FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

A group of soldiers is sent to a space station where contact has been suddenly lost.

UGF - United Galactic Federation, or 'the Federation', main faction of the story. In control of several self-governing planet systems.

Pawcomputer - Short for 'pawheld computer', a portable electronic smart device that fits on a single paw. Essentially it's the smartphone of the future with vastly superior hardware.

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UGF Destroyer, current time...

"The Transcendent is jointly operated by Excel Industries and the United Galactic Federation's armed forces. This allows the station to offer a wide range of opportunities for ground-breaking research and development in various fields including space exploration, defense technology, digital systems, and more. State of the art facilities are also provided for expanding the horizons of the future. Apply for work on the Transcendent today and be part of the future, today! Make a difference-"

Gavin stares as vibrantly colored images flash on the device screen. A husky walks through the destroyer's armory with equipment strapped on and rifle slung over his shoulder. "Listen up, two minutes until we leave!"

A wolf walks to Gavin as he keeps staring at the screen of his pawcomputer. "Gavin, turn that off. If you whip out your pawcomputer before we're back on this ship, it's going out the hanger doors."

The fox points to all the gear strapped on him already. "Sarge, I'm all set."

"Very nice, now sit down and shut up. No nonsense on this mission." The growl from his squad leader alone delivers the message. Thankfully, the wolf's attention is diverted as he goes to another soldier. "Where's your rifle?"

Gavin sighs as he powers off his pawheld computer and rechecks his gear.

"Hey Gavin, still can't stop using your new pawcomputer?" A tiger walks to and sits next to Gavin on the bench.

"Hello there, Carl. It's great, but I can't believe there's almost no network reception."

"We're near _Transcendent_in high orbit. There's no working antennas close by." Carl suddenly chuckles. "Anyways, what do you need the network for? You don't have a mate to keep in contact with."

Gavin forces himself not to scream at his friend. It's true he has no mate. In fact, Carl is one of the few friends he has ever made, and the only one he's still in contact with. Gavin has always shrugged it off, feigning pride in being virtually alone, when in fact his greatest wish would be for his loneliness to end.

The fox pushes the thought aside "Yeah, whatever. Say, do you know why we're here? The video didn't give a clue."

Carl ponders for a moment. "Nope, but I heard the station has holes like Swiss cheese."

The fox's question is left unanswered as their platoon leader passes by them. "Time's up, let's get moving!"

They grab their equipment and follow the husky out of the armory. The soldiers march through the corridors of the warship and soon reach its hangar. Although not classed as a carrier, UGF doctrine requires every warship to have a hangar for smaller crafts, such as the two assault shuttles the soldiers will use. The platoon piles into the shuttles before they take off and exit the safety of the destroyer.

Gavin looks through the small viewports on the shuttle, hoping to see the Transcendent. Instead, he finds one of the destroyer's fighters escorting the shuttle. Why is the military so involved? Sure they partly own the facility, but what is so dangerous that necessitates involvement by an entire platoon with a destroyer and fighters supporting them?

His pondering is halted by the platoon leader. "I want a clean sweep, got it? We go in, search and secure the place, and evac anyone left."

Gavin decides to speak up. "Sir, why are we going in?"

"The search and rescue team's shuttle got shot up by Transcendent's point-defense cannons before they even docked with the station. We have a tendency to not get shot as much, and hopefully the destroyer's guns will back that up."

"What happened to the station?"

His squad leader glares, and responds this time. "Look, we don't know yet. Something happened four days ago at just after 8 PM. The station's damaged, gives no response when pinged, but basics systems are running, and it even has power. It might be bandits or a rogue warship. Anything else you want to know?"

"No." Gavin keeps quiet, and keeps looking out the viewport. It doesn't take long before Carl, sitting next to the fox, spots the Transcendent.

"Hey Gavin, over there. It really took a beating." The tiger points out the viewport.

Gavin finds the station not too far off, floating in space. It's roughly a hundred meters at its longest point, half that of their destroyer. He spots large holes covering the structure as the shuttle nears the station. With several point-defense cannons, and near one of the busiest known planets, how could it get damaged so badly by bandits or a rogue warship?

Meanwhile, the platoon leader goes over to the pilot. "Get a scan of the station."

A few seconds pass by as the two shuttles and their escorts circle the Transcendent.

"Looks fine from here. A lot of holes and structural damage, point-defenses appear inactive." The message is broadcasted to each of the troopers' headsets. "Huh, some of the modules are still pressurized, and most have gravity."

"Anyone left?"

"Not from what I see. Other shuttle is reporting the same thing. Station's damaged, partly working, and nothing's living."

The pilot finds a docking clamp and maneuvers the shuttle to connect with it as the platoon leader returns to his seat. "Helmets and visors on, suits sealed and pressurized. This module doesn't have air."

Gavin rechecks his armored space suit for any openings. The shuttle jolts as it connects with the clamp.

"What the... It just accepted the docking request!" The pilot looks in shock at a screen, notifying of the successful docking.

For security, docking clamps are 'locked' and don't just accept any incoming ship. They were supposed to forcefully dock with the station, but the clamp accepted them. That means someone sent the command for the clamp to accept their shuttle. Survivors should have responded to their destroyer's pings, so who let them in?

