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Homecomings

A Scarborough Fair Story

by RedFox6

Chapter Eight

On the Road Again

Confederation of Independent Star Systems

9160 Vishakha III

Present Day

Longest running lawsuit in Confederation History

Anderson Consolidated Mercantile Enterprises vs. the Trustees of 9160 Vishakha III.

Now entering its third generation in the courts, this lawsuit had its origins in the early days of the Confederation, when Anderson Consolidated was given the charter to exploit the forest world designated 9160 Vishakha III. The planet was ignored for several decades as Anderson Consolidated concentrated on closer and more easily exploitable planets. A survey party was eventually sent to begin evaluating the planet's potential. After several decades of exploration, Anderson Consolidated was unable to find anything that could not be produced cheaper elsewhere, thus, when the Extraterrestrial Wilderness Preservation Society offed to purchase the planet outright, Anderson Consolidated was more than happy to sell the planet at a bargain basement price.

Two decades later, the Preservation Society began exporting high grade pharmaceuticals extracted from the native plants. When Anderson Consolidated saw the potential profits, they immediately sued to regain the planet. (Rumors that a planned military takeover was thwarted by the presence of a Star Enforcers base on Aditya, the second moon of Vishakha III, remain just that, rumors.) Despite Anderson Consolidated's best efforts, the highly skilled lawyers of the Preservation Society have been able to retain their control of Vishakha III. For the past six decades, lawsuit after lawsuit has been filed by Anderson Consolidated in an attempt to bankrupt the defendants and regain the planet, but the Trustees of the Preservation Society have remained firm in their determination to retain their control of Vishakha III.

From "Fun Facts and Interesting Items about Our Confederation", Eighth Edition, by Teobaldo Rolando Caro, Esq.

As the Scarborough Fair approached their breakout point from hyperspace, Leu was on the bridge, talking with Marie. "We want to come out as close to Aditya as possible," he was saying. "That should provide us with enough protection to reach the surface safely."

"Vishakha III is relatively well protected and safe, Leu," Marie answered. "The probabilities are that we will not face any dange anywhere in orbit here."

"All things considered," he replied. "I'd rather not take any more chances than we have to. Whoever targeted us on Haiphong obviously knew our itinerary, and there's no guarantee that they aren't still following us.

"In fact," he went on. "if I thought we could get away with it, I'd come in with weapons hot and shields up." A quick half smile, "But I don't think the authorities would approve of that."

"If we were to come in as you wish," Marie answered dryly, "the authorities would assume we were attacking, which would cause us much trouble with the Defense Grids of both the planet and Aditya. Assuming we survived, there would be many questions that we would have to answer, and it could adversely affect our ability to do business here in the future."

"All right, I'm convinced. How long until we breakout?"

"Two minutes, Leu," was the reply. What she didn't tell him was that recent events had disturbed her as well, so she had the weapon and shields on standby, and could bring them up quickly, in case of trouble.

About that time, Tollel and Aoife entered the bridge. They sat down, anxious to watch the landing procedures, Aoife especially as it was only the second time for her.

The breakout came, and the brief feeling of nausea passed. Marie's sensors quickly determined their exact location and the ship's orientation, and she began a sweep to locate and identify any ships in the immediate area. Everything came up clean, and as soon as a regular ship's electronics would comeback online, Marie responded to the demands for identification that were being issued from Vishakha III's Defense Grid.

"Starport Control, this is Scarborough Fair," Leu radioed down after the security handshake was finished.

"Scarborough Fair, this is Starport Control, go ahead."

"Starport Control, this is Scarborough Fair, requesting landing coordinates." With a small smile, towards Aoife, he went on, "Also, requesting tourist flight path. We have a new crewmember, who's never been here before."

With a slight chuckle in her voice, the controller responded with "Scarborough Fair, wait one." After a moment she continued, "Roger that on the tourist flight path, coordinates being transmitted now. Welcome to Vishakha III."

The flight path the Fair followed took them from the northern part of the planet towards the equator, giving everyone a good look at the forest covering the surface. The foliage was thinner towards the poles, becoming denser as they headed towards the equator. As they got closer to the surface, Aoife gasped as the true size of the trees became clear. Many of them were a kilometer or more across at the base, stretching kilometers up towards the sky. In many places, the interlocking branches were thick and stable enough to allow for the construction of small settlements on them. What she had at first thought were small birds resolved into skimmers and rotors moving across from one small settlement to another. Kilometers long vines stretched from tree to tree, with moss hanging down from some of them for up to half a kilometer.

