FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

A clang of metal echoed in the empty weight room. Barbells slid back on the rack. Richard grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat from his bare chest and head. Muscular, clean-shaven, and a head full of brown hair if one ignored the greying edges. His brown eyes betrayed his age, half-lidded from exhaustion with sagging wrinkles underneath. The prison's weightlifting room made for a nice personal gym for the head of security. After he dried himself, he put black jumpsuit, followed by the long black leather overcoat. The uniform seemed to be tighter every day.

Once Richard exited the brig, he was greeted by the warden Jack. His righthand man, wearing the standard red security jumpsuit and HUD glasses. Jack did a quick salute and was returned with one in kind. “How's the exercising going? Been hitting the gym pretty hard for the past few months… more than usual. Everything alright sir?"

Richard grumbled, “Just trying to keep up, age hasn't been kind to me." He then looked at his wrist PDA; on the home screen was a note for the head staff meeting. “I'll be at the monthly meeting; you have the charge." Jack nodded and parted ways back to the breakroom. Richard continued to the entrance to the security department putting on his pair of HUD glasses and black beret. He passed by several holding cells, only one was occupied by a drunkard assistant. This wasn't a periphery station, no tolerance for troublemakers.

Richard left the security wing of the station toward the center where the station's bridge was located. Gunmetal grey steel tiles lined the floors and walls, with the nauseating LED lights that burned if one looked directly at them. He stopped for a second at the end of the hallway to let two engineers pass. They carried more steel panels. Richard admired how much relationships have changed on the station, the lizardmen and the human chatted happily together as they headed to do their tasks. Several years ago, they refused to let lizardmen occupy any position higher than the service industry with humans.

The door's pneumatics hissed when he entered the heart of the space station. Monitors lined the walls as they overlooked the happenings all around the station. Reinforced windows behind the computers viewed open space and several levels of the service wing. Dozens of employees could be seen running around getting ready to start their duties for the day.

Richard was still 20 minutes early, yet the other heads were already there. They chatted amongst themselves. The chief engineer had his conversation with the research director about experiments and installation plans for the coming months. The head of personnel, Ali, was stuck in a conversation with the chief medical officer, Allison.

Ali noticed the head of security in the bridge and excused himself from his conversation. He walked quickly away from the woman as if he had just freed himself from a bear trap, “Glad you're here, the captain is about ready to listen to the update for the month." Richard shrugged, these meetings were kind of pointless for his position. His updates were usually, 'everyone is still alive'.

“I have nothing to report, everything is going smoothly in my department. A couple of misdemeanors and an article NT-15i."

Ali shook his head and whispered, “I know. I just want to get out of talking with the CMO, I can only take her in small doses." Richard nodded, thankfully he only had to deal with those under her employ. They would rather spend time in the brig than deal with her.

The captain walked in from the meeting room, his regal blue uniform and gold trim completely outclassing the other heads' coverall uniforms. A long white bushy beard perfected his look like a jolly Santa. Ali shouted, “Captain on deck!"

Everyone on the bridge stood at attention until the captain raised his hand with a gentle, “At ease." He disappeared back into the meeting room. The rest of command followed suit.

The captain was seated at the head of a long wooden desk, and the room smelled like cigar smoke. Each person took their seat along with the long table, sitting in large comfortable leather seats. Captain Martinez was a kind man. None of the staff had a problem with his leadership. He won many awards from central command at Nanotrasen, and he was on track to become an administrator for the entire sector. He smiled, “I am sorry to have these constant meetings, but Nanotrasen mandates that I keep posting updates on the station. I am just grateful they allow me to do it once a month instead of once a week."

The rest of the heads agreed with that sentiment, wasted time with pointless meetings just to give brass something to do was irritating. The research director, a pencil of a man stood up, adjusted his circular glasses, and started his briefing about the experiments his teams had been working on. His nasally voice droned on in the room, Richard already tuned him out.

One by one the heads gave their speech and handed in their written reports to the captain. Richard's head perked up when Allison spoke his name during her lecture. She had some biting words about how he was running his department.

“Security department appears to be causing some extra trouble for the rest of the station; I wonder if all that testosterone is too much for your department." The rest of the heads collectively rolled their eyes at the comment. She pointed accusingly at Richard, “Your officers keep sexually harassing my staff and I had to patch up one of your officers after a negligent discharge."

Richard gritted his teeth and shook his head at the woman, “Asking someone on a date isn't sexual harassment. We've been over this. And I took care of the other problem many months ago, the two of them are demoted to trainees with time served according to space law. They no longer have access to firearms. Discipline handled." He finished it off by leaning in his chair, “Stick to your department."

Her aged face soured at him, “And about the other departments' aliens, are you going to do something about them? They have been getting their hair all over the public laundry. My girls are constantly complaining about fur clinging to their clothes."

Richard stared at her and then shrugged, “Ma'am I'm not going to apprehend aliens because they have fur and scales." Allison contorted her expression to disgust.

Ali interjected, “I already spoke with the aliens, they agreed to use a section of washing machines for their needs and promised to keep them clean."

She scoffed, “Then why are my nurses still complaining about the shedding."

Richard leaned toward the group, “Maybe they should check to see if they are using the alien's machines, you know… look before you sit." The others held their mouths to hide their expressions.

Allison glared with an evil look in her eyes, “I didn't want to bring this up in this meeting, but I noticed that the logs for recreation have been very light on your records Richard. Becoming a workaholic and excessive exercise isn't a healthy habit for dealing with a divorce."

Richard shot up and slammed the table startling the room, “Who the fuck gave you the right!"

She smiled smugly with control over the conversation, “Anger, such an appropriate response. It's my responsibility to check up on everyone on the station, and after a little-“

The captain stood up and shouted, “Enough!" Allison stepped back as the captain glowered down at her. He cleared his throat, “This meeting is over, everyone except me and Richard leave."

