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Thing were not going particularly well for Doren. To be fair, they had NEVER really gone well - his life seemed cursed in ways, ever since he'd been born. Which was probably true, being born gay in the New Human Empire of Faulren basically was a curse - he was barely tolerated in the best of times, and when things went bad, he was usually the first to get the heat, even if he had nothing to do with it. His very presence seemed to be a dark cloud to some people, the reason that everything that went wrong did. And usually that meant his own life was bogged down in misery.

So, really, being captured and marched through the woods by a seven-foot reptile wasn't THAT much of a drop from his usual state. Not that he liked it any better.

His commander knew that the sarauk forces were nearby, and he wanted someone to go spy on them. Naturally, it fell to him, because no one would care if he got captured or killed...a good hour and a half of a walk through a rather warm jungle with heavy gear wasn't his idea of thrilling, but maybe if he did something useful he'd earn a tiny bit of respect. No such - he hadn't even made it to the encampment before a sarauk soldier jumped him and disarmed him. Now he was a captive, and he was about to face whatever unpleasant fate awaited him. He'd heard nasty rumors about what happened to captives...then again, that was pretty typical, he had to imagine. They wanted to scare you into making sure you stayed on the right side. It wasn't like Faulren could afford any more losses, since it sure sounded like they were about to be kicked off of Tessur any day now...

At least the one holding him wasn't doing anything nasty, yet. Just holding him by the collar as he took him into the heart of enemy territory. Doren's hands were bound behind his back, so he couldn't really fight back...not that he stood a chance without his weapon, he wasn't a big person and there wasn't any beating the muscular sarauk any time soon. All he could hope for was a bit of mercy to let him go once they found out he didn't have any information of value. Though, even if he was let go, he doubted his platoon would receive him any better.

If they do do something horrible to me, is it really going to be worse than what I'd get from my own kind? ...It really doesn't say much about them that I'm honestly wondering whether being a POW would be a step up.

He voiced none of this, though - for all he knew the sarauk were even worse than advertised, and he would be risking his life to even suggest he might be open to capture. The only thing that came from him were quiet grunts when he was pushed beyond his readiness, and he was trying to avoid stumbling as much as possible lest his captor was easily pissed off. He almost wished the sarauk was speaking, even if it was to insult him; the silence was getting unnerving.

Not as unnerving as when they hit the encampment, though. It was one thing to be in the hands of the enemy, quite another to be SURROUNDED by them. And with all eyes on him...his hopes for any chance of release were quickly fading, this didn't look like a group particularly inclined to show his kind warmth. Well, they did say it was their planet...

His captor brought him towards a sarauk in heavy conversation with a couple others. Though they were speaking a private tongue rather than the galactic standard, Doren could tell he was at least in some form of command around here...and might be the one deciding his fate. It was good to have an awareness of that, sometimes that was what kept you from being killed. He turned towards them as Doren was brought to him, glaring down at him a bit. "Caught a furless rat, Azri?"

"Affirmative, Grankil. He was probably coming to snoop around. No one around him, clearly a scout." Azri, he presumed his captor's name to be, finally let go of him, though it hardly mattered at this point - Doren trying to run would get him snatched up or killed sooner than it would get him freedom. If death was staring him in the face, he'd try anyway, but for the moment hope still held for some form of mercy.

"Sounds about right. Probably from the battery six kilos southeast. Might be of some use." His gaze turned fully onto Doren, who had to fight to keep from shrinking away. "Human! My name is Kliver Arrodgun, Grankil of the 8th platoon of Unit 7 in the Tessur Armed Forces Overland Division. We're more than ready to act if you make any wrong moves, so I suggest if you value your skin, you start talking."

"...I don't have anything to say." Doren hardly sounded like he was confident in his resistance, but he had to at least TRY - if he gave in without a word and that got back to anyone that was certain execution for treason. If they forced it out of him, maybe he could live...or at least, if there was the impression of force...

"We'll see about that. You're from the enemy forces stationed southeast of here?"

"What if I am?"

"They're the only ones within 20 kilos," reported Azri. "The Oprimadr sent the update this morning, and there haven't been any planes in the area. He's too fresh to have walked that far." Doren had to suppress a scowl. If they already knew that, then the question wasn't really important, was it? If they were testing him...

"That's enough for now, Dordrya. I have my methods." Wait, was it Azri or Dordrya? Great, they were confusing him already...unless one was a title. But which one? His brain was falling behind, that wasn't good.

"Apologies, Grankil."

"Accepted. Now, human...we're well aware of the presence of your comrades. We've got three platoons who have been trying to approach them for the last eight days. The pace they're keeping up is unusual. What are their intentions?"

"I don't know." Someone said the truth will set you free, but Doren figured that wasn't happening. He didn't know why they had been on the march, especially since it wasn't towards the standard combat line. His commanders knew, and certainly some of the other soldiers knew, but as usual he wasn't in the loop.

"You expect me to believe they told you nothing?"

"Believe it or don't. I can't do anything about that."

"Hmph. Azri...you've checked the maps. Your thoughts?"

"I've scoured everything. There's nothing I can see of strategic value in their probable target location. The foliage is too dense for the height to provide any visual advantage, and it's not near anything I can see that provides a combat edge. We're too far from any established bases for that. Our reports don't indicate that they have long-range weapons capabilities."

"Well, let's see if our reports are right. Human!" Doren jumped a bit when the Grankil barked at him. "Was your unit carrying anything with them with long-distance strike potential?"

"Through this mess of a jungle? Are you kidding me?" Also the truth as far as Doren knew, but if they DID have something he sure didn't know about it, and he wouldn't be saying anything.

"I don't kid when it comes to protecting our world. You may think you can sputter your way through this, but I'm more than willing to get tougher on you if I think you're lying. Don't think we don't have ways of making you humans talk - ways that YOUR kind devised, I might add..."

