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After giving her staff instructions for the rest of there shifts Dana led her boy by his leash to the lift, the mink was just so pleased with him that she decided to spend the rest of the day with her little blessing. Honestly after hearing about his dislike of being left alone, she did not like the idea of sending him back to her cabin all by himself. Hoping to help build a little self-confidence in her boy, Dana kept telling him how proud he had made her and how mush she loved it when he showed how smart he was, it earning one long red blush from the little human the whole way to deck 5 and a long over due lunch.

Not surprisingly they where the first ones to arrive at the captains mess, looks like the Vixen was dragging out the tactical exorcises, Again. Inside nova was totally amazed at what he saw, wile most of the ship was very cold an militaristic, this room was as big as his Mistress cabin and even more well decorated. It was easy to see that someone had spent a long time building a very warm and homey feeling in this place, it looking like a cross between a formal dinning room and the living room you would expect in a large family home. There was everything you would expect to find here, a large table with place settings for up to 10 people, a very well stocked looking bar and even a small serving area in the back, that from the smells coming from that direction, most likely led to a kitchen. But what just made the boy smile was a lounging area in the far corner with two large and plush looking couches, several reclining chairs that looked as if they could put lazy boy to shame and family photos all over the wall above them. Overall this place looked like it was made for relaxing after a long day of hard work, one he could see the group of ladies from last night kicking back and socializing in for hours at a time.

With a warm smile Dana walked her boy over to this lounging area, the mink taking a very graceful seat on one of the couches with her long bushy tail curling around her. Before she could ask nova to join her he was already on his knees, the boys hands behind his back and head tilted to the side to make it easier for her to remove his leash. This earned a chuckle as she did so, it leading her to wonder if he was really being respectful or if this was his silent way of telling her he did not like being led around by this length of braded leather. As she settled back in her seat and set his leash on the table Dana called out in a warm, almost sing song voice "OOOOOOOOOO TOOOOOOOBIEEEE?"

Nova blinked, his Mistress was calling for a servant, why? He would gladly get her anything she wished, as her slave it was his duty to see to all of her needs, even something as simple as fetching her a drink. He was just about to ask if he could get her anything when he herd a deep thumping coming towards them, it drawing his attention to the door in the back of the room just as a very large bear entered. Nova was awestruck by this new Anthro, the Grizzly Bear looking large enough and strong enough to brake the slave in half, that or make a quick meal of him if it so pleased him. As he approached nova subconsciously moved a little closer to his Mistress for protection, a small tremble starting as the bear came to a stop right in front of them. "Well, Well, Well if it is not our grease monkey in the fur, a little pup told me you finally got the weapons working." He then smiled down to the boy, the bear rumbling with a small wink "And who do you have with you, my but he is a pretty little thing."

The slave just lowered his head and blushed all over in embarrassment from the bears comment, that earning a giggle from the Mink as she ran her claws throw his hair and answered "This is my nova you dirty old bear and if you know what's good for you, you will keep your paws to yourself."

The bear just grinned and lifted his paws in a gesture of surrender as he chuckled " Now now, just because I like looking at the pretty young males does not mean I would do anything improper with them, besides you know my mate, he would have my tail if I took a new lover and did not share with him." As rare as male/male relationships where in Anthro society, monogamy was even more rare. It was not uncommon for a mated couple to have lovers out side of the relationship and even to share those lovers, in fact it was the most common way new life mates where found and added to the family.

Dana just smiled warmly as she chuckled in return " Anyway, we are expecting the captain for lunch soon and I think my boy has earned a special treat for being so helpful today."

Toby nodded softly and rumbled down to the slave as he asked "What would you like boy, I can make just about anything you can think of and then some."

Nova just kept his eyes down, he had been expecting his Mistress to order for him because for all of his life his owners had always chosen his meals for him. As he thought about it he honestly could not decide, the slave very timidly whispering "I will be grateful for anything my Mistress picks for me, Master."

Dana giggled and tapped her boy on the tip of his nose as she teased "My sweet boy this is your reward, is there nothing that you enjoy eating or find especially good? "

The boy thought for a few seconds and then just shook his head as he whispered "I am grateful for anything my owner allows me to eat, Mistress."

She sighed looking up to the bear, having a submissive male was one thing but this was one of the worst things about slavery, slaves where trained to be so dependant on there owners trying to get one to make a decision for themselves was practically impossible. She knew she could always order him to pick something and he would select an item at random to please her, but it would most surely not be his favorite and only end up frightening him. Not wanting to ever give her boy a reason to fear her, the mink decided to just give in and play her role as Mistress for now, Goddess willing she would have years to work on building his self confidence and to show him she wanted an intelligent free thinking companion, not just a mindless robot. As her paw resumed brushing throw her boys hair, she looked Toby in the eyes and sighed "Please bring us both some sweet rolls and the biggest sandwiches you have, I'm so hungry I could eat a zebra."

