meet these people, and if all went well, they would broker a settlement, and a peace.

--

Stepping onto the ship's main hangar deck, the wolf saw a corp of engineers and a full flight's worth of pilots checking and re-checking their handiwork. Modifications made over the years as the on-board scientists thought of ways to improve their craft. They were bringing the ship's fighter squadrons online for the first time in eighty years, and while these ships were practically antique, they were still precision craft. Sharp, angular features around the central cockpit, and a symmetry of variable wings to flank it.

Jasyn wove through the aisles of fighter craft and transports before stopping before his own. Perched on the nose, bent over into the electronics, Jasyn could see just the ass-end of that fox from before, tail swaying excitedly. He coughed and snickered. Shouting over the din of the hangar, Jasyn mocked, "Making some adjustments, are we?"

The fox jumped, startled, and looked back at him with a shake of his head and half a smirk. "Jerk." he said, under his breath but loud enough for the wolf to hear. Hopping down, he began unthreading his fingers from the grounding gloves and smiling wide. "Just examining the wiring again. I know I've seen the electronics before but there's just something... I-I-I don't know, magical about the way these things are wired."

Laughing, Jasyn shook his head and ruffled between the fox's ears. "So you've said. Well, do you think she's up to snuff?"

"Oh absolutely." the fox, Levi, nodded enthused. "I've already done the standard modifications, and I tweaked the drive a little bit. It should kick out about 3% more thrust at top throttle now. Just because I could."

"You do know I've never flown one of these before... right? Only in sim. Any extra throttle and I'm afraid I might black out." Jasyn warned.

"Well, mission says we're supposed to drop out of slipspace in twenty rounds so that we can plot through the system's inner asteroid belt" his companion informed him as he started to climb back up onto the nose. "Deckmaster says he's sending the whole flight out so you can 'stretch your wings'"

"Sounds like fun, dodging asteroids."

"It's pretty empty anyway" the fox corrected. "most of the asteroids are tiny and we could easily slip through." His foot slipped from the narrow ledge he was using for a step-up, but Jasyn quickly stepped in and caught him on his shoulder.

"Careful."

"Thanks." the fox said, leaning forward as he got more stable footing. "Anyway, from there we'll have a few rounds while we make sure a jump won't break the ship, and then it'll be another short jump before we drop out in lunar orbit."

"When do you figure they'll intercept us?" the wolf asked, leaning on the nose of the craft as he watched the fox close up the panels on the fighter.

"I bet they've got patrols around the asteroid belt, honestly. If not patrols, then they have some sort of mining operations going." the fox said between grunts as he re-bolted the panels. "Gotta be there."

"I don't know... I think they'll keep their distance until we've passed their moon. Waiting to see what we do." the wolf replied skeptically.

"I hope you're not putting your tail in your mouth there. Care to make it interesting?" a sly smirk crossed the fox's face.

"What do you have in mind?"

"Loser wears the bitch jacket for a day." the fox snickered.

"Alright, see you in twenty rounds, Levi," the wolf squeezed the fox's thigh, causing him to yelp and clutch the canopy of the fighter to keep from falling.

"We'll see then, Emitt!" the fox called after him as the wolf turned to leave, and the fox turned back to work.

--

The red- and blue-shifted filaments of slipstream space twisted beyond the portholes, only barely visible due to the speed at which the ship was moving. Each high-energy filament seemed insignificant, but they could each dwarf the ship many times over as they arced and swayed. Jasyn always found them mesmerizing, but that wasn't why he was watching them.

Thirty points to deceleration was broadcast over the ship.

Jasyn was eager to fly, he had been trained to be a pilot since he was very young and his father's station as second-in-command meant he was guaranteed a position in one of the squadrons. Nobody on the ship had any practical experience, but they had drilled simulation after simulation. Still though, this was different.

Ten points to Deceleration

He was already changed, dressed in a standard flight suit. The silver metal bracket around his neck, meant to seal the helmet in his hand, sat heavily. The suit was form-fitting, with hardened plates of the same metal the outer hull was made of to armour the pilot from shrapnel. Black with a blue pattern similar to the one on his normal jumpsuit. His tail was clad in rings of the material, hardened but flexible, simply to allow full motion.

