FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Fynor stood up from the console and hissed in pain as feeling returned to the short stub of his tail. He'd been on this assignment for 6 months and still wasn't used to having the thing, unconsciously sitting on it all the time. He was already bored with this assignment, and didn't understand why he was on it, just that Fermeux Hunt, the current director of Imperial Intelligence had wanted a spy on as many RC ships as possible, even the worthless old freighters. This was an insult to his skillset, and the fact he'd had to give up his very humanity was something he'd sworn he would not forgive until he was Frank Lenox again and saw the light drain from the director's eyes as he strangled the bastard. In the end, as with many things during his life, he'd had little choice but to accept the assignment and genetic manipulation with all of the forced undying loyalty to the emperor he could muster, only to stay alive.

Most humans viewed the various races of Rukot as mere animals, livestock to be bought and traded, even now tens of millions were enslaved by the Milkyway Galactic Empire, which claimed right to the entire galaxy, though really only exerted power over a small portion of it. Even after hundreds of years since the rebellion that had lead to the formation of the Rukot Conglomeration, humans still didn't even officially recognize them as sentient or accept their indepdence, they were a tolerated annoyance with colonies being attacked from time to time to harvest slaves. The upper echelons of the empire knew better than the propaganda fed to the populace and viewed the RC as a very real threat to the status quo, hence Fynor's assignment as a spy.

Still, his position on this ship of animals had finally turned up something valuable. By Marrin's account it was a completely unexpected and random event, and it was Fynor's task as quartermaster to go over every inch of the land vehicle and contents that had appeared in the ship's hanger. The formerly human lynx knew that the wolf's belief was that the vehicle and its occupant were sent by the empire, but he had his doubts. The thing and its contents were clearly ancient in design and function, and from what he could tell, from Earth. He had no idea how it or the equally ancient weapons it contained had survived the thousands of years of time since their production, just that they must be real, not even the empire had the ability to reproduce them with such an attention to detail and use of technologies so primitive they were all but forgotten. Regardless, the beasts had no claim to the items, and he was certain even Emperor William himself would be highly interested in them, and the now-captive human who'd appeared with them. Surely a rescue would be in the works once his report made its way to the director's desk, an old Earth human, here of all places!

<<Fynor, come to the hanger, I figured out how it works!>> Came the excited voice of Gahn, his assistant and Marrin's son, from the communicator on his belt.

The lynx reached down and pressed a button on it, <<I'm on my way, ask Marrin to join us, pup.>>

He left his quarters and walked along the halls of the ship, re-assuming his role as quartermaster on his way to the hanger.

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Gahn's tail thumped excitedly against the seat as he listened to the almost hypnotic sound of the running land vehicle. His father had wanted to eject the thing and its contents into space, but he and Fynor had successfully convinced Captain Rels to let them ascertain its origins before making a final decision. Pouring over historical records on the ship's computer and several books written in an archaic form of English found inside the vehicle, they had both come to the tetantive conclusion that it was from Earth, though neither knew how or why it was here. Fynor was convinced it was the genuine article, but Gahn didn't share in his certainty.

As he listened to the rumble he thought about how exciting the day had been, his father's report that a human had boarded the ship, the first time he saw the land vehicle and its then-unconscious pilot. How he and Fynor had been given the chance to examine their unexpected cargo...

It had taken them several hours of scans and tests to determine the vehicle was powered by an internal combustion engine, a technology so ancient it barely received mention as more than a footnote. The younger wolf and the lynx had poured over it and its odd construction, there were no modern alloys and despite the clear use of electricity it contained no computer systems and the most complicated electronic circuits were barely more than a simple transmitter and a couple receivers of some form of radio waves.

The scans had shown that it was almost entirely mechanical in nature and ingenious in how it was assembled. He had so many questions for the human who had arrived with it but doubted the man would answer them. At 48 standard years old, he was too young to remember the last major war, in which his father had fought, but after the attack on their home colony of Ganmur when he was a child had shown him the hate humans had for his kind. No, the human wouldn't help, and since his duties as the quartermaster's assistant made him the de-facto ship's engineer, he and Fynor were on their own.

When Gahn had first determined that a small metal key for an ancient-style lock in the control wheel was responsible for turning it on he'd been disappointed that nothing happened when he turned it. It'd taken about 30 minutes to find out that the vehicle's energy pack, a volatile battery that contained raw lead and sulfuric acid, was depleted. It was an incredibly inefficient design and the young wolf was confused by its very existence, considering that even the poorest inhabitants of the galaxy had access to infinitely more efficient and longer-lasting energy packs. The entire vehicle's electrical systems were comparatively primitive, and he'd been worried that even a small energy pack would overpower them, opting instead to see if he could recharge the battery. It'd heated up and off-gassed significantly with the first attempt, making him realize that a direct connection was a bad idea. He'd replaced the lost acid and built a circuit to slowly recharge the battery with much more success. Fynor had gone off at this point, claiming to have other duties to attend to, leaving the wolf to continue their work alone.

