Stardate 2399.00

Tanj ran down the alleyway, casting an occasional worried

glance over her shoulder. She'd worked hard to stay in

shape, and when they had to, Cheetahs could move FAST.

She'd sprinted as fast as she could until she could sprint

no longer and now she was jogging, panting hard, dripping

perspiration despite the cool air. They were behind her,

she was sure of it, and probably in front of her as well;

her only hope was to be where they thought she couldn't be

yet, and that meant moving fast. As she emerged from the

alleyway, she dropped to a fast walk, trying to look like

just another pedestrian. A glance to her left showed her a

police car crossing an intersection half a block away,

headed towards the Spaceport, towards where she'd come from.

And then she was into another alley, and jogging again,

pushing herself hard.

The mission had seemed so straight-forward. The Lion wanted

to meet with Cromwell, the leader of the Elysium resistance

group known as the "Blues", as well as the leaders of a few

of the other factions. A neutral place had been chosen for

the meeting, a planet called Imroc. Tanj had thought

that it would have been a "natural" rendezvous place for a

bunch of pirates and rebels; the planet was on the very

fringe of the Empire and nominally "independent." Its

"government" was actually a consortium of the local crime

families, and if you had enough money you could get away

with almost anything. The place was damn near lawless.

Lord Xylex looked at Trotskie and shook his head; "but of

course you're going to go to the meeting, my dear fellow; if

you're NOT there, then when I have the meeting raided,

they'll KNOW it was you that informed on them! Oh, don't

worry, I'll see to it that you're not harmed in the least.

We'll just stage some daring escape for you, something that

will enhance your reputation further." The bear looked back

at Xylex; "The pure bloody HELL I'll allow myself to be

captured! Mistakes happen, y'know! Tell you what, that

Black Panther, Tito, he's been getting a bit big for his

britches lately, and too many of my freedom fighters are

falling under his sway; how about I send him in my place,

and, well, we could always use another Martyr to the

cause……" The Wolverine grinned; "Trotskie, I DO like the

way you think……"

Tanj yawned as she sat, sprawled, in the pilot's couch.

She'd finally gotten her flight certification, but Mark was

still listed as the "pilot" of her freighter; as such, she

was taking the "other" shift, and it was the middle of

ship's night. "As many days as I've been on this shift,

you'd think my body would have adapted by now" she thought

to herself. Then she grinned; seemed like every time she'd

crawled into bed, her Lion'd had other plans for her.

Stretching again, and yawning widely, she thought back to

how the Lion had been relieving his boredom by finding

different ways to make love to her, searching through both

their not inconsiderable repertoires for yet another

variation, yet another technique, for something new and

different. The trip to Imroc was long, convoluted, and

BORING. Looking up as the Nav computer chimed, Tanj

checked her console and nodded; coming up on another Jump

Point. A quick glance at the Engineering console showed the

Jump Engine in the Green, and then the small freighter was

passing into that nexus of force lines that permitted

interstellar travel. Tanj waited half a second and then

engaged the Jump Engine, strange patterns of light forming

around the ship as they vanished from here………. And

reappeared there, light years away. Tanj did a quick

scan for other traffic, and found none; smiling in

satisfaction, she lined up the freighter on the next jump

point, on the far side of the system, and set the autopilot.

A few minutes of work, and now another day of boredom as the

freighter crossed the system. Eleven jumps down, and six to

go. Just for something to do, Tanj ran another active

sensor scan of the system. Nothing but dirt and rocks, and

ice. Grinning she wondered if there WAS anyone out there,

what they'd make of the electronic scan signature of the

sensor gear her freighter carried, a system more properly

belonging to a warship……

Tanj looked at the Ferret in the monitor and snarled;

"I've filled out seven different forms so far, each almost

identical. I've transferred enough Imperial Credits to keep

my ship functioning for a year; NOW what's the holdup?" The

Ferret growled back; "Listen, bitch, you do the paperwork

correctly, and pay the fees or you don't land on Imroc!

Complete the forms I'm sending you, AND pay the fees, or

break orbit!" Mark smiled as he listened, and then leaned

over to whisper in Tanj's ear; Tanj scowled at him for

a moment and then shook her head in disgust. Turning back

to the Ferret Tanj growled; "It seems patently obvious

that I'm completely incapable of filling out the forms

correctly; perhaps there would be someone there I could……

hire as a consultant to see that the paperwork got

completed…. expeditiously." The Ferret's face adopted a

look half way between a smile of triumph and a sneer; "Oh,

but of course; you'd be surprised how many completely

helpless Spacers we run across. I'll fax you the fee

schedule immediately." Tanj heard the warbling

"handshaking" tones coming from the comm console and nodded

to the Ferret and cut the connection. Rising from her

station chair, she padded over to look at the download. Her

eyes widened and she looked at Mark; "This is EXTORTIONATE!

And I should know, considering who I work for!" Telling the

computer to print out a copy, she growled, as she stalked

off to find her Master, to see if he wanted to stand the

additional expense of obtaining a landing permit sometime

this century.

Tanj studied the layout of Imroc's principle city as the

freighter descended through the atmosphere. It looked as if

"City Planning" was a completely foreign concept, the

streets small, and winding. As she lined up with the

docking bay they'd been assigned at the Starport, she got

the impression of a military base in a war zone. Their

docking bay was almost below the surface of the planet, the

bays well separated, spaced out, with thick concrete walls

between them. And laser batteries and ion cannon seemed to

be everywhere. Mark nodded in approval as she settled her

small freighter into the docking bay. Tanj sat there for

a minute and then powered down everything but one APU; she

had a strange feeling about this place and was NOT going to

leave her ship "cold."

The remote told her that the freighter was locked up tight;

that it would take a criminal with some VERY impressive

skills and tools to break into it; somehow though, on a

lawless world like this, she was sure though, that such

furrs existed. She jut hoped her carefully "scuffed and

dented" freighter wouldn't look appealing to them.

Following the others she examined the maze of tunnels and

check points that lead from the docking bay to the

Starport's terminal, thinking that there was no way anyone

"unauthorized" was ever going to make it to a ship in THIS

place…….

Lord Xylex chuckled at Mistress Im'Harta; the Skunk fem was

the matriarch of the most powerful of the crime families on

Imroc, and the power behind the "government." "So the good

will of the government of Elysium means nothing to you?"

The Skunkette just smiled sardonically back at him and shook

her head. Xylex shrugged and smiled; "Lady, your reputation

precedes you; I didn't think it would, but it never hurts to

try. Now, how much will it cost us, for you to, ah, see to

it that Imroc does its civic duty and assists us in

apprehending these vile criminals? Im'Harta smiled a little

wider and leaned forward; "Ah, you ARE practical after all;

I'm so happy to find that out, Lord Xylex. I was thinking

that for the raid itself, you'd need at least two hundred

police, and as they'd have to be hired on overtime, that

alone should come to at least 20,000 credits. Imperial

credits, of course. And there would be other costs as

well……" When Im'Harta finished, Xylex sat back in mock

horror, his eyes wide. Actually, the price she'd named was

within the estimates he'd been given, but he still wasn't

going to let her go without some dickering. "That’s simply

OUTRAGEOUS! Why, I couldn't pay more than 15,000 for the

police, and then only in local currency……..

Tanj looked around the hotel room and sniffed; "Urrrr,

Master, are you SURE you wouldn't have rather stayed on the

ship? This place may be a little more spacious, but the

ship's a LOT cleaner. And a lot more secure, too. The Lion

just shrugged; "I'm afraid that if anyone's looking for us,

the ship'd be too likely a place to look. And we can come

and go a lot freer here too. Don't worry, we won't be here

long; I suspect we'll be changing locations frequently."

Tanj just nodded.

They walked about 20 meters apart through the city. Tanj

was behind her Master, and Hinoki behind her, with Mark

bringing up the rear. Fred, a Leopard from Operations, was

leading the way, pulling "point." As they moved through the

city, Tanj took in the overall look of decay. There were

burned out buildings here and there. Handbills and garish

advertisements seemed to be pasted over any vertical

surface, and graffiti covered most of that. What furrs were

around were mostly harried looking, in threadbare clothes,

hurrying somewhere, not meeting anyone's eyes. Occasionally

a knot of well dressed furrs were seen, the one in the

center of the knot obviously being guarded by the others.

And occasionally well armed, well dressed furrs were seen;

Tanj got the impression that these were the enforcers of

the crime families that ran the place. And there were no

police to be seen. Tanj had gotten the impression that

this was a fairly oppressive government, and she expected a

much larger police presence…. If they were there, they

weren't visible. Tanj kept her paw on the small blaster

in her coat pocket and tried to look in all directions at

once, thinking that in its own way, this place was as bad as

Elysium.

After about a twenty minute walk, they came to a small

restaurant. Tanj watched the Lion enter in some

confusion, as the place didn't match either the description,

or the address of the place she thought the meeting was

supposed to be held at. As she entered the restaurant, she

caught sight of a moderately well dressed coyote pointing at

a door at the back of the room. Cautiously she padded

across the dining room and entered the back room. There,

most of the Rebel leaders were gathered, the Lion already

talking to Cromwell in one corner. Padding over to him,

Tanj stood on tiptoes to whisper in his ear; "I'll see to

external security; call me if you need me." He nodded and

returned to his conversation.

The restaurant was full of the Rebel's security; Tanj was

sure of it, although she asked no questions. Covertly she

tried to memorize each face, as she sipped her fifth cup of

coffee. She and Hinoki, and some of the others, by wordless

agreement, were taking turns taking "walks" around the

building, around the block, watching for trouble. They'd

been there for about three hours when a mangy looking rat

scurried in through the front door and up to the coyote;

they whispered for a moment, the coyote's eyes going wide.

Then the Coyote was through the door, and into the meeting

room. Moments later, furrs started to emerge, some slipping

out the back door in ones and twos, some exiting the front

door, and others descending into the basement, to what

Tanj was confident was some sort of subterranean escape

route. The Lion padded over to Tanj and whispered; "The

place we were SUPPOSED to meet at, until the last minute

change, has just been raided by a massive force of Imroc

police. Somebody talked. We're going to head for the

Starport and hopefully we can get off-planet before they

sort out what went wrong.

The Brethren left the restaurant in a cab, moving as a

group. They were about three blocks from the restaurant

when three heavily armored police cruisers went screaming

past in the other direction. The Lion just smiled.

Abandoning their gear in the hotel, they had the cab drop

them off about two blocks from the Starport, at a commuter

light rail station. Tanj headed for the Starport

offices, to do whatever was required to obtain liftoff

clearance, while the others headed for the ship.

Mark stiffened and slowed as they walked towards the ship;

then, speeding up, he grabbed the Lion; "Boss, we got a

problem. There's a small party waiting for us at the ship,

and a larger one closing in from behind us." The Lion

frowned lightly and looked at him for a moment, then growled

and nodded. Pulling a nerve scrambler from an inside

pocket, he nodded to the group, and they started trotting

towards their ship.

Mark winced as a blaster bolt sizzled over his head. Even

with their opponents shooting wildly at nightmare images and

ignoring the real targets, there WAS still a finite chance

that they'd get lucky if given the time. Thankfully, the

pirates were showing the temperament that is usually

associated with those in their profession, attacking

ruthlessly, and efficiently. Within moments the party of

Imroc police that had been waiting at their ship were either

dead, or unconscious, and they were dashing for the airlock.

The Lion waited until everyone was through, before sealing

the airlock and dashing for the flight deck. Mark followed

him, an ear twitching in surprise when the Lion sat down at

the offensive weapons console, instead of the pilot's seat,

or Engineering. Mark dropped into the pilot's chair, and

used the controls there to bring up the mains, thankful for

Tanj's foresight in leaving an APU running. He'd just

channeled some of the power to weapons when the Lion cut

loose with the port disruptor battery, sending masonry

flying, causing the roof to the tunnel to collapse on top of

the reinforcements that were just arriving. Looking over at

Mark, he sighed; "Yeah, I know; she'll just have to do the

best she can; if we wait, we'll all be dead. Get us out of

here."

Henrik smiled at the sexy Cheetah on the other side of the

counter. Furrs wanting to leave Imroc suddenly were not

unusual; many times business deals went sour, or

disagreements turned violent. Sometimes the place just

spooked them; he didn't care why. It just meant more bribes

for him. This one, though…. It'd been a LONG time since

he'd gotten laid, and the rat was thinking about offering

her a lower "exit tax" for some nookie in return. He

watched her fill out the forms as he daydreamed about

fucking her; then his reverie was interrupted by alarms

sounding. Turning from the counter, he looked at the

security monitor, his eyes widening as a small freighter

rose from its docking bay, ruby light flashing out to spear

several of the nearby laser turrets. As the small ship

climbed at an unusually high rate of acceleration it spewed

clouds of chaff, decoys, and missiles, the latter taking out

fire control radars, traffic control radars, and such.

Henrik winced as one missile struck the heavily armored

flight control center with a concussion that made the floor

jump underneath him. Then suddenly it dawned on him…. The

docking bay the freighter had emerged from…. Wasn't that the

one the Cheetah had designated on her form? Turning to look

at her, his paw reaching for the blaster he kept under the

counter, he blinked finding the room empty.

Tanj forced herself to keep her pace sedate as she left

the Starport, doing as little as possible to attract

attention. She didn't know what had happened at the docking

bay, but she was sure they wouldn't have left without her

unless the situation was truly grim. Now she had to find a

place to hide until they could come back for her. Slipping

into an alleyway, she started to run, sprinting fast in a

direction she hoped was well away from the way they'd come

into the Starport……

Mark took a moment to touch Tanj's mind as the freighter

cleared the atmosphere, noticing that she was clear for the

moment. That would have to be good enough for now…...

Settling back into the Pilot's chair, concentrating on his

flying, preparing to deal with the now enraged Imroc vessels

in near-planetary space.

Henrik looked at the Police and sneered; THEY weren't the

ones to worry about. It was the Family Enforcer standing

quietly behind them that he talked to when he spoke; "Yeah,

it was the sexy Cheetah bitch. She was listed as the

Captain of that tub that blasted its way out of here. She

was in here trying to file the papers for clearance when all

Hell broke loose. By the time I'd turned around she was

gone. But I think you'll be pleased to know that when she

went to pay her fees, I got the ID number off her credit

chit…. The paperwork show a good set of pawprints, and I

got a good scan of her on the security cameras too." The

Family Enforcer, a Wolf, just grinned, showing fangs.

Tanj had finally caught her breath. She'd found a cab

and had taken it to the North. Then she'd caught public

transport to the East. And now she was walking through the

streets of one of the middle class neighborhoods, looking

for a place to stay. She had the clothes on her back, her

compact blaster, three different credit chips, two separate

I.D.'s, and the contact names for the locals that the Lion

had talked to in helping to set up the meeting. She also

had the name and address of one of her own local "field

agents," although she wasn't sure just how useful that might

be. What she wanted to do first was to find a place to "lay

low" for a while. Stopping at a pharmacy, she purchased a

do-it-yourself fur dye kit and a fur trimmer. Half an hour

later, she was registered at a cheap hotel, using one of her

fake I.D.'s and one of her other credit chips. The first

one she'd been using was the one she'd expected to pay the

launch permit bribes with, and carried the most credit;

she'd used that for the cab, but as she'd been about to

board the public transport, she'd suddenly wondered if it

was traceable. If it was, the Police knew about it, from

the Starport office, and she'd switched to one of her other

ones.

In her room, Tanj turned on the all-news station as she

stripped down to just her fur. She would have preferred to

have made herself over as an Ocelot, or a Serval, or even as

a Leopard, but her other I.D.'s wouldn't support so radical

a change. Standing in the chipped and stained tub, she

watched herself in the mirror as she played connect-the-

dots, doing her best to transform herself into a "King

Cheetah." It wasn't much of a change, but it was the best

she could do at the moment. Later as she stood in the

middle of her room, waiting for the dye to dry, she watched

the report on her ship blasting its way from the Starport.

At the end of the report they showed a grainy picture of

her, obviously taken from a security camera, announcing that

she was an "Enemy of the People," and that a reward of 5,000

credits had been placed on her head. Tanj's first

impression was "that’s ALL?" but then she realized that to

the wretches on this planet, that might be a considerable

sum.

Eventually, her stomach started rumbling, and Tanj

decided that she needed to go find something to eat.

Dressing, she set a few telltales around the room, so she'd

know if it had been disturbed, and leaving the old-style TV

on, slipped from the room. She was careful to stay out of

view of the few surveillance cameras as she snuck out of the

building's single exit, waiting until the desk clerk was

looking the other way before slipping out. She went at

least two blocks before throwing the remnants of the fur dye

kit into a public trash receptacle. Down the street, she

found a small pub, and finding a table in the corner where

she could watch the door, she ordered a beer and a sandwich.

As she waited for her meal, she watched the old-style

Television over the bar. This place didn't seem to either

have, or want to invest in holographic projection. The flat

image showed some sort of a game show, with some rather

bizarre twists. Nude contestants ran through mazes, pursued

by "hunters." When one of the hunters caught up with one of

the contestants, there was a fight, sometimes to the death.

Sometimes, however, male hunters merely raped the female

contestants, and then bound them, to lead the defeated

player off. On occasion, contestants would have to

manipulate strange devices, to gain passage to the next

portion of the maze. Often this required some sort of

autoerotic sexual activity. As she watched she came to the

conclusion that luck, as much as skill was required. In a

dark, grim way, she found it somewhat interesting, but then

her attention was distracted by the arrival of her food.

Mark sighed and relaxed as they made their first jump, and

then got up to fetch himself a badly-needed cup of coffee.

Imroc hadn't really had any ships well placed to pursue

them, and he was sure their task of interception was

tremendously complicated when the small freighter cloaked,

something not even commonly seen in Imperial Fleet ships.

There had been no defenses at the jump point that they

hadn't been able to handle, and now, well, pursuit was

unlikely. As he he poured the milk, he paused for a few

moments to intently study the swirling patterns in the cup;

then he nodded in satisfaction and stirred. Returning to

his seat, he noticed that the Lion had shifted from the

offensive weapons station to the Comm console. He listened

quietly as the Lion encoded a message for the Brethren,

directing them to start efforts to locate Tanj on the

Planet. His logic was obvious. Tanj was the deputy

director of intelligence, and in addition to knowing all of

the Brethren's operations, she also knew most of their field

agents. If she was taken, and thoroughly interrogated,

they'd be in a world of hurt. It was only good business to

do whatever it took to get her back….. or to see that she

never told anyone anything. Mark frowned a little inwardly

at that idea, but knew better than to argue loudly against

it. After outlining his reasons, the Lion instructed Ben to

dispatch one of the Brethren's capital ships to stand off

Imroc, cloaked, until she could be located. They'd then

either have to go down and get her, either by bribery, or by

force, or they'd have to see that she was dead. As he

finished encoding the message, the Lion turned for a moment

to give Mark an almost apologetic look. The Mouse shrugged

and smiled a little; "You know, I think you're STILL

underestimating her resourcefulness. Care for a bet? I

have a couple hundred credits that say she's going to make

it off Imroc all by herself…" The Lion just stared out the

main viewport for a minute and then shook his head no.

Wordlessly, he hit the transmit key.

She was sitting there, quietly munching on her meal when

two police cruisers went past in the direction of the hotel,

lights flashing but sirens off. Finishing her meal, she

drained her glass, and paid the barkeep, before slipping out

the back door. A quick look around the corner confirmed her

worst fears; the cruisers she'd seen with several others

were stopped outside her hotel. Ducking back into the

alley, Tanj quietly slipped away.

The ATM was lit, and Tanj was sure there was a security

camera, but there was a public transport station nearby, and

Tanj thought she could make good her escape before the

police showed up. Plugging in the credit chip and ID she'd

used at the hotel, she directed the ATM to put some of the

credit from that chip onto three new chips. She hoped in

this process that she would have credit chips with new ID

numbers, chips that she could use without as much risk, her

one transaction buried in thousands of others….. However,

after a minute, she realized that the machine was not

functioning correctly. Could it have identified her chip's

number that quickly and frozen her transaction? Or was the

machine just some sort of automated rip-off that would

swallow her credit, leaving her to apply to some distant

business office for her refund…... After another minute,

Tanj casually turned and strolled towards the public

transport station; as soon as she thought she was outside

the range of the ATM's security camera she turned and found

a good hiding place a half a block away, Sure enough, a

Police cruiser pulled up a few minutes later, one officer

sprinting for the public transport station, the other going

to the machine to retrieve the ID and credit chip from the

machine after entering some sort of authorization code.

Tanj sighed and waited until they'd departed, before

leaving her hiding place. She was now down to one ID, and

one useable credit chip. How had they spotted the other ID

so quickly? Or were they just checking out every female

cheetah on the planet?

The bar was crowded, and Tanj slipped carefully inside.

She felt like she'd walked across half the city, and she

wanted a place to rest. Perhaps the crowded bar would offer

some anonymity. Sitting at the bar, sipping her beer

carefully she watched the TV, waiting for the news bulletin.

That game show was on again; it seemed to be popular here……

she watched as a team of a female Jaguar, and a male Squirel

worked their way through a maze, the camera cutting

periodically to two large wolves obviously waiting in

ambush. Finally the contestants made it through the maze;

they had relieved looks, as if their worst problems were

behind them. Then the trap was sprung; the Squirrel went

down fast, his throat laid open by the knife of one of the

Wolves. The lady Jaguar did a good job of evading the other

Wolf's knife, getting in a few good kicks, until the other

one came up behind her, to jab his knife into her back. As

she collapsed, a look of anguish on her face, blood pooling

at her feet, the announcer came on and said what a pity it

was; they were only one gate away from the grand prize of

ten million credits! And they'd showed such promise too…….

As Tanj listened to the announcer drone on, she decided

she could understand how furrs on this benighted planet

could be attracted to risk life and limb in such a contest;

that was enough money for someone to live even here in

style… or buy passage off world. As the show ended, there

was the news bulletin she'd been waiting for, with a

slightly better picture of her. As she watched, the bear

next to her turned and looked at her drunkenly; "Hey, isn't

that you?" Tanj could see the bartender look her way.

Turning to look at the Bear, she snorted; "Damn, I wish I

looked that good. It might almost be worth being wanted to

have a body like that." The Bear looked at her and then

laughed and nodded. From the corner of her eye, Tanj

could see the Bartender look from her to the picture and

back, and then shake his head, as if kissing the reward

money goodbye. Her King Cheetah dye job seemed to have

worked. Never the less, Tanj finished her drink and

departed, heading back out into the cold night.

The building was abandoned, and as near as she could tell,

deserted. She picked a room in the front, the windows long

since shattered. It had a good view, though, and an easy

escape path out the back. As she settled down, pulling her

coat tighter around her, she wondered if the police used

infra-red to find fugitives in abandoned buildings…. Or were

there too many homeless in this city for that to work? She

needed to tap into the underground; every planet had one.

She had to find those that would help her "launder" what

money she had left; someone that could provide a fake ID.

Places to hide. Places to find food without worrying. All

it would take was some patience. She knew she could do it.

Xylex looked at Mistress Im'Harta and growled; "Madam, your

police forces are amazingly incompetent. You've captured

only a handful of the Rebel scum, and only then as they

tried to make their way off-planet. Most of them have

slipped through your fingers completely!" Im'Harta

shrugged; "well, if you'd given me the correct location of

their meeting, it wouldn't have been a problem. Besides,

there are still a few on the planet, and we'll get them for

you. We're closing in on a certain female Cheetah even as

we speak." Xylex growled and turned away, as if to leave,

but then stopped. Turning back he growled; "Female

Cheetah?" The skunk nodded; "Yes, seems she was the Captain

of a small freighter that seems to have brought one of the

contingents of Rebels to the meeting. She was separated

from the rest of her group when my police closed in. The

freighter had….. unexpected firepower and made good its

escape. At great cost to Imroc, and to me, I might add.

She's still on the planet; we've almost caught her twice,

but she's proving to be a bit of trouble." Xylex frowned

again; "do you have a picture?" Im'Harta shrugged and

nodded, turning to fetch a picture from a file on her desk.

As if scenting blood, she purrred; "Do you know her? Does

she mean anything to you?" Xylex's eyes widened at the

sight of Tanj and he growled low in his throat; "Oh, yes.

Yes she does. 50,000 credits for her, but only if you take

her alive. I have special plans for this one. Special,

painful plans……" Im'Harta just nodded and smiled.

The bar was a squalid little place near the Starport. The

neighborhood was grim, one of the poorer ones, but it was in

a good position to catch spacers on leave from their ships,

what ones were foolish enough to venture into town. Tanj

was looking a little rumpled, a little dirty, and a little

worn, but that only let her fit in with the rest of the

furrs in that part of town. To her amazement, the bar was

open before lunch, and as she walked through the door, the

smells of cooking greeted her. She found a seat at a table

in a corner and sat there sullenly watching the door,

waiting for her contact to show herself.

The scantily clad Tigress walked up to her table and glared

down at Tanj; "you can't sit there." Tanj blinked;

"Uh, why not?" The Tigress grinned, showing fangs; she was

easily a head taller than Tanj, and more well muscled

than well padded; she seemed to be wearing nothing but a

male's white dress shirt, the buttons straining across her

bust, its shirttails barely preserving her modesty. Tanj

blinked at her wondering if this fierce creature might be

her contact, reputed to be a Tigress, but then her eyes

locked onto the slave's collar and she realized that this

was merely the "help." The Tigress' grin was a bit of a

challenge, but while full of fangs, there didn't seem to be

anything personal in it; Tanj was about to ask WHY she

couldn't sit there, when a lady skunk stuck her head out of

the kitchen, to growl; "KATJA! Quit scaring the customers!

Kittiara will not be pleased!" The Tigress turned her head

to growl in the general direction of the kitchen, but the

skunkette had already returned to her work. Turning back to

Tanj, the Tigress cast a quick glance at the door and

made a shoo-ing motion; "That’s Statler and Waldorf's table.

