FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"System scans are picking up a ping entering the system."

"Drive discharge?"

"Negative."

"Can't be a ship then."

It's large, and relatively slow."

"How large?"

"We're looking at least 5 kilometers."

"That couldn't be debris."

"No sir, its trajectory points to Trevaal. It's deliberate."

"Energy signatures?"

"Too far to pick up at the moment."

"Give me any data on it. Scramble planetary defenses. Call defense fleets."

"Sir an outpost on one of Venusha's moons caught images. They just came in."

"Direct the feeds."

Silence filled the comms.

"My god. Scramble the fleets, double time!"

"Done sir. What is it?"

"It's a ship."

1 Year Later

Reese thumbed through sheets of paper, nodding as he did so. His group was doing well. All of them were learning how to write quite well. They had already learned the basics of language, and now was the last stage. Learning common, as well as written language. He put the clipboard down. He straightened out his clothes, making a few last minute adjustments as he rode down the elevator. Time for class.

He passed other teachers along the way, the crowds of workers all headed to their respective areas of the station. He smiled as he saw by now familiar faces he'd come to know over the past year. He'd called this station home for a year now, having worked with the Arrivals. Officially, they were labeled as Transhumans by the scientific community and the Government had no clue what to call them. To Reese, "Transhumans" sounded like an insult. The slang term Arrivals had grown popular among the teachers in the station, and was starting to spread to the general public.

Reese rounded the last few corners and was coming up to the door that marked his room out. The term Transhumans didn't really make sense to him in this instance. The Arrivals had almost no human resemblances in them. But through very, very thorough genetic studies, only a few genetic strands could be traced back to the ancient roots of Humanity's ancient home world, Earth. But it was funny to him. As alien as the Arrivals were, at the same time, they had heavy similarities in their actions and thought processes as regular humans. He shrugged as he continued on. Oh well. He was glad that in the end the Arrivals had been discovered. The fate that they had come from had been one of great pain. He couldn't imagine being in any of the circumstances that brought them here.

Reese went up to his door, watching as it slid open, revealing his classroom. He stepped in to his class all waiting for him, watching him through their tinted eyes. They all gestured with their hands the meaning of good morning. Reese smiled at them all, gesturing back with his hands. He looked around the room, and noticed all but one was there. He gestured with his hands, asking where she was. A few gestured back. She was likely late again today, as was the standard with her. No matter, he'd wait. Reese sat on his desk, gesturing with his hands to his group. He could talk with them about what they were doing and had learned recently. It was good to interact with them like people.

Reese took turns talking to each member of the group, listening intently to their discoveries on everything. He had to admit, as a teacher, the Arrivals were the best class one could ever ask for. They were largely innocent, like young kids. They all behaved extremely well, and had a very strong sense of group coordination and cooperation. But above all, they had a hunger for knowledge. Because of the circumstances leading to their discovery, they had at the very most, 10,000 years of history to catch up on. There was a lot to learn about how things worked, and their minds were like sponges, soaking up everything they liked. Evidently, even if they were incapable of making any sounds whatsoever, he could tell from their hand language that they were excited about what they were learning, happy that they could discuss it with someone. Eventually, the last member of the group finally showed up, coming through the door somewhat shyly.

Reese looked at the tinted eye pieces of his last member, giving her "the look." He registered no emotion, thanks to the fact that she couldn't see her eyes if she had any, and her face, once again if she had one, was obscured under her suit. But her body language told everything as she strung words together with gestures, forming a complex explanation of why she was late yet again. Reese waved her off. No harm done. It was just somewhat inconvenient when he had to wait to start his lesson. With everyone here, Reese could start things up now.

Reese sat at his desk, shuffling through various papers and reports for the day. He waved the group off as they left for the day, free to wander around the station or go outside to explore Trevaal, with a companion of course. The one that arrived late was the last to get up from her desk, wandering over to Reese. Reese looked up from his work, watching as she started gesturing. He followed her strings of gestures, understanding what she was trying to convey. His group had covered the human language, and learned that first. He was now teaching them common. He had noted that she had learned exceptionally fast than all the others, both common and standard human, but was having trouble, somewhat mixing her gestures together.

Reese waved her off again, making gestures back to her, telling her that it was okay. Everybody was late every now and again. He asked what exactly was causing her to be late. She shifted her hips, gesturing to him. He nodded. She was even more eager than the others to learn. She stayed up in the night, absorbing knowledge on things. As a result, her rest cycles weren't normal like the others, and tended to cut into time that all the others would have been awake for. Reese got up from his desk, placing a hand on the synthetic material of her shoulder, making a point to her that learning new things was always good, but learning too much too fast had a tendency to burn you out fast as well.

She nodded simply, turning away to leave, before turning back to him. He could see she still had something to say, and was shy about it. Reese stepped forward for her, asking if she wanted to say something. She gestured to him. He raised his eyebrows in response. An invite? She was asking if he wanted to accompany her outside the station. Reese was surprised. It wasn't against established rules, but still surprising that any of them would ask him to go outside with them. He considered it, before nodding, gesturing with his hands a solid yes. She nodded happily. Reese signaled for her to wait a bit while he got some things ready.