Doren had heard rumors about that - a very ill-fated project that had been intended as Faulren's trump card and turned into their undoing. He could hardly believe them, though - some aspects of them seemed like they'd be entirely at odds with the NHE's dictates. Allowing a man to orgasm inside a male? Without reproducing? Someone must have been hiding the truth of it, the NHE would have had a fit at the very idea. Not that it was far-fetched someone would gloss over the details - that was pretty normal, you hid your means of getting your rocks off however you could to avoid the gulags.

Still, if there was one thing he WASN'T afraid of, it was that. "Go ahead and waste your time. There's nothing to get out of me. All I was doing was following where my commanders were taking me, whatever they had on their minds wasn't for me to know."

"You expect me to believe that they would march you somewhere without giving you any idea what you were actually going to be doing? That would be an imbecilic way of doing things..." Kliver paused, then snorted. "Which would be entirely in character with what we know of Faulren's army...hmph. If I hadn't heard that half our prisoners say the same thing...I suppose I can't complain, it's been an enormous asset for us..."

"I think he's telling the truth, Grankil," chimed in Azri. "If they were sending a scout, they wouldn't be sending someone with high-level knowledge. It would be more likely they'd plant false information to mislead or misdirect us...if they knew we had ways of extracting it, they might have a plan in place."

"Hmph...that's also true. Ugh, I don't have the patience for this. Tie him to a tree until we get word from the forcestus or negiduve. I'm not interested in carting him around, so I'm going to try to get in touch with his commander and figure out where we should ship him." The Grankil gave Doren another hard look. "Consider yourself lucky, human. Not everyone would be willing to let one of you go without roughing you up a bit after all your kind have put us through. But I'm not in the mood for games, and unless you're going to tell me something about why I'm on this ancients-be-damned chase, I have no interest in you."

"...Thank you." Doren could scarcely believe his fortune. Maybe being able to get back, alive and unharmed, was a better fate than many he could have imagined. Assuming everything went well, anyway, but at least the winds were blowing that way.

Now I need to make sure no one finds out that I sort of wish they'd called my bluff there...

---

Doren's cautious optimism was eroding the longer he was stuck among the sarauk platoon. He had hoped that it would be a quick thing, but it was going on three full days since his capture and he'd received no word about the transfer. No way he was going to try to force the issue - they held all the cards in this matter, all he could do was wear away their good will - but it was not comfortable being among a whole group of reptiles that were far bigger than him and armed. All it would have taken was one brief moment to end him, and he couldn't have done a thing about it while bound to the tree. He only had a few feet of movement, and though his hands were free they wouldn't have provided much protection against their weapons.

Mostly, though, they seemed content to ignore him. An occasional look here and there, usually nasty, but hardly worse than he tended to get among his own kind. No taunts, no forcing him into any humiliating actions, no trying to provoke him, just basically tolerating him at the most basic level. Heck, he was even fed, not great food but it was something. Doren rather doubted Faulren would have provided the same generosity to any prisoner they couldn't get anything out of.

Something else was off, though. He'd heard talk around the encampment about how they'd been in pursuit of Doren's unit for several days, but shortly after his capture there had been a hold order. No one seemed to know why, and there were concerns among some of the soldiers that the humans were gaining distance when their intentions were still unknown. And Doren didn't like hearing that, if only because it would be harder to make an exchange if they were farther apart. And that was sowing seeds of doubt in his mind.

Do they think I'm dead? Maybe they're going on without me assuming that I got capped when I didn't come back. If they found out I was alive, would they come back for me? Or would they decide to cut their losses? Did they even mourn for me for a second? I wonder if they'd even accept me back...

It was not long after he woke up after his third night in the encampment that he was approached by Grankil Kliver and Dordrya Azri. They had been the only two to really pay attention to him, more the latter than the former who seemed to have more than enough to do. Azri was...odd, to Doren, he wasn't exactly nasty to him and was the one to bring him food. To call him warm would have been stretching it, but Doren hadn't even been treated that level of nicely by anyone since he joined the Faulren military. It was hard not to feel a little gratitude towards him...the expression on his face today, though, was not comforting. And when he was given the news, he understood why.

"Gone?!"

"During the night. The report came in early, they disappeared not far from their most recent encampment. It looked like a remote recall, they might have been brought into a dropship."

It was Doren's nightmare - they had left not knowing he was still alive! He couldn't be returned to them if they weren't accessible, and it wasn't like they had liaisons all over the place to arrange prisoner transfers, especially from the jungle. He might become their prisoner after all, and they wouldn't be as nice to him if they had to tote him around the whole time...

Then he remembered something. "The dropship! I...I have an emergency contact frequency! If we try it, maybe we can get in touch with them before they get too far away!"

Azri and Kliver exchanged looks. The superior spoke first. "I'm not sure we're authorized to initiate contact like that-"

"By the time we get authorization, they'll be too far away to engage," replied Azri, with a sense of determination that caught Doren off-guard. "We're not on a stealth mission, and the group we were pursuing knew we were nearby. There are no exoatmospheric armaments around Tessur since we established superiority. It won't put anyone in danger so long as we make no agreements that require anything more of us than returning the prisoner."

The Grankil lowered his head in thought for a moment, then nodded. "All right. Let's make it quick, I don't want to drag this out. If they're gone already, it's going to be tough to arrange a recovery, but we might be able to get a drop-off point or another unit to attach him to. Preferably one about to be picked up themselves."

"I'll get the comms ready." Azri ran off in a direction, and Kliver sighed and headed off in a different one. For the moment at least, Doren was alone again, feeling a supremely unstable mix of emotions. They were actually doing this? Either they desperately wanted to be rid of him or they were more pleasant people than he'd heard...

---

A tent had been set up, and it was Doren, Azri, Kliver, and another sarauk who seemed to be the expert on the communications platform. The human felt small even in the small space, with three bigger reptiles around him...at the moment, he felt like he owed them for this. Not that he'd likely be able to repay that, or that that would be a good idea given what he was trying to accomplish, but still...

He gave the frequency codes to the comm manager, who entered them in and attempted to establish a link. After a minute or so, a staticy voice broke through. "This is NHE EAF Dropship Mautilor. You are not authorized to access this channel. Identify yourself."

