Through The Ranks- Part 4: Zane

Story by Kerolusion on SoFurry

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#4 of Through The Ranks


Here is Part 4! *hides* Long over due and I'm sorry about that. We've gotten so busy at work and I haven't had the mind set to write at home and it's been hard. not to mention I've been sewing things a lot and that's taken up msot of my creativity mentatlity. Anyways, here we have a newer and small introduction of Zane. We'll have more of him later. This is also where things start moving into a plot. :) Enjoy. I'll try my best to get part 5 up A LOT sooner than it took this one.

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Crying sobs startled Ari awake. It took only a second for her to remember why she was slumped over on the floor. Ari had fallen asleep up against the wall and must have slid down at some point. She crawled over to Exie's bed and pulled herself up.

"Exie?"

"Ari!"

The ferret propelled herself out of bed in one motion and wrapped her arms around the wolf. Ari fell back stiffly and caught the weight of both of them. She hesitated as her friend snuggled up against her before giving in and wrapping her arms around her.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay," the ferret muttered against the wolf's shirt.

"Are you really?" Ari forced her to look up by placing a paw under her chin and lifting.

"Well...I guess I am."

"What does that mean?"

Exie blinked a few times, "I'm shaken. But I feel that it's I will recover from ok. I'm supposed to be a soldier right? I have to be able to endure anything."

"But you're also an individual," Ari said softly. "What happened was wrong and can be very hard for someone to deal with."

"What almost happened," Exie corrected her.

Ari felt a weight lift off her shoulders. She hadn't been sure if the deed had been done or not, as the Captain hadn't been either. Not that it made it even less worse but it did lessen the intensity a bit.

"My hero," Exie mumbled.

"What?"

"He's my hero," Exie said again.

She twisted her body around and lay with her back against the wolf. She grinned upwards and her eyes were slightly glazed over.

"Are you okay, Exie?"

"He rescued me," she whispered. "He came out of nowhere. He fought for me. He saved me."

Ari grinned. Trust that funny little girl to turn a traumatic experience into something like this. Ari wasn't sure she'd even be able to think about attraction to someone else if that had happened to her. But who was she to chastise her friend for not being emotionally distraught.

"Well, you rest up. Captain stopped by during the night. Someone is going to be picking you up in an hour and they need your side of the story."

Exie's furry body suddenly went stiff. Ari felt the quivers start and had flashbacks of what had happened during the night after Exie had been carried into the room.

"If you don't speak up," Ari said quickly, "then the Captain will be in major trouble. He saved you at a great risk to his rank and reputation. Yes, it was the right thing to do and I happen to think he 's sweet on you too, but the fact is that he got into a serious fight with an officer of his own rank. He's counting on you to pull him through this."

Exie went all warm and fuzzy again. She snuggled back against the wolf.

"Then I'll do it," she said. "If anything I can't let him get in trouble for rescuing me."

Ari nodded, "As it is you need to bathe and get ready. I'll see you after."

"Where are you going?"

Ari sighed, "I'm covering your market rounds."

~

Ari was in a relatively good mood despite having to do double rounds in the market. Truthfully she enjoyed being around the people and seeing how they functioned on a daily basis. She watched the people as she passed them to the market center.

They were all so busy all the time. They bustled through the day hoping for a profit. The children ran about and played. The adult scolded them when they interfered with business. The locals mingled with the travelers trying to make the sale. The travelers looked for supplies.

"Are you Ari?"

Ari stopped mid stride and blinked in surprise at the black wolf that came into her view. It was the same one. Ari had a momentary flashback of his furry body colliding with hers as they fell to the ground. She remembered the look and color of his eyes, and there they were. Bluest eyes ever. They stared at each other for a moment before Ari put her foot down and nodded.

"Yes. Are you Exie's partner?"

The wolf nodded, "Aye. Zane, at your service."

"Nice to meet you, Zane. Let's get started."

Ari strode right past him, keeping her eyes adverted in doing so. It hadn't been that long ago since they'd first seen each other. Ari was sure if he looked close enough at her eyes that he would recognize her at once.

