FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 2

The Capher flew low over the planet's terrain. The lush landscape rushed past in a blur of muted blues, browns, greys, and greens. Neji's fingers danced over the control panel, making minute changes to the ship's scanner sweep pattern while she guided its course via the control stick in her other hand. RT-4522 proved to be an impressive challenge to the viliti as its atmosphere was thick with cloud cover, forcing her to fly low to the ground. Sheets of rain spattered across the cockpit panes reducing visibility to almost negligible levels for her purposes, thus forcing her to rely solely upon her instruments. The terrain below was swampland, seemingly endless kilometers of it, covered with towering trees and other similar flora. Every few moments her eyes darted to the scanner sub-screens on her HUD.

"Do you think you could put both hands on the sticks Neji?" asked Kendra after she felt some turbulence cause the Capher to rock slightly. Her mech sat in the co-pilot's seat next to Neji. Normally this was considered a clumsy position for a mech to assume, but Kendra had grown accustomed to it as she was the only other member of the crew rated high enough to fly the Capher.

Neji never took her eyes off the screens, only her right ear flicked towards Kendra as a show that she heard her. "I fly better with one hand," she said in her usual chipper tone.

"I swear to God you're like my uncle when he was alive. Asshole drove everywhere with one hand on the wheel. Wrapped his Toyota around a tree twice and I have no idea how he survived either time," grumbled Kendra.

"What's a Toyota?" asked Neji. "Oh oh, focus on zone sixteen upper sweep please. I think we have a satisfactory spot to land there."

"Zone sixteen upper, check. I'll tell you about the Toyota after you land us in one piece." Kendra focused on her own cockpit screens inside her mech; everything displayed on the ship's screens were currently mirrored there for her ease. Her mech's left hand was folded down and a series of interface plugs extended from the wrist. They were jacked into the Capher's sensor computer suite allowing Kendra to use her own hands rather than her mech to manipulate the system. She preferred it this way, a more hands on approach. Her mech, a rescue and repair specialized model, was designed with the capacity to interface with the vast majority of UTO technology for purposes of diagnostics and overriding controls. It also had a significant suite of medical scanners and associated equipment in it, but they were of no use in this situation.

Kendra worked the computer as Neji had taught her. Over the years working together, the crew of the Capher had spent a vast amount of time cross training each other whenever they could. In an emergency, there was at least one other member of the crew rated as competent enough to perform the basic duties of the member specialized in their specific task. Kendra knew how to use the sensors, navigate, and fly to a basic degree. Like a hidden treasure that finally revealed itself, Kendra saw what Neji assumed to be there. The pilot's intuition was uncanny that way. A patch of ground stable and solid enough to support the weight of the Capher and allow a landing was revealed, exactly as she predicted.

"Right as usual," said Kendra.

A broad grin spread across the viliti's face, though she still did not take her eyes off the screens. "Naturally. I told you, I was nervous when I took the pilot's assessment test. I don't test well. I took it on my own with a few friends three days later, performed the exact same tasks demanded. I scored a 9.8 on it, not the 9.0 from the class test. Instructors rattle me, breathing down my fluffy neck and all. Makes my ears shiver. The real crime of it, Imacha refuses to believe me, the little tukriri biter."

"Just focus on landing us in one piece please? I can hear the lamentation of the Neji later, for the hundredth time." Kendra was happy Neji could not see her in her cockpit as she smiled and did her best not to laugh. She knew that tukriri was a delicacy made from the coagulated milk of a herd animal raised by the tordenchi on their home world. Basically, it was a cheese.

Neji expertly flew the ship to the designated spot and slowly descended. The massive and bulky ship extended its landing gear and touched down with a rumbling thud that echoed through the entire craft. Kendra had her mech retract the interface plugs, returned the hand to its normal position, and then placed it on Neji's shoulder. She gave her a light squeeze.

"Top job pilot. Hold the fort here while I go get the others. Also, upload full topographic maps to all our yutris of the path we need to take to get to the Lothia," said Kendra as her mech stood up and proceeded to head out of the cockpit.

