FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

As Whitby lay on the floor of the gymnasium he found himself wishing he'd paid more attention in school. He knew there was a word for what he wanted to say, or rather think, as his mouth was rather busy hanging open in a mixture of pain and surprise; when a word was spelled the same way but had more than one meaning, what was that word again? While the word itself escaped him, the pain screeching in the back of his head certainly did not.

Half-dazed thoughts whirled in his mind; a crack could be a joke, like the one he'd just made to the white-furred squirrel who now stood above him, or a crack could be a pejorative term when used to reference that same squirrel's pussy; a crack could most certainly be used to describe the sound his head had made after she'd flipped him over her shoulder and driven him into the floor and lastly, but perhaps most poignantly, a crack was an apt term for the gaping wound he could swear he felt in the back of his skull.

"You're not supposed to kill him, San." Con chided from the sidelines of the mats which Whitby now lay on. The gryphon's arms were folded over his chest and despite his defence of the collie, the larger male made no move to help him. The collie barely heard the comment, his dazed attention focused on the woman that stood above him. Despite himself, he couldn't help but appreciate the view; the feminine curves of the surly squirrel were perfectly accentuated by the short tank-top and low-cut black briefs she wore.

"Did you hear what he said?" The squirrel seemed even less inclined to help Whitby up than Con did, and as the boy lay there, legs spread and arms stretched above his head he could feel her foot press against his chest as she gloated above him. In her hand she held a large stick, each end padded with a nearly useless layer of thin foam that would keep it from breaking bones but do little else to cushion its blows. "He'll be fine, look, the little guy is already stiff." Whitby tried to complain but only a low groan escaped him as the woman's staff pressed against the tent growing in his black trunks. He could feel his cock press against his belly, the warmth of it drawing a light flush to the collie's cheeks.

"I'm next!" Ket pushed his way past both Nox and Con, drawing an irritated glare from the former and a low chuckle from the latter; neither seemed in a hurry to stop the otter from being the next to try his paw at the squirrel. Whitby was dimly aware of paws closing around his ankles before he was dragged from the mat rather unceremoniously. The boy slowly shook his senses back into line as Ket stepped in to take his place.

"Remember this, kid. A little trash talk can do wonders, but not when you aren't ready for the anger it's going to bring down on you." Nox leaned down to help Whitby back to his feet. The panther's tone was perpetually tinged with disdain and now was no exception, but lurking beneath it was the hint of genuine interest in the collie's wellbeing. Whitby nodded as he was practically lifted back to his feet, a paw moving to feel the back of his head as if checking to make sure it was still there. When the boy brought his paw back he was relieved to not only know it was, but the lack of blood on his fingers assured the canine that he wasn't going to bleed out either.

"Thanks" the boy began, glancing back to see Ket and Sanita circling one another in the centre of the mats. Both seemed to be looking for that one opening that would let them slip past the other's defences. "I'll keep that in mind."

"You better, boy. You don't seem half as useless as some people..." the panther's gaze flicked over Whitby's shoulder to shoot a pointed glare towards the back of Ket's head; the otter either didn't notice or didn't care. "I'd hate to have to scrape you off some battlefield like roadkill because you got sloppy."

"Lighten up, Nox. It's just training." Con replied. "If he's going to screw up, better he do it here, right?" The gryphon moved to face the pair and while Whitby was glad the gryphon was ready to step in, he wasn't sure he wanted to hear the two older males argue about how much of a screw-up he was. The boy simply sighed and rolled his eyes, turning back to the fight as a paw lifted to rub at the back of his head once again. The bleariness was already leaving him, the pain now just a dull throb and the stars long gone from his eyes.

The gymnasium they stood in was large, nearly the size of the simulation room but not nearly as spartan in its decoration. Equipment lined the far wall, a high ring of windows allowing light to filter in and shimmer on the glossed wood floor. Nearly three dozen recruits filled the hall, each separated into smaller groups to practice on a number of mats.

"Melee training? What a waste of time." Whitby's ears perked when he heard the comment, gaze turning to spot Marle walking towards them. "Just give me a rifle and I'll show you how to beat any melee fighter."

"And what do you do if they get past your rifle?" The patience that had been hidden in Nox's voice when he spoke to Whitby was gone. The panther simply regarded the seal as if he were the enemy. The seal's lips turned down in a scowl but he wouldn't be dissuaded from his reasoning.

