FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Roger looked up at the Teshar from the floor of the hanger it was in. He stood in awe of its size, it was not something he'd call small and looked to be at least half a kilometre in length alone. The fact it occupied barely even a quarter of the ENS Retribution's hanger made him feel tiny. He looked around for a moment and sadly watched as at least a hundred crew were pulled out of the ship and onto the floor of the hanger, all in various states of unconsciousness. He marvelled at their variety. It seemed as if most of the mammilian families were represented by the Rukot, primates being a clear exception, though he noted that he also saw no non-mammilian species. He wondered why, and suspected he would get the answer soon enough.

A hand came down firmly on his shoulder, breaking him from his thoughts and he turned to face its owner. The commander of the squad of armed men that had captured Captain Rels and the others had removed his helmet, revealing a face looked human enough, but his skin seemed impossibly smooth, without blemish, and deathly pale, it had an alien quality that unsettled Roger. The man had no hair aside from the eyebrows that were little more than thin lines. "Come with us," he ordered, still failing to sound honestly friendly, though Roger couldn't really tell given the man's accent, which lent an almost song-like quality to his words.

"Where are we going?" Roger asked of man that he wasn't exactly sure was there just to rescue him.

"To see Captain Young, he has many questions for you."

The commander and a couple of his men lead him to a nearby door and escorted him up a lift and then down several long hallways.

"What is to become of the Teshar's crew?" Roger asked while they walked, feeling more like he had remained a prisoner. He unconsciously felt for the handgun in his pocket though its presence did little to assuage his unease.

"That is for the Captain to decide," the commander smiled in a way that he found nauseating. "We haven't captured this many animals in several years. After remapping many will likely go to the mines of Kepler but he will want a high price for the younger ones."

Roger stopped, gawking at the man. "That's horrible!" he exclaimed, "They've as much right to be free as you or I."

The commander fixed him with a hard glare while his subordinates stood waiting, "They are beasts of burden, created to serve the Emperor."

"Created? You mean they aren't aliens?" Despite his surprise, Roger thought that it explained a lot, especially since they were all forms of different Earth animals. He found the thought of the expertise required to accomplish such a thing mind-boggling. Where he was from they had only truly begun to understand genetics.

"Yes," the one word came as an answer to both questions, and the look on the commander's face showed that he was done talking about it. "Keep walking," the man indicated their continued path his weapon, confirming Roger's suspicions that he was not exactly a guest on this ship. He resigned himself to that fact and resumed following them. Perhaps he could talk some sense into the ship's captain, slavery was as abhorrent to him as it was to most humans from his time, regardless of who was involved and how they came into being. He had often dreamed of the future, and had been hopeful that humanity would overcome its more negative traits. Instead he was sure that he didn't like how things had turned out.

The two guards with them stopped and stood like bookends on either side of a doorway which slid open. "Inside," their commander ordered him, and lead him into a large and ornately furnished room. At a wooden desk that seemed out of place on a space ship sat a man who shared the commander's impossibly smooth look, though his skin was a shade or two darker and he wore a uniform that differed from the seemless bodysuits he had seen on the others and looked more like something out of an old war movie. This one had a full head of jet black hair, every strand perfectly in its place.

"Captain Young, this is the Earth man as you've requested," giving Roger a small push towards the desk before taking up a place by the door which slid closed.

The man at the desk looked up at Roger and studied him for a moment before he turned his gaze to the commander, "Excellent, Sergeant Thorn. I take it the assault went smoothly?"

Thorn stepped forward and replied, "Yes sir, our inside man did his job and the only casualties were two of the animals that he'd shot. He said it was necessary to ensure success."

Roger stifled his shock at the words. So Captain Rels HAD been betrayed, just not by him! He had seen no other humans on the Teshar and based upon his limited experience with the Rukot and from what he'd seen of the ship's crew he doubted there had been any. Still, he couldn't believe that one of their own had turned on them, yet it had happened. He definitely did not like the way the future had turned out, it had travelled down a dark path indeed.

"No other cargo was damaged, I take it?" the Captain questioned.

"One of the animals from the bridge, an old bear, has some broken ribs, sir." Sergeant Thorn shrugged, "He charged at us when we entered and Riley shot him with the stunner several times before he went down."

Roger winced, broken ribs were a bitch and he imagined Fenthik was in considerable pain. He didn't like the way the two men spoke about the Teshar's crew as if they were merely things, not the people he understood them to be.

Captain Young nodded, "How many were captured?"

"Eighty-seven, most have yet to see the end of their first 100, though some are older, like the bear."