All hands brace

The blue and red filaments became a sudden encompassing white for seconds on end, and then inky black with points of light, and a single large space-borne rock crossed the viewport. Jasyn turned and looked at a mounted screen on the inner wall, linked to the forward visual display and saw the same rock roll past the nose as the Captain's voice came across the speakers.

"All systems are green, Congratulations all hands, we have arrived."

Jasyn grinned wide, clapping his hand to the front of the helmet and began a short sprint toward the hangar bay with a few other stragglers.

As he entered, the Deckmaster was addressing the pilots and engineers. "-our course will take us at maximum one Lunar Distance from the ship, we will split into two wings and perform a mock dogfight in the space around a nearby asteroid using the same rules as our simulated flights. Our weapons -are- fully functional, so be cautious not to actually shoot down your flightmates."

Jogging up beside that same white fox, the wolf leaned in and said under the flightmaster's voice, "Told you." to which he received a grunt.

"We just know I'm wrong, you still have to be right." the fox replied as the Deckmaster concluded.

"All pilots should board their craft now, we launch in three Lines." he ordered, and then began walking toward his own craft, painted with red lines. Jasyn and the other pilots quickly strapped into their fighters, as each engineer helped their group of pilots with final checklists.

As Levi tugged on Jasyn's belt restraint, the wolf rattled off his startup. "Green across the board. Thanks to you of course."

"Yeah yeah." the fox shook his head. "You be careful out there Jayse..."

"Axis. I'll be fine. I'll be back before you miss me." he said, chuckling.

The fox laughed and pat Jasyn's chest, a sign of affection for their kind, before hopping down from the cockpit. "Alright Jay. You're good to go." he called up, and the wolf nodded and pulled his helmet over his head. Pressing the nose-piece toward his face, the wolf heard a click as it engaged the lock on the collar. Closing the locks along the 'cheeks' of the helmet, he made sure it was secure before he closed the solid canopy, projection screens coming to life over his head.

The HUD listed several proximity alerts, and Jasyn checked the nearby fighters positions in the bay to make sure they were in alignment as the engineers began to evacuate the bay.

Bay is evacuated. Depressurizing hangar. Came that artificial voice again.

Jasyn knew there was a roar outside his cockpit, but he couldn't hear any of it. Sealed in, he could only hear the beating of his heart until the in-helmet comm came on. "Deckmaster Var here, all fighters report."

One by one, the other pilots signed off in order. As Jasyn's turn came up, he called out "J.E. on standby." and listened for his wing to report.

The ship's hangar was vacuum now, and the outer doors on both sides began to open like blinds, before being drawn down into the hull. "Alright pilots, just like we rehearsed." came the Deckmaster again, before one by one the fighter wings lifted from their perches and kicked their engines into activity.

--

The weightlessness of spaceflight was phenomenal to Jasyn, he had felt it when they had done their zero-g training, but to actually be in control of something while weightless was glorious. Looking to either side, he could see two of his four squadmates following in a standard Sirian diamond pattern, and beyond them the rest of the wing. Above him, the 'enemy' wing was taking a higher speed, headed toward the far side of their target rock.

Jasyn could see, in his left monitor, the diffused light from the system's star. This far out it was the size of his smallest finger, but was still a sight to behold. So caught up he was, that he almost missed the deckmaster's command to begin the war game.

Switching to the alternate frequency that his wing had been assigned, Jasyn heard his wing commander issue an order to split evenly and circle the sides of the asteroid at a wide berth, instead of letting it pass overhead as was the original plan.

Jasyn pulled his craft into a quick bank, and started to round the big rock, watching both the sky and his instruments for sign of the enemy. Then he saw them, the opposing wing's red-painted fighters were only barely visible, but they were headed away toward the 'bottom' of the rock.

Speaking over comm, he called his squad into attack readiness, streaking towards the unprepared fighters. Pulling up the laser designator, the wolf painted across the hull of the back-most craft and held there until his system got a lock. As was procedure, the target-locked pilot announced over the opposing team's channel "R.D. down." and began to pull away from the group.

