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:  Turnabout
Stardate 2399.40				By Kittiara

He stood in the line at the check point, head and shoulders 
above most of the other furrs… but his posture was 
definitely non-threatening, his shoulders slumped, his head 
down.  Combined with the cheap, wrinkled business suit, he 
looked like just another middle level type having a hard 
day.  Periodically the line would shuffle forward, and 
eventually it was his turn.  He handed over his papers, with 
a soft smile, trying not to meet anyone's gaze……

Clinton looked at the disheveled Lion and smiled to himself.  
Not too old.  Big enough.  Seemed to be in good health.  
Papers say he's not married, and he's from out of town.  
Looking over to Winston, he nodded slowly.  "Pardon me, Sir, 
we'd like you to come over here and look into the retinal 
scanner….."

The Lion blinked and then nodded; "Of course, Officer."  As 
he shuffled over to the device, his brain whirled; "There's 
no way they can know who I am…. And its not likely that they 
have my retinal pattern on file… I've paid out a small 
fortune to expunge those records.  And even if they DID, 
they'd never make the connection to the Brethren… Calm down, 
you can bluff this out….."

Clinton barely gave the computer screen a glance, before 
looking up at the Lion; "Yup, just what I though; boys, we 
got ourselves an escaped slave here!"  The Lion didn't 
resist as two uniformed officers grabbed his arms from 
either side.  Had he wanted, he probably could have sent 
them both flying… but that would have been out of character.  
And probably futile; there were too many of them, and all of 
them were armed……  "Officer, Please; I'm sure there's some 
mistake……  I have all the correct documentation!  My papers 
are all in order.  I can PROVE who I am!"  Clinton padded 
over to look into the face of the Lion.  As he slowly tore 
the Lion's documents in half, and then into quarters, he 
growled; "And I say you're an escaped slave!  What you say 
doesn't matter!  Put him in the truck with the others!"

As they hauled him off, the lion looked at the Ocelot on his 
left; "I’m sure if I could just see a magistrate, I could 
settle all this!  Honest!"  The Ocelot chuckled; "Oh, we 
know how clever you escaped slaves can be; next thing you 
know you'd be slipping a corrupt judge a bribe and then He'd 
be yelling at US for arresting an innocent fur…. No, in 
matters like this, we don't have to let you see a 
magistrate.  All it takes is our word.  Now pipe down and 
behave, or I'll give you a taste of my shock stick!"

The Lion's gaze swept around the check point, as if in a 
panic.  There was an officer with a nerve scrambler there, 
and another one over there.  And at every conceivable exit 
there were at least three armed cops.  There were just too 
many to try and make a break for it here……  No matter, he 
could wait, and plan his escape later.  He knew how to do 
it; hell, he'd TAUGHT the course on escape and evasion that 
the Brethren required.  He knew all the secret safe houses, 
all the places where cash and resources were stashed…. All 
the emergency phone numbers. All he had to do was be 
patient……

The back of the hovertruck was a mesh cage, and it was half 
full with an assortment of furrs.  Most of them were male, 
but there were some females too.  Most of them looked like 
"street people", the poor that'd never be missed, but there 
were some notable exceptions.  The Minotaur looked like he 
worked out, and the Bear looked fairly strong too……..  Just 
exactly the type crooked cops might pick up to sell as 
slaves…..  He watched, trying to stay calm, as a rather 
pretty lady Otter pleaded with one of the guards through the 
mesh.  The guard just smirked back.

Tanj stormed into Ops, shoved someone out of her way and 
pushed her muzzle right up into Ben's face to snarl "how in 
the HELL could you let him DO THIS!"  The Wolf backpedaled 
for a moment and then stopped, to growl back; "In case you 
hadn't noticed HE'S the BOSS!  How in the HELL was I 
SUPPOSED to stop him?  Besides, he said this meeting with 
Cromwell was sensitive, that it required his personal 
attention.  He insisted that he could slip in and out 
without being noticed!"  Tanj growled and shoved a 
message flimsy at the Wolf; "Oh YEAH?  I've got news for 
you, Ben!  Cromwell's been sending us messages asking why he 
didn't show up at the rendezvous!  The first I've heard that 
he was even off the Station and the leader of the Blues is 
telling ME he's missing!"  Ben grabbed at the slip of paper 
to scan it.  Looking up at Tanj all he could say was 
"ohshit….."

The Lion looked around the cell block.  The concrete walls 
were at least a foot thick, with a sharp metal grating 
covering them, and the bars in the door that made up one 
whole wall were too closely spaced to fit his paw through.  
They'd backed the truck up to the entrance of this place, 
and had herded the occupants into the building one at a 
time.  They'd been stripped, and shoved into a tank of some 
sort of foul smelling liquid, undoubtedly to get rid of lice 
and fleas and such.  And then, dripping wet, they'd each had 
that visible signal of slavery, a nose-ring installed.  From 
there, they'd been shoved into cells.  This cell was about 
one meter by one meter square, by about two and a half 
meters tall, and it was obvious that not even the smallest 
fur could lay down in it.  For his part, the Lion found that 
if he stood straight, his head bumped the ceiling.  And 
there just wasn't enough room to sit.  "First step's got to 
be sleep deprivation" he thought.  "Keep 'em awake until 
they can't see straight.  And then the conditioning will 
start…….  Groaning to himself, he tried to find a 
comfortable stance, thinking it was going to be a long 
night.  His nose throbbed painfully…….

"I'm telling you, Henley, it ain't right.  I don't care WHAT 
he says, its GOT to be lies."  Vandrosky looked at the 
Beaver and nodded; "Yeah, I know, I couldn't make anything 
out of that Brou device either, but somehow the Boss 
swallowed every word that Mouse fed him.  He's got to be 
fudging it, somehow."  Henley looked back at the Marmoset 
and nodded; "Got to be Smoke and Mirrors.  NO ONE else in 
Engineering was able to do a thing with the Boss's alien 
toy.  It just isn't right.  That Mouse waltzes in here one 
day, and the next thing you know, he's making us all look 
bad, and taking over!"  Vandrosky shrugged; "I agree; so 
what do we do about it?  The Mouse is JUST good enough to 
complete all his tasks on time, and under budget.  We can't 
get rid of him on sheer incompetence.  So what DO we do with 
him?"  Henley sighed and shrugged; "I don't know.  But we 
got to do something.  You should be next in line for the 
Chief Engineer's slot, and I should be next in line for the 
Flight Line Maintenance Chief, but if we don't do something, 
that dang Mouse is likely to screw one or BOTH of us over.  
We simply have GOT to think of something!

Tanj looked at Cromwell's face on the monitor.  A direct 
video link was risky, but the signal was heavily scrambled, 
and routed through a half dozen communications nodes and 
satellites.  "No, I'm afraid he didn't tell me his plans.  
He probably KNEW I wouldn't let him go if I'd known what he 
was up to.  He's really supposed to know better than this."  
The implication in Tanj's tone of voice was that Cromwell 
should have known better too.  Cromwell just shrugged; 
"well, if you don't know what his route was, then its going 
to be hard to try and find out what happened to him.  You 
know, as the rebellion gains momentum, certain places have 
become more lawless… Its possible he simply got mugged.  
We'll quietly check the hospitals and the medical services… 
and the morgue.  We've also got sympathizers with the police 
and government.  If he was picked up, because of who he is, 
well, we'll find out soon enough.  And in the meantime, 
we're taking all necessary precautions.  I would recommend 
that you do likewise.  IF they have him and IF he talks, you 
could be in greater trouble than us.…."  Tanj sighed and 
nodded; "Please let me know if you find anything out, no 
matter WHAT it is."  Cromwell nodded and broke the 
connection.  Tanj stared at the blank screen for a while 
and then shook herself.  She had work to do.  Her own 
network of agents on Elysium needed to be alerted, both to 
try and find out what'd happened to the head of the 
Brethren, and to take precautions to safeguard themselves, 
if he actually had been captured….  There was no question 
that he'd talk; modern interrogation techniques were that 
good.  The only question would be how long it would take 
them to break down his defenses……

The Lion moved carefully as he stepped up onto the platform.  
He was dead tired, after a sleepless night on his feet, and 
was yawning almost constantly.  Today had been a day of 
examinations; first a thorough physical, and then a series 
of exercise tests.  Now he was being photographed from all 
angles.  Any slight mis-step had earned him a jolt from a 
cattle prod, and the prod had been liberally applied during 
the exercise tests to make sure he'd given his utmost.  It 
was obvious that they were gathering data to use in an 
auction, and that only reinforced the Lion's notion that the 
cops hadn't been collecting certified runaway slaves.  A 
true runaway would have been returned to its owner.  No, 
they were merely using their position of authority to make 
some cash on the side.  "At least" he thought to himself, 
"they don't know who I am….. That's got to help."

Ben chaired the meeting, and it was as somber as a wake.  
"All right folks, we've got some damage control to do.  
Until we know otherwise, we have to assume the boss has been 
captured and that even as we speak they're pumping him for 
information.  Every operation that he was knowledgeable on 
has to be rethought immediately.  All the codes have to be 
changed.  And we're going to have to evacuate this station.  
This'd be the FIRST place they'd come.  Open your handouts 
to page Three.  The contingency plans for this were 
formulated ages ago, and we need to review them, to bring 
them up to speed, and in a way the Boss wouldn't expect.  
First off, Logistics………"

Henley grinned, and motioned Vandrosky over towards one 
corner of the Maintenance Shop; "I did some checking on our 
little Mouse friend.  It looks like somebody wanted to run 
an extra background check on him, didn't find anything 
unsusal for a couple of weeks, and then just forgot about 
it.  The file's still open.  What say we think of some 
interesting little tidbits to insert there; things that 
might be brought to light as we go through the security 
review that’s mandated by our current little "emergency"?"  
The Marmoset grinned and nodded; "Oooooh, Character 
assassination.  I LIKE it.  And I've got a good friend down 
in Security; he owes me more than one favor… I'm sure we can 
get him to help.  Got any ideas?"  The Beaver just grinned 
back, showing his buck teeth, and nodded.

The Lion shivered as he stood hunched over in his cell.  
Several hours ago, the cage's walls had become electrically 
charged, and he found that he could no longer lean against 
them.  A while before that, one of the guards had come along 
and stuck a squeeze bottle through the bars, to give him a 
drink.  He'd been thirsty and had gulped greedily, until 
he'd discovered the fluid was salty.  As he spluttered, the 
guard had just laughed, and tried to squeeze more into his 
mouth; the resulting mess as the Lion had tried to expel the 
salty liquid might just have resulted in the electrified 
walls, he mused.  He could understand the guard's 
vindictiveness, if the salty liquid was what he suspected it 
was.  He'd kinda sprayed it all over the guard……  And now he 
was thirsty, the salty liquid actually pulling water from 
his body by osmosis.  Muscles trembling, he struggled to 
stand without letting any portion of his anatomy touch 
metal.

Tanj listened to them drone on about rally points, 
suspended operations, and the cost of fuel, and groaned.  
She didn't want to be here, she wanted to be "out there" 
looking for her Master.  She was sure they hadn't captured 
him, at least not as the leader of the Brethren.  There 
would have been SOME sign, she was sure of it.  And yet, 
they wanted her in the meeting; she had intelligence assets 
he knew about, folks that had to be "brought in" to keep 
them safe, just in case he talked…..

The Lion hummed to himself, trying to drown out the words 
coming from the speaker.  With the latest batch of 
"recruits" tired, and hungry, and dying of thirst, the 
indoctrination had started.  Lectures on what kind of 
behavior was expected of them, repeated over and over…. And 
occasionally ice-cold water would deluge down from a vent in 
the ceiling, shocking everyone awake again.  The water was 
too salty to drink, and that fact meant that the water 
carried the electricity from the charged walls and bars 
quite nicely…..  While the techniques were crude, and as old 
as the hills, they DID work, if given enough time, all those 
incarcerated here would be brainwashed to one extent or 
another.  And so the Lion hummed to himself, seeking to 
drown out the words, to endure.  He was sure the ones that 
had grabbed him would want to reap their profits as soon as 
possible, and thus would sell this lot before the 
brainwashing had lasted long enough to be completely 
effective…..

Tanj rubbed her red eyes and tried to focus on the field 
report.  For the last three days, she'd been living on 
coffee, spending every free moment going over field reports 
or browbeating the cryptology folks, looking for ANY clue as 
to where her master was.  So far, all her agents, all the 
Blue's sympathizers, had all turned up zilch.  If the Lion 
was a captive of the Elysium government, they had it so 
tightly compartmentalized that even the assistant secretary 
of planetary security didn't know about it.  It was 
beginning to look like something else had happened… but 
what?

Henley sat down next to Amanda Gabard, from Electronics.  As 
the Beaver started to eat his lunch, he looked over at her 
conspiratorially and then whispered "you'll never guess what 
I found out about Mark.  You know, that white Mouse……."  
Amanda, always one for gossip, put down her fork and leaned 
closer…..

The lectures droned on, but now something was happening.  In 
his limited field of view, the Lion watched two guards open 
one of the cell doors. One of them, a rather ugly warthog, 
was ordering the prisoner out… it turned out to be the lady 
Otter who'd been in the hovertruck with him.  She moved 
tentatively, as if unsure of herself, and it was with 
obvious reluctance that she kneeled in front of the guard.  
The Lion couldn’t hear what was said, over the 
indoctrination coming from the speakers, but it was obvious 
that the warthog had just instructed her to do something of 
a sexual nature.  She'd made a face, and turned her head 
away, and that had earned her a backhanded slap... and then 
the two guards were tossing her back into her cell, the door 
slamming closed, almost catching her tail.  And then their 
was an ear piercing shriek, overpowering even the words 
coming from the loudspeaker, as the guards re-electrified 
the walls of her cell.

"Come on, Tanj, its time to go."  Tanj looked up into 
the face of her boss and sighed, shaking her head from side 
to side.  "I know, I know," the old fox muttered; "but you 
can search for him from the backup base as well as you can 
from here.  And I KNOW your ship has all the communications 
equipment you need to keep in touch with your agent network.  
Come on, you won't do anyone any good getting captured if 
they raid this place."  Tanj sighed and nodded in 
agreement and turning, logged off of her terminal, and rose 
to follow her boss out of the intelligence offices…..

Lucy Bishoff slid her desk chair over to the next file 
cabinet and opened the appropriate drawer.  All the records 
were computerized, but as with most bureaucracies, a filed 
hardcopy was also required.  Although it was almost 
guaranteed no one would ever look at them.  As a file clerk 
for the S'barro Province's Prefecture of Police Lucy was in 
a good position to aid the Resistance, feeding them 
information on police operations, something she'd been doing 
since her Uncle was thrown in jail.  They'd said he'd been 
helping the Resistance, but she knew better.  Anyone who'd 
known him would have told you he was as apolitical as they 
came.  He'd just been tending his vehicular parts 
dealership.  How was HE to know that those customers were 
with the resistance?  But now most of her family WAS with 
the resistance, driven into their arms by a progressively 
more brutal and vindictive state.  As she filed the police 
reports, she kept her eye out for that one furr that was 
missing.  For an idle moment she wondered who he was, to 
have generated such an urgent message from her cell leader… 
but then she thought better of it.  She didn't need to know, 
and it probably wasn't safe to know.  Looking at the police 
report before she filed it, she scanned for anyone matching 
his description.

Amanda looked up from the circuit board she was modifying 
and grinned at Josie; "Dear, you wouldn't believe what I 
heard at Lunch today!  You know that white Mouse, Mark?  The 
one the Boss had working on that Alien device?  Well it 
seems his background check has turned up some VERY unusual 
things!…………  Frightening things!"

The Lion straightened as his left shoulder brushed against 
the metal mesh lining the inside of his cell.  He was so 
tired that the jolt of electricity threw him into the 
opposite wall, and it was several excruciating seconds 
before he could stabilize himself in a position where no 
portion of his anatomy was touching the metal.  He no longer 
had a clue as to how long he'd been standing there, how long 
the indoctrination tapes had been droning in the background.  
All he knew was that he was deathly tired……  As he wobbled, 
he heard a noise, and then his cell door slid open.  He 
almost fell forward out of the cell, and as he staggered a 
guard, a rather mangy looking wolverine wrapped one paw in 
his mane, to drag him forward.  Being made to kneel in the 
middle of the cell block was a blessed relief.  He missed 
the guard's words the first time, a jolt with a cattle prod 
bringing him back to his senses.  "you heard me, Slave.  
Show me how willing you are to Obey your Masters.  Open that 
mouth of yours and suck my cock!"  The Lion blinked, his 
mind suddenly whirling.  Not exactly something he WANTED to 
do, and for certain, the Wolverine surely needed a bath… but 
if he refused, the indoctrination would continue, not only 
for him, but for all the others as well.  And besides, the 
sooner they got out of there, the sooner he could work on 
his escape.  Trembling from exhaustion, he leaned forward a 
bit, to nuzzle tentatively at the Guard's crotch.

Tanj blinked at Hinoki; "What do you mean, Mark's not 
here?  Where the Hell IS he?  He's supposed to be assigned 
to THIS ship!"  The male Cheetah just spread his paws; "Hey, 
it wasn't MY doing!  I got a message from Engineering that 
they needed him on the R3 communications relay station.  It 
had the Head of Engineering's chop on it, so I didn't 
argue!"  Tanj frowned; "R3?  That’s nothing but an 
asteroid with a small pressure dome on it.  And I hadn't 
heard that they were having trouble there…..  Urrrr, shitty 
place to be sent…. I wonder what's going on?"  Looking up 
Tanj sighed; "I'm sorry I snapped at you; I know its not 
your fault, its just that, well, I'm worried about our 
Master, and the lack of information's driving me crazy."  
Hinoki smiled and stepped forward to give Tanj a quick 
hug; "I understand.  Believe me I do.  Now we'd better get 
this ship out of here before they start yelling at us 
again."  Tanj sighed and nodded, turning towards the 
flight deck.

As the Cheetah Fem padded off, Zassa looked at Hinoki; "I 
see you didn't tell her they'd sent Mala along with Mark as 
"security."  "No" the male Cheetah sighed; "I figured it 
would just distract her from her hunt for the Boss.  
Whatever's going on there, well, Mark and Mala can pretty 
much take care of themselves, don't you think?  And if not, 
we can always sort it out later, after we rescue the boss.  
Besides, " the Cheetah grinned; "She'll be distracted enough 
when she finds out we've got Wanda and Kath on board."  
Zassa just chuckled.

The Lion managed to hold his expression neutral until the 
guards had shoved him back into his cell.  With his face 
turned towards the wall, he finally made a face and licked 
at the back of his paw, trying to get rid of the taste in 
his mouth.  The Wolverine, he was sure, wasn't healthy; his 
spunk had tasted disagreeably strange.  And it hadn't done 
much to ease his thirst, or hunger either.  Turning 
carefully, he watched through the small gap in the bars as 
the guards selected another prisoner, a female this time, to 
test their compliance……

Lucy nodded; it was the third from the last piece of paper 
she'd had to file.  A random check point had collared a 
number of "runaway slaves," all of who's identity had been 
curiously nebulous.  The time was about right, and amongst 
those listed, was a male Lion of about the right age and 
coloration.  She made a mental note, filed the paper and 
wrapping up her work, headed back to her desk.  She wouldn't 
be able to report in to her cell leader until later that 
night, and in the meantime she had to keep up a good 
front…….

Tanj sighed and shook her head.  She was starting to get 
responses from her agents, and from the Blue's informers.  
She even had some responses from other resistance groups.  
The problem was, she now had several dozen "possibles," but 
still no confirmed report.  Turning to her communications 
console she started to prepare messages, marshalling her 
resources to start checking out the various leads.  This was 
not going to be easy…….

Trotskie frowned as he looked at the message flimsey; "The 
Brethren are asking us to look for a large male Lion, middle 
aged, with a light brown mane, who disappeared four days ago 
while on a routine operation?"  Looking up at his adjutant, 
the leader of the resistance group known as the "Reds" shook 
his head; "that sounds awfully stra…… wait a minute… Isn't 
the HEAD of the Brethren a Lion?"  Slowly the Bear's face 
broke into a wide grin; "Oh, isn't Xylex just going to LOVE 
this!"

It happened without preamble.  They didn't even turn off the 
indoctrination tapes.  Cell by cell, the guards came by, to 
extract the prisoners.  Of all the furrs present, four 
coffles, or groups of chained slaves were formed.  It was 
obvious that the shortest one was comprised of slaves that 
had been sold individually.  The other three, it was clear, 
were of blocks of slaves that had been sold; sold as a unit.  
The Lion found himself standing behind a rather lean lady 
Antilope who had the look of a drug user about her.  Behind 
him was the Minotaur he'd seen earlier, and about three 
behind him was the Bear.  Mostly those in his coffle seemed 
to be the "heavy labor" type, with a few less choice 
specimens thrown in to round out the package.  Chuckling to 
himself, the Lion thought "My God, I've been wholesaled!"

As the last of the cells were emptied, the coffles were 
moved out of the facility.  The Lion's curiosity was aroused 
when his coffle was loaded into what appeared to be a 
standard shipping container.  They were secured, still 
chained together, to benches running down either side.  
Locked straps at neck, waist and ankles.  Then the heavy 
doors were closed and he felt the container start to move.  
It had to be fastened to the back of a truck, or some other 
source of transportation…… "I wonder why they didn't just 
put us in the back of a truck?" he wondered to himself…..

Clinton finished his beer as the Barman called time, and 
thumping the glass down on the bar, threw a few coins down, 
and turned, to head for the door.  It was late, and the 
streets were deserted.  And while it was a rough 
neighborhood, Clinton felt confident that none of the locals 
would mess with him.  He was an armed officer of the law, 
and anyone who gave him grief would feel the full weight of 
the Police come down on them, with both feet.  As a result, 
he never saw the shadow that detached itself from the 
alleyway, to fall in behind him.  The first indication he 
had that his assumptions were wrong was when the shock 
device was shoved into his side.

Smith smiled as the electrical discharge knocked the cop 
sprawling on the pavement.  Reaching down he pressed the 
device to the back of his neck, just to make sure he was 
unconscious.  And then, reaching down, he grabbed the back 
of the cop's collar, and unceremoniously dragged him back 
into the alleyway.  If anyone saw, and in a place like that, 
there were always eyes watching, no one did anything to help 
the stricken cop……

The Lion's head jerked up as the Container made a *bump* and 
then a shudder.  It was almost as if they were being moved 
from, say, a flatbed truck to something else.  They'd been 
in there for several hours, he'd guessed, although most of 
the "passengers" had used the time to catch some sleep.  The 
sitting position was a whole lot more restful than 
standing…….

Smith broke the ammonia inhaler under the cop's nose and 
then grinned as his head jerked back… square into the brick 
wall behind him.  The cop was gagged, and bound, in a 
sitting position.  Looking around he realized that he was in 
an alley, although he couldn’t be sure WHICH alley he was 
in.  Looking up at the nondescript furr in front of him, his 
eyes fastened on the jet-black ceramic knife the furr was 
slowly twirling between two fingers……  Smith smiled again, 
fangs gleaming whitely in the dark; "Now, officer, I have a 
missing persons problem.. and I think you might just know 
something about it.  As an "Officer of the Law" I'm sure 
you're going to be more than willing to help a citizen…….

The Lion listened to the thrumming that pervaded the 
container.  It was obvious that they'd been loaded onto some 
sort of aircraft.  His breathing was a little rapid, which 
suggested the thin air of high altitude, and the container 
was getting just a little chilly.  At first, some of the 
prisoners had tried to talk to each other, but after a bit, 
the conversations had died down.  In silence, they waited to 
see what their fate would be.

Smith thought about wiping the knife off on the cop's 
uniform, but decided that there just wasn't a dry enough 
patch left.  It didn't matter; the ceramic knife was 
inexpensive, and not uncommon.  He'd just leave it.  It 
hadn't taken much time, or much work, to get the information 
he was after out of the cop; but it HAD taken time, and some 
effort to make sure the cop wasn't lying.  "Well" smith 
thought to himself, "the cop won't be doing any more lying, 
or anymore kidnapping either."  Rising, he moved off into 
the dark of the deserted industrial area, leaving the body 
behind him.

The Lion jerked awake as the container thumped heavily.  It 
was obvious the aircraft had just landed, and it hadn't been 
a very smooth landing… or the landing pad wasn't very good…  
Wherever their destination might be, he had the feeling they 
were there.

Smith was no longer Smith.  But then he'd never really been 
Smith.  Or the Jones that his I.D. and business card now 
proclaimed him to be.  He'd used so many names over the 
course of his career, he almost couldn't remember the one 
he'd been born with.  No matter.  Pushing open the door to 
the office, he stepped inside and padded up to the 
receptionist.  "Good Morning, Ma'am.  I'm in the market for 
a few slaves…… and I've been told that you might be able to 
help.  Quietly, of course.

The Lion panted, as did everyone else in the container.  It 
was getting HOT.  There had been a few more bumps and jolts, 
but nothing that you wouldn't expect as the container was 
shifted around some.  And now they sat, in the growing heat.  
And waited.

Jones (or Smith, if you prefer) smiled.  It was really all 
too easy.  The computer terminal they'd shown him to listed 
all their wares.  The results of their physical, and of 
their coordination and endurance testing, all "certified" by 
an "independent rating service".  And there, stamped across 
a number of pages, were bright red "SOLD" banners.  A tag 
line at the bottom stated that if you saw something that you 
liked, if it was no longer available, well, they MIGHT be 
able to come up with an equivalent.  Something specifically 
selected to fill your special requirements.  In other words 
they'd go kidnap someone just for you.  "In any event," 
Jones thought to himself; "it certainly makes my job 
easier."  There in the corner of lot 54 was the data on the 
Lion.  At least it certainly LOOKED like the Lion he was 
after.  It was no problem at all to download the data to a 
memory crystal.  Rising, he spent a few moments talking to 
the sales rep, going over specifics, and generalities…. And 
then with a "I'm still shopping around.  I'll get back to 
you" he padded from their offices, and walked calmly to the 
nearest public transport station.

"EUREKA!"  Tanj's cry raised heads all through the 
crammed room.  Desks, terminals, and other office type 
equipment were jammed together in an almost impenetrable 
maze in what passed for the intellegence (and communications 
and logistics) office of the Brethren's backup facility.  
Rising to her feet, the Cheetah looked around, momentarily 
lost as to how to get out of the office and into the right 
corridor that would take her to Ops.

"Dammit, Ben, the medical records match EXACTLY!  LOOK at 
the dental charts!  Look at the scan of how his left tibia 
had a greenstick fracture ages ago!  Its HIM!"  The Wolf 
growled low and then shrugged; "it certainly APPEARS to be 
him, but it IS possible the records were faked.  If he WAS 
picked up by the Elysium authorities, this is exactly the 
kind of a trap they'd set for a rescue party!  Next thing 
you know, they'll show him transferred to some easily 
accessible place, and when we go down to get him, its 
curtains!  I will NOT rush on this.  Security for the 
Brethren comes first.  And you KNOW that’s the way he'd want 
it.  Now, I'll talk to Cromwell about having some of the 
Blues check this place out.  When they've cased the place 
good and proper, then you can try and find out where he was 
sold to, if that happened at all.  If this IS what you think 
it is, a few more days won't endanger him.  If it ISN'T, we 
need the time to make sure we don't make the situation 
worse."  Tanj stared at the Wolf for a long moment, and 
then with a growl, turned and stalked from ops.

The Lion blinked as he moved into the bright sunlight, still 
chained in the coffle.  They'd been released from the oven 
that was the shipping container by a few naked slaves, not 
the guards he'd expected.  As they stood in a line, in the 
scorching sun, he blinked and tried to focus.  There in 
front of them was a rather large and muscular Bear, dressed 
in shorts and a safari shirt, and carrying a bullwhip.  The 
Bear just stood there, glaring at them, as the local slaves 
formed the coffle up into a line, turning them so that they 
all faced the Bear.  When the shuffling had stopped, the 
Bear grunted; "My name is Brewster, but you will call me 
SIR.  I'm the overseer here, and have the power of life or 
death over you.  And no one will so much as blink if I 
decide to kill a slave that displeases me.  I know you've 
all been "indoctrinated," but I don't trust that hogwash, so 
in a moment you'll each be fitted with a new collar.  A 
SPECIAL collar.  This collar has a thin-film battery built 
into it, between the inner and outer layers of leather… and 
its got a little radio receiver.  I carry a remote, and when 
I thumb the button you get a shock, to remind you of who's 
boss.  Now, just in case that isn't enough, the collar also 
has a layer of a very special electrostrictive polymer.  
This polymer changes length, depending on the current 
applied….."  As the Bear talked, he walked up and down the 
line of chained slaves, staring at each of them in turn.  As 
he came to the Minotaur, he stopped, and speaking as if to 
him alone, continued; "now normally the battery will keep 
this polymer nice and loose.  As long as the battery holds 
its charge.  Or as long as I keep my finger off the button 
on the remote.  Now if I so choose, I can turn down the 
power in your collar, and that polymer, well, it'll 
contract.  It can contract to as little as one quarter of 
its original length.  Do You Know What This Means?"  The 
Bear looked into the Minotaur's eyes for a moment and then 
turned suddenly, taking a half a pace to shove his face into 
that of the Lion; "Well, DO YOU?"  The Lion considered for a 
moment and then answered in as reasonable a tone as he 
could; "It means, sir, that you can choke us, or kill us, 
with the push of a button.  Probably from a considerable 
distance away.  And if we try and run, It would be my guess, 
that after a day or so, the battery would loose its charge 
and we'd be strangled, probably well before we could get to 
anyplace where the collar might be removed."  The Bear 
stared at him for a long moment and then nodded; "A smart 
one.  See that you stay that way, hairball."    Resuming his 
pacing, the Bear growled; "Each of your beds has a 
recharger, and as long as you lay just right, the contacts 
at the back of your collars will mate with the recharger, 
and all will be well.  Sneak around after hours and…. Well, 
you'll find out.  NOW, as your new collars are installed, 
Benny will issue you today's work assignments.  You'll meet 
the Mistress at Dinner."  The Bear looked at them for a 
moment and then chuckled; "I’m sure you'll hear all about 
THAT from your new "associates".  Turning to nod at an Otter 
Morph, the Bear turned and stalked off.

The Lion waited patiently in the hot sun.  One by one, the 
slaves in the coffle were fitted with the new collars, and 
then were unchained from the coffle, to be sent off in 
different directions.  When it came his turn, the Lion 
watched the local slaves curiously.  One was the Otter named 
Benny.  He limped rather badly; it was obvious that 
somewhere in his past, he'd broken his leg, and it had never 
been properly tended to.  The other was a rather thin 
coyote.  "Boss this isn't going to work" the Coyote mumbled; 
"he's just got too much HAIR."  The Otter nodded; "OK, run 
down to the tool shed and get the shears.  We'll leave him 
for last."  Turning, the Otter moved to the Minotaur, 
locking the thick collar around his neck, before unchaining 
him…….  As he waited the Lion stared out at the horizon.  
Aside from the few buildings that were near, it was cropland 
as far as he could see.  And the land was flat.  He could 
see all the way to the horizon.  As he looked about, he got 
the sinking feeling that he was in the middle of nowhere, 
and that escape was going to be harder than he'd thought……..

Grant peered through his binoculars, sizing up the building.  
It certainly was nondescript from the outside.  And quiet.  
But that was to be expected at three in the morning.  Waving 
to his commando, the Badger moved out of the shadows, to 
cross the street in a rush.  His group was good, one of the 
best that the Blues had.  And for them, taking a place like 
this should be child's play.  The fact that they were 
getting to take down an illegal slavery operation made it 
all the sweeter.  Grant watched as Benson moved the 
ultrasound device along the wall, and then stopped.  Marking 
the place, he stepped back, and let Hedges step up to place 
the ribbon charge.  And then they were pressing themselves 
flat against the wall as the explosive charge blew in the 
wall, giving them an impromptu and unexpected entrance into 
the facility.

The Lion was the last one standing amongst the now-empty 
chains of the coffle when the coyote returned with a male 
fox, each of them carrying what looked like metal-cutting 
shears.  "Sorry Boss" the Coyote yipped; "we had to sharpen 
these things so they'd cut hair"  The Otter scowled and 
nodded; "Get on with it then, I don't have all day."  The 
Fox indicated that the Lion should kneel, and then he and 
the Coyote went to work, hacking at his mane, until they'd 
trimmed it close enough to his neck that they could get the 
collar on.  As it closed around his neck with a "snick" the 
Lion raised one paw to examine it.  It was about three 
inches wide and a good half inch thick, and not very supple.  
And it was heavier than it looked.  In the front was the 
obligatory D ring, and in the back were two metal studs that 
had to be the contact points for recharging the battery.  
The Otter unlocked him from the coffle chains and then 
growled; "Qume, you take him down to field three.  You can 
still get in about two hours of hoeing before dark.  Then 
you can go take a look at the No.4 irrigation pump.  I hear 
the suction's clogged again."  Qume nodded at the Otter; 
"yes, Boss," and then looked up at the Lion; "Come one, we'd 
better get going."

Grant set one of the office chairs upright and sat down in 
it, propping his feet on the remnants of a desk.  It hadn't 
taken long to subdue guards armed with shock sticks and 
whips.  Not when you wore body armor and carried lasers and 
flechette weapons.  Now his computer experts were ripping 
their way through the slaver's computer system, downloading 
all the data for later analysis.  And his troops were 
freeing the slaves, moving them to the transports for 
evacuation to one of the Blue's camps.  "No better recruits 
to the cause" he thought.  As he watched his people work, he 
looked at his watch.  The silent alarm the place had should 
bring the local police running… in perhaps another five 
minutes or so.  With a sigh he heaved himself out of the 
chair and picked up his weapon, thinking it wouldn't hurt to 
make sure the troops in ambush were ready…….

"Yeah, I hate to say it, but this is the end of the line for 
all of us."  The Fox was gradually filling in the Lion as 
they walked, hoes over their shoulders, towards the field 
that needed tending.  "Mistress, she's double-dipping.  
You'll see when we get there.  The Corporation may or may 
not know about it, and if they know, they sure don't care.  
As long as we grow the quota of crops, they don't much care 
what else goes on out here."  The Lion blinked; "double-
dipping?"  The Fox just grinned; "oh, you'll see.  Its why 
they have so many slaves here.  Some crops can't be tended 
by machines; some things have to be done by hand…….  And of 
course, when you consider how illegal the whole thing is, 
even by Elysium standards,  you can understand how slaves 
past their usefulness just are never seen again.  We all 
KNOW too much….."

As they walked, the Lion looked around; "So there aren't any 
guards?  Just this "Mistress" and the Overseer?"  Qume 
nodded; "Believe me, with the way they've got the collars 
rigged, a slave revolt isn't practical.  They can kill us 
all with the push of a button……..  No one's found a way to 
escape yet…..

It was ingenious, the Lion had to admit.  In amongst the 
chinaberry crop, between the larger leafier plants, were 
dreamweed plants.  There'd be no way to get farm equipment 
in here without destroying the second, hidden crop, and 
thus, both the chinaberry plants and the dreamweed had to be 
tended by hand.  And that meant slaves, with hoes and 
shovels, and when it came to the insects, the weevils and 
the beetles, the bugs had to be picked off by hand.  The 
Lion watched as Qume showed him how to use the hoe to 
extract weeds, and to loosen the soil.  It was hot, tiring 
work.

Tanj looked at the sales records from the slavery 
operation.  The Blues had been their usual, efficient selves 
in obtaining the data.  And she'd heard that almost all of 
the liberated furrs had elected to sign up with the rebels 
too.  It had been no trouble at all finding the records for 
the lot of slaves that contained her Master… but the 
corporation they'd been sold to…. didn't seem to exist.  It 
was a dummy, a shell, with no assets that she could find.  
And while it wasn't exactly a dead end, it certainly DID 
make her life more difficult…….

The Lion was panting and wet with sweat when Qume called a 
halt.  It was getting so dark they were risking damaging the 
valuable dreamweed plants with their hoes.  "Come on, lets 
take a look at that irrigation pump, before it gets too 
late.  We do NOT want to miss dinner."  The Lion just 
nodded.  As they walked down the dusty dirt road, the Fox 
asked; "you got any experience with machinery?"  The Lion 
shrugged; "once upon a time, I was an engineer."  After a 
few moments the Fox asked "What kind?"  The Lion chuckled, 
his head tilting back to look up at the night sky; 
"Starship."  The Fox just chuckled in return; "Fat lot of 
good that'll do you here."

Lord Xylex opened the envelope after the messenger had left.  
He was still playing both parts, pretending to be a member 
of Elysium's ruling elite while secretly working behind the 
scenes to take over the Reds, and assume a position of 
importance with the Rebels.  Although it was fast becoming 
clear that the point of no return was approaching.  That 
fool Trotskie needed to be replaced bad, before he ruined 
the Reds… and it was obvious that the Elysium government was 
going to loose in any event.  As he looked down at the 
message, a quick note scrawled in Trotskie's abysmal 
penmanship, the Wolverine smiled; "but not quite yet.  No, 
there are still some uses left for the Elysium Government.  
And finding this one is exactly the kind of thing they do 
well."  Putting down the note, he reached for his comm…….

The Lion sighed and jumped down into the dirty water.  There 
wasn't anything wrong with the pump, its suction was just 
plugged with trash that had floated down the unlined 
irrigation canal.  Water Hyacinths were growing there, and 
that could be a real danger.  When they rotted, they 
released sulfur dioxide, filling the air with the smell of 
rotting eggs… and the concentrations of the gas could 
approach lethal limits too.  The Lion worked quickly, 
throwing handful after handful of the rotting vegetation up 
onto the bank.  Finally he stepped back, and nodded up to 
Qume; "Try it now." The fox, illuminated by the single bulb 
by the motor starter panel, threw the breaker and hit the 
button.  The motor whirred to life and as the dark water 
surged around the Lion's waist, the pump started pushing the 
water over the dike and into the next field.  The Lion 
watched for a moment and then struggled up the mud bank; 
"Next time YOU go down there."  Qume looked at him for a 
moment and then shrugged; "yeah, sure.  Now turn around and 
let me check you for leaches….."

By the time they'd gotten back, and showered off, "Dinner" 
had started.  Qume led the Lion to a low structure, more of 
a shed than a building, as the walls were open.  There, all 
the slaves were gathered, kneeling before low tables.  And 
on a dias, resting on a crimson cushion, was a female 
Kangaroo Rat, obviously the "mistress" he'd heard about.  
She wore a red leather bikini bottom, and matching bikini 
top, and in her right hand was a riding crop.  The Bear 
overseer was seated at his own table, to her right.  As he 
knelt at a vacant space at one of the Tables, the Lion 
watched her from the corner of his eye.  The Tables held 
platters of food, with flies buzzing about, but no one was 
making a move to help themselves to it.  Obviously they were 
waiting for her permission…..  They waited there for perhaps 
another dozen minutes or so, until finally two more slaves 
arrived.  These two, the Minotaur from the Lion's coffle, 
and a female rabbit, were both still dirty; it was obvious 
that they hadn't showered.  After they knelt at the table, 
the Kangaroo Rat rose and sauntered towards them, to stop 
and stare down at them; "A bit late, are we?"  The Rabbit 
nodded her head; "Pardon, Mistress, but it took a long time 
to bale the crop.  I felt that we should take the time to do 
it properly, rather than do a slipshod job………"  The Kangaroo 
Rat nodded; "of course…. But you should still have been done 
on time.  You've kept us all waiting.  And you KNOW what the 
punishment for THAT is!"  The Rabbit nodded, head down.  
Looking up at Benny, the Kangaroo Rat smiled wickedly; "put 
them in the stocks, kneeling.  I want her in a chastity 
belt, but put a ring gag in her mouth.  His too.  Leave them 
there all night."  Benny nodded and rose to his feet; 
limping towards the door, he motioned to the Rabbit, and the 
Minotaur, who reluctantly rose to follow.

Qume leaned over and whispered, when he thought the Mistress 
wasn't looking; "Anyone in the stocks is fair game.  If 
you've got the energy, you can go out there and use them 
however you want.  We think she watches…….

The Kangaroo Rat paced around the Tables, looking at the 
gathered slaves as she waited for Benny's return.  The room 
was silent, and the Lion adopted the same kneeling pose as 
all the others. Finally the Otter limped back into the room; 
"Done, Mistress."  The Kangaroo Rat nodded; "has anyone else 
been bad today?"  The Otter thought for a minute.  "Harley 
dropped a bag of fertilizer in the warehouse; it broke open 
and it took time to clean up.  The No.4 combine broke a 
drive chain again, but I'm not sure if that’s Eddie's fault 
or not…… That’s all I can think of, Mistress."  The Kangaroo 
Rat thought for a moment and then nodded; "Harley and Eddie 
will both draw from the punishment jar.  The No.4 combine 
has just broken its drive chain a little too often for it to 
be ALL happenstance.  I suspect Incompetence on the part of 
the mechanic.  Brewster, do you have anything to report?"  
The Overseer just waved a paw laconically; "No, Ms. Davies; 
you KNOW they all behave themselves around me."  The 
Kangaroo Rat just smiled and thwacked her thigh with the 
riding crop; "Oh, yes, I do know.  All right.  Harley, 
Eddie, draw your punishment, and then we can get down to 
dinner."  Harley rose and padded up to a glass jar full of 
tokens by the Mistress' dias.  He reached into it, pawed 
around for a moment and then extracted one, to hand it to 
her, head bowed.  The Kangaroo Rat took the token and looked 
at it.  A smile spread over her face; "Ah, Harley, you've 
earned yourself your first piercing!  Lucky you!  Go and sit 
down, and we'll attend to it later."  As Harley sat down, 
the Kangaroo Rat watched as Eddie, a gray squirrel, padded 
up to the jar, shoved his paw deep into the tokens and 
pulled one out.  Handing it to the Kangaroo Rat, he stood 
there meekly, head bowed.

The Kangaroo rat glanced at the token and then, in the 
classic "double-take" took another look at it.  "Oh, Eddie, 
this really isn't your lucky day.  Of all the tokens in the 
jar, there's only two of these, and only one worse than 
that, and you had to pick one of them."  Looking up at the 
squirrel, the Kangaroo Rat grinned; "It’s the Bullwhip, 
Eddie."

The Lion watched, stunned. Would they really do that to a 
productive slave on a whim?  Because a combine broke its 
drive chain?  For someone as …. Frail as a squirrel, it 
could be a death sentence!  Trying hard not to move a 
muscle, the Lion tried to watch Eddie, the Kangaroo Rat, 
Benny and the Overseer all at the same time……

The Squirrel looked at the Kangaroo Rat for a moment, 
frozen, and then he turned and bolted for the door.  The 
Kangaroo Rat sighed and lifted her riding crop, to study the 
handle for a moment; then she pushed on it with three 
fingers, in different places.  As a blood curdling scream 
was heard from the direction Eddie had run, the Lion thought 
to himself "So that’s where her remote control is……."  The 
Kangaroo Rat grinned and turned to the Bear; "Brewster, if 
you would be so kind, I think we need to do something… 
special for Eddie.  It was most rude of him to run out on us 
like that, don't you think?"

The bowls of food were now mostly covered with flies.  
Brewster had brought in the squirrel, slung over one 
shoulder like a sack of grain.  The Kangaroo rat had 
retrieved a length of rope, which she'd tossed over a 
rafter.  One end was tied off to a convenient beam, the 
other end formed into a simple noose.  And then she'd gone 
and fetched a length of shiny hair-thin wire.  One end she 
tied securely to a ring bolt in the floor, and the other end 
she also formed into a noose.  It took a while, but 
eventually Eddie recovered from the shock his collar had 
delivered, only to find himself back at his mistress' feet, 
his paws bound to the back of his collar.  Without a word, 
the Kangaroo Rat bent, to slip the wire noose around his 
testicles; and then the Bear was hauling him up to his feet, 
the rope noose going around his neck.  The Kangaroo Rat 
adjusted the tension of the rope, leaving the squirrel in a 
not-quite standing position.  His plight was obvious.  If he 
rose to a full standing position, the wire would garrote his 
balls, and it was probably thin enough to entirely 
emasculate him.  At which point he'd bleed to death.  If he 
stayed in his crouch however, eventually his muscles would 
give out and he'd collapse, the rope noose strangling him.  
As the Squirrel struggled to stay between the two extremes, 
the Kangaroo Rat smiled and patted him on the head; "now 
that that's done, lets eat!  We'll attend to the rest after 
dinner.  After you've had a chance to appreciate how futile 
running is."

The Lion went through the motions, but he certainly didn't 
have any appetite.  The food was bland, mostly boiled 
potatoes, but with some carrots and an occasional piece of 
mystery meat.  The motions of the squirrel, shifting, 
seeking an acceptable position between the two nooses, kept 
drawing his attention.  The tables the slaves sat at were in 
a U shape, with the Mistress' dias in the open end, and the 
dangling squirrel square in front of her.  As he struggled, 
she reclined on her cushion, occasionally fetching a morsel 
of food from her plate.  It was obvious she wasn't eating 
the same fare as the slaves…..  Brewster ate his meal with 
gusto, and he glanced occasionally at the struggling 
Squirrel, to chuckle darkly.  As he watched the Squirrel 
struggle, the Lion wondered if Eddie would be tomorrow's 
mystery meat……

Tanj shook her head; she'd been unable to trace the 
company that had purchased the slaves to anything useable.  
However, the slaves had been moved; there had to be a record 
of how they'd left the slaver's facility.  Pouring herself 
another cup of coffee, she turned back to the records the 
Blues had sent her……..

Eddie was still struggling for his life when the meal ended.  
The Kangaroo Rat rose and stretched, and then looked over 
the slaves; "I'm feeling generous tonight.  No restrictions 
past the normal ones.  Dismissed."  The air was full of the 
soft susurration of many bodies rising…..  Most were heading 
out the doors, but a few were clearing the tables.  The Lion 
was just turning to head towards the nearest exit when the 
Kangaroo Rat called out; "You.  Lion.  Come Here."  He 
stopped and turned, and then with head bowed, padded back to 
the Kangaroo Rat.  Not knowing if it was required, or 
desired, or even prudent, he knelt at her feet, to await her 
pleasure.  When the Kangaroo Rat literally purrred, he 
guessed he'd read her correctly.  One paw reached out to 
fondle his left ear; "I've never owned a Lion before, but 
I've heard stories…… is it true what they say about their…. 
"endurance?"  Keeping his voice low, and watching the 
overseer lay out his bullwhip from the corner of his eye, 
the Lion murmured; "its generally true with respect to 
Lionesses in estrus, Mistress, but I believe I can… hold my 
own in other situations."  The Kangaroo Rat smirked; "well, 
we'll see.  You can show me what you know, tonight.  In 
fact, you can show me right here.  Lets see just what you 
can do with that tongue of yours…….."  Turning her head the 
Kangaroo Rat smirked at the Bear; "you may begin now, 
Brewster."  "How many strokes, Ma'am?" the Bear replied with 
a grin.  "Oh, I'll let you know when I think he's had 
enough" the Rat replied.

The Lion lifted his chin, tilting his head to one side, to 
worry at the knot that held her bikini bottoms on with is 
teeth.  His paws remained on his thighs, and as he nibbled 
and worried at the knot.  Taking much longer than was 
necessary, he interspersed his efforts with an occasional 
lick, the odd nuzzle, the low purrrrr.  By the time the knot 
came undone, the Kangaroo Rat was panting lightly, both paws 
gripping his ears tightly.  Letting his tongue slither 
between her thighs, he again glimpsed the Overseer, leaning 
back to deliver the first stroke.  The initial crack of the 
whip, and Eddie's Scream made them all jump….. it wasn't 
until the Bear's second measured stroke, that the Lion 
realized that Eddie was behind him.  Directly before the 
Kangaroo Rat.  As he licked, he wondered if she was getting 
off on his tongue, or on the suffering of the poor Squirrel 
behind him…….

Not knowing how this lady liked it, the Lion paced himself, 
licking slowly at first, bringing her to the edge and then 
backing off, to nibble lightly, to lick gently, letting her 
cool down a little, and then his tongue would assault her 
clitty again, until she was moaning.  Finally she grabbed 
both ears hard and growled "enough; finish it!"  The Lion 
fastened his lips around her clitty and sucked hard, drawing 
her pearl into his mouth, his tongue stroking it furiously, 
and in seconds the Kangaroo Rat's shrieks were filling the 
air, competing with Eddie's.  The Lion lapped softly at her 
drenched sex, until her breathing had returned to near 
normal…. Finally she patted him on the head and stepped 
back; "That was very good.  You stay there.  RIGHT there.  I 
want to go get some toys, and then I'll be back for some 
more.  Brewster, why don't you take a break until I get 
back."  As she padded out, the Lion heard the Bear amble 
over; "Its dangerous to draw too much of her attention, 
Slave" he chuckled.  And then he turned and headed for his 
chair, pausing to swat the struggling Squirrel on the ass.  
Eddie gurgled in distress as his body rocked forwards, 
tension being applied to both his balls and his neck from 
the force of the blow.  It was obvious that every time the 
whip had landed on him, he'd come close to both strangling 
and emasculating himself.  The Lion watched him struggle for 
equilibrium, wondering how long it would be until the 
Squirrel's legs gave out.  Already his balls seemed to be 
swelling from the sharp bite of the thin wire noose…..

Tanj stood with her tray in the overcrowded caffeteria, 
and looked for a place to sit.  After a moment she saw 
Heloise, a Serval who worked in base Engineering waving to 
her and she moved through the crowd to squeeze in next to 
her.  "Hey Tanj!  Haven't seen you in a while!"  Tanj 
sighed; "I've been pretty immersed in trying to find the 
Boss.  It’s a bit of an obsession for me."  "Yeah, I can 
understand that" one of the other girls a the table 
tittered, only to be shushed by a couple of her friends.  
Tanj just chuckled and shrugged and sipped her coffee, 
wincing at the acid taste.  "Having any luck?" one of them, 
a Marten, asked.  Tanj shook her head; "ran into another 
dead end.  The company that transported the slaves, from the 
facility loaded them into a shipping container.  It was 
trans-shipped at the local airport.  I’m still trying to 
track the container."  Heads all around the table nodded 
quietly.  "Hey Tanj," Heloise said after a moment, "You 
know Mark, in Engineering, Don't you?"  Tanj nodded; "He 
was part of my crew on the Lost Cause, remember?.  I THOUGHT 
he was assigned to my ship, until we pulled this evacuation.  
Seems they needed him at some communications relay 
station…."  Heloise nodded; "we've been hearing the 
strangest rumors about him.  It seems someone's been working 
on completing his background check… and they've been turning 
up the strangest things."  Tanj sipped her coffee, her 
eyes narrowing; "you know he's saved my life on more than 
one occasion.  I trust him completely.  Whatever you're 
hearing, I suspect its false………

A jingling sound presaged the return of the now nude 
Kangaroo Rat.  She still carried her riding crop, but a few 
other things filled her other hand.  And she had straps 
around her feet that held pieces of metal sticking out beind 
them…..  Following the Lion's gaze, she grinned; "Those are 
called spurs.  They're for use with riding beasts.  You'll 
see how they're used in a minute…."  The Lion stared 
curiously at them; each was Y shaped, with the top of the Y 
more U shaped than V shaped…. And the point at the bottom 
held a spiked wheel.  The U portion fit against the back of 
her foot, and was held in place with a series of straps….. 
and as she walked the spiked wheels at the back jangled 
musically.  The Kangaroo rat padded around behind the Lion, 
one paw on the back of his neck, pushing him over, until his 
face was almost touching the floor.  She held him there for 
a moment, leaning over to whisper in his ear; "I like my 
mounts spirited; and this should help…."  And then he felt 
the tip of something presented to his asshole, pressing hard 
against it.  He tried not to fight it, but it was 
unlubricated, and he was unused to taking things there; the 
Kangaroo Rat wound up grunting as she forced it in, until a 
reduction in width at the base caught his anal ring, holding 
it in place.  The Lion remained still, as if frozen in place 
as he got used to the sensation of something stuffed up his 
ass, as the Kangaroo Rat paced around him.  After a moment, 
though, she chuckled and strode back to the cushion on the 
Dias.  It took a few moments, but slowly the invader in his 
ass started to burn, and as the intensity of the pain rose, 
the Lion found it increasingly hard to hold still.  "Ah, I 
can see the ginger plug has started to work.  Good.  You 
just keep that there and I'm sure you'll be plenty active 
for me.  Now, crawl over here and fuck me.  Fuck me HARD.  
Show me what you can do with that meat between your legs."

The Lion leaned forward a bit more, and with all the grace 
he could muster, crawled across the floor, towards the Dias.  
As he approached her, she spread her legs wantonly, giving 
him a good view of her sex.  Pausing, the Lion ran his 
tongue over her snatch once, twice, just enough to make sure 
she was wet enough for him, and then he surged forward to 
cover her body with his……

Just as he was shifting his hips, making sure he was 
centered, twin jabs against his ass shocked him, and his 
hips drove forwards instinctively, forcing his cock deep 
into her pussy.  The Kangaroo Rat Gasped and wrapped her 
arms around his neck; "THAT is what spurs are for!  Now 
GIDDIYAP!"  And again the spiked wheels came down on his ass 
precipitating another hard thrust.  The Lion grunted and 
complied, fucking her without fineness, driving his hips 
hard against her in response to the jabs against his ass.  
As he moved, he heard the first of Eddie's hoarse screams as 
the Bear resumed his whipping.  By the time she was 
screaming through her first climax, the Lion could feel 
trickles of blood running down his ass, but still, she 
wasn't satisfied.  It seemed that no matter how he moved, no 
matter how hard he fucked her she still wanted more, the 
spurs driving down against his rear.  Finally she arched her 
back against him and commanded him to cum, something he was 
more than ready to do, if for no other reason to escape her 
clutches.

Tanj stared open-mouthed at the girls at the table; "Mark 
some sort of fundamentalist religious leader?  Oh, PLEASE, 
tell me you're kidding.  After a moment, Tanj started to 
chuckle, and then unable to hold it back, the laughter 
escaped from her.  She laughed until tears rolled down her 
cheeks.  Finally she was able to gain control of herself, 
only to find all the ladies at the table just staring at 
her, with serious expressions on their faces.  "Oh, Please, 
tell me you don't really BELIEVE that!"

In response to a push against his chest, from the Kangaroo 
Rat, the Lion rocked back to a kneeling position.  Something 
told him that rolling over onto his back would NOT be a good 
idea at this point……  The Kangaroo rat lifted herself a 
little, to look past him at the Squirrel, and nodded.  "he's 
close.  He won't last long.  OK, Brewster, you can stop now.  
The Bear nodded and gave a half bow to the Kangaroo Rat, and 
coiling his whip, he sauntered out the door.  The Rat turned 
to sprinkle a white powder on the floor next to her cushion, 
and then turned to grin at the Lion: "You, flat on your 
back, right there, head towards the wall!"  The Lion groaned 
as he settled onto the floor next to the cushion.  As he 
settled his ass into the sprinkling of white powder he 
shuddered at the stinging; "Salt.  The Bitch is literally 
rubbing salt in my wounds!".  The Kangaroo Rat chuckled and 
moved to straddle his hips, facing his feet, facing the 
struggling Squirrel.  In a few moments her paws had him hard 
again and she moved to impale herself on his shaft.  She 
rode him at her own speed, both paws reaching down to toy 
with his balls as she moved.  "Tell you what, Lion; when I'm 
done with you, when I'm satisfied, you can go cut down the 
Squirrel.  If he's still alive.  How's that for an incentive 
to please your Mistress?"  As she expected, the burning from 
the Ginger in his anus, and the salt under his bleeding rump 
kept the Lion's hips moving and she seemed to delight in 
that.  The Lion watched her back, watched her watch Eddie as 
the exhausted Squirrel struggled to keep from falling. To 
keep from strangling himself.  It was as Eddie was 
struggling to rise, to loosen the ever-tightening noose 
obviously at the end of his endurance, that the Lion felt 
her encircle his sack with thumb and forefinger, to tug 
painfully downward.  And then the Kangaroo Rat shrieked 
through what had to have been her most powerful climax of 
the night.

Tanj smiled at them over the rim of her coffee cup; "Now 
tell me, don't you think Mark's just a little… young to be 
some sort of cult leader?  And when have you EVER seen him 
act like…. Whatever you'd expect a cult leader to act like?  
The girls at the table exchanged  nervous glances, and then 
Pam spoke in a low voice; "well, to tell you the truth, 
that's not quite what I'd heard…… the story I heard was…. 
Well……."  Tanj nodded in what she hoped was a reassuring 
manner; "Go on… Please."  Pam bit her lip and then the words 
tumbled out in a rush; "I heard that he was  the result of 
some successful experiment by a shady government agency, or 
some biocorporation…. Something to enhance his brain, to 
bring out the psi powers…..  I heard it involved icky stuff 
like brain tissue grafts taken from living "donors"….. I 
heard that he's still working for this agency, or 
corporation, or whatever……"  Before Tanj could speak, 
Marie shook her head; "That's not quite what I heard.  I 
heard he was on the run from them and that they were hunting 
him…… "    Lisa blinked; "Um, I'd heard that he was some 
sort of an alien spy in a cloned, or a (shudder) "Borrowed" 
body……"  Pam scowled and shook her head; "Oh, that couldn't 
be; he's had physicals…. He has to have had physicals….. 
hasn't he?"  Lisa just crossed her arms across her chest and 
looked at the Coyote; "and how deep did those Medical types 
REALLY go?  Were they looking for something like that?  
Maybe he's got a way to fool the scanners!"

Tanj blinked and shook her head as the conversation 
spiraled further and further into the twilight zone.  Could 
they REALLY be thinking these things about MARK?  
Urrrrrrrrr!  But before she could say anything, her pager 
went off, and sighing she rose to head back to work…….

The Lion was panting hard when she rose off his shaft, and 
without another word, or backwards look padded out the door.  
After a moment he rose, to padd over to the Squirrel, his 
ass on fire from the Ginger buttplug.  His claws shredded 
the rope, and the Squirrel hit the floor with a choked 
sound.  It took a moment to get the rope from around his 
neck, and then the wire from around his bleeding balls.  
Tossing the limp but still breathing Squirrel over his 
shoulder, he turned and headed for what he thought was the 
Slaves' quarters, wondering if there was someone there who 
could help the Squirrel.  Wondering if there was someone 
there who could tell him if he was permitted to remove the 
buttplug.

Tanj shoved her dishes into the recycler and turned and 
stalked down the rough-hewn corridor towards her ship.  It 
was obvious to her that the girls hadn't believed her 
protestations.  Everyone knew of Mark's telepathic link with 
her, and it had been suggested politely that she was under 
his power.  As was that curious creature, Mala.  And 
telepathy suggested mind control….  As she walked down the 
corridor, she scowled; "I need to get to the bottom of 
this…. but I need to find my Master too.  And there just 
isn't time for both.  I think I'd best find a moment to talk 
to Mark……."

There were still a few slaves up when the Lion entered the 
bunkhouse.  The building was crude, with a dirt floor, and 
walls up to about waist height, with screen the rest of the 
way to the roof.  But there were no doors, so the insects 
circulated freely.  Down each wall was a line of beds, with 
simple straw-filled mattresses.  The Lion looked around and 
spotted Qume, the Fox, who had risen from his mattress to 
look concernedly towards the Lion.  "Put him over there" a 
voice whispered, and the Lion turned to see Benny the Otter 
pointing towards a bunk.  The Lion moved over to it, and as 
carefully as he could, he set the Squirrel down on his 
stomach.  His back was a bruised, bleeding mess from his 
shoulders to his rump.  "You got any antiseptic?  Anything 
to dress the wounds with?"  Benny just chuckled; "are you 
kidding?  We don't got squat.  He'll either live, or die on 
his own.  Better turn him over though."  The Lion blinked; 
"you want him to lie on his back?"  The Otter just shrugged; 
"gotta recharge his collar or he WILL die.  Nuthin' I can do 
about that."  Qume sighed; "come on, I'll help."

After they'd gotten Eddie settled as comfortably as they 
could, the Lion padded over to Benny; "I take it you're in 
charge here?"  The Otter nodded; "Yeah, I'm the Head Slave; 
what's it to you?"  The Lion just shrugged; "I was wondering 
if I could get into the showers; seems my ass got turned to 
hamburger by our Mistress and then she rubbed salt in it.  
I'd like to wash it out."  The Otter chuckled and shook his 
head; "you know where the showers are; there might still be 
some water in the pipes, but the pump was turned off at 
dinner."  The Lion just nodded slowly; "She also put some 
sort of butt-plug up my rear, and its burning pretty bad.  
Will she get mad if I take it out?"  Benny just chuckled; 
"Did she TELL you you could take it out?  No?  Then you damn 
well better leave it in, or you'll wind up like Eddie over 
there, or worse."  The Lion just sighed and padded towards 
the showers.  There must have been about a pint and a half 
of water in the pipes, and all it did was get his ass 
stinging even worse.  "At least the salt stopped the 
bleeding" he mused as he settled himself on an empty bed, 
squirming around until he felt the contacts at the back of 
his collar connect with the recharger.  The damn thing 
hummed loudly, not that he thought he was going to get much 
sleep anyways…..

Tanj looked at Mark's image on the monitor and frowned; 
"Yeah, sounds like they've got you doing REAL important work 
there.  Listen, I think I know what's behind your assignment 
there.  There seems to be some sort of whisper campaign 
going on, directed against you.  I've NO idea WHY, 'cept 
possibly that you're just a little different than everyone 
else (like we've got a bunch of NORMAL folks here 
anyways!)."  Mark shrugged with a hint of a smile; "I can 
think of worse things to happen to me than what's basically 
a paid vacation…. As long as somebody makes ure I DO still 
get paid, of course.  If nothing else, I have more time to 
meditate on finding the Boss… though so far I've only 
puzzled out that he's alive, if uncomfortable, and still on 
Elysium.  Which at least fits with your theory, if that's 
any help." Tanj nodded; "well, if you get any flashes, 
Please let me know.  And I'll see you when you get here."  
As she reached up to break the connection, Mark held up a 
paw.  "Wait, aren't you going to tell me just WHAT they've 
been swhispering behind my back?  We're a bit short on 
entertainment here, you know…"  Tanj frowned, but after a 
moment launched into a blow-by-blow description of the 
various theories floating around.  As she finished, Mark 
chuckled softly.  "Dear me.  And those are people we 
actually recruited to free Elysium?  No, don't answer that; 
its TOO embarrassing.  Its good to hear that they're all way 
off target and my REAL secret is still safe, though."  
Tanj blinked; "And just what would THAT be?"  mark put on 
that innocent look she'd seen him use all too often.  "Allow 
me to introduce…", and with that he reached out of the 
camera's angle to retrieve a pair of dark sunglasses he'd 
gotten from who-knows-where, and placed them on his muzzle; 
"…Agent M, Imperial ESP Command, department Six.  And SHAME 
on you for not figuring it out sooner, too!"  He grinned as 
Tanj's groan came over the comlink; "you just get your 
ass in here, you…. You…."

The Lion groaned as Benny poked him; "Come on, you Lazy 
Slave!  It'll be sunup soon!  There's work to be done!"  
Then the Otter was off, limping down the row of bunks, 
rousing the slaves.  They had to carry Eddie to the table, 
but the Squirrel was in no shape to eat…. And that worried 
the Lion.  Breakfast was stale bread and some sort of cold 
porridge, and scarcely enough to fill his belly, the Lion 
thought.  As he licked his bowl clean, imitating the others, 
he watched as Benny conferred with the Overseer.  And then 
Benny was moving among the tables, passing out work 
assignments.  Most of the slaves were split into three 
groups, to work in the fields.  One group would be under the 
Overseer, one under Benny, and apparently the third would be 
watched by the Mistress.  The Lion knelt quietly, wondering 
which group he'd be assigned… and then the Otter limped 
over.  "Qume tells me you've got some mechanical skills.  
That’s good, as Eddie was the last slave that knew a damn 
thing about machines.  The No.4 combine still needs work, 
and you're elected.  Take Eddie down there to give you 
advice; its obvious he isn't going to make it in the fields 
today.  When you're done there, check all the irrigation 
pumps for pluggages.  If there's any daylight left, come 
find me.  If you're still working at Dinner time, I'll find 
you.  Take off."  The Lion nodded and turned to look at 
Eddie; "you know the way; you strong enough to hang on to my 
back, or should I use the fireman's carry?"

It turned out one of the buildings, a structure known as a 
"pole barn", a roof supported by vertical uprights, with no 
walls or floor, was the maintenance facility.  In one 
"corner" was a little shack, and there the Lion discovered a 
short, slight male Tiger bent over a circuit board, his 
soldering iron smoking.  The Lion placed Eddie as carefully 
as he could in one corner, the motion drawing the Tiger's 
attention; "Hi, I’m CT.  'preciate what you did for Eddie 
last night.  Too many of the folks here wouldn't have gone 
out of their way to bring him back."  The Lion blinked; 
"why?  Is he disliked for some reason?"  CT shook his head 
no; "No, he's an OK guy; its just this place drains most of 
the humanity from folks.  They do only what they have to, 
and only look out for No.1.  Benny's the classic example."  
The Lion nodded; "somehow I got the feeling a lame slave 
wouldn't last long here; he sucks up to the overseer?"  CT 
nodded and turned back to his work; "yeah, a real brown-
noser.  Watch out for him, he'll sell you out in an instant 
for a crust of bread."  The Lion nodded; "I'll remember 
that.  Right now, though, I'd better go get a look at the 
No.4 combine……"  CT waved and nodded; "Good luck; that 
thing's a piece of junk; should have been retired ages ago."

The combine was an old Belisarius, and had actually survived 
the company that had manufactured it.  This was amazing as 
that firm had been famous for producing the cheapest units… 
and you got what you paid for.  The electronics that guided 
the thing had been reworked so many times as to no longer be 
anything close to standard, and the drive….. the Fuel Cell 
had so many warped plates the Lion couldn't figure out how 
it functioned.  The final drive was from an electric motor 
to a sprocket on the front axle, connected by a chain.  And 
it didn't take but a second to understand why the chain kept 
breaking.  Somewhere in its past something had impacted the 
combine and bent the frame just enough to throw things out 
of alignment.  And as the motor was behind and under the 
grain bin, a rather hefty structure welded to the frame, 
there was no room to realign the motor.  The only choice was 
to realign the front axle… but then the combine would be 
crabbing forward, the tines not moving straight down the row 
of crops.  Sighing, the Lion sat down to study the problem.

