FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

This is just a beginning so far. I will be posting more over the next few days as I work out more in my head.

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Flying was quickly turning into something John was not as sure about as more turbulence shook the cargo plane once more. Secured in place in roughly the center of the cargo area the great white bear held onto his harnessing tightly as his stomach slid all around, Scott had warned him he might become motion sick.

“Are you doing okay?" Scott enquired of his friend.

“So far, so good." John assured him after taking another deep gulp.

“At least you were smart enough to skip breakfast." Scott gave him a reassuring and friendly cuff to his shoulder from his seated position next to John. John silently agreed with his friend from behind closed eyes. Scott noted his friends hand and toe claws sheathe and unsheathe by reflex as the plain bounced through another set of turbulence caused by the early winter rainstorm.

“Don't worry; we will be landing soon enough." Scott tried to reassure John.

“You said that half an hour ago." John noted through his clenched teeth.

“I've never lied to you my friend." Scott smirked though unseen by John's closed eyes.

Sure enough the plane could be felt making its decent, adding much to John's discomfort. After 10 more minutes the plane gave a final jolting bump as the landing gear touched ground once more on the runway.

*****

While a man used a small forklift to unload some cargo Scott was busy helping John removed the rigging harness that had worked as a seatbelt for his hulking frame. Once free from the belting John needed a bit more time to regain his composure now that the plane was joyfully on the ground. Scott gathered his backpack and walked down the cargo ramp as the forklift moved about in it work. As he came to the end of the ramp Scott sighted an old friend directing the placement of cargo into a nearby storage shed. Scott called out to the man as he walked towards him in the light rain.

“Hey Adam!" Scott yelled to be heard over the light patter of rain on the metal shed and noise of the working forklifts. A tall and deeply tan skinned man with brown hair turned towards him and grin upon seeing Scott. He looked to be in is early 50s.

“Ah Dr. Sunterlend, it is good to see you again."Adam shook Scott's hand.

Scott gave him a friendly scowl, “You know I prefer my friends call me Scott."

Adam laughed. “I was just joking Scott, it is good to see you again."

Giving a vigorous hand shaking in return. “Wild horses couldn't keep me away."

“Well something did last winter." Adam commented. “I missed kicking your ass at poker last season."

Scott smirked. “Surprisingly I seem to have ended up with more money then I normally do at the end of the season that time."

Adam laughed again, the lines about his mouth showed he laughed often. “Well I hope everything is okay and I am glad to see you returned."

“Oh?" Scott arched an eyebrow questioningly. “The new guy give you trouble?"

“The new woman made things more annoying than need be." Adam noted. “She felt the need to do everything her way instead of following the guidelines you had in place."

Adam sighed, “We ended up doing things your way but only after wasting time needlessly."

Scott frowned, “I am sorry to hear that." Then he smiled. “But I am back now."

Adam grinned a moment then the smile vanished just as quickly as his eyes fell upon a figure heading towards them through the rain. Scott turned as he followed his friend's gaze.

A woman of slender build and blond hair stalked over to them, anger evident in her foot falls. Once she reached them she ignored Scott and glared up at Adam. Whoever she was she was not very tall, 5'2" at most.

“Adam, what have I told you about those god damn pallets of supplies. They need to be stored in the other shed!" She said as she gestured towards another of the large buildings.

“Ms. Devaux, I am following established procedures for the unloading of new materials." Adam told her as flatly as professional manors might allow. “These things need to be inventoried first and checked to be sure things are in order before moving them."

“I don't give a damn." The small woman interjected. “I told you to fucking do it and you do it."

Scott grew tired of seeing his friend spoken to in such a way and injected himself into the event.

“He is doing it correctly." Scott said in a slightly louder than needed voice.

The woman snapped her head towards him with a glare, “This is none of your business, thank you very much."

“Actually it is his business Sheila." Adam corrected her. “He is in charge after all."

With a hint of a pleasure in his voice, Adam added, “Let me introduce Scott Sunterlend, project director"

Sheila blinked a moment as if stunned, “Dr. Sunterlend?"

Scott only looked at her, “Yes, and Supply Specialist Gray is following procedures."

Having appeared to have shaken off her momentary flummoxed state, Shield recovered.

“I'm sorry Dr. Sunterlend, I was just trying to speed things along because of the rain." She offered in way of defense.

“Be that as it may, Adam is doing what he needs to do." Scott informed her. “He has been here for 8 years now with 5 years of that as lead of supply."

Sheila wilted almost imperceptibly, “I understand sir."

“And..." Scott added, “if he does not check the inventory as it is unloaded it would cost more money to have to arrange for something to be shipped back and then redelivered or replaced."

She nodded in understanding and said nothing.

“Efficiency is important." Scott gave a nod to reinforce this.

“Yes sir, I understand." Sheila agreed.

“If you will excuse us, I need to speak with Adam about some things." Scott said as he started walking towards the cargo ramp with Adam following a moment behind. Sheila just stood in the rain as she watched them walk always.

