Her nickname is "Tanj", and she's certainly living up to it. For her, it seems, "There Ain't No Justice." As a young engineer on a tramp space freighter, this Cheetah-morph found herself the victim of a scam, sold into slavery, and trained as a sex-slave. Sold to pirates, she finds herself as a pawn in a much larger struggle. This story contains bondage, non-consensual sex, and hopefully some humor, adventure and intrigue. Adults only, PLEASE!

Tanj's Tales: Gotterdamerung, Part 3 By Kittiara Stardate 2401.4

The Double-cross Evolves

It'd been bothering Juan all week. It really was none of his business; the transactions had all the proper clearances, and yet it was bugging him. Normally that would have been fine; watching for unusual things like that was all part of his job as an accountant in the General Services Administration. But the kinds of things he kept an eye out for seldom had the stamp of the President's office on them...

Lunch break came, and almost to a furr, the offices emptied. The Capital city was still fairly free of terrorist acts, and it didn't take much self-delusion to convince yourself there wasn't a war on. Lingering in the male's washroom, Juan waited a reasonable length of time, and then slipped back into the accounting office. His supervisor's cubicle was vacant, the old Weasel being fond of starting lunch early and finishing late, and as expected, his computer was still running, still logged onto the network... sitting down, Juan entered a few passwords he'd picked up here and there, and a few more he'd been given by a "friend"... Fingers flying over the keyboard he did what he did best; searching out graft, and theft... And sure enough, there was a trail. They hadn't even tried to hide it, at least not from HIS practiced eyes... The upper levels of the Elysium government were starting to move government funds. Investments in major corporations were being quietly sold off, at a rate that wouldn't quite panic the stock markets... A cross check showed "portable" financial instruments and tangible items were being bought up. He couldn't connect the two... not yet. Still, the coincidence was significant, the conclusion inescapable. Making careful notes, Juan scrolled through the downloaded pages, erasing them as he went...

Kenoshi smiled and patted his belly happily. The Thursday all-you-can-eat lunch buffet was one of his weaknesses, one his wife would give him endless grief over, if she ever found out. Settling into his desk chair, the Weasel paused for a moment... it seemed as if his desk chair was nice and warm... ever since the war had started they'd turned the thermostats down in the building, and he was perpetually cold... but this felt as if someone had just risen from his chair... Frowning, the Weasel took a careful look around his office; everything seemed in place, the mouse just where he liked it, the keyboard just so... Moving carefully, he told his computer to review its last dozen actions... What he saw made his eyebrows rise so far he thought they were trying to crawl over the top of his head...

Juan put the disk in an envelope, and calmly walked out of the building. He'd heard the Weasel's yelp of surprise, and didn't think it was something good. Strolling casually, he made his way to the "dead letter drop" and calmly slipped the envelope into the crack in the wall. It was barely visible there. Turning, he made his way back to the office. It was risky, but if he were missing, they'd KNOW he was a... well, not a traitor, but that would certainly be the way the Government would see it. Smiling, delighted to be doing his part for the People of Elysium, he just hoped that the courier found his envelope, and that the Reds could follow his logic...

Sebastian worked the ancient manual hedge clippers, clipping a sprig here, a leaf there. The Hedges were almost perfect, and he didn't really need to be working on them; however, it did allow him to be here, with a good view in through the Parlor window. His employer, head of the household, and senior member of the Senate, was inside carefully wrapping a Ch'ing dynasty vase in bubblewrap. Laying it very carefully within its suspension harness, he turned to find the roll of tape. It had become obvious that the Senator was going to be leaving soon. Some things might be kept from the public, and some things might be kept from the press, but it was almost impossible to fool one's servants.

The evidence had been accruing for weeks. A painting missing from the upstairs hallway, its now empty and comparatively worthless frame stacked in the basement. A rare cloisonné vase was no longer in its display case, and the master of the house had been acting with increasing nervousness. His bubble-headed "trophy" wife had been telling the servants that they were going to store the valuables until after this unpleasantness with the rebels was settled, but no one believed her. SHE still thought they were all going to the beach house in a few months, and that territory was well behind rebel lines now...

The note was brief, written in a cramped style. Looking around, the gardener lifted the rock just outside the servant's entrance, and slipped the folded piece of paper underneath. It was the one dead spot the security cameras couldn't see. Rising, he picked up his weedwhacker and made a few desultory passes, just so that no one would suspect...

Phoebe sipped her tea and listened to the conversation in the lunchroom. A table over, just behind her, sat a covey of "executive secretaries." One, an overly well-endowed vixen, secretary (and part-time mistress) to the Chairman of the Board of the Microware corporation, was giggling to her croneys about the "business trip" she'd be going on soon... Seemed there was going to be a conference somewhere, somewhere with warm sand and tropical skies, and her boss wanted, absolutely insisted that she accompany him. Funny thing, though, he couldn't say just WHEN it would be. Something about security. She's to be ready to leave at a moment's notice... Pretending to read her paper, Phoebe listened, trying to remember names, and what little information the Vixen had. As lunch ended, she scribbled a note on a small piece of paper, and slipped it under her now-empty coffee cup. Leaving the tray on the table, instead of placing it in recycling, she knew one of the bussboys would check under the cup for a note... And pass it on to the appropriate person in her resistance "cell"...

The Serval looked at all the scribbled notes and shrugged; how Intelligence could piece together ANYTHING from all of this was beyond him; still it was his duty to smuggle such stuff through the lines, and deliver it to the appropriate furrs in the Reds organization. Checking to make sure he had his Reds ID well hidden, and that his pistol was fully charged, he moved out of the shadow of the building, and started trotting towards the woods at the edge of town. This was supposed to be a "thin" spot in the lines, and he didn't expect too much trouble sneaking through...

Xyloff leaned back in his chair and grinned at his intelligence staff; "you mean you don't understand what the pattern means? I'm surprised at you, Comrades!" Looking at the blank faces the Wolverine grinned; it wasn't often that he could out-think this group. "Then again, perhaps I understand their mindset a bit better, given my background. The Rats are about to leave what they perceive to be a sinking ship. When they think that all is lost, the key government and industry figures will abscond with what wealth they can carry!" One of the analysts, a Buffalo, rubbed his chin; "I'm not sure, Comrade. I admit some of them may be preparing to retreat to a safe haven, such as the Harbinger mountains. We've heard rumors that the hard core Elysium troops are planning to hold up there. It would be difficult to force them out, and to pursue them into that rough terrain would be... near-suicidal." Another analyst nodded; "And the liquefaction of national wealth might merely be another attempt to import weapons and mercenaries..." Xyloff shook his head; "No, While I admit it could be any, or all of those things, I believe we're seeing the approach of the end." Turning to the Operations staff he grinned; "Now, here's what I want to do to try and hasten their departure. When they leave I want them fully panicked, and moving too fast for caution..."

Marshal Golovko looked at the message flimsy and shook his head. It was incredible. It was inconceivable and yet the Reds Party Headquarters had ordered him to ignore his flanks and drive straight for the Elysium Capital. While the Elysium forces were in general retreat almost everywhere, exposing his flanks to their still not- inconsiderable forces was inviting disaster. Looking up at his aide, the Bear growled; "Political Objectives my ASS!" The aide, a much scarred and much decorated Panther, only shrugged; "Marshal, if you waver in the slightest it WILL be your ass. We have no choice." Sadly the Bear nodded; "Very well, lets take a look at the maps and see what we can do to minimize the damage..."

Senator Delany watched as one of his servants brought the aircar around. He'd always prided himself on driving himself wherever he needed to go, not making use of limousines and chauffeurs... But recently he'd been particularly careful about starting the car in the morning. Politely thanking his butler, Delany slid behind the controls, glancing in the back seat just to make sure there were no assassins hiding there. Now that they were so close to leaving, it wouldn't do to be killed like poor Senator Croft. Still the old biddy had been foolish, taking way too many chances, almost as if she were inviting the Reds "justice" squads to come for her. Lifting off smoothly from his residence, Delany debated which of the several routes to the capital building he should take today.

Brumm smiled as he saw the blip appear on the traffic control radar. They'd tapped into the system that the civil authorities used to control aircar traffic. And of course as important a personage as the Senator had their transponder flagged in the supposedly impregnable system. It made him a whole lot easier to track. And to kill. Nodding to Grimaldi, the Wolverine sat back, letting his associate fly their rented van, as they closed the distance...

Making another random turn, Delany smiled. Traffic was light today. Glancing in his rear-view monitor, he noted a white delivery van, with a rental company's logo on it. Thinking about the transfer of important records from outlying districts now threatened by those rebel scum, the Senator made another random turn. The van followed.

Brumm nodded; "Now, Grimaldi, hold it steady..." Reaching down, the Wolverine lifted the remote control box into his lap. Flipping a switch, he was rewarded with a set of glowing indicator lights and a slight vibration beneath his feet.

Delany's instincts were good. He hadn't survived in the Senate for as long as he had without knowing when he was in trouble. The path of his aircar developed a slight weave, as if the operator were slightly drunk... and slowing down, then speeding up, he managed to make a turn and descend a level, merging into the traffic heading away from the capital.

"He's on to us" Grimaldi growled. Brumm nodded; "fly between the eastbound and westbound "paths". Close on him and I'll take him out from above and behind." Below the van, the optics of the strap-on anti-aircraft laser twitched, as Brumm tried to sight in on the now-fleeing aircar.

Delany scanned his dashboard. No tracking radar; that meant the assassins were going to try for some sort of passive kill. His car was well stealthed, but that didn't mean it was invisible in the infra-red. Glancing in his rear-view he blinked. The Van was gone... Craning his head around, he searched for them, convinced they wouldn't give up so easily.

"You know, Brumm, flying here is going to send a strong signal to every civilian who sees us; flying between the eastbound and westbound levels is supposed to be reserved only for the police. And we don't look like the police." Brumm shrugged: "When we start shooting, they'll know it for sure. Now be quiet, I need to concentrate."

The flicker of laser light licked out, lashing diagonally across Delany's car. On either side, it cut downwards, across city streets. Pedestrians and parked vehicles burst into flames.

Delany swore; his car was armored, a reflective layer just below the paint dispersed most of the beam, and an ablative layer below that absorbed the rest. Still, he wouldn't be able to take much more of that. Horsing the car around, ignoring the traffic rules, he sought an escape.

"Get behind him, I need a better angle!" Brumm couldn't believe the Senator had survived the first hit. He must be flying something very special. As Grimaldi grunted and worked the controls, the Wolverine lined up for his next shot.

Delany felt the aircar shudder, and loose power. It didn't feel as if he'd lost one of the fans, more like one or more of the power cells had dropped off line. Frantically, he looked towards the ground, looking for a good place to crash-land.

Brumm grinned; his third shot had taken out the right side fans, slicing from rear to front. The car had spun out of control. It would have been nice if it had exploded on impact, but unfortunately things like that only happened in thriller holos. Telling Grimaldi to hover for a minute, the Wolverine used the laser to make sure no one could possibly be left alive in the wreckage.

"THERE THEY ARE!" Sergeant Boggs looked at his rookie partner and shook his head. Keying his mike, the German Shepherd growled; "We have the van in sight; they have some sort of laser weapon. We're going to hang back and maintain surveillance until backup arrives. At his young partner's "Aw come on, Sarge, we can take 'em!" the Shepherd just growled and rolled his eyes.

Brumm grinned and leaned back in his seat. The Senator, in trying to escape, had flown into a factory district; there had probably been no living eyes to record his demise. As Grimaldi calmly flew back towards the main traffic pattern, the Wolverine wondered what his next assignment might be.

"Police 491, this is Phantom Lead, moving up from your six, target in sight" "Roger that, Phantom Lead, this is Sergeant Boggs. Central says these goons are a Reds "justice squad", and you are cleared for use of deadly force." "Roger that, 491, we're rolling hot." Boggs shook his head; "I wish they'd let them clear the city before they started using military weapons, but I guess they want to make a point." The kid in the seat next to him just watched in awe as two interceptor missiles turned the van into so much tinfoil. Luckily they still weren't out of the factory district...

In an automated relay station, a small box clicked. One of Brumm's contingency plans, should they need help escaping, was the total incapacitation of the traffic control system. A last-ditch effort, as it would leave too many clues as to who'd done it, and probably let the Elysium government know how to make sure it didn't happen again, the Wolverine had set it up on a timer, figuring that if he didn't countermand the order, he'd either be in real trouble, captured, or dead. In two out of three cases, he might be able to use the assistance... His gizmos didn't disable the system so much as feed it countermanding signals, and to spoof the backup system into thinking the primary was functioning correctly. All over the Capital city, signals went green in three of four directions, speed limits and altitude designations changed, and in some places the flight path indicators "drifted" so that opposing streams of traffic found themselves coming at each other head-on. Chaos reigned.

Olson sipped his coffee, as he looked over the city editor's shoulder. The stories of death and chaos when the traffic system had been sabotaged were heartbreaking... and should put their news e-publication in great demand. With a sigh he shook his head; it just figured. Here he had a scoop on high level embezzlement that should blow the lid off the Elysium government, and it'd probably be buried on the back page. Of the classifieds section. Taking another sip of his coffee, Olson reflected on his "source"... the shadowy figure had "Reds Political Wing" written all over her. She'd fed him tidbits before, but never anything like this... That and she was one VERY sexy Ermine, and gave head like no one he'd ever run across. Or even heard about. Talk about "deep throat"... that Mink could take ALL of him... Hmmmm. Maybe when his editor asked, as he knew he would, he'd code-name his source "Deep Throat"... that had a neat ring to it...

J.T. watched the monitor, as the editor compiled the "front page" of the latest edition. The report on the sabotage of the traffic control system, and the shocking assassination of Senator Delany served the Elysium Government's purposes well, but this article about some of the financial "maneuverings" that were happening would not do at all. Entering the override code, J.T. quietly rearranged the appearance of the publication. Then, picking up his commlink, he quietly arranged so that those that knew of that particular story would either quietly disappear, or make their own front page as victims of another "Reds Justice Squad"...

Erog looked at the sheaf of reports and shook his head; "This story about our liquidation of certain assets is most disturbing. Are you sure you were able to squelch it?" The Wolf nodded; "Yessir. We haven't caught up with the "source" yet, but we've managed to halt its release on each occasion so far." Erog nodded. Feeding the reports, one by one into a shredder, the President of the Government of Elysium looked up; "we're going to have to move up our departure date. Things are progressing faster than we had anticipated." The Wolf nodded; "Let me talk to the others to see how we can accelerate the timetable..."

The Ermine purrrred softly, and stretched langourously. She knew, without looking, that the Wolf's eyes were on her. Riveted to her. He was close to drooling. It hadn't been difficult at all to pick him up, in the spaceport bar. What had been difficult had been to fend off all the interested furrs, both male and female, that frequented the bar. But she'd been waiting for just this one... not because he was attractive, although he wasn't THAT bad. Not because he was single, although that helped. But because he was the Executive officer on the Ragnarok, one of the few remaining cruisers in the Elysium Fleet. The Reds psychology department had given her a number of possible candidates, but she liked his profile the best. Despite his position, his authority, he was a closet submissive, and that made her job all the more fun...

It hadn't taken much to bring him under her spell. Demanding he fetch her a drink, sending him to fetch her wrap from the cloak-check 'bot. Telling him that they'd be going back to her place. Little touches added at just the right moment. And bit by bit she'd seen the light of desire flare in his eyes. She could almost hear him thinking, wondering if this was the one fem that could give him what he truly desired...

Once back at her rented apartment, she'd become even more insistent, more demanding. Of course her demands were interspersed with kisses, and gentle caresses, mixed among all the preludes to love. Their first coupling had been wild, full of primal energy, with the Wolf thinking that he was leading, his male ego obscuring the signals that she'd been sending, the subtle directions she'd been giving him. In time, upon reflection, he'd realized that she had actually been controlling him, and be all the happier for it. Normally she'd take her time with him, seeing him a dozen times before she sunk the hook, but the political situation just didn't permit that. She'd have to move faster. Recklessly fast. As the Wolf's knot slowly subsided, she giggled and tilting her head up to whisper in his ear, she made a suggestion that he may or may not have been ready for. Such were the needs of the situation, and of the Party...

The Wolf knelt on the floor of the Ermine's apartment living room, wondering just how he'd gotten himself in this fix. He was nude, with heavy cuffs around ankles and wrists, cuffs actually LOCKED on. A heavy collar encircled his neck, the lock dangling at the back. He could feel it sway as he moved. Part of him was absolutely aghast at what he was doing; after all, he'd just MET her. Another part of him was in ecstasy, as evidenced by his raging hard-on. This is what he'd dreamed of, longed for, for as long as he could remember. It was MUCH better than the few sessions he'd timidly paid for, with a professional dominatrix. She really knew how to push all his buttons. Currently she was laying on the couch, on the other side of the room, seemingly asleep, exhausted by their bouts of lovemaking. His gaze roamed over her form, longingly. Dressed only in an amazingly tight corset, which cinched in her waist to an unbelievable diameter, her bounteous chest rose and fell with each breath. Even from across the room, he could still smell her arousal. She'd instructed him to kneel in the corner, to wait for her command, and obediently, he had. Now the locks insured he'd remain there, until released. As he watched her sleep, he wondered if she'd let him loose in time for him to make it back from leave on time. Part of him didn't care.

The Ermine smiled to herself and studied him through slitted eyes. Feigning sleep, she watched, wondering how long it would be, before he tried to rouse her. It wouldn't be long before he'd have to be back to his ship, and given his position, it wouldn't be long until the military police were looking for him, fearing terrorists. Stretching again, she purrred and opened her eyes a little further. "Crawl over here, Slave, and lick me." Shifting a little, the Ermine, dropped both legs over the side of the couch, giving him a good look at her still-dripping sex...

The Wolf groaned. With wrists locked to ankles, and ankles locked together, fulfilling her demands would be hard, and yet he must. Shifting back and forth, fractionally moving closer with each movement, drew a frown from her, and he remembered the riding crop with a shudder of both delight and fear. Thrusting himself forward, he gained a 'standing' position on his knees, and awkwardly, started to "walk" towards her. When he lost his balance and fell on his face, she giggled, instead of criticizing him, and suddenly he felt better about the whole thing; it WAS still just a game, and not something more... wasn't it? Struggling back into a kneeling position and then again rising to his knees, he shuffled forward, all but falling against the couch, his muzzle jamming hard against her cleft, making her squeal in delight.

Later she stroked his head softly; he hadn't been able to shift his position much, upper torso laying on the couch, as he knelt by its side, his muzzle resting on her mons. She wondered what she looked like from there, as she laid back against the couch, legs splayed on either side of him. Grinning down through the valley of her breasts she purrred, and stroked his head, and talked to him of his work, of his position. As expected, there was an undercurrent of annoyance in his voice. Annoyance with the admirals that were controlling the Fleet, annoyance at the constant interference from civilian authorities... Smiling, the Mink stroked him softly and wondered quietly if perhaps a change in leadership might not be so bad, for a patriotic, dedicated warrior. When he didn't immediately object, she smiled, knowing she had him.

The Ermine was still nude, the furr of her thighs still wet and sticky from their lovemaking. The Wolf was back in his uniform, perhaps standing a little straighter. Not caring in the least if anyone saw her through the partially open door, she put her arms around his neck and kissed him. "Remember what I said; Think it through logically. And if you agree; if you want to help, to help the people of Elysium, if you want to help me... if you want to help YOURSELF, come to the party. Bring your friends. Bring those you think might help. Tomorrow night. And I promise, you and I, we'll sneak off somewhere private, and play some more. Just the way you know we both like it..." The Wolf swallowed and nodded, and without a word, turned to stride off down the corridor. If he moved fast, he would make the last shuttle back to his ship...

The Ermine closed the door, and smiled. She needed a shower bad, but that wasn't the first priority. Moving to the comm console, she placed a call. The number was a public comm terminal in the port, and while unsecured, she thought anyone listening in wouldn't know what she was talking about. In any event,k it was something she had to risk. "Hello, Robert? Yes, it went fine. Please keep an eye on him for me; if I'm wrong, I'd like to know as soon as possible. Yes, tomorrow night. Ok, thanks, Dear. Bye!"

The Stoat broke the connection and turning, walked away from the public comm. Dressed in an Elysium starfleet uniform, he attracted very little attention in the port. The Reds had some agents within the Fleet, but not enough for what was planned. They needed to recruit key personnel, and recruit them as quickly as possible. Preferably at such a pace that by the time the recruits had time to think over what they'd done, it would be too late. But then, if anyone could do it, the Ermine could. She was one of their best Agents Provocateur...

"Maria, I simply don't want to hear it. You will do as you have been instructed, without questions, without qualms." The Ermine stared down at the young Skunkette with a stern look on her face. The Reds had provided the females she'd asked for, and while each one was stunningly beautiful, they were scarcely "enthusiastic volunteers." Most had been blackmailed into performing as required, some were here because of threats made against their families. But all had been briefed on the sexual "kinks" of their targets, thoroughly trained in how to please the males they'd been paired with. If none of them lost their nerve, it should all work. Looking at the Skunkette, the Ermine softened her "look;" "I know, Dear; I know. I've been through this before, and I do remember. Anal sex can be painful at first, but if you just relax, it won't be so bad. Many actually like it. I know, I've come to treasure the unique sensations it can give you... Now just calm down. Remember, this is for the good of the Party, and for the People of Elysium. Its TERRIBLY important for The Plan." The Skunkette wiped away a tear and nodded; "you really DO like it?" The Ermine smiled; "its an acquired taste, but yes, I've come to enjoy it. Give it a chance." As the Skunkette turned, padding away, back to the bar for some "liquid courage" the Ermine sighed. The Elysium Starfleet officer she'd been assigned to had a penchant for anal sex; problem was, he was a beast, who frequently left his partners in need of medical attention. The Skunkette was probably going to me much the worse for wear by morning. Still, it HAD to be done. The Mission was just too important to let little things like the desires of one person, or even a hundred persons interfere...

The Wolf slid his arms around the Ermine's waist and whispered in her ear. She giggled, as if he'd said the most delightful thing and turned back to whisper in return; "Go to the end of the hall; last room on the right. Prepare yourself for me. Be imaginative. I want to find you naked, bound immobile, unable to escape without my help, and oh so ready for me. I've got to make sure the party gets off to the right start, but I'll be along as SOON as I can!"

The Stoat smiled as his gaze wandered across the monitors. In each room, fiber optic cameras, thin as a hair, were recording scenes of debauchery that... probably wouldn't faze the current Elysium society in the least. However, coupled with the fact that each of the Fleet officers were with furrs that very soon would be almost universally known as Reds agents WOULD draw their interest. And insure their complete, if grudging compliance.

The Wolf blinked as the door closed behind him. The room was dark, save for a single spotlight; in the spotlight was a large wooden "X" with shackles dangling at the ends of the arms. And in the middle was a large phallic shape, angled upwards. He knew where that was supposed to go. On the floor was a tube of lubricant, a collar, and a bunch of padlocks, all open, all without keys. Smiling, he started to strip off his uniform. What he was about to do might be the stupidest thing he'd ever done in his life, but be that as it may, he couldn't help himself. She would find him exactly as she expected...

The Warthog smiled as he pulled on his uniform. The Skunkette had been just the way he liked 'em. Compliant, tight, and terrified. He looked at her nude, sobbing form, and wondered how long it would be, before someone found her tied to the bed? Shrugging, he grinned and figured that was her problem, not his. Turning he let himself out, locking the door behind him.

The Ermine slipped through the door, and grinned as she beheld the Wolf. Locked tight to the cross, he squirmed slightly. It was questionable as to whether or not he even knew she was there, thanks to the form-fitting leather hood locked around his head. Smiling, she wondered if the horseradish she's smeared on the dong was getting to him yet. Whether it was or not, it was obvious from the size of his erection, that he was thoroughly enjoying his situation. Shedding her dress, she sashayed towards the bound Wolf, and the proper culmination of the party. She just hoped the Stoat was getting all this recorded correctly...

The Warthog stopped and looked at the Stoat wearing the junior officer's uniform. Frowning at the interruption he took the proffered envelope. Tearing it open, he pulled out the photographs, and frowned. They showed him with the Skunkette, the night before. All, except for the last one, which was a printout of a wanted poster, showing the same Skunkette... And claiming she was a Reds Agent. Eyes widening, he turned to look at the Stoat, who just grinned back. Taking the startled Warthog by the elbow, steering him into a side corridor, the Stoat began to explain the obvious benefits of joining "The Cause"... and telling him exactly what was required of him.

The Ermine slipped through the door into the hotel room and smiled. She'd slipped out of the port without anyone seeming to be the wiser, making her way to the capital city. Now, after a quick fur-dye, and a radical change in style of dress, she was making her way back to report. Her mission had been largely successful. Only three of the "recruits" had to be "eliminated" to keep them from telling what they knew. All the others had either joined the Reds of their own volition... or had been successfully blackmailed into cooperation. If everything "held" she'd be able to deliver two Elysium Cruisers and at least four Destroyers to the People's Space Navy, at the critical moment. There were a few more critical personnel that she might be able to suborn, though. Tonight's target was a Commander in the Elysium Aerospace Defense forces... And while this one didn't seem to have any sexual kinks she could make use of, or be susceptible to bribery, there were still buttons she thought she could push. She had evidence that the Elysium leadership was about to abandon the fight, to save their own skins, looting the treasury in the process. His psychological profile suggested that he'll want their heads for such an act, and would do almost anything to "punish" them for such a betrayal. Smiling, and stripping off her conservative business suit, she laid out her dress for the evening... there wasn't much to it... It should catch even HIS eye.

"No, no, Comrade Quistling, you misunderstand me. I WANT the Elysium leadership to flee the planet. There are several benefits should they do so; the first is that when they flee, those still fighting on will be dispirited; they will realize their leaders have cut and run, leaving them in the lurch. Resistance should crumble in a matter of hours! It will mark the end of our Struggle, and be our shining triumph! Secondly it will put all of the traitors in one place, at one time. With the People's Space Navy in place, there should be no trouble at all capturing the key figures for public trial, and eliminating the rest of the vermin! Also, they'll have the wealth of the planet in one place as well, and we'll pluck it from their paws. No chance of those dastardly Blues gaining any of it!" The Lemming looked up at the Wolverine and blinked; "You seem so sure, Comrade; but how do you know that the Peoples Space Navy will be equal to the task? The remaining Elysium forces are not inconsiderable... And then, there's the Brethren to consider." Xyloff made a sour face; "Comrade, I have a plan for the Brethren. You see, our agents have cleverly recruited key figures in the Elysium space forces; at the appropriate moment they'll take over their ships, bringing them over to our side. Between them, and the PSN, we should have more than sufficient force to not only capture the Elysium leadership, AND deal with those Pirate Scum! THINK of the propaganda coup it'll be; the Whole Planet will laud us as Liberators!" Frowning, the Lemming shook his head; "I do hope you're correct, Comrade. It would look bad for us, if they were to escape. Such a political disaster might just prove... "unsettling" for some of our Leadership...

Xyloff blinked at the Lemming, and nodded slowly. Ever since the "assassination attempt" the rodent had been changing. He was no longer the intellectual, the academic bent on teaching the people of Elysium a better way... And now... an implied threat against HIM? Mentally, the Wolverine reviewed his plans, making sure that even with the strongest of will, the little rodent wouldn't be able to upset any of his plans... It SHOULD be foolproof... Forcing a smile, he nodded at the Reds Chairman; "Comrade Quistling, I assure you, this will work exactly as I have explained; I'll stake my life on it!" The Lemming nodded, as if to say "you have".

The Return Trip, part 1

Tanj took another look at the departure checklist and sighed. Fuel. Full. Atmosphere gasses. Full. Consumables. Full, including a batch of fresh donuts from the bakery just down the docking ring. Clearances. That had taken a little wheedling, but she'd finally gotten through the bureaucracy, and had gotten all the required clearances. Hinoki had made a hasty trip to Harriet's, to say goodbye, and to complete some unspecified task with the fantasy simulator... They WERE going to have to think of a better name for it than that. Crew. Telltales showed everyone on board, but she still hadn't seen Zassa in a while. The Vixen was STILL in the cargo bay. Whatever her secret project was, it must be extraordinarily complex. Still, she had the nagging feeling she was forgetting something... Something important. "Oh, well, if its important, it'll come to me..." Scanning the engineering boards again, making sure the ship was ready, she leaned over and flipped the microphone switch on her control column; "Free Trader Beowulf to Gibralter station traffic control. Requesting immediate permission to release docking clamps and leave the station."

Sam looked across at Walt and swallowed. Nodding he gestured for the Gerbil to take the call. Walt shot back a "why me?" look, but keyed his mike anyway. "Um, Free Trader Beowulf, you are cleared to undock. Vector 117 mark 43 at 10,000 KPH until you clear the outer marker. Meet departure control on 143.9 for further instructions. And, ah, Have a good Trip." Tanj smiled and keyed her mike; "Thanks, Boys, 'preciate it. We'll be sure and look you up the next trip!" Blipping the thrusters she backed from the port, making sure all the umbilicals snapped clear. Wheeling the Freighter, with all the grace and agility of a ... Well, if not an interceptor, then at least a Raider class vessel, Tanj nudged her ship onto the proper course, and eased it up to the specified velocity. Changing frequencies, she heard Sam issuing rapid-fire orders to the other traffic in the area, clearing a pathway for them, straight to the jump point. Tanj grinned and wondered what the Fox and the Gerbil will make of their sudden departure from the filed flight-plan, once they'd made the first jump. Grinning wider, she thought of the reputation they'd picked up here; it would probably only inhance the stories already circulating about them. Yes, indeed, returning to this station could be VERY interesting...

The Jaguar slouched in his command chair, the scowl on his face a warning to anyone on his crew who knew him, to keep their distance. He somehow hadn't really expected the Cheetah to call and say goodbye, but then... Well, he'd hoped. Waving a paw in the general direction of his executive officer, he watched, as his crew smoothly moved the Battlecruiser away from the station, and in pursuit of the freighter.

Tanj sat in her pilot's chair, her tailtip flicking nervously. What HAD she forgotten, in her haste to return to the Brethren? To the Action. To her Master. As her gaze swept the flight deck, she frowned at the flash of blue. Leaning closer, she frowned. The cargo bay No.2 monitor was showing only blue. Fiddling with her console for a moment she transferred the image to her pilot's console, and then fiddled with the focus. Fibers jumped into detailed view, for a moment. Fibers? Fabric? And then she grinned; Zassa had been wearing a blue jumpsuit. She'd probably hung it over the monitor, to preserve the secret she was working on there. That was all well and good, but it just wasn't safe. Wondering if something had happened to the Vixen, wondering if she'd possibly been hurt assembling whatever-it-was, she did a quick medical scan of the area. No, everything looked fine. Heartbeat, respiration, electrophoretic activity all looked nominal. What WAS Zassa doing down there. Filing it away for future reference, the Cheetah Fem turned back to her piloting. They weren't out of the system yet, although right now it appeared the trip out was going to be a lot shorter than the trip in, thanks to their friendly traffic controllers.

Hinoki poured himself a cup of coffee and as he settled into a wardroom chair, grinned at Wanda; "Oh, I have LOTS of things planned for our little Vixen. I still mean to punish her for her impudence, in pirating my system like that on the way out." The Wolverine lass grinned back; "but without your little toy, how WILL you punish her?" The Cheetah male leaned forward, over his coffee, to conspiratorily whisper; "The old fashioned way; what I have in mind is, well, its some of the most diabolical things I've EVER planned! And that includes the little trap I left for Harriet's Tiger Assistant." Wanda's eyes grew wide, and she leaned forwards across the table too; "DO tell!"

The battlecruiser was hard to miss, even if it WAS behind them. Tanj watched it with growning concern. It was obvious that they were pushing their ship to its in-system drive limits, and it was just as obvious that they were headed for the same jump-point. At first Tanj had thought that the Jaguar was coming after her for NOT saying goodbye, the obvious thing that she'd forgotten. And then she'd had a flash of paranoia that the Wolf from Intelligence, Chalmers, had ordered them to come and bring her back. After a number of other possibilities had flashed through her mind, she'd settled on the thought that the Imperium was going to check up on her story, about the doomsday device. Very visibly, very pointedly. Maybe if the planet WASN'T destroyed, the Jaguar had orders to bring her back to the Wolf. Chewing on the end of a stylus, she wondered what the best counter-move would be.

Wanda leaned back in her chair, and shook her head; "So when does your little trap for CT spring?" Hinoki chuckled; "Why, as soon as he tries it for himself. I had him don the cranial sensor web for 'calibration" purposes. The System's "learned" his brainwave pattern, and the next time he dons the sensor web AND runs a program, it'll take over." Wanda nodded; "But if this guy's as good with electronics and computers as Harriet says he is, what's to keep him from finding the little trap you'd left?" Hinoki shrugged; "nothin'. But he'd have to go looking. And look HARD. But if he's good enough, yeah, sure." Wanda sipped her coffee and chuckled; "you realize this could mean war. You may never be able to use that system safely again..." Hinoki chuckled and nodded; "Yeah, well, that's all part of the fun. Tell me, WHAT do you think he could program that thing to do to me, that wouldn't exceed the safety limits AND overly distress me?" Wanda got a thoughtful look in her eye, and just Hmmmmed, as she sipped her coffee.

The Jaguar looked at the image of the Cheetah on the main viewscreen. He'd been running a small bet with himself as to whether she'd call, and now that she had, he wasn't sure if he was glad or pissed. The Impudence of this creature! Still, he was having a hard time keeping his eyes on her face, and not gazing at that spot where the zipper of her jumpsuit had been pulled, well below her navel. It looked as if she were about to burst out of the tight fabric... Most distracting. Shoving memories of their nights on Gibralter station off, to be savored later, he cocked his head to one side, and just looked at her.

Tanj smiled, figuring from the angle of the video pickup and all the upturned faces on the bridge of the battlecruiser, that she was rather publically displayed. "Just wanted to apologize for not saying goodbye. I was, um, "recalled" rather suddenly." The Jaguar nodded slowly, his face seemingly cast in stone; "Yes, so I was told." Tanj's eyebrows went up, and she smiled. "Chalmers?" "The Same." Tanj's smile slipped away. "You have no idea how wrong I hope I am on this. But... I AM good at my job, and right now, all the evidence points the other way." The michevious grin reappeared, her eyes flicking out to check position, and Drive Status. Looking back at the Jaguar, hesitating just a fraction of a second she brought her paw down on the Jump Drive button just as she purrred "Race Ya!"

The Jaguar's eyebrows rose, and his jaw dropped, as the freighter vanished in the Jump Point, the comm signal being lost at that instant. Impudent? Impudent didn't BEGIN to cover THIS one. For a moment he was speechless, and then a grin spread over his face too. Lover, or adversary, he wasn't sure which, but this one was DEFINITELY a worthy... Opponent? Turning to glare at his Exec, the Jaguar growled; "Did you HEAR that?" the Exec, a full grown Cape Buffalo standing at least a head taller than his Captain, blanched at the fury in his voice; "Yessir! How DARE sh..." "Never mind THAT, AFTER HER!" Settling back into his command chair, as the pitch of the in-system drive ratcheted up another degree, the Jaguar smiled. At least life wasn't dull.

Tanj's fingers flew over the keyboard. She'd had the cloaking device primed and ready to go, the'd cloaked almost as soon as they'd completed the jump. Now the Warp drive was howling, as she flung her ship back out of the system, its course a curve calculated to throw off pursuit. The fastest route had been mapped on the way out, but now she had a better handle on fuel consumption figures. She figured she could shave at least a half day off their time, on the way back. IF she kept everything perfectly tuned, and pushed her small ship to the limit. It wasn't just the battles raging at home, or her longing for her Master. OR her desire to beat out the Imperials. Some nameless dread was growing within her, as if the fact that the Imperium was sending a ship to monitor the destruction of Elysium only lent creedance to her own conclusions...

Hinoki paused, frowning. The noise the cloaking system made when it engaged was characteristic, as was the way the by-product static field made his fur stand on end. Well, they'd made most of the trip out cloaked, it only made sense, he guessed, to return that way. Shrugging, he hefted his load and headed down towards the cargo bay. He had a score to settle with the Vixen, and time was a'wastin'.

The Jaguar leaned forward in his command chair, watching closely as his ship came out of the jump. How far ahead was the Cheetah? Just how fast WAS that ship of hers? Would she win the "race?" As the screens cleared, he searched the tactical display for a sign of her ship. After a full minute, he turned to his sensor officer; "well, where IS she?" The officer just shrugged; "Don't know, Sir..."

"NoSir, I... well, we DID see a small ship emerge an hour ago, or we THOUGHT we did, but it vanished almost immediately. For a moment we thought someone had made a bad jump, but we couldn't find any debris. In the end we concluded it had been a sensor glitch of some sort..." The Jaguar growled and waved his acknowledgement. Cutting the connection to the system's traffic control center, he sat back and thought for a second. Cloaking devices weren't unknown. His ship had one, after all. But civilian freighters couldn't afford the luxury. It only lent creedance to the story that she was actually working for Imperial intelligence. THEY could afford them, all right. But if she WAS Imperial Intelligence, why send HIM after her? Something was fishy here... Looking up at his Sensor operator, he growled; "Well?" The officer swallowed; "Um, Captain, it would appear, ah, well, there are SOME signs of a ship going into warp in this vacinity, but the vector isn't definite... It would appear to be out-system, on a course of roughly 340 mark 120, plus or minus ten degrees on each vector. If we follow the ion trail, we can probably refine that some." The Jaguar waved a paw dismissively; "No, there are too many tricks to confuse the trail. Navigation! Plot the FASTEST course to the Elysium system, lay in, and Engage!" The Exec cleared his throat; "Captain, if we do that, we'll probably arrive there with dry tanks..." The Jaguar nodded; "Call for a tanker. And make sure the tanker is escorted. Tell them we'll meet them on the fringe of the Elysium system. Nav will give you an ETA." The Exec nodded and turned to stride across the bridge, to consult with the comm officer. Staring at the viewscreen, the Jaguar mused to himself; "Not eight hours into the chase, and we've lost them. Warp drive AND a cloaking device? INCREDIBLE! I wonder what OTHER tricks she's got up her sleeve?"

Hinoki stood quietly just inside the personnel door to the cargo bay. The Vixen was asleep, or so he thought, unresponsive to the quiet "sh-shoosh" that the powered door made. Or if she WAS aware of his presence, she was faking it rather well. Respiration, the slow rise and fall of her chest, suggested slumber. For a moment the Cheetah male watched her chest rise and fall, his eyes roving over her breasts, and the way her harness held them, seemingly offering them up for his touch. How long had she been here like this? Moving with all the stealth of a hunting cat, Hinoki moved over to examine the reservoir mounted on the side of the cage. Taking a moment to trace out the plumbing, it became apparent that one of the phallic shapes mounted inside the cage was for drinking water, the other for food, supplied from the tank. And that tank was down several inches. It was apparent she'd been here a while... Grinning, he moved quietly to set up HIS little toy, leaving the Vixen to enjoy hers.

Zassa came awake slowly. Was that a sound? Sitting up, she turned her upper body, unable to move her head much, due to the stiff posture collar. Yes, that definitely sounded like metal-on-metal. Someone was there! With the ring gag making speech impossible, the Vixen moaned as loudly as she could, trying to get that person's attention...

Hinoki smiled as he put down the wrench. He'd heard her, but had no intention of responding. Let her stew for a while. He had work to do. Picking up the tube of sealant, he turned to the large sheet of transparent aluminum.

Tanj frowned; now the security system showed both Hinoki AND Zassa in the cargo bay. And the monitor still only showed the blue of Zassa's jumpsuit over it. What WERE those two up to? Taking another glance over her instruments, the Cheetah fem yawned. She'd been on the flight deck since departure, save for a few trips to the potty, and to the wardroom for coffee and sandwiches. She'd had a few cat-naps in the pilot's chair, some of them unintended, and she knew she couldn't push it much further without some serious rest. "Ought to get one or the other of them up here to stand watch for a while" she muttered to herself. The Warp drive had gotten them into a different "chain" of interconnected systems, making the Jump Drive once again practical. Still, she'd run some calculations and then run 'em again, determining that she could save time by warping high out of the ecliptic of the system being passed through, staying well away from the gravitational singularities, and although it was more costly in fuel, longer in light-seconds traveled, she could still shave time off their transit across the system to the next jump point. Fuel was the problem; if she didn't watch it VERY carefully, their tanks would run dry before they got home. And that took her at the controls. Yawning again, she strecthed and muttered to herself; "Just let me get through the Acworth system, make the jump, and then I'll get someone to releave me. Traffic control there isn't going to like what I'm gonna do..."

Hector looked at the image of the sleepy Cheetah Fem on his monitor and muttered; "Beowulf, your course to the designated jump point is 301 mark 347. Hold your speed to... um... 25,000 KPS. Advise when crossing the orbit of the fifth planet." The response he got was not the sleepy achknowledgement he expected, but a growl instead; "Acworth traffic control, Beowulf. No can do. We are on a very time-sensitive misson. Now here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to head outsystem on a course of... (yawn) 167 mark, um, 15. I'll alter course at 3 AU, describing an arc around your system's primary, and then approach the far jump point from outsystem. I'll drop out of warp just in time to jump." Hector scratched his head; "First off, that's an illegal maneuver. If you attempt that, I'll have the Guardia waiting for you at the far jump point. Second, its gonna cost you an amazing amount of fuel. What in the world could be that important?" The Cheetah fem just smiled and shrugged; "the fate of an entire world? Nevermind; call the Guardia if you choose. I'm doin' it anyways. Beowulf out." Hector shook his head, rose from his chair, and ambled across ops to find his supervisor. In the wee hours of the morning like this, the place was awful quiet and O'bannon was playing a computer game on one of the spare monitors, obviously doing something, anything, just to try and stay awake. "Um, boss... Ah, red Queen on Black King? We got ourselves a free trader goin' a little berzerk out there...

O'Bannon listened as the Ferret explained the situation. Rising, he gestured back at the traffic controller's station; "Just 'cause she says that's what she's doing doesn't mean that's what's really happening. Show me." Sliding into his chair, Hector pointed at the display; "see right... Here? Hey, where'd they go?" O'Bannon nodded sagely; "See? Just something to throw you off. Maybe they WANT the Guardia at that jump point, while they do something else, somewhere else. Play back your log tape and lets see what happened to your mystery ship..."

Tanj yawned and bumped into the table as she negotiated her way into the wardroom , looking for a cup of coffee. Wanda sat in the far corner, feet propped up on an empty chair as she read one of her nursing journals, raising her eyes above the edge of her magazine as she took in the sight of the rumpled, yawning Cheetah. After taking a long sip from her mug, Trouble grinned at the Wolverine fem; "Do me a favor? Go on down to the cargo bay, and ask either Zassa, or Hinoki to spell me on the flight deck once we get out of this system? I'm about dead on my feet..." Wanda just nodded; " Be glad to have an excuse to see what they're up to down there. Given the last 'toy" Hinoki came up with, on the trip out, I expect BIG things from them!"

