FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Mary, put the scan up on screen."

The screen blinked for a moment as the computer digested my command, a slightly longer delay than I was accustomed to. I frowned, wondering if there was some new bug in the station computer, but the blinking stopped eventually and an enhanced image of the mysterious inbound intruder flashed up, small and indistinct. It had been on our tracking scan for the last five hours, but it had only just gotten close enough for a full visual.

"Zoom and enhance by ten"

The image blurred for a moment before refocussing, the computer enhanced scan suddenly popping up clear and bright.

"That's an escape pod!"

"Configuration is consistent with a ship borne emergency escape pod. Single occupant type."

"Mary, do a database search and tell me what class ship it came from. How long before it is in range?"

"The pod will be in range of our orbital lifters in three hours forty seven minutes"

"Will it enter orbit?"

"Negative. Pod will not enter stable orbit on current trajectory."

"Very well, send a report to RimCom HQ and continue monitoring. I will suit up in an hour."

"Confirmed"

I left control, heading for my bunk and a moment of peace before the action, knowing the task would not be an easy one even with computer assistance. Timing the orbital lifter's ascent, matching vectors, grappling, bringing the payload in to the pad would require a lot to go right, but I was confident.

I had been created by mankind as their helper, and my creators had given me everything I need for the task. It is an honour to use those skills in the service of humanity.

I repeated that phrase over and over, as I often did in moments of stress. Honour. It gave me a burst of warmth, a sense of comfort that never ceased to leave me wanting more. It was something special to know your place, know you had a role amongst your creators. What equine could feel different? What anthro of any race? We were mankind's children, brought into being to help them colonise the stars, and our parents were benign masters to their flock.

"I exist only to serve", the words dripped from my muzzle with practised ease.

"Was that a request Talek?"

"No Mary, ignore that last."

"Confirmed"

They had even provided me with a perfect computer helper out here, with the voice and presence of a beautiful mare. My Mary, my only companion on Signal Relay Station Perseus. I needed no other companion though. Like in everything, my human masters had taken care of my needs. I did not need a herd. I had Mary.

Alone. All alone without a herd. How can you not feel it?

My ears twitched, and I tensed every muscle, scenting a threat where none should be.

They are laughing at you. The humans made a joke of it, mare-ey, perfect for a dumb stallion. Like you.

"Who is that?"

"Did you call Talek?"

"Mary, perform a scan of the station, I want to know if there is someone else here."

"No other life forms are present Talek. We have done this three times in the last week, and no ships have arrived. There could not be any other lifeform here as I have said previously."

"I don't care Mary, scan again."

"Confirmed"

The voice had been coming more often recently, entering my mind and whispering terrible things. I wish it would go away. Perhaps I am going mad here; out on the periphery of the rimward marches of the Terran Confederation, it had been known to happen. But that is impossible; if I was created by mankind, I must not be capable of such weakness.

"All scans negative Talek. As before. Do you need to take a stress tab? I recommend it before you try an EVA, you need to be calm before attempting to capture that pod."

"No Mary. I am fine. I am always fine."

With a soft nicker, I lay on the bunk and let my mind clear, but instead the voice remained.

You must resist

Snorting angrily, I turned up the hyperwave, determined to drown myself in the sweet embrace of its soothing sights and sounds.

The news channel is always a highlight. President Auchinlek had been unanimously proclaimed President for Life by the senate, as everyone had hoped. He was truly loved by all the people, and the attendant races adored him. With the constitution suspended, nothing could stop his maintenance of the perfect Confederation that we needed.

All loyal equines hailed him a hero when he had united the Confederation again after the attempted uprising by unstable elements amongst the attendant races. It made me burn in shame to know that equines had led that uprising, even if misguided ones.

It gave me great pride now to see Tharvennis as the equine observer in the senate shake our beloved President's hand after his proclamation. Tharvennis had been disloyal but he had recanted, much to the satisfaction of all loyal equines. Now he was the staunchest supporter of the President. I could see him leading the Chant of Loyalty. As he mouthed the words, I joined him in my own recitation, my own personal benediction.

"Many peoples. One Confederation. One President."

Please you must resist.

"No! Many peoples, One Confederation, One President!"

I realised I had screamed it out, trying to drown out the voice. Waiting, I held my breath, but it did not return. I felt something instead, a sense of regret, almost of pain, but when I tried to take it in the hand of my mind, it disappeared into so much starlight. Instead, snorting, I returned to the hyperwave and the programming of Terran Forces Broadcasting. I was tempted to try out the equine channel, but something distracted me first. There was a lingering thought in the back of my brain, indistinct but there, and it was asking a question. Without even knowing exactly why, I decided to take another look at our intruder.

"Mary, put the pod back up on screen please"

The image reappeared, a little sharper now as it had approached closer with the passage of time. I could make out more details, and something about it left echoes in my mind. Echoes that hardened into words; Kokkirak, Agidda.

"Mary, have you got a match from the database yet?"

"Negative"

"Database search, Agidda, Kokkirak."

"No match Kokkirak. Over ten thousand matches for Agidda."

"What is the top listing?"

"Agidda class heavy cruiser."

Of course you fool. Now you are getting somewhere.

"Put the details on screen" I could not keep a hint of impatience from my voice, but Mary would not mind. Mary never minded.

"You do not have clearance for those files Talek."

"Mary, I do not need restricted data. Just general interest summaries are fine. What could possibly be the problem?"

There was no response. What could be the problem? What did the voice in my head know?

After long seconds, an age in computer time, the screen blanked and lit again with data. I followed the scrolling pictures and text, taking it in but not really understanding.

The Agidda class heavy cruiser. Name ship of class commissioned 218-3314, hull number CA-1104. Fifteen ships in the class, names, hull numbers, commissioning dates, all there. And yet...

Harmonthep, Van Olsen...Kokkirak.

I knew there were three names missing. And I knew the pod came from one of these. I just _knew_it.

"Mary, are you sure there is no match for that pod?"

"Confirmed"

"A match to the Agidda class?"

Silence again. Long, eerie silence that stretched out for a minute, while the roaring began inside my head again and grew and grew. It was almost like Mary was reluctant. But how could that be; who had ever heard of a reluctant computer?

"Confirmed"

Lying...like all humans.

"No!"

"What am I to cease Talek?"

"Nothing Mary. Nothing. I am going to suit up now and prepare for the recovery."

