FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Author's Note: I know what I'm going to say next might piss a lot of people off, but I think it is better in the long run. I'm going to stop updating my stories. Now that it is out and everyone gasped, I WILL FINISH THEM! I'm just not going to update them until I have several chapters done and can post them with a reliable update time. Also, please have mercy on me for not getting this up when I said I'd have it. I'm now the CEO of a small start-up business, and all of the legal paperwork I have to wade through is taking a toll on the time I have to write (with somewhere around eight stories I'm working on, half of which won't end up here), and the rest of the free time I have.

Warning: Use of Google Translation ahead. Proceed at your own risk.

Chapter Five: Engagement

I woke up with the sun in my eyes. I muffled a groan and forced myself awake. I glanced at the nearby clock. It read 0655H (6:55 AM). I then noticed that Sarah had curled up next to me in her sleep again. I couldn't help but smile at the sight. I slowly got out of bed, so not to disturb her. I stood up and shivered in the chilled room. I really wanted to climb back into the warm covers, but I had job to perform. With a heavy yawn, I stretched my whole body. After that, l quickly got dressed in my ACU. I then did a quick twenty push-ups and warmed my body up for the coming forced march.

I glanced at Sarah and quietly made a decision. I left the room and walked to the lobby. Once I was there, I glanced over at the desk and there was Nurse Joy. I walked over and when she saw me, she smiled.

"Morning Nurse Joy," I said.

"Good morning, Eric," she said with her trademark smile.

"Still on duty? When do you take some time off for sleep?" I asked as I leaned on her desk.

"Nope, with someone like you around, I don't have the time," she said with a small laugh. I had a small laugh with her before I got back to why I was there.

"So where can a guy grab some breakfast?" I asked.

"Just over there, in the cafeteria. The sign is down for repair. By the way, how's Sarah?" Nurse Joy asked.

"Fine, exhausted from our training last night though," I said.

"I heard some loud noises coming from your room last night, what were you doing in there?" she asked.

"I was teaching Sarah," I said before I quickly glanced around, no one else was awake yet, "Some hand-to-hand combat techniques, both lethal and nonlethal. I don't think it's legal, but I'm not a Pokémon Trainer. If I fight, it'll be both of our lives on the line."

"Why would you teach her something like that?" Nurse Joy asked, the alarm obvious in her voice.

"My job," is all that I replied, "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to grab me and Sarah some chow before we move out." I walked over to the closed double doors and walked through them. The cafeteria kind of looked like an old 1950's dinner, save for that everything was a dull color. I sat down at a bar like area when a waiter walked up.

"What can I get you, sir?" he asked.

"Some water for now," I said as I grabbed a menu and flipped through it. The waiter set a glass in front of me. I took a sip as I quickly scanned through the menu. 'Bingo,' I thought and looked at the waiter.

"Two pancake plates. I'm going to take one to my room later, so can you hold off on it?" I asked politely.

"Of course, sir," he said before he walked off and told the chief my order. I sat there and thought about what I was going to do about our mission. I didn't have a map, and my own internal map wasn't very trustworthy...However, with that untrustworthy map, at least I knew the city names and such. I plotted out a quickly route on where we had to go.

"Here you go, sir," a voice said in front of me, along with a stack of pancakes on a plate that appeared out of nowhere. I jumped slightly and glanced at the waiter. "I'm sorry for startling you sir," the waiter said.

"Ah no, I just zoned out. No problem," I said as I glanced at my watch. 'Man, it's been fifteen minutes, I was out of it. Save the heavy thinking until after breakfast,' I thought as I got started on my pancakes. Fifteen minutes later, I had polished them off.

"Sir, can I have that second order of pancakes to go?" I asked as he came over to take my empty plate away.

"Of course," he replied as he took the plate away, "Is this a breakfast in bed deal?" I felt the blood rush to my face in embarrassment at the unspoken suggestion.

"Yes, but it's just a reward for doing such a great job during training," I reply quickly. I like Sarah and all, but nothing on that level. Besides, even if I did, I'm her superior officer. Having anything other than a professional or friendly relationship is against regulations, and I don't want to jeopardize my career any more than I already have. However, the waiter just smiled, or was that a smirk, and walked off to place my order. 'Yeah, he doesn't believe me and doesn't even know what he's talking about,' I thought as I spun around in the bar seat with an exasperated sigh.