As the bear turned and walked away nova glanced up to his Mistress, a look of confusion in his eyes even though he did his best to hide it, he just could not understand why she was being so nice to him or why she seamed to value what he thought and felt. Could it be that this is how most Anthro's treated there slaves or did she have some ulterior motive he was just not smart enough to understand. If the way he was treated by the slavers on The Black Rock was any indication then he would have expected a life not much different then his time with the Butcher, the things the captain of that ship had done to him where so bad that he did not even want to remember them. This Mistress, this lady in fur had shown him more kindness In the last 2 days then he could remember in all his life, even when he belonged to Mistress Keegan she always kept him at arms length, never showing him this kind of affection or tenderness. Even more odd she was allowing him to eat for the second time in as many days, none of his other owners had allowed that, normally he had to go 2 or 3 days between meals, some times even a week, his owners always telling him that a fat slave is a lazy slave. He glanced over the room to make sure they where alone, if he was ever going to ask her about this now was the time wile she was pleased with him. In as soft and submissive a tone as he could managed the boy whispered "Mistress thank you for allowing me this meal, but I just have to ask, why are you being so kind to me?"

Dana just giggled even though she could see from his eyes how serious he was, the smile never leaving her muzzle even though it broke her heart that he would see her actions as being overly kind. She had done nothing more then treat him the way any owner should treat a boy this sweet and well behaved, the fact that someone could do less was one of the reasons she could understand Kayla and Fire's dislike of the practice of slavery. She slowly traced a finger under nova's chin and lifted his eyes to meet hers, the boy at first trying not to look, it only lasting until the power of her silent command overwhelmed his submissiveness and forced him to obey. " My little blessing I am not just treating you well because you are mine, you have earned it and all the kindness I can give you. You have been nothing short of the perfect slave since setting foot on this ship and pleased me tremendously, a good meal is the least you have earned for being so well behaved and pleasing to me." She knew it was important for slaves to feel they where not just being given things, telling them that they had earned something gave them not only the reward but the emotional satisfaction of knowing it represented there owners gratitude for there service.

She could see her words had made an impact with him, the boy just not able to respond as she leaned in and kissed him tenderly on the cheek. Seeing she had overwhelmed him the mink just traced her claws throw his hair until Toby returned with there meals, the bear setting down a set of sandwiches large enough to put a new Orleans style Po-Boy to shame. Seeing her boys eyes go wide at the size of his meal the mink just giggled and pointed to it with an extended claw as she purred "I want you to eat all of that my boy, you are to skinny for my liking."

Nova just dumbly nodded, this was a weeks worth of food for him, there was no way he would be able to finish it all in one sitting. Not wanting to disappoint his owner, nova obeyed and started to eat his food with a softly whispered " Yes, Mistress." He had to admit this sandwich tasted wonderful, allot like roast beef, but with a flavor allot sweeter then he would have expected from it's spicy smell. Dana had completely finished her sandwich and gone throw most of the sweet rolls before nova had even finished a third of his, even with the fact that most Anthros where larger then humans, it still seamed like she should not have been able to eat that much without it making her sick.

With his belly already hurting, the boy was just about to ask his Mistress for permission to finish the rest later when the main door opened and in walked a laughing and joking group, one the boy recognized almost instantly as the ladies he had served dinner to last night. The first ones throw the door where the Captain and her first officer, the vixen in very high spirits it seamed as she pulled the white tiger along by one of her ears calling her a naughty kitty. A few steps behind them was the jaguar and bunny from last night, quickly fallowed by a new Anthro the boy had not seen before, a very large wolf with pure black fur and burning yellow eyes that instantly scanned the room and locked on the slave as he entered.

As soon as the Captain caught sight of Dana she let go of her mate and bounced over to the couch, Kayla calling for the bear as she flopped down and chuckled " And you my dear muffet, It's about time you fixed my ships weapons, and just 4 days out from space dock, cutting it a bit close don't you think?" The Vixen then giggled and kissed Dana on the cheek in a very rare public show of affection, it earning a pink tint in the minks ears and across her muzzle. While the vixen was known to be tuff as nails when it came to her official duties or protecting her ship, when she was alone with her inner circle and the ones that she loved she could be as playful and affectionate as any other puppy.

