FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Six months have passed since Magnum unveiled himself on the world of Balleva, after a massive but short conflict the worlds are now united together effectively under one flag. Now having been away from Earth for almost three years he is getting ready to go back into the fray as the Mystic Alliance has settled into the galactic community as many things surrounding them has stabilized. The mystic wolf is ready to launch a new operation, one he isn't sure about but one that may lead to something more...

Over at Magnum's and Vanessa's home, Magnum is standing in front of kneeling Bensen with Vanessa, Sabrina and Marie being present with Elvo, Derra, Marouge and Poralla present on the viewer, Bensen is wearing red robes while Magnum is wearing his knight robes and holding a sword by it's grip while the skunk is cradling his own.

Magnum places the sword on Bensen's right shoulder with the flat side placed on top "Recite the oath!"

The skunk closes his eyes "I swear upon this weapon that I shall be a bulwark against evil. To shield the innocent and just, to put the dark and corrupt to the sword. My blade is to strike true. My armor to protect my body. My mind to resist the horrors. My will to see the battle through. Let those who lurk in the dark form their plans, I shall cast the shadow aside. And place unto them retribution, for now I am a knight."

The wolf brings his sword around Bensen's head with the blade nearly touching his left shoulder "Raise our head.", the skunk looks to the wolf "I now declare you a Freeblade in service. Rise my apprentice, for you graduate this day." bringing his sword away from skunk and having the sword going straight up with the blade just in front of his muzzle.

Bensen rises and follows his movements to where he is doing the same position as the wolf "I am honored master, for now we are brothers and we shall join our steel in arms."

Both anthros brings their blades together as their gazes lock onto each other, the wolf continuing "And may your crusades and enemies be worthy." with that the two put their swords away and the small 'crowd' cheers

Derra gives a smirk "Excellent work Bensen, who knows we may end up on the same battlefield." and chuckles.

Bensen nods at him "I'll be looking forward to it.", he looks to the wolf "Thank you Magnum, for letting me do this."

Magnum gives a snicker "Don't let it go to your head, it wasn't just me after all."

Vanessa comes over and gives her son a hug "I'm so proud of you.", she looks to him "I'll be scared to death but I'm glad you followed what you wanted to do."

Bensen gives his mom a return embrace "Thanks mom, no worries we can handle what's thrown at us."

Magnum nods to himself as the mature skunk lets her son go as Marouge and Poralla give their own congrats, the two married women giving great applause along with the coyote.

The wolf looks to everyone "And now we have our new knight, we can put in motion the briefing.", he looks to the coyote "Elvo?"

The coyote smirks and brings up a holographic display "After decrypting the image we discovered along with the box that contained the mystic artifact. It depicts not just the return of their race but something else, the engraved story makes mention of what is simply referred to as the 'Shifting Crimson', it is unknown what this exactly is but after cross referencing I discovered in the second to last layer a map."

The image of the put together stained glass comes up and it looks to be depicting a battle of some kind, suddenly the image turns bright blue and black with the layers being analyzed to where it shows a star chart.

"After processing it and accounting a rough approximation with celestial charts, it reveals something amazing."

Magnum folds his arms "Which is?"

The coyote eyes him "What ever it is that this chart shows that it lies in... the Sol System."

The wolf blinks "As in where I am from?" earning a nod from his digital sister.

Everyone looks to the wolf and the chart being shown, the coyote continues to explain that while it doesn't explain what the Shifting Crimson is it does speak of an old, evil force but no name is given for what it is.

Marouge sighs "Another puzzle?", she looks to the wolf "And it's in your home system?"

Magnum looks at the chart "So it seems...", he mentally sighs 'I haven't been there almost three years now... I wonder what has changed.', he looks around "Alright, we'll deploy to the Sol System and conduct a search as best we can... at least this time we aren't trying to comb a sector."

