FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Counter Earth Chronicles

Chapter 34: Tiger On The Prowl

Day 106 continued

I spent a good hour talking to the man-spider in Room F. I wisely decided not to tell anyone of my encounter with the masked vigilante who challenged my beliefs, preconceptions about the empire and even managed to rattle my cage a little. I also warned him not to do the same in exchange for his freedom. He agreed. If anyone did find out, it would lead to some uncomfortable questions especially from my mistress.

As I left the lab and made my way toward Lord Tiger's lair, a peculiar thought tickled my mind. Was he the ONE that the support crew were chanting about at the Sura concert? If he was, how did the vigilante manipulate the crew into chanting his name endlessly? Does he even have that power?

Around 2 PM I arrived at Lord Tiger's lair and chimed the bell at its entrance.

"Enter!" Came a voice from inside. I stepped inside, taking a good look around as I did.

"Greetings Lord Tiger." I said to the Commander of the Knights of Wundagore. "I am here on the orders of my mistress to assist you with all your cleaning needs- rooms straightened, floors mopped, windows washed, messes organized and the dust dusted."

"You are blocking my view." The beastial warrior said to me.

I realized that I had walked in front of the view screen he had been watching in his great room when I made my entrance and what a viewscreen- it was the entire wall of his room!

"Sorry my lord." I said moving out of the way.

"You can call me Commander. Now come in and have a seat." He said motioning me to his couch. The he beast was dressed in what appeared to be shorts and a tee-shirt something I had never seen him wear. He looked good in it too.

"Yes sir." I said very respectfully.

"Ursa said that you would be dropping by this weekend. It looks like you didn't bring your PDA either. Completely fluent in English and Animalian?" He asked me with his face still glued to the viewscreen.

(Very observant for someone watching the hub.)

"Not completely, but getting there Commander."

It was then that I took a look at Lord Tiger's great room and the rooms beyond. His townhouse was huge! Larger than Lady Ursa's. Larger than Sir Ram's.

(I guess rank does have its privileges.)

His lair had the typical three floors- upstairs bedrooms and bath. Main level kitchen, great room, family room and downstairs laundry and storage. It was also decorated with his trophies, awards and artwork.

"Impressive house sir." I said to the tiger warrior whose face was still glued to the viewscreen- it appeared that he was watching some sporting event on the hub.

"Yes- it serves its purpose he said distracted. Tell me Alex, during your time here have you ever observed any of the sporting events on this world?"

"Can't say I have sir."

"What about on Gaia?"

"Actually no. I was too busy worrying about staying alive and where my next meal was coming from." I responded.

"That is too bad." He said simply.

"So what are you watching?"

"Arena football. One of the more popular sports on this world. This is the championship game between the World One Warriors and the Extreme Rage from World Five.

(The what from the what now?)

I am a big fan and a season ticket holder as well." The tiger warrior said his attention never leaving the viewscreen.

Arena football as Lord Tiger called it was called soccer on Gaia and indeed it was a popular sport on this world. The championship game we were watching was being played in Yangers Field here in World One. From what I observed the stadium was packed. Looking closer I also observed that the audience was segregated- the beastial populace was located on one side of the stadium and the human populace on the other.

The sport's players were all beastials and they were placed on a typical soccer field eleven players on each side including the goal keepers. Each team tried to kick a black and white checkered ball into the opposing team's net.

"Did your world have any sports similar to this?" The tiger warrior asked me still transfixed to the viewscreen.

"Actually yes. This sport was also played on my world. It was called soccer there and the players were all human." I said to the he beast as the final minute of the game took place.

The World One Warriors were losing three to two and tried desperately to tie the score in the final seconds of the game.

"Come on! Come on! Come on! Come on!" The tiger beastial next to me growled.

One player a rhino, kicked the ball hard toward the the opposing team's net. It was caught by their goal keeper, a white bear who waved at the rhino mocking him.

(Or was he interested in him?!)

"Damn! They lost." Lord Tiger growled defeatedly. "Unbelievable!!"

"Uh, better luck next time?"

"Next time will be next season." The tiger warrior face-palmed composing himself. "Well I have seen enough. Ready to go little human?"

"Go where?! I asked."

"On patrol."

(What?)

"Commander, I thought you were supposed to be recuperating from your emotional trauma (he grinded his teeth and scowled at me as I said that) err... resting after your recent mission." I said to the perturbed warrior.