Reese passed through various checkpoints with the Arrival, catching comments from the various guards at the checkpoints. Indeed, it was rare for an Arrival to explore with a teacher, as they too raised eyebrows at his accompanying presence. Reese arrived at the last checkpoint, going through all the various scans, as a guard commented on the pair.

"Going outside with this one Mr. Reese?"

Reese nodded.

"I guess so. Kinda weird no? Not many Arrivals ever asked for teachers to come outside with them."

The guard nodded.

"Not for 323 Mr. Reese. Her files have all sorts of oddities. She works a bit differently than all the others. Thinks different."

Reese nodded.

"You should see her in the classroom. Learns faster than all the others."

The guard laughed.

"I wouldn't be surprised. That one's got a sharp mind."

The guard cleared them through, giving Reese a smile as they left. He signaled in common to 323 before they left. She signaled back. The guard laughed again.

"She's a really sharp one Mr. Reese. Have fun out there!"

Reese nodded.

"I think I will."

Reese stepped outside with 323, shivering as he stepped into a light shower of rain. The Arrival was unphased, looking up to the sky, curious. She signaled again.

"Rain?"

Reese signaled back.

"That's right. What do you think of it?"

She continued watching.

"The sky seems so wasteful."

Reese signaled back.

"That's because it's part of a system. An environment. It's all a very complex process, and natural cycle. But trust me, the water isn't wasted."

She nodded.

"Can we go see a forest?"

Reese signaled back.

"A forest?"

"Yes. I want to see the strange creatures. Plants?"

"What for?"

"They use the same energy we do. I learned about it a few hours ago."

Reese nodded.

"We can do that."

The two started off together. They'd have to walk a little ways to get to an area of larger traffic where he could get a cab for them. Reese mused on 323's words. That must have been such a truly alien life for them.

The Arrivals showed up one year ago, in a massive, yet truly ancient spacecraft. He remembered the news feeds on the day it happened. The military of Trevaal had almost fired as the craft neared the planet, but then came to a perfectly controlled orbit around the planet. Right away, it was noted that the ship had taken extensive damage to its super structure, and over the next few weeks, months even, a slow mystery was revealed to the galaxy. The technology of the ship was ancient, extremely primitive in some regards to everything in this day and age, and the language was completely unknown.

But, eventually, some historians got a chance to examine the craft, and slowly, the puzzle began to piece itself together. The craft was ancient because it was part of the very first wave of colony ships ever sent by ancient humans to colonize the stars. Judging by the damage to the ship, it encountered problems on its journey. For the first few weeks, examinations of the massive craft continued, until the sudden and terrifying appearance of the Arrivals. Based off the damage to the ship, it was initially thought that there were no survivors. But one day, a science team was practically scared to death as this was proven otherwise.

And then, the mystery of the Arrivals started, to which little answers were revealed until many months later after preparing the Arrivals for the rigors of gravity. It was found that they were incredibly versatile and their systems grew strong enough to survive on the gravity of a world quickly. Basic scans indicated that they were indeed alive, and very, very careful tests on live specimens were conducted to learn more about them, to which had shocking results. The Arrivals now had the oddest biology of any living race in the galaxy ever met, because of what they had evolved to survive in. It was found that Arrivals weren't organic, or synthetic, but both, a perfect line between the two. Initially, it was thought that they all wore environment suits, but scientists were shocked when they found out that in some sense, the suit _was_the Arrival. The suit was in essence, their skin. It was only discovered after more research that the Arrivals suit was not an environment suit in any sense of the word. In fact, the Arrivals didn't even breathe, any form of atmosphere at all.

Answers finally started arriving when the first Arrivals began to learn human sign language, and could communicate with scientists. When the bridge was finally crossed, the answers scientists were seeking were heavy handed. From records of the Arrivals, their ship underwent its journey well for a quarter of the trip, buy was caught in a devastating astrological event, a supernova. Their ship was critically damaged in the event, and it was here that the first Arrivals were born. The colony ship as it turns out, had some of the most advanced tech at the time of its launch installed, which was eventually what saved them.

The ship was so damaged that its life form reserves were lost, vital oxygen and food producing plants, all gone. The survivors turned to what they had left as their ship leaked atmosphere into the cold reaches of space and was bombarded by the unrelenting radiation put out from the nova of the dead star. Using environment suits to protect themselves from the cold and extreme heat, they turned to forced genetic alterations and the use of at the time advanced nano-machines to alter their bodies to the environment. The crew of the ship suffered massively, taking losses exceeding 90% as they desperately tried to perfect a procedure that would alter their bodies so heavily.

Eventually, when all hope was nearly extinguished, a key was found, saving the remaining population. And the Arrivals went from there. Their outside layer was adapted to the extreme colds and heats of space. The only viable energy source in space for them was the dim light of stars and the radiation they put out. Most of the organs found in human beings were rendered redundant, and now were nonexistent. By the time the crew had figured out a way to save themselves, a low population pool was also a problem. Eventually, this was worked around by the crew as their bodies were so altered, they could create new offspring using only the mental imprints of one another.