It is decided that they'll all meet at Balleva where Magnum is and they'll head out then with Derra and Marouge giving the estimate that they'll arrive in a few days, as they want to make sure they have an adequate force in case things go south. The issue however is the path does go through a lot of enemy territory and they'll need to be careful as a lot of the space is occupied by new cults that use the curved seven. Magnum is more the confident they can get this done it's just a question of getting there, besides Magnum now has a few new tricks up his sleeve to hopefully make things easier. Derra, Marouge and Poralla end their transmission as they acknowledge the rendezvous and Elvo sends them what data she has uncovered.

Vanessa steps forward "May we come with you?" with Marie and Sabrina eyeing the group.

Bensen blinks at his mom "Well... it's Magnum's call.", he looks to the wolf "What do you think?"

Magnum puts on a thinking expression as his eyes switch back and fourth, he comes to a choice "I'll allow it, but please remember, even with all the comforts the new ship has, it is a warship first and foremost."

The three ladies give some cheer as Elvo raises a brow at the wolf with Bensen looking a little unsure himself. With that Vanessa, Sabrina and Marie go to get packed up... with a list of what they can bring and to be a little conservative in their selections, though he knew to extent it was a little wishful thinking at best. After Bensen leaves to go get ready, Elvo inquires why Magnum was allowing them to come with them giving the operation, the wolf simply responding that he didn't see the harm in it as it would give them a chance to see the wider universe while being in a safe spot, plus he thinks after Vanessa sees that Bensen can handle himself in the field it won't bother her as much as it would. The simulations the skunk has done yeilded great scores and results though he has yet to see actual combat, but he looks like he can handle himself well.

The next day the group arrives at the space port where the Howl of Silver is parked, the corvette having received proper repair and upgrades into the Howl of Silver Kai, the dark blue underside and eyes have been changed to teal and while the armament remains unchanged, the ship now sports a new hybrid plasma generator infused with mystic technology and shield systems, resulting in higher output for the energy weapons and having better protection. To grant a better power to weight ratio, the armor has been replaced by a new form of composite armor forged from mystic materials and while the same thickness the result is armor that is far more durable but at a third less weight, the engine systems also revived upgrades in the form of a more robust cooling system while more powerful stabilizers and balancers were put into the ships hull. After revealing himself, Magnum brought in one of his depots via remote link and helped speed up the repairs while upgrading the ship at the same time... but that was but a prelude to something more.

Vanessa, Sabrina and Marie step onto the bridge for the first time with Magnum and Bensen leading the way, they look out onto the room with holographic displays and Magnum's command chair in it's center with a few other stations. The sight of it puts them in awe, the vast tech that this portion has is nothing short of amazing like the rest of the ship, from the drones to workshops and launchers. Magnum tells everyone to buckle up and Elvo begins the flight preparations, the Howl of Silver comes to life and it soon leaves the space port, it breaks the atmosphere and re-orientates itself to where something far more impressive is in visual range. A dreadnought-sized vessel is hanging in orbit, the vessel is five thousand meters in length with a wingspan of five thousand six hundred and a height of twelve-hundred meters, it bares shark teeth like the Howl of Silver but looks even more like a bird of prey given it's mighty wings. The three ladies have seen footage of the mighty machine but to see it gives quite a feeling of awe and inspiration while at the same time aura of dread and uncertainty.

Magnum smirks "It's time for the Howling Crusader's maiden voyage and it's first operation."

The mature skunk looks to him "I can't believe between you and Elvo you made that thing in only a few months."

The wolf glances to her "She's an army and fleet all on her own, the armament is meant to deal with targets equal to it down to attack craft, plus it also sports craft of it's own along with drones and battle automata.", he looks back at the vessel "With shields and armor to match."

The Howl of Silver reaches a bay on the underside of the dreadnought with clamps bringing it further into the ship before a large hatch slides and seals the entry way before moving downward and lock in place in tandem with the rest of the hull. Drones begin to move cargo as the corvette gets hooked up to the dreadnought with Magnum giving a short tour, given the ships immense size the vessel has various tram systems to make getting around easier, the wings storing fighters, bombers and assault craft along with stowage for parts and elements of the plasma torpedo bays, the central structure having the living quarters and the bulk of the factories. It is here they see for the first time a new automata, this machine looks like a cross between the Gypse and the Vector, the main color is white with the ears, shoulders and lower legs being teal as a red visor makes up the facial features while a dark blue 'M' resides on the right shoulder, Magnum informs them that it is the Gypse Mass Production Type.