The scream of the air impact wrench faded away, to be 
replaced with Benny's howl of outrage; "….ucking SHIT!  
You've got it in PIECES!  Dammit, Mistress wanted this thing 
running TOMORROW!"  The Lion slid out from under the frame 
and looked at the Otter; "Yeah, and if I just put on a new 
drive chain I'd be in Eddie's condition in a few days.  I 
can patch the thing together, or I can FIX it.  Now if she 
needs it tomorrow, find a way to let me work all night…. I 
might get it done."  Benny shook his head; "but its in 
pieces all over the place!  WHAT are you trying to DO?"  The 
Lion put down the air impact wrench and picked up a sledge 
hammer; "The frame's bent; the only way to solve the problem 
is to straighten the frame.  The ONLY way."  "But," 
spluttered Benny; "We don't HAVE a way to straighten the 
frame!  We don't have any heavy equipment here!"  The Lion 
shrugged; "Just have to build something then.  You want this 
done, go away and let me work."  The Otter scowled as the 
Lion turned away from him, and he was just about to growl 
that he was boss here and that no slave told HIM what to do… 
but then he decided there were other ways to teach this 
newcomer a lesson…….

"Hey, CT called; "its getting close to dinner time; you 
coming?"  The Lion shook his head; "No, not if I'm going to 
get this thing running by morning.  You and Eddie go on 
without me.  Tell that gimpy Otter I'm still working.  Oh, 
hey, you got a way to recharge my collar while I work?"  CT 
grinned; "only if you promise not to get caught with it."  
The Tiger vanished into his shack and returned in a moment 
with a breadboarded rig; after a moment he'd clamped it to 
the back of the Lion's collar, its weight noticeable; "Give 
it about two hours.  And don't lay down on it; you might get 
a nasty shock.  Oh, by the way, your collar also has a 
transponder; tells the combines and other farm equpment 
where you are, so you don't get harvested, if you're working 
in the fields.  It also tells Mistress and the Overseer 
where you are too."  The Lion nodded; "I know about 
Mistress' riding crop, but where does the overseer keep HIS 
little transponder; wouldn't want him run over either, now 
would we?"  CT just chuckled; "you'd be surprised.  He's got 
a wristlet that is his remote control device, and also the 
transponder for the farm equipment."  The Lion just nodded 
and turned back to his work.

The jig for straightening the frame was simple enough.  
Cables anchored the front and rear of the combine to "dead 
men" buried to one side.  And a hand-crank come-along 
anchored to the center of the frame stretched to another 
"Dead-man" to the other side.  Grunting, the Lion tugged on 
the lever, the cables bowstring taut……

Benny nodded to the Kangaroo Rat; "Yes Mistress; we're one 
short.  That new Lion is still working on the No.4 Combine.  
I think he's making a real mess of it, Ma'am…… I TOLD him it 
was time for dinner, but he wouldn't come."  The Kangaroo 
Rat's eyes narrowed; "Oh he wouldn't, would he?  Well, I 
think maybe I'll take a little ride down there after dinner 
and see……..

The approaching jingling was sufficient warning for the Lion 
to unclip the recharger from his collar and stash it in the 
guts of the combine.  He'd just remounted the cutter head 
and was torquing the bolts down when the strangest 
apparition came into view……. A two wheeled cart, built of 
tubing held the Kangaroo Rat, and between the traces was a 
female equine…. A Clydesdale, or a Morgan, or one of the 
larger breeds of that species.  Wiping off his paws, he 
knelt, head down.  The Kangaroo Rat tugged on her reins, 
directing the slave pulling the cart to pull up alongside 
the open side of the maintenance shed.  She sat there for a 
moment, her eyes moving from the kneeling Lion to the 
combine to all the parts and tools scattered about.  Finally 
she said, in a conversational voice; "you understand you 
will have to be punished for not showing up for dinner, 
don't you?"  The Lion shrugged; "That, or be punished for 
not having fixed the combine by dinner.  Mistress, if I'm 
going to be punished, I'd rather have the satisfaction of 
having done good work.  And Benny insisted you needed the 
combine by morning…….  The Kangaroo Rat nodded slowly; "I 
suspect Benny was piqued at your…. Selection of which orders 
to obey.  He does like to think that he's the head slave.  I 
do think that I'm going to have to have a talk with him 
about that.  But in the future you will NOT miss dinner, no 
matter what.  Now, if you DO have the combine fixed by 
morning, your punishment will merely be to draw from the 
jar; but if after all this it still doesn't work, well, 
then, I think I'll have to come up with something special….. 
so you'd better get back to work, Slave."  Turning to look 
at the slave between the traces of her cart, she snapped the 
reins, and then the Clydedale was stepping high, drawing the 
cart into the night.  The Lion watched for a moment and then 
rose to turn back to the cutting head.

The job was completed a couple hours before dawn.  All the 
diagnostics ran correctly, and with the front axle jacked 
up, the drive ran at top speed for a half hour without the 
least sign of a problem.  Setting the machine up for the 
next day's tasks, according to the schedule he found on CT's 
computer, the Lion paused to look around the ad-hoc 
electronic's shop.  After pawing through several drawers he 
finally smiled.  The mica film was commonly used when hand-
wiring coils.  But cut and trimmed just so, it fit inside 
his collar, covering the two electrodes there quite 
nicely…..  He just made it to Breakfast, and as he knelt at 
the table he winked at Eddie, and nodded.

Benny caught the wink and the nod and scowled…. Could that 
mangy cat have actually fixed that rambling wreck?  If he 
had… no, there was no way he could claim any part of that 
success, not after what he'd said to the Mistress.  Settling 
back, the Otter wondered how he could take this Lion down a 
notch…..

The Lion was yawning widely when Benny limped by; "Field 
team Three for you; nothing needs fixing today."  The Lion 
nodded and rose, thinking "no rest for me" as he turned to 
join that group.  Behind him, he heard Benny assign Eddie to 
the same team, and the Lion turned to watch the Squirrel 
struggle to his feet.  Retracing his steps he felt the 
squirrel's nose; it was hot and dry.  Sighing the Lion 
turned and hoisted Eddie onto his back and being careful to 
duck low through the doorway, he hurried to catch up with 
the others.

As they walked towards their assigned field, Qume looked up 
at the Lion; "how in the HELL can you be so cheerful?  
Especially so early in the morning?"  The Lion chuckled and 
shrugged a little, hoisting Eddie into a more comfortable 
position; "Heck, I've been up all night, so "morning doesn't 
have a whole lot of meaning for me at the moment.  And its 
not hard, if you try…. Besides, its pissing the HELL out of 
our friend Benny."  Qume stole a look back at the Otter 
limping after them and chuckled; "you're right; he's 
scowling like a volcano getting ready to blow."  The Lion 
nodded and tilted his head back to sing in a truly abysmal 
voice "Over hilllll, over dale, we will hit the dusty 
traillllllll………"

It was hard to keep going.  He was falling asleep on his 
feet, but if he didn't keep the hoe going, the wake up call 
from the overseer's whip would bring him back to 
wakefullness…. And the recharge from CT's device obviously 
hadn't been quite enough; his collar was unusually tight……  
As he tried to keep moving, the Lion watched the overseer 
from the corner of his eye.  He'd been pestering the 
Minotaur for no apparent reason that the Lion could see, 
other than that the Bull hated it.  It was obvious to the 
lion that the Minotaur was reaching the breaking point, and 
that the Overseer was determined to push him past it, 
probably just for the pleasure of punishing him for it.  
Looking back down at what he was doing, the Lion moved 
slightly, trying to keep himself between the Bear and Eddie.  
The Squirrel wasn't moving very well……. And his back looked 
infected.

Tanj shook her head; "AgriCorp Facility 223?  What the 
heck kind of destination is THAT for a bill of lading?  With 
a sigh she turned back to her database.  At least now she 
had a clue as to who'd bought her Master.  All she had to do 
was to figure out where their "Facility 223" was…….

The Break came when the Lion least expected it.  The 
Minotaur Bull turned and swung his hoe in a vicious ark.  At 
first the Lion thought he'd missed; the Bear saw it, and 
leaned back, the business end of the hoe missing his head by 
inches… but then it bit into his left forearm, and the Lion 
knew the Bull had planned well.  The Bear jumped back, more 
stunned than hurt, and his paws came up as if he were about 
to punch a button on the now-ruined mass of plastic and 
electronics dangling from his left wrist.  The Minotaur 
wound up for another swing, as the Bear reached for the 
coiled bullwhip on his hip……

The Lion glanced over the other slaves, and then just leaned 
on the handle of his hoe.  There really was little he could 
do…… Even with the overseer dead, they couldn't escape; 
their collars saw to that.  It was just too far to the 
nearest outpost of civilization.  And the Minotaur had 
forfeited his life with the first swing; there was no way 
the owners would let him survive now….  And thus the Lion 
watched, idly rooting for the Minotaur, but not willing to 
come to his assistance.  It just wasn't time yet…..  He had 
a lot more planning, a lot more preparation to do before 
he'd be willing to take on the "establishment"……

The Bear's first two strikes with the whip drew blood, but 
the Minotaur didn't seem to notice; the third strike was 
caught, and the Bear jerked forward.  The two grappled for a 
moment, and then the Minotaur had the whip twisted around 
the Bear's neck, and was pulling….. The Bear struggled for a 
while, his motions becoming increasingly frantic, his eyes 
bugging out, until finally he slumped.  The Bull held the 
whip tight for a good half dozen minutes before releasing 
it.  There was no chance the Bear wasn't dead.  And then, as 
he let the body slump to the ground, he looked around 
helplessly as if to say "now what do I do?"

The Lion watched carefully.  Somehow, he was certain that 
the Bear's wristlet had reported its own demise, if not the 
Bear's, and that whatever passed for the Cavalry was on its 
way……  And then sure enough, everyone around him suddenly 
jerked hard, convulsing with electric shock.  The Lion only 
felt a slight tingle, and was pleased to see that his little 
strip of insulation was working; his own faked convulsions 
were only a split second behind the others and he wondered 
if anyone had noticed…. And then as furrs all around him 
went limp, he noticed from the corner of his eye, the cart 
pulled by the Clydesdale approaching……

The Kangaroo Rat tugged on the reins awkwardly, a laser 
pistol in one paw and her "control" in her other.  From the 
way the twitching bodies were arranged, it was obvious that 
the Minotaur was the one responsible. Punching in his access 
code, she programmed her remote to give him periodic shocks, 
insuring that he'd be unable to assault her as well.  She 
then turned off the current to the other slaves.  As they 
roused themselves she glared at them; "you should have 
prevented your friend from doing this.  Now I'm going to 
have to find a new overseer, and I promise you, I will find 
the meanest, nastiest one on the Planet!  IN THE SECTOR!  
Now you, you and you, pick up Brewster and carry him back to 
the compound.  You, you and you, tie up the Minotaur and 
carry him back as well.  MOVE IT!"  Under the watchful eye 
of the Kangaroo Rat the slaves obeyed, and soon a strange 
procession was heading back along the dusty road…..

Dinner that night was quite strange.  The Kangaroo Rat wore 
almost normal clothes, slacks and a crop top.  And she 
carried a shotgun in addition to her whip.  It was almost as 
if she were suddenly nervous, afraid in the absence of the 
Bear, that the slaves might turn on her as well.  Twice 
during the dinner she reminded the assembled group that if 
she wasn't there every day to code in the proper sequence 
into the compound's computer, their collars would all 
automatically constrict.  The Lion filed that little bit of 
information away as well, thinking that it changed his plans 
somewhat…..  But just somewhat.  After the meal was 
finished, the Kangaroo Mouse rose; "you are all confined to 
quarters until a new Overseer is brought in, and the Slave 
that killed the old one can be properly executed.  And I 
don't want to hear a Peep out of any of you!  DISMISSED!  
Again, as the Lion rose, the Kangaroo Rat called out; "Lion!  
I haven't forgotten about your punishment.  When all this is 
resolved, you WILL draw from the jar!"  The Lion gave a 
polite half-bow in her direction, and turned to follow the 
others.

"Its kind of a ritual" CT explained.  "If things get too 
bad, we draw straws.  The one with the short straw has to 
kill the overseer.  Then, while they bring in a new one, 
we're all confined to quarters.  It’s a guaranteed minimum 
of at least a day's rest."  The Lion blinked; "you mean that 
in order to get a days rest around here, it costs two 
lives?"  Qume shrugged; "Hey, we're all going to die here 
anyways.  No one ever leaves this place; they're too afraid 
someone will learn about the dreamweed crop."  The Lion 
looked around and then shrugged; "just between you and me, I 
do NOT plan on dying here.  Qume looked across the room at 
Benny and then leaned closer; "you got a plan?"  The Lion 
grinned; "Maybe.  Tell me again what you know about the 
sensors that keep the farm equipment from running over 
folks, CT."

After they'd talked for a while, Qume stretched and grinned; 
"its rare that we get left alone like this.  Usually 
Mistress has something or other to bedevil us… but tonight… 
tonight I think I'm going to see if Sasha's got enough 
energy left to be interested in a little loving….."  The 
Lion chuckled and nodded; "Good Luck, Qume."  CT yawned and 
stretched; "Well, I for one am going to use the opportunity 
to catch up on my sleep."  The Lion chuckled and nodded.  
He'd been flat on his back on his bed for a bit, just 
staring at the ceiling, thinking, when someone moved close.  
Looking up, he saw the Clydesdale Mare looking down at him; 
"Hi, just thought I'd wander over and welcome you to Hell.  
My name's Dahlia."

Tanj now had a pretty good picture of what AgriCorp was.  
They were a major conglomerate that produced food, from the 
farm, to the grocery store.  They were thoroughly vertically 
integrated.  And they had almost a thousand farms, plants, 
factories and stores.  She'd obtained a copy of their 
prospectus, and their previous year's tax return, and had 
even hacked into their mainframe, although for a simple food 
supplier, it was curiously well "defended"…. And nowhere did 
they list a "Facility 223."  "Something HAS to be going on 
here" the Cheetah mused to herself.  This should NOT be that 
difficult… They HAVE to be hiding something….."  Reaching 
for a message pad, she started to summarize her findings and 
her thoughts as she prepared to request another "special 
operation"……

"No, its not a permanent job; generally the Mistress rotates 
the job among the slaves.  I think she prefers me though, as 
I do a better job at it than most of the others; they're 
just too small."  The Lion nodded, as he lay on his bunk, 
arms crossed behind his head, looking up at her.  "I've 
never seen anything like it before.  She really is into 
"Control," isn't she?"  Dahlia cast a quick look at Benny 
and then turned back to the Lion; "Yeah… but she seldom has 
an interest in the meek ones.  She likes the ones that 
resist, that fight back, so she can punish them."  The Lion 
chuckled and nodded; "I kinda figured that out….  But it 
also looks like it doesn't take much to earn a punishment, 
either."  Dahlia nodded; "True.  Benny's real good at 
complaining about your work, even when you've done a good 
job.  I think it makes him feel powerful, and of course the 
Mistress loves the excuse to punish someone anyways."  The 
Lion nodded; "seems I've got a punishment coming up; going 
to have to draw from the jar.  What can I expect?"  As she 
sat on the edge of the Lion's bed, the Clydesdale moved a 
paw over his chest, running his fingers through his mane; 
"Oh, there are a LOT of different things that can happen to 
you; some of them are sexual services for the Mistress, and 
hence not too bad.  I think you've had a taste of that…..  
Some are sexual services for the Overseer and those are 
generally less pleasant.  Some are straight punishments, 
some are pure torture, and there's even one token in there 
labeled "Death."  Personally, I think she has some way of 
controlling what token you choose; after all; why should I 
wind up drawing "ponygirl" so very often?"

The Lion smiled as she ran her fingers through his mane; it 
made him think of Tanj, and he wondered how she was doing 
at the moment.  The Brethren had rules about how to handle 
situations such as his disappearance, and he honestly 
wondered if she was following them….  As the Clydedale's 
hand slid down over his stomach, he glanced up at her to 
find her smiling down at him; "you know, we generally don't 
get folks of our size in here….. and its difficult to get 
satisfaction from some of the smaller species, no matter how 
…. Enthusiastic they might be……."  The Lion just chuckled 
and reached up to pull her down into a kiss.

The Lion kissed her softly, his tongue pushing past her 
parted lips, to dance with hers, as his paws found her ample 
breasts, to cup them, the middle finger of each paw finding 
its way through her nipple rings.  As he squeezed softly, 
his tongue continued the dance of passion with hers.  Dahlia 
for her part shifted her position, moving to kneel astride 
the lion  as he reclined on his bunk.  Softly her hips 
rocked back and forth, her sex rubbing against his sheath……

Tanj poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down at one 
of the tables in the mess.  For a moment all fell silent, 
the few furrs there looking at her curiously.  Tanj 
nibbled at her Danish and sipped her coffee, and grinned 
back at them; "So tell me, what wild rumors are out there 
now about Mark?  What's the latest scuttlebutt?"

There  had been three or four couples performing intimate 
acts in the bunkhouse, but somehow, everyone turned to watch 
as the Lion and Dahlia made love.  Perhaps it was her high-
pitched whinneys every time she climaxed that drew their 
attention, or the way they changed position from time to 
time, moving from her sitting astride his hips, to him on 
top of her, to a somewhat complex standing position, with 
her hands braced on the wall and her legs locked around his 
waist, to her on hands and knees beside the bed with him 
taking her from behind…..  It was in this latter position 
that the Lion finally leaned forward, to take the back of 
her neck in his jaws as his hips bucked wildly, his own 
orgasm finally claiming him.  After a moment, Dahlia sagged 
forward, to lie on the floor on her tummy, the Lion still 
crouched over her.  It took another moment or two, before 
the Lion could withdraw, to sit next to her, his chest 
heaving.  Dahlia rolled onto one side, propping her head up 
with one arm; "That was probably the best I've had in a long 
time; you're really quite good… but that teeth thing at the 
end, that didn't cut it."  The Lion raised one eyebrow and 
smirked; "Really?  Most ladies I know love that…. but 
then….. I guess it’s a Feline thing."  The Clydesdale 
chuckled and reached out one paw to stroke the Lion's 
crotch; "Ah, but I'm NOT Feline……"

The Kangaroo Rat watched.  Of course there were monitors in 
the Slave's bunkroom, both visual and audio.  But they were 
hidden, and only she knew they were there.  As such, the 
pickup wasn't as good as she'd liked.  She couldn't pick up 
every conversation, but she HAD watched the Lion's 
performance with the Mare.  And it had made her feel…. 
Envoius?  Of a Slave?  Sitting back, she watched the Mare 
reach out to stroke him again, either teasing, or trying to 
arouse him for a second go…. "Well, Missy" she growled to 
herself, "you go ahead and have your fun while you can, 
'cause its going to stop REAL soon……"  Picking up a stylus 
she started to make notes as to who had been having sex that 
night……

"They say that he's some sort of religious leader in a cult 
that worships some ancient alien race.  That this cult 
trains its members in telepathy, and that they use that 
talent to drain it from non-cult members around them.  
Literally sucking a portion of your soul from you!"  Tanj 
sat back in her chair and stared at the Chipmunk.  "and you 
think, that because I've got some sort of telepathic link 
with Mark that he's training me as one of his acolytes?  
That I'm going to reach into your mind and take something 
from you?"  The Squirrel shifted uncomfortably; "Um, well, 
yes, that IS one theory out there…. But its also possible 
that every time he makes contact with you that he's feeding 
off YOUR mind…..  That might explain why a person of your …. 
Talents still hasn't been able to find the Boss……"  
Tanj's jaw dropped as she stared back at the Chipmunk, 
and then at the others around the table…..  After a couple 
of false starts, Tanj finally managed to choke out; "Oh, 
I'll find the Boss all right.  Mark's not done anything to 
my mind, I'm sure of that, and when I DO find him, I 
guarantee you he'll put a stop to all this nonsense!"

As they watched Tanj stalk off, one of the girls sighed; 
"Poor thing, she just doesn't SEE what he's doing to her!"  
Heads nodded around the table and then conversation picked 
up as they discussed if Tanj could be rescued before the 
Mutant Mouse consumed her completely.

As she walked back to her ship, Tanj frowned.  "It 
shouldn't BE this difficult to find one slave on that 
planet.  All that stuff is well documented.  Bureaucracies 
are LIKE that; they keep records of EVERYTHING……  COULD it 
be me?"

The next day was remarkably quiet.  The few slaves that 
normally handled meal preparation  made quick trips to the 
kitchen, to bring back cold snacks.  Most everyone just laid 
around, dozing, or just doing nothing.  Some folks talked in 
quiet little groups.  The Lion made the rounds of those 
groups, getting to know the other slaves, listening to what 
they had to say, trying to get a feel for their 
personalities.  And their backgrounds.  For his escape plan 
to work, he was going to need help.  Unfortunately, few of 
them had any kind of technical background…….

It was after dinner when the aircar landed in the courtyard.  
As most of the slaves watched curiously a single passenger 
disembarked.  He was a male Tiger, tall and heavily muscled.  
He carried a riot gun, and a backpack, and little else.  The 
Kangaroo Rat came out to meet him, and as the Aircar lifted 
off, she walked him towards the Overseer's quarters, the 
pair talking animatedly.  "Well, that tells us something 
right there" the Lion muttered.  Redflame, a squirrel, 
looked over at the Lion; "Oh?  What's that?"  The Lion 
chuckled; "That model of Aircar has an unrefueld range of 
only about 200 kilometers.  We can't be further than that 
from civlization."  Behind him, Benny gave the Lion a scowl; 
what was he thinking things like THAT for… was he up to 
something?

Tanj looked at Mark's image on the monitor; "A robot 
supply ship?  You mean to tell me they've gotten so worked 
up over you that they won't even let you come in for a DAY?"  
Mark just shrugged; "seems that way.  Hey, don't sweat it.  
We're comfortable here, and when things get back to normal, 
and the Boss is finally back, I’m sure we'll be able to 
straighten it all out. Tanj sighed and shook her head; "I 
don't know, its getting awful strange here.  A messenger 
bringing me some signal intercepts actually showed up 
wearing a tin-foil skullcap.  When I asked him about it he 
said it was to foil telepathic attempts to control him.  I 
thought he was making a pun, just teasing me, but it turned 
out he was dead serious.  The guy was actually afraid of ME 
because I know YOU!"  Mark just shook his head; " Next time 
you meet him, tell him telepathy's not based on 
electromagnetism and so his silly cap wouldn't do him a bit 
of good anyways.  I'm starting to honestly wonder what's 
wrong with those people.  Think you could arrange for the 
next supply run to fetch a large collection of supermarket 
tabloids to distract them?" Tanj just sighed.  Mark 
tilted his head for a moment, and then nodded; "In any case, 
the newsisn't all bad; I do believe I'm starting to home in 
on the Boss.  Should have a good fix on his location in 
another couple of  days at the most, if your investigations 
don't turn up a lead before then.  Of course, just how many 
people would believe me at the moment is another question…"  
Tanj nodded and straightened a bit; "Just see what you 
can do."

Things were more subdued in the bunk house that night.  It 
was as if the prompt arrival of the new overseer had filled 
them all with dread… But still,  a few slaves found whatever 
it took, to share the pleasures of the flesh with each 
other…. And again, the Mare came to the Lion… and once 
again, the Kangaroo Rat watched with growing annoyance……

The next morning the slaves lined up outside the bunk room, 
prior to breakfast.  The Minotaur had been placed on a 
stool, underneath the gibbet, a simple noose around his 
neck.  The new Overseer looked up and down the line of 
slaves and then stalked over to kick the stool out from 
under the Minotaur's feet.  Then, as the noose tightened, 
strangling the Bull, the Tiger growled as he stalked up and 
down the line of slaves; "My name's Bart, but YOU will call 
me Sir.  IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?  Good.  Now, I've got little 
patience for lazy slaves, and even less for disobedient 
ones.  Anyone who displeases me WILL be punished, and 
punished HARD!"  To emphasize this point, the Tiger turned 
and jabbed a shock stick between Nate's legs.  The Rabbit 
howled and jumped a good four feet straight up into the air, 
to fall back with a thud.  The Tiger watched him twitch for 
a while, and then chuckled evilly; "Get my Point?  Now get 
off to breakfast, you lazy slobs, there's work to be done!"  
As they all started to move, they all stole a glance at the 
Bull slowly strangling to death…….

The Lion helped Qume drag Nate into the dining hall; the 
Tiger's shock stick had caught him square in the balls and 
it looked like he had a nasty burn.  That and considerable 
swelling……  Breakfast was a hurried affair, with Benny 
handing out assignments before everyone had finished eating.  
The Lion once again was assigned to field work, and soon 
they were all trudging out along the dusty paths, to tend 
the Dreamweed crop……

Brown (or Smith, or Jones) smiled and though this one was 
going to be remarkably easy.  His target liked to eat out, 
and would frequently call for a cab to take him back to his 
penthouse.  The Cab was stolen, the driver peacefully 
sleeping off the knockout drug in the trunk.  And he'd 
followed the Raccoon to a rather fashionable restaurant.  It 
was no trick at all to be there when he emerged……  The 
Raccoon's eyes went wide when Brown turned the Cab into the 
deserted loading dock area of a warehouse, closed for the 
night.  It was just as the Raccoon was starting to spout a 
"What IS this?" that Brown turned, to show him the needler 
he carried; "Good evening Mr. Lefkowitz.  Just a small stop 
on your way home.  You see, a friend asked me to ask you 
about the company you work for, this AgriCorp…. Specifically 
about Facility 223….."  The Raccoon's eyes went even wider 
and he gasped "where did you hear about THAT?"

"I tell you, this one's worse than the last."  Redflame was 
panting hard, struggling to keep up as the group of slaves 
trudged back towards the compound, under the watchful eye 
and ever-ready shock stick of the Overseer.  The Tiger had 
been playing with the remote control the Kangaroo Rat had 
given him and seemed to delight in giving random furrs 
shocks.  The Lion had slipped the strip of mica from under 
his collar and not having a pocket to hide it in, was forced 
to hold it in his mouth.  This made conversation difficult.  
In the course of the long day, the Tiger'd given him two 
rather nasty shocks, but at least his secret was still 
safe…..   As soon as he could find some more adhesive tape, 
he swore he'd stick the Mica strip inside the collar, not 
quite over the contacts… maybe he could diminish the effect 
of the shock…..

The body of the Minotaur was still hanging in the compound, 
slowly twisting in the wind, when they got back.

Seven furrs were late for dinner, the tasks they'd been 
assigned perhaps specifically underestimated by Benny.  As a 
result, when dinner was done, there were a LOT of furrs 
waiting to draw their punishments from the jar… but before 
they got to that, the Kangaroo Rat had words to say.  "It is 
my understanding that during the two nights when we were 
without an overseer, that a number of you engaged in sex 
acts without my permission.  You KNOW that's against the 
rules, and all those who were thus engaged will be punished.  
Bart, do you have any suggestions as to what an appropriate 
punishment might be?"  The Tiger just chuckled darkly; "Oh, 
I've got a very good way to see to it they don't to anything 
like that again…. Without permission that is.  Lets handle 
the OTHER punishments first, though; what I've got in mind 
might take a while…..  And I'm sure you're going to love 
it!"

The Lion winced when Eddie drew the Bastinado.  The soles of 
his feet were to be beaten.  It was a very painful 
punishment.  That poor squirrel was certainly not getting 
the breaks.  The rest of the punishments were more mundane; 
a day without food, having to stand all night instead of 
sleeping.  There were some minor whippings and paddlings 
awarded.  And when it came his turn, the Lion drew a token 
that read simply; "pony."  Whatever it meant, it seemed to 
please Mistress… and curiously enough, Dahlia.

The eight furrs that had committed the "carnal sins" waited 
in the dining hall.  One by one they were being called into 
a store room, for whatever their fate was…..  Occasionally 
the Lion heard a sharp yelp, or a whimper, but it certainly 
didn't seem like anyone was being castrated…..  Qume shook 
his head as Dahlia was called forth… "This is complete 
bullshit.  There never was such a rule!  There's never been 
a problem with us making love before!"  The Lion shrugged; 
"they're the ones in charge.  Do they really need a reason 
to punish us?"  The Fox just growled…….. "I bet it was that 
damn Benny that ratted on us!  You'll notice that no one 
went to share HIS bed!"  Before the Lion could respond, 
Benny showed up to call him, and he rose to move down the 
corridor, following the Otter.  Dahlia was just emerging 
from the store room, walking a little bowlegged, both hands 
over her crotch.  She looked a little wide-eyed, as if she 
couldn't believe what'd been done to her, but otherwise 
seemed all right.  As they passed she muttered cryptically; 
"I'm glad I don't have to pull Mistress tomorrow……"

Benny shoved the Lion back against a pillar, and the Tiger 
rapidly tied his paws behind the post.  As he moved back 
around the bound Lion the Tiger chuckled; "tell me, have you 
ever had any body piercings?"  The Lion's eyes narrowed, and 
he muttered; "aside from the nose ring?  Woke up with a 
nipple ring, once, a LONG time ago……"  The Tiger just 
chuckled; "Then you shouldn't be a stranger to this."  So 
saying he held up a piercing needle, and a captive bead 
ring……  "The idea is to pierce the opening of your sheath" 
the Tiger rumbled, "and then we give you a Prince Albert, a 
piercing through the eye of your cock, with the ring 
emerging out the bottom of the shaft just behind the head.  
Then, we can put one of these small locks through both 
rings.  You get an erection, it gets VERY painful; so 
painful you loose the erection.  Or something rips.  No sex 
for you, buddy boy."  The Lion looked over at the Kangaroo 
Rat helplessly, but she just smirked, and twirled a small 
keyring…… "Should be very effective.  Oh, and your friend, 
the Mare….. we pierced both her labia; she's now got a small 
lock holding her labia together…….

As they untied him, he couldn't help but move a paw to cover 
his crotch.  The weight of the rings was negligible, but the 
weight of the lock was quite noticeable, and he had to so 
something to take the pressure off of his newly pierced 
flesh.  As he headed for the door, the Kangaroo Rat 
chuckled; "You know, I bet that would be a dandy place to 
attach a leash……"

When he got back to the bunk house, he glanced at Dahlia, 
and raised an eyebrow; she just sighed and shrugged and laid 
back on her bunk.  It was a time where words, seemed out of 
place, but he padded over to her anyways, and bent down to 
whisper; "For this, they'll die."  He then gave her left ear 
a soft lick, and rising, walked carefully back to his bunk.

Eight pairs of eyes looked daggers at Benny when he returned 
to the bunk house that night.  And in the dark there were 
muttered comments……

Tanj smiled as she read Brown's report.  The Raccoon 
who'd been the Comptroller for AgriCorp had not been the 
type to resist physical pain.  Oh, he'd tried, until Brown 
had shot him in the knee, and then, as his blood had seeped 
out between his fingers clutching at his shattered kneecap, 
he'd become QUITE cooperative.  Facility 223 was a farm, in 
the Aramac province.. and it seems that they had a little 
project going on the side…. Dreamweed.  That explained the 
great lengths they'd gone to, to keep everything quiet.  It 
also explained the need for a greater than usual number of 
slaves.  As she put down the report, the Cheetah wondered 
what Brown had wound up doing with the Raccoon………  She was 
certain he hadn't let him go……

The next morning, the Lion made his way to the dining area, 
moving carefully.  The somber attitude of the slaves was a 
mirror for the gleeful attitude of Bart and the Kangaroo 
Rat.  They obviously had enjoyed themselves a great deal the 
previous night.  When Benny came around, the Lion was 
somewhat surprised that he wasn't assigned to one of the 
field crews.  Instead, Benny told Dahlia to go get him 
ready…….  And the Lion started to get a glimmer of what the 
"pony" token in the punishment jar had meant.

"Its really not that bad a job" Dahlia insisted as she 
tightened the leather harness around the Lion.  "Sometimes 
she wants you to go fast, and that’s a pain, in the heat and 
all, but most of the time you just stand there as she 
watches the slaves work."  The Lion grunted and shifted some 
of the straps; it seems that bands of leather were 
crisscrossing him almost everywhere…. "Yeah, well, it might 
not be so bad for you, but you have to remember, Lions are 
sprinters, not long distance runners.  Still, if you say 
some of the smaller species can handle it, I suppose I can 
too…..  Dahlia chuckled; "that's the spirit.  Now, open up 
for the bit."  The Lion's eyes went wide as the Clydesdale 
pushed a metal contraption into his mouth.  A U shaped piece 
of metal pressed against the roof of his mouth, and it was 
obvious that when the leather reins were tugged, that the 
bottom of the U would press painfully into tender flesh.  
Then the blinders went on and he found his peripheral vision 
limited to straight ahead…..  He was standing there, wrists 
chained to his waist, as Dahlia fastened the tongues of the 
two-wheeled cart to his harness, when the Kangaroo Rat came 
in.  "Very Good, Dahlia" she purred, "But don't you think he 
needs a bearing rein to keep his head up?"  The Clydesdale 
winced and muttered "Yes Ma'am," and turned back to the rack 
where the tack was kept…..  The Lion sighed as he watched 
her lube up a rather long, thick dildo, with a ring at the 
back end.  As he feared, this was shortly nestling within 
his ass, straps from the ring passing on either side of his 
tail, to fasten to the back of the harness encasing his 
head.  He found himself looking almost straight up; if he 
tried to lower his head, the tension on the straps drove the 
invader in his ass painfully deeper……  In this position, 
he'd have a hell of a time just seeing where he was going….  
Then he felt the tongues of the cart shift as the Kangaroo 
rat climbed onto the seat, and an instant later her whip 
found his ass, and without preamble he broke into a trot, 
hauling the cart from the shed.

Dahlia watched him go for a moment, and then turned and with 
a sigh, trudged off to join the field crew she was supposed 
to be working with today.  

The Lion learned very quickly to obey the tugs on his reins.  
As he ran, the bouncing lock made him incredibly aware of 
his new piercings, and the dong wobbling in his ass proved 
to be its own special nightmare.  Before long he was panting 
hard, covered in sweat, and still the Kangaroo Rat's whip 
kissed his ass.  Finally when she hauled back on both reins, 
when he'd brought the cart to a halt, he found it almost 
impossible not to collapse to his knees with exhaustion.  
The Rat took the reins, and tossed them over his head, to 
walk around and tie them to a nearby chinaberry tree.  Then, 
whistling jauntily, she walked off, leaving him.

Tanj looked at Ben and sighed; "And just how in the HELL 
am I supposed to get PROOF that he's there?  The place is 
too remote!  I can't very well send in some sort of spy; 
they'd stand out like a sore thumb!"  Ben shook his  head; 
"I will NOT sanction an operation until I know for sure that 
he's there, and that its NOT a trap!  Now if you think he's 
at this farm, then I suggest you find a way to PROVE it!  
And prove that there are no defenses, no Elysium forces 
waiting in ambush!"  Grumbling, Tanj turned and stalked 
from Ops.

Sam watched the angry Cheetah go, and then turned to the 
Wolf; "You know, Ben, She's building up to doing something 
stupid….."  Ben chuckled and nodded; "Know?  I'm depending 
on it.  We've got our rules, and our procedures, and in my 
position, I'm supposed to defend them, not break them.  I 
agree, in all likelihood that’s what happened to the Boss, 
and that’s where he is.  But I can't risk the whole 
organization on that.  It COULD be a trap.  If the 
opposition has any sense at all, it WILL be a trap.  But 
knowing that, we might just turn the tables.  And that all 
depends on our irascible friend being as impetuous as I 
think she is."  Sam chuckled; "I take it then, that you have 
a plan?"  The Wolf just grinned and nodded……

The Lion heard them coming; not that he could turn and look, 
though.  The bearing rein held his head back, but the reins 
tied to the tree tugged his head down; it was Hobson's 
choice between the pain of the bit in his mouth or the pain 
of the dong in his ass.  Crouching hadn't helped either; the 
reins were tied too high in the tree for him to get any 
relief that way.  As they approached, the Tiger, Bart, was 
saying; "Yes, I agree, he DOES look good… its just that I 
think you can do better.  For instance, if his nipples were 
pierced, you could hang little jinglebells there; he'd make 
music as he ran.  Oh, and I'd hang a jinglebell from the 
piercings in his sheath too."  As he talked, the Tiger had 
moved around in front of the Lion, one paw stroking over his 
sheath as if to emphasize where the bell should go.  "You 
might also want to put a weighted strap around his balls; as 
he runs, it would be most….. noticeable"  Again the Tiger's 
paw moved, thumb and forefinger encircling that space 
between the Lion's testicles and his body; and when the 
Tiger jerked downwards, stretching the Lion's balls, the 
Lion's roar turned the heads of the distant field workers.

The Kangaroo Rat, however, just chuckled; "Quiet, You,"  
Turning to the overseer she nodded; "I'll have to see what I 
can do; he IS a pleasant change from my usual steed.  
Untying the reins, taking her seat in the cart, she snapped 
her whip, and as the Lion broke into a trot, she waved gaily 
back at the Overseer.

The Overseer chuckled as he watched the Mistress depart, and 
then turned to look over the slaves working the field.  
Raising his remote, he gave the Fox another jolt through his 
collar.  They were SUCH lazy slaves…..

The Lion hauled the Rat from field to field, as she checked 
on the progress of the work, and on the state of the crops.  
Apparently she'd given him the major workout right at the 
start, as these trips were comparatively short.  Finally, as 
the sun was growing low on the horizon, she turned him 
towards the compound, her whip cracking at his ass.  She 
urged him from a trot to a run, driving him faster and 
faster, until, as they reached the compound, she hauled 
cruelly back on the reins, bringing them to a screeching 
halt in a cloud of dust.  Dismounting, she took the reins 
and led him into the shed where the cart was kept.  
Chuckling she tied off the reins to a rafter and then stood 
back to regard her slave.  "you know, I think those piercing 
might be useful for something else" she grinned.  With a 
"Wait here, Now," she turned and headed for her quarters.  
On her return, the Lion felt her fumble with the lock at the 
tip of his sheath, listening to the 'snick' as it was 
opened, feeling the reduction in weight as it was removed… 
and then her paws were moving over him, stroking him, 
caressing him, until, almost against his will, his shaft 
stood rampant and proud.  The Kangaroo rat purrred and 
clipped something to the ring in the eye of his cock, and 
again he felt weight.  There were tugs at the ring at the 
opening of his sheath, and then she was fumbling with the 
head of his cock again… "There; that looks about right.  I 
know, you can't see, but I've strung a strand of my favorite 
pearls from the ring in the head of your cock to the ring in 
your sheath.  I suspect they'll feel simply marvelous……  The 
Lion then heard the sound of a zipper being pulled down, of 
fabric rustling softly, and then the Kangaroo Rat was 
climbing up his body, as he stood, harnessed between the 
traces of the cart.  She balanced herself, one foot on 
either tongue of the cart, her arms around his neck, and 
with a soft moan, sank down to impale herself on his hard 
cock.  The feel of the pearls pressing against the underside 
of his shaft was almost painful, and as the Rat rose and 
fell on his shaft, uttering little cries of joy, he found 
the tugging of the strand of pearls against his piercings to 
be most distracting.  The Kangaroo Rat rode him hard, the 
motions of her body becoming progressively wilder and 
wilder, until at last she threw back her head and howled.  
After a moment, shaking like a leaf, she rose off of him and 
climbed down.  "Yes, that was a good idea I had there" she 
smirked.  Wrapping a paw around the Lion's still hard cock, 
she cooed; "Awww, didn't enjoy it enough to cum for me?  I'm 
so disappointed."  Squeezing the pearls into the underside 
of his shaft, she started to pump her fist up and down…. 
"cum for me, Slave, Cum for me now!"  It took all the Lion's 
concentration, her attentions more painful than erotic, but 
somehow he managed, his cock spurting his jism over her paw, 
splattering the ground in front of her.  Smiling the 
Kangaroo Rat undid the pearls, picked up her pants and 
padded back towards her quarters; "Dahlia will be along to 
unharness you in a bit.  Make sure she locks you back up, 
too."

It was almost dinner time when the Clydesdale entered the 
shed; "Well, it looks like YOU'VE had a day, now doesn't it.  
Look at you, standing there, all helpless…… I can see the 
Mistress took advantage of you…… Left you "unlocked" too….. 
Hmmmmm."  Looking around, the Clydesdale grinned, and then 
kneeling before him, she ran her tongue over his sheath.  As 
his cock rose once more to the occasion, the Lion couldn't 
help but think "we're going to get in Trouble!"

They were the last two to arrive, sneaking into the dining 
hall under the glaring eye of Benny, instants before they 
would have gotten in trouble for being late.  The Lion was 
still damp from a very hurried shower, and the Clydesdale 
was trying hard not to smile.  They ate their meal in 
silence, and then watched as the day's punishments were 
handed out.  It seemed like there were more today, than 
there were the day before……..

Redflame shook his head; "I tell you, we can't take this 
much longer.  That bastard shocked me four times today, for 
no reason at all!  Qume nodded slowly; "Yeah, poor Eddie's 
not getting any better.  If they'd just leave him alone, 
he'd have a chance…..  CT nodded; "I think we're going to 
have to draw straws again.  This one's GOT to go…… or he'll 
kill us all.

The discussion seemed to spread like a chain reaction; small 
knots of furrs would form, talk for a moment and then break 
apart, only to reform with other members in other places.  
In the bunkhouse, in the showers, on the way to the dining 
hall….. The Lion watched, almost as a detached observer, 
studying the effect…. And he watched Benny watch as well.  
It was obvious that he knew something was up… but would he 
tell his Mistress?

The end result was almost anticlimactic.  Just before lights 
out, Benny wandered amongst the slaves as if talking with 
each of them.  In his fist was a bunch of straws, and at 
each stop, a furr surrepticiously selected one.  The Lion 
didn't have to be told what was going on, and when Benny 
came by, to where he and Qume and Dahlia were standing.  the 
Otter just stood there, staring at them.  First Dahlia took 
a straw, and then the Fox.  And then the Lion reached out 
and tugged at one of the straws….. The Otter looked down and 
nodded; "its you.  You got the short straw.  Start thinking 
about how you're going to kill the Son of a Bitch….."  As 
the Otter limped off, the Lion scowled, wondering if there'd 
been some way Benny had set him up…..

Benny chuckled and tossed the handfull of straws where 
they'd be scattered by the wind.  He'd palmed the real 
bundle as everyone had looked to see what the Fox had drawn, 
and he'd offered the Lion only short ones.  It worked every 
time.

The Lion caught up with the limping Otter as they headed 
towards the Dining Hall for Breakfast.  "See to it that I'm 
assigned to a field crew, somewhere near where one of the 
automated pieces of farm equipment is working.  Make sure 
CT's there.  I'll take care of our little problem when 
that's arranged.

"I’m sorry, Mistress, but I need that Lion to look at one of 
the irrigation pumps today."  Benny was being his most 
contrite, and the Kangaroo Rat was obviously displeased, but 
she nodded her head; "Send the Mare to me then; we'll let 
her carry me about."  The Lion finished his breakfast and 
nodded when Benny told him to go with a small group.  The 
pump was adjacent to where they'd be working……

CT caught up with the Lion as they trudged on down the dusty 
path; "I take it you have a plan.  No one's ever given Benny 
requirements for this task before, and I think he's looking 
forward to your demise."  The Lion just chuckled; "I'm not 
planning on being executed for this.  How much do you know 
about the remote control the overseer carries?"  CT 
shrugged; "not much; they don't let me handle those things."  
The Lion chuckled; "and if you got your paws on one, do you 
think you could figure it out?  The Tiger smiled; "Oh yeah!"  
The Lion nodded; "see if you can scare up some circuit 
boards; something that LOOKS good.  And a dead battery of 
the type the remote uses.  A very dead battery."  CT nodded; 
"I have things like that in my shack, but how am I supposed 
to get there from the field?"  The Lion chuckled; "got fuses 
there for the pumps too, don't you?  I'll just tell the 
Overseer that one of the fuses is blown and ask if I can go 
get a replacement.  He's contrary enough not to let me go, 
and will probably send you instead."  CT smiled and nodded.

There wasn't anything wrong with the irrigation pump beyond 
a plugged suction grating and the Lion spent as much time as 
he could working on that, letting the field slaves slowly 
work their way away from him.  Finally he climbed out of the 
pit and dripping, started fiddling with the motor starter.  
The Overseer heard the pump start, stop, start and stop 
again, and came over to investigate.  "Blown fuse on one of 
the three legs, Sir" the Lion muttered, head bowed.  "I need 
to get a new fuse from the electronics shack."  The Overseer 
frowned; "no, I don't think I'm going to let you take a 
nice, leisurely stroll.  YOU go pick up a hoe, and do some 
REAL work."  Striding over to the workers, the Overseer 
looked around and then grabbed CT, who let out a surprised 
yelp.  "You, run back to that shack of yours and get a fuse 
like this.  Get back here within half an hour, or I'll whip 
the meat from your bones!"  CT nodded and dropped his hoe, 
to sprint off in the direction of the compound.  The Lion 
watched, hoping, but the Overseer didn't step on the 
upturned hoe.  It would have been just too good…..  The Lion 
picked up the hoe and took up CT's place in the line of 
workers slowly making their way across the field.  As he 
worked, he kept an eye on the robot tractor pulling the 
cultivator in the next field.  Timing would be everything 
with this one……

Things were getting tight, and the Lion was getting worried 
that the tractor would finish with the adjacent field and 
move on, when CT came loping back up, the fuse in his hand 
like a relay runner's baton.  The Overseer turned to take it 
from the Tiger, never seeing the Lion move up behind him.  
Just about the time the Overseer's paw took the fuse, the 
handle of the lion's hoe smacked him just below his left 
ear.  The Overseer dropped like a sack of potatoes.  The 
Lion nodded, and reached down to lift the Overseer, to drag 
him into the adjacent field.  "The trick" he explained to a 
wide-eyed CT "is to not kill him.  His remote would report 
that immediately to the Mistress… but I don't think it'll 
mention the fact that I just gave him a concussion."  Now, 
quick, give me that dead battery; I've got to get it changed 
quickly……  By now the Overseer was starting to groan, as the 
Lion fumbled with his wristlet.  And then the Lion was 
stepping back, out of the path of the robot tractor, to hold 
the hoe like a golf club, ready to whack the Overseer again, 
if need be.  The Robot tractor was coming closer and 
closer….. the Overseer shook his head and opened his eyes, 
obviously warned by the fact that something was very wrong……  
but before he could do more than turn his head and stare, 
the tractor was upon him.  The Lion winced as the three row 
disc harrow bounced up and down, shredding the Tiger's body.  
As the Tractor continued on its path, the Lion stepped into 
the soft, turned soil, to look….  Again, he bent, to remove 
the blood spattered wristlet.  Opening the cover, he yanked 
the circuit board out, and handed it to CT.  The board CT 
had brought wasn't a perfect fit, but the Lion placed it 
between the halves of the case, strapped it back on what was 
left of the Overseer's arm, and taking a step back, brought 
his hoe down hard on it.  The gouge in the wristlet was 
deep, the circuit board obviously broken… but the dead 
battery was intact… and it looked like something the disk 
harrow might have done….   Stepping back carefully, the Lion 
sighed; "OK folks, here's the story.  The Overseer here had 
shocked so many of us during the day, that the battery went 
dead in his remote, and then he had the bad sense to step in 
front of the tractor.  He didn't know his battery was dead, 
and as such, the tractor didn't know he was there.  Horrible 
tragedy.  Any questions?  No?  Good, everyone back to work, 
I'm sure the Mistress will be along shortly."

CT chuckled; "pretty good.  Now, how am I to hide this 
circuit board until we get back?  The Lion chuckled; "why, 
in your mouth, of course."  The Tiger just sighed, and 
nodded.

It couldn't have been another five minutes before the 
Mistress showed up, a frown on her face, and her "riding 
crop" remote prominently held.  Today, she'd fastened a 
saddle-like device to Dahlia's back, and was making the mare 
carry her directly.  Dahlia, bent over, with her paws tied 
behind the saddle, didn't look like she was enjoying the 
day's travels much.  And it looked like the Kangaroo Rat had 
been using her spurs liberally too…..  The Kangaroo Rat 
dismounted, and looked around…. Not immediately discerning 
what had happened.  The first furr she saw was the Lion 
working on the motor starter.  "YOU!  Lion!  Where's Bart?  
Where's the Overseer."  The Lion looked up at the Rat and 
shrugged; "Ma'am, the last I saw him, he was over towards 
the edge of the next field."  The Kangaroo Rat stared at the 
Lion for a moment and then with a scowl, turned and headed 
for the edge of the planted area.  The Lion watched as she 
disappeared amongst the plantings and then turned and nodded 
to Dahlia.  A moment later her scream was heard.

The Lion pushed the fuse into the holder, and then closed 
the cover.  Throwing the disconnect lever, he energized the 
circuit, and then started the pump.  He was bending over, 
watching the pump suction when the panting Kangaroo Rat came 
storming back.  Her first action was to push the buttons on 
her remote, activating the Lion's shock collar.  With a howl 
he convulsed and pitched forward into the water of the 
irrigation canal.  The Kangaroo Rat muttered a curse, 
thumbed the remote off, and strode to the edge of the canal, 
arriving just as the Lion floundered to the surface.  "What 
in the HELL did you DO to him?" She demanded.  The lion 
looked up at her and blinked; "Did to who?  The Overseer?  
Nothing!  Why?"  The Kangaroo Rat growled; "Get out of there 
and come with me."  Turning to Dahlia, she untied the reins 
from the bush and growled; "Go find the field slaves.  Bring 
them to the next field.  HURRY!"

The Lion smiled to himself as Qume made a point of throwing 
up when he saw the remains of the Overseer.  Even CT looked 
a little green around the gills.  The Kangaroo Rat glared at 
them all, her fingers on her remote; "Anyone want to tell me 
what happened here?  Can anyone explain how this happened?"  
CT bent over to poke at the remains of the Overseer's 
wristlet… and then he too was turning, to throw up.  The 
Lion thought to himself that they were hamming it up perhaps 
just a bit more than they should have… but then he'd been 
living with the pirates so long, maybe he'd become… 
desensitized.  CT finally straightened, wiping his mouth 
with the back of a paw…. "Um, Ma'am…. He was using the shock 
function of his remote rather a lot today…. Rather a lot 
since he got here….  The only thing I can think of, is that 
the battery went dead.  He knew the remote was supposed to 
let the robot farm equipment know where he was… he probably 
just didn't bother to get out of the way of the tractor, 
figuring it'd go around him……  And if the battery was dead, 
it wouldn't know he was there.  All around CT, heads nodded 
in agreement.  The Kangaroo Rat scowled, and turned to look 
at the mess in the dirt, now having attracted quite a number 
of flies.  "Get that remote off his wrist, and give it to 
me.  And get some canvas from the compound and …. Pick him 
up.  We can't leave him here like this…..  I'm going to have 
that remote checked out, and if what you've said isn't the 
case, I'll make the lot of you wish you'd never been born!"  
With that, she turned and stalked off towards the compound, 
gathering Dahlia's reins as she swept past.

CT watched her until she was out of earshot and then growled 
at the Lion; "Think they'll figure out the circuit board 
wasn't the right one?  The Lion chuckled; "No, they'll find 
the dead battery and stop there.  And even if they do want 
to check further, the board's cracked; it'd be a real pain 
to fix that just to try and diagnose what happened.  No, I 
think they may be suspicious, but without proof…… They'll 
let it slide."  CT nodded slowly; "They'd better; you're 
betting all our lives on it."

Dinner that night was a cold meal, in the bunk house.  The 
Mistress seemed to be feeling more than a little threatened, 
and was locked in her quarters.  And Benny was in a foul 
mood.  Apparently no one had ever even considered killing 
the overseer in a way that looked accidental.  The Lion just 
smiled.

Tanj grinned; she'd had to call in a bunch of markers in 
order to get this, but finally she had it, running and in 
place.  The spy satellite was the size of a basketball, and 
was very stealthy.  It was in a low, fast orbit around 
Elysium, pretending to be just another piece of space junk.  
And it passed over Facility 223 six times a day.  The optics 
in the little gizmo should be good enough to give her a GOOD 
picture of her Master, good enough to convince Ben and the 
rest of the Brethren that he was there…..  And also good 
enough to detect all but the most cleverly concealed of 
traps.  But it only downloaded its pictures once a day, in a 
single compressed, directional bleep.  Well, at least it was 
a start……

The Lion sat down on the Edge of CT's bunk; "you still have 
it?  CT smiled and nodded; "its in a safe place."  The Lion 
nodded slowly; "now all we have to do is to contrive to get 
you some time in that shack of yours, to work it over.  If 
we can find a way to disrupt the signal that causes all our 
collars to constrict, we're on our way."  CT sighed; "I 
don't know…. Even if we get past the new Overseer, and the 
Mistress, even if we get to civilization, what's to keep us 
from just being rounded up again?  The Lion smiled; "you 
leave that to me.  I have…. Resources.  I just need to GET 
to them."  The Tiger nodded, but continued to look dubious.

Xylex sighed and put down the phone.  His few resources in 
the Blues continued to tell him that they had no idea where 
the leader of the Brethren was.  And the Elysium Government 
didn't have him; he was sure of that.  So where was the 
bastard?  Rising, he paced his office, being careful to stay 
away from the window.  The glass was armored, but there was 
a nasty spiderweb pattern of fine cracks where a sniper's 
bullet had hit it.  There was no point in taking chances.  
Finally he nodded to himself and returned to his computer.  
Perhaps he wouldn't have to find the Lion.  After all, his 
loyal slave, that meddlesome Tanj, would be searching 
just as hard.  All he had to do was to watch for her 
eventual rescue mission, and then follow her……..  Smiling he 
started issuing orders….

The Lion watched Dahlia for a while and then padded over to 
her; "you know, I've been thinking……  Mistress got real mad 
at what we did the last time an Overseer was killed…..  and 
took steps to prevent us from doing it again.  Now I admit, 
the situation I'm in, I don't much see the possibility of 
getting much relief, but I'm not sure that's completely true 
for you….."  The Clydesdale Mare grinned; "Oh?  And what do 
you have in mind?  The Lion just grinned and slowly dropped 
to his knees, to let his tongue stroke over her crotch, 
making the little lock holding her labia together sway back 
and forth; "I think I might just be able to get my tongue in 
places you'd find interesting… Shall we find out?"  Dahlia 
just chuckled and nodded, one hand going to the back of the 
Lion's head, pressing his muzzle to her crotch.

The Kangaroo Rat growled as she watched on her monitor; the 
image wasn't good and the sound quality was terrible, but it 
was all to obvious what that damn cat was doing.  And the 
Mare seemed to be enjoying it so.  Grumbling to herself she 
vowed she'd find something suitable to do to him…. Just as 
soon as the new Overseer arrived.

The next day was a quiet one, with the slaves "confined" to 
the Bunk House.  Most slept, some talked, and some just kept 
to themselves.  The Lion spent a lot of time lying on his 
bunk, staring at the ceiling, thinking his plans through, 
looking for flaws, looking for problems, trying to plan for 
contingencies.  By the end of the day, no new overseer had 
arrived and they spent their second night peacefully.

Tanj blinked at the first set of pictures from her spy 
satellite….. the pictures showed the compound clearly, along 
with the nearby fields…. And yet nothing seemed to be moving 
except the robot equipment.  Frowning, she rechecked the 
coordinates…….

The Kangaroo Rat scowled at the e-mail on her terminal.  The 
lab she'd sent the wristlet to had confirmed that the 
battery was dead.  They'd also said the unit was 
irrepairable, and would be sending out a new unit with the 
new Overseer.  The new unit would have an audible low 
battery alarm.  And they were billing her corporate account 
for the replacement device.  Grumbling she sat back and 
wondered if it could really be so?  Had the Tiger really 
been THAT stupid?  He'd seemed like a fairly bright, 
imaginative guy… but he'd also had an ego.  Maybe he HAD 
been supremely confident the tractor would go around him.  
She'd have to make a point of warning his replacement.

It was just after noon the next day when the aircar touched 
down in the compound.  The creature that emerged drew gasps 
from the slaves watching from the Bunkhouse.  If the Bear, 
and the Tiger had been big, this one was huge.  He was a 
"dragon," a bipedal lizard-like creature, with a long thick 
tail, and he looked like he could rip the average slave in 
half without breaking into a sweat.  Muttering to Qume, the 
Lion growled; "This…. is going to complicate factors 
some….." Behind him, Benny turned his head and stared at the 
Lion, wondering what that furball was up to.  He was sure 
though, that whatever it was, he wasn't going to like it…..  
And then they were all being called from the Bunkhouse, to 
"meet" the new Overseer, and to get a belated start on the 
day's work.

The Lion found himself once again harnessed, bound between 
the traces of the Rat's two-wheeled wagon, jogging down 
dusty paths carrying her to this field and that…..  She'd 
added a few "improvements" to his harness however.  Two 
nipple clamps supported rather large jingle-bells that 
danced and jingled and bounced most painfully as he ran.  
The day'd at least had a late start, and he was only mildly 
exhausted by dinner time.  This time when the Rat left him 
by the shed, for Dahlia to unharness, she stalked off 
without so much as a backwards glance.  The Lion smiled to 
himself and wondered if this was better than the way she'd 
handled him last time, or not……  Dahlia for her part seemed 
genuinely disappointed to find the little lock still in 
place through the rings at the tip of the Lion's sheath…..

The Lion watched as Eddie and Qume helped a male Wolf, who's 
name was Todd, or something like that, to the table in the 
Dining Hall.  The Wolf looked to be in bad shape, but no one 
was saying anything.  None of the usual surreptitious 
whispers by the gathered slaves.  As usual after dinner, a 
number of designated slaves had to pull tokens from the 
punishment jar, for various infractions during the day.  The 
Mistress pouted when a female Jackal got the token labeled 
"Pony"… and the Lion tried hard not to smile.  Now, freed of 
that duty, he could pursue his plans……  His head came up 
however, when the Mistress chortled with glee.  Daisy, a 
comparatively young female rabbit, had drawn a token that 
had her looking aghast.  The Kangaroo Rat merely turned and 
beamed at the Dragon; "Take her outside, if you would 
please, Wilbur, and fasten her in a kneeling position in the 
stocks.  I'll get the keys."  As The Overseer padded off one 
way, the Rabbit in tow, and the Mistress headed out another 
door, the Lion leaned over to ask CT; "what happened?"  CT 
sighed; "her token read "Gang Bang."  She's got to stay in 
the stocks out there until she's satisfied every male here."  
The Lion's head rose and he looked around the dining hall….. 
"twelve, thirteen…. Fifteen total.  Yeah, she's going to 
have a busy night…. But I doubt it'll be …. Fatal."  CT just 
shrugged; "I don't know; I don't like the look of that 
Dragon; do you think she can handle HIM?  The Lion just 
shrugged.

They stood and watched, as the Dragon selected from the male 
slaves, one to make use of Daisy's mouth, while another was 
directed behind her, either to her ass or her pussy.  The 
Mistress sat on a chair brought out from her quarters, one 
leg hooked over the chair's arm, and just watched, a smirk 
on her face.  Some of the males were tender and considerate 
with her; Qume, for instance, held fairly still, one paw 
caressing Daisy's head as the Rabbit sucked his cock.  
Benny, however, was a little more aggressive, one paw 
holding tight to her fluffy little tail, driving his hips 
against her as hard and as fast as he could.  CT was 
particularly tentative with her, and drew the Overseer's 
lash on his rear as an impetus to fuck her harder.  The 
Tiger complied, but certainly didn't look like he was 
enjoying himself, something that seemed to delight the 
Mistress no end.  She called the Dragon over and whispered 
to him; nodding he straightened and returned to the stocks, 
where his lash started to lick out, driving the Tiger to an 
increased tempo, making him fuck her harder until Daisy was 
crying out with each thrust, her cries muffled by the cock 
in her mouth…..

The Lion found himself to be the last one in line, and when 
his turn came, the Dragon pointed at the Rabbit's ass, and 
obediently, the Lion moved around behind her, to kneel 
between her spread legs.  It didn't take but a few moments 
of rubbing his now-unlocked crotch against the bunny's sore 
behind before his cock had grown from its sheath, to wag 
before him with his motions, nestled in the crevice of her 
ass.  As he moved, rocking his hips back in preparation for 
entering her, the Kangaroo Rat chuckled; "Oh, no, not 
there."  When the Lion looked up in confusion, the Rat 
purrrred; "Take her in the ass.  Take her hard.  Make her 
cry out for us…….."  The Lion did his best to keep a neutral 
expression on his face, and then he drove his cock hard into 
her pussy.  Both the Mistress and the Overseer stiffened, 
but before they could respond, he pulled his tool from her 
sex and positioned its head at her anus.  With a sigh, he 
pressed forward, firmly, until the head of his cock blipped 
past her tight ring of muscle.  As he sank his shaft into 
her back passage, Daisy groaned around the cock currently in 
her mouth……

The Dragon grinned and brought his whip down on the Lion's 
ass, getting his attention; "move slowly until she's sucked 
the Squirrel off; I want her mouth empty when you fuck her; 
I want to hear what she has to say about it……  The Lion just 
nodded and moved his hips slowly, doing what he could to let 
her get used to him, to get used to the way her back passage 
was so stretched…….  After a while, the Squirrel shuddered, 
pulling his cock from her mouth to splatter her with his 
cum, proving to the Mistress that she had indeed brought him 
off.  As the Squirrel turned and padded towards the watching 
furrs, the Overseer's whip came down again on the Lion's 
ass; "All right, You; lets see you give her a rogering 
she'll never forget.  And don't you dare cum until you're 
given permission……"  The Lion started to move his hips a 
little faster, working his shaft in and out of her ass with 
increasing speed.  But as he moved, he slipped both paws 
from their position on her hips, around, over her tummy.  
His left paw grasped at her dangling right breast, squeezing 
softly, while his right paw slithered down over her belly to 
stroke at her clitty.  As he thrust at her harder and 
harder, his fingers played with her, toyed with her, until 
the Rabbit screamed in passion.

The Kangaroo Rat watched, a frown forming on her face; this 
wasn't quite what she'd wanted.  She wanted to hear the cunt 
screaming in horror at her situation, to be yelping in pain 
at the way her ass was so stretched…. And here she was 
writhing through what had to be a massive climax…. And from 
the Look on her face, the Lion was driving her headlong 
towards a second one……  Frustrated she growled; "All Right, 
you, I want to see you cum.  Now!"  The Lion nodded, and 
took three more strokes, to pull his shaft out of the 
Rabbit's ass.  His right paw wrapped around his cock, and 
pumped furiously for a second and then his jism was raining 
down on the Rabbit's ass, splattering from where the stocks 
held her neck to the base of her tail.  Rising, the Lion 
turned and padded towards the crowd of slaves….. 

"Hey YOU!  Where do you think YOU'RE going?"  The Lion 
turned and looked at the Kangaroo Rat, one eyebrow raised in 
a silent question.  She lifted the little lock with one 
finger and beckoned.  Sighing, he padded over to her, to 
crouch while she fitted the lock through the rings in the 
end of his cock, and the end of his sheath, snapping it shut 
with a most annoying "click."  Smirking the Rat waved him 
away, and again he turned towards the crowd of slaves…..

The Dragon had padded around Daisy, looking at her; she was 
a mess, her head and back covered in cum, her fur spiky with 
sweat.  The Dragon chuckled evilly, and looked up at the 
Kangaroo Rat; "I don't think she's had enough yet.  You mind 
if I have a go at her?"  The Rat looked the Dragon up and 
down and nodded; "Oh, I insist!"  Turning she glared at the 
slaves; "Form a semi-circle and kneel.  Watch and pray you 
never do anything that might result in you drawing that 
token!"  Turning back, the Rat watched as the Dragon removed 
his vest, and then undid his pants, setting them aside.  He 
had to spread his knees far apart, to bring his crotch down 
to the level of the Rabbit's pussy.  Hissing softly, he 
rocked his hips forward and brought his erection up against 
her belly; "Feel that, Bitch?  Feel how big I am?  In a 
second that’s going to be inside you……. And I'm going to 
fuck you until you bleed!"  

From off to one side, the Lion frowned; the Dragon was well 
hung, his cock more impressive for its length than its 
girth…. Still, he wasn't THAT big……  Could he be long enough 
to seriously hurt Daisy?  Sitting back on his heels, he 
watched, trying hard to stay calm.

The Dragon's first thrust was obviously as hard as he could 
make it, and Daisy's shoulders thumped hard against the 
stocks.  For a second she was quiet and then she Screamed.  
The Dragon just chuckled, and pulled back to slam into her 
once again.  There was no style, no finesse, the Dragon just 
slammed it into her as hard as he could, until all Daisy 
could do was whimper, each time the Dragon thrust forward.  
After a couple dozen thrusts, marked by the Rabbit's cries, 
and the sound of her body being pushed hard against the 
Stocks, the Kangaroo Rat lifted her chin.  She'd been 
surreptitiously rubbing herself, and her voice was husky as 
she spoke; "That’s enough there.  Why don't you finish in 
her ass."  The Dragon never acknowledged that he heard her, 
his body arching forward two or three times more, before he 
pulled back, and positioned himself….. His next thrust 
caused Daisy's head to snap up and her face to contort, but 
obviously the pain was too great for her to even scream.

On the other side of the circle, a male Rabbit known as 
Donatello rose from his kneeling position, to charge towards 
the Dragon.  He made it about three steps before the 
Mistress found the right button on her remote and he dropped 
to the dirt, convulsing as his collar shocked him.  The 
Dragon just looked over his shoulder, and twisting his body 
to one side, an action that caused Daisy to finally find her 
voice in a penetrating scream, he swung his tail, whapping 
the twitching Rabbit almost all the way back to the line of 
slaves.  No one else attempted to stop the Dragon, and few 
even watched.  Most eyes were averted, looks of sympathetic 
pain on the faces of the slaves…..  It seemed to the Lion 
like it'd taken half the night, but finally the Dragon 
roared, pulling his cock from her ass to spray his seed over 
her.  Sitting back on his haunches for a moment, balanced on 
feet and tail, the Dragon looked around, and then with a 
chuckle, rose to collect his clothes.  He nodded to the 
Mistress and then turned and sauntered towards his quarters 
without a backwards look.  After a moment the Kangaroo Rat 
rose and smirked "Dismissed," and flicking her riding crop 
back and forth, made her way towards her own quarters.

The Lion watched as several furrs rose, to rush to the 
stocks, to release Daisy.  As gently as they could, they 
carried her towards the showers….  Sighing, the Lion turned 
and headed for the bunkhouse, angling to come up next to CT.  
"We've got to find a way to get you into the electronics 
shack soon.  I need you to find out if there's a way to jam 
the "strangulation" function.  If we wind up in the fields 
tomorrow, can I get you to cover for me while I try 
something?  CT looked up at the Lion and then looked back at 
the now-empty stocks.  After a moment he turned back and 
nodded; "Yeah, sure.  Anything."