He'd only be out for a few Lines, and then he'd be 'reinforcements' to Jasyn's wing. Two more announcements over chatter were heard before the enemy wing scattered from this unexpected angle of attack, countering the first volley with one of their own. From across the field, Jasyn saw two of another squad's pilots peel off, and their transponders dim from his radar.

As this fight continued, Jasyn pinged another three pilots himself, his wingmates netting an additional two before the four of them were taken out as well. Quick thinking and Axis' engine modifications managed to save him from being tagged, but as the clock ticked over, Jasyn realized he had put his back towards the enemy line. Seven enemy dots came on simultaneously directly aft of the wolf, and he grit his teeth as he prepared to fight to get out of that blunder.

Weaving and side-slipping, the wolf moved his ship in as erratic a way as possible, hoping to throw off the enemy locks-and for a moment it looked like he was going to make it. The flank was decisive though, the enemy's wing-leader came up from below with a sudden volley and as focused as Jasyn was on his pursuers he didn't see it until the last moment. His HUD warned him of a missile lock and he groaned, switching to the opposing comm dejectedly. "J.E. Down." he called, limping off the field with a sigh.

Twice more Jasyn was shot down, but by the end he had tagged seventeen enemy craft. He was outshone by only the Deckmaster's count of twenty to one before the games were called to a halt.

Streaking back towards the Falchion, Jasyn was awed once more. For the first time, he could see the outside of his birthship-excluding the simulations that couldn't do the sight justice. The bow was broadly pointed, sharp angles breaking upward into a shape reminiscent of a bird of prey. Cutting backward, the ship's plated, matte blue hull was marked with three silver lines on either side of the three dartlike fins around the aft of the centre mass, each one pointed forward. The main engines, located between the 'lower' two fins, were dark at present. Shut down to conserve power as the vessel drifted through the asteroid belt. Fine particles of dust caught the light of the star, drawing flat beams separated solely by the shadow of the craft.

Jasyn could just see the lettering along one of the fins, written in a blocky script of Sirian. 'SRS Falchion.' and the ship's crest of a shield and broad-blade dagger over the three-moon emblem.

"Blessed Domir but that is a sight," spoke R.D over the comm, to unanimous approval.

"Kinda makes you glad our grand-sires volunteered, no?" Jasyn ventured.

"We'll have plenty of time to chew the scenery later, pilots. Standard docking procedures." the Deckmaster cut in, and they set about to land.

--

After setting his fighter's wings into the docking struts, Jasyn let the ship's armatures do the work of drawing him in, shutting the ship down in sequence manually as he felt the gravity return. With a feather-light thunk, his craft was seated back in it's starting place, and Jasyn popped his canopy as he unfastened his belt restraints.

The roar of pressurized air filled the hangar bay as the blind doors slid up and closed again, a green flashing light signalling full pressure as the interior doors opened up and engineering crews flooded into the bay. Popping his helmet's face-mask seals, the wolf unlocked it from the neck ring and freed his head from the oppressive heat of his own breath.

A giddy smile crossed his features as his mechanical partner jogged up to him, tail flicking and ears turning like dishes in excitement. The quarter-head of height between them had him looking down at the fox as he cried out with half a laugh. "That was the most fun I've ever had!"

"Was it scary?" the fox asked with a chuckle, seeing his friend's joy.

"It felt basically the same as being here, except smaller and I was in control." the wolf shrugged, turning to look up at his fighter.

The paint had chipped from the dustlike debris in the field, a few miniscule new dents caused by a fist-sized chunk of rock hitting the curved nose-section. The forward-pointed wings on either side were otherwise unmarked save the gold stripe across the trailing edge.

"In the next couple days, I'll see about getting behind the stick of a transport and taking you out-if you want." he offered with a smile.

"You know, I'd like that." the fox affirmed, smiling warmly up at Jasyn and meeting his eyes. In those violet eyes, Jasyn could see how barely the fox had managed to restrain his excitement for that.

"So, any news?" Jasyn asked, as he began to step out of the hangar. The fox hesitated a moment before jogging to catch him.