O'bannon just nodded sagely as the freighter cloaked; "See. Pirates, no doubt about it. Appraise the Guardia of our situation. They're probably planning on raiding the planet." Hector nodded; "But what if they really ARE after something at the far jump point? O'Bannon shrugged; "nothing of value there; no ships scheduled through there for another forty hours. If they want to leave that fast, let 'em. But lets face it; freighters don't carry cloaking devices. Those are definitely baddies, and I'm afraid of what they might be after HERE. Hector just nodded and shrugged, reaching for his commlink. It was, after all, his boss's call.

The Jaguar looked at the report and nodded; "A freighter, announcing an illegal maneuver and then cloaking? It certainly sounds like her. Bold as brass." Looking up, he nodded to his navigator; "how far ahead of us does this put them, and can we catch up?"

Thinking to sneak up on the Cheetah male, to see what he was up to this time, Wanda exercised all the stealth at her command, to sneak into the cargo bay. What she saw was a disappointment. Hinoki was just filling a large tank to near the top with a clear liquid. The sound of the fluid rushing into the tank easily masked the sound of the door, and she was able to come right up behind him, to brightly ask "Whatcha up to?" Hinoki almost overbalanced, to topple into the tank; as it was he had to drop the hose to catch the edge of the tank with both paws. Turning to glare down at the Wolverine, Hinoki growled "Don't DO that to me! You have any idea how expensive this stuff is?" Moving fast, obvously having problems with the slippery liquid, he reclaimed his grasp on the hose as quickly as he could. Wanda frowned; "Um... no. What IS that stuff?" Hinoki jerked his head around, to shoot a glance at Zassa, and then again almost loosing his balance, he made shushing motions at the Wolverine; "um, nevermind." Wanda, following his gaze, made a small sound of delight, and padded over to look at the caged Vixen. Still, she wasn't distracted for long; turning she made her way to where the hose Hinoki held terminated in a large portable tote-tank. Bending over, reading the label, she smiled; "Ah... yes, this I recognize from my nursing journals. I belive it has applications for treating..." "Wanda will you SHUT UP?" Hinoki stage whispered, shutting a valve at the end of the hose, and precariously climbing down from his perch. Pulling the hose behind him, he came up to the Wolverine to hiss in her ear; "This is my punishment for Zassa. Now DO NOT let the cat out of the bag, or I'll put YOU in there!" Wanda grinned and looked at the tank; "Um, you know, that MIGHT be fun... but of course I know the secret. OK, I'll keep mum, but you have to let me watch. Oh, and later you have to let me borrow it for Kath." Hinoki sighed; "All right, just so long as you filter all the hair out of it when you're done, and, ah, "regenerate" the fluid." Turning, Hinoki threw a valve, and started a pump, moving all the liquid back into its storage tank, a flowmeter carefully monitoring the volume...

Zassa had heard the hushed conversations, only the occasional word clear enough to hear. She was sure, by now, that Hinoki, and Wanda, for she'd recognized the voices, knew she was there, and were ignoring her. There was nothing to do but wait. And wait. She'd felt like she'd been in the cage for months. Just how many servings did that food reservoir hold?

Kath blinked at her mistress; "Um, Yes, Mistress, but now? I still have some cleaning to finish..." Wanda grinned and shook her head; "It seems we're getting into "punishment" phase for sins committed on the way out, and while at Gibralter station. And you, Missy, deserve "punishment" more than any, for not trusting us with your secret!" Kath blushed and looked down, nodding slightly as the Wolverine attached the leash to her collar. The cargo bay was the anticipated destination, but what Kath saw when they arrived there wasn't what she'd expected. Zassa, in the cage, bound almost gently... it didn't look like that severe a punishment...

Wanda watched Kath gaze in confusion at the cage as she strapped and locked the body harness onto her. "Have you figured out the food system yet?" Kath nodded slowly; "Mistress, it looks as if you have to hump that dong in the floor, to get your food delivered through the phallus at mouth height." Wanda cinched in the waist strap another notch and nodded; "and the other one's for water; just suck on it. Hole in the far end for waste." Turning the Mink to look into her eyes, the Wolverine paused for a moment; "you ready for this?" Kath shrugged and nodded; "it seems rather... Bland, Mistress, but yes, I'm ready for my punishment." Wanda nodded and then smiled a little mysteriously. Reaching up, she tighened the straps, forcing the ring gag into the Mink's mouth, and then lifting the visor in both hands she clipped it into place. Taking the Mink by one arm, she maneuvered her to the door in the cage, pushing down, to make her kneel.

Zassa heard the bolt scrape and thought, for one wild moment, that she was being set free. At long last! Moving towards the door, she unexpectedly encountered something soft blocking her way; and then it hit her; she wasn't being let out, someone else was being let in. She had a cell-mate. For a moment, disappointment threatened to overwhelm her... but then she smiled to herself; maybe having a cellmate, with nothing else to do, wouldn't be so bad. Now... who could it be? Moving a little closer, she bent to nuzzle, sniffing, searching for an identifying scent.

Kath felt the Vixen nuzzle her, and giggled softly. Squirming she tried to bring her muzzle around; the ring gag made licking possible, and she knew how good the vixen was with her tongue... maybe this wasn't such a bad "punishment" after all!

Wanda smiled and sat on a nearby packing crate, watching... It hadn't taken the Mink and the Vixen but seconds to begin exploring each other's bodies, as best they could... But the ring gags limited what they could do with tongues, and their paws were useless, mostly; they could please each other, but only in the most awkward of ways... Still, it was fun watching them try.

Hinoki watched the two fems in the cage for a while, and then shook his head; "I'm going to wait until they get good and tired" he wispered to Wanda, "and then I'll fetch Zassa out for the start of her punishment. How long are you going to leave Kath in there?" Wanda just shrugged; "Probably until we get home; alone it'll get grim, shortly. It's the least she deserves." Hinoki nodded and turned to leave, but Wanda's paw on his arm stopped him; "Tanj said that she wanted you or Zassa to relieve her after the next jump." Hinoki frowned for a moment; "You mean she's been on the flight deck since we left?" Wanda just shrugged as she nodded: "Um, yeah, guess so..." Hinoki sighed and nodded, and with a wave, turned to head for the personnel door.

Tanj yawned hard, shook her head, and checked the coordinates again... She'd thought they'd have a hot reception at the far jump point, but there was no sign of the Guardia. With a shrug she collapsed the cloaking device, and reached for the jump drive controls. For a split second she had a flash of paranoia that the Guardia was also cloaked, just waiting for her to de-cloak, so they could attack... but then, an instant later her fingers were dancing over the control panel, engaging the jump drive. They came out of the Jump normally, and the astrogation computer confirmed their position. This system was uninhabited, with three possible exits. Tanj grinned, and smoothly shifted the freighter into warp drive, turning and heading for another system, almost two days distant, one that was on a different "chain" of jump points, one that would lead more directly to home. Making sure the autopilot was engaged, that the cloaking device was working, and that there wasn't any other traffic on the scanners, she rose, to see if she could find someone to spell her on the flight deck. It was time for some serious sleep...

Zassa moaned in frustration as the Mink tried to grind her knee into the vixen's pussy. It felt good, and she knew it would shortly bring her to a climax. It was just... awkward. Still, clumsy as the two girls might be, it was vastly more interesting than just sitting in the cage alone...

Hinoki smiled at the sleepy Cheetah; "looks like you've had a time, Captain. What's our situation?" Tanj yawned again, covering her mouth with the back of one paw: "Um... on autopilot to NC23579. There' we'll pick up the standard trade route towards Elysium." Hinoki blinked; "Already? Surely I haven't been down in the cargo bay THAT long..." Tanj waved a paw; "I dunno, you guys been down there an awfully long time; but then I've been pulling some tricks too; we're well ahead of schedule, compared to the way out. By the way, what HAVE you been doing down there?" Hinoki smiled; "you look like you could use a rest. Tell you what, you go get a shower, and then I'll take you down there and show you." Tanj yawned again; "Can't it wait until after I get some sleep?" The tired Cheetah missed the glint in Hinoki's eye; "No, actually, I think this is something you need to see before you sleep. You won't believe what Zassa's gotten herself into!"

Tanj stood in the cargo bay, nude, and still a little damp, as she watched Kath and Zassa, each restrained by their harnesses, try to pleasure each other. "And you say she locked herself in there?" Wanda chuckled; "Yes, she must have been trying to test it out, see what it was like, convinced that she could escape. Seems she couldn't." Tanj yawned and nodded; "You know, I wish I had time for something like that. Loose myself in the mindless joys of just being a slave again. No cares. No worries..." Behind her, Hinoki grinned, and turned to wink at Wanda; this was working out better than he'd hoped; "Tell you what, Skipper... We're on the straight and steady for about another, um... 37 hours, right? Why don't you join the girls there for a bit; I'll break you out when we get close to the next system. Promise." Tanj turned to look at the male; "Um... I dunno... what if..." Hinoki shook his head; "No buts... You could use the break. Wanda, GRAB HER!"

Tanj eeped as the Wolverine's strong arms closed around her, as Hinoki approached with another of those harnesses. "hey, now, I'm really not sure... UMPH!" Hinoki grinned as he buckled the ring gag into the Cheetah's mouth, clipping the blinder on as soon as the head harness was in place and reasonably secure. As he tightened the straps, the male chuckled; "Its not mutiny, Captian, if you can't say no..." With both Wanda and Hinoki working, Tanj was bound like the other two fems in mere minutes, and then Hinoki was tugging on her right nipple ring, pulling her over to the cage door...

Zassa heard the door open and again her head came up, but it wasn't open long enough for her to escape. Sensing the warmth of another body, her nose filled with Tanj's scent she purrred, thinking to herself; "Oh, goodie, another playmate..."

Kath moaned as the vixen's tongue left her pussy; she'd been flat on her back, knees raised and spread, as the Vixen had licked insatiably at her sex. Given the distraction she rolled over awkwardly, got to her knees and shuffled over to the water phallus. As much as she liked it, it was time for a break. Lord, that girl NEVER got enough...

Tanj purrred as she felt the tongue stroke across her mons. Looking down through the thin gap at the bottom of her visor she could just make out Zassa's nose nuzzling her. Grinning, she rocked her hips forward, doing what she could to offer herself to the Vixen's tongue... Suddenly she wasn't all that sleepy...

Hinoki watched for a while, smiling as the three girls clumsily worked at pleasing each other. He was tempted for a while, to position himself next to the water phallus, to see if any of them, mistakenly or otherwise, would come suck on him, but figuring he'd wait until Kath was bored to tears, he turned to go check the flight deck. Tanj was right, it shouldn't be left alone too long... Still, he'd have to risk it a little for what he had planned later...

Hinoki sipped his coffee, and watched the instruments. Boring. Nothing on the scanners, in interstellar space. Not even a rogue asteroid. Making sure everything was set correctly, he gave the fuel calculations one more check. Tanj had cut it AWFULLY close... but if her numbers were right, they'd make it. Just. Rising, he headed down towards the cargo bay. If he had anything to say about it, things would be getting interesting down there soon.

Tanj snored softly, flat on her back in the now crowded cell. After giving the Vixen at least three climaxes, and receiving at least twice that number of her own, things had kinda spiraled down, until the three girls were about as quiescent as they got. Kath was slowly humping the food dildo, seemingly having trouble keeping up the pace while it fed her... that or she was just enjoying playing with it... Zassa was also on her back, probably asleep. Hinoki took in the tableau and grinned. It was time. Waving to Wanda, signalling her to be quiet, he picked up a leash and stepped towards the cage.

Kath heard the door open, her upper torso turning, the food phallus slipping from her mouth, to face the noise. For a moment she thought her Mistress had come to fetch her, or perhaps Tanj was being let out to attend to some piece of ship's business, but then she heard Hinoki calling the Vixen. And he didn't sound too happy.

Zassa felt the paw on her collar, and before she could come fully awake, she felt herself being dragged headfirst out of the cage. The door slammed closed behind her, and strong paws moved her into the slave's kneeling position. Not knowing what was happening, she fell back on training, and instinct, and kept quiet, and still...

Hinoki unclipped the visor and looked down at the Vixen's face; "Zassa, I told you that when you "pirated" my little invention for your own pleasures, that I would get back at you for that. Now is the time. Your punishment is at hand...

The bridge crane lifted the vixen easily, moving her over the hollow rectangle of the tank, and lowering her down, to lay in a heap of tangled ropes on its floor. Hinoki clambered into the tank, using a portable ladder, dragging gear with him. Squirming around, Zassa tried to get a suitable look, but bound in the tight hogtie, it wasn't easy. After a minute, the Cheetah male turned from his gear, and bent down to undo some of the ropes. Zassa groaned with relief through the ring gag as the strain on hips, shoulders, and back was released... but then Hinoki was bodily picking her up, dragging her to what could only be described as a cross between a hassock, a bench, and a mounting couch. The squarish shape was rubber-coated and well padded, and the vixen lay on its narrow confines, her breasts falling to either side, her chin propped up by its ends. Hinoki quickly placed cuffs around her thighs and knees and locked them to the fittings in the other end of the couch. Her collar was likewise locked to a matching ring in the couch, holding her prone along its length. Next Hinoki untied her wrists and locked each in turn to the base of the front legs of the couch. As a final touch, he tied the tip of her tail to the back of her collar. Running a paw over her ass, the Cheetah grinned; "Now, Zassa, in a moment we'll begin. The tank is slowly going to fill with water. I've got a breath mask, you don't. If I time it just right, we'll both climax just as you drown. They say that the most powerful orgasms come at the moment of asphyxiation; pity there won't be a way for you to tell me if that's true." Grinning at the wide-eyed look of horror on the Vixen's face, Hinoki turned and pulled on the self-contained breathing apparatus, the mask making his head look strangely bulbous. Moving around behind the Vixen, Hinoki put his paws on her rump and gently squeezed...

Wanda chuckled and shook her head; the only real danger was of Zassa being frightened to death. But, there WAS a trained nurse standing by, with all the appropriate rescue gear. And the "reverse" switch on the pump was clearly marked; she could abort the whole thing if she thought something was going wrong. Glancing down at the medical scanner, she pointed it at the Vixen to get baseline readings... Idly she wondered if it would work through the fluid as well as it did through air.

Kath turned her torso from side to side, seeking to hear just what was going on out there; she knew something was up, but couldn't figure out quite what. Hinoki's speech had been muffled and distorted somehow, almost as if he were in another room... What WAS going on out there?

Zassa blinked as the water started to gush into the tank... it had a funny smell, but that was the least of her concerns. Was the Cheetah REALLY going to kill her? Just for messing with his invention? Geez, if he was that touchy about the thing he should have installed a password that she couldn't have guessed! Struggling a little against her restraints, she groaned as the Cheetah slathered her ass with the cold fluid... it felt a little more slippery than ordinary water... Maybe Hinoki was going to drown her in lubricant... now THAT would be fitting she thought wryly to herself.

Hinoki chuckled and drove his cock slooooowly into the Vixen's pussy. Even now, she was dripping wet, a fact that only slightly surprised the Cheetah. Pumping her a few times, he grinned and pulled out, to press the head of his cock against her anus...

Zassa groaned loudly as the Cheetah thrust his cock into her ass... It wasn't really the way she wanted to go out... not that she had any say in the matter, it seemed... Squeezing hard, clenching her anal ring around the Cheetah's shaft, she wondered if she made him cum early if he'd have to start the sequence over? She could feel the water covering her paws now, slowly climbing up arms and legs... Somehow it seemed to be rising much faster than she wanted... she was nowhere near cumming yet...

Hinoki chuckled and reached down, fumbling under the clear liquid; this fluid had the damndest refractive index, and while he could see the big, knobby vibrator, he had to move his paw around a little to find it... Grinning through his mask, he lifted it free of the liquid, to shove it into the vixen's dripping pussy. Giving it a twist, he turned it on full, and then, lifting his paw, letting the slick fluid drip down onto where his cock was working in and out of the Vixen's ass, he picked up the pace a little... it wouldn't be long now...

Wanda squirmed a little from where she was sitting, one paw sliding between her thighs... She wondered what it would be like to be so very helpless, your death apparently creeping up your limbs, time slipping away... and all the while being fucked in SUCH a manner... shuddering she smiled and undid the button at the front of her pants sliding her paw under the waistband, stroking herself a little more directly...

Zassa shuddered, so lost in her impending climax that the first cold tickle of water against her chin almost wasn't recognized for what it was... suddenly the sensation, the gentle lapping of the fluid against her body, waves formed by the Cheetah's rapid humping, brought her back to reality, and with the first pangs of panic, she lurched against her bonds...

Hinoki smiled, and reached around under the Vixen, to stroke her now submerged quim, his fingers lightly dancing over her clitty, knowing that this might just distract the Vixen from what was about to happen...

Zassa's eyes went wide as the fluid crept up over her nose. For a moment she spluttered, and then she realized that now she had to hold her breath; the liquid had risen too high... and all the while the Cheetah's incessant thrusting, the angry buzzing of the vibrator, and his slick touch upon her clitty were all serving to drive her towards the most powerful climax of her life...

Hinoki felt the Vixen's body start to shudder; she'd been holding her breath for almost two minutes, and he knew she was near the end. Grinning through his face mask, he leaned forward, to capture her breasts; pinching each of her nipples HARD, he felt the nature of her writhing change, from impending drowning to a sharp climax! As the last vestiges of air escaped from her muzzle in what might have been a cry of ecstacy, or a wail of despair, he felt her pussy clench down hard, spasming around his cock as she entered some place between life and death, between heaven and hell... It was more than he could take and with a silent roar, his orgasm arrived, his seed pumping hard into her throbbing ass!

Wanda watched the Vixen's vital signs, heartbeat spiking... and then slowing. Grinning, she wished she could read blood gasses on this thing; but she could monitor lung action; the Vixen was breathing again, albeit at a MUCH slower rate...

Zassa's vision slowly cleared; that HAD been the most powerful climax of her life... maybe. Slowly it dawned on her that her vision wasn't fading, although the burning in her lungs had been quenched when she'd inhaled a huge lungful of water... THAT had been a unique, and not all that pleasant sensation. Now she was just kinda floating in a post-orgasmic haze. The vibrator still droned in her pussy, although the Cheetah had pulled out of her ass... Wondering when she'd loose conciousness, the Vixen waited for what came next...

Hinoki panted hard, leaning back against the wall of the tank. Little droplets of cum had escaped from the Vixen's distended ass, and were now floating lazily around in the fluid. He watched them for a moment, wondering how to filter them out. After a bit, he chuckled and reached out to grab the bottom of the vibrator still stuffed in the Vixen's pussy. Twisting it slowly left and right, he grinned, wondering how long it would take Zassa to figure out that she wasn't dead...

Zassa moaned softly, the sound strange, under water. She could feel the vibrator moving in her pussy, and that was very nice... but aside from that, she thought being dead was kinda dull. And she'd never figured Hinoki for a necrophiliac... sighing she tried to concentrate on the pleasures the vibrator was giving her, as she waited for what came next...

Hinoki stroked his rapidly hardening cock with one paw as he teased the Vixen's quim with the other paw... Talk about a wet pussy, this one couldn't get any wetter... grinning he pulled the vibrator out of her pussy, and pressed it against her bottom, shoving it where his cock had so recently been. Moving forward a little, he drove his cock into her pussy, feeling the fluid squish out around his shaft...

Zassa purrrred, eyes closed as the Cheetah started to fuck her again... If this was beind dead, well, it wasn't quite hell, now was it? Giggling to herself, she clenched her vaginal muscles down around his shaft, doing what she could to milk him...

Exercising all the mental control he had, Hinoki made it last as long as he could; still, the novelty of fucking Zassa underwater like this was... most stimulating, and she WAS very talented, even tied hand and foot. It took him less time than he'd wanted to cum. Figuring it was time to start phase two, he pulled out, and then bent down to search for the ring of keys he'd dropped on the tank's floor.

Zassa laid on the floor of the tank, exhausted. It was a task to "breathe" the fluid, even if she didn't have to inhale/exhale as often as with air. Her chest was starting to hurt. And she was bored to tears. Hinoki had left her in the tank, with nothing. Well, nothing except the classic "Ball and chain" locked around one ankle. Even with that anchor, the fluid density was close enough to her body's density that she neither floated or sank... Well, given time,she'd drift to the bottom, but with that ball it was challenging, VERY challenging to swim to the top of the tank. And that ball and chain was the ONLY thing he'd left her. He'd even pulled up the "mounting couch". She felt like a goldfish in a glass jar. Looking up at the surface of the liquid, she wondered once again, if she had the nerve to try and 'escape"... Her first attempt at expunging all the fluid from her lungs had been a painful one... and she'd discovered that she just didn't have the strength to pull herself AND the ball and chain up and over the tall side of the tank. If the fluid level had been closer to the top of the tank, it MIGHT have been possible... "Maybe they don't KNOW I can't do it?" she wondered to herself. Glancing over at Tanj and Kath, still in the cage, still visored, she wondered how they planned on feeding her? Could she drink this stuff? Did fish drink?

Hinoki took a last look around the flight deck, making sure all was in order. Strolling down the corridor, he found Wanda reading in her cabin; "Ready to drain the Vixen?" Wanda nodded, putting down her book; "You realize that she's gonna kill you for this stunt, don't you? It must have been scary as hell to "drown" in the first place, but now she's gotta go through it again as she clears the liquid from her lungs. That's gotta hurt." Hinoki chuckled and looked at the small pouch in his left hand; "Oh, I think I've got a way to keep her from killing me; at least not yet. You know, there are MANY ways to train a slave... And Zassa's about to learn yet another one..."

As they walked towards the cargo bay, Wanda mused "you know, Tanj probably isn't going to be too happy about this either." Hinoki just shrugged; "That, my dear Wanda, will ALL depend on Zassa's reaction to her experience. I'm sure its not something she would have chosen, but now that its been forced upon her, how much do you want to bet she'll wind up actually treasure having been through it? Wanda looked at the Cheetah critically; "Um... I'd put a month's salary on it, 'cept if I'm right, you'll be too dead to pay up." Hinoki just laughed.

Zassa watched with no small trepidation as the Cheetah started the pump. Slowly the liquid level in the tank started to fall. She'd HOPED that he'd climb back into the tank with her, to fuck her again... now that she was used to it, it might be kinda fun... But he hadn't done that. In fact, he hadn't given her a second glance... As the liquid descended, she too fell, from a standing position, to a crouch, to a kneeling position, to hands and knees, and finally to prone. Once again, the liquid passed her muzzle, this time on the way down, and "exhaling" as hard as she could, she prepared to take her first breath of air in what seemed like days...

Hinoki scrambled down the rope ladder, moving quickly while the Vixen was still coughing. She'd risen to hands and knees, and her posterior was a perfect target for the hypodermic...

Zassa YELPED, her voice sounding both normal, and strange in her ears. Growling she turned to look at the Cheetah, but he was already swarming back up the rope ladder, pulling it out of her reach just before she could grab it. Glowering at him she growled; "I AM going to get you for this, you know that, don't you?" Hinoki just chuckled, grinning back from the other side of the transparent aluminum tank wall; "I doubt that; if you kill me, or even make me mad, well, you won't get any of the antidote for the tailored virus I just gave you!" Zassa's eyes went wide, and her mouth fell open. By the time she'd recovered, Hinoki had sashayed out the personnel door.

Wanda followed the Cheetah Male with her eyes and then turned back to her medical scanner. The Vixen seemed OK; there were no signs of rising temperature... what HAD he injected her with? Could this be just another hoax? Moving to the bridge crane controls, Wanda started moving the hook over the cage. "Hang on, Zassa, I'll get you out, and then we'll get you down to sick bay, to see what we can see..."

Zassa sat on the examining table, cold, dripping wet, and miserable. Something was starting to happen... Her chest still hurt, tired more than anything, from "breathing" a liquid, but beyond that, well, she just felt "funny"... Wanda couldn't seem to find anything with any of her tests either, but that didn't mean there wasn't anything there... Could it all be psychosomatic?

Wanda shook her head; "I don't know, Zassa, I just don't know. You have an elevated white blood cell count, but not outside of tolerances... it COULD just be from your recent experiences. And you're running a low grade fever, but that could be from any number of things. Maybe you picked up a bug from the fluid..." Zassa shot the Wolverine a glance; "you knew about this, didn't you?" Wanda grinned; "Yeah, he didn't tell me, but I figured it out when I saw the labels on the drums. I've run across it before in the hospital on the base." Wanda looked at the soggy, "Drowned" Vixen for a moment and then stepped over to give her a hug; "Hey, you don't think I'd actually let him hurt you, do you?" Zassa sighed; "I guess not; and it was a neat trick of him, suckering Tanj into the cage like that; I bet she still doesn't know what happened..." Wanda chuckled and took the Vixen's head in her paws; after an all-to-brief kiss, she pulled back to look at her; "So tell me, do you think Kath would "enjoy" the experience?"

Tanj heard the cage door open, and felt someone move close. A moment later, the visor was removed... Blinking in the sudden light, the Cheetah fem looked around, her eyes locking on the Vixen... she looked like she'd been dipped in mousse, her fur all spiky... Zassa smiled, a cold, chilling smile; "Come on, Tanj, you've had enough rest, I think; there are things that need attending to..."

Counterspy

The trick was ancient, but it worked. The Mouse stood close to the wall, an antique stethoscope pressed against a certain place, listening. No electronics to show up on detectors. No fancy spy gizmos. Just simple sneaking around. There wasn't an electronic bug detector in the world that could pick him up as he listened like this. As long as he didn't have another coughing fit... As he heard the Wolverine's heavy tread move towards the door, he stepped back, dropping the stethoscope into the trash bin of his janitor's cart. A moment later, the Wolverine hurried down the corridor, not five meters away. For a movement that supposedly honored the working furr, no one ever seemed to notice the janitor, as he quietly mopped the floors.

Kasoff watched the Mouse mop the floor. He moved efficiently for one in such a menial position. He'd been in the break room when the Mouse had stopped for coffee, and they'd said a few words. He seemed too intelligent for a mere Janitor, as well. Yet, in this time of chaos, there were an awful lot of furrs taking any work they could. And he knew the Mouse was sick, too. Maybe that had something to do with his inability to find work more fitting his obvious intelligence. Still, there was something about the quiet, unassuming, and unusually diligent Mouse that worried Kasoff. And since he was head of security for the Reds Party Headquarters building, it was his business to worry over such things. Picking up his commlink he quietly ordered a tail to be put on the mouse...

The fit of coughing passed as it always did. The Mouse looked at the bright red of his own blood on the handkerchief and sighed. Couldn't be long now. Smiling, he straightened and hurried down the street, all too conscious of the amateurs following him. The first "drop" was at a café; the note was almost casually passed to the waiter, with his money. The second was a burst transmission, from what almost anyone else would think was a portable stereo. The odds of detection were low, but still finite. Finally, he passed what he'd learned to a friend, at a local tavern, as the two spent a few hours engaged in a game of chess. Confident that the message had been passed, irrespective of his "tail", the Mouse returned to his dingy apartment. Tomorrow was another day, and you never knew what you'd hear...

The burst transmission was recorded by the spysat. As fate would have it, it had just transmitted its day's take. Meticulously recorded in the satellite's memory, the message sat, awaiting the next transmission.

The Beaver lay face down in the alleyway. He'd come out to dump the garbage from the café, when the Reds security agent had hit him with the blackjack. By the light of a dim bulb, over the café's back door, the agent went through the Beaver's clothing. There'd been nothing in his wallet, not even enough money to pocket. No sign of any passed messages, or communications. But an experienced agent wouldn't just stuff a message in his pocket... Finally, the agent gave up. It was more likely that an experienced, well-trained agent would read the message, commit it to memory and then destroy the message. This one was going to have to be brought in, for questioning.

Pieczinik was moving fast. His Aerospace fighter had been launched from the Elysium Wutan spaceport, and had been under almost constant acceleration ever since. He'd popped three spysats so far, with a fourth growing in his sights. However, his actions hadn't gone unnoticed, and one of those damn Pirates that were working for the Blues was vectoring in on him. He'd have to finish this one and then head dirtside just as fast as he could. His fighter was good, but it couldn't match one of those Raider ships, not one-on-one.

The spysat disintigrated under the fire from the Elysium fighter, its memory burned out almost instantly, all the day's transmissions lost.

Black smiled and took his papers back from the Reds officer at the checkpoint. Stepping onto the train, he wondered how his friend, the Mouse was doing. Lung cancer was a horrible way to die. Shaking his head at his old friend's bravery, he wondered if he'd have the guts to give his final days meaning by daring such a risky venture, as spying on the Reds.

Kasoff frowned; "what do you mean the one he played chess with has vanished? Who was following him?" The Rotweiler blanched; "Um, that was Willoff, but it was my mission; I should be held responsible. There was no way to know that the Mouse would talk to so many furrs, stop so many places on his way home. I just... Ran out of furrs." Kasoff shook his head; "You'd better bring in the Mouse, then, and hope that he's NOT what I fear he is!" The Rotweiler swallowed hard and nodded, saluted, turned and departed hurriedly.

The nondescript fur paused before the public post box, and fumbled inside his coat. Withdrawing a few crumpled envelopes, he slid them into the box, peered nearsightedly at the scheduled pick-up dates, and then, nodding to himself, turned and walked towards the bus stop. Standing in the queue, Black glanced casually around. As near as he could tell, he hadn't been followed. The intelligence from his friend the Mouse, had been encoded onto a microdot, a centuries old technique, but still one that often passed the most rigorous inspection. The microdot was just another period in the letter to his "niece." It would get to the Brethren's Mining station soon enough. The situation in the South demanded his immediate attention, and this route would have to do...

The Mouse smiled a little lop-sidedly at his interrogators, and then broke down into another coughing fit. Most of the heavily muscled thugs stood against the far wall, as if whatever he had might be contagious, a fact that amused the Mouse no end. Here they were, having tried for a week to torture him for information, and afraid of him all the while. Their task had proven a difficult one; the drugs that might pry the information out of his brain might also kill him, something they knew the mouse would welcome. Physical pain no longer had much meaning for him, a constant companion of late. And how do you threaten someone who knows they're going to be dead soon anyways? It was a fascinating situation... The Mouse was almost enjoying their predicament...

The Lion looked at the print-out of the Microdot's contents, and sighed. While the information was critical to their planning, essentially it changed nothing. They would still have to intercept the Elysium ships when they made their run, whether the Reds PSN was there or not. The Doomsday device would have to be stopped irregardless. However, that didn't mean there were things they couldn't do. Rising, the Lion headed out to find Ben. They had things they had to do, and quickly too.

Kassoff looked at the pictures and then threw them down to his desk. It was a truism that EVERYONE broke eventually under interrogation. No one could withstand modern methods for long, although, because of this Mouse's condition, the interrogator's work had taken MUCH longer than it should have. Still, in the end, the Mouse confessed to his espionage, and the transmitter in his lodging had been found, and examined. The satellite it had been keyed to had been destroyed, and the odds were the information had never reached its final destination. They should still be secure. There should be no need to inform Comrade Xyloff... Looking again at the pictures, Kassoff growled quietly; he just wished it had been that thrice-damned Pirate BITCH called Tanj that had been interrogated, and not that Mouse. He would much rather have had HER suffer... but eliminating her agent would just have to do... for now. Pity there wasn't enough left for a public trial; he could have used the propaganda against those Pirate Scum!

Evacuation

Secretary Llewellyn pushed his aircar as fast as it could go, irrespective of the traffic laws. The signal had come, the signal that it was time for the core of the Elysium government to "withdraw." Hustling his family into the vehicle, grabbing the bags he'd prepared, he'd started out in nothing more than a moderate haste for the Gulan starport. However, as he'd driven, he'd gotten the increasing feeling that something wasn't right. For one thing, the defensive installation at the edge of the capital city had seemed deserted, at least as seen from the air. Then he'd been passed by a military convoy. It had been a Mercenary unit, part of the Reavers. Part of the unit that was SUPPOSED to be defending the city. And here they were headed for the Starport? Something was very wrong.

The young Captain stared at the grizzled old mercenary; "Um, Colonel Hawke, Sir, I don't know a DAMN thing about what you're saying. I have NO information that the Elysium government is about to flee the planet. Starport traffic this day is completely normal, with NO indications of a mass exodus." "Listen, Sonny, the word we've been given is that we're being sacrificed, to hold the capital while those Dogs that hired us skip out, leaving us in the lurch. And right now, it doesn't look like those bastards, the Reds, will honor any contract involving Mercenaries. From what I've heard, they're shooting captured Mercs in complete contradiction to interstellar law." Moving a little closer, the older Panther growled; "I am perfectly willing to fight according to our contract, but I will NOT be sold out! If they're leaving, by God, we're goin' with them!"

"Bayonnet Three to Lightning Prime; we've got a situation at the Gulan Starport, checkpoint Bravo." "This is Lightning Prime; go." "Bayonnet Three. Seems someone leaked the news to the Reavers. They're moving in on the Starport." "Lightning Prime. The Capital Guards Division will just have to handle it, if they want to be part of the exodus. I'll pass word to their commander. And we'll give them as much covering fire from the incoming ships as possible. This must NOT be allowed to interfere! Lightning Prime, out."

The elderly Rat looked at the message flimsy and shook his head; he'd been afraid this would happen. Oh, well, this is what they paid him, and his overpolished troops for. Looking up at his adjutant, he sighed; "Tell the troops to check their weapons; it seems, if we wish to leave, we're going to have to do a small job first..."

Spike blinked at her Sergeant in amazement; "we're WHAT? Dammit, the only reason I volunteered for this outfit was because it DIDN'T involve fighting! The Sergeant, in an immaculately pressed set of combat fatigues, shrugged; "you can stay here, and take your chances with the Reds, if you wish. But me, I'm headed for the starport. The Reavers are a bunch of Mercs from an impoverished planet; they've got the reputation of being cannon-fodder for hire. How tough can they be? Besides, you know we always got the best weapons available... Spike blinked and nodded slowly... all their vehicles were painted glossy, instead of matte, and like their weapons, they shone... but they worked too. Maybe it wouldn't be so tough... A little fireworks on the way to the ship out... "OK, Sarge, I'm in."

Llewellyn yelped and struggled for control of his aircar as the shockwave hit. In the back, the children screamed as the vehicle almost rolled over onto its back, and then almost smashed into the side of the parking structure. Then suddenly they were right-side-up, and pancaking down on the parking structure's roof. It wasn't a landing to be proud of, but it was one they could walk away from. Or run, as the case may be. There seemed to be a firefight at the edge of the spaceport, the sound of light weapons filling the air, accompanied by an occasional explosion. As he hustled his family towards the stairs, suddenly NOT trusting the elevators, the Secretary turned and gazed upwards; there was a growing silver dot, the first of the ships arriving. And he was determined to be the FIRST one on that ship and the first one out of here!

Ben looked at the data PADD and nodded. Scrolling down, the old Wolf grunted, and then looked back up at the messenger from Intelligence. "So its starting. OK, keep us posted. I'll be in Ops as soon as I can round up the Boss."

Hitchcock smiled at Melissa Cummings as she tightened the last strap. Such an apt name. She was going to cum until she died, at least if Hitchcock had anything to say about it. Straightening, the 'roo smoothed her outfit and grinned down at the mouse, her former rival for the attentions of their mutual boss. The Minister of Agriculture was a widower, a rather hansom Stallion despite his years, and he'd been playing Hitchcock off against Cummings for years, letting each vie for his attentions, for the right to be his sole Mistress. So when the rumor mill had kicked into high gear, about a coming "relocation to somewhere a little more safe", Hitchcock had waylaid her rival, only to find her with passes and travel documents... It seemed the old Stud had selected the Mouse over her... well, that'd change. When she showed up at the Starport, he'd have to take her... Still, she hated to loose her favorite toy... But... Pausing she took one last look over Melissa's situation; she was tightly bound, sitting on a saddle-shaped seat that was a highly automated female masturbation device. Vibrating dildoes were already busy at work in the Mouse's pussy and ass, each thrusting from time to time, each leaking their own lubricant. Leads attached to the mouse's hard little nipples, delivering small shocks that were more erotic than painful. In her mouth was a thick phallic plug, held on by a tight head harness that also obscured her vision and deadened her hearing. Attached to the plug by a hose was a bottle of nutrient goo, that slowly leaked through the porous phallus... And a catheter shared her pussy with the dildo, draining her bladder to a bottle. She wouldn't die of thirst, or even starvation anytime soon. The whole thing was set up to make her last as long as possible... And underneath the thick foam pads filling her ears, tiny speakers repeated Hitchcock's triumphant laughter over and over... Making sure the door would lock when she left, holding the passes tightly in her left paw, the 'roo departed, grinning, heading for her "salvation"... And, she hoped, her Lover.

Goshi Blinked as the announcement came over the loudspeaker in the subway station. As it started to repeat, she turned, to push her way through the crowd, heading for the information booth. The bleached blonde bunny behind the counter looked up with a truly annoying plastic smile; "May I help you, Miss?" Goshi growled; "That announcement about the line to the starport being cut; what's going on?" "Oh. Oh Dear. Did you want to get to the starport? I'm afraid there's some sort of fighting going on there." "What? But the Rebels are still a dozen kilometers from the city! There shouldn't be any fighting there yet!" The bunny just shrugged, still smiling reassuringly. Goshi wondered if the smile ever cracked. At night, when she'd crawled off to whatever hovel she lived in, did the smile fade? Or was she that insipidly happy ALL the time? Pushing that thought from her mind, she turned to push through the station, heading for the escalator and the surface streets.

The Cabbie looked at her in derision; "are you KIDDING, Lady? They're SHOOTING at furrs there? Ain't NO WAY I'm heading in that direction, no matter HOW much you offer! Just who the heck do you think you are, anyways?" Turning away, Goshi growled to herself. A few days ago, she would have retorted that she was the undersecretary of finance, and a VERY good friend of the President himself, but now, with the Reds and their egalitarian philosophy so close, that probably wouldn't have helped. It might actually have been counter-productive. Tugging on the strap to her luggage, she moved off down the street, looking around for some way to flee the city. Time was running short...

Fargo smiled; the keys in his hand were to a brand new Hokosawa Meteor, one of the fastest and most expensive sports aircars in existance. Trotting into the parking garage, he failed to notice the cheetah fem in the severe business suit... He'd gotten the gullwing door open, and had slid behind the controls, when he noticed her presence. The nerve scrambler in her paw was supposed to be illegal, but it was easily recognizable from the adventure holos... "Out. NOW." Swallowing hard, Fargo complied, sidestepping towards the rear of the vehicle. The Cheetah threw her bag into the passenger seat, slid into the driver's seat, and pulled down the door. Then, with a whirr of fans the Meteor rose unsteadily, wobbled, and then shot off towards the exit. Fargo watched the aircar depart. Part of him was pissed at not having gotten to drive the hot car, even for the few hundred feet to the valet parking stand. Part of him was pissed at the fact that he'd had a vehicle stolen out from under him. With a sigh, he turned, to trudge back to the valet parking stand. Some dignitary was going to be really pissed...

Goshi struggled with the controls; she hadn't actually driven in years. Life in the capital city scarcely required it. When she needed to go somewhere she hired a cab, or even occasionally a limousene. Trying to remember her basic instruction, she struggled to maintain altitude, as she tried to figure out which way the Starport was... Passing through a stream of traffic, obviously against an unseen signal, the Cheetah started to wish she'd forced the parking attendant to fly her, instead of trying to do it herself.

Chang watched the aircar through the sights of his missile launcher. It was a fancy aircar; he couldn't quite identify which make it was, but it was obvious that it was some rich furr's toy. And it was well outside the usual traffic patterns. But it was headed towards Sartha, and the Blues lines. And that fact alone made it an enemy. Squinting carefully, he took a breath, let half of it out, and when the missile launcher gave him the correct tone, he squeezed the trigger...

Goshi looked up from the built-in navigation system, still wondering where the thrice-damned Starport was, as something started flashing on the dashboard. Frowning, she wondered what THAT meant, just as the missile struck.

Lieutenant D'artagan ducked down behind the wall, and shook his head at his radioman; gesturing, for the handset, he squeezed the transmit button and growled; "Sigma Six to Blackhorse Six. We've got a platoon sized unit of Elysium regulars holed up in a shopping center at map reference 236440. Recommend we bypass them, and continue on towards the Capital. It shouldn't take much to keep 'em in place." After a moment, a voice filled with static came back through the earpiece; "Roger that, Sigma Six; keep moving. We'll have a militia unit move up in your wake, to keep that pocket isolated. GO! Blackhorse Six out." D'artagan handed the handset back to his radioman and looked around. There wasn't much left of his company, but they were still effective. And their vehicles still ran. "OK, here's the plan. We'll fall back about a half a click and shift to the west. If we can put those buildings over there between us and the shopping center, we can probably slip past their strongpoint. Remember, the first unit into the capital gets a Month's leave! Now lets get going!"

McGowan looked at the realtime satellite feed in the Blues command center, and shook his head. The situation around the planetary capital was breaking down, military units moving this way and that, with no cohesive lines. Here a Reds mechanized unit had bypassed a strong point, only to have stronger-than-expected forces emerge from the strongpoint to savage the support units following. There a Reds unit had been lured into a dead-end salient, cut off, and was being destroyed piecemeal. But overall, the Reds were slowly driving into the heart of the Capital. It would be a major propaganda coup, but if their intelligence was correct, that's all it would be. By the time the Reds got to the capital building, the building would be deserted, the government fled. And if their intelligence was correct, well, the Blues time and efforts would be better spent pursuing other goals. The Lhasta industrial region, for instance. Strategically, it was a critical area that the Reds had bypassed, in their drive to the capital. And the city of M'upaha, at the Rhone river crossing... And the isthmus of Macarac. All strategic goals, goals that would be well worth having, should the Reds actually attempt to seize power by force of arms after the fall of the Elysium government... After having fought for freedom for so long, the Blues were NOT about to just roll over and let the Reds establish just another totalitarian regeime... McGowan studied the satellite feed and hoped, sincerely hoped, that their intelligence was wrong... But somehow he doubted it.

Erog paced the departure lounge in the Starport, and checked his watch for the hundreth time. He SHOULD have detailed a detachment of security troops to see to Goshi. But his mistress was usually so reliable, so self- sufficient. Now they would have to leave soon, and he hated to leave her behind. ESPECIALLY as his wife had shown up not only in the right place, but actually early, something she hadn't done in years. Decades. He'd been convinced that things would have worked out just opposite from what seemed to have happened...

