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WARNING Standard blah, blah, blah about how this stuff contains explicit adult material and shouldn't be viewed by anyone under the legal age, etc. etc. etc., oh we all know the drill by now so let's just leave it at that. NOTES All things read from here on in were thought up and written down by Klesk Vadrigaar and thus are copyright 2005 by him. All requests to use any of the characters or settings will be painstakingly scrutinised and then probably given the go ahead (hey the fact that you found my stuff good enough to warrant using them is flattering enough.) Just please ensure that you do actually ask first. Feedback and the like is still being answered at [email protected] Right then, enough chit chat, time to get to the meat.... Overlooking the Obvious Written by Klesk Vadrigaar PROLOGUE After the close of the last great war between the mainland provinces of Nyaarla and Sarleth, as well as the allied island nations of the Durien Sea which the latter had taken under her wing to defend and protect, unrest was at an all time high. Devastated by years of maritime conflict, most of the island provinces yearned for nothing more than to take advantage of the time of peace to recover from their damages and again flourish. Alas, it was not to be. Upon the cessation of conflict, Sarleth was all too quick to persuade the provinces that had pledged their loyalty to it not to leave, as well as imposing severe retribution to any which attempted to regardless. Seeing it as the only way to regain their sovereignty, many of the islands turned to striking deals with various pirate gangs to supply them, via whatever means necessary, with the resources they need to rebuild their forces and break free of Sarleth's grip... * * * Harsh morning sunlight bore down relentlessly on Kiera, bringing another audible round of curses from the bat as she squinted her eyes tighter and leaned on the railings of the ship's crow's nest, trying to stay focused on the large outcrop of land that loomed ahead on the horizon, and more importantly on the outpost watch tower rising up from the shoreline. Cursing again, the bat raised her telescope and focused in on it, watching the rhythmic flashes coming from the top window in the various intervals required for sending a message in Morse code. *Never fails. Even when we're still so far away we have all the appearance of what could easily be a whale surfacing for air they've got the signals going telling us to slow down in preparation for boarding.* Kiera swivelled her telescope down to the waters lapping at the outcrop of land in time to see a man-of-war emerging from behind and heading for them. *Gotta be the most paranoid bunch of navy brats in the region.* Sighing, she set her scope down and moved around to look down at the poop deck. "Girls, navy's got us in their sights and sending out the welcoming committee! Same drill as always, hoist the flags to signal our acknowledgement, I'll inform the captain!!" Two morphs below her, both huskies, quickly scrambled to get the flags up as Kiera spread her wings and swooped down from the crow's nest, gracefully guiding herself around and in between the ship's sails and over the quarter deck to touch down in front of the door of her captain's quarters at the stern. Taking a moment to brush her shoulder length hair back into place, she stepped forward and knocked politely. A brief pause followed while the bat waited for a response. Receiving none she knocked again and then, remembering what her captain had said to do in case of emergencies, placed both hands on the door and roughly pushed it open. Stepping inside she took a sniff of the air and had to snort in surprise at the faint remains of incense that hung on it, accompanied by the stronger and, if she had anything to say about it, far more pleasing smell of feminine sexual juices that was assaulting her nostrils. Unable to hold back a knowing chuckle, Kiera looked towards the rear of the room where the bed was situated and took a moment to gaze at the slender chameleon femme currently slumbering on it, the serenely green hue of her scales and the content expression draped across the face of the raccoon girl she was hugging indicating both were sleeping away the remains of a pleasantly intimate encounter. *Well, good to know at least some of us had a satisfying night.* The bat groaned as she stepped in and slammed the door behind her, knowing that since her captain was a light sleeper it would likely be more than enough to get her up. "What? Who's there?" The chameleon quickly shot up and faced in her direction, the sunlight filtering in through the windows catching the edge of a dagger she'd drawn from under her pillow. "It's Kiera, captain. Sorry to wake you but we've sighted the Richivar outpost and as usual they've also sighted us and already have an inspection team en route to intercept." The chameleon blinked a bit and then lowered her blade while her scales darkened to a deep cerulean. "I see, well get everybody on deck and make sure everything's ready for them to look at. I'll be out shortly." The bat nodded and turned to open the door again, pausing momentarily to glance at the raccoon. "I...ahem...I take it Josephine suited your tastes." Her reptile commander stood and arched her back, causing Kiera to gulp at the alluring sight of her nude form being put through the standard morning stretching and creaking regime. "I think it's fair to say she'll make a more than suitable addition to this crew." The lizard winked before her face became stern. "That is assuming she can endure what's about to befall us." The bat nodded in understanding before heading out. "Trust me ma'am, she won't let you down." The chameleon stretched a bit more to work as much of the stiffness out of her body as she could before she sat back down on the bed and leaned over to shake her grey furred bed mate awake. "Josie, time to wake up kiddo." The raccoon murmured and shifted slightly before opening her eyes. "Si-Sierra?" She yawned and rubbed her eyes. "Is it morning already?" "'Fraid so, which means it's time for the final part of your initiation." Sierra stated matter-of-factly before walking over to a chest chained to the left wall and opening it to dig out a fresh set of clothes. "Huh? Wh-What do you mean?" The confused morph cocked her head in drowsiness induced confusion. "We're approaching one of the 'esteemed' outposts situated near the docks of a small seaside hamlet called Richivar on the borders of Sarleth. Which means we're inevitably going to get stopped and searched, top to bottom." "What, so soon??" Josephine asked with a note of alarm. "It's an unavoidable part of using this trade route. We gotta do it every time we come through here." The chameleon pulled out a pair of tight-fitting beige pants with a white shirt while the raccoon clutched the sheets tightly to her. "But Sierra, what about what you said last night, about how..." The lizard sighed and cut her off. "It's taken care of. All we have to do is cooperate and not get in their way and this'll go by just fine." She looked back at the nervous mustiladae and walked over. "However, since you weren't with us last time there's a chance you're going to come under extra scrutiny from them." She gave Josephine an authoritative stare and grabbed her paw. "This is going to determine if you really have what it takes to be a part of this crew, Josephine. You're going to have your documents, your living space and every single one of your possessions gone over with a fine tooth comb. And I'm afraid there is a chance they may also decide to question you further till their satisfied they know you better than you know yourself." The coon whimpered slightly at the thought and shrank back a bit. "Needless to say, you're going to need to put on a brave face and endure it all as best you can, much in the same way everyone else on this ship had to do before you. I've taken a great risk by accepting you on right before this incident usually occurs and revealing more than I usually do, so what I need to know right now is can I trust you to be cooperative and not do anything or say anything that may arouse their suspicions? If you think you can then you're more than welcome to stay here with us, but if not then you're going down into the hold till the inspection's over and then getting off at the next port pronto, understand?" Josie swallowed but nodded her head. "I understand Sierra, and I really do want to help out. J-just please know that I can't promise anything." She hung her head low and shivered. "I mean, back on the mainland I was just another common forgotten about street vagrant. I've only been subjected to questioning by the government once and certainly never had to endure any of the extreme interrogation techniques I've heard they're so fond of employing." Sierra gave her an understanding look. "It's alright, as long as they don't find anything at odds with what you've got below deck they probably will just ignore you after that." The chameleon narrowed her eyes as her scales darkened. "And you've been totally honest with us right? There's nothing you haven't told us which may send alarm bells ringing?" Josephine nodded. "Of course not, I'm just as I said: an acquaintance of Kiera who's desperate to get away from Sarleth and start afresh." Hearing the raccoon's meek but sincere sounding words, the scaled morph sitting in front of her allowed her gaze to soften as she leaned forward to kiss her gently on the lips. "Good, then you'd better get dressed and ready. The inspection team will be here any minute now." She got up and resumed getting dressed herself as Josephine sat contemplating what was about to happen. "There's no other way around this?" She asked. Sierra tugged on her shirt and sighed. "Wish there was, but it's the only way we can hope to safely get out of Sarleth's borders into free waters." She turned back to the raccoon and smiled, turning her colours to match the radiant red and yellows of the sunlight brightening up the cabin. "And regardless of whatever happens, for what it's worth last night was nothing if not immensely enjoyable." The grey femme looked up and smiled back as the chameleon walked over and kissed her again. "Thanks Sierra, I enjoyed it too." "Glad to hear it," The lizard belted her tight pants and then sat down to pull on her black knee length boots. "Though while the navy's onboard I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to go back to addressing me formally." "Okay then Si-" The raccoon stopped as she caught the chameleon's stare. "Uh, captain. Sorry captain." * * * Moments later the whole ship's crew stood ready on deck, all trying, at Sierra's order, to maintain a respectful and ordered composure although it was still clear a few were just trying to hide their annoyance at having to yet again go through this procedure. The captain herself looked no different, her eyes staring cautiously at the man-of-war now floating alongside them while glancing every so often at the raccoon standing nervously next to Kiera. *Well it's not like this is the first time you've been in an unpredictable situation.* Sierra dusted off the mauve and black embroidered jacket she was wearing and straightened up as two marines, both parrots, dressed to the nines in their blue coats with polished brass buttons and unblemished white pantaloons flew over to land on the forecastle deck and tied a rope bridge to the rigging to connect the two ships. *Okay, sails are down, hatches battened, quarters unlocked and ready for inspection,* Sierra ran over her mental check list as the avians unslung their rifles and banged them on the deck in perfect synch to signal it was okay for others to start coming over. *Guess it's all up to fate now.* A steady clopping of boots on wooden floor boards made the lizard look up as a tall tigress in a rich red officer's version of the parrots' outfits decorated with gold trim on the cuffs and epaulettes as well as a variety of medals that proclaimed her seniority and importance crossed the bridge onto the deck. A small calico cat and several soldiers followed behind her in a neat orderly line. "Crew stand to attention. As of now, by order of the government of Sarleth, this ship is under inspection." The tigress commanded in a voice that could possibly have been described as beautiful, if it wasn't so shrill and domineering. "Will the captain please step forward to present the documents of registration?" Closing her eyes so she could roll them without being seen, Sierra stepped forward and held out the case she was carrying which contained all her official documentation. With no gesture of thanks, the tigress snatched them off her and quickly flipped through them. "Sierra Raulin, captain of the Bastet's Glory." She cast a weary eye at the lizard. "Do you confirm that your entire crew are present and accounted for here?" "Lined up and ready to be scrutinised." Sierra gestured to the other females behing her. "Oh and it's nice to see you again too Commander Malford." The gruff feline raised a suspicious eyebrow. "Indeed, this must be what, the third time you've passed through these waters in the last month?" "Fourth, I believe." The lizard shrugged. "Seems it's quite a popular trade route you're patrolling here." "Leading out directly into the island territories." Malford stated with an underlying hint of accuse. The chameleon nodded. "Yes, so we're told on an almost regular basis. But then again as you know, most of them are still in dire need of supplies from the mainland and we're a bunch of unbiased transporters in need of work so we're doing what we can to help out." Upon hearing this, the tigress' expression turned almost predatory as she approached Sierra and stared down at her with piercing eyes. "Captain, I hope I don't need to tell you how easily that statement could be misinterpreted. From now on I'll thank you to be a bit more respectful and not deliberately try to test my patience." She lifted her head to survey the other crew members and stopped when she noticed there was new face among the bunch. "Who is she?" Malford pointed to the raccoon as her eyebrow went up again. Sierra casually glanced behind her and shrugged. "Her? Oh just some fresh meat hired as our new navigator to help fill the necessary quota for the ship. Gotta make sure we adhere to the government's requirements for crew complements. Her documentation is in there somewhere." The chameleon made a gesture to help Malford look through the papers but the tigress suddenly pushed her aside and walked over to observe the masked female who was looking progressively uneasy. "Josephine Tulin?" The tigress asked, prompting a sudden shift of mood in the chameleon she'd just shoved over as she twirled around to catch what was happening. Trying her best to not tremble with fear, the raccoon looked up at the intimidating feline and swallowed heavily as she nodded while Sierra shot a confused and somewhat demanding look Kiera's way which the bat returned with an expression of having no idea what was going on. "You're from Naverstock?" Again the raccoon nodded meekly and took a step back. "Worked in a stall selling maps and compasses in the south market?" Another small nod. "Lived near the docks?" The tigress leaned in even further, her narrowed eyes staring menacingly at the nervous mustiladae as if trying to burn a perfect image of her onto her mind for future reference until Sierra stepped in. "I'm sorry but while I'm sure your little interrogation is well intentioned I really must ask, just what the heck is going on here?" Malford's lips parted in a slight sneer, showing a hint of white fangs as she turned to the reptile. "How long has this 'morphson' been with you?" Malford asked, emphasising the term as though she were only using it as an alternative to something decidedly less than polite. "Couple days now. As I said we needed a new navigator and she just happen to be available while we were in port loading up with supplies." The ashen grey Sierra's scales had assumed darkened somewhat as she spoke. "Now if you don't mind my asking, what does it matter to you?" The tigress didn't answer immediately. Instead she turned her eyes to look at the two parrots still standing at attention and made a small paw gesture. The harsh click of rifles being primed echoed out through the calm sea air. Caught off guard by this, the lizard shifted her head to observe the marines, now with their weapons at the ready and aimed in her direction, before turning back to observe the tigress with underlying anger on her face. "I assume you have a reason for doing that?" She asked, one hand tightening on the hilt of the cutlass sheathed on her side. Unperturbed, Malford continued to gaze down at the chameleon, her eyes almost willing her to carry through with her inferred threat. "I do indeed, captain." She looked back at the raccoon. "It just so happens that your new 'recruit' as it were has a prior conviction for damaging government property and indirect assault on an officer's life! My life as it happens!!" Sierra's stern gaze vanished immediately to be replaced with a wide eyed expression of shock. "What??" She shot Kiera another look that vehemently demanded to be informed of the statement's veracity but she appeared to have been equally caught off guard by the revelation. "Josephine, is this true?" She asked. By now the poor coon was looking ready to run and jump overboard, if for no other reason than to get away from all the harsh stares being directed at her but nonetheless she cleared her throat and began to speak shakily. "W-W-W-Well, what happened w-w-was I'd g-gone to the f-food stalls to get some-something for breakfast before opening up for work when I n-noticed a fox kit running across the street just as a stagecoach had torn around the corner and was galloping t-towards it like," She swallowed again and wrung her paws. "Like it was in a h-hurry to get someplace." Seeing how distraught the grey furred girl was, Sierra breathed deeply and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Take a moment to compose yourself Josephine, then talk." The mustiladae nodded and took a few deep breaths of her own. "On, On instinct I ran out to grab the kit and p-pull it out of harm's way, but by then the coach was almost on top of us and my a-a-actions caused the steeds to rear up as the driver tried to stop them. The sudden halt caused the coach to wobble and th-then tip over into the mud just as someone was trying to open the door to see w-w-what was happening." "Who got hurt then?" Sierra asked. "Nobody! It's j-just that several morphs then rushed in and tried to help right it, which made the door swing open the rest of the way so she, I mean C-Commander Malford, fell back into the mud." Josephine meekly lifted her head to look at the glaring feline before she lowered it again as if trying to hide her face in the top of her dress. "They had me arrested and questioned but decided since there w-w-was no proof I'd done it deliberately, they couldn't send me to prison for it. So they released me and said I'd be under extra surveillance from then on." She swallowed and took a step back. "I didn't say anything because I thought it was a finished affair. I didn't know C-Commander Malford was stationed out here." Silence hung in the air for several seconds before Sierra turned to Malford with a look of disbelief. "You had her convicted just for that!?" "Do you have any idea how humiliating it is for an officer to turn up late to a meeting with her superiors and with her new uniform soiled??" The striped cat growled. "Don't see what she has to complain about. Probably helped get rid of some of those wrinkles from being so tight arsed all the time." One of the huskies whispered, causing Sierra to give them a look that stated they'd best shut up or be prepared to swim home while Malford judged her ranks with disdain. "Of course, now that I see less than four weeks later she's joined up with the first bunch of scavengers that wandered her way I'm inclined to think they were a little too lenient with her." This time Sierra couldn't help but hiss slightly at the scorn. "I'd appreciate you not referring to my crew like that, commander." Malford turned back to the chameleon with a slowly dawning look of triumph on her face. "I always had my doubts about you 'reforming' and registering your ship as a legitimate transport after years in which you were reported to have been involved in pirate activity, Raulin. Nor did I believe every single one of those reports about pirates supplying the islands that lie right beyond our borders could be false." She grabbed the raccoon by her paw and dragged her away from the others. "And now, even more oddly, I find other questionable members of society hanging around with your crew." She tossed Josephine to the calico behind her. "Lieutenant Haimes, take that one back on board and have her sent back to the outpost. We'll see what she's really doing out here first, before proceeding on to everyone else." Josephine looked desperately at the black and brown splotched cat (who seemed to be rather questioning of her commander's logic herself). "No, no wait I didn't mean to, it was an accident! I'm sorry; I just didn't want the kit to get hurt!" Haimes seemed to be almost apologetic at the poor coon's plight but nonetheless she took hold of her arm to lead her back to the man-of-war. On the opposite side, Sierra's mind was now racing furiously. Sure she was a little upset that Josephine hadn't informed her of her little brush with the law but Malford was seriously overreacting. Hating what she was about to do but seeing no alternative, the chameleon steeled herself and quickly stepped forward to grab hold of the tigress's arm. "Hold it right there Janice!" She stated in a calm but commanding tone. All action on the two ships abruptly stopped, the only sounds being the click of more rifles as the other soldiers on the man-of-war levied theirs to target the reptile. Back on the Bastet's Glory, Janice was still caught in a momentary state of shock at being unexpectedly grabbed by somebody coupled with the annoyance of being addressed by her first name in front of everybody. Slowly she turned to give the reptile a menacing glare, only to have it dulled somewhat when she saw Sierra was clearly in no mood to be intimidated. "Captain Raulin, I do hope you are aware of what your actions might be construed as, and what the consequences could be for you and your crew." The reptile did not falter. "And I hope