Its reserved. Now be a good girl and scoot over a table and

I'll see what I can rustle you up for Breakfast. You're

looking hungry." As her grin softened the Tigress chuckled;

"Even for a Cheetah….."

Tanj sighed and shifted as bidden. The Tigress,

satisfied, departed towards the kitchen without asking what

Tanj wanted to eat, but shortly she was back with a

rather eclectic breakfast; sausages, and hotcakes, and

applesauce in place of syrup, and some sort of soupy white

stuff, and a pot of strong black coffee. Tanj ate

slowly, glad that the TV that the bar possessed either

wasn't on or more likely, by the look of it, wasn't working.

After a bit, an elderly rabbit wandered in, moving stiffly

to take his seat where Tanj had originally sat. After a

moment, the Tigress brought him a plate, without a word

being said; still, the way she smiled at him, Tanj could

tell she was fond of him. Then the Tigress set a second

plate at the table in the corner. Tanj was beginning to

wonder if the Rabbit could eat that much, but then an

elderly fox wandered in, to take the other chair by the

wall. Without a word, he passed part of his newspaper to

the Rabbit and then looking at the folded remnant, started

to eat. Tanj watched the curious pair covertly, and

tried to keep an eye on the door as well.

She was on her third cup of coffee when the other Tigress

entered. This one was a little older, a little taller, and

a little less muscular. And she was definitely the bar's

owner; the way she swept the place with her gaze marked her

as that. Tanj watched her over her coffee cup, until

their gazes met. Tanj nodded slowly, still watching.

The Tigress took another look around the bar, obviously

checking on the customers, and on her slave, and then padded

over to Tanj, to take a seat across the small table from

her. "Do we know each other?" she growled softly. Tanj

smiled and nodded; "In a manner of speaking, we do. You

send me little snippets of information from time to time and

I see that you're compensated for them. The tigress smiled;

"With all due respect, I send information to a number of

different places, a number of different furrs………. As you

might expect, its difficult making ends meet on Imroc, and I

have to do what I can." Tanj nodded slowly; "The

difficulties of living here have of late become quite

apparent to me, and I understand. To clarify, I'm called

Tanj; I'm with the Brethren." Whatever effect Tanj

had hoped that statement might have seemed to fall flat, as

the Tigress just smiled and nodded; "Ah, yes, the Pirates.

I won't ask what brings you to Imroc, but I wonder if you

know you've got quite a price on your head?" Tanj smiled

and sipped her coffee; "Yes, 5,000 credits…." The Tigress

laughed; "That, Dear, was yesterday; today its up to 50,000

credits." Tanj's eyes widened "Oh, it seems someone has

decided you're MUCH more valuable than they originally

thought" the Tigress grinned; "But don't worry; no one here

will turn you in." The Tigress chuckled and cast a glance

over her shoulder at the elderly pair at the table in the

corner; the rabbit seemed to be asleep, his chair tilted

back, his mouth hanging open, but the fox smiled coldly and

nodded.

Tanj sighed; "well, as you might expect, I'm in some

small difficulty. I've got credits, and plenty of them, but

the Police seem to have the ID number of my credit chip, and

I'm having trouble using it….." The Tigress nodded; "Oh,

they're very good about that here. Very efficient when it

comes to money. But I think I know someone who might be

able to fix that. For a rather hefty fee, of course…."

Tanj nodded; "Of course; I know how it works. I've only

got one workable ID left; do you think you could find

someone who might be able to provide me with another?"

Again the Tigress smiled and nodded. Tanj sighed; "I got

separated from my group; they had to leave rather suddenly

I'm afraid. But I have no doubt they'll be back for me; all

I have to do is wait……" The Tigress didn't comment on that,

but looked away, towards the door. "Tell you what" she

rumbled; "take Room No.4. Its vacant at the moment. Get

some sleep. I'll put out some feelers and see who I can

turn up to help you with the credit chips and the ID. Katja

will get you the key." With that, the Tigress rose, to padd

across the bar, to talk quietly to another customer.

Tanj finished her coffee and rose, padding towards the

back of the bar, and the short hallway there. The other

tigress stuck her head out from the kitchen, where she

seemed to be picking up another food order, to hand Tanj,

unbidden, an unmarked key.

Tanj found the room easily; there weren't that many on

the short corridor leading to the bar's back door. The door

had an armored look, and the lock was robust and complex,

but the key opened it easily. The room was miniscule,

little more than a rumpled, well-worn bed, with an even

tinier water closet attached. Tanj relieved herself and

then flopped down on the bed, catching the scents of several

different furrs as she did so. Before she knew it, she was

asleep.

Tanj heard the lock snick and was awake in an instant;

however she'd gotten all tangled up in the bedclothes and

was still wrestling with them when the slave Tigress slipped

through the door. "Shush! Its OK, its just me!" she

growled softly; "Mistress has a few furrs she thinks you

should meet, and she sent me to get you." Tanj nodded

and picked up her coat, rising to follow the scantily clad

Tigress.

The Bar's owner was sitting at a table with an elderly

Ferret and a muscular Black Panther. The Ferret's fur was

going gray with age, and he wore old fashioned glasses; the

Panther was of middle age and looked powerful and self-

confident. Neither were introduced. The Ferret spoke

first; "Let me see the ID you're currently using." Tanj

handed it to him with a glance at the Tigress, but she only

nodded. The Ferret gave the ID a cursory glance, turning it

over in his paws. "Shoddy work. I'd ask where you got

this, but it doesn't matter. It doesn't have the imprint

stripe they added five months ago, and the magnetic stripe's

in the wrong spot. Must be off by three millimeters! No

wonder you're having such trouble." Raising his glance to

look at her critically, he sighed; "A Serval I think. A

good fur cut and a dye job, and you could pass as a Serval,

with the proper ID. I can have the ID to you in twenty

hours, but it'll cost you 10,000." Tanj nodded and

extracted her credit chip, the one she'd used at the

Starport. Holding it up, she looked at the Panther; "This

has more than enough; the problem is they know its ID

number. Can you do something to help me with that?" The

Panther took the chip from her fingers, and plugged it into

a portable device; he looked at it for a moment and

whistled; "that’s a considerable amount of credit, but no,

I'm afraid this one's too hot to touch. You wouldn't

believe the effort they have underway to find you right now.

And there just isn't enough credit on this chip to make me

risk it. Sorry." Without another word, the Panther handed

the chip back, rose and headed for the door, the Tigress'

eyes narrowing as she watched him leave.

Tanj sighed and produced her other chip; "This one has

enough to cover the ID, but not much more; if I use it for

that, I'll be just about broke." The Ferret nodded; "A

difficult choice. I'll be at the bar; let me know what you

want to do." With that he rose and padded over to the bar,

to sit directly across from the slave Tigress who was now

tending bar.

The bar's owner looked at Tanj and sighed; "I'll help you

as much as I can, on the assumption that if you ever make it

home you'll compensate me, but my resources are limited.

Even with a good ID, it wouldn't be prudent for you to stay

here more than a few days…." Her gaze flicked to the

doorway; "And I wonder how prudent that would be too….. I've

always found Bruno to be trustworthy, but the price they

have on your head would tempt anyone on this planet….."

Tanj nodded; "I think I'll invest in that ID; if I have

to, I can always resort to robbery to try and get money……"

The Tigress just smiled and nodded; "not easy on this

planet; those that are easy targets have little and those

that have something worth stealing are well defended. But

such tactics are NOT uncommon here…."

Tanj rose to padd over to the Ferret; she handed him her

credit chip, and he nodded and departed through the back

door. As he left the Tigress behind the bar turned to coax

the TV to life, and Tanj again found herself watching

that bizarre game show. "Tell me about that" she growled at

the slave. The Tigress just shrugged; "Its barbaric, and

has everything that appeals to the folks on this planet;

sex, violence, luck, and the chance to win it all." Tanj

watched the TV for a moment, as a female wolf wildly humped

some sort of a dildo attached to a complex machine,

obviously trying to get the machine to do something, and

then she looked back at the slave; "Win it all? What could

they possibly offer to make furrs do things like that?" The

slave smiled; "Oh, they offer just about everything. Slaves

are freed, crimes are pardoned, and you win enough money to

live in style and security for the rest of your life. You

get fame, and fortune, and freedom. What more could a

desperate furr want?" Tanj looked at the Tigress, her

eyes locking on her collar; she then swept the rather dismal

bar with a glance, and then turned back to the Tigress; "you

ever think about trying it?" The slave laughed, and shook

her head no; "Believe it or not, I'm fairly happy here. Of

course, that may come from not ever having known anything

better, but Mistress treats me pretty well (even if the cook

doesn't), and I'm a LOT better off than many…… No, I've not

been seriously tempted. But many are."

Tanj was sipping a beer, idly watching the game, just

killing time waiting for the Ferret to return with her ID,

when there was a noise outside. It didn't sound like much,

in retrospect, perhaps a groundcar stopping outside, but it

seemed to galvanize the bar to action. The Slave Tigress

exchanged glaces with the Bar's owner, and then growled and

leapt over the bar to GRAB Tanj and drag her towards the

back. The odd pair of old-timers, the ones Katja had called

"Statler" and "Waldorf," the ones that seemed to spend every

waking moment at the corner table, seemed to have vanished

into thin air. As the Tigress pulled her through an

unmarked door, Tanj could hear the bar's owner saying;

"Why good evening, Officers……." And then the door was closed

behind her, the slave pulling her through a maze of pipe

filled spaces, and dirty passageways. A hidden door was

opened and a truly foul stench assaulted Tanj's nostrils.

"This is the sewer" the slave whispered; "I know its grim,

but follow it for two hundred paces that way, on this side,

and there will be a ladder to an access port. It'll let you

out behind an abandoned building; hide there, and I'll come

for you later!" And then the door was closed, leaving

Tanj in the dark. With a sigh, she stepped into the

slowly flowing stream of sewage, being careful to count her

paces. As she struggled through the dark, she wondered if

the Tigress had meant paces for someone Tiger sized, or

Cheetah sized?

Tanj was gagging from the stench when she reached two

hundred. She fumbled around in the slime covered walls, and

failed to find anything resembling the rungs of a ladder.

Carefully she paced another dozen paces in the direction

she'd been going, and still failed to find a ladder.

Retracing her steps she had gone eleven paces, and was

coming close to panic, when her paw felt a recess in the

wall. The ladder was cut into the concrete wall, and

carefully she started to climb.

The hatch at the top of the ladder opened with a scream of

corroded, tortured hinges, and Tanj was instantly

concerned that half the city had heard her. Slithering from

the hatch, she sprinted for the wall of the alley. The

sewer had been noxious, but at least it had been warm; now,

dripping with…. Well, it was better not to think of what she

was dripping with, she was cold. Freezing cold. Moving

quickly she headed for the abandoned building where the

Tigress slave said she'd meet her later.

Tanj crouched at the third floor window, watching the

alleyway where she'd emerged from the sewer. She'd left a

trail, she was sure, from the hatch to the building, and was

in a way, planning on that. She'd set an ambush.

It was in the small hours of the morning, when the three

slunk into the alley. They wore civilian clothes, but moved

like assassins. Tanj watched them find the hatch, and

then they were moving towards the abandoned building she hid

in. There was only one surviving stairwell, and as they

started up towards the second floor, Tanj let go of the

cement block. It fell, swinging on the length of firehose

she'd found in a shattered stairwell cabinet. It swung

almost silently, until it contacted the back of the rearmost

assassin's head with a sickening crunch. Tanj didn't

hang around to see how his comrades reacted; she was already

moving to her fallback position. In this case her fallback

position was out of sight, TOWARDS the head of the stairs,

where the assassins were headed. The first one had his head

turned, to look towards where Tanj had been, as he crept

to the head of the stairs. The sharp, triangular piece of

glass, its base wrapped in a rag found his throat as Tanj

lunged from the shadows, and as his body spasmed, he went

over backwards, colliding with his partner. Tanj dashed

back, towards yet another prepared position. As she dashed,

she was surprised that no shots pursued her.

As bad as she smelled, Tanj's nose was of no help to her;

on the other hand, she was sure she could easily be tracked

by her own stench. She was depending on that, circling

around through several shattered walls, to lay in wait by

her own trail. Sure enough, after a minute or two, the

other assassin crept into view following her trail. Holding

her breath, she waited for him to pass…. But at the last

second he paused and looked about, his nose wrinkling.

Tanj was about to retreat, her only remaing weapons being

her fangs and claws…. And the pocket blaster. The latter

would kill him, but it was anything but silent. She would

prefer to take him unawares… but the coyote's eyes widened

and he growled, turning to charge her, a strange device in

each paw. Tanj sighed and sighted, and squeezed off a

shot. It took him in the base of the throat, all but

decapitating him. And then it was quiet.

Tanj crept forward to search him. There was a cell

phone, and a credit chip, but no identification. The two

weapons looked like white police batons, but radiated a

chilling cold, and Tanj frowned. They LOOKED like some

sort of non-lethal weapon, something that would subdue an

opponent, as opposed to killing them. Unable to find an

"off" switch, she left them with him, and went to find his

comrades. They too carried weapons, one a stunner, and the

other a set of nunchucks. They had cell phones and credit

chips, and nothing else. Tanj stashed the bodies in a

closet that still had a door, taking none of their

possessions, fearing that they might contain means of

tracing her, and slunk out into the alleyway, looking for a

place of concealment from which she could watch the

building. The slave Tigress might still come……

It was almost light when Tanj saw her. The Tigress was

wrapped in a nondescript cloak, and was moving slowly down

the sidewalk, limping. Looking both ways, Tanj waited

until she'd passed and then moved out from behind the

dumpster she'd been crouched behind, to take place beside

her. The Tigress scarcely showed any surprise, and the two

angled away from the deserted building, moving down a side

street in the early morning still.

"Bruno sold us out" the Tigress growled. He didn't send the

Police to the bar, though; he sent them to the Ferret's

place. He's dead, I'm afraid, and your credit chip's gone.

THEN they came by the bar. Mistress is under arrest but

they'll let her go in a bit; she's not the one they're

after, and we both have a….. "working relationship" with the

constabulary." And they'll let her go to reopen the bar, in

the hopes you'll be foolish enough to go back there.

Tanj looked up at the Tigress; "How come they let you go?

How do you know you weren't followed?" The Tigress

chuckled; "Oh, they hold the opinion that no slave could

possibly know anything worthwhile. They went through the

motions, though; some of them LIKE to "interrogate" furrs…….

But I didn't tell them anything. I'll tell you about it

some day. Oh, if it helps, "Statler" and "Waldorf" were

particularly pissed at Bruno and the Cops for killing the

Ferret. They're already plotting their revenge." "Those

old geezers?" Tanj gaped; "they didn't look capable of

hurting a fly!" Katja chuckled and then coughed; "Looks can

be deceiving; remember the Pan-Celgec insurrection, back

about thirty years ago? They each led a commando unit, on

opposite sides. Each was infamous, and they found that

after the revolt was put down, neither could easily settle

down. They wound up here, where no one knows them, and no

one cares. Seems they've got more in common with each other

than with most others. Oh, their names aren't "Statler" and

"Waldorf", I just call them that after the characters in a

cub's show. Don't worry, they're still completely capable

of handling the job…..

As they came to a corner, Tanj stopped and looked up at

the Tigress. "I'm sorry I caused you and your Mistress

problems. It seems that I'm MUCH more wanted than I thought

I'd be. The thugs that tracked me to the abandoned building

were trying to capture me, not kill me. That puts a whole

different complexion on the situation……" The Tigress looked

down at the Cheetah; "What are you going to do? On second

thought, perhaps you shouldn't tell me." Tanj grinned;

"I'm out of money, my ID's probably no good anymore, and it

seems the Police want to question me BAD. There are things

I know that I dare not let anyone find out. I think I'll do

my best to hide out, for as long as I can, but then, if they

come for me, I'll have to kill myself. It’s the only way to

protect my friends back home……" The Tigress nodded, and

started to turn away. After a moment she turned back;

"there might be another way, if you're brave and

determined……. There's always the Game. Doesn't matter who

wants you, or for what; win that, and you can leave with no

questions. On the other hand, if you fail, odds are you'll

be dead anyway, and it won't be suicide. That in its own

right might be worth something……."

Tanj looked down the street at a single ground car moving

away from them, and wondered how long it would be before a

police car went by. Looking back at the Tigress, she

nodded; "I'll keep it in mind; if I decide to try it, what

do I do?" The Tigress turned to point towards the tallest

building in the center part of the city; "That’s the

broadcast center. On the west side, there's a door for

contestants. Just make it through that door, and you're on

your way. Tanj nodded and gave a small wave and turned

to padd off down the Street.

Katja watched the small figure go, and sighed. If she'd had

any credit left, from tips and such, she would have given it

to her; but it had taken everything she had to buy off the

cops; that and more…… still, she was used to them "taking

things out in trade…." Turning, she hurried back towards

the bar; there was a lot of cleaning up to do, and they were

sure to have a grim crowd tonight……

As she walked won the street, Tanj tried to order her

priorities. First step was to get clean. Then, she wanted

to put some distance between the Tigress' bar and herself.

Then she wanted to try some of the local contacts. She

considered this a bit risky, but she was fast running out of

options. For the first requirement she found at a transport

vehicle service stop; they rented showers to the long haul

truckers, and the Cheetah had just enough pocket change to

cover the cost. The clerk never even asked for an ID; one

whiff, and he just collected her coins and waved her towards

the showers. Tanj delighted in the hot water; after she

washed herself thoroughly, sighing as her fur dye job ran

down the drain, she just stood under the hot water until the

timer ran out and the water stopped. The towel was a bit

worn, but still soft and fluffy and she dried herself as

thoroughly as possible, not having the extra change for the

furr dryer. Still damp, she left the service stop, walking

towards the nearest public transport stop. She'd thought

for a moment about trying to find a trucker, someone she

could exchange sex with for a ride, for some distance from

this place. But then she thought the reward on her would be

too great a temptation……. You could buy a lot of sex for

50,000 credits…… No, she needed someone with a philosophy

that would let them reject the reward; someone idealistic

enough to adhere to a cause despite other temptations.

She'd start with the contacts the Rebels had used to set up

the meeting……

The Public transport was very inexpensive, requiring only a

few coins; but it DID require an ID. Tanj waited

patiently by the entrance, as if waiting to meet a friend,

and watched the furrs as they entered. Her pickpocket

skills weren't all that good but she thought she could get

away with what she had in mind….. There, a young raccoon

with a long overcoat; he fished in his left hand pocket for

some change…. Tanj brushed against him, and with a

"sorry," turned the corner to walk slowly away. Apparently

he hadn't noticed as there was no pursuit, and for her

efforts, Tanj was rewarded with several credits in coins.

More than enough for the transport system and for a public

comm terminal. After a suitable time, she turned and padded

back towards the public transport station.

Tanj crossed her fingers as she inserted her last ID into

the slot. The reader sat there for a moment and then a red

light started to flash. Tanj didn't even wait; she gave

the locked grill covering the walkway to the train platform

a sour look and turned and sprinted off as fast as she

could. This time it was much sooner before she heard the

police sirens, but she was able to hide behind a parked car

as the first one went past, and then behind a dumpster as

the next one screamed past. Again, she ran for her life.

It was several hours later when Tanj felt confident

enough that she'd shaken her pursuers to risk making a comm

call. The first contact she called took one look at her and

broke the connection without saying a word. Tanj blinked

and walked for a half an hour to another bank of public comm

terminals before trying her next call. The first didn't

answer. The second was answered by someone obviously NOT

her contact, and Tanj mumbled something about a wrong

number before breaking the connection. Again she trekked to

a different set of comm terminals before placing her final

call. This contact at least gave her the decency of a few

minutes conversation; the Fox looked at her, his eyes

widening; "YOU! No, you can't do this! They might track

it! I can't help you; you're much too hot! I'm sorry, but

my own situation is precarious as it is!" Tanj sighed;

"Any advice?" The Fox shook his head; "no, none at all, I'm

afraid. If I get the chance, I'll pass word to the Blues

that you're still alive and free, but there's nothing else I

dare do!" And with that, he broke the connection.

Tanj sighed and walked away from the public comm. She'd

been afraid that would be the answer she'd get. As she

wandered in the gathering gloom of another cold night,

Tanj wondered what to try next.

The abandoned building had a basement, and that was

fractionally warmer than the floors above. The risk of

being trapped was greater, but the risk of being detected by

infra-red was lower. Tanj tried to find a comfortable

position, trying to get some sleep. She swore that if she

ever got out of this she'd do everything she could to keep

from getting into a fix like this again, everything she

could to keep from being this COLD again. As the night

passed slowly, she tried to formulate a plan….. her thoughts

ran from a direct assault on some policemen, seeking better

weapons, to breaking into someone's house, seeking credits,

to just "swallowing" her own blaster. No plan she thought

of seemed to have a decent chance of success. Except for

the latter. There were always at least two officers per

vehicle, and they wore body armor. Taking both out at the

same time would be difficult. And homes with anything worth

having would be protected by alarm systems at least.

Tanj sighed and for the tenth time again tried to will

herself to sleep.

With the coming of the morning, Tanj again took to the

streets, hoping that in her wanderings she might spot

something that would be of help. Her stomach was starting

to rumble, and as she passed several street vendors, the

aromas from their carts drove her to distraction. Cheetahs

had a fast metabolism, and she knew she'd have to do

something soon. The something turned out to be a dumpster

behind a restaurant; the pickings were slim, but it was

enough to fill her stomach, even if her actions did disgust

her.

It was again near dusk, when she found herself near the

broadcast building downtown. She'd come up with nothing

workable in her wanderings. None of the residences she'd

scoped out could be broken into without power tools or

explosives. The police she'd steered clear of. When she'd

first gotten here, she hadn't seen a single cop; now it

seemed, they were everywhere. With a sigh, she looked up at

the towering building and shrugged. Entering the game

seemed her only possibility of avoiding capture……

The contestant's entrance was half way down the block,

garishly lit. And there was a police cruiser across the

street from it. It was obviously being watched. The Police

must have had experience with fugitives coming to the same

conclusions she had. She watched the flow of pedestrians

and wondered how she could get to the door before being

intercepted…….

The Cabbie had stopped by the café, obviously he was taking

a break for dinner. Tanj waited nearby, watching the

door, and when he emerged she came up behind him, her

blaster rudely jammed into his side; "Just a short ride,

friend, and I'll let you go." The ferret was smaller than

she was but she felt him tense just the same, as if

preparing to attack her anyways. Another jab of her blaster

convinced him that wasn't smart; still he turned his head

and hissed; "This cab is owned by the Harkass family; do you

KNOW what they'll do to you for this? Then his eyes widened

in recognition, and Tanj wondered how many other Cheetah

fems had been arrested in the search for her….

The cab stopped by the contestant's entrance, facing the

wrong way in traffic, two wheels over the curb. Tanj

grinned and patted the bound and gagged Ferret, wondering if

her driving would show up on his record. The Police were

starting to emerge from their cruiser when Tanj bolted

from the driver's seat, to dash the two steps to the

building. The cops behind her yelled, but then she was

through the door, and down the hall.

The receptionist didn't seem to be fazed by the sight of the

wild-eyed Cheetah, blaster in hand. She smiled and handed

Tanj a form to be filled out, with as much emotion as if

she were a robot. Tanj took a glance back down the

corridor, to check on pursuit, and pocketing the blaster,

she took the form and a pencil, and sat down to read the

first question.

The anteroom was warm at least, and Tanj was alone as she

filled in the form. It didn't deal with names or addresses,

but merely dealt with personal preferences, likes and

dislikes, and experiences. When she was done, Tanj

handed the form to the receptionist who gave her a card,

directing her to room 3-124. Tanj followed the map on

the back of the card, and was surprised to see the placard

"Auditions" on the room's door. Inside was a Mare, wearing

a slave's collar, who looked thoroughly bored. Tanj

padded over to a small table and poured herself a cup of hot

coffee. Taking a long sip, she purrrred and holding the cup

with both paws, still trying to get warm, she turned to find

a seat.

Looking across the room at the Mare, Tanj purred; "So,

now that I'm here, whats the drill?" The Mare blinked at

her; "you came here without knowing?" Tanj shrugged;

"I’m just a little desperate……" That drew a snort from the

Mare. After a minute she looked back at Tanj; "It

depends……. If they're hard up for contestants, they'll give

us some quick instruction and throw us into the game. If

they had more apply today than they need, they'll conduct

auditions, to weed out the ones that wouldn't look that

great on the tube." Tanj nodded; "What are the auditions

like?" The Mare bit her lip and then shrugged; "Dunno;

don't know anyone who ever had to audition and then survived

the game……."

Tanj finished her coffee and then poured herself another,

this time taking a rather stale danish from the tray.

Sitting back down, she looked at the Mare; "So, what brings

you here?" The Mare shrugged; "My master died, and his son

inherited me. The kid's a brat, and seems to love

tormenting me." Looking off, the Mare mumbled; "This way,

I'll be shed of him one way or the other……" Tanj just

nodded.

Tanj was on her third cup of coffee when the Mouse in the

three piece suit came through the door. "All right, Ladies,

we've got a few more contestants today than we can use. If

you'll follow me, we have a few simple tests………"

Tanj and the Mare had been separated; it was obvious that

they'd never know how the other did…… a well-dressed female

Coyote had led Tanj off to a dressing room, where she was

undressed, and then an older lady Raccoon had fussed over

her, washing her hair, and brushing her until her fur

glistened. The Coyote had then returned and led Tanj to

a doorway. The door was steel, and was outlined in black

and yellow diagonals. "This is a typical "gateway" door in

the game, and you should look for them. Sometimes there's

more than one doorway leading out of where you are. Usually

there is some sort of puzzle you have to solve, or defeat

before you can pass on. When it opens, there are three or

four rooms beyond it; work your way through each of them.

You'll be filmed and the films evaluated by our judges.

I'll meet you on the other side to let you know if you made

it to today's contest." Tanj smiled and nodded and

turned to face the door. When the door slid open, she moved

through it without a backwards look.

