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



Tanj's Tales: Lord Xylex’s Revenge; Part I 
Stardate 2398.60			    			By Kittiara 


Tanj was headed for Operations.  She had the latest 
Imperial fleet movement reports, and wanted to get them to 
Ben for the upcoming operation.  Their planning efforts were 
still in the "fluid" stage, and she felt the information she 
carried would be of help.  As she turned the corner she 
almost collided with Mark and Mala.  Mala grinned as Tanj 
Backpedaled in a hurry, almost dropping her data PADD.  "Uh, 
Heya, you two……" Tanj squeaked out, looking from face to 
face.  "You guys gave me a bit of a start…."  Mark laughed; 
"you've been working too hard, Tanj; we've scarcely seen 
you of late!"  Mala just grinned, and nodded.  Tanj 
sighed; "well, with all the projects the Brethren have going 
these days, its been keeping me hopping."  Mala nodded; 
"Yes, I have to admit, this is a busy place.  My mouse here 
never told me just how extensive your operations are."  
Tanj looked up at Mala and nodded; "Ben find you a place 
in Operations?  Things working out OK?"  Mala chuckled 
throatily; "Oh, we've had a few rough spots.  My roommates 
told me not to come back after about three days, for some 
reason, and I'm bunking in with Mark now.  The assault 
contingent of the Overlord has been tolerating me fairly 
well, though…… I think it'll work out."  Mark smiled a bit 
mischievously at that; "Personally, I still think that after 
your little "demonstration" on poor Jaimeson during that 
combat drill last week, they're all a bit scared of you.  I 
mean, putting your own commanding officer in Medical for 
three days!"  The Hyena shrugged and grinned in her usual 
disconcerting manner.  "Can I help it if he's too busy  
trying to cop a feel on the new recruit to watch where my 
fists are going?  Its OK, though; we've talked a bit when he 
was in traction and I don't think he'll try THAT again 
anytime soon." Tanj blinked and cleared her throat; 
"Ah…., well… so where you two off to today?"  Mala made a 
sour face leaving Mark to reply; "Oh, Pierce down in medical 
was threatening to pull Mala's certification for combat 
status if she didn't get down there and have her physical."  
Tanj looked at the big Hyena and wondered what MedTech 
would be brave enough to poke and prod her?…. And then she 
shook it off.  "Well, you two have fun, I've gotta get this 
stuff down to Ben."  Mark nodded; "After we see to Mala's 
medical, I'm off to the docking bay; I'm being cross-
attached to the White Fang.  They've got an op coming up, 
and it seems half their crew's down with the Tau Ceti flu.  
I'm substituting for the 2nd Engineer, so we won't see much 
of each other for a bit.  Tanj smiled; "Getting some 
space time at last, Mark?"  The mouse chuckled;   
"Mmmmmmaybe….  I guess chances are I won't get to see any 
more of actual space on that trip than I do here, but I'm 
always open to surprises.  Now Scoot!"  With a wave and a 
grin, Tanj headed off down the corridor, not giving the 
encounter a second thought.
 
 The middle-aged fox with the graying head fur, old-fashioned 
glasses, and slight paunch under
 his lab coat barely paid any attention when the unlikely 
couple walked in.  Instead he was frowning at
 a viewscreen in front of him, muttering under his breath, 
and occasionally hitting a few keys in obvious
 frustration.  After waiting for a few moments, Mala coughed 
rather loudly, and the fox's head jerked up.
 "NOW wha...oh, right."  He leaned back with a sigh raised 
his glasses, and rubbed his eyes for a moment.  "Well, I 
suppose this can wait."  He hit a few more keys, apparently 
calling up a different file, and scanned it for a moment.  
"You're Mala Z'pata?"  The hyena nodded.  "Took your time, 
hm?  Well, never mind that...get over there", the fox 
gestured vaguely towards an examination table, "and get 
undressed already.  I don't have all day."  Mala hesitated, 
and the fox sighed again in exasperation.  "Look, lady...out 
there in space you may be the big bad ex-marine who can punch 
through concrete and fold armored opponents into origami 
figures, but in here I'M the doctor, and that means that if I 
say 'jump', you damn better JUMP until I tell you otherwise."  
He took a deep breath and some of the tension seemed to ease 
out of him. "Besides, I'm one of the guys who may have to 
patch you together when you come back from one of your 
missions, and I can't do that without knowing which part 
goes where.  So, if you would...?"  Mala actually managed a 
chuckle at that, nodded, and started to slowly undress while 
the fox turned back to study her file some more.  After a 
couple of minutes, he nodded to himself, got up, and walked 
around his desk over to where the hyena was standing, clothes 
scattered a bit haphazardly, arms crossed over her chest.  
About halfway there he suddenly stopped, blinked, adjusted 
his glasses, and looked again while his jaw slowly dropped.  
"You...errr, you're...I mean, from here it almost LOOKS 
like..."  "The word you're fumbling for, doctor," Mark 
interjected quietly from where he'd stood nearly forgotten, 
"is 'hermaphrodite'.  Trust me on that...I looked it up, and 
yes, she is."  He gave the taller fox a slight shrug as the 
latter turned towards him for a moment.  "And for obvious 
reasons, while we both understand that that fact will need to 
be included in her medical records, we'd rather see it kept 
confidential otherwise."  The doctor nodded faintly, then 
pulled himself back together and nodded again with more 
conviction.  "Right...sure, I can do that.  Not sure how much 
good it'll do, mind; the, ah, upper management has pretty 
free access to our files."  He shrugged a little helplessly, 
then turned to the waiting Mala.  "Be that as it may, you're 
not leaving before the physical's done. So, if you'd kindly 
sit down there and breathe deeply while I find something I 
can stand on...?"
 
The operation to capture the Stra'doc, Lord Isloth's 
disguised yacht, was only one of several that the Brethren 
were conducting, and Tanj was involved in the intelligence 
aspects of all of them.  There was a raid on a convoy headed 
for the Pathan sector, there was an assault on a military 
supplies depot in conjunction with the Elysium rebels, and 
they were setting up a Blackmail scheme on the assistant 
Minister of Defense for the Elysium government.  Each 
demanded her full attention.  As a result she heard of most 
of the events after the fact……..

As the Overlord, one of the Brethren's cruisers, had just 
docked, Tanj made her way to the Heavy Craft Docking Bay, 
curious to see how the operation had gone.  If things had 
gone as planned, there should be some very interesting 
prisoners to interrogate, and who knew what treasures the 
Stra'doc held?  However, as the crew started to emerge from 
the personnel airlock, Tanj sensed that something was 
wrong…….  Pushing past the emerging crew, Tanj made her 
way towards the Bridge.

Zalinski was on the Bridge when Tanj Entered.  The 
Overlord's Captain and Majority Shareholder was already 
starting his after-action report, sitting quietly at the Ops 
console.  Padding over, Tanj looked down at the Leopard; 
"What Happened, Hans?  Everyone looks so…… depressed."  Hans 
nodded; "Yeah; well, looks like we missed the gold ring on 
this one.  Isloth wasn't on board.  Not on the passenger 
manifest, no one matching his description among the 
prisoners, and yes, the headcount matches the manifest.  And 
No, no one's hiding on the ship; we made sure of that.  
Don't know if he sensed trouble or whether it was just bad 
luck, but he wasn't on the ship.  Some Fop by the name of 
Viscount Worthington was "leading the mission."  But this 
guy's a real lightweight."  Tanj's eyes narrowed; "do you 
think Isloth took another route, or did something delay him?  
Was it these guys or nothing?  What……"  Hans waved a paw, 
bringing Tanj's string of questions to a halt; "Tanj I 
don't KNOW.  The problem with this crowd is not getting them 
to talk; in fact, the problem's getting them to shut up!  
But as they babble, they just don't SAY anything.  Don't 
worry, they're all in one piece; you'll get your chance to, 
ah, "debrief" them.

Tanj nodded and bent forward to kiss Hans on the 
forehead; "don't let it worry you; we can't win them all."  
Hans just chuckled and nodded; "well, we should be able to 
ransom them for a pretty penny, and we got a decent yacht 
out of the deal.  We'll cover our expenses.  Still, its 
scarcely the blow for Elysium Freedom we'd hoped for.  
Tanj nodded and with a wave, turned to head for the 
cruiser's brig.  As she was about to pass through the door, 
Hans called out to her; "Oh, by the way, you were right 
about the Hyena."  Tanj stopped and looked back over her 
shoulder; "How so?"  Hans grinned; "just because the prize 
wasn't what we thought it was, doesn't mean it wasn't 
defended.  We didn't have any trouble battering down the 
yacht's shields, and the leach missiles killed their systems 
most effectively; but apparently Worthington had a 
contingent of household guards on board.  THEY at least, 
were competent.  But your Hyena tore through them like they 
were so many paper tigers.  I think she broke the resistance 
to the boarding party by sheer intimidation!  You know, she 
might not be the easiest person to live with, but in a 
situation like that, she's worth all the trouble."  Tanj 
nodded; "Glad she's working out."  As she padded from the 
Cruiser's bridge, she wondered when Mala had become "her" 
Hyena?

The skunk that was Viscount Worthington was elegantly 
attired, in the latest fashion, even if his suit was 
somewhat stained and rumpled.  He sat ramrod straight in the 
Cruiser's brig, his paws on his knees, as if waiting quietly 
for his limousine.  Or his butler.  Tanj looked at him 
through the door, and shook her head.  He certainly didn't 
look dangerous, and the Cruiser's security troops were 
nearby in case he proved to be a problem.  With a shrug she 
keyed the door open and looked at him.

Viscount Worthington, KCB, DLB, waited patiently.  There was 
no question, absolutely no question that these ruffians 
would soon ransom him home.  In the meantime, he simply had 
to uphold his station, not show these scum the least sign of 
fear.  Still, he would have thought that for a furr of his 
elevated station, they might have shown him to better 
quarters….. When the Cheetah fem opened the door to his 
cell, he was convinced she was there to show him to 
accommodations more befitting his status, her slinky dress 
and the slave's collar only reinforcing the concept……

Tanj's jaw dropped as the skunk started to talk; "Ah, 
yes, about time you showed up!  I trust whoever is in charge 
of these ruffians has finally confirmed my identity, and is 
ready to treat me according to my station….. Oh, of course 
he has; he can't be a complete dullard.  Come along then, 
lets get on to wherever I have to remain until the ransom 
comes through…You HAVE contacted my estate manager for the 
ransom, haven't you?"  As the Skunk talked he'd risen to his 
feet, straightened his outfit, and had pushed past the 
surprised Tanj and into the corridor.  Looking up, Tanj waved 
off the Security troops, who were rising from their seats.  
"Uh, yes of course, ah, Viscount, um, Worthington.  If you'll 
follow me, we'll, ah, see about finding you more suitable 
quarters.  As she led the still chattering skunk off the 
cruiser, Tanj wondered if he would reveal anything of 
interest in his incessant chatter…. And if she'd ever be able 
to wade through all the transcripts…..

Security on the station wasn't happy about releasing VIP 
quarters to a prisoner, but after listening to Worthington 
for a few minutes, even they had to admit he would have to 
be the best actor in known space to be concealing a 
dangerous personality under all that……. bluster.  In the 
end, they agreed to posting an "honor guard" outside his 
quarters, as long as Tanj would see to his "care and 
feeding"….. and that the intelligence department covered the 
expense.

Tanj had arranged for Zassa to bring him his meals.  To 
Tanj's surprise, the vixen was more interested in meeting 
a "genuine Viscount" than Tanj would have thought.  She'd 
set up video and audio surveillance of the VIP quarters, and 
gotten the recorders running.  She'd fetched him his diary 
(after scanning its current contents into her computer).  
And she'd dealt with a couple of dozen of his "requests"…..  
She'd told him that there simply wasn't a decent wine cellar 
available; after all, this WAS a pirate base.  No, they 
hadn't captured any suitable wine cellars……  No, the pirates 
didn't have a Concierge.  Yes, they DID have a laundry, but 
she didn't think they could handle pressing his suit…..  
Yes, she'd see to having his luggage sent over….  No, she 
didn't know where his servant was, but she'd check…..  NO, 
he couldn't make a call to his stock broker!  Finally, 
Tanj managed to extricate herself, to hasten to the 
intelligence office to arrange for a ransom demand to be 
sent, as circumspectly as their increasing desperation would 
allow.

Tanj watched the monitor as Zassa came through the door 
with his meal.  The vixen was dressed in simple elegance, a 
tight black shift covering her, only a few bits of jewelry 
adding to the obviously carefully calculated effect.  The 
tray she carried was the same fare that everyone else on the 
base ate, and as expected, it by no means met with 
Worthington's expectations.  He demanded his private chef.  
That got him thinking and he inquired about his other 
traveling companions.  Zassa just shrugged and said that she 
didn't know, but would ask after them.  Worthington then 
replied that as long as she was about that, there were a 
number of other deficiencies that he would like her to see 
to.  Finally, Zassa was able to escape, promising to inquire 
about his "requests" immediately.

Tanj looked up as Zassa entered the intelligence office.  
"That Skunk's a real stinker" the vixen growled.  "Here I 
wore one of my best outfits, thinking that he might want to 
relieve the boredom, some, and he completely ignored me!  
Tanj just laughed, and huged Zassa; "Dear, I think he 
would have been MUCH more interested had Hinoki delivered 
his dinner; I'm afraid he's bent that way."  Zassa just 
Hmphed, and looked up at the monitor; "whats he doing?"  
Tanj chuckled; "writing in his diary.  I'm afraid we're 
not mentioned in a very good light; according to him, we're 
mistreating him horribly!  Why, the valet hasn't even shown 
up yet to see to his laundry, let alone his wardrobe!"  
Zassa chuckled and shook her head; "Get anything useful out 
of him yet?"  Tanj just shrugged; "depends on what you 
define as "useful"…..  We've got all sorts of information on 
the latest Imperial scandals, gossip, and inside politics.  
We now know the latest about Elysium high society, and the 
VERY latest on fashion, who's throwing the best parties, and 
"whats in"……. but the really useful stuff, such as 
economics, and military capabilities, or even just 
"intentions"… zilch.  I believe someone on his "staff" knows 
the details of his mission to the Imperial Capital, but its 
painfully obvious this guy was just along as a fancy title, 
someone to gain entrance to certain circles in the capital."  
Zassa nodded, and looked back a the monitor; "so, whatcha 
gonna do with him?"  Tanj grinned; "I think I'm going to 
let his associates visit him, in small groups.  That might 
just let us see who's fluff and who's the steel in this 
party."  Zassa smiled and nodded; "should be interesting……"

Tanj was half way to the caffeteria, for a late dinner 
when it hit her square between the eyes.  Lord Isloth hadn't 
been on the Stra'doc, supposedly HIS private yacht, a vessel 
heavily disguised as just another free trader…. Or so Hans 
had said.  How did he KNOW Isloth hadn't been there?  Would 
someone as powerful, as resourceful, as….. slimy as Isloth 
have traveled incognito on his own ship?  Tanj grinned 
and turned, trotting back towards Intelligence.  She had 
work to do!

The Lion wandered into Intelligence well after midnight.  He 
found it easy to spot Tanj; her monitor was the only 
light on in the room, her face strangely lit by its glow.  
"We missed you at dinner" he rumbled after a minute or two 
of watching her.  Tanj just made a small "uh-huh" sound 
as she scrolled down the document she was studying.  Bending 
low, to look over her shoulder, the lion purrrred; "Whatcha 
find?"  Tanj pushed a stray strand of hair out of her 
eyes and scrolled down another page; "Isloth's dropped out 
of sight.  No mention of him anywhere on Elysium…….. I don't 
think he's there.  I can't prove it yet, but I suspect he 
actually WAS on the Stra'doc.  I think we have him and don't 
know it…….."  The lion nodded; "we'll hold ransoming off the 
nobles and wholesaling the others until you've puzzled it 
out."  Tanj mumbled "OK" and scrolled down another page.  
The lion watched for a moment, and then reached out to 
smooth a stray hair on Tanj's head; "Get Mark to figure 
out if he's there?"  Tanj nodded distractedly; "Yeah…… I 
would…….. if he was on the station…….. Shipped out with the 
White Fang………. Won't be back for a bit, and I'm too 
impatient to wait for his return."  The lion grinned and 
nodded, and quietly padded from the intelligence office, 
closing the door softly behind him.

Tanj hit the end of the file, and sighed; another zero in 
her search for any evidence of Isloth either in the Imperial 
capital, or on Elysium.  As she closed out the reader and 
turned off her terminal, Tanj sniffed the air.  The scent 
of her master lingered, and looking around, she wondered 
when he'd been there……..

Tanj had poured over the Stra'doc's passenger list, and 
had made her selections.  A fair number of the crew had died 
defending their ship and its passengers, and it was 
possible, Tanj thought, that Lord Isloth had been among 
them.  She had selected the ship's Executive officer, 
Worthington's personal physician, Worthington's personal 
slave, and a few of the other guests, all apparently just 
friends.  These would be the "guests" at a dinner party 
ostensibly hosted by Wanda, Lord Xylex's daughter, for the 
visiting nobles.  She hoped that during the party, through 
the conversations and their actions, that she would be able 
to detect who was the brains behind the mission to the 
Imperial Capital.

Tanj found the jar with the living "dress" in her ship; 
she'd been "feeding" it regularly, being careful to keep it 
from growing too much.  She thought she'd have some fun with 
the "guests" at the party that night.  Stripping down to 
just her fur, she opened the container and touched a finger 
to the black liquid surging viscously back and forth within 
the container.  Obediently, the creature flowed up her arm, 
until the container was empty.  Forming the image of a 
simple halter dress in her mind, the creature obediently 
flowed over her body, forming that shape, its surface 
glistening with an oily sheen.  Replacing the container in 
the overhead, Tanj turned and headed for the base's slave 
kennels.

Tanj looked over the list at the security station; "Yes, 
I think this "Percy" is the one I'm looking for…."  The 
guards, a Buffalo by the name of Hector and a Panther by the 
name of Phil, looked at each other, and then shrugged.  Phil 
scratched one ear; "and you say you're going to interrogate 
him?"  Tanj just grinned and nodded; "Yeah; you see, I 
think some of the folks you're holding from the Stra'doc 
aren't what they seem.  I'm going to try and find out if 
they're really what they say they are."  Hector shook his 
head and then shrugged; "well, if you want him, I'll go get 
him."  After a few minutes, the buffalo returned leading a 
male squirrel of medium height.  The squirrel was dressed in 
a silken loincloth, a jeweled collar, and nothing else, his 
well muscled body shown off to good effect.  Tanj raised 
an eyebrow as the Buffalo handed her his leash, but didn't 
comment.  After they'd left, Hector looked at Phil and 
grinned; "Just HOW did she say she was going to interrogate 
him?"

Tanj led Percy down to the cafeteria, where the staff had 
prepared a box of supplies for her.  It was obvious that he 
was brimming over with questions, but so far he'd managed to 
maintain a cool, aloof exterior.  Almost.  As he carried the 
box, Tanj led him towards Wanda's quarters.

Zassa fussed with Wanda's hair.  The Wolverine lass had 
rather thick, coarse hair and today it didn't seem to want 
to behave.  They were on their third style, and that too 
wasn't working to the satisfaction of either of them.  
Finally Wanda sighed, and shook her head hard, the efforts 
of the vixen disintegrating.  "Think we're going to have to 
go for the French Braid" Zassa sighed.  Wanda nodded, loose 
strands of hair falling into her face; "Yeah, think you're 
right.  But those always give me such a headache!"

Tanj grinned as she lead Percy into Wanda's quarters.  
Dropping the leash she padded over to give each of them a 
kiss hello.  Zassa looked up at Percy, her fingers full of 
Wanda's long hair, the braid half formed, and grinned; 
"ooooooo, NICE!  Where'd you find HIM?"  Wanda couldn't turn 
her head, but her eyes darted to the side and she too 
grinned.  "Percy, this is Zassa, and Wanda; Wanda is Lord 
Xylex's daughter, and for this evening, you will address her 
as "Mistress."  Tanj gave Zassa a direct look as she said 
that last, as for the evening Wanda WAS to be treated as 
Mistress.  Percy just nodded, and as Tanj examined his 
face, she seemed to find just a hint of…. distaste there.  
Turning, she gestured towards the tiny kitchen in Wanda's 
quarters; "that’s where you and I shall be working, Percy.  
We have a dinner party to put on."

Tanj was stretching her culinary skills to the limit.  
She'd downloaded the programs for fantail shrimp, egg rolls, 
hot and sour soup, stir fry vegetables, and Peking Lobster.  
She was convinced she'd never EVER do as well as her mother, 
but she was going to try.  It had taken a fair number of 
Tanj's Intelligence contacts, and Zassa scrounging for 
three days to get the "trade goods" necessary to get the 
base kitchen staff to release the necessary ingredients.  As 
she started pulling items out of the box, she looked over at 
Percy; "OK, I'll start chopping the ingredients for the egg 
rolls; you start cleaning the shrimp."  Percy spread his 
paws wide; "Madam, I am a "Gentleman's Gentleman;" I know 
nothing of such things!  Tanj looked at him and her jaw 
dropped; "you're kidding; you've NEVER put on a dinner for 
Viscount Worthington?  The squirrel's chin came up; "I have 
coordinated many a formal dinner party, but I have NEVER 
done…… kitchen work!"  Tanj just sighed; "well, you're 
going to, today.  Come over here and watch; this is how you 
clean shrimp.

Zassa was just finishing the braid when the crash came from 
the kitchen, followed shortly by Tanj's moan of distress.  
An instant later, Percy emerged, looking a bit abashed, his 
front somewhat spattered with some unidentifiable paste.  
Walking over to Wanda, his eyes downcast, he muttered 
softly; "Mistress, please accept my humblest apologies; it 
seems I'm…. helpless in the kitchen.  If you will tell me 
where the tablecloth is kept, I'll set the table…."  Zassa 
grinned; "Tell you what, Percy.  I'm just about done with 
Mistress' hair; why don't you help her dress, and I'll go 
help our irascible Cheetah in the kitchen.  Percy seemed to 
brighten some at that; "That would be splendid; I'm sure I 
could be of MUCH more service in that area…."

Tanj was chopping vegetables with a vengeance when Zassa 
entered the kitchen.  Peeking into the recycler hopper, 
Zassa noted the remains of a large bowl amongst a mass of 
chopped vegetables.  "What happened?" the vixen asked.  
Tanj growled; "Ham handed idiot swept the bowl off the 
counter with his tail.  Whatever that squirrel is, he's 
useless in the kitchen; he's even worse than me, and he 
definitely thinks this kind of work is beneath him.  I don't 
know just WHAT he is, but I'm beginning to wonder if he 
isn't someone pretending to be something else….  Zassa just 
nodded; "so tell me; what can I do to help?  Tanj 
grinned; "ever roll egg rolls?"

Wanda stood nude in the middle of her "bedroom," as Percy 
poked through her closet.  Most of the contents were from 
mail-order catalogs, but some were from her luggage, when 
Tanj had hijacked her father's shuttle.  Most of those 
were now a little small for her, though.  Percy literally 
clucked in dismay as he looked over what was available; 
"Mistress, this is SIMPLY dreadful; these pirates haven't 
allowed you ANYTHING decent to wear to an affair of this 
importance!  Holding up the dress Wanda had bought at 
Smiley's station, turning it on its hangar, watching it 
shimmer from color to color to near transparent, he 
literally shuddered, before hanging it back up.  Finally, 
with a sigh, he selected something in basic black; "I think 
this would do best" he sighed.  "Now, whatever can we find 
for accessories?"

It was fashionably late, when the guards escorted Viscount 
Worthington and the others to Wanda's cabin.  The table was 
set, the candles burning, the food almost ready, the wine 
chilled.  And Wanda looked radiant.  Percy had done a 
marvelous job, even managing to correct a small problem with 
Wanda's hair.  Worthington entered the room, his eyes 
locking on Wanda; he bowed low over her paw, and then 
straightened; "I am most pleased to meet you, Lady Xylex.  I 
am Frederick, the Viscount Worthington."  Wanda for her part 
curtsied; "Most honored to meet you, sir, and welcome to my 
humble abode."  Worthington looked about and sniffed; "Yes, 
I fear the pirates have indeed given you quarters quite 
unsuitable, the ruffians.  As he looked about, his eyes 
found Percy, standing quietly in a corner, and his face 
literally lit up; "Ah, Percy!  There you are!  I've been 
worried sick about you, dear boy!"  Wanda smiled and looked 
around Worthington; "Percy, if you would be so kind as to 
serve our guests some refreshment?"  Turning back to 
Worthington, Wanda sighed; "I'm afraid our selection of 
wines is rather poor, but I have managed to secure some of 
the better available vintages…… and I hope you'll join me in 
a small libation…."

Tanj smiled as she passed from guest to guest, serving 
the fantail shrimp.  She kept her eyes downcast, and her 
ears open.  Unfortunately, all they were talking about was 
how horrible the pirates were treating them, and how they 
really should be exterminated at the earliest opportunity.  
When Wanda asked just how they thought this might be 
accomplished, two of the five guests became 
uncharacteristically quiet, while the others just blustered.

Percy proved to be a capable server when it came time for 
the guests to sit down to dinner.  Wanda sat at one end of 
the table, with Worthington at the other end.  The 
Stra'doc's Exec, a Panda by the name of Zhu Sat at Wanda's 
right, and Worthington's personal physician, a Jaguar by the 
name of Hyde, sat at Worthington's right.  Tanj was 
watching Hyde closely, as Isloth was supposed to be a Puma, 
and Tanj knew how effective a good fur cut and dye job 
could be at making you look like a similar species.  The 
other guests, a ferret by the name of Cummins, and a rabbit 
by the name of Klein occupied the other seats.  The 
Stra'doc's passenger list had merely listed them as 
"guests", but Tanj suspected they were the "technical 
experts" along on the trip, there to advise their principles 
in the negotiations to be conducted at the Imperial capital.  
The rabbit had claimed to be a real estate broker, but had a 
decided military air about him.  The Ferret had said he was 
in finance.  Tanj worked in the tiny kitchen as Percy 
moved back and forth, serving the diners with a polished 
flair.  As Tanj watched him move, watched the glances 
between him, and the doctor and Worthington, Tanj became 
convinced that he knew much more than he was letting on.  He 
just might be the weak link…..

As the soup was served, Wanda looked down the table at 
Worthington; "Tell me sir, have you seen my father of late?  
Is he well?"  Worthington nodded; "Oh, yes, saw him at the 
House of Lords session on special measures to combat this 
pesky rebel movement just last week.  He's working himself 
too hard, if you ask me, but aside from that, he seems in 
good health."  Wanda nodded; "I'm delighted to hear that.  
Tell me, Viscount, just how much trouble are the rebels 
these days?  I'm afraid we don't get much news here….."  Zhu 
huffed; "Wherever "here" is; I for one would certainly like 
to know!"  Worthington took a sip from his glass, and then 
lifted his head; "Oh, they have the most annoying tendency 
to make splashy, public displays.  Really in the worst 
taste, y'know.  Things like assassinating public figures, or 
blowing up things; just annoyances to make the news, I'm 
sure.  But I really doubt they've done much to discomfit the 
Government.  Solid as a rock, don't you know."  Wanda had 
seen some of Tanj's intelligence reports and knew the 
Rebels were more than just an irritant, but she smiled and 
nodded; "good, I'm glad to hear that.  Disrupting things 
back home would have to be bad for business….."  Tanj 
shot Wanda a warning glance from the Kitchen doorway; she 
had the distinct impression that Wanda was thinking of the 
PIRATE'S business, and not her father's interests.  Luckily, 
no one at the table seemed to think she was showing anything 
but concern for her homeworld.

Looking over at the Ferret, Wanda smiled; "so the economy 
back home is doing well?  My father prospers?"  The ferret 
seemed to choke on a spoonful of soup, but recovered 
quickly; "Ah, well, Yes, Milady.  Utilities have slumped a 
little, but certain sectors are booming."  "Yeah," Tanj 
thought; "the rebels are blowing up key links in the power 
grid, and the water mains on a routine basis; that'd make 
utility stocks drop in value."   '……and Munitions stocks are 
soaring……"  The ferret continued; "I haven't talked to your 
father personally, but I do believe his corporations have 
been moving in those areas….  Wanda nodded, looking at him 
as if fascinated, but a cough from the doctor caused the 
ferret to look at him, and then, after touching his napkin 
to his lips, the Ferret mumbled; "but I'm not really 
certain; I just don't move in those circles….."  The Exec, 
Zhu, grumbled; "well, I'll tell you this, the pirates are 
having a worse effect on the economy than those damned 
rebels.  Shipping and Insurance rates have gone through the 
ROOF!"  Wanda just smiled and nodded.

As Tanj put the little cups of sherbet on a tray for 
Percy to serve, she glanced around the tiny kitchen; the 
place was a disaster area, and she felt much more like 
jettisoning the entire thing into space than cleaning it 
up…..  Deciding that could wait, she thought of a strappless 
tube dress, the creature flowing over her body to comply 
with her mental image, and padding softly from the kitchen, 
she knelt behind Wanda's chair, the image of an attentive 
slave waiting for her mistress' comand.  And as she knelt, 
she listened……

Wanda smiled at the guests; there was so much Imperial 
society gossip to catch up on!  Taking another sip of her 
wine, she looked at the Doctor and smiled politely; "So tell 
me, Doctor, regarding the Baroness Jo'mac, in your 
professional opinion, has she really had, um, "augmentative 
surgery?"  The Doctor seemed to choke on his spoonful of 
sherbet; "Ah, well, Milady, I'm sure I wouldn't know; my, 
ah, specialty lies in other areas…….  Worthington looked up 
and nodded; "Ah, yes, Dr. Hyde has been helping me with a 
chronic problem of mine…. In fact, I've been suffering a bit 
of late.  Do you think it might be possible to have him 
attend me for a while in my quarters, when we take our 
leave?"  Wanda thought for a moment and then shrugged; "I 
honestly can't speak for our….. "hosts," but I can certainly 
ask.  I believe I can be somewhat persuasive with them."  
Worthington brightened; "Ah, that would be splendid, simply 
splendid!  Perhaps you could ask them if Percy could attend 
to me there, ah, much as your own slave looks after you 
here?"  Wanda turned to look at Tanj, kneeling behind 
her.  Tanj kept her eyes downcast, but smiled slightly.  
Turning back, Wanda nodded; "I would think that would be 
reasonable…. Although these are not the most reasonable of 
furrs.  Sill, I'll make EVERY effort.  Now, Frederick, tell 
me about the parties that have been held back home.  Have 
the rebels forced anyone to postpone, or reschedule?  Have 
they had any effect on the extravagance that some of our 
peers are so famous for?"  Slowly Wanda let her eyes widen; 
"Don't tell me those rascally rebels have ATTACKED any of 
the parties?"  Worthington exchanged glances with Hyde, and 
then slowly nodded; "There was an incident….. Durring the 
premier party of the fall season, Lady Cuthbutter was 
kidnapped, we believe by rebels posing as caterers.  The 
ransom demand was outrageous, but finally her husband 
paid…….  However I've heard the canapes were simply to die 
for…..I'm told the whole affair simply devastated her!  Hyde 
nodded slowly.  Looking up, Worthington's eyes widened; "Oh 
dear!  I DO so hope these ruffians ransom me in time for 
Lord Tamrash's winter gala!  Simply EVERYONE will be there, 
including the Prime Minister!….."

Wanda smiled at Worthington; "Well, Frederick, I've actually 
found several things to occupy my time here.  For one, I'm 
studying medicine via several extension courses.  The 
medical staff here have also been kind enough to give me 
some practical experience as well."  Looking over at Dr. 
Hyde, Wanda beamed; "So far, I've passed my exams for my 
Licensed Practical Nurse exam, and I'm working on my RN.  
Hyde looked at Wanda, as if aghast; "The daughter of Lord 
Xylex changing bedpans?  That’s unthinkable! Really my dear, 
you a nurse?  I'm certain your father would NOT approve of 
your choice!"  Wanda's eyes narrowed as Hyde spoke, 
belittling her accomplishments.  Hyde seemed not to notice, 
continuing; "Now if you could just escape these scum, I'm 
certain I could get you into my Alma Mater, where you could 
conduct a Serious study of Medicine……" 

As the furrs around the dinner table talked, desert long 
since finished, and the flask of Port almost exhausted, 
Tanj found that her knees were starting to hurt, and she 
was having trouble not yawning.  These clowns were rattling 
on, not saying anything…. She didn't know HOW Wanda could 
put up with it.  To pass the time, she surreptitiously 
changed her "outfit" from one form to the other, wondering 
if anyone was noticing……  As Worthington's chair slid back, 
the Cheetah's head came up with a jerk.  She caught the tail 
end of his sentence;   "…… should be departing; we've 
enjoyed your hospitality greatly, but I fear we're becoming 
an imposition…."  Wanda beamed; "not at all, Frederick, I've 
loved having you all here.  Its so…. refreshing to converse 
with furrs of …. Quality and breeding!"  

Tanj rose to her feet as gracefully as her stiff legs 
would allow.  "Pardon me, Gentlefurrs, but I would like to 
make a small request on behalf of Lord Xylex."  All turned 
to look at the Cheetah, including Wanda, who tilted her head 
to one side, looking at her curiously.  Tanj lifted her 
gaze to look at the Doctor; "Doctor Hyde, Lady Xylex's 
father, Lord Xylex, is most concerned that in this rough and 
tumble place, that his daughter retain her…… maidenhood.  
I'm sure it would be a great relief to him, if you were to 
examine his daughter, and relay to him, when you're 
ransomed, that the Pirates have indeed kept their word, and 
that in addition to being well treated, that she is….. 
intact."  Both Wanda's and Hyde's eyebrows went up, and they 
turned to look at each other.  Hyde sputtered; "Ah, well, 
um, yes, I can see how that would be a concern to him, but 
how could I do that, without my instruments, without my 
medical scanner?  Wanda turned and gave the Doctor a cold 
look; "Why Doctor, I'm certain that in such an esteemed alma 
mater as yours, they MUST have taught you how do do it….. 
manually!"  Hyde blinked and harrumphed and then nodded, 
"why of course…."  Tanj smiled; "I know it would mean SO 
much to Lord Xylex…… Doctor, why don't you take Wanda into 
her bedroom, I'm sure you'll have all the privacy you'll 
need there….

Wanda grinned and without waiting for an acknowledgement 
from the Doctor, turned and padded through the door to her 
bedroom.  Hyde looked around helplessly at his comrades for 
a moment, exchanging pointed glances with Worthington, and 
then looking daggers at the Cheetah, followed Wanda.

Wanda smiled as he closed the door.  Sitting down on her 
bed, she hiked up her skirt and hooked her thumbs into the 
waistband of her underpants, pulling them down; "Now, 
Doctor, how would you like me, for your examination?  Hyde 
looked at her for a moment, and then nodded, "Just lay back 
on your bed, Dear, and raise your knees.  Wanda grinned and 
complied, her paws holding her knees, her legs spread to 
expose her sex to the rather nervous Doctor.  She hadn't a 
clue as to why a physician would be so upset at doing this, 
but after his comment about nurses, she was enjoying his 
discomfiture.  As she felt his paws on her thighs, she bit 
her lip, to keep from moaning.  His fingers traced their way 
down, until they clumsily ran over her labia.  She watched 
as he crouched lower, his fingers trying to spread the 
petals of her sex, as if he were trying to see into her.  
Finally, he placed the tip of one finger against her and 
pressed.  Wanda Ooooooohed involuntarily; his finger was 
dry, as was her pussy, and he was having trouble working it 
in.  He pressed a little harder, and then harder still, and 
then his finger drove into her, eliciting a sharp yelp from 
her.  The Doctor froze in place, his eyes wide, looking at 
her face, and then his eyes dropping down to look at where 
his finger was buried in her sex.  As he pulled it out, Hyde 
was aghast to see a thin film of blood on his finger….

Rising, Hyde stepped into the bathroom, to retrieve some 
toilet paper.  Wiping his finger, and then wiping crudely at 
Wanda's pussy, he grinned sheepishly; "Ah, everything's just 
fine, my dear, just fine indeed!  I'll be sure to tell your 
father that, the next time I see him!"  Turning and opening 
the door, he looked back; "Just fine indeed" he mumbled, and 
closing the door behind him, he was gone.

Wanda looked at the closed door, and slowly let her legs 
down, one paw stealing to cup her sex.  "Oh Crap" she 
moaned, to herself.  After a moment she rose and padded into 
the bathroom………

Tanj looked up as Wanda emerged, wondering what had taken 
her so long.  The Doctor had emerged, looking flustered, and 
had been whispering to Worthington for several minutes.  
Wanda walked slowly over to them, a strange look on her 
face.  "Ah, there you are" Worthington  said with just a 
touch of a tremor to his voice, a pained smile on his face.  
"I do believe it was time we took our leave; I'm sure you're 
exhausted by now….."  Slowly each of the guests bid Wanda 
their thanks and their goodbyes, and then they were through 
the door, to be received by the guards, to be taken back to 
their quarters. 

No sooner had the door closed than Tanj padded over to 
the intercom.  Dialing the Security office, she grinned at 
the panther on the other end of the link.  "Phil, I think 
we've got some genuine suspects.  Take Worthington, his 
slave Percy, and Doctor Hyde to Worthington's quarters. Have 
someone keep an eye on the monitor, though; I'll be busy 
here for a while yet.  Take the others all back to their 
cells, but after they've been asleep for just a couple of 
hours, I want two of them taken down to Medical for chemical 
interrogation; a ferret by the name of Cummins, and a rabbit 
by the name of Klein.  You might ask Mala, from the Overlord 
to help with that; it wouldn't hurt to have them well 
intimidated.  Phil nodded; "We'll watch Viscount fancypants 
from here, and handle the others midwatch.  Which one do you 
think is Isloth?"  Tanj grinned; "I think he's Hyde, and 
hopefully Worthington will give him away tonight.  If not, 
we rough up Percy and Worthington.  I think they'll crack 
with record speed."  Phil just nodded and grinned.

Breaking the connection, Tanj turned to look at Wanda; 
"Anything wrong, Dear?  You look a little….. funny."  Wanda 
looked up, and then shook her head; "Oh, nothing's wrong; 
nothing at all.  Just pissed at Hyde's attitude towards 
nurses.  That and he had cold hands…."  Tanj laughed and 
nodded, and then turned to look despairingly at the kitchen.  
As she stood there Wanda came up behind her, to run a finger 
over the back of Tanj's Dress, as if feeling the 
"material."  "Tanj, what IS this?" the wolverine lass 
purrred;  "I was watching the "guests" eyes go wide every 
once in a while, and then I caught a look at you in the 
mirror.  Your dress was changing shape!  I've never seen 
anything like it!"  Tanj just grinned; "It’s a living 
creature, but I can't let you play with it quite yet…. You 
see, when it gets hungry…….."

Tanj slowly cleaned up the mess in the kitchen as she 
told Wanda about her initial experience with the creature 
that formed her "dress".  Wanda stood in the doorway, 
listening wide-eyed, riveted by the tale.  Taking a break 
from the clean-up, Tanj padded over to kiss Wanda on the 
nose; "when you're old enough, I promise we'll get you one; 
but for now, MISTRESS, why don't you bring me the remaining 
glasses and bowls from the dining table……..

Worthington breathed a sigh of relief when the door closed 
to his meager quarters.  Never had he thought he'd be so 
relieved to be back here.  Turning to Percy, he gave his 
Squirrel a tight hug and a passionate kiss.  "Dear boy, I'd 
despaired of EVER seeing you again!  But right now I have 
GOT to talk to Jack; be a dear and fix us something to 
drink, Hmmmm?"  Jack looked around the room; "Its not much, 
Freddy, but it’s a damn sight better than that cell they've 
been keeping me in!  What do you think the chances are its 
bugged?"  The Skunk waved a paw dismissively; "Honestly 
Jack, you are TOO paranoid!  Besides these scum wouldn't 
have the sense to listen in on us.  We've got them fooled 
completely!  But just to allay your persistent paranoia, I 
HAVE checked."  The Jaguar looked at Freddy with a scowl; "I 
don't know about that.  I'm convinced they were listening in 
at the dinner party; what other reason to hold it, except to 
try and get us to talk?  And just because you didn't find 
anything, doesn't mean there wasn't anything there……."  
Freddy accepted a glass from Percy and waved his other paw; 
"why I suspect the reason was exactly what they said!  They 
hold Xylex's daughter as a hostage, but they don't want to 
get him too mad, and hence they put her on show for us, so 
we can tell him what we've seen."  Jack took a glass from 
Percy and then took a long gulp, making a face at his 
obvious distaste.  "Where do they get this drek? He mumbled.  
Looking up at the skunk he sighed; "Well, if old Xylex 
really DOES set great store by her virginity, he's really 
going to be pissed now.  How in the hell should I know how 
do to a pelvic exam?"  Again the skunk waved a paw 
dismissively; "Not a problem, old boy, we'll just tell Xylex 
the pirates have deflowered her.  Who's he going to believe?  
Us, or them?  Jack shook his head, and walked over to give 
the Skunk a hug; "Freddy, you always WERE brilliant!"

Tanj had finished cleaning up Wanda's kitchen, along with 
her help, and Zassa's.  Well, kinda their help.  Mostly 
Wanda regaled Zassa with tales of the party, Zassa listening 
raptly, neither of them working, until Tanj growled.  
Then they'd do a few more things, and Zassa'd ask a 
question, and Wanda would be off again….  Finally the place 
was clean to Tanj's satisfaction, and she kissed Wanda 
and Zassa bye, heading off to Medical, and the 
interrogations she'd arranged.

When the door closed behind Tanj, Wanda turned and gave  
Zassa a pained, helpless look; "Oh, Zassa, I am in SUCH 
trouble!

Tanj had changed into a more suitable outfit, sending her 
living outfit back into its container.  As she strode from 
the docking bay and her ship, towards Medical, she thought 
over the questions she wanted to ask……

Collins was strapped to a stainless steel table with straps 
at wrists, ankles and waist.  A monster had roused him from 
his sleep, jerking him from his cell, dragging him through 
the corridors, and into this hell masquerading as a medical 
facility……  Now a doctor had started an I.V. in his left 
arm.  He watched as it slowly dripped, mesmerized.  He would 
have jumped a foot when the door opened, had he been able, 
his eyes darting to the Cheetah slave that had been 
attending the Lady Xylex.  She was still wearing her collar, 
but now she had on a faded pair of camouflage pants and a 
tight combat vest, a wicked looking dagger at her side.  He 
watched her closely as she pulled up a chair, sitting 
backwards on it, her forearms crossed along its back, her 
chin on her arms.  She too looked at the I.V. drip for a 
moment, and then turned to look at him.  "Well, Mr. Collins, 
I've come to the conclusion that you are not who, or at 
least what you say you are.  Tonight we're going to find out 
the truth."  As his mouth opened she shushed him; "No, no 
protestations, no pleas, and no, not even any confessions.  
The drug in the I.V. will get us the truth,  painlessly, and 
reliably.  It won't even hurt you; you never know, we might 
want to ask more questions later.  In fact, I'm told its 
rather enjoyable….. Oh, yes, a very small number of folks 
are allergic to it.  And some are conditioned against it, 
but we have a doctor standing by, should you experience 
any….. distress.  Now, while we wait for the drug to take 
effect, what would you like to talk about?

The Ferret babbled happily; "and the fourth quarter earnings 
for KamalCo were HORRIBLE!  They've hidden it from their 
stockholders of course, but if they can't replace the 
pipeline the Rebels blew up, they're not going to have any 
choice but to declare bankruptcy.  The Government would have 
a hard time fighting the Rebels without the vehicle fuel 
they make….  And that would distress Xylex Oh So Much!……"  
Tanj purrrrred and stroked the Ferret's head softly; 
"That’s very gooooood.  Now, how are the Government's off-
planet cash reserves holding out?"  She'd been right; this 
guy was the financial expert.  And the drug was working VERY 
well……..  As the Ferret ran down again, Tanj leaned over 
to kiss him on the nose; "Excellent, you've been such a 
great help.  But there's just one more thing I'd like to 
know; who is Isloth pretending to be?"

Tanj padded out of the examining room, to grin at the 
medical staff; "worked like a charm, just as you said it 
would.  He will be all right, won't he?"  The Charge Nurse, 
a female Mink, nodded; "Oh, yes; we'll have to watch him for 
a few days, but he should be fine."  Tanj grinned and 
entered the other room, where Klein, the rabbit was tied in 
a similar fashion…..

The rabbit snarled at the Cheetah; "you won't get anything 
out of me; I've been conditioned against chemical 
interrogation!"  Tanj smiled and sat down, tilting her 
chair back on its back two legs; "Really?  Curious thing for 
a real estate broker, wouldn't you say?"  Klein growled and 
looked away; "it’s a rough business, especially on 
Elysium……"  Tanj shrugged; "well, we're just going to 
have to see if you're telling the truth…..

Tanj's shout brought the medical staff running; the 
rabbit was convulsing, straining at his bonds.  The Doctor 
pushed through to give the rabbit a single glance.  "Yeah, 
he's been given something to screw this up; don't worry, we 
can handle it.  Go get a cup of coffee, and by the time you 
get back, I'll have him singing.  Oh, and bring me one too, 
black, with sugar."

Tanj padded down the corridor with the tray of coffee 
cups.  She hoped she'd gotten it all straight; there were at 
least a half dozen furrs on duty in Medical.  As she passed 
through the powered doors, she did indeed hear singing, off 
key, and ragged.  Pushing her way into the Rabbit's room, 
she was amazed to see the rabbit and the Doctor doing the 
most gawd-awful bawdy duet!  The Doctor grinned at Tanj 
as he reached for his coffee; "See, told you I'd have him 
singing……..  We got an old trooper here; he knows more off 
color songs than the rest of us put together!"  Tanj just 
shook her head and looked down  at the Rabbit, who grinned 
foolishly back up at her.  "Lets see now, Mr. Klein, just 
who, and what are you?"

Tanj groaned; the rabbit kept breaking into song at the 
darndest times.  She was getting useful information from 
this Colonel in the Elysium Ground Forces, but it was taking 
forever.  As she yawned, and shook her head, she wished he 
at least could stay on key.  But then, maybe it was the 
drugs flowing through his veins….

It was well after Breakfast when Tanj tiredly padded into 
the Security office.  She was surprised to find a small 
crowd, both male and female, standing behind the desk, all 
gazing at the monitors.  Pushing her way through the crowd, 
she caught a glimps of Viscount Worthington, Percy, and 
Doctor Hyde, all nude, in the middle of the floor.  Tanj 
grinned and nodded, thinking that her thoughts about how 
those three were bent had been right on target……  Patting 
Phil on the shoulder, she yawned; "Make sure the recordings 
are routed to my workstation, I'll look at them later."  
Phil just nodded, muttering "yours and a couple of dozen 
others; this is some of the best entertainment we've had 
since the last time YOU put on a show….."  Tanj grinned 
and cuffed him lightly, pushing back through the crowd, 
heading for the Lion's quarters, a bath, and some sleep.

Tanj moaned, coming awake slowly.  There were the most 
delicious sensations between her thighs.  Her nose told her 
that her master was in the room, and it certainly felt like 
his tongue; it felt SOOOOOOO good.  Lazily she wondered how 
long she could feign sleep; she just didn't feel like 
moving.  With her eyes closed, just laying there, the effect 
of each motion of his tongue seemed magnified, as if each 
lick, each stroke and motion had grown to encompass her 
entire universe.  After a while he had her panting, and 
still she feigned sleep, knowing he'd have to see through 
it.  As her breathing became harsh and ragged, as his tongue 
drove deep into her pussy, its tip flicking over those 
places he knew would make her moan, she surrendered, and 
slid both paws down her tummy, to carress his hairy head, 
before taking hold of his ears.  As her back arched, as she 
screamed out her pleasure, her climax raging through her, 
she held his head tightly to her pussy.  As the waves of 
pleasure finally receded, she tilted her head up to grin at 
him.  He had stopped his licking and was laying there, his 
chin on her mons, grinning; "Well, Good Morning!" Tanj 
wordlessly grinned back and again tugged at his head, urging 
him to slide up further, to cover her body with his.  He 
needed little urging and shortly his hard cock was buried in 
her wetness, his hips bucking, as they passionately made the 
beast with two backs.

It was well after dinner by the time that Tanj made it to 
her workstation in Intelligence.  Sitting down, putting her 
cup of coffee in its assigned place (one of the few squares 
of space NOT covered by hardcopy, manuals, reference texts, 
or other accumulated stuff), she logged into her computer 
and called up the surveillance reports on Viscount 
Worthington's cabin.  The audio and the video were a bit 
grainy (that’s what you got from hair thin fiber optics 
acting as camera lenses) but it was all too apparent that 
"Freddy" and "Jack" were quite pleased with themselves, in 
duping the pirates…. And when she heard them discussing what 
had happened to Wanda her fur bristled, her growl startling 
the late-night staff in the office.  When the talk had 
simmered down, when Freddy and Jack were starting to get 
intimate, with Percy's eager assistance, Tanj queried the 
computer to see if there was any other significant periods 
of conversation.  Upon hearing there were not, she closed 
the file, and pushed back from her chair, a scowl on her 
face.