Since the ship was breached and had no atmosphere, communication by voice was rendered useless. The ability to create and hear sounds was lost to them. The Arrivals had fashioned neural technology that operated on a very special frequency, emitting a special combination of low level light waves, radiation waves, and radio waves, essentially making the Arrivals telepaths. Light was also a problem in space, specifically either being too dark or too bright. As a result, the Arrivals became dependent on the eye filters of their suits, eventually incorporating them into their natural design. But, as a side effect, colour had a deep meaning in their society, and they often were found with various coloured wrappings around themselves to help communicate who and what branch of family they belonged to.

Over the millennia that followed, the Arrivals evolved naturally. Sleep cycles were no longer needed, but instead, time to process the energy their bodies absorbed was needed. Even with their triumphs, their bodies were not completely adapted to the harsh actions of radiation absorption. When they rested, the nano-machines in their bodies and suits actually repaired damaged internal systems. Eventually, language was lost to the Arrivals, as were names with written letters. Coincidentally, numbers now played a significant role in their lives, as they struggled to fix their broken craft, and used them on a daily basis, calculating a number of things such as how fast their ship had decelerated and gone off course, how long it would take to fix the navigation drive, and the number of their population. Eventually, every individual ended up with a number as a way of identification.

The millennia wore on as their ship lost power and propulsion systems, but the Arrivals had calculated things so precisely that their ship drifted smoothly for the rest of the time, coming into a perfect orbit around Trevaal so long after its fateful journey. By the time it arrived, Human ships, far more advanced than it, had already arrived on the planet thousands of years beforehand and colonized it. And when the ship finally arrived, the rest was history.

Reese walked with 323 down the quiet part of the city, until they finally found a cab to hail. The yellow vehicle drove over out of the skylanes above, coming to a stop. Reese opened the door for 323, and stepped back in after her. Upon stepping in, he was immediately greeted by a rather energetic man.

"Oh bloody hell that's one of them Transhuman aliens isn't she? I've never seen one up close before!"

The man turned around in his seat, looking into the eye filters of 323, looking at the form fitting suit like skin, and the various brightly coloured scraps of material draped around her neck and around her head. He laughed.

"That's fuckin' unreal man! Is all that stuff they say on the news about them true and all that? Them being in a really old colony ship?"

Reese nodded.

"Aw that's fuckin' crazy man! That suit is their skin? Can I touch it?"

The man reached out before Reese caught him.

"Hold up I've got to ask her. They don't hear sound. You need to use human or common sign language."

Reese gestured to 323. She nodded. Reese let the man's arm go. The man reached out, touching one of 323's arms slowly.

"Man that's so weird! I mean, it feels like a suit, but it feels kinda alive too, know what I'm sayin?"

Reese nodded. The man continued, trailing along the suit, to Reese's distaste, casually feeling up 323's breasts as he passed along, trailing lower until Reese interrupted with a loud cough.

"I'd like to go to the nearest forest. I know the closest is Adjuvian Falls."

The man pulled away, back into his seat.

"Ohh, Adjuvian Falls, that's a ways off. It'll cost extra."

The man turned around and winked.

"Let me feel up that Transhuman and I'll shave off some of the cost."

Reese kept it polite, but made it known about his displeasure.

"Thanks but no thanks. I'll pay the fee."

Reese closed the door as he sat down, the man returning to his seat.

"Suit yourself amigo. Getting yourself worked up over nothin."

Reese commented back.

"You don't do something like that just because they don't know what you're doing is wrong!"

The cab driver nodded.

"Sure thing amigo."

Reese turned to look at 323, who was innocently watching the whole affair. Reese gestured to her.

"Do you know what just happened?"

She shook her head.

"It's something we'll cover after you've learned your languages. You may be very open and comfortable with your people, but we work a little differently. We're a little less open amongst each other."

323 nodded, before looking out the window as the taxi rose up in the air. Reese wished he could feel her excitement. Sometimes it was better when one was so naïve.

The rest of the trip was uneventful, and Reese talked with 323 about the experience along the way as they passed the various massive spires of buildings in the city. Reese was in the middle of gesturing to her when there was a shake in the cab, and the distinct sound of failing drive cores could be heard. The driver started diving below the skylanes, driving the cab lower and lower.

"Sorry about the ride here amigos, gonna have to set her down before the engines fail and we drop outta the sky like a rock!"

Reese tried to steady himself as he gestured to 323, who had begun to grip the seat tightly. The Taxi sunk lower and lower through the layers of the city, as its engines sputtered and stayed active in shorter frequencies. The driver activated various emergency systems, as they broke through a layer of fog and found themselves close to the ground level of the city. The Taxi continued to glide down and down, until suddenly the engines gave out and it dropped the last few meters of the way, crashing into the ground. All the occupants were jostled around, but none were hurt. The driver turned around after they had settled into place.

"Phew. That was a close one! Old tech here's a little unreliable. Don't worry, I'll get her started and working again."

