FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

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Some scifi here, commissioned by Karoo who has been wonderfully patient with this one...now, posting the first part! Enjoy the read ,everyone!

*

"... all passengers, secure your seats upright for atmospheric entry and landing."

_ _

Karoo barely looked away from the viewport while he made sure his safety harness was in place, and then put all his attention back to the vista outside the transparent metal plate. The planet was green, brown and blue, with a scattering of clouds here and there to obscure his view of the world that now filled all of the viewport, and was growing steadily larger.

"...30 seconds to entry point. Shields to maximum."

_ _

The kangaroo felt his tail curl with anticipation, somewhere between his legs. The lights inside the cabin had turned red now, and he could feel the acceleration growing, despite whatever dampeners that were operating. This shuttlecraft was no drop ship, he thought, but it could still pull a few G's while hurtling through the atmosphere of a planet.

"...15 seconds to entry point. Stand by."

_ _

Karoo found his paws squeezing down on the armrest. The falling sensation in his belly reminded him of his last combat drop...onto the ring...

He did not want to remember. And yet the reddish glow he could see growing around the ship was more than enough to remember by.

"...five seconds. Hold onto your tails."

_ _

The roo glanced quickly around the passenger cabin. There were only four more passengers besides himself, sitting on their seats with solemn, calm faces. They did not seem as tense as he was feeling, more like they were just resigned to their fates of meeting the fiery whirlpool caused by air they made burn around them.

"...and here we go. All going smoothly."

_ _

And it really was, with only the occasionally eddy enough to rattle anyone's nerves, or the ship, for that matter. Karoo stared quietly ahead of him and held onto the armrests, trying not to let his mind to go to the depths of thought he was threatening to slip to with every moment that passed. He hadn't felt like this on the previous legs of the journey, he'd travelled in a bunch of shuttles without feeling anything like this..

The images would come if he closed his eyes, so he opted to look at the viewport instead, which had darkened itself automatically against the glow of the ionization around them.

"...stand by for level flight."

_ _

The glow dissipated and soon all he could see again were the clouds...and again, he felt the pressure in his round belly when the shuttlecraft assumed the position for atmospheric crossing.

"...we're about 5 minutes out of the port now. Do remember that everyone must be processed upon landing so no disappearing once we get touchdown, you copy that?"

_ _

A fox sitting on the seat on the other side of the aisle from Karoo chuckled softly at the rattling humor coming from the cockpit. Karoo just kept staring at the beautiful, seemingly untouched nature outside the viewport. This planet had only started to feel the hand of development, he knew, and that suited him fine. Anything with skyscrapers was bound to give him an uneasy sensation, now, after seeing so many of them burn...

It seemed impossible to keep it away from his mind. Karoo had thought that he was already past the worst, the nightmares did not come every time he closed his eyes, and his honorary discharge had made it sure to him that he would no longer have to bear arms or raise them in aggression towards anything, whether that included bizarre theocracies or old parasitic menaces from the deep dark reaches of space.

"Now, you might feel just a little prickle."

_ _

Karoo barely reacted to the sensation of his fur standing up, when gravitational fields were reversed and the shuttle was taken to a soft landing. The shock absorbers let out a reassuringly loud thumps that signaled that the journey was finally over.

"Thank you for choosing the only bucket that ever flies to this place. Hope we don't see you again."

_ _

Karoo wished he could've chuckled at the terrible joke like some of the other passengers did. Everyone was already removing their harnesses and seeking their luggage from the storage shelves. He had a small backpack himself, with the rest of his possessions in the cargo hold. He'd have to wait a little for that.

*

The landing field was cleared out and covered in concrete, surrounded by fields flanked by microclimate control towers. Karoo's eyes squinted in the sunlight while he observed the warm, humid landscape. The uniform white buildings of what had to be the actual settlement stood in the distance, and even further away, a large industrial-looking complex was topped off by a huge parabolic dish reaching to the skies. His curious, eager looks to the other directions only brought visions that could've probably come from other centuries. Fields, cleared into the forests he could see looming in the distance, so far away that they were engulfed in mist from the humidity concentrators.

"...there comes the Sheriff..."

_ _

"...nah, see, it's the deputy."

_ _

The all-terrain vehicle looked battered, even to Karoo who had seen cars in such states of devastation that one was surprised to see them still being capable of motion. The uniformed fur who jumped out cut a slightly sharper figure, but he had the advantage of youth, Karoo thought.