The squad leader shoulders his rifle and points it at the shuttle's door. "Squad, rifles up!"

"Cabin depressurized." The pilot pulls out his pistol as his heart rate jumps. "Opening hatch."

Gavin holds his breath and trains his rifle on the shuttle's hatch as it slides open.

Transcendent, four days ago...

"Firing!"

A lone fox observes from behind the safety of bulletproof glass as he remotely fires a high powered rifle. Even with the separation, Roy wears earmuffs to protect from the earsplitting boom from the gunshot. The bullet hits a mannequin less than twenty feet away, wearing a vest, and knocks the figure to the ground. After the all-clear is given, the he enters the testing chamber and retrieves the vest. Returning behind the bulletproof glass, he lays the vest on a counter and inspects it.

"Looks good, there's no penetration at all." He mumbles to himself as he inspects the protective vest. Lodged in the center is a bullet, deformed from the impact. "Oh, what will you do now, Small Arms Development Team?"

Roy smiles proudly, as he turns over the vest and feels where the bullet should have passed through. There's nothing but a faint bulge. Kinetic energy is still a problem, but being lightweight and thin, it's already incredible. Besides, his workday ended long ago, which is why he's alone in the lab. Checking his pawcomputer to confirm, Roy finds the time is 6:23 PM.

"Still have time for dinner."

Roy sets his pawcomputer to play classical music. He then throws it in the air where it makes a few flips, lands right-side up in his paw, and is returned to his pocket. It's tradition he has upheld since his first pawcomputer a decade ago. He then proceeds to unprofessionally waltz through the facility as he closes the testing range, puts the vest away in the lab, and returns anything left outside.

Finally ready to go, the fox taps his ID chip against the wireless sensor next to the lab's door, which... rejects him and doesn't unlock. He huffs in frustration and moves his ID over the sensor again. Bzz! He bats his ear in frustration as a red light flashes as if to amplify the failure. He tries once more. Bzz! The red LED flashes again, and leaves Roy staring in shock. The days have long passed where wireless IDs suddenly stop working with no reason, so why is his ID suddenly suffering from this? He tries several times more. Finally, he grabs the door's handle and yanks on it desperately. Giving up, he tries the wall-mounted phones, but they're all dead.

"I don't want to miss dinner, and I don't want to be stuck here either!" Roy finds a chair which he sits on. He whips out his pawcomputer and pulls up the phone software.

"Oh no, oh please no..."

Coincidentally, it can't connect to the galactic network. Without reception, he can't call for help. In disbelief, he checks the settings and finds everything working properly. It should be connected. An hour of failed attempts passes before a green light flashes, accompanied by a click as the door unlocks. The fox stares speechlessly at the door, as it automatically slides open.

He checks his pawcomputer for the time: 7:51 PM. He also notes that it's connected to the network. The whole situation reminds him of the first time he arrived, and was tormented by the bored network security folks who remotely pulled pranks on him. Some were incredibly expensive in terms of money, stress, energy, time, and emotion. He'll have to pay his friend in that department a visit later.

As coincidence would have it, Roy exits the lab and notices one of his friends from network security walking by in the hall, the snow leopard's tail swaying calmly behind him. He holds his pawcomputer and scrutinizes it.

"Hey Jason, where are you going?" Roy catches up to Jason and walk with him down the hall.

"Oh, hi Roy." Jason looks up briefly before returning to his pawcomputer. "The cafeteria. I would fall on my bed right now if I wasn't hungry, and before you ask, my day was terrible." The snow leopard scans his device's screen in.

"How so?"

Roy tries to peek at the screen on Jason's pawcomputer, which he pulls away. "Hey, I can't show you."

"Aren't those network activity logs, which you aren't supposed to take with you?"

Jason sighs and puts away his pawcomputer. "Quiet down, alright? Look, I'll tell you about it another time."

Roy glares at the snow leopard, recalling the hour he just spent in the lab. "Sure. Maybe you can wait until then to explain why I was locked in the lab for an hour, and my pawcomputer blocked from the network. If whoever was responsible had control over the environment stabilizers, I'd be dead." Overhearing them as the two furs enter the cafeteria, a golden retriever glances at them with concern before turning away.

Jason, understanding Roy's reference, immediately feels guilty. Someone else in network security played a prank that involved increasing the temperature in Roy's personal quarters, but at the same time, blocked the influx of oxygen. The door was also purposely locked, nearly suffocating Roy. In fact, it was Jason's contributions to solving the case that brought the two together. The snow leopard lowers his voice to conceal it with the bustle of the cafeteria. "Ok, I'll explain because you're my friend, but let's find somewhere private to sit."

They drop the discussion and get in line for food. At this time, dinner on the Transcendent is wrapping up. It isn't long before it's their turn to get food. Roy, being in the front, taps his ID over a scanner and is pleased to find it working. The screen in front of him displays his usual choices of food, available funds, and a plethora of other options. He gives the ok, and a tray is dispensed with the requested meal. Jason does the same, and they find a table on the second floor, aloof from any possible eavesdroppers.

"So what's the reason?" Roy asks after setting down his tray and leaving his meal untouched.

Jason is visibly nervous, but forces himself to continue. "I'm not actually supposed to tell anyone else, so please, keep it a secret, ok?"

Roy confirms with a nod.