It seemed, as the time wore on, that Ari may have been overreacting. Zane was a good natured fur and seemed oblivious to her true identity. He even commented on her eyes and their shine but that was about it. Ari tried to keep herself from staring at him when he wasn't looking. She's had dreams about those eyes. Those wonderful blue eyes.

"Ari?"

Ari blinked again. The wolf was looking at her holding up a drink of something that had steam coming out of it.

"I'm sorry, I zoned out. What did you say."

"Have you ever had Dojite before?"

Ari shook her head, "I've never even heard of it."

The wolf blinked several times at her before mutely holding out the cup to her. She sniffed it and hesitantly took a drink. Warmth washed over her and she could feel the liquid start warming her whole body.

"Delicious," she said.

Zane nodded, "Yes."

Ari fidgeted. He was not looked at the drink in her hand but at her. His eyes were locked on her own and unblinking. Then his brow furrowed as if trying to remember something. Ari felt the panic start to rise but at that same time, a small sound overhead caught her attention.

"Do you hear that?"

Zane seemed distracted from finding his lost thoughts and perked his ears.

"That tapping?"

Ari choked on her next breath and flung herself away.

"I'll be back for the next round," she called over her shoulder as she sprinted into the crowd.

Why now? Hadn't it only been a couple days? Ari tried to remember how long she'd been Ari. Marina seemed like a distant and oblivious figure. She'd almost forgotten that she was supposed to be safely tucked away in the royal tower doing who knows what. She'd almost forgotten that she had a little sister who was not going to go too long without seeing her big sister. Lira was persistent.

Ari slid into a nearby closet using a code that she had developed for herself to gain access to practically anything she wanted without being traced. There was an advantage to being a princess.

Ari pulled down the computer from the wall in the tiny space. Every closet was equipped with an access point. It was dark in the room and she had to work quickly before anyone caught her in there. Windows flashed on and off the screen so fast it was as if a strobe light were playing.

"Marina?"

Ari's heart dropped a few feet. The sound of the small voice saying her name scared her for some reason. Lira's small frame came on the screen and scowled.

"Where are you?"

"Don't worry about it," Ari said.

"I can't see you."

The whine in her sister's voice made Ari sigh and adjust the computer so that the light shone on her dark face. Lira's own bright white furry maw spread into a grin. She appeared to be in her "secret" hideout that everyone knew the location of.

"I followed your clues," she said brightly. "I found the gem."

Ari frowned, "You went through ALL of them?"

"Yeah, it was so fun I couldn't stop. Are you going to be leaving more for me? Are you going to eat with us ever? Are you going to come play with me tomorrow?"

Ari sighed. That hunt was supposed to take her sister ages to finish and keep her from probing to Ari's whereabouts. She didn't anticipate needing a backup plan.

"Lira, I can't."

Sorrow instantly damped the youngsters face.

"Why?"

Ari sighed again, "Lira, I need you to act like a grown pup for me right now. I'm going to tell you my secret and you have to promise me you'll keep it. I've not told anyone else this. This is something that is really important to me and I want you to try and understand why this is."

Lira mulled it over for a minute. Ari could just see the wheels turning in her mind. Her sister could be very mature at time and very childish at others. Curiosity won out over sadness and Lira leaned forward.

"Tell."

Ari laid out her plan. She told Lira of her escape down to the public, leaving out the part about their sister and the jaguar. She described the arrival of the new recruits and the sorting. She told her about Exie and Breeze. She edited what her sister didn't need to know and gushed about the things she should.

"So, you're not going to be able to play with me for a while."

Ari stiffened, "No, Lira. I have to do this."

Lira sat quietly for a moment while she thought things over again. Ari was beginning to question whether telling her sister had been a good idea or not.

"Nerin and Solana don't know?"

"No one but you and I."

Lira nodded, "Alright then. You're off the hook. You'd better make it up to me."

Ari grinned, "I'll send you some things from the market."

~

Ari and Zane walked silently together through the third floor of the market. Ari was thinking about her conversation with Lira. Her sister had taken a great risk contacting her sister that way. Any personnel could have heard it and investigated the source. They could have traced it right to Lira and then people would have known that each Princess could access the system.