In response to the Captains comment Dana softly tussled her boys hair and was just about to tell them that he had been the one to find the problem when she was cut off by a deep, almost savage growl from Drake as the wolf bared his teeth, extended his claws and approached them both with a harshly snarled " By the dark pit what is that thing doing in here, it should be locked up in the cargo bay with the rest of the animals."

He had only gotten two steps before he was stopped short by Kayla as the vixen bolted off the couch and stood toe to toe with him, her happy and joking mood gone in an instant as if the wolf had flipped some unseen switch. Even though Drake was a full head taller and much stronger Kayla just starred him down, the vixen knowing she could end his career if he did not back down as she snarled in return "I gave permission for him to be here you big lug nut and you will not lay a claw on him wile he is my guest, UNDERSTAND?"

From the very first flash of anger by Drake nova had started shaking, the wolfs aggressive charge causing the boy to push back agents the wall and curl into a ball with his hands over his head to protect himself. Normally he would never do this, trying to protect himself from an owners anger would only insure an even worse punishment, but there was just something about the wolfs teeth and the savagery of his growl that invoked a new level of fear the boy had never felt before. Seeing this reaction Dana had almost instantly moved between her boy and the wolf, even if she was a pray species there was something stronger then the natural instinct to flee, like a mother protecting her cub, if she was backed into a corner she would tare out a chunk of the wolfs flesh to keep her boy safe.

Even with the two females putting themselves between him and his target, the boys fear and cowering drove the wolfs natural predatory instincts to kill, it pushing him to challenge his commanding officer with a deeply snarled " Captain your being a fool, that thing could be a spy or a saboteur. Just look at it, it was on the ship less then a day before it wormed it's way into the inner circle of the command staff, It's - It's just weighting until you drop your guard to stick a knife in your back."

Having had her fill of this male challenging her authority on her own ship Kayla reached up and took hold of his muzzle, the artic fox pulling it down to lock eyes with him in an unmistakable show of Canine Dominance as she growled " MR. ASH I HAVE HAD ENOUGH, Report to your station and we WILL discuss this at the end of your shift."

The burning look in the captains eyes and the growl in her voice served to remind the wolf just who the alpha of this pack was, it causing him to lower his ears and avert his gaze as he backed down with a half heartedly growled "Yes, Ma'am." Knowing he had lost this round he turned and stormed off knocking over the table on his way out, the wolf vowing to himself that he would find a way to get rid of this animal without it damaging his position on the ship, it would just take some clever planning.

Once he had left Kayla sighed and looked down to the over turned table and the food strung across the floor, this level of aggression was completely unacceptable on a military ship even with the extra leeway given to hormonally challenged males. Even though she was a lesbian, the vixen had never thought of herself as the male hating type, but if something was not done soon she was going to neuter that wolf herself with a dull butter knife. When she turned around she found Dana and the Doctor both on there knees petting the terrified boy and trying to comfort him, the sight braking her heart given how happy he and the mink looked when the group had first arrived.

As one of the ones involved in the altercation Kayla decided to just take a seat on the couch with her kitten, the captain knowing it would be best to allow Dana and Crystal to deal with the boy since they had developed a more familiar relationship with him and could offer the most support. As she watched Dana softly whispering things like " It's ok nova he's gone now" and the doctor adding " your safe here with us little one " Kayla could not help just smiling, a single thought running through her mind as she watched this tender scene, there is no way this boy could be a spy, he would have to be the best actor in the whole universe.

It took about 5 minutes of soft petting and tender words to bring the boy back under control, the gentle touches of his owner and the feline's softly furred paws bringing nova to a place where he could feel safe with them, a feeling that was very rare in his life. Once he had stopped shaking Dana returned to the couch so that her boy could lay his head on her lap, the doctor sitting on his other side so she could keep softly tracing her fingers over his back as Dana did the same with his hair. After a little wile the boy slowly lifted his head and whispered in a small and timid voice "Mistress I'm so sorry I did something to make the Master mad at me, please I beg your forgiveness, I will never do it again."

Seeing the fear still in her boys eyes Dana just wanted to scream, over the last few hours she had been working so hard to show him that the crew of this ship where not like his former owners and that he did not have to fear being punished without a very good reason only to have it all undone by that pig headed wolfs temper. Being as gentle and tender as she could the Mink slowly leaned in and brush the side of her muzzle over her slaves cheek as she whispered " My little blessing you have done nothing wrong, Drake was not mad at you, he just does not like humans very much. You don't have to be afraid, I will not let him or anyone ells hurt you, you are mine and I will protect you."