The driver stepped out of the car, going around to the back trunk of the Taxi, heading back around to the front with a tool case. Reese looked around the area. He didn't like this. He didn't trust the driver in any capacity or his taxi. And they had landed in a bad area. Trevaal's cities were notorious for a large crime underworld on the bottom layer of the cities. Reese gestured to 323.

"We might have to leave and call for some help. This man's Taxi is unreliable, and we can't stay down here for long. It's not a safe place."

323 gestured,

"Why wouldn't it be safe?"

"There's people down here, not good people."

323 nodded.

"Okay."

Sure enough, the driver had no luck starting his vehicle up again, and only managed sputters. Reese stood beside the car close to 323 as she watched, eagerly watching as the man worked on the vehicles engine. It had been an hour now, and Reese was losing patience. The longer they spent time down in these fog covered streets the more chance they had of running into problems. He paced around the car nervously. Everyone was fitted with trackers, and if there was trouble, the station would pick it up. They had been here for an hour now. The people back at the station would see that they were in a dangerous part of the city, and should have been here right now. Something didn't add up. He motioned to 323. She came over to him.

"When the driver touched you, did you feel anything odd?"

323 tilted her head, motioning back,

"Yes. I felt something sharp, like a split in my skin. I rejected something, but I kept it, because I was curious about it."

Reese felt something creep up his spine.

"Can I see it?"

323 held her hand out, and he watched as her suit parted, spitting out a small device into her palm. Reese picked it up, and watched as it blinked back and forth. Chills went up his spine. Something was really wrong here. They needed to leave now. He motioned to 323, but was suddenly cut off as the ragged voice of the driver interrupted.

"Listen, I'm gonna have to ask you to stop talking to the Transhuman right now."

The man had a gun pointed at Reese. 323 tilted her head as she watched.

"Listen, I'm really sorry about this. I didn't want no part of this. They woulda killed me if I didn't."

The man reached into his coat pocket, hitting something. Reese had his hands up.

"What do they want? I can pay them if that's what they want."

The man shook his head.

"I dunno what they want. But these people, they're ruthless. Money don't mean nothin to them."

"You can't let them take the Arrival! She's about as innocent as anything can get."

The man nodded.

"I know. I'm really sorry. They just wanted me to get one, any one I could. They wanted me to kill their partner. I couldn't, I can't do that."

A voice spoke up from behind the man, as the shadow of someone huge walked up behind him from the thick blanket of fog. The voice was deep, cold.

"I didn't expect much from you, but I'm surprised you actually got one. Good work. As I said, your life for one of them."

A mountain of a man stood next to the driver as he stared with fear in his eyes. Reese looked at the man, who was scarred from multiple fights, deep scars, tattoos and piercings adorned him, as he stood tall with various bones mounted on him, the skull of a particularly large alien mounted on one of his shoulders. Others came out of the fog, some human, others alien, all much like the man, but it was clear he was the leader here. Reese was suddenly afraid, motioning quickly to 323.

"We're in serious trouble. We need to leave."

323 nodded, and started making off, walking away, when someone stood in her way.

The large man laughed.

"And where does the Arrival think she is going?"

323 paid no attention, and was now watching the man in front of her. Reese spoke, somewhat shaky. The man he was addressing was a warlord, quiet clear at that. Of all the groups to bump into down here, he had found the worst.

"She can't hear you."

The man walked up to him, staring down at him, contempt on his face.

"I did not speak to you. I spoke to the Arrival. Clearly, she did not understand my presence here. But I will make my presence known."

The man walked past him. Reese had fear running down his spine. He watched the loose circle of people around him. The Taxi driver was packing his things up, and getting ready to leave. He turned back to the giant man, against all his will. The crowd noticed this, and pointed their guns at him. Reese froze on the spot. The man went over to 323, who was still trying to get past one of the men, who was laughing as he continually stepped in her way. Reese watched as the man grabbed her shoulder, and tossed her effortlessly to the ground. Reese screamed out,

"What do you want with them!?"

The man turned back, and faced Reese. He pointed a giant finger at him, before drawing a great blade at his side, fashioned from the bones of some large alien as well.

"I did not ask anything of you. You will be quiet or you will die."

Reese slunk down as the man loomed nearer.

"This Arrival will make a great trophy, proof of my prowess to all challengers. My power stretches even to the spires above! You even brought a whore too! She will make a fine trophy!"

323 was standing back up to her feet, as the crowd watched, laughing and pointing fingers at her, as she looked towards the warlord. Reese gestured quickly to her, she had to run. The warlord spotted it, and scowled.

"I told you I did not ask anything of you."

The warlord grabbed Reese by the scruff, held him up, and drove the blade into his gut. Reese gasped in pain as the man pulled the great blade out, and drove it back in once more, pulling it out. The warlord tossed Reese onto the ground, walking away back to 323. Reese held his stomach, choking up blood, trying to keep his insides inside. He lay face down on the concrete, blood pooling around him. The warlord's men cheered, as he approached 323.