Nerin had been the first. She had worked with Marina do get it so that they could contact each other from any station, and cover their tracks so that they couldn't be traced. It was to be their own personal way of doing whatever they needed. They brought Solana in next and then Lira most recently. The tapping had been a code of calling. Lira had tapped into the main intercom system and sent the code out. It had been very risky indeed. Ari had covered her tracks best she could but if anyone dug deep enough they'd trace it back to Lira's hideout.

"Is everything okay?" Zane asked quietly.

Ari tried to flash a smile but it faltered, "I'm fine, just a lot of my mind."

"You might want to wait until later to think about it," Zane said. "I've got a bad feeling about this round."

Ari could feel it too. The fur on her back was straining against her uniform and her ears were working overtime trying to catch every sound around them. They walked in silence again, nodding to the few vendors they passed. Shadows seemed to lurk from everywhere. Ari had to admit that she was a bit anxious for this round to be over. Something did not feel right.

"Looky looky what we've got here," a silky voice said from the shadows.

Ari and Zane stopped in one fluid motion. A scaly leg detached itself from a nearby wall and came into view. Ari had to admit that she was absolutely beautiful. She was a cobra with curves that could melt a rhino.

"I think we've got a pair of expendables," said another voice from behind them.

Zane spun around to face the hyena that had appeared, but Ari kept her full attention on the snake. She flashed a dagger under the shear skirt she was wearing. It slid fluidly around her legs and seductively around her hips as she moved.

"Oh, I don't know. The wolfess here looks delicious."

The hyena snorted, "Don't mix work and pleasure. Bad news."

"I love taking pleasure in my work," the snake hissed quietly.

She glided up the Ari who hadn't even realized she'd been that close. She'd been staring into the cobra's eyes. Ari mentally kicked herself for doing so and instead focused on the bridge of her nose. It would appear that she was still hypnotized.

"If you murder members of the army there will not be any place for you to hide," Zane said steadily.

"On the contrary," the snake laughed. "Do you know where are hideout is? Do you know where the thieves court is?" When Zane didn't answer she laughed again. "I didn't think so."

"We don't like you sniffing around here. We don't like you at all," the hyena said. He drew a long dagger from the sheath at his side. "We don't like you."

He and the snake lunged together. Zane was able to parry his thrust easily. He'd had a lot more training. Ari on the other hand only managed to miss the snakes strike because she wasn't hypnotized by her gaze.

"Tricky wolfy," the snake chuckled.

Her tongue flickered in and out in the air, tasting. Ari positioned herself to be able to avoid another attack if it came. She slid her arm slowly to her jacket. Her military issued dagger seemed so heavy there.

"What are you reaching for, little wolf? You may be a dreamy rich dark but I can still taste you moving."

The snake lunged again and Ari had her weapon out. She deflected the snake's swipe and rolled away and back into a defensive position. She wasn't supposed to kill any attacker, but apprehend them or stall until the next watch came through.

"Ari!"

Ari was startled from her concentration by two large arms grabbing her from behind. One wrapped above her breast and the other below it, pinning her arms to her sides. Her legs were trapped apart by her captors and she couldn't move.

"Do you think we'd actually fight fair?" the snake chuckled again.

Zane and the hyena were still locked in a standstill. The thief would lunge and Zane would fend him off again. The snake slid over to Ari and flicked her tongue across the wolf's cheek.

"Delicious," she said quietly.

"Not the time to play with your food," Ari's captor growled.

Ari noticed they were very careful not to use any names. They spoke and knew who was speaking to who. The one holding her was a mammal. That much she could tell from his furry warm body. He was obviously male. If the voice and size hadn't given it away the hardness pressed against her back would have.

"I smell you," the snake hissed, speaking to the one behind Ari. "Tell me you're not thinking about playing with her."