Once they got to the plane ramp Adam let loose the laugh he had been straining to hold in. Scott looked at him with a smile of his own.

“She was in charge I take it?"

“Yeah, a real peach that one." Adam said with visible sarcasm.

“I am glad your back." Adam reaffirmed. “What kept you away last season anyways?"

“Oh, I had to pick up a friend, help them get moved in, and get adjusted to things."

“Wow really?" Adam was curious. “They must have been someone important or a very good friend to go through so much trouble for on top of missing a paycheck."

“Oh he was and is." Scott assured Adam, “I liked him so much I made him my assistant."

And as if by some mental or magical cue John came walking down the cargo bay ramp carrying his overly large backpack and equally sized duffle bag. Dressed in his silver and blue coverall outfit with just the neck flap buttoned down, John made a very impressive first impression. Being so big and a bear only added to that. Seeing Scott he walked down the ramp to meet his friend and the human he was talking with.

Adam made a brief choking sound as John approached them and Scott introduced each to the other. John engulfed Adam's hand with both ham handed paws and shook them in greeting.

“It's nice to meet you."

“Nice to m..meet you to, John is it?" Adam ask.

John gave a nod and his best reassuring canine filled smile.

Adam recovered himself and then smiled suddenly. “Sheila is just going to love this."

*****

People looked at John as he made his way down the cramped hallways towards the room he was going to be sharing with Scott. It was nothing new from his experience but still it was not a comfortable feeling. John moved down the different hallways easily enough even with his head nearly touching the ceiling and having to duck his head down low to clear the door entries.

The complex was not very large itself, consisting of dormitory like buildings with a central hub as a commons for eating and socializing. Across from the habitat area was a collection of hanger like sheds that stored supplies and equipment. These ran along the small runway that serviced airstrip needs of the outpost.

And then there was the central building that was the true place that research and work got done. It was large from John's point of view; four floors housed 2 research labs, 1 large computer lab, a server room connected to one large satellite dish and four smaller ones. Some other multipurpose rooms rounded out the collection. Scott promised to give John a tour later.

Finally, the door to his shared room came into view and a relieved John entered, glad to be out of public view. It was a simple efficiency type room, larger than most with a large 55 inch flat panel TV and set of couches making a sitting area, a single restroom with sink and toilet (shower needs were taken care of in a communal shower on each floor), and a bedroom with a rather large bed per Scott's request thankfully. It was to the bedroom that John deposited his stuff and he noticed Scott's gear had already been dropped off.

Scott was busy meeting with the various people who would be working this season at the outpost and John was alone for one of the rare moments in his short life. It felt odd to him and the quiet was unnerving in its own way. With a shake of his head, he dismissed those thought from his mind and set about unpacking his gear and storing his belongings. John had an hour to prepare for dinner and had to meet Scott at the eating area in the central hub.

*****

At the appointed time John had made his way to dining area where he was greeted with more staring and his sharp ears picked up hints of whispered conversations which he knew to ignore. John surveyed the room and spotted Scott at a table near the single large window that looked out onto the forest outside. It had grown dark out now and not much was visible beyond a few coniferous trees, snow had not yet begun to fall but the rain had stopped.

Scott gestured at the seat across the table from his and John noted it appeared very different from the other multitude of chairs in the room. This one was larger and of a much thicker metal. Scott grinned as John eyed the seat questionably, at home John was use to sitting on a bench as chairs failed to support him or come in his size.

“Leadership has its perks my friend." Scott commented to him as they seated themselves.

The chair didn't collapse under him and only groaned a small note of complaint at his bulk. Another first experience for John today, one of many to come here he was sure.

“I bet your hungry, I know I am." Scott smiled at his friend. “Sadly we won't be having pot roast tonight, but steak is a nice second."

John agreed with his friend and felt relief now that he was around Scott once again. He then took a moment to actually look around the room now and noted the score of people who were also in the room. He also noticed a few eyes quickly shift their area of gaze as he look towards their owners. He felt a sense of unease return as he thought about eating in public for the first time.

“Relax big guy." Scott's voice poked his attention back into focus. John returned his mind back to his companion.

“I'm sorry." John said rather quietly.

“What for?" Scott asked, “You haven't done anything wrong."

“I feel so open here and I am finding it distracting." John gave a slight shrug of his shoulders. “So many people are watching me."

“Monkeys" Scott said simply.

John looked at him after the odd single word his friend had spoken.

“We are all monkeys." Scott continued, “We see something new and we end up staring at it like drooling simpletons."

That got a smirk out of John at least and helped raise his spirits some.

A simple conversation broke out between them as it always did when at home and it was dinner time. John almost didn't notice when their meal was brought out to them, but he was happy to have his mind off his unfamiliar surroundings. And so they ate and talked while the different groups of people around them talked about the big white bear in the room in hushed tones. But such things did not matter when you have good company, good food, and good conversation.