Tanj fidgeted as the burst transmission from the 
satellite decompressed itself.  As the pictures formed on 
her monitor, she blinked in amazement and then selected one, 
expanding it, running it through the software that sharpened 
it, that cleaned it up.  There, on a dirt road, was a two 
wheeled cart being pulled by a running figure that looked 
for all the world like her Master… and riding in the cart 
was some sort of rat, wielding a whip.  She stared in 
amazement at the picture and then shook her head; "Ain't no 
way I can show THAT to anyone else……"

The Lion lifted his head as they carried Daisy into the 
bunkhouse.  Catching Redflame's eye, he raised an eyebrow.  
The Red Squirrel frowned and shook his head negatively.  
After they'd gotten Daisy settled, as a number of well-
wishers crowded around, the Squirrel ambled over; "it ain't 
good.  She's bleeding rectally.  And there isn't a damn 
thing we can do to help her.  No medicines, no doctor."  The 
Lion nodded.  "OK, we don't wait for consensus on this one.  
We're going to take him out, and then we're going to make 
our break for it."  Redflame nodded; "I'm in; definitely in.  
You should have seen what that bastard was doing in the 
field today.  He's got this move where he whips around and 
slaps you with that big tail of his.  I thought he'd broken 
Todd's back with that last strike…. And all because we 
weren't moving fast enough to suit him!"  The Lion nodded; 
"I'd wondered what'd happened…..  Now this is what I need 
from you…… "  Nodding, the squirrel bent closer as the Lion 
whispered.

Benny watched Eddie and that Damn Lion whisper.  They were 
definitely up to something.  And he was going to have to do 
something to stop it.  Things had run smoothly here for 
years, until that Damn Lion'd shown up; now in the stretch 
of a few weeks, they'd had no less than two overseers 
killed, and Mistress was getting meaner than ever.  
Grumbling to himself, the Otter wondered how he could 
contrive to get the damn Lion killed, and out of the way?

Tanj looked at the second batch of pictures and frowned.  
There was her Lion, kneeling in a semicircle of slaves…… and 
bound in the center of the circle was a rabbit…she could 
tell that by the long ears….. but not much else; she was in 
the shadow of a rather huge Dragon who seemed to be fucking 
her ass……  She remembered back to the Dragon she'd once met 
at the Academy, and knew how large they could get…..  But 
this one didn't look like he was being anywhere near as 
gentle as that one had been….  Shaking her head, she sat 
back to think.  It LOOKED like her master in the pictures 
but there was no way to be sure it was him at this range.  
Someone was just going to have to go in and look.  And of 
course it was a task she just wouldn't trust to anyone 
else…..  And Ben wasn't likely to approve.  So Ben wouldn't 
know.  Sitting forward in her seat, she started to plan how 
to go about it.  In the morning or the evening would be the 
best time, when all the slaves were gathered in one place.  
The area between the buildings was large enough for her to 
get her ship into, and would help separate the guards from 
the slaves….  She'd need some troops, and while Ben'd never 
authorize that either, she knew enough folks that owed her 
favors…..  Smiling she sat back again; "Yeah, I can do 
this……."

After breakfast the next morning, as the Lion rose from the 
table to join the field crew he'd been assigned to, the 
Kangaroo Rat called out; "Hey, YOU!  Lion!  Come over here!  
You too, Dahlia!"  Turning, padding over, he stood before 
her, head bowed; "Yes, Mistress?"  The Kangaroo Rat turned 
to the Clydesdale Mare; "you wait over there, I'll deal with 
you in a minute"  Turning back to the Lion she growled; 
"I've been getting the feeling you've been getting rather… 
"uppity" of late, and I believe you need a little reminder 
of just who and what you are.  Accordingly, I've got a 
little present for you.  Hands on the back of your head and 
spread your legs!"  The Lion shuffled, complying, and then 
watched with as neutral an expression as he could manage as 
the Kangaroo Rat knelt before him.  Her paws went around his 
sack, tugging lightly at his balls, stretching them 
downwards….. and then she was fastening something around 
them.  As she stepped back, the Lion looked down, examining 
himself; it looked like a  miniature version of the collar 
he wore around his neck; a thick wide leather band locked 
around the base of his sack, stretching his balls away from 
his body, drawing the skin around them tight, making them 
seem to bulge.  The Kangaroo Rat's smirk brought his head 
up; "Yes, that’s right.  This little collar is weighted, so 
you'll always know its there.  And yes, its got the same 
electrostrictive ability, and the same shock ability as your 
bigger collar.  I suspect your sleeping position is going to 
be a bit strained as you struggle to keep the second set of 
recharge contacts on that one as well as the original set on 
the one around your neck… but that’s your problem.  Now, 
lets see how well it works…….."  the Lion's eyes went wide 
as the Rat pushed a few buttons on the remote built into the 
handle of her riding crop, and an invisible hand tightened 
on his balls.  He'd barely got a grunt out, before she 
relaxed it….  And then a bolt of pure pain shot through his 
testicles, making his legs collapse, leaving him sprawled on 
the dirt floor.  "Oh that does work nice" the Rat smirked.  
Panting, trying hard to collect himself, to get back to his 
feet, the Lion saw the Dragon walk over from the corner of 
his eye; "you know, Mistress, it might be interesting if you 
hit both shock buttons at the same time.  Do you think you 
could get a current from his balls to his neck?"  The Rat 
giggled; "I don't know…. Lets find out, shall we?"  And then 
the Lion's world exploded…..

The truly marvelous thing about an electric shock is that as 
soon as the current stops flowing, the pain goes away.  
Still, it took the Lion several dozen rather rapid, pounding 
heartbeats for him to manage to focus his eyes.  Again he 
was flat on his back, in the dust, every muscle aching from 
what must have been severe convulsions.  As things started 
to swim into focus, he heard, off in the distance, the 
Dragon say; "enough laying about, you lazy slave; get off to 
the fields!"  As he tried to get to his feet, as he stumbled 
for the door, the laughter of the Dragon and the Rat 
followed him……..

Redflame blinked at the Lion; "geez, you look like Hell; 
what happened?"  The lion just shook his head; "Oh, Mistress 
has a new toy.  Just pray she doesn't bestow one on you."  
The Squirrel looked at the Lion's crotch and nodded slowly; 
"Uh, yeah.  Well, if its any consolation, I used the time to 
good advantage.  While the Overseer and the Mistress were 
busy with you, I did a little work on the No.7 pump station.  
I think it'll screw up just like you wanted by the end of 
the day."  The Lion just nodded and patted Redflame on the 
back; "thanks, that helps.  Now, where's the nearest piece 
of robot farm equipment?"

The nearest piece of farm equipment turned out to be the 
No.3 harvester.  The Lion spent a moment chasing it, and 
then climbing up the back, getting showered with chaff from 
the back end of the machine.  As he expected, it too was a 
worn out piece of junk, and it didn't take any time at all 
to set up what he wanted….. and then he was dashing back to 
where he was supposed to be.

The Dragon was still chuckling when he caught up with the 
field crew…..  The idea that Rat'd had for the Mare was 
truly evil, and he loved it.  Looking around, checking the 
slaves he frowned; "Hey, where's that Lion?"  Redflame 
looked at Eddie and then back at the Overseer; "Um, Sir, he, 
ah, was having stomach cramps.  He went to take a dump….."  
The Overseer frowned, but then remembered the shocks the 
Lion had gotten; the thought that he might still be 
suffering residual effects just made him grin wider.  And 
then, sure enough, the Lion returned a few moments, later, 
panting, a strained look on his face.  The Overseer just 
growled and gestured to the weeds that needed hoeing….

They were taking their noon break when the Kangaroo Rat 
arrived, riding in her cart, being pulled by Dahlia.  The 
Lion's eyes widened as he looked at the Mare; it seemed 
there was now a small chain running down her middle from the 
ring on her collar to her crotch, and he wondered what that 
was all about.  For her part, Dahlia just stood there, 
panting hard, looking more exhausted than he would have 
expected her to be.  After talking for a moment, the pair 
strode across the field, to approach CT.  "Something's wrong 
with the No.3 harvester.  Its running in circles in field 
47.  Go catch it, shut it down, and fix it."  CT nodded, and 
rose to his feet, to trot off towards the adjacent field.  
The Kangaroo rat talked with the Overseer for a moment more 
and then climbed back into her two-wheeled cart.  Snapping 
her whip at the Mare's rump, she was off, heading back 
towards the compound in a cloud of dust.

The sun was hot, and his mouth was as dry as the dirt he was 
hoeing around the bases of the Dreamweed plants.  And his 
balls ached.  The collar around them was too tight, the 
weight of the device too heavy.  He couldn't wait to sit 
down and take the strain off…..  He was trying to keep 
moving, trying to keep from drawing the Overseer's 
attention, for that Devil had been taking great delight in 
zapping him whenever he slowed down.  Some of the slaves got 
the whip, some got thwacked with the Dragon's tail, sending 
them sprawling, and some, like him, got shocked…..  As he 
moved, he heard the approaching hoofbeats, and the jingling 
of the harness, as the Mistress, drawn by the Clydesdale 
Mare, returned.  He could hear the Overseer and the Mistress 
talking, in the middle distance, but was too tired to 
concentrate on their words….. the sting of the Overseer's 
lash brought him out of his reverie however; "You, Lion; the 
No.7 pump station seems to have had an electrical fire.  Get 
down there and see what the problem is.  MOVE!"  The Lion 
dropped his hoe, and turned to trot in that direction, the 
weighted collar around his balls bouncing painfully with 
each step.

As soon as he was out of sight, the Lion slowed, first to a 
jog, and then to a walk.  It looked like Redflame had done 
good work.  Now, all he had to do was to set things up like 
he wanted…..

CT stepped up next to the Lion in the showers; "Had an 
interesting day today.  Seems a cable bundle on the 
harvester had come loose and fallen down to rub on a drive 
chain.  Shorted the thing out like nothing I've ever seen.  
Got a lot of electronics to rebuild there.  Figure it'll 
take three, maybe four days."  The Lion sighed; "we don't 
have three or four days.  The slaves are going to demand the 
removal of that damn Dragon before that, and I want to use 
that as the start of the escape."  CT smiled and nodded; 
"that’s why I spend the whole day working on that one 
circuit board.  I think I've got a way… the "relax" code is 
universal for all collars.  I can build a transmitter to 
broadcast that, at a power level that will override any 
"constrict" signal."  The Lion nodded; "how sure are you 
that it will work?"  CT chuckled; "oh, it works; already 
tried it on myself.  The collar will twitch and get tight 
for a moment, and then loosen, and then twitch again.  It'll 
keep us from getting strangled, but we'll still have to move 
fast. I have NO idea how long my transmitter will last."  
The Lion nodded; "Can you monitor the transmission from the 
Overseer's remote, the one that shows him alive?"  CT nodded 
slowly; "Um, yeah, I can do that."  The Lion nodded; "well, 
keep an eye on it; as soon as it fails, turn on your 
transmitter……"  CT just gulped and nodded.

Kneeling at the dinner table was a blessed relief, and the 
Lion savored the simple pleasure of just not moving.  The 
meal was the usual dreck, and he shoveled it in while trying 
not to think too much about what it was, or might have been.  
When the meal was over, and they were dismissed, he padded 
over to find Benny; "I hate to say it, but the No.7 pump 
station's a real mess.  One of the phases in the pump 
motor's burned out; I'm going to have to replace that.  And 
it looks like the lower bearing's gone on the pump too; that 
also will have to be changed.  And there's a short in the 
motor starter.  I've got it locked out for the moment."  The 
Otter made a face; "that pump feeds the irrigation canals 
for a quarter of the plantation.  Its got to be put back on 
line."  The Lion shrugged; "hey, I need to recharge these 
damn collars; if I get strangled I can't fix the stuff.  How 
about getting me some help?  Replacing that lower bearing's 
going to be a bitch; its literally working underwater, right 
in the suction of the pump."  The Otter sighed; "I'll think 
about it.  But soon as breakfast is over, you get down there 
and get going on it."  The Lion nodded.

Zassa purrred and kissed the Mink again; "Aw come on, Sammy, 
you can let us borrow it for a few days.  Who's going to 
miss it?  Sammy looked at the Vixen and sighed; the jumpsuit 
she was wearing looked like a second skin, and was unzipped 
down the front to below her navel.  The fabric was so tight, 
he had no trouble at all seeing her nipples… and they looked 
hard too……  And there was something about her scent that was 
making it hard to think straight…..  "Oh, All right, Zassa, 
but if anyone finds out…. "  Zassa purrred and softly pushed 
the Mink down, between the stacks of boxes; "Oh, don't 
worry, no one's going to find out……"

The Lion padded over to where Dahlia lay, and looked down at 
her; the look she returned him was a curious blend of 
horror, rage and frustration.  Reaching down, the Lion 
traced the thin chain…. There was an oversized ring at one 
end, snug up against the smaller ring in the front of her 
collar.  The chain went through the collar's ring, and then 
traveled down along her centerline, between her breasts, 
across her stomach, to her crotch.  There, the Lion found, 
the Kangaroo Rat had pierced the Mare's clitty, with a 
thick, small ring.  The chain terminated there.  Dahlia 
sighed; "She said that since I seemed to like having my 
clitty stroked so much, that she'd see to it that it got all 
the attention I could stand."  The Lion nodded and touched 
her for a moment, more examining than sensual and then 
sighed, shaking his head wordlessly.  Dahlia nodded; "do you 
have ANY idea what its like to have a leash clipped to the 
ring on the end of that chain?  And running, pulling that 
damn cart of hers, the chain swings back and forth, even 
with Nothing clipped to the ring.  It both hurts like hell 
and drives me wild.  I must have had half a dozen climaxes 
while running today!"  The Lion just sighed and bend to kiss 
her, and then, rising, he stalked back to his own bunk, to 
try and figure out the now rather complex recharging 
connections he had to lay across…… 

The Kangaroo Rat watched her monitor and smirked.

As expected, Benny had assigned him to the No.7 pump station 
problem after breakfast.  And also as expected, he'd not 
come up with any other help…. Which suited the Lion just 
fine.  The first thing he tackled was the motor starter.  It 
had actually been fine, but that was no longer the case.  
The trick was to make it LOOK right……  Smiling the Lion 
slapped the lock-out lock on it, with its big red "DO NOT 
OPERATE" tag, and turned to see what he could do about the 
burned out pump motor.  The lower pump bearing he'd save for 
later…….

Hinoki looked up from the instruction manual at the freshly 
uncrated "suit" of Imperial powered armor.  He'd heard of 
these things, and seen holos, but now Tanj wanted him to 
RUN one?  Sighing he put down the manual and stripped off 
his shorts, to worm his way into the guts of the machine.  
He adjusted the fit of the straps and sensors around his 
legs and then his torso, and finally he slid his arms into 
the "sleeves"….  With a sigh, he hit the chin switch that 
would close the back of the suit, sealing him inside seven 
tons of steel and machinery.

Tanj nodded to the image on her monitor; "Just a quick 
supply run out to the No.3 Com Relay Station.  Seems they 
need some parts out there, along with their rations."  The 
Ermine just nodded; "Don't forget the security protocols; we 
still don't know if we've been compromised."  Tanj just 
nodded and released the mooring clamps, carefully 
maneuvering her ship away from the Brethren's backup base.  
Reggie watched her from the copilot's seat and nodded 
approvingly; "Tanj, Luv, you've been practicing, haven't 
you?"

"Well, have you got it fixed yet?"  The Otter was on the 
bank, paws on hips, staring out at the Lion.  The Lion,for 
his part was perched on the motor on top of the irrigation 
pump, trying to adjust the shaft seal.  He'd carried the 
motor over his head, wading out to the pump, but setting it 
in place had been a real bitch.  Getting it aligned was 
proving to be worse……  "No, Benny, I do NOT have it fixed 
yet.  NO thanks to you, I've gotten the burned out motor 
off, and I should have the replacement motor installed and 
aligned by dinner.  Tomorrow I'll get to the lower bearing 
and THEN I'll start on the motor starter. This is NOT a 
simple job, and its also not a job for a single furr!"  The 
Otter just growled; "Mind your lip, or I'll see you drawing 
from the punishment jar."  With that, the Otter turned and 
limped off.  The Lion watched him go, and smiled; he'd have 
to find a way to bug the Otter tonight; he wanted him good 
and mad by the next day……

Zassa stuck her head through the flight deck door; "what's 
that pounding?  Is something coming apart back in 
engineering?  Slasher looked up from his magazine, and 
calmly shook his head no.  Tanj chuckled; "No, Hinoki's 
practicing with that suit you got for him.  You think his 
just walking around is bad, wait until he trips and falls!"  
Zassa blinked and then giggled; "move over, I've GOT to get 
the cargo bay monitor on the screen; this I've got to see!"

The Lion smiled as he knelt at the table for dinner.  He'd 
managed to get most of the grease out of his fur….  And the 
motor was aligned correctly, with the shaft seal in place.  
Of course if everything went the way he wanted it to, it 
wouldn't make a damn bit of difference… but still, there was 
a certain pride in doing a job right.  As he knelt, he 
watched Benny from the corner of his eye.  He and the 
Overseer were talking animatedly, glancing in his direction 
from time to time…….

Tanj blinked as she opened the airlock door.  They'd 
docked with the communications relay station scant minutes 
before, arriving unannounced, and yet there was Mark and 
Mala, with Luggage, with a capital "L", all ready to go.  
She shook her head; "Just what do you think you need all 
THAT stuff for?"  mark shrugged as best he could; "Tools, 
medkit, high priest's regalia, three or four forged Ids, a 
few tricks for emergencies…. It all adds up.  And Mala's 
carrying her guns and provisions, of course.  Now, are we 
going somewhere, or do we just stand here and talk all day?" 
Tanj just blinked and nodded, turning to stab at the 
airlock controls.  As the Mouse marched off down the 
corridor, Tanj muttered; "Thanks Mark, glad you could 
join us…."  Mala just grinned, shouldered her pack, and 
followed.

Ben chuckled and shook his head; "You see?  Eminently 
predictable."  Sam nodded and turned to Hans; "That's just 
what I'm afraid of.  If we have her pegged, might not others 
also be anticipating her actions?"  Hans just smiled and 
shrugged; "well, if the Overlord can't convince them to 
leave her alone, we've got the Intimidator and the Gladius 
with us as well.  Three Cruisers should be able to put a 
dent in almost any trap the Elysium forces might be laying.  
Hell, they'd put a dent in most Imperial plans!  Of course, 
we'll stay cloaked and well out of the way, should she 
manage to pull this off without incident.  But if they DO 
react, we'll be there."  Ben just chuckled.

The Lion yawned and shook his head.  The tension as the 
"point of no return" approached had kept him largely 
sleepless.  That and the hunched position he'd been forced 
to adopt to keep the recharging contacts on both his collars 
aligned with the studs on his bed…..  Again he watched Benny 
and the Overseer converse, watched them glance his way.  
When he'd finished his gruel, the Otter waved at him, 
signaling to leave, to get a start on the day's work, and 
obediently, the Lion rose, to trot out towards the No.7 pump 
station.

"Elysium control, this is Megacorporation flight 571, 
requesting permission to descend on vector 263 mark 317, for 
Weipa."  Tanj chewed on a clawtip until the voice floated 
back over her headphones; "571, Karumba control, clear to 
descend.  Stick to your flight plan, the Militia's real 
jumpy these days."  Tanj acknowledged and slowly eased 
the freighter down, muttering "Gee, I wonder why"  Reggie in 
the copilot's seat just chuckled.

Xylex looked over the shoulder of the Northern Hemisphere 
Aerospace Defense coordinator and nodded; "that one could be 
her too."  The Fennec Fox turned and looked at the 
Wolverine; "Sir, we do not have the resources to track the 
roughly two dozen craft you've said "might be her."  Unless 
you can give me something more definite to go on, I'm afraid 
there's nothing I can do."  Xylex growled but finally 
nodded; "I don't think you understand the importance of 
this; we have the chance to decapitate the Brethren at one 
stroke.  FIND a way to track them all, to cover them all."

The water wasn't cold, but it was slimy and full of leaches 
and the stench of decomposing water hyacinth…. And he had to 
wait there, trying to look busy as he waited.  It must have 
been almost mid morning, with the air starting to get hot, 
when Benny limped into view.  He sat on the bank to one 
side, offering no help, and making no conversation.  The 
Lion for his part, wrestled with the lower bearing, 
obviously having difficulty in removing the race from within 
the housing while it remained underwater, there being no way 
to remove the pump from the water.

Benny watched the struggling Lion and tried not to smile.  
He'd taken a look at the wiring last night, after lights 
out, sneaking out of the bunkhouse with the Mistress' 
permission.  The starter was a mess, and it looked like if 
the switch were thrown, it would throw at least one leg of 
the 480 volts into the ground wire to the pump.  And there 
was that annoying Lion, clinging to the metal, more than 
half his body submerged in water.  Such a tragic accident it 
was going to be……  Catching a glimpse of movement from the 
corner of his eye, he turned fractionally and saw the 
Overseer slip into the little three sided shed that held the 
switchgear.  The Dragon lifted a pair of bolt cutters, and a 
moment later the Lion's lock was dangling.  The Dragon 
contemptuously removed the lock and looking over his 
shoulder, with a grin, he threw the lever.

The Lion had heard the snick of the bolt cutters and for a 
moment had almost instinctively moved back from the pump.  
But then he steadied himself; either his handiwork was 
correct, or it wasn't.

Reggie nodded; "we're below their radar horizon; you're 
clear to maneuver.  But we're running late.  Local time is 
mid-day."  Tanj chuckled and nodded, her fingers tapping 
across her control console.  "we're just going to have to 
deal with it, Reggie, no way to reschedule the raid now."  
The Freighter turned, barely 200 meters above the ground, 
and accelerated smoothly.  Moments later a sonic boom 
cracked across the farmland.

In the Northern Hemisphere Aerospace Defense center, a 
technician noted 571 had dropped off the scope to the 
Southeast of Weipia.  Frowning he ran a quick diagnostic of 
his sensors.  The transponder of that ship should have been 
showing its position even on the ground…..

Benny rose to his feet in horror; the Overseer had thrown 
the lever on the disconnect, but before he could hit the 
start button, there'd been a loud bang and a bright flash, 
and the Dragon had been thrown clear out of the shed.  As he 
hurried over to look down at the Dragon, he groaned; the 
corpse was horribly burned, and obviously not alive…..

The Lion chuckled and moved up behind the Otter; "Yup.  
Looks like you've lost another one.  You know, that thing 
WAS locked out for a reason."  Chuckling, the Lion turned 
and started jogging towards the compound, leaving a very 
confused Benny in his wake.

CT saw the light wink out on his test panel and sighed.  
Thinking "well, this is it," he reached out and flipped the 
switch for his breadboarded transmitter. 

The Kangaroo Rat hurried over to her console.  The sensors 
were telling her that the Dragon's remote was no longer 
responding.  She'd cautioned him about dead batteries….. and 
there weren't any pieces of automatic machinery in that 
area….. just that Lion.  Growling, she grabbed her riding 
crop and her pistol and headed for the door.

Reggie nodded; "Yeah, that looks like it."  The Satellite 
photos had made the place look better than it was.  Up 
close, what little paint was left was peeling, and the 
buildings looked old.  And then Tanj was too busy trying 
to land the ship in what she thought was a good imitation of 
an assault transport, to look at the scenery.

The Kangaroo Rat heard a noise and frowned; it wasn't the 
right day for their weekly supply drop; what ELSE could be 
going wrong.  Jerking open her door, she stepped outside, 
pistol at the ready.

Slasher growled; "I've got MOVEMENT" from the weapons 
console, and bent over his controls.

The Kangaroo Rat stared in wide-eyed wonder as the starship 
seemed to materialize in ftont of her, arriving several 
seconds before the sonic boom.  And then the starboard 
turret was turning, twisting, until one of the twin laser 
emitters seemed to be looking straight at her…….  Taking a 
step back she dropped her laser pistol… but as she did so, 
she brought her riding crop up behind her back, and gripped 
the handle in a certain way.

The Lion had been running, head down, and had missed the 
flash of black that was Tanj's ship dropping into the 
compound.  But the sonic boom was unmistakable.  And the 
sudden constriction/release/constriction/release of his 
collar confirmed that this was not the rat's friends come to 
visit.  Not sure if the Elysium authorities had finally 
figured out where he was, or if the Brethren had come to 
rescue him, he ran towards his fate as fast as he could.

Hinoki clomped down the cargo ramp in the powered armor, his 
weapons charged.  He'd never felt so alive, never felt so 
scared.  After a second he looked around, and wondered; 
"Gee, where are all the guards?"

Mala gripped her assault weapon in both paws and danced from 
side to side.  Hinoki, in his massive powered armor was 
blocking the damn hatch.  Growling, she shouted; "MOVE IT, 
MISTER!"

The Kangaroo Rat saw the furr in powered armor come around 
the aft end of the starship and she groaned; "Oh, Crap, 
Imperials.  They must know about the Dreamweed……"

Qume looked up as the sonic boom washed over them; he hadn't 
seen the Overseer, or Benny for quite some time, something 
for which he was quite thankful.  Looking up at the sky, as 
if checking for clouds that might suggest thunder, he 
wondered if the two events were related.  Had the Lion's 
plan actually worked?  As his collar suddenly constricted, 
eliciting a chorus of gasps from all the slaves, and then as 
it just as quickly relaxed, he grinned.  Flashing a thumbs 
up at Eddie and Redflame he growled; "Come on, Everyone, I 
think our ride outta here's just arrived.

Mala did a quick sweep of the buildings, leaving the one 
local furr to Hinoki.  Aside from a few frightened "kitchen 
staff" type furrs, the place was deserted.  Shaking her 
head, she strode back towards the ship.  This operation was 
going WAY too easily to be real.  "Either they're trying to 
smuggle something aboard with a slave like they did last 
time, or there'll be a surprise on the way back home…." She 
grumbled under her breath.

Tanj knew it was stupid to leave the helm, but she just 
had to attend to this herself.  Aside from a few slaves that 
Mala had rounded up, the only one in the compound was the 
Kangaroo Rat, currently being watched by Hinoki.  Drawing 
her dagger, thinking it was silly to threaten her with 
something less than the awesome firepower Hinoki had at his 
command, she stalked towards her, growling; "The Lion; WHERE 
IS HE?"

He was panting hard, the run from the pumping station having 
been a long one.  Coming up behind Tanj, jogging around 
Hinoki, and past a mildly amused Mala the Lion growled; 
"Right here."  Pausing to brush his lips across the top of 
her head, the Lion surprised everyone by turning and 
slamming his fist into the Kangaroo Rat in a massive 
roundhouse.  As she fell to the floor, he bent to retrieve 
the riding crop.  "Dammit, she must have locked in a code on 
this thing; I don't know how to shut it off!" he growled.

Not knowing quite what was going on, Hinoki growled over his 
suit's external speaker; "you want that off, I can "turn it 
off" for you; toss it out behind the ship!"  The Lion 
blinked and looked at the suit of powered armor as if he'd 
never seen one before and then nodded, throwing the riding 
crop overhand.  It hadn't even hit the ground when pulses of 
cyan energy flew from the suit's right "hand," gouging a 
furrow a hundred meters long in the field beyond.  And 
instantly all the slaves relaxed as their collars stopped 
twitching.

CT watched his instrument and smiled.  Picking up his 
breadboarded rig, leaving the "relax" transmitter on, just 
in case, he rose and trotted towards where the starship 
rested.

It took MUCH longer than she was happy with for all the 
slaves in the outlying fields to filter in, but there was no 
question of leaving them behind.  One of the last to arrive 
was a limping Otter, and Tanj's jaw dropped as she caught 
sight of him; "BENNY?"  The Lion turned to look up from 
where Wanda was attending to Daisy and growled; "you KNOW 
him?"  Tanj's head snapped back and forth between the 
Otter and her Master; "Um, yeah, we were shipmates once…….  
Before I was enslaved."  The Lion just scowled; "well, your 
ex-shipmate did his level best to have me murdered earlier 
today.  And I suspect that wasn't the first time he'd 
attempted that, either.  THAT one STAYS!"  Turning, the Lion 
reached down to help Redflame and Donatello carry Daisy into 
the ship.

Tanj just stared at Benny for a moment.  As she looked at 
him, she saw……. only anger.  No regret, no contrition….. 
shaking her head, she took one last look around, and padded 
up the cargo bay ramp, the ramp starting to rise even as she 
moved across it.

As the ship rose in a howl of repulsors, Benny looked from 
the Kangaroo Rat, to the compound, to the departing ship.  
Finally with a sigh, he just sat down, to await whatever 
came next.

Tanj tried to keep her voice steady; "Camooweal control, 
this is AgriCorp transport 3321; request vector to departure 
orbit."

 Xylex smiled; the database had said that no ship had landed 
recently at that location; the fact that one was now lifting 
off from there was VERY suspect.  Grinning he turned to grab 
the duty officer.

Tanj frowned as the local traffic controller asked her to 
hold position, until traffic moved out of her area…. There 
was something about his voice, a tremolo that bothered her.  
He sounded nervous….  After a moment she looked over at 
Reggie; "I think they're on to us; plot me a vector that 
avoids as many known targets as you can; we're outta here!"  
Behind her, the Lion just nodded in approval from the 
offensive weapons console.

In the hold of the ship, Hinoki struggled to get out of his 
powered armor.  All the various sensor contact points on the 
inside of the suit meant that you had to "wear" it naked, 
and for a brief moment he was inexplicably shy about 
climbing out of it, amongst a hold full of rescued slaves… 
but then he dismissed that as stupid.  He was used to going 
nude, wasn't he?  And besides, they were just as nude as he 
was….  The response he got, as he opened the clamshell back 
of the suit and started to extricate himself was not quite 
what he expected.  A fox rose from where he was sitting on 
the floor to look at him in confusion; "Hey, buddy, how come 
you're wearing a collar too?  What's going on here?  Just 
exactly WHO'S running this outfit?

Tanj had the ship pointed almost straight up, and had it 
moving a good bit faster than any normal freighter should be 
moving.  It obviously wasn't enough though; Slasher, 
covering for Hinoki, who still hadn't made it up from the 
Cargo Bay yet, called out from the sensor console; 
"Company's coming.  I've got a Wellington class Destroyer 
moving to intercept, from 023 mark 18, another one at 339 
mark 358, and a Blucher class Destroyer Leader coming in 
from 030 mark 351.  Tanj nodded; "We have to get out of 
the atmosphere before the cloaking device is effective.  
Lets pick the one at 339 mark 358 and try and blow by them.  
If we can get past them, we should be able to lose the 
others."  Behind her, the Lion called up the torpedo 
display, and started arming the birds, giving them their 
first look at their target.

Commander Beru shook his head; he had NO idea what was so 
important about this freighter.  It wasn't even a very big 
freighter, but the way it moved made him think "smugglers."  
So what was there about this ship that made them pull his 
Destroyer squadron in from their patrol?  And why was he 
ordered to try and take prisoners, if at all possible?  
Shrugging, figuring he'd NEVER figure out his superiors, he 
turned to his weapons officer…..

Tanj shook her head; they were almost out of the 
atmosphere and closing on the Destroyer fast.  But the other 
two were moving in just as quickly.  One destroyer, she was 
confident she could handle, but three?  For a moment she 
considered diving back towards the planet's surface, to try 
and climb to orbit somewhere where these three were not….. 
but it would be easy to track a maneuver like that, now that 
they were alerted.  "No, better to just make a run for it 
now" she decided.  As the distance shrank, she reached over 
to bring the shields up to full strength.

On the bridge of the Destroyer Squadron's flagship, a sensor 
tech turned to call for his section officer, drawing the 
Commander's attention.  Wandering over, he looked over the 
tech's shoulder and frowned.  The strength of the 
freighter's shields had just increased by two orders of 
magnitude.  If anything, they were now stronger than the 
shields of is own ship!  Turning, he growled; "Weapons 
officer!  Target two torpedoes on that ship, and as soon as 
they're in range, hit them with everything you have!  The 
Hell with taking prisoners!"

Tanj's thumb flipped over a button on the joystick, 
launching a trio of decoys.  They'd be in weapons range in a 
few seconds and she wanted to make it as difficult as 
possible for the enemy….

"Now that's something you don't see as standard equipment on 
most freighters," Beru commented laconically to his Exec.  
"Maybe there IS something to this ship.  Relay our findings 
to Aerospace Defense Command, and tell them we're engaging."  
Turning, the Stoat growled; "Weapons Officer, you may fire 
when ready."

Kath went from slave to slave with the jug of lemonade.  
They'd only had a dozen or so cups in the galley, and she 
was filling them, going back to make another pitcher, and 
then going and redistributing the cups to the next dozen 
slaves.  It wasn't very sanitary, but none of them looked 
like they were about to complain.  In fact they seemed to be 
treating it as if it were the very nectar of the gods.  They 
ALL looked like they were in pretty grim shape, 
malnourished, and abused, covered in bruises, sores, and 
whip marks.  As she moved among them, she found herself 
wondering how ANYONE could treat their property like this.  
After all, slaves were an investment; properly cared for 
they would repay that investment many times over, even given 
the expenses….. but if there were those that treated them 
like THIS…… maybe it wasn't such a …..  "logical" system 
after all…..

Hinoki still hadn't made it out of the Cargo Bay; first he 
had to answer questions as to how they came to be there, and 
then he had to answer questions about the Brethren… and the 
state of the revolution on Elysium….  It seemed the more 
questions he answered the more they asked, all crowding 
around him, blocking off any exit route from the Cargo Bay.  
And this last question, what in the heck were they talking 
about?  A system to recharge there collars?  Why would a 
collar need recharging?"

The Lion growled; "Tanj, ventral and dorsal turrets are 
locked forward, focal point of 50,000 kilometers, slaved to 
your command.  The Ion Cannon's charged and ready, also at 
your command.  Point defense system is on line and 
responding correctly to computer control.  We are ten 
seconds from torpedo launch.  Five.  Four.  Three.  Two.  
One…. MARK!

Mark felt the ship shudder as all four torpedo tubes ripple 
fired.  To think that SOME people had done their best to 
dissuade Tanj from flying her own ship into battle…..  He 
smiled and turned back to the Engineering console to do his 
own part. The phasing of the shields could be tuned a little 
better, and he'd better have a little chat with the main 
matter/antimatter reactor about putting out, say, some 3% 
more power….  You never knew when it might come in handy.

"Wha……? INCOMING FIRE! Torpedoes at 001 mark 359.  I count 
three… four!  Four incoming torpedoes!"  Beru blinked and 
jerked his head around to look at the tactical display.  The 
Edmons and the Sakko were still out of weapons range, but 
closing fast.  Twisting back, he growled; "All weapons, 
defensive fire!  NOW!"

The Lion grinned humorlessly, his fangs bared as he fired 
the freighter's last four torpedoes.  With luck, he'd catch 
the enemy with all their defensive weapons targeted on the 
first salvo…..

Xylex watched the monitors, reviewing the data transmitted 
from the Destroyers.  "That HAS to be them.  Who else would 
arm a Freighter like that?  Order the Cruiser Im'Hatep to 
respond as well!  The Duty officer turned, his face 
incredulous; "Sir, do you really think three destroyers 
can't handle a freighter, no matter how well armed?"  Xylex 
just growled; "Do it!  This group is as slippery as eels!  I 
will NOT loose them again!"

Tanj yelped in surprise as the Freighter jumped; those 
shots had come from behind!  Her freighter was fast, but it 
wasn't as fast as a destroyer, and now it looked like the 
other two were closing the distance to weapons range.  And 
she couldn't drop the shields to cloak if they were under 
fire……

The Lion was hammering at the destroyers aft of them with 
the port and starboard turrets, as well as their aft 
"stinger", a rather hefty mass driver firing antimatter 
pellets.  The first wave of torpedoes had lost two of their 
members getting past the Destroyer's outer defenses, the 
remaining two had both died in blazes of glory as the close 
in weapons systems had chewed at them.  Of the second 
quartet, one was already down… but there was a delay in the 
Destroyer's guns shifting from one set of targets to the 
next… there WAS hope that one would get through… and one 
would be all they needed.

Tanj pulled back on the stick, bringing the Freighter's 
bow through an intersecting line with the Destroyer before 
them.  The dorsal and ventral turrets were on automatic, 
pounding away at the warship, but as things lined up, she 
pulled the trigger, the Ion cannon firing with a wheeeeeeee-
BANG sound that made the ship ring like a bell.  At the 
moment, her best hope was that one of the torpedoes would 
get through; then she could pull around the hulk of the 
destroyer before them, and in its shadow, drop the shields 
and cloak.  She should THEN be able to slip off undetected……  
But if SHE were the commanders of either of the other two 
ships she'd just bathe the wreck in fire and hope for a 
random hit as the cloaked freighter departed….

Mark looked up from his console and smiled; this was going 
to get good in a few more moments, and there wasn't much the 
Elysium forces could really do anymore in that time….  
Although they didn't know that, of course.  Glancing over 
his panel, and finding everything as it should be, he 
quietly went back to his three dimensional crossword puzzle.  
That wasn't much of a challenge either, even if it was in a 
language that had been "dead" for four thousand years.

Tanj could feel Slasher stiffen behind her on the bridge; 
somehow she just KNEW, before he called out; "Complications.  
Incoming cruiser at 041 mark 017.  Tanj just groaned; 
there went any hope of her plan working.  Desperately she 
struggled to come up with some OTHER way to save their 
collective asses.

The Lion grinned as first one, and then a second torpedo 
slipped past the destroyer's defenses, the first battering 
down the remains of its shields, and the second one striking 
amidships, all but blowing the ship in two.  Shifting his 
attention, he started locking dogfighting missiles on the 
approaching cruiser.  They weren't much, but they still had 
a pretty good number of them.  If nothing else it would 
confuse the Cruiser's targeting computers…. Some.

Xylex's eyes widened as the tactical displays showed 
distortions in the wake of the Im'Hatep.  First one, then a 
second, and then a THIRD Cruiser decloaked behind the 
Elysium Cruiser as it dealt with a swarm of smaller missiles 
from the freighter.  The new ships showed the design 
influences of the Corrillian Sector, almost on the far side 
of the Empire.. but although the designs showed some 
similarities, they weren't Imperial Cruisers……

Tanj gasped as suddenly, there before her, the Elysium 
Cruiser staggered, and then disintegrated in a massive 
blossom of flame and debris!  She'd barely gotten a "Wha?" 
out of her mouth when the Lion started laughing.  Reaching 
across the Freighter's flight deck, he flipped a few 
switches on the communications console.  "BEN!  Its about 
time you showed up!  Welcome to the party!"  The image of 
the smiling Wolf formed on the display; "Couldn't let you 
have all the fun.  We're at the backup site.  No, not that 
one, the other one.  You're probably out of missiles; go 
ahead and cloak and we'll meet you there after we 'tidy up' 
some out here."  The Lion just chuckled and nodded, and 
broke the connection.

As they dropped shields and cloaked, Tanj watched her 
sensor display.  The three Brethren Cruisers were shifting 
targets to the two remaining Elysium destroyers.  Those 
ships were obviously trying to turn, to flee, but physics 
were against them….. and they weren't going to make it.

The head of Elysium Planetary Defenses glowered at Lord 
Xylex; "your demands, sir, have cost us, and cost us dearly!  
We can ill afford the loss of a Cruiser and three Destroyers 
at a time like this!  Sir, I will ask you kindly never to 
trouble us again, no matter WHO you think is trying to leave 
the planet!  Its OBVIOUS to me that this was all a subtle 
trap, designed to sucker our forces into the kill sack, and 
you, Sir, played RIGHT into their hands!  Now begone, and 
let me salvage what I can from this debacle!"

Xylex growled as he was "escorted" from Planetary Defense 
Headquarters.  Standing by his aircar, looking back at the 
entrance to the underground building he growled; "its plain 
to me, that these Clowns are incapable of winning the war 
against the Rebels.  I DO believe its time to change… 
tactics."  Growling he thumbed the lock open and climbed in, 
to head home.  There were things to do.

Mark put down the scanner and shook his head; "interesting 
problem.  Whoever built these things designed them to be 
one-use devices.  When the collar was snapped closed, it 
fused.  There IS no way to "unfasten" it.  And the way its 
wired, well….. if we just try and cut it off, the current to 
the electrostrictive polymer will be broken before we finish 
cutting.  And you know what THAT means.  He paused for a 
moment, watching his "patient's" expression, before he 
continued.  I've thought of trying a molecular monofiliment 
to cut the collar, but that stuff is always at best tricky 
to handle, and one slip would be disasterous.".  The Lion 
just nodded; "but there are places in the collar where you 
can create an opening to the polymer without cutting any of 
the circuitry?"  The Mouse hmmm'ed thoughtfully for a moment 
and thennodded.  "I see what you're getting at.  OK, you 
stay here and try to relax while I get what I'll need. 

Tanj watched with no small trepidation.  She hadn't gone 
to all this effort to rescue her master only to have him 
killed as they tried to get the collar off.  The Lion was 
stretched out horizontally, his head hanging over the end of 
the workbench in Engineering, as a good number of furrs 
watched.  Mark, working from below, carefully ran a small 
drill into the collar by his throat, making a number of 
small holes in the leather covering.  As he moved, the Mouse 
paid more attention to the hand-held scanner than actually 
LOOKING at what he was doing, and that made Tanj uneasy.  
But when the mouse filled the syringe with a powerful acid, 
her nervousness increased even further.  Carefully, the 
Mouse injected the acid through the holes and into the 
polymer.  And then they all sat back to wait.

Mark sat cross-legged on the floor, back a bit from the 
Lion, should any of the acid drip from his collar.  He 
looked at the scanner, from time to time, but mostly he just 
listened to the Lion as he related the story of his 
adventure to Tanj.

Tanj shook her head; "I can't believe Benny would DO 
something like that.  He used to be the sweetest guy….."  
The Lion just chuckled; "our experiences in life change us 
all.  You're not the person you were back then, either.  No 
question he had a rough time, and it soured him.  And that's 
a shame.  But I still don't regret leaving him there.  He 
made his bed; now he's going to have to lie in it."  As the 
Lion finished talking, Mark picked up a pair of shears and 
slid one of the blades under the collar near where the acid 
had been injected.  Without waiting for comment, his muscles 
tensed, the shears cutting through the collar slowly.  The 
Lion's eyes went wide as the electrical circuit was broken 
and the polymer started to constrict… and then 
disintegrated.  He sighed in relief as the collar finally 
came off.  And then, grinning, he looked down at the Mouse; 
"OK, it works, we can start on the others…….  Oh, and I've 
got that "other" collar to get off, too……"  Tanj 
chuckled; "Yeah, I've been meaning to ask you about that……"

The trip back to the Brethren's backup base was quiet, Mark 
and Hinoki and the Lion working at getting the collars off 
the slaves, Wanda attending to their medical needs, and Kath 
busy trying to come up with a way to feed everyone.  They 
were about two hours out, when Kath slipped through the door 
to the flight deck, and plopped down in the Copilot's seat.  
Tanj glanced over at her, a little surprised, and a bit 
miffed.  As Kath was an ex-Imperial agent, not exactly there 
by choice, and in theory a dangerous individual, they'd been 
doing their best to keep her out of any sensitive area, like 
engineering, or the flight deck.  And she "knew" it was off 
limits…..  The Cheetah was just about to say something when 
the Mink growled; "They tell me the whole reason for the 
slaves at that farm was that they were growing Dreamweed in 
amongst the regular crops.  I hate that stuff; I've seen it 
destroy too many lives.  We've got to find a way to make 
sure the Empire knows about what was going on there."  
Tanj's mouth opened and then closed, as, surprised, she 
tried to wrap her mind around what the Mink had said…… And 
then she smiled; "You know, a message from an Imperial Agent 
should get the wheels turning.  Even from one who may have 
been…. "compromised."….  If you'd like, I think I could find 
a way to forward a message from you, in a nice anonymous 
fashion…"  Kath nodded, and heaved herself out of the 
copilot's seat; "Yeah, I'll get you a data crystal with the 
message, and a few addresses.  God, I hate that stuff!"  And 
then she was gone, the door hissing closed behind her.  
Tanj turned and stared at the forward viewscreen, not 
really seeing it; if she did it right, just exactly what had 
happened to Kath would be muddied further.  They might even 
think that SHE was among the slaves at that farm……  "Yes," 
Tanj thought to herself, "That might work out quite 
nicely, in all regards."

Docking at the base was routine, although there were quite a 
few on-lookers as they opened the personnel lock.  Tanj 
was somewhat surprised to see four armed guards among the 
crowd though, and more than a little incensed when they 
announced they'd come for the Boss.  Tanj growled, but 
the Lion put a paw on her shoulder; "its OK; its all part of 
the procedure.  They have to make sure that no one 
interrogated me, and that I'm not an imposter.  A few hours 
under hypnosis should convince them that we're safe."  
Tanj blinked, turning to look at him; "But you were 
conditioned against interrogation!  They can't …. 
Interrogate you without ripping your mind to shreds!"  The 
Lion just laughed; "Oh, I think the ones that put the blocks 
together can take them apart for a bit.  Besides, if I know 
THAT group, they left themselves a "back door," just in 
case….  But before I go, I Do want to thank you for rescuing 
me, for rescuing us all….."  Sweeping the cheetah up in his 
arms, the Lion gave her a long, and passionate kiss.

When he released her, Tanj grinned a little lopsidedly; 
"Mmmmmmm, yesssss, missed that… but there is one thing that 
we need to get absolutely clear before you go; YOUR ASS IS 
MINE!"

The lion blinked and then nodded; "Ah, you're upset with me 
for sneaking off in the first place.  Well there were 
reasons for tha……"

Tanj shook her head; "no, no, no, not that… well, yes, I 
AM mad about that, but that isn't what I’m talking about!  
Its in the manual; if you're captured, and the Brethren 
manage to rescue you, you have to pay for the cost of the 
operation.  However, if immediate rescue isn't possible (as 
you have to admit, was the case here), then you're written 
off.  Your shares in the Brethren return to the corporation 
as do all your personal possessions on the base.  The odds 
are too great you're either dead, or the rescue would prove 
to be too dangerous (as this one almost was!).  According to 
the manual, if you turn up later, you're considered booty 
like anyone else taken in the raid.  And as I led the 
"raid," YOU'RE MINE!

The Lion looked at her blankly for a moment and then started 
to chuckle.  Like a steadily increasing downpour his 
laughter increased until tears were running from his eyes.  
Behind her, Mark stepped up to tap her on the shoulder.  
Softly the Mouse chided; "You never REALLY did read the 
manual all the way through, did you?"  Tanj blinked; "Of 
course I read the manual!…… why?"  Her head snapped from 
looking at the Lion to the amused faces in the crowd, to the 
embarrassed looks on Zassa and Hinoki's faces… and back to 
Mark; "Uh….. what'd I miss?……."  Mark sighed; "There's a 
footnote.  For command staff, and stockholders over a 
certain level, there is no time limit.  Remember all the 
efforts that went into finding YOU when you were missing?"  
Tanj just shook her head in disbelief, and groaned.

The Lion, still panting, still with a smile on his face, 
chuckled and shook his head; "tell you what; since that 
seems to be your heart's desire, and since you DID go to so 
much trouble on my behalf, I'll not only overlook your 
……."behavior" on this subject, you uppity slave, but as a 
reward, I'll agree to play your slave for a day….."  
Tanj's eyes widened, and her jaw dropped, a shocked 
expression on her face; "A day?  A DAY?  All that trouble, 
all that scheming and plotting, and SEARCHING, and WORRYING, 
for a DAY?  Hell, if it wasn't for me, Mister, you'd STILL 
be in that Hell-Hole!"  The Lion blinked; "Still be there?  
We were on our way out when you showed up; the escape plan 
was in motion!  Hey, I appreciate the ride, but we would 
have made it out on our own…. In a while…."  Tanj just 
harrumphed; "Yeah.  Right.  You want to do that for me, 
mister, it'll be a MONTH and nothing less!"  The Lion 
brought his face down, almost nose to nose with the 
Cheetah's; "Three days, and not a second more!"  Tanj 
growled back; "A Week is the LEAST I'll accept!"  The Lion 
pulled his head back, eyes narrowing; he was obviously 
thinking it over.  After a moment he nodded; "I guess if 
they've gotten along without me this long, another week 
won't matter.  Give me three days to get through the 
interrogation, and make sure things are functioning 
correctly, get everyone moved back to the prime base of 
operations, and it’s a deal!"  Tanj grinned and grabbed 
him by both ears, to kiss him hard; "Good; now go and get 
all that out of the way.  I'm eager to get started!"  The 
lion just chuckled as he padded off with the guards.

Xylex looked around his house and sighed.  He'd miss this 
place. There were so many memories, good and bad, associated 
with it.  But now it was time to leave.  Perhaps, after the 
Revolution, he'd be able to return, to get it back.  In the 
meantime, the Government was sure to seize it, for they'd 
undoubtedly realize that he was shifting his alliances to 
the Reds…. Or at least OPENLY shifting his alliances.  
Things there had gone almost exactly as he'd planned.  The 
tip he'd fed the security forces had resulted in Trotskie 
and a select number of his senior officers being ambushed.  
It'd been quite a shoot-out, one that had kept the news 
services going for almost two days.  The Bear and his top 
henchmen were dead, "Martyrs to the Cause," and the Reds, 
leaderless, were floundering.  Time for him to step in.  The 
remaining senior member of the Reds, Quistling, knew of 
Xylex's work with the Reds, and was eminently malleable.  
Moreso, even, than Trotskie had been.  Soon, he'd have the 
Reds under his complete control.  As he locked the door, 
more by rote than by logical thought, Xylex chuckled; "First 
Secretary to the Chairman…. Yes, that sounds like a suitable 
title….."  Whistling, he walked off down the dark street, 
and into a whole new life…. Sort of.

Benny shook his head, still dazed.  Things had happened 
soooo fast.  First the farm had been raided by…. Someone.  
And instead of taking the bales of dreamweed, they'd made 
off with the Slaves.  And what had Tanj been doing there?  
Then the Mistress had gone 'round the bend, ordering the 
automated farm equipment to plow under the crop.  Maybe 
she'd been trying to conceal her illicit activities, 
thinking she might still salvage something… but within a 
day, Imperial forces were landing, trailed closely by their 
Elysium counterparts…. And only a fraction of the crop had 
been destroyed.  Now Mistress was under arrest, and he 
himself was in a cell.  Of course, you couldn't charge a 
slave for his Mistress' offenses… but that didn't mean they 
had to ignore him, either…..  The Otter sighed and stared at 
the walls, and wondered what would become of him…..

Tanj grinned at the crowd of slaves; "Normally, in a 
"raid," anybody swept up in it winds up as "booty."  But 
after what I've seen of what you've been through, I just 
couldn't bear to do that to you.  I've got some friends down 
in Forgery, and we'll set you up with some fairly good 
documents.  I can also give each of you a small grubstake, 
to get you going, but I want it clearly understood that when 
you get on your feet, that I expect you to pay me back.  
WITH INTEREST!  Oh, and if you feel like striking a blow 
against the system that allowed you to be treated so poorly, 
we have a representative of the Blues Rebel coalition you 
can talk to.  Now if you'll form a line, our talented folks 
will get started putting together new identities for you…."  
Most of the slaves moved towards the table where Zassa sat, 
ready to funnel them towards the folks in Forgery, but a 
couple walked over from the crowd.  The first, a rather 
scrawny male tiger looked at her shyly for a second and then 
managed to stammer out; "Um, ah, I was wondering if there 
might be any, ah, openings with the Brethren that I might 
fill….."  Tanj looked at him for a moment, torn between 
laughing and frowning… "Uh, ah, perhaps I phrased that 
poorly; I meant to inquire after any positions you might….. 
Ah, oh hell….. are the Brethren hiring?"  Tanj closed her 
eyes and shook her head; "if they are, they ask you, not the 
other way around.  Security considerations.  We have to be 
very careful who we accept into the organization.  BELIEVE 
me, we do."  The Tiger nodded and turned to walk away, only 
to look over his shoulder and nod as Tanj growled; "But 
I'll pass along your… "interest."

The next was a rather large Clydesdale mare; "So you're his 
girlfriend, eh?" she nickered.  Just wanted to thank you for 
saving him, and us.  And I thought I'd ask if there'd be any 
way I might see him before we left?"  For a moment, Tanj 
had an insane flash of jealousy, picturing the Clydesdale in 
her Lion's arms…. But then she shook it off; besides, he'd 
be all hers for a whole week, and she had NO doubt she'd be 
able to make him forget any horsie… "I don't know how busy 
he's going to be when they manage to satisfy themselves that 
he didn't reveal any secrets; I suspect it'll take a while 
to put everything back together…. But on the other hand, I 
don't know how long it'll take to get all you folks to 
somewhere safe, either.  I suppose it could happen.  I'll be 
sure to tell him you were asking after him when I see him 
though."  The Mare just smiled and nodded and turned to head 
for the line.

Hinoki came over to hug Tanj from behind; "I'm glad 
that's over.  But do you think anything changed?"  Tanj 
shrugged, settling back into him; "A few things.  The 
Imperials got rid of a major drug dealer.  Elysium suffered 
a not-insignificant defeat  I think the Boss learned not to 
go off on his own……  I learned its harder to fool Ben than I 
thought.  And I think I've learned that no matter how 
pervasive it is in Imperial society, I just can't go along 
with Slavery anymore.  The thought of what those poor furrs 
were going through, what my Master was going through, just 
tears me apart.  I may not be able to change anyone else's 
mind, but there are things I CAN do.  I'm going to free you 
and Zassa."  Hinoki was silent for a moment and then 
squeezed Tanj gently; "I appreciate that, but I don't 
expect it'll change anything.  I'm not going anywhere, and I 
doubt Zassa is either.  But I suppose it’s a start."  
Tanj just purrred, and turned to give the Cheetah a long, 
loving kiss.  "you're right.  It’s a start."

Tanj's Tales: The Green Eyed Monster 
Stardate 2399.60				By Kittiara

Xylex looked at the burning groundcar and smiled.  The die 
was truly cast now.  Motioning to the team of Red 
Commandoes, he slipped off into the shadows, even as the 
sirens of the approaching police cars made themselves heard 
over the crackling of the flames.  It had taken a while to 
find a similar Wolverine, and longer still to substitute his 
dental records for Xylex's.  And what had taken longest of 
all was to siphon off as much of Lord Xylex's personal 
fortune as possible, without raising alarms.  But now "Lord 
Xylex" was well and truly dead.  All that remained was for 
"Xyloff" to take the Reds, and through subtle manipulations, 
lead them to Victory.  If he was clever, he could have the 
whole planet.  And if events turned against him, well, he 
still had a small fortune hidden off-planet.  He was young 
enough to start over, if he had to.  But he wouldn't have 
to.  He was sure of that…….

Tanj grumbled as she sipped the almost-cold coffee in her 
mug.  Things were nominally back to normal; the Brethren had 
returned to their base, under the cover of the normal 
comings and goings provided by the asteroid mining "cover" 
operation.  The Elysium forces had launched a general 
offensive, after the debacle of Tanj's withdrawal from 
Agricorp's facility 223, and over the past three weeks, the 
Rebels had gradually halted the advances of the Elysium 
forces, and for the most part, thrown them back.  In a few 
areas they'd even made some small gains.  The Rebels now 
actually held “liberated” territories, areas free of the 
Elysium government…..  And the Reds…… now there was 
something that screamed out for further analysis.  After the 
Elysium forces had killed Trotskie, Tanj would have 
thought that band of thugs and ne'er-do-wells would have 
folded….  But something was up there.  One of the few 
remaining leaders, a furr by the name of "Quistling" had 
emerged as the new strong-man.  Preaching an eclectic mix of 
socialism and fascism, touting the Reds as the "Peoples 
Revolutionary Forces", he'd not only kept the Reds going, 
but had even swelled their ranks with those attracted to 
that kind of clap-trap.  Something funny was going on there, 
but Tanj just hadn't had time to look  into it, because 
the Imperials had attempted to stick their nose into things 
again.  She'd been busy foiling their attempts at sneaking 
agents to Elysium, and the Brethren had beaten back one 
Imperial attempt to run the blockade.  They'd had a busy 
three weeks.  But now, as occasionally happened, there were 
indications of a slow-down, of all sides pulling back to 
lick their wounds…..  Tanj smiled; if she could sell the 
Command staff on that, they might just let her claim her 
much-delayed week with the Lion……..

The Security officer frowned at his monitor, and then looked 
up at the white mouse sitting quietly on the other side of 
the desk.  "Let me get this straight, Mark.  Not only is 
your background file full of obvious holes, but now you tell 
me its not even YOUR background?  Are you trying to suggest 
somebody's been tampering with our files then?"  Mark sighed 
and nodded; "Must have been.  Look here……"  And with that he 
reached out to turn the monitor half way around to indicate 
what he meant.  "Eight years on D'Guerro…. Chief Engineer on 
the Lusitania… or here, again… just how old do you think I'd 
have to be to have actually held all those positions?"  The 
Bobcat's frown only deepened…. "you have a point there, but 
I don't like the implications one bit.  IF somebody could 
insert faulty data in your file like that and delete all 
backups of the original, who knows what they could do to ALL 
our OTHER files, given time….  You do understand that if 
you're telling the truth, I'll have to launch a full-scale 
investigation?"  Mark nodded; "I know.  It could just be 
somebody who for some reason hates my guts and bribed a 
buddy in security, but it COULD also be a full-fledged mole 
in your department."  The Bobcat sighed and nodded.  "Well, 
I won't go and bother the Boss with it right away; I think 
we can handle this internally for now.  In any case, I"ll 
still have to suspend your security clearance and have you 
transferred to the mining side of the operation until we can 
draw up a new background file from scratch and verify it.  
Which I'm afraid means I'll also have to ask you to stay 
clear of our investigation, even though your telepathy might 
come in handy…  After all, we can't well afford to just take 
your word at the moment….."

When the door had shut, the Bobcat turned to his comm panel.  
After a moment Vandrosky's image coalesced.  "Van?  
Masterson here.  I've just had a little discussion with that 
Mouse from Engineering.  You're right, his background is 
literally full of holes… except he insists he's been framed 
and that's not HIS background at all.  Doesn't sound too 
likely to me, but he's been pretty convincing, and I can't 
ignore that possibility…  For the time being, though I've 
canceled his security clearance and sent him over to the 
miners while I do some deeper digging.".  Vandrosky scowled 
and nodded; "Told you there was something wrong with that 
one.  By all means, keep digging…. And be careful.  I 
wouldn't put it past him to hack into your systems just to 
insert a false background file HIMSELF and then frame 
somebody else for it." The Bobcat nodded; "Oh, I'll keep 
after it all right.  If there's anything there to turn up, 
I'll find it!"

Henley looked up as Vandrosky came through the door; "well, 
it looks like we've solved THAT little problem."  Henley 
grinned; "Oh? And which problem is that?"  Vandrosky 
chuckled; "Security's revoked Mark's clearance and shifted 
him over to the mining side of the operation.  He's OUT of 
our way.  Henley smiled and nodded; "Good, but…….."  
Vandrosky scowled at the look on the Beaver's face; "What?"  
The Marmoset just shrugged; "well, the boss is insistent 
that the Brou device is good for SOMETHING; he seems to 
think there may be some truth to that cockamamie story Mark 
told about him using it to "displace" a phantom attacker.  
He wants us to keep working on it……… "  Vandrosky grimaced; 
"ooooooo, that is NOT good.  No one ever could get that 
thing to do anything, aside of course from that dang Mouse, 
and I STILL don't believe he got it to do anything either.  
But there may be a way out of this……  Tell ya what; we'll 
tell them its too dangerous to run on the station, that if 
there were an accident, it might…. Yeah, it might "Displace" 
the whole station!  Yeah, it needs to be put on a ship!  
That way it won't take us all with it, if it does 
something…. "strange."  Henley chuckled; "Brilliant.  If its 
on a ship, it’s the problem of the ship's Engineering staff, 
and NOT the Base Staff, i.e. you and me!  But its going to 
take a big ship to power that thing……  The Marmoset just 
shrugged; "Hey, the boss is the majority stockholder in the 
flagship; that's the biggest one we've got.  If HE wants to 
play with his useless toy, let him do it on HIS ship!"  
Henley just grinned and nodded.

 The conference room was filling up slowly, and the Lion 
stood in the corridor by the door, talking to a few furrs 
from Operations.  From the corner of his eye he caught a 
flash of distinctive white fur, and mumbling hurried 
apologies, turned to stride in pursuit.  Mark heard his name 
called and turned to see the Lion moving through the crowded 
corridor like an icebreaker moving through pack ice.  "Mark, 
Tanj's told me about your problems with the whisper 
campaign, and the background check.  To be perfectly frank, 
there's nothing I can do about the former, except make my 
opinion known that I don't believe ANY of that….. and the 
latter, well, the Brethren DO have rules, and a security 
check is one of them.  I can't break that rule, Mark, as 
much as I might want to."  The Mouse shook his head with a 
little smile.  "I can work with the miners for a while; THAT 
isn't the problem, honest.  If you need something to worry 
about, think instead about how this kind of in-fighting can 
hurt the Brethren in the long run, and how to put a stop to 
it.  I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one around here that 
people have tried mobbing tactics out on, over time….. Oh, 
before I forget, how long do you think you can keep putting 
off Tanj?  She's not forgotten about your little promise, 
you know."  The Lion just grinned ruefully and shrugged; 
"not a whole lot longer, to tell you the truth.  In a 
quieter time, it might even be fun….. but things right now 
are so chaotic…."  Mark just clucked in mock disapproval; 
"That's not an excuse and you know it.  Things are ALWAYS 
chaotic around here….."  The Lion took a deep breath to 
reply, but was interrupted by a call back to the meeting, 
before he could say anything.

Mala watched the retreating back of the Lion and shook her 
head; "somehow I would've expected more of him than just a 
"I'm sorry".  He's the Boss, isn't he?"  Mark shrugged 
eloquently; "Bureaucracies will be bureaucracies.  Even the 
upper charges can get tangled in red tape…. And lets not 
forget, for all they know I COULD be a security risk.  A 
telepathic engineer  could make a great spy, able to ferret 
out all kinds of secrets and then arrange for the 
information to get out undetected.  Heck, I've even run 
around unsupervised on a number of missions that took us to 
all kinds of ports of call."  The Hyena growled softly; "All 
true, but they should KNOW better by now..."  The Mouse 
chuckled quietly; "Thanks for the vote of confidence, love, 
but don't forget, none of them know me nearly as well as you 
do by now.  And I don't feel particularly inclined to break 
down and hand them all my little secrets on a silver platter 
over a tiny bit of domestic trouble, either….  Well, come 
on.  We will have things to pack, and we don't have all 
day."  Mala still grumbled under her breath; "Well, I DO 
hope those miners can put up with me too, 'cuz I am NOT 
letting them take my Mouse away from me!"  Mark smiled and 
took her arm as the two started to move off down the 
corridor.

"…. And my agent in Gra'pha City says that the Imperial 
Cruiser "Day of Judgement" is in the shipyards there for an 
overhaul.  Word on the street is that the Imperial Fleet is 
in a holding pattern in this sector for the moment.  In 
short, I don't believe we have any "Imperial Complications" 
to worry abut for a bit."  Tanj's boss, the old Fox who 
headed the Brethren's Intelligence department, nodded; 
"Tanj's field intelligence matches well with our 
intercepts.  We believe that we should have about three 
weeks before anyone's ready to mount another major 
operation, either dirtside, or in space."  Haverty chuckled; 
"I'm delighted to hear that.  Engineering could use three 
weeks to try and catch up on all the battle damage we've got 
to repair.  Not to mention the preventative maintenance."  
Ben looked from Haverty to the Head of Engineering and then 
nodded; "Well, Operations has been pulling a lot of 
overtime; we could use a bit of a break.  Even so, there are 
a few small operations that need to be done.  Nothing major, 
just things to keep the pressure on, keep the Elysium forces 
off-balance…."  The Lion nodded; "All right, then, we'll 
take advantage of the lull to rest the troops and catch up 
on repairs, as much as possible.  I want to maintain a good 
defensive posture though, just incase we've missed 
something."  With that, the meeting broke up……

Tanj leaned against the doorjam of the conference room, 
watching, waiting until most of the staff had left.  As 
usual, the Lion and Ben were about the last to leave, this 
furr and that taking a moment of their time for specific 
problems……  As they moved towards the door, Tanj put out 
an arm, braced against the opposite doorjam, one foot 
lifting to press back against the side of the door she was 
leaning on, her knee helping to block egress.  Grinning, she 
looked, not at the Lion, but at Ben; "Since things are going 
to be "so quiet" around here for a while, I think its time I 
got the Boss here to live up to that promise he made….."  
Ben, predictably, scowled; "I don't know, Tanj, there's 
still a lot going on, still a lot he's needed for…….."  
Tanj chuckled; "Oh yeah?  Name three things….."  The 
Wolf's mouth opened and closed, and then opened again…. 
"well, there's the……. No, Walsham can take care of that……  
Then there's…… no, ……..  If…..  Oh Hell, just make sure he's 
were we can contact him if we need him!"  Tanj grinned 
and straightened, her paw releasing the opposite doorjam.  
With a growl, the Wolf pushed past her, and into the 
corridor…..  Grinning at her "Master," Tanj crooked a 
finger in a classic "come here" gesture…….

Edith grinned as Tanj dragged the Lion from the 
conference room, one paw holding a fistful of his mane…..  
They'd talked about this, but somehow she'd just NEVER 
dreamed it could come to pass……  Tanj grinned at the 
Porcupine lass, and growled, in a sultry tone; "Edith, Dear, 
would you be so kind as to take my new slave down to the 
kennels and get him properly prepared for me?  Do take your 
time, and enjoy yourself……."  Edith's shy smile transformed 
itself, somewhat as her gaze shifted from Tanj, to the 
Lion.  Nodding, she reached out to take a fistful of his 
mane, imitating Tanj; "Why Tanj, I'd be simply 
DELIGHTED!"  Tugging at the Lion's mane, she dragged him off 
down the corridor with a "Come on, YOU!"

Tanj watched them go, the much larger Lion following the 
Porcupine lass meekly; it was a rather comical sight.  Long 
ago, Edith had confessed to Tanj that she'd always had a 
crush on the Lion, but could never bring herself to say 
anything to him…….  Figuring this'd be a good way to start 
the week, Tanj turned and headed for the Intelligence 
office; she still had some paperwork to go through before 
she could take off for the week…. And maybe, just maybe, 
after a prickly time with Edith, her new slave would 
appreciate her a little more……

Parks looked from Henley to Vandrosky and then shook his 
head; "Ain't NO WAY.  Nope.  I am NOT taking that alien 
abortion.  The boss may want it worked on, but that's YOUR 
job, not mine!"  Henley looked at the Chief Engineer of the 
Intimidator, flagship of the Brethren's fleet and shrugged; 
"Hey, I can empathize with your position, but the Base 
Safety Authority says its too dangerous to monkey with on 
the station.  If it DOES perform like that Mouse said it 
would, the whole station might vanish!  This is the only 
ship in the fleet with enough power to run the thing.  If 
its going to be tinkered with, its yours.  Now, maybe YOU 
can talk the Boss out of fiddling with it…..  But as far as 
we're concerned, its outta our paws."  Vandrosky just nodded 
and set a data crystal on Parks' desk; "that’s all we've 
managed to learn about it.  Ain't much."  With a mumbled 
"good luck," the two exited hurriedly.  Parks picked up the 
data crystal and groaned.  Turning, he stabbed a finger at 
the comm panel built into his desk…..