Several more attempts at starting the vehicle resulted in him figuring out all that needed to be done in order to get it to and stay running. It was a complicated series of steps, that undoubtably made sense to whoever had come up with them. First one had to depress a lever under the control wheel while making sure another lever, located midway between the two doors and stuck up out of the floor, was in a position marked N, both of these controlled the connection between the engine and a series of gears between it and the wheels, according to the scans. Finally one turned something the key to a position marked "Start" on the control wheel's column. This caused small electric motor to turn the larger engine several times, until it began running. Gahn had tried these steps a few times until he felt that he got the hang of them, before excitedly calling his father and the quartermaster back to the hanger to show off his success.

<<Gahn, stop sundreaming turn that infernal thing off! It's filling the hanger with smoke!>> came an order from Marrin, who stood impatiently beside the door. It snapped him from his thoughts back to reality, and he turned his head to offer his father a sheepish smile before doing so and exiting the vehicle.

<<I got it working!>> he responded happily to the older wolf many had said he looked like a young version of.

<<Your orders were to ascertain its origin and purpose, not play with it!>> snapped Marrin, causing Gahn's ears to droop a little until he spotted Fynor entering the hanger.

<<Fynor! I got it working!>> he repeated, this time to the lynx as the cat joined them.

<<Wonderful Gahn, I take from that horrid smell and the smoke that it works as we thought?>> said the quartermaster.

He nodded, <<It definitely burns the hydrocarbon fluid in the tank under the seat as a fuel source, it would be ingenious if it wasn't so inefficient.>>

<<Humans had to start somewhere, remember the historical records show that vehicles like this were a factor in the beginnings of them becoming a technological society,>> responded Fynor. <<So, given the materials it is made from, how it operates, and its fuel source, can we assume it's from Earth?>>

The young wolf shook his head, <<I don't think it's from Earth, I found a date, May 1982, on a plate near the engine, that'd only make it a few hundred years old.>>

Fynor's ears perked at the mention of the date, his eyes darted to the vehicle, <<It could well be thousands of years, by Earth reckoning the current year is 6503, not 2253, humans sometimes reset their year counts.>>

Gahn's eyes widened and he nodded again, <<I forgot. It's a shame we can't question the human.>>

<<Anything else?>>

<<The projectile weapons, the wood on the ones in the crate doesn't match anything on record and each bears a number within the range of 1952 to 1956 though they also have other numbers and markings, including a star with an arrow. The other ones, from the bags, some seem to have similar function to the ones in the crate, three others are mechincally very simple, though all their designs vary wildly, and don't have nearly as many markings on them. Best I can say is they're all rifles of some sort.>>

The quartermaster's head bobbed in acknowledgement, <<Ammunition?>>

<<Scores, mostly lead-filled copper projectiles, some have steel along with the lead, all are seated within cylinders filled with a highly reactive powder and are capped with a piece of metal that contains a small explosive charge. There's several thousand of them, each apparently marked to indicate which weapon it goes to, except the smallest which lack the small explosive caps.>>

<<So varied, what were they all for,>> wondered the lynx aloud before he continued, <<They clearly match the records' descriptions of projectile weapons from around the same time as this vehicle's date marking. It seems like more proof of their claimed origin.>>

<<What does this all mean?>> Marrin interrupted, looking at the two younger Rukot, they were talking rapidly with each other, and it seemed like Fynor was insisting the human and his vehicle were from Earth while his son expressed doubt.

They both looked back at the older wolf, Fynor responding, <<Sir, Gahn and I have spent hours scanning and conducting materials tests, and the results are inconclusive. Based upon the technology and materials, some of which the galaxy hasn't seen in centuries at least, used to produce both the vehicle and its contents, I think the human isn't lying about where he is from. In fact, I am inclined to think he is some kind of time traveller. My assistant feels that we simply don't know enough to make a concrete conclusion. Is there any way we can question the prisoner?>>

<<Time travel is impossible!>> quipped Gahn, <<Then again,>> he smiled and shrugged, <<Some of the electronics we found in one of the bags say a date of August 12, 2023 on them. Unfortunately they are passcode protected and our computer system is incompatible with them. We really must speak with the human if we want to find out more.>>

<<We'll see what the captain says>> mused Marrin, thinking hard on what the two had just told him. <<I think the human will be willing to talk, he's been screaming to speak to someone for over an hour now.>> The old wolf barked a laugh, <<I'm not sure he'll have the answers you seek though, he seems to not be very intelligent, it took him twenty minutes of staring at them just to figure out how to use his cell's facilities.>> He reached down to his communicator, <<Captain, Fynor and Gahn have reported inconclusive results from their findings. They agree that our latest cargo is primitive and old but not on just how old. They are asking to speak with the prisoner to get more information before forming a conlcusion.>>

A female voice responded, <<Have Fenthik bring him to the hanger, I'll join you shortly. I want to settle this quickly so we can resume our run to Valkter.>>

<<Yes, captain,>> he replied and then toggled his communicator a second time, <<Fenthik, the Captain wants the prisoner brought to the hanger, try not to scare him too much.>>

He looked at Fynor and Gahn, <<If the human's reaction to me was one of terror, I wonder how he'll react to the Fenthik.>> They shared a laugh, thinking about the gruff brown bear that served as the ship's master-at-arms.

