FSE

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formerly SoFurry search engine

The Assignment

Chapter 1: Unpacking

The automated transport shuttle vibrated erratically as it traveled down to the surface of the blue and green marbled world below it. Its hull glowed a dull cherry red as it entered the atmosphere. The shuttering further increased as it fought with gravity to keep its nose level. A few minutes of the violent vibrations and everything started to settle down, allowing the shuttle to coast on the air smoothly, gliding to its intended destination without any more difficulty. Inside the shuttle craft a single person sat strapped to one of the many seats anchored into its hull. Usually the ship would be full of people heading down to the surface, but this had been privately reserved for the sole occupant.

The person inside had remained motionless and silent as the ship made its frenetic journey down to the surface, seemingly unfazed by the violence of the voyage. Rather, they sat stoically, hands clasped firmly in their lap and head bowed, staring intently at the deck of the small shuttle. They were almost meditative, expending a minimal amount of energy for anything, even thought. Secured next to them was a large black duffle bag, carrying all of their worldly possessions.

Once they felt gravity returning, they knew that the ship had entered the atmosphere and they unbuckled themselves from their seat, rising and doing the same for their bag before slinging it onto their right shoulder. The ship still rocked unsteadily as it started its descent to one of the starport's many runways, but the person's black leather boots remained firmly planted on the deck and they hardly shifted as it hit the ground and slowed down. They walked towards the rear of the shuttle and waited in silence for the ramp to descend. Once more they stood unmoving, not a single twitch or telling movement made.

The shuttle finally stopped moving and moments later the ramp hissed and the hydraulics slowly started to pull it down to the tarmac. Bright yellow light slowly crept into the bay of the shuttle and lit up their icy blue eyes and pale visage. With purpose, they marched down the ramp and onto the heated black tarmac, heading towards the large assemblage of building in the distance.

As they walked, they studied their surroundings intently, scanning for possible threats or dangers. So far, they counted more than half a dozen perfect sniping positions and possible ambush points. Someone could easily pick them off using the control tower to his left or after accessing one of the rooves of the main complex. The person took a deep breath and reminded themself that it was a civilian location and not a warzone. All the same their hardwired instincts born of many warzones and brushfire conflicts pointed out that many of the best locations to attack were from such places as this.

With a slight growl and shake of their head, the person doggedly continued their march forwards, nearing the main building and stepping inside. They treaded passed a few empty hallways and made it to the center of the structure. They had been told that their contact would be waiting for them at the northeast corner by a blue and white pillar. They had also been told that their contact would be easy to pick out from the others.

The person stiffened just before walking out into the main thoroughfare of the starport. There were hundreds of individuals there spread out through the entirety of the building on every of its three levels. Each and every one of them could be a potential assassin or previously unknown threat. Their instincts were burning on overdrive and their eyes strained to see anything that could potentially mean that an ambush was in wait. Eventually, after seeing nothing that posed an immediate threat, they forced themselves to step out into the open.

When a marksman's deadly attack did not find them, they composed themself as well as they could in their situation and continued on. As they traveled towards the northeast section of the port's main facility, they could feel hundreds of eyes following their every move and they had to forced themself to remember that it was not because they were all assassins but rather that they were an unusual sight on the planet they were on.

Still, the eyes of so many predatory races made them uneasy and a hand was ever present at their side in case of danger. Thankfully, nothing happened and they made it to the northeast corner without incident. As they approached, they heard a very excited voice.

"Mr. Black, Mr. Black!"

The man turned to see an individual standing by the pillar, holding a retro cardboard sign and waiving a paw at him enthusiastically. He studied the strange canine as he hesitantly approached. He had not been expecting a greeting like that.

The canine looked to be a pittbull of some sort, with a short snout that was currently pulled into an excessively friendly smile filled with a row of fangs. He was wearing a mostly blue uniform with white stripes on the sides of the sleeves and lapels. He must have been his contact, but the man still found it hard to believe. The dog did not look like much of a threat and he was confident that he could disable him if he had to so he cautiously approached.

"Mr. Black, right?" The canine asked for clarification and a hint of worry on his muzzle as he looked over the taller man's shoulders. "I don't see any others of your kind here."

He silently nodded in response.

The canine's muzzle dropped in relief and he exhaled. "Awesome..." Before he continued though he stopped and took a better look at the man in front of him, or rather kid. He was taller than himself true, but he just had that air of youth, although the canine felt that it was tarnished by something he couldn't detect. "I don't know you humans very well, but aren't you a little young for all of this?" The canine was certain that the man in front of him was no older than 17 possibly 18. He couldn't have been any older than his own son, and for some reason that sparked a small amount of fatherly concern. But he reminded himself of the importance of their mission and held it down. Although. He did allow himself to question why they would send someone so young.

The kid shook his head silently in denial.