Passing under the upper canopy they were able to see the graceful towers and buildings of the capitol, Vancetown, constructed in such a way as to seem almost a part of the forest itself. Even the defense emplacements were built so as to seamlessly blend into the landscape.

The landing fees and bribes were reasonable, and the Scarborough Fair was given a landing slot at the Cape Malundi Starport outside Vancetown. It wasn't until after they landed that Leu was able to full relax, knowing that Marie would keep up a security scan outside the ship. Combined with Starport Security, they should be safe, at least as long as they remained on the ship.

Once safely berthed, Leu spent the next hour or so making contact with their suppliers onplanet. For the rest of the day, the deliveries came in; packages of high grade coffee and tea, including White Arrow tea, (some of which went into the pantry,) perfumes and pharmaceuticals that were unsynthesizeable with current technology, and Hondana Spice, a very delicate flavor enhancer which was currently popular across the Confederation and going for a ridiculously high price. There were also ship supplies, including fuel for the ship and food and drink for the crew, as well as soap, detergent, luxury items such as new movie and video game downloads and all the hundred and one other miscellaneous items needed to keep the ship running. Leu and Marie verified the products and logged them in. Helping Marie's drones move the cargo into the main bay, Tollel and Aoife observed closely while Leu carefully checked everything, making sure that what they received was undamaged and matched what they had purchased.

The cargo also included trysnosynimos, urgently needed to combat the chronic lung disease Zynest Haston Syndrome, endemic among the workers on the heavily fortified mining world of Anduela. Anduela was the richest Confederation source of gadolinium, an essential component in the fuel for hyperspace engines. As a consequence, the world was rich, but a twist in the planet's biosystem caused anyone who resided there for more than a few months the contract the disease. For reasons that no one understood, going offplanet caused the Z-H Syndrome to go into remission, but it would restart as soon as the sufferer returned to Anduela. There seemed to be no way to stave it off, even working in pressure suits and living in chambers completely sealed off from the planet failed to prevent it. As long as the sufferers remained on the planet, it was incurable and fatal, but the trysnosynimos would keep it at bay, allowing them to live a normal life. But even with refrigeration the trysnosynimos had a very limited shelf life, so they would have to make Anduela their next stop.

Because most of the drugs produced here were for uncommon problems, they were produced in very small quantities, making the profit margin too small for the big conglomerates to transport. Thus, Vishakha III depended on small, independent traders to make the deliveries. The upside was that the ships that made the deliveries were given extra discounts on the luxury items that Vishakha III was famous for. The dependence on small traders also helped to keep their luxury products scarcer and more expensive, thus increasing everyone's profit margins.

Almost before they knew it, the day was over and Leu had declared himself satisfied that all the cargo was properly stowed away and locked down for the trip, and the three had left the bay and headed back to their quarters. After showers and supper, they wound up in Leu's bed together, pleasuring each other until, finally, tired but happy, they fell asleep in each other's arms.

The next day was Confederation Day, so it was time for a party. Leu's prohibition on leaving the ship remained, so the three celebrated on their own. With screens in the background showing the parades going on in various of the planet's major cities and Marie's drones keeping them supplied with food and drink, they spent their time in the entertainment room, eating, drinking and wearing silly hats as they celebrated the foundation of the Confederation of Independent Star Systems. As night fell, Marie projected a holographic feed of the citywide fireworks display across the ceiling of the room, relayed from the local entertainment channels. The three sat back and happily watched the show, marveling at the elaborate patterns created by the pyrotechnics.

While all this had been going on, one of Marie's many subprograms had been in contact with the Stellar Regency Consulate onplanet, arranging for visas under the Distressed Citizen of the Regency clause.

The request would take time to work its way through the bureaucracy, and no decision was possible before they reached Anduela. And even then, it would take time for the decision to be transmitted to them.

Eventually, Confederation Day was over, and the three retied to bed, full and pleasantly drunk. They quickly fell asleep from the celebration, cuddled together in Leu's bed.

Partway through the night, Aoife suffered from a nightmare triggered by the fireworks display.