The bridge of the vessel of one of marvel engineering, the vessel bares holographic displays though if need be there is the option to switch to a more traditional display with an almost 360 degree view thanks to the external viewers, towards the back is a large map holo-table with a command chair more towards the front but also suspended in the air with various stations, all with at the very back single person tubes that leads to where the launcher for the knights power armor and Elvo's automata are located. The three ladies are overwhelmed by it all as the atmosphere gives off this faint, dark blue light as it joins the standard lighting, the screens showing off space in wonderful fashion.

Elvo comes up via holo-display "All data is synced and our course is set."

Bensen glances to the wolf "This ship is amazing, no matter how many times I've come and gone, I don't know what to think of it." giving a grin.

Magnum takes a few steps towards the front "It's a new and uncertain age... just means we need to be better prepared for what may come."

The sensors detect a phenomena at the edge of the system and the ships aligned with the Everglaive along with Marouge's fleet arriving shortly after, the sight of the Hunter of the Damned baring the colors of the Knight Order at the fleets center being of great focus. Confirmation comes from the two fleets as the Howling Crusader gives confirmation as well before moving towards them, with the knights and vixens forces amazed by the sight of the ship.

Derra looks to his sensor operator "What can you make of it?"

The operator works his console and becomes stunned "That thing in terms of displacement it greatly dwarfs the Hunter and it's power is off the charts.", he looks to Derra "And those big guns aren't for looks!"

The hyena looks to the approaching dreadnought "That's Magnum for you, always pushing the envelope." a smirk emerges on his features "I wonder how well this one will perform, the Howl of Silver was a monster all on it's own... I can't wait to see what kind of a beast can do."

Marouge and Poralla are looking over their own sensor data and to the lupines new creation with the bridge crew in sheer shock.

The weasel looks out into the void "We knew it would be big... but we didn't think it was going to be like this."

The vixen nods to herself as she makes her way to her command chair "And we have the Hunter of the Damned with us as well.", she looks to her wife "What is he expecting?" while the weasel moves over to her while looking at a data pad.

Poralla hits a few buttons "Magnum did say in his statement that we need to be prepared given the Mystic Alliance is now around, he's just being prepared."

Marouge's eyes go towards the massive ship 'I trust you Magnum... but this is overkill.'

The Howling Crusader joins the other ships and they begin to get into position for jump, Marouge, Poralla and Derra being invited over to examine the dreadnought for themselves, which they agree to at a later time. Magnum begins to show everyone to their quarters with Bensen, Marie and Sabrina being given their own while Magnum and Vanessa share, the quarters are decently sized, about the size of an apartment with all the qualities of home like the comfort a liner provides. The five get settled in as they make their quarters how they like it with Bensen, Marie and Sabrina crashing on their beds and relaxing while Magnum and Vanessa cuddle on the king size bed as they exchange some kisses.

Vanessa eyes him "Thanks for letting us come along, I hope we can provide you with some support." giving him the feminine smile he's acoustomed to.

The wolf happily sighs "It's my pleasure.", he looks to her "Besides you will be safe in the ships hull and plus having the three of you with us gives you a chance at seeing the stars and what they hold."

The skunk gives a light nod "And we are heading to your home system... I know things were bad, but are you looking forward to it?"

Magnum shakes his head "I may not be going to Earth, too many bad memories.The only thing left there that really matters to me now is my dad and for all I know he may think I am dead by now." looking down by the end.

Vanessa uses her muzzle to bring his gaze back up "I understand that it's hard for you, but would it really hurt for you see your father and that his son is happy with what he has chosen?"

Magnum blinks a couple times as he thinks "I suppose not."