Tanj scowled.  The news intercept from Elysium should 
have been welcome news….. perhaps it was just too good to be 
true…..  According to all the major news services, Lord 
Xylex had been traveling home from Parliament, when his car 
was ambushed by a group of brigands.  The report said that 
after he'd been robbed, they'd cut his throat, and set fire 
to his groundcar.  The body'd been identified from Lord 
Xylex's dental records…….  Telling her computer to print out 
the reports, Tanj wondered how she was going to tell 
Wanda…….

Parks shook his head "What do you MEAN he's Unavai……… oh.  
That silly thing with Tanj, eh.  No, I DON'T wish I was 
in his shoes…….. well, maybe just a little……  Listen, I 
really do have an urgent matter to discuss with him…….  
Yeah, I'll see if I can catch Tanj.  Thanks."  Breaking 
the connection, Parks sat back in his desk chair and tried 
to picture it.  He'd heard tales of the Lion's captivity 
down on Elysium, and that had NOT sounded like fun.  The 
Lion had come back looking half-starved……  but a slave to 
Tanj?  That could have its high points.  Grinning, Parks 
reached for the comm panel again, convinced Tanj was 
going to return one very sore Lion to them, in about a 
week's time.

Tanj blinked at the image of the Ocelot on her screen; 
"they did WHAT?  Oh, that’s ridiculous!  No, Parks, I think 
they're embarrassed that only Mark can get the thing to do 
anything at all, and they're trying to push their failure 
off on you.  ………..  No, I can't think of a reason why they'd 
want you to look bad, unless its just "misery wants 
company"……..  Oh, yes, I'll ask the boss, but in the 
meantime, I'd talk to Mark about how to hook the thing up, 
and then I'd just sit back and wait for clarification from 
the boss. ……….. Yup, I'll tell him you said that……  Take 
care."  Sitting back, as the image faded from her monitor, 
Tanj shook her head.  Politics within the Brethren could 
get Byzantine…..  Picking up the printouts and making a 
mental note to talk to her "new slave" about the Brou device 
and the Intimidator, Tanj headed down to Medical.

Edith sat astride the Lion's chest and ran the brush through 
his mane.  She'd led him down to the Kennels, where the 
staff watched with amusement as she stripped him and then 
shoved him into the showers.  She'd then stood there and 
watched as he washed himself, instructing him to scrub 
harder here, or there……  He'd turned it into something 
sensual, watching her watch him, working the liquid soap 
into a lather , spreading it over his body…….  And Edith 
hadn't been able to resist the temptation; the Lion had 
complied almost willingly with her instructions, his big 
paws stroking over his balls, working over his sheath, until 
he'd teased himself erect.  Breathlessly she'd ordered him 
to stroke himself, to masturbate until his cock had 
geyesered, splattering his cum on the floor of the shower 
room.  Edith had been embarrassed when the sound of applause 
came from behind her and she'd turned to behold most of the 
staff and half of the "residents" watching over her 
shoulder.  Hurriedly she'd gotten him rinsed off and pulled 
him out to the dryer.  As the wet Lion stood in the 
artificial cyclone of warm air, one of the guards had come 
over to tell her that she had a natural talent, that she'd 
orchestrated a great impromptu scene, only causing the 
Porcupine lass to blush again…….

When the Lion was dry, Edith had accepted a disposable 
collar from one of the guards, and fastening it around the 
Lion's neck, she'd clipped on a leash and dragged him into 
one of the adjoining rooms.  There, at least somewhat safe 
from prying eyes, she'd set to work trying to untangle his 
mane…..

The Lion purrrred.  The situation was both delightful and 
unnerving; Edith sat astride his chest, worrying at his mane 
with a hairbrush, and that felt quite nice….. but as she 
moved, her quills rattled and swayed, just inches over his 
sheath……  He felt tempted to reach up and caress her… but 
where?  They just hadn't covered Porcupine love (that he 
could remember) at the Academy…….

Wanda looked at the printout and sighed; "well, maybe its 
all for the best.  After all, if I'd gotten my paws on him, 
well, I probably would have accumulated a few thousand 
year's bad Karma….."  Looking up from the printout, Wanda 
sighed; "But do you think he's really dead?"  Tanj 
grinned; "I know a sure fire way to find out….."  Wanda 
raised one eyebrow and crossed her arms, just waiting.  
Tanj grinned; "you were his only child, right?  His 
closest living relative?  All you have to do is let his 
lawyers know you want your inheritance.  If you actually get 
it, then you know its for real.  If they block you, or 
there's nothing there, then obviously it’s a fake……"  
Wanda's face broke into a wide grin and she grabbed the 
Cheetah fem to hug her tight; "Tanj, that’s Beautiful!  I 
LOVE it!  Now, how do we Do it?…."  Tanj grunted in the 
crushing embrace of the much larger Wolverine; “Well, first 
you let me go, and I try to start breathing again…..”

The bar was dingy, rough rock walls showing in several 
places.  And the asteroid station it was in was small, and 
obscure.  The perfect place for such a meeting…….  But the 
meeting with the pirate band known as the "Roughnecks" 
wasn't going well……  "Xyloff" watched as Quistling tried 
once again to explain the dialectic to their leader, a 
Fennec fox by the name of Sanchez.  The Lemming was trying, 
but he just wasn't pulling it off.  This group wasn't 
interested in high-sounding ideals, or in political theory.  
Still, Quistling had insisted on trying.  Nodding to 
Guevera, Quistling's Chief of the First Directorate, 
"Xyloff" eased open his cloak, and slowly slid a paw inside.

The gunfire was sudden and surprising; the first fusillade 
took down Sanchez and his Lieutenant, along with half a 
dozen pirates.  Before the survivors could even draw their 
weapons, Guevera's commandos were advancing, exchanging 
lethal weapons for shock sticks.  The melee was as vicious 
as it was short, and at the end, the Reds were 
victorious……….

Onegin blinked and shook his head; that proved to be a 
serious mistake.  It felt as if someone were beating on it 
with a hammer.  Forcing his eyes open he groaned as he found 
himself staring at the Wolverine…. Trying to move, he found 
himself bound to a chair… and a quick look around, another 
mistake, he realized, as his head pounded, showed Sanchez 
and most of the Roughnecks dead……  Looking back at the 
Wolverine he growled; "So why haven't you killed me too?  
You realize of course, the crews will never let you on the 
ships!"  Xyloff just smiled; "no, I’m sure they won't.  But 
you will.  You've heard our Chairman tell you about the 
philosophy behind the Reds, and it was apparent that your 
type cares little for the plight of the workers… but let me 
tell you about some of the …. "other" benefits of joining 
our cause…….  The first one is that you would be the chief 
of the Red's Space Navy….. and you and your…. "patriots" 
would all share in the….. "resources" you help us liberate 
for the workers……."

Quistling shook his head as they walked down the ship's 
corridor. "Comrade Xyloff," he whispered: "I understand why 
you did what you did, back in that bar…… and I admit the 
addition of those pirate vessels to our cause will help 
tremendously….. but don't you think, when the Revolution's 
won, that those Pirates will be a liability?"  "Xyloff" 
chuckled and nodded, patting the Lemming on the shoulder; 
"Comrade Chairman, by then, we will have filled the ranks of 
the People's Space Navy with our own furrs, and the 
elimination of a select few, those who don't exactly follow 
our teachings, will be comparatively simple.  Now come, Dear 
Friend, lets check out the bridge of our new Flagship!"

Tanj smiled and called out "Enter" as the sound of the 
door chime faded.  As the door slid aside, Edith padded in, 
pulling the Lion behind her on a leash.  Tanj could tell 
from the broad grin she wore that she'd definitely enjoyed 
her time with the Lion; the Lion for his part, however had a 
bit of a sour look on his face.  "Here he is, Dear" Edith 
purrrred, handing the leash to Tanj; "Scarcely the worse 
for wear.  I do believe I taught him a few things, as 
well…….  Oh, and I LIKE that negligee….."  Tanj was 
tempted to ask what those things she'd taught him might be, 
but decided to hold that for later.  "Thanks, Edith, I do 
appreciate it."  The Porcupine lass waved cheerily and 
almost skipped out the door.  When the door had closed, 
Tanj turned to look at the Lion, one eyebrow raised.  His 
face shifted to an "oh… yeah" expression and slowly he knelt 
at her feet, in the proper position for a slave.  Tanj 
shook her head and smiled crookedly; "I'm not going to have 
any trouble with you, now, am I?"  the Lion just shook his 
head no, eyes downcast, but with a grin on his face.  
Tanj mock-frowned and just nodded; "Uh Huh.  Riiiight.  
Well, let me tell you, Slave, if I DO, well, I know how to 
obtain "obedience."  The Lion nodded and rumbled "Yeth, 
Mithtreth."  Tanj frowned; "What's with the lisp?"  The 
Lion just shrugged; "Goth a qill in mi Tongueth from 
Mithtreth Edithh….."  Tanj just sighed and rolled her 
eyes; "Open up, and let me see……."  As the Lion complied, 
Tanj thought that she'd never dreamed she'd let her new 
slave get away with sticking his tongue out at her…..

Wanda peered at the Lion's tongue through thick stereoscopic 
magnifiers as she worked with the tweezers and the probe.  
Kath stood nearby, holding a tray of implements, 
unsuccessfully masking a smirk.  And Tanj growled by the 
Comm console.  "No, I'm sorry, he CAN'T come to the phone….. 
No, he isn't "tied up" at the moment, he's having oral 
surgery performed…. What?  No, no, it seems he got several 
porcupine quills stuck in his tongue….. WHAT?  I DID NOT!……"  
With a snarl that made Kath jump, Tanj brought her fist 
down on the disconnect button…….  "I don't believe this.  
I've got him all to myself for a week, and first he gets 
himself in a position where his tongue's….. unusable, and 
NOW the Comm won't stop ringing!…."  Wanda straightened, 
looking at something in her tweezers through the magnifiers; 
"Calm down, Tanj, I think I got it all.  Couple of days 
and he'll be able to use his tongue again……"  Tanj just 
crossed her arms over her chest and grumbled.  Kath chuckled 
and lifted the tray a foot, to peer beneath it; "Yeah, like 
he doesn't have other useable…. Attributes……  Tanj was 
just about to respond when her Comm console chimed again….

Tanj smiled; this was more like it.  She'd tied the Lion 
to his own bed, spreadeagled, and had gagged him with a roll 
of gauze bandage (wrapped around and around his tongue as 
punishment for letting himself get hurt), and had spent the 
last few hours teasing him.  The negligee was in a filmy 
heap on the floor, and both his and her fur was disheveled.  
Grinning, she slithered up his body again, letting his hard 
cock rub between her tits, along her belly, to trap it 
between her thighs…….  She was flexing her legs, squeezing 
his shaft rhythmically when the Comm went off again.  
Growling, she reached across the bed to slap at it.  
"Tanj?  This is Ben; I hate to do this to you, but I've 
GOT to talk to the Boss!"  Tanj groaned; "Dammit, Ben, 
he's had seventeen calls here since Edith dropped him off!  
This is ridiculous!  You know as well as I do that most 
evenings he scarcely gets two calls!  Some evenings he 
doesn't get ANY!  Now what in the HELL is going on here?"  
Ben's image shrugged; "Look, I know he's indisposed, that 
he's paying off a debt; Hell, the whole organization knows 
what's going on!  I don't know what's happening, or why…..  
Must just be coincidence.  But I DO need to talk to him……."  
Tanj sighed and shook her head; "give me a minute……."  
Shifting back on the bed, she started pulling sopping wet 
gauze out of the Lion's mouth……  After a minute she sighed; 
"Go ahead Ben, he can talk now……."  "Boss, we've got a 
problem with the bank on Parmla…. It seems that their 
investment broker shifted a bunch of our investments without 
consulting Financial, and now……..

Tanj sat on the end of the bed, alternatingly fluffing 
and smoothing down the tuft of hair at the end of the Lion's 
tail.  The problem they were discussing was a real one, but 
it still wasn't worth interrupting them….  At least not in 
her opinion…….  As their conversation wound down, Tanj 
called out; "Ben?……"  The Wolf's voice answered cautiously; 
"Yes, Tanj?"  "Ben, this isn't working.  I don't know if 
folks are calling to tease, or what, but its not working.  
But I've got a solution……."  Tanj could hear the 
hesitation in Ben's voice…. "…. And that would be?"  Tanj 
growled; "the intelligence exchange with the Black Fleet is 
due.  I think I'm going to do this one in person.  And I'm 
taking him with me!"  It took several seconds for the 
explosion to build, but when it did, it was everything 
Tanj expected; "DAMMIT, Tanj, you CAN NOT DO THAT!  We 
had a rough enough time while he was gone, down on Elysium!  
You KNOW how needed he is around here!"  Tanj waved a paw 
in the general direction of the video pickup, waiting for 
the Wolf to run down.  "Forget it, Ben.  A deal's a deal.  
He's going.  I'll let him have some time with the comm 
console each day; he can keep in touch by E-mail.  You know 
we've got a secure system with the Black Fleet.  And you 
yourself agreed things would be quiet this week!"  Ben's 
face scowled; "you'd better give him ENOUGH time with the E-
mail, AND you'd better make the whole trip cloaked!  If we 
loose him again……."  Tanj just shook her head and slapped 
the disconnect button.  For a moment she looked at the lion, 
bound to the bed, and then she sighed.  It would take a long 
time to recapture the mood….. if the Comm console would even 
let her.  No, if it were to be done, it should be done now.  
There'd be time on the trip…..  Reaching over she punched up 
Hinoki's number.  As the Cheetah's sleepy face filled her 
monitor, Tanj just grinned; "ROAD TRIP!"

Dahlia couldn't sleep.  It seemed like since they'd been 
rescued, time had weighed heavy on her hands.  All there WAS 
to do around here was eat, sleep and exercise, as her group 
had waited for their new identities to be established, as 
they waited for their transport to wherever they were to be 
set free.  And now, in the middle of the night, she'd found 
she couldn't sleep any more, so she'd gone for a walk.  And 
there, up ahead at the intersection of the corridors, she'd 
seen the most amazing sight; that Tanj fem leading the 
Lion on a leash.  At least she THOUGHT it was the same 
Lion….. Speeding up, she tried to catch them; she STILL 
wanted to talk to him, maybe spend some time with him……

Zassa looked sleepy, her jeans and crop-top rumpled as if 
she'd slept in them.  But she was there at the open airlock.  
Hinoki, looking a bit too chipper for that hour of the 
morning was behind her, and the smell of perking coffee was 
coming through the open inner and outer airlock doors.  
Tanj led the still nude Lion by his leash, as he carried 
her luggage.  She was just about to close the airlock when 
she heard the call; "Hang on, wait for us!"  Looking out the 
lock she saw Wanda and Kath dashing across the docking bay.  
And each carried a bag.  "You don't think you could go on a 
road trip without us, do you?" Wanda panted as they squeezed 
past Tanj.  "after all, you've told us how GOOD a 
mistress Jenka is time and time again.  If she's that good, 
I want to pick up some pointers for Kath's training.  Behind 
the Wolverine, Kath just rolled her eyes.  Tanj chuckled; 
"well, if you want to come, that’s fine with me………. I 
guess……"

Tanj handed the Lion's leash to Hinoki and grinned; "Take 
him down to the play area in the cargo bay.  Lets see….. Why 
don't you set him up for "the Swing."  Be creative.  And you 
can… "play" with him until I get us undocked and on course 
and then come down.  Then we'll see what we can do with 
him……."  The Cheetah male just grinned and tugged on the 
leash; "come on, you.  I've got several things I've been 
wanting to try……"

Dahlia watched as the airlock door closed.  "Neat place to 
play, I bet; no one would bother them in there……"  Grinning 
to herself she snuck across the open docking bay, moving as 
quietly as she could to the airlock….. "I bet when they're 
done with him, I can sneak in and have a few words…. And it 
might be fun to watch, too.  Now… how do I open this 
thing….." she thought to herself.

Tanj was still in the galley, getting a cup of coffee 
when on the flight deck, the airlock indicator light on the 
Operations console winked on, and then off, unseen……

Dahlia looked first one way, and then the other; the ship's 
corridor looked featureless in both directions…. "OK, Girl, 
THINK…… Airlock was on the left side of the ship….. Bridge 
would have to be forward…. But where would the staterooms 
be?  Aft?  Or near the Bridge?"  Flipping a mental coin, the 
Clydesdale mare turned to the right and headed off down the 
corridor as quietly as she could be……

Tanj settled into the pilot's seat, setting her coffee in 
the holder within easy reach.  "I wonder why it is, that 
Hinoki, using the same ingredients and the same coffee 
maker, always seems to be able to make a better cup than I 
can…" she wondered to herself as she brought up main power.

Dahlia noted the flicker of the lights and wondered what 
that was about.  She hadn't seen that on the station; power 
flow there had been rock-steady…..   Shrugging to herself 
she continued exploring…..

Tanj glanced over her console, switching displays from 
engineering to navigation to operations to communications, 
doublechecking.  Finally, opening a channel to traffic 
control, she requested departure clearance.  The Otter 
peering back at her from the monitor leered; "OK, Lost 
Cause, you're cleared.  Y'all have a safe and, ah, "Happy" 
trip, and we'll see you in a week!"  Tanj just chuckled 
and nodded; "Oh, I'm SURE we will…. Most of us, anyways."  
Breaking the connection, she throttled up on the repulsors a 
bit, and hit the switch to retract the landing gear.  Easing 
the freighter out of its revetment, she turned it smoothly 
and headed for the launch port……  The expected rumble as the 
ship passed through the magnetic field and into the vacuum 
of space brought a smile to Tanj's face.  She did so love 
to fly……..

Dahlia blinked as the ship quivered and then jumped beneath 
her, wondering what THAT was….. She'd found the staterooms, 
but all but one of them were empty…..  A pretty red Vixen 
was sound asleep in one of them.  Someone had been in the 
galley and she'd avoided that, even though the coffee 
smelled good…..  Now completely turned around, she moved 
down yet another corridor, wondering where everyone was.……

Wanda grinned at Kath as she stowed her gear in the ship's 
small sick bay; "From what I've heard, you're going to like 
Jenka.  At least if Tanj's stories are any indicator."  
The Mink crossed her arms over her chest and hmphed; "Oh, 
great.  More time spent all trussed up.  Goodie….."  Wanda 
straightened and sighed.  Shaking her head she fished in her 
bag for a moment, her paw coming out with a set of cuffs and 
a ball gag; "Dear, sometimes I think you mouth off like that 
just so I WILL punish you…  now come here like a good 
slave……

Hinoki lead the Lion not towards the cargo bay, but towards 
his own small cabin.  There, he stopped only long enough to 
recover a soft canvas bag, that bulged ominously with 
unusual shapes.  Grinning at the Lion, the male Cheetah 
explained with a single word; "toys."  Then he was tugging 
at the leash, leading him back into the corridor, towards 
the cargo bay.

Kath grumbled behind the ball gag as Wanda slipped the end 
of her leash over a hook on the wall.  Padded leather cuffs 
now encircled her wrists, and they were clipped together 
behind her back.  If she struggled hard, she might find a 
way to undo the roller buckles… in about a month.  Still, at 
least they weren't locked on…….

The Lion stood straight, as if at attention, paws clasped 
behind his back.  Before turning, to unpack his bag, Hinoki 
had looped the end of the Lion's leash over a conduit 
running along the wall of the cargo bay.  Then he had hooked 
its end over a lower-placed hook, making the Lion stand, 
well, if not quite on tiptoes, then at least VERY straight 
in order to keep the pressure off his neck.  And the collar 
had these little pointy nubbins around the inside; it wasn’t 
exactly comfortable when it got tight……  As the Lion watched 
the Cheetah from the corner of his eye, he reflected on the 
order to merely hold his paws crossed behind his back; they 
weren't fastened, but he had the suspicion that not obeying 
perfectly would be unadvisable…..

Dahlia smiled as she heard a voice up ahead.  Doing her best 
to move quietly, something she wasn't exactly practiced at, 
she edged towards the noise…..

Kath watched as Wanda put away their things in their 
stateroom.  Well, mostly Wanda's things.  Kath wasn't 
allowed to wear much these days, and as such, she traveled, 
well, "light"…..  After a few moments, the Wolverine lass 
reclaimed the end of Kath's leash from the hook on the wall, 
and giving her a gentle tug, led her back out into the 
corridor; "Lets go on down to the Cargo Bay and see what 
Hinoki's come up with, shall we?  Kath mumbled something 
into her gag, and whatever it was, Wanda ignored it 
completely, leading the way down the corridor.

Hinoki smiled; he'd threaded four eye-bolts into the deck in 
a rectangular pattern, and arranged the mats so the eyebolts 
protruded through the gaps where the mats butted together.  
In the center of the mat was a cargo brace; a variable 
length pole with a screw adjustment in the middle, and 
eight-inch square brace pads on either end.  It was meant to 
be used inside a shipping container to separate loads, to 
keep stacks of boxes from falling over, but he had a 
different use in mind……  Grinning up at the Lion, he 
selected a set of padded ankle and wrist cuffs from the pile 
of gear, and rose, to padd towards his captive……

Tanj cloaked the ship as they cleared the Mining 
Operation's outer marker.  Changing course, throttling up, 
she settled the freighter on the first leg of the trip to 
the Black Fleet's base.  She'd have to wait a bit, to make 
sure they were well clear of the system before she could go 
down and see what Hinoki was doing…..  Should she wait and 
be surprised, or should she switch one of the displays to 
the cargo bay monitor and watch.  Grinning, feeling like a 
voyeur, she started to reconfigure one of the displays…….

Hinoki grinned down at the Lion; he'd had him lie on his 
back, and had shackled each wrist, each ankle to the 
eyebolts in the floor.  The Lion had obeyed stoically, an 
almost resigned look on his face.  When he was fastened to 
Hinoki's satisfaction, the Cheetah rose and stood, looking 
down; "you know what Tanj was asking for, weren't you?"  
The Lion nodded; "the swing.  I remember that one, although 
I fear I'm not in as good a shape as I should be to do that 
correctly; you've got to have a strong back, and very good 
upper body strength for that….."  Hinoki grinned evilly; 
"That's what the cargo brace is for.  Now be a good boy and 
arch for me."  The Lion looked at Hinoki for a moment, an 
inscrutable look on his face, and then, with a grunt, he 
tilted his head back and with hands and feet braced next to 
the eyebolts he arched his mid-section off the floor.  
Hinoki watched for a moment and then tisked; "All the way 
up; get your head clear of the floor."  Another grunt, and 
the Lion heaved himself up further, until his body formed a 
bow, only the padds of his feet and the palms of his hands 
touching.  Hinoki nodded, and slipping a small square of 
foam pad over the end of the cargo brace, he placed one end 
in the small of the Lion's back, and then started to turn 
the adjustment screw……

"Xyloff" looked at the flyer and grinned.  For the peasants 
in Chubarra Province, hounded by government troops for 
"supporting" his guerillas, this should push ALL Their 
buttons.  But then the Advertising firm he'd "hired" to do 
the Red's propaganda was very good.  It was amazing what 
some folks would do for money…. And for the others, well, 
holding one or two of their children hostage usually worked 
to "inspire" them.  Nodding to his aide, he handed the flyer 
back.  The propaganda campaign was working like clockwork, 
even if he did have to engineer most of the Government 
atrocities himself…….

Hinoki smiled at the scene; the pole in the small of his 
back held the Lion aloft; surely his muscles would tire, but 
he couldn't fall back to the mat.  And he was so deliciously 
exposed, so completely vulnerable….  Reaching into the toy 
bag he selected just a few more things……… the weighted 
collar, the one that matched, in style at least, the one 
around his neck, was fastened around the Lion's pendulous 
balls.  The rubber coated ring gag filled his mouth, foam 
pads filled his ears, and the blindfold went over his eyes.  
As he finished strapping the blindfold in place, the Cheetah 
snuck a look at his chronograph; "you know, I think we'll 
have some time before Tanj arrives…. Since I've gotten 
you all nice and comfy, I think I'll just……"  Letting his 
speech trail off, the Cheetah rose, and slipped off his 
shorts.  Setting them carefully aside, he resumed his former 
kneeling position by the Lion's head; taking the Lion’s ears 
in each paw, Hinoki purrred as he softly rubbed the Lion's 
muzzle against his sheath.

Dahlia peered from between two large freight containers…. In 
her limited field of view was a large mat, and a nude Male 
Cheetah doing…. Just what WAS he doing to the curiously 
bound Lion?  Fascinated, she settled down to watch……

Hinoki purrrred.  The Lion was an alumnus of the Academy, 
and had been trained well; he knew just what Hinoki wanted, 
his tongue flicking out to tease the Cheetah's balls before 
stroking upwards along his sheath.  For his part, the 
Cheetah was already half-aroused, excited by his activities 
in tying the Lion in his strained position.  His cock 
expanded smoothly from his sheath as he got hard, its tip 
first tentatively probing its way through the ring in the 
Lion's mouth, and then growing firmly, until it was wholly 
encased in the Lion's mouth, its head pressed firmly against 
the back of his throat.  Hinoki paused, moving his paws over 
the Lion's strained body, examining his musculature, running 
his fingers through his mane…. But as he felt the Lion's 
tongue start to work along his shaft, to stroke him, he 
couldn't help but start to move…..

The Lion grunted softly as Hinoki started working his hard 
shaft in and out through the ring holding his jaws agape.  
The pressure made him strain at his bonds with each motion, 
and despite the pad, the end of the cargo brace pressed 
painfully into the small of his back.  Still, he had a 
reputation to live up to, and remembering his training, he 
worked his tongue over and over the Cheetah's shaft, 
memories of his lessons, and the skills and techniques 
returning rapidly.  His tongue wasn't fully healed from the 
porcupine quills, and he could swear that every texture, 
every contour of the Cheetah's cock was doubly reported to 
his brain….

Kath's eyes went wide as she beheld the scene, as Wanda led 
her into the Cargo Bay.  The Wolverine lass, for her part, 
just chuckled; "you know, I've always wondered about that….. 
lets just sit down and watch, shall we?"  Before Kath could 
mumble anything into her gag, Wanda was pulling her down 
into her lap……..

Hinoki came explosively, his cum rushing up his cock with a 
speed that almost surprised him; pulling his hips back, he 
made sure that his seed wound up in the Lion's mouth, just 
behind the ring gag, where he was sure to taste it.  When 
he'd finished, he sat back with a sigh, to smile at the 
Lion's upside-down face; "That was very good, slave.  Very 
good indeed.  Now, Mistress has commanded I get you ready, 
and Ready I shall get you."  Crawling around, he settled 
himself between the Lion's outstretched legs, and leaning 
forward just a bit he gave the Lion's bound balls a long, 
slow lick……

Kath squirmed as Wanda stroked her; it felt SO good to have 
her mistress' paw between her thighs, her fingers working so 
expertly over the wetness between her legs.  Panting 
lightly, she wished, for just a moment, that Wanda had put 
her in the arm binder; it left her feeling so deliciously 
helpless, a sensation that melded so well with the gentle 
caresses…….

Hinoki had him just the way he liked him; the Lion's cock 
was rock hard, standing proudly, swaying slightly with each 
heartbeat.  The Cheetah was teasing, licking just enough to 
keep him hard, painfully aroused.  Now, all they had to do 
was to wait for Tanj.  He hoped she'd be a while……

Tanj smiled in satisfaction as she finally found, and 
canceled out that annoying little harmonic.  She did still 
love playing with the engines, when she got the chance.  
Settling back in her seat and changing displays from 
Engineering to Nav, she checked their position.  They were 
well beyond the Elysium system's OORT cloud, and on the very 
fringes of Interstellar space.  There didn't seem to be ANY 
traffic in their area, but she figured, she'd wait a bit 
more, before trusting the ship to the autopilot.  Swapping 
displays again, she peeked on the cargo bay…… As she 
watched, once again Marveling at Hinoki, her eye was drawn 
by a flicker of movement behind them……

Dahlia kneeled behind the crates, panting lightly as she 
watched.  One hand was under her dress, between her thighs, 
the other lightly caressed a breast through the thin fabric.  
Grinning, eyes fastened on the Cheetah and the Lion, she was 
oblivious to the camera in the corner shifting a little, its 
lens rotating…..

Tanj Blinked; "now who the Hell is tha…… wait a minute.  
I remember her…. She was that Mare we picked up from that 
AgriCorp facility…… the one who asked about the Lion….."  
Watching for a moment, Tanj shook her head; "now what in 
the heck is she doing HERE?…."  Taking another quick look 
around the flight deck, Tanj rose, to go investigate…….

In the shadows of the cargo bay, Tanj watched, trying to 
sort out her emotions.  What was that Mare doing here.  What 
did the Lion mean to her?  More importantly, what did she 
mean to the Lion?  Was this a serious rival, or just someone 
who'd blundered into the wrong place?  What would be the 
best way to handle the situation?  If she came on too 
strong, if the Lion did care for the Mare, she might merely 
drive them closer together.  And yet, it was obvious that 
the Mare was a stowaway on her ship……  Watching, both the 
Mare softly stroke herself, and Hinoki tease the Lion, 
Tanj tried to sort out her emotions……

Wanda purrred in Kath's ear; "you like what you see, don't 
you?  You like the way one male teases another.  I see how 
you can't keep your eyes off of their cocks.  I can tell you 
like the Lion's better….  You'd like to take that for your 
own, wouldn't you?  To ride him, to pleasure him, to be 
pleasured by him?"  Swallowing, not trusting her voice, Kath 
nodded.  Wanda smiled, her fingers never stopping, never 
ceasing their gentle stroking of the Mink's wet sex; "Well, 
you can't have him.  Not yet, not now, anyways.  He's 
Tanj's for the week, and maybe, just maybe, if you're 
very good, she'll let you taste some of his marvelous 
cock…..  Maybe you'll get a taste of the Cheetah's too.  
Maybe, if you're extra-special good, we'll find a way for 
you to get both at once.  Now wouldn't THAT be nice?"   Kath 
imagined herself between the two hard male bodies, their 
shafts plumbing her depths and moaned softly, her head 
nodding.  Behind her, Wanda just chuckled.  She knew that 
Kath secretly loved her life, no matter how she grumbled.  
After all, as a “former” Imperial agent, surely she could 
have escaped by now, if she’d wanted to….”

Tanj had moved silently, until she was standing just 
behind the Mare.  It took a while, but eventually Dahlia 
brought a hand around, to brush a stray lock of hair out of 
her eyes; it was just what Tanj had been waiting for; as 
she grabbed the Mare's wrist, twisting, pulling it up behind 
her back, Tanj purrred "well, what Do we have here?  A 
stowaway?"

Dahlia eeped as someone grabbed her from behind; 
instinctively she rose to her feet, but the pressure against 
her wrist behind her back kept her from doing more than 
that.  Twisting, turning her head left and right, she 
struggled to see who'd grabbed her.

Hinoki heard the shuffle of feet, heard Tanj say 
something, and lifted his head to see what was going on.

The Lion heard something, but blindfolded, and upside-down, 
he didn't have a clue as to what was transpiring…….

Wanda smiled as Tanj emerged from behind some crates, a 
much larger Clydesdale Mare in her grip.  The Mare looked 
wild-eyed and frightened… and as she watched, she wondered 
if this was something Tanj had staged, or was something 
unexpected really happening?

Kath let her eyes rove over the shapely Mare in the tight 
dress, and smiled to herself.  Completely unbidden, the 
thought "the more the merrier" floated through her mind……

Tanj forced the Mare down to her knees at the edge of the 
mat.  Hinoki, having shifted from his position between the 
Lion's thighs, handed her a pair of handcuffs with silent 
aplomb.  Moments later, Dahlia found herself cuffed, her 
hands behind her back.  Tanj padded around, to look down 
at the Mare… well, not THAT far down; even on her knees, the 
Mare was BIG.  As big as her Lion……  "I suppose I should ask 
you what you're doing here, not that it matters all that 
much….."  Dahlia blinked back; "I'm just here to…..  I saw 
you two cross the docking bay, and I thought I might find a 
way to…. get a word with him…..  I'm supposed to leave the 
station in a couple of days, and….   Look, I didn't mean to 
spoil your fun; just let me go, and I'll get back to the 
station and not bother you anymore……"  Tanj sighed and 
shook her head; "The station's about three light-years away 
right now.  You're here for the duration."  Turning, looking 
over at Wanda, and Hinoki, Tanj flicked her eyes towards 
Dahlia, and having confirmed the Mare couldn't see her eyes, 
she winked ostentaciously; "Now, what do you think we should 
do with Stowaways?"  Behind her, Dahlia gulped.

Dahlia was surprised how fast it all happened; it was almost 
as if they'd rehearsed it.  The lady Wolverine had risen, to 
grab her hands; the Cheetah fem had unlocked the cuffs, and 
after the Wolverine had firmly moved her hands around in 
front of her, the male Cheetah had replaced them with some 
much larger, padded ones.  Then the Cheetah fem had hooked 
the cuffs together, and the link to a chain dangling from 
the ceiling.  As the Wolverine had pulled her up, the two 
Cheetahs (were they a matched pair or something?  Brother 
and Sister?) had each taken an ankle, applying padded cuffs 
held apart by some sort of pole…. and then, suddenly, she'd 
found herself teetering on the tips of her hooves, her legs 
WIDE apart.  Somewhere in the whole affair, her dress had 
vanished, leaving her as nude as the Mink who'd just knelt 
there and watched….. the whole thing had been done with the 
precision and measured haste of a race team servicing their 
vehicle.

Wanda stepped forward and cupped the Mare's generous 
breasts; "mmmmmmm, NICE.  Kath, get over here; I want you to 
kneel between her feet and lick at her until she tells us 
just WHY she stowed away; I'm not sure I believe her story.  
Keep licking until I tell you otherwise……  Releasing 
Dahlia's breasts, Wanda turned and sashayed back to where 
she'd been sitting, to resume her seat on the floor, a wide 
smile on her face.

Dahlia’s eyes went WIDE open in surprise; “you want HER to 
….. I mean another female?  Hey, I’m not… I’ve never….. 
NOOOOOO!”  But her protestations only seemed to spur on the 
Mink, who positively oozed across the mat, a predatory look 
on her face…….

Hinoki looked at the Mare, and Kath, and then turned to 
Tanj; giving a low bow he purrred; "Mistress, your slave 
awaits."  Backing to one side, like a master showman, Hinoki 
let Tanj see past him, to the arched Lion.  Tanj let 
her gaze rove over him, her eyes caressing each bulge of 
muscle, every portion of his anatomy that she knew so well…. 
"Ah, but I see you've cheated; he's supposed to hold that 
pose by himself!  I think, Hinoki, that you'll have to be 
"punished" for that…..

Dahlia blinked as the male Cheetah actually smiled at that.  
The Mink's tongue was finishing what her own fingers had 
started, as she watched from behind the crate; a climax was 
approaching, and rapidly, too….  She’d never been so 
embarrassed in her life, but that didn’t seem to matter to 
her body, who was delighting in the sensations coming from 
the Mink’s talented tongue……

Tanj bent, and slowly turned the adjustment screw on the 
cargo brace; as she lowered it, she growled; "Don't collapse 
on me; you WILL hold that pose until I'm done with you, or 
else!  Mistress commands it!"  Tossing the brace to one 
side, Tanj stripped off her overalls, a hurried strip-
tease, knowing that Wanda's, Hinoki's and the Mare's eyes 
were on her……

Tanj purrred and ran her paws back and forth along the 
tautness of the Lion's stomach; his muscles trembled beneath 
her touch, and she knew he couldn't hold this pose forever.  
Did she want to hurry, or did she want to make him fail, to 
earn further "punishments?"  Her gaze was drawn to his hard 
shaft, bright pink against the tawniness of his stomach….  
Looking up at Wanda she purrred; "Are you familiar with the 
"Swing?"  It takes tabletop dancing to a ridiculous extreme.  
In the most basic version, as you see here, the supple male 
forms a well-rounded table for his partner, who performs the 
"dance of the swing" astride his star-gazing cock, until one 
of them collapses.  Turning and winking at Dahlia, Tanj 
chuckled; "it’s a heck of a horsey ride, except the "horse" 
is upside-down……"  Smoothly throwing one leg across the 
Lion, Tanj straddled his middle, facing his feet; her 
paws found his hard shaft, and she stroked him gently.  The 
groan emerging from the Lion's gagged mouth might have been 
from her touch, or merely from her weight….  After stroking 
him for a moment she rose to tiptoes, and shifting a little, 
centered his cock, and then, with a purrrrr of delight, 
lowered herself onto him.  For a long moment, she seemed not 
to move, her eyes closed…. And then she opened them, to look 
at Wanda;  "When, like a Mare, cruelly gripping a Stallion, 
you trap and milk your Lover's shaft, it is Vadavaka, or the 
Mare's Trick, and it can only be perfected with long 
practice.  This is something from the Ancient Kama Sutra.  
Kath, I think needs to learn to do this……  And I wonder if 
our stowaway knows its secrets?"  Unseen, Tanj's vaginal 
muscles rippled, milking the Lion's shaft, caressing him 
with her "inner hand."  The only outward sign was the look 
of concentration on the Cheetah Fem's face, and the 
contortions of the Lion's face.  And his rapid breathing……  

Kath, still dutifully licking at the Mare, who was currently 
lost in her third climax, grinned, thinking that was 
training she'd love to undergo.  The Homework must be 
interesting…….  Vadavaka… she'd have to remember that.

Tanj purrrred and slowly started to move, letting the 
Lion's thick cock slither from within her, until only the 
last few inches were within her… she could rise no further 
without effort, and this was to be his test, not hers….  
Just as slowly, just as teasingly, she settled back down, 
savoring the sensation of slick surface moving against slick 
surface.  As she rose and fell, she again opened her eyes to 
mere slits and regarded Wanda; "In the more advanced tantric 
practices, the female will spin around and around on his 
shaft……."  Hinoki chuckled and rose, padding across the 
Cargo Bay, to lower another chain, the mate to the one 
holding a now rather limp Dahlia suspended.  Reaching up, he 
snapped a spreader bar to the hook, forming a trapeze for 
Tanj.  The Cheetah fem took it, one paw on either side of 
the hook, and as if showing off her physical prowess, slowly 
started doing chin-ups……

The Lion's groan was audible; the ring gag was designed to 
hold his jaws open, to permit anyone or anything access to 
his mouth.  As Tanj (being blindfolded, he at least 
THOUGHT it was Tanj) rose and fell on his shaft, he 
thought he was going to go out of his mind.  Only the 
burning of his over-taxed muscles kept him from cumming on 
the spot.

Tanj used all her experience to gauge his exhaustion, to 
measure how close he was to cumming….. she didn't want him 
dropping out from beneath her before she'd climaxed, and 
yet, she wanted to enjoy this to the fullest……  Figuring the 
time was close, she raised her legs as high as she could, 
bringing her knees almost to her chest, and then, with a 
twist, she set herself spinning…….  The chain above her 
twisted, and then she found herself twisting the other way; 
the sensation was exquisite, and as the Lion's thick, veined 
shaft turned within her, she felt the beginnings of her 
release…..

Dahlia couldn't remember how many climaxes the Mink had 
licked her to; she'd lost count, but even through the lust-
filled haze, she noted the Cheetah's maneuver; she made it 
look so easy, so graceful….. One small part of Dahlia's mind 
chided her that if she ever tried that, she'd prove to 
either not be limber enough, or not strong enough to hold 
herself up for that long.  And if she fell, oh, the poor 
male beneath her!  As the Cheetah fem twisted one way and 
then the other, as the Lion let out a strangled roar, the 
sight and the sounds and the Mink's incessant tongue all 
served to drive her to yet another body-wracking climax.  
Somehow along the way, the embarrassment of such sexual 
release in front of strangers had faded, and she could revel 
in the pleasures coursing through her body.….

Tanj's climax was well underway when the Lion, spurting 
hard, collapsed out from under her.  His cum, still coming 
in gobs, splatted his chest and belly, sticky white droplets 
against the golden colored fur.  Tanj, panting, slowly 
let herself down from the ad-hoc trapeze, to stand astride 
him.  When she'd recovered her breath she sighed; "I TOLD 
you not to loose that position.  Now I'm going to have to 
punish you…….  Or perhaps I'll just HAVE you punished.  This 
one deserves some thought, though."  Turning, she grinned at 
Hinoki and winked again; "I'm going to head up to the Flight 
Deck.  I need to check on a few things.  Clean him up, but 
leave him in a suitable…. Position, should I decide to amuse 
myself later."  The Cheetah nodded; "Mind if I… make use of 
him in your absence, Mistress?"  Tanj thought for a 
minute and then shrugged; "I suppose not, just so long as 
he's ready for me….."

Hinoki stood and stared at the globs of cum on the Lion's 
body, his cock slowly shrinking back into his sheath; "you 
know, if you were flexible enough, I'd make YOU lick that 
up; pity you're not an Otter."  Behind him, Wanda chuckled; 
"Oh, don't worry about that; I'll clean him up.  He needs a 
while to rest anyways…."  The startled male Cheetah watched 
as Wanda knelt by the Lion, bending to ruffle the fur of his 
tummy with her tongue.

Hinoki yawned.  The Lion had been retied in a more 
comfortable position; his ankles had been locked together, 
to a ring-bolt in the floor, and heavy belts had been 
buckled around each of his thighs, just below his crotch.  
His wrist cuffs had been buckled to the thigh bands, holding 
his paws at his side, and a rope underneath him would insure 
that he didn't raise them to play with himself.  The D-ring 
on the side of his collar had been locked to another 
eyebolt, holding him in a prone position.  The ring gag had 
been replaced with a soft rubber ball gag, earplugs had been 
retained, and the blindfold had been left in place.  
Finally, a foam rubber pad had been slipped beneath his 
head.  "Nighty night, Slave; I'll see you in the morning….."  
Turning, yawning again, Hinoki headed out to his cabin, to 
catch a few Z's.

Wanda stretched and reached down to ruffle Kath's headfur; 
"The Mare say anything yet, Slave?  Kath groused; "Oh, 
Plenty, Mistress; she's moaned and screamed and whinnyed…. 
But she hasn't said anything intelligent yet.  My tongue's 
getting sore; can I stop now?"  Wanda smiled; "soon, Love.  
Tell you what; I'll lick our friend here; you slide down, 
and lick me to three climaxes, and then we'll go get some 
sleep…..

Dahlia moaned; it just wouldn't stop.  There comes a point 
where pleasure blurrs with pain, and she was rapidly 
approaching that point.  She never thought she'd say it, but 
she just wished they'd STOP and let her get some rest, but 
now, the Wolverine had taken over, a fresh tongue against 
her poor raw, abused sex…….  Panting, shuddering, she howled 
as yet another climax washed over her, making her body jerk 
in its bonds.

Zassa yawned and stretched.  Catching a glimpse of herself 
in the mirror, she sighed; her hair was a mess, and her 
clothes, well, they looked like she'd slept in them.  Which 
she had.  Rising, stretching, she pulled her top off over 
her head as she headed for the shower.  At least, on this 
ship, clothes were optional.  VERY optional.

Wanda screamed into the Mare's dripping snatch as Kath 
licked her to the third climax; she'd taught the Mink well, 
and Kath obviously delighted in her skill at bringing her 
Mistress to a screaming climax.  Pulling away from the 
Mink's clutching paws, rising unsteadily, Wanda looked into 
the Mare's face.  Dahlia was panting hard, her chest 
heaving, her eyes open, but glazed and unseeing.  Chuckling, 
Wanda reached down to help Kath to her feet; "no point in 
asking HER questions; not at the moment….."  Kath just 
licked her lips and nodded, her face plastered with her 
Mistress' juices.  At a call of "Hey, All, what's up" they 
both turned to see Zassa padd nude into the Cargo Bay.

"Oh, not much" Wanda grinned; "Just "torturing" our stowaway 
here.  But Kath and I are all wore out; we're going to go 
get some sleep.  Care to take over?"  The Vixen grinned as 
she looked the Mare up and down; "Um, sure; what's the 
drill?"  Wanda smiled; "I don't believe this one stowed away 
just to talk to the Lion.  We're trying to lick the truth 
out of her."  Zassa's paw stroked over the wet fur of the 
Mare's crotch; "I see.  Get any results yet?"  At Wanda's 
shake of the head, the Vixen smiled; "Leave her to me; I'll 
get her to talk."  Wanda nodded; "she's all yours," and 
gathering up the end of Kath's leash, the two headed out 
from the Cargo Bay.

Dahlia's chest heaved, and gradually her vision cleared; but 
what she saw was scarcely reassuring.  The Vixen she'd 
glimpsed earlier was nude, and had a tube of lubricant in 
one hand…. And she was squeezing it into the palm of her 
other hand.  At first this confused the mare, but then as 
the Vixen started to work at spreading the lubricant around, 
covering every square millimeter of her hand, she started to 
get concerned…. She wasn't….. was she?  She COULDN'T be!

Tanj sighed and sipped her mug of coffee.  The ship was 
on course, the engineering department was all in the green, 
the cloaking device was just humming along, and there wasn't 
a single thing on the long range scanners.  It was just the 
way she liked it.  Yawning, she settled back in her pilot's 
chair and wondered how long Hinoki would sleep; she really 
should get him to relieve her on the bridge before she 
caught a few Z's…..

Zassa smiled and made herself comfortable between the Mare's 
widespread feet.  Reaching up with her right paw, she softly 
massaged Dahlia's crotch, getting it liberally covered in 
the lubricant.  As she rubbed, the Mare groaned tiredly.  
The horsie's chin was on her chest and her eyes were half 
closed, at least until Zassa slid two fingers between her 
labia, stroking upwards.  As the Vixen moved her paw up and 
down, up and down, with a languorous rhythm, Dahlia's eyes 
widened, and she leaned forward a little in her restraints 
to look down at what the vixen was doing to her crotch.  As 
she watched in amazement, the Vixen slowly worked at 
spreading her fingers, gently stretching her, opening her 
wider and wider, until a third finger, and then a fourth was 
added.  Aside from the liquid sounds of the slick fingers 
moving, aside from the rasp of harsh panting, the Vixen 
worked in silence……. It wasn't until the Vixen pulled all 
her fingers together, folding her thumb flat against her 
palm that the Horsie shudders and moaned; "nooooooo, no, not 
thaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAH!", her voice rising as Zassa slowly 
pushed her entire paw between her labia and into her sex.

The Vixen smiled to herself, enjoying the stowaway's 
reaction, enjoying the warmth and the wetness of the Mare's 
sex wrapping itself tightly around her paw.  She grinned and 
stroked her paw up and down for a moment or two, delighted 
in the way the Horsie writhed and struggled against the 
bonds holding her.   Another shriek was elicited as Zassa 
spread her fingers and formed a fist, deep within the Mare's 
sex.  Finally the Vixen spoke; "I get the impression you've 
never been fisted before… now  I can make this some of the 
best sex you've ever had, or…. something else.  Now; tell me 
the truth, tell me convincingly just why you're here, and 
I'll make this a delight………"

The Mare's response was a hoarse whisper; "N.. ne.. never 
been Fi…. Never before….. Never been with another girl be… 
before….. ne… never done ANY of this before…….  Look……  I…. 
I just wanted to see your Lion; he… we…. We were….. ah, OH!  
Ah, we may have… had something … back where… we were….."

Zassa smiled to herself, and shook her head; "Sounds good, 
and I'm tempted to believe you, but I wonder….. we do have 
enemies, so I guess I'd better make SURE you're telling me 
the truth…. With that, the Vixen uncurled one finger, to 
scritch lightly with a clawtip at the front wall of the 
Mare's pussy……  The Mare did her very best to arch, throwing 
her head back, and whinnying Loudly.  On the floor, a dozen 
feet distant, the Lion's body shifted; he'd heard that one 
even through his earplugs.  The Vixen chuckled; "Me, 
personally, I've always found a little pain to be the spice 
that makes sex great; but that’s just me; now that you know 
what MIGHT come to pass, this is the OTHER side of the 
coin…."  Leaning forward, Zassa flicked her tonguetip over 
the hard prominence that was the Mare's pearl as she tugged 
her fist downward sharply…..

Dahlia's response was electric; her body shook hard, almost 
convulsing as a sudden powerful climax tore through her; it 
seemed like the harder she came, the more the Vixen did to 
prolong it, to drive it to greater heights, to deeper 
depths.  Finally, inky blackness surrounded her, and she 
passed out…… 

Consciousness returned slowly, to the Mare, soft tugging 
sensations emanating from her crotch as the Vixen continued 
to toy with her.  Opening her eyes to slits, the Mare looked 
down between her breasts, into the upturned face of the 
Vixen; Zassa, for her part, seeing the Mare was back, 
started to move her fist a little faster, a little harder, 
and then, at the appropriate time, leaning forward to simply 
blow on the Mare's clitty.  Again she was rewarded with an 
ear-splitting whinny, and the Mare once again sagging in her 
bonds.  "Ooooooh, Zassa chuckled to herself; "I LIKE the way 
she does that…. Just GOTTA try that again……"

The Lion had been trying to sleep; there wasn't much else to 
do when you were strapped down like this; but there was 
obviously something happening in the Cargo Bay; occasionally 
he'd feel vibrations through the floor or hear a muffled 
something through the earplugs….  He wondered just what in 
the heck was going on out there.

Dahlia mumbled, more to herself than anyone else.  Over and 
over she mumbled, or gasped "Just wanted to SEE him; talk 
with him; that's ALL" or words to that effect.  The Vixen 
was relentless, and if she'd thought the licking was bad, 
the fisting was truly driving her mad.  The climaxes were so 
powerful that again and again she lost consciousness, until 
it all blended into a haze of pleasure and pain.  Finally 
blackness claimed her once again, as her mind overloaded on 
pleasure.

Zassa sighed as the Mare refused to wake up again.  Reaching 
up she harshly twisted one of Dahlia's nipples, producing no 
response.  With a sigh, she carefully extricated her fist, 
and with a grin, wiped it at least reasonably clean on the 
Mare's thigh.  Rising and stretching, she wondered how long 
the Mare had been suspended like that.. and then looking 
down at the prone and bound Lion, she had an idea…..

Dahlia oofed as the floor rushed up and hit her; she moaned 
incoherently as the Vixen grunted and struggled to drag her, 
and then she was being tied down over something warm and 
lumpy.  Wrists were fastened to something, and then ankles, 
and then waist… and then, exhausted, she drifted off to 
sleep.

The Lion grunted hard as something heavy landed on him; it 
didn’t take him long to figure out it was a body.. and then 
he felt someone tying something to his ankle restraints, 
someone running a strap from one bound wrist to the other, 
tying whomever was on top of him to him.  The scent of wet 
femininity assailed his nostrils… and then his ballgag was 
being pulled from his mouth.  For a moment one earplug was 
pulled out and he heard Zassa's sultry voice coo;  "Here's 
an old friend to keep you company."  Then the earplug was 
replaced.  He didn't know if Zassa was still there, 
watching, or if she'd left the Cargo Bay.  "Too heavy by far 
for Tanj" he thought to himself.  "Wanda wouldn't do 
this, and besides, I don't think she's that heavy either.  
Who could it be?"  Tilting his head up, the Lion explored 
what he could with his tongue; as his rough feline tongue 
stroked over a very wet, literally dripping pussy, he 
purrred, remembering that taste.

Dahlia woke up to a gentle lapping between her legs; it was 
a slow, soothing stroke, with a pause between each lick.  
She had no idea how long it had been going on, either.  It 
could have been minutes or hours.  Squirming just a little, 
she found that she was bound on top of someone, apparently 
head to toe…. Or more accurately, head to crotch.  Somewhere 
along the line, someone had blindfolded her, and filled her 
ears with some sort of earplugs; she could neither hear nor 
see.  Nuzzling downward, she inhaled, and then smiled; she 
remembered that scent!  Maybe the Vixen had believed her 
after all…..  With a grin, she opened her mouth to return 
the licks…..

Tanj opened her eyes, and realized that she'd fallen 
asleep on the flight deck; she was sprawled across the 
Pilot's seat, one leg thrown over the armrest.  Still nude, 
she found herself with one paw instinctively stroking her 
sex, and realized she'd been dreaming about her Master.  Her 
Lion.  HER Lion.  Wondering just what had transpired in the 
Cargo Bay after she'd left, she rose and stretched, and then 
padded over to switch one of the Operations monitors to the 
camera in the Cargo Bay.  What she saw made her blood boil; 
the Mare was on top of HER Lion, face down, in the classic 
"69," and they were both licking each other like crazy!  
Turning, she strode towards the flight deck door, fully 
intending to put a stop to THAT… and then she paused.  It 
was obvious they hadn't tied themselves like that.  Someone 
else had obviously done it.  Someone had probably figured 
that it was a good "scene" for two slaves….. and having set 
up this situation, how could she object to one of her 
crewmates using whatever resources were available to set up 
an interesting scene?  With a sigh, she slumped back in the 
Pilot's chair, wondering how she SHOULD react to this 
situation……

Tanj forced a smile as she entered the Cargo Bay.  The 
two bound forms had obviously licked themselves to 
exhaustion; in fact, she wasn't even sure either of them 
were awake.  Bending, she started to unclip the Mare from 
her Lion, and as she worked, they both stirred.  Gently, she 
pushed the Mare off the Lion to one side, pausing only to 
lock an ankle cuff to an eyebolt in the floor.  Then she was 
unlocking the Lion's feet, and attaching a leash to his 
collar.  A gentle tug brought him stiffly, awkwardly to his 
feet, and with a smile she led him off.

Dahlia found herself almost unrestrained; there were still 
cuffs around her wrists, but they weren't attached to 
anything.  Straps still encircled her body, but again, the 
ends just trailed off, loose.  Only one ankle cuff seemed to 
be fastened to anything.  Collecting her thoughts, she 
muttered; "Uh, um, whoever's there, I really need to pee…. I 
don't suppose you could let me loose long enough to go to 
the bathroom?"

Tanj smiled to herself; she didn't need to reply; with 
the earplugs the Mare wore, she wouldn't be heard anyways.  
Tugging on the Lion's leash, she led him from the Cargo Bay.

Hinoki yawned and stretched; rolling over he looked at his 
chronometer and groaned.  Flopping back on the bed, he 
wondered if he could make a case for his sleep cycles being 
all upset, that he didn't know how late it was…..  But then, 
he knew Tanj had probably gone, not to her quarters to 
sleep, but back to the flight deck, to watch over the ship; 
she was probably exhausted, and when that Cheetah got shy of 
sleep, well, she got a bit grumpy.  Okay, more than a “bit” 
grumpy…..  For a moment he looked at the pair of shorts 
lying on the floor, and then, with a shrug and a grin, 
strode nude from his cabin, headed for the wardroom, and 
hopefully, a cup of coffee.

Tanj grinned at Hinoki as he entered the wardroom; she 
was sitting with a steaming mug of coffee in both paws, her 
chair tilted back, its back against the wall behind her, and 
both feet, uncharacteristically, on the edge of the table.  
For a moment Hinoki frowned, never having seen her put her 
feet on any table, or desk, let alone the one they ate from… 
and then he grinned.  The telltale tip of the Lion's tail 
was just visible at the other end of the table; it was 
obvious he was crouched under the table, licking at his 
"mistress."  Drawing a cup of coffee, the male Cheetah 
pulled out a chair and sat, to grin at Tanj; "When was 
the last time you slept?"  Tanj shrugged; "Its been a 
while, I admit; I'll get to it in a bit.  Thought I'd have a 
shower first, and then I thought breakfast might be nice, 
but then I had this stray thought…… Considering that I've 
got a new slave, I figured I should make use of him…."  For 
a moment, Tanj closed her eyes and let out a long drawn 
out purrrrr; one paw left her coffee cup and stroked 
something under the table; "and this is making GOOD use of 
him… when he's done, in a little bit, I'll let him make us 
all breakfast.  And then I'll get some sleep.  OH, by the 
way, that Mare was saying she needed to use the head; tell 
you what; while I sleep, we should let our slave here have 
that promised time with the comm system, so he can check up 
on things back home.  While he's busy with that, you, and 
Zassa and Wanda and Kath can "entertain" our guest.  Hinoki 
just took a sip of his coffee and grinned; "Got anything 
special in mind?"
  
Eddington instinctively took the flyer that was thrust into 
his hand; before he could find a suitable trash can to toss 
it into, his bus had pulled up to the stop, and with a dozen 
other commuters he crowded on board.  All the seats were 
full, so he found himself hanging from an overhead handhold 
as the vehicle lurched out of the city towards the suburbs.  
Remembering the flyer he took a look at it and sighed; 
another one of those dang "Reds" political diatribes.  They 
seemed to be everywhere, as numerous as they were pedantic 
and annoying.  Crumpling it with one hand, he threw it down 
on the floor of the bus, heedless of the signs against 
littering.  The Elysium government couldn't possibly be as 
evil, or as greedy, or as harsh as those rants made it out 
to be.  He had a comfortable job, lived in a comfortable 
apartment, had a comfortable life… how could the things they 
said possibly be true?  The sudden slowing of the bus 
brought him out of his reverie and he looked around in 
confusion.  There was a roadblock, armored, helmeted police 
behind the barricade.  He watched in confusion as several 
dark-uniformed officers pushed their way onto the bus, their 
faces hidden behind the faceshields of their helmets.  "We 
have been informed that there are Rebel Sympathizers on this 
bus; you will all exit for a search!"  Guiltily, Eddington 
almost looked down at the crumpled flyer at his feet, but he 
caught himself just in time, the motion hidden as he 
shuffled off the bus with the others.  Two policefurrs stood 
back, weapons drawn as the third went down the line of 
passengers, roughly searching them.  With a cry of triumph, 
the officer held up a flyer similar to the one Eddington had 
discarded, snatched from a middle-aged lady's purse.  
Stepping back, ignoring her feeble protests, he brought up 
his side-arm, and shot her in the face.  Eddington flinched 
as her hot blood spattered his face, her body falling behind 
the line of bus passengers.  And then the officer was in 
front of Eddington, running paws roughly through his 
clothes, groping under his coat… and then he was gone down 
the line.  The policeman's sidearm spoke twice more, and 
then they were being herded onto the bus, the bus driver 
jerkily resuming his route as if deep in shock.  Eddington 
looked down at the crumpled piece of paper on the floor and 
bending, gingerly retrieved it.  If the police were doing 
things like that, perhaps what the flyer had said was 
true….. as he reread it, a teenaged girl ferret leaned over, 
to read over his shoulder.

Xyloff smiled and lowered the binoculars.  The Reds 
Political Action Team, masquerading as policemen, had just 
executed another brilliant "government atrocity."  His plan 
was working like a charm, new recruits flocking to his 
banner.  Daily, the power of the Reds, HIS power, grew.

Tanj smiled, curled up in her chair in the Wardroom; it 
was SO nice to have someone else to cook for you, and even 
nicer to have them do the dishes.  It was almost better than 
sex.  Almost.  Watching her "slave" drowsily, she wished 
he'd hurry up, so she could get him to put her to bed…….

Hinoki grinned down at Dahlia; "so you say you have to pee?"  
The Clydesdale mare looked at the male Cheetah; although she 
was seated, her ankle still locked to the ring bolt in the 
floor, she didn't have to look up very far.  "Uh, well, 
yeah; its been a while….. and my back teeth are kinda 
floating…."  Hinoki smiled, and making sure he was just out 
of reach, he sat down on the mat, cross-legged.  After a 
moment, he purrred; "if I'm going to go to all the trouble 
to find the key to unlock you, so you can use the 
facilities, you're going to have to ask correctly.  Just 
say; "Master, may I please go to the bathroom."  Dahlia 
blinked and she shook her head; "You have GOT to be 
kidding……."  In return, Hinoki just smiled……  “You know, I 
COULD just pee on your deck” Dahlia snorted.  Hinoki 
chuckled; “I think you’re MUCH too shy to do that in front 
of a guy… and you know I’d just make you lick it up 
afterwards……”  Dahlia sighed and shook her head, trying to 
figure out what to do, how to handle this strange male…..

The Lion waved a paw at Zassa as he entered the flight deck; 
"Don't… just don't; I'm "off duty."  Tanj's asleep 
(finally) and I've got permission to tackle the e-mail until 
she wakes up."  The Vixen took a sip from her cup of coffee 
and then grinned at the still nude, collared Lion; "She 
wearing you out?  Oh, and how's the tongue?"  The Lion 
sighed as he settled into the almost-too-small station chair 
at the communications console; "No, not quite.  I think I 
can take anything she can dish out….. now Hinoki, him, I'm 
not so sure about.  Got a wild streak, that one does… But 
Tanj I think I can handle."  Grinning, the Lion looked 
up; "Like I've got a choice at the moment.  And the tongue's 
coming along nicely.  Almost to the point where I can lick, 
or talk, or eat without pain."  Turning back to the console, 
the Lion groaned, and muttered to himself; "Geez, will you 
LOOK at all the messages!"

Zantop sheathed his fighting knife and nodded to the Weasel.  
The Reds commando team had encountered no significant 
difficulties in breaking into the computer center…. After 
all, it wasn't as if the facility was a MILITARY site… No, 
it was lightly guarded, and that was insanely stupid.  The 
computer center merely handled the financial transactions of 
the province's banks.  That’s all.  Oh, Zantop supposed it 
had been adequately guarded against thieves, perhaps even 
against the syndicate, but they weren't hardened soldiers, 
thoroughly trained and lavishly equipped.  Standing to one 
side, watching as two of his furrs, dragged out the bodies, 
as another started mopping the blood from the floor, he 
stood guard as Ffolkes, the Weasel, accessed one of the 
terminals.  How the Reds had gotten the access codes he 
didn't know, and didn't much care.  He didn't "need to 
know".  It took the Weasel scant minutes to enter the 
commands….. and then he turned to look at Zantop.  Zantop 
looked at his watch and then back out the door at where his 
furrs were still cleaning up.  Grinning back at the Weasel 
he nodded; the financial computer expert could have some 
time to play with the system, to create havoc, and to fill 
the Red's financial accounts.

Tanj purrrrrred, and stirred sleepily.  A broad, wet 
tounge was licking so very delightfully between her toes… 
her two big toes.  As she stretched, arching her hips up off 
the bed a little, she thought that it would be nice to be 
awakened like this EVERY day…. She could definitely get used 
to this.  Looking down between her breasts, over her flat 
tummy, she found the Lion watching her, his eyes smiling.  
It was almost as if this was all HIS idea, and he was 
enjoying it thoroughly……  Letting her head drop back to her 
pillow, Tanj moaned; "quit teasing; I'm hungry… Finish 
me, and then lets get along to breakfast.  I've got a busy 
day planned……."

Xyloff looked at the newsfax and smiled.  It had gone JUST 
as he planned.  The Weasel had shifted money from Elysium 
Government accounts, not to the Reds, but to the accounts of 
prominent individuals, in industry, in labor, and in the 
Government.  And then he'd let leak word of payoffs and 
bribes, of massive corruption in the Military Industrial 
Complex and in the Government in the war against the 
Rebels……  And now the most effective people in the 
opposition were bellowing their innocence, screaming they'd 
been framed.  Of course they had been, but no one would EVER 
believe that….  They were doomed, kangaroo courts and the 
lightning-quick executions of an increasingly desperate 
government in their future, and with their destruction, 
Government resistance in this sector was just as dead.  
Putting down the fax, he smiled and shook his head.  When 
he'd been a member of the government, it had been so easy to 
get the codes, to squirrel them away for a rainy day… A 
little foresight and this had all became So easy.

 Dahlia grumbled as the male Cheetah led her through the 
ship's corridor at the end of his leash.  She'd been allowed 
to use the bathroom, allowed to take a shower, if you could 
call what the Cheetah had put her through a "shower," and 
now they were headed for Breakfast… But each concession from 
the Cheetah had been bought at the expense of her obedience, 
of her submission…..  There had been a few rewards too, but 
overall, the experience had left her, well, mad.  She'd been 
held as a slave for years, near worked to death, and yet, 
she'd never felt so helpless, so demeaned, so much 
someone's…. "plaything"….. What WAS there about this guy?  
Did he really get off on his power over her?

The omelet was surprisingly good, and the bacon done to 
perfection.  Tanj did her best to hide her surprise, to 
take it all in stride, but a part of her still wondered 
where the Lion had picked up his kitchen skills; he was 
GOOD.  The others seemed to think so too, as the food 
disappeared almost as rapidly as the Lion served it up.  At 
the end of the table, Hinoki was taking great delight in 
feeding the Mare forkfuls of his omelet, apparently reveling 
in her growing resentment.  Apparently the Lion didn't think 
it was too unusual, however, as after he'd served Wanda and 
Kath, he'd knelt by Tanj's side, and with a grin, she'd 
fed HIM a forkful.  Maybe he was trying to make a point to 
Dahlia, to show that if it was expected of him, there wasn't 
anything special in Hinoki doing it to her.  Solidarity 
among slaves?  And that made Tanj once again wonder what 
there might be between those two.  

Feeding the Lion another forkful of his own delicious 
omelet, Tanj purrred; "I've got plans for this one; I 
suspect we'll be occupied most of the day.  The rest of you 
can amuse yourselves with the stowaway; do whatever you want 
with her, given the standard rules."  At the far end of the 
table, Kath swallowed the forkful that Wanda had so 
graciously allowed her to feed herself, and wondered aloud 
if that included her?  "Meaning no disrespect, Ma'am, but, 
ah, does this mean I'm no longer at the bottom of the heap 
here?"  Wanda hurriedly brought up her napkin to cover her 
mouth as she laughed with a full mouth; after taking a 
moment to recover, swallowing hard, the Wolverine lass 
turned to look at the Mink; "Why, Kath, Darling, are you 
wanting to take out some of your frustrations on someone?"  
Kath looked from Wanda, to Dahlia and back; "Um, well, I 
hadn't really intended to thrash her, or anything….. I 
guess, Mistress, the answer to that is no…… I think I just 
thought it might be nice to feel "in charge" for a change…..  
Wanda looked at Tanj, an eyebrow crooked upwards; "It 
might be interesting to see what our dear little pet might 
do, don't you think?"  Tanj fed the Lion a piece of bacon 
and then nodded slowly, her eyes still on him; "Could be 
interesting….. I suspect that Hinoki feels that the Mare 
needs a bit more training, but I suspect he could find a 
moment in his busy schedule to let Kath have some fun……."  
Hinoki just sipped his coffee and shrugged, and then after a 
moment, nodded.

Dahlia chewed the forkful that the male Cheetah had given 
her and sighed inwardly; it looked like she might wind up 
being a slave to a slave, at least for a while, and somehow, 
she didn't like the sound of that in the least.

Zassa smiled quietly to herself as she finished her coffee.  
If Tanj was going to be busy all day with the Lion, and 
the others were going to be off playing with the stowaway, 
that might give her just the opportunity she’d been looking 
for……..