The third thief grumbled something incoherent but didn't respond directly. The snake chuckled and turned her attention to her other companion. Zane and the hyena were locked together with their blades. It was a battle of strength now as they tried to knock each other down. Zane suddenly threw himself backwards, causing the hyena to fall towards him. Then in one swift motion Zane brought his knee up to catch the brute in the groin and flip him around with his dagger at his throat. The hyenas dagger had disappeared.

"Fool," the snake hissed. "Kill him, wolf. We care not."

"Ajade!"

"I should kill you myself," the snake shrieked.

"Time to go," the brute behind Ari whispered. "Watch is coming. What do you want to do?"

The snake shifted from side to side for a minute before shrugging, "Let her go. We don't have enough time." She turned to Zane. "Do not attempt to follow us. If you leave her body here then I can assure you it will not be there before someone else comes along."

Ari tried to protest as the brute started groping her chest when everything went black.

~

"Ari? Come on, girl. Wake up."

Ari blinked several time against the dim lighting. Zane hovered over her with concern written on his handsome features. It was obvious she'd been knocked out so that the brute and snake could escape. She could just see the hyena passed out a couple feet away. Zane must have knocked him out when the other two ran. There was apparently no companionship amongst thieves.

"Well, that was fun," Ari grumbled.

"You and your friend attract so much trouble," Zane sighed.

"Hey! What happened to Exie is not her fault! That officer-."

"Officer? I'm talking about what happened on her very first round down here."

Ari tilted her head, "Something happened?"

Zane nodded, "I'm sure she just didn't get a chance to tell you about it. We were jumped by two cutthroats. Luckily, it was near the end of the round and another watch came around and scared them off."

Ari frowned. Why was the security so lack down in the lower levels? More importantly why were these people so powerful down here? It was a space station. Every single place should be marked in the blueprints of the ship.

"Is no action being taken against these people?" Ari asked carefully.

"Stricter and more frequent rounds to protect the general public," Zane answered. "A few searches have been done over the past few months but wherever these guys are hiding, it's very good."

"How can they escapes detection? Every single duct, vent, room, or space of any kind should be in the main blueprints. How can there be any place that we don't know about."

Zane chuckled, "I thought you weren't from here. How would you know anything about our station?"

Ari flushed, "Research."

Zane shook his head, "The blueprints on file with the generals and rulers are a guideline from when the station was first built with a few modifications since then. This station has been in operation for a very long time and over that time people have gone in and modified those vents and spaces. When the habitat domes were added things escalated. Those only have a map of the ground things. Truth is that there are many places on this station that aren't mapped out anywhere except in the minds of those who already know it's there."

Ari was stunned. She felt more oblivious than ever. Did her parents know about this? Did Solana know? Her parents must at least have known. Why would they not do more.

"I really don't understand how anything works," Ari said out loud more to herself than anything.

Zane gave her a questioning look but didn't pursue the comment. He pulled her to her feet and together they hauled the hyena up just as their follow-up watch came into view. Zane explained what happened and advised them to warn the next group to keep a sharper eye out. He and Ari roused the hyena and hauled him to the cages in the guard dome.

~

Ajade, feared murderess of the underground, glanced down the body of the nude bear before her. The curved of his muscles and taunt chest gave her thrills when she was trapped against them, but she would never admit this.

"You're filthy," she told her companion.

"You're about to be," he growled back.

Ajade put on the most bored expression she could manage and the bear proceeded to strip her down roughly which didn't take long at all. He removed his own clothing and settled down against the wall.

"Did that female wolf look familiar to you?"

"I don't care," the bear shrugged. "Come here."

"Don't order me," Ajade snapped. "You can sit there and go limp for all I care."

Not likely, she thought to herself. The bears cock was bursting with stiffness. She touched herself down below and saw it quiver on its own. It was reassuring to know she didn't have to do much to make a guy want to fuck her.

"Aw, come on, Ajade. I thought you liked it rough."

Ajade grinned behind her hand. She could make a tough guy go all soft begging for her. She turned around and put her hands against the opposite wall. Slowly, she leaned forward and threw her ass out. The bear started forward but a hiss from her set him back.

"I'll come to you when I'm good and ready."