The canine deflated a little bit and scratched behind one of his floppy ears nervously. "Heh, not much of a talker are you."

Black nodded.

The canine sighed and returned to his previous air of friendliness. "Well, my name's Lieutenant Thomas Grey. But you can just call me Tom....if you even talk." The canine added with an additional sigh as he studied the kid's impassive face. "Anyways, take this." Tom held out a small data chip that the man then took and pocketed. "That contains all the mission data, don't lose it."

The kid nodded and surprised the canine when he spoke.

"When are we leaving?"

His voice was quiet and reserved, although there was firmness in it that Tom could respect.

Tom bobbed his head in acknowledgment. "Oh right, of course. Just follow me and we'll head to my car." The dog motioned for the kid to follow him and walked out of the terminal's doors and into the parking lot. It unnerved him though, the kid's silence. At that age, Tom had been unable to keep his mouth shut for very long. 'My son's no different.' The canine thought proudly. But this human kid had very few words to say it seemed. Not only that, but he didn't fidget around or look nervous in the slightest. If their roles had been reversed and Tom was back to that age, he would have been a nervous wreck. It was a lot of pressure to put onto a grown man, let alone a teenager. And from what he had been told, the kid would be putting his life on the line more than a few times. How could the General condone such a mission with one so young? Then again, there were plenty of seventeen year olds in the army at the moment, so Tom supposed it was just his fatherly instincts taking over. He wasn't going to let his son join the Defense Force until he was at least twenty.

Tom stopped in front of his governmental issued hover car and opened the passenger door for the kid. The young man nodded in thanks and leaned into the vehicle. Tom closed the door and entered the driver's seat, pressing the start button and activating the hydrogen engine and lifting it a few feet of the ground. As he cruised towards the lot's exit he glanced back at the kid next to him.

Black was sitting rigidly in his seat and staring straight ahead with his hands folded neatly atop the duffle bag in his lap.

Tom shook his head ruefully. 'Kid's got more discipline then half the guys I know.'

"So, what's a kid like you doing working for an organization like Aegis?" Tom was hoping to shed some light on his temporary charge and hopefully learn a little more.

The kid did not respond for a few minutes, surprising the canine when he showed visible emotion for the first time. Black's blank expression faltered for a mere second, revealing to Tom what looked like a kid with a hell of a lot of emotional baggage. He didn't know human faces all that well, he had only ever interacted with a few, but he did know genuine and profound pain when he saw it. Once more he felt his paternal instincts kick in and he had to hold himself back from placing a comforting paw on the young man's shoulder.

"You don't gotta say if you don't want to, son." Tom told him, slipping in son subconsciously.

The kid nodded, showing a small amount of gratitude, and returned his face into the impenetrable mask he saw before.

The rest of the car ride was spent in silence and two hours later he stopped the car in front of a mid-sized two story house in an urban area. It was just outside the city center and near the Sierra Military Academy for young cadets. Tom didn't know much about the mission the kid was on other than it was all very hush hush and extremely vital for continued progressive relations for his government and the humans. The location to drop the kid off was surprising, as he lived only a block or so away. Tom wondered why he had been placed in such a place and what the details of his mission were. But that was way above his pay grade. All he could do was what he was told to and hope for the best.

"Alright, here we are." Tom announced as he cut off the engine to the car and it slowly coasted down to the pavement as the engine cycled down. The canine looked to the kid who was still sitting silently, staring straight ahead as if something momentously important sat there and only he could see it. "You alright there...?"

Black nodded simply and opened the passenger door, climbing out without a word and grabbing his bag. Tom watched as he gently closed it and turned, walking towards the house. Next to the door sat a mountain of large containers. Those must have been the rest of his stuff. It looked like too much for one person to handle.

Tom couldn't let the kid do all of this on his own and so he stepped out of the car and walked over to him. By that time the kid had the door open and the first box already sitting inside the small empty foyer.

As Black walked out of the house he stopped and watched as the canine approached, and Tom could see the hesitance and caution in his eyes.

"You look like you could use an extra pair of paws." Tom picked up one of the boxes and groaned. 'Damn thing's heavier than my mother in law!'

The kid nodded and his guard dropped a fraction and he walked past Tom, picking up a similarly sized box with little to no effort. As Tom followed him inside he shook his head in amazement. 'How strong is he?' Tom was no pushover, he was one of the strongest guys in his flight, but this kid was showing him up. Black didn't look that strong, his arms were muscled for sure, but they weren't packed, he looked more streamlined. It was like comparing a cargo and fighter jet. Tom was shorter and stockier; the kid was taller and thinner. Yet it looked like the fighter jet could hall just as much as a cargo jet and more. Tom set down the heavy box in the middle of what looked like the living room. The place was barren, whitewashed walls and grey carpeted floors. The only thing's there were the outlets for electronics. Black passed Tom and placed another box next to the canine's and left to grab another.

