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 Tale; Cloak and Dagger	      By Kittiara
Stardate 2398.30

Tanj padded down the hall, lost in thought; she 
carried notes and presentation materials for her 
Master, following him a few steps behind.  He had 
called a staff meeting to discuss a new problem that 
faced the Bretheren, but even with her position in the 
pirate group’s intellegence department, she still had 
no idea how he was going to handle the problem.  He 
obviously had an idea, he certainly had enough notes 
and hand-out hard-copies, but he’d told Tanj 
nothing.

The group gradually assembled, Ben from operations 
arriving a little early, talking with the lion in a 
corner as the others filed in.  Tanj’s nominal 
boss, the elderly fox that ran the intelligence 
department, came in a few minutes late, and just sat 
at the end of the table, drinking coffee.  When the 
lion and Ben finished, the lion called the meeting to 
order.

“We have a new problem” He rumbled.  “After the raid 
on the fueling station, we thought we could let things 
quiet down for a while, that we’d be able to rebuild 
our forces without significant interference.  However, 
Senator Grant, one of two Imperial Senators Elysium 
sends to the Senate on Central, has been making wild 
accusations there, trying to drum up support for a 
permanent Imperial presence in the Elysium sector.  
She’s been calling the Imperial fleet cowards, fools 
and idiots for not having prevented the destruction of 
the fueling station, and as you can guess, she’s not 
making many friends among the fleet.  However, there 
are those factions that are beginning to listen, 
perhaps if for no other reason than to use this as an 
excuse to shift fleet assets from their sector to this 
one.  Obviously we need to remove Senator Grant from 
the Imperial Senate as soon as possible, to silence 
her.”  The head of logistics looked up; “and what of 
the other Imperial Senator?  Won’t that one demand 
something be done about the disappearance of his 
colleague?”  The lion chuckled; “Senator Gurion is a 
bit more liberal minded and open to reform than 
Senator Grant is.  In fact, we believe he might 
already have secret agreements with the burgeoning 
Rebel movement on Elysium.  Of course, ever since 
Grant ruined his family over a decade ago, the two 
have been bitter, almost violent enemies……  There’s a 
very good chance that Gurion would celebrate Grant’s 
sudden disappearance.  And an even better chance that 
he would not want to “Stir things up” in the Elysium 
sector until he’d secured whatever power he could, 
ESPECIALLY if he’s already in the rebel’s pocket.”

“So how do we take out Senator Grant” the leader of 
the second wing asked.  The lion grinned and gestured 
to Tanj’s boss.  The old fox cleared his throat and 
rose to his feet; “We’ve discovered that Grant is back 
on Elysium to handle some, ah, “business”.  She’ll be 
returning to Central a week from Tuesday on the 
Burgess Star.  Unfortunately, she usually travels 
incognito.  We have plans to intercept the liner near 
the Certes system, at which point we hope to “remove” 
the good Senator, along with any other notables on the 
passenger list.  The ship will be ransacked, the other 
passengers robbed, all in true pirate fashion.”  Ben 
nodded thoughtfully; “that system is fairly far into 
the Empire, a good ways from our normal operating 
area, but I suppose we can handle it, with some 
careful planning…… It will certainly be one of our 
boldest operations to date.  But if she travels 
incognito, how will we know who to “kidnap?  For that 
matter, these days, most important personages using 
public transportation travel incognito.  They 
obviously hope that in the event of the ship being 
taken by pirates they’ll escape being held for ransom, 
a fact that continues to amaze me, as everyone knows 
their business insurance will pay for their ransom.”  
Ben paused for a moment, thinking, and then continued;  
“Since the team boarding the liner will only have a 
limited amount of time, they won’t be able to play 
twenty questions with the passengers trying to figure 
out who’s who.  Doesn’t this pose a problem?”  The 
lion grinned; “we hope to have all such important 
personages identified by the time we take the ship; 
you see, we’re putting a couple of agents on board the 
ship at the stop after Elysium.  It’ll be their job to 
ferret out who’s who.  And as to why so many travel 
incognito, maybe they have high deductibles; I don’t 
know.” 

The commander of the (remaining) capital ship squadron 
wondered aloud who they were going to send onto the 
liner to figure out this little piece of information, 
and even as she said it, Tanj felt most eyes 
turning her way.  Looking up at the lion she saw him 
nod.  “I hate to put Tanj in harms way again; her 
face is becoming all too well known, but she’s 
probably the best furr for the job.  And obviously she 
can’t go alone.  I’ve hired a free-lance, a 
specialist.  This furr comes very highly recommended, 
and I certainly hope his fee reflects his 
qualifications.  He’s highly skilled at defeating 
surveillance systems, planting bugs and ferreting 
information from computer systems.  If it comes to 
that too, he’s also a skilled assassin.  While Tanj 
will actually be in charge of the operation, her cover 
will be that of his slave.  He’ll be a rich 
dilettante, heading for the casinos on Central.”  
Turning to Tanj, the lion’s face grew grim; “I’m 
counting on you to identify Senator Grant.  I’d hate 
to have to destroy the ship, and kill everyone on 
board just to eliminate her, but I will if I have 
to…..”

The meeting droned on for some time, as they worked 
out the logistics involved for a distant operation.  
It took comparatively little time for them to settle 
on a way to get Tanj and her partner to the Draison 
Station, where they’d board the Burgess Star.  What 
happened after that, would be up to Tanj and her 
partner; a few suggestions were made, and some “tools” 
were specified, but largely it would be on their 
initiative.

When the meeting was over, the lion led Tanj 
through the station to a guest room in the living 
quarters; he inclined his head to the door and said; 
“Your new partner is in there; for obvious reasons 
we’re keeping his presence here a bit of a secret.  
The fewer that know who he is, the better.  Tanj 
nodded, and as the lion turned to walk away, she 
knocked on the door.  A faint “enter” echoed from 
within and the door slid aside to permit Tanj to 
step into the room.

The first thing Tanj saw as she entered was a 
rather large male Panther, standing a dozen feet 
inside the door, arms crossed.  Before she could 
speak, he growled softly; “So you’re the slave at my 
“disposal” for this mission?  Not too bad……  But if 
you’re to accomplish the tasks I want you to, you’ll 
have to do more than just look good.  Lets see what 
you can do”.  And with that, he stepped forward to 
wrap one large paw in her hair, to force her to her 
knees.  Tanj was just about to object, to say that 
while she was playing his slave for this mission, she 
was the lion’s slave, and that he had put HER in 
charge of the mission.  However before she could frame 
those words for speech, he had dropped his pants, and 
was using his grip on her hair to rub her muzzle 
against his crotch.  Tanj struggled for a moment, 
his scent filling her nostrils, her cold nose rubbing 
against his shaft, but she found his grip tight, his 
arms powerful, and quite before she knew what was 
happening, she found the head of his cock in her 
mouth.  It was difficult to fight her conditioning, to 
go against her training, and thinking that she’d 
straighten things out later, she started stroking his 
shaft with her tongue as he forced more and more of it 
into her throat.  He roughly fucked her face for a 
while, and just when Tanj thought she was getting 
close to bringing him off, he yanked back on her hair, 
dragging his cock from her mouth.  Without a word, he 
forced her lower, until her head and shoulders were 
almost on the floor; holding her there, he moved 
around behind her to forcefully stuff his cock, still 
dripping with her saliva, into her pussy.  He 
purrrrrred with satisfaction as he found her quite 
wet.  Still holding her hair, one paw on her shoulders 
to keep her down, he proceeded to take his pleasure, 
fucking her hard.  Tanj, for her part, did her best 
to squeeze him with her “inner hand”, tightening her 
vaginal muscles around his shaft, and he seemed to 
like that, moving harder, and faster.  Just as Tanj 
was about to climax, he leaned way over her, to fasten 
his fangs around the back of her neck, both paws going 
to squeeze her tits roughly.  Tanj howled at the 
feel of his fangs on her neck, at the feel of his 
claws on her breasts, and bucked hard against him as 
her climax claimed her; this was obviously what he was 
looking for, because as Tanj moaned and shook, her 
vaginal muscles spasming around his cock, his orgasm 
shook him, his cock filling her with his hot cum.

After a moment, he released her neck and straightened.  
Pulling out slowly, he once again dragged her around 
by the hair to present his slick cock to her muzzle.  
Knowing what he wanted, what he was demanding, Tanj 
licked him clean, even as she was catching her breath.  
When she was finished, he smiled and pulled her head 
up, to kiss her softly; “He was right, you ARE good; I 
think you might just do for what I’ve got in mind.  Of 
course, you’ll have to be the sexiest and most 
alluring slave there ever was for this to work”  
Tanj blinked at him, and shook her head; “Now wait 
just a minute………  I’m supposed to be in charge of this 
mission!  And for WHAT to work?”

They argued until it was time to leave for the shuttle 
to Draison Station.  They argued almost the whole 
flight, much to the amusement and then the annoyance 
of the flight crew.  Tanj wasn’t about to admit 
that he was in charge, and he wasn’t about to admit 
that a slave could be in charge.  They argued about 
their plans, their equipment, and their disguises.  
Tanj admitted to herself that this freelance named 
Tand certainly knew his business, and that he had some 
good ideas, but vowed never to give him the 
satisfaction of learning that.  She did freely admit 
he was good in bed, but he acted as if this was no 
major revelation, that it should be obvious.

They finally stopped arguing after they checked into 
their room on Draison Station.  There they were met by 
the team of makeup artists the lion had arranged for.  
Tanj was led into one of the bedrooms by a lady 
squirrel, while her husband, a lepine, worked on Tand 
in the sitting room.  The first thing the lady 
squirrel did was to strip Tanj of everything but 
her collar; she would have taken that off too, had 
there been a way short of a cutting torch.  They 
decided that Tanj’s long hair was too nice to cut, 
and the squrrel pinned it up to work on the rest of 
her.  Taking out a set of powered clippers, she 
proceeded to trim Tanj’s short fur into a very 
stylish cut.  “I think you’d look good as an Ocelot” 
the squrrel chittered; “Although with your body shape 
a puma might work… but they’re rather plain.  You’re 
too small to be a Leopard, and much too small to be a 
Tigress or a lioness……”  Tanj nodded; “Lets go with 
the Ocelot, then”  The lady squirrel smiled and 
nodded; “I’m glad you agree with Tand; he thought it 
would be perfect for you”  Tanj stifled a growl.  
As she watched the lady squirrel slowly dye her fur to 
an even golden brown, Tanj thought; “Obviously 
these artists are at the top of their profession”.  
Before long, the squirrel had dyed in the distinctive 
black markings of an Ocelot.  The last step was to dye 
Tanj’s platinum blonde hair a rich reddish brown 
that went well with her new fur color.  Tanj looked 
at herself in the mirror and smiled; “I trust this is 
all waterproof?”  The lady squirrel nodded; “Your fur 
will have to grow out for you to look like a cheetah 
again, and that should take some time.”  She giggled; 
“Of course, you’ll look a little strange in the 
process……”

Tanj found that Tand had been trimmed nicely and 
dyed to resemble a Leopard.  Looking him over she felt 
that he looked almost perfect, certainly more than 
good enough to pass casual examination…… and even if 
someone thought he might not be a Leopard, well, 
everyone important traveled in disguise anyways……

The following day, the Burgess Star docked at the 
station.  Before Tanj could dress for their “grand 
entrance”, Tand again grabbed her, taking her hard, 
fucking her roughly.  When he’d finished, he refused 
to let Tanj clean up, permitting her only to brush 
her hair, and don her dress, insisting that anyone who 
looked at her would know she’d just been fucked, and 
that this would increase his aura of power, and her 
aura of sensuality.  Tanj wasn’t so sure about 
that, but as she pulled on her dress, she was sure 
that anyone downwind of her would know exactly what 
they’d been up to.

Tand led Tanj onto the liner, passing through the 
large passenger airlock.  Tand was wearing a semi-
formal outfit in black, his layered lapels 
transitioning softly from red to gold.  At the end of 
Tand’s silver leash, Tanj followed meekly, attired 
in a shimmering light brown dress that complimented 
her fur.  The halter style dress was only nominally 
“decent”.  It was backless, its sides, as it passed 
from behind her neck, descending along her flanks, 
showing considerable expanses of the sides of her 
breasts until it met again just under her tail; the 
neckline however was loose, more hinting at her 
breasts as she walked than revealing them.  The skirt 
was short and flouncy, the moving fabric hinting at 
what was below.  In all, Tanj thought she looked 
fantastic, and she enjoyed the covert and overt stares 
of the furrs they passed as they made their way to the 
liner.

The deck officer accepted Tand’s tickets, his eyes 
never leaving Tanj, as he fumbled for the access 
cards to their stateroom.  “Uh, you understand, Sir, 
that the Burgess line does not provide separate 
quarters for slaves in transit” he mumbled.  Tand took 
the proffered key cards and nodded; “I wouldn’t expect 
to pay the full fare and then place my slave in some 
kennel”.  The officer nodded and ignored the next set 
of passengers as he watched Tanj’s ass sway as they 
walked away.

Tanj’s eyes, on the other hand, were wide, as she 
gazed at the opulence of the liner.  The Star was a 
little on the elderly side, but had a reputation for 
never having been surpassed for sheer luxury.  She 
marveled at the cut glass windows in the corridor 
doors, and the flocked wall coverings.  They even had 
tapestries.  She couldn’t wait to see what the grand 
ballroom, or the main dining salon looked like.  She 
also couldn’t wait to see what the bathroom in their 
suite looked like; she certainly felt like a long hot 
soak in the tub, before their charade got underway for 
real.

The suite was every bit as luxurious as she thought it 
might be, and she oooohed as she walked around, 
looking.  Tand, for his part, ignored his surroundings 
and started unpacking his bags.  Tanj shook her 
head as she watched him covertly; either he was used 
to such luxury, or where he was truly didn’t matter to 
him near as much as the task at hand.  Slipping a few 
discrete objects into his pockets Tand straightened; 
“I think I’m going to go down to the lounge and get a 
look at some of the other passengers.  I also want to 
get a “read” on the crew’s attitude.  I’ll be back in 
time for the second sitting for dinner, and I’ll 
expect you to be ready, and wearing that two piece 
burgundy outfit.”  Tanj nodded and as he left, she 
padded off to the bath, to ooooh and ahhhh some more, 
before sinking into a steaming tub the size of a small 
pool.

Tand found a seat at the far end of the bar, where he 
could watch the door, and the comings and goings of 
the guest.  The Lounge was paneled in dark, rare 
woods, subtly lit, and very elegant, but Tand’s eyes 
were only on the other passengers.  One of them was 
his quarry, and he would figure out whom before their 
rendezvous.  Over the course of several hours, Tand 
talked to a number of distinguished furrs, some of 
whom had seen him enter with Tanj.  Most of these 
complimented him on how his slave looked, and a few 
even wondered if she behaved as well as she looked.  
Tand replied politely, doing what he could to build 
the mystery of the exotic creature that was his slave.  
All of those he talked to were male, and as such, 
obviously not the Senator, unless, he thought with a 
grin, she’d one hell of a disguise.  Dismissing the 
possibility of a gender change for the mere purpose of 
a trip, Tand took another look around the Lounge, 
noting the few females present.  “Still”, he thought; 
“Most of those I’ve talked to would appear to be 
personages of note.  You can disguise the body, but 
disguising the mind, the personality behind the face 
is always much more difficult.  The rich, and the 
powerful have a way about them that will show through, 
unless they’re VERY good………”

Tanj had finally dragged herself from the bath; 
true to their word, her fur dye job was as pristine as 
when it had been applied.  After drying her hair, she 
braided it into a very long single braid, with a gold 
ring woven into the very end, the way her lion liked 
it.  She purrrrrred, thinking of him, as she added a 
few pieces of jewelry, and then turned to lay out her 
outfit.  The top was little more than a fancy bib that 
barely covered her breasts.  The matching skirt had 
wide slits up either side, making it almost look like 
a silken loincloth; still, it was well done, and she 
felt it made her look marvelous.  Leaving it on the 
bed, she turned, nude, to the room’s data terminal.  
Attaching a few of the devices they’d brought, she 
accessed the ship’s database, and started searching 
for clues to the identities of the other passengers.  
Of course, she couldn’t find out much, but her idle 
curiosity covered the worm program that she had 
quietly uploaded.  The worm would work 
surreptitiously, slowly investigating, and with luck, 
penetrating and negating the defenses of the ship’s 
computer.  Tanj hoped that by the time the pirates 
showed up, she’d be able to mess up the Star’s 
computer so bad that the ship would be defenseless.

Tand was just returning to the stateroom when he felt 
the ship shudder, the internal gravity fields 
fluctuating as they undocked from the station.  As he 
entered the door, he noticed Tanj’s nude form at 
the terminal.  “Find out anything?” he purrrred.  
Tanj shook her head no; “Nothing that they don’t 
want you to know, but then, I didn’t try too hard.  
Didn’t want to raise any red flags; on the other hand, 
the computer took the worm without problems.  With 
luck, that’ll do our work for us.”  Tand nodded; “I’ll 
see what I can do a bit later; right now, we need to 
get ready for dinner.  Come here.”  Tanj rose and 
padded over to him, wondering if he wanted to give her 
that “just fucked” look he seemed to like so much; 
instead he opened a drawer and took out a small spool 
of almost invisible monofiliment.  Carefully he tied 
one end to Tanj’s left nipple ring.  Measuring out 
about eight feet of the gossamer thin translucent 
thread, he cut it, and then tied a similar length to 
her other nipple ring.  Tanj watched curiously, 
standing straight, figuring out that when he wanted 
to, he’d explain.  Finishing, he told Tanj to put 
on her skirt, which she did.  He carefully coiled the 
loose ends of the monofiliment, and tucked them 
carefully into the waistband of her skirt.  Grinning 
at her, he told her she could now put on her top.  
That took Tanj just a moment, and after checking 
her appearance in the mirror, she turned to Tand, to 
let him clip his silver leash to her collar.  Then 
they were off to dinner.

“No, that’s completely unacceptable.”  The Maitre’D 
glared back at Tand; “Sir it simply is not proper 
protocol to seat a slave at the table with their 
betters!”  Tand growled, leaning over the elegantly 
uniformed fox; “I don’t care what is or is not proper; 
your purser demanded I pay the same fee for her 
passage as I paid for myself; accordingly I WILL see 
her receive all the amenities that I myself receive.  
DAMMIT, I paid for her seat at the table, and she WILL 
take it.”  Tanj could see other passengers staring 
at them, some amused, some horrified.  Finally, the 
Maitre’D relented and escorted them to their table.  
Tand gestured to the seat directly opposite him, and 
unclipping Tanj’s leash, she padded around the 
table to take her seat.  As she did so, she noted the 
eyes of at least three other slaves, kneeling on 
cushions behind their owners, watching her covertly.

“You know, that might just encourage her to think 
beyond her station” a wolf seated across from Tand 
said, as Tanj took her seat, eyes downcast.  Tand 
just grinned; “Oh, I have ways of keeping her in line.  
Tanj, pass me those things under the table”.  
Tanj wasn’t sure what he meant, but passed him the 
monofiliments anyway.  That must have been the correct 
response, as Tand said nothing further.  He made small 
talk with the couple on his left, his paws doing 
something under the table.  After a moment he looked 
back at the Wolf and grinned; “I’m sure you’ll come to 
understand both my insistence at her sitting at the 
table as well as my, ah, guarantee of control”.  The 
wolf sipped his drink as if saying; “we’ll see”.  Tand 
smiled and reached for the water pitcher on the table; 
as he did, Tanj gasped and suddenly leaned forward.  
Tanj suddenly realized that he’d tied the ends of 
the monofiliment to the rings he wore on either paw; 
when he’d reached for the water pitcher, the line to 
her left nipple had suddenly gone TIGHT!  She knew 
better than to make a sound, but even so, a small gasp 
escaped her.  The wolf took a look at the pained look 
on her face, and then at Tand, and grinned wickedly; 
“Oh, Well Done, Sir!  I see now that your insistence 
on having your slave there was merely to further 
demonstrate your mastery of her.  But tell me; how do 
you do it?”  Tand grinned and shook his head; waving 
his paws as if gesturing grandly as he talked, he made 
Tanj sway from side to side, in response to his 
motions.  “Its Magic” he purrrrred.  By now he had the 
attention of everyone at the table, including the 
Maitre’D, and they all watched closely.  Tanj noted 
that some, like the Second officer, sitting at the 
head of the table, wore looks of extreme distaste, 
while others, especially those with slaves kneeling 
behind them, gazed with rapt fascination.  One lady, a 
black panther half way down the table seemed 
particularly interested in how it was being done.  
From the corner of her eye, Tanj also noted that 
the slaves that had given her the harshest looks for 
being permitted a seat at the table now had looks 
approaching pity, and to an extent, fear, on their 
faces.

Tand spent the rest of the meal talking animatedly, 
and Tanj’s only respite was when he was actually 
eating.  From what little food she managed to get into 
her mouth, she found the cuisine excellent, and she 
smiled a wry grin as she thought her current 
circumstance would at least help her to maintain her 
waistline.  Throughout the dinner, Tanj noted the 
black pantheress seemed particularly fascinated every 
time Tanj let out a little squeak or mewl in 
response to Tand’s gestures.

After desert and coffee, the wolf opposite Tand 
suggested that they swap slaves for the evening; Tand 
glanced at the voluptuous Otter kneeling behind the 
wolf and nodded slowly; “My only requirement is that 
she be returned undamaged.”  The wolf smiled and 
nodded; “have no fear, sir, have no fear”.  Tanj 
was a little piqued that their hunt would be delayed 
by an evening, but shrugged it off, telling herself 
they should still have plenty of time, and she had a 
reputation to generate, bait to lure the attention of 
the elusive Senator.  This Wolf seemed just the sort 
to regale everyone in the bar with tales of his night 
with Tanj………

The wolf was tastefully dressed, his clothes 
reflecting obvious wealth and sophistication, and yet 
as he led Tanj down the ship’s corridor, there was 
a spring in his step that reminded Tanj of a young 
boy with a new toy.  As soon as they were through the 
door to his stateroom, he turned to unclasp Tanj’s 
leash, and as soon as he had done that, Tanj sank 
to her knees before him, to nuzzle at his crotch as 
she worked at undoing his pants.  He seemed delighted 
with her eagerness, and let her slide his pants down 
his legs, her tongue licking avidly at his sheath.  
Before long, his maleness was rampant, throbbing, and 
Tanj’s head rocked back and forth as she worked his 
length in and out of her willing mouth.  It didn’t 
take long at all before he was spurting, filling her 
mouth with his seed; Tanj made a point of letting a 
little of the sticky white stuff escape the corners of 
her mouth, as if the flow of his jism was more than 
she could swallow.  Grinning, she looked brazenly up 
at him, to lick at her lips.  “Good” she purrrred; 
“Now that we’ve taken the edge off, you’ll be in 
better shape for what’s to come”  He raised an eyebrow 
at that, but followed as Tanj took him by the hand, 
to lead him to the bed.

Tand led the wolf’s slave back to his quarters, where 
he instructed her to strip, and to kneel in the middle 
of the room.  After pouring himself a drink, and 
calmly removing and folding his clothes, putting them 
away in the closet, he returned to look down upon his 
charge for the night.  Padding around her slowly, 
drinking in her curves with his eyes, Tand nodded to 
himself.  “Tell me, Slave, what you like, and what you 
dislike”.  The otteress blinked, her gaze properly 
downcast; it was obvious this was not what she was 
expecting.  After a moment of thought she replied; 
“Master, I like to be licked, and I love to be 
tickled, and I especially love when the two are 
combined.”  Tand nodded; “and your dislikes?”  The 
slave hesitated for a moment before replying; “Master, 
I dislike anal sex, and I despise nipple clips”.  Tand 
nodded slowly, and turned to fetch some rope.

Tanj moaned softly.  She was astride the wolf’s 
hips facing his feet.  His cock was buried to the hilt 
in her pussy, his knot stretching her.  She mewled and 
moaned and writhed as if he were the sexiest thing in 
the known universe.  And he loved it, drinking it up; 
his paws were on her hips, just holding her lightly as 
she did her best to move, to stimulate him.  She’d 
already brought him off a second time, having pulled 
him down on top of her, her legs widespread, 
encouraging him to show her what a stud he was, and he 
had complied.  Soon, she thought, he’d cum again; then 
she’d have to resort to more exotic things, to get him 
off, but she was sure she could.  It was her 
intention, her plan, to fuck him to exhaustion; to 
leave him so sore he wouldn’t be able to pester that 
cute little otter fem for a week……  Grinning, she 
concentrated, rippling her vaginal muscles around his 
shaft, milking him, and as he groaned in pleasure 
behind her, she knew it wouldn’t be long……

Tand looped the end of the rope through a convenient 
eyebolt in the ceiling, and brought the loose end down 
to the kneeling slave.  After finding the padded 
cuffs, he fastened one about each of her wrists, and 
then tied them together with the rope.  Turning and 
pulling on the other end, he pulled her to her feet, 
to let her stand.  More rope was used to spread her 
legs widely, and then he increased the tension on her 
paws, making her rise to tiptoes.  Leaving her to 
sway, for a moment, he turned to reclaim his drink.  
Taking a minute to finish it, he paused to remove a 
rather large feather from one of his cases.  He smiled 
as he held it up to her view, noting how her eyes 
widened, and grew bright as she gazed at it.  Without 
a word, he sat on the floor between her feet, making 
himself comfortable.  “Now I don’t want you to move a 
muscle or make a sound; if you do, you’ll be punished 
with the things you like least.”  And with that, he 
lifted his muzzle, to slowly drag his rough feline 
tongue over the otteress’ prominently exposed sex.

Tanj grinned at the softly snoring form of the 
wolf.  Getting him to take her in the ass had brought 
him his fourth climax, at which point he demured, 
threatening to chain her to the foot of the bed if she 
didn’t cease.  Tanj begged him not to do that, and 
settled down to cuddle him, not even being allowed to 
stroke his fur.  It took but moments for him to fall 
asleep.  Tanj watched his face, especially his 
closed eyes, waiting for REM (rapid eye movement) 
sleep, when she knew he’d be most difficult to awaken.  
Assured that he was down for the count, she slipped 
from the bed, to start searching the room.  His 
briefcase was unlocked and contained all sorts of 
interesting documents, including a memo on a Transstar 
Inc. letterhead describing the company policy on 
senior corporate executives travelling in less than 
secure areas.  It even talked about the lengths that 
the company would go to, to ransom them from 
undesirables.  Tanj did her best to memorize that 
portion, as well as memorizing all the names of 
associates on that particular portion of the journey.  
The wolf wasn’t traveling alone……  And the group 
should not only be able to give the Brethren all sorts 
of interesting business and financial information, but 
should be worth a pretty penny in ransom as well……  
Not a bad night’s work, she thought to herself as she 
returned to the bed to snuggle up against the wolf, to 
try and get some rest.

The Otteress let out a soft moan as she climaxed yet 
again.  The combination of Tand’s tongue within her 
pussy and his feather on her clitty was driving her 
mad, and to be forced to hold still and stay quiet was 
more, much more than she was capable of.  She’d long 
since lost count of the number of climaxes she’d 
suffered through, and at this point, suffer was 
exactly the word that applied.  He’d been nestled 
there, between her thighs, licking at her patiently 
for hours.  Her writhing and her moans so far had 
taken her to the largest vibrator he had, crammed up 
her ass and buzzing fiercely, and the sharpest clips 
she’d ever felt, fastened nastily to her nipples.  As 
he heard her moan yet again, Tand tsk-tsk’ed in 
disappointment and reached up to hang a second weight 
from her left nipple clip.  He then turned back and 
continued licking at her drenched sex, as the feather 
found its way up to tease her navel……

In the morning, Tanj delighted the Wolf with 
another round, this time talking him into taking her 
standing up in the shower.  They were both still a 
little damp, as he led her to breakfast, making it 
just before the dining room was closed.  Tand sat in 
his usual seat, the Otteress kneeling behind him with 
a most strange look on her face.  Tanj was fairly 
bouncy this morning and as the Wolf handed her back to 
Tand, she shot a wicked grin at the otter lady, as if 
to say; “Isn’t he GREAT?”  Tand and the Wolf caught 
the look and both just shook their heads.  Later, as 
they departed the dining room, they heard the Wolf 
talking to some of the others at their table; “I have 
GOT to tell you about that Slave, Tanj!  She’s got 
to be the most………”

For the rest of the morning, Tand and Tanj toured 
the great liner.  Tanj followed Tand meekly at the 
end of her leash, and kept watch when Tand stopped to 
plant a bug, or sensor.  Some of the devices were 
supposed to be able to focus on conversations on the 
other side of heavily insulated walls, and while 
Tanj had her doubts, she felt she’d best keep an 
open mind.  They returned to their stateroom just 
before lunch, Tand feeling that in order to keep up 
appearances, he should change his outfit; after all, 
the idle rich would NEVER be seen at lunch wearing the 
same outfit they’d worn to Breakfast.  He had Tanj 
change into a skimpy one piece dress, covered in cut-
outs, barely concealing the things that should be 
concealed in polite society.  Before they left, 
however, he bade Tanj squat, and as she spread her 
legs, he slipped two items into her pussy.  Tanj 
grinned at him; “Ben Wa balls?”  Tand just grinned and 
shook his head; “that and more; you’ll see at Lunch”

Again, Tanj was seated across from him, but this 
time, the looks from the Maitre’D and the others at 
the table were more of curiosity, than of shock at his 
social faux pas.  They were past the appetizer, 
awaiting the main course when Tand quietly removed a 
small remote control from his jacket pocket.  Holding 
it in his lap, he thumbed a key, and Tanj yelped in 
surprise as the ben wa balls suddenly started jumping 
about within her.  She literally had to grip the edge 
of the table and bite her lip to hold still, and keep 
silent.  Of course, all heads turned to look at her, 
and then to look at Tand; this time, he had no problem 
in revealing what he was doing, holding up the remote 
for all to see.  “This is a little toy I picked up 
over in the Haladees sector.  It does all sorts of 
things……”  And with that he handed it to the lady 
seated on his left; “Here, why don’t you give it a 
try……”  Tanj watched warily as she studied it for a 
moment, and then looking up at Tanj, pressed two 
buttons at the same time.  Tanj yelped and 
straightened in her seat, almost rising from its 
surface as the two ben wa balls changed shape, 
lengthening inside her, to form a massive shaft 
filling her pussy.  As the device was passed from paw 
to paw, as those around the table experimented with 
the settings, Tanj yelped and squealed, and moaned, 
as the balls changed shape, vibrated, grew very cold 
or very warm, or even gave her sharp little electrical 
shocks, or a combination of them all.  The mysterious 
lady down the table held the device the longest, 
trying all sorts of combinations, before passing it on 
to the next person.   Tanj awwwwed as the device 
was passed over her head, to everyone’s glee.  Pity 
they wouldn’t let HER get her paws on it…  And again, 
through lunch, she barely found the time to get 
anything to eat.

After lunch, Tand decided that they should take a dip 
in the pool.  Tanj objected, saying they had much 
too much information to go through, from their 
listening devices and from what the worm program had 
found as it worked its way through the ship’s 
computer, but Tand just tsk-tsk’ed and said he had it 
covered.  Of course when they got to the pool, Tand 
insisted Tanj swim nude, and again she found 
herself enjoying the stares and attention of most of 
the males and some of the females present.  As she was 
slowly doing laps, swimming on her back, she realized 
that Tand was sitting on a lounger, apparently working 
on a lap-top computer.  After a few more laps, she 
rose from the pool, and stalked over to recline on the 
beach towel she’d spread out next to Tand.  Looking 
over her shoulder, she realized that the laptop was 
relaying in text the pickup from the various bugs they 
planted.  It LOOKED like he was conducting business, 
but was actually monitoring the bugs!

Dinner, and yet another outfit.  This one was gauzy, 
filmy, and mostly transparent, only slightly cloudy 
over her nipples and crotch.  To Tanj’s amazement, 
he did nothing to her before they set off down the 
corridor; however, at their entrance to the dining 
room, Tand took the Maitre’D aside and slipped him a 
rather large credit note.  As they walked to their 
table, Tanj noticed they were early, mostly ahead 
of the other passengers seated at their table.  Tand 
whispered to Tanj; “I’ve arranged for us to sit 
next to a couple I think might be our quarry; I 
wouldn’t put it past the Senator to travel with a 
male, pretending to be husband and wife.  Towards the 
end of the meal, I want you to spill your wine on her.  
I’ll take it from there”.  Tanj rolled her eyes, 
but could see where this was going, and decided it 
might work.

The couple turned out to be a middle aged Wolverine 
and his Cougar wife, nicely dressed, but with an 
understated look.  Tanj enjoyed the ability to eat 
normally, but still watched what she ate, knowing that 
to yield to temptation might only mean increased time 
in the gym as she struggled to keep her figure.  She 
kept her gaze downcast and spoke only when spoken to.  
Still, she seemed to be one of the main topics of 
conversation, the wolf from the previous night having 
spread the most amazing tales.  Tanj grinned to 
herself as the events of the night before were so 
grossly exaggerated.  As coffee was being served, 
Tanj contrived to spill her entire waterglass down 
the lady Cougar’s front.  The dress she had on was 
simply too nice to ruin with the wine, and she was 
afraid that the coffee was too hot.  As it was, the 
cream colored fabric turned nearly transparent as it 
got wet, and Tanj caught Tand smirking, before he 
rose from his seat to Snarl at Tanj.

“I DO Apologize for that” Tand said for what must have 
been the fifth time, as the Wolverine tried to dry off 
his wife’s chest.  The look on her face was somewhere 
between embarrassment, outrage (more directed at her 
husband, from the way he was rubbing at her) and 
possibly just a hint of pleasure (at the way he was 
rubbing at her).  “I absolutely INSIST that you take 
that miserable excuse for a slave and punish her 
soundly for being so clumsy!”  The husband and wife 
exchanged looks, something passing between them, 
before the Cougar muttered, “I don’t know………” even as 
her husband nodded; “Yes, I think we’d like tha… Ah, 
um, I think that would be most fitting; thank you”.

Tanj kept her eyes downcast as she followed the 
couple at the end of her leash.  Husband and wife kept 
exchanging looks as they walked towards their 
stateroom, the husband holding Tanj’s leash as if 
it might shock him.  As soon as they were through the 
door to their stateroom, Tanj knelt like a good 
slave should, awaiting instruction……  The Husband and 
wife whispered together for a moment and then she 
departed for the bathroom.  The Wolverine stood there 
for a moment as if undecided, and the with a wry shake 
of his head muttered; “you’ll have to excuse us; we’re 
new at this.  Slavery is not practiced much on Tecja 
where we’re from…… but we do find this deliciously…… 
decadent.  Now, Ah, I want you to strip naked, and 
then resume your position.”  As she pulled her dress 
off, Tanj grinned to herself; “Either these two are 
VERY good actors, or they’re not who we’re after.  I 
don’t know what they think “punishment” will 
constitute, but I bet I have more fun at this than 
they do……”

The Cougar fem emerged from the bathroom, wearing a 
bustier and very scanty panties, her long hair let 
down, obviously doing her best to look sexy.  Her 
husband devoured her with his eyes for a moment, and 
Tanj got the impression that he was very much in 
love with her.  For her part, she kissed him softly 
and then turned to look at Tanj.  “Now, Love, what 
SHALL we do with her” she purrred.

Tanj struggled with the position; she was on paws 
and knees, with her chest lowered towards the floor, 
her head tilted WAY back, to lick upwards into the 
Cougar’s pussy.  Her husband was behind Tanj, 
grunting as he slowly worked his cock in and out of 
her ass.  “If this is their concept of “punishment” 
Tanj thought to herself, “anal sex, and 
cunnilingus; not exactly the worst fate that’s ever 
befallen me……  I don’t know where Tecja is, but I got 
a sneaking feeling they’re pretty straight-laced, and 
this is being horribly wicked for them……”  Tanj 
grinned to herself and swirled her tongue up, deep 
into the Cougar fem’s pussy, stroking places she knew 
would make her moan.  As she did so, she tightened her 
ass around the Wolverine’s cock, bringing him to a 
momentary standstill as he panted hard!

Tand listened to the goings on in the couple’s 
stateroom; he’d neglected to give his standard warning 
about returning Tanj without permanent damage, 
feeling such a statement would be out of character for 
someone offering her up for punishment.  Accordingly, 
he felt honor bound to monitor, making sure that they 
didn’t do anything too outlandish to the slave.  
Still, from what he was hearing, it was more what 
Tanj was going to do to THEM……

Tanj giggled as she rode the Wolverine’s cock; 
things had loosened up considerably, and she was now 
making suggestions, acting more as a teacher 
instructing eager students, than a slave being 
punished.  The Wolverine was flat on his back, and 
Tanj was astride his hips, facing his wife, who 
knelt astride his head, gasping and moaning as he 
licked at her, under Tanj’s direction.  Tanj for 
her part, softly caressed the cougar’s breasts, 
teasing her nipples, and kissing her occasionally.  “I 
think they’re REALLY going to get into oral sex” 
Tanj thought to herself………

Tand yawned, as he listened with half an ear to the 
goings on.  He was more interested in some of the 
transcribed information from some of the other bugs 
that he’d planted, as they scrolled across his 
computer screen.  “Hmph!” he thought to himself, for 
what must have been the twentieth time; “Some 
punishment!”  Still, he’d found out that the couple 
was fabulously wealthy, from even wealthier families.  
Apparently high society on Tecja demanded years long 
engagements, and this couple were newlyweds on their 
honeymoon.  “When Tanj gets finished with them, 
they’ll have stories to tell their grand-kids all 
right” Tand mused.  “Especially if she hands them over 
to the pirates”.

Tanj purrrred as she deep-throated the wolverine’s 
cock, his wife paying close attention, her own nose 
inches from the action.  Every once in a while Tanj 
would stop to explain what she was doing and why, 
giving the poor male much needed respite.  Always, 
with a grin, Tanj would resume again, until finally 
she demonstrated her own mastery, by tilting her head 
way back, straightening her throat, and sliding his 
cock all the way into her mouth, and down her throat, 
to his wife’s startled amazement.  He came violently, 
as Tanj’s throat muscles rippled along his shaft, 
as Tanj swallowed again and again.  When he ceased 
spurting, Tanj pulled back to gasp for air; “now 
that’s a technique that takes years of practice to do 
right; but I think you have to admit, its worth the 
effort……”  The wolverine just nodded, and turned to 
grin at his wife……

Tand finally turned off the audio and picked up his 
bag of burglary tools.  “They’re going to keep that up 
all night, and I’ve got things to do; If they were 
going to hurt her, I’d have sensed it by now……” he 
thought.  Grumbling, Tand slipped from his stateroom, 
to go make some modifications on the liner’s security 
systems.  Following that, he checked out some of the 
cabins high on his “likely suspects” list.  In most of 
them, the occupants never even knew he was there, but 
in one, he was forced to withdraw.  The mysterious 
lady at their table was moaning in her bed, the harsh 
buzz of a vibrator filling the air……

They led Tanj to breakfast at the end of her leash, 
chatting like old friends.  The Wolverine gave Tand a 
sly grin as he handed the leash back, and the Cougar 
gave Tanj a kiss; “Hope to see you later”, she 
purrrred and Tanj just nodded, a sly smile on her 
face.  “Yes Ma’am, I’m sure you will”  Tanj knew 
her meaning would be completely misunderstood by 
everyone except Tand.

They spent the morning reviewing the takes from the 
worm program in the ship’s computer, and from the 
various bugs and eavesdropping devices Tand had 
planted.  While they uncovered many interesting 
things, such as one of the females they’d pegged as a 
likely target actually being a transvestite, they came 
no closer to identifying their quarry.

Over the next few days, Tanj found her way into 
several beds.  Some of those who took her treated her 
as a slave, demonstrating their mastery in acts of 
bondage and humiliation, and some, like the wolf, were 
merely after the sex.  None of them stretched 
Tanj’s limits to any significant extent.  During 
the “other” times, Tanj worked with Tand to slowly 
narrow their list of suspects.  Gradually names were 
stricken from the list of “most likely” suspects, and 
only a few were added.  Time, however, was running 
out.

The Bear had approached Tand as they were on their way 
to dinner.  With many a glance towards Tanj, the 
two whispered together.  From the look on his face, it 
was obvious that Tand didn’t like what was being said, 
but somehow, the bear was able to convince him.  As 
they resumed their walk towards the dining room, Tand 
whispered to Tanj; “Eat lightly.  You’re in for a 
scene tonight that could be demanding.  I’m sorry, but 
to have refused would have been out of character.”  
Tanj just nodded and shrugged.  

After dinner, Tand handed Tanj’s leash over to the 
bear, who in turn handed her over to a rather muscular 
rabbit.  She was taken to a room off of the Liner’s 
gym, where she was told to strip, and was then handed 
a harness to put on.  She fiddled with its buckles and 
straps, drawing an impatient glare from the rabbit.  
Finally she had it on, and he went over her, 
tightening this buckle, or adjusting that strap.  The 
harness criss-crossed her body from her collar to her 
crotch, securely holding a rather massive dildo tight 
to her mons.  However, it left her pussy and her anus 
uncovered.  Finally satisfied, the rabbit applied a 
generous pawfull of lubricant to the dong, and to 
Tanj’s pussy and ass, making her rise to tiptoes as 
he jammed a well greased finger up her backside.  
Taking her by the leash he led her through the door 
and into the Gym.

There were chairs set out for the spectators, around a 
large wrestling mat.  Along one side, a number of 
female slaves knelt, all similarly attired.  The bear 
strode into the center of the mat and addressed the 
group.  “Tonight” he growled, “our slaves will wrestle 
for our amusement.  The goal for them is to bury their 
tool in either the vagina or the anus of their 
opponent, “pinning” them.  Extra points for the anus.  
The competition will be single elimination, with the 
losers being punished and the winner rewarded.  While 
there are no rules, conduct that might permanently 
damage an owner’s property will be severely dealt 
with.”  To emphasize that point, the bear held up a 
shock stick, its surface crackling with energy.  “I 
will act as referee.  Are there any questions?”  As 
was typical, the bear looked towards the owners, and 
not the “competitors”.

Tanj watched as the first two “contestants” were 
led into the ring.  The raccoon fem and the squirrel 
fem both looked like lightweights, and they both 
looked terrified.  After a moment or two of circling 
each other, a light brush from the bear’s shock stick 
convinced them that they’d best try something, and 
with a yell the raccoon dove towards the squirrel.  
She, however sidestepped and as the raccoon landed 
flat on her face, the squirrel pounced, landing on her 
back.  They were well lubbed, and as the squirrel 
yanked up the raccoon’s banded tail, her dildo drove 
harshly into her ass!  The raccoon screamed and clawed 
at the mat as the squirrel did her best to pin the 
larger female to the floor.

The bear separated them, roughly pushing the raccoon 
towards the far side of the mat, where she was made to 
kneel.  The Squirrel was given a moment or two to 
catch her breath and her dong was given a fresh coat 
of lubricant, and then the next contestant, an equine 
morph was led to the ring.  The mare was considerably 
larger than the squirrel, but seemed to be slower and 
more clumsy; still, she wasn’t about to make the 
mistake the raccoon fem had, and was more cautious, 
doing her best to try and grab the squirrel.  She, on 
the other hand, kept dancing away, trying to get 
behind the mare, to nudge her in the back of her 
knees, to make her fall.  She connected twice, but the 
mare was large and strong enough to recover before she 
hit the mat.  Finally, the squirrel leapt on the 
mare’s back, holding on around her waist, and as the 
mare spun about, trying to find a way to shake her, 
the squirrel triumphed, driving her dong hard into the 
mare’s pussy.

Again the referee separated them, sending the mare to 
join the raccoon.  Next, the squirrel faced a wolf 
fem.  This one however was stronger and faster than 
she, and it wasn’t long before the squirrel was on her 
stomach, on the mat, the wolf bitch slowly forcing the 
dildo into the squirrel’s ass.

The wolf faced Tanj next.  Tanj circled the wolf 
bitch warily, the dong wiggling from side to side as 
she moved.  As she’d watched the previous match, 
Tanj had gotten the impression that the Wolf was an 
enthusiastic competitor, delighting in her ability to 
dominate her opponent, but that she’d never really 
been trained to fight.  Tanj, on the other hand, 
HAD been trained to fight.  But she couldn’t show 
that.  A slave that knew how to fight was a slave that 
couldn’t be allowed to live; too dangerous.  As such, 
Tanj had to move very carefully; she didn’t really 
want to be punished for loosing, but she also didn’t 
want to be “put down” for winning either.  As they 
circled and feinted, Tanj had a thought, she acted 
as if she was slipping on a greasy spot on the mat; by 
now a good bit of lubricant had hit the surface of the 
wrestling mat, and footing was becoming chancy.  
Circling back to the same spot, she eeeped and went 
down, but as she did so, she swung about, as if trying 
to escape; as she swiveled, this served to knock the 
feet out from under the wolf, who went sprawling.  
Cheetahs are fast, and Tanj was able to recover and 
pounce the wolf; still, it was a struggle.  She fought 
hard, wriggling her bottom, making it hard for Tanj 
to jab the dildo home.  Finally, however, she zigged 
when Tanj zagged, and as Tanj grinned, the wolf 
howled with dismay as the dong slid roughly into her 
pussy!

Tanj’s turn to pant, and be relubricated, as the 
next contestant, a mink fem, was led into the ring.  
To Tanj’s delight, the smaller fem only put up a 
token resistance, fighting back just enough to escape 
extra punishment.  Tanj rewarded this easy victory 
by sliding the dildo into her pussy, when a shot at 
her ass would have been possible.

Now Tanj faced the final competitor, a Tigress who 
moved with all the grace of a natural predator.  Again 
they circled, but this time none of Tanj's tricks 
seemed to work.  She failed to sweep her feet out from 
under her, the tigress nimbly jumping over her legs.  
Attempts to grab were blocked by both contestants, as 
they danced back and forth over the mat.  Finally the 
tigress caught one of Tanj’s wrists, and used it to 
spin her around. Catching the other wrist, the tigress 
brought them both together behind her back, raising 
them, forcing her to bend over.  Still, Tanj 
squirmed and bucked, but after a minute the tigress’ 
other paw grabbed her tail at the base, and moments 
later, she felt the big feline’s dildo push into her 
pussy.  The crowd applauded softly and the bear 
called; “fuck her with it; show us what you can do 
with her!”

The Tigress growled low in her throat, and maintaining 
her grip on Tanj’s wrists with one paw, and her 
grip on the base of her tail with the other, slowly 
started to work the dildo in and out of Tanj’s 
pussy.  Her movements were quick and jerky, and her 
grip was all but lifting Tanj off the floor, making 
her teeter on tiptoes, wobbling back and forth, her 
breasts swaying with each thrust.  It wasn’t long 
before Tanj was moaning, however, and as she 
writhed through a climax, the crowd applauded politely 
yet again.

The Referee grinned at the tigress; “As the winner, 
your reward is “a night off”, a night to do whatever 
you want with our “runner-up”.  Just as obviously, her 
punishment is to be your slave for the night.  Return 
to your quarters and do with her as you will.”  The 
crowd chuckled as the tigress took the proffered 
leash, to clip it to Tanj’s collar, and without 
preamble jerked Tanj through the exit to the Gym.

As soon as they were out of sight, the Tigress seemed 
to deflate; looking around to make sure they weren’t 
observed, she whispered to Tanj; “I HATE doing 
that!”  But before Tanj could reply, or even frame 
a reply in her mind, they heard someone coming, and 
the Tigress pulled her along to one of the dressing 
rooms.  There, they stripped off their harnesses, and 
reclaimed their dresses.  It must have appeared a 
strange sight, one slave leading the other, but 
nothing was said as they made their way to the 
Tigress’ Master’s cabin.  There, the Tigress led 
Tanj to a small bedroom adjacent the Master’s 
suite, again seeming to visibly relax as soon as the 
door closed.  Tanj, still playing her part, knelt 
on the floor as soon as the door closed.  The Tigress 
looked at her for a moment, and then knelt in front of 
Tanj, using one paw to raise her chin, gently; “You 
know what I want, little one?  You know what I seek 
for my evening with you?  Truth be told, I just want a 
hug, and someone to talk to”.  Tanj smiled, and 
leaned forward to give the big Tigress a hug, holding 
her tight.

“I think the slave conditioning they tried to impart 
just didn’t quite take” Bethany, the Tigress, said.  
“I was trained at a small facility on Engleside, and, 
well, I’ve just never been as happy as some of the 
other slaves I’ve run across.  How about you?  You 
seem to fit into the role rather well, perhaps even 
enthusiastically, if some of what I’ve been hearing is 
correct……”  Tanj laughed; ‘Oh, I admit I’ve got my 
moments; I’m not sure how happy I really am; most of 
the time I don’t even have time to think about it.  I 
think what the academy I went through did to me was 
more to warp my sexual desires……  I’ve come to love 
good sex, and in some cases even kinky sex.  I don’t 
have enough pride left for “humiliation” to be 
practical; that kinda thing just kind of rolls off my 
back, as long as it isn’t too painful.  I think I’ve 
just kinda adopted the attitude that there isn’t much 
I can do about my situation, and until there is, I’m 
not going to worry about it much.  I’ll just take what 
pleasures I can, in life.  And speaking of which……”  
Tanj grinned and crawled up the Tigress’ body to 
kiss her softly, her paw again squirming between the 
big feline’s thighs.  “Oh!  Oh Tanj!  Oh, you ARE 
insatiable” Bethany purrrred; still, she didn’t 
object, or make any move to stop the movements of 
Tanj’s paw……

The following morning, Tanj made her way back to 
Tand’s Stateroom.  She made a point of limping, and 
acting as if she’d had a rough night; after all, both 
she and Bethany agreed, they had reputations to 
uphold, no matter what they might have thought of 
them.  Tanj found that Tand had spent the night 
doing more of his “breaking and entering”, gathering 
all sorts of interesting data, but gaining no further 
clues.  Again, the mystery lady had been “involved”, 
this time with a borrowed slave, and Tand had not been 
able to discern anything about her.

Tanj groaned, walking quite bow-legged, moving very 
VERY carefully as the previous night’s “Master” led 
her back towards the Dining Room, and her return to 
Tand.  This particular ferret had been much more into 
B&D than any of the others that Tanj had run across 
on the ship, and had kept her well tied in a variety 
of strained positions all through the night.  She’d 
learned nothing about him, except that he was 
imaginative, and rich enough to afford all sorts of 
highly specialized toys, like the dildo that spurted 
freezing cold jets of fluid.  But the one that took 
the cake was the device he had fitted her with just 
prior to leaving his cabin for Breakfast.  As Tanj 
hung from her wrists, her legs held wide apart by a 
spreader bar, he had shown her a rather elaborate 
chrome and rubber butt plug.  It had the usual tapered 
shape, gradually growing to a wide point and then 
diminishing quickly to a constricted point, such that 
she could not force it out of her ass.  However the 
portion beyond the constriction was more than the 
usual flared base; it had a tang of metal, at right 
angles to the plug, ending in a collar or short sleeve 
of bright metal.  With great glee, the Ferret had 
greased up the butt plug and slowly forced it into her 
behind.  He had then taken a metal rod, and inserted 
it into a hole in the base of the butt plug; as he did 
so, Tanj felt that portion within her expand even 
further, as the metal stretched the rubber.  She 
gasped as she heard this rod lock into place with an 
audible “snick”.  There was no doubt now, that the 
butt-plug wasn’t coming out without a key of some 
sort.  And probably an owner’s manual too.  The Ferret 
had then shown her a shiny chrome dildo, bullet shaped 
and smooth, reflecting her own distorted image.  This 
he also lubbed up and slipped through the metal collar 
attached to the butt plug’s base, deep into her pussy.  
Again she felt, more than heard, the dildo “snick” 
into place.  Releasing the device, Tanj moaned at 
its weight, the metal tugging at her ass and pussy!  
“You’ll notice” he laughed; “that the butt plug and 
dildo portions are at angles to each other; their tips 
should almost be meeting within you.  A most intimate 
grip; it can’t fall out.  In fact, it can actually 
support a bit of weight……”  And with that, he grasped 
a ring welded to the piece of metal separating the two 
devices and tugged lightly.  Tanj’s eyes went WIDE 
and she mewled as the steel and rubber tried to pull 
her crotch downwards!  The Ferret had then snapped the 
end of her leash to the ring, and otherwise released 
her, to lead her nude, through the corridors of the 
Starship.

Tand Hmmmmmed as the Ferret showed off the device, 
finally insisting that Tand retain it for future use 
with Tanj, making sure that he had the key.  Tand 
shook his head and instructed Tanj to kneel on the 
pad behind his chair, as there was no way she could 
sit down with the device implanted, and he wasn’t 
about to create the spectacle of trying to free her in 
the dining room.  For her part, Tanj was glad to 
kneel, such that the weight of the cruel device was 
supported by the floor.  Again, she noticed the 
sympathetic looks of the other slaves kneeling nearby.  
It wasn’t until Breakfast was over, and Tand was 
sliding back his chair to leave, that the mysterious 
lady black panther padded over, to talk to Tand.  “You 
know, that really isn’t the best way to leash a slave 
like her” she purrrred.  “I’d be glad to do her up 
properly, if you’d like.  Just let me have her until 
this time tomorrow, and I’m sure you’ll be delighted 
with the result”.  Tanj moaned inwardly; all she 
wanted was the key to this damn thing and a hot bath……  
Still, they’d been trying to find out more about this 
enigmatic passenger for days, and had failed 
miserably; it might be worth it to spend the day with 
her………  Finally Tand nodded his head; “All right, you 
can take her, provided she’s not harmed”  The 
Pantheress nodded and with a purrrrr, bade Tanj to 
rise, to lead her proudly towards her cabin.

As Tanj followed the Pantheress, again being very 
careful how she moved, she came to the conclusion that 
she wasn’t really a black panther, but a puma with a 
very good furcut and dye job.  Again, not surprising, 
considering the circumstances, but just one more 
detail of circumstantial evidence.  The lady’s first 
order of business was to take the end of the leash 
connected between Tanj’s thighs and clip its chain, 
midway down its length, to a ring bolt in the floor, 
forcing her into a squat.  A rope from the ceiling to 
her collar forced her to crouch uncomfortably, muscles 
straining, not quite with the backs of her thighs on 
her calves.  With her paws bound behind her back, 
Tanj struggled between tugging fiercely at her sex 
by trying to rise, and choking herself by trying to 
descend.  The lady purrrred; “I’ll release you only 
after you’ve licked me to a climax, so you’d best be 
quick”.  With that, she stepped forward, raising the 
hem of her dress to present her bare sex to Tanj’s 
muzzle.

Tanj complied, licking urgently as the muscles in 
her legs complained bitterly.  As she licked and 
nibbled, her tongue flashing here and there, she 
discovered that the Lady had her own set of piercings, 
with several sets of rings in each labia, as well as a 
clitty piercing.  Wriggling these, teasing them with 
her tongue, Tanj discovered, was the key, and as 
her tongue made the rings dance, she was rewarded by 
the sounds of the Lady above her experiencing a wild 
climax.  True to her word, before she collapsed 
backwards onto the bed, she unhooked the rope from 
Tanj’s collar, allowing her to kneel, and to rest.

After a bit, the Lady raised her head, to look at 
Tanj; “You seem to be every bit as good as they say 
you are; before we proceed, crawl over here and do me 
again.  Take your time, make it last, as when we 
finish, the REAL fun begins……  Tanj didn’t doubt 
her in the least, and moving over to the bed on her 
knees, she bent to her task, tongue slowly teasing and 
nibbling, slithering between her labia, driving deep, 
until at last her mysterious “mistress” yowled at the 
top of her lungs as another climax overtook her.

Again, Tanj knelt as the Lady rested.  While 
Tanj hoped she’d take a nap, giving Tanj some 
time to nose around (literally, with her paws bound 
behind her back), it was only a few minutes before the 
pantheress rose, to strip off her dress, tossing it 
casually aside.  She rebound Tanj’s paws in front 
of her, making sure the restraints were tight.  These, 
she hooked to the rope dangling from the ceiling, and 
raised Tanj until she was balancing on tiptoes.  
Fetching ankle cuffs, she proceeded to put those on 
Tanj, and then use more ropes to raise her ankles 
towards the ceiling, spreading her legs far apart.  
Her tail was not ignored either, a leather strap tying 
its tip to the back of her collar.  When she was done, 
the lowest part of Tanj was her ass, with her sex 
very prominently displayed.

