Stardate 2398.50

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This story is a work of fiction, and any resemblance to any
characters, living, dead or imaginary is purely a coincidence.
Tanj is copyright Kittiara's player.  Mark is copyright
Ann'katar's player.  Hinoki is copyright his player, Zassa is
copyright her player, and Mooneyes is copyright her player (all
of FurryMuck, with the exception of Hinoki, who can be found on
Tapestries Muck).  Comments, suggestions, or flames can be
directed to ha_seng@hotmail.com.