The other two looked to Kliver, who closed his eyes for a moment before starting to speak. "Dropship Mautilor. I am Kliver Arrodgun, Grankil of the 8th platoon of Unit 7 in the Tessur Armed Forces Overland Division. We have a captive soldier of yours and we believe his unit was recovered earlier this morning by your dropship. It is our intention to arrange a pick-up for this individual if possible."

"We were not informed of any missing infantry by the unit commander."

"He might have been believed to have been killed in action."

"...Stand by. We will acquire the squad leader."

"Copy that. We'll maintain the connection." Kliver looked perturbed by that, but gave a nod to the comm manager. A tense silence followed, lingering over them all; Doren almost felt a sense of dread. Was he putting them all at risk for his own safety? It seemed odd to be worried over them, they were technically his enemy, but...they had gone to this length for him...

Then the comm came to life again, and a loud, arrogant sounding voice cut in. "Colonel Brigger. What're you all talking about?"

"Colonel! It's me, Doren Auwls!" Doren spoke out clearly, earning a severe look from Kliver. "I was captured...I'm still alive here!"

"Hah! Is that so? You're still kicking, faggot? Sucks to be you, doesn't it?" Doren cringed at the slur, when it was so open like that it stung. "You being a good boy for the lizards?"

"Colonel Brigger, was it?" Kliver spoke up as Azri motioned for Doren to be quiet. "I'd appreciate you using our racial designation in formal communication at the very least. Doren has been held at our encampment for the last three days. He's anxious to be returned to you. I would like to gather information on where we can bring him to be claimed by the dropship, or by another unit. Please advise."

The voice at the other end laughed. "You want advice? Keep the butt-raiser for your fun. I know how you freaky lizards are. Wouldn't be surprised if you'd been hammering away at him already, bunch of deviants. We're not coming around for him."

Kliver had to take a moment to compose himself, and he wasn't the only one shocked at the response. "Colonel Brigger, if it is not possible for the ship to claim him, we are willing to make other arrangements. We just need to know who to get in touch with."

"Ain't nothing to arrange, lizard boy! You deaf? He ain't welcome back. Ain't interested in reclaiming a worthless faggot, much less a tainted one! He'll love bending over for your boys, that's about all he's worth in life, being fag slut to savages!"

Doren couldn't stay silent. "Colonel! Please! I know I'm not...what you want, but I still tried to do what I could! I was trying to complete the mission for you-"

The human was silenced by another bout of laughter, this one distinctly cruel, though it was the words that cut deepest. "You're as dumb as you are faggy, boy! There wasn't any mission. You were bait, boy. We sent you out so we could make our escape more easily. Figured they'd be distracted by having a go at you so we could get snatched up by the Mautilor without them scaly fucks breathing down our necks. No one wanted you around anyway, so it worked out perfectly. I've already written you up as AWOL, reported you as looking to bend over for the lizards. They see you, they'll kill you faster than any of them, and good riddance. Here's another thing you should learn, take a hint. You ain't wanted, and you ain't one of us. Kliver, was it? He's a fag through and through, he'll be moaning on your lizard dick like the bitch he is. Think of it as a token gift before the Empire puts you fucks back in your place. Glory to the New Human Empire of Faulren - free of another worthless fag!"

"Hey! Don't you disconnect on me!" roared Kliver angrily, snatching up the comm mic from the startled manager, but there was nothing but static on the other end. Angrily he tossed it on the ground. "Piece of shit! Treating one of your men like that, I'd see you hanged from the racks before letting you serve, let alone lead!"

Numbness was all Doren felt at that moment. Pierced to the core by that vicious declaration...he'd been set up. Abandoned deliberately...no, not just that, handed over to the opposing side with the intention that he'd be used and abused. His own people, throwing him away like that...he felt an arm around him, Azri brought him up and out of the tent while the Grankil was still ranting up a storm, turning to his native tongue for an apparent lack of invectives in common. None of it registered. The shock blocked it all out, and would for some time.

---

"I want to fight with you."

Once again, Azri and Kliver found themselves exchanging uncertain looks. Though, this time, there was definitely not going to be any snap decision.

Across from them sat Doren; his face was somewhat tear-streaked, but his expression was one of barely-repressed fury. It had been a brutal few days...once the shock had passed, then came the anguish. And it had come...years of abuse and maltreatment had hardened him to much of it, but this had enough impact to smash through all that, bring the wails and sobs flowing freely. But once they too had come and gone, what remained was the finally exposed, white-hot core of anger that had been so long sealed away. Sealed away for the danger it posed, a homo that spoke out was the most aggressively targeted, but here...Faulren held no sway here.

And he wanted it never to again. They had abandoned him, after all he'd tried to fit in? After he'd gone to lengths to deny himself, behave in a way that was acceptable to his world in spite of the loneliness and abuse it got him? Fuck them all. And his defiance wasn't satisfied with just his emotional rejection...no, he wanted to take up arms, give them a piece of his rage against them. They deserved it, and he wasn't going to rest until he was treating them with all the hatred they had given to him.

The taller task was ensuring he had the chance.

"I understand your reasons, but you can't just join us," Azri said gently. "We aren't, well, equipped to accommodate a human. Our system doesn't have a place for them, we don't have anything sized for humans..."

"And you're too much of a risk," added Kliver. "Other units aren't going to know who you are, and you might be shot on sight as a potential enemy. Even if they know we have a human, they won't know you by sight."

Doren groaned. They were right, but still... "Please...is there any way to do it? If it was just not wanting to be with them anymore, I'd just...I don't know, be a pleasure slave or something. But I really want to actually work against them, make them pay for what they've done to me. If I had information that you could use, I'd give it up in a heartbeat, but..."

"The way they treated you, I figure that's unlikely. I'm not really sure there's much that can be done, though. We can't accommodate a human in the ranks."

"...There might be something." Both Kliver and Doren turned to look at Azri. "It's...you're gonna have to REALLY want to be dedicated to it, though, if you want to go that route. It's a one-way trip, and there's no turning back."