The Lady pulled up a chair, sitting so that her nose 
was almost touching Tanj’s sex.  Tanj hoped for 
a gentle touch, or perhaps even a little tongue, but 
instead she received an examination that would have 
done a gynecologist proud.  “I’m glad to see you have 
a vertical piercing of your clitty, Dear” the lady 
purrrred; “Otherwise we might have to start over……  
You’re lucky that you have the anatomy for this too; 
so many girls have such tiny clittys, so well hidden; 
but then, given your current, ah, “station”, I guess 
its not that much a surprise……  Now, all we have to do 
is……”  Tanj groaned as she watched the lady rise, 
to remove a folded kit from one of the dressers.  This 
she unfolded on the bed revealing everything she’d 
need to add another piercing to Tanj’s already 
considerable collection.  Returning to Tanj, 
resuming her seat, the lady deftly removed the barbell 
currently holding Tanj’s clitty piercing open.  As 
the shaft of the barbell was removed, Tanj felt the 
cold sting of antiseptic.  The lady then carefully 
inserted her piercing needle through the existing 
piercing in Tanj’s clitty, and then pushed it 
further, driving it through the hood that normally 
protected her sensitive little nubbin.  Tanj gasped 
and mewled but knew better than to move a muscle.  She 
felt the lady swab her with more antiseptic, obviously 
wiping away what little blood there was.  Some other 
medicine was applied, something Tanj thought she 
recognized by scent; the healing accelerator that the 
Academy had used when she’d been previously pierced……  
Then the needle was replaced with what felt like a 
longer, heavier barbell, the lower ball under her 
clitty, making it stand up a bit, the other on the 
outside of her hood……  As the lady turned to put away 
her implements, Tanj swayed a little in her bonds; 
she could really feel the weight of the larger barbell 
down there in every little movement she made.

The lady let Tanj down, releasing her legs first, 
then her arms, retying her on the floor, on her back.  
The rest of the afternoon was spent with this 
pantheress making use of Tanj, sometimes squatting 
over her muzzle, to let Tanj lick her to yet 
another climax, sometimes the lady would raise 
Tanj’s ankles, to use a vibrating strap-on dildo to 
fuck her in the ass.  The only high point of the 
afternoon was when Tanj got a real good look at a 
normally unseen portion of the Pantheress’ anatomy, a 
spot high up on the inside of her left thigh, 
immediately adjacent to her sex.  As Tanj licked, 
she discerned there, under the fur, the red of a 
birthmark, supposedly the identifying feature of the 
Senator.  The story went that once a rather kinky 
lover had shaved her sex, to enhance their sex, and 
the birthmark had been uncovered.  “That makes the 
rest of this worthwhile, I guess” she thought to 
herself as the lady shivered through yet another 
uncounted climax.

Tanj was led to dinner by a leash attached normally 
to her collar.  She wore a loincloth, with a plethora 
of the Senator’s jewelry, looking the proper 
barbarian.  The Senator had replaced the barbell 
through her new piercing with a rather large, if thin 
ring, the ring passing through her hood as well as her 
clitty.  The ring was large enough to cause a small 
bump in the hanging fabric of the loincloth, plainly 
visible should anyone care to notice.  And many did.  
Worse, the ring held a jinglebell, and as Tanj 
walked, tinkling sounds emerged from under the 
loincloth, further drawing attention to it.  Tand 
raised an eyebrow at the spectacle, but the Senator, 
thinking he was curious about the standard leash, just 
smiled and told him to wait for tomorrow.  Tanj did 
manage to give Tand the look that said that yes, she’d 
identified this lady as their quarry, and with that, 
Tand settled into his chair, to eat his dinner 
quietly.  For her part, the Senator fed Tanj an 
occasional morsel from her plate as she knelt behind 
her chair.

When they returned to the Senator’s quarters, Tanj 
was again tied, this time in a kneeling position, her 
long hair tied to her ankles pulling her head way 
back, her muzzle pointing at the ceiling.  A perfect 
position, the Senator said, for Tanj to lick up 
into her hungry pussy……  The night was filled with the 
Senator again making use of Tanj, in one fashion or 
another.  

At one point in the night, the Senator placed a small 
black box between Tanj’s ankles.  “How much 
electrical engineering do you know?” She asked.  
Before Tanj could answer she chuckled; “Silly 
question for a slave.  Never mind.  Basically what it 
boils down to is:  Shake a field, get a current.  
Shake a current, get a field.  That box between your 
thighs is a bulk storage magnetic media eraser.  It 
produces a shaking field at about 60 Hertz.  And 
you’ll notice that when I turn it on, it has the most 
marvelous effect on your piercings……”  Tanj moaned 
as the rings in her labia and clitty started to 
vibrate.  “Of course, I’ve made some modifications, 
but before I show them to you, I want to make sure 
you’re tied tight!”  After checking Tanj’s bonds, 
making sure that she’d stay in the kneeling position, 
that she’d stay in position over the box, she pushed a 
rather large plug gag into Tanj’s mouth, buckling 
it TIGHT behind her neck.  “You see” she purred, “The 
box will vary field strength and frequency randomly; 
it should shake your piercings very nicely.  Of 
course, some of the higher frequency field 
oscillations will induce a significant current, and 
that might heat up the rings some, but I’m sure you 
can take that.”  With a grin, the Senator kissed 
Tanj on the forehead and turned out the light as 
she crawled into bed.

Tanj panted as her labia and clitty rings vibrated.  
Initially it was barely felt, more like a buzz, but 
after a minute, things got a little rougher, the 
jinglebell on her clitty ring starting to dance.  
Tanj panted harder, and then moaned as the 
vibrations, stimulating her so directly drove her to a 
sharp climax.  They didn’t stop though.  Through the 
night, the vibrations grew stronger, and weaker, but 
they never stopped.  Occasionally she’d be jerked from 
her orgasmic haze as the rings heated up, but that 
never lasted too long.  The climaxes flowed through 
Tanj’s soul, rippling through her like strings of 
exploding firecrackers, until sometime in the wee 
hours of the morning, overloaded with pleasure, she 
fainted.

Tanj yelped into her gag, jerking upright, coming 
awake suddenly, painfully.  Blinking, she saw the 
Senator straightening, a wire in each paw.  
Apparently, she’d gotten a jolt from some sort of 
battery pack, delivered across her nipple rings.  
“Like Caffeine better” she thought crossly, as the 
Senator untied her, and massaged feeling back into her 
limbs.  “Still, there’s no doubt” she thought; “That 
WILL wake you up!”.  The Senator told Tanj to 
stand, with her knees well spread, and reaching down, 
she removed the clitty ring.  A quick examination 
showed the accelerant had worked correctly and that 
her new piercing was ready for what the Senator had in 
mind.  The heavy barbell appeared again, the Senator 
sliding the shaft through her clitty piercing from 
below.  However this time, the end link in a fairly 
heavy chain, with links made of bar over 4mm thick, 
was pushed between the upper surface of her clitty and 
the lower surface of her hood.  The barbell shaft was 
then driven up through the piercing in her hood, and 
the oversized ball screwed onto the end of the shaft.  
The Senator then reached for a pincer-like device, 
each end of the pincer pushing on the ends of the 
barbell.  Suddenly there was a buzz and an incredible 
heat, and Tanj HOWLED until the Senator shoved a 
handfull of ice chips against her crotch.  Tanj 
Howled again.  “That welded the barbell together, 
Dear; now you’re permanently leashed!”  Dropping the 
length of chain that she held, Tanj’s knees almost 
buckled as the full weight of the chain, from pussy to 
the floor, hung from her piercing!

 Tanj padded, nude save for her collar, a ball gag, 
and the wrist cuffs holding her paws behind her back, 
through the corridor at the end of the Senator’s 
leash.  The small parade drew stares from everyone 
they passed.  Upon reaching the Dining room, the 
Senator handed the end of Tanj’s leash to Tand with 
a flourish.  Tand’s eyes grew large, as the 
implications of what had been done sunk in.  The 
Senator, watching his face, mistook it for wonder, and 
purrred; “Yes, isn’t it marvelous?  I thought you’d 
like it” before turning away, to take her normal seat.  
Tanj caught Tand’d eye and made a minute “not here” 
type motion.  Tand was too flustered to do more than 
eat his breakfast in silence, Tanj kneeling behind 
him on a mat.

He didn’t have any choice but to lead Tanj back to 
their stateroom with her new leash.  As they left, 
Tanj heard one of the other slave owners asking the 
Senator to fix his own slave in the same manner.……  
The instant they were within their own stateroom, the 
door closed, he turned to grab the links just below 
her, to take the weight; “Good LORD!  What has she 
DONE to you?” he Growled.  Tanj just shook her head 
and mumbled into her gag.  Tand fumbled, trying to 
hold the weight of the chain with one paw, while 
undoing Tanj’s bound paws with his other.  Once 
free, Tanj relieved him of his burden, holding the 
chain herself, as he undid her gag.

“Whew!” Tanj exclaimed, as Tand withdrew the gag; 
“that was a large one; made my jaws ache.  Oh, don’t 
look so shocked; this isn’t that big a deal!  I admit 
I could do with a lighter chain, but its VERY 
stimulating, in its way.”  Tand just shook his head; 
“lets get you out of it!”  Tanj sighed; “Can’t; she 
welded the barbell together.  We’d need some small 
cutting tools.  Besides, that might lead to 
complications.  You have an image to maintain, you 
know.”  Tand never the less, bent to give the 
situation a much closer inspection, making Tanj 
purrrr from time to time.  Rising he shook his head 
and growled; “That is NOT what I consider returning 
you undamaged.  She’s going to pay for this!”  Tanj 
chuckled; “Oh, rest assured, that she will.  Now, lets 
see, I bet if I loop the end of this chain through my 
collar, I can take almost all the weight off………

Tand ordered room service for Tanj, as she’d missed 
lunch the previous day, had a rather “light” dinner, 
and had missed breakfast as well.  The crewman who 
delivered the tray stared at Tanj with wide eyes as 
she knelt demurely on the floor by Tand’s bed, the 
chain pooled between her thighs, until Tand chased him 
off with a growl.  After eating, Tanj went for a 
long hot soak in the tub, hoping the chain was 
rustproof.  Later she and Tand reviewed the progress 
of the worm program; it certainly looked as if it had 
completely infiltrated the ship’s computer.  Only 
trying it would tell for sure though……

An appearance had to be made at dinner, and Tanj 
had come up with a compromise that seemed to be 
acceptable to Tand (he’d wanted to use an energy 
weapon to sever the chain only a few links from the 
piercing, but Tanj had vetoed that).  Wearing a 
halter style dress, with a plunging neckline that 
descended well below her waist, the chain led up 
between her breasts to pass through a wide ring on her 
collar, and then to Tand’s paw.  A jerk on her chain 
would cause her to bend, perhaps double, as the 
distance between clitty and collar was shortened, but 
normally only the weight of a few links would be on 
her piercing.  Of course, those swaying links were 
keeping Tanj quite hot, something that Tand said 
was more than apparent from the look on her face.  At 
dinner, several of the other Masters examined her 
closely, to Tand’s stony silence.  They seemed to find 
the matted fur of Tanj’s thighs, slick with her own 
juices delightful.  Again, more than one approached 
the Senator with requests for assistance with their 
own slaves.

After Dinner, Tanj was panting by the time they 
made it back to their stateroom.  “Damn swinging 
chain’s driving me wild” Tanj moaned.  Tand just 
grinned; “I offered to take care of that”.  Tanj 
nodded and shruged; “as soon as we’re home, gotta do 
something a bit different…… but it can wait until 
then.  Right now, I’m more concerned about becoming 
desensitized.  At this rate, shouldn’t take long.  But 
I’m sure, if I can get shed of this thing for a while, 
that’ll reverse itself……  But in the meantime, stud, 
get over here and “put me out of my misery”  Tand just 
grinned……

Over the next few days, Tand loaned Tanj out to 
several select passengers; True to her suspicions, the 
swinging chain was keeping Tanj very hot, and as 
such, she was in great demand.  One of these, an 
auditor for a major interstellar corporation, had a 
new toy; he liked to torment the slaves that come 
under his sway, and tying Tanj to the bed, he slid 
a powerful vibrator into her pussy.  Fastening a ring 
gag in her mouth, he turned it on and sat back; “this 
is a voice activated dildo; the more noise you make, 
the more powerful the vibrations.”  As he talked, the 
dildo rumbled in her pussy nicely, making the links of 
her chain jump.  He grinned as he clapped his hands 
and at the sudden loud sound, Tanj jumped, the 
dildo going wild in her pussy for an instant.  The 
night was most strange.  He loved to just sit there 
and watch Tanj struggle; she tried hard to keep 
silent, but it seemed the infernal device could hear 
her heartbeat; she’d start moaning and that would 
drive the dildo which would drive her moans, which 
would drive the dildo to a higher level, which in turn 
would drive her to screams.  The cycle would only end 
when she passed out, fainted dead away from 
overstimulation.  By morning she was hoarse, her voice 
a mere whisper, and she’d chewed her lower lip bloody 
and raw, trying to stay quiet.  Her “master” loved it, 
and told Tand so at great length, making sure Tand 
took the dildo for his own amusement.

For the rest of the trip, all Tand had to do was to 
threaten Tanj with that dildo to make her behave……

Arrangements had been made for Tanj to be loaned 
out to yet another couple, again, obviously traveling 
incognito, again, obviously either rich, or powerful, 
and perhaps both.  He’d been fuming for several days 
over what the Senator had done to Tanj.  He knew 
that Tanj was both fascinated, repulsed and very 
much stimulated by what had been done to her.  She was 
putting up a brave face, but Tand could tell she was 
worried what might happen when the lion got a good 
look……  And the Senator had not, in his opinion, 
returned her as he had instructed, “undamaged”.  That 
alone was worthy of his vengeance.

After dinner that night, as Tanj was led away, Tand 
moved silently up behind the Senator; “I seem to be 
free for the evening, and I was wondering if you might 
like some company” he purrrrrred into her ear.  She 
smiled and leaned back against him; “I have some 
business I have to take care of, but perhaps you could 
come by, say, at 2300 Hours?”  Tand purrrred and 
kissed the back of her neck, and moved off, to head 
back to his cabin to prepare.

Once back in his state-room, Tand checked the progress 
of the worm program, the transcriptions of his 
listening devices, and a quick look in on the postage 
stamp camera he’d hidden in the couple’s suite.  He’d 
gone to the trouble to hide a fairly large device 
there, and the three dimensional output he was getting 
was quite good.  In fact, he could probably sell it……  
Tanj was tied in a most interesting and unusual 
fashion, being forced to pleasure both male and 
female, and while it looked uncomfortable, she seemed 
to be in no danger.  Turning off the sound but letting 
the image run in the background, he turned to prepare 
for his rendezvous with the Senator.

He’d brought a very rare, very sophisticated and quite 
nasty assasination method with him, something that he 
felt was uniquely tailored to this situation.  
Something he’d picked up well outside the Empire, and 
probably not even known in these parts.  Removing a 
small vial from a hidden compartment in one of his 
cases, he removed three minute seeds, handling them 
with tweezers.  Dropping his pants, he proceeded to 
take his cock in his paw, and holding it carefully, he 
used a swab to apply a viscous pink liquid just inside 
the urethral canal, in the “eye” of his cock.  Letting 
this set for a moment, he then proceeded to place the 
three seeds, carefully handling them with the 
tweezers, within the pink goo.  Grinning, he knew the 
first time he ejaculated, the seeds would be deposited 
within the Senator’s pussy, where temperature, pH, and 
hormones would soon let them germinate.  Pulling up 
his pants, with a wicked grin, he left his stateroom, 
headed for the Senator’s suite.  “Of course” he 
thought as he walked, “This only works as the 
rendezvous with the pirates is less than three days 
off; I wouldn’t want to actually kill her with this.  
If all goes well, she’ll have the scare of her life, 
and still be alive by the time we get back to her……”

The Senator opened the door to her suite, wearing a 
negligee that was all but transparent, the shifting 
silver haze of the fabric as it slid across her body 
transitioning from very slightly opaque to almost 
clear.  It set off her black fur very well, Tand 
thought as he bent to kiss her softly.  Skillful he 
was, in plying her, his caresses and his kisses making 
her smoulder, making her want him even more, until she 
could stand it no longer.  With her paw wrapped around 
his eager shaft, she led him to her bed.  His 
ministrations had set her on fire, and she was 
determined to see that fire quenched with Tand’s cum…… 
in time.  She knew a thing or two as well, and was 
able to moderate his lusts, keeping him at the edge, 
at the peak, but never quite going over as they 
changed from this position, to something more exotic, 
to something more exotic still, as they explored each 
other’s repertoire of sexual skills.  She was almost 
standing on her head, her shoulders taking her weight, 
an ankle in each of Tand’s paws, as he drove his cock 
down into her from a standing position.  The position 
was strained and complex, and exciting if for no other 
reason than its unusualness, and it was then that Tand 
lost his control, howling as his cock exploded, 
throbbing as his cum filled the pussy of the Senator; 
she in turn added her voice to the chorus.  Tand had 
given her several climaxes so far this evening, but 
feeling his cock throb and spurt, especially at this 
angle, was enough to send her to nirvana yet again.

Tand was tempted to take his immediate leave, but the 
Senator’s paw was wrapped possessively around his 
cock, and the way her chest heaved as she panted was 
most alluring……  Before long, she purrrred, delighted 
that she’d stroked him to hardness yet again.  “So, 
what do you have in mind, now, my lady?” he purrrred.  
“Mmmmmmm, perhaps a game of chance; a simple cut of 
the cards; looser is the slave to the winner for the 
rest of the night……”  Tand grinned; “as long as it 
doesn’t leave this room, I suppose I’m game; but I get 
to cut the cards……”  She shrugged; “its an honest 
deck; go ahead and shuffle.  When playing, I enjoy 
either role……”  Tand grinned and softly shuffled the 
deck, letting her cut the cards, and then shuffling 
again, and in the process quietly using an old 
magician’s trick to palm a card.  She cut, showing the 
10 of Hearts; when he cut, it was the King of 
Diamonds.  The Senator smiled, and slid off the bed to 
kneel before him, whispering a quiet “Master……”

Tand adopted a stern look on his face.  Moving to the 
Senator’s toybox, he selected merely a long piece of 
soft rope.  He tied her, with complex knots on her 
knees, wrists tied to either side of her waist. The 
end of her long hair tied to her bound ankles, tilting 
her head back.  Wordlessly, he walked over to her, to 
present the bobbing head of his cock to her mouth.  
Just as wordlessly, she opened her mouth, to worship 
his cock with her tongue and lips and mouth, until 
with a groan, he spurted down her throat…  Twice more, 
he made use of the Senator, once tipping her on her 
face, to thrust into her ass.  After sitting her back 
up, and pulling a thick slave hood over her head, 
cutting off sight and sound, he quietly searched her 
suite, finding little except some sealed memory 
crystals that he dare not try and read.  Yet.  
Removing the hood, he used her mouth once again, this 
time spraying what little cum he had left over her 
face and chest.  Dressing slowly he smiled down at 
her; “The way I’ve tied you is not all that strict.  
With a little effort, I suspect you’ll be free, say, 
in an hour or two.  Or twelve.  Should be just in time 
for Breakfast, this day, or next.  Perhaps I’ll see 
you there………”  With a final kiss, he quietly let 
himself out of her suite, hanging a “do not disturb” 
sign by the door.

The Senator struggled against the ropes.  She’d 
already gotten two of the complex knots undone, and 
she was sure it was just a matter of time before she 
was free.  Devilish of him, she thought, to do this to 
her, but still, in her own perverted way, she loved 
it.  As she squirmed around on the floor, she paused 
for a moment, thinking she felt something move in her 
pussy.  Ridiculous, she thought; he’d left no toys 
within her, and that, in a way, was a pity……

Tanj was returned to Tand at Breakfast, the couple 
that had borrowed her looking a little tired and 
exhausted.  Tand just smiled.  The Senator was notably 
missing from Breakfast.

The Senator mewled, struggling with increased urgency 
at the ropes; “The bastard sure did use enough” she 
groaned as her fingers fumbled with yet another loop.  
Something was definitely tickling her down between her 
legs; it was almost as if an insect was crawling over 
her fur…  A large insect…  In fact, it felt as if it 
had moved from her pussy down to her bound ankles…  
She squirmed and struggled to get one paw free, the 
knots seeming to grow tighter the more frantic her 
efforts to get free.

To Tand’s amusement, Tanj had taken a nap; a nap 
that had extended through lunch and was threatening to 
overrun dinner…  He’d have to get her up soon.  After 
all, they had an appearance to make at Dinner, and he 
was most curious to see if the Senator put in an 
appearance……

The Senator was mewling quietly, her eyes squeezed 
shut TIGHT.  Something was moving over her bound 
ankles and thighs; something that seemed to originate 
in her pussy…  And it was growing.  All efforts to 
move to the comm panel had proven fruitless; she was 
too well tied.  Tendrils were moving over her hips, 
and if she didn’t get her paws free soon, they’d be 
trapped as well.  Scared out of her wits, she 
redoubled her effort.

Tanj politely covered her mouth as she yawned; it 
was all catching up with her, and she was exhausted.  
Her outfit was a simple black dress, again in a halter 
style.  Its front was conservative, from the mid-thigh 
hemline to her neck; the back, however, was bare from 
where the top tied at the back of her neck, to the 
base of her tail.  The chain was fastened to the back 
of her collar, giving her a gleaming silver stripe 
down her back.  Tand thought it looked striking.  “He 
would” she smirked to herself.  “Can’t wait to get 
home and get shed of this thing” she thought for the 
thousandth time; “its all well and good for an 
occasional something, but 24 hours a day, all day 
long, is simply too much”.  So far, Tand had turned 
down three requests for Tanj for that night, saying 
that she needed some rest, and implying that he needed 
some time with her himself.  Again, he noted the 
Senator’s absence.

Senator Grant mewled softly, frightened out of her 
wits; she’d finally gotten one paw free, inches ahead 
of the growing tendrils, only to have them trapped by 
the thorny vines as she tried to free her other paw.  
She was slowly being encased in green thorny vines, 
some sort of weird mutant plant growing from her own 
vagina!  She had ceased struggling long ago, the 
thorns being much too sharp.  Again her mind turned to 
the big Leopard, and she wondered if he could have 
been responsible?  She thought as much, but wondered 
HOW???

It was about three in the morning when the room’s 
terminal chimed.  They were both awake and waiting, 
figuring it was about time.  The ship had detected a 
transmission from nearby, something faint and encoded, 
and the worm program had notified Tand and Tanj.  
The pirates were here.

“Sir, I saw it there for a moment, a burst 
transmission, but there’s no ship on sensors.”  The 
comm officer looked curiously at the second officer, 
currently the watch officer.  The latter shrugged; 
“sometimes you see strange things in space; keep an 
eye out, but if it doesn’t repeat itself, I wouldn’t 
worry about it”.  The comm officer turned back to his 
console, thinking the second officer was dismissing it 
to lightly.  HE thought that it was a cloaked military 
vessel practicing stealth approaches to their vessel.  
While this was annoying, what he considered “very poor 
form”, he too wasn’t particularly worried.  After all, 
pirate activity was something seen on the frontier, 
not this deep in the Empire; and besides, everyone 
knew the pirates couldn’t afford military style 
cloaking devices……

Tanj watched as Tand instructed the worm program to 
play back the sensor reports for the last two hours, 
feeding them to the ship’s crew, blocking out all real 
events.  He also instituted a program to reclassify 
all SOS messages to a priority that would see laundry 
lists transmitted first.  Shutting down the comm 
systems entirely, or even deleting messages would 
raise too many alarms, but merely pigeonholing them 
should keep the airwaves quiet.

The Pirate cruiser decloaked less than half a light 
second away, and moved in rapidly.  The only way the 
liner could have spotted them was if someone was 
looking out a viewport……

Tand issued commands through the worm program to 
unlock all airlocks and to lower all but the 
navigational shields.  He also threw in some 
miscellaneous instructions, like turning off all the 
hot water heaters, and decreasing the temperatures in 
the freezers in the galley to the point where 
everything therein would be rock hard.  This of course 
raised alarms on some engineering panels, but the 
graveyard shift tagged it as a simple computer glitch, 
to be handled later.

The pirate vessel launched fighters and shuttles as it 
closed with the hapless liner, still undetected.  The 
fighters patrolled the area, making sure they wouldn’t 
be disturbed, while the Cruiser and the shuttles 
headed for the massive liner’s airlocks.

As the hull rang with the Pirate cruiser docking, Tand 
told the worm program to shut down the higher 
functions of the Liner.  The worm had already 
rewritten all the command access codes.  No, the 
passwords required to completely control the ship had 
not been changed; that was too difficult; instead, the 
commands needed to access the password acceptance 
routine had been changed to random gibberish.  A 
statement from the captain such as “Computer, this is 
Captain John Luke Discard.  Authorization code Alpha 
one one alpha” would receive the computer equivalent 
of “huh?”  On the bridge, the crew was frantic, but 
nothing seemed to work.  A tech in engineering 
whispered to his mate “Now THAT wasn’t a computer 
malfunction!  We’re being boarded!”  The mate chuckled 
and shook his head; “no pirates in this sector; don’t 
worry.  Probably just another damn drill……”  Tand 
grinned as he instructed the worm program to shut down 
the ship’s drive.

The pirates boiled through the main airlock, both 
inner and outer doors opening at the same time, to the 
great surprise of the handful of ad-hoc defenders.  
Rapidly, the pirates spread through the ship, securing 
the bridge, and engineering.  An announcement followed 
over the intercom, by the ship’s captain, stating that 
the ship had been taken by those pirate scum, the 
brethren, instructing all passengers to remain in 
their staterooms, and not to offer resistance.  He 
went on to state that if ransoms were paid, no one 
should be in danger.  Ben grinned when he finished and 
retrieved the laminated card the Captain had been 
reading from; “Very nice, sir, and thank you” he 
growled.  

Tanj looked at Tand and shrugged; “you know, none 
of them know what we look like……”

Tand checked the worm program and noted that no SOS 
had even been sent; the commands to scramble the 
command sequences had worked very well.  They watched 
the terminal for about 20 minutes, before the door 
banged open and two rough looking pirates stalked in, 
to motion them out into the hall.  There, they joined 
a line of other passengers, staring in shock and 
horror at the pirates.  One particularly rough one 
stalked up and down the line, leering at the finely 
dressed females.  Tanj was still wearing her black 
dress, and with her back against the corridor wall, 
appeared conservatively dressed.  The pirate stopped 
in front of her, leering, thrusting his face into 
hers; “’ere now, you’re a pretty one!  I bet you’d luv 
for me to take you for a quick ride……”  Tanj 
smiled; “Why Jackson L. Quinn, you KNOW I’ve always 
enjoyed your attentions!”  Both Jackson and Tand 
blinked.  Tanj smiled; “Tell me, Captain Quinn, has 
Mark gotten the lateral thrusters on your ship fixed 
yet, or are they still hiccuping every time you try to 
land?”  Jackson’s jaw dropped, and he spluttered; 
“how…… what…… who?”  Behind Jackson, Reggie chuckled, 
pushing the incredulous pirate aside to look Tanj 
up and down; “My, Luv, I do admit I like you as an 
ocelot!  But in any form, its good to see you again!”  
Tand growled; “Now wait a minute, that’s my slave 
you’re talking to!”  Reggie grinned and pulled a short 
swort; “was your slave, you mean”, and with that, to 
the shocked and outraged screams of the other 
passengers, the big rabbit morph drove its point up 
under Tand’s ribs, a gush of blood spattering them 
both.  Tand gasped, and grasping the hilt with both 
paws, collapsed.  Reggie gestured and two of the 
pirates dragged the body to a nearby airlock.  Tand’s 
body was thrown into the open lock, and the system 
cycled.  When the lock’s inner door opened again, it 
was clear, except for a bloodstain on the floor.  
Reggie grinned and clipped a lead to Tanj’s collar; 
giving it a jerk, he pulled the startled 
Cheetah/Ocelot off, laughing.

Tand dusted himself off in the shuttle mated to the 
outside of the airlock.  Grinning he examined the 
sword; it truly was a marvel.  With the blade extended 
it looked real, but with the least pressure, the blade 
collapsed into itself, to form only a small lump on 
the hilt.  As it collapsed, a bladder of someone 
else’s blood was ruptured, spraying out.  Grinning at 
the startled shuttle crew, he shrugged; “Doubtful 
they’ll go looking for a dead furr, eh?”  With a grin 
he settled into a vacant acceleration couch to try and 
get some rest. 

The Lion was surprised when this Ocelot fem pounced 
him, throwing her arms around his neck to kiss him 
hard; an instant later her scent told him that Tanj 
had been found, and his arms wrapped around her, 
holding her close.  It was then that he found the 
chain attached to the back of her collar, and a scant 
few moments after that, that he found its terminus.  
“A gift from Senator Grant; yes, she was identified; 
would you like for me to take you to her?”  With a 
deep growl of assent from the lion, they were off.

As they were moving down one of the corridors, Tanj 
caught something out of her eye.  Growling, she 
snatched her own leash from the lion’s startled paw, 
to stalk over to one of the pirates and rap him across 
the back of the head with it.  He turned in shock and 
rage, only for Tanj to growl in his face; “MISTER 
PRESTON YOU ARE BOTHERING FRIENDS OF MINE!  YOU WILL 
CEASE AND DESIST IMMEDIATELY!”  The pirate stepped 
backwards, even as Tanj pursued, until he came up 
against a wall.  Tanj growled at him for a minute, 
showing fangs, and then turned to the Cougar and 
Wolverine couple that had been cowering under the 
pirate’s bullying.  Taking their paws in her own, 
Tanj said; “I do apologize for his actions; 
sometimes they get into the “role” of being a pirate 
just a little too much; take it too much to heart”.  
Shooting a withering glare at the offending pirate, 
Tanj turned back to smile; “but I promise you 
they’ll behave from now on.  I’m afraid you’re going 
to have to be our guests for a while, and yes, it will 
most likely be expensive; but you’ll be well treated, 
I promise, and……” she grinned widely; “Think of the 
tales you’ll have to tell your grandcubs!”  With that 
Tanj grabbed the nearest section leader she could 
find, to issue some detailed instructions.  The 
section leader glanced up at the lion, who nodded 
almost imperceptibly, and the section leader 
straightened, to turn to the couple.  He actually 
bowed and kindly requested the couple to accompany 
him.

The lion raised an eyebrow at Tanj as he reclaimed 
the end of the leash; Tanj just shrugged; “friends 
I made; they’re just sweet people; too…… innocent for 
things like this.”  The lion nodded; “We’ll try and 
minimize their distress; that’s NOT why we’re here, 
but I still suspect they’ll get an eyeful in the 
months to come.”  Tanj sighed and nodded and led 
the small party off down another corridor.

The Senator jerked as she heard her door slide open.  
She was breathing rapidly, shallowly; the vines had 
encircled her chest, and her throat, constricting her 
harshly, making breathing difficult.  Of course, the 
constriction was no more than a tight corset, but in 
her panicked state, it seemed much worse.  The vines 
had bound her much tighter than the original ropes 
had, and in a dozen places, thorns had left drops of 
blood on her fur; still, she squirmed, ignoring the 
pain, to look beseechingly at Tanj as she came in 
the door.

Tanj stopped two steps into the suite, staring at 
the vine encased form before her, eyes wide.  The lion 
moved around her, to shake his head at the slowly 
wriggling form; “well now there’s something I haven’t 
seen in a while” he growled.  Tanj looked at him; 
“What IS it?”  The lion just grinned; “just something 
I ran across a long time ago, far from here.  I 
suspect your, ah, former master had a paw in this……” 

Turning to the Senator, the lion raised an eyebrow; 
“you know that plant growing in you is slowly going to 
tighten until you suffocate, don’t you?”  The Senator 
gave a little squeek and shuddered…  “Now…” the lion 
continued, “we can leave you here to a horrible fate, 
or we can take you with us, to see if we can get this 
thing off.  I’d planned on merely holding you for 
ransom, but if we have to go to all the trouble of 
curing you of this horrible problem, I think we’ll 
have to look for a greater return…”  The senator tried 
to talk, but one vine had gone between her jaws, a 
thin, thorned gag, while others had wrapped around her 
muzzle, holding it closed.  Still, her eyes beseeched 
the pirates to help her. The lion shrugged. “Was that 
a yes or a no?” he asked Tanj.  After a minute of 
listening to the muffled noises emerging from the 
Senator, the lion shrugged;  “come on, Tanj, I 
can’t understand her, and that thing is much too 
contagious; we’d best just leave her.  As they rose to 
go, the volume of sounds coming from the Senator 
increased by an order of magnitude, as did her 
writhing, fresh spots of blood forming where the 
thorns dug into her.  The lion looked at her and then 
sighed; “Oh, all right.”  Turning he gestured to three 
of the pirates watching; “you three, take her to sick 
bay in the cruiser, and be careful; those thorns are 
sharp!”  When they’d carried her off the lion grinned 
at Tanj; “Yes, that would have killed her, perhaps 
in another two days.  And no, its not contagious, or 
even that hard to get rid of, I think.  But I bet 
she’s so scared she’ll do whatever we want, just to 
get rid of it.  I suspect we’ll learn a lot from her.”  
Tanj looked at him, aghast; “you KNEW this would 
happen??”  The lion shook his head no; “To tell you 
the truth, I was as surprised as you were.  Probably 
as surprised as she was.  Still, I’m not beyond using 
it to my advantage……”

Tanj spent considerable time, passing by all the 
passengers, directing the ones of value or 
significance to be taken aboard.  She smiled as she 
directed Bethany the tigress, to be taken, to her 
master’s obvious confusion.  The Wolf who had taken 
her the first night smiled as he and his business 
associates were selected; “Ah, what the heck, I didn’t 
really want to go to that marketing meeting anyways” 
he chuckled as they led him off.  Finally, all of 
value that they could acquire had been gleaned, and 
the pirate cruiser undocked.  It was just before they 
cloaked, that they transmitted the worm program’s self 
destruct code, returning function to the stricken 
ship.

The trip back was quite and uneventful, the cloaked 
cruiser never registering on the sensors of any ship, 
military or otherwise.  As they traveled, however, 
they monitored the message traffic having to do with 
the Imperial response to the pirate raid.  The fleet 
was in an uproar, more because a ship that deep in the 
empire had been taken, than that Senator Grant was 
among the missing; they certainly weren’t going to 
miss HER.  Tanj had regained her “pirate” outfit, 
the worn camouflage pants, and the abbreviated combat 
vest, with the chain brought up in front, and then 
looped around through the belt loops as an ad-hoc 
belt.  It almost looked right.  Almost. 
 
The first night, the lion gathered Tanj from the 
cruiser’s CIC (combat information center) where she 
was trying to catch up on her intelligence work.  
Leading her to his small cabin, he proceeded to use 
her, roughly, forcefully, reestablishing his position 
as her master.  Stripping her quickly, once the door 
had closed, he wrapped his paw in her hair, driving 
her to her knees, and as he dropped his own pants, he 
used his grip to force her head against his crotch.  
Tanj for her part, had missed him, and it took no 
urging at all for her to lick and nuzzle, until his 
cock stood hard and proud.  Not letting her take the 
initiative, though, he roughly fucked her face, 
forcing her further down, tilting her head back, 
driving his cock into her mouth, and down her throat, 
until with a roar, he came explosively.  When Tanj 
had licked him clean, he bent to the task of tying 
her, on her knees, collar locked to a tie-down ring in 
the floor, ass held high.  By the time he’d gotten her 
tied the way he wanted her, he was hard again, and he 
proceeded to fuck her hard in her pussy, his balls 
swinging forward to slap at her mons as he drove hard 
into her from behind.  The chain, dangling straight 
down, swayed with the force of his thrusts and its 
motion, transmitted straight to her most sensitive 
parts, combined with his rough thrusts, brought 
Tanj to climax after climax.  The rest of the night 
was spent with him tying her in this position or that, 
mostly on the small bed, as he proceeded to move 
through every possible variant of the sex act that he 
knew of.  Somewhere in the middle of the night, the 
distinction became blurred as to who was servicing 
who, and morning found them wrapped in each other, the 
chain tangled amongst bodies and limbs.

On the trip back, Tanj spent a good bit of time 
with the prisoners, gleaning what information she 
could obtain.  The Wolf and his associates seemed to 
treat it all as a grand adventure at company expense, 
and Tanj and her ad-hoc intelligence staff gained a 
great deal of information on corporate dealings, 
mergers, buy-outs and such (and still she felt he was 
leaving the company-specific “dirt” out, but…..).  
They even complained good-naturedly about their 
accommodations (a bunk room), the food, and the 
“entertainment” (i.e. the lack of Tanj’s 
availability to them).  She spent some time with the 
newlywed couple, doing her best to calm them down.  
She even found some time to talk to Bethany, the 
Tigress.

“You understand I can’t promise anything” Tanj said 
to Bethany.  “The way it works is that any pirate that 
sees anything he or she particularly fancies, they put 
in a bid for it against their share from the raid.  
High bid takes the merchandise.  I know how much you 
dislike your current status, and I’m willing to make a 
bid for you, BUT you’ve got to pay me back that amount 
before I can release you.  Sound fair?”  Bethany 
nodded and shrugged; “More than fair; it’s the first 
hope I’ve had in years, but the way my luck runs, 
something will happen to screw it up…”  Tanj just 
hugged her and headed back to work.

Most of Tanj’s “interview” time was spent with the 
Senator; they were slowly pruning back the weird…… 
growth in exchange for answers to questions they had.  
The Senator was still terrified, and was being very 
cooperative.  The fact that the sap from the growth 
was horribly acidic and tended to burn her when they 
pruned back a vine only reinforced her sense of panic 
and distress.  Tand had told them how to do away with 
the parasite, when they’d felt they’d gotten as much 
information as they could, and it was amazingly 
simple……  Still, they were playing it for all they 
were worth, with the attending medical personnel (and 
Tanj) actually wearing space suits for fear of 
“contamination” around the Senator…

Tanj was delighted to be back at the asteroid base. 
The Cruiser was a good ship, but it was just too 
cramped with all the prisoners on board.  Besides, 
she’d started taking a good bit of teasing and some 
good natured complaints about the noise level coming 
from the lion’s quarters each night.  As soon as the 
prisoners had been transferred, and all was secured, 
Tanj went down to Supply, to find Zassa.  She had a 
question that she needed answering, and besides, any 
excuse to seek out the vixen……  

Zassa was buried in inventory forms, and was delighted 
to find an excuse to take a break; she and Tanj 
stole away to a supply locker, where their 
conversation turned to caresses and then kisses and 
then some wild girl-on-girl sex.  Of course that too 
led to Tanj telling Zassa all about where the chain 
came from, and all the related stories.  Exhausted, 
sated, and pleased with what she found out from Zassa, 
Tanj went to talk to Ben, as her plan for the 
newlywed couple slowly came together……

Mark looked at Tanj closely as she sat on his desk, 
knees spread widely, the hem of her dress raised to 
her tummy.  The lion and several others looked on as 
the engineer examined the fused barbell, and the chain 
still fastened to Tanj’s most sensitive parts.  
“Well, the first part is to remove the chain; that’s 
no trouble (with that he grinned up at Tanj, happy 
with his pun).  Yes, it’s a hardened alloy, but I have 
things that will make short work of it.  The Barbell 
is another story.  It’ll have to be cut off, and while 
its only surgical steel, and not all that hard, 
getting it out without hurting Tanj will be…… 
“touchy”.  Again he grinned.  Tanj looked at the 
lion and he jestured to Mark; “we trust you; go 
ahead.”  Mark nodded and got out a special pair of 
gloves and what looked like a small roll of thread.  
“This is a single molecule monofiliment; its extremely 
fine, and extremely strong.  And because of its 
extreme thinness, extremely sharp.  As you can see its 
coated in a more normal polymer so it can be handled; 
however it’ll cut through almost anything known……”  

Mark threaded one end of the thread through the last 
link of the chain, and then wound the ends around 
special synthetic diamond handles.  The force he 
exerted seemed to be almost nothing at all, but 
suddenly the chain fell to the floor, one half link 
still tucked between Tanj’s clitty and hood.  This 
Mark carefully removed, saying; “you have to be very 
careful; the edges are extremely sharp……”  Mark then 
threaded a blunt curved needle with the thread and 
moving very carefully, slipped it where the chain link 
had been.  Tanj squatted, holding herself 
carefully, as Mark lined up the thread just so, and 
then gave a gentle tug.  Nothing seemed to happen, but 
the loop of thread was now completely visible, a small 
distance from Tanj’s body.  Leaning forward, Mark 
plucked the top half of the barbell from where it was 
visible, letting Tanj recover the lower half.  
Tanj and Mark exchanged grins and then she kissed 
him in thanks.  Halfway through the kiss, however, she 
felt a tap on her shoulder.  Turning, she found the 
lion holding a captive bead ring, with a jingle bell.  
Looking up at him he just smiled and nodded; “This one 
isn’t permanent, but I don’t want those piercings 
closing up.  Use this for the time being.  Tanj 
just sighed and bent to the task of inserting the 
ring.  As she walked out of Engineering, following her 
master, she had to struggle to keep from giggling at 
the jingling sound she made as she walked, or 
purrrring at the pleasant sensations.

The Wolverine looked up from the slip of paper Tanj 
had handed him; “This is OUTRAGEOUS!”  Yes, I KNOW 
we’ve been kidnapped by pirates, but this ransom 
demand is ludicrous!”  His new wife, the Cougar looked 
over his shoulder in concern, one paw touching his arm 
as if to reassure him.  Tanj just grinned wider; 
“Yes, I know its rather steep, but here’s what you get 
in the package……”

That night, the doorbell chimed at the newlywed’s 
quarters.  The wolverine opened the door, expecting to 
see Tanj or one of the other pirates, probably come 
on a matter related to the ransom.  Instead he found a 
sultry vixen, wearing only a collar.  She grinned up 
into his startled face and said; “Hi!  I’m Zassa; 
Tanj thought that I ought to come by, that there 
might be a few things that I could do for you, maybe 
even a few things I could teach you……”

Tanj was just finishing compiling the report on 
Senator Grant.  They’d learned some amazing things 
before finally ridding her of the parasite.  It seemed 
all she had to do to get rid of the thing was to drink 
copious amounts of cranberry juice.  As with a mild 
yeast infection, the cranberry juice changed her 
system pH just enough to make the environment hostile 
for the parasite’s wellbeing and it had gradually 
withered and finally died, allowing them to remove the 
roots from where they’d found such an intimate 
purchase.  The Senator, thus liberated, had been sent 
to a surgeon that worked occasionally for the pirates; 
she’d received just enough cosmetic surgery so that 
she’d never be recognized as the missing Senator 
Grant.  Her breasts were now larger, and her ass was a 
fuller, heart shape, while her waist was reduced some.  
Her cheekbones were more prominent, and her ears were 
moved back just a touch.  They’d even used bone grafts 
to lengthen her legs a bit, giving her the “leggy” 
look that so many males loved.  The overall effect was 
striking.  As she’d demonstrated at least some 
submissive tendencies to Tand, she was now on her way 
to a sex slave training facility several sectors 
removed, destined to become a gift from the lion to 
Jenka.  Tanj grinned at that, knowing Jenka would 
know how to handle her (and knowing that she’d be 
treated at least reasonably well).  As she passed the 
data crystal to her boss, the old fox that ran the 
intelligence department for the pirates, the lion 
walked in, swinging’s leash.

Tanj was a little surprised, as she knew the lion 
had meetings that evening, but followed meekly enough 
as he led her to his quarters. “Maybe he just wants a 
quickie” she grinned to herself, but as they entered, 
and she saw Hinoki kneeling on the floor, she knew 
something else was up……  The lion had Tanj strip 
off her dress, and then sit on the edge of the bed; he 
knelt between her thighs, removing her clitty ring, 
and replacing it with a barbell of the type so 
recently removed.  As he inserted it, he slipped the 
ring at the end of a strand of pearls through the 
shaft, between her hood and clitty.  Using the short 
strand of pearls, only about a foot long, as a leash, 
he tugged Tanj to her feet, and led her over to 
Hinoki.  The lion had her kneel facing him and 
reaching down, he clipped the other end of the strand 
of pearls around the Prince Albert piercing in 
Hinoki’s cock.  This ring was in the very end of 
Hinoki’s cock, just visible at the opening of his 
sheath; it entered the “eye” of his cock, the urethral 
canal, to emerge from the bottom of his shaft, just 
below the “eye”.  With the two tied together, the lion 
rose to padd towards the door; “Felt you two needed 
some quality time together” he purrred.  As he passed 
through the door he called “you two have fun; see you 
in the morning”, and then the door closed and he was 
gone.  

Tanj grinned at Hinoki and without saying a word, 
she rose a little on her knees, to rock her hips back 
and forth, the pearls going tight between them, then 
slack, then tight.  She purrrred as the pearls tugged 
at her clitty, and grinned as the whole thing was 
having an obvious effect on Hinoki, his cock growing 
hard, expanding out of his sheath, adding its own 
tension to the short rope of pearls connecting them.  
Tanj reached out a paw to stroke him lightly 
running the tip of one finger along his cock, until, 
as it reached the head, she thrummed the tight strand 
of pearls, the motion making them both gasp.  Hinoki 
for his part, just grinned wickedly and slowly leaned 
back, further and further, until he was reclining on 
the floor.  Tanj of course, HAD to follow, the 
tension on her clitty forcing her to move forward, to 
crawl over his body.  She purrrrrred and rubbed 
herself against him for a while and then rose, to sit 
astride his hips.  As she sank down, he took his shaft 
in hand, to rub the head of his cock against Tanj’s 
sex, the ring barely parting her labia.  He found her 
quite wet and eager and within a moment or two, he’d 
raised his hips from the floor, to spear his cock into 
her dripping pussy.

Tanj gasped, eyes wide as the pearls rippled 
against the walls of her pussy.  The rope of pearls 
connecting them was just a little longer than his 
cock; as he thrust into her, the pearls were dragged 
along.  But as he lowered himself, for a moment, the 
pearls remained stationary, rubbing against his cock, 
only moving slowly downward within Tanj’s pussy 
until he thrust up again.  His thrusts moved the 
pearls back and forth slightly within Tanj, a 
surging back and forth that she found delightful; and 
of course, there was a small loop of pearls, 
descending from her clitty before disappearing within 
her pussy, that swung madly back and forth, adding to 
the delightful sensations.  Tanj rode his cock 
slowly at first, and then with increasing vigor, until 
her juices were dripping from the bottom of the loop 
of pearls, to drip on his tummy.

The unique sensations drove her to several very nice 
climaxes, before Hinoki lost control, his cock 
spurting powerfully within her.  Tanj purrrred and 
rippled her vaginal muscles around his cock, milking 
his spurting shaft, as the presence of the pearls only 
made the sensations more interesting.  Again, the 
feeling of his cock firing wadd after wadd of his hot 
cum into her drove her to yet another climax, and she 
fell forward, to lay atop him, panting hard.

Maneuvering, tied together like that, was difficult, 
but as the night wore on, Tanj and Hinoki contrived 
to fuck each other in several different styles.  
Tanj admitted she liked it best on paws and knees, 
with him driving hard from behind, letting his cock 
and all the pearls slide out on each stroke, before he 
rammed them all home again.  Hinoki professed to like 
the “wheelbarrow position, where he held Tanj’s 
legs up, as she supported herself with her paws.  He 
almost had her doing a handstand, driving his cock 
down into her pussy…  In the morning, the lion found 
them on the floor, cuddling, both snoring softly.  He 
didn’t release them until after they’d not only 
showered, but also cleaned up the various spots on the 
carpet (and of course more spots on the carpet were 
created in the process, much to the lion’s amusement – 
they didn’t finish, to be released, until they’d 
almost stopped serving breakfast).

The Wolverine sighed, and shook his head, frustrated.  
“Its OK”, Tanj soothed; “I know flying this thing 
isn’t like the civilian or commercial ships you’ve 
ever handled; remember too, its supposed to have 
damage.  Now lets try it again……”

Tanj hurried down the corridor to find Bethany.  
The Tigress was slumped in a seat, in the slave 
kennels, looking very unhappy.  As Tanj sat down 
beside her, Bethany looked up; “told you something’d 
screw it up.”  Tanj shook her head; “so someone 
out-bid me.  No big deal; these things happen all the 
time.  Come on…”  And taking Bethany by the paw 
Tanj tugged her to her feet and pulled her down the 
corridor, heading for accounting.  The only clerk 
there looked up in surprise as they charged in.  
Tanj leaned over the counter; “I want to find out 
who put in the winning bid on Bethany here”.  The 
clerk shrugged and then leaned to one side to look at 
Bethany; “I don’t even have to look that one up”, the 
young Ferret said.  Gazing curiously at Bethany he 
continued; “The boss discovered that she has 
accounting skills; he’s the one that out-bid you.  And 
to be perfectly frank, I’m glad.  I need all the help 
down here I can get……”

The lion looked up as Tanj charged into Ops, towing 
the Tigress behind her.  Most of the Ops crew knew 
that look on Tanj’s face, and started to 
surreptitiously move towards the exits, including some 
of those that had console duty.  Tanj stopped just 
in front of the lion and growled; “Tell me why you 
outbid me for Bethany!  Dammit, I made her a promise!”  
The lion blinked; “you were bidding for, ah, Bethany, 
is it?”  If he knew what was going on, he had a great 
“innocent” routine, Tanj thought, but she also 
wouldn’t put that past him.  “Yes.  I know for a fact 
that Bethany does NOT care for this life, and I told 
her that when she had paid me back the purchase price, 
I’d set her free.  NOW I find you’ve out bid me!”  The 
lion just made a small “oh” sound and nodded.  “The 
prospectus said that she had been an accountant.  
Cutthroats, corsairs, and hot-shot pilots we got 
coming out of our ears.  Engineers we have enough of.  
We’ve even got enough deep space miners for the cover 
operation.  What we sorely lack are good, honest 
accountants.  Even YOU know that!  Wasn’t anything 
personal, Honest.  But I tell you what, given the 
promise you made, I’ll make you a promise in return.  
When we’ve accomplished our “corporate goal” of 
eliminating the corrupt Elysium government, and re-
establishing a just and honest system, whether the 
people of Elysium elect to outlaw slavery in this 
sector, or not, I’ll free her, and you too.  All the 
slaves in this operation.  And that’s a promise.”

Bethany grinned; “I can handle that”.  Tanj just 
stared, her mouth open.  “Now go on, you two; we’ve 
all got work to do.  Tanj, you get Bethany squared 
away with Sammy down in accounting.  I’ll leave her in 
your nominal care; for the time being, you’re still 
“First Girl”.  Now go on, scoot!”

Bethany and Tanj had almost left ops, Bethany half 
leading the dazed Tanj, when the lion called to 
them; “Tanj, you know I don’t mind you talking to 
the rest of the crew like that, when it comes to your 
job in intelligence.  But you should know better than 
to take that tone with me.  THAT has earned you a 
punishment.  Now go on, back to work”.  Tanj 
blinked and combined a nod with a shrug, as Bethany 
tugged on her paw.  When they were safely outside Ops, 
Bethany hugged Tanj and purrrred “Comes as a shock 
that you might ever be free, eh Tanj?”  Tanj 
just shook her head; “I don’t know……  I honestly don’t 
know that I WANT to be free……  ESPECIALLY if it means 
leaving him……  I gotta think about this……”

It was later that night, that Tanj, Zassa, Hinoki 
and Bethany, all nude save for their collars, reported 
to the dormitory that housed the wolf and his 
associates.  They were due to be shipped out the next 
day, their ransom having been paid by their company’s 
insurance carrier, and the lion had decided to reward 
their patience.  He couldn’t do much about their 
accommodations, thought the food was fine the way it 
was, but figured that he could give them one more shot 
at Tanj, as a way of reminding her of her 
“station”, as punishment for her “attitude” shown 
earlier in the day.  As he didn’t want Tanj worn to 
a frazzle, he directed her to gather “reinforcements”.  
And they were needed too, as the Wolf and his 
associates had gotten particularly randy while their 
company’s insurance carrier had tried to negotiate the 
price down with the pirates.  However, they were still 
polite, and a very good time was had by all.  The 
following morning Tanj kissed the wolf goodbye at 
the airlock, still nude, as they boarded their 
shuttle, and she noted with a wry grin that they were 
all walking funny……

Tanj had a small addition to her punishment, and 
after sending a rather sleepy Zassa, and Bethany off 
to their “daytime” jobs, and Hinoki off to bed (lucky 
bastard had a second shift job this week), she stopped 
by the caffeteria to pick up a breakfast tray.  Tand 
had been holed up in a visitor’s suite, staying out of 
sight, furthering the “dead” legend that had bee 
created to cover his part in the little deal, and the 
lion thought that he too, should be rewarded for his 
patience……  

Tand didn’t seem surprised when Tanj showed up with 
his breakfast.  Tanj was prepared for another 
display of his “mastery”, but to her pleasant 
surprise, he was polite, even charming.  As he ate his 
breakfast, they chatted about how things had been 
progressing, although Tanj was unable to draw him 
out as to his future plans.  Tanj still wound up 
being “desert”, the two of them making love in a 
variety of positions, styles and given the limitations 
of his stateroom, a variety of places.  By the time 
she left, just before lunch, it was her that was 
walking funny, and yawning to boot.

No one seemed surprised when she padded into the 
intelligence office wearing only her collar, yawning 
widely……

They were all gathered in the cafeteria to watch the 
daily news broadcast.  Tanj’s little project had 
spread a bit through the organization, and everyone 
was interested in seeing how it had come out.  Sure 
enough, just after the financial reports, as they 
turned to the “local color” stories, there a reporter 
was interviewing the newlywed couple in front of a 
very battered raider ship, in the middle of 
Rostarnok’s main starport.  

“Yes, it was a horrible experience” the Wolverine was 
saying; “The pirates are all beasts, and the things 
they did to us could not possibly be mentioned in 
polite society……”  At this the pirates hooted and 
yelled, knowing full well what Tanj and Zassa had 
participated in……  And on the monitor, it looked as if 
the Wolverine’s wife was having a hard time 
suppressing a smile.  “We managed to evade their 
internal security sensors, and steal this ship…” he 
went on; “As you can see, its heavily damaged; we had 
quite a battle as we fought clear of their ship”.  In 
fact, a pirate cruiser had released them quite a ways 
away, in a spot where they’d be certain to be found, 
no matter how poorly the ship was flown, or how 
inaccurate their navigational skills.  All, of course, 
upon receipt of the ransom, handled discretely through 
the Wolverine’s banks.  “What will you do now, Sir?” 
The reporter asked.  The Wolverine grinned; “Why, 
We’re going to have our ship here overhauled, and then 
we’re going to fly her home!  A trophy as it were; yes 
Sir, a trophy!  No more liners for us!  And the next 
time pirates cross our bow, we’ll be ready!  OH!  Yes, 
I’d like to say one more thing.  There were several of 
the pirates that we’d like to, um, “cross swords” with 
again.  Should anyone ever capture a Cheetah named 
Tanj, or a Vixen named Zassa, I’ll offer a reward 
of one Million credits for them turned over to us.  
Only if they’re alive, however!  And the Cheetah may 
be disguised as an Ocelot……  We have, ah, “unfinished 
business” with those two.”  In the background, his 
wife just nodded, what could have passed for an evil 
grin on her face.

Tanj just STARED as a bounty was put on her head.  
Of course, the pirates hooted and yelled, each 
claiming they’d turn Tanj in for the bounty 
themselves!  The lion, standing nearby, just chuckled; 
“now that was a real nice thing for them to do”  Zassa 
turned to look at him; “NICE?  How do you figure that 
was NICE?”  The lion grinned and gestured to Tanj; 
“can you figure it out?”  Tanj just nodded slowly; 
“We gave them something for their money……  Instead of 
merely ransoming them, we basically made them heroes-
for-a-day, and more importantly, in their 
straightlaced society back home, we gave them 
something to talk about.  A honeymoon that they could 
brag on for the rest of their lives.  They’ve just set 
it up so that if the Elysium government, or the Empire 
ever do capture us all, Zassa and I will at least 
live, handed over to those that will see no further 
harm comes to us.  Why I bet they’d be DELIGHTED to 
have slaves that were a part of their story!”  Zassa 
blinked at Tanj, and mouthed a small “oh”.  The 
lion just nodded.

“And that brings me to something else” the lion 
rumbled.  “Tanj, you are becoming much too well 
known for these “undercover” operations.  Too many 
people have seen your face, as well as other memorable 
portions of your anatomy.  I’m afraid that mission was 
your last.  From now on, you’ll just have to arrange 
to have missions like that conducted from your 
position on the command staff.”  

Tanj shook her head, and it was plain to all that 
she didn’t think much of the idea of being chained to 
a desk.  Then the murmurs of the crowd rose a bit, as 
the latter part sunk in…  Tanj looked up into the 
lion’s face; “did you say……”  He nodded; “Yup.  Think 
you’ve earned it, and I doubt anyone here will say 
otherwise.  You’re now in charge of Intelligence 
Operations.  You’ll run all the field agents, and 
funnel the FurInt data to your boss, who aside from 
being head of Intelligence will also head up the 
“technical” means of intelligence gathering.”  As the 
crowd broke up, many found their way by to 
congratulate Tanj.