Confusion and smoke surrounded her, blurring details and sounds. Several armed figures were yelling at her. She couldn't quite make out what they were saying, but it seemed to be for her to run. There were flashes of light from other figures in the distance, and the vague figures nearest her fell, some turning and returning fire, and one placing himself between her and the attackers He fired several rounds before he too fell, shot down by the unknown enemy.

There was the sense of running through a twisting maze, prsued by an unknown foe. Just as her faceless pursuers caught up to her, she woke, heart racing in the dark. Disoriented, it took a second or so to recall where she was. The comfort of Leu on one side and Tollel on the other quickly reassured and calmed her. Her last thought as she fell back asleep was, "Not again. That's the third time since they freed me that I've had this dream. Maybe that's why it seems so familiar."

The next morning came way to early, and the crew awoke, somewhat the worse for wear. Showers and hot food restored them somewhat, and by the time their launch window came up, they had recovered enough to function at close to full capacity.

The launch went well, the Scarborough Fair traveling along their flight path at their designated speed. With contra-gravity combined with inertial dampeners eliminating the need to reach escape velocity, ships were able to launch at much more comfortable speeds for both passengers and cargo.

When they reached their jump point and made the transition to the safety of hyperspace, the three relaxed and settled in for the trip to Anduela.

During the trip, Tollel introduced Aoife to her new favorite music group, The Spider's Destiny, standard bearers of the Post Classical Techno Gothic Punk Revival Movement. The two took over the entertainment room and spent hours watching their videos and listening to their albums. From there they moved on to others of the genre, spending a good part of the trip exploring the subtleties and nuances of the style. Tollel also introduced Aoife to her favorite RPs, finding that she was also an avid fan of them. Since Leu had little interest in RPs, Tollel was delighted to have an actual partner to play with, rather than just playing against the computer. They filled many of the hours of the trip immersed in virtual reality worlds. In between, they watched marathons of video programs, especially The Tuttle Gauche Show, catching up on all that they had missed over the years.

Leu divided his time between working out and attempting to repair the Runabout. After his first assessment of the damages, he agreed with Marie's conclusions: the engine, turret and chain gun were total write offs, and would have to be completely replaced. He spent his downtime watching his favorite classic movies. Since Tollel and Aoife had taken over the entertainment room, he was forced to watch them on the screen in his room. In between all this he spent time cleaning and maintaining his personal weapons, and running multiple diagnostics on the ship's armaments, making sure that they were in perfect working order. He had no idea what might happen on Anduela, and wanted to be prepared for anything.

Despite knowing that the Fair's weapons were in optimum condition, Marie let him run his own checks, Over the years, she had observed that organics had an obsessive desire to check everything for themselves, and she had learned long ago that it was easier to just go along with it.

The three met daily for meals in the galley. The nights were generally spent in Leu's bed, although twice Tollel and Aoife begged off, wanting some time for each other. Concealing his disappointment, Leu always acquiesced. Those nights were frustrating to Leu, despite knowing how important it was for them to have their own personal time. The only solace was the knowledge that they would make it up to him the next night.

The trip went quickly, and almost before they knew it, they had reached Anduela. As they approached their breakout point, everyone was gathered on the bridge, watching as the screens changed from the absolute nothingness of hyperspace to the star speckled blackness of realspace. As soon as their sensors unscrambled, Marie ran a sweep of the immediate area, searching out any possible threats. The only things found were the sentry satellites and wide ranging Anduellan patrols. With no immediate danger, Marie waited until standard ship's sensors would be able to unscramble before orienting the ship and answering the identification demands from the system's Defense Grid.

After receiving permission to land, they took their place in the queue and began their approach. On the way in they passed the massive orbital habitats where the upper management dwelt, safely away from the adverse effects of the planet's surface. Heavily armed sentry satellites were scattered about, guarding both the habitats and the planet itself.

Traveling over the main continent, Aoife gasped, ears springing upright, and pointed towards a massive scar where the earth had been burned away down to the bedrock. A ragged fringe of greenery surrounded it.

"Leu!" she exclaimed. "What happened there?"

"A Hellburner," he replied, then went on more soberly. "A leftover from the Great Crusade one hundred years ago."