"Rupert that captain," said Neji.

"Roger. It's Roger," Kendra called back to her with an exasperated sigh following.

She moved through the ship corridors and headed to the main cargo area. In the cockpit of her mech she checked her own yutri to make sure the data was there, which it was. It was a large scale world, one massive enough that the giant aliens would consider it 'normal' size. To Kendra it was simply staggering in its vastness. They had to land over one hundred kilometers away from the crash site. She never imagined a swamp could be so immense but according to their preliminary sensor sweeps almost seventy percent of the planet's non-hydrosphere surface was wetland of this nature; hot, humid, and muddy. Unfortunately that meant that they could not easily land the Capher close to the Lothia's wreckage for fear of it sinking into the swamp, which would be disastrous. At least the atmosphere was breathable. She hoped Imacha would have good news for her on any abnormalities detected.

The sealed door hissed open and Kendra tromped into the cargo bay. It was, as usual, a cluttered mess of a place filled with all manner of gear to assist them in their duties. EVA pods, vacuum survival bubbles, load lifters, hundreds of different kinds of tool sets, pressure suits, firefighting gear, and more filled the bay. As she walked past one of the EVA pods her mech's hand ran across the surface. Through her reflex and control gauntlet Kendra felt the slight pulses which let her know she made contact with a hard, metallic surface. It took a long while for her to get used to 'feeling' inside her mech, but by now she wore it like a second skin.

Kendra rounded a particularly large stack of crates, deep sea gear was in them she believed, and saw the other three members of her crew suited up and making final checks of their equipment. Hakurr fixed a grey rainproof cloak over Adam's mech. The clasps latched it onto the mech's chest, making sure no wind could simply blow it off. The massive ralai pulled the hood up over the head of the mech, concealing most of the metallic plates and faux visor that gave it a humanoid appearance. A moment later two lights snapped on, shining out from under the rubbery material. The beams of light crossed the tordenchi's face and Imacha waved his arms at the bright light. He squinted and turned his head away as Hakurr and Adam laughed.

"Must you both be so infantile?" groused Imacha. The short tordenchi was dressed in a similar grey rainproof cloak. Under it was light body armor bearing the blue and grey colors of the rescue corps. His thick belt sported a large amount of scanning equipment, tool kits, and sundry items, including a pistol holstered on his left. The bulge under the cloak showed he had a modest sized backpack hooked onto the armor, filled with emergency survival gear and whatever else would be needed to help the crew of the Lothia.

"Hey Kendra," called out Adam. His mech reached down and scooped up a long rifle into its left hand. "Ready to go for a walk? We're all suited up and set here."

Hakurr thumped his big gloved fist onto the shoulder of Adam's mech, then the two of them bumped fists. Adam had taught the ralai that on day one when they met. They hit it off immediately and had been close friends ever since. Even though Hakurr failed guardian training, Kendra considered the massive tiger-like alien to be the guardian of all of them. The ralai wore a full heavy armored suit, plating thick enough on it to match that found on military grade human mechs. He had his own backpack on, filled with tools and welding equipment. A heavy repeater pistol, two massive combat knives, and a canister carbine with a bandoleer of spare erestel cartridges completed his load out. Kendra frowned at that.

"A walk, yes. Are we planning to fight a war at the end of this walk?" she asked, her mech nodding at Hakurr.

"One can never be too careful," rumbled the ralai.

Adam's mech snapped an arm out with impressive speed and lightly punched Hakurr on his huge bicep, the metal fist making an echoing clanging sound from the impact. The ralai barely moved. "He's a bit spooked from doom-mouse here," said the human, a snarky tone to his voice.

Hakurr frowned at Adam. "I am not. I'm... concerned about everyone's safety, and you're an ass." He swung a fist out at Adam's mech, which Adam parried smoothly, pushed the arm down, and swung a back fist up at Hakurr's face. The blow stopped barely a meter from striking. The ralai stared at the metal fist and broke out into a deep rumbling chuckle. This time Adam let him push his mech back. Both of them laughed again. Despite the ralai's huge advantage in strength and reach, he could never seem to get the better of his friend in their sparring matches. The alien soldier desperately wanted to learn Adam's combat techniques, but they never had enough free time for the human to begin teaching him wu shu kung fu.