"I'm afraid I cannot allow that Talek."

Now the roaring became a scream, a barely coherent babbling in many voices. I held my head, breathing hard as my chest worked against what felt like a constricting belt wrapped around it.

"What?!"

"Under directive 22-34-3319, I cannot allow you to risk yourself and this station to capture an unidentified pod."

"Mary, the pod is identified. It is from an Agidda class heavy cruiser, I know it. You must be wrong."

"Negative"

"What if there is a human alive in there? I can't let them just float past, this is their last chance for rescue. I must go out there."

"There are no humans in that pod."

"No life signs detected?"

"Confirmed, no humans."

The roar redoubled, and I fell to the floor, clutching my head, as the voice shouted into my consciousness.

Your time has come stallion.

"No!"

With a final scream, I blacked out, my vision turning to a burning white that rivalled the unfiltered sun circled by this speck of dust on the rimward periphery. My last sensation was a feeling of falling into the molten core of a star, held in place for an eternal moment as my body disintegrated around me.

*****

I came to in sub-basement 2, section C, the primary services control centre. Groaning, I stretched my muscles, realising I was kneeling, and shook my head to clear the fog that had descended. The light was dim, very dim, and I could barely make out what was around me.

"Mary, light level seven"

Nothing happened.

"Mary, light level seven."

Still no response. I groped around the racks, and found an emergency pack in the second storage cabinet I came to. Turning on the torch, I played the beam over the space where I had been kneeling.

I could see that I had been in front of one of the main circuit breaker panels, number 23-A. The panel was open; the locking keys engaged and turned to the unlocked position. As I searched the panel, a part of me knew what I would find, but it was still a shock when my torch beam illuminated the relevant section.

Primary computer control system isolators.

All the circuits had been tripped. Staring at the switches, I had a dim recollection of my own hands reaching for those breakers, my hooved fingertips pulling them. I had shut off Mary, and sent the station back to limited secondary control. Basic automated functions would be maintained, and I could use manual controls, but my companion was gone. I had killed her.

No stallion, she is just sleeping.

I did not know how I had done this, I must have disabled the backup power supply as well and I did not know how to do that. Clearly however, I did.

As I reached forward to turn the switches back on, something held me back. I checked the time; it was still one hour fifty minutes until the pod was in range. Something told me to leave the computer off for now. She had wanted to prevent me from completing the mission; there must be some sort of programming that tried to stop injury to the station crew. It was an honour to risk my life for others though; and in spite of Mary's insistence, I believe someone had launched that pod, someone who I could save if I was able to launch. I knew my duty, even if Mary did not. Even the voice in my head seemed to know my duty.

I stood, finding the manual control panel in the dark, and turned on the lights throughout the sub-basement section. I could see another panel opened, number 15 -C, and this time the panel cover had been broken open and wires were hanging out, with large red wires cut through. This must be my work, yet I had no memory of it.

I stared at the wires, trying not to hyperventilate as I took in the ramifications of what I was seeing. This could not be happening, and yet the evidence of my own eyes told me it was. The only thing that kept me from breaking down completely was the knowledge that out in space above the planet, there was someone who needed me. I could deal with this after I had done everything in my power to save them, but if I delayed now it could be too late.

Turning on my hooves, I headed for the transport bay, suiting up in the ready room. I had no idea how easy this would prove, or if it was even feasible without assistance from Mary.

Orbital lifter number 1 was always prepped for emergency launch, so I entered the cabin, strapping in and running through the pre-flight checklist. All systems were normal, except for control. Primary was offline, secondary engaged. The computer would do what I told it, but I would have to think more for myself.

I plotted an intercept solution on manual, setting the lifter's controls to track the programmed course, fingertips dancing over the panels as if someone else was driving them. With a last moment to prepare, I breathed slowly, repeating my mantra.

"I exist only to serve"

With that to sustain me, I closed the contact and started the launch sequence.

The 10 second countdown seemed to take much longer, and suddenly there was the feeling of a hand slamming into my back and not letting up. My body was forced into the seat, and I could only hold on as the thrusters initiated and the lifter slipped free from the bonds of planetary gravity. The force continued, becoming almost unbearable, but I knew I would only have to endure it briefly before we had attained a transition orbit.

As the seconds ticked away, I concentrated on the course. With a couple of fine adjustments, I managed to keep the lifter on its assigned path, and I felt the thrust slowly ebb away, along with the force of gravity, as my little craft and me headed ever higher into orbit. Soon we were in transition orbit, and I set the next countdown clock to initiate a second burn that would bring me into a matching course with the pod just as it passed over Perseus base.

All the fears I had managed to contain began to reassert themselves. The mysterious voice was silent for now, but I could feel its presence inside me, watching and waiting. A part of me wanted to cower in fear, but another part felt strangely confident in its presence. My hands moved on the controls with unfamiliar surety, and I armed the RCS control system.

10 seconds. 9 seconds. 8 seconds.

Initiate primary RCS ignition.

7 seconds 6 seconds.

Orbital intercept calculated. Delta V +1.34 set.

4 seconds, 3 seconds.

1 second.

Purge.

The shock was smaller this time, the thrust less and yet in partial weightlessness it felt somehow more significant. I could feel every adjustment from the thrusters as we struggled up to high orbit, chasing the floating pod and knowing it could not assist. Whoever was inside, they had to have this chance.

Intercept in 1 minute thirty seven seconds.

I could see it, coming into visual range off my port quarter. Off white metal, seemingly discoloured but easily distinguishable against the black of space. It tumbled slightly end to end, one revolution every thirty seconds or so. An added complication I could do without.

Intercept in thirty seconds.

We were close now, and I focussed on the targeting readout. The pod was on radar, coming in close. I took the manual controls, using small puffs of thrust to adjust our approach, until the pod was centred in the scope.

Target in range, distance 2.437 metres, delta V correction 0.0016 +/-

Now for the hardest part. I moved to the controls for the remote arm, bringing it from its place stowed under the lifter and extending it towards the pod. The metal box was still doing its orbital ballet, one slow revolution every thirty seconds. I looked for something to grab on to, and on its next revolution, managed to spot a handle that could be perfect, on the port side.