"They won't."

"He did." It was Con this time, gesturing towards Ket as he spoke; Marle's scowl deepened but as he looked towards the otter, Sanita attacked. Ket, not realizing Marle was watching now, let out a short grunt as the woman's staff struck him in the knee before swinging upwards to catch him right in the armpit. Thrown off balance the otter stumbled, his own staff swinging frantically and striking the squirrel's left side a glancing blow. Before the suddenly silent males that ringed the mat, Sanita pressed her attack. Ket parried what he could and absorbed the hits he couldn't. Each blow that snuck past his staff helped to alleviate the scowl on Marle's face but Whitby found he couldn't help but wince. Both fighters did what they could to ignore the pain each strike brought, Sanita taking a hard hit to the belly only to return the favour by slamming the end of her staff into Ket's chest.

The fight grew furious for several moments; even Nox had nothing to say until Sanita finally saw an opening and took it. The winded otter had lowered his staff slightly and the woman went high with her next attack.

"He's done." Nox muttered under his breath to no-one in particular. The squirrel's grip had shifted on her staff, choking up on the haft and swinging it like a bat at the suddenly wide-eyed otter's collarbone. When it struck the boy was taken right off of his feet, purposely allowing himself to be taken down by the strike; if he had braced against it the damage would have been far worse. Landing on his back with a yelp that actually brought a short burst of laughter from Marle, Ket could only stare up in surprise as Sanita's staff came down to press against his throat.

"You're dead, boy" teased the squirrel. Nox clapped, Con shook his head and Marle simply grinned smugly as though he had been the one to drop the stunned otterboy. Sanita held the pose for a moment longer, basking in the hard-fought victory before finally offering a paw down to help Ket back to his feet. She was breathing hard as she helped lift the fallen boy back up and a quick swat of his rear was followed by a wink. The otter made his way from the mat while nursing his shoulder tenderly as the squirrel looked on smugly. "Who's next?"

Con had begun to move forward but paused as the air filled with an unexpected voice..

"All active recruits, please report to the simulation hall immediately." The brief message repeated once more, vanishing into a silence that quickly gave way to murmurs from the assembled trainees. A simulation hadn't been scheduled and even Nox looked surprised by the announcement.

"Come on." The panther quickly gathered himself enough to gesture to the others, "Looks like we've work to do." As the feline turned to make his way to the door he heard Sanita call tauntingly after him.

"More like you all got a reprieve" shouted the squirrel as she hurried to slide her staff back into the rack which hung from the wall, turning to give chase as the others exited the gym.

The Spring had brought its usual torrent of rains, the sky today dark with an impending downpour the collie was glad he'd miss. The air was chilled, the grass damp from an earlier shower that filled each breath with a freshness that brought a pleased smile to all but the stiffest lips. The recruits had begun to trickle out from many of the buildings which made up the Spears' compound and Whitby was surprised to see so many. Recruitment was up and newcomers had arrived to replace the collie and his friends as the greenest troops on base. Though it had only been several weeks since he'd first arrived on base, it already seemed the canine had been a recruit his whole life; perhaps he had been.

"Another urban fight, you think?" Ket moved in alongside the collie, glancing over at the canine and dragging the boy from his thoughts.

"Nah. We did those all last week, but why didn't they tell us about this one?

"It's funnier that way" interrupted Marle. He had been hanging around near the rear of the group, as he often did, waiting for a chance to slip into a conversation. The seal moved into step with the otter and collie, both glancing towards him. "There's no way they aren't getting their rocks off to keeping us up at all hours running these exercises."

Con glanced back from the front of the group, walking in pace with Nox and muttering quietly with the older male. "Fighting isn't a nine to five job, getting us used to a twenty-four hour schedule is the best way to make sure we can handle that when the real thing comes along." The gryphon's voice wasn't unkind, though the pointed words which had been directed at Marle struck true; that the gryphon was right brought a scowl to the seal's lips that was hard to miss at even a glance.

The simulation hall was packed by the time the group arrived, Marle's sulk melted away into his usual stubborn self-confidence as he eyed the crowd. "It's going to be a big one, today. It looks like they have every recruit on base ready to go." The milling confusion that filled the hall was tempered by the curiosity that seemed to scream from every face Whitby observed and he wondered if the same look was plastered to his own features. Conversation filled the air but already several officers had begun to move through the crowd, siphoning recruits off to their designated seats. Whitby was sent to the far end of the hall, Con, Ket and Nox following him shortly as the knot of recruits began to untangle itself.