Fredrick, the Viscount Worthington bid a formal goodbye to 
his personal physician, as the guards escorted him off.  
They'd been left alone much longer than he'd anticipated, 
but the time had been welcome.  He'd thought he'd never see 
Jack again, and here the pirates had provided them with a 
splendid night, and day together.  As the door closed behind 
him, Percy came up behind his master and whispered; "Do you 
think we'll ever see him again?"  Frederick turned and 
smiled at the Squirrel; "Why of course we will, Dear Boy; 
the pirates have NO idea who he really is, and even if they 
did, they wouldn't DARE harm him……

Doctor Hyde's eyes went wide as he turned the corner, and 
beheld the monstrous Hyena standing in the corridor.  In a 
raspy voice it growled at the guards; "Got orders to take 
the prisoner down to Medical.  Any objections?"  The two 
guards looked at each other and then shrugged; "Nope.  He's 
all yours!"  Mala grinned and reached out a huge paw, to 
take the Doctor by the arm, dragging him down the corridor.

Tanj was again wearing clothes more befitting a pirate; a 
pair of worn jeans, covered by tight leather chaps, and a 
slashed halter top, her dagger again at her side, when she 
entered the examining room.  Hyde's face was drawn, his eyes 
wide; before Tanj could speak, he whimpered; "I tried to 
tell them; I'm allergic to this kind of drug.  Yes, it’s a 
conditioned, artificial allergy, but it'll kill me none the 
less!"  Tanj shook her head, and smiled; "Klein was 
"resistant" too, but the staff here got him through just 
fine; I'm sure you'll be fine too, Lord Isloth."  The Jaguar 
shook his head hard from side to side; "NO!  Klein is only a 
middle level officer!  He's only gotten the basic treatment!  
What I've got is much more sophisticated!  Tanj shrugged; 
"With all the deceptions you've pulled on us, I'd be a fool 
to believe you now.  The only other way to make sure you 
tell us the truth is to subject to you cruel levels of 
pain…. And while I might find furrs willing, perhaps even 
eager to do that, I doubt you'd want to undergo such an 
inquisition.  Lets just see how this does for a while.  But 
if it'll make you any happier, I'll go get the doctor, and 
have him monitor you……"

Tanj shrugged as they approached the examining room; 
"Yeah, I know, Doctor, but just the same it can't hurt for 
you to watch.  This IS important, and your shop just isn't 
that busy tonight.  As she moved through the door, she knew 
instantly that something was wrong.  The doctor sensed it 
too, pushing past her to look at the Jaguar.  Tanj stood 
in a corner as the crash team charged through the door at 
the Doctor's shout, watched as they worked furiously.  After 
a while, the Doctor looked up at her and shrugged.  Turning 
to one of his assistants, the Doctor growled; "Prep him for 
an autopsy; maybe we can learn how they did this.  I've 
never seen a reaction like this before….."

Wanda found Mark down in Engineering, as he worked on 
assembling a replacement circuit board.  She'd heard of the 
White Fang's return, and had immediately sought Mark out.  
The Mouse shot her a quick smile as she approached, then 
turned his attention back to his work for a few seconds more 
before getting up and brushing off his paws on his shorts.  
Wanda stood at the workbench for a moment, just looking at 
him, before she spoke; "Mark, among all my friends here, 
you're probably one of the most wise, and I need your advice 
on something……"  Mark raised an eyebrow at that.  "Wise, 
Hmmm?  I must have fooled you along with everybody else, 
then….  Well, okay, shoot…."

Mark nodded thoughtfully after listening to Wanda's story.  
"Well, I'm not wholly sure…..  Obviously what happens now is 
YOUR decision, but that doesn't exactly help you much, does 
it?"  The Wolverine lass nodded quietly.  "Mmmm Hmmm.  Well, 
then; as far as I'm concerned you ARE still a virgin.  You 
can't PROVE it as easily anymore, and of course you're a lot 
less innocent now than you were before running into Tanj, 
but the basic truth of that remains."  He looked up into her 
eyes to make sure that she was following him….  "Now, I do 
think that virginity's rather overrated in some social 
circles.  As near as I've been able to puzzle it out, its 
all about male ego.  The husband-to-be somehow can't 
possibly be expected to settle for used goods, as it were, 
and the woman is supposed to live up to that.  Utter 
nonsense, really, but keep in mind that that's the kind of 
"logic" you'll have to deal with if you ever plan to return 
to those same circles."  The Mouse leaned back and stretched 
lightly; "On the other hand, nothing's REALLY keeping you 
from throwing caution to the winds and jumping into bed with  
the next fur or three who strike your fancy…. Or even with 
Hinoki."  He winked at her as he said that, and was secretly 
relieved to see a hint of a smile.  "That wouldn't even 
necessarily completely ruin your chances for marrying well 
later, as long as you're careful enough not to get pregnant.  
There are plenty of nice males out there who won't mind if 
their bride already knows a few tricks of her own….."  He 
paused to give Wanda a moment to think, then when he saw her 
nod slowly, he continued;  "Personally, I'd think you might 
want to hang on to your virginity at least a little bit 
longer.  Once its gone, its gone, and even if you don't care 
one whit what your former peers might think about you 
afterwards, you may still want to make your first time 
special.  And that’s really the best advice I can give at 
the moment."  Wanda nodded, rose with a sigh, and put a 
quick kiss on the Mouse's forehead before she turned to go.  
Looking back over her shoulder; she smiled; "I'll have to 
think about that.… Thanks, and I'll see you around."

Tanj was again wearing her slinky, metallic fabric dress, 
as the survivors of the Stra'doc were herded towards the 
shuttle, and their ransom.  The ransom had come through with 
much less negotiation, much greater speed than she'd 
anticipated….  And it had been sizable.  Viscount 
Worthington, Percy trailing him by a few steps, slowed, and 
then stopped, to look around.  Turning to the guards, and 
then to Tanj, he whimpered; "Where's Jack?  Where's 
Doctor Hyde?"  Tanj sighed; "I'm sorry, Viscount 
Worthington, but there was a medical emergency, and I'm 
afraid our…. abilities were not sufficient to the task.  Dr. 
Hyde passed away, despite our best efforts.  Please accept 
my most heartfelt apologies and condolences."  Worthington 
stared at Tanj for a moment, a bit of the more commanding 
personality he'd shown in his quarters when he thought he 
was unobserved showing through; "Those Bastards killed him, 
didn't they?  No, don't bother to deny it.  Don't think this 
will go unrewarded!"  Turning, followed by Percy, the skunk 
strode through the airlock, and into the shuttle.

Tanj cuddled Hinoki softly.  They were both still 
breathing hard; as had been their custom, they'd stolen a 
moment during the day, their sex quick and almost violent.  
Hinoki reached out and smoothed Tanj's hair; "It bothers 
you, doesn't it?  The death of that Jaguar?"  Tanj sighed 
and nodded; "He told me, but I just wouldn't believe him 
after all his lies.  Maybe what he'd done to Wanda was 
clouding my thinking…..  We could have gotten the 
information out of him by other means.  Voice stress 
analysis, even torture would have left him living……  I 
should have been more patient, and waited for Mark to 
return; he might have been able to have obtained what we 
needed by telepathy….  I'm afraid by "killing" him, we've 
upped the conflict to a new level."  Hinoki looked at 
Tanj and shrugged; "But it wasn't on purpose.  It WAS an 
accident…."  Tanj shrugged again; "they'll never believe 
that.  As far as the Elysium government, and possibly the 
Imperial government are concerned, we murdered him.  I 
suspect we'll see renewed efforts against us, and more 
resistance to surrendering, less confidence in the fact that 
prisoners will be ransomed.  I think things are going to be 
rougher from here on out."  Hinoki just sighed and kissed 
her; and then they were getting dressed, heading back to the 
day's business.

The Wolvrine looked up as his servant showed in the Skunk.  
Worthington had been back on Elysium but a few days; in that 
time he'd been debriefed by the military, and then by the 
government as to the events that had happened.  And now, at 
what had to be the earliest opportunity, he had presented 
himself at Xylex's townhouse, in the capital.  As he was 
ushered in, Lord Xylex rose and moved around his desk to 
give his old friend a hug; "Hello, Freddy; glad to see you 
made it back OK.  Horrified to hear about what happened to 
Jack!  Worthington nodded and settled on the couch, as a 
servant handed him a Brandy.  "Yes, I’m afraid our little 
venture didn't do very well.  I have NO idea how those 
pirates ever learned about it, especially considering how 
paranoid Jack was, and I REFUSE to believe it was random 
chance."  Xylex nodded; "Obviously Jack wasn't paranoid 
enough……  How did they ever unmask you?"  Freddy looked a 
little uncomfortable; "Pillow talk, I’m afraid.  I never 
would have thought those ruffians sophisticated enough to 
have my quarters bugged to a level I couldn't detect, or so 
uncouth as to listen in during a moment of…. romance.  But 
now it almost seems as if we were manipulated into a 
situation where we'd be vulnerable to that sort of 
thing…….."  Xylex nodded; "I always said that'd be the death 
of him…."  The two were silent for a moment and then 
Worthington looked up; "By the way, saw your daughter there.  
I'd have to say they're not treating her as well as she 
should be treated, but she does seem in good health.  
They're forcing her to work in their base, something about 
changing linens, and emptying bedpans in their medical 
facility.  And I really don't know how to tell you this, old 
chap, but it seems that they've taken her virginity….."  
Xylex rose from his seat, his paws balling into fists; 
"Those SWINE" he growled!  Then, turning to look at 
Worthington, Xylex growled; "she tell you this?"  
Worthington shook his head; "Jack, playing his role as my 
physician to the hilt, demanded to examine her, never 
thinking they'd permit it.  And I suspect that if any of the 
ruffians's leaders had been there, they would have stopped 
him right quick; but we seem to have hit a pocket of….. 
minimal surveillance, and  your daughter agreed to the 
examination.  Of course, poor Jack was horribly embarrassed 
when his bluff was called, but he told me later she was no 
longer a virgin.  Xylex slumped into his chair; "Jack was 
only first year pre-med when he switched to law, but that 
was just the kind of bold play he'd make….."  Worthington 
nodded; "Its going to be hard to carry on without him, but 
we will, somehow.  Now, what plans do you have for dealing 
with these Pirate scum?  How can we gain our revenge, 
without jeopardizing your daughter?    Xylex waved his paw; 
"I'm afraid my Daughter has become a bit of a liability.  
Think of what Society would say, were this to get out?  
She'd be ostracized, should she return……  Never find a 
decent husband…… No, as much as it pains me, I'm afraid we 
can't let my daughter stand in the way of our plans to 
eliminate those scum……"  After a few moments of silence, 
Xylex nodded; "and I have a few good ideas as to how to go 
about that……"  After a servant had refilled their glasses 
and withdrawn, Xylex looked up; "Tell me, Freddy, while you 
were there, did you happen to see a slave, a cheetah fem by 
the name of "Tanj?"

Lord Xylex sat at his desk, thinking, long after Worthington 
had left.  The Viscount was often mistaken for a high-
society buffoon, an image he enjoyed cultivating…. But he 
wasn't as sharp as he thought he was.  Jack had always been 
the brains behind that group.  And now that Lord Isloth was 
gone, there were….. opportunities.  Calling up his working 
files on the rebellion, he once again went over the 
projections.  With the mission to the Imperial capital 
wrecked, the time lines all became skewed.  Another could be 
launched, but the crucial moment had passed, and even if the 
Imperials acquiesced, and help was forthcoming, the conflict 
would still drag on for decades.  And with no certainty of 
success, either.  And that would be bad for business; very 
bad.  But there were other alternatives, especially if you 
valued power more than money.  Nodding to himself, Xylex 
made a decision, and used his computer to issue orders, 
indirectly, surreptitiously, to a number of financial and 
political researchers in the employ of various dummy 
corporations of his.  The questions he was asking were 
almost treasonable, and if the answers were what he 
suspected they might be, they WOULD be treasonable….

A week later, Xylex had his reports.  They had all been 
filtered through various think tanks, and vetted by various 
off-planet universities.  The trail back to him should be 
almost impossible to follow.  And the answers were exactly 
what he thought they might be.  If he were to covertly side 
with one of the Rebel factions now, he could become the 
power behind the throne, so to speak, and over time, gain 
sufficient influence to essentially control that rebel 
faction.  With his wealth and inside knowledge, he could 
manipulate that faction so that it would grow and become THE 
Rebel faction, the others being absorbed or destroyed.  When 
the Rebels, HIS rebels, were victorious, he would have 
significantly more power than he did now, even as head of 
one of the major cartels.  He'd in effect have the whole 
planet, the whole system, and possibly the whole sector……  
And he would still be able to shelter most of his wealth 
off-planet.  There were risks to be sure, but compared to 
continuing to back the Elysium government, this was the more 
likely plan to succeed.  Smiling, he again issued covert 
instructions, this time ordering detailed psychological 
profiles on all the known rebel leaders.

Trotskie didn't like this.  Didn't like it at ALL.  His 
informant continued to insist that the meeting would be to 
his benefit, and that it wasn't a trap, but the leader of 
the Rebel faction known as the Reds wasn't exactly a 
trusting soul.  Still, he'd come.  The satchel with 
thousands of credits in it, with the promise of more, had 
been a powerful calling card, and his faction needed all the 
money it could get.  He knew his reaction to the money had 
played into the hands of those who called his group mere 
banditos, rebels without a philosophy, without any goal 
other than money and power, but they still had to eat, 
didn't they?  They couldn't do anything for anyone if they 
were starving, or without weapons or ammunition….  Still, he 
fretted, nervous despite the precautions, the many, many 
precautions.  When the aircar had landed in the middle of 
the clearing, his troops had been dug in and ready for an 
assault, prepared to given any Elysium forces moving to 
capture them a bloody nose.  It was almost anti-climactic 
when a single figure emerged from the aircar, to look around 
curiously.  Striding from his position in the tree line, 
Trotskie boldly moved to meet the figure, putting on a show 
of confidence and bravado more for his own troops, than 
because he really felt confident.  As he neared the figure, 
the form resolving itself into a well-dressed Wolverine, his 
eyes widened in surprise; "YOU!"

Xylex leaned back against the aircar, smiling to himself; 
this really was too easy.  The Bear named Trotskie was 
really just a brigand at heart, his allegiance to the Rebel 
cause flimsy, and tenuous.  Just exactly what he wanted…… 
"I'll prove my sincerity to your cause" the Wolverine said 
softly; "Next week, the Elysium ground forces will be making 
a sweep of the T'siri provence.  The compliment of guards in 
the adjacent province of Subara will be reduced, and the 
guards around the Government house will be thin.  And the 
armory will be vulnerable.  The data on this memory crystal 
will show you how to get in and out with the minimum fuss.  
The weapons there will be more than sufficient to arm your 
group.  I know, I know, you think it's a trap.  Tell you 
what.  You're having trouble with the rebel group known as 
the "Blues".  Give me something on them, and I'll use my 
clout with the government to see that they're….. taken down 
a notch.  Before the sweep of the T'siri provence.  Would 
that be sufficient to prove myself?  Wouldn't you like 
that?"  Trotskie frowned, thinking back to his last 
"meeting" with Cromwell, the leader of the Blues, and 
nodded.  He'd love to see that insufferable, holier-than-
thou SOB taken down a notch.  Looking at Xylex he grinned 
and nodded; "Yes, I WOULD like that…."

Tanj padded into the cafeteria and looked around.  Her 
master wasn't here yet.  Getting a tray, she sat down at 
their regular table.  It was Leonardo's turn to cook, and 
once again, the curry was much stronger than she cared for.  
Still, the Ampoc Nor was good.  Smiling to herself she 
thought once again that any food tasted better when it 
wasn't your turn to do the dishes.  She was on her second 
spoonful when Mark and Mala entered the Cafeteria.  Tanj 
grinned; the White Fang must have had a successful 
operation; they were back early!  Mark went and got two 
trays, while Mala stood in the middle of the room pointedly 
ignoring all the looks going her way.  Not a word was said.  
Suddenly, it struck Tanj that none of Mark's friends were 
saying "Come join us" or "Come have a seat."  As Mark pulled 
up next to Mala, balancing a tray in each paw, the Hyena 
looked around as if seeking out a vacant table.  And then 
her gaze locked on Tanj…….

Tanj Sipped her coffee, and after a second nodded to the 
empty seats on the other side of the table.  Mark almost 
sighed in relief, but before he could take a step, Mala was 
striding towards Tanj, leading the way.  Mark carefully 
set Mala's tray down first and then sat next to her, knife 
and fork in his paws, as if awaiting her permission to 
start.  Tanj looked from Mark, to Mala, and then after a 
sip of her coffee, inquired in as normal a voice as she 
could, "So, how you two been Doin'?  Haven't seen much of 
either of you lately."  Mala nodded, and after taking a huge 
forkfull of the Ampoc Nor, started to talk even as she 
chewed; "Oh, we've been doing OK. Physical went well enough, 
after all, and I don't think THAT doctor's going to doubt my 
fitness again anytime soon.  And Mark had a good time on the 
White Fang.  VERY successful cruise. Mark had started eating 
after Mala'd taken her first bite, and now he paused to 
swallow.  Smiling, he raised an eyebrow; "Did you hear about 
Mala's latest exploits on the Overlord?"  Tanj nodded; 'I 
heard that the liner they took, the Sundalian Princess, had 
been transporting a company of Imperial Marines, that didn't 
take kindly to the Brethren stopping their ship…..  Terrible 
lapse on the part of Intelligence, and I do apologize for 
it.  We really had no way of knowing, though; they were 
loaded literally at the last minute…."  Mala smiled, showing 
fangs, and waved a paw dismissively, the knife she was 
holding making a curious chopping motion.  "Not to worry.  
I'd be the last fur to complain about a little extra 
challenge, and besides, the guy in command was an old 
familiar asshole from back in my early grunt days that I've 
wanted to get back at for YEARS!  Tanj shivered, and 
nodded.  She'd heard after-action reports about how Mala had 
waded through the blaster fire, to physically pick up the 
bear and falling to a kneeling position, bring him down 
across her knee.  They thought they could fix his spine, and 
regenerate his spinal column, but all the doctors agreed, 
he'd never move right again...  And Mala's act had so 
unnerved the Marines, the resistance had broken.  Later, 
they'd counted fourteen places in her body armor that had 
nearly been penetrated………  The pirates were a rough group, 
their boarding teams as tough as any in known space, and the 
Imperial marines were no pushovers either, but Mala was 
earning a significant reputation, even among the Brethren…..

Tanj was about to comment about how captured Imperial 
Marines brought such a low price at Market, when her Master 
walked in.  He had a preoccupied look, and moved straight 
towards his usual table, to sit next to Tanj.  "Tanj, 
I need to talk to you and Ben, and Davis, and Waltham about 
the coordinated actions with the Blues.  I think we've got 
some problems there."  Tanj nodded and rose; 'Yes, 
Master; AFTER you eat.  Let me get you something….."  
Turning, Tanj padded off towards the serving line.

The lion watched her padd away, his eyes obviously locked on 
her swaying ass.  After a moment he grumbled; "Uppity slave.  
Ought to do something about that."  Then turning he looked 
at the others sitting at the table as if seeing them for the 
first time.  His gaze flickered over Mark, and he nodded, 
and then, as his eyes met Mala's, they widened in surprise.

When Tanj returned with the Lion's tray, she found him 
sitting up straight, one paw on the edge of the table, just 
staring at Mala, watching her eat.  Mala for her part seemed 
oblivious to his gaze, as she shoveled in forkful after 
forkful.  Mark had a wry grin on his face as he watched the 
Lion.  Tanj slid the tray over in front of her Master 
(with perhaps a little less ceremony than Mark had served 
Mala), and grinned at him; "Ah, Master, I see you've met 
Mala."  Mala just waved a forkful of food in an offhanded 
acknowledgement, her eyes never leaving her plate.  The Lion 
shook himself as if to break the spell, and turned to LOOK 
at Tanj.  "Yessssssssss, it seems I have."  Turning back 
to look at Mala, his eyes still just a little wide, he 
growled; "Pleased to meet you."  Mala mumbled in return, 
through a mouthful of curry; "Charmed, I'm sure."  The lion 
looked down at his tray, pushed some of the curry around 
with his fork for a moment, and then pushed the tray back an 
inch.  Turning to look at Tanj, he sighed; "We need to go 
talk to those folks.  Now."  Tanj nodded, her eyes 
darting to where Mala continued to eat, as if out to conquer 
her dinner with knife and fork, and then back to her Master.  
"Um, yessir."  The lion rose and took a last look at Mala, 
rumbling "Pleasure to have met you."  Mala just nodded, 
deigning to speak as if perhaps her mouth was too full for 
even her to attempt speech.  As the lion turned to walk off, 
Tanj in tow, she swallowed noisily, and growled; "Hey, 
you gonna eat that?"  The lion looked back to see her 
gesturing towards his untouched tray.  He shook his head; 
"no, knock yourself out."  Mala just nodded and lifted his 
plate to dump its contents onto her own; "Don't mind if I 
do……".

As they walked off, the Lion looked at Tanj and shook his 
head; "Sounds like everything I've been hearing about her is 
true…. She sure is a strange one!"  Tanj cocked her head 
to one side, and looked at her master; "Aside from her 
eating habits, which I can attest to, and her combat skills, 
what else have you heard?"  The lion grinned and bent to 
whisper in his Cheetah's ear.

Mala looked up as the Lion and Tanj departed from the 
Cafeteria.  Shaking her head, she looked down at her mouse; 
"I just do NOT see what she sees in him!"  Mark chuckled and 
picked up the last bite from his plate.  "I know.  Go easy 
on him, please.  Believe it or not, he's the best leader we 
have at the moment."  The Hyena grinned and shook her head 
again, muttering something that sounded oddly like "Great.  
We're doomed." Through another helping of curry.

Tanj lay atop her Lion.  Their schedules had actually let 
them both get to bed at a reasonable time, but they'd taken 
the opportunity for something other than sleep.  Their 
lovemaking had been gloriously wild, and passionate, and now 
they were both spent, exhausted, and laying among the 
tangled sheets sleepily.  "Picked up on something 
interesting, Master" Tanj purrrred.  He opened one eye 
and looked at her.  She smiled and kissed him on the nose.  
"Elysium forces struck at the Blue's new headquarters.  
Somehow they found the new location in absolutely record 
time.  They really lost a lot of key folks, but they missed 
Cromwell.  Seems they hadn't dug latrines yet, and he'd 
walked off into the forest to take a dump when the place was 
assaulted….."  The Lion's other eye opened; "Someone talked.  
They must have!  Cromwell's better than that."  Tanj just 
nodded.  "I also heard that the Reds hit the Subara Province 
Government house, and completely cleaned out their armory.  
Shot up most of the government workers too."  The lion 
sighed; "That Trotskie is a jerk; how'd he get that lucky?  
Surely he couldn't have assets among the government reliable 
or highly placed enough to give him that kind of 
information…..  And there was no need to kill the menial 
workers.  That'll just make it harder to gain sympathizers 
within the government in the future."  Tanj just 
shrugged, the motion making her breasts sway, the lion's 
eyes shifting to watch appreciatively.  "I agree, 
something's going on; but what?" Tanj purrred.  The lion 
just shrugged, and settled back in the bed; "Watch them 
carefully for me, Tanj.  I know you'll puzzle it out 
eventually.  Tanj grinned and snuggled down against her 
master's bulk, her head resting on his stomach.  After a 
while, her tongue licked out teasingly, eliciting a mock-
groan of "again?  You really ARE insatiable!"


Tanj’s Tales:  Explanations			By Kittiara
Stardate 2398.70

"Tanj, I just don't want to hear anymore about this from 
you!" the lion growled.  "I think this is something 
important, and we're going to do it.  Call it…… one of my 
hunches."  Tanj sighed; "Master, the Brou can be so… 
unpredictable.  Yes, you might be able to trade with them, 
perhaps even get some useable technology to help us in our 
fight, but you might just as easily get eaten… or just 
disappear, or who knows what.  And don't you think the 
Imperials will be watching?"  The lion growled; "We've been 
through this a dozen times.  We're going.  End of 
discussion.  One MORE word, and I'll gag you!"  Tanj just 
sighed.

They'd intercepted some messages from Imperial Naval 
sources.  A Brou generation ship had been detected on the 
fringes of the Empire.  This rarely seen, long lived space 
faring race of aliens were… enigmatic to say the least.  No 
one knew why they went where they did, no one knew why they 
chose to live on their spacefaring cities.  In fact, no one 
knew much about them at all, except that on occasion they'd 
trade for things they needed, or wanted.  On other occasions 
they took the offer of trade as something akin to an insult 
and responded in a variety of less-than-pleasant ways.  But 
the technology they paid with when they did trade was 
usually generations ahead of anything else available in the 
Empire.  The Lion wanted to go try and trade for advanced 
weapons, sensors, stealth technology, anything that might 
help the pirates or the rebels in their quest to overthrow 
the Elysium government.  At first Tanj thought they'd be 
going on her ship, but then the Lion'd said he wanted a 
larger vessel.  And then he'd said he was taking her boss, 
the old fox that was the director of Intelligence for the 
pirates.  Seems when he'd been with Imperial Intelligence, 
he'd had some dealings with the Brou.  With him going on the 
trip, that left Tanj in charge of the Intelligence 
department, and no matter how she pleaded or protested, the 
Lion was adamant.  Tanj was especially pissed when her 
suggestion that he should take her for sexual amusement 
during the trip resulted in him agreeing that something like 
that would be a good idea considering the many days they'd 
be traveling to get to where the Brou ship was.   For a 
moment Tanj thought she'd hit upon the key, but then he 
shook his head, still insisting he needed her here, and as a 
result, Zassa was being included in the mission!

Tanj shook her head as she talked to Mark and Mala over 
dinner; "Dammit, I just don't feel right about this mission.  
I think its just TOO risky.  If he wants to send a 
delegation, fine, but to go HIMSELF?"  Mark smiled softly; 
"Tanj, I just think you're afraid that if he gets out of 
your sight you'll loose him."  Mala chuckled around a 
mouthful of food; "Yeah, maybe Zassa'll steal him away from 
you.  Maybe by the time they get back, he'll only have eyes 
for her!"  Tanj blinked for a moment, a "She'd better 
NOT!" retort dying on her lips; after a moment she sighed; 
"That obvious, huh?"  As Mark grinned and nodded, Mala just 
laughed.

Ben and Tanj walked down the corridor towards the 
Operations Conference room, talking quietly.  "Dammit, 
Tanj, I've pulled together the best furrs we've got for 
the crew of that ship.  Like your freighter, its got all 
sorts of hidden goodies.  I can't speak for the Brou, but if 
they run up against ANYTHING Imperial, they'll be able to 
handle themselves.  Quit worrying about it, they'll be fine!  
Now, if you need something to worry about, how about the new 
pattern of Elysium patrols?  Got any thoughts as to why they 
changed their schedules all of a sudden?"

Ben had gone through the operations summary, Tanj had 
handled the Intelligence summary.  Logistics, Accounting, 
Maintenance had all given their reports.  Normally the 
meeting would be through, but they had one more thing to 
handle.  The Lion stood up and faced his senior staff.  
"While I'm away, Ben, as the next largest shareholder, will 
be in charge of the Brethren.  Anything that comes up, he'll 
handle.  Davis will be in charge of accounting while his 
boss is off with me.  Tanj will handle the intelligence 
office; you've all worked with her before, so I don't expect 
any problems.  Other departments should not be affected.  
Operations will continue as per our quarterly plan."  As he 
talked, heads around the table nodded; he wasn't telling 
them anything they didn't already know, or expect.  Their 
command system wasn't exactly centralized, and they all 
thought they could carry on in the absence of the Brethren's 
majority stockholder…..  Looking around, the Lion nodded; 
"Any questions?"  Hans, the Captain, and majority owner of 
the Overlord nodded; "I'd kinda been hoping for some, ah, 
"quality time" with Tanj, but now that you've in effect 
made her an acting department head, I'm not too sure if 
that’s going to be possible.  Just what IS her status?"  
Tanj grinned at Hans and winked; "Why Hans, I didn't know 
you cared!"  When the chuckling had quieted down, the lion 
nodded; "I guess I HAVE left that a bit ambiguous, and to 
tell you the truth, I think, by and large, I'll leave it so.  
Lets just say that when anything happens that involves 
Intelligence, and that includes the things that SHE thinks 
should include intelligence, she has the full power and 
authority of any department head."  Looking around, he 
passed his gaze over each of his senior staff; "I don't 
think there's anyone here that would dispute her abilities 
or competency in that area, and she has my full confidence……  
HOWEVER, I do NOT want her burying herself down there, lost 
in her field agent reports, and communications intercepts.  
I know how single-minded she can get, and believe me, I well 
know how many nights she never makes it to bed until after 
I've gotten up!"  Again there were chuckles and a few 
completely ignored snide remarks.  When things had quieted 
yet again, the Lion continued; "She's STILL my slave, and 
needs to be reminded of that from time to time.  Therefor, 
any time she's away from the Intelligence office, and not on 
demonstrable Brethren business, she's fair game.  Ben, I'll 
let you be in charge of determining when she should call it 
a day.  You'll be able to judge if she's REALLY tied down 
"at work."  Normally I'd adjudicate any conflicts between 
those requesting her services after hours, but as I won't be 
there, we need to find someone else….."  The Lion's gaze 
traveled around the room and finally settled on Hans; "And 
as you brought it up, Hans, I think I'll let you be the 
"referee" in my absence……"  Hans just groaned and sunk down 
in his seat as the room again erupted in catcalls and jeers, 
everyone seeming to have something to say. 

Tanj made a point of getting out of the intelligence 
office at a reasonable time.  Her master was leaving in six 
hours, and she wanted to make sure he got a good send-off.  
By the time he entered his quarters, Tanj had bathed, 
washed and dried her hair, and brushed it until it shone.  
He found her kneeling at the foot of his bed, nude, chained 
to the footboard by her collar, her eyes downcast, but an 
impish smile on her face.  Teasing back, he left her 
kneeling there while he undressed and showered, seemingly 
puttering around in the bathroom for ever.  But when he 
emerged from the bathroom, his mane still damp, his cock was 
hard and standing proud, and Tanj's grin widened.  
Without words, he pushed her head down, until her chest and 
head were pressed tightly into her floor pad, her ass high 
in the air.  Holding her like that, he took her from behind, 
roughly, powerfully, masterfully.  As usual, he paced 
himself, making sure she was on her second or third climax 
by the time he allowed himself to cum, all the while 
pretending to merely use her for his own pleasure.  As he 
pulled out, Tanj crawled around, to lick up at his 
softening cock, "cleaning" him until he was hard again.  
Most of the rest of the night was spent in his bed, although 
neither got any significant sleep……

Tanj sighed as she hugged Zassa goodbye.  The vixen 
was simply attired in a short dress, a haversack over one 
shoulder.  "Take care, and watch over him." Tanj growled.  
Zassa smiled and nodded, kissing Tanj softly, hugging her 
close.  "QUIT worrying; we'll be fine!  You've seen me shop; 
you KNOW I can talk the Brou out of anything we'll need!"  
Tanj chuckled and swatted the vixen on the bottom, 
sending her through the airlock.  She was standing there, 
watching the vixen sashay down the corridor, wondering if 
the crew of that ship knew just what they were in for, when 
the Lion came up behind her, to hug her softly.  Purrrring, 
Tanj leaned back into his arms, her head tilted up to 
look at him.  "Keep an eye on things while we're gone, 
kitten" he purrred; "We'll be back before you know it!"  
Tanj nodded and turned within his arms, to rise to 
tiptoe, to kiss him lovingly; "you take care too, Master, 
and come back safe!"  He nodded, hugged her again, and then 
he too was through the airlock, and gone.

Tanj padded through the door of the intelligence office, 
lost in though, thinking it was amazing how badly you could 
miss someone  you'd just seen moments before.  Lost in her 
musings, she came to a sudden stop.  Someone had put up a 
chalk board just inside the door, and on it were a half 
dozen names and times.  Clipped to the top of the board was 
a printed sheet, and she paused to read it;  SIGN-UP BOARD 
for TANJ.  List your name and the times you're available.  
Depending on the time she's available, she'll take the top 
name on the list for that time bracket.  Signed Ben & Hans.  
Tanj took a step back and grinned, shaking her head.  
"Maybe no one will know the board's here" she thought; 
"Might get a night off yet…"

Lord Xylex and Viscount Worthington were ushered straight in 
to the Commodore's office.  This was the Imperial naval 
officer charged with liaison to the Elysium government, an 
elderly Raccoon who had obviously been "promoted" into a 
dead-end job so someone younger could have a ship command.  
This particular worthy individual had been dragging his 
feet, not wanting to get the Imperial government, much less 
the fleet, involved in what he saw as a purely local affair.  
Xylex and Worthington had come to his office to try and 
change that…… and the Raccoon knew it.  Never the less, 
these were powerful furrs, for locals, and diplomacy was 
called for.  After greeting them cordially, the Commodore 
gestured to the easy chairs and couch in the corner of his 
spacious office; "Why don't we sit  over there, Gentlefurrs; 
its much more comfortable than the chairs by my desk."  
Worthington sniffed a little disdainfully, and Xylex smiled; 
"Actually, Commodore, we don't intend to keep you from your 
work; we just wanted to drop by, and mention that the pirate 
problem in this sector was getting a little out of hand….."  
Worthington nodded rapidly; "Yes, you know, insurance rates 
are becoming frightful, and some necessities are getting in 
short supply….."  The Raccoon looked at Worthington and 
nodded sagely, thinking to himself that the skunk must be 
talking of his designer drugs, or his fancy suits, or maybe 
off-planet vintage wines……"  Xylex watched the Raccoon's 
face, evaluating his response, before resuming.  "you know, 
Commodore, the Elysium militia hasn't had the greatest 
success in dealing with these scum.  They seem to operate 
with impunity……."  Again Worthington piped up; "Yes, just 
LOOK at the raid they pulled off on the sector fuel 
processing station!  HORRIBLE!  Just THINK what that's done 
to imports and exports….."  Xylex nodded; "Now I know you 
don't think this is a situation worthy of intervention by 
the Imperial fleet, but I wonder if that’s because you don't 
see the horrible impact on the local economy.  We thought 
that if perhaps we could demonstrate to you how the activity 
of the pirates was causing suffering and loss for the poor 
people of Elysium, you might understand our point of view a 
bit better….."  Worthington nodded; "As a result, some of 
our more…. concerned citizens have agreed to donate a few 
shares of local stocks to you; oh, Obviously for you to use 
as you see fit, perhaps to donate to your favorite charity?  
But in the meantime, you can watch how they perform, and SEE 
the impact of the acts of piracy on those corporations……"  
Xylex nodded; "why I bet if the pirates were eliminated, 
those stocks might double, perhaps even triple in value; it 
could be a windfall for, oh, say, the Imperial Spacer's 
Retirement Fund?"  Smiling, Xylex and Worthington bowed low 
and left the office, leaving the Raccoon staring dumbfounded 
after them.  After a few minutes, he turned and made his way 
to his desk.  Activating his terminal, and calling up his 
investment portfolio, his jaw dropped as he beheld the list 
of stocks he now "owned!"  Sitting back, he thought for a 
moment, and then nodded.  "Imperial Spacer's Retirement fund 
indeed!" he grumbled.  Reaching for a message padd, he 
started composing a situation report for Fleet sector 
command.

Tanj settled in at her work station, a hot cup of coffee 
on the desktop next to her.  As she brought her terminal on 
line, and opened up her e-mail in-box, she started to take a 
sip of the hot coffee.  She almost choked when there, at the 
top of the stack, highlighted in red, was the same 
announcement taped to the top of the sign-up board, with the 
addition of the location of the board itself and a summary 
of Tanj's average work times.  Tanj sighed and shook 
her head, muttering; "No rest for me!" 

That wasn't the only thing in her in-box, however.  She had 
quite a number of field reports.  Many of her "agents" could 
hardly be classified as "spies".  Most were dock workers, or 
clerks in shipping offices.  Some were security officers, 
either regular police or more often the "rent-a-cop" 
variety.  Many were barmaids and tavern keepers in spaceport 
cities, or stations.  They reported things out of the usual 
to Tanj, and she saw that they got regular deposits to 
numbered accounts, the amounts depending on the worth of 
their information.  But they ALWAYS got a little something.  
Now she was seeing a LOT of messages from her sources all 
across the sector.  Here a barmaid was talking about how for 
the last three days the Imperial fleet crewfurrs had been 
spending money freely, drinking hard.  And here a lady of 
the evening was talking about how her business was suddenly 
VERY good with Imperial troops.  Here a vendor was talking 
about how hard it was to find fresh meat and vegetables in 
the port area.  And in another place, a shipyard worker was 
talking about how they were working overtime to get an 
Imperial corvette repaired.  And all across the spectrum, 
there were comments about fuel shortages as all the Imperial 
ships seemed to be "tanking up."

Tanj pushed back from her terminal, and rubbed her eyes.  
Something was definitely up.  Opening a new window on her 
terminal, Tanj composed a summary of her findings to the 
Brethren's command staff, warning of impending Imperial 
fleet movements in this sector.

As she hit the key to send the message, Tanj rose from 
her station chair, stretching.  Picking up her coffee mug, 
she turned and made her way to the Intelligence office's 
communal pot.  It was cold.  Looking up, looking around, she 
realized that the offices were dark.  Glancing down at her 
chrono, she sighed as she realized she'd worked through 
dinner again.  Turning and pacing back to her terminal, she 
confirmed receipt of her message by the folks that needed to 
see it most, and then shut it down.  Enough for one night.  
She'd almost made it to the door, when her eye caught the 
sign-up board.  With a sigh she turned to examine it.  
"Lessee" she muttered to herself; "2030 hours…… Nope, 
Reggie's on duty.  I guess that'd mean Eric from 
engineering'd be at the top of the list……"  Grinning to 
herself, Tanj sashayed out of the Intelligence office, 
making sure the door was well locked behind her.  Usually 
she did that for security purposes, but in this instance it 
meant that no one else would be able to add their name to 
the list until morning……

Tanj had changed into her "living" dress, commanding it 
to form a strapless minidress, with a few differences; the 
"Dress" looked like it had been attacked by a swarm of 
hungry moths; there were holes, large and small, everywhere, 
her fur poking through.  Except over her nipples and crotch.  
The effect was, she thought, quite erotic.  She'd drawn 
quite a few looks and even a few whistles as she searched 
for Eric, finally finding him in a poker game in the rec 
lounge.  Tanj approached him from behind, surprising him 
by wrapping her arms around his neck, nuzzling the jackal 
softly, murmuring in his ear; "Guess who's at the top of the 
list for the moment?"  Eric turned to kiss her, and then 
shook his head; "Why does something ALWAYS happen when I've 
got a good hand?  Do me a favor Tanj, and stand behind me 
for a moment?  Maybe you'll bring me luck!"  Tanj grinned 
and nodded and snuggled against him, her paws on his 
shoulders.  The bidding went round the table, most of the 
other furrs folding, convinced that if Eric would put off 
his pleasure for a moment, he MUST have a good hand.  And he 
did, his full house easily taking the pot.  As the Jackal 
rose to leave, one of the other players, a Coyote by the 
name of Ed chuckled; "If you're feeling lucky, Eric, how 
about a hand, winner gets your time with her?"  Eric pleased 
Tanj immensely by looking up at her, asking "I do feel 
lucky; but only if you agree….."  Tanj grinned back and 
nodded; "sure, go for it, if you feel lucky!"

Tanj watched as the cards were dealt.  Eric's hand wasn't 
all that good, a two, a three, a seven, a nine, and a jack.  
He selected the seven and the nine, and put them face down 
on the table, taking two new cards.  It was a two, and a 
five.  Pair of twos.  Ed smiled, and raised an eyebrow; 
"well, stud, whatcha got.  Eric shrugged; "Pair of twos; how 
'bout you?"  Ed chuckled and spread his cards on the table.  
He too didn't have much; a pair of fours, but it still beat 
Eric.  The Jackal looked cresfallen as he turned his face up 
to look at Tanj.  Tanj looked at him for a moment, and 
then turned her gaze on Ed.  Then slowly she looked at the 
other two players at the table, a lady Ferret from supply by 
the name of Joyce, and a young raccoon by the name of Ty, 
from medical.  Smiling, Tanj shook her head; "Tell you 
what; I haven't had dinner yet tonight, and its been a long 
day.  How 'bout I play a hand with you; if I win, my 
evening's my own.  If I loose to so much as one of you, I'll 
take you all on."  The players looked at each other for a 
moment and then grinned.  Ed shook his head; "the odds of 
you beating ALL of us are pretty steep….."  Joyce nodded and 
smiled; "and I'd purely LOVE to see how you could handle 
four at once!  Ty just looked eager, grinning and nodding.  

Pulling another chair up, Tanj sat at the table and 
shuffled the cards.  Passing them to her right, she let Ty 
cut them, and then she delt five cards to each player.  
Looking at her hand, she Hmmmmmed.  Two threes, an eight, a 
jack and an ace.  Discarding the eight and the jack, she 
waited.  Ed wanted one, a bad sign.  Eric took three, and 
Tanj made no effort to hide her smile.  Ty took two, and 
Joyce took one.  Picking up her cards, Tanj found it hard 
to hold her poker face; she had a third three and another 
ace!

Eric threw his cards down on the table; he had nothing.  Ty 
sighed and nodded and put down his cards; a pair of fives.  
Joyce beamed and put down three tens.  That left Ed.  The 
coyote looked at Tanj, smiling softly; "you first."  
Tanj shrugged and put down her three threes….. and after 
a small dramatic pause, put down her pair of aces.  Ed 
nodded; "That’s good; very good.  Pity its not quite good 
enough."  Laying down his cards, Tanj beheld a straight; 
four, five, six, seven, and eight, all in diamonds.

Tanj shrugged; "Ah, well, I can stand to loose some 
weight anyways.  Lets see, Ed had the highest hand, he gets 
first choice of position.  Then Joyce, then Ty, and then 
Eric.  As I suspect the geometry will be a little complex, 
what say we adjourn to the zero gee gym?"

Tanj felt like she was leading a parade as they moved 
through the corridor.  Word of the poker game had spread, 
and somehow Tanj felt the gallery for the Zero Gee Gym, 
normally used for three dimensional handball, would be far 
from empty.  They entered through the transition tube, the 
gravity falling smoothly from its standard value to zilch, 
and then Tanj kicked off from the wall to float out into 
the middle of the chamber.  As she did so, she commanded her 
"dress" to shrink, to form something that resembled a 
corset, skin-tight, and pushing her breasts up and together.  
As she twisted, to look back the way she'd come, she saw Ed 
talking to Joyce, Ed nodding to what the Ferret was saying.  
Ed had left his clothes in the tube, where the gravity would 
keep them on the floor, and he pushed off, catching one of 
Tanj's ankles, sending her spinning softly.  Joyce had 
followed suit and she too leapt, catching Ed around the 
waist, adding a complex motion to their spin and drift.  
Eric was not far behind, but had timed his jump poorly and 
with a howl sailed past, to rebound from the far padded wall 
of the chamber.  And poor Ty was struggling to remove his 
pants, floating just off the wall of the chamber by the 
access tunnel.

Tanj purrrrrred and grabbed Joyce, pulling her around the 
Coyote; "I take it you'd prefer to make use of my tongue?"  
Joyce just smiled and nodded, and the next thing Tanj 
knew, the ferret lass had wrapped both legs around Tanj's 
head.  As she licked softly, tentatively, between Joyce's 
thighs, she felt Ed spread her legs, the head of his cock 
pressing firmly against her pussy.  Then Eric collided with 
them, and sent them all, giggling, spinning off in another 
direction.  After a bit, Tanj felt the Jackal moving 
around behind her, her tail pushed to one side, his 
(fortunately well lubricated) cockhead nuzzling against her 
anus.

In freefall, with little purchase on anything, sex is 
strange, and difficult.  Tanj concentrated on licking at 
Joyce, something that could be accomplished in almost any 
situation, leaving the more complex motions to be worked out 
between Ed and Eric.  And they did work it out, undulating 
their bodies, their paws holding onto Tanj, working their 
hard cocks in and out of her pussy and ass.  And then Ty 
finally joined up, looking a little lost.  Tanj looked up 
from between Joyce's thighs and grinned; "why don't you lay 
your cock between my breasts, Ty?"  The Raccoon's eyes lit 
up, and he moved to straddle Tanj's body, slipping in 
between her and Ed, making the Coyote lean back a little.  
Tanj felt his paws clutch at her breasts, pushing them 
further together, and then the motion of his hips was adding 
to the overall undulation, sending them all spinning across 
the chamber.

There was a general "OOOF!" every time they rebounded from 
the wall, but all in all, Tanj found it quite 
pleasurable.  There was no way either Ed nor Eric could be 
too forceful with her, given the lack of purchase, and their 
lovemaking was slow, and sensual.  Ty was the most 
aggressive of them all, grunting with each thrust of his 
hips.  And Joyce, Joyce was a true delight; she was soooo 
sensitive, her sensual, flexible ferret body whipping back 
and forth as Tanj's tongue found the places that she 
liked to have stroked.  The air was filled with a cacaphony 
of grunts, moans and mewls, as they all slowly drifted from 
one wall to the other, a mass of slowly writhing bodies.

Ty was young, and with his youth came energy and 
sensitivity, and he was the first to achieve his release, 
his cock spurting hard, globules of his white cum filling 
the air, drifting to impinge on Joyce's back.  Panting he 
squirmed free, and drifted off, spent, for the moment, but 
eager to continue watching.  As Tanj concentrated on 
Joyce's pleasure, she could hear Ed and Eric talking, and 
she thought they were coordinating their motions, and 
possibly their orgasms, but the ferret's thighs pressed hard 
to Tanj's head did a lot to muffle what they were saying.  
She in turn was finding it increasingly hard to maintain her 
concentration as their motions brought her to the edge of 
her own climax; still, she was determined to give Joyce her 
release first.

And so she did; as she ran her tongue back and forth over 
the Ferret's clitty, Joyce screamed in pleasure, her body 
whipping back and forth, her paws and thighs grasping 
Tanj's head HARD.  Finally she'd had enough though, and 
she released Tanj, showing considerable skill in 
maneuvering in zero gee as she twisted around, to give 
Tanj a long, hard kiss.  And then she was gone, leaving 
Tanj to the gentle ministrations of Ed and Eric.  Those 
two started moving harder, faster, the three of them 
gyrating ever wilder as they drifted.  Tanj tried to 
concentrate, tried to ripple her vaginal muscles around Ed's 
cock, but all she could do was clench down with pussy and 
ass, as they drove her towards her own release.  Finally the 
sensations were too much, and she threw back her head to 
howl, as her climax blossomed within her.  Her writhings 
must have been what the two males were waiting for, for 
within an instant she felt both of them cumming.  This, of 
course, only spurred her climax to greater heights, and she 
yowled as they spun across the chamber.

Somewhere along the way, she'd lost Eric; the Jackal must 
have slipped out of her ass after he'd orgasmed; but Ed was 
still tied tightly to her, his knot a significant presence 
within her.  They both panted as they drifted, trying to 
recover, trying to calm down.  Finally he too was able to 
pull out, and with a kiss, he pushed against her, sending 
her towards the entry tunnel, and himself towards the far 
wall.  Eric, Ty and Joyce were waiting in the tunnel, 
watching, and each kissed Tanj when she'd arrived, 
thanking her for a wild time, and promising to put their 
names back on the bottom of the list.  Tanj hugged them 
all, and kissed Ed when he made it to the tunnel's entrance, 
and then commanding her "dress" to form something a little 
less risque, grinning at how they stared as it flowed over 
her body, she waved goodbye, heading back to the Lion's 
quarters for a hot bath, and something to eat.

Tanj Hmmmmmed to herself as she looked over the 
communications intercepts.  The Imperials had ordered three 
older patrol vessels to the sector adjacent to the Elysium 
sector.  Sitting back and taking a sip of her coffee, she 
pondered what that might mean.  She hadn't heard of any 
significant pirate activity over there, nothing out of the 
ordinary.  And she didn't know of any insurrections or 
rebellions there.  And then it struck her; these ships were 
to help keep order as all the regular fleet ships departed 
from that sector.  The fur at the back of her neck rose, and 
she straightened in her chair.  Something told her that the 
Imperial fleet would be moving from that sector, through the 
Elysium sector…….  Grabbing her data PADD, she rose, to head 
down to Operations, to find Ben……

Ben shook his head; "I don't know, Tanj.  There could be 
any number of reasons for this activity…."  Looking up at 
the Cheetah, he smiled; "I'm not going to suspend 
operations, and take the whole of the Brethren into "hide" 
mode on the weight of this evidence.  If you think the 
Imperials are organizing a sweep through the sector, looking 
for us, well, you might be right, but I'll need the cold 
hard facts before I change our plans."  Tanj just sighed 
and nodded and headed back to Intelligence.

