A/N: I do not own warhammer fantasy or 40,000, this story is for fun. Now that is over, on to the meat and veg of this tale. This will be a semi-realistic look at what 'Furrys' would be in like the grim future of the Imperium of Man… and not as targets for Xeno/Mutant-hunters... well most of the time. Now onto Warhammer FurryK! (I can already hear your collective groaning)

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087969. M41. Ultima Segmentum- Zodiac Sector

In a café with soft-pop music playing, Kaci Narabi lowered her caffe cup to speak to her boyfriend, Kath." I'm staying with the PDF." She informed him. Kath leaned back and sighed." Why? All you do is shuffle papers, or guard duty." She shrugged." I like it, not to mention I'm up for a promotion to corporal soon." As Kaci's index finger gripped her cups handle Kath made an observation." With that pay raise you make as much as a rent-an-arbiter does." Kaci stopped lifting her cup up and looked at her boyfriend with apprehension. Kath sighed and leaned forward, his red furred right arm resting on the table." I'm sorry Kaci, but well… I was thinking aloud." She shook her orange furred fox head and smiled." It's okay… after all that gives me ammo to say, at least my job is paying more than that 'free' internship you have with Giacamo." She took a sip of her caffe and her boyfriend smiled sheepishly." Alright, I deserved that." Then he thought for a moment." So tell me what do you like so much about the PDF, which makes you want to stay here instead of say coming with a future Ad Executive Manager?"

Kaci giggled through a closed mouth." Well at this point you have as much chance to be an executive as being a mascot for Sentinel Insurance." Kath smiled and decided to roll with the joke." Hey, I'm not lanky enough to be the 'Chicken Walker' costume. Though I think I would be better suited to ' Even an ork can do it'." Both of them laughed at the suggestion of him dressed in a half chicken half robot suit or as an bellowing ork. The latter suggestion though wouldn't of been to far off, since he was board as a barn, was well over two meters tall and his muscles, pressed against his yellow t-shirt alongside his chest fur, were said to rival that of a space marine.' Though no on this world can remember the last time they saw a space marine or let alone an ork.' Kaci thought, 'the next best thing is what the sisters of the Soroitas orphanage had taught me… and apparently companies looking for a mascot.'

As Kath finished his chuckle he asked." Well looks like we got side tracked there for a minute, care to answer my question as to why you're staying with the PDF?" Kaci's smile was still at the corners of her mouth, but was not as wide as it had been seconds ago." Well security for one. You don't have to worry about market swings destroying your career. Another is tidiness; I told you those stories of my days back in the orphanage." She pointed behind her back." It was because of me leaving that toy Chimera I almost broke my spine." As she drank her caffe Kath spoke up." But you got lucky and only broke your back." Kaci winced at the memory and continued on." I know it's not rational Kath, but…." She shook her head.

"So are there any other reasons?" Kath questioned." Well two. One is the fact that besides the arbiters what other job lets you shoot auto or las-guns on their lunch break, and they pay for the ammunition." Kaci smiled." I swear those sisters musta twisted ya." Kath rolled his eyes." And the other reason?" Kaci paused and looked around the busy café, then the street. Here and there were the inhabitants of Vulpine, there form of a bipedal, almost exactly human, bodies dressed in casual or civilian business clothes. They rode in buses or drove in 'mobiles, doing the daily work that was needed to keep the planet running. But the three things that differentiated them from the rest of humanity was their fur, tails and their world's namesake, vulpine heads. A theory among the Schola Libera professors and that among the Soroitas Sisters was that in the dark age of technology the vulpine were remolded from colonists into their new forms of not quite human and not quite animal.

Another thing Kaci had learned from the sisters themselves was the fact that this world was very nearly virus bombed two centuries ago, when the Inquisition rediscovered the world. The only thing that stopped them was the fact that the people of Vulpine worshiped the God-Emperor. Though it was not quite to the exacting standards of the Holy Ecclesuarchy of Terra, it was close enough that the Inquisition stayed its destruction of the world. Since then Vulpine had been trying to join the Imperium proper, at the orphanage the sisters only told her that it was because 'Were not sure if your human.'