No sooner was she inside the door than something knocked

hard into her, sending her sprawling. Scrambling over,

rising to her feet, she saw a nude, dark male wolf in a

fighting crouch grinning at her; "To get through this room,

you have to defeat me" he growled, as he started to circle

her. Tanj was now on her guard, but as she looked at

him, she wondered if she should show her full unarmed combat

skill; if she was TOO good would they select her? Perhaps

just enough to defeat this clown…… The Wolf lunged, and

Tanj sidestepped, like a Matador taking the Bull's

charge. The Wolf almost went sprawling, his lunge having

met no resistance, but Tanj didn't follow up. She just

stood there, doing her best to look "lost", as if she had no

idea how to handle such an assault.

The Wolf growled and circled, a little more cautious.

Tanj watched him carefully… he wasn't very good at hiding

his intentions, ears and eyes, and tail signaling an

impending motion. Tanj ignored one obvious feint, as if

her reaction time was not up to handling it, and then half-

dodged another feint, and when he lunged again, she leapt,

making sure that when she landed, one foot came down on his

tail. He howled, and as Tanj turned, she "accidentally"

backhanded him. Now as the Wolf circled, he glared at her.

She'd injured his pride, and from the look on his face, she

was going to make him pay. After a few quick jabs in her

direction, punches Tanj was able to step back from, he

grinned and lunged again, this time aiming high. Tanj

fell to the floor, rolling and as the Wolf landed, she in

turn pounced, landing on his back, knocking him to the

floor. Squirming she managed to get both her arms under

his, bringing her forearms up and behind his head, to hold

him in a full Nelson. Moving her head forward, she growled

into his ear; "Yield, or I'll break your neck. Does your

health insurance cover things like that? Do you think they

can put you back together if I do?" The Wolf stopped

struggling and held still for a minute; with a sigh, he

said; "No, they can't. I yield. You win. The door should

be open behind you." Tanj held him for a moment and then

nodded; leaning forward again, she smiled and licked his ear

softly, and then she let him go, to padd through the far

door, without looking back.

The Wolf looked at the Skunk and shrugged; "Mr. Terrant, you

know I haven't worked here that long, and that I still have

a LOT to learn, but I tell you, that Cheetah was GOOD. She

didn't even work up a sweat taking me like that. AND she

maneuvered me into a position where she could achieve a

"kill" without actually hurting me… well, without hurting

more than my pride." The Skunk nodded as his eyes followed

the motions of the Cheetah fem through the maze. "I think

you're right. I think this is the one the Government's

after. The one they want so bad. But they're not going to

get her. I think we're going to do a "Special" on her…….."

Looking up, the Skunk grinned, a cold, humorless grin; "Now

go and avenge yourself on the Mare. Lets see just how good

you CAN be, when suitably motivated." The Wolf gulped,

knowing his career was on the line, and nodded, turning to

padd through an adjacent door. The Skunk turned back to

watch the monitor, a sly look on his face.

The Wolverine was Enraged, his paws on her desk as he leaned

over it towards her, his fangs bared; "What do you MEAN

you've found her but I can't have her?" Im'Harta smiled

into his fury and shrugged; "It seems she's found a loop-

hole. She's in a kind of a ….. sanctuary, run by one of the

other families. One of the other MAJOR families. I'm

powerless to interfere, as is the Government. However, if

its any consolation, there is a good chance that she'll

loose her "sanctuary," in which case there should be no

trouble at all in handing her over to you. Of course,

there's a larger chance she'll die first. I really am

powerless to intervene." Xylex straightened and looked at

her for a moment; "What in the HELL are you talking about?"

Im'Harta smiled; "It seems she's entered "the Game"…..

Tanj had attacked the maze with the same logic she used

when attacking the puzzles she was used to working her way

through in Intelligence…. She worked her way through the

maze methodically and logically. Somehow she doubted she'd

gotten high marks, but she HAD found the exit. Next to the

steel door were three slots in the wall, each outlined with

a red set of painted lips. Before each set of "lips" was a

phallic shape. Tanj looked at them for a moment and then

giggled; it was obvious she had to squat on one of the

dongs, and then push her tongue into one of the slots. And

the fact that there were three suggested that two were the

wrong ones and that only one was the one that would open the

door. Swaying her hips, Tanj padded over to the

rightmost dong, the one farthest from the door. Squatting

she rubbed its head back and forth through the furrow of her

sex, until she felt herself start to get wet. Letting one

paw wander down to her mons, to rub softly helped too, and

she wondered what the Judges were thinking of her

performance so far. Then she was pushing herself downward,

driving the dong into her pussy, until the painted lips were

at the level of her muzzle. Tanj found that the act of

impaling herself on the dong lacked all the usual

pleasurable feelings such an action would include; for the

moment, it was just something that had to be done. Still,

she didn't need to let the camera know that…….. Leaning

forward just a bit, she stuck her tongue out, to French the

slot. For a moment nothing happened, and then there was a

jolt of electricity that shot from her pussy to her tongue;

Tanj YELPED and leapt off the dong; looking to one side

she saw the door was open, but it was starting to close.

Not wanting to experience that again, she dove for the door,

making it through just in time.

In the next room was a rather large Tiger, and an even

larger Bull. Both nude, and both quite well hung. The

Tiger merely smiled at her, as the Bull lowed; "Very good;

you've made it through the first two gates. Oh, by the way,

the middle one would have opened the door without the shock,

and the one closest to the door would have grabbed your

tongue to hold you there. That one would have been a pure

"loss." Now, to finish your audition, all you have to do is

to contrive to make both of us cum…. It has to be visibly

and at the same time. Think you can do it?" Tanj just

grinned.

Tanj moaned around her mouthful of TigerCock. This was

MUCH better than her experience with the phallus in the

previous room; this she could enjoy…… The Bull was flat on

his back beneath her, as she sat astride his hips facing his

feet, his truly massive cock buried in her snatch. The

Tiger's cock was distending her jaws, making her cheeks

bulge, but at least he was "small" enough to handle there.

As she slowly rode the Bull's shaft, she wondered where

they'd found these two amazingly hung specimens. Would this

tape ever make it to broadcast? She licked and sucked at

the Tiger with relish, her mouth loving his shaft, as she

tried to move ever so slowly on the Bull; he seemed the more

sensitive of the two, and she thought she could bring him

off almost at a moment's notice. She wished she could allow

herself the pleasure of a climax, but felt she had a job to

do, and that should come first……. A few more licks and

nibbles and she felt the Tiger's cock start to twitch; an

eruption impending. Moving her hips a little faster,

grunting at the effort, reaching down to fondle the bull's

balls, she worked on them both as hard and as fast as she

could, rising at the last moment, to stroke the tiger's cock

with her paw as he blew his load all over the Bull's belly.

The Bull for his part was doing his best to imitate a

geyser, globs of his white cum spurting as far as the

Tiger's chest. Smiling, she kissed the Tiger first, and

then bent down to kiss the Bull; "Will that do, Boys?"

The Lady Coyote met her outside the door, and with a smile

on her face, led her back to the dressing room. "There's a

shower in there, I'm sure you'll want to clean up. I'll

have dinner sent in. You should have about four hours to

rest, before the show starts. See if you can get some

sleep. Tanj just nodded, and headed for the shower,

suddenly quite tired.

The Lion strode into the Intelligence office, a grim look on

his face. The freighter had made record time, Mark pushing

the little ship to its limits, and they had just docked.

Finding the old Fox, the Lion growled; "What news?" The Fox

sighed and sat on the edge of his desk, and shruged, paws

palm up; "zilch. We got one message from one of Tanj's

agents there. Seemed she was there, but the place was

raided. They managed to help Tanj escape, but that was

all they were able to do. Now they're being watched

closely, in case she comes back. That was…. Given

transmission times, um, two and a half days ago. We do know

they're still running the Wanted ad, so they obviously don't

have her. Oh, and there was a mysterious sudden increase in

the reward figure, an order of magnitude increase. We think

the Elysium folks are behind that." The lion just nodded;

"OK, so what do we do to get her back?" The Fox sighed; "we

keep looking. I've got some mercenaries in route; folks

that can't be connected with us. They'll do what can be

done to search the city, and try and find her before the

Imroc government does." The Lion stared at him for a long

moment and then nodded. As he turned, he growled; "Keep me

posted."

Terrant nodded to the Lady Coyote; "Yes, she is something

isn't she. OK, this is the way we're going to run the show.

I want the following elements and puzzles in the route.

Now, for our Hunters, what would you think of sending in

Lance, Arnold and, um, what's that new kid's name, the big

Tiger?"

Tanj came awake with a start, as the lady Coyote shook

her shoulder. "Come on, its almost time. Get something to

eat, and then we've got to go." Tanj wolfed down some

pasta for energy and took a deep drink of water and then

trotted off to the water closet. Then they were off, down

the corridor, Tanj still nude, following the fashionably

dressed Coyote Fem.

Tanj stood on the short pedestal, as the camera slowly

circled her; she knew she was being filmed for the

"introduction" before the show; then the Coyote Fem was

tugging at her paw, pulling her down another short corridor.

The anteroom had several couches, and there were five other

fems there, all nude, along with a well-dressed male Skunk.

As Tanj took a seat, the Skunk cleared his throat and

started to talk. "The six of you are tonight's contestants.

Obviously five of you will fall by the wayside. Some will

merely be humiliated, the others will die. Only one of you

will make it to the rendezvous point, where you'll join the

single male survivor. You'll then act as a team, to work

your way through the remaining puzzles and hunters. If you

beat all the puzzles, if you triumph over the hunters, then

you win the grand prize. Any Questions? The fems looked

from the Skunk to each other, and mostly just shrugged.

Tanj raised a paw; "if you loose, but don't die, what

happens to you?" The Skunk shrugged; "you're back out on

the street, just as you arrived. There are no "consolation

prizes." Tanj nodded. The Skunk grinned at them; "Then

I wish you all luck, and I'll see one of you at the far end.

There'll be a warning bell at five minutes and at one

minute, and then that door will open, and the game will have

begun.

Terrant smiled and bowed to the camera; "Good evening,

ladies and gentlefurrs. Tonight we have something special

for you. One of tonight's dozen contestants is the furr

currently heading the State's Most Wanted list. Now, the

Government has been quite reticent over just what crimes

this Cheetah is wanted for, but you can bet your last credit

that she wouldn't be stirring up that much interest if it

wasn't something Major. Watch tonight as she tries to solve

our puzzles, and battles the hunters. Is she truly as

"dangerous" as the State believes? Stay tuned and find out!

Xylex watched the wall-sized monitor in Im'Harta's office

and growled; "You can't arrest her because she's entered a

GAME SHOW?" The lady Skunk chuckled; "Oh, its not just ANY

game show, it’s The Game. Watch and you'll see…….

Tanj took a moment to look over her competition. There

was a lady skunk that looked, well, almost resigned to

failing, almost as if this were a complex and bizarre form

of suicide. The squirrel fem looked determined, confident

that she could take on any of the challenges and win. The

Black Pantheress made her think of Jenka, sleek and

graceful, and looking amused by the whole affair. The lady

panda looked muscular, as if she worked out. She was

attractive, in a husky sort of way, and showed an

inscrutable reserve. And the shapely lady Mink looked as

nervous as Tanj felt. There was no sign of the Mare, and

Tanj wondered what had happened to her. When the five

minute warning bell sounded, the contestants rose, to

cluster around the door. As the one minute warning rang,

they all grew visibly nervous, even the Panda, who was

quietly doing stretching exercises. Finally it was time,

and without warning the door slid open, and they all dashed

through to find themselves in a maze. The other five

contestants dashed off down various branches, but Tanj

stopped for a moment to look the situation over, before

deciding to follow the left-hand wall….

Tanj showed her usual persistence, and finally found the

exit from the maze; entering the next room, she found that

she was the fourth of the six to have found her way through.

The Pantheress, the mink and the skunk were ahead of her.

In the room were six phallic shapes rising from the floor at

various positions. It was obvious that some random

selection process was at work here, as each of the fems that

had entered the room before her had picked one of the

glistening dildoes and had impaled themselves upon it. The

Skunk and the Pantheress had kneeled before taking the dongs

within them, but the mink had merely squatted. All now held

rather strained looks on their face, and Tanj wondered

what had happened. With a sigh, she selected one of the

remaining dongs and kneeling, positioning herself carefully,

she slowly pushed down onto it, driving its slick length

into her pussy. No sooner had she settled herself than she

found out the reason for the strained looks on the other

contestants: Its head seemed to balloon out, forming a knot

similar to those the lupines developed. It stretched her

unmercifully, and with a gasp she realized that until it was

deflated, she most likely could not escape it.

Finally the Panda, and then the Squirrel fem found their way

into the room, and without hesitation, chose the remaining

phalluses, a small gasp escaping from each of them as it too

inflated and bulged within them. A moment or two after all

six contestants were "locked" in place, the dongs stared to

vibrate, and Tanj knew they weren't to escape without a

climax for the audience's amusement. As the dong droned

within her; she panted and wondered if the first to cum

would be the first to be released. Glancing over at the

Pantheress, she noted that lady rubbing at her crotch with

one paw as the other shamelessly caressed a breast.

Grinning, Tanj mimicked her actions. The Mink was the

first one to scream in passion, however, and shortly

thereafter, she was able to drag herself from the phallus,

to stagger through the now open far door. The Pantheress

was indeed next, rising with a grin to dash towards the next

obstacle. Then it was Tanj's turn to gasp and moan out

her pleasure as she shuddered through a sharp climax. As

she caught her breath, she felt the dong stop vibrating, its

head diminishing, until she too could rise. As she dragged

herself free of the phallus she wondered what sensors, or

devices the game officials had to detect her climax. Were

there sensors in the dong? Infra red detectors in the room?

Could she fake a climax and fool the sensors? Looking over

her shoulder, she grinned at the looks on the faces of the

Panda, Skunk and the Squirrel. And then she was in the next

maze.

The maze had been a short, basic one, obviously designed to

merely space out the contestants a little, as they made

their way through. The room at its end was a simple one;

there were two doors, both open, and a sign. The sign read;

"This is a simple variant of the "Lady and the Tiger".

Behind one door is a ravening "beast" that has not been fed

in days, and will devour you. Behind the other door is a

hansom stud that will pleasure you. Make your choice.

Tanj looked at the door on the left; it stood open, and

deserted, behind it, a dead end. The door on the right was

also open, a passage clear beyond it. The Mink knelt on the

floor, in the firm grasp of a well muscled gray Wolf, who

held her hair in one paw, and her tail in the other, slowly

pumping her from behind. The Mink shot Tanj a helpless

glance as the Cheetah squeezed past the rutting pair, and

through the corridor into the next maze. As she ran,

Tanj grinned, wondering what the Pantheress had found in

the other room. Or had one of the other contestants gotten

past her in the maze?

The male Brown Bear was still alive, but from the way he lay

on the floor, it was obvious that someone had beaten him to

a pulp. At least one leg was broken, and one arm, and from

the way he lay, Tanj would have wagered he had half a

dozen broken ribs, and maybe some internal bleeding. He

looked at her with dulled eyes as she trotted past,

following the spattering of blood on the floor. Whoever had

taken this "Hunter" out had obviously been well skilled in

the martial arts, and Tanj wondered about the

Pantheress…..

The next maze was in three dimensions, forcing her to climb

over and under different obstacles. Tanj grinned as she

thought of the audience getting an eyeful of her nude body

squirming through tight holes and climbing over artificial

mountain cliffs. The path was not complex, but it was

difficult, and by the time she finally made it to the next

room, she was panting hard. Here too, there was a large,

obvious exit, securely closed. In the room were five

devices made of steel tubing and transparent plastic. The

Pantheress was already there, laying across one of the

devices, supported by her knees on one side, and her paws on

the other as she leaned across the device. Her breasts hung

down, and had been captured by plexiglass forms that seemed

to adhere to her body. In fact, her breasts seemed to fill

the plexiglass forms completely…… And one whole wall was

transparent aluminum, and on the other side was a crowd of

howling, gesturing males, of every species. Tanj watched

as one particularly large bull, completely nude, held his

erect cock in one hand, waggling it at her as he leered.

Tanj looked at the five devices and wondered what had

happened to the sixth contestant. With an eye towards the

audience, both on the other end of the camera and on the

other side of the wall, she winked at the bull, and sashayed

over to the device closest to the transparent wall, her hips

swaying. This one was arranged such that when she bent

over, her ass was pointed directly at the crowd, her head

facing the other contestants. As she bent over the device,

her paws reaching for the obvious handholds on its other

side, she felt her breasts touch the plexiglass shapes.

These shapes, on the outside, were rather bullet shaped, but

on the inside looked like cartoon exaggerations of the

female breast. The upper edges were wide flanges, obviously

meant to rest against her chest. As she wrapped her paws

around the handholds, a contact was obviously closed as she

felt a flow of air ruffling the fur on the flanks of her

breasts. Connections at the bottoms of the plexiglass

shapes were sucking air at a prodigious rate, the shapes

rising a little on pneumatic lifts so that their open ends

pressed against her chest like leaches. Tanj GASPED as

the suction made her breasts swell, making them balloon out

slightly, filling the volume of the plexiglass form. She

howled as her nipples were actually sucked into the fittings

at the ends. Releasing the handles did not stop the

suction, and as she moved, tentatively, she found that the

suction held her breasts so firmly she could not escape its

grip; she was effectively immobilized on the device!

Looking up at the Pantheress she gasped; "What IS this?"

The Pantheress looked over her shoulder and grinned weakly;

"Only saw this on one other show. Two of the devices are

the "lucky" ones. Those release the contestants, and they

proceed through the door. The others keep the contestants

locked tight…… and then the wall behind you slides open.

Hey, look at the bright side; at least failing this one

isn't usually fatal!" Tanj groaned; "How come only five;

there were six of us; what happened to the sixth?" The

Pantheress did her best to shrug; "Don't know; my guess is

that either something killed her in the maze, or maybe the

inflatable dong in the previous room never let her go.

Again, luck plays as much a part here as skill." Tanj

sighed and did her best to rest, awaiting the other

contestants. She'd heard of devices like this, usually sold

for "at-home breast enlargement"; she'd never thought that

they worked, and was sure the at-home models didn't develop

such wicked suction.

It took the Mink a while to enter the room. Then the Panda,

staggered in, battered, bruised, and dripping blood from a

dozen clawmarks, but still moving, and then finally the

Skunk arrived. Tanj blinked and shook her head wondering

how the Panda had gotten past not only her but the Mink and

the Pantheress as well in that first maze after the

inflating dong room; for why else would someone open the

other door, if the Mink had already released the Wolf stud?

In fact, just what HAD happened there? Had the Mink tried

to sneak past while the Panda fought the Bear? Tanj

turned that over in her mind, while waiting for something to

happen. As Tanj waited, she developed a sincere hatred

of the device sucking at her breasts so viciously, but

finally the others too had assumed the position. After a

few moment there was a clack, and the mink arose with a

superior grin on her face, to sashay through the now open

far door. After a few minutes there was another clack, and

the Panda rose, her face neutral.

Tanj sighed, thinking that her hopes of receiving

amnesty, of getting enough money to book passage out of the

system were gone, that she'd wind up facing the authorities

after all, when suddenly her device started making clacking

motions too. However, in her case, the initial motions of

the framework were merely to lock bands around her arms and

thighs, even more securely holding her in place. She saw

the Pantheress looking curiously over her shoulder at her,

as the suction on her breasts was released. However, the

edges of the plexiglass forms seemed to extrude some sort of

goop, wet against her fur, and then the devices filled with

some sort of cool fluid. Then, to her surprise, the bands

released her and she found that she was able to stand. To

her further surprise, the plexiglass forms were now stuck

tight over her chest, encasing her breasts, the fluid

sloshing back and forth. She found that the weight of this

assembly made it difficult to keep her balance, and

staggering, she headed for the door, giving the Pantheress'

head a caress as she passed. As the door closed behind her,

she heard the transparent wall start to rise, the howls of

the crowd loud in her ears.

The next room held a maze, with three ways to go; Tanj's

nose told her that the mink had gone right, and the Panda

straight; with a shrug, she took the left passage, hoping

that her luck was better than the Mink's. As she worked her

way through the maze, she tugged at the edges of the shapes

encasing her breasts; whatever that goop was, they were

glued on TIGHT. She could only hope that sweat would

dissolve the glue in time. This maze was also a three

dimensional one, and she found it most difficult to scale

the "cliff" with the big plexiglass bubbles adhering to her

chest. Several times she almost fell to the jagged "rocks"

below. At the top of the cliff was a tunnel, and Tanj

found that she couldn't crawl on paws and knees; the tunnel

roof was too low, and the devices on her breasts too long;

they dragged. Finally she turned over on her back, to scoot

down the tunnel, negotiating the twists and turns as best

possible, concerned over the loss of time.

Emerging from the tunnel, Tanj looked over a wondrous

sight; it looked like an obstacle course from a child's

videogame. An artificial valley spread out before her, its

floor filled with jagged stalagmites. Through the air

between the ledge she stood on and the far side, were

floating pieces of rock; obviously she was meant to leap

from rock to rock. To compound the problem, other, larger

rock shapes were moving from side to side with an

unpredictable pattern. Mis-time your leap and you'd get

swatted from the air, or knocked from your perch, to certain

death below. Tugging forlornly at the forms covering her

breasts one more time, Tanj gauged the distance and

prepared her first jump.

Tanj clung to the ledge, panting hard. She'd made it.

She'd had three close calls; once when she'd nearly missed

the rock she was leaping for, once when she discovered the

rock she'd leapt to rotated freely, and once when she'd mis-

timed a jump, almost getting knocked from her rock by one of

the moving boulders. Still, she was now on the far side,

and for the moment, safe. Rolling over on her back, once

again she tugged at the plexiglass form covering her left

breast. As she pulled, grunting, she looked down at it, and

was amazed to observe that most of the liquid that had been

surrounding her breast now seemed to be gone; instead her

breast seemed to have swelled up to fill the chamber.

Thinking back, she remembered the novelty cream she'd bought

at Smiley's station, the cream that was absorbed through the

skin, to make that portion of the anatomy retain water. She

wondered if this was something similar, a more advanced form

that in providing both the drug and the fluid, worked in

minutes what too the other days to accomplish? With a

grunt, she managed to get one edge of the device to separate

from her skin, and then working a clawtip around, slowly

managed to separate it from her skin (most of her fur coming

out in the process). Then she found that it was not easy to

pull the slightly smaller opening away from her now balloon-

sized breast. Rolling on the floor of the ledge, cognizant

of the fact she must be putting on quite a show for the

audience, she finally managed to free the other breast.

Standing, she kicked both plexiglass forms to the "Valley

floor" below. "That’s fitting" she thought to herself;

"might as well practice my kicking now that I've got soccer

ball sized breasts……." Crossing her arms under her now more

than ample breasts, trying to support them as best possible,

she headed for the next room, and the next challenge,

wondering how far ahead of her the Mink and the Panda were.

The next room contained three clear transparent aluminum

tubes, each a body's length over the floor. The other two

contestants were already standing on the pads beneath the

tubes; the Panda had her arms raised above her head, and the

Mink was standing with her arms at her sides. It was

obvious that Tanj was to take her place under the

remaining tube, although what would happen after than was

unclear. Slowly she walked around the tube, taking her

time, looking. As she examined it, she thought back to the

previous room. It was obvious that only three were expected

to make it this far...... Again she expected only one of

the tubes to be the clear path forward; but what would

happen in the others? Figuring there was only one way to

find out, she took her position beneath the remaining tube,

and shooting a look at the Panda, raised her paws over her

head. No sooner had she stepped onto the pad than the tube

began to descend. It was a tight fit, especially over her

now-enlarged breasts, and she realized that she'd probably

been wise in mimicking the Panda. The diameter of the tube

was barely wider than her hips and had her arms been at her

side she would not have been able to raise them over her

head.

The tube boomed hollowly as it touched the pad she stood on,

and she tilted her head back as far as she could, to look

up, to see what was to come, and then she looked through the

clear tube at the other contestants. She heard a hiss and a

liquid noise from below her and she tried to look down, but

found her own body blocking her view of her feet. Looking

to one side, just as she felt something warm and wet touch

her feet, she saw that the Panda was rising smoothly up the

tube, the pad she stood on acting as an elevator, sliding

the fem upwards, towards a now open top. The Mink however,

was suffering a different result; while something viscous

was slowly rising up Tanj's legs, in the Mink's tube, it

was raining down on her from above! It looked like cum,

gallons of it. The viscous white jism poured down onto the

Mink from above, a salty, sticky rain, and the tube slowly

started to fill! The space between the Mink's body and the

tube was so small, that the liquid was starting to pool

around her upper body. No matter how she squirmed, the Mink

couldn't get a good purchase on the slick walls of the

cylinder; there was no way for her to work her way up above

the slimy liquid level. The cylinder wasn't large enough in

diameter for her to bring her paws up over her head, either.

She was trapped, and drowning in cum!

Tanj squirmed as the level of viscous sticky cum rapidly

rose, climbing up her body, the rate of its rise

accelerating as her body filled more of the tube, until it

was squirting up between her breasts, pushing through the

crack of her ass….. Squirming hard, she tried to work her

way up the tube, her forearms and feet pressed against its

side, seeking a grip. As she panted and squirmed, she

realized that with the cum flowing up from below, and the

tight fit of her body in the tube, she was at least in part

being pushed up the tube like a cork. That and the density

of the cum, yielded her a greater buoyancy. By the time she

escaped the open top of the tube, on the level above, she

was panting hard, and dripping wet, covered in cum to just

below her muzzle. Laying on the grating, as the cum

fountained softly from the open top of the tube, she vowed

to herself that somehow, some way, she'd get back at whoever

had done this to her. After a while, she rose, to look

around, looking for the next "gate".

A short corridor led her to the next room, and when she saw

its contents she groaned. There were two sets of rails,

with one set containing a saddle-like device on rollers.