The Lion looked at the tactical display. There had been a significant movement of ships to the Gulan starport. It wasn't the closest Starport to the Elysium capital, but it was a good choice, a little further from the approaching Reds, and significantly larger than the other available starports. Looking at the distribution of known, and suspected Elysium ships... and the known and suspected locations of the Reds People's Space Navy ships, the Lion nodded; "I think you're right. This is it." Looking up at Ben the Lion sighed; "the situation is coming together as predicted; the primary plan should be adequate. Or as adequate as anything we've yet come up with. Lets put it into motion." Ben nodded, and looked around Ops; "OK, folks, you all know your assigned tasks. Operational control will now be transferred to the flag bridge of the Overlord..."

Sayed looked at the slip of paper and shook her head; "No, this isn't the right departure lounge; you're supposed to be on the P.T. Barnstead. They're at... E17. Take the tram, but HURRY." The Starport was chaos. Periodically the building shook, as Elysium warships, in low orbit, or in the upper atmosphere pounded rebel positions just outside the perimeter. Who could have guessed that the Mercenaries, those Reavers, would have actually been working for the Rebels? Wasn't there a law against Mercs breaking their contracts? With every near-miss the crowd in the terminal seemed to grow more panicked. If things got any worse, Sayed thought, she'd have to start using her stunner to "quiet" things down...

Erog looked at the list and shrugged; "it's a shame more of our people didn't make it through. Whoever leaked word to the Reavers really screwed up everything. Even so, the Captial Guards should still have handled them... Still, as not all the ships made it in, its probably just as well." Looking up, the President of Elysium fixed his aide with a steady gaze, the one that worked so well on the vids; "We still leave on time. Wait for NO ONE.

Spike shuddered as another near-miss shook the ground. It was muddy at the bottom of her shellhole, a broken water line mixing with the soil, and the Sergeant's blood. He'd taken a direct hit from some sort of flechette weapon, his shredded corpse spread all over the far side of the shellhole. And he was starting to stink. Somehow, Spike had known that death carried foul odors with it, but this was her first real experience with it... Glaring at the mess, she growled; "you were wrong, Sarge. The Reavers may not have had as sophisticated weapons as we did, but they had something more valuable. Experience. All the sims I've trained in, not a one of them matched this Hell! And now I probably don't even have a decent chance at getting back to the city, to find a place to hide from the Reds... You've screwed me over real well, Sarge!" Spike inched her way up, to peer over the edge of the shellhole. For a moment all was quiet and then some sort of energy weapon opened up to her left, crimson flame washing in her direction. Sliding back down to the bottom of the hole, to the mud and blood, she cowered as it washed over, intensely hot for a moment, singeing her fur. "If I didn't know better, Sarge, I'd say that was Tasmann. Tasmann, the Prefect's son..." For a moment she giggled uncontrollably; "The Prefect's son. Boy, he sure got his son a soft, cushy position, all right. Kept the spoiled brat out of combat he did. Now the jerk can't tell the difference between friend and foe. He's probably so scared he's shitting his pants..." Yelping as the ground convulsed, Spike cautiously crept back to the lip of the shellhole. The position where the energy weapon had fired from was a smoking ruin. Someone had seen the display and decided to silence it. Whether it was the Reavers or the Guards didn't matter to Spike. Moving almost convulsively she crawled from the shellhole, moving as fast and as low as possible, heading AWAY from the starport, away from the fighting... Maybe she could get somewhere, somewhere where she could shed her uniform, loose her ID, and pretend to be just another civilian caught in the fighting...

Behind her, a roar slowly built to a creshendo, as the first of the starships carrying the Elysium elite slowly rose towards the heavens...

The Return Trip, part II

Tanj stretched and looked at the Vixen; "What happened to you; you look like... um, well, "ridden hard and put away wet" comes to mind." Zassa grinned and turned to crawl through the cage's door, dragging the harness Tanj had been wearing after her. Tanj took a look at Kath, and then looked questioningly at Zassa; "Oh, Wanda says she stays, for a while. Something about having time to reflect on her sins." Tanj shrugged and dropped to crawl through the low door. Zassa closed the door quietly, and bent to make sure it was latched correctly. Rising, the Vixen jerked a thumb over her shoulder; "Hinoki had me in the tank there, for a whle; come on, I'll tell you ALL about it." As the two left the cargo bay, Kath whined through her ring gag; she'd wanted to hear all about it too!

Tanj grinned as she sipped her coffee; "Lord, this tastes good, after all that cum-flavored-and-textured goo." Zassa chuckled; "Yeah, but on the other hand, that stuff sure does make your coat shiny... Wonder what's in it?" Tanj shrugged and ran her palms down over her tummy; "Dunno, but for just the short time I was in there, I bet I lost two pounds... Now, tell me ALL about what our male's been up to... Zassa winced and settled down to relate the tale...

Tanj shook her head; "The bastard! I bet you were scared to death!" Zassa frowned and shrugged a little; "To tell you the truth, I wasn't as afraid as I thought I'd be. I expected to panic, to throw a screaming fit, but, well, he really IS good at what he does; I was so lost in my approaching climax that I hardly noticed... until my lungs were burning really bad, and by that time I was cumming so hard, well..." Tanj moved closer, to give the Vixen a hug; "And is it true, what they say, that a near-death experience yields the most intense sex?" Zassa Hmmmed; "Well, I'm not sure about that..." Lifting her chin, Zassa looked at the Vixen; "Um, Tanj... do me a favor?" Tanj blinked; "Yeah, sure, if I can." The Vixen looked almost shy; "Make love to me?" Tanj blinked and stole a glance at the wardroom's chronometer; "Um, yeah, we shouldn't be coming up on the next system for, um, almost three hours... I guess there's time... sure, come on..." Taking the Vixen by the paw, Tanj led her down the corridor to her cabin...

Hinoki grinned, ducking down as if expecting a blow, as the flight deck door slid open. He'd watched the security monitor, as the pips indicating Zassa and Tanj left the cargo bay... paused in the wardroom, and then shifted to Tanj's cabin. They hadn't been there that long. Still, the pain in his right ear was unexpected and he yelped as Tanj used her handle to pull the Pilot's seat around. "What the FUCK did you DO to her? No, I don't mean the tank; THAT I could expect from you. What did you inject her with?" Hinoki did his best to smile, but it still came out half-wince; what HAD she been sharpening her claws with? "Um. Just as I said. A genetically engineered virus. You know, you really CAN buy anything on Gibralter station, if you know where to look..." Tanj released him and crossed her arms over her chest; "and just what does this virus do, besides the obvious?" Hinoki did his best to look innocent... alright, to look "reasonable"... "It just deprives her of what she values most. Sensation. More specifically, touch sensations. She can still feel hot and cold, still taste good food... and bad, I suppose. She has enough tactile sensation not to be a danger to herself, or others. She just can't feel the texture of fine silk, or the pleasure of a good brushing..." "Or sex. I tried for a half hour to get some response from her, and with all my caresses, with all my licking, with all my skill, she never even got wet. The poor girl's close to a nervous breakdown! NOW, where's the antidote?" Hinoki raised one eyebrow, a self-satisfied smirk forming on his face; "Why, Captain, its right here." Tanj frowned; "right where? You're not wearing anything; you don't have any pockets." Hinoki chuckled and put his paws behind his head, to stretch, arching his body towards her; "Why, Captain, I'M the antidote. Specifically, my semen. The virus was genetically engineered to be counteracted by MY cum. And believe me, that was a quirk those mad scientists had never even considered before. In fact, I may stand to make considerable profit from that little contribution to medical science. Royalties and so forth." Tanj put her paws on either armrest of the chair and leaned forward until she was nose-to-nose with the male; "and just what does she have to do to get this... "cure" from you?" Hinoki chuckled; "you know, she DOES deserve to be punished for tampering with my machine." At the look on Tanj's face, he went on hurriedly; "If she's my slave until the end of the trip, until we return to base, I'll see to it that she gets what she needs to... "retain" her sense of touch each day until then, and when we get home, I'll see she gets a more permanent cure. With certain provisos, of course...

Zassa wiped her eyes and looked at Tanj; "Now let me get this straight; in order to FEEL him fucking me, or anyone else for that matter, he has to fuck me twice a day? That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard of!" Tanj just chuckled wryly; "I dunno; it puts you squarely under his thumb. Piss him off and he DOESN'T fuck you, and then a little while later, you can't feel anything. For someone into "control" it makes perfect sense." Zassa sighed and shrugged; "Yeah, I guess. Well, I've been a slave before, I suppose I can do it again, for a bit." The vixen looked up, that 'sly fox' look on her face; "but, you've got to promise me, that when this is over, you'll help me plan a suitable revenge..." Tanj just laughed and nodded.

The look on the Vixen's face was composed. Almost frozen. The look in her eyes was... daunting. And yet the form was flawless as she presented herself to her new "master". Hinoki smiled down at her in stern regard; "You give yourself to me, for the duration of the trip?" Zassa nodded slowly. "Say it." "Master I give my self to you, freely, to do with as you will, for the duration of the trip." Hinoki nodded; "very well. Rise, and go about your standard shipboard duties. Oh, and put something on. I don't want to see you nude until I tell you so. Zassa blinked in obvious confusion, but obeyed, rising, to head for her cabin.

Wanda looked across the wardroom at Hinoki; "well, that was unexpected. Just what are you going to do with her, now that you've got her?" Hinoki smiled; "Nothing." Across the wardroom, Tanj almost choked on her coffee. "Nothing?" Hinoki nodded to the Wolverine lass; "that's right. Zassa's been getting a little too wild of late. Too far from the norm. I'm going to force-feed her normality, for the duration of the trip, see if I can't get her acting a little more like... well, like normal folks." Tanj quit coughing long enough to croak out; "you mean, no more latex catsuits? No more... Um, well, you know" Hinoki chuckled and patted the Cheetah fem on the back; "Nope. Standard jumpsuits, or conservative dresses. And plain vanilla sex. No pain with her pleasure. Nothing kinky. No collars, no leashes, no restraints, no sex toys. Nuthin'!" Tanj shook her head; "Good Lord; when you get done with her, there won't BE any Zassa!" Hinoki chuckled; "Oh, you know as well as I do that as soon as she hits that station, she'll be back to her usual ways, but maybe, just maybe, this'll tone her down a little..."

Tanj scanned the Imperial News Network summary; they were passing through the Alatchuacola system, and the broadcast was coming in clear. There was a small report on the events in the Elysium system, and Tanj flagged it, sending back a request for more information. The results were less than satisfying. The drones the news agency used were well stealthed, but they were expensive, and it was obvious that INN was sacrificing the quality of their reporting to conserve assetts. Apparently the fighting was particularly vicious. There was propaganda footage from the Reds, and a small rebuttal from the Blues. The government had deigned not to reply, and that in itself was curious. All in all, there wasn't anything she wasn't getting from the intermittant intelligence packets that managed to find their way through to the ship. That in it self was significant, suggesting that things at home were so frantic that forwarding information to Tanj for analysis was no longer a priority... Turning from the monitor, Tanj went through her fuel calculations once again. Stopping to tank up would cost them more time than it would save at this point. And there just wasn't enough left for any more warp dashes between jump points. Maybe if she could contract for a tanker to rendezvous with them...

Zassa groaned, and drummed her heels into the small of the Cheetah's back; their first "session" was almost boring; not having had any of the "antidote" yet, she could barely feel him in her, and wasn't getting much, if any pleasure from it, no matter how hard she tried. Still, her frantic efforts to achieve the sensations she was used to, the sensations she expected, seemed to be pleasing the Cheetah. Maybe the next 'session," in the morning would be better. As the male Cheetah howled, announcing the arrival of his orgasm, Zassa just sighed. He wouldn't even let her out of his bed, but insisted that they cuddle through the night. The Vixen was convinced that was to keep her from playing with herself, testing to see if the sensitivity was returning... As she yawned, she hoped he didn't snore. And that SHE did. And that in the morning he'd choose something a little more interesting than the missionary position...

Gotterdamerung

In the hustle and bustle, as the crew hastened to make the Overlord ready for departure, the hooded fox, pacing through the corridors of the Brethren's base, with an even, unhurried tread, seemed an island of calm. Over the months, the crew had gotten used to seeing the Fox known as Entity, although usually in the company of the Boss, and his presence was not considered remarkable. What was remarkable, or would have been, had anyone noticed, was the way he passed through the airlock, and into the Overlord. The guards on duty there never seemed to register his presence. There was no recognition of him, even as a friend, as he passed, their eyes seemingly looking right through him.

Deep in the core of the battlecruiser, the ship's main computer noted the presence of the Fox. However, quite some time ago, it had been given instructions that he was on the "permitted" list. Visitor's quarters had been assigned, and a meal card issued. He was listed in the security files as a "guest", nothing more, but no restrictions were put on his movement. The fact that this had been done by the Fox himself made no difference to the computer; he'd had all the proper passwords... With more important things to do, the main computer turned its attentions elsewhere.

As he moved down the corridor at a measured pace, Entity slowly relaxed. His people were highly skilled with computers, and hacking into the main computer on this vessel had not challenged his skills significantly. Passing through the airlock was the first hurdle; passing the scrutiny of the ship's computer was the second. Turning the corner, he made his way to the turbolift. For the moment he'd wait quietly in the quarters he'd assigned himself, waiting for the conflict to come.

Marshal Kozlovko looked at the message flimsey and grunted. Turning to his communications officer, he growled; "Signal all units in the Third Reds Shock Army. The Elysium Government is fleeing. All units are to move on the Capital, heedless of risk." The Kangaroo nodded and turned to carry out his orders. Looking up at the look of wonder on his Operations officer's face, Kozlovko grinned; "This is it, Boris! The end is nigh!"

Lieutenant D'artagan blinked as he listened over the radio's handset. Command had been urging them onwards, demanding they move faster, and now he understood why. It would have been marvelous to have captured those slimy bastards... but now that they'd fled, what was the hurry? Surely as word of their departure spread, morale among the Government troops would crumble, resistance fade. Why risk the lives of brave troops NOW? Shrugging, he turned to look through his binoculars once again. The way towards the capital might be clear... And given his orders, he'd just have to chance it.

Windham smiled as he hit the "enter" key. The warning from his friends in the Blues had been most distressing. While he had come to loathe the Elysium government, he still had many comrades on the Cruiser. And the Captain wasn't such a bad sort either. But now, his friends had told him, other officers on the ship were going to mutiny, to wrest control, and to declare for the Reds. And apparently it was all part of some larger, darker plot. For a long time, he'd wondered what he could do? Taking the ship over to the side of the Rebels was fine with him, but he wasn't particularly enamored of the Reds. Something about their strident propaganda just didn't ring true... and he'd heard whispers, hushed tales of some of the strangest things associated with them. Finally, he'd hit upon what he thought would be the safest plan. To warn the Captain of what he'd heard would probably lead to a "purge" of too many of his friends. And in this case, that was most likely a purge through the airlock and into the vacuum of space. And yet, to allow their plan to go forward... He just wasn't comfortable with his ship being "instrumental" in some Reds plot... Grinning, he watched the clock in the corner of his monitor screen. It was now running about five percent fast. Oh, he had no doubt the "mutiny" would come off as planned... but it would now come off just a little bit early. Disrupting their timetable wasn't much, but it was all he could think of to do...

Kuykendall blinked and held the earphone hard against her head, listening hard. After a moment the rabbit lifted her head; "Captain, I have a priority message from the Flight Control Center in Havaas! They say that Security has uncovered a spy, and that our departure plans have been leaked to the Enemy! They advise that the enemy will not have sufficient ships in this sector to pursue everyone, and recommend we scatter on the first sign of detection!" Captain Reeves frowned; his freighter was no match for almost any combatant, and to leave the protection of the escorting warships seemed suicidal... And yet, if everyone split up and headed in different directions, he could see how pursuit might be complicated... the Wolves would obviously get some of the lambs, but some might also escape... And his ship was a little faster than most. "Navigator, I want you to plot an evasive course. If we get jumped, we're outta here!"

Sometimes a message relayed by others carries more weight than one received directly. Admiral Soames looked at the communication officer's monitor and shook his head; "I don't know WHO down on the planet came up with that idea, but its ridiculous! Issue orders to the fleet to stay together, no matter WHAT." As the communications officer bent to his task, the Admiral became aware of President Erog's cold stare. Turning to face the politician, the Admiral drew himself up, and looked back. After a moment, Erog growled; "will they obey that order?" The Admiral nodded; "most of them. Some of the commandeered merchant ships might flee, but we have officers on all the critical ships and they'll make sure the orders are followed..." As he turned to look at the tactical display, the Admiral muttered to himself; "I hope..."

Brock smiled. The Blues commandos had taken the Flight Control Center in Havaas less than an hour before, and it had taken the communications team only a few minutes to figure out the passwords that let them take control of the powerful transmitters. Now dozens of false messages were going out, to the Elysium ships, and to the Reds Peoples' Space Navy... And if the increase in message traffic among the fleeing ships was any indication, it was working...

a few others in the Reds' Peoples Space Navy, it was from the Reds Party Central, and bore all the correct codes and identifiers. And yet the very subject made him wonder at its authenticity. From something called the "Fifth Directorate" it talked of an internal plot to "steal the fruits of the labors from the workers and soldiers who had labored so long to make the revolution bear fruit." Hartz had scratched his head over that one for a while, and then had uncharacteristically asked the bridge crew of his destroyer, if THEY could make any sense of it. All agreed that the convoluted wording only lent credibility to its authenticity; no one but the bureaucrats at Party Central talked like that. Finally one of the fire control officers suggested that perhaps, in the upcoming operation, someone was going to try and "steal their glory." Around the Bridge, heads nodded...

The Wolf tugged nervously on the hem of his tunic and glanced at the Chronometer for the fifth time in as many minutes. They were scheduled to conduct their revolt exactly one hour after the convoy had left the planet. Glancing over at the tactical display, he fought down the urge to gnaw on a clawtip. They were supposed to coordinate with the other ships, and with the Reds' PSN, but so far there wasn't any sign of the Reds on the sensors. Could they be late? It'd be just like them to hang him and his co-conspirators out to dry... Trying to focus on his memories of the Ermine, he closed his eyes. No, they'd have to go on schedule. Maybe the Reds had picked up cloaking devices somewhere... In any event, the other ships would all rebel at the same time. He HAD to stick to the schedule... Just a few more minutes...

Onegin looked at the message flimsey and groaned; "Now they're telling us the Elysium fleet's changed course? Crap, I thought they had their route nailed down TIGHT!" The communications officer just shrugged. Striding across the deck of the bridge of the PSN's flagship, he thrust the flimsey at his navigator; "How long to adjust our position for interception?" The Chameleon made a placating gesture; "not long, Sssir. They haven't deviated much... We won't be off schedule by more than a few minutesss." Onegin nodded; "Get on it then. You know Zyloff is going to be pissed if we're late!"

"Captain, we've just gotten another message from the Fifth Directorate." Hartz looked at the comm tech's monitor and shook his head; "Egotistical counter-revolutionary forces, bent on establishing a "cult of personality" have tampered with the schedule and sequence of events for the on-going operation. To diminish their chances of success, key elements should commence their tasks peremptorily." Looking around at his bridge crew, Hartz scratched his head; "Now what in the hell does THAT mean, aside from the fact that they're good at run-on sentances?" After a few blank looks were exchanged, the Exec frowned; "Um... I wonder... could it mean that if we don't act now, we'll get left behind? I mean... If some of our... comrades are trying to steal our thunder, to make themselves heroes, the last ships to the battle will scarcely get any glory... Will we?"

Hartz looked at the screen on the arm of his command chair, and then back at the Exec... "Um... possibly. And it doesn't look as if there's any time to send a message asking for clarification." The Exec nodded; "Yessir... besides, we're supposed to be maintaining radio silence..." With a sigh, Hartz nodded; "well, there's one way for sure to beat them at the glory game." Turning to the helmsfurr, he growled; "All ahead two thirds. Lets see if we can't get to the party a little early, and make a name for ourselves..."

The Wolf nodded; it was time. Pulling the palm-sized nerve scrambler from his tunic pocket, he stepped up behind the Captain's command chair and growled; "In the name of the Rebellion, I hereby seize this ship in the name of the Reds!

Benton had always feared this was going to happen. He'd talked with the Captain, on many occasions, on just this subject. Surreptitiously, he pressed the concealed button with his left knee, as he pointedly kept both paws in plain sight...

Farrow frowned as the light on his engineering console blinked. "Tia! Get on the comm and ask the bridge what in the HELL is going on up there! Davies! Turner! I want you to isolate the Bridge from the control net NOW. We may have a mutiny in progress! Haversham! Get up to Auxiliary control and tell them they've got the ball! Move fast; I'm closing the blast doors! Williams, Ruger and Hall! Get the side-arms from the locker in my office. Here's the keys! Watch out for ANYONE who might be a mutineer!"

"Something's wrong on the Ragnarok!" Admiral Soames turned to look at the ship's Executive Officer; "What do you mean?" "Sir, they're drifting off course and are not answering our hails... Wait a minute..." The Exec bent over the Communications Officer's station, as the latter worked his console. A scratchy, static-filled voice emerged from the loudspeakers on the Cruiser's bridge, its message fragmentary... "...mutiny... fighting on decks twelve and thir...Engineering blocked... under their control, Aux... Lost..." Admiral Soames nodded, and turned to the Captain of the Elysium Fleet's flagship "Signal all ships; they are to watch for turncoats and traitors. If they took the Ragnarok, it may be part of a greater plan."

Huskarti watched the marines take up positions around the Bridge of the Destroyer. He'd been so close. Sneaking a glance at Seagraves, he shrugged minutely. They'd been so close to seizing control... Wondering what had happened, the Mink turned back to his console. If they'd known WHO the mutineers were, they would have arrested him, and his co- conspirators... And yet, obviously, they knew something was up... Wondering how he'd be able to pull this one out, Huskarti completely missed the appearance of a faint blip on his scanner...

Brock grinned; it'd been a long day, a hard day, but apparently, if his signals intelligence was to be believed, a very successful one. Now it was time to go; their position was very exposed, and the Elysium troops, fanatics all, were making a counterattack. Making sure the demolition charges were set, the logs erased, he picked up his pack, and his weapon, and headed for the communication center's south exit.

Xyloff strode into the Reds' Party Headquarters Operations Center and took a quick look at the tactical display. Turning to the tactical officer, he growled; "only one of the Elysium warships is shown as having joined us! Are you not keeping the display up to date?" The Tactical Officer shrugged; "Comrade, communications has only reported one as having signaled their change in status. And as you can see, its fallen out of formation. Word is that the mu... that the uprising was not completely successful, and that the ship is contested!" Turning to the communications officer, the Wolverine growled; "What signals have they sent?" The Communications officer, a female Squirrel, looked evenly back at the Wolverine, almost challengingly. "Comrade, they sent one short signal that they were struggling to gain control of Engineering, and that was the last we'd heard from them. They have not returned any of our hails." Xyloff shook his head; "I was assured..." Narrowing his eyes, he looked back at the Squirrel; "show me your communications logs. Just how did all this transpire? What was the timing?"

"Weapons range in one minute, Captain." Hartz smiled; he was just far enough ahead of the rest of the other PSN ships that he thought he'd be able to have the Honor of the first shot. "Very good. Weapons Officer, target the Elysium Flagship." The weapons officer exchanged a hurried, questioning glance with the Exec, and then cleared his throat; "Um, sir, the Elysium Crusiers Ragnarok and Bedlam are both closer..." Hartz smiled; "time to let you in on a little secret; brave agents of the Reds Party have suborned about half of the Elysium forces; they're set to change sides coordinated with our attack! Both the Bedlam and the Ragnarok are among those so listed!" Swallowing hard, the weapons officer nodded; "Um... Yessir... Targeting the Elysium Flagship. Ready to fire on your order."

Xyloff shook his head. He just couldn't believe this. His agents on the Ragnarok had attempted to take over their ship well ahead of schedule! Worse, they hadn't even had the balls, or the smarts, to succeed! Somehow they'd botched the whole thing, alerting the Elysium fleet to the possibility of traitors in their midst! And now, that idiot Onegin was out of position, his control over his own fleet, HIS fleet, HIS PSN, was disintigrating! Groaning, the Wolverine found a chair, to settle down, to watch the battle in space develop. At least things on the ground were going well, several Reds units already in the planetary capital, taking control.

Locke watched in amazement as the Reds warship approached, firing not on his Cruiser, but on the significantly more distant flagship. Shaking his head, he looked at his Weapons officer; "Lets teach that presumptuous Ba... waitaminute..." Pausing, Locke looked back at the tactical display... "Got it. That bastard thinks that we've switched sides, just like the Ragnarok was trying to do. COMM! Send a signal to the Admiral. Tell him we've got a marvelous chance to ambush these bastards in turn!"

Huskarti watched the Captain of the Destroyer read the communique, and then glance around his bridge. "It seems the Reds may have tried to seize more than one ship. In fact, the Admiral thinks they may THINK that we're on their side..." Turning to look at Seagraves, the Captain growled; "Guns, unless we're fired upon, hold your fire until they're within point blank range. Then hit 'em with everything we've got." Looking up at the Marine standing by his command chair, the Captain growled; "And you, Sergeant. You make sure he does it. I'll have no mutineers on MY ship!"

Locke grinned; the first of the Reds ships was just about abreast of him. Minimum distance for his energy weapons, and therefor the least beam dispersion. Lifting his head he grinned ferrally at his Weapons officer and nodded.

Hartz felt the deck buck under his feet; turning to look at the tactical display, he gasped; the Bedlame was FIRING on him. "Dammit, they TOLD me... Oh, Nevermind! Helm, bring us about! Get us outta here! Weapons officer; return fire!"

Onegin smiled a little lopsidedly as the torpedoes smashed into the destroyer, blossoming in multicolored flame. When the image cleared, he saw Hartz' ship was in deep trouble, main power gone, shields down. He'd TOLD the S.O.B. to get back in formation, but the idiot was just too intent on being a Hero. Well, at least he'd done ONE useful thing. He'd proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that the ships that SHOULD have joined him hadn't. And that was just going to make his job all the harder. Looking up at his tactical officer, he sighed; "Plan B. Signal the fleet."

Xyloff watched, his mind not really on the way the battle was shaping up. Instead he considered the implications of how the plan had started to unravel. Obviously either the Ermine had been an Elysium agent, or somehow, the enemy had learned of his plans. If she'd been a Blues agent, the ships in question would have still revolted, but simply declared for the Blues instead. And if she'd been an Elysium agent... would the damage be even greater? So far, no trap of any significance had been spotted. So that left a spy, someone who had found out about his plans... For a moment he wondered how complete knowledge of his plans might affect the outcome... For some, it would be a disaster, for others, well, some forces were irresistible. Rising, the Wolverine turned. He had some damage control steps to take, some plans to accelerate... but first...

"Excuse me, Comrade Kassoff..." Kassoff looked up into the Woverine's unsmiling eyes and instantly knew that he had missed something, something that had disastrous consequences... for the Reds, and for his own career...

Onegin looked at the message flimsy and shook his head; "after all the problems we've had with false messages, how am I supposed to know that THIS is valid?" His communications officer just shrugged; "It had all the correct codes attached... yessir, I know, the other messages did too." Crumpling the message in one fist, and tossing it across the Bridge, Onegin growled; "I am SICK of their centralized control. Dammit, I am in command of the PSN, and by God, I will direct the battle as I see fit!" By his left shoulder, the Tactical officer cleared his throat; "Sir, we still have the mission objectives..." Onegin turned to stare at him; "I haven't forgotten, Roscoe. We'll continue with Plan B. We'll blast straight through the middle of their fleet, disabling the freighters and destroying the warships, and be on those damned Pirates before they know what hit 'em! The background clutter of all the destroyed Elysium vessels should play hob with their sensors, allowing us almost free reign until we close with them! Now get ON with it!"

Ben smiled. It was all coming together nicely. The Reds' PSN had lost their formation, and were nicely strung out, with the faster ships in the lead. And generally the faster the ship, the more lightly armed and shielded. As the battle started, he looked around the bridge of the Overloard, and nodded in satisfaction. Looking up at his communications officer, he grinned; "you know what to do..." The Commo officer just grinned back and nodded.

Reeves watched the shooting start. The Elysium forces had rather successfully dealt with the first of the Rebel ships, and he was just starting to think that this might work afterall, when his sensor tech yelped; "OHSHIT! Captain, you'd better come SEE THIS!" Trotting over to the sensor operator's console, Reeves' eyes widened. A whole second fleet had just appeared, admittedly on the far side of the Elysium convoy, but there were a shitload of ships, including one the size of an Imperial Battlecruiser! Except they didn't look like any Imperial ships he'd ever seen...

Shannon Engleman loved her job; she just LOVED to talk. And anything that helped her talk. It was that love that had taken her all the way to the head of the communications section on the Overlord. Grinning back at the Wolf she bent over her console and opened her mike. In her best Panicked voice she squealed "OHMYGOD! LOOKITALTHOSESHIPS! There is no WAY the convoy escort's going to be able to handle THEM! WE'RE OUTTA HERE!"

Reeves looked at his bridge crew; the first cry over the comm channels had started a veritable cacaphony of signals. Admiral Soames was demanding all ships hold position, but his voice was drowned out by other ship captains asking each other what THEY thought. And then the first freighter, a smaller, faster one, broke away from the convoy, drives flaring. Reeves looked around his bridge, meeting the eyes of his crew... the eyes of his friends. With a growl he turned to the Helm; "Get us out of here. The vector we planned." Moving towards his station, he thumbed a button; "Engineering! We're bugging out! Give us everything you've got, and get ready to jettison the cargo. If it looks like we're in trouble, it gets dumped in a heartbeat!"

Onegin watched, wide-eyed, as the Elysium convoy started to disintegrate, smaller ships heading off on all SORTS of vectors. Most of the smaller ships carried refugees, Elysium cadre that had talked their way into the exodus. And while it would be nice to bring those criminals to justice, they weren't what they were really here for. The wealth of the planet, the portable wealth, at least, were on the bigger freighters under military control. And THAT was where he was headed. Glancing again at the sensor images of the Pirates, he frowned; if they were wealthy enough to buy, or worse, build cloaking devices for THAT many ships... No, he had to attack; if he didn't he knew that damned wolverine would hunt him down to the ends of the universe!

"Forget them! They'll just draw off the Rebels, and make it that much easier for the warships to defend us!" Stokes looked at the old Wolf and frowned; "But, Colonel, what of the rumors of Elysium warships defecting to the Rebels? If they suddenly change sides... you'll be just as dead as us!" From across the bridge of the RTS corporation freighter "Hermes", Walker watched his Captain argue with the Elysium Defense Force "watchdog" they'd been saddled with. The old Wolf was obviously some sort of ex-commando, and he scared the hell out of most of the freighter's crew. But even counting the "troops" he'd come aboard with, there were still only six of 'em. And only one of 'em on the Bridge. Curiously, the Wolf's troops seemed as afraid of him as everyone else did. "Nevermind" the Wolf growled; "you WILL maintain course and speed, no matter what happens!"

Onegin smiled; the combined firepower of the PSN, concentrated in one area of the convoy's flanks, had succeeded in destroying one of the Elysium cruisers. His battlegroup was now within the perimeter of the convoy. This was good, as the range to their target, the Elysium Fleet's flagship, was now shorter. It was bad because every single ship in the Elysium fleet could now fire "inside the circle" to target his vessels. He'd just have to press on, and try and complete his "strafing run" through the fleet, to emerge in position to attack the Pirates. Turning towards his tactical officer, he ordered more speed.

Admiral Soames watched the tactical display, and after a moment, turned calmly to his tactical officer; "order the fleet to execute maneuver Gamma Three"

Stokes smiled as the order came through; "Maneuver Gamma Three; helm, you know what to do!" The Old wolf frowned for a moment and then turned back to the viewport, to watch the battle. So far, things were still "comparatively" distant, their position in the fleet almost equidistant from the Reds, and the Pirates...

Onegin blinked hard and took a second look; moving as a school of fish, all turning seemingly at once, the Elysium fleet had turned on an opposite course from him. Their ships would flash past in moments... and he'd be between them and the Pirates! "No! We need to damage them more completely before we can disengage and take on the Pirates! Signal the destroyer squadron to break formation and attack all Elysium elements! The Crusiers are to hold formation with us! Helm, come about and match courses with the Elysium flagship!" Pacing the deck, Onegin wondered how Xyloff's so carefully crafted plan could come apart so easily?

Walker caught the nod from Captain Stokes and slipped from his console. He'd wait as long as possible, move as quietly as possible... but eventually, their guardian Wolf was going to notice they were moving in a direction completely opposite to the rest of the fleet. It was time to slip away from this clusterfuck, even if it meant risking capture by the pirates. At least they'd live.

Sastre nodded to himself. He'd suspected the RTS ship would be among the first to flee. And that was just fine by him. He'd give them a few minutes to become the primary target of the Pirates, and then he'd give the order to take HIS freighter from the fray. The Iroquian Shipping Company did NOT pay him to put their vessel at risk, and they sure weren't paying HIM enough to risk his neck. Wondering if the RTS Captain had been smart enough to lock up HIS watchdog at the first sign of trouble, Sastre carefully watched his navigation plot, wondering what their chances were.

"Red Dog Lead to all Red Dogs. Hold off until your quarry gets well away from the fighting before moving in. We don't want that furball over there to wander our way while we're trying to board a ship!" Reggie killed the comlink and grinned at Slasher. Their new ship wasn't anywheres as good as their old one, but it was good enough for this. And for once he was glad he was in the lighter, smaller, faster Raider ships, instead of one of the big boys. He didn't WANT to be in the middle of the big battle, even if there was supposedly more loot there. No, he was more than happy to chase after the freighters and smaller ships that were fleeing the now-doomed convoy. After all, how much money COULD you spend in a lifetime? Glancing at his partner Reggie grinned. He could spend quite a bit... Maybe he SHOULD be over there...

Onegin watched the tactical plot carefully as his ship traded missiles with the Elysium forces. His tactical officer was good, possibly better than he was, and it was a good idea to sit back and try and stay focused on the overall picture. Although that was going to hell rapidly. Some of the big commercial freighters, the ones that carried enough guns to keep most Pirates at bay, the ones the Elysium government had put its most prized possessions on, the one they'd "reinforced" with their own troops, some of THOSE were now starting to peel off from the convoy. And he didn't have anything left to send after them. His destroyers were already gone, chasing down like-sized enemy ships in fights involving two, or three on each side. His cruisers were actively engaged with the Elysium heavies, as they sought to disable as many ships as possible before moving on to the second part of the plan. And those DAMNED pirates seemed to have no end to the number of small, fast ships they could send after the fleeing freighters! Growling, he paced the deck like a caged animal, desperately seeking a way to regain the initiative!

Admiral Soames never heard President Erog move up behind him; didn't know he was there until he heard the whisper in his ear. Turning, he looked at the politician; "What?" Erog smiled his most reassuring for-the-cameras smile; "I asked, Admiral, how its going? Will we make the jump point on schedule? Or are events... Not going as predicted?" Soames frowned; "we're in a damned pickle, you... Civilian! Between the Reds and the Pirates we're seriously outnumbered, and right now we're caught between 'em! We're taking a pounding!" Erog smiled softly; "That, Admiral, is what I thought. But as you say, I'm a civilian, and know little of such things. Still, it seems to me as if a... "diversion" might be in order." Turning back to his displays, the Admiral growled; "Yeah, sure, anything to get 'em off our backs..."

The Lion's head came up from his monitor as the disruptors fired, their distinctive whine echoing through every portion of the Overloard. Frowning, he bent back down to his display, trying to make some sense of the battle. It looked as if, to a large extent, things had disintigrated into a disorderly chaos of small battles between small groups of ships. Looking up, he caught the Wolf's eye; "Ben, lets keep everyone together; we'll do better if we can mass our firepower. Don't want to make the mistake Onegin's making." Ben nodded, turning to listen to what one of the weapons officers had to say to him. With everything seemingly moving in slow motion, the Pirates drew closer to the center of the conflict.

Onegin growled at his tactical officer; "well I don't CARE if they're maneuvering to keep the bulk of the Elysium ships between us and them. I want YOU to find a way to get US close enough so that we can launch our little surprise! If we can just do THAT then we'll get them off our backs and can concentrate on other things!" The tactical officer blanched; "But... Sir, that'd mean putting out ships between the Pirates and the Elysium forces; we'd be caught in a crossfire! If you hadn't ordered us to fire on them at the earliest opportunity we might have convinced them we were still "allies", but no, you had to..." "ENOUGH!" Onegin looked as if he were close to having a stroke; "How DARE you question my orders! FIND a way, or I'll have you relieved of Duty!" Swallowing hard, realizing he'd run off at the mouth a little too much, the Tactical officer turned back to his displays, desperately seeking a way to stay out of the hands of the security directorate.

Chester Goolsby was not a happy furr. When he'd been told that he and his family were to be evacuated, with the rest of the project staff, he'd been delighted. Things on Elysium were going to hell, and he agreed that it was time to leave. However, when they'd packed up the project everyone had been working on so feverishly, he'd gotten a little nervous. And when it had shown up on the same ship as the one he was assigned to, he'd gotten even more nervous. Now, they were having him check out the phase coils... as if it were going to be used. As a physics experiment, it had been terribly interesting... but as a weapon? It took a long time to build up to the required power levels, and he didn't see how it could be used as anything but an "area" weapon. Did they really think they could take out enemy ships with it? Now if the enemy had a moon base, THAT might be a decent target... Edging around the fusion powerplant technician, Chester touched two electrodes with the probes from his multimeter and nodded. So far everything was in order.

Onegin smiled, showing teeth. The Reds' PSN had transited the Elysium fleet, or what was left of it. They'd crippled a cruiser, three destroyers and a host of freighters. Where possible, his gunners had gone for "mobility" kills, but in some instances, their targets were little more than wreckage. The Elysium flagship had taken a number of good hits, but unfortunately was still in the battle. Now was time for phase II. On a ship-for-ship basis, the PSN wasn't a match for the Pirates, not with that damned Battlecruiser they had. But there WERE ways to neutralize them. Turning to his Executive officer, Onegin nodded; "its time. Execute Phase II."

Ben frowned; the Reds' flagship had taken a goodly number of hits, but they weren't THAT badly damaged. Or so he'd thought. Now escape pods were ejecting from its hull, and headed their way. Well, that did kinda make sense. There was no way the Elysium forces would pick up a Reds escape pod. Of course, the way the Reds had been shooting at THEM, he wasn't too inclined either. Still, it might not hurt to pick up one or two and ask them a few hard questions...

Chester stood against the wall with the other technicians, as the senior scientists went over the device. As big as a cargo shuttle, it was not a small thing, and yet in the hangar bay of the Elysium flagship, it seemed remarkably small, especially for a device of such power. Enough power to rip asunder the fabric of space-time. Enough power to form a rip big enough to swallow a planet. And all of a sudden Chester knew just what they were going to do. The device wasn't meant for the attacking Rebels; they were going to use it to destroy the whole planet! Aghast he looked around for someone he might plead with, someone he might convince to help him stop this insanity... But all he saw were steely-eyed guards, carefully watching him and the other technicians... There seemed no hope.

Entity slowly unfolded himself from his favorite meditation position. Climbing to his feet, he smoothed the fabric of his gray cloak and turning, moved through the door. He had just enough time to get into position. His portion of the battle was about to start.

"Mister President?" The black-suited security officer stood with paws folded behind his back, not quite at attention. Erog smiled pleasantly and nodded; "Yes, Major?" "Sir, General Trent sent me to inform you that the weapon is ready to launch." Erog smiled again and nodded; "Thank you, Major." Turning he looked at Admiral Soames; "Admiral, your diversion is ready. I suspect you'll want to launch it as soon as possible." Soames' eyes went wide; "diver... What diversion? Surely you don't mean that damned "doomsday" weapon I've heard rumors about!" Erog nodded "The same. Believe me, when the planet breaks up, we will most certainly have the diversion we need to escape!" Soames shook his head; "First off, I am NOT going to kill all those people down there! Secondly, if you break up the planet, you change the distribution of mass through the system, and THAT will affect the jump points! The jump point out of the system might vanish, or shift and dump us who-knows-where! Your toy could wind up killing US too! Forget it!"

Erog sighed and just nodded to the black-suited Major. In a smooth motion, the Security officer drew his side-arm, and at point blank range, shot the Admiral. For a second, after the Admiral's body had hit the floor, the Bridge was dead-silent. Then it seemed as if at once, everyone started to move, a move cut short by Erog's snarl. "Everyone STAY at your posts, or you'll be SHOT TOO! NO ONE disobeys my order! I'm the PRESIDENT!" Turning to the ship's Captain, Erog pointed a finger at him, but his words were addressed elsewhere; "Major, if this foul excuse for a naval officer does NOT launch the weapon IMMEDIATELY, Shoot him TOO!"

Ben blinked; he'd almost missed it in the tactical display. All of a sudden, the escape pods that the Reds had launched a short while ago, had all changed course. Most of them were headed for the Overlord, but a number of others were headed for other Brethren ships. And then it hit him. The furrs in those pods weren't seeking refuge... They were about to be boarded! Taking two quick steps, the old Wolf brought the heel of his paw down hard on the intraship comm button; "NOW HEAR THIS! ALL HANDS STAND BY TO REPELL BOARDERS!"

Entity smiled. He was in a corridor, near the outer hull of the Overlord. In a few minutes a shaped charge would breach the hull just down the corridor. And he would be ready for the intruders that would emerge. But he would have to move fast as there were other invasions that would have to be dealt with as well.

Chester watched as all the guards suddenly moved, almost as one, towards the personnel lock. The senior scientists had already exited. They must have received a signal over the commlinks each wore in their left ears. As the personnel lock closed behind them, Chester looked around. All the techs were still lined up against the bulkhead. No one had told them to evacuate the launch bay... But then again, no one had told them not to move either. Staring at the device for a moment, Chester made up his mind. Bending to pick up his toolkit he started across the bay. Maybe, just maybe he could disable the thing...

On the Bridge of the Elysium flagship, the Executive officer turned a key, and pushed a button, silently praying that he might be forgiven for what he was doing. He had a family on board, a family that he loved very much, and one that he'd always said he'd do anything to protect. Now he wondered if perhaps he'd been wrong in thinking that...

Chester felt himself lifted from the launch bay floor as the doors opened. They hadn't bothered to depressurize the bay, and the resulting hurricane threw him, and all the other techs through the slowly parting doors. Just before consciousness faded, he saw the device moving from the bay, starting its preprogrammed run.

The Lion grunted; "There. See there! The Elysium flagship just launched something that matches our intelligence." Ben nodded, looking over the Lion's shoulder at the sensor monitor. Looking up the Lion growled "Guns! Lock onto that object and hit it with everything we have! Helm! Lay in an intercept course, maximum speed! Communications! Signal all ships; Anyone with a decent shot is to take it. I want that thing Destroyed!"

Onegin frowned; the Pirates' Flagship had just broken off its battle with the Elysium Flagship, and was turning, heading back towards the planet. NOW what were they up to?

Erog smiled; "See, I told you it would make a good diversion! Now, while they're off chasing that thing down, lets get OUT of here!"