Tanj understood Ben's point but she still felt she had a 
valid concern; there was nothing else to do, but to get Ben 
the hard evidence he wanted.  As such, she was again working 
late, looking through the comm intercepts.  Some of the 
stuff was incredibly mundane.  For instance, here was an 
expense report for an Imperial logistics officer, who'd been 
dispatched to the Ta'noth system, in an adjacent sector.….. 
in fact, the same sector the patrol vessels had been 
dispatched to.  Under the "reason for trip" heading, she 
found the cryptic explanation; "Set up Supply Dump for 
Operation Tenchant."  What, she wondered, was Operation 
Tenchant?  And why did it need a supply dump?  Turning back 
to her terminal, she reconfigured it to search all recent 
message traffic for the key word "Tenchant."

Again, it was late when she finally shut down her Terminal 
and rose, to stretch.  Padding over to the sign-up board she 
examined it critically, wondering what was next……  "Hmmmmm" 
she mused to herself.  "A few minutes past the "available" 
time for Dirk, lessee, about fifteen minutes into the time 
for Patrick……  I guess he's next."  No sooner had she 
finished that thought, than a dark figure stepped out of the 
shadows, to clamp a strong paw over her muzzle.  Tanj 
caught the reflection in the pane of glass that formed a 
partition in the office and recognized Patrick; the Ocelot 
was only a little bigger than she was, and was generally 
rather shy, timid, perhaps; but he loved to play out rape 
fantasies.  Patrick caught the reflection of Tanj's eyes 
widening and he leaned closer to whisper in her ear even as 
he held her tight; "that’s right, its just me; been waiting 
to see if you'd quit work while I was free.  You know the 
drill; all just play acting, I'm NOT going to hurt you, but 
I'd appreciate it if you'd play along….."  Tanj let out a 
muffled giggle and nodded her head as best possible.  One 
paw carressed his hip and then she started to struggle, as 
if in earnest.  She probably could have gotten away from him 
if she'd really tried, but that wasn't part of the game…..

Patrick growled; "Yes, you get it now, don't you?  You've 
been using that hot body of yours to get what you want, 
using it to gain position, and favor, teasing the rest of us 
unmercifully…. You shouldn't be surprised that someone would 
eventually call you on it.  I'm only a simple male, and your 
teasing has had just the effect you wanted, I'm no different 
than anyone else around here, except that I'm willing to 
take what I want……."  Patrick grinned; "After all, what's 
your body for, Tanj, if not to give pleasure to males….. 
to ME!"

As he talked, Patrick had pushed a rather large ball gag 
into Tanj's mouth, buckling it tight behind her neck.  
Then he'd cuffed her paws behind her back, adding cuffs 
above her elbows, pulling them together.  When he had her 
suitably bound, Tanj managed to squirm away from him, to 
huddle against the far wall, like a small wild animal trying 
to escape the larger predator.  Patrick just grinned at her; 
"You've always been the pragmatic one, Tanj; use that 
body of yours to get me off three times, and I'll let you 
go.  If not…….."  Patrick grinned and held up a curious 
thing; it looked like a rather vicious fighting knife in a 
sheath, but when he undid the snap holding it in place, and 
tugged on the handle, it was apparent that the blade had 
been replaced with a rather large feather.  OBVIOUSLY it was 
meant to be viewed as a threat, and Tanj whimpered and 
cowered accordingly. 

Suddenly the ocelot surged forward, pinning Tanj against 
the wall, one paw on her upper arm, the other on her hip; 
"Get me off, Tanj; get me off three ways or you'll never 
get out of here!"  Tanj, pushed face-first into the wall 
by Patrick's body, rose to tiptoes, the fingers of her bound 
paws searching, fumbling, trying to get the front of his 
pants open……

Patrick purrrred; "you really are quite an accomplished 
little slut; I’m glad you've accepted your situation so 
quickly.  As her fingers fumbled with his belt buckle, and 
then the button underneath, and finally the zipper, he took 
her by the shoulders, and turned her, so that by looking to 
her left, she could see their reflection in the glass 
partition; "There, now we can both see" he growled….. 
"Proceed!"

Tanj stared at their reflection in the glass; she was 
hunched over, her shoulders working, her teeth biting down 
on the ball gag between her jaws, and then releasing, as she 
panted hard through her nose.  Patrick placed his paws on 
her hips, as if to hold her, to prevent her from fleeing.  
Tanj for her part, had little difficulty urging his shaft 
from its sheath with her fingers; one wrapped around its 
girth, while the other lightly caressed its head, as she 
tried to maintain her balance…..  She murmured into her gag, 
an unintelligible sound; but Patrick seemed to know what she 
was trying to say; "Yeah, yeah, it’s the biggest, most 
perfect cock you've ever put your paws on.  Just do your 
job, Bitch!"

Tanj moaned into her gag, and her paws began to move 
along his shaft, her fingers showing a light, deft touch as 
she stroked him, manipulating him like an experienced 
masseuse.  Leaning forward, Tanj's paws started to move 
with greater enthusiasm.  Patrick purrrrrd and snaked one 
arm around her waist, the other paw moving under her dress 
to cup her right breast; "I know the drill; lure me into a 
false sense of security, and then rip it off.  Well, if it 
goes, ……"  He squeezed her breast tightly, letting her feel 
just a pinprick of claws; "Then this goes too.  Tanj 
grumbled into her gag in mock protest, but her paws started 
to stroke his hard cock again, their motion gradually 
speeding up.  As Patrick kneaded her right breast, Tanj 
continued to stroke him with both paws.

Tanj felt his shaft getting harder, felt it grow warm and 
begin to quiver, heard his breath get ragged; she responded 
by moving both paws along its length, moving faster and 
faster.  Patrick's other paw left her waist, to squeeze her 
left breast, crushing both of them in his powerful grip, 
pulling her to him.  As he squeezed her tits, twisting them, 
she squeezed his cock, twisting her paws along its shaft.  
Suddenly he released her breasts, his paws going to her 
hips, his cock spurting all over her back.  Patrick chuckled 
as he stroked his own cock, making sure that every last drop 
of his jism stained Tanj's dress.  "That’s number one," 
he chuckled, rubbing the cum into the fabric of her dress 
and into her fur underneath; "What do you do for an encore?"

They both knew what was next.  They'd become aware of it 
during her stroking of his cock; as she'd fondled him, so 
had he fondled her breasts; as she'd stroked his shaft, so 
had he stroked her tits.  Pushing her down to her knees, 
stepping in front of her, Patrick pulled her dress up over 
her head, and back down over her arms, leaving her 
completely nude.  Then he tied her legs together, at the 
ankle and just above the knee, and then, almost as an 
afterthought, he laid her on the floor and tied her ankles 
to the backs of her thighs.  Moving back around by her head, 
Patrick declared; "Tit fuck.  You know the drill." As he 
lifted her up to lean against him, balanced on her knees, he 
looked down at her and muttered; "Those are great tits you 
have.  They hardly sag at all.  It would be a great shame 
not to use them…., so……."  Reaching behind her, he released 
the snap hook that held her wrist cuffs together.  Tanj's 
elbows were still fastened close together behind her back, 
but now her paws were free to be brought forward, along her 
sides.  No longer were they filled with his cock; they were 
filled with her own breasts, pressing in from the sides.  
With her elbows hobbled together, and the rope stilling her 
legs, she had to make all her movement with her paws, torso 
and chest.  Pushing her breasts together around his shaft, 
she undulated, stroking him between the soft valley between 
her breasts.

Patrick watched for a minute, steadying her, and then shook 
his head; "Come on, you can do better than that!"  Tanj 
grunted into her gag, and pushed and squeezed her breasts 
together, covering his shaft completely with her pressed-
together tits.  She rubbed back and forth, back and forth…….

Patrick watched for a moment, and then sighed.  Reaching 
down , he produced a small bottle of oil; with a squeeze, he 
let fall a small stream.  Tanj felt the stream of oil 
land on the upper curve of her left breast like liquid 
warmth.  She let it course through her fingers, grateful for 
its help, and spread it across the expanse of his cock, 
through the furrow between her breasts.  As she stroked him, 
she let her head fall back, and began to moan.  Tanj knew 
he'd already cum once, and that she would have to be very 
careful, tending to him with extravagance to make him cum a 
second time.  She rubbed his cock with her entire front, 
feeling the ropes at her ankles, knees and elbows stretch 
with every motion.  Placing her cheek against his stomach, 
she moaned and rubbed against him.

"That’s better" Patrick purrred; "Maybe you WILL get out of 
here….."  Tanj concentrated, altering the speed of her 
manipulations, several fast motions followed by several 
slow, then a few very slow, a short pause, and then she went 
back to her quick, jerky motions, dragging her breasts back 
and forth along his shaft.

Glancing up at him, with smoky, half-closed eyes, she found 
Patrick grinning down at her; "Come on, Bitch, I'm not going 
to help you."  Turning her head, resting her forehead 
against his stomach, looking down at the tip of his cock as 
it appeared and disappeared between her oil covered breasts, 
Tanj groaned into her gag…..  It went on that way for 
minutes; soon Tanj's body was tiring, as she undulated 
against him, struggling to keep her breasts massaging his 
cock.  Her shoulders ached, and the ropes were digging into 
her thighs; she was drooling around the gag, and panting 
hard.

Patrick held her hair at the back of her neck, and panted in 
time with his motions….  "Come on, slut, just a little 
more….."  Tanj pushed herself hard against him, rubbing 
up and down, just to give her paws a few seconds rest.  
"That just won't make it, Bitch" he growled, pushing her 
back with his hips.  Sighing, Patrick reached down to 
release her elbows; a moment later he was holding his 
feather "knife" at her throat lightly.  "Go to work" he 
growled.  Tanj started tit-fucking Patrick in earnest.  

Tanj used her now-free arms to push her breasts together, 
battering his cock with her breasts, enveloping it almost 
completely.  With her head back, the "knife" at her throat, 
she undulated wildly.  As she worked he muttered words of 
encouragement; "That’s it, nice and hard…… Really roll that 
thing…… Use those fucking things; what else are they good 
for?  You're not going to have kittens, are you?  A nice 
little slut like you wasting herself on Kittens?  What else 
are they good for?"  His speech winding down, Patrick panted 
hard, watching Tanj move, and then with his paw wrapped 
in the back of her hair, he pulled her head back, to cum all 
over her face.

Tanj gasped and bit at her gag, as his cum dripped from 
her brow, her nose, her cheeks and her chin.  She couldn't 
believe that he'd had that much left in him, after the first 
time.  Squirming, playing the part to the hilt, she growled 
into her gag as she sought to escape.  Patrick just laughed, 
holding onto her all the harder, his paws shifting to grasp 
her warm, slippery breasts.  "Listen to you try and howl!" 
he chuckled; "You certainly do have a big mouth!  I wonder 
if I should fill it?  Ah, but then you might just try and 
bite me.  Fortunately I brought a way around that……"  
Pulling her paws around behind her back, he again clipped 
her wrist cuffs together, and then hobbled her elbows 
together as well.  Stepping  back, he fished a silver device 
out of his discarded pants.

Tanj watched, her eyes wide; it looked like a pair of 
silver lips.  Patrick adjusted the turnkey device at one 
corner of the lips, slowly screwing it open until he could 
slide his cock between the gleaming silver lips.  As Patrick 
slowly screwed the lips closed, obviously counting the turns 
of the key, Tanj mewled into her gag, as if terrified of 
what was to come.  Patrick grinned at her and turned 
suddenly pouncing her prone, bound form.  Sitting astride 
her chest, his knees on either side of her head, he 
unbuckled the ball gag, yanking it from her mouth; and then 
he was going at her mouth like a crazed dentist, pushing the 
device into her mouth.  Each half was a U-shaped channel, 
sized to fit her teeth.  Turning the key carefully, Patrick 
slowly caused the two halves to spread, opening her mouth 
wide, and then wider…..  Finally, having reached his count, 
he stopped, and rose from her chest.  

Tanj shook her head; there was no way she could push the 
device out of her mouth.  Her jaw muscles were as tight as 
bowstrings, starting to ache already.  She could perhaps 
open her jaws fractionally wider, but it certainly wasn't 
enough to get the metal horror out of her mouth.  And then 
Patrick was lifting her upwards, to balance her on her knees 
again.  Her vision was filled with a view of Patrick's 
crotch, and then she saw the head of his cock disappear 
below her nose.  Then she felt its weight on her tongue.  
Again the Ocelot growled; "you know the drill……"  As his 
paws found her slick breasts once again, to squeeze, to hold 
her upright by them, he growled; "Suck me off, slut."

Tanj was precariously balanced on her knees, her arms 
useless behind her back; she squirmed, eyes looking up at 
him as if to say "how?"  Patrick just growled; "Don't act 
dumb, cocksucker."  He punctuated his sentence by shoving 
his cock harder into her wide-open mouth.  Tanj sighed 
and rocked her head forward, taking as much of his cock as 
she could until its head struck the back of her throat, and 
she had to fight the gag reflex.  Patrick smiled and started 
moving his hips, rocking them back and forth, driving his 
cock in and out of her mouth as his paws mauled her breasts.  
Looking down, watching her closely, Patrick growled; "You 
know you can't evade it, can't get rid of it; its best to 
get the job done as quickly as possible…..  Use your tongue; 
use the top of your mouth.  Suck me, bitch, drain me dry!"

As Tanj struggled to comply, to use her mouth to bring 
him off, Patrick continued to urge her on; "that’s it…… 
That’s nice, isn't it?  This is what its all about, right, 
Bitch  This is what your mouth's for.  This is what your 
tits are for.  This is what YOU are for, RIGHT?  Tanj 
just moaned around her living gag.  Wrapping her tongue 
around his cock, folding it like a hot dog bun along his 
shaft, she pushed it up against the top of her mouth as she 
moved her head back and forth.  Making little noises of 
pleasure as she slurped his cock in and out of her mouth, 
she worked with all the skill and passion at her command.

Patrick finally released her breasts and wrapped his fingers 
in the hair at the back of her head, tugging her hard into 
his crotch.  His cock throbbed, and he came hard, filling 
her mouth with his cum.  Tanj squirmed, as if trying to 
escape, even as she swallowed around his cock, swallowed 
hard and fast, her fingers writhing uselessly behind her 
back.  Again she was amazed at the quantity of his cum, the 
sticky white stuff leaking from the wide-open corners of her 
mouth uncontrollably, to splatter on her chest.

As Patrick panted hard, he pulled his hips back, to wipe his 
cock across first Tanj's left cheek and then her right.  
And then he was turning the thumbscrew, closing the 
stainless steel lips, pulling them from her mouth.  Tanj 
lay on the floor panting hard, working her jaw muscles as 
Patrick slowly removed her cuffs and restraints.  Finally he 
lifted her up to kiss her softly; " 'S Allright?" he purred.  
Tanj put her arms around his neck and kissed him hard; 
"Are you kidding?  I'll be sore for a week!  But yes it was 
great!"  Patrick sat back and grinned at her; then clearing 
his throat he growled in his best rapist's voice; "Slut, I 
told you if you got me off three times, I'd let you out of 
this place……."  Shrugging and using his regular voice, he 
grinned; "Now, what say I take you out and we find something 
for a late dinner?  Think it’s the least I can do….."  
Tanj purrrrred and throwing her dress over one shoulder, 
took his arm and the two padded from the dark office in 
search of sustanance.  As they walked down the darkened 
corridor, Tanj purrrred; "now what was that quip about me 
being wasted raising kittens?……"

The computer had turned up some interesting things on 
"Operation Tenchant."  "Its strange,"  Tanj mused to 
herself, "how bureaucracies crank out paper for 
everything……"  She was looking at maintenance reports for 
the Ha'voth sector.  They were working on a lot of ships 
over there, more than could be  accounted for by the normal 
Imperial presence in that sector.  And a LOT of overtime was 
being charged to Operation Tenchant.  It appeared certain 
that they were working at getting as many ships ready as 
possible.  Still, she ddn't have a "due" date by when all 
the work was to be finished….. 

As Tanj worked through the files the computer had 
retrieved for her, she came across a movement order for a 
military police unit.  They were being sent to the Grun 
sector….. the sector directly oposite the Elysium sector 
from the Ha'voth sector.  This suggested to Tanj that 
whatever was going to happen would start in the Ha'voth 
sector and wind up in the Grun sector….. and that they 
expected prisoners.

Inteligence work can be like putting together a jigsaw 
puzzle.  Tanj had quite a number of the pieces, from her 
agents, and from Comm intercepts.  The difficulty was, if 
you put them together in different ways, you got different 
pictures.  She had a gut feeling that the evidence all added 
up to an Imperial sweep through the Elysium sector, but she 
couldn't prove it…. As she shuffled the pieces one more 
time, looking for a pattern, she got to wondering why?  Why 
an Imperial sweep?  Why now?  Yes, the Brethren were a 
presence here, but Piracy was tacitly ignored in most of the 
Empire, as long as the local power of the pirates didn't 
rival that of the Empire.  And the Brethren had been VERY 
careful to restrict their activities to below what they 
considered the threshold level that would trip Imperial 
intervention.  "No," she thought to herself, "if the 
Imperials are coming after us, there's got to be a 
reason……."  Sitting back in her station chair, she scratched 
her head and fell back on one of the basic precepts of 
investigation; "Who would profit from such an act?"

It didn't take Tanj long to narrow down the list of 
"suspects"….. The Shipping companies in Elysium space would 
profit from the elimination of the pirates, as would the 
Insurance companies.  The Elysium government would profit as 
well.  Searching for connections between those and related 
industries, she turned up, among others, several familiar 
names.  Worthington.  Xylex.  The consortium that Xylex 
headed was suffering due to restricted imports and reduced 
exports.  They'd lost several key contracts for their 
exports as shipments were deemed "unreliable".  And 
Worthington owned an import/export business.  They both had 
ties to some of the larger Insurance consortiums.  And the 
destruction of the fuel depot had hurt them both, raising 
the costs of imported raw materials, and delivered goods.  
Nodding, Tanj thought that revenge, as well as business 
considerations might be at work here.  "Now," she thought, 
"If these two were to try and instigate Imperial action, how 
would they go about it?"

It didn't take her more than a few hours to come up with the 
name of the Imperial Fleet liason on Elysium.  The 
"Commodore" proved to be an interesting fellow, with a 
rather checkered background…..  And as she dug into his 
finances, it became apparent that just before the mysterious 
activities with the fleet had started, the Commodore had 
significantly expanded his portfolio.  Grabbing a message 
pad, Tanj composed a message to the nearest Rebel cell, 
requesting them to perform a small "breaking and entering" 
job…..

Tanj pushed back from her workstation, and sighed.  She 
now had a clue as to who, and what was behind the suggestion 
of impending Imperial action.  All she had to do was to 
prove it.  And that wasn't going to be easy.  Nothing else 
could be accomplished until the rebels did a little sifting 
in the Commodore's office.  Looking at the chrono, she 
realized that if she moved quickly, she might still make 
dinner.  Shutting down her terminal, she rose and stretched, 
and turned to padd from the office.  Once again, however, 
the sign-up board caught her eye.  As she turned to look at 
it, she gasped; every slot was filled with names, and a 
piece of paper had been tacked to the bottom in 
continuation!  Sighing, she looked towards the top, seeking 
the name that matched the current time.

Tanj found Hiram in the Cafeteria.  Pausing to grab a 
tray she slid into the seat opposite the 'possum, and 
grinned.  Hiram looked up and grinned back; "Don't look TOO 
happy, Tanj; you haven't heard what I want yet……."

Hinoki was just getting off his shift.  He'd finished his 
turn as "traffic controller" for the asteroid mining "cover" 
operation for the station, always a tense, nerve wracking 
operation, and he was looking forward to a nice relaxing 
evening.  The sight of Tanj leaning against the corridor 
wall just outside the sensor operator's cubicle made him 
grin, and think "Yeah, I could go for that kind of stress 
relief….."  but then as the cheetah's grin widened, he knew 
he was in trouble…..

As they walked down the corridor, Tanj explained; "It 
seems the Edinato brothers are having a birthday, and some 
friends of theirs want us to be the entertainment at the 
party…."  Hinoki blinked; "Don't think I know them……"  
Tanj nodded; "They own and crew the raider "Astarte's 
Revenge" and spend a lot of time away from the station.  
They're twins and apparently work almost as one, and hence 
make a good team for a raider.  They've been pretty 
successful over the past couple of years."  Hinoki nodded; 
to have even survived for several years in that high-risk 
profession, they'd have to be very good, or very lucky, or 
both.  "So what is it they want us to do, exactly?" Hinoki 
rumbled.

The room was set up for a party, but Tanj ignored that.  
Looking around, she found the hook in the ceiling and 
nodded.  Padding over to it, she dropped her bag of 
"goodies" and turning, made a come-hither motion to Hinoki.  
The male Cheetah grinned and moseyed over, and then stood 
there as Tanj quickly stripped him nude.  A short time 
later, Hinoki was hanging by his bound paws, heavily padded 
cuffs around his wrists, chained to the hook above.  A 
spreader bar held his legs wide apart, and a blindfold 
covered his eyes.  Tanj padded around the bound male and 
purrrred.  Then with one quick motion she stripped her dress 
off, and knelt to nuzzle at Hinoki's crotch.  It didn't take 
much to get the bound male hard, and then Tanj rose to 
lean against him, his hard cock pressing firmly against her 
belly.  Tanj leaned right, bending far over to link the 
anklet she wore to the one around Hinoki's ankle, and then, 
showing an amazing sense of balance, she leaned the other 
way, to couple the matching anklet on her other ankle to the 
mate on Hinoki's other foot.  She'd left enough chain 
between the anklets that she was able to wrap her arms 
around Hinoki's neck, and pull herself up his body, until 
the head of his cock sprang free between her thighs; then, 
with a soft moan, she lowered herself onto his shaft.  She 
grinned at the expression on Hinoki's face as her pussy 
enveloped his hard shaft.  Then she reached up to take one 
of the three chains she had draped around her neck…..

The first chain connected their collars; now, no matter how 
hard she stretched upwards, she would not be able to rise 
off of his shaft.  Then Tanj reached for the second 
chain.  Hinoki, being blindfolded, hadn't seen it coming, 
and jumped as Tanj fastened the nipple clip to his left 
nipple.  Stretching the chain diagonally, she passed it over 
the chain between their two collars, and then attached the 
clip on its other end to her own left nipple, ignoring the 
nipple ring.  The clip bit harshly and she bit into the 
thing she held in her mouth, to stifle a gasp.  Taking the 
other chain, she connected it similarly between their right 
nipples, the chain passing tightly over the chain connecting 
their collars.  Then Tanj took the double ended dong she 
held in her mouth, and carefully fed one end to Hinoki's 
mouth, gagging him with it.  Leaning back as far as the 
chains would permit she took the other end in her own mouth.  
Then she reached up to pull down her own blindfold over her 
own eyes.  Finally, she reached up, to find the other set of 
manacles dangling from the ceiling, to snap them around her 
own wrists.  They weren't padded like the ones Hinoki wore, 
but had the advantage of being able to be snapped closed.  
Then she settled down to wait for the party guests, moving 
just enough to maintain Hinoki's interest.

Hiram was the first guest to enter the room, and he grinned 
at the matched set of bound cheetahs dangling in the middle 
of the room.  Padding silently over, he couldn't resist a 
caress here or there as he waited……

Tanj heard the shout of "SURPRISE!", and smiled to 
herself, knowing that the guests of honor had arrived.  Most 
of the guests had been amusing themselves with a touch here 
and a feel there.  Some enterprising guest had tied the end 
of her tail to the back of her collar, and she suspected the 
same was true for Hinoki.  Squirming just a little, she made 
sure the chains rattled enticingly…..

Louie Edinato looked across the room and smiled; "Gee, for 
US?"  His twin brother Sal finished the sentence for him; 
"You shouldn't have!"  The crowd called encouragement as the 
wolves padded over to examine the bound Cheetahs.  Sal ran 
his paw over Tanj's ass, his fingers teasing the furrow 
between her ass cheeks, and grinned; "Someone…."  "Knows us 
too well" Louie completed as he reached down to fondle 
Hinoki's dangling balls……

Tanj couldn't see a thing, but she could listen.  The 
jeers and catcalls, and ribald suggestions continued 
unabated, but she heard the soft rustle as clothes were 
discarded, and then the liquid sound as a bottle of 
lubricant was squeezed, and then Hinoki was pressed into 
her, as one of the brothers came up behind him.  Then 
Tanj felt someone press against her back, felt a hard 
cock press against her puckered asshole, and she moaned as 
the shaft was driven home, the force of its thrust making 
her rise a little on Hinoki's hard shaft.

The motion was a complex harmonic; the two wolf brothers 
seemed instinctively to thrust in counterpoint, making 
Tanj and Hinoki bounce against each other, the chains 
between their nipples going taut and then slack.  Hinoki's 
cock slid in and out of Tanj's pussy in a pattern that in 
no way seemed to match the thrusting of the wolf cock in her 
ass, and Tanj found that overall it was a delightful 
combination.  She did her best to concentrate, to ripple her 
vaginal muscles around Hinoki's cock, knowing that he DARE 
not cum until the wolf behind him was finished with him.  Of 
course such motions caused her anus to clench around the 
wolf cock in her ass, and she could sense him grunt and 
tense with each such motion.  The room grew quiet as the 
brothers worked in unison, their uncanny ability to act in 
concert yielding quite a show for the onlookers.  Gradually 
their motions increased in tempo and force, and Tanj 
writhed to the limits of her bonds, doing her best to excite 
the male behind her, knowing that at the same time she had 
the same effect on Hinoki.

It was almost to be expected, given the close cooperation 
between the wolf brothers; they contrived to orgasm within a 
split second of each other, with Hinoki permitting himself 
his own release an instant later.  Tanj found the 
sensation of the wolfcock in her ass, and the Cheetah cock 
in her pussy both spurting and throbbing to be irresistible 
and she wailed through her own intense climax…..  

Tanj purrrrred as she gradually recovered; true to their 
nature, both wolves were "tied" in place, the knots in their 
cocks preventing withdrawal until they calmed down.  Tanj 
giggled and clenched her asshole, teasing the brother behind 
her until he reached around her body to squeeze her breasts, 
growling "stop that!"  The crowd chuckled in amusement.  
When they'd been able to pull out, the Edinato brothers were 
heartily congradulated by their friends, and as Tanj hung 
there, pressed against a panting Hinoki, she listened to the 
debate as to whether the two cheetahs should be left tied 
together, for repeat performances, or if they should be 
released for use on a more individual basis.  The latter 
option finally held sway, and they were slowly unfastened, 
to be pulled off in different directions by the crowd.  A 
while later, Tanj was crouched over an otter, his cock 
hard in her pussy, as a fox knelt over his head, his cock in 
Tanj's mouth.  From the corner of her eye, she could see 
that Hinoki had backed a lady Puma up against the wall, with 
a rather large male bear sandwiching him between the Puma 
and himself.  The bear's thrusts were obviously powering 
Hinoki's thrusts into the Puma fem, with such force as to 
shake the wall, and make the chandelier sway.

The party broke up late.  Tanj was exhausted, and felt 
like she was covered in the bodily fluids of all the others.  
Hinoki didn't look much better, but he had the silliest grin 
on his face.  Leaning on each other, the two made their way 
back to Hinoki's quarters, to the shower in his miniscule 
room, where they tenderly washed each other clean, initially 
with soap and washcloth, but finally with their tongues, 
grooming each other tenderly.  Of course, the only option 
was to finish in bed, where they made tender love to each 
other almost until the time they had to get up.

Tanj read the report from the Rebel team.  They'd broken 
into the Commodore's office in the middle of the night, and 
had searched his computer.  They SAID they'd been discrete, 
but Tanj still wondered if their presence would be noted.  
To her amazement his appointment book showed the visit by 
Xylex and Worthington.  And his phone log showed a tenfold 
increase in the calls to his broker.  Unfortunately all 
official communications were encrypted, and she didn't have 
the code being used.  THAT got routed down to Cryptology…..  
To her glee, the Rebels had installed a "back door" to his 
computer, something that would let them check it remotely in 
the future; at least until he upgraded his operating 
system……  Sitting back, she sighed; it seemed certain that 
the Elysium cartels were prompting whatever Imperial action 
was going to take place.  Thinking over things, she wondered 
how she might turn this to her advantage.  If the Imperial 
sweep was successful, the Brethren would have other things 
to worry about, but if she was able to convince Ben, if they 
were able to avoid whatever raid was coming, then what would 
she have to do to set up an Imperial backlash against the 
Elysium Government?  Grinning, she sat down at her terminal, 
calling up various pages, to explore some options……

Tanj looked up in amazement as the morning shift filed 
into the intelligence office.  Blinking, she realized she'd 
been working all night!  And what work she'd done too!  Most 
folk either archived their own e-mail, or deleted it, not 
realizing that copies may be kept on company servers, 
internet service providers, or even independent archiving 
services, depending on the Company involved.  Tapping into 
the Elysium network, she'd planted false e-mail messages 
suggesting that some of the larger Elysium consortiums had 
formed a conspiracy to pretend there was a pirate threat.   
She then left suggestive messages that ships had been 
quietly sold elsewhere in the Empire, and claims turned in 
to the Insurance companies, claiming destruction by pirates.  
The insurance companies in turn had used this as an excuse 
to raise their rates.  Other messages suggested that some 
industries in the consortiums had raised their prices for 
import goods supposedly scarce due to pirate raids, to 
absolutely extortionist prices.  Her best work had been  
around the pirate's raid on the sector fuel station.  When 
that was destroyed, those with antimatter fuel in inventory 
had seen an incredible windfall as fuel prices skyrocketed.  
E-mail messages had suggested that the conspiracy had been 
behind the raid, just to reap the windfall profits.  And she 
had added a kickback scheme; if you wanted fuel, a kickback 
was required to the sales agent of the consortium companies 
that still had fuel in inventory.  Tanj was a little 
worried that she'd been too lavish with Intelligence funds, 
in setting up the payoff histories to back up some of the 
messages she'd planted, but she reasoned that if she failed, 
the Brethren might not be around to chastise her for her 
misallocation of funds.  As she rose, stiffly, to look 
around the office as it came to life at the beginning of the 
day, she realized now all she had to do was to convince Ben 
that an Imperial sweep was coming.

Ben sighed and shook his head; Tanj was being Trouble 
again, in the weekly staff meeting.  She had an incredible 
amount of circumstantial evidence, and no one present could 
deny SOMETHING was up, but to credit it all to the vengeance 
of Xylex and Worthington, directed specifically against them 
was stretching things further than he was willing to go 
along with.  Still, the interception of movement orders for 
reserve and militia units into adjacent sectors screamed 
that the regular forces in those sectors were going to be 
sent SOMEWHERE…….  But before he could speak, Dave Somerset, 
the Captain of the Fury, rose to his feet.  Bracing his paws 
on the table the Fennec Fox looked directly at Tanj and 
growled; "what you've got is TOO thin.  I've got a major 
operation planned against the New Bedford convoy.  Its been 
in planning for months, and its due to launch in three days, 
and I will NOT call it off for something as flimsy as this!"  
Tanj shook her head, refusing to back down; "In 
intelligence work, frequently you have to develop a feel for 
the principles involved.  I KNOW I can't show you signed 
Imperial orders authorizing an assault on the Brethren, but 
everything I know tells me that’s exactly whats about to 
happen!  I'll bet my career on it!"  Dave just growled and 
shook his head; as he sat back down he muttered something 
about slaves, and then turned to look at Ben; "Well, you're 
in charge.  You going to listen to her, or to reason?"

Ben shook his head; "Dave you have to admit she's on to 
Something.  Just what I'm not sure, but there's simply too 
much going on for this to be an exersize."  Dave growled; 
"well, I think you're putting too much credibility in the 
analytical abilities of someone trained for the bed!"  
Turning he fixed Tanj with a stare; "Nothing personal, 
but I just don't think you've got the training, or the 
experience to make calls like this!"

As she listened to the senior staff debate the issue, 
Tanj once again wondered just exactly what she was.  At 
times, it was so easy to forget about her status, forget 
about the academy, and all her training as a sex slave.  And 
at other times, it was impossible to forget, impossible to 
remember anything else.  As her mind drifed, she realized 
that whatever the academy had done to her, however they'd 
conditioned her, she really did love the sex, and even the 
bondage.  Turning it over in her mind, she realized she 
wasn't wild about the humiliation, although at this point 
she didn't have much pride left, except perhaps with respect 
to the job she knew she could do.  Without pride, it’s a 
little hard to humiliate someone….  As she thought that 
over, she realized that she had pride too in the job she'd 
been doing in Intelligence.  And Dave, perhaps 
unintentionally, was trying to humiliate her on that point.  
Bringing her head up, she listened for a moment and then re-
entered the fray, arguing her points to the best of her 
ability.

Ben growled at Tanj, pointing his finger at her; "ENOUGH!  
The New Bedford Convoy op is still on, but I WILL send a few 
picket ships towards the sector frontier towards the Ha'voth 
sector, just in case you're right.  If you're wrong, heaven 
help you, Tanj, because no one will ever listen to you 
again!  And if you ARE right heaven help us all!

As Tanj headed down to the docking bay to brief the 
pilots of the picket ships, she again reviewed her thoughts 
on who and what she was.  She'd won a minor victory of 
sorts, but if she was wrong, she would have lost the war…….  
Just who was she?  Did she MIND if she lost her position in 
the intelligence department and wound up just being her 
Master's sex slave?  Worse things could definitely happen.  
And if she was wrong maybe she DIDN'T deserve the job.  
Might be better to clear the way for someone with more 
talent.  Besides, she didn't mind being the Lion's sex 
slave, did she?  Oh, yes, there was the fact that she 
couldn't choose her sexual partners…… that wasn't THAT big a 
deal…. Oh sure she'd Much rather spend her time with her 
Lion, or with Hinoki, or Zassa, or for that matter, even 
Byron or Slasher….. but in all honesty she enjoyed the sex 
enough that a new partner wasn't generally a problem…..  and 
no sooner had that thought formed in her mind, than an 
incident floated to mind…….

Tanj knelt in the practice room in the Academy, her back 
straight, her head bowed, her knees spread.  The lady skunk 
was being particularly demanding; nothing she seemed to do 
seemed to meet with the Skunkette's approval.  This fem 
wasn't an instructor, but some sort of honored guest; 
someone powerful enough that the academy would give her 
access to one of their "problem students"…..  Tanj jerked 
as the Skunkette thwacked her across the back of her head; 
"Kneel STRAIGHT, you worthless slave.  If you can't behave 
properly I'll have to discipline you!"  Tanj groaned to 
herself and tried to straighten her back further.  One of 
the disciplines she'd already earned swung from her nipples 
with the motion, the saw-toothed nipple clips biting her 
tender flesh harshly.  And for another "correction", the 
skunkette had most gleefully peed all over her; she'd hated 
that, but had struggled to show no outward sign of her 
revulsion….

The lady skunk scowled down at Tanj for a moment and then 
strutted around in front of her; pointedly turning her back, 
she bent at the waist, and shoved her ass at Tanj; "All 
right, you worthless excuse for a tongue; lets try it again.  
Lick me to a climax, and quickly, or you'll be punished!"  
Tanj lifted her chin, and softly nuzzled the Skunkette's 
sex, her tongue flicking out with motions calculated to 
tease, and to arouse.  She might have been licking a statue 
for all the effect she had.  The Lady Skunk remained 
immobile, not even breathing hard, as the Cheetah licked 
with increasing force, increasing frequency, and increasing 
desperation.  After what seemed like an eternity, the lady 
Skunk's body gave a barely detectable quiver, and she pulled 
away from Tanj's tongue.  "You call that cunnilingus, you 
worthless twit?  I've gotten more pleasure out of the 
vibrations while sitting on a park bench as truck traffic 
went past!"  Tanj could almost hear the self satisfied 
smirk in the lady Skunk's voice; "I'd discipline you 
properly, if I had more time, but as it is, I'll just have 
to settle for a punishment….."  Bending over a bit further, 
raising her tail, the lady Skunk sprayed the kneeling slave.  
As Tanj coughed and hacked, the Skunkette straightened, 
and gathered her clothes, and as the stench filled the room 
she gave Tanj a wicked grin and slipped through the door.

Tanj sighed as she remembered.  THAT one she could most 
definitely have done without.  Oh, the Academy had ways to 
remove the stench from her fur, but they were just about as 
bad as the odor of skunk……

The three picket ship pilots were a pretty motley group.  
These three furrs were obviously the pilots no one wanted on 
a serious mission, and Tanj sighed.  "All I'm asking is 
that you guys stay awake and keep your eyes open.  Your 
ships are the best stealth designs we can buy, or steal, and 
if you stay "quiet" no one should spot you.  You've got your 
assigned positions.  Go on out there and just WATCH.  I 
don't expect to hear from you unless you spot something, but 
if you DO spot something, you HAVE to let us know.  Our 
lives, and more importantly, your paychecks depend on it.  
And I'm personally posting a "bonus" to the furr that turns 
in a verifiable contact report."  With that, Tanj grinned 
and rocked her hips back and forth, a quick pelvic thrust; 
the meaning was not lost on any of the pilots and with a 
wink, Tanj turned to leave the launch bay.

Back in the intelligence office, Tanj accessed another of 
the "back doors" that they'd paid dearly to insert in the 
Elysium financial computer network.  Tapping into "Dead" 
accounts, accounts from furrs that had mysteriously 
disappeared, accounts that had been forgotten, or perhaps 
even accounts of those who had died without leaving heirs, 
Tanj started to transfer more funds.  She had her list of 
suspects, and given the financing, she could plant a false 
trail, evidence that might point away from the pirates and 
towards some sort of conspiracy to make it LOOK like the 
pirates were a bigger threat than they were.  Here she 
fattened the accounts of an insurance executive; there she 
enlarged the stock portfolio of a shipping company manager.  
This import/export executive suddenly acquired a summer 
house, and of course, the Commodore, the Imperial Naval 
Liason on Elysium suddenly acquired some additional 
carefully selected stocks……..  Again, e-mail messages were 
planted to support the fund transfers, alluding to payoffs 
and kickbacks……

It wasn't too horribly late in the evening when Tanj 
pushed back from her workstation.  Her web of lies was 
coming together nicely.  Deciding on a break before checking 
out the daily intercepts, she rose and padded to the sign-up 
board, to see if anyone had registered for this particular 
time…..  She chuckled as she noted that the sign-up sheet 
was now a clipboard holding a couple dozen pages; it had 
completely overflowed the original board…..  "Hans is going 
to incredible trouble to organize it all"  Tanj thought 
as she realized that there was a page on the clipboard for 
each hour of the day; finding the appropriate page she 
looked at the top name on the list……  When she saw who it 
was she chuckled.

Tanj entered the Fury through the main personnel lock, 
and took the lift to the command deck.  Dave Sommerset was 
on the bridge, overseeing the preparations of his ship for 
launching, for the New Bedford Convoy operation.  The Fennec 
Fox raised an eyebrow as Tanj entered, and turned to face 
her; "No, I will NOT let you talk me out of this, Tanj!  
Ben's given his OK, and that’s all there is to it!"  Tanj 
laughed and waved the page from the sign-up sheet; "Does 
that mean you want me to go find the next name on the list?"  
Dave was suddenly aware of the eyes of his entire bridge 
staff on him, and turning, he looked at his Exec.  "Oh, 
Hell, Captain, go ahead; we've got this covered!  Three 
hours until Launch, though; you don't have all night!"  Dave 
chuckled and nodded and turned to take Tanj's paw, to 
lead her off.

The Captain's Cabin on the Fury was spartan and utilitarian; 
still, his bed was a decent size……  Tanj stopped just 
inside the door, and turned to kiss the Fennec; "And what 
would you have of me tonight, Captain Sommerset?"  Dave 
smiled softly  and kissed Tanj on the nose; "Nothing too 
unusual; nothing kinky; just plain ol' vanilla sex will do 
me quite nicely.  As you might have noticed, I DO need to 
get back to work sometime soon……."  Tanj grinned and 
nodded and turned away from him, as if to survey his cabin; 
as she walked, she undid the closures to her dress, letting 
the shimmering metallic fabric slip from her shoulders, and 
then over the upper curves of her breasts, and then from her 
hips, as she walked, so that by the time she'd come full 
circle, to stand again before him, she was nude.  Kissing 
him once again, she purrrrred and slowly fell to her knees 
before him, nuzzling along his chest, and his stomach as her 
fingers deftly undid the buttons on his shirt, his belt, and 
his pants' zipper.  By the time she was kneeling on the deck 
before him, his pants were around his ankles, and her tongue 
was caressing his sheath…….

It hadn't taken but an instant to get him hard, and Tanj 
used all her skill as she licked nibbled and sucked at his 
cock.  She was surprised when he pushed her head back; she 
looked up curiously at him, but he just smiled; "Not yet; as 
I said, I've got to get back to work soon, and as much as 
I'd like to let you please me for the night, I just don't 
have time."  Gently, he pushed her towards the bed, 
indicating she should lay on her back.  Tanj did as she 
was bidden, legs splayed, paws behind her head; as she 
looked at him, she grinned and slowly licked her lips.  Dave 
just chuckled and shook his head; 'Vamp ME will you?" and 
with that, he crawled onto the bed, to cover her with his 
body.

Tanj moaned as he pumped her; there was no question he 
knew how to use his cock, and the Cheetah was enjoying him; 
in return she was using all her skill to make it as 
pleasurable for him as well, her vaginal muscles clenching 
around his driving cock, milking his shaft until she felt he 
was on the very edge, and then relenting, her motions 
beneath him slowing, allowing him to recover somewhat……..  
She'd taken him to the edge three times when he growled low 
in his throat, as if tired of her playing with him; his hips 
started to move faster, his thrusts slamming into her more 
powerfully, as he seemed to pursue his orgasm aggressively.  
Tanj yielded with grace to him, her motions continuing, 
perhaps even matching his, as she started to concentrate on 
her own pleasure.  An instant before he howled, before his 
cock started throbbing and spurting, Tanj yowled the 
arrival of her own climax, her cries spurring him onward.  
The Fennec grunted, his hips held hard against hers, his 
cock driven deep into her pussy, his cock throbbing; Tanj 
moaned as she felt his hot cum flood her pussy, each pulse 
distinct, and pleasurable, strumming her lust-heightened 
nervous system deliciously.  Finally he subsided, to hold 
himself above her, just panting.  Tanj purrrred and put 
her arms around his neck, to kiss him softly.  As they broke 
the kiss, he grinned down at her; "you are SO wasted in the 
Intelligence office!"  Tanj made a moue and then grinned; 
"Kitten, I may be good here, but I'm good there too, and 
you'd better hope and pray I'm wrong, because if I'm not, 
its YOUR ass hanging out there in the breeze; and its such a 
NICE ass too, I'd hate to see it shot off!"  Dave just 
laughed and nodded, and rose, his softening cock pulling 
from her wetness with an audible slurp.  Chuckling he turned 
to padd into his tiny bathroom.  Tanj heard the sound of 
running water, as she laid on his rumpled bed; as she 
listened to him clean himself, she wondered if he was right.  
Should she concentrate on what she knew best?  WAS she 
wrong?

Dave had been polite, but firm, in shooing her from the 
Fury, insisting she had to git, or she'd distract his crew.  
Tanj awwwwed, and strutted and flounced all the way to 
the airlock, winking at every fur she saw as Dave escorted 
her out.  As the airlock closed behind her, she sighed and 
padded off to the Lion's quarters, to try and catch some 
sleep.

Tanj was awakened by the comm chiming.  Dragging herself 
across the Lion's bed, she stabbed at the button, and then 
tried again, blinking, trying to get the sleep from her 
eyes.  "Yes, yes, dammit, I'm awake; what is it?"  she 
growled.  "This is Fletcher, down in Intel; thought you'd 
like to know that the Imperial fleet just changed their 
codes.  ALL their codes.  And there's a LOT of message 
traffic!"  Tanj was suddenly, painfully, fully awake….. 
"Got it.  Get the new message traffic down to Crytology; 
wake'm ALL up if you have to.  I'll be down in a minute."  
Breaking the connection and heading for the door, Tanj 
barely remembered to scoop up her dress as she ran.

The Intelligence office was humming.  Tanj had awakened 
all the staff, and the place was only mildly ordered chaos 
as they tried to figure out what was happening.  Crypto was 
fully manned, their technicians feeding the intelligence 
intercepts into the most powerful computers the Brethren 
owned.  And Tanj was once again trying the back door into 
the Commodore's computer, trying to find out if HE knew the 
new code, all stealth abandoned as she tried desperately to 
confirm her worst fears.

Ben came through the door, in response to Tanj's rather 
peremptory summons, and stopped, to stare at all the 
activity.  He was about to head for Tanj's workstation 
when one of the techs in Cryto yelled "GOT IT!….. well, part 
of it anyways!" and a bunch of furrs crowded around to look 
at what he'd found.  Tanj looked up as the Wolf 
approached, a pencil in her mouth, and another behind one 
ear.  As she turned to look at him she took the pencil from 
between her teeth, to try and park it behind her ear, only 
to find that spot occupied.  As the second pencil clattered 
to the floor, Tanj growled; "Ben, something's happening; 
something bigger'n I've ever seen before.  I don't have all 
the info yet, but I think you'd best alert the New Bedford 
Operation Group."  Ben nodded, looking over the list of 
message intercepts; "I agree something's happening, but this 
doesn't really tell us what.  I'll warn them to keep an eye 
out, but I'm still not going to call off the operation until 
you figure out what all this means…… But in the meantime I 
WILL shut down all other activities and take the base to 
"hide" mode…."  Tanj just nodded and turned back to her 
work.

Haverty had thought that this mission would be boring.  Now 
the chipmunk was finding it anything BUT boring.  His ship 
was cloaked, and drifting, everything that could be powered 
down was powered down.  He watched through a visual port, 
afraid to run even passive sensors, as the largest imperial 
fleet he'd ever seen streamed past……. Okay, so he couldn't 
see more than an occasional pinpoint of moving light against 
the backdrop of stars; the fleet was well dispersed; but the 
number of moving points of light that he COULD see, 
frightened him.  He watched and he waited, sure that his 
personal survival depended on waiting until the fleet was 
past him before transmitting a warning.  And then he'd go as 
fast as his small ship would take him in the OTHER 
direction.

Tanj sighed and shook her head; "Dammit, Mycroft, this 
simply IS NOT good enough; if you've broken the code to show 
about one word in three, why can't you get the rest?  I'd 
think by context alone you should be able to make some 
progress!"  Mycroft, a rather thin Raccoon just shrugged; 
"so you'd think, but our computers aren't finding it works 
that way.  This is a new system, and we're having trouble, 
Tanj."  The Raccoon grinned at his little joke and pushed 
his old-fashioned glasses back up on his nose.  "Believe me, 
we're working as hard and as fast as we can!  We KNOW what 
this means!"  Tanj just nodded; "Uh huh", and turned 
away.  Padding down to communications, she looked into the 
"radio shack" enquiringly; the Bat on duty just looked up at 
her and shook her head.  No word from any of the picket 
ships.  As Tanj walked back to Intelligence, she wished 
she'd set up a check-in schedule for them; then at least 
she'd have a clue if they'd been destroyed by the Imperials, 
or simply hadn't seen anything yet.

The bustle of the intelligence office had quieted 
significantly; there were still communications intercepts 
coming in, but traffic had died down some.  Crypto still 
hadn't gotten any further on breaking the code.  And Tanj 
was at a loss as to what else she could do to solve the 
problem.  Rising, she thought she'd head down to the 
Caffeteria and get a bite to eat.

Tanj was just finishing her dinner when Emmet sat down 
across from her, a wide grin on his face.  Tanj looked up 
at the Ferret from Supply and sighed; "Let me guess; your 
name is on the sign-up sheet for this time slot…."  Emmet 
grinned and nodded happily, his whole body undulating; " 
'Cept I didn't sign up for me; I'd appreciate it if you'd 
take some time with my son; he's just turned 17, and is 
starting to get involved with girls…… And I think it'd help 
a great deal if you, ah, well, um….."  Tanj grinned and 
finished his sentence for him; "showed him the ropes, so to 
speak?"  Emmet's grin disappeared; "Oh, NO!  Don't want you 
to get him into Bondage!  Not yet anyways……"  Tanj 
chuckled; "figure of speech, Emmet; you want me to show him 
the basics of sex…."  Emmet's grin blossomed again, and he 
nodded energetically; "Exactly!"  Tanj smiled and sipped 
her coffee; "Things may get REAL busy here soon; but tell 
you what; send him by my quarters, and I'll do what I can, 
until I'm called.  I'll be there in about twenty minutes.

Tanj checked in at the Intelligence office; the night 
crew was working smoothly and some of the evening shift were 
still there.  Crypto was looking a little dragged out, but 
Tanj knew that once you presented those folks with a new 
puzzle, they'd work either until they dropped, or until they 
solved it.  Deciding that she wasn't really needed for the 
moment, she turned and headed for her quarters.