"Azri! You can't be suggesting-"

"Well, he wants to know the options! I'm not saying he HAS to."

"What is it?" Doren asked, half in excitement and half in dread.

"Radical Retrogenomic Restructuring. It's the process by which an organism can reform themselves completely, even into a different species. The process it uses is extremely complicated and strenuous...it's widely accepted that for most species it's a one-shot deal, you don't get a second bite and you don't get to undo it. So that's why I say you have to be really sure...if you want to fight them that badly, you could undergo that with a sarauk template, turn yourself into one of us."

"Not without permission from higher up," cut in Kliver. "I don't even know that there IS a sarauk template, or that we have the means to perform this drastic operation."

"It's already been done at least once. I was reading the story on it a couple seasons ago. It's basically the main method of species reassignment. We can do it, if permission is granted."

"It's still quite an imposition to change species-"

"I want to do it." Kliver and Azri both looked over at Doren, whose expression had hardly changed. "Fuck being human. I was born wrong anyway - born something that the world I was born into passionately despises, and has haunted me every fucking day of my life. Maybe what I've needed all this time is to just not be that anymore. And if that lets me get some payback..."

"You're not settling on this two minutes after learning about it," Kliver countered. "And we still have the matter of actually being allowed to do this. You're technically a prisoner of war, that could violate all sorts of federation codes."

"So we bring it to the forcestus," said Azri. "If he gives the go-ahead, we should be fine, right? He's barely even a POW, after what happened he's more like a refugee."

"Fine. We can ask. But don't be crushed if we're barred from this course of action."

---

Doren's mind was locked in a battle - the frustration of them holding him back from the decision he wanted to make versus the temperance to realize that he was asking for something big and they had to make sure he was really sure. The fact that he was didn't mean they could slack off.

It had been a very snap decision, but as they took the time to get in touch with their commanders, he thought more on it. And the more he thought, the more sure he was that that was what he wanted to do. The fact of the matter was, there was no future for him as a human, at least not any one he wanted to face. Faulren would see him dead before they took him back, and there were precious few things he could do on Tessur - and even what he could, he was in constant danger from those who might mistake him for a soldier for the enemy or might just want to take out their frustrations with humans on him. Really, being human had always sucked for him, and by this point there was absolutely no loyalty to that species. Changing to something else, it could be a fresh start for him, a new life that held more promise than his current one.

Azri was spending a good bit of time talking to him, and Doren was starting to get the distinct impression that the sarauk actually liked him. Which was an odd thing to consider, given that they were on opposite sides of a conflict, or at least had been. He wasn't about to complain, though, especially given that such talking was helping to solidify his decision. Azri was presenting points to him that he hadn't considered as fully, but in a way that wasn't trying to force his decision, just make sure he was clear on it - for instance, the chance of something going wrong, not high but not impossible, or the steep learning curve of the culture he'd be joining, which he wouldn't connect to naturally, or the fact that the brain rewriting would probably break some of his memories. All important things to consider, but as he did, he felt more and more like he was prepared for the challenges he'd face, rather than being in the dark about it. And nothing really swayed him away from the idea.

Finally, the forcestus came into play. A name that Doren actually knew - Xaltar Rindalio, the biggest thorn in Faulren's side of all the ones they cursed. He didn't know the story behind that, but he knew that they spoke his name with as much vitriol as he'd heard directed towards himself. He cut an impressive stature, Doren would have been terrified of him if he hadn't been in this situation...well, he was still a little nervous, to be sure, but trying to remain confident and not seem wavering.

"So...you want to be a sarauk."

Doren swallowed. "Yes, sir."

"You realize that this isn't something that can be undone."

"I do, sir."

"You understand that just because you're changed doesn't mean you'll see the battlefield. Even if you're deemed suitable, you will have to start from the lowest rank, which requires training before being considered battle-ready. Depending on how long that takes, the war might be over before you reach that point."

That, at least, hadn't occurred to Doren...he would really have liked a chance to get some personal payback. But even considering that, it didn't change that he had more future as one of them than one of what he was. "I understand and accept that, sir."

"You have been informed and understand that you may potentially have memory loss as a result of the change."

"Yes, I do."

"You understand that we're getting all the proper channels in order so that we can prove, if something goes wrong, that we aren't responsible for the outcome. No blaming us if something bad happens."

"This is my decision and mine alone. I wasn't forced into it, and I won't have anyone to look at for the consequences except myself."

Xaltar regarded the human with scrutiny; Doren wondered if he'd said something wrong. But eventually it seemed to pass. "In order to affirm that you're sincere, determined, and truly of settled mind, you need a testament. Someone must be able to back you up that you know what kind of decision you're making. And we have to be assured that they're just as sincere. Do you have someone who can offer that?"

That made the human hesitate. He had to have someone vouch for him? That was a lot to ask, he could think that many might just say it to be rid of a human...but before he had to go too much further, a voice behind him come in. "I'm his testament."

Doren jumped a bit and looked back. Azri was coming forth, as serious as he'd ever seen him. Xaltar seemed reactive to this, raising an eyeridge at the approaching sarauk. "You are, then?"

"I am. Azri Soldanye, Dordrya within the 8th platoon of Unit 7. I have spoken to Doren at length about his decision, presented him with a fair and unbiased platform of issues relevant to the decision to change his species. The thoroughness and sincerity of his answers has left me with no doubt that he is of sound mind and conscious determination in his decision."

That explained the conversations, then...Doren felt himself redden a bit. He was so grateful that the sarauk stepped up to the plate for him yet again...how was he ever going to repay Azri for everything? He'd have to think of that at some point.

Xaltar seemed satisfied by this. "Very well, then. I will have you sent to the transference facility. Good luck with the change...I hope for your sake that it brings you to a better place."

Doren nodded evenly, though inwardly he was more more excited and anxious. "Thank you, sir...best of luck against the rest of Faulren."

The forcestus smirked just a bit. "I dare say we're at the point where luck is no longer the key factor. But I appreciate the thought."