She gave him a little show of wiggling her butt around until she could hear a few whimpers emit from his throat. Who knew a big grizzly bear could whimper like a scolded puppy. She strode over to him and pushed on his shoulders to make him slouch down, then she stood over his head much as she had on the opposite wall. Obediently, he shoved his maw up into the folds of her mound and thrust his long tongue within. It was exciting to feel it wriggling around inside her, lapping at her walls.

She gave him the satisfaction of a small moan and he responded by thrusting his tongue in and out rapidly. She could feel the moisture dripping down her scaly smooth body and tried to concentrate and keeping her breathing even.

"Enough," she whispered.

As the bear straightened himself up, she lowered herself down to his lap. He was as hard as ever and almost seemed to grown in length trying to reach the entrance of her mound. She lowered herself a bit more to brush that beautiful tip. She could feel the muscles contract around his shoulders. He was trying to stop himself from thrusting upwards.

"Once," she whispered, leaning forward to press her swelling bust against him.

Immediately the bear thrust his giant hips forward, slamming that raw meat directly into the tight confines of the snake. The waves of pleasure that shot between then inadvertently cause Ajade's knees to give out and she fell down with him causing his swollen cock to drive even deeper. She cried out and the bear couldn't hold back anymore. He began thrusting, bouncing her slender form up and down.

The pain brought sobs to her lips, but Ajade swallowed them and wiggled her hips around to regain her composure. Once done she was able to control her own rise and fall with him. The bear had other plans. He took one large paw and pressed her torso backwards, wrapping his other arm behind her back to hold her. He had amazing control over his thighs and thrust faster inside her, and was now free to take each of her breasts fully in his maw and lavish them.

The ever hard cock thrusting in and out of Ajade's secret region was big enough to fill her completely and more. She could feel everything. She could feel every contour. She could feel the thickness of the head ramming in and out. She could feel is twist as he angled his thrusts to hit that spot. She could feel him growing in anticipation to his own release. The bear suddenly growled and tossed her off him onto the ground before them. Ajade hadn't been expecting this and hit the ground hard. She lay there with the wind knocked out of her and before she had a chance to regain it, the bear was on top of her. He snatched her legs and tossed them over his shoulders. He pressed forward until he entered her again and by that time Ajade was bent just past her flexibility limit.

Her legs strained as he began thrusting again but the depth this position gave him was overpowering the pain in her muscles. She threw her arms above her head to that the controlled but powerful thrusting caused her breasts to bounce wildly. This excited the bear and he went for his finishing move.

With his cock buried deep inside her, the bear bent forward and covered her body with his own. Her legs slid down and automatically squeezed against his sides. He started thrusting again, but because he wasn't coming out of her but only a small amount when he slid back in it jolted her entire body. Each powerful thrust and she felt the weight of his body on hers. Each ram of that wonderful cock caused friction against every part of her body. He went slow at first. He let her feel each thrust in full before the next one. Then as she neared her peak, she made a small sound to let him know and all caution was thrown away.

The bear was most certainly bigger in every aspect compared to Ajade. He was always careful of her tiny frame even at his wildest lovemaking. At times like this, he buried his face in her chest and just let loose. He shoved himself into her over and over and over. She contracted around him and he responded by hardening even more.

"Fuck!"

Ajade typically didn't like using profanity. She liked using a more flowery speech. The raw sexual passion brought out the worst in her choice of words. The bear wasn't paying any attention to her anymore and was just wildly thrusting. Ajade body bounced between him and the floor and he raised a little to grip her hips closer to his groin. Ajade dug her fingers into his fur and held on. An image of the female wolf came into her mind at the point. The curve of her hips. The, no doubt scrumptious, breasts ready to burst out of the military uniform. Those fiery green eyes staring her down. The nimbleness of her movement.

Ajade's back arched against the bear as she hit her orgasm. It rocked her until she was trembling and the bear let himself go right after. He thrust into her until they were both done. Ajade pushed against him until he rolled off and hit the floor. The wolf's scent filled her nose as she lay there, running a hand along her body. The wolf looked familiar, yes. She would worry about that part later. Right now the wolf also looked like someone she had to have.