FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Days, if they could even be called that, slunk on by. An uneasy routine had sprung between the two wherein they would chat, eat, clean, and then quietly resign themselves to rest. Their conversations were stilted still, usually just clinging to conversing about the differences between them. Joshua’s wounds would slowly heal over this time. He didn’t heal to quite pristine levels, but enough to inspire hope in their mission.

The insectoid had taken to giving him some physical therapy as Joshua’s arm healed, gently moving it around as the pair tested it on his cot.

“Easy with the claws,” he said.

“I am taking utmost care to it,” the woman replied.

“We’ll be able to get out of here soon, right?”

“That is dependent on your condition.” She stretched his arm out, testing his rigor. He winced but didn’t cry out in pain. She brushed over his wrist. The little hairs on her hands could feel the heightened heart rate from the prick of agony. He was getting there. “We cannot rush this. You might injure yourself again. Expiring.”

“Don’t want that. You sure the ship didn’t break anything else?”

“Your ship?”

“Ah, yeah, mine.”

“No. Only your cockpit has been rendered destroyed. You should be able to enter it. Provided that your suit holds.”

The woman moved from softly touching to pressing gently against the bones underneath. It wasn’t a baffling feature of humans, bones. She had animals on her own planet that had internal skeletons, but they seemed too fragile to carve their way across the stars. Terrestrial forms were hostile, and the stars even moreso. Yet they had managed to thrive in the vacuum of space.

“Explain. How does the sensation of soft skin across hard bone feel?” she asked.

“What?”

“Describe the sensation.”

“Why don’t you describe having an exoskeleton?” He furrowed his brow. Human faces were impressive.

The insectoid thought on the sensation of her form, flexing her body.

“Hard. Numbing at times. Resistant and calming. Encasing. A sense of triumph over lesser creatures.”

“Well I don’t know how to explain having skin.” He pulled his arm away and adjust his shoulder a few times.

“I would have thought a human would be more curious about an alien form.”

“I don’t want to have anything to do with you guys. Least of all one that wants to skin me.”

“I have seen many expired humans. A live one is a different matter.”

“Just ease off, OK?” He shifted his arms a few more times and scooted away from her. “I think I’m ready to go anyways.”

“We will review our plan of action. Then we will go through it.”

As she finished those words, the ship groaned repeatedly. An alarm.

“What’s going on?” Joshua stood up. “Are we decompressing?”

“No. That is merely a warning.”

“That’s still not good!” He rushed to the consoles along with the insectoid. “What’s wrong?”

“The star.” She pointed out the distant beam of light, creeping behind the silent planet they orbited. “We are trailing into the dark. Power will be lessened.”

“Let’s get going then.”

Joshua ran to his suit and began putting it on. The woman took her radio patches and pressed it into his neck as he did it, causing him to wince. She gathered his tools and wrapped them around his waist.

“Are you certain about this?” she asked, helping him into the suit.

“I don’t have a choice, do I? Let’s go, get this done.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Then I can get out of here.” He put on his helmet, obfuscating his emotions, then headed for the airlock. Stupidly, he pounded his wound and adjusted his arm again.

“Damaging yourself is a poor choice of action.”

“I’m getting used to the pain. Just pop me out.”

“Do not stress yourself.” She placed the radio patch on her body, then walked with him to the airlock, opening it. “I will be with you.”

“Hopefully not for long.”

The man stepped through, took a look back, and gave her a thumbs up. She matched the gesture, causing him to shake his head. Was that incorrect? The airlock closed behind him. There was a hiss, then another clunk as the outer door opened. It was all in his delicate hands now.

Stationing herself back at the consoles, she watched his approach. The computer tracked his every move as he glided to his tattered ship. It was a noticeably slower approach this time. Smart. The fear of space had been instilled in him successfully.

“We had no time to practice this operation. I hope you are familiar with the layout of your vessel.”

“I’m familiar. Relax. Just tell me what I’m looking at.”

“Travel to the engine. We will start with the pulsor.”

“Pulsor. Got it.”

She watched the console closely, watching his life signal trudge through the metal guts and near the engine. Her horns sprung up. It was really going to work. It was really happening. The tunnel had been forged by her own hand. And his, she supposed.

“I’ve got my hands on it.” There was some strained breathing. “Trying to pull it loose now.”

“You are aware of how to do that, correct?”

“I know! I know. Give me a second.” A clunk, then a click. “OK, I think I’ve got the whole thing off.” A hesitant breath. “What’s next?”

Before she could respond, the ship shot off something. It wasn’t a weapon but it was fast, and sped off into the unknown faster than she could even spot it.

“Joshua. What did you do?”

“I just pulled out the part, like you told me to.”

“Did you eject anything?”

There was a bout of silence. Her mandibles grinded up against one another.

“Joshua,” she said.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he said under his breath. “Just point me to the next part!”

There was a surge of energy off in the distance, and her ship rumbled again, vibrating its panic through her. For a moment she didn’t quite understand the trouble she was in. Instead her mind was quick at work inspecting the encroaching vessel. It was more finely contoured than the scrapper in front of her, yet still contained a heavy amount of imposing industrial work to it. Long, bulky, and with more than a few cannons made for punching holes through vessels.

“Move to the spatial coordinator. Second level. You will recognize it,” she replied.

The behemoth swayed closer. Its grey hull shined in the star’s light. Nothing had come free of it just yet. There was still time.

“Joshua. You have done something. It has attracted attention.”

“I know! I know!”

The insectoid took a moment to breathe. Do not worry. There was still time.

“This is patrol ship Aisa responding to distress call launched from this position. Please state your vessel’s designation and status,” the ship blared.