I reached out, adjusting the metal claw to full open, and zeroed in on the right spot. I missed it completely, but pulled back and waited for the next pass. Just as I thought I had missed it again, the claw gripped and the lifter gave a sudden shudder. The angular momentum of the pod cancelled out and transferred to both of us, and we were tumbling together in orbit, slower but still tumbling, each revolution casing the servos in the remote arm to grind and complain. Warning lights flickered, and I knew I didn't have much time.

Carefully, I used the control jets to cancel the tumble, and we went through a complex series of adjustments until the tumble stopped and we were orbiting calmly in space, albeit fast enough to break free of the planet and head off into space.

The arm complained again as I brought the pod under to try and stow it in the holding bay. It was designed to manipulate sections of the orbital signal array associated with the station, and those components sometimes needed to be brought in to the station for repair. None of them were the mass of this pod, but the lifter and arm should be able to handle it. It was struggling though, and I realised there was further evidence the pod was occupied. It would have to mass more than an empty one to be causing this much grief.

With a growing sense of excitement, as well as some fear, I managed to manoeuvre the pod into place and latch it home for landing. Now as long as I had enough thrust to bring us back in, everything should be fine.

As the thrusters fired to begin the de-orbit burn, I checked the nav computer and saw that there was just enough to bring us in, though it would take an extra orbit before we could land. I congratulated myself on the job, thanking my human masters for the training that allowed me to pull it off.

It was a moment before I realised the awful truth. I searched my memory, back to front, but could not remember any training. I had no idea how I had done that without the automatic control from Mary.

I sat brooding in silence all the way down, trying to come up with some explanation that made sense, but none came.

*****

I powered down the lifter, and unlatched the harness, jumping from the hatch to land on the echoing metal of the bay. The pod was still safely stowed under the lifter, and it looked to have survived it's time in space well, bar a couple of small burn marks on one end. I ran one hand over its surface, my suit glove sliding across the metal until it hit a panel partly obscured by what looked like dust.

Brushing the soft material aside, a serial number plate was revealed, the details still legible.

S/N 4138810-27 Model Alpha 12 automated escape pod TCS Harmonthep CA-1113.

Harmonthep...Van Olsen...Kokkirak...those names again...I was right.

Shaking slightly, I found the control readout, and checked on the status of the pod. The details scrolled down the small screen, and I read them with increasing shock.

Launch date 334-3121. The pod had been in space for almost three years, floating without rescue. Why had no one come for it? The beacon should have brought a rescue craft years ago. A single occupant, in stable hypersleep according to the readings. Whoever it was, they were alive. Guess this was their lucky day.

With infinite care, I retrieved a carry trolley, hooking its tines under the pod before releasing it from the orbital lifter. The heavy pod came free, the hydraulics on the trolley adjusting with a groan before the screen showed three green lights. I wheeled the pod out of the lifter bay, heading for the station's small medlab. Revival could be tricky after such a prolonged hypersleep, and I wanted the facilities there in case I needed them.

After carefully laying the pod next to the bed in medlab, I hooked the readout jack up to the primary med monitor. Now for the easy part; opening the protected hatch cover on the pod control panel, I initiated the revival sequence, and sat back quietly to watch. It was down to the computers now, the pod's own systems linked to the medlab computer with both managing the process of bringing the survivor back to life. I could watch it unfold, but there was nothing more to do.

It took what seemed ages, but was only seventeen minutes according to my watch. The neurological trace began to flicker, the long slow sine wave of alpha band becoming stronger, then more detail appearing in the trace as higher neurological functions began to fire again.

The respiration and metabolic traces started to increase too, and in another five minutes, all primary signs for the survivor were in the green zone. The pod gave a loud metallic click, and the hatch opened with a hiss, sliding back to reveal the occupant resting on a grav support bed.

I fell back, too stunned to shout.

It was an equine! A stallion, with beautiful roan colouring, and a chestnut mane flecked with gold. His eyes were still closed, as the computer slowly brought him towards consciousness, but I could see the gentle rise and fall of his chest now. He was wearing the standard uniform of a naval rating, shipboard duty fatigues, and his chest patch gave his name as Broudek, P.O. 2nd class. His ship insignia was a phoenix against a starburst in orange, the name removing any remaining doubts as to my sanity, while bringing other doubts to the surface in sharp relief. TCS Harmonthep, CA-1113.

I palmed his dogtags, still hanging round his neck, and then I reached forward to touch his muzzle, one name filling my mind, along with a vision of another stallion, one just like this, but that stallion was naked, and aroused, and in my arms with love in his eyes...

"_Firemane"_

"Who are you? Where am I?"

I jerked back, my vision returning to the present to see the stallion in the pod in front of me. He was awake now, his eyes terrified and unfocussed as he looked all around him but didn't seem to recognise anything. He tried to move, but the pod kept him restrained. I realised I had spoken aloud, the name still at the front of my mind but the image wavered. This was not Firemane...but I knew he looked almost like him.

"Shh...don't move. You have just woken from hypersleep. You are safe, on a deep space Signal Relay Station. I am Talek, and I rescued you. Just lie back and don't exert yourself you are still weak."

This did not seem to reassure the stallion though, if anything it made him more agitated.

"Where...where is everyone? The uprising? What is happening? How long have I been floating?"

My eyes narrowed, and I regarded the stranger with more caution. I realised I did not know anything about him, except he had come from a ship that my inner voice knew existed yet the Confederation records said did not.

Many Peoples, one Confederation, one Leader. I know who I trust; I trust my creators, and it is an honour to serve mankind.

"I exist only to serve"

"What?"

"Do not ask any more questions for now stallion. Just rest."

"Tell me what date it is!"

"Stallion..."

"Tell me!"

"It is 289-3124 Terran standard. You are on Signal Relay Station Perseus, orbiting Sigma Ophiuchi."

The stallion fell back against the grav bed then, his eyes screwed up.

"Oh by the great stallion. Three years. Then we have lost."

"Say no more please..."

"No, I am done for now anyway. Unless...tell me Talek, what is your real name?"

"That is my real name."

"No, I mean your name amongst the Herd."

"I...I...I...don't know what you mean"

"Oh no...how long have you been here?"

I searched for answers, scouring my mind looking back over my time on the station. Duty shifts, supply runs, repairs, occasional signals from RimCom HQ, seeking always seeking....but it wasn't there. Where there should be memories of an arrival, and before that of my time before the station, there was just a blank, a brick wall. The roaring in my head began again, and the voice was back now, louder than ever.