During my half an hour visit, three other people had come down for breakfast. Two of them had their Pokémon with them and were eating. The other was by herself, and was eating her breakfast quickly. I thought about how Sarah would react to having breakfast in bed as I waited for her meal. It was about ten minutes before the waiter walked back over to me with a tray.

"Thank you," I said before he could get a word out, "How much do I owe?"

"Thirty Pokédollars, sir," he replied as I handed him my Pokédex. He took it and walked off to process the bill. A few minutes later he returned and handed it back to me. "Have a good day, sir," the waiter said.

"You too, sir," I replied before I stuffed the Pokédex into one of my pockets and grabbed the tray. I couldn't help but remember all of the times I had eaten at the Dinning Center, or DC as us Bethel students always called it. I remembered all of the times I had carried a large stack of food up to the second floor and chose a table to sit at by myself, along with all of my school work. The thought of home brought a smile to my face as I quickly walked back to my room.

I quietly opened the door and saw that Sarah was still asleep, but had curled up with the pillow after I had left. I had to force myself not to laugh at the sight. I quickly set the tray down on the nightstand next to the bed, and gently shook her.

"Sarah, rise and shine. We have a long day ahead of us," I said. She groaned as she woke up.

"It should be against the law to wake up this early," she grumbled as she sat up.

"You think this is bad? Try serving in the military while at war. There is where it gets bad. Up at Twenty hundred (8:00 PM) the previous day, asleep by fourteen hundred (2:00 PM) the next," I chuckled at her antics. My chuckle then turned into full blown laughter as her stomach rumbled at the smell of pancakes. She covered her stomach, her embarrassment showing through her fur.

"Here," I said as I passed her the tray, "as a reward for such a good job last night. Take as much time as you want, we'll leave when you finish."

"Thanks, Eric," she said as she dug in.

"No problem, Sarah," I said. I sat there for a second, before I went to gather my equipment. I got it all settled on my body, and I was extremely thankful for having strong legs. I always had strong legs, and that's what got me into some trouble with the Army Physical Fitness Tests. I couldn't do the forty-two push-ups that they wanted within those two minutes. I passed the sit-ups portion of fifty-three by a mile, with my most recent and record one being seventy in two minutes, and the two mile run, with a record of thirteen minutes and thirty two seconds. Best I ever did was forty-one push-ups in two minutes, and I always swore I did three when she looked away and didn't count them.

I shook my head from my thoughts of home. I didn't want to get depressed at not knowing if I was ever going to go home. I was doing what I signed up for. I am far from home, far from familiar friends and faces, and I was performing a job that had life or death consequences; nothing too different from what I would be doing if I was deployed during my service. Besides, I need to show these people what it means to be a United States soldier. I finished my packing and grabbed my rifle. I looked at my watch and noted that it was almost 0800H (8:00 AM) and then glanced over at Sarah.

She had already finished the pancakes and she was then cleaning off her fur from the syrup. I grin as she murred her enjoyment. She then noticed I was looking at her and blushed. In return, I smirked, fighting against the laughter rising in me. It took a few moments, but I was able to get my laughter under control.

"Ready to go?" I asked as I hefted my rifle in my left hand.

"Yeah," she replied as she jumped to her feet. I slung the rifle over my shoulder and opened the door. We walked out of the Pokémon Center, fresh and ready for the day. It felt good having a mission, a goal, something to work towards. It gave my mind something to focus on, and it made me feel good. I always hated that feeling of not knowing what to do next.

I glanced around and saw people start to move around, getting ready for another day in their life. I thought about what I was getting into and realized one very important truth about life. 'I guess it's true. Ignorance really is bliss,' I thought as I shook my head at my own cynicism.

"So, Eric," Sarah said, "What do you think we'll be facing at Snowpoint City?"

"I'm hoping we'll be facing a bunch of bunnies and roses who only want to try and hug us to death, and maybe a snowball fight or two; after which, we'll be given the Orb and be hailed as Heroes for the rest of time. This would then all be followed by us dropping them off with the Professor and being home before Dinner," I said without missing a beat and with a completely straight face. I watched as Sarah missed a step and barely caught herself before she gave me a "What-are-you-smoking-and-where-can-I-get-some?" look.