---

Things proceeded faster than Doren had expected from there. A hurried escort out of the woods to a waiting transport vehicle. A bumpy, hasty drive to a skyport. A flight to the far end of the continent. Just a few days between his acceptance and his arrival at the place where his life would change forever. All the while filling out paperwork and reaffirming that, yes, this was the decision he had made and he was going forward with it. The closer he got, the more sure he was, and the more he was anticipating it even as he was still nervous - but then again, if a change this big didn't make him at least a little nervous, that was probably a bad sign.

Azri was with him, every stage of the way. Doren had been surprised that he was - after all, he was part of a military unit, and he worried that the sarauk's reputation might be marred by leaving the field of combat, especially for a human. But over the course of the travel he learned it was part of his duty as the testament to Doren's decision, and he had to reaffirm that nothing had changed when they were at the facility. As for the threat of dereliction of duty, the permission of the forcestus was more than enough to absolve him of any misdeed. And as Azri himself said as they traveled, the fact was that there was no more point to their presence in those woods anyway - Doren's former unit was the only reason they had been out there, and it would take some time before their next deployment destination was determined. If it was even going to happen - the number of human military units and buildings on Tessur was dwindling as the sarauk scored victory after victory. It was in fact a very real possibility that Doren would never see action against them...which was fine by him. He would have liked to have had some personal payback, but the fact that they were suffering was still pleasing to him.

Once at the facility, all the paperwork was turned over and Azri gave his statement. It was refreshingly efficient - the decision was made, the system was ready, and all that was left to do was strip him down and sedate him. He couldn't have gotten out of that unpleasant uniform fast enough - the last time he'd ever have to bear any mark of allegiance to Faulren, and good riddance. The last thing he saw before unconsciousness claimed him was Azri's face, a smile on his features that was more genuine than any he'd ever gotten from any human he could remember...and perhaps touched with something more...

The unconscious human was inserted into the specialized chamber, laying still in a thick, pale slurry. He was now comatose, almost in suspended animation, as little activity as possible for minimal interference with the transition. The chamber was transparent, allowing the techs to monitor the progress of the conversion as it went forth. It was a slow process, not one measured by minutes but by hours and days as the chemicals and nanites and viruses did their work.

The changes were visible and increasing over time. At first the human's body bloated up, providing space for things to develop underneath. The insides were reconstructed first, organs modified to fit the new body and lifestyle, as quickly as possible to ensure that the vital actions they performed were not too severely disrupted. The skeleton was also an early target, bones reshaped to fit one of his new species. As muscle tissue was modified, resources from the slurry were drawn into the body, allowing for additional mass to create and support the new frame.

The first external changes were in the extremities, hands and feet slowly altering in shape to match those of the sarauk. On the hands, one digit was drawn in and converted to fuel to reshape the rest, making them thicker and larger. Even more cannibalism came below, with two toes gone and the remaining three getting much wider, the foot gaining a wider shape and a slight tilt of the ankle. The nails joined in the transformation, getting much wider and thicker on the toes and more curved and sharpened on the fingers.

The other great initial change was the extension of his tailbone, new bones being built onto it and pushing out behind the changeling's rear. The tail seemed almost embryonic at first - getting longer and thicker but retaining a pale pallor, the insides becoming a match before the outsides were. A great deal of musculature was being built into it - not just for support, but also for the ability to move it around consciously. A sarauk tail was not fully prehensile, but could be moved and curled and pushed around to a fair degree, sometimes providing another limb for certain purposes.

Slowly the bloat was changing to a more defined shape, as the new sarauk muscles were being built onto the bones. Now the cranial and neural restructuring were starting, brain being reformatted to fit a sarauk skull and to implement the proper connections to his new 'hardware.' As the bones were rebuilt, movement and revision of the necessary organs was being performed, his eyes being set above a lengthening face, mouth getting wider and longer and gaining altered shapes for his new speech mechanisms. At about this time the first scaling appeared on his skin, the hide being slowly adjusted from the head and extremities towards the torso.

The superficial changes were beginning to be much more robust now, as the inner ones were settling into completion. Scaling picked up, going up his limbs and extending towards his trunk. His torso continued to experience alterations, the nipples disappearing as scale overtook them, his genitals pulling inward and being reshaped into a proper sarauk form. The lighter ventral coloring and ribbed shape of that scaling contrasted with the rest of his body's darker coloring, a forest green that was even a bit deeper than many of the other sarauk.

Six days after the process started, he was no longer human on any level - his body, his genes, his brain had all been converted fully to the sarauk standard. And with a determination that he was physically stable, he was removed from the conversion chamber and brought to the reanimation wing, where he was gently brought back to consciousness. Although his brain had been retrofitted to match his new body, there was always some adjustment due to the fact that, at least to whatever degree possible, old memories were still preserved, including old body maps that couldn't truly be overwritten without conscious experience. So to keep from a dissonance shock, everything had to be done delicately at the outset.

The first thing he saw when he finally woke up a couple days after the end of his transformation was Azri's face over him. There was no way to properly describe the relief on his features as he saw him return to the world. "Welcome back. How are you feeling?"

Confused was the right word, but he couldn't come up with it. His brain was a confusing mash of things, not really fully remembering anything though there were bits and pieces here and there. As he worked his mouth to try to speak, the one thing that stuck out to him was what he first said: "I...can't remember my name."

Azri nodded. "Then let's give you a new one...Soriel."

---

As things jelled back to cohesion, he did eventually remember his name. But Soriel he was, and Soriel he would remain - casting off the old life, it only made sense to cast off the old name as well.

A good bit of his past life did come back to him as he adjusted back to the waking world as a new person. There were gaps, things that were just completely gone, but he remembered enough to know he didn't want to go back - the hate, the betrayal, the constant feeling of inferiority, in particular the event that had broken him, it was all still there more than well enough that he could piece together his desire for payback. The gaps were less and less important the more that he remembered all that - why would he want to be reminded of all the shit he'd been put through in detail?