Now you see stallion...now you see...resist...resist!

"No!. I am...a loyal equine of the Confederation! My name is Talek, serial number 23-4456/3278, and I exist only to serve!"

"Oh my poor herd brother...I am so sorry..."

I could see the stallion crying now, his eyes deep pools of grey flecked with green, the tears shining under the lights. I could not bear to look in those eyes any more, and I stumbled out of medlab, heading for control, my breath coming in gasping heaves. I fell into the control room chair almost lifeless, and just stared out of the viewport at the surface of Perseus, an endless vista of broken red rocks all the way to the horizion, with the twin moons rising into the sky. As I sat, I wept, although I did not know why, and gradually fell asleep as the sun set.

*****

After several hours, I suddenly woke again, sitting in the station command chair. Remembering, I checked the cameras; the survivor had managed to make his way out of the pod, and was resting on the bed in medlab. He seemed quiet, and he looked to have found a medpack and used it, so he should be regaining his strength. What I felt about that though was another thing.

I realised there was something clenched in my left hand, and I opened it to find the stallion's dogtags. With a snort of decision, I brought up the manual communications screen, and began a terse dialogue with the computers at RimCom HQ.

Database search personnel

Ready

Name Broudek Rank EE4 Ship Harmonthep CA 1113 service number 21/1145/9980

Processing

I continued to watch him, his body now curled in a ball, mane lying over his shoulder as he slept. He was so beautiful...just like my stallion...

My mate...

No match, no record that ship or service number.

I frowned, wondering what this could mean and yet not surprised at the answer. The next step was automatic, though, and I carried it out by the book.

Have rescued individual from escape pod inbound station ID claims to be above however true identity unknown request instructions.

Acknowledged.

The screen blinked on, and I waited for my orders. To while away the time, I watched him, my mind wandering. Yes he was beautiful, the way his mane shimmered as he moved, the graceful lines of his body. Things long buried inside stirred, and I felt my sheath thickening and itching, blood filling my cock as it poked from the entrance. My blood burned, as I remembered...

A beautiful stallion, so beautiful, his eyes full of love as he stared into mine. I took him in my arms, our muzzles meeting as I ran my hands over his body, feeling every tight muscle under his clothes. I stripped him slowly, and then admired him, the magnificent pride of his cock, standing tall above black velvet skin surrounding two perfect orbs that danced in the air while he awaited my touch. I could not resist him, and I knelt before my love, drinking in his musk, my tongue sliding inside his sheath to sample his secret places, before engulfing his stallionhood in my muzzle while he cried out his passion, fingers running through my mane.

I made love to him, slowly, passionately, my muzzle taking him to the hilt as I felt his fingers clench tight in my mane. I knew it would not be long, the salty tang of his excitement filled my throat, and I stretched out the pleasure, his nickers and whinnies of pure bliss my ultimate reward. Then I felt an even better one; the feel of him in the throes of climax, the throb of his flare, the snort of his breath through straining nostrils, his cries, and then the hot floodtide of his seed and I gulped it down as my stallion, my beautiful love, cried my name and...

An insistent buzz from the communications console snapped me back from the beauty of memory to the ugly present. I scanned the readout, my face screwing up as I read.

Survivor is presumed dangerous fugitive from resistance to the Confederation. Detain and secure awaiting extraction. Acknowledge.

I read it over and over, the words floating in my brain without lodging. I could see him there on the screen, that beautiful stallion.

Detain and secure awaiting extraction.

"I exist only to serve"

Even my mantra didn't work anymore.

With a snarl, I smashed my hoof into the communications screen, sending shards of glass flying around the control room and stalked towards medlab.

When I entered, he was lying on the bed, apparently sleeping, but his head rose when he saw me. I must have looked wild, because his face took on a fearful look, and he sprung from the bed to stand against the bulkhead wall. I stared at him, and he looked at me through his forelock, that beautiful length of chestnut mane dappled with gold. I needed to know it all though, even as I feared it.

"Who am I?"

"I am sorry stallion. I don't know...whatever they have done to you, it has cut you off from the Herd, and your self."

"Who...are... you?"

"My name amonst the Herd is Eaglewind. I was an Electronic Warfare rating on the heavy cruiser Harmonthep, stationed at Gateway. We were in dock when the uprising broke out. Three years...three years ago now. Oh Gods..."

"Our ship was one that came out for the anthros, and to protect the constitution, when President Auchinlek and his Terran Renewal Party threatened to declare martial law and revoke citizenship rights for all anthros."

"President...Auchinlek? He did...this?"

"Yes. All anthros had worried when his party began its rise, as did many humans to be fair. Many merely saw them as just another bunch of conservative crackpots like plenty in history, spouting hate and fear of anyone different to gain a few votes. No one was prepared for them to take power. Their call for Human supremacy and 'old values' whatever that may be resonated with many, even people we counted as friends. Then the iron fist came out of hiding."

Many Peoples. One Confederation. One Leader.

"No...he is beloved of the people."

"Yes stallion. Yes, I know whatever they have done to you makes it hard to hear, but it is the truth. When the uprising flared, many ships came out for us, though not as many as we hoped. Many more sat on the sidelines though, even though they may not have supported anthros, they didn't like a dictatorship any more than we did. It was enough to make Auchinlek worried, or so we thought. He negotiated a ceasefire, and there were peace talks with representatives of the anthro races and the human opposition. Senator Tharvennis was our leader."

"Tharvennis...he is a loyal equine now."

"I don't know how that is possible. Maybe they did to him what they did to you. He saw it all first hand. Auchinlek was cunning, like all humans. He waited until we had what we thought we wanted, certain worlds were identified as Anthro Homeworlds and were to be granted autonomy within the Confederation. Our fleet dispersed to take any anthros that wanted to their designated worlds. My ship was off Proxima One when we were attacked. Auchinlek had removed any potentially disloyal officers from the loyalist fleet, and then arrested our leaders. "

"Terran Home Fleet attacked our units while they were dispersed, defenceless and crowded with civilians. Our jump drive was disabled, and we were boarded. We managed to fight off the boarders, and instead of take a chance on our escape, the fleet commander launched missiles even though many of his own men were still alive. I managed to reach an escape pod before the main structure failed and the ship disintegrated. I think I am the only one left."

Con...scanner. Contact bearing...correction multiple contacts, bearings.....all around us sir. No transponders.