The saddle had a rather thick phallic plug, and looking

closely at it, it was obvious that as she sat on it, a

second phallic plug would emerge from the seat, to push into

her ass. There were stirrups for her feet and rein-like

straps for her hands...... And she knew that as soon as she

sat down, as soon as she'd been "locked" into place, the

device would slide forward on the rails. It was obvious

that only one choice was the correct one; but which one?

The Panda had already taken the saddle on the right side;

Tanj had no choice but to take the one on the Left.

Placing one foot in a stirrup, and swinging her other leg

over the saddle, she positioned herself just so, and slowly

sank down on the thick phallic plug. No sooner had her

bottom met the cool surface of the saddle than something

whirred, and she felt the nose of the other plug push

against her anus. As it drove deep into her bottom and as

its head ballooned out, inflating wickedly, she moaned; at

least it had been lubricated. She had a moment to recover,

a moment to wrap the straps around her paws, and then the

door in front of her was opening, the device smoothly

accelerating forward along the track.

The track was gently down-hill at first, the cart gathering

momentum, and then like a demented roller coaster, it went

over a series of "hills," swooping up and then down, and

then up again. She felt her body rise, and then fall, the

two dongs tugging hard at her sex; in spite of herself she

moaned and shuddered at the stimulation. As the wild ride

continued, she had to concentrate on hanging on; it was

obvious that if she fell from the saddle it would be a LONG

fall. However as the ride got wilder and wilder, she found

it more and more difficult to maintain that concentration,

to grip the sides of the saddle with her legs, to maintain

her grip on the "reins." When unexpectedly, and completely

against her wishes her climax struck, she almost lost her

grip, almost slipped from the saddle, but somehow she hung

on. Three turns, two bumps, and a loop later, she gasped as

she beheld poles lining the track! Each pole seemed to hold

something in a variety of positions, each point seeming to

reach for her as she careened down the track! With no time

to respond, and no idea how to avoid them, the cart sped

between the first set of poles and she felt touches on her

left shoulder and her right arm. Then the next set of poles

gave her harder touches on her thighs, calves and arms, and

she realized that the poles held large feathers! Successive

poles brought more touches, until she was starting to

giggle. Looking to one side, she noted that the other track

was also lined in poles, but that it didn't look as if the

poles held feathers; she seemed to catch the glint of metal.

And then the cart was slowing as it entered the next room.

As the butt-plug deflated, and retracted, Tanj pulled

herself from the saddle. She looked to her right and

instantly looked away; The other saddle was empty, but from

the dripping gore, Tanj thought she knew what the poles

on the other track had held; the poor Panda had been flayed

alive…….

After a short, fairly simple maze, Tanj passed into

another of the gate rooms. The exit door was clearly marked

and looked like a bank vault; heavy and thick and

impenetrable. The task that has to be accomplished to open

it was obvious. In the middle of the room, within three

large bright metal rings, was a contraption that obviously

was meant to hold a body; there were foot rests and hand

holds, and all sorts of automated closures. And on a

pedestal in front of the contraption, in a bowl of

lubricant, were two rather large Ben-wa balls. Tanj

sighed and shook her head, and resignedly walked over to the

bowl, to fish out the balls. Knowing she was on camera she

grinned and squatted, inserting the balls into her pussy

with feigned relish. Walking carefully, she made her way to

the device, and climbed up into it, to stand within its open

enclosures. She stood there for a moment, waiting, with no

response. The handholds were simple; there were no grips,

no switches that had to be closed. After a moment she

chuckled and concentrating, contracted her vaginal muscles,

squeezing the ben-wa balls. One of them must have held a

pressure sensor, as immediately padded steel closed around

her, at wrists, ankles, thighs, waist, chest, and neck.

Then suddenly her arms and legs were drawn widely apart,

until she was tightly spread-eagled within the device. And

then the device slowly started spinning first pitching head

over heels and then adding a nauseating twisting yaw, and a

sickening side to side roll. The device swung slowly at

first, and Tanj was able to discern the massive door

creeping open. Obviously when the "spin cycle" was over,

the door would be open. The motions made the Ben-wa balls

jerk and dance around within her, quite nicely at first and

then with increasing force until she was wailing through a

sudden and quite intense climax. A camera mounted to the

framework was focused on her face and she knew, as her head

was jerked side to side, front to back, that the audience

was watching the expressions on her face, the effects of her

climax all too apparent. She grinned, thinking her now-

huge, wildly bouncing tits probably were also getting a lot

of attention and then another climax seized her and she

howled yet again.

As she spun, Tanj realized that the sensors in the Ben-

wa balls must be monitoring their "position" and she

struggled hard to keep them from slipping out; however as

the speed of the whirling device increased, this became

harder and harder, as the centrifugal forces built. The

centrifugal forces also sent blood rushing to her

extremities, and she knew that if the "ride" lasted too

long, she'd have brain damage. She wondered what would

happen if she let the Ben-Wa balls escape; it would be SOOOO

easy, but then she decided she didn't really want to find

out. The world was a red blur, as she struggled to retain

the bouncing, gyrating ben-wa balls, as she endeavored to

keep from throwing up, as she suffered through climax after

climax…... Finally the device slowly spun down. Coming to a

stop with her body upside-down, at an angle off the

vertical. She barely had time to notice that the exit door

stood wide open when all the restraints clicked open…. And

she was dropped headfirst into a pool of ice cold water!

As she climbed from the water, she noticed that sometime

during her wild ride, doors had opened under the device; the

device was on rails, and she concluded that if she'd lost

the Ben-wa balls, it would have submerged itself, with her

body still tightly locked into the framework. With a wince,

as she considered what would have been a nasty death,

dripping, she squatted, intending to remove the Ben-wa

balls. However, a glance at the door, and then at the

contraption convinced her to wait until she was on the OTHER

side of the door before removing them. She was not sure she

could retain the balls within her and thus survive, if she

had to repeat her performance.

As Tanj exited the room through the door, sensors

determined that she still had the balls within her, held in

her sore, dripping pussy, and the master computer shifted

gears, altering the direction of her path through the maze

accordingly.

The short corridor led to yet another maze, this one styled

to look like an old English Garden. The air was warm, the

sky blue, and the grass soft underfoot. Somewhere birds

sang, or at least Tanj thought it sounded like birds.

The maze was formed by a thick, impenetrable hedge, about

three meters tall, and at least a meter thick; there was no

way Tanj could see over it, or squeeze through it.

Squatting, she removed the Ben-Wa balls, but instead of

throwing them away, as was her first inclination, she held

onto them. If the maze contained a "Hunter", he was going

to get a nasty surprise. Looking left and then right,

Tanj picked a direction and started working her way

through the maze.

The Jaguar watched the screen on his portable monitor; it

showed him the progress of the Cheetah fem through the maze.

He was nude, muscular, and rather hansom, a favorite on the

show. And he grinned to himself as he strode rapidly into

an ambush position; This Cheetah would be HIS!

Tanj didn't know what caused her to pause; some sort of

sixth sense. Sniffing the wind, she decided she couldn't

detect anything. Had she heard something? She wasn't sure.

Somehow, though, she knew there was trouble ahead, and she

moved cautiously. The Paw that came around the corner

swatted her along the side of her head, knocking her back,

knocking her to the ground; turning, she looked up in

surprise at the largest Jaguar she'd ever seen. He stood

there, paws on hips, as if savoring the sight of his next

kill. Tanj had no intention of being so accommodating;

rolling, she swung her right arm, the lighter of the two

Ben-wa balls flying out towards his face. The Jaguar

flinched instinctively as the lighter of the two balls

wizzed past, giving Tanj enough time to get to her feet,

and assume a combat stance. As the Jaguar looked at her,

his eyes narrowed; it was rare that a female ever gave him a

decent fight, and none had ever beaten him, but this one…….

Hmmmmm. Dropping into a Karate stance, he moved forward…..

Tanj avoided his first kick, and spun, her tail lashing

out to slap against his legs; it wasn't hard enough to knock

him over though and in response he jabbed at her, connecting

with her ribs. Tanj oofed, and pivoted again, bringing

her right fist around in a roundhouse, that connected with

his skull just below his eye. The Jaguar Yowled as the

heavier of the two Ben-wa balls slammed into his skull, and

he danced back in surprise. Tanj followed, delivering a

snap kick to his groin, and then a jab to his chin. The

Jaguar was good however, and as he fell, he swung his body,

to knock Tanj's legs out from under her. By the time

she'd regained her feet, so had he, her momentary advantage

lost.

Tanj moved between the leafy green walls of the Hedge,

dancing, watching. She'd hurt him, but she wasn't sure

she'd hurt him enough. He was still moving slowly, and

although he was panting hard, so was she. Suddenly he moved

like lightning, to deliver a kick to her stomach, driving

her backwards; he followed up with a flurry of punches and

only a sudden jab of her fingers, luckily finding the right

point in his neck made him break off the attack and fall

back. They both stood, panting, glaring at each other, as

they tried to catch their breath.

Xylex watched the wall-sized monitor, and then turned to

Im'Harta; "Are you sure he understood his instructions?"

The lady Skunk nodded; "He'll beat her to within an inch of

her life, and if I know him, take his pleasure with her too,

but he'll leave her alive for you. He's one of the best

we've got and has never been beaten. Yet. This one seems

to have had considerable combat training, something we don't

often see in our contestants. And no one anticipated her

hanging onto the Ben-wa balls to be used as a weapon……"

Xylex's eyes narrowed and he gave the Skunkette a long hard

look before turning back to the monitor.

Tanj panted as she moved, looking for an opening; she'd

tried going on the offensive, something that had initially

surprised the Jaguar; she'd gotten in a good kick to his

kneecap, and a jab to his solar plexus, but had received

quite a battering in return. Now he was limping a bit…. But

on the other hand, as she moved, she thought she could feel

her ribs grating, as if something was broken…… Glancing

down for a moment, she spotted the other Ben-wa ball lying

on the grass, and trying not to grin, she circled, doing her

best to maneuver him into just the right position……..

The Jaguar watched warily. This one was as good as any of

the furrs he sparred with. She had incredible reaction

times, something that shouldn't have surprised him, given

the fact she was a Cheetah; still, she was a lightweight….

If she'd been a Tigress, with skills like that, he'd have

been in real trouble…. Her attack had surprised him; he'd

almost never seen any of his prey go on the offensive. Most

often they ran screaming…… Now he watched warily; if he let

her hurt him too bad, he'd have to spend time in the

regeneration tanks, and missing shows could be bad for his

career…..

Tanj smiled to herself as he passed through just the

right spot; with a scream, she leapt at him, claws out. As

expected, the Jaguar took a step back, his foot finding the

forgotten Ben-wa ball. Although his defensive kick again

found Tanj's ribs, he still went over backwards. Tanj

OOFed, but still managed to land on top of him, the heavy

ball in her right paw coming down HARD on his Temple. Three

times she slammed him, until she was sure he was out.

Grinning, Tanj checked for a pulse, and then carefully

rose to her feet; something was definitely broken. Panting,

she padded back down the maze, looking for that vine that

had been growing on one portion of the hedge.

Xylex growled; "So much for your Champion!" Im'Harta

nodded; "I admit I'm surprised… but what is she doing? Why

isn't she working through the rest of the Maze?" In silence

the two watched as the Cheetah fem gathered lengths of vine,

severing the lengths with her teeth. Padding back to the

fallen Jaguar, she proceeded to hogtie him with the vine……..

The Jaguar awoke to a blinding headache, and the feel of the

Cheetah's claws at his throat. Blinking, he found it hard

to focus, but her words were clear enough; "you've probably

got a really severe concussion. I think you need medical

help, bad. Tell me what I want to know, and I'll move on,

to let your associates come to your aid. Refuse me, and

I'll make it worse. MUCH worse. You see, I know what its

like to be broke on this planet. And I can see to it that

you never, ah, "work" again. No, I won't kill you, but when

I'm done, you'll wish I had. Get the picture?" The Jaguar

struggled for a moment against his bonds, and then realized

as her clawtips dug into him, that while he might get free,

in a bit, she'd shred him first. As his movements subsided

he swallowed and nodded. Tanj smiled and moved her

fingertips across his face, as if smoothing his fur; then he

felt the pinpricks of her claws just below his eyes. "Lets

start here; an eye for each answer I don't happen to like.

What comes next, after the maze?"

Im'Harta's jaw dropped; "She's INTERROGATING him! Why I

NEVER…….!" Xylex turned and looked at the Skunkette; "How

much does he know about the elements of the game? How much

can she tell him?" The Skunkette looked at Xylex; "well, I

don't know; I suppose he could know everything or nothing,

depending on his own curiosity. Hunters aren't briefed

beyond their own roles…. But there's nothing to prevent them

from looking over the whole script, and that one's always

been deep into the game. I suspect he'd know quite a bit……"

Xylex growled; "How much of it can you change? Can you re-

order the different elements? Swap out elements?" Im'Harta

shook her head; "No, it takes at least a day to build a set

for a game. There just isn't time! I can change out some

of the Hunters, but that’s about it….." Xylex just growled.

Tanj smiled as the Jaguar talked. If he was to be

believed, he'd studied the entire layout for the game.

Tanj fondled his balls softly, only occasionally adding a

pinprick of claws when he seemed to falter. Finally, it

seemed, she'd gotten all from him that she could. Wondering

about time frames, she smiled. The Male contestants might

have to wait a bit, but she had something she had to do

first….. She knew at this juncture that sexual exhaustion

was the last thing she needed, but this just had to be

done…. Bending over she dragged her tongue along his

sheath. As she licked, she purrred; "Somehow, I have the

feeling that before you've dispatched many a contestant,

you've raped her… am I right? Tanj felt the Jaguar

tense, but he didn't answer; she chuckled and didn't force a

response; instead she continued her licking, until his cock

was standing free of its sheath, standing proud, bobbing up

and down slightly with his heartbeat. Moving carefully,

doing her best to ignore the pain in her side, Tanj

straddled his hips and slipped his shaft into her pussy.

Slowly she moved, using all her skill, watching the play of

emotions on the Jaguar's face. With his legs and arms bound

behind his back, the position couldn't be comfortable, and

yet, she was sure, there were parts of what she was doing

that he liked……

Im'Harta chuckled and shook her head; "I can't believe this!

She's doing HIM! Oh, I bet this show gets incredible

ratings!" Xylex just growled, and paced.

Tanj purrrred as her climax blossomed, warm waves of

pleasure radiating out from her sex, to bathe her entire

body. It had been a bit bizarre, a bit stimulating, to take

him, watching the fear reflected in his eyes, as he wondered

if she'd kill him as he'd killed so many of the contestants

before her…… A few more strokes and then she concentrated,

rippling her vaginal muscles to milk the Jaguar's cock.

She'd been holding him on the edge for a while now, and this

was all he needed to cum; as his cock started to spurt, she

rose off him, to let the cameras watch as his cock geysered.

Bending over she kissed him, and then, pressing her thumbs

into either side of his neck, she pressed closed the

arteries, until unconsciousness claimed him. She wondered

if this small death in any way repaid him for all the times

he'd killed some poor fem, after raping her? In a way, she

hoped so. Rising, moving carefully, she headed through the

maze, hoping the Jaguar's directions had been correct.

Tanj smiled as she found the gazebo in the center of the

maze, just as the Jaguar had told her. The spiral staircase

in the Gazebo took her down, into another room. In this

room, Tanj found three bound males. Each male was

squatting, neither kneeling on the floor, nor standing but

held somewhere in-between; poles from the floor supported an

elaborate metal cock and ball harness, holding them in

position. It was obvious from the looks on their faces, and

from their trembling, bunched muscles that they'd been in

that position for a while, and were starting to have trouble

maintaining it. Each was also gagged with a large ball gag,

their paws cuffed behind them. "Oh, Boys, I'm sorry I took

so long" Tanj purred. As she looked at them, Tanj

reviewed what the Jaguar had told her; she had to fuck one

of them to get the device to release him. He would then be

her partner for the rest of the game. Having some clue as

to what was to come, Tanj padded over to the first male,

a huge Bull. He regarded her with cool eyes, as if

confident that she'd choose him. His head turned to follow

her as she padded around behind him, confusion filling his

face as she examined his paws. The palms of his hands were

fairly soft, and Tanj figured that while he obviously

worked out a lot, he did little real work. Grinning, she

slid a finger under his tail, to tease his anus; the Bull

flinched and twisting his head again, gave her a curious

look. Leaving him, Tanj padded over to the Tiger.

Again, a magnificent specimen. His paws too were moderately

soft, and while he was less sensitive around the anus, he

still flinched a bit when Tanj probed him. The Rabbit

was fairly large… for a Rabbit. He seemed to be well

muscled, but thin, and the fur around his neck was ruffled

and sparse, as if he'd been wearing a collar. His paws were

well callused, and when she teased him under the tail, he

seemed to take it without comment. Shooting an apologetic

look at the others, Tanj bent to lick at the Rabbit's

bound cock, making sure he was hard for her…… After a bit

of teasing, letting the camera get its fill, Tanj turned

and bent way over, spreading her legs wide. There was a

pair of handles for her to grab, to help her hold the

position, switches closing at her grip; and then she was

pushing her hips back, seeking the Rabbit's hard cock.

Figuring the clock was running again, she moved as quickly

as she could, doing her best to bring him off. The Cheetah

purred as she felt his hard cock start to spurt, his jism

flooding her. Taking a moment to savor the sensations, she

permitted herself a small climax… and then the device that

held him was clicking, opening, releasing him.

As he staggered free of the device, stretching, and

massaging sore muscles, Tanj rose, and turned, to take

his paw; "Come on, this way. I'll lead, you watch our six.

The rabbit unbuckled and then spit out his gag, and as he

raised an eyebrow he grinned; "our six; curious term. I

assume you mean behind us. No matter, yes, I'll watch your,

ah, I mean OUR rear for a bit." Tanj grinned and led off

through the next maze. This was another of the three

dimensional mazes, although here anti-gravity generators

were used to suspend large objects that they had to transit.

In unpredictable places, the gravity became significantly

stronger, and in other places they were barely able to keep

their feet on the floor. In many places they had to work

together, one boosting the other up, and then leaning down

to catch a paw, to drag the other up. By the time they'd

worked their way to the exit, both were panting hard, and

Tanj's ribs were bothering her bad. The exit door from

the maze led them into another of the gate rooms. Again, as

they entered through the door, an alarm sounded, and

machinery came alive, spikes starting to emerge from walls,

ceiling and floor.

In the center of the room was a broad, square pedestal. It

was only about a foot high, but was about a body-length on a

side. It was topped with a tank of water, only about a foot

deep. Hanging from the ceiling, was a pair of the now all

too familiar handgrips, but they were out of reach. Tanj

looked at the rabbit; "You're lighter, let me boost you up."

He nodded and stepping into Tanj's linked paws, leaped up

to grab the handles. As he squeezed the handles, the rabbit

looked left and then right, his eyes widening as he noticed

that the spikes were still growing closer.

Tanj also saw that the rabbit's efforts were having no

effect, and reached out to touch him, to alert him to the

fact. The Jaguar hadn't mentioned this! As she touched

him, she felt a slight tingling. Blinking, she touched him

again, and then with a wry grin, she caressed his balls,

eliciting a gasp. Looking up at him, Tanj grinned;

"Electricity; we have to complete an electrical circuit;

that’s why I'm standing in water!. Grinning, Tanj licked

his sheath, gasping as the current ran sharply through her

tongue. Despite the shock, she was able to observe that for

the instant she was licking him, the spikes had stopped, and

perhaps even retreated a fraction. Leaning back to look up

at him, she purrrred; "I’m sure they want me to suck you

off, to reverse the spikes, and I suspect, while painful,

that WOULD work; however, I've got a better idea; let go of

the handles and drop down for a moment."

The rabbit gave her a questioning look, but never the less

released the handles. Tanj grinned and hooking one foot

behind his ankle, shoved him back into the shallow tank of

water, following him down. Laughing she rolled in the water

with him until they were both soaked. Standing up she

grinned; "now, when we complete the circuit, the water in

our fur will conduct most of the current; should be a LOT

less painful!" The rabbit grinned and gestured to the

handles; "your turn." Tanj nodded and put a foot in his

linked hands and as he boosted her upwards, she grabbed the

widespread handles. Closing the grips, she felt the tingle

of electricity flow over her body, and with a purrrr, noted

that the spikes were indeed retreating. Slowly. It was

obvious for the path to the far door to be clear, they'd be

here a while. Looking down at the rabbit, she wondered just

how to best get comfortable?

The rabbit chuckled and took matters into his own paws;

shifting a bit, he put Tanj's thighs over his shoulders,

his nose pressed hard into her pussy. His first lick was

literally electrifying, the current densities just below

what might be considered painful! And the more he licked,

the wetter she got, the more the current added spice to his

licking. The rabbit was talented, knowing just how to treat

a lady, and before long, Tanj was screaming through a

powerful climax. The rabbit however didn't stop, and by the

time the spikes had retreated into the walls, Tanj was

writhing through her third climax.

The rabbit crouched, moving out from under Tanj, letting

her dangle and then taking her around the waist, helped her

down. She was panting hard, but had no trouble strolling

leisurely with him to the exit. As they passed through the

door, into the next maze, Tanj chuckled; "Thanks, I liked

that!" The rabbit smiled and shrugged; "least I could do to

return the favor you granted me in the previous puzzle room.

By the way, I'm Jack." Tanj laughed again, and nodded;

"it fits; I'm Tanj." The rabbit just grinned and

muttered good-naturedly; "Yeah, I just BET you are!"

The next maze reminded Tanj of an old holo film she'd

seen. The "set" looked like the ruins of some ancient

temple, and there were pressure points in the flagstone

floor, that would set off lethal traps. Accordingly they

were moving carefully. One pressure switch had released a

massive bolder, swinging down on ropes; if Jack hadn't

pulled her down at the last instant, she would have been

smashed. At another place, stepping on the wrong square

caused darts to be blown out from the walls. Tanj took

one in the shoulder, and while it wasn't fatal, it had

caused her to be very dizzy for a while, her vision blurred.

They'd spent some time there, waiting for the drug that had

been on the tip of the dart to work its way out of her

system, using the time to good advantage……. Now they

examined each step as they moved, prepared to move fast if

they made a wrong choice. As they walked, Tanj told Jack

about her encounter with the Jaguar, and of the things she'd

learned. "Somewhere up ahead, they'll have a method of

separating us. I'll find my way to the puzzle room first,

and there, I'll have to fasten myself into some sort of rig.

Then you'll find your way in and have to "rescue" me, in the

tradition of the classic "B" movie. Its not going to be

easy, and there won't be much I can do to help you. Now,

here's the key……."

Tanj put a paw on Jack's shoulder; "Hang on a second.

Look up ahead. See those "statues" lining the walls…."

Jack peered into the gloom and nodded; "Yup. Six of 'em,

three on each side." Tanj nodded; "Yeah, how much you

want to bet as we pass them, the "Temple Guards" come

alive?" Jack just chuckled; "I'll take the right, you take

the left…." Tanj grinned and nodded; "Move slowly, we

don't want to bring more than two to life at the same time.

Moving carefully, watching every footfall, Tanj carefully

moved closer to the first statue. It was a rather large

Tiger, seemingly carved from stone. It was bedecked in

feathers, and beaded straps, seemingly costumed for a

festival, for some ancient ceremony the furrs that had built

the temple had held. In one paw it held a shield, and in

the other an edged weapon of some sort. Tanj was within

three steps of it when the stone she stepped on clicked.

The Tiger seemed to straighten, as if shaking off the

centuries, its head turning to look at her. Tanj grinned

and stepped close, to jab one of the darts that had been

shot at her earlier, into his stomach. The Tiger howled in

pain, a surprising noise for a statue, and raised his

weapon. Tanj sidestepped his slash and kicked him square

between the legs. The "statue" made a most un-statue-like

sound and doubled over, its weapon and shield clattering to

the ground. Tanj made a sympathetic noise and grabbed

him, to spin him around and ram his head into the stone

wall. The statue dropped like a rock. Turning, she found

herself just in time to watch Jack pummel the other statue;

whoever had taught him kick-boxing had been quite good, and

the Rabbit's powerful legs had battered through the other

"Statue's" defenses; after a few well-placed kicks the

"statue" was in a stone-colored furry heap on the floor.

Tanj turned to look at the next statue in line… was there

just a hint of fear in the stone gray eyes?

They took a few minutes to rest, to regain their strength,

and then they repeated the procedure. This time Tanj had

the obsidian edged weapon and the shield to aide her. The

dart again gave her opponent blurry vision and dizziness,

disorienting him enough that Tanj was able to whack him

in the shins with the blunt side of the weapon, and then

bring the heavy shield down on his head. Jack had a little

more trouble with the Bull that was his opponent; he had to

use two of the darts he carried, and even then he'd had to

cut the Bull, The huge furr was left bleeding and moaning

as they moved on to the next set of guards. These two also

fell before the two, as they used the last of their darts.

Jack grinned at Tanj as they padded away from the guards.

"Good idea tripping all those pressure plates and collecting

the darts; that worked really well." Tanj chuckled and

nodded, hefting the spear and sword she'd taken from the

"statues." "I think they'll have to change the set-up in

the future; half the planet just learned that trick." Jack

chuckled and nodded, turning to look at Tanj just as the

stone she'd stepped on disintegrated, and she dropped from

view with a sharp yelp. Jack was about to leap down after

her, when something slid across the hole, closing it off.

With a sigh, he muttered; "Well, she said we were going to

be separated…." Hefting his sword and shield, he carefully

picked his way out of the Temple, and into the maze beyond.

Im'Harta just shook her head in wonder, as Tanj and the

Rabbit used the poisoned darts against the Temple Guards.

She'd only seen that one done twice before, and that was

ages ago. Turning to Xylex, the Skunkette grinned; "She's

one very resourceful Fem; I could use someone like that in

my organization…. Are you SURE you want her?" Xylex turned

to glare at Im'Harta; "She's making fools of all your furrs.