Tanj saw Tand off at the airlock.  He was making a 
quiet, unheralded departure, especially as most 
thought he was dead.  “I guess you really are the boss 
now, Tanj” he purrrred.  “If you ever need my 
services again, you know how to find me”  Tanj rose 
to tiptoes to kiss him goodbye; “you take care of 
yourself, you scoundrel, and yes, I suspect we’ll see 
each other again.”  And with that, he cycled through 
the lock into the waiting ship, and was gone.

Tanj took a pass through the intelligence office on 
her way back from the docking bay.  Things were 
quieting down nicely.  Grant’s successor had not yet 
been named, but the remaining Senator was making more 
noise about a new economic initiative, than about 
pirates.  Everything seemed to be getting back to 
normal, and for the moment, the Imperial menace seemed 
to have vanished.

Returning to her master’s cabin, Tanj showered, and 
washed her hair.  Taking the time to brush it until it 
shone, she padded naked back to the foot of his bed.  
She’d saved the chain the Senator had fastened her 
with, and now, once again, she put the last link in 
place, using the barbell the lion had given her.  The 
other end she locked firmly to the foot of his bed.  
Kneeling there, the chain in a glittering silver pool 
between her knees, she awaited his return.

The surprise on his face was short lived, being 
displaced with interest, possibly hunger.  Without a 
word, he padded over to Tanj, to stand before her.  
Equally silent, she undid his pants, removing them 
before licking softly at his sex, teasing him with her 
tongue until he was hard, until he was throbbing.  He 
lifted her, to bend her over the footboard, from which 
he took her from behind, the chain rattling noisily 
with each thrust, the swaying links driving her to 
climax after climax.  He paced himself, slowing almost 
to a stop on three separate occasions before speeding 
back up; by the time his orgasm claimed him, Tanj 
was panting, almost mindless, lost in a sea of 
pleasure.

Later they cuddled, drowsy, on the bed.  “Been 
thinking about that promise you made” Tanj mumbled.  
The lion softly stroked a finger across her belly; 
"Not much of a promise, you know; you got all the 
money you need to buy your freedom now, and then 
some……”  Tanj rose to one elbow to look at him; “I 
can DO that?” she gasped.  He laughed and nodded; “you 
never did read the handbook, did you?”  She just shook 
her head no.  He grinned and stroked his finger a 
little lower, until he encountered fur slicked with 
her juices and his; “So, whatcha gonna do?”  She 
grinned and leaned over to kiss him softly; “I happen 
to like it here.  I don’t want to leave, now, or even 
when or if we’re through with what we’re trying to 
accomplish.  I don’t want to leave YOU.”  The lion 
smiled, perhaps a touch of sadness on his face; “I’m 
pleased you feel that way, but sometimes we don’t 
always get what we want.  We’ll see how you feel when 
everything’s through, if we get that far; but in the 
meantime, did you ever think that after that wild 
night, you might be carrying Hinoki’s cubs?  You’re 
both Cheetahs and he CAN get you pregnant.  You got 
that, and him to think about too, you know.”  Tanj 
nodded slowly, and then shrugged; “I know the Academy 
had a way to prevent pregnancies, but you’re right, if 
they were putting something in the food, it should be 
well out of my system by now……  Hmmmmmmm.  I’ll have 
to think about that.  And him.”

A while later, Tanj purrrred as they cuddled; 
“Think I might put that money towards a raider ship of 
my own……”  From her position, with her head on his 
chest, she didn’t see the look of concern that passed 
across his face……


Tanj's Tale:  Strange Bedfellows     By Kittiara
Stardate 2398.40                        and Ann'katar 

Tanj scowled at the scouting reports.  It was
midmorning, but she'd been up all night, working hard.
In fact, she'd scarcely noticed the change of shifts
from day to evening, from evening to night, and from
night to day......  The scouting reports she was pouring
over had nothing to do with far-flung picket ships
reporting back targets of opportunity.  Those kind of
scouting reports were currently being handled by
operations.  THESE scouting reports were from agents
and factors working for the pirates, feeding
information to them on possible replacements for the
ships and personnel lost in the recent attack on the
fueling station.  The Brethren had achieved all their
goals, taken an incredible amount of loot, and hurt
the Elysium government bad; but they'd paid for it
dearly in capital ships, in raider ships, and in
experienced and trained personnel.  In RELIABLE
personnel.  Now they needed to replace those losses,
and finding trustworthy scum was not easy.  Especially
as the burgeoning rebel movement on Elysium was
drawing off all the young, adventurous  malcontents......

The tap on her shoulder caused her to jump a foot,
hardcopy flying everwhere.  Spinning about in her
station chair, she found Bethany, the Tigress from
Accounting braced against the far wall, eyes wide, as
if she expected Tanj to attack her.  Shaking her
head, Tanj rose to padd over to her, to hug her
softly; "I'm sorry, just been working too hard.  You
startled me, 's all."  Bethany nodded and hugged back;
"you need a break.  Here, brought you your paycheck."
Tanj slitted the envelope with one clawtip, and
pulled out the voucher within.  As with all the
pirates, the funds were already deposited in distant,
numbered and secure accounts, with only the
acknowledgement of the deposit in the envelope.
Sitting back down heavily in her station chair,
Tanj looked up at Bethany; "this CAN'T be right!"
Bethany just grinned; "oh, its correct all right.
Triple-checked it.  The raid on the fuel station was
quite profitable, and your role was a key one there,
earning you a larger share.  And the work you did on
the Burgess Star also turned a tidy profit.  It all
adds up, doesn't it?"  Tanj looked at the figure
again and nodded in amazement.

It was the beginning of the Evening shift.  Tanj
found that she couldn't concentrate on the scouting
reports any more, reading and re-reading the same one
a dozen times and still not knowing what it said...  She
knew she needed to sleep but was too keyed up.  And
the lion, HER Lion, was busy with staff meetings.
Sneaking out of the intelligence office, she padded
through the remote corridors of the station trying to
think.  The money the piece of hardcopy in her paw
said she had, in half a dozen different accounts,
spread across the Empire, was easily enough for
someone to retire on.  And quite comfortably too.  And
yet, although it was theoretically possible for her to
buy her freedom, to leave here, to leave the Brethren,
to leave her MASTER, was the LAST thing she wanted to
do.  Still, she felt there should be something worthy
she could do with the money......

Tanj smiled as she passed a couple of maintenance
workers, moving in the opposite direction down the
service corridor.  She knew they were turning to look
at the sexy cheetah fem, in the skimpy, sexy dress,
turning to watch her ass sway under the fluid material
as she walked.  Resisting the urge to turn her head,
to wink at them over her shoulder, she wondered just
exactly what she DID want.  Was she cruising for a new
sex partner?  Was she waiting for someone to come
over, to clip a leash to her collar, to lead her off?
After a moment of reflection, she realized that if
someone did just that, she wouldn't be upset in the
least.  Fantasizing about it for a moment, she could
almost feel the strong paws holding her as the leash
was clipped to her collar, tugging her insistently
down the hall, to untold sexual delights...  She felt
herself getting wet just at the thought of it.
Stopping and turning, she started to head in the
direction of Hinoki's quarters, thinking that in lieu
of her Master, he was the best one to scratch her
itch; but then she remembered he had Evening shift
this week.  With a sigh, she turned and resumed
walking in her original direction.

Cycling through a lock, she found herself in the
spinward maintenance bay.  Several raider ships were
lined up there, awaiting repairs.  There was
Brampton's ship, with the hole through the hull that
had taken out his gunner, along with most of the
ship's electronics.  There was Davis' cutter, with the
entire sensor array shot to hell.  And there was
Srina's ship.  The shields had failed and they'd taken
a missile right below the flight deck.  Most of the
ship's critical systems worked fine, but the entire
crew had been killed......  Well, this wasn't exactly a
low risk job......

As she looked at the ships, she realized that every
ship was owned by either its captain, or as a
cooperative venture by its crew.  And raider ships, at
least those that survived, made good money.  Not as
good as intelligence operatives, but then she was out
of that business now......

Tanj was yawning widely when she found Mark.  It
had taken a while to find him, as only his feet were
visible, the rest of him tucked up inside a console on
the engineering deck of the "Mighty Quinn", one of the
Brethren's cruisers.  Grinning, she bent down to
tickle one foot, and was rewarded with a loud thump
and muted cursing from within the console.  When he'd
dragged himself out, Mark just shook his head; "Knew
it was you.  Why aren't you sleeping?  Tanj just
shrugged; "too tired to sleep, I suspect.  Listen, got
something on my mind.  You've been looking for a way
out of Engineering, haven't you?"  The mouse nodded
cautiously, his eyes narrowing.  Tanj continued,
missing the look on his face as she stared off to one
side; "I've been thinking of investing some of the
money I've made in a raider ship.  I was thinking that
you and me, and Zassa and Hinoki and maybe even
Bethany could crew it.  Might be a way to get us all
out where the action is......"

Mark had finally gotten Tanj off to bed.  He needed a
few minutes to think.  Did he really want to 'escape'
engineering?  After a bit of mulling it over, he sighed
and nodded inwardly.  Here he was, pretty much the fur
who'd singlehandedly made the strike against Elysium
trading station possible in the first place, and all he 
really had to show for it was the admittedly big paycheck 
he'd gotten for the job.  Other than that, nothing had 
changed; he still got assigned to clean up other people's 
messes more often than not, from the half-wrecks the hot-
shot fighter pilots would sometimes bring back from their
raids to crawling through ducts and making sure life
support still ran up to spec after some particularly wild
party.  He grinned to himself; it was so strange how 
they'd enjoy the party and then complain about the 
resulting funny smells from the overstrained environmental
system, in their cabins three sectors away.  Not exactly 
what he'd been looking for when he signed up.  But a 
raider...... he shook his head.  He'd known would-be 
raider crew much like Tanj before - young, itching for 
action, and convinced nothing could ever possibly happen 
to THEM.  And he'd pulled his share of them from ships 
that barely managed to return, too; a very few that were 
lucky enough to still be able to scream, but most quite 
cold and dead by the time they arrived.  Space wasn't a 
forgiving battlefield, and there was a reason those guys 
drew high pay......

It was several days later when Mark caught the Lion as
he was heading to Ops from his latest meeting.  "Hey,
Boss, got a moment?" Mark called.  The Lion turned,
and looked at Mark and then chuckled; "no, not really,
but if you talk fast while we walk, I'll do my best to
listen.  The way things are going, it'll be years
before I've got an open spot on my calendar."  Mark
nodded; "Tanj has been talking to me about buying a
raider ship...  At first I thought it was just a passing
fancy, but she's come back to talk to me about it
several times.  I think she's serious." The lion slowed,
but then nodded; "Not what I would consider a good
investment, but if she picks the right captain and crew,
it might pay off.  Bit of a gamble though."  Mark shook
his head; "Ah...no, that's not what I meant.  She wants
to crew it herself.  Her and me, and Zassa and Hinoki,
I believe she said."  That brought the Lion to full stop,
in the middle of the corridor.  He looked at Mark for a
moment and then shook his head.  "The trick here is to
stop her with out hurting her feelings.  I do NOT want to
see her get hurt, and with all due respects to whatever
skills you might have, crewing a raider is not my idea of
how to keep her safe."  Mark nodded, and shrugged; "Same
here.  That's why I told you; you're her master, as it
were, and thus in a better position to do something about
it.  I haven't been able to dissuade her myself."   The
Lion absently patted Mark on the back as he turned
towards the door to ops; "Thanks; I appreciate it!"  As
the door closed behind the lion, missing the hairy tip of
his tail by millimeters, Mark shook his head with a wry
grin and rubbed his shoulder.  "Guy's got a touch like a
ten-ton truck" he muttered.  "Hope he can find a solution
that doesn't involve running anybody over..."

Tanj purrrrred softly as she licked at her master.
It was late at night, and they were lying on his bed,
Tanj between his thighs licking softly at his
balls.  She'd found, long ago, that with him so
distracted, she could usually talk him into small
favors......  "The auction? (lick)  I was planning on
going with them, if you don't mind. (lick).  I really
should talk to our agent there...... (lick).  And I
thought I'd take the opportunity to do some shopping
(lick).  The Lion moaned; she knew JUST how to tease
him, how to fill his mind with lust...  It only took a
few more licks before he growled low in his throat,
and reached down to drag Tanj up his body, so he
could kiss her, his rampant cock pressed against her
stomach......  As she wriggled her hips, sliding up, and
then down a bit to tease the head of his cock with her
sex, she grinned to herself; "at least he didn't say
no......  And its generally easier to get forgiveness than
permission......"

Tanj sat with Mark, Reggie and Slasher in a small
auditorium.  They'd traveled to Amhurst, several
sectors away, to attend an "informal" ship auction;
the kind where no one asks who the bidders are, or
where the ships came from, or where they might be
going.  There were supposed to be several ships there
that the pirates might be able to use, some of which
were ex-Imperial military, some of which were ex-
smugglers, and a few of which might even have been
pirate booty.  Supposedly they all had legal papers...
They'd spent several days poking around the ships, 
running diagnostics, and reviewing the prospectuses.  
Tanj had carefully marked her program with the 
ones she thought the pirates should bid on, as well 
as how much she thought they should pay.  It was a 
silent auction, each lot number in turn being 
reviewed by the auctioneer, followed by his taking 
sealed envelopes from the bidders.  The highest bid 
then took the prize, and they moved on to the next
item up for bid.

"Pity we didn't take that one" Reggie mumbled, with
Slasher nodding in agreement.  Tanj just shrugged,
looking at Mark; the mouse shook his head; "no, that
one had some serious engine trouble.  It wasn't
obvious, but in a few months that buyer will regret
it.  Trust me."  As the auctioneer started to review
the next ship, Tanj's pulse increased a little;
this was the ship that she'd picked out for herself.
It was a Katana class corvette, originally designed to
chase pirates.  This one, however, had become
outdated, and sold for scrap, only to have some
enterprising soul cram an engine from an Exeter class
cruiser into its engineering spaces.  With all that
excess of power, it was obscenely FAST and had all the
juice necessary for incredible shields and weapons.
It was a hash of out of date technologies, and state
of the art systems.  And it was powerful.  And so ugly
it was beautiful.  As the auctioneer finished up,
Tanj passed her sealed envelope forward.  After a
moment, the auctioneer looked up at her and she knew
she had it!

They finished out the auction, although Tanj's
heart wasn't in it; she was too eager to go see her
new ship.  HER new ship!  Finally they were through,
Reggie, Slasher and Mark fairly well satisfied as to
the purchases they'd made for the Brethren.  Tanj
had a hard time not skipping ahead of the others,
forcing herself to behave like an adult.  Walking up
to where HER ship rested in the docking bay, she
purrrrrred to herself as she looked up at it.  She was
just about to open the hatch when Mark cleared his
throat; "Uh, Tanj, we got a problem......"  Tanj
waved a dismissive paw; "let me take a look at my
ship, then we'll handle it......"  Mark shook his head;
"That's just the problem; that isn't your ship."

Heads turned all through the docking bays as Tanj's
shout of "WHAT???" echoed off the rock walls.

Mark shook his head; "See, here's the prospectus.
Katana Class.  No.Q2271719HS.  Your bill of sale says
Q2271719HS.  But the number painted on the bow of that
ship is Q1172729HS.  Somebody in printing must've gotten
their numbers mixed up."  Tanj growled low in her
throat.  Snatching the prospectus she stalked off to find
an auction official.  Stalker watched her go; then he
turned to Reggie and Mark, raising an eyebrow as if to
ask "should we go after her?"  Reggie shook his head;
"No, Slasher, I think we should stay away.  This could
be grim..."  Mark watched Tanj's ass sway as she
marched off; "I think we should go try and find this
Q2271719HS, and see what she DID buy.  I hope it's not
one of those pieces of junk we passed over for good
reason before..."

Tanj stared up at the Type II freighter, the
crumpled prospectus in her paw, her mouth hanging
open.  "I bought THIS?  I can't believe it" she said
for what must have been the fourth time.  Mark hmmm'ed
thoughtfully.  "You know, given what you paid, this
really isn't a bad deal.  It's much newer, it's in much
better shape, everything works..."  "But its not a
Raider" Tanj growled; "There's no way I can recoup my
investment with this ship, with the Brethren!  For us,
its USELESS!"  Slasher elbowed Reggie and Reggie
cleared his throat; "Uh, what did the auction
officials say?"  Tanj glared at Reggie and growled;
"they say that it states in the fine print the numbers
on the ships are the final indicator; that the
prospectus can and does contain misprints.  Caveat
Emptor they said; let the buyer beware.  Then suddenly
they were all gone, and I was yelling at empty air......"
Reggie shrugged; "so now what do we do?"  Mark shook
his head; "the smaller ships are being transported to
where we can pick them up; that's all arranged.  But
this one's too big for the carrier; we're going to
have to fly her back."  Tanj just sighed as they
led her into the airlock.

Tanj sat in the ship's tiny wardroom, sipping a cup
of coffee.  They were about 20 hours out from Amhurst,
headed for home, and to Tanj's mild surprise,
everything really was working.  As much as she wanted
to hate this ship, for not being what she wanted, she
grudgingly had to admit, for what it was, it was a
good ship.  The Type II was generally known as a "Free
Trader", with the legs to go long distances at, for a
cargo ship, fairly high speeds.  Of course, this was
at the expense of cargo capacity.  Still, you could
trade the outer planets, landing at unimproved fields,
going where the larger ships couldn't.  It had decent
shields, for a freighter, and its two turrets could
keep minor annoyances at bay.  And it was a lot more
comfortable than a raider...  The closet laughingly
called a "master's cabin" had a real bed, instead of
just another bunk in a barracks compartment.  And it
had a real galley, even if only one person could fit
in it at a time.  Still, while it was nice, unless she
could find a use for it, it would be a horrible waste
of money......

It took the freighter eight days to return to the
pirate base.  During that time, Mark puttered in the
engine room, tinkering, and just in general keeping an
eye on things.  The autopilot worked, and Tanj,
Reggie and Slasher took turns standing boring bridge
watches......

Tanj yawned as Reggie entered the flight deck.  As
she rose from the pilot's seat, and stretched the way
only a feline can, Reggie came up behind her, to hug
her, his lepine teeth nibbling at the back of her
neck, his paws stroking up over her tummy to cup her
breasts.  Tanj purrrrrred and wriggled her ass back
against him, not at all surprised to find him already
growing hard.  With a giggle, Tanj's paws went
behind her, to work at undoing his belt buckle, to let
his pants drop to the deck with a *thud* (what DID he
have in his pockets?).  Tanj's dress was short, and
as was her Master's preference, there was nothing on
underneath it, and hence no hindrance at all for
Reggie to push her down over the top of the pilot's
chair, to slide his cock into her willing pussy from
behind...

Reggie was good, and they both knew it; he took his
time, fucking her slowly, letting her passion rise,
until she was moaning with each long stroke.  Tanj
for her part, braced herself against the back of the
seat with one paw, the other going between her legs to
tease his swinging balls.  Reggie demonstrated his
prowess by bringing her to two quick climaxes,
alternating several short quick jabs with long smooth
thrusts, and then, moving slowly, almost languidly,
letting the third build, until they came together.  As
they panted afterwards, holding each other close,
Reggie chuckled; "I guess that christens the ship."
Tanj laughed and nodded; "that it does."  "Picked
out a name yet?" Reggie asked.  Tanj sighed and
nodded; "Yeah; Lost Cause.  In memory of the 
freighter I was on when it all went to Hell, in 
memory of Squint… and besides, I figure I'll never 
get my money back outta this thing."  Reggie just laughed.

Slasher had his nose stuck in the ship's technical
manual for Navigation when Tanj padded onto the
flight deck to relieve him.  Looking up with a grin,
he marked his place and put the manual away, to rise
and padd over to Tanj, to give her a soft kiss.
Always the ferret of few words, he cocked an eyebrow
and smiled; "Heya, Sexy; wanna fuck?"  Moments later,
Tanj's dress had been tossed over the engineering
console, and she was flat on her back on the deck,
with the ferret energetically thrusting between her
thighs.  Slasher was wild, his approach frenetic and
forceful, and before long, Tanj was howling through
her climax, with Slasher spurting into her shortly
thereafter.   "Gotta get some towels in here" she
giggled.  But Slasher shook his head no, and pushed
her down again, to present his slick cock to be licked
as he shoved his head between her thighs, to lick at
her in turn.  Of course, this wound up going beyond
simple cleaning and before long moans and sweet cries
echoed from the flight deck.  As he headed off to get
some sleep, Tanj settled down in the pilot's couch,
still nude, grinning to herself; "Guess I really DID
"relieve" him......"

It pretty well became a standard shift-change ritual,
a running joke about being each other's "relief".
Their course was simple, the traffic light, and a
whole shift of studying flight manuals and running
sims would leave anyone wanting to relieve some
frustrations......This went on until Mark complained that
the scents were overloading the environmental system......
Not to say he was jealous; Tanj made a point of
seeking him out from time to time too for a little
"relief"...  Still, all things considered it was a quiet
trip back......

"All right, Scum, heave to, lower your shields and
prepare to be boarded by the Brethren!  Resist and
die!"  Edna always loved saying that, when her flight
of raiders overtook a lone merchantman.  She always
got a kick out of how they gasped, and protested, and
pleaded.  However, when Reggie's face coalesced on the
viewscreen it was her turn to gasp.  "Reggie?
SLASHER?  What in the blue blazes are you......  How'd you
take that ship before I could?  I thought you were out
near Amhurst!"  Slasher just laughed while Reggie
grinned; "Edna, trust me, you do NOT want to mess with
this ship; you see Tanj bought it at the auction;
we're just flying it back."  Edna blinked; "she BOUGHT
it?  What'd she do THAT for?......"

By the time they docked the Free Trader at the pirate
base, there was a fair sized crowd gathered to see
what was going on.  Everyone knew Tanj, and they
knew she was at least fairly sharp.  No one could
figure out what she was doing with a free trader, and
they'd all come to find out.  By the time the drives
were shut down, and the airlock opened, the Lion had
arrived.  He gave the ship the once-over and nodded,
striding to the lock just as Tanj emerged.  "Good
work, I'm impressed."  Tanj just blinked...; "huh?"
The lion nodded; "This is exactly what we need to ease
the logistics problem.  With this rig we should be
able to deal in more distant ports, where they're not
on the lookout for us.  Its been getting damn hard to
pick up the spares we need around here lately; either
its too risky or the prices are way too high.  And I
bet this thing will do wonders for the liaison work
with the Elysium resistance.  Free traders like this
are a dime a dozen out there.  Ubiquitous.  And the
"legal" bill of sale and registration will go a long
way towards making it all look legitimate.  Yup,
that's good work, Tanj, I'm proud of you.  Pick a
crew for that ship, furrs rated for intelligence work,
and get them up to speed on her.  We have a meeting
with some of the resistance folks in a few weeks, and
I think we'll take your ship."  With that, he gave her
a hug, and was dragged off by one of the operations
crew, for yet another problem.

Tanj stood there and blinked, her mouth hanging
open.  She wanted to protest, to tell him that wasn't
what she'd had in mind at all, but as folks crowded
around her, asking when the first logistics run would
be made, each recommending what THEY thought the
priority should be (usually what THEIR ship required),
Tanj decided to keep her mouth shut......

"It says WHAT?  I don't BELIEVE this!  I can
understand it with respect to "company" owned ships,
but this is MY ship, Dammit!"  Ben stood his ground in
front of an enraged Tanj.  The wolf was more than
used to her temper and knew that she wasn't about to
bite or claw him, no matter what it looked like.
"Tanj, you never did read the handbook, did you?"
he growled in return.  "I don't care how much flight
experience you have on similar ships, I don't care if
you ARE the owner of record. You DO NOT get to fly
that ship until you're passed by one of the flight
instructors.  Them's the rules and we WILL go by
them!"  Tanj just growled as she turned her back on
Ben.  It was just as well; that way she couldn't see
him smile.  Finally she turned to face him again, her
temper somewhat more under control; "All right Ben,
you win.  How soon can I get on the schedule for a
flight instructor?"

Mark looked up as Tanj stalked into the repair bay.
"Bastards won't let me fly my own ship" she grumbled,
flopping down next to where he was working on some
sensors.  Mark chuckled; "you knew that.  They
wouldn't let you fly that raider we worked on
together; it shouldn't be a surprise that they
wouldn't let you fly anything else."  Tanj sighed
and nodded; "no restrictions like that on flight
engineers.  They'll take my certification in THAT area
without problem......  Grrrrrrrr."  Mark just nodded
solemnly as he checked connections on the sensor grid
with a portable meter.  After a while, Tanj shook her
head; "no way around it.  We need a crew for that
ship.  The boss keeps coming up with errands for us to
run with it.  The schedule for the immediate future is
getting quite full.  Until I can get certified, will
you pilot her, Mark?"

The lion took Ben aside after the latest "after action
review" meeting.  "listen Ben, I'm a mite concerned
about Tanj......"  Ben chuckled and nodded; "Yeah;
liked her better when she was just a compliant slave.
As she gets into her job in intelligence, she's
forgetting herself and her temper is starting to show
through.  You'd be surprised at how many furrs are
starting to run scared of her..."  The lion blinked;
"Huh?  OH, THAT.  No problem, I'll see that she gets
an "attitude adjustment"...  Even you have to admit
she's too good at that intelligence post to send her
back to the kennels..."  Ben sighed and shrugged; "Yeah,
I guess that's true.  Pity; she's good at intelligence
work, but she's fantastic at being a sex slave..."  The
lion chuckled and nodded; "OK, OK, we'll give her a
MAJOR attitude adjustment, and some more time away
from the intelligence office.  What I'm really
concerned about is her taking off on the various tasks
that need doing, in that freighter she bought."  Ben
grinned; "Yeah, heard rumors about the switch you
pulled on her ship; if she ever figures that out,
you're going to have teeth marks someplace very
sensitive."  The lion did his best "innocent"
imitation; "that wasn't me, HONEST!  But aside from
that, what I want YOU to do is to assign her the
toughest flight instructor we've got.  I don't want
her flight certified until she can take that freighter
and outfly the best raider pilot we've got.  No, make
that the three best raider pilots we've got.  I don't
want her licensed to fly until she's damn near
invincible." Ben sighed, but nodded; "Its going to be
rough, but will do.  You really do care for her, don't
you?"  The lion just grinned and padded off down the
hall......

Tanj was back to the scouting reports.  By now a
large number of the candidates her agents had
identified as potential pirates had been reviewed by
the Brethren.  Many of them had been vouched for by
the pirates, and almost an equal number had been
rejected.  Reputations spread through any community,
and the pirates and corsairs knew who they wanted to
work with, as well as who they did NOT want to work
with......  She had been running background checks through
surreptitious means on those not in either group,
pretending to be a bank screening them for a credit
card, a shipping line considering hiring them, and
even a bail bondsman.  She was searching for
motivations;  those known to the pirates were open
books; some were in it just for the money, some for
adherence to some cause or philosophy.  Some for the
power it brought.  Some for the adventure.  Others
were more enigmatic.  Those unknown to the pirates
were a greater risk, and while she was being picky,
the Brethren were so short-handed, she couldn't be too
picky......

As she searched the background of a navigator, someone
the Brethren had once considered recruiting, with most
of her experience in freighters, Tanj came across
an old file.  Her eyes widened as she read through it.
It detailed the background search the Lion had done on
HER, before her purchase.  It was amazingly thorough;
he'd certainly done his homework...  She was amazed to
read her own psychological profile from the academy,
from before her enslavement; was she ever REALLY like
that?

Finally Tanj pulled together the paperwork for the
top candidates.  She was very concerned about a few of
them, her worries ranging from inept through
uncontrollable, to disloyal.  Still, it was the best
they could do, given the time frame...  Straightening
her hair, and adjusting her dress, she picked up the
folders to head out towards ops, to present the
results of her work.

The shuttle settled into its assigned spot in the
docking bay.  When its airlock opened, the motley
group of furrs it carried as passengers disembarked,
to look around.  Some were curious, some derisive,
some inscrutable.  They were the first batch of new
recruits.  Tanj met them, to hand out packets of
information, assigning them to quarters, and to
training teams, and to answer questions.  More than
one noted her collar, and inquired if she was
available, their approach ranging from the tentative,
through the polite to the coarse and obnoxious.  In
each case she smiled and shrugged and said they'd have
to talk to her Master, but that anything was possible...

Blackstone stood off to one side, watching, observing.
The bear was huge, and like so many ursines, he
appeared a bit overweight; like so many ursines, it
was deceiving.  He was in good shape, for a bear his
age, muscular and fit.  As the shapely Cheetah fem
handed him his packet, their eyes met.  As he looked
at her, he realized this was no simple slave.  There
was recognition there.  She obviously knew of his
past; of how he was discharged from the Imperial
military, and why.  He guessed she probably had read
the background report on him, and knew of his recent
activities as a mercenary and the reputation he'd
developed.  As she turned away, walking towards the
next recruit, he shrugged to himself; to have sunk so
low as to join pirates, well, at least here no one was
likely to complain about his...... excesses.

Tanj snuggled against Hinoki.  Only moments before,
the'd been making the beast with two backs, and quite
energetically too; moments stolen by two overworked
slaves; but then sometimes stolen fruits are sweeter...
As she slowly regained her breath, she nuzzled the
cheetah male; "I tell you that big bear, Blackstone,
he frightens me.  I got a good look at his eyes when I
met him, and they looked as cold and as bottomless as
the pits of hades."  Hinoki purrrrred as he nuzzled
one of Tanj's ears; "He the hotshot fighter pilot?"
Tanj giggled at the feel of his tongue and flicked
her ear; "Yeah.  He was too vicious for even the
Empire, and they cashiered him for some particularly
violent "police action" a few years back.  Since then
he's been working as a Merc.  Got a gooood reputation
for his combat abilities, and just as sterling a
reputation for his tendencies towards violence and
ruthlessness.  He strikes me as the kind of guy who
tortured small animals as a cub......

The Lion caught Mark in the junk parts storeroom.
Mark was looking for a phase inducer for an old
30/360, and wasn't having much luck.  "Mark, need your
help" the lion started, without preamble.  "I'm
worried about Tanj..."  Mark nodded; "So am I.  I
know we're mostly running a clean station here, but
you have to remember that some of our pirate scum 
really are rather...... scummy, and there IS a finite 
chance of her catching a sexually transmitted disease, 
and at the rate she's going she really SHOULD check in 
with Medical more often..."  The lion blinked and then 
shook his head; "no, not that...  There are a number of
missions I want her to undertake with that freighter
of hers.  Things like liaison with the Elysium
resistance movement, as well as making contacts with
our field agents, gathering information on suitable
targets for the Brethren, picking up parts we need
(always risky; too many folks ask questions when you
buy stuff like we need; weapons system parts,
munitions,and such), to carrying booty to fences......
The work needs doing, and I think she's the one to do
it, but I'm worried about her.  I want you to make
some modifications to her ship...... Modifications I'm
willing to pay for.  Tell me; do you know what a "Q
Boat" is?"  Mark thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Does Tanj know what you're planning to do to HER
ship, though?"  The Lion chuckled.  "Leave that to me."
Mark flashed him a grin.  "Oooo-kay...it's YOU who'll
have toothmarks somewhere sensitive when she figures
it out.  You're the boss, after all, I was just
following orders..."  The Lion just grinned.

Tanj shifted in her seat, as she listened to the
candidate answer questions.  This was a standard
procedure for when the Brethren hired folks, and
procedure was to be followed, even if she didn't think
it worth their time.  "Thank you, Mr. Phelps, please
take these papers to the next station, and again,
thanks for your cooperation and your candor" Ben
growled.  Tanj pulled the next folder from the
stack, and after looking at the name, she passed it to
Ben.  "Hiram Blackstone" she growled.

Blackstone entered, his back ramrod straight, as if he
were still in the military.  Ben gestured to the seat
facing the table the review panel sat at.  He sat,
keeping his back straight, his legs uncrossed, his
paws on his knees.  Slowly his eyes flicked from
person to person.  "There's that slave Cheetah fem
again" he thought to himself; "I wonder what she's
doing here?  She's not kneeling behind or beside
someone, so she's obviously not here as a servant.  A
secretary, perhaps?"  Ben started with questions about
Blackstone's military background, asking questions not
about this incident, or that battle, but about why he
did this, or what he thought of that.  Blackstone's
answers were smooth, Tanj thought; as if he'd
rehearsed the answers.  "Maybe he has" she thought to
herself.  "Nothing wrong in wanting a job so bad you
do some advance preparation for it......"  As She listened
to Blackstone reply to the other's questions, she
pretended to examine his pilot's certification, his
discharge papers and his ship's log.  "I wonder if
these are forged?" she thought to herself.  "If it is,
its good, damn good; but then, that too is possible..."
After meeting Blackstone, she'd done some further
checking into his background and his credentials.
Some of those checks had come up supportive, some
inconclusive.

Blackstone watched the cheetah from the corner of his
eye.  She wasn't asking questions, just sitting back
and observing as the others went through a rather
standard battery of questions.  Oh, they were good
questions, obviously prepared by an expert in combat
psychology, but he'd been through this sort of thing
before.  However, the way her eyes flickered down to
the desktop every time he spoke...  could she be using a
voice stress analyzer?  If she was, he was glad he'd
taken the tranquilizing drugs to dampen out his
responses, and to give him a more "pleasant"
personality.  Who WAS she?

Tanj watched the readouts built into the top of the
desk.  It measured heartbeat, respiration, trace
compounds in sweat or exhalation, and of course, voice
stress.  It showed Blackstone to be somewhat nervous,
but then that was normal for someone interviewing for
a job.  Some of the readings were a little screwy, but
it was all within parameters.  The voice stress
analyzer didn't show green ALL the time, she'd proven
that to herself earlier as she sat in that chair, in
the empty room, asking herself questions about who she
was, what she had become, and what her sexual
preferences REALLY were......

Ben looked to his left and then to his right, gauging
the responses of the panel.  They'd decided on their
hidden signals well in advance.  Tanj watched, and
when Ben looked at her, she gave him the signal for
grudging approval, as had all the others.  Ben nodded
and initialed the forms and handed the file to
Blackstone, sending him on his way.  As the door
closed, Tanj muttered; "I hope we're not making a
mistake with that one, only to have Ben mutter in
return "Amen!"

Blackstone sat in on yet another briefing for the new
recruits.  "Enough talk" he thought to himself,
fretting.  He wasn't used to sitting still for so long
and he itched to be doing something.  "These twinks
have as many rules as the Imperial Military" he
grumbled to himself; "Who would EVER have thought that
a pirate organization was so...... regulated."  His
attention snapped back as he heard his name called;
"Blackstone" the operations officer rumbled; "we're
setting you up as a flight instructor; your background
suggests you should have a lot to teach our "less
experienced" recruits.  Draw your ship assignment and
duty roster from the officer of the day."  Turning to
the next recruit, the Ops officer started handing out
the next assignment, and Blackstone tuned him out.
"Suggests?  SUGGESTS?  My experience is a matter of
record!" he fumed.  "I'd wager I'm the best pilot here
by far, and by Jove, I'll prove it too!  Shortly,
they'll KNOW Hiram Blackstone's skills!  AND then
they'll pay for slighting me!  "Suggests" in deed!"

After looking at his duty roster, Blackstone headed
down to the docking bay to check out the fighter he'd
been assigned.  As he went, he made quiet note of the
internal security systems.  He wasn't looking for that
which was designed to defend the station against
attack, but that which was designed to prevent someone
on the station from fleeing.  For that was just what
he had in the back of his mind.  "These twerps had
better start treating me right" he mused to himself;
"I deserve better'n this.  I'll give them till after
the first battle, until I've PROVEN myself to them,
and if things don't improve dramatically, well, I'll
just skip out and go collect the reward the Elysium
government has posted on them.  That'd both make me a
hero, get me the recognition I deserve, AND set me up
for life all in one fell swoop!"

Mark stopped and looked back at the Bear who had just
passed him in the docking bay.  His eyes narrowed as
he stared at the retreating figure.  This one felt
like a definite walking time bomb...

Blackstone checked out the ship, finding it much
better equipped and maintained than he would have
expected.  From the outside, it looked elderly and
well worn, its surface a mis-matched collection of
splotches of paint and hand-lettered slogans.  Pretty
much what you'd expect scum to be flying.  Inside it
was modern, clean, and well-kept.  And almost
everything worked just as it should too. He decided
that if this ship was typical, the pirates were a much
bigger threat than anyone on Elysium suspected.  And
they'd pay for that information.  Quietly, he started
memorizing everything of importance, everything
relevant to the pirate's operation that the Elysium
government might want to know.  Everything he might
need to collect the reward.

It was late at night, and a single light burned in the
darkened office block.  Two figures hunched over
papers scattered on a desk.  "Sorry, there's just no
way we can do that."  Mark whispered.  "No matter how
fond you are of that spare fusion cannon from the old
Bellyslasher, the powerplant on that freighter just won't
support it.  I think given the fact that we want the
power curve to appear normal for a freighter, that all
heavy weapons will have to be in the form of torpedoes.
Of course, that'll reduce cargo capacity......"  The lion
nodded; "it's a heck of a tradeoff.  How about some APU's
to boost shields and ECM should they go into combat?
That way the power curve will remain looking just like a
normal freighter, until its too late to worry about it."
Mark nodded, and marked off yet another section of the
cargo bay on the drawings.  "Tell you what...if you
absolutely want some energy weapons, there's one thing
we can do, but it'll cost you - we don't have the guns
I'm thinking of in stock."  The Lion raised an eyebrow
and motioned for the mouse to go on.  Mark indicated the
freighter's laser turrets.  "If I could get my paws on
a couple of Axotech L12-Bs to replace these with..."
"I'm not sure I'm familiar with those", the Lion
interrupted.  Mark smiled faintly.  "Axotech mostly
supplies the military.  The L12-B is one of the few
weapon systems that they also sell to civilians who can
afford them, mostly scouts and traders and such who
want something extra in case of a pirate attack.  Uses
power much more efficiently than what we got in here
now, has a cooling system I wish I had invented, is
easy to maintain and looks perfectly innocuous on top
of all that.  The only problem is the price tag...for
a set of two, you pay almost as much as you would for
a NEW fusion cannon.  But get me those and I can
guarantee you an easy thirty percent boost in firepower
for a minimal extra drain, maybe forty once I'm done
tuning all the systems and have a bit of a reserve to
play with."  The Lion nodded slowly.  "Well, I'll see
if I can arrange something.  But it'll take time even
then, so don't hold your breath.  Now, about that
cloaking device...?"

The interception was a simple one.  The freighter was
on a scheduled run, and thus easy to find.  One of the
pirate's intelligence agents had found out that she
was carrying military spares, and replacement fighters
for the Elysium defense forces, and as such, it had
become a priority target for the pirates.  And
Blackstone was in charge of the assault.  The
freighter, however, was not exactly unprepared.  They
knew they had a tempting cargo, and they doubted their
efforts at security had been 100% successful.  When
the pirate raiders appeared on their sensors they
started screaming bloody murder over the comm
channels, demanding assistance.  They even launched
two of the space superiority fighters they were
transporting, basically kicking them out an open cargo
hatch.

Blackstone grinned inside his helmet.  There were no
Elysium forces that could come to the freighter's
assistance, as long as they didn't dawdle; they'd
picked their intercept location carefully to avoid
that.  And the two fighters on an intercept course
were too little too late.  Sending the rest of his
forces to handle one, he altered course to meet the
other by himself.

Lieutenant Farquar was determined to die well.  At
this point, he didn't think living was an option;
there were just too many pirates.  He just prayed his
training was up to the task to let him die with honor.
He watched as his flight leader angled towards the
ship they'd decided was the pirate leader, as he tried
to keep the others busy.  As the pirates broke
formation, to swirl around him, seeking a shot, he
lost track of his boss, as he desperately tried to
bring his guns to bear on someone, ANYONE......

"Sabre three, this is Talon six.  That's a kitten we
got here; he couldn't hurt us if we just sat still.
See what you can do about just damaging his ship;
we'll try and take it too, if we can."  "Talon six,
Sabre Three; roger that.  Aiming for his drives only."

Farquar wondered why the pirates were only taking the
occasional shot at him, and then it hit him; they were
playing with him.  Cat and mouse, teasing him,
tormenting him.  With a growl, he tried harder,
whipping his fighter around to fire weapons at one of
the larger raider ships.  One of the beams hit and he
was elated until he realized it hadn't penetrated
their shields......

Blackstone pulled his ship around hard, the inertial
dampers screaming in protest, as he fired yet another
burst into his target.  He'd hit the fighter
repeatedly, each shot slowly chewing the smaller ship
to pieces.  He was enjoying himself, slowly killing
his prey...

Farquar yelped as his ship shook, multiple alarms
sounding in his headphones as his ship lost power.  As
the powerplant threatened to overload, he was tempted
to let it proceed, and explode, but finally he sighed
and shut it down, to drift.  That would not be a
heroic death...  He wondered how the pirates would
torment him when they took him prisoner; he was sure
they weren't done with him yet.

Blackstone finally administered the coup de grace to
the all-but-destroyed fighter.  As it disintegrated in
a blossom of yellow flame he pulled his ship around,
to note the other fighter lying dead in space.
Without a thought he centered it in his sights and
pulled the trigger, destroying that as well.

"Talon 6 to Flight Leader; that was OUR booty you just
blew away!  We went to a LOT of trouble to leave
something worth salvaging!  That's coming out of YOUR
share, Bucko!"  Blackstone growled to himself;
"Pirates!  Always thinking of profit!  No glory in
that!"  But then he forced himself to calm down.
After all, there was the fun of taking the freighter
yet ahead of him......

"Its no good, Sir" the first officer whispered.  "They
went through the fighters like they weren't even
there.  If we resist, we'll only die, and we won't
stop them.  We're lost, Sir!"  The Captain, a gray
fox, nodded sadly.  "And yet, if we do surrender, I
have no assurances that we'll do any better......"

"Star of Pursia to Pirate Leader; we are willing to
surrender ONLY if you guarantee the safety of the
crew."  Tanj listened to the comm traffic in Ops.
There was a small crowd gathered, listening to the
action as if following some sports match.  "Pirate
leader to Freighter; you will surrender NOW, and
unconditionally, or I guarantee you'll all die!  Lower
your shields NOW or else!"  Tanj shot a glance at
Ben, and noted the grim look on his face.

Blackstone counted quickly to ten and then keyed his
mike; "OK group, they're not lowering shields.  Let
'em have it!"

The Captain looked at his first officer, and sighed.
With a shrug he reached out and keyed in the sequence
to power down what shields the freighter carried.
They watched as the indicator slowly wound down to
zero.  Just before it hit bottom, however, the ship
rocked, throwing everyone to the deck.  "Damn them!"
the first officer cried; "we did what they wanted!
Why are they firing?"

"Talon 6 to group!  Cease fire!  CEASE FIRE!  They've
dropped their shields!  You're destroying the ship!"

Tanj looked at Ben, a shocked look on her face.
Ben failed to catch her glance as he turned to one of
his officers; "Get one of the cruisers out there; I
think the Intimidator is probably the one closest to
launch status.  I think we're going to have a mess to
clean up."

The bridge of the freighter was a mess.  Part of the
ceiling had fallen in, conduits and cables hanging
everywhere as an electrical fire filled the area near
the roof with a foul smelling gray haze.  Blackstone
stalked through the door, shoving it to one side in
its warped track.  He found the Captain's body on the
floor, and with a roar, yanked it to its feet, to
scream in his face; "NOW YOU SEE WHAT HAPPENS TO THOSE
WHO DO NOT OBEY IMMEDIATELY?"  A cough behind him made
him turn his head, and he found himself looking at the
female squirrel that by her tattered and soiled
uniform, indicated she was the ship's first officer.
She glared at him; "Can't you see he's already dead?
He lowered the shields for you and you killed him
anyways, you bastard!"  As she talked she gathered her
legs beneath her as if to leap at the bear, but one of
the pirates was behind her, touching her with a shock
stick, sending her to unconsciousness before she could
launch her assault.

Blackstone just growled as the pirates hauled the
freighter's crew off.  "OK, whats left?  Can we get
this scow moving under her own power?"  The flight
engineer from Sabre two shook his head; "I dunno,
Hiram, the control system's shot to hell, and this tub
doesn't have an auxiliary control room.  Engineering
control's in decent shape, but most of the power
conduits between the power plant and the drive section
are blown to hell.  I don't think this tub's going
anywhere for a while.  And we don't have big enough
tractor beams on the raiders to tow her.  Think you'd
best call for help."  Blackstone growled and picked
the skunk up by the collar; "I do NOT want to hear
that!  We are NOT calling for help.  I don't care how
you do it; get this thing under way!"  Dropping the
skunk he shoved his way out of the wreckage of the
bridge.  The skunk turned to look at his mates as the
bear stomped off, and just shook his head; "somebody
get through to Talon 6.  We got a real problem here.

Blackstone growled down at the kangaroo mouse, before
turning away.  The little rodent had just arrived with
a cruiser, to take over HIS mission!  How DARE they
treat him like this?  As he turned to head back to his
ship, he growled to himself "They WILL regret this!
I'll see them all destroyed for this!"

Mark looked around the wreck of the Freighter's
bridge.  The ship had been towed by the cruiser to a
"safe" location, where the cargo and crew had been
removed.  It was his job to determine if there was
anything salvageable, or if it should just be
destroyed.  Finally he shook his head with a sigh
and keyed his communicator.  "Mark here.  I'm sorry
I have nothing better to report, but about the only
way we could get any use out of this ship anymore
would be by taking it completely apart and rebuilding
it from the ground up with new parts replacing the
destroyed ones.  It's not even worth the effort of
breaking it down for spare parts; what systems are
left that could be put back into service aren't
compatible to our ships and have only nominal resale
value.  Mark out."  "Got it.  Damn it, too...Control
out."  Mark walked over to where the captain had
fallen and remained silent for almost a minute, then
turned to somebody who wasn't there and nodded. "Oh,
he'll pay for this all right, some way or other. I'm
just giving him a little more rope to hang himself
with...but I won't forget."  He made a little sign
with his right hand.  "Rest in peace for now."

Blackstone swallowed his pride as he suffered through
the after action review.  He accepted the criticisms
stoically, not letting his true emotions show.  How
could they say the screw-up was HIS fault?  If that
blasted freighter captain had only obeyed his
instructions, he would have been a hero, not a screw-
up!  He never noticed the white mouse staring intently
at him from the back of the room...

Mark nodded imperceptibly to himself as he felt the
bear's mind squirm under the questioning, the impressions
he was picking up only confirming the conclusions he
had come up with already.  Ego bigger than this station,
rage at a world at large that failed to 'appreciate'
him, no real loyalties to anybody but himself, and of
course the obligatory revenge plot already...he'd seen
it all before.  No, for all his skill in single combat
the Brethren would ultimately be better off without
Hiram Blackstone...and the sooner the better, too.

Tanj found Mark working on her ship.  She snuck up
behind him quietly, to give him a hug, nuzzling at the
back of his neck.  The mouse smiled and nodded;
"Hello, Tanj."  No matter how hard she tried, no
matter how stealthy she was, she could never sneak up
on him.  Maybe it was something to do with his psychic
power, the telepathic ability that let him "talk" to
her over distances, that let him know when she was in
trouble.  She suspected that whatever talents he let
others know about, there were others he kept to
himself...... But she couldn't prove that, and couldn't
imagine what he might be capable of......

Mark sighed and snuggled back against the cheetah fem;
"this is NOT easy you know......"  Tanj rested her chin
on his right shoulder; "what isn't?"  "Trying to shoe-
horn in a second APU, without eating up any more room
in the cargo bay."  Tanj blinked; "why would we
want an APU in the cargo bay?"  Mark turned to look at
her; "didn't the Boss talk to you about it?  He said
he was going to......"  Tanj rested both paws on Marks
shoulders and looked straight into his eyes; "He did
NOT.  What's he up to?  What's he having done to my
ship?"  Mark just smiled and kissed Tanj on the
nose; "Oh, nothing much; he just wanted you to have
some extra power available for some of the missions
he's got planned for us."  Tanj blinked, and then
smiled; "Us?  So you're going to fly her for me after
all?  I mean until I get certified, that is...."  Mark
just smiled and kissed her again.

Mark watched Blackstone from a distance.  The pilot
was lounging around in the Ops center, ostensibly
reviewing his new schedule.  However, periodically,
when no one was looking, he'd get into things he
shouldn't have any business with.  Mark smiled a bit
grimly.  *Predictable.  Good...that'll make it easier
to be there when he does make his move.*

Tanj was "Snooping" around her ship.  Her work in
intelligence, and with the new recruits had kept her
too busy to even think of it much, something she was
beginning to wonder about.  After Mark's comment last
night, she'd gotten to wondering, and at the first
opportunity, she'd stolen away to have a look by
herself.  She'd found that not one, but two APU's had
been crammed into corners in the cargo bay.  Their
output had been routed to a seriously oversized shield
generator, one of much newer manufacture than what the
ship had originally carried.  The original powerplant
and drives were untouched, as were the two laser
turrets, but the fire control system looked to have
been ripped out of a cruiser.  It was VERY
sophisticated, capable of tracking hundreds of targets
and engaging dozens.  That got her to wonder what they
were going to engage the targets with... And that led
her to the new blister underneath the belly of the
ship.  It looked like an extended range fuel tank, but
she was sure the looks were deceiving...  The access
ports were tight for her, but she was able to squirm
in.  "More Mark's size, I'd think" she mused to
herself as she tried to negotiate a bend in the
accessway.  There, buried deep in the blister, behind
significant armor, was the real power of the ship.

Tanj counted; "four... five... six...  Six ship-killer
torpedoes.  Mark VIII's too.  And a couple of dozen
mixed dogfighting missiles......  Heat seekers,
identification-friend-or-foe's, image recognition, and
even a couple of "Leach" missiles; missiles that would
temporarily drain a ship's power, leaving them
helpless. Her little freighter had suddenly acquired
the firepower to blow through a fighter screen and
assault a carrier!  With shields to match.  She just
shook her head, wondering what in the WORLD the lion
had in mind for her, and her seriously modified ship.
Finding it impossible to turn around, she backed
carefully out the way she came, to close the access
hatch.  With luck, no one would know she'd been
snooping.  Then again, it WAS her ship...... wasn't it?

Blackstone grumbled to himself;  "Demoted to wet-
nursing aspiring pilots.  What a fate for a warrior
such as me!"  Looking up at the half dozen faces
seated before him he growled; "OK, you loosers, here's
what we're going to do, today.  We're going to play
"follow the leader".  I'll lead, and you perform
exactly the same maneuver as I do.  And just to make
sure none of you cubs run into each other, we'll keep
10,000 Kilometers between us.  GOT THAT?"

Tanj watched the bear talk, listening to his
insults and demeaning attitude.  As a slave she'd
heard much worse, but these folks didn't need the
derision.  Most of them were already licensed pilots;
they were just here to qualify......

Blackstone watched the slave from the corner of his
eye.  Some of the furrs here had told him about her;
how she belonged to the head of the pirate
organization, and seemed to be a favorite of his.  He
found it absolutely incredible that ANYONE could
entrust any responsibility beyond dusting or changing
sheets to a slave.  And a sex slave at that!  Still,
he should be wary.  She obviously had her Master's
ear, and so far no one had alluded to her being
incompetent or stupid, in either of her capacities......

Tanj grunted as she pulled the fighter around in a
loop.  She was paired against one of the recruits, a
wolf fem, mock dogfighting, under Blackstone's
ascerbic tutelage. The class had been practicing every
other afternoon now for a week, their skills slowly
developing.  Several students, slated for shuttle or
cruiser piloting skills had already "qualified", and
dropped out of the class.  Tanj, on the other hand
was still there.  Blackstone never seemed to be
satisfied with her abilities, no matter how well she
flew.  The wolf she was currently matched against was
at the top of their class, and they'd laughingly made
a wager on the outcome of their mock battle, the
looser servicing the winner for a night.  Tanj
didn't mind loosing to her at all, thinking it could
be a very pleasant evening, but she was doing her best
to win......

Blackstone watched the two females fight.  They were
evenly matched, the wolf having the superior strategy,
the cheetah the superior reflexes.  Of all his
students, the wolf bitch was one of the few that
treated him with anywhere near the respect he felt was
due a pilot of his stature.  He'd overheard the wager
and was determined that his prize student would NOT
loose to a slave......

Tanj had almost gotten her lined up in her sights
when the computer started squalling at her, announcing
a weapons system failure.  She howled in protest, the
moment's loss of concentration being sufficient to let
her quarry escape.  Then all of a sudden, her ship
would not turn to port.  Roll, pitch, and yaw to
starboard were all unaffected, she just couldn't yaw
to port!  As she wrestled with the controls, she felt
the ship shudder as the wolf scored against her.

"Mark, I know everything looks fine, but I tell you,
my controls were going progressively dead.  Either
there's something wrong with that ship, or there's
foul play going on.  Please do me a favor and take a
look at it for me?  I'd do it myself, but it seems,
ah, I've got a wager to pay off......"  Mark smiled and
nodded, patting Tanj on the rump; "I'll be glad to
take a look.  Ah, Have fun paying off your wager,
though.  I heard about that.  Blackstone's bragging on
how his prize student blew you away today......"

The lion grinned at her; "Heard about your defeat
today."  Tanj sighed and nodded; "Hope you don't
mind, Master..."  The lion just grinned; "no, busy this
evening with the ops planning team.  And that she-wolf
looks like a nice furr.  Just tell her that she's not
allowed to do anything to keep you from your duties.
Nothing that will permanently hurt you.  Understand?"
Tanj smiled and nodded and kissed him, and was off
to pay off her wager.

Hiram Blackstone grinned as he watched Tanj knock
on the door to the she-wolf's quarters.  He'd give
them a few minutes, and then......

Tanj stopped outside her door, taking a breath to
calm herself.  She was nude, save for her collar.
Making sure her eyes were properly downcast she hit
the chime and waited patiently.  As she did, she
thought of her old friend, Marla, the she-wolf, from
the academy, and wondered what she was doing now.  She
couldn't help but grin, wondering if this she-wolf,
Jenny, was anything like Marla.  It was at the instant
when the smile was in full blossom, that Jenny opened
the door.  "Oh Ho!  Is my slave for the evening
looking forward to pleasing me?" she growled, with
mock ferociousness.  Reaching out to grab Tanj's
collar, she yanked the cheetah into her room, the door
hissing quietly closed behind them.

Blackstone nodded in approval; "yes, she might do at
that.  Still, we'll have to see how she behaves
later......"

Tanj knelt at Jenny's feet, her eyes downcast;
"Mistress, my Master has instructed me to relate
certain, ah, ground rules......"  Jenny nodded as she
listened; "Very prudent of him, but I really doubt any
of that will be needed for what I've got in mind..."
Tanj raised an eyebrow, wondering "now what have I
gotten myself into..."

Jenny grinned; "I've always wondered what it would be
like to have a slave, to do the things I hated to do
myself; and tonight I'm going to indulge myself...  But
first, tell me; will your Master be out of his
quarters tonight?"  Tanj blinked; "Uh, well, yes
Ma'am; he's tied up in a planning team meeting; they
frequently run until, oh, 0100, sometimes 0200 hours..."
Jenny grinned and nodded; "there's no point in having
a slave to help you lead a life of leisure in quarters
like these.  Lets go there!  You, ah, can get in,
can't you?"

It was difficult for Jenny to lead Tanj at the end
of her leash when it was Tanj who knew where they
were going.  Eventually they got to the Lion's
quarters, raising only a few eyebrows from passers-by
on the way (Tanj usually just grinned wickedly at
them and winked, once they were past Jenny and she
couldn't see their return expressions).  Tanj keyed
in the entry, and then Jenny pushed past her to look
about, jerking Tanj in by the leash just as the
door started to close.

Jenny Hmphed as she looked around.  "This is the
quarters for the leader of the Brethren?  Not a heck
of a lot better'n mine..."  Tanj shrugged, feeling a
little more relaxed now that she was "home".  She knew
that the computer monitored this room for security
purposes and that there were several command words
that would bring folks running if Jenny turned out to
be a danger...  "Uh, Mistress..." Tanj purrred;
"Perhaps if you told me what you wanted, I could
help..."  Jenny turned and looked at Tanj, an almost
wistful look on her face.  "Not much, really.  A
talented tongue, or a hard cock I can get almost
anywhere.  What I want from you, what I demand of my
slave tonight is a little harder to come by:  I want
you to cook me dinner.  A nice dinner.  And serve it
to me.  And then give me a foot rub, and, ah, "attend"
my bath, maybe wash my back and my hair, and then
towel me dry...  I want you to spoil me...  Is that too
much for a lady to ask, once in her life?"

Blackstone watched the door to the lion's quarters
close behind Jenny and Tanj.  "I wonder what the
bitch is up to?" he thought to himself.  "I wonder if
she's trying to horn in on my turf, looking for things
that the Elysium government would pay for?"
Grumbling, he turned and moved off towards his own
quarters.  He'd planned on dropping in on the she-
wolf, to see how she was coming with Tanj, and
maybe using his position as her instructor to
intimidate her into letting him have his way with her,
and with Tanj.  Now he couldn't show up at the
Lion's quarters without making it look like he'd
followed her.  "Oh, well" he thought; "Maybe its for
the best.  That Tanj is aptly named.  If she has
the ear of the lion, I'd have to kill her to keep her
from talking when I was done with her, and an
"accident" would probably be viewed with suspicion.
When I've sold these scum out to the Elysians, I'll be
rich enough to afford a dozen like her, with no one to
criticize me.