As she curled her arms around her slave the bear who had been keeping his distance until now returned and took the others orders, the look on the large males face showing his dislike of seeing the strong picking on the weak. On his way back to his kitchen Toby made a comment about getting something to clean up the mess, this instantly causing nova to slowly pull from his Mistress's arms and start picking up the scattered food as if the innocent comment had been a direct order. This earned a sigh from the Mink as she fought the impulse to pull him back to her, he was a slave after all and trying to stop him would only make things worse because this is how slaves where trained to gain favor when they thought they where in trouble. Honestly not having enough experience with slaves to know what to do at this point Dana just looked up to her friends and softly sighed " Maybe I should take my boy home, and we where having such a good day."

Sasha who had grown up in a family of expert slave trainers knew that was the worse thing the Mink could do, If she where to take him home right after he believed he had done something wrong, he would think she was doing it because he had embarrassed her, not because she was trying to shield him. After something like this the best thing for the slave's self-confidence was for them both to stay and act as if nothing had happened, it would show him that this group did want him here and liked having him around. To prevent this blunder by a new owner the white tiger leaned in and spoke before her Captain and lover could, a purr on her lips as she teased " O your not getting away that easy grease monkey, I want to know what was wrong with the ships weapons, as long as it took you to track it down it must have been something serious."

At first the mink did not respond, she was to distracted by her boy turning the table right side up and setting the plates of food back on it. When he had gotten all he could without the help of cleaning agents she motioned him back over to her, the mink looking into his eyes for a second before kissing him on the forehead and softly pulling his head back on to her lap. Even she was not sure why it felt so right to have this little human on his knees and in this submissive position with her, but after everything she had learned about him and seeing how it comforted him to be this way she knew if she was allowed to keep him it would most likely become her favorite cuddle position. Feeling a lot better now that she could feel her slave under her paws Dana turned her attention back to the others in the room, all of them looking at her with an equal look of concern on there faces. As she met each of there eyes she could not help but think there had to be a way of talking the captain into letting nova stay with her, even if she could only arrange ownership long enough to have a say in what happened to him after command was done with him. If she was his legal owner and Kayla would not allow him to stay on board at least she could send him to her family, anything to give him a better life then being sold to some random Anthro or being made property of the crown and spending the rest of his life being interrogated for information.

If only she knew what the vixen was planning her thoughts would not have been so troubled, Kayla being the skillful leader that she is was already three steps ahead of the mink and formulating her own plan for the slave's future. She had spent most of the morning drafting her report to command and studying the alliance's legal data base on slave ownership. Under the current law she had discovered there where very few options available to her, but if she played her cards right and had a little luck on her side by the time they reached port she would be able to keep the silent vow of protection she had made to herself last night. When the mink did not respond to Sasha's question Kayla leaned forward and smiled softly to get her attention as she asked again "Dana, my weapons?"

This time the chief did look up as the question registered, a small yet sinister grin parting her muzzle as she realized this was the prefect way to help build nova's value to her commanding officer. Toby had just returned and set out there meals as she licked her lips and practically purred " AAAA yes, the weapons. Do you remember how I told you it had to be something the dock rats did when they installed the new weapons array?"

Kayla nodded, her ears flicking a few times as she teased " Yes I do, but I was still expecting you to find a half eaten sandwich stuck in one of the relays."

This earned a pink tongue from the mink as she continued " Well I was right, it turns out it was an over sight in the installation process. The brilliant minds at fleet engineering integrated a Type 7 ESCU without taking into account our existing hardware, It's threshold was to low so it was tricked by an existing polarity variance and created a false overload reading." Then the minks grin turned completely evil as she used one finger to lift nova's chin and look into his eyes as she added "I can't weight until we hit port and I get to rub Bell's nose in this, best minds in the alliance my tail."

Deciding to turn the tables on the smug looking mink Kayla just leaned back in her seat and shrugged her shoulders as she matter-o-factly stated " So a simple polarity variance and it still took you 3 weeks to find it, I think your lousing your touch chief."

Then recalling there earlier conversation she added with a smile "Besides didn't you say something about needing help to find it, maybe I should promote who ever that was to chief and give you a less taxing position, like maybe dock rat?" This was a little game between Kayla and the mink, she knew how much Dana disliked the dock rats and even hinting about having to work with them always gave her that cute look of anger the Captain found so adorable.

Dana could not have asked for a better set up then that, her eyes shooting wide open and her paws flying up to her muzzle as she fell over in hysterical laughter, the mink convulsing so hard all the gathered females thought she had snapped and lost her mind. That went on for over 10 minutes, each time she had gotten herself under control she would look over to the captains look of confusion and it would set the mink off again. By the time she had finally managed to stop laughing a smile had spread to everyone in the room, Dana weighting until Kayla was lifting her drink to her lips before sitting up and pulling the com badge from her uniform. Without even batting and eye she reached over and clipped it on nova's collar, this quickly fallowed by a salute to her slave as she asked " You herd the Captain Chief nova, what's my assignment for the rest of the day?"