Marle and Sanita however were held back, the thin and tall female husky that approached them directing the pair to a clump of chairs closer to the doors. "You guys are on vehicle duty" she explained bluntly before passing them, the soft scent of lilac turning Marle's head as she slipped by. Sanita rolled her eyes even as Marle stared at the departing canine's ass.

"Vehicle duty? What's that supposed to mean?" The squirrel was visibly disappointed as she made her way to her assigned seat; she was tougher in a face-to-face fight than most of the recruits here, and another chance to prove it had just been stolen from her! "We'd better not be driving transport" she added, either unaware or uncaring that Marle had yet to follow her. The seal heard the woman's voice however, turning to hurry after her once the husky had vanished amidst the crowd.

"No kidding. I signed up to be a sniper and they stick me in a tank, or whatever?" Despite his dismay the seal's mind still spun with the possibilities of what was to come; surely they hadn't simply ignored his special talents, had they? As the seal sat himself in the softly padded bucket seat of the simulation-device, the boy couldn't help but sneak a hand down to stroke over his lycra-covered cock. It was almost a ritual for the boy by now; the last touch of real lust before he entered the program.. Sanita didn't miss it as she sat beside him, eyeing the lean teenager's slickly furred body as he masturbated to whatever awaited them on the other side of the translucent orange visors.

[b]COMMENCE STARTUP PROCEDURES[/b]

The call jolted both seal and squirrel from their respective pre-training daydreams, the squirrel's cheeks flushing briefly as she realized she'd been staring at the swelling shaft in Marle's trunks. "Good luck, kid" she said as she slid the orange visor down over her eyes.

"I don't need luck" all she heard before a sudden cold erupted in a vicious streak down the length of her spine. The woman's mouth opened in a silent cry, lips parting as she felt herself being ripped away from reality; she would never get used to this part. It was like ice water had been injected directly into her nervous system, every inch of her body alight with a nipple-hardening chill; liquid quicksilver, that was what came to mind every time she booted into the system. Then, it was over and she was herself again.

She stood beneath a large dome, the sky lit by countless stars. Around her stood roughly three dozen recruits, all wearing the same formfitting uniform that she was. The squirrel tugged at the suit curiously. The black material covered her entire body save her legs, tapering off into a something resembling a leotard more than a space suit. Still, she found it easy to move in and couldn't complain about the view as she looked around at the others. Her tail hung freely from a small zippered whole above the rear of the suit, and a pair of patches with the Spears insignia had been emblazoned on either shoulder.

It was only as she looked up from the patches that she realized where she really was. The sky wasn't lit by stars, as there was no sky; the stars surrounded the entire dome, which in turn bubbled above a flight deck replete with spacecraft. They were on a ship! It was larger than any the squirrel had ever seen! The campus would have easily fit onto this flight deck, and though she couldn't see them in the crowd she was sure Whitby and the others must be on it somewhere. Marle stood nearby, however, and as the squirrel moved towards him the seal turned and spotted her.

"I wasn't expecting this" admitted Marle, his amazement at the scale of the craft poorly hidden behind his words. His cock was still hard in the flight suit and the tight fabric did even less to hide it than his trunks had.

"Recruits!" the call cut through the attention of the muttering crowd, silence falling over the assembled furs. Sanita couldn't see the source of the voice, but she certainly recognized it. It was the commander." We have been hired by the government to act as a hostile force during a mock battle, staged in co-operation with their armed forces. We are to execute a boarding operation on their capital ship and attempt to destroy it. " There was a pause then, but even in the lull no recruit spoke. "You will be flying escort for a detachment of boarding vessels. Those of you who were chosen for your marksmanship will be deployed in a support role, providing cover for our fighters from a distance." That final comment finally drew a number of low murmurs from the recruits. The voice continued, undaunted. "Captain Samaya has been assigned to provide leadership during the assault, follow her directions and you'll do fine. These are trained soldiers we're fighting against today, not fellow recruits, you'll do well to remember that. We are not expected to win by our employer, only provide moving targets; I, however, expect nothing but your best." Sanita couldn't help but perk at the implications of that explanation. They were on a job, albeit a relatively harmless one, but it was a job nonetheless. Many of the others seemed to share the squirrel's conclusion, no jeers or cheers following the end of the message; they had work to do.