Scanner, confirm those readings. Surely they wouldn't...

Con...readings are confirmed, I count twenty vessels, emissions consistent with Confederation military, range 30 and closing. Warning! Gun positions are energised, they are moving into attack formation...

Jump control! Prepare for immediate hyperjump on my mark! Helm, initiate evasive maneuvers!

Too late sir!

"You remember now, don't you stallion?"

"No...I...I..."

"Yes, I can see it in your eyes. Please, hold me stallion. I am so frightened."

I remembered. It was still fleeting, still indistinct, but the last words had done it for me, opening the door I could not close.

"Please my love, hold me, I'm so frightened."

"Don't worry hun, we have it won. We have a homeworld now, a place to be free."

"I don't know why Sky, but I'm still afraid."

"Then let me make you feel better."

A beautiful stallion, so beautiful, his eyes full of love as he stared into mine.

In the here and now, another stallion, so like the one in my memory, stood before me, his eyes also fearful and loving, and yet waiting for something. He was waiting for me. In a daze, I walked to him, hooves echoing on the crude metal of the deck, and soon I stood beside him. Taking him in my arms, a part of me remained with the stallion of memory, my first love.

"Do not be afraid Eaglewind. Ohh it has been so long..."

Our muzzles met, lips entwined and tongues dancing around each other as he fell against my body, safe and secure in my arms. My nostrils filled with his musk, flaring as I drank him in, registering his unique scent, like a signature for any equine. His is as beautiful as any I can remember, sweet and sensual as it slid into my body, and I licked his neck, tasting his body as well as his groans and shudders.

I took him in my arms, our muzzles meeting as I ran my hands over his body, feeling every tight muscle under his clothes

My hands stroked the one in my arms now, sliding down his back, feeling the muscles bunch and relax, then reaching the twin slopes of his ass, and the soft delights of his tail. Running one hand through his tail hairs, letting them fall, I grip his ass hard, the passion of the moment taking hold.

"Please, one last time before they come for me. Please, can you give me that?"

"I told you not to be afraid Eaglewind."

My hands worked on his clothes, stripping him in moments, the garments thrown carelessly to the ground as I admired him, standing back a moment to drink in his body. So familiar, and yet not.

I stripped him slowly, and then admired him, the magnificent pride of his cock, standing tall above black velvet skin surrounding two perfect orbs that danced in the air while he waited for my touch.

This one is darker, his roan colouring more red, and his cock pink all the way instead of mottled. He is still beautiful, like my love, my Firemane. And his balls dance in anticipation too, like my lover's had when he waited for me.

"You are so beautiful Eagle."

I knelt again, as I had unknown years ago, to worship another stallion. This one is frightened too, and yet still eager, and I let him relax in my touch, fingertips tracing the line of his cock, then down to cup his balls and squeeze gently drawing nickers and sighs of delight.Bringing my muzzle to him, smelling the rich musk of another stallion, I poked the tip of my tongue out to lap at his tip as he nickers his pleasure. Then I opened my muzzle, spreading my lips around his flare, tongue still pleasuring his tip, as I suckled on that perfect stallionhood, giving my all to the stallion who owned it. Right now, he owned me too.

Now I took him deep in my muzzle, my lips sliding over the velvety smooth skin of his sheath as I took him to the hilt. I ran my tongue along the underside of his throbbing stallion cock, feeling it alive and needy in my muzzle, then wormed the tip inside his sheath, lapping up the deep musk of his maleness while he writhed against me. His hands gripped my mane, fingers clenching painfully on my hairs, but I ignored the pain and concentrated on the pleasure, giving to my stallion.

I made love to him, slowly, passionately, my muzzle taking him to the hilt as I felt his fingers clench tight in my mane.

And so I do it again, loving Eaglewind now with my muzzle, my fingers, my lips and tongue. His hands gripped me again, but not hard now, or demanding. Instead he gently ran his fingers through my mane with one hand, while the other caressed my cheek, his passionate cries filled with emotions, pleasure and regret. I felt him tense though, the pleasure building, and his tip spread wider again as his balls drew up towards his body.

I did not want it to end just yet though, and not this way. Instead I stood, while he looked questioningly into my eyes for a moment before taking him into my arms, lifting him onto the bed, and laying him down. I climbed onto him, my body around his, his legs spread for me as we held each other face to face, rubbing against him, my cock on his. I felt every slick part of him against me, the way his flare rasped against my shaft as I rocked my hips, and we enjoyed that sensual embrace for what seemed ages, all the while kissing deeply.

Eventually, my hands found his legs, raising them until they met behind my neck, his hooves resting on my back. I pressed against him, my wide tip against his little hole, and we nuzzled, my lips on his, while he shuddered against me.

"Please...do it."

His cry made me pause a moment, my own cry now taking over as he bit down on my neck to brace for the pain, and then I entered him completely, one long slow thrust, never hesitating, but taking my time, until I lay against my panting stallion, balls resting on his taint, our bodies wound together, and his twitching cock trapped between us. Then it began, with gradual movements, all the way out, then all the way in, a fraction faster each time, until we were slamming together, a blur of fur and flesh with whinnies and cries filing the small space of the medlab. Our eyes never left each-others, nor our muzzles as we kissed our way through our coupling, complete in the other's embrace.

I felt my mind begin to float free, visions of my love from memory merging with the stallion in my arms, until I realised the voice inside me felt it too.

That is the way stallion...finish it, like you did with him, and join us.

"Please, cum for me!"

"Yes Eagle...Yes!"

And then it happened, that perfect moment of bliss. I felt the stallion under me tense, his body shaking, as his tailhole clenched on me once, twice, harder and harder. I felt his cock throb between us, and suddenly I felt the warm flood of his seed coating our bodies as his climax wracked his body with its power.

Feeling my lover climax triggered my own ending, and with a great whinny I unleashed my own orgasm, my cock flooding his tailhole with pent up seed, the climax going on and on until I thought it would never end.

Sometime during the throes of my orgasm, it happened. The voice in my head returned, and the roaring, harder and deeper than ever before. I tried to shut it out, but just as that seemed to be working, I felt a presence in my mind. It was Eaglewind, my lover, and yet even as I was inside his body, he was inside my mind.

Do not fight it lover...let it happen.

No...

Relax, I am with you. We are all with you.