"What? Can't a guy have some unrealistic hopes that the world will be full of sunshine, roses, rainbows, and cute little bunnies?" I asked, my smirk finally breaking through. Sarah's look told me that she didn't know where she should burst out laughing, or find a way to get away from the "crazy person" I had become.

"Now, in all seriousness, I don't know. The only thing we can do is be prepared for the plan to go to Hell."

In the silence right after I said that, I heard a distinct, reverberating crack and something stopped me and forced me to the ground. My mind caught up to my instinct and I realized what the sound was. 'Gunshot!' I realized as my rifle pressed into my shoulder as I scanned our surroundings. 'Where did that come from?' I thought as I glanced at Sarah.

"Get down!" I whispered forcefully as I high-crawled to the nearby woods. I scanned the wood line as I tried to figure out where the shot came from and who it was aimed at.

"Eric? What's going on?" Sarah asked as she crawled over to me as well.

"Your guess is as good as mine. But that was a distant gunshot. Someone around here has firepower they shouldn't have," I said as I pushed myself into a crouch, "Follow me, but stay low and quiet." I shouldered my rifle and crept forward. We crept forward for about a half an hour before I spotted something in the distance. I signaled for Sarah to halt and get down. I then dumped my rucksack and slowly crawled forward.

We had come across a clearing. It led to a moderate sized lake in the middle of it. What caught my attention immediately, was the several bodies that littered the area. All of them were laying in various positions that did not look natural. I checked the load of my rifle. The chamber was empty, so I pulled the charging handle all the way back and let it snap forward. I switched my weapon from safe to semi, and swept the clearing. My pulse was pounding in my ears.

All of the bodies in the clearing had the exact same clothing on, and it was when I looked at one that was facing me, I realized that they were all Team Galactic grunts. I also confirmed my suspicions, they were all dead. I almost jumped out of my skin when I suddenly heard a moan from the clearing. I scanned around to try and locate it.

However, before I could, another person stepped out. The person in question was wearing regular clothing, but had a LBV on it. I could easily see that the vest had a few RDG-5 frag grenades, as well as an AK-74 in his hands. The man had an almost picture perfect look of the stereotyped Terrorist with a black ski mask covering his face, RPG-7's on his back, and the RPG launcher.

"Yeshche zhivy?" the man said as he walked over to the moaning Galactic grunt. I didn't know what language the man was speaking, but it wasn't one of the four languages I've heard in my life. I had a bad feeling where this was going. "Nu, ob etom dolzhen pozabotit?sya o tom, chto nebol?shaya problema," he said as he pulled out a pistol and executed the grunt with a single shot to the head.

I stiffened in shock, as well as having my heart missing a few beats at the gunshot. My hands started shaking, but I quickly shook my head. I needed to focus. This dirtbag was going down for that. My movement rattled some grass near me, and the man heard it. His AK aimed right at me.

"Ey! Kto tam?" the man called out. 'Crap, I just blew my cover!' I thought as I steadied my aim. "Vykhodi seychas, ili ya budu strelyat?!" I aimed right for his head and slowly squeezed the trigger. My rifle's kick startled me, but I was able to watch as the man's head snapped back. He lifted off the ground slightly, and came crashing back down on the ground, landing on his back. My heart raced as I struggled to control my breathing to line up a second shot just in case.

"Ey, Nikolay? Chto eto bylo?" another voice called out, "Ty v poryadke? Te proigravshiye ne mogut dat? vam, chto osobykh zatrudneniy." This was followed by some laughter. I could count two different voices. Two more targets. I quickly looked over at Sarah. She was not handling the situation well, or at all from the looks of it. She was frozen, her breathing extremely rapid, and severe shivers.

"Sarah," I whispered, "Breathe! I don't need you passing out on me!" I projected my voice and filled it with as much calmness as I could. I believe I did pretty well as it got her to snap out of it and start to breathe normally, but I think she could tell that I was faking it badly. I was shaking too, but I tried to hide it the best I could. I still had two more Tangos to take out before I could treat her for shock.