Tanj puttered around in the Lion's small kitchen,
fixing a garden salad, boef medallions, and twice
baked potatoes.  She wasn't a great chef, but she was
adequate, and the computer was providing excellent
directions, making her talents appear greater than
they were.  Jenny was relaxing in the Lion's chair, a
goblet of cold white wine in her hand, the stereo
playing her favorite music in the background.  The
table had been set for one, candles burning in the
center over the only tablecloth she had.  The plates
and the silverware were rather old and not the fine
china she would have preferred, but the Lion just
didn't much care about things like that.  "Males" she
mused to herself with a smile as she placed the boef
medallions in a covered tureen.

Moving the steaming food to the table she went and
knelt before Jenny; "Mistress, dinner is served"
Jenny smiled and opened her eyes, rising to move to
the table.  Tanj held her chair for her, and then
presented each dish for her approval, serving her as
she'd seen the waiters do on the Burgess Star.  When
she was done, she knelt attentively to one side,
watching.  Jenny sampled the medallions and then the
potato, and nodded; "its not quite up to a four star
rating, but it will do for this evening..."  Tanj
smiled.

Tanj left Jenny with an after-dinner liqueur, as
she cleaned the table.  Most of the stuff went
straight into the recycler, with some things being set
aside for cleaning later.  Leftovers went into the
'fridge, and she hurriedly grabbed a few bites for
herself.  She had no doubt the Lion would wonder what
had been going on, but this one, she felt, she could
explain without too much trouble.  Finishing up there,
she moved to the bathroom where she drew a steaming
bath in the tub.  Generally Tanj was the only one
to use the tub, the lion opting for a quick shower
(unless of course he was feeling frisky and dragged
Tanj into it with him... but that's another story).
She added some of her own bath oils, and smiled as the
tub filled with fragrant bubbles.  She lit a few
candles, to give the bathroom a more romantic
atmosphere, and then rising, she padded out to lead
Jenny in...

Tanj carefully undressed Jenny, folding her
clothes, setting them aside.  When the she-wolf was
nude she stepped carefully into the hot water, sighing
as she settled down, until only her muzzle was above
the bubbles.  Tanj knelt by the head of the tub,
shampoo ready, to await the point where Jenny required
her to wash her hair.

Jenny was quiet in the tub, possibly dozing, and
Tanj was lost in her own thoughts, when the door to
the quarters opened, and the Lion hurried in.  He went
straight past the bathroom, heading for his desk, and
Tanj's eyes snapped wide open in surprise.  Jenny
caught it also and let out a small squeak of dismay.
Tanj didn't know if the Lion heard Jenny, or had
caught a glimpse, but in any event he backpedaled to
glance into the open bathroom door.

He blinked; "sorry, could have SWORN this was...  Hey,
wait a minute, this IS my cabin..."  Peering a little
closer, the Lion rumbled; "Tanj?"  Then it
obviously hit him that whatever was going on, it was
part of Tanj's wager pay off.  As realization
dawned on his face, he grinned; waving a paw he
chuckled "carry on", and turned, heading for his desk.

Tanj hadn't moved a muscle, her eyes still wide
with surprise.  She heard him code in his password,
and remove something from the secure drawer, and then
his footsteps approached again.  Pausing just out of
sight, he called; "Take all the time you want, I'll
crash in the ready room tonight.  Tanj, you can
explain tomorrow."  And with that, he was gone, the
door whooshing closed behind him.

As the door closed, Jenny sat up, her body covered in
foam.  Turning her head to look at Tanj, she
gasped; "are we in trouble?  Is he going to be mad at
us?"  Tanj just shook her head and smiled; "If I
spin a sufficiently amusing tale for him, it'll be
fine; and don't worry, I've got a good imagination and
a flair for language, when it comes to things like
that......"  She grinned at the Wolf fem; "especially when
its accompanied by a touch here, and a caress there......
I don't think we need to worry..."

It was much later that evening.  Tanj had washed
Jenny's hair, and then scrubbed her back, and then her
front, crawling into the tub with her.  Finally she
had sat at the far end of the tub and gently massaged
her feet underneath the hot water.  Bidding the she-
wolf to stand, Tanj had rinsed her, and then after
draining the tub, had toweled her dry, rubbing softly,
turning it into an impromptu massage.  Wrapped in the
largest fluffiest towel she had, Tanj had led her
to the Lion's bed.  Now, with Jenny lying on her back,
Tanj was proceeding to demonstrate that being
spoiled could also include a talented tongue, as she
slowly licked the she-wolf until she moaned, and
begged for release.

In the morning, Tanj woke Jenny with a breakfast
tray.  Her own special omelet, juice and coffee.
Breakfast in bed.  When Jenny had finished, Tanj
helped her dress, and then saw her off at the door
with a kiss.  "That was VERY nice, Tanj.  I could
really get to like that.  Maybe, if I'm a really good
pilot, and can work my way up to some of the larger
operations, I can make enough to afford someone just
like you......"  Tanj smiled, and thought of the Lion's
attempts to eradicate Elysium's slavery system, and
just smiled; "Anything is possible.  You'd best get
going; we both have a busy day!"  Tanj watched as
Jenny almost skipped down the hall, humming to
herself.  "Wish the kid luck" the Cheetah thought to
herself; "but its not as easy as you might think to
work your way into the lap of luxury..."

Blackstone was idling in the cafeteria over a final
cup of coffee, before facing the rigors of another day
teaching idiots how to fly in combat.  At a nearby
table, one of the "old time" pirates, a sable that had
been with the Brethren for almost three years, was
telling some of the new recruits wild tales.  "Yeah,"
he said; "The boss "gave" Tanj to the Elysium
station manager.  She was able to overhear all SORTS
of stuff, which she passed on to us.  Gave us a heck
of an edge!"  One of the newbies, a panther, raised an
eyebrow; "and how could a slave pass on anything?
Surely they didn't let her make phone calls home......"
The Sable grinned; "Of course not; if they'd known she
was one of us it'd never have worked!  The key to the
whole thing was that she's got this telepathic link
with Mark down in Engineering.  We'd just periodically
send Mark to the station, or even just near the
station, and they could communicate telepathically"
The panther shook his head; "a Telepath?  Do you know
how RARE proven telepaths are?  The Sable just
shrugged; "I have no idea, but it's a proven fact
Tanj and Mark have a link.  You should have seen
the "test" the boss arranged to prove it!  That was
scary.  Don't think it works between him and anyone
else, but when he gets close enough, he can pick up
what Tanj's thinking, and a bit of what she's
seeing."  Another newbie, a collie, grinned; "ah, now
I bet that gets REAL interesting for him every time
her Master drags her off for a little nookie..."  From
there the conversation degenerated into the
applications of Telepathy in Voyeurism, and Blackstone
tuned them out, rising to leave.

Tossing his coffee cup into the recycler, Blackstone
headed for the docking bay.  "I wonder just how good a
telepath this Mark is?  I wonder if Tanj is the
only one he can "read"."  Chuckling to himself,
Blackstone realized it was VERY fortunate that Jenny
had decided on a change of location last night.  Had
Mark picked up on what he would have liked to do to
the two ladies, there would have been real trouble!
"I think I'm going to have to check into this "Mark""
he thought to himself.  "This might be the one
character in this organization that could stop me from
fulfilling my plan......"

Mark was guiding a cart loaded with a replacement
power distribution system for one of the raider ships
he was working on, when he passed Blackstone as he
headed towards his waiting group of trainees.  He took
care not to turn around and keep his expression neutral,
but inwardly he chuckled softly.  *So now he's heard
something and is starting to worry.  Good...bastard
DESERVES to squirm a bit after what he's done, and
maybe he'll start to make mistakes now.*

Blackstone caught the reflection of the mouse in the
polished deflector dish of a shuttle.  The image was
distorted, but clear enough for Blackstone to recognize
Mark from the description, and now he remembered seeing
this particular mouse around before, too.  He kept his
thoughts carefully on the schedule for the day ahead,
of the lesson plan he'd formulated...... but somehow the
harder you try NOT to think of something the more
difficult it is to keep from the front of your mind.
After reviewing the maneuvers and tactics they'd
practice this day with his students, he dispatched
them to their ships, and headed in turn for his own.
It was only after he was buckled in, and he was
starting the power-up sequence, that he allowed his
mind to drift toward the potential problems with the
telepathic mouse.  "I'm going to have to speed up my
timetable.  I can't assume his link is only with
Tanj.  I have to assume that he can read anyone he
chooses, and more than just emotions and the
occasional surface thought too.  And that makes him a
threat.  And I know how to deal with threats..."

It had been a long day for Tanj.  She'd cleaned up
the Lion's cabin in a whirlwind of activity that
morning, and then she'd put in several hours in the
Intelligence department, working on field agent
reports, to try and get a feel for Imperial activity
in the sector.  They were becoming concerned again
that the Empire might decide to "Clean out those
troublesome pirates" in the Elysium sector.  Then she
was off to join her group for flight instruction.  The
mock combat had left her drained and panting, and she
was looking forward to some time to relax before
putting in some evening hours back in Inteligence.  It
had been a while since she'd checked in on Wanda, Lord
Xylex's captive daughter, and she headed that way on
her path back to the Lion's cabin, intending just to
stick her head in and say hello...

When she rang the door chime, she heard hushed voices
from within, and then Wanda's breathless voice called
for her to come in.  As she entered the cabin, what
greeted her was not what she expected; Zassa was on
her back, on the bed, her nude form arched, her legs
splayed wide open.  Wanda's head was between her
thighs, the Wolverine lass licking softly at the
vixen's pussy.  Hinoki was behind Wanda, licking at
her in turn.  Tanj gasped; "Wanda!  I thought you...
I mean, weren't you...  Your father is going to be
FURIOUS!"  Wanda looked up with a smile; "its OK,
Tanj, Father will never know the difference.  I'm
still a virgin; well, at least technically.  My
Hymen's still intact...... but that doesn't mean I can't
enjoy a good licking from time to time, does it?"

Tanj blinked; "Uh, well, um, as long as your hymen
is intact, I guess not..."  Hinoki looked up, to grin at
Tanj; "Whatcha doin' over there, still dressed?
Shed those clothes and join in!"  Tanj just smiled
and shook her head.  As she stripped off her flight
suit, she looked from Zassa to Hinoki; "decisions,
decisions.  Do I want to make use of her tongue, or
apply some of my tongue to his cock?"  Grinning, she
decided to crouch over the vixen's face, her pussy
pressed to the vixen's muzzle; after all, she'd had a
hard day, and was in need of some serious stress
relief...

Later they cuddled, a pile of tired, sticky, happy
matted fur.  Tanj sighed and stretched, feeling her
back move over Hinoki's legs, one paw stroking along
Wanda's tummy.  "Oh, by the way, I take it you heard
about the ship I wound up buying..."  Hinoki chuckled;
"yeah; somebody really did you good on that one.  We
heard about how hull numbers got switched."  Tanj
sighed and nodded; "Yeah, well, we're going to need a
crew.  Seems the boss has some ideas as to how we can
use a ship like that.  Until I get my pilot's
certification, Mark's agreed to fly her.  I'll play
engineer for the time being.  Hinoki, I want you to
take the sensor operator position, and Zassa, I want
you to be Loadmaster."  Zassa purrrred; "Does that
mean we get to get off this rock from time to time?"
Tanj laughed; "Yes, my vixen, we will.  But we'll
all still have to behave.  Can't draw attention to
ourselves......"  Zassa chuckled; "Just so long as we get
to do some SHOPPING!  And maybe even eat out
occasionally!"  Hinoki laughed and then grunted as
Wanda rolled over, accidentally elbowing him.
"Shopping?  Did I hear the "S" word?  Oooooo, where do
I sign up?  I'm tired of ordering things over the
web!"  Tanj blinked.  She wasn't so sure it was a
good idea to let a "hostage" even so nominal a one as
Wanda out where she might be spotted.  "Um, tell you
what, Wanda.  The ship could use a medic, just in case
there are problems.  I know you've been putting in
time down in sick bay.  You take that correspondence
course on nursing, and get your rating, and I'll get
you a berth on the ship.  Deal?"  Wanda purrrrred and
rolled back onto her back, one paw lazily scritching
at Hinoki where her elbow had made contact.  "Deal.
Been thinking about doing that anyways.  They just
won't let me do much more than change sheets and empty
bedpans until I get some training..."  Rolling over
again, she dragged her tongue along Hinoki's tummy;
"Besides, if I can learn more about the nervous
system, think how much more effective I can be when I
do this......" and with that, she slurped the head of his
cock into her mouth......

It was much later in the evening than she had
intended, when Tanj finally checked back into the
intelligence office.  Sure enough there were a new
stack of field reports for her to go through.  With a
sigh, she sat down at her work station and began
wading through them.

It was even later when she made it back to the Lion's
quarters.  She wasn't surprised to find him still up,
working at his desk.  As she entered, he grinned at
her, indicating she should kneel at his feet.
Finishing the file he was working on, the lion turned
to her; "Tell me about last night."  Tanj smiled
and proceeded to tell him about her night with Jenny,
leaving nothing out.  By the time she was done, he was
shaking his head, smiling.

"That's not a very imaginative use for a slave" he
chuckled, and she definitely got the bath portion
wrong."  Tanj raised an eyebrow and smiled; "Oh?
And how would you have done it?" she purrrred.  He
grinned and indicated she should rise; "strip, and
I'll show you."

Tanj stripped off her dress, and followed him into
the bath as he pulled off his clothes as well.  There,
he used a heavy rubber strap to bind her paws behind
her back, and another to pull her elbows closer
together, the tension pulling her shoulders back, and
making her breasts stand out more proudly.  He grinned
and led her into the shower.

After adjusting the taps, the Lion grinned and pulled
Tanj under the water with him.  After they were
both drenched, the lion picked up a bottle of liquid
soap, and poured it down Tanj's front.  "There" he
grinned; "now you get to soap me up."  Tanj blinked
and then grinned; moving close to him, she started to
rub herself against him, bending at her knees, sliding
her soap-slick body up and down his body.  She
purrrrred and rocked her body from side to side, her
breasts slithering back and forth across his chest, to
his obvious delight.  After a while, when she felt he
was sufficiently aroused, she moved around behind him,
rubbing against him, giving him a chance to calm
down a little.  Dropping to her knees, she rubbed her
left cheek against his back, getting it good and
soapy; from there she nuzzled lower, stroking her
cheek against his ass, and then lower, down the back
of his right thigh.  Shifting to stroke her other
cheek up the inside of his thigh, she purrrred and
paused for a moment to lick teasingly at his pendulous
balls.

After "soaping" his other leg, she moved back around
in front of him.  With a grin, she straddled his left
leg, to slowly stroke her pussy up and down his thigh,
the insides of her thighs stroking and soaping the
sides of his.  By the time she'd finished soaping his
other leg, she was moaning softly, her own juices
adding to the lather on his leg.

The lion's cock was standing proud, and he was panting
lightly, obviously aroused by Tanj's slick teasing.
However, before succumbing to her charms, he crouched,
to push his muzzle between her breasts; she giggled,
catching the cue, and again, she shook her chest to
"lather his face".  Finally, he reached down, to lift
her; leaning her back against the rear wall of the
shower, with the water pouring over them both, he
drove his hard cock into her pussy.  She locked her
legs around his waist, and trapped between his soapy
body and the wall, moaned out her pleasure as he
fucked her furiously.

All the teasing had them both hot, and it wasn't long
before Tanj was moaning through her climax, as the
Lion roared through his orgasm.  Afterwards, he set
her back down, turning her, arms still bound, to
gently wash her hair.  After shampooing his own mane,
he led her from the shower, and as the hairdryer
whirrrred, he rubbed her dry with a fluffy towel.
Only then did he release her paws, to lead her to his
bed.

The more Blackstone thought about it, the more he was
sure the mouse was a threat.  Those that hide secrets
generally think that others are hiding secrets as
well, and he was positive the mouse had abilities
beyond what he let others know about.  There was only
one way to find out...... And that involved following up
on a rumor he'd heard.

Blackstone leaned against the ready room wall, sipping
coffee.  "I still don't understand it.  This Tanj
is someone important in the Intelligence department,
and yet she's still a slave?  How can that be?"  The
Sable shrugged; "The boss believes in using everyone
to their best ability.  Tanj's got some talent in
the intelligence area, and he's making use of it.  On
the other hand, he's insisted that her talents in
other areas not... atrophy."  The latter was said with a
leer and a knowing wink.  Blackstone shook his head;
"so its possible to make use of her as a sex slave?"
The Sable just grinned and nodded; "has to be when
she's not otherwise occupied, and it's a real shame
that she's had a full schedule lately, but if you can
find a hole in her schedule, you're allowed to fill
it.  The bear moaned in mock horror at the pun but
then grinned.

It had been another exhausting day, culminated with
mock dogfights in her piloting class.  Somehow Tanj
had found herself outnumbered three to one.  While it
had been difficult to hold the other attackers at bay
while she concentrated on her target, she'd found that
she'd taken out one, and then a second, before the
aggressive attack of the third, coupled with the
cumulative "damage" from the others, had finally cost
her the engagement.

"Rookie three from Team Leader; that wasn't half bad.
I think you're actually showing some improvement...
Feel ready for a serious challenge, though?"
Blackstone grinned to himself; "If it worked for that
Jenny bitch, it should work for me."  Tanj listened
to the voice in her headphones and shook her head;
Blackstone was being unusually... well, if not "nice"
then less hostile and abrasive than usual.  Was she
really doing better?  Shaking her head, she figured
there was only one way to find out; "Lead from Rookie
Three; yeah, I'm ready for a challenge, whatcha got in
mind?"  Blackstone grinned; "Rookie Three from Lead;
you and me.  Same wager as you had with the she-wolf,
just to make sure you don't wimp out on me when the
going gets tough.  What do you say?"

Tanj shrugged to her self; "There probably isn't
anything the Bastard can do to me that hasn't been
done before......"  Keying the mike she purrrrred, in her
best teasing voice; "Why sure, Lead, as long as you
honor my Master's requirements that I not be harmed,
that I'm returned to him in good condition, I'd be
glad to make that wager!"

Blackstone growled to himself; "should have known
there'd be that caveat; and she had to say it over the
comm, so everyone knows she told me. Grrrrrrr.
Doesn't matter, though.  It would be too risky to
actually DO what I'd like to her; but then she doesn't
have to know I won't actually follow through.  That's
the whole point.  I just have to make her THINK I
will, and then we'll see if the Mouse comes charging
to the rescue......"  Keying his mike in turn, he growled
with Satisfaction; "you're on.  Retreat to an even
100,000 kilometers and then come and get me!  Lets see
just how aggressive a slave can be!"

Tanj grinned and shoved her throttle forward.  Her
fighter leapt towards the bear's fighter, but when she
was sure that his sensors had registered her
acceleration, she yanked back on the throttle.  She
didn't want to close on him too fast; it would make it
too difficult to turn once they'd flashed past each
other.  However, she wanted to give him the idea
that's exactly what would happen.

Blackstone saw the burst of speed and he grinned.  He
increased his own throttle, letting her come to him.
As they closed, he prepared several of his training
missiles......

Tanj centered his ship in her sight, shifting more
power to her forward shields, and to her longer ranged
energy weapons.  As soon as the computer told her she
was in effective range, she began firing, but when he
drew closer, entering the effective range of the more
powerful but shorter range ion guns, she broke off, to
fly an evasive pattern.

Blackstone smiled, his fangs showing as she broke off;
"Good, you little bitch, but not good enough."
Slewing his fighter around, he launched two IFF
missiles.  These missiles would hunt around for any
ship other than his, and home in relentlessly.  He
then turned his ship, not to where she was, but to
where he thought she'd go to evade the missiles.

Tanj caught the launch from the corner of her eye,
and immediately launched countermeasures, and one of
her own missiles, an image recognition.  There wasn't
much difference between Blackstone's ship and hers,
just a few minor variations in the paint job, but with
luck, the missile would spoil whatever he had planned.

Blackstone chuckled and nodded, turning his fighter
back towards Tanj's.  His best hope was to evade
the missile on its first pass, and then get his ship
close to Tanj's to confuse the missile's seeker.
With luck, it would go after her, instead of him.

Tanj jinked hard, the first IFF missing,
"exploding" at the end of its run; but the second one
had better luck.  It "exploded" on its proximity
sensor, the computer recording "damage" to her
systems.  "First blood to you, Blackstone" she thought
grimly.

Tanj saw him swing around, and pulled a hard turn;
she knew she was spoiling his weapons aim, but that
didn't seem to be what he had in mind.  His ship
flashed by, just off her stern, and then she knew; her
image recognition missile!  Turning to present her bow
to it, she watched as it headed right for her.
However, she was able to jink again at the last
instant and it too flashed past, amazingly reacquiring
Blackstone's fighter.  As Blackstone tried to evade
the persistent missile, he jinked right into Tanj's
guns and she was able to score some points.

Blackstone snarled; "Hit?  She HIT me? She'll pay for
that, the little twit!"  Growling he pulled his
fighter around in a gut wrenching turn, to launch his
remaining two missiles, heat seekers, at Tanj's
fighter.  Tanj missed the flare of his launch, but
the computer didn't; it screamed warnings at her,
automatically launching flares, chaff, and decoys.
Tanj took in the situation at a glance and decided
on something risky; she went to full throttle, and
charged Blackstone.  It was a high angle deflection
shot, but still, she centered her sights where the
computer told her she should fire, and pulled the
trigger.  She grinned as she saw her lasers score, and
then the computer screamed again in warning, and she
wrenched the little fighter around, trying at the last
minute to evade the missiles.  She didn't.

Blackstone snarled again as his ship "shook" under her
fire.  He watched aghast as he lost his starboard
shield, and the weapons on that side of the fighter.
His power was reduced, as was his maneuverability.
Then his missiles hit and he screamed with delight!

Tanj bit her lip and worked with what was left of
her ship.  Most of her weapons were gone, with the
exception of one missile.  She should have used them
when she had the chance......  Shields were gone
completely.  Power was down to battery backup, and
maneuverability was almost zilch.  Still, she horsed
what was left of her ship around, trying to get off
her last missile at the bastard......

Blackstone circled slowly, knowing he had her.  She
was his!  She couldn't turn fast enough to track his
fighter, as if she had anything left to shoot with.
Those two missiles should have killed her outright,
but as they hadn't, he was more than willing to
deliver the coup de grace.  Grinning wickedly, he
moved in.

Tanj saw him come; saw him head in for the kill.
She had only one chance.  Making sure her helmet was
sealed, that life support was nominal, she waited
until just the right instant and blew the hatch to her
fighter.  The puff of atmosphere rushing out shoved
the nose of the fighter around to starboard, and as it
passed Blackstone's fighter, she triggered her last
missile.

Blackstone saw the hatch blow, saw the nose of the
fighter swing around, and he braced himself for the
laser fire he thought could not possibly be coming.
He blinked as the nose of her fighter swung past, and
then grinned.  "She must have had a missile left" he
chuckled to himself.  Glancing down at the remote by
his pilot's couch, he grinned.  Its lone red light
glowed evilly......  "Glad I thought of that" he chuckled.

Tanj stared at the flickering weapons screen.
"Missile drive malfunction.  Launch sequence aborted."
She sighed and shook her head; "why, when its down to
a critical instant, do the systems fail" she
wondered......

Blackstone keyed his mike; "you're mine, little slave.
In space I AM the MASTER, as you shall well learn
tonight!"  And with that, he fired his lasers, scoring
a "kill" on Tanj's fighter.

Tanj tossed her helmet into her locker.  Yes, he'd
outfought her, but she'd had a chance right up to the
point her missile had failed to launch.  She was too
tired to twitch as paws suddenly started massaging the
back of her neck.  It felt good, and turning her head
just a bit she saw the distinctive white fur of Mark's
paws.  "MMmmmmm, hello, Mark.  You heard about my
latest lost wager?"  Mark chuckled; "Yeah, as with
everything else, its already all over the station..."
Tanj sighed, leaning back into his massage; "I
thought I had him.  Even after I took those two heat-
seekers, I thought I had him.  I had one missile left,
but it wouldn't launch.  Not a problem with the ship;
some glitch in the missile.  I'm having the worst
string of bad luck......"  Mark smiled as he worked at the
muscles at the back of her neck; "Not necessarily.
Someone had done some interesting rewiring on that
other fighter you were flying.  Someone TOLD it to
malfunction.  And then later told it not to, to make
it look as if it was just you, an inexperienced pilot
blaming the hardware for her failure."  Tanj turned
to look at Mark, staring deep into his eyes; "Surely
Jenny wouldn't......  No.  Blackstone.  He did that so his
prize pupil would win, and then he did it again to
me..."  Mark shrugged; "sometimes missiles don't light
off like they should.  Don't jump to conclusions.  We
know something was done to you last time for sure, but
not this time...yet.  And there are other suspects than
Blackstone."  Tanj's eyes widened; "Yeah, like
who?"  Mark smiled and kissed her on the nose; "who
would not want to see you qualified to fly?  Someone
who perhaps would go to extraordinary lengths to keep
you safe perhaps?  Perhaps someone who caused the hull
numbers to be switched at the auction, so you couldn't
buy that raider?  You DO have to admit that Raider
crews don't have the longest life spans...  I don't
know; do you think there's anyone around who might
care for you that much?"

Tanj stared at Mark.  Her first thought was that he
was talking about himself, but she'd been with him the
whole time at the auction; he hadn't the opportunity
to change those hull numbers.  Had he?  Then her
thoughts flew to the Lion.  But if he wanted her not
to fly, all he had to do was to order her not to fly.
She wouldn't be too happy about that, but she'd obey
his orders......  Shaking her head, she stripped out of
her flight suit and headed for the showers, her mind a
whirlwind of confusion.

Blackstone waited for Tanj in the Cafeteria.  He
wanted her submission to him to be public and
humiliating.  As he waited, there was a lot of good
natured joking about what he had planned for the
evening, many of the pirates relating tales of
Tanj's talents, talking about what they'd want if
THEY'D won the contest.

Mark watched from a corner, quietly eating his dinner
with a few of his friends from Engineering and staying
well out of Blackstone's sight.  He'd taken the rest
of the day off in exchange for a double shift at some
later date.  He knew Blackstone too well by now to
leave Tanj alone with him unsupervised, and work
would just serve to distract him.  Especially not after
a stray thought had alerted him to the bear's plan to
get at him though her...

Tanj presented herself to Blackstone, padding
quietly into the Cafeteria, to kneel before him.  She
had showered, and washed her hair, tying it behind her
in a simple ponytail.  She'd decided against perfumes,
or jewelry, thinking that this one wasn't special
enough to warrant her extra attention.  She was clean
and neat, striving for that "natural beauty" look...  Or
at least that's what she'd say if questioned.  On her
way in, the cafeteria had echoed with catcalls,
whistles and crude remarks, and Tanj found it
difficult to keep a straight face, to keep her eyes
downcast.  She wanted to give this furr a grin, or
that one a wink, but decided that she'd better play it
straight for this one.  He seemed to delight in having
power over others, and she thought she should give him
no excuse to punish her...

Blackstone watched her from the corner of his eye as
he finished the conversation he'd started with one of
the veteran raider pilots.  Finally he turned to
Tanj, to glower down at her; "You're late.  I
expected you here a half hour ago.  No, don't give me
your pitiable excuses.  You're not to talk unless I
tell you to talk!"  Blackstone reached into his pocket
to pull out a short length of chain.  Wrapping it
around Tanj's neck, he passed the ring at one end
through the slightly larger ring at the other end to
form a choke collar, as if disdaining the collar
Tanj normally wore.  Pulling it tight, he reached
into another pocket to retrieve a leash, which he
clipped to the free end of the choke chain. Pausing a
moment he fished another length of chain from his
pocket, to toss it to Tanj.  As Tanj caught it,
she noticed there were two double-ended harness hooks
clipped to it.  "Hobble yourself" the bear growled at
her, and Tanj rose from her knees to a crouch.
Wrapping one end of the chain around her ankle, she
connected its loose end to a link along the length of
the chain, using one of the double-ended hooks,
forming an anklet.  Repeating the procedure with the
other end, and her other ankle, she found that she had
maybe a foot of chain between her feet.  "Tiny, quick
steps" she thought to herself..." Seeing her finished,
and without bothering to take his leave of the others
in the Cafeteria, Blackstone rose to his feet, to jerk
Tanj to hers.  Turning, without preamble, he
stalked out of the room, dragging Tanj behind him.

The room had grown quiet as Blackstone had collared
Tanj, and was deathly still as he dragged her out,
all eyes watching.  As the pressure door closed behind
him, someone growled; "I think Tanj's in for a
rough night with that one..."  After a moment, the room
was again filled with the subdued murmur of conversation,
a few voices venting the opinion that Tanj had grown
too big for her britches and needed to be taken down a
notch, but the prevailing opinion seemed to be that she
didn't really deserve what was in store for her, if
Blackstone followed true to form.  Unnoticed among the
discussion, Mark got up and slipped away, heading for
his own cabin.

The sound of the rattling chain links was loud in the
corridor as Tanj moved her feet as fast as she
could, trying hard to keep up.  But it seemed no
matter how hard she tried, the pressure of the choke
collar around her neck was constant, and she had to
fight for each breath.  Dimly she noticed they weren't
heading for his cabin, in the residential section, but
instead seemed to be heading for the gymnasium.
Blackstone led her to an exercise room, and after
shoving her down, making her kneel on the mat in the
center of the room, he turned to make sure all the
doors were locked.

Mark locked the door to make sure he wouldn't be
disturbed, turned off the light, and laid down on his
bed, slipping into a half-trance almost immediately.
Letting go of his breath in a soft whisper, he focused
on his link to Tanj, quite intent on missing not a
single detail of what went on.  *Wish I could make it
easier on Tanj...but if I did, Blackstone might
notice and take his frustration out on her in earnest.
I'll have to settle for watching closely and prying a
few secrets from him while he's distracted, and somehow
make it up to her later.*

Tanj watched as Blackstone removed several items from
pockets, and then slowly disrobed, folding his clothes
and setting them aside neatly.  Finally, he turned and
padded over to her.  With another length of chain, and
some more double ended harness hooks, he looped the
chain around one wrist, and tugging it behind her
back, looped it around the other wrist.  The chain was
then jerked up harshly, and clipped to the ring of the
choke collar, now turned to dangle down her back.
Unless Tanj struggled to keep her wrists held high
up in the center of her back, the choke collar made it
difficult to breath.  Using another chain, he hooked
her wrists to the chain between her ankles making her
bow her back...  As she struggled, she watched the
bear......

"Having Difficulty breathing?" He rumbled.  With a
grin, he stepped closer, his hard cock swaying before
him.  Grinning, he placed his paws on either side of
her head, stroking her fur.  Then, suddenly his thumbs
dug into the corners of her jaw and with a gasp she
felt her mouth forced open.  Hard rubber was shoved
into her mouth, an open ring pulled towards the back
of her head by heavy straps, buckled behind her head.
The ring forced her to keep her jaws apart.  She was
familiar with the ring gag, also known as the oral
rape gag, but even at the academy, she'd never had one
crammed into her mouth so brutally.  And this one had
sharp little points on the inside, along the bottom,
forcing her to lay her tongue through the ring, or get
it pricked.

Blackstone grinned down at her; "well, now that we've
made sure your mouth will stay open, that you can't
bite, lets see what we can do about your breathing..."
And with that he stepped closer, one paw directing his
shaft to her mouth.  With his other paw behind her
head, he grunted and shoved his cock into her wide
open mouth, pushing it over her tongue, through the
ring.  She gagged as she felt its head press against
the back of her throat, but he didn't let up the
pressure.  In fact, wrapping a paw in her hair, he
jerked her head back, to stand above her, pressing his
cock into her until it slipped down her throat.

Tanj struggled against her bonds; the bear, like so
many of his species, was rather large, and this one
was rather well hung, even for a bear.  His cock
stretched her throat painfully, but worse than that,
it was long enough, thick enough, to close her air
passage, to keep her from breathing.  And she knew
that was just what he wanted, as he didn't move; he
just held his cock deep in her throat, waiting for her
to get short of air......

Mark frowned lightly and tuned in closely to Tanj's
vital functions, keeping his thoughts grimly to himself.
"Careful there, Blackstone" Mark thought to himself; be 
VERY careful.  I KNOW you're not planning to kill her, 
but get carried away and loose control, have an "accident"
and you won't ever know what hit you...and secrecy be
damned."

Tanj's struggles were increasing as she slowly ran
out of air.  Her vision was narrowing, being reduced
to a small spot surrounded by gray, her lungs burning
fiercely, when finally he pulled back some.  She was
barely able to gasp for air before he drove his meat
down again, closing off her throat.  She swallowed
instinctively, the gag reflex causing her throat
muscles to ripple and spasm around his invading shaft.
And he loved it.  From the look on his face, this was
the kind of control that he sought, a terrified,
helpless victim under his complete control, to live or
die at his discretion.

Blackstone loved the look of terror in her eyes, the
mask of agony on her face.  It had been so long since
he'd done this, he was savoring every second.  But it
had been so long, that he was on a hair trigger...
She'd only come close to passing out three times when
he lost it, howling as his cock pumped his pent-up
load down her throat.  Finally he pulled back, to wipe
his softening cock against her cheek in derision,
first one side, then the other.

Tanj gasped, and panted, trying hard to recover her
breath, to hold herself in a position where the choke
chain didn't make it more difficult than it already
was.  She'd heard stories of those that said
suffocation during sex made the orgasms much more
powerful, but somehow she'd doubted it.  And there
were rumors of accidents among those who went a little
too far in pursuit of that particular fetish.  She'd
also heard of those who liked to kill slaves while
having sex.  There was a story at the academy about
one customer who had a device that went around the
neck; every time he pumped her, it got a little
tighter, until she couldn't breath, and as her body
spasmed in death, that was the extra sensation he
needed to orgasm.  Even the instructors in the academy
thought that was sick, and cruel, and Tanj agreed.
But it was also a sad fact that such folks did exist.
And that one was reputed to be a regular customer.

In his cabin, Mark slowly relaxed.  The worst - the one
REAL danger to Tanj, if he'd read the bear correctly
- seemed to be over.  The rest would 'merely' hurt...
one more reason to get back at the sick bastard when
the time was right, to be sure, but it could wait until
then.  *Now let's see in how much detail he's planned
his betrayal yet...*

After he'd regained his breath, Blackstone turned and
walked over to one corner of the room.  He wondered at
the fact that the mouse hadn't come running yet.
Could his link with Tanj be an on-again/off-again
thing?  "Perhaps I can force the issue another way" he
thought with a chuckle.  Flipping back one of the
exercise mats, he revealed a selection of whips, canes
and crops.  "Now then, I bet its been a LONG time
since you were properly whipped, eh, Slave?"

Tanj hung from her chained paws, balanced on
tiptoe.  Blackstone had taken a spreader bar from its
hiding place under one of the mats and had connected
it between her ankles, forced her right foot high into
the air. "At least I can breath again" thought to
herself as she balanced precariously, trying to watch
Blackstone as the bear circled her, a crop in one paw.
As he walked he idly slapped it against his thigh...
Tanj knew that he was going to make her loose her
balance, to wind up hanging from her wrists, but the
chains were hard and bit cruelly into her wrists, and
she wanted to put that off as long as possible......  And
that meant holding still, very still......

Tanj moaned through the ring gag as yet another
blow landed.  He was being careful, she thought, not
to let the blows overlap, to leave any blemish that
could be detected tomorrow, and yet each stroke HURT!
She'd had more experience with being whipped at the
academy than she would have liked, and from this end
at least, considered herself something of an expert......
He'd been cropping the insides of her thighs, and her
ass, with an occasional stroke against her unprotected
sex, or her breasts.  As another stroke struck her
pussy, square on her slit, Blackstone let out an
"OHO!"  looking at the leather tab at the end of the
crop and then bending to examine Tanj's sex he
shook his head in amazement; "do you mean to tell me,
Slave, that this cropping is getting you hot?  Why,
your pussy is dripping!  Well, slut, I guess I'll have
to find something a little less pleasurable......"

Tanj shook her head; this HURT; how could she find
it exciting?  She wasn't aroused; she was certain of
that!  Was he making it up, just to torment her?
Absurd......  and yet she'd heard of slaves that fell in
love with the lash......  With a moan she shuddered and
again wondered just what had become of her.

Blackstone considered his options.  He thought that if
the mouse really had a telepathic link with her, he
either would have come running to rescue her by now,
or that he was enjoying this too.  Maybe the little
snot was into the slave's torment, and was sitting
back somewhere, watching, enjoying what was going on.
Blackstone reveled in terror and control, and right
now, he had the slave in his complete control.  The
only problem would be if he went too far, giving in to
his desires.  He could kill her, but that would ruin
his plans, and with a sigh, he decided she wasn't
worth that.  Maybe when the pirates had been captured,
he could buy her, and then......  but in the meantime,
he'd gotten the information he needed.  But just in
case, just for the possibility that the mouse WAS
watching, living vicariously through Blackstone's
actions, he'd give him a finale that would make him
sit up and take notice.

Blackstone had re-tied her, on her stomach, wrists
tied to ankles, her body bent back in a bow,
exacerbated by the fact that the spreader bar still
held her feet wide apart.  He had the crop again, and
she didn't like the look on his face......

The first stroke landed on the pads of her left foot
and she knew what he was after.  It was called
"bastinado", the whipping of the soles of the feet,
and it was very painful, and if done right, didn't
leave a mark... and as she howled through her ring gag
as the next stroke fell, she knew she'd have
difficulty walking when he was done with her...

Tanj groaned when she smelled the menthol aroma of
the liniment.  "I HATE it when they do that" she
thought to herself. Blackstone had untied her, and
retrieving short fiberglass rods from their hiding
places, he had lashed two on either side of each of
her knees, making her legs rigid from hip to ankle.
Similar rods lashed by her elbows made her arms stiff
as well.  He had then tied her wrists to her knees,
making her torso and legs form an "L".  The spreader
bar still held her ankles wide apart, and she sat on
the floor wondering what he had in mind.

She didn't have long to wait.  He chuckled and came up
behind her, to lift her, tilting her forward, until
she balanced most uncomfortably on forehead and feet,
her ass sticking high in the air.  Tanj moaned; it
was only moments before her head and neck were
hurting......  and then he stepped up behind her, to smear
the foul smelling liniment over her ass.

Tanj couldn't move; she was tied too tightly, bound
into a rigid posture.  However the ring gag permitted
her to moan and then to howl as he shoved his cock
into her ass.  The liniment lubricated, but also
irritated, making her ass BURN!  She howled louder and
writhed as he reached around her, to take a gobbet of
liniment, to rub it on her clitty......

He fucked her slowly, taking his time, making it last.
He knew the slave was in torment, the liniment burning
her harshly; and yet, by tomorrow, there would be
little sign of his mistreatment......  But she'd know, and
remember every time she looked at him.  And maybe the
mouse would know too...... but he obviously wasn't going
to do anything.

Mark growled unconsciously in his trance, sounding more
like a hunting cat than a mouse for a moment.  *'Not
going to do anything', indeed.  Hiram F****** Blackstone,
you don't know how LUCKY you are. I can't just get rid
of you, whether openly or by 'accident' - this station
isn't THAT kind of 'hive of scum and villainy'.  There'd
be an investigation for sure.  And knowing your plans
doesn't help me prove anything since you've been canny
enough not to leave any physical evidence so far, so it'd
come down to my word against yours.  Congratulations.
But don't think you're safe forever...in fact, something
tells me I won't have to wait much longer.*

Blackstone came with a growl, his body shuddering.
After a moment, he pulled his softening cock from
Tanj's ass and pulled back on her, returning her to
a sitting position.  With a wicked grin, he moved
around her, to take her head in both paws.  Presenting
his still slick cock to her mouth, he chuckled; "clean
me, little slave; clean me well, and we'll be done for
the evening."

With the ring gag still strapped into her mouth, with
the way she was tied, there was no way Tanj could
resist, no matter how much she wanted to.  He shoved
his foul cock into her mouth, and when no tongue
action was immediately forthcoming, twisted her ears
until she complied...

Tanj lay curled up on the mat, in the gym.
Blackstone had freed her, gathered his toys and
implements and departed without a backwards look, or a
single word.  She knew she should return to her
quarters, if for no other reason than to clean herself
of the still burning liniment, but for the moment, she
didn't have the energy to move.  And her feet hurt so!

When she woke up in the morning, she was in sickbay,
with the Lion looming over her.  The doctor padded over
seeing that she'd awakened, and then turning to the Lion,
shrugged;"She's had a rough time, but there's no sign of
permanent damage.  Lucky that mouse fellow found her in
the gym, although why he was going for a workout at that
time of night is beyond me...  Somehow carried her all 
the way here, too...  But I bet she won't sit down for a 
bit, and walking, well, that too is going to be a problem 
for a while."  The lion growled, obviously not happy.  
Looking directly at Tanj, he growled;
"NO more Wagers.  Understand?" Tanj just nodded.

Blackstone grinned to himself when Tanj failed to
show for her class that afternoon.  He was feeling
quite pleased with himself, confident that the Mouse
was no threat.  Things were going according to his
plan, and soon he'd be out of here, and rich enough to
indulge himself for the rest of his life......

The next day, Tanj kneeled at her work station in
Intelligence.  She still was too sore to sit down,
still too sore to walk with ease, and standing was
pure torture.  Still, she'd survived, and anything
that didn't kill you makes you stronger, right?
"Besides," she thought to herself, "I can't be too
wrapped up in this sex slave thing, if I didn't enjoy
that......"  And yet she wondered about his claim of her
getting wet from the cropping......

  Blackstone grinned when Tanj showed up limping
for the next day's class.  He dropped innuendo after
innuendo, letting the class know exactly what he
thought of her, and of the things that he'd done to
her.  Tanj maintained a stoic silence, and she was
pleased to see that most of the class were distressed
by Blackstone's verbal assault and foul stories.

But there's always the few that don't go with the
group.  The Badger was excited by what the instructor
had said.  He'd always dreamed of doing things like
that, of having a sexy female in his complete power.
Was this cheetah really available for anyone to use as
they saw fit?  His imagination ran wild as he thought
of what the instructor had said, and of the things he
might do to her...  She was only a slave, after all,
wasn't she?

Tanj winced with each step.  Her feet were doing
better, but it still hurt to walk.  Still hurt to sit
too.  It had been a long day, between the routine
Intelligence work, her flight training, and the
preparations for her first "logistics" mission in her
freighter.  It was late at night and she was heading
back from Intelligence, and some late night "catching
up", towards the Lion's quarters, wanting nothing more
than a hot bath, and maybe some cuddling, when a form
moved out from the shadows to pounce her.

The badger growled; "Not a sound, Slave" as he brought
his knife up to her throat.  With a paw wrapped in her
hair, he dragged her back, into one of the deserted
offices.  "You 'n me gonna have some fun, bitch" he
growled, and Tanj mewled as she felt the point of
his knife prick her skin.

Normally, Tanj's unarmed combat training would have
kicked in, but she was having too much trouble just
walking to be as effective as she'd like; and his
knife was pressed hard into her throat......

The Badger grinned and looped a thin strand of wire
around her throat.  It had been formed into a noose
and he pulled it tight as he pulled his knife away.
Tossing the end of the wire over a sprinkler head on
the wall of the office, he pulled her up until she
danced on tiptoes, her paws grasping at the wire
around her throat.  "Betcha can't scream for help, eh,
bitch" the badger gloated.  Moving quickly, he pulled
her paws around behind her back, to tie them together
with more of the thin wire.  Having secured her to his
satisfaction, he retrieved his knife, to cut off her
clothes.

Mark sat bolt upright in bed.  Tanj!  A moment's
concentration confirmed his suspicions, as well as
her location.  *Not Blackstone for once...but if
anything, this guy is worse.  Can't lose a single
moment.*  Grabbing his pants, he dashed out of the
room and nearly ran into a couple of familiar figures.

The badger, thinking of what Blackstone had said, had
duct taped one of Tanj's feet to a desk chair,
forcing her to spread her legs.  He chuckled as he
watched her wobble for a minute, balancing on one
foot, as she swayed.  The desk chair was on wheels,
and that made her stance particularly unstable.  After
a while, the badger took the ruler he'd found in one
of the desks and slapped her hard across her left
breast.  Tanj tried to scream, but only a strangled
squeak emerged.  The next stroke was upwards, between
her legs, and again she danced and wobbled, trying
hard to maintain her stance, for to fall would be to
be garroted.

The ruler had a sharp edge, and the Badger was amused
to note that in a number of places her fur was tinged
pink.  He grinned and wondered what would happen if he
struck with the thin edge, instead of the flat......

The door was the usual type of door in the station;
powered and sliding, capable of standing significant
differences in pressure, but not explosive
decompressions.  It certainly wasn't up to the assault
that caused it to crash from its frame.  The badger
spun around, a surprised look on his face.  And then
as Slasher pulled his fighting knife, stepping
forward, the Badger's eyes rolled up in his head, and
with a shuddering convulsion, he keeled over.  Slasher
shot a glance at Reggie, who just shrugged, and then
they both turned to look at Mark...who wasn't there
anymore...  He had already moved over to cut at the wire
suspending Tanj against the wall with a short blade, 
sparing the badger not even a single glance.  Slasher 
and Reggie looked at each other again, and shrugged, 
and then moved towards the badger, who was convulsing 
on the floor, foaming at the mouth now. Picking him up, 
they dragged him out the door, even as Mark caught Tanj
with a soft 'oof' as she fell.

The badger's last thought, as the door crashed in,
just before his brain seemed to explode, was that he
didn't understand; she was just a slave, wasn't she?
No one cared what happened to a slave, did they?

Mark cycled the airlock, and turned away without a
second glance.  Reggie looked out the window, as the
blast of air pushed the still writhing Badger out the
open outer door.  He just couldn't figure out why the
Badger looked so surprised.

Tanj found herself again in sick bay, the doctor
clucking over her in dismay.  The Lion was furious
that something like this had happened, and he was
pacing back and forth in the confines of sick bay,
generally being in the way.  Mark, Reggie and Slasher
had been thanked for their timely rescue, and then
sent to retrieve the body.  The Lion felt that leaving
it in its low orbit around the asteroid station was
just "trashing the neighborhood" and had sent them to
dispose of it properly.

Blackstone found out about the previous night's events
at Breakfast.  The whole station was buzzing about
what had happened, most of the personnel feeling that
what had happened to the Badger was too good for him.
The Sable nodded sagely; "See, told you Mark and
Tanj had a special link.  He KNEW she was in
danger!"  Blackstone shook his head and wondered.

As he sat at his "desk", a tiny workstation assigned
to the instructor pilots, and worked on his training
report, Blackstone's mind drifted.  He wondered again
if the Mouse knew what he'd been doing with Tanj.
Had he known it was only a test of their link, of his
capabilities?  Or was his talent hit-or-miss, unable
to pick up on Tanj's little session with him, and
randomly picking up on the Badger's little escapade?
"I'm just going to have to plan for the worst," he
thought to himself.  "If the mouse might be able to
divine what I'm up to, I'll just have to make sure he
can't interfere.  Tanj may be a favorite of the
boss, but there's no sign Mark is.  His demise should
be much easier to arrange.

Tanj sighed and hit the "save" key.  The report on
current Imperial activity was complete, and appended
to the next operational plan.  One of her agents had
put together the data that suggested a major convoy
would be departing from Elysium for the Wolmart
trading station, in the Gurpta sector.  Other agents
had given corroborating evidence, and the read on the
Imperials were that they were busy elsewhere, that
this wasn't a trap, or a set-up.  The convoy's
departure was scheduled for eight days from now, with
the interception point 16 hours after that.  Now all
she had to do was to watch for changes in schedule,
and changes in Imperial routine......

Blackstone saw the ops plan show up in his e-mail and
grinned; this was the key, the final piece of
information that he would need to prove to the Elysium
Government that what he was saying was true.  If he
delivered that to them, with all the other information
he'd gathered, it would give them the perfect
opportunity to trap the pirates......

The compressed gas cylinder was easy to swipe from the
maintenance bay.  There'd been many advances in
fabrication over the years, but some metals still had
to be fused, welded, or in some cases even cut in an
inert atmosphere.  Argon was the gas of choice, and it
was commonly used for those purposes.  The day shift
was over and it was unlikely that the cylinder would
be missed before tomorrow.  By then it would be too
late.

Blackstone was way too big to fit down the ventilation
duct, but he could read a schematic, and determine
where they lay, what paths they traveled.  The one he
wanted passed through this storage cubicle in the
residence sector.  He'd already used a cutter to slice
through its bottom, a square sheet of polyboard shoved
through the slit, to dam off the airflow.  A hose from
the argon cylinder disappeared through a hole in the
downstream portion of the duct.  Opening the valve and
adjusting the regulator, Blackstone grinned. There was
enough gas in the cylinder to completely fill several
rooms, but he was interested in only one.  The Mouse's
sleeping quarters. "forsee THIS, you little bastard.
I bet even you can't read my mind while you're
asleep!"  As he departed, he broke the key off in the
door's lock, making sure that no one would detect or
disturb his scheme for quite a while.

Tanj was up early; it was becoming her routine as
there always seemed so much to do.  She'd put in an
hour in Intelligence, seeing what had come in over
night, then get some exercise, and then meet the Lion
for breakfast, and the impromptu conferences that it
always spawned as folks came to talk to him, knowing
they could catch him there.

Blackstone was moving too; his "exit" plan was in
motion, but he thought it would be nice to kidnap
Tanj, to use her as a hostage to help insure his
escape.  And nicer to use her afterwards......

Tanj growled as the lift sailed right past the
floor intelligence was on.  She grumbled and hammered
on the control pannel, until the turbolift stopped two
decks above where she wanted.

Blackstone watched the turbolift indiator, waiting for
it to open, waiting to pounce the cheetah slave.  He
blinked as it didn't stop.

The otter looked up from his magazine as the buzzer
went off.  Being an asteroid station, environmental
concerns were a priority, and any change in the
atmosphere, even local ones, tripped alarms.  The
otter's mouth fell open as the computer told him the
oxygen concentration in sector III block 2 was down to
3% from its specified 21%!

Tanj was headed for the stairs, pissed at the
turbolift, and intending to just trot down the two
flights of stairs.  Just as her paw touched the door
handle, the intercom crackled; "Tanj, please report
to Room 4225."  Tanj blinked; that was her Master's
suite, but that hadn't been his voice.  In fact, it
didn't sound like anyone she knew...  With a sigh, she
turned back, to trust her luck again with the lift.

Blackstone waited just outside the stairwell door, all
set to pounce.  The flashing lights on the turbolift
panel however drew his attention, and he blinked as
the lift descended back to the residential level.
"Bitch can't make up her mind this morning.  Dammit,
I've got to go, I'll mess up my schedule if I wait.
Oh, well, I'll deal with her after the pirates have
been captured......"  With that, Blackstone stalked off
towards the launch bay.

Tanj had just re-entered the Lion's suite when the
environmental alarm went off.  She'd been through the
drills enough times for her to find her breathing
mask.  Turning, she found the Lion already had his,
and was charging out the door, still nude.  Shrugging,
she grabbed his pants and followed him at a dead run.

The otter was scratching his head; he'd dispatched
teams to check on the occupants of the rooms in block
2, and was trying to figure out WHY there was such an
anomaly there.  The rest of the station was fine......
The only thing strange was a high discharge pressure
on one of the air circulating fans.

Tanj caught up with the rescue team as they carried
Mark's body into sick bay.  "He's still alive, I
think..." the leader called to the Doctor; "At least
we still have a pulse, but there's no telling how
long that'll last.  Hurry!"

The otter shook his head.  The concentration of Argon
was slowly diffusing through the station, and he bled
more oxygen into the system to compensate.  Still, he
had no idea where it had come from.  He directed one
team to check Engineering, to see if something had
leaked, and another team to find out why circulating
fan 24 was running with a high discharge pressure.
The latter didn't seem important, but at this point he
was grasping at straws.

Blackstone tucked the case into his fighter, as he
prepared to take his morning class out for their final
evaluation.  They were down to three students, none of
them were really very good, in his opinion; nothing
close to his own skill.  But that only made his day
easier.

"Hey, Charlie" the team leader called to the otter;
"we got one argon cylinder missing from Maintenance,
but that's all we can come up with.  Everything else
is either tagged empty, or still holding pressure.
The otter Hmmmmed and nodded.  Turning, he pressed a
button on his comm panel; "better get me internal
security..."

Tanj sat by Mark's bed.  He was on a ventilator,
but that was about all they could do for him.  His
heartbeat was very very low, as was his respiration.
Brainwave activity held some resemblance to that of a
coma, but there was some other activity, in other
areas, that the doctor didn't recognize......

The janitor tried the doorknob again.  "Funny, I never
lock this door" he thought to himself.  Pulling out a
ring of keys he tried to find the right one.  However,
his first attempt came up short as he found he
couldn't get the key in the lock.  Bending down to
examine it, he Hmmmmmed.  Straightening, the skunk
looked to his left, towards Block 2, where all the
excitement had been earlier, and then right towards
environmental.  Suddenly his eyes grew wide and he
dashed for the nearest comm panel.

Charlie watched as they cut the lock out of the door,
sliding it aside.  He nodded; "Uh-huh.  'Fraid of
that."  Stepping back, he let the guys from internal
security get a look.

Blackstone grinned.  It was time to make his escape.
By now, they MIGHT have uncovered his foul deed, and
he thought he should, as always, stay one step ahead
of them.  Centering his sights on one of his students,
he armed his weapons.

The duty officer in Operations came awake in a hurry
as the scanners showed a power spike.  Checking his
display, he relaxed as he realized that it was just
the fighter pilot class on another practice mission.
Then he tensed again as he realized it wasn't some
dumb bunny hitting the wrong switch, but the
instructor that had powered up his weapons.  Keying
the comm, he called; "Flight leader from ops; why have
you armed weapons?"

Jameson heard the call from Ops, but it barely
registered on his consciousness before Blackstone's
first volley destroyed his fighter.

Jenny gasped as she caught the explosion from the
corner of her eye, even as she heard the call from
Ops.  She wondered if they were being attacked, but
her scope had shown nothing but their own training
flight, and a single ore freighter.  Instinctively she
wrenched her fighter around in a tight turn, not
knowing what was wrong yet, but deciding it would be
prudent to give no one a clean shot at her.

Blackstone ignored the voice on the comm,
concentrating instead on lining up on his next
student.  This idiot had put his ship into a gentle
turn, as if trying to come about to see what the
matter was.  "Not nearly paranoid enough to survive,
you little twit" Blackstone thought as he fired his
weapons again, watching as the student's fighter was
left drifting, helpless.

Tanj watched the monitor.  Something was happening
in Mark's brain, neurological activity spiking in
certain areas.  Everything else made him look like he
was still in a coma...  "Maybe he's dreaming" she
thought...

Jenny was terrified.  Her instructor had just destroyed
two of his own class, and now he was after HER and
closing in...and then, from one moment to the next,
her consciousness "switched off" and there was nothing 
at all anymore......

Blackstone chuckled as the remaining student, that
wolf bitch, brought her own weapons on line; "Does she
seriously think she can take ME out?  I'll blow her
away and then I'll be out of here before they can send
anyone to stop me!"

Pulling his fighter into a tight turn, Blackstone
tried to line his sights up on the bitch, but suddenly
she put her ship through a dizzying sequence of twists,
turns and dodges, always staying just outside his
targeting reticule. Growling at his inability to kill
her as easily as he had the others, he armed two
heat-seekers.  When he got tone, signaling a lock-on,
he launched them, and then broke in the opposite
direction. As he turned he watched in amazement, as
the other fighter spit out exactly two flares several
fractions of a second apart.  Each flare decoyed one
missile perfectly, and then the bitch was turning back
towards him.

The lion looked at the argon cylinder, and at the
forensic evidence they'd gathered.  "Blackstone?  I
admit the guy's a sadistic jerk, but why would he want
to kill THOSE......  Ah, Mark.  Of course.  And you say
one of the other rooms in this block was vacant, and
all the others are occupied by furrs currently
embroiled in an all-night poker game?"  When the otter
nodded, the Lion just shook his head; "That's
remarkably lucky, that no one else got hurt.  In fact
that's incredibly lucky......"

Blackstone watched in amazement as his Image
Recogntion missile failed to recognize its target,
sailing past as if it were locked on a far star.  He
pulled his fighter around yet again, still trying to
get the bitch in his sights.

The Lion burst into Ops, took one look at the tactical
display and growled; "Magnum launch.  Get EVERYTHING
after that bastard.  We can't let him get away!"