Richard remained seated in the meeting room as everyone quickly left. Once the door slid shut Martinez spoke somberly, “I'm sorry, I truly am. I shouldn't have instructed the CMO to do anything. She kept prattling on about the 'good of the station' to do a health and wellness investigation, and I went and signed the paperwork. We were able to get access to the private messages through Nanotrasen corporate lines."

Richard grew disgruntled as the conversation continued, “That is no one's business but my own."

“I'm sorry, again, when she came to me with the records, I was worried myself. How you were treated is distasteful. To add insult to injury we went around your back. This will be the last time I or the others will speak of it. Just take a few hours off every day to get Allison off our backs." He gave a firm grip on Richard's shoulder to improve the mood, “I'm here if you need to speak to anyone…"

“On the bright side, most people in your position find solutions at the bottom of a bottle, you on the other hand look fantastic, a real inspiration to the crew. You might need to go get your uniform tailored though, it looks like it might bust open." The captain let out a warm chuckle which put a smirk on Richard's face. He opened the door to the bridge, “Now onto real business, come." Richard followed relaxed from the confrontation. Ali waited for them and stood at attention when the captain walked in.

“Please, don't do that. When it's just us customs can shove it." Martinez said annoyed at the protocol-following HoP.

“But it isn't just us," Ali pointed out Richard.

“Bah! he's family too. We do need to get serious about the next topic."

Richard stepped toward the two as they both stared at the radar console. The readings all seemed normal asteroids except for a single red signature.

“Syndicate ship, infiltrator class" Martinez stated with a deep frown under his beard.

“Do we have their location?"

Ali responded, “No, we only recorded them for two seconds before they disappeared into the asteroids," he pointed out the signature's time stamp.

Richard thought for a few moments about protocol. “Code blue?"

Martinez gave a nod, “That would be for the best, if we see the signature again, we will go to code red. What will you be needing?"

“I'll need volunteers, preferably ones with weapon training already, five from every department and ten from services. I'll need them to report to security for firearms training and practice after their shifts."

The head of personnel was dumbstruck by the request, “Isn't your current staff enough to handle this threat?"

The captain gave the younger man a long look, “Listen to Richard, he knows what we are dealing with. Infiltrator signature ships always carry nuclear ordinance, we both have lived through them. If it turns out the reading is correct, we will be fighting for our lives."

The HoP tapped at his PDA to send messages to the other heads. The captain got ready to make his announcement. He pulled the microphone to his mouth and pushed the button, “Attention crew, this is a code blue, all security personnel will be seen carrying weapons, searches may be performed on probable cause."

Richard pushed his radio earpiece to speak to the security department, “You heard the captain, I want to see everyone in formation when I get back and Jack, hand out armor to everyone."

He stared at the signature screen again when his ear buzzed, “Yes sir," from his warden.

When Richard arrived, everyone was lined up wearing their red jumpsuits, combat boots, face shields, and plated bulletproof vests. Ten officers, and five trainees. The station had 200 employees total, 30 of which were alien. The security team by Nanotrasen definition was considered small for the size of the station. The warden stood at attention in the front.

“At ease gentlemen," the head of security marched in head held high. “I'll be assigning you all security details to focus on our weakest points in the station. You will also need to return here after the shift to assist in the training of the volunteers we get. If we go to red alert, they will reinforce our numbers to repel an attack. Understood!?"

They all shouted, “Yes Sir!" He proceeded to assign 9 officers to various parts of the station. Three to atmospherics, two to the bridge, one to virology, and three to cargo department. “Just tell the quartermaster you will be assisting around the department… You know how they complain about extra sets of eyes watching them."

He studied the two recently demoted officers, “You two get your weapons, I need you on the most important portion of the station, the AI's wing on the far end of the station. It's been seven months, and your records have been stellar before the incident. You two only hurt yourselves, just don't make me regret it…"

The two of them snapped to attention, “sir!"

He pointed at the last officer, “You will also be keeping an eye on the A.I. too, they are our eyes to the rest of the station." Richard finished off his speech, “I will need rotating shifts, save virology, the syndicate can strike at any time. Report anything immediately, shadowy figure, a large spider, hissing from behind you. Don't even turn around just report it. Okay boys, move out!"

The three remaining trainees watched as everyone made their way out of the hall. “You three will need to help the Warden get the training equipment ready, once that is done you will be walking the halls as officers keeping an eye out for trouble. I'll make sure to make a note of it on your records so you will get a bump in pay. Just don't do anything stupid, the rest of the crew bitches about anything they see." Richard smiled as the young men joyously joined the warden's side with their assignment. “I think that covers all the bases. Have anything to add?" Richard asked his second in command.

“You covered every possible area. Wish we had more people to double up, but we work with what we have…"

“As long as we have the A.I. watching everyone as well, we should be okay." Richard paused and thought for a moment. He changed the frequency on his earpiece, “A.I., I am sending over 3 officers to watch over you, report any unusual external entries, and make sure no crew dies, okay?"

A feminine voice penetrated his ear, “No human harm shall happen."

He pondered what he heard, then switched the frequency again, “HoS to HoP can you clarify an A.I. law that only Nanotrasen employees are human."

Ali buzzed back, “Sure thing, was already on my way there when a guard showed up on the bridge."

With all the pieces placed, Richard cocked his head high. He left the empty hallway toward his quarters. His office desk was clean and orderly, he spent most of his time here filing bureaucratic paperwork that Nanotrasen required.

On the far end was the entry to his room. All Richard would do is eat, sleep, breath security. That's the company's motto for his position. Double the size of the normal dorms, and a large computer desk to monitor the station and the security details. Simple wooden dresser for storing personal belongings, and a high-security locker.