"Good, their youth will command a high price on Haskel." the Captain smiled at his subordinate, "That will be all, Sergeant Thorn, tell your men they have the Emperor's thanks for their success and can take the night off from their duties. You may go, but leave the two stationed at the door until I am finished here."

"Sir!" the man sharply saluted with his right arm across his chest, practically chanting "We live to serve the Emperor's will." He turned to the door, which slid open and exited the room.

Captain Young turned to face Roger, "So, you are Roger Keene, the man from Earth's past if the reports are to be believed? I am Captain Young of the ENS Retribution. Please, take a seat, you must be tired from your ordeal." He pressed a button on the desk and a chair rose from the floor.

"Thanks," replied Roger as he sat down and forced himself to relax.

"So tell me, how did you come to be here, Roger Keene? The galaxy has not seen an Earth human for hundreds of years."

"Call me Roger, and I don't know how I got here, sir." He launched into his story about the car accident that should have occured before he was brought here, how he had woken up on a ship crewed by animal people and that they had distrusted him but treated him well enough. He finished with, "I was on Earth a couple days ago and now here I am, in the far-flung future, and my home is a barren ball of rock. Marrin told me that the Imperial Navy did it, blew my home to dust and ash." Tears stung his cheeks as he recalled the lifeless world that had been all he'd known.

"Do no shed tears for those traitors, Roger, they defied the Emperor's will and paid with their lives."

"Emperor? Emperor who? Who has the right to destroy a planet!?" Roger felt anger welling up inside him.

"Emperor William, eternal ruler of the galaxy has that right." Captain Young replied flatly. "You have much to learn about the future as you call it. No one defies his divine right to dominate all and lives."

"I'm not sure I like the future I've been thrust into. Humanity ruled by a ruthless dictator who pretends to be a god, the remorseless destruction of my homeworld, slavery, and who knows what else!"

"You judge us? We are unified as a people and there is peace, can you say the same for your own time? The religious disagreements that killed millions, wars that decimated entire generations."

"You've got me there," Roger admitted, world peace had been a long thought of and elusive dream, "But what about the slavery? At least we were mostly above such a horrible thing. No one deserves to be a slave."

"Did you not use beasts of burden for work? Did you not keep animals as pets?"

"Well, we do- did, but they weren't sentient, and we had laws to ensure their fair treatment and our respect."

"We also have laws and treat them fairly."

"You enslave sentient beings! How is that fair?"

"They are animals, Roger. They are not sentient."

"From what I've seen they are as smart and self-aware as any human."

"Their intelligence is a result of their creation, it is not sentience."

"They have space ships, can speak, and understand abstract concepts, how is that not sentience?"

"I'm sure to someone as primitive as you it might seem like they aren't just mindless animals, but I assure you, it's all because they perform the tasks they were trained to do."

"They're people, damn it!" Roger stood angrily, he didn't like the condescending tone of Captain Young's words, "Let the ones that you captured with me go. Keep me if you must, I have nowhere to go, no home, but they don't deserve a life of servitude."

"All animals are happy to serve the Emperor, as are we." Captain Young gave him an annoyed look, "The ones that brought you here will be retrained to serve and you'll see, they'll be happier for it too."

"You can't do this! It's not right, let them go!"

"I see you cannot be reasoned with, probably due to how primitive you are. In time you will see that the Emperor's will is the right path and serve him too. For now though," he pressed a button on the desk and the door opened. "Guards, take Roger Keene to the brig, he will be staying there until we reach Haskel and can turn him over to the Emperor."

"You disgust me," Roger spat as he lept across the desk and struck Captain Young on the face. He heard a wet crunch as the other man's nose broke. He raised his fist, and right as he was about to bring it back down on the startled officer something hit him in the back, sent him flying into the wall behind the desk and knocked the wind out of him. He gasped in pain and tried to stand up, right hand sliding into his pocket as he was hit again, knocking him back to the ground as he cried out in agony, every nerve in his body firing off.

Captain Young stood and stared at Roger with rage-filled eyes, blood pouring from his broken nose. "How dare you assault me! If the Emperor hadn't ordered that you be brought to him alive I'd have you executed right here!"

Roger put up no resistance as the two soldiers grabbed him by the shoulders and roughly hauled him to his feet, he felt like his strength had been torn from him. He struggled to lift even just his head as he continued to gasp in pain. They started to drag him out of the room when Captain Young barked out "Stop!" The guards halted and the Captain smiled evilly at Roger, "On second thought, the Emperor didn't say you needed to be whole. Show this, animal lover, the folly of his ways and then toss him in the holding cells with the new slaves."