"Lets go, ladies and ladies! Maxwell, Marle, Sheena..." the new voice, a feminine one that carried the gruffness of well-practiced leadership took over. Whoever it was continued listing off names for several seconds before finally concluding, "You're on sniper detail; report to the deck crew. The rest of you? Get to your ships." The crowd moved as soon as the order came, Sanita hurrying as well. As she moved, however, she spotted the owner of the voice. It was an otter. Short in stature the woman seemed to carry herself as though she were a foot taller than she was. Red hair hanging in a ponytail, the woman seemed younger than she no doubt was, the half-cocked grin on her muzzle not helping the squirrel pinpoint the otter's age.

"Hurry up!" Samaya was looking right at Sanita when she spoke. The woman's arm seemed... off somehow beneath the tight confines of her own flight suit. Sanita didn't question the blocky seeming contours of her bicep and instead hurried towards her fighter. She glanced back only once; had her hand been metal grey? The squirrel shook the question from her own mind as she climbed the small flight of steps that had been built directly into the fighter.

The craft were small, large enough to seat perhaps two pilots if necessary, but even that would have been a tight squeeze. The thrusters were non-descript, little more than long slab-like panels that would exude whatever force propelled these ships. Despite their apparent clumsiness the woman watched several fighters take off already and was amazed by their agility. Each thruster had been attached on their own rotational axis, capable of independent movement from one another. Space was a battlefield that required three dimensional movement; going forward and turning was fine for a jet, but a space craft required the capacity to move up and down sharply as well. Sanita tested hers before taking off, swirling each thruster about its axis almost playfully before hitting the ignition.

The ship rumbled to life, the soft hum of electronics filling the air with their siren song. As a series of panels began to illuminate before her, the squirrel could only grin; this was going to be fun.

"Roll 'em out, we've got a ship to vape." The stern voice of the seasoned Samaya crackled over several speakers built into the cockpit. Something about the woman appealed to the squirrel and she found herself almost hopping to follow the command. Her ship jumped as she moved the dual-sticks forward, the controls simplified in the program to allow the inexperienced recruits the ability to actually fly them. Behind her, the thrusters blew out a short stream of blue light before lifting her from the flight deck; this was it, it was time to go! With a final glance down from her cockpit the girl rolled the sticks back deftly, eyes turning upwards as the star-studded expanse behind the dome rolled across her field of vision. She took off like a shot, following the other fighters as they cleared the dome through an opening gate that immediately began to suck the air from the dome almost greedily. It wasn't open long enough to endanger those on the deck, and was high enough that they'd feel little more than a breeze before the ships were through and it began to close.

Marle watched as Sanita's craft took off, only ten or twelve recruits still standing with him on the flight deck. He could feel a breeze tickling at his whiskers as she exited the dome and as the large gate began to close he turned to face the officer still on deck.

"Follow me, we have some new toys we'd like you to try out." The officer didn't wait as he turned to head across the deck, expecting the others to follow. Marle couldn't imagine what sort of support he could offer in a dogfight without a ship, but he followed anyway, hoping that it was only cats that had to fear curiosity.

Sanita only had a moment or two to appreciate the splendour of space before the soft blue trails of ion thrusters caught her eye.

"Transports sighted, form up" came the order and the squirrel followed her wing down towards the convoy of ships. Each transport was large, long and octagonal in shape with a bank of thrusters at the back propelling them quickly through the vacuum. Were they armed? There was no way to tell and Sanita busied herself by, instead, focusing on maintaining the somewhat haphazard formation that the recruits had fallen into. Samaya's ship, marked by a simple blue circle on the cockpit's H.U.D, remained at the front of the formation and it was her voice that warned the squirrel of what was coming.

"Incoming. Looks like they're going to try and greet us early." There was no sign of the enemy capital ship but a flock of red trails marked the thruster output of the enemy fighters. There were fewer of them then there were of the Spears' ships, and immediately Sanita understood why; it was a scouting party, they'd know where the boarding craft were now and that could only spell trouble for the rookie pilots. The eerie calm of Samaya's orders was a stark contrast to the tight-knotted adrenaline in the pit of the squirrel's belly. "Stick with the ships until they're close then break off and engage. Wing one through three, stay with the boarding craft, everyone else will be on me." Even as she spoke the otter's fighter accelerated, pulling in front of the slower moving boarding craft as if intending to simply clear a path for them herself.