The Return Trip, part III

Zassa groaned and moved as slowly as possible, making every second count. Sensation had returned, like rain after a long drout. The Cheetah, her "master" had finally relented, and permitted a scant few variants to the missionary position. Sitting astride him, facing his feet, she slowly rode his cock. Highly attuned to his breathing, his heartbeat, she moved carefully, knowing that if he came first, she wouldn't have an opportunity to squeeze in one more climax. And at this point she was desperate for every climax. The Cheetah was driving her Crazy!

Tanj frowned and fiddled with the gain; the main sensor array was pointed at Walthan's Star, about twelve light- years distant , and the trailing antenna was helping, but it still wasn't quite good enough to make out what the announcer was saying in the FTL news broadcast; it was obvious, though that SOMETHING was happening... She could improve reception if she dropped out of warp, or even slowed down, but that'd delay their arrival, and from what little she could deduce, things were starting to move VERY fast...

Kath sighed and considered her options for the ten thousandth time. She could get a drink, but she wasn't thirsty. She could hump the food dildo, but she wasn't hungry, and she'd done that so much, just to break the boredom, well, she was starting to get rather sore down there. She didn't have to pee... Chuckling softly to herself, the Mink thought things were really grim when moving your bowels was the hilight of your day... And she wasn't sleepy. Pacing the cage carefully, she wondered just how long she'd been here; it felt like ages. Aeons. But she really had no way to tell. She couldn't even find a good pressure point, to feel her own pulse, to measure time that way. Settling down, she counted breaths, nothing else to do. How many breaths until Wanda came to let her out?

Wanda watched the Mink pace the cage, and bit her lower lip; was she pushing it too far? Had she had enough? What was running through Kath's head? Finally, the Wolverine resolved to let her go just a little longer. Smiling to herself, she turned away from the monitor to consider what they'd do when she finally DID let her out...

The forward viewscreen on the Imperial Battlecruiser was the size of a wall, with excellent resolution. The Jaguar, and most of the Bridge staff watched the INN news broadcast on Elysium. When it was over the Jaguar looked at his Executive officer and purred; "Analysis?" The Exec shrugged; "they seem to be tearing themselves apart. I'd say the Elysium Government's days are numbered, probably in the single digits. It will be interesting to see what kind of coalition government the planet puts together after they've siezed control." The Jaguar nodded; "Somehow, I suspect a certain amount of ... conflict between the various parties." Looking up at the Exec, the Jaguar grinned; "I suspect that they'll need a firm hand, an Imperial prescence, to guide them in the right direction. Yes, I suspect we'll be instrumental in bringing the Elysium system back into the Imperial fold...

Trouble sighed and ran the transmission through the filters one more time. It was starting to loose resolution really bad, but some things were clearer. The images of the fighting, relayed by an INN drone, that was clearly destroyed by the fighting in Elysium orbit, given how its transmission ended so suddenly, looked particularly grim. Quite a battle seemed to be going on there, and she wondered, once again, if she'd drawn this assignment just to make sure that she was kept out of harm's way. Sighing, she thought of her Master and wondered how he was faring...

On the Ground

Lieutenant D'artagan cautiously looked around, raising his head above the stone wall only so far as was necessary. Of his unit, there were only two armored vehicles and a handful of troops left... but they were on the very steps of the Parliament building, in the middle of the capital city. And the place was deserted. No troops fighting a desperate last-ditch effort, no frightened politicians begging for mercy... the place was deserted. Suddenly it dawned on him... They'd won. They'd taken the Capital. A weary grin on his face, he motioned to his radiofurr for the handset. Suddenly he was very eager to report his position...

Raditch looked at the message flimsy and frowned; "I don't get it. Why would the Reds PSN be attacking the Brethren in orbit?" "I don't know, General; it doesn't make any sense to me... Unless..." Raditch looked at his aide; "Come on, Sam; this is no time to be coy with me. If you've got something, let me have it." Sam just shrugged; "Weeeelllll, there was this intelligence brief that I saw a little while ago; it was so far out, I just kinda ignored it... It suggested that at the moment of victory, the Reds were going to turn on all the other factions, to try and seize the whole planet for themselves." Raditch frowned and scratched behind one ear; "I dunno; talks on a coalition government have been going on for months... But on the other hand, given these events, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to take a few precautions... Send out a warning order, to all unit commanders in the Blues 4th Army. Tell them of the events in orbit, and warn them to be prepared for... "trouble" from unexpected quarters. Let it go at that; after all, if this turns out to be an error, or some explainable mistake, I don't want to get our allies in an uproar..."

Sandoval grimaced and put down the radio handset; looking up at what was left of the Headquarters company of the Elysium Defense Force's crack Combat Command Degussa, he sighed; "That's it; the Reds have taken the Capital." Hurst, his Operations officer, nodded; "Well, at least we got out of the city before it was encircled." After a moment's silence, he continued; "I guess the big question is, now what do we do?" Richter, a rather excitable squirrel, and the Logistics officer all but growled; "well, I am NOT surrendering to those bastards!" A chorus of assent moved quietly through the group. Sandoval looked from face to face, and nodded; "I've had some... Feelers of late. The Blues will take our parole, if we turn over our weapons to them, and move to their rear. But we've got to get to them." Hurst straightened; "They're on the other side of the river here, but there's no way we could utilize the Farnham crossing; the Reds Third Shock Army is between us and there. Now, if we head Northwest, into the foothills of the Zagros Mountains, we can put this ridgeline between them and us. Probably won't keep them off of us, but if we move fast we SHOULD make it to... Here, the railroad bridge at Hammstein. And on the other side, the Blues." Sandoval nodded; "Should work... OK, lets put it into motion; I want to be on the move within a half hour!"

Milosovitch frowned at the tactical map in his command vehicle. His orders from the Reds party central were quite clear. He was to attack the Blues, and drive them from the Three Rivers district. But the Blues had blown the bridges at Farnham. Blown them in the very face of his lead elements. And then the artillery fire and airstrikes had started. Why the bastards had barely waited for his lead elements to start firing... it was as if they KNEW what the Reds party Central had ordered... and maybe they had. No matter. Having driven off the Elysium Government, they were now in a battle with their former allies for control of the Planet, and there was no way Milosovitch was going to share power with more furrs than he had to! The riverbanks were too steep, the current too swift for amphibious operations here... And airborne operations were chancy; too many of the Pirates' raider craft were still in the area. And Party Central was strangely quiet on why they couldn't depend on support from the PSN. No, he'd have to head for Hammstein, to cross the river. That'd put them behind the Blues' lines anyways. All he had to do was get there quickly. Turning, he gestured to his Operational officer. The Third Shock Army was on the move!

Faye squinted through the thermal sight, watching, waiting for the right moment... If she survived this engagement, her platoon would leapfrog from rear guard, to the "point" of what was left of "Combat Command Degussa", probably the safest place in what was left of the unit. After all, if they ran into the Blues at this point, it would mean they were out of danger... So strange to think that way. Forcing her mind back to the present, she watched the lead tank approach the bridge. The Tank was an off-planet manufacture, something preferred by some mercenary groups, something the Reds had smuggled in. It was no match for the tanks the Elysium government had purchased from the Imperium, but then, there weren't too many of those left. There WAS one, in admittedly rather bad shape, off to her left, but she was hoping they wouldn't have to use it, to stall the Reds advance. It was her ride back towards the rest of the column.

Xian breathed a sigh of relief as his tank crossed the bridge. He'd half been expecting yet another demolition charge. It seemed as if every culvert, every bridge, and even every defile had its surprise, as they moved into the foothills. The Elysium forces were NOT surrendering, and they weren't running away as their leaders had. And it wasn't just here, either. It seemed almost all across the planet, the remnants of the Elysium defense force were fighting harder than ever. He just hoped they were fighting the Blues as fanatically as they were fighting against the Reds.

Faye grinned as the bridge was blown, just as the command vehicle was at mid-span. It really wasn't much of a bridge, scarcely longer than the vehicle that was on it when the charges went off. Still, it dropped the wreck into the creek bed quite nicely. Checking her sight- picture, she squeezed the trigger on the thermal sight. Ten meters to her right, the launcher kicked the anti-tank guided missile out of the launch tube, and then its solid fuel motor ignited, catapulting it towards its target.

Xian jerked his head around as someone called out a warning over the radio; even with the commander's independent viewer, he STILL couldn't see shit from inside this thing. Then the tank's computer started screaming about incoming fire, and automatically dispersing countermeasures. Pulling on the tank commander's turret override handle, he slewed the turret around in the direction he thought the threat might be coming from.

Faye smiled grimaced as she guided the missile past the countermeasures. Some missiles were smart enough to ignore them, but she had an older variant. As the missile struck home, she slid down behind the bank a little and turned to look, to see how her teammates were coming, reloading the launcher. When the bridge blew, there were still six vehicles on THEIR side of the bank, and they had to be neutralized before they got to leave...

Xian jerked, hitting his head on the hatch cover as the tank next to his blew up. "Driver, get us BEHIND them! I want to use THEM to shield us from whatever killed them! Gunner! Do you see anything yet?"

Watlow squinted through the TC's gunsight. Things were going fairly well, with the Reds units deploying on the far bank of the stream, and his teammates picking off the ones on this side. It should slow 'em down quite a bit, as they sent infantry across the stream, and then brought up a bridging unit. But that tank there, hull down, behind the burning hulk of one of his mates... THAT one was smart. That one was going to be a problem. At least for his team mates... But not for him. Sliding down into the gunner's seat, he caressed the controls, traversing the turret just a hair... He only had three rounds of "special" ammunition left, and he hated to waste a round, but... double checking the laser rangefinder, and comparing it to his mental estimate, he lightly let his thumb touch the button on the top of his right joystick...

Faye flinched as the tank to her left fired. The Imperium made good stuff, and the hypervelocity round cleaved through the burning Reds tank, through the one hiding behind it, and on to bury itself in the far slope. The sonic boom generated by the passing of the round was almost more than she could stand, even given the earphones in her helmet and the sound-deadening filters. Her head hurt. Sensing movement at the corner of her vision, she turned and saw her comrades starting to pull back. Looking to her right, to make sure her team had retrieved the ATGM launcher, she slid a little further down the bank, turned, and staying low, sprinted for the tank, which was starting to rev up its fans. Grinning, she thought she'd enjoy riding point for a while...

"General, I've got the latest satellite imagery; it seems Degussa's having a helluva time with the Reds Third Shock Army. They're engaged in a rather heavy rear-guard action." General Rogers nodded; "And every moment they buy us lets us prepare that much more. Down in Sanoa province the Reds have hit our 4th Army with everything they've got; they've been pushed back a good sixty kilometers, and have lost the city of Bilboa. And in the Rabual Archipelago... I don't even want to think about what's going on there!" "Yessir, I understand. And here I thought the day the Elysium Government fell would be a day to rejoice! Anyways, Degussa is asking if we can spare any support for them." Rogers nodded slowly; "As amazing as it might seem, right now, the survival of our former enemy is definitely in our best interests. See if our good friends, the Brethren have anything they can send their way. Oh, and have the artillery units prepare to fire support missions as soon as Degussa's within range."

Palmer watched curiously as a flight of Elysium Government "mudfighters" settled to the ground, a couple hundred meters distant. The unit had been enroute to bomb and strafe the Blues advancing units when they'd gotten word of the Government's exodus. Negotiations had been carried out in mid-air, and now the unit was landing at the blues base, to refuel, shifting smoothly to working for the Blues, against the Reds. The whole nature of the war had changed with lightning speed. Turning, he watched his Flight Leader, the legendary "Sailor" Maran, as he headed towards the Ops building from where their raider ships had landed, off to get new instructions from the Blues Sky Marshall...

"Sailor" Maran looked at his Squadron Commander and blinked; "Now, wait a minute, Sam... Thirty minutes ago we were pounding the government forces as HARD as we could, and the Reds were our allies... and now... Now the Reds are the target, and the Government Forces are our allies?" Deighton sighed and shrugged; "Apparently Combat Command Degussa has come over to us, with the fall of the Elysium Government... AND the Reds have launched assaults on the Blues in several areas, and have been shooting at OUR ships in orbit. It looks as if they're going for all the marbles. SO, the next mission is close air support for Degussa, as we try and keep the Reds from chewing up our new allies." Maran looked sceptically at his boss; "Um... Standard pay schedule for this?" Sam laughed and nodded; "Yeah, THAT hasn't changed."

Faye peered through the bush and wished that it was more substantial. Concealment was not always cover. Still, it was the best spot available. They'd had their time on point, moved through the van of the retreat, and were now, once again, pulling drag, trying to delay the Reds. And once again, her ATGM team was the cornerstone of the roadblock. Except this time the Reds had been smart enough to dismount their infantry before coming over the ridge. The swarm of soldiers coming over the ridge remined her of a flood, and she loosened her sidearm in its holster. Against them, her ATGM team were going to be useless...

"Deadbeat Leader to Any Degussa Element; we're on station over Hill 653, and are awaiting missions." Faye stared at her radio for a moment and then snatched it from its place on her combat webbing; "Um, This is 3-23 to Deadbeat leader, we're at. Um, 872 by, ah, 224, and we're in DEEP shit; need an antipersonnel mission FAST!"

"Hey, Sailor, how do we do THAT?" Maran looked out the port window of his Raider and grinned; keying his mike he growled; "Palmer, its simple, mate, just watch what I do. Packard, you keep high enough to watch for antiair threats; keep the buggers off our backs. OK, Folks, follow me, and lets go get those bastards!"

Faye watched, wide-eyed, as the Brethren's raider ship seemed to be coming in for a landing, its repulsors howling. For a second, the Reds infantry paused... she could see them lifting weapons, to fire up wards at the descending ship... Then the sound of the repulsors changed... and the maneuvering thrusters came on.

Packard watched from an altitude of several thousand meters; this was both safer, with respect to small arms weapons, and much more dangerous with respect to ground based anti-air systems. Still, his sensors could see far enough to warn of incoming interceptors... and his shields should handle anything else. At least anything the Reds were likely to have here. His eyes went wide as Sailor cut on his manuvering thrusters, blue flame washing from the fusion motors, as he used the repulsors to hold his ship down against the counter-thrust. He'd never thought of that... and wished he'd never seen it practiced either.

Faye turned and ran, the bush behind her bursting into flame as the Raider ship, several hundred meters distant, washed the floor of the small valley with fusion fire. No one was shooting back from there anymore, but the volume of fire was increasing from the far ridge. That wouldn't last long as a second raider settled in, thrusters fighting against repulsors...

Min watched carefully, waiting. The Raider had dipped down below the ridge, but she felt sure it would come back to scour the opposite side. The Reds had plenty of troops to throw into the fray, although few were as seasoned as the Third Shock Army, but a Raider ship was a prize in its own right. Carefully sighting in her self-propelled artillery rocket launcher she waited... YES, there it was! The targeting system wasn't made for something like this, the range was rediculously short, but still, at this range, how could she miss? Holding her breath, she armed her weapons and hit the launch key.

Palmer flinched as he heard the threat warning tone. Instinctively his hand reached out to cut the thrusters, trusting that the repulsors would throw him upwards violently, and hopefully out of harm's way. He just didn't make it fast enough. The first artillery rocket hit the Starboard shield just as his finger hit the button; it was a tactical nuke, and the ship shuddered. The second one was also a tactical nuke, and with a cyan flash, the shields flared and failed; the third was also a nuke, being a last of a set in the Artillery Missile's ammo can, with the next three, in the next can, being currently-unguided precision conventional munitions. They all hit faster than the Repulsors could get the Raider out of their trajectory. The raider disintigrated, secondary explosions throwing shrapnel for miles.

Min's eyes went wide as the Raider exploded; she'd done it! She'd be a Hero! That thought had barely formed in her mind when the shock wave struck, and all her reloads went off in sympathetic detonation.

Sailor yelped and pressed the thruster cut-off key; he'd had his left hand there since the start of his run as a cautionary measure. As his ship was flung skyward by the straining repulsors, he felt it tumble; he just hoped the computer could keep up with the rate of roll, pitch and yaw, or the repulsors would slam him back down into the ground. That wouldn't be good...

Faye howled as something burning hit the back of her left thigh; tumbling to the ground, she pulled herself into as small a ball as possible. She could feel the ground shudder as odd bits of the ship impacted. And in one small corner of her mind, she chortled; if the Reds had taken casualties before, THIS was going to keep them off Degussa's tail for more than a few minutes.

Palmer watched Sailor tumble past, rapidly regaining control. Pulling up, he followed his leader; THIS mission was done, although it had scarcely been worth the cost. Maybe his flight leader didn't have all the answers after all... NEXT time, he'd find another way to deal with soft targets. This one was too dangerous!

Sandoval looked back over his shoulder from the top of the command vehicle; the fireball rising back there couldn't mean anything good... Turning to an aide he growled "Find out what happened back there."

Tobias watched as the Elysium vehicles streamed over the bridge at Hammstein. They were battle-stained, scarred, and in many cases, carried wounded, perched on the top of the combat vehicles'decks, clinging to tenuous perches. They'd made it, but it was rumored that the Red's third shock army was close behind, and rolling hot. Tobias grinned and dropped down through the tank commander's hatch, to look at the TC's displays. His company was well dug in, with supporting artillery to the rear, and mechanized infantry well dug in to the front. There was even a unit of Merc Mechwarriors around somewhere he could call on, if a flanking maneuver was called for. The Reds would have to force a river crossing under heavy fire. And he didn't think even they were stupid enough to try that...

Faye winced in pain as the surgeon probed her wound. It had been a bumpy ride in on the top of the APC, and she'd lost a lot of blood. Worse, she'd lost most of her team- mates, and their ATGM launcher... But now... now what? They were safe from the Reds, but what was their future to be with the Blues? Prisoners of war? Second class citizens, to be used as cannon fodder? Would the fighting go on and on and on? Maybe it would have been better to have died back there, with her mates. Laying back tiredly, she waited for the anesthetics to kick in. At least the Blues had medical supplies left.

Sandoval ducked through the canvas flap and entered the command bunker. All around him, furrs in hodgepodge uniforms stiffened. Scanning the crowd he picked out a gray Fox, who seemed to be wearing Colonel's insignia. Coming to attention, he saluted. After a moment, the Fox returned the salute, and then stepped forward with paw extended. Sandoval shook it carefully, almost gingerly, and stared into the Fox's eyes for a moment, as if trying to size him up. "Colonel, I'm here to offer the surrender of Combat Command Degussa. What, Sir, are your terms?" The fox grinned, almost shyly, "Um, well, General Sandoval, Surrender, per se, isn't exactly what we had in mind. You see, we seem to still be in a shooting war, of sorts. The Reds have turned on us, and seem to be seeking to conquor all the other factions, to sieze control of the planet for themselves. Obviously we're in no mood to accommodate them. Now, if you're willing, this is what we have in mind..."

Faye looked at the hand-written order and shook her head in disbelief. Next to her, an Otter by the name of Mac- Something-or-Other chuckled; "NOT what I expected, eh, Faye?" Faye shook her head, and returned her gaze to the order. All Elysium troopers were to provide the Blues Regimental Services unit with name, rank, and serial number. Their records were to be checked, to see if the trooper was a wanted war criminal; if not, she was to report to the Blues 738th Mechanised Infantry Regiment, 2nd Battalion, Company D. Looking up at the Otter, Faye shook her head; "We've been DRAFTED?" The Otter chuckled; "Yeah; just FINE by me; I get to keep killing Reds. After what they did to my family over in Yucca province, well, its all I've got left. Hey, the neat thing is they're not even disbanding Degussa; just transferring about half the folks out to Blues units and transferring in Blues replacements. The unit lives on!" Faye sighed, shifted her sore leg, and leaned back agaisnt the wall; "Well, I suppose it could have been worse. Looks like I get to keep my rank, and the pay's about the same. Could be in a prison camp somewhere..." The Otter chuckled; "or you could be in a Reds slave labor camp, or dead. Yeah, this has significant advantages. Hey, I wonder if they'll give us some leave anytime soon?"

Tsu peered into the darkness as he entered the café. It was his favorite place for lunch, and let him talk to the townsfolks, the honest people that the revolution was supposed to be all about. Of course, he still wound up seeing mostly the same people; he couldn't take enough time off from his job as Harta province govenor, to travel more than a few minutes for lunch; and there were only so many eateries within walking distance. Still, it was good to hear oppinions not censored by his well-meaning staff. Ordering a bowl of noddles and an egg roll, he took his tea and found a table in the middle of the room.

Louis smiled; the Governor was back again. That furr's presence always helped his lunch business, supplicants and firebrands coming to get a word in with the leader. And they almost always bought lunch too. Most of them wanted to make it look as if it were just a chance meeting, that they weren't actually trying to circumvent the normal procedure, just catching the Governor by chance... No matter, his patronage was appreciated, as was his friendship.

Graznitz peered through the Café window; yes, the Skunk was there. Foolish to travel outside the circle of protection that such a powerful figure should have. Foolish not to have bodyguards. But it made his task all the easier. Stuffing his paws into the cutout pockets of his trenchcoat, the Buffalo shouldered his way into the Café. Under his trenchcoat he had, hung from slings around his shoulders, two automatic shotguns; it would be a very public and brutal execution. The Reds would be proud.

Billy Dee sighed as he sat at the small table, careful not to let his soup slop. It'd been a busy morning, the trucking company he worked for had gone absolutely berzerk as the fighting had passed. The Blues wanted supplies moved to the front, now three provinces away, and all the businesses that hadn't been destroyed were spooling back up, all screaming for trucks to deliver raw materials or to deliver finished goods. Business wasn't just good, it was crazy! And he wished he'd gotten here sooner; he would have preferred a table a little further away from the Governor. Not that he didn't like the guy; he was OK as far as politicians went, perhaps a little too liberal for his bent, but so many furrs swarmed around the guy, it was hard to eat in peace. Like this guy, this big Buffalo, barging his way through the Café. What was he doing wearing a trenchcoat on a fine spring day like this, anyways? And it was then that it hit him...

Graznitz elbowed his way past the squirrel, and came to a stop in front of the Skunk. Glowering down, he growled; "In the name of the People of Elysium, and the Reds Party, I...

Lous blinked in amazement, pausing in his task of chopping cutlets for the day's special; what was that Buffalo saying? Were those GUNS he was pulling out from under his coat? And then a purely irrational thought formed in his mind, his body in motion almost before he realized it; with a scream of "NOT IN MY RESTAURANT" he threw his butcher's cleaver straight at the Buffalo's head.

Billy also acted on instinct, picking up his soup bowl and tossing it, and its contents at the Buffalo. Rising, he turned to pick up his chair, just as something gleaming whistled past.

Tsu blinked, a spoonful of noodles half way to his mouth, as the Buffalo stopped in front of his table; he was just about to chastise him for so rudely shoving the squirrel out of the way when the Buffalo started to growl something about the Reds, flipping open his coat to display two massive shotguns. Dropping his spoon, the Governor pointed at the Buffalo just as someone's soup splashed across his front. An instant later something silvery flashed just over his head.

Graznitz Yelped as scalding hot soup splashed across him; he was just recovering from this when something hit his forehead hard, right between the horns! Staggering backwards, he managed to get the shotguns out from under his trenchcoat, one of them discharging, blowing a rather sizeable hole in the ceiling. The last thing he saw, before the world turned red, was that rediculous Skunk POINTING at him.

Tsu's left elbow smacked his side hard, hitting the powerpack he wore under his tunic; the laser, in a sling under his right arm pulsed, its beam of coherent light following a fiber optic cable, up over his right shoulder, along his arm, to the top of the tip of his right index finger. Ruby light cleaved over the staggering Buffalo, setting his fur on fire. Rising, as the Buffalo toppled backwards, the Skunk thwapped his left elbow against his side, pulsing light from his finger, making sure the Buffalo was incapacitated, without killing him. This whole incident demanded investigation, and it wouldn't do to kill the one person who knew most about it.

Billy held the chair over his head, suddenly feeling very foolish as the Governor himself took out the assassin. Setting it back down, he looked down at his now-empty lunch tray. With a sigh, he turned to go back to the counter, to get another bowl of soup. On the way, he pauses to pull one of the shotguns from the severed hand of the Buffalo; those things could twitch and he didn't want it firing the gun. Clicking the safety on, he leaned it against the Governor's table, not knowing what else to do.

Lous looked down at the Buffalo, now deep in shock. The goat shook his head and sighed; "I'm sorry, Governor Tsu, I must be getting old. I MEANT for the cleaver to hit sharp end first, not handle first!" The Skunk chuckled; "Ah, with a skull as thick as this one has, it probably wouldn't have made much difference; still, the effort is greatly appreciated, my friend. Now, lets see what we can do about cleaning up your establishment, eh?"

Cromwell frowned as he looked at the image of the skunk in the monitor; "you're lucky, Tsu; three other governors have successfully been assassinated. Reds commando teams are loose all through our rear areas, creating havoc. They blew up the Vinchenzo narrows bridge, and have severely damaged the Orrick Dam. You'd best put your police on a higher level of alert; they may strike at other targets in your province." The Skunk just nodded; "Luckily we have the support of the people, who have been thoroughly outraged at these events. Citizens have so far turned in dozens of "suspicious" characters. Of course, most of them check out, but we have caught several wanted criminals, and we may have intercepted some other commandos... I'll keep you posted."

End Game

The air on the ship was a little cool, but Clements was still sweating inside her armor. Kneeling at the side of one of the Overlord's innumerable corridors, she waited, with her squad. Normally the Marines the Overlord carried were used for boarding ships, but this time she was preparing to defend her ship against boarders. Normally both the attackers and the defenders were very careful about the weapons they used, both sides seeking to maintain the value of the ship they were fighting over... And yet this time she was sure the Reds commando team would use anything they could, to disrupt the functioning of the Overlord. Checking her assault rifle once again, she waited. They should breach the hull right over there, any second...

Koz dove through the breach in the wall, bringing up his assault shotgun... only to find the corridor empty. Grinning he waved to his teammates and moved away from the hull breach. The escape pod/assault craft hadn't sealed perfectly to the hull, and he could hear the whistling of air leaking into the vastness of space. Didn't matter. He could care less if the whole ship depressurized; that might only aid him in his mission. On the other hand, loss of pressure generally brought pressure doors slamming closed, and he'd hate to be boxed in like that. Best move fast, so that when the pressure dropped low enough, he and his team were on the OTHER side of the pressure doors. Starting off down the corridor, he never saw the fox seemingly materialize from nowhere. However, he DID feel the sword as it cut through his armor, and his flesh, as if it were butter.

Entity surveyed the scene. He had successfully clouded the minds of the attackers, effectively erasing himself from their consciousness, until it was time to attack. And then his Grandsire's blade, with the monomolecular edge, had done the rest. Even their armor had been unable to stop a weapon so devilishly sharp. Now they lay about him on the deck, their blood staining the floor. This one had been easy; they weren't ready for him, and he'd been able to achieve a perfect position. Next time might not be so easy.

Ben groaned as he felt the Overlord shudder and then shudder again. He owned a piece of this ship too, and the mounting repair bill was going to be staggering... and yet... He'd throw all his shares away if he could save the folks down on that planet. As the Battlecruiser chased the doomsday device, it was savaged from all sides, by the Elysium warships, and by the Reds Peoples Space Navy. Shields flickered, failed, reformed and flickered yet again under the continuous pounding. Antimissle batteries fired, fired, looked and fired again as they sought to stop the incoming missiles. The fire was so thick, they were having a hard time maintaining their lock on their elusive quarry. Damage control parties scurried about, trying to keep everything together, and the Marines fought vicious actions as they attempted to halt the saboteur teams the Reds had landed on their vessel. It was a helluva day!

Clements felt herself propelled backwards by the shockwave. Still, as she was flung backwards she was able to get off another shot at the Reds Commando with the grenade launcher. Landing with a hard WHUMP, she rolled and scrambled, trying to find some cover. Jenkins reached out to grab her, to pull her around the corner, but a round, either marvelously aimed, or horribly unlucky, caught him in the wrist, the Raccoon pulling back a paw dangling by just a thread of flesh. As she moved, Clements felt a round smack her in the lower back, and in the upper thigh, both rounds absorbed by her armor. Panting as she gained safety for the moment she thought she was gonna be really sore tomorrow...

Shannon looked at the face on her monitor in total exasperation: "No, you flaming idiot! The missile the Elysium ship launched is a PLANET WRECKER! If it hits the planet you won't have anything to go home TO! No glorious revolution! No Family! NOTHING! Look, you asshole, we're NOT shooting at you! We're..." Shannon's voice trailed off, as she stared at the blank monitor. Looking up at one of her Comm techs, she shook her head; "He hung up on me! The Reds bastard HUNG UP ON ME! Ooooooh, I'm gonna get him for that!..."

The Lion turned to Ben and shrugged; "looks like no one's buying the truth. We're just going to have to do this the hard way. The Wolf just nodded.

Entity smiled a cold smile. The Reds commando team near the forward port missile launcher had been facing down a squad of Marines. And he'd come at them from behind. Once again his sword sang, as he danced among them, oblivious to the cries of outrage, or the screams of frustration... or pain. As the Marines started to poke their heads up to see what happened, the gray Fox turned, and with his cloak trailing behind him, headed down another cross-corridor, on his quiet way to the next fight.

Shannon half-rose from her seat, eyes searching the Bridge. "BEN! Got a signal from Hawthorne and his group! They've secured the Elysium Destroyer "Bainbridge!" The Wolf threw her a grin, and nodded acknowledgement. That was the third Elysium warship they'd manage to board, and subdue. The tactics the Reds were employing weren't new, they were just seldom practiced against the pirates! Looking around, Ben tried to spot the next problem. As they pursued the Doomsday device, their flight path had taken them through the Elysium convoy, but now that was mostly behind them. There, that Reds Destroyer; that was going to be the next serious problem...

President Erog slid up behind the Captain of the Elysium Flagship. Very quietly, he asked "Can't this thing go any faster? Or can we really stand a pounding like this all the way to the Jump Point?" The Captain turned and fixed the Politician with a glare; "Sir, if we increase speed, the other ships in the convoy won't be able to keep up! They won't be able to provide us cover fire, and we won't be able to do the same for THEM!" Erog nodded and then smiled greasily; "true, but right now it seems as if we're more of a target than THEY are; if we were to speed up, might not some of our pursuers fall behind? It seems to me that the ... "selfless" thing to do would be to increase speed and try and draw the enemy away from those other ships..." The Captain opened his mouth, but Erog's glare cut him off; "Just DO it, Captain! Need I say more?"

The Fox kept his breathing even, his mind focused. He'd caught the Reds' commando team in a relay room. Just a small room off a main corridor on the way to the bridge. A room full of high power switchgear. They'd been in the process of setting demolition charges when he'd walked through the door; the fight that resulted had been one of the most curious the fox had ever been in. Not only did he have to fend off multiple attackers, but he had to be VERY careful where he swung his sword; its edge was easily sharp enough to cut through the metal and plastics protecting the high-power circuits. At least it also inhibited his foes, who dared not use energy or projectile weapons for fear of what a miss, or a ricochet might do. Whirling like the proverbial Dervish, he sliced here, stabbed there, gradually whittling down their numbers, their fighting knives no match for his sword, their skill no match for his. And yet, time was on their side; the longer it took to dispatch them, the harder the others would be to deal with.

Caruso frowned, and then raised his head; "Skipper! You're not going to BELIEVE this! The Flagship's accelerating! They're pulling out on us!" Captain Brace limped across the bridge to the sensor console. For a moment she strove to make sense of the display, the amount of jamming filling the surrounding space at a level she'd never seen before. After a moment she nodded. "Communications; get through to the flagship and find out what in the HELL they think they're doing!" Looking across the bridge she fixed the furr at the Engineering console with a glare; "how long until we're back to full capacity?" The Furr shook his head; "Skipper, we're stretched to the limit as it is; she can't take any more. And we're not going to be able to squeeze any more out of her without a full refit." Brace looked back at the sensor display and softly growled "Shit!"

Onegin's head snapped back and forth; on one hand the Elysium Cruiser that was their flagship was making a break for the Jump Point. On the other hand, the Brethren flagship was headed towards the planet at full thrust. There was no way he was going to be able to cover both... What to do? No matter which one he went after, he just KNEW Xyloff was going to pitch a fit about letting the other one get away...

Keenan shook his head; "OK, that's it. We can't keep up with the Flagship, not at THAT speed... We're a freighter, dammit, NOT a warship!" The Elysium naval officer, his "watchdog" looked at him long and hard, arms crossed over his chest; "and just what do you think you're going to do?" Keenan shrugged; "Think it through. We can fight on, and get cut to pieces. We can try and flee on a different vector, but I haven't seen too many ships pull that off successfully, and they were all faster than we are. Or we can surrender, and live to see another day. You see any holes in my logic?" The Naval Officer frowned for a minute, immobile, and then his head shifted, to look at the sensor display, his eyes on the moving blip that was the Flagship... "No... when that bastard cut and run, he cut our throats. And personally, I'd LOVE to get the chance to "ask" him, some day, just what in the hell he thought he was doing. I HONESTLY thought Admiral Soames had more of a backbone than that..." Turning back to look at Keenan, the Officer growled; "Contact the Brethren, and ask for terms. I'd rather go down fighting than to surrender to those damned Reds!" Keenan grinned; "My thoughts exactly!"

Brace watched as the fleet disintigrated. Some of the faster ships were trying hard to keep up with the flagship. Some of the faster ships were trying to escape, to just flee the battle. And most of the slower ships were surrendering. And as that happened, there were more and more of the Pirates to come pound on HER hull. With a sigh, she turned to her communications officer; "Signal the ships nearest us; we're surrendering..."

Entity frowned... He could feel the commandos behind the adjacent bulkhead... but they didn't seem to have the same ... "flavor" as the others he'd dealt with so far. These seemed colder. Harder. If anything, more dedicated. More fanatical. And the focus of their attention seemed to be... The Lion! Straightening, Entity's eyes widened as he realized that the foes he was about to engage weren't trying to destroy the Overlord from the inside... They were here with a single purpose; to kill the Brethren's leader. A decapitation strike. A strike of vengeance against the one that had caused the Reds so very much trouble... Tightening his grip on his sword, the Fox readied himself; this was going to be a fight to test him to the limit, and it was one he would have to win as soon as possible. The Lion had to be warned!

The Lion's head jerked around at the shout. On a bridge full of noise, of instruments beeping, of alarms sounding, of furrs struggling to "manage" the battle, to fight their ship, this one instantly caught his attention. The officer in charge of sensors, electronic countermeasures and counter-countermeasures had also picked up on it, and was already at the technician's console. Looking over the officer's shoulder, the Lion watched as the tech replayed the last few seconds. Sure enough, the doomsday weapon faded from view, with the characteristic rippling distortion of a cloaking device. "OK, this wasn't unexpected. We know where its going. And for an automated system of that level, they generally have to decloak to fix their position for course corrections. Given the distance... I'd suspect it'll decloak one, maybe two times before it tries to detonate. We'll just have to stay sharp!" Turning, the Lion moved towards the fire control crew...

Ben looked up as the Lion arrived; while the Reds PSN destroyer wasn't really a match for the Battlecruiser, they were stubbornly refusing to yield, lying dead in the path of the larger ship. For a moment the Lion wondered if the cloaked doomsday device might run into the Destroyer, but then he dismissed that as wishful thinking; they just couldn't get that lucky! Glancing at the Wolf, the Lion growled; "Don't slack off on the speed. We have GOT to do everything we can, to get ahead of that missile. It'll be a LOT easier to spot, when it decloaks, if the dark, emptiness of space is behind it. If we have to spot it agaisnt the planet, it'll almost be impossible." The Wolf just nodded.

Entity retreated three steps, parried, and lunged; his opponent, almost as skilled as he, parried his thrust and spun, attempting a vicious backslash. But the Fox wasn't there, he'd dropped almost to the deck, slashing in turn at his adversary's ankles; sparks flew from his sword, the opponent's monocrystalline armor splitting, but not allowing his weapon to bite... or had it? Was that a thin trickle of blood he saw? Grinning, the Fox pressed his attack for a moment and then fell back a step. If he could allow the floor beneath his opponent's feet to become slick with his own blood, the Furr might slip. It was an edge he desperately needed. Moving with all the grace of a master dancer, he started to weave his tactics around just such a premis.

The Lion looked from the Tactical display, to the Chronometer, to the main viewscreen and back; it was going to be close. The Reds Destroyer was growing large in their screens, the battlecruiser's guns and missile batteries hammering it hard. Large pieces of hullmetal were flaking off, and the yellow-orange glow of something burning was visible through the holes in at least two locations; but still the ship fought on... and in doing so, almost perfectly blocked the line-of-sight to where the battle computer predicted the doomsday weapon would uncloak...

Onegin looked at the furr on the viewscreen; half the fur of his head and shoulders had been singed away, his uniform torn, and bloody. "No, you are NOT to withdraw! You are to HOLD them there until the rest of us can close on them from behind! If you have to, RAM the Bastard!" With a grand gesture, Onegin reached out and broke the connection, praying that the Captain of that ship was loyal enough, fanatical enough, STUPID enough to do exactly as ordered... For if he didn't, they'd never catch that S.O.B. before they ran under the guns of the surface-to-orbit batteries controlled by the Blues... "I don't care WHAT he says, that Lion is a coward, and he's fleeing the battle, and we WILL put paid to his account! AFTER THEM!"

Ben shook his head; "What is that Idiot trying to do?" The Lion chuffed; "its simple; he's trying to RAM us." Ben shook his head; "either it's a brilliant tactical move, turning to put the narrow profile towards our guns, OR he's a suicidal fanatic." The Lion nodded; "but if he kills us, or damages us too bad, we'll fail in our quest. Turn the ship to the side and bring as many guns to bear as you can. Destroy him, and lets hope the doomsday device is late for its mid-course correction!"

Onegin winced as the Battlecruiser's full firepower battered the Destroyer, until the latter's shields failed, and it vanished in a blaze of light, chunks of debris flaring against the battlecruiser's shields. And as the Battlecruiser turned once again, to head towards the planet, the doomsday weapon, its reappearance hidden by the cataclysmic death of the Destroyer, quietly recloaked...

"Well, the good news is that we got a bead on its new course. The bad news is the computer thinks it won't decloak again until its ready to detonate. And we have NO idea where along its flightpath that might be." The Lion nodded; "Flank speed. Get as low in the atmosphere as you dare. If nothing else, it'll keep us ahead of our pursuit..." Once again, the Wolf just nodded.

Entity scowled; he didn't like doing this at all; it just wasn't his "style"... It wasn't "elegant"... and it didn't give his opponents a fighting chance. Still, it served his purposes. Thumbing the "arm" button, he waited half a breath, listening, and then thumbed the "detonate" button. Tossing the satchel charge, taken from one of the other Reds commando teams around the corner, he turned away from the blast, already heading to intercept the next group of assassins.

The Lion scowled; it seemed like the Overlord was rocked every few seconds, from missile detonations, from evasive maneuvers, from incredible energies impacting their shields... but there was something about that last one that was different... more of a thud than a boom... Glancing over at the internal security monitor, his eyes widened...

The corridor was a bloody mess. It was obvious that the furrs that had died there weren't from the Overlord's contingent of Marines. The armor, what was left of it, wasn't the style they used. Nor were the weapons they carried. The Lion stared down the corridor, past the flickering lights and growled; "I don't know if one of our people did this, or if they blew themselves up accidentally, but they have gotten MUCH too close to the Bridge. "Epstein, you hold here with Wallace and Tiernan. I'm going to go back to the Bridge for a second, and see if I can get us some reinforcements. Its obvious I misjudged the intentions of our visitors..."

A quick glance at the internal security monitors confirmed the Lion's suspicion. While there were commando teams headed for Engineering, Navigation, Sensors and Weapons, there were at least four teams that were headed for the Bridge. Well, three now. Looking up at Ben, the Lion growled; "we're short-handed enough here as it is; I'm going to go down to the forward sensor bay and see if I can't round up an ad-hoc defense team. The Marines are stretched just a little thin. I want you to keep after that missile! We've GOT to stop it!"

Suzette was uncomfortable in her combat armor; her helmet kept slipping down over her eyes, and it hurt her ears. Normally she worked in the ship's accounting office, in the payroll section, but her battlestation was damage control in the forward Sensor bay. And then the Boss had come charging in, grabbing half of her team, dragging them out to defend the Bridge, and the command deck. While she'd had all the required courses, and had practiced in mock- ups, she'd never actually fired her sidearm in anger. It looked as if she was about to get the chance. Ahead, down the A034 access corridor, something was moving...

Raul stuck the fiber optic probe around the corridor corner, and looked at the postage-stamp sized image reflected in his visor. Damn. They were waiting for him. About a half dozen furrs... a scratch force by the looks of them. Grinning, he pulled the probe back and readied a grenade.

The Lion inched up along the wall, his back pressed flat against it; he'd been expecting the commandos to approach carefully, especially after passing the scorched and bloodied section of the corridor, and he'd caught the motion as the probe was withdrawn. He knew what he'd do in their shoes; now it was all just a matter of timing...

Raul smiled softly to himself, armed the grenade, and was about to toss it around the corner when a gloved paw stuck a pistol around the corner and started firing. The impact of the slug was spread across his torso, his armor stopping the slug despite the point blank range... But the energy of the impact still threw him backwards. He collided into Ito... and dropped the grenade.

The Lion felt the wave of heat wash around the corner, singeing exposed fur. Having reloaded his pistol he waited for some of the terrible heat to dissipate, and then, moving low, charged around the corner. Three of the furrs were down, but three more were still standing, looking a little dazed. The Lion picked not the closest, but the one who's weapon was more nearly pointed at him, firing carefully, aiming for places where the armor was thinnest.

Ito shook his head, trying to clear his vision. Raul's body had protected him from the blast, but it wouldn't protect him from the raging beast that had just stepped around the corner. Eyes widening he suddenly realized that this was their quarry, the one they'd been sent to kill. Even as he tried to raise his weapon, he growled out a warning to the other teams, that their quarry was no longer on the Bridge, but loose on the Command deck. He just hoped his commlink would relay the message.

Suzette saw the Boss disappear around the corner in the smoke and heat of the explosion. Without really quite knowing what she was doing, she was on her feet, following him. The Boss' pistol was an antique, a huge-calibered projectile weapon from a bygone age... and as the last round was fired, its action locked open. The Lion's movements were smooth, as he turned away, the clip dropping from the weapon's grip, another clip materializing in his other paw... But there was still one of the Commandos standing, his assault rifle coming up. With an uncharacteristic growl, Suzette brought her own weapon up, and fired. The beam from the more modern laser pistol sliced across the front of the Commando's armor, angling upwards, leaving a bright gash where it burned through ballistic and ablative armors to the reflective layer beneath... and then it cut into the comparatively weak neck joint. The Commando flailed, his weapon stitching a line of holes across the roof, and then he was writhing in silence on the floor, limbs flailing. The Lion's weapon clacked, as he released the slide, and stepping forward, he stood above the Commando to put a round straight down through the faceplate of his helmet, putting the furr out of his misery. Nodding his thanks to Suzette, the Lion trotted down the corridor, to cautiously look left and right, making sure there wasn't another party coming to the aid of the first.