Tanj was wearing her slinky, metallic fabric dress when 
Emmet's son, Emmet Junior, knocked on the door.  The lad 
grinned up at her, anticipation written all over his face.  
Tanj smiled and took his paw and led him to the bed; she 
sat on its edge and looked at him; "Tell me, Emmet Junior, 
just how much do you know at this point?"  Emmet Junior made 
a face; "Please don't call me Emmet Junior, or worse, just 
Junior; hate that.  Call me Butch!"  Tanj smiled; "OK, 
Butch, tell me how far you've gotten with girls."  The young 
ferret grinned; "Oh, a LOT further than Dad thinks; me and 
Emmy Lou, we've been sneaking out behind the filter housings 
for a while now….."  Butch smirked and then grinned; "We've, 
ah, gone all the way…."  Tanj nodded, and reached out to 
lightly touch his cheek with the padds of the fingers of her 
left paw; "and when you sneak off with your girlfriend, what 
do you do?  How do you start?  You DO take "precautions" 
against getting her pregnant, don't you?  Why don't you show 
me what you've been doing?  Maybe I can make some 
suggestions that'll help……."

Butch grinned and leaned his head forward to kiss Tanj; 
the cheetah fem purrrred and kissed him back softly, her 
lips parting at the insistence of his tongue.  They kissed 
for a moment, their tongues dancing, caressing, and then 
Tanj purrred as she felt Butch's paw cup a breast through 
her dress……  The Ferret rubbed gently, and then squeezed as 
he softly pushed Tanj back on the bed.  Tanj, for her 
part, let him direct the action; no sooner was she reclining 
on the bed than his nose was nuzzling in the Vee of bare fur 
between her breasts.  She felt him nuzzle aside the material 
of her dress, to lick softly at her breast, and in response 
she stroked him gently with one paw, her fingertips running 
up and down his side.  The youth licked and nibbled softly 
for a while, and Tanj was enjoying it thoroughly, but 
with the impatience of youth, he was soon working his way 
down to her tummy.  Rather brazenly he lifted the hem of her 
dress, to nuzzle at her navel, and Tanj giggled, as if 
ticklish there…..  As she wriggled under his tongue, Butch's 
paw found her mons, to cup her sex posessively……

Tanj smiled and rocked her hips up to meet his touch; so 
far there was nothing wrong with the lad's technique; it was 
just a bit hurried……. As Butch's fingers, stroked her, she 
moaned, getting wet just as he'd intended, just as he 
desired; smiling she gently pushed his head from her navel 
towards her crotch.  Butch hesitated for a moment, and then 
squirmed around to crouch between her thighs; his first 
licks were tentative, and Tanj got the impression he'd 
never attempted this before; softly she coached him, telling 
him what was right, and what was wrong, all the while 
caressing his head.  As he licked, she instructed him, 
telling him how to listen to her breathing, how to gauge the 
tension of her muscles, how to listen to the noises she 
made.  Under her tutelage, he licked her patiently, until 
she announced the arrival of her climax with a heartfelt 
moan. 

When she'd recovered, she found him staring at her, a grin 
on his face; Tanj grinned back; "A gentlefurr always sees 
to a lady's pleasure first; now that you've accomplished 
that, its time to see to YOUR pleasure."  Taking a moment, 
Tanj shed her dress, and then turned to help Butch remove 
his clothes.  Reclining once again on the bed, motioning to 
him, she reached down to pull him up on top of her body.  
The youth needed little urging, however, and within an 
instant, his cock was buried in Tanj's pussy.  Tanj 
giggled; "Slowly!  Slow down; you're not in a race!"  As the 
youth's frenzied motions slowed, Tanj purrrred; she was 
tempted to show him some of the tricks she'd learned, the 
things she could do with her vaginal muscles, but she 
concluded that the youth was too sensitive, and she didn't 
want him cumming quite yet.  After a while, she wrapped her 
arms around him, and rolled, winding up on top of him; his 
eyes went wide in surprise, and then in delight as Tanj 
sat up astride his hips; "there are many different positions 
you can try, and that adds spice….."  Tanj rode his cock 
for a few minutes, moving slowly, being careful not to bring 
him too close to the edge….. She chuckled as she watched him 
watch her breasts move with each motion, and then she 
reached down to take his paws, to  place them over her 
breasts.  Purrrring, she pumped him for a while longer, and 
then, moving carefully, she turned to face away from him, 
making sure to hold his cock within her as she turned.  She 
smiled as he almost lost it at that point, but after a 
moment's stillness to let him recover, she was again rising 
and falling on his shaft.  Butch needed little 
encouragement, and his hands found her breasts again in 
short order.  Tanj removed one and directed it towards 
her crotch, to show him how he could rub at her clitty as 
she rode him.  Again, she thought about fondling his balls, 
but decided that'd send him over the edge too.

After a while, Tanj leaned WAY forward, letting his cock 
slip from within her, to crouch on paws and knees.  Butch 
followed, taking her from behind as if he had been doing it 
all his life.  Tanj rocked back and forth softly, meeting 
his thrusts; grinning to herself, she allowed herself to 
concentrate on the sensations, letting her own climax build.  
As she was near, she reached down between her thighs and 
caressed his swaying sack; as she thought, within an instant 
he was grunting, his cock spurting as he came within her.  
She yowled in concert, letting her climax take her, savoring 
his wild, energetic thrustings.

They lay in a tangle of bedclothes and limbs, both panting 
hard.  Tanj was drowsy and pleased, and was wondering how 
long it would take the youth to be ready for the next lesson 
when the Comm chimed.  Swatting at it with a paw, Tanj 
Growled; "Yes?"  "Tanj, this is Clancy down in 
Communications.  Think you'd better get down here.  NOW!"  
Tanj yelped, turned and kissed Butch quickly, and dashed 
for the door, again just remembering to grab her dress as 
she dashed out.

Butch watched her go and grinned, admiring her form as she 
ran.  Laying back on the bed for  a moment he grinned; "Emmy 
Lou sure is going to be surprised, next time we're alone!"

Tanj was still adjusting her dress as she trotted into 
the communications center.  Ben was  already there and he 
didn't look happy.  Wordlessly, Clancy handed Tanj a 
stack of message flimsies.  The one on top was from Haverty 
and was an alert to the passing of the Imperial Fleet.  The 
second was also from Haverty.  When they'd passed him, and 
he'd felt it was safe, he'd run a passive sensor sweep and 
had appended the results to his report.  The Third was from 
one of the other picket ships, on Haverty's flank; he'd 
confirmed the spot report, and added some additional data."  
Looking up at Ben, Tanj shook her head; "They're coming 
straight for the Elysium system, aren't they?"  Ben just 
nodded; "I've already contacted Dave and his group.  They're 
moving out of harm's way as fast as possible, but it'll be 
close, whether they can get to a jump point before they're 
spotted.  I'm afraid those folks are going to have a long 
cruise to nowhere, to escape this sweep….."  Tanj nodded; 
"Just so long as they survive."   Looking up, Tanj shook 
her head; "Ben, unless you need me for something, I've got 
work to do down in Intelligence; I might yet be able to turn 
some of this to our advantage….."

Tanj followed the message intercepts; the Imperial fleet 
was searching everwhere as it closed in on the Elysium 
system from three sides.  And you could bet there was a 
blockade towards the "open" side, waiting to see who was 
fleeing.  As they closed, Tanj read reports of merchant 
shipping stopped, and boarded, of asteroid bases searched, 
of the Imperials prying into every nook and cranny.  When 
the Pirate base had been built, this had been planned for, 
and now the "pirate" side of the base was closed off from 
the mining side.  The miners were going full tilt, their 
rock crushing equipment making the base vibrate a bit worse 
than usual, the heat of their furnaces distorting energy 
signatures.  The Imperials did send a party to examine them, 
but with all the rock dust in the air, and all the 
vibration, and heat, they never found a trace of the 
carefully shielded pockets in the asteroid that housed the 
Pirate side of the operations.  And after checking so many 
other dead ends, the landing party was starting to get a 
little tired and frustrated.  Everyone breathed a sigh of 
relief when they finally left, and the cruiser that brought 
them departed.

Tanj smiled to herself; in the three days that the 
Imperials had been searching, gradually tightening the 
noose, they'd found nothing but a few smugglers.  Dave and 
his group had indeed managed to make good their escape.  
Now, as the Imperial ships were drawing nigh to the Elysium 
system, some difficult questions were being asked, 
increasingly hostile messages flying back and forth between 
the Elysium government and the commander of the Imperial 
fleet.  Cryptology had finally cracked the latest Imperial 
code, and Tanj was having a lot of fun reading the 
transcripts.  It seemed that someone from the Imperial 
Inspector General's office had found an odd note in the 
Fleet Liason's computer.  The Commodore was now having a 
very difficult time explaining how he'd so recently come 
into so much money.  The Elysium government, eager to find a 
scapegoat to deflect Imperial Wrath, had been delighted to 
"assist" in the investigation, and Tanj's trail of money, 
"bribes", "Payoffs", e-mail messages and such was all 
starting to float to the surface before their prying eyes.  
Unfortunately, to avoid detection, Tanj had been forced 
to "delete" several of her more useful "back doors" into 
some of the computer systems….. and that would hurt in the 
long run…..  It seemed that Imperial Intelligence had been 
assigned to "assist" in the investigation, and suddenly 
Tanj was QUITE concerned that her machinations might be 
detected……

Lord Xylex did his best to hold his temper while the 
Imperial authorities left.  It had taken quite a bit of fast 
talking and even more in bribes, to convince them that HE 
had not been a part of this "conspiracy."  Luckily, none of 
these e-mail messages had mentioned him directly, although 
there were a lot of veiled references.  He'd lost a half 
dozen senior managers to the investigation so far, and 
Imperial Auditors were poking into every facet of the 
Cartel's business. There were sure to be further fines and 
penalties assessed against his businesses. Wortihngton had 
even been arrested, although the Wolverine had no doubt that 
they'd release him soon enough.  Sitting down at his 
computer, he drummed his fingers, wondering how this had 
been brought about; had one of his competitors set him up?  
That was probably the more likely source.. but somehow he 
couldn't get it out of his mind that the Pirates had somehow 
found out about his attempt to destroy them, and had struck 
back…….

It took a week for the Imperials to conclude their 
investigations, following up on the Elysium investigation, 
and to give their approval.  Everyone in the system seemed 
to sigh in relief when they finally departed.  Ben had the 
picket ships follow them until they'd departed the sector, 
just to be sure they were finally gone.  That night, there 
was a bit of a celebration in the Cafeteria……..

The dinner that night was unusually good, as the Brethren 
celebrated their continued existence.  Tanj had been 
sipping a frozen concoction the guys in Supply had come up 
with; it was cold and fruity sweet and VERY alcoholic, and 
she was feeling rather happy.  She'd been right.  She'd 
spotted the trend, and had managed to so order events that 
the Brethren hadn't been caught.  Even more, she'd diverted 
attention from the real pirates, to her fictional 
"conspiracy" on Elysium, throwing the powers there into 
confusion.  All in all, she was rather pleased with herself, 
and was out to celebrate.  Her metallic fabric dress 
shimmered as she swayed to the music being piped in over the 
speakers, as she watched Wanda dance with some male Fox 
she'd found somewhere.  She was just about to go get a 
refill on her drink, when someone grabbed her from behind…….

Ben lifted the Cheetah Fem, his arms around her waist, and 
called out in a loud voice; "EVERYONE!  LISTEN UP!  Just 
want you to know that it was Tanj here who saved your 
butts!  Even when nobody believed her, she persevered, and 
kept after it until we HAD to believe her.  I think we ought 
to do something Nice for her; something Special!"  Tanj 
grinned and squirmed in his grip, wondering what he had in 
mind…….  Hinoki was the first to respond, dashing across the 
floor, falling to his knees to slide right up against 
Tanj, as Ben held her.  With a cry of "I AGREE!" he 
shoved his muzzle under the hem of her dress, to plant a 
loud, wet kiss directly on her sex.  That started the trend, 
and the next thing Tanj knew, she was being pressed to 
the floor, a dozen or more tongues licking at her.  
Somewhere along the line her dress vanished, and she moaned 
and writhed as the tongues stroked over her pussy, over her 
breasts, her stomach, her ears, and seemingly all over her 
body.  Furrs pressed down at her arms and legs, holding her 
immobile, forcing her to just absorb their delightful 
attentions.  On and on it went, seemingly unending…… after 
her first climax, someone replaced Hinoki between her 
thighs; the tongue was smoother and longer, more sinuous, 
and then that was replaced with another feline tongue, rough 
and broad, and strong…… on and on, until time lost meaning, 
until she'd lost count of the number of climaxes she'd 
suffered through……

Tanj awoke in a tangle of limbs, in the middle of the 
Cafeteria.  It seemed that Ben's idea of a reward for her 
had turned into a general orgy of sorts, and she grinned as 
she looked around at her exhausted, sleeping friends.  
Rising, she looked about for her dress, and finally gave up 
on it; in just her fur, she padded off in search of a water 
closet, plotting her revenge on the sleeping furrs….. just 
how should she awaken them?

It was two days later when the Fury and the other ships in 
the aborted New Bedford operation managed to return.  
Tanj was surprised when Dave walked into the Intelligence 
office, and bowed low before her; "Tanj, you were right, 
and I was wrong; I won't be so quick to doubt you again.  If 
you would like, by way of an apology, I'd be honored if you 
would join me for dinner on my ship."  Tanj smiled and 
returned his bow with a curtsy, and nodded; "I'd be 
delighted, Captain Sommerset."  Dave grinned again and 
nodded; "I'll be by your quarters to pick you up at eight."  
And with that he was gone.  Turning back to her workstation, 
Tanj listened for a while to the buzz of conversation in 
his absence.

Tanj was lost in her work, trying to tie down all the 
details as to what Imperial ships had gone where, after the 
operation, when one of the clerks nudged her; looking up 
into the smiling eyes of the squirrel, she raised an eyebrow 
in a silent question.  "Its getting late, Tanj; you'd 
best go get ready for your date; this stuff'll wait."  
Tanj's eyes flashed to the chrono and she sighed.  
Nodding, she hugged her friend, and headed for her quarters.

By the time Dave called for her, she was bathed, her hair 
washed and dried and styled.  She was dressed in a simple 
shift in a dark gold that complimented her fur.  Dave smiled 
and offered his arm, and together they strolled towards the 
Heavy Craft Docking Bay.  Dinner on his ship was elegant; 
the two of them seated in his cabin.  Dinner was brought on 
a cart, from the ship's mess, and Dave served her himself.  
Beef Wellington, with all the trimmings.  Tanj purrrrred 
as she ate, wondering where Dave had found such a first-rate 
cook for his ship.  The conversation was light, at first, 
but gradually turned to the trick Tanj had played on the 
Elysium government, and on the Imperials.  As she told the 
tale, Tanj watched Dave's body language; he seemed to be 
trying to act nonchalant, but she wondered if her boldness 
in the affair had frightened him, or if he was worried that 
her actions might be uncovered, and somehow be used against 
them.  As they left the table, for the couch, and some 
excellent brandy, Tanj decided to worry about that later, 
and simply enjoy the evening.  As the level in the bottle 
dropped, and their talk turned to other things, Tanj 
found herself sitting closer and closer to him, until as he 
refilled her glass with the remainder of the bottle, she 
somehow found herself in his lap.  

The evening went predictably from there, as they kissed, and 
caressed, each gradually shedding clothes, until the only 
option was to move to his bed.  Tanj proceeded to show 
him exactly what she could do, given the time, demonstrating 
what skill she possessed, at first with her tongue, and then 
later with her body….. until night had turned to day, until 
they were both exhausted, and the Fennec was truly drained.

Dave saw her to the airlock, after a late brunch.  As he 
kissed her goodbye, he smiled; "you truly are a furr of many 
talents…. And while I've come to appreciate your abilities 
in the Intelligence office, I STILL think your true talent 
is between the sheets!"  Tanj just chuckled and kissed 
him goodbye; "Perhaps you're right."  And with that, she 
turned to walk slowly towards the Intelligence office, her 
ass swaying enticingly.

It was three days after that, when her Master finally 
returned.  The group looked worn, and tired from their 
journey, and Tanj was about to drag her Master off to bed 
(for some rest) when he shook his head no; "I've got some 
stuff to talk to Ben about; urgent stuff that can't wait.  
Besides, you'd best go release Zassa; she proved to be a bit 
much on the trip and we finally had to tie her up to keep 
her from pestering everyone.  I'll see you later"  Tanj 
laughed and nodded and turned to go find the wayward vixen.  
Zassa was finally located in a storage closet; she'd been 
laid down on a pallet, on her back, her arms lashed to her 
sides, her ankles tied to the storage racks on either side 
of her, above her head.  This had the interesting effect of 
holding her ass off the pallet, presenting her spread sex to 
whomever opened the door.  Additionally, the vixen was 
blindfolded, with soft plugs in her ears, and a ring gag 
held her mouth wide open.  Tanj paused for a moment, 
wondering if Zassa even knew she was there, considering the 
earplugs and the blindfold.  It was obvious she'd been tied 
in a way that left her available for the use of whomever on 
the crew so decided to take advantage of her, and Tanj 
wondered just how many had come by to relieve Zassa's 
boredom?  Somehow she doubted it was as many as the Vixen 
might have liked……..

Closing the door softly behind her, Tanj crouched, to 
move between Zassa and the supply rack, to softly drag her 
rough tongue over the bound vixen's left nipple.  Zassa 
responded with a throaty moan through the ring gag, 
squirming a little in her bonds.  Not being due back at work 
for a while, Tanj spent several hours licking and 
nibbling at the helpless vixen.  She used tongue and fingers 
to drive her to a climax; then after a short rest, she'd 
start again, french kissing her through her ring gag, 
suckling at a nipple, stroking her mons, slipping her 
fingers in and out of her pussy, licking at her clitty, 
until she'd driven the helpless vixen to yet another climax…  
A short rest and then she'd start again.  Finally, though, 
Tanj had to relent, to release Zassa, shooing her towards 
her quarters (and a much needed shower), as she returned to 
the Intelligence office.

It was much later that night, when Tanj finally caught up 
to her lion, in his quarters.  He was lying in bed, reading 
some printouts when she came in, although it was more than 
apparent that he was having trouble focusing.  Taking the 
papers from his hand, Tanj smiled and turned out the 
light, to snuggle against him.  Just cuddling, she was 
pleased when his breathing took on the regular pattern of 
someone sound asleep……….

Tanj had disabled the alarm clock, blocked the intercom, 
and done everything she could think of to make sure he got 
as much sleep as he needed.  Consequently, it was late in 
the morning when he finally aroused.  Tanj grinned and 
ducked when he rolled over to look at the chrono; as she 
suspected he growled in frustration and took a good natured 
swipe at her for letting him sleep so long.  Tanj yelped 
and scrambled, trying to escape, but it was no good, he was 
on her with a single pounce, the two of them sliding off the 
bed and onto the floor.  There he showed his "displeasure" 
by pinning the Cheetah to the floor, his fangs gripping the 
back of her neck, as his paws raised her hips, his cock 
pressing against her sex.  Moments later he was panting, his 
hot breath ruffling the fur on the back of her neck as he 
took her hard, fucking her roughly, ruthlessly.  It was a 
wild, passionate mating, of the sort that Tanj had come 
to love so well, as the large Lion used her for his 
pleasure.  Tanj did her best to work back against his 
thrusts, to meet him as energetically as he drove his cock 
into her.  Shortly, much sooner than Tanj would have 
preferred, she felt him tense, his body stiffening as he 
shoved his cock hard into her, releasing her neck to roar in 
pleasure as his orgasm claimed him.  For her part, Tanj 
bucked and mewled beneath him, the sensation of his 
throbbing, spurting cock driving her over the brink into the 
arms of her own bright climax.

It was a while before they both calmed down, panting hard, 
laying on the floor, wrapped in each other.  Eventually, 
Tanj leaned over to kiss her Master; "How did your 
mission go?  Obtain anything useful?"  The Lion grinned at 
her and nodded; "Maybe.  Your boss really was instrumental 
in the negotiations…..  We got a number of different things, 
but most of them are VERY strange; not sure if they'll be of 
any use yet."  And nothing she could do would make him say 
more……

After a while, the Lion reached out to brush the hair from 
Tanj's face; "I hear you had an interesting time while I 
was gone….."  Tanj just chuckled and nodded, one paw 
toying with a lock of his mane; "The hardest part was 
convincing the command staff that something was going to 
happen."  The Lion chuckled; "Ah, I'm surprised; usually 
you're very good at convincing folks….."  Tanj chuckled 
and shrugged; "and most of them don't even know the whole 
story…….."  With that, she proceeded to tell her Master of 
all her machinations, all her schemes and plots on Elysium, 
and how it had caught the attention of the Imperials, and 
all the havoc that had resulted.  The Lion listened quietly, 
nodding occasionally, grinning when he heard of how 
Worthington and Xylex had been raked over the coals by the 
investigators.  When Tanj had concluded her story, he 
raised an eyebrow; "and you funded this how?  Dead 
accounts?"  Tanj squirmed a little; "Mmmmmm, well, 
mostly….. a lot of the funds came from Dead accounts, but I 
didn't want to draw on that too heavily for fear of 
establishing a pattern.  I also tapped into some of the 
Intelligence "black" accounts; the ones I use to pay for 
information, to pay field agents……."  The Lion's other 
eyebrow went up, and he Hmmmmmed; "Just How Much did you 
use?"  Tanj squirmed again, not meeting his gaze; "You 
understand, I had to make it look convincing, and things 
like that aren't cheap; it takes money to set up a fake 
"conspiracy"……."  The Lion reached out to cup Tanj's sex, 
his palm rubbing softly at her mons, but his claws sharp 
between her legs; "HOW Much?"  Tanj gasped and glanced at 
him, eyes wide as she felt his claws; "Um, about two hundred 
and thirty-five thousand credits……  From the black 
accounts…."  The Lion's eyes widened further, but he relaxed 
his grip.  After a moment, he looked back at her, eyes 
narrowed; "Tanj, you did VERY well in warning the 
Brethren of the Imperial sweep, and your little trick on 
Elysium was good too, but it's cost us a quarter's profits!  
You've shown excellent initiative, and abilities, but you've 
way overstepped your bounds in spending funds like that.  
I'm definitely going to have to think up something that is 
both a suitable punishment AND reward for you……..

Tanj swayed from several dozen leather straps, in the 
middle of one of the recreation rooms.  Her arms were 
tightly bound behind her back, her legs were raised towards 
the ceiling and spread wide.  Tight leather straps encircled 
her body, constricting her waist, encircling her breasts, 
almost all attached to various places in the ceiling.  Her 
head however, was unsupported, hanging back and down, her 
mouth propped wide open with a ring gag similar to that 
which Zassa had been wearing…….  She was completely exposed, 
and available, to be used in pussy, mouth, or ass by anyone 
who cared….. and the sign-up board, that had inhabited the 
Intelligence office for so long was posted in the corridor 
outside.  Her Master had told her that she'd be released 
when everyone who'd signed up had been satisfied…………  
Tanj smiled to herself; obviously there were loopholes in 
the schedule, as Butch, the young Ferret, had snuck in and 
was slowly, teasingly fucking her, moving at a sedate pace 
that was driving her wild.  He seemed determined to drive 
her crazy, holding her on the edge of a climax seemingly 
forever….  As she squirmed in her bonds, swaying back and 
forth to the youth's obvious delight, Tanj thought the 
kid had sure learned a lot in a short time……..

Lord Xylex's face was lit by the glow of his computer 
monitor.  It was late at night, and he was reviewing the 
latest data that had come in, on his investigation into the 
phony "conspiracy" that had caused him such trouble.  His 
agents had traced many of the false e-mail messages, and the 
mysterious transfers of funds, through "back doors" that had 
been almost completely deleted, to an off-world source.  The 
evidence was flimsy, tenuous at best, and certainly NOT 
enough to show any Imperial investigator, but it was enough 
to convince him that the Pirates had been behind it all.  
Leaning back in his desk chair, he growled, and shook his 
head; he'd tried to destroy them, and somehow they'd managed 
to not only survive, but to turn some of the power of the 
attack back against him.  Obviously other tactics, more 
subtle tactics were called for.  After all, space had always 
held pirates.  The only reason that these pirates were so 
objectionable, was the pro-active stance they were taking 
against the legitimate government of Elysium, and by 
extension, him.  Perhaps if he could just change their 
"management", they wouldn't be such a thorn in his side……..  
Sitting forward, he called up another screen on his 
computer, and started planning a counterattack…….

Tanj’s Tales:  Marooned				By Kittiara
Stardate 2399.00

Tanj ran down the alleyway, casting an occasional worried 
glance over her shoulder.  She'd worked hard to stay in 
shape, and when they had to, Cheetahs could move FAST.  
She'd sprinted as fast as she could until she could sprint 
no longer and now she was jogging, panting hard, dripping 
perspiration despite the cool air.  They were behind her, 
she was sure of it, and probably in front of her as well; 
her only hope was to be where they thought she couldn't be 
yet, and that meant moving fast.  As she emerged from the 
alleyway, she dropped to a fast walk, trying to look like 
just another pedestrian.  A glance to her left showed her a 
police car crossing an intersection half a block away, 
headed towards the Spaceport, towards where she'd come from.  
And then she was into another alley, and jogging again, 
pushing herself hard.

The mission had seemed so straight-forward.  The Lion wanted 
to meet with Cromwell, the leader of the Elysium resistance 
group known as the "Blues", as well as the leaders of a few 
of the other factions.  A neutral place had been chosen for 
the meeting, a planet called Imroc.  Tanj had thought 
that it would have been a "natural" rendezvous place for a 
bunch of pirates and rebels; the planet was on the very 
fringe of the Empire and nominally "independent."  Its 
"government" was actually a consortium of the local crime 
families, and if you had enough money you could get away 
with almost anything.  The place was damn near lawless.  

Lord Xylex looked at Trotskie and shook his head; "but of 
course you're going to go to the meeting, my dear fellow; if 
you're NOT there, then when I have the meeting raided, 
they'll KNOW it was you that informed on them!  Oh, don't 
worry, I'll see to it that you're not harmed in the least.  
We'll just stage some daring escape for you, something that 
will enhance your reputation further."  The bear looked back 
at Xylex; "The pure bloody HELL I'll allow myself to be 
captured!  Mistakes happen, y'know!  Tell you what, that 
Black Panther, Tito, he's been getting a bit big for his 
britches lately, and too many of my freedom fighters are 
falling under his sway; how about I send him in my place, 
and, well, we could always use another Martyr to the 
cause……"  The Wolverine grinned; "Trotskie, I DO like the 
way you think……"

Tanj yawned as she sat, sprawled, in the pilot's couch. 
She'd finally gotten her flight certification, but Mark was 
still listed as the "pilot" of her freighter; as such, she 
was taking the "other" shift, and it was the middle of 
ship's night.  "As many days as I've been on this shift, 
you'd think my body would have adapted by now" she thought 
to herself.  Then she grinned; seemed like every time she'd 
crawled into bed, her Lion'd had other plans for her.  
Stretching again, and yawning widely, she thought back to 
how the Lion had been relieving his boredom by finding 
different ways to make love to her, searching through both 
their not inconsiderable repertoires for yet another 
variation, yet another technique, for something new and 
different.  The trip to Imroc was long, convoluted, and 
BORING.  Looking up as the Nav computer chimed, Tanj 
checked her console and nodded; coming up on another Jump 
Point.  A quick glance at the Engineering console showed the 
Jump Engine in the Green, and then the small freighter was 
passing into that nexus of force lines that permitted 
interstellar travel.  Tanj waited half a second and then 
engaged the Jump Engine, strange patterns of light forming 
around the ship as they vanished from here………. And 
reappeared there, light years away.  Tanj did a quick 
scan for other traffic, and found none; smiling in 
satisfaction, she lined up the freighter on the next jump 
point, on the far side of the system, and set the autopilot.  
A few minutes of work, and now another day of boredom as the 
freighter crossed the system.  Eleven jumps down, and six to 
go.  Just for something to do, Tanj ran another active 
sensor scan of the system.  Nothing but dirt and rocks, and 
ice.  Grinning she wondered if there WAS anyone out there, 
what they'd make of the electronic scan signature of the 
sensor gear her freighter carried, a system more properly 
belonging to a warship……

Tanj looked at the Ferret in the monitor and snarled; 
"I've filled out seven different forms so far, each almost 
identical.  I've transferred enough Imperial Credits to keep 
my ship functioning for a year; NOW what's the holdup?"  The 
Ferret growled back; "Listen, bitch, you do the paperwork 
correctly, and pay the fees or you don't land on Imroc!  
Complete the forms I'm sending you, AND pay the fees, or 
break orbit!"  Mark smiled as he listened, and then leaned 
over to whisper in Tanj's ear; Tanj scowled at him for 
a moment and then shook her head in disgust.  Turning back 
to the Ferret Tanj growled; "It seems patently obvious 
that I'm completely incapable of filling out the forms 
correctly; perhaps there would be someone there I could…… 
hire as a consultant to see that the paperwork got 
completed…. expeditiously."  The Ferret's face adopted a 
look half way between a smile of triumph and a sneer; "Oh, 
but of course; you'd be surprised how many completely 
helpless Spacers we run across.  I'll fax you the fee 
schedule immediately."  Tanj heard the warbling 
"handshaking" tones coming from the comm console and nodded 
to the Ferret and cut the connection.  Rising from her 
station chair, she padded over to look at the download.  Her 
eyes widened and she looked at Mark; "This is EXTORTIONATE!  
And I should know, considering who I work for!"  Telling the 
computer to print out a copy, she growled, as she stalked 
off to find her Master, to see if he wanted to stand the 
additional expense of obtaining a landing permit sometime 
this century.

Tanj studied the layout of Imroc's principle city as the 
freighter descended through the atmosphere.  It looked as if 
"City Planning" was a completely foreign concept, the 
streets small, and winding.  As she lined up with the 
docking bay they'd been assigned at the Starport, she got 
the impression of a military base in a war zone.  Their 
docking bay was almost below the surface of the planet, the 
bays well separated, spaced out, with thick concrete walls 
between them.  And laser batteries and ion cannon seemed to 
be everywhere.  Mark nodded in approval as she settled her 
small freighter into the docking bay.  Tanj sat there for 
a minute and then powered down everything but one APU; she 
had a strange feeling about this place and was NOT going to 
leave her ship "cold."

The remote told her that the freighter was locked up tight; 
that it would take a criminal with some VERY impressive 
skills and tools to break into it; somehow though, on a 
lawless world like this, she was sure though, that such 
furrs existed.  She jut hoped her carefully "scuffed and 
dented" freighter wouldn't look appealing to them.  
Following the others she examined the maze of tunnels and 
check points that lead from the docking bay to the 
Starport's terminal, thinking that there was no way anyone 
"unauthorized" was ever going to make it to a ship in THIS 
place…….

Lord Xylex  chuckled at Mistress Im'Harta; the Skunk fem was 
the matriarch of the most powerful of the crime families on 
Imroc, and the power behind the "government."  "So the good 
will of the government of Elysium means nothing to you?"  
The Skunkette just smiled sardonically back at him and shook 
her head.  Xylex shrugged and smiled; "Lady, your reputation 
precedes you; I didn't think it would, but it never hurts to 
try.  Now, how much will it cost us, for you to, ah, see to 
it that Imroc does its civic duty and assists us in 
apprehending these vile criminals?  Im'Harta smiled a little 
wider and leaned forward; "Ah, you ARE practical after all; 
I'm so happy to find that out, Lord Xylex.  I was thinking 
that for the raid itself, you'd need at least two hundred 
police, and as they'd have to be hired on overtime, that 
alone should come to at least 20,000 credits.  Imperial 
credits, of course.  And there would be other costs as 
well……"  When Im'Harta finished, Xylex sat back in mock 
horror, his eyes wide.  Actually, the price she'd named was 
within the estimates he'd been given, but he still wasn't 
going to let her go without some dickering.  "That’s simply 
OUTRAGEOUS!  Why, I couldn't pay more than 15,000 for the 
police, and then only in local currency……..

Tanj looked around the hotel room and sniffed; "Urrrr, 
Master, are you SURE you wouldn't have rather stayed on the 
ship?  This place may be a little more spacious, but the 
ship's a LOT cleaner.  And a lot more secure, too.  The Lion 
just shrugged; "I'm afraid that if anyone's looking for us, 
the ship'd be too likely a place to look.  And we can come 
and go a lot freer here too.  Don't worry, we won't be here 
long; I suspect we'll be changing locations frequently."  
Tanj just nodded.

They walked about 20 meters apart through the city.  Tanj 
was behind her Master, and Hinoki behind her, with Mark 
bringing up the rear.  Fred, a Leopard from Operations, was 
leading the way, pulling "point."  As they moved through the 
city, Tanj took in the overall look of decay.  There were 
burned out buildings here and there.  Handbills and garish 
advertisements seemed to be pasted over any vertical 
surface, and graffiti covered most of that.  What furrs were 
around were mostly harried looking, in threadbare clothes, 
hurrying somewhere, not meeting anyone's eyes.  Occasionally 
a knot of well dressed furrs were seen, the one in the 
center of the knot obviously being guarded by the others.  
And occasionally well armed, well dressed furrs were seen; 
Tanj got the impression that these were the enforcers of 
the crime families that ran the place.  And there were no 
police to be seen.  Tanj had gotten the impression that 
this was a fairly oppressive government, and she expected a 
much larger police presence…. If they were there, they 
weren't visible.  Tanj kept her paw on the small blaster 
in her coat pocket and tried to look in all directions at 
once, thinking that in its own way, this place was as bad as 
Elysium.

After about a twenty minute walk, they came to a small 
restaurant.  Tanj watched the Lion enter in some 
confusion, as the place didn't match either the description, 
or the address of the place she thought the meeting was 
supposed to be held at.  As she entered the restaurant, she 
caught sight of a moderately well dressed coyote pointing at 
a door at the back of the room.  Cautiously she padded 
across the dining room and entered the back room.  There, 
most of the Rebel leaders were gathered, the Lion already 
talking to Cromwell in one corner.  Padding over to him, 
Tanj stood on tiptoes to whisper in his ear; "I'll see to 
external security; call me if you need me."  He nodded and 
returned to his conversation.

The restaurant was full of the Rebel's security; Tanj was 
sure of it, although she asked no questions.  Covertly she 
tried to memorize each face, as she sipped her fifth cup of 
coffee.  She and Hinoki, and some of the others, by wordless 
agreement, were taking turns taking "walks" around the 
building, around the block, watching for trouble.  They'd 
been there for about three hours when a mangy looking rat 
scurried in through the front door and up to the coyote; 
they whispered for a moment, the coyote's eyes going wide.  
Then the Coyote was through the door, and into the meeting 
room.  Moments later, furrs started to emerge, some slipping 
out the back door in ones and twos, some exiting the front 
door, and others descending into the basement, to what 
Tanj was confident was some sort of subterranean escape 
route.  The Lion padded over to Tanj and whispered; "The 
place we were SUPPOSED to meet at, until the last minute 
change, has just been raided by a massive force of Imroc 
police.  Somebody talked.  We're going to head for the 
Starport and hopefully we can get off-planet before they 
sort out what went wrong.

The Brethren left the restaurant in a cab, moving as a 
group.  They were about three blocks from the restaurant 
when three heavily armored police cruisers went screaming 
past in the other direction.  The Lion just smiled.  
Abandoning their gear in the hotel, they had the cab drop 
them off about two blocks from the Starport, at a commuter 
light rail station.  Tanj headed for the Starport 
offices, to do whatever was required to obtain liftoff 
clearance, while the others headed for the ship.

Mark stiffened and slowed as they walked towards the ship; 
then, speeding up, he grabbed the Lion; "Boss, we got a 
problem.  There's a small party waiting for us at the ship, 
and a larger one closing in from behind us."  The Lion 
frowned lightly and looked at him for a moment, then growled 
and nodded.  Pulling a nerve scrambler from an inside 
pocket, he nodded to the group, and they started trotting 
towards their ship.

Mark winced as a blaster bolt sizzled over his head.  Even 
with their opponents shooting wildly at nightmare images and 
ignoring the real targets, there WAS still a finite chance 
that they'd get lucky if given the time.  Thankfully, the 
pirates were showing the temperament that is usually 
associated with those in their profession, attacking 
ruthlessly, and efficiently.  Within moments the party of 
Imroc police that had been waiting at their ship were either 
dead, or unconscious, and they were dashing for the airlock.

The Lion waited until everyone was through, before sealing 
the airlock and dashing for the flight deck.  Mark followed 
him, an ear twitching in surprise when the Lion sat down at 
the offensive weapons console, instead of the pilot's seat, 
or Engineering.  Mark dropped into the pilot's chair, and 
used the controls there to bring up the mains, thankful for 
Tanj's foresight in leaving an APU running.  He'd just 
channeled some of the power to weapons when the Lion cut 
loose with the port disruptor battery, sending masonry 
flying, causing the roof to the tunnel to collapse on top of 
the reinforcements that were just arriving.  Looking over at 
Mark, he sighed; "Yeah, I know; she'll just have to do the 
best she can; if we wait, we'll all be dead.  Get us out of 
here."
  
Henrik smiled at the sexy Cheetah on the other side of the 
counter.  Furrs wanting to leave Imroc suddenly were not 
unusual; many times business deals went sour, or 
disagreements turned violent.  Sometimes the place just 
spooked them; he didn't care why.  It just meant more bribes 
for him.  This one, though…. It'd been a LONG time since 
he'd gotten laid, and the rat was thinking about offering 
her a lower "exit tax" for some nookie in return.  He 
watched her fill out the forms as he daydreamed about 
fucking her; then his reverie was interrupted by alarms 
sounding.  Turning from the counter, he looked at the 
security monitor, his eyes widening as a small freighter 
rose from its docking bay, ruby light flashing out to spear 
several of the nearby laser turrets.  As the small ship 
climbed at an unusually high rate of acceleration it spewed 
clouds of chaff, decoys, and missiles, the latter taking out 
fire control radars, traffic control radars, and such.  
Henrik winced as one missile struck the heavily armored 
flight control center with a concussion that made the floor 
jump underneath him.  Then suddenly it dawned on him…. The 
docking bay the freighter had emerged from…. Wasn't that the 
one the Cheetah had designated on her form?  Turning to look 
at her, his paw reaching for the blaster he kept under the 
counter, he blinked finding the room empty.

Tanj forced herself to keep her pace sedate as she left 
the Starport, doing as little as possible to attract 
attention.  She didn't know what had happened at the docking 
bay, but she was sure they wouldn't have left without her 
unless the situation was truly grim.  Now she had to find a 
place to hide until they could come back for her.  Slipping 
into an alleyway, she started to run, sprinting fast in a 
direction she hoped was well away from the way they'd come 
into the Starport……

Mark took a moment to touch Tanj's mind as the freighter 
cleared the atmosphere, noticing that she was clear for the 
moment.  That would have to be good enough for now…...  
Settling back into the Pilot's chair, concentrating on his 
flying, preparing to deal with the now enraged Imroc vessels 
in near-planetary space.

Henrik looked at the Police and sneered; THEY weren't the 
ones to worry about.  It was the Family Enforcer standing 
quietly behind them that he talked to when he spoke; "Yeah, 
it was the sexy Cheetah bitch.  She was listed as the 
Captain of that tub that blasted its way out of here.  She 
was in here trying to file the papers for clearance when all 
Hell broke loose.  By the time I'd turned around she was 
gone.  But I think you'll be pleased to know that when she 
went to pay her fees, I got the ID number off her credit 
chit….  The paperwork show a good set of pawprints, and I 
got a good scan of her on the security cameras too."  The 
Family Enforcer, a Wolf, just grinned, showing fangs.

Tanj had finally caught her breath.  She'd found a cab 
and had taken it to the North.  Then she'd caught public 
transport to the East.  And now she was walking through the 
streets of one of the middle class neighborhoods, looking 
for a place to stay.  She had the clothes on her back, her 
compact blaster, three different credit chips, two separate 
I.D.'s, and the contact names for the locals that the Lion 
had talked to in helping to set up the meeting.  She also 
had the name and address of one of her own local "field 
agents," although she wasn't sure just how useful that might 
be.  What she wanted to do first was to find a place to "lay 
low" for a while.  Stopping at a pharmacy, she purchased a 
do-it-yourself fur dye kit and a fur trimmer.  Half an hour 
later, she was registered at a cheap hotel, using one of her 
fake I.D.'s and one of her other credit chips.  The first 
one she'd been using was the one she'd expected to pay the 
launch permit bribes with, and carried the most credit; 
she'd used that for the cab, but as she'd been about to 
board the public transport, she'd suddenly wondered if it 
was traceable.  If it was, the Police knew about it, from 
the Starport office, and she'd switched to one of her other 
ones.

In her room, Tanj turned on the all-news station as she 
stripped down to just her fur.  She would have preferred to 
have made herself over as an Ocelot, or a Serval, or even as 
a Leopard, but her other I.D.'s wouldn't support so radical 
a change.  Standing in the chipped and stained tub, she 
watched herself in the mirror as she played connect-the-
dots, doing her best to transform herself into a "King 
Cheetah."  It wasn't much of a change, but it was the best 
she could do at the moment.  Later as she stood in the 
middle of her room, waiting for the dye to dry, she watched 
the report on her ship blasting its way from the Starport.  
At the end of the report they showed a grainy picture of 
her, obviously taken from a security camera, announcing that 
she was an "Enemy of the People," and that a reward of 5,000 
credits had been placed on her head.  Tanj's first 
impression was "that’s ALL?" but then she realized that to 
the wretches on this planet, that might be a considerable 
sum.

Eventually, her stomach started rumbling, and Tanj 
decided that she needed to go find something to eat.  
Dressing, she set a few telltales around the room, so she'd 
know if it had been disturbed, and leaving the old-style TV 
on, slipped from the room.  She was careful to stay out of 
view of the few surveillance cameras as she snuck out of the 
building's single exit, waiting until the desk clerk was 
looking the other way before slipping out.  She went at 
least two blocks before throwing the remnants of the fur dye 
kit into a public trash receptacle.  Down the street, she 
found a small pub, and finding a table in the corner where 
she could watch the door, she ordered a beer and a sandwich.  

As she waited for her meal, she watched the old-style 
Television over the bar.  This place didn't seem to either 
have, or want to invest in holographic projection.  The flat 
image showed some sort of a game show, with some rather 
bizarre twists.  Nude contestants ran through mazes, pursued 
by "hunters."  When one of the hunters caught up with one of 
the contestants, there was a fight, sometimes to the death.  
Sometimes, however, male hunters merely raped the female 
contestants, and then bound them, to lead the defeated 
player off.  On occasion, contestants would have to 
manipulate strange devices, to gain passage to the next 
portion of the maze.  Often this required some sort of 
autoerotic sexual activity.  As she watched she came to the 
conclusion that luck, as much as skill was required.  In a 
dark, grim way, she found it somewhat interesting, but then 
her attention was distracted by the arrival of her food.

Mark sighed and relaxed as they made their first jump, and 
then got up to fetch himself a badly-needed cup of coffee.  
Imroc hadn't really had any ships well placed to pursue 
them, and he was sure their task of interception was 
tremendously complicated when the small freighter cloaked, 
something not even commonly seen in Imperial Fleet ships.  
There had been no defenses at the jump point that they 
hadn't been able to handle, and now, well, pursuit was 
unlikely.  As he he poured the milk, he paused for a few 
moments to intently study the swirling patterns in the cup; 
then he nodded in satisfaction and stirred.  Returning to 
his seat, he noticed that the Lion had shifted from the 
offensive weapons station to the Comm console.  He listened 
quietly as the Lion encoded a message for the Brethren, 
directing them to start efforts to locate Tanj on the 
Planet.  His logic was obvious.  Tanj was the deputy 
director of intelligence, and in addition to knowing all of 
the Brethren's operations, she also knew most of their field 
agents.  If she was taken, and thoroughly interrogated, 
they'd be in a world of hurt.  It was only good business to 
do whatever it took to get her back….. or to see that she 
never told anyone anything.  Mark frowned a little inwardly 
at that idea, but knew better than to argue loudly against 
it.  After outlining his reasons, the Lion instructed Ben to 
dispatch one of the Brethren's capital ships to stand off 
Imroc, cloaked, until she could be located.  They'd then 
either have to go down and get her, either by bribery, or by 
force, or they'd have to see that she was dead.  As he 
finished encoding the message, the Lion turned for a moment 
to give Mark an almost apologetic look.  The Mouse shrugged 
and smiled a little; "You know, I think you're STILL 
underestimating her resourcefulness.  Care for a bet?  I 
have a couple hundred credits that say she's going to make 
it off Imroc all by herself…"  The Lion just stared out the 
main viewport for a minute and then shook his head no.  
Wordlessly, he hit the transmit key.

 She was sitting there, quietly munching on her meal when 
two police cruisers went past in the direction of the hotel, 
lights flashing but sirens off.  Finishing her meal, she 
drained her glass, and paid the barkeep, before slipping out 
the back door.  A quick look around the corner confirmed her 
worst fears; the cruisers she'd seen with several others 
were stopped outside her hotel.  Ducking back into the 
alley, Tanj quietly slipped away.

The ATM was lit, and Tanj was sure there was a security 
camera, but there was a public transport station nearby, and 
Tanj thought she could make good her escape before the 
police showed up.  Plugging in the credit chip and ID she'd 
used at the hotel, she directed the ATM to put some of the 
credit from that chip onto three new chips.  She hoped in 
this process that she would have credit chips with new ID 
numbers, chips that she could use without as much risk, her 
one transaction buried in thousands of others…..  However, 
after a minute, she realized that the machine was not 
functioning correctly.  Could it have identified her chip's 
number that quickly and frozen her transaction?  Or was the 
machine just some sort of automated rip-off that would 
swallow her credit, leaving her to apply to some distant 
business office for her refund…...  After another minute, 
Tanj casually turned and strolled towards the public 
transport station; as soon as she thought she was outside 
the range of the ATM's security camera she turned and found 
a good hiding place a half a block away,   Sure enough, a 
Police cruiser pulled up a few minutes later, one officer 
sprinting for the public transport station, the other going 
to the machine to retrieve the ID and credit chip from the 
machine after entering some sort of authorization code.  
Tanj sighed and waited until they'd departed, before 
leaving her hiding place.  She was now down to one ID, and 
one useable credit chip.  How had they spotted the other ID 
so quickly?  Or were they just checking out every female 
cheetah on the planet?

The bar was crowded, and Tanj slipped carefully inside.  
She felt like she'd walked across half the city, and she 
wanted a place to rest.  Perhaps the crowded bar would offer 
some anonymity.  Sitting at the bar, sipping her beer 
carefully she watched the TV, waiting for the news bulletin.  
That game show was on again; it seemed to be popular here……  
she watched as a team of a female Jaguar, and a male Squirel 
worked their way through a maze, the camera cutting 
periodically to two large wolves obviously waiting in 
ambush.  Finally the contestants made it through the maze; 
they had relieved looks, as if their worst problems were 
behind them.  Then the trap was sprung; the Squirrel went 
down fast, his throat laid open by the knife of one of the 
Wolves.  The lady Jaguar did a good job of evading the other 
Wolf's knife, getting in a few good kicks, until the other 
one came up behind her, to jab his knife into her back.  As 
she collapsed, a look of anguish on her face, blood pooling 
at her feet, the announcer came on and said what a pity it 
was; they were only one gate away from the grand prize of 
ten million credits!  And they'd showed such promise too…….   
As Tanj listened to the announcer drone on, she decided 
she could understand how furrs on this benighted planet 
could be attracted to risk life and limb in such a contest; 
that was enough money for someone to live even here in 
style… or buy passage off world.  As the show ended, there 
was the news bulletin she'd been waiting for, with a 
slightly better picture of her.  As she watched, the bear 
next to her turned and looked at her drunkenly; "Hey, isn't 
that you?"  Tanj could see the bartender look her way.  
Turning to look at the Bear, she snorted; "Damn, I wish I 
looked that good.  It might almost be worth being wanted to 
have a body like that."  The Bear looked at her and then 
laughed and nodded.  From the corner of her eye, Tanj 
could see the Bartender look from her to the picture and 
back, and then shake his head, as if kissing the reward 
money goodbye.  Her King Cheetah dye job seemed to have 
worked.  Never the less, Tanj finished her drink and 
departed, heading back out into the cold night.

The building was abandoned, and as near as she could tell, 
deserted.  She picked a room in the front, the windows long 
since shattered.  It had a good view, though, and an easy 
escape path out the back.  As she settled down, pulling her 
coat tighter around her, she wondered if the police used 
infra-red to find fugitives in abandoned buildings…. Or were 
there too many homeless in this city for that to work?  She 
needed to tap into the underground; every planet had one.  
She had to find those that would help her "launder" what 
money she had left; someone that could provide a fake ID.  
Places to hide.  Places to find food without worrying.  All 
it would take was some patience.  She knew she could do it.