"Nikolay?" one voice said as I turned back to the field. I slowly crawled backwards to try and regain some cover and concealment.

"Nikolay? Nikolay, ty gde?" another voice called out, "Nikolay!" I crawled as quietly as I could to get another angle on the now two OPFOR that probably just noticed this, "Nikolai" on the ground. I slowly inched forward, and was able to see the two similarly dressed OPFOR, both with AK-74s, moving slowly towards Nikolai. I was able to get a bead on both of them when they checked Nikolai out.

"On mertv," one of them said as they kept scanning their surroundings. I took in a breathe and held it. I then squeezed the trigger on the closest one's head. A shot rang out as I switched my aim to the other one. I aimed for the center of mass and pulled the trigger. As the first one dropped to the ground, the other dove out of my line of fire as I pulled the trigger.

I flipped the rifle to burst-fire and fired at the last hostile. He was able to aim his rifle and fire twice before my burst caught him in the head and shoulder. Both of his rounds missed me, thankfully, and the area became deathly silent. My ears were ringing due to my gunshots, since I didn't have any hearing protection on, but I would be fine. I was more worried about Sarah, but before I could do that, I had to secure the area the best that I could.

I pushed myself off the ground and slowly moved toward the three OPFOR I had just killed. I kept my rifle aimed at the three, until confirmed dead, incapacitated OPFOR.

I walked up to the first one and kicked his weapon away from him. I then kicked him in the groin. He didn't react at all, which confirmed my suspicions that he was dead, due to the gunshot wound on his head. My stomach rebelled at the sight, but I focused my attention on my job. I moved to the one that I had shot last and kicked away his weapon. I then kicked him in the groin. Same reaction as the first, no reaction. I looked at the one that had started this whole mess.

My shot had hit him right in the forehead, and out the back of the skull. I could see a pool of blood expanding around his head, making a kind of halo around it. I felt bile rising in my throat but swallowed it down. I kicked away his weapon and kick his groin. Another confirmed kill.

Thoughts ran through my head at supersonic speeds. Did they have wives? Did they have children? What about their parents? Did they have brothers or sisters? Did they have friends? Did I do the right thing? Should I have called them out instead of engaging first? Was there any other option? Should I have shot to incapacitate instead of shooting to kill? Should I have just turned tail instead? Should I have even got involved at all?

Try as I might, I couldn't stop the thoughts. I was now a killer. I now was responsible for the deaths of three human beings. I had shot first. That last one was just trying to defend himself. They weren't a threat until I made them one. No matter what logic I put up in defense, the same thought ran through my head. I am a killer. I am a murderer...

I finally was able to quiet the voices in my head. Not silence them, but quiet them enough that I could think and operate. I gathered what weapons off them I could, while trying not to look in their lifeless eyes. In all, they had three AK-74s, three Makarov pistols, seven RDG-5 grenades, and three RPGs with one launcher. I secured the ordinance, the rifles, and pistols to myself before I ran back to check on Sarah.

I panicked slightly when I found her on the ground. I checked her over and found no wounds, and that she was still breathing. She had fainted in the "excitement." I recalled her into her ball without a word other than a sigh of relief, and then moved back out to the carnage that was the clearing. As I looked out over the killing grounds, I again had to swallow the rising bile and focus on my breathing to keep from passing out. The entire place smelled of death. It was a smell I wished I could forget.

I quickly went from Galactic grunt to Galactic grunt to see if there were any survivors. There were none. I checked them each for any IDs and found none. Either they were sterile before they were killed, or were sterilized by whoever these AK-wielding men were. I then checked the three OPFOR bodies. Besides ammo for the AKs and Makarovs, they were also sterile. I had no idea who they were, or why they attacked Team Galactic, but I had a feeling that it wouldn't be the last time I would run into them.

I left the clearing with the rifles, pistols, grenades, RPGs and the ammo for all of them evenly distributed all over my body, but they were not the only weight I was carrying. The weight of my kills weighed heavily on my shoulders. That in itself, weighed more than all of the gear I was currently hauling. And the worst part was, I could hear their spirits constantly whispering in my ear, "Murderer."