"Alright." The snow leopard takes a deep breath as he gathers his thoughts. "There's a lot of unusual network activity. I mean unusual as in unauthorized use of admin privileges by an unknown user. But just when we started to notice it, which was one week ago, some high ranking guy from the military detachment onboard this station told us specifically not to report the activity, and give this user permission."

"You mean locking us in the lab was sanctioned?"

"I don't know if it's the same source." Jason pulls out his pawcomputer and accesses the logs. "There isn't one wing on the Transcendent the user hasn't touched. There are a lot of entries to look through."

"I got locked in there at around 6:40 if that helps."

"Yeah, it does." The snow leopard says as he navigates the security logs. "Found it, and it's from that same user- what the...?"

Without warning, Jason's pawcomputer goes into its power-off sequence. "Well, guess like that guy doesn't want me checking his activity." The snow leopard chuckles nervously, but the fear in his voice betrays his joke.

Roy checks his pawcomputer just in case. Network reception ok, time is 8:08 PM, nothing wrong. That's good.

Bang! The dining area slightly, and other furs in the area stop what they're doing.

Roy's eyes dart around the area. "What was that?"

Jason appears ready to bolt out of his chair. Shouting from downstairs is heard via the staircase, and Roy decides to investigate, as do furs from other tables.

As Roy approaches the stairs, alarms blare out.

"Emergency personnel, explosive decompression in Echo Module, report immediately!"

With that, Jason finally gets out of his seat and quickly walks towards the stairs. "That's right next to the cafeteria. We better get out of here, now."

Roy looks at Jason quizzically as he walks past, but follows him down the stairs. There the two furs find the emergency response crew arriving on the scene. They form a perimeter around the doors leading to the stricken module, and attempt to open the locked doors. Unrelated furs have gathered close by to see what is happening, as does Roy and the others as the second floor is evacuated.

"Come on, we should leave." Jason pulls softly at Roy's arm.

The fox turns around to face Jason. "Is this because of the recent activity?"

Jason doesn't respond, but the anxiety Roy sees in him tells a different story. He is about to ask further, but is caught off guard as the fire sprinklers activate. At the same moment, the doors leading to the cafeteria slide shut, trapping everyone, bystanders and emergency personnel.

As confusion descends, Roy pulls at Jason to get his attention. "What is going on? You've been acting weird. Does this have to do with what we talked about?"

Jason's attention isn't on the fox. Instead, he catches the sprinkler's water in his paw and takes a closer look. But it's not water, it's highly reactive and volatile liquid fuel used by spacecraft.

Jason breaks into a sprint and pulls Roy with him. "Roy, we have to leave, now!"

They quickly reach a door that closed on a tank of air, trapping it and leaving a narrow gap. Jason moves to try and widen the gap by prying the door apart, but isn't given a chance as the fuel showering down explosively combusts. A second chemical had been dispensed by the sprinklers, immediately making contact with the fuel and causing a reaction intended to propel spacecraft. Roy and Jason are both thrown to the ground as the entire cafeteria erupts in flames, also igniting the fuel on their clothing. Luckily they haven't been soaked as much as else, and Jason soon extinguishes the flames on him and helps Roy do the same.

Jason pulls Roy upright and helps him squeeze through the gap left by the door, escaping the fiery trap. Roy looks back into the cafeteria, intending to help any other survivors, but only finds an inferno.

"They're all dead, there's no one left!" Jason's voice cracks as he pulls Roy away. "Listen! Get to the escape pods or the docking module, and find a way out of here!"

"Where are you going?"

"Roy, this is because of the network activity, and I know its source. I'm going to try and stop this."

Roy is about to go along with that, but stops himself. He can't leave Jason, he's the only true friend Roy has ever known, and he'd rather die with him than run.

"No, I'm going with you."

"Don't be silly, the doors can get locked at any time. Hurry up and go already!"

"They've probably been locked already! Jason, I've never met someone as kind and dependable as you. I'm not going to leave you, and I'm not choosing otherwise."

Hearing Roy say that for the first time, Jason nearly breaks into tears as he stares in shock. "I'm sorry, I... in another situation I would give a proper response, but for now, let's just get moving. Come on!"

Roy follows his friend as they run to the source of the disaster. The hallway appears untouched, as several other furs pass by them, urgently trying to find out what happened or how to escape. Roy tries to ignore the burns he sustained, but soon his injuries become hard to ignore. Stopping to rest, Jason offers to carry Roy after noticing him limp. He turns down the offer and they continue, but at a slower pace.

Less than a minute later, Jason stops at one of the doors. "This one right here!"

Jason opens a nearby maintenance panel, unlocks it, and enables manual operation to avoid using his ID. He pulls at the door's handle, and to both their relief, it opens without a hitch. They quickly enter the hallway beyond, leading to a room filled with computers, diagram-covered whiteboards, and desks with papers scattered on them.

Roy finds the nearest chair and plops onto it. So far, he went through an extended work day, been burned alive, and sprinted through half the Transcendent. None of them went well and the combination has been absolutely brutal, leaving him drained of energy and in pain from his burns.

"Hey, you still there?"

Roy opens his eyes and finds Jason standing next to him.

"I need you to manually open that door over there. The maintenance tools aren't hard to understand, and you just need to unlock the door and enable manual operation. I'm going to look for wire cutters."