He went on to explain. "The Crusader Worlds are a collection of systems that would like to restore the old Terran Hegemony, with them in control of course. A century ago, the Great Crusade boiled out of their realm and rampaged across human space, attempting to reestablish the Hegemony at bayonet point. Nobody was prepared for that so they were able to drive deeply into the Confed, among other realms. They mostly spared Anduela, aside from a small occupation garrison, planning on exploiting it after their 'inevitable' victory.

"When the tide finally turned and they were being driven out of the Confed, the Anduellans rose up and massacred their occupiers. The Crusaders decided to make an example of the planet, so one of their fleets launched an all out attack. They bombarded Anduela with Hellburners and Planet Crackers, along with conventional and nuclear munitions. The defenders managed to stop most of the WMD's, but three Hellburners and one Planet Cracker got through and detonated on the surface, causing mass destruction and casualties.

"The Planet Cracker triggered a massive earthquake that destroyed Estiopia, Anduela's second largest city. Casualties were estimated at 10 million, and that area is still too unstable to build on today.

"The Hellburners targeted agri areas and forests, creating firestorms 3,000 klicks across, burning everything down to the bedrock. There aren't any reliable casualty estimates, but anywhere between 30 million and 150 million dead is generally accepted.

"Even the areas that weren't hit by WMD's were still bombarded by conventional and nuclear munitions; there wasn't a part of the planet that was immune to damage, and the final death toll came out to over a quarter of the population.

"Even with massive aid from the rest of the Confed, it took Anduela 50 years to begin to recover, and they still suffer from the environmental damage caused by the attacks."

A quick half smile, then, "Kind of explains the multiple defense grids throughout the system, doesn't it? There's a reason Anduela spends so much on defense."

With ears lowered and a rather stunned expression on her face, Aoife nodded slowly. It was one thing to read abut something like this, and quite another to actually see it in person.

By the time they reached Cape Denmanda, the main commercial spaceport, Aoife had recovered somewhat, and was studying the viewscreen closely. Cape Denmanda was located just outside of the capital city, which had been built at the site of the colonist's first landing, and rather unimaginatively named First Landing. Even here, the scars from the war were still visible; nothing was more than fifty years old, and it all had a rather bleak, utilitarian look to it.

Most of the buildings had gone up in the decades immediately after the war, when the economy was in disarray, and from the air they had a blank sameness to them, obvious products of the same basic template, quick and easy to build. Here and there could be seen newer buildings that showed more individuality, making them stand out even more than they would have in other cities.

Heavily fortified defense emplacements were scattered about apparently at random, supplementing the defenses in orbit and maintaining a ceaseless scan of the surrounding area out to high orbit.

The spaceport itself looked very business like, surrounded by a high blast wall and filled with squat, thick walled buildings. Heavy duty roads radiated out across the port, dividing it up into squares, each square holding a landing pad inside its own blast wall. The different sized landing pads accommodated larger or smaller ships, up to and including the massive Whale class freighters.

Once they were settled into their assigned landing pad, Leu made contact with their buyers, arranging for the delivery of the trysnosynimos. Within an hour, medical representatives had arrived at the ship. After the usual greetings, they brought in their equipment and did preliminary sampling of the drugs. The results were positive, and, after a down payment, they transferred the drugs to their truck, carrying them off to the main labs for more extensive testing for purity and potency. It would take a couple of days for the testing to be complete, after which the rest of the payment would be transferred to their account.

"We've got two, maybe three days before testing is done," Leu was saying to the others. "And Anduela, especially the spaceport, is well protected by police. If we're careful, and stay together in the more well traveled areas, and get back before dark, we should be perfectly safe." A quick smile, then, "Which means that we can get out of the ship, breathe some fresh air, eat in a nice restaurant and maybe even do a little shopping.

"The Runabout's trashed," he went on. "but the Sportster's in working order, so we won't even have to walk anywhere."

Tollel looked down and smiled. She remembered when Leu had taken her for a ride after finally getting the Sportster running, and the look of sheer joy on his face as they raced along the roads, occasionally activating the car's contra-gravity to fly over obstacles. She just hoped this trip wouldn't end in an encounter with the local law enforcers, the way the first one did.

"It's too late to do anything today," Leu was saying. "but if we get going bright and early tomorrow we can spend the entire day doing tourist stuff."