Xylex looked at Mistress Im'Harta and growled; "Madam, your 
police forces are amazingly incompetent.  You've captured 
only a handful of the Rebel scum, and only then as they 
tried to make their way off-planet.  Most of them have 
slipped through your fingers completely!"  Im'Harta 
shrugged; "well, if you'd given me the correct location of 
their meeting, it wouldn't have been a problem.  Besides, 
there are still a few on the planet, and we'll get them for 
you.  We're closing in on a certain female Cheetah even as 
we speak."  Xylex growled and turned away, as if to leave, 
but then stopped.  Turning back he growled; "Female 
Cheetah?"  The skunk nodded; "Yes, seems she was the Captain 
of a small freighter that seems to have brought one of the 
contingents of Rebels to the meeting.  She was separated 
from the rest of her group when my police closed in.  The 
freighter had….. unexpected firepower and made good its 
escape.  At great cost to Imroc, and to me, I might add.  
She's still on the planet; we've almost caught her twice, 
but she's proving to be a bit of trouble."  Xylex frowned 
again; "do you have a picture?"  Im'Harta shrugged and 
nodded, turning to fetch a picture from a file on her desk.  
As if scenting blood, she purrred; "Do you know her?  Does 
she mean anything to you?"   Xylex's eyes widened at the 
sight of Tanj and he growled low in his throat; "Oh, yes.  
Yes she does.  50,000 credits for her, but only if you take 
her alive.  I have special plans for this one.  Special, 
painful plans……"  Im'Harta just nodded and smiled.

The bar was a squalid little place near the Starport.  The 
neighborhood was grim, one of the poorer ones, but it was in 
a good position to catch spacers on leave from their ships, 
what ones were foolish enough to venture into town.  Tanj 
was looking a little rumpled, a little dirty, and a little 
worn, but that only let her fit in with the rest of the 
furrs in that part of town.  To her amazement, the bar was 
open before lunch, and as she walked through the door, the 
smells of cooking greeted her.  She found a seat at a table 
in a corner and sat there sullenly watching the door, 
waiting for her contact to show herself.

The scantily clad Tigress walked up to her table and glared 
down at Tanj; "you can't sit there."  Tanj blinked; 
"Uh, why not?"  The Tigress grinned, showing fangs; she was 
easily a head taller than Tanj, and more well muscled 
than well padded; she seemed to be wearing nothing but a 
male's white dress shirt, the buttons straining across her 
bust, its shirttails barely preserving her modesty.  Tanj 
blinked at her wondering if this fierce creature might be 
her contact, reputed to be a Tigress, but then her eyes 
locked onto the slave's collar and she realized that this 
was merely the "help."  The Tigress' grin was a bit of a 
challenge, but while full of fangs, there didn't seem to be 
anything personal in it; Tanj was about to ask WHY she 
couldn't sit there, when a lady skunk stuck her head out of 
the kitchen, to growl; "KATJA!  Quit scaring the customers!  
Kittiara will not be pleased!"  The Tigress turned her head 
to growl in the general direction of the kitchen, but the 
skunkette had already returned to her work.  Turning back to 
Tanj, the Tigress cast a quick glance at the door and 
made a shoo-ing motion; "That’s Statler and Waldorf's table.  
Its reserved.  Now be a good girl and scoot over a table and 
I'll see what I can rustle you up for Breakfast.  You're 
looking hungry."  As her grin softened the Tigress chuckled; 
"Even for a Cheetah….."

Tanj sighed and shifted as bidden.  The Tigress, 
satisfied, departed towards the kitchen without asking what 
Tanj wanted to eat, but shortly she was back with a 
rather eclectic breakfast; sausages, and hotcakes, and 
applesauce in place of syrup, and some sort of soupy white 
stuff, and a pot of strong black coffee.  Tanj ate 
slowly, glad that the TV that the bar possessed either 
wasn't on or more likely, by the look of it, wasn't working.  
After a bit, an elderly rabbit wandered in, moving stiffly 
to take his seat where Tanj had originally sat.  After a 
moment, the Tigress brought him a plate, without a word 
being said; still, the way she smiled at him, Tanj could 
tell she was fond of him.  Then the Tigress set a second 
plate at the table in the corner.  Tanj was beginning to 
wonder if the Rabbit could eat that much, but then an 
elderly fox wandered in, to take the other chair by the 
wall.  Without a word, he passed part of his newspaper to 
the Rabbit and then looking at the folded remnant, started 
to eat.  Tanj watched the curious pair covertly, and 
tried to keep an eye on the door as well.

She was on her third cup of coffee when the other Tigress 
entered.  This one was a little older, a little taller, and 
a little less muscular.  And she was definitely the bar's 
owner; the way she swept the place with her gaze marked her 
as that.  Tanj watched her over her coffee cup, until 
their gazes met.  Tanj nodded slowly, still watching.  
The Tigress took another look around the bar, obviously 
checking on the customers, and on her slave, and then padded 
over to Tanj, to take a seat across the small table from 
her.  "Do we know each other?" she growled softly.  Tanj 
smiled and nodded; "In a manner of speaking, we do.  You 
send me little snippets of information from time to time and 
I see that you're compensated for them.  The tigress smiled; 
"With all due respect, I send information to a number of 
different places, a number of different furrs……….  As you 
might expect, its difficult making ends meet on Imroc, and I 
have to do what I can."  Tanj nodded slowly; "The 
difficulties of living here have of late become quite 
apparent to me, and I understand.  To clarify, I'm called 
Tanj; I'm with the Brethren."  Whatever effect Tanj 
had hoped that statement might have seemed to fall flat, as 
the Tigress just smiled and nodded; "Ah, yes, the Pirates.  
I won't ask what brings you to Imroc, but I wonder if you 
know you've got quite a price on your head?"  Tanj smiled 
and sipped her coffee; "Yes, 5,000 credits…."  The Tigress 
laughed; "That, Dear, was yesterday; today its up to 50,000 
credits."  Tanj's eyes widened  "Oh, it seems someone has 
decided you're MUCH more valuable than they originally 
thought" the Tigress grinned; "But don't worry; no one here 
will turn you in."  The Tigress chuckled and cast a glance 
over her shoulder at the elderly pair at the table in the 
corner; the rabbit seemed to be asleep, his chair tilted 
back, his mouth hanging open, but the fox smiled coldly and 
nodded.

Tanj sighed; "well, as you might expect, I'm in some 
small difficulty.  I've got credits, and plenty of them, but 
the Police seem to have the ID number of my credit chip, and 
I'm having trouble using it….."  The Tigress nodded; "Oh, 
they're very good about that here.  Very efficient when it 
comes to money.  But I think I know someone who might be 
able to fix that.  For a rather hefty fee, of course…."  
Tanj nodded; "Of course; I know how it works.  I've only 
got one workable ID left; do you think you could find 
someone who might be able to provide me with another?"  
Again the Tigress smiled and nodded.  Tanj sighed; "I got 
separated from my group; they had to leave rather suddenly 
I'm afraid.  But I have no doubt they'll be back for me; all 
I have to do is wait……"  The Tigress didn't comment on that, 
but looked away, towards the door.  "Tell you what" she 
rumbled; "take Room No.4.  Its vacant at the moment.  Get 
some sleep.  I'll put out some feelers and see who I can 
turn up to help you with the credit chips and the ID.  Katja 
will get you the key."  With that, the Tigress rose, to padd 
across the bar, to talk quietly to another customer.  
Tanj finished her coffee and rose, padding towards the 
back of the bar, and the short hallway there.  The other 
tigress stuck her head out from the kitchen, where she 
seemed to be picking up another food order, to hand Tanj, 
unbidden, an unmarked key.

Tanj found the room easily; there weren't that many on 
the short corridor leading to the bar's back door.  The door 
had an armored look, and the lock was robust and complex, 
but the key opened it easily.  The room was miniscule, 
little more than a rumpled, well-worn bed, with an even 
tinier water closet attached.  Tanj relieved herself and 
then flopped down on the bed, catching the scents of several 
different furrs as she did so.  Before she knew it, she was 
asleep.

Tanj heard the lock snick and was awake in an instant; 
however she'd gotten all tangled up in the bedclothes and 
was still wrestling with them when the slave Tigress slipped 
through the door.  "Shush!  Its OK, its just me!" she 
growled softly; "Mistress has a few furrs she thinks you 
should meet, and she sent me to get you."  Tanj nodded 
and picked up her coat, rising to follow the scantily clad 
Tigress.

The Bar's owner was sitting at a table with an elderly 
Ferret and a muscular Black Panther.  The Ferret's fur was 
going gray with age, and he wore old fashioned glasses; the 
Panther was of middle age and looked powerful and self-
confident.  Neither were introduced.  The Ferret spoke 
first; "Let me see the ID you're currently using."  Tanj 
handed it to him with a glance at the Tigress, but she only 
nodded.  The Ferret gave the ID a cursory glance, turning it 
over in his paws.  "Shoddy work.  I'd ask where you got 
this, but it doesn't matter.  It doesn't have the imprint 
stripe they added five months ago, and the magnetic stripe's 
in the wrong spot.  Must be off by three millimeters!  No 
wonder you're having such trouble."  Raising his glance to 
look at her critically, he sighed; "A Serval I think.  A 
good fur cut and a dye job, and you could pass as a Serval, 
with the proper ID.  I can have the ID to you in twenty 
hours, but it'll cost you 10,000."  Tanj nodded and 
extracted her credit chip, the one she'd used at the 
Starport.  Holding it up, she looked at the Panther; "This 
has more than enough; the problem is they know its ID 
number.  Can you do something to help me with that?"  The 
Panther took the chip from her fingers, and plugged it into 
a portable device; he looked at it for a moment and 
whistled; "that’s a considerable amount of credit, but no, 
I'm afraid this one's too hot to touch.  You wouldn't 
believe the effort they have underway to find you right now.  
And there just isn't enough credit on this chip to make me 
risk it.  Sorry."  Without another word, the Panther handed 
the chip back, rose and headed for the door, the Tigress' 
eyes narrowing as she watched him leave.

Tanj sighed and produced her other chip; "This one has 
enough to cover the ID, but not much more; if I use it for 
that, I'll be just about broke."  The Ferret nodded; "A 
difficult choice.  I'll be at the bar; let me know what you 
want to do."  With that he rose and padded over to the bar, 
to sit directly across from the slave Tigress who was now 
tending bar.

The bar's owner looked at Tanj and sighed; "I'll help you 
as much as I can, on the assumption that if you ever make it 
home you'll compensate me, but my resources are limited.  
Even with a good ID, it wouldn't be prudent for you to stay 
here more than a few days…." Her gaze flicked to the 
doorway; "And I wonder how prudent that would be too….. I've 
always found Bruno to be trustworthy, but the price they 
have on your head would tempt anyone on this planet….."  
Tanj nodded; "I think I'll invest in that ID; if I have 
to, I can always resort to robbery to try and get money……"  
The Tigress just smiled and nodded; "not easy on this 
planet; those that are easy targets have little and those 
that have something worth stealing are well defended.  But 
such tactics are NOT uncommon here…."

Tanj rose to padd over to the Ferret; she handed him her 
credit chip, and he nodded and departed through the back 
door.  As he left the Tigress behind the bar turned to coax 
the TV to life, and Tanj again found herself watching 
that bizarre game show.  "Tell me about that" she growled at 
the slave.  The Tigress just shrugged; "Its barbaric, and 
has everything that appeals to the folks on this planet; 
sex, violence, luck, and the chance to win it all."  Tanj 
watched the TV for a moment, as a female wolf wildly humped 
some sort of a dildo attached to a complex machine, 
obviously trying to get the machine to do something, and 
then she looked back at the slave; "Win it all?  What could 
they possibly offer to make furrs do things like that?"  The 
slave smiled; "Oh, they offer just about everything.  Slaves 
are freed, crimes are pardoned, and you win enough money to 
live in style and security for the rest of your life.  You 
get fame, and fortune, and freedom.  What more could a 
desperate furr want?"  Tanj looked at the Tigress, her 
eyes locking on her collar; she then swept the rather dismal 
bar with a glance, and then turned back to the Tigress; "you 
ever think about trying it?"  The slave laughed, and shook 
her head no; "Believe it or not, I'm fairly happy here.  Of 
course, that may come from not ever having known anything 
better, but Mistress treats me pretty well (even if the cook 
doesn't), and I'm a LOT better off than many……  No, I've not 
been seriously tempted.  But many are."

Tanj was sipping a beer, idly watching the game, just 
killing time waiting for the Ferret to return with her ID, 
when there was a noise outside.  It didn't sound like much, 
in retrospect, perhaps a groundcar stopping outside, but it 
seemed to galvanize the bar to action.  The Slave Tigress 
exchanged glaces with the Bar's owner, and then growled and 
leapt over the bar to GRAB Tanj and drag her towards the 
back.  The odd pair of old-timers, the ones Katja had called 
"Statler" and "Waldorf," the ones that seemed to spend every 
waking moment at the corner table, seemed to have vanished 
into thin air.  As the Tigress pulled her through an 
unmarked door, Tanj could hear the bar's owner saying; 
"Why good evening, Officers……." And then the door was closed 
behind her, the slave pulling her through a maze of pipe 
filled spaces, and dirty passageways.  A hidden door was 
opened and a truly foul stench assaulted Tanj's nostrils.  
"This is the sewer" the slave whispered; "I know its grim, 
but follow it for two hundred paces that way, on this side, 
and there will be a ladder to an access port.  It'll let you 
out behind an abandoned building; hide there, and I'll come 
for you later!"  And then the door was closed, leaving 
Tanj in the dark.  With a sigh, she stepped into the 
slowly flowing stream of sewage, being careful to count her 
paces.  As she struggled through the dark, she wondered if 
the Tigress had meant paces for someone Tiger sized, or 
Cheetah sized? 

Tanj was gagging from the stench when she reached two 
hundred.  She fumbled around in the slime covered walls, and 
failed to find anything resembling the rungs of a ladder.  
Carefully she paced another dozen paces in the direction 
she'd been going, and still failed to find a ladder.  
Retracing her steps she had gone eleven paces, and was 
coming close to panic, when her paw felt a recess in the 
wall.  The ladder was cut into the concrete wall, and 
carefully she started to climb.

The hatch at the top of the ladder opened with a scream of 
corroded, tortured hinges, and Tanj was instantly 
concerned that half the city had heard her.  Slithering from 
the hatch, she sprinted for the wall of the alley.  The 
sewer had been noxious, but at least it had been warm; now, 
dripping with…. Well, it was better not to think of what she 
was dripping with, she was cold.  Freezing cold.  Moving 
quickly she headed for the abandoned building where the 
Tigress slave said she'd meet her later.

Tanj crouched at the third floor window, watching the 
alleyway where she'd emerged from the sewer.  She'd left a 
trail, she was sure, from the hatch to the building, and was 
in a way, planning on that.  She'd set an ambush.

It was in the small hours of the morning, when the three 
slunk into the alley.  They wore civilian clothes, but moved 
like assassins.  Tanj watched them find the hatch, and 
then they were moving towards the abandoned building she hid 
in.  There was only one surviving stairwell, and as they 
started up towards the second floor, Tanj let go of the 
cement block.  It fell, swinging on the length of firehose 
she'd found in a shattered stairwell cabinet.  It swung 
almost silently, until it contacted the back of the rearmost 
assassin's head with a sickening crunch.  Tanj didn't 
hang around to see how his comrades reacted; she was already 
moving to her fallback position.  In this case her fallback 
position was out of sight, TOWARDS the head of the stairs, 
where the assassins were headed.  The first one had his head 
turned, to look towards where Tanj had been, as he crept 
to the head of the stairs.  The sharp, triangular piece of 
glass, its base wrapped in a rag found his throat as Tanj 
lunged from the shadows, and as his body spasmed, he went 
over backwards, colliding with his partner.  Tanj dashed 
back, towards yet another prepared position.  As she dashed, 
she was surprised that no shots pursued her.  

As bad as she smelled, Tanj's nose was of no help to her; 
on the other hand, she was sure she could easily be tracked 
by her own stench.  She was depending on that, circling 
around through several shattered walls, to lay in wait by 
her own trail.  Sure enough, after a minute or two, the 
other assassin crept into view following her trail.  Holding 
her breath, she waited for him to pass…. But at the last 
second he paused and looked about, his nose wrinkling.  
Tanj was about to retreat, her only remaing weapons being 
her fangs and claws…. And the pocket blaster.  The latter 
would kill him, but it was anything but silent.  She would 
prefer to take him unawares… but the coyote's eyes widened 
and he growled, turning to charge her, a strange device in 
each paw.  Tanj sighed and sighted, and squeezed off a 
shot.  It took him in the base of the throat, all but 
decapitating him.  And then it was quiet.

Tanj crept forward to search him.  There was a cell 
phone, and a credit chip, but no identification.  The two 
weapons looked like white police batons, but radiated a 
chilling cold, and Tanj frowned.  They LOOKED like some 
sort of non-lethal weapon, something that would subdue an 
opponent, as opposed to killing them.  Unable to find an 
"off" switch, she left them with him, and went to find his 
comrades.  They too carried weapons, one a stunner, and the 
other a set of nunchucks.  They had cell phones and credit 
chips, and nothing else.  Tanj stashed the bodies in a 
closet that still had a door, taking none of their 
possessions, fearing that they might contain means of 
tracing her, and slunk out into the alleyway, looking for a 
place of concealment from which she could watch the 
building.  The slave Tigress might still come……

It was almost light when Tanj saw her.  The Tigress was 
wrapped in a nondescript cloak, and was moving slowly down 
the sidewalk, limping.  Looking both ways, Tanj waited 
until she'd passed and then moved out from behind the 
dumpster she'd been crouched behind, to take place beside 
her.  The Tigress scarcely showed any surprise, and the two 
angled away from the deserted building, moving down a side 
street in the early morning still.

"Bruno sold us out" the Tigress growled.  He didn't send the 
Police to the bar, though; he sent them to the Ferret's 
place.  He's dead, I'm afraid, and your credit chip's gone.  
THEN they came by the bar.  Mistress is under arrest but 
they'll let her go in a bit; she's not the one they're 
after, and we both have a….. "working relationship" with the 
constabulary."  And they'll let her go to reopen the bar, in 
the hopes you'll be foolish enough to go back there.  
Tanj looked up at the Tigress; "How come they let you go?  
How do you know you weren't followed?"  The Tigress 
chuckled; "Oh, they hold the opinion that no slave could 
possibly know anything worthwhile.  They went through the 
motions, though; some of them LIKE to "interrogate" furrs…….  
But I didn't tell them anything.  I'll tell you about it 
some day.  Oh, if it helps, "Statler" and "Waldorf" were 
particularly pissed at Bruno and the Cops for killing the 
Ferret.  They're already plotting their revenge."  "Those 
old geezers?" Tanj gaped; "they didn't look capable of 
hurting a fly!"  Katja chuckled and then coughed; "Looks can 
be deceiving; remember the Pan-Celgec insurrection, back 
about thirty years ago?  They each led a commando unit, on 
opposite sides.  Each was infamous, and they found that 
after the revolt was put down, neither could easily settle 
down.  They wound up here, where no one knows them, and no 
one cares.  Seems they've got more in common with each other 
than with most others.  Oh, their names aren't "Statler" and 
"Waldorf", I just call them that after the characters in a 
cub's show.  Don't worry, they're still completely capable 
of handling the job….. 

As they came to a corner, Tanj stopped and looked up at 
the Tigress.  "I'm sorry I caused you and your Mistress 
problems.  It seems that I'm MUCH more wanted than I thought 
I'd be.  The thugs that tracked me to the abandoned building 
were trying to capture me, not kill me.  That puts a whole 
different complexion on the situation……"  The Tigress looked 
down at the Cheetah; "What are you going to do?  On second 
thought, perhaps you shouldn't tell me."  Tanj grinned; 
"I'm out of money, my ID's probably no good anymore, and it 
seems the Police want to question me BAD.  There are things 
I know that I dare not let anyone find out.  I think I'll do 
my best to hide out, for as long as I can, but then, if they 
come for me, I'll have to kill myself.  It’s the only way to 
protect my friends back home……"  The Tigress nodded, and 
started to turn away.  After a moment she turned back; 
"there might be another way, if you're brave and 
determined…….  There's always the Game.  Doesn't matter who 
wants you, or for what; win that, and you can leave with no 
questions.  On the other hand, if you fail, odds are you'll 
be dead anyway, and it won't be suicide.  That in its own 
right might be worth something……."

Tanj looked down the street at a single ground car moving 
away from them, and wondered how long it would be before a 
police car went by.  Looking back at the Tigress, she 
nodded; "I'll keep it in mind; if I decide to try it, what 
do I do?"  The Tigress turned to point towards the tallest 
building in the center part of the city; "That’s the 
broadcast center.  On the west side, there's a door for 
contestants.  Just make it through that door, and you're on 
your way.  Tanj nodded and gave a small wave and turned 
to padd off down the Street.

Katja watched the small figure go, and sighed.  If she'd had 
any credit left, from tips and such, she would have given it 
to her; but it had taken everything she had to buy off the 
cops; that and more…… still, she was used to them "taking 
things out in trade…."  Turning, she hurried back towards 
the bar; there was a lot of cleaning up to do, and they were 
sure to have a grim crowd tonight……

As she walked won the street, Tanj tried to order her 
priorities.  First step was to get clean.  Then, she wanted 
to put some distance between the Tigress' bar and herself.  
Then she wanted to try some of the local contacts.  She 
considered this a bit risky, but she was fast running out of 
options.  For the first requirement she found at a transport 
vehicle service stop; they rented showers to the long haul 
truckers, and the Cheetah had just enough pocket change to 
cover the cost.  The clerk never even asked for an ID; one 
whiff, and he just collected her coins and waved her towards 
the showers.  Tanj delighted in the hot water; after she 
washed herself thoroughly, sighing as her fur dye job ran 
down the drain, she just stood under the hot water until the 
timer ran out and the water stopped.  The towel was a bit 
worn, but still soft and fluffy and she dried herself as 
thoroughly as possible, not having the extra change for the 
furr dryer.  Still damp, she left the service stop, walking 
towards the nearest public transport stop.  She'd thought 
for a moment about trying to find a trucker, someone she 
could exchange sex with for a ride, for some distance from 
this place.  But then she thought the reward on her would be 
too great a temptation…….  You could buy a lot of sex for 
50,000 credits……  No, she needed someone with a philosophy 
that would let them reject the reward; someone idealistic 
enough to adhere to a cause despite other temptations.  
She'd start with the contacts the Rebels had used to set up 
the meeting……

The Public transport was very inexpensive, requiring only a 
few coins; but it DID require an ID.  Tanj waited 
patiently by the entrance, as if waiting to meet a friend, 
and watched the furrs as they entered.  Her pickpocket 
skills weren't all that good but she thought she could get 
away with what she had in mind…..  There, a young raccoon 
with a long overcoat; he fished in his left hand pocket for 
some change…. Tanj brushed against him, and with a 
"sorry," turned the corner to walk slowly away.  Apparently 
he hadn't noticed as there was no pursuit, and for her 
efforts, Tanj was rewarded with several credits in coins.  
More than enough for the transport system and for a public 
comm terminal.  After a suitable time, she turned and padded 
back towards the public transport station.

Tanj crossed her fingers as she inserted her last ID into 
the slot.  The reader sat there for a moment and then a red 
light started to flash.  Tanj didn't even wait; she gave 
the locked grill covering the walkway to the train platform 
a sour look and turned and sprinted off as fast as she 
could.  This time it was much sooner before she heard the 
police sirens, but she was able to hide behind a parked car 
as the first one went past, and then behind a dumpster as 
the next one screamed past.  Again, she ran for her life.

It was several hours later when Tanj felt confident 
enough that she'd shaken her pursuers to risk making a comm 
call.  The first contact she called took one look at her and 
broke the connection without saying a word.  Tanj blinked 
and walked for a half an hour to another bank of public comm 
terminals before trying her next call.  The first didn't 
answer.  The second was answered by someone obviously NOT 
her contact, and Tanj mumbled something about a wrong 
number before breaking the connection.  Again she trekked to 
a different set of comm terminals before placing her final 
call.  This contact at least gave her the decency of a few 
minutes conversation; the Fox looked at her, his eyes 
widening; "YOU!  No, you can't do this!  They might track 
it!  I can't help you; you're much too hot!  I'm sorry, but 
my own situation is precarious as it is!"  Tanj sighed; 
"Any advice?"  The Fox shook his head; "no, none at all, I'm 
afraid.  If I get the chance, I'll pass word to the Blues 
that you're still alive and free, but there's nothing else I 
dare do!"  And with that, he broke the connection.

Tanj sighed and walked away from the public comm.  She'd 
been afraid that would be the answer she'd get.  As she 
wandered in the gathering gloom of another cold night, 
Tanj wondered what to try next.

The abandoned building had a basement, and that was 
fractionally warmer than the floors above.  The risk of 
being trapped was greater, but the risk of being detected by 
infra-red was lower.  Tanj tried to find a comfortable 
position, trying to get some sleep.  She swore that if she 
ever got out of this she'd do everything she could to keep 
from getting into a fix like this again, everything she 
could to keep from being this COLD again.  As the night 
passed slowly, she tried to formulate a plan….. her thoughts 
ran from a direct assault on some policemen, seeking better 
weapons, to breaking into someone's house, seeking credits, 
to just "swallowing" her own blaster.  No plan she thought 
of seemed to have a decent chance of success.  Except for 
the latter.  There were always at least two officers per 
vehicle, and they wore body armor.  Taking both out at the 
same time would be difficult.  And homes with anything worth 
having would be protected by alarm systems at least.  
Tanj sighed and for the tenth time again tried to will 
herself to sleep.

With the coming of the morning, Tanj again took to the 
streets, hoping that in her wanderings she might spot 
something that would be of help.  Her stomach was starting 
to rumble, and as she passed several street vendors, the 
aromas from their carts drove her to distraction.  Cheetahs 
had a fast metabolism, and she knew she'd have to do 
something soon.  The something turned out to be  a dumpster 
behind a restaurant; the pickings were slim, but it was 
enough to fill her stomach, even if her actions did disgust 
her.

It was again near dusk, when she found herself near the 
broadcast building downtown.  She'd come up with nothing 
workable in her wanderings.  None of the residences she'd 
scoped out could be broken into without power tools or 
explosives.  The police she'd steered clear of.  When she'd 
first gotten here, she hadn't seen a single cop; now it 
seemed, they were everywhere.  With a sigh, she looked up at 
the towering building and shrugged.  Entering the game 
seemed her only possibility of avoiding capture……

The contestant's entrance was half way down the block, 
garishly lit.  And there was a police cruiser across the 
street from it.  It was obviously being watched.  The Police 
must have had experience with fugitives coming to the same 
conclusions she had.  She watched the flow of pedestrians 
and wondered how she could get to the door before being 
intercepted…….

The Cabbie had stopped by the café, obviously he was taking 
a break for dinner.  Tanj waited nearby, watching the 
door, and when he emerged she came up behind him, her 
blaster rudely jammed into his side; "Just a short ride, 
friend, and I'll let you go."  The ferret was smaller than 
she was but she felt him tense just the same, as if 
preparing to attack her anyways.  Another jab of her blaster 
convinced him that wasn't smart; still he turned his head 
and hissed; "This cab is owned by the Harkass family; do you 
KNOW what they'll do to you for this?  Then his eyes widened 
in recognition, and Tanj wondered how many other Cheetah 
fems had been arrested in the search for her….

The cab stopped by the contestant's entrance, facing the 
wrong way in traffic, two wheels over the curb.  Tanj 
grinned and patted the bound and gagged Ferret, wondering if 
her driving would show up on his record.  The Police were 
starting to emerge from their cruiser when Tanj bolted 
from the driver's seat, to dash the two steps to the 
building.  The cops behind her yelled, but then she was 
through the door, and down the hall.

The receptionist didn't seem to be fazed by the sight of the 
wild-eyed Cheetah, blaster in hand.  She smiled and handed 
Tanj a form to be filled out, with as much emotion as if 
she were a robot.  Tanj took a glance back down the 
corridor, to check on pursuit, and pocketing the blaster, 
she took the form and a pencil, and sat down to read the 
first question.

The anteroom was warm at least, and Tanj was alone as she 
filled in the form.  It didn't deal with names or addresses, 
but merely dealt with personal preferences, likes and 
dislikes, and experiences.  When she was done, Tanj 
handed the form to the receptionist who gave her a card, 
directing her to room 3-124.  Tanj followed the map on 
the back of the card, and was surprised to see the placard 
"Auditions" on the room's door.  Inside was a Mare, wearing 
a slave's collar, who looked thoroughly bored.  Tanj 
padded over to a small table and poured herself a cup of hot 
coffee.  Taking a long sip, she purrrred and holding the cup 
with both paws, still trying to get warm, she turned to find 
a seat.

Looking across the room at the Mare, Tanj purred; "So, 
now that I'm here, whats the drill?"  The Mare blinked at 
her; "you came here without knowing?"  Tanj shrugged; 
"I’m just a little desperate……"  That drew a snort from the 
Mare.  After a minute she looked back at Tanj; "It 
depends……. If they're hard up for contestants, they'll give 
us some quick instruction and throw us into the game.  If 
they had more apply today than they need, they'll conduct 
auditions, to weed out the ones that wouldn't look that 
great on the tube."  Tanj nodded; "What are the auditions 
like?"  The Mare bit her lip and then shrugged; "Dunno; 
don't know anyone who ever had to audition and then survived 
the game……."

Tanj finished her coffee and then poured herself another, 
this time taking a rather stale danish from the tray.  
Sitting back down, she looked at the Mare; "So, what brings 
you here?"  The Mare shrugged; "My master died, and his son 
inherited me.  The kid's a brat, and seems to love 
tormenting me."  Looking off, the Mare mumbled; "This way, 
I'll be shed of him one way or the other……"  Tanj just 
nodded.

Tanj was on her third cup of coffee when the Mouse in the 
three piece suit came through the door.  "All right, Ladies, 
we've got a few more contestants today than we can use.  If 
you'll follow me, we have a few simple tests………"  

Tanj and the Mare had been separated; it was obvious that 
they'd never know how the other did…… a well-dressed female 
Coyote had led Tanj off to a dressing room, where she was 
undressed, and then an older lady Raccoon had fussed over 
her, washing her hair, and brushing her until her fur 
glistened.  The Coyote had then returned and led Tanj to 
a doorway.  The door was steel, and was outlined in black 
and yellow diagonals.  "This is a typical "gateway" door in 
the game, and you should look for them.  Sometimes there's 
more than one doorway leading out of where you are.  Usually 
there is some sort of puzzle you have to solve, or defeat 
before you can pass on.  When it opens, there are three or 
four rooms beyond it; work your way through each of them.  
You'll be filmed and the films evaluated by our judges.  
I'll meet you on the other side to let you know if you made 
it to today's contest."  Tanj smiled and nodded and 
turned to face the door.  When the door slid open, she moved 
through it without a backwards look.

No sooner was she inside the door than something knocked 
hard into her, sending her sprawling.  Scrambling over, 
rising to her feet, she saw a nude, dark male wolf in a 
fighting crouch grinning at her; "To get through this room, 
you have to defeat me" he growled, as he started to circle 
her.  Tanj was now on her guard, but as she looked at 
him, she wondered if she should show her full unarmed combat 
skill; if she was TOO good would they select her?  Perhaps 
just enough to defeat this clown……  The Wolf lunged, and 
Tanj sidestepped, like a Matador taking the Bull's 
charge.  The Wolf almost went sprawling, his lunge having 
met no resistance, but Tanj didn't follow up.  She just 
stood there, doing her best to look "lost", as if she had no 
idea how to handle such an assault.

The Wolf growled and circled, a little more cautious.  
Tanj watched him carefully… he wasn't very good at hiding 
his intentions, ears and eyes, and tail signaling an 
impending motion.  Tanj ignored one obvious feint, as if 
her reaction time was not up to handling it, and then half-
dodged another feint, and when he lunged again, she leapt, 
making sure that when she landed, one foot came down on his 
tail.  He howled, and as Tanj turned, she "accidentally" 
backhanded him.  Now as the Wolf circled, he glared at her.  
She'd injured his pride, and from the look on his face, she 
was going to make him pay.  After a few quick jabs in her 
direction, punches Tanj was able to step back from, he 
grinned and lunged again, this time aiming high.  Tanj 
fell to the floor, rolling and as the Wolf landed, she in 
turn pounced, landing on his back, knocking him to the 
floor.  Squirming she managed to get both her arms under 
his, bringing her forearms up and behind his head, to hold 
him in a full Nelson.  Moving her head forward, she growled 
into his ear; "Yield, or I'll break your neck.  Does your 
health insurance cover things like that?  Do you think they 
can put you back together if I do?"  The Wolf stopped 
struggling and held still for a minute; with a sigh, he 
said; "No, they can't.  I yield.  You win.  The door should 
be open behind you."  Tanj held him for a moment and then 
nodded; leaning forward again, she smiled and licked his ear 
softly, and then she let him go, to padd through the far 
door, without looking back.

The Wolf looked at the Skunk and shrugged; "Mr. Terrant, you 
know I haven't worked here that long, and that I still have 
a LOT to learn, but I tell you, that Cheetah was GOOD.  She 
didn't even work up a sweat taking me like that.  AND she 
maneuvered me into a position where she could achieve a 
"kill" without actually hurting me… well, without hurting 
more than my pride."  The Skunk nodded as his eyes followed 
the motions of the Cheetah fem through the maze.  "I think 
you're right.  I think this is the one the Government's 
after.  The one they want so bad.  But they're not going to 
get her.  I think we're going to do a "Special" on her…….."  
Looking up, the Skunk grinned, a cold, humorless grin; "Now 
go and avenge yourself on the Mare.  Lets see just how good 
you CAN be, when suitably motivated."  The Wolf gulped, 
knowing his career was on the line, and nodded, turning to 
padd through an adjacent door.  The Skunk turned back to 
watch the monitor, a sly look on his face.

The Wolverine was Enraged, his paws on her desk as he leaned 
over it towards her, his fangs bared; "What do you MEAN 
you've found her but I can't have her?"  Im'Harta smiled 
into his fury and shrugged; "It seems she's found a loop-
hole.  She's in a kind of a ….. sanctuary, run by one of the 
other families.  One of the other MAJOR families.  I'm 
powerless to interfere, as is the Government.  However, if 
its any consolation, there is a good chance that she'll 
loose her "sanctuary," in which case there should be no 
trouble at all in handing her over to you.  Of course, 
there's a larger chance she'll die first.  I really am 
powerless to intervene."  Xylex straightened and looked at 
her for a moment; "What in the HELL are you talking about?"  
Im'Harta smiled; "It seems she's entered "the Game"…..

Tanj had attacked the maze with the same logic she used 
when attacking the puzzles she was used to working her way 
through in Intelligence…. She worked her way through the 
maze methodically and logically.  Somehow she doubted she'd 
gotten high marks, but she HAD found the exit.  Next to the 
steel door were three slots in the wall, each outlined with 
a red set of painted lips.  Before each set of "lips" was a 
phallic shape.  Tanj looked at them for a moment and then 
giggled; it was obvious she had to squat on one of the 
dongs, and then push her tongue into one of the slots.  And 
the fact that there were three suggested that two were the 
wrong ones and that only one was the one that would open the 
door.  Swaying her hips, Tanj padded over to the 
rightmost dong, the one farthest from the door.  Squatting 
she rubbed its head back and forth through the furrow of her 
sex, until she felt herself start to get wet.  Letting one 
paw wander down to her mons, to rub softly helped too, and 
she wondered what the Judges were thinking of her 
performance so far.  Then she was pushing herself downward, 
driving the dong into her pussy, until the painted lips were 
at the level of her muzzle.  Tanj found that the act of 
impaling herself on the dong lacked all the usual 
pleasurable feelings such an action would include; for the 
moment, it was just something that had to be done.  Still, 
she didn't need to let the camera know that……..  Leaning 
forward just a bit, she stuck her tongue out, to French the 
slot.  For a moment nothing happened, and then there was a 
jolt of electricity that shot from her pussy to her tongue; 
Tanj YELPED and leapt off the dong; looking to one side 
she saw the door was open, but it was starting to close.  
Not wanting to experience that again, she dove for the door, 
making it through just in time.

In the next room was a rather large Tiger, and an even 
larger Bull.  Both nude, and both quite well hung.  The 
Tiger merely smiled at her, as the Bull lowed; "Very good; 
you've made it through the first two gates.  Oh, by the way, 
the middle one would have opened the door without the shock, 
and the one closest to the door would have grabbed your 
tongue to hold you there.  That one would have been a pure 
"loss."  Now, to finish your audition, all you have to do is 
to contrive to make both of us cum…. It has to be visibly 
and at the same time.  Think you can do it?"  Tanj just 
grinned.

Tanj moaned around her mouthful of TigerCock.  This was 
MUCH better than her experience with the phallus in the 
previous room; this she could enjoy……  The Bull was flat on 
his back beneath her, as she sat astride his hips facing his 
feet, his truly massive cock buried in her snatch.  The 
Tiger's cock was distending her jaws, making her cheeks 
bulge, but at least he was "small" enough to handle there.  
As she slowly rode the Bull's shaft, she wondered where 
they'd found these two amazingly hung specimens.  Would this 
tape ever make it to broadcast?  She licked and sucked at 
the Tiger with relish, her mouth loving his shaft, as she 
tried to move ever so slowly on the Bull; he seemed the more 
sensitive of the two, and she thought she could bring him 
off almost at a moment's notice.  She wished she could allow 
herself the pleasure of a climax, but felt she had a job to 
do, and that should come first…….  A few more licks and 
nibbles and she felt the Tiger's cock start to twitch; an 
eruption impending.  Moving her hips a little faster, 
grunting at the effort, reaching down to fondle the bull's 
balls, she worked on them both as hard and as fast as she 
could, rising at the last moment, to stroke the tiger's cock 
with her paw as he blew his load all over the Bull's belly.  
The Bull for his part was doing his best to imitate a 
geyser, globs of his white cum spurting as far as the 
Tiger's chest.  Smiling, she kissed the Tiger first, and 
then bent down to kiss the Bull; "Will that do, Boys?"

The Lady Coyote met her outside the door, and with a smile 
on her face, led her back to the dressing room.  "There's a 
shower in there, I'm sure you'll want to clean up.  I'll 
have dinner sent in.  You should have about four hours to 
rest, before the show starts.  See if you can get some 
sleep.  Tanj just nodded, and headed for the shower, 
suddenly quite tired.

The Lion strode into the Intelligence office, a grim look on 
his face.  The freighter had made record time, Mark pushing 
the little ship to its limits, and they had just docked.  
Finding the old Fox, the Lion growled; "What news?"  The Fox 
sighed and sat on the edge of his desk, and shruged, paws 
palm up; "zilch.  We got one message from one of Tanj's 
agents there.  Seemed she was there, but the place was 
raided.  They managed to help Tanj escape, but that was 
all they were able to do.  Now they're being watched 
closely, in case she comes back.  That was…. Given 
transmission times, um, two and a half days ago.  We do know 
they're still running the Wanted ad, so they obviously don't 
have her.  Oh, and there was a mysterious sudden increase in 
the reward figure, an order of magnitude increase.  We think 
the Elysium folks are behind that."  The lion just nodded; 
"OK, so what do we do to get her back?"  The Fox sighed; "we 
keep looking.  I've got some mercenaries in route; folks 
that can't be connected with us.  They'll do what can be 
done to search the city, and try and find her before the 
Imroc government does."  The Lion stared at him for a long 
moment and then nodded.  As he turned, he growled; "Keep me 
posted."

Terrant nodded to the Lady Coyote; "Yes, she is something 
isn't she.  OK, this is the way we're going to run the show.  
I want the following elements and puzzles in the route.  
Now, for our Hunters, what would you think of sending in 
Lance, Arnold and, um, what's that new kid's name, the big 
Tiger?"

Tanj came awake with a start, as the lady Coyote shook 
her shoulder.  "Come on, its almost time.  Get something to 
eat, and then we've got to go."  Tanj wolfed down some 
pasta for energy and took a deep drink of water and then 
trotted off to the water closet.  Then they were off, down 
the corridor, Tanj still nude, following the fashionably 
dressed Coyote Fem.

Tanj stood on the short pedestal, as the camera slowly 
circled her; she knew she was being filmed for the 
"introduction" before the show; then the Coyote Fem was 
tugging at her paw, pulling her down another short corridor.  
The anteroom had several couches, and there were five other 
fems there, all nude, along with a well-dressed male Skunk.  
As Tanj took a seat, the Skunk cleared his throat and 
started to talk.  "The six of you are tonight's contestants.  
Obviously five of you will fall by the wayside.  Some will 
merely be humiliated, the others will die.  Only one of you 
will make it to the rendezvous point, where you'll join the 
single male survivor.  You'll then act as a team, to work 
your way through the remaining puzzles and hunters.  If you 
beat all the puzzles, if you triumph over the hunters, then 
you win the grand prize.  Any Questions?  The fems looked 
from the Skunk to each other, and mostly just shrugged.  
Tanj raised a paw; "if you loose, but don't die, what 
happens to you?"  The Skunk shrugged; "you're back out on 
the street, just as you arrived.  There are no "consolation 
prizes."  Tanj nodded.  The Skunk grinned at them; "Then 
I wish you all luck, and I'll see one of you at the far end.  
There'll be a warning bell at five minutes and at one 
minute, and then that door will open, and the game will have 
begun.

Terrant smiled and bowed to the camera; "Good evening, 
ladies and gentlefurrs.  Tonight we have something special 
for you.  One of tonight's dozen contestants is the furr 
currently heading the State's Most Wanted list.  Now, the 
Government has been quite reticent over just what crimes 
this Cheetah is wanted for, but you can bet your last credit 
that she wouldn't be stirring up that much interest if it 
wasn't something Major.  Watch tonight as she tries to solve 
our puzzles, and battles the hunters.  Is she truly as 
"dangerous" as the State believes?  Stay tuned and find out!

Xylex watched the wall-sized monitor in Im'Harta's office 
and growled; "You can't arrest her because she's entered a 
GAME SHOW?"  The lady Skunk chuckled; "Oh, its not just ANY 
game show, it’s The Game.  Watch and you'll see…….

Tanj took a moment to look over her competition.  There 
was a lady skunk that looked, well, almost resigned to 
failing, almost as if this were a complex and bizarre form 
of suicide.  The squirrel fem looked determined, confident 
that she could take on any of the challenges and win.  The 
Black Pantheress made her think of Jenka, sleek and 
graceful, and looking amused by the whole affair.  The lady 
panda looked muscular, as if she worked out.  She was 
attractive, in a husky sort of way, and showed an 
inscrutable reserve.  And the shapely lady Mink looked as 
nervous as Tanj felt.  There was no sign of the Mare, and 
Tanj wondered what had happened to her.  When the five 
minute warning bell sounded, the contestants rose, to 
cluster around the door.  As the one minute warning rang, 
they all grew visibly nervous, even the Panda, who was 
quietly doing stretching exercises.  Finally it was time, 
and without warning the door slid open, and they all dashed 
through to find themselves in a maze.  The other five 
contestants dashed off down various branches, but Tanj 
stopped for a moment to look the situation over, before 
deciding to follow the left-hand wall….

Tanj showed her usual persistence, and finally found the 
exit from the maze; entering the next room, she found that 
she was the fourth of the six to have found her way through.  
The Pantheress, the mink and the skunk were ahead of her.  
In the room were six phallic shapes rising from the floor at 
various positions.  It was obvious that some random 
selection process was at work here, as each of the fems that 
had entered the room before her had picked one of the 
glistening dildoes and had impaled themselves upon it.  The 
Skunk and the Pantheress had kneeled before taking the dongs 
within them, but the mink had merely squatted.  All now held 
rather strained looks on their face, and Tanj wondered 
what had happened.  With a sigh, she selected one of the 
remaining dongs and kneeling, positioning herself carefully, 
she slowly pushed down onto it, driving its slick length 
into her pussy.  No sooner had she settled herself than she 
found out the reason for the strained looks on the other 
contestants:  Its head seemed to balloon out, forming a knot 
similar to those the lupines developed.  It stretched her 
unmercifully, and with a gasp she realized that until it was 
deflated, she most likely could not escape it. 

Finally the Panda, and then the Squirrel fem found their way 
into the room, and without hesitation, chose the remaining 
phalluses, a small gasp escaping from each of them as it too 
inflated and bulged within them.  A moment or two after all 
six contestants were "locked" in place, the dongs stared to 
vibrate, and Tanj knew they weren't to escape without a 
climax for the audience's amusement.  As the dong droned 
within her; she panted and wondered if the first to cum 
would be the first to be released.  Glancing over at the 
Pantheress, she noted that lady rubbing at her crotch with 
one paw as the other shamelessly caressed a breast.  
Grinning, Tanj mimicked her actions.  The Mink was the 
first one to scream in passion, however, and shortly 
thereafter, she was able to drag herself from the phallus, 
to stagger through the now open far door.  The Pantheress 
was indeed next, rising with a grin to dash towards the next 
obstacle.  Then it was Tanj's turn to gasp and moan out 
her pleasure as she shuddered through a sharp climax.  As 
she caught her breath, she felt the dong stop vibrating, its 
head diminishing, until she too could rise.  As she dragged 
herself free of the phallus she wondered what sensors, or 
devices the game officials had to detect her climax.  Were 
there sensors in the dong?  Infra red detectors in the room?  
Could she fake a climax and fool the sensors?  Looking over 
her shoulder, she grinned at the looks on the faces of the 
Panda, Skunk and the Squirrel.  And then she was in the next 
maze.

The maze had been a short, basic one, obviously designed to 
merely space out the contestants a little, as they made 
their way through.  The room at its end was a simple one; 
there were two doors, both open, and a sign.  The sign read; 
"This is a simple variant of the "Lady and the Tiger".  
Behind one door is a ravening "beast" that has not been fed 
in days, and will devour you.  Behind the other door is a 
hansom stud that will pleasure you.  Make your choice.  
Tanj looked at the door on the left; it stood open, and 
deserted, behind it, a dead end.  The door on the right was 
also open, a passage clear beyond it.  The Mink knelt on the 
floor, in the firm grasp of a well muscled gray Wolf, who 
held her hair in one paw, and her tail in the other, slowly 
pumping her from behind.  The Mink shot Tanj a helpless 
glance as the Cheetah squeezed past the rutting pair, and 
through the corridor into the next maze.  As she ran, 
Tanj grinned, wondering what the Pantheress had found in 
the other room.  Or had one of the other contestants gotten 
past her in the maze?

The male Brown Bear was still alive, but from the way he lay 
on the floor, it was obvious that someone had beaten him to 
a pulp.  At least one leg was broken, and one arm, and from 
the way he lay, Tanj would have wagered he had half a 
dozen broken ribs, and maybe some internal bleeding.  He 
looked at her with dulled eyes as she trotted past, 
following the spattering of blood on the floor.  Whoever had 
taken this "Hunter" out had obviously been well skilled in 
the martial arts, and Tanj wondered about the 
Pantheress…..

The next maze was in three dimensions, forcing her to climb 
over and under different obstacles.  Tanj grinned as she 
thought of the audience getting an eyeful of her nude body 
squirming through tight holes and climbing over artificial 
mountain cliffs.  The path was not complex, but it was 
difficult, and by the time she finally made it to the next 
room, she was panting hard.  Here too, there was a large, 
obvious exit, securely closed.  In the room were five 
devices made of steel tubing and transparent plastic.  The 
Pantheress was already there, laying across one of the 
devices, supported by her knees on one side, and her paws on 
the other as she leaned across the device.  Her breasts hung 
down, and had been captured by plexiglass forms that seemed 
to adhere to her body.  In fact, her breasts seemed to fill 
the plexiglass forms completely……  And one whole wall was 
transparent aluminum, and on the other side was a crowd of 
howling, gesturing males, of every species.  Tanj watched 
as one particularly large bull, completely nude, held his 
erect cock in one hand, waggling it at her as he leered.  
Tanj looked at the five devices and wondered what had 
happened to the sixth contestant.  With an eye towards the 
audience, both on the other end of the camera and on the 
other side of the wall, she winked at the bull, and sashayed 
over to the device closest to the transparent wall, her hips 
swaying.  This one was arranged such that when she bent 
over, her ass was pointed directly at the crowd, her head 
facing the other contestants.  As she bent over the device, 
her paws reaching for the obvious handholds on its other 
side, she felt her breasts touch the plexiglass shapes.  
These shapes, on the outside, were rather bullet shaped, but 
on the inside looked like cartoon exaggerations of the 
female breast.  The upper edges were wide flanges, obviously 
meant to rest against her chest.  As she wrapped her paws 
around the handholds, a contact was obviously closed as she 
felt a flow of air ruffling the fur on the flanks of her 
breasts.  Connections at the bottoms of the plexiglass 
shapes were sucking air at a prodigious rate, the shapes 
rising a little on pneumatic lifts so that their open ends 
pressed against her chest like leaches.  Tanj GASPED as 
the suction made her breasts swell, making them balloon out 
slightly, filling the volume of the plexiglass form.  She 
howled as her nipples were actually sucked into the fittings 
at the ends.  Releasing the handles did not stop the 
suction, and as she moved, tentatively, she found that the 
suction held her breasts so firmly she could not escape its 
grip; she was effectively immobilized on the device!  
Looking up at the Pantheress she gasped; "What IS this?"  
The Pantheress looked over her shoulder and grinned weakly; 
"Only saw this on one other show.  Two of the devices are 
the "lucky" ones.  Those release the contestants, and they 
proceed through the door.  The others keep the contestants 
locked tight…… and then the wall behind you slides open.  
Hey, look at the bright side; at least failing this one 
isn't usually fatal!"  Tanj groaned; "How come only five; 
there were six of us; what happened to the sixth?"  The 
Pantheress did her best to shrug; "Don't know; my guess is 
that either something killed her in the maze, or maybe the 
inflatable dong in the previous room never let her go.  
Again, luck plays as much a part here as skill."  Tanj 
sighed and did her best to rest, awaiting the other 
contestants.  She'd heard of devices like this, usually sold 
for "at-home breast enlargement"; she'd never thought that 
they worked, and was sure the at-home models didn't develop 
such wicked suction.  

