FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Author’s Note: The following story is non-canon fan fiction of the Visceral/EA game Dead Space. Feedback is much appreciated and I hope you enjoy.

(Jim makes his way back with his sergal companion. Tensions rise between him and John. On a side note, I'm not sure if the size difference tag is appropriate. But I put it there since sergals are about a foot taller than most humans.)

United Corporations

-Chapter II-

There were many thoughts were drifting thought Jim’s mind that he didn't notice he was pulling up to the outpost. The entire ride home was spent debating how to break it to John they were going to have another resident in their already cramped environment.

Walking in carrying a body was a sure way to give John a heart attack, so he decided to leave her in the truck for a few while he explained the events of today. And if that didn't convince him he'd have Mary help.

That might get ugly.

Once he parked the truck in the hangar, and made sure the doors were closed behind him, he then made his way into the main room. Where unsurprisingly he found John testing more samples. As if Jim thought he'd be doing something else.

“Hey, John…” Jim started awkwardly, not knowing how to explain the situation.

“Save your breath.” He mumbled, looking up from his work. “Mary and I already had a talk about your little friend.”

“Ahh...right, so you don't mind if I bring her...in.”

“Oh no, not at all. Just remember don't come crying to me if that thing wakes up and bites your face off.”

“Yea, yea.” Jim said with a frown. “I hope that doesn’t happen…”

Jim glanced back towards John, expecting...something. Yet all he saw was him going back to work on his precious samples.

“First day out and what do I find. A half dead native that i'm now stuck taking care of…” Jim thought, shaking his head slowly.

What would he do now, lay it on his bed till it wakes? What if it attacks them when it wakes? What if it doesn’t wake at all? He tried to settle his mind before he made it to the truck but he noticed his hand was already on the door handle.

He didn't want to have to shoot her if she did attack them, considering the effort he put into saving her. And if everything went smoothly Jim wanted to get a diagnostic ran so they knew what the hell they were dealing with. Then...bring her back to her home?

They'll cross that road when they get there.

Communication was the key to all this, if she couldn't talk to them they'd be back to square one.

With a deep breath to steady himself, Jim quickly opened the door and climbed inside. Seeing as the best way to go about bringing her inside would be quick, like taking off a band aid.

Picking her up in a similar fashion as before he decided to use his room as a makeshift recovery room. And once he made his way inside the only response from John was a quick glance over his shoulder followed by him shaking his head. He knew John wouldn't like it, guess he'd have to thank Mary again.

After awkwardly opening the door to his room while still holding the unconscious sergal he gently laid her down atop his bed, leaving the covers off for the time being. Jim sat on a nearby chair and occupied his time watching the repeating rise and fall motion of her chest.

With little else to do he decided it wouldn't hurt to update Mary.

<Jimmy. I take it you have some news.>

“Yea kinda, I got her inside and laid her on my bed.”

<Didn't have any trouble with John?>

“Na, you didn't have anything to do with that, did you?”

<Me? No, I just simply told him it would be helpful to study the planet's native species since we are going to be here a while.>

“Riiiight...anyway umm anything else I should do?”

<Well there's not much else to do but wait. But doing a med scan wouldn't hurt.>

“Ok I'll do that now then, thanks again.”

Taking Mary's advice, Jim retrieved a scanner from a nearby first aid kit. He watched silently as a blue line, which started at her head, made it's way down each arm. Followed by her torso and both legs.

“Did it get her tail?” The thought made Jim chuckle under his helmet.

The info collected appeared in front of him on his holo screen.

-Med Scan Complete-

-Race:Sergal- “Uh huh”

-Gender:Female- “Nailed it”

-Age:34 Earth Years-

-Height:6'5"- “Damn”

-Weight:172 lbs-

-Injuries:None-

-Conditions:Dehydration/Malnutrition-

The list continued further but the data became increasingly scientific.

“What the hell does digitigrade mean” Jim wondered, leaning back in his chair. As time went on he became increasingly bored but kept reading just incase anything interesting came up. Although he didn't notice his increasing drowsiness. So when his eyes began to close he did nothing to stop them. His room darkening as he slipped off into sleep.

-~-

A pair of blue eyes slowly opened. The sergal blinked a few times and groaned softly. She stirred feebly, bringing a paw up to brush along the top of her snout before resting her arm at her side. The action made her pause for a moment, feeling the ground beneath her palm. Or lack of. Her last memory was laying against the log she found after giving in to the unforgiving terrain. Yet new she found herself mystery resting in someone's bed? She laid there perplexed, trying to fit together the missing pieces of her memory.

She slowly pulled herself up, a twinge emanating from her body as she stretched her muscles. Reaching down, she grabbed some of the cloth and brought it up to her nose and gave it a quick sniff. The scent wasn't one she recognized, it didn't even smell like a sergal.

Curious she looked around the room, she froze when she noticed a figure sitting chair near the bedside. Her mind drew a blank on what it was, although it didn't seem to notice her. Or it was sleeping, yet it was hard to tell since it's head was concealed under some sort of helmet. Which emanated strange blue lights.

Perhaps it was the creature that saved her?

Many questions raced through her mind, but answering them would mean waking it.

“H-Hello?” She asked softly, yet after a few moments of no response she tried again. “Hello.”

She must of startled it since it almost jumped out of its chair. After looking around for the source of the voice it finally noticed her. A few awkward moments passed before she noticed it sit a little straighter in its chair.

“You're awake…” Jim said, awkwardly shuffling his hands in his lap. “Uhh, how do you feel.”

“Better than I remember, where...am I.”

