NationStates Jolt Archive

Ferra had its problems. That much was obvious. Ferra was not a large planet. It did not benefit from a large population nor from high birthrates. It consisted of just one continent, half of the planet was deep blue water and filled with all the wildlife one would expect. There were a few big cities yet the one continent was filled with life and variety, from great sweeping plains to deep, dark forests and tall, rocky mountains. It was an attractive planet but not large. It had plenty of resources though. However.

Ferra was not a wealthy planet. It did not have the financial reserves of many neighbouring planets. It had the resources available, like a goldmine lying unused in the ground. It certainly had the potential to mine these resources and gain the money to do the people a great service. Despite this potential, the people were not rich. Far from it in fact. There were cities, but the majority of the population lived as their ancestors had done before them. They lived in their small hamlets, small houses with farms that were tended by generations of the same family. The only difference from three hundred years ago was that space craft sometimes flew overhead, and the Villiagers no longer pointed and screamed of witchcraft.

Ferra really had nothing, it was not large, it was not rich and it did not have influence. It could not even claim to be a fair society. Ferra was ruled by the Underworld, it's own Underworld. The Mobsters. In the city of Aldi, where the shanty towns stretched into the distance and were only broken up by the skyscrapers built with blood money. Aldi was the home of the Mob. Where law and crime were the same thing, where the Police could be bought for the same price as a loaf of bread, where a man stayed alive by keeping his head down and smoking whatever profited the Government's 'Outreach' program most. This was Ferra, an ugly contrast of rich and poor, where a sense of justice stretched only as far as the bank. This was Ferra's problem. It was the rotting core of the Sector. And President-for-Life Ma-tan knew this all too well.

Ma-tan was a unique PFL in Ferra's history for while he shared many traits with his predeccors, he was also different. Yes, he was the Don the Mob and yes, his concern for the people only stretched as far as wondering how much money he could fleece off them to fatten his own retirement purse. What was different was ambition. Ferra was not rich. Nor did it have power. It was a laughing stock. Not even the Alversians would touch it, for to remove the Mob from the Government, one would have to start from the bottom. They were one and the same. No escaping it. But Ma-tan wanted an Empire, he wanted Ferra to be threat in the Sector. He wanted wealth, he wanted power and, most importantly, he wanted fame. He was smart enough to know that these things did not come cheap and sometimes it meant selling one's soul to the Devil.

Ma-tan was about to flog his planet's soul to the highest Bidder.

On reflection, it was not a bad deal as he walked along the Eel-like Being in his Presidential Palace. The war with the Danaversians had been going on for some time now and it looked, to Ma-tan anyway, like the Coalition was crumbling. Maybe not officially nor personally, but the campaigns across the Sector were inflicting a terrible drain on their resources, small Navies stretched periliously thin, trying to engage an enemy many times their size and strength. The news was that Miller had fallen, an attack on Havalia had been easily repelled and that Pamp had been taken with little difficulty. These were not the actions of a losing side. Alversia could not be long in falling and when it did, Ma-tan wanted Ferra to get her share of the prize.

The Danaversian Diplomat had worried him at first. He had had a small smile on his face, a sneaky smile, a smile that suggested a quiet confidence and kept him on edge. In the end though, he had been most agreeable and sympathetic. His requests were also more than reasonable, considering the size of one Superpower talking to the Arse of the Sector. Obviously, the Navy had to be grounded. That was fair enough, the Ferran Navy had always been pro-Coalition, admitted by it's Chief Marshall only days ago when the Mob had discussed it's options. He had been marked for removal but had fled before the Hitmen could get near him. Now protection was provided by Danaversian warships and Ma-Tan felt much safer with them than his own Navy.

The second Request was to allow a build-up of Danaversian troops and ships on the planet's surface. One reason was to build up a Force behind Alversia's main defensive lines and to hit their Homeworld where they least expected it. The force would number millions and no troops would stand against them. There was only a 100,000 strong garrison on the planet at the moment, though Ma-Tan was confident that the Ferran Army, gutter fighters all of them, would perform more than adequetely against any invasion. Alversian Infantry were almost universally feared by his Senior Advisors and, for the life of him, The President could not see why. They were Mortal, like all Beings, so why worry about them? Some measure of fear perhaps, but not on his home patch. Here, they could be slaughtered. Coax had assured him so. So it would be.

Ferra was going to war.

--

A few hours later, the President for Life was celebrating his arrangement with the new Commander of the Ferran Garrison. General Aris-Sa was not actually a General. He had no military training, he had no military experience and he would have run a mile at the first sight of an Alversian Soldier taking a piss at the side of the road. He was not a General because of his courage, nor because of his tactical ability, nor his experience. Aris-Sa was a different sort of General. He was a Political General, one of the President's Lieutenants who wanted a grander title and had been appointed as a General and Commander of a Ferran Regiment. Not that it mattered, for the Regiment itself was well spread out and most where relaxing at home. He needed to rally then quickly for the planet's defence but if it failed then so what?

However, he was a figurehead in the military, a man who was visible from all rungs in the ladder. To assassinate him would be a blow to the Government's pride and the military's confidence. If one so powerful died, then what hope did they, the common soldiers, have against the professional troops ranged against them?

For the moment though, neither thought of assassination. They were smiling, laughing, relaxing in thick warm chairs in the middle of their favourite establishment, Daan's Club for Gentlemen. A place where the truly wealthy on Ferra could met and have a laugh with the hottest flesh on the planet. Daan's was widely accepted as such. It was well known for it's strict policies with regards to it's Girls. Touching only and only for a heavy price. Anyone else, no matter how powerful or rich, would be thrown out by the Army, if it was a choice between obeying their government and getting in for half price, there was no choice for the Generals of the Ferran Army. Loyalty was easily bought in the most corrupt city on the most corrupt planet on the known Universe.

'At the moment' Aris-Sa thought to himself as he puffed on a cigerette, watching a delicious Servant offer him a drink while others danced on platforms raised above the coffee tables. His Servant though, was the one who caught his eye. She was stunning, a Kitsune, he thought, from Xiscapia. She was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. She was short, less than six foot in height, with a wonderfully slim built. Her chocolate brown hair was long and decorated with small flowers arranged in a headband while her flicking tail and ears were a rusty red.

Then his eyes dropped to her body where his heart melted and his lust increased. She wore a gold bikini that covered all it needed to, with a thin, net-like material circling her legs like trousers, closed off at the bottom by an thick, golden anklet that wrapped around both her ankles with finality. The same was with her arms, with bracelets fufilling the work there. She wore no shoes, going barefoot like all of the Club's Waitresses, two toerings on each foot. Her tanned midriff was completely open, exposing a flat stomach with only a thin golden chain above her thights. Working up past her ample breasts, there was a golden choker encasing her neck though it looked comfortable. The final piece of decoration was her tail, wrapped in gold chains that rattled slightly with every swish.

"Thank you Darling," he murmured to her and brushed his hand along her bottom as she moved away, being rewarded with a giggle and an exaggerated swaying of her hips as a reward as she walked back towards the bar. He laughed and settled back, drawing on a large cigar. Yes, life was sweet at the top.

Chloe sighed and stood next to the bar, chains rattling as her tail swished around,
"I think I've found the target...or one of them anyway," She whispered to another blue-haired Kitsune dressed identically, looking out at another, red-haired Kitsune moving amongst the crowd, having a ball by the looks of things,
"I hate these damn things," She sighed, looking back at her large bushy tail encased in chains, "They're so bloody strange."

"And to think they were invented by humans," Skyler (http://ionen.deviantart.com/art/Tanake-Trang-Jedi-52363021) murmured back dryly as she set a drink down in front of one of the many foul-smelling men that inhabited this place. She shivered as one hand played across her nearly bare rear, resisting the urge to deck the lout across his disgusting face, but instead giving her bottom a suggestive shake as she flounced off. "Now that we have them, all we need to do is keep track of them," she glanced over to the General and President. A moment later another call went out and she strode off for another tray of cups, well aware of the eyes on her. Outside of the Kitsune Empire, kitsune were very rare and it was a lucky sapient who got to see so much of them...so to speak.
She hoped the others would keep up their part of the job.

Meanwhile one of the servers was truly getting into her job, bending way over as she set down an order at a table close to the stage, the lights making her pale skin positively glow, luxurious hair as brilliant crimson as a blaster bolt falling in waves down her back. Her deep red tail curled around the leg of one of the men, twitching suggestively, and she smiled and winked at her transfixed audience, knowing they had a prime view of her cleavage. Her fox ears flicked and shook in time to the music, and her every movement conveyed the desire to rip off what little remained of her clothing and get down and dirty with anyone willing.
It was all an act, of course.
Tara (http://media.photobucket.com/image/kitsune/moon_neko_23/Anime/Kitsune.jpg?o=6) was her name, and she was affectionately referred to as the Junior Mercenary, studying under Kartosh and Skyler to carve her own path as a soldier of fortune though the galaxy one day. She had a bit of a flirty streak, though, possibly a by-product of her bisexuality and upbringing on the mean streets of Kel, although she would just as soon tie a man up and steal his wallet as sleep with him.
Another by-product.

"How's it going?" She whispered to Chloe as she strutted past, young nubile form being flaunted for all it was worth. She was barely out of her teenage years, and was one of the youngest girls in the place, and also one of the most seductive.

Over at the bar, a grizzled kitsune (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Samuel_Vimes.jpg) appeared to be trying to literally drown himself in his drink, yellow eyes darting up to look at one of the dancers every once in a while, then coming guiltily back down. There was already five empty glasses in front of him, and a pedestrian observer would guess that he would be quite drunk, but they would be wrong. Kartosh was only just getting started, and at the moment he was in that comfortable place where the holoscreens on the far wall blurred into a mirage of inseparable colors. He belched idly and swayed back on his stool, slurring for effect while his mind working at (at least to him) lightening fast speeds. No one could suspect that he was the greatest threat sitting in that bar, except possibly the man he was leaning on.
"'dese girls, dey pretty nice, eh?" He muttered, mouth slightly open, then tilted back as he drained another mug.

"Well, I think I've made more than a few mouths water," Chloe replied drly, looking at the crowd of people watching the Dancers. All men. She could see how much Skyler was hating this, the way she had to flaunt herself to these Strangers when she had all the love she would need with the male Kartosh and the lesbian Tara. The later was enjoying herself, but that was a part of her personality. She enjoying showing herself off and, indeed, she had most of the place in an uproar, regretting deeply that it was a touch only bar. They all wanted her for the night. Luckily for them, they had no idea of her true orientation.

Chloe had to admit that she was secretly enjoying it as well, enjoying the attention that was being showered upon her. Of all five Mercenaries, she was the mostly lonely. She was in the sort of position that, if everyone invited their lovers to a party, she would be the one left outside in the cold. She had no one. She was alone and sometimes it really hurt. But here, the men were looking at her, even if they were crude fantasies, it was attention that she got nowhere else. She did want it. She sometimes dreamed that she was sleeping in the warm and strong arms of a male Kitsune, someone who would protect her and cuddle her when she was down. Nathan did what he could, but there was not the same level of physical contact, the sort she desired. Not sex, just...contant. Then she would up and the bite of loneliness would hit her again and the tears would fall. She was so deeply jealous of Skyler and Tara, so much so that sometime she just wanted to run up and slap them both, just to give them a taste of her pain. It was not fair, she had suffered the most agony, why couldn't she find someone who loved her?

She knew that Tara and Skyler's relationship was purely physical, both were in it purely for the sex. Chloe would accept that happily, anything to get a warm body in beside her for one night, anything was better than going to bed again, safe in the knowledge that not a being in the galaxy loved her as Chloe the Mercenary. Even thinking about it brought tears to her eyes.

For now though, she moved between tables, taking the touches and attention happily. She knew it could not last, as much as she wanted it to. If just one of these men reached up, kissed her on the lips and told her that he loved her as she was, then she would die of happiness. Oh how she wanted it.

"They certainly are", Kartosh's companion agreed with him, emptying another glass of beer. In front of him were multiple more, many more that were all emptied. Yet he was not even tipsy, not even close. Alversians were famous for their alcohol resistance and this Alversian in particular was famous for his drinking. Nathaniel T. Barnes let Kartosh rest his pretend drunken head on his shoulder as he finished off that Kitsune's beer as well. The female Kitsune were to act as Scouts while Kartosh offered back-up. As for Nathan? Nathan was here for one thing and one thing only.

To have a good time...

...no...that wasn't it...

...yes, to provide an extra form of backup, in case Kartosh was overwhelmed and someone needed to take up the fight. For the moment though, Nathan was satisfied to watch the Dancers and Servers and wish that he could touch them. In fact,
"Hey, Miss Server?" He held his glass up to Skyler, faking unfamiliarity, "I have glasses that need Serving."
When she began to clean the glasses up, stretching over his shoulder to reach them. He placed his hand discreetly on her rear, enjoying the smooth feel beneath her bikini bottoms. He, like any natural man, thought Skyler was a truly beautiful creature, equal or surpassed only by his own partner who had taken a payment from a Patron and was now on his lap, closing her eyes in pleasure while he ran his hands across her breasts and between her legs with relish. It looked like someone else from that table had ordered Tara and was suggesting that the two Females kiss each other while they were groped.

Nathan looked at Skyler, who was still clearing the glasses,
"You look like you need a break Gorgeous...how about a nice sit down?" He faked looking around, "Oh dear, there's no seats...I guess my lap will do eh? That bikini must be awfully heavy. Why not rest it eh?" He winked at her, accompanied with a wide, wolfish grin.

"Why I outta," Skyler's eyes flicked from side to side, aware that she was being watched, and her voice took on a seductive croon, which would sound to anyone else like the murmuring of sweet nothings, but Nathan could hear the true words perfectly well. "When we get out of here I'm going to kick you in the nuts so hard your grandchildren will feel it," she hissed. Kartosh gave a raunchy laugh, as if he'd just overheard a particularly dirty joke, as Skyler settled down onto Nathan's lap. She leaned back, her whole form draped over his, tail between his legs, mouth slightly open, and positively purred, while snarling under her breath all the painful things she was going to do to him once they were outside the club. Kartosh leaned back against the bar and took on the thousand-yard-stare look of a truly drunk being, watching the ceiling fan rotate as if it was the most fascinating thing in the galaxy. Then he allowed his gaze to be dragged back down to the stage, and he experienced a sort of nirvana for drunk, horny males, before slumping forward onto the counter, as if dozing. He was confident that, if anyone was watching them, by now they would be convinced that he and Nathan were just a couple of guns-for-hire out for a night of drinking, and not a threat to anyone.
Such an watcher would only be half right.

Across the room Tara leaned over the man and kissed Chloe on the lips, half against her, half still on the human. If there had been a thermometer in the room at that present time, it would have ceased working due to overheating, and indeed she was beginning to get sweaty and not a little aroused. She hoped the boys (both were older than her, but she still thought of them in such a manner) were hurrying up, because if she couldn't control herself here things could get embarrassing. Not that she minded Chloe much, but she was positively itching to wipe the grin off her master's face, and in her thoughts of ecstasy she feared she might do just that, and completely blow their cover. Just a little while longer, she tried to quell the thoughts and memories of a certain stronghold now months and lightyears away, but they were getting stronger. Her fear was almost palatable, she was surrounded by men, men like those guards in the chambers, and she closed her eyes and tried to block it all out, lips locked with Chloe, and pray for delivery.

"Oh yeah Baby, Daddy likes it like that," Nathan smiled in pleasure, enjoying the heavy warmth of the Kitsune on his thighs, her tail between his legs. He knew that it was a part of the cover but, hell, why not have a little fun while he was here? Having the stunning Mercenary play to him was satisfying in a way but, most importantly, it was annoying the hell out of his Accomplice and that was the most important thing. Indeed, the threats being made against his manhood and his future ability to enjoy this act confirmed that he was being successful. He thought for a second if he could persuade the Kitsune that this was all a part of the act. Somehow, with her temper, he doubted it.
'Well,' He thought to himself, 'I guess I'd better made it authentic'

He raised his hands up to just below Skyler's bikini top and began to rub gently, his fingers running gently along her warm, smooth skin until her thighs where he took the thin golden chain that hung just below her stomach like a belt. He held it in his hands, dragging it from side to side so that the chain rubbed gently against her lower stomach and back. This was happening while his other hand was on her breast, gently massaging the flesh that he could touch around her bikini. He was enjoying himself.
"C'mon Baby," he whispered, "rattle your chains," referring to her tail and the strings wrapped around it.

Elsewhere, Chloe took Tara's kiss and repaid it with her own, lips rubbing together and tongues wrestling out of view. All of this was happening while her body was stimulated by the man's gropes, his hands dancing across her breasts and bottom. She smiled slightly in the kiss, her tail swishing from side to side, chains ringing slightly. However, she saw the warnings from her Younger Comrade, the subtle loss of colour despite the rise in heat, her quivering body and eyes screwed shut. She recognised the symptoms, for they were the symptoms that she had displayed herself. She was getting flashbacks of...those...nights...with the three Guards causing so much pain. She knew the feeling. She knew what she had to do.

She broke her kiss from Tara and leant over to her Suitor and whispered in something in his ear. The Man nodded in delight and muttered something in his air. They were both in agreement and pulled up an extra chair. Chloe sat in it and gently drew Tara onto his thighs, placing the younger Kitsune's legs on either side of her, kissing her passionately, watched keenly by the two Men. She knew Tara was a Lesbian and she knew that she had a real fear of the two men, what they would do to her. Perhaps a friendly face and more sympathetic touch would calm her down. Running her hands up and down the young Kitsune's exposed back, she continued to kiss her passionately.

Skyler started to breath heavily, feeling Nathan's fingers play over the taunt skin of her belly and down further. She grasped the hand that was foundelling her breast, as if holding it lovingly, while in fact she was squeezing so hard she felt the bones in his wrist grind together and his fingers began to turn gray as the blood flow was cut off. "I'll kill you I'll kill you I'll fucking kill you," she panted under her breath, tail whipping this way and that, the sound of the chains rattling like wind chimes. Kartosh was looking over at them both uneasily, but was mollified a moment later when Skyler's hand snaked down behind Nathan's belt, realizing what she was going to do. She grabbed the Alversian, nails biting into the flesh there, pinched hard, and twisted mercilessly. Nathan gasped aloud in what could have been interpreted as pleasure, if one was not close enough to see the involuntary tears suddenly spring from his eyes. Skyler was grinning widely until a moment later, when Kartosh bodily pulled her off him, muttering. "Not too hard now, I expect he does want a Nathan Jr."

"We going to see Kane and Pasha now?" Skyler whispered to Kartosh, leaving Nathan slumped in his seat, surrounded by drinking mugs.

"Yeah, it's almost time," he murmured back, glancing around the club as they made their way to the backstage enterence.

Tara giggled, bouncing up and down on Chloe's lap, thrusting and kissing her madly, not only on the lips but pressing them against her neck and nibbling lightly as her earlobe, gasps coming faster.

Nathan gave a sound that could have misinterpreted as a squeak as she was taken off his lap. He gave her a wave with his right hand, his left being massaged in his left beneath the table. He knew he might have crossed the line somewhat with his Comrade but he had to make it look authentic. When she was pulled off him and headed off towards backstage, he turned and watched Tara and Chloe entertain the Guests,
"Yo! You! Another beer here! Keep 'em coming!" He ordered, draining the beer in one go, hoping that Skyler had shown enough mercy for Grandkids.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned...or felt up in this case.

Elsewhere Chloe was wide-eyed at Tara's actions, amazed that she was attacking it with so much enthusiasm. She closed her eyes in delight, but eventually, she had to lift Tara from her, for their time was up and Daan would wonder what they were doing with each other instead of entertaining the Customers. Once they were away from the Audience, they waved goodbye, Chloe swishing her tail teasingly as they headed back up to the bar,
"Wow," She said quietly, blushing, "That was...wow..."
She hadn't had that much fun in years. Tara was talented, that much was certain. She was actually developing a crush on her.

"You're welcome!" Tara said brightly, winking and giving Chloe a slap on her firm bottom, tail whipping right and left. She was flushed too, though with excitement rather than embarrassment. If Chloe knew Tara at all she would be well aware that the young kitsune was quite a tease, Kartosh had once said she would flirt with a Korr if he would stay still long enough, and with Chloe is was no different. It had once been said that sex came in as many flavors as people do, and Tara was determined to try them all.
Only the female ones, though.

Backstage...

Kartosh and Skyler quietly slipped though the second door down the hall, entering a dimly-lit dressing room. Inside two other Homo Vulpes kitsune like themselves, a male and a female. Kane, the male, was about five eleven, while Pasha, the female, was only five seven, making her and Skyler of equal height and Kartosh taller than all of them by at least two inches. Both were performers who were being paid to sing at the club, small-timers on Xiscapia with some Syndicate connection who had come to Ferra, drawn by the vast amount of wealthy, corrupt people who they hoped to somehow rip off and escape back to the Kitsune Empire with the money, while using the performances as a front.
Con artists, the both of them.
But, more valuable, informants.

Both looked up as the two mercenaries entered. Kane was lounging in a chair, dressed in a purple suit that complimented his dark skin, glasses and the black cane that was his signature piece. Pasha wore a simple black dress with slits cut up the thighs and high-heels, pearl earrings on her fox ears and brilliant silver tail bindings glinting. It would be wrong to say either of them were rich, but their bank accounts had grown fat due to the profits of ripping people off, usually greedy merchants or stupid shop owners. They were wanted as minor criminals in the Kitsune Empire, but they easily moved undetected by carefully screening shows, and in any case, the Xiscapian government had bigger fish to fry at the moment.
Quite literally.

"Kartosh," Kane stood up, radiating warmth, arms open as if expecting a hug, "my best friend, how have you been?"

"Fine," Kartosh drawled, looking him up and down. "You seem to be doing well."

Pasha smirked at Skyler, who, feeling self-conscious in her scanty clothes, gave a cool smile back.

Chloe jumped slightly at the slap and smiled at Tara's back as she swaggered off. She supposed that the young, fiery Kitsune was only being flirty, as she had seen was more than a sizeable percentage of her personality. Even so...it was attention, warmth, touch, things that Chloe had been devoid of for many years. She watched Tara flirting with another Customer and sighed, moving on to someone else. She hoped that, at some point, a Customer would call for them both again and she would be able to spend some more time with Tara, the younger Kitsune was almost intoxicating. Even more so in the manner that she was currantly flaunting herself to the Customers.

She sighed and headed off towards another table, balancing a tray full of drinks.
Back to work.

Elsewhere, Nathan sat at the bar and finished his drink. He sighed at the empty glass and looked in his pocket, hoping to find more credits. Instead, he found a vast, empty space. He sighed and looked over at his neighbour, a large human who had taken delivery of a large glass of beer. Nathan tapped him on the shoulder,
"Excuse me," he stated, the man looked to him threateningly,
"Wha?" the man demanded dangerously.

"That Guy there," He pointed to someone leaving the Club, "He said you were a Poof."

"He said WHAT!!!!" The Human was up in seconds, storming from the bar in a cold fury, running to engage the other Man. Nathan slid over and took his drink, sipping away as if he had never said a thing.

Backstage...

"Yes, yes," Kane was nodding, all smiles, arms dropping and procuring two bottles of beer a moment later. "Our old haunts were becoming unprofitable, so we turned out here, and it's been nice." He grinned. "Like takin' candy from a baby, these guys are practically giving it away!"

"I'm sure," Kartosh's tone was hovering somewhere between polite interest and open hostility. "Listen, word on the space lanes says you've got a little info on some info."

If anything, Kane's grin became even wider, and he set down the liquor. "It'd be cheaper just to buy it directly from them, but then you'd get to the heart of the matter, and they might start poisoning their coins..." He let that hang in the air.

"Yeah," Kartosh grimaced, "we know about all that. We need specifics."

"Your employers need specifics." Pasha spoke up for the first time.

"Shut up, bitch," Skyler growled.

The other female snarled back, baring her fangs. There was no love lost between them.

"I know where they can be found," Kane admitted.

"They say this is your running price. I've taken the liberty of doubling it." Kartosh pulled a satchel out of his belt and tossed it to Kane, who caught it with one hand. Inside was a single small datacard, the access codes to a private account which would have the credits inside it. The kitsune took a quick glance over it, noting the amount, and looked back up to Kartosh.

"Not going to do it, I'm afraid. I'll need four times that."

"Four!?" Kartosh was outraged. "That's twice your average right there, my funds aren't infinite."

"They might as well be," Kane tossed the bag from hand to hand, watching it rather than Kartosh. "We all know you've got all that cash locked away somewhere-"

He was abruptly interrupted by Kartosh's fist ramming itself into his mouth, cracking a tooth and throwing him back to sprawl on the floor with a yelp. Kartosh put one boot on his chest, snarling, and brought the informant up by his collar. "Tell me where it is!"

"Doth kill me, doth kill me," Kane wheezed, winded by the blow, tongue swelling up, blood in his mouth and leaking out one nostril. His face was turning a nasty shade of yellow where he'd been struck, and his eyes were crossed. Kartosh shook him and he flopped, head lolling, as he passed out.

"Qonndamnit," he rounded on Pasha, who had been pressed up against the wall by Skyler, the weaker Xiscapian easily restrained. "You want to look like your mate there? I bet you'd look pretty with a great purple bruise." He pounded one fist into his cupped hand menacingly.

Pasha whimpered. "Okay, okay," she turned her face away, struggling, tail whipping in agitation, "they're in an office building, Seventh Plaza, Flug Street, eighty-fourth floor!" The words were tumbling out of her mouth. "They're in the secure vault, a filing cabinet, look under Dan-"

"Thank you," Kartosh said sweetly, and nodded to Skyler. She grinned and, hand flat, struck Pasha around the temple, knocking her out.

"Hope we didn't make too much noise..." Kartosh looked shifty, glancing at the door.

Unfortunately, they had made enough noise for one of the younger Stagehands to hear. He scuttled off, dropping his clipboard in his haste to rally as many Security Personnel as possible. Within moments, a half dozen Guards in powerful armour and packing heavy weapons were advancing on the changing room.

"Excuse us, gents," a tall, somewhat mangy kitsune in a hideous purple suit brushed by the security guards, followed by a rather attractive partner in a little black dress who looked suspiciously like one of the dancers. However, her hair had been drawn up in a bun and she was actually wearing something that could be called clothing, and the guards were in no mood to piss off one of the boss's performers by insinuating that she was or should be one of the poor wrenches out in the main room. So they let them pass, making for the changing room where the stagehand had heard the strange noises coming from.

"That went better than I thought it would," Kartosh tugged at the stolen suit, while Skyler was looking down at the dress and heels with evident distaste. They'd left Kane and Pasha in nothing but their underwear, bound and gagged in their closet, which would buy them a little time. Now they just had to get the hell out-

"Kane! Pasha!"

Oh shit, Kartosh groaned in his mind.

The senior stage manager was striding up to them. "Guys, I gotta tell ya, you look great. And great timing too, you're up in," he glanced at his chrono, "thirty seconds, so get moving!"

"Wait, wha-" Kartosh reached out, but the man was already gone, jogging off in some other direction and yelling for the lights to start burning.

"Uhh..." Kartosh was at a loss. He turned to Skyler, who had a grim look on her face. "What are we supposed to be doing?"

"I saw the program when we came in," she sighed. "It's not pretty."

"Well, maybe we can make a break for it-" Kartosh started, but his partner shook her head.

"No way. If we don't make the performance, and they see us leaving, they'll know something's up. Besides, we'll need the confusion when they find the other two in the dressing room."

"Sometimes I really hate my job," Kartosh groaned.

"Not as much as I'm about to," Skyler muttered.

Four minutes later...

The back door of Daan's Club for Gentlemen burst open, banging against the wall, and two figures stumbled out, almost falling down the steps in their haste. Behind them could be heard the angry shouting of the guards mixed with shrieks from the dancers and yells from the various patrons as their drinks were knocked over or they were pushed aside. The performance had gone well; possibly too well, it had taken Kartosh slightly longer than he'd thought it would to get Skyler out of there. The only reason he'd survived the experience was due to the back-up vocalists that joined him on stage, though he wasn't sure anybody had actually been listening; all eyes had been on Skyler as she'd worked the crowd. It had been a revolting experience for her, at least when she'd been serving drinks she didn't have to stay with any of them for too long, but the ordeal had seemed to last hours, rather than minutes. She was now clad in only lacy black panties, tugging the trench coat Kartosh had torn off some guy over her shoulders, hugging it over her nearly naked body.