After supper, Tollel and Aoife repaired to the entertainment room for a heavy session of Cavern Crawlers before bed while Leu went to the main bay to prep up the Sportster. Along the way, he collected his Kaiser Lawgiver Model V from his arms locker. A compact .38 caliber revolver made of composite materials, including the ammo, it used chemical propellants and had no electronic power sources, making it difficult for standard security scans to detect. It was while he was slipping the weapon into a concealed compartment of the car that Marie spoke.

"Leu," she began. "I have come across something that may interest you. If you would look at the nearest monitor."

"Hm?" he answered, closing the compartment. Looking up, he saw what Marie was talking about. A smile spread across his face as he said, "Really? The Mummer's Dance is here, now?

"Marie," he went on excitedly. "we have to get tickets now!"

"I have three tickets for tomorrow's afternoon show on old," she answered. "Are you sure you want them?"

"Of course," he affirmed archly. "I can finally make good on my promise to take Tollel to the carnival.

"Very well," A pause, then, "The tickets are bought and are being printed out on the bridge now."

"Thank you," he went on. "You've just..., thank you."

With a happy smile, Leu got back into the car and fired up the engine, making sure that everything was in working order. When the gauges all stabilized green, he cautiously activated the contra-gravity. After assuring himself that it was fully operational, he shut everything off and locked the car back down into its slot. A look of contentment on his face, Leu walked back to the bridge to collect the tickets, anticipating the surprise he was going to give the others the next day.

That night, Leu expressed a desire to merely hold the two and cuddle. Tollel and Aoife acquiesced with mischievous glints in their eyes.

Snuggling up, they waited until he was beginning to fall asleep, then, with their warm breaths flowing over his body and their whiskers tickling and teasing him, two sets of talented paws began roaming across him, teasing and caressing, coupled with slow, sensuous licks of skilled tongues trailing across his chest and circling his nipples, causing them to harden.

"Do you mind?" he asked, eyes just barely open.

"No," came back in stereo, followed with more licks and caresses, now dipping dangerously below his waist. They carefully pulled out his cock and balls and began massaging the now semi hard organ.

"It's late and I'm tired and we have to get up early," he complained.

"Then just lie back and let us do all the work, love," Tollel whispered into his ear while Aoife began slowly laving his balls and running her tongue up and down his now hard cock.

"Damned sex crazed morphs, can't let a man rest in peace," he muttered, before his body's responses began taking over from his higher thought processes.

It didn't take them long to rearrange themselves for their mutual satisfaction. Lying on the bed with Tollel kneeling over her head, Aoife was busy pleasuring her, driving her talented tongue deep within her friend's pussy and caressing her breasts. Meanwhile Leu was kissing Tollel and thrusting his hard cock in and out of Aoife's cunny. His hands roved from one to the other, caressing bodies and teasing nipples, until finally, they climaxed nearly simultaneously and collapsed, spent and happy, amidst the rumpled sheets. They fell asleep nestled in each other's arms.

In the morning, they proved conclusively that the shower stalls were big enough for three, with enough room left over for other, more gymnastic type activities.

After a breakfast prepared by Marie's drones, they met in the main bay, next to the Sportster.

"No gun?" Aoife noticed that Leu's attire didn't have the usual weapons attached. Instead a compact stunner rested under his arm.

With a smile, he explained. "Anduela has very strict licensing requirements, which are almost impossible to meet. They even have rules on how long a knife you can carry. Best I can do is this," pointing to his stunner. "And even this takes a license. And a lot of money.

"But, like I said last night, as long as we stay in public areas we should be alright."

Gesturing towards the car, he went on, "So let's saddle up and get going."

From his suppressed excitement, both Tollel and Aoife could tell that Leu was hiding something. With knowing smiles at each other, they entered the car looking forward to some time off the ship.

Exiting the Fair, Leu began driving down the road. When he passed the duty free shopping center near the middle of the spaceport, Tollel and Aoife exchanged puzzled glances with each other.

Reaching the wall, they went through the security checkpoint and left the spaceport entirely. Leu opened the car up, engine purring along as they quickly reached then slightly exceeded the posted speed limit. Ancient blues and jazz flowed out of the car's entertainment center, filling the interior with its music.

Traffic was moderate, and the powerful car effortlessly ate up the klicks. Further down the road, they began to see vague shapes in a large field off to the left.

As they got closer, Tollel's ears pricked forward as they began to make out the tents and booths set up by the Mummer's Dance.

"Is that?" she began.