How can you THINK of rewarding her for it? No, I want her

more than ever. In fact, I'm going to PERSONALLY join the

ambush team in the final room! Obviously the old adage

applies; "If you want something done right, you have to do

it yourself!"" Im'Harta Hmmmed; "I'll have to pull a

professional from the team to make room for you; that won't

lengthen the odds. Are you sure you want to do that?"

Tanj yelped as she fell, landing on some sort of slide

that rapidly carried her downward; as she slid, she lost

hold of the spear, something snatching it from her paw. The

sword she held carefully, doing her best not to hurt herself

with it, but determined not to loose that advantage. The

slide finally ended, dumping her off in a room painted an

industrial grunge green, stained and streaked with rust.

The floor was rough concrete, and three rusted, large

diameter pipes descended through the roof, ending out of

reach over a bright contraption of stainless steel and black

rubber. On one side of the room was a grating, obviously

some sort of drain. Tanj padded over to examine the

contraption curiously. It looked like a short stretcher,

all in stainless steel, with a black rubber sheet stretched

between the two arms, equipped with a host of robotic

restraints, designed to close over anyone who laid on the

rubber sheet. In the middle of the sheet was a ring gag, in

matching stainless steel, with a thick rubber strap. The

stretcher portion was mounted on four legs that seemed to

be mounted on swivels, so that the top could swing back and

forth, the vertical legs describing an arc. At one end, on

the floor, were two concrete blocks. At the other end, a

spring assembly held the framework tilted back towards the

concrete blocks. Shafts on the other side of the "front"

legs from the springs connected to two rather large

diaphragm pumps, of a type commonly found on yachts as bilge

pumps. It was obvious that as the platform was rocked

forward, against the tension of the springs, the pumps would

work. Tanj glanced up at the three pipes directly

overhead and sighed. This was going to be a wet and scary

one. She just hoped the water was warm…….

With a sigh, Tanj propped her sword in a corner, near a

vertical ladder, and then turned to the contraption. The

first step, obviously, was to put the ring gag in her mouth,

propping her jaws wide apart, the straps buckling behind her

neck. Then, positioning her feet by the concrete blocks at

the "back" of the device, she slowly laid across it,

reaching down the "front" legs to grab a pair of handles

mounted there, her body resting on the thick black rubber

sheet. No sooner had she grabbed the handles than closures

encircled her, restraining her, binding her to the platform

at ankles, thighs, waist, neck, elbows and wrists. Sighing

through the ring gag, she settled down to wait.

Jack had found the maze long, and complex, but without

pitfalls; it was merely to delay him, giving them time to

set up Tanj. He'd heard what she'd said, what the Jaguar

had told her about the room, and he did NOT like the sound

of it. She could easily die, and if she did, it would be

his fault. As he stood before the door that was the exit to

the maze he tried to calm himself, to find his "center."

Then, with a deep breath, he opened the door and stepped

through.

Tanj heard the door open; almost immediately there was

the hooting of some alarm, and a red light started to flash

somewhere. And then the three pipes above her opened up and

deluged her in a torrent of cold water!

Jack's eyes widened as Tanj's form was lost in the

waterfall. Throwing his sword and shield towards one

corner, hoping he could retrieve them later, he dashed down

the metal stairs, towards the device holding Tanj

immobile. The floor was already inches deep in water, and

he sloshed through it, as he made his way to the two

concrete blocks. Standing on them, he found his crotch

pressed hard against Tanj's ass; reaching up, straining,

he took hold of the two handles hanging from the roof,

straining to close the grips. Gripping one handle almost

completely stopped the torrent of water; gripping the other

handle opened the drain, a small whirlpool forming by the

far wall; both handles were heavily spring-loaded and he had

to grip them fiercely to hold the grips closed. And it

seemed that by gripping them, he merely achieved a status

quo; the water flow was not completely shut off, and the

drain was small, much smaller than they'd hoped….. By the

time he'd succeeded in forcing the grips closed, the water

was half way up the legs of the platform Tanj was bound

to. Standing there, the Rabbit slowly rubbed his crotch

against Tanj's exposed sex until he was once again hard.

Driving his cock into her wet pussy, he bucked his hips

forward, slowly rocking the platform forward; as he did so,

the pumps worked; each stroke took about ten gallons of

water from the room. The Rabbit would thrust forward, the

springs would push the platform back….. Slowly, as he

fucked her, he emptied the room of water. When he could

hold the grips no longer, as his paws screamed for relief,

he leapt from the blocks to try and unfasten Tanj. Each

of the closures had automated locks on one side, but there

were buckles in the middle that could be released. The

rubber straps however were thick and stiff, and each one

took a considerable effort to undo, and working in the

deluge of water wasn't easy either. Jack had the ones

around Tanj's wrists, and one of the ones around her

elbows undone when he had to return to the platform, to grip

the handles, to stop the flow of water. Again he started

"pumping" Tanj, and in the process pumping the water from

the room. As he labored, he groaned at the built in puns;

"wet pussy", and "pumping her," and decided that whomever

had set up this room had a twisted sense of humor.

It was shorter this time, before he had to release the

handles; again dropping to the floor he worked on the other

elbow strap, and then on one of the thigh straps before he

again had to mount the blocks, to squeeze the grips, his

cock again driving hard into Tanj's snatch.

Tanj grunted with each of his thrusts, as if calling

encouragement to him. With her legs and torso bound to the

platform, she could aid slightly in rocking it back and

forth, working to pump the water from the room. As he

thrust into her again and again, she wondered how many furs

had died in this room; how many had drowned. Had most of

the males stayed to try and release their partner, or had

they fled, seeking the highest spot in the room, and a few

more minutes of life? The Jaguar had told her that if the

puzzle wasn't successfully completed, the whole room would

fill with water and that they'd both drown. He'd also said

that the male couldn't merely push the platform back and

forth; there were sensors that could detect if his cock was

within her, and only then would the platform unlock. Worse,

those same sensors could detect if he orgasmed; if he did

so, the platform would lock up solid, dooming them both.

Could Jack hold out? As Jack fumbled with one of her ankle

straps, underneath the torrent of water, Tanj gasped and

spluttered as the water level rose to the level of her

muzzle, the ring gag permitting it to flow into her mouth….

And then the Rabbit was on the blocks again, straining to

hold the grips closed, thrusting his cock into her pussy

again and again…..

Jack gasped and strained; his arms felt like lead, and his

grip on the handles kept slipping; just a little more and he

could go after the only two straps holding the Cheetah fem

to the contraption. Jack concentrated on the feeling of the

cold water around his legs, of his straining muscles,

anything to distract him from the sensation of his cock

driving hard into the warmth of the Cheetah's sex. He dare

not cum, but it took all his concentration not to do so;

usually when he thrust that hard, it was to produce an

orgasm, not to withhold one….. Finally, as his paw slipped

from one of the grips for the third time, he felt the water

was low enough that he was able to dive at the bound female,

to work on the strap around her neck.

The water level was well above Tanj's head when he

finally got the strap around her waist undone, and they both

kicked for the surface. There, in the corner, on a platform

by the ceiling was the exit door, and they rapidly swam

towards the ladder that led to it. The water was rising

fast, though, and after one abortive dive for the weapons

they'd left, they both scrambled up the ladder and onto the

platform. The door, however, was locked, closed tight.

Above it are two small handles, and square in front of it

was a phallic shape, rising from the platform. Jack

immediately reached up to grab the handles, to squeeze them

hard. Tanj squeezed between him and the door and thrust

herself down hard on the phallus, driving it deep into her

sex; she wound up at just the right position, Jack's still

hard cock bobbing in front of her face. She tilted her head

forward, to slip the head of his cock through the ring gag

she still wore. As she did so, sucking hard on him, vaginal

muscles clenched on the dong in her pussy, she felt the door

behind her start to open.

Jack had been holding it back for sooooo long, the sensation

of the Cheetah's rough tongue on his hard cock was almost

more than he could bear. By the time the door was fully

open, just as the water was lapping at the base of the

platform, he came, throwing his head back, to howl out his

pleasure in a most un-lapine fashion. Then he released the

handles, to bodily lift Tanj off the dong, to shove her

through the now-closing door. As they tumbled through, the

door closing behind them, cold water started to flow into

the room… and then the door was closed, and they were safe.

It took a moment for the two to recover, to catch their

breath. For warmth, they cuddled, as the horror of what

they'd just been through replayed itself in their minds.

"Should have put the sword at the top of the platform"

Tanj sighed. Jack shrugged; "couldn't have known. I

thought we'd have more time than that." Tanj grinned and

turned to kiss him softly; "Still, you were magnificent; a

true hero come to rescue the damsel in distress." Jack

nodded and sighed; "Still, we're not out of this yet. What

did you say came next?"

The maze was another one of the three dimensional ones,

with the added benefit of "hunters". These were a group of

wolves that howled and bayed as they pursued them through

the maze. Still, the Jaguar had told Tanj the secrets,

and they were doing rather well in maintaining their lead.

As the pair dashed into the next room, they found themselves

on a platform overhanging an abyss. It looked like some

sort of crevasse, all blue ice and diffused light. At the

edge of the platform were four very thin wires; suspended

in-between the wires was a saddle-like device. In the

middle of the saddle was a thick phallus, and again there

were the obligatory hand-holds. Jack sighed and shook his

head, and climbed carefully onto the saddle; after shooting

Tanj a complaining look, he slowly lowered himself onto

the dong, grimacing as the cold shaft pushed into his ass.

No sooner had he settled himself than Tanj swung onto the

device, her feet finding the stirrups that were meant for

her, her paws stretching up to grab her handholds. Jack now

slowly lifted himself upwards on the dong, rising until his

crotch was pressed to Tanj's, the head of the massive

shaft still nestled within his anal ring. Then as he drove

downward again, driving the shaft into his ass, the entire

assembly rose on the thin wires……

Jack had driven himself down on the device a dozen times,

when the door to the room opened again and the pursuing pack

of Wolves dashed in. One of them teetered on the edge of

the platform, making a swipe at Tanj's tail, but Tanj

jerked it out of the way just in time, and the Wolf almost

fell into the chasm below. Their growls and howls rang

through the crevasse, as Jack's frenzied humping slowly

pulled them upwards, out of their reach and towards safety.

Xylex looked at Im'Harta as he stripped; "No, I don't think

the rat pack is appropriate. You've got a rather large Lion

in your stable, don't you? She's got a thing for this Lion

she works for; I wonder if faced with another Lion, if it

might not inhibit her." The Skunkette looked at Xylex,

taking in the powerful build of the Wolverine and concluded

that he spent too much time behind a desk At one time he

must have been formidable, but now? No matter, she thought

to herself, the show will have amazing ratings, whether

Xylex takes her or not. This can still be explained away as

a "grudge match." Looking at Xylex, Im'Harta sighed; "there

are SOME rules to this thing. If I can't send you in with

the rat pack, then its just you and the Lion, nothing more.

Are you SURE you want to do it that way?" Xylex glanced at

the Skunkette and nodded; "The Lion should be able to break

the Rabbit in half in moments and then he can help me with

the Cheetah. Oh, what plans I've got for her!" Im'Harta

sighed and nodded; "As you wish. Go and take up your

position, and good luck."

Tanj smiled and bent to kiss Jack as he rose off the

dong; "Its not fair; you seem to be doing all the work

lately….." Jack just grunted and grinned up at Tanj;

"Oh, I don't mind; as long as we win, that is." Tanj

grinned and squatted a bit, teasing him every time he rose…

before long, his cock was hard, standing proud, and Tanj

maneuvered herself so that as he rose off the shaft in his

ass, he drove his own cock into her pussy. There must have

been sensors somewhere, monitoring them, because as he

started to pump her as well as the dong in the saddle, their

upwards rate seemed to increase. As she looked down,

watching him as he labored, Tanj felt he looked a little

more at ease with his task…….

Having nothing to do but stand there, as Jack Labored,

Tanj permitted herself to enjoy the pleasures of his

thrusting, and by the time they pulled even with the landing

above them, she was on her third climax. As the Saddle hit

the stops at the end of the wire, the Rabbit rose off the

dong beneath him, pushing his cock hard into Tanj,

pushing her upwards; His hips jerked several times, hard

quick thrusts, and then he was grunting as he came too, his

cock spurting, filling Tanj's pussy until his thick ropy

cum dribbled from where his shaft spread her labia. After a

moment, Tanj found that Jack seemed unwilling to again

take the dong in his ass, and she had to climb higher,

pulling herself up by her paws, to free herself from his

shaft, in order to dismount; it was awkward, but Tanj was

sure the camera loved it. Then Jack stepped off the saddle

and together they faced the next door.

Behind the door was a simple corridor; it was about four

meters wide, and a half a hundred long. At the far end was

an ornate golden door, obviously the end of the game. And

standing in the corridor, were two figures. A rather large

Wolverine, and an even larger Lion, both nude. As Tanj

stared at them, her eyes widened; at first she'd thought her

Master had found a way to rescue her, but then she realized

this one was darker, both in fur and in mane color. And the

Wolverine… if she wasn't mistaken, it was Xylex himself!

"That'd explain a lot" she mumbled, drawing a "huh?" from

Jack. Unbuckling the ring gag from where it hung around her

neck, Tanj turned to the Rabbit; "Here's what we'll do;

the Wolverine has it in for me, he's an old enemy, and he's

sure to come after me, leaving you to the Lion. But that’s

not the way I want to play it……"

Jack shifted to the left, watching the Wolverine. Tanj

had said that the Wolverine was an old adversary and would

be fixated on her. On the other hand, she'd said she'd

sparred with a lion often, and knew their strengths and

weaknesses; she felt confident that if Jack could keep the

Wolverine off her back, she could handle the Lion.

Accordingly, Jack placed himself between Tanj and the

Wolverine.

Xylex moved left and then right, growling; the damned Rabbit

wouldn't get out of his way! And that damned Cheetah bitch

was back to back with the Rabbit; the Lion couldn't get past

her to remove the annoying Rabbit. Thinking once again "if

you want something done, you have to do it yourself," Xylex

lowered his head and charged the Rabbit.

Tanj grinned at the Lion; she'd taken the ring gag, and

buckling the two ends together, had used her teeth to slice

the thick rubber from one side of the chrome ring. Now she

held the other side of the strap, the heavy ring hanging at

the end of almost half a meter of strap. As the Lion moved,

watching her carefully, she lazily swung her weapon, looking

for an opening.

The two pairs moved watching each other for an opening,

until Xylex charged; Jack sidestepped his headlong rush,

delivering a kick in passing. Tanj had heard the noise

and had leapt, Xylex passing square underneath her, as he

collapsed to the floor. Landing to one side of the

Wolverine, Tanj swung her strap down hard, the chromed

ring striking not his head as she'd desired, but his

shoulder. The Woverine howled in pain and then Tanj was

battered back as the Lion slammed her with a massive fist.

Tanj panted and blinked, stars filling her vision, as she

and Jack backed against the opposite wall of the corridor.

The Lion watched as Xylex hauled himself to his feet, his

eyes fixing Tanj with a glare. For a moment, Tanj

thought of just turning and sprinting for the door at the

far end of the corridor, confident that she could outrun any

of them, but then she thought of Jack, and decided she

couldn't abandon him. Slipping behind him, moving to his

opposite side, she again faced the Lion.

Im'Harta watched on the monitor and shook her head; it was

obvious Xylex wasn't as good as he thought he was. On the

other hand, the way that Cheetah was flailing about with

that strap, she probably would have cut a pretty broad swath

through the rat pack….. Sitting back in her chair, she

sipped her cocktail and smiled.

Tanj had circled the Lion in one direction, while Jack

had moved in the other; now the Lion and Xylex were back to

back. The Lion had a greater reach than Tanj, but he was

obviously respectful of her jury-rigged weapon. Both

feinted and danced, seldom connecting. The Lion stepped

forward to attempt a jab, but Tanj countered with a snap

kick. He in turn tried a spin-kick, and Tanj danced back

towards the wall. The Lion growled and linked his paws

together to try and slam her with a move known as the

"hammer-fist", but Tanj ducked under his swing and gave

him a quick jab to the ribs, claws out. Back and forth they

fought, neither quite breaking through the other's defenses.

Jack on the other hand, seemed to be connecting with Xylex

more often than not, the Wolverine taking a battering from

the Rabbits strong legs. Xylex for his part was seeking to

close with the Rabbit, to grasp him; the Bear-Hug seemed to

be his favorite method of attack, and if he got a good hold

of Jack, the Rabbit was probably done for…… As they moved,

Tanj watched the Lion carefully; neither Lions nor

Cheetahs were known for their endurance. The Lion was

powerful, but not as quick as Tanj, and she hated to say

it, but they were much too closely matched for her tastes.

She was wondering how she might goad him into doing

something rash when one of his claws caught the ring at the

end of the strap and suddenly she found herself pulled

close. As the Lion tugged, Tanj changed tactics, to

advance. One foot found a place in his stomach, and as her

paws kept tension on the strap, holding her almost

horizontally, her other foot swung up towards his chin. The

lion grunted and as he took a swipe at her, he tried to step

backwards, away from her kick, only to collide with Xylex as

he retreated from the Rabbit's flying feet..

Tanj winced as her kick missed his chin; she twisted in

mid-air, to land almost on her feet. The Lion's claw had

come loose from the ring in their wild gyrations and she

swung the strap hard as the Lion pounced, catching him on

the side of the head. The Lion howled and staggered and

Tanj moved in to kick at his crotch; the Lion turned

however, blocking her kick with a leg; still, Tanj

connected, making him wince; and then she'd danced back

watching for another opening.

Xylex was fighting harder than he'd ever thought he'd have

to. The Rabbit just wouldn't cooperate and fall before his

assaults. Instead, it seemed like every time he'd attacked

he'd gotten the stuffing kicked out of him! This wasn't

working, and pausing, the Wolverine tried to think of a

different strategy.

The Lion had connected with Tanj's stomach, kicking her

backwards. As she landed on her back, her ribs howled in

protest; but then she had to roll quickly, to evade the

Lion's pounce. As the Lion leapt, as Tanj rolled, she

flailed out with the strap, once again hitting him. And

then she was against the wall, rising to her feet.

The Lion panted hard. This slip of a Cheetah was driving

him crazy. He'd watched the video feed, seen how she'd

defeated the Jaguar, but he'd been confident he could defeat

her AND that Rabbit. Now he wasn't so sure. She still

wielded that strap with the chrome ring, and he had the

bruises to prove it. How to take her down? She seemed to

be too fast to just charge in, taking his lumps until he

could sink his fangs into her. Perhaps if he found a way to

back her into a "corner"…… Circling carefully, he looked

for an opening.

As Tanj moved she felt her broken ribs grate. If she

didn't think of something soon, the larger male would wear

her down, until he could take her at his leisure. The

corridor they were fighting in was just too narrow for this

sort of combat; they were bunched up, dancing around each

other, and Tanj planned to take advantage of that fact.

Looking past him, at Jack, she gave a half nod, and then

suddenly dropped to the floor, swinging her body, her legs

flying out to try and sweep the Lion from his feet.

Jack saw the signal and Leapt at the Wolverine, his feet

flashing out to slam into the Wolverine's middle. Just as

the Lion leapt over Tanj's swinging legs, the Wolverine

crashed backwards into him.

Tanj gasped as the Lion and the Wolverine collided in

mid-air, the Lion flailing, claws out, falling, toppling

straight towards her. There was no escape,…… but there

might be triumph…. Tanj brought her knees up to her

chest, her feet stretching upwards, seeking the Lion's

stomach as he descended towards her. Moving her right arm,

she swung the strap with all her strength, the chrome ring

swinging wide, describing an arc terminating with the Lion's

thick skull just below his left ear. Then Tanj was

kicking her feet hard, , her claws out, pressing into his

stomach, shoving at the Lion, so that he fell headfirst

beyond her, slamming into the floor with a thud. Before he

could recover, Tanj twisted around, scrambling to take

his head in both her paws, fingers wrapping deeply into his

mane, struggling to lift it up as high as she could, and

then to pull it down HARD. The Lion's head slammed down,

and she winced as she heard the sickening thud as his

forehead hit the floor. He twitched once and then was

still. Then she was rising, turning, to see how Jack was

coming with the Wolverine.

She found Jack laying sideways on the floor by Xylex, his

powerful legs wrapped around the Wolverine's neck; every

time Xylex moved, Jack would tighten his grip, throttling

the Wolverine. Tanj smiled and nodded; "VERY good, Jack,

I’m proud of you!" Taking Xylex by his ears, Tanj

snarled into his face; "you loose again, Lord Xylex! Oh, and

another thing; with respect to your daughter's virginity,

that ham handed "doctor" that examined her is the one who

tore her Hymen, although I'm sure you were told a different

story. Her behavior, despite the worst of circumstances,

has always been such as to bring you honor! And how have

you repaid her? Have you even returned her messages? You

are the worst, most pitiable excuse for a Father that ever

was!" Straightening, Tanj nodded at Jack, who tightened

his grip. The Wolverine's eyes bulged and he pawed

ineffectually at the Rabbit, who maintained his grip until

the Wolverine had passed out.

Tanj helped Jack to his feet, and taking his paw, the two

of them strolled towards the far end of the corridor.

Tanj was gasping with each step, her ribs hurting bad.

Jack was limping, his face showing considerable pain, but

they were still moving under their own power when Jack

opened the golden door, and Tanj stepped through,……. into

Pandemonium.

The Cheetah blinked, and was tempted to step back through

the door; for in the next room were dozens of well-dressed

furrs, each shouting questions at the top of their lungs,

video and audio recorders pointed her way. Tanj looked

dazedly from face to face, for a moment completely unable to

make any sense of it all. Then the Lady Coyote was at her

side, tugging gently, leading the dazed Cheetah through the

crowd. Turning, Tanj saw Jack being led off by another

fur, and then before she could even wave, he was gone.

The dressing room was a relief. The crowd of furrs had

followed them, shouting questions that had failed to sink in

to her exhausted brain. The silence when the door closed

was a blessing. Tanj carefully lowered herself to the

couch sighing in relief. The Coyote looked at her for a

moment and then smiled. "We'll get a doctor to look at you;

those are some nasty clawmarks you've got there. He'll be

here in a moment. I can get you some time to rest, but soon

you're going to have to face their questions. The forms you

signed committed you to interviews and such, should you win,

and now you're going to have to follow through. But first

things first. Get some rest, see the doctor, get cleaned

up, and then we'll throw you to the sharks. Tanj was

wondering if they'd literally throw her to the sharks as she

fell into an exhausted sleep; after all, wasn't the game

over? She'd thought she'd won…… And clawmarks? Was she

bleeding? That wouldn't be good if there would be sharks

about…..

Im'Harta looked down at the sedated Wolverine. Apparently

he'd suffered no permanent damage in the fight, although the

medic said he'd be quite sore for a while. He'd been

literally foaming at the mouth with rage when he'd regained

consciousness, insisting that the Cheetah was his, that she

be delivered to him. Now that the Cheetah had won, of

course, this representative of the Elysium government had

become an embarrassment. "Should have left it to the

professionals" she muttered. Turning she signaled to one of

her staff; "See that he gets returned to the Elysium ship

that brought him here. And see that the ship departs soon,

too. I would much rather they NOT be in our space when he

regains consciousness again.

Tanj was seated on a soft couch, looking at a well

dressed Vixen, doing her best to answer her questions as she

participated in some sort of televised interview. So far

she'd been reticent as to why she'd come to Imroc, although

the "host" had broadly suggested to the audience that it was

for some sort of illegal activity, some mysterious

conspiracy. Tanj had just smiled and hadn't denied it,

answering her question with a question; "Surely, Ma'am, if

that were the case, you wouldn't expect me to TELL you about

it, would you?" She'd been surprised when the host had

smiled and shrugged and said they couldn't touch her for

anything she'd done anyways, so why NOT give us an

interesting story. Tanj had smiled shyly in return and

suggested that her activities were not just limited to this

system, and that others elsewhere might not honor amnesty

granted here. The host had smiled and nodded; "Ah, so the

rumors about you being a Pirate are true then?" Tanj had

just stared wide-eyed at her, but then she'd changed the

subject, asking about Xylex, wondering who the mystery

grudge-match opponent had been, and what was behind what

she'd told him. Tanj smiled, showing fangs, and

proceeded to launch into a rather edited version of the

truth, telling the entranced host of her time as a slave,

of her "loan" to Xylex, of how he'd given her to his

daughter, and of the problems that had ensued, and of how

she'd rebelled, capturing the shuttle, and how they'd all

wound up in the clutches of unspecified pirates. She could

tell the tale of sex and violence was exactly the kind of

tale they liked, from the look on the Host's face. She'd

thought she'd struck gold, and she played it for all she was

worth, making Xylex look as villainous as she could, and

making Wanda look like a pillar of virtue (Not that anyone

HERE cared about that, she was sure). In the end, the Host

congratulated her on winning, commenting that she was only

the third winner that year. Tanj did some quick math,

figuring where they stood with the local calendar, and

concluded that she'd beaten odds that were almost 100 to 1

against her. Her reverie was broken as the Host asked what

she planned next. Tanj grinned; "I'm going to go home.

I plan to book passage off this planet just as soon as I

can. And then I'm going to sleep for a week!"

Tanj sighed and shook her head; they just kept throwing

interview after interview at her. She wanted to LEAVE. But

then the ship she'd booked passage on wouldn't leave for a

day and a half anyways so she guessed it didn't matter. As

she entered the sound stage for yet another filming she was

surprised to see Jack already there. Moving carefully

across the floor, she hugged him, noting that he winced as

bad as she did at the hug. The Rabbit was clean, and well

dressed, and looking happier than she'd ever seen him.

"What next for you, Jack? What are you going to do with

your winnings?" she asked. The Rabbit smiled; "I've already

started spending them. Bought my family from my former

Master. Got them housed temporarily in one of the better

hotels. Even hired security for them! Soon as we can,

we're headed for some relatives' homestead on Oberth.

That’s an agricultural world over in the Hammass sector."