It took the Mink a while to enter the room.  Then the Panda, 
staggered in, battered, bruised, and dripping blood from a 
dozen clawmarks, but still moving, and then finally the 
Skunk arrived.  Tanj blinked and shook her head wondering 
how the Panda had gotten past not only her but the Mink and 
the Pantheress as well in that first maze after the 
inflating dong room; for why else would someone open the 
other door, if the Mink had already released the Wolf stud?  
In fact, just what HAD happened there?  Had the Mink tried 
to sneak past while the Panda fought the Bear?  Tanj 
turned that over in her mind, while waiting for something to 
happen.  As Tanj waited, she developed a sincere hatred 
of the device sucking at her breasts so viciously, but 
finally the others too had assumed the position.  After a 
few moment there was a clack, and the mink arose with a 
superior grin on her face, to sashay through the now open 
far door.  After a few minutes there was another clack, and 
the Panda rose, her face neutral.

Tanj sighed, thinking that her hopes of receiving 
amnesty, of getting enough money to book passage out of the 
system were gone, that she'd wind up facing the authorities 
after all, when suddenly her device started making clacking 
motions too.  However, in her case, the initial motions of 
the framework were merely to lock bands around her arms and 
thighs, even more securely holding her in place.  She saw 
the Pantheress looking curiously over her shoulder at her, 
as the suction on her breasts was released.  However, the 
edges of the plexiglass forms seemed to extrude some sort of 
goop, wet against her fur, and then the devices filled with 
some sort of cool fluid.  Then, to her surprise, the bands 
released her and she found that she was able to stand.  To 
her further surprise, the plexiglass forms were now stuck 
tight over her chest, encasing her breasts, the fluid 
sloshing back and forth.  She found that the weight of this 
assembly made it difficult to keep her balance, and 
staggering, she headed for the door, giving the Pantheress' 
head a caress as she passed.  As the door closed behind her, 
she heard the transparent wall start to rise, the howls of 
the crowd loud in her ears.

The next room held a maze, with three ways to go; Tanj's 
nose told her that the mink had gone right, and the Panda 
straight; with a shrug, she took the left passage, hoping 
that her luck was better than the Mink's.  As she worked her 
way through the maze, she tugged at the edges of the shapes 
encasing her breasts; whatever that goop was, they were 
glued on TIGHT.  She could only hope that sweat would 
dissolve the glue in time.  This maze was also a three 
dimensional one, and she found it most difficult to scale 
the "cliff" with the big plexiglass bubbles adhering to her 
chest.  Several times she almost fell to the jagged "rocks" 
below.  At the top of the cliff was a tunnel, and Tanj 
found that she couldn't crawl on paws and knees; the tunnel 
roof was too low, and the devices on her breasts too long; 
they dragged.  Finally she turned over on her back, to scoot 
down the tunnel, negotiating the twists and turns as best 
possible, concerned over the loss of time.

Emerging from the tunnel, Tanj looked over a wondrous 
sight; it looked like an obstacle course from a child's 
videogame.  An artificial valley spread out before her, its 
floor filled with jagged stalagmites.  Through the air 
between the ledge she stood on and the far side, were 
floating pieces of rock; obviously she was meant to leap 
from rock to rock.  To compound the problem, other, larger 
rock shapes were moving from side to side with an 
unpredictable pattern.  Mis-time your leap and you'd get 
swatted from the air, or knocked from your perch, to certain 
death below.  Tugging forlornly at the forms covering her 
breasts one more time, Tanj gauged the distance and 
prepared her first jump.

Tanj clung to the ledge, panting hard.  She'd made it.  
She'd had three close calls; once when she'd nearly missed 
the rock she was leaping for, once when she discovered the 
rock she'd leapt to rotated freely, and once when she'd mis-
timed a jump, almost getting knocked from her rock by one of 
the moving boulders.  Still, she was now on the far side, 
and for the moment, safe.  Rolling over on her back, once 
again she tugged at the plexiglass form covering her left 
breast.  As she pulled, grunting, she looked down at it, and 
was amazed to observe that most of the liquid that had been 
surrounding her breast now seemed to be gone; instead her 
breast seemed to have swelled up to fill the chamber.  
Thinking back, she remembered the novelty cream she'd bought 
at Smiley's station, the cream that was absorbed through the 
skin, to make that portion of the anatomy retain water.  She 
wondered if this was something similar, a more advanced form 
that in providing both the drug and the fluid, worked in 
minutes what too the other days to accomplish?  With a 
grunt, she managed to get one edge of the device to separate 
from her skin, and then working a clawtip around, slowly 
managed to separate it from her skin (most of her fur coming 
out in the process).  Then she found that it was not easy to 
pull the slightly smaller opening away from her now balloon-
sized breast.  Rolling on the floor of the ledge, cognizant 
of the fact she must be putting on quite a show for the 
audience, she finally managed to free the other breast.  
Standing, she kicked both plexiglass forms to the "Valley 
floor" below.  "That’s fitting" she thought to herself; 
"might as well practice my kicking now that I've got soccer 
ball sized breasts……."  Crossing her arms under her now more 
than ample breasts, trying to support them as best possible, 
she headed for the next room, and the next challenge, 
wondering how far ahead of her the Mink and the Panda were.

The next room contained three clear transparent aluminum 
tubes, each a body's length over the floor.  The other two 
contestants were already standing on the pads beneath the 
tubes; the Panda had her arms raised above her head, and the 
Mink was standing with her arms at her sides.  It was 
obvious that Tanj was to take her place under the 
remaining tube, although what would happen after than was 
unclear.  Slowly she walked around the tube, taking her 
time, looking.  As she examined it, she thought back to the 
previous room. It was obvious that only three were expected 
to make it this far......  Again she expected only one of 
the tubes to be the clear path forward; but what would 
happen in the others?  Figuring there was only one way to 
find out, she took her position beneath the remaining tube, 
and shooting a look at the Panda, raised her paws over her 
head.  No sooner had she stepped onto the pad than the tube 
began to descend.  It was a tight fit, especially over her 
now-enlarged breasts, and she realized that she'd probably 
been wise in mimicking the Panda.  The diameter of the tube 
was barely wider than her hips and had her arms been at her 
side she would not have been able to raise them over her 
head.  

The tube boomed hollowly as it touched the pad she stood on, 
and she tilted her head back as far as she could, to look 
up, to see what was to come, and then she looked through the 
clear tube at the other contestants.  She heard a hiss and a 
liquid noise from below her and she tried to look down, but 
found her own body blocking her view of her feet.  Looking 
to one side, just as she felt something warm and wet touch 
her feet, she saw that the Panda was rising smoothly up the 
tube, the pad she stood on acting as an elevator, sliding 
the fem upwards, towards a now open top.  The Mink however, 
was suffering a different result; while something viscous 
was slowly rising up Tanj's legs, in the Mink's tube, it 
was raining down on her from above!  It looked like cum, 
gallons of it.  The viscous white jism poured down onto the 
Mink from above, a salty, sticky rain, and the tube slowly 
started to fill!  The space between the Mink's body and the 
tube was so small, that the liquid was starting to pool 
around her upper body.  No matter how she squirmed, the Mink 
couldn't get a good purchase on the slick walls of the 
cylinder; there was no way for her to work her way up above 
the slimy liquid level.  The cylinder wasn't large enough in 
diameter for her to bring her paws up over her head, either.  
She was trapped, and drowning in cum! 

Tanj squirmed as the level of viscous sticky cum rapidly 
rose, climbing up her body, the rate of its rise 
accelerating as her body filled more of the tube, until it 
was squirting up between her breasts, pushing through the 
crack of her ass….. Squirming hard, she tried to work her 
way up the tube, her forearms and feet pressed against its 
side, seeking a grip.  As she panted and squirmed, she 
realized that with the cum flowing up from below, and the 
tight fit of her body in the tube, she was at least in part 
being pushed up the tube like a cork.  That and the density 
of the cum, yielded her a greater buoyancy.  By the time she 
escaped the open top of the tube, on the level above, she 
was panting hard, and dripping wet, covered in cum to just 
below her muzzle.  Laying on the grating, as the cum 
fountained softly from the open top of the tube, she vowed 
to herself that somehow, some way, she'd get back at whoever 
had done this to her.  After a while, she rose, to look 
around, looking for the next "gate".

A short corridor led her to the next room, and when she saw 
its contents she groaned.  There were two sets of rails, 
with one set containing a saddle-like device on rollers.  
The saddle had a rather thick phallic plug, and looking 
closely at it, it was obvious that as she sat on it, a 
second phallic plug would emerge from the seat, to push into 
her ass.  There were stirrups for her feet and rein-like 
straps for her hands......  And she knew that as soon as she 
sat down, as soon as she'd been "locked" into place, the 
device would slide forward on the rails.  It was obvious 
that only one choice was the correct one; but which one?  
The Panda had already taken the saddle on the right side; 
Tanj had no choice but to take the one on the Left.  

Placing one foot in a stirrup, and swinging her other leg 
over the saddle, she positioned herself just so, and slowly 
sank down on the thick phallic plug.  No sooner had her 
bottom met the cool surface of the saddle than something 
whirred, and she felt the nose of the other plug push 
against her anus.  As it drove deep into her bottom and as 
its head ballooned out, inflating wickedly, she moaned; at 
least it had been lubricated.  She had a moment to recover, 
a moment to wrap the straps around her paws, and then the 
door in front of her was opening, the device smoothly 
accelerating forward along the track.  

The track was gently down-hill at first, the cart gathering 
momentum, and then like a demented roller coaster, it went 
over a series of "hills," swooping up and then down, and 
then up again.  She felt her body rise, and then fall, the 
two dongs tugging hard at her sex; in spite of herself she 
moaned and shuddered at the stimulation.  As the wild ride 
continued, she had to concentrate on hanging on; it was 
obvious that if she fell from the saddle it would be a LONG 
fall.  However as the ride got wilder and wilder, she found 
it more and more difficult to maintain that concentration, 
to grip the sides of the saddle with her legs, to maintain 
her grip on the "reins."  When unexpectedly, and completely 
against her wishes her climax struck, she almost lost her 
grip, almost slipped from the saddle, but somehow she hung 
on.  Three turns, two bumps, and a loop later, she gasped as 
she beheld poles lining the track!  Each pole seemed to hold 
something in a variety of positions, each point seeming to 
reach for her as she careened down the track!  With no time 
to respond, and no idea how to avoid them, the cart sped 
between the first set of poles and she felt touches on her 
left shoulder and her right arm.  Then the next set of poles 
gave her harder touches on her thighs, calves and arms, and 
she realized that the poles held large feathers!  Successive 
poles brought more touches, until she was starting to 
giggle.  Looking to one side, she noted that the other track 
was also lined in poles, but that it didn't look as if the 
poles held feathers; she seemed to catch the glint of metal. 
And then the cart was slowing as it entered the next room. 
As the butt-plug deflated, and retracted, Tanj pulled 
herself from the saddle.  She looked to her right and 
instantly looked away; The other saddle was empty, but from 
the dripping gore, Tanj thought she knew what the poles 
on the other track had held; the poor Panda had been flayed 
alive…….

After a short, fairly simple maze, Tanj passed into 
another of the gate rooms.  The exit door was clearly marked 
and looked like a bank vault; heavy and thick and 
impenetrable.  The task that has to be accomplished to open 
it was obvious.  In the middle of the room, within three 
large bright metal rings, was a contraption that obviously 
was meant to hold a body; there were foot rests and hand 
holds, and all sorts of automated closures.  And on a 
pedestal in front of the contraption, in a bowl of 
lubricant, were two rather large Ben-wa balls.  Tanj 
sighed and shook her head, and resignedly walked over to the 
bowl, to fish out the balls.  Knowing she was on camera she 
grinned and squatted, inserting the balls into her pussy 
with feigned relish.  Walking carefully, she made her way to 
the device, and climbed up into it, to stand within its open 
enclosures.  She stood there for a moment, waiting, with no 
response.  The handholds were simple; there were no grips, 
no switches that had to be closed.  After a moment she 
chuckled and concentrating, contracted her vaginal muscles, 
squeezing the ben-wa balls.  One of them must have held a 
pressure sensor, as immediately padded steel closed around 
her, at wrists, ankles, thighs, waist, chest, and neck.  
Then suddenly her arms and legs were drawn widely apart, 
until she was tightly spread-eagled within the device.  And 
then the device slowly started spinning first pitching head 
over heels and then adding a nauseating twisting yaw, and a 
sickening side to side roll.  The device swung slowly at 
first, and Tanj was able to discern the massive door 
creeping open.  Obviously when the "spin cycle" was over, 
the door would be open.  The motions made the Ben-wa balls 
jerk and dance around within her, quite nicely at first and 
then with increasing force until she was wailing through a 
sudden and quite intense climax.  A camera mounted to the 
framework was focused on her face and she knew, as her head 
was jerked side to side, front to back, that the audience 
was watching the expressions on her face, the effects of her 
climax all too apparent.  She grinned, thinking her now-
huge, wildly bouncing tits probably were also getting a lot 
of attention and then another climax seized her and she 
howled yet again.

  As she spun, Tanj realized that the sensors in the Ben-
wa balls must be monitoring their "position" and she 
struggled hard to keep them from slipping out; however as 
the speed of the whirling device increased, this became 
harder and harder, as the centrifugal forces built.  The 
centrifugal forces also sent blood rushing to her 
extremities, and she knew that if the "ride" lasted too 
long, she'd have brain damage.  She wondered what would 
happen if she let the Ben-Wa balls escape; it would be SOOOO 
easy, but then she decided she didn't really want to find 
out.  The world was a red blur, as she struggled to retain 
the bouncing, gyrating ben-wa balls, as she endeavored to 
keep from throwing up, as she suffered through climax after 
climax…...  Finally the device slowly spun down. Coming to a 
stop with her body upside-down, at an angle off the 
vertical.  She barely had time to notice that the exit door 
stood wide open when all the restraints clicked open…. And 
she was dropped headfirst into a pool of ice cold water!

As she climbed from the water, she noticed that sometime 
during her wild ride, doors had opened under the device; the 
device was on rails, and she concluded that if she'd lost 
the Ben-wa balls, it would have submerged itself, with her 
body still tightly locked into the framework.  With a wince, 
as she considered what would have been a nasty death, 
dripping, she squatted, intending to remove the Ben-wa 
balls.  However, a glance at the door, and then at the 
contraption convinced her to wait until she was on the OTHER 
side of the door before removing them.  She was not sure she 
could retain the balls within her and thus survive, if she 
had to repeat her performance.

As Tanj exited the room through the door, sensors 
determined that she still had the balls within her, held in 
her sore, dripping pussy, and the master computer shifted 
gears, altering the direction of her path through the maze 
accordingly.

The short corridor led to yet another maze, this one styled 
to look like an old English Garden.  The air was warm, the 
sky blue, and the grass soft underfoot.  Somewhere birds 
sang, or at least Tanj thought it sounded like birds.  
The maze was formed by a thick, impenetrable hedge, about 
three meters tall, and at least a meter thick; there was no 
way Tanj could see over it, or squeeze through it.  
Squatting, she removed the Ben-Wa balls, but instead of 
throwing them away, as was her first inclination, she held 
onto them.  If the maze contained a "Hunter", he was going 
to get a nasty surprise.  Looking left and then right, 
Tanj picked a direction and started working her way 
through the maze.

The Jaguar watched the screen on his portable monitor; it 
showed him the progress of the Cheetah fem through the maze.  
He was nude, muscular, and rather hansom, a favorite on the 
show.  And he grinned to himself as he strode rapidly into 
an ambush position; This Cheetah would be HIS!

Tanj didn't know what caused her to pause; some sort of 
sixth sense.  Sniffing the wind, she decided she couldn't 
detect anything.  Had she heard something?  She wasn't sure.  
Somehow, though, she knew there was trouble ahead, and she 
moved cautiously.  The Paw that came around the corner 
swatted her along the side of her head, knocking her back, 
knocking her to the ground; turning, she looked up in 
surprise at the largest Jaguar she'd ever seen.  He stood 
there, paws on hips, as if savoring the sight of his next 
kill.  Tanj had no intention of being so accommodating; 
rolling, she swung her right arm, the lighter of the two 
Ben-wa balls flying out towards his face.  The Jaguar 
flinched instinctively as the lighter of the two balls 
wizzed past, giving Tanj enough time to get to her feet, 
and assume a combat stance.  As the Jaguar looked at her, 
his eyes narrowed; it was rare that a female ever gave him a 
decent fight, and none had ever beaten him, but this one…….  
Hmmmmm.  Dropping into a Karate stance, he moved forward…..

Tanj avoided his first kick, and spun, her tail lashing 
out to slap against his legs; it wasn't hard enough to knock 
him over though and in response he jabbed at her, connecting 
with her ribs.  Tanj oofed, and pivoted again, bringing 
her right fist around in a roundhouse, that connected with 
his skull just below his eye.  The Jaguar Yowled as the 
heavier of the two Ben-wa balls slammed into his skull, and 
he danced back in surprise.  Tanj followed, delivering a 
snap kick to his groin, and then a jab to his chin.  The 
Jaguar was good however, and as he fell, he swung his body, 
to knock Tanj's legs out from under her.  By the time 
she'd regained her feet, so had he, her momentary advantage 
lost.

Tanj moved between the leafy green walls of the Hedge, 
dancing, watching.  She'd hurt him, but she wasn't sure 
she'd hurt him enough.  He was still moving slowly, and 
although he was panting hard, so was she.  Suddenly he moved 
like lightning, to deliver a kick to her stomach, driving 
her backwards; he followed up with a flurry of punches and 
only a sudden jab of her fingers, luckily finding the right 
point in his neck made him break off the attack and fall 
back.  They both stood, panting,  glaring at each other, as 
they tried to catch their breath.

Xylex watched the wall-sized monitor, and then turned to 
Im'Harta; "Are you sure he understood his instructions?"  
The lady Skunk nodded; "He'll beat her to within an inch of 
her life, and if I know him, take his pleasure with her too, 
but he'll leave her alive for you.  He's one of the best 
we've got and has never been beaten.  Yet.  This one seems 
to have had considerable combat training, something we don't 
often see in our contestants.  And no one anticipated her 
hanging onto the Ben-wa balls to be used as a weapon……"  
Xylex's eyes narrowed and he gave the Skunkette a long hard 
look before turning back to the monitor.

Tanj panted as she moved, looking for an opening; she'd 
tried going on the offensive, something that had initially 
surprised the Jaguar; she'd gotten in a good kick to his 
kneecap, and a jab to his solar plexus, but had received 
quite a battering in return.  Now he was limping a bit…. But 
on the other hand, as she moved, she thought she could feel 
her ribs grating, as if something was broken……  Glancing 
down for a moment, she spotted the other Ben-wa ball lying 
on the grass, and trying not to grin, she circled, doing her 
best to maneuver him into just the right position……..

The Jaguar watched warily.  This one was as good as any of 
the furrs he sparred with.  She had incredible reaction 
times, something that shouldn't have surprised him, given 
the fact she was a Cheetah; still, she was a lightweight…. 
If she'd been a Tigress, with skills like that, he'd have 
been in real trouble….  Her attack had surprised him; he'd 
almost never seen any of his prey go on the offensive.  Most 
often they ran screaming……  Now he watched warily; if he let 
her hurt him too bad, he'd have to spend time in the 
regeneration tanks, and missing shows could be bad for his 
career…..

Tanj smiled to herself as he passed through just the 
right spot; with a scream, she leapt at him, claws out.  As 
expected, the Jaguar took a step back, his foot finding the 
forgotten Ben-wa ball.  Although his defensive kick again 
found Tanj's ribs, he still went over backwards.  Tanj 
OOFed, but still managed to land on top of him, the heavy 
ball in her right paw coming down HARD on his Temple.  Three 
times she slammed him, until she was sure he was out.  
Grinning, Tanj checked for a pulse, and then carefully 
rose to her feet; something was definitely broken.  Panting, 
she padded back down the maze, looking for that vine that 
had been growing on one portion of the hedge.

Xylex growled; "So much for your Champion!"  Im'Harta 
nodded; "I admit I'm surprised… but what is she doing?  Why 
isn't she working through the rest of the Maze?"  In silence 
the two watched as the Cheetah fem gathered lengths of vine, 
severing the lengths with her teeth.  Padding back to the 
fallen Jaguar, she proceeded to hogtie him with the vine……..

The Jaguar awoke to a blinding headache, and the feel of the 
Cheetah's claws at his throat.  Blinking, he found it hard 
to focus, but her words were clear enough; "you've probably 
got a really severe concussion.  I think you need medical 
help, bad.  Tell me what I want to know, and I'll move on, 
to let your associates come to your aid.  Refuse me, and 
I'll make it worse.  MUCH worse.  You see,  I know what its 
like to be broke on this planet.  And I can see to it that 
you never, ah, "work" again.  No, I won't kill you, but when 
I'm done, you'll wish I had.  Get the picture?"  The Jaguar 
struggled for a moment against his bonds, and then realized 
as her clawtips dug into him, that while he might get free, 
in a bit, she'd shred him first.  As his movements subsided 
he swallowed and nodded.  Tanj smiled and moved her 
fingertips across his face, as if smoothing his fur; then he 
felt the pinpricks of her claws just below his eyes.  "Lets 
start here; an eye for each answer I don't happen to like.  
What comes next, after the maze?"

Im'Harta's jaw dropped; "She's INTERROGATING him!  Why I 
NEVER…….!"  Xylex turned and looked at the Skunkette; "How 
much does he know about the elements of the game?  How much 
can she tell him?"  The Skunkette looked at Xylex; "well, I 
don't know; I suppose he could know everything or nothing, 
depending on his own curiosity.  Hunters aren't briefed 
beyond their own roles…. But there's nothing to prevent them 
from looking over the whole script, and that one's always 
been deep into the game.  I suspect he'd know quite a bit……"  
Xylex growled; "How much of it can you change?  Can you re-
order the different elements?  Swap out elements?"  Im'Harta 
shook her head; "No, it takes at least a day to build a set 
for a game.  There just isn't time!  I can change out some 
of the Hunters, but that’s about it….."  Xylex just growled.

Tanj smiled as the Jaguar talked.  If he was to be 
believed, he'd studied the entire layout for the game.  
Tanj fondled his balls softly, only occasionally adding a 
pinprick of claws when he seemed to falter.  Finally, it 
seemed, she'd gotten all from him that she could.  Wondering 
about time frames, she smiled.  The Male contestants might 
have to wait a bit, but she had something she had to do 
first…..  She knew at this juncture that sexual exhaustion 
was the last thing she needed, but this just had to be 
done….  Bending over she dragged her tongue along his 
sheath.  As she licked, she purrred; "Somehow, I have the 
feeling that before you've dispatched many a contestant, 
you've raped her… am I right?  Tanj felt the Jaguar 
tense, but he didn't answer; she chuckled and didn't force a 
response; instead she continued her licking, until his cock 
was standing free of its sheath, standing proud, bobbing up 
and down slightly with his heartbeat.  Moving carefully, 
doing her best to ignore the pain in her side, Tanj 
straddled his hips and slipped his shaft into her pussy.  
Slowly she moved, using all her skill, watching the play of 
emotions on the Jaguar's face.  With his legs and arms bound 
behind his back, the position couldn't be comfortable, and 
yet, she was sure, there were parts of what she was doing 
that he liked……

Im'Harta chuckled and shook her head; "I can't believe this!  
She's doing HIM!  Oh, I bet this show gets incredible 
ratings!"  Xylex just growled, and paced.

Tanj purrrred as her climax blossomed, warm waves of 
pleasure radiating out from her sex, to bathe her entire 
body.  It had been a bit bizarre, a bit stimulating, to take 
him, watching the fear reflected in his eyes, as he wondered 
if she'd kill him as he'd killed so many of the contestants 
before her……  A few more strokes and then she concentrated, 
rippling her vaginal muscles to milk the Jaguar's cock.  
She'd been holding him on the edge for a while now, and this 
was all he needed to cum; as his cock started to spurt, she 
rose off him, to let the cameras watch as his cock geysered.  
Bending over she kissed him, and then, pressing her thumbs 
into either side of his neck, she pressed closed the 
arteries, until unconsciousness claimed him.  She wondered 
if this small death in any way repaid him for all the times 
he'd killed some poor fem, after raping her?  In a way, she 
hoped so.  Rising, moving carefully, she headed through the 
maze, hoping the Jaguar's directions had been correct.

Tanj smiled as she found the gazebo in the center of the 
maze, just as the Jaguar had told her.  The spiral staircase 
in the Gazebo took her down, into another room.  In this 
room, Tanj found three bound males.  Each male was 
squatting, neither kneeling on the floor, nor standing but 
held somewhere in-between; poles from the floor supported an 
elaborate metal cock and ball harness, holding them in 
position.  It was obvious from the looks on their faces, and 
from their trembling, bunched muscles that they'd been in 
that position for a while, and were starting to have trouble 
maintaining it.  Each was also gagged with a large ball gag, 
their paws cuffed behind them.  "Oh, Boys, I'm sorry I took 
so long" Tanj purred.  As she looked at them, Tanj 
reviewed what the Jaguar had told her; she had to fuck one 
of them to get the device to release him.  He would then be 
her partner for the rest of the game.  Having some clue as 
to what was to come, Tanj padded over to the first male, 
a huge Bull.  He regarded her with cool eyes, as if 
confident that she'd choose him.  His head turned to follow 
her as she padded around behind him, confusion filling his 
face as she examined his paws.  The palms of his hands were 
fairly soft, and Tanj figured that while he obviously 
worked out a lot, he did little real work.  Grinning, she 
slid a finger under his tail, to tease his anus; the Bull 
flinched and twisting his head again, gave her a curious 
look.  Leaving him, Tanj padded over to the Tiger.  
Again, a magnificent specimen.  His paws too were moderately 
soft, and while he was less sensitive around the anus, he 
still flinched a bit when Tanj probed him.  The Rabbit 
was fairly large… for a Rabbit.  He seemed to be well 
muscled, but thin, and the fur around his neck was ruffled 
and sparse, as if he'd been wearing a collar.  His paws were 
well callused, and when she teased him under the tail, he 
seemed to take it without comment.  Shooting an apologetic 
look at the others, Tanj bent to lick at the Rabbit's 
bound cock, making sure he was hard for her……  After a bit 
of teasing, letting the camera get its fill, Tanj turned 
and bent way over, spreading her legs wide.  There was a 
pair of handles for her to grab, to help her hold the 
position, switches closing at her grip; and then she was 
pushing her hips back, seeking the Rabbit's hard cock.  
Figuring the clock was running again, she moved as quickly 
as she could, doing her best to bring him off.  The Cheetah 
purred as she felt his hard cock start to spurt, his jism 
flooding her.  Taking a moment to savor the sensations, she 
permitted herself a small climax… and then the device that 
held him was clicking, opening, releasing him.

As he staggered free of the device, stretching, and 
massaging sore muscles, Tanj rose, and turned, to take 
his paw; "Come on, this way.  I'll lead, you watch our six.  
The rabbit unbuckled and then spit out his gag, and as he 
raised an eyebrow he grinned; "our six; curious term.  I 
assume you mean behind us.  No matter, yes, I'll watch your, 
ah, I mean OUR rear for a bit."  Tanj grinned and led off 
through the next maze.  This was another of the three 
dimensional mazes, although here anti-gravity generators 
were used to suspend large objects that they had to transit.  
In unpredictable places, the gravity became significantly 
stronger, and in other places they were barely able to keep 
their feet on the floor.  In many places they had to work 
together, one boosting the other up, and then leaning down 
to catch a paw, to drag the other up.  By the time they'd 
worked their way to the exit, both were panting hard, and 
Tanj's ribs were bothering her bad.  The exit door from 
the maze led them into another of the gate rooms.  Again, as 
they entered through the door, an alarm sounded, and 
machinery came alive, spikes starting to emerge from walls, 
ceiling and floor.

In the center of the room was a broad, square pedestal.  It 
was only about a foot high, but was about a body-length on a 
side.  It was topped with a tank of water, only about a foot 
deep.  Hanging from the ceiling, was a pair of the now all 
too familiar handgrips, but they were out of reach.  Tanj 
looked at the rabbit; "You're lighter, let me boost you up."  
He nodded and stepping into Tanj's linked paws, leaped up 
to grab the handles.  As he squeezed the handles, the rabbit 
looked left and then right, his eyes widening as he noticed 
that the spikes were still growing closer.

Tanj also saw that the rabbit's efforts were having no 
effect, and reached out to touch him, to alert him to the 
fact.  The Jaguar hadn't mentioned this!  As she touched 
him, she felt a slight tingling.  Blinking, she touched him 
again, and then with a wry grin, she caressed his balls, 
eliciting a gasp.  Looking up at him, Tanj grinned; 
"Electricity; we have to complete an electrical circuit; 
that’s why I'm standing in water!.  Grinning, Tanj licked 
his sheath, gasping as the current ran sharply through her 
tongue.  Despite the shock, she was able to observe that for 
the instant she was licking him, the spikes had stopped, and 
perhaps even retreated a fraction.  Leaning back to look up 
at him, she purrrred; "I’m sure they want me to suck you 
off, to reverse the spikes, and I suspect, while painful, 
that WOULD work; however, I've got a better idea; let go of 
the handles and drop down for a moment."

The rabbit gave her a questioning look, but never the less 
released the handles.  Tanj grinned and hooking one foot 
behind his ankle, shoved him back into the shallow tank of 
water, following him down.  Laughing she rolled in the water 
with him until they were both soaked.  Standing up she 
grinned; "now, when we complete the circuit, the water in 
our fur will conduct most of the current; should be a LOT 
less painful!"  The rabbit grinned and gestured to the 
handles; "your turn."  Tanj nodded and put a foot in his 
linked hands and as he boosted her upwards, she grabbed the 
widespread handles.  Closing the grips, she felt the tingle 
of electricity flow over her body, and with a purrrr, noted 
that the spikes were indeed retreating.  Slowly.  It was 
obvious for the path to the far door to be clear, they'd be 
here a while.  Looking down at the rabbit, she wondered just 
how to best get comfortable?

The rabbit chuckled and took matters into his own paws; 
shifting a bit, he put Tanj's thighs over his shoulders, 
his nose pressed hard into her pussy.  His first lick was 
literally electrifying, the current densities just below 
what might be considered painful!  And the more he licked, 
the wetter she got, the more the current added spice to his 
licking.  The rabbit was talented, knowing just how to treat 
a lady, and before long, Tanj was screaming through a 
powerful climax.  The rabbit however didn't stop, and by the 
time the spikes had retreated into the walls, Tanj was 
writhing through her third climax.

The rabbit crouched, moving out from under Tanj, letting 
her dangle and then taking her around the waist, helped her 
down.  She was panting hard, but had no trouble strolling 
leisurely with him to the exit.  As they passed through the 
door, into the next maze, Tanj chuckled; "Thanks, I liked 
that!"  The rabbit smiled and shrugged; "least I could do to 
return the favor you granted me in the previous puzzle room.  
By the way, I'm Jack."  Tanj laughed again, and nodded; 
"it fits; I'm Tanj."  The rabbit just grinned and 
muttered good-naturedly; "Yeah, there isn’t any, is there?"

The next maze reminded Tanj of an old holo film she'd 
seen.  The "set" looked like the ruins of some ancient 
temple, and there were pressure points in the flagstone 
floor, that would set off lethal traps.  Accordingly they 
were moving carefully.  One pressure switch had released a 
massive bolder, swinging down on ropes; if Jack hadn't 
pulled her down at the last instant, she would have been 
smashed.  At another place, stepping on the wrong square 
caused darts to be blown out from the walls.  Tanj took 
one in the shoulder, and while it wasn't fatal, it had 
caused her to be very dizzy for a while, her vision blurred.  
They'd spent some time there, waiting for the drug that had 
been on the tip of the dart to work its way out of her 
system, using the time to good advantage…….  Now they 
examined each step as they moved, prepared to move fast if 
they made a wrong choice.  As they walked, Tanj told Jack 
about her encounter with the Jaguar, and of the things she'd 
learned.  "Somewhere up ahead, they'll have a method of 
separating us.  I'll find my way to the puzzle room first, 
and there, I'll have to fasten myself into some sort of rig.  
Then you'll find your way in and have to "rescue" me, in the 
tradition of the classic "B" movie.  Its not going to be 
easy, and there won't be much I can do to help you.  Now, 
here's the key……."

Tanj put a paw on Jack's shoulder; "Hang on a second.  
Look up ahead.  See those "statues" lining the walls…."  
Jack peered into the gloom and nodded; "Yup.  Six of 'em, 
three on each side."  Tanj nodded; "Yeah, how much you 
want to bet as we pass them, the "Temple Guards" come 
alive?"  Jack just chuckled; "I'll take the right, you take 
the left…."  Tanj grinned and nodded; "Move slowly, we 
don't want to bring more than two to life at the same time.  
Moving carefully, watching every footfall, Tanj carefully 
moved closer to the first statue.  It was a rather large 
Tiger, seemingly carved from stone.  It was bedecked in 
feathers, and beaded straps, seemingly costumed for a 
festival, for some ancient ceremony the furrs that had built 
the temple had held.  In one paw it held a shield, and in 
the other an edged weapon of some sort.  Tanj was within 
three steps of it when the stone she stepped on clicked.  
The Tiger seemed to straighten, as if shaking off the 
centuries, its head turning to look at her.  Tanj grinned 
and stepped close, to jab one of the darts that had been 
shot at her earlier, into his stomach.  The Tiger howled in 
pain, a surprising noise for a statue, and raised his 
weapon.  Tanj sidestepped his slash and kicked him square 
between the legs.  The "statue" made a most un-statue-like 
sound and doubled over, its weapon and shield clattering to 
the ground.  Tanj made a sympathetic noise and grabbed 
him, to spin him around and ram his head into the stone 
wall.  The statue dropped like a rock.  Turning, she found 
herself just in time to watch Jack pummel the other statue; 
whoever had taught him kick-boxing had been quite good, and 
the Rabbit's powerful legs had battered through the other 
"Statue's" defenses; after a few well-placed kicks the 
"statue" was in a stone-colored furry heap on the floor.  
Tanj turned to look at the next statue in line… was there 
just a hint of fear in the stone gray eyes?

They took a few minutes to rest, to regain their strength, 
and then they repeated the procedure.  This time Tanj had 
the obsidian edged weapon and the shield to aide her.  The 
dart again gave her opponent blurry vision and dizziness, 
disorienting him enough that Tanj was able to whack him 
in the shins with the blunt side of the weapon, and then 
bring the heavy shield down on his head.  Jack had a little 
more trouble with the Bull that was his opponent; he had to 
use two of the darts he carried, and even then he'd had to 
cut the Bull,   The huge furr was left bleeding and moaning 
as they moved on to the next set of guards.  These two also 
fell before the two, as they used the last of their darts.  

Jack grinned at Tanj as they padded away from the guards.  
"Good idea tripping all those pressure plates and collecting 
the darts; that worked really well."  Tanj chuckled and 
nodded, hefting the spear and sword she'd taken from the 
"statues."  "I think they'll have to change the set-up in 
the future; half the planet just learned that trick."  Jack 
chuckled and nodded, turning to look at Tanj just as the 
stone she'd stepped on disintegrated, and she dropped from 
view with a sharp yelp.  Jack was about to leap down after 
her, when something slid across the hole, closing it off.  
With a sigh, he muttered; "Well, she said we were going to 
be separated…."  Hefting his sword and shield, he carefully 
picked his way out of the Temple, and into the maze beyond.

Im'Harta just shook her head in wonder, as Tanj and the 
Rabbit used the poisoned darts against the Temple Guards.  
She'd only seen that one done twice before, and that was 
ages ago.  Turning to Xylex, the Skunkette grinned; "She's 
one very resourceful Fem; I could use someone like that in 
my organization…. Are you SURE you want her?"  Xylex turned 
to glare at Im'Harta; "She's making fools of all your furrs.  
How can you THINK of rewarding her for it?  No, I want her 
more than ever.  In fact, I'm going to PERSONALLY join the 
ambush team in the final room!  Obviously the old adage 
applies; "If you want something done right, you have to do 
it yourself!""  Im'Harta Hmmmed; "I'll have to pull a 
professional from the team to make room for you; that won't 
lengthen the odds.  Are you sure you want to do that?"

Tanj yelped as she fell, landing on some sort of slide 
that rapidly carried her downward; as she slid, she lost 
hold of the spear, something snatching it from her paw.  The 
sword she held carefully, doing her best not to hurt herself 
with it, but determined not to loose that advantage.  The 
slide finally ended, dumping her off in a room painted an 
industrial grunge green, stained and streaked with rust.  
The floor was rough concrete, and three rusted, large 
diameter pipes descended through the roof, ending out of 
reach over a bright contraption of stainless steel and black 
rubber.  On one side of the room was a grating, obviously 
some sort of drain.  Tanj padded over to examine the 
contraption curiously.  It looked like a short stretcher, 
all in stainless steel, with a black rubber sheet stretched 
between the two arms, equipped with a host of robotic 
restraints, designed to close over anyone who laid on the 
rubber sheet.  In the middle of the sheet was a ring gag, in 
matching stainless steel, with a thick rubber strap. The 
stretcher portion  was mounted on four legs that seemed to 
be mounted on swivels, so that the top could swing back and 
forth, the vertical legs describing an arc.  At one end, on 
the floor, were two concrete blocks.  At the other end, a 
spring assembly held the framework tilted back towards the 
concrete blocks.  Shafts on the other side of the "front" 
legs from the springs connected to two rather large 
diaphragm pumps, of a type commonly found on yachts as bilge 
pumps.  It was obvious that as the platform was rocked 
forward, against the tension of the springs, the pumps would 
work.  Tanj glanced up at the three pipes directly 
overhead and sighed.  This was going to be a wet and scary 
one.  She just hoped the water was warm…….

With a sigh, Tanj propped her sword in a corner, near a 
vertical ladder, and then turned to the contraption.  The 
first step, obviously, was to put the ring gag in her mouth, 
propping her jaws wide apart, the straps buckling behind her 
neck.  Then, positioning her feet by the concrete blocks at 
the "back" of the device, she slowly laid across it, 
reaching down the "front" legs to grab a pair of handles 
mounted there, her body resting on the thick black rubber 
sheet.  No sooner had she grabbed the handles than closures 
encircled her, restraining her, binding her to the platform 
at ankles, thighs, waist, neck, elbows and wrists.  Sighing 
through the ring gag, she settled down to wait.

Jack had found the maze long, and complex, but without 
pitfalls; it was merely to delay him, giving them time to 
set up Tanj.  He'd heard what she'd said, what the Jaguar 
had told her about the room, and he did NOT like the sound 
of it.  She could easily die, and if she did, it would be 
his fault.  As he stood before the door that was the exit to 
the maze he tried to calm himself, to find his "center."  
Then, with a deep breath, he opened the door and stepped 
through.

Tanj heard the door open; almost immediately there was 
the hooting of some alarm, and a red light started to flash 
somewhere.  And then the three pipes above her opened up and 
deluged her in a torrent of cold water!

Jack's eyes widened as Tanj's form was lost in the 
waterfall.  Throwing his sword and shield towards one 
corner, hoping he could retrieve them later, he dashed down 
the metal stairs, towards the device holding Tanj 
immobile.  The floor was already inches deep in water, and 
he sloshed through it, as he made his way to the two 
concrete blocks.  Standing on them, he found his crotch 
pressed hard against Tanj's ass; reaching up, straining, 
he took hold of the two handles hanging from the roof, 
straining to close the grips.  Gripping one handle almost 
completely stopped the torrent of water; gripping the other 
handle opened the drain, a small whirlpool forming by the 
far wall; both handles were heavily spring-loaded and he had 
to grip them fiercely to hold the grips closed.  And it 
seemed that by gripping them, he merely achieved a status 
quo; the water flow was not completely shut off, and the 
drain was small, much smaller than they'd hoped…..  By the 
time he'd succeeded in forcing the grips closed, the water 
was half way up the legs of the platform Tanj was bound 
to.  Standing there, the Rabbit slowly rubbed his crotch 
against Tanj's exposed sex until he was once again hard.  
Driving his cock into her wet pussy, he bucked his hips 
forward, slowly rocking the platform forward; as he did so, 
the pumps worked; each stroke took about ten gallons of 
water from the room.  The Rabbit would thrust forward, the 
springs would push the platform back…..  Slowly, as he 
fucked her, he emptied the room of water.  When he could 
hold the grips no longer, as his paws screamed for relief, 
he leapt from the blocks to try and unfasten Tanj.  Each 
of the closures had automated locks on one side, but there 
were buckles in the middle that could be released.  The 
rubber straps however were thick and stiff, and each one 
took a considerable effort to undo, and working in the 
deluge of water wasn't easy either.  Jack had the ones 
around Tanj's wrists, and one of the ones around her 
elbows undone when he had to return to the platform, to grip 
the handles, to stop the flow of water.  Again he started 
"pumping" Tanj, and in the process pumping the water from 
the room.  As he labored, he groaned at the built in puns; 
"wet pussy", and "pumping her," and decided that whomever 
had set up this room had a twisted sense of humor.

It was shorter this time, before he had to  release the 
handles; again dropping to the floor he worked on the other 
elbow strap, and then on one of the thigh straps before he 
again had to mount the blocks, to squeeze the grips, his 
cock again driving hard into Tanj's snatch.

Tanj grunted with each of his thrusts, as if calling 
encouragement to him.  With her legs and torso bound to the 
platform, she could aid slightly in rocking it back and 
forth, working to pump the water from the room.  As he 
thrust into her again and again, she wondered how many furs 
had died in this room; how many had drowned.  Had most of 
the males stayed to try and release their partner, or had 
they fled, seeking the highest spot in the room, and a few 
more minutes of life?  The Jaguar had told her that if the 
puzzle wasn't successfully completed, the whole room would 
fill with water and that they'd both drown.  He'd also said 
that the male couldn't merely push the platform back and 
forth; there were sensors that could detect if his cock was 
within her, and only then would the platform unlock.  Worse, 
those same sensors could detect if he orgasmed; if he did 
so, the platform would lock up solid, dooming them both.  
Could Jack hold out?  As Jack fumbled with one of her ankle 
straps, underneath the torrent of water, Tanj gasped and 
spluttered as the water level rose to the level of her 
muzzle, the ring gag permitting it to flow into her mouth…. 
And then the Rabbit was on the blocks again, straining to 
hold the grips closed, thrusting his cock into her pussy 
again and again…..

Jack gasped and strained; his arms felt like lead, and his 
grip on the handles kept slipping; just a little more and he 
could go after the only two straps holding the Cheetah fem 
to the contraption.  Jack concentrated on the feeling of the 
cold water around his legs, of his straining muscles, 
anything to distract him from the sensation of his cock 
driving hard into the warmth of the Cheetah's sex.  He dare 
not cum, but it took all his concentration not to do so; 
usually when he thrust that hard, it was to produce an 
orgasm, not to withhold one…..  Finally, as his paw slipped 
from one of the grips for the third time, he felt the water 
was low enough that he was able to dive at the bound female, 
to work on the strap around her neck.

The water level was well above Tanj's head when he 
finally got the strap around her waist undone, and they both 
kicked for the surface.  There, in the corner, on a platform 
by the ceiling was the exit door, and they rapidly swam 
towards the ladder that led to it.  The water was rising 
fast, though, and after one abortive dive for the weapons 
they'd left, they both scrambled up the ladder and onto the 
platform.  The door, however, was locked, closed tight.  
Above it are two small handles, and square in  front of it 
was a phallic shape, rising from the platform.  Jack 
immediately reached up to grab the handles, to squeeze them 
hard.  Tanj squeezed between him and the door and thrust 
herself down hard on the phallus, driving it deep into her 
sex; she wound up at just the right position, Jack's still 
hard cock bobbing in front of her face.  She tilted her head 
forward, to slip the head of his cock through the ring gag 
she still wore.  As she did so, sucking hard on him, vaginal 
muscles clenched on the dong in her pussy, she felt the door 
behind her start to open.

Jack had been holding it back for sooooo long, the sensation 
of the Cheetah's rough tongue on his hard cock was almost 
more than he could bear.  By the time the door was fully 
open, just as the water was lapping at the base of the 
platform, he came, throwing his head back, to howl out his 
pleasure in a most un-lapine fashion.  Then he released the 
handles, to bodily lift Tanj off the dong, to shove her 
through the now-closing door.  As they tumbled through, the 
door closing behind them, cold water started to flow into 
the room… and then the door was closed, and they were safe.

It took a moment for the two to recover, to catch their 
breath.  For warmth, they cuddled, as the horror of what 
they'd just been through replayed itself in their minds.  
"Should have put the sword at the top of the platform" 
Tanj sighed.  Jack shrugged; "couldn't have known.  I 
thought we'd have more time than that."  Tanj grinned and 
turned to kiss him softly; "Still, you were magnificent; a 
true hero come to rescue the damsel in distress."  Jack 
nodded and sighed; "Still, we're not out of this yet.  What 
did you say came next?"

  The maze was another one of the three dimensional ones, 
with the added benefit of "hunters".  These were a group of 
wolves that howled and bayed as they pursued them through 
the maze.  Still, the Jaguar had told Tanj the secrets, 
and they were doing rather well in maintaining their lead. 

As the pair dashed into the next room, they found themselves 
on a platform overhanging an abyss.  It looked like some 
sort of crevasse, all blue ice and diffused light.  At the 
edge of the platform were four very thin wires; suspended 
in-between the wires was a saddle-like device.  In the 
middle of the saddle was a thick phallus, and again there 
were the obligatory hand-holds.  Jack sighed and shook his 
head, and climbed carefully onto the saddle; after shooting 
Tanj a complaining look, he slowly lowered himself onto 
the dong, grimacing as the cold shaft pushed into his ass.  
No sooner had he settled himself than Tanj swung onto the 
device, her feet finding the stirrups that were meant for 
her, her paws stretching up to grab her handholds.  Jack now 
slowly lifted himself upwards on the dong, rising until his 
crotch was pressed to Tanj's, the head of the massive 
shaft still nestled within his anal ring.  Then as he drove 
downward again, driving the shaft into his ass, the entire 
assembly rose on the thin wires……

Jack had driven himself down on the device a dozen times, 
when the door to the room opened again and the pursuing pack 
of Wolves dashed in.  One of them teetered on the edge of 
the platform, making a swipe at Tanj's tail, but Tanj 
jerked it out of the way just in time, and the Wolf almost 
fell into the chasm below.  Their growls and howls rang 
through the crevasse, as Jack's frenzied humping slowly 
pulled them upwards, out of their reach and towards safety.

Xylex looked at Im'Harta as he stripped; "No, I don't think 
the rat pack is appropriate.  You've got a rather large Lion 
in your stable, don't you?  She's got a thing for this Lion 
she works for; I wonder if faced with another Lion, if it 
might not inhibit her."  The Skunkette looked at Xylex, 
taking in the powerful build of the Wolverine and concluded 
that he spent too much time behind a desk  At one time he 
must have been formidable, but now?  No matter, she thought 
to herself, the show will have amazing ratings, whether 
Xylex takes her or not.  This can still be explained away as 
a "grudge match."  Looking at Xylex, Im'Harta sighed; "there 
are SOME rules to this thing.  If I can't send you in with 
the rat pack, then its just you and the Lion, nothing more.  
Are you SURE you want to do it that way?"  Xylex glanced at 
the Skunkette and nodded; "The Lion should be able to break 
the Rabbit in half in moments and then he can help me with 
the Cheetah.  Oh, what plans I've got for her!"  Im'Harta 
sighed and nodded; "As you wish.  Go and take up your 
position, and good luck."