Well she was damn close to being one, her body save for her most notable differences between her and human were little. Kaci's body could have been that of an a battle sister, if not for the orange fur and lack of…. She realized she was getting way far off track and corrected herself, getting back to the matter at hand." I want to give back to the… Imperium." She said after a pause, Kath raising an eyebrow." Why would you want to give back to the Imperium? They haven't given us anything to be proud about." He said sourly.

"Now!-" Kaci barked, but before she continued, she controlled herself and went on in a more civilized manner." Now Kath, that was uncalled for. The Imperium protects us from Xeno's and Cultists, you remember the clean out that happened on Eeveery, 6 years ago, if it wasn't for the soroitas getting involved the cultists would of escaped the city." And then this place would of become a warzone, she added sliently to herself." Yeah, then if the Imperium protects, why did they nuke the city? There were still non-cultists in there." Because if they continued to fester, Emperor knew what they could of unleashed, again she added to herself.

"… I'm a child of the Imperium. I was raised in one of their orphanages, I owe them at least my respect, since they gave me an education." Kath shrugged and said." Listen Kaci, I'll be blunt with you. There's no future in the Imperium, they treat us like pets at the best of times and mostly want to see us dead." Those words stung painfully at Kaci, she had friends, human friends among the Soritas." Please stop." She asked quietly, not wanting to hear any more, but Kath continued on his rant." The Imperium can never accept us, were too different from them. If they do accept us, I swear I'll eat this shirt… why did the music stop?"

Kaci's ears twitched and she raised her head, hearing no music from the café's vox-speakers. Then she could hear it, the planetary warning alarm was starting up from the vox-speakers. She swallowed the rest of her caffe and looked down at herself, brushing off non-existent crumbs from her blue jeans and blouse. She then took out her wallet and made sure her PDF id was in it, since there was no telling if this was a call up of the PDF or what was going to happen. People were now crowding the caffe and mobiles were stopped in the middle of the street, their drivers were listening to their vox's. The planetary anthem played and soon an announcer spoke." To the citizens of Vulpine, this is a message from your Governor Velsum Parce and General Arka Nates."

The vox was silent for a moment before Velsum spoke." People of Vulpine, last week we received a transmission via astropath that has profound consequences for our world. Today, as governor, I have the privilege to announce that after several hundred years of research, petition and faith in our Glorious Emperor, that Vulpine has been accepted into the fold of the Imperium fully and completely. We are now citizens of the Imperium first and for most." The old governor had more gusto in his voice then Kaci had heard before… then it registered that she was now a citizen of the Imperium, they did care for this world after all! She smirked at her boyfriend, who was staring at the vox unit, along with several other patrons of the café', with shock. Then Parce continued." Since we are now members of the Imperium, we now have to give our fair share to it. Taxes will have to be raised and goods will have to be given over for the tithe we will be expected to pay." Kaci nodded her head in understanding, if the people of Vulpine wanted the protection of the Imperium of Man they had to give it taxes. If they didn't then it would be like not paying ones fire taxes, though it was a pain to pay it was better to have it then say loose all of ones possession's in an inferno.

" General Arka Nates, you have the podium." Parce said to the general on the vox unit. Kaci had heard of Nates when she joined the PDF, apparently when she was younger, just older then herself, she and her platoon were selected for off world duty, to see if they could handle the strain of combat as much as non fox headed humans. No one she had spoken to about the mater had told her what the general had done in her twenty years aboard, but when she returned she was scarred and steeled eyed, apparently the only survivor of her platoon. She was also the world's only veteran of intergalactic combat and as such the most likely to lead its PDF.

"People of Vulpine, we have been blessed to be welcomed in to the Imperium's graceful protection, as humans and not as abhumans or as a separate race, but we have to pay a price. A price not only from our coffers and goods, but of blood and sacrifice. That price citizens is the tithe for Imperial Guard regiments." It was Kaci's turn to go wide eyed at the vox, Imperial Guard regiments were drawn from PDF forces and conscripts, she was part of the first. Nates continued." All PDF troopers will report for duty at their designated rally points at 0700 hours tomorrow morning. Recruiting stations for the Imperial Guard will be set up at 0800 hours outside of PDF recruiting stations. The Emperor protects." Then the signal was off and the world of Vulpine was to be never the same again.