"The locals sent a ping at us, probably just trying to figure out what we were. Captain sent a couple in reply, a sort of 'yes, we're alive' message." the fox reported, the clank of the deck plates under their feet and the clamour of other voices in his ears as he stepped through the cramped corridors. "I think he figures it's better we let them know we're coming in, instead of staying quiet and having them possibly shoot us when we get close."

"I'd have done the same," the wolf agreed, grabbing an overhead handhold, he pulled his helmet loose over his head as he motioned the fox lead. They both knew exactly where they were headed. Speaking down at him, he called, "You should see some of the stills I took of the ship. I mean, I know you've seen the simulations, but actually seeing the outside of this thing? With the starlight in the background?"

"I look forward to it." the fox called up, the open bottom of the helmet managing to catch the noise for the wolf. "We should be hitting slipstream in about five Lines. Probably be there for a good ten more before we drop out just outside of lunar orbit." he added as he swung from the ladder into another corridor.

"They've only got the one moon, right?" the wolf asked, as he set his feet into the second-lowest deck. Pulling his helmet back off, he shook his head again, his own silver hair dishevelled from the flight and being crammed in the flight suit. "It's going to be weird standing on an actual planet. Especially with a big white ball in the sky."

"That's if they let us land. We barely know anything about these people, and they've got every right to be suspicious." the fox reminded him, the deck plates clanking underfoot again."I wouldn't be surprised if they turn us away."

Jasyn shrugged, passing connecting corridors and stepping over bulkheads. "I certainly hope not."

As they stepped over the threshold to the commissary, Jasyn could see the space ahead of the ship on the three large monitors mounted to the wall. In the far distance another meteorite tumbled by and a bright point in the sky separate from the system's star shone on the far right. An information overlay listed it as 'Sol-4', while an invisible speck was labelled 'Sol-3: Destination"

He waited for Axis to sit, taking the space beside him to watch the screen. "I wonder what they look like." the wolf mused.

As the fox made to reply, the shipwide comm gave a two-tone ping.

All hands, brace for slipstream entry

Seated as they were, the two pressed their palms to the table and waited out the shudder as the ship folded into slipspace. A timer was overlaid counting down from 16 lines.

"Their transmission included some images, one of them seemed to indicate bipedal, and sexual distinction between male and female." the fox said in response. "So they shouldn't be too different from us."

For a long moment the wolf was quiet, and Axis took notice. "Nervous?" he asked as he lay his hand on Jasyn's shoulder.

"What? Oh... yeah a bit." he replied, snapping from his thoughts, "who wouldn't be? We're representing the whole of our species, and we know next to nothing of our own world."

"Your nerves are probably just on edge from that first flight..." the fox offered, shrugging.

"Maybe..." the wolf admitted, watching the numbers tick past 12.

--

The sound of the engines vibrating against the outer hull, the compressor feeding oxygen into his suit, and the shallow breathing of a focused pilot were the only thing filling the young human's mind. In the tiny fighter, his forward view was dominated by his carrier, the ESS Geronimo. A long, thin silver spire, with two narrow, almost delicate looking drive rings toward the back end. Smoothly curved, the outer hull gave it an almost artistic feel, despite the power he knew the ship could unleash. Two sub-hulls extended to either side of the main body, housing the massive hangar bays and connected by four several decameter long bridges.

Peppered around the man's vision were hundreds of identical fighters, dozens of interceptor variants heading each squadron. These small, silver daggers had a similar drive ring. Theirs, though, was placed behind the cockpit along the main axis, so that there was a hole in the middle of the craft. The nearest squadron's red markings indicated it was the wing-leader's squad.

Sitting in silence, the man watched the emptiness beyond all of these distractions; waiting in patience for the unidentified intruders. It began like a ripple, a few stars shifting side to side. Within seconds it was flaring in intensity, a bright red light in the void of space, with no apparent source. As he watched, he could see filaments of energy reaching out towards them, but they faded suddenly as a vessel emerged.

He waited for orders to come across the comm, and his wing-leader delivered. "Do not engage, showing no hostile action."

A signal crossed the emptiness between ships, and the pilot pulled it up on another channel, watching the proceedings as his brow grew wet with sweat.