Blackstone's computer screamed at him.  A dozen
assorted ships had just launched from the mining
station, everything from fighters like his, to a
cruiser.  And they were all powering up weapons.
Twisting his ship about wildly, he took a potshot at
the wolf bitch and shook his head.  "Going into warp
with a pursuit like this is risky, but hanging around
would appear to be riskier still.  Reaching down, he
threw the switch to feed power to his FTL systems.

Ben watched from the bridge of the Intimidator, the
cruiser that had been the closest to flight status
when the order came in.  "Whoever that student pilot
is, she's good" he rumbled, half the bridge crew
nodding in agreement.  "The boss says to fry that
bastard, but lets not try and fry her too; she's a
keeper."

Blackstone gasped as the ion bolt from the cruiser
missed his fighter by meters.  The residual charge
danced across the surfaces of his fighter like
crackling blue lightning.  "Now or never" he thought
to himself, hitting the key for Warp.  And then he hit
it again, with the same negative result, a single red
light mockingly informing him that the near-miss had
fried a critical connection and the replacement would
take thirty seconds to come on-line.  "OH CRAP" he
thought...

Ben watched as Blackstone's fighter tried to go to
warp.  Power was building; that was plain to the
cruiser's sensors, but somehow didn't get where it was
supposed to go. And that moment's distraction obviously
was all that the student needed, as she whipped her
fighter around, to fire all weapons at Blackstone at
point blank range.

Tanj smoothed the fur on Mark's brow as she watched
the brainwave activity drop in those unexplained
areas.  She wondered if he had stopped dreaming, or
did that mean he was dying?.

Ben shook his head; "whats wrong?  She's just sitting
out there..."  After Blackstone had been destroyed,
Jenny's ship had just drifted to a stop, and now just
drifted, motionless.  With a shrug, Ben turned to the
cruiser's tactical officer, and directed him to
tractor the fighter into the cruiser's small docking
bay.

Jenny blinked and jerked her head back violently.  The
medic grinned and capped the smelling salts.  Jenny
blinked the tears from her eyes and looked around; her
fighter was in some ship's docking bay, and a whole
crowd of folks were standing there looking at her.
Looking at her as if they expected answers, or
explanations...  She blinked and searched her memory,
wondering how she'd gotten there.  The last thing she
could remember was Blackstone shooting up the other
students......  Looking up into the face of the chief of
operations she withered and whispered; "Oh Lord, now
what have I done?"

Tanj smiled as Mark's eyes fluttered and then
opened.  Somehow he knew she was there, and turned his
head to look directly at her.  After a moment, he
mumbled "Oh...hi, Tanj.  You wouldn't believe the
dream I just had.  For some reason I was out there in
space, shooting it out with that Blackstone guy, except
it wasn't really ME...  Uh... Um, we're not in...  this 
isn't my bed! Where... What happened?"  Tanj blinked 
for a moment, then pulled herself together again.  
"What happened is that Blackstone is dead.  He 
apparently decided to sell us out, tried to flee the 
station and shot up his piloting class.  But it didn't 
work.  One of his students held him at bay until help 
could arrive, and then actually managed to destroy him 
herself before they could do much to help.  Interesting
things were found in the wreck of his fighter. Apparently
he'd been spying on us for some time.  Oh, and on the
way out, he tried to kill you.  By some random stroke
of luck, you were the only one in that residence block
when he made his attempt, and to the amazement of the
entire medical staff, you didn't die...and now I'm
starting to wonder just how your 'dream' ties into all
that.  Especially since Jenny - she was that student
out there, by the way - insists she doesn't remember
a thing..."

Mark looked thoughtful.  "I suppose there could be a
connection, yes...I'll have to look into that. Not
now, though, I'm still too tired, and you don't look
all that fresh either.  Go to bed, will you?"

  The Lion stood just outside the door, listening
quietly, barely breathing, then quickly and silently
made himself scarce as he heard Tanj get up.  He
went off to find Ben.  "Anything new from Mark yet?
I know Tanj's down there..." the Wolf asked.  
The Lion nodded; "He's woken up for a few moments.  
Probably is back asleep now.  Claims he's had a funny 
dream while the dogfight with Blackstone went on...
I suppose it could be a coincident..."  Ben nodded 
Slowly; "But you don't really believe that, do you?"  
The Lion shook his head no.  "Listen, I want you to 
run a VERY thorough background check on our little 
dreamer again, just to see if he's really as innocent 
as he looks.  Don't tell anybody else if you can avoid 
it, and most of all DON'T let Tanj find out.  I 
don't know just how good a telepath he is, he might 
just have fooled us all with that double-blind test 
bby seeing through it and playing along anyway, but 
let's at least not make it TOO easy for him to figure
out we're checking up on him..."  The wolf-morph nodded quietly
as he finished.  "I'll do that, boss.  Might take a
few weeks, but if there's anything to be found, I'll
find it."

Mark watched Tanj leave, watching the way her ass
swayed under her short dress, and smiled, half asleep
again already.  *Good thing I was ready for something
like that gas attack; old Blackstone simply WAS too
predictable for his own good, in the end.*  He reached
inside for a moment and lightly touched the invisible
matrix that had kept him just alive enough to survive.  
*And everything else can wait until tomorrow, just this 
once.*  With that, he closed his eyes and fell into a 
deep sleep...one without dreams, this time.

The lion watched Tanj enter the cafeteria, and
shook  his head.  Loudly, he said, so that all could
hear; "Yes, Ben, I think you're right.  Tanj did
all the prescreening for our recent recruits, and with
respect to both that Badger and Blackstone, she
severely dropped the ball.

Tanj stopped and stared, her mouth open.  Yes,
she'd done the pre-screening, but there's been a whole
committee that approved the final selections.  But
then as she looked around, she realized that most of
the committee was present, and all nodding their heads
in agreement.  Tanj smelled a set-up, but didn't
quite know what to do about it......

Ben nodded; "I think she's already paid the price for
the Badger... but I think she still should be punished
for her mistake with Blackstone.  That bastard could
have destroyed us all!"  The Lion just nodded.  "I'm
told that Blackstone said that that she hadn't been
whipped enough, and I'm beginning to wonder if perhaps
he wasn't right on that score.  What do you think?
Think that would be a suitable punishment?

Tanj had set down her tray, and had kneeled at the
Lion's feet, knowing something was coming, but when he
mentioned whipping, she looked up at him with shocked,
pleading eyes.

But the lion was unmoved; "Lets see, who'd like to do
the honors?  We need some volunteers to see she's
properly positioned......"  He hadn't even gotten it out
of his mouth when half the pirates present leaped
forward to pounce Tanj.  In moments she was nude,
her paws bound over her head, suspended from a hook by
soft braided rope."  Someone came up with a spreader
bar, and there was much discussion as to just what
Blackstone had done, and how he had used it.  Despite
the fact that she had no intention of helping them,
they finally figured it out and she balanced again on
one foot, the other held wide out to one side by the
bar.  They debated whether or not she should be
gagged, but finally the lion convinced them that she
should be left ungagged, so they could hear and
appreciate her cries.

As Tanj dangled, still aghast that they would blame
her for what had happened, the lion moved into her
view, holding a long and wicked cat 'o nine tails up
for her to look at; he snapped it quickly, the loud
pop making everyone jump.  He grinned and gently drew
it across her chest, the tails tickling her nipples as
he caressed her with it.  Still grinning, he moved
around behind her, and snapped it again.

Tanj sighed; she didn't want to be whipped, and
yet, if her master said it must be, she was willing to
suffer through it.  She searched her feelings, trying
to sort out the ambivalence she felt......  Finally she
decided that she had to trust him; he was her master,
and she knew he cared for her.  But she still didn't
think she'd enjoy this much......

Unseen by Tanj, no sooner had he snapped the whip a
second time, he handed it to one of the pirates, to
take the real whip he intended on flogging her with.
This too was leather, about as long, but soft fur
strips of synthetic mink, incredibly soft and sensual,
about a foot and a half long, graced the ends of each
of the nine tails.  The lion grinned and took one, to
caress Wanda's face with it, smiling as she giggled at
its softness.

Tanj didn't have time to ponder Wanda's giggle; she
really didn't think the Wolverine lass was into pain,
but......  She caught the shadow as the Lion tossed the
tails of the whip behind him, and she braced herself
for the blow......

But when the whip wrapped itself around her middle,
what came out was not a scream, but a giggle; she 
twisted and turned, trying to catch a look at what the 
lion was wielding, but then it struck upwards between 
her thighs and she laughed as fur stroked from her pussy 
to her tummy.  The lion flogged her "hard" and the harder 
he flogged her, the more she giggled, writhed and laughed!  
When he "botched" a stroke, it was like being hit with a
furry mitten; but when he did it right, the fur
stroked her hard and fast, and in the right places it
tickled wildly......

Finally the lion was exhausted, and he handed the whip
over to Ben, who stared at it as if not having the
faintest idea what to do with it.  Tanj had long
since lost her footing and was hanging by her paws,
swaying back and forth.  At least the wrist cuffs were
well padded.  Her chest was still heaving, and she was
finally catching her breath.  That thing TICKLED!  Ben
shrugged and gave her an experimental swat with the
whip, and then three or four furrs, including Jenny
pressed forward to show him the "correct" way of
wielding the whip.

After the whip had been passed down from the lion,
through three or four other furrs, Tanj was
giggling and begging for mercy most piteously.  The
lion finally consented, and they lowered her, to let
her work off the rest of her punishment by satisfying
the lusts of those who chose to remain in the
cafeteria.

This time, Tanj noted with a smile, the Lion
stayed, watching, until as if to close the ceremony,
he took her roughly, as was his fashion.  As the party
broke up, as he led Tanj towards his quarters, he
waved good night to Ben and called; "Now THAT'S the
proper way to whip a slave!"



Tanj's Tales:  Changes in lattitude, changes in attitude
Stardate 2398.50			    By Kittiara and Ann'katar

Tanj sighed and once again riffled through the stack of 
forms she carried.  “Flight plan, Mission outline, Fuel 
Requisition.... Who would ever have thought a simple supply 
run could be so complicated?”  Ben, the head of operations 
just chuckled, taking the stack of hardcopies from 
thecheetah-fem’s paws.  “Procedures have to be followed, 
Tanj, or we’ll have chaos.  The organization’s just grown 
too large for folks to just head off with a wave and a “see 
you later!”  Besides, you DO want to have all the passwords 
correct when you come back, don’t you?  To have the Ops 
crew expecting you?  It’d save you that trouble Erikson 
went through last week.”  Tanj grinned as she thought of 
the hapless Raider ship captain that had misplaced his 
passwords, and when he had shown up unexpectedly early, had 
almost been blown to pieces when he arrived at the pirate’s 
base. 
As Ben signed off on Tanj’s forms, the wolf sighed; “and 
when you’re at Smiley’s, I’d appreciate it.......”   Tanj 
grinned and finished his sentence with him as a chorus; ‘if 
you could find me some Brie...’”  Tanj giggled and kissed 
the wolf on the nose as she collected her forms; “Yes, Ben, 
I’ll remember; we’ll do our best!”


As she walked through the asteroid station, towards the 
docking bay, Tanj found it difficult to hold her excitement 
in check.  This was the FIRST mission they were turning her 
loose on by herself.  Sure, she’d flown the Lion and a few 
other of the Brethren’s command group to that meeting with 
the Elysium rebels over at Danforth.  That had gone well, 
not a single problem, but she hadn’t been in charge.  
Nothing more than a glorified bus driver.  She’d taken some 
of the folks from accounting, and a cargo hold full of Loot 
to Port Royale to meet the “brokers” (i.e. “fences”), but 
again, Dave from accounting had been in charge of that 
trip.  THIS trip was all hers; SHE was in charge!  Even if 
it was a simple “milk-run” to go pick up some repair 
parts........

Tanj grinned to herself as she walked through the docking 
bay towards her ship; she couldn’t help giggling over just 
HOW the lion had told her she was to make the trip.  It’d 
been late one night, and she’d returned from her tasks in 
the intelligence office, to find him still at work at his 
desk in his quarters.  Feeling a bit of a tease, she’d 
crawled under his desk, to nuzzle his crotch as he tried to 
work.  It wasn’t long before his pants were around his 
ankles and his hardening cock in her mouth.... 
And yet still the keyboard keys clacked above her.  It 
seemed the more she tried to distract him, the faster the 
sound of the keystrokes came, and yet she knew she was 
having an effect on him, his cock throbbing with his 
heartbeat.  Finally he finished whatever it was he was 
doing (she was willing to bet that whatever he had been 
working on had an unusually high number of typos), and she 
felt one paw start to stroke her left ear.  However just 
when she was sure she had his undivided attention he 
started to talk.  “Don’t let me interrupt what you’re 
doing, but I’ve got a small job I need to you do” he 
rumbled, just a hint of panting in his voice.  Tanj’s 
tongue glided back and forth along the underside of his 
shaft as her head slowly bobbed back and forth, as she 
tried to keep up the “pressure” and listen to what he was 
saying at the same time.  When he told her that she was to 
go to Smiley’s station to negotiate for some less-than-
common parts the pirates needed for their ships, she 
purrrred around his shaft, but when he told her that she 
was in charge of both the mission and the negotiations with 
the supplier, she almost bit him.....  As his words finally 
ceased, Tanj found 
herself shifting from gentle teasing to working hard on his 
cock, her head rocking back and forth with increasing 
vigor, driving his shaft between her lips, until its head 
repeatedly bumped the back of her throat.  It wasn’t long 
before he was moaning, both paws clutching at her head, and 
an even shorter time before his cock was spurting, his hot 
cum splattering the back of her throat.  That evening she 
made it abundantly clear, without the use of words, that 
she was enthralled to be given this mission, and the next 
morning, everyone in the cafeteria wondered what was up, 
with Tanj grinning like the proverbial Cheshire cat, and 
the lion yawning repeatedly, barely able to stay awake.

It hadn’t taken Wanda long to find out what was in the 
offing, and she grabbed Tanj at the first opportunity.....  
“Tanj, I hear we’re going on a trip” the wolverine lass 
purrred, a smile on her face.  Tanj was still a little 
doubtful about taking Lord Xylex’s daughter, a nominal 
hostage, away from the station, and narrowed her eyes as 
she looked at Wanda; “our agreement was that I had a place 
on the ship for a medic; how are you coming with your 
studies?”  Wanda beamed and held up a certificate for Tanj 
to see; it proudly proclaimed that Wanda had achieved her 
Licensed Practical Nurse rating, from the Ceres Sub-space 
University.  Tanj smiled; “Wanda, that’s a great start, and 
in record time too!  But I’m not sure its good enough... 
tell you what, let me talk to the boss and I’ll see what I 
can wheedle him into........  Wanda’s face fell, but she 
nodded and gave Tanj a hug, before heading off.

That night, Tanj had done her best to “persuade” the lion, 
“talking” to him as she sat astride his hips, slowly rising 
and falling on his cock. Unfortunately he hadn’t been 
suitably distracted, and as he reached up to squeeze Tanj’s 
breasts, had informed her that he didn’t think now was the 
time........ maybe later.  The next day, Wanda had taken 
the news remarkably well, a fact that should have alerted 
Tanj........

As they prepared for the trip, everyone seemed to have 
their own little requests to make.  Tanj had a long list of 
things they needed, an even longer list of things that 
they’d like to have, but somehow it seemed each ship 
captain, crew chief, or maintenance head had a personal 
agenda that hadn’t made it to the “official” list.  And 
each of them took her aside to give her a slip of paper, 
asking her to try and get those items......  And sometimes 
they weren’t even “work related”.  Slasher wanted a case of 
whiskey.  Bethany wanted some catnip.  Amanda wanted some 
sexy lingerie to impress a new boyfriend.... And so forth.  
Tanj was going to have a busy trip....... Especially as 
she’d arranged to meet one of her own field agents at 
Smiley’s station.  She’d been dealing rather anonymously 
with this guy for months now, and he always had provided 
good information, concise and accurate.... Still she felt 
that with some personal contact, she might get a better 
handle as to how to interpret the information he sent her 
way.....  With a smile she thought that perhaps with a 
“personal” touch she could inspire him to greater efforts, 
too.

Tanj walked across the docking bay, lost in thought, 
reviewing all her preparations for the trip, trying to 
think if she’d forgotten anything.  She was so lost in 
thought that she almost walked right into the lion, as he 
stood by the airlock.  Her head jerked up as he grabbed 
her, his paws large and strong on her upper arms, her eyes 
going wide in surprise.  He seemed amused by her 
preoccupation and kissed her on the nose softly as he 
looked into her startled eyes; “Just thought I’d see you 
off, and ask if you’ve forgotten anything?”  Tanj’s 
thoughts again turned to her preparations and she 
mumbled..... “food, ... fuel, ... life support, ... 
weapons.... Money..... Crew’s already on board...... flight 
plan filed, clearances granted...... got our fake ship’s 
ID’s and our papers......  Got the list of everything we 
need...... preflight’s done, and everything’s green.....  
No, can’t think of anything we’ve forgotten......”  Tanj’s 
eyes rose to look at her master, beseechingly, as if asking 
confirmation that she hadn’t forgotten anything, but he 
just T’sk’ed and shook his head.  Reaching out to touch her 
collar, he smiled; “and what do you think this trader 
you’re going to dicker with is going to think when you walk 
in wearing this?”  Tanj’s jaw dropped and she blinked, both 
paws going to touch her collar...... Before she could 
speak, the lion shook his head and told her to turn around. 
As she looked out across the docking bay, she felt him 
gather and lift her hair, to slide something around her 
neck; then there was a snick and her collar was falling 
away.....  Tanj had to fumble to catch it, but once she had 
caught it, she raised her paws to examine the simple gold 
ring that now encircled her neck.  The lion rumbled; “I’m 
told its called a “torque” as Tanj turned, to examine her 
reflection in the freighter’s main deflector dish.  It 
might have been a lady’s fancy jewelry......or a collar 
pretending to be jewelry......  Turning back, she sought 
out his eyes, to stare wordlessly at him, a confused 
expression reflected in her own eyes.  The lion smiled, 
seeming to know exactly what was going through her mind; 
“You know you’ll always be mine, but in public, you will 
pretend to be free, letting no trace of your true condition 
show, nothing that might compromise your mission.  When you 
return, you can replace that with your true collar, but 
while away, you’ll wear that, or something similar, to 
remind you of who, and what you are.”  Tanj just nodded 
dumbly and rose to tiptoes to kiss him goodbye, and then 
without a backwards glance, her collar still in her hand, 
she boarded her ship and sealed the airlock.

Tanj slid into the Navigator's station chair on the small 
freighter's flight deck, and nodded to Mark, already in the 
pilot's seat.  "Go ahead and contact Ops, and request 
permission to launch.  I've got all our clearances, and I 
do believe we're ready to get this show on the road."  Mark 
nodded, tilted his head with a little smile as he looked 
her over for a moment, and turned back to his console, 
hitting the transmit key.  As he talked to the duty furr in 
Ops, Tanj knew he'd noticed the absence of her collar.  The 
ship lurched as Mark lifted off from the deck, the landing 
pads folding smoothly into the hull, as 
they glided towards the launch port.  Forcefields crackled 
around the hull as the ship passed through the tunnel and 
into space.  Tanj watched Hinoki at the sensor station, as 
she listened to Mark talk to departure control, and then 
the ship's sublight drive was engaged, the asteroid station 
falling behind them rapidly.

Hinoki finished his sweep of the area, noting the mining 
craft moving to and from the station, checking the area for 
"prying eyes" that might notice their departure.  
Everything seemed clear, and with a sigh he settled back to 
watch the starscape through the forward viewer.  After a 
bit he turned, and looked at Mark; "we got a ways to the 
first Jump Point; I'm going to go get a cup of coffee; you 
want one?  Mark smiled and nodded; "sure; cream and sugar, 
if you please."  Hinoki nodded and rose from his station 
chair, stopping to look at Tanj on his way out; "Tanj you 
want......... hey, what happened to your collar.  GOOD 
LORD, DID THE BOSS SET YOU FREE???"  Tanj just snorted 
and shook her head; "nope, not at all; its just that while 
we're away, I've been instructed to "pretend" to be a free 
furr.  Twirling her collar around one finger, she grinned 
at Hinoki; "This goes back on when we get home, and let me 
tell you, it feels passing strange for it not to be around 
my neck.  Its almost like I'm looking forward to getting 
back, so I can put it back where it belongs......."  Hinoki 
just gave her a funny look and nodded, a short abrupt 
motion; "Uh, well, you want a cup of coffee?"  Tanj stared 
at the viewscreen as she nodded; "Yeah, thanks.  Black."

Zassa followed Hinoki onto the bridge when he returned, 
helping him carry one of the cups of coffee.  Hinoki for 
his part put Mark's cup in the holder by the pilot's seat, 
and settled back into his station chair, his eyes running 
over his board, making sure that nothing unusual had 
cropped up.  Zassa handed Tanj her cup, and she took a long 
sip as she looked over the Engineering board, and then 
changed modes back to Nav to check their progress.  Looking 
up, Tanj found Zassa still staring at her.  "Hinoki told me 
the boss had unlocked your collar, but I just had to come 
see for myself...." the vixen purrrred.  Tanj shrugged; "He 
felt that a slave commanding a freighter would raise too 
many questions....."  Mark interrupted; "Coming up on the 
first jump point, Captain...."  Tanj grinned and nodded; 
"Jump when your board's green, Mark."  Tanj changed the 
mode of her board back to engineering, to give the jump 
drive another quick look, watching the power levels surge 
as Mark jumped the ship into hyperspace.  When everything 
had stabilized, and all the instruments were lined out, she 
turned back to Zassa; "you know, I suppose we could just 
take the ship and head out, to go wherever we wanted to.  
We could leave the Brethren behind and they'd NEVER find 
us.........." Hinoki shrugged; "we could do that, I 
suppose..... and yes, the Empire's big enough they'd  
probably never catch up......."  Zassa added; "and we have 
all the resources to change our registration, forge new 
identity papers..... We've even got some cash....  but 
would you REALLY want to do that?"  Tanj sighed; "you know, 
when I was first captured, and sold as a slave, I wanted 
nothing more than to escape, to regain my freedom. Now..... 
I dunno, maybe it's the conditioning, but.....  I've got 
friends, AND loves back there... back "home".  I don't 
think I could ever just take off and leave them......"  
Hinoki smiled and turned back to his board, sweeping a 
volume of hyperspace around them in the unlikely event that 
there was another ship nearby.  Zassa patted Tanj's 
shoulder as she turned to leave the flight deck, and in the 
pilot's seat, Mark just shook his head, nodding to himself 
with a silent inward chuckle.  Some 'slaves', indeed... 
maybe there was some hope yet.

The next 'day', as indicated by ship's time, Tanj was 
sitting in the freighter's small wardroom, going over her 
papers, and the papers for her crew, double-checking to 
make sure that there'd be no problems at Smiley's.  Places 
that dealt on the shady side of supply often went to great 
pains to know who they were dealing with, fearing the 
police, or worse, the Empire.  And Smiley's was supposedly 
a place where you could get anything you needed, no 
questions asked; that was why they were going there.  She 
yawned and turned to look a the back of one of the 
documents when Wanda moseyed in, to pour herself a cup of 
coffee.  "Mornin', Tanj" the wolverine lass mumbled. 
"Mornin', Wanda" Tanj replied, rather distractedly.  It 
wasn't until two minutes later, after Wanda had left with 
her cup of coffee that Tanj's head snapped up.  She stood, 
knocking over her chair to yell "WANDA!" at the top of her 
voice.

She found Wanda down in the cargo bay with Zassa.  They'd 
set up a handball court in one corner, using some 
polyboard, and were jumping back and forth, each trying to 
swat the hard rubber ball.  Tanj watched for a moment, 
scarcely able to believe her eyes.  Finally she could hold 
it in no longer; "Wanda, WHAT are you doing here?"  Wanda 
deftly caught the ball, and turned to face the Cheetah; "I 
thought Zassa wasn't getting enough exercise, so we set up 
the court here.  I promise you both that by the time we get 
back, she'll have lost two kilos and have much improved  
muscle tone....."  Tanj shook her head; "not THAT!  What 
are you.... I thought I told you the boss said you couldn't 
COME ON THIS TRIP!"  Wanda just smiled and nodded; "you 
did.  But I wanted to come anyways, and decided to follow 
an old and honored tradition; stowing away!"  Tanj groaned. 
They were too far out to turn back now.  And her master was 
going to KILL her when he found out......  "Wanda, you've 
gotten us in a lot of trouble, and I intend to make SURE 
you don't get us in any more!"  Wanda giggled; "I figured 
there'd be punishments involved...... and I'll take whats 
coming to me, just so long as I get to do some SHOPPING!"  
Zassa grinned; "ooooooh, punishments!  Yes, she needs to be 
punished!  Captain, Ma'am, please may I punish Wanda?"   
Tanj just groaned.

Tanj had every intention of punishing Wanda for stowing 
away.  She just didn't know how.  She certainly didn't want 
to hurt her, but SOMETHING had to be done.........  That 
evening, at "shift change" she kissed Mark on the flight 
deck; "sure you don't mind sitting this one out?" she 
purrrred.  Mark grinned and shook his head; "Not at all.  
Besides, who else on board COULD you trust with the 
controls while there's an orgy going on, anyway?"  Tanj 
grinned and gave the mouse a hug and headed aft towards the 
cargo bay.  Zassa and Hinoki had rounded up Wanda, and had 
her kneeling in the cargo bay, completely nude. Well, since 
they'd cleared the pirate station, clothing had been pretty 
much optional anyways.......  Tanj grinned as she saw that 
they'd made her adopt a slave's position, kneeling with 
knees widespread, paws on her thighs, back straight with 
head bowed.  Marching right up to her, Tanj looked down at 
the kneeling wolverine lass and demanded; "Are you ready to 
receive your punishment?"  Wanda mewled in a small voice; 
"Yes, Captain."  Tanj grinned and shook her head, glad that 
with her head bowed, eyes downcast, that Wanda couldn't see 
the expression on her face; but it was obvious that Zassa 
and Hinoki had caught it.  Tanj grinned at them and 
silently mouthed; "I just can't get used to being called 
"Captain."

Tanj did her very best to resume her stern expression.  
"Wanda, your presence has made me quite uncomfortable, and 
as a result, I am determined to make you just as 
uncomfortable.  Zassa has a little..... fashion accessory 
that I want you to wear.  Until further notice."  With 
that, the vixen moved into Wanda's line of sight, holding a 
leather and steel contraption...... it looked like a 
chastity belt, with a thick leather strap for around the 
waist, and another that would descend severely between the 
thighs.....  In a strategic place it had a hard and  
inflexible, yet padded plate that completely covered her 
sex, preventing so much as a touch.... And just "behind" 
that a rather severe butt-plug.  Where the straps joined in 
front and back was a riveted reinforcing metal plate, where 
the shield over her sex met the strap from the butt-plug, 
was an integral lock.  Hinoki rose to help, with  a grin, 
and shortly, the device was locked around Wanda's loins.  
"The key that opens that is chained to the ship's head 
(toilet); it however will stay in the lock, until the 
two halves are reconnected; thus, you can go to the 
bathroom anytime you like, but can't leave without 
refastening the belt" Tanj smirked.  "The other part of the 
punishment is that in stowing away, you've caused us to 
have to "watch" you, although I admit, "watch over" might 
be more accurately.  In doing so, there are..... activities 
that some of us will not be able to participate in, as I'll 
have to assure that you're.... Protected.  And as such, 
there will be activities that YOU will not participate 
in......"  Tanj smiled as Wanda stiffened; "No, I'll take 
you shopping with us; I wouldn't deny that to any of the 
rest of the crew, and if we're to watch over you, then 
you'll have to go along....... BUT!  I am going to make you 
WATCH us, as we make love to each other, and will NOT let 
you join in.  That's the point of the chastity belt.  Even 
as you can't give yourself pleasure."  Wanda just moaned.

Tanj made sure that Wanda remained kneeling there, in the 
cargo bay, as she and Zassa  wrung Hinoki dry, draining him 
of every drop of cum his poor balls contained.

Tanj's eyes snapped open with an almost audible "click."  
It wasn't the overhead of her miniscule cabin on her 
freighter that she saw, but a blue sky, with cumulus 
clouds.  Wind tugged at her fur, a spray of sand stinging 
the left side of her face, the sound of the surf in her 
ears.  She tried to raise her head, to look around, only to 
find that her hair had been gathered at the top of her 
head, braided, and the end of the braid secured somewhere 
behind her; she couldn't raise her head more than a few 
inches.  Turning her head left, and then right, she made 
out that she was laying on a beach, spread-eagled, her 
wrists, her ankles, and her tail (and presumably her hair 
as well) bound to large stakes driven deep into the sand.  
A ball gag filled her mouth, and there was an interesting 
presence between her legs, as if her pussy had been filled 
by a thick dildo..... except the wind was whispering where 
it usually wasn't felt, and she wondered if it was some 
sort of a tube was holding her open.......  As she looked, 
she realized that she was at the very edge of the high tide 
line; the sand went from flat, through a little dip, to the 
slope that the water advances upwards with the rising tide.  
Her head was positioned such that the little lip, where the 
sand went from horizontal, to almost vertical for a few 
inches, was right at the back of her neck, her body below 
the high tide line.  "Well" she thought to herself, "if the 
tide comes in, at least my head should be above water....."  
Squirming around a little, she assured herself that she was 
tightly bound, with no apparent hope of escape.  Taking 
another look, she realized that she was bound with black 
braided cord of a type she'd never seen before, and she 
wondered how she'd come to be here......

There was nothing to do, but lay there, the sun rising to 
her left, slowly traversing the sky, the day growing hotter 
as it rose.  In fact, things were getting quite warm, the 
heat causing the cheetah fem to pant lightly.  The metal of 
her nipple and pussy rings were absorbing the rays of the 
sun faster than her fur was, and her tender bits were 
getting uncomfortably hot.  As if to cool her, however, the 
wind, which had been blowing sand at her, seemed to be 
strengthening, the sand stinging her sensitive nose, 
forcing her to turn her head to the right........

The crab was driving her crazy.  It would skitter across 
the sand, to poke at her, as if trying to figure out if she 
was edible, and then as the cheetah squirmed, it would 
skitter off, to look at her.  The damn thing just wouldn't 
go away, and leave her alone.  It approached again, to claw 
its way up her right side, its sharp claws dancing across 
her tummy, and as she howled into her gag, and wriggled, it 
hopped off to her left.  Squinting into the wind to her 
left, something other than the crab caught her attention, 
and she groaned as she beheld the darkening clouds, and the 
threatening sky.  "Well, I suppose I could use the shade, 
and a nice cooling rain would be nice......" she thought to 
herself.

She was almost asleep, the crab having found more 
interesting things to do, when the first spray of water 
cooled the pads of her feet.  "Well," she thought to 
herself as she looked through slitted eyelids at the 
position of the sun, "I suppose the tide had to come in 
eventually."  She lay there, stoically, as the spray blew 
higher across her body, the waves first lapping at her 
feet, then her calves, until the water was surging up to 
her thighs.  She moaned to herself, as the warm water felt 
like a hundred lover's tongues gently lapping at her.  But 
as the tide inexorably rose, she found that the pressure of 
the waves would at first force her legs as far apart as 
their restraints would allow, and then as the water ebbed, 
would drag them back the other way, again, to the limits of 
her bindings.  And with each wave, a little of the sand 
under her rump, under her back, would be washed away.  She 
was slowly sinking!  And all the while the sky grew darker, 
the wind fiercer, the sound of the waves crashing on the 
beach louder.  She was beginning to worry, that perhaps 
with the storm, her head would not be high enough above 
the break in the slope of the beach that demarked the point 
of high tide, to keep her sufficiently safe, when the first 
wave soaked her crotch.  She moaned anew as she felt the 
salt water flow through whatever spread her labia, to fill 
her like a weak douche.  Again and again, as the water 
crept inexorably higher, the surge of the sea pounded her 
sex, invading her body, forcibly spreading her legs......  
The spray was breaking over her face, droplets of water 
occasionally running into her nostrils, and she was 
starting to have to concentrate on just breathing, when a 
monstrous wave covered her.  It was gone in an instant, and 
she spluttered, clearing her nose, just as the next wave, 
not as forceful, surged up her body.  She writhed against 
her bonds, seeking desperately to escape the periodic 
inundations, gasping for breath in the increasingly few 
moments when she wasn't covered in spray, when she woke up.

Tanj panted as she sat upright in her bunk, her chest 
heaving.  "Just a dream" she kept telling herself; "just a 
stupid dream........"  She grinned at the memory of the 
warm water slowly lapping up her thighs towards her sex, 
forcing her legs apart, and at the feel of it surging into 
her pussy like an almost insubstantial cock...... but then 
she thought to herself; "Don't dreams of drowning reflect 
feelings of being "over your head" in real life?" and 
wondered to herself if perhaps she had bitten off more than 
she could chew...........

It was one of those rare times when the whole crew was 
together in the ship's tiny wardroom.  Both Hinoki and 
Wanda were walking a little funny, each for obvious and 
slightly separate reasons.  Tanj was just about to start 
her shift on the flight deck, and Mark had just come go off 
duty, frowning at a stack of printouts he'd brought with 
him; for the moment, as they got cups of coffee, or a 
snack, the ship was left to the rather sophisticated 
autopilot.  Tanj chuckled to herself as she thought at 
least it wasn't so sophisticated that it could make the 
coffee too.... Or drink it.  Mark finally dropped the stack 
of paper onto the small table with an exasperated sigh and 
shook his head.  "Captain, I'm afraid I have to report a 
security problem."  Tanj looked up;  "What kind?"  The 
mouse indicated the hardcopies lying in front of him.  "Our 
dear, highly paid, oh-so-expert forgers back home..."  He 
stopped and shook his head again, then noticed everybody's 
attention had turned towards him by now.  "Just look at 
these and tell me if you notice anything odd about them."  
He scattered the papers around a bit so everybody could 
have a look.  Tanj grabbed a couple of sheets before 
anybody else could react, and scanned them.  "Hinoki, male 
Cheetah, born...Zassa, female Fox...wait a minute, THEY 
USED OUR REAL NAMES?!?  WHAT THE HELL WERE THEY 
THINKING???"  Mark nodded solemnly.  "Just what I'd been 
wondering myself."  Hinoki interrupted; unnoticed by the 
others, he'd picked up another sheet of paper and looked it 
over with a slightly confused expression, and now he 
innocently showed it off to Tanj.  "You mean this is your 
real name, too?"  Tanj glowered and literally tore the page 
out of his hand;  "Yes, and you will forget it 
IMMEDIATELY!"  Zassa chuckled; "Why?  What could be so 
horrible about your real name?"  Tanj turned to face the 
vixen but before she could say anything, Hinoki burst out 
laughing, making her spin back around with claws bared.  
Still, it was too late to stop Hinoki. "Our  brave 
Captain's name is named Sou Ky? Souky?  Sooki?  
Sooooooooooooky!" the male cheetah chuckled.  Tanj growled; 
"Ky is the family name, and its NOT MY FAULT if my parents 
decided to get.... cute.  I HATE that name, and if you're 
smart, you'll see to it that I never hear it again!"  And 
with that, Tanj stormed out towards the flight deck, 
leaving her full cup of coffee on the wardroom table.

Hinoki looked at Zassa and the two of them both burst out 
laughing again.  Mark sighed, shook his head and looked at 
a rather confused Wanda; "Since that's the name on the 
ship's papers, I'm afraid she's going to be hearing it a 
lot, in the week to come.  I just hope that's ALL the 
trouble we're going to have because of that goof-up."

After a suitable cooling off period, Mark reheated Tanj's 
coffee cup, and took it to her on the flight deck.  The 
cheetah fem was all curled up in the pilot's chair, looking 
like she was having a good sulk.  Mark put the cup aside to 
hug her gently.  "Want me to toss that silly cheetah out of 
the airlock for you, Captain?"  Tanj chuckled in spite of 
herself.  "Can't do that; he'd just turn into a 
navigational hazard for other ships, and he's got a JOB to 
do."  She grinned in what she hoped would pass for a proper 
piratical expression.  "Ask me again when we're back home, 
will you?" Mark nodded and mock-saluted.  "Will do,  
Captain."  Tanj grinned a moment longer, then turned 
serious again.  "With a security breach like that, do you 
think we should abort the mission while we still can?  Or 
should I break out the do-it-yourself forger's kit and see 
if I can re-do all the documents?  Somehow I doubt my 
efforts will be up to the quality of the documents already 
prepared for us.  There's a meeting or two that have been 
carefully arranged in advance; if we break off now, it'd 
likely set us back several weeks at least."  Mark shook 
his head. "I've been thinking about just that for a bit.  
By all accounts, Smiley's isn't the kind of station that 
cares too much about just who uses their docks or if 
customers' names stay the same from one visit to the next.  
It's also well outside Elysium-controlled space proper.  If 
we act normal enough and don't give anybody an excuse to 
pry TOO closely into our backgrounds, I don't think we have 
much to worry about.  Just tell the crew to stay out of 
trouble, is all."  Looking over the Nav console, he nodded 
to himself; "I'll relieve you in twelve hours, and four 
hours after that, we should be there. Have a nice shift."  
Tanj sighed and nodded and waved as Mark headed off to bed.

"Roger that, Lost Cause; you are cleared to approach the 
station.  Keep your velocity under 15 meters/second.  Your 
assigned berth is docking port A23.  Please advise when 
securely docked, with engines secured, and we'll unlock the 
port for you.  Landing Control Clear."  Mark acknowledged 
his instructions and slowly moved the small freighter 
towards their assigned port.  Like so many others, Smiley's 
station was a hollowed out asteroid, a strange hybrid of 
metal and rock, looking for all the world like a cyborg 
potato.  Their port was on the far side of the potato, 
"aft" of the tower that held most of the station's sensors 
and transmitter arrays.  Mark, as always, handled the ship 
smoothly, turning, and settling onto the airlock ring with 
scarcely a bump.  At his signal, Tanj secured the in-system 
drives, and the maneuvering thrusters, and leaving one of 
the APU's running, slowly secured the ship's power systems.  
When all was secured, she nodded to Mark and he relayed the 
information to Station control.  Tanj watched as they were 
scanned, confirming what they'd told Control, and then she 
heard, or more accurately felt, through the deck, the 
airlock's main locking clamps engage.  It had all been 
completely routine and normal..... and it felt sooooo 
strange.

Tanj had dressed carefully, wearing an old pair of work 
pants, worn, but still decent, and relatively unstained, 
and a simple work shirt.  Hinoki wore cut-offs, a Tee shirt 
with a musical group's logo, advertising a concert tour 
from years ago..... and of course his collar.  The 
appointment they'd made with the 
trader they'd come to see wasn't for half a day, and Tanj 
wanted to go explore the station a bit, to get a feel for 
the place.  As she fretted, checking her pockets for their 
papers, her multi-tool, and other knick-knacks, she thought 
back to the last time she'd departed a freighter for a 
station..... Turning she looked at Mark, but before she 
could open her mouth, the mouse chuckled softly.  "Now 
don't you go and panic on me for no reason.  Whatever else 
this place is, it's NOT Elysium Station, there are NO 
'Wanted' posters of you hanging on the walls or guards 
waiting to arrest you right outside the ship.  Have fun, 
don't do anything TOO stupid - you know what I mean, you've 
been there yourself - and you'll be perfectly fine.  Okay?"  
Tanj shook her head in amazement, and then nodded, and 
turning, led Hinoki through the airlock.

The docking ring was done in Industrial Grunge.  It was 
moderately clean, but needed painting bad.  And there was 
dust and grime in the corners between the wall and the 
structural ribs.  Obviously the cleaning 'bots weren't 
keeping up with things.  Still, the place was fairly busy, 
more than half the docking ports showing the name boards of 
different ships docked there.  As they walked towards the 
nearest connecting tunnel, they noted free traders, like 
themselves, corporate freighters, mixed cargo packets (the 
kind that carried cargo and passengers on the routes not 
frequented by the liners), personal transports, and even a 
salvage and repair ship.  If there were any corsairs  
docked, they were well disguised.... And there seemed to be 
a singular lack of police, constabulary, customs, or 
military vessels......

In the hollowed out center of the asteroid, there was a 
biosphere of sorts, with plants and bushes, and a small 
circle of shops selling sundries, and the kind of supplies 
that ship's crews might need.  There was a restaurant, a 
small jewelry shop, and three clothiers... all of which 
sold used as well as new clothing.... and the inevitable 
souvenir shop.  Somewhere there was reputed to be a less 
formal "bazaar" as well.  As Tanj looked at the wares in 
the Jewelry shop, she watched Hinoki talk quietly to a few 
of the locals, asking the questions they'd discussed before 
heading out..... questions that might lead to entrepreneurs 
that didn't necessarily have a shop in the hub......  
Finally, having scouted most of the public areas in the 
station, they headed for the one remaining frontier... the 
bar.

Every station like this had one.  Sometimes more than one.  
The local watering hole.  The place where information was 
traded, drinks were sold, and consumed, relationships 
formed and reinforced, friends made, enemies fought, and 
the troubles of life forgotten, at least for a moment.  
Tanj took a seat at the bar, half way down its length, its 
stool creaking as she settled herself.  Hinoki stood there 
for a moment, until Tanj nodded to the stool next to hers, 
her action drawing a dirty look (but no complaint) from the 
bartender.  Gazing at the few bottles behind the bar for a 
moment, Tanj sighed and simply ordered two Bheers for her 
and Hinoki.  The barkeep placed the mugs on the bartop 
without comment, taking the proffered credit chip.  Tanj 
took a sip, and turned on her seat, to look over the crowd 
in the bar.

Most of the furrs in the bar were spacers, or station 
workers.  Most of them were in their own little cliques, 
keeping to themselves.  Tanj smiled as she remembered how 
with the pirates, Raider ship crews flocked together, as 
did those from engineering, or those from the mining side 
of the operation.  She sipped her bheer quietly, just 
watching, as Hinoki started talking to a rabbit seated on 
the other side of him.  She was surprised as the stallion 
came up behind her, one hand on her shoulder, spinning her 
on her barstool.  He grinned and leaned close, to say with 
a thick accent; "Waaaaal Little Lady, Ah'm afrayd Ah'm 
gonna have to call the cops on you......."  And for a  
moment , Tanj's eyes went wide, as she wondered how in the 
Universe ANYONE had figured out who she was; then he 
continued; "'Cause you've just Stolen Mah Heart!"  Tanj 
just groaned, and shook her head, and putting one paw over 
his nose, she shoved him back.  He took it well, chuckling 
as he walked back to his cronies, to shrug.  Just before he 
sat, he grinned back at her over his shoulder; "Ma'am, Ah 
PROMISE you, befowah you leave this heayah  station, you 
WILL be mine!"  Hinoki leaned out to one side, to look 
around Tanj at the Stallion; "Mister, believe me, you 
wouldn't survive a night with my mistress!"  Tanj frowned 
as the Stallion put one hand over his heart, pretending 
to swoon, as his friends howled and cheered and laughed.  
Downing her beer with a toss of her head, Tanj reached out 
to grab Hinoki's collar, and as she dragged him off, calls 
of "He's in for it now" and "Oh, what a way to go" echoed 
after them.  Hinoki just chuckled, and after they'd moved a 
couple dozen meters down the corridor, towards the docking 
ring, even Tanj was laughing.  After a bit, she sobered, 
and the thought hit her, "that was the first time, that you 
can REMEMBER, girl, that you've turned down someone 
interested in your body........ how strange!  How VERY 
strange!"  And then she grinned at Hinoki; "I wonder how he 
would have been inbed?"  Hinoki just laughed.

The reason for their journey, for their trip to Smiley's, 
was to meet a furr reputed to be able to obtain anything, 
for a price.  Tanj was convinced that the stories she'd 
heard, of this legendary "supplier" providing an Imperial 
cruiser to some rebels, or of some experimental computer 
systems so advanced that they were self-aware to some 
'stock traders' were all pure bunk.  But still, there were 
enough wild stories, that likewise, she was convinced that 
there was SOME foundation in reality.  And thus she had 
dressed carefully for their meeting.  The dress she wore 
was more conservative than she was used to, more risque 
than a lady would normally wear.....  She had decided to 
have Hinoki and Zassa accompany her, as a show of her 
"wealth" and "power", and also as "backup" in case things 
should go poorly.  Hinoki was wearing a very tight pair of 
briefs that showed off his physique well, and the little 
slip of silk that Zassa called a dress was positively 
scandalous.  Tanj smiled to herself as she led them both 
through the station, towards their rendezvous.

They had arranged to meet in the restaurant, and as Tanj 
entered, she found that the furr they'd come to meet, 
enigmatically named "Mooneyes," had reserved a private 
dining room.  As the Matre'D ushered them through the door, 
Tanj stopped to assess her "opponent" in the upcoming 
negotiations.  The room had only a single table, only about 
a foot high, surrounded by cushions.  Reclining on the 
cushions, on the far side was a rather fetching Wolf fem, 
in a skintight black bodysuit.  Tanj smiled, as she thought 
of her old friend Marla, and once again wondered where she 
might be.  After giving Mooneyes the once over, she flicked 
her gaze over the kneeling male fox behind her.  The fox 
was well muscled, wearing only a collar and a skimpy silken 
loincloth, and as she looked at him, again Tanj smiled, 
glad that she'd brought her own slaves........

"Remember who you are" Tanj said to herself, and then 
grinned again; "Scratch that; remember who you're SUPPOSED 
to be!"  Padding slowly across the room, trusting that 
Zassa and Hinoki would know what to do, Tanj settled 
herself on a cushion, sitting cross-legged, to calmly 
regard the reclining Wolf fem.  As she sat, Tanj observed 
that Mooneyes was giving her slaves a thorough once-over, 
and as the Wolf's eyes returned to Tanj, the Cheetah 
nodded; "Greetings, Mooneyes, I am..... Captain Ky."  
Mooneyes smiled and nodded lazily; "I'm pleased that the 
Brethren sent the famous Tanj to negotiate with me.......  
I've followed your exploits and had hoped someday to meet 
you."  Tanj, for her part, struggled hard not to betray her 
surprise at this revelation, managing to control even her 
breathing; however, she sensed Hinoki stiffen behind her.  
Mooneyes smiled; "Don't worry; your secret's safe with me.  
Besides, few hereabouts would care who you were."

Tanj nodded slowly; "I'm...... impressed with the 
capabilities of your..... organization.  Tell me; what, in 
addition to..... supplies, might your organization be 
capable of providing?"

Mark gave Wanda an appraising look; "PROMISE you won't 
leave the ship?"  The Wolverine lass nodded 
enthusiastically; "Nope, I'll watch the ship, won't let 
anyone in, won't go anywhere, won't use the comm, won't do 
ANYTHING to upset you or Tanj.  Don't WORRY, Mark, I'll be 
good!  You go and explore the station; you can TRUST me!"  
Mark looked her over again and then nodded.  As he turned 
towards the airlock, he growled over his shoulder; "Don't 
disappoint me, Wanda!"  And then as the airlock closed 
behind him, he smiled and stretched a little.  Wanda would 
behave...for a while, at least.  In the meantime, he felt 
like getting a look at the station, an idea or two which 
direction problems might come from, and perhaps even 
something decent to drink.

Tanj held out her cup as the fox refilled it with a light 
yellow wine.  The dinner was progressing slowly, almost 
formally, with aperitifs, appetizers, and now soups.  And 
each dish was accompanied by its own wine.  The 
negotiations were progressing equally slowly, as Mooneyes 
kept changing the conversation to other topics, everything 
from the latest fashions (Tanj hadn't a clue), to the 
latest Imperial scandals (Tanj had some interesting tidbits 
from her intelligence activities that she was willing to 
share, much to Mooneyes delight), to the proper way to  
train a slave (Tanj held some interesting views on THAT 
one.....).  Each time Tanj tried to steer the conversation 
back to business, but after settling the next point, 
Mooneyes again would divert the conversation.  It was 
almost as if she was trying to make it all last as long as 
possible...... and Tanj couldn't figure out if she was 
being set up, delayed until the Imperial authorities could 
arrive to arrest her..... or if Mooneyes was simply lonely.  
Or maybe this was just the way things were done in this 
part of the Empire.......

Mark poked his head into the bar, to look around.  Not 
quite his usual kind of place - well, he reminded himself, 
simply joining a bunch of pirates wasn't what some people 
would call 'usual' -, but it'd do...  He slipped quietly 
inside, to take up residence on a barstool near the door.  
After a few moments, the bartender quietly delivered his 
drink and he sat back to examine his surroundings.

Tanj wobbled a little as she held out her glass.  Dinner 
had been delicious, and had left her a little more than 
pleasantly full.  She'd fed Zassa and Hinoki morsels from 
her plate, following Mooneyes lead, seeing that they were 
well fed, but there'd been so much food, she felt she was 
still in danger of a massive belch.  Ah, and the continuous 
flow of wines, and now an after-dinner liquor was testing 
her limits.  She'd decided to follow Mooneyes lead and 
cease trying to discuss business; it was MUCH safer to 
merely talk, and she was finding Mooneyes good company.

Mark heard the tone of conversation in the bar change, with 
a few "oh Shit" and "Damn" comments floating to the 
surface.  Looking up he beheld an incredible sight, as a 
truly massive lady Hyena pushed through the bar's door, to 
stride purposefully up to the bar.  Mark shook his head in 
amazed disbelief as he gazed at her; she seemed to be solid 
muscle, her calves, thighs and stomach tight where her 
pleated skirt and crop-top exposed her fur.  She moved with 
the heavy grace of a male Lion, and as Mark looked at her, 
he realized that she was actually bigger than any Lion he'd 
ever seen; in fact her size approached that of some of the 
equines he'd known.......  And it was obvious from the 
reaction of those in the bar that they weren't particularly 
eager to see her.......

Finally the last of the deserts were finished, and the last 
glass of brandy drained.  Tanj rose, a little unsteadily, 
to bid her hostess good night."Tomorrow; we'll finish our 
business tomorrow.... " Tanj slurrred.  Mooneyes blinked 
and nodded, and then grinned; "as long as you have to come 
back this way tomorrow, how'd you like to exchange slaves 
for the evening?  Peter is quite talented, and I'm sure he 
could give you quite a pleasant evening......  and I have 
to admit I'm curious as to what your male could do......"  
Tanj blinked and turned to look at Hinoki as if seeing him 
for the first time.  She could tell by the way he held his 
ears, and his tail that he found the prospect of 
interest....  Turning back to Mooneyes, Tanj grinned and 
nodded; "sounds good.  But I've got to insist that whatever 
happens, you return him to me in condition to perform his 
chores; in other words, unharmed.  Of course, I'll treat 
Peter the same way."  Mooneyes smiled and nodded; "Always a 
pleasure to meet a responsible Mistress; of course, I'd 
agree to nothing less."  Tanj nodded; "Why don't I meet you 
here for Brunch, say, um 1100 hours?  Mooneyes nodded and 
turning to Hinoki, crooked her finger in a "come here"  
gesture.  Tanj nodded to Mooneyes, winked at Hinoki, and 
turned to leave, pointedly not glancing back to see if 
Zassa, or Peter were following.

Mark watched the Hyena fem eat from across the bar, 
displaying a casual disregard for table manners that at 
times made her look more like an animal fresh out of the 
wilderness than any sentient fur.  As she finished eating, 
letting loose a belch that echoed off the walls, she looked 
up, and met Mark's gaze.  She looked at him for a moment, 
neither challengingly, or flinching from his examination, 
until after a moment, the bartender said something to Mark, 
causing him to avert his gaze.  "She's been coming in here 
for about five days now" the bartender, a Marten, said.  "I 
think she got ditched by whatever ship she was on, although 
I can't say as I'd blame them.  She certainly hasn't been 
very good company."  Mark tilted his head quizzically.  
"Has anyone actually tried to get to know her?"  The 
bartender snorted; "Yeah, a couple of the local studs tried 
to put the moves on her; they were all rebuffed, and when 
one of them persisted, well, you can still make out the 
indentation in that wall, if you look carefully.  They tell 
me he should be out of regeneration in a few days."  Mark 
winced lightly, nodded, and returned his gaze to the Hyena; 
"So what's she been doing here since she arrived?"  The 
bartender shrugged; "Day labor.  Loading and unloading 
ships, janitorial stuff.... I heard that she took a job as 
night security somewhere, until she busted a drifter that 
wandered into her area.  Emphasis on 'busted.'"  Mark 
nodded softly again and continued to study her.... Only to 
find her returning his gaze with a bit of a glare.  After a 
second she said, in a voice that could be heard throughout 
the bar; "If you've got questions, what're you asking HIM 
for?"  Mark blinked, then shrugged, gave the bartender a 
meaningful look, and stood up.  "The lady has a point, you 
know..."  The marten shook his head; "You've already paid 
your drink, soI'm not going to get in your way...but if 
anything goes wrong, where should we send the body?"  Mark 
mumbled, "SV Lost Cause", picked up his drink, and started 
to weave his way through the crowd.

Tanj found Wanda seated just inside the airlock, obviously 
"on guard".....  "Where's Mark" Tanj asked.  Wanda looked 
up from her Nursing texts and then looked at a chronometer; 
"Dunno; he went out to stretch his legs on the station a 
while ago, and I haven't seen him.  In fact, its been quite 
a while....."  Smiling, Wanda looked up at Tanj, clicking 
off her reader; "would you like me to go look for him?"  
Tanj shook her head emphatically NO; "No way, Wanda.  
You're not leaving without the whole crew; your father 
would be furious if anything happened, not to mention 
my.... boss."  Turning, Tanj looked at Zassa; "you'd better 
change into something a little less provocative, and go 
take a look for our Mouse.  Check the bar first; that's 
the only place I could see him lingering. Be sure and check 
in with me when you return.  Oh, and don't pick up any 
strangers; be good and I'll send Peter your way when I'm 
ready to sleep." Zassa grinned and nodded and hurried off 
down the corridor towards her closet sized cabin.  Tanj 
sighed and shook her head and turned to head for her own 
cabin, Peter following.

Zassa strode quickly through the station; it wasn't that 
late at night, and there were still plenty of furrs about; 
it wasn't that she didn't think Mark couldn't take care of 
himself; somehow she thought it would take a small army to 
seriously threaten him, but she was concerned.  And 
curious.  And she was looking forward to seeing what the 
bar was like........

Peter slowly undressed Tanj, as she stood in the middle of 
her cabin.  Each piece of clothing was carefully folded and 
hung up, until Tanj stood  in just her jewelry.  The fox 
looked at her with a smile, and cocking his head to one 
side, eyes bright, asked; "and how may I serve you, 
Mistress?"  Tanj smiled, and traced the line of his jaw on 
one side of his face with a finger; "lets see how well you 
can employ your tongue, to start, and then later, I think, 
we'll move on to see what you can do with that bulge in 
your loincloth....."

Zassa spotted Mark right away, the blaze of his white fur 
standing out in the somewhat darkened bar.  As she stepped 
closer, she realized that Mark was sitting next to the 
biggest Hyena she'd ever seen.  Ever even heard of, for 
that matter; the lady was as big as a horse!  As Mark 
looked up, Zassa stopped at the edge of the table; 
"Ta...ah, the Captain sent me to check on you; Wanda said 
you'd been gone quite a while, and she was concerned......"  
Mark blinked, checked the time, then looked up at the 
Hyena, who flashed him a wicked grin, and back to Zassa; 
"Really?  Darn...I'd no idea it'd gotten so late.  Oh, 
Zassa, this is Mala; Mala, meet Zassa; she's the loadmaster 
on our ship."  Zassa smiled and shrugged; "no hurry to get 
back, I suppose, she was just concerned........"  A quick 
glance at the bar was all the signal that Mark needed to 
realize that Zassa was interested in idling here a few 
minutes, and he chuckled softly, exchanging glances with 
his new friend.  "Go ahead and get yourself a drink, Zassa, 
I suspect I'll be a few more minutes...no longer, though, 
or the Captain is likely to get 'concerned' about you as 
well..."

Tanj purrrrred; she was sprawled on her bunk, both legs 
hanging over one side.  Peter was kneeling by the side of 
the bunk, licking deep into her pussy with a dramatic 
exhibition of his skill, and his knowledge of female 
anatomy.  As he labored softly, Tanj was struck by a stray 
thought; she wondered what he made of all her 
piercing..........

Zassa put a couple of credits into the juke box, and pushed 
some buttons.  She smiled as the music started, and as she 
walked back to her barstool, drink in hand, she swayed in 
time to the music.  She knew that even dressed in work 
jeans and an old flannel shirt, she looked good, the eyes 
of almost every male in the place on her.......  As she 
took her seat again, the coyote a few stools away slid 
closer, to whisper; 'heya sexy; want to go back to my 
place?  I've got some great audio recordings........"  
Zassa smiled and looked him up and down, but then shook her 
head; "believe me, I'd love to, but my Mistress said I have 
to go straight back to the ship........"  The coyote 
awwwww'ed and shook his head; "such a mean Mistress!  What 
ship you off of, anyways?......."