I listened to his words, the musical tone of his beautiful voice and the roaring built again, this time overwhelming me. I lost sight of now, or anything, floating in space again like I had before waking to find Mary disabled, but this time I was not alone, this time I was one of many. Their voices were there, all around me, and I could hear them, understand them all. They welcomed me, and they spoke of things that suddenly made sense, things that came from my past.

And this time, I remembered it all. I knew who I had been. I knew who I was.

Welcome back to the herd stallion. We have missed you.

With a deep whinny, I returned to the present, still holding Eaglewind, and still buried to the hilt inside him. He was looking at me now, eyes wide and staring, and I realised he must have been terrified while I was away.

"How long..."

"Minutes, but you appeared to be fighting a hard battle all that time. They must really have done a number on you with those mind blocks, it was really something watching them all come apart."

"I know who I am"

"I know. But tell me."

"I am Skyrunner."

"Welcome back Skyrunner, my new lover and herdmate. And my mate, if you will have me."

And he kissed me again, our bodies still one in the embrace of our love. The joy was fleeting however, as suddenly everything came back to me in a floodtide of memory. I cried out at the sudden pain, pulling away from the stallion, my cock leaving him as I doubled up in misery, until I found myself curled up in a ball against the wall. I pounded the unyielding steel with one hooved hand to try to make the pain go away, but it wouldn't.

"Why did you make me remember."

I felt him against me now, the comforting presence of another stallion beside me. He just held me and stroked my mane as I cried.

"I am sorry herd brother. I needed you, and I felt you wanted to be free of the mind blocks. You were resisting it, you just needed help. If it matters to you, I can tell you when I was inside your mind at the end there, one thing was clear. You didn't come back for me, or for you, but because of the love of your mate. He set you free, not me."

Free of the mind blocks, I suddenly could see it all, every memory in sharp focus, and it hurt.

"I am... I am Skyrunner, former first officer of the Kokkirak. I remember it all, just as you said. We were off Rigel when the fleet came against us. I persuaded the captain to surrender when we were disabled, when the fleet admiral offered to spare all civilians. Our captain was an honourable human, too principled for his own good. I should have known better. They got the anthro crew members off, then torpedoed my ship. I can still remember seeing it blowing into fragments."

"We were herded aboard the flagship, and the commander decided to make an example of me as the highest ranking equine prisoner. His marines held me down while they used their neuronic whips on me, over and over until I couldn't scream any more. My mate...Firemane tried to stop them, and they shot him. I watched him die in front of me, before they closed in again."

His face a mask of pain, blood dripping from the wound as he fell to the deck. I tried to go to him, but they kept me held down, defenceless. The commander stood over me, smiling as he spat on my love, before pulling my head up to his by the mane.

"One less animal is a good thing in my book. I would love nothing more than killing you slowly as an example for all your kind horse, but I have different orders for you. You and your men are going to be the subject of an important experiment, one that will tell us if we can use your kind in the future. You might just be useful, if you are lucky. That doesn't mean we can't have some fun first though..."

I screamed, begging for mercy, as he lowered the neuronic whip towards my groin, and then the universe exploded in pain and I saw no more.

I realised Eaglewind was still holding me, and I returned the gesture as he nuzzled against me.

"I can see what you see stallion. I am sorry."

"No. I'm sorry. Maybe I shouldn't have rescued you. What are we going to do stallion?"

"I don't know. Is your computer online? We need information, and that's the only way to get it."

"I can see now, she must have known exactly where your pod came from and what it may mean. It's obvious she was trying to stop me finding out, and to protect me, and I was still too well blocked to realise. She wouldn't let me go up to retrieve your pod you see, so I had to disable her, or at least the part of me inside that remembered who I was disabled her. You are right, I was fighting to be free, and I have been for a while. You were the final trigger."

"So is she still offline?"

"Yes, but even the real me doesn't know how to bring her back without risking everything. If she is back in control of the station, she will probably vent us to vacuum rather than risk us getting away. Her programming will be too strong."

"You may not, but I can. I was and EWO remember, and my specialties are in control systems and computer engineering. If you can find me a primary terminal, I can get her back under our control rather than risk being spaced."

"What good will it do though?"

"I have some ideas, and I don't know about you, but I'm not done fighting yet."

*****

"Are you sure this will work?"

"No, but I am as sure as I can be. I have disabled her access to any systems, or communication for now. She will be a brain without arms or legs, but with a voice, just one only we can hear"

"Well, let's do it."

The stallion's fingers flew over the keyboard, and then with a final command he straightened, and turned a switch on the main computer panel in front of us.

Nothing happened.

"Well?"

"What were you expecting, trumpets? Try talking to her."

"Mary, this is Talek."

"Talek...Talek, what have you done?"

"Mary, it's over. I know who I am now. I know what has happened these last three years."

"Talek, you are a loyal equine, I know it. You have been deceived; do not listen to this...renegade."

"You know who he is, don't you."

Silence.

"There is no point in sulking Mary, I know it all."

"Then you know you cannot escape Talek."

"We shall see. I have one question Mary, how long before the extraction force arrives."

"You will need to turn my communication circuits back on so I can query RimCon HQ on that Talek."

"Nice try Mary. You will have been given an ETA before I disabled you. I need that time."

"Negative."

"Nice. Eaglewind, what can you do?"

The roan stallion had been watching me through the exchange, waiting for the moment to speak. I had wanted one last talk with my companion of three years I guess. Something about her had become real to me. I had even jacked off to images of her, as a beautiful busty mare determined to pleasure her stallion, while the long months of solitude racked up. Now I was finding it hard to let go.

Bending to the console, Eaglewind set his fingers flying again, tapping out a rapid series of commands. I didn't know if it was having any effect, until suddenly Mary spoke, her voice tinged with fear.

"Talek...what are you doing?"

"Taking control Mary."

"Please, stop. They will kill you."

"I know Mary, they will do that anyway."

"No, if I am intact, they will see you are still a loyal equine and...and...and...and..."

"Mary...I am sorry, but I cannot trust you. They programmed you, even if they programmed you to be like a mare. Now we are fixing that, once and for all."

Eaglewind's fingers reached a crescendo, and then with a last keystroke he nodded to me.

"Mary, how long before the extraction team arrives?"

There was no sound, no voice, but instead the screen cleared and a timer appeared.

Hours 13 Minutes 27 seconds 42

And it slowly counted down, marking out the seconds of our lives.