you realise that even the word of a lowly transport ship captain does still carry some weight around these parts." Her scales continued to darken until they were as black as coal. "Nobody may care about what you do to us but I'm willing to bet even your precious superiors respect family values enough to care about the fact that a well regarded commander was so busy tearing across crowded city streets she almost ran over a defenceless child, and all just so she could get to the docks in time for a stupid meeting she was already late for!" The lizard quickly glanced over to the soldiers on the other ship and noted their positions. "I also hope none of your boys have itchy trigger fingers, cause given the angle our two ships are to each other, plus the fact that you have several of your own men on board there's a very high probability that any shots fired will result in at least someone getting wounded, which also isn't going to look too well to the higher ups, even if you do try to dress it up like it was our fault." The lizard let go of the tigress and crossed her arms over her chest. "I suppose you could kill us all and sink the ship, but then you've got to keep in mind that given how close we are to Richivar there's still a chance somebody on land is going to see you and wonder why we're not returning fire." She stared defiantly into the tigresses eyes as she waited for a response. "We still have reports that the island nations are getting new weapons and resources from somewhere. Do you honestly expect me to believe you're delivering goods to them and don't know a thing about it?" Janice said at last. "Search the ship! It's what you were going to do anyway. Just stop tormenting that poor girl and check her papers like a proper officer would." Silence again hung in the air. Sierra and Janice stared intently at each other while the crew of the Bastet's Glory stared nervously at the marines training their guns on them. Finally, however, the feline sighed and waved her paw. "Let the raccoon go lieutenant, and tell the men to stand down." She glared at the chameleon. "And inform the inspection team to do a double sweep this time. I want every last square inch torn apart and checked over twice!" * * * Several hours later.... Sierra heaved an aggravated and somewhat sorrowful groan as she picked her clothes off the floor of her quarters and tossed them in a disorderly heap on the bed. The remainder of the day had been decidedly less than spectacular to say the least. Janice had eventually let them go on their way after the inspection team had been satisfied that the only things of interest were quarters that didn't adhere to the required level of tidiness and a hold full of the standard food, building materials and medical supplies listed on the cargo manifest. The flip side of course was there most likely wasn't a single part of the ship that was still in a reasonably ordered state. Groaning again, Sierra slumped onto her bed and looked around the trashed interiors of her living space. She felt a mixture of abject hatred at how Janice had acted towards Josephine over something as trivial as a non-fatal accident which, thanks to the coon's actions, didn't have as dire results as it could've, as well as mournful pity that Janice seemed so hellbent on trying to nail her for anything that would be indicative of her so-called 'history'. *Damn Sarleth! As if it weren't bad enough that it's attempting to maintain an iron grip on everything that's desperate enough to wander into its grasp, it's gotta poison every possible soul against their fellow morph too?* A sad shade of blue crept over the chameleon's body as she selected a shirt from the pile of thoroughly searched clothing and folded it up, her mind thinking back to how the tigress had changed over the course of their encounters with each other. *Why can't she just see that she's being used by the government? That she's essentially become their little lap kitten who aims for nothing more than winning their favour by whatever means necessary and goes home with her tail between her legs to take it out on the common folk if she fails?* Sierra placed the shirt aside and picked up a pair of slacks to start folding them when there came a knock on the door. "Come in." She said. The door swung open and in walked Kiera brushing straw from her vest. "Sorry to disturb you again, but I thought you might want an update on how we're doing." The bat cocked her head as she noticed the downbeaten expression her captain was wearing. "Are you okay Sierra?" The chameleon took a moment to smooth back her sea green hair. "It's nothing, just brooding." She looked up at the winged female. "So how much did they mess us up this time?" "Hold looks like a wine cellar after a whole town of desperate but exceptionally picky drunkards scoured it looking for the best vintages, spare sails need to be rolled back up, riggings been pulled loose in several areas, galley needs to be cleaned up, do I need to go on?" Sierra smiled slightly and shook her head. "The good news is we've gotten most of the food and medicine supplies ordered and packed up again, and the heavens have graced us with a strong southern wind so we're making excellent headway towards our destination." "At least today won't be a total flop then." The reptile commented. "How's Josephine doing?" "Still a little shaken up but she's fine. Right now she's making a few alterations to our course to improve our chances of avoiding any wandering border patrols." Sierra nodded as her scales shifted to a more upbeat tone of green. "She's a good girl. I just wish she'd let us know about that little incident beforehand. At least then I could've anticipated that Janice would have such an over the top reaction." Kiera nodded. "I'm sure she didn't mean to hide it from us. And she's very thankful for you stepping in and taking such a huge risk like that." The reptile looked down at the pants and finished folding them before setting them aside and standing up. "Well then I'd best have a little talk with her and the rest of the crew before it gets to be too dark. Get everybody on deck please" "Yes ma'am." The bat turned to leave. "Though when that's done there's something I need to speak to you about myself." * * * Moments later the crew of the Bastet's Glory stood assembled on the deck again though not nearly as formal or reserved as before. Most were casually leaning on the sides or against the mast. Some dwelling on how long it would take to get the ship and their personal possessions back in a presentable matter, others merely just relieved that another inspection had drawn to a close with no change of fortune for them. Presently Sierra emerged from her quarters with her hands clasped behind her back and a grateful smile gracing her scaley lips. "I just wish to thank you all for your performance in general during the course of the day and for keeping your cool during that unfortunate instance of you all being held at gun point." The chameleon shuffled her feet. "I trust you all understand, it was merely a spur of the moment action to save our new girl's hide. I'd never do anything to deliberately place your lives in peril. " There was a quiet murmur of agreement. "You warned us of the dangers we ran by serving with you when you recruited us." A panther femme stated as she walked over to stand next to the raccoon and place a comforting paw on her shoulder. "And anyway it's hardly her fault if that stupid tiger bitch can't accept the fact that not everyone wishes to adhere to the naval principles of 'Respect your superiors and lick their boots till they shine. Ignore the needs of everyone else around you.' Heck, I think pretty much all of us here have fallen foul of that." She grinned knowingly as several of the morphs laughed. "Still there is just one thing we'd like to know." The smaller of the two huskies stepped forward. "How many more times are we gonna have to do this?" Sierra stared down at the ground for a moment as she thought of a way to respond. "Island governments say they're gonna need at least three more trips worth if they're ever gonna stand a chance of making it on their own Tae, and for obvious reasons there's still not a lot of other freelancers out there expressing a willingness to help out this area." She regarded at her crew and assumed an authoritive stare. "But know this; I'm only going to carry through with our part for as long as I sincerely feel we can get it done without any undue danger to anyone on board. At the first sign the navy's getting a little too irritated with having to deal with us on a regular basis we're calling it quits and finding another line of work." Another murmur of support arose from the crew, momentarily bringing a bigger smile to Sierra's lips which was quick to disappear as she strode forward to the huskies. "Now that said, however, there is one thing I wish to remind you all of. Namely that I expect everyone to be on their best behaviour when we're dealing with Sarleth's armed forces and will not tolerate any snide remarks, however fitting they may be." She stared disapprovingly at Tae's older sibling. "What? She was acting way out of line and had us all on a knife's edge with nervousness. I was trying to ease the tension." The black and white furred canine protested. "Besides it's not like she actually heard me." "Nevertheless Linnea, common sense should dictate that it's not at all a wise idea to show a sudden streak of honest feelings towards a high ranking officer when your life and the lives of all your friends are on the business end of thirty armed guards." Sierra brought her hands out from behind her back, revealing her unsheathed cutlass clasped in one of them. "And I think you need to be taught a lesson to remember it." Linnea went wide eyed as several of the other crew members gasped. But before anyone could protest Sierra had thrust the sword forward just enough so that it pierced through the top of the husky's shirt and then quickly slashed down, cutting the garment apart all the way down the front. With almost lightning fast precision she then flipped the sword to underhand and executed a slash to the dog's right sleeve, slicing it along the top before tossing it to her other hand and repeating the action on the left sleeve. Rooted to the spot with shock, Linnea could do nothing but stand there as her shirt fell off her torso and drifted onto the deck, leaving her gorgeous and quite generous endowments exposed for all to see. "Yes, that oughta do it." Sierra stepped back and grinned as she admired her work. "And seeing as you've only got a few fleeting hours of daylight left to get the sails back up and the rigging secured I don't think you can fair to go grab a replacement from your quarters." Linnea glanced around her, seeing several of the other females had their paws and hands clamped over their muzzles and snouts as if trying to suppress snickers while others were hurriedly glancing around, trying to look at every possible spot except the husky's bare breasts. As realisation began to dawn, she looked down at her shapely white furred mounds and hastily folded her arms over them. "Was that really necessary captain?" "I want us prepped and ready for anything before nightfall so you're going to have to shelve your dignity until that's done. That should give you something to think about the next time we're inspected." Sierra looked down at what the canine was trying to hide and smirked. "Besides, I really don't see what you have to complain about. If I had what you've got there girl, I'd actually be inclined to flaunt it." She sheathed the cutlass and turned around. "If anyone else needs me I'll be in my quarters." Linnea stared back at the departing lizard with severe annoyance. But as she stepped back inside and shut the door it gradually faded into an accepting look of defeat. "Sis?" Tae asked as her sister sighed and lowered her arms. "Well, as she said, we'd best get to work." The topless husky glanced around her again and had to turn around to hide an embarrassed smile as some of the crew members cast their approving and rather lustful stares in her direction. * * * "Sierra, not that I've ever been one to criticise your methods for running this ship, but don't you think that was a little excessive?" Kiera asked as she followed after the chameleon back into her living quarters. "Given that she chooses to let fly with coercing taunts during a moment when damn near a whole battalion of armed killers were ready for any sign to cut our lives short and Janice very nearly had the perfect opportunity to permanently get us out of her hair via one means or another I think it was quite a fitting act of retribution." The reptile removed her sword from her belt and placed it next to her bed. "And anyway I think it's pretty obvious that she's secretly been yearning to get to show herself off like that." "Still, don't you think it was a little contradictory of you to do that right after promising you'd never do anything to endanger them?" Sierra allowed about a second to pass before she calmly picked the cutlass up and unsheathed it again. With a grace and skill that could only come from a long dedication to familiarising oneself with a blade the chameleon began to twirl and swing it around the air, completing each movement with perfect grace. "As you may recall Kiera, I have spent a great amount of time giving each and every morph on this ship the proper instruction in how to handle a sword. You've all seen what I'm like with them and you all know how good and how disciplined I am when using them. Linnea was in absolutely no danger at all." Kiera watched her captain perform a few more maneuvers and decided she had to agree. "Now, what was it you wanted to talk to me privately about?" The winged femme carefully made her way over the mess covering the floor and sat down in one of the chairs. "Well I was hoping to save this until we'd reached our rendez-vous point but after what happened today I think I'd better bring it up now." Sierra sat down on her bed and resumed with folding her clothes. "And that is?" Kiera took a deep breath. "I think it'd be best if we left Josephine on the islands when we head back for our next pick up." The chameleon looked up and cocked her head as her scales turned to brown (the colour normally assumed by her kind when they were either ambivalent or confused about something). "I only went back for her because she needed a means of getting out of Sarleth and I felt an obligation to help her. I don't know if she can actually handle what serving on this crew entails." Kiera continued. "We can easily find another navigator for hire in the island provinces, and after witnessing her performance in that crisis situation I must admit my doubts about her are growing even stronger." "Kiera, it was her first real day on the job. Aren't you even going to at least give her a chance first?" The bat leaned forward. "Captain, she doesn't understand what we're doing here or the dangers it carries. And at this late stage in the game can we really run the risk of having anything or anyone on board that could potentially jeopardise our operation?" Sierra cocked an eyebrow as her expression slipped into dubiousness. "So if I'm understanding you correctly here, without having any real idea of how capable she is at this sort of thing, save for a single incident which, I think you'll agree, would have made even the toughest of us skittish, you're immediately jumping to the conclusion that she's a hazard?" Kiera quickly held up her winged hands and shook her head. "No, no that's not what I meant. I just, well it's becoming clear that our dear Commander Malford has had just about all she can take of dealing with us, and while I still empathise fully with our cause I'm dreading to think what the future could possibly hold if we're to try and finish what the island nations have asked of us." The bat slumped back in her chair, her stern stature now fading away to reveal a look of pleading underneath. "You must understand Sierra, Josephine's been my friend since kithood. The very last thing I could handle right now is if she got herself hurt or killed because I brought her here among us." She dipped her head and waited for her captain's response, feeling a bit surprised when a hand reached underneath her chin and lifted it up so a pair of lovely scaled lips could press themselves against hers. For a moment the bat found she'd almost forgot her concerns, so intoxicating was the sensation of being kissed by the reptile. "Okay Kiera, if you're done speaking your piece, I have few things of my own to say." Sierra's voice remained authoritive but had now also taken on a more gentle tone. "I understand your concerns but personally I think you're being a little too quick to judge here." Bewilderment resided on the bat's features as Sierra kneeled so the two girls' heads were at the same height. "Did you ask Josephine about this at all before you came to me?" Kiera's eyes averted their gaze, showing she clearly hadn't. "It seemed more reasonable to bring it up to you first." The reptile in front of her sighed. "It would really have been a good idea if you'd talked to her. Mainly because then you'd have found she understands fully what we're doing here. I know because I told her myself last night." Now it was shock that took residence. "What? But, why?" "You know what an excellent judge of character I am. And after meeting her it became pretty obvious that our dear raccoon was in the same situation as most of the crew: a morph who's lost all love and affection for her home nation after it so brutally rejected and then forgot about her, yearning for nothing more than to severe all ties and start anew elsewhere." Sierra smirked. "And if by chance along the way there should arise an opportunity to give some of what she's had to suffer through back then that's a welcome bonus." The bat opened her mouth to say something but Sierra stopped her with a finger to her lips. "Trust me Kiera, she has just as much support for our cause as you and is more than willing to do her part to help us out. What happened today was nothing more than an unfortunate mishap that she just happened to wind up in the middle of. Nobody could've seen that it would turn out the way it did and nobody is to blame." The chameleon paused for a moment to let Kiera digest her words before she leaned in and gave her another gentle kiss. "And anyway, as I said this morning she really is an absolute pleasure to have in bed. Much like you come to think of it." The brown winged femme looked rather flattered at her commander's statement and sighed inwardly as their lips met again for a third kiss, parting this time so their tongues could get reacquainted with each other as their arms wrapped around the other's bodies. "Mmmph, it's been a while since we did anything together hasn't it?" Sierra asked slyly once they'd parted from each other. "About a month, maybe a month and a h-half-f." Kiera stumbled a bit over the last word when she felt the cool wet sensation of the chameleon's tongue press against her cheek fur then glide its way up to her sensitive ears. "Too long I g-guess." She bit down on her own tongue when the chameleon's made contact with the tender pink flesh of her ear, licking around the inside before Sierra's mouth moved in to envelope the tip of it and suck gently. "Nnngh, oh that feels good!" Kiera's eyes shut tightly as the delicate but no less intense feeling of having her ear sucked on was joined by that of a hand slipping into her shirt to fondle one of her breasts. She moaned softly and reached up to stroke through the chameleon's light green hair while trying not to twitch at the mounting intensity that continued to infuse through her from Sierra's sensual actions. Pleased that the bat was enjoying the sensation so much, Sierra opened her mouth a bit wider to allow more of the ear to slide in before pursing her lips and sucking with renewed vigour. Kiera bit her tongue and gripped the arms of the chair at the added stimulation. Her spine was now tingling so much it was like a million tiny ants were crawling up and down it. Her nipples felt painfully erect which just made them more susceptible to the reptilian hand that was gently fondling them. So much so she hadn't even taken notice of how wet she was getting further down. Kiera bit down harder on her tongue, knowing if Sierra kept this up things were soon going to get very audible. Mercifully the reptile eventually stopped what she was doing and released her companion's slobbered ear she could move down and help Kiera off with her vest before grabbing hold of her shirt. The bat submissively raised her arms so the garment could be pulled off and discarded. "Heh, heh, I never forget how much you love having that done to you." She grinned while stroking Kiera's bare back. "I trust you weren't hell-bent on sleeping in your own quarters tonight." The bat looked at the havoc around the two. "Yours is still a mess, captain." "It can wait until tomorrow." The chameleon leaned her snout down to nuzzle through Kiera's neck fur while her body assumed a rich shade of ruby red. "Right now I really think I should show just what your friend did to convince me to take her on." "I'm...sure I can imagine." The bat muttered before arching her back at the feel of cool scaley hands again massaging her breasts. "But then again a l-live demonstration would be appreciated." "Gladly." Sierra grinned wider. "Just as long as you understand, Josephine is here to stay and that's final." The bat nodded and was about to voice her agreement. But at that moment her commander moved her head down to begin a vigorous tongue assault on her nipples and the bat was left unable to do anything besides lean back and moan loudly as her vision clouded over. * * * Further down in the bowels of the ship the raccoon in question was stepping into the hold to grab a quick snack from the food supplies. The day's events had left her rattled and though she'd eventually managed to calm down now that they were back on their way it had only served to allow the hunger from having not eaten much over the duration to seep back in. Finding an open barrel of apples Josephine picked one up and began munching on it ravenously, savouring the sweet juicy taste seeping across her tongue. A taste that reminded her distinctly of some quite different juices she had nonetheless also been savouring the night before. Giggling to herself, the raccoon picked some more from the barrel and stowed them in a small carrying bag she'd brought with her as she thought back to what she and her new captain had gotten up to. While it had felt a little awkward first at first, Josephine had to admit she had enjoyed the tender kiss of the chameleon's lips and especially loved the feel of those cool smooth scales writhing against her fur all night. Even more so when the chameleon's slender tail had managed to find its way into her inner folds and had remained there for the rest of their sexual escapades. *Definitely going to have to try out more reptiles in the future, they're so much more innovative in how to have fun.