FSE

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formerly SoFurry search engine

Dalton advanced through the metal corridors following the signs to the mess hall his boots making a dull clanking sound as he proceeded towards his goal. The sound of his foot falls were soon eclipsed by din of conversation and the smell of food grew stronger as he rounded the corner.

The room was fairly large and contained thirty tables each of which looked as though it could comfortably seat ten people. Most of the tables were completely full or close to it. There had to be about two hundred and seventy people in the room nearly all of which were staring at the late arrival.

Dalton ignored them as he proceeded to the service line and grabbed a plate. The line was rather short seeing as he was the only one currently without a lunch so it didn't take long to get to the counter.

The man behind the counter was fairly short and rather portly. All the hair on his head appeared to have migrated south causing his head to shine slightly and if his beard was anything to go by his hair had once been black.

"I'm guessing you're the newest member of the security force." The man asked as he took the plate from Dalton's hand and started to pile on the food, which today appeared to be spaghetti.

"Yes, I am." Dalton replied.

"In that case you can have an extra serving. I wouldn't want your last meal to be unsatisfying." The man stated as he handed the plate back to Dalton along with a fork and some napkins.

"Um thanks, I guess." Dalton said as he turned to look for a table.

"You're welcome."

Trying his hardest to ignore the cook's comment Dalton again surveyed the room and spotted a table that, to his surprise, was mostly unoccupied. Its lone occupant focused more on the ceiling than his food and appeared to be lost deeply in thought.

Dalton proceeded to the table knowing it would be the only one with a decent amount of room. Upon sitting down across from the solitary man he had broken the man's focus and his eyes had shifted down giving Dalton a glance of appraisal.

Dalton took the opportunity to do likewise and took in the man's appearance. He had a chiseled face with high cheekbones just below his piercing green eyes which were still examining Dalton. His hair was a dark blonde and was buzzed short in a standard military cut. His chin slightly squared was covered in short stubble about the same length as his hair. He was dressed in a loose white coat which masked the rest of his features except for his height which appeared to be five feet and eleven inches but was that still only an estimate seeing as he was sitting down.

"You are new here, yes?" The man asked a hint of a Russian accent in his voice.

"Yes, I was just transferred here." Dalton replied.

"Well it's good to see a new face around here. I am called Dmitri, Dmitri Nevzorov. I'm one of the head scientists at this facility and am in charge of guarding and examining subject 31-773. What about you?"

"I'm Dalton Hawk the new member of the defense force here but that's about all I know. However if you don't mind me asking what is subject 31-773?"

"I shouldn't really tell you but you'll find out soon anyway. After you are done eating I will show you subject 31-773 and give you a brief explanation of the purpose of this facility seeing as you will be guarding it."

Dalton nodded and looked down at his food. He grabbed his fork and used it to bring some of the food to his mouth. Upon taking his first bite he found that rather than the standard military food he was used to eating that this actually tasted good. He immediately began to wolf it down finishing his meal in a matter of minutes.

"Did you even taste that? You must have been starving because you almost ate the fork." Dmitri laughed.

Dalton shrugged dismissively and grabbed his plate. He stood up and left the table to go return his plate to the kitchen staff. He handed over his plate and fork to the man behind the counter and returned to his seat across from Dmitri and waited patiently for the Russian to finish his meal.

After Dmitri finished disposing of his plate he headed towards the exit to the room motioning for Dalton to follow.

"Let's go Dalton or we won't have enough time to discuss before they call you in for briefing and assessment." Dmitri called back over his shoulder.

Dalton fell in behind Dmitri as they entered the hallway keeping a few feet away as the Russian navigated the metal halls. It quickly became apparent that they were following the signs labeled B.E.L.

"What does B.E.L. stand for?" Dalton wondered out loud as the continued onward.

"Biological Experimentation Labs, there are three main branches of research being conducted. Each branch has its own lab. Branch one is biomechanics and neural interface implants, branch two is genetics and splicing and branch three is controlled mutations." Dmitri answered without looking back.

They turned left and the hallway opened up into a small lobby which contained multiple elevators. Dmitri stopped in front of the nearest one and pressed the down arrow. The gears and cables use to work the lift could be heard as the elevator climbed to the floor that had called it. Dmitri stepped inside as soon as the doors opened and his hand hovered over one of the buttons inside.

"I do hope you are aware that these doors will not stay open indefinitely." Dmitri informed as he waited for Dalton to join him.

Dalton quickly moved into the elevator and stood next to the Russian who pressed the button. Dalton looked at the elevator controls and noted that the button for underground four was lit.

The sound of the cables and gears could be heard again as the elevator began its descent. About a minute later the sound of the brakes and the slight lurch signaled that the lift was near its destination. The elevator soon stopped and the doors slid open allowing its passengers to exit on the desired floor.

"Is there anywhere in particular that we are going?" Dalton inquired when they began walking again.

"To visit subject 31-773, the focus of most of my research, I am pretty sure that I had already said that." Dmitri responded.

"Yes, you did say that. But that is why we are going not where we are going."

"We are going through that door." Dmitri said while pointing towards the middle of three doors.

"And what, might I ask, is behind that door?"

"The holding cells which contain all subjects related to lab two." Dmitri replied as he swiped a card through the scanner next to the door and pulled the door open when the lock released.

Dalton felt the temperature and humidity rise slightly as he stepped past Dmitri into the corridor beyond. The walls on each side contained several windowed enclosures which Dalton peered into as he passed by. They all appeared to be empty of anything more than the arranged habitats inside.

Dmitri had stopped in front of the last one on the right and was motioning for Dalton to join him.

Dalton approached the Russian before turning to look inside the enclosure. As he gazed through the window he saw that the only difference from this cell and the others was a very smooth and oddly shaped rock.

"Wake up Ellie, we have a guest." Dmitri stated to nothing in particular.

Or that is was what Dalton thought until he noticed, to his astonishment, that what he had originally believed to be a rock began to shift slightly as if stirring itself from sleep.

The obsidian black figure began to unfurl and stretch its limbs, revealing its form to all who looked upon it. Its body appeared to be constructed of a smooth almost latex like chitin and had a sheen like that of polished metal. Its elongated cylindrical head turned towards Dalton and it locked its eyes with his. Its segmented tail began to swish through the air and the bladed end danced along with it. Its jaws opened and its teeth flashed in the light as its tongue rolled out of its mouth.

It didn't take Dalton long to notice that if the evidence beneath its lashing tail was correct then it was most definitely a female. A female what he didn't know but a female none the less.

She stood and moved to the glass staring out at Dalton giving him a better view of her odd dorsal structures and limbs.