“Your...uh…” He mumbled “At my...home...I guess.”

“How did you get me out of the desert?”

“Well I found you unconscious against a log while I was driving and well...I couldn't just leave you out there.”

“I am thankful you made that decision. I thought my fate was sealed out there.”

“Ohh, you probably would like some food? Water?”

As he brought up the subject she became aware she was very hungry. Hunger seemingly forgotten during her time in the desert. She gave a small dip of her head, waiting to see what his next move would be.

“Meat. I'm guessing?” Jim asked slowly.

“I would be grateful.” She responded with a toothy grin.

With a nod Jim made his way out, glancing back at his room for a second before moving to grab a ration. Specifically one of the meet types. Surprisingly John was missing from his desk but Jim gave it little thought.

He decided on a simple Chicken & Rice ration and let it warm up while he grabbed a water bottle to go along with it. During which John made his way out of the bathroom. His hair was still wet, seemingly just finished showering.

“Hey John, guess what.”

“Hmm, that thing died and now you need help getting its body out.”

“What. Fuck man, no it's awake and it speaks english!” Jim gazed at his friend.

“Good, that means you can tell it to get the fuck out.”

“What the hell crawled up your ass and died.”

“Listen! I just want to get this job done so I can see my family!” John growled.

“Alright, sorry man.” Jim collected the ration before making his way back towards his room. “Jeez”

Jim paused momentarily to open the door before stepping inside. The sergal was sitting on the edge of the bed, seemingly taking in her surroundings. Yet upon hearing him enter she looked towards him, tail lazily waving back and forth. He stopped within arms reach and offered her the meal. She took it with a thanks, although she could not determine what it was.

“What meat is this?”

“It's chicken.” He mumbled, taking a seat nearby and resting his head on his palms. “A bird from my planet.”

She cocked her head slightly at him. Although she knew he was strange she didn't expect him to be from a different world entirely. “Where are you from?”

“It’s a long story, but I'll start with this...” As he finished his sentence she heard a strange hiss noise, followed by the clicking of metal. She watched in fascination his helmet fold away. Revealing a very different face.

“I'll explain as much as I can” He started. “But you need to eat first.”

She complied after a few moments, realizing she had been staring for a while. Though her curiosity was quickly occupied by the meal in front of her.

While she ate her food Jim thought of the easiest way to explain everything to her. Most of the information he would think as simple or common knowledge, she probably wouldn't be able to grasp. ShockPoint Drive, Nano-Circuit tech even where they came from would all be a mess of useless information for her.

“Alright, to put it simply for you, we work for a group of people called CEC. We go around space collecting resources. And well, for some reason they sent us here. Even though it's against regulation to tamper with a planet that has life on it. Especially intelligent life that can speak the same language as us.” Jim made sure to leave out the parts where humanity's greed almost led to its extinction.

Aegis VII and The Sprawl...

“That sure is...interesting and you said we, as in…”

“Well, when CEC wants to crack a planet, they usually set up a small colonie on the surface. They run samples and make preparations for planet-cracking. But since we are in a tight spot right now they can't afford to do that. So on this planet they set up only two small outpost, the one we are currently in and one north of here. Each has two members who keep it running while collecting samples of ore. John is my partner here, he deals with collecting data while I basically fix anything that breaks.”

“I see…” She said simply.

“Any other questions?”

“What would your name be.” She asked, figuring it would be helpful to know the name of the man who has been helping you this whole time.

“Jim. Yours?” He offered.

“Saline. You wouldn't happen to have somewhere I can get washed up. It's been a long time since I've had the opportunity to do so.”

“Yea, we have showers…” He replied, raising a brow. “Would you like to go now?”

“Sure.”

Jim gave a nod as he stood from his chair. “Follow me.”

She followed suit, though he was slightly taken back when he noticed her height. It was one thing to read it off on some data sheet, but to actually see it. She had to be at least a head taller than Jim. And that was with his suit on!

“It's simple really.” Jim mumbled, he quickly set about turning the shower on and setting it to a warm temperature. “Warmer turn it left, colder turn it right. Push it in to turn it off...is this warm enough?”

“It is, yes.” Slaine replied with a nod.

“Alright, there's a towel over there when you're done.” Jim pointed out, making his way towards the door. “I'll be out here if you need anything.”

“Thank you.” She offered as Jim left the room, leaving her to her thoughts.

Though she needed some time to reflect on everything that has happened recently. From almost dieing in the desert to being saved by strange beings from outer space with glowing faces. And that thing on his back...she'd have to ask him about that later.

She quickly set about removing her robe to lay it down next to her. She then slowly stepped into the water, which ran off her with a murky color. It had been a while since she washed, it felt nice to relax in the warm water.

-~-

After leaving Saline, Jim finally had the opportunity to relax. Though browsing the news seemed to be a bad idea. Most of the top headlines were disappointing.

“Layoff rates increase”

“Increasing tensions between Earthgov and Unitologist”

“Riots break out”

“Second Resource War?”

Abandoning his last idea Jim decided to make himself some coffee while he waited. He hoped John would come around, he usually was a pretty laid back guy.

“Maybe it's something with his wife…” Jim thought.

Being away from someone you care about for a year is bound to leave someone in a foul mood.

Jim returned to his seat, coffee in hand, where he took slow sips. Once Saline was done showering she would have to answer some questions. The biggest one being if she knew how to get back to her home, if she even had one. Although she would need at least a few days to recover. He would most likely have to use the shuttle to find her home, since it could search larger areas than the truck.

As long as there weren't any sand storms while they flew...