"By Qonn..." She was blushing as they sprinted, very uncharacteristic of her, and Kartosh knew she was humiliated. He'd hated that she'd had to go though that, like some common whore, but there hadn't been any other way out. Kartosh himself had held up alright, but then, he wasn't the one who'd had to strip off his clothes and flaunt his body to the audience.

"You knocked 'em dead," he told her as they stopped, a full block away, thinking back to one of the men who had actually fainted when she'd gotten close. "Literally. Those fat cats never knew what hit 'em."

She refused to be mollified, remembering the look on Nathan's face as she'd past by. "I hope the other two have Tara with them," she shifted, pulling the coat tighter around her, "assuming they're not paralyzed by laughter."

It was not long before the other Mercenaries were able to join them. Nathan was wearing his jacket casually over one shoulder, strutting towards them. He was slightly unsteady, is if he had had one drink too many. This was all an act of course, because he had had several too many. He couldn't be blamed of course. His fuddled mind somehow compared the damage Skyler had done to his belt region, combined with the sight of Skyler on the stage had pursuaded him that much more booze was needed. Now he staggered towards them with a gleeful smirk on his face,
"A delightful performance, Skyler, truly masterful. You had them on their feet. All two legs were stiff as boards, Actually, I should say all three" he laughed, staggering slightly as he did.

Chloe shook her head at his drunken rant and looked back to Skyler with a look of gentle pity. She was still wearing her Server Uniform, with only a cloak over the top to hide her body. She had been on a Customer's lap when Skyler had come out. She gasped aloud in shock at the sight. Her Employer had increased his work, thinking it was a gasp of pleasure. But Chloe had been mesmerised by Skyler's performance, unable to take her eyes off the poor Kitsune. In fact, tears had been falling by the end, for the humiliation that she had suffered. Serving was bad, but that...When the time came to run. They were alright. No one was suspicious of them.

"Did you find anything?" She asked, "Your contacts useful?"

"Ah, right..." Skyler leaned over, picking up a length of pipe that was lying against the alley wall, smacking it softly against one palm. "I made you a promise in there, and I intend to keep it." She made a kick for his crotch area, missing and driving the tip of her foot into his stomach. He doubled over, which was fortunate, because she swung the pipe at the same moment, and if he'd been standing it would have connected with his head. Instead it bounced off his back, staggering the towering Alversian slightly, as she began to make vicioius strikes with the blunt weapon. "Don't ever touch me like that again, I'm gonna hit you so hard you'll have to drop your pants to say hello...!"

"They were," Kartosh admitted as he watched the other two go at it. "The documents we need are-" Skyler's coat had come partially open and her panty-clad rear was exposed. Tara would love that... He paused, looking around. "Where's Tara?"

Nathan took both hits, grunting in confusion as he did so, trying to remember in his scrambled head what he had done to deserve such an attack from the Female Mercenary. Then it came back to him, the way she had draped over him, her warm, bare flesh on his jacket. Even now, she was wearing so little. He wondered for a moment if she spent her whole time trying to tease poor, innocent people like him into thoughts that where not proper for a Gentlemen of his calibre. As he ran down the street though, avoiding her swinging pipe and bare legs which kicked out at him as he stayed ahead of her.
"Keep your knickers on, Love," He called behind him, "Because if you don't I'll need to get my wallet out for a tip" He half laughed, half slurred and crashing into a pile of bins and rubbish bags, falling asleep almost instantly in the pile of rubbish.

"Tara? Oh, she's saying good bye to one of the Server Girls," She gave a sly smile, knowing what Tara's goodbyes meant. Someone would be remembering tonight. Though she doubted it would be Nathan,
"So we need to find the Documents then?" She sighed, "I know the place you're talking about, it's a tough cookie. But we'll check it out tomorrow once everyone has recovered," Another look at the immobilised Alversian. A small sigh.

"Huh, must be a pretty imposing structure if you already know where the documents are and I didn't even say," Kartosh muttered. She'd obviously done some recon and intelligence gathering of her own. He glanced over to where Nathan had passed out in a pile of garbage. "I think I'd better put a stop to that before things get out of hand..." He walked over.

Skyler hefted the pipe above her head, holding it with two hands, ready to crack Nathan's skull open, while he slumbered away in some other land that didn't do to him the sort of things Ferra did to him. "Let's see how well you crack jokes with half you brain splattered on the wall," she snarled, and brought the blunt instrument down. It stopped just above Nathan's forehead, held in place by Kartosh's hand, who sighed and shook his head. "Yeah, he crossed the line. Yeah, he's a bastard. But we kinda need him, and he was just, you know, being playful..." He trailed off at her expression. "Look, at least wait a while. I'm sure he's very sorry..."

"Okay," Skyler dropped the pipe, taking care that the heavy object would fall right between Nathan's legs. "But if doesn't get on his knees and beg I'm coming after him!"

At that moment Tara walked down the alleyway, face and neck covered in lipstick kisses, completely as ease wearing her serving costume. "What did I miss?" She looked from Kartosh holding Skyler's hand to Skyler's face to Nathan asleep in the trash to Chloe with her head in her hands and giggled.

"Oh yeah," Chloe nodded, shivering slightly in the cold of the night, her skimpy costume offering her little warmth. Not that it seemed to be bothering Tara much, who seemed to have had a little fun at Mister Daan's and some poor Server girl's expense. Chloe took her head out of her hands at Tara's giggles and looked about quickly.
"We should head back to the safehouse," She said quietly, suddenly noticing how quiet it was, "If anyone sees us, they're gonna start wondering why two Servers, two Customers and a..." She looked at Skyler and gulped, "...Performer are doing together after dark." In truth, she hated the Server's costume and, as soon as she could put her regular clothes back on, she would be happy. She'd already gotten rid of her own tailchains and gently removed them now from Tara's bushy, flicking tail, throwing them into the rubbish beside Nathan, who protested the metalic clinking noise.

"Let's move," She said, shivering as she stepped barefoot on the cold stone ground. The Servers had not been permitted to wear shoes on duty and, in the intense exit, she had not had time to find her own amongst the dozens of other Servers. How she hated this uniform.

"Right, rise and shine you big lug," Kartosh pulled Nathan to his feet, supporting his intoxicated friend on one shoulder, getting Chloe to help him on the other. He was so tall his feet trailed after him on the ground, so Kartosh and Chloe half carried, half dragged the semiconscious Alversian, like two buddies taking a drunken friend home. Tara and Skyler trailed behind them, doing their best not to be taken notice of.

Soon they came to the safehouse, secured by an associate of Kartosh's before they had landed.

It was two days before the Mercs were able to size up and infiltrate the building which Pasha had so keenly told them of. It was a massive building, standing over two hundred stories high, in the centre of the city. It was not alone though, for with it, where a multitude of buildings of similiar high, all imposing and dark figures at night. Glass windows reflecting the images of each other to appear more like mirrors. A cold and imposing sight.
However, what made them worse where the two dozen guards on the roofs and outside the front doors of each one. Each wore expensive body armour and sported a powerful slug-throwing submachine gun. They were looking to the roofs and scanning the streets for any sign of trouble, not bothering to check the buildings themselves.

Chloe sat at one window, a hundred and fifty floors up, watching through a pair of binoculars at the guards idly standing on the roof, always alert and ready. She sighed at the sight. Already Tara and Skyler should be inside, waiting in one of the toilets until the building closed for the night, then they would move up to the office where the documents were placed. She was here to keep an eye out for any signs of trouble.

"Nathan?" She whispered into her comm, "Are you in position?"

"Hell, yeah," he responded jovially, having recovered from his drunken hangover in time for this operation, "I'm in perfect position to see the buildings and the residential area nearby. You should see the knockers on this dame..."

"Focus Nathan, focus," She snapped into her radio, more loudly than she intended, "Kartosh," She called again, "Are you in position?"

"Yeah, yeah," Kartosh's voice came back over the vox, sounding bored. He was sitting across the street, bestride a old-style black motorcycle, helmet-less with his arms folded, waiting idly. He would be the one to help the two females make their escape with the reports once they obtained them and got to the ground floor, and to act as backup if needed. For the time being he had to sit still, away from the action, and he couldn't help but fidget, glancing around at the other buildings, the guards and occasionally up the looming tower of glass and steel which contained his two closest partners.

"Can we hurry it up?" he complained. "I don't got a nice window seat like Nathan, and I feel like a idiot just sitting here on this bike."

Building...

"Should be closing any time now."

Tara was in a crouch, precariously perched atop the back of a toilet in a stall in a lady's restroom, hugging her knees to her chest, balancing perfectly. She and Skyler had entered a hour before, and had been waiting for the area to clear out even since. Skyler had quickly changed from her street clothes into a sleek black catsuit, complete with a weapon's belt: No point in being shy about things, if she was caught there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell she'd be able to talk her way out. Tara hadn't seen the need, strangely; like Kartosh, the only time she changed out of her normal attire (a T-shirt, jeans and sneakers) was if the mission demanded it, and this time she didn't appear to have felt that. The young former slave was in the stall next to Skyler's, armed with only a dagger and small holdout pistol, slightly nervous, while Skyler rested comfortably, stoically even. While Skyler had a neural implant that allowed her to transmit her words telepathically along a frequency of her choice, Tara settled with a regular earpiece, which allowed her to hear what the other mercenaries were saying and join in if necessary.

"How long 'till we move?" Tara whispered over her communications unit to Chloe. She was somewhat anxious, having none of the patience or experience of her cooler partner, and rather afraid they would be caught and found out by Security.

"We can't rush this," Chloe hissed in reply as she peered through her own Visual Scanner at the main building they were targeting. She looked first at the roof, watching as the thirty or so guards stood to attention or patrolled stiffly up and down, all wearing black combat armour and sporting submachine guns. She then focused on the ground next to the guilded entrance, where another thirty or so Men were standing guard. She knew she had the name number in her building as well, but that didn't worry her at the moment.
"Skyler? Tara?" She whispered into her radio, watching as the Cleaners left the building one by one and it was shut down for the night, plunging into total darkness, "All clear, you can move now."
She watched quietly, ears pricking as she heard the ropes on the crane beneath her move. Her building was being repaired and a relatively small crane perched between it and another nearby. For the moment, she was content to sit and watch the window for Skyler and Tara to finish their job.

"All clear, you can move now."

"Roger that, five by five, op begins...now. We'll keep you posted, over and out." Skyler pushed open her stall door, motioning to Tara as her partner did the same. It was nearly pitch-black inside the restroom, the building was deserted and the woman's bathroom wouldn't be in use until the next day, and even so, it was well between the ground floor and the roof, way too far for any guards to travel on idle patrol. Skyler moved swiftly, hands flying over her belt, and in under a minute most of the equipment that had been there was gone, assembled into a small sub machine gun. Tara tugged her pistol out of the waistband of her pants, pointing the barrel to the floor, and let Skyler go out first. The blue-haired kitsune cracked the door slightly, peering out, then made the all-clear sign, both mercenaries edging out into the hallway.

It was only slightly lighter in the hall, the huge smoked glass windows letting in some dim light from the moon and stars outside. They weren't worried about being seen; the only people that could have possibly seen them would be in the other skyscrapers, and the glass on all floors excepting the lobby was mirrored, one-way, impossible to see though unassisted in the daytime, never mind at night. All they had to do was get to the vault, get the documents, and get out. Skyler didn't anticipate any problems with the first to parts, they were on the seventy-first floor, and the vault was on the seventy-second, and she knew how to break codes and bypass security systems. It would be the getting out with the stuff that would prove somewhat more difficult.

Moving stealthily, aware that guards were probably posted on the next level, the two took the stairway to the next floor. At the door to the seventy-second floor Skyler repeated her motions, opening the door a tiny crack to peek out and see if there were any guards waiting on the level that contained the vault.

Chloe watched carefully from the window of her own skyscraper, keeping an eye out for any signs of the Guards above or below approaching or even being alerted. So far there was nothing. She pressed a button on the side of the scanners to increase the Infared range and, from there, was able to see two white blobs moving up the stairs towards the target safe. She hoped Skyler and Tara knew what they were doing. If not, they were facing upwards of eighty elite Guards just to get out. Not an easy task.

"Clear," Skyler whispered, and she slipped though the door, Tara darting in after her. The blue-haired female could see the vault already; the traditional spooked door by the far window, the only evident guard a simple desk before it. Moving slowly, Skyler took all the precautions, looking out for cameras, laser beams, automated turrets, motion detectors, anything that could injure or impede or set off an alarm. When she had run the sweep with her scanners, satisfied that the area was clear, she hacked the vault's security, swung the lock and it hissed open, compressed air wafting out. Skyler was surprised at how easy the op had gone thus far; there had been no close calls, no patrols, no security on the middle floors that she, Tara or Chloe could see, nothing to stop her from walking in and taking what she wanted. However, she reminded herself, when things seemed too good to be true, they probably were. "Watch my back," she hissed to Tara, who had been busy studying Skyler's region just south of her back, and turned to grab the documents from the interior of the secure room.

However, as Skyler's hand slipped into the room, suddenly the room lit up as bright as daytime, flashing a deep and brutal red from the flashing lights embedded in the roof. This was accompanied by a loud screaming siren that pierced both sets of ears on the two Kitsune who seemed to have tripped some sort of boody trap within the vault. The lights extended the whole way throughout the room, through all the various little cubicles and canteen areas.
Chloe looked over the scanner at the sight, for even from her position in the other building, the red alarms and the faint screech of the sirens that reached through the two pairs of glass.

"Shit," She said simply, momentarily stunned by the sudden change in the situation. There was no point in even looking at the guards, but she dragged herself to look at them and saw that only five of the Guards remained at the bottom and even less remained at the top. Through the windows, she could barely see the outlines of a large number of people with machine guns running up the stairs,
"Skyler, Tara," She said it in a slightly singsong voice, "You'd better finish quick, you have quite a lot of company coming your way."

"Fuck everything," Skyler grabbed the documents, no point in trying to be stealthy now. She knew that, even if they took the elevators, it would take the guards a little while to get to them, so they had at least a little time. "We've got to get down-" She looked around, words dying on her lips, and saw Tara fleeing for one of the stairwells. "No, wait, you're going the wrong way!" She cried out, but she could hear the guards were almost upon them, cutting off her escape after Tara as the younger kitsune went up. With a grimace she took off down a separate flight of stairs to the ground floor; Tara would have to find her own way out. Submachine gun leveled, she went quickly but relatively quietly; she wanted to be able to get the drop on the thugs before they could detect her presence.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZH7UpSoIT8

Chloe saw Tara and Skyler splitting up and running in different escape routes. She could see the Guards running up the stairs, scanners activated to try and find the Intruders who had tripped the alarm at the safe. Chloe was watching through her scanner, she saw someone stopping and looking directly at her, talking into a Communications Device about something. She lowered her own Scanner, the colour draining from her face as she realised what had happened,
"Double Shit," She hissed. She quickly slipped the scanner into her pocket and ran from the window, breaking down the door to the stairwell. As she ran down the metal stairs though, she felt the deep vibrations of heavy boots on steel. She peered down and, sure enough, she saw the camoflagued men running upwards with rifles at the ready. She growled in frustration and looked up to see the same thing coming down at her. She sighed in anger and turned to face the metal door that led to the next office area. It took only a few kicks to smash the lock and force the door open.

She ran towards the window, praying that something would present itself before she did something stupid. She had no such luck and, as she heard a burst of automatic fire behind her, she smashed the glass and was in the cold, dark, open air. She fell downward for several seconds, opening up as if she were parachuting, trying to time her move perfectly.
Time seemed to slow down as she fired her grapple gun at the crane perched into the side of the skyscraper. The rope caught perfectly and her internal organs lurched as she was stopped suddenly by the rope, using her momentum to swing out and crash through the window of a neighbouring building. She looked up, dusting herself down, hardly believing that she had had the guts to do something like that. She didn't wait though, turned and ran down the unguarded building, towards the ground floor.

Skyler darted out onto the landing, hearing the pounding of feet on stairs, and she knew that she had perhaps seconds before the guards reached her. The mercenary lithely sprang up, planting her feet on the wall, and launched herself to the not-so-distant far wall, bouncing off it just as the first of the guards appeared at the base of the stairs. His weapon was leveled at about waist height, and the last thing he expected was for an enemy to come down at nearly head height, so as a result when Skyler knocked into him he only had time to cry out in surprise, both falling back. The rest of the contingent was at the top of the next flight, and the stumbling of the first man set of a domino affect that comically had them all staggering back down the stairs in a tangle of limbs, battle armor and weapons. Skyler half rolled, half tumbled herself, down the river of black-suited male humans grunting and cursing as they found themselves abruptly knocked down.

"Sorry 'bout that," she said, climbing to her feet amid the carpet of groaning mercenaries, running the tip of her tail over the face of one of them, "you bunch give our bunch a bad name. The real mercenaries," She snorted, fox ears twitching, and ran off down the next flight, bullets whining around her ankles.

Meanwhile Tara was panting, running up the stairs, and midway though one level the guards began to appear, coming at her. She fell onto one knee immediately, slugs chewing into the wall behind her, spraying her back with flying chips of concrete, and fired her blaster. The first shot took one man in the chest and he fell, sliding down the stairs, gun clattering along ahead of him. The others dove for cover, retreating back up and returning fire, and Tara lost no time in scrambling back though a door and running for the elevator. There was no way she'd be able to make it though all those men using the stairs. She stabbed the "Up" button, waiting a apprehensive, pulse-pounding few seconds, before diving into the empty car and slamming home the "Roof" and "Close Door" buttons at the same time.

Once Tara had reached the roof, she would find herself in the cold, dark night at the very top of breathable atmosphere. There should have been Guards here to meet her, to prepare for her fighting past the others running down the stairs. However, there was no one, only silence and the howling wind.
Then, to break the silence, came a voice,
"Oh what a simply marvellous break-in," The familiar voice laughed, "Truly Masterful! I'm sure they'll never know anything about it. Well, these guys won't"
Nathan lifted one of the Guards up and tossed him to the side out of the way. He was leaning beside a bright yellow hovercar, now cleaning his teeth,
"Taxi for Tara!" He called, "Can we make it quick Love? I have another fare before I can go home."

Elsewhere, Skyler would find no Guards on the ground floor as she exited the building, but she would also hear the screechs of sirens getting closer and closer...but there was also a deep thundering noise, like rapid tanktracks on gravel.

Tara stepped out onto the roof gingerly, blaster held out in front of her, thinking that perhaps the guards had abandoned the roof to hunt for her and Skyler. She wouldn't have blamed them for doing it anyway; she could barely breath in the thin air, and it was so cold gooseflesh immediately formed on her arms and the fur on her tail and ears puffed up slightly, her tail curling around her legs, trying to impart warmth to the rest of her. Then she heard Nathan, and grinned in relief. She would have hated to think she was alone up here, trapped and waiting for the guards to come back and find her. "Blame Skyler," she ran across the room, hopping over the still forms of several of the thugs, almost winded by the time she reached the cab. "She tripped the alarm, not me." The young Xiscapian climbed into the passenger seat of the hovercar. "Hope you're not planning on leaving the meter running."

Ground Floor...

Skyler sprinted though the lobby, raising her automatic weapon as she ran and firing in a spray at the row of windows displaying the outside. They shattered with the impact of the bullets and she dove though, protected by her light, firm armor, rolling on the broken glass out onto the sidewalk. There was a throaty rumble and Kartosh pulled up to the curb on the motorcycle, revving the engine so it gave another roar. No words were necessary; Skyler jumped onto the back, bestride the bike with her back to Kartosh's, reloading her gun. "Tanks...why tanks?" Kartosh grumbled as they pulled away from the building, the submachine gun in Skyler's hands chattering as she discouraged any of the guards who had just reached the lobby from following them.

"Why would old tight-fisted me do a thing like that?" Nathan laughed as he settled into the driver's seat of the car and driving it straight down the side of the building. He could hear the glass trembling and cracking in protest at the screeching hover vehicle but he hammered on regardless. He could also hear the sound of metal smashing against metal and knew that it was the sound of the Guard's bullets striking the underside of his car. Smoke began to pour from the rear engine and it began to judder from side to side,
"Ladies and Gentlemen," Nathan shouted as he yanked the wheel to one side, swerving to avoid a massive splinter of glass that had broken away from the main building, "We are about to experience some major turbluence, please fasten your seatbelts and enjoy the ride." He laughed as more and more panes fell away, requiring stomach loosening yanks and pulls to stop the hovercar plummeting to the ground. After several mad minutes of this, the Hovercar scrapped along the ground and came to a halt, a battered wreck.

"Hmmm," Nathan shoved a door open and examined the smoking remains, "Any money for a bus?" He asked Tara. It was only a couple of seconds before the screeching sound of rubber on tarmac filled the air and a four doored car came up alongside them. In the Driver's seat was Chloe,

"Get in!" She hissed, moving over to allow Nathan the wheel while she took the passenger seat, listening to the increasing wail of police sirens, "Hit the gas!" She snapped at Nathan who obediently rammed his foot to the floor and had the car screech off.

"Where are we going?" Nathan shouted, Chloe thought for a moment,

"Our rendevous is set in the Old Town," She called, "The quickest way is by the Freeway!"

"Then let's go!" Nathan shouted again and skidded the car around, aiming for the massive, six lane Freeway.

Kartosh and Skyler

As Kartosh and Skyler pulled away however, they were almost instantly met by two Police cars. These vehicles screeched to a halt in the road, each skidding together to block both lanes of the road. Behind them came more onimous sounds, the sounds of three or four Police Cars rushing in to close the gap on the Mercenaries and seal their doom.

"Fuck," Tara's head banged against the side of the car as Nathan maneuvered, and her hands scrabbled at her seat belt, trying to lock it in place. "Could you please try and drive like a normal person?" She muttered, rubbing her head and smoothing over one fox ear that had been turned inside out.

Street...

"Aww hell no," Kartosh pulled the motorcycle around in a howling one eighty, and Skyler unleashed a stream of bullets at the two police cruisers, trying to keep their heads low so they couldn't start shooting at them. The bike shot forward, away from the two cars, and Skyler saw what her partner was going to do an instant before it happened. "Oh no-"

"Oh yeah!" Kartosh yelled and the vehicle blazed a trail up the sidewalk, onto the raised ledge of the opposite building and over the heads of the other authorities coming to intercept them. Kartosh revved the motor in midair just for the hell of it, grinning at the astonished or furious faces staring up at him, and the bike hit the ground hard and protested with a squeal of rubber, the tires biting into the ground and propelling them away. Skyler, busy holding on for dear life, saw for an instant four patrol cars dwarfed by some sort of massive gray thing that had been moving to cut them off, and then they were gone, speeding up the road and swerving though the relatively light city traffic.

"Wha?" Nathan yelled as he swerved around the cars heading onto the Motorway, a long, straight road six lanes wide, all of them filled to a certain degree. Nathan skillfully dodged each one, swerving from side to side and missing each car by inches. However, as he did so, Police Cars were rushing up the Hard shoulders, getting closer and closer. Nathan was in the middle of the road, unable to pull into the safer lanes because of Police proximity. However, up the middle of the Freeway came a strange form of tank. It was going fast, fast enough to close in on the car, though that might have had something to do with the fact that Nathan had to cut through the cars while this just smashed through them, knocking them all over the place. Two turrets came up from the roof of the rounded vessel. They began to pepper the boot and roof of the car with heavy machine gun fire.

"Down!" Chloe yelled as Nathan put his foot down, increasing the already insane speed.

Elsewhere...

As the Motorbike turned the corner of a building, the rumbling increased to fever pitch before the same corner seemed to disintergrate into rubble as a black monstrosity smashed into it, scattering it in all directions. It was a form of tank and it wasn't far off closing them down, turrets raising from the roof to rattle off heavy fire, bullets clattering against the ground just behind the Bike. Behind that came more Police Cars, cautious to stay out of the way of the tank-thin.

Tara only had time for a shriek as she dove for the floor, ripping off her seat belt in the process. With that war machine behind, them if they crashed all the safety netting on Ferra wouldn't save her from the heavy-duty bullets. She couldn't believe the damn thing was actually going though the cars; apparently the military had zero regard for civilian lives. It seemed like the only thing they could do was outrun it, they didn't have any heavy weapons to destroy it with and if it kept them in sight it would eventually get a lucky shot and then it would be all over.

Elsewhere...

"Shit," Kartosh breathed as they skidded around another corner, slugs smashing apart the wall as Skyler tried to make herself as small a target as possible. They had to keep dodging and weaving; if they came to a long stretch of roadway where the tank could get them in it's gun sights, they would be dead in an instant. "Take the back alleys!" Skyler cried, firing fruitlessly at the military and police vehicles with her submachine gun. Kartosh understood immediately: That thing might not care if it toppled buildings in its path, but maybe they could use that exact brutality to their advantage.
Except...
There were no alleys to be seen!

Kartosh pushed on the throttle, trying to gain every last bit of speed as they sought to escape from their pursuers.

Nathan continued to duck and dodge around the traffic, being pursued by the smashing Tank as it crushed everything out of it's way. Chloe was perched in the passenger seat, listening as the bullets rattled against the metal of the car. She dared to peek up for a moment, to see the two turrets firing down on her. She thought for a moment, if the turrets could pop in and out of the hull, then...

"Nathan!" She shouted at her Partner as he screeched between two larger vans, both of whom where smashed out of the way moments later by the tank. Chloe waited until they were shielded behind a truck so big that not even the tank dared to challenge it. She carefully eased herself onto the bullet-riddled roof. She clung on with one hand as she crouched down, waiting until they were alongside another truck. With a deep breath, she lept forwards onto it's roof, barely able to keep her balance on the fast moving vehicle. However, once she was on, she waited until the tank was able to close up on the car again, bullets clattering against it's hull again.

As soon as it came alongside the lorry, she jumped again, this time grabbing onto the back of one of the turrets. She looked down, hoping against hope that she was right and, sure enough, there was a large gap between the turret and the hull there the larger gun chamber slipping into the hull. She took out a stun grenade and, after activating it, she dropped it into the gap and leapt off onto the truck behind. This time it was easier and she watched in amusement and satisfaction as the tank turrets flashed blue and the vehicle skidded off to the side, crashing into the freeway wall. Nathan had slowed enough for her to leap down onto the bonnet and, from there, into the cab once again where she looked smugly at a gobsmacked Nathan.

"Sometimes, I don't think you're even organic," He said in wonder. Chloe just laughed as they sped on towards the rendevous point.

--

The tank continued to follow the motorbike while the Police were forced to back off due to the rubble and swerving tank that blocked their pursuit. They were satisfied to leave it up to the tank to finish off these Robbers. The bullets continued to clatter against the walls and floor.

"Hells bells," Tara said wonderingly, looking at Chloe. "That deserves some kind of award..." She leaned forward, putting her hands on Chloe's chest from behind, and kissed the Xiscapian on the cheek. The youth giggled softly, turning her head aside and rubbing her cheek against the other mercenary's.

Streets...

As the rounds whined past them Kartosh turned abruptly into a nearly concealed side alley, so close to the wall his left leg was only inches away, the bricks rushing past at what seemed to the two mercenaries to be supersonic speeds. The passageway was barely large enough to hold the bike, and as the tank, growling like a wild beast, smashed right on though, the huge armored sides carving though the walls with a ear-shattering roar of falling bricks and collapsing masonry. Now they were only a few yards ahead of the vehicle, the destruction howling behind them, Skyler watching it with wide eyes stung by dust. The only reason the turrets hadn't blasted them already is because the effort and debris thrown up by having to bull though the structures after them was too great. There came a great moan, rising up louder and louder until it filled their world and there came a scream like that of a star exploding and there were things falling all around them and everything went black.

"Hey! Hey! Keep it down there in the back!" Nathan called, looking into his bullet-ridden mirror, "Don't make me come back there!" he laughed as he tore on towards the meeting point.