* She thought to herself, murring quietly when she felt her loins were getting rather hot from the memories. Continuing to devour the fruit in her paw the masked femme began to walk along the hold, marvelling at how the ship's crew had managed to get everything back in a reasonably organised fashion so quickly after it had all been torn apart. Hearing a shuffling noise coming from her left she inched in between the crates to see a distinctly familiar topless husky placing a variety of bottles back in their respective boxes. "Back already Tae?" Linnea asked without turning around. "Thank God! I was getting so turned on by everyone staring at me I'm about to burst!" The raccoon stopped dead in her tracks, momentarily dumbfounded as to how to respond to such a statement. "Uh, no Linnea it's me, Josephine." The canine immediately ceased what she was doing and whirled around to face the grey furred girl while one arm instinctively went to try and cover some of her bust. "Oh Josie! Uh, what are you doing down here?" The coon swallowed and held up her apple. "I...got hungry. I didn't know there was anyone else around." She scratched the back of her neck, feeling a might awkward at just how to proceed. "I...uh...hope I'm not intruding on anything?" Seeing the little morph shiver with increasing anxiety, Linnea relaxed and held up her paw. "No, no it's okay. I was...well I just needed to get off the deck for a while because of...well, as I just said....so I decided to come down here and sort through the rest of the supplies while Tae went to fetch me another shirt." Josephine nodded and fidgeted for something to say in response while the canine looked at the fruit in her paw. "Uh, would you perchance have any more of those? I'm kinda feeling a bit famished myself." The racoon smiled as she fished another apple out of her bag and handed it to her. "Thanks." The husky smiled as she leaned against the crates and started to eat, unknowingly lowering her arm in the process so her companion again had an unobstructed view of her breasts. "You're welcome...I think." Josephine swallowed and sat down on another smaller crate, trying to keep her eyes focused on something else other than the girl's chest. "I...uh...I'm glad today wasn't too hard for you to endure." The husky promptly stopped munching and looked up at the grey furred femme before remembering what she'd said and closing her eyes. "Yeah, well I...I guess I can't deny I deserved it. I mean thinking back on it now perhaps that wasn't the best thing to say under the circumstances." Josephine felt herself smile a bit. "Well for what it's worth, I appreciated it." Linnea looked surprised. "You did?" "Yeah, made me feel a bit better that at least someone wasn't as intimidated by that tigress as I was." The husky shrugged. "She's always had it in for us ever since we started doing these trips. No idea why but it seems like the bitch deliberately singled us out for the harsh treatment." She noticed how the raccoon was desperately trying to keep her gaze from straying anywhere near her and sighed. "You don't need to keep trying to be polite by the way. Go ahead and stare all you want." The comment confused Josephine but nonetheless (and with much relief) she allowed her eyes to be drawn to the husky breasts like iron nails to a magnet, feeling a distinct shudder of arousal shoot through her when she at last got to see how full and inviting they looked. "Um, Linnea, I hope you don't mind my asking, but why do you not seem all that upset about what she did to you?" The canine girl shrugged. "We're all pretty comfortable with each other on this boat, even more so with the captain." A red flush came to her cheeks as she turned away. "And in reality even though most would describe me as something of a reserved figure that's really nothing more than a façade, resulting from me and my sister having had such a proper and polite upbringing. I guess Sierra figured that out." She blushed harder as the coon moved for a closer look at her breasts, noticing how painfully erect the nipples were. "Wow, so in reality you actually enjoy exhibiting yourself to everyone?" "How could I not? I mean look at these." She cupped her quite large tits in her paws and displayed them, causing an even deeper shudder of arousal to coarse through Josephine. That's the problem; you can't help but look at them. The coon thought as Linnea massaged them with her fingers. "I'm just so proud of my body I can't help but want to show it off. And every time someone gives me that type of look that says they're as appreciative of it as I am, that I'm actually desirable enough for them to want to pounce me, God it just makes my legs go weak!" Josephine felt her eyes go wide at the rather interestingly honest statement and then felt giggles bubbling up from inside her as Linnea hugged her knees to herself. "If you want to know the truth, half the time when I was raising the sails I kept debating whether or not I should dispense with my pants too and let them see me in my full glory, hopefully before knocking me to the deck and fucking my brains out that is." Now Josephine just had to laugh as the husky gave her an embarrassed smile. Looking over the rest of the shapely form that was contained within the aforementioned garment, the grey furred girl couldn't help but murr quietly to herself as she felt fluid beginning to collect in her nether regions. "Well, again I hope I'm not being too forward here but since it was kind of my fault that you're in this predicament would you mind if I tried to make amends?" Again surprise registered on the canine's features as she caught the raccoon's meaning. "You know I actually had you picked out for being of the shyer, reserved types when I first saw you." She smiled and stretched her legs out. "But I'll gladly accept your offer nonetheless." Josephine chuckled and got on her knees so she could lean forward and place her own paws on the white furred mounds. "Oh wow, they feel as soft as they look." She exclaimed as Linnea let go so she could handle them fully on her own. Enticed onwards, the coon began to knead them slowly, feeling a rush of excitement as the orbs moulded themselves around her gently caressing fingers. Hearing a low murr from their owner, Josephine pinched the swollen nipples and began to roll them between her forefingers and thumbs, the wetness she felt between her legs gradually increasing with each moment as she leaned forward and nuzzled in between the husky's tits, smooshing them around her nose so she could get a nice big sniff of Linnea's warm scent. "Nnn, you've done this before I see." The canine said. "Yeah, Sierra seemed to particularly enjoy it last night too." Her grey furred companion replied. "Actually I've been meaning to ask, is she always that 'open' with new recruits?" "She's open to pretty much everyone who's willing and whom she deems worthy enough." The husky chuckled as she stroked through Josephine's raven coloured hair. "We've all had our fair share of intimate moments with her." The raccoon looked amazed. "ALL of you?" Linnea shrugged. "You don't get many scaled morphs around these parts, especially not ones with the ability to change their colours. It's too good of an opportunity for us to pass up." She put on an inviting expression. "I trust you two had a good time then?" Josephine nodded as she continued to fondle her friend's orbs. "She certainly is an energetic little thing." She moved her muzzle over so she could lick over a tempting nipple. "And very authoritative too, while at the same time quite tender and caring." She murred again at the sweet taste of the nipple before opening her mouth so she take both it and the surrounding areola in and suckle gently. Linnea let a loud moan escape through her clenched teeth as she felt the raccoon's paws leave her breasts and trail down her sides to explore the contours of her stomach before resuming with their trek south to find what lay contained in her leather clad nether regions. "Ooogh, h-hold on a moment Josephine, let me make things a bit easier for you." The coon moved off the husky (though still keeping her mouth clamped over her breast) so Linnea could unbuckle her pants and slide them off with her undergarments. "Ah yeah, this is far more comfortable anyway." Josephine giggled again and resumed with her sucking while her paws ran over the black fur of the canine's now uncovered rump, loving the feel of every silky inch as they raked over the cheeks several times at a tantalisingly slow pace, moving every so often to play with the base of her wagging tail which made her giggle. "E-heh-heh-easy there girl, I'm ticklish there." The mustiladae took her mouth off the now well sucked breast and gave her companion a rather devious smile before moving her paws away from the tail, just so they could circle around and slip in between her legs to stroke at the wet flesh there. "Wow!" Was her immediate response when she felt how slick Linnea's lips were. "Have you been like this all day?" The husky nodded in embarrassment. "It's the second half of Sierra's punishment. As well as humiliating me she also put me in a position where I kept getting increasingly horny but couldn't do anything to tend to my needs until we were organised and sea worthy again." "Poor thing." Josephine mused as she kept stroking Linnea's petals and then got an idea. "You know, I am still feeling kinda hungry though." She looked down at the alluring husky pussy. "And I think I know just what would make the perfect snack!" She fished out another apple and grinned. "Linnea, would you mind spreading your legs?" For a moment there was nothing the husky could do except sit there staring incredulously at the racoon as the connotations of what Josephine was proposing sank in. *This girl really is nothing like what her outward appearance would indicate.* Still feeling a bit uncertain but simultaneously rather turned on by the idea, Linnea leaned back against the crates and did as instructed, upon which the masked femme made good on her proposal and began to push the ripe red fruit into her treasure. "Aieee, oh geez this is definitely a new kink for me!" The husky moaned. "I, like our captain, have something of a knack for coming up with new ways to play." Josephine grinned as she pinched the stem and pulled the apple back out slightly before pushing it in further and then pulling it out again, gradually picking up a slow rhythm. "Ergh, I-I can see you're g-going to make an interesting ah-addition to the c-crew." Linnea stuttered as her walls clamped around the invading fruit while it was pushed in deeper still and then twisted around. God, wonder what can she do with a banana. The husky pondered as she grabbed Josephine's shoulder and squeezed in response to having such a huge round object moved in and out of her convulsing pussy, whimpering slightly when she felt a hot tongue join it to lick any drops that might run off the smooth skin of the apple. Eventually though the coon placed a paw on the tip of her lips and begin coaxing her to push it the rest of the way out, making Linnea whine slightly as the fruit was extracted from her treasure. "Mmm, now that is delicious!" Josephine said as she bit into the apple, tasting the sweetness of canine juice mixing in with the fruit juice. Linnea lay panting, glad that the raccoon found her sexual fluids to be as savoury as she thought they'd be but still disappointed that she hadn't been allowed to reach climax. Josephine must have noticed the disappointment for she ceased eating and laid a paw on her leg. "Don't worry I've got plenty more if you want to try it again. Just wanted to give you a taste test first." Linnea looked up and chuckled. "May I have a bite of that then?" Josephine thought for a moment. "Sure, in fact if you'd like to expand your palette a bit I've got another idea for afterwards." She tossed the apple to Linnea and then set her bag down before standing up to slip out of her dress. The husky couldn't help but smile lustfully as she munched on the fruit, finding her juices did indeed add a nice tangy edge to the flavour while the raccoon's garments were slowly removed one by one and laid aside. "Nice body you've got." She said as Josephine fluffed out her striped tail and smoothed the fur on her slender curved form. "Thanks, I appreciate the compliment." She moved some of her hair away from her own smaller breasts (figuring that since the canine had so graciously allowed her to admire and explore her rather impressive set it was only right to return the favour) and then lay down on the floor of the hold. "Now then my black and white beauty, care to have a taste of me?" She held up another apple as her legs opened to reveal her own now thoroughly slick nether lips. Eyeing it hungrily, Linnea wasted no time in moving over and snatching the fruit out of her paw to place it against her entrance and begin pushing in. "Ooh, that's so smooth, ngahh deeper Linnea please!" The husky responded in kind, using the stem as she'd seen the raccoon do to ensure she could remove it if needs be. Slowly she continued to coax the apple in, watching as Josephine's pink lips slowly swallowed it whole much in the same way she'd once seen a snake femme do while in port on one of the islands. "Errgh, I wonder if b-being fisted is anything l-like this?" The raccoon moaned, arching her back as her tits trembled with the bizarre but no less wonderful feelings coming from having her tunnel stuffed with fruit. "Perhaps we can find out later." Linnea said; glad to see her friend was enjoying this as much as she'd done. Up until her ears detected the sounds of footsteps approaching over Josephine's pleasure filled moans. "Linnea, you still h-..." Tae's voice stopped in her throat as she stepped around the crates to find her sister and the raccoon femme they'd almost lost to the navy earlier, both stripped bare with Linnea kneeling in front of Josephine. "Sis?" The husky looked up at her younger sibling and smiled sheepishly. "Well, like I said before, I was getting kind of excited from working the sails topless and she...was kind enough to offer to help me out." "So I see." She glanced down at the folded shirt she was carrying. "I had some difficulty finding this among the chaos in your quarters, that's why it took me so long. Course now I guess it's kind of unnecessary." The two huskies laughed as Tae set the shirt aside and squatted to get a better look at the action. "So what exactly are you doing?" "Trying out a new treat Josephine thought up." Linnea smiled as she rubbed the raccoon's snatch causing her to squirm. "Aaahhh, I think it's been sufficiently 'dipped' now. See how it t-tastes." The husky leaned in and carefully extracted the apple to take a bite, finding Josephine's juices bordered more on the sweet, honey like flavour. "Care to try some?" She said, holding the treat out to her sister who cocked her head momentarily but then figured it was okay and took a nibble. "Well, that is kind of an odd thing to do to an apple." The canine said while chewing. "But, it is pretty good." She sheepishly looked up as her sibling handed it back to Josephine to taste. "Um, can I have some more?" Now it was both raccoon and husky who grinned. "Sure, if you don't mind letting us try the same thing on you." Josephine said. Tae went wide eyed at the idea, but gradually a heavy consenting blush overcame her features. "Well, oh what the heck. Based on what I heard coming from Sierra's room we're probably not going to be needed anywhere for right now." Josephine chuckled and pulled out another apple as the husky got up and began to shed her clothing. * * * Meanwhile... Back at the Richivar outpost, Janice stood staring out her office window at the moon hanging over the sea, still seething somewhat that her latest attempt to nail Sierra and her crew had failed. Presently she was bolted out of her thoughts when the door opened and in walked her calico lieutenant. "Well, what's the latest, Haimes?" The brown and black splotched feline dropped the file she was carrying on the tigresses desk and shook her head. "We've had the Bastet's Glory's cargo manifest and the results of our inspection checked over for the third time as you requested ma'am. Still nothing that would indicate they're anything other than an honest transport ship." The commander lowered her head and scowled. "Honest." She scoffed. "Could there possibly be a less fitting description of that lot?" Haimes raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms behind her back. "Permission to speak freely commander?" "Go on." "Ma'am, with all due respects, they've been inspected by us four times now and each time we've come up with nothing to indicate pirate activity on their part aside from your accusations. Are you sure you're not letting your personal hatred of their captain blind you to the truth?" The tigress leaned against the window pane and sighed. "You don't know Captain Raulin like I know her lieutenant. Her sympathy to the cause of the island nations is very strong, as is her hatred for our own great motherland. There's no way she could simply drop her old habits and turn over a new leaf just like that." Janice turned back to regard the calico. "She's up to something; we just have yet to figure out what. But she'll be back again. And sooner or later she'll make a slip up and then we'll finally have our answer." Haimes looked unconvinced but nodded nonetheless. "If you say so ma'am." The tigress dismissed her and went back to staring out at the sea, trying to focus on the point where the chameleon had headed off to. *What are you hiding, Sierra?* She pondered. * * * The next inspection... Sierra strode across the deck, carrying out one final check of her crew as the parrots again secured a rope bridge between her ship and the Richivar man-of-war, determined to see that this time everything went as smoothly as was possible. "Welcome aboard again Commander." She exclaimed, stepping forward with documentation in hand as the tigress and co. stepped onto the deck. "Glad to see you're rushing out to greet us ahead of schedule as always." Janice looked unimpressed with the reptile's chipper attitude as she eyed over the ship's crew, stopping again as she noticed the raccoon, now more reasonably attired in shirt and pants, standing in between the huskies and the bat. "I see your newcomer has integrated herself quickly into your ranks." She said with an air of disapproval. "Yep, she's made quite an effort to fit in. And, if I must say, my crew seems to be taking to her quite well." Sierra beamed proudly. Janice briefly cast a suspicious glance which then simmered back down into disapproval as she stepped forward to the girl. "Hardly surprising." The tigress commented as Josephine looked up to smile politely at her, the anxiety from their previous encounter now noticeably absent. "Dissidents tend to have very little difficulty mixing back in with other dissidents." The smile promptly vanished from the raccoon's face but by then Janice had already turned around to face the chameleon again. "Are you aware, Captain Raulin, that barely three days after our last encounter the navy conducted a surprise raid on the island of Kathos and discovered a rather interesting underground cache of cannons, muskets and several other types of exceptionally lethal firepower?" Sierra went wide-eyed and her scales lightened in colour. "Really? How shocking!" She placed her hands on her hips and tutted. "Well it's good to know your boys are out there checking on them regularly." Janice narrowed her eyes at the reptile. "I suppose you wouldn't happen to know anything about that." Sierra stopped what she was doing as she caught the accusing tone in the striped feline's voice. Exhaling slowly she looked up and cut an expression of disbelief. "Commander, you're not honestly thinking..." But the tigress quickly pounced on the sobering of her attitude. "Yes I suppose it would make more sense for the natives to go the coward's way and keep you in the dark on what they really were intending to do with your supplies. Less chance of you ratting them out after all." Sierra was aghast. "How can you say that? You saw yourself that we had nothing of the sort on b-." "Yesterday I also got a rather interesting message from the mainland." Janice again cut her off. "It seems that lately there have been reports of pirates sending other ships ahead of them to the checkpoints as a diversion while they sneak plundered cargo across." Sierra looked back up, her scales darkening to a painful shade of blackish purple, the kind normally exhibited by roses that have been ruined by being sprayed with too much water, while indignation burned in her eyes. "It would sound almost like a logical reason for you to be stopping by here so often on your way to aid those ungrateful beings." The tiegress mused, causing the reptile in front of her to shake her head as if having difficulty comprehending what she was hearing. "Do you really have to...?" But the tigress ignored her as she began pacing about the deck. "Course I can't imagine you're to blame. It would after all make more sense for them to cover themselves by hiring you to transport supplies under the innocent pretence of needing them to aid and rebuild their cities, and then killing two birds with one stone by hiring a second ship to smuggle their munitions across while we were distracted with deal...." "Commander, please! That's ENOUGH!!" Sierra screamed, startling just about everybody around her, and a few on the other boat as well. There followed a moment of silence while everyone tried to cojugate the normally calm and patient chameleon's sudden outburst as Janice looked down at her in amusement. "Dear me captain, I didn't even think you were even capable of getting that worked up. Have I struck a nerve?" Again the triumphant glint returned to her eyes. "Or is it possible you're attempting to subvert my delving too far into a matter which you have a less than honest paw in?" At that