Revenge, as it turned out, was unlikely to be quick in coming. As he was in the monthlong process of getting truly acclimated to his new body, the last of the humans was expelled from Tessur. The war, it seemed, was over...at least, for the time being. Rumors that the New Human Empire was planning to restart the invasion were not exactly rare, and Soriel's memories of their behavior made him feel like that was far from unlikely. So perhaps he would still have his shot...but by then, at least he'd be well-prepared.

And Azri, as he had been, was the constant in that preparation. Every day during the adjustment period he was there, helping Soriel out and getting him used to the way he was. After that, the combat training began...he had to start at the lowest level, a trainee in the army, which was given the rank of 'bukmin,' a term that was inherently unflattering and was in itself motivation to get better. He had to learn a lot, physically and mentally, shadowing other sarauk in training exercises and combat simulations, learning to identify hazards and weapons and react appropriately to each one. Not easy in the slightest, but he remembered enough from his training as a human to be able to apply at least some of that knowledge to his new role.

What helped most was the new body. As sarauk went, he wasn't exactly big, but he was a fair bit larger than his old human self. And he had more muscle and more stamina, not as much an advantage against others but against the world it was a huge boon. He was completing challenges early on that he knew he couldn't have in his former shape, which was extra validation to him that this was the right decision, and they had been right to say that they wouldn't take him on as a human - there was no way he would have been suitable.

As the days went by, Soriel got stronger and more capable, came to understand the intricacies of his body better, and became more accustomed to the new way of living. But along with this comfort came something new: a budding attraction to Azri. The sarauk training him was starting to become the subject of tempting thoughts and spicy dreams, and Soriel wasn't sure what to do about it. The more he tried to ignore it, the more it slipped in, disrupting his focus and causing errors that he wasn't making before. Such was what got him brought into a conference in the middle of the night with his superior in Azri's quarters after a rather unfortunate day.

"I can tell something's bothering you." Azri was calm and patient, more than Soriel suspected he would be in the same position. "This is an adjustment, and there will be challenges, no one's going to judge you harshly for that. But I do need you to talk about it - we can't fix it if we don't address it."

All very true, except Soriel was loathe to say it, But he swallowed, took a deep breath, and summoned up the courage to speak. "I...I'm sorry. I don't mean to be...distracted like this. It's...well...embarrassing."

"I can't imagine it could be THAT embarrassing, you haven't done that much out of my sight since you changed."

"Yeah, I guess, but it's...well...you. I...uh...I've been having, um, dreams and stuff about you...it's just been getting in the way of everything else, I guess, and I'm trying not to let it bother me, but..."

Azri chuckled. "Wait, that's it? Jeez, why didn't you say something before? We could take care of that pretty easily."

"Huh?"

"Yeah, communal action like that is regular stuff in the sarauk military forces. Sometimes it's even an obligation for a lower-ranked person to service a higher-one as part of a mentorship or prime position. Honestly, it's kind of a perk as far as I see it."

"It...it is? But...what about...you know...breeding?"

Azri cocked his head. "What about breeding?"

"I...well...isn't...you know...the vital force of your seed diminishes if you unleash it too freely, and you become less fertile and your offspring are weaker...you're supposed to make it stronger by having a female stimulate you, and...not..." Soriel trailed off as he saw the utterly perplexed expression on Azri's face. "Er..."

"What in blazes were they TEACHING you over there? No, seriously, tell me about it, I've honestly never heard this before."

"Well...I think I have most of it, not sure if there are holes in the memories...but...the New Human Empire always dictated to us that anything sexual was absolutely not to be done except for breeding. That it would sap your vital force and shrink your, uh, gonads if you released without trying to reproduce. Men aren't supposed to do anything to disperse their seed outside a female, and there's punishments if you're caught relieving yourself like that...a lot of males still do it but they're very secretive about it. Sex is supposed to be a privilege that higher-status males get more of, but only if they're doing it with females and making sure that it's purely for breeding. Men who do infertile acts are ridiculed and shunned, and...well...if you're not into women, then you're basically the scum of society, even if you aren't actively having sex with males...which is punishable by castration, conversion, or even death. They...told us frequently that other races were nothing more than primitive savages for not recognizing the sacred value of semen. And they said sarauks were rapists who would steal weaker males and force them to give up their seed and defile their bodies with their own tainted fluids..."

"Holy shit and a half. I knew they were messed up, but this is complete lunacy. Wait, hold on, these are the same people that came up with a drug that relied on sex to work? Those guys were definitely sticking it into male sarauk, and they knew it."

"Some...males think it's fine if you do it right...like always being the giver, and...well, they think that their seed can break the wills of lesser creatures and make them their slaves, so showing off the power of their cum is as noble a goal as breeding."

"Jeez. This is fucked up." Azri shifted closer to Soriel and put an arm on his shoulder...only now did Soriel realize he was shaking. "Awesome as sex is, there's no magic power to semen. And sex is something meant to be enjoyed...reproduction is just one of the side benefits, really. It's healthy to get release...I don't know how it is with humans, but with sarauk, fertility actually increases if one's, ah, cycling regularly. Letting it sit isn't good for you. And it doesn't matter who has sex with who, so long as they're all enjoying it. Usually consensually, but some people prefer it another way...but even most of our pleasure slaves are voluntary, and those that aren't are generally paying restitution for crimes. Rape isn't something we do or take lightly. But...wow. That sounds incredibly oppressive. Saying that males can't enjoy the company of males...wait, is that why they didn't come back for you? Because you prefer males?"

"Y-yes..." Soriel had to take a deep breath to calm himself, remembering that still stung even if it fueled his anger and desire for revenge. "Didn't matter what I did for them, I was still a worthless faggot who wouldn't breed a female. They threatened to hurt me or even kill me a lot if I ever failed them...I think they thought you guys would just...use me as a sex toy or something."

"Well, we're not going to. What we ARE going to do is free you from those vile lies. You deserve to feel good about yourself, and I'm going to do what I can to make you feel good. Clothes off, we're going to rut."