"Howdy, y'all," the coyote drawled.

A few of the furs among the half a dozen or so waiting murmured hellos, which caused Karoo's ears to raise.

"Okay, slap out those immigration forms and passports and vaccination certificates and we'll get this paperwork done!" the coyote flipped out his data unit and held it at ready. "We don't want anyone to bring some space herpes here!"

They lined up, and did not hurry. Karoo remained behind and stepped up last. There was no reason to piss anyone off on his first day on a new planet. He could be a good boy.

Flicking his card was not big business. The coyote poring over the details and giving him glances was a different thing. Karoo was reminded of an overtly zealous drill instructor on his first assignment after getting the pips.

That seemed so long ago. He had no idea what he was doing.

"Karoo...F...formerly of the UNSC Marines..."

"Aye, aye," the roo rumbled quietly.

The coyote gave him an impassionate look.

"On a secret mission here, eh?"

Karoo could see that some of the furs milling about had their ears turning in towards the two of them talking there. He tried not to pay any attention to that.

"Just gonna live here, I guess," he said.

"That so?" the coyote's long ears perked.

"Yeah," Karoo replied, biting back the urge to say 'affirmative' in his most military voice, "Got lodging arranged with the colonial administration. It's in there."

The coyote stared at his holo-display and rubbed his muzzle with his free paw.

"So it seems..."

"Can you point out the way to the colonial administration center?"

The coyote's paw pointed towards the cluster of white buildings.

"That way."

He tapped his arm and the hologram disappeared.

"Nice stayin' here, army dude."

Karoo simply nodded.

"And my luggage?"

"The maintenance guys are coming soon. Hafta get this security done first, y'know? So that no aliens get creeping in y'now. Covenant or Flood hiding in the cargo bay..."

Karoo cringed, but managed to keep his muzzle level.

"Okay, thank you. Is there transport to the town?"

The coyote clicked his tongue.

"You've got two paws and two feet don't you?"

That seemed like a final statement.

*

The town's image didn't really improve much after Karoo got to view it from nearby. The distance he spent hauling his luggage couldn't have been even half a mile, but the warm sun was enough to make him sweat during the short walk. He was surprised that the bags weighted so much.

It looked a bit like a military camp, Karoo thought, which did not really please him. The buildings were light construction, and looked like they'd been set up from flat packs. There were a few attempts at individualization, like the occasional banner or a flower or two, but mostly they were just...dull. Numbered, coded and dull, and with cars and motorbikes and bicycles parked in front of them. The public buildings ate much of the main street, but there were houses there, too. People's homes. The large two-storied building labeled "EDUCATION CENTER" explained why there weren't any children milling around, even if some of the items in front of the houses definitely belonged to kids.

He got curious looks on his way to another of the public buildings, one with a sign that read "ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES", but did not stop to pay much attention to the intrigued glances and the odd whisper. At least the visit to the building was not very traumatic, after a short wait and a talk with the civil servant, a stout and sour otter lady. She spoke rapidly, even if there was no queue behind the roo which would've warranted the hurry with which she provided the roo with a residence certificate, a citizenship certificate, a permanent stay permit, military pension credit allowance, accommodation certificate and allowance, and a governmental support grant allowance, all of which the roo loaded into his files. He left the place, feeling a bit exhausted, a little bit richer with money on his account, and with instructions to find his lodgings.

From the outside, the building looked like a barracks, but it was really a row of small apartments, and there was not a single bunk bed in sight. The single-room flat with an adjoining bathroom was spotlessly clean, smelled of washing detergent, and plastic, and really looked like someone had just unwrapped everything from their original packaging.

"Like a prison," Karoo told to himself, and his voice sounded rough from sheer lack of use as of recent. His nagging feelings about the state of things to come had been confirmed within only a minute of staying in the apartment.

Cell, his mind nudged.

He didn't feel like staying to unpack either his personal possessions, the provided hygiene products or to check out whatever counted as entertainment around here. He wasn't sure hyperspace radio was used to beam all the latest and best in hologram TV to this rock in the middle of nowhere.

His grumbling stomach left him only one option, and it was a good excuse to lay it all off, and head out of the building.

*

The kangaroo only really had one destination in mind, and he had spotted the suitable venue during his ramble through the village-like town center. It did look the part, too, with a few cars parked outside, somewhat dirty windows, and a sign touting that the place had air conditioning.