He swiped his ID on the locker to pull out his security belt. Stun baton, handcuffs, and a selective fire laser pistol. The belt snapped around his waist. He examined himself in the locker's mirror, his attention drawn straight to his grey hair and wrinkles. Exasperated he closed the locker.

Double-checking if he missed anything he looked on his PDA. The PDA spat out the schedule; all he had on it was the meeting with the captain. Frowning he thought about his own life and sat down in his chair to file paperwork for his officers and request more security armor be manufactured.

Many hours passed. His mind continuously wandered back to himself, how he spent the many months sulking. “Damn that bitch," he mumbled under his breath.

Decidedly done with paperwork he got up and left to clear his mind patrolling. Richard passed the warden who oversaw the charging of the rifles and pistols, “I'm going to head out and do patrol while everyone is at their post."

Jack spoke out in a concerned tone, “Sure thing boss, take as much time as you want."

Richard made his rounds, once around the station. He watched all the different departments, all the people performing their duties. A second round around the station, people noticed him more, a few people grew concerned by the muscular man in black. By the third round, people stopped to murmur amongst themselves.

“You really should stop pacing so much and take a break, you have everything secure." The head of personnel spoke out his window as Richard passed by.

Richard approached the windowed kiosk, “I just don't know what to do."

Ali laughed, “Plenty of young girls on the station, Nanotrasen just forbids relationships with your subordinates. Go out and meet someone new."

He shook his head, “I'm going grey. I'm not some young 20-something like you, women don't want that."

“Oh. Quit. It. You aren't that old. Just go to the bar and talk to people. The shift is almost over so you might meet someone."

Reluctantly Richard accepted his advice, “I guess I should, it won't hurt. Thanks, Ali."

“I'd wish you good luck, but I think you will be fighting them off with that stun baton."

Richard walked to the dining hall, the steel corridors were suddenly filled with people as they came off shift to eat dinner and relax. Crowds never pleased the HoS, too many people to keep track of at a single time. Luckily no one wanted to bother him. The many people in blue, grey, green, and yellow jumpsuits were intimidated by his presence, they parted like a wave to let him pass. This was the first time he visited the canteen in over 8 months. The vast majority of dayshift was eating their dinner. The noise deafened any meaningful conversation he could have had. However, he wasn't here for food, he was here for the lounge in the upper level.

Richard walked up the staircase and entered the posh wooden saloon. The pine floors were quite real as opposed to the vinyl in the dorms. It served as a reminder of home to the humans and aliens from temperate climates. The decorations resembled replicas from some spaghetti western, with lots of cow skulls and bones on the walls along with some wooden wagon wheels. A fine touch Richard thought, keeping old traditions alive, even if they were superficial.

The bar was somewhat busy, several cargo techs watched a sports game on a TV in the middle of the performance stage on the far end of the bar. The only thing that stood out of the room was a bright orange furry creature dangling from a wooden ceiling fan.

Dangled by her blue suspenders around two separate blades of the fan was Trixi the station's clown. Her polished red shoes kicked wildly as she tried to get herself down to no avail. Richard strode forward to admire the small creature, she had to be taller than 4'5" and sopping wet at 80 pounds.

Her high pitch voice was bubbly enough to make anyone smile. “Oh… hi HoS, hehe just hanging around" Trixi laughed as she spun around one revolution.

“I take it you didn't do this to yourself," he said with a serious tone; some human employees still love to pick on aliens around the station. A bad habit of xenophobia that stuck around with many humans.

She just twirled around again, “Oh it's nothing, I don't want to cause any problems for you HoS. But if you want to help, you could help me down."

She was a silly-looking thing, red polka dot white shirt, and red oversized pants. Her orange face fur had some kind of spray that painted it all white along with red paint to spray over the ear tuffs that gave her the signature clown hair. Patches of orange fur always stood out as the paint wore off by the end of the day. The final touch like every clown she wore large shiny red shoes. However, she fitted them. Her alien ankle slipped perfectly into the oversized shoes, looked like a short clown that sneaked around on tiptoes. Which she claimed made her look funnier.

Richard stood on the table, plucked the Vulpes off the spinning fan, and set her on the floor. Trixi swished her white-tipped orange tail, glad to be off the fan, “Thank you HoS…" She pranced around him; shoes squeaked as her paws tapped the floor. Her eyes ogled him as she circled, “wow… you look different…" He ignored her and walked toward the bar.

Two people were seated at the bar, Bakes the bartender was standing at his usual spot. The grey jumpsuit-wearing men harassed the lizardman behind the counter. The place was a mess, a few broken glasses and a mug were scattered along the bar table. Fluid flowed to the floor from a tossed beer bottle at a wall. Trixi tried to stop the confrontation to no avail, “Please don't, it's not necessary." She grabbed him by his coat trying to slow him down only to be dragged like a sheet of toilet paper on a boot.

The assistants were drunk off their asses. They didn't see Richard enter the bar, nor the fact the clown was released from the fan. “Come'on you walkin' belt-n-bag give me and my pal annudder round we'er all out of rasshuns." Bakes just cleaned a mug he held in his claws; his scaly muzzle showed no expression toward the young humans. The bartender was used to being treated like this by newcomers.

Bakes's lizard lips curled into a smile when the head of security stepped behind the two jackasses. His lizard tongue flicked out as he spoke common, “Hello HoSss, haven't ssseen you around here in a while."

The assistants turned to look at who he was talking to and immediately stood up from the stools. “So, what are you two doing to Bakes' bar?" Richard asked with a cool manner. They stammered out excuses, which only drew to the conclusion that they knew what they did was wrong.

“Hold each other's hands please." They listened and held hands unsure of why. “You know, I think it's time you two morons learned to grow up," just as he finished that sentence, he pulled out his stun baton and pressed it to their hands. The assistants jolted from the surge of electricity then collapsed to the floor. “That should sober you two up."