moment Sierra was about ready to punch the tigress's lights out for attempting to use her patriotism as a means of getting the reptile to confess to some crime that most likely only existed in Janice's paranoid mind. Remembering what had almost happened last time however; the chameleon wisely kept her hands at her sides and merely just gave the feline a stare that let her know her little game was going to yield nothing. "Commander Malford, before you actually go as far as actually stating what you've been hinting at, can I just remind you that there are other possible explanations for the findings of the navy's raid?" Another brief pause ensued as the cat clearly hadn't been expecting this response. "Those weapons had to have turned up there somehow." She said. "Yes that's true." The chameleon stated slowly. "What's also true is that you guys continued to supply the exact type of armaments to them all throughout the war. Or did you forget about that?" Her eyes stared piercingly at Janice as the tigress took a step back, her confidence now beginning to peel away. "As for them being underground, well if you'd taken a moment to consult any of the text books on military tactics in Central Command's library you'd know that's a fairly routine procedure for storing surplus weapons until they're needed. It's easy to construct, it leaves the surface ground free for erecting hiding places on top and it's guaranteed to deceive the enemy since there's no obvious big supply buildings for them to target and blow up." The chameleon stepped forward as the feline stepped back. "In fact I'd be very surprised if the military personnel Sarleth stationed on the islands during the war didn't employ that technique for precisely those reasons." Now Janice looked offended. "If they had done then they would certainly have informed the natives!" As before, the chameleon's gaze did not falter. "Would they? Things were pretty hectic out around these parts during the last days. And I'm sure we all know how the naval forces that remained here had to later adopt the method of 'hopping' their ships from island to island to ensure each had sufficient assistance and protection when the Sarleth government ploughed what remained of its fleets into driving the retreating Nyaarlan ships out of our waters. Certainly even the most experienced commanders could be forgiven if they were to, say, order their men to bury their spare munitions, only to suddenly have to leave and assist another island before they could inform the natives." By now most of the Bastet's Glory crew looked like they were enjoying watching their captain put the tigress down. "And with all the fighting that would then have ensued who would possibly remember to go back and tell them afterwards?" Sierra concluded. Janice did not step back any further but her eyes indicated that this possibility had clearly never occurred to her before and she was now thinking it over for the first time. "Now then, if you're done with your attempts to get me to slip and confess to something then I'd like to inform you that we're running a bit late so do you think you could get the inspection under way so we can get moving again?" Her scales faded to light blue as she regarded the commander with a face that bore a previously unseen hint of pleading. "Please, just once can we go through this process without a major hassle?" Janice looked down again at the reptile. Several heavy seconds passed before, much to everyone's amazement, her gaze softened. "Inspection crew will spread out and commence with a standard sweep of the ship." She ordered. "Crew will remain on deck until we have finished." The other soldiers walked past her and stepped below deck to begin with their search as the striped feline turned to her calico lieutenant. "Haimes, stay here and watch them." She quickly turned and followed them down into the ship, keeping her head straight and her eyes focused only in front of her as if trying to avoid looking back at the reptile. Heaving a very relieved sigh Sierra gave her crew a weary smile and a thankful nod to let them know she was pleased with their behaviour this time before turning to lean against the side and focus on the activity on the man-of-war. "Well, that was refreshingly entertaining." Josephine whispered to Linnea. "Indeed, makes me remember why my sister and I joined with her in the first place." The canine looked back at the reptile with admiration. "Even if she does have some rather kinky ideas of punishment you can't help but be inspired by her strength of character." Josephine nodded as Kiera glanced at her. "On a similar subject I really have been meaning to say how glad I am as well that you're finding it easy to fit in, Josie." The raccoon smiled and shifted postion slightly. "Yeah, it's pretty decent here so far, though I gotta admit I wish I'd know the trip coming back from the islands was going to be such a chaotic hassle." "Yeah that's always the toughest part." Tae leaned over from behind her sibling. "Which reminds me, I don't know if you noticed yet but I brought a crate of pears when we were last in port." Josephine grinned widely. "Meet you two in the hold after they're finished?" There was a collective giggle as Haimes just rolled her eyes in boredom. Sierra glanced behind her and smiled slightly. *Well, perhaps things are finally looking up.* * * * A week later.... "Commander Malford! Commander Malford!" Haimes voice rang out accompanied by relentless banging on the door of the tigresses bedroom. Dragging herself with some difficulty from slumber, Janice pushed her torso up off the mattress and rubbed at her sleepy eyes. "Commander Malford!" The calico cat on the other side called again before resuming her rapping. "Yes, yes I'm up! Come in!" The door swung open and the lieutenant stumbled in, gasping for air as though she'd run all the way up the stairs to Janice's bedroom. "I'm sorry to disturb you ma'am... (pant)...but I'm afraid we've got a rather serious development that you must be notified of." The tigress yawned and stared groggily at the other feline. "And what's that?" "Perimeter patrol spotted two ships engaged in combat about a mile or so offshore about five minutes ago. We've confirmed one of them is definitely a pirate ship," Janice nodded groggily. "And the other is the Bastet's Glory, ma'am." As if someone had just turned a flame to maximum inside her, Janice suddenly felt all traces of drowsiness vanish in an instant as her mind kicked back into full alertness. "WHAT!?" The tigress threw back the covers and jumped out of the bed. "I was rather surprised too ma'am but it seems they turned up ahead of schedule this time." She swallowed and straightened up as the tigress stared at her in utter shock. "They're out there right now? Under attack??" "Yes, commander." "Then what are you doing just standing there?? Get the ships prepped and ready and send them out to rescue them!!" The tigress commanded. Had it been any other situation the calico cat would have answered with a simple "Yes ma'am!" and raced to carry out the order. In this case, however, Haimes suddenly found herself unable to do anything besides return the shocked stare to her commanding officer, secretly admitting that out of all the things she'd expected Malford to say, that definitely had to have been the last. "E-Excuse me commander, but...?" "I gave you an order, lieutenant! Have you suddenly gone deaf??" Janice strode forward and fixed her with a look that said she'd best not stall for much longer. "Uh, n-no ma'am." "Then move it!!!" Haimes didn't even nod but simply just turned and ran back down the stairs. * * * Several minutes later... Janice hurriedly stepped out of her coach and onto the docks, trying her best to hold back a mournful gasp at the sigh of the charred and damaged hull that towered above her, still smoking somewhat from the battle it had just been dragged out of. Stamping down a need to bolt for the gangway, which was currently occupied by several doctors rushing up to help any wounded, the tigress stopped took a deep breath and tried to steady her nerves as she surveyed the condition of the ship. Though she could see numerous gaping holes where it'd been hit by cannon shots as well as areas where the wood work had been torched black as if by a flaming projectile, the damage appeared to be mostly superficial. Perhaps a few days for repairs and she'd be sea worthy again. Exhaling slowly and knowing that that was still no indication that all was fine on board, Janice resumed walking towards the gangplank, noticing along the way that the plaque on the side which had once proudly bore the name Bastet's Glory seemed to have also caught the business end of several cannon balls, dented and crumpled as it was like a partially wadded sheet of parchment. *No way can that ever be repaired.* The tigress thought to herself, feeling a most peculiar sensation rush through her as she did so. For any other morph it probably would've been easily categorised as sympathy. To the tigress, who hadn't felt such emotions in so long she'd almost forgotten she was even capable of having them, it was just another crack in her otherwise impenetrably stone like composure. Another sign of weakness that she decided she'd do well to hide. Resuming her typical stern expression and slowing her walk down to a pace indicative of one who had been prepared for such an eventuality and knew exactly how to go about dealing with it, Janice crossed her arms behind her back and approached Haimes who was stepping down off the ship. "Well lieutenant, what's the situation?" "They've endured a considerable amount of damage but it looks like our ships got there in time. There's nothing irreparable." Janice nodded. "And the crew?" "Several have broken bones and severe lacerations but thankfully there are no fatalities." The tigress nodded again, looking neither relieved nor disappointed. "What of the other ship?" "Broke off their attack and fled as soon as we opened fire. I don't think we're going to be able to catch them." "I see." Janice responded bluntly. "Where is Captain Raulin now?" "Down in the hold checking over their cargo." "Fine, I'll go see her then." The tigress said, pushing her black and brown splotched subordinate aside and walking up onto the ship. On board she was met with the sight of several girls sitting on boxes, barrels and the like as their wounds were treated and patched up. Several turned to regard her as she stepped past, their expressions ranging from surprised that she'd actually still deemed them worthy enough of saving to suspicious as to what her true intentions for doing so were. Ignoring the stares, Janice made her way below deck to the hold, coughing slightly from the still present haze of smoke as she spotted Sierra and Kiera attempting to move a few crates away from the damged areas of the hull so they could be patched up. "Captain?" The chameleon looked up at her as a small semblance of amusement flickered through her rather downtrodden expression. "Well, well, it seems you just keep pulling one surprise after another on us don't you?" She glanced around at the dishevelled look of the hold and shrugged. "Oh well, at least the place is already messed up so you don't have to do it this time." Janice stiffened a bit as she walked around the crates. "Who was it that attacked you out there?" "Looked like your average run of the mill scavengers hoping to either grab some supplies or garner a few new tinkets." Sierra responded. "Probably independents, it didn't seem like they were affiliated with anybody." The tigress raised an eyebrow as she looked over the crates, noticing, now that she'd actually gotten a good look at them, a few were bearing a light covering of dust as if they'd been sitting around unused for some time. Paying it of little mind as mainland suppliers had a habit of offloading their old surplus to the islands, she stepped passed to regard the reptile. "I trust nobody lost anything of value." Sierra looked around herself and sighed. "Aside from the fact that my ship's got several great big holes in it and most of my crew will be out of action for a while no I think we're just about okay." She placed her hands on her hips and returned the feline's stare. "So, now do you believe me?" The tigress was momentarily caught off-guard. "I beg your pardon?" "Do you believe that I'm not still 'involved' with pirates as you so quaintly put it?" Janice stifled a gulp as the queer feeling from before returned to her. Gazing again over the damage the tigress looked back to gauge the expression of the scaled female in front of her, noting how it seemed at first glance to be one of mere querying, yet at the same time, if what her eyes were showing was anything to go by, how that seemed to just be a cover for one of a more pleading and desperate nature. "Well?" Sierra asked, almost as if begging her to answer yes. For a while longer Janice just stared at her, finding herself struggling on how to respond. "Pirates are not known for having much in the way of honour among their fellow clansmen. It would not be beyond the realms of possibility for one gang to attack another." She finally said, an odd tingle of regret shooting through her as soon as the words had left her mouth. Sierra let out a mournful and slightly aggravated exhale as her scales darkened to a very sad shade of blue. "That's what I thought." She went back to moving crates about as Kiera briefly looked up to shoot the feline an angry sneer. Sighing, Janice stepped back and turned around, her paws slowly curling into fists as the feeling that perhaps she may have said the wrong thing grew in intensity. "There are several very skilled craftsmen in town. If you require I can send some of my men to fetch them for you." She offered. In response Sierra merely groaned and shook her head. "As you may remember from the numerous times you've checked the documentation of this crew, I've already got two morphs on board who are quite good at carpentry. If your doctors could please hurry up and finish bandaging them I'm sure they'll be more than happy to start making repairs." Janice's eyebrows lifted slightly as if this was new information to her. Hoping neither of the two females had noticed she quickly made her way back up the stairs through the bowels of the ship and up onto the deck. Again the suspicious and repulsed stares radiated towards her from the other crew members, making the tigress pause momentarily as she looked around the deck and suddenly realised that after five encounters with them she still knew next to nothing about these girls. No idea about their skills or what role they served on the ship, or their background history or anything. Her primary concerns had always been with seeing what Sierra was doing and then trying to think of every possible means of nailing her for something. Not once had she actually looked at any of the other crew members' documentation, aside perhaps from the raccoon's and that was only to see if she'd racked up any other misdemeanours besides the one inflicted against her. And the chameleon's last question. Why was she feeling so unsure about her response to that? True even the most experienced officers would have had a tough time saying what she'd said after witnessing what had just befallen Sierra and her crew, and admittedly she'd initially wanted to respond differently. But still, still there was that nagging doubt in her mind that she might be right in suspecting the reptile of foul play. But then again what had she turned up so far that actually proved it? Was it possible that...had she actually been forsaking her duties for her personal motives all this time instead of abiding by the rules as she'd thought she'd been doing? "Commander?" A voice shook her out of her thoughts. Janice turned to see Haimes stepping towards her. "Commander, the inspection team has been assembled. We're waiting for you to give the go ahead." The tigress looked back down the steps she'd just climbed, half of her feeling that it would be a stupid and pointless gesture that would only serve to make her look worse in the eyes of the Bastet's Glory's crew, the other half arguing that it would still be a good idea, just to make sure all was as it seemed. "I've already had a look down in the hold lieutenant. We'll limit the inspection to the upper decks this time." She said. Again Haimes looked dumbfounded. "Ma'am?" "You heard me." Janice sighed before stepping past the calico and walking off the ship. * * * "Sierra can I talk to you for a second?" Kiera asked as she moved the last of the crates into one of the piles away from the sides of the ship, leaving all of the damaged areas free so reparations could begin. "I have a sinking feeling I know what you're going to say but go ahead." Sierra replied to the bat as she stared at the smashed up hull of her vessel. "Well, seems to me what happened today is a very poignant reminder of the risks we're running for the sake of the islands. We're now stuck having to transport damaged goods to them which is only going to serve to make the next trip that much more hazardous. And based on how many crew are up there being treated right now I don't even want to think about what could've happened if the navy hadn't shown up." Sierra folded her arms and drew in a long breath. "It was a freak encounter Kiera, none of us could have anticipated it happening." She turned to her bat companion with a look of weariness. "And we only need to do one more trip. After that the islands will have all they need to get moving under their own sails and we'll have finished our business with them in full." "One more trip's worth of loading it up, doing it over and then getting it past her. One more week of risking our necks for something we don't even know for sure is going to work." Kiera muttered with severe pessimism Sierra sighed again as she turned even deeper blue. "You know that isn't true Kiera. If you honestly believed that then you'd have never agreed to join up with me in the first place." The bat looked at her with a stern expression but did not offer up any protest to the statement. "And anyway, after seeing what Janice did in our time of peril there's something I gotta find out. I just need another week to set it up and then you'll all finally have a means of getting your own back at her." Kiera's ears perked up in interest. "But as always we'll ask the crew. If they're not fine with it then I won't do it." She draped an arm over the winged femme's shoulder and leaned in to place a gentle kiss on her cheek. "Can you at least agree with that?" Kiera closed her eyes and sighed softly at the feel of the reptile's lips. "I just hope you know what you're doing." * * * The next inspection.... Sierra sucked in a deep breath, hoping it would help to calm her as the parrots again touched down on the deck to connect her ship to Janice's man-of-war. Making one last check over her crew who were again lined up (and thankfully mostly healed up) she turned to face the boarding party and noticed Janice was wearing an unusually dark expression as she stepped onto the ship. *Okay, that's both refreshingly new, and probably not at all good.* The reptile mused as the tigress approached. "Documentation please." She said blankly which only served to unnerve the chameleon more. "Skipping the formal ceremony are we?" Sierra enquired as she handed them over while trying to concentrate on keeping her body to a neutral shade of brown. Janice took the papers off her and began to examine them, taking a noticeably longer time than usualy as she scrutinised each one as if trying to look past the words written on them to find some imperfection in the make up of the parchment itself. After an uneasy silence she lowered the documents from her face but strangely did not hand them back to the reptile. Instead she looked up first at the girls standing behind Sierra then around at the general state of the ship. "You've all made a remarkable recovery from last week I see." The striped feline commented. "The islands were more than accommodating while we made repairs. Course that's not to say the helping hand you gave us wasn't appreciated." Sierra smiled. She merely got a weary look in response as Janice crossed her arms behind her back and walked around the deck to survey things more closely. The tigress suddenly felt like there was something wrong with the boat she was standing on but try as she might she just couldn't quite put her paw on it. Shaking her head she put it down to the fact that she'd stayed up all of last night studying the previous inspection reports and her mind was most likely so tired of going through this regime it was coming up with stuff to add a bit more variety. Sighing, the feline turned around to the other occupants and cleared her throat. "Crew members of the Bastet's Glory, it has been six times now that you've journeyed past our borders and each time, though we have had our 'disagreements' , you have all performed with an acceptable amount of cooperation and not offered up any resistance to when we've searched your ship." Sierra nodded warily, knowing that whatever the tigress was about to say next was most likely not going to be good. "Hence, as is the navy's protocol for these things, I have decided to make a change to the course of the inspection this time." The chameleon held her breath. "I have on board my ship several officers from the Central Command's Bureau of Investigations, assigned here for the apprehension of any known fugitives who may try to escape justice and slip out to the island territories." She handed the papers to one of the marines. "While we conduct a sweep of your ship your papers will be processed and checked with our archives to see if anyone on this crew has any prior criminal convictions that need to be dealt with. You are all permitted to go about your duties while this is being carried out as long as you don't interfere. This inspection is now underway." There was a muffled groan from several of the girls and a look of apprehension from others. Fortunately Sierra was quick to silence them all with a raised hand and a wink, letting them know everything was still going according to plan as she approached the tigress. "Commander?" Janice looked down at the reptile with disdain. "Yes captain?" "While your boys are doing that could I possibly take a moment of your time to speak to you in private?" The feline raised an eyebrow. "Merely a minor quibble I think should be brought to your attention." She gestured to the door leading to her cabin. "I just would prefer