"Mmhmm," Chloe murmured softly, feeling the warm confident hands on her chest, moving slightly, enough to be pleasant without being overly purvasive, she turned to kiss the Kitsune, feeling their warm, smooth lips lock together in a kiss that Chloe could only have dreamed off. She had never considered herself to be gay but, as a slave, she had served all genders and races so it shouldn't really have come as a surprise that she got this reaction from a Female of all people. The best part though, was when their cheeks rubbed, and Chloe recieved such a rush of pleasure that she could have melted. She had longed for this for so long and now she wished that Nathan was somewhere else, so she could have this time with Tara alone,
'I should risk my life more often'

--

The building seemed to sway for a moment, sway gently before, gradually, the full wall crashed down on top of the tank, momentarily burying it under a cloud of dust and debris. However, once that had cleared and everything settled, the tank was still there, albeit half buried in rubble and unable to move. A Victory for luck and mindless destruction over elegance and grace on the day.

"Just us girls," Tara whispered to Nathan, giving Chloe a last squeeze and a peck before receding back into the back seat, grinning widely.

Street...

"Owww..."

Kartosh stood up blearily, holding his head, which was bleeding profusely from a cut he didn't seem to remember getting. He swayed slightly, trying to remember. Had it been one drink too many...? Wait, he wasn't in a bar. He looked down, seeing the motorbike on its side, badly scrapped and dented but not seriously damaged, then over to the tank, buried in rubble and apparently immobilized. Ah... He frowned, and abruptly looked down, where Skyler (thank Qonn) was now getting to her feet, beautiful blue hair matted and covered in concrete chips, fur caked with dust, rubbing her side. "You could have taken that last corner a little slower," she said dryly, looking up and down the street as the sirens of the authorities became audible while Kartosh stood the bike up.

"'S not my fault," Kartosh muttered, "I hate tailgaters." He mounted the 'cycle, and, with a few coughs, and false starts, managed to activate it. "We can't wait around." Skyler gave one last look to the tank, turrets poking helplessly out of the rubble, before climbing on the back of the bike. In a few minutes they had been whisked away from the city and were speeding up the freeway, past many a smashed and broken car. I wonder who came though here. Skyler thought glibly as they passed a tank identical to the one that had been chasing them splattered all over a large overpass wall.

When they reached the safehouse, Kartosh and Skyler would find a prestine, new hovercar next to a bullet ridden standard car. The car had black smoke raising from the bonnet and two of it's doors seemed to have fallen away. Inside the house itself, a small shanty bungalow held together with a few pieces of string and the prayers of the Owner alone. Once inside the pitch black interior, the sound of energy weapons charging up came from all directions. Then a click as they were deactivated, then Chloe's voice came off from the left,
"You made it then. Told you Nathan, you owe me five Sedars."

"I always knew you were coming back," Nathan's voice came ahead, a couple of footsteps, a very loud crash followed by a multiple swearwords. Then a deep sigh,
"I knew where I was going," Nathan's voice was defensive, "Run into anything big and heavy did you?" He asked, not even sure if he was looking the right way.

"Over here, pal," Kartosh grunted, shoving Nathan lightly, chuckling because he was the only one unable to see naturally in the gloom. "You too, huh? That was a pretty fast response for a bunch of mobsters, if they've got the cops and the army on their side we might need to start being more careful."

"I guess that jalopy outside was your first car?" Skyler asked with an amused smile. "I wouldn't file an insurance claim if I were you..."

Tara was lying reclined on a scratched and faded chair, tail curled under it, her shirt pulled up to just below her ample breasts, apparently asleep, a cute little smile on her face. Once in a while her tail or an ear would twitch, the by-product of some pleasant dream, and now she sighed softly, unconsciously, hair draped over the side of the seat and just brushing the floor.

"Don't worry," Chloe replied dryly, "I only rented the car in the first place using a fake identity. Unless a Mrs. Nbogo tries to claim her car back, then the Police and Army will never track us down, especially since I tipped the Owner a considerable number of credits not to tell the Army anything and if anything can win the hearts of the Ferran people, it's credits." She laughed and looked to Tara, smiling affectionately, "I think it's time our little dreamer woke up, we need to get a move on before the Ferrans find this house and it's bullet-ridden garage."

Nathan spun in Kartosh's grasp and looked in the darkness at his friend, squinting to see if that improved the vierw,
"I didn't see you there...or the wall...or that table...come to think of it..I'm not doing well at all, visually I mean." He laughed, "Come on Tara! The work of the beautiful is never done!" he laughed again, touching her on the shoulder. He was, of course, entranced by her beauty, it was hard not to be, but he knew when there were no limits and he knew she was most definitively off limits.

Chloe sighed at the tactless performance, then looked back to Skyler,
"I assume that you have the documents?"

Chloe looked at the recently woken Tara and sighed. She was so cute when she slept and it was hard for Chloe to take her eyes off the younger Kitsune. She pined for her silently, wanting that shirt to be a couple of inches higher. She was so enticing, so exotic, so reachable. Chloe did not have the courage to take that step but she could watch from a distance. And sigh.

"Uh-huh," Skyler patted her an area just under her breast, where the folder had been wedged between the suit and her skin. "These things had better be worth it to the APA, that was one thieving mission I wouldn't want to repeat."

"Bloody hell," for once Kartosh's breath didn't smell of alcohol, "you're a lot prettier in the dark, you know that Nathan? Oh, wait, I'm talking to the fucking lamp."

Tara yawned widely as Nathan prodded her and stretched in her seat, shirt coming tantalizingly close to exposing her before she sat up, all bright eyes and a wide grin. She looked first at Nathan, then to Skyler, and finally over at Chloe, where her eyes rested slightly longer, as if thoughtfully as if she knew the other kitsune had been watching her. Then she spoke, looking away to nowhere in particular. "What now?"

She nodded to the others and stepped off into another dark room to change out of the, while well protected and efficient, rather uncomfortable catsuit. It was the work of less than a minute to get back into her regular clothes, and she came back with the suit slung over one shoulder, documents in her vest pocket.

"Lamp? What lamp?" Nathan asked, turning and promptly smashing into a table of some kind. He sent it smashing into the floor in a wave of splinters along with him falling to the floor with it in a colourful and expressive flood of cursewords. After a couple of moments, Chloe called out in an incertain voice,
"Nathan? You okay?"

There was another pause for several moments, as Chloe peered into the darkness looking for her Partner. However, his reply was prompt,
"Fucking table." He muttered from the floor.

"Anyway," Chloe looked to Skyler, "I think we should have a look at the documents ourselves first, before we broadcast them." She gave her Comrade a sly smile, "Anything the Army gets to know I think we deserve to know as well." She tried to put Tara out of her mind for now, the sight of that slight young body. She had to concentrate.

Chloe was going to find that exceedingly difficult to do as Tara stood up, walking with a nice little sway to wide hips over to where the other two females stood, tail curling almost shyly around her legs, actually leaning against Chloe as if using her for support. "Those the papers I risked my tail for?" She was looking at the documents Skyler extracted from her pocket intently. "I hope it's more than just troop movements and unit positions, if I got my fur singed for it I'd hope it would at least be in color..."

Skyler opened the folder and laid the documents out of the unbroken twin of the table Nathan had just destroyed, arraying them over the scratched, stained, rough surface with flourish. Kartosh, after pulling Nathan up from the floor, looked curiously over their shoulders, wondering how much this would be worth to the APA.

Chloe gulped heavily as she watched Tara through the corner of her eye. She could feel herself warming up as she watched that young Kitsune flaunt herself so fully and willingly. She felt the familiar pangs of desire and jealously and wished to Qonn that she could just build up the courage to kiss her, or even to ask her for a date or something. However, she dragged her gaze down to the documents and quickly read the first page. She gave a low whistle, tail flicking from side to side. The documents were certainly worth it, talking of troop deployments, fortifications, numbers and even reports on the morale of Commanders and men.
However, there was also more information on the President for Life of Ferra, including a list of important contacts who had to be guarded at all times. One of them was the Chancellor for Ferra's biggest University.
"Our next target?" She thought a loud, looking over at Skyler and Tara, groaning inwardly, why did she have to be so damn cute!?!

"Hell yes," Kartosh stabbed a finger down at one of the papers, pushing Chloe and Tara aside slightly in his enthusiasm. "We've got bios for these guys right here, all we have to do is find out who is most likely to know the Prez the closest and see if he can tell us his routine, or better yet, a way in." He grinned. "An old mentor sounds like an excellent choice."

Skyler nodded. "If we find the President, we also find the General and the rest of the top brass of the Ferran Army, and maybe a few important department heads too...anybody know how much the Alversians are paying per head?" She looked around.

"Hmmm..." Chloe sounded in agreement, shoving back lightly against Kartosh as he prodded through her to the documents, "...hhhere," She tapped one of the dossiers showing an elderly man with brillianting white hair,
"Professor James J. Harrington, 3rd Lord of Callan, 2nd Earl of Dunbridge, Count of Monte Vidi, Colonel of the Presidential 3rd Guards Infantry, Brigadier Master of the 6th Guards Cavalry, Field Marshall of the 9th Guards Army, Admiral of the Blue, Admiral of the Red, Chancellor of the Ferran University for Excellence." She raised an eyebrow at the full length of the title. She read down a little,
"According to this, he was the Tutor of the President when he was younger and is still one of his closest confidents. If anyone is going to know of his location or any way to get to him then it'll be this guy." She looked at the record then sighed, "It seems he's quite a...fan of the female Students at his University." She was still reading the document, "According to this, he likes to inspect a group of them once a month and the one he finds attractive he makes an offer to. If she will be his Mistress for a month, he automatically passes them into the next Year, wither or not they pass their tests." She gave a whistle, remember when she used to be a University student, then sighing deeply at the painful memory.

"Seems the best way to get him in private would be to go undercover as one of his 'Potentials' then wait until the right moment to pounce." She looked across at Skyler and Tara,
"Any Takers?" She asked dryly.

"I don't know how much they're paying but, needless to say, it will be enough for a couple of beers," Nathan chipped in, "Enough to keep me happy anyway."

"...3rd Lord of Callan, 2nd Earl of Dunbridge, Count of Monte Vidi, Colonel of the Presidential 3rd Guards Infantry, Brigadier Master of the 6th Guards Cavalry, Field Marshall of the 9th Guards Army, Admiral of the Blue, Admiral of the Red, Chancellor of the Ferran University for Excellence..."

Kartosh pantomimed falling asleep as Chloe read off the long list of titles Harrington possessed, head lolling against his chest, even giving a soft snore. "Shit," he opened his eyes and rolled them, leaning back against the wall, "how many positions can you tack onto a man before he falls over under the weight?"

"According to this, he likes to inspect a group of them once a month and the one he finds attractive he makes an offer to. If she will be his Mistress for a month, he automatically passes them into the next Year, wither or not they pass their tests."

Skyler gave a slight snort. "Charming," she said sarcastically, "all those titles and he still finds time to bone his students and send another uneducated slut into the galaxy. No wonder this planet's falling apart."

"Seems the best way to get him in private would be to go undercover as one of his 'Potentials' then wait until the right moment to pounce. Any Takers?"

As one, the group turned towards the most likely member. Tara was idly examining her tail, picking out specks of dust and shedded excess fur still clinging to it, when she looked up, glancing from left to right. "Why is everybody looking at me?" Her eyes were wide and innocent, but a coy smile told the other mercenaries all they needed to know.

Chloe smiled slighty at Tara, noting to herself that she was indeed the best person for the job. If anyone was going to get into a Chancellor's pants, it would be the young lithe Merc who's very smile would charm the birds from the trees. She was the perfect 'Volunteer' for this mission. Chloe got up from the table and walked into another room behind them,
"I think I have just what you need." Shestood in front of an Alversian Replicator and made her request, "Formal Dress, Female, Ferran School of Excellence. Dimensions..." Once she had completed her description, the dress appeared almost by magic and Chloe returned a few minutes later, holding up the 'dress'.
"This is the least formal dress I have ever seen," She shuddered, trying to think of herself in the revealling skirt, but decided that, with Tara's record, she might actually enjoy it. Nathan looked at it and tried to imagine the teenage Mercenary in it, but consoled himself that his dreams would soon be realised.

Tara stared at the piece of clothing while Kartosh gave a low wolf-whistle. "Damn, there's not even enough there to diaper a kit with!" He laughed. Skyler just shook her head, rolling her eyes. "The guy's as horny as a toad, I wouldn't wear that if you paid me."

The 'dress' barely came down to her thighs, held in place by a strap that went across the throat that reminded Tara unpleasantly of a dog collar with two smaller straps which connected this with the main piece of cloth. There was a long slit up both legs that came all the way to the top of the hip, formed in such a way that if one looked at it from an angle they would get an excellent view of her inner thigh or shapely rear, depending on the angle. The back barely covered her tight bottom, and if she bent over, stretched, leaned, jogged or did any other sort of activity that involved physical motion any person standing behind her would be able get an eyefull. She held the thing at arm's length with a repulsed expression on her face, wrinkling her cute little nose, before the vixen sighed and drifted off into another room to change. She came back a minute later, blushing slightly and trying fruitlessly to pull to hem of the dress down to a decent position. Skyler leaned over the table, glancing at her back. "Uh, Tar, I think you're supposed to wear some underwear with that."

"Not according to this!" Kartosh held up the replicator with a cackle. He had to admit, Tara was a bombshell in the outfit, her luscious red hair spilling over the bright blue color of the uniform, her long, ivory legs glowing in the faint light, the curves of her breasts and butt filling out the disguise nicely without over exposing anything. Like any experienced male, Kartosh knew that what he could imagine was far more inflammatory than anything she could show him, a blessing and a curse. Skyler, for her part, tried not to concentrate too much on her partner's beautiful form, reminding herself that they had a job to do and it wouldn't do to get her all excited before the time came.
There was no bed in this hellhole, anyway.

Chloe gulped aloud while Nathan whistled even louder than Kartosh at the young Kitsune as she emerged from the room wearing her new 'dress'. Chloe reluctantly dragged her eyes away from the Kitsune, not trusting herself to speak, nor to do anything with that stunning body in front of her, so revealling and tempting...She snapped hersef out of it,
"The Chancellor will be meeting with the 'Potentials' in the morning, so we can make it there quickly and slip you into the 'line up'" She said the words distastefully.
"Let's go," Chloe took an old cloak out from an old wardrobe, "This will cover you up," She said it wistfully, "Until we get to the University."

Nathan was already outside in the car.

"Thanks," Tara said gratefully, drawing the cloak modestly around her. Strange, Skyler thought, that she could act so uninhibited around me, or even complete strangers, but now that we're all together it's almost like she's covering up. Is it because of Nathan? Or...Chloe?! She glanced side along at the other Xiscapian, wondering if she had anything to do with Tara's new found modesty.

Tara shook her head as they stepped outside. "No room for even a holdout in this thing," She said wistfully, not pleased that she had to go in alone and unarmed.

"Don't worry Tar," Kartosh grinned, holding up his Repeater weapon, "me and Nathan 've got enough weapons between us for ya, you just give a holler and we'll come a runnin'!"

"I have enough weapons to equip an entire Army," Nathan boasted happily, holding up his shotgun in delight, proud of the weaponry. Chloe was trying to avoid the curves of her figure, trying and failing miserably as they got into the car. They drove off into the dawn, avoiding early morning traffic with seemingly no interference from Police or Army. They arrived on the Campus (http://titus.phy.qub.ac.uk/group/Jorge/AMA203/title.jpg) of the University in the crisp light of dawn, still empty as Students recovered from hangovers and grabbed desperate moments of sleep before lectures. Chloe pulled the car in next to a large building (http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1182/1419099840_2dcf8290ec.jpg?v=0) where the few students seemed to be placed.
"This is the Students Recreation Area." Chloe explained, "From here, you'll be on your own. A little while at least." She gave a wistful sigh, "Good Luck." She stated.

Tara looked at Chloe from over the top of the cloak, the piece of cloth drawn about her like a shroud to cover everything from her nose down to her ankles, eyes wide and bright. She lowered the covering a little bit, leaned over in her seat and kissed Chloe directly on the lips, red tail curling up to dance along the inside of her leg. Skyler, wedged between the respective bulks of Kartosh and Nathan in the back seat, looking away out the window and all but whistled and tapped her feet against the floor, knowing what her sultry companion was doing. Kartosh stared for a moment, then grinned and nudged Nathan, eyes on the liplock between the two Xiscapians in the front seat.

A few seconds later Tara broke away, blushing, kicked open the door and, keeping her legs firmly together, exited the vehicle and hurried away towards the building on the campus. Her cloak fluttered about her in the wind as she clutched it close to her body, making for the far doors. Slowly, with mocking cadence, Kartosh began to clap. "Bravo, encore!" He cried, before Skyler smacked him across the back of the head.

Chloe sat back in the seat, stunned by what had happened, her cheeks more than a little pink after the attempt. She ignored the wolfwhistles of the two Males in the backseat until Skyler had gotten things under control, then headed into the morning traffic to find somewhere quiet to park and deploy from. She smiled to herself in the front seat though, smiled to herself deeply,
Not Alone

Meanwhile inside the building, someone saw Tara approach, the human male sported long dreadlocks and held a white cigar in his mouth. He looked at the Kitsune with wide, disbelieving pupils,
"Yo...sexy...foxy...lady," he slurred to himself, "welcome to the Crib man...take this as a sign of space foreign invader." he bowed as if to the President himself.

Park...

Skyler was thinking deeply, brooding and musing over what had just happened. She knew how terrified Tara must be, despite her flippant displays of sensuality, and it didn't take a savant to come to the conclusion that she had just kissed Chloe in an effort to recover some sense of stability and safety, going back to a form she was familiar with, even if the person wasn't. The young kitsune's time in that Hutt's stronghold had, if not damaged her, changed her forever, made her both passionately attracted to females and desperately, deathly afraid of males, especially strong, confident, self-assured men like those soldiers and lackeys who had abused her when she had been a slave. Her actions had the consequence (intended? Skyler wondered) of arousing Chloe, who, as far as anyone could tell, was heterosexual, though Skyler knew Nathan kept a careful distance and she'd never heard Chloe talk about being in a relationship, so it was not impossible...

Again, Skyler looked over at her other Xiscapian female counterpart, asking the question in her mind. It was possible that even Chloe herself didn't know; Skyler had never suspected that she could swing either way until she was brought into Grabba's fortress and forced into the act with Tara. It wouldn't change anything no matter what the answer was, Skyler knew, but she couldn't help but be curious.

Kartosh hopped out of the car, immediately lighting up a cigarette, inhaling so he could nearly taste the nicotine and looking around. Ferra, he decided, wasn't a bad place to hang around: Too bad the Danaversians were here. He wondered if the planet would be intact after the war, the Danaversian Empire wasn't known for limiting collateral damage during conquest.

"So what's the plan?" He asked, leaning against the vehicle, the question aimed at the other three in general. "We just wait 'till this guy tries to get her between the sheets and go beat the crap out of him?"

Recreation Center...

Tara looked at the man with a mixture of disgust and amusement, wondering at any institution of higher learning that would allow its students to run about with illegal drugs blatantly hanging off them. Kel's schools hadn't been any monuments to intellectualism, but at least you had to be halfway intelligent to get recreational drugs into the places. "Do you know where I can find the Chancellor?" She asked, batting her lashes and allowing the cloak to fall open slightly so the kid would be able to see the blue uniform underneath.

"Nothing we can do," Chloe replied from the front seat without even turning around. She was licking her lips, imagining the warmth that had been Tara's own pressed against them. If she had known of Skyler's questions, then she would have answered as honestly as possible. She didn't know. She didn't know if she was heterosexual or not. She was too scared of any relationship, of anyone getting too close and finding out who she was, or what she had been. Sure, with the other Mercenaries, it was fine, they knew what she was and, because they were used to it almost daily, they were comfortable with it. Would a Kitsune walking through the streets of Rio Casa be so happy knowing that his girl had once been a product of the Hutts and used so. It did no one's self-confidence any good and Chloe's was delicately thin as it was. She was easy to shatter, though stronger than in the past, it was still not difficult to do.
So she would sit and wait and hope.

Recreation Center

"Dude...Lady...Dude..." The Guy managed, "Sexy FoxyLady has a date with the Hornblower himself!! Follow me" He waved in a dreamy direction and walked out with her into an open courtyard where a dozen other females stood in the same outfit, shivering in the cold and trying to keep the nerves and tears from their eyes,
"Here we are, oh tailed one" The Student said as he floated away, "I'm flying..." His voice trailed off.

Kartosh looked at Chloe, confusion furrowing his brow and making his tail twitch a little. "What do you mean, there's nothing we can do? She's supposed to make it out by herself?"

Recreation Center...

Tara giggled to herself and quickly took a place at the end of the line, quickly composing her expression into one of hope mingling with fear. No problem on the ladder part anyway; she'd gotten the impression that, if the man had been in the Kitsune Empire, he would have been one of those old perverts who sat in his house all day, masturbating and watching the girls go by. She glanced down at the other females in the line-up; all attractive, but all more or less normal college girls nonetheless, simply not matching Tara's skills in flirting or acting sultry, not with those tears in their eyes. It was quite cold out here, she could feel the breeze tickling her between her legs, and as she looked at all the other beautiful legs and tight rears she felt that familiar ache. Quickly trying to quell it she dropped the cloak on the ground: She might be able to convince the Chancellor of her sexuality with it on, but without it she was virtually guaranteed a victory.

"Unless you want to try and fight past his two dozen Guards and put Tara in direct danger, then there is nothing we can do. She must do this task alone. Nathan, Kartosh, I want you two to stay close to the Chancellor's quarters. If Tara is in trouble, then you two big Thugs can gun your way in. I'll stay here with the car in case a quick getaway is needed and Skyler...would you be so good as to watch our little Mistress until she's all the way in the Room?" Chloe asked each in turn, looking at them all for a reply.

"Sounds good" Nathan lifted his weapons, "Who knows? Maybe one of the Rejects will need comforting." He laughed and headed towards the main building, weapons hidden under his cloak.

Centre

The Chancellor did not take long to arrive. He did so without a ceremony or crowd. He was accompanied by a half dozen men in combat armour with rifles. They watched as the old, bent man walked up the line, staring at girls with small, beady eyes, thin and bald hair and a very worn face. He same to Tara last and looked her up and down, bloodshot eyes alight with interest and lust. He smiled, showing his broken yellow teeth,
"And you, my dear," he wheezed, wafting his rancid breath over the Kitsune, "who are you?" If Tara had her head screwed on, she could tell by the signs that she had already won. He was virtually drooling over her form.

"Sure thing," Skyler nodded, striding away towards the University. She knew if she acted like she had every right to be there, didn't make eye contact and didn't slow down she'd make it though, and in no time she was sitting in the clock tower of the campus, staring down into the courtyard. She had a great view directly down to where the Chancellor conducted his disgusting little game, and would even be able to watch him and, if all went well, Tara leave and enter his room. After that, all bets were off: It would be up to Tara and, if things really did go bad, Kartosh and Nathan.

Kartosh just sighed to himself, stowing the Repeater rifle, the gun too large to be concealed, and proceeded to strip himself of all visible weapons, leaving a few knives about his person, a couple of hidden grenades and a heavy blaster pistol stuck in his belt. He knew he could probably slaughter half the campus guards with nothing more than a switchblade, but that wasn't his goal: That would just create more of an uproar and put all the innocents, Tara included, in danger. If everything went well, he wouldn't even have to fire a shot, though he had to admit he wouldn't mind blasting that Chancellor bastard. That's one sick motherfucker, he thought, fingering the hilt of one of his knifes, but he'll get his...one way or another.

Courtyard...

"Me, sir?" She asked in what she hoped seemed like a mixture of surprise and pleasure. In reality, the ancient bastard repulsed her, he had to be some fifty or sixty years her senior and yet he had the gall to think he would be able to sleep with her. Probably nothing even happens if he tries to, anyway, just a lot of straining and groaning, she thought idly with twisted humor. "I'm Sam, sir." Not that there was any real point to concealing her real name, outside of a few cops and street kids back on Kel knew it and the guy probably wouldn't even remember it once they got up to his room, but it couldn't hurt. She shyly pushed her legs a little tighter together, tail wrapping itself around her ankles, smiling nervously.

"Sam," The Chancellor nodded, slowly licking his cracked and dry lips with a hesitant tongue, looking her up and down still, the most focus being paid on her fine legs. He raised his hand for her to kiss the ring encasing one wrinkled finger, being careful to rub the palm of his hand along the top of her bare legs.
"Where are you from Sam?" he asked in his old voice, knowing very well which one he wanted, "and would you be interested in an offer, little Madam?" he asked.

"Xiscapia, Sir," Tara said demurely after bringing her lips within inches of his crusted, cancer-spot-riddled hand. She lifted her tail and gave a little curtsy, in the way her late father had instructed her to if she ever needed to impress a gentleman of a higher class...or at least, one who thought himself as one of a higher class. These motions brought her dress even higher than it was already, getting dangerously close to exposing herself to everyone there. "I would be delighted to hear your offer, Sir."

"Xiscapia." He repeated, having never heard of it. The puzzlement on his face was obvious. He sighed but enjoyed as she kissed his hand, eyes dropping down to see the rewards of her small courtesy. He smiled in delight at it. He knew that this female was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Right now, he wished he had the power to see her naked, but now he knew she would soon be in that role anyway.
"If you agree to come with me and agree to follow my any command for thirty days, then I shall see that you get into your next year of this University. Think carefully, if you decline my offer, you may find that your grades are not enough."

"No fear, sir," She smiled dazzlingly, "Your offer is very attractive." Unlike you. "I accept." I hope you guys are ready to bail my ass out of here, before he starts touching it...

"Excellent," He slid his hand under her poor excuse of a skirt before clicking his fingers, indicating that the others were dismissed. They fled gratefully while the Chancellor steered Tara towards his private chamblers, surrounded by guards, literally keeping his hand on her rear like a guide, steering her this way and that through the buildings,
"Swing that tail for me Girl," He requested, "I've never seen a being with one before."

Tara managed to work up a blush, wishing she could break the man's arm like she oh-so-desperately wanted to do, feeling his clammy hand on her bottom. She giggled bashfully, moving her tail slowly back and forth; it didn't wag naturally, the kitsune tail was too large and didn't possess the correct joints and muscles to move like a dog's. The Xiscapian lowered it and curled the bushy plume so it slid smoothly into his hand, brushing against both her buttocks and his fingers. "We're not unique to the galaxy with them," she giggled again, "but we can do things we them you couldn't imagine." She wondered if she'd regret saying that.

The Chancellor steered her into his home, past two checkpoints of heavily armed Presidential Guards and two Machine gun posts before leading her into his private bed chamber, complete with a full four-posted bed in luxurious red colours. He was surrounded by the finest works of art on Ferra as well as the best sculpures and artifacts. He looked at the Kitsune,
"I shall look forward to that. Now, can I see what you have to offer, Miss Sam?" he asked politely, leaving her standing in the middle of the room and taking a deep seat on the edge of his bed.

Tara gulped in spite of herself. Oh shit, stall for time! She made a pouting expression. "Aww, you don't wanna get into it that easily, do you?" She crooned, walking over to him, putting both arms around his neck, bust right in his face. Dad taught me self-defense; I could break this prick's neck if I had to. "Haven't you ever heard of foreplay?"

The old man took her advance in his stride, as if he was used to it. Her body just made him melt and he wanted to get into her as soon as possible. He was used to foreplay but he could also be a kid at times and every move demanded that he jump on her, strip her and take her there.

She was that good.

"Let's, mhmmm," she purred, getting even closer, her outfit falling to the floor, "slow it down a little..."
Her hands were on his waist, and abruptly she flipped the old man over, pinning him to the bed, one arm on his throat, straddling the Chancellor, grinning in his face, her bare flesh on his suit. "...wouldn't want you to get hurt now, would we?" She looked at him closely, whispering. "I hate men like you, I should kill you right now, and you know what?" She increased the pressure a little. "I can." She backed off a little, breasts bouncing, and grabbed a pair of scissors from the nearby bathroom counter. "I really don't want to have to cut your balls off and make you eat them...scratch that, yes I do, but that would be messy and you'd scream alot and that just wouldn't do at all." She pouted again, then pressed the blade points against his inside thigh. "So why don't you go along nice and easy and tell me what I want to know? Okay?" Impossibly, even threatening his life and manhood and holding a weapon, she was still incredibly sexy.
Maybe even more so, now.