They slowly picked themselves back to their feet as Richard pushed the touch screen on his PDA. “Alright, starting tomorrow, after your shifts you two will be reporting to Bakes-the-Cakes for extra duties for 2 hours for the next two weeks. You will be helping him out and you will treat him with respect, or I will make things worse. Got it?"

He watched their faces as the words entered their thick skulls, “Yes sir…"

“I can't hear you!" He shouted in a deep voice that startled the other drunks in the room, have that military discipline forced down their throats.

They snapped at attention and responded, “Yes sir." He dismissed them with a hand wave.

Trixi sighed as she got up from the ground, “Always so serious…"

Richard sat down at the bar, the only sound now was the TV on the far end of the saloon, “I'll have a malt rockbreaker, Bakes." His eyes shifted toward Trixi and asked, “What would you like clown?"

She took a few seconds to process the question from who is essentially the anti-clown, “Uh, I think I will have a soda." Bakes turned away to prepare the drinks. The clown turned on her charm and smirked at the serious head of security and cheerfully asked, “So what brings you into our neighborhood?"

Bakes brought over the drinks and continued to his clean-up. The fizzy drink was mildly sweet with the aftertaste of caramel-drizzled toast. “Thank you, Bakes, I missed this." Trixi gazed off into the glass, wondering if she was going to be brushed aside when he said, “I don't know. I was asked to come here by the HoP. Not sure what I'm looking for."

“Maybe you were here to relax?"

Bakes placed another full mug in front of Richard, “Have another one on the houssse. Not many come by here after the resssent renovation."

Richard picked up the mug and observed the room, it was supposed to be the end of the shift, yet only a few relaxed on the sofa in front of the stage watching the television. “Where is everyone? This place was a popular spot…"

Bakes shrugged, “I don't know, maybe it'sss due to me not being human."

Trixi interjected to cheer up the bartender, “No! That isn't it Bakes; you are loved by a lot of people in the station!"

The lizardman left the side of the bar to clean up the floor and sighed as the broken glass was placed into disposals. Trixi felt like she failed her job, the HoS sat silently looking into a half-empty mug and the bartender dispirited, “Come on you two, smile! It's not that bad!" She looked up at Richard, “When was the last time you laughed HoS?" The question surprised him for a moment.

He placed his fingers under his chin and thought deeply. Mind raced as he tried to remember. All that came to him was his overloaded time off card, unused alcohol ration card, and the 2 months of acquired leave he refused to take. He never left the station in over a year; he hasn't taken any time off. Since he found out about the cheating, he refused to return to a shattered life.

Trixi took in his silenced expression as an 'I don't remember.' She got off the stool, determined to make him smile.

Two people entered the bar. Young women, fresh out of college. A redhead and a blond. They wore white coveralls, designated them as nurses. They beelined it toward the counter, “Hey there, didn't expect to see you here HoS, my name is Tammy, and this is my friend Samantha." Richard took his eyes off his drink.

The women were quite attractive, but something ate at him, “What's got you two looking for an old bastard for?"

They each took a seat at the flanks of the Richard. As they sat down a loud fart broke the silence, followed by Trixi's infectious laughter.

Tammy blushed and pulled out a rubber woopie cushion from under her butt, “Bleh! You disgusting rodent! That wasn't funny!" She threw it at the clown, but just landed harmlessly on the floor.

Trixi continued her laughter, “Oh, I beg to differ." She skimmed the drunk cargo techs who were giggling at the embarrassment of the nurse.

The woman got up and stomped her shoes in anger, “You flea-ridden gremlin, why on earth are you on this station in the first place!"

The vulpes took that as a challenge, “Oh? I'm a gremlin? You're just a dolled-up medibot. I'm sure if I got one cherry jubilee lipstick and a fleshlight it would attract more men than you." She then pulled out her bike horn and honked it, a wide toothy grin on her snout. Honk! The crowd's chuckling got louder. She focused on the reaction of Bakes and HoS. The lizardman smiled, but the HoS just watched stone-faced.

Tammy smacked the horn out of Trixi's paw, “I can't believe I had to come inside this place, disgusting foxkin, and slimy lizards."

Richard interjected, “Then why did you two come up here then if it wasn't for the jokes or drinks?"

Tammy's scowl disappeared and she brushed a stray hair off her face, “We came to see you up close; we saw you walking the halls and were wanting to have a chat." Samantha stroked his broad shoulder, “You're a very attractive specimen, we wanted to show you what your ex couldn't." Richard frowned, he spun around toward the bar, “Bakes, I'll need another one to go."

“Sssure thing bossss."

Samantha was hurt, “What's wrong with a woman showing affection?"

Tammy added, “Yeah, we are just trying to help you get over your divorce."

He angled his head toward the woman, “That fucking bitch…" He took off before Bakes set down the drink.

Trixi's mouth hung open as the pieces were put together. She swiped the drink, “I'll deliver it, Bakes."

He nodded, “Okay Triksssi."

The two women approached the clown before she made it to the exit, “No, you will let us deliver that, you mongrel."

Trixi held her muzzle high, “No I don't think I will let you. The HoS needs to laugh not be burdened with some tart."

The cargo techs 'oohed' at the insult, more interested in the drama than the game. The fox drank in the audience, “Oh, before I go make a fool of myself for the HoS I wanted to compliment you on your lovely blond hair." Tammy raised an eyebrow not sure where the clown was going with this. “Yes, it's gorgeous. My species doesn't have blonde hair, I just never understood why you humans always dye your roots a different color."

Tammy immediately covered the brown on the top of her head to the sound of drunken laughter. Trixi moved a free hand to her own C-cup and squeezed it; it imitated the sound of a bike horn blaring out. Honk!

Richard was pissed. He worked his way through the crowd in the lunchroom, the only thing that ran through his head was how his private life was now gossip for the rest of the station. So much for patient confidentiality. He needed to blow off steam, so he started toward the dorms where the holodecks were located.

