FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Author's note: Salutations everyone, here the 4th chapter of my series 'Galaxy", took me some time to get this right. I for one enjoyed writing this chapter for the interaction between Kayla and David and I think you guys will like it too. I also got a proofreader again so the grammar in this chapter won't as bad as the others.

In other news, my stories got a grand total of 10000 reads! Sweet Jesus I didn't expect that when I first started out and I got this milestone thanks to you guys so a round of applause to you all. For sticking with me and motivating me to keep doing this.

Now enough blabbering out of me, enjoy this chapter! Further questions or remarks are welcome below. If you like the series be sure to fav/vote and feel free to leave a comment. Feedback is apreciated.

Languages: "English" "Unige" *thoughts*

Disclaimer: Characters belong to me unless mentioned otherwise.

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[Several hours ago]

"What do you mean I'm being moved to a secure facility?!" asked Kayla in a confused and angry tone.

Thannis crossed her arms in front of her chest and took a defensive pose. "I mean it exactly as I said it, we're moving you to our research facility for safety reasons and because we need you there."

Kayla's aggressive tone dropped the second Thannis said she needed her. "Need me? For what?"

"You are still the only person here on this planet our new 'guest' trusts somewhat. We need to keep an eye on him without him realizing it."

Kayla did not like the idea of being David's personal prison guard. "So you want me to be his warden."

"Yes and no, we need someone to watch him when he's in his quarters but we figure having someone he knows and can talk to might improve the quality of his time with us."

"Oh I'm sure his well being is your top priority..."

Thannis shot Kayla a venomous glare. "I'm not sure I like that tone of yours, Miss Kayla. Remember that we don't know his true intentions and therefore have to be cautious."

"So why not simply use cameras to watch him?"

"Because we believe being surrounded by cameras at all times will make him grow more hostile towards us."

"Do I have a choice?" Kayla remarked with a sigh.

"No, we prepped your ride and you are leaving immediately. Your belongings have already been moved to your new temporary 'house'. I suggest you make the best out of it." Twobulky leopard anthros in black suits entered the room and stood by the door."These two will escort you to the transport vehicle; as a safety measure we need to blindfold you."

"Blindfold me?!"

"Yes, you are being moved to our top secret research facility. You cannot know its location or tell anyone about the existence of this facility, as you can imagine. We're running late so let's get going." Thannis walked behind Kayla and blindfolded her. The next thing she knew was Kayla was being guided through the building into a vehicle. She had no idea how much time passed before they finally stopped and opened the doors. She could hear other vehicles stopping as well. She was led inside a building and made to walk quite a way before entering a room where her blindfold was taken off.

"Welcome to your new home, miss Kayla."

Kayla blinked at the sudden brightness of having her blindfold removed. Once she could see again she saw she was standing in what looked like an abandoned living area. There was dust everywhere and she was sure the walls weren't supposed to be that shade of grey. She could see doors leading to other rooms and she assumed they looked more like the one she was in. She could see her belongings piled up in the middle of the room.

"Apologies for the state of these quarters but they are the only ones they had available. At least you'll have something to keep you busy," Thannis said from behind her before turning to door and leave saying, "Enjoy your stay."

*Great, just great. This is exactly what I needed! Being carried away from my work and everything to some unknown location and dumped into an ancestral forsaken 'house' to spend ancestors know how long!*

In her mental rant she knocked over a chair which caused some of the dust to whip up, making her cough.

*No, I will not be brought down by this. I've been through harder stuff. Like that guy who was so constipated they needed to clean him out the other way.* Kayla shuddered at the disgusting memory. *I'll get through this, yeah. I'll clean this place right up! In fact, I'm going to make this place so fantastic they'll envy it!*

Kayla looked around in the closets and found all the cleaning equipment she needed. She grabbed a rather futuristic looking broom and held it in the air in an anime pose. "I'll show them what I'm capable of! YATA!"