Tanj blinked; "Married? You? I never would have

guessed!" And then the crew was separating them, dragging

them each off to their assigned places, prepping them for

yet another interview…… More of the same things repeated

over and over, with the added flavor of asking each of them

what they'd thought when the other had done this or that.

The interview included film clips from the game, and Tanj

found it almost impossible to recognize herself. Was that

panting, dripping, snarling thing really her? When it was

over, Tanj barely had time to give Jack another hug,

before they were each dragged off in different directions.

As she waved goodbye, Tanj thought to herself; "Oberth.

Hammass Sector. If I ever get out that way, I'll have to

look them up……"

The Interviews were finally done; the financial arrangements

complete, the papers signed, and Tanj was on board the

shuttle to the ship she'd booked passage on. The Claire

Thompson was a "packet", a combination freighter and

passenger ship, headed for Benton's world. Tanj knew

that she could contact the Brethren from there, and then all

she'd have to do would be to wait for someone to come pick

her up. As the shuttle docked, she gathered what belongings

she had, and boarded the ship.

Mark was quietly sipping his coffee when the Lion padded in

to the Caffeteria. He watched him gather his food, his

motions quick and jerky; it was obvious that he was in a

foul mood. Mark waited until their eyes met for a moment,

then lightly shook his head. "Worried about Tanj?" The

Lion growled; 'Damn Straight. We haven't gotten ANY news

whatsoever on her yet, and I don't need to tell you what

could happen if she gets caught by the wrong furrs…." Mark

nodded; "That too, yes. I'm not sure if it'll help any….

She really IS too far away and there are too many other

furrs running around providing mental static, but I'd know

if she was dead, and I THINK she's even mostly out of danger

now. And I got a vague impression when I woke up this

moring that she may be heading off-planet shortly. I know

it’s a long shot, but if you want to follow up on that…."

The Lion just grumbled as he turned to his meal; "I’m not

sure I'd even call that a "long shot", but I'll check in

with Intelligence later, anyways. Thanks."

Just inside the Packet's airlock, Tanj was met by the

ship's first officer, a rather hansom Snow Leopard by the

name of Pentrath. He seemed completely oblivious to

Tanj's newly found fame, but the "fortune" part of it

seemed to have been passed on to him as he was very

solicitous in showing Tanj to her cabin, showing her all

the amenities, and inquiring if there was anything else he

could do to make her voyage more comfortable. Tanj

suppressed a grin, seriously thinking about telling him to

come back after his shift, but managed somehow to control

herself. Thanking him, she told him she'd let him know if

anything came to mind, and as he turned to leave, she

quietly closed the door behind him.

The Cabin was small, but it was larger than her closet on

the Lost Cause. Stripping down to just her fur, she flopped

down on the bed. As she drifted off to sleep, she

purrrrred, thinking her troubles were behind her at last.

She was going home……

Tanj rolled over in the bed and stretched. Rising on one

paw, she blinked at the clock, trying to work the sleep from

her eyes. Almost dinner time. Telling the computer to turn

on the lights, she blinked against the glare, and crawling

off the bed, she made her way into the stateroom's miniscule

shower. A few minutes later she emerged, refreshed, if not

a little damp, to paw through her small bag, looking for

something suitable to wear. The game folks on Imroc had

given her several dresses, for the post-game interviews, and

they were about all she had. Selecting one, she pulled it

on, and adjusted it. The reflection in the mirror showed a

rather busty Cheetah fem, her right shoulder and right arm

covered in black fabric, trimmed in gold along the edge.

The edge ran from the left side of her neck, under the stiff

collar, diagonally down, passing just barely under the

nipple on her right breast. The fabric of the dress then

wrapped around her like a band; after passing across her

back, it passed diagonally down her front, below the first

part, the upper edge barely covering the nipple on her left

breast, angling down across her stomach. After passing

across her back once again, it angled down over her left

hip, barely covering her mons, to form a dangling trail down

the outside of her right leg. Each band was fastened to the

one above and below it with a golden metal link, with a ruby

colored jem in its center. Tanj found it typical of

Imroc; sexy, risque, and just a bit tawdry. Sighing, she

padded back into the water closet, to rub the steam from the

mirror, to try and brush out her hair. Tying it back with a

gold and black ribbon to match her dress, she turned and

headed out, to try and find what passed for a dining room on

the ship.

A number of other passengers were already in the lounge when

Tanj entered. For the most part, aside from a few lusty

glances from some of the males, and a few cold stares from

their wives, they ignored her, lost in their own

conversations, or in a newscast that was playing on a flat

screen monitor on the far wall. A small bar had been set

up, and Tanj poured herself a glass of Burgundy. Taking

a sip, she padded over to listen to the broadcast.

"Amazing" she thought to herself; "out of touch for that

long, and there still isn't really anything "new" on the

news.

"'Bout time you showed up" Tanj turned to find the

smiling First Officer standing behind her. "I've been

wondering if I should get the Ship's Medic to check in on

you." Tanj blinked; "Oh? Why's that?" The Snow Leopard

grinned; "Oh, because you've been in your cabin so long.

You must have really been tired to have slept for a day and

a half!" Tanj just looked at him; "you're kidding!" He

chuckled and shook his head; "Nope; we're half way to

Benton's World. Got another Jump coming up right after

dinner." Tanj took a sip of her wine and sighed; "well,

I did have a pretty exhausting time down there on Imroc……."

The Snow Leopard smiled and nodded; "Must have. But now its

time for dinner and I bet you're starved!" Tanj just

grinned and nodded, and let him lead her to the dining room.

"So, what line of work are you in?" The Boar was middle

aged, and rather thick around the middle, and Tanj was

finding him just a little bit annoying. "Oh, I'm in…. data

analysis." The Boar nodded and smiled; "Off on vacation,

then?" Tanj chuckled; "no, returning from a business

trip." The Conversation around the dinner table was a mix

of ship's business, and business traveler's tales, and

Tanj did her best to listen, trying to sort out the bits

of information that might be useful. Attempts to get her to

join the conversation, though, were resisted; she did her

best to keep to herself, to not get involved. After all,

she might meet these folks someday on a "professional"

level, and she didn't really want personal entanglements….

Still, the First Officer was a temptation….. The Captain

was an elderly buck, sporting an impressive rack of antlers,

and Tanj smiled to herself as she tried to imagine the

helmet to his vac suit. He was mostly engaged in

conversation with the ship's purser, going over their

finances, as if there wasn't another soul present. An otter

down the table, wearing a ship's uniform that pegged him as

one of the Engineers kept looking at Tanj, and she

wondered if he'd caught part of one of the broadcasts of the

Game…. Mostly, she just savored the food and kept to

herself through the meal.

It was about desert time when the Captain excused himself,

saying he was needed on the Bridge for the upcoming Jump.

Tanj sipped her coffee and nibbled at the cherry cobbler,

idly talking with a lady squirrel, who as it turned out was

a buyer for one of the regional clothiers. She was on her

way back from a fashion show on Velach, and was just

bubbling over with all the latest styles, and fabrics. As

she listened to her prattle on, Tanj felt the stomach

wrenching sensation of a ship engaging its Jump Engines. A

moment's disorientation, and then it was past.

The Lion sat up in bed, fumbling to hit the answer button on

the Comm panel; "Yes, what is it?" "Uh Boss, this is Lon

down in Intelligence…. We've just turned up something on

Tanj, and I think you'd better come see this. You

wouldn't BELIEVE what she's gotten herself into this time!"

The Lion blinked and then growled; "Be right down." Rising

he pulled on his clothes and left at a trot.

The Lion found them all clustered around one of the bigger

Holo tanks in the Intelligence office. He knew most of the

folks there weren't with Intelligence; whatever was going on

had obviously drawn a crowd. Seeing him arrive the Fox held

up a paw, and clicked a remote. The scene on the big Holo

jumped, obviously returning to the beginning of the

recording. He watched, looking over the heads of most of

the other furrs, as a well dressed male Skunk started making

introductions………

The lady Squirrel put her paw to her chest and exclaimed;

"Oh MY! I'll NEVER get used to that" Tanj just chuckled

and shrugged; "actually, they've got a good crew on this

ship. The Jump engines are rather well balanced. I've

ridden out MUCH worse……." Her sentence was interrupted by

the sound of a klaxon, and the First Officer, who'd been

politely listening, rose to his feet. "Ladies, something's

wrong. Why don't you return to your cabins, just as a

precaution. I'd best go see what's happening." As most of

the guests filed out of the dining room, everyone seemingly

talking at once, Tanj padded into the lounge. She had a

hunch as to what the problem was…… Many times, the

entertainment system on a packet like this could be switched

to show exterior views, for the passenger's amusement during

landings, or docking and undocking, and as she fiddled with

the controls, she suddenly got a starfield. Panning about,

she found the angle that would show a picture down the

length of the Claire Thompson. Slowly she panned back and

forth, searching, until a bright spot drew her attention.

Zooming in, she nodded in recognition.

The First Officer bustled into the Lounge, looking left and

right; "I’m afraid I'm going to have to ask ALL passengers

to return to their Cabins" he growled, shooing some of the

remaining business travelers towards the door. Tanj

turned and looked at him, and as he looked in her direction

he caught sight of the picture on the monitor. Tanj

watched as he seemed to sag, his ears and tail drooping.

Tanj nodded; "looks like a "Savage" class, probably from

the shipyards on Banth. A pirate vessel that size has you

clearly outmatched, in speed and shields and weapons. I'd

imagine you'll surrender without a fight." The Snow Leopard

looked at her, eyes narrowing, and Tanj just sighed and

shrugged; "I've been through this before." Tanj grinned

to herself; "Of course, I'm NOT going to tell you that I've

been through it from the OTHER side……" The Snow Leopard

looked at her for a moment and then nodded; "I’m afraid that

gives you more experience with this than anyone else on

board. We've never encountered pirates before; at least

none that would dare go against the shields and weaponry we

carry." Tanj nodded; "True, that’s one of the reasons I

chose this ship; but there's always somebody out there

bigger, badder, more aggressive than you are. Just my bad

luck you happened to run into them on this trip." The Snow

Leopard turned towards the door, and then turned back; "Ah,

if you've experienced a pirate raid before, perhaps you'd

come up to the Bridge; you might be able to give us some

advice as to how to obtain the best treatment for our

passengers……" Tanj just grinned and nodded; "I'd be glad

to."

The Bridge was a very tense place. Tanj could smell the

fear in the air. The Captain sat rigidly in his chair,

staring at the image of the Pirate vessel in the main

viewer. The Snow Leopard leaned over and whispered into his

ear for a moment and then the Buck nodded. Turning to look

at Tanj, he sighed; "They've demanded we stop engines and

power down shields and weapons, and prepare to be boarded.

I don't think we can fight a ship that size, and there

doesn't seem to be any help in the immediate vicinity. What

can I expect when they board us?" Tanj shrugged;

"depends on who does the boarding. Some pirates will behave

rather badly; I doubt there's much that any of us could do

to stop them. Others are quite…. civilized. But that ship

out there is too expensive to be owned by any of the minor

organizations. That’s a Major outfit, and I'd suspect a

more…. businesslike behavior. I'd advise doing nothing that

might worsen their mood, and hope for the best. If

everything goes just right, your insurance carrier will

ransom your ship, your passengers, and your crew." The Buck

just nodded and with a sigh, gestured at the furr at the Ops

console. "Do as they demand" he sighed, as if passing a

death sentence.

Tanj excused herself, and waited in the lounge, not

wanting to call attention to herself. She felt the ship

shudder as the Pirate's shuttle clamped onto the Packet's

docking ring, and then listened as the shouts and the

running feet drew closer. Most of them passed by on their

way to the bridge, but after a while, one of the pirates

stuck his head into the lounge, his vulpine features split

by a wide grin when he saw Tanj; "well, Lookee here what

Ah Found!" Tanj took in the image of the fox, wearing

battered and nondescript body armor, a rather large stunner

in his paws, and a commo headset perched on his head, and

smiled; "Hello yourself. Who's ram-rodding this operation?

The Fox just shook his head and padded across the lounge, to

wrap one paw around Tanj's arm, tugging her to her feet.

"Ah'll be the one askin' the questions here." With that he

dragged her from the lounge.

Tanj found herself pushed up against a corridor wall, as

the pirates assembled all the passengers and crew. Some of

the businessfurrs looked quite nervous, some looked amused.

The crew looked somewhere between doubtful and terrified.

Tanj watched the pirates closely, trying to gain a clue

as to what organization they belonged to. Their operation

however, was smooth, parties seizing the Bridge and

Engineering, others rounding up all the furrs on the ship.

Tanj hadn't seen anyone actually mistreated yet, although

there was a lot of yelling and threatening gestures.

Smiling to herself, Tanj treated it as an exercise, as if

she'd have to give an efficiency report on the operation.

They'd been standing there for a while when a rather large

Tiger swaggered into view. His outfit was perhaps just a

little grander than that of the other pirates, his body

armor better fitting, and still showing a shine in odd

places. He carried a stunner in one paw, and an honest-to-

God rapier in the other. Tanj almost laughed as she

watched him. The effect was not lost on the crew and

passengers, and most of them literally cowered before him.

As he passed down the line, the Pirate singled out the

occasional crew member, sending them to stand to one side.

Most of the Crew and Passengers were passed on to a team of

pirates that started binding them, preparing to transfer

them to the pirate vessel. As the Tiger pulled even with

Tanj, she smiled; "Well, Hello, Captain Quinn; fancy

meeting you in a place like this!" The Tiger stopped and

stared down at the Cheetah to growl; "How do you know my

name?" Tanj rolled her eyes; "why Jedidiah, I'm SHOCKED

that you don't remember me!" Before the Tiger could speak,

Tanj narrowed her eyes; looking up at him, she growled;

"And I AM going to tell Jenka that you're not staying awake

in Briefings." As the Tiger's jaw dropped, Tanj noted

with some amusement that half a dozen other jaws had dropped

as well, not only among the Packet's crew, but among the

Pirates as well.

The Tiger stared down at the Cheetah fem and shook his head;

"All right, you've got me; I admit it, I don't remember; NOW

WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?" Tanj smiled and shook her head

again. For a moment she hesitated, not wanting everyone in

the room to know just who she was, but then she thought

about the broadcasts of the Game, and with a sigh, she

realized her covert days were long over. Besides, was she

really ashamed of who, and what she was? Looking back up at

the Tiger, she purrred; "I'm Sou An Ky, Deputy Director of

Intelligence for the Brethren, and the personal property of

the Brethren's CEO and Majority Stockholder. Most folks call

me Tanj. If you'd been awake, you would have seen me

deliver Intelligence Briefings to the Black Fleet as part of

the Information Exchange Program."

Tanj almost burst out laughing when one of the Pirate's

lieutenants muttered an "Ooooooh CRAP!" Quinn turned to fix

his crew with a stare, as if trying to figure out who'd let

that slip, and when he turned back, he had a frown on his

face; "Be that as it may, at the moment, you're booty!"

Tanj shrugged; "Not a problem. I understand the rules.

Just keep in mind that when I get back home, and I WILL get

back home, you'll still be running on the intelligence my

shop provides. Given that, I trust you'll have the good

common sense to treat your captives, ALL your captives,

according to guild rules. Oh, and I’d be obliged if you'd

let Jenka know I'm here." With that, Tanj turned and

moved to join the line of captive being bound for transfer.

Quinn watched her back as she was led towards the airlock,

just another captive in the coffle. One of the Pirates, a

skunk with a wicked scar across his muzzle, padded up to the

Tiger and asked; "what was that crack about her providing

intelligence?" Quinn sighed; "Think about it. She tells

Jenka there's a lucrative convoy passing through our area.

Jenka sends us out to take it. If she's slightly pissed at

us, we find nothing, and she goes "oops" and we take a loss.

If she's REALLY pissed at us, we find an Imperial battle

fleet. And no, we won't just make her "disappear." You

know as well as I do that since we started sharing

intelligence with the Brethren, our revenues are up over

80%. On the OTHER hand, with a mouth like that, I've got no

incentive to treat her any different than the other

captives." The Tiger looked at the Skunk and growled;

"Embarrass me in front of MY crew, will she?" The skunk

chuckled and shook his head, one finger idly rubbing along

the scar on his muzzle; "Aw come on, Skipper, EVERYONE

sleeps in meetings; now not remembering a sexy thing like

that, THAT's hard to believe….Did you seen the size of her

tits?"

The pirates enforced silence as the group was transferred to

a shuttle, and then ferried to the Pirate vessel. In

silence they were stripped, passed through the showers, and

then given a cursory medical examination. Finally Tanj

found herself in a small cage, her paws still bound behind

her back with a wire tie. The lady Squirrel wound up

sharing the cage with her, as she sat there, Tanj watched

her; "Oh calm down. Things are likely to get very boring,

but I really don't think we're in any danger." The squirrel

flashed her a quick look; "I've heard that Pirates like to

rape their captives!" Tanj chuckled; "Oh, I suppose

there are some that do; most I've run across prefer willing

partners. Besides, you're not a virgin are you?" The

Squirrel glanced at her again; "Oh, NO! Of course not!"

Tanj smiled; "and you enjoy sex?" This drew a longer

glance from the Squirrel; "Well, yes………" Tanj chuckled;

"Did you get a good look at Quinn? The Tiger? I think he's

a pretty good looking stud, and I guarantee you, by the time

this gets sorted out, I suspect both of us will be soooooo

bored, his attentions would be rather welcome." The

Squirrel looked at Tanj for a long moment and then shook

her head; "you're weird, you know that?" Tanj just

laughed.

The Lion was visibly tense as Tanj and the Rabbit fought

Xylex and the other Hunter, his claws twitching in and out

as if he wanted nothing more than to join the fight. The

crowd sighed with relief when Tanj managed to defeat her

opponent, and there was a rather shocked silence as Tanj

snarled into Xylex's face, one small voice wondering "was

that WANDA she was talking about?" As the recording moved

into the Victory celebration, and the interviews, the Lion

drew Ben and the Fox aside; "She says she's going home. She

knows she can't come straight here; where would she go? And

how old is this recording? Check the shipping schedules,

and get your mercenaries to check the passenger lists. Then

get that Cruiser we have there to follow up the more

probable leads."

The trip did prove to be boring. They were fed twice a day,

allowed out to use the water closet twice a day, and allowed

a brief exercise period. Most of the time they spent in

their cages. Most of the time Tanj just slept. Of

course conversations were held among the cages, and

occasionally Tanj was glad for the bars that kept her

separated from the other prisoners; some of them hadn't

taken kindly to the fact that she too was a pirate……. The

Guards liked to tease certain of the prisoners, and they

soon figured out that Tanj was more than willing to tease

back, and more than once the Squirrel yelped as one of them

tried to reach through the bars to grab at the Cheetah.

THEN they hit upon a more devious technique…..

"Heeeeyyyyyyy, Trrrrrouuuubbbbblllleeeeee, I've got

Chooooocccoooollllaaaatttteeeee." Tanj licked her lips

and moved to the bars, looking up at the Wolf. The food

here was nutritious, but was designed to minimize demands on

the ship's waste treatment system; high calorie, low bulk,

and accordingly, Tanj was always hungry. Nothing they

fed them seemed to fill her, even though she knew she was

gaining weight, sitting around like she was. And it was

tasteless. No spices. Nothing that might upset someone's

stomach, nothing that might produce vomit, or diarrhea.

Nothing that might cause a mess that would have to be

cleaned up. It was bland! Tanj looked at the Wolf as he

waved the bit of Chocolate, and tried hard not to drool.

"And what am I going to have to do to get a piece,

Frederick?" The Wolf chuckled, and waved the piece just out

of her reach. "Oh, answer a few questions, for starters.

Your little exchange with Captain Quinn has us all a bit

curious…….."

Tanj sat back and looked at him; "I dunno; what kind of

questions?" The Wolf smiled, slowly waving the chocolate

back and forth within Tanj's vision, but just out of her

reach. "We heard you say something about being the

"personal property" of the head of the Brethren; you some

sort of slave or something? Tanj chuckled and shrugged;

"As a matter of fact, I am." Frederick stopped waving the

chocolate and looked at her; "Then where's your collar?"

Tanj grinned; "My Master thought it was inappropriate for

me to wear it on the….. mission we were on. Felt it would

raise too many questions, and therefor he made me leave it

on the ship. Its not like its needed or anything; we both

know where we stand….." The wolf just went "Uh-huh!" After

a moment Frederick smiled; "So tell me, little Slave, what

WILL you do for a piece of chocolate?" Tanj grinned, a

sly smile; "its more like what WON'T I do…….. whatcha got in

mind?"

Before the Wolf could answer, the door at the end of the

room opened and Captain Quinn walked in, to stop before

Tanj's cage. Tanj smiled up at him and said sweetly;

"Why Captain Quinn! We simply HAVE to stop meeting like

this!" Quinn chuckled; "you might change your tune on that;

I received a long message from Jenka about you, and have

gotten some VERY explicit instructions as to how you should

be treated……" As the Tiger spoke, Tanj noticed another

of the pirates, a rather large bull, walking up behind the

Captain, carrying all sorts of straps and cuffs. Quinn

turned to follow her gaze and nodded to the Bull; "This is

the one; the Cheetah. You know what to do." Turning back

to Tanj Quinn chuckled; "See you later, Tanj…."

The Bull unlocked the cage and reached in to grab a handful

of Tanj's hair, dragging her out roughly. Growling at

Frederick, the Bull instructed him to hold her. Tanj

looked at Frederick as the Bull fastened a thick collar

around her neck, locking it in place. This was followed by

a rubber-coated ring gag, the ring propping her jaws wide

apart. Tanj winced as she found the inside of the ring

was lined with sharp little points, and in order to keep

from pricking her tongue, she was forced to lay her tongue

through the ring. The Bull then proceeded to pull her paws

together behind her back, to force her arms into a leather

sleeve. When he had it strapped into place, her arms were

pulled hard behind her back, encased in tight black leather.

Forced to kneel, Tanj felt the Bull tie the ring at the

end of the arm binder to the cuffs that now encircled her

ankles. Then the Bull was gathering her hair, tying a knot

in the end; a rope was looped through her hair, and around

the knot, and then her head was tugged back hard, the other

end of the rope also tied to her ankles. Rising, the Bull

stepped back to look at his handiwork. Glancing up at the

Wolf, the Bull growled; "she's to be kept tightly tied until

we dock. Jenka's orders. And she's to be used.

Frequently." Grinning at the Wolf, the Bull demonstrated,

undoing his belt, and dropping his pants. Tanj urked as

the Bull's hard cock was slowly stuffed through the ring

gag, his thick shaft filling her mouth, making her cheeks

bulge. Now she knew why the ring gag was so huge; the Bull

had obviously chosen it specifically to accommodate himself.

Unable to move, there was little Tanj could do as the

Bull slowly fucked her face. But the Bull didn't seem to

mind; he kept one hand on the back of her head, his hips

moving slowly, oblivious to the stares of all the caged

captives. Finally, he grunted hard, and pulled back,

wrapping one paw around his shaft, to stroke himself as he

came, his jism splattering Tanj's face and chest. With a

grunt, the Bull pulled up his pants, and as he turned to

leave, he grinned at Frederick; "your turn."

Frederick looked down at the Cheetah for a moment, and then

shrugged. "Oooooookay, little slave" he rumbled, and then

his pants were falling to the floor, his crotch pressed

against Tanj's face. Tanj had a little more room, the

wolf not being nearly as massive as the Bull, and she was

able to work her tongue along the underside of his shaft.

The Wolf didn't last nearly as long, and within moments, he

was firing his load down her throat, his howls making the

kennel ring. As he pulled out, Frederick reached down to

pick up the piece of Chocolate he'd dropped, and carefully

he placed it on Tanj's tongue. Then, chuckling, he

pulled up his pants and returned to his station.

Tanj grunted, and strained against her bonds; they seemed

to change her position every few hours… They'd even brought

in some sort of scaffolding, so they could add variety to

the ways in which she was bound. Currently she hung upside-

down, hanging from her well-spread ankles and a broad belt

around her waist; her paws still fastened behind her back.

It'd been a great position for all the Pirates that had been

stopping by the Kennels to make use of the Cheetah slave;

her head was just about at crotch height, the ring gag once

again in her mouth. Of course, there'd been this mouse

who'd been a little short, but he'd actually brought a step-

stool with him……… Now, the kennels were quiet, and Tanj

shifted yet again, seeking a way to ease the strain on her

limbs.

Quinn himself had come to pay her a visit. The Bull had

reappeared, and using tie-down points in the floor of the

kennels, had bound her in a kneeling position, on hands and

knees, her hair again used to pull her head back, its end

tied to the broad belt around her waist. The Captain had

quietly strolled around her, as she knelt, bound, on the

floor and had then added his own personal touch by using a

leather thong to tie the end of her tail to the back of her

collar. Then he'd quietly removed and folded his pants,

laying them aside, to kneel behind her, one paw teasing her

sex, until she was quite wet, and ready for him. The

Tiger's cock wasn't as huge as the Bull's, but it was large

enough, and Tanj moaned as he slowly worked it into her.

After he'd pumped her for a while, the Tiger made a motion,

and the Bull again dropped his pants, to kneel at Tanj's

head, his cock once again driving through the ring in her

mouth. Back and forth they pushed her, the Tiger driving

her forward, forcing her mouth around the Bull's cock; and

then the Bull was driving her back, forcing her onto the

Tiger's cock. Slowly they worked her back and forth,

heedless of her mewlings or her cries, ignoring the climaxes

that claimed her from time to time, until finally the Tiger

growled, his cock spurting and throbbing within her sex,

filling her with his seed until it ran down her thighs. The

Bull took a bit longer, but when he came, again he pulled

out, to spray his cum over her head. He then wiped off his

cock, first against one of her cheeks and then the other,

before standing and pulling up his pants. Without a word,

they left her kneeling there, panting hard, cum dripping

from her pussy, and her muzzle.