"Yes sir!" came the almost fanatical response from the men holding him. They dragged him out of the room and the door closed as Roger watched Captain Young wipe the blood from his face.

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Gahn paced around the cell and gingerly touched the lump on the back of his head, wincing at the pain. He'd awoken in it, his last memory being of Roger apologizing to him before pain ripped through his skull. There were a few other crewmembers from the Teshar with him, two cats and another wolf, wearing medic uniforms and he recognized them as the doctors from the ships medical room. They'd informed him that while he was unconscious the ship had arrived at Earth and been captured by the Imperial Navy, and the last thing they knew before waking up in here was their weapons discharging and knocking them out. It seemed like Roger really had betrayed them all to the empire.

He looked across the cellblock at the cell containing his father, Captain Rels, and Fenthik who was laying down and groaning in pain. Marrin looked back at him sadly.

<<You were right, father, we shouldn't have trusted him,>> Gahn called across.

<<He couldn't have disabled our weapons like that, I'm no longer sure it was him,>> came his father's reply.

<<I'm sorry that I didn't find his hidden weapon in the vehicle, Fynor and I overlooked it somehow. This is my fault.>> He wondered where the quartermaster was, the lynx wasn't in any of the cells he had a view of. Maybe in one of the ones he couldn't see.

<<Don't blame yourself, pup, he took advantage of the situation and caught more of us than you off guard. It would seem that even Earth humans are cunning and deceptive.>>

The sound of two pairs of boots and something being dragged echoed through the hall and the two wolves turned there attention to it. Someone cried out <<The Earth human!>> and Gahn watched as dozens of crewmen from the ship appeared at the front of their cells, looking at the forms of two humans dragging a limp body.

Captain Rels stood at the front of her cell and watched the procession silently as the two humans stopped in front of Gahn's cell.

He stepped back in shock after looking at their captive. It was Roger! Surprised filled the young wolf's face as he saw that the man had been savagely beaten, blood and bruises covered his face and arms, and he hung limply between the two guards. The one on Roger's right let go of him and levelled a weapon at the door as it opened. "Step back, wolf," it ordered cooly and he did so as the other guard dragged Roger to the door. The three doctors watched from their places but made no other moves.

"Let's see how much you like animals after a week in a cell with them!" The gaurd laughed before shoving a stumbling Roger hard into the cell. Gahn forgot his dislike of the human for a moment and stepped forward to catch him. The door closed immediately afterwards and the two guards walked off, laughing.

Roger clutched feebly at the wolf's fur as Gahn looked down at the bloodied ruin of the man's face, "What happened?" he questioned.

"Oh hi, Gahn," Roger said unsteadily, his words slurred as blood bubbled from his mouth. He cracked the wolf a half-crazed smile to reveal several missing teeth, "Tonight's menu is your choice of broken leg or cracked ribs with a side of tooth risotto, served in the house red sauce." The man's eyes rolled up in his head and his grip relaxed as he passed out, slipping from Gahn's paws onto the floor.

He stared at the man, mouth agape.

<<What is going on? What happened?>> Captain Rels' words brought back his wits as he looked over at her.

<<Captain, they've beaten him near to death,>> he replied in a confused tone.

<<What do you mean?>>

<<Look at him, I think he might be dying.>>

<<Nak, Gyth, Kouhm, assess his wounds and do what you can.>> Came her order to the three doctors in Gahn's cell.

Nak, the other wolf looked up and reponded, <<Why? He's responsible for our being here, we should let him die.>>

<<I am still your captain and that was an order, Nak.>>

<<This is madness!>> He barked out, <<You want us to save the life of the one who delivered us into slavery!?>>

Kouhm, one of the cats, an old mixed tabby, looked at Nak and then silently got up and went to the human. He gingerly picked Roger up and brought him to one of the benches, laying him out upon it. After this he finally spoke, <<Captain Rels will get us out of this, Nak, she was a hero during the war. I will follow her orders until life itself leaves me.>>

<<Do whatever you want, I will not help him.>>

Gyth, a lioness, stood up at this and she went to Kouhm's side, <<Remember your oath, Nak,>> she said calmly.

Gahn looked at the three and watched as Nak began to pace, he saw a battle waging behind the other wolf's eyes. He was about to speak until Nak stopped and stared at his compatriots as they removed Roger's shirt, revealing even more deep bruises and broken skin.

<<Damn it!>> the wolf doctor yelled, <<He better be worth it, Captain,>> and he joined the other two as they carefully began their work.