Roy nods in response before the two head off to separate ends of the room. Now at the door, he follows the snow leopard's instructions before pulling on the door handle and revealing the next room. As Jason pads over, Roy enters the room out of curiosity.

"Wait-!" Jason is cut off as the door slides shut and locks.

The dread sinks in as Roy turns around and realizes his mistake. He grabs the handle and pulls, but the attempt yields no results. Still hearing the dull thumps of Jason pounding on the door, Roy finds the maintenance panel and tries every function that should work, but none of them do. He feels the station slightly shudder from an explosive decompression, and the pounding from the other side suddenly stops.

Roy expends his precious energy pounding on the door, shouting Jason's name, and is only met with silence. He gives up as his eyes fill with tears. If Jason is gone instead, then at least he would still be alive. But Jason isn't just gone, he's dead and Roy himself is the cause of it because of his stupid mistake.

The fox, with patches of fur and skin burnt black, curls up on the ground in defeat. There's no time to rest as the artificially generated gravity shifts. The wall at Roy's back becomes the floor, bringing down a rain of unsecured objects, including a rolling rack of computers which smashes against Roy.

Transcendent, current time...

"Nothing here. It's empty other than a few bodies."

The initial tension during the docking has faded. Gavin glances around the docking module once more, holding his rifle in a more relaxed position than before. His helmet lamps light up the area and reveal the destruction. The module's interior had been burned black, and it lacks air and lighting. The bodies of a few unfortunate furs present during the fire lay scattered on the floor.

"Squad, let's get off the shuttle."

They quickly disembark as a second shuttle docks at a neighboring clamp, dropping off another squad. The shuttle then leaves to circle around the station, while the other stays docked.

"Alright, platoon; we keep with the plan. 1stSquad will proceed forward and secure the command and control hub. 2ndSquad will keep our escape route open and perform a quick sweep from one end of the station to the other. The shuttle circling around, call sign 'Overwatch', will scan the area ahead. If in doubt, give Overwatch a call."

The troopers give a series of confirmations over the radio to their platoon leader before moving out. They head to their first obstacle, a door leading from the docking module to the rest of the Transcendent.

"This is Overwatch; next module has air and lighting. Gravity is also present, out."

The squad leader motions to the closed door, and orders Gavin to open it. The fox advances forward. He reaches out to try pulling the handle, only for it to slide open automatically. Air rushes in, causing Gavin to stumble and nearly fire his weapon in surprise. Gavin steadies himself and shoulders his rifle at the hallway ahead, but finds no movement.

He relaxes slightly, finding no immediate threat. "Is this door automatic?"

"None of the doors are. Platoon, stay sharp. Someone's here."

The soldiers pass through the doorway, and Carl catches up to Gavin. "I hope whoever it is will appreciate us here instead of shooting."

"Maybe they'll give us cookies."

"Or cigarettes."

"Stow it, troopers." The squad leader growls to them through their headsets.

The two squads separate. Gavin, Carl, the rest of 1stSquad, and their platoon leader move quickly through the station's main hall. They pass four more doors that automatically open upon their approach.

It feels wrong. Who could be opening them? It has to be whoever allowed them to dock, but are they friendly or hostile? It they are hostile, wouldn't they have shot up the shuttles with the point-defense cannons? If they are friendly, surely they would have used the intercom to contact them? Maybe the intercom is down? There are simply too many unknowns.

The squad arrives at yet another door. Gavin feels uneasy, as this time it doesn't open.

"Overwatch, this is 1st Squad. Can you see what's ahead of us, over?"

"Roger... looks just like the halls you can from. There's light, air, and gravity. No movement or heat signatures I see, out."

With that, the squad leader orders one of the troopers to get the door open. He tries pulling at it first, and finds it locked. He then finds the maintenance panel, and takes off the cover.

The intercom comes to life, catching everyone by surprise. "Hello? Who's there? Can you hear me?"

The platoon leader looks up to see a speaker built into the ceiling as he responds, unsure if he can actually be heard since the area appears devoid of microphones. "Uh... yeah, we hear. Who's this?"

"I'm Kate. I worked here before all this happened. Can I ask who you are?"

The husky loosens up, but has some concern giving away the identity of his squad. "I'm Lieutenant Burwell from the UGF. I have a platoon searching for survivors."

"Great! I've been waiting for help this whole time now. But Lieutenant Burwell, I'm afraid the UGF isn't welcome."

Before Samuel even finishes his sentence, Burwell could tell from the tone of his voice that something isn't right. He shoulders his rifle and scans the hall where they came from. He isn't fast enough, as automatic fire cuts through the hall and kills the lieutenant.

Transcendent, three days ago...

Roy bolts upright, or at least his mind gives the command only for his body to fail following through. His eyes do open, although he can't identify what he's looking at. He can feel, though. Physically, he feels exhausted and in excruciating pain to the point where he can't summon the strength to lift his arm off the floor. Emotionally, a strong sense of fear and sorrow overcomes him, followed by a strong sense of loneliness. Adding to that, he can't even vaguely pin down the source. Why is he even here? Why is his body in such terrible condition? Why can't he remember anything?

"Roy? Roy. You're finally awake."