When the first shots rang out Sanita was forced to ask herself if they'd actually been there! There was no sound as red beams flew past her cockpit, wild and harmless; the enemy was hoping to sow some panic amongst the rookies but it didn't work. The Spears recruits were no strangers to the onset of a battle and as the enemy began to move into range, Samaya reacted. "On me, now!" Her ship pulled up, the free-moving thrusters allowing her to change direction almost immediately as she shot upwards. More red beams filled the space around Sanita's ship as she broke off from the transports to follow the otter. The enemy was close now, and the squirrel could see that their ships resembled her own, compact but maneuverable with a wide field of view both upwards and downwards. Blue beams fired back towards the incoming attackers, Sanita's own shots joining the others as she pulled the trigger and unleashed a barrage of silent blue death upon her foes.

Ships spun and swerved around the shots with an apparent ease that only steeled the squirrel's resolve to come out on top in this encounter. Chaos erupted when the two forces finally met, fanning out somewhat into a cluster of ships ducking and weaving, each trying to get on the tail of each other and score an easy kill. The losses mounted quickly for both sides as the trained soldiers the recruits were fighting showed their experience. A loud shriek over the comms coincided with a nearby explosion that sent debris clattering off of the girl's craft, two enemy fighters weaving around the dispersing remains of the fighter to find a new target.

Even as Sanita bore down on a red-tinted craft, she could only watch as a barrage of lasers tore through one of her team-mates, ripping chunks of ship from their hull until they could do little but spiral forwards before exploding outwards in a silent eruption of ship parts. The muted concussive sensation of the ship's destruction perked the girl's ears as she opened fire. Her opponent had no chance as several lasers raked their hull, shearing through the steel plating and frying the electronics buried inside its guts. The ship seemed to almost sputter as the thrusters lost power, the ship beginning to tumble helplessly as the squirrel almost grinned. A heat in her loins goaded her into waiting a second longer, savouring the helplessness before common sense demanded she finish them off and stay focused. Still, the squirrel zipped forward, practicing her manuevering somewhat as she forced her own ship to tumble and bring her face to face with the disabled craft.

Inside the cockpit sat a frantic looking wolf, pounding the unresponsive controls before noticing the gun barrels lined up directly with him. His eyes could only widen when the squirrel waved with one hand while firing into him with the other. Lasers pierced his body, causing him to buck upright in his chair as they passed through him and into the rear of the craft, a series of sizzling explosions intensifying over the span of three to four seconds before exploding outwards and reducing the boy, with his craft, to spacedust. Sanita had barely stopped, pausing only long enough to fire before she was moving again, lasers sizzled directly in front of her.

"Keep your ass moving, Blue 6!" The simple order stood out amongst the frantic words coming from the collection of recruits, and the occasional cry as one of them exited the program in a shower of debris. "Wing 2, on me, we're going to flank. Wing 3, draw their fire." The quick orders had the surviving recruits moving with a purpose, Sanita falling in behind Samaya as the two, along with several others, pulled out of the fight only to turn and come at it freshly. A concentrated hail of laser fire followed and several red ships crumbled and exploded under the withering pressure of the attack. A blue ship directly beside Sanita, piloted by a petite mouse girl took several shots to the hull and the squirrel only glanced as it fell out of formation. That she could hear the girl's shriek even as she saw the mouse's face contort into a mask of surprise made it that much more poignant when her craft's hull buckled before exploding outwards.

The scouting party had lost nearly half their pilots by the time they decided to pull back. Large patches of ship debris littered the battlefield, though the engagement hadn't lasted longer than a moment or two. Even as they retreated, Sanita continued to fire, a simple cry of excitement escaping the girl as a retreating ship's engines cut out from the hits. It spun and wove like a one winged fly before a second volley from the squirrel ended it, the girl only able to imagine the look on the face of the pilot before they were vaped.

"Easier than picking flowers" came a smirking voice over the comms; Sanita couldn't disagree. They had lost ships as well, but each fallen opponent was more of a victory than a fallen comrade was a loss.

"Forget the flowers, we've still got a lion to tame." Samaya's voice wasn't entirely without humour, but it was clear she was still on task; a product of her experience. "Follow them, they'll lead us right back to the capital ship if we're lucky. We still need to get these transports home."