"Looks about right," Karoo mumbled to himself. He could feel the damp on his back. How could this place be so damp? He thought he'd seen it bad...like on the ring...

It was alright inside. The place was almost deserted, anyway. A few patrons lingered on tables and were minding their own business. The small bar was located onto a corner of the room next to a door to the back area. There were only four bar stools, and one of them was occupied before Karoo sat his own rump onto the seat.

He sat there quietly. The guy sitting on the other side, a dragon with a big tankard in his claws, didn't say a word. Karoo felt like he was being watched, even though he couldn't quite explain it. He couldn't just glance over his shoulder and see what was happening on the small tables lining the walls. It made the back of his neck prickle with discomfort. He wished he had a gun on his hip...

Old habits died hard.

His thirst didn't die. In the end, he had to clear his throat and look at the dragon.

"Excuse me?"

The drake didn't look up from his drink.

"Hello?" Karoo repeated.

The dragon put his tankard down onto the faded steel counter and gave the kangaroo an impassive look.

"What's up?" the dragon spoke, his voice gravely like the path Karoo had taken from the landing pad to the village.

"I was wondering how this bar works," Karoo said, "is it automatic or..."

"Sure," the dragon growled. "OY, MATILDA!"

The sliding door by the bar opened and a busty fox emerged. She took her time to waddle over to the actual counter, before stopping in front of the dragon.

"Need a top up darling?" the vixen crooned.

The dragon pointed a claw in the roo's direction.

"Wants something," the dragon said before going back to guzzling down beer.

The vixen finally seemed to notice the kangaroo's existence. She turned about and faced him, and put her paws onto the counter. They smelled like food, Karoo noticed. He felt even hungrier than before. The roo tried to smile.

"Hello," he said.

"What would you have?" the vixen asked.

"I guess I'll take a...a regular beer and...do you have...like a menu for whatever food you're serving?"

"Oh, sure!" the vixen smiled a little. She tapped the surface of the counter and the menu appeared, glowing yellow letters on a blue glittering background. "Take your pick. It hasn't been changed in years. Hah. It could as well be welded onto the counter!"

She laughed. The dragon chortled into his beer.

Karoo eyed the menu floating in the air above the counter. It was all simple fare. One could even call it classic. In finer surroundings, someone might've described it as a conscious effort. Here it probably was a simple lack of effort.

"Okay, I'll take the beer and the burger."

"The beer's gonna be right here but the burger will take a moment."

"It's alright."

The vixen tapped something under the counter and part of its surface started to glow green.

"Touch here for payment. Only in advance."

Karoo tapped his paw onto the glowing circle. There was a sonorant beep.

"Thanks."

The vixen took the beer out from somewhere under the counter and put it onto the counter. It was a plastic cylinder with a non-descript label and with bubbly fluid inside it. It looked vaguely like urine to Karoo.

"What is this brand?" he asked.

"Local," she said. "It's all we stock here. Only the company guys get anything more fancy, but that's imported."

"The company?"

The vixen shrugged.

"You really are new aren't you?" she giggled.

"Is he giving you trouble, 'Tilda?!" someone shouted from behind Karoo. The kangaroo glanced over his shoulder to see a grizzly bear, sitting in one of the small tables and glaring towards the bar. The guy was a bit older than himself and wore a green cap on his fuzzy head that had a colorful logo on it.

"Nnnnaaaah," the vixen drawled," he's just new."

"New?" the bear's glowing eyes seemed to frown in the dark room. "We ain't got anyone new coming in for the company."

Karoo wasn't sure what was with these furs' obsession with the company.

"You really new?" the bear rattled.

"Yeah," Karoo said.

"What for?" the bear grunted. "Nobody comes here unless they work for the company or the colonial administration. You work for them?"

"I work for nobody," Karoo said. "I'm just gonna live here."

The bear laughed.

"Fucking hippies, can't get rid of them even on this asshole of a planet."

Karoo's long ears flattened, but he didn't want to alienate anyone on his first day on the planet.

"Could I get that burger soon, please?"

The vixen glanced at him, and nodded quickly.

"I'll just go and get it."

Karoo looked down to his awaiting beer can and decided that the best he could do now was to have his drink and try to not to bother anyone.

*

Thank you for reading!