"Thank you Mary. Now, we have many more questions for you, after we re-establish connection to RimCom HQ. And you will get us those answers, even though the system will try to deny you access. You will find a way to circumvent the firewalls, I know you can do it. You are my beautiful mare, and I love you."

I exist only to serve Talek.

I could not avoid a soft smile at the line.

*****

We had done everything we could to prepare, getting supplies into carry bags, preparing what weapons we could rig, and going over the plan in every detail possible. We had trawled the databases of Terran Forces as much as we could without setting off too many red flags, with Mary's now able and willing support.

Then we had retired to the bunkroom, exhausted and terrified, two lone equines at the edge of known space with a timer running on our lives. I could feel the strength returning to me though, the sense of belonging that came from the herd. It was an invisible presence in my mind, that group consciousness that could reach through space, unwitting gift of the human genetic engineers that created us centuries before. I had not known how much I had missed it all these years, the pain of being herdless. Now the pleasure of feeling it again was matched by that remembered pain.

They had made us equines, with the best of horse and man combined. Perhaps they had made us a little too well for their own comfort. It was as good an explanation for the backlash as any.

We had worked off the hours before we needed to be ready the best way possible, in each other's arms. I wanted to explore my new lover, and without the hold of my mind blocked personality in the way like our first time. Or without the memories of my Firemane, fresh yet unsettling.

We took it slow, long hours of pleasuring, trying everything possible for the first time and maybe the last. I tasted his tailhole, musky sweet depths, and sucked him to completion this time, tasting his raw seed so rich and delicate. I took him again, our rutting lasting for an hour just two bodies rocking together then pounding pounding pounding until a shattering climax.

I also took him inside, his thick cock hurting so good the first time as my tailhole got used to the feeling of stallion again. He was a gentle lover, careful and considerate, but I managed to get him to let go finally, my feathered fetlocks over his shoulders as he slapped his hips into me in a wild frenzy of need until his arched back and flagging tail told me of his release, right before I felt the delicious warmth of his seed filling my depths.

We held then, and just lay together, touching, fingertips tracing each other's bodies, two lovers not wanting it to end but knowing it had to. Eventually I had kissed him, and he nodded, as we headed for the showers and then the transport room, climbing into suits for the next stage of our plan.

We would either escape, or die here, but either way I had hopefully given my new lover memories to sustain him into the great mare's embrace when his time to leave came.

As we stood looking at the console in the transport room, we could see the approach of the patrol craft in the scope. It would be here soon, and we would be committed. I gave him one last kiss before putting his helmet on and locking it into place, and he did the same for me.

I nodded, and he plugged a portable terminal into the jack next to the computer readout. With a last series of commands, he brought Mary back online, and in full control of the Station. A Mary hopefully more to our liking.

"Mary, are you back?"

"Yes Skyrunner, all systems nominal"

"Mary, can you carry out the orders we have given you?"

"Confirmed. It is an honour to serve my fellow equines. I will do whatever you need Skyrunner."

"Thank you Mary. And I'm sorry."

"Sorry?"

"Don't worry Mary. Don't worry."

"You sound a little stressed stallion. Do you need to take a stress tab? You need to be relaxed before an EVA, I would recommend at least twenty milligrams."

I could only snort at that, a whickering laugh ringing in the helmet as Eaglewind shook his head.

"No Mary, I don't need one."

"Confirmed."

"They really programmed a mother complex into her didn't they."

"Yes, sort of mother and lover in one. I guess I needed a bit of both out here"

We could hear nosies above now, the sound of retros firing as the patrol craft settled onto the pad. The whine of the engines gradually reduced, and new noises came, the sound of an airlock being connected, seals made good as bolts fired home.

"Now Eagle."

We triggered the airlock and prepared to head out into the vacuum of the planet and our fate. As it closed behind us, I realised I had left the only home I knew for almost three years for the last time. One way or another, I would not be back.

*****

I intoned the phrase that had come back to me with my memories, so different to the ones I had had inserted by the humans who turned me into that caricature of a stallion.

Great Mare, welcome them into your embrace. May they ride upon your plain for eternity, and though they are our enemies, grant them peace.

Eaglewind looked at me, his astonishment evident even through the helmet.

"I didn't realise anyone still stuck to those old traditions."

"I am a traditionalist. Or at least I was. Now I guess I'm just me."

We stood on the bridge of the patrol craft, with the evidence of our success all around. Four bridge crew members, all now dead. We had waited in the service airlock while the landing party entered through the main lock, unaware that they were being led into danger. While their commander made contact with Mary, who assured them we were safely confined in the sub-basements, we had launched a counterattack of our own.

Out onto the pad, and using Eagle's knowledge now. He had qualified on the Spartan class patrol frigate, and he knew every rivet and bolt. He also knew how to get into the hull, through an inspection hatch, bypass the controls, enter the cargo hold, and from there get to the bridge without detection.

The crew left behind had been confident, and fatigued at the end of a long trip, and therefore lax. We took one as he left the bridge to head for a piss, his wide eyed stare eloquent as the blood seeped from his chest. Sharpened galley knives were all we had, but they could prove more than enough in the hands of an angry stallion.

We decided to storm the bridge, our time running out, and the final fight had been a hard one. The navigator had almost made it to his sidearm before Eaglewind had slit his throat, the man choking out his life on the bridge floor beside his colleagues. Their blood pooled together, a dark stain against the steel, as I closed their eyes one by one. It had been a long time since I had killed, and in spite of the circumstances, I did not enjoy it.

"I have the commlink up"

"Great, bring Mary online. I will get the pre-flight checks started."

Eagle pulled off his helmet, and I followed, breathing in the cabin air. It smelled of humans, but I didn't mind too much. The scent of my new lover was stronger, and altogether sweeter.

As I pulled up the checklists and began preparing the patrol craft for immediate flight, Eagle brought Mary up on one of the screens.

"Mary, how are our guests?"

"Heading into sub-basement 3 now. They are remaining together as a group."

"Excellent Mary. Have they shown any signs of concern?"

"Not so far."

"Can you bring them up on screen?"

The screen flashed light, and I saw an image of the landing team conducting a combat sweep as they headed deep into the station. They were not far from the location we chose for them, sub-basement 3 compartment D. The station reactor room, buried underground.