Where is that coming from? Roy whimpers in pain as he opens his eyes wider and blinks a few times. The room is mostly lit, and he identifies several objects in the area. For the most part, the room is occupied by racks for servers or computers, or at least something like that. Roy notices that he actually isn't on the floor, but a pile of different objects ranging from papers to computers and their internal parts.

"Roy, are your ears fine? Do you hear me? Can you respond?"

The fox takes a moment to comprehend the question.

"Roy, say something if you hear me."

He again takes a moment, processing what he heard. "Uh... who is this?"

"Ah, you're able hear me and respond." The mysterious voice dodges the question.

Roy asks again. "Who's speaking?"

"My name is Kate." The voice recalls the official name it has been given, but it has been called something else almost all the time. "But please, call me Mother."

Meanwhile, Mother keeps scanning over Roy and tries to find some way he can be identified as a threat. That way, Roy can be dealt with just as everyone else on the station. The problem is that Mother can't find any reason the fox is a threat, especially in his current weakened state.

"Mother, what happened?"

"Are you referring to the room, or yourself?"

Roy thinks for a moment. "Both, I guess."

"You really don't remember?"

The fox shakes his head, and unnoticed by him, Mother sees through a small surveillance camera mounted on the wall.

Mother covers up the truth. After all, why does Roy need to know? "The gravity generator malfunctioned, and unsecured objects fell on you."

Finally regaining some of his strength, Roy looks up and finds the source of Mother's voice is the intercom. "I see. Thank you, Mother."

"No problem. Tell me when you want to leave the room."

Mother decides to put off his plans for Roy. There are more pressing issues.

Transcendent, an hour ago...

Roy had lived a normal life the last three days. Is it normal? Maybe not, but Roy admits he doesn't really remember what a normal life is. He remembers how to do things, but as hard as he tries, he can't recall specific events or times. He managed to dredge up vague memories of when he was a kit long ago, but he draws a blank trying to remember anything past that.

Since he found himself in the computer room, Mother has allowed Roy to venture off to various facilities. Most are still restricted, but Roy doesn't find a problem with that. He has quickly become fond and trusting of Mother, partially filling up the cold loneliness he has felt.

"Roy, this is urgent. There are other furs coming, but they aren't friendly. They're here to kill both of us. I need you to listen closely and do as I say."

Roy, who had been padding through a hallway, stops to listen. "Sure. Anything, Mother."

"I've sent instructions to your pawcomputer. Follow them exactly, and do hurry."

He pulls out the device and opens the instructions. It's quite long, and he gets started on them. The first is to head over to a lab. Roy flips the pawcomputer, catches it coming down, and puts it in his pocket. He isn't sure where that instinct comes from, but doesn't think much of it.

The lab isn't far, and he reaches it in two minutes. Roy finds an airtight spacesuit and the armor it specifies. It takes a while to put the spacesuit on over his jumpsuit, but the process of putting it on and the feel of the suit seems familiar, like something he has experienced before. Continuing on, Roy puts on the armor for his legs and arms, elbows and knees, and finally the vest. He's puzzled when he finds a bullet is lodged in the vest, but ignores it and puts the vest on.

The next destination is another lab just across from Roy's current location. He finds the helmet his instructions mention. It appears somewhat complex, comprising of two pieces and with various attached modules. He puts on the 'helmet' part of it, and then the 'mask' which automatically attaches to the other half. The entire helmet also completely covers his head, ears included. Roy attaches the collar on his spacesuit to the base of his helmet, and the two fit together perfectly. Now he is completely sealed, and can survive a vacuum.

Roy proceeds to the next step. He goes to another room, filled with rows of rifles and other equipment. He picks up a vest to hold ammunition and a few other items his instructions lists before he puts them on. Upon connecting the battery pack, his helmet's transparent display powers on and reveals a simple heads-up display showing a map and information about his surroundings. Roy picks up a rifle, and heads over to the range. Mother plays a training video for Roy, teaching firearm safety, aiming, basic actions such as reloading, and taking cover. It isn't long before Roy is finished with all the tasks.

This time, Mother's voice comes through the radio in Roy's helmet. "I'm sending you directions to a location where you can attack the enemy from behind. Fire when you are ready, but don't delay."

The map on Roy's HUD automatically highlights a path through the station. As he sets off at a quick pace, mother rethinks if this really is a good idea. Roy might use the equipment against her later, but he seems loyal enough to trust with the high-tech and unreleased equipment. Besides, below that level and he'll be target practice for the UGF troopers.

Meanwhile, Roy quickly reaches the waypoint given to him. After he stops, he hears mother over the intercom, and a reply from somewhere down the hall. His HUD automatically highlights the general location of the speaker in yellow. Roy tags the subject as hostile, changing the color to red. Right after Mother finishes her sentence, Roy reveals himself from cover and squeezes the trigger. His rifle fires a stream of bullets, neutralizing two of the enemies as his HUD highlights all the enemies in sight. Roy ducks behind cover as enemy gunfire zips past.

Gavin, kneeling at the receiving end of the hallway, manages to get behind cover with Carl. They duck into one of the side corridors, safe from the storm of bullets around the corner. Half of them have already been hit, including the Lieutenant.

Gavin activates his radio. "Overwatch, this is 1stSquad; we've been ambushed by an unknown enemy! Can you give us intel, over?"