Tom retrieved another of the container's, noticing that it was one of the last. As he walked in, his left boot caught on the doorsill and he fell forward, dropping it onto the floor. It burst upon impact with a loud clatter and scattered its contents all across the entryway.

Tom held in a shocked gasp.

Lying strewn across the ground were over a dozen guns of varying variety, mechanical parts, and a plethora of other military grade material. 'All of this had been cleared by the General? What the hell is going on?' Tom quickly shuffled everything back into the box and picked it back up, placing it down next to the growing pile in the empty living room. All of those boxes must have been loaded with similar items. Black had enough material in his possession to equip a decently sized terrorist group. What was the poor kid involved in?

'Thank you...for the help."

Tom turned to see the kid standing behind him, arms clasped behind his back and spine straight as an arrow.

"Not a problem son, glad I could help."

Tom stretched and yawned. The sky was darkening and evening was beginning to make its appearance. Soon he would go home to the loving embrace of his beautiful wife and his kids. The day had been a long one and he had been waiting at the airport for several hours. He was eager to get home. And yet, as he looked around the empty and dark house his cheerfulness began to fade. What would Black be doing tonight? There was no family with him, no loved ones, just a new empty house and whatever mission he was here to accomplish. Once more he thought that he was far too young to be living like this. Tom wondered what happened to his childhood, his family. The canine felt a desire to reach out to the kid. Perhaps he could do something for him. Bill was about his age, and he was sure Karen wouldn't mind.

"You know...." Tom began, nervously ruffling an ear and looking around the barren house. "If you want, you could leave your stuff here and stop by my home. I'm sure my wife is cooking up something delicious and you could meet my son Bill. After dinner I could take you back here."

The offer hung in the air for a while and Tom was hanging on the human's response.

"No thank you. I need to take care of some things and unpack. The offer is appreciated." The kid replied simply. It was not a rude dismissal as far as Tom could tell. And he could see the small hint of discomfort the kid had at the offer and he nodded sadly.

"All right then, son." Tom reached into his pocket and pulled out a small circular drive and handed it over. That's my number, just slid it into your communicator and if you need anything give me a call." It was not exactly what he had been ordered to do. All the General wanted was for him to drop the kid off. But he felt that he had to do more.

Black nodded and placed the drive in the same pocket as the data chip he received earlier. "Affirmative."

Tom stood awkwardly for a few more moments before dusting off his paws and clearing his throat. "Allrighty then, I should get going now." He turned and headed towards the door, stopping just before he left and looking back. The kid was standing in the middle of the living room near the boxes and he looked lost. A pang of sympathy welded up inside him and he almost offered again, but he shook his head and stepped outside.

Tom climbed back into his car and started it. He gave one last look back to the house before driving off. It took him only a few minutes to get back home and at the sight of it he felt a little better, but not much. He parked in the drive way and climbed out, heading towards the steps and using his keys to open the door. As it slid open he was assaulted by the mouthwatering and savory scent of frying meat and his stomach growled fiercely.

He passed the entryway and peeked into the living room, seeing two figures on the couch, controllers in paw. Both were arguing good-naturedly and Tom could hear the TV as the sound of blaster bolts and explosions emitted from the speakers.

It looked like James's son had come over again, and he was probably going to stay the night, again. Fox was a good kid; he had a descent head on his shoulders. And besides, Tom and James were good friends. They had fought in the army together for a while before James left.

Tom was suddenly reminded of the kid he had just left on his own and his thoughts were dampened. The canine turned away from the living room and followed the sound and smell of cooking all the way to the kitchen.

He stopped in the threshold and leaned on it with a loving smile as he watched his wife cook. He had met Karen just before basic and after he finished they were already engaged. It had been fast and he had never regretted it. She was the most beautiful and loving Collie he had ever met.

Tom listened as she hummed to herself and sashayed around the kitchen, igniting the fires of passion in his soul. Tom crept up behind her and wrapped his arms under her own and rested his muzzle on her furred brown and white splotched shoulder and whispered tenderly.

"Hey beautiful."

She yipped in surprise and almost fumbled the bowl of pasta she had been holding until she realized who it was. He heard and felt her giggle and she twisted her muzzle to plant a kiss on his nose, the only place she could reach.

"Tom, you're back home!" She yipped happily and he felt her tail brush against his leg.

He nuzzled noses with her and nodded. "Yeah, just finished work for the day." He flashed back to the kid again and his smile faltered slightly.

"Tom what's wrong?" She asked worriedly. Placing the bowl down and turning to face him, concern in her warm hazel eyes.

He would have loved to tell her everything, but he was under strict rules to keep the truth hidden. That being said, there was no reason he could say a little bit.

"I met a kid today no more than seventeen years old. A human one, he's on his own here, nobody but himself."

