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The next day, Master and his brother, Melchior, stormed the station. I was left in the care of captain Markeus and the bridge staff, strapped into my chair on the bridge. They docked the ship with the station with some difficulty, the age difference between the Sovereign and the obsolete station caused some difficulty. Breaking into the station was also tricky, it was quickly established that it was on lockdown, and refused to open the airlock.

Hacking the doors delayed the assault teams. Melchior had turned out to be fundamental in breaching the security. His tech was able to access the computer systems without triggering any alarms or traps. He even reported that one of the traps would have triggered a self-destruct program.

Once they entered, it was quickly established that there was a dampening field in place that caused a lack of communications between them and the Sovereign. The bridge crew around me did not seem worried in the least, if anything it was just business as usual. Captain Markeus even offered me a drink while we waited, I thanked him for the offer but declined. Regardless, a minute after I had declined, he handed me one anyway, while he sipped on a cup of tea.

To pass the time I played the game that Master had had constructed for me. It was made to help me learn the imperial language and whatever etiquette I was in need of. It wasn’t a complicated game by any means, almost childish. However it was oddly addicting, and there was enough challenge to make it enjoyable. I’m sure it annoyed the captain however when his bridge crew gave me hints and tips randomly, which showed they weren’t paying attention to their own jobs, yet he never mentioned anything.

We waited patiently for two hours before the bridge’s main screen changed from the tactical readout. It blinked and changed to a view of a dark corridor. It bobbed a little, showing that the person it was attached to was walking at a leisurely pace. To each side was a Lioness security officer in tactical armor, a readout in the top right corner listing it as ‘Emperor’s View’.

“Connection reestablished.” the wolf at the science station reported. The captain rolled his eyes and I could see he almost wanted to look at them and reply with a sarcastic ‘You don’t say?’

“Sire? Can you hear us?” Markeus enquired and the motion on the screen stopped.

“Markeus? Loud and clear,” Masters voice came back, confirming the connection was working properly “Excellent, looks like the interference has been cleared. This place is worse than I expected… To put it simply, this is a breeding mill, a sophisticated one, but one nonetheless.”

“A breeding mill?” the tiger at the tactical station enquired.

“It’s a term from during the war.” Master explained “It was an idea that was sent before the war council on how to recoup the soldiers lost to combat, and even to make fighters that were specifically engineered for certain rolls. You get someone who is able to reproduce, alter them to be able to produce massive litters, and then just keep breeding them. My father made sure to shoot that idea down fast, not sure what happened to the guy who suggested it.

“There are multiple enclosures… each enclosure has a pair in it, all different species too. From what some of the captives have told us, one of every couple is capable of being pregnant… they are then forced to breed with the person they are locked up with. Seems that if they are able to go into estrus, they are chemically forced into that state to facilitate the breeding. Some have managed to escape their enclosure, there was a small community of them in the old research sections of the station below what was being used for the breeding mill.”

“That's…” the tiger started, clearly wanting to voice his disgust at the whole thing, but was cut off.

“We are almost back, we have quite an entourage,” Master said “At Least one is in labor, several are dealing with some serious injuries... I want Zox’i to see the Snow-leopard in labor personally. He is a Pet species… not surprised the sick bastards in command of this place got their hands on him. We have been telling the Prets to put more security around their transports. What does surprise me is his bonded mate. He is a Iic’horrin, so we need to take good care of the two. How these people got access to a protected world is something we will need to investigate.”

“Needless to say he is now a member of the Empire,” Markeus announced “We certainly can’t send him back there.”

“Correct, the Lic’horrin are a stage three society,” Master explained with a grumble “They are barely aware there may be other life in the galaxy, the furthest they have ventured from their home planet is to their third moon. Sending him back now would only cause vast problems, I want this kept as quiet as possible.”

“Very well sire, your orders will be followed to the letter.” Markeus replied.

Fifty people, of various species and genders were rescued from that station. Although that turned into one after only a few hours, once the snow leopard had his kitten. The bunch was a rag-tag group of species, one a Faloxian named Zephyr, a species of Fox like people, where the males have a large udder where their testicals should be. Another is his lover, Visirion, a Chimera. Usually born from either genetic testing or as lab construct, Chimera’s were extremely illegal. Mostly due to the fact the created creature was usually genetically unstable, and their lives were short and ended terribly. They were usually considered to be extremely dangerous due to highly potent venoms and toxins throughout their bodies. Most of the time, they were made to be weapons or security guards.