The declaration was met with stunned silence for Soriel. To have it just thrown out there like that, without any shyness or evasiveness or hesitation...he was very much not used to that. It was still hard to process that this was something that was okay, that was both permitted and encouraged, that he wasn't going to be in trouble or be judged negatively for it - one of those cultural things he hadn't really caught up to, because they hadn't known how badly they'd needed to target that. But...with Azri taking off his uniform, exposing his broad and muscular chest that Soriel's dreams had been lingering on for so long, his desires flaring up again as his fantasies were being pushed into the fore...the want overcame the inhibition, pushed past the hesitation, and spurred him to action.

Dark green scales appeared to the air as his light shirt and short pants were discarded. All he was wearing - another thing he'd had to get used to. Faulren demanded you cover all but your face and hands in public, except in specially monitored zones so they could ensure no funny business, and you were meant to have two layers on regardless of the weather. On Tessur, 'nothing at all' was acceptable casual wear, short-sleeved shirts and shorts were about as dressed up as one got informally in their area. Shoes were basically never worn except in specific roles for special protection, heavier clothes and any form of underwear was only for colder areas, formal wear was only for very special events and was definitely more elaborate than a tuxedo, and about the only other thing Soriel had experience with was the body armor they wore for combat, which was unnecessary at the current point in time. He definitely preferred the looseness that came with the lighter and lesser garb, though it had taken some time to get used to donning them around the tail.

Now standing bare, he was approached by Azri and gently guided down onto the dordrya's bed, underneath that alluring yellow-green body. Azri was bigger than he was, a few inches over him and built larger and more muscular, though Soriel had gotten closer to his shape over his training. But his touch, it could be so remarkably gentle, plying but not pushy, comforting without being stifling, and he was using that to great effect as he brought their snouts together, nuzzling them directly end-to-end - a gesture of affection that Soriel had seen his share of, but never been the recipient of. It sent a little shiver down his spine, and he let out a low moan, feeling his anxieties slowly melting away and his arousal starting to climb.

It climbed more rapidly when he felt a touch down along his slit, working a gasp out of him as he was teased. The biggest anatomical changes he'd needed to adjust to were the tail, the snout, and his revised genital layout - it was so unusual having a sensitive slit compared to what he'd had before, anything that rubbed against it significantly had a good chance of triggering a boner that got uncomfortable if he tried to hold it in. No wonder they wore such light clothing, if they were that easily stimulated...but it was helpful now, when he really wanted to be coming out into the open. He'd gotten used to helping it out, just a few little pushes the right way and his cock was extruding from that slit. That had been an adjustment, too...such a different shape, the bumpy shaft and weird spiky ring had been an adventure to play with with his own hand. And it was so much BIGGER than his human dick, he didn't really remember the exact size he had been but he know this far outclassed it. That was another thing in Faulren, dick size was such a big thing...among humans, the bigger you were, the better you were, it represented one's virility and energy, and those who had larger ones were thrust into the upper echelons of power, regardless of whether they were capable in any other way. On the other hand, when it came to non-human races, dick size was considered an obscenity, and the larger they were hung the more hostile Faulren was to them...which was at least a good portion of the reason they were so antagonistic towards the sarauk. He'd initially felt a bit of residual shame over that after his transformation, but that he'd at least managed to shunt away on his own.

And as good at it felt to have Azri's rubbing against his, the other hang-ups were quickly being pushed aside as well. It was hard to think about anything else with pleasure like this, the rubbing of their members was so nice, especially with the bumps adding to the contact, and the slickness of their fluids mingling together made them slide so easily. And Azri kept up with the snout rubs and licks, and wrapping his tail around Soriel's in a tight grip, keeping close to Soriel and providing the intense comfort of his presence. His memories might have been fragmented, but Soriel knew for sure that he'd never known this kind of closeness in his past life, and he'd sorely wanted it. He reached up to pull Azri closer, trying to return some of the gestures as best he could, pushing against the larger sarauk's body and reveling on the feel of his scales.

After a bit, Azri pulled away, looking a bit flushed himself. "Soriel...you have no idea how long I've wanted to do this. I almost asked several times...even before your transformation, I felt this...something that drew me towards you...but I didn't want to add pressure to you or risk taking advantage of you. If I'd known what was going through your head, I wouldn't have waited so long...will you let me do the honor of bringing you to the heights of pleasure?"

"Ah...Azri...p-please, I..." Soriel's heart was soaring, this wasn't just an obligation, Azri really did care about him...it couldn't have been a better thing to hear. "I need you...I've wanted you...for so long, I...please, show me what...show me what I've been missing for so long..."

"I would love to." Azri nudged the smaller reptile's legs with his, and Soriel spread them apart, allowing Azri perfect access to his tailhole. Excitement and nervousness were mixing, he'd heard about anal sex, read and fantasized about it, but never had the chance to engage in it, not even daring to use a toy or a substitute...the indoctrination was nibbling at him, trying to chide him for doing to think about this, but he shoved it away, that was old human thinking, that wasn't the way of his new self, he wanted nothing to do with it. He did his best to relax as the pointed tip of Azri's cock nestled against his pucker, moaning and shivering. It was so close, he could almost taste it...which, hopefully, would be something else he'd get to do soon...

Azri didn't hurry himself, pushing in gradually and stretching Soriel out slowly, making him gasp and cry out quaveringly in bliss. The first stretch was strange, an unfamiliar sensation that he wasn't sure what to make of...but it didn't hurt, Azri felt nice and slick and he felt like his body was made to feel that. And then as he got deeper, the bumps on Azri's shaft were rubbing very pleasantly along Soriel's inner walls, sending little thrills through him and making him tense down a bit, adding to the feeling of thickness. Azri was SO big, but it was slowly starting to feel really good to be spread like that, to have that pressure within him.

Azri didn't stop until he'd brought his slit flush with Soriel's rear, then paused for a bit, rubbing and stroking Soriel and letting the smaller reptile get used to the feelings. It was a good minute of closeness and adjustment, even if it felt good Soriel appreciated it, he wanted to savor this, his first sexual encounter and the final true breaking of Faulren's hold on him. Feeling every touch of Azri against him, the heat of his breath in Soriel's face, the tightness of his tail around his own...Azri had said it was rutting, but this felt far too intimate for such a term. How lovely it was, better than any fantasy could have brought.