/

198969. M41. Segmentum Temptus-In orbit of Krieg

Again death had come for him, again he had seen it, again he had seen its destruction, again he could see it's eyes and again it almost drew him into the abyss. Commissar Danolov Bracket awoke with a gasp sitting upright in his bunk, his body covered in sweat, his eyes wild and his hands going for his bolt pistol. He pulled his hand away from the holster side arm when he realized that the battle field was only a nightmare… a nightmare he had experienced firsthand so many times before in his service to the Emperor. Danolov let his head fall back and hit the pillow, there was to be no more sleep for him tonight.

He looked up at the steel ceiling above his head and cleaned the dried tears from his eyes. As he flicked away the sleep sand he could see the vision of a desert, red sands and cacti as far as the eye can see and also of bodies with wide brimmed hats, with their collections of repeater rifles and revolvers. As soon as it had come the vision was gone, replaced once again by the ceiling of his bunk. He sighed after the vision had passed, these were rare maybe once in every few hundred days would he get one such as that, a different battle field each time and different enemies.

The most recent additions to his nightmares was that of trench warfare and the new hell it had brought with it. Only a few months ago his regiment of the 44th Krieg had been decimated when they successfully retook Wey Shung Prime from a Tau Expansion. What started with a regiment two hundred thousand strong, in an army of over four million guardsmen had been reduced to two thousand Kriegers and thirty thousand guardsmen over four years of siege warfare.

He shuddered, remembering not only the muddy trenches, barbwire and bodies being blown apart from plasma rifle rounds. But also the heretical propaganda of the Tau and kroot… oh Emperor the kroot were the worst from that memory, he could remember watching them as they ripped apart guardsmen and ate them while still alive. He turned his thoughts away from Wey Shung, there would be time enough for nightmares later.

That was six months ago and now he was in orbit of Krieg with half his regiment, the other thousand being integrated with the other surviving regiments of the Wey Shung Campaign into the 1st Periar Regiment. The thousand that he was with was to be reassigned to help train the new 44th Krieg regiment, then go back into the meat grinder in another few months or a year. Not that the Death Korps were going to complain, they never said anything out of turn… they were almost inhuman enough that he had serious consider transferring to a Catachan regiment if anything to keep himself on his toes and talk to his troopers.

His son murred as he rolled in his bunk below him. That was the reason why he didn't sign up with the Catachan's though, both because it was usually a death world the Catachan's got sent to, which probably would of swallowed up his son in the first few days and the fact that there was amazing high attrition rates among commissars with 'friendly fire' incidents, so his son would be without a father. Danolov couldn't let that happen, not to his only flesh and blood, he didn't want him to experience the hell he went through when his parents met their end's at the talons of tyranids so long ago. His son would be at a disability as well because of his-

There came a knock at his door." Commissar Bracket." The voice came from the flat tone of a Death Korpsman." The Captain of Third Company and the Captain of The Faithful Missionary request your presence on the bridge." Danolov sat up and swung his feet over the side of his bunk." I will be there within the next half hour, dismissed trooper." He had to of added that order or else the trooper would have been waiting outside of his door for as long as it took him to get ready." Yes sir." The trooper moved on as Danolov's feet hit the metal floor. He quickly dressed, only having enough time to wash under his arm pits and pull on his uniform. The full wash and shaving would have to wait till he returned. He left a note or his son on the door saying he was called up onto the bridge and would return in a few hours at most.

He then power walked to the bridge, over a kilometer of distance covered in less then twenty minutes. The bridge of The Faithful Missionary was small by imperial ship standards, only fifty yards at its widest, but it wasn't a warship as it was a relatively small transporter of three kilometers in length and one high. He walked to its center, a hologyph surrounded by the ships captain, the captain of third company, the ships astropath and a tech priest overseeing the use of the hologyph." Commissar." The captain of the ship, Drefus, nodded to Danolov." Captain." He returned the greeting." What is needed of me?" He asked.