In the following hours Kayla did nothing but clean up the entire living quarters. Luckily, the rooms weren't big but they sure were all as dusty and filthy as the living room. She managed to get rid of the dust and dried up filth on the floor and walls that her wonder what happened here. She discovered her living quarters existed of a living room, a kitchen, a bathing and washing area and two separate bedrooms. After Kayla was done with the cleaning, which took a long time, she unpacked her belongings and stored them away in closets and tried to make the place a little cozier. To her relief there were cooking supplies scattered around the kitchen area and a working storage area with automatic food supply refreshers. When she finally sorted her belongings out, she dropped down face first on the couch with a big sigh.

"By the ancestors, I'm exhausted." She lifted her head up to look around the living room briefly. "At least this place looks like an actual place to live in."

She took a look at her white coat and tail and noticed that she herself was covered in dust and filth.

"I need a bath; I'm simply covered in dust." Kayla stood up with a grunt and slowly made her way to the bathroom. She undressed as she let the bathtub fill with warm water. She slowly lowered herself into the hot water with a sigh of relief.

"Oh yeah, I needed this badly."

She slowly cleaned herself, wanting to enjoy the warm water for as long as possible. Some time later her fur was clean enough and she drained the now cold and filthy water. Naked, she stepped out of the tub and grabbed a towel to wrap it around her. As she went for the towel she thought she heard something in the room next door.

*Is someone in the living area? No that's impossible, this room has a printed lock*

A printed lock was a lock that required a paw print and a single hair to confirm the identity of the one wanting access. The hair had to be fresh to prevent outsmarting the system, and, seeing as how she hadn't left the 'house' for hours, it was impossible for anyone to enter but her. Still, her slightly paranoid bran started giving her mental images of an assailant kicking down the door to kill her -or worse. She put the towel around her body and combed her fur and tail.

*Silly me, like someone would actually get in here and kick down that do-*

During her mental conversation she had turned towards to door as if to confirm her mental reassurance but instead of a locked door she saw that someone had jumped inside the room with a battlecry. Kayla's mind went blank in panic as she feared for her life. She gave a shriek and the next thing she knew, she had blacked out.

[Back in the present]

"Fuck." was all that David could say as he tried to figure out what to do with Kayla lying on the ground in the bathroom, unconscious.

*Okay, calm down, David. This was unfortunate but no harm has been done. What should I do?*

David took another glance at Kayla trying to find a way to solve this predicament.

*Okay, the best solution is to move her to the bed where she is comfortable and less likely to freak out when she wakes up.*

David slowly lowered himself and carefully put his hands under Kayla without removing the towel around her or touching her somewhere inappropriate.

*Brad would surely laugh at me now, carrying an unconscious naked girl to her bed.*

David slowly made his way back to the living room carrying Kayla bridal-style only to realize he had no idea where the bedroom was.

*Oh joy, I didn't think that part through.*

He picked a door randomly and through careful maneuvering was able to open it, revealing a king sized bed in a fresh smelling bedroom with closets and a night stand.

*Oh thank you whatever deity is up there.*

David made his way to the bed and carefully laid Kayla down. For the first time did he finally get to examine her form. He was amazed by how soft and white her fur and her big fluffy tail were. Her curvaceous form would surely have enticed him if she were human; it had a certain appeal to it. He quickly shook his head in an attempt to rid his mind of such thoughts.

*Ok, I think she's comfortable. Now what?*

David, being unsure about what to do, decided instead to wait beside the bed for Kayla to wake up and explain to her what had happened. However, it was getting late and David was tired after his entire ordeal today. It didn't take long for him to doze off.

Coincidentally, this was when Kayla started to wake up. It took her a second to figure out where she was and it didn't take long before she spotted a figure sitting in a chair in the corner of the room. However she hadn't forgotten what had happened right before she had passed out and jumped right up, holding the towel to her and screaming loudly, not realizing it was David.

This of course startled David, making him jump out of his chair to look around at what was happening. He saw that Kayla was awake and panicking.

"Wow, easy there, Kayla! It's me, David!"

That caught her attention as she was getting out of the bed, standing on the opposite side of it.

"David? You can talk?!"

_"_Yeah, that Thannis lady did something to my brain and apparently I can now speak and understand your language."

"But you tried to attack me in the bathroom!"

"Yeah, sorry about that. I didn't know you were here and I thought someone was waiting to jump at me."

"Wait, why ARE you here?"

"I'm supposed to be living here; why are YOU here?"