Then Azri started to move again, and it got even better. Soriel gasped as he felt the cock start to vacate, and the wonder of that spiky ring of flesh made itself fully known, dragging against his insides in the most scintillating way, stroking multiple spots that sent shocks through him, a bit of precum leaking out of his own cock and dribbling down. And the bumpy surface of Azri's tool rubbed against his star as that thick shaft drew out of him, stimulating it wonderfully, wresting a louder mewl of euphoria from Soriel's maw. More and more left him, until he felt that ring catch on something inside him and hold Azri in there, another jolt of pleasure from that contact...something deep within his mind told him this was quite different from how it would go between humans, and he was pretty sure he would have preferred this anyway.

Now Azri was picking up the pace, starting to truly move in and out in a steady but leisurely rhythm, the two staying in a tight embrace as they coupled. It was utterly heavenly for Soriel, every motion amplifying his arousal and bringing him further and further towards the peak. Azri's cock was leaking warm precum into him, making things wetter and slicker, that heat spreading further as the thick tool worked in and out. Soriel was getting very familiar with the special sensitive spots inside him - a place inside which might have been his prostate which absolutely electrified his cock and balls when stroked, that tight ring of flesh which held the larger sarauk inside him and felt SO good when contacted, a couple other small spots that seemed especially sensitive and especially easily grazed by the embellishments on that terrific dick working him over. All of it was making him cry out wantonly, wordlessly begging for more from Azri, wanting nothing but to feel more of the bigger reptile inside and out. But his body wasn't holding out well...it was so much, so quickly, and he was fighting hard to keep from going over the edge too quickly. He didn't want it to end so soon, wanted to have more of this, to keep feeling it...

Azri's voice graced his ear. "Let it come, Soriel...we're only just beginning, you'll be able to keep going after this. Let yourself feel that pleasure..."

Soriel wasn't sure whether he really made the decision, or just couldn't hold it back anymore anyways - either way, it happened, he cried out loud as his orgasm fired off, sending him spurting thick and healthy gluts of pent-up seed out onto himself and Azri, their grinding bodies rapidly smearing the mess between them. It was even better than Soriel had hoped, his vision blurring a bit in raw ecstasy, clenching down on the thickness in his ass as he squirmed in Azri's arms, shot after shot after shot erupting from him, he couldn't even believe he was lasting this long but never wanted it to end.

Of course, it had to, but not before Azri got up there with him. The larger sarauk bucked in hard and fast as Soriel was orgasming, rushing to the finish himself, finally getting there just as Soriel's release was reaching its end. That spiky ring flared out, and caught on something deep inside Soriel, another spot he hadn't realized he had that felt wildly good when locked into, and then Azri was there, the first gush painting his walls. A lilting moan escaped Soriel as he felt that thick, warm fluid rush through his innards, spreading deep within him as energetic bursts raced out from Azri's dick. It felt like the perfect way to come down from his own peak, that lovely liquid warmth aiding in releasing the tension of his muscles as he cooled down from the pinnacle of pleasure. His breaths slowed and deepened, body slackening a bit on the bed as he felt tranquility wash over him.

After a bit, Azri's weight slumped down on him, the larger sarauk nuzzling him and stroking his scales again. Soriel felt immense comfort in the close contact, keeping his arms and tail wrapped up tight with Azri, enjoying the blissful afterglow. He could still feel his stiff erection trapped between their bodies, though...it seemed that this wasn't going to be the end of the activities tonight, just a brief recharge before whatever came next. He wasn't sure what that would be, but he knew Azri would be all too happy to show him, and he'd be all too happy to experience it. And he was having more and more hope that this wouldn't be the last night that they enjoyed such things together...either the sex or the wonderful intimacy that he desired almost as much.

---

"Men and women of the Tessur Military Forces...let me apprise you on the situation." The dravinaga held everyone's attention - the supreme commander of all military branches on the planet, and he rarely made a full address unless it was absolutely necessary. And given what had just happened, it was ABSOLUTELY necessary.

"By now you have all heard about the events that have transpired within the last few weeks. The New Human Empire of Faulren, in a new, heinous crime against our kind, attempted to deploy a planet buster weapon to annihilate Tessur and the millions of sarauk living on it. Were it not for the timely intervention of our satellite defenses, we would be no more. The threat was neutralized without incident, but it was only the latest attempt by the New Human Empire to undermine our species and take revenge for their defeat. And a weapon of that nature is a gross violation of all galactic standard rules of engagement."

"When we attempted to mediate the conflict with Federation officials, Faulren declared in no uncertain terms that they would continue to build and deploy such weapons until they were successful, and that they would 'put us in our place once and for all.' They rebuffed all Federation attempts to reason with them, and denied the Earth Coalition's attempts at contact. In the most recent declaration, they stated that anyone standing with the sarauk would meet the same fate. As a result, the Federation has declared war on the New Human Empire of Faulren, and is currently engaged in the openings of combat against several of their planets."

"The planet closest to us, Faulren Nieva, has not yet been engaged, and Tessur has received authority from the Federation to engage them in order to ensure that they are not capable of building or deploying any planet busters directed at Tessur or anyone else. We are taking this war to Faulren, and we are going to end it there. I am ordering the mobilization of ground, air, sea, and exospace units to engage Faulren Nieva, liberate the planet from the control of the New Human Empire, and put an end to their threat once and for all!"

"Deployment will begin starting in ten days. All units are to make the proper preparations, and military organization is to prepare to establish supply chains and resource delivery to the combat zone. May Tessur live on forever!"

For most, it was probably a stunning declaration - the first invasion of the domain of another species in the history of the sarauk race. Some, however, had already been anticipating this - one in particular, as Azri put a hand on the shoulder of his partner. "Looks like you're going to get your chance for revenge after all, Soriel."

The excited, almost predatory grin on Soriel's face told it all. "I can't wait."