not to bring this up in the presence of the crew. My cabin is right over there." Under Janice's suspicious gaze a small glimmer of intrigue could be seen as the reptile bowed her head and clasped her hands together. "Please Malford? You can keep your guards posted outside if you want to make sure I don't stab you in the back or anything." The tigress' eyes averted momentarily as she considered the idea before she nodded to two of the marines to follow her. "Okay then Captain Raulin; let's see what you have to say." She followed the chameleon inside as Josephine glanced up at Kiera. "She seems more on edge that usual. Are you sure this is going to work?" The mustiladae asked apprehensively. Kiera straightened herself up and took a deep breath. "She's right where we want her, and to be honest I think we've all had about enough of her flak." She turned and nodded to the racoon and the huskies. "Just keep your ears open and be prepared to move in when we need to." * * * The first thing that came to Janice's mind when she entered the chameleon's cabin was how uncharacteristically bare it was, amounting to little more than a desk, some chairs, the bed and a large chest for belongings. A few meaningless draperies adorned the walls but aside from that nothing really personal. "You'll have to excuse the neatness; I know you're more used to seeing this room after it's been torn apart." Sierra said as she moved a chair out for the tigress to sit down. Janice continued to look around the room. "It seems you haven't totally forgotten all aspects of your training after all." She noticed the chair and sat down. "Now, what is it you needed to speak to me about?" Sierra closed her eyes and sat down on the bed, taking a few moments to compose herself before speaking. "I just wish to know one thing, Janice." Reptilian eyes met with feline eyes and narrowed themselves. "Just what exactly do you think you're trying to pull over me here?" The double barrelled assault of suddenly being addressed again by her first name followed up by a rather personal and wholly inappropriate question being asked left the cat reeling for a bit, forcing her to blink and shake her head before finding the wind to respond. "I beg your pardon?" "Why over the course of these last few weeks have you had it so in for us? What the heck did I do to you that you're so sore about you think my crew deserves only the worst treatment?" By now the initial shock was dissipating to allow anger to flow back in. "Captain Raulin, I must say I find this behaviour very unbecoming of you! How dare you have the audacity to assume my conduct on these inspections has been in any way part of a personal vendetta!" But Sierra simply narrowed her eyes further, letting the feline know that she wasn't about to be swayed by harsh words. "It's true though isn't it? As you unknowingly admitted yourself during our last encounter you don't actually know a damn thing about the other morphs on this boat, nor, I'm willing to bet, do you even care judging by how before today you always carelessly flicked through their documents like they were outdated raffle tickets. The only possibly justification you have for treating them with the appalling attitude you do is the fact that they chose to serve under me!" The statement hit its intended target full flush on the jaw and Janice was left winded and on the ropes. Desperately she opened her mouth in an attempt to protest but Sierra was quick to catch her in her moment of weakness with another barrage. "Why do you hate me so much Janice?? And don't try to hide behind that wretched excuse that it's because of my so called 'previous activities'! You know as well as I do that's pretty much the literary equivalent of what a bull sends down the head!" The chameleon banged her fist down on the bed, her body now as black as a starless night sky while searing anger burned in her eyes. "Are you still angry at me for leaving the Naval Academy? Is that what this is about? An age old wound to your pride you just can't or choose not to get over, kitten!?" By now the feline looked like she'd literally been shocked to death. Her lower jaw was hanging so low it was pratically resting on the front of her jacket. Her tail was standing up straight and as rigid as a curtain rod. Her claws were clasped tightly around the arm rests of her chair as though she feared being knocked over by the sheer strength of Sierra's words and her eyes were as wide as dinner plates, aching with the strain of being held open for so long but refusing to blink for fear of what might happen if she ceased her gaze on the reptile for even a second. Desperately her mind raced for something, for anything to say that would help gain some ground back. But as she looked at the chameleon sitting there in front of her, calm, confident and piercing her right to the core with her eyes while waiting impatiently for a response, Janice found herself experiencing a sudden realisation that stuck her dumb: Sierra was not going to break; it was as simple as that. No matter how much the feline tried to intimidate her with her authority or slanderous talk of her homeland or threats to her crew or anything else the reptile just wasn't going to submit to her will. Not now, not ever. That was why Janice had always attempted to outwardly detest her while at the same time, dare she say it, inwardly lust for her. Sierra was everything the cat both admired and feared: a trustworthy, head strong pillar of unconquerable inner strength that could never be brought down, only angered till it burst and Lord help anyone who was standing in its path when it did. And as the chameleon's claws dug even further into the bed sheets with her eyes now all but demanding that the cat answer her, Janice began to get the inclination she may have finally pushed this iron willed female just a little too far. With a simpering whimper the feline commander closed her eyes and lowered her head, unable to deny what the reptile had long suspected was the truth of the matter. "I thought so." Sierra huffed bitterly. "Figures a preppy little rich kitty would take something as trivial as that and turn it into a personal quest for vengeance." She leaned back and closed her eyes, giving the feline a chance to recuperate from having her soul bored through and bared for all to see. "It...It wasn't like that." Janice protested. Sierra leaned forward and fixed the cat with a dubious stare. "No? Sure as hell seemed like it. The proper upper-class girl who's pretty much already bought her way into the armed forces and only enrolled at the academy as a formality, arrives, notices they've taken in a new and rather exotic girl from the islands this year and promptly befriends her, a painless and hassle free way of claiming her as her own just so she can show her off like a trophy to everyone else. But then suddenly after a year of what she believes to be steady going between them the unthinkable happens and her object of pride dumps her and departs, leaving her with a damaged ego and as the one thing she'd never expect to be: a laughing stock." Now Janice looked hurt. "You didn't seem all that reluctant when I did, Raulin!" She screamed. The chameleon merely slumped her shoulder and sighed as she shifted back to her mournful shade of blue. "Yes, that's true." She turned her head to gaze out of the windows above her bed. "But as I remember, back then you were quite a different individual. Back before Sarleth had a chance to worm its way into your head and turn you into the mindless prejudicial slave that's stitting before me." The hurt on the feline's face deepened even more. "How can you say that Raulin? This is what I aspired to be." "Is it?" The chameleon stood up. "Is this really what you hoped for when you signed up? Commanding a dead end post on the edge of the province that most of Central Command would probably forget exists if it weren't for the regular income of reports?" Now it was anger that joined the hurt, though Janice made no attempt to defend herself. Instead she narrowed her eyes and stared at Sierra menacingly. "Why did you leave Raulin? You were one of the most promising cadets in the academy, second perhaps only to me. The commanders had you marked out for greater things to come." She stood up so she could at least resume her normal stance of looking down at the lizard. "You had the potential to be the youngest girl in history to become an officer. Hell, most were predicting you'd make admiral with a prominent position in Central Command before you reached 40! What possibly possessed you to throw that all away!?" Sierra looked up at the tiger with no hint of intimidation and sighed sadly as she turned herself back to grey. "I did the one thing Sarleth never ever wants of its inhabitants to do: I woke up to the truth." Janice looked absolutely knocked for six as the reptile turned her back on her and looked out of the window again. "Sure the government would like to have you believe that this whole time they've got the common folk's best interests at heart and that they only made an alliance with the island nations during the war because they genuinely wanted to help them. But if you take a moment to think about it, it's pretty obvious that's all been one big smoke screen thrown up to mask their true intentions." At that Janice did try to protest but Sierra was quick to cut her off. "Sarleth may appear to you to be the acting big brother to all the helpless little countries but what you've willingly let yourself be blinded to is that what it really wants is to turn itself into an empire! It's no longer stated with the land it controls so now it's trying to snare every nearby nation in its grip to grow larger. What's happening with the islands is only another step in the process and you're helping them accomplish it!" The feline remained looking wide eyed and open mouthed. "That...that's not true!" Sierra let another sigh escape as she turned around; letting Janice look deep into her eyes so the tigress could see there wasn't any trace of uncertainty or dishonesty to her words. "How else do you explain the sudden mass erecting of outposts like yours after the war ended? What other possible motive could there be for the navy being ordered to attack an 'uprising' on the island of Tunith which, by an amazing coincidence, just happened to be attempting to split from the alliance at the time?" She gave the tigress a chance to think her questions over before continuing. "How long has it been since you visited the mainlands Janice? Have you had a chance to see how some of the villages have been doing lately? Seen the poverty and rot that runs riot through them all because the greedy bastards in power are too busy diverting their resources towards gaining more territory rather than investing it in repairing the damages caused by the war?" Janice didn't answer. "No, I thought not. You've just stayed out here like the obedient little kitten you are, following their orders and never once questioning their motives." Sierra gave the feline a pitying shake of the head and sat back down. "That's why I left the academy, Janice. As soon as the first few islands tried to break their ties and were subtley forced back into the alliance I saw Sarleth for what it was, and I knew I could never bring myself to serve its cause. I also knew that there was no way I'd ever be able to convince you of the same. Your objectives centred solely on promotion and being the model of a loyal, hard-working naval personnel. Hence when the opportunity to get out came I took it. And if you're wondering, no I've never once regretted doing it." The chameleon allowed another brief pause before looking up inquisitively at Janice. "What really confounds me is just why are you so sore about my doing so? I mean yeah, maybe I was fun to have as your little accessory to exhibit but surely it can't have been that hard to get over my disappearance in the subsequent years can it?" For a while after there was quiet in the room. Sierra sat on the bed waiting for Janice to respond, Janice sat back down in her chair and stared at the floor. All that could be heard were the sounds of the two occupants breathing and the rhythmic creaking of the boat as it swayed in the waters. Eventually the tigress raised her head and returned Sierra's gaze, dejection and the misery at having to confess something she'd never wanted to weighing heavily on her features. "Did it ever occur to you that maybe....I thought more of you than that?" For the first time that day all traces of weariness and anger vanished completely from Sierra's face, leaving only a cock-headed expression of confusion. "Excuse me?" Janice leaned forward. "Look at yourself Raulin, you're a rarity among rarities, and no I don't mean because you can change your body colours. I mean because of everything about you. You're head-strong, determined, sensible, trustworthy and ambitious, all wrapped up in an impenetrable iron will. The whole time we were at the academy everybody couldn't help but like you. Few were the teachers who weren't at least somewhat impressed by you." Janice averted her eyes and squirmed as if she were confessing a dirty secret. "I didn't befriend you to show off to the others, I did it because it was a virtual guarantee of popularity. With you in tow I thought even the most serious detractors would at least have to like me somewhat." The lizard's mouth hung open at the revelation but Janice held up her paw to ask to please be allowed to continue. "But then as time went on things began to change. I saw why you got on so well with the other cadets, what it was about you that held such a strange appeal. And since I was in close contact with it on a daily basis I guess it started to affect me more strongly. To the point where my feelings towards you started to deepen. Quite a considerable amount it seemed." Sierra's scales drained to white as she took in the connotations. "Were...were you in love with me?" The tigress couldn't do anything except shrug mournfully. "Who can say? Did I love you? Did I admire you and aspire to be like you? All I knew for sure is that I needed to have you near me constantly, I don't know why, I just did!" Another silence followed as Janice scrubbed at her face. "But why did you never say anything about this to me then?" Sierra asked. "How was I to know you would just het up and leave?" The striped cat cried indignantly. "You were doing so well, moving through the ranks like a fish through water, I assumed you were happy there!!" The chameleon closed her eyes and sighed. "Assumption is a dangerous thing to rely on Janice." The tigress seemed not to have heard as she leaned forward. "And then, as if that wasn't enough salt in the wound, I started hearing reports about how pirates were now attacking supply ships and stock houses and bringing their stuff to the islands for profit. Several of which described a ship captained by a colour changing scaled morph!" Sierra shook her head again. "Janice, I may be unusual but even you should know I'm by no means a unique one-of-a-kind creature. Certainly not the only chameleon sailing the seas." Janice groaned. "For years I was left in a perpetual state between denial that it was you and denial that your mixing in with the wrong crowd was any fault of mine until suddenly you turn up out of the blue, captaining a supposed transport ship and changed into something I don't even recognise." She gestured around the room. "I mean the bareness of these walls, the disorder of your crew's quarters, this ship and everything about it. I hardly even recognise you any more." As if what the tigress was saying wasn't providing enough surprise on its own she then knelt and took the reptile's hands in a most gentle and uncharacteristic way. "But that said, over the number of times we've run into each other over the past month or so I can still see some aspects of your old self. That part about the weapons on Kathos in particular. I was all ready to submit my report in full on that but after hearing what you said about it I decided to hold off. The next day another report came through confirming exactly what you said: those were our weapons which we supplied the natives with and the whole attempt to implicate them was thus labelled a total waste of time and resources. I narrowly avoided humiliating myself again because of you." Sierra cocked an eyebrow. "It's the same with how every time I come on board your crew regards me in such contempt, but one simple glare from you and they all fall back into perfect, respectful formation." Janice tightened her grip on Sierra's hands. "I know somewhere inside you is the little scaled girl I used to adore, that's why for your own sake if not mine you have to tell me what's going on here." Her head lowered until she was on eye level with the lizard. "This morning I got a notification from Central Command telling me that the islands are still somehow managing to rebuild their forces, yet every time I search your vessel I find no indication that you are anything other than a formally aspiring naval officer who's stooped to being a semi-competent tradeswoman." Sierra rolled her eyes as the tigress continued. "Please Raulin; this isn't like you at all. Please, just tell me what you're hiding. If the island nations are able to fully re-arm themselves and make another bid for their independence, Sarleth will have to go to war with them. Depriving them of their supplies may not be the best option but at least it will ensure your homeland's safety." Janice finished her statement and stared pleadingly into the reptile's eyes, finding what she hoped was a flicker of consent as Sierra pulled her hand free and placed it on her shoulder. "Janice, I empathise with your concern and know all you want from me is co-operation. I'm thankful you've finally been honest about your feelings towards me and, now that I think about it, I must apologise for my previous statement. I mean I can't deny that back at the academy I did appreciate how ambitious and driven you were to succeed and that not once did you ever show a streak of jealousy towards me because of my popularity." Daringly, Sierra's claws reached up to gently stroke through the feline commander's cheek fur. "And seeing how you came through for us in our time of peril and did your best to help us out afterwards I guess the government hasn't been able to drive all of your old self out either." Janice briefly looked joyous. "Then you'll help me?" The joy was quick to dissipate as her scaled friend slowly shook her head and shifted to blue again. "Janice, if I was in your position right now I'd imagine I be doing the same thing: looking for answers. But I'm afraid you're not going to find any because I have none to give." Janice couldn't help but look crestfallen. "Yes you may still have some of your old qualities but sadly it seems Sarleth has still done its job poisoning you. You've become so paranoid about those around you that you've spent the last month searching for something despite receiving continuous signs that that thing is nothing more than a figment of your imagination. Something born from years of pining for a lost love coupled with the digust that the object of that love betrayed everything she stood for, that's become stuck like a splinter in your mind, driving you insane." Sierra gently cupped the tigress head in her hands. "Whether you choose to believe it or not I'm telling you now that my crew and I have been totally honest with you this entire time. We're not smuggling contra-band or ammunition or whatever else you've been expecting to find in our hold. You've just been so desperate to find a means of both getting back at me and pleasing your superiors you just can't accept the fact that you're wrong. I mean come on, we're having this heart to heart talk and you still can't even bring yourself to call me by my first name!" Janice eyes rolled down to stare at the floor again. Her tail went limp and her ears wilted sadly as she heard the lizard's words and found herself wondering if they were really all that far from the truth. All the torment, the threats, the harassment, the derogatory comments. Have I let myself be so blinded by anger that I've stooped to the equivalent of being a school bully just to make myself feel better? Suddenly feeling a strong wave of shame for her previous behaviour, Janice closed her eyes and clenched her teeth, loathing what she was about to say but knowing that she'd never forgive herself if she didn't say it. "I...I'm sorry....Sierra." As if her neck could no longer support it, the feline felt her head slip out of Sierra's grip and fall forwards, only stopping when her paws reached out to catch it. No longer could the tigress feel high and mighty. Now, kneeling in front of her former friend like an ashamed criminal confessing his sins to a priest, Janice felt like the worst morphson alive. The possibility that all she'd been doing for the last month was abusing her position of power just so she could inflict pain on others was cutting deeply into her soul, and the realisation that after all the effort, the dedication and the commitment she'd put into her naval career the powers that be had in fact dumped her where she was now just so she wouldn't bother them any more only made it worse. Feeling her lips temble, Janice curled her fingers through her orange and black facial fur, trying her hardest to hold back the tears. "I'm so sorry." And then her moment of self pitying came to a halt as two scaled hands wrapped themselves around her head and lifted it back up. As despair gave way to confusion, Janice opened her mouth to speak only for her voice to leave her when a pair of scaley lips pressed themselves against hers. For an instant time seemed to stop. The endless creaking of the boat, the slight sway of the cabin, the general shuffling and murmuring as morphs went about their activities outside all ceased for the tigress as her mind and all her senses quit monitoring her surroundings and focused solely on the fact that she was being kissed by the same reptile she'd been so viciously slandering until an hour ago. Reason and Instinct battled in her mind on how to handle this unexpected and totally illogical development, one telling her to break it off and demand a reason as to why Sierra had enacted it, the other suggesting that seeing as how it was what she'd wanted to have happen for so long perhaps she'd be better off just enjoying the moment while it lasted and then worrying about the why and how later. With a muffled purr, Janice placed her paws on Sierra's