At first it was just the Geronimo's open hail, but momentarily it was answered with a signal in kind. On the small video screen the pilot saw a creature with black fur, two yellow eyes peered out in an almost hungry way. He was dressed in a red and black jumpsuit, golden piping along the seams. Staring over the emptiness, the man spoke in rough growling tones to somebody off-screen, and an overlay came up.

The images displayed were of places on earth, Washington in the mid twentieth century, Giza. People smiling, and then a flat image depicting what looked like two stylized humans, nude, with an asterisk shape. Any first-year graduate would recognize that image.

"They're replaying the Sirius transmission." came the wing-leader's voice, and the Captain of the Geronimo spoke his agreement.

The message cut, and the furred creature on the other end stepped closer to his camera. His gravelly voice was still present as he formed the foreign words, but he spoke calmly and seemed hopeful in his conveyance. "We seek peace." he spoke, repeating one of the phrases from the transmission.

A long, tense moment passed, before the Captain of the Geronimo nodded. "We week peace." he spoke in reply, and the alien seemed to take the words well. The captain transmit a flight plan to the alien ship, taking them in towards one of the orbital weapon platforms. Immediately the alien vessel began to turn towards the path given.

--

Smirking, the wolf shook his head as he watched the fox's defeat. "Do I really have to wear this?" he asked.

"A deal's a deal, Levi." he laughed, as he watched the fox pull on the jacket of a women's uniform. The colours matched Axis' own commission-steely gray with dark red patterns. However it was shorter than the men's, coming to Axis' lower ribcage.

Zipping the jacket halfway, the fox's ears heated slightly and he grumbled. "You suck, man." he said with a sigh, smirking a bit himself at the feeling.

"Looks good on you, I'd almost think you were a girl." Jasyn teased, and Axis blushed a shade brighter. Admiring his victory, the wolf heard his name called over the Comm. Stepping over to the wall-panel in the locker room he pressed the receive button and spoke. "Jasyn here."

"Lieutenant, you're to report to the hangar with a team of three. You will be leading one of the three teams we're sending to the alien station. Pistols and combat knives only. I'm assigning ensign Fargo to your group to run linguistics." came the commander's voice.

"Yes sir." he replied, and then ended the discussion.

"You must hate talking to your dad so formally." Axis replied, cocking his head to the side. "So, who are you taking?"

"Well, you obviously." he said, and smiled as the fox's face lit up. "That leaves two spots. So' is going to be leading a team I'm sure, but we're going to want a bit of muscle in case things go awry. As much as you're going to hate it, Hall and Avery are the only two I can think would suit the profile."

"I'll deal. You call them and I'll go get suited up." the fox said excitedly. Half-jogging away, Jasyn smirked as he watched that tail bob from side to side.

Just one-half round later, Jasyn stood with his team and five others in full flight gear. Axis' grey and red-clad tail flicking as he performed a once-over on the shuttle. Jasyn watched him as he stood back with the others, talking amongst themselves. "So what's with the bitch, Jay?" Avery asked under his breath, smirking as he knew the reaction it would provoke.

"You know damn well he's an excellent mechanic." Jasyn scolded, not dignifying the other wolf with his gaze. "Besides that, he's always had a bit of a precognitive sense for trouble. Always warned me when you lot were showing up. Could be useful."

"No, see... I meant why is he wearing a bitch jacket?" the wolf clarified, loudly enough that Axis could hear.

"He lost a bet." the wolf responded immediately, stepping forward as the fox flashed him the all clear.

The small blue-grey ship had identical deck plates, clanking underfoot as Jasyn made his way to the forward section, settling himself immediately in the pilot's chair. Powering on the systems, he tuned the comm to the misson-leader's ship's frequency. "J.E online." he confirmed, and he heard the Captain's son on the other end.

"Hey Jay," the other wolf said candidly. "Glad to have you with us."

"Likewise, So'. Who's your linguist?"

"Dana, Captain figured I'd stop at nothing to keep her from harm and he's right." the wolf chuckled.

"Well, don't get caught up in the sights. I know you two enjoy eachother but-"

"Yes, yes. I won't let it affect me. You know me better than that, man."

A tap on his shoulder from Axis caught the wolf's attention briefly. "Hold on, So'."