The move had taken the old man completely by surprise and before he could even cry out in horror or shock, he had been taken down, unable to counter attack, unable to even cry for help,
"Sam!?" He gasped, feeling the blade brush against his trousers, "Sam, is this some kind of joke? Whatever it is, it isn't appreciated." He tried to sound authouritive, but it was hard with a hand at his throat to do anything other than wheeze.

"My name ain't Sam, douchebag, in the interest of protecting myself I wouldn't tell you my real name but in a little while it won't matter, so..." She grinned. "My real name is Tara, best you remember it." She jammed the blades into his leg, and though the cut was shallow it drew blood nonetheless. "Enough of this authoritarian bullshit, I want to know about the President." She leaned in a little closer, expression now deadly serious, eyes staring into his. "How do we get to him?"

The Elderly man yelped as he felt the blade dig in drawing blood from him. He tried to speak for a moment before finally, the words came,
"He usually spends his days outside the city, in a remote fortress with his advisors and personal guard," he jibbered, "it's not marked on any map, the only way to get to it is via remote forest road and it's protected by a double shield. That's all I know, I swear," he gasped, "Let me go. I don't deserve this Marge."

"True," Tara admitted, leaning back from off him, though keeping her legs firmly locked around his middle. "You deserve a lot worse. But while killing you would be immensely satisfying for me and probably create just the sort of uproar we need, I'm actually the nicer of the bunch." She grinned wickedly. "I have morals, though loose ones, admittedly. So I'll let you live, but..." Lifting the scissors she plunged them down below his belt, his eyes widened and he struggled feebly, but he was so weak and there was a sudden, intense pain in his groin and a hand was over his mouth as he tried to scream and then everything went black.

Tara stood up off the Chancellor, tossing the bloodied instrument onto the chest of the unconscious man. It probably would have been more merciful to kill him, but he was no better than that scum that had raped her at Grabba's stronghold, and therefore deserved to live with the humiliation and shame.
In her mind, anyway.
Washing her hands off at the bathroom sink, Tara studied herself in the mirror. She was, by just about anyone's standards, a beautiful, intensely sexy female, but she could see the pain and sadness in her own eyes, hidden beneath layers of bravado, sultry flirting and laughter. She didn't feel bad about what she'd done to the man, but she was beginning to wonder if this was all there was to life. She had concluded, shortly after being rescued by the same team she now worked with and informally adopted by Kartosh and Skyler after she discovered her father had been killed in the line of duty, she needed a significant other. Skyler was nice to play with, but she was attached to Kartosh, bonded with him in a way that Tara could never hope to break.

But, over the past few days, she was beginning to wonder if there was another possibility in the lovely, brooding Chloe. She'd made her intentions plenty clear, and while there had been no time for anything approaching serious romance, Tara was unsure if she was making the right choice. Chloe, while not exactly pushing her away, didn't seem as responsive as she might have hoped. Frowning at herself now, Tara shook her head, tail curling around over her crotch, ears twitching, and put her pathetic excuse for a dress back on. Time to see exactly how much leverage the Chancellor's latest sex kitten had on campus...and just how stupid the guards outside were.

Outside, while the Guards stood to attention and watched outwards, never thinking that the slim, beautiful female would pose a threat to their boss and so content to look for something outside. They would see a tall Alversian chatting up a couple of females, not noticing how he kept on eye on them at all times and the other on the seductive forms of his company. He would see another Kitsune lounging and they saw no threat. They sat and watched for danger.

Outside the grounds, Chloe sat in the car, running her tongue over her lips, tasting Tara from every milimetre, as if just that taste could translate into an image of the young, nubile Kitsune who had shown her such affection. But Chloe was not sure. Tara has a reputation of being flirty and Chloe dare not pin her hopes on that one kiss signalling anything other than an attempt to quell her nerves. Chloe had not had a relationship in years, not since she had been rescued from the Palace herself. Truth was that relationships scared her. She was afraid of people seeing the real her, the Chloe who huddled in fear of the world and was terrified of the dark. How could she tell a mate that she had been a Slave for all those years, all that had happened? She dare not explain it, have their pitying eyes watching her the whole time. But Tara had suffered what she had suffered, if for a shorter time period, it could be someone to really talk to. Nathan had tried to be a good listener, but he could never understand how much that Palace had destroyed her emotionally and mentally.
She sat back in her chair, remarking sadly now these Ferran cars made no allowance for tails, especially, large busy ones such as hers, closing her eyes and daring to dream of a relationship with the young Mercenary.

Okay, Tara closed the door silently, looking down the long hall to freedom, purposeful strides, look like I have every right to be walking out. She glanced around and saw Nathan, talking to a couple of the line-up rejects, and Kartosh, slumped in a chair in what appeared to be a drug-induced haze but was probably merely one hell of a hangover. She instantly felt better, knowing they were there to cover for her if she got into a tight spot. Funny, I don't see Skyler or Chloe anywhere... She looked around again and caught, just for an instant, a flash of movement in the distant clock tower, and she smiled to herself, knowing one or both of the other females were also watching her back. Armed with this knowledge she began walking away, no longer caring that her outfit was flaring up with every step, intent only on getting away.

None of the Guards stopped the Kitsune and, once Tara came out from the building and was around the corner, out of view of the main building, Nathan came up alongside her and put his arm around her like a big brother. The message to anyone watching was clear, she was his conquest and everyone else better back off. His breath stank of beer but that was no change. He was as sober as he always was, which was barely,
"Anything new Junior?" He asked her, steering her towards the car.

"Just one man who's going to have quite a shock when he wakes up," she replied lightly, and didn't comment further, glad to be out of immediate danger. Kartosh fell in step beside them as they made a beeline for the car, and off a short distance they could see Skyler also walking across the park to them. "I think we can call that a successful op," she smiled as she got within earshot of the group.

"I won't ask," Nathan stated as they reached the car and slid into their various seats. Chloe, who had been daydreaming until the moment the car was opened, started in surprise and, once the others had settled in, she drove off,
"So," She said, pulling into the traffic and away from the University, "What did you find out?" She asked, watching Tara in the mirror closely, trying to get some sense of reaction,
Was that kiss just instinct?

Tara's eyes slid away from Chloe's in the rearview mirror. "The President doesn't spend much time in the city: He's got some sort of stronghold out in the country where he works surrounded by aides and guards in some remote location. It's not marked on any map, any the only way to get to it is though a forest backroad, which is protected by a double shield." She looked vaugely in the direction of the front seat, Chloe and Nathan in the front, Kartosh and Skyler in the back with Tara wedged in between them. Kartosh nodded. "I bet we can count of some heavy fortifications on that road, I doubt we'll make it in unannounced. Seems to me like we've got three options: Sneak inside by some other enterence, assuming there is another point of ingress, disguise ourselves and slip inside, and hope we can avoid checkpoints and I.D. checks, or go for an all-out assault and pray we don't get killed." He sat back and grinned.

Chloe sighed, while Nathan grinned,
"Which one do you think we should go for?" She asked, checking in the mirror again, noting how Tara was averting her gaze away from the mirror. The Kitsune sighed, what was she doing? She put her hand across Nathan's mouth as he took a breath to speak,
"and I don't think that storming in is the right idea." She frowned, thinking,
"There has to be another way in," She thought aloud, "He's a paranoid Dictator, he wouldn't trap himself in a place with only one entrance and exit. He must have another route." She sighed.

"Huh," Skyler gave a snort of contempt. "He'll definitely have a secret exit somewhere, so he could flee the revolutionary mob if he had to. Dictators always have a contingency plan to save their own precious hides if their citizens turn on them."

Kartosh nodded sagely. "As much as it pains me to admit it, I doubt we'd be able to get him if we went in guns blazing, he'd run at the first sign of trouble to some more secret location and we'd never find him. But," he glanced around at the others, "if we can strike in two different ways-"

"Split up," Tara interrupted him. "One team searches for the secret entrance, the other goes in disguised, we're bound to find him."

"And if the team probing the entrance gets spotted, the President will withdraw deeper inside his fortress, knowing he can't escape, making it easier for the disguised to find him-"

"And if the cover of the disguised team gets blown, the President will run out his escape route straight into the arms of the team there!" Skyler finished triumphantly.

"Uh huh," Nathan sounded disappointed that he wouldn't be able to go in all guns blazing, but he supposed it made sense. Chloe in front seat next to him voiced the next two questions that stood in their way,
"Right then, two questions remain. What disguise will get us past his Guards and where do we look for the Secret Exit?" She asked.

"Sounds like we need to know a lot more about this place," Kartosh growled.

"The stronghold might not be on any map, and any blueprints we find might not have all the entrances and exits on it, but if we could lay hands on a set of blueprints it would help immensely. The rest will be field work." Skyler commented.

"I think we should stake it out," Kartosh nodded. "See who and what goes in, when they go in, how often they go in, how long they stay there. Then we'll be able to choose the most effective disguises."

"Sounds like a plan," Chloe nodded and pulled over into the side of a quiet road, turning the car off easily and turning to look at the others,
"Skyler, Nathan and Kartosh could stake the place out while Tara and I try to find the plans for the building." She had chosen her suggested allotments for a particular reason. She felt that only Skyler could really control both Nathan and Kartosh on her own. And, of course, she wanted to spend more time with Tara...to see if she really did mean that kiss. The kiss that she couldn't get out of her head.
"All agreed?"

"Sounds good to me," Skyler and Kartosh glanced at each other, while Tara's gaze was now focused exclusively on Chloe. "I'll have to keep these two fools in line," Skyler smacked both Nathan and Kartosh across the back of the head at the same time.

"Oww," Kartosh rubbed his head, turning to face his mate. "What was that for? I haven't done anything yet!"

"Yet," Skyler commented dryly. "That was for what you're going to do, in case I don't get to smack you then."

"How are we going to keep in contact?" Kartosh asked the wider car. "Where will you and Tar be?" He directed this last at Chloe. Tara was still staring intensely at Chloe, eyes slitted and lidded, the thoughts going on behind those beautiful vulpine eyes unknowable.

"Ow!" Nathan grumbled, hand reaching around to the back of his head where he had been hit, "What the hell was that for you stupid Bi..." He caught her expression and quickly changed his tone, "...I mean thank you, oh wise little one. What a good idea." He was still rubbing the back of his head, "Why didn't I think of it?" He asked sarcastically.

"We'll keep in contact with these Communicators," She threw all of them one of the small devices, "As long as you don't leave the planet, they should work." She smiled, looking at Tara wistfully, saw her staring intently and dropping her gaze. She had seen her looking earlier but with either with joy or regret she didn't know. She was almost afraid to find out.
"We shall head to the base via a quick stop off to get changed. You can check out some bar and try to find information. Conspiracy theories, reports, rumours, anything is gold at the moment. And I mean information, Nathan," She said firmly, looking across at where Nathan's eyes had lit up, "No booze. Not yet anyway." She nodded,
"Everyone agreed?"

Once the confirmations had been gained, Chloe and Tara slipped from the car and strode into one of the Seedier bars in the area, looking for the information needed to get into the Fortress that held their target.

"...I mean thank you, oh wise little one. What a good idea. Why didn't I think of it?"

"The evidence would suggest that you're stupid," Skyler replied dryly, switching around with Chloe and bumping Kartosh away from the driver's seat with a thrust of her hip. "No no," she admonished him, pointing to the passenger seat, "I drive like a normal person, I know you don't and you," she jerked her head to Nathan, short hair swaying, "I heard about the highway antics, if I want to barf I'll go watch Danaversian porn or something."

"Aww," Kartosh shook his head, grinning, and slid into the other chair, just glad to have all his weapons again. He knew that if it wasn't for Skyler he'd have joined the Syndicate a long time ago...or worse, drunk himself to an early death in a dirty apartment somewhere.
Not that he wasn't still trying to achieve that lofty goal, but sometimes she made it really hard to drink...

Bar...

Tara was about to walk though the door of the drinking establishment when she stopped and backed up, staring at the sign over the door. "Well fuck me sideways," she muttered, gaining a hopeful look from a passing vagrant, "if it isn't out old friend Daan." The flicking neon buzzer was displaying the name with a tired sort of persistence, hissing on and off continually. "Must be a chain or something..."

Nathan sat in the back of the car and sighed, watching his partner slip away into the distance. He knew he could trust her, sure. Tara, on the other hand, was much too...flirty to really trust. For all he knew, the two of them could hide in a dumpster and make love the whole time...lucky bi...

"...I saw Danaversian porn once," Nathan said dreamily, eyes looking somewhere into the distance, "Really surreal stuff. Those Lasses are quite suple for someone that fat...must be the slime..." He trailed off, as if talking to himself.

Bar

Chloe looked up and saw the sign as well. Her surprise was gone momentarily as she recalled some shred of information from the back of her mind,
"Yeah, he's one of the big players in the Cartel that runs the City's business. I trust that he gets profits from all the businesses named after him," She smiled sarcastically, recalling just how corrupt this planet was. The sooner the Coalition cleared it up, the better,
"Anyways, we're here to look for information, nothing else," She looked at the younger Mercenary, slightly shorter than her, melting in the gaze of those Vulpine eyes,
"We'll stick together. Watch each other's back. I'll do the talking." She heaved a sigh.

Skyler froze in the act of disengaging the parking brake, while Kartosh stiffened in his seat. Slowly, both kitsune mercenaries looked at each other, then turned to look at Nathan, disbelief and bemusement coloring their features. "I was kidding," said Skyler shortly. "You couldn't pay me to..." She trailed off.

"Man, you are more fucked up than I thought!" Kartosh laughed, lighting a cigarette and scattering ash over the interior of the car.

Daan's...

Tara nodded, face bathed in the blue light from the sign, eyes inscrupulous as always. Her arms slipped around Chloe's waist and, leaning upward she rested her head on the young female's shoulder, huffing hot air onto her fox ear. "I meant it...that kiss..." She breathed, brushing her lips across Chloe's cheek. It was taking an enormous amount of self-control for her to restrain herself from tearing off all her clothes and having sex with the beautiful Xiscapian right here in the street, she hadn't had a release in days, but they still had a job to do.
Play could come later.

Squeezing Chloe's hand, Tara ducked inside the bar, holding the door open for her new partner.

"...yeeah..." Nathan continued in his trance like state, "...real movers..." He snapped awake then, looking around at the other two,
"So," He clapped his hands together cheerfully, "Where are we off to..." He saw Kartosh smoking and he took on the expression of good humoured annoyance,
"Excuse me Sir," he said in a mock posh voice, "Do you mind not smoking in the vehicle? I lose my refund if this automobile has smoke damage." He laughed.

Bar

Chloe stopped just outside the entrance of the bar, feeling the Kitsune's arms wrapped around her. She shivered to her touch, feeling Tara's breath on her skin and her lips glancing across her cheek. She turned to face the younger Mercenary,
"Did you...really?" She asked hesitantly, her eyes full of so many emotions, hope, disbelief and, the most dominant of all, fear. Fear of being rejected, of having her hopes crushed with a single word. That fear...

Tara would see the torture behind those wide, yellow eyes, all the emotional damage done all those years ago still plainly visible.

"Where are we off to..."

"If you'd been listening, you'd know we're headed to the President's stronghold in the country," Skyler's voice had taken on the weary tone of a schoolteacher harried by excitable, energetic young students.

"Do you mind not smoking in the vehicle? I lose my refund if this automobile has smoke damage."

"Ahh, blow it out your ass," Kartosh laughed and blew smoke into the air, causing Skyler to roll down the window with an irritated sigh. "It's not the drinking I mind as much as those death sticks..." She muttered, pushing the car in gear and rolling off down the street, accelerating sharply and heading for the freeway.

Daan's...

Tara's face and torso were hidden in the shadows of the interior of the bar, her waist and legs lit from the dank by the intermittent flashing of the sign, the only sign she had heard anything the two sun-colored orbs floating, disembodied, in the pool of darkness. "Yes..." She whispered, and from the absence of light her tail snaked out, playing along Chloe's arm and hip, curling up between her breasts and flicking lightly across her face. Finally she emerged from the dark, face earnest but with hungry eyes. "Plenty of time to talk about feelings...once we get what we need," she slid back up close to Chloe again, every inch a seductive being, "then I can get what I need." She purred. "What we both need..."

"I like deathsticks," Nathan said quietly from the back, loudly enough to get attention but quiet enough to make it clear that he did not 'want' to be overheard, "There used to be a show on Alversia called Deathsticks...nothing to do with smoking though," He said dismissively and looked out at the road passing by,
"Turn left here!" He suddenly shouted a warning in an urgent voice.

Bar

Chloe followed the young Kitsune into the bar, both looking forward to and dreading once they were out of the bar. She had been with another being since...since then. She was strongly attracted to Tara indeed and the way that she moved made the hunger even worse. She snapped out of her trance and focused again on the mission, heading into the bar,
"Keep an eye out," She murmured.

"Never heard of-" Kartosh slammed his head violently against the window as Skyler turned sharply to the left down a sidestreet. "What!?" Skyler yelled. "Arrghh, fuucckk!" Kartosh moaned, holding his head in his hands, a bit of blood leaking down from one ear, a large crack in the window from where his skull had met it abruptly.

Daan's...

"Right," Tara muttered back, scanning the interior, suddenly conscious of the fact that she had not changed from the school 'uniform.' The patrons of the seedy establishment all seemed to be men with hard eyes and the occasional tough-looking women, all the types she remembered to have frequented Grabba's stronghold...the kind that had laughed and jeered at her as she'd been subjected to their crimes. Tara shook her head wildly, as if to clear it. Those days were over, they were all dead and gone, they couldn't hurt her anymore...

From Chloe's left there came an oily, melodious voice that hinted at things even further in the past than her ordeal with the Hutt gangster, a way of speaking that reminded her of...home?
"Ahh, my dear, might endeavour to purchase you an alcoholic beverage?"

There, sitting at one of the tables, sat a kitsune (http://redderz.deviantart.com/art/The-Perfect-Gentleman-15936249) in a fancy suit, one leg folded over the other, a ornate cane leaning against the wall beside him, an almost predatory smile on his face. He rose elegantly, taking her hand lightly and almost kissing the back, lips inches from her skin. "You cannot hide your pedigree from me, mi'lady," that smile persisted, "and a shame it is to try." Tara was staring in surprise, looking from the strange kitsune to Chloe, open-mouthed.

"Stop here!" Nathan yelled again, waiting until Skyler had screeched to a halt before he threw the door open and rushed across the street, dashing into a small alleyway. It was only a couple of moments before he returning, sucking happily on a lollipop he had bought amongst other things in the small confectionary shop, along with a newspaper and a couple of chocolate bars,
"It's okay now," He slurped happily, "Carry on Skyler, We're all set back here."

Daan's

Chloe headed further into the bar, thinking about what Tara had said when she heard that silky smooth tone. She snapped around to face the Kitsune, her jaw dropping in surprise to see what looked like a Kitsune Noble sitting in a seedly rundown bar. As he took her hand, she prepared all her strength to punch him down, before realising his intention. It had been so long since anyone had done that to her, that little gesture of welcome. Almost everyone who touched her these days was trying to hurt her,

"Thank you, Kind Sir," She replied, her voice taking on a posher tone without thought, a mere habit, "May I ask as to the cause of your visit to these parts?" It was language she had not used in nearly nine years, but it came through regardless.

"Aww, you son of a-!" Kartosh made a grab for one of the candy bars. "I lost a thousand brain cells in that stop man! You'd better give up those munchies!" He wriggled out of his seat and fell into the backseat, fighting for the snacks Nathan had somehow procured. Skyler gave a deep sigh, slammed the car back into gear, and motored along, the smell of singed rubber invading her nose as the sounds of squabbling came from the backseat.

Daan's...

"Business, I'm afraid," he sighed, "one would not ascribe 'pleasure' to this squalid planet of unwashed rabble and their hedonistic desires. But how forgetful of me," he bowed, "I am Sir Urteil, mi'lady, at your service." It didn't seem possible that he hadn't seen Tara, but he had not given her so much as a glance: It was almost as if he was ignoring the young kitsune, much to her silent consternation.

As he gathered himself up from his bow, signaling to the bartender across the room, he peered at her intently. "Your finest bottle of scotch reserve, lout, and be sure about it." He was still looking at her, obviously expecting Chloe to introduce herself back to him.

"Buy your bloody own!" Nathan protested as he and Kartosh fought in the back like little children over the bars that Nathan had purchased. They emerged with roughly half each, much to Nathan's chargin,
"Skyler..." He said in a moaning, drawn out child's voice, "...Kartosh stole my sweeties!"

Daan's

"Thank you," She nodded to the Xiscapian...Urteil...and bowed her head a little in recognition of his title, if she didn't know who he was,
"My name is Chloe, my friend here is Tara," She indicated over to the younger Kitsune beside her, "We are also here on business." She decided telling him this would not harm them in any way, besides, he probably wouldn't even know what they were talking about.

"Nom nom nom," Kartosh bit into his bar slowly, making little noises of enjoyment while staring at Nathan over the top, slobbering all over the chocholate. "My mommy always told me sharing is good..." He said in a simpering voice.

"...Kartosh stole my sweeties!"

Skyler slammed on the horn, blasting past a slow-moving semi, more in annoyance than to actually accomplish anything. "I will turn this Qonndamned car around!"

"I didn't do nothin'-"

"Don't make me come back there!"

"Are we there yet?"

"Fuck you."

Daan's...

Urteil gave a swift glance and a slight nod to Tara, putting her beneth him in with an evaluation lasting only a second, turning his attention back to the high-born one. "Lady Chloe..." He murmured, looking directly at her. "Lady Chloe..." He shook his head, as if trying to remember something. "That name sounds very familiar," his frown deepened, but his concentration seemed to be broken by the arrival of the bartender lugging a large bottle and two glasses, setting them down on the scratched, battered table and retreating quickly, as though he didn't want to be around the Xiscapian noble any longer than he had to. Bringing up a second chair Urteil poured a glass halfway full and handed it across to her, neglecting Tara in both drink and seat. The young kitsune sighed audibly and bent over to whisper into Chloe's right ear. "I'm going to go get a drink," she said softly, "where people talk normally..." She drifted off towards the bar.

Urteil was smiling again, that creeping expression that seemed to let you know he knew something you didn't. "Business, you say," he chuckled. "Might I inquire as to the nature of your work here?" He looked up and down her figure, noting the "experienced" clothing.

"Are we there ye..." Nathan was cut out by Skyler's loud exclaimation of anger at their behaviour and so the Alversian fell silent for a few moments, looking out the window and sighing deeply,
"I spy!" he stated loudly, "With my little eye, something beginning with 'S'..."

Daan's

Chloe nodded in thanks and the drink and watched her younger Associate wander off towards the bar, still in her revealing and rather arousing Formal Skirt. She took a drink of the liquid, carely only to swallow a sip. She, like all Kitsune, had a low tolerance for alchol and the last thing she wanted was to get drunk and reveal everything to this rather Crude Xiscapian. Sure, he may exhume Aristocratic values but all she saw was a crude smugness that was very misplaced.
"My business is my own, Kind Sir," She replied with a sarcastic smile, "as I am sure is yours."

Skyler's knuckles turned white as she gripped the wheel. This is going to be one hell of a long trip... She gritted her sharp teeth together and tried to concentrate on the road ahead, least she turn about and commit an act of homicide.
Kartosh turned his head to look out the window too, gazing around. "Uhh...is it...the street!" He looked hopefully at Nathan.

Daan's...

"Not at all, my dear," Urteil set down his glass on the table, leaning forward a bit. "You see, I know all about you, Lady Chloe. Your tragic little life story, the divergent paths your sisters took, how your father is wasting away even now, staring up at the stars, longing for you." He smiled coldly. "The ultimate irony: You're inflicting more pain on him now by being alive and not going to him than your death at the hands of the Hutt Grabba and his thugs ever could have. So, in the end, your business is my business," he chuckled, "your father used to be a good friend of mine, or so he liked to think despite his new money origins and common blood, before he lost you, his," a sniff, "favorite. I can help you," the smile again, "but all favors have a debt attached to them, as you know. You need something from me, in the future I may require something of you." The elegantly tailored suit shifted as he settled back once again. "Can we come to a satisfactory conclusion like noble beings, or shall this all end in bloodshed?" The expression blossomed into a full grin.

"Noooo," Nathan drew the word out, shaking his head madly and grinning like an Idiot, "You get one more guess then I get another go," He repeated in a singsong voice, looking out the window as if staring at the item in question, tauntingly.

Daan's

All colour drained from Chloe's face as she listened to the Kitsune speak, listened to him smugly explain her in a nutshell. She sat quietly as he spoke, tears beginning to leak from her cheeks at the mention of her father. She would have killed him there and then were it not for her emotions and the knowledge that Daddy wouldn't have wanted it,
"I'll do anything." She said silently, voice distant, no emotion on the words, still not looking at him, "What information do you have?"

"Ummm..." Kartosh looked around, searching for whatever it is the Alversian saw. "The....sun?"

Qonn, let him be right, make them shut up, please please please-

Daan's...

If anything, Urteil seemed to find Chloe's tears amusing. "Blueprints," he pulled a sheath of blue papers with white scratch on them from his suit pocket, tossing them across the table to her. "I find it best to provide a carrot and a stick when making a deal, you see," the ever-present smile widened, "by doing what I want you to, you are rewarded by me making your job easier. By doing what I want you to, you are avoiding the shame, pain and humiliation of your father and sisters finding out that, not only are you still alive and hurt, but you did not seek them out even after you were freed. The most interesting thing about all this is," he took a drink, "is that you could easily deprive me of my power over you by finding your family and revealing yourself to them. But," he raised a finger, "I know you. You won't do that, at least not anytime soon, and thus you are your own worst enemy, chained by your emotions."

"Noooo!" Nathan shouted in delight, laughing loudly at Kartosh's failure to guess what he was referring to. He pointed in triumph to the back of Skyler's head, laughing in joy,
"Skyler!" He stated in glee, "Skyler! Right under your nose the whole time! How could you miss her!? She's huge!" He laughed, clapping his hands in delight, "My turn again!" He looked out the window, trying to find something,
"I spy!" He said loudly, "With my little eye! Something beginning with S!" He waited smugly.

Daan's

"I...I..." Chloe was lost for words, simply staring at the blueprints laid out in front of her. She couldn't speak, only look at this Kitsune that now lorded such power over her. She was effectively his to command, all because of one secret. She couldn't let them know...if they knew what she'd become...it would destroy them...it would destroy her. The tears fell in rivers down her cheeks, unable to look Urteil in the eye. She tried to speak, but no words came, only a suppressed sob, hugging herself, as if her arms would protect her from this manevolent power over her.

'Huge'? Huge am I?
That did it.
Skyler slammed on the brakes, smashing the pedal to the floor, the car screeching to a violent halt, throwing the two males in the back up against the seats, sides, windows and the interior of the vehicle in general. Kartosh slammed his head into the headrest of the front seat and, stupidly having neglected a seatbelt, fell to the floor with a groan. "Awww shit my nose-"

Skyler whipped around in her seat, staring at Nathan and Kartosh. "If you two don't shut up I swear I will dump you out of this car and you can see how long you survive out there before they find you and knock some Qonndamn sense into your thick heads!" She glared at Nathan.

Daan's...

Urteil procured a handkerchief and passed it over to Chloe for her to dry her tears on. "Don't make the mistake of believing your actions don't have consequences, my dear. You have proven surprisingly elusive, only here, where I have so many contacts, was I finally able to hunt you down. You must understand that I don't hate you," the smile, "it's nothing personal, to use the cliche, but you and your partner have a marvelously efficient way of getting things done. Of course, I could not be seen to hire your services directly, so..." The noble stood. "Don't do anything rash." He picked up his cane and strode from the bar, leaving a few coins on the table to pay for the drinks.

"Yes, Miss, sorry Miss," Nathan looked to his feet, speaking in a simple simpering voice, "I'll be good Miss." Once Skyler had turned around, he turned to Kartosh and motioned the universal sign for 'Killjoy.'

Daan's

Chloe silently accepted the item and cleared her tears with it, sitting on after Urteil had gone, not even looking at the plans that he had left with her. She looked at the drink that he had left and grabbed it, no longer caring about the clarity of her mind. She gulped it down without hesitation, feeling her head start to tingle. If it worked for Nathan, it could work for her. Drown her worries.

"I saw that," Skyler's angry orange vulpine eyes scowled at Nathan from the rear view mirror. Kartosh winced at the sight and grinned at the Alversian, shrugging.

Daan's...