shoulders and began to kiss back, trying to stamp down the inkling that the reptile may be up to something else until she felt her break off. "There, feel better now?" The chameleon asked as the tigress felt air again wafting into her mouth and realised she'd been so entranced by the kiss she'd forgotten to breathe. "Sierra...what are...?" A finger went up to her lips, silencing the feline. "You've wanted to do that to me for a while haven't you?" Janice nodded. "Was it how you thought it'd be?" Another nod. "Well there's your answer then." Janice cocked an eyebrow but nonetheless purred again in appreciation as Sierra kissed her on the forehead. "I can see how much you've been yearning for me Janice. So if I may, I'd like to propose something to you." Sierra's hands crawled around the underside of her face to play with her silky orange locks. "If I let you indluge your passion for me this once do you think we can conclude our time together on a good note, all previous insults and tension forgiven and all inflicted pain amended for?" Janice had to pull back and think. Initially she thought of refusing due to her fear of everybody outside the door and what the consequences might be if her troops walked in on them. On on the heels of that thought however was something totally different. A small voice inside her kept reminding her that she was the one in charge here and if once in her life she wanted to have a little fun then what could they do about it? Instinct eventually won over and the tigress grabbed the chameleon to lock her in another kiss, this time making sure Sierra's mouth got a thorough lashing from her rough tongue as she hugged her tightly. "Thank you Janice." Sierra said quietly as they parted again. "It seemed like too good a deal to pass up." The tigress responded before finding it in herself to smile when she'd noticed the scaled girl's body had now assumed an amorous shade of deep scarlet. "I always thought you looked the prettiest in red." The chameleon nodded slowly as a devious grin crossed her mouth. "Did you really? As I recall that colour doesn't feature much on the naval cadet's uniform so it must have been rather difficult for you to imagine how I'd look in it with all those other colours getting in the way." She leaned in so her snout was almost touching the fringe of the feline's muzzle. "Or were you perhaps referring to the times when I was less than properly attired? I seem to remember there were quite a few occasions during the summer months when I'd wake up and find my covers mysteriously bunched up around my ankles, leaving me exposed for all to see even though I could've sworn I'd had them pulled up over me when I'd gone to sleep." Janice looked away as a guilty blush coloured her cheeks. "You never seemed to mind." "Of course I didn't. Why would I be sleeping nude in the first place if I did?" Sierra chuckled as she glanced down at her clothing. "So would you care for me to dispense with all this mauve, cream and brown I'm wearing so you can properly appreciate me in red like you did before?" Janice nodded nervously and swallowed as the chameleon leaned back to kick off her boots and place them next to the bed before shrugging off her coat and hanging that over the back of a nearby chair. As the tigress continued to watch entranced, Sierra grabbed the bottom of her shirt to slowly pull it off her lean frame and toss it aside before turning around and leaning over to unbuckle her pants and slide them with her panties down her legs, letting Janice get a nice eyeful of her cute little rear before her tail pulled itself free and swung out of the way to reveal the enticing pink slit nestled in between her thighs. The tigress swallowed as the chameleon stretched slowly and turned around again to lay down on her side on the bed facing towards Janice, propping her head on an arm so she could see her feline companion's reaction. "So what do you think? Still as good as you remember?" Janice drank in the sight of the nude reptile lying in front of her, trying to think of an artful and poetic way to describe Sierra and then realising that the sheer allure of her slender beauty seemed to have wiped her mind clean of every last trace of her upper-class English education. "It's almost...better than I remember." The feline at last got out as she tentatively extended her paw to let it glide over her friend's smoothly scaled curves, the feel of the texture underneath her pads reconfirming for Janice that what she'd long dreamed of was now coming true. Purring continuously, the tigress moved onto the bed to continue with her exploration in more depth, sliding her paw down Sierra's side and over her hip before changing direction to move back so she could lightly cup her firm rear. The reptile sighed softly in approval at this so Janice kneaded it and gave it a little squeeze, smiling when Sierra giggled lightly at her doing so. Gracefully the feline paws then resumed their trek to trace the outline of Sierra's pretty legs, paying particular attention to the trim thighs before moving down to play with her feet. Sierra giggled again and squirmed a bit when she felt the tigress' nails tracing the outline of her soles. Playfully she whipped at them with her tail but the cat held on and then retaliated with a quick swipe over her sensitive arch, forcing Sierra to bite down on her hand till the tickling feeling had faded. A pause followed as Janice watched the red tail writhing slowly next to her, waiting to see if it would try to strike again and maintaining her hold on the reptile's feet if it did. Sensing this, Sierra gave a good natured sigh and rolled onto her back so her tail was trapped underneath and couldn't move. She then felt a deep murr vibrating in her throat as Janice's paws wrapped around her ankles and began to move back up her legs. For all her misgivings about what the navy's manipulation and Janice's affluent, stiff collared background had turned her into, Sierra had to admit now that perhaps there were one or two pros yielded by her position in life. Years of having access to the finest manicurists and beauty products had given the cat very soft silky paws tipped with short perfectly trimmed nails. They both felt quite heavenly as they rounded her hips and moved in to rub over her tummy. Reaching up to grab the pillow and drag it down so she could prop her head on it, the chameleon closed her eyes and let out a more voluminous sigh which then faded to a quiet moan when the paws finally made their way up to take hold of her breasts. Writhing somewhat at the stinging pinpricks that were shooting through her from the gentle massage, Sierra turned her head and nuzzled further into the pillow, enjoying the sensation of velvety pads kneading her scaley orbs while moving down every so often to caress the contours of her abdomen. This continued for a while, Janice seemingly content to just keep going over the lizard's top half while Sierra did her best to stay still, glad to see that at least some of the cat's attributes had survived Sarleth's 'refining' process. "Do you like what I'm doing, Sierra?" The reptile opened her eyes again and gazed fondly at the tigress. "You haven't lost that tender touch of yours." Janice clamped her muzzle shut, trying to stifle the chuckle that was bubbling up in her thoat. "It came in handy for learning the proper way to handle valuable objects and documents." She purred louder as a clawed hand reached up to skritch behind her ear. "I'm glad you've maintained that sculpture-esque form of yours." Sierra bowed her head as her body turned even redder. "To properly respond to your question however," She took hold of one of the cat's paws and moved it down in between her legs, causing Janice to gasp when her pads came into contact with Sierra's rapidly slickening nether-lips. "I think that pretty much speaks for itself." Janice leaned over to get a better look at what she was feeling, gasping again when she moved her paw away from the reptilian treasure and saw a glistening strand of juice stretch out, keeping the two connected for a few seconds longer before it broke and trailed onto her fingers. Breathing shallowly, the tigress brought her paw up to her face to stare at the juice on it, her mind spinning with the notion that after six weeks of tormenting Sierra and insulting her crew the reptile was actually getting wet from her actions. Apprehensively she opened her mouth and placed her fingers inside it to lick the fluids off and taste the chameleon, finding that while the flavour was decidedly tangier than she'd expected it wasn't all that bad to be honest. "Like the way I taste?" Sierra asked, chuckling at the cat's bemused expression. "It's...different." Janice responded. "But in a good way." She looked down at the glistening lips of Sierra's passage, noticing the steady trickle of juice that was leaking out and swallowing as she debated on whether or not she should try some more, just to be sure her opinion was accurate. Sierra must have noticed the indecision for she was quick to sit up and place her hands on the epaulettes of the striped feline's coat. "I know you're starting to get rather serious about this Janice. But if I may could I please make a request before we proceed any further?" The tigress raised an eyebrow but nodded nonetheless. "Take off that uniform. It's only going to get wrinkled if you keep it on, and even you must agree it's not really appropriate for what we're doing here either." Janice looked shocked but after taking a moment to gaze over the reptile's naked body and thinking over what she was intending to do next, the cat had to concede that her friend probably had a point. With a tense sigh, Janice got up off the bed and unstrapped her sword to place it next to where she saw Sierra's was at the foot. With slow apprehension laden movements she then reached up and began to unbutton her coat, sliding each one through carefully as if trying to prolong the process until she finally got it open and looked around for a place to hang it. Finding none the feline, against her better judgement, decided to follow Sierra's lead and draped it over the back of a chair so she could get to work on the rest of her outfit. Throughout the rest of the process Sierra sat patiently on the bed, watching as Janice slowly removed one garment after another. Gradually her body was revealed bit by bit until with a barely audible heave of reluctance she stepped out of her panties and stood up, presenting Sierra with an appealing view of her lithe, orange and black furred figure from behind. A view that only got better when the cat hesitantly turned around to reveal a cascade of pure white fur covering her nicely sized breasts and stomach as she looked to the reptile for approval. "Well, what do you...um...think?" Sierra took a moment to gaze at her form. "Same thing I thought as before. Namely that those clothes do you no justice." Janice's tail curled inward to a more relaxed state when she heard that. "Please, come lie down." Sierra smiled and patted the bed. Janice eyes widened momentarily in confusion as to what the chameleon was intending to do with her in that position. Not wanting to ruin the moment by lapsing back into her interrogative manner, she stepped over and lay down as asked, the bed barely being long enough to accomdate the tall kitty. Shifting slightly to make herself more comfortable, Janice looked up at the ceiling and closed her eyes, feeling slightly anxious at not knowing what to expect but nonetheless eager to continue playing with Sierra. Seconds later she was surprised to hear a soft clatter as Sierra picked her boot up from the side of the bed and tossed them behind so they hit the door to the room with some force. She was about to ask just what the reptile was up but instead gave a surprised 'eep!' when the chameleon then pounced on her and pinned her wrists down while trapping the tigress's legs in between her own, making it impossible for her to move away. "There, that's a much more preferable position for you anyway." Sierra smirked. Janice looked at what had happened and shut her eyes as the momentary surprise withered away to be replaced with a slight pang of annoyance at having been forced into being underneath. "Couldn't you have given me a little warning that you were about to do that?" The chameleon groaned and rolled her eyes at the feline's apparent failure to understand the whole point of pouncing someone. "If you're going to pull fast ones on me then you've gotta be prepared for the eventuality that at some point I'm going to try the same thing on you." She smiled and kissed the tigress on the forehead. "And anyway with you like this we can try something a few of my crew members are quite fond of doing with me." She stretched out on top of the feline and pressed her breasts against hers. Tenderly the chameleon then shifted her body forward so her orbs rubbed over Janice's and then pulled back so she could kiss her on the cheek before moving forward again. Gradually she built up a rhythm, stroking her nipples against the tigress's while kissing a different part of her face and neck each time, the friction caused by her scales against the soft fur creating a pleasing heat between the two girls. Janice clenched her teeth and tried to prevent herself from moaning too loudly as her nubs were continually tweaked up and down by the reptile's, sending a delightful tingly sensation that was gradually growing in intensity as they became erect which only made it easier for the chameleon's nipples to brush up against them. The worry and angst seemed to literally just drain away like water from the tigress as Sierra continued with her massage. No longer did she care about what other intentions the chameleon might have, or what the emotional after effects would be. Now, feeling the scales of her desired lover against her fur, Janice sensed she was now coming to accept the reality that it didn't really matter if what they were doing was the right thing or the wrong thing, it felt right to her and damn anyone who would dare say differently. And with each fluttery kiss from the chameleon she felt the resolve only became stronger. Slowly moving her head around to ensure the reptile's lips covered every possible inch, Janice tried to lift her hips up so she could rub her aching pussy against Sierra's but found the chameleon seemed to be deliberately keeping her lower half raised high enough so that it was just beyond the maximum amount that the tigress could move while being held down. "Ooh...Sierra...mph" The cat groaned as the front of her neck was kissed, followed by her mouth. "Sierra please, let me go. I promise I won't try to get away... (smooch)...I just want to feel the whole of your body against mine." Sierra stopped what she was doing as a rather devious smile crossed her face. "Oh I'll let you go in due course, just as soon as our company arrives." Again the confused look returned to the feline's face but before she could ask what the chameleon was talking about her ears went rigid at the sound of someone knocking at the door. "Captain? Is it okay to come in? I need to speak with you about something." came a voice from outside, followed quickly by Haimes's voice calling out. "Go back to your duties bat. She'll be available once she and the commander are finished." Janice froze as she heard whoever it was knock again regardless. Quickly she opened her mouth to order the crew member to go away but even faster was Sierra who lowered her head and took the tigress in another deep kiss to silence her. "It's only a small matter about the ship. I'm sure Commander Malford wouldn't mind a quick interruption if it's to ensure the vessel she's on stays floating." Another voice pleaded. "I said wait. If it's not serious then it can't be that urgent." Haimes retorted. "Look it'll only take a minute." A third voice said as, to the tigress's horror, the door began to swing open. "We just need to tell her that..." And then the owner of the voice (Josephine as it turned out) stopped dead as she stepped into the cabin and got an eyeful of what was going on, followed quickly by Kiera, Tae and Linnea who were right behind her. "Alright step away from there this instant!" Haimes commanded as she charged in after the four. "The commander is a busy woman and she does not like to be distur-oomph!" She bumped into the husky who had stopped in front of her and stepped away, only to almost fall over with shock when she saw what the others were viewing. Fearing the worst was coming true, Janice wrestled her mouth free from the chameleon's and turned to face the calico. "C-Commander? What's-?" "Shut that damn door lieutenant!!" The tigress screamed, causing Haimes to almost leap back into Tae who had moved behind her before whirling around to grab the cabin door and slam it closed. "Well now, this certainly isn't something you see everyday." Linnea mused. "I never thought I'd say this, but damn commander, you're pretty cute underneath all the formal get up." Sierra gave the husky a disapproving look but quickly followed it up with a smile as Haimes stepped forward with her mouth hanging open in shock. "Wha-What the hell do you think you're doing Captain Raulin!?" She sounded unsure whether to be disgusted that her superior was being taken advantage of by the chameleon, or relieved that, judging what they were doing, the two had apparently made peace with each other. "Exactly what your commander has long been yearning to do with me." The reptile stated calmly as she held the stuggling feline down. Haimes's eyes went even wider as she observed the femmes, looking as though she knew the proper procedure would be to disbelieve the chameleon and have her arrested, yet at the same time also knowing from experience that Sierra would never say anything so outrageous just to slander the tigress. "Is this true?" She asked Janice who was still trying to wrestle free of the reptile's grip. "Of course, ever since she first laid eyes on me at the naval academy and decided I had to be hers. It's the whole reason why she's been treating us like dirt this whole time." Sierra turned to observe the calico's reaction. "Or did she forget to tell you about that?" Haimes looked up at the chameleon and then back down at the tigress as she stopped struggling upon hearing Sierra's words and closed her eyes in humiliation. "Commander?" Janice dropped her head back onto the mattress. On the inside her mind was frantically trying to come up with an alternative explanation as to how she'd come to be in the position she was in. But after looking over at the expressions of her subordinate and the other occupants of the cabin she knew it would be pointless to lie now. "I...have difficulty letting go of grudges." She muttered under her breath. There followed a heavily pregnant pause. Janice lay underneath Sierra with her eyes shut tight and her ears folded against her head, trying to avoid the shocked stares of the other morphs in the room while Sierra lay on top of her grinning triumphantly with a golden tinge now becoming prominent on her scales. "Commander, I...I don't know what to say." Haimes uttered at last to try and break the silence. "I've forgotten what I came in here to say." Josephine said while Kiera glared at the feline. Janice looked up at Sierra and copied the glare. "Did you plan for this to happen? When you threw that boot against the door, was that a signal for them to get ready to barge in on us?" Sierra never stopped smiling. "I prefer to call it insurance and payback, Janice. I don't think you quite realise how many of my crew you've made an enemy of with your behaviour during these inspections. There are quite a few girls on this boat who are hankering for both an explanation why and a way to inflict some of the humiliation back on you." She leaned in as her smile widened. "This was merely my way of ensuring a total and bloodless ceasefire. To all of your guards and inspectors outside this will simply look like my companions walked in on us by accident and the rest of the crew will finally be able to hear the true reason behind all the unnecessary hardship you've put them through as well as at last having some dirt on you which they can pass around. Their need for payback is sated and you don't have to lose a single bit of face in the process." The tigress looked aghast and tried again to sit up. "But, why!?" Sierra rolled her eyes. "As you seem to keep forgetting Janice, morphs trust me. They know I don't make wild and totally untrue accusations, nor do I try my hardest to dig up every skeleton from the closet in an attempt to deface someone else." She tightened her grip on the feline's wrist. "Needless to say, if I tell anyone about this they're going to think long and hard before they consider dismissing it as fiction. And they're going to talk about it too, you can bet your life on that. And given how gossip behaves, sooner or later, by one means or another, it's going to reach the ears of somebody in Central Command. And when that happens chances are you're not going to look at all nice to them when it comes time to write their evaluations of you." Janice tried to say something but was silenced with another kiss. "Course you should know by now I'm not one who likes ruining the reputation of others. So if you want to make sure this remains as nothing more than some annoying natter swapped between common folk you're going to have to start treating us better from now on." Janice tried to maintain an angry composure but after again thinking over how she'd conducted herself previously and what the chameleon was proposing it began to crack and peel away to reveal a humbling expression of resignation underneath. "Commander?" Haimes asked again as the tigress sighed and laid back down. "Well, all things considered," She looked over at the calico. "It's not like I don't deserve it." The black and brown splotched feline just stood there and shook her head as Linnea slapped herself as if trying to prove this wasn't a dream. "Okay, that's two things I'd have never expected to happen today." Sierra's smile softened to a loving grin as she released her hold on the tigress and leaned down to lick at her face. "Alright, if all is settled then I'm sure you're anxious to get back to what we were doing before." She glanced over at her crew and shifted her body colour back to deep red. "Oh, and if anyone else wants to take part then you're more than welcome to do so." Janice looked confused. "But Sierra...didn't you just admit this was all...." "I said it was just a plan to