"Everyone's strapped in," the fox reported as he slid into the chair behind Jasyn's, acting as operational control so the wolf wouldn't have to worry.

"We're all set over here, So'. Whenever you're ready."

"You're ferrying the third team, right?" he asked, and got a grunt in the affirmative for a reply. "Then we're good to go. Get one last breath of shipboard air because I have a feeling we're going to be in these suits for a bit."

Jasyn heard the hiss of nine helmets locking into place, and pulled his own shut before pulling up the rear door. "Alright, follow me out." the other pilot ordered, and Jasyn waited until the shuttle had cleared the fighters before he lifted her off the deck and slipped free of the hangar bay.

The blue-green world below was breathtaking. Jasyn could see spiderwebs of light from the city lighting on the dark side. Heavy cloud cover roiled and flashed with lightning on the border between night and day.

Before him sat a blocky silver spire topped with four curved panels angled down toward the planet. Likely a high-volume communications system, the real spectacle was the multitude of twin-barelled weapons rising above the dish. Aimed into the void beyond the Falchion, the guns were easily half the length of the ship and that was only a quarter the overall length of the station. From this distance they gave the top of the satellite an almost fuzzy appearance that gained definition the closer they drifted.

Midway to the station, four fighter craft flanked the pair of shuttles and a flight-plan was sent over telling them to dock at a ring near the bottom edge of the satellite. Spotting the bays, Jasyn could also see a long filament catching light like a spiderweb disappearing toward the planet.

"Hey So' are you catching this? It looks like this station is tethered to the planet." Jasyn spoke.

"Yeah, it's called an Orbital elevator." Sota replied "I was reading up on some of our history, we couldn't make it work back home. At least... not before the ship left. It's less costly, at least in theory, to bring materials off world this way."

"The station doesn't look like it's big enough to provide itself with the power one would expect to fire those guns. The tether is probably sheathing a conduit to a planet-side power-station." Axis added.

"A good tactical weakness if we need it. Even if it didn't cut the power, it would probably destabilize the platform if it were severed." the other pilot admitted, before tacking on a quick "Good thinking, fox."

Jasyn grinned at the praise his friend had received.

"Looks like they're separating us, guiding us to opposite sides of a docking ring. Keep your suit-comm on just in case there's trouble and don't let them get between you and the ship. It'd probably be best to leave a team member on each of the shuttles, too."

Jasyn called into the back of the ship. "Hall, did you catch that?"

"What's that?" came the reply.

"You're staying on the ship, to keep them from touching our stuff and in case we need a quick getaway."

"Got it, Jay."

Turning his attention back, Jasyn saw Sota's shuttle start to drift off of their shared course. "Alright. Don't fire unless you have to, guys. If they move to disarm you, give them your gun but do not let them take your knife. I'm betting they'll understand that we'll feel more comfortable with some sort of assurance."

"Got it, So'. If all goes well I'll see you deckside." Jasyn spoke, before they mutually cut the connection. Drifting towards the airlock, Jasyn turned his head partway to the side as he asked the fox, "Can you make out which way we should be turning?"

After a moment's pause, the fox leaned forward and pointed over the wolf's shoulders. "See the red and green lights to either side? Their fighters have similar lights on the wings, see?"

Jasyn saw the running lights on the fighter ahead of him blink. "Ah, yes." the wolf nodded, before firing the port-side thruster so that he was looking up at the planet. Cutting the engines, the wolf spun the ship across it's wings, switching to a rear view as he lined the rear hatch up with the airlock.

"Brace." the wolf called back to his passengers, before the ship's rear end began to compress the flexible section of the airlock. Five thuds against the hull indicated that the station had clamped their ship in place, and Jasyn shut down flight controls as the fox got the other systems.

Unbuckling his belt restraint, the wolf drifted slightly in the low gravity. "Woah, wasn't expecting it to be so low. Their planet must be less dense than it appears." he said as he pulled himself out of the cockpit and into the back.

Peering through the viewport in the rear, Jasyn saw that the doors to the airlock had automatically opened. He looked back at the others, standing now and watching him intently. "Keep your weapons away. Fargo you're in the first batch with me and Levi." he ordered as the fox drifted back from the cockpit.