Tanj howled, clutching his head to her crotch as his tongue 
flicked over the perfect spot to drive her into the arms of 
another climax.  She panted and moaned, her chest heaving, 
until finally she found the breath to say; "Enough!  Stop!  
I need to catch my breath!........"  Peter smiled and 
crawled up into the narrow bunk, to lay alongside the 
panting Cheetah, nuzzling her softly until she'd recovered 
enough to pull him over on top of her, with a grin.

Tanj mmmmmmmmed softly; she'd brought her knees up to her 
chest, and then grabbed her ankles, to hold herself bent 
double, as Peter slowly drove his cock in and out of her 
pussy.  The fox was comparatively well endowed, and he 
certainly knew his business....  Tanj was tempted to ask 
him where he was trained, or if he knew this technique, or 
that... She felt sure she could teach him a thing or 
too.... But dare not ask.  Here, he was supposed to be the 
"expert," and she still had secrets to keep.....

Zassa was on the coyote's lap, her arms around his neck as 
they whispered back and forth, occasionally kissing.  Mark 
had been talking to Mala for quite some time, and in one of 
the lulls that come normally to any conversation, he'd 
noticed Zassa.  With a sigh, he checked his chrono and 
shook his head; "Well, Mala, looks like it's my turn to 
rescue Zassa; if I don't do something soon, I fear she'll 
be making a public spectacle of herself, and then we'll 
never make it back before the rest of the crew comes 
looking....."  Mala giggled, a deep, throaty chuckle; "I'm 
not sure I'd mind seeing that....But you're right, of 
course.  Will your ship be docked here long?"  Mark thought 
for a moment and then nodded; "About three days, I think.  
I'll look for you here, tomorrow, if you'd like."  Mala 
smiled, quickly scanned around to make sure nobody was 
looking, pulled the mouse up into her lap, and bent down 
for a brief, sloppy lick right over his muzzle and  
forehead.  Then she set him down again, grinning ferally as 
she watched the blush spread under his white fur.  "I'd 
like that, I think...if YOU think you're up to the 
challenge, of course.  And if you think you can handle 
fighting your way through my usual crowd of fans..."  She 
snorted slightly in derision at the end of her last 
sentence, then shook her head, her expression softening 
just enough for him to see in the dim light without anybody 
else catching on.  "Fetch your loadmaster and get going, 
and I'll see you tomorrow."  Mark nodded, gave the Hyena's 
huge paw a quick reassuring pat, and then turned to collect 
the protesting Zassa and lead her back to the ship.

It must have been their fifth, or sixth position, as they 
ran through their not inconsiderable repertoire, with Tanj 
on paws and knees on the bed, Peter taking her from behind.  
His endurance was remarkable, and Tanj had enjoyed three 
more very nice climaxes.  While he seemed to be unflagging, 
Tanj knew he had to be getting tired, and lowering her 
chest to the bed, she reached beneath her, to tease his 
swaying ballsack with both paws; "with my next climax, you 
may cum, Slave" she purrrrred.

Wanda was still sitting in the chair, just inside the 
airlock when Mark and Zassa returned, but she was so 
engrossed in her homework she didn't notice them until Mark 
snuck up next to her and whispered "boo!"  Wanda then 
impressed them both by levitating at least half a meter 
straight up, in surprise!  Looking accusingly at Mark, 
Wanda checked the time and shook her head; "where WERE you 
two?"  Zassa hugged Mark from behind and in a sing-song 
voice said; "Marks got a giiiirl-friend!"

Tanj and Peter were both laying on the bed, panting, when 
they heard the outer airlock door close, as Mark secured 
the ship for the night.  With a grin, Tanj rolled over and 
swatted Peter on the ass; "go find Zassa, and see if you 
can relieve some of her "tension."  I'm sure that having 
seen all the studs in the station's bar, she's rather 
worked up.....  Peter just grinned and with a small bow, 
slipped out, his loincloth in one paw.  Tanj grinned and 
rolled over to turn out the light, too tired to clean up.  
Just before she fell asleep, she remembered to growl at the 
audio pickup that she was to be awakened at 0930 
Hrs........

Tanj came awake with a start as the room lights came up, 
the computer insisting it was time to arise.  Rising from 
the tangled bedclothes, she stretched and then grinned; her 
fur was a matted mess.  She needed a shower..... ah, but 
not just an ordinary shower.....  padding over to the comm, 
she called Zassa's cabin, and instructed her, and Peter (if 
still alive) to meet her in the ship's head (bathroom); 
she'd let the slaves bathe her and work the tangles from 
her fur and hair.  "Besides" she thought with a grin; 
"They're both likely to need some cleaning up too......"

Tanj purrrred as the warm water sluiced over her.  Using 
the trick taught her by her Master, she was having the two 
slaves wash her by rubbing their soapy bodies against 
her.... and of course things had degenerated beyond simple 
washing.... Peter's hard cock was pressing against the 
entrance to her back passage as he hugged her from behind, 
and Zassa's right paw was pressed hard over her mons, 
stroking her there.... of course Tanj's right paw was 
returning the compliment, stroking Zassa in turn.  The 
three of them undulated against each other under the 
running water, savoring each others touch, until they'd 
each had at least one climax, their juices adding to the 
stream flowing down the shower's drain.......

Wanda was waiting in the corridor when the three emerged, 
nude, and damp.  "Thought you three would NEVER get outta 
there" she grumbled, pushing past them into the Head.  Tanj 
caught Peter giving her an appraising look, obviously 
curious about the belt locked about her loins, and smiled.

They were still all a little damp when they returned to the 
restaurant.  Mooneyes was reclining in her usual position, 
Hinoki kneeling behind her.  As she settled on her cushions 
on the other side of the table, Tanj smiled at Mooneyes; 
"Your Peter was quite good; you should be proud of him.  I 
trust Hinoki was..... satisfactory?"  Mooneyes smiled and 
shrugged depreciatingly; "He has his talents, but I suspect 
I require a little more.... discipline from my slaves.....  
Tanj raised an eyebrow in a silent question to Hinoki, but 
all she got back in return was a grin and a wink.  Turning 
back to Mooneyes she nodded slowly; "True, he has been 
getting a little..... "uppity" lately, and I suspect I'll 
have to give him a correction.  Now, we do need to conduct 
some business, and I'd like to get that out of the way as 
soon as possible......"  Mooneyes just smiled and made a 
gesture, and before Tanj could say another word, Brunch was 
served........

"Yes, I think we can use the XMP56C's" Tanj said between 
mouthfuls; "but your price is too high.  New, those things 
go for only about 300 credits apiece."  Mooneyes shrugged 
and sipped her coffee; "IF you can find them.  There is a 
rarity factor to consider.  But I do have them in stock, 
and in the quantity you require, although not at this 
location.  Now the XMP54C's are almost as good, are much 
more commonly available, and as such are less expensive.  
But if you want the very best, sometimes you have to pay a 
premium......"  Tanj sighed to herself.  Mooneyes was a 
tough negotiator, but so far they'd come to terms on almost 
everything on her list, and within her budget too.  "No," 
Tanj finally sighed; "we'll take the 56's, but my budget 
will only stand 420 credits apiece.  Nothing more."  
Mooneyes thought for a moment, and then smiled; "at that 
price, I'll barely be breaking even......  and as such, I 
think you should do something to sweeten the pot......"  
Tanj raised an eyebrow, but nodded; "go on......" Mooneyes 
leaned back in her cushions, to look at Tanj over the rim 
of her cup; "Last night was interesting, with your slave, 
but I wonder what you might be like.  Spend the night with 
me, not as a slave, but as a lover, and I'll agree to the 
deal."  Tanj smiled; "Done!"

As they walked back to the ship, Zassa kept taunting Hinoki 
with tales of her time with Peter, and pestering him about 
his experience with Mooneyes.  Hinoki for his part was 
obviously doing his best to drive Zassa wild with 
curiosity, telling her only that Mooneyes was a most strict 
mistress, and that while he'd found ways to bring her to a 
dozen climaxes, she'd never allowed him to cum.  Other than 
that, he refused to go into details......... and the more 
silent he became, the more Zassa's curiosity raged.

Peter knelt before his mistress, back straight, head bowed; 
"Mistress, I was not permitted to see the bridge, or the 
engineering spaces, so I was not able to determine anything 
about their ship's capabilities.  From what I saw, it was a 
rather standard Free Trader..... However, there was one 
thing of interest...... There was a young Wolverine 
girl...........

Mark met them at the airlock, asking; "How'd it go?"  
Before Tanj could say a word, Zassa grinned; "you wouldn't 
believe what lengths Tanj is willing to go to, to make the 
deal!"  Mark just smiled; "Oh, I don't know about THAT.... 
But I take it that you've gotten us all we need?"  Tanj 
nodded; "almost all; some things, like those Jebson 
compensators, just don't seem to be on the market anywhere.  
But they were more "wish list" items anyways, than absolute 
requirements.  Yes, I'd say the formal list is complete, 
now all we have to do is work on the "informal" list..... 
Oh, and some of the stuff won't be here for a few days, 
so we're going to have to hang around for a bit.  Mooneyes 
is throwing a bit of a party tonight, if you're 
interested... Mark shook his head; "No thanks; if you don't 
mind, I'll just have a quiet drink in the bar again."  He 
winked.  "I know the kinds of parties you get into, after 
all...and I don't think I'm in the mood today.  Just don't 
forget to lock the ship when we go; everything's gone well 
so far, but there's no point in pushing our luck."

Tanj had changed into something a little less formal, and a 
short while later, the whole crew had assembled at the 
airlock.  "Mark, Hinoki, I realize that you two are 
probably not as much into "shopping" as the rest of us are, 
so I'll expect the two of you to keep  a close eye on 
Wanda, and to maintain general security for the group.  If 
you see something in one of the stores that you are 
interested in, let me know, and I'll take over for you.  
Got that?"  Mark and Hinoki exchanged looks and then 
smiled, nodding, chorusing "Yes Captain!"  Tanj sighed 
and led the way from their small ship, waiting to make sure 
that the airlock was sealed and locked.  Finally she pulled 
one of her own hairs, to step forward and with a lick of 
her fingers, "stick" the hair between the airlock frame and 
door.  The crew watched her carefully, and when she turned 
she shrugged; "if the hair is missing when we come back, 
we'll know someone's been on board.  If the hair has been 
moved, we'll know we were boarded by someone very 
professional.......  I know, I know, the security systems 
are state-of-the-art, but you know as well as I do that 
there are those that can bypass even those.  This is just 
my way of "making sure....."

The first place they stopped was the clothing store 
specializing in "work clothes."  Zassa had a list from 
folks "back home" and between the five of them, they 
rapidly fulfilled most of the items on the list, adding 
some things for themselves.  Burdened with packages, they 
headed for the next store, a place carrying slightly more 
trendy, fashionable clothes, and there, Hinoki and Mark 
watched, with semi-bored expressions, as the ladies 
searched through the racks, looking for "just the right 
outfit".

Tanj held the dress up to her and looked at her reflection; 
it was an interesting dress, seemingly missing the right 
side, with nothing but ribbons holding the fabric, 
providing minimal coverage.  "Ooooooh," Zassa grinned as 
she looked at the Cheetah's reflection; "That would go well 
for your "date" tonight!"  Tanj stuck out her tongue at the 
impudent slave, but had to agree with her.  Still holding 
the dress against her, she headed for the dressing room.  
When she emerged, the dress over one arm, she found Zassa 
waiting, with three outfits she was considering.  Wanda was 
still over by one of the racks, an almost panicked look on 
her face.  Padding over, Tanj inquired; "Whats wrong, 
Wanda?"  The wolverine lass looked up and moaned; "they 
just don't have anything in my SIZE!"  Tanj sighed and 
nodded; "They really don't have too much of a selection 
here.... Maybe we'll do better at the next place....."  
Eventually, they'd made their purchases, and with even 
larger armloads of packages, they departed for the next 
store.

This one was more in the mode of a lingerie shop, with.... 
Accessories.  Again, Mark adopted a slightly bored 
expression as he stood watchfully by the door.  Everyone 
else's eyes lit up as they spotted something of interest.  
Wanda, of course, was fascinated by the large selection of 
sophisticated vibrators and dildoes....... Until Tanj came 
up behind her and told her in no uncertain terms "NO WAY!"  
Relenting a bit, the cheetah smiled; "Tell you what, I'll 
buy you a special, with all the attachments for your 18th 
birthday.   But until then, why don't you look at this 
"butterfly" vibrator..... that one works externally."  
Zassa was examining a latex body suit, with the most 
interesting.... Protrusions on the inside of the crotch, 
and a plethora of straps, buckles and D rings.  Tanj 
grinned at her; "Latex vixen?"  Zassa just grinned and 
nodded.  Hinoki was looking at a rather severe bright 
chrome cock and ball harness; "well, now I know where 
Mooneyes got it" he mumbled to himself, drawing looks from 
Tanj and Zassa.  Tanj raised an eyebrow when Hinoki picked 
one she thought would be a size too small and wandered over 
to the cashier to inquire about the price.  Tanj's eye 
caught, of all things, a jar of cream.  She read the label 
and her eyes widened; following Hinoki she went to the 
cashier, a rather sexily attired mink, and asked; "does 
this stuff really work?"

Mark watched with amusement; he could see that his 
shipmates were all attracted to various items in the store, 
and he also noticed that each was stealthily buying special 
little gifts to "surprise" the others with on the voyage 
home.  It looked like it would be an interesting trip......

As they exited the shop, Tanj saw Zassa stop, her gaze 
directed at a row of public comm booths.  "Thinking of your 
family" the Cheetah fem whispered into Zassa's ear.  The 
Vixen nodded.  "You know we can't let them know where you 
are, or what you're doing.  It could cause way too many 
problems and possibly even put them in danger, if they 
tried to find you.  But I think if we're careful, you could 
send them a text-only message telling them you're OK."  
Zassa turned to look at Tanj; "you think so?  The boss 
wouldn't be mad?"  Tanj shrugged; "We're far enough away 
from "home" that even if the message is traced back here, 
they'll probably never find us....."  Tanj shot a look at 
Mark, and the mouse slowly nodded; the motion almost 
indistinguishable, if you hadn't been looking for it.  She 
then looked at Hinoki, who shook his head no, as if he 
wasn't interested in telling anyone he was OK.  Smiling, 
Tanj took Zassa by the arm and led her towards the comm 
booths.

As they walked back to the ship, Zassa sighed.  Her message 
had told her parents what had happened on her trip, how 
she'd been shanghaied into being a slave, but that she was 
now with some good furrs, happy, and working towards her 
eventual release.  And she knew it would only spark more 
questions, that it could never be as reassuring as she 
wanted.  And yet, she'd had to do SOMETHING.........

They had a light lunch on board the ship, after stowing 
their purchases.  And then some of their cargo showed up, 
and they were all busy stowing it in the cargo hold.  As 
they worked, Mark asked Wanda; "I just remembered... how 
come you weren't interested in sending a message to your 
father?"  Wanda snorted as she put her shoulder to a crate, 
shoving it sideways into position; "I send him letters 
periodically from the base; part of the "hostage" deal.  He 
never answers.  By winding up with the Pirates, I've ruined 
his plans for alliances by marriage, and therefore until 
I'm released, I'm useless to him.  And if that's all I am 
to him, screw him!"  Mark nodded and sighed, turning away 
to guide the next crate coming down the ramp, thinking to 
himself that somewhere down the line this situation would 
likely lead to some serious problems..........

Zassa watched as the last crate was shoved into place, the 
tie-downs clicking into place.  Some ships used magnetics 
to hold cargo into place, but Zassa had seen too many 
systems fail, and felt that the mechanical clamps were 
better; a power failure, or battle damage wouldn't send the 
crates flying.  On the other hand, getting to the crate in 
the middle of the stack, was a LOT more difficult, should 
the need arise.  Padding back through the ship, she found a 
bit of a line at the head; everyone wanted a shower, and as 
loadmaster her duties had kept her in the cargo hold longer 
than most.  With a sigh, she turned to Mark; "Looks like 
I've got a bit of a wait.  I think I'll use the time to 
take my unofficial list and go find that Rick guy on the 
station they say might help us get what we need."  Mark 
looked the slightly dirty vixen up and down and then 
shrugged; "I wouldn't be gone too long, but I guess you've 
got some time....."

Zassa closed the airlock behind her, and strode into the 
station.  Her worn and dirty overalls let her fit right in, 
and while she still drew the occasional appreciative stare, 
or whistle, by and large she moved anonymously through the 
station.  Finally, she arrived at the hole-in-the-wall 
kiosk that was reputed to be where this Rick fellow 
conducted business.  Sure enough, there was a rather hansom 
male fox behind the counter, one who smiled as the vixen 
approached his counter.  Zassa gave him her most dazzling 
smile; "Hello, I'm, ah, looking for Rick."  The fox smiled 
back; "I'm Rick; what can I do for you?"  Zassa slowly 
unzipped a breast pocket of her coverall and pulled out a 
sheet of paper, the fox's eyes on her paw as she moved.  
Unfolding the paper, Zassa smiled again.  "Some friends of 
mine back home are looking for some, ah, "hard to find" 
items, and I've been told you might be able to get them for 
me."  Rick shrugged; "could be; I've been known to find 
those hard-to-find items in the past; but there are no 
guarantees.  What are you looking for?  Zassa smiled; 
"First off, a large jar of something called  
"Chutney".......

Tanj emerged from the ship's head, still a bit damp.  She'd 
taken a thorough shower, carefully washing her hair, 
knowing she should look her best for Mooneyes tonight, but 
also conscious of all the others that wanted to use the 
facilities.  As she rubbed her head with a towel, she 
grinned at Hinoki, standing outside the door; "NEXT" she 
called, and with a grin, Hinoki slipped through the door, 
just as Wanda emerged from her cabin, a disappointed look 
on her face as she saw the door close behind Hinoki.

Rick shrugged; "Actually, I do have a few pounds of that 
Kilrathii catnip in stock, but its reserved for a...... 
treasured customer who's ship should be docking any time 
now.  Sorry, I just can't let you have it, at any price."  
Zassa pouted; so much of what was on her list he either 
didn't have, or wouldn't sell her.  Looking at her watch, 
she realized time was getting late.  "Tell you what, Rick; 
you package up the items we agreed upon, and I'll pick them 
up tomorrow.  And if you can locate any of the other items, 
well, I'm on a tight budget, but there might be something 
else I could throw in to sweeten the pot......."  With a 
smile she turned, but looking back over her shoulder, she 
gave him a wink; "I'll see you tomorrow."  And with that 
she strode off, back down the corridor towards her ship, 
giving him her best sexy walk, ass and tail swaying.

Tanj had finished doing her hair, pulling it into a long 
braid hanging behind her, and had managed to get into the 
new dress she bought, and was on her way to the bridge, 
just to check, when Zassa came in through the port airlock.  
The Vixen took one look and let out a low growl of 
appreciation; "My, don't WE look SEXY!"  Tanj grinned and 
did a slow pirouette, showing off her outfit.  It was of a 
soft, clingy brown knit, the fabric flowing over her left 
shoulder, and down across her breasts.  Along the left 
side, the dress descended to a hem line about three inches 
below her sex, daringly short.  What made it unique was 
that from the right side, it looked as if some prehistoric 
monster had taken a swipe at it with its claws, gouging out 
huge hunks of fabric.  There was a Vee of exposed fur just 
below her breasts, moving from right to left, the point 
almost at her left side.  Slightly smaller Vees of exposed 
fur started at the upper curve of her right hip, at the 
apex of her right hip, and just below the curve of her hip, 
moving to the left almost to her crotch.  The five points 
of fabric that managed to make it all the way across her 
connected in a line of gold clasps down her right side, and 
it was apparent that it would take little effort at all 
to unclasp them, the dress falling from her as a result.  
The skirt was short enough, that no slit was required for 
her tail.  Zassa grinned as the Cheetah turned; "I bet that 
dress doesn't stay on you twenty seconds, when you and 
Mooneyes get alone.

Tanj grinned at the vixen and then shook her head, as if 
trying to force herself back to reality; "where you been?  
I thought you would have fought Hinoki and Wanda both for 
first crack at the shower.  Zassa sighed; "no, I got stuck 
in the cargo hold, and they all got in line ahead of me.  I 
took the time to go see that Rick fellow we'd heard about.  
He's got some of the stuff on the unofficial list he'll let 
us have, but he's holding back on others. I'm going to have 
to find a way to "persuade" him......  Tanj just "Hmmmmm"ed 
and nodded, and as Zassa moved off down the hall towards 
the Head, the Cheetah sighed and wondered what kind of 
trouble they'd all get into on THIS one.....

Tanj and Hinoki were waiting by the airlock when Zassa 
finally got out of the shower.  Eventually, the vixen was 
ready, and the three of them once again trooped to the 
restaurant.  Mooneyes was again reclining on her cushions 
behind the low table, with Peter kneeling behind her.  
"Sorry to keep you waiting" Tanj purrrred; "But it can be a 
bit difficult sometimes to cycle everyone through the 
shower when you've had a hard day (the latter was said with 
a distinct look towards Zassa, who at least had the 
courtesy to look embarrased).  Mooneyes smiled and nodded; 
"I know how life can be on a small ship like that....."  
Tanj seated herself (carefully, due to her very short 
skirt), and the waiter brought in the first course.

Mark dressed with some care this evening.  Junior engineers 
didn't rate anywhere near the number of fancy outfits that 
sex slaves did, he reflected.  And he hadn't spent a lot of 
his pay on his wardrobe, either...a shower, freshly brushed 
fur, and his best set of work clothes would just have to 
do, then.  One of his small selection of removable stickers 
by way of a personal note; he chuckled softly at himself as 
he finally decided on 'Caution - Genius At Work'. Finally, 
after checking his overall appearance in the mirror one 
last time, he headed for the airlock.  Wanda was again "on 
duty," her medical texts scattered around her as she worked 
on yet another homework assignment.  "Watch the ship,  
Wanda, and don't let anyone but crew on board" Mark 
commented as he opened the inner lock door.  Wanda went 
"Uh-huh", not even looking up from her work.  Mark just 
grinned and as he cycled the lock, he turned back to Wanda; 
"No flying zebras, no orgies and no cooking classes......"  
Again to the mouse's amusement, Wanda just nodded "uh-huh", 
lost in her work.

Tanj sat back, propped up by one arm.  Dinner had been 
delicious, but she'd fought her natural tendencies and had 
not gorged herself; she was merely comfortably full.  As 
they'd eaten, Peter had entertained them by playing the 
flute, the soft music a compliment to the conversation.  As 
the last of the dinner dishes were cleared away, Tanj 
smiled and turned to Zassa and Hinoki, to nod.  Turning 
back to Mooneyes, Tanj smiled again; "Zassa and Hinoki have 
been working on a dance number, and I thought you might 
find it amusing."  Mooneyes smiled and nodded in response, 
her eyes turning to the two slaves.  The dance began, to 
music playing obviously in the dancer's heads.  Initially 
it resembled classical ballet, perhaps with a small twist, 
because as they danced, as Zassapirouetted, or Hinoki 
lifted her high in a leap, she lost this portion of her 
outfit, and then that, until the floor was littered with 
pieces of cloth.  At one point, as she twirled by, on 
point, Zassa's paw reached out to snatch away Hinoki's 
loincloth.  They danced on, coming together, separating, 
and coming together again, both now completely nude.  Peter 
had been watching, and as they danced, his flute rose, to 
add a haunting melody to the dance.  It may not have been 
the original score that they were dancing to, but it was 
brilliant improvisation.  As they came together, Zassa 
would add little motions, caressing Hinoki's body with 
hers, until the Cheetah male's arousal was evident, his 
cock standing proud, but still they danced.  At one point, 
Hinoki bent Zassa over backwards, his body pressed to hers, 
and for a moment, from the way Zassa moved, it almost 
looked like Hinoki had slipped his cock into her pussy; 
their bodies were in about the right position, as he bent 
her backwards……  But then they separated, to dance on.  The 
next time they embraced, they stayed together a bit longer, 
Hinoki gradually lowering Zassa to the floor, and again, 
the impression was that it was less dance and more  
lovemaking.  Again, however, they rose, but this time it 
was apparent that Hinoki's cock was slick with the vixen's 
juices.  Once more they came together, and again they wound 
up on the floor, Zassa arched severely as Hinoki covered 
her with his body, his hips moving in their own rhythm, 
doing their own dance.  Eventually Zassa subsided to the 
floor, and after a bit, they rolled, Zassa sitting up 
astride the Cheetah, his cock clearly buried in her snatch.  
Zassa now danced solo, her motions more than mere love-
making, as she clearly expressed her joy and passion 
through the motions of her body.  Finally, it was clear 
they were both spent, and they collapsed together, to the 
soft applause of Tanj and Mooneyes.

Mark paused again at the doorway to the bar, to look about 
and find that he was early and Mala wasn't there.  Well, 
not yet anyways.  As he slid onto one of the barstools, the 
bartender raised an eyebrow, as if surprised that the mouse 
would actually push his luck by returning.  Mark raised an 
eyebrow of his own in perfect imitation, then shrugged, 
grinned, and ordered a drink to pass the time.

Dessert gave the slaves time to catch their breath, and 
Mooneyes and Tanj talked about all the dances that they'd 
seen slaves do, and other various performances.  After a 
while, Mooneyes smiled; "Yes, I DO like the way Hinoki 
moves.  Especially the way he moved last night.  Did he 
perchance tell you about it?"  Tanj smiled; "no, not 
really, and I've been too busy to ask.  Did you require 
anything particularly unusual of him?"  Mooneyes smiled and 
shrugged; "perhaps not, but if you're curious, perhaps we 
could get him to show you what was required.

Wanda looked up from her work, a puzzled look on her face; 
"no cooking classes?"  Shaking her head she smiled and 
returned to her work, convinced the mouse had lost it.

At Mooneyes signal, Peter rose, lifting a cushion to 
retrieve several small items.  Tanj cocked an eyebrow at 
them and then grinned; turning, she gestured to Hinoki to 
stand, so that Peter could "dress" him.  Tanj watched 
curiously as the fox approached, to kneel between Hinoki's 
feet.  The silver and leather contraption in his paws was 
compressed; apparently its two halves were spring-loaded... 
when suitably compressed, they were buckled around that 
space between Hinoki's balls and his torso, the fastenings 
stretching the skin of his sack deliciously tight, making 
them seem to bulge more than ever.  It was when Peter 
released the device, that Hinoki groaned, as the springs 
expanded, forcing the lower fastening downward, the upper 
fastening braced hard against his body, the combined effect 
being to push his bulging balls away from his body.  Tanj 
rapidly looked up at Hinoki's face, to see if he was in 
pain, and indeed there was some pain reflected there.... 
And Also embarrassment.  But there was also a strange cast 
of pleasure to it........  Tanj decided for the moment 
Hinoki could handle it, and looked back to see what Peter 
was doing next.

The fox was expertly stroking Hinoki's sheath, and as the 
Cheetah responded to his touch, his cock emerging from his 
sheath, Peter held the linked rings of a "Gates of Hell" 
just so, such that his cock pushed through the center of 
each ring.  As he grew harder, the rings became tight, 
encircling his cock from its base to its head.  When he was 
as hard as he was going to get, Peter clipped some 
retraining snaps to the ball-stretcher, and then sat back.  
Hinoki's face was again a strange mask of both pleasure and 
pain, as the tight rings constricted his cock, and the 
springs pushed at his balls.

Mooneyes growled low in her throat as she beheld the 
cheetah; "Now comes the really fun part, and if I might 
designate your slave Zassa as the object of his 
attentions........"  Tanj shot Zassa a quick look and saw 
only naked lust on her face as she stared at Hinoki's 
crotch; turning back to Mooneyes she smiled and nodded; "Of 
course...."  Mooneyes smiled and turned to Hinoki; "Slave, 
you are to fuck the vixen to climax, as slowly as possible.  
And you are NOT to cum yourself, or those little toys will 
stay on for a full day."  As Hinoki turned to walk 
carefully over to Zassa, he looked thoroughly embarrassed, 
and more than a little excited.

Mark looked up and smiled as the Hyena stalked into the 
bar...then, after a moment, frowned in concern.  She looked 
like she'd had a bad day at work, her overalls torn in one 
place and rather filthy. She growled at the bartender, 
snarled at a table occupied by some of the station's crew, 
and dropped into her usual seat in the corner.  Mark looked 
up at the bartender; "Why don't you give me one of what she 
usually drinks, and I'll take it over to her."  The 
bartender looked at the mouse as if he was crazy, but then 
shrugged and nodded; "Better you'n me....."

Tanj grinned and moved over to snuggle with Mooneyes as 
they watched Hinoki perform.  The looks on the Cheetah's 
face alone were engrossing; ranging from pain to pleasure 
to concentration, as he slowly fucked the vixen.  Zassa for 
her part was enjoying the sensations of his ring-encased 
cock driving in and out of her, moaning and shuddering as 
each ring forced its way into her, or as it slipped out.  
Hinoki had started with the standard missionary position, 
but after a while, he'd flipped the vixen over onto her 
hands and knees, to take her from behind.  Tanj gave 
Mooneyes a teasing lick, as she watched  Zassa's first 
climax arive, watching Hinoki's massive struggle to retain 
his own control.

Mooneyes and Tanj were getting into some heavy petting, 
Zassa was howling through yet another climax, and Hinoki 
was having the devil's own time controlling himself.  Of 
all present, only Peter was quiescent, kneeling calmly back 
by the wall.  There was something about the look on his 
face that Hinoki found somewhat disturbing......  It was 
almost a self-satisfied look, as if everything was going 
according to HIS plan.....

Mark set the bottle down on the table and turning the chair 
opposite the Hyena around, sat down to look at her, his 
arms crossed across the chair's back, his chin resting on 
them.  They looked at each other quietly for a moment 
before Mark nodded softly and asked, "Rough day?"

One of Zassa's cries attracted Tanj's attention, and she 
turned to look at her and Hinoki.  The vixen looked 
thoroughly drained, fucked to a quivering pile of fur, and 
something in the back of Tanj's mind was just a little 
jealous of that.  Hinoki on the other hand, looked as if he 
were about to explode.  Tanj smiled and raised her head; 
"Very impressive, Hinoki; absolutely amazing self control.  
You may cum now.  When you've recovered, why don't you and 
Zassa and Peter retire to the Kennels.  You have my 
permission to enjoy each other as you see fit.  I'll call 
for you in the morning."  As she turned back to Mooneyes, 
she heard Hinoki's long drawn out howl of satisfaction 
and release, followed by Zassa's yips of pleasure, and 
smiled.

The Hyena shook her head; "They FIRED me!  Said I was 
incompetent!  I'd loaded that bulk freighter within the 
specified time limits, hadn't broken anything, hadn't 
damaged anything.....  I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG!  I 
honestly don't know WHY everyone here seems to have it in 
for me!"  Mark sighed and nodded, reaching out to put his 
paw over her fist.  "So what are you going to do now?"  
Mala sighed; "I dunno.  Haven't been able to save enough 
money to buy passage off the station, and haven't been able 
to find a ship that'll take me as crew.  I don't know WHAT 
I'm going to do......"

Tanj and Mooneyes retired to Mooneyes' quarters; as they 
walked their paws continued to explore each other, teasing, 
keeping each other hot.....  They left a trail of clothes 
from the front door, not that Tanj was wearing all that 
much......  Mooneyes acted as if she wanted to lead Tanj 
into the Bath, but the cheetah fem had other ideas, pushing 
the wolf back onto her bed with a soft M'rowl.  Before 
long, Tanj was crouched over the she-wolf's body, her 
tongue working actively between her legs, the wolf's tongue 
between her own. Soothing the burning in her own wet 
sex....

Mark lightly tapped his muzzle with his index finger, then 
inconspicuously looked around, checking for eavesdroppers.  
There were none, and the little warning light on his chrono 
remained green, thus informing him that nobody had left any 
bugs in the area either.  He lowered his voice a little 
anyway, just to be on the safe side.  "You told me 
yesterday that you've served with the Imperial Marines for 
some years...right?"  Mala nodded quietly over her drink.  
The mouse smiled, remembering Ben complaining about the 
Brethren's recent shortage of professional (as opposed to 
merely enthusiastic) boarders just a couple of days before 
they'd left.  "Then I think that, pending the Captain's  
approval, I may be able to get you JUST the kind of job 
best suited to your talents."  The Hyena raised an eyebrow 
and leaned closer; "Tell me more....."

Tanj's tongue danced over the wolf fem's clitty, eliciting 
moans and gasps, and a temporary respite from the 
delightfully distracting licks of the she-wolf.  Tanj 
grinned to herself; it almost seemed like a contest; who 
could so pleasure the other that they would loose 
concentration first......  And as she grinned to herself, 
and squirmed her tongue between the she- wolf's velvet 
folds, Tanj thought she was winning.......

Mala sat back to look at the Mouse in front of her; 
"Really?  Yeah, I could do that, and probably do it 
better'n most, too...but if you don't mind me asking, why 
ME out of all the furs on this station?"  Mark paused, 
taking a sip of his own drink - horrible stuff, really, but 
the bartender had just looked at him blankly in response to 
three different requests -, and reflected on his answer for 
a few moments before looking up.  "Several reasons. First, 
you've obviously had more than your share of bad breaks 
lately, and I'd like to help if I can.  The second you've 
probably guessed already; I've gotten to know you a little 
by now, found I rather like who you are, and I'd like to 
get to know you better YET, which I can't do if we leave 
you behind..."  His voice trailed off momentarily as he 
watched the Hyena's grin slowly grow wider in response to 
his own spreading faint blush, then he cleared his throat 
and continued.  "Third, we really can use your skills.  
Blasters-for-hire with itchy trigger fingers we have in 
plenty, but there's currently a real shortage in terms of 
trained professionals."  He leaned back and grinned a 
little at her in turn; "And fourth, after all that I've 
told you, you obviously Know Too Much and we can't afford 
to leave you behind, anyway."  Mala threw her head back and 
laughed out loud at that, a deep, barking sound that turned 
every head in the bar and caused several patrons to duck 
for cover.

Tanj purrrred, while Mooneyes snored softly; the bed was 
soft, and she was tired, and fairly happy, but for some 
reason her mind just wouldn't shut down, and let her sleep.  
She reflected on how very strange it was to be playing this 
role, instead of the one she'd been so trained for at the 
Academy.  But why should it be strange?  Before the 
Academy, this was the future she thought she'd been on 
track for......  Most of all, it feels STRANGE to choose a 
sex partner, instead of being chosen.  It was nice, but 
the more she thought about it, the more she realized that 
nothing thrilled her like someone clipping a leash to her 
collar.......  As she snuggled against the sleepywolf she 
marveled at how much she'd changed......

Mark and Mala stopped at the airlock to his ship.  They'd 
practically held hands on their walk from the bar, drawing 
more than a few stares.  Mark looked up at her; "I promise, 
as soon as the Captain returns, I'll talk to her.  And I'll 
get back to you with the results tomorrow."  The Hyena 
rumbled quietly and easily picked the mouse up to bring him 
muzzle-to-muzzle with herself. "You do that.  And if she 
doesn't agree...", she slipped a huge paw between his legs 
and teasingly stroked him through his pants with one 
extended finger, chuckling as he squirmed in reflex,  
"...make sure to pack everything you'll need here, because 
one way or the other I'm going to KEEP you."  She pulled 
him close to trap his muzzle with her own in a deep, hot 
kiss for a couple of seconds, then set a rather stunned 
Mark back down with a toothy grin.  "That's enough for now.  
Be a good little mouse and there'll be more...now run along 
before somebody catches you molesting innocent little hyena 
fems."

Tanj moaned, gradually returning from her slumbers, 
awakened by the most delightful sensations.  Mooneyes had 
squrmed around, and they were again head to tail, but now 
the she-wolf was teasing Tanj's still-wet sex with the head 
of a buzzing vibrator..... Tanj stretched the way only a 
feline can, and then raised her knees, clasping them to her 
chest as Mooneyes growled, attacking her pussy with the 
vibrating little devil......  As she gasped and moaned, one 
small part of Tanj's mind wondered where Mooneyes kept the 
toys......

Wanda was still at her desk by the airlock, hardcopy, disks 
and other study paraphernalia scattered about.  Mark waved 
hello, still slightly out of breath, and shook his head 
lightly at the predictable lack of response.  He stretched 
until his feet barely touched the ground and tapped Wanda 
on the shoulder.  "Honey, I'm ho-ooome!"  Wanda nodded, as 
she erased something and scribbled furiously in its place; 
"Uh-huh."  Mark shook his head again; "What does a mouse 
have to DO to get some attention around these parts,anyway?  
Hm...hey, Wanda, you wouldn't mind if I brought a one-eye'd 
Wallaby contortionist to my quarters, would you?  She's 
very talented......"  Wanda just shook her head; 
"Nope........have fun."  Mark grinned and nodded and 
sauntered off down the corridor, after checking to make 
sure the airlock was secured.

Tanj had found where Mooneyes kept the toys, and had found 
a strap-on dildo that she was now using to pleasure the 
she-wolf with.  She grinned as each thrust of her hips made 
the little bumps inside the harness grate delightfully on 
her clitty, the strap between her legs so tight that it had 
actually spread her labia.  She mmmmmmmmed, and moved with 
varied frequency, from slow and languid through rough and 
manic, thrusting the dong at the She-wolf until she howled 
with pleasure.

Mooneyes finally did manage to drag Tanj into the baths.... 
At about 1100 Hrs......  There, Tanj thought back to the 
baths at the Academy, and with a grin on her face, showed 
the she-wolf all the things that could be done 
underwater........... It was about 1400 Hrs by the time she 
made it to the kennels, to reclaim Zassa and Hinoki, both 
looking quite disheveled and sleepy.  She just grinned and 
led them back to the ship.  There, they found Wanda, face 
down in her notes and homework, sound asleep.  Sending 
Zassa to the head first, telling Hinoki to wait until Zassa 
was done before hitting the shower, Tanj turned to try and 
coax the wolverine lass back to her own quarters and her 
own bed.

Tanj grinned and stripped off her dress; on her own ship, 
amongst this company, she certainly didn't need to be 
clothed, and it felt good to move about in just her fur.  
Wanda was all tucked in, Zassa had collapsed in her bed, 
and Hinoki was in the shower.  Slipping into the Wardroom, 
she found Mark awake and reading a magazine as he sipped 
his coffee.  "Mornin', Tanj.  How'd things go with Mooneyes 
last night?"  Tanj smiled and shrugged; "pretty much 
according to plan; we had a nice evening, and an even 
better night.  I'm running a little shy of sleep, but there 
should be plenty of opportunity for that on the trip back.  
Any sign of the last of the cargo?"  Mark nodded and 
slipped the hardcopy over to Tanj; "some of it should be 
here within three hours, the rest first thing in the 
morning.  I've already applied for launch clearance for 
noon tomorrow."  Tanj grinned and nodded; "not that our 
stay here hasn't been fun, but I'm ready to go home."  Mark 
nodded; "True.  Quite true.  Listen, Capt'n, I've got 
something I'd like to talk to you about......"  Tanj  
stopped in mid-motion, as she poured herself a cup of 
coffee; Mark rarely sounded THIS serious without good 
reason.....  She finished pouring the cup and then sat down 
at the end of the table; after taking a sip, she looked at 
the mouse and nodded; "Continue..."  Mark nodded; "I met 
this fur here, who seems to be having some trouble finding 
and holding a decent job on station.  I've talked to her 
about her background a bit, and thought that she might be 
someone Ben might want to consider for his boarding 
parties......"  Tanj thought for a minute and nodded; "You 
mean that ungodly huge lady Hyena Zassa's told me about?"  
Mark just nodded.  Tanj thought for a minute, trying to 
picture the Hyena in full combat armor, coming through a 
ruptured airlock on some ship the pirates were trying to 
capture, and shuddered.  It would most certainly be 
intimidating..... but before she could speak, Mark cleared 
his throat and continued; "I've told her a little bit about 
the job requirements and our setup and she seems to think 
it an attractive position..." Tanj's eyes widened; "you 
mean you TOLD her about the Brethren?"  Mark smiled 
disarmingly and nodded; "A bit difficult to tell her about 
the job without some of the background....  After all, you 
wouldn't expect her to travel that distance to apply for a 
job without knowing just what it IS, would you?"  Tanj 
groaned; "Mark... you KNOW we check the background of 
everyone we consider in detail before approaching them!  
Nothing could destroy us faster than taking an Imperial 
agent into our midst!  You should never have told her about 
us without clearing it first....."  Mark held up a hand, 
interrupting her.  "With all due respect, Capt'n...that 
would take at least a couple of weeks including travel 
times, since we're cut off from Security at home, probably 
longer since I don't know of any other missions taking one 
of our ships in this direction anytime soon.  And I do have 
my own sources..."  He demonstratively tapped the side of 
his skull with a fingertip.  Tanj sighed and shook her 
head; "I hope your telepathy is that good, Mark, because if 
it isn't, if you're thinking with your balls instead of 
your brain, we could be in BIG trouble......"  Mark shook 
his head.  "Brains, heart, AND balls, and they're all in 
agreement on this for once. - Trust me, Captain, after the 
Blackstone debacle I'm not going to make the same kind of 
mistake again anytime soon.  I mean, I knew the guy was a 
rotten apple, I knew what he was up to, and he still  
managed to catch me with my pants down because I simply 
didn't pay attention at the right time...ah, figuratively 
speaking, of course.  I'm not going to let that happen 
again... Anyway, Mala is clean."  Tanj just snorted and 
shook her head; "Well, you'd better invite her aboard; if I 
left someone here who knew about us, that didn't absolutely 
HAVE to know, the boss'd skin me alive!  We'll just have to 
see what HE makes of her."  Mark smiled.  "Thanks.  You 
won't regret it."  Tanj growled softly under her breath; "I 
think I regret it ALREADY..."

Tanj pulled off her gloves and leaned against the cargo bay 
wall.  They'd managed to get the next part of their cargo 
stowed, even if the phase inverter for one of the 
Brethren's cruisers had required them to move half of what 
they'd already stowed.  The damn thing was HUGE, and it was 
heavy at one end.  Zassa was having fits, arguing with the 
ship's computer about weight distribution, as they sorted 
through the shipping containers, searching out those that 
weighed the right amount, as they slowly assembled their 
jigsaw puzzle.  But now it was done, and Tanj hoped they 
wouldn't have to re-do everything when the remaining cargo 
showed up.  Zassa grinned as she went by, her walk turning 
to a sprint as soon as she was past Tanj.  For a moment 
Tanj blinked in confusion, and then it hit her; the vixen 
was trying to beat her to the showers.  Grinning, Tanj took 
off in pursuit, the cheetah fem rapidly gaining on the 
vixen; but Zassa'd had too much of a lead and the door to 
the head slammed just as Tanj got there.

Tanj finally got her turn at the head (in some things, it 
seemed, rank hath no priviledges).  Gathering Zassa, Wanda, 
and Hinoki as "escort", and leaving Mark in charge of the 
ship, they headed out to once again give the local shops a 
going-over, determined to miss nothing.  In the commons 
area of the station was a small bazzar, and to Tanj it 
looked like a semi-permanent "garage sale."  Down on their 
luck furrs were selling what were obviously personal 
possessions, and shifty-eye'd types were selling things 
Tanj thought might not be their legitimate property..... 
and mingled in amongst them were those more or less 
reputable merchants that simply weren't big enough to rent 
a proper "storefront."  As they browsed, one of the sellers 
caught Tanj's eye.  He motioned to her, urging her closer.  
Tanj wandered over, and the character, a rather small 
badger, missing one ear and one eye looked left and right, 
conspiratorially, as if to make sure they were not 
observed.  He held up a small rectangular box of clear, 
thick plastic.  Inside something black and oily surged back 
and forth, as if seeking escape.  "Pretty Lady, this is a 
living creature" he hissed; "it is semi-intelligent, and 
communicates by telepathy through touch.  Once released, it 
will spread over you in a thin layer, as if it were fabric.  
Your thought tells it what shape to take, directing it.  
It can literally be any dress or outfit you want."  Tanj 
Hmmmmmed; "what does it eat?"  The badger looked a little 
confused and then blinked; "...uh..... it feeds off your 
body heat.....  It really doesn't require much 
maintenance....."  Tanj looked at him sternly; "then why 
all the secrecy?"  The clerk paled; "Uh, because the, um, 
garment industry got them on the banned list.  It would 
kill their business, y'see.  Only asking 50 credits......."  
Tanj looked at it for a moment and then asked; "how do you 
get it off you when you're done with it?"  The clerk 
smiled, a little more reassured; "by mental command, 
assuming its absorbed enough of your.... body heat to be 
satiated.  It'll just flow down your arm to its box...."  
The badger patted the box fondly, as if to suggest that the 
creature really liked being in there....  Tanj looked over 
at the vixen and thought of the latex catsuit she'd bought 
yesterday, and grinned, thinking basic black might just 
look good on her too.  With a grin she nodded her head in 
agreement and handed the clerk her credit chip.

Wanda held the dress up to herself and looked in the 
mirror; as she turned, the dress shimmered and changed 
color; now it was red; now blue and now golden..... and 
when the light hit it just the right way, it wasn't there 
at all, turning to a shimmering translucency.  Wanda 
grinned at her reflection in the mirror and nodded, turning 
to find the sales clerk.

Zassa looked at the little vial, and then back at the sales 
clerk; "Guaranteed to work?"  The Sales clerk nodded; "or 
double your money back...."  Zassa Hmmmed; "I dunno; it 
seems kinda pricy.  Any discount for buying more than one?"  
The clerk looked at her a little funny, and then shrugged; 
"sure, I'll sell you three for the price of two."  Zassa 
grinned and selected three different colored vials, and 
passed him her credit chit......

All in all, there wasn't that much at the bazaar, and they 
carried their purchases back to the ship.  Mark was waiting 
at the airlock, dressed in some of his better clothes; "Got 
confirmation, Captain, on the rest of the cargo coming in.  
It'll be here at 0745 in the morning.  Oh, and Mooneyes 
left a message for you; seems something's come up and she 
regrets her inability to entertain you tonight."  Tanj just 
nodded; "I take it you want to go see your lady 
friend.......  I suspect some of us will swing by the bar 
later.  Don't stay out too late; we'll have an early day 
tomorrow."  Mark grinned and flipped Tanj an informal 
salute, and stepped through the airlock.  Zassa grinned; 
"Ooooooh, party in the bar tonight!  Last night in port!" 
and slipped off before Tanj could say anything.  Wanda just 
smiled; "Any chance I can come too?"  Tanj stared down the 
corridor Zassa had vanished down and nodded slowly; "Yes, 
but I'll expect you to be on your best behavior....AND to 
help me keep Zassa in line....."

Zassa grinned as she laid out her new outfit; it was a 
latex catsuit, complete with built-in socks for her feet, 
and gloves for her hands.   It had the most delightful 
phallic plug in the crotch too; not that long, but rather 
thick; "it should be a joy to wear," she thought.  
Stripping off her "street clothes" she 
sat on the edge of her bunk and slowly started to shove one 
foot into the outfit, the latex stretching to form a second 
skin.  By the time she was ready to pull the suit up over 
her hips, her pussy was already wet with anticipation, and 
the plug slid home nicely, although it took forever for her 
to thread her tail through the hole in the back of the 
suit.  It took some contortionist's movements to get the 
outfit up over her shoulders, her arms in the sleeves, the 
gloves over her paws, but finally she was ready to try and 
pull up the zipper.  Exhaling, she smoothed her fur with 
one hand as she tugged at the zipper with the other, and 
finally it was done.  From the neck down, she was covered 
in shiny blackness.  Every curve, every shape of her 
body stood out clearly, her nipples especially prominent.  
And the smooth little circle of latex between her legs made 
it obvious that the plug was buried within her sex.  She 
grinned at herself and nodded, quite pleased with her 
appearance.  Turning to one of the vials she'd purchased 
earlier, she grinned.  The label read; "Vixen sex 
phermones; guaranteed to drive any fox wild!"  Zassa 
grinned, and opened the cap, to sniff at the vial; the 
aroma of a vixen in heat almost overwhelmed her, and she 
hastily sprinkled a few drops over herself..... and then 
for good measure she sprinkled a few more, until the vial 
was a quarter empty.  "That ought to work" she grinned.  
Humming a popular tune, she headed out to see if she could 
"negotiate" anything else out of that Rick fellow........

Tanj pulled on a conservative pair of slacks, and a 
matching top.  She too had an errand to run.  One of the 
Brethren's contacts was passing through the station and 
Tanj had arranged to meet with him face to face.  Slipping 
a variable knife into one pocket and a small stunner into 
another, she checked her reflection in the mirror of her 
cabin and quietly slipped out.

Rick looked up from his counter, and spotted the vixen 
coming his way while she was still quite a ways off.  It 
looked like she'd been dipped in black paint, glistening as 
she walked, and he had to make a concerted effort to keep 
his tongue from hanging out.  "I bet she's going to try and 
seduce me, to get the things she wants" he thought to 
himself.  "And as good as she looks, I might just let her 
have a few items, to get into her pants...... but just a 
few."  He watched the way her breasts moved as she walked 
and grinned to himself, resolving to be the "user," not the 
"used."

Tanj made it to the observation port at the appointed time.  
This portion of the station seemed quite deserted; almost 
as if it hadn't been visited in years.  And yet the 
observation port was at the end of a corridor, wide enough 
to see anyone coming, see anyone lurking.  It was just 
deserted.  Thankfully most of the ceiling lights still 
worked.  Tanj stood by the port, looking out at the stars, 
and waiting for her contact to arrive, confident that her 
ears would give her ample warning of anyone approaching.

Rick's self-confidence started to evaporate as the vixen 
sashayed up to the counter of his stall.  He'd been 
watching the way her breasts moved, but something had drawn 
his attention to her hips, the way they swayed as she 
walked, and as she got closer, he found his eyes being 
drawn to her crotch, even as his nose was filled with her 
scent...... It was obvious she'd buried some toy between 
her legs; the way she moved, the way she smelled just 
screamed "Vixen in heat," and in some portion of his hind-
brain he knew he had to have her, no matter what it cost 
him.  Without a word, he lifted the swinging portion of his 
counter and croaked; "won't you come in?"

Tanj's eyes flicked up, startled as she suddenly realized 
there was a reflection in the transparent aluminum of the 
observation port.  A fox was standing behind her.  He was 
wearing some sort of cloak of a nondescript dark gray 
color, the hood thrown back, whatever garments he might 
have had on underneath concealed.  Tanj found her gaze 
flicking back to his eyes; they seemed to be both 
captivating, and ...... haunted.  After a moment, she 
forced herself to break her gaze, to turn towards him; 
"I'm....."  The fox interrupted; "I know who you are.  And 
I know why you are here.  There is nothing that you need to 
know about me, save that the information I pass on to you 
is reliable.  And only the evidence of that material itself 
will prove that."  His voice was deep, and as captivating 
as his eyes....  Tanj swallowed and nodded, but before she 
could speak he continued; "In three weeks time, a freighter 
will leave Elysium.  It will appear to be just another 
tramp freighter, but is actually the disguised personal 
vessel of Lord Isloth.  He and his retinue will be 
traveling to the Imperial capital to solicit aid for 
their fight against the increasing rebel problem, and to 
sign joint ventures that would bring in capital that would 
aid the Elysium government and the major corporations in 
their fight.  The name of the freighter is "Stra'doc."  
Tanj nodded; "Stra'doc.  Yes, that sounds like valuable 
information; we'll keep an eye out for that vessel."  
Cocking her head to one side, Tanj looked at the fox; 
"you've been most valuable to us, of late, and your 
information has been quite good.  Obviously we are 
interested in..... furthering your usefulness to us.  What 
additional resources might we be able to supply you, to 
allow you to be of additional service to us?"  The fox gave 
a ghost of a smile; "there is nothing that you could 
provide me that would help.  I do all that I am able to do, 
and for my own reasons.  Use my information wisely, and you 
shall hear from me again.  With that the fox turned, and 
started to walk silently away. Tanj blinked and then called 
out; "Wait, before you go, what shall I call you?  We don't 
even know your name......"  The fox stopped and looked back 
over his shoulder.  Again, the sad, wistful smile appeared 
on his face.  "If you must call me something, call me 
"Entity."  That should be more than sufficiently 
misleading, to any who might chance across that name.  Oh, 
by the way, take care in heading back; there may be Apache 
about....."  Turning again, he resumed walking off down 
the corridor, his strange gray cloak blending in with the 
background, seeming to make him vanish only a few meters 
down the corridor.  And as he moved, he made not a sound. 
Tanj turned and stared out the observation port for a 
while, until she was sure he was gone, until she was sure 
no one seeing her would connect her with that mysterious 
figure.

Rick was in bad shape.  All his determination, all his 
resolve, all seemed to have evaporated as her scent filled 
the air.  One kiss from her, one caress, one brush of her 
body against his and he was as hard as he'd ever been in 
his life, his pants bulging embarrassingly.  Languidly, she 
unbuttoned his shirt, softly kissing her way down his 
chest.  He was frozen; he couldn't move, couldn't breathe, 
and all the while the drumbeat of his heart filled his 
ears. And then she was undoing his pants, freeing his 
rampant cock, fondling it, stroking it, making little coo-
ing sounds.  He almost lost it the instant her tongue 
touched the head of his cock, but somehow he managed to 
control himself.  Fondling her ears, he moaned; "Oh, BABY!  
OH!, YESSSSSSS!"

Zassa smiled to herself; "Those pheromones really seem to 
do the trick; he's about to explode and I only just got 
here.  I wonder if I even CAN cool him down some?"  Tilting 
her head back, looking up at him, Zassa inquired sweetly; 
"By the way, did the Chutney ever come in?"

Rick couldn't believe this; how could she stop at a time 
like THIS?  Nodding vigorously he moaned;  "Oh, ye.... 
Yeah..... got you th....three jars...."  Zassa purrrred and 
bent forward to take the head of his cock in her mouth once 
again, her tongue lashing out to stroke the under side of 
his shaft.  She had him right where she wanted him.

Rick gasped, his body bucking, his hips thrusting his 
spurting cock at her mouth, as he exploded in what had to 
have been the most powerful orgasm of his life.  And that 
devilishly sexy vixen caught every drop, making a great 
show of catching each spurt on her tongue, and acting like 
it was the finest caviar.  Finally he calmed down, his 
chest heaving as he panted, his heart still pounding in his 
chest.  "Gave up more than I'd intended" he thought to 
himself; "But it was a reasonable trade for what I got, I 
guess....."  Then his eyes went wide as the vixen stood, 
one paw moving to the silver zipper at her throat.  As the 
zipper slowly moved downward, he felt his eyes get wider, 
and his cock slowly harden again, and he knew he was in 
serious trouble.

Tanj walked slowly through the station, heading back to the 
ship.  Her encounter with Entity had disturbed her for some 
reason.  She just didn't know what to make of him.  "I 
wonder if Mark might provide any insights" she thought to 
herself as she passed the bar.  Stopping, pausing, she 
smiled and then resumed her walk towards the ship; "I'll 
talk to him on the trip back; no need to bother him now; 
besides, I want to wear something a little less...... 
severe when I go to the bar."  Lost in her thoughts, 
wondering what in the heck an "Apache" was,  the cheetah 
slowly padded towards the docking ring.

Rick thought that the vixen removing her outfit looked like 
someone shedding their skin.  And when she pushed the 
outfit down over her hips, and he watched that phallic plug 
slide glistening from her sex, he thought his eyes would 
pop from his head like some cartoon character.  And then 
she was nude, and pressing herself against him, her crotch 
drenched from her own juices.  There was nothing he could 
do but to fall back, to the floor, pulling her down on top 
of him.  Zassa giggled, and squirmed as enticingly as she 
knew how, making sure her breasts stroked across his chest, 
her nipples hard points ruffling his fur; sitting up, she 
reached between her thighs to capture his once-again hard 
cock, to hold it perpendicular to his body.  Rising 
slightly she dragged its head back and forth through her 
dripping slit, and grinning down at him, she purrred; "Any 
of that Catnip ever show up?"

Wanda had pulled on her dress, and was scowling at herself 
in the mirror; when the light hit it just right, it became 
more than translucent; it became damn near invisible..... 
and that thrice damned chastity belt Tanj had locked her 
into was painfully apparent!  Sitting down heavily on her 
bed, she wondered how she could get Tanj to let her out of 
it for the evening?

Rick howled, heedless of what those outside his stall might 
hear, or see; he didn't care; the vixen rode his cock with 
such ..... skill, such wild abandon, such ENTHUSIASM that 
he was sure she would turn him inside out!  Every time he 
was close to cumming, she'd slow down; every time he'd 
caught his breath, her vaginal muscles would start 
rippling, squeezing, milking him again and he'd skyrocket 
to the very brink... and then she'd stop.....  He wanted to 
cum, desperately needed to cum...... Zassa looked at his 
face, and grinned; bending way over, until her breasts were 
pressed hard against his chest, she purrred into his ear; 
"Find me a copy of that new Holo romance, the one with that 
Leonardo guy in it, and I'll bring you off like you've 
never gotten off before!"  Rick groaned and shook his head; 
the Sabatini sisters were going to be really pissed, but he 
couldn't help himself.  "its YOURS" he moaned, and Zassa 
straightened, to do incredible things with her vaginal 
muscles.  Rick howled like a wolf and bucked his hips up 
into her, as his cock exploded, his orgasm even more 
powerful than before!