The mature skunk gives him a kiss "It's up to you hon, I just don't want you to regret anything."

The two lay there for a few moments and Elvo contacts Magnum saying that the new suit is ready. He asks Vanessa if she would like to join but she decides to stay in the room and see if she can get some rest, he gives her a kiss and leaves, after getting into an emergency tube to get to where the launcher is, he heads into the nearby hanger followed by the RnD lab just down the hall from it. He enters and comes near face-to-face with his new suit. It's follows a somewhat similar pattern to the Albion, but the binders are shaped like angel wings, the shoulders are more rounded as a shield is on the left forearm while a blaster is mounted on the right with a power sword on it's hip.

Elvo appears "The Seraphim is ready for deployment."

The wolf moves towards the power armor "The real result of mystic tech being put into power armor. The tests are promising, but now it is a trial by fire, both the data from the Albion and the technology provided by Mo'Ceva has truly given us a formidable weapon indeed." examining the entire unit.

The a.i. coyote pulls up some data "I have finished tuning the mainframe and adjusted the gyro-stabilizer, I have also applied the needed changes for the Gypse MK II and the Hummel."

Magnum looks to the right and there are two more units, one has a similar appearance to the Gypse but has wing binders and some minor visual changes, the other is an extensively modified MP-45 for knight use, it's red and white with hazard stripes on the forearms and knees, on the right shoulder is a 35mm cannon, green lens for the eyes in one long piece of reinforced glass with 'B-03' on the left shoulder.

Magnum begins to look them over as well "And you still have the original Gypse?"

The coyote nods "Indeed, it's next to the Vector Kai in the hanger." with a grin "Never hurts to have a reserve unit." giving a wink.

The wolf puts on a thinking look "I wonder how this tech would work if we make a better version of the tesla suit."

His sister giggles "Come on, you haven't played with the new suit yet and you already want a new toy?"

Magnum chuckles as he rubs the back of his head "Yeah good point.", he looks to her "Maybe after this operation is done..." the coyote raises a brow with a smirk "...but knowing me I'll probably end up doing it of I am bored." which earns a nod from her.

Elvo folds her arms "Let's be realistic though, with Vanessa and others being here, you aren't going to be bored at all, they'll keep you occupied."

The wolf looks to the Seraphim "True, but they know that know we are on mission now, so hopefully things don't get too out of hand."

The coyote moves to his side "Also Magnum, I think you chose the name well... it does look like an angel."

Magnum blinks for a moment as he thinks of a response "My mom saved me back on Balleva, Seraphim is my way of honoring her memory.", he looks to his sister "Have the limiters been turned off?"

Elvo sighs "They are offline, though I highly recommend that we re-enable them until we get a better idea of full capabilities of the power armor."

"I understand your concerns Elvo, but I think I'll be alright.", he gives a light yawn "I'm gonna go get some rest, if anything comes up alert me at once please."

Elvo nods to the wolf and he steps out, the coyote looks to the Seraphim in concern, the simulations paint quite a picture of what this power armor is capable of with the technology they have put into it. The Albion was a power house but Magnum at least could control it, the Seraphim on the other hand she isn't so sure.

The a.i. begins to get the power armors and her new automata into the hanger, running many simulations in her framework, she comes to the conclusion that it's likely the Seraphim won't be stressed given the cults and their known capabilities along with taking into account the capabilities of their combined forces. Elvo also looks at the tesla and vector suits, noticing a layer of dust on the former and the upgraded latter, an idea comes to mind but she quickly dismisses it...

'Please, seeing any of our passengers putting on one these wouldn't work out.' being amused at the thought 'It is kind of funny though.'

Magnum is laying with Vanessa, the wolf is asleep and he and the skunk cuddle, but Vanessa is tiredly watching over him with a smirk, she gives him a faint kiss before gently rubbing her muzzle into his hair.