Leaving the remnants of the fight behind, Sanita and the others quickly reformed around the transports and began to follow the trails of the departing craft. How many hostile ships were waiting for them? The uncertainty haunted the squirrel more than the possibility of being blasted into oblivion, and the latter had left a damp warmth between her legs which she could only relieve by pulling at the slickened fabric of her flight suit. Moments passed in silence, each pilot focused on watching for signs of the enemy craft. It wasn't long before the large ship came into view, however, little more than a white dot in the distance but quickly growing into a monolithic spectacle that had the girl slack-jawed in amazement.

"We're supposed to assault THAT?" Sanita could barely believe the words had snuck out of her mouth, hanging in the air like a foul odour she'd simply have to suffer through.

"Calm down, rookie; we just need to get the boarding party onto it, they're the ones that need to assault it. We just need to keep them alive long enough to do it."

Sanita listened, finding herself wondering how Whitby and the others were doing, not to mention where Marle had gotten off to. Were they on those transports? Had Marle been taken out in the skirmish? She hadn't heard, or seen him, so perhaps not.

"Alright, stick close to the ships, break off only when they're on us and try to draw them away; we can't afford to lose too many of these things." Sanita focused once more, drawing on the calmness of the veteran otter-pilot to help settle her nerves. She could feel her heart racing in her chest, the damn thing trying its best to escape her chest; the squirrel was steel however, on the outside if not on the inside. As they approached the ever-nearer capital ship, the squirrel could feel the sweat on her palms, the nervousness in her belly and the warmth in her flight suit; this was it!

The fight began quickly as the recruits drew close. The capital ships weapons were disabled in this simulation, lest it simply devastate the small crowd of ships on its own. The fighters were more than enough to worry about, however. The scouting party had regrouped with the larger main-body of the opposing fleet of small craft. There were more of them than there were survivors of the Spears recruits, but they didn't have to destroy all of them, only hold them off long enough for the troopships to dock. The large transports had already begun to veer towards the red lights which rimmed the docking ports of the massive destroyer when the fighters engaged each other.

Immediately the squirrel was assaulted by a bevy of silent laser fire, each one that passed her simply another brush with virtual death. Sanita didn't balk this time, however. She turned her craft upwards, the thrusters behind her kicking in as she accelerated much like Samaya had earlier. There was no hesitation as she opened fire, tearing apart an enemy fighter and removing the pilot from the battle with a thunderously anti-climatic shattering of their ship.

"Take that, you shit" she cackled out, battlelust drowning out her own worries about being blasted; if it happened, it happened. Like a breaching whale the squirrel's fighter broke free of the growing melee beneath her and with a swift turn of her sticks she turned to face the battle once more. Small craft darted across her field of view, sometimes moving in small formations but many of them flying solo as they sought to eliminate their enemy. Explosions were common sights as the squirrel searched the mess for a new target, both recruits and soldiers being blasted out of the fight in quick bursts of laser fire.

Sanita saw her target quickly, a pair of enemy ships breaking from the fight to head for the transports. The squirrel was after them quickly, her craft ducking around several half-hearted attempts to tag her with blistering fire as she ran the two down. Her grasp of the ships controls were growing stronger with each twisting dodge and as she pulled level with the pair of retreating craft she seemed to skid it to a halt in a sloppy drifting motion. A spiralling ship whizzed by Sanita's craft, slamming into the side of the capital ship with a finality that sent a shiver down the girl's spine. The scream over the comms told her it'd been one of theirs.

"They're after the transports" she called over the comms, looking around for a bit of available help as she took off after the two. One of the enemy craft had already opened fire by the time she was in a position to stop them, lasers raking across one of the transports causing a number of sparking blasts to erupt from its hull. The fighter didn't get a second pass however, Sanita's own lasers filling the ship's cockpit with a series of devastating hits that reduced the ship and its pilot to scrap immediately. The second fighter swivelled quickly however, firing into the squirrel's ship and hitting the hull with at least a pair of shots. Red lights beamed on Sanita's control panel as her body rocked with the impact. "Fuck! I'm hit!"