As the Lion did the dishes, Tanj sipped her coffee, and 
wondered; "Now that I've claimed him for the whole day, what 
am I going to do?  After so bold a statement, I'd better 
come up with SOMETHING good……."

Tanj purrrrred soflty; somehow, she didn't quite know 
just how, it had turned into a bit of a trivia contest.  
She'd started off with the Lion, at the beginning of the 
fifth chapter of the second section of the Kama Sutra, 
slowly working through her repertoire of positions and 
techniques.  As expected, his knowledge matched her own, and 
through the morning they had enjoyed each other's bodies…  
But somewhere along the way, they'd fallen into trying to 
work through the positions in each of the categories of 
"congress" in alphabetical order, each wracking their brains 
for the correct name for the technique, and for what, more 
properly, came next.  It was a challenge that was going to 
be fun, even for the loser…..  

Zassa listened at the door to the exercise room for a 
moment; it sounded like those two were well occupied.  
Turning, padding back towards the staterooms, the Vixen let 
herself quietly into Tanj’s cabin.  The door wasn’t even 
latched, let alone locked.  Looking around, paws on hips, 
the Vixen wondered to herself  “now, where’s she hidden it?”

The Lion's claws were sharp against her ass as he held her 
up. Neither one of them could remember the name for this 
particular variant of "supported congress" but they'd both 
agreed it came next in the sequence.  The Lion stood with 
his feet spread, leaning back, shoulders braced against the 
wall.  Tanj had her arms around his neck, hanging on 
tightly, her feet braced against the wall on either side of 
his hips.  As she pushed herself out from him, she moaned as 
she felt his thick cock slide from her pussy…. Pausing with 
only the head betwixt her labia, she watched his face, and 
at the appropriate time, she slooowly let herself "down", 
impaling herself on his shaft.  She moved as if they were 
both tireless, as if they had all the time in the world, 
watching his face, stroking him just so, holding him on the 
edge of frustration…….

Hinoki was working on Dalia's "posture" when Wanda led Kath 
into the Cargo Bay at the end of her leash.  The Mare was 
kneeling, knees widespread, back straight, head up, but eyes 
down, the backs of her hands resting on her thighs, palms 
up.  Hinoki was strolling around her, occasionally using the 
business end of a riding crop to "touch up" her posture.  
And Dahlia was fuming; from the look on her face, she was 
barely under control.  As if reading just how far he could 
push her, the male Cheetah nodded and grumbled; "Very good.  
Remember just exactly how you are right now; that is the 
correct way to kneel. I will expect you to be able to repeat 
it flawlessly in the future."  Before Dahlia could snort the 
reply that was obviously on her lips, Hinoki turned and 
smiled at Wanda; "I see you've brought Kath by for a little 
"stress relief."  Do you two have a plan, or are you just 
going to "wing it?"  Wanda frowned a little at the Cheetah's 
tone, but after a quick look at Kath, Wanda mumbled; "I 
figured we'd just let Kath have her head and see what 
developed."  The Cheetah just smirked and nodded, and rather 
imperiously, stalked across the Cargo bay, to find a seat on 
some cushions against the wall, the riding crop still in his 
left paw.

Zassa smiled with triumph.  It hadn’t been hidden very well 
at all.  And in a moment, Tanj’s secret would be hers.  
Well, at least for a while….  Smiling, she took the 
container holding Tanj’s “living dress” down from the 
overhead compartment.  It surged weakly back and forth in 
its dusty clear plastic container, an inky black pool.  
Somehow, Zassa thought, it looked rather… “neglected”…..  
Carefully opening the lid, the Vixen wondered how Tanj 
controlled this thing?  How did she make it flow over her 
body, make it look first like one outfit, and then another?  
As the thing suddenly surged against one wall of the 
container, squeezing through the gap under the lid, and 
flowing up the Vixen’s arm, Zassa let out a strangled “eep!” 
and dropped the now empty container.  Her paw wiped at the 
oily black thing, but there was no stopping it as it spread 
over her body.  As a curtain of rubbery black descended over 
her eyes, Zassa wondered just what she’d gotten herself into 
this time?

Wanda watched the Cheetah withdraw, and then shrugged; 
turning to her slave, she unhooked the lead from her collar 
and made an off-handed gesture; "She's all yours, Kath; have 
fun."  The Mink nodded at Wanda, her face taking on a 
resolute cast, as she turned to look at the still kneeling 
Mare.  Paws on hips, Kath walked around Dahlia, looking at 
her as if seeing her for the first time.  "All right, if I'm 
in charge now, we're going to have to change a few things.  
First off, I won't have a slave that looks so…… plain.  
We're going to have to spruce her up some….  Turning, Kath 
padded over to the locker at the far wall, leaving a 
slightly bewildered Dahlia behind her……

Dahlia watched the Mink padd off, from lowered eyes; she'd 
been real careful to hold the position the Cheetah male had 
left her in… but as the Mink strode off, she couldn't help 
but wonder what was wrong with the way she looked? She was 
fit, and trim, if a bit big-boned, but that simply came with 
the species…. She had curves in all the right places… didn't 
she?  She was still wondering what was wrong with her looks 
when the Mink returned….   Keeping her head down, she lost 
track as the Mink moved around behind her, a number of 
things landing audibly on the floor behind her…..  but when 
the hairbrush stroked through her mane, she almost jumped a 
foot!

Hinoki watched Kath work on the mare's hair and shook his 
head.  Females!  Rising to his feet, he grinned at Wanda; 
"not exactly my idea of what a top should do, but its her 
show.  I'm going to go get some sleep.  Wake me if anything 
interesting happens."  Wanda smiled and nodded, and glancing 
back at Kath, she scratched her head; what WAS that crazy 
Mink up to, anyways?

Tanj sighed and stretched.  Her muscles were sore, in the 
way that follows a really good workout.  Next to her, the 
Lion snored softly; she'd plumb wore him out….. but then, 
most of the "congresses" that they'd worked through had 
required greater athletic feats from the male…. Maybe later 
she'd work them into some forms where SHE had to do most of 
the work, not that she'd mind in the least.  Poking him 
softly, she growled; "Come on, Lazy.  If you're too tired to 
continue, there's always your e-mail to attend to."  The 
Lion blinked and turned his head to look at her, a smirk on 
his face; "Too tired to please YOU, Mistress?  Never!"  
Tanj chuckled and shook her head; "I think we'll skip to 
chapter 9 of part two; Auparishtaka, or Mouth Congress… Lets 
see if THAT will let you regain your stamina….."  The Lion 
smiled and nodded; "lets me stay flat on my back….." 
reaching over he grabbed Tanj, pulling her over on top of 
him, inverted.  Lifting his head, driving his muzzle between 
her thighs he alternated licks with "I believe (*lick*) that 
it starts (*lick*) with the (*lick*) Congress of (*lick*) 
the Crow (*lick*)……."  Tanj purrrred and squirmed, 
settling herself on top of him, both paws reaching to fondle 
his sheath and balls as she soaked in his initial 
ministrations; "Mmmmmm, yes, I think that's a good place to 
start."  And bending her head, she started to respond with 
her own licks……

Zassa squirmed and moaned.  The sound never reached her 
ears.  The crazy black thing in the container had flowed up 
her arm, and over her head, one tendril pushing into her 
mouth, gagging her.  A portion had flowed over her eyes, 
effectively blocking out sight, and as she’d brought her 
paws up to try and peel the thing off her face, it had 
somehow entrapped her paws, as if they’d been pushed into a 
bucket of roofing tar.  The creature had flowed down her 
body, moving her paws down over her breasts, across her 
tummy and then around behind her back, where they’d been 
trapped ever since.  But it hadn’t stopped there.  It had 
continued to spread over her, its substance thinning, but 
becoming no less powerful for doing so.  A thick tentacle 
had pushed between her thighs, to meld with the portion 
flowing down her back.  THEN it had extruded two thick 
plugs, flowing into vagina and ass, filling her as a lover 
would.  Somewhere in her struggles, Zassa had fallen to the 
floor, and tendrils had encircled her ankles, pulling them 
up, melding into the strands that held her wrists, until she 
was held in a classic hog-tie.  Helpless, the Vixen mewled 
into her living gag as the creature started to work on her, 
the plugs in pussy and ass starting to slither in and out of 
her, even the plug in her mouth throbbing in time with their 
motions.  It was terrifying, and delightful, and incredibly 
sexy, and it didn’t take long before Zassa was rocking her 
body in time with the creature’s motions…..

Dahlia smiled, head back, eyes closed, as Kath brushed her 
hair out.  If this was what it was like to be a slave, this 
was MUCH more like it.  She almost regretted it when the 
Mink put down the brush and started to braid her hair; 
without being able to see what she was doing, Dahlia wasn't 
certain just what the Mink was doing to her, but it felt 
like she was weaving her hair into a French braid…. And it 
felt like she was weaving ribbons into it as she worked…..  
It took a while, but finally the Mink was done…..  Dahlia 
did her best to hold her kneeling position, but when the 
Mink lifted one of her hands, she had to open her eyes.  
Businesslike, Kath fastened a padded cuff around Dahlia's 
right wrist, and then moved to put a similar one around her 
left.  Moving around behind the Mare, Kath urged her to 
bring both wrists behind her back…..  And then Dahlia felt 
something being tied to the rings in the cuffs, pulling her 
wrists together, and UP!  As her wrists were pulled up into 
the middle of her back, she realized that the ribbons woven 
into her hair were what her cuffs were being tied to; the 
result left her head pulled all the way back, with her 
wrists crossed almost painfully high on her back.  

Wanda smiled; this was more like it.  "Dear, I'm going to go 
catch up on some of my technical reading, but you be sure to 
tell me ALL about it later.  And don’t forget the ‘rules’"  
With that, the Wolverine lass turned and padded from the 
Cargo Bay.

Kath smiled as she padded around the kneeling Mare; "now, 
that looks MUCH better…..   Hmmmmm, what else can I come up 
with?"  Dahlia struggled, trying to find an equilibrium 
between holding her wrists as high as she could to ease the 
pressure on her neck, and letting her head be pulled back, 
easing the strain on her arms…. It took a moment for it to 
sink in that the Mink was placing cuffs around her upper 
arms as well, and for a moment she wondered what the Mink 
might tie off there.  As it turned out, she wished she 
"hadn't asked…."

"It’s a good thing your nipples were already pierced" Kath 
muttered to the Mare.  "Saves me having to use clips, and 
I'm sure they would have been MUCH more painful……."  A thin 
strand of gold chain stretched from Dahlia's left nipple to 
the armband around her left bicep; it was a short distance, 
but there wasn't any slack in the chain…. A similar chain 
was fastened from her right nipple ring to the armband 
around her right bicep.   Stepping back, Kath nodded; "that 
looks much better.  I like the way the gold of the chains 
look against you."  Dahlia bit her tongue to keep from 
spitting out that she could have done without that 
particular compliment.  Bending, Kath fastened an ankle cuff 
around each of the Mare's ankles and then clipped them 
together.  The brush reappeared, stroking along the Mare's 
tail, and then the Mink was braiding again, ribbons being 
woven into the braid.  As Dahlia feared, the ribbons were 
then tied off to the connected ankle cuffs.  While her tail 
was long enough that the tie was loose, Dahlia knew she’d 
never be able to stand; "Its going to be real difficult to 
get out of the kneeling position like this" Dahlia thought 
to herself…..  Kath picked up one more item and smiled; "one 
last adornment before we move on to other things; but I 
doubt you'll mind this one……"  Dahlia's eyes opened wide as 
she heard the harsh buzzing of the vibrator start behind 
her, and then the Mink was fumbling between the Mare's 
legs……

The climax hit Zassa hard, making her scream into her living 
gag.  The pleasure seemed to last forever, wave after 
intense wave…. It almost seemed that as her body rocked back 
and forth, that the creature was learning what she liked, 
and concentrating on that…. The second climax came seconds 
later and again she screamed into the tendril filling her 
mouth.  It was absolutely fantastic; it seemed like the 
creature could almost read her mind.  As the pressure built 
towards a third, powerful climax, a stray thought passed 
through the Vixen’s mind; it seemed as if with each of her 
climaxes, the creature was gaining strength, gripping her 
more tightly, its blackness covering more of her body….

Smiling, Kath stepped a  few paces away, and then 
luxuriously stretched out on the mat; "I think that's enough 
for the moment. Crawl over here, Slave, and lick me, until I 
tell you to stop.  If you give me more climaxes than the 
vibrator gives you, you'll be rewarded."  Dahlia tried to 
look towards the reclining Mink; due to the way her wrists 
were bound to her hair, with her muzzle pointed at the 
ceiling, she had to twist her head to look at her from the 
corner of an eye.  She was supposed to do WHAT?  She’d never 
done something like that in her entire life; never even 
DREAMED of it… well, maybe she’d thought about it once or 
twice, but never seriously.  And how was she supposed to 
crawl tied like THIS?  Her first efforts at “walking” on her 
knees only succeeded in her pulling at her tail, and then 
with a whinny, she lost her balance, and fell face-forward 
onto the mat.  Groaning to herself, she winced as she 
realized the diabolical effect of the chains between the 
armbands and her nipples.  As her body had fallen forward, 
her breasts had tried to move forward, to hang down under 
the effect of gravity, nipples pointing downward, until 
brought up sharply by the chains.  Now, as she lay on her 
stomach, wincing as her bound arms tugged at her hair, as 
her tail tugged at her ankles, she realized that the chains 
were holding her breasts unnaturally to the sides of her 
body.  Squirming, grunting as she dragged and shoved herself 
along the mat, wincing at the tugs at her nipples as she 
moved, Dahila did her best to inchworm towards the grinning 
Mink.  Somehow, refusing to comply with the Mink’s order 
never entered her mind; later, She’d wonder about that…..

It was time for another break; no matter how she might WANT 
to continue, the Lion was just…. “spent.”  Well, they HAD 
worked through several whole classifications of “congresses” 
in the Kama Sutra….  Leaving him on his back, she squirmed 
around to lie half on his chest, chin propped up on one paw 
as she looked at the underside of his muzzle.  He was 
breathing deeply, not quite panting, and she rose and fell 
on his chest as if he didn’t even know she was there.  
Wondering if he’d fallen asleep again, she purrred; “Having 
fun, Slave?”  What she got back was a deep rumble, an “Um 
Hmmmmmm” more felt through his chest than heard.  After a 
moment his head, muzzle still  pointed at the ceiling, 
nodded and he rumbled; “there are times, Mistress, when its 
good to just let go control, to surrender to someone else, 
to someone you trust implicitly, and live moment to moment, 
pleasure to pleasure.  To NOT have to worry about the 
future.  To not have any cares beyond the moment.  I think 
this was just what I needed, and I marvel at your….. 
perception at knowing how to give me the “Vacation” that I 
truly needed.”  Tanj thought for a moment, wondering if 
that was really what she’d had in mind, or if she’d just 
wanted to have him all to herself for a while?  Had she 
really been that altruistic?  If he was ascribing such high 
and lofty goals to her work, well, she wasn’t about to 
correct him…..  But a change of subject might just be in 
order, before he decided to inquire further.  Giving his 
chest a gentle lick, Tanj purrrred; “I’m glad you’re 
finding it so… relaxing.  I do wonder, however, what your 
plans are, when we’ve overthrown the Elysium government.  
When the war’s over.  When your geas is fulfilled…….”

Dahlia had to chuckle to herself; it was awkward, trying to 
maintain a decent contact with the Mink; she seemed to be 
incredibly sensitive, and even her amateurish lickings 
caused her to writhe, usually away from her.  It wasn’t easy 
to squirm forward, to “keep up the pressure,” but it was 
turning out to be worth the discomfort, the embarrassment, 
and the humiliation.  Her erstwhile “Mistress” was moaning, 
begging for more, pleading for more.  And the Mare was 
tempted to withhold her tongue, a little, just to see what 
concessions she might get out of her…..  “On the other 
hand,” Dahlia thought to herself; “If I can get her to pass 
out, maybe, just maybe I can get a break….”  Squirming her 
broad tongue into the Mink’s tight snatch, Dahlia went 
looking for that one place that had made the Mink scream a 
few minutes before…..

The form squirmed on the floor of Tanj’s cabin, almost 
completely covered, head to toe, in shiny black, that seemed 
to pulsate with energy.  Within the black cocoon, Zassa 
howled through yet another climax.  The creature had learned 
that she enjoyed a little pain with her pleasure, and now, 
the blackness had grown teeth within its mass.  Teeth 
nipping at her nipples, tugging at her clitty.  Phantom 
claws raking her ass, or her flanks.  Even sudden electrical 
shocks making her body convulse, timed at just the right 
moment to drive her over the edge into another massive 
climax.  Completely encased, the Vixen squirmed and panted, 
taken to sexual heights like she’d never even contemplated 
before!

The Lion shrugged; "I'm sorry, I can't say as I've ever 
really allowed myself to look further than the establishment 
of Freedom on Elysium….  Somehow it just seemed…. 
"counterproductive.""  Tanj Lay, with her head in his 
lap, looking up at him.  Their rest break had stretched far 
beyond what she'd anticipated, as their conversation had 
wandered…..  And at the moment she had no desire to change 
things.  "But we're getting so close.  It won't be long 
before the Elysium government falls, and the Blues take 
over.  I know Cromwell has promised free elections and a 
referendum to choose the form of government the planet will 
have.  You ought to have a plan… if not for yourself, then 
at least for the Brethren.…. I doubt we'll be able to 
conduct "business as usual"……  Do you plan to relocate them 
to some more… "profitable" location, or are you going to 
disband them?  Sell out your shares and retire?"  To her 
amazement, the Lion just looked down at her and smiled 
whisfully and shrugged again.  As he toyed with a lock of 
her hair, he whispered; "when my Mistress laid this geas on 
me, I never really thought I'd pull it off; never thought 
I'd get this far.  Never thought I'd live to see the day the 
planet was free.  I guess I've always thought that to plan 
for "later" would jinx the whole thing….  No, I really don't 
have a clue."

Dahlia knelt on the mat, a self-satisfied smirk on her face.  
Along with the juices of her erstwhile "Mistress."  The Mink 
had finally ordered, and then demanded, and then begged, and 
then pleaded for her to stop, and after a while, the Mare 
had.  Her reward had been the hasty untying of her hair from 
her still bound wrists, and her ankles from her tail.  Now 
the Mink lay panting on the mat, obviously trying to recover 
from the whole situation, and Dahlia patiently waited to see 
what would come next.  While she waited, the buzzing of the 
dildo buried between her legs was a pleasant distraction.  
Pity its size hadn't been more suited to that of an equine, 
instead of the much smaller Mink……  Still, it was nice……

Tanj sighed.  The conversation had run down, leaving her 
with a disturbingly uneasy feeling.  Somehow she'd 
expected…… what?  That the Lion would say that after the 
war, he'd gather her into his arms and carry her off?  Well, 
that at least he'd have a plan.  Didn't he ALWAYS have a 
plan?  He was the Boss; he was her Master; he should KNOW 
what to do…….  As she looked up at him, she was tempted to 
ask him about the Mare; about what she meant to him, about 
what his thoughts were about her, but somehow she just 
couldn't make herself ask the questions that burned so 
within her.  Perhaps she was afraid of what he might say…..  
Covering her unease by sliding from his lap, rising to her 
feet, she looked down into his upturned face and sighed; "I 
need to check in on the flight deck; lets get cleaned up, 
and you can get some time in on your e-mail, while I check 
our course."  The Lion just nodded and smoothly rose to his 
feet, to follow her.

Kath smiled at the kneeling Mare; "that really was very 
good; I think when you learn a few more things, you'll be 
something special…. But right now, there's something else I 
want of you.  I don't know if it falls into the 
classification of a "reward" for doing me so well, but 
still, well, what's the point in being a Mistress if you 
can't get what you want?"  As the Mink turned and walked (a 
little bowlegged) over to the storage locker, Dahlia smiled 
to herself again; the Mink's tone was a lot less harsh, a 
lot less demanding… Her words still seemed to imply that she 
thought she was the boss, but the tone was more that of 
someone asking a favor….. Dahlia was just about to try and 
turn the tables some, to ask the Mink what was in it for 
her, when the Cheetah Male entered the cargo bay again.  One 
look from him, and Dahlia found herself checking her 
kneeling position, and lowering her eyes.  What WAS it about 
that one that made her behave so?

The harness was a tangle of black leather straps, and thick 
latex.  Dahlia stood, while the Mink all but swarmed around 
her, sliding the maze of straps and buckles around her and 
then tightening it here and there, until it encased the 
Mare's body from crotch to neck.  Looking down between her 
breasts, now at least partially supported, and molded by the 
straps, Dahlia blinked in amazement at the lifelike phallus 
that seemed to grow from her mons.  A hard rubber finger, 
studded with little bumps hooked into her sex, and she could 
tell that with each movement it was going to rub rather 
nicely against her tender bits… but the phallus, that made 
her blush in a way she'd never experienced before; it looked 
so very "obscene" sticking out there……. A quick glance at 
the Cheetah showed him leaning against the wall, a smirk on 
his face as if he were thoroughly enjoying her discomfiture.  
Kath, for her part, dropped to her knees to lick the head of 
the dong, until it glistened with her saliva, a wanton, 
lascivious act Dahlia was sure she could NEVER mimic… and 
then with a grin, the Mink turned, to crouch on the mat, 
facing the Cheetah; looking over her shoulder she growled 
sensually; "Come on, my pretty slave; FUCK ME!"  Dahlia 
glanced at the male, as if to say; "What, with HIM here?" 
but then, in response to his glare, and doing her best to 
conquer her shyness, she walked forward on her knees, the 
head of the dong swaying obscenely before her, as if 
questing for the Mink's snatch on its own.

Kath moaned and clawed at the mat; the Mare was everything 
she'd thought she'd be; powerful, and tireless.  The Mare's 
hips rocked back and forth, slamming the latex dong into 
Kath's hungry sex with sufficient force to slowly drive her 
across the mat.  And from the pants and grunts and whinnys 
coming from behind her, the Mare was being rubbed the right 
way by the harness as well.  Doing what she could to brace 
herself against the surface of the mat, Kath stuck her ass 
up a bit, making the dong saw at the front of her pussy; the 
friction produced an almost immediate climax, in an 
uncounted string of climaxes……

Hinoki watched with a critical eye, as the Mink panted and 
moaned, barely able to vocalize what she wanted the Mare to 
do.  Mostly it was just screams for "more" and "harder"……  
Shaking his head at the pitiful display of "topping," the 
Cheetah shifted from a sitting position, to his knees, and 
moving over in front of the Mink, he wrapped his hand in her 
hair, pulling her head up; "its obvious you need something 
to keep you from sliding across the floor, Kath.  And I'm 
it." 

Kath sensed the head of the Cheetah's shaft rubbing at her 
lips, and instinctively opened her mouth to admit it; then 
another of the Mare's powerful thrusts, bounced her forward, 
driving Hinoki's shaft all the way into her mouth, until its 
head pressed against the back of her throat.  And then, as 
the Mare pulled back, the Cheetah drove forward, thrusting 
hard at her face; back and forth, the Mink surged, between 
the two, her perception of the world gradually fading in a 
lust-filled haze to the two thrusting shafts.

Hinoki kept a tight grip on the Mink's hair, as he thrust 
his cock into her muzzle.  She sucked at him eagerly, 
instinctively, as he growled; "What ever made you think that 
you could be dominant?  That you could be a "top?"  Even 
when you're in charge, you're shameless, begging for it, 
putting yourself at the mercy, at the CONTROL of a slave!  
Pitiful, that's what you are!"  As he growled, his hips 
driving forward, his cock thrusting into her mouth, the 
Cheetah raised his eyes to the Mare; "and YOU; you're just 
as bad.  I can see it in your face; you think you can top 
her, think you can turn the tables on a weak mistress, but 
you haven't the guts to even try!  You're WAY too timid to 
ever be anything but a Slave!"  Giving a final thrust, the 
Cheetah pulled his hips back, and taking his shaft in his 
right paw, he stroked himself as he came, his cum 
splattering over Kath's face, pearly white drops clinging to 
her dark brown fur.  Wiping his shaft off on the Mink's 
cheek, Hinoki rose, to padd over to the storage locker.  
Returning with a pawfull of leather straps, he growled at 
Dahlia; "don't stop, but quit thrusting so hard; at least 
until I tell you to resume."  With that, he started 
fastening a similar harness around the Mink.

Dahlia watched as the Cheetah gave them a final smirk, and 
then departed from the cargo bay.  The Mink was now as 
securely trussed as Dahlia was, with straps criss-crossing 
her from her collar to her crotch.  Except now her ankles 
were hooked to the harness by her thighs, forcing her to 
support the weight of her hips on her knees.  And those 
straps were interlaced with Dahlia's harness, the strap-on 
driven deep into the Mink.  Any motion either of them might 
make would only work the dong in and out of the Mink.  
Kath's arms were bound behind her back, her torso resting on 
her breasts, her head pulled back with her hair tied to a 
strap crossing Dahlia's belly… and the Mink's mouth was 
filled with a ring gag, just in case the Cheetah wanted to 
come back later for some more……  And on the far side of the 
Cargo Bay, glittered a small pair of scissors, supposedly 
their only hope of getting loose.  All they had to do was 
move over there, and somehow pick them up.  Getting over 
there was going to be fun, though.……..

Wanda looked up as Hinoki padded into the mess.  She'd made 
it through three of her medical journals, with an even dozen 
to go.  She'd also made it through an entire pot of coffee.  
"So how go things with our slaves?" the Wolverine lass 
asked.  Hinoki just grinned as he dumped out the grounds and 
started a fresh pot.  "Those two are HOPELESS.  Kath was 
practically begging the Mare to fuck her with a strap-on; 
disgusting behavior for a Mistress.  And the Mare was doing 
everything she was told, even though she looked as if she 
hated it.  Truly two completely submissive personalities."  
After filling his cup, Hinoki paused and looked at the 
Wolverine; "you know, its just not any FUN breaking in a new 
slave when they're that submissive.  No challenge to your 
skills at all."  

Wanda stared at the door the Cheetah had passed out of a 
moment before, and wondered where a comment like THAT had 
come from.  After all, hadn't he been Tanj's slave, until 
just recently?  Most curious!

Zassa’s eyes opened, and she wondered muzzily at what point 
she’d passed out.  Then she noticed she could see and it all 
came flooding back.  Sitting up rapidly, she felt the puddle 
of blackness slide down her tummy, to land in her lap.  
Letting out a gasp of “Oh no you don’t!  Not Again!” she 
scooped up a double handful of the black goo, and dropped it 
in its container.  The lid slammed down, and Zassa sighed in 
relief; “Whatever you are, that was fantastic, but I don’t 
think I’d survive another round!”.  Frowning, the Vixen bent 
to look at the pool of black inside the transparent 
container; it looked shiny black, and “healthy” compared to 
what it had looked like when she’d opened the  container a 
few… hours?  Days?  Before.  But now, well, it just didn’t 
look like there was as much of it as there had been.  
Shrugging, the Vixen turned and standing on tiptoe, she rose 
to put the container back where she’d found it.  “Nothing I 
can do about the dust, but I bet Tanj never notices” she 
mumbled to herself.  After taking a look around to make sure 
the rest of Tanj’s quarters looked undisturbed, she 
turned and padded out.

As the Vixen left the stateroom, three small, separate 
puddles of blackness oozed across the floor, flowing out of 
her path, hiding themselves under furniture, or in 
crevices……

Tanj nodded in satisfaction; "Last course correction's 
been made.  One more jump and we should be at Jenka's base.  
Um, lets say about six hours."  The Lion looked up from the 
Comm console and nodded; "That gives us some time.  I'm 
almost done here….  Mistress, what would you say to Kung Pao 
Chicken for dinner, followed by a "correctly attended" bath, 
and a massage.  I'm a little rusty in the latter, and I'm 
sure you'd enjoy my…. working the kinks out."  Tanj 
smiled and rose from the pilot's seat; "that’s what I like; 
a slave with imagination.  Come on, You!"

Wanda yawned and put down the last journal as Zassa 
staggered into the wardroom.  “Girl, you look like Hell!  
Looks like every Pirate in the Brethren’s had their way with 
you!”  The Vixen just smiled weekly and waved a paw 
dismissively; “naw, nothin’ like that.  Just had some really 
great erotic dreams, ‘s all.  Strictly a solo performance.”  
Wanda chuckled; “wish I could get some dreams that good!”  
Rising, stretching, the Wolverine looked at the Chronograph 
in the mess and blinked; was it really that late?  Turning, 
she headed for the door, thinking she should check on Kath.

"Hey, Wanda" Tanj purrred.  The Cheetah fem was nude, as 
was the Lion-on-a-leash behind her, but they both looked 
fairly happy.  Smug, almost.  Wanda nodded; "Hey, Tanj; 
just on my way to check on Kath; she's been down in the 
Cargo Bay a LONG time."  Tanj nodded; "well, get her 
cleaned up and bring her on back here; my Slave here is 
going to make dinner."  Wanda nodded and waved, as she 
turned to head down the corridor.

Kath grunted and tried to shift to the left.  It'd been a 
long, bumpy ride as the Mare had basically humped her across 
the cargo bay, towards the pair of scissors.  In fact, a 
while back, it had stopped behing pleasurable, and started 
being painful; she was afraid she'd never walk right 
again….. and it felt as if her nipples had been rubbed raw 
from her torso sliding across the mat, and then across the 
steel floor.  still, they were almost there.  Behind her, 
Dahlia grunted, shoving her another few inches forward, and 
then another thrust, and then the Mare was toppling to the 
right, falling, dragging Kath over with her.  They hit the 
deck hard, both of them grunting.  And then the Mare was 
squirming, as she tried to get her hands, bound behind her 
back, on the scissors…..

"Are these what you're looking for?"  Dahlia blinked, a 
"huh?" escaping from her mouth.  Twisting, turning her head 
back and up, she caught sight of a leg, and following it 
upwards, she sighed, as she saw the Wolverine lady holding 
the pair of scissors, turning them back and forth in her 
hands.  Wanda laughed at the dismayed look on the Mare's 
face; "Oh, don't feel so bad.  It wouldn't have helped 
anyways.  These are Hinoki's trick scissors.  See, they've 
been welded together.  Useless.  You poor dears have 
struggled for hours thinking freedom was at hand, (as if 
there was anywhere to go on this ship), and now that you've 
gotten here, well, it’s a shame is all.  Now let me unhitch 
you two.  We've got to get cleaned up for dinner!"

Tanj leaned back in her chair, sipping a mug of coffee as 
she watched the Lion cook.  Across the table, Zassa had 
rested her head on her crossed arms on the table and seemed 
to have fallen asleep.  The Vixen looked sweaty, her fur all 
spiky and unkempt, and there was no denying the scent coming 
from her.  Regarding her over the rim of her mug, Tanj 
wondered just what she’d been up to.  Something told her 
that the Vixen had had a wild time……. And somewhere deep in 
her heart, she felt a pang of jealousy, or at least regret, 
for not having been there to share it with her.  If Zassa 
looked that bad, and was too tired to care how she looked, 
she must have had a helluva time.

Dahlia stood at the entrance to the shower and looked from 
the Mink to the Wolverine and back; “you want me to WHAT?”  
Wanda just chuckled, and taking a big paw full of liquid 
soap, smeared it over the Mare’s ample chest; “its simple; 
you wash by rubbing up against each other, scrubbing each 
other clean.”  As Dahlia shook her head in consternation, 
Wanda chuckled and shoved the Mare under the running water.  
Kath, a grin on her face, stepped in after her, purrring 
“here, you do it like this…….”

Tanj looked up as Wanda led Kath and Dahlia into the 
Wardroom, at the end of two leashes.  Both Kath and Dahlia 
still looked damp, and while Kath had a grin on her face, 
the Mare looked curiously disgruntled.  Returning Tanj’s 
look, Wanda just chuckled; “nothin’ but good clean fun……”

Dahlia looked around the room and relaxed a bit; the male 
Cheetah wasn’t present.  Yet.  Tugging at the leash held by 
the Wolverine, she moved to the side opposite the Mink and 
knelt by her chair.  The side away from the door.  Somehow, 
being fed by the Wolverine seemed less objectionable than 
taking it from that Cheetah….

Dinner had been delicious.  Wanda had left with a still damp 
Kath, to try and get some sleep before they arrived at 
Jenka’s.  Hinoki had finally shown up, and after eating, had 
collected the Mare’s leash from Wanda, and departed, saying 
that the Mare would spend the night chained to the foot of 
his bed, as befitted a proper slave.  Zassa had yawned 
widely through the meal, and had departed shortly 
thereafter, saying she needed some sleep too.  And Tanj 
had left the Lion to do the dishes, heading back for the 
flight deck.  She had her own e-mail to check on, her field 
agents to keep track of, and the intelligence estimates to 
go over.  And there was the little issue of Wanda’s 
inheritance to check up on too…….

Dahlia knelt by the foot of the Cheetah's bed, in an 
incredibly tiny compartment.  The Cheetah had told her to 
assume the kneeling position, and to STAY there, no matter 
what he did.  And what he'd done had brought a blush to the 
Mare's face; laying down on his back, the Cheetah had 
squirmed between her thighs, thrusting his short muzzle up 
between her legs.  With her knees well spread, her eyes 
downcast, she found that she had a very good view down the 
length of her body, at the Cheetah licking at her own much-
abused sex… And as the Cheetah's tongue moved, she found it 
increasingly difficult to stay still………

Tanj leaned back in the comm console station chair and 
sighed.  Things back on Elysium were mostly quiet, and 
things on the Imperial front quieter still.  It seemed like 
the only action was in the sector dominated by the Reds, and 
all the news there, well, it was uncharacteristically good, 
for the Reds.  They were making quiet, but steady gains 
there, helped on by unusually severe governmental actions 
and responses…..  Still, Tanj supposed, it all helped the 
cause.  But given the Red's previous track record, it was 
all just a little… "unbelievable."

Dahlia couldn't help it; the whinny escaped her lips almost 
before she knew it was coming.  And who could blame her?  
The Cheetah's tongue, and teeth were tormenting her so, 
grazing over her most sensitive places.  The temptation to 
howl, to scream, to MOVE was incredible.  It was simply too 
much to expect ANYONE to remain motionless through something 
like this……..  Finally, as she came so very close to her 
climax, as the Cheetah's tongue withdrew, as it slithered to 
less sensitive areas she groaned and shifted, pressing her 
mound down on the Cheetah's muzzle, as if DEMANDING that he 
grant her her release!

Beneath her, Hinoki chuckled; "Naughty Slave!  I TOLD you to 
stay still!  Now I'm going to have to punish you……."

Tanj's eyes narrowed as she ran down the column of 
figures.  It would seem that Wanda had inherited a 
considerable amount of money.  The mansion alone was worth 
almost eight figures.  And there were stocks, and 
properties….. but no bonds.   And NO off-planet investments.  
Nothing.  Nada.  Nichts.  Zilch.  Casting a critical eye 
over the TYPES of inheritance Wanda was due made the Cheetah 
frown.  They were all long-term investments, things that 
could not be easily (or discretely) liquidated.  And while 
the total was a considerable fortune, it in no way matched 
up with what someone of Xylex's stature SHOULD have been 
worth.  Why even the planet's premier financial magazine had 
listed him, in its previous year's issue, as one of the top 
forty wealthiest individuals on the planet.  "The Bastard's 
still alive" Tanj muttered to herself; "I can't prove it.  
Yet, but I KNOW he's still alive."

"What was that, Mistress?"  Tanj's head snapped around, 
to see the Lion standing in the doorway to the flight deck.  
Frowning, Tanj waved him over; "take a look at this.  
This is supposedly Wanda's inheritance from her late, 
unlamented Father, Lord Xylex.  Anything catch your eye?"  
The Lion reached over her shoulder to page down a few times, 
and then to open the other documents.  After a while, he 
growled; "Its not enough.  Its not enough by an order of 
magnitude.  We KNOW he had resources stashed off-planet, and 
that isn't shown at all."  Tanj nodded; "I'm beginning to 
suspect the bastard faked his own death."  The Lion nodded; 
"skip out while the getting's good?"  Tanj shook her 
head; "No, that doesn't fit the psychological profile.  He'd 
fight to the bitter end, if for no other reason than to 
spoil as much as he could for the victors.  No, if he's 
gone, its for another reason.  I just don't know what it is 
yet."  The Lion nodded and nuzzled at the back of her neck; 
"Sleep on it.  You were going to take a luxurious bath, and 
then I was going to give you a massage…. And we're only 
about four hours out from Jenka's….."  Tanj nodded and 
tilted her head way back; catching the Lion's dangling leash 
she pulled him down into a kiss; "you're right.  Time's 
a'wasting."

Dahlia jerked as the paw came crashing down on her 
posterior, but somehow she managed to bite back her shout.  
In all her years as a slave, she'd been whipped and beaten, 
but she'd never been … spanked.  Now she lay across the 
Cheetah's lap, his bed groaning under her weight.  And he 
was alternating hard slaps against her ass, with more 
delightful strokes of his fingers between her legs.  "This 
is a punishment?" she wondered to herself, jerking again as 
once again his paw came down on her right asscheek.  As the 
Cheetah's fingers again grazed over the lips of her sex, she 
stifled a moan and wondered about that…….

Tanj purrrred with delight as she sank into the tub.  The 
ship's head was communal, and comparatively small, but it 
did boast an oversized shower, one that could contain 
several furrs at one time…. And if you removed certain 
sections of the floor, there was a tub, again one that could 
hold several at one time.  But with the floor up, there was 
VERY little room in the head.  The Lion knelt behind her, 
shampoos at the ready, waiting quietly to wash her hair…….

Hinoki looked down at the figure of the Mare, laying by the 
foot of his bed, hands bound loosely behind her back, almost 
occupying all the available floorspace in his tiny 
compartment.  Despite the hard (well, it WAS carpeted) floor 
and the chain from her collar to the footboard, she was 
sleeping soundly, obviously exhausted.  Well, that was to be 
understood, she'd had a busy day.  A very busy day.  As he 
watched her breath, Hinoki grinned to himself.  It'd been 
obvious that she'd had some sexual experiences, but since 
she'd come on board, they'd broadened those experiences 
significantly, taking her beyond what she'd thought her 
limits were.  And her training was coming along nicely.  
"Oh, she may never be as great a "bottom" as Zassa" Hinoki 
thought to himself; "but you can't be a good "top" unless 
you know how to be a good "bottom.""  "Yes," the Cheetah 
thought to himself; "we've had a good start; now lets see if 
I can take her the rest of the way to where I think she can 
go… to where she WANTS to go….."

The Lion pushed her head down under the water again, his 
paws stroking through her long hair, trying to get as much 
of the soap as possible out.  After a moment or two, he 
allowed her to resurface into a shower of water from the 
hand-held sprayer.  Rising like Venus, Tanj slowly got to 
her feet, and the Lion dutifully rinsed the soap off of her 
fur, and out of her hair.  It was just a short step to the 
dryer grid, and while the tub drained, while the cyclone of 
hot air swirled around her, Tanj closed her eyes and 
reveled in the sensation of the Lion running a brush through 
her hair and over her body.

Dahlia's eyes opened to slits as the door to Hinoki's 
compartment slid open just a crack.  The light in the 
corridor had been dimmed, and in the faint light she could 
barely make out someone crouching there.  Behind her, on the 
bed, she could hear the Cheetah's steady breathing; he 
hadn't woken up.  Yet. "Pssst.  Its me.  Kath.  Just wanted 
to make sure you were OK."  Dahlia blinked, and then 
whispered; "Um, well, I guess…..  I mean how "OK" can I be 
after having been spanked and chained to some guy's bed?"  
Outside the door, Kath giggled quietly; "sounds like fun; 
but that's just me…. Listen, I just wanted to thank you for 
playing along earlier.  I guess it was something I just had 
to get out of my system; something that I had to prove to 
myself."  Dahlia shook her head sleepily; "howzat?  Not sure 
I follow….."  Kath smiled in the near darkness; "Long story; 
I'll tell you sometime.  Lets just say that I had to 
convince myself that…. I had to try and be dominant for a 
bit; but they're right.  Wanda's right.  I really am happier 
as a submissive.  At least with THIS crowd."  Dahlia shook 
her head in amazement; "you mean you LIKE being a slave?"  
Kath nodded; "well, at least being WANDA's slave.  I think 
I've had more fun with her than I have in the rest of my 
life put together… but don't EVER tell HER that…..  Tell me 
true; have your experiences since you boarded this ship been 
THAT bad?  Have you REALLY hated it?"  Dahlia opened her 
mouth to reply, but behind her, the Cheetah made a snorting 
sound and rolled over in bed.  When she turned back, she 
found the door had been slid closed, Kath retreated.  As she 
lay there, trying to get back to sleep, Dahlia wondered to 
herself if it had really been that bad?  Heck, there WERE 
parts that had been kinda fun……

It was about an hour later, when an inky pool of blackness 
seeped under the door to Hinoki's quarters.  The pool paused 
for a moment, and then oozed across the floor, advancing on 
the helpless Clydesdale Mare……

Tanj smiled and seemed to melt into the covers on her 
bed;  the Lion sat astride her prone body, working some sort 
of scented oils into the fur of her back.  It was Heaven. 
Purring contentedly, the Cheetah slowly fell asleep, as the 
Lion rubbed her the right way……..

Dahlia's eyes went open wide, and she jerked against the 
chain holding her to the foot of the Cheetah's bed.  
SOMETHING was moving between her thighs…. But her ears told 
her that the Cheetah was still softly snoring on his bed!  
Looking down, in the dark, she failed to see anything…. And 
of course, with her hands bound behind her she couldn't use 
them to investigate.  Panting she considered screaming as 
something softly caressed her sex…. But in the dim light of 
the darkened compartment, she couldn't see anything there!  
"Gotta be a Nightmare" she thought to herself, as she rolled 
onto one side, one knee held up in the air, hoof flat on the 
floor.  "Gotta b…..Oh, that’s NICE"…….  From there her 
thoughts became much more jumbled as she faded into an 
exhausted, drowsy half-dream state, something very nice 
happening between her thighs………

The Lion shook Tanj's shoulder softly; "Mistress…. We're 
less than an hour out from Jenka's; you should head up to 
the flight deck…..  Tanj opened her eyes sleepily and 
nodded.  Rolling out of bed, she stretched and reached for a 
kimono; pulling it on as she padded out the door.  "Slave, 
fetch me a cup of coffee, and then see to yourself.  I want 
you to look presentable when we meet Jenka!"  Behind her, 
the Lion just grinned.

Hinoki heard the alarm go off and groaned.  Never enough 
sleep.  On the floor, a spot of inky black, now somewhat 
larger than it had been before, flowed hurriedly down the 
leg of the Mare, disappearing into the shadow under the bed.  
Sitting up on his bed, Hinoki called for the cabin lights 
and then, turning his head, he grinned down at the Mare.  
She was sprawled on her back at the foot of his bed, legs 
splayed wide, her chest heaving….  And the fur of her crotch 
was matted and glistening……  "Find a way to play with 
yourself during the night, Slave?" he chuckled.  "Come on, 
time to get up; you can pleasure yourself later."  Untying 
the Mare's leash, he tugged, urging her to her feet.

As Dahlia followed the Cheetah down the corridor towards the 
Head, she wondered just exactly what HAD happened to her 
last night.  It had felt like a dream, but if it was, it was 
the most erotic, fulfilling dream she'd ever had……..  She 
could almost still feel that thick, phantom cock driving in 
and out of her…….

"Black Fleet Station, this is the Brethren's "Lost Cause."  
We are approaching your outer marker, at 137 mark 73."  
"Roger that, Lost Cause; we have you on our screens.  'bout 
time you folks got here.  You take the long way, or 
somethin'?"  Tanj scowled at the face on the monitor; how 
did they know they were coming at all?  How would they know 
how long it should have taken us?  How could they have a 
cloaked ship on their sensors???  "Uh, well, we were in no 
hurry, Black Fleet Station.  I'll explain to your Mistress 
when I see her."  "Roger That, Lost Cause.  Mistress Jenka 
will be waiting for you at docking port 23 on the upper 
level.  You're Expected.  Contact approach control on 
334.17.  Black Fleet Station Out."

Tanj shook her head to try and bring some order to her 
mane of hair, and ran her paws over her kimono, trying to 
straighten it, to smooth the wrinkles out as the airlock 
cycled.  The approach to the station had been routine, the 
docking had been smooth, but it seemed the closer they got, 
the more nervous Tanj became.  Was this REALLY a good 
idea?  And then the door was opening, and it was too late 
for second thoughts.

Jenka smiled as she saw her pet, but it was the one standing 
behind her, at the end of her leash that made her eyes 
widen; "So you DID bring him!" she purrrred.  Tanj smiled 
and padded forward to kiss Jenka hello; "Um, yes, I thought 
he might amuse you, while he works off his time……" Tanj 
mumbled, all the while wondering how Jenka knew that a) she 
was coming, and b) that she was bringing the Lion.  She MUST 
have spies among the Brethren… but who?  And how were they 
communicating?  Forcing her mind back to the here-and-now 
Tanj grinned at Jenka and then turned to Hinoki, to hand 
him the Lion's leash; "Love, you did such a good job with 
him last time; why don't you take the Slave somewhere, and 
"prepare" him for Jenka's amusement.  Do that voodoo that 
you do so well!” With an absolutely feral grin, she looked 
into the Lion’s eyes.. “And don’t worry about being gentle. 
He’s been with boys before. Me, I think it’s been far too 
long since he was reamed.”

Behind her, Jenka chuckled; "That’s a good idea; Tanj and 
I have some… "business" to attend to first.  Shouldn't take 
us more than, um, four hours or so.  Six at the most.  John 
here will help you with what you need, and show you where 
you can, ah, "set up."  Turning, Tanj noticed for the 
first time the Stallion standing behind and to one side of 
the Pantheress.  Like Jenka, he was coal-black, his fur 
shiny and well brushed.  And he was HUGE.  A Morgan, or a 
Shire, towering a good head above the Pantheress…..  While 
he wore a rather standard outfit, there was a thin, almost 
symbolic collar around his neck…..

Shifting her gaze to the rest of Tanj's crew, Jenka 
smiled; "I've arranged for temporary quarters for the rest 
of you.  Deck seven, in the VIP section.  Again, John will 
see to anything you need."  Hinoki grinned at the Stallion, 
and handing the leash to a surprised Kath, he growled; "Hold 
him here; I'll be RIGHT back.  Then, taking the Stallion's 
elbow, leading him several paces down the corridor, the 
grinning Cheetah started to outline just exactly what he 
wanted……..

The Lion watched, frowning slightly, hackles rising up. 
Granted, Tanj was right.. it had been a very long time 
since he’d been required to actively service another male in 
any particular form. He didn’t have anything against furs 
who enjoyed same sex encounters, but the situation wasn’t 
really his cup of tea, so to speak. Still, a deal was a 
deal. Tanj had his services for an entire week, and he’d 
see it through to the end. Of course, once he was OUT of 
this collar.. he’d have to see about exacting some revenge 
from both Tanj and Hinoki…  After a long moment, he 
mumbled to Kath; "I got a bad feeling about this……"

Hinoki ended his conversation with the Stallion, and strode 
back, to look up at the lion, standing there resplendent in 
his golden fur. His mane had been meticulously oiled and 
brushed, the fur fairly glowing with good health. Hinoki 
smiled slowly, a lazy, nearly predatorial smile as his eyes 
traced the Lion’s strong body.. the thick broad chest.. the 
well developed abdomen, and the legs that were to DIE for!

Kath smiled; she KNEW that look; she'd seen it many times 
before on Wanda's face.  Laughing, she winked at Hinoki, 
tossing him the end of a leash that was fastened to the 
Lion’s collar.

Hinoki took the leash in his hand and with a surprisingly 
deft flick of the leather strap, caused the collar around 
the Lion’s neck to tighten briefly. “Oh, I think I know 
/JUST/ what will make this little one all good and 
submissive again..” He grinned and then chuckled softly. “On 
your paws and knees, boy..” Firmly he tugged the leash 
downwards, causing the small metal studs on the inside of 
the collar to press uncomfortably against the lion’s skin. 
These studs weren’t so long as to actually be able to break 
said, but MORE than enough to elicit a rather unpleasant 
sensation….

Even Tanj had.. well.. trouble holding her laughter as 
the mighty Lion slowly, reluctantly dropped to his paws and 
knees. She flat out lost it when Hinoki climbed up on the 
Lion’s back and started using the leash as if it were a set 
of reins.

Hinoki tapped his heels against the Lion’s muscular sides.. 
“Let’s go, boy.. corridor seven, the elevator all the way 
down..”

The lion did as he was bade. He had a decidedly odd feeling 
of déjà vu.. “Now why does this seem familiar..” He couldn’t 
quite place it, but this seemed eerily familiar.. 

Hinoki grinned as he perched atop the lion, legs wrapped 
around the powerful waist and holding himself upright. He 
was /THOROUGHLY/ enjoying this, for the Lion truly was a 
work of art. Hinoki started exploring his new toy.. running 
his paws along the spine from neck to tailbase, and allowed 
his paws to come to rest on those soft, yet muscular cheeks 
that would soon be well parted and used.  Hinoki was 
bisexual to be sure.. his background rather demanded it, 
actually. Even if that hadn’t been the case, his escapades 
with Tanj gave ample proof of that. But it was so rare 
that he found a male that either was interested in him, or 
that could be cajoled into a warm evening’s interlude. 

And now that had changed, and much to his pleasure. The Lion 
was such a cutie.. warm of heart, with soft eyes that could 
make just about anyone melt. His purr was deep and 
resonating.. and he also seemed so straight that Hinoki was 
nearly certain that if the lion tried hard enough, that he 
could shoot a laser beam out of his ass.  Now that he’d been 
given to him for the evening, however.. He’d be able to take 
up some unfinished business. He grinned.. and decided that 
now was as good a time as any to start.

Turning back to Tanj, Jenka smiled and offered her arm; 
"I do believe you have LOTS of juicy gossip to tell me, 
about events on Elysium.  My staff is assembled, and can't 
WAIT to hear what you have to tell us!"  Tanj blinked and 
then smiled; taking the Pantheress' arm, she winked at her 
crew, and with a final glance at the departing Hinoki and 
his steed, turned to head off down the corridor.

John watched his Mistress depart with the Cheetah fem and 
smiled; he'd heard so much about the legendary Tanj…..  
Turning back to the others, he nodded; "if you'll follow me, 
I'll show you to your quarters.  With an openly appraising 
stare at the nude Clydesdale Mare he turned to lead the way.

Hinoki opened up the backpack toybag that he’d slung over 
his shoulder and rummaged around for a bit. He chuckled, 
finding the superslick lube that had always been his 
favorite. It didn’t MATTER how tight the male was. Once this 
stuff was applied, penetration was virtually guaranteed. It 
also had the rather unique property of being……

The lion flinched /HARD/ when he felt Hinoki spread his 
asscheeks and pour what HAD to be liquid nitrogen across his 
anus. “YieaaaHHHH!!! Damnit, that’s COLD!” The expletive 
he'd let slip didn’t really help his situation.. in fact, 
the Lion thought it had probably made it worse, and sighed.  
Shaking his head, the Lion thought that deep down, he really 
wasn’t cut out to be a slave.. It'd been too long since he'd 
truly been owned, since his Mistress had been murdered.  
Since then, he’d been in control of everything, in control 
for so long that it was hard to let it go again. Still, he 
supposed he could see the allure that the mode had for both 
Hinoki and Tanj.. It even held appeal to HIM. Being able 
to set all cares and duties aside, and simply /BE/.. the 
very concept was both alien and attractive……..

This thoughtful reverie was interrupted by a sharp spank on 
his right buttcheek that was really quite powerful! He 
yelped a bit in surprise, and was rewarded by six more in 
rapid succession, alternating cheeks. Gritting his teeth, 
the Lion resolved to get past this.. but oh, he’d REMEMBER!

Dahlia watched the fabric move over the Morgan's muscles.  
He had to be one of the handsomest pieces of horseflesh 
she'd seen in a LONG time, and somewhere, in some deep dark 
recess of her mind, something stirred.  But as she walked, 
she wondered.  What WAS Hinoki going to do to the Lion?  She 
hoped it wouldn't be too bad…….

 Hinoki thrilled at the expletives and the flinching.. it 
was balm to his soul. A part of him long buried began to 
stir and awaken, restoring to him a measure of what he’d 
once set aside. He reached back into the toybag and withdrew 
a slender inflatable buttplug that had been designed with 
both a vibrator and small rubber studs along it’s surface. 
He pried the lion’s cheeks apart again and with little 
ceremony, slid the device deep into the Lion’s bowels until 
it locked into place with a soft squelching sound of lube. 
True to form, the lion’s cheeks flexed as hard as they 
always did, sending soft ripples along his furry behind and 
legs. He chuckled softly and slowly started squeezing the 
bulb in long, drawn out motions. He deliberately made as 
much noise as he could when he squeezed the bulb so as to 
let the lion anticipate and perhaps react prematurely to the 
gradually swelling plug.  Oh, he knew what the Lion was 
feeling.. the slender intruder gradually swelling.. causing 
that characteristic shiver down the other feline’s spine. 
Slowly.. relentlessly, with each squeeze of the bulb, more 
air was forced into the device which grew and grew…….

Soon the lion began to squirm as he crawled. That thing that 
Hinoki had shoved up his ass felt as if it were as big as a 
softball, and growing. It was really quite uncomfortable.. 
he hadn’t liked it when it was done to him in the Academy, 
and he'd never had developed much of an anal fetish.. at 
least as a bottom. He gasped as Hinoki kept pumping, and the  
thing hit his prostate just so..  Despite his lack of 
appreciation for being on the receiving end of anal play, he 
still felt warmth grow in his sheath as blood rushed to 
start to fill out his cock. It was as if Hinoki KNEW that 
would happen, for a mere second later, the cheetah’s paw 
wrapped around his emerging shaft and began to stroke in 
slow, languorous passes up and down.. How the /HELL/ does 
Hinoki know how he likes to be stroked? Even Tanj didn’t 
know that… she was usually too busy using her muzzle or her 
patented ‘inner hand’ on him……

Tanj smiled at the furrs around the conference table; she 
knew most of them, from her dealings with the Black Fleet, 
and she was pleased to see that they were all looking at her 
attentively.  "I know that for most of you, the conflict on 
Elysium is a side-show, but because of the possibility of 
"Imperial Complications" the Brethren have been keeping a 
close watch on the sector as well.  And we've turned up a 
few things that should interest you.  Lets start with some 
events we've picked up on, over on T'lass……..

Hinoki chuckled softly as his ride made it into the 
elevator. He reached up and tapped the key for the 
recreation complex, as per the Stallion's instructions, 
sliding off of the Lion’s back. He knew what he wanted to 
do.. so he hit every button on the elevator.. all 20 between 
the level they were on, and the level they were going to…..  
He grinned and sat down on the floor of the elevator, 
spreading his legs widely. With his tail, he beckoned the 
lion over. It was quite a sight to see the lion hesitate, 
then slowly start to crawl over. His sheath started to swell 
the closer the lion got. Hinoki was better built than most 
thought. his cock fully 7” long by 2” wide at the widest 
point. The lion’s eyes widened as Hinoki fully emerged from 
his sheath, and balked……. 

Tugging on the leash brought the lion’s head down between 
Hinoki’s thighs. Oh, it felt good.. the warm breath over his 
hard cock.. feeling the lion’s body heat practically 
radiating from him! Still the lion didn’t move to do what he 
/knew/ he should’ve..  Hinoki had been hoping for that! He 
grinned widely and YANKED on the lion’s leash.  The metallic 
studs pressed painfully into his neck and forced him to 
lunge forward. Closing his eyes and yelping with surprise, 
the lion wound up choking as Hinoki’s shaft wound up buried 
down his muzzle to the base! He tried to lift his head off, 
but Hinoki had already prevented this by tying the leash to 
a conveniently placed cargo bolt. “How the HELL did he know 
how to manipulate a leash and collar like this?” the Lion 
thought to himself; “This cheetah is going to have a good, 
long, debriefing session after all was done….”  But in the 
meantime, he had a cock to suck. Hinoki had wrapped his 
thighs about his neck, so the lion had to struggle to 
restrain his gag reflex since he couldn’t back away. He 
closed his eyes and concentrated, managing to suppress it 
just enough so that his jaws didn’t reflexively close and 
remove part of the cheetah’s anatomy.

Hinoki grinned and leaned his head back, beginning to roll 
his hips gently forward and back. He could feel the lion 
straining to tug back, but the leash as well as his legs 
kept him in place. The sensation of the lion swallowing 
convulsively was incredible.. goading him into using the 
warm muzzle even more urgently.  He panted, and chuckled 
despite his arousal when the elevator doors opened at the 
next floor. Hinoki grinned lewdly at the shocked onlookers 
and scrubbed at the Lion’s ears as he started pumping his 
shaft visibly in and out of the Lion’s muzzle. The lion, on 
the other hand, had heard the door chimes and redoubled his 
efforts to get away. The effect was what Hinoki had intended 
to construct..  For to everyone staring on in shocked 
fascination, it appeared that the lion was working his cock 
over with reckless and lustful abandon. After a fashion, 
this was true, but it was also purely unintentional.  The 
Lion’s thrashings worked along Hinoki’s cock, milking and 
massaging despite their intended purpose to expel him.

Tanj grinned at her audience; she knew the briefing was 
being recorded, but it still pleased her to see various 
furrs taking notes….  "And over on Danforth, the annual 
groat crop will be coming in.  Almost all of that is 
exported, but there's no margin in hitting agricultural 
transports.  Most of the funds from the sale of the exports 
will be transferred to Danforth accounts electronically, but 
we've learned that three of the agricultural transports will 
be loaded with various goods, on their return to Danforth.  
Those will be lucrative targets.  Moreover, the current 
president of the Danforth Grange will be on one of them with 
his family; a lucrative target to be held for ransom.  As 
the Brethren are more than a little busy in the space around 
Elysium, we've decided to pass this one on to you, for the 
usual percentage………

Hinoki panted, thrusting firmly up into the Lion, feeling 
the throat expand to take him and the chest and belly 
muscles convulse as they tried to push him back out. The 
sensations were exquisite.. the way the Lion writhed and 
moved! It was everything he’d hoped it would be, and so much 
more. The doors closed, and Hinoki renewed his humping.. 
slow strokes to start, but gradually building speed. A few 
moments later, the doors opened again, and this time an  
even dozen male furs got on, wearing nothing but smiles.  

Hinoki groaned and waved in greeting, his own balls feeling 
very, very tight. But he had to hold off.. the fun had not 
yet begun!   The lion abruptly found 11 pairs of paws on his 
body.. rubbing, scritching, stroking.. everything that 
possibly could be considered moderately teasing. His nipples 
were licked, bitten, twisted, tugged, tickled.. his balls 
were fondled, squeezed, kneaded, and suckled upon.  Some 
enterprising fur found the air outlet on his inflatble 
buttplug and released it. Even with Hinoki’s cock down his 
throat he managed a sigh of relief.. that thing had been 
/UNCOMFORTABLE/. 

But the pleasant sense of emptiness wasn’t all that long 
lasting. The moment the buttplug had been removed, his 
cheeks were pried apart and another thick cock shoved DEEP 
into him! He flinched with surprise, but he was quickly held 
down by the eleven furs watching. His paws were spread, and 
he was lowered to the ground, where by sheer force of 
numbers he remained.  His arms and legs were held down.. a 
fur was laying atop him, thrusting a thick shaft in and out 
of his ass hard enough to make him grunt with the force of 
it, and Hinoki had started to pound into his throat like a 
jackhammer. 

Hinoki mewwled as he slammed up and down, furry body 
trembling as his balls tightened.. then began shooting thick 
streamers of cum down his captive’s throat! The lion made 
the most exquisite surprised choking noises, and began to 
struggle all the harder. Hinoki squeezed the lion with his 
legs, occupying his head while the other furs strained to 
keep the rest of him still. The liger that had mouted the 
lion began to pound into him, really working him out! The 
lion rapidly lost strength (and breath!) as he was fucked 
and held against his will and despite what he could do about 
it.

The lion began to get dizzy after the liger had came in his 
ass and been replaced by another.. and then another. His 
head swam with the powerful sensations welling up inside of 
him, and with a strangled cry, he lost consciousness..

"And in three provinces on Elysium, the Reds faction 
continues to gain strength.  We'd projected their collapse, 
after their leader was killed by government troops, but in 
light of their resurgence, we have to wonder if perhaps 
Trotskie's death wasn't part of a "hostile takeover" by an 
as-of-yet unidentified faction of the Reds……"  As Tanj 
spoke, she realized that she was loosing her audience.  Most 
of the Black Fleet just didn't care what happened on 
Elysium, and that wasn't really surprising; they were just 
too remote.  Still, she'd made an arrangement to share ALL 
her intelligence with them, and would share it whether they 
were interested or not……

Conciousness returned slowly.  The Lion found himself weak 
as a kitten, being dragged by Hinoki, the Liger, and two 
other large feline types. His ass burned, and he could feel 
the seed leaking from him, dripping down in a slow but 
steady stream from his well dilated hole. He tried to move, 
but managed only to feebly flop his right paw about a 
little. Hell, he could barely even lift his head enough to 
look at what he was being dragged to.  Finally managing to 
focus his eyes, he wished to the powers that be, that he 
hadn’t been able to! He found himself being carried towards 
a chrome plated monstrosity.. long spidery legs dangling 
down from the ceiling.. a medical style table, arms and legs 
akimbo., and /VERY/ thick looking probes!

"Now the death of Lord Xylex, on Elysium, is interesting.  
Supposedly the Government had proof positive that the body 
in the burned-out vehicle was Lord Xylex, but there are some 
interesting discrepancies in his finances….."  As she spoke, 
she could see renewed interest in her audience.  If money 
was missing, possibly to be claimed, or expropriated, they 
were interested.  "As you know, we'd been holding Lord 
Xylex's daughter, Wanda, "hostage" for his good behavior.  
Obviously her use as a hostage is now nil.  Never the less, 
I've been looking into her "inheritance" and it seems as if 
only those eminently traceable assets remain in Xylex's 
estate.  The Black Fleet has some very clever accountants, 
and I'd like to enlist their aid in searching for any off-
planet assets that Xylex might have…. For a suitable 
finder's fee, of course."  Tanj chuckled to herself as at 
the far end of the table, three furrs put their heads 
together for a moment in a hurried whispered conference.  
After a moment, one of them looked at Jenka for final 
approval, and then, looking straight at Tanj, nodded.  
"Very well, Gentlefurrs, if there are no questions, that’s 
all I have for you in this briefing."  Tanj purrred.

The lion looked at Hinoki with absolute and total surprise 
in his eyes! He knew now.. he /KNEW/ how Hinoki had known 
how to use a leash with such finesse.. how the Cheetah had 
known how he liked to be stroked..  This chrome monstrosity 
was something he’d encountered before.. at the Academy!  It 
had been the hallmark of a certain instructor there…….

Hinoki and the others deftly moved the Lion onto the table, 
and tied him face down with restraints at ankles, wrists, 
and one about his waist.  Taking great care, Hinoki 
maneuvered the Lion’s head into a restraining brace as the 
other felines padded away. Purrring softly,  Hinoki 
ratcheted the brace up six notches, making the Lion’s muzzle 
be in a direct line with his throat. The lion’s jaws were 
then forced open and held there.. as a rather sizeable 
chromed dildo lowered itself from one of the spidery limbs! 

Jenka smiled at Tanj as the conference broke up; "The 
information about the stranded Imperial Cruiser was very 
good; I'm impressed at how you put together their situation 
from the intercepts.  I'll see that a raiding party is 
dispatched before they get their drive back on line.  With 
one less Imperial warship in this sector, we'll be able to 
breathe easier for a while."  Tanj smiled; "Oh, come on!  
If they're so incompetent as to let their ship break down 
light years from help, they certainly can't be giving you 
THAT much trouble!"  Jenka just smiled; "you have a point.  
If we destroy them, the Imperials might just send a 
replacement that knows what they're doing.  Perhaps instead, 
the raiders will just hit the rescue party……  In any event, 
I have things to do.  Why don't you go settle into your 
suite, and then we'll meet for a light lunch.  Afterwards, 
you can check on your slave.  I'll meet you in the 
residential section as soon as I can."  Tanj smiled and 
nodded, and turned to go find her assigned quarters.

From experience, the lion knew what was to happen next.. and 
he wasn’t disappointed.  The table under his groin dropped 
away, allowing free access to his cock, just as the dildo 
slid into his muzzle and squirted something against the back 
of his throat. It began to feel a bit numb which was good, 
as it suppressed his gag reflex. This in turn was a good 
thing, as that chromed dildo was pressed forward by that 
mechanical arm further and further back.. inching it’s way 
down his throat all the way to the entrance to his stomach! 
At the other end of the table, a flexible dildo pressed 
itself to his still dripping entrance. He felt it.. oh GODS 
how he felt it as it slid into him, wriggling deeper.. 
extending thousands of small tendrils that whirled about 
inside his rear.. caressing.. tickling.. It was all he could 
STAND as both that and the dildo down his throat began to 
vibrate and slide in and out..  Then the cheetah slid under 
the table and deep-throated his cock…..

Tanj still couldn't get over the suite Jenka had assigned 
her.  It was suitable for a visiting prince, spacious, and 
well appointed.  Jenka had met her there, and they'd shared 
a light lunch brought in by some of her staff.  The huge bed 
was tempting, especially with Jenka present, but first….  "I 
think I'd better go see what Hinoki's set up for us….  I've 
left my new slave with him for quite a while now, don't you 
think?  Jenka just chuckled and nodded; "Let me go check on 
something, and I'll meet you there."

Hinoki was feeling more than a little smug as he waited 
outside the ‘recovery’ room. The lion had lasted a good long 
time, and was simply exhausted after the Cheetah had managed 
to drag out seven orgasms from the poor boy.  He chuckled 
when Tanj rounded the bend. He already had a lot to 
answer for.. he knew the Lion had remembered almost 
everything. He also knew he had the paperwork in line to 
back up everything, so he /THOUGHT/ he could remain safe. 
Even if he couldn’t, he still had an escape route planned 
and furs ready to assist him in escaping.  Reasonably 
confident, he grinned and nodded to Tanj.  “He’s a bit 
tired, a bit sore, and filled with enough cum he’ll be 
leaking for a week, Tanj. You might want to consider 
putting him back in diapers for a while, until he drains 
enough not to make such a mess..” Hinoki chuckled and  slid 
his arms around the cheetah female, and let his paws slide 
under her kimono to grasp her tight ass and knead her. 
“Thanks for letting me play with your toy..” He kissed her, 
winked, then started to walk away.. rapidly.

Tanj blinked in curiosity at the departing Cheetah, and 
then turned, opened the door, and stepped inside. The door 
closed, but not before Hinoki could hear the shriek of 
surprise tinged with more than a bit of outrage..  Hinoki 
had shaved and dyed the lion in such a fashion that he 
looked like a white poodle! Poofy tailtip.. frills around 
his ankles and wrists.. and the majority of his mane had 
been styled to look like a puffball!