"Nice try Alex, but the details of that mission are classified. Anyway, I have had enough of this seclusion- sitting around feeling useless. I am going back out into the field NOW. Otherwise I am going to break something." He said walking to his closet.

"But sir, I was supposed to help you clean your lair..." I said to the eager he beast who was now putting on his blue knight uniform, with green highlights, red cape, sword and fire arm.

"In the time that I have been off, I have done that half a dozen times. It is clean enough." He then walked over to me and studied my hands. "It looks like you have had your fill of cleaning too."

(YAY!! Freedom! But then again, maybe it wasn't...)

"I don't know commander. Whenever I am out in the field with the knights, I always find myself in the middle of extraordinary circumstances and situations." I admitted sheepishly.

(Like ALL the missions I have had assisted the knights with for instance.)

"The choice is yours little human. You can accompany me on my rounds as part of your weekend servitude or you can stay here and perform a seventh cleaning of my lair."

I looked around the townhouse again. It would be a huge task to clean this place and Lord Tiger was right, he had cleaned it top to bottom. Probably with the automated cleaning system. Anyway, it was spotless. On second thought, going on patrol with the Commander of the Knights of Wundagore didn't seem like a bad idea. It would give me an idea and further insight to what the knights do to preserve the empire. In particular Lord Tiger whom I have never accompanied on a mission nor seen in action.

"Um, ok." I said to the tiger as we left his lair.

I dropped off my cleaning supplies back at my mistress' lair and grabbed a jacket and joined Lord Tiger at the hanger where his hover bike was stored.

"So what are my duties Commander?" I asked the he beast.

"You will accompany me on my rounds, obey my instructions to the letter, observe and assist me as needed. Understand?" He said as he climbed aboard his hover bike which looked more like a robotic horse than an hover bike.

"Yes sir!" I responded.

I sat in front of him. He placed a helmet on himself and myself, belted me in and we were off. We departed Castle Wundagore and proceeded to patrol World One. I thought it would be cold that late spring afternoon- but the temperature was in the 60s. Quite comfortable.

(I guess I didn't need that jacket.)

We flew in and around the tall sky scrapers and traffic at a very very fast dizzying speed. It felt very much like a amusement park ride. I also remember World One was bustling with activity that Sunday afternoon probably from the game.

"Commander do you mind if I ask you a personal question?"

"What is it Alex?"

"How did you become a Knight of Wundagore? During past missions I learned how and why my mistress, Lady Vermin and Sir Ram became knights. I was curious how you became one?"

The he beast thought for a minute, then responded.

"You know about originals right?"

"Yes."

"I was one of the High Evolutionary's first animal to beastial creations. He found me in a zoo in what is now World Three. I was born into captivity there lounging around in a enclosure with several others of my kind day in and day out. Occasionally I mated with some of the females in my pen and they would give birth to our cubs and then there would be more of us just sitting there looking at visitors looking at us. The High Evolutionary rescued me from this boring life of captivity and turned me into something better- the beastial you see today. To honor him for my liberation I joined his knights working my way up the ranks ultimately becoming their Commander."

I was silent.

"You seem disappointed Alex." The he beast said over my shoulder.

(It wasn't as elaborate as Lady Ursa, Lady Vermin or Sir Ram's but was an interesting story none the less.)

"No, no sir it was just a super short story."

"I am sorry if mine wasn't as engaging as those of my colleagues."

"No Commander. It was still very informative. I didn't know zoos could be so boring- at least from their resident's perspective."

"Well they are. I did not realize my full potential until I left there. I now live my life to the fullest everyday. Well save for last week."

"I see Commander- hey look at that!" I said pointing.

We were traveling toward the eastern end of the city when we observed two hover vehicles and their occupants causing a commotion- a young baboon who was driving a grey sedan was shouting at a equally young bobcat who driving a purple hatchback.

"What are they doing?" Lord Tiger said as he maneuvered his hover bike to follow the two.

"Um that!" I said as we observed both vehicles hitting each other- intentionally. The sedan started smashing the hatchback on the driver side door. The hatchback reciprocated!

(Talk about road rage!)

The tiger warrior decided to move to intercept the two beastials.

"ALRIGHT! YOU TWO LAND RIGHT NOW!" The he beast shouted on the loud speaker of the hover bike.