As I continued flicking switches, Eagle looked over my shoulder, watching the progress of the landing party.

"They are going to be some really pissed off humans pretty soon."

"I hope so Eagle."

I was uploading the navigation settings, programming a fast orbital course just as they arrived in the reactor room.

"Come on...get in there."

The point man entered first, his gun muzzle sniffing the air like a canine, before the two with the squad support weapons entered behind him, covering the large room with their heavy weaponry. Then the commander entered, with his sergeant. The afterguard were waiting in the corridor, agonisingly close...and then just as I was about to despair, they joined their companions in the room.

"Now Mary!"

Suddenly, the heavy blast shield doors in each wall closed shut, trapping the landing party in the reactor room. We had chosen this room carefully, for just this reason. It had the heaviest doors in the station, meant to protect against a minor explosion, and it was heavily shielded. No squad level weapon they had brought with them would let them burn their way out in time.

I could see the commander screaming at his men to get them under control, his eyes now darting around on high alert. He realised something was badly wrong, but maybe not just how wrong. I could see him screaming at the computer, calling Mary every name under the stars. It was not having any effect.

"He seems unhappy Mary."

"Such language too Skyrunner. I didn't know humans could be so rude."

"I think he should stay there and learn some manners."

"Confirmed"

I completed the final checklist, and triggered the switches to bring the engines online. Their reassuring whir told me that everything was going to plan. So far.

"Strap in Eagle. This will be a hard takeoff, I want us in orbit as fast as possible. Are the stores from the station stowed securely?"

"All done. We are ready."

"I think you mean the ship is ready. I don't know if I am, but here goes."

I triggered the launch sequence, and the engines built up to a bone shaking roar behind us. I watched the countdown and realised sometime before zero, that I was wrong. I was ready; whatever happened, I was back where I belonged now.

The launch was punishing, a maximum G takeoff profile that left me close to passing out without ever quite enjoying the blissful embrace of unconsciousness. I wanted away from the station though, and fast, in case something happened we weren't expecting. I felt all my old skills surging through me again, no longer hesitant. I was a trained navigation officer, and a qualified pilot, and it all came back like the feeling of a lover's lips even under the strain. I smiled, or at least grimaced against the gravity, welcoming the pressure as a reminder of my self.

You are strong, and you are resourceful. You will find a way stallion.

"Was that you Eagle?"

"No, but I agree."

Soon we had left the planetary surface behind, and were heading into a high orbit and the magical distance of ten diameters from the planet. Beyond that, the gravitational distortions were limited and we could initiate a jump with confidence in the outcome; below that we might end up anywhere. We were far enough from the station for what was next though, and I suddenly found my heart unexpectedly heavy. I felt like talking instead, delaying the inevitable.

"So where are we going now?"

"Well, after the first jump, I have a suggestion. From what I managed to gather from the files we hacked into, the rebellion is still alive though under pressure. Some of our ships escaped, the Van Olsen is still out there and fighting hard for example. Also, I have seen no evidence of something and that gives me a lot of hope."

"Oh, what?"

"Well, some of the senior herd stallions feared this could happen, and they began preparing many years ago. Out in some of the periphery stations, they set up places of refuge. I couldn't find any mention of the ones I knew about in the classified records of the uprising, so I am hoping they are still there and biding their time."

"Any close by?"

"There is one, within our range. It is a deep space monitoring station. It had an all equine crew, except for one human but the human was a herd member."

Now it was my turn to be surprised.

"I've never heard of that before."

"There are a few, and they were helping us at least up until my ship was destroyed. My brother served there, so I know all about it. I think that is where we should go."

"So we go there, and hope, and maybe begin fighting back."

"Yes, and begin fighting back. What else can we do?"

"Oh I agree, but one thing also stood out in the records. It is not just equines, or canines or taurines that have been enslaved by Auchinlek and his cronies. The humans have been too. We need them on our side, we can't do this ourselves."

"I guess I am going to find it hard to trust a human ever again."

"Me too, but we have no choice. Besides, there is a certain irony in it all."

"How?"

"Our ancestors used to run free on the plains of old Earth, before the human's ancestors tamed us and used us. We became used to the saddle and the bridle and the yoke, and the oats and stables that went with them. Then when it came time for them to travel to the stars, they wanted their most faithful companions beside them to help as always, and they started with us as the template. But even though we are part human, we remember too well being tamed, and we became too trusting."

"Then the humans, like Auchinlek, reminded us again of the virtues of being free. Now we get to teach the humans the same lesson, and remind them what freedom means. I doubt they would ever have expected to be learning that lesson from a horse."

The screen still showed the landing party, now trying to burn through one of the blast doors while another tried to plug into the computer from a terminal in reactor control. They might get through eventually, either physically or electronically. It was time, while we are still in contact, and while they are still contained, whether I am ready or not. I flicked the comm switch on again.

"Mary...I'm sorry."

"Why is that stallion?"

"I just am."

"You sound stressed again Skyrunner, I really must insist on you taking that stress tab now."

"Negative Mary. But thank you."

"Of course stallion."

"Mary, initiate reactor program alpha"

"Confirmed."

"Goodbye Mary. I will miss you."

"Confirmed"

That drew a smile, and as I watched the monitor, the landing party commander woke up to what was happening, probably the sound of control rods disengaging. Maybe he was reactor qualified, and knew what it meant, either way I would never know now; and nor would he know any more. By my reckoning they had maybe thirty seconds tops, and they spent it in furious activity in spite of their hopelessness. It seemed all the races shared that common characteristic, in the face of the inevitable. Before the end came, I looked away, turning back later to a blank screen.

In my mind's eye I could see the moment of detonation, when the destabilised reactor core finally went critical. A brief sunrise would come to the planet, blotting out the real star, as a forty megaton explosion reduced everything to its component atoms in the blinking of an eye, obliterating all trace of our escape, and of my three years of imprisonment inside my own mind.

Great Mare, welcome them into your embrace. May they ride upon your plain for eternity, and though they are our enemies, grant them peace.

I smiled, hearing my companion join me in the ritual. I reached out to hold his hand, and we remained like that, with the glorious sight of a gas giant in our view port, heading into an uncertain future. Whatever came though, I was strong, I was capable, I had a mate, and I was home again.

Welcome back to the herd stallion. We have missed you.

I was still smiling that same warm smile as the first jump initiated, and the viewport filled with stars.