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Roger poked at the brown and grainy-looking gelatinous cube on the tray. It jiggled harmlessly but the sight turned his stomach away from any thoughts of food. It smelled vaguely of wet dog food and he imagined it tasted like what he thought dog food must taste like. It didn't matter to him that this was a so-called half ration and that he hadn't eaten in what felt like over a day, he doubt he could eat it, let alone twice as much. At least the wolf wasn't denying him water, though it had taken some time for him to figure out that placing his hand on one wall of his cell caused the top of the bench to slide away, revealing a sink and an odd arragenment of pipes and cups that he'd determined were some kind of toilet.

He pushed the tray off the bench with disgust, causing it to clatter to the floor with its unappealing contents remaining unaturally in place. He shuddered at the sight, and wished again for this all to be a dream and that he would wake up either at home in his bed or pancaked to the front of that semi, anything would be better than his current predicament. He'd slept several times and no amount of pinching, pounding, yelling, or anything else he had tried made what was happening any less real, no, he was a prisoner of Marrin, a mad space wolfman, on some kind of space ship.

"My kingdom for a sandwich," Roger muttered uselessly. He stood up, and paced his cell while going over the accident that resulted in his being here instead of the violent end of his life like it should have. The SUV that pushed him into the path of the semi, the trucker's panicked yelling on the cb, the blare of the truck's horn, the bright flash, and then his appearance in the ship. It didn't make sense, even after hours of pouring over it, he had not come up with any source for the flash of light that brought him here, there was no cause, nothing out of the ordinary until the exact moment before he was supposed to die. He'd given up on the notion of being dead and this being some sort of afterlife, he was still alive, and absolutely not dead like he should be.

His thoughts soon turned to escape and he looked down at the tray while brushing his left hand through the short brown hair atop his head before scratching at the stubble forming on his cheeks, his current sole measure of time. The tray was metal, some kind of steel perhaps, and he wondered if he could fashion it into some kind of tool to cut through the window of his cell. Surely if he scratched the window and hit it hard enough it would shatter like glass, and if not, maymbe get cut like plexi, he had his doubts but he would certainly try.

"What do I do after I get out of here," he wondered aloud, looking into the room beyond. It was lit soley by the light of his own cell, and he could make out the door along the far wall that Marrin used to enter and leave it from, and that would be the next obstacle to his escape. He knew from what he'd seen that a small desk and chair were the room's only furnishings and given how Marrin never sat there Roger had his doubts that it contained anything of use. What would he do after getting out of his cell and through the far door? Did another door lay beyond? The hanger maybe? Just how far could he get before the wolf caught him? If only he could get to his truck he could arm himself and maybe force his captor to take him home.

But the Earth was destroyed, at least according to the wolf, though Roger refused to believe it. It had to be some ploy, clearly the wolf thought he was from somewhere else, and intented to starve him and play mind games until he broke down and gave up information that he couldn't possibly have. It angered him that nothing he said had convinced Marrin he was telling the truth and just wanted to go home, and his anger soon built up into a rage as he threw himself against the window.

"MARRIN! YOU DAMNED ALIEN WOLF THING!" he yelled, "LET ME OUT OF HERE! I DEMAND THAT YOU RELEASE ME AND TAKE ME HOME!" and he carried on like this until he felt himself going hoarse. It felt like quite awhile had passed during that time and he ended up sitting back down on the bench in a huff, thinking about all the ways he was going to make that wolf regret imprisoning him.

He was so lost in his thoughts of escape and revenge that he didn't notice the far door opening, or the uniformed bear that entered to the lights turning on.

"Damn him, damn this place, damn that idiot driver," he muttered, "Damn all of it." Hot tears rolled down his cheeks as he made up his mind. He reached down and picked up the tray and started bending it in half, hoping to break it so he could just open a vein and end his already over life.

"Put that down and get up, human," came a menacing voice that sounded nothing like Marrin and caused him to snap his head up and look out the window.

Normally, the sight of a brown bear so close would've terrified him, but he looked at it blankly, and responding "Of course there's bear men, why wouldn't there be?" Up until now he'd assumed that he and Marrin shared this ship by themselves, but it made sense that the wolf had other crew, why else would the brig of the ship have so many cells or such a large hanger? He laughed with a touch of madness that it even made sense that there would be bear people too, why the hell not, there might even be other animal people as well.

"I said get up, human," repeated the bear with an unspoken threat behind its words as the door to Roger's cell opened. He sat the tray back down and stood up, doubting it would help him against the claws and teeth his captor's crewman was naturally equipped with. He made no other move, staring blankly into nothingness as the bear walked into his cell and grabbed him roughly, simply bereft of the ability to care anymore.

It grabbed him and held his arms behind his back before speaking again, "the Captain wishes to see you, walk." Then he heard it make a series of sounds that sounded like no language he'd ever heard. After that it pushed him forward, leading him out of his cell and through the far door into the hallway beyond the brig. He offered up no resistance to the bear and vaguely wondered why Marrin wanted them to come to him rather than his usual habit of interrogating him in his cell.