The sounds of squeaking followed him as he marched through the hall, “Wait up, I'm not as fast as you! You forgot this!"

Richard stopped and allowed the clown to catch up.

Trixi panted, “You forgot your drink HoS."

He exhaled heavily and took the cup from her paws, “Thanks…"

She walked with him as he continued his path, “So where ya goin'?"

He took a long swig of the beer, “I'm going to head to the holodeck to do some training drills."

“Oh, that sounds like fun. Mind if I join you? I still haven't succeeded in my mission." Her tail swished side to side, excited to complete her task.

“What mission is that?"

“I need you to smile, it's my duty."

Richard gave her a forced smile, teeth bared.

“Not like that silly, a forced smile doesn't make you happy, it only makes things worse. I would throw you some banana peels, but I doubt that would work. Probably just turn your frustration into depression." Trixi continued with her loud thoughts as she followed him toward the dorm room.

He arrived at the dormitory. A large staircase in the center spiraled up several levels. Doors to their rooms rose like a skyscraper inside the station. The benches were occupied by assistants and others loitered around the central stairway. Tapping away on their PDAs while they waited for a holodeck room to be opened to spend their recreation time. The head of security had special privileges over the lower ranks, and he exercised that right. He chugged the contents of the cup and tossed it aside.

Doors to the holodecks were located on the first level, several in total. The door opened and four people exited. Another group of four reached for the control panel with their ID cards. Richard's hand slammed over the panel; the startled group stepped back. “Sorry, this one is occupied." They didn't argue and backed off to wait for the next one.

He slid out his ID and inserted it into the console. Trixi was surprised with his timecard, “You didn't do anything in how long?!" The recreation time was accumulated over the hours of work, 1 hour each day for different premium services on the station. His hours maxed out at 200 with a little red warning that informed him of just that.

The door opened, and he placed his ID back in the PDA. Trixi squeaked in after him. The door's pneumatics hissed shut sealing the two inside. There were black electroceramic tiles coated in glass on the floors and walls. Specialized hard light projectors for simulation. On the opposite wall was an alcove of standard gunmetal tiles along with a place to store the user's possessions.

Richard turned to the clown and asked, “Are you sure you want to join me? I use this program to train with melee weapons."

Trixi nodded, sure of herself, “The mime and I play games in here all the time, it's a lot of fun… When we accumulate enough hours that is. We use it to test out material and exercise our roleplaying muscles." She grinned lewdly, “Unless you want to use this for personal reasons, in which case I will leave you to your privacy. Just make sure to clean up after you are done. The smell lingers in these rooms."

Richard thought about lying to the clown to get her out of here. He decided against it, “No, I'm not going to do that." He removed his black overcoat and HUD glasses and placed them on a small seat near the console in the alcove. He slipped his ID card into the machine, and it loaded up his profile. A list of hundreds of virtual programs populated the screen. He selected Skyout.

Trixi recognized the title, the multifaceted fantasy adventure. They even had online events where you can fight other players. “That's the game me and the mime play, you want me to insert my ID so I can play with you on my jester? The game is more fun that way."

“I guess? I never really played it with someone."

She inserted her ID into the other slot. The console loaded her profile next to his. He pushed another icon, and it loaded their characters from the system. He was a melee fighter, and she was a magic-wielding jester. After a few more buttons the screen loaded in a huge list of mods.

She looked briskly through the mods. A few notable ones caught her eye, safety setting manipulation, harder weapons, bloodier scenes, female lizard princess quest, rain texture remap. The list went on and on. A smug expression crept on her muzzle as she looked back at Richard. He responded to the look, “What?"

Her tail swayed side to side, “Oh nothing, I just didn't think you of all people would be into scales."

He blushed as he unbuttoned his black coveralls, “I don't know what you're talking about."

With rolled eyes, she responded, “You don't need to lie to me, I know all the dirty mods for this game. Even without the lewd textures mod, the princess one is quite voluptuous. Although, true lizardmen don't have breasts." She squeezed her tits. Honk!

He embarrassedly answered her question, caught by the furball, “A few months ago." He hid his cheeks, "I always thought of lizardmen as exotic." Trixi's tail happily twitched about this revelation as Richard pulled his sleeves and tied them around his waist, “I take it you are now going to gossip to the rest of the girls around the station about this."

“Absolutely not, on the clownmother herself, I refuse to share that detail to anyone. I just never thought a head of staff would be a xeno…" Her mouth agape as she gawked at him, his tight white tank top let her get a full view of just how good he looked, the black uniform wasn't doing him any favors.

Richard didn't notice the clown's expression as he started the machine and a computerized voice echoed through the hall, “All players please step into the circle."

She hurried and squeaked into the center of the room. “Wait for me, I'm coming!" As she entered the circle the lights vanished.

_____

They were suddenly in a cave with bonfire as their only light source. Two chests occupied one wall. Bright sparkles enveloped the two of them as their belongings transformed. Trixi spun around and giggled as her clothes transformed into a bell-riddled black and purple female jester outfit. She held out her paws and a large ornate golden staff glittered into them.

Richard stood perfectly still as armor morphed around him. The plated metal had a slight glow to it from enchantments, and then the helmet encompassed his head. He held out his left arm and a heavy tower shield blinked into existence, several menacing spikes on the face of it. A sword appeared at his hip.

“Wow, you already have a full set of enchanted darkiron metal? That's insane!" She inspected the sword at his side, “What sword is that? I have never seen it before." Making a circle motion with her finger opened the inspection menu, an orange name appeared, “Darksilver, the dagger of the damned. Isn't that a weapon from the open beta?"

He replied to her barrage of questions, “Yes, I played this game quite a lot back in the day, it's still a good item with all the upgrades."

She bounced around with joy, “And here I thought I was going to be too high level for you, you might just show me up."