Gradually Chloe would become aware that Tara had come back and slid into the seat previously occupied by that horrible aristocrat, looking at the papers on the table. "Hey, you got the-" She stopped abruptly, seeing Chloe's face. "What's wrong?" She took Chloe's hands in hers, forcing the Xiscapian to put down the drink, her voice taking on a hard edge. "Did he hurt you?"

Nathan paused for a moment and looked outside for a couple of moments. It only took a few moments before he got bored and placed an open palm in front of Kartosh,
"Arm wrestle," he challenged confidently, "Winner gets a chocy bar."

Daan's

"N...no," Chloe managed to say, unable to look into the Kitsune's eyes, her own expressionless and empty voids. There was nothing there, none of the warmth or spark that had been there before. She took one hand from Tara's and lifted the drink again, forgoeing the glass for the bottle as she tipped it back, drowning herself in the liquid. She had to get rid of the pain. She was sick of living with it, with the pressure on her shoulders, the pain and memories. She didn't deserve it, it wasn't fair. Oh Qonn, it wasn't fair.

Kartosh glanced down at the sweet, then over to where Skyler drove in stony silence, then back to Nathan. "Deal," he put out his hand to shake. As soon as Nathan took it the kitsune slammed his hand into the seat, sliding the bar away with his tail and scooping it up with his other hand. "Ha! I win!" He crowed.

Daan's...

Tara pushed her chair back, the legs scraping against the floor, and stood up. Hips swaying, tail curling, she moved around to the other side of the table and slowly settled herself onto Chloe's lap, Chloe's feeling the heavy warmth on her legs as Tara reclined across her body, back pressing into her chest, head nestled just under Chloe's left shoulder like a kit. "Why don't you tell me about your problems?" She crooned, eyes staring up at the older Xiscapian.

"Hey no fair you cheating Bastard!" Nathan called out, bouncing his fist off the seat in a childlike tantrum, "You did that on purpose, I want a rematch! Double of quits!" He offered another fist, "This time if you cheat, I win! Hey Sky!" he called to the Kitsune in the front seat, "Wanna be referee?"

Daan's

Chloe felt the Kitsune settle on her lap, but any pleasure she may have gained from the action was lost in the drink she had taken, her head was swimming as she looked at the younger Mercenary,
"It's not fair," She said, her voice slurring as she spoke, "It's not fucking fair. Why the hell do you get all the attention with your long sexy legs and your impossibly seductive body while I lag in the dark like some old Hag. You did the same things as me, you were fucked, you sucked and you had the shit kicked out of you by everything and everyone. Why can you get all the men falling over you while I'm on my own like always. No one who cares about me, no one to hug or kiss me and tell me that I'm beautiful and worthwhile. Skyler gets it...Skyler has suffered fuck all compared to me but she has Kartosh to comfort her and you! Who do I get...one drunk Alversian who has more guns than brain cells. I sit on my own, I want someone to love me but I fuckin' can't because of that fucking palace!"
She sobbed,
"Everytime I see someone I like, I see a Palace Guard, I see someone trying to rape me, trying to force himself on my shivering, broken form. I bottle it, I'm too much of a coward to talk to him because he wants to rape me, that's all men want to do to me...all of them...that's what I was bloody thinking all the time."
She looked at Tara again,
"How the hell did it happen to you? Did you give yourself up for a bunch of selfish bitches to live their miserable pointless lives for no reason. Did they even fucking cry? Did they give a shit that I sacrificed everything that ever mattered to me to let them live these shallow lives? They all went on to suck on their Parent's funds like fucking parasites and look at boys as toys rather than commitments. They're nothing! None them! But me! I could have been something!" She sobbed, "I was about to pass my lastest exam, I was going to become a Doctor or a Scientist, I had a boyfriend and I had a loving family. I gave it all up for those Sluts and they probably can't even remember my fucking name!! But I had to be a hero...I wish he had started shooting them, give them just an ounce of what I have suffered to save them. I could have stayed hidden and safe but noooo I had to be the big fuckin' hero in front of my little sister...I missed eveything...I missed their Coming of Age parties, I missed their graduations, I missed their first kisses, I missed meeting their boyfriends I missed everything...I've missed their lives..."
She stopped for a moment, tears running down her face,
"My life is so fuckin' pointless, I kill people out here for a living when I have a family who would welcome me back in an instant. I'm not like you, you have nothing apart from this but I could be someone again, but I'm too much of a coward, too much of a fucking coward to face them again, I'm a selfish useless bitch and causes more pain for everyone alive then if I was dead. I didn't deserve any of this! I only tried to help people and have spent my life trying to recover from that shit. I was selfless and it destroyed me, they killed me inside...those Guards destroyed everything that made me me. Why can't I just die? Finish the fuckin' job" She looked up at the ceiling,
"Qonn? If you fucking exist you big selfish Bastard why the hell do you let me suffer like this? Shoot me, strangle me, drown me, anything! I don't want this pain anymore, I don't want to live with this guilt for something I didn't fucking do!"
She went slightly limp, tears rolling down her cheeks,
"Please make it stop, I just want someone to love me as Chloe again not as a toy or a threat but as me...why is that so bad? Don't I deserve a little joy in my life?... Why do you hate me?" She sobbed, tears now flowing freely down her cheeks and dropping onto Tara's knee.

"You wanna shut the fuck up?" Skyler responded, but her tone was good-natured and all the rancor had left her voice. She even managed to crack a smile, though her eyes focused on the road.

"Bahha," Kartosh broke the bar in two, "fair's fair, I win this half," he stuck part in one of his vest pockets, "but you can play me again for the other half." He held out his arm, the half bar between them, challenging the Alversian.

Daan's...

Several times Tara opened her mouth to utter a sharp retort to a statement or question, but each time she thought better of it and held her tongue. Chloe was already teetering dangerously on the edge; any more negativity could send her spiraling over. Tara had never even imagined someone could feel this much pain, she's never guessed that, despite her outward appearance, Chloe had kept this all inside, just waiting for a time like now to come boiling out. Even when she'd found out her father had been killed in the line of duty on Kel, even when she'd been raped so often in the Palace, she had gotten over it, shed a few tears yes, but she'd never held it all in like Chloe seemed to have done.

For a time Tara didn't say anything, unsure of herself. Chloe was like a bomb that, if not carefully handled, would explode and destroy itself, and Tara had little experience in disarming dangerous people. But, she considered, she did have one considerable talent, and maybe it was time to bring that on full-force. The nubile kitsune turned in her friend's lap, legs parted on either side of her torso, leaning close when her eyes happened to flick up out the dirty far window, attracted by some abrupt movement. Not thinking, just reacting, Tara shoved her feet against the floor and pushed hard against Chloe's body, causing the chair to topple over, taking the two females with it to sprawl on the floor.

As Tara lay there flat on her stomach she began to think very quickly indeed. That fleeting flash of reflected sunlight could only be one thing: The slight adjustment of a sniper scope. There was no doubt in her mind who the bullet would be intended for, though she did wonder how they had tracked them down so quickly. Were the others in danger? Did they have more men around this building, maybe even inside? The two Xiscapians were receiving bemused looks from the other patrons, but nothing actually threatening, at least that Tara could see. But there was no time for that now, they had to get out, and fast. She knew that with Chloe in her inebriated state, unable to even walk properly, they would never make it out the door before being sniped, and they couldn't lie there forever: Soon the sniper would change his position to a higher vantage point, and they would be finished. Tara's thoughts went back to her father.
She could think of one thing that might work.

Tara knew this kind of bar: This was where the drug deals went down, where pickpocketing was rampant, where some sapient or another died just about every day at the hands of another, with a blaster or a blade or a club for any number of reasons. It seemed to be the only kind of drinking establishment Ferra had, and Tara had seen plenty of them on Kel as well; hell, she'd practically grown up in dumps like this. Growing up on the mean streets of Kel had it's advantages, she thought, as she rose quickly to her feet and searched for a likely target. Speed was essential: Hesitate a moment too long and her brains would be splattered all over the bar.
Then she spotted him: A great, huge, ugly human with a pug nose who looked like he'd already had one too many, moving across the room with a waddle that contrived to be menacing and worked only because of the long, nasty-looking knife on his belt that was covered in things Tara didn't like to think about.
Perfect.

Springing lightly over to him, Tara came from an angle: If she tried this from head-on, her plan would fail disastrously. Blindsiding the man, she sucker punched him viciously, thumb curled on the side of her fist, rather than inside it, like her father had taught her, catching him across the cheek and scraping his nose. The strike didn't even have sufficient power to fell the obese human, but he did stumble, knocking into another drinker and sending a table, several mugs of alcohol and a an array of cards and credit chips crashing to the floor. In the wreckage one could see a device had been affixed to the bottom of the gambling table, a card counter to assist one of the players in cheating his opponents out of their rightful winnings. This outrage, combined with the apparent clumsiness of the fat man and the one-sneeze-away-from-a-brawl atmosphere, caused the whole building to erupt into chaos.

One gambler broke his bottle over the head of the cheater, roaring obscenities, while the fat man came to blows with one of the drinkers for no reason except that the man had bumped him. In an instant old grudges, petty revenge and the general mood of uneasiness, what with the Ferran Army on the move and rumors of a Coalition assault just days away, transformed the arena into a bar fight. Tables were upended, knives and clubs came out of hiding and soon the air was filled with screams, cries, yells and bellows of combatants, the whole room moving and swaying like a living beast. Tara knew the fight would disrupt the sniper's shot, and buy her and Chloe enough time to evacuate the building...
-Assuming they could survive what Tara had created, of course.

"You have a deal!" Nathan declared in delight, "but this time I want YOU to play by the rules got it? I win otherwise." he laughed in anticipation, almost immediately replaced by a look of sheer determination as he gathered himself in preparation or the coming duel,
"Time to get with it," he said as he settled into the classic pose, open palm ready to recieve the challenger.

Daan's

Chloe fell to the ground as the fighting erupted, weapons being pulled from every possible location to aid in the combat that had begun. The Locals seems more than willing to aid in the battle, ramming, stabbing and shooting each other in petty acts of vengence or alcohol fuelled rage. As one of the Thugs attempted to stab Tara, he was shot down by something outside the windw, shattering the glass at the same time. His location couldn't be seen from his location. Chloe was on the floor, drowned by her own drink, still crying quietly to herself. However, sirens sounded loudly and getting louder as they got closer.

"Alright," Kartosh agreed, placing his elbow on the cushion, arm extended out, palm open. He clasped hands with Nathan and leaned close, as if he was speaking to the Alversian's hand. "You're gonna eat seat!" He cowed, and looked up at the human, waiting for him to begin.

Daan's...

Tara stumbled back from the dying man, landing hard on her rear and rolling over to lie flat on the floor, thinking herself lucky to have avoided being shot. From her position near the ground the brawl was the shifting of dozens of feet, with the the occasional spray of blood, broken tooth or weapon falling like debris from a war of the giants, broken only by wrestling opponents grappling for a hold or a prone figure here and there. The air above her was a maelstrom as blaster bolts, metal gun slugs, bottles, whole and bits of furniture and the infrequent unfortunate sapient were traded left, right, up and down throughout the bar. She knew fights like this were vicious: You could be an excellent fighter and still be killed in an instant because some drunk with a broken bottle got the drop on you. She knew the only reason she and Chloe weren't dead already was because they were, quite literally, lying low and not immediately subject to attack, random or otherwise.
But she knew the sniper would still be searching for them. They couldn't stay here.

To stand was to die: Tara yanked a knife from Chloe's belt and began hacking her way though the mob at about kneecap level, whoever didn't move fast enough got a slash, dragging her inebriated friend behind her. More often than not a person would turn and look down, surprised, and almost immediately be swallowed up by the chaos around them, turning their back for that fatal second. Bodies fell on and around them, and a couple of times they were challenged. The first Tara felt herself picked up almost by her tail, hands fastening around her rear and pulling her half into the air, but she kicked wildly and felt on foot connect. Her assailant fell back with a howl and she saw no more of him, though her muscles smarted and she almost wished she would so she could show him what's what. The other time she was charged, a club swung over the head with two hands down, but she threw herself to the right, smacking against the bar. Her attacker blinked stupidly, readying himself for another swing, when she finally stood, picking up a bar stool, and smashed him across the face with it, wood splintering and flying away, making him crumple to the floor with a grunt.

At long last they made it to the back door, left open by the wise and fleet-footed who had escaped once the brawl started. Chloe fell down the steps and was half lying in a puddle of something indescribable, and Tara sat against a wall, tail curled around her, still gripping the bloodied knife. She knew they had to get away: They couldn't let themselves be captured by the authorities, or worse, wait around for the sniper to decide to get up close and personal and finish the job. But with Chloe in her state Tara knew they'd never make it, they'd barely survived twenty feed across the room. Exhausted, she felt like she hadn't slept or eaten in days, although she knew it couldn't have been more than twenty four hours. A shiver: The damned uniform afforded no protection, and now it was badly ripped and stained, destroying what little modest it had originally given. She sighed, and crawled over to Chloe, trying to rouse her, though she knew it was hopeless. The cute Xiscapian was falling-down drunk, and once she did finally come out of it (assuming she wasn't dead by then) she would have one hell of a hangover.

"Alright," Nathan screwed his face in concentration, tightening his grip in Kartosh's hand,
"On the count of five. 1...2...3..." Nathan jumped the count, slamming Kartosh's hand into the seat not expecting the force so soon, jumping up and down in his seat, Nathan started chanting,
"Oh yeah, oh yeah, go me, go me." He snickered at Kartosh, "My chocy bar please."

Daan's

Chloe was indeed too out of it to really stand up, having already thrown her guts all over the small courtyard, screwing her eyes shut against the screaming sirens that finally came to a screeching halt outside the bar's entrance on the other side of the building. The impact sounds became deeper, harder with the mixture of voices now interlaced with the tough and military-like tone as order was slowly restored inside. If they did not move, then the Cops would have them in no time. However Chloe had curled up on the ground, thanks to a mixture of drink and a sour stomach, muttering to herself,
"Not fair...Why me?...Too much...Why me?...Not fair....Daddy...Love me..." She moaned over and over again to herself.

"Okay, coming right up opps," Kartosh picked up the half bar and, with a careless toss of his hand, lobbed it over the seat into Skyler's lap. She swore and shifted, the sweet falling off her onto the floor by the gas pedal, taking no notice of it other than to scowl at the two men in the rear view mirror again. "Aww man," Kartosh winked, "it's been lost in the Great Abyss. Better luck next time, mate..."

Alley...

"C'mon you," slightly dazed, Tara pushed against Chloe, trying to make her get up. "If you don't get up right now there'll be more big, strong men coming for you..." She sighed in defeat, leaning against the kitsune curled up on the ground, trying to avoid stepping in the pool of puke, and sat, lifting Chloe's head into her lap and doing her best to clear away the bile and tears from her face. She couldn't shake the feeling of immense exhaustion, and she suddenly found that she didn't much care if they were captured or not. Seeing Chloe like this broke her heart.

"Hey you double crossing cheating bastard!" Nathan seemed outraged by the move of the kitsune, turning to face the back of Skyler's seat,
"Skkkyyyllleerr," He moaned, "Kartosh cheated me out of half a chocolate bar!" He said the last part as if he were in a huff,
"I demand compensation for emotional stress!" he demanded with a grin.

Alley

Chloe lay there for a couple of moments until Tara's words sank in and she tried to heave herself up, staggering as she did, drunken mind trying to process the information that Tara had provided her,
"No, no, please," She moaned, as if she were looking at a completely different scene, with tall, sandstone walls replacing the darker hardstone of the bar. She was peering through the dark, as if she could see something that shouldn't be there, her eyes were wide and frightened and her body trembled,
"Please...please," She pleaded in a small pitiful voice, hands in front of her in a plea, "Please, have mercy, I'm only 17...please don't do this to me...I'm only a child...oh please don't hurt me..." She sobbed and hugged herself tightly.

Kartosh just sat there and grinned, leaning back up against the seat, proud of his handiwork. Skyler rolled her eyes heavenwards and expelled a sigh, feeling a terrible headache coming on, a sort of relentless pounding in her head. "And what," her voice was like ice, "would this 'compensation' entail?" It's like she was daring him to say something stupid.

Alley...

Well, at least she was standing.
"Chloe," Tara whispered, standing beside her now, trying not to listen to what her partner was actually saying. "It's me. C'mon girl, we've gotta get out of here, just take my hand, I'll get you out." She slipped her hand into Chloe's. "Follow the sound of my voice, nice and easy now..."

"Well...Miss Skyler," Nathan said in a lawyer like tone, "I believe that I should be refunded for the collateral that has been caused from the damage in this transaction, namely 50% of a Mister Many's Chocolate bar, nut flavoured, the price of which comes to 2 Credits. However, I have suffered severe trauma from this act and will need to recoup on my Councilling sessions, which totals 10,000 Credits. So please cough up before my Lawyer must get in touch, which will only increase our problems as I don't have one yet." It seemed like Nathan was being serious, however, there was mirth in his eyes.

Alley

Chloe slowly shuffled with Tara. Hand in hers, with tears still running down her cheeks, her body racked with silent sobs,
"Please. Oh please, why are you hurting me like this? I haven't done anything to you? Why are you trying to hurt me? I'm only a child, I don't want this pain, please leave me alone. Oh Qonn, I shouldn't be here...I want to see my family...please let me go home, I don't want to hurt you. Daddy....Daddy please help me...oh Daddy please save me, I don't want to be here anymore, I just want to go home..." She sobbed silently. It did not take a genius to see how badly broken Chloe was in both physical and mental forms.

"Collateral, huh." She looked over her shoulder at him and picked up the mangled chocolate bar from the floor. "I expect you want this?" She shook it, smiled coyly, and tossed the sweet out the window. Kartosh laughed, but in doing so let his guard down, so Skyler reached over, plucked his own chocolate slab from his pocket, and threw that out too. "Hey!" he cried.

"That's what we call an "expenditure for damages," she tapped the side of her head, "I think I'm gonna need therapy after this is all over, so you two might as well start coughing up now. After all, it's not like either of you would visit me once they put me in the mental institution. I swear, you'll send me straight over the edge."

Kartosh laughed. "I dragged you over the edge, Sky, we just haven't hit the ground yet!"

Alley...

"Shh, shh," Tara brought Chloe closer to her, looking around desperately as they made it to the street. They had to get out, fast, Tara, as proficient as she was in combat, wouldn't be much of a match for a gang or patrol of Ferran police or Army troopers, and Chloe was no help at all. She ran a hand though the mercenaries hair, playing with one of her soft, flexible fox ears, stumbling up the street. She'd learned how to hotwire a car at fourteen, but it would be incredibly stupid to try it with cops so near, they had to make it some distance away before she could try anything so risky, but she wasn't sure how much longer Chloe would hold up.

"Hey! God Damnit!!" Nathan seemed angry, "I bought that for the trip! Now I have nothing to eat!" Nathan sat in the back in a childlike huff while Kartosh and Skyler 'talked' about the recent experience. After a couple more minutes of silence, Nathan broke in with a whiny voice,
"Skkkklllyyyerrr...I need to choke the lizard," He moaned, "Can we pull over so I can empty the tank?"

Alley

Chloe continued to stumble after Tara, tight in her embrace, feeling her running her hand through her hair, ear flicking as it was touched. It was soon clear that they had lost the Police, who had given up the pursuit of whoever had started the arguement, preferring to go back to the station. They had gotten away.
Suddenly, Chloe grabbed Tara on the shoulder, holding tightly,
"T-Tara?" She slurred, eyes still dulled, "Tara? Please Tara, whatever happens please don't leave me. I don't want to be alone in the dark...they'll come for me, they always come for me when I'm on my own. I try to make them go away but they won't listen to me, they won't stop! They always hurt me...why do they always hurt me? Please Tara...don't leave me alone...I get so lonely in the dark...there's no one to talk to or hug...no one ever speaks to me...they only hurt me...please..." She was crying silently, tears running down her cheeks, trying to hold back her sobs, "I want to be brave but it's too hard...Oh Qonn, I'm all alone, there's no one...no one to love me...I've been here for two years and no one's come to help me...they've abandoned me...I can't be strong anymore...they hurt me too much...I just want it to end...please...don't leave me..." She whimpered.

"Well, you can have your sweets, and I'll dump you out of this car for the Ferran police to pick up, or you can shut up for a while and stay here!" Skyler snapped back.

"Can we pull over so I can empty the tank?"

"Byyy Qonnn..." Skyler pulled off to the side of the road and leaned her forehead against the steering wheel. "You could not train to be this annoying."

Kartosh just grinned in that stupid, smug way of his.

Streets...

"Don't worry," Tara hugged Chloe, hugged her so close and hard she could feel every curve and intricacy of her body, so intensely it hurt, the ache all the stronger. "I won't leave you, Chloe, I'll never leave you, I promise." It was getting difficult to walk, so finally Tara, knowing the groundpounders had decided not to waste their time trying to find the instigator of the brawl, slumped down on a nearby stair stoop, starving and exhausted. As Chloe sat down beside her Tara sighed deeply, stretching out, looking up at the sky of Ferra. "I'll never abandon you..." She kissed Chloe, then drew back, looking at her, yellow eyes wide and serious for once, tail twitching nervously. "I think...I think I love you."

Nathan dashed from the car and ran behind a set of trees, there was a familiar sound, followed by a whistling that gave way to an out of tune and tone deaf song sung with real heart and gusto,
"Oh, when the day is long and you're sitting with a Lass,
run behind the trees and take a piss on the grass,
If she comes along and tries to peak,
then you'll know she's a freek,
if she comes and you're draining the head,
drop your pants and take a shit instead"

He returned a couple of moments later, diving headfirst into the car. Zipping his fly up and whistling loudly and in a tone deaf way,
"Well crack on," He suggested, "You waiting for an invitation?"

Streets

Chloe looked at Tara, eyes still dull from the drink, but the words sunk in easily enough. She gazed at the younger Kitsune with a mixture of joy and fear, hugging her tightly, head on her shoulder,
"Oh Tara," She murmured dully, "I love you too, I wanted to tell you but you're so flighty I was afraid you were going to leave me and I'd be alone again, but you'd be too close to run away from and that would crush me...I'm not..strong enough." She finished timidly, closing her eyes on the Merc's shoulder, crying gently to herself, unable and unwilling to move, delighted to have this contact.

Skyler just slumped in the same position and put her hands over her fox ears, flattening them against her head, trying to block out Nathan's singing. Kartosh was laughing as the Alversian returned, hi-fiving him as he returned. "Nice, you'll have to teach me that one one of these days..."

Skyler sighed as she started up the car again, at least it had been somewhat quiet for a few minutes. "I don't know how Chloe stands it, that girl's got tougher nerves than I've given her credit for."

Streets...

"That's okay," Tara mumbled, "I've got enough strength for the both of us." She loved the feel of Chloe's body against hers, but it caused a deep sadness she felt in her chest to see her so vulnerable and afraid.

Nathan sat in silence for a few moments as Skyler drove along, looking out the window curiously for a while. However, he started to flick something in the back of the car, causing a large crack each time he did it. He began to time the flicks, causing the cracking noise to alternate into a crude song,
"Hey, Kart," He nudged the other Kitsune, "Look at this," He flicked it into a rough form of the Alversian National Anthem,
"I should be a bloody Musician," He announced, starting the tune again.

Streets

"We'd better go..." Chloe slurred after a few moments of silence between them, just enjoying the pressing of their bodies together, "...safehouse." She sighed quietly, waiting patiently for Tara to get up so she could follow, reverting to an almost childlike form.

"Never hit your mother with a shovel," Kartosh sang, "it'll leave a dull impression on her mind..."

"We're here!" Skyler almost roared, jerking the car off to the side of the street into the grass, rolling into the nearby forest. She'd caught the flicker of a shield generator coming in contact with a falling leaf far off down the road and wisely elected to pull off before they were sighted. Killing the engine and pushing the door open, she took out a blaster pistol and motioned to the two males in the backseat. "We can expect guard patrols, maybe drones and sensors, so be careful, and for Qonn's sake be quiet." She glared at both before sliding out, shutting the door silently, and slipping away into the woods.

Streets...

Tara just nodded, the weight of unspoken desire settling between them, standing up and stretching again, more conscious than ever of her short skirt as dusk began to fall, bringing cool air and lengthening shadows with it. She wondered how Skyler and Nathan and Kartosh were doing, and weather Skyler had snapped yet, and if they'd managed to find out anything about the President's secret base, but she looked back to Chloe and forgot all about that. The profile of her drawn face in the fading light, her deep, old eyes, even the way she stood invoked feelings in Tara. She wished she'd known Chloe when they were both in the Kitsune Empire, they could've had a great time together, though she knew that it would have never worked. Tara was now, and always had been, from the gutter, a lowly street beater of a cop for a father, graffeti on the walls, drugs in the schools, while Chloe had had every privilege of the majority, the upper class.

But all that was different now, Grabba's stronghold, as terrible and damaging as it had been, had brought them together. No one else Tara knew in the galaxy had survived anything like what they had, so they could bond in ways no one else could.

"Don't worry, I can be as silent as a three-legged drunken elephant!" Nathan stated proudly as he threw his shotgun over his shoulder. He slipped into line before Skyler, still humming quietly to himself, as if he was wondering through the park.

Safehouse

It was not long before both Kitsune were back at the safehouse, still dark since their last visit. Neither Chloe or Tara needed the lights and both were too exhausted anyway. Chloe looked at the younger Kitsune, looking much older than she was, tired beyond her years,
"Tara," She whispered, pressing her body close, "you're the only one who really understands me...how it hurt me..." She looked away for a moment, "They broke me, Tara, they crushed everything that was Chloe and left me an empty shell...I've been trying to find myself again but sometimes it's so hard..." Her voice broke for a moment and when she looked back, a lone tear was falling down her cheek, but her lips curled in a small smile,
"Sometimes I look at myself in the mirror and I can't even remember what I looked like, if I looked any younger or happier...because I'm not Chloe anymore...I'm not the same girl who gave herself up on that ship...but you understand what it is...you know the pain...the hopelessness...the lonliness...waiting for...them. I can talk to you about it and and you understand...Nathan or Kartosh or Skyler can never understand the pain...I...I love you" She bent down slightly to the shorter Kitsune, locking lips with that young Mercenary, hands moving in experienced ways to where they were most effective.

Skyler just sighed to herself and she carefully picked her way though the foliage, moving with utter silence borne of a trained professional. Kartosh leaned his Repeater against his shoulder and walked along behind her slightly ahead of Nathan, looking around nonchalantly, resisting the urge to whistle. There was nothing but trees, gloom and the minuscule noises of wildlife moving about the forest for several minutes before Skyler stopped abruptly, putting up a cautionary hand before dropping onto her belly in the brush. Kartosh followed suit, evidently the kitsune had heard or seen something that Nathan, with his sharp though inferior Alversian senses, had not. The ground smelled of water, mud and pine under their noses, soft and yielding under their weight from a recent rain, and abruptly the sound of birds and insects around them went quiet.

Nathan would not be able to see anything, but both the Xiscapian mercenaries before him tensed visibly, tails curled under their bodies, ears flat, hugging their weapons with the barrels pointed out. A soft crunching noise, the sound of boots stepping on sticks and small plants, drifted though the air, intermixed with the noise of servomotors whirring and a clanking noise. Three dark shaped detached themselves from the shadows and came so close Nathan would be able to see clearly what they were: A Ferran soldier in black battle armor, cradling an assault rifle, flanked by two spindly battle droids (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/File:Battledroid.jpg). Unlike the trooper, who was evidently uncomfortable and at odds with the dark woods, swearing under his breath, the two machines stood without fidgeting or making any noise, seeming to stare straight ahead. The guard removed what Nathan would recognize as a portable scanner from his belt and began flashing it idly around, sloppy and making incomplete sweeps before returning the device to it's place and stomping off, followed by the two robots.

Kartosh and Skyler remained perfectly still for a full two minutes before the female slowly rose, motioning the other two over to her. "That was close," she whispered, "we got lucky: He's lazy, it's probably been a long time since they've had intruders around here."

"Droids..." Kartosh was staring off into the brush where the man and his two walking weapons had disappeared. "Where are they coming from? Last I checked there were no factories that produced battle droids in any capacity on Ferra."

Skyler shrugged but smiled. "Danaversian make, maybe even Boolean, but it doesn't even matter." She nodded. "I think we've got our ticket in."