The insectoid could tell it wasn’t a military vessel, which brought only a sliver of relief. Still, it was armed for combat on this frontier of empty space. Some sort of peacekeeper to monitor the edge. It would have little qualms in wiping up the mess left here and capturing the both of them. For her, that likely meant transferal to the human military for interrogation. For him, likely some amount of imprisonment.

“Joshua. Move.”

No response other than more panicked breathing and the hollow clangs of the ship running through Joshua’s body. At least he was moving.

“Repeating again. This is patrol ship Aisa responding to distress call launched from this position. Please state your vessel’s designation and status,” the ship cried again.

She would have to do something. Not a direct message. They would pinpoint its origin. Her eyes flicked from ship to console to space. Her hand rubbed against the patch on her neck.

“Joshua. Remain silent. Keep working. I will attempt to stave off the enemy.”

With panicked typing she managed to reroute her signal directly into Joshua’s radio. It still gave off signals, and with some slight alteration it would be something in the range that the encroaching ship would be able to pick up.

“This will feel odd. Do not make a sound.”

Click.

“This is Tyra of the unnamed ship before you. Thank you for responding to our call. Currently we have repaired a hull breach and are tending to our engines. However, we believe one of us aboard are infected. I urge you not to board,” she said. That feminine pitch was hard to capture.

“Tyra, we see a Vesperratus vessel in the vicinity. Have you been under assault?” the Aisa asked.

Right, they weren’t military. They wouldn’t have any records of this skirmish.

“No, ship Aisa. An emergency stop forced us here. Reactive explosion in the scrap caused a hull breach.”

“Hold position, Tyra. We are sending out a biohazard team to assist with repairs.”

She ground her mandibles. Naturally they’d be prepared for something like this. It was exactly what she didn’t need at that exact moment. She switched off the signal.

“I have turned off the signal. You need to work faster,” the insectoid said.

“I am trying as fast I can! Christ!” Joshua replied. “Are they coming yet?”

“It will take time for them to prepare. You do not have long.”

She dug her claws into the console as she stared painfully out at the hovering ships. There was nothing she could do except watch and hope. One human against an entire ship of capable enforcers. He should have been done by now. They should have been away from here by now.

Time agonized on by, seemingly never ending. Nothing changed. All was still. Then, a glimmer in the Aisa signaled that their time was up. True to its word, the peacekeeper sent off a smaller vessel. Regardless if they were truly here to help, they would have more than a few reservations about this operation.

“They are approaching. Finish. Now. Leave your radio device behind when you depart. I will need it there.”

Joshua made no response. Either he was angry or afraid. Perhaps both. The smaller departing vessel slowly careened over to the small graveyard of ships and came to a halt. The insectoid switched the signal back to reflecting.

“Morning, ma’am, we’re the recovery vessel. Are the airlocks operable?” one of the crew said.

“Good morning. Tyra responding. Entirely operable and unlocked. Board when ready.”

“Great. We’re coming in with a few supplies, so hold tight.”

“We will.”

A few seconds later an orange figure emerged from the scrapper ship. Joshua had pulled through. The woman relaxed her grip on the console. Rather than gracefully move through the debris, he instead launched himself right at her vessel. He might not have been bright, but he was swift.

“Tyra? We’re picking up a departing life sign. Everything alright? We’re standing by.”

“One of the crew is retrieving a scattered part of cargo. We are fine. Approach when ready.”

No response. The facade was failing. Clunk. Fortunately it wouldn’t have to last much longer. She rushed over to the airlock as Joshua walked in with a hefty amount of materials.

“Hand me the portions!” she said, swiping them from Joshua. With a yank she pulled off her own radio and slapped it on him. “Satiate their curiosity. Do not let them approach this vessel.”

The man wordlessly nodded from behind his helmet and marched over to the bridge. The insectoid meanwhile scrambled down below. Passing by the crew quarters with little respect. She could apologize to her fallen friends later. Her life would not be in vain. Not at all.

She squeezed through a smaller door that led down into the engines. Tools were nearby, ready for use. Splaying out the parts on the ground, she made sure everything was ready for use. Pulsor, coordinator and… the pinpointer? Where was the pinpointer? Her ship screamed another alarm. They were out of time.

“Tyra! Hurry up! They’re approaching!” Joshua yelled. “I'm not becoming the latest bounty for these nobodies!”

She pried those fried components loose and tossed them aside. With as utmost care as her panicking form would allow, she poorly welded the first part in place and hooked it up.

Another scream of the ship.

The insectoid hastily mashed in the next part. Welded. Connected. Only a quick tug was enough to confirm that it was in place properly. She ran off, right back up to the bridge. That smaller vessel was indeed closer and gearing up to inspect the alien ship. The controls came right up out of a box in the front.

A pulse from the hostile ship caused the entire alien vessel to rock, knocking the insectoid over. Joshua with his magnetic boots kept upright. He took the initiative and marched over to the controls, his hands hovering over them. He shot a wary look back at her.

“Throttle left! Steer right!” she shouted.

The ship lurched forward and drunkenly swung around. The pulsor was working. Her ship groaned, not in alarm, but in agony as it smashed into the debris that surrounded it. Another wave came from the enemy. There was a whine as the ship shot forward. They were off.

They were not safe.

In a panic, the ship let out a shrill scream. The bridge was bathed in a blood red as the lights shifted. A hot ball of plasma careened past them, briefly washing out the red with a bright blue. The insectoid scrambled to her feet and slammed into a computer, barely managing to steady herself.

There was little recourse in their situation. While the pulsor could push them forward, it wouldn’t be enough for a proper escape. Life or death was now in the hands of shoddy work and broken hopes. Another pulse came. No time, no options, nothing else to lose.

“Prepare yourself!” she yelled. With scrambling taps, she triggered the engine. It whirred to life and shook the ship. It would work, or they were dead. Fate was fickle. A gentle warmth washed over her as the window went dark.