Zassa grinned and checked his pulse.  He was still alive, 
but that last one had certainly taken him somewhere else.  
After a minute, the fox groaned, and shook his head, his 
eyes opening.  As he focused on Zassa, the vixen still 
astride his hips, he mumbled; "thought I'd died and gone to 
heaven."  Zassa just grinned and humped him a few times, 
eliciting howls from the now incredibly sensitive fox.  "If 
you can find me that dark chocolate, I'll be a good girl 
and let you be......"  Grinning wider she humped him again; 
"otherwise, Dear, its likely to be a long night."  Rick 
howled; "Half a pound you pirate!  Now quit, PLEASE, before 
I'm ruined!"

Zassa was squishing as she walked back towards the ship.  
The inside of the latex suit was now awash with her juices, 
there being no place to clean up in the stall.  Still, the 
phallic plug buried in her pussy felt good as she walked, 
and the bag of booty over her shoulder was an added 
delight, even if it was deuced heavy.  It'd make a lot of 
folks back home happy too.  Spotting the bazaar down a side 
corridor, the vixen made a small side trip, drawing stares 
from everyone as she walked past.  Finding the vendor who 
had sold her the pheromones she gave him her best grin.  
The vendor for his part cringed at the sight, and looked 
as if he might bolt.  "Hmph; must be showing too much 
teeth" the vixen thought to herself; "Just wanted to stop 
by and tell you that the stuff you sold me is GREAT; you 
wouldn't believe how well it worked!"  Grinning at the 
badger, Zassa turned and sashayed off through the Bazaar.

The badger looked at his vials and shook his head; "bottled 
this stuff right from the tap myself; what in the WORLD is 
she talkin' about?"  Looking up at the departing vixen, the 
badger scratched his head; "Hell, she's so sexy as it is, 
she doesn't NEED any extra 'pheromones'!"

Tanj did a double-take as Zassa came in through the 
airlock.  Wanda squealed with delight as she took Zassa's 
carryall, to look inside the surprisingly heavy bag.  
Looking up at the vixen, Wanda grinned; "you will be a 
heroine of monumental proportions when we get home, Zassa!  
You even found Ben his Brie, and you got the Chutney!"  The 
vixen just grinned depreciatingly and making little liquid 
sounds among the squeaks of her latex outfit, she padded 
towards the ship's head.  Tanj just shook her head and 
resumed her trek towards the flight deck, wondering what 
fallout might come from THAT little escapade...... and then 
she grinned to herself, thinking maybe next time she'd go 
with Zassa; it looked like the vixen had had a marvelous 
time......

It was late that night when they all finally made it to the 
bar.  Tanj was wearing her new dress, as was Wanda, still 
grumbling about the chastity belt that Tanj had refused to 
let her out of.  Hinoki was in another one of his rock 
concert tee-shirts (this one only a few years out of date, 
but according to him, still a 'classic'), and a pair of 
skintight black shorts.  Zassa was in a short, flouncy 
halter dress in blinding white that she'd bought.  They 
moved through the door, into the crowded, noisy bar, and 
looked around, blinking, searching for Mark.

Mark looked up and smiled; Tanj and the rest of the crew 
had just entered the bar, and were standing just inside the 
door, waiting for their eyes to adjust to the gloom, their 
ears to the noise (for that certainly couldn't be called 
"music").  Turning to Mala he smiled; "They're here; just 
like we discussed, OK?"  The Hyena smiled, and nodded.

Tanj spotted the Hyena first through the crowds.  Stepping 
a little to one side, to see past a Rhino that was trying 
to dance with a wolf fem, she caught the flash of white 
that was Mark's fur.  Gesturing to the others, she headed 
out across the bar for their table, having to take a small 
detour to evade the waltzing couple.  Settling into the 
chair opposite the Hyena, Tanj's gaze flicked to Mark, 
looking at him inscrutably for a moment and then her gaze 
turned back to the Hyena.  "I'm Captain Sou An Ky  of the 
...... free trader "Lost Cause."  I understand Mark's been 
talking to you about us."  The Hyena nodded solemnly; "I'm 
Mala Z'pata, and yes, he's told me a few interesting things 
about you....and your organization."  She mock-scowled at 
the mouse, who for his part just smiled back brightly with 
his best innocent expression.  "Wouldn't go into any juicy 
details, though, and the internal walls on this station are 
so flimsy I couldn't find a place to properly 'question' 
him without being heard..."  Hinoki took a look at the 
expression on Tanj's face and grabbed Zassa; "come on, lets 
go get everyone a drink....."  As they moved out onto the 
dance floor,  headed for the bar, they heard Tanj say; "you 
realize of course that Mark has ignored quite a number of 
protocols in telling you anything about us........"

Hinoki ordered a round of drinks for the table, guessing at 
what the Hyena would want, while Zassa looked around the 
bar.  In some ways, it looked rougher than the Brethren's 
base, and in some ways it looked better.  There were a 
number of roughly dressed toughs, loud and boisterous, 
carrying edged, projectile and energy weapons, but so far 
they were keeping to themselves.  There was the usual 
dockside crowd of cargo handlers, maintenance techs, and 
such, some obviously here directly from a hard day's work, 
some still carrying their tools.  There were ship's crews, 
tight knit little knots of furrs at this table or that, 
most looking around as if on the defensive.  And then there 
were what she took to be station personnel, some of them 
half way decently dressed.  Then, with a grin, she spotted 
the Coyote she'd been talking to the other night........

Tanj sat back in her chair and growled softly; "I suppose 
your..... experience with the Imperial Marines makes for a 
decent enough fit for our outfit, but at the same time I'd 
worry about.... Conflicting loyalties, if you follow my 
drift.  There's also the problem of getting along with 
everyone in a tight-knit outfit; remember, the organization 
is made up of less-than-diplomatic folks; if someone takes 
offense, they're most likely to settle problems with a 
knife, or a blaster, or with some I know, just fangs and 
claws.  Excessive losses in that regard hurts ..... 
operational efficiency."  Mala cocked her head  at the 
cheetah; "In English, please."  Tanj sighed; "you get into 
too many fights with the crew, you'll either wind up dead, 
or they will; either way we may not have enough folks for 
what we need to do. Mala snorted; "If you insist, I'm sure 
I can settle for just breaking a few bones from time to 
time..."  Tanj sighed again and shot a dark look at Mark, 
who seemed to have a hard time maintaining his innocent 
look.

Hinoki grinned as he set down the tray of drinks; turning 
to Wanda, he whispered; "how's it going?"  Wanda just 
winced, grabbed her drink, chugged half of it, and grabbed 
Hinoki to drag him out on the dance floor.

Zassa danced by herself, knowing that she'd attracted the 
eyes of the Coyote.  As she moved lithely, she winked at 
him, and then danced off teasingly.

Tanj sighed and leaned back again, reaching for her drink.  
At least she assumed it was her drink.  "I guess we'll just 
have to see what the boss says.At this point, I suspect 
that's the best alternative."  Mark smiled; "That's what I 
hoped for.  I'm not worried about the usual checks and 
stuff...after all, look at who ELSE passed those."  He 
waved a hand to indicate the crew members scattered 
throughout the bar, including himself.  Mala just nodded, 
her smile wide enough to show fangs, the overall effect 
making her look sinister and threatening. Tanj looked from 
Mark to Mala and back, and then just looked at the ceiling, 
to mutter; "How do I get myself into these situations?"

Zassa smiled as the Coyote hugged her; as she'd intended, 
he'd approached her after her dance.  Now, as she rubbed 
against him, she could feel his arousal through his pants.  
As she tilted her head to kiss him, she caught Tanj 
watching her from the corner of her eye; she just smiled 
and shrugged and gave her a wink, and then turned to kiss 
the Coyote.

Tanj sighed as she watched Zassa tease her beau.  
"Absolutely insatiable" she grinned to herself.  Turning, 
she watched Wanda and Hinoki for a moment, thinking that 
they were defining the term "Dirty Dancing"....  Hinoki had 
definitely taught the young wolverine some moves.  Draining 
the last of her drink from her glass, she rose and headed 
for the bar and a refill, thinking she ought to leave Mark 
and the Hyena alone for a bit, after she'd lit into them 
both.  "Off to a great start there" she grumbled to  
herself.  She was almost to the bar when someone grabbed 
her around the waist, lifting her from the floor.  She was 
just about to claw whomever had grabbed her when the 
Stallion from the other night announced loudly; "Whell, 
Looky here what Ah's found!"

Hinoki had just sat Wanda down, and had reached for his own 
drink when he saw Tanj snatched up.  For an instant, he 
thought she was in trouble, but then he realized she was 
just being assaulted by an over-enthusiastic and perhaps 
something less than suave suitor.  The stallion had come in 
with a number of friends, all seemingly as boisterous and 
harmless as himself, and Hinoki found himself looking at 
one of them, a middle aged lioness was staring back at him, 
with that predatory look that lionesses can do so well.  
Before he could seek the shelter of his seat, she'd strode 
over to him, one paw reaching out to touch his collar; 
"Wal, looky here; ain't you a purty one!  Who's your 
master, boy?"  Hinoki grinned weakly and jestured to Tanj, 
who still hadn't quite escaped the over-enthusiastic 
clutches of the stallion; "Uh, she is....."  The lioness 
followed his gesture and grinned, her fangs glinting 
whitely in the bar's dark interior.  "Yo!  Clem!  Put her 
down fo' a minute!"  Clem grinned and turned, 
still not letting Tanj loose, but bringing her around so 
she could see the lioness and Hinoki.  Grinning wider, the 
lioness gestured to Hinoki; "Y'all mind iff'n ah borrowed 
your boy for a bit; he's kinda struck mah fancy."  Tanj 
took in the cast of Hinoki's ears, and his tail, trying to 
read his opinion, and then made an off-handed gesture, as 
if to say "if you wish"..... or was it just a reflex jerk 
as Clem once again swept her off her feet, to carry her 
towards a booth.  The lioness nodded; "Much obliged, 
Ma'am!"  And grabbing Hinoki's collar she turned, to drag 
him off towards one of the curtained booths in the back of 
the bar.

The panther watched the group from the Lost Cause 
carefully.  The vixen was acting according to the 
preliminary psychological profile he had seen, as was the 
male cheetah, even if a bit unwillingly.  The mouse, as 
ever, was an enigma, and the things he'd heard about the 
Hyena, although not listed as a member of the crew, were... 
well, enough to make HIM shudder in reflex when he saw her 
scooping the mouse into her lap.  The Captain, now perhaps 
a bit less reluctantly in the lap of the stallion, was 
also following the profile, and the panther grinned to 
himself; if the profile was correct, it wouldn't take much 
for the stallion to wear down her resistance.  And the 
Wolverine girl...... she looked so frustrated, sitting 
there, by the mouse and the Hyena.  Taking a quick look at 
the others, he rose, figuring this was as good a chance as 
any.  Walking over to her slowly, he bowed to her, and 
asked; "Miss, may I have this dance?"

Wanda smiled up at the panther.  Turning to shoot an 
inquiring glance at Mark, and receiving the tiniest nod in 
return, she rose, to give him her paw, to let him lead her 
out onto the dance floor.

Tanj sighed and smiled; the Stallion certainly was 
persistent, and in his own clumsy way, charming enough.  
Looking about the bar, she saw the curtain bulge in the 
booth where the lioness had dragged Hinoki off to; then the 
cheetah's tail snaked out from under its edge; from the 
bulge and the position of his tail, Tanj guessed he was on 
his knees, between her feet.  Tanj reflected for a minute 
on his skill at cunnilingus, and figured it would be three, 
maybe four minutes tops before the lioness' roars were 
heard in the bar.  Zassa was literally entwined with the 
Coyote, and from the looks on both of their faces, it  
wouldn't be but a few minutes until they drew the curtain 
on their booth too.  Wanda was dancing with a panther, but 
he looked like he was behaving himself... and Mark was 
watching them carefully, still snuggled against the massive 
Hyena.  Giving a mental shrug, Tanj thought "why shouldn't 
I have some fun myself?  Everyone else seems to be 
"occupied".......  Turning she surprised the big stallion 
by tilting her head back and giving him a long, sensual 
kiss.......

Wanda smiled; "so you see, that cursed chastity belt is 
kinda both my punishment and my protection, and I really 
can't blame the Captain, considering what I did.  But all 
things considered, its worth it.  I finally got to do some 
shopping, got out for a bit, and have seen something of the 
universe."  "And where do you go from here?" the panther 
asked.  "Oh, home I guess" Wanda replied.  "And where might 
that be?" the panther smiled.  Wanda smiled back; "Oh, its 
an agricultural station.  We're here after parts for the 
farm machinery.  Over in the Hydra sector.  Its SO dull 
there....."  The panther just smiled; "so, whats your 
Captain like?"

Zassa grinned and kisses the Coyote again, and reaching up, 
almost pushing her breasts into his face, she grabbed the 
edge of the curtain and pulled it closed.  No sooner had 
its magnetic edge grabbed the far side of the booth, than 
the Coyote was undoing the strap of her halter, letting the 
front of her dress fall, allowing him to nuzzle between her 
breasts.

The stallion gave Tanj a funny look when she checked her 
chronometer when they heard the lioness roar; grinning, she 
turned to him; "right on time."

Mark smiled too when he heard the Lioness roar.  Zassa was 
out of sight behind an almost opaque curtain, and it was 
obvious that soon her yiffs of pleasure would add to the 
noise in the bar.  And Tanj and the Stallion....  Well, he 
kind of expected that curtain to close soon too (although 
how the two might find room to maneuver in that tiny booth 
was beyond him).  Still smiling, he turned to Mala, picking 
up something of her own mood; "Getting ideas?"  
"Yeah......" the Hyena began; "but I'm not much into 
exhibitionism, and those curtains don't provide much 
privacy....."  Mark turned to look at where the vixen's 
silhouette was outlined on the curtain, obviously astride 
the Coyote's lap, facing him, and from her motions, it was 
obvious, to Mark, and to half the bar, what was going on in 
there.  Shifting his gaze, Mark noted that there was no 
longer a bulge in the curtain where the lioness had dragged 
Hinoki off to; nor was his tail apparent under the 
curtain's edge.  However, from the yowls and thumps coming 
from that direction, it was more than apparent that they 
were into round two...  Turning back to Mala, he nodded.  
"I see what you mean.  I'm not much into showing off for an 
audience myself...and watching's only half the fun if you 
can't join in. But maybe, if we can find some privacy later 
and you're still in the mood...?"  The Hyena took a sip of 
her drink, licked her lips, and grinned at the little mouse 
in her lap.  "Think I may JUST take you up on that..."

Tanj purrrrrred as the stallion carressed her; shielded 
from the general view by her body, she'd been lightly 
stroking that bulge in his pants, and had been rewarded 
with a significant increase in volume... in fact, she was 
concerned that soon he'd bust a seam.  Giggling, she too 
turned to reach for the curtain, sliding it closed.  With a 
smile she turned back to give him a deep kiss, while her 
paws expertly undid his fly.

Wanda did a classic double-take as she danced with the 
Panther; she'd caught Tanj closing the curtain from the 
corner of her eye, but as she danced, as that booth came 
around into view, it was apparent that the scene had 
changed only a little.  From this side, the curtain was 
almost completely transparent, tinting the scene a little 
grey-green.  The panther caught the direction of her gaze 
and chuckled; "Just a little practical joke the house plays 
here; each night, a different booth has the one-way  
curtain.  It helps to draw a crowd, I'm told."  Wanda 
blinked, thinking she should tell Tanj that she was putting 
on an exhibition, but then she grinned, thinking of the 
chastity belt.  Besides, Tanj had put on enough exhibitions 
in her past, she probably wouldn't get too upset at one 
more.  Wanda smiled and turned to look at the Panther; 
"what say we  find a place to sit, and watch the show."

Tanj found the stallion a whole lot more charming when he 
kept his mouth shut; his caresses were gentle, and 
skillful, his tongue a delight.  But the booth was small, 
and he wasn't.  Finally, he got up on the table, leaning 
back against the back wall.  Tanj also knelt on the table, 
between his thighs, and softly licked at his massive cock; 
she'd seen larger, and possibly even taken larger too, but 
she knew she'd be walking funny for days, a prospect that 
both dismayed and delighted her.

Mark grinned as Mala told him about the trick curtain; 
"Just Tanj's luck" he muttered as they snuggled, watching 
the cheetah kneel on the table, the translucent curtain 
providing an excellent view of her upraised ass.

Wanda grumbled to the Panther, as the bartender brought 
them another round of drinks; "Yes, my father's very 
strict; he INSISTS that I remain a virgin until he can 
marry me off to some business crony.  "forming alliances" 
he calls it."  The panther raised an eyebrow; "sounds kind 
of cold."  Wanda watched Tanj as she demonstrated her skill 
at fellatio and nodded; "I'd like nothing better than to 
spoil his little plans, but the Captain, well, she's taking 
this thing seriously, so it looks like once again, I'm 
merely a voyeur......

Tanj found that by stretching her jaws wide, she could just 
barely get the head of his cock into her mouth.  But that 
left her no room to maneuver her tongue, so she backed off, 
to just lick along his shaft, one paw wrapped around its 
base, stroking gently, the other hefting his massive balls.  
Judging from the noises he was making, he was in heaven, 
and Tanj smiled.  After taking him close to the edge three 
times, and then giving him time to recover, she became 
seriously concerned that he might "surprise" her on the 
next go-round.  Smiling, she straightened, urging him to 
slide down, to lie flat on the table, so she could 
straddle his hips.  He had to put his feet on either side 
of the table, his legs bent back, to keep from sticking 
them through the curtain, but somehow he managed.  His head 
was still propped up by the back wall of the booth, and as 
much as Tanj would have liked to have ridden him, face to 
face, the way his legs were spread, she found it easier to 
face away from him.  It was a bit of a contortionist's act, 
but eventually she got herself in position, both of her 
paws wrapped around his cock, slowly dragging it through 
her wet furrow, until its head glistened with her dew.  She 
knew she was wet, literally dripping, but even so, this one 
was going to be a "stretch".  Settling herself down, she 
grunted as the head of his cock parted her labia, and then 
stretched them wide... she moved in little jerks, bouncing 
up and down, grunting with each downward motion, as she 
gradually drove his cock into her pussy.  After a while, 
her grunts were echoed by his, and his hands came up to cup 
her breasts, squeezing rhythmically.  Finally she decided 
she could take no more of him without hurting herself, and 
looking down, she was amazed to see that over 2/3 of his 
length was buried in her twat!

The panther watched the expressions play across the 
cheetah's face and nodded to himself.  Mooneyes was right 
about this one; she'd make a fabulous sex slave; wouldn't 
even need much training either.  In fact, he wouldn't be 
surprised if she could teach the instructors a thing or 
three.  His conversation with Wanda had lagged, as the 
whole bar had quieted, to watch the Cheetah mount the 
stallion.  She'd been a veritable gold-mine of  
information...... information he probably couldn't use.  He 
still didn't know who her father was, although he suspected 
he was fairly rich and powerful.  He didn't know much about 
the Lost Cause's defenses, or capabilities (but he did know 
more about beginning nursing than he'd ever wanted to 
know).  He'd confirmed that Hinoki and the vixen were both 
sex slaves, and as such probably only nominal at their jobs 
of scan tech and loadmaster.  And slaves couldn't fight, so 
when they took the Lost Cause, they probably wouldn't have 
much of a fight on their hands. Watching the Cheetah move, 
the panther grinned, and thought that before he turned her 
over to Mooneyes, he'd take a turn or two with her......

Clem grunted; "God, you're TIGHT!  I don't know how much 
longer I can........Awwwwwwwwwwww CRAP!  Ah'm a cummin'!  
Tanj had just begun, rising and settling slowly on his huge 
cock, and while she was enjoying herself, she was no where 
near her climax.  Stifling a groan as she felt his cock 
start to throb, pumping her full of his jism, she shook her 
head, and reached down between her legs to fondle his 
balls, knowing that would make his orgasm that much more 
intense.  As the stallion whinnied at the top of his lungs, 
Tanj smiled, and did what she could to make it memorable 
for him, at  least........

Zassa smiled and kissed the Coyote; he'd been fun, but now 
he was an exhausted hank of fur, panting hard in the back 
of the booth.  Pulling her dress up and fastening it behind 
her neck, she grinned; "See you next trip, stud."  Sliding 
out between the edge of the curtain and the frame of the 
booth, she looked around the bar; for an instant she 
thought everyone was looking at her, but then she realized 
the attraction was a few booths over..... where Tanj was 
riding the cock of an absolutely huge stallion!  Zassa 
blinked for a moment, and then realized that the curtain 
WAS drawn, you could just see right through it!  "Holy 
Crow!" she exclaimed!  You can see......."

The Weasel grabbed Zassa from behind, his paw clamping her 
muzzle shut. "SHUSH!" he stage-whispered in her ear; 
"you'll ruin everything!"  Zassa grinned, and didn't resist 
as the weasel dragged her down into his lap, one paw still 
lightly around her muzzle.

Tanj grinned, as she felt the stallion spurt his last.  He 
panted hard for a minute, and then she felt his hands 
around her waist, lifting her; "Can't let the little lady 
go unsatty-fied" he grinned, and pulling her back, he 
brought her rather wet sex to his muzzle, to stroke her 
with his broad tongue.  Tanj balanced, bent over, as the 
stallion's tongue licked her clean, and then started to 
worm its way into her depths.  Like his cock, his tongue 
was comparatively large, and it wasn't long before she 
was squealing and moaning with delight.  Her climax was 
every bit as vocal as the Lioness' had been, much to Clem's 
apparent delight.

It was a while before they'd both caught their breath, and 
found their clothes.  Finally  Clem opened the curtain, to 
usher Tanj out of the booth; they were both caught by 
surprise as the entire bar erupted into applause.  Tanj was 
bewildered, looking about for a clue as to what was going 
on, but Clem turned to examine the curtain, looking at one 
side, and then the other.  Tanj turned to stare at him, and 
he grinned at her, showing how from one side, it looked 
like an ordinary tan curtain, but from the other side, it 
was all but transparent!  "Looks lahk we's been Had!" he 
grinned.  Tanj sighed and rose to tiptoes to kiss him; 
"Thanks for a nice evening, Clem; if we're ever back 
this way, I'll look you up, but if you'll excuse me, I 
think I'm going to go kill someone......"  The stallion 
just grinned and nodded and bowed politely, and as Tanj 
turned to fix the bartender with an evil stare, the 
stallion turned back to his friends, one of whom was 
happily waving a video recorder cartridge.

Tanj had gone about three steps, when a new crowd entered 
the bar.  It was obviously shift change somewhere, and a 
rather rough looking crew had just entered the watering 
hole.....  Their "leader", a rather scruffy looking tiger, 
sniffed the air and growled; "I see that Bitch is here 
again, befouling the atmosphere with her stench!"  Turning 
to look around, his gaze settled on the Hyena.  Scowling, 
he growled; "I thought I told you never to come back here!  
You've disobeyed me, and now you're going to pay the 
penalty!"  As he stalked towards the Hyena, Mark rose to 
his feet and slipped away from the table to intercept 
him.  "Outta my way, rodent!" the Tiger growled.  Mark 
placed his hands on his hips and looked up at the bigger 
feline, meeting his gaze without the slightest indication 
of being impressed.  His voice was quiet, but had no 
trouble cutting through the general noise, the level of 
which had dropped some at the sight of the impending 
confrontation anyway.  "I'm sure you are mistaken.  
That isn't the Hyena you are looking for."  The Tiger 
blinked once, eyes seeming to glaze over slightly, and 
repeated in a monotone quite at odds with his snarl only 
moments ago; "That isn't the Hyena we are looking for."  
Mark nodded emphatically.  "And since she isn't, and she's 
the only Hyena in this bar, the one you mean has to be 
somewhere else.  Maybe you should keep looking."  The Tiger 
nodded vaguely, then blinked again and seemed to recover, 
growling at his cohorts.  "Come on, guys...we have to keep 
looking, she's gotta be hiding SOMEWHERE!"  None of them 
apparently had any trouble with that logic, and the whole 
group filed out just as quickly as they had appeared in the 
first place.

Mark sighed softly, closed his eyes, and slumped lightly 
only to find himself steadied by one of Mala's big paws; 
she must have made her own way through the crowd just in 
case, he thought.  "Easy there", she growled softly.  "Are 
you okay?"  Mark nodded softly, eyes opening to look into 
hers.  "Just let me catch my breath for a moment...and 
let's all get out of here before those guys catch on and 
come back, for that matter."

Tanj shook her head, growling; it wasn't bad enough that 
she'd just inadvertently put on an exhibition for the whole 
station, but now Mark had to go and demonstrate a level of 
Psi skill that probably set him in the top 1% of all Psi-
positive creatures in the Empire.  She had to get him out 
of here as fast as possible, before some of the toughs 
present concluded that he was a very valuable commodity…..

The Panther straightened, scarcely able to believe his 
eyes.  Had he actually just seen that?  When they took the 
Lost Cause, Mooneyes might get the Captain, and the rest of 
the crew, but that mouse was HIS!"  Smiling to himself, he 
started thinking about where he might find Psi-depressive 
drugs and anesthetics, to help keep the mouse under 
control……

As Tanj ushered her crew and Mala out the door, Clem looked 
at hisfriends and sighed; "Pity, thought for a moment 
there, Ah might find a way to leave her in mah debt, Cum'in 
to the aid 'o one 'o hercrew.  Besides, we'uns haven't had 
a good barfight here in weeks!  Just what HAPPENED there, 
anyways?"

The lock closed behind Tanj, and she watched as Mark sealed 
it.  "OK, I want a watch set tonight.  Two hours each.  
I'll take the first shift, Hinoki, you've got second, 
Zassa, third, and Mark, you take the next one, if the 
remainder of our cargo hasn't arrived by then.  Keep an eye 
on the external monitors; I don't want someone in a space 
suit coming by to tinker with the outsides of the ship."  
They all nodded, and Wanda, Hinoki and Zassa turned to dash 
towards the head, obviously vying to see who could get the 
first shower.  As they departed, Tanj marveled that they 
could still have so much energy; she felt drained herself.  
As she turned to head towards the bridge, Mala coughed; 
"Ah, Captain, one question...where should I bunk tonight?"  
Tanj turned to look at the Hyena, and then at Mark, and 
then back at the Hyena; "A free trader like this one isn't 
long on crew space.  In fact, right now, Wanda and Zassa 
are sharing a cabin.  We don't have any spare 
accommodations.  If you don't want to bunk with Mark, we 
can rig you a hammock in the cargo bay."  Mala nodded.  "If 
it's all the same to you, Captain, I'll see if your mouse 
can spare some room for little old me first..."  Mark 
yawned softly, nodded, and turned to pad off, when Tanj 
stopped them.  "And Mark...better come up with a good 
explanation of just what you did in that bar.  You know 
I'll have to report that incident to the Boss..."  Mark 
nodded solemnly.  "I'll try.  It's really just a trick I've 
seen in a movie a long time ago, in a galaxy far away...but 
it DID get us out of there without a fight, so I guess it 
worked."  Tanj sighed and shook her head, not believing him 
for a minute; "Whatever.  Go to bed now, I'll need you 
fresh later."

Mala snorted softly as she squirmed through the door frame, 
just slightly too low and narrow for a fur her size.  "THIS 
is where they make you sleep?  I could take a deep breath 
and use up half the air in the room!"  Mark chuckled 
quietly, but had to admit the basic truth of her statement.  
"Well, I'm the smallest fur on board AND the one least 
prone to holding orgies in my spare time, so naturally I'd 
get the smallest cabin...  At least the bunk is a pretty 
standard generic-furry design, so if you curl up right and 
we use an extra blanket for cover, I think you'll fit.  
Otherwise, there's still that hammock in the cargo area..."  
The hyena shook in mock horror.  "Thanks, but no thanks.  
I'll stay here...if you're not worried about me turning 
over and crushing you in my sleep, that is."  Mark's 
answering chuckle turned into a heartfelt yawn about 
halfway through;  "Let's just find out, shall we?"  Mala 
chuckled and reached up to undo her top, then hesitated.  
"Listen, squirt, there's one thing I haven't told you 
yet..."  Mark smiled and shook his head.  "I know, I know.  
I'm afraid I'm rather too tired for lengthy explanations, 
so...if YOU don't mind bedding down with a telepath, I'd 
certainly be honored to have you."  Mala blinked once, 
looking kind of stunned.  "Tele...of course, then you'd 
know, I guess... And you're SURE you don't mind?"  Mark 
shook his head again, decisively.  "I don't.  Come to bed 
now, please?"  Mala stood motionless for a moment longer, 
then smiled slowly, nodded, and finally dropped her clothes 
on the floor to scoop HER mouse up and hug him tightly.

It had taken several minutes of shifting blankets and 
positions among quiet giggles (mostly Mala's), but finally 
they'd found a comfortable arrangement. To avoid 
complications when Mala shifted in her sleep, they had 
settled on tucking Mark's head safely 
between the hyena's breasts (which had turned out to be 
even more impressive nude than clothed), with the rest of 
her body wrapped warmly and protectively around his.  Her 
scent, somewhat strong this close but not unpleasant, was 
the last thing the mouse would remember before falling 
asleep.

Tanj felt like her head had just hit the pillow when the 
intercom sounded, with Hinoki's voice announcing the 
arrival of the last portion of their cargo.  Struggling 
into a pair of coveralls, she headed, bleary-eyed down 
towards the cargo airlock.  She was surprised to find Mark 
and Mala already there, and she watched as the Hyena 
demonstrated the skills she'd learned wrestling cargo on 
the station's docks.  Zassa watched with a critical eye, 
data PADD in her paws as she checked each container's 
weight, directing the others to move it into its 
designated position, to be clamped down securely.  Tanj 
moved along behind the work crew, double-checking that each 
container was sealed, and that it was correctly clamped 
down.  As she did, she wondered about the possibility of 
assassins or pirates coming aboard her ship in one of the 
containers; the container would have to have a trick hatch, 
or the furrs inside would have to have cutting tools, but 
either would be possible.  And it just wasn't practical to 
open each container as it came on board...... She'd have to 
talk to Mark about precautions they might take......

Finally the last container was in place, locked down, and 
Zassa had confirmed that their weight distribution was 
optimal.  Tanj looked at her tired, dirty crew and grinned; 
"we break for breakfast, but then we go straight into 
preflight checks.  We can clean up when we're outta here.

The wardroom seemed smaller than ever, with Mala's bulk 
crammed into a corner seat; breakfast was a cacaphony of 
"sorry" and "'scuse me" and "could you pass that?" as they 
each tried to find something to their tastes.  Mala 
demonstrated an annoying habit of drinking directly from 
the juice container, and an amazing ability to belch, which 
left Hinoki looking a little sick, and Wanda roaring with 
laughter.  Tanj watched in consternation as four of her 
meat pies disappeared down the Hyena's maw, thinking that 
supply would go ape when they saw this one's requirements.  
Finally, breakfast was over, the dishes in the recycler, 
and the mess pretty much cleaned up.  Hinoki still grumbled 
under his breath as he got out a mop, it being his day to 
tidy up the galley.

Tanj sat at the Flight Engineer's station, back in 
Engineering, watching the matter/antimatter reactor 
containment field coils cool down to superconducting 
temperatures.  She'd brought one of the fusion APU's on 
line and they had disconnected station power.  Another 20 
minutes and she'd have main power on line.  All the support 
systems had been configured, allocations to shields and 
deflectors set, APU power already run to sensors, and like 
any sensible person, when pirates were about, she'd put 
the energy weapons on preheat, just in case.  She was 
looking forward to getting out of this place; while some 
moments had been fun, there was something about the whole 
affair that left her uneasy......

"Roger that, Station control, we'll see you next trip" Mark 
said into the boom microphone hanging from his headset.  
The undocking from the station had been routine, and they 
were just clearing the inner traffic control sphere.  So 
far, everything was going according to plan, the ship 
handling a bit sluggishly, but that was to be expected, 
considering their loadout. Tanj had the insystem drive 
tuned well, and everything on the ship seemed nominal.  
Still, Mark took the time to have the computer run a number 
of 'dry' combat exercises against random simulated  
opponents as he kept an eye on the Nav system; something he 
remembered picking up from the general babble of thoughts 
in the bar the other day indicated that a surprise or two 
might yet be waiting on their way home.

Zassa took one look into the ship’s head and screamed!  
Turning she stalked off down the corridor, murder in her 
eyes.  Hinoki’s head popped out of the flight deck hatch, 
and he stared at the vixen in wonder; “Zassa!  Whats 
wrong?”  “Gonna kill that Hyena; you should SEE the mess 
she’s left in the Head!  Where IS SHE?”

Tanj had come up from engineering, to get a cup of coffee; 
on the way, she encountered the Hyena coming in the other 
direction, her arms loaded with cleaning supplies, who 
growled at her; “you sure got a fussy crew, Capt’n.  Picky, 
Picky, Picky!”  Tanj stopped and turned to watch the Hyena 
depart in the direction of the head and wondered “now 
what?”

The first jump home had been uneventful, as had the second, 
and the small ship was settling into a quiet routine.  Mark 
and Tanj took turns on the flight deck, with Zassa and 
Hinoki on a staggered schedule, looking after 
Environmental, Communications, Sensors, and just being 
around in case anything happened that required their 
assistance.  Wanda studdied her nursing, filing several 
projects and tests by subspace.  She said she was making 
good progress......  Mala for her part seemed thoroughly 
bored.  She wasn't interested in any of the ship's systems, 
pronounced their library of videos as old and outdated, 
claiming that she'd seen each one a dozen times.  The text 
library also didn't seem to interest her.  The small ship's 
armory of personal weapons did occupy her for a short time, 
but after each one had been cleaned, and tested, and 
cleaned again, she was again roaming the corridors, and 
being a general annoyance.

Mark had relieved Tanj on the bridge, and she'd retired to 
her "cabin." Things had been quiet, and she'd caught up on 
her sleep, and as such, wasn't really tired quite yet.  She 
didn't feel like watching a video, and wasn't in the mood 
for reading.  She was thinking about going down to the 
cargo bay, for a work-out, when her eye fell on the clear 
plastic box that was supposed to contain the "living 
outfit" she'd bought back on Smiley's station.  "Awwww, 
Poor thing" she thought; "I've been quite remiss; if this 
thing lives off body heat, I bet its hungry......"  Smiling 
she stripped off her coveralls and picked up the box; 
"about time I found out if it lives up to its claims,  
anyways......." she thought to herself.

Mala stalked onto the flight deck, and flopped down to the 
deck near to where Mark sat in the pilot's chair.  She 
glared at Hinoki for a moment and then jerked her thumb 
towards the door; "Take a hike, kiddo, I'll see that our 
intrepid pilot doesn't fall asleep."  Hinoki's eyes 
narrowed, but when he caught Mark's smile he just shrugged; 
"I'll go get a cup of coffee, but I'll be back after a 
bit."  As the door closed behind him, the Hyena turned to 
Mark; "The ship running OK?  It's on autopilot, right?"  
When the mouse nodded, she grinned widely; "Good.  Then 
come here, you!"

Tanj opened the box, and picked it up; she could see the 
creature within move weakly, like viscous black oil surging 
from side to side, sluggishly.  Tentatively Tanj reached a 
paw out to touch the surface of the creature.  What 
happened next surprised her; the contents of the box flowed 
up her finger, over her paw, and up her arm, like sticky 
goo flowing under gravity, except in the reverse direction!  
She eeped and giggled, and concentrating for a moment, she 
tried to visualize the dress she'd worn the other night.  
The blackness spread out as it flowed, and she giggled as 
she felt it flow over her breasts, the creature thinning, 
flowing down her torso; however, instead of forming a 
skirt, it seemed to form panties, tendrils flowing between 
her thighs, the front portion meeting and fusing with the 
back.  Likewise tendrils flowed up over her shoulders, and 
around her sides, until it looked like she was wearing a 
one piece bathing suit; a bathing suit of incredible 
thinness, as the cleft between her legs and her nipples 
were more than apparent.  "No, you silly thing," she 
thought, "I wanted a dress...."  The creature surged for a 
moment, the motion feeling strange over her body, and then 
it flowed, becoming even thinner,  as it seemed to gather 
itself between her thighs.  Tanj GASPED as it formed a  
tendril and slowly pushed into her sex, the tendril rapidly 
thickening to form a phallic plug.  "No, you stupid thing" 
she moaned, as her paws reached down to try and pluck at 
the substance of the creature; no sooner had her paws 
touched it though, than the blackness flowed over her paws, 
entrapping them.  She grunted and struggled, but the 
creature was amazingly strong, the fabric of its existence 
resilient; it was like trying to fight a giant rubber-band.  
Slowly her paws were drawn around behind her back, the 
creature flowing over her arms until her forearms were held 
horizontally behind her back, one on top of the other.  
Tanj grunted and yowled, struggling, and then gasping in 
horror as tendrils flowed up her neck, one of them pushing 
into her mouth to form a gag, stifling her cries.  She 
staggered from one side of her tiny cabin to the other as 
the tendril between her legs started to surge and throb, 
the creature fucking her slowly.

Zassa heard something from the cabin next to hers, and 
wondered what video Tanj was watching.  Picking up her 
headphones she put on one of her favorite rock groups, and 
turned the volume up some.

Tanj gasped into her living gag; somewhere along the line 
she'd fallen to her knees, as the tendril stroked in and 
out of her sex.  Her first climax was sudden, and powerful, 
and as she shook in response to the waves of pleasure 
radiating through her body, the creature seemed to grow 
stronger; its motions in her sex were stronger, more 
powerful, deeper, and the portions around her breasts 
seemed to be squeezing them rhythmically.  She grunted and 
tried to rise to her feet, only to stagger and fall back, 
to lie on the floor of her cabin on her side, as the 
blackness that was the creature surged around her body.

Mark looked up into Mala's face; "Did you just hear 
something?"  The Hyena shook her head; "Nope, not a thing."  
Mark smiled and kissed her softly; "Must've been my 
imagination, then.  Now, where were we?"

Tanj panted; it seemed with each climax she had, the 
creature got stronger.  It had literall grown, now covering 
her from the neck down to her knees; it had even grown a 
new tendril, shoving it into her ass, the two tendrils, one 
in her pussy and the new one in her ass thrusting in 
counterpoint.  Meanwhile something was rubbing at her 
clitty in a most delightful way.  And there was nothing she 
could do but moan into the gag and suffer the waves of 
pleasure that rolled over her.  In a dim portion of her 
mind, she wondered why Mark hadn't come to her rescue, and 
in a separate portion she didn't want him to.  Something 
somewhere snickered; "poor thing was hungry, and now its 
going to gorge itself on your sexual frenzy."  But what 
would happen if it couldn't get enough?

Mark smiled and nuzzled Mala under her chin; "Wonder what 
happened to Tanj.  She isn't usually late for shift 
change."  Mala grinned.  "Probably all tuckered out from a 
hard day of Captaining....."  Mark concentrated for a 
moment, blinked in what looked like surprise, then his 
smile turned rather mischievous; "Be that as it may, I do 
believe somebody should remind her it's her turn now."  
Mala's grin widened.  "True, and I know JUST the fur for 
the job..."  Rising she set Mark down in the pilot's 
chair and turning, made her way to the hatch; opening it, 
she found a glowering Hinoki seated in the corridor; 
"Capt'n seems to be a bit late; why don't you be a good 
little boy and go see what's keeping her?"

Tanj awoke slowly.  There was a pounding in her 
head........ no, there was a pounding on the door.  Rising 
shakily to her feet, she staggered to the door and opened 
it, to find Hinoki looking at her curiously; "Geez, Tanj, 
what happened to YOU?  You look a mess!  Nice dress, by the 
way, but don't you have the same thing in brown?"  Tanj 
looked down at herself; her fur was all ruffled every which 
way, and she could feel the stickyness between her legs.... 
But the creature had finally formed the dress she wanted, 
the blackness stretched over her body like a film of 
latex.......  Tanj shook her head; "Tell Mark I'll be up in 
a minute; just let me change and clean up a little."  
Hinoki chuckled and nodded, the scents coming from Tanj's 
cabin giving him a most misleading idea of what she'd been 
up to.

When the door closed, Tanj put her right fist over the open 
box, and thought; "Playtime's over; back in your box."  And 
obediently, the blackness oozed up her body, and down her 
arm, to fill the container almost to the brim.  Tanj 
snapped on the lid, and then added a piece of string to 
make sure it stayed closed.  However as she put it back on 
the shelf, she smiled; "someday, when I've got the time, 
we'll do that again........ or maybe I'll let it get good 
and hungry and then dump it over Zassa........."  Smiling, 
she trotted to the head to wash up some, before heading to 
the bridge.

They were about four days out from Smiley's station, about 
half way home, when Hinoki bent over the sensor console.  
They were passing through an unnamed system, heading from 
one jump point to another, and he was getting some funny 
returns from the system's asteroid belt.  Scowling he 
worked with filters and interpolation software, seeking to 
refine the image.......  As the computer stroked the raw 
data, and reported to his station, he sat back and blinked, 
and then reached for the intercom.

Tanj was sound asleep when the intercom chimed.  "Whazzup?" 
she mumbled blurrily.  Hinoki's voice was clear over the 
speakers; "Captain, I have one, maybe two inbound bogies.  
They look like stealthed ships, and they're using the 
asteroid field behind them to distort sensor returns.  I 
think we're going to have problems in about...... fourteen 
minutes."  Tanj nodded, more to herself than to Hinoki; 
"Very well, bring the ship to battle stations.  Tell Mark 
he has the command pilot's seat; I'll head down to 
engineering."

Tanj dashed into Engineering, plopping down into the 
station chair before the master console; with the main 
drive running, it only took a moment to bring up the two 
APU's, and she rerouted the additional power to shields and 
weapons.  She watched as Mark brought the missiles online, 
their seeker heads in stand-by mode, their electronics 
running self diagnostics.  Blinking, she watched as Hinoki 
tapped into the increased power levels to power up ECM and 
ECCM modules, the systems remaining on stand-by, as if he 
didn't want to tip his hand to the bandits that they had 
those capabilities.  "Captain," Mark's voice came over the 
intercom, "I need a decision now.  We could simply cloak 
and slip away, but then they'd be free to fly home and 
report; personally, I think engaging them might actually be 
our safest bet.  As near as we can tell, there's only two 
of them, nothing bigger than raiders."  Tanj blinked to 
herself; "This ship has a CLOAKING DEVICE?" Shaking 
herself, she replied; "No, they haven't declared their 
intentions yet.  Hinoki, is there any chance they're 
Brethren returning from an operation, and are here to 
provide us with an informal escort?"  Hinoki's voice 
floated out of the speaker; "Don't think so; we generally 
run better equipment than this.  Don't get me wrong, those 
ships look more than capable of taking out a standard free 
trader, but they're not the Brethren.  Stake my pay for 
this trip on it!"  "Oh, they're not Brethren, all right," 
Mark interjected.  "In fact, unless I'm mistaken they're 
specifically after US!"  Tanj chewed her bottom lip for a 
moment, thinking someone was after Mark's recently 
demonstrated psi talent, and then replied; "OK, we'll wait 
until they declare themselves.  Shields are up, and we can 
absorb at least their first salvo.  If they're hostile, 
here's what I want to do........"

Mark looked over at Hinoki as Tanj outlined her battle 
plan; "she really IS a pirate at heart, isn't she?"

The panther smiled; it had been a long stern chase, with 
several trails gone cold.  The Cheetah bitch was taking the 
long way home, as if she wanted to slip past unobserved.  
That was fine by him; no one was likely to interfere out 
here in the boonies.  It should be a simple task to take 
down the free trader.  Mooneyes would get her sex toy, and 
he and his little crew wouldbe more than amply rewarded, 
with a portion of the free trader's cargo and that mouse.  
He just wished he'd been able to get more information from 
that wolverine kid........

"They're charging weapons!" Hinoki cried, his head bent 
over his console.  Mark just nodded, his fingers near, but 
not quite touching the keys that would charge their own 
weapons.  Lasers, ion cannon, even mass drivers left 
signatures that other ships could detect as they came on 
line.  The missiles, however, were almost invisible, 
nestled in their launch tubes.  He let a few of the 
selected ones have a look at their targets, the missiles 
acknowledging that they had an acceptable picture.....

"Rover two to Rover lead; are you going to warn them, or 
should we just open up?"  The squirrel fem that was the 
command pilot of the second ship did not like this in the 
least.  She'd heard rumors that this free trader had some 
connection to the Brethren, and if that was true, they were 
going to be really pissed when they took them out.  "Rover 
Lead to Two" the Panther's voice came over the com; "I'll 
give 'em the chance to surrender, after I put a shot across 
their bow; But if they don't power down within 15 seconds, 
start shooting at their engines.  I'll take out the gun 
turrets."  "Roger that, Lead" the squirrel replied, still 
feeling very uneasy about this.  By now they must have been 
spotted, and their quarry was just cruising on as if they 
didn't have a care in the universe.  Either they were very 
slack over there, or they were very good.......

Hinoki jumped as the twin lances of light speared out from 
the lead ship, to flash just before their bows.  "Free 
Trader Lost Cause, you have 15 seconds to power down, or 
we'll fire on you!  Surrender and live; resist and die!" 
came from the comm panel.  Wanda, listening in on the 
intercom from what passed for sick bay, blinked and thought 
she'd heard that voice before.........  Hinoki looked at 
Mark, who appeared to be quietly counting to himself.....

Tanj waited until she'd counted to 12, and then fed a surge 
of power into their enhanced shield generators.  By the 
time the enemy's 15 seconds were up, their shields no 
longer resembled that of a civilian merchantman, but more 
closely resembled that of an Imperial light cruiser......

The flight engineer on Rover two let out a gasp of 
surprise, just as Lead's weapons fired at the freighter.  
The squirrel was just lining up her forward weapons on the 
freighter's engines when he gasped; "Missy, we got BIG 
problems!  I think we'd better get out of here......"  She 
ignored him, thinking there was still time......

Mark toggled two of the missiles, and they streaked away 
from the freighter's belly blister as he simultaneously 
brought the laser turrets online, hoping to use their 
energy signature to mask the launch for a crucial moment or 
two.  Each missile homed in on a different target as Hinoki 
flipped the ECM and ECCM modules from standby to on.

On Rover two, the flight engineer howled as his sensors 
went to a white field of static; he shifted frequencies and 
encryptions, but nothing cleared his scope.  Missy looked 
over her shoulder at her engineer, and began to think he 
might be right; pulling back on her flight controls, she 
started to horse her raider around...... In the meantime, 
the missiles had no trouble seeing through the raider's 
jamming, as the ECCM suite in the freighter simply 
overpowered it, giving them a clear reflection of their 
destinations.  And right at the moment before impact short 
pulses of laser fire lanced out from the Lost Cause's 
turrets, striking both raiders' shields and weakening them 
for JUST a second or two...

The panther saw the missile launch, his eyebrows rising, 
his eyes widening in surprise, and even as he started to 
take evasive action, his sensors washed out, and he lost 
the missiles and even the freighter.  He was still howling 
"what in the HELL IS THIS?" when one of the missiles hit 
the belly of his ship.

Mark watched in grim satisfaction as the leach missiles hit 
their targets; there was no massive explosion, no fragments 
of flying metal; the only indication of the hit was that 
each ship stopped maneuvering, their systems going dead as 
the leach disrupted their electronics and drained their 
power.

Missy gasped as everything went dead, the lights going out 
on the flight deck; "What the HELL was that?"  "Leach," her 
flight engineer gasped as he reached for the helmet to his 
space suit. "We're completely powered down, most everything 
scrambled.  If they leave us alone I can probably get 
partial power back in a few hours, but I doubt they'll do 
that.  Leaches are usually a precursor to a boarding.  
You'd best get your suit on; its gonna get awful cold in 
here.

Tanj locked her left glove onto her suit's sleeve.  She was 
pulling on the Brethren combat vacuum armor she'd been 
issued but never thought she'd use.  Mala was pulling on 
her own Imperial Marines vacuum armor, looking like some 
weird fighting robot from science fiction literature. 
Hinoki was also preparing for their excursion as Mark 
brought the freighter alongside the first of the raiders.  
"Sure you want to do this, Tanj?" His voice came over the 
intercom.  "Damn straight, the Cheetah fem growled; "NO ONE 
takes pot-shots at my ship!  Besides, we've got a 
reputation to live up to! It'd be bad for business if it 
ever came out that you could take pot-shots at a Brethren 
ship and not pay the penalty!"

The panther saw the forms emerge from the lock in the 
freighter through the viewport.  He'd pulled on his own 
suit, in preparation for the boarding, but he wasn't very 
confident of the defense of his ship.  He'd never planned 
on conducting an assault in space, and didn't have an 
armored vacuum suit. And his body armor wouldn't fit under 
his soft suit.  His flight engineer wasn't much better off, 
the rabbit having modular clamp-on armor for her soft suit.  
And his nerve disruptor wouldn't work very well through 
their armor; he'd have to use his blaster, and that was 
gonna make a real mess of the inside of HIS ship.

"They're going after Jack's ship first" Missy announced, as 
she stared through the viewport.  It was getting hard to 
see, the inner surface of the viewport frosting over as 
moisture condensed on its surface.  She turned to look at 
her flight Engineer; "Well Malach, how do you want to play 
it?" The ferret just shrugged; "lets see how many Jack 
takes out before we make a decision".

Mala was in her element; this was what she'd trained for; 
this was what she was good at.  She placed the shaped 
charge softly on the hull of the raider, to keep from 
alerting the crew.  Tanj had veto'ed the first spot, 
touching helmets with her to say there were too many 
critical systems below the hull there, and she didn't want 
to damage the raider more than they had to.  Curious 
thought, that...but then, they WERE pirates, so it probably 
made sense.  Pulling herself around the ship by the  
handholds, she triggered the blast and then swarmed back up 
the side of the raider to pull herself through the hole in 
its hull.

Jack was thrown forward by the concussion of the blast, and 
then sucked back as all the air in the ship was sucked into 
space.  His flight engineer hadn't been so lucky, catching 
the brunt of the blast, a classic case of being in the 
wrong place at the wrong time.  As he shook his head, 
trying to clear his vision, he saw a monstrous shape fill 
the hole in the hull.  He'd barely started to bring up his 
blaster when a half dozen rockets from the demon's weapon 
shredded his suit, and his torso.

Tanj followed Mala into the ship.  Taking a quick look 
around she smiled; the shaped charge had taken out lockers 
and some electrical conduits, but nothing major.  She 
ewwwwed as she recognized the remains of someone in among 
the wreckage.  Turning she saw Mala shaking another body, 
as if trying to determine if it was still alive.  That was 
patently absurd, as its lower half was pretty well 
shredded, the torn suit alone conveying a death sentence.  
Mala turned and shoved the corpse at Tanj; "Recognize him?  
He's the slug that was dancing with Wanda, that night in 
the bar!"  Tanj looked at him and nodded, recognition 
filling her eyes.  After a moment she looked up at Mala; 
"this was no coincidence, then......  They came after us 
specifically.... But why I wonder?"  Mala shrugged; "We can 
puzzle that out later; lets go secure the other ship."  As 
the huge Hyena moved past her, Tanj looked at where the 
half dozen rounds from her gun had gone and winced.  The 
flight controls were a mess.

Missy counted; "One.... Two...... Three..... Urrrrr, Jack 
didn't take out any of them."  Malach nodded; "and I don't 
see any prisoners either. Dammit, I cannot get ANYTHING 
running on this tub; its even screwed up my hand-laser!  
What do you want to do, Missy?"  The Squirrel looked down 
at the riot gun in her hands; it was great in the confines 
of a ship's corridors, but in open space......."  "Malach, 
those missiles and that jamming gear, and those shields 
tell me this ain't no ordinary freighter.  Someone screwed 
up bad giving us this job, or we were sold down the river.  
Either way, I don't think we're going to fight our way out 
of this." "Yeah," Malach answered; "but if they're going to 
kill us anyways, I'd rather go down fighting......."  Missy 
nodded; "tell you what; I don't want to wait for them to 
blow a hole in the ship; lets go outside and meet them 
there.  Maybe we can talk to them......."  Malach nodded 
and reached for the manual control lever on the inner 
airlock door.

Mala growled; "They're coming out!" and, raising her 
weapon, she let loose a stream of rockets towards the other 
raider, forcing its crew to retreat behind the curve of its 
hull.  "Hold it" Tanj growled; "I want prisoners.  I want 
to find out who was behind this little fiasco.  Besides, we 
can always sell warm bodies as slaves.  Lets not cut 
further into our profit margin than we have to...."  She 
thought she saw the hyena shrug for a moment before her 
deep voice came over the intercom.  "Fine by me, Captain, 
but for now THEY have cover and WE don't, and I'd suggest 
we do something about that..."

Missy winced as the feline voice came over her headphones; 
"All right you two; party's over.  Come out with your paws 
empty and we'll let you live.  All other choices only lead 
to death."  Before she could say anything, Malach keyed his 
transmitter; "Yeah, like you let Jack and his crew live.  
How do we know you'll keep your word?"  Tanj chuckled into 
her mike; "you don't.  The other raider's flight engineer 
happened to be standing just under the shaped charge; we 
had no way of knowing that.  The pilot made the mistake of 
trying to draw down on us, and lost.  You're no profit to 
us dead, but if you want it that way, we can play that game 
too."

Missy looked at Merarch, and then moved closer to touch 
helmets; "no profit to them?  Urrrrrr, maybe they ARE with 
the Brethren!"  Merarch nodded inside his helmet; "that or 
Imperial Intelligence; who else would have a ship like 
that?  If they're II, we'll probably spend the rest of our 
lives in some penal colony; if they're Brethren, we'll wind 
up as slaves.  Not much of a choice."  Missy nodded; "true, 
but the only alternative seems to be death.  And to tell 
you the truth, I'm not wild about dying today....."

Mala had used the jets on her suit to move closer to the 
raider, until she could grab the hand-holds on the hull.  
She watched as Tanj moved towards the stern and Hinoki 
towards the bow.  Those two weren't too bad for amateurs, 
but she could tell they hadn't been through this often 
before...  Waiting until the others were set, she quickly 
pulled herself around the hull......

The first warning Missy had was when Malach's eyes went 
wide in shock; she didn't quite manage to turn around in 
time before something massive slammed into her, knocking 
her free of the hull, sending her spinning off into space, 
her riot gun flung from her grasp.

Tanj watched the Hyena subdue the second space-suited 
figure as if she was playing with a rag doll.  "At least 
she's not OBVIOUSLY trying to kill him" she muttered to 
herself, as she turned to look at the first figure rapidly 
drifting away, arms and legs flailing.  With a sigh she 
slung her plasma rifle and jetted out in pursuit.

Mala growled fiercely as she pushed their two prisoners 
towards the cargo hold, clumping along behind them, still 
wearing most of her vacuum armor. Tanj squirmed out of the 
upper part of her suit, grumbling about catheters, and 
audibly wishing someone would come up with a better design 
for females.  Hinoki just grinned, and as he shoved his 
suit back into its locker, he picked up his rocket launcher 
and padded, still nude, after Mala, to see if she needed 
any help in securing their prisoners.... Or maybe just to 
make sure she didn't scare them to death.....  Tanj put 
away her suit, moving carefully, as long experience in 
space had taught her, making sure the suit would be ready 
at a moment's notice.  When all was ship-shape she turned 
and made her way to the flight deck, carrying her 
coveralls.

Mark looked up from his control panel as Tanj entered; the 
blue-green glow of a tractor beam filled the viewscreen.  
"Just moving those raider ships over to one of the larger 
asteroids.  I thought it best to hide them there, and then 
send some crews back to pick them up later."  Tanj nodded; 
"Sounds good, although I have to admit, someone's going to 
get really pissed at having to fly that one ship back; 
they'll have to wear vac suits the whole trip.  And the 
control systems are a little shot up as well."  Mark nodded 
wryly; "Bet you ten  credits that when the Boss finds out 
about Mala, he'll assign ME to the job?  And just how bad 
is it over there?"  Tanj sighed and slipped into the Ops 
station chair; "Mala only fired a half dozen rounds, but 
they blew straight through the pilot and into the flight 
controls.  You remember the Panther in the bar? The one who 
was dancing with Wanda?  Well guess who the pilot was."  
Mark looked thoughtful for a moment; "Most folks on the 
station would know we were loading cargo.  Theoretically, 
only Mooneyes would know WHAT we were loading.  And where 
we were heading.  Do you think someone in her operation put 
them on to us, or do you think she did it herself?"  Tanj 
shrugged; "Might have been some rather greedy and rather 
stupid type that thought a proven, demonstrable psi 
talent such as yourself might be a marketable quantity.  
Unless our guests can prove Mooneyes is behind this, we'll 
never know.   But I'll tell you this; I'll be REAL hesitant 
to deal with her again; the coincidence is just too 
great....."  Mark nodded.