Safehouse...

Tara passionately embraced Chloe, working her fingers down into her pants and slowly pushing them down, feeling the other's own hands massaging her own bare skin under her dress, lips pressed together. Chloe's pants were around her ankles, shirt lifted up over her head, and Tara didn't even bother heading for the bed: They just fell onto the nearby couch, undressing each other, naked flesh rubbing together, one kitsune warming the other as the coldness of night set into the drafty safehouse. All throughout they never stopped kissing, always in contact with each other, shifting, twisting and flexing, fingers and toes pointing, tails curling and ears perking in their delight.

Nathan crawled up beside Skyler, making little to no noise as he did so, clumsy shotgun on his back and a pistol out instead. He took what appeared to be the lense from a sniper rifle, and that analysis would not have been far from the truth. He peered through it, muttering under his breath, all whistling and mirth gone as he settled into his job, the thing he was best at.
A couple of moments later he swore silently,
"I recognise that bloody mark...damn things are Boolean...look," he handed the device to Skyler showing that, magnified, the Droids had two marked on their chests, one was the hammer and cross of Ferra, while the other was the strange T-shape that signalled the Boolean Confederacy.
"Bastards must be upgrading their military," He sighed, then grinned, "Ah well, my Cousin runs a scrap metal business, perhaps I can finally pay him back for the car I wrecked..." he trailed off in thought, he snapped out of it pretty quickly though,
"What ticket be this?" He asked the Kitsune

"Simple," Skyler replied, "no one questions a droid about where it's going or who sent it. We snag a full-sized hologram projector from somewhere and 'paste' the image of a few battle droids over our bodies and we're in business." She winked. "I'll say you'll probably look a hell of a lot more handsome as a droid than in human form..."

Kartosh raised himself slightly from the ground, gazing off though the trees. "Wasn't there something else we were supposed to be doing...?"

"Secret entrance," Skyler muttered.

"Oh! Yeah. Right." Kartosh scratched at the back of his neck. "You know, I haven't had a drink in twenty-four hours?"

"Bullshit." Skyler snorted.

"No, really," he argued, "I'm gonna start going into withdrawal any time now, and I left my hip flask in the car..."

"Oh yeah, Droids...fantastic" Nathan was as sarcastic as ever, "No offence meant Skyler, but, you're hardly the thinnest of Kitsune, you'd never pass off as a Droid, even with a hologram to help." He said it slyly, careful to back of quickly in the face of her inevitable retaliation.

Next morning, Ferra City

The morning saw daylight creeping in through the cracks in the walls and roof of the shack, the warmth already heating the day up. However, as Tara awoke, she would find Chloe no longer beside her, but now sitting at the edge of the sofa, clutching her legs close to her chest, arms around her ankles, tail curled around her knees. She was staring at Tara's prone form intently, eyes wide and frightened, breathing deep and ragged but silent. She was shivering delicately as a light breeze blew through the walls and over her bare skin, poor, broken mind trying to make sense of the last couple of hours.

Skyler rolled her eyes and leaned over to hit him, frustrated when he danced out of reach. "It will work, I'm talking state-of-the-art stuff, special ops emitters, not your average pretty lightshow here. Now stop messing around, we've still gotta find the hideout itself."

Once again they crept though the forest, though as they got closer the security seemed to thicken and tighten. At first they were forced to crawl inch by inch past blinking motion sensors, circumvent force field gates and the occasional automated turret, but as they got further in more and more guards and battle droids became apparent. After a time the trees thinned out and they saw, across a clearing thirty yards long, a large mansion (http://elfchick.deviantart.com/art/The-Mansion-34832874), with what looked like barracks buildings to the right off it and possibly a small hanger or machine shop to the left. Several APCs could be seen on the road leading up to it and in the driveway, and droids were everywhere, standing guard, patrolling mindlessly or going off on one errand or another. A Ferran flag snapped and fluttered in the wind from the top of the large house, but aside from the machines at the entry this was the only movement that could be seen on or inside the building, and the windows were dark.

"Either this is the weirdest military exercise in history," Kartosh muttered as a tank rolled past, "or we've found our target."

Safehouse...

Tara opened one eye, looking at Chloe for several moments before she finally roused herself to a sitting position, moving one leg across her other, yawning widely and arching her back. She was still as nude as she had been the night before, dress lying forgotten on the floor, and until a few minutes ago had been sufficiently warmed by Chloe's body next to hers that she hadn't noticed the dank. It wasn't until she looked back at Chloe again that she sensed something was wrong, and, walking on her knees, moved over the couch to her. "What's wrong?" She asked, leaning against the back of their makeshift bed, one arm draped casually over it, sitting with her legs tucked under her, tail wrapped around her waist.

"So it's agreed that this is the weirdest military exercise in history?" Nathan stated to the others and, when he recieved only silence from the other two, he sighed to admit his defeat,
"Alright, alright, we've found it, now what? We find this Special Ops tech that seems to be laying about everywhere?"

Shack

Chloe had started when Tara woke up, tightening her hold on herself, as if trying to edge away from the Female without actually moving. Frightened eyes focused on the Kitsune.
"I...I...I dunno..." She shivered, "...I..." She sniffed, "I...scared...Tara," She said in a timid voice, "...I'm scared...of love...it's always hurt me...it scares me..." She stopped, eyes closed, unable to look the younger Mercenary in the eye.

"No," Skyler said impatiently. "We find the secret escape route out of this hideout so we know where it is when the times comes, then we go back to the city, find Chloe and Tara, get the equipment we need from the Star Snake, and come back to complete the op. By Qonn," she sighed, "I don't know how you managed to convince the APN to not dump you out on your ass as soon as you walked into the recruitment office."

Hideout...

Tara blinked, at first in confusion, and then her expression changed to one of understanding. "Oh Chloe," she murmured, shaking her head. "Poor, poor Chloe." She reached out with one hand and ran her fingers though the frightened kitsune's hair. "I'm not going to leave you, I promise," she whispered, moving a little closer. "You have nothing to fear, I'm here now. I'll always be here."

"The APN loved me baby, just like you do," Nathan grinned as they moved quietly to find the secret entrance, "The only reason they didn't promote me to Admiral straight away was because they thought it would annoy the Old people who live in APNHQ." He chuckled silently, then looked around at Kartosh, whispering to Skyler in a pantomine voice,
"You know where your heart lies, you want a Nathan in your life baby." he said to her, winking as he did so.

Shack

Chloe shivered under Tara's touch, her soft fingers running through her chocolate brown hair, tears starting to leak from the corner of her eyes as she looked up at the younger Kitsune, the fear still evident,
"Why is it so hard?" She whispered quietly, pleading, "Why does everything have to be so hard? It's not fair."
One thing would be clear from the previous night, the long, deep, old scars engrained in her back from a time long ago. A time that could not be forgotten. These were accompanied by more across her chest and down her thighs, deep scars, unlike the clean ones on her back, these shallower ones seemed to have been caused by sharpened nails gripping into flesh. Tara did not even need to ask their origins.

"I already have a fucking Nathan in my life," Skyler hissed back.

"I resent that!" Kartosh muttered.

"One drunken military dropout is quite enough!" Skyler just shook her head and kept moving though the underbrush. This close to the compound they couldn't afford to walk standing up for fear of being spotted, forcing them to crawl, military-style, on the ground. As a result, Skyler's tail and rear end was right in Nathan's face, while Kartosh had to pull himself alongside, wary of any curious patrols.

Shack...

It had been easy to ignore the scars in the darkness, in the throes of passion, in the curled warmth of the night, but Tara's eyes were drawn to them in the harsh light of day. She looked away again, concentrating on the more beautiful parts of Chloe, finally moving up to her face. "We just got dealt a bad hand, hon," she sighed and shook her head. "I don't know why. I don't know why all that happened, why evil and those who perpetrate it are allowed to exist in the galaxy, why we were..." She choked up. "I know it's not fair," her own eyes were shining with the glossy sheen of tears, "but we've got each other, right?"

"One fucking Nathan?" The Alversian grinned childishly in the dark, "Does having another one not sound like such a wonderous proposal to you?" He chuckled, "and I am not a drunken military dropout thank you, I am a drunken military Resignee. I left before they kicked me out." He whispered backward to Kartosh, feeling Skyler wave her tail in his face,

"God Skyler, don't do that, I get..." He stopped and drew deep breath, trying to hold in the sneeze that was building in the back of his throat, hand over his mouth to try and contain it.

Shack

Chloe slowly uncurled from her ball and moved up to Tara, wiping the tears from the younger Kitsune's face, trying to dry her own in the process,
"Yes," She whispered and kissed her gently on the lips, "We have each other, the only two people in the galaxy who understand what we've been through, what we've survived." She hugged her tightly, "I love you Tara, so much. For all that we've been through, I wouldn't want to miss you for the world. You're the best thing that's happened to me in ten years Tara...the first time, since...that I've been truely happy." She seemed embarressed.

Kartosh saw the danger as Nathan sucked in breath, trying to control the urge, and whispered loudly. "Nathan!"

Skyler turned and, without hesitation, dove on the Alversian, smashing her chest against his head, driving his face into the ground. Kartosh froze, they had made almost no noise but this close to the mansion it was entirely possible one of the guards had heard them. The two kitsune waited, hardly daring to breath, locked in place, listening so hard it almost hurt.

Shack...

Tara let Chloe hold her, eyes closed in bliss as their bare bodies rubbed together, indulging in a bit of play as she ran her hands down the other kitsune's back, over her tail and across her rear. "I love you two, Chloe," she leaned her forehead against hers, staring into the Xiscapian's eyes, "you're probably the best thing that's ever happened to me. If it wasn't for you, I'd still be stuck...back there," she gave a long, grateful sigh, "instead of here, now." She giggled, kissed her again.

Nathan coughed and spluttered in the mud for a moment before his body went limp, his strugglings stopped and, instead of a sneeze, the gas came out as one long, loud fart. There was silence for a couple of moments,
"Did you hear something?" A Guard called out. It was another few moments of silence before another, gruffer voice replied,
"It was probably nothing." He said confidently, "just the wind in a few leaves. Get back to work."

Nathan lifted his mud covered face, spitting stones and looking at Skyler,
"That was fun, I should try to sneeze more often." He said teasingly.

Shack

Chloe shivered under Tara's touch, melting in her embrace, enjoying the kissing all the more. She was enjoying herself, eyes closed in bliss. Her own hands were on the move along with Tara's, moving into more personal areas, smiling at Tara's giggle, the first time she had smiled in hours.
"Listen," She said quietly, smile dropping, a delicate blush crossing her cheeks, "I'm sorry that I was so useless last night. Sitting and crying into your shoulder instead of helping you escape...I hope you can forgive me...If I said anything offensive." She wasn't sure how to finish, instead staring up the roof instead.

"Ass," Skyler growled and shoved Nathan's head back into the dirt. Kartosh was gagging wordlessly and scooting away from the smell, trying to put some distance between him and the foul odor the Alversian had made. The female kitsune rolled over Nathan and set back on their original course, taking care to occasionally shower the human with dirt as she pushed her way though the undergrowth.

"I think you made her mad," Kartosh whispered from beside Nathan with a grin.

Shack...

Tara smiled sadly. "I forgive you," she rested her head on Chloe's shoulder, "you were drunk, and I know you were just keeping it all bottled up inside you. I understand," she shuddered with pleasure, "we all need to let it out once in a while." A dirty smile.

The Alversian snickered behind Skyler's back, turning his head away from the spray of mud and stones being kicked up by the Female Mercenary.
"She's just like the Drill Inspectors we had back at the Academy," He whispered to Kartosh, "All uptight and, 99% of the time, fuckless. I know that's not true here though." He giggled, before giving out a low whistle,
"You should be where I am, Kartosh," He said in a pantomine whisper, "the view is incredible...and Skyler's arse isn't bad either." He winked.

Shack

Chloe smiled in relief and cuddled up to Tara again, enjoying the warmth of her body, feeling their smooth skin rubbing together. She kissed her gently, closing her eyes for a moment before getting up with a sigh,
"Come on," She sighed, "We need to get ready." She stood in front of Tara, unabashed of her nakedness in front of the Kitsune, for the first time in years,
"On the other hand, a breakfast wouldn't hurt first." She smiled coyly, tail curling around her hips shyly.

"Yeah, but I've seen it bare," Kartosh gaffawed back, shaking his head. If Nathan was anyone else their face would have met Kartosh's fist, but he knew the Alversian was just messing around, he wouldn't sleep with Skyler any more than he would sleep with Chloe...at least, not while Kartosh was still alive and knocking around. And the kitsune knew sure as hell that Skyler wouldn't get Nathan between the sheets, she liked the man okay but she wasn't attracted to him.

"I can hear you, dumbass," Skyler hissed back, crawling faster, only slowing to shoot a glare over her shoulder. Suddenly she vanished, and the two males behind her would be able to see that the ground inclined sharply under them to a wide river below, distant banks shrouded with fog. The blue-haired Xiscapian was inching her way down the slope to the water, climbing over rocks and moisture-laden ferns, intent on something neither Kartosh nor Nathan had spotted. Within a minute they were all crouching at the edge of the rushing stream, Skyler silently pointing an olive-skinned arm out over the water. On the other side they could see a low, rocky overhang, covered in moss and weeds, completely inconspicuous. "I bet you five credits that that's where we'll find the secret escape route," she whispered to the other two.

Kartosh snorted. "On a waterway? You're on."

Shack...

"Mhmm," Tara gave a happy whine, stretching luxuriously on the battered couch. "I heard of a restaurant once where they had naked females lie on a table and you ate your dinner out of their navels," she patted her own taunt stomach, "I'd suggest that, but I wouldn't want your food to taste too salty." A nasty grin as she stood up, still shorter than the older kitsune.

Nathan was still laughing, facing behind him so he couldn't see the slope in front of him, the first thing he knew of it was when his hand unexpectedly met air and he tumbled forward, landing beside Skyler in a heap. He stood up again in a dignified manner, brushing himself down and looking at the concealed entrance,
"So that's it huh? What does he do? Swim?"

Shack

Chloe had a sly smile as Tara spoke, closing in on her again, pressing their bodies close, locking lips with her passionately for a few moments before breaking off reluctantly. Tara's statement had been such a dare, but she could not, she had work to do.
"Let's go...it's a bit warm to be getting dressed yet." She said shyly and bent over in the kitchen, making sure that she was position so Tara had the perfect view.

"Hope you don't mind getting wet," Skyler slipped into the cold water, taking a breath before submerging completely in the fifty degree liquid and, moving her arms before her as if to part the murky water, legs kicking, glided off into the dimness. Kartosh looked at Nathan, grinned, shrugged, put on a rebreather and followed, little spurts of bubbles marking his passage. They soon made it to the other side, under the rock enclosure, and emerged into a tiny bay. Up on the rocky shelf a small dock had been built, a small pleasure craft tied up on one side, a speedboat and a couple of jet skies on the other. The whole assortment was lit only by a dim light hanging from the ceiling, and aside from the waves lapping against the wooden sides of the dock the only noise was the frequent, periodic thump of the boots of the guards above as they patrolled.

"You owe me five credits," Skyler whispered, only her head sticking up above the water. She had some sort of water-dwelling plant tangled in her hair.

Shack...

Tara licked her lips, Chloe's scent was all over her, inside her, invading her, and she was loving every minute of it. She could already feel herself getting aroused again, and it only got worse as she gazed into the kitchen and saw Chloe bending over the table with her legs spread. "You're such a bad girl," she groaned as she came up behind her, reaching around her chest and fondling her breasts, pushing her crotch against Chloe's bottom. "It's always too warm for clothes..."

Nathan was not long in following the pair, surfacing with his own breather and a large cut on his cheek, with little droplets of blood falling from the laceration in his flesh. He swore quietly,
"Next time someone tells you that a Ferran Stone Fish doesn't sting, I want you to punch him in the face and call him a lying asshole. This is it huh? Not as big as I expected." He sighed, "Alright, what's next Cuteass?" He grinned.

Shack

"Mmhmm, maybe I need punished for being a bad girl," Chloe pressed her body back against Tara's, barely able to contain the excitment with her at her experienced, gentle touch. She turned to face the younger Kitsune, locking lips again for a moment before pulling away,
"We're going to be late," She tried to say in a tough tone but failing miserably, "You need to eat and..." She turned back to the table and preparing breakfast, brushing her tail across Tara's thighs as she did so.
She'd never had guessed that she was a Lesbian prior to this episode but Tara's energy and imagination had turned her. Now she couldn't even imagine things going back to the way they were.

"You talkin' to me?" Kartosh grinned with a good-natured growl, feeling along the splintered bottom of the dock. "A few charges outta do it..."

"Now we booby-trap the thing," Skyler murmured to Nathan, giving him a damp cloth she'd had on the inside of her clothes to wipe his cut with.

Skyler handed over a satchel of explosives and waited while Kartosh fixed the disk-like bombs along the underside of the access plank. He put a few on the watercraft for good measure and gave a thumbs-up to the other two. "All done," he said softly. "Time to go back and get the girls."

Shack...

"Aww," Tara pouted, still keeping in contact with Chloe's body for a moment before pulling away and swaggering across the room, hips swinging and tail curling up her back. She opened the ice box and leaned over, extracting a bottle of milk and a few other odds and ends, goose bumps forming over her skin from the cold interior. She put the items on the table next to Chloe and sat in one of the chairs backwards, legs wrapping around the back of the seat, leaning forward slightly to watch her partner work with interest. She was hungry, she had to admit, but it was hard to concentrate with the naked kitsune right there in front of her...

"Alright, we set the damn charges already...can we go now?" Nathan was dabbing at the cut looking down at the swirling blood in the water beneath him, "I think my Attacker is calling for reinforcements." He sighed, "Our little adventure's almost over Skyler, I'm going to miss your as...I mean...delightful personality." Nathan grinned as they headed back out.

Shack

Chloe mumbled a thank you as she quickly threw a couple of things together to make a rudimentary breakfast. All the while, she was aware of the Kitsune's intent gaze across her body. She teased her young Lover, swaying her hips as she worked, tail twitching and flicking alluringly, before she placed the simple sandwich in front of her fellow Mercenary with a kiss,
"You need to keep your strength up" She said slyly, tail rubbing against her wrist before she started eating,
"I never thought I'd be a Lesbian," She said truthfully after a while, "I always thought I'd find someone...male you know? But...here with you...I'm happy I found out." She smiled.

Skyler cuffed him across the back of his head, picking the plant out of her hair. "You just keep your focus on the enemy and off my perfectly formed rear and I'll call you lucky if you don't get a blaster bolt between the eyes even then."

Kartosh chuckled and shook his head. "Oh you kids..." He muttered as they got back under the water.

Once again it was back out across the river and down stream a bit, though the forest and avoiding the patrols, until they finally got back to their car.

"C'mon you two," Skyler yanked open the door to the backseat, "it's getting late, and I'm dead tired. I don't care that you drive like maniacs, just get us back to the city." She crawled onto the seats, stretched out, closed her eyes, tail curling over her back, and laid still, ears flicking this way and that.

Kartosh glanced over at his Alversian friend. "You wanna drive?"

Shack...

Tara folded one arm over the other on the table and watched Chloe with her chin nestled in the crook of her arms, cat-like, as she moved about the kitchen. Her eyes were bright and interested and she followed the other kitsune's every gyration, her own tail swinging languidly back and forth, one leg crossed over the other.

She kissed Chloe back after she brought the food over, playing with the tip of her tail for a moment before settling down to eat. "My own sexy waitress..."

"I never thought I'd be a Lesbian, I always thought I'd find someone...male you know? But...here with you...I'm happy I found out."

Tara smirked and nodded sympathetically. "I used to think that too, but it didn't take me long to find out how I..." she paused, smiling shyly, "really was." She set down her sandwich and took Chloe's hands in hers, bare breasts jiggling slightly. "Like I said, I'm glad I met you. And even if we met under different circumstances," that smirk again, "I'm sure I would have straightened out your sexual orientation real quick."

Nathan leapt into the driving seat, kicked the car into gear and literally sped off, dodging in and out of traffic on the road, sometimes on two wheels, sometimes in control, sometimes neither of the above. At one point, they were even off the road altogether, bouncing along in the field alongside it. All this time, Nathan did not take his foot from the pedal as he ducked and dived through the cover, shaving by most cars by mere milimeters,
"If a job's worth doing, it's worth doing quickly!" Nathan yelled over the beeping of horns and the screech of tires, "How's everyone in the back!?" He yelled, drifting the car sideways to miss a large truck coming the other way.

Shack

Chloe nodded, eyes focused on Tara's ample bosom, drawing herself up as if ready to make some form of announcement in a deep posh voice,
"Miss Tara you are a Ruffian and a Vagabond and I was always taught to stay away from people like you." It would sounded very posh and commanding for not the problem that Chloe was wearing the least posh and commanding clothing in the universe. None at all. Not that it bothered her as she leant forward to Tara again, feeling their breasts squeeze togather as she kissed Tara on the lips, wanting nothing more than to spend one more hour in bed with her.
"Well, I'm full up," She said slyly, "perhaps we need to sleep this off?" She said coyly, tail flicking.

Skyler was curled into the fetal position in the back seat, arms over her head, hands jammed into her fox ears to block out the din. Kartosh was hanging onto his own seat, wisely having buckled up for once, and was eyeing the cracked glass where he had hit it last time warily, head bobbing and shaking in time with the bumps and jarring of the vehicle. "We're gonna be really lucky if we don't get pulled over!" He yelled.

"We'll be lucky to be alive!" Skyler screamed.

Shack...

Tara buried her head into Chloe's clevage, sighing in satisfaction. "Perhaps we do," she murmured, standing, half-eaten breakfast forgotten, squeezing Chloe's hands in hers. "Shall we actually try the bed this time?" She winked.

Nathan laughed loudly as he pulled off the main road and into the main streets of the capital city, spinning the car through 270 degrees to line himself up, tires screaming in protest, surrounding the car in smoke and pervading smell of burning rubber. He didn't even slow down when the walls were scrapping against the paintwork, showering the interior of the vehicle with sparks through from the battered or broken windows, dodging tramps and Addicts as they leapt out of the way of the mad car. Nathan screeched to a halt outside a seemingly random house, the sides of the car scrapped grey from the walls and the tires virtually flat. He looked at the group of Addicts outside,
"20 credits for cleaning my car!" He yelled, then relaxed as they fought over each other to get a sponge and clean the car down.

Shack

"Mmhmm," Chloe sighed as she led Tara into the bedroom, shutting the rotten door behind her.

Fifteen minutes later...

Skyler stumbled away from the smoking wreck (http://nagol019.deviantart.com/art/Wrecked-Car-71096839), staggering up against a wall, heart pounding, mouth dry and a monster of a headache coming on. It was like being hung over, but without the benefit of having been able to get drunk the night before, and she felt like she was going throw up. "No, 'm okay," she waved off Kartosh as she bent double, panting, tail wrapped tightly around her legs. The other two didn't seem the slightest bit affected, but hell, they flew starships at speeds that would atomize the vehicle and everyone in it if they so much as scraped the side of an asteroid, so they were use to it. She straightened up a bit, felt the bile rise, and leaned over the bushes, retching and cursing Nathan.

Kartosh leaned against the smashed car where they'd parked it a little ways from the safehouse, shaking his head. "Think she'd be able to keep it down by now," he muttered, glancing up at the sky. It was already turning gray again, matching the drab buildings, it reminded him of Tenfour, though even Tenfour wasn't as dirty as this locale. And at least even Kel had a nice sky, not this smoggy, dust-ridden-
Wait.
What was that?

He peered at the upper story of a comparatively short office building, scanning the windows. The structure seemed deserted: There were no cars out front at this hour, he couldn't see any lights on, but he knew he'd seen movement somewhere among that tower of concrete and glass. Then, suddenly again, he saw it: The slow, careful movement of a sniper's barrel tracking a target. It was on the roof, blocked by an air conditioning unit, and the sharpshooter was lying in such a position that Kartosh couldn't see anything though the shadows but the tip of the gun, but he was definitely there. The Xiscapian mercenary followed the focus of the weapon and realized, with an abrupt start, that the line of sight would take the shooter's eye right into the shack.
There was no time to lose.

He yanked a weapon (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/File:ConcussionRifle_MV.png) off his back and primed it, muttering to himself. "Now I'm glad Skyler makes me carry this fucking thing around with me," he said as he aimed the concussion rifle at the building, and pulled the trigger. A electric blue pulse shot out, a glowing sphere with violently twisting threads snaking about inside, and struck the air conditioner the sniper was behind, barely a second between the fire ignition and the shot hitting the target. The bolt impacted with fury, blowing the air conditioner apart and sending burning debris and pieces of the would-be assassin spiraling down to the ground below. Skyler winced behind her, batting at one of her ears.

"Did you have to do that right next to my ear!?"

"I didn't have much of a choice, okay!" Kartosh lowered the weapon and shook his head, watching in satisfaction as the flames licked at the sides of the clutter of instruments on top of the building.

"Qonn, you think I could leave you alone for ten seconds without you blowing something up."

Skyler just sighed. "I'm gonna go get Tara and Chloe before the authorities get here and decide to shoot us without a trial."

Shack...

Tara sat up in bed at the sound of the explosion, falling off of Chloe, struggling to get onto her knees and glance out the window set high in the wall above. "What the hell was that?!" She asked, tail whipping back and forth, eyes wide.

Nathan came from the decrept house moments later, holding a new lollipop of the same make as he had been holding before they had set off on their adventure. He was slurping happily, lapping up the sugar without a care in the world, eyes closed in delight. Once he was at Kartosh's eyes, he opened up and gazed at the wreckage and fire burning above the building opposite.
"Hm," He made a noise of interest as he licked, taking another few moments to enjoy the flavour before actually speaking,
"That wasn't like that when I left," He said carelessly before going back to his lollipop, looking over the car with a critical eye,
"I think we're going to need a new method of transport." He said easily, going back to his lollipop again, "maybe I need a new lolly."

Shack

Chloe was already on her feet when Tara tried to look out through the window. The first thing she had done was instinctively reach for her pistol, but, of course, she did not have on her person. Instead, she dropped to the floor and pulled an assualt rifle from under the bed, checked the magazine and cocked the weapon, keeping slow, stealthy. Her breathing was even, her mind calm, even her tail stayed unnaturally still. The perfect hunter.
"Away from the window!" She hissed to her younger Comrade, "If there's someone there, they'll be watching the windows." Chloe crept silently through the house, waiting patiently by entrance. She signalled to Tara to stay where she was, out of sight.

The door creaked open, bathing the shack in the bright glow of morning. Someone entered casually, obviously assuming their work was complete, for they were not even armed, shadowed against the morning sun. Chloe rose quickly, grabbing the individual by the arm and quickly applying pressure to both the shoulders and the back of the knees, forcing her opponent to the ground, arm pinned behind her back, unable to move, Chloe's entire, naked form on top of her. Until Chloe noticed the ears and the blue hair of her 'assailant', then the colour drained from her face.

"Oh Qonn," Chloe shot up like lightning, pulling the Kitsune up with her, cheeks changing to a deep red, "Skyler, I'm so sorry, I thought you were the one who caused the explosion." She said it quickly, turning to see Tara emerging. Only now did she notice how naked she was, blushing even deeper.
"I'll...uh...I'll go and get some clothes on." She mumbled and slinked back into the bedroom, tail wrapped shyly between her legs.

"Yeah," Kartosh cast a appraising look at the burned-out car, leaning the concussion rifle against his shoulder, the stock balanced on his palm, "I don't think this one's going anywhere but the scrapyard now. What do you think the chances of our 'persuading' a dealer somewhere to lend us another are?"

Shack...

Skyler hadn't even stopped to think that there might be an assault team already inside the house with the sniper as support: She hadn't been expecting an ambush. She'd only seen a blur of movement from her left before going down hard, arm twisted around, face buried in the dirty carpet. Absurdly, the first thought that came was, Man, down at nose level this floor stinks even worse... She quickly assessed the situation. You're a damned fool, Skyler! She raged in her mind, the acute pain in her arm making her senses and mental processing sharply clear. Not going in carefully, you deserve whatever they do to-

Suddenly the pressure was released and she was hauled to her feet, the expected sensation of a gun barrel against her head quite absent.