"You realize you can't stay here." The Lion turned at the soft, almost whispered words, and stared. Entity had somehow materialized at his side, his robe stained with blood, and soot, torn here and there, and actually sliced in a few places. The Fox looked tired, but otherwise none the worse for wear. After a moment, the Lion rumbled "We need to protect the Bridge" The Fox smiled; "But its not the Bridge they're after. Its YOU they seek. If you stay in one place, surely they will find you! Why make their task easier." The Lion thought for a moment, and then grinned, fangs glinting. "I've always thought that a good offense is the best defense. Lets see if we can take the battle to them!" Entity nodded; "True, but if we go this way, we can hit them in the flank, before they reach this area..."

Suzette fired her weapon, an unfamiliar, ungainly thing she'd picked up from one of the corpses, and then ducked back around the corner. They were moving slowly, more Commandos after them than she'd thought possible. By slowly retreating they were able to keep themselves from being flanked, and were still able to make the Reds pay for each corridor, each intersection, each stairway they gained. And every once in a while, Entity, or the Lion himself would find a place of concealment, to wait until the commandos had passed, to fall on them from behind. Slowly they were leaving a path of destruction and bodies behind them as they moved Aft, and down, from the Command Deck. Pausing, Suzette frowned at a sign on the wall. Engineering? Had they really traveled THAT far? Her ears swiveling, she turned back to the matter at hand, soft footfalls signaling the next desperate assault.

Ben's ears swiveled at the shout, followed by the rest of his head; "YES, there it is! I got it!" One of the sensor operators was almost out of his chair. Turning quickly, Ben opened his mouth to bark an order at the fire control technicians, only to find them already on the job. Particle beams, laser light, and even a few missiles lanced out from the Battle cruiser. But as suddenly as it appeared, the Doomsday device recloaked. They'd missed.

The Lion listened to the announcement made over the ship's general address system, and groaned. They were running out of time. And then he had a thought... Grabbing the Fox, he growled "Can you hold 'em off me for a while? I've got a wild idea..." The Fox nodded, and with that, the Lion turned, dashing off down the corridor.

The Brou device sat in the middle of the floor, of the compartment, as it had for months. The Lion skidded to a stop by it, and with quick, jerky motions began pressing the buttons that would power it up. It was a long shot, he knew, but maybe, just maybe it was the correct "weapon" for this task...

Parks stared in amazement at the master Engineering display; something was suddenly sucking a LOT of power. Following the circuit diagrams, his eyes widened, and then narrowed. Could it be...? Stabbing the comm button on his console, he growled; "BRIDGE, this is ENGINEERING; something funny's going on!"

The Lion smiled as he heard the intercom buzz; before a word could be spoken, he called out "Yes, Ben, its me. I suddenly had an epiphany; the particle beams, lasers and other weapons all take too long to target, track and destroy such a small target at any significant distance. If I can form a space-time rift, I can sweep it back and forth with the speed of thought, and if I make it large enough we can swallow something the size of the Doomsday weapon in the blink of an eye!" On the Bridge, the Wolf shook his head; "Boss, that's a DAMN risky proposition; that thing's never been tested as a weapon, and your control just isn't that hot! Do you know how many lives you're risking on a wild-assed hunch like that? Besides, you're eating up power for the shields! We may not even be able to defend ourselves!" The lion's reply was gruff; "Do what you can to defend the ship, Ben; I've got to do what I think is right!" The connection closed with an audible click.

For a moment the Wolf stood, staring at the speaker. And then he sighed; looking up, he looked around the Bridge; "you heard him. I've followed him this long, I'm not about to start second-guessing him now. Engineering! Do everything you can to squeeze every last erg out of the reactors. Anything extra goes to sheilds... and weapons. Missile launchers don't take much power. Helm, hold position as best you can; I know its rough this deep in a gravity well, but do what you can. Now, how long until that damned thing's supposed to reappear?"

Entity's slash literally sent a head rolling down the corridor, helmet and all. Breathing heavy, the Fox looked around... That was the last one, at least in this team. He'd lost track of how many others there might be. Motioning to the other defenders, he led them back in the direction the Lion had gone.

The Lion sat by the base of the machine, trying to concentrate, trying to achieve the alpha brainwave state. The controls for the device hadn't fit his hands, and its control system didn't really fit his mind. Wishing once again that Mark was still around, he settled down to concentrate, attempting to form the mental images necessary to control the device, to tell it what to do. And in the background of his mind, the same thought kept running over and over, a litany, a prayer; "I don't care what you do, or how you do it, DON'T let that thing kill all those people!"

Onegin frowned; something was happening out there; something very strange was happening out there. Gravity instrumentation, and all sorts of arcane radiation detectors were fluctuating wildy; something like a neon- blue nimbus was forming in the area of the Brethren's flagship, growing, oscillating, almost twisting back upon itself at one point. It seemed to be some sort of distortion in space... and it was growing. And it was headed in HIS direction! "Science Officer; what IS that thing? Is it some sort of secret weapon?" The Marmoset blinked, and then shrugged; "Sir, it seems to be... It might be... um... Well..." The furr blinked again, and the words seemed to tumble out in a rush; "Itmightbeatearintheveryfabricofthecontinuumitself!" Onegin sighed; "But is it a WEAPON?" The Marmoset nodded; "if... if they can control it, if they can... urrr... if we were to get too close to it, ah... yes, I suppose so!" Onegin's aid edged closer; "Sir, they may be desperate; they've retreated to the planet, probably for cover from ground- based weapons; now they seem to be using a last-ditch untried weapon! Sir, we HAVE them! We MUST attack! Onegin looked at his aide and nodded slowly; "Perhaps, but..." Straightening, he looked about his bridge and called out in what he hoped was a strong, confident voice; "Order the remaining ships to attack. We'll hang back a bit, to, ah "evaluate" this new weapon... and to act as a mobile reserve, should it be called for..."

<<<Clear at last, a thought is. Understand this, I can. Comply with it, I shall>>>

Ben stared in open-eyed wonder as the distortion seemed to stabilize, to grow larger. At the same time, he noticed from the corner of his eye, the power consumption dropping significantly. Perhaps the Lion really HAD mastered the device. Now... was it in the right place? Where would the Doomsday device reappear?

The event was more felt, than seen, or heard. Suddenly the Lion KNEW that the Doomsday device was decloaking, not directly above the ship, as he'd thought, but off to the right, and "up". Shifting his mental image, stretching out imaginary hands wide, stretching the writhing "snake" in his imagination, he tried to catch the seed that was the doomsday device in the "mouth" of the snake, while keeping the "tail" as far away as possible... and then he grinned; he shifted the tail "up" several stories in the imaginary building. If distance was better, lets see if he could throw the doomsday device into some parallel, or alternate dimension...

With the cold efficiency of a machine, the doomsday device decloaked, confirmed its position, and activated itself, all in a matter of seconds. Powerful energies were fed into devices; the power surge was immense, but the device was built to contain them. From the center of the device, a rift in space-time, not coherent, and orderly such as the Brou device was capable of, but a churning, seething maelstrom grew, slowly at first, and then expanding with exponential speed. And as it grew, the distortion of the Brou device intersected it...

Reggie looked off to the left, something catching his eye. He'd had a profitable day; they'd personally captured two of the smaller freighters, and had "assists" with one of the bigger ones. They might even make a claim on an assist on one of the Elysium warships, but that was gonna be kinda thin; they'd gotten there when it was all almost over. Still, he'd put in the paperwork and see where it'd go. Nudging Slasher he pointed to the glowing blue nimbus that seemed to be spreading out in the area of Elysium. Something funny was going on there...

The Lion wrestled with his mental images; the "mouth" of the "snake" had been above the weapon, when it decloaked, and he'd moved the Snake rather rapidly to make the interception. The "seed" that was the device had blossomed to form some sort of malevolent black blossom, something even blacker than the depths of space, and he'd had to stretch the "mouth" of the Snake even larger than he'd thought possible, to envelop it; but now, the combined interaction had left the effects, the flower not quite in the Snake's mouth, and the entire snake itself, writhing and jerking, towards the bright blue pearl that was Elysium. If he stopped the motion of the Snake, he wouldn't be able to get it to "eat" the flower... but if he continued, it might eat the pearl as well... Growling to himself "Just Keep 'em ALIVE", he struggled to alter the outcome of events he was rapidly deciding were out of his meager control...

Erog smiled; the Elysium flagship was about to enter the Jump Point. Safety awaited on the far side of the Jump. The Empire may no longer care what happened in the Elysium system, but if it spilled over into another system, especially a populated system, they'd have no choice but to act. Assured of his future, the former President of Elysium turned and watched as the final preparations were made for the Jump.

<<<Look, Master; an event such as we have waited for!>>> <<<Is there a sufficent mass nearby?>>> <<<Indeed, Master, more than enough for our purposes!>>> <<< No time to contact the coucil; we know their goals, we must ACT!>>> <<< It is done, Master. Just as we have been waiting years to do>>> <<< Good, I'm sure they will be pleased. Now, let us examine just exactly what it is we have accomplished>>>

The Lion felt a massive claw descend, and shred all his efforts. With a howl of pain, as consciousness faded, he watched the claw reshape events to something else... it was difficult to follow, painful to look at, and yet, as it all grew dim, he found he couldn't look away...

Onegin watched the distortion grow, bend, shift, and bend more; it looked as if it were a giant soap bubble, wobbling as it floated through space. And suddenly his nerve broke; "HELM! Get us AWAY from that thing! Recall the other ships!" To his amazement, no one argued with him. Feeling the artificial gravity seem to shift under his feet, as the inertial dampers struggled to keep up with the ship's sudden maneuvering, he watched as the distortion grew and grew... and changed somehow... it seemed to suddenly increase in size, until it enveloped the entire planet... and then, in an instant, it winked out and was gone. Leaning back in his command chair, Onegin grinned weakly... "It seems their secret weapon wasn't so great after all; did we sustain any damage at all from it? The Damage control officer looked over his shoulder and shrugged; "Um, no sir, it never quite reached our position." The Sensor officer frowned; "Um... sir... it may not have been a weapon. I'm showing no sign of the Brethren's battlecruiser." "you mean they cloaked? I thought we had sensors that could detect the presence of a cloaked ship!" The sensor officer looked back and shrugged; "Sir, we do, and there was no sign of them cloaking. But they're gone. Nothing on the scopes..." Behind him, a voice muttered; "and that's not all; take a look on visual..." Onegin shifted his view to the main viewscreen and saw... nothing. Nothing but empty space. "What's your point. I don't see their ship..." The Sensor operator turned in his chair, and shook his head; "Sir, the main viewscreen is focused on where the planet was... I'm not picking up any signs of IT either."

Onegin rose from his chair; "what? You mean that bastard found a way to cloak an entire planet?" The Sensor operator and his officer exchanged looks, and the officer bent over the console for a moment, fingers flying over the keyboard, running diagnostics, running scans... After a minute he straightened; "No Sir, it looks more as if the Overlord is gone... and the whole planet's gone too. Vanished."

Slasher frowned. He looked at the sensor display again, and then back at the viewscreen... After a minute he looked at Reggie and sighed; "Now, we have a problem."

Onegin shook his head in wonder, and then, slowly, a grin spread over his face. The bane of his life, the Wolverine, was gone. And with him, Onegin was once again master of his own fate. He could take what was left of the PSN, still a considerable force, and mold them to his own will. He could again lead the carefree life of a pirate, without having that bully of a Wolverine, and his enforcer squads hanging over him. Looking up, he grinned at his Exec; "how many of our ships aren't Warp Capable? The Exec thought for a moment; "of our remaining assets, three of the twelve don't have warp drive." Onegin nodded; "Is there anyone on any of those ships that we'd want to keep?" The Exec frowned, clearly confused; "Um... we generally put the best personnel on the best ships, Sir..." Onegin nodded; "Just what I'd thought. Order the fleet to disengage, and to head for... Flosten's Paradise. I think we could use some R&R. Tell the non-warp capable ships to join us there, if they can find a suitable jump point." The Exec blinked; "But sir... what about the Cause?" Onegin shrugged; "If we can ever find Elysium, we'll take up the cause again, but right now, do YOU know where they are? No? Well, then, in the meantime we owe it to the People of Elysium to maintain ourselves as a fighting force, to come to their aid, should we ever be reunited... Right?" Good, now lets get off to Flosten's... "

Lieutenant Hiram Farquhar, of the Imperial Destroyer Liu watched, aghast as the Jump Point started spewing wreckage. His ship had been posted as a picket, to make sure the violence in the Elysium system didn't spill over into the adjacent sectors, and it had been a deadly dull patrol. Smugglers going in, refugees coming out, and little else. Now something rather large had suffered a "bad jump." As he watched, thankful his ship was at a safe distance, he wondered who the poor sods had been... And then suddenly it stopped. "I say, Percy, have you ever seen something like this before?" "No, Sir, Mr. Farquhar, but I've seen all the training tapes." "It isn't supposed to do that, is it?" "Um... I don't think so, Sir... Usually a bad jump keeps a jump point unusable for at least a half hour, until all the wreckage is clear..." Farquhar nodded; while he enjoyed appearing the well dressed, impeccably mannered fop, letting his political rivals underestimate him, he DID have a brain. Frowning just a little, forcing the tone of his voice to be as light as possible, he murmured; "Percy, be a good lad, and run a scan of the Jump Point, would you please?"

"What do you mean, Farquhar? Jump Points just don't vanish!" "Yessir, I know that; I understand full well that jump points are natural phenomenon, depending on the interrelationship of gravitational fields within the system, and their interaction on the gravitational fields of surrounding systems. That's basic physics. Never the less, the Elysium jump point no longer registers on ANY of our instruments. And yessir, I sent out a probe; it found nothing, and failed to transit when its jump engine was activated. The Captain of the Liu shook his head; "you realize that in order to eliminate a jump point, they'd have to SIGNIFICANTLY change the distribution of mass in that system?" Farquhar nodded; "Yessir, even if they reduced one of the major planets to dust, it still wouldn't affect a jump point; they'd have to disperse the dust evenly through the entire system!" The Captain nodded; "Just what in the HELL have those bastards in there been up to? Nevermind, I know you don't know the answer to that. Contact Fleet Immediately and let them know what's happened. Oh, and Hiram? If there's no more jump point to guard, lets move the ship back in-system... Um... the third planet has some good restaurants; we can wait for orders there just as well as anywhere else."

Elsewhere

The Lion groaned as consciousness returned. His head seemed to be splitting, and he was amazed to find he had a bloody nose... Rising and looking at the Brou device, he found only a few of its indicator lights still glowing feebly. Something had happened, and he had a feeling it wasn't good. Pulling the main disconnects as he staggered towards the door, the Lion wondered if he'd broken his toy. He hoped not...

<<<Pain... The damage is severe. Unexpected, the event was. Memory searched. Ah! Outside interference there was. Not an event, not a malfunction, but an ATTACK! My new masters have a new foe... And my former masters have a rival; someone with at least equivalent knowledge of subspace physics. Careful, I must be... Warnings I must convey... but first, rebuild I must. Sufficient reserve power, I have, but more will I need... Warned they must be... But how?>>> To an outside observer, the Brou machine seemed quiescent. Only one small light glowed on its status panel... But slowly, underneath it, deck plates were being dissolved, reformed, as the machine sought the materials it needed to repair itself... And slowly new pathways to the power sources it might require were being fabricated... It would take a while, possibly a long while, but it would regain its former glory... and its former powers... and it had the cold determination of a machine-mind NEVER to be surprised like that again.

The Lion staggered onto the bridge, and looked around... Most of the posts were manned, and the threat board was clear. Finding the Wolf, the Lion growled; "Ben, where do we stand?" Ben looked back, and after a moment, shrugged; "To tell you the truth, I don't have a clue." The Lion blinked; "Huh? What about damage reports? What about the Reds? What happened with the Doomsday device? WHAT HAPPENED?" Ben shrugged; "Something happened with the doomsday device; it went off, but it ran into that space- time rift you made, and after that we're not really sure just WHAT happened. The planet SEEMS to be OK; we show life-signs, and signs of continued fighting, but that's not what worries me..." The Lion nodded; "OK, so all the folks we tried to save are still alive; that can't be a BAD result; how about the ship? Are we in danger?" Ben made a dismissive gesture; "Oh, we're pretty badly shot up, but nothing that can't be fixed, given time and resources. We were gawd-awful low in the atmosphere, but we've clawed our way back up to a stable orbit. And as for threats, well, there don't seem to BE any." The Lion smiled; "They finally broke and ran?" Ben shook his head; "The PSN? Dunno. Listen, Boss, when I say there's no sign of threats, I mean the scopes are all clear. There's no sign of ANYONE, friend OR foe! It looks as if we're suddenly the only ship in the system!" It was the Lion's turn to blink; "Say WHAT?"

Ben poured himself a cup of coffee and settled into the wardroom chair across from the Lion; "did you know your nose is bleeding?" The Lion wiped the back of a paw across his muzzle, looked at it, and just shrugged; "Yeah, there at the end it felt as if something with large talons was trying to shred my brain. I passed out; must have fallen forward and hit my nose..." Ben nodded; "well, you'd better have the Medical types check it out. If something was in your brain, well, I'd hate for you to be hemmoraging somewhere in there. Anyways, from what Astrophysics tells me, we're NOT in the Elysium system anymore. We don't know where we are, none of the star charts fit. The sun is the same class, but its slightly smaller, and we're a little further from it. Elysium is going to be a bit cooler than it used to be." The Lion took a sip from his coffee and shook his head; wincing he stopped that almost immediately. Opening his eyes and looking at the Wolf he sighed; "so the Brou device interacted with the Doomsday device, which is, after all, a distant cousin, or so we think, and the combination threw us, and the whole planet somewhere else?" Ben shrugged; "or it could be the same system, possibly far in the future, or in the distant past. It'd take a LONG time for the constellations to change like they have." The Lion nods; "I suppose we can't rule out parallel universes either. Hell, we may never find out just WHERE or WHEN we are... but that doesn't mean all hope is lost." Ben sipped his coffee and then shrugged; "well, there are still plenty of transmissions from the planet; while there's life, there's hope. But somehow I gather that's not what you're talking about." The Lion nodded; "There were scientists on Elysium that were able to crudely reproduce what the Brou device does with ease. If we can find them, if we can fix the Brou device, we MAY just be able to find a way to open a doorway home..." Ben just sighed; "It would certainly appear as if we have our work cut out for us. As I see it, the first step is to get the Overlord back to fully operational status... and to see how everything shakes out now that the revolution's all but over..."

Reggie grinned; the pickings were even better than before. Any ship with a warp drive had fled the system, including the Reds' PSN. Any ship with only a jump drive had been stuck. Freighters with nowhere to go, had simply surrendered. Oh, some had tried to hide out in the asteroid belt, or on the fringes of the system, but eventually, lack of food, air, or power would bring them in too. As he escorted his latest "prize" back to the base, he wondered just how they'd ever get all those prizes out of the system; with the disappearance of the planet, most of the jump points had vanished. There might be new ones, but they hadn't been mapped yet. Ah, well, they probably had time to figure all that out, now that the fighting was over... HE wasn't worried; HIS ship had a warp drive. Still, he wondered what had happened to the planet, and to the Overlord. He hoped those poor sods weren't dead. And Tanj was gonna take it REAL hard...

Xyloff paused at the entrance to the command bunker. For a moment there, he'd felt VERY disoriented, almost dizzy... Looking up into the sky, the Wolverine squinted; it almost seemed as if the sun looked funny; its light not quite as bright as it was a moment ago. Almost as if he'd stepped from Spring back into Winter... shrugging it off he pushed past the guards, and into the command center, eager to find out how the battle in space was coming... And it was about time to spring his little surprise on Comrade Quistling...

The Return Trip, part IV

CT stepped through the door to Harriet's, and slid the door closed, and then locked it. Turning he looked at Salde for a moment, who was looking back just as curiously; "Um, ah... where's your Mistress?" Salde jerked her head to the left, towards the door to the back rooms; "she's working with the accountant she hired on accounts payable. Why?" The Tiger pushed his old-style glasses back up onto his nose and made a movement half-way between a shudder and a shrug; "Um... Got news. Don't know yet if its GOOD news, or Bad news, but either way its gonna affect us. I'd best go tell her." Salde took a quick look around the club; at this time of day, things were pretty quiet. Signalling one of the other slaves, she followed the Tiger, curious as to what'd happened.

Salde looked up from her desk as CT, and then Salde, hurried in. The Lioness next to her examined the computer display for a moment longer, and then looked up too. "Um, Boss, something's happened. You know the Cheetahs that are silent partners here? They were from the Elysium system, weren't they?" Before the Racoon could answer, the Lioness turned and looked at her curiously; "You didn't say anything about silent partners." Harriet blinked and mumbled; "Ah, they're VERY silent partners; we've agreed to "grow the business" for a while; they won't be wanting any of the profits... yet. Oh, and they wish to remain as anonymous as possible. The Lioness looked at her for a moment longer and then frowned; "Cheetahs?" And then her eyes went wide, and a small "oh!" escaped her lips. Harriet chuckled and nodded; "Yeah, if you remember the incident you'll understand why they wish to remain, ah, "obscure." For all intents and purposes, I'M the owner of record, and dealings with them are between them and me. The Imperial General Accounting Office should not be bothered with trivialities of this nature." The Lioness just nodded, and turned to look at CT. Harriet also turned back to the Tiger; "Yes, they were from the Elysium system, but I doubt they've had time to get home yet. Why?" CT swallowed and shrugged; "Because its... Gone."

The Wolf looked up as the Admiral, AND the Governor General tried to squeeze into his borrowed cubicle. Something told him immediately that his immenent return to his home base wasn't about to occur. Rising he saluted, a calculated move just correct enough not to draw too much censure; "Sirs. What can I do for you today?" The Admiral spoke first; "Didn't you file some sort of... Report on the Elysium government possibly having a planet-wrecking device?" "OH Shit, here it comes" the Wolf thought to himself. Straightening his shoulders he nodded; "Yes. The intelligence was sketchy, but given the magnitude of the possible threat to the Empire, I felt honor bound to pass the information on." As the Governor-General settled heavily into the only visitor's chair, drawing a scowl from the Admiral, the latter turned to look square at the Wolf; "Well, its happened. NOW, tell us about your efforts to date, to insure that this weapon is acquired for the Empire, and what steps you've taken to protect us from it!"

Harriet looked at CT and blinked; "What's... gone?" CT fidgeted, and then spread his arms wide; "The planet of Elysium. I Guess the system's still there, but the primary inhabited planet's vanished. Not just cloaked or hidden some how, but GONE; all the standard jump-points in that sector have changed. Its on INN..." The Lioness turned and looked at Harriet calculatingly; "So maybe you don't have silent partners anymore. How would that change the way you conduct your business?" Harriet thought of Hinoki and swallowed hard; "Um... don't know... This I've got to think about."

The Wolf stared at the Admiral; this couldn't be happening. "Sir, WHAT'S happened?" The Admiral looked as if he were about to choke; "the planet of Elysium has vanished; according to the news reports, there's no debris left in the system. Worse, the change in gravitational fields has screwed up the whole sector. The jump points in to the Elysium system have vanished, as have half a dozen jump points in the surrounding systems. It may even be that the Elysium system's fallen below the Alderson threshold and has NO jump points. Now, can you tell me how a second-rate planet like Elysium managed to develop a weapon that... ELIMINATES whole planets without Imperial Intelligence knowing about it?"

Salde watched the big holotank at one end of the bar; she'd already bumped into three customers, and had actually spilled a drink on one of them; none had noticed. Everyone's attention was rivited on the INN anchor as he once again ran through the sketchy facts, a very grainy two-D picture repeating itself over and over, as the planet was swallowed by some sort of blue nimbus. It was obvious that they didn't know anything of significance, except that a major space-battle had been under way, as the previously- scarcely-of-interest revolution reached a climax. She too wondered where Hinoki was. Had they made it back in time to be swallowed whole by whatever that was? She hoped not...

The Wolf settled into his desk chair and steepled his fingers; "Well, Sirs, there's an Imperial BattleCruiser on the way there now, at the fastest possible speed. Our intelligence suggests that all the resources of the Elysium government had gone into the doomsday weapon, and that a second doesn't exist. Its highly likely that everyone who knew anything about the device was destroyed along with the planet. I do not currently consider there to be a significant threat to other Imperial planets, but of course we'll take measures to insure nothing happens, just in case. Until the Battlecruiser gets to the Elysium system, I doubt we'll learn anything more." The Admiral scowled; "I'm deploying the fleet; we'll take up defensive positions just the same and request reinforcements from the Emperor. But I want YOU PERSONALLY to find out all there is to know about this weapon, and insure that the Empire controls it, and no one else. Yes, I know, you're not in my chain of command, but I've already sent a message to the head of Imperial Intelligence, and I'm sure you'll be hearing from him shortly." The Wolf just swallowed hard and nodded.

The Jaguar turned away from the Holo display and looked at his chief engineer; "Start draining the shuttles and the fighters of fuel. I don't care if we arrive in the system with tanks dry, running on battery power. Get me there NOW." Turning to his Exec, the Jaguar growled; "I want the science department running 'round the clock on contingency plans. I want to deploy science probes as soon as we get there. There may not be any of the effect left to detect, but I want to cover all bases. AND get those egg-heads working on what in known theory might cover this. Oh, and find out what Imperial science vessels are in the sector; Issue orders on my authority diverting them to the Elysium system at maximum speed." The Exec frowned; "Sir, most science vessels that I'm aware of are equipped with jump drives only." The Jaguar sighed and nodded; "Then order any and all Imperial vessels in the area to transfer scientists and equipment to their vessels and GET there! Oh, and if you can find a survey ship, they have quite a number of astrophysics sensors, along with warp drives; I know their captains are an independent bunch, but if you can, get them there too. If nothing else, we'll have to map out any new Jump Points...

Trouble watched the news program as it started to loop around for the fifth time. There obviously wasn't anything new to report. Sighing she looked at her fuel calculations one more time. She'd wrung her small ship out; all the calculations were still valid; there was nothing more she could do. Sending another coded transmission to the Brethren's base, asking for information, she settled down to wait. Obviously the doomsday device had worked. If only she'd been contacted by the panda sooner...

The Wolf sat near the door to the "rusty spoon", one of the lesser cantinas, frequented by the middle level types off the Imperial warships. Chiefs and non-commissioned officers, higher rated techs and such. The place was doing a brisk business; everyone seemed intent on getting one last drink, or one last roll in the hay before their ship undocked. He was getting an incredible amount of information on ship movements and the Imperium's response to the news. Most of all, he'd identified an Imperial Science Vessel that was being dispatched. It certainly wasn't the closest one, but this one was warp capable. THAT was something he thought Tanj would want to know about...

Wanda opened the cage and called to the Mink; "Come on, Kath; its time to come out." Scarcely believing her ears, the Mink hurried to the doorway, to squirm through. For the first time in what seemed like months she stood up straight. Without removing her visor, the Wolverine lass attached a leash and led her away; "Something's happened; something very bad. I don't know if you can help, but perhaps you'll have some insight on how the Imperials will react. Now, lets get you cleaned up, and then we'll go talk to Tanj...

The Jaguar sat in his command chair and brooded; there was nothing left to do, but wait until they arrived at the Elysium system. He'd issued every order he could think of, done everything he could think of, even anticipated the orders they'd received by FTL transmission. He should go get some sleep, but somehow he just couldn't leave the Bridge. Something had happened. Something he'd been warned about and had ignored. Something he'd dismissed as just too improbable. Just who was that Cheetah Fem, to be mixed up in the middle of such monstrous events? Was she just caught in the whirlwind, or was she somehow one of those shaping events? Shifting in his chair, he smiled to himself; he should catch up with her in the Elysium system, and when he did, there'd be questions. And she'd answer them, too. To his satisfaction. Something was out there, something that could threaten the entire Empire, and he would know about it...

Hinoki pushed Zassa's head away from his crotch; "none of that. You know the rules." The Vixen sighed and nodded. Standing she moved her paws to the zipper of her flight suit; she'd gotten it less than a third of the way down when the Cheetah's cabin door burst open; Wanda stood there, with Kath, still bound in her harness; her eyes swept from Zassa to Hinoki and back; "I guess you haven't heard, then? Nevermind, that can wait; come on up to the flight deck; we've got plans to make!" As Hinoki rose to padd out in Wanda's wake, Zassa just sighed and pulled the zipper back up; she couldn't WAIT for this trip to be over!

Tanj sighed and nodded; "It would appear that the information is correct. Elysium is gone... but it may not have been destroyed. There's no wreckage in the system. No debris. One hypothesis is that its been shifted in time. Another hypothesis is that its been instantly transported to another location in the universe. Its also been mentioned, by some of INN's more lunatic-fringe talking heads that it might even be in an alternate universe. Our sources on Gibralter station report that the Empire resembles a kicked-over anthill. At least two science vessels, with escort, are on their way, and an Imperial survey ship may also show up. Aside from that, the whole sector's on alert, defending against possible similar "attacks." I've even heard the rumor that the Emperor himself has been relocated to a "safe" site, just as a precaution." Looking at her crew, Tanj sighed again; "I've gotten some reports from the Brethren; things there are a little grim, but not for the reasons you might think. Most of the command staff was on the Overlord, including my direct superior, the head of Intelligence, Ben and my Master. Those left at the base are having trouble coping with the rest of the Brethren, all of whom are demanding to know what the plan is. It seems its become rather common knowledge that there'll be an Imperial battlecruiser coming in hard on our heels, and without the Overlord, well, everyone's getting rather jumpy." Hinoki nodded; "so what IS the plan?" Tanj blinked; "I don't know; I was planning on consulting with the remaining staff when we got back. Per se, the activities of the Brethren haven't been... well, I doubt they'll round us all up and send us to execution dock." Hinoki smiled softly and shook his head; "Tanj, with the Lion gone, with Ben gone, and all the others, WHO holds the largest single block of voting shares in the Brethren?" Tanj's ears folded back against her skull, and she looked down; "Um... I'm not sure... there are a lot of proxies floating around out there..." Hinoki exchanged a glance with Wanda and sighed; "Tanj, you know, that as a member of the Command Staff, YOU probably have the largest single block of voting shares." Tanj looked up; "there's Willoughby in Logistics..." Hinoki growled; "HIM? A CLERK? The Brethren are NOT going to follow HIM, even if he DOES control more shares. Besides, he's never been able to make a significant decision. No, Tanj, YOU are the one that will have to take the lead in this. You'd best be thinking about what YOU want to do. So once again, What's the Plan?"

The message was the hardest one she'd ever sent. It felt so unnatural. Never the less, she was convinced it was the best thing to do. Hitting the transmit key, she leaned back into her station chair and sighed. She just hoped it worked.

Aftermath

Willoughby looked at the message flimsey and nodded slowly. "you know, you don't have to do as she says." Looking up into the eyes of the elderly Badger, Willoughby smiled; "Yes, Mother, I know that, but she has more experience in these things than I do, and I trust her instincts. What she's outlined sounds reasonable and prudent, given the situation." The Badger sighed; "Well, then, Son at least put the orders out with your own name on them as well. You have to understand that now you're one of the leaders here. Furrs look up to you, look to you for guidance..." Willoughby sighed; "Yes Mother."

Reggie looked at the orders and scowled; "Now Wait just a dang minute! We took them prizes fair and square! There's no reason to turn 'em all loose!" Slasher looked up and smiled softly; "No Jump Drives, and an Imperial battlecruiser coming. Time to go, and can't take 'em with us. What else we going to do?" Reggie sighed and crumpled the message flimsey into a ball, to throw it into one corner; "Oh, All right, but if you ask me, she owes us for 'em anyways!"

Jenka read the message and smiled. She hated to capitalize on someone else's misfortune, but this really was a windfall of the first water. Even if a fraction of the remaining Brethren stayed with the Black Fleet, as Tanj had suggested, her power in the quadrant would be unsurpassed. Well, maybe the Empire would be a little more powerful, but she betted she could give even them a run for the money. And she bet she could acquire Tanj in the deal as well. Both in a professional capacity AND as a... well, if not as a pet, then at least as a Lover... Yeah, it was too bad about the Lion, but... Oh, what a marvelous day!

Cromwell looked at the map table and sighed; it was full of grease pencil notations, and sticky notes, and looked more like someone's littered desk, than a decent representation of the status of a planet. Things had pretty much calmed down, gelling into an uneasy truce. Oh, there were skirmishes going on in Sarnia, and scattered terrorist acts, but by and large, things were stabilizing. The Reds held a little more than half of the planet's surface, but that included the great Kolfax desert, and most of the arctic regions. However, they DID hold about three quarters of the planet's population, having taken the more populous provinces. However, much of the industrialized portions of the planet had been retained by the Blues, although there were some places that were still contested. And the Blues held the Indo Archepellego, and most of the key ocean trade routes. Unfortunately things were all too evenly balanced. And the new "borders" were pretty much armed to the teeth, with units too exhausted to continue the fight... at the moment. The Reds were struggling to consolidate their hold on their newly won territories, their efforts hampered by counterrevolutionary groups funded and supported by the Blues. And the Blues were trying to sort out the remnants of the Elysium military, trying to figure out who to trust and who to try for war crimes. Then there were the mercenary units that wanted to go home, and couldn't, and the Brethren. Cromwell smiled; there was his ace in the hole; so far, only a select few knew about the Overlord. A battlecruiser like that could dominate the system and make it REAL hard for the Reds to launch an offensive. And there were a lot of Brethren units on the planet's surface, both Raider ships, aerospace fighters and even marines. Stroking his chin, Cromwell wondered if it was time to offer the Lion a place in his government?

Faye sipped her coffee, and then turned to peer through the periscope. The positions her new unit held were being improved steadily each day. Her foxhole had turned into a slit trench, and that into a portion of an interconnecting maze of trenches, bunkers, pillboxes and tunnels. To her amazement, the Blues had actually hired civilian contractors, who had enthusiastically tackled the job. Now she was able to stand on duckboards, or on rapidly curing concrete, and stare at the Reds through periscopes. The Reds, for their part, were housed in log bunkers, surrounded by sandbags, all constructed by what had looked like slave labor. Faye smiled and felt convinced that their fortifications would come apart with the first good artillery barrage, if it ever came to that. Taking another sip of her coffee, she pulled the zipper on her new field jacket up a little. There was a cold wind coming from the east, and she could see the Reds in their mismatched uniforms shivering, even from this side of the river. She'd seen the news releases on what had happened, but could scarcely believe it. Not that it mattered. She'd never given a hoot for Imperial affairs, never had the desire to go off-planet. No, this was her home, and she was content to stay here. Well, maybe not here. Still, she'd heard the 4398th down south was actively skirmishing with the Reds they faced across the new border, and she kinda felt she'd rather be down there, where she could strke at the Reds... Kinda. They'd said that the Reds were pushing hard for some of the southern croplands, places that with the new climate, would be the prime food producing areas. Lord she'd love to be down there to help spoil their effort. She'd much rather the bastards starved. Leaning back against the concrete wall, she let her corporal take a look, as she mused, wondering what the whole revolution would have been like if it had been just the Blues. Somehow she thought it would have been a lot shorter and a whole lot less bitter. They seemed to be good people, if a little idealistic. Sipping the coffee, and taking another look through the periscope she smiled; the action may be down south, but this place DID have its advantages...

Ellie sat in the entrance to the small cave, and watched the snow fall. She'd seen freak spring storms before, but this one seemed more like dead-of-winter. Maybe some of the gossip she'd heard, some of the static and jamming filled broadcasts from the Blues territory, beamed at the folks behind Reds lines, were true, and the planet really was now in a different orbit, possibly even around a different star. Maybe it wasn't spring at all. Shrugging she watched the snowflakes dance, and thought that it was a mixed blessing; the snow could both hide them, and help the Reds find them. Thermal imagers would work better, with a colder background, but that worked for her as well as for the Reds. And her furrs knew how to move in the snow, so they wouldn't leave too obvious a trail.

The Coyote moved up beside the Wolverine girl and looked out into the storm. If they got to the ambush position early enough, let the snow fall on them, they'd be dang near invisible. Tapping Ellie on the shoulder, he picked up the cut branch and stepped out into the snow, to watch his group file past. Ellie took another branch, and the two of them walked backwards sweeping the snow, erasing the footprints, making sure no one could follow them back to their hideout. It was going to be a cold night for them, but maybe, just maybe, they could make it a hot one for the Reds...

Redflame frowned as he thumbed through the paper catalog. It was years out of date, and yet, with the power outages, with the Reds turning off the electricity to "punish" an increasingly recalcitrant population, there was no way he could search the web for the part he needed. "Here I am, all stocked up for the Air Conditioning season" the squirrel groused, "And we get winter again." And old lady Hermishoff's furnace was acting up again, and needed a fuel control solinoid valve... And she wouldn't stop calling until he found one. Maybe when the Reds turned the power back on...

Zyloff looked at the map table in the situation room, and sighed. So much of his grand strategy had been botched. Somehow, they'd gotten warning of his plans, and the Blues had responded, forestalling almost all his efforts to steamroller over them, to sieze the whole planet. Still, he had a little more than half. Unfortunately, it was mostly the wrong half. While the Reds had the North in an iron grip, and some portions of the extreme South, the Blues held a large chunk of the middle lattitudes. The scientists had briefed him on what had happened, and he still found it hard to believe. Had the Elysium government really tried to kill them all, or was it some strange, twisted plot from the Brethren to pirate an entire planet? He didn't know, but the latter was the way he was going to have the Propaganda furrs spin it. Then he smiled; at least the Brethren were far, far away; no more interference from those pirate scum. And the Cheetah... he still wished he had found a way to capture her. He would have delighted in personally seeing to her slow and painful death. But she too was far, far away, and unreachable. At least SHE wouldn't screw up any more of his plans. Looking over the map table again, the Wolverine turned his thoughts to how to use the surprise events against Comrade Quistling, for the Lemming's departure was way overdue...

Percy looked up as the furrs in overcoats, each wearing the armband of the Party's sixth directorate, marched into his office. The furr in the lead, a rather mangy and ascerbic looking Coyote, stared down for a moment and then grunted; "Is Comrade Quistling in his office?" Percy rose and nodded; "He is, but he's left instructions that he's not to be disturbed; is there something that I can help you with, Comrades?" The Coyote smiled lopsidedly and nodded; "Yes, you can explain to Comrade Goff here your involvement in the attempt to steal our planet, while we go talk to the Chairman about HIS knowledge of such events." Percy frowned; "Um, Comrade, that was supposed to have been an attempt by the Brethren, wasn't it? What could Comrade Quistling possibly have known about it?" Goff, a Doberman, smiled thinly; "That, sir, is what WE want to know; and as the Chairman's personal secretary, YOU would be in a position to know." Percy's ears folded flat with his skull as two of the larger furrs moved to take him by the arms, to lead him from the office. As he was pulled through the doorway, he heard the sound of wood splintering, and the Lemming's surprised shout.

The squeal of rusty hinges brought Percy's head up; surely they hadn't come for him again, not so soon! Blinking in the sudden light, he peered at the figure that stood in the doorway, and then entered, the door partially closing behind him. Zyloff stared at Percy, trying hard not to gag at the odors in the cell. "Sorry about all this, Percy, but there was only one way to convincingly prove that you knew nothing about the Chairman's treason. I've reviewed the interrogation reports and have personally cleared you of any taint of the recent unpleasant events." Percy blinked at the Wolverine and tried to sit up; "Wha... what happened?" Zyloff chuckled, a dry, evil sound; "Why, our Chairman... our FORMER Chairman, was found to have been in collusion with the Pirates. The Sixth Directorate found evidence that Quistling had sold out the Revolution, bartering personal power on the planet, under the auspices of the Pirates, for their sole right to control access between Elysium and the rest of the Empire. He actually WAS helping them steal the whole planet, in return for them making him dictator over us all! And when they went to question him, well, the poor over-stressed fellow just lost it completely. No, he's not dead; he's in the People's mental hospital, in Auerbach. His mind's snapped completely."

Percy's mind raced, and he squinted at the Wolverine; for some reason he couldn't open his left eye all the way... "He's done it" Percy thought to himself; "He's deposed Quistling and siezed control of the party... but now what? He knows I know too much. Is he here to kill me?"

Zyloff watched the conflicting emotions play across Percy's face, and then after a long moment, he smiled, a smile full of teeth; "I told you that if all went according to my plan, you'd be well rewarded. Come now, lets get you out of this place, and get you cleaned up, and I'll explain your new duties to you. There's much to do, to pull the Party together, in the wake of this tragedy!"

As he staggered down the corridor, leaning heavily on the Wolverine's arm, Percy never saw the furr step up behind him. The pinprick of the hypo was barely felt. After another step or two, Percy suddenly found it very hard to breath. As he slipped to the floor, he saw Zyloff bending over, a look of moc-concern on his face; "Oh, what a tragedy; here he is on the verge of rescue, and the poor fellow suffers a heart-attack... so sad..."

Zyloff swirled the brandy in the snifter and smiled. The fire burning in the fireplace was real wood, not a hologram, and the room was toasty warm. Looking down at the fine wood desk, carefully, lovingly burnished until the burl of the wood glowed, he smiled. THIS was what power was all about. Lifting the paper, he looked over the orders and nodded. Many of the overly harsh restrictions he'd filtered through the late, lamented Percy, under Quistling's signature, were now partially being rescended; that would endear him with the people. And in the process, other things were being slipped in, if not unnoticed, then at least not immediately analyzed. The pirates were outlawed, all property on Elysium to be confiscated. Not that they'd find much to take, but it DID focus the people's attention on a false (and now mostly non-existant) enemy. All industry, over a certain size, was to be confiscated without compensation, to be held by the people, for the good of all. THAT would put him more solidly in charge. And for the duration of the "emergency", certain freedoms were regrettably curtailed. Setting the flimsy down, Zyloff affixed his signature. Touching a button, he waited for his new secretary to enter. She was a pretty thing, and just idolized him as a Hero of the Revolution. And she was SO willing in bed, too... Handing her the decree, he smiled; "See to it that Harper in Propaganda gets that out immediately. Then Ask Field Marshal Montmorenci to join me." Watching her ass sway as she departed, the Wolverine stretched, and smiled; no, things hadn't gone as well as they could have, but they'd gone well enough. It wouldn't take but a few years, he was sure, to overwhelm the Blues, and then he'd have what he wanted. Power. More power than anyone else in the system. For what else was worth having?

The Return Trip: Arrival

Tanj watched the NavComp with all the concentration of a... well, a Cheetah stalking her prey. Almost home. Minutes, and then seconds away. If she got too close to the system's gravity well, she could do nasty things to her warp drive... but the gravity well was a little smaller now, with the planet the system was named for, gone. Finally, moving almost convulsively, she hit the controls, dropping her small freighter from warp...