To our amazement despite our flashing lights and the loud speaker, the two continued smashing into each other like some type of demolition derby!

"Those two idiots are going to injure someone or worse." The tiger grumbled.

"So what are you going to do?" I asked.

"An oldie but goodie." The tiger warrior said flying right behind the two vehicles. "Hold on tight Alex, this is going to get bumpy."

I then watched as the tiger flipped a plastic cover on the console of his hover bike. It was covering a yellow button. As he pressed the button, a large net deployed from the front of his bike enveloping the two vehicles.

Lord Tiger was able to use the net to slow down the vehicles as well as drop their altitude to just about an hundred feet above the ground. He then pressed a red button on the console and fired two blasts from the front of the bike which knocked out the propulsion systems of the vehicles causing them to land rather roughly on the street. Jolting the occupants, but leaving them otherwise unhurt.

The tiger warrior landed his hover bike behind the disabled vehicles and retracted the net.

(The technology on the knight's hover bikes was amazing.)

"Alex stay here and assist as needed!" The warrior ordered me as he started approaching both vehicles.

The baboon crawled out of the remains of his vehicle first and walked over to the hatchback where he helped out the bobcat who instead of expressing his gratuity swung at the baboon resuming their fight! Unreal!

"You two! End this right now!" The tiger roared.

The two beastials ignored him and continued fighting the bobcat slicing through the baboon's baggy shirt.

Lord Tiger tried to get in the middle of the two of them to break up their fight while I looked at the control console of the hover bike trying to figure out what each of the buttons did just in case I had to back up the warrior.

As I did, the baboon took another swing at the bobcat who dodged hitting Lord Tiger in the face!

(Bad mistake bud, very bad mistake.)

That was around the time I found the button for the spotlight. I pressed it shining a bright light on all three of them- distracting the combatants.

"I have had about enough of this!" The tiger grumbled shaking off the punch to the face. He picked up the young baboon by the scruff of the neck and the young bobcat by his and smacked their heads together!

**KLONK!!** K.O. !!!!

Another knockout by a knight. But after seeing what these two had done, they deserved it.

"Are you ok sir?" I yelled to Lord Tiger and the motorists.

"Yes, thank you Alex. You can dim the spotlight." Lord Tiger said to me.

I quickly scanned the console of the hover bike until I located the off button. I pressed it. A laser fired from the hover bike toward the baboon's sedan setting the rear of the vehicle on fire.

**FWOOM**

(Ah, that wasn't the off button.)

"Press the green button." The he beast said as he shackled the two. "That should put out the fire."

I did as instructed and then joined the beastial warrior with his new prisoners.

"I have never seen two motorists go at it like that. Especially beasitials." I said to the tiger warrior.

"I am ashamed that you had to witness that Alex." The he beast said humbly. "As the ultimate life forms we should be setting a better example."

The tiger warrior started inspecting the drivers' hover vehicles while waiting for them to come to. He didn't find anything in the grey sedan, but did find something quite interesting in the purple hatchback.

"Alex!" He called over to me.

"Sir?"

"Look at this. Those seem to be an excessive amount of buttons and gauges for a vehicle this size. Too many." He said to me.

I pressed one- there was a whirring sound and the air intake on the hood opened to reveal a missile launcher fully armed!

(So much for the dictator's commandment to love your fellow beastial.)

Lord Tiger pressed another button on the vehicle's dash and a laser turret appear at the vehicle's front to our amazement.

It looked like the bobcat was more than ready for his daily commute.

"I wouldn't touch the green button that would be very bad." The bobcat said waking up.

"Why do you have these on your vehicle?" The tiger warrior grumbled.

"The traffic around here is very bad- there are idiots who like to cut you off!" The bobcat said gesturing to the now awaking baboon.

"Hey! You were the one who cut me off!" The baboon said. "And that was after you tailgated me.

"You were the one who was driving too slowly!" The bobcat shouted back.

"ENOUGH!" The tiger roared. "You two are supposed to be ultimate life forms! Act like it!"

"BUT HE STARTED IT!!!" The two said in unison.

(Ultimate life forms? Perhaps beastials and humans aren't so different after all or was it that they were barely adults and didn't know any better?)

"At this point it is irrelevant. You two have acted inappropriately, you endangered the lives of your fellow citizens, set a bad example for other citizens and violated half a dozen of the master's edicts. What do you have to save for yourselves?"