323 saw Reese, and went to approach, but the warlord stepped in front of her. Reese lay there, dying. He watched as the warlord spoke, but she registered nothing. On no response, the warlord backhanded her across the face, sending her much lighter frame sprawling onto the dirt. She rose up, back to her feet. Reese crawled forwards. The Arrivals weren't violent in any way. They were a community, driven by cooperation and a closeness to one another. The concept of evil was almost completely foreign to them. Reese reached out with one hand as he started choking. He had to get something out to her. He brought his other hand out from under him, struggling to make the right symbols.

He was dying, from the bad man. If she didn't do something, she would be with the bad man, away from everyone, her kind, and her teachers. She had to defend herself, or run. He tried, as hard as he could to make more symbols, but didn't have the strength. 323 watched as the warlord started yelling at her, pushing her around. She showed no fear, only driving him on to abuse her more. She caught bits of Reese's symbols, and nodded, making only one motion with her hand.

"Yes."

The warlord and the circle of gang members roared as the man continued to knock her down to the ground, and when she stood back up, the man kicked her down, hard.

"You will acknowledge that I am speaking to you! Your friend is gone, you should focus only on me!"

323 saw the man's lips moving, and she went to motion something, when he knocked her arms aside. He towered over her, looking into the eye gear of her mask.

"If you do anymore of that, I will cut your hands off."

323 tilted her head. The man nodded, laughing.

"Yes. This one is learning!"

323 went to motion again, and the man's features became cut with rage across his great scarred face. He raised his blade up in the air, and in one quick motion, 323 grabbed his arm, holding it up in the air. She struggled with the strength of the man, and he lashed out with his free hand, right across her face. The tinted eye protectors were smashed open, reveling pure white eyes behind them, as they looked into the eyes of the looming warlord.

The nano-machines had already started, repairing the damage to her body, but she needed energy to do so. There was not any starlight down in the city, and the radiation of this place was minimal. But, she could use the nano-machines to fix herself if she had another catalyst. The only other catalyst was the great large one in front of her. His body had plentiful reserves that she could use.

The warlord roared as he lashed out with his great blade, cutting into the shoulder of her suit, and removed the blade. There was no blood, or anything whatsoever that came out, and in a quick motion, 323 gingerly placed a hand on the warlords chest. The warlord was temporarily taken back from the gesture, but felt pain in his chest. He stared down, as it looked like her suit began spreading from her hand, and began devouring him, everywhere it touched, the man's skin, muscles and everything else vanished completely. He dropped his blade, letting out a great cry, as he fell to his knees. The machines sped the process up, and in a matter of a few seconds, the man was stripped of everything, disappearing completely. The broken parts of her suit closed, and she looked upon the others who surrounded her. Were they bad too?

The other various men and aliens watched as the warlord was torn apart, disassembled in seconds, and absorbed into the palm of the Arrival. They laid their weapons down, pointing at the alien, screaming in their own languages at the demon. They fired a few shots in the direction of 323, and watched as any holes made in her soft suit quickly filled. The group of men quickly fled into the fog, screaming in their wake. The taxi driver had hidden behind his car, too afraid to move, but came out now that everyone had left. He rolled Reese over.

"Hey, hey buddy, we're gonna get you to the hospital, hang in there!"

Reese's blank eyes stared at the world above. The man went to pick Reese up as he suddenly found 323 looming over him. He looked up to the suited being that stood before him, staring into the tinted, emotionless eye protectors that she stared through. A shiver ran through his spine as she tilted her head, stepping down to her haunches, placing her hand on his forehead. The expression was short lived on his face, as the machines did their work as well, making short work of the man, absorbing him in a few seconds.

The feelings that the man carried with him were felt, just like the warlords, as she claimed everything. So many feelings from the both of them. So much new knowledge about things. She looked down to the form of her teacher. He looked into his blank eyes. Something in her from the warlord's feelings told her that he was dead. What was dead? She looked through more feelings. The man in the car knew what dead was. Dead was a bad thing, like the warlord. But not evil like her teacher had said. It was a sad thing, for friends, and family. She looked down to her teacher. He said his name was Reese. Why wasn't Reese recovering? She looked through more. Dead was an end. She tilted her head. There was no end for her or her people. She thought for a moment. What was different between them and her?

She placed her hand on Reese's chest, watching as the nano machines in her suit went to work, spreading across his body. There were two ruptures in him. She used the energy she had acquired from the man in the car, and watched as the machines slipped inside Reese, and were helping seal everything back together. She could feel what ran inside him too, like the warlord and man in the car. New feelings were introduced, a life of calm, learning. Different from the man in the car and warlord. She watched as he blinked his eyes, coughing as the atmosphere began flowing back into his body. She stood up, as Reese began moving again. That was a good feeling. But the warlord was a good feeling too. He was strong, but she had beaten him too. She was powerful, strong. She was better than him.

Reese sat in the back of a police car, along with 323. Thoughts and feelings swirled through his mind. He had awoken to find 323, fine. The warlord and his men were gone. She had explained what she had done, converting the warlord into energy for herself, and the taxi driver too. She used the extra power, and fixed him. He was in shock, and had called the police afterwards. Reese still had blood on him. He was thankful, and shocked at 323's actions. He was un-aware that such a thing was even possible. But what disturbed him, was what he saw, inside her head.