Tanj smiled and bent to kiss Jack as he rose off the 
dong; "Its not fair; you seem to be doing all the work 
lately….."  Jack just grunted and grinned up at Tanj; 
"Oh, I don't mind; as long as we win, that is."  Tanj 
grinned and squatted a bit, teasing him every time he rose… 
before long, his cock was hard, standing proud, and Tanj 
maneuvered herself so that as he rose off the shaft in his 
ass, he drove his own cock into her pussy.  There must have 
been sensors somewhere, monitoring them, because as he 
started to pump her as well as the dong in the saddle, their 
upwards rate seemed to increase.  As she looked down, 
watching him as he labored, Tanj felt he looked a little 
more at ease with his task…….  

Having nothing to do but stand there, as Jack Labored, 
Tanj permitted herself to enjoy the pleasures of his 
thrusting, and by the time they pulled even with the landing 
above them, she was on her third climax.  As the Saddle hit 
the stops at the end of the wire, the Rabbit rose off the 
dong beneath him, pushing his cock hard into Tanj, 
pushing her upwards;  His hips jerked several times, hard 
quick thrusts, and then he was grunting as he came too, his 
cock spurting, filling Tanj's pussy until his thick ropy 
cum dribbled from where his shaft spread her labia.  After a 
moment, Tanj found that Jack seemed unwilling to again 
take the dong in his ass, and she had to climb higher, 
pulling herself up by her paws, to free herself from his 
shaft, in order to dismount; it was awkward, but Tanj was 
sure the camera loved it.  Then Jack stepped off the saddle 
and together they faced the next door.

Behind the door was a simple corridor; it was about four 
meters wide, and a half a hundred long.  At the far end was 
an ornate golden door, obviously the end of the game.  And 
standing in the corridor, were two figures.  A rather large 
Wolverine, and an even larger Lion, both nude.  As Tanj 
stared at them, her eyes widened; at first she'd thought her 
Master had found a way to rescue her, but then she realized 
this one was darker, both in fur and in mane color.  And the 
Wolverine… if she wasn't mistaken, it was Xylex himself!  
"That'd explain a lot" she mumbled, drawing a "huh?" from 
Jack.  Unbuckling the ring gag from where it hung around her 
neck, Tanj turned to the Rabbit; "Here's what we'll do; 
the Wolverine has it in for me, he's an old enemy, and he's 
sure to come after me, leaving you to the Lion.  But that’s 
not the way I want to play it……"

Jack shifted to the left, watching the Wolverine.  Tanj 
had said that the Wolverine was an old adversary and would 
be fixated on her.  On the other hand, she'd said she'd 
sparred with a lion often, and knew their strengths and 
weaknesses; she felt confident that if Jack could keep the 
Wolverine off her back, she could handle the Lion.  
Accordingly, Jack placed himself between Tanj and the 
Wolverine.

Xylex moved left and then right, growling; the damned Rabbit 
wouldn't get out of his way!  And that damned Cheetah bitch 
was back to back with the Rabbit; the Lion couldn't get past 
her to remove the annoying Rabbit.  Thinking once again "if 
you want something done, you have to do it yourself," Xylex 
lowered his head and charged the Rabbit.

Tanj grinned at the Lion; she'd taken the ring gag, and 
buckling the two ends together, had used her teeth to slice 
the thick rubber from one side of the chrome ring.  Now she 
held the other side of the strap, the heavy ring hanging at 
the end of almost half a meter of strap.  As the Lion moved, 
watching her carefully, she lazily swung her weapon, looking 
for an opening.

The two pairs moved watching each other for an opening, 
until Xylex charged; Jack sidestepped his headlong rush, 
delivering a kick in passing.  Tanj had heard the noise 
and had leapt, Xylex passing square underneath her, as he 
collapsed to the floor.  Landing to one side of the 
Wolverine, Tanj swung her strap down hard, the chromed 
ring striking not his head as she'd desired, but his 
shoulder.  The Woverine howled in pain and then Tanj was 
battered back as the Lion slammed her with a massive fist. 

Tanj panted and blinked, stars filling her vision, as she 
and Jack backed against the opposite wall of the corridor.  
The Lion watched as Xylex hauled himself to his feet, his 
eyes fixing Tanj with a glare.  For a moment, Tanj 
thought of just turning and sprinting for the door at the 
far end of the corridor, confident that she could outrun any 
of them, but then she thought of Jack, and decided she 
couldn't abandon him.  Slipping behind him, moving to his 
opposite side, she again faced the Lion.

Im'Harta watched on the monitor and shook her head; it was 
obvious Xylex wasn't as good as he thought he was.  On the 
other hand, the way that Cheetah was flailing about with 
that strap, she probably would have cut a pretty broad swath 
through the rat pack…..  Sitting back in her chair, she 
sipped her cocktail and smiled.

Tanj had circled the Lion in one direction, while Jack 
had moved in the other; now the Lion and Xylex were back to 
back.  The Lion had a greater reach than Tanj, but he was 
obviously respectful of her jury-rigged weapon.  Both 
feinted and danced, seldom connecting.  The Lion stepped 
forward to attempt a jab, but Tanj countered with a snap 
kick.  He in turn tried a spin-kick, and Tanj danced back 
towards the wall.  The Lion growled and linked his paws 
together to try and slam her with a move known as the 
"hammer-fist", but Tanj ducked under his swing and gave 
him a quick jab to the ribs, claws out.  Back and forth they 
fought, neither quite breaking through the other's defenses.  
Jack on the other hand, seemed to be connecting with Xylex 
more often than not, the Wolverine taking a battering from 
the Rabbits strong legs.  Xylex for his part was seeking to 
close with the Rabbit, to grasp him; the Bear-Hug seemed to 
be his favorite method of attack, and if he got a good hold 
of Jack, the Rabbit was probably done for……  As they moved, 
Tanj watched the Lion carefully; neither Lions nor 
Cheetahs were known for their endurance.  The Lion was 
powerful, but not as quick as Tanj, and she hated to say 
it, but they were much too closely matched for her tastes.  
She was wondering how she might goad him into doing 
something rash when one of his claws caught the ring at the 
end of the strap and suddenly she found herself pulled 
close.  As the Lion tugged, Tanj changed tactics, to 
advance.  One foot found a place in his stomach, and as her 
paws kept tension on the strap, holding her almost 
horizontally, her other foot swung up towards his chin.  The 
lion grunted and as he took a swipe at her, he tried to step 
backwards, away from her kick, only to collide with Xylex as 
he retreated from the Rabbit's flying feet..

Tanj winced as her kick missed his chin; she twisted in 
mid-air, to land almost on her feet.  The Lion's claw had 
come loose from the ring in their wild gyrations and she 
swung the strap hard as the Lion pounced, catching him on 
the side of the head.  The Lion howled and staggered and 
Tanj moved in to kick at his crotch; the Lion turned 
however, blocking her kick with a leg; still, Tanj 
connected, making him wince; and then she'd danced back 
watching for another opening.

Xylex was fighting harder than he'd ever thought he'd have 
to.  The Rabbit just wouldn't cooperate and fall before his 
assaults.  Instead, it seemed like every time he'd attacked 
he'd gotten the stuffing kicked out of him!  This wasn't 
working, and pausing, the Wolverine tried to think of a 
different strategy.

The Lion had connected with Tanj's stomach, kicking her 
backwards.  As she landed on her back, her ribs howled in 
protest; but then she had to roll quickly, to evade the 
Lion's pounce.  As the Lion leapt, as Tanj rolled, she 
flailed out with the strap, once again hitting him.  And 
then she was against the wall, rising to her feet.

The Lion panted hard.  This slip of a Cheetah was driving 
him crazy.  He'd watched the video feed, seen how she'd 
defeated the Jaguar, but he'd been confident he could defeat 
her AND that Rabbit.  Now he wasn't so sure.  She still 
wielded that strap with the chrome ring, and he had the 
bruises to prove it.  How to take her down?  She seemed to 
be too fast to just charge in, taking his lumps until he 
could sink his fangs into her.  Perhaps if he found a way to 
back her into a "corner"……  Circling carefully, he looked 
for an opening.

As Tanj moved she felt her broken ribs grate.  If she 
didn't think of something soon, the larger male would wear 
her down, until he could take her at his leisure.  The 
corridor they were fighting in was just too narrow for this 
sort of combat; they were bunched up, dancing around each 
other, and Tanj planned to take advantage of that fact.  
Looking past him, at Jack, she gave a half nod, and then 
suddenly dropped to the floor, swinging her body, her legs 
flying out to try and sweep the Lion from his feet.

Jack saw the signal and Leapt at the Wolverine, his feet 
flashing out to slam into the Wolverine's middle.  Just as 
the Lion leapt over Tanj's swinging legs, the Wolverine 
crashed backwards into him.

Tanj gasped as the Lion and the Wolverine collided in 
mid-air, the Lion flailing, claws out, falling, toppling 
straight towards her.  There was no escape,…… but there 
might be triumph…. Tanj brought her knees up to her 
chest, her feet stretching upwards, seeking the Lion's 
stomach as he descended towards her.  Moving her right arm, 
she swung the strap with all her strength, the chrome ring 
swinging wide, describing an arc terminating with the Lion's 
thick skull just below his left ear.  Then Tanj was 
kicking her feet hard, , her claws out, pressing into his 
stomach, shoving at the Lion, so that he fell headfirst 
beyond her, slamming into the floor with a thud.  Before he 
could recover, Tanj twisted around, scrambling to take 
his head in both her paws, fingers wrapping deeply into his 
mane, struggling to lift it up as high as she could, and 
then to pull it down HARD.  The Lion's head slammed down, 
and she winced as she heard the sickening thud as his 
forehead hit the floor.  He twitched once and then was 
still.  Then she was rising, turning, to see how Jack was 
coming with the Wolverine.

She found Jack laying sideways on the floor by Xylex, his 
powerful legs wrapped around the Wolverine's neck; every 
time Xylex moved, Jack would tighten his grip, throttling 
the Wolverine.  Tanj smiled and nodded; "VERY good, Jack, 
I’m proud of you!"  Taking Xylex by his ears, Tanj 
snarled into his face; "you loose again, Lord Xylex! Oh, and 
another thing; with respect to your daughter's virginity, 
that ham handed "doctor" that examined her is the one who 
tore her Hymen, although I'm sure you were told a different 
story.  Her behavior, despite the worst of circumstances, 
has always been such as to bring you honor!  And how have 
you repaid her?  Have you even returned her messages?  You 
are the worst, most pitiable excuse for a Father that ever 
was!"  Straightening, Tanj nodded at Jack, who tightened 
his grip.  The Wolverine's eyes bulged and he pawed 
ineffectually at the Rabbit, who maintained his grip until 
the Wolverine had passed out.

Tanj helped Jack to his feet, and taking his paw, the two 
of them strolled towards the far end of the corridor.  
Tanj was gasping with each step, her ribs hurting bad.  
Jack was limping, his face showing considerable pain, but 
they were still moving under their own power when Jack 
opened the golden door, and Tanj stepped through,……. into 
Pandemonium.

The Cheetah blinked, and was tempted to step back through 
the door; for in the next room were dozens of well-dressed 
furrs, each shouting questions at the top of their lungs, 
video and audio recorders pointed her way.  Tanj looked 
dazedly from face to face, for a moment completely unable to 
make any sense of it all.  Then the Lady Coyote was at her 
side, tugging gently, leading the dazed Cheetah through the 
crowd.  Turning, Tanj saw Jack being led off by another 
fur, and then before she could even wave, he was gone.

The dressing room was a relief.  The crowd of furrs had 
followed them, shouting questions that had failed to sink in 
to her exhausted brain.  The silence when the door closed 
was a blessing. Tanj carefully lowered herself to the 
couch sighing in relief.  The Coyote looked at her for a 
moment and then smiled.  "We'll get a doctor to look at you; 
those are some nasty clawmarks you've got there.  He'll be 
here in a moment.  I can get you some time to rest, but soon 
you're going to have to face their questions.  The forms you 
signed committed you to interviews and such, should you win, 
and now you're going to have to follow through.  But first 
things first.  Get some rest, see the doctor, get cleaned 
up, and then we'll throw you to the sharks.  Tanj was 
wondering if they'd literally throw her to the sharks as she 
fell into an exhausted sleep; after all, wasn't the game 
over?  She'd thought she'd won……  And clawmarks?  Was she 
bleeding?  That wouldn't be good if there would be sharks 
about…..

Im'Harta looked down at the sedated Wolverine.  Apparently 
he'd suffered no permanent damage in the fight, although the 
medic said he'd be quite sore for a while.  He'd been 
literally foaming at the mouth with rage when he'd regained 
consciousness, insisting that the Cheetah was his, that she 
be delivered to him.  Now that the Cheetah had won, of 
course, this representative of the Elysium government had 
become an embarrassment.  "Should have left it to the 
professionals" she muttered.  Turning she signaled to one of 
her staff; "See that he gets returned to the Elysium ship 
that brought him here.  And see that the ship departs soon, 
too.  I would much rather they NOT be in our space when he 
regains consciousness again.  

Tanj was seated on a soft couch, looking at a well 
dressed Vixen, doing her best to answer her questions as she 
participated in some sort of televised interview.  So far 
she'd been reticent as to why she'd come to Imroc, although 
the "host" had broadly suggested to the audience that it was 
for some sort of illegal activity, some mysterious 
conspiracy.  Tanj had just smiled and hadn't denied it, 
answering her question with a question; "Surely, Ma'am, if 
that were the case, you wouldn't expect me to TELL you about 
it, would you?"  She'd been surprised when the host had 
smiled and shrugged and said they couldn't touch her for 
anything she'd done anyways, so why NOT give us an 
interesting story.  Tanj had smiled shyly in return and 
suggested that her activities were not just limited to this 
system, and that others elsewhere might not honor amnesty 
granted here.  The host had smiled and nodded; "Ah, so the 
rumors about you being a Pirate are true then?"  Tanj had 
just stared wide-eyed at her, but then she'd changed the 
subject, asking about Xylex, wondering who the mystery 
grudge-match opponent had been, and what was behind what 
she'd told him.  Tanj smiled, showing fangs, and 
proceeded to launch into a rather edited version of the 
truth, telling the entranced host of her  time as a slave, 
of her "loan" to Xylex, of how he'd given her to his 
daughter, and of the problems that had ensued, and of how 
she'd rebelled, capturing the shuttle, and how they'd all 
wound up in the clutches of unspecified pirates.  She could 
tell the tale of sex and violence was exactly the kind of 
tale they liked, from the look on the Host's face.  She'd 
thought she'd struck gold, and she played it for all she was 
worth, making Xylex look as villainous as she could, and 
making Wanda look like a pillar of virtue (Not that anyone 
HERE cared about that, she was sure).   In the end, the Host 
congratulated her on winning, commenting that she was only 
the third winner that year.  Tanj did some quick math, 
figuring where they stood with the local calendar, and 
concluded that she'd beaten odds that were almost 100 to 1 
against her.  Her reverie was broken as the Host asked what 
she planned next.  Tanj grinned; "I'm going to go home.  
I plan to book passage off this planet just as soon as I 
can.  And then I'm going to sleep for a week!"

Tanj sighed and shook her head; they just kept throwing 
interview after interview at her.  She wanted to LEAVE.  But 
then the ship she'd booked passage on wouldn't leave for a 
day and a half anyways so she guessed it didn't matter.  As 
she entered the sound stage for yet another filming she was 
surprised to see Jack already there.  Moving carefully 
across the floor, she hugged him, noting that he winced as 
bad as she did at the hug.  The Rabbit was clean, and well 
dressed, and looking happier than she'd ever seen him.  
"What next for you, Jack?  What are you going to do with 
your winnings?" she asked.  The Rabbit smiled; "I've already 
started spending them.  Bought my family from my former 
Master.  Got them housed temporarily in one of the better 
hotels.  Even hired security for them!  Soon as we can, 
we're headed for some relatives' homestead on Oberth.  
That’s an agricultural world over in the Hammass sector."  
Tanj blinked; "Married?  You?  I never would have 
guessed!"  And then the crew was separating them, dragging 
them each off to their assigned places, prepping them for 
yet another interview……  More of the same things repeated 
over and over, with the added flavor of asking each of them 
what they'd thought when the other had done this or that.  
The interview included film clips from the game, and Tanj 
found it almost impossible to recognize herself.  Was that 
panting, dripping, snarling thing really her?  When it was 
over, Tanj barely had time to give Jack another hug, 
before they were each dragged off in different directions.  
As she waved goodbye, Tanj thought to herself; "Oberth.  
Hammass Sector.  If I ever get out that way, I'll have to 
look them up……"

The Interviews were finally done; the financial arrangements 
complete, the papers signed, and Tanj was on board the 
shuttle to the ship she'd booked passage on.  The Claire 
Thompson was a "packet", a combination freighter and 
passenger ship, headed for Benton's world.  Tanj knew 
that she could contact the Brethren from there, and then all 
she'd have to do would be to wait for someone to come pick 
her up.  As the shuttle docked, she gathered what belongings 
she had, and boarded the ship. 

Mark was quietly sipping his coffee when the Lion padded in 
to the Caffeteria. He watched him gather his food, his 
motions quick and jerky; it was obvious that he was in a 
foul mood.  Mark waited until their eyes met for a moment, 
then lightly shook his head.  "Worried about Tanj?"  The 
Lion growled; 'Damn Straight.  We haven't gotten ANY news 
whatsoever on her yet, and I don't need to tell you what 
could happen if she gets caught by the wrong furrs…."  Mark 
nodded;  "That too, yes.  I'm not sure if it'll help any…. 
She really IS too far away and there are too many other 
furrs running around providing mental static, but I'd know 
if she was dead, and I THINK she's even mostly out of danger 
now.  And I got a vague impression when I woke up this 
moring that she may be heading off-planet shortly.  I know 
it’s a long shot, but if you want to follow up on that…."  
The Lion just grumbled as he turned to his meal; "I’m not 
sure I'd even call that a "long shot", but I'll check in 
with Intelligence later, anyways.  Thanks." 

Just inside the Packet's airlock, Tanj was met by the 
ship's first officer, a rather hansom Snow Leopard by the 
name of Pentrath.  He seemed completely oblivious to 
Tanj's newly found fame, but the "fortune" part of it 
seemed to have been passed on to him as he was very 
solicitous in showing Tanj to her cabin, showing her all 
the amenities, and inquiring if there was anything else he 
could do to make her voyage more comfortable.  Tanj 
suppressed a grin, seriously thinking about telling him to 
come back after his shift, but managed somehow to control 
herself.  Thanking him, she told him she'd let him know if 
anything came to mind, and as he turned to leave, she 
quietly closed the door behind him.  

The Cabin was small, but it was larger than her closet on 
the Lost Cause.  Stripping down to just her fur, she flopped 
down on the bed.  As she drifted off to sleep, she 
purrrrred, thinking her troubles were behind her at last.  
She was going home……

Tanj rolled over in the bed and stretched.  Rising on one 
paw, she blinked at the clock, trying to work the sleep from 
her eyes.  Almost dinner time.  Telling the computer to turn 
on the lights, she blinked against the glare, and crawling 
off the bed, she made her way into the stateroom's miniscule 
shower.  A few minutes later she emerged, refreshed, if not 
a little damp, to paw through her small bag, looking for 
something suitable to wear.  The game folks on Imroc had 
given her several dresses, for the post-game interviews, and 
they were about all she had.  Selecting one, she pulled it 
on, and adjusted it.  The reflection in the mirror showed a 
rather busty Cheetah fem, her right shoulder and right arm 
covered in black fabric, trimmed in gold along the edge.  
The edge ran from the left side of her neck, under the stiff 
collar, diagonally down, passing just barely under the 
nipple on her right breast.  The fabric of the dress then 
wrapped around her like a band; after passing across her 
back, it passed diagonally down her front, below the first 
part, the upper edge barely covering the nipple on her left 
breast, angling down across her stomach.  After passing 
across her back once again, it angled down over her left 
hip, barely covering her mons, to form a dangling trail down 
the outside of her right leg.  Each band was fastened to the 
one above and below it with a golden metal link, with a ruby 
colored jem in its center.  Tanj found it typical of 
Imroc; sexy, risque, and just a bit tawdry.  Sighing, she 
padded back into the water closet, to rub the steam from the 
mirror, to try and brush out her hair.  Tying it back with a 
gold and black ribbon to match her dress, she turned and 
headed out, to try and find what passed for a dining room on 
the ship.

A number of other passengers were already in the lounge when 
Tanj entered.  For the most part, aside from a few lusty 
glances from some of the males, and a few cold stares from 
their wives, they ignored her, lost in their own 
conversations, or in a newscast that was playing on a flat 
screen monitor on the far wall.  A small bar had been set 
up, and Tanj poured herself a glass of Burgundy.  Taking 
a sip, she padded over to listen to the broadcast.  
"Amazing" she thought to herself; "out of touch for that 
long, and there still isn't really anything "new" on the 
news.

"'Bout time you showed up"  Tanj turned to find the 
smiling First Officer standing behind her.  "I've been 
wondering if I should get the Ship's Medic to check in on 
you."  Tanj blinked; "Oh?  Why's that?" The Snow Leopard 
grinned;  "Oh, because you've been in your cabin so long.  
You must have really been tired to have slept for a day and 
a half!"  Tanj just looked at him; "you're kidding!"  He 
chuckled and shook his head; "Nope; we're half way to 
Benton's World.  Got another Jump coming up right after 
dinner."  Tanj took a sip of her wine and sighed; "well, 
I did have a pretty exhausting time down there on Imroc……."  
The Snow Leopard smiled and nodded; "Must have.  But now its 
time for dinner and I bet you're starved!"  Tanj just 
grinned and nodded, and let him lead her to the dining room.

"So, what line of work are you in?"  The Boar was middle 
aged, and rather thick around the middle, and Tanj was 
finding him just a little bit annoying.  "Oh, I'm in…. data 
analysis."  The Boar nodded and smiled; "Off on vacation, 
then?"  Tanj chuckled; "no, returning from a business 
trip."  The Conversation around the dinner table was a mix 
of ship's business, and business traveler's tales, and 
Tanj did her best to listen, trying to sort out the bits 
of information that might be useful.  Attempts to get her to 
join the conversation, though, were resisted; she did her 
best to keep to herself, to not get involved.  After all, 
she might meet these folks someday on a "professional" 
level, and she didn't really want personal entanglements….  
Still, the First Officer was a temptation…..  The Captain 
was an elderly buck, sporting an impressive rack of antlers, 
and Tanj smiled to herself as she tried to imagine the 
helmet to his vac suit.  He was mostly engaged in 
conversation with the ship's purser, going over their 
finances, as if there wasn't another soul present.  An otter 
down the table, wearing a ship's uniform that pegged him as 
one of the Engineers kept looking at Tanj, and she 
wondered if he'd caught part of one of the broadcasts of the 
Game….  Mostly, she just savored the food and kept to 
herself through the meal.

It was about desert time when the Captain excused himself, 
saying he was needed on the Bridge for the upcoming Jump.  
Tanj sipped her coffee and nibbled at the cherry cobbler, 
idly talking with a lady squirrel, who as it turned out was 
a buyer for one of the regional clothiers.  She was on her 
way back from a fashion show on Velach, and was just 
bubbling over with all the latest styles, and fabrics.  As 
she listened to her prattle on, Tanj felt the stomach 
wrenching sensation of a ship engaging its Jump Engines.  A 
moment's disorientation, and then it was past.

The Lion sat up in bed, fumbling to hit the answer button on 
the Comm panel; "Yes, what is it?"  "Uh Boss, this is Lon 
down in Intelligence…. We've just turned up something on 
Tanj, and I think you'd better come see this.  You 
wouldn't BELIEVE what she's gotten herself into this time!"  
The Lion blinked and then growled; "Be right down."  Rising 
he pulled on his clothes and left at a trot.

The Lion found them all clustered around one of the bigger 
Holo tanks in the Intelligence office.  He knew most of the 
folks there weren't with Intelligence; whatever was going on 
had obviously drawn a crowd.  Seeing him arrive the Fox held 
up a paw, and clicked a remote.  The scene on the big Holo 
jumped, obviously returning to the beginning of the 
recording.  He watched, looking over the heads of most of 
the other furrs, as a well dressed male Skunk started making 
introductions………

The lady Squirrel put her paw to her chest and exclaimed; 
"Oh MY!  I'll NEVER get used to that"  Tanj just chuckled 
and shrugged; "actually, they've got a good crew on this 
ship.  The Jump engines are rather well balanced. I've 
ridden out MUCH worse……."  Her sentence was interrupted by 
the sound of a klaxon, and the First Officer, who'd been 
politely listening, rose to his feet.  "Ladies, something's 
wrong.  Why don't you return to your cabins, just as a 
precaution.  I'd best go see what's happening."  As most of 
the guests filed out of the dining room, everyone seemingly 
talking at once, Tanj padded into the lounge.  She had a 
hunch as to what the problem was……  Many times, the 
entertainment system on a packet like this could be switched 
to show exterior views, for the passenger's amusement during 
landings, or docking and undocking, and as she fiddled with 
the controls, she suddenly got a starfield.  Panning about, 
she found the angle that would show a picture down the 
length of the Claire Thompson.  Slowly she panned back and 
forth, searching, until a bright spot drew her attention.  
Zooming in, she nodded in recognition.

The First Officer bustled into the Lounge, looking left and 
right; "I’m afraid I'm going to have to ask ALL passengers 
to return to their Cabins" he growled, shooing some of the 
remaining business travelers towards the door.  Tanj 
turned and looked at him, and as he looked in her direction 
he caught sight of the picture on the monitor.  Tanj 
watched as he seemed to sag, his ears and tail drooping.  
Tanj nodded; "looks like a "Savage" class, probably from 
the shipyards on Banth.  A pirate vessel that size has you 
clearly outmatched, in speed and shields and weapons.  I'd 
imagine you'll surrender without a fight."  The Snow Leopard 
looked at her, eyes narrowing, and Tanj just sighed and 
shrugged; "I've been through this before."  Tanj grinned 
to herself; "Of course, I'm NOT going to tell you that I've 
been through it from the OTHER side……"  The Snow Leopard 
looked at her for a moment and then nodded; "I’m afraid that 
gives you more experience with this than anyone else on 
board.  We've never encountered pirates before; at least 
none that would dare go against the shields and weaponry we 
carry."  Tanj nodded; "True, that’s one of the reasons I 
chose this ship; but there's always somebody out there 
bigger, badder, more aggressive than you are.  Just my bad 
luck you happened to run into them on this trip."  The Snow 
Leopard turned towards the door, and then turned back; "Ah, 
if you've experienced a pirate raid before, perhaps you'd 
come up to the Bridge; you might be able to give us some 
advice as to how to obtain the best treatment for our 
passengers……"  Tanj just grinned and nodded; "I'd be glad 
to."

The Bridge was a very tense place.  Tanj could smell the 
fear in the air.  The Captain sat rigidly in his chair, 
staring at the image of the Pirate vessel in the main 
viewer.  The Snow Leopard leaned over and whispered into his 
ear for a moment and then the Buck nodded.  Turning to look 
at Tanj, he sighed; "They've demanded we stop engines and 
power down shields and weapons, and prepare to be boarded.  
I don't think we can fight a ship that size, and there 
doesn't seem to be any help in the immediate vicinity.  What 
can I expect when they board us?"  Tanj shrugged; 
"depends on who does the boarding.  Some pirates will behave 
rather badly; I doubt there's much that any of us could do 
to stop them.  Others are quite…. civilized.  But that ship 
out there is too expensive to be owned by any of the minor 
organizations.  That’s a Major outfit, and I'd suspect a 
more…. businesslike behavior.  I'd advise doing nothing that 
might worsen their mood, and hope for the best.  If 
everything goes just right, your insurance carrier will 
ransom your ship, your passengers, and your crew."  The Buck 
just nodded and with a sigh, gestured at the furr at the Ops 
console.  "Do as they demand" he sighed, as if passing a 
death sentence.

Tanj excused herself, and waited in the lounge, not 
wanting to call attention to herself.  She felt the ship 
shudder as the Pirate's shuttle clamped onto the Packet's 
docking ring, and then listened as the shouts and the 
running feet drew closer.  Most of them passed by on their 
way to the bridge, but after a while, one of the pirates 
stuck his head into the lounge, his vulpine features split 
by a wide grin when he saw Tanj; "well, Lookee here what 
Ah Found!"   Tanj took in the image of the fox, wearing 
battered and nondescript body armor, a rather large stunner 
in his paws, and a commo headset perched on his head, and 
smiled; "Hello yourself.  Who's ram-rodding this operation?  
The Fox just shook his head and padded across the lounge, to 
wrap one paw around Tanj's arm, tugging her to her feet.  
"Ah'll be the one askin' the questions here."  With that he 
dragged her from the lounge.

Tanj found herself pushed up against a corridor wall, as 
the pirates assembled all the passengers and crew.  Some of 
the businessfurrs looked quite nervous, some looked amused.  
The crew looked somewhere between doubtful and terrified.  
Tanj watched the pirates closely, trying to gain a clue 
as to what organization they belonged to.  Their operation 
however, was smooth, parties seizing the Bridge and 
Engineering, others rounding up all the furrs on the ship.  
Tanj hadn't seen anyone actually mistreated yet, although 
there was a lot of yelling and threatening gestures.  
Smiling to herself, Tanj treated it as an exercise, as if 
she'd have to give an efficiency report on the operation.

They'd been standing there for a while when a rather large 
Tiger swaggered into view.  His outfit was perhaps just a 
little grander than that of the other pirates, his body 
armor better fitting, and still showing a shine in odd 
places.  He carried a stunner in one paw, and an honest-to-
God rapier in the other.  Tanj almost laughed as she 
watched him.  The effect was not lost on the crew and 
passengers, and most of them literally cowered before him.  
As he passed down the line, the Pirate singled out the 
occasional crew member, sending them to stand to one side.  
Most of the Crew and Passengers were passed on to a team of 
pirates that started binding them, preparing to transfer 
them to the pirate vessel.  As the Tiger pulled even with 
Tanj, she smiled; "Well, Hello, Captain Quinn; fancy 
meeting you in a place like this!"  The Tiger stopped and 
stared down at the Cheetah to growl; "How do you know my 
name?"  Tanj rolled her eyes; "why Jedidiah, I'm SHOCKED 
that you don't remember me!"  Before the Tiger could speak, 
Tanj narrowed her eyes; looking up at him, she growled; 
"And I AM going to tell Jenka that you're not staying awake 
in Briefings."  As the Tiger's jaw dropped, Tanj noted 
with some amusement that half a dozen other jaws had dropped 
as well, not only among the Packet's crew, but among the 
Pirates as well.

The Tiger stared down at the Cheetah fem and shook his head; 
"All right, you've got me; I admit it, I don't remember; NOW 
WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?"  Tanj smiled and shook her head 
again.  For a moment she hesitated, not wanting everyone in 
the room to know just who she was, but then she thought 
about the broadcasts of the Game, and with a sigh, she 
realized her covert days were long over.  Besides, was she 
really ashamed of who, and what she was?  Looking back up at 
the Tiger, she purrred;  "I'm Sou An Ky, Deputy Director of 
Intelligence for the Brethren, and the personal property of 
the Brethren's CEO and Majority Stockholder. Most folks call 
me Tanj. If you'd been awake, you would have seen me 
deliver Intelligence Briefings to the Black Fleet as part of 
the Information Exchange Program."

Tanj almost burst out laughing when one of the Pirate's 
lieutenants muttered an "Ooooooh CRAP!"  Quinn turned to fix 
his crew with a stare, as if trying to figure out who'd let 
that slip, and when he turned back, he had a frown on his 
face;  "Be that as it may, at the moment, you're booty!"  
Tanj shrugged; "Not a problem.  I understand the rules.  
Just keep in mind that when I get back home, and I WILL get 
back home, you'll still be running on the intelligence my 
shop provides.  Given that, I trust you'll have the good 
common sense to treat your captives, ALL your captives, 
according to guild rules.  Oh, and I’d be obliged if you'd 
let Jenka know I'm here."  With that, Tanj turned and 
moved to join the line of captive being bound for transfer.

Quinn watched her back as she was led towards the airlock, 
just another captive in the coffle.  One of the Pirates, a 
skunk with a wicked scar across his muzzle, padded up to the 
Tiger and asked; "what was that crack about her providing 
intelligence?"  Quinn sighed; "Think about it.  She tells 
Jenka there's a lucrative convoy passing through our area.  
Jenka sends us out to take it.  If she's slightly pissed at 
us, we find nothing, and she goes "oops" and we take a loss.  
If she's REALLY pissed at us, we find an Imperial battle 
fleet.  And no, we won't just make her "disappear."  You 
know as well as I do that since we started sharing 
intelligence with the Brethren, our revenues are up over 
80%.  On the OTHER hand, with a mouth like that, I've got no 
incentive to treat her any different than the other 
captives."  The Tiger looked at the Skunk and growled; 
"Embarrass me in front of MY crew, will she?"  The skunk 
chuckled and shook his head, one finger idly rubbing along 
the scar on his muzzle; "Aw come on, Skipper, EVERYONE 
sleeps in meetings; now not remembering a sexy thing like 
that, THAT's hard to believe….Did you seen the size of her 
tits?"

The pirates enforced silence as the group was transferred to 
a shuttle, and then ferried to the Pirate vessel.  In 
silence they were stripped, passed through the showers, and 
then given a cursory medical examination.  Finally Tanj 
found herself in a small cage, her paws still bound behind 
her back with a wire tie.  The lady Squirrel wound up 
sharing the cage with her, as she sat there, Tanj watched 
her; "Oh calm down.  Things are likely to get very boring, 
but I really don't think we're in any danger."  The squirrel 
flashed her a quick look; "I've heard that Pirates like to 
rape their captives!"  Tanj chuckled; "Oh, I suppose 
there are some that do; most I've run across prefer willing 
partners.  Besides, you're not a virgin are you?"  The 
Squirrel glanced at her again; "Oh, NO!  Of course not!"  
Tanj smiled; "and you enjoy sex?"  This drew a longer 
glance from the Squirrel; "Well, yes………"  Tanj chuckled; 
"Did you get a good look at Quinn?  The Tiger?  I think he's 
a pretty good looking stud, and I guarantee you, by the time 
this gets sorted out, I suspect both of us will be soooooo 
bored, his attentions would be rather welcome."  The 
Squirrel looked at Tanj for a long moment and then shook 
her head; "you're weird, you know that?"  Tanj just 
laughed.

The Lion was visibly tense as Tanj and the Rabbit fought 
Xylex and the other Hunter, his claws twitching in and out 
as if he wanted nothing more than to join the fight.  The 
crowd sighed with relief when Tanj managed to defeat her 
opponent, and there was a rather shocked silence as Tanj 
snarled into Xylex's face, one small voice wondering "was 
that WANDA she was talking about?"  As the recording moved 
into the Victory celebration, and the interviews, the Lion 
drew Ben and the Fox aside; "She says she's going home.  She 
knows she can't come straight here; where would she go?  And 
how old is this recording?  Check the shipping schedules, 
and get your mercenaries to check the passenger lists.  Then 
get that Cruiser we have there to follow up the more 
probable leads."

The trip did prove to be boring.  They were fed twice a day, 
allowed out to use the water closet twice a day, and allowed 
a brief exercise period.  Most of the time they spent in 
their cages.  Most of the time Tanj just slept.  Of 
course conversations were held among the cages, and 
occasionally Tanj was glad for the bars that kept her 
separated from the other prisoners; some of them hadn't 
taken kindly to the fact that she too was a pirate…….  The 
Guards liked to tease certain of the prisoners, and they 
soon figured out that Tanj was more than willing to tease 
back, and more than once the Squirrel yelped as one of them 
tried to reach through the bars to grab at the Cheetah.  
THEN they hit upon a more devious  technique…..

"Heeeeyyyyyyy, Taaaaannnnnnnnjjjjjjjjj, I've got 
Chooooocccoooollllaaaatttteeeee."  Tanj licked her lips 
and moved to the bars, looking up at the Wolf.  The food 
here was nutritious, but was designed to minimize demands on 
the ship's waste treatment system; high calorie, low bulk, 
and accordingly, Tanj was always hungry.  Nothing they 
fed them seemed to fill her, even though she knew she was 
gaining weight, sitting around like she was.  And it was 
tasteless.  No spices.  Nothing that might upset someone's 
stomach, nothing that might produce vomit, or diarrhea.  
Nothing that might cause a mess that would have to be 
cleaned up.  It was bland!  Tanj looked at the Wolf as he 
waved the bit of Chocolate, and tried hard not to drool.  
"And what am I going to have to do to get a piece, 
Frederick?"  The Wolf chuckled, and waved the piece just out 
of her reach.  "Oh, answer a few questions, for starters.  
Your little exchange with Captain Quinn has us all a bit 
curious…….."

Tanj sat back and looked at him; "I dunno; what kind of 
questions?"  The Wolf smiled, slowly waving the chocolate 
back and forth within Tanj's vision, but just out of her 
reach.  "We heard you say something about being the 
"personal property" of the head of the Brethren; you some 
sort of slave or something?  Tanj chuckled and shrugged; 
"As a matter of fact, I am."  Frederick stopped waving the 
chocolate and looked at her; "Then where's your collar?"  
Tanj grinned; "My Master thought it was inappropriate for 
me to wear it on the….. mission we were on.  Felt it would 
raise too many questions, and therefor he made me leave it 
on the ship.  Its not like its needed or anything; we both 
know where we stand….."  The wolf just went "Uh-huh!"  After 
a moment  Frederick smiled; "So tell me, little Slave, what 
WILL you do for a piece of chocolate?"  Tanj grinned, a 
sly smile; "its more like what WON'T I do…….. whatcha got in 
mind?" 

Before the Wolf could answer, the door at the end of the 
room opened and Captain Quinn walked in, to stop before 
Tanj's cage.  Tanj smiled up at him and said sweetly; 
"Why Captain Quinn!  We simply HAVE to stop meeting like 
this!"  Quinn chuckled; "you might change your tune on that; 
I received a long message from Jenka about you, and have 
gotten some VERY explicit instructions as to how you should 
be treated……"  As the Tiger spoke, Tanj noticed another 
of the pirates, a rather large bull, walking up behind the 
Captain, carrying all sorts of straps and cuffs.  Quinn 
turned to follow her gaze and nodded to the Bull; "This is 
the one; the Cheetah.  You know what to do."  Turning back 
to Tanj Quinn chuckled; "See you later, Tanj…."

The Bull unlocked the cage and reached in to grab a handful 
of Tanj's hair, dragging her out roughly.  Growling at 
Frederick, the Bull instructed him to hold her.  Tanj 
looked at Frederick as the Bull fastened a thick collar 
around her neck, locking it in place.  This was followed by 
a rubber-coated ring gag, the ring propping her jaws wide 
apart.  Tanj winced as she found the inside of the ring 
was lined with sharp little points, and in order to keep 
from pricking her tongue, she was forced to lay her tongue 
through the ring.  The Bull then proceeded to pull her paws 
together behind her back, to force her arms into a leather 
sleeve.  When he had it strapped into place, her arms were 
pulled hard behind her back, encased in tight black leather.    
Forced to kneel, Tanj felt the Bull tie the ring at the 
end of the arm binder to the cuffs that now encircled her 
ankles. Then the Bull was gathering her hair, tying a knot 
in the end; a rope was looped through her hair, and around 
the knot, and then her head was tugged back hard, the other 
end of the rope also tied to her ankles.  Rising, the Bull 
stepped back to look at his handiwork.  Glancing up at the 
Wolf, the Bull growled; "she's to be kept tightly tied until 
we dock.  Jenka's orders.  And she's to be used.  
Frequently."  Grinning at the Wolf, the Bull demonstrated, 
undoing his belt, and dropping his pants.  Tanj urked as 
the Bull's hard cock was slowly stuffed through the ring 
gag, his thick shaft filling her mouth, making her cheeks 
bulge.  Now she knew why the ring gag was so huge; the Bull 
had obviously chosen it specifically to accommodate himself.  
Unable to move, there was little Tanj could do as the 
Bull slowly fucked her face.  But the Bull didn't seem to 
mind; he kept one hand on the back of her head, his hips 
moving slowly, oblivious to the stares of all the caged 
captives.  Finally, he grunted hard, and pulled back, 
wrapping one paw around his shaft, to stroke himself as he 
came, his jism splattering Tanj's face and chest.  With a 
grunt, the Bull pulled up his pants, and as he turned to 
leave, he grinned at Frederick; "your turn."

Frederick looked down at the Cheetah for a moment, and then 
shrugged.  "Oooooookay, little slave" he rumbled, and then 
his pants were falling to the floor, his crotch pressed 
against Tanj's face.  Tanj had a little more room, the 
wolf not being nearly as massive as the Bull, and she was 
able to work her tongue along the underside of his shaft.  
The Wolf didn't last nearly as long, and within moments, he 
was firing his load down her throat, his howls making the 
kennel ring.  As he pulled out, Frederick reached down to 
pick up the piece of Chocolate he'd dropped, and carefully 
he placed it on Tanj's tongue.  Then, chuckling, he 
pulled up his pants and returned to his station.

Tanj grunted, and strained against her bonds; they seemed 
to change her position every few hours… They'd even brought  
in some sort of scaffolding, so they could add variety to 
the ways in which she was bound.  Currently she hung upside-
down, hanging from her well-spread ankles and a broad belt 
around her waist; her paws still fastened behind her back.  
It'd been a great position for all the Pirates that had been 
stopping by the Kennels to make use of the Cheetah slave; 
her head was just about at crotch height, the ring gag once 
again in her mouth.  Of course, there'd been this mouse 
who'd been a little short, but he'd actually brought a step-
stool with him………  Now, the kennels were quiet, and Tanj 
shifted yet again, seeking a way to ease the strain on her 
limbs.

Quinn himself had come to pay her a visit.  The Bull had 
reappeared, and using tie-down points in the floor of the 
kennels, had bound her in a kneeling position, on hands and 
knees, her hair again used to pull her head back, its end 
tied to the broad belt around her waist.  The Captain had 
quietly strolled around her, as she knelt, bound, on the 
floor and had then added his own personal touch by using a 
leather thong to tie the end of her tail to the back of her 
collar.  Then he'd quietly removed and folded his pants, 
laying them aside, to kneel behind her, one paw teasing her 
sex, until she was quite wet, and ready for him.  The 
Tiger's cock wasn't as huge as the Bull's, but it was large 
enough, and Tanj moaned as he slowly worked it into her.  
After he'd pumped her for a while, the Tiger made a motion, 
and the Bull again dropped his pants, to kneel at Tanj's 
head, his cock once again driving through the ring in her 
mouth.  Back and forth they pushed her, the Tiger driving 
her forward, forcing her mouth around the Bull's cock; and 
then the Bull was driving her back, forcing her onto the 
Tiger's cock.  Slowly they worked her back and forth, 
heedless of her mewlings or her cries, ignoring the climaxes 
that claimed her from time to time, until finally the Tiger 
growled, his cock spurting and throbbing within her sex, 
filling her with his seed until it ran down her thighs.  The 
Bull took a bit longer, but when he came, again he pulled 
out, to spray his cum over her head.  He then wiped off his 
cock, first against one of her cheeks and then the other, 
before standing and pulling up his pants.  Without a word, 
they left her kneeling there, panting hard, cum dripping 
from her pussy, and her muzzle.

Frederick looked down at the dripping Cheetah and sighed; 
she was a MESS.  Looking around at all the captives in the 
cages, he growled; "All right; which one of you would like 
to clean this bitch up?  Get her clean and I'll let you have 
a turn with her."  Tanj chuckled to herself as she 
watched some of the former passengers and crew of the Packet 
recoil in horror, while others obviously looked all too 
eager.  The Wolf paced up and down the cages, looking 
critically at each of the occupants, before stopping and 
unlocking one of the doors.  Gesturing to the furr inside he 
growled.  You.  Out now."  Tanj watched as the packet's 
first officer, the Snow Leopard she'd had her eye on, 
reluctantly crawled from the cage.  The Wolf twirled his 
shock stick and grinned; "Get over there and take your 
"payment" first.  Then untie her and haul her down to the 
showers.  I want her scrubbed CLEAN.  MOVE IT, MISTER!"  As 
the Snow Leopard rose to his feet, to padd towards her, 
Tanj noted that while he seemed to be having moral and 
ethical problems with his instructions, his body was 
betraying him, his cock standing proud from its sheath…….  
Stopping in front of her, the Snow Leopard looked down at 
her, and cocked his head to one side; "would you mind if 
I……"  And then he turned and shot a quick glance at the 
Wolf, and his shock stick.  Tanj did her best to nod her 
head, throwing in a wink as well, as she tried to reassure 
him.  Shrugging, more at the other captives than at the 
guard, or Tanj, the Snow Leopard walked around behind 
her, to kneel where the Tiger had been.  Softly, 
tentatively, Tanj felt the head of his cock nuzzle at her 
dripping sex, and then a touch from the Wolf's shock stick 
on his ass made the Snow Leopard drive his shaft into her 
hard, with an outraged howl!  The Snow Leopard started to 
move, his hips thrusting rhythmically, the pattern 
alternating; now two deep and five short quick strokes, now 
four long smooth strokes and two quick jabs….  Tanj 
panted and quivered in her bonds; this one knew how to use 
his cock.  Unable to do little more than contract her 
vaginal muscles around his shaft, to ripple them, milking 
him, Tanj just concentrated on the sensations, slowly 
loosing touch with the outside world, the waves of pleasure 
coming from her pussy  blotting out all other stimuli.

The wolf grinned as he watched the Cheetah shudder through 
yet another climax.  Tapping the Snow Leopard on the 
shoulder with his switched-off shock stick, grinning at how 
he jumped before he realized he hadn't been shocked, the 
Wolf growled; "That’s enough of that.  Pull out and put it 
in her ass."  The Snow Leopard started to object, but the 
evil hummm of the shock-stick, as the Wolf audibly switched 
it back on, made him reconsider.  Pulling back, the Snow 
Leopard positioned his cock at the Cheetah's puckered 
rosebud, and pushed firmly.

Tanj moaned as she felt the Snow Leopard's shaft drive 
into her back passage.  It took several strokes for her to 
relax enough, but after a minute she was again rattling her 
chains, straining at her bonds as she tried to show him it 
was all right by pushing back against his thrusts.  And when 
his paw reached around her hips, to stroke her clitty, she 
moaned with delight.  Tanj was riding the waves of 
pleasure as yet another climax washed through her when the 
Snow Leopard finally came, his cock jumping and twitching in 
her ass as he lost his load.

Still panting, Tanj rose as the Snow Leopard helped her 
up, most of her bonds in a heap on the floor, but her wrists 
still locked together behind her back.  Frederick pointed 
towards the door to the showers with his shock stick, but 
didn't follow.  After all, there was no other exit, and 
nothing more dangerous in there than some liquid soap……  The 
Snow Leopard stepped ahead of Tanj, to turn on the water, 
and adjust the temperature.  Then they were both under the 
water, the Snow Leopard rubbing pawfulls of soap into her 
fur, trying to remove the accumulations of dried cum.  
Tanj purrred loudly, and did her best to rub herself 
against his body, something he seemed to find VERY 
distracting.  

Glancing out the door, the Snow Leopard reached up and 
unbuckled the ring gag.  As he pulled it free, Tanj 
worked her jaw for a moment and then surprised the Snow 
Leopard by leaning forward, to press against him, giving him 
a big kiss; "Thanks, 'preciate your help!"  The Snow Leopard 
looked at her a little curiously; "you mean you didn't 
mind…….."  Tanj just chuckled; "Oh Hell no; long before I 
was mixed up with the pirates, I was a sex slave; still am, 
in some regards; BELIEVE ME, I'd rather be out there in the 
middle of the floor, tied up and "cruelly used" than bored 
out of my mind in one of the cages!"  The Snow Leopard 
resumed washing her, rubbing one thigh as if trying to 
remove her spots; "you mean you LIKE that kinda thing?"  
Tanj just chuckled, turning so he could get at the back 
of her thighs and her rump; "Well, it kinda depends who I'm 
with.  Quinn wasn't bad; you were better, and I admit I 
don't much care for that Bull; he's just a little too rough 
and demanding….  Frederick isn't bad either.  No, don't 
worry about me; at this point, I'm not really sure just 
who's using who out there….."  The Snow Leopard just 
chuckled and nodded, his soapy paw coming up between 
Tanj's thighs.  The Cheetah arched her back, a dreamy 
look on her face as his slick paw rubbed back and forth over 
her crotch.

The Snow Leopard was just about done with her, when Tanj 
whispered in his ear; "got to get YOU clean too; tell you 
what, I'll show you a trick my Master taught me; take the 
liquid soap, and pour a good bit down my front.  THEN just 
stand there……

Frederick paced the Kennels, looking into each cage, making 
sure everything was all right.  The ship was about to dock, 
and he KNEW Jenka would be coming down to take possession of 
the Cheetah.  That’s why he'd wanted her cleaned up.  
Speaking of which, where were those two?  They'd been in the 
showers a LONG time…….