"BUT HE STARTED IT!!!" The two said again in unison.

"Too late! You are both are in very big trouble. You especially for having illegal weapons on your vehicle." The tiger said to the bobcat lifting his fire arm and aiming it at the two bad beastials.

"What is going to happen now?" The baboon asked.

"You two will lose your vehicles, your driving privileges and will be judged by our master and then punished for your irresponsible actions." Lord Tiger said firing.

The baboon and bobcat were paralyzed right where they sat on the ground. I looked at Lord Tiger and then the weapon he had used. I immediately recognized it! It was the paralysis weapon Mara had tested on me yesterday.

(Not a bad field trial!)

The commander returned to his hover bike and ordered a pick up for Castle Wundagore's newest prisoners and their vehicles. He told a rather nervous looking Junior Knight by the name of Chemar and Sir Ram's previous supervisor Sanda, where to find the two road-ragers.

"Right Commander. By the way, welcome back!" The cheetah said nervously.

"We will be right over." The caracal added.

"So what is our next stop Commander?" I asked as we took off from where the he beast had brought down the road-ragers.

"We are going to check up on some other junior knights on patrol and see how they are doing." He said to me.

We then proceeded to the basement- the slums of the city where the majority of the human populace lived. We arrived in a transitional neighborhood not decadent and not actually that run down mind you. It looked like the houses and buildings there just needed a new coat of paint. Before long we arrived on a junior knight a young buck who was questioning four children a tabby cat, a dog- wolf thingie, a raccoon and a human boy who all appeared to be around eleven years old.

When we approached the junior knight, the young buck was scanning the boy's tracking chip.

"What do you have Springer?" The tiger warrior said removing his helmet as he walked toward his subordinate.

The young buck turned and looked our way quite surprised. "Lord Tiger! I thought you were...." The junior knight stopped mid-sentence as his Commander gave him such a look as to say don't you dare go there.

"Reports of my injuries were over stated." He said in a commanding voice.

"Yes sir!" The young buck said. "I am investigating reports of some sort of creature harassing locals here. These children were the latest victims. I was just taking their statements when you arrived."

I looked at Lord Tiger. "I hope its not another were-beast reject."

"Who is this sir?!" The buck said approaching me. I was then promptly scanned like the young boy moments earlier.

"This is Alex, Springer- he will be accompanying me on my rounds today. Think of him as an observer. Proceed."

Springer looked at the readings he had received after scanning my tracker. He did an double take before snapping out of it.

(I think he thought I was Alexander Winter.)

We then walked over to the children who were all too eager to give us their first hand account.

"The creature was swift it ran around very very fast! So fast, I didn't get a good look at it." The tabby, a female said.

"Yeah it knocked me and Sirius here to the ground." The raccoon said motioning to his dog- wolf friend.

(What is that thing?)

"It then picked up Corey, growled at us and ran off!" Sirius said.

"Are any of you injured?" Springer asked.

"No." The cat, raccoon and dog-wolf thing said in unison. The boy was quiet.

I walked over to Corey. "Are you alright?" I asked him. He simply nodded.

It appeared as he had been roughed up. I hoped that it wasn't from the creature.

"Children did any of you get a good look at the creature? How tall was it?" Lord Tiger asked.

"I think I might have caught it on my cube." The female tabby answered. When she did, the dog- wolf and raccoon gave her a worried look.

"Uh what is that?" I asked the female.

"You don't know what that is?!" The dog- wolf thingie asked.

"Geez! Are you from another planet mister?! This is the latest gaming and recording device. Everyone is dying to get one of these!" The tabby chided me.

"Um, yeah." I said meekly.

"Let me guess..." The raccoon said condescendingly. "You probably think Sirius here is a dog- wolf creature too!"

"Um, yeah." I said meekly.

(Who are these kids?)

"Is he for real?!" The dog- wolf thingie asked his friends. "Mister, I am a wolverine. Say it, wol-ver-ine. You must not get out much."

"Um, yeah." I said meekly.

"Ahem, can you playback what you caught on your device for us?" Springer interrupted.

The young female pressed a button on the device which projected a large image above the cube and started playing back what the children had recorded. The video was quite revealing. Lord Tiger, Springer and myself observed what the three beastial children were doing before the creature's arrival- they were teasing Corey.