Due to their unique mechanical form of communication, he discovered that information, feelings, and experiences were traded when 323 used the nano-machines in her body. They could read everything about a being, and in some sense, absorbed things. The process was two way when she did the opposite to him. And when he looked into her mind, what he saw terrified him. She was still innocent, curious, and hungry to learn. But she had absorbed the warlord and all his knowledge. And he too, got a piece of him and the taxi driver when she brought him back.

Her mind was still much the same, but at best he could describe it as tainted, just a small bit. She had the knowledge of how to kill humans and aliens, what hurt the most, how to use multiple weapons. What he had suddenly grown terrified about was the fact at how social her kind were, and how co-operative they were. If 323 absorbed all that through radiation, light, and biological electricity, then that meant she could project it to other Arrivals when she communicated. The thought of what would happen if she ever got back to them......

And, to make things worse, 323 had technically murdered two people. There wasn't much left of the scene, but the investigations of the police would find them. They could analyze things down pretty close to the atomic level. The uproar the integration program would face, the ridicule 323's kind would be subject too upon learning of what they could do at any moment. It would be practically genocide, or xenocide, something.... He looked through the memories of the warlord as if they were his, and found one of being in a police car. The warlord was clever, more intelligent than he let on. Reese shivered in fear. Could he really do this? He could practically see the future, right there in his face. There was no stopping it, unless he intervened.

The thought of what he was about to do made him dizzy, sick to his stomach. But he knew. What he was doing was for the greater good. He could never let 323 get back to her people. And he had the advantage. He was a simple teacher, already known to two men in the vehicle. He started gagging, choking, making puking sounds. The passenger turned his head.

"You alright back there?"

Reese used the trick the warlord did, causing him to puke. The officer turned back to the driver, but, in a horrible scene, Reese watched as things spiraled out of control. 323 shared the same instincts and identified exactly what Reese was doing. He was trying to escape. She could help, and she had windows open that he didn't. Reese watched as 323 drove her delicate looking arm through the thick armoured glass and reinforcing steel of the car, through the chest of the officer driving. The officer clutched at his chest, only managing to scream for a few seconds before he vanished, absorbed completely. Reese yelled to the passenger,

"Drive, I'll hold her off!"

The passenger was shouting in fear as 323 began tearing at the barrier between them, but Reese caught her, signaling frantically with his hands. He was shaking so bad he could hardly form the right words. 323 stopped, looking at him. She gestured,

"I thought you wanted to escape?"

Reese gestured frantically.

"Not like this! That was bad! That was an evil thing!"

He turned to watch the passenger who was frantically steering through traffic. He yelled above the wail of sirens and the frightened shouts of the passenger.

"Listen to me! If you don't set this vehicle down, you'll die. If you don't let us get away, you'll die. This Arrival, this Transhuman, can never, never see her own kind! Do you understand me!? I want you to go to the station where all of them are, and tell the people there what happened! But do not tell it to the media. You can't say a word to anybody else! They'll understand! Make them understand!"

The man frantically set the vehicle down, before stumbling out of the car, running away as fast as he could. Reese stepped out of the back, and into the front, taking the wheel as the car drifted briefly. He turned back to 323, who was watching him. He looked into the mirror at his reflection. It was all for the greater good.

Many Years Later

Reese continued to stare down the barrel of a gun, as he sat in the cargo hold of a ship. They had finally been found by a bounty hunter, after all this time.

"That's why you can't kill me. If you kill me, you have to take the responsibility for her. She's not evil. She's innocent, still, because I've kept her that way. I taught her right from wrong. But she has so much inside her, from all the others she's killed. All the knowledge, the instincts. If you kill me, you MUST take my place."

The hunter held fast, but spoke, in his ragged, alien voice.

"How do I know it's all true?"

Reese shook his head.

"I'm connected to her now. I killed so many to avoid her from getting to them. But she's saved my life more times than I can count. I have a piece of her inside me now. Every time she saves me, she gets them anyway. I can show you, if you take my hand. I can show you everything I just told you, as if they were your own memories."

Reese held out his hand. The alien kept his gun close, but extended a tough hide covered hand.

Several Hours After Leaving Trevaal

Reese sat in the cargo bay of a large spacecraft, 323 sitting beside him. He had to kill four more officers before going off-world. His tracker had activated now that he wasn't in the presence of the small device carried by the taxi driver. He tried to explain to them, but they didn't listen. He could tell 323 was thinking using the same memories that ran in his head. He couldn't let her kill like that.

Finding passage off world was easy with the memories that had been siphoned over to him, and he knew all the ins and outs of sneaking onto a starship like this. All he had to do was remember. But it was sickening to him. In less than an hour, his entire life was spun on its head. And it was over now. There was no turning back. He'd be a fugitive for the rest of how long his life was. He watched 323 as he held his head in his hands. She was sitting cross legged on the floor across from him, simply observing the insides of the ship. She looked exactly the same as she always did, curious, wanting to see and to learn. But now she had all those little glimpses of people inside her. And she wasn't afraid to act based on them. She was psychopathic without even wanting to hurt anyone. He slumped down against the crate he was resting against.