"Oh you got to be kidding me," Kayla said to herself quietly.

"What? What's wrong?"

"I'm supposed to live here too," Kayla said with an annoyed look on her face.

"Wait, what? They didn't say any of this t-"

Suddenly David started blushing, his eyes going big for a moment and then he quickly turned away from Kayla. Before Kayla could ask what was wrong David suggested, "Uhm, Kayla, you might want to, uhm, dress yourself."

Kayla looked at herself and suddenly noticed that her towel was left behind on the bed in her effort to get up as fast as possible, leaving her naked in front of David. She covered herself up quickly with her hands and asked David to leave the room for some privacy. David obliged and went to the living room, waiting for her on the couch. She came out of the room wearing only a big red shirt that looked a few sizes too large for her but covered everything up.

She sat down in the couch a few inches away from him, but didn't make eye contact. There was an awkward silence until David finally started talking.

"I'm sorry, for what it's worth."

His apology granted him a cold stare from Kayla.

"If this is about the whole bathroom thing then you don't have to-"

"I don't mean that, I mean...this," he lifted his hand in the air, signaling the entire room.

"It's because of me that you are here and not in your home, sleeping in your bed. Instead you're in some living quarters in a government facility with an alien."

"You can't blame yourself for this, it's not like you planned this."

"You got that right, if it was up to me I'd be home right now with... my ship..."

Kayla saw how David's mood changed from sulking to downright sad.

"David? Are you ok?" Kayla asked, looking at him while he was still staring at the ground.

"Yeah, yeah I'm... I'm..." David tried to say but his broken voice did nothing to hide his true emotions. After a long silence, he continued.

"You know, when we left on my ship I told the crew... my crew, that this mission would be a breeze. Just go to some place, get what we needed and then return home. There was nothing that could go wrong..."

Kayla could hear David fighting tears but let him talk, it seemed like he needed this.

"I told them that, Kayla, I told them that... that they would be back home before they knew it and... *sniff*... now they're all dead! All of them!" David didn't know why he was telling her this, but it felt right. It felt like a heavy weight was slowly lifted off of him. At this point David lost the battle with his tears. He looked her straight in the eye even though he couldn't see her clearly due to the tears in his eyes.

"They trusted me... they relied on me... and I failed them. I was supposed to bring them back home... but all I did was send them to their graves. My entire crew, my ship, everything's gone."

David couldn't look her in the eye anymore; his pent up emotions finally burst out. What happened next, David didn't expect. Kayla had crept closer to him and now pulled him closer to her. Being in his emotional state David accepted the impending hug, hugging her tightly as she put her arm around him while he continued to weep.

Kayla couldn't imagine what it must be like to him, sure she lost patience and that in turn always made her sad. Sometimes even to tears but she felt this was on a larger scale. She understood that David felt responsible for the death of everyone on board on the ship that crashed but she also felt it couldn't have been his fault entirely. However, she didn't want to go in deeper on the matter, he didn't need this. He needed to let his emotions surface; they had probably been building up to this point. He needed an ear to talk to and a shoulder to cry on. Not someone pointing out if he was wrong or right.

The weeping continued for several minutes until David slowly quietened down. Kayla still had her arm around him when he stopped. She looked down at him and saw that he had fallen asleep.

*Poor guy, he must have been holding all of that in for days.*

Kayla yawned, feeling tired as well, but she didn't dare disturb David. Instead, she curled her tail around the both of them that acted like a large blanket. She looked down at David again and couldn't help but be surprised. Here he was, an alien lifeform. Nothing like they'd ever seen before and yet, just like everyone else. He needed a friend right now. It amazed her how someone so alien to her as a species could be so similar as a person. Her train of thought didn't continue for long as she herself now let sleep claim her, never removing her arm from David.

[The next morning]

David woke up from a buzzing alarm in the room. He didn't jump upright as others would have since he was used to being woken by a drill sergeant. He gathered his bearings, realizing he had fallen asleep on the couch. He looked around but didn't see Kayla; he smelled something though. He wasn't sure what it was but it smelled good. He followed his nose and got to the kitchen area where he found Kayla cooking something. She was wearing a pair of blue shorts, a darker blue short-sleeved shirt and an apron.