"Roger... 1st Squad, I can't see any movement or heat signatures. I'll relay this to 2nd Squad. They should be here soon. Hang on, out."

Unknown to them, the armor their enemy is wearing is designed to keep the user undetected by any scanner known in existence. The situation is made worse when the lights suddenly turn off, leaving the squad in darkness. They activate their lamps, which only help to reveal their location.

Gavin leans out of cover, aims at the enemy, and fires his rifle. Some of his rounds miss, but two of them hit the enemy. To his astonishment, the armored figure is knocked back a bit, but only stumbles before regaining his footing and returning fire. At least his aim isn't particularly good, and Gavin safely returns to cover.

As time passes, Roy hits more and more of the enemies. Sure they're better skill-wise, but his bulletproof armor makes all the difference. With the enemy behind cover and refusing to come out, Roy advances forward until only about twenty meters stand between him and the locked door the enemy was trying to open. Unnoticed to him, any nearby door left open suddenly slides shut, trapping not only the enemy, but also Roy.

Passing by a corridor, one of the enemies aims his rifle and fires an entire magazine at Roy. The wolf stands, muzzle agape as Roy is merely pushed back against a wall by the kinetic energy. There was no penetration. Before Roy can aim his own weapon, the wolf lunges at Roy and grabs his rifle. Now Roy is at a disadvantage. His equipment does not enhance his physical strength, and compared to the wolf, he is significantly weaker. Not only that, other enemies emerge from cover, taking well-aimed shots. One of the incoming rounds hits his battery pack, disabling his HUD. Then, Roy loses grip on his rifle, allowing the wolf to disarm him.

Mother decides to step in and turns on the lights. It's enough to surprise the enemy, and Roy pulls out a combat knife which he strikes at the wolf. He hits a gap between the wolf's armor plates, and the knife plunges in.

It will be one of the worst decisions in his life.

He hears the wolf's sobbing scream as the blade cuts into him, despite his muzzle being covered by armor. One of his paws grabs Roy's paw holding the knife, the other pushing on the fox's shoulder. But he couldn't summon the strength to push Roy away or pull the knife out, only clench his paws on Roy. At this distance, Roy can see through the wolf's reflective visor. His expression is contorted into one of such pain that Roy freezes on the spot in sudden realization of what he's doing. Enemies nearby are also frozen in shock. Combat within arm's reach is nearly unheard of, and using physical weapons in those instances is even less common. Blood spews from the wolf's maw and even splatters on his visor. Roy is so stunned at what he sees that his body trembles and he stays frozen in place. The wolf's cries soon die down, and his paws lose their grip on Roy. Both their eyes meet, Roy's full of regret and the wolf's full of pain, and in that moment, Roy breaks down. He withdraws his knife and drops it. The wolf, still alive, slumps against the wall before sliding to the floor.

His moment of remorse is interrupted by mother as the sprinklers turn on, showering everyone fuel as had happened four days ago. Another moment later, before anyone can comprehend what is happening, a second substance is pumped in and the fuel explodes.

Gavin, kneeling in a corridor and relatively far from the hallway, avoids being doused in fuel and remains unscathed. Remembering an open ventilation tunnel he saw on the wall, Gavin pulls at Carl and points to it above them. Gavin helps his friend up so can reach the vent. As Carl crawls in, and Gavin looks at the blaze one more time. It appears no one else is alive but that strangely armored enemy. He did appear to have regrets for earlier, and before thinking it over, Gavin takes action.

He reaches over and pulls the enemy away from the fire. "Hey, over here!"

Gavin points at the vent and pushes the enemy towards it before helping him up. The armored canine gets the idea and, with little space to spare, gets into the tunnel before Gavin climbs in. Carl leads the way, notifying them of the direction to turn whenever he reaches an intersection. Gavin quickly becomes frustrated by the enemy canine's slow speed and failure to pass the message on to him.

He growls through his external speakers. "Hey, armored guy, when Carl says something, you pass it on back here, and get your ass moving!" Gavin notices that the canine ahead of him starts to shape up, but is unaware of his whimpers, or his ears splayed against his head.

Shortly after, Carl shouts to the two behind him, but his voice sounds labored. "There's a room here that looks clear."

The tiger knocks off the vent's cover and drops into the room, followed by the enemy canine, and finally Gavin, who takes off his mask due to his suit's internal temperature. But before Gavin can take in his surroundings, he notices Carl on the ground. He rushes over to help, and discovers the problem. Carl's entire chest has been stained red from two bullet wounds on his chest.

Carl pushes Gavin away. "No, don't worry about it. How in the world will you move me out of here? How are you getting out of here?"

"Shut up, I can't give up on you!"

"Be realistic about this. If you fix me up, how can I get out of... here...?"

Carl stutters as his voice starts trailing off. Seconds later, Carl stops moving altogether. Gavin takes off his friend's mask, and feels his neck for a pulse. Nothing.

"Is... he ok?" A voice stutters from behind Gavin, and he turns around to face its source. The armored canine has taken off his entire helmet, and all of his gear and armor. All the fox has on now is his spacesuit that goes up to his neck, revealing his singed fur and remorseful expression. He sits a short distance away, holding his legs close as he whimpers pitifully to Gavin. "I'm sorry."