"Right, sir." the diminutive linguist replied. He was barely an adult, had to be no older than seventeen. His marks, though, were among the highest on the ship in terms of language studies. He could speak several Sirian-native languages fluently, and Jasyn hoped he could pick up on whatever these people were saying.

In his arms, the spotted white Sirian carried a pair of data slates, no doubt one was loaded with images while the other was blank for notation. As they converged, the wolf smirked invisibly behind the mask, letting his eyes portray the expression to the crew. "Everyone is sealed, right?"

Nine nods, and Jasyn turned to the rear hatch. Pressing his hand to the control pad, the door opened with a silent hiss. The other side was pressurized, he noted, as he stepped through with the first batch into the cramped airlock.

As they cycled through, each group was blasted with a high-pressure mix of carbon-dioxide and a pinkish gas. Axis presumed it was some form of antiseptic. Within minutes the whole team save for Hall were standing in another larger chamber.

Filled with blue light, the chamber was spartan and sterile. Beds were built into the bulkheads on either side, eight in total. The wolf had already crossed the room and was staring through his face mask and a large window at a pair of hairless creatures dressed in white uniform.

One, obviously a male, stood a full head above the other, his hair cropped short to his head. Gilded piping on the seams of his sleeves seemed to indicate a position of command. Across his chest was a solid band of red, separating the white of his uniform from the black over his shoulders. Through the jacket, he was apparently in very fit condition. Looking back at Jasyn with steely blue eyes, the man was silent.

The other, presumably a female, was short and wiry by comparison. Upon her nose sat a pair of lenses held in thin metal frames. Her hair was slightly longer, and she wore a similar uniform though less fancy. Across her chest was a sea-green stripe, but aside from the lack of gilded sleeves she was wearing the same uniform. In her hand was a flat piece of technology, glowing on one side with an image that Axis couldn't make out.

Beside Jasyn, Fargo was holding his slate up. In the reflection, the fox could see that the slate was depicting two Sirians face-to-face.

The 'female' laughed aloud as she tapped at the screen of her own display. A similar image was displayed, by serendipity or fate, of a pair of humans shaking hands.

She spoke through a speakerbox beside the window, but Axis had no idea what the human had said.

Fargo looked to Jasyn, and the wolf nodded at him. Pressing one of the buttons on his side, a light came on and he took it to indicate that it was active. He spoke aloud, repeating what the human had said.

<<Greetings>>

--

Over the next few Rounds, Fargo and the human had managed to produce a basic visual vocabulary with the two devices.

Jasyn, seated on a bench in the middle of the room with Axis and Avery, watched him excuse himself before stepping up to report in.

"From what I've been able to gather, they have us in Quarantine. It's only supposed to be temporary while they discern whether we are carrying any sort of infectious diseases they have a vulnerability to, or vice-versa."

"But..." the wolf, continued, knowing that the man had more to say.

"But we're going to have to take our helmets off so that they can do a preliminary reading, based on the air they're circulating in the room. After that, they're going to send in medical personnel to take a blood sample from each of us for testing."

Avery squirmed a bit and grunted. "I hate needles."

Jasyn was equally uneasy. "Can we trust them, from what you've determined?"

"Well, the little one has taken every opportunity to try and press that they're not going to hurt us... I think. At the moment I'm inclined to believe them, but I'm not going to be taking my helmet off first."

Jasyn looked at the others who had assembled. "Give me a moment" he told them, before speaking across the station to Sota. "you there?"

"Hang on." came the reply, and a moment later Sota returned. "Yeah, sorry. Dana and I were having an exchange with one of them. She seems to think they want to experiment on us."

"Getting the same feeling over here. But I think it's more benign than Dana's making it out to be. Fargo says that he trusts them right now. Says we're in quarantine at the moment until they determine we're safe for contact."

"Seems reasonable to me. But there's more, right?"

"Well..." Jasyn began. "He thinks they want us to take our helmets off, so they can get a preliminary reading from the room filters. After that there's probably going to be bloodwork. I was wondering where you wanted to go from here."

"Hold on a sec, Jay." Sota said again, and Jasyn was exposed to silence. "Yeah. Air's clean." he said when he came back. "Had Levi take off his helmet."