It was after dinner; Tanj had gotten a chance to shower, 
and had on a fresh jumpsuit.  The adrenaline was finally 
leaving her system, and she felt tired and weak.  Padding 
down towards the cargo hold, she was bound and determined 
to ask their captives a few questions.  Passing through the 
pressure hatch, she looked around; the light was dim, and 
it took her a moment to make out the forms of a male ferret 
and a female squirrel, each nude, each chained to cargo 
containers on opposite sides of the bay. Wandering over to 
look at the Ferret first, she noted that one ankle bore a 
cuff, with a chain trailing from its lock to a fitting on 
one of the cargo containers; it looked like he had about a 
dozen feet of chain, and could shift his position easily.  
A squeeze bottle of water and a bucket, obviously for waste 
elimination, were nearby, and there was a thick pad of foam 
insulation for him to lay on.  He looked back at Tanj, not 
saying a word.  Satisfied that someone had seen to their 
basic needs she turned and strode over to the female, who 
rose to her feet upon her approach.  "And who might you be" 
the squirrel asked, her voice almost a snarl.  Tanj looked 
back at her for a moment, and suffered a severe flashback, 
remembering when she was crew on a tramp freighter, and how 
she was enslaved.  Suddenly she felt a real pang of 
sympathy for these two.  But then she shook it off; this 
was neither the time nor the place for sentimentalism; they 
were, after all, trying to do something similar to Tanj and 
her crew, but now the tables were turned.  "I'm the Captain 
of this vessel."  Cocking her head to one side, she looked 
at the squirrel, who seemed so determined to put up a 
brave front.  "And what are you going to do with us?" the 
Squirrel demanded.  Tanj shrugged; "the same thing we 
always do with captives; we sell them into the slave 
markets.  Unless you cause me trouble, in which case, I'll 
simply cycle you through the airlock.  But I don't think 
you're that stupid."  At that, the squirrel's gaze dropped 
to the floor; "No, we're not that stupid; we'll behave."  
Tanj nodded; "wise move.  Now tell me; who were you working 
for?"  The squirrel seemed to 
deflate, and she sat on the foam pad; "Jack Carruthers. You 
know, big Panther.  But I'm told he's dead."  Tanj nodded; 
"true, and I regret that; not because he was killed, but 
because his death prevents me from finding out who was 
behind this assault.  The Brethren take such things VERY 
seriously."  From behind her, she heard the Ferret mumble; 
"Dammit, I KNEW it!  We're screwed now....." The Squirrel 
just shrugged; "well, Jack was the brains behind the 
outfit, or so he thought; he was the one dealing with 
the principle.  I don't have a clue who he was working 
with......"  Tanj didn't say anything for a long minute, 
she just looked at the Squirrel; finally she turned to head 
towards the pressure door.  Stopping just shy of it, she 
turned, to look back.  "I don't believe in mistreating 
slaves; if you are cold, or too hot, or have reasonable 
complaints, let me know, and I'll deal with them."  With 
that she passed through the door, leaving Malach and Missy 
to their thoughts.

Mark looked up as Tanj entered the flight deck; "You're 
early."  Tanj just shrugged.  After a moment she looked at 
Mark; "I think the squirrel's lying.  I think she knows 
who's behind this."  Mark nodded.  "Of course she does.  
The question is, to what lengths do you want to go to get 
her to talk?"  Tanj just smiled; "Well, I'm NOT going to 
turn Mala loose on her, if that's what you're asking.  But 
I might just turn Zassa loose on her....... She looks a 
little uptight, and I bet Zassa could help with 
that........."

Missy looked up as the cargo hold's pressure door opened.  
A vixen, in an almost obscenely short dress padded in, 
carrying two covered trays.  Closing the door behind her, 
she padded over towards Missy first, to set down the tray 
by her feet.  As she did so, Malach's eyebrows rose; she 
was facing directly away from him as she bent over and it 
was perfectly apparent that she was wearing nothing at all 
under the skimpy dress.  Missy took in the collar, and the 
skimpy dress and shook her head; "Don't tell me; you're the 
crew's sex toy."  There was something in the squirrel's 
tone that annoyed Zassa, but she smiled and shook her 
head; "actually, I'm the ship's loadmaster.  But as for 
that, well, I prefer to think of the crew as there for MY 
amusement........"  Grinning, she stepped a little closer 
to raise one paw, to stroke the squirrel's cheek; "How 
'bout you?  You interested in a little relief from the 
boredom of just sitting here?"  Tanj smiled as the 
squirrel's face clouded, and she snarled; "Thanks, but I'm 
not into girls."  Zassa smiled, and shrugged and bent to 
pick up the other tray; as she moved over towards Malach, 
she looked over her shoulder; "your loss; but I wouldn't 
hold to that too tightly; before this is over, you might 
be......"

Malach watched the hot young vixen sashay towards him, and 
tried not to drool.  When she put down his tray a few feet 
beyond his chain, and then pushed it, skidding it across 
the floor towards him, he almost groaned.  Then she gave 
him a wink and turned, to leave the cargo bay.  When the 
door was closed, he looked at Missy and groaned; "and whats 
wrong with ME?  I would have LOVED to have gotten some 
relief from the boredom!

Tanj watched the monitor and smiled; turning to Hinoki she 
purrred; "I think we now have two wedges we can use to try 
and get more information...... but I'll bet the Ferret 
breaks first.  I bet in a bit he'd be willing to do almost 
anything for some sex........"

Later that night, after Mark had relieved her, Tanj ran 
across Mala in the wardroom.  "We're going to do a "soft" 
interrogation of the prisoners tonight; something a little 
more related to the carrot than the stick." The Cheetah fem 
grinned; "It should get rather sexy, and I was wondering if 
you'd be inclined to participate?"  The big Hyena looked 
back at Tanj for a moment, her face blank, and then she 
sighed and shook her head; "I appreciate the offer, but if 
you don't mind, I think I'll just keep Mark company on the 
flight deck.  Maybe we'll watch on the monitor....."  Tanj 
just nodded and shrugged; "suit yourself...."

Tanj was wearing her new dress again, when she, and Zassa 
and Hinoki entered the cargo bay.  The three of them 
pointedly ignored the ferret, walking up to where the 
squirrel was chained.  Missy looked at them with 
apprehension, her eyes widening when she saw the buckles 
and straps and other accessories that Hinoki was carrying.  
Zassa padded right up to her, to take her head in both 
paws, to give the squirrel a kiss.  Missy was so surprised 
by this action that at first she didn't resist, her eyes 
going wide open; by the time she had recovered her wits, 
and was about to shove the vixen away, Zassa broke the 
kiss, and with a grin, she skipped back out of reach.  "You 
see, Ta....Mistress, I think this one would make a FINE bed 
slave, if her attitude could just be adjusted a little....  
Tanj looked at her critically; "I dunno, Zassa, she looks a 
little thin, a little flat to me.... I'm not sure she'd 
sell into that market very well........  But perhaps if she 
had skills, that could be overcome....."  Missy's paws 
balled into fists as she listened to them; she couldn't  
believe she was hearing this!  She'd always been lithe, but 
she'd never thought she was unattractive......  Tanj turned 
to Hinoki and handed him a jar; "Here, rub this on her 
breasts.  One light coat every six hours.  The rest I think 
we can build up with exercise....."  Turning back to Zassa, 
Tanj raised an eyebrow; "Now, what can we do to test her 
skills.  Surely at her age, she isn't a virgin........"  
Zassa grinnned; "Perhaps, Mistress, we should check...."

As Zassa and Tanj talked, Hinoki smiled and taking the jar, 
turned to thesquirrel, taking a step towards her; for her 
part she backed up against the shipping container, and 
glared at him.  "If you think I'm going to let you put your 
paws on me, you got another thing coming, Buster!" she 
growled.  Hinoki just smiled and shrugged; "you'll let me 
apply the cream, as Mistress has instructed, and willingly 
too.  Otherwise, we'll just tie you up and apply it  
anyways.

Malach watched from across the room as Missy snarled and 
tried to knock the jar out of the male Cheetah's paws.  
Missy'd always had spirit, but he'd thought she had better 
sense.  As he watched, he wondered what would happen when 
it came to be his turn.......

Zassa stopped in mid sentence as the jar, fortunately with 
the cap still on, bounced across the cargo bay.  Looking at 
the squirrel and then back toTanj, the vixen smiled; "see?  
Told ya!"  Tanj just sighed and nodded, and gestured to the 
pile of gear Hinoki had put down on the deck.

Missy grunted and shook her head as she swung from the 
ceiling.  It hadn't taken the three of them any time at all 
to subdue her, two of them pinning her to the deck, while 
the third, that annoyingly smug male cheetah, covered her 
in straps and buckles and all sorts of weird things she'd 
never even heard of before.  Both her paws were in heavy 
leather mittens, thick padded cuffs around her wrists.  
They'd used simple snap-hooks to connect the cuffs of the 
mittens together, and another to hook them to a chain from 
the cargo bay's bridge crane.  With her fingers inside the 
thumbless muffs, she couldn't work the snaps, and that was 
so frustrating!  Other cuffs had gone around her ankles, 
and a pole with snap hooks on the end now held her legs 
almost painfully wide apart.  The chain she hung from was 
tight enough that only her tiptoes touched the floor, and 
if she strained, she could relieve the tension on her 
wrists a bit.  They'd put a thick collar around her neck, 
and this forced her to hold her head up straight.  A 
leather thong tied to the end of her tail was tied to a 
ring at the back of this collar, forcing her to hold her 
tail high; she couldn't cover herself with it, and her 
breasts and sex were completely exposed to view.  The 
Cheetah fem had given her water to drink from the squeeze 
bottle, perhaps a bit more than she'd wanted.  Finally, 
they'd put a device in her mouth; a rubber covered ring 
that held her jaws achingly wide apart, a strap from either 
side of the ring buckling in back of her neck, holding it 
in place.  It did nothing to muffle her cries, but her 
cries were unintelligible; she couldn't even curse them. 
And then that insufferable male Cheetah had indeed applied 
the cream toher breasts, rubbing it in firmly.

Malach had watched them work on Missy, squirming a bit as 
his cock got hard; Missy certainly did look delicious 
hanging there like that....... And to his amazement, the 
three turned and left, once they'd applied the cream.

Missy groaned; her muscles were tired, her limbs ached; 
she'd tried standing as best possible, but when her legs 
cramped she gave up and hung from her paws until her arms 
ached, and then she tried standing again.  It'd seemed like 
it had been hours when the door opened again, and the vixen 
walked in.  She had a rubber stopper in one paw, and a 
squeeze bottle of water in the other, and shoving the 
stopper into the center of the ring filling her mouth, she 
inserted the nozzle of the squeeze bottle into the hole in 
the stopper, and gave the squirrel another drink.  A long 
drink.  Finally, when the bottle was empty, she grinned and 
removed the stopper, to padd around the suspended girl, 
looking her over.  Missy shuddered as the vixen's paw 
stroked over her ass, down one thigh, and then along her 
belly.  "you really do look good enough to eat" the vixen 
purrred.  Stopping in front of Missy, she grinned at the 
suspended squirrel; "can you think of any reason why I 
shouldn't?"  After a moment, the vixen grinned again, and 
nodded; "Neither can I."  And with that, she knelt between 
the squirrel's outstretched feet, to nuzzle softly at her 
sex.

Malach watched the vixen lick at Missy, watched the play of 
emotions wash across the squirrel's face.  At first there 
was revulsion, and then surprise, and then something 
else.... It almost looked like a mixture of shame and 
bliss, as the Squirrel responded to the ministrations of 
the vixen's tongue.

Zassa smiled and slowly slithered her tongue in and out of 
the squirrel's pussy; sure enough, she wasn't a 
virgin......  After she'd gotten the squirrel good and wet, 
her chest heaving as she panted hard, Tanj moved to tease 
her clitty, using her teeth and tongue.  When it became 
apparent that the squirrel was getting close to a climax, 
she switched back, to stroke deep into her snatch with her 
tongue.  Back and forth, back and forth, the vixen teased, 
doing her best to keep her on the edge.....

On the Flight deck, Tanj grinned at Hinoki; "isn't it time 
Zassa relieved you up here?"  Hinoki never took his eyes 
from the monitor; "Uh, that's OK, Capt'n, I'm willing to 
cover for her for a while, until she's done......"  Tanj 
took a quiet step to the side, grinning as she observed the 
bulge in the Cheetah's pants and just shook her head.

Zassa figured she'd had about enough; the squirrel was 
hanging limply from her wrists, panting hard, moaning 
loudly, almost incoherently. Slithering her tongue out of 
her pussy once again, the vixen took her clitty between her 
lips to suck, as her tongue danced over its tip, as she 
shoved two fingers into her pussy, to pump them in and out, 
even as she tormented the poor squirrel's clitty.  The 
vixen knew exactly what she was doing, and it wasn't but a 
moment until the squirrel was writhing, electrified, in the 
grips of a powerful, and long-drawn-out climax.

Rising, Zassa winked at Malach, before padding from the 
Cargo bay.

Malach watched the vixen go, his eyes wide; shifting his 
gaze to where Missy hung limply he just let out a low 
whistle of appreciation.

Hinoki waited a bit before heading down to the cargo bay; 
it was six hours exactly when he entered, the jar of cream 
in his paw.  It was obvious that the squirrel had recovered 
a bit, but the fur between her thighs was still matted and 
damp.  Working professionally, he applied a layer of cream 
to her breasts, nodding in approval as the effects were 
already starting to be seen.  After giving her another long 
drink from the squeeze bottle, he found the control for the 
winch and lowered her to the floor.  Missy was much too 
sore from balancing precariously on tiptoes to put up much 
resistance, and it didn't take Hinoki long to refasten her 
paws behind her back.  He then placed a thick belt tightly 
around her waist, and taking another leather thong, he tied 
one end to a ring in the front of the belt.  Rolling her 
back over onto her stomach, he brought the thong between 
her legs and tied it tightly to the ring between her 
mittens, making sure that the thong was in the cleft of her 
sex.  Next, he took a leather strap and ran it from the 
ring in the middle of the spreader bar, to the back of her 
collar, pulling her into a "hogtie" position.  Standing 
back, he looked at her for a moment, smiling.  He'd seen 
many a female slave, tied in this position, bring 
themselves to a climax by tugging on the thong parting 
their labia, and he wondered if she would discover that?  
Somehow he thought not.  Finally, he took a pawfull of her 
hair, and tied a thong around it, pulling the thong back, 
to tie its other end to the spreader bar, thus pulling her 
head back severely.  He looked at her, as she lay on her 
stomach, bent back in a bow, and grinned.  "Perfect 
position for what I have in mind" he purrrred.  Then, 
dropping his shorts, releasing his cock, he knelt by her 
head, to slowly tease the head of his cock through the ring 
holding her mouth open.

Missy gasped and squirmed, NOT wanting to do this; but 
there was no way she could resist.  Slowly, almost gently, 
the Cheetah male thrust his cock into her mouth, his hips 
moving, until the head of his cock was striking the back of 
her throat, making her gag.  He seemed to play with her in 
this manner forever, until finally with a grunt, he came, 
his cum filling her mouth.  With the ring gag she found it 
hard to swallow, and to her mortification, a fair portion 
of it trickled down over her lips, to pool on the floor 
before her.

Rising, Hinoki patted her head; "not too bad, for a 
beginner; we'll work on technique next time....."  And with 
that, ignoring Malach, he rose and left the cargo bay.

Malach had watched the whole affair, doing his best to keep 
his raging hard-on from view; he looked at Missy, squirming 
on the floor, trying to find a way out of her bonds, and 
only succeeding in smearing the small pool of the Cheetah's 
cum over herself.  "Lord, she looks hot" he thought to 
himself, and with the Cheetah gone, he reached down to 
stroke himself, wondering if he beat off, where he could 
hide his cum, so they wouldn't know.....

Tanj watched the Ferret on the monitor; "I think we're 
going to have to do something to keep him from playing with 
himself......  Zassa just grinned.

Tanj took the next turn, padding through the cargo bay's 
pressure door with a few more items in hand.  Setting some 
things down by Missy's bound form, she turned to walk over 
to the ferret.  "Stand up, turn around" she growled.  
Malach somehow thought this wasn't going to be what he was 
longing for, but never the less complied.  Tanj pulled 
mittens similar to the ones the squirrel was wearing over 
his paws, and then clipped them together.  Without a word, 
she turned and padded back towards the squirrel.

Malach tugged for a moment or two at his arms and then 
sighed; "so they ARE watching.  So much for getting myself 
off......."  Carefully sitting back down on his foam pad, 
he watched to see what would happen to poor Missy 
next........

Tanj first bent to examine where the thong was buried in 
the squirrel's sex.  Frowning she found no evidence that 
the squirrel had been tugging on it to pleasure herself. 
Sighing, she removed a few items from what looked like a 
large square leather carryall bag, and then untied the 
Squirrel's wrist cuffs from the thong.  The thong to her 
tail was then untied and then the strap between her collar 
and the spreader bar.  Missy moaned softly as her body 
relaxed, and she was able to lay flat on the floor. Quickly 
undoing the mittens, Tanj cast them aside, and laid out a 
rectangular leather pouch on the squirrel's rump.  Folding 
her arms behind her, her upper arms parallel to her body, 
her forearms parallel to each other behind her back, Tanj 
tugged the leather pouch up, until her arms were encased 
within it.  Straps from the top of the pouch went to the 
back of her collar, insuring that it wouldn't slide down.  
This effectively imprisoned her arms behind her, in a 
manner that would not cause strain, or problems, should she 
be left like that.

Tanj rolled the squirrel over onto her back, and spent a 
moment looking into her eyes; finding more fear than 
challenge there, she grunted and turned to pick up several 
of the items that had been in the bag that now encased the 
squirrel's arms.  Buckling one strap around her hips, she 
turned the Squirrel over onto her stomach again, and 
threaded her tail through a hole in the appendage dangling 
from the belt.  Laying the appendage between the squirrel's 
thighs, she again rolled her over.  Then, holding up a 
bright silver object, she made great show of liberally 
coating it with a lubricant, making sure the Squirrel 
could watch.  "I guess you can figure out where this is 
going, but I doubt you can fathom why..... we'll get to 
that in a moment."  Tanj examined the base of the 
instrument for a moment, and then turning, without preamble 
shoved the device into the squirrel's pussy.  The strap 
came up between her legs and locked into the front of the 
belt with an audible "snick."  Missy squirmed a bit; the 
belt was tight around her waist, and very tight through her 
crotch; there was no way she'd loose that.....whatever it 
was that the Cheetah had so crudely shoved into her.

Tanj shifted and removed the ring gag in the Squirrel's 
mouth.  "Figure you've had that in there long enough; makes 
the jaw muscles ache, doesn't it?  Smiling, Tanj ran a 
finger over the crusty spots in the Squirrel's fur where 
Hinoki's cum had dried.  Rising and straightened her dress, 
Tanj looked down at the Squirrel.  "In a moment I'll turn 
on your little chrome friend there.  It's a very 
sophisticated vibrator, and its designed to bring you 
rapidly to the edge of a climax, and then shut down.  
If I've programmed it correctly, it will hold you, 
teetering on the edge, forever, never granting you the 
release you'll come to desire so very much.  Now I think 
you know more about what happened out there than you're 
letting on.  When you're ready to talk truthfully, just 
call for me.  If I believe you, I'll switch this thing over 
to full auto for your reward."  With that, Tanj bent to 
pick up the last object, a small remote control.  Pushing a 
button, she turned and placed it on top of a nearby  
shipping container, and calmly walked from the room.

Malach watched, barely able to hear what the Cheetah was 
saying.  He grinned and watched as Missy started to writhe 
on the floor,  her motions limited by the ankle still 
chained to the shipping container, and the spreader bar 
holding her legs WIDE apart.  He watched as she panted, and 
then howled as the gizmo obviously shut off at the last 
instant.  Over and over the cycle was repeated, until 
Malach wished she'd break down and tell them what they 
wanted to know, just so he could get some peace and 
quiet.....

Hinoki padded in after a while, to rub some more of the 
cream onto the squirrel's breasts.  He made sure he gave 
her a good long drink when he was done too, having to time 
it carefully between the cycles the vibrator was imposing 
on her.  After all, he didn't want her to choke........  On 
the way out, he gave the ferret a drink too.  When he was 
done, the ferret asked; "hey, whats with the cream?  Whats 
it doing to her?"  Hinoki just grinned and turned to look 
at the writhing squirrel; "Oh, the Captain thought she was 
a little flat up top, so we're using this stuff we found.  
It causes the area so treated to retain water.  Her bust 
size is up several cup sizes so far, and I suspect the  
Captain will have me keep treating her a bit longer, until 
she's got some really impressive hooters.  Purely temporary 
of course, but SHE doesn't know that.  Besides, I think she 
looks good like that."  The ferret could only stare at the 
squirrel and nod in agreement.

On the flight deck, everyone was taking bets as to how long 
the squirrel would last.  Mala shook her head she watched 
the monitor; "They definitely didn't teach us THAT style of 
interrogation in basic training.  I think that squirrel 
would MUCH rather be 'questioned' in the usual way by 
now..."  Zassa laughed and Tanj grinned like the cat she 
was.  "I'll take that as a compliment..."

The squirrel lasted three hours and 28 minutes before her 
howls were detectable as cries for mercy.  Tanj took her 
time going down to the Cargo bay.  Opening the door, and 
retrieving the remote, she thumbed it down to its lowest 
level, and crouched to look into the squirrel's eyes; "who 
was behind your attack on this ship?  It looked like the 
squirrel was about to hesitate, and Tanj found all she had 
to do was to look at the remote as if she were about to 
turn it back on.  The Squirrel's resolve broke, and she 
gasped; "MOONEYES!  She hired Jack to take you!  Oooooooh, 
if she ever finds out I talked, I'm as good as dead!  
People who talk about her die the most horrible  
deaths..........."  Tanj nodded and blipped the remote, 
causing the squirrel's body to jerk in response; "what was 
she after?  Did she want the cargo back?  Was she after the 
telepath?  Was she going to hold us for ransom?  What?"  
The squirrel moaned and shook her head; "NO, we were to 
take you alive; she wanted you as her plaything!  The male 
too, if we could, but you were what she was after!  The 
cargo, or part of it, was to be our payment!  Jack thought 
she didn't know about the psi talent, and was going to keep 
him as part of our payment……"

Tanj sat back on the floor, and after a moment she 
chuckled, shaking her head; "Figures.  The boss is going to 
LOVE this.....  Turning to the squirrel she bent to kiss 
her sweetly, and then with a wicked grin, she thumbed the 
remote to full/auto.  It would now investigate her nervous 
system, success in bringing the squirrel to a climax 
altering its programming so that it would do it again, and 
again, and again.  Tanj set the timer for twenty minutes, 
knowing in that time, as the device studied its victim, 
the squirrel would probably suffer through half a hundred 
intense climaxes.

Hinoki and Zassa entered the cargo bay at the end of the 
twenty minutes.  Gently, Hinoki undid the straps and 
removed the vibrator from the semi-comatose squirrel.  He 
couldn't resist, though, and turning her over onto her 
stomach, he pulled her hips back, until she was kneeling 
before him, her chest and head on the foam pad.  Slowly he 
drove his own cock into her thoroughly drenched pussy, 
fucking her softly, taking his own pleasure.  
Zassa in turn padded over to the ferret; "you hear what the 
Captain asked her?"  The ferret sighed and shook his head; 
"no, she was speaking too softly."  Zassa smiled, and 
trailed a finger down across his chest, down across his 
stomach, stopping just shy of his groin; "I'll ask you the 
same question, and if I get it right, I'll see you get some 
relief too.........  The ferret could only gulp and nod his 
head, his eyes glued to where her finger was paused....

Tanj watched the monitor from the wardroom with Wanda, the 
latter watching with rapt facination, and more than a 
little envy......  Hinoki had finished with the squirrel, 
pulling out at the last minute to add his fresh cum to the 
stains already on her fur.  He'd then removed the spreader 
bar and linked her ankles together, and laid her gently on 
her foam pad.  After giving her now generous breasts 
another coating of the enzyme cream, he kissed her softly 
on the nose and left.  It was a while before Zassa was done 
with the ferret, and when she too left, he looked as 
exhausted as the squirrel.

Mark watched from the flight deck, seated in Mala's ample 
lap.  The ship, as ever, was moving under the autopilot's 
control quite adequately, and he definitely had attention 
to spare...  He looked up at the hyena, who seemed so 
determined not to miss a single moment that she barely 
blinked anymore, and smiled as he caught her filing away 
mental notes for later reference and use...and not just for 
interrogation purposes, for that matter.

Hinoki grinned as he double-checked the sensor report; 
"weeeeeeve got COMPANY!"  Mark grinned over his shoulder as 
Tanj opened a comm channel; "'bout time you boys got here!  
All the VALUABLE stuff we're carrying, I woulda thought 
we'd have seen you light years ago!" "Oooooooo, Tanj, this 
is Jason in Sabre 6; did you find the Kalosian Love Oil I 
asked for?"  Tanj nodded to Zassa, who leaned over the 
audio pickup.  In her sexiest voice, the vixen purrrred; 
"Yes, Jason, I found that for you, a whole Liter.  And I 
found the Chutney.  And the Brie.  And the Kilrathi catnip, 
and I even found the Dark Chocolate!"  The signal that 
completely overrode the raider ship's transmissions had 
that crystal clear quality that bespoke a truly powerful 
transmitter; "you got the Brie?" Ben's voice gasped in 
amazement.  "If I'd thought there was even half a chance of 
you getting it, I would have sent a Cruiser to escort you 
in!"  Tanj leaned back against the Ops station chair as the 
conversation went down hill from there, Zassa talking about 
all the things she'd managed to get and the things she 
hadn't (to disappointed howls and mock screams of anguish, 
as most of the transmitters in the Brethren came on-line).  
Then Hinoki launched into an exaggerated version of just 
HOW Zassa'd gotten them, to the vast amusement of all 
concerned.  They were still joking about Zassa's skills as 
a "negotiator" when insystem traffic control cleared them 
for final approach to the station.

Tanj was glad to be home.  Her trip report was all written, 
ready to be submitted, the cargo manifests and expense 
reports were done, hopefully to accounting's satisfaction.  
Now she just wanted the airlock to cycle, so she could go 
find her Master and check in.  She'd even remembered to 
remove the jewelry, and to put her true collar back where 
it belonged.  Somehow it just felt right.  However when the 
airlock cycled, she was greeted by a tidal wave of noise 
and a sea of faces.  Ship captains and command pilots 
wanted to know if she'd been able to get the critical items 
they needed.  Friends and associates wanted to get the 
things Zassa had acquired for them.  It was a cacophony of 
noise and a riot of motion, and Tanj didn't know which way 
to turn, until suddenly the crowd fell silent.  Turning to 
see what had so quelled the mob, Tanj too turned, to see 
Mala, in faded Imperial Marines Fatigues leading their two 
prisoners from the lock.  One voice gasped; "what in the 
hell is THAT?" and then bedlam broke loose again.

Tanj managed to find Ben in the mob.  The wolf was 
glowering at Mala as Mark, wearing that innocent look once 
again, tried to explain her presence.  Breaking in on the 
conversation, Tanj exclaimed over the background roar; "My 
responsibility, Ben, I took her on board my ship.  And I'm 
kinda glad we did; in the ship-to-ship action she was quite 
useful."  Ben turned to look at Tanj; "of COURSE its your 
responsibility.... WHAT SHIP TO SHIP ACTION?"

It'd taken much longer than she had expected.  Finally 
Zassa had managed to disperse all the goodies she'd 
obtained, Tanj had arranged for their cargo to be offloaded 
under the supervision of the Supply group (much to the 
annoyance of those who felt they needed those parts NOW), 
Mala and Mark had marched the prisoners off to the kennels, 
Hinoki had run their paperwork to traffic control, 
accounting, and shipping, and then taken Wanda back to 
her quarters.  Tanj had explained to an obviously doubtful 
Ben that Wanda had stowed away, and then downloaded the 
logs of their actions under Ben's watchful eye.  "Two 
raider ships, eh?  Damn lucky, you know that?" he grumbled, 
but Tanj had the impression he was secretly delighted at 
picking up another two ships so cheaply.  She hadn't even 
cleared the docking bay when she felt the station shudder, 
as a cruiser departed to go retrieve the ships.

As she'd approached the Lion's quarters...... her quarters 
too, she kept telling herself, the more nervous she became.  
What if he was with someone?  Why hadn't he been there in 
the docking bay (along with what seems to have been the 
rest of the Brethren)?  Pausing outside the door, she 
listened for a moment to see if she could hear any telltale 
sounds.  All was quiet.

After a moment she reflected on just how a slave should 
return.  One paw went to her throat to touch her collar; 
that was in place and as it should be.  With a grin, she 
shed her coveralls, wadding them into a ball.  Taking a 
deep breath she keyed the door, and as it opened, she took 
a quick look around.  Spying him on the bed, apparently 
engrossed in some reports, she dropped her coveralls just 
inside the door and POUNCED!

The lion didn't seem to be too surprised when she landed on 
him, but he still went "OOF!" rather nicely; Tanj hugged 
him tight and gave him a hard kiss hello; when they finally 
broke for air he smiled; "well, Hello!  Heard you were 
back!  I take it you missed me?"  Tanj just laughed and 
kissed him again.  As she snuggled on top of him, her feet 
kicking his papers and the bedclothes to the floor, she 
purrred with delight to find he was nude.  It took her no 
time at all to get him hard, and their lovemaking was fast 
and furious!

As she lay atop him, afterwards, one paw idly toying with a 
lock of his mane, she purrred; "yes, I DID miss you; you 
miss me?  He just chuckled "Uh-huh" and rolled her over, to 
cover her with his body; this time their lovemaking was 
slower, more sensual, as each used the tricks they'd 
learned to pleasure the other.  Tanj was on her third 
exquisitely delightful climax when the lion finally roared 
out his pleasure.

Later, when they'd recovered a bit, he propped his head on 
one paw, to look at her; "Tell me what happened" he 
growled.  Tanj laid back and smiled, and launched into an 
account of the trip, talking about how they'd found Wanda 
stowed away. Of her dealings with Mooneyes, and how the 
negotiations went.  Of the supplies they'd gotten, and of 
how Zassa had proven to be a magnificent "scrounger" 
finding the "unofficial" items.  Of their shopping, and 
their purchases.  Of her meeting with the strange fox by 
the name of "Entity" and his information.  And of Mark and 
the Hyena, and how she had to bring her back with them, to 
prevent another security problem, and of how she was glad 
that she had, telling of the attack, and how they'd taken 
the raiders.  The lion listened quietly through the whole 
tale, and when Tanj had run down, he nodded; "we'd figured 
that was where Wanda had gone to, although I'm still not 
convinced that you didn't have something to do with her 
stowing away.  Still, I'm glad she didn't escape, or that 
she wasn't kidnapped.  The information about Mooneyes is 
disturbing.  Obviously we'll either have to send a more 
heavily armed mission next time, or we'll have to find 
another supplier.  And this Entity sounds interesting; it 
will be interesting to see if his information pans out.  
Overall, it sounds like the trip was a bit of a success.  
And I'm glad you made it back safely; I would have hated to 
have to have disturbed operations to have sent ships and 
furrs after you, had Mooneyes actually succeeded..........  
The lion looked at her for a moment and then grinned; "but 
I think you've had a bit too much of being Captain of the 
Lost Cause.  I think you need to be reminded who you 
REALLY are, slave!  Rolling over onto his back, he smiled 
at the ceiling and said; "for a start, you can fetch hot 
towels and clean me up........  Tanj grinned and bent to 
give him a kiss, before obediently heading for the bathroom 
with a "Yes, Master!"

Tanj lay on a pad at the foot of the lion's bed, her paws 
bound behind her back, a gag in her mouth, and the thin 
chain attached to the foot of the bed locked to one of her 
labia rings.  Never the less she smiled, as she drifted off 
to sleep.  She was home.

Lord Xylex looked up from the pictures. They were grainy, 
simple two dimensional photographs, the lighting was poor, 
the scene distant, but even so he was convinced that was 
his daughter.  And in the company of that Cheetah fem, 
Tanj.  Growling, he looked again at the report.  The 
transcript of the conversation reported by the Panther, 
before his disappearance sounded like the things his 
daughter would say.  "I will have you back, my daughter, 
and I WILL see those pirates destroyed.  And that 
Cheetah.... Urrrrrrr, she'll regret she was ever born!"  
Glaring up at the messenger he nodded; "Tell your principle 
that I agree the information is worth the price and that 
the funds will be transferred.  And tell her that anything 
else she can turn up on either my daughter, or this cheetah 
fem will be hansomly rewarded.  The fox, wearing a slave's 
collar, smiled and nodded and bowed his way out.


Tanj's Tales:  Shared Assets
Stardate 2398.55			    			By Kittiara 



Tanj listened with half a mind as her boss droned on in 
the weekly intelligence briefing.  She had her notes ready 
for her portion of the presentation, but that’s not where 
the other half of her mind was.  The Brethren had worked 
out an agreement with Jenka's Black Fleet to share 
intelligence.  As with all things the Brethren did, profit 
was foremost, and they'd finally agreed on a complex 
formula for valuing information.  Most of it was bartered, 
but if one organization had vitally important information, 
or if they just had more information of worth than the 
other side, then cash would change hands.  To kick off the 
new agreement, Jenka herself had come to attend the 
briefing.  And the Lion, in the spirit of being a good 
host, had of course, loaned Tanj to her, for the night.  
Tanj smiled as she thought back to how Jenka would not 
tolerate any of Tanj's newly acquired "status" with the 
Brethren………..

The previous day, Tanj had heard of Jenka's arrival 
while she was working in the Intelligence office, but had 
been too busy preparing for the briefing to come greet her.  
It wasn't until later that night, when the Lion stopped by, 
that she realized that she'd worked straight through 
dinner.  "You need a break," he growled; "I'm sure your 
notes and presentation slides are adequate.  Put it away 
for now and go to Jenka; I've agreed to lend you to her for 
the night."  Tanj gave her work station a quick, 
doubtful glance, but before she could object that she just 
wasn't ready yet, the Lion picked her up, set her on her 
feet, and gave her a swat on the can, urging her towards 
the door.

Jenka smiled as Tanj entered her guest quarters; "Well, 
hello, Pet; its good to see you again!"  Tanj padded 
across the room to give Jenka a kiss; hugging her tight; 
"Its good to see you too, Mistress!"  Jenka looked at her 
for a moment, smiling, and then raised an eyebrow; "aren't 
you forgetting something?"  Tanj's face went blank for a 
moment as she tried to think of what Jenka might be 
referring to, and then with a sound somewhere between a 
gasp and a giggle, she knelt at Jenka's feet, assuming the 
proper slave's position.  Jenka just clucked softly; "I can 
see your Master has been WAY too lax with you; obviously 
its going to be up to me to address the deficiencies in 
your behavior!"

Tanj smiled to herself as Jenka commanded her to remove 
her dress.  "While I'm on this station, Dear, you will not 
wear a stitch; only your collar!" the Pantheress purrrrred.  
Tanj thought of the presentation she was to make 
tomorrow, and wondered if that was prudent; most of the 
males present, and some of the females were too likely to 
be distracted from what she was saying…. Still, she 
wouldn't broach the subject with Jenka quite yet…..  Once 
nude, Jenka had Tanj attend her bath, drawing the water, 
adjusting the temperature, and adding oils, all at Jenka's 
direction.  Then, Tanj knelt by the side of the tub, 
reaching over to wash Jenka's hair.  When that was 
accomplished, she was bidden to enter the water, to wash 
the rest of her mistress's body.  Tanj, of course, 
couldn't resist adding a nuzzle here, or a lick there, and 
before long, her head was under water, licking softly at 
Jenka's pussy.  Having to break off her licking 
periodically, to surface, to take a breath gave Tanj the 
excuse she needed to draw her licking out, to prolong her 
attentions to Jenka's sex, teasing her to the brink of a 
climax and holding her there until the Pantheress growled 
and held her head tight to her pussy, demanding that she be 
given her release before Tanj breathed again.

Tanj was still panting, trying to catch her breath as 
she toweled Jenka dry.  Jenka purrred as Tanj stood 
behind her and brushed out her long, raven hair, working 
nimbly with the brush.  After turning down the bed, Tanj 
resumed her kneeling position, awaiting Jenka's pleasure.  
Jenka for her part, padded about the guest quarters, still 
nude, laying out all sorts of things that she'd brought 
with her, and Tanj did her part to watch 
surreptitiously.  Finally, the Pantheress turned and 
beckoned to the cheetah.  Tanj rose and padded over to 
Jenka, who held out a long black glove.  This she pulled 
over Tanj's right paw, fastening four buttons tightly at 
the wrist before smoothing the length of the glove up her 
arm.  Tanj felt something taped to the inside of the 
palm of the glove, and wondered what it might be.  She 
flexed her fingers and found the leather fairly thin, but 
still, she had a feeling it would reduce her dexterity….  
Jenka then bucked a cuff around Tanj's right wrist, 
covering the buttons, and locking it in place with a small 
padlock.  Jenka made a show of taking the key from that 
padlock and taping it to the inside of the palm of the 
other glove, and then pulling that over Tanj's left paw.  
Again a cuff was fastened over the buttons at the wrist, 
and locked in place.

Bidding Tanj to sit on the edge of the bed, Jenka held 
up a stylish leather boot.  The key went inside the boot 
and this was then pulled over Tanj's right foot, a cuff 
going around her ankle to hold it in place.  The key from 
that cuff went inside her left boot, which was then secured 
with another cuff.  Tanj watched the key to that one 
carefully, wondering where that one might be hidden.  As 
Jenka held up the corset, Tanj groaned.  Jenka grinned 
wickedly and held it out so that Tanj could step into 
it.  Tugging it up over the Cheetah's hips, Jenka set it in 
place and slowly started to tighten the laces, inch by 
inch.  Tanj panted shallowly as the corset constricted 
her waist, Jenka taking at least a half hour to get it as 
tight as she wanted.  As Tanj struggled to breath, Jenka 
turned and then held up a rather wicked looking "Chastity" 
belt, and with great show, taped the key to her left ankle 
cuff inside its waistband.

Tanj looked at the Chastity belt critically.  It had 
phalluses for both ass and pussy, the latter, thankfully, 
being the larger of the two.  It also had  a number of 
raised bumps where the strap would chafe on her clitty, and 
Tanj knew she was in for a rough night.  Motioning her 
over, Jenka ordered Tanj to squat, and while she held 
that strained position, Jenka lubbed up the butt plug on 
the belt.  Tanj moaned softly as Jenka worked the two 
phalluses into her, pulling the straps up, working her tail 
through the hole in the back of the belt.  The waist band 
went over the corset, effectively covering the laces at the 
back.  This too was locked in place.

Next, Jenka held up a thick rubber hobble skirt, and showed 
Tanj the key to her chastity belt taped to the inside of 
its wastband.  It took quite a bit of tugging and 
struggling to stretch the thick rubber over Tanj's hips, 
but finally it was in place, fitting her like a second 
skin.  It covered her from just below her breasts to just 
below her knees, the tight rubber forcing her legs tightly 
together.  Then, as if to add insult to injury, Jenka held 
up a short hobble chain……

Tanj looked down as Jenka kneeled to lock the hobble 
chain to one ankle cuff, and then to the other, restricting 
her step to a length of about six inches.  Taking the keys 
from the locks on the hobble chain, Jenka attached them to 
another chain, a chain terminating on either end with a 
pair of nipple clamps……  These were attached to her nipples 
in short order, the keys swaying with each miniscule breath 
the cheetah took.  Finally, Jenka held up a pair of 
handcuffs, and pulling Tanj's paws behind her back, she 
handcuffed them together, the key being added to the center 
of the chain between her nipples.  Jenka then used a short 
chain to pull her arms up, until her wrists were by her 
shoulder blades, before attaching the other end of the 
chain to her collar with yet another small lock.

Stepping back, Jenka admired her handiwork.  Tanj 
grunted as she tried to move, the two phalluses waggling 
deep inside her.  She sincerely hoped that Jenka didn't 
feel like going out for a walk tonight…… Jenka smiled as 
she padded around the well-trussed Cheetah; "as you can 
see, each key is in turn available to you, as you remove 
your outfit.  The key to the chain holding your paws high 
is hidden somewhere in this room.  I suspect it will take 
you a while to find it, and an even longer time to get out 
of your outfit.  Its now 2200 hours, and you're due at the 
briefing at 0800, giving you no more than ten hours to 
escape your situation.  And just to make the situation more 
challenging….."  The pantheress grinned wickedly and raised 
a small remote; thumbing a button, Tanj GASPED as the 
two phalluses buried deep within her came to life, 
vibrating wickedly.  Jenka watched the emotions play across 
the Cheetah's face for a moment, and then reclined on the 
bed, her hips by its edge, her legs wide apart; "I'll make 
you a deal; I'll TELL you where the key is, after you've 
used that marvelous tongue of yours to bring me to three 
climaxes; however, when you're done, I'll lock a gag into 
your mouth, the key of which is inside your right glove.  
That way, I won't hear your whimpering all night and can 
get some sleep.  Tanj sighed to herself and with little 
mincing steps, moved towards the bed, and Jenka.  Kneeling 
was going to be a real challenge in this outfit.

Tanj wriggled and squirmed at the foot of the bed.  
She'd managed to lick Jenka to her climaxes as quickly as 
she could, using all the skill at her disposal.  The key 
had been under the cushion of one of the easy chairs in the 
suite, and Tanj'd had quite a time recovering it.  The 
gloves did indeed make it hard to maneuver, and the dildoes 
buzzing away within her had caused her to drop the key 
several times, as they'd brought her to shuddering orgasm 
after orgasm.  Finally she'd unlocked the chain holding her 
paws up, and was free to squirm around, trying to catch 
hold of the chain between her nipples.  This she found, was 
quite difficult, and more than once she caught Jenka 
grinning at her from the bed as she writhed, twisted and 
turned.  FINALLY she was able to catch the chain and 
wincing, pull the handcuff key from it.  Once her paws were 
freed, the rest offered little challenge, but it still took 
her an impossibly long time to finally escape.  Jenka had 
watched the whole thing, and when Tanj was finally free, 
she motioned the exhausted slave into her bed, to cuddle, 
and to get what sleep she could, before the morning's 
duties claimed them both.

As her boss finished up his presentation of the technical 
intelligence the Brethren had gathered on Imperial 
activities and capabilities, local ship movements, market 
analysis, and the political situation in the sector and on 
Elysium in particular, Tanj rose to make the 
presentation on intelligence obtained through the 
Brethren's network of agents and spies.  She knew the eyes 
of most of those present were on her (instead of on her 
presentation materials or briefing handouts), as Jenka was 
still adamantly not permitting her clothing….  In fact, in 
the morning, Jenka had presented her with little jeweld 
bobs to hang from her nipple, labia, and clitty rings.  As 
she raised her pointer to begin the presentation, she could 
see bright little points of light reflected on the briefing 
room's walls from the swaying gems.

"And finally, from our agent, code-named "Entity" we have 
word that a disguised freighter by the name of Stra'doc is 
actually the disguised yacht of Lord Isloth, of Elysium.  
It will be leaving the Elysium system in eleven days time, 
enroute to the Imperial home world.  It carries a number of 
Elysium nobles and industrialists, who are on a mission to 
try and enlist Imperial assistance in their fight against 
the increasing rebel problem.  Additionally, they hope to 
sign joint ventures that will bring in capital that will 
aid the Elysium government and the major corporations in 
their fight."  The Lion looked up; "how reliable is this 
"Entity"?  Tanj smiled; "To date his information has 
checked out 100%.  Personally, he's an enigma, but then, in 
his place, I'd want to be too, just in case someone 
somewhere leaked information about him."  The Lion nodded 
and turned to Ben; "Put that one on the list.  Intercept 
them well enough away from Elysium that no immediate 
conclusions can be drawn."  Ben just nodded and made a 
note.

The briefing had lasted all day, and into the early 
evening.  The format was still a bit fluid, and the 
arguments at the end over the value of each piece of 
information had eaten up hours.  By the time Davis from 
Accounting and his opposite number from the Black Fleet had 
finished their verbal dueling, Tanj's stomach was 
rumbling.  As the meeting broke up, Tanj heard the Lion 
talking to Jenka; "I believe we still have a few "joint 
operations" to discuss, and I know you're eager to leave in 
the morning; why don't we adjourn to my quarters?  I'll 
have Tanj cook us something to eat."  Jenka shot Tanj 
a look, a hint of a smile on her face, and nodded; "Yes, I 
think that would be….. profitable."  The lion turned and 
looked at Tanj and nodded, and then turning back to 
Jenka, he offered her his arm.

As the Lion and Jenka strolled off down the corridor 
towards the residential section, Tanj mentally reviewed 
the contents of the little 'fridge there and sighed.  
Turning in the other direction, she headed for the 
cafeteria at a trot.

The wok steamed as Tanj bustled back and forth.  The 
lion and Jenka were seated in the den, talking of future 
operations, their conversation drifting off into Imperial 
politics, and marketing from time to time.  She'd poured 
them each a glass of Jenka's favorite wine, a white to go 
with the shrimp she was cooking.  It'd been pure hell 
trying to talk the cook staff out of the ingredients for 
the dinner, but finally she'd found out what they wanted in 
trade, and had promised to obtain it for them.  Somehow.  
Grinning, she thought she'd turn Zassa loose on the 
problem.  Finally the dishes were done, and moving the 
bowls and tureens to the table, she announced dinner. 

As the Lion and Jenka ate, Tanj knelt to one side, about 
equally between the two.  The lion grinned and showing 
remarkable dexterity with chopsticks was feeding Tanj an 
occasional shrimp.  He seemed to be taking great pleasure 
in dipping it in one of the several sauces Tanj had 
prepared, to the point that it was dripping, and then 
holding it almost out of her reach, so that she would have 
to tilt her head up and back, to take it from his 
chopsticks.  As a result, she had several splotches of 
sauce on her chest, where the food had dripped on her.  
Still, Tanj smiled to herself as she imagined what was 
to come…….

"You seem to be making quite a mess" Jenka purrred as she 
took a sip of wine.  The lion shrugged, and nodded; "I've 
always been a clumsy oaf.  As if to demonstrate, he fed 
Tanj another morsel of shrimp, and as he maneuvered it, 
Tanj grinned, her mouth opened wide, her head tilted 
back, but her body moving, such that what dripped fell 
right where she wanted it to…..  "Not to worry," the Lion 
rumbled; "I thoroughly intend to clean her up when I'm 
done."  Jenka chuckled and nodded; "Dessert, so to speak?"  
The lion looked at Jenka and grinned; "why yes; would you 
like some?"  Jenka chuckled and touched the corner of her 
napkin to her lips; "why yes, I do believe I would.  But 
you really must do it right…….."  The lion chuckled; "and 
how would that be?"  Jenka smiled; "Tanj, I believe 
we're done; please clear the table and then return.  Ah, 
and leave the sauces………"

Tanj hurriedly cleared the table, leaving the dishes for 
later.  Returning to the dining table, Jenka grinned at her 
and gestured for her to lay herself across the table.  The 
Lion watched, grinning.  Jenka then pulled at Tanj's 
waist, dragging her crotch to the very edge of the table, 
right where her dinner plate had been sitting.  Calmly 
reaching for the bowl containing the sweet-and-sour sauce, 
she placed a large dollop right on Tanj's mons.  The 
cheetah gasped as she felt it run down between her legs and 
then MOANED as she felt Jenka's tongue licking at the 
droplets. The lion for his part, bent and started licking 
at the drops of sauce on Tanj's chest, and before long, 
the two pirates had Tanj writhing on the table-top.

Jenka paused, to look up at the Lion; "you know, I've 
always preferred my food spicy hot.  This is nice, but I 
think a little spice is in order……"  Tanj thought back 
to Hinoki's antics with the tobasco sauce and moaned, but 
dared not object.  The Lion looked at Jenka thoughtfully 
for a moment and then nodded; "well, we have the ginger 
sauce, and the hot mustard; which would you prefer?"  Jenka 
thought for a moment and then nodded; "Lets start with the 
ginger; we'll move on to the hot mustard in a while….."  
And then Tanj felt the coolness of more sauce covering 
her, running over breasts and pussy, and again, two tongues 
worked at lapping it up, making her squirm.

The lion licked at Tanj's breasts, alternating one and 
then the other, leaning over her until he was sure she was 
"clean."  By this point, Jenka had the Cheetah fem 
squirming and panting, and the lion raised his head to 
watch Tanj's face as another climax tore through her.  
Purrrring, he looked up at Jenka; "you do that well; you 
obviously know just what she likes."  Jenka looked up from 
her "meal" and nodded; "I do believe that I've raised my…. 
culinary skills to an art form…."  Purrring she bent again, 
her rough tounge making Tanj resume her moaning.  The 
Lion chuckled and nodded;  "not an unusual ability in these 
parts."  Jenka looked up again and raised an eyebrow; "Oh?  
I find that hard to believe….."  As if to demonstrate her 
point she bent her head again, her tongue roughly stroking 
Tanj's clitty, her ability more than reflected in the 
Cheetah's face as she immediately writhed through yet 
another climax.  The Lion just grinned and nodded; then, 
bending closer, he murmured; "Oh look, you've got some of 
the sauce on yourself………"  Before Jenka could say a word he 
bent his head to lick at her fur softly.

It took Tanj a while to realize what was happening….  
Slowly, Jenka's sweet attention to her pussy, her 
delightful licks and nibbles, were coming more slowly, 
becoming less deft.  As she caught her breath, she lifted 
her head, to look down her body.  Sure enough, a state of 
bliss was reflected on Jenka's face….  Half rolling to one 
side, looking under the table, Tanj spied the lion on 
his knees under the table, his muzzle buried under Jenka's 
skirt.  Tanj grinned, and knew her master was 
accomplished in that arena, and slowly she inched her way 
away  from Jenka, letting the Pantheress pant and moan 
undistracted as the Lion's tongue drove her towards 
Nirvana.  She couldn't leave it alone though, and squirming 
around on the table, turning to face Jenka, she kissed her 
long and hard.  Then, rolling over onto her tummy, Tanj 
proceeded to lick teasingly at Jenka's left nipple………

As Tanj licked, she realized that the bowl of Ginger 
sauce was almost empty, the almost full bowl of hot mustard 
sitting next to it; she wondered if this was merely a happy 
coincidence…. Or had the lion known, and taken action to 
distract Jenka?

Jenka had lost track of time.  She didn't know HOW long 
she'd been sitting in that chair, the cheetah crouched on 
the table nuzzling her breasts, the broad muzzle and rough 
tongue of the Lion working tirelessly between her thighs.  
As she felt his tongue once again swirl up into her 
drenched sex, stroking deep inside her, she yowled once 
more, the waves of pleasure of this unnumbered climax 
washing through her.  Somehow, as the feelings subsided a 
little, she found the strength to push Tanj's head away, 
gasping "Enough!"  The Lion was a little harder to 
dissuade, but eventually he too pulled his muzzle back let 
her rest.

As she panted, trying to catch her breath, Jenka looked 
from Tanj to the Lion and back; "you know, maybe that IS 
a common skill here……"  Looking at the Lion she smiled; 
"Sirrah, you've licked me to a frazzle; I'm completely wore 
out!"  Raising her gaze to Tanj, who was still laying on 
top of the table, head propped up on her paws, Jenka 
smiled; "but really, Pet, you are quite remiss in your 
duties……"  Tanj's eyes widened and her jaw dropped, a 
"huh?" emerging from her open mouth.  Jenka nodded; "here 
your Master has been so kind to entertain his guest, and 
you have completely ignored his needs!  You should rectify 
that, and quickly, or I'm sure you'll be punished!"  
Tanj grinned and inched forward to look under the table 
at her Master; he in turn lifted his head to kiss her, 
softly at first, but with the passion of the kiss growing.  
Before long Tanj was on the floor, crouching, her knees 
wide apart, her head resting on her crossed paws on the 
floor, as the lion moved to take her from behind.

Jenka watched as the Lion used his slave, as he fucked her 
hard.  There was a primal need about his movements, and for 
a moment Jenka regretted not satisfying his lusts herself…… 
but then she WAS exhausted…..  Instead, she took in the 
show, as the Lion's motions slowly increased in tempo, in 
forcefulness, until Tanj was bracing herself hard 
against his thrusts.  He came with a roar, Tanj's own 
cries echoing his.

They all wound up in the Lion's large bed, morning coming 
all too soon.  The Lion then showed Jenka the proper way to 
be bathed by a slave, all three of them crowding into the 
shower.  Covered in liquid soap, Tanj squirmed and 
writhed between the two, making sure to stroke herself 
against every portion of their anatomy, using herself as a 
living bath sponge to make sure they were clean.  And as 
aroused and excited as she could get them.  This time, 
Tanj watched as the Lion quenched the fires in Jenka's 
loins, the pair working through this position and that, 
until they both roared with pleasure, Jenka astride the 
Lion's hips, his cock buried deep in her pussy.

After breakfast, The Lion and Tanj escorted Jenka back 
to her ship.  "Sure you can't stay?" the Lion growled; "We 
really do have a bit more to work out on that Bienviedos 
affair."  Jenka smiled and shook her head; "No, I'm afraid 
I have pressing business elsewhere.  Although believe me, I 
would like to stay.  Are you SURE I can't talk you into 
selling your delightful little slave here?  She's good at 
her intelligence work, but you KNOW she's wasted there; 
she's MUCH better suited for the bed."  The lion laughed; 
"Not a chance; besides, as long as she's here, I'll know 
you'll keep coming back."  Both Jenka and Tanj smiled at 
that.  Jenka rose to tiptoes to give the Lion a kiss 
goodbye, and then turned to kiss Tanj goodbye too; 
"Goodbye, Slave.  As punishment for not finding a way for 
me to stay another day, you are forbidden clothes for the 
next 24 hours.  And NEXT time I see you, you'd best 
remember your station and behave accordingly!"  Giving 
Tanj a soft swat on the can, and giving the Lion a wink, 
Jenka turned to pass through the airlock to her ship.

As the airlock cycled and Jenka's ship undocked, the Lion's 
paw rose to examine one of the jewels still dangling from 
Tanj's piercings.  "You know, I like that effect" he 
purrred; "But I think I can go Jenka one better………."

Tanj padded carefully into the Intelligence office.  
There was a LOT of work to be done before they could mount 
a mission to capture the Stra'doc, and Tanj was eager to 
get started.  As she entered, however, all eyes turned to 
her, and she caught more than a few grins.  Eddie, the gray 
wolf from Operations, had been waiting for her and he 
padded over to examine her a little more closely.  The Lion 
had found a considerable length of gold chain, and had 
indeed "decorated" Tanj a little more thoroughly than 
Jenka had.  Tanj thought that the understated effect of 
a few jewels was far more fetching than this, but she had 
to admit, what the Lion had done had its recommendations……

Eddie shook his head and traced the line with his finger.  
From a locked cuff around Tanj's left ankle, a length of 
fine gold chain traveled upwards, to pass loosely through 
her two labia rings.  From there it passed through her 
clitty ring, through her bellybutton ring, through the ring 
in her right nipple.  It then traveled, swaying in an arc 
to pass through her other nipple ring, before passing on to 
her nosering (replaced for this occasion), and thence to 
her right earring.  Every motion seemed to make the lengths 
of chain swing and way, and it was apparent that if she 
turned or twisted, the chain would pull through the 
numerous rings, and sensitive portions of her anatomy would 
get tugged at.  Tanj chuckled as she watched his eyes 
travel, and then demonstrated the principle by arching her 
back a little, lifting her muzzle, and turning her head to 
the right, the chain going tight all the way to the anklet, 
tugging her breasts together.  Grinning wickedly, Eddie 
knelt and shoved his muzzle between Tanj's thighs, 
eliciting a yelp at his cold nose, and another yelp as his 
tongue explored her sex (making the chains in that area 
wriggle and dance all the more).  Straightening up he 
grinned at the onlookers, as if to say, "yup, its got her 
hot all right."  Tanj just shook her head, and as Eddie 
turned back to her, she reached up and grabbed an ear; 
"Come one, You," she growled; "We've got work to do."  
Picking up her briefing material and a data PADD, she 
tugged him into one of the conference rooms.  However, the 
sounds that emerged from behind the thin door suggested 
they were doing anything but planning a mission…..  for a 
while.

This story is a work of fiction, and any 
resemblance to any characters, living, dead or 
imaginary is purely a coincidence.  Tanj and these 
stories arecopyright Kittiara's player, 1997, 1998, 
1999, 2000.  Kittiara can be found on Furrymuck; 
telnet 209.100.167.128 8888. Hinoki, Zassa, and 
Jenka copyright their players, also to be found on 
FurryMuck.  Mark is copyright Ann’katar, also of 
FurryMuck.  Entity is copyright Petfox, of 
FurNation.  Comments, suggestions, or flames can be 
directed to ha_seng@hotmail.com.