"Oh Qonn, Skyler, I'm so sorry, I thought you were the one who caused the explosion."

Abruptly she was facing Chloe, and three things immediately came to her notice: The Xiscapian was completely naked, she was holding an assault rifle, and her face was beet-red. Skyler blinked slowly, trying to put it all into context. "That's...okay," she said distantly, staring in spite of herself. Qonn she's beautiful, but the way she acts it's like she doesn't know it...I guess that's why I never really noticed before. And those scars, I've never seen them before, it's kind of sad that she hides them, they just enhance her beauty-

"I'll...uh...I'll go and get some clothes on."

"Er, yeah," Skyler nodded vigorously, seeing Tara leaning out of a doorway down the hall. The mercenary raised an eyebrow at the younger one and Tara winked and stuck her tongue out, nodding. Skyler smiled and shook her head, watching Chloe walk back to the bedroom. "Better hurry," she called, "Kartosh blew away some sniper out there who we think was gunning for you, and we've got no transport now."

Tara hugged Chloe as she walked in. "Nice try," she said softly, smiling up at her, "maybe next time you're target will actually be hostile!"

"Hmm..." Nathan licked his lolly before speaking again, "Somehow I don't think the Car Salesmen of Ferra will be very open after I borrowed the last one." He stopped for a minute, calmly ignoring the curious looks from his Collegue, before glancing over and finally noticing his Friend's look,
"It's a long story that I couldn't be bothered telling now. Needless to say it involved four fire extinguishers, a hot air balloon and a greased pig..." Nathan left it at that, licking his lollypop easily, looking up at the sky.

Shack

Chloe emerged moments later dressed in her normal clothes, equipment hanging haphazardly from her belt, blush still as strong as ever. She could feel Skyler's eyes on her after they had stood and, though it had been so deeply embarressing, she had been a little bit flattered by the Kitsune's attention, her hunger...it helped her to feel like something.

"I did a good job..." She murmured to Tara as she left the shack, "...just did it to the wrong person." She smiled and opened the door, smile slipping to an expression of total shock,
"Kartosh...what the hell happened to the car!?" She demanded loudly, almost dropping to her knees in shock and anger.

"Uh..." Kartosh looked from the car to Nathan, and then back to the wreck. "Yeah. Right...whatever you're on, what is it and where can I get some?"

"I did a good job...just did it to the wrong person."

"Oh, I'd say you did a good job to the exact right person," Tara glanced over her shoulder at Skyler, who was walking mechanically, eyes firmly looking anywhere but Chloe.

"Kartosh...what the hell happened to the car!?"

"Told you we don't have a vehicle," Skyler whispered to Chloe.

The male Xiscapian jumped back from the jalopy guiltily, as though caught doing something he shouldn't have been. "It wasn't me!" He held up his hands defensively. "Honestly, you've seen me drive, you should know that if I was behind the wheel we wouldn't have made it all the way here!"

Chloe looked from Kartosh to the car and back to Kartosh before her vulpine eyes settled on Nathan, who was looking everywhere but the Kitsune, who's embarressment was being replaced by rising anger...

"You!!" She shouted at Nathan, storming up to the Alversian and kicking him, quickly and firmly in the nuts, Nathan dropping to the ground with a gasp as Chloe stood over him angrily,
"You stupid, pigheaded, braindead, mind numbingly idiot, short-sighted moron!!" She shouted at him, "Honest to Qonn, it's almost like you did that on purpose! You knew we were on the last straw with this damned car and you bloody wrecked it! Honest to Qonn, You knew after the Pig thing that we can't..." She shook her head in anger before turning to Kartosh, drawing in breath in fury, before giving up and turning back to Skyler, still looking cute despite her anger,
"You have a new means of transport?" She asked rather snappily.

Kartosh, Skyler and Tara winced collectively as Nathan took the hit in the gonads, watching Chloe berat the man for his carelessness. None of them had expected such a violet reaction, normally Chloe was docile, almost sweet, and put up well with her male partner's antics. When she turned on Kartosh he automatically shifted so he was standing sideways, minimizing his groin as a target for her foot, backing up a bit. "Whoa, take a chill pill girl..." He trailed off as she turned back around again, and set about helping Nathan to his feet and inquiring as to the condition of his family jewels.

"You have a new means of transport?"

Skyler raised two deep sea blue eyebrows. "Excuse me?" She said softly, eyes narrowed, lips set thinly together in displeasure at being spoken to in such a tone. "It wasn't me or my partner who destroyed our car here, okay? I'm sure we can take the Star Snake or the Elixer of Life, cloaked, to get within walking distance of the President's hideout. Just cool off a bit," she looked down at the groaning Nathan, "you might that ball-busting rampage later on."

Tara just smiled to herself, looking at Chloe's face where it was lit by the fires on the roof. Mmm, angry sex.

"Well..." Nathan wheezed as he stood up, smiling in satisfaction at something that the others could not see, "...where I defenceless, then the silverware would have taken quite a dent and detracted from their value if..." Nathan rumaged for a moment before his hand triumphantly emerged from the front of his trousers with what was unmistakeably a cup,
"ta-daaa!" He laughed, "This isn't the first time my Beloved Partner has lost her rag." He whispered to the male Kitsune beside him.

"Just cool off a bit,"

Chloe took a deep breath and a deep sigh, eyes closed,
"I'm sorry," She said finally, "I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm just annoyed at this...that's another Contact we've lost on this planet." She signed forlornly, her voice full of regret for losing her temper with the Kitsune. Her anger had melted away to reveal a gaunt face, full of exhaustion, sorrow and stress, a combination of factors resulting in Chloe suddenly seeming much, much older than she was.

"Of course we can take the Elixir or the Snake." She seemed distant, a little upset, "Let's go and stock up." She said without making eye contact with any of the others. Her ears were drooped and her tail limp, head bowed in shame.

Kartosh laughed and grinned, nodding in approval at Nathan's words. "I like mine spiked," he joked. "Put a nice big hole in their boot to remember you by."

"Let's go and stock up."

Skyler looked at the other kitsune curiously. "Okay..." She trailed off, turning around to walk down the street. The makeshift hanger where they kept the two Black Raider class ships weren't far from the shack.

Tara slid up beside Chloe before stepping around in front of her and looking up at the Xiscapian's face. "What's wrong?" Her orange eyes searched hers. "Not having another attack of memories, are you?"

"I don't want to put a hole through my Partner's foot!" Nathan seemed shocked, "She might kick me somewhere that isn't protected! Me brain for instance!" He smiled, however, it dropped as he watched Chloe slink off.

"Hm?" Chloe looked up at Tara, revealing the tears in her eyes, "No...no...I'm just...I shouldn't have lost my temper with you all...I...I dunno what I was doing." She stopped speaking for a moment, "...I just snapped like that...I saw nothing wrong with it until afterwards...Qonn, I'm so embarressed..."
She sighed deeply, dragging her eyes from the Kitsune, Skyler's face filling her inner eye, a shocked mixture of disapproval and anger filling her very being. They had done nothing wrong, but she had snapped at them anyway, like she was in command...who the hell did she think she was?...no leader anyway...and after Kartosh and Skyler had been so kind to her...some friend she turned out to be...and Nathan...she could have caused him serious damage...after all he had done for her, all the sacrifices he had made...Qonn, she hated herself so much...
Chloe's fragile emotions were suffering another setback, her confidence rocked hard. She felt angry again, but not at anyone but herself...she wanted to punch herself...to hurt herself in punishment...to curse and spit at herself until hell itself froze over...selfish Whore...She wasn't fit for civilised society anymore...

"Huh," Kartosh grunted. "True. Maybe you should just stick with armored plating."

"...I just snapped like that...I saw nothing wrong with it until afterwards...Qonn, I'm so embarressed..."

Tara reached out and hugged Chloe, this time not of lust but in compassion. "Don't worry about it," she stepped back and smiled cheerfully at her. "Skyler's got a thick hide, I mean, she lives with Kartosh for Qonn's sake. If it means that much you can go apologize, but I know she won't hold it against you."

They had reached a warehouse now, dirty with the windows fogged where they weren't broken and the sheet metal rusted with things growing in the cracks, like hundreds of such buildings in the capital alone. Skyler and the others entered though a side door painted with faded blue into the massive, six-story holding area only dimly lit by flickering lights high above in the ceiling. These illuminated stacks of boxes, some dozens of meters high, holding Qonn-knew-what along with crates, barrels and just about every other kind of container imaginable. A thin layer of dust lay over everything: Whoever owned the building and the goods inside obviously didn't care about them much. Skyler was proceeding up one of the irregular aisles when she stopped abruptly, freezing in place, one hand held up by her head.

The others stopped some distance behind her, watching. A few slight flicks of the tail which Kartosh and Tara interpreted for Nathan and Chloe, who would probably not be savvy in Xiscapian tail-speak: Chloe had been taken so young, and been away from her own people for so long, that it was entirely possible she had forgotten what she learned, and in Nathan's case it was impossible for most non-kitsune to understand the simple, silent but subtle language. Trail...on ground. Danger. Take cover. Enemies. It was so: There was a clear patch down the middle of the walkway where the dust had been distrubed and cleared by the passage of feet. Kartosh unlimbered his Repeater and knelt behind a box, hardly breathing, ears perked as he listened. Skyler pushed her back against the side of a particularly large crate and peeked out, trying to discern packing containers and shadows from what might be the forms of hostiles.

Tara tapped Skyler on the shoulder, gesturing to one of the boxes and mouthing the words. Get me up. Height advantage. Sticking the barrel of her pistol into the waistband of her pants with the grip protruding, she grabbed the edge of the surface. Skyler got under her and, lifting by the legs and pushing against her butt, levered Tara onto the crate. The young mercenary agily clambered onto another, higher vantage point, movements limber and quiet. Soon she was just a flitting shape lost in the darkness, gaining altitude to try and locate the positions on their would-be ambushers.

Chloe had indeed forgotten most of the Kitsune tail language, finding no use for the few phrases she had learned in Grabba's Fortress and similarly, finding few Kitsune to practise with on her travels around the Universe. She sighed and lifted her pistol from her belt, seeing Nathan do the same with his larger, much more powerful version. Hers was designed for concealment and stealth. Nathan's was designed to blow holes in solid concrete and, by Qonn, was it good at that. Like the others, Chloe kept ears and eyes peeled, heightened senses alert, barely a breath from any Mercenary as they waited for their Attackers to show themselves.

Chloe sighed, dust from the crates settling on her prone form...another setback.

Nathan was trying not to breath too deeply, in case he was suddenly overpowered by a sneeze.

Gradually they would become aware of footsteps near their position, soft and hesitant: Whoever was waiting for them was aware of their presence, if not exact location. As Chloe's eyes adjusted to the gloom she would see that a man (http://www.aula68.dsl.pipex.com/images/gallery1/Trooper010_sml.jpg) carrying an assault rifle had stopped almost right next to her and seemed to be scanning the area, breathing shallowly, gun held out cautiously before him. At any moment he could turn and see her lying on the ground parallel to him, and then he would either kill her or alert the others and it would be all over. Ahead, near Kartosh, she could see one of the soldiers advancing slowly up the aisle to meet with the one by Chloe, his path would take him directly next to the kitsune. Evidently the grizzled mercenary realized this, he had a knife in hand and had it drawn back, ready for the human to come into view. There wasn't any soldiers near Nathan or Skyler, and Tara was nowhere to be seen.

Chloe held her breath as she saw the human standing beside her, assualt rifle at the ready, in case of someone wandering about the darkening building that was not meant to be there. Chloe, for a moment, feared for the Elixir then breathed a sigh of relief as she realised that Katie would have slammed the ship shut against any invaders who might have chanced her luck. A second relief was that she had not slammed the Mercenary ship into life and tried to gun down everyone in the warehouse. A little rash, the AI could be.

Chloe slid a knife from the sheath on her belt and slowly rose behind the Human, careful not to even scuff her boots against the stone floor. He didn't even turn around, sensing that the area was clear. She quickly slipped one hand over his mouth and the other stabbed deep into his back, feeling it slide past bone, muscle and settling in the nervous system, where she keep it for a moment, feeling the blood welling up in the wound, feeling his death sigh against her palm, going limp in her arms. She gently lowered him to the ground, knowing the other Soldier could not see what had happened in the dust filled gloom. She nodded in Kartosh's direction, not knowing if he could see it, that the way was clear for him to kill without consequence.

Kartosh's own slash was quick and true, a cut across the throat of the unwary man that betrayed no sound as his vocal cords were destroyed. He dropped with a spray of blood, Kartosh catching his rifle in midair before it could clatter nosily to the floor, or worse, fire upon striking the ground. The soldier spasmed for a moment and lay still, blood pooling around his head, leaving a maroon streak as Kartosh pulled his corpse into the shadows. He looked up at Chloe and mouthed something she couldn't read from his lips, eyebrows raised, when a blaster shot rang out, a flash of crimson further into the heart of the warehouse. There came a short, bitten-off cry after it and the chatter of an automatic weapon, alerting everyone in the area as to where at least one mercenary and soldier were duking it out.

Kartosh hefted his Repeater, not bothering with stealth any longer, and stepped out into the pathway, looking it up and down before motioning to Chloe. "C'mon," he growled, "we've gotta get to the ships, that's where the others will be headed."

Skyler saw a man run past her, rifle up and head swiveling, intent on getting closer to where the obvious fighting was. She lunged out at him, the span of time she had him in view was too short to get off an accurate blaster shot, swinging the butt of her weapon at his head. Normally he probably would have seen her out of the corner of his eye and maybe have had time to twist away or at least prepare to absorb the blow, but his helmet restricted his vision and he never saw her coming. The hit staggered him, but the same headgear that made him vulnerable to the attack also saved him from being thrown or knocked cold, the man stumbling into a box surprised but unhurt but for a bruise. He began to turn, but a well-placed kick knocked his gun from his hands, leaving her at a distance of barely a meter from him. She raised her own weapon but he obviously had training of his own; a quick sweep from below nearly brought her legs out from under her, catching her off-balance and forcing her back. He dove for his rifle and squeezed off a round, drilling into her right leg just above the ankle. She grimaced and snarled, blood leaking from the wound as she fell back against a crate, lifting her blaster and firing at a range of less than two feet. The shot hit the man directly on his head; at that point-blank range, even his battle armor couldn't save him. There was the smell of cooked flesh and burned hair and he toppled over, dead, leaving her holding onto the box for support, trying to keep her weight off her injured leg, blaster dangling from her fingers as she tried to combat the pain.
Why me, Qonndamnit?!

Chloe nodded and pulled her pistol from her belt, staying silent, for the air of the warehouse was also filled with a dust that permeated the very air around it, nullifying even the Kitsunes' advantagem in night vision. Chloe noted here that it would be those who could stay the most silent who would be in their element here, the ones who could keep their breathing under control, to ignore their rapidly beating hearts and to ignore their eyes, which misled them and lured them from their concentration with flashes of light, every one of which was a gunscope pointing directly at the individual's head. Chloe always hated this kind of sneaking around. Every shadow contained an enemy, every scuffle was a soldier following her every step waiting to ram a bayonet deep into her back, something she knew and feared would hurt immensely. However, she continued on behind Kartosh, thinking of her partner. She had just mentioned what was needed to survive...Nathan was none of those. So that could only mean...

Gunshots.

"That'll teach you to sneak up on me, you big dumb Bastard!" Nathan called throughout the entire warehouse, earning the rattle of machine gun fire as a reward. Splintered wood was flying all around Chloe as she fired her dual pistols at a darkened figure she could see behind her at the end of the corridor. She thought she saw him fall. She couldn't be sure, scrambling towards the ships.

As Skyler leant on the crate, trying to keep herself steady, pistol forgotten as she tried to block out the pain from her wounded ankle, she would see two Soldiers looming out of the darkness, weapons raised. They were getting ready to cut her down, to finally gain a victory against these five mercenaries who had caused so much trouble. Just as they were about to fire, two shots rang out from behind her, each hitting the Soldier in the chest and sending both back against the crates before slumping to the ground.

The being who had saved Skyler turned out to be a tall creature, well over seven feet in height, with one bright green eye and one paler sightless eye, one cat ear shredded beyond recognition. It was an Alumina. Specifically, it was the Dacius, the Contact who had aided the Mercs on their last visit to Ferra. She held a sleek pistol in one hand and was scanning the area cautiously, long double blade draped across her back. Her eyes settled on the Kitsune's wounds and, without a word, she kneeled beside it, gently touching it with long finger before taking something from her combat belt and rubbing it into the wound, almost instantly reducing the pain to a gentle throbbing, no worse than a cut to the finger,
"Does that help?" She asked, keeping her eyes on the wound, her voice surprisingly gentle.

"Yeah..." Skyler winced, putting her foot down to test how much weight she could put on it. It was still a little wobbly, obviously whatever Dacius had given her had been a painkiller and couldn't fully heal the wound, but what had been a nearly crippling sensation before had now been reduced to a dull ache, barely noticeable. She leaned into the Alumina, as though to relieve the pressure, and Dacius would feel the cold metal of a blaster butt resting on her head, shortly followed by the familiar whine and stench of ozone as it fired. The kitsune ignored her jolt of surprise, stepping back and nodding to where one of the men had fallen back onto the floor. "Body armor," she explained quietly, "from range the heat sinks dissipate the blast enough to allow them to survive." She staggered slightly, breathing though gritted teeth, and gestured to the Alumina. "I don't know why you're here, but we've gotta get to the ships, they're further back in the hanger."

Tara dropped to a cleared-out space beside the Elixir of Life, landing on the head and shoulders of one of the soldiers, grappling like a child on a parent's piggyback ride. The trooper flailed, grunting and shouting as he tried to dislodge her while she wrenched at his helmet, turning it this way and that and keeping him off balance. Finally the man crashed to the floor and she put an elbow into his throat, leaving the Ferran gasping. She tore his helmet away and a second blow to the temple put him out for good.

"Hey!"

She turned, seeing another of the enemy pointing his rifle at her, having come from the mouth of the pathway opposite. She dove under the Black Raider class starship as he opened up, rounds deflecting and ricocheting off the tough armor, safe for the moment under it's bulk. He started forward and there was a waow-waow-waow noise behind him, the signature noise of a Heavy Repeater firing on fully automatic. He jerked and spasmed as the bolts stitched a path from the base of his neck down to his lower back, blood splattering, before he fell face-first onto the floor. Kartosh appeared, the barrel of his weapon emitting oily black smoke, shortly followed by Chloe, looking around the area. "Where's Skyler and Nathan?" He demanded as Chloe helped Tara out from under the Elixir.

The Alumina did indeed start as the blaster was fired, her face suddenly illuminated with the deep, long lines of stress and anxiety that she seemed to be under. She nodded in understanding for the save, knowing that had the Kitsune not fired there for her, then Dacius would now be dead. She looked Skyler in the eyes and nodded,
"Thank you," She said, somewhat awkwardly, "Let's head to the ships." She wrapped one arm under Skyler's shoulder, stooping slighty to support the smaller Being, while holding her pistol ready in the other hand, ready to cut down anyone else who dared show their faces.

Chloe shook her head, panting heavily from running all the way through the warehouse. She had been lucky, not meeting any more of the Soldiers who seemed to have invaded the building which they supposed had been safe. However, it seemed her Partner had not been so lucky, with the loud roars of the auto-shotgun getting closer and closer as he retreated to the ships,
"You coke-snorting, armour-wearing, short arsed, long haired Pricks!" Nathan called backwards he ran to the ships, reaching them at the same time as Dacius and Skyler,
"Hey Dac, nice to see you joined us."

"Let's go!" She ignored him for the moment and instead led Skyler up into the belly of the Star Snake along with Nathan, Kartosh and Chloe ducking into the Elixir, which took off almost immediately, a very relieved Katie in command,
"What happened?" She asked in an excited voice, "These men came and I wanted to shoot them but I didn't know where you were so I didn't risk it and..." She stopped, like a sentient would stop for breath, looking at Kartosh,
"Nathan has changed a bit somewhat, or this your new Conquest Chloe?" She giggled.

On the Star Snake Nathan was looking from the Alumina to the Kitsune, watching as one treated the other,
"Uhh...how did you get in here?"

"I'll explain in a moment," Dacius said without anger in her voice, working on Skyler's wound, slowly sealing it up with some strange device, "damned things are so crude," She sighed forlornly before looking into Skyler's eyes again,
"I hope this is enough," She said calmly, "It's all I can do with the equipment and my...condition." She hesitated, but it was clear that her hands were trembling, long scars on her hand and a dip that indicated where something sharp had been dug deep through her hands.

Warehouse...

As the two ships blasted away into the sky three soldiers watched them go from outside the building, rifles at their sides, silently cursing the results of the failed ambush. As the President's secret police they were little more than hitmen with body armor, but they were the biggest, baddest and best equipped thugs you could find on Ferra. They had rarely missed achieving their objective before, most of the populace lived in fear of them and those who resisted were gunned down or forced off-planet. The President used them liberally and without prejudice, against dissidents in the Army and especially in the Navy, against those who refused or were unable to pay the exorbitant taxation the government forced upon them, and against dangerous foreigners like the six who had just escaped into the atmosphere. Now they reported back to their commander in the Presidential bunker.

"Talon Group, what's your status?"

The second-in-commander shifted uneasily. The leader of the assault squad had been killed by some fool with a shotgun, and that left him in charge...of the other two survivors.

"Uhh...we've got nine casualties, sir, pretty sure they're fatalities-"

"What about the interlopers?" The voice demanded.

"They, er, escaped, sir."

"What? Didn't you manage to get at least one of them?"

"No...no sir, I don't believe so."

Silence on the other end. Finally the commander spoke, voice so low it was almost drowned out by the sound of sirens as Ferran official police, firefighting and paramedical response vehicles came to the shack and the warehouse hanger, belated by several minutes when the President had ordered no response to any calls in the area until the order was lifted. "Find them, lieutenant. The President doesn't know those private contractors are still on the loose, and if we play this right, he'll never have to. Capture them, blow them out of the sky, shoot them, run them over, I don't care what you do, just eliminate the threat!"

There was a click and the commander was gone. Visibly relaxing the lieutenant contacted the support arm of the secret police.

"Logistics."

"Authorization code 884192, scramble fighters, we've got two runners in the atmosphere, it doesn't look like they're armed-"

"Sir, all interceptors have been grounded until further notice per orders from the President."

The lieutenant swore. "Alright, get me aerial scans of sector eleven-"

"You don't have a high enough security clearance for that, sir."

The Ferran felt his eye twitching uncontrollably. "And how would I get it?" he asked acidly.

"As I understand it, sir, routing a request though the War department officials with a good enough reason will grant you access."

The lieutenant knew exactly what that meant: Pay enough cash and you could get anywhere...but he didn't have that kind of money.

"For fuck's sake, women, we've got two hostiles bumbling around our airspace and you're telling me there's nothing I can do about it?" His voice went unaccountably high pitched at the end of this inquiry.

"A substantial amount of persuasion will get you the support you need, sir-"

The logistics officer could hear the mounting hysteria in the field agent's voice. "I don't have time to that, I need a way to get it without a goddamned bribe-"

"Fill out a request form in triplicate and send them to the War Department, the Budget Analysis Department and the Law Enforcement Department-"

A scream of frustration cut off by the dial tone was the last thing she heard from the lieutenant.

Elixir of Life...

"Nathan has changed a bit somewhat, or this your new Conquest Chloe?"

Kartosh stood up from where he'd fallen on the deck, full of mock righteous indignation. "What Katie, you don't recognize me? I'm hurt, right in the heart," he put on his chest, grimacing in fake agony, "I'm Kartosh, the most successful fucking mercenary in the galaxy!"

"What, the Kartosh?" Tara asked from her position near the co-pilot's seat, playing along.

"No dear, a Kartosh, I come in six packs now." He winked.

Tara looked over at Katie. "Got it switched around a bit, Chloe's my new conquest," she grinned, exposing a row of white, perfectly spaced sharp teeth. She put her hands on Chloe's shoulders, resting her chin on her head, staring out the cockpit window ahead. "Aren't you, luv?"

Star Snake...

"Uhh...how did you get in here?"

"I might ask you the same question," Skyler said dryly from where she sat at the pilot's seat, pant leg rolled up to expose one long, lithe white leg up to her thigh, maneuvering the Star Snake as the Alumina tended to her wound. "I let her in, you dolt." She was trying to cover her confusion: She'd never heard an Alumina thank anyone for anything, never mind the "inferior" kitsune race for -once again- saving the life of one of their own. It made her uneasy, rather than gratified: What could be so traumatizing that it would change the basic nature of one of these arrogant beings?

Abruptly she found herself staring directly into Dacius's feline eyes.

"I hope this is enough, it's all I can do with the equipment and my...condition."

Skyler was shocked: Every sense was indicating that the Alumina was tender, vulnerable, in pain, lonely, concerned, all traits Skyler had never seen in one of her kind. You could almost be convinced they didn't exist for the cat-like race, but then...

"Yeah," she grunted, "it's good, I think it was just a flesh wound, felt like it missed the bone." She looked down at Dacius's hands. "In the back locker, the one right after weapons storage, they'll be a medkit, why don't you take some stimpacks and hyposprays, they'll heal your scars faster and you'll be in less pain."

Elixir of life

Chloe smiled and pressed her body back against Tara as the blue form of the AI appeared in the centre of the ship, looking over the two female Kitsune with a look of surprise on her face, virtual tail flicking in wonder at the sight before her.
"Wow," She said quietly, "I didn't think you were...lesbian Chloe."

"I didn't know myself until Tara took me under her wing," a sly smile that told the AI all she needed to know. The little AI nodded in understanding, smiling herself now.

She turned to Kartosh and looked over him seriously, taking in every detail of his body before shaking her head forlornly,
"...nope...doesn't ring a bell...sorry...Karton, I don't know who you are." She grinned, poking her tongue at him to tell she was joking, closing in and hugging him affectionately,
"Hi Kartosh, it's been too long. You too Tara."

"Well, now that our cover has been blown somewhat, where shall I set down next? Unless you want me blown to into next week in your assualt." She smiled happily, as if such a thought was amusing.

Star Snake

"They'll heal your scars faster and you'll be in less pain."

The Alumina offered a sad, sad smile and shook her head forlornly, lifting a hand to show where the metal had torn through her fur and flesh and bone and where it had been healed over badly, so badly that it had barely healed at all, accompanying her lone dull eye and her shredded ear, barely visable were the long scars beneath her fur, faded with time but the agony they must have been fresh was still evident.

"N...no, thank you." She said quietly, no longer looking the Kitsune in the eye, "Unless your stimpaks can cure wounds of the mind then...then...I don't want to waste your resources." She finished with the wound and put her finger to it again, touching the healed skin gently,
"As long as you don't stretch it a bit, then you should be okay...does it still hurt?" She asked hesitantly, still not looking up, one ear and one stump twitching.

Elixir of Life...

"Well, now that our cover has been blown somewhat, where shall I set down next? Unless you want me blown to into next week in your assualt."

"'S a good question," Kartosh leaned against a bulkhead, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "They'll be looking for us now, I mean," he rolled his eyes, "more than they were already, so we can't stay in the air very long. You should probably just set us down in the forest ten kilometers or so from the hideout, and we'll go in on foot: Any further out and we won't be able to make it in good time, and any closer and we run the risk of being detected."

Star Snake...

Skyler shook her head at the feline's negative response, still focused on piloting the ship. "Don't be a fool, if you're going to help us we need you in your best condition."

"As long as you don't stretch it a bit, then you should be okay...does it still hurt?"

Skyler turned from the controls, putting them on autopilot, and gazed at Dacius for a moment longer before answering. "I can't promise I won't stretch it, but the pain's nothing I can't handle." She slowly reached out a hand and tentatively touched the tattered remains of one of the Alumina's ears. "Why did you help us, anyway?" She asked quietly. "How did you track us down? How did you get here?"

Elixir

"Sure thing," Katie beamed happily and vanished into thin air. However, as she did so, the vessel twisted abruptly in the air, streaking towards the forests and rooftop level, jinking in and around and between the taller buildings which passed by as mere blurs, the Elixir moving faster than any organic being could hope to cope with. Chloe was gripping her seat, cheeks paled considerably,
"Katie, I've warned you about this before, this is not funny!" She barked at the cabin. It was several more minutes of death defying stunts before the Mercenary vessel finally pulled up into the air and away from the many brittle and expensive buildings.
"Some people are no fun." Katie's voice huffed from no real source.