The Lion was kneeling, paws cuffed behind his back, his 
leash hooked to a stanchion on the wall.  A pink ball gag 
filled his mouth, matching his collar, cuffs and leash.  
Tanj padded around him, staring, her mouth hanging open.  
She was still staring when the door slammed open and Jenka 
charged in; "They told me you were screa…….. Wha?"  Tanj 
looked up at the Pantheress, fangs bared; "Hinoki.  He's the 
culprit….."  Before she could finish whatever she was going 
to say, the Lion started making urgent sounds into his gag.  
Tanj frowned, and after a moment of indecision, reached 
up to undo his gag; the Lion  worked his jaw for a moment 
and then growled; "Mistress, we may have bigger problems 
than… this.  I think we might have a serious security 
breach……"

Tanj looked down into the Lion's face; "what do you 
mean?"  The Lion smiled wryly; "when  I was at the "academy" 
there was an instructor there, that had a certain 
reputation…..  He liked to trick students, especially male 
students, into earning a punishment, a punishment that he 
would personally deliver….  This punishment involved a 
rather unusual machine.  A machine identical to one I 
believe he had Jenka's folks build, to his specifications.  
One of the problems is that he preferred to keep his… 
“victims” blindfolded; seldom did anyone get a good look at 
him…. But he was known to be a male Cheetah……”  Tanj 
looked at Jenka, who shrugged; "John hasn't told me exactly 
what Hinoki asked of him, but it'll be easy enough to find 
out."  The Lion nodded; "I know my statement sounds a little 
thin.  There were an awful lot of furrs "acquainted" with 
that machine.. And any one of them… of us… would know enough 
about it to have it duplicated….  but there are mannerisms 
that he exhibited, mannerisms that match my experience….. 
both then, and now.”

Tanj Hmmmed; "Hinoki's been with the Brethren for quite a 
while now, and there are NO indications that he's someone's 
agent."  The Lion nodded; "true; but if he was an instructor 
with the Academy, well, you know how closely tied to the 
Elysium government they are….  Without the current 
government there, the Academy probably wouldn’t survive as 
an institution, let alone a profit making business… and if 
the Rebels come to power, most of the staff there would 
probably find themselves in jail, or worse……  They’ve got a 
vested interest in the status-quo.  If the Elysium forces 
were to try and place a sleeper with us, this might just be 
the route they'd take.  Its just too much of a coincidence.  
I think this is something that should be checked out.  And 
checked out SOON."  Tanj nodded; "perhaps so.  First, 
lets see what John has to say, and then lets get a look at 
this machine.  I'll send some messages, requesting a check 
of the Academy records, for the time period you were there, 
seeking information on male Cheetah instructors…..  I assume 
you've got some thoughts as to just how we might "talk" to 
him about this?"  The Lion just grinned and nodded.

As they walked down the hall towards the room Hinoki's 
"Machine" was in, Tanj looked up at the Lion; "I see you 
now have hair where you didn't have it before; the puffballs 
at wrists and ankles.  How'd he manage that?  Is it fake?"  
The Lion shook his head; "he had some sort of cream he 
rubbed on me there, and then he used some sort of hand-
held…. "light" to promote hair growth…. I don't think it was 
ultraviolet, but it was something like that.  I can only 
trust it didn't give off some sort of hazardous radiation.  
And then, of course, he spent quite a bit of time with some 
sort of styling gel to get all the hair to frizz up, and 
even more time with rather mundane clippers.  He used some 
sort of a spray to bleach me white…"  Tanj grumbled; "He 
certainly went to a lot of trouble to get you looking like 
that….."  Jenka chuckled; "Oh, come on, its not THAT bad; in 
fact, I think it looks kinda cute!"  Tanj smiled and 
nodded; turning and walking backwards for a moment, she 
grinned, staring at the Lion's crotch; usually his groin was 
as hairy as his mane, his sheath and balls almost completely 
hidden by the thick hair; now he'd been shaved SMOOTH….  
"Oh, I admit it has certain… "attractions"….. but I'm STILL 
not sure its an improvement.  Maybe, just maybe, I could get 
used to it."  As the Lion made a sour face, Jenka just 
laughed.

Zassa strolled down the corridor, enjoying being somewhere 
DIFFERENT.  It wasn't that there was anything wrong with the 
Brethren's asteroid base; the place sported as many 
amenities as most resorts she knew… it was just that she'd 
been "inside" so long… It was refreshing to get out 
somewhere where she didn't know exactly what laid around the 
next corner… and rounding the corner she found an amazing 
sight.  Tanj, and Jenka were walking down the corridor, 
leading what at first glance looked like a giant white 
poodle.… blinking hard, Zassa took another look, and her jaw 
fell open… The "poodle" had a distinctly feline face….. and 
then it hit her; it was Tanj's Lion!\

The Lion let out a low, and rather menacing growl as the 
Vixen rounded the corner ahead of them, took one look, and 
dissolved into gales of laughter.  Tanj jerked his lead, 
growling in return; " None of that.  If you have to suffer, 
you will suffer in silence, like a good slave.  Besides, 
look at the bright side; no one here will EVER recognize you 
like that."

Zassa leaned against a wall,  and tried hard to catch her 
breath; she couldn't BELIEVE what they'd done to him!.  
Turning, heading back the way she came, she almost dashed 
for the quarters she'd been assigned.  She just HAD to find 
her camera, before they undid what they'd done to him.  
EVERYONE back home would want to get a look at THIS!

Tanj frowned; "so this is the horrible machine from the 
Academy?  It looks like a rather standard examining table….. 
what's it supposed to do?"  The Lion sighed; "the control 
panel is over there at the wall; I believe he had it set up 
for a pre-planned sequence.  First he had me bound face down 
on the table, then he activated it, and……"  Jenka, standing 
behind the Lion, purrrred; "Oh, I think you should SHOW us 
what he did; after all, I suspect words could not possibly 
describe it correctly….."  The Lion turned and gave Jenka a 
look, and then bowed his head; "Yes, Mistress…."  With an 
audible sigh, he stepped over to the table, and laid down, 
paws and ankles near the waiting restraints.  Tanj and 
Jenka strapped him down tight, and then Jenka stepped over 
to the keypad.  After examining it for a moment, she pushed 
a button, and stood back to watch…..

Tanj gasped as the chromed dildo rose, and presented 
itself to the Lion's mouth; he'd barely had time to part his 
lips before it was thrusting forward.  Then a portion of the 
table descended and folded aside with mechanical smoothness, 
exposing the Lion's body from navel to knees.  Even Jenka 
gasped as the second arm arose, the dong at its tip questing 
for the Lion's asshole…. It was obvious when the two dongs 
started to vibrate by the Lion's reaction.  Tanj smiled 
and then winked at Jenka; slipping under the table, she 
found a comfortable position, and gave the Lion's growing 
erection a gentle lick; "Did he do this to you?"  The grunt 
from the Lion could have been a response, or it could have 
been in response to something the rather active dong sliding 
in and out of his ass had done.  Chuckling, Tanj 
proceeded, unknowingly, to mimic what Hinoki had done 
before, sliding the Lion's thick cock into her mouth…….

Tanj snuggled with Jenka in the middle of her huge bed.  
The Lion, chained to the foot of the bed, snored softly.  
Between Jenka, and Tanj, and the Machine, they'd really 
wrung him out…. It had been Jenka that observed that if you 
were to crouch on all fours, it might be possible to back up 
to his cock, as if he were taking her from behind…..  The 
table he was tied to tilted, and with a little creative 
alteration of Hinoki's program, they'd set it up so that 
they could have him in that manner.  Of course, it being 
Jenka's idea, she just had to try it first….. and while she 
was there, crouched on all fours, impaled on the Lion's 
cock, it was Tanj who found that she could alter the 
programming for the dong moving in the Lion's ass, making it 
move in short, sharp jerks, causing him to buck his hips 
into the Pantheress below him.  This seemed to delight Jenka 
so much that she just insisted that Tanj try it…. There 
was no question, that by the time they were done with him, 
the Lion had a very sore ass……  Now, after further 
satisfying each other, with tongues and caresses, Tanj 
found that she couldn't sleep.  She should have been, well, 
if not as exhausted as the Lion, still plenty tired enough.  
But the questions about Hinoki kept running through her 
mind.  Could he have been a plant?  An agent?  A sleeper 
actually loyal to Elysium, just waiting for the order to 
strike?  She couldn't believe it, but then, she trusted the 
Lion's judgement, and if he said he recognized the Cheetah 
from when he was a slave in training in the Academy, 
then……..

Zarkoff straightened his tie and forcing a smile, approached 
the security checkpoint.  Things all across the planet had 
been quiet, the fighting hitting one of those inexplicable 
lulls that happens, even in the most dire of situations.  It 
was a good time to attempt this mission; everyone seemed to 
have relaxed for a bit, and his I.D. wouldn't stand too 
close a scrutiny.  His real advantage lay in the security 
codes and passwords Comrade Xyloff had given him.  How the 
Wolverine had come by those codes was beyond him, but with 
them, he could create incredible mischief.  If he did his 
job right, he would not only hurt the Elysium government, 
but more importantly, he would boost the morale of the Reds.  
If he pulled this off right, even more recruits would flock 
to the cause.  The Guard at the check-point yawned, breaking 
his reverie, and giving his I.D. badge a cursory glance 
waved him forward… and then he was through the metal-and-
explosives detector, headded down a nondescript corridor.  
His first stop was the supply section…..

Tanj lifted her head sleepily as the door chimed again.  
Smiling down at the still sleeping Jenka, she softly pulled 
a sheet over her, to preserve her modesty, and looking at 
the door, she growled "come."  As the door slid aside, 
Tanj smiled at the food cart, pushed into the room by the 
Stallion.  What was his name?  John?  "Pardon me, Mistress" 
the Stallion said; "There have been a few responses to our 
inquires that I thought you might be interested to hear…. 
And Mistress Jenka is needed in Operations.  Tanj nodded, 
and yawned again; "so what's for Breakfast?"  Behind her, 
Jenka purrred sleepily; "Him, if you want him."

Zarkoff nodded; as he'd been told, Lab 203 was empty.  
Putting down the box he'd gotten from supply, the rabbit 
turned to get to work.  The laboratory glassware didn't need 
modification, which was good; while he was a more than 
competent chemist, he'd always had trouble with the 
glassblowing courses.  Chemists frequently had to adapt, or 
make their own laboratory apparatus, and glassblowing was a 
standard part of the trade; but he'd always been impatient.  
Glass at a temperature just below the softening point looked 
like glass at room temperature, and he'd always made the 
mistake of picking up something that just wasn't cool yet.  
In the process he'd usually burned himself quite badly, and 
in the process, dropped whatever it was he had been making, 
forcing him to start the cycle all over again.  What he was 
seeking to prepare required complex chemical reactions, but 
the apparatus was fairly simple.  Turning on the fume hood, 
the Rabbit started to set up his apparatus.

Tanj smiled; "That might be nice… but don't you think 
he's a little… "big," even for me?  Jenka laughed; "Oh, I 
don't know; it might be a "stretch" goal, but one I think 
you'd be capable of…. But maybe later.  John, why don't you 
serve what you've brought and tell us the news."  The 
Stallion nodded, his face impassive; "Yes, Mistress."  As he 
started sliding some sort of breakfast quiche from a pan 
onto two plates, he spoke; "First, there was a message for 
Mistress Tanj; her agent on Elysium has reported that in 
the time frame mentioned there was only one male Cheetah 
instructor at the academy.  His retinal pattern and the 
pattern of whiskers were attached.  Other details are 
sketchy; apparently there was some hint of a scandal 
attached to him.  He departed their employ suddenly.  From 
there it is not known what happened to him."  Tanj 
smiled, as she sampled the quiche; it was good, quite good…. 
As was the information.  However her agents always sent 
encrypted messages… how had Jenka's folks decoded it?  
Perhaps it was time to change codes again……"  "Second" the 
Stallion continued, as he poured the juice, "our accountants 
have uncovered six different off-world accounts in the name 
of Lord Xylex, of Elysium.  There may be more, but these 
were not secret or numbered accounts.  All were closed just 
shortly before his reported death."  Tanj grinned at 
Jenka; "I KNEW the bastard wasn't dead!  There'd be no 
reason to close those accounts, unless he was faking his own 
death!"  "Or" the Pantheress smiled, "he was being 
blackmailed.  Or planning something big, something that 
needed all his resources…"  Tanj waved a paw dismissively 
and swallowed; "No, he didn't take kindly to blackmail; 
believe me, I've tried.  I can't see that being likely.  And 
if he was up to something that big, I think I would have 
gotten hints.  No, faking his own death seems most likely to 
me; the only question is; WHY?"

The Lion sighed as the Stallion poured cereal and milk into 
a bowl labeled "Fido" and set it in front of him.  Before he 
could stick his muzzle into it, though, the Horse started 
slicing strawberries on top of the cereal.  Catching the 
Lion's eye, the Stallion winked.

Jenka crawled to the edge of the bed, to look down; the Lion 
was on his knees, his paws still cuffed behind his back; his 
muzzle was stuck in the bowl of cereal, and he was making 
quite a mess, apparently trying to get the last strawberry 
floating in the milk.  "Good Lord!  Does he always make 
sounds like that while eating?"  Tanj laughed and shook 
her head; "no, but then I've never seen him eat from a bowl 
on the floor either."  Jenka nodded primly; "I think this 
slave needs some training in Breakfast ettiquite……."  
Tanj just laughed.

The Rabbit wiped his brow with the back of his paw.  It had 
taken him almost five hours of nonstop work, and he'd had a 
real tense moment when the pH meter had flickered and died… 
but thankfully it had been just after the most critical 
stage in the synthesis, and he'd had the forethought to get 
a backup from supply.  Now he was done.  The liquid in the 
glass flask looked like water.  It was hard to imagine that 
it was one of the most dangerous, most forbidden substances 
known to the Empire, a compound so secret that he'd never 
heard of it, even though he'd TAUGHT biochemistry.  
Wondering again where Comrade Xyloff had heard of it, he 
carefully pulled on a second pair of rubber gloves, and 
using extreme care, working in the glove box, he loaded the 
water pistol.

Jenka zipped up her jumpsuit, and smiled at Tanj; "I've 
got to go check in at Ops, and then I've a few other errands 
to run.  Should take me about four hours, I suspect."  
Tanj nodded, sprawled on the bed like an adolescent's wet 
dream; "I think I'll amuse myself here for a bit, and then I 
think my slave and I will attend to certain e-mail chores.  
What say we meet after lunch for some play?"  Jenka smiled; 
"you know the block of rooms I've set aside in the 
recreation complex; I'll find you there as soon as I get 
done….."  As the door closed behind the Pantheress, Tanj 
crawled to the foot of the bed, to look down at her Lion; 
"tell you what; before we get down to "business," what say 
you show me how well your tongue's healed."  The Lion 
grinned up at her, and in one smooth surge leapt for the 
bed.  Tanj giggled, an "EEP!" of mock horror escaping her 
lips.  If it wasn't for the chain, the Lion would have 
landed on top of her, but being jerked up short, he fell to 
the bed, which protested with a groan.  Tanj giggled, and 
scooted down just a mite; it'd worked out almost perfectly, 
the Lion's muzzle now pressed hard against her crotch……

The Guard looked up from his magazine as Zarkoff approached; 
"Can I help you, ah, Dr. Zarkoff?"  The Rabbit smiled and 
shrugged; "It’s a little hot in my lab; I thought I'd come 
down and see if the dampers on the air conditioning system 
were functioning correctly.  The guard, an elderly Rat shook 
his head; "I haven't heard anything about any problems, but 
I can't let you go down there.  For some reason they think 
it’s a security area."  Zarkoff chuckled and nodded; " can 
see why."  Bringing his paw out from behind his back he shot 
the security guard in the face with the water pistol.

For a moment, the guard panicked; was the liquid he'd been 
sprayed with acid?  No, it didn't seem to hurt, although his 
eyes watered a bit.  For an instant he thought about rising, 
to yell at the crazy Rabbit.  Then he thought perhaps the 
Rabbit was up to no good, and he should sound the alert.  
Waffling between the two courses of action the Rat sat 
there, and trapped in indecision, did nothing.  After a 
moment, Zarkoff lowered the gas mask from his face and 
nodded; it actually worked just as Comrade Xyloff had said.  
A compound that interfered with the brain's ability to make 
a decision.  The guard, now helpless as a baby, merely sat 
there, unable to decide what to do to stop the Rabbit as he 
strode past him……

The staff in the communications center kept staring at the 
Lion, who looked like an eight foot tall Poodle, with most 
of them giggling, as he tried to work through his e-mail.  
Seated nearby, going through her own messages from her field 
agents, or from the Brethren, Tanj watched the Lion do a 
slow burn.  So far, he hadn't actually SAID anything, or 
made any rude gestures, but she could tell by the set of his 
ears, and the way he held his tail that he was pissed.  On 
the other hand, she couldn't blame the crew in the 
communications center… he WAS a sight!

Zarkoff looked at the main air mover for the building's 
ventilation system.  It had all sorts of filters and 
scrubbers on its inlet, designed to make sure that anything 
accidentally released in the research lab wouldn't be spread 
through the building.  But the removal of a simple 
inspection hatch had foiled all that technology.  Making 
sure that his gas mask was seated firmly on his muzzle, the 
gloves still intact and uncompromised, the rabbit reached 
through the hatch and quietly poured the contents of the 
flask into the ductwork.

All through the building, furrs of all sorts slowly stopped 
moving.  Each just couldn't decide what to do next.  In one 
lab, a fire started, spreading slowly.  The furrs inside 
couldn't decide whether to grab the fire extinguisher 
mounted nearby, sound the fire alarm, or flee.  And as a 
result, as the fire slowly spread, they perished.  Automatic 
systems reported the fire to the local authorities, and the 
emergency crews responding fell prey to the same toxin.  As 
a fireman, in a full environmental suit pushed into the 
building, wondering what had happened to his comrades, he 
blinked in confusion at the Rabbit standing at an 
intersection, a gas mask on his muzzle.  Shrugging, he 
followed the fire hoses seeking his comrades.

Zarkoff's eyes were wide with  panic; he'd suddenly found 
himself not being able to decide between taking the elevator 
or the stairs.  And in the back of his mind, the same 
thought played over and over; Xyloff, that bastard, had 
never told him that even in gaseous phase, that it could 
still be absorbed through the skin!

Zassa grinned, and snapped another picture, slowly walking 
around the Lion.  "Um, Zassa, Dear, lets not try his 
patience too much…." Tanj whispered.  Zassa nodded and 
snapping a final picture of the Lion, from behind, slipped 
the camera into the thigh pocket of the slacks she was 
wearing; "all done.  Just a few momentos of the trip.  Now, 
what was it you wanted me to do?"  Tanj grinned; "we're 
planning a little surprise for Hinoki; we want you to get 
that suit of Imperial powered combat armor and move it down 
to the recreational level.  My, ah, "slave" here won't fit 
in it, or I'd have him do it, and I have to go and try and 
find a few parts needed to modify it as we want."  Zassa 
chuckled and nodded; "but you have to let me watch!"  
Tanj nodded; "no problem."

Comrade Xyloff smiled and handed the press release to 
Comrade Quistling; "See, the regime seeks to turn us all 
into zombies.  Look at what happened in the laboratory where 
they were trying to make the proscribed mind control drug!"  
Quistling nodded in eager agreement; "They are most evil, 
Comrade!  We must let the People know!"  "Oh we shall, 
Comrade Chairman, we shall!"

Zassa stood before the hulking mass of the Imperial Combat 
Armor.  "Oh, hell, I've run cargo loaders before; how much 
different could THIS be?  Opening its clamshell back, she 
looked inside, and grinned; "Ah, unisex, I see.  Appendages 
for male or female… and I suppose I've got to get everything 
in the right place or it won't run, either….."  Pulling her 
clothes off, the Vixen stowed them in an exterior pouch, and 
then started squirming into the suit, making sure the waste 
elimination catheters were correctly positioned……  after a 
few minutes of grunts and groans, she was able to hit the 
chin switch that closed the clamshell back.

The Lion watched, nodding in approval as Zassa maneuvered 
the armor down the tight corridor.  As she passed, the Lion 
reached out, to flip open the pouch, and extract Zassa's 
slacks.  He held them behind his body until Zassa had turned 
the corner; then, with a grin, he extracted the camera from 
its pocket, and with a twist of his massive paws, ripped it 
asunder.  Grinning, he tossed the wreck in a convenient 
waste disposal receptacle, and turned to follow Zassa and 
her mechanical nightmare.

Wanda looked over the printouts and nodded; "Yeah, that’s 
more like what I thought he was worth."  Looking up at the 
Cheetah, Wanda nodded; "OK, I agree with you; he staged his 
own death.  So now what?  You think he's fled Elysium?"  
Tanj just shrugged; "I can't see him doing that, but you 
never know…. Think on it.  You knew him better than any of 
us.  If you have any thoughts on what he might be up to, let 
me know."  The wolverine just nodded, carefully folding the 
print-outs and stuffing them into a pocket of her lab coat.

Zassa had just backed the armor into the "playroom", setting 
it where Tanj had told her to "park" it, when she saw the 
Lion come in through the door, her pants slung casually over 
his shoulder.  "Zassa, these fell out of the pouch about 
half way back to the ship; thought you might need them."  
Zassa hmphed to herself; "yeah, right, you bastard, you just 
wanted to get your paws on my camera!"  After a moment, she 
growled, "computer.  Start visual recorder."  After the beep 
that told her it was recording, she twisted her head, her 
eyes following the nude form of the Lion as he laid out some 
of the parts Tanj had obtained from the pirate base.  The 
suit's heads up display meticulously recorded what she was 
seeing, and what she was seeing was the Lion bending over to 
paw through a box of parts…..  Chuckling to herself, the 
Vixen thought; "there's more than one way to skin a cat……"

Tanj came around the corner of the corridor, her arms 
loaded down with parts, wires, cables, and small assemblies.  
She was concentrating on hanging onto everything, and didn't 
see the Vixen until she almost walked into her.  "Oh, Hi 
Zassa.  Get the suit moved down OK?"  The Vixen chuckled; 
"Ah, yes and no.  One small problem, but nothing I can't 
fix.  Listen, I've been meaning to talk to you about 
something…."  Tanj cocked her head to one side, one paw 
fumbling at a small box that was starting to slip; "Um, 
what's that?"  The Vixen grinned; "Well, ah, you KNOW Hinoki 
and I were both pleased and honored when you set us both 
free…… its just that, well, um, given who we are, and what 
we like, and especially WHERE we are….. we thought…. We 
wanted to let you know…. Ah…."  Tanj grinned; "You didn't 
want to miss out on any of the fun you figure Jenka and I 
are going to be having?  That you still like to play certain 
games, even if they're just play, and not "forever?"  The 
Vixen grinned and nodded her head enthusiastically; "Yeah, 
that’s it, I think….."  Tanj chuckled; "if you want to 
spend some time as a bottom I think I can arrange it.  Might 
even find someone to cater to your tastes.  If you're good."  
Zassa all but sighed in relief; "That would be so nice, 
Mistress.  Let me go do one thing…. Gotta e-mail out a 
letter, and then I'll be RIGHT back to help!"  Tanj 
nodded, and then watched for a moment as the Vixen all but 
skipped down the corridor, tossing a data module from paw to 
paw.  Shaking her head, she turned and headed towards the 
recreation complex.

The Lion had his head stuck into the open clamshell back of 
the suit when Tanj entered.  Wires and tubing were 
dangling, and small parts littered the floor.  Setting down 
her load, Tanj elbowed in from the side, and growled; 
"Show me what you're doing with the hydraulics, Slave."

Jenka stepped through the door as it slid aside, and stopped 
to stare.  John, behind her, almost bumped into her, his 
eyes also locked on the scene within.  The powered armor was 
mostly in pieces.  Kath, with a curious Wanda looking over 
her shoulder, was working on an actuator module.  Dahlia, 
gagged and bound, was kneeling in one corner.  Zassa was 
replacing chips in a circuit board, consulting some 
scribbled notes as she did so.  Tanj was  working with an 
electopneumatic controller, fiddling with the stroke on some 
sort of piston, and the Lion was trying to untangle a mess 
of hydraulic tubing.  "you realize, mistress, that we're 
going to have to run this thing on vegetable oil for this 
exercise.  It might have a long term impact on seal life."  
Tanj just shrugged; "if it does, we rebuild the hydraulic 
system; can't be much worse than what we're doing now."  
Shaking her head, Jenka padded forward to demand; "What in 
the WORLD are you DOING?  Of all the things I expected y'all 
to be up to, this was NOT it!"  The Lion looked up and 
grinned; "just a little surprise for Hinoki.  We're 
modifying his suit; when we get done, it'll be the only 
powered armor in the universe that can make Love AND War!"  
Jenka nodded; “I’ll let you surprise me, then, with what 
you’re up to.  However, as you work, I want you to tell me 
ALL about your most recent exploits.  Tell me of your time 
as a Slave on Elysium, Slave!  And you’d better leave 
NOTHING out!”

Hinoki looked at the Vixen and blinked; "you say Tanj 
wants me to do WHAT?"  Zassa just grinned and nodded; "she 
wants you to demonstrate the powered armor for Jenka.  
Jenka's thinking about purchasing a few units for the Black 
Fleet, and she wants to see you put it through its paces.  
We've got it down on Deck 20, where there's some room for 
you to maneuver."  The Cheetah male looked a little 
skeptical, but after a moment, shrugged; "lead on."

Jenka watched closely as Hinoki palmed the clamshell back of 
the armor open, and then pulled off his shorts; "As you can 
see, Ma'am, this suit's set up for long term operations.  It 
can provide water and a nutrient broth through a nipple in 
the helmet, and has catheters for waste elimination.  Gotta 
get nude to put it on….."  Jenka grinned, and nodded, 
watching the male's lithe form squeeze into the suit.  
Hinoki settled himself, wincing at how cold some things were 
on sensitive portions of his anatomy and wondering why so 
sophisticated a machine couldn’t warm them prior to use.  
When he was set, he hit the chin switch to close the armor. 
The halves of the armor's back swung in and down, pressing 
against him, almost compressing him into the front of the 
suit. He heard the door latch with a solid "clunk" and 
waited patiently for main power to come up.  The "faceplate" 
however, remained dark.  He could feel a breeze on his left 
cheek, so he knew the air circulation system was active, but 
the rest of the suit seemed dead.  "Something's 
malfunctioning" he growled to himself.  "Wonderful…… okay… 
Urrrr, Computer!  System status, powergrids one through 
four!"….  The computer remained silent.  "Computer?  Suit 
power status, Immediately!"  The only result was more 
silence.  Growling, he uttered the one command that the 
computer HAD to respond to, if there were anything left of 
the computer that could respond; "Computer!  Emergency 
override, code T-Rescue.  Blow main seals!"  This time, the 
computer responded; however, instead of the mechaincal voice 
that had been programmed into the system, he heard something 
else…. Tanj.  And the Lion.  Zassa.  All in perfect 
synchrony, they said; "Hinoki, you've been a bad boy!  You 
hid your past from us…  But now you have revealed it.  We'll 
ask you why… but not right now.  For now, just sit back and 
enjoy the …. "softening."  

Hinoki was in shock.  He sat there in the suit, fur slowly 
bristling, hissing in more than a little fear.  He wasn't 
expecting something like this.  He had no way of knowing!  
Oh, he'd KNOWN they'd be pissed… but to kill him?  Torture 
him?  Maybe… Maybe he'd misjudged them..  His heartrate shot 
through the roof, and he felt the beginnings of a bloody 
nose.  Tanj's voice came through the speakers and 
whispered in that soft and sultry tone he'd adored; "You'll 
be quite alive and healthy, Hinoki.  I'd not let you come to 
harm..  and if you were to be executed, well, I'd be certain 
that it was done painlessly….  What happens after we let you 
out is up to you…"  Struggling, he found his arms and legs 
immobilized, as only being encased in tons of armor can do.  
He instinctively opened his muzzle to yell out for help, 
when the nipple for the water bottle swung out, and shoved 
itself into his mouth!  For a moment he was too surprised to 
move, and then the thing started to expand, blowing up like 
a balloon, filling his mouth!  The catheter in his rear also 
started to swell, lengthening and thickening, forming more 
of a plug in his ass than something meant to help him 
eliminate waste…… Then the plug in his ass started to 
vibrate, a knob extending to jam against his prostate.  
Suddenly the section of the suit encasing his groin started 
to vibrate, to pulsate, as if it were groping at him.  
Squirming was impossible, although he tried.  Unseen 
fingers… or were they tentacles?  Something was moving over 
his balls, while other things stroked his sheath……  The 
result was a predictable expansion, and as his cock grew 
rigid, something in the suit seemed to encase it like a 
waiting mouth….. it was warm, and slippery, and seemed to 
work at milking him…. It was at the same time terrifying and 
SO delicious.  Helpless, encased, immobile, within tons of 
rigid durasteel, Hinoki moaned as the suit masturbated him.  
Then, just as he was approaching his first orgasm, the suit 
jabbed him in the left buttock and injected…. Something.  
Zassa's voice came back, through the speakers, to purrrr; 
"Viagra-20…  We want you to enjoy this… Again, and again, 
and again…."

Tanj grinned at the readout.  The suit's medical 
diagnostics were fully functional, and she knew Hinoki was 
all right, although he seemed to have an elevated heartbeat, 
and slightly high blood pressure.   She made sure the alarms 
were properly set to let them know if he got into REAL 
trouble, and then set the remote down.  Hinoki had a long, 
LONG preprogrammed session ahead of him…..

Turning to Jenka, Tanj smiled; "Zassa tells me that she's 
in the mood for a little B&D.  You know her; she likes a 
little pain with her pleasure.  Somehow I kinda figure I'll 
be busy elsewhere.  Do you know someone who might just be of 
assistance?  The Pantheress smiled and turned to look at 
John; "I think I know someone who might do.  I've always 
thought you and Hinoki looked good together; a matched pair 
of Cheetahs.  I know a certain Fox who might be interested 
in entertaining Zassa.  John, why don't you see if Chris is 
available.  Oh, and there's one other thing I'd like to talk 
to you about…."  Leading the Stallion through the door, the 
Pantheress reached up to grab an ear, pulling the Stallion's 
head down so she could whisper in it…..  After a moment, 
John turned and trotted off.

Dahlia watched the Stallion go, and sighed.  That one 
certainly did look good….. And the Lion; what in the WORLD 
had they DONE to him?  He sure did look funny!  So far she'd 
been NEAR the Lion for an appreciable part of the trip, but 
she still hadn't TALKED to him.  She was beginning to wonder 
if she'd ever get the chance.

Inside the immobile suit of powered armor, Hinoki moaned; 
the thing in his ass had been leaking something… lubricant 
he thought.  Or at least he hoped, as now it was starting to 
slide in and out, fucking his ass with mechanical precision.  
The devices working over his cock, and his balls hadn't 
slowed down either, and he found that he was coming awfully 
close to a second orgasm……  and he hadn't even gotten over 
the first!  His cock was aching and so DAMN hard it stung!

Jenka looked down at the remote readout on the floor; "how 
long did you program this thing for?"  Tanj grinned; "Oh, 
only twelve hours.  I want him good and limp for when we 
take him out of there.  Remember, the goal of this is to get 
him to answer some pointed questions.  By the time he's done 
in there, he should be all set up for what we have in 
mind……"  Jenka nodded; "hope so.  Now, did you have any 
plans for the intervening time?"  Tanj grinned; "Oh, I 
think we can find something to keep ourselves amused.  Why 
don't I show you just how good my new Slave can be?"  Jenka 
chuckled; "Love, I think I already know, but don't let THAT 
stop you."  Tanj nodded, and looked around the room.  
"Slave, there are six females in this room.  I want you to 
lick each of them to a climax.  You've got one hour.  For 
each minute beyond that, that you take, you'll get a lash 
from my riding crop.  GO!"

The Lion grinned, and turned to POUNCE Zassa, knocking her 
to the padded floor.  His paws found the waistband of her 
slacks, pulling hard.  The fabric gave with a ripping noise, 
shredded cloth fluttering to the floor behind him.  Grabbing 
an ankle in each big paw, the lion spread her legs and 
lifted them, bending her double, lifting her ass from the 
floor to meet his muzzle.  He knelt there, holding her fast, 
as his tongue drove in and out of her snatch.  For her part, 
the Vixen howled and shuddered under his assault, the rough 
sex seeming to be just what she wanted.  As the Lion's teeth 
grazed her clitty, she howled, her paws clawing at the 
matting.  The Lion knew well and good what turned Zassa on, 
and pausing, sliding his tongue from her wet sex, he growled 
and nipped at one labia, and then the other, and then with a 
snarl, his teeth found her clitty, to nip hard!  The Vixen 
literally exploded, thrashing on the floor as a sudden 
climax took possession of her body.  When she'd calmed down, 
her chest heaving, but her body lying still, the Lion looked 
up to grin at Tanj.  Tanj just nodded and looked at 
her Chrono; "four and a half minutes.  Not too bad.  Sets 
you a little ahead of schedule…."  The Lion just nodded and 
turned to Kath, making a "come hither" gesture.

Jenka turned to see Chris standing behind her, just inside 
the door.  The Fox's eyes were wide, locked on the panting 
Zassa.  Taking a step backwards, the Pantheress whispered; 
"That’s what you have to work with.  Think you can do 
something with her?"  Chris blinked and nodded; "Oh, YES 
Ma’am….."

Kath rose and stepped almost shyly over to where the Lion 
was kneeling.  At his direction, she spread her legs, and 
with her paws behind her back, stood there as the Lion 
opened his jaws, to work his tongue over her sex.  Wanda 
watched critically, but Kath behaved, neither making a 
sound, nor a move, if you discount her rapidly heaving chest 
and harsh breathing as the Lion's tongue flicked over her 
sex, and then drove upwards, wrigging within her.  It wasn't 
until he brought up one finger, to rub at her clitty that 
she lost it, her head falling back, and a long, heartfelt 
wail escaping her lips, her entire body shaking.  The Lion 
spent a moment, licking softly, but it was obvious to all 
that he'd taken her to a powerful climax.  Looking around 
the swaying Mink, the Lion grinned at Tanj.  "OK, I 
guess.  Twelve and a half minutes.  Two down and forty-seven 
and a half minutes to go."  The Lion grinned and nodded, and 
looked at Wanda, an eyebrow raised.

The Wolverine chuckled and lay back on the padded floor; 
"Crawl over here, Slave, and lets see what you can do with 
your tongue."  Tanj watched as the Lion complied, moving 
with his typical heavy grace.  As she watched, Tanj 
wondered if Wanda was still technically a virgin.  To the 
best of her knowledge, she'd never taken a male lover… and 
yet, in OTHER things, she was far from inexperienced.…….  
The Lion seemed to take his cues from the noises Wanda made, 
for the Wolverine lass was quite vocal……  It took a few 
minutes, but then Wanda groaned and wrapped her legs around 
his head, holding him TIGHT.  Louder and louder she moaned 
until at last her body arched and she screamed with rapture.  
The Lion extricated himself as quickly as he could, panting 
hard, obviously having had a bit of trouble breathing in 
that position.  Grinning he looked at Tanj.  "Twenty four 
minutes; you lost a bit on that one; best not hesitate…."  
The Lion grinned and turned to Dahlia….

Dahlia smiled around her gag, and rose a little on her 
knees.  The Lion took the cue and rolled over on his back, 
sliding across the floor to shove his head up into her 
crotch, his tongue flashing out pinkly…..  Dahlia moaned 
into her gag; his tongue felt soooo good, just the way she 
remembered it…. The way he teased her first, the tip of his 
tongue tracing out the length of her slit, rough on her 
labia, and then slowly spreading her, to slither in, rough 
on one side, smooth on the other… And he seemd to know all 
her special places, the spots where she was most sensitive, 
most responsive.  As she knelt astride his face, she found 
it impossible to stay still, her hips churning as if she 
wanted to fuck his tongue….. and then his tongue was 
slipping out, to slide forward, to coax back the hood over 
her clitty, to stroke her pearl directly.  Moaning, 
groaning, her body swaying, Dahlia soaked in the feelings, 
getting closer and closer…..

John watched the Mare and smiled.  She was a pretty one.  
And responsive too.  If he was good, and with luck, perhaps 
Mistress would let him have some time with her.

Dahlia saw the Stallion's eyes on her, and felt a hot flush; 
"He’s WATCHING me…. just LOOK at all the people watching!" 
she thought to herself.  Even when she was a slave, at least 
the lights had been out, darkness a concealing cloak………  But 
here they could see EVERYTHING!  In a moment of shyness and 
embarrassment she flushed, and just as if it seemed she 
couldn't GET any more embarrassed, she felt her climax 
overtake her, and she KNEW it could be worse.  MOANING into 
her gag, she climaxed hard, horrified that all these 
strangers should see her like this!

The Lion purrred and gave the Mare a last nibble, before 
sliding out.  Panting he licked his face, slick with the 
juices of four ladies.  Tiredly he looked from Tanj to 
Jenka…..

Tanj smiled; "Thirty six and a half minutes.  Getting 
slower and slower!"  Tanj was about to insist that Jenka 
go next, when the Pantheress smiled; "Take care of your 
Mistress next, Slave.  I prefer to go last……."  Then, 
leaning over to whisper in Tanj's ear, Jenka purrred; 
"Make him fail; I have something planned….."

The Lion smiled and crawled on his knees over to Tanj; he 
took a moment to grin up at her with a knowing look and then 
his big paws were pushing her down on her back, his head 
shoved between her thighs.  His poofy mane tickled her and 
she squirmed until his broad, rough tongue dragged itself 
over her sex…. And in an instant her resolve crumbled.  He 
simply knew her too well; he knew what she liked, and what 
she loved.  Both his paws reached up along her body to cup 
her breasts, thumbs and forefingers tweaking her nipples, 
tugging on her nipple rings, while his tongue drove deep, 
seemingly to the very core of her being.  He knew that 
certain spot, deep on the front wall of her pussy, that 
always made her squirm, and his tonguetip danced over it 
repeatedly.  Somehow her paws found his now-curly mane, to 
twine her fingers in it, holding his head TIGHT to her 
crotch.  It was more than a being could stand!

Hinoki groaned; somewhere along the line, the plug in his 
ass had stopped moving, and had swelled up, locking itself 
in his rear.  Then, it had slowly admitted what was 
initially shockingly cold water.  As his bowels filled, as 
his middle swelled up from the fluid, the Cheetah found the 
suit increasingly tight, found the vibrating fingers at his 
balls, at his sheath, at his cock, now slippery with his 
cum, pressing against him all the tighter, stroking him all 
the more firmly.  Unable to do so much as squirm, Hinoki 
mewled in distress and pleasure.

Tanj moaned loudly as the Lion tugged on her nipple 
rings, twisting them as his tongue swirled and corkscrewed 
in and out of her snatch.  He was a Maestro, and knew just 
how to "play" her.  Striving to keep from climaxing, she 
started trying to calculate prime numbers, but no matter how 
she concentrated, she never seemed to be able to get past 
seven…..

Wanda stroked Kath, snuggling the Mink on her lap, watching 
the Lion practice his art with Tanj.  Whispering into the 
Mink's ear, Wanda purrred; "you're good, Love; very good.  
But look at what he's doing to her.  Just LOOK at it.  I 
think we're going to have to get you more practice……  Until 
you can make furrs look like that.

Kath listened to what her Mistress said, and nodded 
absently.  She'd felt the Lion's tongue, and it had been 
grand, but from the look on Tanj's face, he hadn't been 
seriously trying his best with her…..

Hinoki grunted in unison with the Suit's motions.  Water 
surged in and out of the plug in his ass, alternatingly 
filling him and seemingly sucking him dry, turning him 
inside out.  And all the while, the fingers stroked his 
balls, worked up and down his increasingly sore, and 
throbbingly hard cock.  He'd lost track of how many times 
he'd cum, but from the sticky wet feeling all up and down 
his front, it must have been at least a half dozen times.  
Periodically the plug in his mouth would discharge what felt 
like thick sugar water, in rhythmic pulses reminiscent of 
his own discharges, but it was too far back in his mouth to 
get a good taste.  At least he wasn't getting dehydrated……

Tanj couldn't hold it back any longer; arching her back, 
she Howled as her climax broke, ripples of pure pleasure 
seeming to spread out from her sodden crotch, to wash over 
her entire body.  Her claws dug at the Lion's head, tugging 
at his mane as his tongue slithered from within her, and he 
nipped roughly at her clitty.  The sensation only served to 
drive her further over the edge, and the compartment rang 
with her cries.

Jenka chuckled and nodded; "Better than I'd hoped for, Dear; 
he's only got seven minutes left.  Now, You, get over here 
and lets see if you can keep from earning a punishment!

The Lion groaned to himself.  His jaw muscles were aching, 
his tongue was sore, and he was tired.  He was a mess too.  
But he'd be damned if he'd show weakness in front of Jenka.  
Forcing a grin, he smiled as brightly as he could and moving 
with an apparent energy he felt he certainly didn't have, he 
crawled over to where she stood.  Kneeling between her feet, 
the Lion shoved her skirt up with her nose, and dragged his 
tongue softly over her sex.

Jenka smiled, one hand softly fuzzling the Lion's mane.  He 
was good, she'd give him that.  Very good.  It would be 
sooooo easy to just relax, to let the pleasure wash over 
her… but she had OTHER plans, and they demanded that she be 
strong.  It was only seven minutes…. Certainly she could 
resist him for that long…..

Hinoki mewled softly.  He felt like the suit was awash in 
his juices up to his waist… or maybe that was just sweat.  
He was soooo tired, soooo very sore, and it just wouldn't 
stop!  Now the dong in his ass had sucked all the fluids 
from his bowels, had deflated, and was once again pistoning 
in and out, in a counterpoint rhythm to the fingers stroking 
his cock.  As sore and as tired as he was, it was once again 
driving him crazy, and he felt himself teetering on the edge 
of another orgasm…..  but he saw sparks, blackness starting 
to form at the periphery of his vision….

The Lion groaned as the buzzer went off.  His hour was up.  
Jenka was panting, her chest heaving, but that was her only 
concession to his licking.  Her paw still caressed him 
gently, no sign of urgency in her motions.  Lazily the 
Pantheress looked down, her other paw going to his left ear 
even as the paw that caressed his head found his right ear.  
Tugging his head up wards, she gazed down at him; "you've 
been a VERY naughty slave.  You haven't done what your 
mistress told you to.  You're going to have to be punished 
and I have JUST the thing….. Now finish me, before your 
punishment gets any worse."  The Lion nodded, his nose 
stroking up and down over her mons as his tongue sought out 
her clitty…..

Tanj was still panting, lying on the padded floor, when 
Jenka gave a soft, almost inaudible moan, her body 
stiffening for a moment.  It hadn't taken the Lion hardly 
any time at all, once she'd relented, once she'd achieved 
her "goal" of making him fail.  Tanj smiled as she 
watched, wondering what Jenka had in mind……

Zassa rose and padded over to look at the remote readout for 
the powered armor.  Grinning she turned to whisper to 
Tanj; "Hinoki's passed out; should we get him out of 
there?"  Tanj thought for a moment and then shook her 
head no.  Taking the remote from the Vixen, her fingers 
danced over its keyboard; "I'll set it up so that it'll go 
dormant until he reawakens… and then it'll start all over 
again.  He's OK where he is, and I want to see what Jenka's 
got in mind for my Slave."  Zassa grinned and nodded.

Jenka put both paws on the Lion's head and "pushed" him away 
from her.  Panting, straightening her skirt, she took a 
moment to recover her breath, before saying; "I suppose that 
will do…. Its going to take a while for certain things 
needed for your "punishment" to be ready.  Just kneel there 
like a good slave.  In the meantime, I've arranged for 
"other" entertainment.  Zassa, come here and kneel in front 
of me!"  Zassa blinked, shot Tanj a look, and then at 
Tanj’s nod, grinned.  Obediently, the Vixen rose from 
where she'd been sitting, padded over to Jenka, and then 
kneeled in front of her, as a slave should.  Jenka smiled 
and ruffled the Vixen's headfur; "I hear that you don't want 
to be free of ALL the aspects of being a slave.  All right.  
For the rest of your stay here, you will belong to Chris.  
He will be your Master.  The only constraints are that he 
has to obey your safeword.  If you have to USE your 
safeword, he will return you to Tanj, and you will never 
see him again, and you will never be treated in such a 
manner here, ever again.  Do you understand?  The Vixen 
smiled slightly and nodded her head.  Jenka smirked; "here's 
your safeword; as you're most likely to be gagged, you will 
make a noise, or a motion.  Three of anything, in a rhythmic 
pattern.  Three slaps of a hand against something…."  
Demonstrating, Jenka slapped her own thigh once, twice, 
three times, with about a two second pause inbetween.  "Or 
you can rock the bed three times, in the same pattern.  Or 
open and close your hand three times, in the same pattern.  
Or grunt through your gag three times, in the same pattern.  
This should allow you to use your safeword, no matter how 
you're tied.  Do you understand?"  Zassa smiled and nodded 
again.  Turning away from the kneeling Vixen, Jenka smiled 
at Chris; "She's all yours.  Miss her safeword, and you'll 
play HER slave for a month!  Chris nodded and stepped 
forward; "not a problem, Ma’am.  I'll be attentive."  
Looking down at Zassa, the Fox growled; "Stand up, Slave; 
let me look at you."  Zassa stood, paws at her sides, while 
Chris ran his paws over her body, examining her, feeling 
here and there.  At one point, as his fingers moved between 
her thighs, he smirked; "good; wet already.  I can see this 
excites you."  And then his examination moved on.  After a 
while he nodded, in apparent satisfaction.  "Lets see what 
her limits are.  I've been told she likes a little pain with 
her pleasure.  We'll see."  Moving to a box by the wall, the 
Fox produced a heavy padded hood, which he proceeded to 
strap to the contours of Zassa's head.  The hood was more a 
form-fitting mask, with thick foam pads over her eyes, and a 
thick phallic plug to fill her mouth.  It encased her ears, 
thick foam plugs filling them as well.  When the last 
chromed buckle had been tightened, it looked as if someone 
had dipped the Vixen's head in thick rubber…..  Next, Chris 
buckled heavy leather mittens over the vixen's paws, the 
rings at the wrists being clipped together in front of her 
body.  Her joined paws were then brought up over her head, 
to be clipped to a ring at the back of her hood.  This left 
her elbows pointing straight up; these were lashed together 
with a leather thong, her arms pushing against the back of 
her head, forcing her chin down against her chest.  Ankle 
cuffs came next, with a short spreader bar between them.  
The spreader bar was attached to the cuffs with several 
links of chain on each end; she couldn't bring her feet too 
close together, but she could still move, still walk, after 
a fashion.  Chris left her like that, for a moment as he 
returned to the box……

Kath's eyes went WIDE as the Fox returned with a double 
pawful of clothespins.  Dumping them at Zassa's feet, he 
roughly grabbed one breast, and without preamble, clamped 
the business end of one of the clothespins on the Vixen's 
nipple.  Inside her hood, Zassa moaned, the sound barely 
audible.  Chris watched closely, but there was no motion; no 
stamping of a foot, or other motion that might indicate she 
was signalling her "safeword"…..  Nodding to himself, he 
proceeded to fasten a clothespin on her other nipple….

Tanj watched, smiling, as the Fox slowly covered Zassa in 
clothespins.  Clothespins on her tummy, on her breast, 
encircling her aereola, clothespins on her labia, 
clothespins here and there until the Vixen looked more like 
a hedgehog!  All total, he must have used a hundred of them.  
Tanj KNEW how those things could hurt, and marveled at 
the Vixen's stamina…..

Chris smiled and left the vixen, who was panting hard, her 
chest a mass of rising and falling multicolored clothespins, 
to return to the box.  When he padded back to her, he had a 
simple length of rubber strap.  Grinning at his audience he 
held one end of the strap in his left paw, pulling it back 
with his right.  When he'd stretched it to arms length, he 
let go, the strap flying out, making an audible *snap*.  
Kath, in particular, jumped at the noise.  Zassa, with her 
plugged ears, didn't react at all; she hadn't heard it.  
Chris stalked around Zassa, watching, grinning…. And then 
all of a sudden, the strap licked out, to catch the vixen on 
the ass.  The sudden sting made Zassa jump a foot, the 
clothespins jumping wildly, the Vixen's moan audible even 
through her gag.  Chris just grinned and watched, but again 
there was no sign of her signaling her “safeword”….

Tanj leaned against the wall and watched.  Chris was 
good, the snapping of his rubber strap knocking off 
clothespin after clothespin, with an occasional lick to her 
ass, breast, or thigh.  With each one the Vixen jumped and 
danced, her howls barely audible.  It was as if she didn't 
know which way to turn, to escape the snapping strap….  
Chris left the clothespins on her nipples and labia for 
last, snapping them off one by one with surprising 
precision.  Finally the Vixen stood there, panting, amid the 
litter of clothespins on the floor.  Stepping up behind her, 
Chris started working on the buckles to her hood, undoing 
them one by one, until he was able to pull the contraption 
off her.  Zassa just panted, covered in sweat.  The Fox 
smiled; "I want you to return all the clothespins to the 
box.  Use your mouth.  Zassa just nodded and dropped to her 
knees, her arms still awkwardly bound behind her head.  
Chris watched, occasionally snapping his rubber band at her 
ass, when he thought she wasn't moving fast enough.  It was 
as the Vixen was putting the last clothespin in the box that 
Chris reached over, to feel between her thighs.  Chuckling 
he stroked her, his fingers sliding easily in and out of the 
Vixen's dripping sex.  "I see they were right.  You DID like 
that, didn't you?"  The Vixen just panted, biting her lip, 
nodding her head.  Chris smiled, his fingers moving faster; 
"very well, you have my permission to cum.  Just once.  Then 
you'll thank me with your mouth."  Chris chuckled and 
twisted his paw, three fingers in the Vixen’s dripping 
snatch, until he could bring his thumb around, to point 
down, rubbing at the Vixen’s clitty as his fingers sawed in 
and out.  Zassa Groaned, and in a matter of seconds was 
panting harshly, the effects of a powerful climax writ large 
upon her face.

Jenka looked up as the door opened to the room.  John, the 
Stallion looked in, grinning as Chris sat on the floor, the 
panting, dripping Vixen crawling awkwardly over to drop her 
head into his lap.  Looking up at the Pantheress, the 
Stallion nodded; "Mistress, its ready."

Jenka nodded and gestured to the Lion.  “Time for your 
punishment, Stud.  Step outside, and we’ll get you harnessed 
up.

The Lion paused in the door, his eyes going wide.  His groan 
brought Wanda, Kath and Dahlia on the end of their leashes, 
to look past him.  Dahlia immediately recognized it for what 
it was; a two wheeled “sulky” cart like she’d pulled back on 
Elysium.  Jenka was going to take the Lion for a trot.

The straps were as complex as any harness he’d ever been 
buckled into, and the Lion stood in stoic patience as Jenka 
and John worked to fasten him into the harness of gleaming 
leather and shining brass.  His paws were held behind his 
back, immobile, with the cart’s shafts fastened to the 
leather at his hips.  Most of the straps were just for show, 
and the Lion was glad she’d never heard of the “bearing 
rein”, that strap running from a thick butt-plug to the back 
of his head-harness, pulling his head back.  The bit was a 
simple steel shaft, but it was buckled in tight, the 
attached reins allowing Jenka to swivel his head from side 
to side with ease.  Finally, he was ready, and Jenka hopped 
up into the Cart’s seat.  She had a little buggy whip, and 
flicking it at his ass, growled “HeYAH!”  And the the Lion 
was off, trotting down the station’s corridor.  As he ran, 
the Lion smiled to himself; at least here it wasn’t dusty, 
and there were no hills for him to pull her up to…. And with 
his “poodle” cut, with luck, not too many furrs would 
recognize him…… Maybe.

Zassa groaned, Chris’ cock buried deep in her mouth; she 
held her cold nose against his tummy, holding him in her 
mouth, the head of his shaft pressing against the back of 
her throat, as her tongue worked madly, stroking his hard 
length.  For her, there WAS no outside world, nothing else 
in her consciousness, except his maleness, and her need to 
bring him to orgasm.  

Dahlia looked at Tanj, and then at the Stallion, John…. 
She wondered if she should tell them about all the things 
they’d, well, not exactly done ‘wrong”, but just left out…..  
She wondered if she might barter that information for some 
time with the Lion….. or failing that, that hunk of a 
Stallion.  And then she blinked, wondering where naughty 
thoughts like THAT had come from…. Surely her mother had 
raised her better’n THAT!

Jenka sighed; her station was huge, one of the largest in 
the quadrant, but it wasn’t THAT huge.  The Lion seemed 
tireless, but she’d been around Deck 20 three times……  Time 
to give someone else a chance.  Tugging on the reins, she 
turned the Lion back towards where the others waited…..

Tanj smiled as her Lion trotted up, obediently pulling 
Jenka.  When she’d brought him to a stop, he stood there, 
panting lightly, not looking at anyone in particular, and 
Tanj wondered what he was thinking.  Hopping down, Jenka 
purrred; “That was FUN.  Tanj, Dear, you have simply GOT 
to try this.  Handing the whip to the Cheetah, she made way 
for Tanj to hop onto the cart’s seat.

Jenka watched Tanj vanish down the corridor, pulled by 
the Lion, and then turned at the whisper.  The Clydesdale 
Mare had edged up behind her to whisper; “Pardon me, 
Mistress, but might I have a word with you?”

Chris couldn't help himself; he had to let out a groan of 
pure pleasure.  The Vixen's tongue was very good, swirling 
around his shaft, laving the head of his cock, before 
darting down over his most sensitive places.  Still, he did 
everything in his power to show little reaction, as if her 
level of expertise were merely to be expected.  Using every 
mental trick at his command, the Fox did what he could to 
make this vulpine heaven last as long as possible.

Dahlia let Jenka lead her a dozen paces down the corridor; 
when the Pantheress turned to look at her, Dahlia smiled; 
“Um, Mistress, I don’t really want to cause any trouble, but 
I was wondering if I might cut a deal with you….  You see, I 
just stowed away on …. No, that’s not right; I didn’t even 
“stow away” on her ship.  I didn’t know they were leaving… I 
just wanted to spend some TIME with the Lion before they 
shipped me off.  If you can find a way to let us spend some 
time together, I’ll tell you more about what you’re trying 
to do here.  Y’see this was my most common job at that 
Agricorp facility….. toting the station manager around…. And 
I know some of the innovations she’d come up with…..”  
Jenka’s smile was a cold one, and after a moment, she nodded 
slowly; “I see Tanj’s new slave left a few things out.  
THAT should earn him a further punishment.  Yes, I’ll see 
you get some time with him.  Now tell me EVERYTHING!”

Zassa panted hard, tongue scouring the mat.  The Fox had cum 
in her mouth, flooding her mouth faster than she could 
swallow, until his ropy jism had trickled from her lips.  
The Fox had then unbound her arms, and had told her to lick 
what had spilled from her mouth to the floor.  As one paw 
teased her, stroking her heated flesh, he chuckled;  “Yes, 
you are something.  I think You and I are going to have a 
GOOD time together…..”

The Lion was panting by the time he brought Wanda back.  
John uncoupled him from the cart, and unbound his paws, but 
left the rest of the harness, including the bit in his mouth 
fastened about him as he led him by the reins back into 
their room in the recreation complex.  As they entered, 
Tanj looked up from the suit’s remote readout; “Hinoki’s 
passed out for the second time; I think its time we got him 
out of there.  He should be about ready.  Behind Tanj, 
Kath held up a single feather and nodded, a wicked grin on 
her face.

Hinoki groaned, and lifted his head; suddenly it struck him; 
he was out of that damned suit.  He could feel cool air all 
over his sweat-drenched body. Groaning, he tried to move, 
only to realize he was hanging, his paws bound above him, 
and his legs bound to the floor, his feet well spread, and 
an indeterminable distance off the floor.  While he still 
couldn't see, his mouth was empty and after a minute he 
managed to whimper quietly; "Hurts….. P..please, .. N..no 
more… Wh. Who.. who?

Tanj smiled and brought the very tip of her feather up 
between his legs, its tip following the crease between his 
balls; "Oh, we're here.  We're ALL here.  YOU'VE been a very 
naughty boy.  You have a secret you haven't told us.  But 
you will.  Oh, you will……."  With that she dragged the 
feather up along the very front of his sheath, and as he 
squirmed, she chuckled.

Zassa shot Chris a glance, and at his nod, applied her 
feather to the sole of the Cheetah's right foot, as Kath 
worked her feather in a similar manner over his left foot.  
Dahlia looked a little confused, but following the lead of 
the others, she used the tip of her feather to tickle the 
Cheetah's left armpit, doing her best to mimic Wanda's 
actions as she worked on the Cheetah's other armpit.

Jenka smiled and used a leather thong to tie the tip of the 
Cheetah's tail to the back of his collar.  Then, squatting 
behind him, she dragged the tip of her feather along the 
crack of his ass.

Hinoki HOWLED and squirmed; it seemed like the tickling went 
on forever, and when it stopped, it was all he could do to 
hang there, panting and exhausted.  As he tried to recover, 
he heard the Lion's deep voice growl in his left ear; "we 
know you were an instructor at the Academy.  We want to know 
what you're doing here."  But before the Cheetah could frame 
a response, all the tickling started again; the soles of his 
feet, his crotch, his armpits, his ears, under his chin, and 
squirm as he might, he was completely unable to escape, or 
to even slow the torment!  He began to thrash so hard his 
joints crackled, claws expressing and trying to claw at the 
leather bonds.. at anything within reach as he became a 
creature more animal than sentient.  He hissed… growled… 
then mewled and whimpered as the tickling went on and on…..

It seemed like ages before they stopped again.  Hinoki could 
only pant, hanging limply from his wrists.  After a while, 
he moaned; "what do you WANT from me?"  Tanj chuckled; 
"we want you to tell us what you were doing as an instructor 
at the Academy, and how you came to be a slave.  That’s a 
pretty radical change in status.  There are those that think 
you might be some sort of a mole in our organization….."  
The Cheetah shook his head violently from side to side; "No, 
NO!  Not a mole.  Not working for anyone.  No ulterior 
motives, no agenda….   Just trying to get by…."  Tanj 
smiled and applied the tip of her feather under his chin, 
making his head jerk violently as he sought to escape the 
tickle; "then tell us.  Tell us the whole story.  Tell us a 
story that we can check.  Names.  Places.  Dates.  Prove 
yourself to us, Dear, or the tickling starts again."

Hinoki sighed and lowered his head to his chest, his eyes 
closed.   "Its true.  I was an instructor at the Academy.  
But I found that as time wore on, I didn't love my work as 
much as I thought I did.  Oh, yes, I enjoyed helping to 
train new slaves, especially the sex slaves…. But as time 
wore on, I found that I was envying them more and more.. 
perhaps my own tastes were changing.  Occasionally I'd find 
myself watching the other instructors and wondering what it 
would be like to be one of their charges, to be a naked 
slave under their command.  After a while, it became a bit 
of an obsession….."  the Cheetah gave a rueful grin, half 
hidden by his bowed head; "eventually, I picked out a 
suitable slave.  I singled her out for "special" training….. 
it took a bit to bypass the normal "oversight" system, to 
feed loops of tape into the video feed, so it looked like we 
were just going over the same lessons over and over… while 
we broached new territory."  Jenka stroked that area between 
Hinoki's balls and anus with the tip of her feather; "and 
what kind of "new territory" did you venture into with this 
slave?"  Hinoki's response was almost a moan, almost a 
whisper; "I taught her to be dominant.  I taught her to 
"top" me.  I trained him to be my Mo…. My Mistress……"

Tanj sat back on her haunches and blinked…..  "Oh, I bet 
the faculty would be LIVID if they found out……."  Jerking 
her head up she looked at the Cheetah hanging above her; 
"but they DID find out, didn't they?"  Hinoki just nodded.

"Somehow they figured out what was going on.  We were in the 
middle of one of our sessions when they burst in.  The 
Rector, and all the Deans.  Their….. "investigation" became 
more of an inquisition.  There were several other 
instructors that were dismissed, merely on suspicion, given 
their past friendship with me.  Others received…. Harsher 
disciplines.  Even though I swore I was acting alone."  The 
Cheetah shuddered, obviously at the memories coursing 
through his skull.  "They…. Decided to give me exactly what 
I wanted.  They declared me a slave, and "enrolled" me in a 
beginning class.  Their first…. Their first "class" for me 
was to watch… as… as they…"  He shuddered and closed his 
eyes.  A few feathers descended towards his anatomy, but 
Tanj forstalled it with a gesture…. Something was 
happening here and she thought he needed a bit of time to 
elucidate….  "Th.. they made me watch as they publicly 
humiliated, and then dismissed my Mother in disgrace.  I 
have no idea what happened to her, after they destroyed her 
career, and exiled her from Elysium…..  Then they made me 
watch the punishments, the re-conditioning…..  All the 
slaves I'd trained… all the slaves who's lives I'd touched……  
Just in case I'd taught others.  Then… Then I began being 
"instructed"…..But the entire staff knew of me, knew of my 
disgrace.  They were all VERY rough on me.  It was a relief 
finally to graduate…..  And the rest you should know.  No, 
I'm not working for anyone; I'm not a deep cover agent.  
Don't you think, after all this time, you'd KNOW that?" 

Tanj nodded slowly; she'd never really believed he could 
be an agent; an enemy.  But it certainly was an awkward 
tale….. there would be those that would NEVER believe him… 
and she knew from her work in Intelligence that there would 
be those that would never permit themselves to believe him, 
on the off chance that it truly was a masterful deception…….  
To her surprise, the Lion growled low in his throat; "you 
are NOT telling us everything.  You're hiding something!"  
Hinoki flinched at the words, and then howled as the Lion's 
feather renewed its assault on his armpit.  Tanj watched 
in amazement as the others joined in, tickling him 
furiously.  She wanted to shout "NO!  STOP!" but something 
held her frozen, immobile…….

Hinoki howled and squirmed; this tickling was worse than 
what they'd done before; at least there they'd given him a 
breather, letting him calm down, letting him rest between 
bouts; now, it seemed as if they were bent on revenge, 
determined to kill him by tickling.  Groaning, he completely 
lost control, the feeling of warm liquid bathing his crotch, 
flowing down his thighs…..

Tanj eeped and tossed her self to one side as the Cheetah 
lost control of his bladder.  Turning back she watched in 
amazement as the fur on Hinoki's face ruffled, the feline 
equivalent of a blush as embarrassment caused a rush of warm 
blood to his face, his fur bristling, seeking to help shed 
the heat.  The Lion ceased his motions, waving for the 
others to quit.  Bending his head close to the Cheetah's 
ear, he growled; "do we start again, or are you going to 
tell us?"

The Cheetah's head bobbed up and down in short little jerks; 
"Allright, I'll ….. tell you.   The Slave I was training to 
top me…… I was training her to …….. I wanted her to……  You 
see, I'm wrapped up in….. I, ah,…. Well…."  After stammering 
and hesitating, the words seemed to come out in a rush, like 
water falling from an upended bucket; "I like to be a cub 
again…. To be treated like a cub…. Diapers and baby 
powder……. And that kind of thing…..  That’s what I was 
training her to do to me….."

The Lion took a half step back, surprise on his face.  It 
wasn't an unknown fetish, but it was one that the Academy 
didn't dwell on.  Some folks liked to be pampered as babies, 
to be cooed and fussed over.  Some liked that particular 
brand of humiliation, to be forced to wear diapers, to have 
to pee in their pants, to be treated as infants…..  And he 
could see how the "masters" at the Academy might be 
horrified to find out that one of their own not only had 
submissive tendencies and desires, but that he might have 
THOSE tendencies and desires……  Shaking his head, the Lion 
mumbled; "we'll have to check this out, you understand…… "  
Turning, the Lion looked at Tanj and spread his paws, 
shrugging, as if to say, OK, we got him to tell us his 
secret…. But it wasn't what I thought it would be.  NOW what 
do we do?" Hinoki, still looking down, his eyes on the floor 
in front of him, growled, using a voice every bit as 
Dominant as he'd ever used during a session at the academy.

"God DAMN you all.. you tore my secret from me, and you WILL 
hear the explanation!"  Even despite his precarious position 
being suspended and surrounded by furs with feathers, his 
voice still impacted anyone in the room with submissive 
tendencies.. and dented those that were Dominant as well. 
When he wanted it, he could GRAB attention and hold it! 
Hinoki gathered himself, closed his eyes.. and sighed. "I'll 
not bore you with a sob story about my childhood. Suffice it 
to say that it wasn't really all that nice and warm and 
fuzzy. Mom.. she wasn't the matronly type, you see. She was 
an instructor at the academy and started indoctrinating ME 
into things as soon as I could growl appreciably." 

He looked around, making sure he made eye contact with 
everyfur present. "I used to sneak into the slave pens at 
night and listen to them. Sometimes they'd tell stories of 
their childhood. It.. was attractive. Made me wonder what it 
would be like.. to have someone to fuss over me. Yeah.. I'm 
submissive. I was made to be a dominant, but my heart is on 
the other side of that fence. So I found an attractive 
female slave and singled her out to be my 'Mommy' if you 
will. Yeah, I enjoy being in diapers, powdered.. and 
sometimes tied down until I'm forced to wet them. The slave 
girl was there to take care of me, and she loved me. At 
least, I think she did.. I know that I really cared for her. 
But she was sold off immediately after her re-conditioning, 
shortly after I was discovered.  Anyway.. Yeah, I was made a 
slave. But I was run through courses that'd make your head 
spin. I also had to watch as my own mother was made to wear 
diapers.. forcibly treated as I liked to be. Now.. I don't 
hold any great love for her, but still.." 

Hinoki grew quieter. "The other instructors who were known 
to be my friends, my closest friends, were beaten quite 
severely.. again, in front of my eyes. They were shipped 
offplanet, and I never heard about them again." He shook his 
head. "So.. yeah, I do like diapers. Hell, I even wear them 
now and then when I'm in my cabin. I've had a friend do the 
honors.. Do any of you know how peaceful it feels to be 
gently undressed.. bathed.. and then diapered? To be cuddled 
in warm, strong arms? Sure, might seem strange to you, but 
believe me.. give it a try before you knock it.. and me.."  
He shrugged. "I've nothing more to say, really. I guess now 
I've got to throw myself on your mercy.. if you can possibly 
have any for me." 

There was a good long bit of silence as that parcel of news 
was digested. 