"Hello David, are you feeling any better?"

"Yeah, thanks. Also, sorry about yesterday. I don't know why I-"

"It's okay David, you went through a horrible experience and yesterday you broke down. It happens a lot to people who suppress their emotions after a traumatic experience. You aren't the first."

David felt a little better after his vent. Even though he still felt responsible for the death of his crew, it felt as if a giant weight had been lifted off his heart.

"Oh and you might want to change your clothes, David; those look a little worn out."

David looked down at his clothes. He had on an old military outfit. It did look like it hadn't been washed in ages and was beginning to smell. But maybe that was just one of the many unfamiliar smells this world had to offer.

"Yeah, perhaps that's not such a bad idea. I don't have clothes of my own though..."

"Oh I forgot to mention - that door behind you is your bedroom. I believe they've provided you with some spare clothes."

"Oh, thanks Kayla."

"You're welcome."

David went to his bedroom. It was smaller than Kayla's with a smaller bed and one closet. It had more piles of military clothing, only clean ones this time. David quickly changed his outfit and threw his filthy clothes in a dispenser labeled 'Clothing'. David returned to the kitchen area and saw Kayla sitting on the table, eating. David noticed an empty chair across the table with a plate in front of it and he sat down. Kayla just offered a smile as she continued eating.

David looked at this strangely shaped food, it reminded him of a chicken crossed with a tuna and the result looked ugly. Reluctantly, he took a bite and discovered that it was delicious. David proceeded to gobble down his meal, much to the amusement of Kayla.

Kayla finished her meal while David was still eating. She had a nagging question in the back of her mind, and decided go in on it.

"David?"

David looked up from his plate, swallowing. "Yes?"

"I have a question."

"Go ahead."

"You recall the time when we shook our paws at the hospital and told each other our names?"

It took David a second to recall the event. "Yes, what about it?"

"Well, is that a greeting, or..."

"Oh, yes it is a greeting, actually. It's very common in my society."

"Do you know if it means something?"

"Actually, yes I do, in the past we had people in metal armor who used swords to fight. In those times they used their right hand, or as you call it, paw, to draw their weapons. So people would stick out their right hand as a greeting to show the other they had no desire to fight and that they were unable to draw their weapon."

"That's very interesting."

"Oh, that reminds me, we also have a military salute based on a similar history fact."

"Oh? Do tell!"

"Well, our military salute is this." David raised his hand to his head, showing his empty palm while his fingers touched the side of his head. "This originated from those metal armor wearing times. The people would carry a helmet with a moveable part to cover and protect their eyes. So if you were going to greet someone you had to show your face by lifting up the movable part of your helmet, which imitated that hand gesture." David repeated the salute to help her visualize it.

"Oh wow, so you took old customs and integrated then into your modern day society. That's fascinating."

"You don't do that here?"

"No, we don't, all of that is tied to whoever is the leader of our people. They change it every time someone new is chosen to lead."

"Isn't that very confusing?"

"A little, but we're used to that so everyone adapts quickly."

Their conversation was interrupted by a stern knock on the door. One of the security guards stepped in with a simple and clear message, "Time to work," and left again.

"I guess that's me. I'll see you later, Kayla." David finished his plate, stood up and left, waving at Kayla. Kayla noted to herself to ask him about the hand-waving when he returned.

David was escorted by two armed guards to the hangar with the ships, and found Merin waiting there for him.

"Ah David, I hope you had a good rest."

"I did. Now, let's get started, shall we?"

"Sure, what do you suggest?"

"Well, I'd like to know how your current engines work. Based on that, we'll see how to improve them."

"Very well." Merin walked over to the fighter and opened up several panels. "As you can see, our engines are powered by Crust. We burn Crust up in a closed chamber with a single opening, providing thrust and propulsion."

"So, basically, a combustion engine."

"Exactly."

"But, why would you want to change that?" David asked, confused.

"What do you mean?" Merin asked, even more confused.

"Well, it's logical that the light fighter has a combustion engine. Why do you have problems with it?"

"Well, as I said before, we can't use it for interstellar travel."

"But that's just it. You don't use fighters for that."

Merin just stared at David as if he had no idea what the latter was talking about.