323 watched Reese, before motioning to him.

"We won't see my people again?"

Reese gestured back, reluctantly.

"No."

"Why not?"

Reese struggled to find the terms to explain it to her.

"It's the way your people talk to each other, how close they are. You could pass something very bad onto them."

323 tilted her head.

"Am I bad now?"

Reese paused for a moment, struggling with his thoughts.

"No, it's just - things weren't supposed to happen this way. We never knew that you worked like that."

The eyeless lenses of her mask stared back at him while she sat there, watching him. She gestured to him.

"You are sad now? You don't feel good?"

Reese simply nodded. He was about as far as possible from "good." 323 stood up, walking over to him, before sitting down next to him. She gestured,

"Can I make you feel better? I don't like the feeling of sad."

Reese knew that in the void the Arrivals lived in for so long had made some actions for them extremely important, primarily the state of one of their own. Touch was a major factor for them. As such they were very open with each other. Through today's events Reese could see that she understood more about how people were so different from them. But was surprised when she picked up on what he was feeling. He gestured back,

"How do you know that I feel bad? Do you know what that feeling is?"

323 gestured back,

"Helped you. Have bits of you too, know that something like this would upset you. I want to help. Concerned for you."

Reese simply nodded. He doubted it somewhat. She had parts of him in her as well. She would probably do something to relax herself, and would leave him in the same state. Touch didn't have the heavier weight that it did for her. He watched as she picked up one of his hands with her suited fingers, and felt something travel through him. It was a good feeling to him, briefly sparking something happy inside of him. She let go of his hand, gesturing to him.

"Do you feel any better now?"

He gestured back.

"Kind of. What did you do?"

"Passed along good things. Things that make the feeling of sad go away. But I can see that it wasn't enough. You're head still feels bad."

She pressed her hand to him again. An overwhelming feeling passed through him, washing everything away like water. Reese's brain fired off answers to what was happening as the invigorating feeling remained. She was communicating with him, in some way, sharing things with him in an exchange. The synthetic protective material of 323's suit quivered, seeming to shift and expand, latching on to Reese's hand, as a barrage of more than just feelings passed through him. Everything she saw, everything she felt, everything about her, and her people flooded in, flash after flash, picture after picture. It was overwhelming.

Reese slipped into the throes of unconsciousness.

The grasp on the alien's hand broke, and the being looked off into space, the after images of everything fading. The hunched over being shook his thick spine like fur, before looking down at Reese. He looked up into the yellow eyes of the hunter.

"You understand now?"

The being nodded.

"She used the machines in her system to heal you. Some of them stayed behind when she was done. You're the only one that can truly reason with her."

Reese nodded.

"If you kill me, you'll have to take my place. But I don't think it's possible. She's hardwired to me. If I'm gone, her newfound humanity is gone too. I'm the only thing keeping her in check. And I have to do terrible things to keep it that way."

The hunter looked down at him.

"It was always for the greater good."

Reese nodded.

"I know what you're thinking, that you can explain it to them. You can't. They'll never understand. They have to be shown. All these years you were first. No one else ever gave me a chance."

The hunter nodded silently. Reese looked at him.

"You can't tell them the location of the ship."

The hunter nodded.

"I heard rumors, stories, but I never believed it. It really was you wasn't it?"

Reese nodded.

"I rallied the gangs of Trevaal. Stormed the station. Took every last one of the Arrivals. Returned them to their ship, after fixing it, and sent it off, beyond the galaxy."

The Hunter's spines quivered.

"You killed a lot of innocents on that day."

Reese nodded solemnly.

"Look through the memories. You know what she did, how hungry she grew for more knowledge, more beings. Can you imagine what would have happened if it got back to her people? What I did..... was absolutely necessary. And you know it. Her people, they were too far ahead of everyone else. I understand why they were called Transhuman. They were beyond us. But at the same time, so fragile."

The hunter finally lowered his weapon, motioning over to 323, who was sitting off in a dark corner of the ship's hold, undergoing a rest cycle.

"How long have you and her been, more than just what you say you are? You aren't just her guardian anymore."

Reese nodded, smiling.

"The first time she did what she did, after we left Trevaal for the first time. Every other time afterwards, I grew closer to her. Every time she saved me, I wanted to feel that again, that strange connection."

Reese looked over to her as she rested.

"She's like a rose. Beautiful, perfect. But a lot of thorns. And a lot of care needed to keep her that way."

The hunter nodded.

"Where were you planning on going?"

Reese raised his eyebrows.

"Anywhere this ship was going. I don't steal ships from others. More chance for problems that way."

The Hunter looked through the feelings, the memories, and little glimpses of things. His spines quivered.

"You never took her to a forest."

Reese smiled.

"Never had the time."

The hunter grabbed something from out of his suit, handing it to Reese.

"Take it. It's the control to my ship. There's no bugs in it, no trackers. Go wherever you want. She's fast, well-armed, and good at hiding."

Reese took the device from the hunter.

"Thank you. I won't forget this."

The hunter tipped his hat.