He watched her bounce up and down, her outfit revealed quite a bit, orange fur standing out on the dark purple and white cloth. A heart-shaped fishnet window on her abdomen revealed purple panties and fuzzy thighs. Her orange fluffy cleavage exposed to the air caused him to flush. He forgot how revealing the base game can get. He turned his head away to not stare and cleared his throat.

“Hehe, you really are a xenophile if that's a reaction a flea-riddled rodent like me can fluster you." She turned away from him and raised her tail showing off the heart around her perky fluffy butt.

“Don't make me shut this off and leave," he threatened.

“It's just a prank, my boobs aren't even this big." She squeezed her sizable breast, paw passed through the character texture and a bike honk echoed into the cave. Honk! “Now come on, let's select a mission and difficulty."

They walked toward a wall and a drop-down menu appeared with missions. Richard selected the lowest possible safety setting, weapons that struck them would shock them like a taser. “What mission do you want to do?" The scantily clad jester already selected the princess lizard quest. A red warning appeared that read the game won't reward or give items for modded levels as the campfire was blown out. He questioned the dark, “Did you really have to pick that one?" She giggled again.

The world came to light again, bright blue sky. Grass blew in the wind and the fragrance of flowers from a nearby hill. Tall fir trees materialized blocking out the artificial sunlight. The cool air felt as real as any planet, one could drink it in. A dirt path was laid out before them, leading into the thick forest.

A male voice narration played in their ears, “Welcome adventurers, the scaled princess Dances-with-Scales is held captive by the vicious armored marauders. Who knows what terrible plans they are going to enact on her?"

Richard pulled his black sword from the sheath, “I have turned off the safety so be careful, the enemies will hurt you."

“I have been stunned before by your goons, clowns get used to it."

“They better have not. I warned them if they stun people, they better have a reason."

Trixi shrugged it off, “Well… I may have done something to deserve it, but it's in the past. They always apologize to me after I return their belongings. Again, it was just a prank."

He scowled in frustration at her response. The last thing he needs is to have another damn meeting with Allison about injuring other staff on the station. “Alright. I just don't want my security team to devolve like the periphery stations. I spent all those weeks teaching them CQC. Well, no offense. They should be able to take down a woman without having to pull out the stun baton."

“Don't worry about me, I'm tougher than I look. I was top of my class with gymnastics and balancing." She did a forward flip with her staff in hand. The base slammed into the dirt and she balanced herself on top with a single hand. “Tada!" The bells on her clothes jingled as she did the splits on the pole to maintain balance. Richard turned his head again blushing inside his helmet. The little exhibitionist giggled at his reaction and jumped off.

“I said enough… please." He questioned himself if he should have just lied to get the fox out of here.

“Okay, okay. That kind of humor is off-limits."

He viewed the horizon at the tall stone tower in the distance, “Those bells are going to give our position away. We are already in earshot of them."

“Well, we'll just have to fight them, my hearing is better than yours. We'll know when they come." She said with a sudden serious nature. “And then I can blast 'em with my spells, nothing resists the jester class spells. Slip 'em with ice floor, blind them with foxfire."

“Won't work on the boss, he cancels out magic and enchantments."

She let out a huff of protest, “Well that's not fair, my whole character is about getting up high and cheesing everything."

Richard proceeded ahead on the dirt path. The path wound through the forest. The deeper they went the thicker the canopy got. The two stopped suddenly when the smell of a campfire caught their attention. They both crept low to the ground, careful to not reveal their position.

Four humans in full suits of onyx black armor sat on logs around a bright fire. A boar roasted in the middle. Trixi whispered, “So HoS, where do you want me? I can cast some CC if you want."

“I don't know, I never played this game with anyone else before."

“Why? This game is so much more fun with people." The sudden movement jingled the bells on her clothing, two of the guards stood up to investigate.

Richard immediately engaged springing into action, the black blade sung as it glided through the neck of the guard. The other warrior unsheathed his weapon only for the fighter's blade to crash over his helm. Blood poured over the dirt. Trixi followed it up by casting a dazzling storm of light. The light blinded the other two knights that charged toward Richard.

The remaining enemies swung their weapons clumsily, the sound of metal on metal as they bounced uselessly off the shield. Richard struck out with his shield, sending his attackers to the ground. He finished one off with a quick stab through the heart. Blood shot up as it carved through the chest.

The remaining guard regained his senses ready to strike at the fighter. Trixi fired another spell, “Listen to me, we aren't your enemies." A bolt of purple struck him, and he stopped, frozen in his tracks. “Ha, got him, the minion is mine."

Richard rose and raised his sword to cut down the man. “Wait! Stop!" Trixi yelled before the sword could make contact. She sighed with relief, “Whew, we don't have to fight him anymore, he's on our team."

The blackguard gave a weary response, “What thou request mistress?"

“Do a silly dance." The man kicked his legs out dancing like Michigan Frog. Trixi rolled on the ground laughing at the spectacle, his metal armor loudly clanged every time he landed.

“Humm, strange never seen that before. How long does it last?"

She dusted herself off, “Until the end of the mission, usually, I will play around with them and have them fight each other."

He nodded, “Useful."

Trixi sniffed the air then recoiled, “I hate the smell of blood." She stared at the wet stains on Richard's armor.

“What's wrong with it?"

She shuddered, “It's that fake blood smell, not that real blood smells any better. But that electric twang the holofield makes. You humans are so senseless when it comes to that."

“I can fix it. Computer, remove smells from current simulation." The confirmation beeped and they could only smell what was really in the room.

She took deep breaths in, “Thank you. Those artificial smells are just awful." She took in another deep breath and a contented smile spread on her muzzle.

They resumed their travel toward the tower with their NPC escort. Trixi asked the guard about the location of the other camps so they could avoid them. Richard was impressed with the resourcefulness of the vulpes, he usually bashed skulls of everyone he crossed.