The cubs had formed a circle around the boy and were pushing him to each other while they were chanting_: _

_"No tail! No tail! No fur, no paws or claws! Ha ha ha. You are just a furless freak! Ha Ha Ha!!" _

Corey had just fallen to the ground when there was a loud sound.

RAAAAWWWRRRR!!!

"AH!!!"

The children screamed as the cube shook just in time to see a white blur dash by in front of the camera knocking down the raccoon and dog wolf- thingie err... wolverine before helping the human boy to his feet and dashing off.

From my perspective the children got what they deserved. They are lucky the creature didn't gore them for what they did to the young boy- ultimate lifeforms indeed.

I looked at Lord Tiger and Springer in disgust. I didn't have to say a word.

"Alex stay here." Lord Tiger ordered me as he went to talk to the children.

I looked at Springer. "This is not doing too much for tolerance or peaceful coexistence." I said to the young knight.

He said nothing and picked up his scanner and scanned my tracking chip again.

(That didn't help either).

"You belong to Lady Ursa?!"

(Nor did that.)

"You also seem to resemble a wanted rebel." He said to me.

"Yeah, about that...." I responded to him while listening to Lord Tiger.

"Children." The tiger warrior began. "Are you familiar with the rebellion?"

"You mean the humans that are trying to overthrow the High Evolutionary and bring an end to his rule?" Sirius asked.

"Yes. Do you know why there is a rebellion?"

"I learned in school that some of the humans feel that they are not being treated as well as we are and wish to change that." The tabby female responded.

"Exactly little ones. What you were doing to your friend Corey is a example of that. It is true that your friend doesn't look exactly like you- he may not have paws, claws, fur or a tail. But does that mean he is inferior or that his life is any less significant?"

The cubs thought about it for a minute. "No sir." They responded in unison.

"Every time we treat a human that way, a fellow Counter Earther, It gives the rebellion an opportunity to expand by recruiting those who have lost hope- those who feel they will always be treated like you treated your friend today and those who feel there will never be equality between humans or beastials unless the High Evolutionary is gone." The tiger warrior said.

"So it is in our best interest to treat him better?" The raccoon boy asked.

"Don't judge him by who he is or isn't or the way he looks but by his character. Do you three understand?" Lord Tiger asked the children.

"Yes sir." They responded in unison.

"Good children. I want you to hug and apologize to your friend Corey and promise that you will never ever treat him like that again." The tiger warrior ordered the trio.

"We are sorry Corey." The tabby female said.

"Can we still play together?" The raccoon boy asked. Corey nodded his head.

"See you tomorrow?" The wolverine asked the boy. Corey nodded.

"Springer see these children home." Lord Tiger ordered.

"What about the boy?" The junior knight asked.

"I will take him home." The tiger warrior answered.

(OMG! This was what the vigilante was trying to pound into my head! The underlying causes that fueled the rebellion which needed to be addressed if the knights wanted to stop the insurgency! Lord Tiger actually understood that.)

My respect for the Commander of the knights increased ten fold that day. He truly understood the problem the resistance represented to the empire. He also convinced me that above and beyond he was a very honorable individual.

The Commander parked his hover bike and we walked a block and a half to Corey's home right next to a restaurant/bakery in an fair looking neighborhood in the basement of World One.

"This is the place." He said as he knocked on the door.

"Commander?"

"Yes Alex?"

"How do you know this is Corey's house?"

"I scanned the boy's tracking to chip to verify that we were at the right address." Lord Tiger responded.

There was no answer.

"They are probably next door." The he beast said pointing.

(In the restaurant?)

The restaurant was a combination bakery and dinner that had a pleasant red and white awning in the front which complemented the tables, booths which were in front of the bakery and counter inside. A very nice looking establishment in a fair looking neighborhood.

When we entered the restaurant/bakery we were greeted by an adult male. He was in his late thirties with black hair and a slight beard wearing an apron over his jeans and a tee-shirt. He trembled when he saw Lord Tiger and myself enter.

"Corey what did you do now?!"

"It is alright Mr. Wild. Corey and some of his friends were playing this afternoon when they were attacked by something that has been prowling around the neighborhood for the last few weeks. He is alright just shaken."

"Goodness!" The man responded. "Dear could you come here and bring a wash cloth?" The man called out.