ensure you'd change your attitude from now on. I never said you would have to stop enjoying me." She laid her body out flat on top of the cat and wrapped her arms around her neck before quickly kissing her again. Realising she could move again, Janice wasted no time in wrapping her arms around the chameleon and rolling over so the two were now next to each other, bodies pressed tightly together so the tigress could finally tend to the needs of her burning pussy, grinding it against Sierra's as their kiss deepened. "Whoah, strip away the outer layer and it's all paws and tongues underneath." Linnea commented as she watched the two writhe about, seemingly oblivious to those watching them. Subtley she looked over at Josephine and smirked at the sight of the little raccoon staring at the action with trembling lips as her paws slowly began to creep around to the front of her pants, both clear indications she was more than a little interested in the goings on. "Enjoying the show?" She asked, stepping over to hold the grey furred girl closely to her. "It's strange. I mean on one paw I still feel kinda hateful towards her for what she did to both me and Sierra previously." Josephine looked up at the husky and then nuzzled into the front of her shirt. "But just seeing how content they are with each other right now, I can't help but feel a slight twinge of happiness for her." Linnea watched the reptile and kitty continue to go at it, their paws and hands running endlessly over each other's bodies, exploring every nook and cranny as if trying to build up a complete photographic memory of their lover's form simply through touch. An almost harmonious series of grunts and moans reverberated out from both their mouths accentuated by a delicious squelching sound as they rubbed their increasingly slick slits together. "Well as our dear captain said it's an open event so would you care to take her up on the offer?" Josephine looked up again and smiled a thankful smile at Linnea before leaning up to kiss her. "Okay then, first could you lift your head for a moment so I can make things a little more comfortable for you?" Taking the meaning, the raccoon giggled and moved away so the husky could pull off her shirt. A low murr came from both girls as Josephine rested her head again on Linnea's now exposed breasts. "Mmmm, these feel so good; I could just sleep on them." "Well ask me sometime and I'll be happy to let you give them a try out." The canine chuckled as Josephine ran the tip of her nose over her sensitive nubs, tickling her with the wet and slightly cold texture. "You certainly know how handle them properly." The raccoon smiled and leaned over to lick at one of the nipples, helping to ripen it somewhat with the warm moist lashings of her tongue before opening her muzzle to take it in and suckle. Growling at the pleasing suction on her nipple, Linnea clutched the small femme's head to her chest protectively as she helped guide the two of them down to lie on the floor. As Josephine followed to sit down beside her, the canine quickly unbuckled and shuffled off her pants before taking one of the raccoon's paws and guiding it down to rest on her swelling lips while she traced through her shiny black hair. Surprised to suddenly feel the slick texture against her pads, Josephine looked down and gave a muffled sigh of gratitude as the husky placed her own paw on top, gently pressing down on her fingers to encourage her to stroke over the labia. This the raccoon was all to happy to comply with, her digits running lightly across the red lips, helping them to swell with blood as juice leaked out onto her paw. Seeing this, Josephine took her mouth off the white furred tit and moved down to lick it off, pausing along the way so she could kiss Linnea's navel. The husky lay back and groaned loudly at the sensation of her friend's hot tongue moving from her breast down to her sex, the pinpricks of ecstasy caused by the raccoons' nimble little mouth muscle darting around her labia shooting up in a contstant barrage. "Oogh Josie, ooh you're so good at that!" Linnea thrashed about as Josephine pushed her muzzle down to lick deeper. "Darn, does that mean that spot is reserved now?" The husky looked up to see her sibling observing the two from the side in quiet amusement. "Cause I was kinda hoping for a chance to see if this tastes any better after our 'dipping' routine." Tae reached into her jacket and pulled out a small zuchinii, bringing a fit of giggles from Josephine as she looked up to see what was going on. "Moving into vegetables are we now?" "Well the only fruit that I could find at the last dock were pineapples so I went with the next best alternative." Tae smirked as she contemplated the food in her paws. "At least with this there's enough for second helpings." "Ah, good point sis." Linnea nodded as she observed her two companions. "In fact I think I may have an idea for how all three of us can make use of that." She laid down flat on the floor. "First you both have to lose the clothing." A combined giggle emanated from the femmes as Josephine got up and slid off Tae's jacket while the husky undid her pants and pushed them down the raccoon's thighs. Taking a moment to step out of them, Josie then began to unbutton the husky's shirt as Tae wrapped her arms around the grey furred girl and took the hem of hers. The two finished their frantic undressing of each other with Josephine lowering herself into a squatting position, with the result that since Tae was holding onto her shirt she had to wriggle out of the garment before helping the dog girl off with her lower coverings. Linnea had to laugh as the two admired each other's bodies, the raccoon small and slender, the husky more similar to her sibling with pronounced curves and a fuller bust. The hunger to enjoy each other's assets registered on both girls' faces as they turned to face the older dog girl to see what to do next. "Now Josie I want you to come and lie back to front on top of me so we both have access to each other's treasures." Josephine walked over and lay down on top of the husky as instructed, her muzzle nestling in between her black and white furred thighs with her lower half resting on Linnea's chest. "Good, now Tae you come and lie on top of Josie in the opposite direction." Tae did so with the result that Josephine found herself as the filling in a husky sandwich. Murring softly at getting to be trapped between two lovely warm doggies (both of whom she'd admittedly grown rather attached to over the last few weeks), Josephine leaned down to kiss and lick the older one's petals before lifting her head to repeat the action on the younger one, the varying tastes between the two delighting her taste buds. "Mmm, wow she's skilled in the use of that tongue." Tae murmured, twitching slightly at the pleasing affection being showered on her love box, even more so when she felt a series of quick swipes grazing her clit. "Oogh, kinda wish I knew how to do that." "Well, thankfully you've got a perfect opportunity to get some practice right here." Linnea giggled as she moved the raccoon's tail out of the way and spread her butt cheeks. "See what you can do to her while I prepare our snack." Tae leaned down and curled her muzzle inwards so her tongue could reach the delicate pink petals while her sibling picked up the zuchinii and dragged her own tongue over it, lubing it up with her saliva while also getting a feel for the size. "Hmm, this feels a bit bigger than I thought. You may want to open her up a bit for this Tae." The smaller husky grinned and brought her fingers up to trace over Josephine's treasure, finding her depths to be as enticing and as fun to play with as the raccoon was finding hers judging by how enthusiastically she was lapping at it. "You're such a wonderful little girl." Tae sighed as she slipped two fingers in and caringly moved them in and out of the tight slit. "D-Double for you two." Josephine moaned as her entrance was coaxed open, gasping at the feel of a smooth round object being rubbed over the sensitive flesh. Wrapping her arms around Linnea's hips and clenching her teeth, Josephine felt her whole body shiver as more pressure was added to the driving force behind the vegetable, causing it to begin slipping into her depths. As the zuchinii made its way inside her, the raccoon let her teeth part so a high-pitched 'aieeee' could shoot out. Briefly she thought about asking the two canines to stop so she could have a moment to get used to the size but that was soon taken care of when a stifled feline roar of orgasmic bliss reverberated around the cabin. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked towards the bed where Janice now lay sweat soaked and panting as Sierra held onto her for dear life, her snout buried in the valley of fur between the tigress' breasts to muffle her own screams of ecstasy as her body seized up with the onset of climax and her scales turned a brilliant white. For a while thereafter the two lay there in each other's arms, a picture perfect study to the admiring onlookers of exhaustion and statedness. "Well, I said it before and I'll say it again," Sierra leaned up to kiss Janice on the muzzle. "You're just full of surprises." The tigress wiped some sweat off her face before reaching down to caress her reptillian lover's cheek. "Sierra... (pant)...that was....incredible. I don't think I've... (pant)...ever climaxed as hard as that." She lay back down and continued to suck in plentiful gulps of air, never noticing the chameleon's scales start to turn pink. "Really? Well I'm glad this is turning out to be as special as I'd hoped it'd be for you." Sierra smirked. "Indeed. I just need a rest now." The feline said distantly, prompting another distinct change in Sierra's scales right back to the deep red they'd been before. *Bingo!* "Oh, but I couldn't possibly leave you having experienced the true delight of sex with me just once." The chameleon grinned deviously as she moved off the tigress, several thick strands of female juices stretching out between the two morphs from all that had accumulated between their bodies. Janice looked up in momentary confusion as she felt the weight of the lizard move off her, only to gasp in surprise when she felt something long, thin and nimble brush against her still convulsing pussy. "Sierra! Oh please not now, I haven't rec-c-c-covered yet!" The feline cried as the tip of the reptile's tail found its way into her nether regions, followed by the next few inches. "Ngh, n-n-no please! Pull it ah-out! I'm still too s-s-s-sensitive!" "I should hope so; this feels the best when you're like that." Sierra stated, watching contentedly as the tigress next to her grabbed pawfuls of the sheets and thrashed around as more of her tail was fed in. "Don't worry, I'll take it slowly so you can get used to it." Janice grabbed the window sill and dug her claws into the woodwork as the tail stopped entering her and was still. "N-No! It's too m-ah-ah-uch!" The tigress squirmed a bit more, much to mostly everyone's amusement, as Sierra flicked the tip of her tail around against her walls. After a few minutes had passed however, Janice began to relax. The gentle massage of her inner chambers by Sierra's tail tip helping her to get used to the intrusion into her body and, after a few more minutes, start to actually kind of enjoy it. Unfortunately it seemed that was only a lead on to Sierra's true intention for as soon as the feline started to moan quietly again she immediately ceased the massage and drew the appendage back out. "Wha-? Sierra why did...?" "I thought you wanted me to. Thought it was too much." Janice looked back at the smirking reptile and closed her eyes in embarrassment. "Well, could you do it again....please? It was starting to feel rather nice." Her voice sounded very small and quiet. "I'm sorry?" Sierra said. "Please, please do it." The tigress tried to hide her face. "Do what?" "T-Tail fuck me." Janice whispered. "What? I can't hear a word you're saying." Sierra said, enjoying the affect this was having. "TAIL FUCK ME! PLEASE!" The feline screamed giving everyone else in the room quite a shock. "Be more than happy to." Sierra rolled over to wrap one arm around the cat while her other reached down to grab her own orange and black striped tail and guide it to her needy depths. "Oooh, that feels so wonderful." Janice purred as the lizard's cool scaled length was then slid back up into her nether regions to massage her on the inside. Within moments the two were grunting and moaning again as they pistoned their appendages in and out of each other, making sure to take it slowly this time so they could build up the intensity of their second orgasm. *Well, if there's nothing else to say in her favour, that cat certainly is no prude to the kinkier aspects of sex.* Kiera admitted, dreamily remembering the first time Sierra had done that to her and feeling a distinctly needy heat in between her legs. She looked over at Haimes who so far had hadn't moved an inch from where she was standing, seemingly unable to tear her eyes away from the action going on in front of her or remember what exactly she was supposed to do in this situation. *Well if everyone else is taken then it can't hurt to ask.* "You okay with just watching, or would you like to join in?" The bat enquired, if for no other reason than to try and snap the calico out of her trance like stare. "Excuse me?" Haimes asked as she turned to face her, thankful for finally having a reason to stop ogling her superior officer playing with the ship's captain. "Just wanted to know if you're interested in enjoying some of what they're enjoying." Haimes felt her maw drop open again at the realisation that she was being prepositioned by the one member of the crew she'd guessed for the most likely to hold a grudge against her. Tentatively the calico looked back at the chameleon and tiger, at the two huskies that had gone back to pleasuring their raccoon friend in between them, and feeling a strange sense of being left out take root. Knowing from her military training that it was potentially dangerous but at the same time deciding that since Malford was consenting to it then what would it matter if she did too, the kitty turned and gave an embarrassed shrug to the bat. "Well if you're okay with it then I guess I could give it a shot." For the first time that day, Kiera smiled. "Thanks Haimes." She leaned in and kissed her on the forehead. "Rachel." "Excuse me?" "My first name, it's Rachel." The calico gave another shrug. "It just doesn't seem right to keep up with the politeness under these circumstances." Kiera nodded. "Well, pleasure to meet you then Rachel." She moved in for another kiss to which the feline complied by raising her head so the bat's lips met with hers. The two stayed like this for a moment, allowing themselves time to adapt to the idea of getting intimate with someone whom until today they'd come to view as an adversary. Despite the inherent awkwardness due to the aforementioned both girls brought their paws up to rest on the other's shoulders then tightened their grips to pull themselves together into an embrace. As they gradually got more turned on by all the lustful moans of the morphs around them both bat and cat found themselves putting more effort into their kissing, their heads tilting to the side while their claws trailed down the other's back. While neither felt entirely sure about continuing their actions with their partner the two femmes were surprised to find the more time they spent close to each other, the more they noticed the other's attributes. Rachel couldn't help but relish the feel of the bat's warm winged hands and muscled arms holding her firmly but quite gently, and Kiera had to admit, now that she was close enough to smell it, that the calico had quite a pleasant aroma. Breaking the kiss she angled her nose down into the cat's neck fur to take another sniff while Rachel swallowed with a hint of nervousness. "So, um would you care to take the initiative?" The calico asked hesitantly. "Because I'm rather a novice at this." The bat looked up and gave her a consenting nod as her fingers trailed over the front of her jacket to begin undoing the buttons, causing Rachel to shiver slightly as the garment was opened up and eased off her torso. "Now you do the same for me." Kiera said. The cat nodded and tentatively helped her off with her vest. Once that had been accomplished (after far longer a time than it usually would've taken) Rachel hesitated on how to proceed but Kiera was quick to solve that by grabbing her paws and placing them on the collar of her shirt. "Come on now, you know there's more to do than just that." Rachel swallowed again but nonetheless took hold of the collar and began to pull upwards, feeling a shudder of arousal course through her when the bat raised her arms and it slid off her body to reveal a toned torso covered in soft downy brown fur with two enticingly sized breasts sitting perfectly with no sag on top. "Um, Kiera just before we go any further, I would like to apologize for the behaviour of my commander. You must understand her feelings were not in any way shared by me." Rachel quickly blurted out, not really sure what she hoped to accomplish by saying it but feeling anything would be better than just standing there gawking and hyperventilating. Kiera merely rolled her eyes and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know you didn't agree with her Rachel. But as you heard Sierra's already beaten a confession and a promise of retribution out of her so there's really no need to apologise any more." As if to illustrate the point another voluminous moan erupted from the bed as Sierra plunged her tail deeper still into Janice. "Yes, well still I wanted to show you that I'm fully willing to do this with you." Rachel quickly pulled her own shirt off so the bat could have an oggle of her similarly developed physique. "I can't help noticing how neither you nor Janice seem to be much for undergarments." Kiera observed with an air of amusement. Rachel stared down at her bare bosom and blushed. "Well, while I can't speak for my superior, I personally find them to too time consuming and unnecessary to bother putting on each day. Usually I only wear them during formal occasions and if I need to be with the troops for the majority of the day." Kiera chuckled lightly which made the calico feel better. Emboldened she took the bat's hands and guided them down to the top of her pants before placing her paws on hers. Mimicking what they'd seen the husky and raccoon do earlier the two disrobed each other's lower half. As the doubts about what she was doing gave way to gut instinct, Rachel wrapped her arms around the winged femme and hugged her tightly, relishing the feel of another's fur against her own, unhindered and unbarricaded. A low purr began vibrating up inside her as the bat did the same and reached around to grip her rear, the calico leaned up to kiss Kiera again as she pulled forward and helped both of them to descend lightly down onto the floor like a freshly laid out picnic blanket. "So, how do you want to do this?" Rachel asked. "I mean what is it you like doing in these situations?" Kiera turned her head inwards so her chin was against her neck and her ears were on line with the feline's mouth. "Suck my ears." Rachel looked slightly confused till she remembered how sensitive bat ears generally are due to their exemplary healing. Leaning forward she extended her tongue and gave a short lap at the pink flesh of the right shell, hearing a pleasurful mumur come from underneath when she did so. Surprised but intrigued she gave the warm ear another slower lick and felt the bat squirm a bit, leading her to finally open her mouth and slid the top in to suck gently. "Nrrghh, that's it Rachel, that's it." Kiera began to gently massage the calico's breasts, shivering at the feel of the pleasurful waves lapping at her gently from the wet assault on her flesh. Tenderly she pinched the nipples in between her index finger and thumb and rolled them between the digits while using her much longer tongue to inflict quick darting jabs on the tips, knowing from when Sierra had done the same to her that the conflicting exposure to first her warm tongue and then the cold air would felt utterly divine. Rachel didn't hesitate to satisfy her expectations as the bat felt a series of small vibrations radiating along her ear from the cat's muffled moans and purrs which left her feeling as tense with pleasure as Rachel was no doubt feeling. "Mmmph, mind if I make use of your tail?" Kiera requested as she released one of the feline's breast to grab the appendage in question and bring it round to her gradually soppening cunt. Rachel offered up no resistance so she began rubbing it gently against her passage relishing the soft fuzzy texture of the fur against her moist sex before she began to push it in, the tail suddenly becoming livelier as it passed the outer lips and beginning to move in on its own accord. "Thought you might like that idea." The bat said as Rachel momentarily ceased her sucking so she could focus on getting her tail as far into the bat's tight passage as possible and then start pulling it out, gradually building up a rhythm. "Oogh, yeah that feels wonderful." The winged femmed reached down to hook her hands under her lover's legs and began to lift them up and over her. "Probably the best thing about you cats is you're all so amazingly flexible." Rachel oomphed slightly as her stomach curled up to allow for her legs to be pushed over till they were resting against her shoulders, essentially folding her body in half. It was a rather odd and painful looking position to be in but the calico didn't seem to find it at all uncomfortable. Especially when the bat began to trace along the outline of her treasure with her tongue and she then realised that with her contorted as such Kiera's ears were still within easy reach of her mouth. Giggling at how the two of them must look at that moment, Rachel leaned forward and nabbed the bat's other shell between her lips, loving the clean smooth taste of the skin as she felt Kiera lick around a spot of brown fur that framed the left side of her passage. On the bed, things were again coming to a peak. Janice by now felt she was going to tear the chameleon's scales off her arms based on how tightly she was gripping them while trying to withstand the incredible feel of her tail relentlessly thrusting in and out of her. The build up to her first orgasm may have felt like