Jenka paced into the Kennels, Quinn close behind. She'd 
taken a shuttle out to meet the returning vessel, and as she 
entered, she caught the guard by surprise.  He was standing 
by the door to the showers, looking in…….. When she touched 
him on the shoulder he yelped and jumped a foot.  Jenka just 
had to laugh. Looking past him, Jenka chuckled as she beheld 
a dripping wet, covered-in-soapsuds Tanj, her paws bound 
behind her back, rubbing herself up and down over a rather 
hansom, just-as-wet-and-soapy, and rather excited Snow 
Leopard.

Tanj heard the laugh and turned to look.  With a smile 
breaking out on her face, the Cheetah did her best to 
"pounce" the black Pantheress, despite the handicap of her 
paws being bound behind her back.  Jenka yelped and laughed 
at the same time, stopping Tanj with both paws on her 
shoulders.  After a second, she leaned forward to kiss the 
dripping Cheetah; "Hello, Pet, its good to see you too.  But 
aren't you forgetting something?"  Tanj laughed and 
nodded and dropped to kneel at Jenka's feet, in the proper 
position for a slave.  Jenka purrrred and nodded; "That’s 
better; but you're dripping all over the floor.  Go and 
finish washing your stud.  Oh, and I want you to relieve him 
of his hard-on as well; its just not fair for you to get 
them all excited like that and then leave them!"  Tanj 
grinned and nodded and returned to the shower, to tilt her 
head up to kiss the Snow Leopard; "its OK, don't worry about 
it."  And then she crouched, to rub her soapy sex up and 
down his left thigh.

Jenka watched as the Cheetah expertly "soaped" up the Snow 
Leopard, rubbing against him front and back, using her 
muzzle to "scrub" the recesses of his body, adding her 
tongue here and there….. After maneuvering him back under 
the running water, she knelt and took his cock in her mouth, 
to demonstrate her skill, not rushing things, but proving 
she could bring him off rapidly.  As the Snow Leopard's hips 
bucked in the throes of his orgasm, Quinn leaned forward to 
whisper in Jenka's ear; "Got to let me borrow her as a Bath 
Toy some day."  Jenka just chuckled and nodded.

The Snow Leopard watched from his cage as Jenka fastened a 
leash to the collar of the still damp Cheetah, and turning, 
led her off.  As he watched the Cheetah's ass sway as she 
was led, nude, from the kennels, he wondered if he'd ever 
see her again.

Tanj did her best to play the part of a slave as she was 
led from the Pirate vessel, onto the station that the Black 
Fleet called home.  She remembered her lessons well from the 
Academy; it was just a little difficult trying to get back 
into that frame of mind.  So much had happened since then…..  
Still, the cuffs and the collar and the hobble chain, and 
the leash all brought back memories…….  Jenka seemed to have 
no intention of heading straight back to her quarters; she 
stopped in at Operations for awhile, Tanj kneeling by her 
feet as she discussed business with a few of her officers.  
And then it was off to see this furr, or that, business that 
seemed to take her all over the Station, Tanj in tow at 
the end of the leash, her feet moving in short quick steps, 
the hobble chain rattling and dancing as she tried to keep 
up.  Finally they were back at Jenka's quarters, and as the 
door closed behind them, Tanj smiled……..

As Jenka tried to unclip the leash, Tanj rose to tiptoes 
to try and kiss her Mistress, but Jenka firmly wrapped a paw 
around her muzzle, pushing her back down.  "Kitten, there 
are a few things we NEED to discuss….."  Tanj just 
blinked, and Jenka continued; "there have been a lot of 
changes in your life of late.  You're no longer the simple 
bed slave you once were.  You're now one of the senior 
officers of the Brethren, and a power to reckon with in your 
own right.  Before we go any further, we're going to have to 
figure out just where you stand, and set some ground rules."  
Tanj sighed and nodded; "Yeah, well, I think this has 
been coming to a head for a long time now.  You'd THINK that 
I'd be delighted to cast off slavery, and assume a position 
of equality with my peers, but something deep inside me 
doesn't want that.  Maybe it’s the conditioning, maybe its 
just ME, but I just don't want to let go of that part of 
me."  Jenka nodded and stroked Tanj's hair softly; "Tell 
me what you DO want……."  Tanj looked up at the 
Pantheress; "that’s the problem; I just don't KNOW.  I like 
working in Intelligence, I like being a part of the 
Brethren's planning staff.  Its exciting and demanding, and 
challenging, everything I thought I'd always wanted in a 
job.  And then there are times when I wish I WAS just that 
simple little slave, not having to worry about anything more 
than pleasing my Master………..  I suppose, in reality, I want 
them both, but know I can't HAVE them both……"  Jenka nodded; 
"would you like for me to talk to your Master about setting 
you free?"  Tanj's eyes widened; "No, not yet…… besides, 
he's been most generous; I've got more than enough money in 
the bank to buy my own freedom; have for quite a while now.  
As I've said, I just don't want to let go of that………"  
Looking up, Tanj smiled weakly; "speaking of which, you 
WILL let him know I'm here, won't you?  Oh, I know, I'm fair 
booty from the raid; I'll be glad to pay whatever ransom you 
set… AND play the proper prisoner until he shows up to 
collect me.  You know that as long as my duties don't 
interfere, while I'm here, I'll ALWAYS be your pet……."  
Jenka smiled and nodded; "OK, then…. I'm not sure it'll go 
on this way forever, but for the moment, I'll indulge your 
fantasy, and treat you as my toy.  Until your Master shows 
up to claim you…. IF that’s what you want."  Tanj smiled 
and knelt before the Pantheress, head bowed, knees spread; 
"Yes, please, Mistress, if it pleases you…."

Jenka smiled and nodded; "you understand of course, that I 
feel your behavior as a slave has left MUCH to be desired.  
I do believe that I'm going to have to be VERY strict with 
you, to re-teach you the discipline you need to be a proper 
slave.  After all, when your Master does come to claim you, 
I want to return to him a well-behaved slave!  Now, tell me 
what happened to your breasts.  Did your Master decide you 
weren't large enough?

The Lion looked at the report and scratched his head; "OK, 
so she boarded the Claire Thompson for Benton's World.  Good 
choice.  So what's the problem?  Have the cruiser head 
there."  Ben shrugged; "I did; problem is, the Thompson 
never arived.  Its three days overdue."  Turning to look at 
the Fox, the Lion raised an eyebrow in a silent question.  
The Fox shrugged; "I'd suspect Pirates, but it could have 
been an engineering casualty, or even a bad Jump.  You know 
that happens from time to time; ships go in one side of a 
jump point and are never seen again; or molten junk sprays 
out of the Jump effect on the other end.  Or they could have 
been thrown hundreds of light years off their route.  We're 
checking into all of that, of course.  That’s nominally the 
Black Fleet's territory, although on the fringe, and I've 
contacted them, and some of the other Guild-registered 
outfits.  So far, no one's owning up to having her, although 
I wouldn't put it past her to lay low and not let them know 
who she is.  Needless to say, we'll keep looking."

Tanj gasped and panted hard.  The corset around her 
middle so constricted her waist, so compressed her insides 
that she barely had any room to breath.  Her chest heaved 
with each labored breath.  Being on the treadmill didn't 
help any, either.  Jenka had felt that she was getting too 
flabby, and as a result, had prescribed a strict exercise 
routine.  Now Tanj jogged on the treadmill, heavy shock 
cords running from the belt around her waist to the front of 
the treadmill frame, holding her in position.  As she 
jogged, her unencumbered breasts bounced, the heavy rings 
through her nipples bouncing wildly……

Jenka watched for a minute.  The treadmill had all sorts of 
safety devices; if Tanj stumbled or fell, it would shut 
down, the ropes being automatically released…. Of course 
Tanj didn't know that, and with luck, never would.  
Confident that her pet was safe enough, Jenka left her 
quarters, to head for the Communications office.

"Let me get this right……"  The Collie at the comm station 
scratched his head in confusion; "you want me to send a 
message marked "Priority" but you want it "lost" for a 
week……."  Jenka chuckled and nodded; "exactly.  When it 
arrives, I want it to look like we tried to get the 
information there as soon as possible, BUT I really don't 
want them to get it for a while.  I just want "credible 
deniability" for its being late."  The Collie shrugged and 
nodded; "ooooookay, you're the boss.  I suspect we'll figure 
out some way of buying you time and still not getting 
blistered for its tardiness.  But do you really think the 
Brethren will get all bent out of shape over one slave?"  
Jenka just chuckled and nodded 

Tanj had to carry the message in her mouth; once again, 
her arms were bound behind her, encased in a tight leather 
sheath.  While the strap attached to the ring at the end of 
the sheath was brought up between her legs, to be fastened 
to the broad belt she wore around her matching leather 
corset, Tanj could feel none of the sensations of the 
leather sawing between her thighs.  Jenka had locked her in 
a rather heavy chastity belt, promising her that until she 
learned her lesson, climaxes were a thing of the past.  As 
Tanj headed for the Station's kennels, she wondered "What 
lesson?  What am I supposed to learn?"  Padding into the 
guard station at the entrance to the Kennels, Tanj knelt, 
waiting for someone to fetch the envelope from her mouth.  
After a moment, one of the guards padded over and took the 
envelope, opening it, reading Jenka's instructions within.  
With a grunt, he nodded and bent, to take the ball gag 
draped loosely around Tanj's neck, to refasten it with 
the ball lodged firmly in her mouth.  Then, leaving her 
kneeling there, he went through the doors and into the 
Kennels.

Tanj hadn't been told what her errand entailed, and she 
was fairly surprised to see the Packet's first officer led 
from the Kennels at the end of a leash.  His paws were bound 
behind his back with a simple wire tie, and aside from the 
collar, he was nude.  The guard bid Tanj to rise and then 
fastened the end of the Snow Leopard's leash to the ring at 
the tip of her arm binder.  "Back to Jenka" he growled, 
giving Tanj a swat on the can.  Wondering what was up, 
Tanj complied, leading the Snow Leopard through the 
station, a strange parade that turned more than a few heads.  
As they entered the comparative quiet of the residential 
section, the Snow Leopard leaned forward and whispered "any 
idea what's up?" in Tanj's ear.  She just shrugged, as 
best as she was able, and led on.

When Tanj led him through the doors to Jenka's quarters, 
"What's Up" became apparent; the Black Pantheress was 
reclining on her bed, wearing an almost transparent 
negligee, its fabric shimmering in a rainbow of colors where 
it could be seen at all.  As soon as Tanj saw Jenka, she 
knelt, head bowed, the leash tied to the tip of her arm 
binder pulling the Snow Leopard into an involuntary bow as 
she knelt.  As Jenka's eyes wandered over the stud, she 
purrred, and nodded; "Yes, I think that one shall do quite 
nicely……"  Rising from her bed, she padded over to run a paw 
over the male, finally unclipping the lead from the back of 
Tanj's belt, letting it dangle from his collar.  Leaving 
him standing there, a bit confused, Jenka undid Tanj's 
gag, refastening it loosely around her neck, obviously handy 
for the next time it was needed.  Grinning at the Snow 
Leopard, she padded back to her bed, to recline.  Head 
propped on one paw, Jenka purrrred; "Pet, come use that 
tongue of yours to get me ready for him; and then you can 
get him ready for me…….

Tanj smiled to herself as she walked across the floor on 
her knees, to kneel by the side of the bed, her tongue 
flicking out, licking at Jenka's mons. She may have been 
bound, but for the moment at least, she knew she had some 
power over the Pantheress.  Her tongue teased, dancing here 
and there, stroking the length of her labia, seeking out her 
clitty, squirming into the Pantheress' warmth, touching, 
stroking here and there, until Jenka was clawing at the 
bedclothes, biting her lip to keep from moaning.  Deciding 
Jenka was primed, Tanj left her, pulling back, to kneel 
by the bed, her tongue licking Jenka's juices from her 
muzzle.  As she withdrew, Jenka made a mewling sound of 
displeasure at the cessation of the licking, but then again 
rose, to prop her head on one paw, to watch.

Tanj grinned and jerked her head to one side, signaling 
the Snow Leopard to come close.  After a moment's 
hesitation, the Packet's first officer padded over, to stand 
before the kneeling slave.  He'd been watching, wordlessly, 
silently, but the scene that had been played out before him 
obviously'd had an effect on him; It didn't take Tanj any 
time at all, to bring his cock to throbbing hardness, using 
her tongue.  And then Jenka was pushing the Cheetah's head 
away, reaching for the Snow Leopard's lead, pulling him onto 
her bed, onto her body.

Tanj knelt by the bed, watching surreptitiously as Jenka 
used the Snow Leopard for her own pleasure.  He was 
handicapped by having his paws bound behind him, but Jenka's 
wild motions more than made up for it.  Finally, he wound up 
on his back, on the bed, the Pantheress astride his hips, 
riding his cock wildly.  A little wistfully, Tanj watched 
his hard cock disappear again and again into the Pantheress' 
wet sex, a part of her delighted Jenka was having such fun, 
another part wishing it was her instead of Jenka…..  As 
Jenka rode his cock, she ran her claws up and down his 
chest, purring; "don't cum until I say, or it'll go hard on 
the slave there.  Cum too soon, and I'll make you watch me 
punish her……"  The words seemed to have an effect on the 
Snow Leopard, as his face kept twisting into distorted 
patterns, as he obviously tried hard to obey.  Finally, as 
Jenka was on her third climax, she screamed; "YES!  NOW!  
Cum for me NOW, my beautiful Stud!"  Tanj watched as the 
Snow Leopard panted and growled, driving his hips up into 
Jenka's, thrusting his cock into her as hard as he could.  
And then his Yowls were joining hers as he shuddered through 
what appeared to be a massive, gut-wrenching orgasm.

After a bit, when their motions had stilled, Jenka lifted 
off him, rising from the bed to present her dripping sex to 
Tanj's muzzle; "Lick me clean, Pet, and then lick him 
clean.  Then you can return him to the Kennels."  Tanj 
obeyed, licking softly, gently, well beyond the point where 
Jenka was clean, licking until she shuddered, her hips 
rocking involuntarily as Tanj's tongue brought her to 
another mild climax.  Then Jenka was off to the shower, 
leaving Tanj to crawl over to the bed, to lick at the 
Snow Leopard.  Keeping an eye on the door to the bathroom, 
Tanj licked him until he was clean, licked him until he 
was hard, and then licked him until he pumped what little 
cum he had left into her mouth.  Then, unable to pick up the 
end of his leash, she took it in her mouth, to lead him back 
to the Kennels.

As Tanj padded back towards Jenka's quarters, the Guard 
looked at the Snow Leopard; "Yeah, its pure hell being one 
of Jenka's captives, isn't it?"  The Snow Leopard chuckled 
and shrugged; "Dunno why I'M so lucky, none of the OTHER 
crew've been tapped out yet for, ah, "special attention"……  
The guard just chuckled; "Oh, I suspect some of them will 
be; Jenka's got a taste for fine specimens such as you….. or 
ones like that hot little Cheetah!"

Tanj's days settled down into a bit of a routine.  She'd 
awaken Jenka with a few well placed licks…… all right, some 
mornings more than a few well placed licks.  Then she'd see 
to Jenka's bath, helping her dress.  And then she'd follow 
her around at the end of her leash, usually dressed in some 
wild, sexy outfit, or sometimes in nothing at all.  She'd 
serve Jenka in the mess, and be occasionally fed some 
tidbit.  Then, while Jenka coordinated the efforts of the 
Black Fleet, she'd spend time either in bondage, in one wild 
position or another, or in exercise.  In the evenings, she'd 
"assist" Jenka, as she entertained either one of her 
favorite males, or a lady friend, the day ending with the 
Cheetah sleeping on a pallet at the foot of Jenka's bed.  
But all through the week, she hadn't been allowed to use 
more than her tongue, and Jenka's exploits were getting her 
increasingly hot…..  And as time passed, the longer she 
stayed on the Black Fleet's station, the more she found a 
gag in her mouth, with no opportunity to ask Jenka when her 
Master might be coming, or to plead for some relief from the 
"itching" between her legs that was starting to drive her 
crazy.

Tanj knelt under the conference table.  She again had her 
paws bound behind her back, this time by a rather standard 
set of handcuffs.  A thin chain ran from her left nipple to 
a cuff around Jenka's right paw.  The Chastity belt and the 
Corset were her only other garments.  As the truly boring 
logistical meeting droned on, it was Tanj's job to keep 
the meeting's attendees awake, crawling under the table, to 
provide a lick here, or a nibble there.  Jenka hadn't told 
her how far she could go in keeping them awake, but as she 
watched one of the Black Fleet's officers, a striking lady 
Ermine, hike up her skirt, and surreptitiously slide her 
panties down, she'd gotten the idea that whatever Jenka had 
in mind, the others around the table knew exactly what they 
wanted.  But being Tanj, she licked and nibbled most 
teasingly, knowing that in the meeting, there was little 
they could do to object, when she stopped just short of 
satisfying them.  Moving from furr to furr, nuzzling, 
licking, teasing, she wondered what her "punishment" would 
be?

As she knelt at Jenka's feet, as the meeting broke up, 
Tanj knew she was in for it; almost every one of the 
officers attending the meeting came by to whisper in Jenka's 
ear.  Still, she wondered what Jenka would have said had one 
of them screamed in passion as Tanj brought them to an 
orgasm, or a climax, in the middle of the meeting?

Her corset was tighter than ever, and each labored breath 
made her chest rise and fall; that was unfortunate, as Jenka 
had seen fit to adorn her nipple rings with nasty little 
vibrating weights.  Tanj knelt in the corridor, outside 
Jenka's office, her ankles lashed to her thighs, and her 
knees tied to the pole behind her, holding her on her knees.  
Her elbows were tied together, almost touching, and her 
wrists were lashed to the vertical pole, holding her not 
just upright, but tilted forward.  A thick plug gag filled 
her mouth, and a sign hung around her neck, saying; "Please 
replace gag when through."  Almost all of the Black Fleet 
Officers that had been in the Logistics meeting had come by, 
to remove her gag, to make her finish what she'd started.  
Additionally, a bunch of mere passers-by had stopped to 
avail themselves of her mouth as well.  She figured she'd 
sucked or licked at least a dozen and a half furrs to a 
state of bliss so far, and while the vibrators kept her in a 
heightened state of sexual arousal, with the chastity belt, 
there was NO way she could get herself off……

Tanj groaned; who'd EVER thought something so simple 
could be so annoying, so painful.  She knelt by Jenka's 
desk, told to be quiet and let her Mistress work…… should 
have been simple enough….. especially as her paws for once 
weren't bound; she could move her paws any way she wanted……  
but the balls Jenka had fastened to either side of her 
collar, so that they hung under her arms, pressed into her 
armpits were driving her mad.  They were simple wooden 
balls, about 2 1/2 inches in diameter, with a hole through 
the center.  A chain had been threaded through the hole in 
each ball, one end of the chain curving around the front of 
her shoulder, the other end around the back, the ends 
clipped to rings on the side of her collar.  Each ball was 
studded in little brass bosses, pointy little triangles of 
yellow metal… Tanj found that in order to keep from 
pressing the points into her skin, she had to hold her arms 
up at a minimum of a 45 degree angle from the vertical.. and 
her arms were getting So tired.  No matter how she moved 
them, no matter how she placed them, the balls were a major 
bother.  She'd thought she'd found the perfect solution, 
placing her paws on top of her head, but Jenka had just 
glared at her and shook her head no…..  And now Tanj 
struggled to stay as still as she could, to not attract 
Jenka's attention, to disrupt her from her work, and STILL 
find a position where her arms didn't ache so…….

Tanj sighed, and tried not to watch.  Jenka was 
entertaining the representative of Advanced Weapons Systems, 
Inc.  The Black Fleet was negotiating for some weapons 
upgrades, and their local rep. had come by to see if there'd 
been any changes in the requirements, to try and get a feel 
for how the customer was responding to their proposal.  
Jenka had put on a dinner for the representative, a rather 
striking Vixen, and apparently an old friend, with Tanj 
serving.  Now, Tanj was kneeling by the side of the bed, 
trying HARD not to watch as Jenka and the Vixen made 
passionate love to each other.  She tried not to watch, but 
the combination of writhing black and flame hued fur, the 
muffled squeals of delight and moans of passion kept drawing 
her back.  Stifling a moan of her own, she ran a paw over 
the hard leather of her chastity belt, and wondered what she 
had to do to earn her release from it; it was driving her 
mad, to have to watch, and not be able to participate……  For 
the thousanth time that day, she wondered where her Master 
was… by now he MUST have gotten Jenka's message……

The Lion looked at the message flimsy and shook his head; 
"are you SURE this is decoded?  It looks like jibberish."  
The Comm tech shrugged and nodded; "we've confirmed they're 
using the right code, but about half their message traffic 
is coming through like that.  I've NO idea what the problem 
is."  The Lion nodded, his eyes narrowing……  "I have the 
most unsettling feeling Jenka's up to something.  Despatch a 
courier vessel, with all the unacknowledged messages in hard 
copy.  Make sure they get hard copies of everything the 
Black Fleet is trying to send to us.  Send someone you 
trust, too."  The Comm tech blinked but nodded; "Right away, 
boss."

Jenka purrred as she led Tanj down the corridor.  The 
Black Pantheress carried a pawful of leather straps, and 
other bondage devices, and as Tanj followed, she looked 
at them curiously, wondering what Jenka had in mind.  The 
Cheetah found it strange, as she wasn't gagged, and her paws 
weren't bound; aside from her collar and the ever-present 
tightly laced corset, she was nude.  Finally, the Pantheress 
led Tanj through a door, into a large meeting room.  
There were comfortable chairs scattered all around the room, 
a large Holo tank against one wall, and a small table in the 
middle.  Unclipping the leash, Jenka gestured to the table; 
"Sit there, and cross your legs in the lotus position, paws 
behind your back.  Tanj nodded, and moved to comply, not 
giving it a second thought.  As she climbed onto the table, 
Jenka smiled behind the Cheetah's back.  

Tanj felt the wrist cuff go around her left wrist.  As 
Jenka fastened it, she purrred; "Tell me, Pet, have you 
learned your lesson yet?  Have you learned what your purpose 
in life is?  Your reason for being?"  Tanj concentrated 
for a second on the feel of the cuff on her wrist.  It had 
built-in straps on opposite sides, as if made for 
suspension; but as there were no hooks in the ceiling here, 
she concluded that she was going to be tied VERY tightly.  
"Yes, Mistress.  My sole purpose for being is to make you 
happy."  Jenka purrred as she fastened a similar cuff around 
Tanj's other wrist; "Very good, Pet; and how should you 
do that?"  Tanj purrred softly; "By obeying your orders 
immediately, no matter what they are, irrespective of my own 
desires."  Jenka smiled and nodded, moving around to fasten 
a similar cuff around Tanj's left ankle; "Very good, Pet, 
but you shouldn't have any other desires, aside from 
pleasing me."  Tanj nodded slightly, head bowed; "Of 
course, Mistress……"  Jenka finished locking the last cuff 
around Tanj's right ankle and then nodded; "Its these 
"other desires" of yours that have been causing all the 
problems, but I think we're making progress……."  Taking the 
strap from Tanj's left wrist cuff, the Pantheress tugged 
it hard around her right side, to fasten it to the buckle on 
her left ankle cuff.  This was then repeated with the cuffs 
on her right side, the strap cutting into her waist on the 
left.  Jenka moved back and forth, tightening the straps 
slowly, letting Tanj's body adjust, until her right ankle 
was almost touching her left hip and vice versa.  

Nodding at her work, Jenka fetched a stack of pillows from a 
corner and placed them on the end of the table in front of 
Tanj.  Before going further, she produced a set of nipple 
clamps, connected by a thin, short chain.  Tanj bit her 
lip as the first one was fastened to her left nipple, and 
then tried hard not to moan as Jenka tugged at the chain, 
pulling her breasts together, to connect the other clip to 
her right nipple.  Then, moving carefully, she tipped the 
bound Cheetah forward, until her breasts rested on the stack 
of pillows.  Tanj was now balanced on knees and 
breasts…….

Jenka purrrred and produced a rather thick, long dildo; this 
she lubbed up, and then moving around behind Tanj, she 
worked it into the Cheetah's ass.  Tanj moaned and 
stiffened as the dong was worked in; it was MUCH too long 
for her to comfortably take in her ass, at least four inches 
remaining protruding from her bottom when Jenka was through.  
And whatever the Pantheress had used to lube it was starting 
to burn………

Jenka took some coarse twine, and tied several loops around 
the protruding base of the dildo, laying the twine across 
Tanj's back.  Then, moving around to her head, she took 
the remaining device; it was two thin boards, about ten 
inches long, by one inch wide, by a half inch thick, 
connected on each end by thumbscrews. Turning the screws she 
spread the boards; then, grinning at Tanj, she commanded; 
"Open wide, pet, and stick out your tongue!"  Tanj didn't 
like the sound of that, but complied immediately; then Jenka 
was sliding the boards into her mouth, one passing over, the 
other under her tongue.  When the boards met the corners of 
her mouth, Jenka started tightening the thumbscrews, until 
the two boards pinched her tongue!  Jenka chuckled; "Don't 
tell me you've never seen a tongue stock before?"  Tanj 
of course, had quite a bit of difficulty articulating an 
answer, her problem compounded by Jenka using the twine to 
fasten the ends of the tongue stocks to the dong in her ass, 
pulling the Cheetah's head back sharply.  Tanj now found 
that any motion of her head tugged at the oversized dong in 
her ass.  Patting the bound Cheetah on the rump, Jenka took 
a chair; "Now, Pet, as soon as a few friends arrive, we're 
going to watch a film…….

The Lion looked at the report and scowled.  Looking up at 
the Fox, he growled; "how reliable is this information?"  
The Fox just smiled; "Very.  There's no question.  The 
Claire Thompson's insurance brokers are negotiating with the 
Black Fleet for the ransom of the ship and the crew."  The 
Lion nodded; "Then Jenka has Tanj.  I should have 
known……."  Padding across Ops, the Lion growled at the duty 
officer; "has that courier departed for Jenka's station yet?  
The Stoat on duty nodded quickly; "Yessir, but he won't be 
there for……"  "Never mind" the Lion growled.  "Recall him.  
I'll do this myself."  Ben shook his head and growled; 
"Ain't NO WAY I'm letting you go by yourself, not after the 
fiasco on Imroc.  Give me a half a day to get a cruiser 
prepped….." The Lion shook his head; "Jenka wouldn't dare 
touch me.  I don't have anything to fear from her.  If 
anything it’s the other way around.  Tell you what.  I'll 
take our resident seer, Mark, and his ah, girlfriend, Mala.  
That should be all the security I'll need.  Ben thought for 
a moment and then nodded; "Take Hinoki too, just to round 
out the crew.  I think he's got a bit of a "vested interest" 
in this as well.  The Lion chuckled and nodded, grinning; 
"OK, if it'll make you, and him happy…."

Tanj groaned and shifted on her pillows.  The nipple 
clamps were burning embers on her nipples, and their being 
pressed hard into the pillows wasn't helping.  Her ass was 
on fire as well, and she was finding it almost impossible to 
remain still.  The heavily boned corset however, held her 
rigid from hips to chest, limiting her motions.  Slowly the 
room was filling up, with the officers of the Black Fleet, 
most of them pausing to stroke or tease Tanj as they 
found their seats.  When they were all present, Jenka 
started the Holo without preamble, and the room grew quiet 
as the image of a well dressed male skunk filled the tank.

Mark looked up from the clipboard; "All fueled, loaded and 
ready to go.  Hinoki's running a final systems check, and 
Mala's putting the food away in the Galley like there's no 
tomorrow.  Maybe YOU should remind her we're only visiting 
our neighbors."  The Lion looked at Mark, and blinked, and 
then shook his head; "I suppose I SHOULD ask you how you 
knew I wanted you to come with me on this, but I SUPPOSE 
someone on Ben's staff could have told you……"  The Mouse 
nodded sagely; "Course already laid in for the Black Fleet's 
station.  They still seem to be having Comm problems, so I 
guess they won't know we're coming until we jump into their 
system and hail them on the short range system."  The lion 
nodded; "Don't count on that; I wouldn't be surprised if 
they too already know we're coming."  Mark smiled and 
nodded; "Neither would I….."

Tanj GROANED as she recognized the recording of the Game; 
was this going to follow her for the rest of her life?  
Helplessly she watched as the recording showed her working 
her way through the mazes, most of those present calling out 
rude suggestions or making comments as to how she should 
have done this, or that better.  The room was quiet when the 
hologram showed her defeating the Jaguar, a few of the furrs 
shooting her calculating looks.  Jenka, however, purrrred 
with pleasure.  And when it came to the fight with Xylex and 
the other Lion, Tanj felt she could feel the tension in 
the air.

Quinn watched the Cheetah and the Rabbit fight, shaking his 
head; he never would have guessed that those two could have 
taken a full grown Lion and Wolverine.  As Tanj smashed 
the stunned Lion's head down into the floor he winced, 
shooting an appraising look at the bound Cheetah; perhaps he 
should have treated her a little nicer.  After all, Jenka 
couldn't keep her tied up forever……

Tanj relaxed a little as the holo moved into the 
interview phase.  She hadn't really gotten a chance to study 
what Jack had said, in his solo interviews, and to try and 
distract herself from the burning dong in her ass, from the 
fiercely biting nipple clips, and from the maddening 
occasional caresses, she concentrated hard on what the 
Rabbit was saying.  Or tried to, anyways.  And then the 
recording was over, furrs rising, leaving the room.

Jenka waited until the room was empty before rising.  Moving 
slowly, she untied Tanj's tongue stocks, undoing the 
thumbscrews, removing the device.  Tanj made a face and 
waggled her tongue as it came free from between the two 
pieces of wood, obviously trying to ease its discomfort.  
Jenka smiled and stroked her head softly; "Tell me, Pet, 
what is it you desire?"  Tanj thought for a moment, an 
image of a cool glass of water dancing in her mind; then she 
thought of the nipple clips, and the burning dong in her 
ass… flicking her gaze up to Jenka, she mumbled around her 
sore tongue; "Only to please you, Mistress."  Jenka smiled, 
and ran a paw over the Cheetah's rump, her fingers straying 
teasingly close to her sex; "is that all, Kitten?  Nothing 
else?"  Tanj moaned, shuddering at the touch; "N… No…. 
Nothing else, Mistress."  Jenka smiled and nodded; "That’s 
good; I'm glad you've learned your lesson. Now I'll have to 
see what I can do about finding a suitable reward for so 
good a student.

Tanj wobbled down the corridor at the end of her leash; 
she still hadn't worked all the kinks out of her legs yet.  
Jenka had untied her, but the cuffs still graced her wrists 
and ankles, the straps dragging, the buckles jangling.  The 
dildo was still buried in her ass, and she struggled hard to 
keep it from slipping out, all sorts of punishments running 
through her mind as she reflected on Jenka's warning to hold 
it there, or else.  After what seemed like miles, the 
Pantheress led her into a darkened room.  As Jenka turned on 
the lights, Tanj beheld what at first she thought was a 
piece of exercise equipment.  Jenka smiled; "Tanj, meet 
"The Machine."  After your amazing performance on that Holo, 
I thought you might find it amusing."  Reaching behind the 
Cheetah, Jenka rudely jerked the dong from her ass, 
eliciting a yelp.  Pointing at the machine, Jenka directed 
Tanj to sit on its short bench.  As Tanj got closer, 
she observed that there were a couple of recesses in the 
seat, and as Jenka positioned her just so, fastening and 
then tightening straps between the machine and the built-in 
rings in Tanj's corset, Tanj knew why the Pantheress 
was being so careful in positioning her.  Then her ankles 
were spread and fastened to the machine, and her arms 
stretched over her head, to be fastened to another part of 
the machine.  A curious strap went tightly around her 
breasts, her nipples poking through holes in the rubber.  
When Jenka had her bound just so into the machine, she 
picked up a ubiquitous remote, and grinned at the Cheetah; 
"I figure you're a little behind on your usual quota of 
climaxes; now that you've learned your lesson, I'll let you 
catch up.  There's an intercom in this room; when you've had 
enough, just shout, and I'll turn it off."  With that, the 
black Pantheress thumbed the remote, and quietly padded out 
of the door.

Tanj felt something stir under her, and then moaned 
softly as a dong rose smoothly from within the seat, to push 
firmly into her sex.  As it rose upwards, she sighed, glad 
that it had been lubricated, and then yelped as it kept on 
rising; she was struggling in her bonds, trying to rise off 
the seat when it finally stopped, its head pressing firmly 
against her cervix.  And then it started to vibrate, softly 
at first, but with increasing amplitude.  Tanj sagged a 
bit in her restraints, purrrring, thinking that felt nice, 
but then she yelped again, as something else stirred beneath 
her, a second dong rising to press firmly into her ass.  She 
gasped as the two dongs, their heads coming together at an 
angle deep within her, both started to vibrate……

Jenka listened to the sounds coming from the remote for a 
moment and smiled.  Turning off the audio, she dropped it 
into a pocket and headed for ops, to see what was happening 
this evening.

Tanj's head snapped back and she screamed as the first 
climax in what seemed like an eternity ripped through her.  
With no one around, she howled and yowled, throwing herself 
against her restraints shamelessly, savoring every instant, 
every nuance of pleasure as it raged through her like a 
river in flood stage.  Finally she calmed, panting, to hang 
limply in her bonds.  It was then that  she realized that 
both dongs within her were now moving in counterpoint 
rhythm, one slowly sliding into her ass as the other slipped 
from her dripping sex; back and forth they sawed, as they 
droned on, still vibrating.  As the sensations started to 
build again, Tanj gasped; the rubber strap across her 
breasts was inflating, growing tighter, squeezing her 
nipples, compressing her breasts.  Just as it grew 
uncomfortably tight, it relaxed some, only to re-inflate.  
The sensation was strange, but not unpleasurable, and 
closing her eyes, she imagined some strong male, her Lion 
perhaps, gently kneading her breasts……..

Tanj hung limply from her restraints.  She'd lost count 
of how many climaxes she'd had…. The dongs in pussy and ass 
seem to have expanded, to have grown in length and diameter, 
the one in her pussy having lengthened until she was sure it 
had forced the entrance to her womb.  That one was driving 
in and out of her rapidly now, its vibrations rapidly 
altering in frequency and amplitude, the combination driving 
her wild.  The one in her ass was moving as well, if a 
little more gently.  Both seemed to be exuding lubricant to 
the point where she was dripping, the lubricant and her own 
juices puddling on the seat beneath her, dripping down her 
legs.  Another appendage had risen from the seat in front of 
her, a slender wand emerging at an angle, its head nuzzling 
her clitty, also vibrating maddeningly.  Periodically, the 
wand touching her clitty and the band constricting her 
breasts, squeezing her nipples, would give her a sudden 
sharp jolt of electricity.  Overall, the Machine was driving 
her to climax after climax after climax, as if it could 
measure her responses, learn what she liked, what drove her 
to yet another climax, and to alter its behavior to yield 
even more pleasurable stimuli, to the point where she wasn't 
even sure she COULD call for help……..

Jenka slipped into the room, to watch.  The Cheetah was 
panting rapidly, her breasts rising and falling above the 
top of her corset.  Her eyes were closed, and her mouth hung 
open, and almost everything from her navel down was a damp, 
matted mess of lubricant and her own juices.  Moving over, 
she lifted Tanj's chin.  Slowly the eyes fluttered open, 
and as Jenka watched, the Cheetah shuddered, her eyes 
actually crossing as yet another climax tore through her.  
"My pet had enough yet?" the Pantheress purrred?  Tanj 
grinned weakly; "Only if it pleases you, Mistress."  Jenka 
released Tanj's chin with a "HMPH!" and turned to leave; 
"Call me when you've had enough, Pet."  As the door closed 
behind her, Tanj chuckled weakly, and then gasped as yet 
another climax made her see stars.

Tanj groaned as she faded back into consciousness; she'd 
waited too long, and now the violently moving dongs in pussy 
and ass, the repeated electical shocks to clitty and nipples 
were all conspiring to overload her system.  As good as it 
continued to feel, there was a growing element of pain, as 
if her body knew it'd had too much, and was begging for it 
to stop.  As she shuddered through what seemed to be an 
unending string of convulsive climaxes, she tried to find 
her voice, to call for Jenka, to call for anyone, but all 
that came out was yet another howl… and then as her body 
writhed in the grip of yet another wave of pleasure, she 
again lost conciousness.

Jenka sighed and thumbed the remote to turn off the machine.  
Her stubborn, silly pet had refused to admit she'd had 
enough, and the machine had driven her into unconsciousness.  
Releasing her from the grips of the machine, from her cuffs, 
and even from her corset, she gathered up the limp Cheetah, 
and pulling her into a fireman's carry, carried Tanj to 
her own bed.

Jenka smiled as she listened to the comm officer.  It was 
about time the lion showed up.  Still, she had a while, and 
there were still things to do.

Tanj purrrrrred softly and stretched, enjoying the 
softness of the bed, the smooth cool feel of the satin 
sheets.  Rolling over, she snuggled up to Jenka's body…. And 
then her eyes opened WIDE.  Holding herself as still as 
possible, she examined her situation, and compared it to 
what she THOUGHT she'd awaken to.  No bondage, no strange, 
stressed situation, no driving dildoes, NO CORSET; instead, 
she was softly snuggled up to a sleeping Jenka in a warm 
comfortable bed.  For a moment she wondered what it all 
meant and then it hit her between the eyes; her Master was 
almost here…….. with a smile, she softly caressed Jenka's 
tummy, wondering just how far she could push things, now 
that she was about to go home?

The Stoat in communications smiled; so the Lion was on his 
way, eh?  Grinning, he raised his head, to look up at the 
others in the comm center; "our communications problems with 
the Brethren have just been fixed.  Start transmitting the 
backlog of message traffic……."

Tanj licked softly, convinced that the Black Pantheress 
was awake, but feigning sleep.  Jenka had rolled onto her 
back, in response to Tanj's soft caresses, and now the 
Cheetah knelt between her spread legs, bending over to lick 
with the gentlest of touches.  Whether Jenka was awake or 
asleep, Tanj was determined to make her morning 
memorable…….

The Lion fidgeted as Mark completed the Jump to the system 
where the Black Fleet's station was.  The Flight deck was 
just too small for pacing.  As the systems equalized after 
the jump, the Lion opened a channel to the Black Fleet, 
identifying them.  The "surprise" of the communications 
officer sounded hollow, and as the Lion broke the 
connection, he growled at Mark; "you don't have to be a seer 
to know they knew we were coming.  We have a leak."  Mark 
shrugged; "When you consider how closely we work with the 
Brethren, is that really a problem?"  The Lion thought for a 
moment; "not particularly; but if that leak decides to get a 
little extra income and starts passing the information to 
someone else, it COULD be.  I still think we need to take 
precautions."  Mark nodded in acknowledgement; "got any 
suspects yet?"  The Lion shook his head; "I have NO idea; 
only two folks I’m really sure of, and that’s Me, and 
Tanj."  Mark laughed softly and nodded, and turned back 
to his flight controls, directing the ship towards the Black 
Fleet's base; "Thanks for the compliment, I'm sure……"

Tanj purrrred; Jenka had finally shown signs of life, her 
body arching on the bed as Tanj's teasing licks brought 
her to a climax powerful enough to make her yowl.  Now the 
two were wrapped in each other, amid the rumpled bedclothes, 
in the classic 69 position.  Tanj tried hard to 
concentrate, as the two of them seemed to be in a race to 
see who could bring the other to a climax first….. and after 
her exploits the previous day, she was SOOOOO tender down 
there, every touch seemed amazingly magnified.  Still, she 
thought she had half a chance of "winning"…….

The Lion grumbled as the Black Fleet traffic control kept 
them waiting what he considered to be an unreasonable length 
of time, while they cleared a suitable docking port. Finally 
permission to dock came, and Mark eased the freighter 
towards the station.

Jenka smiled as Tanj headed into the shower; she'd won 
their little "contest", but only by seconds.  Now she padded 
nude to the door, to move the things she'd ordered left just 
outside the door into her quarters.  She grinned, and didn't 
know if Tanj, or the Lion would find her little surprise 
first, but either way, it should be amusing…….

When Tanj stepped out of the shower, she found a dress in 
her size hanging from the back of the linen closet door.  
Smiling, she dried her hair and then pulled it on.  Emerging 
from the bathroom, still brushing her hair, she found Jenka 
in a silk robe, sitting at a small table set for breakfast, 
calmly sipping coffee.  As Tanj sat down, Jenka smiled 
and poured her a cup of coffee, and purrrred.

An unusual calm had come over the Lion as they passed 
through the freighter's airlock and into the station.  
"Mark, I'm not anticipating difficulties here; why don't you 
and Mala go tour the station, take a break, have some fun.  
Hinoki and I will go find Jenka, and see about getting 
Tanj back.  Mark chuckled and nodded, and holding his arm 
out to Mala, the two turned and strolled off down the 
corridor as if they were on vacation.  Hinoki and the Lion 
watched the odd couple walk off for a moment and then they 
turned, to padd off in another direction…..

Tanj looked up from her omelet as Jenka's doorbell rang. 
Jenka smiled and called "Come," and then the door was 
sliding back, the Lion stalking in, Hinoki close behind him.  
Before he could speak, before Tanj could even rise from 
her chair, Jenka purrred; "Took your own sweet time, didn't 
you?"  The Lion's eyebrows rose, and he growled; "Seems 
you've had some "communications" problems.  That message you 
sent, dated eight days ago, was delivered four hours ago."  
Jenka blinked and then took a sip of her coffee; "Oh, my….. 
I guess I've been a bit distracted; I hadn't heard.  I guess 
I REALLY must have a talk with those folks down there."

Tanj's head had been turning back and forth as she looked 
from Jenka to the Lion and back, following their 
conversation.  As the talk died, the Lion still giving Jenka 
a hard look, Jenka touched a napkin to her lips and looked 
over at Tanj, raising an eyebrow, as if expecting 
something from her.  Tanj stared back blankly for a 
moment and then grinned softly; turning she winked at a 
rather confused looking Hinoki, and then padded over to 
kneel by the Lion's feet.  As she did so, Jenka took another 
sip of coffee and chuckled; "I thought I'd take advantage of 
her stay here to give her a small …. refresher course."  The 
Lion smiled slightly and nodded, one hand reaching out to 
rest on Tanj's shoulder rather posessively; "I… 
appreciate that."  Looking down at Tanj, he growled; 
"Tanj, you and Hinoki head on back to your ship.  Wait 
for me there.  I have a few ……. matters to discuss with  
Jenka.  Tanj smiled and nodded, and rising, reached out 
to take Hinoki's paw in hers, to lead him from the room.

The Lion watched them go, and as the door closed he turned 
back to Jenka, only to find her standing right in front of 
him; as his eyes went wide in surprise, her arms went around 
his neck and she kissed him hard.  Breaking the kiss, she 
purrred; "it worked just like I thought it would."  The Lion 
blinked, and then murmured; "how's that?"  Jenka grinned; 
"finally found a way to lure you not only here, but into my 
boudoir as well….."  The Lion looked at her in surprise for 
a moment and then chuckled.  Shaking his head in amazement, 
he put one paw on her chest, between her breasts and shoved, 
toppling her back on the bed, following her, growling low in 
his throat.

Tanj stopped as the door closed behind her, to hug Hinoki 
tight; "I was afraid I'd never see you again!"  Hinoki 
hugged her back and nodded; "we all saw the holo of that 
game; got to tell you, it scared the pants off me!"  Tanj 
smiled and kissed Hinoki; "Come one, lets get back to the 
ship; if I know Jenka, Master will be in there a while, and 
that'll give us some time together."  Hinoki just smiled and 
nodded, and hand in hand they headed off down the corridor.

Jenka slipped her robe down off her shoulders as she fell 
back onto the bed.  The Lion followed, growling fiercely, to 
pin her to the bed, to nuzzle between her breasts.  
Clutching his hairy head, Jenka mrowled and arched her back 
as his tongue found a nipple…….

Tanj stopped Hinoki just inside the airlock, to tug his 
pants down.  Dropping to her knees she nuzzled his sheath 
softly, teasing with her tongue.  Hinoki caressed her head 
and then purrred; "sure you don't want to lay down so I can 
reciprocate?"  Tanj just chuckled as she licked; "No…… 
I'm just a mite sore at the moment; long story.  You can pay 
me back another time…."  And with that Tanj took his cock 
into her mouth, slurping noisily as she slid it back and 
forth between her lips with passion.

Jenka mrowled and dug her claws into the bedding; she was 
now on hands and knees, the Lion behind her, pounding his 
cock into her fiercely, wildly, an enraged beast taking it 
out on her in a most delightful manner.  As he bent forward 
to cup her breasts, his jaws opening wide to bite down on 
the back of her neck she shuddered, the first pangs of 
another climax echoing through her; Yowling at the top of 
her lungs she pushed back against his driving cock…….

Tanj panted, and slowly licked her lips; Hinoki had 
exploded in her mouth quite nicely, his jerking hips causing 
his spurting cock to escape her for a moment or two, just 
long enough to spray some of his seed across her muzzle.  
Now as she licked him clean, she paused occasionally to wrap 
her tongue around her muzzle, gathering up the errant 
droplets.  Finally, as he caught his breath and opened his 
eyes, Tanj rose to kiss him softly; "Come on; lets go 
find a nice soft, warm, SAFE place to snuggle…."

The Lion stirred, and stretched.  Jenka had been amazingly 
insatiable, keeping after him until he'd driven her to…… 
seven?  Eight climaxes?  Until he'd cum three times.  Until 
he was having trouble keeping it up, keeping awake.  What 
was even more amazing was that she'd padded off to the 
shower like she was just getting warmed up.  As he lay on 
her somewhat shredded bed, he thought back to when he'd come 
through the door, earlier that day…. Or was it yesterday?  
Jenka and Tanj had looked so …….. normal, sitting there 
having breakfast.  They'd looked so….. innocent.  Those two, 
innocent?  Naw…..  Rising, he looked around, convinced that 
they must have been up to something.  Those two couldn't 
POSSIBLY actually BE innocent……  Padding over to Jenka's 
closet, he took a quick look at the closed bathroom door, 
and then quietly opened the closet door.  There, kneeling on 
the floor was a nude and bound snow leopard, his paws bound 
behind his back, a heavy leather hood pulled over his head.  
Chuckling, the Lion quietly closed the door; so THAT'S what 
they'd been up to.  Figgured.  As he settled back onto the 
bed, the Lion did some quick calculations, and then wondered 
just how long the poor Snow Leopard had been kneeling there?  
Still, he supposed, it'd probably be best if he didn't say 
anything…..

Tanj was sitting on the flight deck going over comm 
messages when she heard the airlock cycle and glanced over 
at the Ops console.  A quick check of the security camera 
showed Mark and Mala returning from the station.  Both were 
carrying small packages as if they'd been shopping.  A few 
moments later Mark entered the flight deck.  Tanj smiled 
and rose, to give the Mouse a tight hug; "Good to see you 
again, Mark" she purred.  The Mouse chuckled quietly; "THERE 
you are… whatever took you so long?  Interesting time on 
Imroc?  Did you have a nice stay with Jenka?"  Tanj 
laughed and nodded; "it had its moments.  But yes, I guess, 
all in all, it was good to see her again.  But I'm ready to 
go home now.  Just as soon as my Master's done with her…. Or 
maybe when she's done with him."  Mark chuckled and nodded, 
sitting down to start a preflight checklist.  Tanj 
watched him for a second, and then shook her head; if he 
thought their departure was that close, well….. sitting down 
at the engineering console, she started bringing up 
shipboard power.

The Lion gave Jenka a hug at the airlock; "You realize that 
the next time I can't find Tanj, I'll come here first."  
Jenka's smile spoke volumes; the sly look in her eyes 
suggested the Lion would have to be very cagey indeed to 
FIND Tanj, even if she was here.  The Lion just nodded, 
and giving the Black Pantheress a swat on the can, turned to 
cycle through the airlock into the freighter.

Jenka watched the small ship depart, and examined and then 
rejected three ideas for getting Tanj back.  "Eventually, 
Pet, you'll be back" she purred to herself, and then, 
turning, she strolled back to her quarters, and what would 
have to be by now a very desperate Snow Leopard.  Chuckling 
to herself, she thought; "if he's made a mess in my closet, 
I'm going to get real creative with him……  Ah, but if he's 
been good…….!"

Tanj purrrred and snuggled her Lion softly; they'd made 
the first jump, on their way home, Mark had the Conn, and 
everything was quiet.  And she'd found that Jenka hadn't 
quite drained her Master as thoroughly as she must have 
thought.  Still, as they cuddled wordlessly, Tanj's mind 
drifted along disturbing pathways, and she wondered what she 
could do to make sure they were never separated like that 
again……..

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.  Comments, suggestions, or flames can be 
directed to ha_seng@hotmail.com.