The skunk happily sighs to herself 'Where ever you go, I will follow. I understand that you are doing your duty and I'll try to stay out of your way, but I'm happy to be here to help support... I think it'll help.' the mystic does some movements in his sleep to where he's fully embracing her 'Plus you, Sabrina and I could get into our escapades.', she gives him another kiss 'I don't know, we'll have to see how that'll work out too.'

........................................

Circie's fleet is moving through a jump, Kathleen is looking over the depraved crew as they go about their routine, she looks to a nearby graph which is showing a map of some kind.

The unicorn eyes her as she flashes a grin "Darling, you've been quiet for the past few hours, normally your giving an order or something."

The jackal rolls her eyes "I'm trying to figure this thing out.", she glares at the mare "Why is it you never have any of this translated, if half your stuff was we could gain the edge we need!"

Circie waves her off "Think of it as adding to your craft and perfecting it."

Kathleen scoffs 'Yeah? Like your toys?!'

An operator gets their attention "One of our fleets is informing us of a large crusade fleet!"

The jackal goes over to him "Are they aware of us?"

The operator checks the data "Based on their telemetry they are following our path, but their speed doesn't suspect they are trying to intercept."

Circie raises her staff "Have the forces in that area attack, they'll be speed bump but what the hay, it might buy us a little more time.", she gets an idea "Actually notify all forces along their route to engauge them on sight."

An officer sends a transmission to their allied forces, but the jack is looking out into the void... if Magnum is with this crusading force, things will get interesting very fast. This map better lead to something that'll shift the odds in their favor, as Kathleen is honestly thinking of trying to dispatch Circie with how crazy the mare drives her.

.......................................

The crusading fleet exits their jump with the Howling Crusader having taken point, the sight of a fleet closing in catching them off guard, all baring the curved seven...

Magnum steps forward "Let's show em our new teeth!", he aims his pointer at them "FIRE AT WILL!!!"

The dreadnought zooms forward like a fighter craft, those in the enemy fleet begin to open fire in panic, the large guns of the dread open fire, each shot destroying the lighter vessels with a few needed to take out a cruiser, upon getting closer the many beam weapons scattered across the ships surface open fire, the dreadnought swoops through the fleet and quickly comes back around.

The wolf smirks 'There's a new hunter in the void now!', he looks to Elvo "Let's deploy our units, but hold the boarding craft for now, we can deal with them easily.", he glances to Bensen "Time to armor up!"

Bensen grins "Heck yeah! Time for a real fight!"

"Don't let it go to your head." the mystic giving a light shake.

The two take the tubes that lead straight to the launcher as the ladies on the bridge wish them luck, the two emerge from the tubes and run towards the armorers as the Gypse MK II begins to head towards the catapult.

Bensen glances to the wolf "Why are we boarding them when we can just reduce them to dust?"

Magnum spreads his arms as the machines begin to scan on their body suits "Standard battle operations declare that capturing at least one ship is required for purposes of intelligence gathering if able as it can lead to us uncovering plans and the the like."

The machines build their suits around them as the Gypse launches, their suits are put together quickly, they gather their hand held gear and they begin to make their way to the launcher, they get side by side as they get on the two catapults.

Elvo's voice comes through "Catapult ratios have been adjusted, transferring control to you guys."

Magnum nods "Magnum here, Seraphim launching!" with that the catapult moves and hurls the armored wolf into the void.

Bensen takes a soft gulp "Bensen confirming, Hummel deploying!" and his catapult throws him into space.

Elvo's hologram on the bridge nods "All three units are deployed, sealing main launcher now!" as she brings up various screens around her.

Vanessa, Sabrina and Marie are watching the battle unfold, they see some feeds showing the Gypse Seraphim and Hummel, seeing the enemy deploy power armored units and converted exo suits to meet them. Vanessa is worried about both Magnum and her son, but she knows that Magnum can hold his own and that he'll watch over Bensen while out in the field, they remember the war that came and went that lead to their system finally reuniting and how scared everyone was, with Bensen being drafted in case they were attacked with Marie also getting a notice of being drafted on the second day. Now they were on the front themselves and despite being protected by the dreadnoughts shields and armor, their hearts are tightening as their eyes scan it all.