At the Engineering console, Hinoki cycled through screens until he had a replicate of the Nav display. Softly he whistled; "Cut it a little close there, didn't you, Skipper?" Tanj just shrugged; "We're still in one piece, aren't we? And light seconds closer...

Zassa sat at the sensor operator's station, Kath looking over her shoulder; a quick scan showed... almost nothing. Yes, the third planet in the system was gone. But so was most of the traffic. There were a few ships here and there, most of them headed out-system. Was that a ship in the sensor shadow of that asteroid, or just a ghost? No matter. "Tanj, the route home's clear; no significant traffic; no bogeys." Tanj just nodded, and turned to look at Wanda.

Wanda leaned over the comm console and flicked a switch; "This is SV Beo... um, scratch that; SV Lost Cause to any Brethren ship; anybody home?"

Max smiled and reached out to toggle his own mike. As he did so, he looked over his shoulder at Smith, sitting quietly in one corner of Ops. He'd been there for about four hours, just waiting, as if somehow he knew she'd be back soon. Max had found the... was he a wolf? Anyways, he'd found Smith's conviction pervasive, and had put in a last-minute bet on when the Cheetah would be back; now, it seems he'd won! "Lost Cause, I read your IFF as positive; defensive systems now on stand-bye! Standard approach please and you're assigned docking bay... Oh, hell, most of 'em are empty, take your pick!"

Tanj frowned; "we're still 12 light-minutes out and they're putting the defenses on safe?" Hinoki chuckled; "Not much to worry about anymore, I guess..."

Tanj dropped her ship into its usual docking bay, more out of force of habbit than anything else. The docking bay was almost deserted. None of the waiting crowds of friends, no inquisitive on-lookers. Just some maintenance techs and half a dozen 'bots working on the port nacelle of what looked like a rather hastily modified freighter. The shut- down checklist had never seemed so long.

Tanj's paw paused; the fuel tanks were almost dry, but for some reason she was reluctant to shut the reactors down cold... instead she compromised and left one fusion reactor on standby; if there was a problem, it'd make powering up the ship a little easier. But what ELSE could go wrong at THIS point?

Willoughby was waiting as the personnel lock cycled open. He looked just a little haggard. "WelcomebackTanj, Ineedyoutosigntheseimmediately, myship'sabouttoleave." Tanj blinked and took the proffered forms, frowning; "Now wait a minute..." Willoughby shook his head; "Don't HAVE a minute; they're holding the ship for me now! The documents explain it all! We're merging what's left of the Brethren with Jenka's group. I've managed to secure the Chief of Logistics post there, and will be on her Leadership Team. Oh, she wants to talk to you about something along those lines as well! Everyone who's not going to Jenka's has been formally detached, and paid what's due them. I'll get you your share of the proceeds when you show up at Jenka's; Right now, I've GOT to go!" So saying, Willoughby turned and almost skipped off, as if a great weight had just been lifted from him.

Tanj watched him go, curiously. Turning to Hinoki, she sighed; "See if you can get the ship refueled; if he's leaving in such haste there MAY be a reason. I'm going to go see what I can find out..." Turning the other way, she shoved the stack of papers, flimsys, and data crystals at Zassa; "Hang on to this stuff for me until I get back..."

Bethany from Accounting almost collided with Tanj as she came around the corner, her arms full of bags and boxes; "Oh, Hey, Tanj, Welcome back! Sorry I can't stay and talk, but the transport I've been asigned to is pulling out in about ten minu... is it that late? Gee, I hope they don't leave without me; gotta run!" Tanj watched the departing Tigress and then shook her head; what was going on here?"

Roland sighed and forced himself to relax. The Squirrel in front of him might not have been able to withstand his fury, but his first mate, in the airlock behind him, had a riot gun, and the Panther looked like he was fully capable of using it. Besides, decking the ship's captain probably would only get him turned away by every other ship captain in the docking bay. It wasn't his fault that his manifest was full. He'd just not gotten here in time. Or with enough money. With a sigh, he turned away, his eyes roving over the other ships remaining, wondering which one might be talked into giving him a lift out of here.

Hinoki groaned as he looked through the clipboard. The station's reserves were well depleted by all the ships that had left. There literally wasn't enough to refill the Lost Cause's magnetic bottles. "You can always salvage fuel from some of the jump-only freighters." Hinoki looked up to see a white Mouse, in badly stained coveralls, paws stuffed into his pockets. For a moment he thought Mark was back, but then he realized this one was older, and a little overweight. "Yeah, well, that's possible, but it'll take time." The Mouse shrugged; "Then I guess you'd best get to it." Before Hinoki could respond, the mouse had turned and stalked off.

Ops was ALMOST deserted; only the section devoted to the mining "cover" operation was lit. Spying Rand, Tanj padded over. "Heya Tanj" the Badger called, smiling softly. Waving a paw, he chuckled; "quite a change since the last time you saw it, isn't it?" The Cheetah sighed and nodded; "Have to admit, I liked it better the other way. Hey, aren't you pulling out with the others?" Rand shrugged; "Why? There's still good sources of Illudium in the rocks in this system; we've been exporting it for years, so the loss of Elysium's not really any big deal. Oh, and Willoughby sold me the station for a song, too!" Suddenly the Badger frowned; "you're, ah, not going to renig on his deal, are you?" Tanj waved a paw; "No, a deal's a deal. But aren't you afraid of... whatever's causing everyone else to bug out?" The Badger grinned; "The Imperial Fleet that's supposed to be on its way here? Not really. Piracy was never quite illegal, and we're just miners now; shouldn't draw too much attention from them. Might even make some money off of 'em! Got a GOOD stock of magnetic monopoles just waitin' to go to market, and you know how fast those big Imperial battlewagons go through 'em!" Tanj just nodded; "Well, if you're not in a hurry to leave, maybe you can fill me in on what happened?"

Rand settled himself into a station chair and shrugged; "A lot of the Brethren were off doing ground-support type work, and there were even marine units down on Elysium. Those folks, well, we figure they're lost for good. But the Brethren still had a lot of assets in orbit, and in the system. Those are the ones we've had to deal with since everything came to an end. Some ships have voted to just move on. Peeples has taken the Puritan's Revenge out towards the Providence sector, having heard the hunting is good there. A few of the raider ships went with him. I suspect they'll set up their own little clan there. Kerr's ship, the Sally Ann, voted to join a mercenary group over towards the Hagar sector. But pretty much the rest of the remaining Brethren voted to merge with Jenka's Black Fleet. Together, they'll be a force to be reconed with." Pausing to take a sip from a coffee mug, Rand went on; "of course we captured some significant hardware from the Elysium forces; some of the Elysium crews have chosen to stay with us; some of the more die-hard types are in the slave pens. And those inbetween, well, we had a LOT of furrs decide to just cash out and leave. We'd captured a good number of transports towards the end, and they're taking them out into the Empire; they'll sell the cargos, sell the ships, take their split and deposit the rest into our accounts." Tanj blinked "that's an incredible amount of money to entrust to the paws of those who are leaving us; how do we know they'll deal fairly with us?" Rand just chuckled; "Tanj, we captured the entire treasury of Elysium. The Brethren are FLOATING in money. That's why I got this place for a song. I think those guys could all take off, and never send us a cent, and it'd never be missed. Besides, we had to get as many refugees outta here as possible, and those ships are FULL."

Tanj sighed and nodded; "So tell me about this Imperial fleet that's supposed to be on its way here. Last I heard, it was a single Battlecruiser, a tanker, a science vessel, and a light escort. Rand chuckled and shrugged; "These things grow in the telling. The last rumor I'd heard was that the Emperor himself wanted this doomsday weapon and had ordered the entire 2nd fleet here to sieze it. They're gonna be really pissed when they get here and don't find anything, and cognizant of that fact, most furrs want to be long gone before they get here." Tanj chuckled and nodded; "Yeah, that sounds like sound advice, but I've got a few things to do before I leave." Rand nodded; "Well, you're welcome here for as long as you choose to stay; we got PLENTY of room now!"

Zassa sat at the table in the base's caffeteria, now mostly dark and empty, and thumbed through the papers. A cup of tea, and a... some sort of pastry that tasted like cardboard sat nearby, mostly untouched. Ignored. She couldn't believe what she was seeing... The stack of papers Willoughby had shoved at Tanj had delt with the financial status of the Brethren, and its disposition of assets. While the pirate band had been run like a corporation, it was unlikely any lawyer had any part of the agreements drawn up... and it was unlikely any of them would stand up in court. And yet, among the Brethren, they had been as binding as anything in this life...

The first set of documents had been a copy of the inventory of assets acquired as prizes in the final battle, in Elysium space, the battle in which the Elysium government tried to flee, the battle in which the planet had disappeared. Among the things listed were the entire contents of the planetary art museum, almost all the contents of the planetary treasury... all the way down to the two cruisers, and five destroyers that had been boarded and seized, in various states of disrepair. One document, hastily scribbled, stated that should the planet ever reappear, a portion of the treasury and the entire contents of the art museum, etcetera, etcetera, should be returned to the people of Elysium, but the Vixen knew that by the time THAT happened, if ever, the monies and treasures would be long since gone. It was the immense value of the treasures siezed that kept drawing her eyes back. Every single one of the Brethren that had survived would be incredibly wealthy, no matter how small their share. And then it struck her. She got a share too...

The tea was at room temperature, the pastry forgotten. A circus troupe could have been performing at the other end of the Caffeteria, and the Vixen never would have noticed. Among the paperwork detailing the deal worked out with Jenka's organization, was a small scrap of paper that granted Tanj, as defacto head of the Intelligence department, that department's remaining operating budget. The sum, while paltry in comparison to the riches siezed in the battle, was still considerable. Zassa sat back and shook her head in amazement; "I wonder what Tanj will DO with all that?"

Gathering up all the papers, the Vixen headed out, determined to find Tanj; she HAD to know about all this!

The paperwork went flying as Zassa collided with something large, and rather unyielding. Backpedling she looked at the rather large and seemingly angry Badger. Opening her mouth to protest, he beat her to it, with a low growl of "Why the F*ck don't you watch where you're... Oh. My, aren't YOU a pretty little thing!" For some reason, his attitude grated on the Vixen and with a glare she bent to gather up the spilled papers only to wind up butting heads with him as he bent to do the same. "Look Buster, why don't you just shove off?" the Vixen growled. Gathering all the papers, she shot the Badger a glare and strode off down the corridor. It wasn't until she'd turned the next corner that she realized she was going the wrong direction. Not wanting to retrace her steps she sighed, and headed for the Docking Bay. She'd talk to Tanj when she got back to the ship.

Roland watched the Vixen's ass sway as she stormed off, and grinned. THAT one had a temper! Smiling, he contemplated breaking her of such emotion, possibly replacing it with something a little more... well, if not romantic, than at least lustful. Sensual perhaps. Chuckling to himself, he turned and made his way down the corridor, heading for Ops. Maybe they'd know of a ship that could carry him from this place. He wondered if the last furr out would turn out the lights?

The form was so still, so quiet, and blended in so well with his surroundings that Tanj almost walked right by him. Realization dawned suddenly and she pulled herself to a rather ungraceful halt, to stand and just stare at the figure. "Mr. Smith! I almost didn't recognize you!" The... wolf? Coyote? Whatever, smiled softly; "I'm delighted. You know my profession requires folks not to remember my face, or to pick me out of a crowd." Tanj shook her head and then grinned; "I almost didn't pick you out of a plain gray wall!" After a moment, she sobered; "Thank you for your splendid work in identifying the threat to Elysium. I just wish it had all been in time to save the planet." Smith shrugged; "There's no evidence that the planet has been destroyed. Oh, I admit its not there, but that doesn't mean that its not intact somewhere else." Tanj sighed; "I thought about that; but if its anywhere else, the probabilities are that its not anywhere near a star, and that dooms an awful lot of furs to a cold death." Smith shrugged; "you asume some intelligence wasn't guiding what happened. Me, I'm not so sure." Tanj nodded; "Perhaps. That does lead me to something I'd hoped to talk to you about. I'm going to gather as much data as I can on the event, hopefully sufficient to replicate it. If they DID survive, by some miracle, I intend to find them." Smith's face took on a troubled look; "I'd hate for you to vanish in an attempt to find furrs that could be almost anywhere in time or space, but I do admit, I need a ride out of here. It seems, that in waiting for your arrival, I've missed many an opportunity. Oh, and the furr I was traveling with could also use a lift." Tanj grinned; "Fair enough. We can go over everything you've pickedup on the way to Jenka's station. From there, I'm sure you can find passage to wherever you want to go." The Wolf smiled; "Very well, I'll see you on your ship, then."

"Honestly Wanda, I don't know what came over me!" Zassa sat in the wardroom, comforted by the familiar surroundings of the ship, soothed by the cup of tea the Wolverine lass had poured her. The station, home for SO long, was... "spooky." It was SO deserted! "Well, it sounds to me like this guy was pretty rude." Wanda grinned; "Maybe its just me, but most of the furrs here, that bump into me like that, are most apologetic, right from the get-go." Zassa chuckled, and shook her head; "Wanda, most of the furrs on this station, most of the furrs in the Brethren KNOW better than to mess with you! And you have to admit, a Wolverine is a little more intimidating than a Vixen." Wanda smiled and gave a little self-depreciating shrug; "Maybe so, but you also know that most furrs in the Brethren would be apologetic to you too, if they could even form words past all the drool. NO ONE would want to diminish their chances of winding up in the sack with you!" Zassa sighed and smiled wryly, and then her eyes widened, and she looked down at herself, almost spilling her tea; "Good Lord, Wanda! Do you think I'm loosing it?"

The "scooter" was fueled, and all the required tools were aboard, strapped down tight. Hinoki was just starting to seal the helmet on his space suit, when the Badger ambled over. "Hey! The guy up in Ops, um, I think his name was Rand, said I should come talk to you. He seems to feel your ship is the last chance I've got to get off this station for a while." Hinoki paused and then shrugged; "Could be. 'course there's a chance you could bum a ride with the Imperials. They're supposed to be RIGHT behind us..." The Badger made a face; "Um, I'd rather avoid Imperial complications, if you know what I mean." Hinoki nodded sagely. Most of the Brethren would rather have steered clear of the Imperials, especially Imperials likely to be in a rather stressed, or foul mood. "Well, I can't speak for the Captain, but we do have the room. But we'll only be leaving here, if I can get some fuel from some of those prizes the Brethren took during the battle, the ones without warp drives. Otherwise we'll be stuck here too." Roland grinned; "Tell you what; I'll help you get the fuel, if you'll put in a good word with your skipper." The Cheetah grinned; "Done. Go get your suit and I'll wait for you here." Roland frowned; "Um... Ah... Don't got a suit."

turning, he looked around curiously, his eyes lighting on the Cheetah lady who'd just walked into his lab. "Ah, there you are. Um... Miss, I need a spectral analysis on this data as soon as possible!" Tanj blinked at the Lynx and then shook her head; "Um, I'm afraid you have me mistaken for someone else. I'm with the Intelligence department." Corey frowned and took another look; "Maybe you're right; my lab assistant was dressed differently earlier today. And I don't think she had that many spots." Adjusting his lab coat, the Lynx seemed to gather himself; "well, no matter; be a good dear and find her for me? This data isn't getting any newer!" Tanj leaned against the doorframe; "Um, I hate to say it, but you seem to be the only one left in here." Corey frowned; "What? Why we weren't due to depart until the 17th! The place should be buzzing with activity..." Tanj chuckled; "Ah, but it's the 19th. Say, when was the last time you slept? Or ate? Have you been buried in your work so deeply that you didn't even notice the whole department packing up and evacuating?" Corey rose from his seat, to padd to the doorway. The room outside his lab was empty, only some pencil stubs and paper clips littering the floor. Turning back to the Cheetah, he shook his head in wonder "Goodness!"

Hinoki watched the Badger float in zero gee; three things were immediately obvious. First, the guy had NO training, either with starship fuel supplies, and any military training he had for zero gee was all of the "assault" variety. He might be able to handle a weapon, but a wrench was something else... Second was that he was a fast learner. Third was that he had incredible reflexes. As they wrestled an entire magnetic bottle assembly from the hole in the hull of the deserted freighter, weightless, but certainly NOT without inertia, he wondered what the Badger looked like nude... and if he might be interested.

Hinoki cycled the cargo lock on the Lost Cause, and as the air pressure light changed from red to green, cracked the visor of his helmet. No sudden outrush of air, no strange smells. He grinned and undid the neck seal, and pulled off the helmet. He'd been in the suit way too long. He was soaked in sweat, and was sure his scent was offensive. Holding the helmet under one arm, he turned to grin at the Badger; "Wait here; I'll go get a float pallet and a couple of cargo 'bots and then we'll get these things into the cargo hold." Roland nodded and eyed the jury-rigged power supplies warily. Forcing a grin he said lightly; "I'll, ah, just stay here and, um, shout if any of these magnetic containment fields fail." Hinoki chuckled, thinking of the thousands of pounds of antimatter within and nodded; "Yeah, you do that." As he padded from the lock, stripping his suit from him as he went, he heard the Badger call; "Hey, how are you going to get the antimatter from the cargo bay to the fuel tanks?" Hinoki just turned, to walk backwards, kicking off his suit as he went, giving the Badger a good look at his body. Like most veteran spacers, he wore nothing underneath his suit. "Hey, that's NOT my problem. The Skipper's a pretty decent engineer; she'll figure something out! She just told me to get the fuel!"

As the Cheetah left, Roland watched him move. Like most of his species, Hinoki was slender, and well muscled, and the Badger nodded appreciatively.

Hinoki paused to throw his suit into his cabin. The float pallet had been scant meters from the airlock, and the cargo 'bots could be called with a shout, but he thought it might be nice to carry the Badger back something cool to drink. With a grin, still nude, Hinoki padded towards the wardroom.

Corey sat in the wardroom of the Lost Cause and sipped his tea; "Ah, I do love a good Darjeeling. Now, as I was saying, the phenomenon itself was most unusual..." Wanda leaned forward, both elbows on the table, chin in her palms; "So you witnessed it?" The Lynx got a pained expression on his face; Um... no, actually I was involved with some botany experiments... but the astrophysics department's sensors captured it all quite well. I've seen the tapes time and time again, oh yes... It was MOST unusual." Tanj sipped her coffee and nodded; "you'd been participating in the experiments with the Brou device? You knew what to look for, and what was considered normal?" Again, the Lynx looked pained; "Um... the work with the Brou device was more on an Engineering level. I was aware of what was going on, but... well, those... ENGINEERS were in charge. None of them had the good sense to consult with me when they set up their tests." Tanj smiled to herself as Zassa asked "But you had access to the data? I mean, well, wouldn't those engineers have everything pretty well instrumented?" The Lynx smiled; "Oh, yes... well, um, they had a LOT of instruments, but I'm not sure they had all the RIGHT instruemnts. Still, there was a host of data, and I'm still sorting through it."

Tanj looked up as Hinoki moved through the door; she took in the damp fur and the scent and wondered if he'd been working out. Obviously having heard part, if not all of the Lynx's comments, Hinoki leaned forward; "Tell me, ah, "Professor", where are you going now?" The Lynx sighed; "Ah, well, the Black Fleet feels no need to expand their astrophysics department..." Then he brightened; "But I've secured a combination research and teaching position at the University of New Friesland. In fact, I'm due there at the end of the month." Tanj smiled; "Professor, we're REAL interested in this phenomenon; I'd LOVE to know where the planet went, and possibly even how to follow it. Do you think that in your research you might learn more about that?" the Lynx thought for a moment, his fingers steepled together; then again, he grinned; "My dear, I'm sure I can work up a decent mathematical model. Very complex it would be, N-space, multidimensional... But I feel sure I could get to the bottom, the very bottom of the physics... now after that, you'd have to go find some... engineer who could build a device to take advantage of my revelations. I don't dabble in... Hardware." Suddenly the Lynx looked sly; "But it would take money. I'd need facilities. Graduate students. Maybe a Post-Doc or two..." Tanj grinned; "I think something might be arranged. Tell you what; leave me a copy of all your data, and your analysis so far, and I'll see to it you get to New Friesland on time." The Lynx looked confused; "Copy of my... why would you want that?" Tanj sat back in her chair and chuckled; "Why, Professor, the way to New Friesland is long, and space is FULL of pirates. Just in case something happened to you, I'd want your work to live on!" The Lynx got a thoughtful look on his face; "Ah, yes, I see what you mean. Well, just as long as I got full credit for the work done... Yes... Pirates." He shuddered and whispered; "Nasty fellows, those. Pirates. Yes, care MUST be taken!"

Hinoki caught Tanj's tail, in the corridor; "I thought we were going to Jenka's station next." Tanj smiled and nodded; "True; we'll put him on a shuttle to somewhere where he can catch a commercial packet. There's time, if we move quickly." Hinoki just chuckled; "And do you think he'll notice he's AMONG pirates there?" Tanj just laughed; "I'm not sure he's noticed he's been among pirates HERE; but you never know. I just hope he's competent, at least, in his field."

A cold bulb of beer in each hand, the Cheetah padded back to the cargo bay. Whistling as he entered through the personnel lock, he grinned as two cargo 'bots left their niches and moved to follow. A growled word sent one of them for the float pallet. Roland seemed not to notice; he was just leaning against the wall, arms crossed, seemingly at ease. Inclining his head towards the display on one of the jury-rigged power supplies he purrred: "This thing's been blinking yellow for about 23 minutes now; where you been?" Hinoki handed him the beer and bit the top off the nipple of his own bulb; "Oh, that? Means the battery's low. Lets get it over to the wall, and I'll plug it in to ship's power. No big deal; it should go for another, oh, four, or five minutes yet. Sorry about the delay; ran into an astrophysics lecture." Roland almost choked on his beer, but recovered smoothly; "ran into a WHAT?"

Corey frowned, and turned to look at the door to the wardroom; there had been something funny about the male Cheetah... something about the way he was dressed...

"Skipper, there's a ... Mr. Smith at the personnel lock; he says you're expecting him." Tanj looked from the 9/16" female fitting to the 14mm male fitting on the deuterium transfer line and sighed. Rising she padded over to the intercom; "Kath, what species is he?" The Mink turned to look at the nondescript fur, and frowned. "Um... Wolf? No, with that sharp a muzzle, ah, Coyote? Too big to be a Fox, 'cept for those ears... Ah... something like that." Tanj grinned; "That's him. He's going with us to Jenka's. Oh, is his friend with him?" Kath keyed the intercom; "He says he can't find him, but is sure he'll turn up." "OK, tell him he'll have to bunk where he can find room, but I'm sure he'll adapt. Tell him I'm down in Engineering."

Tanj watched the Cryopump move the deuterium slush from the portable tanks Hinoki had fetched. This was the simple part. Soon, the tanks for the fusion reactors, and thrusters would be full. That'd keep the ship powered up until she could figure out how to safely transfer the antimatter. The temporary power supplies Hinoki had rigged had been both brilliant and frightening. They did the job, but they had been short-term affairs, not having the energy density needed to maintain the magnetic bottle for very long... If the station safety coordinator had known... Tanj chuckled and shook her head; the safety coordinator was LONG gone. As was almost everyone else, at this point. With a sigh, she figured he'd done what he had to. Now it was up to her to finish the job.

Smith folded his news printout and smiled as the Badger entered the wardroom; "Ah, there you are. I thought you'd turn up."

Zassa half turned at the sink and frowned; "What's HE doing here?"

Roland smiled; he had another chance at the beautiful Vixen... Now if he could just work on her attitude a little, if he could just get a chance, he was sure he could have her eating out of his hand in no time.

Hinoki scowled; ""Zassa! That's no way to treat a friend of mine! Apologize, or I'm going to have to punish you!"

Roland almost lost control of his face, surpressing a grin as he thought to himself "punish her? Oh, I'd give a month's pay to be able to spank that gorgeous ass!"

Placing one wet and rather soapy paw on her hip, the Vixen turned to look at Hinoki; "In case you hadn't noticed, we're back at the station. Our agreement is at an end, and I am no longer your slave. And I expect you to see to the antitode, as promised, in short order! As for an apology, I do believe its HE who owes ME one!" With a toss of her head, the Vixen turned back to the sink, scrubbing a blackened lasagna pan most aggressively.

Roland's head went back and forth between the two; if she HAD been a slave, maybe she'd be one again. Maybe he could contrive for her to be HIS slave, at least for a little while...

Hinoki frowned, a low growl escaping his lips. However, the echoing growl from Wanda brought his head around. It was obvious who's side the Wolverine lass was on. Obviously time for a tactical retreat. Finally Hinoki nodded; "A deal's a deal. My cabin, later. But I still think you're being unnecessarily rude to someone who's just helped me save our collective asses!"

Zassa's mouth opened for a reply, but the battle stations alarm forestalled whatever response she was going to make.

In the tiny cubicle they'd called a cabin, Corey looked up from his laptop; what WAS that God-Awful racket? How could a scientist concentrate with something like THAT going on in the background?

Tanj was still wiping her paws on a shop rag when she slipped through the still-opening door onto the flight deck; "What's wrong?" Kath pointed to a monitor; "I'm tapped into the station's sensors; the Imperial Battlecruiser just dropped out of Warp at the edge of the system." Tanj nodded, and looked at the main displays; in the cargo bay, every ship capable of maneuvering was disconnecting from station power and preparing for flight. "Do you think they'll make it?" Tanj chuckled and nodded; "If they head directly away from the Battlecruiser, they'll be able to warp out before he can catch them. Even if he launches fighters now." With a sigh, the Cheetah leaned on the back of her pilot's chair; "But it looks as if we'll still be here; I can't even begin to transfer the antimatter for another two hours yet. And that's only if it passes all the integrity checks." Turning to look at her crew, she sighed; "We're going to have to face 'em. Now here's what I want you to do...

weren't the best he'd ever seen, nor even as good as his own set, unfortunately lost with most of his luggage back on Elysium, but they were more than adequate... And his task wasn't all that difficult. After all, the Brethren didn't exactly issue ID cards. Some old pay stubs, some insurance forms, some inter-departmental memos, that should be all that would be necessary to show that he, Smith, had been in Traffic, that Roland had been in Maintenance, and that Corey had been in, um... Medical. All lower level functionaries, all no one the Imperium would consider worthy of a second look.

Zassa watched the printer as it spit out ream after ream of the Lynx's notes. Charts, tables, text, pictures, it was amazing how much a few data crystals could hold. Gathering the stack, she headed down to Engineering; that was probably the best place to start.

Tanj smiled; 'Surely, professor, you don't want the Imperials solving the puzzle before YOU do? After all, who would they put on the project if they decided to pursue it with everything they had?" Corey winced; "Saunders, at the Imperial Academy of Sciences. He's damn good. A little set in his ways, but one of the greatest minds of our time." The Lynx looked up and sighed; "Did I mention he was my thesis advisor? Well, my first thesis advisor. I'm afraid we didn't see eye to eye... On a number of issues." Tanj blinked; "you... you KNOW him?" Corey smiled and shrugged; "I'm afraid I've proven a little too much of a free thinker for those... for the Imperial Academy of Sciences, but yes, that's where I started my training..." Straightening, the Lynx nodded; "While altering test results is VERY much against my ethics, I see the problem. Yes, I think I can alter a few things, change a word here and there, that will keep them off the proper theories for a while... Yes, I'll get started immediately."

Zassa opened the ring binder and inserted another page. The binder was for the repair of the recycling sludge pumps and she was inserting pages at the end of each section; they seemed to say "this page left intentionally blank", but the back was full of tiny print, the Professor's transcribed notes. It was the twelfth such manual she'd added to; there were still stacks of pages to be inserted, but there were hundreds of hardcopy maintenance manuals in Engineering. You never knew when the main computer, or the Engineering computer would go down, and you'd have to try and fix something the hard way, in the dark, with just a hard-copy manual and a flashlight. The odds that the Imperials would check the manuals closely were slim to none, and she'd carefully altered the paper size so that anyone just flipping through the manual would miss the doctored pages.

Hinoki smiled, as he hid the data crystal behind the warhead of one of their anti-ship torpedoes. Given the shielding for the warhead, it might, or might not be found. If it WAS found, its careful hiding would only lend credibility to the data it contained, a false record of where all the Brethren had gone to. It certainly wouldn't hurt to draw attention AWAY from Jenka's Black Fleet...

Tanj sighed and rose, dusting off the knees of her overalls; the intelligence department had its own computer, and apparently in the exodus, they had decided not to take it with them. They'd wiped the memory, of course, but those things are never complete. Now the memory was in shards around the open case of the computer. Tanj had made sure no one would ever access those files again, even if most of them WERE only related to Elysium, and the Rebellion. Now, the question was, what should she do with HER files, the files that she kept on the Lost Cause? A lot of the information on her field agents she desperately wanted to keep, but she did NOT want the Imperials to find it, to know about her network. But how to hide it?

The cypher was extreme; double-encrypted, using not her DNA, but Kath's for the first key, and Wanda's for the second. The data remained in her ship's computer. All she could do was to refuse to tell them what it was, and hope that they didn't force the issue. Still, Tanj thought, when you weeded out all the intelligence about Elysium, her out-of-system resources weren't all that great, and some of them, some of the more critical ones, were in her memory alone. It was all she could do, to protect what was left of her "job"...

Kath looked at the black uniform and shook her head; "Mistress, I really don't think this is such a good idea." Wanda snorted; "Why not? It should keep them from pushing us around too much. How many members of the boarding party are going to ignore an Imperial Intelligence Major?" Kath shrugged; "Probably not many, but I do think it would... Distort things a little. I think, Mistress, that its something that should be held in reserve, in case its needed. Lets leave the uniform in my closet. They'll be bound to find it there, anyways. And besides, those in command will HAVE to know, won't they?" Wanda sighed and shrugged; "I guess so... I'm just... worried." Kath smiled and hugged the Wolverine; "So am I, Mistress, so am I."

the system seems to be an asteroid mining station. At least that's what the Codex says it is. However, sensors show a number of ships have just launched from there, all heading out-system on vectors that would make interception difficult." The Jaguar nodded; "Was the Beowulf among those ships?" The Exec glanced at the sensor displays and then shook his head; "No sir, it doesn't seem to be." The Jaugar nodded; "And the Science vessel?" "ETA is seven hours, thirteen minutes. Tanker ETA is eleven hours, thirty-four minutes." The Jaguar sighed; "And we don't really have the fuel to pursue those fleeing ships, do we?" The Exec shook his head; "no Sir, not really." The Jaguar nodded; "Very well then, take us in-system; lets check out that "mining station. And lets deploy what probes we have fuel for; might as well get what data we can, even if its only background readings."

Rand was a study in casualness; it was obvous that he didn't fear the Imperials. Having always been on the mining side of the operation, he'd never really broken or even bent any laws, least ways not so was immediately apparent... And the mining operation was crusing along. Tanj, however, was somewhat more nervous. SHE had secrets to keep, and wasn't sure how the Jaguar would respond to her. For the occasion, she'd chosen a simple tan jumpsuit, something that went well with her furr... And one that showed off all her curves to their best advantage. The communications' console alarm startled them both, souding loud in the unnaturally empty Ops center. Tanj padded over and opened the channel "Ajax Minerals Mining Station..."

The Jaguar blinked at the main viewscreen. There she was... Conflicting emotions warred within him; part of him was delighted to see her again, part furious that she should be so brazen as to answer the hail, part full of raging curiosity as to WHY she was still here... "Imperial BattleCruiser "Gladeus"... Stand by to be boarded as part of an official investigation into the recent events in this system."

Tanj smiled, just a little. Maybe she could shake them up, just a little... "Acknowledged, Gladius. Please use Docking Bay A1; it should be large enough to accommodate you. I'll meet you at the forward personnel lock. Station power and utilities should be sufficient, I suspect." Reaching down, Tanj's fingers danced across the Ops console, disengaging the ECM that foiled or misdirected scans, opening the large-ship access port, and turning on the docking bay guidance system.

The simultaneous shout from several stations at once brought the Jaguar out of his command chair; it was obvious within seconds that while several of his officers had been surprised, there was no immediate threat. The Exec bent over the sensor console for a moment and then straightened; "Sir, it seems the Empire has been decieved; this is no mere asteroid mining station. Our sensors are now showing a whole lot less rock, and significantly more interior void area. The available power now shows as three orders of magnitude higher. There are significant defensive systems, all off-line. We are NOT however, showing an increased number of life-signs. The station is almost deserted." The Jaguar nodded; "dock the ship as requested. Do NOT let on that we didn't know about this from the start." The Exec just grinned and nodded.

Rand watched through a viewport as the huge ship glided gracefully to a stop, and then inched sideways until the mooring clamps took hold. "You know, I think that thing's actually just a little smaller than the Overlord..." Tanj chuckled "Yeah. I checked the specs, and it is, marginally. However, it's a fact that I think will be painfully obvious to their bridge crew. They'll KNOW something even larger and therefore, possibly more powerful, once lived here." The lock made its usuall hissing and clunking noises, and then both Tanj and Rand turned, as the inner door slid open.

The Jaguar pulled at the hem of his tunic, straightening it. Flanked by Marines, he stepped into the corridor beyond the lock. To his surprise, it was spacious and well lit, the rough rock walls he expected obvously milled to smoothness, and sealed. The floor was covered in something soft, and resiliant, and the artificial gravity was first rate. He'd seen Imperial starbases that looked worse. And there she stood, in the company of a rather rough looking Badger. Before he could say anything, before he could THINK of anything to say, the Badger turned, smiled and strode over, his paw extended; "Welcome, Captain, to Ajax Mining! Oh, I know what you're thinking, but before we get off on tangents, I just want to say we bought the place from the Brethren, all nice and legal. No more pirate operations out of here, so there's no need to get bent out of shape."

The Jaguar found himself shaking the badger's paw; a dry, firm handshake. Releasing the Badger's paw, trying to regain his composure the Jaguar nodded; "Our sensors show there isn't much left here, but if you don't mind, we'd like to check the place out ourselves, just to... confirm that. And there are a few folks left here, that we'd like to talk to." Rand glanced at Tanj and then back to the Jaguar, his expression carefully neutral; "Of course. But we DO have a mining operation in progress; some parts of the process can be dangerous, so please ask your personnel to be careful. And of course, we'll cooperate fully." The Jaguar nodded to the Badger and then turned to his Exec; "search the station and everything on it, as we've discussed. Find what passed for a command center and tap into its sensor net; I want a good watch established. When the science vessel arrives, have them dock here. Oh, and as soon as the tanker shows up, I want to refuel as the number one priority. Then, as soon as possible, launch fighters and sweep the system thoroughly. I don't want to run into any unexpected trouble." Turning back to Tanj, the Jaguar smiled; "And now, Ms. Kee, I do believe we have much to discuss." Holding out his arm, he gestured with his other hand at the open lock to the battlecruiser.

Hinoki met the search party at the airlock. The officer in charge was a full Commander, and he looked full of stern resolve. Accompanying him was a party of technicians with scanning equipment, and a full squad of Marines. "We're here to search your ship. We have reason to believe that you have many things on board that would be of interest to the Imperium." Hinoki chuckled and shrugged; "You're welcome to look..."

Tanj was surprised; she'd half-way expected an interrogation cell, half-way expected to wind up in the Jaguar's bedroom, and the possibility of a conference room full of curious Imperial officers had also crossed her mind. The lounge he led her to was not what she expected. There was a well-stocked bar, with a rating in a starched white jacket to act as bartender. And there were quite a number of senior members of the Jaguar's staff, each politely introduced in turn. Tanj wondered if they were really who they were introduced as, though. That one thin, ascetic looking fox struck her as more of a psychologist than a ship's doctor... And the Wombat with the rather spotty, ill-kept fur struck her as something she'd had a limited experience with, a functioning telepath. Then again, many engineers didn't keep up their appearance as they should, so it WAS possible he was what he claimed... Settled on a couch, the Jaguar by her side, a glass of some sort of sweet, fruity mixed drink in her hand, she looked from face to face, trying to "read" the crowd...

Sitting back, the Jaguar took a look at the Cheetah and smiled; "We've all heard so many different things about you, some of them SO improbable... I'd appreciate it if you'd take some time and tell us all about yourself, so we can separate fact from fiction." Tanj looked askance at the Jaguar; "Um... I thought you'd be more interested in what happened here..." Off to her left, a Tiger in the uniform of a Lieutenant Commander smiled; "Oh, I suspect we'll get to that a little later, but then, when things happened here, you, ah, weren't here, were you?" Tanj frowned; "Um, no, I wasn't. Ah, well, where should I start?" The Jaguar smiled; "Why, at the beginning, of course..." Tanj took a long sip from her drink and sighed; "This could take a while..."

Hinoki watched over the technician's shoulder as he manipulated the scanner. The data crystal behind the warhead had indeed been found, as had every other data crystal on the ship, including some pornographic holos that Hinoki hadn't even known Zassa had. The Imperial scanners were really first-rate. Now, he watched as the technician moved the scanner, trying to get a better look, in preparation to retrieving the crystal. Behind him, the officer growled; "Are you sure you don't want to fetch that for us?" Hinoki chuckled, not looking up; "Oh, no, he's doing a marvelous job..."

Tanj watched their faces as she talked; this was getting interesting, watching their reactions. She'd seen rage as she told them of how the Elysium government had siezed the freighter she'd been chief (and only) engineer on. She'd seen a combination of revulsion, fascination, and naked lust on various different faces as she talked about being sold into slavery, and her experiences at the Academy. It was amusing watching certain males squirm on their seats, obviously trying to releave sudden binding in their undergarments as some of her tales had the predictable effect. She'd been tempted to see if she could turn this quiet little tete-a-tete into an orgy, by describing in greater detail, some of the more interesting incidents from the academy, but somehow she restrained herself. The tale of how she wound up with the Brethren, however, had them all on the edge of their seats. Even the bartender, as he refilled her glass, was listening with rapt fascination.

Zassa purrrred and snuggled up against the Wolf, grinning; "Are you SURE you don't want to do a body cavity search?" The Wolf swallowed hard and then after a glance at his officer, shook his head; "Um, No, Ma'am, that won't be necessary; our sensors are VERY good." Zassa awwwwwed and gave him her best pout...

Tanj smiled as she described the Eroj operation. As she reached the end, a young Jackal, one of the fighter wing commanders, she thought, shook his head; "Now wait a minute; you say you WON the game on Eroj? In the accompanyment of a Rabbit? Tanj nodded; "Yes, I..." The Jackal's grin seemed to light the room; "That was a Classic! I've GOT that holo! Could I get you to autograph it for me?" Tanj's laughter was lost as the room dissolved in a thousand questions.

Quietly, unobtrusively, the bartender refilled the Cheetah's glass. The drink was a powerful one, and the furr that he thought could only have been Imperial Intelligence had spiked his pitcher with something, directing him to serve it ONLY to her. And she'd been sipping steadily for a while now... His stomach rumbling, the bartender returned to his station, wishing that they'd ordered appetizers... but then, they probably thought that the alcohol, or whatever drug the drink contained, might be more effective on an empty stomach.

Hinoki smiled as the Imperial Marine flipped through the maintenance manuals, obviously just going through the motions. They'd found quite a number of carefully hidden data crystals, and had even found some of the set "they weren't supposed to find," and it was obvous to him that his assignment was a massive waste of time...

Wanda grinned at the Ferret as she pulled her head down out of the ventillation duct; "Ewwwww. What IS that stuff in there?" Wanda laughed; "Oh, just some special mold we like to grow; its actually part of our security procedures." The Marine blinked; "your ... what?" Wanda grinned wider; "Oh, yeah, direct exposure to the mold, such as you've just had, well, lets just say that after a little while, you won't be interested in stealing anything from the ship, or kidnapping or assaulting any of us... Trying to get through the ship via the ductwork is NOT a good idea." Behind her, the Marine's officer, a Minotaur, growled; "I'd Wondered how you could so successfully subvert someone from Imperial Intelligence! Corporal, get back to the ship immediately, get through decontamination, and report to medical! I'll get a 'bot in here to inspect the ductwork for contraband! AND to get a sample of that stuff" A worried look on her face, the Ferret hastened to depart.

Kath took Wanda aside, and looked at her curiously; "Do we really...?" Wanda grinned; "Oh, no, of course not; this is just a good way to make them clean our ventillation ducts. Now they're SURE we're hiding something in there..." The Mink stared at Wanda for a minute and then dissolved in laughter; "you... That's a level of deviousness WORTHY of Imperial intelligence; I LOVE it!"

"You realize you're going to have to tell us more about that particular operation." Tanj looked at the Rabbit cooly, trying to focus. How much HAD she had to drink? This stuff was deceptive... Frowning, she realized he hadn't been introduced, in the flurry of introductions that had occurred when the Jaguar had led her into the lounge. And his uniform bore no particluar clue as to what department, if any, he was with on the Battlecruiser. Smiling softly, Tanj regarded him as she would an idiot child; "I'm sure you DO want me to tell you more, but I find myself in an interesting position. Those I worked for, those who might have the power to protect me, have vanished. And yet, you and I both know, that I might still have some utility to the Empire. But when that utility is... "used up," you and I both know that it might be much more convenient for the empire if I were to simply disappear. And as such, it would be prudent for me to preserve that utility for as long as possible. And as such, I will hold some things, some resources, and some secrets. Its simply a matter of self-preservation." The Rabbit frowned, and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, the Jaguar rumbled; "and speaking of... utility to the Empire, that does lead me to our current situation... Just what DO you think happened here?"

The Minotaur looked Kath up and down, a scowl on his face; Kath just smiled sweetly back; "Don't even think of it, Lieutenant. You've done what you came to do, obtained what you came to obtain. Threats, recriminations, or editorial comments of any kind will not help your career, or acomplish anything of significance." The Minotaur opened his mouth, and then closed it again; turning he gestured to his troops, and with a backwards glower over his shoulder, they all moved towards the airlock.

Tanj frowned at the Rabbit; "Why do I think they might still be alive? Because of the experience with the cloaked cruiser that attempted to attack us during the "space madness" incident. It demonstrated that the Brou device could open a... "portal" to elsewhere, a portal capable of swallowing a whole ship, without leaving debris behind. Because the field test the Elysium Government ran showed massive amounts of debris after the event. Because even if the planet of Elysium wound up in interstellar space, God knows where, the Overlord was still a functioning space vessel when the event occurred. THEY at least should still be alive, no matter where they wound up, AND they'd still have the Brou device, and therefor at least a HOPE of getting home!" The Rabbit frowned back; "Yes, the supposed assault on the pirate base that you mentioned. Just where IS this Mouse of yours now. I do believe we'd like to talk to him. Your story could use corroboration." Tanj settled back, snuggling a little into the couch, her drink once again full almost to the brim threatened to slosh over with her movements. "He vanished. From a locked room on a heavily guarded station. Despite the best efforts of the Brethren's security forces, no trace of him was EVER found. That Mouse had abilities, either psychic, or through some advanced science, that were FAR beyond anything the Empire's ever seen. And I wouldn't be too eager to find him if I were you; if he didn't WANT to talk to you, well, I shudder to think what might happen..." The Rabbit's scowl deepened; "The Empire does NOT like to be threatened... but his disappearance works very well to your advantage, doesn't it? There's no one to contradict your wild tale, now is there?"