Frederick looked down at the dripping Cheetah and sighed;

she was a MESS. Looking around at all the captives in the

cages, he growled; "All right; which one of you would like

to clean this bitch up? Get her clean and I'll let you have

a turn with her." Tanj chuckled to herself as she

watched some of the former passengers and crew of the Packet

recoil in horror, while others obviously looked all too

eager. The Wolf paced up and down the cages, looking

critically at each of the occupants, before stopping and

unlocking one of the doors. Gesturing to the furr inside he

growled. You. Out now." Tanj watched as the packet's

first officer, the Snow Leopard she'd had her eye on,

reluctantly crawled from the cage. The Wolf twirled his

shock stick and grinned; "Get over there and take your

"payment" first. Then untie her and haul her down to the

showers. I want her scrubbed CLEAN. MOVE IT, MISTER!" As

the Snow Leopard rose to his feet, to padd towards her,

Tanj noted that while he seemed to be having moral and

ethical problems with his instructions, his body was

betraying him, his cock standing proud from its sheath…….

Stopping in front of her, the Snow Leopard looked down at

her, and cocked his head to one side; "would you mind if

I……" And then he turned and shot a quick glance at the

Wolf, and his shock stick. Tanj did her best to nod her

head, throwing in a wink as well, as she tried to reassure

him. Shrugging, more at the other captives than at the

guard, or Tanj, the Snow Leopard walked around behind

her, to kneel where the Tiger had been. Softly,

tentatively, Tanj felt the head of his cock nuzzle at her

dripping sex, and then a touch from the Wolf's shock stick

on his ass made the Snow Leopard drive his shaft into her

hard, with an outraged howl! The Snow Leopard started to

move, his hips thrusting rhythmically, the pattern

alternating; now two deep and five short quick strokes, now

four long smooth strokes and two quick jabs…. Tanj

panted and quivered in her bonds; this one knew how to use

his cock. Unable to do little more than contract her

vaginal muscles around his shaft, to ripple them, milking

him, Tanj just concentrated on the sensations, slowly

loosing touch with the outside world, the waves of pleasure

coming from her pussy blotting out all other stimuli.

The wolf grinned as he watched the Cheetah shudder through

yet another climax. Tapping the Snow Leopard on the

shoulder with his switched-off shock stick, grinning at how

he jumped before he realized he hadn't been shocked, the

Wolf growled; "That’s enough of that. Pull out and put it

in her ass." The Snow Leopard started to object, but the

evil hummm of the shock-stick, as the Wolf audibly switched

it back on, made him reconsider. Pulling back, the Snow

Leopard positioned his cock at the Cheetah's puckered

rosebud, and pushed firmly.

Tanj moaned as she felt the Snow Leopard's shaft drive

into her back passage. It took several strokes for her to

relax enough, but after a minute she was again rattling her

chains, straining at her bonds as she tried to show him it

was all right by pushing back against his thrusts. And when

his paw reached around her hips, to stroke her clitty, she

moaned with delight. Tanj was riding the waves of

pleasure as yet another climax washed through her when the

Snow Leopard finally came, his cock jumping and twitching in

her ass as he lost his load.

Still panting, Tanj rose as the Snow Leopard helped her

up, most of her bonds in a heap on the floor, but her wrists

still locked together behind her back. Frederick pointed

towards the door to the showers with his shock stick, but

didn't follow. After all, there was no other exit, and

nothing more dangerous in there than some liquid soap…… The

Snow Leopard stepped ahead of Tanj, to turn on the water,

and adjust the temperature. Then they were both under the

water, the Snow Leopard rubbing pawfulls of soap into her

fur, trying to remove the accumulations of dried cum.

Tanj purrred loudly, and did her best to rub herself

against his body, something he seemed to find VERY

distracting.

Glancing out the door, the Snow Leopard reached up and

unbuckled the ring gag. As he pulled it free, Tanj

worked her jaw for a moment and then surprised the Snow

Leopard by leaning forward, to press against him, giving him

a big kiss; "Thanks, 'preciate your help!" The Snow Leopard

looked at her a little curiously; "you mean you didn't

mind…….." Tanj just chuckled; "Oh Hell no; long before I

was mixed up with the pirates, I was a sex slave; still am,

in some regards; BELIEVE ME, I'd rather be out there in the

middle of the floor, tied up and "cruelly used" than bored

out of my mind in one of the cages!" The Snow Leopard

resumed washing her, rubbing one thigh as if trying to

remove her spots; "you mean you LIKE that kinda thing?"

Tanj just chuckled, turning so he could get at the back

of her thighs and her rump; "Well, it kinda depends who I'm

with. Quinn wasn't bad; you were better, and I admit I

don't much care for that Bull; he's just a little too rough

and demanding…. Frederick isn't bad either. No, don't

worry about me; at this point, I'm not really sure just

who's using who out there….." The Snow Leopard just

chuckled and nodded, his soapy paw coming up between

Tanj's thighs. The Cheetah arched her back, a dreamy

look on her face as his slick paw rubbed back and forth over

her crotch.

The Snow Leopard was just about done with her, when Tanj

whispered in his ear; "got to get YOU clean too; tell you

what, I'll show you a trick my Master taught me; take the

liquid soap, and pour a good bit down my front. THEN just

stand there……

Frederick paced the Kennels, looking into each cage, making

sure everything was all right. The ship was about to dock,

and he KNEW Jenka would be coming down to take possession of

the Cheetah. That’s why he'd wanted her cleaned up.

Speaking of which, where were those two? They'd been in the

showers a LONG time…….

Jenka paced into the Kennels, Quinn close behind. She'd

taken a shuttle out to meet the returning vessel, and as she

entered, she caught the guard by surprise. He was standing

by the door to the showers, looking in…….. When she touched

him on the shoulder he yelped and jumped a foot. Jenka just

had to laugh. Looking past him, Jenka chuckled as she beheld

a dripping wet, covered-in-soapsuds Tanj, her paws bound

behind her back, rubbing herself up and down over a rather

hansom, just-as-wet-and-soapy, and rather excited Snow

Leopard.

Tanj heard the laugh and turned to look. With a smile

breaking out on her face, the Cheetah did her best to

"pounce" the black Pantheress, despite the handicap of her

paws being bound behind her back. Jenka yelped and laughed

at the same time, stopping Tanj with both paws on her

shoulders. After a second, she leaned forward to kiss the

dripping Cheetah; "Hello, Pet, its good to see you too. But

aren't you forgetting something?" Tanj laughed and

nodded and dropped to kneel at Jenka's feet, in the proper

position for a slave. Jenka purrrred and nodded; "That’s

better; but you're dripping all over the floor. Go and

finish washing your stud. Oh, and I want you to relieve him

of his hard-on as well; its just not fair for you to get

them all excited like that and then leave them!" Tanj

grinned and nodded and returned to the shower, to tilt her

head up to kiss the Snow Leopard; "its OK, don't worry about

it." And then she crouched, to rub her soapy sex up and

down his left thigh.

Jenka watched as the Cheetah expertly "soaped" up the Snow

Leopard, rubbing against him front and back, using her

muzzle to "scrub" the recesses of his body, adding her

tongue here and there….. After maneuvering him back under

the running water, she knelt and took his cock in her mouth,

to demonstrate her skill, not rushing things, but proving

she could bring him off rapidly. As the Snow Leopard's hips

bucked in the throes of his orgasm, Quinn leaned forward to

whisper in Jenka's ear; "Got to let me borrow her as a Bath

Toy some day." Jenka just chuckled and nodded.

The Snow Leopard watched from his cage as Jenka fastened a

leash to the collar of the still damp Cheetah, and turning,

led her off. As he watched the Cheetah's ass sway as she

was led, nude, from the kennels, he wondered if he'd ever

see her again.

Tanj did her best to play the part of a slave as she was

led from the Pirate vessel, onto the station that the Black

Fleet called home. She remembered her lessons well from the

Academy; it was just a little difficult trying to get back

into that frame of mind. So much had happened since then…..

Still, the cuffs and the collar and the hobble chain, and

the leash all brought back memories……. Jenka seemed to have

no intention of heading straight back to her quarters; she

stopped in at Operations for awhile, Tanj kneeling by her

feet as she discussed business with a few of her officers.

And then it was off to see this furr, or that, business that

seemed to take her all over the Station, Tanj in tow at

the end of the leash, her feet moving in short quick steps,

the hobble chain rattling and dancing as she tried to keep

up. Finally they were back at Jenka's quarters, and as the

door closed behind them, Tanj smiled……..

As Jenka tried to unclip the leash, Tanj rose to tiptoes

to try and kiss her Mistress, but Jenka firmly wrapped a paw

around her muzzle, pushing her back down. "Kitten, there

are a few things we NEED to discuss….." Tanj just

blinked, and Jenka continued; "there have been a lot of

changes in your life of late. You're no longer the simple

bed slave you once were. You're now one of the senior

officers of the Brethren, and a power to reckon with in your

own right. Before we go any further, we're going to have to

figure out just where you stand, and set some ground rules."

Tanj sighed and nodded; "Yeah, well, I think this has

been coming to a head for a long time now. You'd THINK that

I'd be delighted to cast off slavery, and assume a position

of equality with my peers, but something deep inside me

doesn't want that. Maybe it’s the conditioning, maybe its

just ME, but I just don't want to let go of that part of

me." Jenka nodded and stroked Tanj's hair softly; "Tell

me what you DO want……." Tanj looked up at the

Pantheress; "that’s the problem; I just don't KNOW. I like

working in Intelligence, I like being a part of the

Brethren's planning staff. Its exciting and demanding, and

challenging, everything I thought I'd always wanted in a

job. And then there are times when I wish I WAS just that

simple little slave, not having to worry about anything more

than pleasing my Master……….. I suppose, in reality, I want

them both, but know I can't HAVE them both……" Jenka nodded;

"would you like for me to talk to your Master about setting

you free?" Tanj's eyes widened; "No, not yet…… besides,

he's been most generous; I've got more than enough money in

the bank to buy my own freedom; have for quite a while now.

As I've said, I just don't want to let go of that………"

Looking up, Tanj smiled weakly; "speaking of which, you

WILL let him know I'm here, won't you? Oh, I know, I'm fair

booty from the raid; I'll be glad to pay whatever ransom you

set… AND play the proper prisoner until he shows up to

collect me. You know that as long as my duties don't

interfere, while I'm here, I'll ALWAYS be your pet……."

Jenka smiled and nodded; "OK, then…. I'm not sure it'll go

on this way forever, but for the moment, I'll indulge your

fantasy, and treat you as my toy. Until your Master shows

up to claim you…. IF that’s what you want." Tanj smiled

and knelt before the Pantheress, head bowed, knees spread;

"Yes, please, Mistress, if it pleases you…."

Jenka smiled and nodded; "you understand of course, that I

feel your behavior as a slave has left MUCH to be desired.

I do believe that I'm going to have to be VERY strict with

you, to re-teach you the discipline you need to be a proper

slave. After all, when your Master does come to claim you,

I want to return to him a well-behaved slave! Now, tell me

what happened to your breasts. Did your Master decide you

weren't large enough?

The Lion looked at the report and scratched his head; "OK,

so she boarded the Claire Thompson for Benton's World. Good

choice. So what's the problem? Have the cruiser head

there." Ben shrugged; "I did; problem is, the Thompson

never arived. Its three days overdue." Turning to look at

the Fox, the Lion raised an eyebrow in a silent question.

The Fox shrugged; "I'd suspect Pirates, but it could have

been an engineering casualty, or even a bad Jump. You know

that happens from time to time; ships go in one side of a

jump point and are never seen again; or molten junk sprays

out of the Jump effect on the other end. Or they could have

been thrown hundreds of light years off their route. We're

checking into all of that, of course. That’s nominally the

Black Fleet's territory, although on the fringe, and I've

contacted them, and some of the other Guild-registered

outfits. So far, no one's owning up to having her, although

I wouldn't put it past her to lay low and not let them know

who she is. Needless to say, we'll keep looking."

Tanj gasped and panted hard. The corset around her

middle so constricted her waist, so compressed her insides

that she barely had any room to breath. Her chest heaved

with each labored breath. Being on the treadmill didn't

help any, either. Jenka had felt that she was getting too

flabby, and as a result, had prescribed a strict exercise

routine. Now Tanj jogged on the treadmill, heavy shock

cords running from the belt around her waist to the front of

the treadmill frame, holding her in position. As she

jogged, her unencumbered breasts bounced, the heavy rings

through her nipples bouncing wildly……

Jenka watched for a minute. The treadmill had all sorts of

safety devices; if Tanj stumbled or fell, it would shut

down, the ropes being automatically released…. Of course

Tanj didn't know that, and with luck, never would.

Confident that her pet was safe enough, Jenka left her

quarters, to head for the Communications office.

"Let me get this right……" The Collie at the comm station

scratched his head in confusion; "you want me to send a

message marked "Priority" but you want it "lost" for a

week……." Jenka chuckled and nodded; "exactly. When it

arrives, I want it to look like we tried to get the

information there as soon as possible, BUT I really don't

want them to get it for a while. I just want "credible

deniability" for its being late." The Collie shrugged and

nodded; "ooooookay, you're the boss. I suspect we'll figure

out some way of buying you time and still not getting

blistered for its tardiness. But do you really think the

Brethren will get all bent out of shape over one slave?"

Jenka just chuckled and nodded

Tanj had to carry the message in her mouth; once again,

her arms were bound behind her, encased in a tight leather

sheath. While the strap attached to the ring at the end of

the sheath was brought up between her legs, to be fastened

to the broad belt she wore around her matching leather

corset, Tanj could feel none of the sensations of the

leather sawing between her thighs. Jenka had locked her in

a rather heavy chastity belt, promising her that until she

learned her lesson, climaxes were a thing of the past. As

Tanj headed for the Station's kennels, she wondered "What

lesson? What am I supposed to learn?" Padding into the

guard station at the entrance to the Kennels, Tanj knelt,

waiting for someone to fetch the envelope from her mouth.

After a moment, one of the guards padded over and took the

envelope, opening it, reading Jenka's instructions within.

With a grunt, he nodded and bent, to take the ball gag

draped loosely around Tanj's neck, to refasten it with

the ball lodged firmly in her mouth. Then, leaving her

kneeling there, he went through the doors and into the

Kennels.

Tanj hadn't been told what her errand entailed, and she

was fairly surprised to see the Packet's first officer led

from the Kennels at the end of a leash. His paws were bound

behind his back with a simple wire tie, and aside from the

collar, he was nude. The guard bid Tanj to rise and then

fastened the end of the Snow Leopard's leash to the ring at

the tip of her arm binder. "Back to Jenka" he growled,

giving Tanj a swat on the can. Wondering what was up,

Tanj complied, leading the Snow Leopard through the

station, a strange parade that turned more than a few heads.

As they entered the comparative quiet of the residential

section, the Snow Leopard leaned forward and whispered "any

idea what's up?" in Tanj's ear. She just shrugged, as

best as she was able, and led on.

When Tanj led him through the doors to Jenka's quarters,

"What's Up" became apparent; the Black Pantheress was

reclining on her bed, wearing an almost transparent

negligee, its fabric shimmering in a rainbow of colors where

it could be seen at all. As soon as Tanj saw Jenka, she

knelt, head bowed, the leash tied to the tip of her arm

binder pulling the Snow Leopard into an involuntary bow as

she knelt. As Jenka's eyes wandered over the stud, she

purrred, and nodded; "Yes, I think that one shall do quite

nicely……" Rising from her bed, she padded over to run a paw

over the male, finally unclipping the lead from the back of

Tanj's belt, letting it dangle from his collar. Leaving

him standing there, a bit confused, Jenka undid Tanj's

gag, refastening it loosely around her neck, obviously handy

for the next time it was needed. Grinning at the Snow

Leopard, she padded back to her bed, to recline. Head

propped on one paw, Jenka purrrred; "Pet, come use that

tongue of yours to get me ready for him; and then you can

get him ready for me…….

Tanj smiled to herself as she walked across the floor on

her knees, to kneel by the side of the bed, her tongue

flicking out, licking at Jenka's mons. She may have been

bound, but for the moment at least, she knew she had some

power over the Pantheress. Her tongue teased, dancing here

and there, stroking the length of her labia, seeking out her

clitty, squirming into the Pantheress' warmth, touching,

stroking here and there, until Jenka was clawing at the

bedclothes, biting her lip to keep from moaning. Deciding

Jenka was primed, Tanj left her, pulling back, to kneel

by the bed, her tongue licking Jenka's juices from her

muzzle. As she withdrew, Jenka made a mewling sound of

displeasure at the cessation of the licking, but then again

rose, to prop her head on one paw, to watch.

Tanj grinned and jerked her head to one side, signaling

the Snow Leopard to come close. After a moment's

hesitation, the Packet's first officer padded over, to stand

before the kneeling slave. He'd been watching, wordlessly,

silently, but the scene that had been played out before him

obviously'd had an effect on him; It didn't take Tanj any

time at all, to bring his cock to throbbing hardness, using

her tongue. And then Jenka was pushing the Cheetah's head

away, reaching for the Snow Leopard's lead, pulling him onto

her bed, onto her body.

Tanj knelt by the bed, watching surreptitiously as Jenka

used the Snow Leopard for her own pleasure. He was

handicapped by having his paws bound behind him, but Jenka's

wild motions more than made up for it. Finally, he wound up

on his back, on the bed, the Pantheress astride his hips,

riding his cock wildly. A little wistfully, Tanj watched

his hard cock disappear again and again into the Pantheress'

wet sex, a part of her delighted Jenka was having such fun,

another part wishing it was her instead of Jenka….. As

Jenka rode his cock, she ran her claws up and down his

chest, purring; "don't cum until I say, or it'll go hard on

the slave there. Cum too soon, and I'll make you watch me

punish her……" The words seemed to have an effect on the

Snow Leopard, as his face kept twisting into distorted

patterns, as he obviously tried hard to obey. Finally, as

Jenka was on her third climax, she screamed; "YES! NOW!

Cum for me NOW, my beautiful Stud!" Tanj watched as the

Snow Leopard panted and growled, driving his hips up into

Jenka's, thrusting his cock into her as hard as he could.

And then his Yowls were joining hers as he shuddered through

what appeared to be a massive, gut-wrenching orgasm.

After a bit, when their motions had stilled, Jenka lifted

off him, rising from the bed to present her dripping sex to

Tanj's muzzle; "Lick me clean, Pet, and then lick him

clean. Then you can return him to the Kennels." Tanj

obeyed, licking softly, gently, well beyond the point where

Jenka was clean, licking until she shuddered, her hips

rocking involuntarily as Tanj's tongue brought her to

another mild climax. Then Jenka was off to the shower,

leaving Tanj to crawl over to the bed, to lick at the

Snow Leopard. Keeping an eye on the door to the bathroom,

Tanj licked him until he was clean, licked him until he

was hard, and then licked him until he pumped what little

cum he had left into her mouth. Then, unable to pick up the

end of his leash, she took it in her mouth, to lead him back

to the Kennels.

As Tanj padded back towards Jenka's quarters, the Guard

looked at the Snow Leopard; "Yeah, its pure hell being one

of Jenka's captives, isn't it?" The Snow Leopard chuckled

and shrugged; "Dunno why I'M so lucky, none of the OTHER

crew've been tapped out yet for, ah, "special attention"……

The guard just chuckled; "Oh, I suspect some of them will

be; Jenka's got a taste for fine specimens such as you….. or

ones like that hot little Cheetah!"

Tanj's days settled down into a bit of a routine. She'd

awaken Jenka with a few well placed licks…… all right, some

mornings more than a few well placed licks. Then she'd see

to Jenka's bath, helping her dress. And then she'd follow

her around at the end of her leash, usually dressed in some

wild, sexy outfit, or sometimes in nothing at all. She'd

serve Jenka in the mess, and be occasionally fed some

tidbit. Then, while Jenka coordinated the efforts of the

Black Fleet, she'd spend time either in bondage, in one wild

position or another, or in exercise. In the evenings, she'd

"assist" Jenka, as she entertained either one of her

favorite males, or a lady friend, the day ending with the

Cheetah sleeping on a pallet at the foot of Jenka's bed.

But all through the week, she hadn't been allowed to use

more than her tongue, and Jenka's exploits were getting her

increasingly hot….. And as time passed, the longer she

stayed on the Black Fleet's station, the more she found a

gag in her mouth, with no opportunity to ask Jenka when her

Master might be coming, or to plead for some relief from the

"itching" between her legs that was starting to drive her

crazy.

Tanj knelt under the conference table. She again had her

paws bound behind her back, this time by a rather standard

set of handcuffs. A thin chain ran from her left nipple to

a cuff around Jenka's right paw. The Chastity belt and the

Corset were her only other garments. As the truly boring

logistical meeting droned on, it was Tanj's job to keep

the meeting's attendees awake, crawling under the table, to

provide a lick here, or a nibble there. Jenka hadn't told

her how far she could go in keeping them awake, but as she

watched one of the Black Fleet's officers, a striking lady

Ermine, hike up her skirt, and surreptitiously slide her

panties down, she'd gotten the idea that whatever Jenka had

in mind, the others around the table knew exactly what they

wanted. But being Tanj, she licked and nibbled most

teasingly, knowing that in the meeting, there was little

they could do to object, when she stopped just short of

satisfying them. Moving from furr to furr, nuzzling,

licking, teasing, she wondered what her "punishment" would

be?

As she knelt at Jenka's feet, as the meeting broke up,

Tanj knew she was in for it; almost every one of the

officers attending the meeting came by to whisper in Jenka's

ear. Still, she wondered what Jenka would have said had one

of them screamed in passion as Tanj brought them to an

orgasm, or a climax, in the middle of the meeting?

Her corset was tighter than ever, and each labored breath

made her chest rise and fall; that was unfortunate, as Jenka

had seen fit to adorn her nipple rings with nasty little

vibrating weights. Tanj knelt in the corridor, outside

Jenka's office, her ankles lashed to her thighs, and her

knees tied to the pole behind her, holding her on her knees.

Her elbows were tied together, almost touching, and her

wrists were lashed to the vertical pole, holding her not

just upright, but tilted forward. A thick plug gag filled

her mouth, and a sign hung around her neck, saying; "Please

replace gag when through." Almost all of the Black Fleet

Officers that had been in the Logistics meeting had come by,

to remove her gag, to make her finish what she'd started.

Additionally, a bunch of mere passers-by had stopped to

avail themselves of her mouth as well. She figured she'd

sucked or licked at least a dozen and a half furrs to a

state of bliss so far, and while the vibrators kept her in a

heightened state of sexual arousal, with the chastity belt,

there was NO way she could get herself off……

Tanj groaned; who'd EVER thought something so simple

could be so annoying, so painful. She knelt by Jenka's

desk, told to be quiet and let her Mistress work…… should

have been simple enough….. especially as her paws for once

weren't bound; she could move her paws any way she wanted……

but the balls Jenka had fastened to either side of her

collar, so that they hung under her arms, pressed into her

armpits were driving her mad. They were simple wooden

balls, about 2 1/2 inches in diameter, with a hole through

the center. A chain had been threaded through the hole in

each ball, one end of the chain curving around the front of

her shoulder, the other end around the back, the ends

clipped to rings on the side of her collar. Each ball was

studded in little brass bosses, pointy little triangles of

yellow metal… Tanj found that in order to keep from

pressing the points into her skin, she had to hold her arms

up at a minimum of a 45 degree angle from the vertical.. and

her arms were getting So tired. No matter how she moved

them, no matter how she placed them, the balls were a major

bother. She'd thought she'd found the perfect solution,

placing her paws on top of her head, but Jenka had just

glared at her and shook her head no….. And now Tanj

struggled to stay as still as she could, to not attract

Jenka's attention, to disrupt her from her work, and STILL

find a position where her arms didn't ache so…….

Tanj sighed, and tried not to watch. Jenka was

entertaining the representative of Advanced Weapons Systems,

Inc. The Black Fleet was negotiating for some weapons

upgrades, and their local rep. had come by to see if there'd

been any changes in the requirements, to try and get a feel

for how the customer was responding to their proposal.

Jenka had put on a dinner for the representative, a rather

striking Vixen, and apparently an old friend, with Tanj

serving. Now, Tanj was kneeling by the side of the bed,

trying HARD not to watch as Jenka and the Vixen made

passionate love to each other. She tried not to watch, but

the combination of writhing black and flame hued fur, the

muffled squeals of delight and moans of passion kept drawing

her back. Stifling a moan of her own, she ran a paw over

the hard leather of her chastity belt, and wondered what she

had to do to earn her release from it; it was driving her

mad, to have to watch, and not be able to participate…… For

the thousanth time that day, she wondered where her Master

was… by now he MUST have gotten Jenka's message……

The Lion looked at the message flimsy and shook his head;

"are you SURE this is decoded? It looks like jibberish."

The Comm tech shrugged and nodded; "we've confirmed they're

using the right code, but about half their message traffic

is coming through like that. I've NO idea what the problem

is." The Lion nodded, his eyes narrowing…… "I have the

most unsettling feeling Jenka's up to something. Despatch a

courier vessel, with all the unacknowledged messages in hard

copy. Make sure they get hard copies of everything the

Black Fleet is trying to send to us. Send someone you

trust, too." The Comm tech blinked but nodded; "Right away,

boss."

Jenka purrred as she led Tanj down the corridor. The

Black Pantheress carried a pawful of leather straps, and

other bondage devices, and as Tanj followed, she looked

at them curiously, wondering what Jenka had in mind. The

Cheetah found it strange, as she wasn't gagged, and her paws

weren't bound; aside from her collar and the ever-present

tightly laced corset, she was nude. Finally, the Pantheress

led Tanj through a door, into a large meeting room.

There were comfortable chairs scattered all around the room,

a large Holo tank against one wall, and a small table in the

middle. Unclipping the leash, Jenka gestured to the table;

"Sit there, and cross your legs in the lotus position, paws

behind your back. Tanj nodded, and moved to comply, not

giving it a second thought. As she climbed onto the table,

Jenka smiled behind the Cheetah's back.