Tanj bit her lip, thinking.  She really didn't know a 
whole lot about that particular fetish, but it did explain a 
few things.  She KNEW Hinoki could be a particularly 
dominant "Top" when he wanted to be, a tendency that seemed 
to come out rarely…. And she knew he loved being a "bottom," 
perhaps almost as much as she did.…. could that REALLY 
explain his background?  Still, at the bottom of her heart 
she was sure he wasn't a threat.  She just had to prove it.  
Sighing she rose to her feet to lower the chain that 
supported him.  Pushing him down onto his stomach, she 
pulled his arms back, his legs up, to clip his ankle cuffs 
to his wrist cuffs, a gentle hogtie.  "You rest awhile, 
while we think this through."

Chris grinned at Zassa and crooked a finger at her; "You.  
Slave.  Get a wash rag and a bucket of soap and clean up the 
mess the Cheetah made.  Do it quickly or I'll have you 
cleaning it up with your tongue!"  Zassa nodded and hastened 
to obey.

Their silent musings were interrupted by John, the Stallion 
stepping back through the door, to whisper in Jenka's ear.  
The Pantheress grinned widely and nodded; "Excellent.  I'm 
pleased.  Now, I have a few more things for you to chase 
down.  This is what we'll need……."  After a moment of 
listening, a neutral expression on his face, the Stallion 
nodded.  Crooking a finger at Zassa, John said; "if you…..  
Come with me, Slave, and I'll show you where the cleaning 
supplies are kept."  Zassa nodded, following the huge 
Stallion out.

Jenka turned to Tanj and smiled; "I think you'll be 
interested in what John has brought us to play with.  If I 
might borrow your stowaway, I would be pleased to race you, 
your "pony" against "mine."  All Tanj could do was to 
blink, and grunt "huh?"

Sitting outside their playroom was a second sulky cart, 
almost identical to the first.  And on the seat of the cart 
was another complex web of leather strapping and brass 
buckles.  Dahlia cast her eye over it and sighed, shaking 
her head.  Jenka chuckled; "and just to make things more 
interesting, I've managed to come up with a few little…. 
"adornments" for our ponies…."  Grabbing the Lion's trailing 
reins, she took one in each paw and snapped them.  
Maneuvering him like she'd been doing it for years, she 
urged him forward, turned him, and then tugging back on both 
reins, moved him back between the traces of the new cart.  
Stepping forward, the Pantheress again bound his paws to his 
harness, behind his back, and lifting the poles of the cart, 
fastened them to the harness at his hips.  Grinning the 
stepped back to the cart and threw a brake lever, 
immobilizing it.  Lifting the seat to the cart to uncover a 
storage compartment, she showed Tanj the little weighted 
collar, a match to the pink one the Lion still wore around 
his neck; "you know where this goes; why don't you put it on 
him?  Tanj took the strap, surprised at its weight, and 
nodded; moving around in front of the Lion, one paw found 
his sack, to tug downwards lightly, stretching his balls 
away from his body until she could buckle the weighted 
collar there.  The Lion, of course, knowing what was coming, 
shied away, almost as a real pony might, and Tanj 
purrred; "That’s allright, Big Boy, I'm not going to hurt 
you… Calm…. Calm…."  Stepping back, she admired her 
handiwork… the pink collar stretching his balls from his 
body was a good contrast to his now-white fur and the rich 
brown of the harness…..  Jenka chuckled and handed Tanj 
some captive bead rings; "I know, in the past, he's had 
certain portions of his anatomy pierced; I'll leave the 
placement of these to you……"

The Lion groaned; Tanj had been most devilish with the 
rings. She'd remembered that the opening of his sheath had 
been pierced, and that now sported a thick ring.  Worse, 
from that ring, a metal rod descended, with a hollow metal 
ball clipped to the ring at the rod's other end.  This ball, 
while not particularly heavy, rested against his now tightly 
bound balls.  It was obvious that as he ran, that assembly 
would swing back and forth, thwapping his balls…..  Tanj 
had then spent a few minutes licking at his crotch, with the 
predictable result.  With his cock swollen and turgid, she'd 
slipped an elastic cock-ring down its length, squeezing the 
base of his shaft just enough to make sure he didn't loose 
his erection.  She'd then put another ring through the 
"Prince Albert" piercing in the eye of his cock.  A light 
chain ran from there to the newly re-installed nose ring.  
Looking straight ahead, the chain wasn't particularly tight, 
but the Lion knew that while running, his cock would be 
swaying and bobbing, the chain tugging painfully… and if she 
hauled back on the reins, pulling his head back… OUCH!

Dahlia watched them adorn the Lion in no small trepidation.  
Kath and Wanda were busy, fussing over her, and the complex 
harness, trying to figure out what went where….   Initially 
they'd tried to put it on her backwards, but had soon 
realized the mistake.  They seemed to take great delight in 
strapping her TIGHTLY into the leather…..

The Lion sighed around the bit in his mouth as Jenka held up 
the "bearing rein" assembly.  At least she lubed up the 
butt-plug before shoving it roughly into his ass……  And then 
the straps were being pulled TIGHT, pulling his head back, 
the chain from his nose to the piercing in the end of his 
cock pulling his erection up tight against his belly…..

Jenka smiled as Tanj finished with her Lion, and then 
turned to Dahlia; "lets see now; I wouldn't want him to run 
at a handicap.  What little…. "annoyances" can we come up 
with for you?  Producing a pawfull of captive bead rings, 
the Pantheress stalked towards the harnessed Mare.

Dahlia groaned, suffering under the same "bearing rein" as 
the Lion, a fat dildo in her ass, straps running on either 
side of her tail to the harness encasing her head, pulling 
it back TIGHT.  Every time she tried to look down, the 
straps drove the dong deeper into her ass, producing a 
whinny of dismay.  And Jenka had run a light chain from the 
rings now adorning her nipples to the ring in her nose….. 
and she KNEW, despite the limited support provided by the 
harness straps encasing her breasts, that when she started 
running, her bouncing breasts were going to make that 
painful, for nipples and nose.  At least the Pantheress 
hadn't put those dreaded Ben-Wa balls up her twat; instead 
the labia rings sported rods similar to the one the Lion 
wore, with bulky but hollow balls at the end; she knew as 
she ran, her thighs would bounce those back and forth, 
providing a significant "distraction."  Finally Jenka 
declared her "steed" ready, and took her place on the sulky 
cart's seat.

Kath stood between the two "ponies" with her arm raised 
high.  After a moment's pause, she dropped her hand, and 
almost simultaneously, two whips cracked, and the racers 
were off…..

Dahlia watched the Lion take an early lead, Tanj's whip 
stinging at his ass as he ran.  The Mare smiled to herself; 
she KNEW she could out-last him.  Doing her best to ignore 
Jenka's shouts and the sting of her whip, the Mare settled 
down to a distance-eating trot.

The Lion had no idea how far ahead he was of Dahlia and 
Jenka; he couldn't turn his head, and almost couldn't see 
where he was going.  After a brief sprint, he settled down 
into what he thought was his best long-distance pace.  The 
ball swinging on the end of its rod tap-tap-tapped at his 
bound balls most annoyingly, and with every step, the dong 
in his ass seemed to saw in and out.  The chain between 
nosering and the ring in the end of his cock slapped at his 
belly, but he did what he could to minimize the tugs as his 
cock wobbled with each step.  It was devilishly hard 
maintaining his concentration as he ran, but he did what he 
could…..

Jenka Whooped as Tanj and her Lion came into view as they 
turned a corner.  Some of her Pirates had come down to 
watch, having heard what was to transpire, and she smiled 
and waved as they cheered her on.  Dahlia was slowly gaining 
on their opponents.

Tanj scowled; she KNEW Lions, like Cheetahs, were 
sprinters, not long distance runners…. But the station's 
size was limited, the course not THAT long.  Looking over 
her shoulder, she saw Jenka gaining and turning back, she 
flicked her whip at the Lion's butt a bit harder, shouting 
for him to go faster!

The finish line was approaching, or so the Lion thought; the 
way the growing crowd was getting louder made him think he 
must be almost there.  Not wanting Tanj to loose, he 
pushed himself a little harder, increasing his pace to more 
of a sprint, the straps of his harness digging painfully 
into his body.

Dahlia saw the Lion speed up, and grunted; she wasn't going 
to loose THAT easy!  Leaning into her harness, the Mare 
shifted to what could only be called a gallop

Kath watched in horror as the two carts charged towards her.  
She was supposed to declare the winner, but it was looking 
more and more, as the two charged towards her, like she was 
going to wind up roadkill.  Eeeping she dashed for the side 
of the corridor, just as the contestants stampeded past.

Tanj pulled back on the reins, bringing the Lion to a 
halt.  Letting him pant, she turned on the seat to look at 
Wanda, Kath, and the crowd of spectators.  Spectators?  
Where'd THEY come from?  "Ah, Who won?"

Wanda smirked and looked at Kath, who shrugged.  Looking 
back at Tanj, Wanda shrugged too; "Don't know; too close 
to tell.  I guess we should have arranged for a photo 
finish."  Jenka laughed and pointed at one of her Pirates.  
"Shumaker, go get a video rig.  I want it set up right here, 
so we can play the tape back and see who wins."  Turning to 
Tanj, the Pantheress smiled; "Dear, I guess we're just 
going to have to race again.  Both the Lion and Dahlia 
groaned.

Tanj squirted some water from a squeeze bottle into the 
Lion's mouth; "Now I realize she's better at a long distance 
run, but I still think you can beat her.  I think the way 
you handled it was good, but you're going to have to start 
the final sprint a little earlier next time……  Here's the 
way I want you to handle it…….

The Lion scanned the crowd from the corner of his eye as 
Tanj talked.  They must have made a PA announcement on 
the upper levels of the station; it looked like several 
hundred furrs were there…. And some even had hand-held video 
cameras.  He even spotted one expensive three-D rig….  
Sighing to himself, he shook his head in amazement.

Zassa chuckled and grinned up at Chris; "Master, might this 
slave make a small request?"  The Fox looked sternly down at 
her for a moment and then nodded.  Lithely Zassa rose, to 
whisper in his ear.  After a moment, the Fox grinned and 
nodded and reached out to unclasp her leash.  Grinning, 
Zassa skipped off through the crowd.

This time, Kath waved a handkerchief as she brought her paw 
down, and then the two were off, amidst the cheers of the 
crowd.  Wanda could see a great deal of bets being placed 
and she wondered who was the favorite.

As he ran, the Lion did his best to ignore the distractions… 
but his balls were starting to throb, and his ass was 
getting MIGHTY tender.  Still, as he panted, sucking air in 
past the bit in his mouth, he pushed himself as hard, as far 
as he could…….

Dahlia grumbled as the Lion again took an early lead.  She 
wasn't no dang quarterhorse, nor was she a thoroughbred.  
Clydesdales were powerful, but they weren't fast….. Still, 
she moved as fast as she could, determined not to loose.

The Lion slipped as he rounded one corner.  He couldn't 
throw an arm out for balance, bound behind him like they 
were, and his claws scrabbled at the deck plate.  Somehow he 
stayed upright, the sulky cart wobbling wildly behind him as 
he charged off down the next corridor.  Behind him, Dahila 
saw him stumble and grinned; the gap was closed slightly…..

Kath watched as the crowd roared.  The contestants were in 
sight, both in full charge.  This time, she swore she 
wouldn't chicken out.  Raising her right arm, holding the 
handkerchief as if it were the checkered flag, she waited……

The Crowd roared as they crossed the finish line; it was 
another dead heat, and the crew around the video camera was 
mobbed as everyone pushed forward to see the playback.  
After a moment a swell of laughter broke like an ocean wave, 
sweeping through the crowd.  Jenka, having leapt from the 
seat of her sulky, shoved her way through to look.  Then she 
too broke into laughter; "Tanj, Dear, usually a steed 
will "win by a nose," but in this case, your Lion had shoved 
his head down; that chain from his nose ring had gone slack, 
and, well, the first part of him to cross the finish line, 
centimeters ahead of Dahlia, was his… well, he won by a 
cock!"  Again, the crowd roared.

Zassa grinned and lowered her video camera.  She'd gotten a 
good portion of the race, the "photo finish" and Jenka's 
victory declaration on tape.  Now all she had to do was to 
sweet-talk Chris into letting her e-mail it home… and she 
had a few ideas on that one…..

The Lion stepped backwards carefully as Jenka tugged on his 
reins.  The Pantheress had maneuvered him back and to one 
side, until he was standing next to Dahlia.  Behind him, 
Jenka grinned at Tanj; "the second sulky was built with 
some special features in mind.  It has clamps, here, and 
here, and here, that when engaged like this, turn the two, 
into one.  Now, Dear, what say you and I take a ride 
together; a victory lap as it were?

Tanj laughed and snuggled Jenka on the seat as the 
Pantheress took both sets of reins in her hands and snapped 
them.  For a moment Dahlia and the Lion surged against each 
other, but after a moment, they found the rhythm and were 
pulling together.  As she snuggled the Cheetah beside her, 
Jenka maneuvered the team through the corridors at a sedate 
trot.

The crowd had mostly dispersed when they'd returned.  Jenka 
set the brakes on both carts and tossed the reins over the 
heads of her steeds; grinning at Tanj, the Pantheress 
purrred; "I'd heard tales about something that happened back 
on Elysium, when your Slave was doing this for a living.. 
would you mind if I "rewarded" the winner in my own fashion?  
It sounded so deliciously kinky….  Tanj frowned; "just 
what do you have in mind?"  Jenka grinned and leaned forward 
to whisper in Tanj's ear; slowly a broad grin formed on 
the Cheetah's face and she nodded enthusiastically.

Jenka smiled at the remaining spectators and padded around 
in front of the Lion, pulling her dress off over her head.  
Standing in front of him, she reached up to undo the thin 
little chain from his nosering.  His cock immediately 
dropped, pointing at her, just above the horizontal.  
Purrring, she dropped to her knees to carefully work the 
cock ring off from the base of his shaft, as her tongue 
teased the head of his cock.  Her attentions soon had it 
pointing much more towards the stars than the horizon.  
Smiling, the Pantheress put her arms around his neck, and 
then carefully put first one foot, and then the other on the 
shafts of the sulky cart.  Hoisting herself up, her weight 
on the shafts connected to the Lion's waist, she snuggled 
close to him, before allowing her body to slide gracefully 
down his front.  Her hips wiggled a little more and then, 
having centered the head of his shaft just where she wanted 
it, with a purrrrr, she continued down into a squat, 
impaling herself on the Lion's rampant shaft.

Tanj had considered getting off the seat of the sulky, to 
wander around the OTHER side of the Lion, perhaps to add a 
caress, or lick of her own to Jenka's efforts…  But as the 
Pantheress put her weight on the sulky's shafts, she felt 
the cart move underneath her and decided Jenka's efforts 
would be better served if she remained as "ballast."  
Grinning, she settled back in the seat to watch.

The Lion groaned past the bit in his mouth as Jenka's wet 
sex enveloped his cock, gripping it with a delightful 
tightness.  There wasn't much he could do, but stand there, 
and yet, every nerve in his body screamed for him to take 
her, to buck his hips up into her…..   Groaning in 
frustration, the Lion shuddered as she slowly started to 
hump his shaft.

Jenka panted, savoring the feeling of the thick, veined 
shaft sliding in and out of her; she LOVED it when she was 
in total control, and the way he was harnessed into the 
sulky, held SO immobile… Urrr, She was going to have to 
remember this; despite the tension in her leg muscles as she 
rose and fell, despite the precarious balance, it was 
absolute Heaven!

Dahlia grunted and then whinnied as she watched, more than a 
little ticked.  She hadn't asked for this, hadn't been given 
any choice at all in whether she wanted to participate in 
the silly race…. And now, the Lion was getting fucked… and 
not only wasn't it HER doing the fucking, she had to just 
STAND there and watch!  And half the station was standing 
there LOOKING at her.  Embarrassment, rage and jealousy 
warred within her.

Jenka moaned and shuddered; her first climax had come 
rapidly, driven forward by the novelty of the situation…..  
Now she fully intended to settle down and work at the next 
one… but as she paused, she caught, from the corner of her 
eye, the angry toss of the Mare's head.  Smiling, Jenka 
chuckled; "Feeling a little left out, are we?  Upset that 
the victor's reward didn't come to you?  Tell you what; I'll 
see if I can't find you a consolation prize……"  Looking 
around the crowd, Jenka called; "John, would you be so kind 
as to come over here and give our runner up the "consolation 
prize?"  I think if you stand behind her, you might be able 
to……"  Amongst the crowd, the Stallion nodded, and moving 
forward like an icebreaker through pack ice, started undoing 
his belt…..

Dahlia couldn't see what was happening, but she felt someone 
step behind her, between the shafts of the sulky.  Then she 
felt two massive hands slide up her waist, to cup her 
breasts as someone pressed themselves against her from 
behind….. someone HUGE.

The Lion felt the shafts of the sulky cart buck and shift, 
felt Jenka grab tighter at his neck, voicing her surprise.  
And then the entire rig started to shift, to inch forward in 
little jerks.  Jenka laughed and hung on tight, still 
finding a way to rise and fall on the Lion's cock.

Dahlia had grunted as the Stallion had forcefully spread her 
legs as far as the situation would allow, crouching behind 
her, to rub his thick shaft against her sex.  The labia 
rings, with their dangling rods, and the balls at the end, 
swung wildly, adding to the sensations flowing through her.  
And then with a grunt, the Stallion had tightened his grip 
on her breasts, pulling her back and down onto his shaft; 
then he was rising, her feet actually leaving the floor as 
he straightened.

Tanj watched the Stallion take Dahlia from behind and 
smiled; maybe, just maybe that Horse would distract her, 
make her forget about the Lion… HER Lion….

The Lion had a hard time keeping his footing as the Stallion 
started powerfully fucking the Mare.  He could hear her 
hooves hitting the deck over and over, and realized that the 
Stallion's powerful thrusts must be literally lifting her 
from her feet.  Grunting, he struggled to stay upright as 
Jenka, thrown about by the Stallion's efforts, rode his 
shaft wildly.

Dahlia panted breathlessly, her chest heaving in John's 
grip; this Stallion was HUNG, his shaft stretching her WIDE.  
She could swear she could feel every contour, every ridge, 
every vein in the Horse's huge cock as he drove it in and 
out.   Rapidly, she felt herself being driven towards the 
most powerful climax of her life!

Something clicked in the Lion's mind as the Stallion labored 
next to him.  With Jenka wrapped around his throbbing cock, 
writhing like a starving succubus, the temptation to loose 
his load was incredible… but…. She hadn't given him 
permission to cum, and he wasn't about to loose this race 
either!  Gritting his teeth, he tried to concentrate on the 
way the dong in his ass, at the end of the bearing rein, 
sawed at his sore ass….. well, maybe that wasn't the BEST 
thing to concentrate on…..

Dahlia couldn't stand it; throwing back her head she let out 
a long, loud whinny, as her sex spasmed, clenching tight 
around the Stallion's driving cock.  She shuddered and felt 
her knees go weak, and if he hadn't been holding her so 
tight, she would have collapsed…….

John smiled as he felt the Mare climax; she was good, this 
one was…. But he wasn't done yet.  Not yet.  Something in 
him wanted him to show this Mare just what he was made of, 
just what he was capable of….. Grinning to himself he 
started varying the rhythm of his strokes, starting with 
five short, followed by two long and hard…..  Next to him, 
Jenka squealed and giggled as she found it harder to hang on 
to the Lion, as the motions became less predictable……

Leaning forward, Jenka nipped at the Lion's ear, growling; 
"cum when I do, Slave; when THEY do.  All together now….."

Dahlia panted hard and swore beneath her breath; the 
Stallion just wasn't stopping!  What was he, a Machine?  
Heedless of all those watching, of the noise of the crowd, 
she moaned, feeling her passions rise, the feelings 
intensify, shoving her rudely towards another massive 
climax…..

Kath watched from Wanda's lap and then grinned.  Kissing the 
Wolverine on the nose, she rose, to squat in front of the 
bouncing Mare.  The cart was still moving slowly forward a 
centimeter at a time, driven forward by the Stallion's 
thrusts, and it only took a minute for the Mare's well 
spread pussy to inch its way to her waiting tongue.  
Chuckling, the Mink flicked her tongue from the Stallion's 
driving shaft to the Mare's clitty and back again.

Dahlia felt the tongue and tossed back her head, the chains 
from her nosering tugging harshly at her nipple rings, and 
HOWLED; her body shook and spasmed as an even more powerful 
climax claimed her.

John felt the tongue, and then felt the Mare spasm; before 
he could even try and stop himself, his orgasm caused his 
world to explode.  Whinnying loudly, the Stallion's cock 
started to throb, shooting wadd after wadd of cum into the 
Mare.

Jenka felt the release of the two next to her as one would 
feel an earthquake; twisting her body as she drove herself 
down on the Lion's shaft, she screamed "NOW!"

The Lion couldn't help himself, couldn't hold back a moment 
longer and with a Roar, he came, his cock spurting, pumping 
until his jism dribbled from the Pantheress, dripping down 
to coat his bound balls.

Tanj watched as things gradually wound down.  If the 
Stallion hadn't been holding her, it was obvious Dahlia 
would have collapsed.  After a moment the Mare recovered, 
leaning back against the Stallion, who seemed to be in no 
hurry to move off.  Jenka climbed down off the Lion, 
standing there, nude, dripping and panting hard, to pat him 
on the cheek.  Then, with a smirk, she returned to where 
she'd dropped her dress, to fetch something from a hidden 
pocket.  Chuckling she rose to tiptoes to feed the Lion a 
sugar cube, with  a "good boy."

Zassa smiled and again lowered the videocamera; looking up 
at Chris she purrred; "Master, you were right.  That was 
worth waiting for… but NOW can I go send it off?

Tanj smiled and rose to tiptoes to kiss her Lion; "that 
was good."  She'd taken the weighted collar off his balls 
first, as they were starting to look a little sore and 
swollen… and then the chains and weights.  But at Jenka's 
request, she hadn't released him from his harness, leaving 
him standing there next to Dahlia.  "I think" Jenka purrred; 
"we'll let them cool off there for a bit, and then get them 
to trot to the showers.  As for us, we have one more task 
before we can rest…." 

Parks shook his head as the Brou device glowed with an evil 
light, and almost all the power that the Intimidator’s 
massive engines could produce vanished seemingly without a 
trace.  Alarms were howling all over the ship as everything 
from the movie in the forward lounge, to the navigational 
shields, to life support itself shut down due to lack of 
power.  It was unavoidable; the Brou device was doing 
SOMETHING, he just didn’t have a clue as to WHAT it was 
doing….  And the thought-control interface was giving him 
such a headache….. it took a half dozen tries just to get 
the thing to disengage itself, the nimbus gradually fading… 
and then it just sat there, in the middle of Cargo Bay four, 
inexplicably covered in frost as if it had been left in the 
depths of space for a thousand years.  Looking down at the 
printout the Mouse, Mark, had sent him, he scowled and shook 
his head, wondering what to try next……

Hinoki was sound asleep when they re-entered the playroom.  
John kneeled to show Jenka what he'd come up with; 
"Mistress, what you asked for is being made… things in that 
size just don't exist here, but we have several patterns to 
work from.  In the meantime, I thought you might find this 
interesting…."  The Stallion laid out a rubber body suit, 
obviously designed for a male.  It looked like it was sized 
for a child, and obviously the rubber was meant to be 
tightly stretched over his body.  Pointing out the special 
features, the Stallion watched his Mistress' face.  After a 
minute, Jenka nodded; "I guess it will do, although it 
doesn't speak directly to his fetish.  John, I'm not 
displeased, but I'm not pleased either.  You and I will have 
to discuss your performance, later."  The Stallion nodded, 
his face carefully neutral; "Now, Mistress, shall we put him 
into it?"

The Lion twisted his head carefully, trying to look around.  
It LOOKED as if everyone had gone back into the playroom.  
Turning his head just a bit, careful of the bearing rein, he 
chuckled; "So, Dahlia, what brings YOU here?  How'd you get 
sucked into this little trip?"  Next to him, Dahlia groaned, 
her chest still heaving a little; "well, it CERTAINLY wasn't 
what I intended… I didn't know Tanj was taking her ship 
out.  I just thought she was going there to "play."  Thought 
I'd sneak on board, see if I could talk to you some."  The 
Lion chuckled; "well, it looks like this MIGHT be the only 
chance we get.  If I know Tanj, and Jenka, we'll soon 
have gags filling our mouths again.  Not that this bit makes 
talking easy……..

Hinoki awoke to many hands moving over his body; it felt as 
if a dozen people were all working on him at the same time.  
Massive hands under his arms pulled him upright, while hands 
worked at his arms behind his back, pulling something over 
them, as others worked on his feet, pulling something 
stretchy over them as well.  As they worked, he found he 
could move, after a fashion, although any motion in any 
direction met increasing resistance until he had to relax, 
and let his limbs return to their former position… and then 
someone was working over his sex fondling his cock and 
balls, stretching something over them………  And then he was 
back on the floor, on his back.  They'd let go of him, but 
could he move?  The more he tried, the more he struggled, 
the more exhausted he became.

The Lion chuckled and nodded; "Me too, but you know, that 
too will pass.  So tell me, what have they got you set up 
for?  They do a decent job finding you a place to go?"  
Dahlia shrugged; "Oh, I suppose.  I’m supposed to be in a 
group going to an Agricultural world.  I'll show up there 
with passable papers and enough money for a start, but to 
tell you the truth, all I'm suited for is day labor.  Never 
did learn a trade.  Some how I just can't see it being a 
whole lot better than where I was…..  Slaves at least seldom 
starve to death."  The Lion winced; "I dunno, I remember 
what they fed us there and I'm not too sure I'd agree with 
that…."  Dahlia laughed; "ah, yes, but you couldn't snack 
from the local crops.  Me, I can eat grass, if I have to, 
and survive….."  The Lion nodded, and shrugged, the whole 
sulky shaking with the motion.  After a minute, the Mare 
whispered; "So what is there between you and Tanj, 
anyways….  I'm getting the feeling that she's REALLY jealous 
of any attentions I might pay you….."  The Lion smiled; "its 
kind of a long story……"

Tanj looked at the figure cocooned in stretchy rubber and 
smiled.  From the rubber helmet covering his head, thick 
eyepads blocking vision, foam plugs filling his ears, to the 
V-shaped arm binder behind his back, to the shiny black 
covering his torso, to the matching V-shape covering his 
legs, holding them together.  For a moment Hinoki tried to 
scissor his legs apart, and Tanj watched as the rubber 
stretched… and then pulled his legs back together…..  But 
the truly devilish portion was what ran from his crotch to 
the rubber covering his muzzle…..

Dahlia shook her head; "After what she did to you in that 
Academy place, I can't imagine you buying her for any 
purpose other than revenge!"  The Lion chuckled and shrugged 
carefully; "Oh, what happened there wasn't her fault, not 
really.  She showed a level of imagination, daring, and 
resourcefulness that I admired, and as you know, those are 
fairly rare qualities.  And, over the years, she's, well, 
kinda "grown" on me…….  The Mare tossed her head back and 
laughed; "Yeah, RIGHT.  I bet it was Love at first sight!"  
The Lion sighed; "someone like me's got no business being in 
love.  I've ALWAYS thought that I'd never live through what 
had to be done.  In fact I never thought I'd get as far as I 
have….."  Dahlia nodded; "why in the heck are you even 
bothering with a place like Elysium, anyways?  Surely the 
Brethren could turn a profit somewhere a little more…. 
"reasonable."  The Lion chuckled and nodded, wincing almost 
immediately as the bearing rein reminded him of just where 
he was.  "Oh, sure.  Plenty of places to make more money.  
Plenty of places to make a "safer" buck too…. but… well, it 
all started back when I was a slave…. The FIRST time I was a 
slave…  You see, my Mistress was murdered by those 
bastards…. A possibility she'd foreseen.  She left a message 
for me, in the event of her death, that told me exactly what 
she wanted me to do, tasks I was to accomplish.  I was to be 
her revenge, her vengeance.  I admit, I had quite a bit of 
latitude in HOW I accomplished her instructions, but no 
matter, when we liberate Elysium, her instructions will be 
fulfilled, and I'll be free of her geas."  Dahlia nodded 
(carefully) and cocked her head to one side; "and then what 
will you do?"  The Lion chuckled; "you know, you're the 
second person to ask me that in the last couple of days…."

Hinoki struggled, seeking to learn the limits of his 
motion……  Jerking his head back, he felt the rubber sheath 
they'd slipped over his erect cock stretch, and slide over 
his flesh…. And then snap back, pulling his head down.  
Something connected the tip of his muzzle to the slick 
rubber sheath over his cock.  Making the motion again, he 
smiled; it felt rather good, almost as good as a wet pussy 
working over his erect shaft…..  Chuckling to himself he 
masturbated by bending his body back, in a bow, tugging the 
rubber around his shaft out, straining against his elastic 
bonds, before relaxing, letting it slide back.  It felt 
GOOD…. But then, as he panted, he realized that the plug gag 
in his mouth had a little hole in its center… he explored it 
for a moment with his tongue…. And then sharply drawing in a 
breath, he realized that in response, the rubber sheath 
around his throbbing cock grew tighter… The two were 
connected!  It was a TUBE that ran from the sheath covering 
his cock to the plug gag in his mouth!  It was a delicious 
irony; if he made himself cum, he'd get a mouthful.  He was 
laying there, trying to figure out just whether he wanted to 
"play" with himself or not, when the plug they'd stuffed in 
his ass came to life, vibrating wildly….  The decision made 
for him, he groaned and writhed on the floor, the rubber 
sliding slickly, delightfully, back and forth over his 
shaft.  

John chuckled at the Cheetah's motions, and grabbing his 
tail, the only exposed part, off-handedly dragged him out 
into the corridor.  Almost immediately a passing couple 
stopped to look at the strange form, the lady Rabbit's paws 
reaching down to caress his balls where they bulged from the 
rubber covering just about every other portion of his 
anatomy.  Then, with a laugh, the couple turned and 
continued their walk.

Jenka smiled at Tanj; "I'll have security watch him.  
Right now, I think you and I need a shower.  Lets mount up, 
and get our noble steeds to carry  us to the baths."  
Tanj just yawned and nodded.

The Lion fell silent as he heard footsteps approaching from 
behind.  Then the poles of the sulky bounced twice and he 
felt the reins tighten.  "Lets go, you two; slowly.  I want 
to see you two start us off smoothly, with no jerking.  Get 
it right or we'll do it over until you do!"  The Lion jumped 
as the tip of the buggy whip flicked over his ass, and then 
putting an even strain into it, he and Dalia started them 
all moving.

Tanj smiled and squirted water at the Lion.  His paws 
were bound behind his back with a simple plastic wire-tie, 
and she was enjoying washing down her "steed."  Next to her, 
Jenka cavorted, nude, in the running water as she slowly 
covered Dahlia in liquid soap.  The Mare stood quietly, eyes 
closed, seeming to enjoy the attention…. Especially when 
Jenka let her soapy paws wander over breasts or crotch…..  
Finally they all withdrew to the dryer grid, rubbing each 
other as the cyclone of hot air swirled around them, drying 
their wet fur.  Tanj was pleased to see that the fur dye 
was starting to wash out of the Lion's fur, leaving him a 
yellow-white, and that the "perm" was coming out of his 
mane… He was starting to look a little more normal…..  
except for the ex-puffballs at wrists and ankles.  As she 
looked at him she smiled, and decided she really did like 
his crotch trimmed like that……

They were just heading for the door, when John stepped in, 
to look enquiringly at Jenka.  Jenka smirked and tilted her 
head towards the Mare; "John, take her back to her quarters, 
and see that she gets some rest.  Then meet me in Ops; we 
have some work related things that have gone unattended too 
long."  The Stallion nodded, and with a small bow, gestured 
Dahlia to proceed through the door before him.  Turning to 
Tanj, Jenka sighed; "Work.  You know how it is.  What say 
I join you for…. Um, is it Breakfast?  No matter; I'll come 
by your suite in about four hours."  Tanj nodded and 
yawned, and gesturing to the Lion, headed down the corridor 
to her quarters.  They'd gone a half dozen paces when the 
Lion sighed; "you know, I really should check the e-mail……"  
Tanj stopped, and sighed; "yeah…. So should I.  I'd 
rather go get some shut-eye, but you're right.  Lets head up 
to Communications…..

The Lion's sigh turned heads all over the communications 
center; 'Three hundred, and eighty-two messages!  Geez, I'll 
be here all night!"  Tanj frowned at her own in-box….. 
most of the items looked routine, but…..  Sighing and taking 
a sip from her coffee, she opened the first one…..

Jenka smiled and looked down at the bound form in the 
corridor.  Hinoki, in his writhings, had actually moved a 
dozen meters down the corridor.  Bending, the Pantheress, 
squirted some goo from a tube in to her paw and then gently 
rubbed it around the tight sack of the Cheetah's bound 
balls…  For a moment the Cheetah was still, and then his 
motions redoubled.  Jenka chuckled and winking at the 
security camera focused on them, turned and headed back to 
Ops.

Hinoki howled as the paw that had caressed his aching balls 
suddenly left them feeling as if they'd been set on fire!  
IT BURNED!  Howling, he squirmed even more, seeking an 
escape, and in the process, the rubber sheath encasing his 
still rigid shaft only took him closer to the next uncounted 
orgasm.

Tanj closed the last e-mail message and sighed.  She had 
been right.  Nothing seemed to be happening, the sector 
rather quiet.  While she was sure it was the lull before the 
storm, she still wasn't going to object.  Looking over at 
the grumbling Lion, she realized she had some time before 
he'd be finished.  Too long a time to just sit there, 
probably too short a time to go back to her suite without 
him…..  sighing she turned back to her terminal and started 
a search for prominent Wolverines on Elysium……  There was a 
distressingly large amount of data…..

Zassa yawned and sat up.  Scratching her head, trying to 
bring some order to her hair, she looked around… Chris 
seemed to be gone.  Somewhat surprised, she rose, and padded 
nude into the bathroom, to clean up some.

The Lion shook his head as they walked back to Tanj's 
quarters.  "You know its awful difficult trying to get 
anything done here, especially with the schedule we've been 
keeping."  Tanj chuckled; "Oh, you'll be back to 
schedules soon enough, Slave.  Right now, you're NOT 
SUPPOSED to be worrying about that.  Now be quiet, like a 
good slave.  One step to Tanj's left, and one step behind 
her, the Lion just grumbled…..

Zassa pulled the Tee-shirt on over her head, flipped her 
pony tail out from under the collar and turned for the door.  
She wondered what the others were up to, wondered what Jenka 
might have planned for them next, and under it all, she 
wondered if she'd see Chris again……  Padding from her 
quarters, she looked left and right, wondering where she 
could get something to eat, before looking for the others…..

Jenka looked down at the quiet, latex-covered form.  His 
chest was still moving; he was still breathing, but it 
looked as if he'd masturbated himself into exhaustion.  
Chuckling, knowing JUST what would bring him out of it, she 
uncapped the tube and squirted more goo into her palm.  
Bending over, she once again smeared the stuff over the 
Cheetah's bound balls…..

The Vixen heard something behind her just as she rounded the 
corner at the intersection of the corridors.  It was an 
unusual sound, just unusual enough to draw her attention, 
and she turned to look behind her…..  Suddenly she ran up 
against something large and soft.  Starting a muttered 
apology, she tried to step back, turning her head to look at 
whomever she'd run into, when suddenly something was pulled 
over her head.  Suddenly afraid, she struggled, trying to 
bring her paws up to grasp the hood, but strong paws caught 
hers, holding her, while someone else tightened the opening 
of the leather hood around her neck.  Then her wrists were 
pulled back down, to be bound together behind her back, her 
ankles were trussed, and she was unceremoniously tossed over 
someone's shoulder.  Squirming, she tried to scream……

Hinoki groaned, coming all too rapidly awake as something 
set his balls on fire again.  Panting, squirming, he felt 
strong hands lift him from the floor and shift him to…. 
something.  A moment later he felt himself moving, and 
decided that they must have put him on some sort of cart.  
Groaning, he lay there, wondering if his poor balls would 
ever be the same…….

Jenka smiled as she entered Tanj's quarters, John 
following with a serving cart.  "I thought brunch might be 
more in order, and of course, I couldn't make up my mind, so 
I had John bring several of everything.  Why don't you call 
your friends, and we'll all break our fast together?"

Zassa grunted as her body hit the floor.  It had seemed like 
they'd carried her for an hour, the person who's shoulder 
she was being carried over making many twists and turns.  
Three times she'd felt the sensation characteristic of being 
in an elevator… in short, she had NO idea where she was.  
When the hood was pulled off her head, she opened her mouth 
to scream, but as she did so, something large and soft was 
shoved into her mouth.  At almost the same instant, a 
heavily padded blindfold was pulled over her eyes, both 
devices being not buckled, but apparently locked behind her 
head.  Screaming into her gag, she twisted and turned to no 
avail.  Her captors rapidly made short work of her jeans and 
tee-shirt, deftly cutting them off, reducing them to rags…. 
And then she was being dragged across the floor, to be 
stuffed into... something.  It felt like a padded box.  
Forced to kneel, she could feel something metal between her 
legs.  Ankles and knees were strapped down to the floor of 
the box, bound paws pulled up behind her, bending her 
forward, to be tied to the roof.  Strong hands held her head 
while someone locked a thick padded collar around her neck, 
the collar attached to the walls of the box in what seemed 
to be four dimensions…. Up, Down, Left, and Right.  And then 
there was a slamming sound, and the sound of power tools, as 
if fasteners were being tightened….  She'd seen boxes like 
this before.  They were for transporting individual slaves.  
The metal between her thighs would be a trough for 
collecting bodily wastes, and she had the suspicion that the 
soft plug in her mouth would probably secrete sugar water 
from time to time….  Then suddenly the crate shook and 
tilted.  She was being taken somewhere…..

Wanda purrrred as Kath popped another grape into her open 
mouth.  After chewing, she looked at Tanj and shrugged; 
"No, haven't seen Zassa since she went off with that brown 
fox…what was his name?  Chris?"  Jenka chuckled; "I wouldn't 
worry about those two.  Chris is likely to keep her 
"entertained" for a good long while.  Don't worry, he'll 
have her back here by this evening.  Tanj nodded slowly; 
"Hope you know him REAL well; I'd hate for him to hurt 
her…."

Zassa grunted as the crate hit the floor.  Getting dropped 
was beginning to get old….  Once again the sound of power 
tools reached her ears, and she sensed, more than heard the 
side of the crate being removed.  The voice of Chris 
suddenly filled her ears, the Fox obviously whispering 
directly into her ear.  "You're such a delightful little 
thing, I've decided to make off with you.  I'm bailing out 
on Jenka.  Never could make enough money around this place 
anyways.  I’m taking one of her Raider ships, and some data 
that I know others will be interested in….. And I'm taking 
you.  I know a buyer that will pay a very pretty penny for a 
slave like you.  And I think you might be useful in easing 
the boredom of a long trip, for me and my crew….  So sit 
back, and enjoy the ride."  Zassa tried to shake her head as 
the fox shoved foam inserts into her ears, his chuckling 
gradually being muffled, first from one side, and then the 
other… and then she felt, more than heard, the side of the 
container banging closed.  In the silent dark, bound on her 
knees, she wondered what was to become of her.  Would 
Tanj even know she'd been abducted?  Would Tanj be 
able to find her?  Rescue her?

Jenka touched her napkin to her lips and sat up suddenly; 
"Oh, my!  I've completely forgotten!  Rising from the table, 
Jenka padded across the suite to the breakfast cart.  
Pulling back the curtain that covered its lower half, she 
exposed Hinoki's bound form; "Somehow I doubt he's hungry; 
he's been "snacking" regularly, I'm afraid, but I do suppose 
we should let him up….."

Zassa groaned.  The crate under her was vibrating.  She knew 
that vibration.  It felt like a starship's drive.  After a 
while, she started getting a little cold, as if the icy cold 
of space were sucking the heat out of a ship's cargo bay……  
She'd completely lost track of how long she'd been in the 
crate, but she knew she'd missed at least one meal.  The 
sugar water excreted by the porous gag in her mouth did 
absolutely nothing to ease her hunger, but she did have to 
pee…. Did the trough between her legs have a collection pot, 
or would it just slosh there…..  Groaning, she decided she 
could put off knowing a little longer.  Listening to the 
sound of her own heartbeat, she wondered how many more meals 
she'd miss before someone came to release her…..

Hinoki groaned as the hands unbound him.  As the latex hood 
was stretched away from his face, he blinked at the bright 
light, his vision gradually resolving into Tanj's smiling 
face.  The Cheetah smiled, and crooked one eyebrow up; "You 
O.K., Dear?"  Hinoki chuckled hoarsely; "Oh, LORD that was 
marvelous!  I have GOT to get me one of these!"  All around 
the suite, everyone broke into laughter.

Zassa heard the sound of power tools, dimly through her 
earplugs.  Somehow, as the crate was shifted, as the side 
was removed, one of her earplugs fell out.  A strange voice 
growled; "Yeah, the boss was right.  This one's a looker all 
right."  Another voice chuckled; "Yeah, I just LOVE dem 
Vixens, but do you really think we should be doing this?  I 
mean, if the boss catches us…."  The first voice growled; 
"Nah, she ain't no virgin, and the boss has already 
determined she ain't got no sexually transmitted diseases.  
We get her cleaned up and back in her box, he won't know the 
difference.  Its not like SHE'S going to tell him, now is 
it?"  The second voice just chuckled… and then two sets of 
paws were working at the straps securing her into the 
crate……

Hinoki sighed as the water cascaded down around him.  Nice 
and Hot.  Steamingly hot.  It felt SO good after being in 
that latex prison for so long.  Pouring some liquid soap 
into his paw, he started rubbing it over his tummy, just 
delighting in the sensations… moving his paw down, he washed 
on either side of his sheath, and then moved down a little 
further…..  Suddenly his eyes went WIDE open!  His balls, 
his balls that had been repeatedly coated with something 
that burned like fire, where HUGE!  Stepping out of the 
water, looking down at himself, he beheld two balls the size 
of…. well, they FELT like grapefruits, but were actually 
smaller….. more the size of large lemons, and seemingly 
perfectly round.  The skin of his sack was stretched tight, 
so tight they seemed to be held right up against his body…..  
For a moment he wondered if having them bound by the latex 
suit, a constriction between testicles and body, had injured 
them somehow… and then he remembered..  A feminine paw 
caressing him there, time and again, and each time they'd 
burned so…..  Thinking of the cream that females apply to 
their breasts, to make them increase in size, he chuckled 
and wondered if Jenka or Tanj hadn't come up with 
something just for guys…..  Finishing his shower, he stepped 
onto the dryer grid, straining to catch a look at himself in 
the foggy bathroom mirror……

Zassa gasped as her gag was unbuckled….  Her captors had 
dragged her from the box, only to force her BACK down onto 
paws and knees.  They hadn't seemed too interested in 
freeing her completely, loose restraints dangling from 
wrists, ankles and neck, and her blindfold still covered her 
eyes.  In fact, she could feel one of them, apparently the 
larger one, moving around behind her, one paw roughly 
grasping the base of her tail, while the other took her head 
by her ears and rubbed her muzzle against his crotch…. They 
were only interested in one thing, that was obvious……  As 
she heard the male in front of her growl; "Open up, Baby, 
Daddy's got a snack for you" she wondered if it would help 
any if she bit him……..

Hinoki, a towl around his shoulders, but otherwise still 
nude, padded out into Tanj's Suite.  He couldn't believe 
that Jenka, Tanj's long-time "part time" Mistress, didn't 
have her in a kennel somewhere…. It was strange to see 
Tanj treated as an equal….. still, he wasn't going to 
complain.  Moving over to the breakfast cart he started 
lifting plate covers, seeing what was left.

"I'm gonna get them for this" Zassa growled to herself.  The 
furr in front of her had shoved a ring gag into her mouth 
when she'd parted her lips for him.  Now she couldn't bite 
him even if she wanted to.  The furr behind her, a Bear she 
thought, was bucking his hips at her with little finesse, 
his large cock driving deep into her, and now the smaller 
one, an Otter, she thought, was fucking her face.  In other 
circumstances, she might have enjoyed their attentions, 
but…..

Jenka smiled at the Cheetah male from Tanj's bed.  The 
Pantheress was sprawled across it, her feet hanging off one 
side, her hair hanging off the other.  With her head propped 
up on one paw, she grinned wickedly at Hinoki; "now that 
you've replenished your strength, I have a challenge for 
you……

Zassa moaned; she just couldn’t help herself.  She'd done 
just fine until the Bear had moved one massive paw around 
her hips to rub crudely at her mons.  The Otter had then 
released her ears to lean over her head, his paws reaching 
down to cup her swaying breasts, to tug and twist at her 
nipples.  In spite of herself, she was getting aroused, 
getting hot……  Getting to the point where she didn't want 
them to quit, to go away, to release her…….  Groaning, 
Zassa's tongue licked at the Otter's shaft, her pussy 
clenching around the Bear's, as she sought her climax…..

Hinoki grinned as he knelt on the floor.  His ankles were 
bound together, his paws tied behind his back, to his 
ankles.  Otherwise he was unfettered.  Kath had her paws 
tied behind her back, her ankles tied to the floor on either 
side of Hinoki's hips, and a rope around her waist was 
threaded through an eye-bolt in the floor.  Hinoki chuckled 
to himself, thinking on Jenka's station, no well appointed 
suite was without eyebolts in the floor, for tying down 
slaves…..  Kath grinned and slowly lowered herself onto the 
Cheetah's hard cock, purrring a little as she snuggled onto 
his lap.  Then Wanda was measuring the length of the rope, 
and tying it off to the Eyebolt.  If the Wolverine had done 
her job right, Kath would be able to lift herself off 
Hinoki's lap, but wouldn't be able to rise off his cock.  
There was also only about a foot of chain between their 
collars.  Jenka's challenge had been explicit.  Hinoki had 
been instructed to move in such a way, as to make the Mink 
climax, and to make himself cum.  Kath, on the other hand, 
had been ordered by Wanda to move in such a way as to 
prevent EITHER of them from cumming.  Generous rewards were 
promised to the one that succeeded, along with dire 
punishments promised to the one who failed.  As Jenka 
shouted "GO", Hinoki dropped his head as far as he could, to 
nuzzle at Kath's breasts…….  Kath, for her part, assumed 
that Hinoki would start by bucking his hips up at her, and 
had risen, until the rope had gone taut, only making 
Hinoki's assault on her breasts all the easier…..

Zassa grunted as the Otter came in her mouth; she was soooo 
close, so very close.  Greedily she sucked at him, 
swallowing every droplet of his spunk, as she rocked back, 
shoving herself back at the Bear……..

Hinoki chuckled and moved in as unpredictable a manner as 
possible.  Most of the time he succeeded in faking Kath out, 
making HER move on HIS shaft… and he could tell it was 
having an effect too; the Mink's face was drawn, her eyes 
closed tight, her mouth hanging open as she panted.  
Chuckling the Cheetah rolled his hips to the left, shifting 
and then drove up and to the right.  Kath felt the movement 
and had shifted to Hinoki's left, moving with him, his 
sudden thrust catching her unawares…..

Wanda watched and chuckled; "I think she's going to need 
more practice in this game….."

Zassa HOWLED at the top of her lungs; the Bear, behind her, 
had pulled out of her pussy at the last minute, seemingly at 
the last second, just an instant before she gained her 
release.  Grunting, the ursine must have been stroking his 
own cock, as a second later, hot drops of his cum were 
raining down on her back…. She'd been SO close to her 
climax…..  Frustrated she screamed out her displeasure.

The Otter winced and snatched the ring gag from the howling 
Vixen's mouth; before she could shut it, he jammed the plug 
gag back into her mouth, silencing her.  Grinning at the 
Bear, he turned to shove her towards the waiting crate…..

Kath couldn't take it any more; it seemed like EVERY motion 
she made only made things worse; and the harder she tried, 
the worse it got; the worse it got, the less she could 
concentrate on what she was doing!  Finally with a long, 
drawn out groan, her body betrayed her, her climax arriving, 
warm waves of pleasure, mixed with little electric jolts, 
radiating out from her pussy, to engulf her. Hinoki felt his 
"victim" writhe, heard her cry, and knew he'd won.  Speeding 
up, fucking her harder, bucking his hips up into her, making 
the rope around her waist go tight time and again, he sought 
his own moment of release, his own "triumph"!

Tanj chuckled as she drew a paw lazily over Jenka's hip; 
"That DOES look like a challenge.  I'll have to try that 
someday…."  In front of her, on the bed, Jenka purrred; "Oh, 
you will.  You will……."  But right now, what say we see how 
John, and your stowaway play the game…..

Zassa sobbed silently.  She'd been so close, on the very 
edge of release. And now, they were gone, having strapped 
her back into the crate, leaving her back coated with the 
Bear's cum.  She couldn't move.  There wasn't ANY way she 
could get herself off, strapped down like she was.  She 
couldn't see; they'd even replaced the one earplug that had 
fallen out.  She was SOOOO frustrated!

Dahlia looked down at the Stallion's cock.  He WAS huge!  He 
knelt there, tied as Hinoki had been, waiting patiently.  
Shifting her hooves to either side of him, her crotch almost 
in his face, she crouched, sinking down, until the head of 
his shaft was just touching her crotch…..

Zassa was getting cold again.  The vibrations still came 
through the floor, the ship apparently still under way.  The 
Bear's spunk was drying on her back, making her itch and 
there was NO way she could scratch……  As the plug in her 
mouth started to ooze sugar water again, she wondered how 
long she'd be able to hold out, before she had to void her 
bladder……

Dahlia looked into the Stallion's eyes and grinned, waiting 
for Jenka to signal the start of their match.  And then it 
struck her…. Here she was, impaled on his cock in front of a 
bunch of people, and she didn't care.  Alone, or in front of 
a crowd, it didn't matter to her anymore….. what a marvelous 
thought.  So lost was she in her revelation that she didn't 
even hear Jenka shout "go" and click her stop-watch…. And 
the horse's motion under her came as  a complete, but not 
unwelcome surprise…..

"Can't…. I just can't hold it any longer" Zassa whimpered to 
herself.  Not knowing just what would happen, she relaxed 
her muscles, and peed.  The sound was almost musical, the 
stream of liquid striking the metal of the trough between 
her thighs…..  And there was a gurgling sound… after she'd 
stopped, after a few seconds, there was another sound of 
water, obviously a water spray "flushing" her urine out of 
the trough, into some receptacle.  "Pretty sophisticated 
kidnapers" she groaned; "and that means I'm probably going 
to be here for a LONG while……."  Sighing to herself, she 
wondered what she could think about next, to try and hold 
the boredom at bay…..  Revenge fantasies floated through her 
mind; in her time with the Brethren, she’d heard all sorts 
of tales……

Dahlia chuckled; she thought she'd hit upon a winning 
strategy.  It might not work for the Mink, being smaller 
than the Cheetah, and the Cheetah being nicely muscular to 
boot… But she was a Clydesdale, and wasn't exactly built 
light…. Oh, the Stallion was a powerful beast, and had been 
moving under her quite delightfully… but he was beginning to 
tire.  All she had to do was to sit heavily on his lap, even 
if his cock was buried almost painfully deep within her, and 
eventually he'd be too tired to stir.  Then, time would run 
out and she'd win.  Chuckling she bent her head to nuzzle at 
the side of his neck, licking here and there, gradually 
working upwards until she could whisper into one of his 
ears; "you're going to loose……"

Kath watched the Stallion's muscles bulge, watched his body 
move… He was a magnificent male machine… but Dahlia was 
almost as big as he was, and her weight was holding him 
down, gravity fighting every move he tried to make.…..   
Tugging again at her punishment, a rather harsh metal and 
leather chastity belt, locked around her waist, she sighed.  
She was getting so hot watching those two "fight" and there 
wasn't anything she could do about it!

Jenka sighed and shook her head; "TIME!"  John, you are such 
a disappointment to me.  I just don't know WHAT I'm going to 
do with you.  All right, now for the winner's reward……"  
Rising from the bed, moving forward, Jenka proceeded to 
untie the Stallion's arms and legs, and the rope around 
Dahlia's waist.  "Okay, John, I want you to fuck her to 
three climaxes, but don't you DARE cum yourself.  That's 
YOUR punishment for having failed."  Dahlia eeped as the 
Stallion's paws came up to grasp her waist, their bodies 
swaying, tilting, until her back hit the floor with a thump, 
the Stallion's body coming down on top of hers.… She shifted 
a little, her arms still bound behind her back… and then the 
Stallion's hips were bucking, pumping that thick shaft into 
her……..  Grinning at having "won" she concentrated on the 
sensations, determined to enjoy her "prize"…. No matter who 
was watching.

Zassa came awake slowly.  Unable to see, hear or move, one 
part of her wondered how she knew she was awake and not 
still sleeping.  Then the crate moved again, and she 
realized that the vibration had stopped.  They were….. 
somewhere.  The crate thumped against something, tilted a 
little, and then thumped again.  Then there was the 
sensation of movement.  She was on some sort of dolly, or 
cart, being wheeled somewhere……

Dahlia whinnyed at the top of her lungs, her body 
shuddering.  The Stallion's thick cock was buried to the 
hilt within her, its head pushing at her cervix.  Somewhere 
along the line, the Stallion had turned her over onto her 
knees and with his hands on her waist, holding her in 
position, and was thrusting into her like nothing she'd ever 
felt before.  Tossing back her head again, her breasts 
swaying wildly, the Stallion's shaft again spreading the 
tunnel from lips to womb, she let out a scream of 
pleasure…….

Zassa felt the crate stop.  Then start again. Then stop…..

John slowly lowered the Mare's body to the floor, and gently 
unbound her hands.  Her third climax had been so powerful, 
she appeared to have passed out.  Smiling in satisfaction, 
he turned, to kneel by Jenka, head bowed, a slight smile on 
his face……

Jenka nodded to John, her face a mixture of sternness 
warring with approval.  When the door chimed she looked at 
the clock and grinned; "Ah, perfect timing.  John, will you 
let them in, please?

Chris looked at the naked Stallion sporting the huge hard-on 
and chuckled, shaking his head. Nodding to Jenka, he turned 
and grabbed the handle of the anti-gravity pallet, tugging 
it into the room.  On the pallet was a green painted crate……  

Zassa sensed the scream of the power tool, felt the side of 
the crate being pulled away…. And then someone was pulling 
the plug from her right ear…..  An all too familiar voice 
said : "Mistress, I have a present for you. A Vixen we 
captured, enslaved for your amusement.  She's had a long, 
hard "voyage" here, but I'm sure she will be more than eager 
to please you.…..  As per our agreement, I give her to you, 
for sanctuary from the pirate Jenka…….

Chris reached into the crate, to unfasten the Vixen's arms 
from the roof of the crate, her ankles and knees from the 
floor, her collar from the straps holding her in position… 
and then he was dragging her bodily out of her prison, and 
onto the carpeted floor.  Jenka chuckled, making her voice 
husky, disguising it; "She is Beautiful… but she looks a 
little the worse for wear.  Perhaps she'll clean up well, 
though.  Tell me, is she talented, or will she have to be 
trained……"  Chris chuckled; "Ah, Mistress, she is most 
talented, and delightfully responsive.  Shall I demonstrate?

At Jenka’s nod, Chris forced the Vixen to her knees, and 
pushed her head forward, to the floor.  Zassa panted, her 
cheek against the carpeted floor, her ass high in the air, 
paws still bound behind her back, as the Fox settled himself 
behind her…. And then she felt the gentlest of touches along 
her labia, stroking from base to clit…..

Tanj watched silently as the Fox stroked Zassa, 
conflicting emotions playing over the Vixen’s face.  It was 
obvious she was pissed as hell at being held like that, but 
bound as she was, she knew discretion was the better part of 
valor….. and yet, as the Fox stroked her, it was obvious 
that she was enjoying his touch.  No matter how much she 
might want to deny it, it was obvious that Zassa was 
enjoying his caress.

The Lion yawned and stole a look at a wall mounted 
chronograph….  And then did a double-take.  He’d known it 
was getting on towards evening, but evening on THAT day?  
Chuckling to himself, he shook his head; my how time flew 
when you were having fun…..

Zassa panted; she was holding herself as still as possible, 
resisting the urge to move back towards that teasing, 
tormenting finger.. She was still horny from the previous 
session with that blasted Bear, and now this slow, 
languorous teasing was driving her CRAZY.  If she ever got 
out of this, she swore she’d KILL that danged Fox!

Chris smiled and watched the Vixen, the motions of his 
finger slowing, almost stopping, and then speeding back up, 
watching her responses, knowing, feeling how close she was 
getting to her release.  After a while, he pulled his paw 
back, to move around to the Vixen’s side, to unbuckle her 
gag.  “Is my little Slave horny?  Does she want something?”  
Zassa’s growled reply sounded highly uncharacteristic of 
her; “Yes you ba…. Grrrrr, Yes, Master….. This slave wants 
to cum!”  Chris reached around to stroke her twat again.  
After a moment he looked up at Jenka; “see?  What did I tell 
you?  Amazingly responsive.  As furious as she is, she’d 
rather I fingered her to a climax, than to try and kill me.”  
Looking back at the Vixen, Chris slapped her ass hard, 
making her jerk; “Now, my little Slave, what will you do, to 
earn your release?  Will you please your new mistress?  Will 
you please all her counselors?  Will you please the lowliest 
of her slaves?  Will you please ME?  What will you do?”  
Zassa was silent for a moment, panting, as the Fox’s fingers 
toyed with her tender bits.  After a moment she shuddered,  
“Any of it, you flaming ba…. Master, I’ll do anything.  I am 
yours to command…..”  Chris smiled; “Very well; the price of 
your orgasm, Slave, is that you bring everyone in this room, 
myself included, to an orgasm.  But I’ll let you cum 
first…..  If you agree, nod your head.  From this moment on, 
you will be silent, on pain of the Lash!”  Zassa sighed and 
nodded.  Chris grinned, his paw stroking between the Vixen’s 
thighs a little harder, a little faster, soft little liquid 
sounds the only noise in the room, save for the Vixen’s 
harsh breathing.

Zassa rested her forhead on the carpet, as the Fox’s fingers 
labored within her sex.  She would rather he’d fucked her, 
but his fingers were talented, obviously knowing just where 
to stroke, just where to touch her.  She fought it bravely, 
wanting it to last, but in scarce minutes she was screaming, 
her vaginal muscles clenching spasmodically around his 
stroking fingers……

Hinoki chuckled, and tugged at Tanj’s tail; “Me first, 
Mistress?  Please?”  Tanj looked at the irrepressible 
Cheetah and smiled; after all the sex he’d had in the last 
couple of days, you would have thought…… ah, but most of 
that had been “solo” sex, hadn’t it?  The gimmicked powered 
armor, and the latex body suit…  Grinning, Tanj just 
nodded and waved a paw at the Vixen.  With a whoop, Hinoki 
launched himself across the room, sliding to his knees just 
before the Vixen.  Grabbing her ears, he forced her head up 
just a little, and then bucked his hips forward, shoving the 
head of his cock at her lips.

Zassa almost gagged as a hard cock was shoved into her 
mouth… for a moment she was tempted to bite, no ring gag 
holding her jaws apart… but a deal was a deal.  She’d been 
trained by the Brethren; if escape was to be had, she’d 
escape, she’d fight her way home, to her friends, and in the 
process leave this bastard in a world of hurt……

Hinoki grinned at the Fox, now seated behind Zassa, lightly 
toying with her sex as the Cheetah male fucked her face.  
Acting the part of the barbarian, Hinoki took her roughly, 
his paws twisting her ears.  Zassa for her part, stroked him 
with her tongue, expertly, if not enthusiastically.  It 
didn’t matter to Hinoki; her mouth was warm, and wet, her 
tongue slithering here and there, doing just what he liked.  
Groaning he savored the feeling as her tongue stroked the 
most sensitive underside of his shaft, flicked over its 
head, and then stroked back towards its base.  Purrring with 
delight, the Cheetah’s hips bucked involuntarily, driving 
his shaft between her lips, over her tongue, until the head 
of his cock forced its way past the back of her throat, 
driving down, filling her throat…..

Zassa gagged for a moment around his shaft, and then she 
swallowed involuntarily.  As her throat muscles rippled and 
surged around his shaft, the Cheetah threw back his head and 
HOWLED, cumming immediately.

Hinoki’s cock pumped wadd after wadd down the Vixen’s 
throat, his oversized balls pressed against her chin.  In a 
way, he was amazed that he had any cum left to give her…...  
Zassa was starting to struggle, to seek escape, his shaft 
blocking the passage of air to her lungs, when Hinoki 
finally pulled back.  Wiping his cock on first one cheek and 
then the other, he purred and tossled her unkempt hair; 
“Zassa, I have always said you were great at that….”

The words were no sooner out of his mouth than Hinoki’s eyes 
went wide, one paw slapping over his own mouth as if to cut 
off further comment.  Jenka groaned and flopped back on the 
bed… and cuddled in Wanda’s lap, Kath just laughed.

Zassa’s ears stood straight up!  How did they know her name?  
That had sounded just like Hinoki!…. And then paws were 
working at the fastening of her blindfold, unlocking it….  
Blinking at the light, Zassa looked around…. There was this 
HUGE Stallion….. at first she didn’t recognize him, but then 
she turned, blinking, looking around.  Seeing the smiling 
face of the Lion, still looking halfway like an oversized 
Poodle….  Wanda, and a laughing Kath…..  Tanj lying on a 
bed, and Jenka… JENKA! Jenka taking Hinoki by the throat, to 
yell in his face….  With a groan, the Vixen toppled onto her 
side, to pant; “you BASTARDS!”

Kath worked at unbuckling her wrist cuffs, and chortled; “oh 
come on, Zassa, you should have KNOWN Tanj wouldn’t let 
anything actually happen to you.  Now tell me the truth; 
didn’t you find it just a little bit exciting?”  The Vixen 
stretched her arms, and then rubbed her wrists; “if I had 
KNOWN it might have been… I might have been able to enjoy 
it… but it was so REALISTIC!  I HONESTLY thought…. Oh, where 
IS that Fox!  I’m gonna…..”

Jenka, sitting on a yelling Hinoki, his shouts muffled by 
her posterior, looked over at Zassa; “You’ll do EXACTLY what 
you promised, or I’ll tie you up and hand you BACK over to 
Chris!  Besides, he left.  ‘Bout three, maybe four minutes 
ago.  He knows this station too well; you’ll never find him.  
Now be a good girl and go see what you can do for John; poor 
boy’s had a hard on for HOURS…..

Zassa looked over at the Stallion and then did a double-
take, a smile spreading over her face… “you know, I said I’d 
give them each an orgasm…. But I didn’t say HOW, did I?”  
Jenka looked at Tanj and grinned; “No, and we didn’t say 
how you had to either, if I remember correctly…..”  Zassa 
smiled, a predatory look on her face; “Good.  I do it MY 
way.  Now, Horsie… BIG Horsie… be a dear and lay down on 
your back……

Tanj snuggled Jenka and watched… “Don’t you think he’s 
just a little …. Big for her?  Jenka shrugged, and shifted, 
letting Hinoki up; “I suspect, given what Chris did to her, 
that she’s probably more than just a little sexually 
frustrated.  Maybe John’s just what she needs…….

Hinoki yawned; “well, as Zassa’s fulfilled her obligation to 
me, if no one minds, I’ll head back to my quarters, and get 
some shut-eye.  Tanj smiled and nodded, and with a wave, 
Hinoki, still nude, padded from the suite.

Tanj watched Zassa for a while; the Vixen was squatting 
astride the Stallion, the massive head of his cock wedging 
apart her labia.  Grunting, the Vixen was, inch by inch, 
working his massive tool into her pussy.  John had a look on 
his face that seemed to be half way between ecstasy, and 
fear for the safety of the Vixen, while Zassa had a look on 
her face of commingled pain and delight….  Chuckling, 
Tanj reached down to grab the Lion’s collar; “come on, 
you; I want to see how well WE do in that little game Jenka 
had Kath and Hinoki play.  Betcha I can take you!”  The Lion 
rose, to follow; “bet me?  Bet me what?”  Tanj chuckled; 
“uppity slave!  I’ll bet you a day of your slavery!  Win and 
I’ll reduce it by one.  Fail and it increases by one.”  To 
Tanj’s surprise, the Lion chuckled; “No Deal!  Have you 
looked at the clock lately, MISTRESS?  If we’re to be home 
by the time your contract runs out, we have to leave 
tomorrow!”  Tanj did a classic double-take, checking 
first one and then a second Chrono….  With a sigh she 
shrugged; “Just a day then.  To be determined later.  Win 
and I’ll be your slave for a day; I win, and you’re mine for 
a day.  A WHOLE day.”  The Lion chuckled and nodded; 
“Mistress, you’re on!”

Jenka paced around the two; the Lion was kneeling, his paws 
tied behind his back.  Tanj was astride his lap, the 
Lion's thick cock filling her.  Her paws were also tied 
behind her back, and a rope encircling her waist limited her 
vertical movement.  A short chain between their collars 
further limited their "travel."  Jenka smiled, clicked the 
stopwatch and growled "GO!"

The Lion chuckled, starting with Hinoki's opening move.  He 
just sat there.  Tanj tensed, as if to rise on tiptoes, 
following any motion he might make, but mostly she stayed as 
motionless.  The Lion grinned at her.  With small motions, 
his hips jerking up just a little, he slowly drove Tanj 
upwards.  The Cheetah HAD to follow his motions; there was 
no way she could force him back to the floor…..  Finally the 
rope around her waist went tight, the Lion pressing up into 
her from below.  For a moment they were immobile like that, 
muscles straining, and then the Lion chuckled, licked 
Tanj on the nose, and dropped to the floor, his cock 
almost sliding completely out of her.  Tanj groaned, and 
was tempted to drop down after him, following him, but then 
she realized if she did, such a rapid, violent motion would 
just take him (and her) that much closer to an orgasm.  
Groaning she slooowly lowered herself onto his shaft, 
panting….  He only gave her a moment's rest before again, 
incrementally bucking up against her, forcing her up and up, 
until again the rope around her waist drew tight…. And then 
with a grunt the Lion let himself fall down to the floor 
again.

Zassa could swear she could see the outline of the Horse's 
shaft in the fur of her tummy.  She'd probably been 
stretched wider, the last time she'd been fisted, but this 
just wasn't the same…..  Somehow this felt like "more"….. 
Groaning she struggled to move, inching upwards, and then 
moving slowly, carefully back down, humping the Stallion, 
riding him in slow motion…..

Dahlia watched the Vixen with a strange twinge of jealousy.  
Who was this little slip of a girl to take on something more 
properly belonging to someone her size?  Did she really 
think she could do as good a job bringing John off, as she 
could?  Lord, the Vixen must be almost painfully tight on 
the Stud's cock!