They climbed over a small grassy hill and peered into a small basin. “There it is." The thralled guard said pointing to the base of the large 8 story stone tower. five guards stood at the staircase that led to the double wooden door entrance.

She groaned with agony, “Good, my paws are killing me. Clown shoes are meant for being funny not for hiking."

“That's the anti-magic guy I warned you about." Richard pointed to a tall ogre in the center. A large grey-skinned brute, large bulbous nose, and barrel gut. “He will cancel out any spells or enchantments, I don't know why there are so many guards though, last time I played this there were only three."

She raised an eyebrow, “You really haven't played this with anyone. The game has dynamics to make it more difficult if there are more people. So, we need to work together."

“Do you know how to use regular weapons then?" He asked curiously.

“No…" The vulpes' tail went limp, and she held the staff close to her bosom.

He placed his index finger on his helm, “I see. Well do you have any regular weapons, I could teach you something if you want to practice."

Her eyes gleamed in surprise, “You will give me private lessons!?"

Richard opened a menu to drop an item from his inventory, “The whole reason I play this game is to practice techniques." He handed her an ivory crossbow and a quiver of bolts.

She took it in her hand, “Are you sure I can work something like this? I never even shot a laser before. You think I can learn something like this?" Her voice was trailing shyly as her tail betrayed how excited she was.

He motioned back the way they came, “Let me teach you how it works, and the NPC over there can help."

They doubled back from the tower a safe distance. Richard showed the vulpes the basics of the crossbow. First, he had her pull the string back. Trixi complained about the difficulty, “Why is it so hard to pull back?"

He smirked inside his helm and grabbed her paw to help her, “It's the mod for heavy weapons. It's still not realistic enough, but it works how I like it." He set his shield on a tree so she could practice hitting a target. The thrall was tasked to retrieve lost bolts. “Go ahead and aim down the sights" he placed the crossbow into her shoulder and rested her face on the stock. The crossbow was quite large for her, but she held it properly and more importantly, still.

It took her 50 shots before she finally got the hang of aiming using the goalpost sights. He had to remind her a dozen times to use both eyes. Focused on the target rather than the weapon and finally, a metal 'ping!' the bolt nailed the shield. She screeched with joy, “I did it! I did it!"

Richard clapped, “Good job. Do you want to try it on the bad guys now?"

He led the way back up the hill. “That was so much fun, I always used magic in this game! Throwing light around always is always fun! I never really found shooting to be that interesting, seemed like a point-and-click adventure, but that was amazing!"

She continued her exited ramblings until Richard touched her snout, “Shh, they will hear you. Their weapons still hurt, just try not to hit me when I get their attention. Aim for the big guy."

Trixi's ears perked up, “I have a better idea, why don't we use our guard to lure them away. They look dumb enough to follow him."

Richard didn't like that plan, he wanted to burn off some energy. “Okay, I guess, it is getting late, we did spend a lot of time training."

She instructed the guard to run over to the others and lead them away. The guard did just that. They watched carefully as the guard conversed, the ogre grimaced and waved his hand. The thrall stumbled back. Trixi asked, “What's going on?"

The spell was broken, and he immediately pointed over the hill while the rest of the entourage grabbed their weapons. “I think your spell was broken," Richard said with enthusiasm, ready for action.

The six enemies charged up the grassy incline and the fighter posted up defiantly. He leaped and two were struck with a long stroke of the blade before he hit the ground. His momentum carried him forward and bashed another with his shield. The spiked shield was embedded into the body with a gurgle of blood. The shield became too unwieldy, he tossed it aside with the body still attached.

He passed the two remaining armored guards and the ogre down the hill. They roared out and chased him as he arrived at the base of the tower. Trixi loaded a bolt and aimed at the largest target. The bolt whistled through the air and hit him in the ass cheek. The ogre was undeterred, he still chased after the fighter that took down three of his own.

Richard neared the sealed door; he ran up a few steps and turned on his pursuers. He flourished his blade taunting the knights from higher ground. One of the black knights swung his massive war hammer. Luckily, it missed and crushed the stone on the steps. Richard kicked him in the head and his back was sent to the dirt below.

The last knight fenced with the fighter; swords clashed as they would parry each other's attacks. His heart pounded as he faced the artificial sword wielder. He pressed an advantage with a few steps forward placing his helm inches from the onyx armor. Swords scraped between the two as they fought.

The combatants were suddenly blind-sided as the ogre found a large log to strike them both. The fighter and knight were sent into the air as he swung wide, sweeping them away from the tower's steps. Electricity coursed through Richard as he landed, the simulated damage caused him to shout out in pain as his body arched. Trixi watched it happen in slow motion as the ogre strolled to him as he was downed, he raised the massive log over his head for a final blow.

She pulled out her staff and pointed at the ogre, “Distract!" A bright green light pulsed out toward him; the ogre laughed. Before the light even reached his body it flicked out of existence. He looked back up and spotted the little vulpes up the hill.

Richard got up, pained muscles, and sweat irritated eyes. He peered over at the knight, his armor caved in, and blood pooled inside of it. He stood and picked up his sword. The last armored knight waited for him. Standing between him and the ogre, who now strode his way toward the jester. The fighter charged; sword point aimed at the knight's chest. The hammer was useless to stop the blow as Richard's full weight collided and pierced through the onyx armor.

The final warrior dropped to the ground in a heap. The fighter forced himself to a hasted retreat to help his ally. His lungs burned more, he watched Trixi fire bolt after bolt into the unphased ogre.

Her arms were exhausted, the string twanged again with another bolt. It sailed past the ogre's head by a foot. “Damn it…" she cursed herself for her bad aim. She fought with the string again to load another bolt. The ogre climbed the small mound getting closer to the little vulpes. Her heart raced; the massive log balanced on his shoulder. A terrifying laugh bellowed out.