Then there was the Dragoness, Commander Lucile, who had been captured while on shore leave. She was head strong and confident, and deepfully resentful about having been captured and used like she had been. Her one and only son from the station, Andy, was an interesting hybrid. He resembled dragons from old earth stories. As tall as I was, built well and with all of the outward appearance of his mothers species, but on all fours. From all first hand accounts of him, he was friendly, social, and polite.

The meeting after they were rescued was uncomfortable. Master sat in a room with all of the Doctors who had been involved with the liberation. Master and doctor Zox’i, were both extremely unhappy, and the air in the room could be described as frosty. Zox’i had been doing most of the talking, taking his position as lead doctor seriously. He had been going over case by case, doing a complete run through of every case. The reason was to make sure everyone was up to date on every medical case. However, he was also intentionally bringing up the neglect, and terrible practices that had been dished out by the military doctors who sat around the table.

“So… that Concludes Hephestus, the Iic’horrin,” Zox’i said, having finished a ten minute talk about that one person “Next time… ask before you go swabbing places you shouldn’t… you deflowered that poor Hermaphrodite with a cotton swab!”

“Sorry sir,” the doctor responsible replied guiltily.

“The next two summaries are what have me most angry… the first is Andy…” Zox’i made a motion with his hand to bring the file up in the middle of the room. Other than the males picture, there was no information at all, it was completely blank except for a single line which was blurred.

“I don’t care who was assigned to him, although the Emperor may… but sending him to the Brigs and claiming,” Zox’i gestured and the blurry section cleared up “‘Dangerous. Consult a Vet’ is NOT good enough. He is as intelligent as the rest of you, a person, and you should have treated him as such!”

“He is still there I would like to add.” Bogra said to Master flatly, who gave a growl of irritation “The security teams ignored our requests… and his mother wouldn’t even aid us.” Master pulled up a Holo pad and typed in a few commands.

“Brig four.” a voice greeted from the pad.

“Release him IMMEDIATELY! By order of you Emperor!” Master growled into it menacingly, then closed it before there was a response and looked to Bogra “Send Ov’ids to retrieve him.”

“Yes Sire.” Bogra replied and quickly sent a message.

“Next up is the recommendation for the Chimera, Visirion,” Zox’i began speaking again and Master looked up with a little confusion. “Male, pregnant with a litter to the previously mentioned Faloxian named Zephyr. Blinded due to possible chemical burns or fire, has signs of mental instability, most likely depression and anxiety. Low self confidence. Is a possible danger due to being a chimera, suggested course of action: Euthanization.” The room went deathly quiet, and Master looked shocked. That however very rapidly turned to rage, and I cringed away a little as the royal lion rose slowly to his feet, his claws digging into the table.

“WHO!?” came the one worded demand, the anger evident in the growling, nearly roared question. Bogra, the tall pillar of muscles who could probably have flipped the table we sat at with a single hand, cringed away like he had been singed. I could even see the regret on Zox’i’s face for having brought it up in the presence of the Emperor.

“We aren’t talking about livestock here! This is a person, with a loving partner and a soon to be litter!” Master reminded everyone in the room, then decided to show his anger again “WHICH ONE OF YOU WAS IT!?”

There was silence for a few seconds before, timidly, a hand slowly rose. Belonging to a lioness doctor who sat at the opposite end of the room. She was shaking visibly, and clearly terrified to be admitting to be the one who wrote that report. Master eyed her for a few seconds, probably thinking about how he was going to handle her, and given how his brother had acted the other day, I knew lethal options swam through his thoughts too.

“Get. Out.” he ordered her flatly “Your medical license is hereby revoked and you are barred from participating in any medical practices permanently. You are to serve six years, minimum, as a cadet in the Imperial forces. With no chances of promotion till after the minimum term has concluded. Ensign! Escort her out.”

Another lioness, dressed in a security officers uniform, walked over and pulled the former doctor to her feet then dragged her from the room. The room stayed quiet even after the door closed, interrupted by Bogra who gave a gusty sigh.

“Merciful as always Sire, I know many would have put her to the judicial systems.” he said and Master chuckled.

“Compared to my father, that was a slap on the wrist,” he muttered “He wouldn't have even bothered with the courts or a court martial… he would have given her a single word sentence. Spaced.”

That sent shivers down my spine. It was not a pleasant way to go. Ejected out an airlock, alive, to be subject to the harshness of space till you die. I could see the dread in the eyes of everyone else in the room too. Some of them had seen first hand the cruelty of the previous Emperor, and they never wanted to see it again.