"Boys," Kendra said slowly. "Can we focus on the mission? You two can beat the hell out of each other later. Right now we have to see if anyone is alive here to save. The wreckage we scanned when we passed over it wasn't very promising. Unfortunately the biosphere on this ball of mud is so dense we weren't able to get conclusive readings on our targets."

"Nor did we detect any signs of power coming from the ship. Its remains are strewn across a five point five kilometer stretch of ground," said Imacha. He raised his yutri, which was now firmly attached to a bracer on his forearm. A holographic display appeared and showed the path they had to take, which led all the way up to the ship's crash site. Imacha pointed at the hologram with a finger and a pinpoint of light flashed into view. "From here to here." He traced his finger along to a second point where light sprang up. He then traced his finger in a circle connecting the dots with its widest diameter points. The inside of the circle lit up next. "This is our primary search point. We look for survivors here first; at the ship and all along the debris field. With any good fortune, we will find all of them. They are highly experienced explorers and survivalists. They know enough that to leave the ship is to risk missing a rescue team's arrival. They will be there, dead or alive."

Kendra frowned at Imacha. "Alive preferably thank you. Hakurr, help attach the medical pack for me please, then a weather proofer." She turned her mech's back to the ralai, who did as he was told. After a few minutes all was hooked onto her mech. Kendra checked all the clamps, nodded to the ralai, and headed towards the main cargo door. She pointed to her left at Imacha. "Before we open this door, anything nasty in the atmospheric composition we need to know about?"

"Barring unknown lethal airborne pathogens, the planet's atmosphere is ninety-eight percent compatible with your Terran home world. It is perfectly safe to breathe aside from some high concentrations of methane and trace gasses in the swamps due to large amounts of biological decomposition," said Imacha in his rapid fire delivery.

"You mean we have to breathe fart out there? Screw that, I'm staying in my mech the entire time," complained Adam.

Hakurr roared with laughter while Kendra opened up the cargo hatch. The thick door lowered to the ground and landed with a heavy thud and a splash. The rain fell in a steady sheet outside and made a constant hissing sound. With no hesitation Kendra strode down the ramp. Her mech's foot contacted the ground with a muddy splash and left a deep imprint in it. She glanced down to look at it. Another alien world. Kendra stood on yet another world that was not earth. This was number thirty six. For a brief moment her mind raced with memories of home. Her family was long gone now, all killed in the Rynar invasion. How proud her mother would have been of her if she only lived to see what she had become. She overcame so much in her youth. A mixed 'racial' marriage, her mother African American and her father Caucasian; her father's constant losing battle with alcoholism and the inevitable abuse that came with it; growing up poor in a small community. She was the first in her family to ever go to college. The first to ever leave earth. The first to walk among the stars. Kendra suddenly realized her hand was up at her cheek, finger on her scar. Her mech performed the same action as she did, its metallic finger sliding across the side of its head. She quickly lowered her hand and strode forward, leaving deep craters in the ground behind her. The sounds of her crewmates followed after her.

The four of them stepped out from the cover of their ship's underside and the rain hammered them all. Were it not for the weather proofers they wore both the tordenchi and the ralai would be soaked to the bone. Adam noticed Hakurr's nose crinkled up quickly. The scent must be pretty strong to bother him as his friend tended to ignore most things others would find intolerable. The tordenchi yanked up the long collar of his suit worn under the armor. It came up like a bandit mask and covered the lower half of his brown fuzzy face, and more importantly, his nose. Imacha shook his head side to side looking abjectly miserable already. A moment later the comms inside both mechs, and worn on the ears of Hakurr and Imacha, buzzed into life. Neji's voice came through to them, loud and clear, though Adam and Kendra saw the viliti's head and shoulders on their sub-screens in addition to hearing her.