Jasyn grunted quietly at that, and Sota caught it. "Hey man, he volunteered. I know how you feel about their family."

"Still doesn't make me happy..." he replied, looking at Axis beside him. "But I suppose there's no harm. Alright, talk to you in a few lines."

"Right."

Jasyn popped the clasps on his helmet, and the rush of cool air was a welcome relief. He hadn't realized how warm the suits were getting. Turning to Axis, he nodded before speaking aloud. "Alright everyone, helmets off. Mission Leader's orders."

With a collective groan, the collective of Sirians began popping their masks one by one as Jasyn pulled his helmet clear of his head. Immediately, he could smell that the room was sterilized aside from the others. Rolling his head, he felt several pops in his spine from having the helmet on for so long.

Fargo, now free of his helmet, was continuing his conversation with the human. Occasionally they would hold up images and simply repeat the word associated with it over and over, back and forth. For instance, Fargo would show her the ship and he spoke 'Starship', only for the human to repeat the word. Then she would speak their word for it, and Fargo would attempt to repeat it, often with mixed results on both sides.

Jasyn turned back to Axis and smirked as the fox looked up at him. "Your brother's in Sota's group. Says he volunteered to pop his helmet first."

"That does sound like him." the fox admitted, after the initial shock had passed. "Here's a question. There's only eight beds."

Jasyn turned his head to count them on the walls.

"That's fine. We're not going to be sleeping all at once anyway." he said in simple reply, before looking around at the various small cliques that had formed among the others. "And you're going to sleep in mine, because I don't trust any of the others to not try and pick a fight over it."

"Alright." the fox replied. "Thanks." he added, as he took Jasyn's helmet in his hand.

Getting up, he placed the two on the bed closest to the inner airlock before returning to the now-standing wolf's side. As they stepped back over to the intercom, Fargo was starting on gender nouns. On the device was the image from their transmission. The two figures standing side by side. The human on the other side had pulled it up as well. <<Human>> she said aloud.

<<Human>> Fargo replied, before he indicated one of the figures on the device.

Seeming to take the hint, the human nodded and flipped through their own device again. Raising the device, she had a strange symbol. A blue hoop, topped with an arrow. Pointing at Fargo's screen again, and then the symbol, she pressed the button on the intercom and spoke. <<Male>>

<<Male>> repeated Fargo, a little giddy with the progress. He indicated himself this time before he spoke. <<Male>> he told the human.

Nodding, the human's lips perked at the corners. Repeating Fargo's actions, the human spoke again. <<Male>> much to everyone's surprise.

"Did she just say she's a he?" Jasyn asked the budding translator.

"Well, when you look at Levi here you could confuse him for a girl too." he said, without malice.

"Hey!" the fox cried, looking up at Jasyn now.

"Well he's not wrong, per-se. And I don't think he means it like that, do you Fargo?" the wolf asked.

"No, not at all; sorry. I'm just saying it's not as surprising as you might think. At any rate, could you call Ensign Lynn over? I want a concrete example of a female before I continue.

Turning his head, the wolf barked across the room. "Lynn. We need you." and the girl half-ran across the room. Her fur was longer than Jasyn's or Axis', and was a three-toned mix of black, brown, and white.

As Jasyn heard Fargo continue with his work, he moved over to the bed that Axis had claimed. The fox was on his heels, and as Jasyn sat on the edge of the bed he asked, "Getting tired?"

"Yeah," the wolf began. "It's been a long day and it's not even over yet."

"Maybe you should get a bit of sleep. You're in charge over here after all." he said, taking the helmets and placing them beside the bed.

"Alright... Hey; stay close okay? If they do anything to the air I want you to kick me and get your helmet on before you even think of helping me with mine. Better that I die than both of us." he ordered.

"Heh... sure thing Jayse. I'll be sitting right here if you need me." he said, as he sat toward the foot of the bed.

As Jasyn lay down, he looked across at several of the others. "Hey! Some of you might consider getting some sleep." he barked.

About half of them picked out beds, and Jasyn settled in. Looking up at Axis, they shared a smile before he began to drift to sleep.