His body was riddled with several bolts. They poked out of his grey flesh by several inches. Despite all the damage nothing vital was penetrated. He raised his massive makeshift melee weapon. Then he started to list to the side, a scream of agony rang out as he braced himself. The ogre collided with the ground and rolled down the hill.

Next to the armor clad Richard was a standing left leg. It had been severed cleanly from the rest of his body. The ogre's body remained still at the bottom. The bolts vanished into the grey flesh, just a torrent of blood oozed out of holes. One directly in his chest.

The fox panted, her chest raised with every deep breath. Her tongue lolled out cooling her overexerted body from the fight. She saw the HoS with a bloody sword being inserted into the sheath near the leg. She ran over to him stumbling on the grass, “Are… you… okay…" She gulped after every word as her tongue flung out short of breath.

He breathed in slow long breaths. “Yeah, I'm fine… It just hurt like hell." She looked him over and he seemed to be fine, then she stared down the knoll and saw the remains of the monster.

“You… did… it…" her tongue dripping with saliva.

Richard removed his helmet, sweat matted his hair down in a wet sheen. He glanced over at the conquered beast. “You did it." He said confidently a smile on his face. “You killed the enemy." He peered down at the exhausted vulpes, her clown makeup completely worn away, revealing all her orange fur beneath. A bright beam crept across her snout.

Trixi examined the monster from afar, she saw the holes and realized she made those holes. A renewed energy surged through her and jumped around excitedly. “I did it! I beat the monster! I used an actual weapon!" She happily jumped up and hugged Richard, “That was amazing, I never thought I could do something like that." Her enthusiasm was infectious. The clown learned how to use a crossbow. From the looks of the sight of the many bolts scattered through the grass, she missed only 80% of the time.

He set the fox aside feeling her body clip through his avatar, “It's no trouble at all, I've been doing it for many years." His smile disappeared, “So many years…"

Trixi spotted his change in attitude, “Hey now, old man. Don't go getting sad on me now, we have to see the princess."

They entered the stone tower, all that was inside was a spiraling wooden staircase that rose to blackness. “Oh boy I can't wait to see you kiss the maiden, it's always funny to watch you humans kiss non-humans," Trixi said to her amusement.

Richard just scoffed, “And how many times do you voyeur such activities."

She got defensive, “Hey now, there isn't much else going on around the station. People-watching is a fun time."

“I'm glad that interspecies relationships are happening more frequently. It wasn't that long ago when they would barge into my office demanding I do summary executions."

A squeal of glee leaked out her snout, “I'm glad to hear that from you! I'm also glad we spent some time together! I always thought you were one of those old guard that just tolerates aliens. But here we are, climbing a staircase up to see a lizard princess so you can smooch them."

Trixi made kissy noises as they got to the door up at the top of the tower. Richard pushed it open. Inside was a beautiful maiden, her scales were light green with a very healthy bustline. Her lithe figure was similar to all lizardmen with sharp claws on the end of her digits. She wore a flowery baby blue gown that hid her legs but exposed her massive cleavage. She approached the two, “Oh noble knightsss. Thou hasss come to sssave kingdom's darling."

The princess puckered her scaly muzzle for a kiss and text appeared on the wall, 'Thanks for playing the mod.' Trixi walked around the princess, looking over her model with a careful eye, “She looks pretty good." She then lifted the NPC's dress and crawled underneath it.

“Will you cut that out?" Richard asked growing more frustrated.

The princess responded, “Sir knight, I don't know what-“ He held up a finger.

The clown reemerged from the front of the dress. The NPC didn't react at all to what Trixi did. “Wow, she is fully modeled, hehe."

He rolled his eyes, “Will you stop that…"

She shook her head, “You humans and your sexual romanticism." She scowled. “No wonder all the stations need a clown, you take everything too seriously. You need to loosen up." She pulled up the dress and revealed white panties and scaley muscular legs. The NPC remained unaware and waited for the kiss. Richard blushed and turned away. “Come on, it's just an NPC in a game, go ahead and ogle it all day, no one will judge you," Trixi's voice was irritated.

Richard was fed up with the situation, “Computer end program." The princess vanished and the world melted back to the large box room. Their computerized clothes and armor disappeared into the dust of pure light leaving behind their normal clothing.

He grumbled, “I'm not looking for a quick fuck, or masturbation encouragement. I'm 43, and I have no one now."

Trixi took a few steps back, her eyes wide, “I… I didn't know." She folded her arms around herself, she completely misread the situation.

He pulled his coverall sleeves back on. His tank top soaked with sweat, “I know a clown can't understand these types of things, I just wanted to practice, and I have succeeded in that."

Trixi's ears were folded back defensively as she handed him his glasses and heavy overcoat, “I'm sorry… I just thought you wanted confidence."

The sight of her sad eyes hurt, “It's okay, you couldn't have known…"

The room was dead silent. A sudden idea flashed in her head. Her pointed ears shot up, “Oh I know. How about I get you to talk to Welds, she is a lizardman engineer. We share the same washing machine."

“Is she even interested in a human?"

“Only one way to find out."

He sighed, not sure if he should accept the clown's help at all, “If I don't agree you will pester forever."

She laughed, “It's what clowns do, we have to make people happy." She gave her boob another squeeze and the honk bounced around the cubed room. Honk!

“It's getting late, we should pack it in."

The clown bounced over, her shoes squeaking, “Will you continue to teach me? I had a lot of fun." He looked over his wrist PDA and pushed the touch screen a few times, “Sure, you showed some promise, I could probably show you how to shoot something real."

Trixi shouted and hugged the HoS, nestling her chin on his chest while she looked up at him, “Thank you! Thank you!"

He held up his hands, “No problem. I have to use my time off anyway to get the captain off my ass." She took in a deep breath and then released him.