"Yep," Leu said, a smile breaking out on his face. "It took me a year, but I'm finally taking you to the Mummer's Dance, just like I promised."

Smiling broadly and tail thumping back and forth, Tollel almost squealed with joy, and just barely restrained herself from throwing her arms around Leu as he was driving.

Entering the carnival perimeter, their tickets were scanned and they were directed to a parking space. Once out of the car, Tollel was so excited that she almost forgot her role as slavefur.

"At ease, girl," Aoife said. one hand on Tollel's shoulder. Blushing a little, Tollel quickly resumed her role, walking half a meter behind and to the left of the others. With a smile, Aoife handed her a vidcam and told her to begin videoing their day. She eagerly agreed and began recording the sights and sounds around them.

"Damn!" Leu thought to himself. "Wish I'd thought of that. Perfect excuse for her to look around and see everything."

They spent the morning wandering around the fairground portion of the carnival, watching the shows and participating in several of the games of chance. After several tries, Leu finally managed to win a stuffed animal apiece for the two. For the rest of the day, they carried them around like rare and precious treasures.

Tollel and Aoife managed to cajole Leu into going on several of the rides. Despite his attempts at cynicism, their enthusiasm infected him as well, and, for the first time in years, he was able to relax and fully enjoy himself in public. He gave genuine whoops of joy as they went on the roller coasters, whirligigs and tower drops.

In between the shows, games and rides, they sampled the delicacies at many of the food stalls scattered around. _"Looks like you can put anything on a stick and deep fry it," _ Leu thought, eyeing one of the more dubious offerings that Tollel and Aoife had coaxed him into trying.

Watching them devour it with gusto, he shook his head and thought, _"Must be a morph thing," _ a small, bemused smile playing across his face.

The crowds grew as the day went on, filling the grounds with activity. While Tollel and Aoife gazed in awe and fascination at everything around them, Leu, out of habit, did spend part of his time keeping an eye out for potential trouble from the crowds.

No one paid them the least bit of attention. Even having Tollel as slave didn't stand out, as many of the other carnival goers had brought their slaves with them. Those slaves lucky enough to be there had a hard time keeping their eyes still, as there was so much to distract them. Most of the owners who even noticed their slaves' wandering eyes merely smiled tolerantly and went on with their day.

As lunchtime approached, they joined one of the many queues before one of the food tents. After a short wait, they were seated at a table, while rather harried looking Basti servers furnished them with menus and drinks. Unlike most of the patrons, Leu and Aoife allowed Tollel to sit at the table, rather than kneel on the floor nearby, and choose from the menu rather than ordering Slave Kibble for her. The servers didn't bat an eye, but several guests at nearby tables looked on disapprovingly. Leu enjoyed their discomfort, smiling and throwing mock salutes at the ones who glared too long or too hard.

They finished lunch in plenty of time to get to the main tent for the afternoon's show. Joining the crowd as it entered, their tickets were scanned as they passed through the entrance. The tent, despite its size, rapidly filled with spectators. Finding their seats, they sat down, Tollel and Aoife looking around, trying to see everything at once. The excitement of the crowd infected them too, and they almost vibrated as they waited for the show to start.

For the next three hours, they oohed, aahed, applauded and laughed along with the crowd at the show. There were singers and dancers, clowns and jugglers, high wire artists and animal acts, acrobats and illusionists, all working to transport the audience to a realm of wonder and imagination.

Almost before they knew it, the Grand Finale was dazzling them with its spectacle. After the last of the performers had left, Leu, Tollel and Aoife followed the crowd out of the tent, reluctantly returning to the real world.

Clutching their stuffed animals, Tollel and Aoife chattered about the show all the way to the parking lot, reliving their experiences and reminding each other of their favorite parts. Even after they reached the car and started heading back, the two kept talking and laughing about all that they had seen and done.

Tired but happy, they reached the ship, still discussing their day as they entered the cargo bay and parked the car.

As they exited it, Tollel turned to Leu, hugged him tightly and said, "Oh, thank you. That was the best day ever!"

Aoife hugged him as well, saying, "Deities, today was so great! I'll never forget it."

After a long, mutual hug, they separated and headed for the galley and the meal that Marie had prepared for them, stuffed animals at their sides.

The three were so busy talking and laughing about their day that they barely noticed what they were eating.