Tanj felt the wrist cuff go around her left wrist. As

Jenka fastened it, she purrred; "Tell me, Pet, have you

learned your lesson yet? Have you learned what your purpose

in life is? Your reason for being?" Tanj concentrated

for a second on the feel of the cuff on her wrist. It had

built-in straps on opposite sides, as if made for

suspension; but as there were no hooks in the ceiling here,

she concluded that she was going to be tied VERY tightly.

"Yes, Mistress. My sole purpose for being is to make you

happy." Jenka purrred as she fastened a similar cuff around

Tanj's other wrist; "Very good, Pet; and how should you

do that?" Tanj purrred softly; "By obeying your orders

immediately, no matter what they are, irrespective of my own

desires." Jenka smiled and nodded, moving around to fasten

a similar cuff around Tanj's left ankle; "Very good, Pet,

but you shouldn't have any other desires, aside from

pleasing me." Tanj nodded slightly, head bowed; "Of

course, Mistress……" Jenka finished locking the last cuff

around Tanj's right ankle and then nodded; "Its these

"other desires" of yours that have been causing all the

problems, but I think we're making progress……." Taking the

strap from Tanj's left wrist cuff, the Pantheress tugged

it hard around her right side, to fasten it to the buckle on

her left ankle cuff. This was then repeated with the cuffs

on her right side, the strap cutting into her waist on the

left. Jenka moved back and forth, tightening the straps

slowly, letting Tanj's body adjust, until her right ankle

was almost touching her left hip and vice versa.

Nodding at her work, Jenka fetched a stack of pillows from a

corner and placed them on the end of the table in front of

Tanj. Before going further, she produced a set of nipple

clamps, connected by a thin, short chain. Tanj bit her

lip as the first one was fastened to her left nipple, and

then tried hard not to moan as Jenka tugged at the chain,

pulling her breasts together, to connect the other clip to

her right nipple. Then, moving carefully, she tipped the

bound Cheetah forward, until her breasts rested on the stack

of pillows. Tanj was now balanced on knees and

breasts…….

Jenka purrrred and produced a rather thick, long dildo; this

she lubbed up, and then moving around behind Tanj, she

worked it into the Cheetah's ass. Tanj moaned and

stiffened as the dong was worked in; it was MUCH too long

for her to comfortably take in her ass, at least four inches

remaining protruding from her bottom when Jenka was through.

And whatever the Pantheress had used to lube it was starting

to burn………

Jenka took some coarse twine, and tied several loops around

the protruding base of the dildo, laying the twine across

Tanj's back. Then, moving around to her head, she took

the remaining device; it was two thin boards, about ten

inches long, by one inch wide, by a half inch thick,

connected on each end by thumbscrews. Turning the screws she

spread the boards; then, grinning at Tanj, she commanded;

"Open wide, pet, and stick out your tongue!" Tanj didn't

like the sound of that, but complied immediately; then Jenka

was sliding the boards into her mouth, one passing over, the

other under her tongue. When the boards met the corners of

her mouth, Jenka started tightening the thumbscrews, until

the two boards pinched her tongue! Jenka chuckled; "Don't

tell me you've never seen a tongue stock before?" Tanj

of course, had quite a bit of difficulty articulating an

answer, her problem compounded by Jenka using the twine to

fasten the ends of the tongue stocks to the dong in her ass,

pulling the Cheetah's head back sharply. Tanj now found

that any motion of her head tugged at the oversized dong in

her ass. Patting the bound Cheetah on the rump, Jenka took

a chair; "Now, Pet, as soon as a few friends arrive, we're

going to watch a film…….

The Lion looked at the report and scowled. Looking up at

the Fox, he growled; "how reliable is this information?"

The Fox just smiled; "Very. There's no question. The

Claire Thompson's insurance brokers are negotiating with the

Black Fleet for the ransom of the ship and the crew." The

Lion nodded; "Then Jenka has Tanj. I should have

known……." Padding across Ops, the Lion growled at the duty

officer; "has that courier departed for Jenka's station yet?

The Stoat on duty nodded quickly; "Yessir, but he won't be

there for……" "Never mind" the Lion growled. "Recall him.

I'll do this myself." Ben shook his head and growled;

"Ain't NO WAY I'm letting you go by yourself, not after the

fiasco on Imroc. Give me a half a day to get a cruiser

prepped….." The Lion shook his head; "Jenka wouldn't dare

touch me. I don't have anything to fear from her. If

anything it’s the other way around. Tell you what. I'll

take our resident seer, Mark, and his ah, girlfriend, Mala.

That should be all the security I'll need. Ben thought for

a moment and then nodded; "Take Hinoki too, just to round

out the crew. I think he's got a bit of a "vested interest"

in this as well. The Lion chuckled and nodded, grinning;

"OK, if it'll make you, and him happy…."

Tanj groaned and shifted on her pillows. The nipple

clamps were burning embers on her nipples, and their being

pressed hard into the pillows wasn't helping. Her ass was

on fire as well, and she was finding it almost impossible to

remain still. The heavily boned corset however, held her

rigid from hips to chest, limiting her motions. Slowly the

room was filling up, with the officers of the Black Fleet,

most of them pausing to stroke or tease Tanj as they

found their seats. When they were all present, Jenka

started the Holo without preamble, and the room grew quiet

as the image of a well dressed male skunk filled the tank.

Mark looked up from the clipboard; "All fueled, loaded and

ready to go. Hinoki's running a final systems check, and

Mala's putting the food away in the Galley like there's no

tomorrow. Maybe YOU should remind her we're only visiting

our neighbors." The Lion looked at Mark, and blinked, and

then shook his head; "I suppose I SHOULD ask you how you

knew I wanted you to come with me on this, but I SUPPOSE

someone on Ben's staff could have told you……" The Mouse

nodded sagely; "Course already laid in for the Black Fleet's

station. They still seem to be having Comm problems, so I

guess they won't know we're coming until we jump into their

system and hail them on the short range system." The lion

nodded; "Don't count on that; I wouldn't be surprised if

they too already know we're coming." Mark smiled and

nodded; "Neither would I….."

Tanj GROANED as she recognized the recording of the Game;

was this going to follow her for the rest of her life?

Helplessly she watched as the recording showed her working

her way through the mazes, most of those present calling out

rude suggestions or making comments as to how she should

have done this, or that better. The room was quiet when the

hologram showed her defeating the Jaguar, a few of the furrs

shooting her calculating looks. Jenka, however, purrrred

with pleasure. And when it came to the fight with Xylex and

the other Lion, Tanj felt she could feel the tension in

the air.

Quinn watched the Cheetah and the Rabbit fight, shaking his

head; he never would have guessed that those two could have

taken a full grown Lion and Wolverine. As Tanj smashed

the stunned Lion's head down into the floor he winced,

shooting an appraising look at the bound Cheetah; perhaps he

should have treated her a little nicer. After all, Jenka

couldn't keep her tied up forever……

Tanj relaxed a little as the holo moved into the

interview phase. She hadn't really gotten a chance to study

what Jack had said, in his solo interviews, and to try and

distract herself from the burning dong in her ass, from the

fiercely biting nipple clips, and from the maddening

occasional caresses, she concentrated hard on what the

Rabbit was saying. Or tried to, anyways. And then the

recording was over, furrs rising, leaving the room.

Jenka waited until the room was empty before rising. Moving

slowly, she untied Tanj's tongue stocks, undoing the

thumbscrews, removing the device. Tanj made a face and

waggled her tongue as it came free from between the two

pieces of wood, obviously trying to ease its discomfort.

Jenka smiled and stroked her head softly; "Tell me, Pet,

what is it you desire?" Tanj thought for a moment, an

image of a cool glass of water dancing in her mind; then she

thought of the nipple clips, and the burning dong in her

ass… flicking her gaze up to Jenka, she mumbled around her

sore tongue; "Only to please you, Mistress." Jenka smiled,

and ran a paw over the Cheetah's rump, her fingers straying

teasingly close to her sex; "is that all, Kitten? Nothing

else?" Tanj moaned, shuddering at the touch; "N… No….

Nothing else, Mistress." Jenka smiled and nodded; "That’s

good; I'm glad you've learned your lesson. Now I'll have to

see what I can do about finding a suitable reward for so

good a student.

Tanj wobbled down the corridor at the end of her leash;

she still hadn't worked all the kinks out of her legs yet.

Jenka had untied her, but the cuffs still graced her wrists

and ankles, the straps dragging, the buckles jangling. The

dildo was still buried in her ass, and she struggled hard to

keep it from slipping out, all sorts of punishments running

through her mind as she reflected on Jenka's warning to hold

it there, or else. After what seemed like miles, the

Pantheress led her into a darkened room. As Jenka turned on

the lights, Tanj beheld what at first she thought was a

piece of exercise equipment. Jenka smiled; "Tanj, meet

"The Machine." After your amazing performance on that Holo,

I thought you might find it amusing." Reaching behind the

Cheetah, Jenka rudely jerked the dong from her ass,

eliciting a yelp. Pointing at the machine, Jenka directed

Tanj to sit on its short bench. As Tanj got closer,

she observed that there were a couple of recesses in the

seat, and as Jenka positioned her just so, fastening and

then tightening straps between the machine and the built-in

rings in Tanj's corset, Tanj knew why the Pantheress

was being so careful in positioning her. Then her ankles

were spread and fastened to the machine, and her arms

stretched over her head, to be fastened to another part of

the machine. A curious strap went tightly around her

breasts, her nipples poking through holes in the rubber.

When Jenka had her bound just so into the machine, she

picked up a ubiquitous remote, and grinned at the Cheetah;

"I figure you're a little behind on your usual quota of

climaxes; now that you've learned your lesson, I'll let you

catch up. There's an intercom in this room; when you've had

enough, just shout, and I'll turn it off." With that, the

black Pantheress thumbed the remote, and quietly padded out

of the door.

Tanj felt something stir under her, and then moaned

softly as a dong rose smoothly from within the seat, to push

firmly into her sex. As it rose upwards, she sighed, glad

that it had been lubricated, and then yelped as it kept on

rising; she was struggling in her bonds, trying to rise off

the seat when it finally stopped, its head pressing firmly

against her cervix. And then it started to vibrate, softly

at first, but with increasing amplitude. Tanj sagged a

bit in her restraints, purrrring, thinking that felt nice,

but then she yelped again, as something else stirred beneath

her, a second dong rising to press firmly into her ass. She

gasped as the two dongs, their heads coming together at an

angle deep within her, both started to vibrate……

Jenka listened to the sounds coming from the remote for a

moment and smiled. Turning off the audio, she dropped it

into a pocket and headed for ops, to see what was happening

this evening.

Tanj's head snapped back and she screamed as the first

climax in what seemed like an eternity ripped through her.

With no one around, she howled and yowled, throwing herself

against her restraints shamelessly, savoring every instant,

every nuance of pleasure as it raged through her like a

river in flood stage. Finally she calmed, panting, to hang

limply in her bonds. It was then that she realized that

both dongs within her were now moving in counterpoint

rhythm, one slowly sliding into her ass as the other slipped

from her dripping sex; back and forth they sawed, as they

droned on, still vibrating. As the sensations started to

build again, Tanj gasped; the rubber strap across her

breasts was inflating, growing tighter, squeezing her

nipples, compressing her breasts. Just as it grew

uncomfortably tight, it relaxed some, only to re-inflate.

The sensation was strange, but not unpleasurable, and

closing her eyes, she imagined some strong male, her Lion

perhaps, gently kneading her breasts……..

Tanj hung limply from her restraints. She'd lost count

of how many climaxes she'd had…. The dongs in pussy and ass

seem to have expanded, to have grown in length and diameter,

the one in her pussy having lengthened until she was sure it

had forced the entrance to her womb. That one was driving

in and out of her rapidly now, its vibrations rapidly

altering in frequency and amplitude, the combination driving

her wild. The one in her ass was moving as well, if a

little more gently. Both seemed to be exuding lubricant to

the point where she was dripping, the lubricant and her own

juices puddling on the seat beneath her, dripping down her

legs. Another appendage had risen from the seat in front of

her, a slender wand emerging at an angle, its head nuzzling

her clitty, also vibrating maddeningly. Periodically, the

wand touching her clitty and the band constricting her

breasts, squeezing her nipples, would give her a sudden

sharp jolt of electricity. Overall, the Machine was driving

her to climax after climax after climax, as if it could

measure her responses, learn what she liked, what drove her

to yet another climax, and to alter its behavior to yield

even more pleasurable stimuli, to the point where she wasn't

even sure she COULD call for help……..

Jenka slipped into the room, to watch. The Cheetah was

panting rapidly, her breasts rising and falling above the

top of her corset. Her eyes were closed, and her mouth hung

open, and almost everything from her navel down was a damp,

matted mess of lubricant and her own juices. Moving over,

she lifted Tanj's chin. Slowly the eyes fluttered open,

and as Jenka watched, the Cheetah shuddered, her eyes

actually crossing as yet another climax tore through her.

"My pet had enough yet?" the Pantheress purrred? Tanj

grinned weakly; "Only if it pleases you, Mistress." Jenka

released Tanj's chin with a "HMPH!" and turned to leave;

"Call me when you've had enough, Pet." As the door closed

behind her, Tanj chuckled weakly, and then gasped as yet

another climax made her see stars.

Tanj groaned as she faded back into consciousness; she'd

waited too long, and now the violently moving dongs in pussy

and ass, the repeated electical shocks to clitty and nipples

were all conspiring to overload her system. As good as it

continued to feel, there was a growing element of pain, as

if her body knew it'd had too much, and was begging for it

to stop. As she shuddered through what seemed to be an

unending string of convulsive climaxes, she tried to find

her voice, to call for Jenka, to call for anyone, but all

that came out was yet another howl… and then as her body

writhed in the grip of yet another wave of pleasure, she

again lost conciousness.

Jenka sighed and thumbed the remote to turn off the machine.

Her stubborn, silly pet had refused to admit she'd had

enough, and the machine had driven her into unconsciousness.

Releasing her from the grips of the machine, from her cuffs,

and even from her corset, she gathered up the limp Cheetah,

and pulling her into a fireman's carry, carried Tanj to

her own bed.

Jenka smiled as she listened to the comm officer. It was

about time the lion showed up. Still, she had a while, and

there were still things to do.

Tanj purrrrrred softly and stretched, enjoying the

softness of the bed, the smooth cool feel of the satin

sheets. Rolling over, she snuggled up to Jenka's body…. And

then her eyes opened WIDE. Holding herself as still as

possible, she examined her situation, and compared it to

what she THOUGHT she'd awaken to. No bondage, no strange,

stressed situation, no driving dildoes, NO CORSET; instead,

she was softly snuggled up to a sleeping Jenka in a warm

comfortable bed. For a moment she wondered what it all

meant and then it hit her between the eyes; her Master was

almost here…….. with a smile, she softly caressed Jenka's

tummy, wondering just how far she could push things, now

that she was about to go home?

The Stoat in communications smiled; so the Lion was on his

way, eh? Grinning, he raised his head, to look up at the

others in the comm center; "our communications problems with

the Brethren have just been fixed. Start transmitting the

backlog of message traffic……."

Tanj licked softly, convinced that the Black Pantheress

was awake, but feigning sleep. Jenka had rolled onto her

back, in response to Tanj's soft caresses, and now the

Cheetah knelt between her spread legs, bending over to lick

with the gentlest of touches. Whether Jenka was awake or

asleep, Tanj was determined to make her morning

memorable…….

The Lion fidgeted as Mark completed the Jump to the system

where the Black Fleet's station was. The Flight deck was

just too small for pacing. As the systems equalized after

the jump, the Lion opened a channel to the Black Fleet,

identifying them. The "surprise" of the communications

officer sounded hollow, and as the Lion broke the

connection, he growled at Mark; "you don't have to be a seer

to know they knew we were coming. We have a leak." Mark

shrugged; "When you consider how closely we work with the

Brethren, is that really a problem?" The Lion thought for a

moment; "not particularly; but if that leak decides to get a

little extra income and starts passing the information to

someone else, it COULD be. I still think we need to take

precautions." Mark nodded in acknowledgement; "got any

suspects yet?" The Lion shook his head; "I have NO idea;

only two folks I’m really sure of, and that’s Me, and

Tanj." Mark laughed softly and nodded, and turned back

to his flight controls, directing the ship towards the Black

Fleet's base; "Thanks for the compliment, I'm sure……"

Tanj purrrred; Jenka had finally shown signs of life, her

body arching on the bed as Tanj's teasing licks brought

her to a climax powerful enough to make her yowl. Now the

two were wrapped in each other, amid the rumpled bedclothes,

in the classic 69 position. Tanj tried hard to

concentrate, as the two of them seemed to be in a race to

see who could bring the other to a climax first….. and after

her exploits the previous day, she was SOOOOO tender down

there, every touch seemed amazingly magnified. Still, she

thought she had half a chance of "winning"…….

The Lion grumbled as the Black Fleet traffic control kept

them waiting what he considered to be an unreasonable length

of time, while they cleared a suitable docking port. Finally

permission to dock came, and Mark eased the freighter

towards the station.

Jenka smiled as Tanj headed into the shower; she'd won

their little "contest", but only by seconds. Now she padded

nude to the door, to move the things she'd ordered left just

outside the door into her quarters. She grinned, and didn't

know if Tanj, or the Lion would find her little surprise

first, but either way, it should be amusing…….

When Tanj stepped out of the shower, she found a dress in

her size hanging from the back of the linen closet door.

Smiling, she dried her hair and then pulled it on. Emerging

from the bathroom, still brushing her hair, she found Jenka

in a silk robe, sitting at a small table set for breakfast,

calmly sipping coffee. As Tanj sat down, Jenka smiled

and poured her a cup of coffee, and purrrred.

An unusual calm had come over the Lion as they passed

through the freighter's airlock and into the station.

"Mark, I'm not anticipating difficulties here; why don't you

and Mala go tour the station, take a break, have some fun.

Hinoki and I will go find Jenka, and see about getting

Tanj back. Mark chuckled and nodded, and holding his arm

out to Mala, the two turned and strolled off down the

corridor as if they were on vacation. Hinoki and the Lion

watched the odd couple walk off for a moment and then they

turned, to padd off in another direction…..

Tanj looked up from her omelet as Jenka's doorbell rang.

Jenka smiled and called "Come," and then the door was

sliding back, the Lion stalking in, Hinoki close behind him.

Before he could speak, before Tanj could even rise from

her chair, Jenka purrred; "Took your own sweet time, didn't

you?" The Lion's eyebrows rose, and he growled; "Seems

you've had some "communications" problems. That message you

sent, dated eight days ago, was delivered four hours ago."

Jenka blinked and then took a sip of her coffee; "Oh, my…..

I guess I've been a bit distracted; I hadn't heard. I guess

I REALLY must have a talk with those folks down there."

Tanj's head had been turning back and forth as she looked

from Jenka to the Lion and back, following their

conversation. As the talk died, the Lion still giving Jenka

a hard look, Jenka touched a napkin to her lips and looked

over at Tanj, raising an eyebrow, as if expecting

something from her. Tanj stared back blankly for a

moment and then grinned softly; turning she winked at a

rather confused looking Hinoki, and then padded over to

kneel by the Lion's feet. As she did so, Jenka took another

sip of coffee and chuckled; "I thought I'd take advantage of

her stay here to give her a small …. refresher course." The

Lion smiled slightly and nodded, one hand reaching out to

rest on Tanj's shoulder rather posessively; "I…

appreciate that." Looking down at Tanj, he growled;

"Tanj, you and Hinoki head on back to your ship. Wait

for me there. I have a few ……. matters to discuss with

Jenka. Tanj smiled and nodded, and rising, reached out

to take Hinoki's paw in hers, to lead him from the room.

The Lion watched them go, and as the door closed he turned

back to Jenka, only to find her standing right in front of

him; as his eyes went wide in surprise, her arms went around

his neck and she kissed him hard. Breaking the kiss, she

purrred; "it worked just like I thought it would." The Lion

blinked, and then murmured; "how's that?" Jenka grinned;

"finally found a way to lure you not only here, but into my

boudoir as well….." The Lion looked at her in surprise for

a moment and then chuckled. Shaking his head in amazement,

he put one paw on her chest, between her breasts and shoved,

toppling her back on the bed, following her, growling low in

his throat.

Tanj stopped as the door closed behind her, to hug Hinoki

tight; "I was afraid I'd never see you again!" Hinoki

hugged her back and nodded; "we all saw the holo of that

game; got to tell you, it scared the pants off me!" Tanj

smiled and kissed Hinoki; "Come one, lets get back to the

ship; if I know Jenka, Master will be in there a while, and

that'll give us some time together." Hinoki just smiled and

nodded, and hand in hand they headed off down the corridor.

Jenka slipped her robe down off her shoulders as she fell

back onto the bed. The Lion followed, growling fiercely, to

pin her to the bed, to nuzzle between her breasts.

Clutching his hairy head, Jenka mrowled and arched her back

as his tongue found a nipple…….

Tanj stopped Hinoki just inside the airlock, to tug his

pants down. Dropping to her knees she nuzzled his sheath

softly, teasing with her tongue. Hinoki caressed her head

and then purrred; "sure you don't want to lay down so I can

reciprocate?" Tanj just chuckled as she licked; "No……

I'm just a mite sore at the moment; long story. You can pay

me back another time…." And with that Tanj took his cock

into her mouth, slurping noisily as she slid it back and

forth between her lips with passion.

Jenka mrowled and dug her claws into the bedding; she was

now on hands and knees, the Lion behind her, pounding his

cock into her fiercely, wildly, an enraged beast taking it

out on her in a most delightful manner. As he bent forward

to cup her breasts, his jaws opening wide to bite down on

the back of her neck she shuddered, the first pangs of

another climax echoing through her; Yowling at the top of

her lungs she pushed back against his driving cock…….

Tanj panted, and slowly licked her lips; Hinoki had

exploded in her mouth quite nicely, his jerking hips causing

his spurting cock to escape her for a moment or two, just

long enough to spray some of his seed across her muzzle.

Now as she licked him clean, she paused occasionally to wrap

her tongue around her muzzle, gathering up the errant

droplets. Finally, as he caught his breath and opened his

eyes, Tanj rose to kiss him softly; "Come on; lets go

find a nice soft, warm, SAFE place to snuggle…."

The Lion stirred, and stretched. Jenka had been amazingly

insatiable, keeping after him until he'd driven her to……

seven? Eight climaxes? Until he'd cum three times. Until

he was having trouble keeping it up, keeping awake. What

was even more amazing was that she'd padded off to the

shower like she was just getting warmed up. As he lay on

her somewhat shredded bed, he thought back to when he'd come

through the door, earlier that day…. Or was it yesterday?

Jenka and Tanj had looked so …….. normal, sitting there

having breakfast. They'd looked so….. innocent. Those two,

innocent? Naw….. Rising, he looked around, convinced that

they must have been up to something. Those two couldn't

POSSIBLY actually BE innocent…… Padding over to Jenka's

closet, he took a quick look at the closed bathroom door,

and then quietly opened the closet door. There, kneeling on

the floor was a nude and bound snow leopard, his paws bound

behind his back, a heavy leather hood pulled over his head.

Chuckling, the Lion quietly closed the door; so THAT'S what

they'd been up to. Figgured. As he settled back onto the

bed, the Lion did some quick calculations, and then wondered

just how long the poor Snow Leopard had been kneeling there?

Still, he supposed, it'd probably be best if he didn't say

anything…..

Tanj was sitting on the flight deck going over comm

messages when she heard the airlock cycle and glanced over

at the Ops console. A quick check of the security camera

showed Mark and Mala returning from the station. Both were

carrying small packages as if they'd been shopping. A few

moments later Mark entered the flight deck. Tanj smiled

and rose, to give the Mouse a tight hug; "Good to see you

again, Mark" she purred. The Mouse chuckled quietly; "THERE

you are… whatever took you so long? Interesting time on

Imroc? Did you have a nice stay with Jenka?" Tanj

laughed and nodded; "it had its moments. But yes, I guess,

all in all, it was good to see her again. But I'm ready to

go home now. Just as soon as my Master's done with her…. Or

maybe when she's done with him." Mark chuckled and nodded,

sitting down to start a preflight checklist. Tanj

watched him for a second, and then shook her head; if he

thought their departure was that close, well….. sitting down

at the engineering console, she started bringing up

shipboard power.

The Lion gave Jenka a hug at the airlock; "You realize that

the next time I can't find Tanj, I'll come here first."

Jenka's smile spoke volumes; the sly look in her eyes

suggested the Lion would have to be very cagey indeed to

FIND Tanj, even if she was here. The Lion just nodded,

and giving the Black Pantheress a swat on the can, turned to

cycle through the airlock into the freighter.

Jenka watched the small ship depart, and examined and then

rejected three ideas for getting Tanj back. "Eventually,

Pet, you'll be back" she purred to herself, and then,

turning, she strolled back to her quarters, and what would

have to be by now a very desperate Snow Leopard. Chuckling

to herself, she thought; "if he's made a mess in my closet,

I'm going to get real creative with him…… Ah, but if he's

been good…….!"

Tanj purrrred and snuggled her Lion softly; they'd made

the first jump, on their way home, Mark had the Conn, and

everything was quiet. And she'd found that Jenka hadn't

quite drained her Master as thoroughly as she must have

thought. Still, as they cuddled wordlessly, Tanj's mind

drifted along disturbing pathways, and she wondered what she

could do to make sure they were never separated like that

again……..

This story is a work of fiction, and any resemblance to

any characters, living, dead or imaginary is purely a

coincidence. Tanj is copyright Kittiara's player, as

are Kittiara and Katja (the latter two can be found on

Furrymuck; telnet 208.18.192.101 8888).

Hinoki, Pentrath, and Jenka are copyright their players

(Jenka and Pentrath can be found on FurryMuck, and Hinoki

on Tapestries (or as Jollimon on FurryMuck). Mark and

Mala are copyright Ann'katar's player, who also can be

Found on FurryMuck. Copyright 1999. Comments,

suggestions, or flames can be directed to

ha_seng@hotmail.com.