A second recruit had already broken away to help the squirrel but even as the pilot, a fox if the squirrel's eyes were to be trusted, affirmed his intent to help, he became a target for an enemy craft. The fox didn't stand a chance as lasers tore into his ship from behind, sparks flying as his engines sputtered to a sudden halt. Sanita's ship limped as the fighter that had crippled it spun to finish her off. She didn't see the fox meet his end, but she heard it over the comms, a strangled cry of defeat filling her ears before crackling to silence; that would be her in a second, she could feel it coming, the tenseness in her belly both hideous yet enticing at the same time. The coup de grace never came, instead, a single concentrated beam blasted past her cockpit and tore the lurking predator in half.

"You guys didn't wait?" Marle's voice sputtered to life on the squirrel's speakers, rife with an almost childish glee. More beams filled the squirrel's view, each as accurate as they were deadly. Enemy craft began exploding like a string of firecrackers, the survivors pulling away to regroup and giving the recruits a moment to do the same. Both sides were severely depleted, perhaps eight to ten recruits still in one piece while the rest had been reduced to non-descript debris fields.

Marle grinned as he fired on a ship that seemed ready to pounce on a damaged recruit ship, unaware that Sanita was the pilot of that very craft. He had no ship himself, simply a bodysuit that kept the airless grip of space away from him while small thrusters in the boots allowed him an ease of movement that surpassed even the agile fighter-craft.

"Come on, at least put up a fight!" The seal crowed as he levelled the large rail gun held in his paws, small cables attached to his suit providing a power-source for the large gun. Recoilless, the gun's shots were barely a whisper in his ear but their power was undeniable. The other recruits that had stayed behind with him had been spread out in a thin line. The boy's cock was rock hard as he turned to aim and fire a second blast, the projectiles pinpoint accurate without the effects of wind or gravity to alter the trajectories of his shots. The small signatures of their bodies would barely register on the radar of the enemy fighters, and the black suits made it hard to spot them against the backdrop of the cosmos; they stood as a testament to the adage that bigger was not always better.

Marle clicked his heels together and took off, blue ionic thrust trailing from his heels and ankles, keeping him moving straight ahead several metres before he stopped to fire again; another ship broke apart and the seal had to stop himself from pawing at the simplicity with which he was dispatching the hapless fighters.

Sanita wasted no time, granted a reprieve by the surprise appearance of the seal. Her ship was nearly useless now, barely able to limp ahead; only the marksmanship of the snipers were keeping the enemy from finishing her off.

[i]"Gotta get onto the ship..."[/i] the girl thought, it was her only chance now; if the snipers bought it, they'd finish her off easily in this state.

"Wings 2, 3 & 4, make for the docking bay and support the infantry in taking the ship. Wing 1, stay on these guys, snipers, maintain distance and continue to corral them." Samaya's voice was as calm as ever and moreso than before, Sanita found herself liking the woman; it was clear why they'd chosen her to lead the recruits and the squirrel hoped she'd have a chance to meet her properly later. For now, she twisted her ship, fighting the controls as her hobbled thrusters protested the simple manoeuvre. More recruit ships followed her lead, flying into the slots that had once housed the numerous enemy fighters. Beneath them, the transports followed suit, lining up and attaching themselves to the hull with the blue-tinged flaring of welding devices that ensured they would remain firmly attached until they were ready to leave.

"They're in" cried the squirrel with a fervent tone; they'd done it! There was more to this battle but she'd done her job and no matter the outcome now, they couldn't argue that. It was up to the infantry now, however, and as she watched beams continue to fire in front of her craft she couldn't help but feel it'd been easier than she'd thought it'd be to make it this far. The majority of the shots still being fired were blue, though the occasional flash of red told her the fight wasn't over.

"Good, get moving, rook" Samaya's voice carrying it with a noticeable relief at having accomplished her task; she had lost most of the recruits, but her task had been to protect the transports and she'd done that regardless of the losses incurred.

Sanita's craft jolted to a stop as she docked in the fighter bay, taking a moment to catch her breath as a paw slid down to stroke over the slickened crotch of her uniform; they could do without her for a few moments.

"Hold on, boys, I'll see ya in a bit" the girl murmured to herself, beginning to stroke over the needy lips of her hidden pussy through the thin material that covered it. If only she'd known of Whitby's definition dilemma earlier that day, she'd have a new homonym for crack to share with him; A crack pilot, a distinction the squirrel felt was well-earned for her today. "I'll come and save your butts in a few minutes" for now, it was time for a well-earned reward.

TO BE CONTINUED....