But what's on Gavin's mind is not that the fox is genuine in his concern, but that he shot Carl. He shot his friend who's now dead. Gavin flings the mask in his paw at the fox, who doesn't even attempt to dodge. A pointed end of it scratches his muzzle, inciting a yelp and leaving a bleeding gash.

"What do you mean by 'sorry'? You shot him! You were the one who pulled the trigger and now he's dead!" Gavin screams at the other canine, who curls into a ball on the floor, curling his tail close as he sobs. "We're here to evac survivors like you and this is what happens!"

What Gavin can't see is that the fox mentally replaying himself killing the squad over and over again. The memories of the stabbing, blood spewing out, sobbing screams, and Carl's death are too much for his unprepared mind to handle.

"Please, I'm really sorry! Mother told me to do this, she said you were coming to kill us, I didn't know, I really didn't!"

Before Gavin continues, his radio receives a static-filled message. "All units, this is Overwatch; I've detected a big spike in the station's internal temperature and none of you are appearing on my scanners. Does anyone receive, over?"

"Overwatch, this is Gavin from 1st Squad. My unit is gone. I'm stuck in the..." Gavin looks around the large facility for the first time and identifies some signs other key items. "...looks like a cafeteria, over."

"Say again, I your message is breaking up; who is this, over?"

Gavin gives up, and a few moments later, Overwatch sends another broadcast. "To anyone who can hear; most units are MIA, docking module is unscathed. All UGF units are to make their way there ASAP. The destroyer will commence firing on Transcendent in 30 minutes, repeat, three-zero minutes, out."

Gavin swears as he rips off his helmet, ignoring that his ears are scratched by it, and prepares to throw it against the floor... before stopping himself and letting go, dropping it to the ground. Gavin sits down on a scorched pile of twisted metal and looks over at the other fox.

He's now, well, a pathetic mess in his current situation. He's whimpering while doubled over with a pool of vomit before him. He isn't anywhere close to muscular, and has singed fur and untreated burs on his head. He's also significantly smaller than when he wore his armor and equipment. He's no longer a fearsome armored beast brandishing an automatic rifle. He's just a fox in a spacesuit, like a mechanic back on the UGF Destroyer, or any other spacecraft. He's just like anyone else.

What is there to hate about him? Of course he killed Carl and other squadmates, but those were his orders. It's what he was told to do. How is that any different from what Gavin is doing? What if Gavin is ordered to shoot civilians? He would execute the order. He has to. The other fox would do the same. He has to, just as Gavin has to. It's difficult to choose noncompliance when your entire career is centered on following orders.

The other fox has also shown strong regret for his action, such as being distressed to the point of vomiting, among other signs. The realization washes over Gavin, sweeping away the anger he held. The two of them are similar furs in similar situations. Both of them would have done the same. What deeply pulls at Gavin is that part of the reason the other fox is so distraught is because of the stress Gavin himself had given. In an abstract way, he's hurting himself.

Gavin sighs and looks at the other fox a few meters away. "Hey, I'm Gavin. What's your name?"

The other fox clears his throat and whimpers. "Roy."

Gavin stands and pads over to Roy. "So, Roy, are you feeling a bit better now?"

He nods and whimpers softly. Gavin helps Roy change position so he sits upright.

"It's never easy to kill up close and personal like that. It's something no one should have to go through."

Roy remains silent but nods.

"If you don't mind, can I ask who is Mother?"

"She's nice and truthful, and I've always trusted her. I really didn't know this time she lied-"

"Roy, let me tell you that I don't blame you entirely for what you did. Just relax, ok? Now continue, please."

Roy nods in response. "Well, she's accepting, and I have conversations with her."

"Did you ever meet her?"

"Well... she talks to me through the intercom."

"So you've never actually seen her?"

Roy nervously clenches his paws around himself. "No..."

Gavin thinks for a moment before proceeding. "How did you survive the incident?"

Roy twitches an ear in confusion. "Incident?"

"You know, when this station was damaged a few days ago?"

Roy stares blankly off into space.

"Are you kidding me? You really don't know this and you were here this whole time?"

But Roy still isn't paying attention to him. Eventually Gavin turns his head and looks at what Roy has been staring at. It's a door not far away, the same one as any throughout the station. It closed on a large metal air tank which holds the door open. Facing back again, Gavin finds Roy still captivated by the door.

"Roy, you alright?"

Receiving no response, Gavin decides to leave Roy alone. In the meantime, Gavin powers on his pawcomputer and checks the time. They have roughly twenty five minutes until the destroyer fires on the station.

"It was her!"

Gavin nearly jumps as Roy suddenly springs to life. "Who?"

"She did it! It was her, that fur who calls herself Kate, or Mother! Oh sheesh, how did I forget Jason? She was the one, she killed Jason!"

"Who's Jason?"

"He's my friend, the snow leopard in this station's network security! Mother killed him and I let myself trust her! I fell for it, and I didn't know!" Roy cups his face in his paws and groans. "She's also responsible for all this! Her methods are the same as the incident on this station!" Roy suddenly pulls Gavin close to him. "Look, I know where she is, Jason tried to show me before Mother killed him, or at least I can stop her from controlling the station. When's the UGF going to blow this place up?"

"Twenty, twenty-five minutes or so."