It wasn't until after the meal was over that Marie spoke. "Leu, Tollel, Aoife. You may be interested to know that we have received a reply from the Regency embassy. They have approved our visas and given us rendezvous coordinates for entering the Regency. We have merely to notify them when we are expected to arrive."

"This day seems to be getting better and better," Leu said. Noticing the expression on Aoife's face, he asked, "What's the matter? Changing your mind?"

"No," she replied. "It's just that, if we go now, won't we throw our schedule off?"

He smiled and answered, "That's one of the advantages of being independent, we can set our own schedules. Nothing we have is going to spoil, so we don't have to be anywhere at a particular time. Besides, most of what we have is luxury goods that we got on spec and can sell anywhere. We'll make the jaunt over to the Regency, get you ID'd and your memory restored, and then finish our deliveries."

"But, won't that cost a lot of money? Can we afford it?" she asked, head down and ears lowered.

"The Regency has universal healthcare," he answered. "You're a citizen, so it won't cost a thing. Everybody is registeredin the DNA databanks, and once we get you ID'd, the memory unblocking should be easy enough. Though it might take some time to begin the treatment. But that's not a problem, we can take the time to get it done right. So stop worrying, it'll be alright."

"And you won't be alone," Tollel chimed in with a smile. "we'll be right with you all the way."

Reassured, Aoife smiled and said, "It's just that, I don't want to be a burden, and you've done so much for me already."

Before Leu could say anything, Tollel hugged her and said, "But you're not! You can't be. You're our friend, and you always help your friend, regardless of what happens, right?"

The two smiled together at shared memories.

Leu waited a moment before interrupting them. "Well," he said. "that settles that. As soon as we get paid here, we'll head on over to the Regency and get you taken care of.

"Never actually been to the Regency," he continued thoughtfully. "Could be interesting. Too bad we don't have a seller's license, otherwise we could try and sell some of our cargo. Could'a been very profitable."

Noticing the looks that Tollel and Aoife were giving him, he went on, "What? It costs money to keep this old ship running."

Looking at each other, the two smiled and shook their heads simultaneously.

"Be that as it may," Tollel began, with a sly smile. "we still haven't properly thanked you for today. We're going to make up for that later tonight. But you'll have to be patient until then."

Leaning back in his chair and smiling at the images running through his mind, Leu said, "I think I can live with that."

A lecherous grin running across his face, he went on, "Just don't take too long, or I might have to spank you."

"We'll have Marie let you know when we're ready," Tollel promised. Whispering in each other's ears, the two left the galley, giggling as they headed down the corridor.

Leu sat for a few minutes, letting his imagination run wild, before shaking his head and muttering, "You'll find out soon enough, old man." He rose and headed for his cabin to change into something more suitable for the upcoming event.

Reaching his cabin, Leu stripped down, throwing his dirty clothes in the hamper. He put on some slip flops and pulled a soft robe out of his closet. He reclined on his bed while he waited, enjoyable fantasies cycling through his mind.

"Leu," Marie's voice over the speakers interrupted him. "Tollel and Aoife are ready for you and have requested your presence in the bathroom."

_"The bathroom?" _ Leu thought, getting up. Wondering what was going on, he quickly made his way down the corridor.

As he approached the bathroom, he heard giggling and splashing inside. Curiosity sped his steps as he walked towards the entrance.

When Leu entered and saw what was waiting for him in the hydrotherapy tub, it didn't take him long to divest himself of his robe, revealing a cock already at half mast.

Tollel and Aoife were in the tub, alternating playfully splashing each other with slow, sensual caresses across all parts of their bodies.

"Care to join us?" they asked in unison, licking their lips and smiling wickedly at him.

"You have to ask?" Leu muttered as he slipped into the tub with them.

They moved across the tub to greet him. Talented paws roamed across his body, followed by muzzles licking and kissing all across his face and chest. He responded by filling his hands with breasts, moving from one to the other.

Their paws roamed lower on his body while they rubbed their bodies against him, breasts sliding across his chest.

Fully erect now, he moaned a little, then began kissing them, alternating between the two and slowly working his way down to their nipples. Reaching the sensitive buds, he began nibbling on them his tongue working around and over them, gently sucking and pulling on their piercings, feeling their nipples harden as he went.