"Instead of using the fighter for interstellar travel, you could build a larger ship that CAN travel across planets with the fighters. That way you won't have to alter your fighters."

Merin's eyes lit up. "So instead of using the fighters to travel, you transport them into space. That way you don't have to provide additional fuel for them!"

"Exactly! Also, that way you don't have to provide them with heat shields for re-entry and divert more power to the weapons or provide actual shields."

"That's brilliant!" was all Merin had to say as he wrote down some notes with fervor.

"You honestly didn't think about that yourself?"

"No, it's so simple yet effective, I'm surprised myself."

The remainder of the way David told Merin the adjustments to be made on the fighter model and ways of improving energy efficiency by installing conduits. David was surprised at how sloppy they were with energy efficiency and the lack of insight in some basic logic while their weapon systems were maybe at par with the Human Alliance's.

David's knowledge of spaceships kept amazing Merin and without realizing it, he earned his trust and respect. Merin was shy at first, but after David told him of all his ideas Merin had never thought of before, he felt young again. He was ready to experiment and change the world as he knew it.

[Evening]

"And by doing that you will increase the output into the conduit crystal to further stimulate the emission of radiation for the laser weapon system."

"By the ancestors, David, I spent my entire life researching these machines but you have solved more problems than this whole department in my lifetime."

"Well, it's my job as captain to know these systems and how they work so that we don't have trouble in case we're stranded on another planet where the mechanics are not familiar with the systems."

"Huh, that's some good thinking." Merin looked at the time and noticed that it was time to stop. "Well, looks like we're done for today, David. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay, until tomorrow, Merin."

David was escorted back to his quarters and saw Kayla lying on the couch, watching TV. Upon entry she looked to David and smiled.

"Hey David, I heard you made quite an impression today."

"Oh? And how would you know that?" David asked, sitting down next to her.

"Well I do get out during the day. I work at the infirmary for the time being. I heard some patients talking about how much further you're bringing everyone's research."

"Well it's nice to know they value my knowledge. How did your work day go?"

"Pretty boring, an occasional cut or bruise. Nothing serious but they have to check in anyway, just in case."

Suddenly being reminded that David hadn't had dinner yet, he did have a meal in the mess hall at the hangar, his stomach growled. Kayla was about to comment on it when hers did the same. With an embarrassed glance at each other, both Kayla and David laughed.

"It's a good thing I made something to eat, then."

Kayla got up and walked towards the dining table where a meal was ready to be served. David followed swiftly and sat down across from her. As they ate, they told each other about their day. Kayla about the patients that rolled by and David about his work on the ship's engines. After dinner they both sat down on the couch and one topic leading to another, started talking about David's home planet, Earth.

"So after all those years of internal feuds, wars and fighting, your people were able to unite?"

"Yeah, the disaster was so big we had no choice. Our numbers were cut down by almost half and in order to fix it we needed to work together. In the end we did, and it was decided there wouldn't be any divisions between us. All of us united under one nation, one flag, one hope. The Human Alliance."

"It's so weird, your people in the past weren't worried about their race. Just themselves. It's the opposite of us. We're taught to work and stick together in order to keep the pack strong."

"Yes, well, us humans had a little bit of an attitude problem. In the end, all the political and religious disagreements seemed like nothing compared to what happened. I guess they simply put everything aside."

"It's one thing having those problems. It's another fixing them."

"Say, do you have any kind of problems here? I mean, sure, you're not humans, but there has to be something, right?"

"I'm... I'm sorry David. They told me I'm not allowed to share that kind of stuff with you."

"Oh... I see." David's friendly demeanor was gone. He was reminded of his situation and how he got there. Kayla felt the change in the mood but was unsure about how to solve it.

"I think it's best if we go to bed now, we both have jobs to attend to tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah, you're right."

They both got up and walked to their bedroom doors, both wishing each other a good night. Kayla went to bed feeling a little bad for David. David lay on his bed for an hour before finally falling asleep. He realized he needed to salvage his precious cargo without letting them know his intentions. His unanswered question to Kayla stayed in the back of his mind as he dozed off.

Little did David know that a few spaceships on another planet had all the intentions of answering that question for him. Soon.