Just then the man's mate Mrs. Wild emerged from behind the bakery counter. I was surprised at what I saw. There were two sides to Mrs. Wild- a human part and a horse part! She was a centaur- and a pretty one at that- with blond hair, pointed ears, a pleasant looking face which accompanied the apron she wore on her human torso. The horse half of her had a brown pelt, a shapely butt complete with a black tail. Yes, the Wilds were an interspecies couple.

"What is wrong dear?" Mrs. Wild asked.

"Corey here was attacked while playing with his friends."

"Are you ok?!" The female centaur said as she hugged the boy and then proceeded to wash his face with the cloth.

"Yes momma." He responded quietly.

"He has always had such a tough time."

"What do you mean tough time?" I asked the female centaur.

"Why don't you two have a seat?" The man said.

"Can we get you anything?" The centaur female asked.

"Thanks, but I am on duty." The tiger warrior responded.

"Can we please Commander? That cake over there looks scrumptious!!" I begged.

"My charge would like a small slice of that vanilla cake over there."

I ate while Lord Tiger spoke to Corey's parents. The cake was to die for by the way.

"Corey hasn't had such an easy life- his birth parents died two years ago. Hue and I adopted him a few months after that. He was so shy and introverted and we were trying very hard to change that. A year ago we bought him a dog in the hopes that he would open up. But six months later- she disappeared. We don't know if she ran away or worse. Corey has been devastated ever since." Mrs. Wild said to the Commander.

"We were making such progress with him until that happened." Mr. Wild said.

"Well, he wasn't harmed in the attack. Just shaken up." Lord Tiger said. "We will keep looking for this creature until it is found."

"Commander mind if I have another?" I asked. "That is the best cake I have ever eaten!"

"That is enough you. If you eat too much it will got to your belly!" The tiger warrior said shooing me toward the door of the restaurant.

"Thank you Mr and Mrs. Wild!" I said.

"You're welcome dear." The she beast said.

Lord Tiger scanned Hue's tracking chip before we departed to make sure he was who he was.

Around 4:30 PM We started walking back to Lord Tiger's hover bike, I couldn't help but comment on what I had seen.

"Commander." I asked. "Was that necessary?!"

"You mean scanning Mr. Wild's tracking chip? Yes Alex it is standard procedure when we encounter any of the human populace." Lord Tiger responded.

"Was that why he was trembling when he saw you?! No he was scared of you Commander! Despite not being in the rebellion. Yet he had no reason to be! Quite odd."

"That is how we maintain order here Alex." The tiger warrior responded. "Through fear, punishment and the threat of punishment. That is why crime on Counter Earth is extremely low; those that commit crimes and those that are going to commit crimes are already past redemption." He said as we arrived back at the hover bike.

(Wow.)

As we lifted off from the neighborhood, I took one last good look around.

"You're awfully quiet Alex. Not enjoying your servitude?" The tiger warrior asked me.

"No sir. That is not it. I was just thinking about the family we had just met. They are a fascinating couple."

"How so?"

"They are an interspecies couple a human male who is mated to a beastial female and they adopted an orphan." I said to the tiger warrior. "How often does that happen?"

"Not often." Lord Tiger responded. "They are a middle class family that have found a niche and are earning a comfortable living. Diana Wild owns that restaurant/bakery and she runs it personally. Hue Wild owns a cleaning business here in the basement and occasionally helps out in the restaurant. Both are doing quite well."

I found the dynamic quite fantastic. A first class citizen who fell in love and married a second class citizen. They decided to adopt an orphaned boy and live some where between the privileged and unprivileged of World One. True WILD pioneers who must be living challenging lives- I wondered if Mrs. Wild's friends and family disapproved of her husband because he was human? I wonder if the same rang true for Mr. Wild's friends and family about his wife?

An even weirder thought crossed my mind: I wondered what it was like when they copulate?- How does a human mate with a centaur? Can there be offspring?

My thoughts were interrupted by Lord Tiger while we were flying by the Prominence hotel near the south end of the city when he abruptly turned around and landed in front of the lobby.

"Commander?" I asked.

"I just thought I saw someone I have been looking for for quite a while." He responded rather abruptly.

"Huh?" I asked.

The Prominence Hotel was one of the most classiest, expensive hotels in World One. Only the extremely well to do stay at this hotel. So yeah you guess it- the vast majority of the guests were nonhumans.