Tollel and Aoife knelt down in the warm water, and began running their mouths and tongues up and down his cock, one to either side. For the first few strokes, they went in the same direction. Then they began alternating, one going up his cock while the other went down.

Soon, Aoife began nibbling at his dick head while Tollel's tongue gently lapped at his balls. Leaning back in the tub, Leu moaned again at the feelings they were creating in him. He wouldn't have believed it possible, but his cock grew harder, jutting up and demanding even more attention.

Tollel and Aoife were more than happy to comply, adding their paws to the job, caressing his dick and gently cupping and massaging his balls.

Finally they could wait no longer, and Tollel mounted Leu while Aoife knelt below them, licking and kissing at their genitals as they coupled, her fingers busy in her own pussy while the water splashed back and forth from their exertions.

Leu finally reached his limit and came explosively, his orgasm quickly followed by Tollel's and Aoife's. Temporarily spent, he sat back in the tub, with the girls sitting to either side of him, nestled in each other's arms.

After letting him rest for a few moments, the two moved around in front and embraced each other. They had plans for the rest of the night, and Leu was an integral part of them, so they began putting on a show to help him recover faster.

Kissing and rubbing their breasts against each other, the two slowly stepped out of the tub. Water dripping from them, their wet fur graphically outlining their bodies, they maneuvered so that Leu could see them fingering each other, moaning softly as they arouse each other. It didn't take him long to exit the tub and join them.

They separated and welcomed Leu into their embrace. Picking up towels, they began slowly and gently drying him off. The sensual feel of the towels running across his body along with the view the girls teased him with, alternately revealing and concealing their forms as they used the towels on both Leu and themselves, helped to bring Leu's cock back to life. By the time all three were dry, Leu was more than ready to go again.

They rearranged themselves, with Tollel leaning up against the wall, while Aoife bent over. paws against the wall on either side of Tollel. With her legs spread wide and tail up she began lapping and sucking on Tollel's pussy. Leu took advantage of the position and entered Aoife from behind, easily slipping into her wet cunny. Driving in and out of Aoife as she used her talented tongue of Tollel, the two girls worked together so they could cum at the same time as Leu.

Spent from his climax, Leu leaned against the wall while Aoife and Tollel sank down to the floor, panting slightly from their simultaneous orgasms.

Recovering slightly, Leu smiled and said, "Damn it, you two are going to be the death of me yet."

Smiling, the two rose to their knees, and began kissing and licking up and down Leu's dick. bringing it back up before Tollel took him in her mouth, skillfully fellating him and bringing him to yet another climax. Having cum again, he almost collapsed from exhaustion. Finally having mercy on Leu, the girls helped him to his cabin. Once there, all three crawled under the covers. Snuggled together, the three slept deeply until morning.

Cormoran Royal Commonwealth

Qochaiter

Helvuarea, capitol of Qochaiter and the CRC

Penthouse office in the main tower of the Paros Family Compound

Present day

"Domina?" a deferential voice said, attracting her attention.

Domina Gloria Paros looked up from the paperwork displayed on her desktop screens. As expected, she saw Braeden Causey, her major domo and right hand morph, waiting patiently for her to acknowledge him. As loyal and reliable as the basset hound his ancestors were uplifted from, he was the consummate personal assistant, anticipating her every wish almost before she knew it herself.

"Yes, Braeden?" she answered.

With a slight bow, he replied, "Word has come to us from our agents in the Regency, Domina. The, uh, 'subjects' you are interested in have received permission to enter it, and will do so in the next few days."

Sitting back in her chair, Gloria thought for a few minutes, contemplating her options. Coming to a decision, she sat up straight and said, "All right, Braeden. We have expended too many resources attempting to salvage this operation. Contact our agents there and order them to divert the 'subjects' to an alternate entry point. And have a squadron of deniable assets ambush them there. These people have caused us too much trouble. Just have them eliminated."

"Very good, Domina," he answered, making notes on his PPC.

"Also," she went on. "notify our commercial agents to begin withdrawing from the Regency. We've gained about as much as we can from the current operation, and it will become very dangerous for us there in a very short time."

"Of course, Domina. And, the agents of the other Families?"

With a nasty smile, she replied, "No need to notify them. Let them take their chances."

Decision made, Gloria dismissed the problem and returned to dealing with the multitudinous details that came with being head of a major Family in the Comoran Royal Commonwealth.