The Drefus spoke." You and third company are no longer bound for Krieg and will be transferred to The Great Crusader." Danolov cocked an eyebrow, that was highly unusual and unheard of for a regiment… well company to be taken off retraining duty, especially when they were in orbit of the world they were going to train for." What is the reason for this transfer?" He question. Captain 174 of the Third Company spoke." Astropath Capernicus has received orders from the High Lords, the remains of the 44th Krieg are to be redeployed to Ultima Segmentum, Zodiac Sector, planet Vulpine to oversee the preparation of new Imperial Guard regiments being raised there." Danolov was just barely able to keep his shock in track when he heard that the Zodiac sector was training guardsmen. He knew about it from his time serving with Inquisitor Goran… they had finally accepted the furry inhabitants as fully human then and not as some curiosity or abhumans. That changed things for him immediately.

" When are we to leave for The Great Crusader then?" Commissar Bracket said, crossing his arms." Tomorrow, at 1600 Terran Standard hours." Drefus then pointed to the hologyph, pointing out a ship. The tech priest enlarged the image so that the image was clear. The Great Crusader was to put it mildly, huge. It stretched for sixty kilometers and was twenty deep, it could easily fit two million guardsmen." How big of a contingent are we taking aboard once we arrive in the Zodiac sector?" Danolov asked, the last time he had been on a ship that big was four years ago when the 44th was raised for the Wey Shung campaign. Captain 174 answered the question." 100,000 guardsmen from Vulpine and there are to be another 13 worlds, their forces will be of varying size though and of no concern of ours." Danolov nodded it made sense with a ship that big, the high command must be planning on sending the newly founded army on a mission after it was assembled… which would explain why they wanted some of the most experienced troops the Imperium had to offer, with the troopers to be examples and lead them in battle.

"Astropath Capricorn also has an order for you direct from high command as well Commissar." Danolov turned to the astropath wondering what he was to do now." Well then go on." He said to the psyker. The blind astropath then spoke, his voice being that of a High Commander of Terra and not that of a feeble creature." Commissar Bracket, by order of the High Lords of Terra we name you Lord-Commissar and now put you in command of commissars that will be the Emperors word with the Vulpine, Caneid, Ratical and Dracona regiments founded in Zodiac sector. May the Emperor guide your hand steadily." The message ended and Danolov was stunned by the news. Yes he had been serving as a commissar when he earned his red slash when he was sixteen, over a quarter century ago now, but a lot of other commissars were the same age and haven't been promoted beyond their standard rank. Yes he had command skills, he demonstrated that when he took over command of the 44th for two weeks when its colonels and majors were killed off, but again that was because of an emergency at the time he could only fill. Then he realized why they had selected him to be a lord-commissar. It was because he had fought alongside some of the Zodiacs and….

He scowled it was Inquisitor Goran who probably suggested it, he knew that he was probably the only commissar to treat the Zodiac regiments as equals at first and wanted him to be the one to make sure that he kept the other commissars from creating problems with the new regiments. He really disliked how the inquisitors mind worked, but could not fault its logic… especially now that he would be obligated to return the favor when the Inquisitor called on it."Is there anything else captains?" Danolov asked, keeping his eyes down at the hologyph. Drefus shook his head and Captain 174 said." No, not at this time. I will send a guardsmen to collect you tomorrow when we leave." Danolov then saluted and left.

He walked back to his cabin and took off his coat. He proceeded to wash and groom himself before putting his uniform back on. After that he went to work on some paper work, in other words he settled into a regular work day behind the lines. After a few hours Danolov saw the time and decided that his son had over slept enough. He walked over to his sons bunk and pulled the sheets down." Hey time to wake up Abe." He ruffled his son's head, his grey hair and dog ears being ruffled. Abe woke up with a yawn, the little four and a half year olds tail wagging once as he said." Five more minutes."

"No, you have exercises and Schola Study. Up boyo up, we have a big day coming." Danolov told his son, a smile tugging at his lips. This was the reason why he had stayed with the Krieg, this was the reason why didn't put a bolter through his skull to stop the nightmares, this was the reason why he stayed alive. His half canenid son.

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A/N: So the character development and story begins in earnest. I don't know when I'll update, but rest assured the next chapter will have combat in it. Tell me what you think of this starting point and of any mistakes I made.