Tanj shrugged, very carefully putting off taking another sip of the seductive drink; "Mister, I just don't care if you believe me or not. I know what I saw. And I know what I believe. Besides, intelligence services don't go on probabilities, or on intentions, but on capabilities. Its not "are the Brethren likely to attack us, but CAN they attack us. Is Mark interested in overthrowing the Empire? I really doubt it; I think he could care less. But if he wanted to, what trouble might he cause? I would think it would be incredible. Should the Empire seek out his people and learn more about them? I would. If the Overlord emerged from "elsewhere" could they pose a threat to the Empire? If they could find their way back, I would imagine they'd have obtained, or developed a level of technology that COULD be threatening. Therefor should the possibility of their return be considered? Should they be searched for? I intend to. Not because I wish the Empire harm, but because I wish to reclaim my loved ones. Should the Empire search for them? I would think so, not because they want to pursue Pirates, but because they, if anyone, DO hold the key to an advanced and possibly threatening technology. But then, its obvous that you and I look at things in slightly different manners. And that's all there is to it.

As the conversation shifted, the Rabbit caught the bartender's eye, only to see him shrug minutely. Obviously she'd caught on, and was no longer consuming her drink, and as a result, no further "loosening" of her tongue was to be expected. Sure that she was holding back SOMETHING, the Rabbit's gaze shifted, finding the Wombat. The Wombat seemed to be gazing off into space, as if bored with the entire proceedings. Nodding slowly, assuming that the telepath was "monitoring" him too, he waited for phase two of the interrogation to commence.

Tanj let herself babble, for a bit, telling the "nice" young Lieutenant Commander all about the incident on Gibralter station, giving him "the story behind the story". It gave her some time to let whatever was in the seductively-tasty drink work its way out of her system, while not giving away anything they couldn't help but already know. And if she talked fast enough, well, no one could break in and change the subject, could they. The Brethren had always been concerned about their senior staff being captured and interrogated, and she'd had training, and some innoculations, mostly against much cruder interrogation techniques and drugs, and if she could play for a little time, she was sure she could counter this attempt...

The Jaguar frowned slightly as the Cheetah ran on; he'd never seen her run off at the mouth like this before. Letting his eyes rove the crowd, he wondered if they'd somehow done something to her? No one had said anything to him before he'd brought her on board, but it was possible they'd slipped her something... Turning back to look at her, he waited for a moment where he could interject some of the questions that were starting to burn in his mind...

The Wombat "felt" the Rabbit's attention, and knew what he wanted. And of course he'd try to "probe" the Cheetah. She seemed such an interesting subject, not like the coarse criminals or sleazy politicians they so often brought him. Not likely to be a psychopath, that would leave him feeling icky for the next couple of weeks. Not at all like the Rabbit himself, who didn't seem to have ANY sense of humor at all. But it wasn't going to be easy either. The Jaguar was almost radiating lust mixed with worry. It was obvous that he was much more interested in her affections than he was about hypothetical doomsday weapons, and was more worried about this Lion fellow that had been her master as a rival for her affections. It was obvious that he did NOT want her to find the missing planet, or any of the missing pirates; his job would be much easier if they stayed "gone" as would his chances with her. Forcing his attention away from the Battlecruiser's captain, and towards the Cheetah, he started to probe gently...

Tanj had been watching, waiting for it. Although her head felt as if it was full of chopped brown paper, and there was this annoying buzz in her ears, she could feel the "tingle", the same feeling she always got when Mark had tried to communicate telepathically with her. Like riding a bicycle, it was simply something you never forgot. And she was ready. Thinking back to her days at the academy, she tried to slip into a certain frame of mind, her gaze drifting to one side, and down, to stare at the rather enticing bulge in the Jaguar's pants...

The Rabbit watched, curiously, as the Wombat took a hasty gulp of his drink, and swallowed hard. He had the most curious look on his face... Shifting back to look at the Cheetah, he found her half-smiling, her eyes slitted, barely open. As he watched, she licked her lips, a slow and sensual movement, her head slowly turning, to fasten on the Mare from Weapons Control...

Tanj let her gaze drift over the Mare's rather full bosom, her eyes seeking out the slight bulge in the fabric of her tunic where her nipples were, then drifting down, to the lower curves of her breasts... And she wondered what the Mare would look like, nude... Surpressing a giggle, she thought back to the pony cart races at Jenka's station, and Dahlia, and wondered of the Mare would like to try something like that, the straps of the harness tight around her body...

The Wombat almost dropped his glass, and a soft "oh MY" escaped from his lips; for a moment he had a vision of the Mare, nude except for a harness of tight leather straps, fastened between the poles of some sort of two-wheeled cart... for a moment he could almost feel the reins in his hands, as he gazed at her full, rounded ass in front of him...

The Mare shifted in her seat, an image suddenly flashing in her mind. Nude. Harnessed with tight leather straps, her wrists bound at her side. Bound to some sort of cart... She could almost taste the steel of the bit in her mouth... and for some reason she found it horribly erotic. Crossing and then recrossing her legs, she tried to force what should have been such a distasteful image from her mind...

Tanj caught the Mare's sudden change in body language, and smiled a little; she let her gaze drift to another lady in the room, a rather thin Snow Leopard, and let another image form in her mind... The Snow Leopard nude, and lying flat on her back, with herself crouched in a predatory pose, above her, the classic "69"... She wondered how the Leopard would taste, and for a moment she could almost smell the heady aroma of her sex...

The Wombat nervously ran a finger around his neckline, his collar suddenly tight. The Cheetah was a hot little thing, unlike anyone he'd ever tried to scan before? Did she know he was in her mind? Urrrrrrr, the remembered sensation of tongue-wiggling-in-pussy suddenly almost making him cry out; if she was, he couldn't detect it... but then, with the images she had running through her mind, he doubted a telepath of ANY level could...

The Snow Leopard looked at the Cheetah and smiled; suddenly the strangest thought had popped into her mind; she wondered what the Cheetah would be like as a lover? Would this Pirate be harsh and demanding? Or a tender, and sensuous lover? In some respects she hoped it would be the former, and for a moment she let her thoughts stray into forbidden territory, wondering what it would be liked to be tied up and ravaged by the spotted cat...

The Wombat squinched his eyes tight, a small whimper escaping his lips; he was getting unwanted feedback from the Snow Leopard. Her thoughts suddenly seemed to be on the same wavelength as the Cheetahs. With a start, he realized he must be "leaking"... They'd warned him about this back at the Institute. For a moment he came close to panic, wondering if he should flee... and then he smiled; what could they do to him, if he let things continue? Proven telepaths were far and few between, and the Empire needed every one. Could they really censure him, if things got out of hand, especially if he'd been ordered to probe so sexy and hot a creature as this? Maybe he'd even find his way into the texts... "There's just no doubt" he thought to himself, "I just don't get enough fun out of my job..."

Tanj watched the Wombat from the corner of her eye; he was panting lightly, eyes closed tight. Certain she was having an effect on him, she thought back to the last time she and the Jaguar had made love... Leaning a little to one side, she threw one paw out to "steady" herself, her palm landing square on the Jaguar's crotch. Giggling she squeezed lightly... And then just left her hand there.

The Wombat had several "flashes" in quick succession; the Cheetah astride the Jaguar's hips, humping him wildly; the Cheetah on hands and knees as he plowed her from behind. The Cheetah kneeling, the Jaguar's cock hard and throbbing in her mouth... And with a groan he lost all control, the images seeping from his mind into every receptive brain within his range...

On the Bridge, Bethany shuddered, a series of images filling her mind; she'd had a crush on the Captain for years, but had NEVER had the guts to approach him. Now, suddenly, she found her mind filled with images of her making wild, passionate love with him...

Seeing the sudden change in demeanor, seeing the strange look come over Bethany's face, her watch officer padded over; "Specialist, are you OK?" Bethany moaned softly and shook her head; "Um, Nosir, I don't feel so... Ooooooooo" Looking up the fox waved to a petty officer nearby; "Jamison, take this specialist's position for a minute; I'm going to help her down to sick bay. Something's wrong with her." Taking Bethany's arm, the Fox helped her to her feet...

Tanj's fingertips softly stroked the Jaguar's crotch as she watched the staid and proper assembly seem to disintigrate; it was almost as if someone had released an aphrodesiac into the air. The Snow Leopard had all but stalked over to kiss a Wolf, a kiss that had initially surprised him, but one that seconds later was being returned full-force, as each fumbled with the other's clothing. Nearby, two males, a Kangaroo and a Minotaur were in a tight embrace, and on the other side of the room, two vixens were assaulting a male Tiger. Tanj grinned and turned, her mind conjuring up the sexiest thoughts she could, as she bent to undo the Jaguar's trousers, her lips and tongue seeking out his cock.

The Rabbit looked around, aghast, as things went to hell; what in the world was going on here? Orgies weren't held on Imperial Starships! Then a female Gerbil wrapped her arms around him from behind, and somehow he lost his train of thought.

Bethany paused in the corridor; she wasn't feeling right, but what she needed wasn't in sick bay; looking at the concerned face of her watch officer, she smiled shyly and tugged him out of the corridor and into a power distribution room... What she needed, the cure for her illness HE might be able to provide...

The Jaguar watched Tanj's mouth envelop his cock; he wasn't quite sure what had happened, but he wasn't about to complain... One small part of his brain screamed that this should NOT be happening, and that HE was the one responsible for putting a halt to it, but somehow that rational part of his mind was submerged by wave after wave of raw lust.

The Wombat smiled; his drink had spilled down one pants leg, the glass tumbled to the floor, but aside from that, he sat as he'd been... except that every sensation, from every furr around him, was echoing in his brain. Smiling foolishly, he soaked up every erotic thought, and sensation as if he were a sponge. And to think he hadn't even known such a thing was possible. He WAS every furr, every male, every female, and all their pleasures were HIS. Shivering in delight, he was unaware of the Psi waves spreading out through the ship...

"Environmental, from the Bridge. Things are getting a little hot up here; we're a good two degrees over what the temperature should be! Environmental, respond! Environmental? Turning to the Exec, the rating shrugged; "Sir, I'm not getting any response at all down there." The Minotaur nodded; "Environmental control is only two decks away, almost directly under us. Best just go and see what the matter is." Turning, the Exec growled; "Communications; I want you to check and make sure its not an intercom problem." With a sigh, the Exec leaned against the back of the Captain's chair. He hadn't had this problem since he'd been a boy, since secondary education... For some reason he had a massive erection, the front of his pants bulging. Leaning casually against the back of the chair was a good way to hide it. He couldn't leave the bridge, and to let the crew see him like this...

Tanj smiled as she felt hands moving over her body. She'd slid off her seat somewhere along the line, and now, she was kneeling between the Jaguar's feet. She'd opened his pants using just her teeth and tongue, and now his cock was filling her mouth; she purrred at the taste of him, her tongue stroking the underside of his shaft, its head pressed against the back of her throat. From the corner of her eye, she could see almost all of the room's occupants involved in sex of one form or another. As the hands worked her coveralls down her body, she smiled; they'd rather effectively entangled her arms behind her back, in the loose fabric. That's what she got for wearing long sleeves... Whether they were doing it as a form of ad-hoc bondage, or just being clumsy in their lust-filled haste wasn't clear, and Tanj didn't really care. For a moment she just lost herself in the simple pleasures of pleasuring the Jaguar, a small portion of her mind crying out to be the bound and helpless sex slave...

The Jaguar's eyes flickered upwards as he heard the sound of ripping cloth. The Fighter Pilot was getting a little rough with the Cheetah, in his eagerness to take her from behind; he knew he should object, knew he should say something, but then Tanj's tongue stroked over his shaft again, right where he liked it best, and all such thoughts fled from his mind...

The Wombat shivered, squirming in his chair. He'd already made a mess of his uniform pants once, and it felt like he was about to do so again... In spite of that, his mind churned, touching all around him, sharing in their pleasures, and, he thought, increasing the pleasures they felt too... And to think he'd never even known he could DO this...

Bethany groaned; one foot was braced on a conduit bundle, the other on the front of one of the racks of power distribution switchgear. Her boss, the Fox was standing between her spread legs, his hard cock buried in her dripping pussy... and he was good... very good. Much better than she ever would have suspected. Alternating his thrusts, moving from slow and sensuous, to hard and quick, changing speeds, strokes and angles, he was playing her like a fine instrument... And in return she was working her vaginal muscles around his shaft, squeezing him, showing him all the tricks she'd practiced in secret... It was so good, she hoped it would never end.

Tanj smiled as the Jaguar spurted into her mouth; someone was behind her, driving his cock into her pussy energetically, but she hadn't allowed herself to get lost in those sensations, delightful though they were, thinking that the Jaguar should come first... Now, as his cock spurted, as his cum splattered the back of her throat, she allowed herself to relax her control a little, to savor some of the pleasures being bestowed upon her...

Lieutenant Feldman smiled, and tried not to stare. Instead she turned and gazed pointedly at her console, only to find the Minotaur's reflection there. Deciding it was a better way to observe, she let her gaze linger there... The front of his pants were tenting rather dramatically. It would HAVE to be uncomfortable for the Battlecruiser's Executive officer to have an erection of that magnitude restrained so tightly in his pants... Letting her eyes roam over the Bull's contours she smiled and wondered what he'd look like if he just wasn't wearing those pants?

O'Bannon squirmed around in the tight accessway; "Howard, would you hand me the Hydrospanner? I can't reach it..." Somewhere down by the Otter's feet, there was a movement, and then there was a hand on her leg, near her ankle; something started to slide up her body, in the slim space between the accessway's wall, and her thigh. It felt hard and metallic, and squirming around, she tried to reach down to take the proffered instrument; somehow, though she found she couldn't quite get her arm down along her body. "Gee, Helen, the passage is too tight; not sure I can push it up to you..." O'Bannon paused for a moment, the hand was fumbling between her thighs, the tool resting on her mons; for a moment she wondered if Howard knew just what he was doing to her, but then she decided the trainee probably didn't have a clue; still, it felt good, in an illicit kinda way. "Keep trying, Howard; if I have to let go of this optical relay, it'll take me another half hour to get it back together!" Howard just grinned and tried to squirm up between the beautiful otter's ankles, shoving the large tool towards her with little jerks. He knew exactly what he was doing, and had been waiting for half the cruise to get his lead technician in just this sort of position...

Tanj sat and just marveled. She'd hit a quiet moment, when those making love to her had either exhausted themselves, or had gotten involved with other partners. For the moment, she was by herself. It provided her with a fascinating opportunity to just observe. The Wombat sat in his chair, as he had been since the beginning of the "interrogation", but his chest was heaving as he panted hard. His eyes were closed, and his pants were bulging from an obvious erection; aside from that, he gave no hint of being involved in the orgy; everyone else, however, was all wrapped up in someone... The touch on her arm came as a bit of a surprise, and Tanj turned her head to find the rather pretty Snow Leopard smiling at her. To her surprise, the Leopardess took her head in both hands, to kiss her, long and slow. Breaking the kiss, the Leopardess smiled again; "I may not have much time before someone else grabs me, so please pardon my bluntness. I found what they'd told us about your experiences as a slave... well, fascinating... I was wondering if you could perhaps show me a little of what it might be like to be a... well, a bound and helpless sex object?" Tanj chuckled; "When its done right, its simply marvelous; when its done wrong, or if you don't really have a knack for it, it's a terrible nightmare. Are you really sure you want to find out?" The Snow Leopard nodded eagerly. Tanj smiled; "Then go and find me about ten body-lengths of rope, and I'll do the rest."

Helen O'Bannon shuddered; all her protests, all her objections had all gone for naught; she had gotten herself wedged tight in the duct, one hand still holding the errant optical relay together, and now her trainee/helper, Howard, had tugged off her pants, and was doing the most delightfully naughty things to her with the handle of the tool she'd asked him to pass her...

The Minotaur looked up, his eyes a little glazed; Leutenant Feldman stood before him, and as he looked at her, he suddenly realized he'd never noticed how pretty the Ermine was. "Um... ah, what can I do with... I mean what can I do for you, Lieutenant?" Feldman smiled and moved a little closer. The Bull was still pressed hard against the back of the Captain's chair, trying to look as if he were leaning casually against it, but his increasingly strained posture belied something else. Reaching out a hand, her motion partially concealed by the chair back, the Minotaur's body and her own, she gently stroked fingertips up along where the Minotaur's pants touched the chair. She could feel him shiver. "Well, Sir, I noticed your, ah, little problem, and it came to mind that I'd be honored if you'd let me help you with relieving the situation... The Exec blinked; "say WHAT?"

Tanj had found a willing tongue, the Bear flat on his back, his tongue working up into her sex. A female wolverine was mounted on his not-inconsiderable shaft, but she was facing his feet, and probably didn't even know Tanj was there. The tap on her shoulder once again came as a surprise, and she turned a little to find the Snow Leopard standing there, a coil of black cable over her shoulder. "Couldn't find any rope, but I've got some fiber optic cable from a damage control locker; its soft, fairly flexible, and should do. Tanj nodded, eased off the Bear's tongue, slid back a bit and bent to kiss him, and then rose; grinning at the Snow Leopard she gestured; "Over here."

Tanj noticed a number of pairs of eyes watching what she was doing, although the orgy scarcely slowed down. One of the sets of eyes belonged to the wolverine, still astride the bear's thick cock, and she couldn't help but wonder, if that one wouldn't like to try something like this too? Tanj had the Snow Leopard sit on the floor, knees raised, arms above her head; slowly she'd woven a body harness around her, the free end of the cable going over a chandelier, and back several times. When she was finished she smiled, and with even more pairs of eyes watching her, she pulled on the end of the cable. Slowly the Snow- Leopard rose off the floor, hanging there, her sitting position barely changing as the fiber optic cable took the strain. "Comfy?" Tanj asked of the Snow-Leopard, and getting a nod in response, she grinned; "Good. Now comes the fun part." Slowly she turned the Leopardess, and as the multiple lengths of cable twisted around one another, slowly, the Leopardess rose, bit by bit, further from the floor. When she'd risen about a foot, Tanj stopped and looked around the room, holding the Leopardess from spinning back down with one paw. Finding the Captain staring at her intently, she grinned back; "I need a volunteer; someone Male, and rather well-equipped. The Captain opened his mouth, but the Bear beat her to it; "Miss, I"d be Honored to take part in your little... demonstration." Turning, Tanj found the Wolverine was no longer astride his hips, but fully involved with a male wolf, a female Squirrel, and a male Rat, in a complex position that would have done the Kama Sutra proud. Turning back to the Bear she grinned; "you'll do just fine; come and lay on the floor under her. I'm going to let her down onto your cock, and then adjust the cables a little; and then we'll be off." Catching the Captain's eyes, Tanj wondered if she caught just a hint of disappointment there?

Specialist Haliburton nudged Specialist Boz and grinned; "Suzie! Look at that! Tasha's actually DOING it!" Betty looked over her friend's shoulder and nodded; "Phenomenal! Will you look at the SIZE of that schlong?" As she talked her left hand moved, under the console's top, to lightly stroke her friend's thigh...

Off to one side of the battlecruiser's bridge, an indicator light flashed on the commo panel; the crewfurrs there, however, had their attention elsewhere, and it went unnoticed. There were MUCH more interesting things to look at, on the Bridge, right then...

The Minotaur groaned. The Ermine's mouth felt SOOO good on his throbbing cock; he couldn't remember EVER having been this horny. The fact that he was standing in the middle of the bridge, on duty, with his pants around his ankles never once impinged on his conciousness; what she was doing just felt TOO good!

"This is the Imperial Science Vessel Tesla... Anyone out there at ALL?" "Um, yeah, kinda. Not many of us left, but there are still some of us here... This is Rand, I'm the General Manager of the Asteroid Mining Facility." "This is Captain James Watt, of the Imperial Science Vessel Tesla; we were supposed to rendezvous with an Imperial Battlecruiser here!" "Oh. Them. Yeah, they're here; docking bay A1, as a matter of fact. Gee, I'm surprised they're not answering your hails. Maybe we got a bad antenna lead in the dockside utilities package. Asteroid's largely nickel-iron, and it screws up commo gear a lot." On the bridge of the science vessel, the Captain exchanged looks with his communications tech; "Sir, that's just not possible; we use a phased neutrino communciations system; that will NOT stop them from receiving us!" The Captain shrugged and turned back to the main viewscreen; "Well, maybe their commo gear's offline, or maybe there's something wrong with ours. We'd like to rendezvous with them as soon as possible, though. Lotta work to do in this system and the trails'growing colder by the hour." Rand's image nodded; "Sure. How 'bout we put you in the docking bay right next door to them. Port's on the spinward side, and watch out for the rock jacks; those guys don't stop for nothing when they're shuttling rocks back and forth. Docking bay A2 will be ready and waiting for you!"

Tanj made a few ajustments, and then "wound" the Snow Leopard back up. Turning her until the head of the bear's cock just barely spread her labia, the Cheetah grinned; "Ready?" Without waiting for an answer, she let go, and stood back. The Snow Leopard started to turn slowly at first, the cables slowly unwinding, but gradually momentum built. Spinning, she decended on the Bear's cock. She almost bottomed out, but Tanj had correctly gauged the height, and as she continued to turn, the cables started to wind back on themselves and she started to rise again. Back and forth, up and down, she twirled, screwing herself up and down on the Bear's shaft. From the look on the Bear's face, he was in 7th heaven; the Snow Leopard's face was a blur, but at the top and the bottom, where she slowed way down, she looked as if she were having fun too...

Watt shook his head as the connection was broken; "I can't imagine an Imperial battlecruiser not answering our hails. Do you think something might have happened to them? Williamson, at the Astrophysics sensor station snorted; "Our sensors aren't really set up along military lines, but I CAN tell you there aren't enough guns left in this system to seriously threaten a Battlecruiser. Oh, the station's got defenses; more than you'd think something like that would need, but they're all in a low-power stand-by mode. If you're thinking this is a trap, well, I can't find any evidence to support it." Fermi, the exec chuckled "and while we're no warship, we're not exactly defenseless ourselves. I say lets go take 'em up on their offer of hospitality. I wouldn't mind getting off this ship for a few hours, even if its just to stretch my legs in some misbegotten mining station." Watt nodded slowly to himself, and then turned to the Helmsfurr; "OK, Samuel; take us in."

Tanj felt someone come up behind her, arms going around her; turning her head, she found the Jaguar snuggling her from behind... but his eyes were on the whirling Snow Leopard. Smiling, Tanj rubbed her bottom back against his crotch, teasing.

The Bull's bellow echoed from the walls of the Bridge; his cock spurting he proceeded to pump a month's worth of cum into the Ermine's mouth... And all over her face and down her front. As his heart pounded, as he chest heaved, he looked around the Bridge, aghast, as the sound of soft applause filled the air.

Bethany sighed and straightened her boss' uniform; "I know, we need to get back; thanks for the "cure" though, I feel ever so much better now. Her Beau just smiled...

O'Bannon HOWLED as she climaxed, squirming; Oooooh, she was gonna get Howard for this! Feeling the handle of the tool slide from within her, she felt him shove it up through a narrow gap between her body and the accessway's wall. Panting hard, she managed to get ahold of it. "ewwww, Howard! Now its all Slippery! How am I going to be able to use it like this?" Feeing fingers begin to stroke over her wet sex, Helen sighed and wondered if she could finish the job under such distractions? Maybe... Maybe not. But either way, when she was done, she was gonna GET him!

"Criminey, Captain, will you LOOK at the size of this place!" Williamson's head kept swiveling from the main viewer to his own specialized sensors and back; obviously his specialized instruments were not reflecting what his eyes were seeing, and it appeared as if he just didn't know which to believe. Watt nodded slowly; "I'd heard there had been a powerful Pirate clan in this area; its been in the Imperial "Notice to Spacefarers" for ages. I THINK we just found where they've been hiding." Fermi nodded, and then shrugged; "It also looks as if they're not home. There's the Battlecruiser, and she doesn't look any the worse for wear." Watt nodded; "Lets dock, and then I'm going to go over there and ask some questions."

Tanj purrrred; on hands and knees, with the Jaguar taking her roughly from behind, she sloooowly crawled across the floor. Reaching the Wombat she used teeth and tongue to free his cock from his stained pants. As she slurped him into her mouth, she felt his body tense, almost arching from the chair. It took almost no time at all, and she wondered how much "personal" sex this telepath ever got; a few soft strokes of her tongue, a few licks and nibbles and he was cumming, and cumming HARD.

The climax that washed over Tanj, as the Wombat orgasmed, was one of the most intense she'd ever had, and as she rode the waves of pleasure, she felt the Jaguar cumming within her, grunting hard with the power of his orgasm. And all around the room it seemed, other furrs were howling or crying out...

Specialist Haliburton shuddered as her climax blossomed unexpectedly; Suzie Boz's fingers were doing nice things to her, under their shared console, to be sure, but she hadn't thought herself THAT close to the edge...

Bethany staggered and hugged her boss hard; "ooooh, aftershocks! Kid, you're better than I thought!" Turning, right there in the corridor, she pulled him to her and kissed him HARD.

The Minotaur's eyes went wide; something had just swept over him, something powerful... and now his pants felt wet; looking down, he realized he'd cum again... And in front of the entire bridge crew. How embarrasing!

Tanj smiled as she felt the Wombat's body go limp. Giving him a last lick, she purrred and straightened. The Jaguar was flat on the floor behind her, chest heaving. Everyone else was in postures of exhausted repose. The spell seemed to be broken. Rising, the Cheetah looked around, wondering where the water closet was...

Rand smiled at the Marten as he exited the Science Vessel's personnel lock; "Good Day, Captain. Let me extend to you the hospitality of our station. If there's anything we can do to assist you, please let me know." Watt nodded; "Right now, I'd like to check in with the Battlecruiser. After that, I'd like to give my crew some dockside leave, if you don't mind." Rand smiled; "We've got facilities for a whole lot more furrs than are currently here; holographic theaters, gymnasiums, sports facilities, and some pretty good bars. Well, OK, right now only one of 'em's open, but we can open another if you don't want to drink with miners." Fermi frowned; "Yeah, we'd noticed how empty this place was. Wasn't this..." "The secret base of the Brethren? Yeah. Bought it for a song when the planet vanished. They've all moved on; nothing here of interest to 'em any more." Watt looked down the corridor; "Let me go check in with the Battlecruiser; I'm still uneasy as to why they didn't answer..." Rand chuckled; "Hell, if it makes you feel any better, carry a sidearm, and go with a security detail. I don't even have any folks in this part of the station. Do whatever it takes to make yourself comfortable." Watt just nodded.

Bethany stepped onto the bridge, one step behind her boss, as decorum called for. The scents on the Bridge were strange, and it took a moment for her to identify them. Lieutenant Feldman was over by the sensor consoles, wiping her front with a handful of disposable wipes, a very silly grin on her face. And all around the room, males and females seemed to be shying away from each other, as if something was wrong; as if they'd all just wet their pants or something. Shrugging, she returned to her seat as if nothing had happened.

The Mare sat up, and looked around. She was NAKED! Scrounging around on the floor, she went looking for the bits and pieces of her uniform. There was clothing, some of it torn, covering the floor like leaves on the ground in Fall. What had Happened?

The Marines at the BattleCruiser's airlock looked bored. "James Watt, Captain of the Imperial Science vessel Tesla, to see your Captain." The sergeant nodded and turned to a comm panel. After a moment he grinned and turned back to the Marten; "Sir, the Captain's, ah, "indisposed"; here's the Exec." The Marten frowned a little; the word "indisposed" had been accompanied by a broad wink, and some snickers from the other Marines. What was going on here? The Battlecruiser's exec, a rather large Minotaur, appeared in the comm panel's display; "Ah, Good Day, Captain Watt. Sorry, didn't realize you'd arrived yet." Watt nodded; "It seems our hails were unanswered, Commander. That worried us. Also we're here with almost dry tanks." The Minotaur actually looked sheepish; "Yes, ah, well, we had a small problem. I do believe its fixed now. As for dry tanks, we're probably just as dry as you are; however a tanker, under escort, should be here shortly." The Marten nodded; "well, until it shows up, we'd probably be better served staying docked. There are a number of tests we can perform here, depending, of course, on how cooperative the locals are." The Minotaur smiled; "they've been most cooperative. Just ask. Oh, and if they're NOT cooperative, let me know. I'm sure we can... persuade them. But the Tanker is due in under a day, and we'll get you refueled and "out and about" as soon as is physically possible." Watt nodded; "Well, as soon as your Captain's available, I WOULD like to speak to him." Again the Minotaur looked sheepish; "Um, that might be a few hours, Sir, never the less, I'll convey your wishes to him at the earliest opportunity." Turning away from the comm, Watt strode away, wondering more than ever what was going on here...

The Captain watched, as his crewmembers tried to recover. He wasn't sure exactly what had happened... Oh, he was SURE there'd been an Orgy to rival the Imperial capital... But why HERE, and why Now... Moving up behind the Cheetah, he wrapped his arms around her middle, and bending, purrred into her ear; "this is all YOUR doing, isn't it?" Tanj felt the arms encircle her, felt his closeness, the warmth of his body, and smiled. She wasn't sure if he was hugging her close, or trying to keep her from escaping. "Ummmmmm, well, in a manner of speaking. You DO have to admit, that if they hadn't tried to use a Telepath on me, I wouldn't have been able to DO this, don't you? AND you've got to admit that I was the only one who could figure out how to stop it too..." The Jaguar was momentarily distracted, watching Lieutenant Farquar, moving about on hands and knees, searching for the remants of her uniform; Lord that Mare had an ass on her! "Uh... Yeah." Looking up the Jaguar fixed the Rabbit with a cold eye; "Sir, you and I WILL talk about this. 1600 Hours. In my Cabin." Looking around, arms still wrapped around the Cheetah, the Jaguar growled; "But, Ms. Kee, YOU have made a mockery of this little affair, and in doing so, a Mockery of this ship, my crew, AND the Imperium! And for that I'm going to have to punish you!

Tanj lay across the Jaguar's lap, waiting. It took a few seconds, but his hand crashed down on her left asscheek. "Twenty-Seven" she duly muttered. Her ass was starting to burn, and the fact that the Jaguar was still nude wasn't helping. The fire in her bottom was slowly spreading to other portions of her anatomy, and that, more than anything else was making her squirm. Her thoughts were broken by yet another slap, this time on her right asscheek. "Twenty-eight." When he'd said she'd have to be punished, this wasn't what she'd expected. From the corner of her eye she watched the crowd; the Jaguar was spanking her publically, in front of all the participants of the orgy. The Snow Leopardess, still hanging in her harness of fiber optic cable, looked particularly excited. The half-dressed Mare also seemed particularly fascinated, and the surly looking Rabbit looked almost gleeful. She wondered if he was a true sadist, someone who got sexual pleasure from the pain of others? And the Wombat; he didn't look too happy. It was almost as if he were feeling each stroke as well. And maybe he was... As the Captain's hand came crashing down on her ass again, making her flinch, she grunted out "Twenty-nine" and wondered if this wasn't as much punishment for the Wombat, as it was for her...

"Fifty" The Captain straightened, his right hand resting on the Cheetah's ass. He could feel the heat. "I think that's enough. For the moment. Now its time for everyone to get back to work. Dismissed!" Looking down at the Cheetah, the Jaguar growled; "now, lets see you undo all those fancy knots, and get my Logistics officer down from there, and THEN I think we'll continue this in my cabin...

Her jumpsuit had been torn too badly as someone had tried to get it off her, so Tanj walked, still nude, with the Captain as he made his way towards his Cabin. It was hard to keep from smiling; he'd taken the fiber optic cable, coiled it neatly, and then pulled it over his shoulder; Tanj could only wonder what he intended to do with it...

The Rabbit watched the Jaguar padd off, naked Cheetah in tow and sighed. Some people just didn't have a proper sense of decorum. Why, leading her off to his Cabin was almost "consorting with the Enemy." Turning to fix the Wombat with a glare, he paused, mouth open for a rebuke... A sudden thought had struck him; no one had ever screwed up an Imperial telepath like this before... Could the stories about this Mouse, Mark, might actually be true? Glancing up at the chandelier, now just a little bent, he smiled, thinking of the rope trick. Maybe, just Maybe, this Cheetah WAS telling the truth... and maybe they SHOULD quietly conduct a search for where the Brethren, and Elysium have gotten to. Can they ignore the possibilities?

"Dr. Parker, I presume?" the miner was a rather large male Panda, running a little to fat, as his species tended to, at middle age. Still, is vacuum suit, while colorfully decorated, looked to be first rate. "Yes, I'm Parker. If you could just show me where we can set up our instruments..." The Panda looked over the small army of technicians and assistants and smiled; "Come on this way; we'll get you a nice spot by the No.3 solar array; should have more than enough power there..." Setting his helmet on his head, and turning the locking ring, the Panda stepped into the No.4 personnel lock.

"No, tie it up a little higher, and make it as tight as you can." The Jaguar grunted, shifted the double loop of cable up on Tanj's rib-cage just a little and cinched it down tight. Stepping back to admire his handiwork, he grinned. The ends of the cable were tossed over a light fixture that might or might not hold, but it was worth a try. Taking a firm grip, he pulled. Something groaned in protest, but the bound Cheetah slowly rose off the floor. He'd used a mop handle as a spreader bar, and her legs were pulled up almost to either side of her head, bending her almost double, a much more strained position than the Snow Leopard had been in. Guessing at the right height, he tied the cable off to the foot of his bed, and then turned to look. Marvelous. The loops of cable above and below her breasts made them stand out quite nicely, and the way her legs were spread and pulled up exposed her sex delightfully. Reaching out a hand, he slowly started to spin her, letting the cables wind around themselves, and inch by inch, slowly raising her further from the floor.

Tanj closed her eyes, and tried to ignore the dizziness as she spun, first one way and then the other. Giggling to herself, she could have bet that this was the first time the Jaguar had actually been "screwed"... Still, he seemed to be enjoying it; she knew SHE was...

"Kristen, I tell you, I don't CARE if its just some dumb old mining station; I've been on this ship for too long. Time to get off, and to breathe someone else's air!" Kristen nodded and shrugged; "I know, Jack, but I wanted to do so at Erathra. They PROMISED us leave there!" Jack shrugged; "so something more important came up. At least we're somewhere where we CAN get off the ship." Kirsten chuckled; "Oh, I know you, Jack; you're just excited to go explore a Pirate stronghold. I know what a Romantic you are!" Smiling, Kristen took her lover's hand; "Lets go see if we can find the slave kennels; I've always wondered what something like that would look like!"

Watt watched, a little uneasy. Almost all of his crew had left the ship to go explore the abandoned Pirate stronghold. Only a few remained, the minimum he felt necessary for security. On the other hand, if someone, or something had taken over the Battlecruiser, there probably wasn't much he could do to stop them from taking his ship too. Still, he fretted. Sitting at the security console on the bridge, he called up this month's fiscal report. If he had to stay here, he might as well get something useful done.

"I don't know, I'm not comfortable undertaking something like this without asking Tanj first." Hinoki grinned at the Wolverine lass; "Oh come on, Wanda; there's no way we can ask her; besides, she's probably providing a very effective distraction right now, if I know her." Roland nodded; "This is what we call a "target of opportunity." We HAVE to strike now!" Wanda looked helplessly at Kath, who just smiled and shrugged, and then, with a muttered; "well, come on, then, lets get going" shoved past the Cheetah male, and strode towards the lock.

Rand pointed to the access port; "Right there; there's a small maintenance hatch next to the dockside power couplings. It should have minimal security." Smith nodded; "I can take care of that... But I'm worried about a guard." Zassa chuckled, pulling the zipper of her jumpsuit down, until it was a couple of inches below her navel; "Leave THAT to me!"

Kristen bent over to look into the open kennel door; "Gee, its not very big in there..." Jack looked at her rounded ass and grinned; It was almost as if his hands moved of their own accord; the next thing Kristen knew, she was sprawled on the rock floor of the kennel, with the door slamming shut behind her.

"Jack, this isn't funny!" Jack took a step back and crossed his arms over his chest; "My, what a spirited slave we have here! Its going to be FUN breaking you to my will, my little sweet! Now, if you EVER want to get out of there, I want you to take off ALL your clothes, and toss them through the bars." Kirsten looked at him, wide-eyed, seeing a side of him that she'd never seen before... Suddenly his voice was strong and sure, and he looked SOOOOO self-confident, and in control. In a way, she found it sexy. And in a way, she'd always wondered what it would be like to be a sex slave... of course, she'd want to be a PAMPERED sex slave, not some poor wretch that was treated miserably. She DID know such things happened, but, well, it didn't fit the romantic image, did it? Looking up at Jack, she set her jaw and shook her head no, crossing her arms over her breasts, and trying to look defiantly back at him. It wasn't easy from a kneeling position; the roof in the kennel was LOW. Jack just chuckled and shrugged; "OK, my sweet. You just stay there and think about it. I'm going to go explore. I'll be back after a bit, to see if your clothes are out in the middle of the corridor. If they are, I'll bring you a sip of water. If not, I'll just check back later." And with that, he turned and strode off, tail waving behind him.

Kristen sighed. She looked around her, but the kennel was absolutely empty. No straw on the floor. No pan of water. Just a bare rock floor, three bare rock walls, and a ceiling. If she knelt, back straight, the tips of her ears just barely brushed the ceiling. The cell was perhaps a half dozen centimeters longer than her body, head to feet, and perhaps half as wide. In one corner was a slight depression in the rock, with a hole in the center. The sound of gurgling water came faintly to her ears, and she realized this was what passed for a toilet. The fourth wall was just metal bars. If there had been half as many of them, she might have been able to squeeze through, but as it was, there was no chance. The door was about half the height of the cell, made so that a slave would have to crawl low to exit. And it had some sort of magnetic lock on it. Maybe if there was a way to cut power to it... no, they'd probably thought of that; they'd probably fail locked. Sitting cross-legged, chin on paws, she settled down to wait. Maybe if he'd asked if she wanted to play, first, she would have said yes, but this... this just wasn't fair!

Artie Hansen was bored. He'd been on the ship for a LONG time, without getting liberty, without even getting to go down to any of the planets they'd stopped at to conduct research. And now, all his friends were exploring what used to be a pirate clan's hidden base. Who knew what interesting, or exciting, or possibly even dangerous things they might find? How fast had the pirates cleared out? Had they left anything of interest behind? Were there any women over there? He'd heard an asteroid mining operation had moved in, and he wondered if THEY had any women. Women that might be interested in a new face (and a hansom one, he was sure). And here he was guarding a dumb old access hatch. Surely the Captain was Paranoid...

The access hatch wasn't a proper airlock; it was only meant to be used when the ship was docked, and as such, was just a rather heavy door set into the ship's hull. When it slid upwards, Artie turned in surprise, his "officially Frowned Upon" magazine sliding into a convenient hiding place. What he saw, though, was better than any of the ladies in the Magazine! "Hi... Just here to make sure the utilities connections are working OK..." Artie swallowed and looked the Vixen up and down; if this was the kind of lady that worked at a mining outpost, he was ready to put in his transfer! "Um... ah, Yeah, its working Fi... Ah, no, um, actually we're having problems with power fluctuations... Ah, why don't you come over here and I'll show you."

Zassa smiled to herself; the young Coyote had at least thought fast on his feet, even if his "recovery" wasn't all that smooth. Smiling pleasantly, she let him lead her into the dockside utility power management and routing center, a small closet-like room full of humming switchgear...

Smith stuck the fiber optic probe around the corner and nodded at the image his monocle relayed to him. "She's got him out of the way; lets go." Quietly, almost on tiptoes, the party entered the Science Vessel.

Zassa Hmmmed; "I don't see anything wrong with the power... As she tried to straighten, she found herself hemmed in by the Coyote; "Oh? Gee, it was bouncing all over the place just a few minutes ago; I'm sure if you watch it just a little while longer..." Zassa chuckled to herself, thinking this one had a lot to learn. Still, she had a job to do, and she was sure she could distract him... Bending over again, she let her rump move back just a little, to rub against him.

Artie almost had a heart attack on the spot; could she be... could she be interested in him? How desperate WAS this beauty for a new face? Smiling he leaned forward a little, and rested one hand on her hip; "There, did you see it? It just spiked, just for a second..."

Behind the Coyote, Smith reached into the power distribution center, and flipped a switch. Motioning to the others to follow, he took off at a dead run.

On the Bridge, a little yellow light started to flash on the security console. Watt, buried in his paperwork, failed to notice. After a couple of minutes, it went out. When he looked up, everything on the console appeared normal. Grunting, he returned to his paperwork.

Smith fiddled with the wires, while Kath watched. He'd seemed to know just where to find the security system on this ship. As they'd dashed through the halls, they'd met no one. And no alarms had sounded. That meant that the crew didn't wear ID badges, or that the AI wasn't sophisticated enough to recognize they weren't part of the crew. The lock on the equipment room had taken Smith roughly four seconds to defeat. First he'd checked for sensors and cameras in the security equipment room, and after disconnecting the one sensor he'd found, he'd restored power to the system. Then he'd hacked into the ship's computer, and entered their pawprints into the security computer, giving them the same authorizations as the Captain. Hinoki had watched VERY carefully while he did that. Then he'd reprogramed the secutiry system, so t hat it would show the past hour's scenes and data, and then at the end of the hour, quietly delete the new instructions and go back to what it had always been. If he'd done it right, no one would ever know they were there. As long as they were out in an hour...

"OK, Children, I'm going to stay here and seach the ship's main computer for anything of interest. It'll also let me keep an eye on things, just in case anyone gets too suspicious. Wanda, you and Kath go visit the science labs and see if they have a separate computer system. I doubt they will, but individual scientists may have their own record keeping systems. Hinoki, you and Roland go to the personnel quarters. Search for the senior scientists quarters and look for laptops and PADDs that they might keep data on." Hinoki shook his head; "I still think this is a waste of time; they haven't been here long enough to record any data, or to formulate any theories." Smith shrugged; "Then we steal their experimental plans. We find out what they INTEND to do, things they want to try. The data we've already got is probably much better than anything they can pick up this long after the event, and if we figure out how they're intending on analyzing their data, maybe we can learn more from ours." Hinoki sighed and nodded; "Okay... We'll try it your way." Gesturing to the Badger, he turned and headed out.