Vanessa closes her eyes for a moment 'Good luck boys.'

............................

Bensen aims the 35mm shoulder cannon and fires with the weapons handle and trigger system, he fires three rounds with the first striking a cruiser in the starboard side while the second destroys a corrupted mp-45 while the third strikes the cruiser in a sensor array. An exo unit comes at Bensen with an industrial saw, Bensen boosts away as he grabs his .50 cal assault rifle, he opens fire and riddles the entire unit with holes until it decompresses and eventually stops, a beam comes and destroys the remains of the exo armor, the skunk looks and sees the Gypse flying past him.

Bensen takes a deep breath of air as he regains his nerves and follows the automata 'I gotta try to keep my nerves in check.'

Magnum comes beside him "Elvo is going to occupy them, we're going in!"

The skunk gives a gulp "Y-Yes master!"

The wolf blinks as they get closer to the enemy ship "Are you okay Bensen?"

"Yeah, I'm just catching me breath."

Magnum gives a visible nod "Follow my lead!"

As the two get closer, the ships point defense begins to open fire on them, despite Magnum's reassurance that their upgraded suits can shrug off the enemy fire with ease, the skunk is scared out of his mind. Magnum aims the cannon on his suits right arm at an airlock and fires, breaching the entry way and the two enter the vessel, a blast door seals the breach as the two get their barrings.

The wolf looks to the skunk "Remember Bensen, these guys have only one goal when it comes to us, their aim is to kill us, never take your weapons or armor for granted, as glorious as it is you never know if something will go wrong or not, also always keep in mind what you have to work with."

Bensen readies his machine gun "Copy that!"

The two begin to advance with the wolf taking the lead while Bensen takes up a support role by covering the rear, the .50 cal shredding through the cultists and militia forces, an exo comes at them but Bensen quickly fires his 35mm and effectively blows it apart as the round goes out into the void and creating a hull breach. Another exo comes and slams a large jackhammer at Magnum, the wolf blocks with his shield which breaks the industrial tool and fires a beam from his maw which obliterates it and they wade their way through the infantry, a cultist fires a rocket launcher and his the Seraphim square in the chest but the suit doesn't even have a scratch, the wolf smirks at the attacker before cutting him down.

Bensen reloads his machine gun "These guys are crazy! They just keep hurling themselves at us!"

The wolf cleaves another foe in half "It's their general tactic, they believe in numbers rather then quality troops, but never underestimate them, I've seen them rip knights apart."

The rest of the enemy outside is being quickly wiped out as the two knights clear the cruiser out, Bensen begins to get use to the fighting as Magnum handles a decent chunk of the fighting. The two make it to the bridge and it is quite a sight, the room is covered in crimson with a glowing crystal at it's center, this red robed figure steps around covered in bones.

The figure looks to the pair "It is true, you do have a new ship... but a false idol never becomes valid no matter how much praise it gets."

Magnum readies his sword as he rolls his eyes "I am no idol, but I still have to kill you."

The figure readies dagger but not in a threatening matter "I have seen many things, it is only fitting I give you a glimpse." and with a quick motion he cuts his throat, crimson sprays onto the small crystal as he collapses. The two look to each other with Bensen making sure the bridge is secured while Magnum investigates the scene.

Magnum raises a brow 'That's a first...', he looks to the crystal and notices it's absorbing the blood 'What the heck is going on?'

The crystal suddenly begins to sparks and shoots at Magnum, the energy sending shocks into him as it catches Bensen's attention as the mystic yells from the shock, Bensen fires a burst which destroys the crystal and with it Magnum collapses.

Bensen runs over to him "Magnum! Are you okay?!", no response comes "Magnum?!", he quickly connects to Elvo "Magnum is down, I need assistance!"

The coyotes voices through "Copy that, I'm sending my unit in and notifying the Everglaive. Stay with him in the meantime!"

The doors to the bridge open, the skunk opens fire "Hurry! The enemy is moving in!"

To be continued...