Just as Dana had expected this made Kayla chock on her drink as nova blushed deep red over his face and chest, the boy feeling totally embarrassed at having been put in a position superior to his owner even if it had just been a joke. Sasha had to slap her lover on the back a few times to clear the tea that had gone down the wrong pipe as Dana, Crystal, Jessica and even Toby broke out into another round of laughter, the vixen still coughing as she lifted her paw to point at the slave and ask in a stark and unbelieving tone " HE" .... cough .... " FIXED MY SHIPS WEAPONS?"

The tea on the front of the captains uniform and her wet muzzle made it hard for Dana to keep a straight face as she replied with her claws running throw her boys hair " Yes, It turns out my little blessing here has seen this problem before on an Anthro ship the humans captured about 6 years ago wile he was helping a station engineer. When he spotted the same component mismatch on a schematic that had fallen off my desk the little darling pointed it out to me. It turns out, IT....." The mink took a deep breath and almost whispered "It was The Hope For New Life."

Given the reaction this news was likely to cause Dana had been planning to bring it up in a more private setting and just as she expected the entire group fell dead silent the second she had spoken the ships name. Even though the assembled group was this ships command staff the Mink decided not to elaborate any further, as much as she trusted all of them this information was most likely going to end up classified by high command.

Once she had finished a lasting silence persisted in the room for several long and uncomfortable minutes, the first one to brake it being Kayla as she slowly turned her head and nodded to her kitten with a confidently spoken "I think It's about that time commander." With that the white tiger returned the nod and picked up her plate as she headed throw the rear door and into the kitchen, her ears limp and tail dragging behind her. What Dana had not been told to prevent spoiling the happy meal is right before the group had arrived Crystal had met up with them in the lift and told Kayla she needed to have a conversation with them both about what she had discovered during nova's examination. Just from the look in the doctors eyes and the tone of her voice the vixen knew this was not going to be a pleasant meeting and given this fact having the boy there would most likely not be a good idea.

Wile trying to think of an alternative that did not involve returning him to the cargo bay or leaving him locked in the chief's cabin alone she had first considered calling for Fire to watch him, the captain thinking that might be a good way to expand on getting him to trust some of the males on the ship. Then it dawned on her just where they where having lunch and who there cook was, of the few males on this ship none where kinder or more gentle then the big bear. Given the wonderful meal nova had cooked for them last night the others agreed having him help Toby with the crews dinner would be a great idea for everyone, the boy would get to spent time with a male they where sure would be good for him and the crew would be treated to a much better meal then they where accustom to.

Seeing the Captains cryptic remark and the First officers silent departure had instantly put the Mink on guard, one of her paws coming to rest on her boy's back, her other paw holding his head on her lap protectively as she asked " About time for what, Captain?"

It was the Doctor who answered, her voice intentionally very calm even though the sadness still showed in her eyes as she spoke " I finished my report and I think you should be there when I give it to the captain." Wile she did not come right out and say it was about the boy she did tilt her muzzle down toward him a few times hoping Dana would get the message, Crystal truly not wanting to upset him again.

Thankfully getting the message Dana nodded and relaxed, the Mink just starting to reach for her boys leash when she was stopped by the captain flicking her ears a few times. This was the Anthro version of shaking her head and Dana got the message loud and clear as Kayla added " I think it would be best if nova stays here wile we are having the meeting, the big bear has been complaining lately that he needs help keeping up with the dinner rush. He might like your boy's help with preparing the crew's meal, that male of yours has a real gift in the kitchen and It would be selfish to waste his talents by just keeping you company." There was a softness in her tone, but the look in her eyes told Dana that she was making this an order, not a request.

Dana nodded in confirmation of this as she lifted her boys head to look into his eyes and kiss him on the tip of the nose, Sasha and Toby returning just as she whispered " Be a good boy for me and help the big bear, maybe you can even teach him a few things. I promise we will be back in time for dinner and I expect some more of your delightful cooking."

Nova still could not bring himself to meet her eyes, a life time of training telling him that it would be disrespectful to the one that owned him. When the captain said he would have to stay here with yet another strange male for the second time that day he had almost begged to go with them, the fact that he was being left to help In the kitchen the only thing stopping him. With it being the captains order nova knew there was no way around it, he might as well make the most of it and use this as his chance to learn more about what Anthro's enjoyed eating. The bear wile very large and powerful had been nothing but kind since there arrival, in fact he had been almost flirtatious and his Mistress had put a stop to that almost immediately. This led the boy to believe that he would be safe here, the most he had to fear was being groped or teased, but surely not harmed or assaulted by the bear. With most of his fear defused and almost feeling eager to be useful the boy softly whispered " Yes, Mistress it is my joy to serve."