Star Snake

Dacius shied away for a split second, as if afraid letting Skyler touch her wound. But she came forward hesitantly and allowed the Kitsune to feel where it had been torn clean off. She said nothing for a couple of minutes before she spoke,
"When you fight in the Defence Forces," She spoke quietly, even though Nathan had retreated to another part of the ship to look for something,
"You have to get used to a lot of things you shouldn't get used to. You have to learn to hate a Race, hate it so passionately that you will die willingly to cause suffering upon them. That was easy for some, especially those who'd lost their only family fighting with this enemy. Their Mothers heading off for war one day and simply never coming home. You cry yourself to sleep during the night, dreaming of her face and trying to imagine all the times you would have shared together had she not been taken from you.

You must get used to killing...killing and killing and killing until it becomes just another boring part of the daily routine. You have have to learn to treat the new people like outcasts, because only if their lives are harsh in peace, will they adapt to harshness in war. You must learn to restrain all emotions, even the ones you were previously allowed to show, because that is a weakness to be exploited by our enemies, at the cost of what made you an individual..."

She gave a low sigh and it was clear from her trembling hand and the pain in her eyes, that she was finding it difficult to speak,
"but the worst thing you must learn is that you, as a person, mean nothing to the Defence Forces. Nothing. They would think nothing of sacrificing you to achieve a greater good, nor will they honour you once you have made that sacrifice." She sounded quite bitter, "one must not rescue a comrade left behind, because it is an ineffecient use of resources. We understand that, it is in our blood to be as effecient as possible. We Officers used to laugh at the idea of a thousand Alversians dieing to save one who had been captured. 'What an ineffecient way to fight a war' we chuckled. But I will tell you, when you're the one sitting in the cold cell, the pangs of hunger gripping your stomach, the fear making you shake worse than any chill could ever hope to do so, the pain from your daily questionning dully aching all the time, you stop laughing. You start to feel lonely. You start to understand."

Still, the Alumina had not looked up,

"Knowing that there is no rescue coming leaves no room for hope, only dispair. Soon you start to wish every morning that death would take you from this hell, to spare you another day of what they want to do with you. Being on your own with them, knowing what they want to do is...frightening...and soon you find yourself alone at night, the tears flowing again, praying for help, praying for mercy, calling for friends or family who are deaf to your pleas. One can only take so much before they must submit. Your mind screams for you to resist, that these people killed your mother and robbed you of a childhood but you can't...your stomach hurts too much, you're too weak and they just won't stop coming for you.

It is not a crime, it is our nature...you may not tell them any secrets but you stop fighting when they enter your cell, you bow to who you're told to bow to. You do what they tell you to do..." A shiver ran through her body and tears were springing up in her eyes, "...anything to get a few more scraps a day, to stave off the iron spikes for another day. Then when you are rescued, you return home, hoping that you will recieve a heroes welcome, like the Alversians or the Xiscapians treat their Wounded and POWs, you don't hope to be crudely fixed up and be virtually exiled from your own people, a sign of failure, the being who not only allowed herself to be captured, but submitted like a common pet to the hated enemy, they send you to some place that is irrelevant to the war effort and never keep contact with you or take much interest in your reports.

So you sit alone on a strange planet, looking up at the stars and wondering why does your own Defence Force treat it's soldiers like criminals, punishing them for things they couldn't avoid doing, because you had no choice, because you were frightened and starving. You have no one to talk to, no one to even acknowledge your life anymore and you start feeling so desperately lonely, the despair creeps back and tears start flowing again. You see yourself in the mirror and you wonder what was it all for? Why did you deserve to be thrown from your own people because you were not a god. Sometimes you wish they had just killed you when they found you and spared you this wasting life...but you see others in trouble, others who need your help and who can understand your pain without scorning your actions. That was it...you can feel worthwhile again."

The Alumina finished, no longer speaking, only looking to the ground as a solitary tear ran down her furry cheek and dropped to the floor of the ship. She was trembling through from her wounds or something else, it was hard to tell. However, she looked the Kitsune in the eye, the glass-like layer over her eyes highlighting her tears as she spoke,
"...at a point, everyone will need a little help in their life because they are hurt. No matter how they speak to you, no matter what they have done to you in the past, they are still flesh and bone and they can still hurt as easily as you...even a Feline..." She stopped again and remained in silence.

Elixir of Life...

Despite Chloe's words Kartosh was laughing like a maniac the whole time, enjoying the intoxication of speed and the thrill of being a breath away from instant, fiery destruction as they raced though the capital.

"Some people are no fun."

"I agree," Kartosh nodded and chuckled at Chloe's pale face. "That was some pretty hotshot piloting, Katie. I take it you do most of the flying around this outfit?"

Star Snake...

Skyler didn't say anything, she just stood from her seat so she was level with the kneeling Alumina and embraced her tightly, one hand wiping away her tears from her cheek, her other scratching Dacius slowly behind the ears. "I know how you feel," she whispered. "I've been there before. You're not alone, and you are a worthwhile person, no matter what they say." She removed her hand from the alien's furry face and patted her on the back, feeling her long spine under her shirt. "Just relax now, just let it out..."

Elixir of Life

"Nathan likes to think he does it," Katie's voice came about again, sounding quite pleased with herself, "He thinks he's the best pilot but I do all the really cool stuff like you just saw." A giggle from the Kitsune AI, "I would do more but Chloe's a spoilsport who wants me to fly like a good little Kit taking her test, isn't that right Madam?"

"I..." Chloe was still as white as a sheet, gripping the chair hard, gulping hard before answering, "...I...don't do that...please." She sighed again, "I don't handle rough flying too much." She sighed, "Set down about ten kilometers or so from the Bunker, and try to keep yourself hidden."

"You know me Chloe-san."

"That's my concern."

Star Snake

The Alumina recoiled slightly from Skyler's touch, as if afraid to allow the Kitsune to get close to her. But the emotion was too much and she wrapped her arms around the Mercenary, tears running down her damp cheeks, unable to stop herself purring as the fingers rubbed in behind her ears, the sound coming from deep in her throat. She blushed slightly at the admission of pleasure but she sighed deeply at the same time,
"I don't regret killing, because they deserved it and I was protecting my people...but why was I cast out? All I did was try to survive...there's nothing wrong with that is there?" She asked uncertainly, looking at into the Female's vulpine eyes,
"Is it wrong to do anything to survive? When you're cold, and hungry and frightened and no one is coming to help you...is it wrong to submit?" She stopped, looking away in shame.

Elixir of Life...

Tara giggled and shook her head, patting Chloe on the shoulder. "You're silly, Katie, scaring Chloe like that! You outta to be ashamed!" Despite her words Tara's tone was teasing and playful.

Kartosh laughed loudly. "What, Tara, you're hitting on the A.I. now? Will you ever stop, or are you just determined to fuck everything that moves?"

Tara sighed and rested her chin on Chloe's head again, thrusting her rear out just a tad, tail curling in on itself, smelling Chloe's hair and feeling the rapid beating of her heart. "More likely everything that moves would like to have sex with me," she noted, smiling coyly.

Star Snake...

"Of course not," Skyler shook her head and sat back on her haunches, tail wrapping itself around her right ankle. "Sooner or later, long before you can go insane, the torture will break you, you'll say or do anything just to make the pain stop." She grimaced as she recollected. "I know it better than most, so..." She shook her head again. "You have nothing to be ashamed of; it's your own people who should be ashamed of themselves, if they will not honor your sacrifice then they do not deserve it."

Elixir of Life

Chloe chortled while Katie giggled in delight at the praise that was offered from the Kitsune,
"If I were an organic being, Miss Tara, then I can assure you that I would certainly want to bed you, but it seems that Chloe has that all under control." Another giggle.

Chloe felt Tara on her shoulder and wrapped her arm around her waist, tail also wrapping itself around the younger Kitsune's waist,
"Am I not enough for you?" She pouted mockingly, pressing against the Mercenary's form, licking her lips seductively, "Perhaps I need to disprove that statement..."

"Yay!" Katie's voice sounded, delighted, "Romp in the boat! I'll knock out Kartosh!"

Star Snake

"Yal veja pi saa namjeja, ep hian kip veja pi yal." The Alumina said quietly to herself, then glanced up and saw the confused expression on Skyler's face, prompting an uncertain smile of her own,
"It's an old Alumina saying, 'you give all to the service, it does not give to you.' It seems that it is more correct more than any time prior to this." She sighed sadly, the shame still visible across her face,
"You said you know about such acts...where you...captured?" She asked hesitantly.

Elixir of Life...

"Perhaps I need to disprove that statement..."

"Sorry dear," Tara leaned heavily against the seat, nibbling on the very tip Chloe's ear, "you know I don't preform well in front of company."

"Hey, I want no part in your orgy," Kartosh backed away a step and put up his fists in a mock boxing stance. "But you can't take me Katie, I am highly trained in over a dozen forms of martial arts-" He twisted suddenly towards a locker. "HI-YAH!" He brought his hand down in a scything motion and rebounded off the metal surface, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "C'mon, put up your dukes!"

Star Snake...

Skyler looked away for a moment, looking up at the bulkhead, before finally staring back down at Dacius, eyes misting over, speaking in monotone. "I was training to be an instructor in unarmed combat at a fighting dojo but I had to drop out, and I found a corporation that employs private contractors so I signed up. They put me onboard a cargo ship running supplies out to our troops on one of the moons and we were caught right in the middle of a Korr counterattack. The ship went down and all the kitsune around me either bought it on impact or got captured by Supremacy troops. The Korr took over the base and brought me in along with some of our boys in gray in for interrogation.

"I think the only reason I survived is because I was low-priority: They'd gotten an officer and some of his guys, so in comparison a mercenary wasn't very important, so they saved me for last, after the others had died or killed themselves. It had been a few days but they'd been keeping me alive alright, when they finally came for me I thought I was done for. They had all sorts of devices, blades, hammers, electric shock equipment, gags and chains and..." She stopped for a moment, shaking her head.

"They didn't get very far, thank Qonn: All they got outta me was my name and what I was doing before that idiot Kartosh," she smiled fondly, "literally crashed though the roof. The whole building started collapsing and my torturers and guards got brained or buried by the falling debris, so I was able to escape and find him. He was holding off a whole squad with nothing more than his pistol, a sword and an unholy stock of obscenities, when I got there we fought are way out and escaped in a patrol ship." She sighed. "He helped me out and we've been partners even since."

Elixir of Life

Chloe purred at the younger Kitsune's actions pressing her form against her beore reaching upwards and kissing Tara on the lips. Everytime she locked lips with her it felt like Chloe's whole world had lit up and she was never happier when in the Kitsune's presence. For now though, she had to contend herself with more simple gestures and performed one now, standing and facing the Mercenary. She rubbed their cheeks togather, sighing in pleasure at the sensation it gave her.

Meanwhile, Katie giggled at Kartosh's attempts to resist her and within a moment, Kartosh was enclosed in a forcefield. It was too narrow for him to even turn around in, the energy pressing against his body,
"Ha ha," The AI said triumphantly, "I win. I want my prize now!" She giggled.

Star Snake

Dacia nodded as Skyler finished her tale,
"Companionship...you were very lucky." She said softly. If Skyler were sharp enough, she would be able to detect the slightest hint of envy in the Alumina's voice. She had not been so lucky. However, there was also curiousity,
"The Korr...we never met the Korr...nothing substantial anyway...what were they like?" She asked quietly, uncertainly, not sure if she was stepping over a boundary. If the Korr/Kitsune relationship was anything like the Danaversian/Aluminan relationship, then it would be a highly sensitive subject...but then the Alumina had never been ones for senstivity.

Elixir of Life...

Tara's tail wrapped itself around Chloe's, intertwining slowly as they pressed flesh together, enjoying the sensation of their hot skin touching. One hand started at the base of her neck, fondling and massaging slowly down her back, over her tail and onto her bottom, relaxing the muscles and releasing tension and fatigue from her worn body.

"Not....fair..." Kartosh muttered, sandwiched between the force fields. "C'mon, fight like ah...a...whatever you are. You know," he fidgeted, "this is actually really uncomfortable. Okay, fine, you win, now lemme out!"


Star Snake...

Skyler shrugged nonchalantly. "Big, strong, not that bright...well," she smiled without humor, "they're a lot smarter than they let on, don't let their mangled Galactic Common fool you. They're like the Danaversians in a lot of ways, but some of the Korr actually have some honor...and tactical sense," she noted dryly. "They're really not someone you want to fight, individually they're as tall as you are but a whole lot more powerful, durable and have an extreme amount of stamina, and as a race they're persistent, fanatic and brutal. Think of a Korr like a Danaversian, just...more so, in every way."

Elixir of Life

"Mmhmm," Chloe murmured as she felt Tara's hands working their way down the back of her body, tail flicking madly, encased within Tara's own, still rubbing cheeks with the younger Kitsune, hands encasing her rear, ears perking to Kartosh's protests.

"Alright" Katie said gleefully and dropped the forcefield, making sure that he was angled in such a way that he fell straight on the floor,
"Haha, I like fighting," the AI giggled.

Star Snake

"I see..." Dacia nodded, interested, "and you fought them for hundreds of years yes?" She hesitated, "And they committed terrible things to your people...yet, when the war ended, you forgave them and now they live amongst you as equals?" She asked, deep in thought, "I wonder if we could ever learn to work with our old enemies? The Danaversians are bad and they are cruel, but we are no better...and even the Danaversians do not abandon their own to suffer Alumina cruelties." She said bitterly,
"Perhaps we are the greater monsters...the Alumina are more harsh to their own and more cruel to their enemies...we don't even thank our own allies for all their sacrifices." She shook her head,
"Perhaps we should just accept what we deserve." She said quietly.

Elixir of Life...

"Do you like that?" Tara asked, kneading her fingers into Chloe's flesh, working the muscles and pushing her thumbs in to spread soothing relief to her aches and pains. The young one smiled softly, reflecting on how lucky she was: She hadn't exactly gotten the galaxy on a silver platter, but things could've gone a lot worse. She was employed in an exciting, high-paying job that allowed her to dispense justice when she had been so recently helpless, room, board and sex was plentiful and free, she had made a few good friends and met one great lover, the likes of which she had never thought she'd find.
Life was good.

"'S not fighting," Kartosh grumbled as he picked himself up off the deck, "more like...cheatin', is what it is."

Star Snake...

Skyler shrugged. "I dunno, when you're a mercenary you don't think about the grand scheme of things much. I don't think you accept what you deserve: If everyone got what they deserved, the galaxy would be a whole different place. I mean, I can't say there won't be consequences for what either side is doing, I'm sure the Danaversians will reap what they sow and your people, well, it'll catch up to them eventually, but I think people shape their own destinies irregardless. My people, after the war ended, we just kinda sat back and watched the whole Korr civilization self-destruct...those that got out in time to come to us weren't treated so great after all of it, but you really can't stereotype a whole race by what some, or even most of its members do. We recognized that eventually, and they got a new home out of it, I think they're even trying to terraform Korrillia now, change it back to what it used to be. And what did we get?" Skyler chuckled. "A few warships, some great coffee...but we've calmed down a bit." She smiled warmly at Dacius. "I can't say what will happen to your people after this is all over, but they'll see the light eventually."

Privately, Skyler wasn't sure what would happen to the Alumina. Right after the Korr War ended, the Kitsune Empire was in a precarious place: It could lift itself from the ashes of war, and strive to become a new nation, or it could fall deep into the past, and be consumed by it. The legacy of a millennia of warfare made all things uncertain, and it was though the strength of Xiscapia's leaders, the shoulder of the People's Republic to lean on and massive efforts by the government in general that Xiscapia was put onto the right track.

Elixir of Life

Chloe murmured in agreement as she allowed herself to relax under the hands of the experienced Mercenary. She wondered herself where she had found the courage within herself to actually make something this good happen to her. She sheepishly remembered that she had been drunk at the time and that it had been the booze that drew her to the Kitsune. Not that she regreted it at all. In fact, getting drunk that time had been the best thing that had ever happened her. Tara was so sensitive and understanding, as was to be expected, for she had been through what Chloe had been through and she understood what it meant and how much it had hurt the Noble Kitsune. Now she was here, relaxing with her, surrounded by friends, enjoying herself intensely. For the first time in a long time, Chloe could truly put her hand on her heart and say she was happy.

Katie giggled for a moment and, after a couple of seconds, her pale blue form shimmered into existance just beside Kartosh,
"I can't hit you," She said smugly, poking out her tongue, "so I fight in the way that an AI fights" She giggled again, smiling widely, virtual blue tail flicking happily.

Star Snake

"I understand," Dacia said slowly, then shook her head, "but you don't understand how our society works. We are born and raised to fight as Soldiers, from the moment we are old enough to walk, we are taught that Danaversians must be killed. Our schools are half academic and half military training, long afternoons spent training how to operate a Cruiser or assualt tactics." She smiled without humour, "We are Soldiers, mostly orphaned from the War, trained to do nothing else. If the war were to end tomorrow..." She shook her head, "Alumi would collapse, no one would know what to do...but it must end!" She said urgently, "We cannot continue to treat our people like Machines and the Danaversians well...things would be harsh intially but they would understand our worth eventually like they have understood the Vascans." She sighed sadly, "the Danaversians are unkind to our soldiers, the Defence Forces are only marginally better. The frying pan or the fire..."

Elixir of Life...

Finally Tara just leaned against Chloe, sighing softly, taking comfort from her presence and the bodily contact. "When we go in there," her voice was quiet and lazy, "we've got each other's backs, right?"

Kartosh's own tail switched and curled into a question-mark shape, as if in confusion. "You can't hit me? Are you not programmed for it, or," he leered, "are you just afraid to?"

Star Snake...

Skyler grimaced. "Then you're going to have to adapt, like my people did. Both races, the Danaversians and the Alumina, are being controlled by their leaders, like you said from birth you're trained to be a soldier, and part of training a being to kill other beings involves teaching them how to act, how to think, even how to feel...or not feel. I'm sure it's the same in the Danaversian Empire. If that can be removed, if the people can figure out what they want for themselves, rather than what the leaders want, then I'm sure the fighting will stop. Not all Danaversians and Alumina must want to kill each other so badly that they will not leap for peace if there are no leaders to stop them."

Elixir of Life

Chloe sighed in agreement, not doing anything other than holding her Lover close, enjoying the warmth that was her young body pressed against the Kitsune Mercenary,
"Of course we will," She said gently, "I'll always have your back Tara, because I know you'll always have mine." She ran a hand through the Mercenary's hair, stroking it gently.

Katie looked over Kartosh in mock seriousness for a moment, running her blue, vulpine eyes over his figure before shaking her head in profound disappointment,
"Because I am a Lady, Mister Kartosh. I therefore, do not fight people but should I ever need to give you a thrashing then I shall." She poked her tongue out again.

Star Snake

The Alumina looked unconvinced,
"When you are in the depths of a war when you've known nothing else, you've wasted your life killing someone for something you have been doing for centuries. Because you lose your family, your hatred increases. Only killing...even your own...no medical, those lightly wounded treat themselves, those badly wounded are killed from mercy...people who have fought beside you for a decade of war...because you can't listen to their pleas or mews of pain anymore..." She stopped, face gaunt, eyes hollow, an Alumina equivelent of a thousand yard stare.

Elixir of Life...

Tara hummed a softly and tunelessly to herself, almost like a purr. "I'm glad," she said drowsily, "the last person who had my back was my dad...and he's, well, he's gone now. You, and Nathan and Kartosh and Skyler and Katie, you're all I have left."

"Oh, you're a Lady, huh," Kartosh snickered, "looks like Chloe's noble blood rubbed off on you or something. But seriously," his expression lost some of its humor but his eyes still glittered, "if someone, say one of those soldiers, were to get in here without permission, you'd be able to fight him, right?"

Star Snake...

"I didn't say it was going to be easy," Skyler murmured, "Maybe it'll take a generation or two...or five. But you can't just keep hating someone forever, if you don't destroy them you'll end up destroying yourself. Once the war's been a few generations removed I think at least some on both sides will start ignoring, if not forgetting, why they hated each other and they can start to help each other rebuild. But," she shrugged again, "I know even less about the Danaversians than I do about the Alumina...I really can't say what their mindset is. Maybe the war will never end until their whole government and military is completely destroyed, like the Korr."

Elixir of Life

"and I'll always be here," Chloe kissed the top of the younger Kitsune's head, "I'll watch out for you and I'll always be right behind you in anything you do or any place you go," She said softly in her top ear, while still hugging her close, gently squeezing their bodies together. Tara was so much younger than her that it almost felt like having a Sister again. Someone to look out for and to fight for if the need ever arose. She knew she would jump to Tara's aide regardless of the risk.

Katie stopped for a moment, a hurt expression crossing her face,
"No, I would run and hide like a little blue Pansy." She stuck her tongue out, "If the enemy get past my forcefields, my EMP guns and my internal turrets, then I shall fight with them if I must, though I would find it very distasteful to do so." She giggled, "bet you wish you had an AI now."

Star Snake

"Perhaps," The Alumina did not sound convinced, "Perhaps." She got up clumsily, almost falling at one stage, but managing to keep her balance, if not her dignity. She slinked from the room, to be replaced moments later by Nathan,
"Sorry, I had to go take a dump, you wouldn't believe what a few hours in a stomach can do to a piece of fish. Anyways, did I miss something?" He looked from the Xiscapian to the empty doorway.

Elixir of Life...

Tara sighed contentedly and rested her head in the nook formed between Chloe's head and shoulder, inhaling her scent as her universe condensed down to her and the one she embraced, a reality of warmth, contact and safety.

"Hah!" Kartosh grinned and flexed his biceps, admiring the large, hard muscle that had built up there. "I can defend my ship with the turrets and these guns just fine, thanks. I'm telling you, anyone who might actually manage to get inside is going to wish they'd stayed out."

Star Snake...

Skyler shook her head. "Just girl stuff," she smiled at the Alversian, "you wouldn't understand." The mercenary turned back around in her seat, brushing a few cat hairs off her shirt, and took the control yoke in hand, watching out the cockpit window intently.

Elixir of Life

Chloe was content to let the Kitsune rest her head in the little opening between her head and her shoulder, still stroking her long, red, hair. She was no longer speaking, just enjoying the company she had gained in the Youngster. She watched as Katie and Kartosh had an little conversation, laughing at the AI's mock indignation.

"I think I am quite well equipped thank you," She too flexed her biceps in an imitation of what Kartosh was doing. However, when she did it, the amount of muscle that appeared was negligable. She gave a small, sad sigh. As an AI, no matter how hard she worked, her physical attributes would never change,
"It's a pity then," She perked up, "That you spent so much time on this," She tapped his bicep, "and ignored this." She tapped him in the side of the head.

Star Snake

"If she sleeping with her best friend's husband?" Nathan asked hopefully and, when his suspicions were not confirmed, he gave up and sat in the seat beside her.
"So," He crooned, "it's just you and me now baby. No one around to stop us. Shall I call Dacius back? We could increase the participants if it would make you feel less guilty." He stated slyly.

Elixir of Life...

"Hey now," Kartosh tilted his head a bit, eyes widening in mock anger, "I'll have you know I'm very intelligent, I just choose not to use it much." He grinned. "Besides, I've gotta keep these pythons in shape for the ladies," he nodded, stroking his stubbled chin, "just like my dad always wanted. Heh, I remember that day..."

I was about twelve and I was playing MortalTekkanFighter 8 when my father walked in...

"Son, we need to have a talk..."

"Uh-huh..." My eyes were glued to the screen as I worked though beating Level Fourteen.

"Well, you should know that two penises don't go together, guys go with girls and girls go with guys, ya hear?"

"Buh..."

"And I think you're old enough to have this now." He threw a magazine down at his feet.

I picked it up, game forgotten. "Whoa, nekkid women...what are those?"

"Those are called boobies, son. If they make you feel funny in strange places, all I ask is that you lock the door. Unless you're in your mother and my's room, then get the fuck out."

Kartosh smiled in reminiscence. "He didn't know it then, but my old man created a sex machine."

"More like a monster," Tara called over with a grin.

Star Snake...

"Here's an idea," Skyler kept her eyes on the cockpit window, "why don't you stick your head out the upper hatch, and I'll fly under a really low bridge. You'd be much more attractive then."

Elixir of Life

Chloe giggled at Tara's statement, nodding in agreement with her Lover's sentiments. She sighed happily at she stayed close to her Kitsune Partner while Katie cocked her head to the side, blue tail curling in confusion,
"I don't understand..." She said quietly, almost ashamed of her lack of knowledge. As an AI, her life began and ended with the Elixir. It was her home and prison. What happened beyond it's walls, she was not privy to. Sometimes she felt lonely, but she quickly covered it up with some job or another. Most of the time she accepted it, but now she felt left out by their knowledge,
"...how you could get stuck on Level 14 of MortalTekkanFighter 8 when most people can complete it within a few minutes." She said it quickly and easily, covering her confusion with a silly quip, poking her tongue out, but it did not dispel the curled tail that betrayed her confusion.

Star Snake

"I will do such a thing," Nathan said easily, slouching in the chair beside her, "I will hang my head out of a hatch and let you kill me if you promise to make my last hour of this life the most memorable I've had," He said in a mockingly seductive croon, "can I at least see your beautiful behind?"

Elixir of Life...

"Aww c'mon, I was twelve, gimme a break," Kartosh sighed, "we can't all be supercomputers that run at the speed of light. Besides, beating Xero on Hero Mode is hard." He grinned. "Especially when you get a pair of Infatuation magazine's Big Bouncers thrown in your face. Try doing anything that doesn't involve taking your pants off after that."

"Funny, you seem to be able to keep your concentration pretty well after I step out of the shower," Tara smirked.

"Years of experience, baby."

Star Snake...

"Okay," Skyler sat up slightly, tail sweeping aside as she patted her rear, her other hand still on the joystick, "there you go, show's over, nothing more to see here, mm'kay." She settled back down. "Y'know, if you were to just stay exactly like that in your seat I could find a nice, hard brick wall to run into and we could see if this unbreakable glass really is unshatterable, or if your thick head will find a way though."

Elixir of Life

"4.2324 times the speed of light actually," Katie replied smugly, arms crossed and tail flicking in satisfaction at the Kitsune, poking her tongue out in jest at the elder Kitsune, while Chloe giggled in happiness,
"I'm sure you would have no problems focusing on this Kartosh," with that, she turned to face Tara and kissed her fully on the lips, hands on her firm rear, tongue in the younger Kitsune, small moaning noises raising as she did so.

Star Snake

"Aw come on baby, you know that's not what I meant." Nathan laughed at her though, "but you got me fair and square. I guess I'll have to buy some pics of Kartosh to admire you from. I hear he has quite a collection." Nathan teased, sitting back in his chair. It was all lies of course, but he wondered how Skyler would react to the news.

Elixir of Life...

Tara sighed as her tongue met Chloe's, breasts squeezing together, raising on tiptoe slightly as she felt the female's hands on her butt, her own arms locked around Chloe's back. She just couldn't get enough of her, physical contact was like a drug but in reverse: It just got better every time.

"Hey now," Kartosh raised his eyebrows, tail flicking excitedly, "not in front of the children, eh?" He stepped up behind Katie and put both his hands over where her eyes were displayed to be. "Don't look, child!" He grinned. "Them two, a camera, and we could make millions."

Star Snake...

Skyler laughed in his face. "You wish, Nathan boy, you wish, but Kartosh is too jealous to ever share me with anybody else," she gave him a crooked smile, "except Tara, of course, and that's just 'cause she's got," she held her hands over her chest suggestively, "and you don't."

Elixir of Life

"I can stil see, you idiot," Katie sighed as she watched the two Kitsune kiss, passionately. She seemed fascinated,
"I have a video camera." She said happily, "We can get started now. The two of you look like you would like to."

"What we would like," Chloe seperated from her kiss for just a moment, "is a little privacy away from you two." She raised an eyebrow at the male and the AI, but she knew it was too much to ask, "but, failing that, a little silence would be nice also." She returned to her kissing.

"Touchy." Katie said.

Star Snake

"Aw come on," Nathan said aloud, "that's not fair! Just because she has a rack and I don't...why did you have to be a Bi-sexual Mercenary?" He asked in a huff.