FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The ship hurdled through space at high warp, ready to stop at the nearest starbase and resupply. They had just come from a jungle planet teeming with life. They had plucked a few specimens from the eco system and caged them away in the ship's cargo hold. For the most part, the jungle appeared not dissimilar from any other they had visited. Large, agile predators. Countless birds in every color of the rainbow. Plenty of serpents and lizards crawling about. And more mosquitos than any single planet really needed.

The cheetah hummed thoughtfully as he stared down at his report. That didn't really sound very scientific, did it? It didn't really convey much information either. The rest of the lengthy report was clear and concise, but the number of mosquitos was ambiguous at best. Two mosquitos were more than any single planet needed. Still, any good conclusion needed a bit of levity in it. After so much hard facts had been laid out, may as well end on some humor.

He dropped the padd on the console and glanced out at the stars rushing by. Why not go check on the subjects of his report? He stood up and straightened his white coat more out of habit than anything.

"Computer, alert me when we get to starbase," Kenny called out as he turned and made his way toward the cargo hold. The computer gave him an affirmative beep and was silent again.

When he came into the hold, he glanced about at the numerous caves strewn about, their denizens lounging about in boredom or forced docility. Clarice, the raptor Mink had taken as his own personal pet, lifted her head and stared at him expectantly and Dr. Lincoln gave a lazy wave as if she were sentient. She wasn't of course, but as far as Mink was concerned she was part of the crew. She might as well be, by now.

"Computer, where is Mink now?"

</Mink is in his quarters.> the computer's flat, feminine voice responded.

Kenny hummed thoughtfully and glanced back at Clarice. Sure enough, thick white seed still oozed from her vent. "Tucker the poor boy out?" he asked.

Clarice chirped at him then settled her head back on the floor of her cage. She certainly acted it sometimes, but Kenny knew she wasn't sentient.

Which was more than he could say for their latest haul.

Kenny stopped in front of the door of a cage near the back. The monitor beside the door read 'Lupus-caracalus' and within, there sat a canine creature larger than most Earth breeds. Its fur was a sandy brown bot mottled with darker brown and light gold spots very similar to Kenny's own markings. Atop the creature's head, two long, pointed ears swiveled toward him, each tipped with several inches of long dark hair that swayed and emoted as if the little follicles themselves were prehensile.

Two intense blue eyes stared at him patiently, expectantly. The lids narrowed and the ears swiveled ever so slightly. The lupus-caracalus quirked a brow very much unlike any dog species Kenny had ever met.

But that was because she was like no dog he had ever met. Lupus-caracalus were sentient beasts. In fact, many of the species in the jungle were sentient, albeit feral. With the exception of several of the ape-like species they had encountered, the sentient species of that planet lacked apposable thumbs. But they were organized, communicated with one another, and had shown the ability to reason.

Sadly, the universal translators could not decipher what they all said. Much of their communication was nonverbal. Strangely, the language barrier did not go both ways.

"How are you doing in there, good?" Kenny asked, putting the question of how she understood him out of his mind.

The Lupus-caracal nodded once and tilted her head.

"Hungry?" he asked, leaning his arms against the bars of the cage.

She shook her head from side to side.

"Probably just bored right? Not a whole lot to do on a starship like this. But you did volunteer."

After discovering their sentience, Kenny and Mink had presented themselves to the lupus-caracalus pack they had been watching and explained who and what they were, then asked if any would be willing to come away with them, allow them to learn about their species and in exchange, learn about the world beyond their own. Many snarled and threatened to attack. But this one had placed herself between them and after what sounded like quite the heated discussion, moved to their sides.

And there she sat, simply staring at Kenny patiently.

He reached up and triggered the lock on the cage. The door slid open and he stepped in, making sure to close it behind him. He knelt down in front of the alien creature and smirked. She was a little taller than him now. When he was standing, her head would have been about even with his lower chest.

"I would again like to apologize. We don't have quarters set up for anybody but Mink and I. And I doubt you could use our facilities."

She huffed at him and tilted her head, obviously not understanding.

"We don't have places to sleep for anyone but the two of us," he said instead.

She licked her chops, eying him up and down before she whined and reached out to touch her nose to his chest.

"What?" he asked, reaching out to scratch behind one of her long ears. She leaned into the affections and whined again. "You want to share my quarters?"

She chuffed a little and nodded her head.

"Well, I guess it would be better than being here with the other animals, hm? You aren't exactly as... feral as they are. Just... try not to get into anything you don't understand. Got it?"

She nodded then leapt up and bounced about excitedly.

Kenny laughed and nodded. "Alright, come on." He stood up and moved back to the door. It slid open and together they wandered through the ship. The lupus-caracalus walked at his side, looking this way and that with the curiosity of any earth cat. But she never ventured.

When Kenny opened his modest cabin's door, she rushed in and spun in circles, trying to look at everything at once. He stepped in and closed the door behind him.

"It isn't much, and I only have one bed," it was more of a plain cot, really. He had a holodesk, a closed dresser with his clothes, and a simple cot against the far wall. Not much else, really. The cot itself was a durable but slim slab of duranium that extended out of the wall about waist height. There was plenty of space beneath it. He waved to it and smiled. "You can sleep under there, if you like. I can lay down some blankets for you."

She nodded and spun in place before she settled on her haunches, staring intently at the space under the bed.