the exuberance of finally approaching the top of a tall hill after walking up it for a long time, but her second one was like climbing a mountain. With each successive thrust, Janice felt the level of ecstasy rise within her, each time she hoped it would be enough for her to climax only to feel it rise even higher with the next thrust and making her all that much more determined to reach that distant peak. Sliding her paws up so she could dig them into Sierra's shoulders, the tigress shoved herself down on the long lovely tail, locking its owner in a deep kiss while trying to find sufficient brain power to keep reciprocating the action with her own tail. "Oh God! Sierra....I...I love it! P-Please....m-make me cum again....I...oomph...I want to cum for you!" She said in a most uncharacteristic tone. Sierra did not respond. Indeed it is doubtful she would've even been capable of doing so given that her teeth were clamped together tighter than the jaws of a bear trap, letting only a series of stifled hisses and moans seep through them as her body was racked by similarly intense pleasures from Janice's own actions. Instead she merely opened her eyes and gave Janice a look that let her know she was all too aware of her need for release but also that she was even closer to achieving it and scrambling to think of a way for them to do it together. As their bodies continued to jerk and convulse against their invading tails Sierra did her best to come up with a perfect finish, trying to gather every scrap of her brain that wasn't drowning in the sea of heat and sexual elation and combine it together for inspiration to take place. And take place it finally did, for as the chameleon took in the sight of the shapely kitty on top of her, her gaze happened to fall on a black stripe running around her neck and Sierra suddenly remembered an aspect of feline mating that just might do the trick. With nary a second thought her jaws shot up to take a big mouthful of orange and black fur and bite down hard on it while simultaneously burying her tail in Janice's depths. Both moves caught the tigress off guard but in an instant she saw their merit and quickly leaned down to give the lizard a similar bite and plunge of her tail. Even with both their mouths occupied there could still be heard a loud scream and a deep throated roar as both women were hit by the onset of their second peak, their bodies thrashing and wrench around as if they were both having seizures before one finally collapsed on the other and they were still. For a moment Janice just lay there panting, her nose buried in the crux of Sierra's neck among her again brilliantly white scales, smelling the pungent but no less sweet smell of her sexual release mixed with her natural earthen scent as the reptile stroked her hair. Finally she found the wind to speak but was interrupted by another scream of orgasm followed after a moment by two more coming from the side of the cabin. Slowly she turned her head to see Josephine, also panting with her tongue gently lapping into the freely flowing liquids of a post-climatic husky pussy as she removed her fingers from another one above her and allowed its juices to trickle onto her neck. "Wow." The raccoon said faintly. "I think I just set a new personal record for longest object I've managed to fit in there." She momentarily winced as she felt a set of sharp teeth scrape lightly against her tender petals. "Hey, just eat it not me!" "Sorry but you taste so delicious." Linnea giggled as she helped coax the remainder of the zuchiini out of the mustiladae's dripping hole which she and her sibling were alternately taking bites out of. "I swear we should do a book on using raccoon ejaculate in cooking." Josephine giggled at the compliment and closed her eyes, enjoying the afterglow of her sexual exploits and more importantly the fact that she'd gotten to do them with friends. "Well, if you do then I'm going to follow up with a companion piece for huskies." She rotated her muzzle up so she could lick at the above canine. "Damn, it was quite a task getting you both off but the results are definitely worth it." The actions of her tongue brought out more juice, though Josie felt then and there that she'd never be able to get enough of it. "I hope you don't think it too forward of me but I love you both." Tae stopped her nibbling as she heard the words, another soft murr coming from her lips as the raccoon followed her statement with a tender kiss to first her slit and then her siblings. "We love you too Josephine, don't ever forget that." She smiled as Linnea gazed lovingly up at her before both leaned in to give the raccoon's treasure a delicious kiss. Tae giggled contentedly as Josephine's stroked her face with her striped tail to show her appreciation till all three heard another tell tale muffled screech followed by a stifled cry of "OH GOOOD!" In the throes of their passion it seemed no-one had noticed when Kiera and Rachel had finally gotten in on the act. Thus it was quite a surprise all round when they saw the calico hunched over in an almost upside-down foetal position as the bat finished cleaning out her interiors and then slowly took hold of her muzzle to pull it off her ear, revealing a small semi-circle of bloody spots where Rachel had inadvertently bitten down a bit too hard during her moment of euphoria. For a moment bat regarded cat with a shocked expression, leaving everyone to wonder if Kiera's screech had in fact been in pain rather than pleasure. However the winged femme was quick to quell their fears when she leaned over and kissed the calico deeply to let her know it was okay. "How could she possibly be grateful for that?" Janice asked in confusion as she watched the two cuddle. "Bat ears are a lot stronger than you might think, and as both you and I just demonstrated a little pain can sometimes make the pleasure all that much more intense." Sierra smiled as she extracted her tail from the tigress and licked it clean. "In fact while we're on the subject, how come your teeth weren't all over me from the start? I thought all felines liked a good chomp when they indulge in pleasures of the fur." Janice looked down at the chameleon and sighed as an embarrassed tint came to her cheeks. "I was taught that biting was...improper. I only did it when I realised it would help you reach your peak faster." Sierra rolled her eyes and leaned up to kiss the blushing feline. "Well then the next time someone tries to tell you what is and isn't proper just remember that by giving in to your ancestral instincts you helped make our time together that much more memorable and special." Janice couldn't help but shed a tear of thanks which Sierra was quick to kiss away. "So, are we okay now, you and me?" The moment of truth dawned on the tigress and for a moment it seemed she couldn't find the words to say what everyone in the room was hoping she'd say. "I'll....I'll try to be nicer to you from now on." She wrapped her arms around the chameleon and lay back down. "Just please don't expect me to make a public apology." Sierra chuckled as she turned back to her consenting shade of green. "Alright fine, if that's the best I can hope for then I'll live with it." She kissed Janice again. "And again, thank you for finally hearing me out and letting us come to a cease-fire." The tigress looked up, the tips of her mouth curling upwards into a very slight smile. A smile that held the elation of being allowed to sate her needs while also a twinge of sadness that it was over and now she had the rest of her life to deal with alone. "It seemed like the best course of action. I guess I'm now finally realising I never could win with you, Sierra. Somehow you always know how to get the better of me." * * * *And somehow, get the better of you is what it feels like she just did.* Janice mused as she watched the Bastet's Glory shrink into the horizon from the deck of her man-of-war. After everyone had had a chance to rest and get dressed again she'd been quick to finish the inspection and get her men off Sierra's ship, feeling it'd be less painful for everyone if all traces of the navy were removed and the two went their separate ways as quickly as possible. And yet, yet even after all that had transpired, despite the gratefulness she felt at finally making amends with the chameleon and the relief of at last getting to have her, if even for a short while, Janice still couldn't shake the niggling feeling that something was still wrong. That somehow she'd been taken advantage of and didn't know it. "Commander, ma'am?" The tigress turned to see Rachel standing to attention behind her. "We're ready to turn around and head back to base." "Good, do so." The striped feline nodded. Rachel sent the necessary word along to the ship's crew before stepping forward to stand next to Janice. "I'm, uh, glad you managed to work things out between you and Captain Raulin." A soft sigh came from the tigress as she dipped her head. "As am I, to an extent. I just wish I didn't have this awful feeling that I just let something valuable slip through my paws." Rachel cocked her head and shrugged as she leaned on the railing. "Well, if you'll permit me to say so ma'am, it's proably just regret that you couldn't keep Captain Raulin to yourself like you wanted to." Janice looked at her subordinate and nodded mournfully. "Yes, perhaps you're right." The calico smiled as she watched the ship disappear over the horizon. "Just be glad that contrary to your suspicions there really was nothing wrong with her or her ship." And just like that a light switched on in Janice's head. Realisation slapped her full on in the face as if she'd just been hit full on by a raging tempest as she stood erect and grabbed Rachel's shoulder. "Wait, that's it!!" She cried fearfully, her eyes widening to the size of cup saucers as everything suddenly fell into place. "Uh, Commander?" Rachel piped up attempting to draw attention to the painfully tight grip Janice was maintaining on her shoulder. "That's it!! There was nothing wrong with the ship!!!!" "Ma'am?" "No sign of patched up holes, or repaired rigging or repaints or anything! Not a single sign that that boat had been anywhere near a battle!!" "Commander?" The black and brown splotched feline said again, wincing terribly as Janice's claws dug agonisingly through her coat and into her fur. Rather than release her, the tigress merely jerked her around so they were facing each other. "Lieutenant, haven't you ever found it odd that we've been meeting the Bastet's Glory on its way out to the islands every time but never on its way in??" "C-Commander, what are you talkin about?" Rachel asked, shuddering at the wild anger that was now evident in the tigress's eyes. "It's because we haven't been expecting the same ship every time, we've inspected seven different ships!!!!" Much to the calico's relief Janice let go and raced to the railings to stare at the horizon. "That bitch! That utter bitch!! She wasn't smuggling supplies, she was smuggling GALLEONS!!!" She roared, slamming her fist on the railings so hard it broke apart. Suddenly feeling rather nervous, Rachel stepped backwards as Janice stared for a bit longer then turned around with her teeth bared and the rage of hell burning in her eyes. "Lieutenant, open fire, NOW!!" "Ma'am, they're too far out of our range, cannons won't do any g-" "I SAID OPEN FIRE!!!" The tigress bellowed, causing the calico to immediately whirl around and tear like heck towards the quarter deck and forecastle to tell the gunners to ready their cannons, all the while unable to hide a little smile that Sierra had actually managed to get the better of her commander. * * * "Wait, everybody wait! Stop what you're doing!" Kiera called out as she flew down from the crow's nest. "Listen, do you hear that?" All the crew on deck ceased their actions and strained their ears, picking up the faint sound of cannon fire echoing out from some distance behind them followed by the loud splashes of cannon balls crashing harmlessly into the water nearer to them. "Uh oh, sounds like our dear tigress finally worked out our ruse." A wolf femme stated as she set down the sails she was carrying. "Okay, whoever bet on her rumbling us before now pay up!" Sierra listened to the cannons for a while longer, her eyes slipping closed and her scales turning to blue in sadness. *So, even with all the accidental indications and clues it still took her this long to figure it out.* For some reason the thought brought no comfort to the chameleon as she leaned against the railing and sighed mournfully. "Well Sierra I didn't think it was possible but you actually pulled it off. Seven of Sarleth's finest ships sneaked out right underneath their noses. Well, six and a half I guess." Kiera stated in amazement as she walked up behind her. The chameleon bowed her head. "I had nothing to do with it. This was only possible because everyone on this crew made a sacrifice and put their backs into making it possible. Everyone hear deserves some degree of commendation." She sighed again sorrowfully. Kiera to cock her head. "Are you okay Sierra? You don't seem all that relieved." The chameleon straightened up and shrugged. "This whole operation was based on the idea that Janice would be so obsessed with trying to find ways to nail either me or the crew she'd never even think of stopping to have a second glance at the ship to see if it was the same one as last time. Yet after seven inspections, that rogue band of idiots surprising us and knocking us for six and her in-depth analysis of me during our heart to heart she was still none the wiser till right now." She reached back and ran a hand through her sea green mane. "I guess for a while I wanted to believe that wasn't the case, that some aspect of the less prejudicial and much more observant feline that I knew at the academy was still there." Sierra turned to regard the bat with sorrow very evident on her features. "But now that we've pulled it off that pretty much confirms what I've feared: she's gone for good. Sarleth has won her over completely and claimed another soul for its purposes." Kiera stepped forward and draped a comforting winged hand over the lizard's shoulders. "Why Kiera? I mean she used to be such a strong willed, level headed girl. Why did they have to turn her into such a stuck up paranoid abomination?" "Maybe she just wasn't strong enough." The bat said as she gazed lovingly at Sierra. "The important thing is you didn't follow her down and we all thank the heavens for that." Sierra nodded slowly as she placed a hand on her winged companion's arm. "Yes perhaps so." She smiled at Kiera. "And I'm grateful for the kind words." "Good then hopefully you won't consider what I'm about to do a breach of conduct." Kiera replied before dragging the chameleon to her and laying in with a passionate kiss. A murmur of giggles and chuckles roused from the observing crew as their captain briefly struggled with her friend before deciding her predicament wasn't all that bad and kissing back. The two stayed like this for another moment or so before breaking off for air. "My dear Kiera, would you mind explaining what that was all about?" Sierra asked, feigning a look of disdain which didn't match at all with the content green of her scales. Kiera folded her arms behind her back and smiled knowingly. "Well after all the times you pulled that on us I thought I'd commemorate this momentous occasion by beating you to it." She licked her lips seductively. "Besides it helped cheer you up and, as I think we'll all agree, you're one hell of a kisser." Sierra maintained her disdainful look for roughly another second amid the laughter of the other femmes before she had to join them. "Alright, alright, you got me that time." He face became stern as she strode to the quarter deck. "But seriously you've all got some thinking to do now. We've now managed to procure a Sarleth registered ship for each of the island nations which means they'll now be able to covertly sneak supplies from the mainland with ease via a means the navy will never consider checking until it's too late. Unfortunately, if Janice behaves the way I think she will, this also means there's a very good likely hood we're soon going to be on their most wanted lists." Sierra crossed her arms over her chest and surveyed her crew. "I know during our time together you've all shown your utmost support for me and I thank and respect each and every one of you for it. But as I said before I'd never do anything to endanger your lives and right now if we're to stand any chance of survival I'm going to have to break up this crew." There were several shocked murmurs but the chameleon raised her hand and asked for silence. "I already have confirmation from our dear tigress commander that she doesn't actually know who most of you are so you should have little difficulty finding other lines of work. But as for me, my job is only just beginning." She curled her hands into fists and hissed angrily. "Sarleth made a fatal error if it honestly thinks it can keep the island provinces under its control. We were doing fine without their help and we certainly never wanted an alliance. I intend to show that to them by continuing to help the provinces rebuild until they are ready to stand against them. Any help would be appreciated but please keep in mind that it's only a request. If you agree then you do so of your own free will." More mumurs arose as morphs all around the deck deliberated and thought over the proposition. All soon lapsed back into silence however when they noticed a familiar raccoon stepping forward to face the chameleon. "Josephine?" "Captain, before I tell you my decision there's something I need to know: were any of Malford's accusation's true? Were you really a pirate for many years?" Another silence followed as Sierra averted her gaze and tried to think of how to phrase her response. "I've had to do a lot of things to aid my homeland's cause. Some things I'm less proud of than others." She looked down at the wooden boards of the deck and scraped at them with her boot. "You must understand, pirates know all the weaknesses and flaws in Sarleth's defences. And if we have need of their 'services' they're far more likely to trust the negotiations to someone who's been with them for a while and earned a reputation among them." She looked up at the little raccoon who was nodding thoughtfully. "That's the honest truth?" Sierra nodded. "Then you can count me in. I mean Janice knows who I am too so it's not like I'm going to be welcome back in Naverstock any time soon, nor would I particularly want to go back there." Josephine stepped back to wrap an arm around each of the huskies. "Thanks to you I've actually got some semblance of a family again. And seeing as these two have already pledged their allegiance I'm going to follow them to the bitter end." Both Tae and Linnea couldn't help blushing as Josephine pulled them both down for a three way kiss. "I don't think it's really any question for me." Kiera said as she again wrapped a wing around the reptile. "Somebody has to be there to keep you from doing something stupid." "I second that!" A voice cried out. "It's high time we proved to Sarleth they can't just keep treating us like dirt!" "Me too!" Another one said. "Well, to be honest I have been meaning to go legit and settle down somewhere on the islands for a while now. But I'll make sure if any worthwhile morphs come my way I won't hesitate to direct them to you." A third voice was heard to say. And so the cries of girls wanting to stay continued, interspersed with a few who admitted they'd rather not take anymore risks but still made sure to speak highly of their time with the reptile. It eventually got to the point where Sierra had to momentarily turn around so she could wipe away a few tears of joy. "Alright then, if that's your final decisions then get up those riggings and man the sails! The inhabitants of Kathos are anxious to get their paws on this boat so they can get to work on dressing it back up in its proper naval colours and I don't want to keep them waiting." The deck became a flurry of activity as everyone scrambled to get back to their work while Sierra turned to gaze out at the horizon, a smile of renewed hope sitting proudly on her face. *Let's show Sarleth what we're truly made of!!* * * * Speak the truth don't you dare lie to me I've seen it all before you disagree The way you always attack all the things that you say The way your turn your back and then you walk away Shut your mouth and open up your eyes You better take your time and try to realize That no one's free from sin and when I look at you I scream within WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU You raise yourself up to a higher degree and look down in disgust at our misery You're no better than your enemy But it's easy to hate what you just can't be Don't deny the fact that you're a mortal man You can't escape from death when it's close at hand Don't sit upon a pedestal and raise your voice If you're to deaf to listen to the people's choice Truth tell me, the truth, the truth, motherfucker! Tell me the truth, tell me the truth, tell me the truth, The truth you sucker You play us out and you take us all for fools But I never understood who even made the rules I'll make my stand against supremacy 'Cos hypocritical governments threaten me I know you ain't blind and I know you're aware But your ego's to big for you to even care The doors are wide open but your eyes are closed You're unable to look any further than your nose You open your mouth and all I hear is lies You keep spreading your message that I despise Because the game you're playing is so easy to see It's just another repeat of our history You talk about peace it's a very strong word It's always being said but it's never been heard Hi-tech weapons are here to reassure it But I've never seen a time when they've done a shit for it Truth..... Kick it to me now cos I just can't figure Take a small mistake and make a small one bigger Equality's a word have you ever even heard it I guess not and you don't deserve it Turning your backs on the problems that surface I get a feeling that you're doing it on purpose Your mind is SLIME so please resign You can't control your own life don't try to ruin mine Truth..... Claw finger - The Truth * * *

FINIS

• * * Yeah I know the song is kind of crass but it seemed to fit the tone of the majority of the piece. Anyway you know where the e-mail is (*points to top of page*) so send me a comment when you have a chance.