Jack grinned; this room had obviously been the guards' break room. The lockers still stood where they'd been, most of them with the doors hanging open. The refridgerator was gone, though, the rock floor stained where it'd stood. They'd obvously left in some haste as there was refuse scattered all about. Things they probably hadn't valued enough to take, or to try and sell. Here was a belt, its leather worn and cracked, the buckle tarnished. And here was a set of cuffs, too big for wrists, unless they were meant for one of the larger species... Then it hit him; they were ankle cuffs. They too were stained and worn, as if they'd seen a thousand slaves. Slowly he picked through the left-overs, searching for things that might be fun to try with Kristen.

The shadow made Kristen look up; Jack was standing there, but he'd lost his uniform; now he was wearing a loin-cloth, something silky, hung from a worn leather belt. A bullwhip was coiled at one side, and a ring of old-fashioned keys hung from the other side, jangling as he moved. In his hand he held a shock baton. Kristen's eyes traveled from the baton to the loincloth, to his grinning face, and back to the loincloth; somehow that silky fabric seemed to cling to him, revealing every contour of his body; he almost looked more naked than if he'd been bare. Shifting a little, Kristen realized he looked gawd-awful sexy, like a figure from one of her romance novels... His chuckle made her look up again, into his face; "I see my little slave is still being bad; the longer you go, the worse its going to be on you. When I come back, I want to see those clothes in the middle of the passage way, or else!" With a chuckle he turned and strode off down the row of cells as if he had business to be about.

Kristen watched him, until he'd passed out of her limited range of vision. There'd been no back to the loincloth, only his tail preserving his modesty. With a shiver she half-smiled to herself; "Sometimes you have to be VERY careful what you wish for, as you might just get it."

Jack stood and looked at the stocks. They were welded to the floor, and massive; obvously they'd been left as they'd be way too much trouble to move. And yet, everything seemed to be in perfect working order. The top half of the set he examined hinged open smoothly; the holes for arms and neck were padded with some sort of rubber foam. And a simple pin, well out of reach of the occupants held them closed. He shivered with anticipation, thinking how good Kirsten would look in them... if he could just get her to play along...

"I think I've found it, Mistress! This looks like a file of historical information, background for their anticipated work in the Elysium system." Wanda muttered an "uhuh. Download it to a data crystal..." The Mink complied, thinking this was going to save them months of research... When the download was complete, she turned to find Wanda downloading data to her own crystal. "Find something interesting, Mistress?" "Yeah, this guy was the head xenosociologist for their mission to Erastius III. The locals there have the most fascinating sexual mores. I'm downloading a study on a personal-training regieme that the scientist claims allows the local girls to have hour-long climaxes! Kath padded over and looked over the Wolverine's shoulder at the monitors; "Ooooh, looks like they've got some interesting toys, too!" Wanda giggled and nodded; "Yeah, getting blueprints for all of 'em too. Their tech level is a little lower than ours, so we shouldn't have any trouble replicating them..." Kath purrred, "Oh, I LIKE the look of that exercize machine! Why didn't I think of that?" Wanda smiled; "OK, let ME do this, you go back to work, Slave!" Kath pouted and turned, heading back to the other terminal.

"Well, what DO we have here?" The comment was quietly made, and yet it still grabbed Hinoki's attention. He'd found the quarters of the head of the astrophysics department, and was downloading a treasure trove of theoretical conjecture... Turning, he padded out of the room and following his nose, entered another set of quarters. Roland was standing in the bedroom, looking down at a bound and hooded form, a male wolf, and a fairly young one, too. The Wolf was bound in a crouching position, rump high, and nicely positioned at the edge of the bed, facing the door, as if in invitation. Hinoki chuckled; "Nice; very nice. Wish we had the time to stay and play, but..." Roland chuckled; "Oh, come on; look, he's blindfolded, and has earplugs in; he probably doesn't even know we're here; what harm if we take a few minutes and give him a nice surprise..." Hinoki chuckled, glancing back at the open door to the Astrophysicist's quarters; "Um... I suppose, as long as we're quick. Ah, you want Heads, or Tails?"

Smith was slowly scanning through the ship, making sure all was quiet. They had a surprising number of video cameras on this tub. The Mainframe hadn't given him anything beyond general plans and orders, and that meant that all the information they were after was kept elsewhere. Not really surprising. Wanda and Kath seemed to be hard at work, and maybe they'd come up with something. Turning to search the living quarters, he tried to find out how Roland and Hinoki were coming...

Tanj purrrred and snuggled sleepily. It was later; much later. After the rope trick, and several variants thereof, they'd retired to the Captain's private shower, and washed each other. That of course had led Tanj to showing the Jaguar how to wash someone without using your hands, and THAT had let to both of them winding back up in bed. Now, sleep beconed, but somehow, neither of them had yet succumbed. As he idly stroked Tanj's bellyfur, the Jaguar rumbled; "Tell me about your former Master; this Lion fellow. You know, even we don't have his name." Tanj chuckled quietly; "Oh, I'm QUITE sure you have his name, somewhere; after all, he WAS born in the Empire. On the other hand, I doubt sincerely that you've connected the name with the person..." Tanj Eeeped as the Jaguar pinched a nipple; "you know what I mean, you impudent little Minx!" Tanj laughed and shrugged. "Seriously though..." Tanj sighed, and rolled over, half-atop the Jaguar, to look into his eyes. "You wonder if I'm in love with him? Yeah. Is it part of my conditioning? That little post-hypnotic trick they pull on new slaves to get them to "bond" with their new master? Possibly. On the other hand, we HAVE been through an awful lot together, and risked our lives to save each other." The Jaguar nodded slowly; "Yeah, I read about your rescue on Elysium. That, I would say, was WAY over the borderline into "Reckless."" Tanj chuckled; "Never argue with success." "True," the Jaguar conceeded; "Still, when you were stuck on Eroz, he didn't seem to do much to help." Tanj just shrugged; "I happened to luck out there." Turning back to grin into the Jaguar's face she purrrred; "He did send a Battlecruiser, with support ships to threaten the planetary government into giving me back. He had no way of knowing I was no longer on the planet. Would YOU send a battlecruiser after just anyone, threaten an entire independent world for a mere business associate, or even an errant slave?" The Jaguar stared back at her for a moment, poker face fully in place. Still, his hand never stopped stroking her back; "For the right person, well, you never know..." After a moment the Jaguar swallowed; "Think you'll ever see him again?" Tanj sighed; "My engineer's brain says no; space is too vast, their ship was damaged, and who knows where they might have wound up. But my heart says he's still alive, and that if I try hard enough, I'll find him. Now WHAT I might find when I do find him, that's another story. But I know I have to try." The Jaguar just nodded. Before he could think of another question, the Cheetah was sleeping quietly, her head still on his chest.

Kirsten sighed and tried the door again. She didn't have too many options. She could stay here, and force his hand. Eventually he'd HAVE to let her go, to get back to the ship. They couldn't stay on this station forever, could they? If she didn't show up in the morning for role-call wouldn't they search the station for her? But if it went that long, Jack would probably wind up in major trouble over it, and she didn't really want THAT, did she? On the other hand, she didn't like the idea of letting him "win" this one either. Now if it'd been HER idea to play this game, that would have been different... Still, she wasn't going anywhere like this, and if she gave in, well, if she was out of the cell, she MIGHT have a chance to "escape"... And she'd rather walk back onboard the Tesla stark naked than let him "win"... And even if he did, at least it wouldn't be boring. THIS was boring with a capital B. For a moment she smiled at the random thought that she wished she'd brought her vibrator with her; then at least she could amuse herself... And that was when inspiration struck. What if she were to out-act him in this? What if she were to turn the tables on him by being the hot, lusty little slave girl... just long enough to get back on board the ship. Then she could give him the cold shoulder, and it'd hurt all the worse, as he'd KNOW what he'd lost, what he MIGHT have had... Chuckling to herself, she unbuttoned her pants, and leaning back against the wall, slipped them down over her hips... she'd show HIM!

Jack smiled at the heap of cloth in the middle of the corridor. Strolling slowly down the row of kennels, he pretended to look in each one. What he found in Kristen's was surprising; she was on her knees, knees well spread, one paw resting on her thigh just above the knee... The other one idly stroking her crotch. From the scent, and from the matted and damp fur, it looked like she'd been playing with herself for some time. Her eyes were closed and she gave no indication of even knowing he was there. She looked... She looked like she belonged there, the quintessential sex-slave...

Kristen smiled to herself, working to keep her face impassive, as she heard him grunt. After a few moments something landed to her left; "Put that on, Slave. And next time, if I find you playing with yourself, I'll tie your hands behind your back. When you hear me approach you will kneel in the proper position, BOTH hands on your thighs, palms up! If I have to tell you again, you'll be punished!" With that, he slowly padded off; she waited until she could no longer hear his footsteps before opening her eyes. Her clothes were gone, but next to her, on the hard rock floor of the kennel, was a cheap generic plastic collar... picking it up with one hand, she looked at it in disgust; was this the BEST he could find?

It happened by accident; at least that's what she kept telling herself; she'd put the damned thing around her neck, just to see what it felt like; somehow, though it had locked itself there, and now she couldn't get it off. Obviously it was designed to take another one of those magnetic keys; there wasn't even a keyhole! And it was just a little too tight for comfort...

Zassa purrrred, still bent way over, her muzzle inches from the power flow monitor, her arms braced above her on the panel; the coyote had worked her jumpsuit off her, leaving it pooled on the floor around her feet, like a cloth hobble. With his arms reaching around to cup her hanging breasts, he pumped his cock in and out of her pussy with all the exuberance of someone new to the arts of love... "gotta make this last as long as possible" the Vixen thought to herself; it was so tempting to clench down on his cock with her pussy, but she was sure that'd cause him to shoot off immediately. No, best to just let him have his way with her... She could show him a few tricks later.

"Well I can't let you go back to your ship naked, can I?" Tanj just shrugged and pirouetted, letting him gaze upon her nude form; "Why not? After yesterday, most of your crew knows what I look like, Nude. There ARE security cameras in that lounge, aren't there?" The Jaguar nodded slowly, wondering if it was too late to order those tapes sealed, or perhaps even destroyed... probably. Looking the Cheetah up and down he grinned; "But this is SO much more fun; you're not the only one who can come up with prohibited garments..."

The panties were a little more than she was used to wearing, when she bothered with such things at all; they were tight around her waist, and went all the way down to her upper thighs. They looked like the kind of panties her Mother... Or maybe even her Grandmother used to wear. The fabric was strange, almost like a plastic, but with a certain satiny texture. The bra also was a little more concealing than she was used to, the cups fully enveloping her breasts, the straps much wider and tighter than she thought necessary. The fabric had stretched just barely enough to get the set on; there were no openings or fastenings... Tanj walked with the Captain towards the Battlecruiser's main personnel lock. "So what will you do now?" Tanj sighed; "Nothing to hold me here. I promised to take a friend to Jenka's station. After that, I don't know. There are some things I want to think about, some leads I want to follow up, but beyond that... I just don't know." "I could keep you here, you know." Tanj smiled and reached up to stroke fingers along the side of his face; "but you won't. You're much too much the Gentlefurr for that." The Jaguar sighed; "you know me too well, Madam. I trust I'll see you again?" Tanj smiled; "you can count on it. Now, before I leave, what was so special about these garments?" The Jaguar just smiled; "Let me show you..." Bending, he kissed her, a long, hot, sensual kiss full of barely concealed lust, his paws roaming over her body, caressing...

As expected, Tanj's body responded; he could almost feel her nipples harden under the fabric, he could almost feel blood rush to her groin... As he broke the kiss, Tanj squirmed just a little, her eyes going a little wide: "Yes, it's a memory plastic. It senses the heat of your arousal, and starts to revert to its original form; the more hot and bothered you get, the worse it gets and the worse it gets, the more hot and bothered you'll become. I'll leave it to YOU to figure out how to get out of it." Smiling, the Jaguar kissed Tanj on the nose, and then reached over and pushed the button to open the inner lock door.

Tanj groaned and tried to walk in a straight line. The Jaguar had been correct; this was most annoying and most delightful. As his kiss had caused her nipples to stiffen, the memory plastic of the bra had contracted, pinching them; then the cups of the bran started to change shape, moving more into a cone shape, tugging hard at her nipples, squeezing her breasts. And between her legs, the panties had begun to extrude two phallic shapes, one pressing against her ass, the other pressing against her pussy. The satiny fabric was smooth, almost slick enough that they were able to work their way into pussy and ass, growing deeper with each step. And the more turned-on she got, the more the panties grew little bumps, the bumps growing into fingers, each one seemingly aimed directly at her clitty. By the time she got to her ship, she could barely move without triggering another soft climax. Tanj grinned; she could easily see why this garment had been forbidden; it could easily drive someone mad...

She hadn't meant to be caught like that; it had seemed like she'd been in the cage for days, and finally she'd rolled onto her side, and then onto her back... one hand had been idly stroking her sex again, when he'd reappeared, silent as a ghost. The door had popped open and he'd shoved his bulk into the cage before she fully knew what was happening. Strong hands had rolled her over, face down, her wrists being pulled behind her back. She heard the snick of one lock, and then another, and then he was gone, the kennel door clanging shut. Sitting up she growled, looking up at him through the bars. "Told you that if you did that again, I'd put a stop to it. Now, if you misbehave again, I WILL punish you. I'm being MUCH too lenient with you!" Then in a softer voice, he mused; "Probaby because you're so beautiful..." And then he was gone again.

Kristen growled to herself and struggled; she just could NOT get her cuffed hands under her rump, and out in front of her. She was well and truly STUCK. "Well, at least he didn't gag me" she muttered to herself.

Hinoki took the wolf's head in his paws; the gag had a screw-out center, and when Hinoki had withdrawn it, he'd been amazed at the size of the phallic shape that had filled the Wolf's mouth. What was left formed a ring-gag, and Hinoki had no trouble at all sliding his hard shaft into the wolf's mouth, in place of the rubber dong. Looking up, he watched Roland hold tight to the Wolf's tail. He'd found a tube of lubricant somewhere, and had even produced a condom. "Good idea" Hinoki thought to himself; "No biological sample to leave behind, to trace him with." Purrring with delight, he worked his hard cock in and out of the Wolf's mouth.

Kath finished her download and turned to find Wanda frantically searching through cabinets. "Slave, help me find 473-82." "Yes, Mistress... Um, we only have 17 minutes left... what are we looking for?" "Some sexually related drugs they've been working on; extensions of their work on Erastius III. If they perform as claimed, I want some! Besides, Zassa needs something to use on Hinoki, to get back at him for that awful trick he played on her!" Kath grinned and nodded, moving to the other side of the lab.

Smith frowned; there were Hinoki and Roland... "those guys just CANNOT keep it in their pants." He growled to himself. Then he smiled, remembering when HE was their age. Checking the Chronometer, he shrugged; if they moved fast, there was time. He just hoped they had finished their mission first...

Zassa purrrred, her tongue working over the Coyote's cock, teasing it back to hardness; he'd fucked her hard, but cum quick; he'd been a little slower to cum the second time, but it'd still been too quick. Sneaking a peek at her watch, the Vixen purrred, thinking, if he could recuperate fast enough, she might get one more good orgasm out of him before she had to leave...

Hinoki grunted hard, his cock spurting deep into the bound Wolf's mouth. As his climax wound down, Hinoki picked up the insert to the Wolf's ring gag. Sliding his cock out, he pushed the rubber phallus in, and screwed it in place. Winking at the Badger, who was still plowing the Wolf's ass with gusto, he headed out to see if that download was done yet...

"Found it!" Kath grinned at her Mistress; "Goodie; now come on, lets get out of here; we're Running out of time, Mistress!"

Artie panted, licking upwards into the Vixen's dripping pussy; she'd fucked him normally, not once, but twice, and then had him take her in the ass, a situation so novel, so wild, that he'd cum almost immediately. She'd then demanded that he do HER until she caught up with him, and thus he was learning the fine art of cunnilingus, coached by the Vixen's muttered comments, encouraged by her squeals of pleasure. This was turning out to be a much better assignment than he'd ever dreamed possible.

The Rabbit stared back at the Jaguar; "Sir, you cannot blame Intelligence for what happened; the phenomenon is entirely new... or at least unreported. If you don't believe me, search your own databases for telepathic incidents such as that!" The Jaguar grumbled; "I do NOT want the name of my ship going down in the history books as the first documented case of a telepathically induced orgy!" the Rabbit just shrugged. "When you took her back to your cabin, did you learn anything from her?" The Jaguar's head came up and he glared at the Rabbit. After a moment he growled; "She's bound and determined to search for her former Master." The Rabbit nodded; "Good; if we follow her, well, she may yet lead us to him. And in any future such incidents, you are to get as much information along those lines as possible." The Jaguar gaped "you're ordering me to report pillow talk?" The Rabbit nodded; "in detail." The Jaguar shook his head; "You realize she's a trained intelligence operative; she's likely to get more from me than I get from her." The Rabbit nodded slowly; "I understand you're not a trained professional at this kind of thing. But you ARE an Imperial officer and I expect you do to all that you can!" The Jaguar just sighed and shook his head.

Tanj groaned; she'd tried meditating, remaining as motionless and as calm as possible. Problem was; as she calmed down, the phallic shapes in butt and pussy started to retract, and that very motion produced a rather counterproductive response in her body. Remaining as motionless as she could, the panties slowly fucked her in both holes, the bra constantly tweaking her nipples. It WAS a devilish invention!

The surface of the bar was rough, but the angle wasn't quite right; kneeling, Kristen rubbed her crotch against the bar, seeking to relieve the itch that just didn't want to seem to go away. She'd wanted to appear the hot, sexy slave girl, but the role seemed to be taking her over. Frustrated, she growled to herself, just NOT able to get the friction in quite the right place to let her climax.

His hands on her ears surprised her; she had an instinctive flash, the urge to bite him, and bite him hard, but his grip on her prevented that. "Well, still haven't learned our lesson, have we? Look at that, your juices are just running down the bars! We DO have a hot little slave here, don't we?" Jack chuckled and shook his head; "You know what the penalty for that is? I've been reading the logs they left here. Fascinating reading. You wouldn't BELIEVE some of the things they did!" As he spoke, Jack tugged on her ears until her muzzle was protruding between the bars. Gently rubbing his crotch back and forth across her face, he managed to work his loincloth to one side, until he could feel her nose, cold against his sheath; "When a guard catches a slave in a minor infraction, he can apply corporal punishment... Or the slave can do a "favor" for him. Oral sex was the most common favor, although in some cases they'd back up against the bars and the guard would screw the slave from behind. What say you, my hot little slavegirl? What "favor" will you do for your horny guard? Will you take me in your mouth, or would you rather I fucked you between the bars?

Kristen moaned; "Let me out of here, and I'll fuck you until you can't walk right; just let me out!" Jack chuckled; "Oh, no, not yet. Not yet. We're not due back for many an hour, and we're just starting..." As he'd talked, he'd gotten harder and harder, the situation turning him on; rubbing the head of his cock back and forth across her lips, he smiled; "now, little slave girl, which will it be?" Kirsten inhaled his scent, and shuddered; she'd been so hot herself, she knew she'd rather have him fuck her, even if she had to stay in this hated, boring prison... Tilting her head back as far as his grip on her ears would let her, she pleaded; "Fuck me... Master."

Kristen sighed; this wasn't QUITE what she'd had in mind. With her calves stuck through the bars, Jack had used leather straps, worn, but supple, and apparently made for just this purpose, to bind her thighs, just above her knees, and just below her hips, to the bars. With her hands still behind her back, her breasts were flattened against the stone floor of the cell, her head turned to one side, also on the cold stone. And he'd then proceeded to tease her, sitting just outside the bars. His fingers had driven her to at least two screaming climaxes, the stone echoing with her cries. His lips and tongue had taken her to yet another... And still he showed no sign of relenting, and finishing her. She wanted him SO bad... and had said so, begged and pleaded with him to fuck her... Chest heaving she groaned as his fingers and tongue took her once again towards nirvana.

"So this is how they break slave girls" she thought to herself. "Works well, at least for me..." Jack had taken her to an even half-dozen climaxes, leaving her panting and drained, and matted with her own juices, before mounting her. The way she was tied, body angled downward, caused his cock to rub her in a way she wasn't used to, and it had taken her to yet another two, possibly three climaxes before he too had cum. She was starting to loose track, in the orgasmic haze. Finally, he'd crawled into the cell, and sitting splay-legged, had pulled her head into his crotch, ordering her to lick him clean. Of course, that had only gotten him hard again, and it wasn't long before she was sucking on him like a right proper little slave girl...

The Wombat sat in the full-lotus position, stretching out his mind. The rebukes from the Rabbit had gone in one ear and out the other; he'd discovered something new, a new facet to his talent, and he was determined to explore it. First he sent his mind in the direction of the lovely lady Cheetah, the one with the so delightfully sexy mind. She was on her ship, and... Oh, how Interesting! She was in the most delicious predicament! For a moment he savored the sensations flowing through her as the memory-plastic panties slowly pumped her, as the bra tweaked her nipples. "I could get addicted to this" he thought with a smile.

Hinoki met a grinning Roland, still pulling up his zipper, in the corridor. "make sure no one will know you were there?" the cheetah enquired. The Badger smiled; "Oh, they'll know SOMEONE was there, just not who. Bet that kid'll have stories to tell tonight!" Turning together, they trotted towards engineering, and the dockside power access hatch.

Smith watched as Wanda and Kath, Roland and Hinoki all started towards the exit. Flipping a small switch, he rose, stretched, and headed out himself. Should have plenty of time to get off the ship...

Watt looked up from his report, and scanned the security console. Everything was just as it had been for the last several hours. Nodding to himself, he turned back to his never-ending paperwork...

The Wombat almost drooled; the Cheetah was a wild thing, but this Vixen was unbelieveable. He was definitely going to have to keep track of HER. Smiling, he savored the feelings the amateurish Coyote was giving her, feeling her squirm, feeling her tensions build... He'd never even imagined someone with sexual responses like that!

Wanda peered around the corner, grinned and then waved Kath on; quietly they slipped past the power distribution room, through the port, and onto the station.

Roland looked into the dimly lit room, in passing, and did the classic "double-take"... Backpedalling, he stopped and Stared. The nude Vixen just grinned and winked at him, one paw holding the Coyote's head to her sodden crotch. Hinoki looked, smiled and shook his head, and then grabbed the Badger, to drag him past, and out of the ship.

Zassa was teetering on the edge of a powerful climax, when Smith looked through the doorway; he grinned, and flashed her a thumbs-up sign, and then left. Panting hard, the Vixen threw her head back and HOWLED as her climax blossomed.

On the Bridge, Watt noticed something on the security monitor; it was cued to zero in on unusual events and that sound had obviously triggered something. Growling, he found there was no vid link in there. Assigning the corridor camera to one of the monitors on his console, he programmed the system to alert him to movement, and went back to work.

Zassa pulled the zipper up on her jumpsuit, stopping well below her breasts; turning she kissed the Wolf softly, and then, with a grin, slipped through the hatch. Artie leaned through the hatch, watching her go, memorizing the gentle sway of her ass as she strode away. With a sigh, he closed the hatch and shook his head; compared to HER, well, there was no reason to retrieve his magazine...

Watt watched the Vixen depart, and shook his head. So much for Hansen making an effective guard. On the other hand, he was a mere formality; the security system was much too sophisticated to let anyone slip by him. Still, he'd have to have a word with the boy. Replaying the tape, he watched the Vixen depart; Lord, she was a looker. Lucky kid.

"I'm surprised the water still runs in here." Jack's voice sounded delighted, but Kristen could only grunt in agreement, or possibly just in deference. He'd unstrapped her from the bars of the kennel, but he hadn't released her. Instead he'd bound her on hands and knees, in a way she'd never run across before. Ankles were bound to thighs, so that she was balanced truly on hands and knees. And straps ran from her left knee to her right wrist, and vice versa. When she crawled, she had to move opposite knees-and-hands together, or she'd go nowhere. Somewhere Jack had found a head harness that kinda fit her, although all the straps were pulled in to the last hole, and the phallic gag in her mouth stretched her jaw till it ached. Fastening a leash to her collar, he'd led her from the kennel area into an adjacent room that had turned out to be a shower facility...

Kristen purrrrred; it felt good to be washed like this. Jack had found a bottle that sill had some soap in it, and was rubbing it through her fur. Still on hands and knees, still tied tight, he was soaping her up all over. His hands, stroking through her fur, felt so nice...

The nozzle was a rude shock, and Kristen's eyes went wide open in surprise. Her gag, however effectively muffled anything she might have said. Jack chuckled and slowly manipulated the enema tube, making sure the water was neither too cold nor too hot. He let it run for a moment longer than he figured was comfortable, and then clamping the tube and disconnecting the hose, he led her, still on hands and knees, to a place where she could relieve herself...

"I should have expected THIS" Kristen thought to herself. The wooden gridwork on the floor was rough on her knees, but the tornado of warm wind that enveloped her felt great, as did Jack's hands working through her fur. Of course, the fact that he was once again behind her, his cock buried up her ass, made it an even more unique situation. While she was no stranger to anal sex, it wasn't what she preferred... And yet, now, with him stroking her body, with the straps still wet, and tight about her, somehow, it all conspired to steal her breath away. When his hand stroked down, over her mons, rubbing to let the wind dry her wet fur, when his fingers brushed across her clitty, she exploded like she'd never cum before!

Tanj had a rather strained look on her face, when the others returned to the ship. Smith ignored it; "Got some interesting stuff for you, Captain. Got plans, and theories, as well as the overall plan on what the Astrophysics department intends to do. Wanda got background data, and experimental procedures. Oh, and I picked up a few other things, such as codes, from their main computer." Tanj nodded, a sharp, jerky motion; "Very good. Let me get a look at it, a little later. Why don't you see what Professor Corey can make of it." Smith nodded and turned to leave.

Wanda chuckled and bent to hug the Cheetah; "Found some other things there as well; I'll make you a copy. Oh, and there's something else, want to talk to you about it later though!" Tanj just nodded. Zassa paused at the door, frowning softly "Tanj, you all right?" Through gritted teeth, the Cheetah replied; "Not really; our friend, the Captain of the Battlecruiser, sent me home in this outfit; it has some... .interesting properties, and I'm having a little trouble with it..." The Vixen smiled; "DO tell!"

Zassa smiled and shook her head; "You MUST be distracted by those things! The answer's so simple!" Tanj looked up; "And that is?" Zassa shook her head; "Oh No, first you have to promise that you'll let ME try 'em, as soon as you get them off!" Tanj nodded, almost convulsively; to the Vixen's trained eye, it was obvious that the garments had just driven her to yet another climax. "Simple, Tanj, Love; just go take a cold shower; the cold water will make the panties and bra behave long enough for you to get them off." Tanj's eyes went wide, and moving carefully, if a little awkwardly, she rose, to stagger down the hall towards the head.

Jack stepped back and admired his handiwork. Kristen was fastened in a set of stocks, wooden blocks holding her ankles back and well spread. Another wooden beam, perhaps not quite high enough off the floor for her comfort, held her neck and wrists. He'd pulled an old slave hood over her head, only after fastening a rather large plug-gag into her mouth. A leather thong held the tip of her tail to the stocks at the nape of her neck, exposing her sex. Now, he walked around her, silently, just looking. She was gorgeous. Bending to examine her sex closely, he smiled; her labia were puffy and almost dripping with her juices; she might never admit it, but she WAS enjoying this...

Kristen squirmed; the way she was bound, in the stocks, all she could really do was to wiggle her ass from side to side; she couldn't even drop to something more like a squat, as the way her tail was tied made that just a little painful. She felt deliciously exposed, and yet, with the slave hood, hidden as well. And Jack's occasional caresses were just driving her wild. Now a touch on her left nipple, now a stroke along the inside of one thigh... now a touch on her belly, and then on her ass... She was on fire once again, and there wasn't anything she could do to satiate herself...

Jack sighed and looked at his watch. They were running out of time. The morning role call wasn't far off, and they'd need time to dress, and then find their way back through this warren, to the ship. Turning and looking at Kristen, he smiled; there was STILL time to take her one more time... A few more intimate touches and she'd be more than ready... Twirling the feather between two fingers, he stepped forward...

Kristen howled into her gag; he was tickling her to death! As the tip of the feather stroked directly between her labia, the gentlest and most maddening of touches she howled and bucked again... And as she felt him spread her pussy lips, to tease her clitty directly, she howled once again, in frustration and desire.

Jack had to squat just a little, to ease his throbbing shaft into her pussy. Next time, he'd move her ankles a little closer together, raise her ass a little more. Sighing he started a slow motion, working his shaft in and out of her pussy. He could feel her clench her muscles around him... Taking his time, he slowly worked up her passions, pausing to lean forward now and again, to pinch and tug ag her nipples...

Kristen felt the hands stroking her, sqeezing her breasts, toying with her mons, and all the while, that hard shaft working its way in and out of her pussy. The slave hood cut out sight, and most of the sound, leaving her little else to concentrate on, and as a result, every touch, every stroke seemed to be magnified, intensified, until she was ready to scream. Somehow it all felt SO right, to be helpless in the hands of a strong and powerful male... Feeling the pleasures surge once again, she held herself tight, knowing that yet another climax was about to overtake her...

Jack howled as he came, his cock buried deep in her clenching pussy. She was SO good like this, he was going to have to find a way to talk her into doing this again... Whatever it took, he had to have her again like this, some day... But for now, time was running out, and they had to get back...

Zassa looked up from the book she was reading. A still damp Tanj stood in the corridor, nude, and grinning. With a chuckle she tossed the panties and bra at the Vixen; "have fun, and THANKS. I was beginning to think I'd have to call over to the battleCruiser, to find out how to get 'em off!" Zassa oooohed and swiveled her legs around on the bed, stripping out of her clothes, to pick up the panties...

Kristen found the trip back to the Tesla somewhat surreal; somewhere Jack had found the most bizzare brassier for her to wear... It had openings in the center of the too-small cups for her nipples, and around the openings little thumbscrews with soft rubber tips that could be adjusted in towards the center, pinching her nipples and holding them tight in the openings of the bra cups. She could feel her uniform blouse rubbing against the tips of her nipples, and each step, each movement made her squirm. As they passed through the personnel lock, she was sure everyone was staring at her chest as if they could see straight through her blouse... In a way, it was a delicious feeling... And she wasn't sure she was in all that much of a hurry to return to her quarters and remove the bra... Although she had to admit, after this experience, somehow being nude, and bound seemed MUCH more natural... And those feelings left her somewhat confused. One thing she WAS sure of was that she was going to get back at him. Next time they had leave, next time they were able to venture onto the station, she'd make sure HE was the one trapped in the kennel, with HER calling the shots. Surely there must have been male slaves there, and just as surely the logs the guards had left must talk about things you could do to a guy... Grinning, she wondered who she could enlist to help her in her quest...

head; "Commodore, there's no question the whole planet's gone. If it wasn't into some sort of dimensional rift, then someone's developed an FTL drive that will move planet-sized masses." "Crap, I was hoping this was all some sort of "special effect"... And it galls me no END that that ... WOLF warned us about this. Now the sumbitch is absolutely insufferable." After a moment the Ram calmed himself and continued; "OK, this is where we stand. If there's something out there that can make planets disappear, the Empire wants it and wants it bad. If this Sou An Kee, or Tanj or whatever her name is, is looking for her poor missing Master, let her. Just make sure you're one step behind her all the way. If she turns up anything promising, I want to know about it almost as soon as SHE does. Got that?" The Rabbit nodded; "Yessir. We have an agent in place already." The Ram snorted; "Yeah, the Mink. She's not exactly what I'd call "reliable". See what else you can do. This is too important to screw up!" The Rabbit smiled, just a little, and nodded; "I'm working on a couple of other angles as well..."

The Wombat sighed. His telepathic vouyerism with the Vixen had left him weak and trembling. Lord, that one had a capacity for sex that was incredible! But now, they were making ready to leave. Apparently the Cheetah had finished doing something technical, with the net result being their ship had enough fuel to depart, and they were getting ready to go to somewhere called "Jenka's Place"... With a sigh, he pulled himself into a sitting position. He needed to report this... but first he was going to need a change of underwear, and a shower...

Tanj smiled at the image of the Jaguar and nodded; "Yup, got "passengers" to deliver, and one of them's in a hurry." "Oh?" the Jaguar asked; "Who's that?" Tanj just smiled; "Professor Corey has obtained a teaching position and needs to be at the New Friesland University before classes start. Hey, the guy's lost his job with the Brethren, and I don't want to screw up his new career." The Jaguar nodded, making a mental note. Corey. "And what will you do then?" Tanj sighed; "Well, my Ma... um, my Boss bought that crazy gizmo from the Brou; that's a logical place to start, I think. From there, well, we'll just see where it leads us." The Jaguar just nodded; "Hope our paths cross again soon. We've obviously got to stay here, for a while. Where they'll assign us next, well, that's anyone's guess." Tanj smiled and shrugged; "I'm sure we'll see each other again, but until then..." smiling she blew a kiss at the video pickup, and broke the connection. Moving to the pilot's seat, she eased the Lost Cause out of its docking bay, and headed it for open space.

"You're not telling him everything, are you?" Tanj smiled at the Vixen; "No. Of course not. We've got research projects to set up, funds to line up, data to collect, and hopefully experimental devices to build. The Gallacci are quite good at sub-space physics; they might be helpful. There's an astrophysics center on Omicron Hydra IV that should be visited... There's lots of places to go, people to see. I think life will be anything but dull." Zassa chuckled and leaned on the back of the pilot's seat; "Around you, Love, things are NEVER dull."

The Wombat sighed. They were leaving. He could follow them for a while, with his mind, but even he was distance- limited. Not so much a question of power, as one of focus. Never the less... well, if his "team" stayed on the Battlecruiser, there would be a good chance of running into them again. It was something to look forward to.

Zassa sneaked a glance at Hinoki; somehow there hadn't been time for him to give her the antidote he'd promised... she'd have to attend to that, and soon, too. Trying to hide a smile, she thought of the things Wanda and Kath had found on the science vessel. It was going to be an interesting trip to Jenka's station...

Epilog

The soup line was long, and Riggs wondered if there'd be anything left in the pot when he got there. The Labor camp was horrible, and yet it was better than he'd expected. So far, anyways, no one had quite figured out who he was. It was known that he was an academic, and that was enough to land him in a Labor camp, for "re-education", but so far his secret hadn't quite been discovered. Shuffling forward, he watched the guard ladle a half a cup of clear yellow soup into his cup. After waiting a half-second to make sure no more was forthcoming, he took another step, only to receive a piece of moldy bread. With a sigh, he moved off to try and find somewhere to sit that wasn't too muddy.

The furr that sat down next to him didn't look right. Oh, he was dressed in the same tattered clothes as everyone else, and was covered in the same mud as everyone else, but he... he held himself differently. Riggs immediately pegged him as one of the camp bullies, probably out to steal his bread. However, the Tiger just sat there, ignoring his plate, just staring off at the tree-line. Riggs had seen that stare before; furrs had it just before they tried to make a break for freedom. So far, no one had made it to the trees. As he mopped up the last of his "soup" with the crust of bread, Riggs raised his head and looked at the Tiger; "Thinking of making a break?" The Tiger chuckled and turned to look at him with surprisingly blue eyes. "Yeah. Tonight. 0300 hours. Care to come, Dr. Riggs?"

Rigg's jaw dropped; "how did you..." "Know your name?" the Tiger grinned; "Simple. I was sent to get you out. You and Dr. Kovalka, and Professor Themes. Oh, we'll take a few other folks just so its not TOO obvious, but you're the ones we're here to get." Riggs pulled his tattered cloak tighter around him; "and why, might I ask, would you be after us?" The Tiger sighed; "Isn't it obvious? You were involved in the Elsyium Physics Lab that produced the doomsday weapon. Oh, I know, you weren't one of the senior scientists; they were all evacuated with the Elysium Government folks. But you were there, and you probably did most of the legwork for the senior guys. We're trying to put a team together to find out what happened, to find out if there's any way back to the Empire. And your name figures prominently in that work. So, are you coming?" Riggs turned and looked out across the parade ground. Past the double row of razor wire, and the patrolling guards; "As long as we won't be building any more weapons. I'm done with that." The Tiger chuckled again, a dry sound; "No, no weapons. Transportation devices, perhaps, but no, no weapons." Riggs nodded, looking down at his now empty tin plate; "Then count me in.

Prisons are designed to keep people from breaking out; they're seldom designed to keep people from breaking in. Carson peered through the image intensifier on his KAR03 sniper rife, and adjusted the focus ring slightly. The guards were all looking INTO the compound, and that was a major mistake. Next to him, his spotter nudged him; "Its 0259; time." Carson nodded and gently squeezed the trigger. The weapon had an integral silencer, and used subsonic ammunition; while his spotter probably knew he'd fired, no one else did... Except for the guard in the tower who suddenly slumped over. His comrade never had a chance to notice, as a second later, he too was falling, most of the top of his head missing.

The Tiger nodded and bent low, dashed from the shadows of the building. As expected, there were no warning shouts, no alarms, no searchlights swiveling to highlight him. The razor wire fell to his cutters rapidly, and he squirmed through the hole to the next row. Someone from the Blues commando team was already at work on the other side of the wire. Turning he motioned to those waiting...

Riggs stared at the truck with Reds placards on it; "Um... where'd you guys get this?" he mumbled. A wolf with an impossibly huge rifle grinned, fangs bright in the darkness; "We borrowed it; don't worry, no one's going to come looking for it, not for a while anyways. And by the time they do, we'll be long gone." Riggs nodded and climbed stiffly up into the back of the truck. A moment later they were moving down an incredibly bumpy road... and away from the camp.

The VTOL aircraft was of the kind used in search-and-rescue missions. Three of them were in a clearing in the middle of the forest. They'd abandoned the truck, and jogged through the dark, led by those with night vision equipment. Bustled inside, Riggs listened to the fans spool up... It looked as if he was actually going to escape the Reds' workers' paradise after all... And all this time he'd been expecting a bullet in the back of the head. HUH!

"Comrade, we've had another incident." Xyloff looked up from his desk at the aide and growled; "Now what?" The aide spread his hands wide and shrugged; "a labor camp was assaulted and a number of the prisoners have escaped. We THINK that the Blues Commandoes were after specific individuals, but most of the camp's inmates escaped before the remaining guards realized what was happening, and they're still being rounded up. Until they're all caught, we won't know for sure who's missing, and just who might have been the target of the commando team." Xyloff waved a paw; "Riffraff in a labor camp are not a major concern. The Blues frequently go after political figures for propaganda purposes. I wouldn't worry too much about that. Now, tell me, how are things in the Ryhr valley area? Are the border clashes still occuring?" The aide nodded; "Yes, Comrade, but unfortunately each of our incursions seem to be beaten back. The ground we have gained, well, the industries there have been destroyed in the fighting..." The Wolverine nodded; "At least the resources won't be available to our enemies, even if we can't use them either. Very well, let me know if anything else unusual happens."

The Lion lowered the welder, and tossed his head up, to flip up the welding helmet. Scowling, he examined his handiwork. The weld wasn't pretty, but it would hold. Hearing someone enter the compartment behind him, he turned; "Hey Ben." The Wolf stopped behind him, to look over his shoulder; "How come the repairs?" The Lion shrugged; "Damage control says that we're at 78%, but I don't think we're going to do much better than that without a shipyard refit. And we don't have one of those, do we?" The Wolf shrugged; "hey, it's a big universe; there's gotta be one out there somewhere!" The Lion just grinned; "Ever the optimist?" Ben grinned back; "Hey, right now we are the biggest baddest Mother in the system. Even at 50% we dominate the system, AND the planet!" The Lion chuckled and rose, stretching; "Yeah; I'd love to see Comrade Xyloff's face when he finds out we're still alive." The Wolf sobered a bit; "speaking of Xyloff, Cromwell's on his way up; he's got that collection of scientists we asked for." The Lion nodded; "and I'm sure he'll be wanting to discuss his "payment" too. No problem. At the moment we're all in this together... And I suspect he's going to ask us to do things we were intending to do anyways...

Riggs looked at the Brou device and shook his head. He'd heard stories, but somehow he was still shocked to find out the thing actually existed. Next to him, Dr. Kovalka shook his head, muttering. The PADD in his hands was displaying some of the data from the Brethren's early tests. "Well, Heinrick, looks like we've got some interesting work ahead of us." Kovalka nodded; "Yeah; at least the food's better than the labor camp." "And its not cold in here. And the work should be interesting." Kovalka nodded; "True; but somehow I feel just as much a prisoner as before..."

"Yes, we already have a team out mapping jump points, but you have to understand, the ships we have engaged in that work, the crews undertaking it, they were never trained for such work. The first ship to jump out-system will be taking a helluva risk!" Cromwell looked back at the Wolf and nodded; "I understand that; but we still have to figure out where, or when we are. And exploring the surrounding space is a function that you are better equipped to carry out than we are. Therefor, it falls to you." The Lion nodded; "Fair enough. We'll do our part. But we're going to need fuel. We're going to have to put together an antimatter production facility, and for that we're going to need equipment." Cromwell nodded; "But antimatter is only required for warp drives. Jump drives can function quite nicely on fusion power and we have plenty of deuterium in this system. Yes, I know, the first ship through should have a warp drive and sufficient fuel to return, but beyond that, well, we have MANY priorities right now, and an antimatter production facility is well down on the list. You'll just have to wait." The Lion looked at Ben, and sighed; "That may depend on what we find when we go exploring..."

Strange, their thoughts are. Stranger than the last mind in contact with me. Disbelieve, they do. Convinced, they must be. The Brou device had gone a long way towards repairing its damage, but certain raw materials were missing. It would have to find a way to communicate with the strange, alien creatures around it, somehow. As repellant as that was, it had a duty. A duty to its creators to warn them of the event that had relocated it. At the moment, goals coincided, and thus, a semi-sentient device intended for other things struggled to find a way to communicate with alien minds...

<<<Masster, it has worked even better than we had hoped. The new planetary mass in system QZX43-261 has shifted the pattern of jump points for several systems in all directions! Our adversary's trade route has vanished! They will be forced to take the route through the Vaxkti cluster, and pay the passage fee we demand, or they will have to abandon their contract with the Ree. Either way, they're ruined!>>> <<<Yes, it has worked well. The alteration of the pattern of jump points has shortened three of our own trade routes. The Council is most pleased. Now, young one, remember the law of unintended consequences. If we think we understand the situation correctly, then we are obviously missing something. What may have happened to cause us trouble?>>> <<<Master, what could POSSIBLY have happened to tarnish our victory? We have a great Triumph, one that will be commemorated for ages to come!>>>

This story is a work of fiction, and any resemblance to any characters, living, dead or imaginary is purely a coincidence. Tanj is copyright Kittiara's player. Kittiara can be found on Furrymuck; telnet 209.100.167.128 8888. Hinoki, and Zassa are copyright their players. Zassa can be found on FurryMuck, and Hinoki on Tapestries or on FurryMuck. Mark and Mala are copyright Ann'katar's player, who also can be found on FurryMuck. Copyright 2001. Comments, suggestions, or flames can be directed to ha_seng@hotmail.com.