Lord Tiger promptly parked his hover bike between two porters both apes who were probably wondering why a Knight of Wundgore was running through the hotel lobby being followed by a human.

We entered the hotel where the tiger warrior tried to figure out what floor he had seen his quarry on. He thought it was the thirteenth floor.

Lord Tiger decided that we should take the stairs given how slippery his quarry had been in the past. While we were climbing, a call came in on the he beast's communicator of a human exposing himself to one of the guests in the hotel- accidentally.

Lord Tiger decided to check it out. We ended up interviewing a female sheep in room 1313. She said that a human in one of the rooms on that floor accidentally got locked out of his room without any clothes on and exposed himself to her when he made his way to the lobby via the stairs.

"Oh my gosh, are you ok?" I asked her.

"Please child! He had a cute hairy backside and a small penis but overall I wasn't impressed. I have seen much better."

(Um, that wasn't what I meant.)

The female further described the man she had seen making his way to the front desk to get another fob to enter the room. It sounded very much like the individual lord tiger was after. He thanked the she beast and left.

"Commander who is this person?" I asked the tiger warrior as I tried to keep up with him in the hallway.

"A con-artist wanted throughout the empire."

The hotel was amazing- posh corridors with top of the line carpeting of many designs very soft to the touch. Intricate artwork on the walls as well as a interior waterfall at the end of each hallway- quite beautiful indeed. I didn't know how they managed to put one of these things on each of the floors and not flood the hotel.

"What is he wanted for?" I asked.

"Gene Yuss is a bad human- he steals from the foolish, ignorant and unsuspecting and uses his spoils to live in expensive hotels like this one. His actions diminish us all and strain relations between the classes."

The tiger warrior walked around the floor trying to figure out what room he had seen our quarry in from the outside.

"Commander- wouldn't it have been better to ask at the front desk?"

"No Alex. I don't want our con-artist to be tipped off to our presence here. Further, he goes by a half dozen aliases including Gene the green, Mr. Sexy and Mr. Big to name a few." The tiger warrior responded.

"What about his tracking chip?" I asked.

"He figured out how to disable it so that he couldn't be tracked. It has to be this one." The Commander of the knights responded as we arrived at room 1318.

"I command you to open on the authority of Lord Tiger of the Knights of Wundagore." Lord Tiger whispered to the room's door locking mechanism.

"ENTRANCE GRANTED." The lock responded and the door opened.

(Damn, that is power!)

Lord Tiger drew his weapon. Not his sword- but the service weapon.

"Alex stay behind me. This may get messy." The beastial warrior warned me. With that we entered the hotel room.

It was gorgeous! A heart shaped bed, a beautiful view of the city. luxurious carpeting and a wondrous buffet! It was also the wrong room. Lord Tiger observed its occupants two chakats a beautiful white furred female and black and white furred male consummating their love while gazing at the city's skyline!

I looked at Lord Tiger and he looked at me. We were both embarrassed by our mistake. He started to say something to the mating pair. But I stopped him. I wanted to study them for a while longer. He gave me such a look as to say you pervert!

The male had his hands gently coupled around his lover's breasts like I had seen Tauren do to Lurie when they mated. His feline half much like a centaur's horse half, but cat-like, was on his lover's back and his penis was deeply buried inside her. His tail was hoisted high in the air provided a great view of his dangling testicles as he pistoned himself into and out of his female!

"Dearest I have a present for you!" The male said to the female.

"Mrrr! What is that love?" The female asked her companion.

"Let me finish up and I promise you will have it in a couple of months- RAWWRRR!!"

With that the male's testicles contracted and he shot his load into his lover before collapsing on her backs gently kissing her neck.

"That was a wonderful, wonderful gift sweetie!" The female said to the male.

"Are you kidding me?! That was HAWT!!!!" I blurted out stupidly. "So that is how 'taurs mate! Wow!"

It also gave me an idea how possibly a human could mate with a centaur.

The pair gasped and turned directly to face Lord Tiger and myself who were starring at them stupidly.

"Carry on subjects." Lord Tiger commanded. "This is just part of an informal program the empire is conducting to make sure its citizens procreate correctly. Carry on."

"Uh, how did we do?" The pair asked.