"That's terrible! Why didn't you invite him over?"

"I tried, but he refused. I just can't help but feel bad. He's the same age as Bill." Tom sighed and held on to his wife tightly.

Karen held him and smiled softly, giggling as she did so.

"You're such a softy, Tom, and that's why I love you so much."

He grinned back at her, placing his paws in hers and kissing her deeply. After sharing the kiss for a moment he pulled back. "Yeah I know."

"Now go sit down, dinner will be ready soon, and I made your favorite, beef stroganoff.

Tom licked his lips and kissed her again. "You're the greatest."

"DAD!"

Tom turned his muzzle and saw his son walk in, followed by Fox.

"Hey son, Fox, good to see you." The canine greeted both teenagers, still grinning.

"Hello Mr. Grey." Fox said as he stopped beside Bill. Both kids looked tired, probably whittling their day away just like he had in his youth. 'To be a kid again.' Tom thought with a internal sigh.

The canine chuckled. "Fox, how many times have I told you? Just call me Tom."

'Right Mr. G... I mean Tom." The vulpine corrected himself with a smile.

"Ahh, that's more like it. So, Fox, how's your family?" Tom asked as he walked over and took a seat at the table I the kitchen.

Fox took a seat at the table along with Bill. "We're doing alright, although dad's gone a lot nowadays." There was a hint of sadness and disappointment in his tone and his ears were slightly folded.

"Yeah, James is really busy from what he told me. The place around Venom has been acting up more than usual lately. But don't worry too much about that. Things'll quite down soon enough."

"I hope so." Fox muttered as he dragged a claw across the table absently.

"So, son, I hope you're ready for the new semester starting next week." Tom said as he turned his attention to his son.

"Hehe, yeah of course I am." He tried to brush off. It was a pretty weak attempt.

"Good, because if you get grades like you did last semester, you can kiss your new Gamestation goodbye." Tom smirked.

Bill visibly gulped and nodded furtively. "R-right dad."

"Dinner's ready, boys." Karen announced as she walked over, placing a large bowl at the center of the table and passed out the plates and silverware.

"Awesome!" Fox exclaimed excitedly, eyeing the steaming bowl of food and salivating at the wonderful smell. "You make the best food Ms. Grey!"

She tutted and shook her muzzle.

"I mean Karen." The vulpine hastily changed his response.

Tom smiled and grabbed a spoon, pooling a massive portion onto his plate. Soon they all began to dig in and he watched as Karen chatted with Fox and Bill added his usual comments. As he did so, he once more thought back to the human kid who sat alone in his new home, surrounded by nothing but the gear he had and whatever else he brought with him. He wasn't enjoying a home cooked meal, or spending time with a loving family. And at that thought, the food in his muzzle didn't taste as great.

********

Inside the empty house, Sergeant Alastair Black, seventeen year old mercenary and war orphan, busied himself setting up the equipment he had in the hidden basement underneath the house. The far wall had a large communications system he just finished setting up and the wall to his left was racked with an arsenal of weapons. Standing in the corner was a seven foot figure, covered in smooth and angular armored plates, a multitude of wires plugged into ports all across its frame and back into a brace of monitors on stands beside it. A small selection of diagnostic tools were scattered about on a table to the thing's left.

Alastair finished hooking up his tactical suite into the house's main power grid and flipped it on, filling the screen with small text and human symbols. He was thankful that the translation software implanted into speech center of his brain was working at full efficiency. If it didn't he would be unable to complete his objective, whatever that may be and he had no desire to fail an assignment and break his perfect record.

The human waited until the tech finished booting up and he grabbed the data chip from his pocket. As he did so he felt the circular drive that the canine had given him.

The offer had made him uncomfortable, and he had waded through blood and gore without flinching. Alastair was not used to these social interactions. Tell him to infiltrate and butcher a terrorist group and he would do so without hesitation. Ask him to spend a day in a city and he would not understand what they meant. Civilians and even other mercenaries and soldiers baffled him. How they could so easily interact with each other was a mystery to him. How could they trust them not to stab them in the back? And what was the point of all that unnecessary talking? It did not seek to contribute to the success of the mission and proved to only be a distraction that the enemy could exploit.

And yet....

He found himself surprisingly tempted to take up the canine on his offer, for a reason he could not fathom. That's why he hated interacting with others. Everything was uncertain and strange feelings always welled up inside him. He had neither the desire of wish to stay here. The sooner he finished the mission the better. Alastair turned to discard the small disk drive and yet he could not find it in himself to let go. With a sigh he tossed it onto the computer next to him and inserted the data chip into the USB slot. In a few moments, the screen shifted and pulled up a file marked PHOENIX. He double tapped it and a list of smaller files popped up. He tapped on the first one labeled Debriefing. Inside was a document with a page's worth of information that he began to read.