Tanj groaned; at the rate things were going, they'd both 
cum before the time limit ran out.  Somehow she just 
couldn't think of a strategy to defeat him.  He was strong 
enough to keep this up for a good while, and she wasn't 
heavy enough to tire him out, or to weigh him down, forcing 
him to stay on the floor…….  At one point she tried holding 
herself high, at the limit of travel, the rope taut against 
her ass.. but the Lion just whooped and shifted into 
overdrive, fucking her hard for a moment until she realized 
the error of her ways and just dropped back down onto his 
lap in exhaustion.  Groaning, Tanj did everything she 
could to match his movements, to minimize the friction of 
his shaft in her pussy……  praying that time would run out 
soon…..

The Lion chuckled, feinting, jerking his hips just a mite, 
and then as Tanj tried to rise, to mimic his motion he 
dropped down a bit and then as she STOPPED moving, he drove 
his hips upwards, impaling his cock to the limit in her 
wetness.  This was fun, teasing her like this, but he 
wondered, if it was HIS job to prevent them from cumming, 
how would HE do it?  Glad he had the easy job, the Lion 
moved as randomly and as unpredictably as possible, with 
telling effect.

Zassa looked down at the Horse beneath her and grinned.  
Moving carefully, she threw one leg up, and brought it down 
on the other side of the Stallion, slowly twisting on his 
shaft.  John watched, his eyes bulging out, as the Vixen 
shifted, changing position, rotating on his shaft until she 
faced his feet.  Leaning forward, bending his cock more 
towards a perpendicular position, putting a strain on his 
sheath, the Vixen gasped and started moving again, both paws 
dropping down into her "lap" to fondle the Horse's balls…..

Tanj shuddered; she should have risen, but instead, he'd 
tricked her and she'd let herself drop, just as he thrust 
his hips up; it was the final straw, and with a moan of 
dismay, her climax blossomed within her……  The Lion grinned 
ferociously, moving as hard and as fast as he could, 
thrusting into her now unresisting body.

Jenka sighed and looked at the stopwatch; "unlucky for her.  
She had only 13 seconds to go."  Then with a grin, the 
Pantheress purrrred;  "Ah, well, its obvious she too needs 
more practice…."  Her train of thought was interrupted by 
the Lion's Roar, as he too found his release.

Wanda smiled and nudged Kath; "wake up, Dear; I think the 
floor show is winding down.  Lets head back to our quarters, 
and get some sleep."  The Mink blinked and nodded, smoothly 
rising to her feet, waiting for Wanda to collect the end of 
her leash.

Tanj sighed and sagged in defeat, leaning against the 
Lion's chest.  She felt Jenka working to untie the rope 
around her waist, but ignored it for the moment; she'd been 
so sure she could win, that she could "master" the Lion…. 
But somehow it just hadn't worked out that way.  Had she, 
deep down, really wanted to loose?  She didn't know.  Maybe 
she'd never know…..

Jenka chuckled and tied the rope to the collar Tanj had 
put on for the "game."  Come along, Dear; for your little 
"vacation" I've treated you as you wanted to be treated.  
But now, if you're going to have to leave tomorrow, for this 
last night, I'm going to treat you as you DESERVE to be 
treated.  For this night, once again, you are my Pet.  Now 
come along."  Tanj smiled wistfully, and shook her head; 
she knew Jenka would get around to this eventually, and it 
didn't exactly displease her….   Tilting her head up, she 
gave the amused Lion a goodbye kiss, and then, sloooowly 
rose off his cock, to padd off after Jenka.

Jenka paused at the door, to look back.  Zassa was still 
slowly humping the Stallion, but it was plain from the look 
on his face that he wouldn't last much longer.  "John, when 
you're through with her, take the Lion and the Mare down to 
the Kennels.  Can't have random slaves running around.  Let 
the staff amuse themselves with them, if they choose.  And 
bring me breakfast at, um, 0900 tomorrow."  Tugging on 
Tanj's rope, the Pantheress walked through the door, a 
smile on her face.

Dahlia watched, from her kneeling position on the floor, as 
the Stallion's head came up, as his muscles tensed.  It 
actually seemed like, for a moment, his eyes crossed, and 
then he was arching his body, lifting the Vixen from the 
floor……  Frowning a little, she wondered if, given the 
chance, SHE could do that to him……

Zassa screamed as the Stallion came inside her; he was so 
thick, her sex stretched so tight around his shaft that 
there was no way his cum could leak out… And thus, as his 
cock spurted and pulsed, she felt like she was blowing up 
like a balloon, his hot seed flooding her, filling her.  
Writhing, she struggled through her own climax, brought on 
by the Stud's throbbing cock…….

John had to move very carefully; the Vixen had literally 
passed out, falling back against his chest.  She was still 
SO tight around his cock, so warm and delicious, that he was 
tempted just to LEAVE her there, but duty got the best of 
him.  He had things he had to be doing.  With paws under her 
armpits, he pulled, gradually drawing her off his shaft.

Dahlia grinned as the Vixen's pussy tried to turn itself 
inside out, as the Stallion pulled her off his cock.  She'd 
be sore tomorrow!

Gently laying Zassa to one side, the Stallion staggered to 
his hooves.  Grinning, he reached down to clip a leash to 
the Lion's collar, and then, pulling the Lion along behind 
him, to clip one to Dahlia's collar as well.  Then, without 
preamble, the three of them still nude, he led them from the 
Suite.

Tanj purrred softly as she washed Jenka's hair.  Jenka 
had decreed a bath, with all the luxuries, and Tanj was 
to wait on her.  Tanj had drawn the water, added just the 
right amounts of perfumed oil and bubble bath, checked the 
temperature, laid out the towels, poured the champagne…. And 
then Jenka had soaked in the hot tub, a look of bliss on her 
face, as Tanj washed her, stepping into the tub only long 
enough to soap her Mistress up and down.  Retreating from 
the hot water, Tanj had knelt by Jenka's head, 
occasionally refilling the champagne glass, waiting for 
Jenka to signal that she was ready to continue….

Vandrosky set his tray down next to Henley’s in the 
cafeteria and grinning, settled down onto the bench next to 
him; “Talked to Parks over on the Intimidator.  Seems he’s 
not a happy camper these days.”  Henley chuckled; “let me 
guess; the Brou device?”  Vandrosky just nodded; “He’s been 
averaging a half dozen messages a day to that mouse, I’m 
told, and getting very frustrated when things don’t seem to 
work the way the Mouse says they will.  But he has gotten 
the thing to run on less than the full output of the ship’s 
engines, and I’m told that he HAS gotten small objects to 
vanish.  I’m told that one test object, an urn, popped into 
existence on the station here… direcly over a big pot of 
chilli in the galley; seems after it materialized, it fell a 
half dozen feet, scoring a direct hit, splashing most of the 
galley staff with scalding hot chilli.”  Henley chuckled; 
“Ooooh, they’ve kept THAT one quiet…. I think we need to 
blow the lid off that one….”  Vandrosky hmmmed and shruged; 
“not sure I want it spread around.  If the device CAN move 
things from here to there, then maybe the Mouse DID make a 
phantom attacker vanish…”  Henley nodded; “see your point.. 
By the way, where WAS the urn supposed to reappear?”

The Rabbit looked up from the console as the Stallion led 
his charges into the Station's Slave Kennels, and grinned; 
"Well, John, it looks like YOU'VE been having a good time 
today!  What we got here?"  John smiled; "Harry, you don't 
know the HALF of it.  What I got here are two slaves 
belonging to Mistress Tanj.  You're supposed to keep them 
until they're called for.  No restrictions on their 
activities in the meantime."  Harry looked the Lion up and 
down and shrugged; "heck, he's not my type.  But I bet you'd 
be interested in signing out the Mare."  Behind the 
Stallion, Dahlia blushed furiously, to the Lion's amusement.  
Before the Stallion could answer, the Lion chuckled; "Oh, I 
definitely think he'll be interested in a rematch; you see, 
he lost to the Mare in a little contest of skill and stamina 
earlier.  That’s gotta hurt.  But……. I think I know a way he 
can regain his honor….."

John scowled at the Lion; that was NOT the way a slave was 
supposed to address his “betters”…. And a slave wasn’t 
supposed to speak without being spoken to, either…..  But 
his curiosity got the better of him; "and what would that 
be, Slave?  The Lion chuckled; "Mistress Tanj ran a 
slightly different game, on the way out here.  Dahlia saw 
it; she knows about it… Tell me, do you know the position 
known as "the swing?"

The Lion knelt on the floor, paws bound behind his back by a 
simple wire-tie, as the Stallion got ready.  With a mighty 
surge, he pushed himself off the mat, arching, until only 
hands and hooves were touching the floor, his body forming a 
bridge from one side of the mat to the other.  Dahlia, 
unbound, ran her hands over his body, feeling the muscles, 
studying his physique.  Grinning at the Lion, giving him an 
uncharacteristically lascivious wink, she threw one leg over 
the Stallion's body, to straddle him.  Bending her torso 
almost horizontal, she squirmed back, slowly impaling 
herself on the Stud's cock.  Chuckling she straightened, and 
with paws on the Stallion's stomach, she began to move…..

Harry watched for a minute and then shook his head; "If I 
tried to do something like that, I'd have a sore back for a 
year.  Assuming I could move at all….  Just how's this 
"game" run again?  The Lion turned to look up at the Rabbit, 
and smiled; "simple.  First one to collapse looses.  Harry 
shook his head; "no way he's gonna win."  The Lion just 
chuckled; "Wanna bet?"

Tanj found it a most delicious way to be bound to Jenka's 
bed.  Long ago, she'd had a piercing done on her clitty; a 
vertical piercing through both her clitty and the hood that 
covered it.  With a simple barbell stud passed through the 
piercing, a single link of chain could be inserted between 
clitty and hood, held in place by the piercing.  Now, she 
wore Jenka's collar, with a large, horizontal D-ring in 
front.  A light chain ran from the link through her piercing 
up her front, between her breasts, through the ring in the 
collar, terminating in a large ring, a ring too large to 
slip back through the ring mounted in her collar.  Most of 
the weight of the chain, therefor, was taken up by her 
collar, with only a few links, from the very end of the 
chain, supported by her piercing.  Until someone tugged on 
the ring.  And from that ring, at the moment, a chain ran 
back down her body, attached to the foot of the bed.  
Tension on the chain tugged directly at her most tender 
parts, and that’s exactly what she was doing to herself.  
With paws bound behind her back, she struggled to squirm 
forward on the bed enough to lick at Jenka's sweet sex, each 
strained motion causing her to tug the chain to her own 
clitty.  As she licked and nibbled, making Jenka purrr and 
moan, she brought herself, via the jerking chain, closer and 
closer to her own climax……  But Jenka had said if she 
climaxed first she'd be punished….. Tanj grinned, licked 
harder, stretching her tongue to the very limits, and 
wondered what her punishment would be.

John's muscles quivered, and he seemed on the verge of 
collapse.. but then he'd seemed on the verge of collapse for 
the last five minutes.  Dahlia, meanwhile, wantonly rode the 
Stud's cock, putting on a display for the dozens of faces 
pressed to the cell bars all through the Kennel.  The Lion 
watched, smiling, as the Mare pleasured herself.  It was 
good to see Dahlia so happy.

Harry's eyes went wide and he let out a strangled "no!" as 
the Mare climaxed hard, her body shuddering, a loud whinny 
escaping from her mouth.  And then she was sliding from 
John's body, collapsing to a heap on the floor next to him.  
Slowly, almost painfully the Stallion lowered himself to the 
mat, and then turned to nuzzle Dahlia.  She smiled and 
kissed him back, and then wrapping her arms around his neck, 
she pulled him over on top of her; "You're not done yet, 
Stud; not until YOU'RE satisfied.  That's the winner's 
prize!"  John just grinned, and shifted, and in a moment his 
cock was driving into the Mare to the tune of her grunts and 
moans.

Jenka chuckled; the chain only let her pet half-way onto the 
bed, and yet Tanj insisted in sleeping like that, her 
head between her Mistress' thighs.  Feeling Jenka shift on 
the bed, Tanj yawned and then turned to start her licking 
again…… no one was going to get much sleep this night…..

Harry looked at the Lion and shook his head; "I still can't 
believe you won.  Don't worry, I'm good for the credits.  
But I'll tell you this.  Its just going to make what I have 
to do even easier……"  The Lion looked up at the grinning 
Rabbit and frowned… Now what?

Tanj awoke with a start as the doorbell rang, and then 
yelped as her motion caused the chain to go tight, jerking 
at her sore clitty.  Jenka laughed and called "Come!" and a 
moment later the door was sliding open to admit the 
Stallion, once again pushing a breakfast cart.  Tanj 
looked at the cart and wondered if once again a bound Hinoki 
was secured under its drapings…..  Jenka yawned and mumbled; 
"Just set a place for one, John.  I'm going to go to the 
bathroom, but while I take my morning shower, I need you to 
punish this horrible slave.  She disobeyed me repeatedly 
last night, cumming when I'd told her not to.  If she's that 
horny she obviously needs to be fucked and fucked silly.  I 
want you to fuck her so hard she can't sit down on the way 
home.  Use the mounting couch if you want; its in the next 
room.  But drag it in here so I can watch."  John just 
nodded and began unloading the breakfast cart, as Jenka rose 
from the bed and padded towards the bathroom.

Tanj stared at the Stallion, remembering the sight of 
Zassa mounted on his long, thick cock, and wondered if she 
could take him without ripping somewhere……  "Aw heck" she 
thought to herself; "if Zassa can do it, so can I….."

The Mounting Couch was a padded piece of furniture that 
supported Tanj in the traditional "hands and knees" 
position.  One heavily padded section went under her hips, 
with her thighs strapped against its back.  Her calves and 
ankles were similarly strapped to its base, with more of the 
velcro strapping.  At the other end, a padded bar supported 
her torso just above her breasts, and again, her arms  were 
strapped to that, above the elbow and at her wrists.  Her 
head hung freely, and again, where her chin might strike the 
"couch" it was padded.  When John had finished, she was 
about as immobile as she could be.  The Stallion then 
attached small springs to the base of the couch, stretching 
them up, to hook them to her nipple rings, tugging her 
breasts downwards.  A similar spring at her rear was 
attached to the ring still held by her clitty piercing, 
tugging her sharply there.  And then the Stallion was 
kneeling behind her, covering her ass in lubricant, working 
it into her pussy……. And into her ASS!

The Lion blinked in amazement as Harry led him to a cell, 
releasing his paws, and locking him within.  He had water, 
and a place to lie down… and as tired as he was, that was 
welcome… but what had the Rabbit meant, about "what he was 
going to have to do to him"?  What were they up to now?

Tanj groaned as the Stallion grabbed her labia rings, to 
tug apart the petals of her sex…. And then she felt him, the 
head of his monstrous cock pressed against her, wedging her 
apart.  With a grunt, the Stallion slowly started to push 
his length into her.

Jenka padded out of the bath, fur still a little spiky with 
dampness, and grinned.  The Stud was slowly working his 
shaft into Tanj, giving her time to adjust…. Time to 
stretch… barely.  Striding over, the Pantheress knelt before 
the bound Cheetah, to lift her chin; "Pet, I want you to 
lick me to a climax, BEFORE he makes you cum, or I'll let 
him have your ass.  Start licking!  Gasping, Tanj craned 
her neck to obey, shuddering at the thought of that monster 
in her ass!  Behind her, as if to emphasize the point, the 
Stallion placed one broad finger at her anus, and pressed……

Zassa groaned and stretched on the bed.  Laying there, she 
suddenly realized how wet her midsection felt.  Stroking a 
paw down her tummy, she grinned as she encountered the 
matted, sticky fur of her crotch.  That Stud had been 
marvelous…..  but she was still all stretched out, and his 
cum had flowed out of her like a river, making a MESS of the 
bed….. Struggling to her feet, the Vixen stripped the bed.  
Her initial thought was that if she could find the Laundry, 
no one would ever know how she'd abused Jenka's 
hospitality…. And then she grinned; around here, 
Housekeeping must be used to the problem.  Never the less, 
she stuffed all the sheets into one pillowcase, and then 
padded off towards the bathroom.  She wondered where Tanj 
was……

Tanj grunted with each stroke of the Stallion's cock; she 
was so close to her release, and yet she had to hold it off, 
stave it off, until she had licked Jenka to a climax…. The 
thought of that Horsecock in her ass gave her the shivers!  
Working her tongue furiously, she licked hard, almost 
desperately at the Pantheress.

Hinoki yawned and clutched the pillow to his chest as if it 
were a lover.  Opening one eye, he looked at the chrono and 
sighed.  They were going to have to leave soon.  If Tanj 
were to get the Lion back to the Brethren on schedule, 
they'd have to leave REAL soon.  Grumbling he got up, to 
look around, wondering where he'd left his shorts……

Jenka's body shuddered and she moaned softly.  Gently 
pushing on Tanj's head she backed up a little; the 
Cheetah's tongue still lashed the air, as if she was too far 
gone to even know Jenka had climaxed.  Chuckling, Jenka bend 
over to whisper in the Cheetah's ear; "you may cum now, 
Love."  Looking up at John, she chuckled; "Finish her, but I 
want you to mark her with your seed.  I want others to know 
what she's been doing this morning….."  The Stallion just 
grinned, and started moving faster…..

Tanj howled and writhed, fighting her bonds; the 
Stallion's driving shaft had spurred her to a sudden, heart-
stopping climax, but he hadn't stopped; he was still fucking 
her roughly.  She could feel his shaft compressing her 
insides with each stroke, stretching her pussy until she 
thought she'd burst, driving into her until the head of his 
cock forced the entrance to her womb, filling her most 
private places.  Filling her completely.  As another wave of 
liquid pleasure crashed over her she yowled and thrashed, 
her pussy clenching hard at his shaft.

John panted harder and harder, and then suddenly JERKED his 
cock out of the Cheetah; wrapping one hand around himself he 
pumped furiously as he came, spurting his seed all across 
Tanj, from the back of her head to her ass.  Despite his 
previous bouts, the Stallion still had enough spunk left in 
his massive balls to leave a continuous trail all down the 
Cheetah's body…..

Jenka smiled and bent WAY down to kiss the exhausted 
Cheetah; "you rest here, Love, while I get cleaned up again, 
then we'll have some breakfast… and then I'm afraid you're 
going to have to be on your way…….

Tanj's chest was still heaving as she knelt by Jenka's 
feet.  "Having Breakfast" meant Jenka feeding Tanj an 
occasional piece of melon, or bite of eggs, as the Cheetah 
slowly dripped John's seed onto Jenka's carpet…… Jenka 
hadn't allowed her to go to the bathroom, or to clean up in 
any way.  As she knelt there, Tanj tried not to 
concentrate on the feeling of cool air tickling her insides; 
her sex was still stretched wide open, gaping, dripping.  
She wondered how long it would be, before she was back to 
normal….  If she'd EVER be back to normal…..

Wanda smiled as Kath roused her with her tongue, just the 
way she'd been taught.  "Mistress, if we're to leave on 
schedule, we'd better get up….."  Wanda chuckled and nodded; 
"True; but they'll just have to wait for us. Finish what 
you're doing first……"  Kath just grinned and nodded, 
stroking her nose against the Wolverine's sex…….

The chain jangled most distractingly.  Jenka was leading 
Tanj, still a mess, still nude, towards the docking ring.  
The chain leash was hooked to the big ring at her collar, 
its swaying and little jerks transmitted directly to the 
piercing in Tanj's clitty… and it was making her hot 
again, making her pussy drip……  To try and distract herself 
from what she knew was imminent, Tanj whispered; 
"Mistress; could I beg a favor of you?"  Jenka stopped to 
look at the Cheetah; "what's that, Pet?"  "I'd appreciate it 
if you'd keep Dahlia here.  I think something might develop 
between her and John; I've seen the way she looks at him…… 
especially when Zassa was riding him…."  Jenka nodded 
slowly; "but that’s not the real reason, is it?"  Tanj 
hung her head; "no, Mistress.  I think there may be 
something between her and the… and my Master, and I'd rather 
not have the …. "competition."  Jenka smiled; "you're 
jealous!"  Tanj could only nod…..

Jenka stopped at the airlock leading to Tanj's ship.  
There, by the airlock was a leather wrapped bundle; it was 
obviously a furr, kneeling, calves bound to thighs bound to 
torso, arms bound behind back, all encased in tan leather.  
Only the bare tail sticking out showed that it was a Lion.  
Tanj chuckled as she saw the small sign hanging from the 
tail, near where it emerged from the leather, saying "fuck 
me here".  And it looked as if he'd been well used there 
too.  Tanj had to wonder how long he'd been bound there 
like that…..

Smiling, Jenka reached out to unclip the leash from 
Tanj's collar, and then to turn her, to untie her paws.  
"Dear, I've truly enjoyed having you and your friends here.  
I hope, someday, you'll come to stay. You KNOW I can treat 
you better than this oaf ever could.  But if you insist on 
leaving, well, I'll help you drag him onto your ship…..  
Tanj just threw her arms around Jenka, to kiss her hard; 
"Tempting offer; BELIEVE me, it’s a tempting offer, but 
there are things I have to do, and you know…. You know I'll 
always belong to him……"  Jenka nodded and kissed Tanj 
softly; "the offer will always stand.  Now, help me get this 
lug onboard your ship.  Turning, Jenka reached down to grab 
one of several handles built into the leather encasing the 
Lion….

Hinoki padded onto the flight deck, a mug of coffee in each 
paw.  "Where's Dahlia?"  Tanj took the mug, and took a 
long sip before she replied; "She's not coming.  Jenka's 
keeping her."  Hinoki's eyebrows went up "Oh?  Ah….  Um.  
Care to talk about it?"  Tanj smiled; "not just yet.  
Don't worry, she won't be a slave.  Jenka promised to help 
her find something she likes doing.  Dahlia didn't seem too 
wild about the situation she was headed for back home, the 
one the Brethren had arranged for her.  Maybe Jenka will be 
able to help her find a better future.  And I think she 
might like that Stallion too….."  Hinoki looked at Tanj 
for a long minute and then just nodded.  But the look on his 
face said he didn't believe her for an instant.

Tanj yawned and stretched.  The ship was on autopilot for 
home; the cloaking device was functioning correctly and 
there wasn't any other traffic on the scanners.  She'd had a 
bite to eat, and a shower… and now she thought it was about 
time she unwrapped her Lion.  The leather encasing him was a 
sea of buckles and straps, and it took her a good while just 
to get to the point where she could pull the portion of the 
suit encasing his head off.  She was just about to turn to 
the next strap when she stopped, blinking… turning back she 
grabbed both his ears to haul his head up.  Looking into the 
Lion's face she growled WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?"

Parks growled in frustration; the Brou device was supposed 
to work, at least partially, off mental commands, but still 
he found himself yelling at it.  And now, if he didn’t know 
better, he’d SWEAR it was sulking.  Commands that had worked 
before were producing no result.  Well, no result, if you 
discount the fact that the whole ship, a Ragnarok class 
BattleCruiser, was doing about 3 RPM around its vertical 
axis…..  and glowing purple.  Trying to calm himself, to 
ignore the splitting headache, Parks tried again; 
“Displacement destination coordinates are…….”

Jenka blinked at the image on her monitor; "Wrong Lion?  
Dear I don’t know WHAT you mean!"  Tanj growled; "the 
Lion all wrapped in leather by the airlock to my ship was 
NOT the one I came with!  I'm on my way back, and by God, 
you WILL give me back the RIGHT one!"  Jenka just chuckled; 
"Ah, well, Love, you KNOW how hard it is to tell those 
leather wrapped Lions apart when they're all done up like 
that.  I'll see if I can find you the right one by the time 
you get back…..

Tanj was wearing a blue jumpsuit when she stalked through 
the airlock.  There by the door was another leather wrapped 
lion.  Without a word, Tanj handed the leash of the other 
Lion to Jenka and bent to start unwrapping the one at her 
feet.  When she'd satisfied herself that this one was the 
RIGHT one she trussed him back up and then waved to Hinoki 
to help her drag him back onto the ship.  Jenka watched, an 
amused smile on her face, offering neither an apology nor 
offering to help.  As the airlock started to slide closed, 
Tanj turned and gave her a hard look, but at the last 
second, her frown dissolved and the Cheetah shot Jenka a wry 
grin.

As the inner airlock door closed, Tanj bent to unzip an 
earflap on the leather encased Lion…..  "I think we're going 
to have to do something about her.  While you wait for me to 
get the ship launched and on course, think about what we 
might do by way of a suitable revenge….."  Zipping the flap 
back up, she turned and padded off to the flight deck.  They 
were now seriously behind schedule….

Hinoki looked down at the Lion and smiled; lifting his tail 
he examined the small cardboard sign that said "fuck me 
here".  Bending down, the Cheetah observed that the leather 
covered almost everything, but that just under the Lion's 
tail, his asshole was exposed.  Chuckling, the Cheetah 
hooked his thumbs into the waistband of his shorts, pulling 
them down as he muttered; "well, if you insist….."

Jenka looked at Dahlia and raised an eyebrow; "you're SURE 
you don't mind?"  The Mare chuckled; "no, no, you've been 
most generous, Mistress.  I think I'll fit in well, in that 
department.  It'll give the the opportunity to learn a trade 
that isn't just manual labor…..  And the pay is most 
generous…. AND the fringe benefits……"  Turning her head, she 
grinned at John for a second, but then she turned back; "but 
if you think I'm going to give up any claim I might have to 
the Lion, you’ve  got another thing coming!"  Jenka laughed 
and nodded; "ah, yes, The Lion.  We really do need to put 
our heads together and figure out how we can get him here 
again, if not forever.  I'm sure we can come up with 
something, between us…."  Smiling, Jenka turned to slip into 
the seat of the Sulky cart.  Cracking her whip on the Mare's 
ass and then on the Stallion's, she urged her "matched team" 
to motion, tugging on the reins, to head them towards the 
residential section of the station……

The Lion, un-encased from his "travel bag" had been scrubbed 
thoroughly, the dye almost gone from his fur.  The 
"puffballs" had been trimmed from ankles and wrists, and his 
mane combed out…. He was almost looking like himself again.  
Now he sat, wearing nothing but Tanj's collar, at the 
communications console, as he tried to catch up on his e-
mail.  He had almost deleted that one by rote; it was a mass 
mailing, seemingly to everyone in the Brethren; such things 
were common with jokes or funny stories, and with all the 
work he had to catch up on, he just didn't have the time… 
but then, he'd thought, it never hurt to check on the morale 
of the organization, and the kind of humor they circulated 
frequently gave a clue as to how they felt.  And he could 
use a good joke about now, he thought to himself.  The file, 
however, had a number of video clips attached, and he 
wondered if someone was e-mailing porn around…   Clicking on 
the first video clip, his eyes went wide as he beheld the 
"sulky cart" race on Jenka's station, him and Dahlia lined 
up at the start line, waiting for Kath to start the race…  
There was Tanj seated behind him….. she couldn't have 
been doing the filming….. and he KNEW where Hinoki was at 
the time…. Wanda was in the crowd near Kath….  Where was 
Zassa?  Growling to himself, he ordered a trace on the 
message, to see who had started it…… And when he found 
out……..

The Lion rubbed at his burning eyes.  He didn't know HOW 
many messages he'd been through, but he thought he'd made a 
dent in them.  He was staring at the screen, wondering which 
one to tackle next, when a new message blinked into 
existence at the bottom of the stack.  It had a "Black 
Fleet" return address, and on impulse he opened it.  
Surprised to see Dahlia's name, he started to read; "Love, I 
know what you'd told me, that day on the station, but I 
thought you ought to know….."

The Lion watched the chronograph on the wall of the wardroom 
carefully as he did the dishes.  They were close to being 
home, being back to the Brethren's base, but they weren't 
going to make it…. And that suited him fine, as he'd rather 
do what he had to do here, than there.  Rinsing the last 
container and setting it on the dishtowel to dry, he turned 
and checked the Chrono.  Tanj smiled and nodded; "Yes, 
yes, I know, your week is up.  You are now officially no 
longer my slave…."  The Lion nodded; "its over, but we're 
not done yet."  Tanj looked at him curiously; "Oh?  
What……."  The Lion growled and reached out to take Tanj 
by the throat, hauling her to her feet; "Where's Dahlia?  
Why did you leave her behind at Jenka's Station without 
asking her?  Who gave you the right to mess with her life 
like that?"  Tanj looked at the Lion, wide eyed, and then 
sagged; "Master, I was Jealous.  I feared that she and you… 
that she…. That she might take you away from me."  The Lion 
nodded slowly; "I feared as much; before you abandoned her 
there, you SHOULD have asked me what she meant to me.  
Haven't I told you before what place you occupy in my life?  
Haven't I TOLD you what you mean to me?"  All Tanj could 
do was nod…

The Lion growled; "with all the furrs that you have had sex 
with, I have TRUSTED you to always come back to me; that 
occasional recreational sex, or even long lasting 
friendships would not change what we have.  I trust that 
even your relationship with Jenka would not change what we 
have!  And you should trust me to do the same.  Yes, Dahlia 
and I are friends, perhaps even a little more than that; but 
it does NOT change our relationship.  You failed to trust me 
in that, and now, NOW I'm going to teach YOU a lesson in 
trust!

Grabbing the neckline of her jumpsuit, the Lion roughly 
ripped it downwards, his claws shredding the fabric until it 
hung in tatters around her feet.  Then, shoving Tanj down 
to her knees, the Lion growled; "Wrap your arms around my 
legs!"  When the Cheetah had complied, the Lion growled; 
"now take one of my balls into your mouth.  Hold it there."  
Tanj opened her mouth, and tilting her head forward, 
slurped one of the Lion's testicles into her mouth, holding 
it with tongue and lips, shielding it from her teeth….  "You 
hold the most sensitive portion of my anatomy in your mouth; 
you hold the chance I might have offspring someday between 
your teeth.  You'll hold it there safely and warmly while I 
punish you."

The Lion methodically whipped every section of her back, her 
ass, and her upper thighs, and as he worked, as he talked, 
Tanj responded by swirling her tongue around his captive 
ball, holding her teeth well away from it.  The Lion let go 
one end of the strap, swinging its full length, letting the 
end curve under Tanj's ass, letting its end flick up 
between her legs to snap at her sex.  Tanj flinched in 
surprise and in pain, but the look in her eyes clearly said 
that she understood, her tongue moving over his captive 
testicle as she endured her lesson.  With each slap of the 
strap he told her of all the reasons she was his, of her 
beauty, and of her brains, her cleverness, and her warmth, 
and the depth of her love.  Finally the strap fell still, 
the Lion's chest heaving with the exertion.  Reaching down, 
he pulled her to her feet, to kiss her passionately.  As the 
broke the kiss, Tanj looked up into his face, and 
whispered "Master, what will you do with me now?" 

Hinoki blinked. Had he been so blind? He KNEW that the lion 
and Tanj were close, but THIS close? He tilted his head 
to the side a bit and smiled some. Ah, what he'd not have 
given to hear those words from Tanj!  Well.. it was 
obvious now he was never going to be first in Tanj's 
heart. He knew she still cared, sure!  And he knew she loved 
him.  Perhaps he might not be first... but he was CERTAIN 
that he was a close second!  The Lion.. the lion on the 
other paw was a different issue entirely. He was straight.. 
could TOLERATE same sex interaction but obviously didn't 
enjoy it. He grinned as a thought came into his mind. It'd 
be a lot of fun to be the Lion's and Tanj's pet.. He 
thought Tanj would give it a go. But how to convince the 
lion?

Wanda watched the Wardroom door slide closed behind Tanj 
and the Lion.  He hadn't said a word, only picked her up and 
tossed her over his shoulder, carrying her out of the 
wardroom.  Looking at Kath, the Wolverine blinked; "well, 
THAT was different….."

Hinoki looked up, his reverie broken, as the door slid open 
again and Zassa meandered in, yawning.  "Hey, Y'all, what's 
been happening?"  Hinoki looked at Wanda and Kath and 
shrugged; "If I told you, you wouldn't believe me…..

Thinking to himself, Hinoki grinned widely, as plans started 
to unfold in his mind. It'd been some time since he'd 
seduced a hetboy and bent him enough to walk both sides of 
the fence.. to have him enjoy sucking cock as much as he did 
munching carpet. He had a challenge again! First.. he'd need 
to synthesize female lioness pheromones... 

Tanj lay face down on her bunk; her back was still much 
too sore to lay on.  The Lion was standing her watch on the 
flight deck, and she was trying to rest… trying to, as her 
back, from her shoulder blades to the backs of  her knees 
throbbed and burned  She couldn't help but think of her 
"lesson" with each beat of her heart, with each throb of her 
sore back.  She was laying there, half asleep when she felt 
something tickle her leg….. for a moment, it felt like a 
lover's caress… and then her eyes went open WIDE!  She was 
alone in here, wasn't she?  Then something like a finger 
stroked her sex, softly at first and then more firmly….. she 
was about to rise to her knees when something slick pushed 
its way into her, making her gasp…..  Rising to hands and 
knees, she dropped her head to the bed, to look between her 
breasts, down along the length of her body; there WAS no one 
behind her!  And yet something was definitely moving in her 
pussy……  shifting, wiggling….  Moving with almost panicked 
speed, she shifted, to sit on the edge of her bed,  Legs 
splayed, head bowed, she STARED at her crotch; the bulge of 
inky black between her labia, holding her sex spread wide 
open, with tendrils wrapped in her labia and clitty rings 
LOOKED just like the creature she called her "living 
dress"…. But it was much too small for that….  Rising 
carefully, the thing pulsing and squirming within her, she 
rose to reach for the box in her overhead…. Yes, the 
creature was there, moving sluggishly, but it looked 
somehow… smaller.  Suddenly it hit her; the creature had 
reproduced by fission; SOMEONE had been playing with it, and 
the "babies" had escaped!  Sagging back on the bed, 
surrendering to the pleasure the creature was bestowing on 
her as it fed on her sexual energy, a small corner of 
Tanj's mind wondered how many others there were hiding in 
her ship…. And then she laughed; after a week on Jenka's 
station, the Babies would be hungry, seeking out anyone who 
might "feed" them… They were going to have an interesting 
flight home……  Purrrring, Tanj laid back, winced and then 
rolled onto her stomach; she knew where this one was, and 
knew it wasn't going anywhere for a while…. Knew SHE wasn't 
going anywhere for a while…. She'd deal with this new 
problem, in a little bit.

Zassa blinked as the inky black spot oozed out from under 
her bed to "assault" her ankle…. She'd thought she'd put 
that thing back in its box in Tanj's cabin… she KNEW 
she'd put it back in its box…. So how did THIS one get here?  
Giggling as the thing flowed up her leg, headed for her 
crotch, Zassa just shrugged to herself, laying back on her 
bed.  Reaching down, the Vixen used the fingers of both paws 
to spread the petals of her sex, and then groaned in delight 
as the creature flowed into her, stretching her pussy, 
filling her SO nicely… "This one," the Vixen thought to 
herself; "This one, I'm going to keep.  I wonder if I can 
train it to do….. *OH*!  To do to me the things I like 
*MOAN*! Best….?"

Kath let out an "EEP!" and dropped the stack of laundry she 
was putting away.  Wanda looked up from the nursing journal 
she was reading, and following the direction of the Mink’s 
gaze, did a double-take.  Then she chuckled; "Oh, I know 
what that is.  Don't be afraid.  I don't know how it got 
loose, but its just a creature that belongs to Tanj.  
Tell you what, put the laundry down, and come over here……"  
Kath looked dubiously at Wanda, and then at the black spot 
flowing across the floor towards her, but after an instant's 
hesitation, obeyed, placing the stack of clothes on top of 
Wanda's dresser, and moving to the indicated place.  Wanda 
smiled and nodded; "Now, slave, assume the kneeling 
position."  Kath immediately dropped to her knees, her paws 
palm up on her thighs, showing her submission, her knees 
well spread.  Wanda nodded; "now, you just hold that 
position, no matter what happens.  Don't move.  You can cum 
as much as you want, just don't move…."

Kath watched the black, viscous… whatever-it-was ooze across 
the floor, straight for her; it slithered between her knees, 
stopping directly under her pussy.  Leaning forward a bit to 
watch, her head bowed, she watched in amazement as it formed 
a phallic shape, growing from a puddle to a cylinder, 
reaching upwards for her, until ……

Wanda smiled as Kath let out a gasp, as the creature invaded 
her sex….. she'd seen what the thing could do to Tanj, 
heard all the tales…. But she wasn't quite ready to 
experiment with something like that; not quite yet.  She'd 
let Kath keep it, and borrow it when, and if, the spirit 
ever moved her…..

Kath knelt on the floor, eyes wide; it FELT like a male's 
cock driving in and out of her pussy, as if a VERY talented 
male were using her….. but at the same time, something was 
tickling her clitty… it felt almost like a tongue…. And the 
combination was almost perfectly attuned to what it took to 
bring her to a climax; she felt it building, its power 
gathering like summer thunderheads….. Wanda had said she 
could cum as much as she wanted, so she didn't do anything 
to hold back, to stifle her feelings……  And somehow it 
seemed that the creature KNEW just what she liked, almost as 
if it were reading her mind…..  Panting hard, she started 
thinking to herself; "YES!  OH YES!  More!  I like that 
better… OH, Do that AGAIN!" and sure enough, the black thing 
between her thighs accommodated her, doing exactly as she 
commanded.

Wanda watched her slave writhe through yet another climax 
and smiled.  It was obvious that Kath would be too tired to 
do much tonight…. Picking up the last nursing journal in the 
stack she sighed, and wondered if perhaps she could borrow 
Zassa's tongue for a little loving, later.

Kath moaned softly as the thing within her gradually slowed 
to a stop.  It was as if the creature was finally sated….  
Moving carefully, tensing her muscles to hold it in place, 
she rose, to stagger off to the bathroom; she was a mess!

Tanj padded towards the wardroom, a glob of inky viscous 
blackness wrapped around her left paw.  The creature was 
finally sated, and she needed to find something watertight 
to keep it in.  One of the leftover containers in the 
wardroom would probably do until she could find something 
better….  As she rounded the corner, she saw Kath, coming in 
the opposite direction; Wanda usually kept the Mink nude, 
except for her collar, but this time, Kath was wearing a 
very skimpy black thong… and then Tanj grinned; "I see 
one of the little devils found you too…."  Kath just grinned 
sheepishly; "Yes, Mistress let it have me, until it was 
sated.  Now she says I can keep it, if I can prove I can 
care for it correctly and that I can keep it away from her, 
until she's ready for it."  Tanj shrugged; "its OK with 
me, but how do we know these two are the only ones loose?"  
Kath just shrugged, and then grinned; "you know, Tanj, in 
all of the Empire, only YOU would have a ship with such a 
"vermin" problem…..  Then, before Tanj could reply, the 
Mink laughed; "What say we put one of these things, suitably 
starved, into Hinoki's powered armor?"

Benedict fretted, pacing back and forth.  The Elysium 
Defense Forces Cruiser “Arbalest” was in port after a rather 
routine patrol.  A completely frustratingly routine patrol.  
Everywhere they’d searched, they’d come up with nothing.  No 
pirates.  No smugglers.  No Rebels.  No Nothing!  Needless 
to say, when they’d docked at the orbital defense facility, 
most of the crew had been particularly eager to find the 
nearest bar and drown their frustrations…..  But he, he’d 
stayed, as the officer of the Airlock Watch…. Not because 
he’d wanted to, but because that damned Wolverine knew.  He 
didn’t know HOW the Woverine knew his secret, didn’t know 
how the bastard had managed to get pictures of him and that 
little coyote girl… how was HE supposed to know she was only 
13?  Grumbling, he paced.  One little “task” the Wolverine 
had said, and he’d hand over the holos…..

Their homecoming was almost anticlimactic.  Almost.  The 
Lion, wearing a pair of shorts he'd found somewhere in 
Tanj's cabin, kissed her at the airlock, and hurried off.  
He hadn't gotten ten feet before Ben intercepted him.  And 
then Willoughby from Maintenance.  And then Dufosse from 
Logistics.  By the time he made the personnel lock at the 
far side of the docking bay, it looked as if he was leading 
a parade.  Wanda showed up next, leading Kath by….. a leash 
who's end seemed to disappear up between her legs.  Tanj 
blinked, trying not to stare, but to Kath's apparent 
embarrasment, Wanda chuckled and insisted on showing it off; 
"It’s a going-away present from Jenka; something called an 
"egg-leash"… There's this little egg-shaped gizmo on the end 
of the leash that fits up her quim… and when I push this 
button on the handle, somehow it inflates, or expands, or 
something, until she can't remove it.  Oh, and this button 
here makes it jump and wiggle, and this one just makes it 
vibrate…..  With each experimental push of a button, Kath 
let out little "eeps" and squirmed, to Wanda's visible 
delight.  After giving Tanj a kiss on the cheek, Wanda 
growled; "come along, Slave" and still playing with the 
button's on the leash's handle, "dragged" the Mink off 
behind her.

Tanj turned to go get her bag, when Hinoki pushed by her.  
Tanj stopped and turned to look; "Hinoki, are you all 
right?"  The Cheetah just grinned and nodded, and then 
turned and moved through the airlock….  Tanj watched him 
depart for a moment, taking in the cast of his ears and his 
tail, and frowned… Something was up.  He was plotting 
something.  She wondered what it could be, and what might be 
needed in the area of damage control?

Zassa, as usual, was a bit of a mess, her clothes stuffed in 
a bag, a few loose items in her paws.  "Gotta run; now that 
we’re back, I'm late for my shift!"  And then the Vixen was 
gone, and Tanj was alone in her ship.  Suddenly it seemed 
so… hollow, so empty…. Putting the thought from her head, 
she made sure the systems were correctly powered down, 
grabbed her bag and headed off.  She too had things to do, 
and she suspected, more than a little to catch up on……  She 
wondered what'd happened in her absence…..

Onegin watched Guevera’s back as they moved towards the 
airlock.  It had been nerve-wracking, first to infiltrate 
him and his crew onto Elysium, and then to don EDF uniforms, 
to present carefully forged orders to the transportation 
officer at the shuttle port, and to board a shuttle with 
dozens of REAL EDF personnel, had almost been more than 
Onegin had been able to stand.  And yet, somehow, it had all 
worked; they’d been able to pass themselves off as real EDF 
troops.  And now their team were approaching the Cruiser’s 
airlock.

Tanj had only made it half way across the docking bay, on 
her way towards Intelligence, when a young ursine 
approached; “Um, Tanj, Ma’am?”  Tanj stopped to look 
at the Bear, one eyebrow rising; if he was after sexual 
favors, this just wasn’t the time……  Clearing his throat the 
Bear looked left and right, as if looking for backup, or 
maybe a place to hide… “Um, Ma’am, while you were gone we 
had a guy, a fox, show up in a singleship…… He just APPEARED 
on the scanners…..  Scared the Crap outta everyone, arriving 
like he did……  When they’d boarded his ship, he said he 
worked for you….  Well, down in security, we don’t have 
records of all your field agents, as you well might expect, 
and your boss thought it would be better if we left him in 
detention until you got back…. Most of your records on field 
agents, I’m told, go to great lengths to protect their 
identity……”  Tanj frowned at the thought of one of her 
agents left in a jail cell while she was off “playing”….. “I 
think you’d better take me to him…..”

The Bear, who seemed to go by the nickname of “Bobo” after 
some obscure and ancient video reference, didn’t seem to 
know how to shut up….. He regailed the Cheetah with the tale 
of how the base had gone to a full alert in record time, 
interceptors being launched, only to find no resistance at 
all.  The boarding party even found the singleship’s airlock 
unlocked, the outer door wide open and waiting for them….  
And the fox inside had been sitting quietly, paws folded in 
his lap, as if he expected it all….. “Since then, he’s just 
SAT there in the cell.  He eats when food is provided, and 
occasionally exercises, but mostly he just SITS…….  Finally 
they were in the security area, and Bobo led Tanj through 
the barred doors, and forcefields that kept the place 
secure.  It was so much trouble just to get IN, even with an 
escort, that Tanj wondered how anyone could ever expect 
to escape from that place……  Finally they were in a circular 
room, with a security desk in the middle, eight pie wedge 
shaped cells opening out from the periphery.  Most were 
empty, a few were full of pirate crews sleeping off a drunk, 
and in one……  Tanj sighed, stepped forward, and looked at 
the figure seated calmly within; “Hello, Entity.  I have to 
admit, I never thought our next meeting would be like 
this……”

Benedict watched the big Bear squeeze through the personnel 
lock, and come to attention, to salute him; “Ensign Guevera, 
and team, reporting for temporary duty, SIR!”  Benedict took 
the proffered orders and opened them.  His eyes went wide as 
he found a single sheet of white paper with “GET DOWN” 
hastily scrawled on it.  Looking up at the Bear, he found 
himself staring into cold black eyes… and then his knees 
were buckling.

Stevens watched Lieutenant Benedict fall to the deck, and 
wondered for a moment if the Lieutenant was ill; as he 
turned in concern to look down at the Lieutenant, he never 
saw the fighting knife the Bear produced flash down towards 
his back.  The first warning he had was the searing, 
indescribable pain as the knife penetrated his right kidney.

Benedict felt like throwing up.  The three ratings standing 
airlock watch with him were suddenly, violently, and almost 
completely silently dead.  The Bear had wiped his knife 
clean on the tail of the furr he’d killed; looking up, 
catching Benedict’s eye, the Bear shrugged; “They say that 
being stabbed in the kidney is so painful you can’t even 
scream.  Guess its true.”  Waving to the rest of his 
commando, Guevera hauled Benedict to his feet.  As he was 
all but dragged down the corridor, Benedict noticed that 
three of the Rebels had taken the place of the furrs killed 
at the airlock.

Tanj walked towards the residence area with Entity at her 
side.  For a while, neither talked.  It had taken Tanj 
quite a while to convince the Security folks that Entity not 
only did work for her, but was a trusted and valued field 
agent.  Finally, they released him on her authority, to the 
non-secured areas of the station.  They said they’d start a 
background check to prove he was who he said he was… but 
somehow Tanj didn’t think they’d ever find any 
significant record of the Fox.  After walking in silence for 
a good fifteen minutes, they arrived at the modest visitor’s 
quarters Tanj had gotten assigned to Entity; “I need to 
check in at the office; I’m sure you have something of 
significance to tell me, but I assume by the fact you 
haven’t already told me, that its not time sensitive.  Is 
that true?”  The Fox tilted his head to one side, as if 
listening to some inner voice… “No.  There is time.  Go and 
do what you need to; I’ll be here when you have time to 
talk.”  Tanj nodded; “I’ll come by at about 18:30 hours 
and collect you for dinner.  Or does what you have to say 
require more …. Privacy?”  Entity smiled and shook his head; 
“Not particularly.  It may be unbelievable, but all will 
have to know eventually……  Dinner is fine.”  Tanj nodded 
and turned, to padd down the hall towards Intelligence, with 
a rapid stride……

The Intelligence office was much as she’d left it, save for 
the hardcopies stacked up in her in box.  Tanj looked at 
the heap of paper, threatening to collapse out of its spot 
at her work station and cascade over the desktop and the 
floor.  Wondering if she really went through that much stuff 
in a week, Tanj sat down and fired up her terminal….

Benedict shook his head; “I was supposed to get you into the 
computer center and get you out; no one was ever supposed to 
know you were on board!  How in the world am I ever going to 
explain THIS?”  Guevera just shrugged massively; “Change in 
plans.  We’re not going to steal just data and codes; the 
Central Committee has decided we’re going to take the whole 
ship.  Comrade Onegin has furrs that can handle a ship; 
they’ll fly us out of here.  Now you can either help, 
joining the glorious People’s Revolution, or you can die on 
the spot.”  Stopping, the Bear turned to look at Benedict; 
“your choice, Comrade.”  Benedict swallowed and after a 
moment’s hesitation he gulped; “Auxilliary Control is this 
way; the Bridge is defended……

Tanj was on her third cup of coffee, and had handled most 
of the more important issues; sitting back in her station 
chair, she checked the time and sighed; almost time to head 
out to the cafeteria…..  She hadn’t eaten since breakfast, 
and didn’t want to miss dinner…….  With the few minutes she 
had left, she leaned forward, fingers seeking out the 
keyboard once again…  There were things that she could do 
from her ship, and things she could do remotely from Jenka’s 
station, but there was nowhere she knew of that was as well 
prepared, as well equipped as the Intelligence office at the 
Brethren’s base, for some things.  Carefully working on the 
search string, she restarted her search for any Wolverine of 
significance, any Wolverine in a position of power, or 
authority…. Any Wolverine that might be Xylex, anywhere on 
Elysium, that had shown up in the Brethren’s database in the 
last couple of weeks……

Onegin smiled and looked from his personal organizer to the 
console in front of him.  The override codes had been stored 
on the gizmo, and while he’s always preferred paper and 
pencil, at least this gizmo could be erased with the simple 
touch of a button.  Nodding in satisfaction he pressed a 
series of keys in sequence.  All through the ship, klaxons 
started howling, as all the inner and outer airlock doors 
started to open, together.  Reaching up, he touched fingers 
to the seal of his own vacuum suit’s neck ring, knowing it 
was sealed, checking it anyways.  Air howled through the 
ship, creating a blizzard of papers and loose items.  And 
all through the ship, those not on leave, died.  As the 
hurricane gradually died, Guevera nodded to his commandos; 
“check the ship; make sure no one survived.  Then guard the 
airlocks; they are sure to try and stop us.  Onegin, for his 
part, looked at his crew, almost all former Roughnecks, the 
ex-pirates supplemented with a leavening of Reds who knew 
something about spaceships.  “OK gang, lets bring up main 
power; they’re sure to know something’s wrong, and we need 
to get OUT of here!  Remember, we’re on a schedule!”

The Lion shoved over a bit, making room for Tanj, 
Slasher, to his right, grunting as he shoved against him……  
Reggie looked to his right and then carefully slid over 
some, making way diffidently for the Fox.  Tanj sat down 
next to her Lion, placing her dinner tray neatly before her, 
and looked around; “Ma… Uh, Boss, Reggie, Slasher, this is 
Entity, one of my better field agents.  He has some……. 
Disturbing information……. Reggie gave the fox a long, hard 
look, leaning away from him slightly as he peered at him.  
Entity returned the gaze calmly for a moment and then, 
turning back to look across the table at the Lion, the Fox 
stared at him for a moment and then whispered; “There is a 
battle coming; a battle involving treachery, and deceit.  An 
attempt on your life will be made.  I am here to foil that 
attempt.”  The Lion calmly took another forkful of….. 
whatever tonight’s casserole was, and chewed for a moment; 
“things like that have been tried before, and I’m still 
here.  We’ve GOT pretty good security…….”

Reggie turned to stare at the Fox again; “and if the 
opposition were to try and infiltrate an assassin, such a 
ploy might just be a good way of getting him close to his 
target…..” Tanj sighed and nodded; “unfortunately, 
Entity, there ARE procedures we have to follow…..”  Entity 
turned to look at her, his calm demeanor almost unnerving.  
After a moment, he nodded; “I understand; I will wait, in 
the non-critical areas of your installation.  When the time 
is right, when I’m needed, I’ll be there.”  Tanj frowned, 
but didn’t say anything; she’d “known” Entity for a long 
time and his information had always been first rate… but it 
was the Lion’s life they were talking about here……  “I’ll 
start the background check myself; we’ll expedite it as fast 
as possible….”  The Lion just nodded, chewing, as he looked 
critically at Entity.  Tanj watched him curiously, 
wondering what was passing through his mind.  After a while, 
he turned and looked at her and asked her a question about 
the Blues rebel group on Elysium…. And Tanj figured that 
the change of subject was tacit agreement.

Clicking on the recorder, Tanj looked at Entity; “Tell me 
what you can about your background, things that are 
verifiable….”  Entity smiled softly and shook his head; 
There is little that you will be able to verify….

Commodore Nielson looked down at the display in the 
station’s command center; “I don’t know what they think 
they’re doing, but they’ll never get away with it.  There’s 
no way mutineers can steal a ship from this base and live to 
tell about it!”  Next to him, his aide sighed; “True, Sir, 
we’ll blow them to pieces before they’ve gone a thousand 
kilometers… but still, our victory will also be a defeat for 
Elysium.  It will cost us an almost new Cruiser.  And we 
don’t have that many left.”  Nielson sighed and nodded, the 
Fox’s ears and tail drooping; “try the prefix codes again.  
Keep trying.  But if we can’t wrest control of the ship back 
from them, we WILL have to destroy it!”

The reports weren’t good.  The first known record of 
Entity’s existence was when he was found stowed away on a 
freighter exiting the Starsurma sector, a rather remote and 
enigmatic part of the Empire.  If the rumors were to be 
believed, the Empire had been fighting a secret civil war 
there for some time now…..  Somehow, he’d snuck on board, 
and then convinced the ship’s Captain to take him on as 
crew.  He seemed to have significant computer abilities and 
stayed with that ship for a little over a year.  However, 
the report from that ship related that at a port, one day, 
he became quite nervous, and then simply disappeared.  The 
ship, with all his possessions still on board, had departed 
on schedule, and they’d never seen him again.  As a sidebar, 
there was a note that enroute to their next destination, 
they’d been boarded and searched by an Imperial Cruiser.  
Such things weren’t uncommon, and no problems were found, 
but someone had found it curious enough to tack the note 
onto the record.  From there, Entity had surfaced in various 
different places, taking on various different jobs, never 
staying anywhere for too long.  And of course, there were 
large gaps between appearances in the database.  Most 
recently, he had been serving as a professional bodyguard; 
in several instances his presence was the only thing that 
had saved his employer’s lives……  More curiously, in all the 
assassination attempts he’d foiled, he’d never killed any of 
the assailants, and most of them weren’t even severely 
injured.  There were instances where he’d suddenly left 
someone’s employ, only later for it to be found out that the 
employer had been involved in something unsavory….  All in 
all, the holes in his background were large enough to drive 
a small moon through…. In fact, it reminded her of the 
background of a certain Mouse…..”

Onegin grinned; they’d undocked, and raised shields, but 
were holding themselves close to the station’s bulk; too 
close for the station’s own weapons to bear on them.  Too 
close for the Station to effectively attack them.  While 
their delay gave the EDF time to man other ships for the 
pursuit, it was necessary…..

Nielson’s head snapped around at the shout from the sensor 
operators; “Sir, we have incoming unidentified ships….. 
six…… seven…… Sir, I make it Nine warships of various sizes 
and ratings, supported by …. Thirty one fighters and 
bombers.”  Nielson nodded; “Launch all available 
interceptors, and tell the captains of all the docked ships 
they’d best launch as soon as they can….”  Turning to look 
at his aide, the Fox sighed; “This can’t be a simple mutiny.  
This has to be Rebel activity; this is too much of a 
coincidence for it to be uncoordinated….”

Tanj smiled and shook her head; there were over 2,000 
Wolverines of prominence on Elysium.  With a sigh, she 
started weeding through them, looking for the one that might 
be Xylex reborn…..

Xyloff smiled, and broke the Comm link.  He’d known Piper 
would see the logic of his situation….. He’d always been an 
egotistical one, and Xyloff knew the Elysium government just 
wasn’t in the mood to stroke his ego.  Oh, he was a decent 
enough General, but nowhere near as good as he thought he 
was.  Still, with the promise of a Field Marshall’s baton in 
the People’s Red Army, and a little occasional “stroking” 
he, and his Division, would be a major asset.  Especially 
when his unit changed sides in the middle of the offensive 
the Reds were about to launch.  And once the Revolution was 
over, well…… he was eminently disposable, if he didn’t toe 
the line…. The Party Line…. Xyloff’s line.

It wasn’t even in the search results.  She ran across a 
reference in a field report one of the Blues had filed, on a 
co-ordination meeting they’d had with the Reds command 
staff.  In that, he mentioned that he didn’t trust Comrade 
Xyloff; that the Wolverine seemed to have objections every 
time the Blues wanted the Reds to do something that might be 
hazardous, or have a significant chance of failure.  He’d 
mentioned that this one was oily smooth, seemingly having 
legitimate reasons why the Reds couldn’t do this, or help 
with that.  On the other hand, he was one of the most 
strident voices calling for the Blues to take on the most 
difficult of tasks in any joint venture.  And the report had 
said that Chairman Quistling seemed to hang on Xyloff’s 
every word, and to depend on him heavily.  Tanj re-read 
the report four times, and then composed a message back to 
the Blues, asking for all the information that they had on 
this “Comrade Xyloff”….  She thought about warning them who 
he might be, but then decided that was probably 
presumptuous…..  Taking a hardcopy of the report, she rose, 
to go find Wanda……

Onegin smiled and stretched in the Captain’s command chair.  
The battle had been furious, but short.  The whole goal of 
the raid had been to distract the station’s weaponry from 
the escaping cruiser, and that had succeeded splendidly.  
Oh, they’d lost the old Corsair “Red Dog,” and a handful of 
fighters, but in return, they’d gained this magnificent 
ship.  And in the process, they’d dealt the Elysium forces a 
bloody nose. He had no doubt, that Wolverine, Xyloff, would 
use it for the basis of a major propaganda victory.  
Settling back for the ride “home,” Onegin wondered again how 
the Wolverine had been able to get all the codes, all the 
security clearances, and even bribe that wretch, Benedict.  
However he’d done it, he’d managed to turn what he’d 
initially thought was a suicide mission into a magnificent 
triumph.  Watching his bridge crew for a moment, Onegin 
wondered what the Captain’s cabin on this ship was like?  
Grinning, he wondered if the previous occupant had left any 
decent liquor there……

Wanda nodded slowly…. “Yeah, that sounds just like something 
he’d do……  One step away from the very top of the ladder.  
Anything goes wrong, this Quistling can be blamed; if it all 
goes right, they’ll know who to congratulate…..  The only 
thing is…. When the Rebels win, he’ll have to share power 
with the Blues….. and all the other factions.  He won’t like 
that.”  Tanj nodded and sighed; “Yeah, that’s what I 
thought….  And Entity’s talking about Deceit in a final 
battle…. I think I’ve got to go talk to my boss…….”  Just 
then, the intercom came alive, with a page for Tanj.  
Padding over to the nearest intercom, Tanj listened for a 
moment, and then grinned widely; “Come on, Wanda; you’re 
going to like this.  Best bring Kath too…….”

Hinoki decided that there was comparatively little point to 
put off his plan. In fact.. the sooner the better! After his 
shift was over, he padded down to Medical with a bounce in 
his step, even if he still walked funny from the dildo 
that'd been in his arse while he was in the armor. "Wish I'd 
thought of that when I was an instructor," he mused.. 
wandering around a corner into the Medbay proper. 

The sight before him, however, brought him to an abrupt 
halt. The Lion... Tanj.. Zassa.. Jenka.. everyone was 
there. The operating theatre had been brought online with 
the table configured for heavy bondage. His fur bristled as 
he saw the video cameras activate.. and heard guards closing 
the doors behind him. "Ahh..." Hinoki stuttered.. "I don't 
suppose we can talk about this?"  The Lion grinned and shook 
his head. "Not on your life. Remember the saying.. payback's 
a bitch. Now get that scrawny ass over here NOW!" Hinoki 
blinked.. and instinctively took several steps forward. The 
Lion wasn't any slouch when it came to Domination, either! 
Maybe he'd been an instructor.. nahh. He didn't have it in 
him. Did he?  On the other hand, he’d been in Command here 
for more than long enough to know how to issue an order…..

The Lion grabbed Hinoki by the scruff and lifted the cheetah 
to his toes. "Now then, everyone. Hinoki has earned a 
punishment from me, and I'm going to need all of you to help 
me out. That includes anyone who is viewing this telecast as 
well. But for now.. enjoy the show."  The Lion dragged 
Hinoki over to the operating table and held him down whilst 
the others strapped him in. The lion grinned, then took a 
very long, very slender metal tube and slathered it 
thoroughly in lube……
 
Hinoki squauked as the lion took his cock into his paw and 
squeezed to torment the bound cheetah with pleasure.. then 
push the tip of the thing into the “eye” of his cock! He 
YOWWLED as it slid deeper and deeper into him.. and YIPED! 
The tube pushed it's way up into his bladder, and a straw 
colored stream leapt from the other end to splatter to the 
floor! His ears turned CRIMSON..  The lion, however, loved 
it. "Well! What /HAVE/ we here? Surely he can't be an adult! 
Adults don't piss all over the floor during a routine exam!"  
Hinoki's eyes flew WIDE open! His fur bristled.. but not in 
anger, rather.. surprise! He looked at the Lion who simply 
chuckled and winked back.  "No.. adults don't do what he 
just did. So I guess he's not an adult! For the duration of 
the week, he's a little baby. A baby that will still have to 
perform his duties, but the /ONLY/ clothing allotted him is 
going to be a diaper! He's got to wear it Twenty four 
seven.. and only another crew member can change him. If 
anyone catches him changing his diaper, or trying to take it 
off.. they're under orders to report it. If they so choose, 
they can punish the little boy themselves by spanking him.. 
then re-diapering him and THEN reporting it." The lion 
grinned evilly, an expression that made Hinoki's fur bristle 
in consternation.. 

"There's a reason for the diaper, ladies and gentlemen. This 
little boy has no bladder control anymore.." He flipped a 
switch, and Hinoki felt a sharp stinging around the 
bladder's sphincter.. then the region went curiously numb.  
"Seems the little baby boy can't hold in his pee.. he NEEDS 
his diapers! Medical says that it'll be that way for a 
week.. if he's good!"  The lion carefully withdrew the 
electrified catheter then set it aside. Tanj flipped a 
switch, and Hinoki found his legs lifted into the air and 
spread.. lewdly exposing his cock and asshole for all to 
see. He could SWEAR he felt a camera move in for a closeup.. 
a thought which rather embarrassed him! 

Of course... the embarrassment was increased a hundredfold 
when he felt cool cream smeared over his buttocks, groin, 
and lower belly.. then felt the liberal dusting of 
babypowder dusted into his soon to be diapered crotch.  
There was a distinctive rustle as something was slid under 
his bottom.. then he found himself lowered. He felt.. he 
felt one of his own diapers underneath him! One of the 
/THICK/ disposables! He blushed crimson.. someone had to 
have gone into his quarters to retrieve them. But.. they 
felt so good as he was lowered down onto them. They felt 
even better as they were folded up between his thighs and 
taped into place with deft and strong hands. 

Hinoki felt his bonds released, then.. of all things! 
Tanj came up behind him and cuddled him into her arms, 
pressing a baby bottle to his muzzle! He mewwled softly, 
looking into her eyes as he tried to turn his head away.  
Tanj would have none of it.. "Shh.. hush, little Hinoki. 
I'm here for you.. shhh.. we're all here for you.."  Hinoki 
shivered a bit.. then settled into Tanj's arms. The soft 
look in her eyes.. the gentle smile that the Lion shot him.. 
maybe.. maybe things WERE possible between the three of 
them! He smiled and cooed a bit.. starting to nurse from the 
bottle. He detected an odd metallic taste, but Tanj held 
the bottle firmly to his muzzle, not letting him miss a bit! 
That taste.. what was it.. lasix? It tasted like lasix.. a 
diuretic... 

Hinoki never felt sleep claim him. In addition to the lasix, 
there was also a decent dose of a safe sedative.. Tanj 
and the Lion both felt that Hinoki had a hard day.. and a 
good night's sleep, the sleep of the child.. would be just 
what he needed. They were right.

The old Fox looked at Tanj and sighed; “Yes, it sounds 
like something Xylex would do, exactly like something he’d 
do…. And I admit you’ve gathered a fair amount of 
circumstantial evidence, but its still only circumstantial…. 
And yes, I DO trust your instincts.  But I just can’t pass 
this on as an intelligence “finding”…… Now, I won’t mind if 
you communicate your fears to the Blues, and to the Black 
Fleet, and to the Boss, but I just can’t give it the 
department’s official sanction.  Not yet.  See if you can 
get some more definitive proof.  A DNA sample perhaps, or a 
link between this Xyloff and Xylex’s financial resources.  
Then we’ll scream it from the rooftops.  Lord knows, the 
Blues could use some propaganda like that….  The Reds seem 
to be growing like a Cancer…..  Their recent “acquisition” 
of a first line Cruiser from the Elysium forces is MOST 
worrying…..”  Tanj sighed and nodded; gathering her 
notes, she rose, to go find her Master, to let him know what 
she suspected, what she feared.

Tanj had finally found her Master in Ops. He and Ben were 
deep in a discussion, as they tried to plot an upcoming 
mission against one of the increasingly rare Elysium 
convoys.  She didn’t want to interrupt, not given the weight 
of her suspicions… as she stood there, half listening, she 
wondered if her boss, the old Fox, was right.  Did she 
really have anything more than her own fears?  Was she 
paranoid at Xylex, fearing him behind every corner, lurking 
in every shadow?  Her thoughts were interrupted by the shout 
of one of the communications techs… “Hey…. HEY!  HEY, we got 
Priority Traffic comin’ in….”  Ben and the Lion looked at 
each other and then wandered over to read over the Tech’s 
shoulder as he got the decrypted feed from the comm center 
several floors below them…..  The Lion sighed; “its 
starting.”  Ben nodded; “Too early to plan any support 
missions, but we’d better put the fleet on alert.”  Tanj 
squeezed between them to look.  The message was actually an 
intercept from an Elysium Militia unit, calling for help.  
The Reds were launching an offensive on a broad front, and 
the Militia unit was crumbling under their attack.  As she 
watched other messages came in; intercepts from the Elysium 
government, intercepts from the Reds, and updates from the 
Blues, and a few other minor groups.  As the Reds offensive 
grew, as it gained momentum, the other Rebel groups were 
using it as the signal to start their own operations….”  
After watching for a while, Tanj stage-whispered; “Boss, 
I’ve got to get back to the Intelligence shop; they’ll need 
me down there.  But I think I’ve found something on Xylex; 
he may be tied in with the Reds…..”  The Lion just nodded 
and patted her on the rump; “we’ll talk later.  I think 
we’re all going to be very busy for a while……  Ben, look at 
this… the Elysium Government’s going to try and move up the 
225th… they’d have to use this road net… if we were to 
launch a strike here… and here, that’d slow them to a crawl, 
if not cripple them……”  Tanj nodded and slipped out 
unnoticed……

Xyloff looked at the tactical display and smiled.  He’d 
harbored those IFF codes for a long time, almost until they 
were due to be changed… but now they were allowing the Reds 
forces, HIS forces to get within visual range of the 
Government troops before the deception was discovered…  And 
even after the Government troops had broadcast a warning 
that the enemy knew the IFF codes, it was still bearing 
fruit as reinforcements were treated with suspicion, and on 
two occasions actually brought under friendly fire….  And 
now Piper’s Division had turned and assaulted the units on 
their left flank.  The whole front was disintegrating, his 
commandos and guerillas creating havoc in the rear.  If they 
could just take the Remagen river bridge, the way to the 
capital would be open.  Success… nay, VICTORY was at hand……  
And when the Elysium government had all but fallen….. he’d 
deal with those others!  Smiling, confident that his plan 
was working just as he’d envisioned it, he turned to the 
sidebar and poured himself a generous glass of icewater….. 
soon, very soon, his position would be so secure, he could 
pour a snifter of Brandy, and no one would dare criticize 
him!

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.