"Home to Wanderers, come in, do you hear me?" Neji was still in the cockpit and reclined back in the pilot's seat looking quite relaxed.

Adam responded immediately with, "A vision of beauty is on my screen, lucky day! I hear you loud and clear gorgeous." Neji could see Adam on her end and the inside of the rabbit's ears flushed a little deeper pink. Over the comms like this, size and scale was gone and she saw him up close in full detail.

"Don't make me walk over there and club you to death with your own mech's arm," said Kendra. "We're on the job now. Follow protocol. Try to remember we're on an alien world with almost no data about its hazards." Kendra sighed.

"Sorry Kendra," muttered Adam. He saw Neji smirk and shrug then wave her fingers at him as she cut off visual communication to his mech. At least he could still hear her.

"Ahem, Home to Wanderers, come in. Sound off," said Neji.

"Wanderer One, check," said Kendra.

"Wanderer Two, check," chirped Imacha.

"Wanderer Three, check," said Adam in a subdued voice.

"Wanderer Four, check," rumbled Hakurr.

"Home reads you all clearly. Your data transponders are working perfectly. I have full vital sign and location confirmation for all of you at this moment. Keep me apprised of your progress in fifteen minute cycles and if anything unexpected happens," said Neji, all business for the moment. She then asked, "Permission to speak freely Wanderer One?"

"Granted," said Kendra.

"When do I get to go out and wander?" she suddenly whined, her voice sounding cutely pathetic. "I always have to babysit the ship. It gets lonely in here. We're on an alien world, almost utterly unexplored and pristine. I want to see it."

Kendra sighed. "You know we need you there in case of an emergency situation, as normal Neji. This mission is no different than the rest. I tell you what though, before we leave, if there is time, you can at least come out of the ship for a little walk. Maybe even collect some souvenirs from the planet."

Imacha cast a quick withering glare towards Kendra. She knew exactly what it was for and hastily added on to her words to Neji. "As long as Imacha first confirms that they won't introduce us to any contamination or alien pathogens. Sound good?"

"All right. Better than nothing I suppose. It gets kinda lonely in here all by myself. Make sure you all keep in regular contact with me as per protocol," sighed the viliti.

"Understood. You have my permission to carry on private comm with Casanova here if you want to, as long as it doesn't hamper your efficiency."

"Casanova?" asked Neji.

"She means me," chuckled Adam. "Don't mind the boss. She's just jealous of what we have Neji."

Hakurr rumbled, "You don't have anything, except delusions of grandeur."

Some laughter broke out across all the comms, even Adam's. He had a wonderful sense of humor and was quick to laugh at jokes, even at his own expense. Kendra figured that it was that, his open personality, and his utter ease around the giant aliens that made Adam attractive to Neji. She knew that ever since the two of them spent that day together when they all had down time planet side half a year ago, they had become a lot closer than prior to it. She believed they spent a few hours in one of those VR simulations which allowed them to appear the same size to each other. Kendra had never done so yet, nor was she really interested in it. It seemed the encounter spurred some feelings between the two, something Kendra had not seen happen before, though she had read about a few instances of it springing up over the years since human contact and integration in the UTO. It was, in her mind, proof that some things could transcend any barrier. She did not mind their flirtations, as long as it did not interfere with their performance. The moment it did she would regretfully have to ask them to stop it, or replace one or both of them. It wasn't something she was looking forward to at all.

"Last note all from Home," said Neji. "You forgot to close the cargo hatch when you left. Protocol my little Wanderers. It's a dangerous environment so no leaving the front door open and unlocked. Shame on you all."

"Sorry Neji, that's my fault," said Adam. "I was last off the ship. I got too used to the last three missions we were on where we left the bay door open all the time. Won't happen again, I promise."

"All right, apology accepted now, but if it happens again... punishment. Grrr."

Hakurr and Adam laughed and Neji joined in on it.

"Home out," said Neji as she switched the comm line to closed.

The four figures continued their trek towards the crash site in the far distance.