Seeing that her boy was ok with being left here Dana turned her attention to the bear who was standing a few feet away with a small grin on his muzzle, the Mink almost sensing his dirty thoughts decided to put a stop to them with a teasingly purred " And you big bear, I expect to find my boy the same way I left him when we get back."

Toby just chuckled and reached down to run his massive paw over the boys head as he teased in return " I promise nothing, I have just been given a pretty young slave to do with as I please and I intend to make the most of it." His smile and wink betrayed his teasing comment, the bear had been warned by Sasha what to expect with this slave and the extra care that would be needed wile watching him.

Hearing the bear plainly say that he was taking temporary ownership of him nova rose to his feet and stood at the males side with his hands behind his back and head lowered, the bear curling a very large arm around the smaller human as they started back to the kitchen. The bear could be heard asking in a little to suggestive a manner about the boy enjoying "Cooking" as they left the room, this getting the mink to grumble as the door closed " you have better behave, you dirty old bear."

Once she was sure her boy and the bear where out of ear shot the mink turned back to the group and the Doctor in particular as she asked " I assume this meeting is about my boys check up, I thought it was not going to be so bad given how happy you all looked when I picked him up."

The jaguar just flicked her ears a few times, her smile fading into almost a scowl as she whispered " Dana it is worse then any of us could have known, it is looking like he will need weeks or maybe even months of treatments to repair the damage. But lets not talk about it here, it would not be good for him to over hear us." The group all stood and headed to the captains office, there was much to talk about and decisions to be made.

The walk to the captains office was in utter silence as each woman mentally prepared herself for what was to come, the strain of it already clear on the doctors face even though she had already cried most of it out in the arms of her student after the boy's exam. When they arrived on the bridge Kayla silently motion for Drake to join them, not that she wanted him there but as the head of ships security and a member of the command staff he needed to hear this if she was going to keep nova on board. With the Doctor needing a few minutes to transfer the boys medical records to the captains terminal Dana was the one to start the meeting, the Mink filling in drake as to the final Fate of the "Hope For New Life" and telling the rest of them exactly how nova had come by the information. As expected the wolf had not reacted very well to this, his anger quickly spreading to all the others as she finished with a softly growled "I still can't believe the whole time command was looking for the ship it's plaque was sitting in that monsters office as a trophy."

The Mink did not feel it necessary to point out the fact that given the ship had been missing for over 5 years and had ended up at star base Gamma, the base of operation of the butcher, it was all but certain the crew where long dead. She did how ever point out the fact that her boy's information on the subject was very limited and that she did not think it would be wise for any of them to push him on it, if not done properly it could do him a great deal of psychological damage. Kayla agreeing with the Mink about weighting for better trained help before questioning nova any further quickly changed the subject to the boy's medical report, quite frankly the vixen knew the whole subject would be classified and all of them sworn to secrecy about it.

If the news of the lost ship had started the meeting off badly, the doctor's report quickly sent it spiraling to the point of sheer horror. As much as crystal tried to stay professional she could not keep the emotion out of her voice as she detailed nova's almost unbelievable list of injuries, renewed tears swelling in her eyes before she had even covered half of them. Likewise Kayla and Sasha where having a hard time staying professional as the Captain dug her claws into her desk and the white tiger's teeth began to show in a very uncharacteristic display of anger. Dana as the one who had formed the strongest bond with this boy could not stop her tears from flowing freely as the report just got worse and worse, the mink Mistress just not able to understand how anyone could suffer this kind of long term abuse and still be so sweet and innocent.

When the feline doctor had finished her report she just fell back in her chair and dropped her Data pad on the desk not able to look at it anymore, all the others remaining silent for a wile to let the information sink in and let there strained emotions settle. That is all except for Drake, wile everyone ells in the room looked as if they where about to cry, scream or vomit, the wolf was completely passive with a neutral and emotionless look on his face. Crystal could not help but feel anger at seeing the wolf's total passiveness, there is no way even a male that guarded his emotions could not feel something at the magnitude of abuse this report indicated.

Kayla on the other paw could feel the bile in the back of her throat as she looked at the deep gouges her claws had made in her desk, If the vixen had not already decided to keep this boy on board with them by the time Crystal had finished her report the Captain's mind was now firmly set. After a few minutes Kayla turned her hallow gaze to the Doctor, her tone very cold as she attempted to show the professionalism and confidence that was expected from a captain as she asked "So if I understand correctly we are looking at 2 months of treatments to repair the boys injuries?"