" OUTSTANDING!" I replied as Lord Tiger grabbed me by the hand and we promptly left the mated pair closing the hotel room door.

"That was definitely the wrong room." The tiger grumbled.

"Be that as it was- it was quite entertaining!"

The tiger warrior gave me such a look.

"Anyway, we may need to change our approach." I said to him.

"What do you have in mind?" He asked me.

"A little critical thinking. That maid over there- the hyena female!" I said running up to her. "Ma'am is there a human male staying on this floor and if so where?"

The maid said nothing but pointed to room 1353.

Lord Tiger and I ran to the room. "We better try another tactic so we don't disturb another mated couple he said to me."

"How did you know they were mated?" I asked the Commander of the knights.

"You didn't see the matching tail rings that couple had? You should be a little more observant Alex." With that he knocked on the hotel room door. "Room Service!!"

"Come in it's open!" Came a voice that I noted had a little twang to it.

With his service weapon drawn Lord Tiger entered the room. It was equally as beautiful as the one we had just seen. But our quarry was not in the bed room or the bathroom. We found him off a adjoining room in a hot tub drinking beer and munching on shrimp. The con-artist was in his mid forties- had a day's growth of beard on his face which complimented his black hair. He was also completely naked except for a weird looking hat on his head (Lord Tiger said that it was a cowboy hat).

"Did you get the cigars I ordered darling?- Oh!!" He said as soon as we entered the room.

"Now, now Gene you know that destructive habits such as smoking and drinking are outlawed throughout the empire! They will get you sent to the re-education camps- you know where they re-teach you how love yourself by respecting your body." The Tiger warrior chided.

"I have been to those camps enough Sir beastial and every time I leave there I keep coming back to the one constant in my life- beer and cigars! Oh and the name is Richie Rich now!"

Hearing that the tiger warrior rolled his eyes.

"Oh I see you have brought some company today huh?" The con-artist asked. "What are you son? A observer or are they letting humans into the knight core?"

"Well..." I replied.

"He is here to observe me capture a wanted con-artist, trickster and disgrace to the empire and humans everywhere. You could have been a decent, upstanding hard working citizen- one who contributes to his community, the empire and this civilization, but instead you chose to steal from it and your fellow citizens. Gene you are a bad, bad human and your crimes hurt the empire."

"That is one interpretation Sir beastial." The man began. "I learned a long time ago the deck is stacked against 'our kind' from the beginning despite what you preach it is very difficult for our kind to be successful at anything on this world. For instance how many humans have you seen at this hotel? Not many. None can afford it. I have given up on working my tail off (excuse the pun) to get nowhere and achieve nothing. Especially when this lifestyle is easier! Besides a man has to have something to believe in. On this world that isn't much, so I BELIEVE I will have another beer."

"Nice speech!" I said to the man. "But there are successful humans on this world- I met one today as a matter of fact."

"They are the exception that proves the rule boy!" He said to me.

"Enough! Gene you are coming with me! You will be judged and punished for your crimes and ordered to make restitution to your victims. If the master feels like it you will be an indentured servant for the rest of your life!" Lord Tiger said pointing his service weapon at the con-artist. Who continued to drink nonchalantly.

"If I don't comply are you going to shoot me? I thought the knights Sir beastial, do not attack those they do not deem a threat." The man said with a smirk on his face.

"That policy has changed!" Lord Tiger said and firing his weapon at the man. There was a flash and Gene Yuss lay frozen with a shocked face in the hot-tub!

"Alex drain the water, I don't want Gene drowning while awaiting transport."

"Yes sir!" I replied.

It was around 5:40 in the afternoon when we started to leave the hotel. As we were departing, I noticed that Lord Tiger was grinning ear to ear. He had made a big capture off of his personal top ten list- someone he had been looking for for some time. Just then, his communicator went off. It was Sir Ram.

"Go ahead!" The tiger warrior said answering it.

"My Lord! I heard that you were back in the field."

"Yes- what about it?!"

"Perhaps you would like to join us in the park this evening? I was about to carry out the sentence of four of the underlings from the Beasts Only gang who gave us some trouble during our last couple missions.

I looked at Sir Ram's face in the communicator and then Lord Tiger as he responded to evil beastial scientist. The tiger grinned once again as he responded- "Delighted."

To Be Continued....

Up Next: Bad Beastials Behaving Badly! (Don't say that five times fast.)