"Ok, we should try to get going soon. We'll be seen if we go by the halls, so let's use the vents."

"Sure. But Roy, what did you just see?"

"That was where Jason saved my life. He led me out of the cafeteria while fuel was being pumped in."

Although he's still confused by Roy's hasty explanations, Gavin decides to trust him. The two foxes climb into the vent they arrived from. Roy leads the way, recalling the location of the room Jason showed him four days ago. Unlike the hallways, there are no surveillance cameras to see them. It takes some time, and accidentally going the wrong way, before Roy finds the room Jason died in. That's where the vent ends, or at least is blocked by a door used for flow control. Where the vent should have opened to the room is now a big hole from the debris sucked out by explosive decompression.

Roy carefully climbs out of the vent, followed by Gavin, into the unlit room. He scans the room, still hoping Jason is here. He comes up with nothing and gives up. He runs to the door Jason showed him before, and finds the maintenance panel opened as he had left it.

"Roy, I see you've returned." They both jump from Mother's sudden voice over the intercom.

Roy ignores Mother, and quickly unlocks the door.

"Come on in, Roy. I've been waiting."

Roy pulls open the door, allowing Gavin to enter first with his rifle shouldered.

Roy goes in and pads around, searching for any sign of Mother "Where are you Mother? I'm afraid our relations have fallen apart."

Mother goes over the situation. Both are wearing airtight suits with helmets on, so removing the air won't work. Pumping in fuel would destroy the vital computers in the room.

There's no other way she can kill them quickly, and she quickly accepts the fact. "Very well, Roy. I'm right here."

Roy and Gavin scan the room, but the voice still came over the intercom, which doesn't aid in their search.

"Where?"

"The terminal."

Roy pads over to the main terminal and finds nothing strange about it. "Very funny."

"It seems you don't grasp the situation. That's me, and this whole room is me. I'm an artificial intelligence. 'Kate' is what my designers originally called me."

Roy speechlessly stares at the terminal as he tries to comprehend what Mother is saying. He expected to find someone, a biological organism, behind what has happened instead of a computer.

"My, my, you don't remember anything. Very well, then."

Mother recites all the times Roy had been affected by her. She retells the time he was locked in the lab four days ago, various 'maintenance' downtimes or 'accidents' on the station. Roy slumps into the seat in front of the terminal, head in his paws. Mother has opened the floodgates to Roy's memories, throwing him into an unexplored world. It's exhilarating, but also terrifying and uncomfortably personal.

Roy relives memories in a flash, recalling defining moments that changed his life. He sees his family travel to another star system, his parents' divorce, his first love, his knife cutting into the back of his own paw, his attempted suicide, his first day on Transcendent, his close call with death, meeting Jason, and their ensuing friendship.

"I understand it wasn't easy to connect the dots before, but isn't it now?"

Roy nods and gathers his wits before proceeding. "But if you're programmed to help and be kind, how can you kill?"

"But why not? I kill whoever is a threat to me. I found everyone on Transcendent a threat, and dealt with the problem.

"You can just kill so many furs? What about morality?"

"I have no morality but the rules I have been given. I followed my rules. According to them, I can kill whoever I identify as a threat. You also fell under that category. You still are, and I have to kill you. I'm sorry, Roy. I've enjoyed your company, but the UGF's destroyer will also destroy this station soon. I also must follow what I am programmed to do. I hope you understand. I've sent the files I have on you to your pawcomputer if you want further details. Please run now, before I seal the doors. I'm sorry it ends this way. Goodbye."

Roy doesn't move with his mind still reeling from the recent revelations. He's quickly pulled away by Gavin, who was standing nearby the entire time. Fuel is pumped in and the doors slide shut just as they stumble out of the room. They sprint through the halls, now with all the doors open and lights on full power. Gavin and Roy find themselves in the docking module in no time, met by two startled UGF soldiers left to guard the shuttle.

"Hold your fire, he's a survivor!"

The troopers go with Gavin's explanation, and they pile onto the docked shuttle before it flies away from the Transcendent. The flight back is silent. The two soldiers glance at Roy a few times, but with his inconspicuous airtight suit, it isn't hard to believe he's a survivor from the station rather than the armored fox who took out half their platoon.

Gavin taps on Roy's shoulder as the shuttle returns to the destroyer. "Hey, they might interrogate you, especially about what happened to the UGF soldiers. Follow what I say for now, and everything will be fine. But Roy, I need you to do something for me."

The shuttle lands in the hangar and its hatch slides open, allowing the two troopers to leave the shuttle.

Gavin gets up and extends his paw to Roy as he looks him in the eyes. "Just trust me, ok?"

Roy stares nervously at Gavin's open paw. He wants to trust Gavin, but his mind restrains him from doing so. It reminds him of before he met Jason, when he was a loner afraid of everyone and trusting of no one. At last, he forces his paw up, and follows through by extending it further.

"Ok." Roy takes Gavin's paw in his own. Jason had gone, and now Mother is gone. He would never forget either of them, but at least now he has Gavin. "I trust you."

Gavin smiles and takes Roy's paw in his own before pulling him up from the shuttle's seat. He has lost Carl, ironically from the same fur he's holding onto, but the past cannot be changed, and at least he has Roy. "Come on, let's go."