All Crystal could do was flick her ears a few times as she shamefully admitted " To be honest Captain no matter how much I do, I will never be able to fix it all, no one could. The broken bones that did not heal right the first time can be repaired easily enough with nanite therapy, but the neurological damage is beyond anything I have ever seen before. It is possible that after I consult with some colleagues at the medical academy there will be more I can do, Melinda and I just believe the damage is beyond our current level of medical science's ability to repair." The Doctor lowered her head and gripped the bridge of her muzzle no longer able to hold back her tears, her voice chocking back a sob as she whispered "I honestly don't understand how he lives everyday with the constant pain he must be in."

After a moment to collect herself the Doctor finished her report, it taking everything she had just to get through this last and perhaps darkest part. "As for his mental state I am totally out of my league, the Priestess is the only one on board that might be able to begin helping him, I know I am not the only one to notice the way he acts, beneath that sweet innocence there has to be an ocean of pain I cant even begin to understand."

That was all Dana could take, between studying the report and hearing the horror of it explained in grizzly detail by the Doctor she could no longer remain silent about her feelings. The mink dropped her Data pad to the floor as she looked her Captain in the eyes and finally spoke up, her voice cracking as she almost begged " Captain ... Kayla I know your feelings about slavery, but please you have to let me keep him. If you don't let me take ownership of him before we get home military intelligence is going to take him away and interrogate him endlessly for information, you know If that happens with no one to protect him they will destroy everything sweet and innocent about him. Please you have to see he deserves better then that fate, I am begging you to make an exception in this case and let me be the one to care for him." Dana was in tears by the time she finished, the mink on the verge of sobs with matted cheek fur.

Seeing her chiefs impassioned plea pulled on Kayla's heart in a way nothing ever had before, the vixen able to see in Dana's eyes this was not pity, but a declaration of love. The captain felt even more horrible about not telling them sooner of her own plan for keeping the boy with them, the vixen knowing if it was going to work she would need all of there support to pull it off. With a sigh she switched off her terminal and looked over each of them, everyone except Drake with the same pleading look in there eyes as the mink. Confident she would have there support she drew a small breath and spoke in a clear and commanding tone " To be honest I have already considered this and I am willing to exercise my right as Captain to keep him on board as ship's slave. I am still researching the regulations on how to make that happen, but from what I can tell he does not qualify because he is not my personal property and not a companion slave.

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Recognizing that not all slaves where the same, over the last few hundred years the Anthro alliance's slave state had developed a class system. Those enslaved as a criminal sentence or captured in a time of war where the very lowest in the class system and where afforded very minimal protections under the law.

This group was aptly name the ( Prison class ) and afforded very little protections and rights, an owner would have to nearly kill a prison slave or sexually assault them for the slave to be removed from there owners custody. This class of slave where used for physical labor such as mining, construction and other menial tasks that did not require them to be trusted. Wile the owners of those slaves where strictly regulated by the government and required to file wellness reports on them, it was not uncommon for most of the slaves to die before there sentence was completed due to the harshness of there working conditions. This had proven to be a very effective deterrent to crime, less then 2% of the total Anthro population ever committing an offence harsh enough to earn this collar.

On the other end of this class system was the companion slaves, this group treated very well and given almost the same rights as any other Anthro. It was not possible for someone to be forced into a collar as a companion slave, the position reserved for weaker members of the clan that where willing to give themselves completely and without reservation to another. Companion slave's where very rare and highly valued in Anthro society because they could be freed at any time if there owner agreed, the vast majority of them finding love with there owner and ending up mated. Wile no one is sure how this class of slave first came into existence, it is suspected that it was invented by the first Empress so that she could be with the female she loved and still support the law of genetic mateship.

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Hearing the Captain talk about keeping this human on board the ship permanently got the wolfs hackles up instantly, his teeth showing as he cut Kayla off by growling deeply " Captain as head of security I have to protest you keeping this slave on board."

Drake was doing his best to hold back his temper, it had gotten the wolf in far to much trouble in the last few days and If he was going to get the captain to lesson to him he had to appear as if he was being professional about this. He knew that as the head of security he was well with in his domain to make this pretest and if he played his cards right he would be able to get rid of this human and there would be nothing any of them could do about it. Seeing most of the group draw a breath to respond he lifted one paw to forestall them as he quickly added " I know what your all going to say but this is not just because it is human, you all know I dislike the things but there is just something about this one I don't trust. Just hear me out, since it has set foot on this ship it has wormed it's way into the chief engineers bed, fixed a problem with the ships weapons that not even she could find and revealed the final fate of the Hope For New Life. Now thanks to this report it has all of you feeling sorry for it, what if this is exactly what it is counting on, what if it is a spy and is using all of this to get itself into a position where it can gather information?"