"Thank you, for not killing me. I saw some glimpses of what you did to others who fell for your handshake."

Reese nodded.

"I could tell, they wouldn't accept it. You were different. Just once, I tried to do things peacefully. Thank you for listening."

The hunter held out his hand.

"Good luck to you and the weight you carry on your shoulders. When the day comes that you face your creator, I think you will be forgiven. You are not a bad man, and worked with what you were given."

Reese smiled.

"Thank you. That means more than you know."

Reese sat at the controls of the ship, looking out of the wide viewport to the stars outside. Lithe arms wrapped themselves around his neck from behind. Reese felt the connection as she made contact with his skin.

"We were found again?"

Reese continued looking out to the stars.

"Yes. But he was willing to listen. He gave us his ship. He wanted me to show you a forest."

"How sweet of him. He would have been interesting to learn from."

Reese shook his head. She had a morbid sense of humor. 323 swung around to the front of the seat, swinging one of her legs over Reese, sitting down onto his lap. She draped her arms around his neck, lowering her head to his face. The eye filters and her mask disintegrated away, revealing the pale being underneath. She pressed her forehead to his, making the connection. The rest of her suit began to shift, separating away from her, and traveling over Reese.

Where this his first time with her, he would have been terrified, but knew there was no intent of harm in her actions. It was just her way of sharing the experience with him. Normally her kind melded suits together, allowing intimate access to one another. But he didn't have that luxury. Reese's clothes were eaten away wherever the wave of machines came into contact, rendering him naked in a few seconds, as she sat on his lap. She pressed her pale form against his body, Reese reaching out through the shifting mass of her suit, cupping her breasts, feeling their gentle curves, and completely smooth surface. Her kind had long ago lost most of their resemblances of their human ancestors, but chose to keep some form of gender association among themselves.

The suit enveloped him, keeping the two in an embrace that wouldn't be separated until they were done. He was surrounded completely, until eventually even his head was covered. He'd assumed that during his first time with her, it would be pitch black, but there was a dim glow in the quiet space her suit created, various lights from her cybernetic implants, revealing her pale form to him. She had no facial features save for her eyes, but as she pressed her strange, pale body against his, he felt it as if they were right there.

The feelings she could pass between them were powerful, so strong that her physical limitations for interaction meant nothing. She had nothing down below, but even that meant little, as she could manipulate things so flawlessly that it felt like she was riding him, up and down, relentlessly. He cupped the smooth contours of her breasts, squeezing them gently as she bounced, enticing feelings from her, deep moans as lips connected to his. He slid his hands down her pale form, noting the perfectly smooth flesh, untouched from the rigors of a harsh life. He felt her hips, as she ground against him, feeling her ass. A pale hand slipped down to his member, as he was bombarded with three simultaneous feelings at once, luscious lips, and a perfect tongue, her tight, warm confines, and her smooth, gentle hands.

She was a master of manipulation, and made him reach true, physical climax in a few seconds. But she could keep him going long after he was beyond physical interactions, creating wave after wave of mental climaxes that ripped through him like they were real. The two kept their sealed embrace for hours, trapped in a little, separate bubble of paradise. There was no memories of what he'd done to keep her safe. No memories of all the dead they had left in their wake. No memories of any of the terrible things he'd done to keep her pure. Just them, in a quiet space of nothing but pleasure.

The time came when her intimate moment faded, and her suit began receding, covering the shapely pale form of her body. Reese used the remaining time he had left to draw it out as much as possible, before the last traces of her suit covered her form again. When it was over, she was laying against him in the chair, as he wrapped his hands around her. The feelings of their love making had residual effects, and Reese always liked to hold her afterwards, still caught in the feelings. It was a different experience being inside her suit with her, but equally as good when he was outside. The material was tight, perfectly form fitting, and Reese loved roaming his hands over her body, feeling the smooth curves of her body clad in her suit, almost enhanced by it.

323 liked the feeling too, and still continued to channel feelings back and forth between the two. Right now, she was sitting over top of him, as he slid slowly into the tight hole of her ass, through the suit, as he held her close. Eventually though, his mind couldn't take the barrage of sensations and feelings that she created, and they had to stop. Sadly, he could only take so much of the mental interaction with her. He wasn't made for that.

The two sat in the quiet of the ship together, as Reese caressed the curves of her suit. He made gestures with one hand to her, to which she replied back.

"I'm taking you to a green world. Full of forests. Just like the first day."

She caressed his cheeks.

"You don't have to do that. I've seen many forests already."

Reese shook his head.

"You've seen them. But never felt them for yourself. Those are their memories. You need your own."

"Like the ones you and I make together?"

Reese nodded. He stopped gesturing briefly, thinking, before he asked again.

"Do you think I'm evil?"

Her reply was instant.

"You're always caught on that word. No. You're wonderful."

Her suit parted around her face, as pale lips kissed him, her white eyes staring into his. Reese held her close, falling asleep as he held her close. He thought so. He was evil that she wasn't. And he would do what he had to, to keep her that way, for as long as he lived. She was a beautiful rose, laced with thorns and poisons, but worth it.

She was still innocent.