Kayla just turned her hallow gaze back to the wolf, her tone still flat and even as she asked "Mr. Ash, you can't honestly still think this little human is a spy after seeing this report and hearing what his life has been like?"

The wolf just nodded softly and pointed at the boys medical information on the Captains desk as he replied "I admit it would be a lot to have done to pass as a slave, but what better way could there be to gain your sympathies? Just look at what he has told you in only 3 days, if all of it was true he would be a gold mine of information, he even admitted to belonging to the butcher for Goddess sake."

As badly as the captain wanted to tell this wolf to go to the dark pit she never got the chance, the doctors anger boiling over when she slammed her data pad down in front of the wolf with a vicious snarl as she pointed at it and screamed " Look at that, LOOK AT IT, do you honestly think anyone would willingly suffer like that? Do you think anyone would willingly allow themselves to be put throw years of beatings, electrocutions and sexual abuse to pass as a slave? He has been tortured near to death I don't know how many times and suffered irreversible nerve damage, someone would have to be insane to let that happen to them, it is not possible to fake this."

Drake just licked his lips and flattened his ears as he forced down his natural instinct to respond to the felines aggression, he was to closed to his goal to risk ruining it now. In much calmer a tone then he felt like using the wolf looked up to Crystal and growled " LOOK, all of you know I hate humans, but this is not about me, It is about doing my job and looking out for the security of this ship. Try putting your feelings aside for just one second and at least consider the possibility that it is using injuries it got some other way to pass as a slave, Is your pity for this human really worth putting the lives of your crewmates and this ship in danger?"

Just as Crystal and this time Dana started to reply to the wolf Kayla silenced them all by slamming her fist into the desk, this effectively showing them she was rapidly lousing patients with his paranoid ranting. The fox rose to her feet in a show of pure dominance, it causing the others to drop back into there chairs as she locked eyes with the wolf and growled " Mr. Ash I thank you for doing your job and looking out for my ship, but you are the only one here that suspects nova of being a spy, what do you propose we do, strap him down and beat him until he confesses? No, that boy has suffered enough in his life and if I have anything to say about it his pain ends here that is final."

The wolf just grinned, the Captain had walked into his trap perfectly, he had been weighting for her to ask something just like that and now was the time to make his move. Doing his best to hide his glee the would softly stated " No Captain, I would never suggest beating a prisoner for information, besides as you pointed out it is no stranger to pain so it would most likely be pointless. But what I do suggest is testing the humans loyalty, if you are really going to keep it on board wouldn't you want to know for sure if it can be trusted one way or the other?"

Kayla had instantly opened her mouth expecting some more paranoid ranting and closed it again when the logic of Drakes proposal took her off guard. She had to admit that he was right, wile she did not think for a second that this sweet innocent soul was a spy, testing him was the only responsible thing to do if she was going to justify keeping him on board. With the sobering reality that the wolf had out maneuvered her Kayla took her seat again as she softly asked " Exactly what kind of test are you proposing?"

The wolf could almost teast his victory as his muzzle parted in an evil grin, his tail starting to wage as he flatly stated " My proposal is two fold, first we dummy up a few classified reports, something the humans would kill to have and leave them out where the slave is sure to see them, Second we allow the human some time alone with those reports and then give it a chance to escape. If this slave really is a spy it will do one of two things, either try to get the information back to the other humans or use the chance we give it to escape and take the information to them itself."

Kayla was truly impressed, she had not thought this male was capable of coming up with a plan this sneaky and underhanded. If it worked she would know once and for all if this boy was being truthful with them and if she could trust him with a position as important as ship's slave, the only down side being that if he ever found out that they where testing him it could destroy the trust he had in all of them. Then the captain grinned as an idea came to her, she would need the support of her whole command staff for her plan to work and this was her best chance for getting Drake on board. The vixen returned Drakes evil grin as she rested her muzzle on her paws and confidently stated " I can see you have put a lot of thought into this Mr. Ash and I am willing to allow it, on one condition. When nova passes your test as we all know he will, you will show no further hostility of any kind toward him and you will drop any objections to him staying on this ship. Agreed?"

Drake thinking he had won this exchange nodded softly and with a wide toothy grin gleefully replied " Agreed, Captain."

The next few hours where spent working out the details of the wolfs plan to minimize the disruption to the ship, by this time tomorrow the question of nova's future would be settled even if the boy would never know it.

More to come