“As the Emperor has said, these are your citizens,” Bogra said, taking the opportunity to take control of the room “Each and every one, they are not cattle, they are no lesser than ourselves or our own loved ones and families. You would do well to treat them all as you would treat your most precious child. I shouldn't need to say this to those who became doctors to help people... expediency is secondary... you were given your patients by order of need, those more endangered were seen first. Yes, many were still waiting to be seen, but those were the ones who could afford to wait. Take the time you need for a proper examination, do not worry about those waiting, they will be tended to by interns and nurses if their needs are so simple. That is why there was a triage set up.

In the case of Hephaestus, it would have taken but a moment of communication with the patient, and a proper examination would have taken mere minutes... if Doctor Zox'i hadn't double-checked his file, then within a week Hephaestus would have died from toxic shock and sepsis... leaving his mate, a pet species, need I remind you, vulnerable and alone, along with an already handicapped child. His species, like ferrets, suffer severe medical issues if their female heats are not satiated. Negligence has consequences much farther reaching than you realize when you make a half-assed decision to rush an examination and treatment, remember the patient in front of you is not the only life in your hands."

“You all have a list of patients to double check, myself and Bogra included,” Zox’i finally spoke up with a heaved sigh “Starting tomorrow, the rescued civilians will make their ways, one family at a time, you will do a thorough checkup. Remember I will be double checking everything… I will KNOW if you have not met our expectations of you.”

“You will be expected to fill in everything,” Bogra picked up “Age, Species, colour of their fur, scales or skin, gender, if they are pregnant, weight, Everything. We have wiped all of their files clean, excluding their pictures. We want to have every detail documented, you never know what could be missed. Hell some could even have fleas and we don’t know.”

“I don’t want to have this kind of meeting again,” Master announced threateningly “I have better things to attend to, and you all certainly, know your jobs better than this. Only the best get on this ship, If I am pulled back in here, for a meeting like this again, whoever is in here with me, minus Zox’i and Bogra, will be experiencing the same fate as that last doctor.”

“Yes, Sire.” they all answered and he nodded with a grunt.

“Good, Dismissed!”

The following few days were peaceful. Thankfully. We lingered in the area of the facility for a few days, Master’s brother however left quietly, without anyone noticing, on the first day. Master had The facility destroyed, spectacularly, so it could never be used again. Master had hosted a feast in the grand hall with only a few invited, all of the rescued, and only a couple of the staff who had interacted and connected with them like Bogra and Zox’i.

I was dragged to socialize with Hephestus the Lic’horrin, his mate Vyzar the pet-breed Snow-leopard, Visirion the Chimera and his mate Zeph, the Faloxian. The last one at the table was Andy, the Feral drake like person. They were all friendly, and we oddly got along very quickly and extremely well by the end.

I found out that Andy was being adopted by Bogra and Zox’i… by request of Hunter of all people. The two had bonded really quickly it turned out, especially after it was discovered that Andy’s mother, Lucile, had abandoned him and left on the first transport she could get on away from the Sovereign. It had broken Andy, and Bogra had needed to spend days with him helping him through his grief. Even at the event, as I watched him, I could see he was still grieving, and would look longingly at the others who were loving parents.

Once the event had concluded, I went with Master up to the bridge to set our new course, leaving the system. He seemed interested in our destination, one of the outer rim colonies. I assumed he wished to begin the inspections of the outer colonies as he had ordered the Lords to do.

I guess he didn't trust them, and wanted to inspect as many of them as he could personally. That way the Lords wouldn’t be able to hide anything from him. The other task he was busy with, was contacting the embassies of the various races that we had rescued. He certainly wasn’t enjoying needing to deal with what he had once referred to as a ‘diplomatic fuck up’.

“Sire, we are intercepting something you might want to look at” the lioness at science station one said worriedly.

“There is a lot going on right now, it will need to wait,” Master said with a grumble.

“Sire… this is important… it's being picked up by…”

“By our systems? I assume so, what is it? a story about the raid on the satellite? I released the information to the shipboard press an hour ago.”

“No! Sire, It's being picked up by our listening posts on the edge of Eldon space! All of them!” she typed into her console and the viewscreen changed drawing our attention.

On it was an Elden man of what looked to be a high rank in their church. He was tall and elderly, dressed in white robes with red and gold edging, a strange looking hat sitting atop his head. He stood at a podium, behind him was a grand looking throne that was currently vacant. He clearly was in a church or temple, large stained glass windows adorned the wall behind the throne, and everything had heavily religious decorations.

“The High Holy Father has decreed that now is the time!” he preached, thumping his fist onto his podium “Our Lord has spoken through him and announced that we are ready to finally put down the sinners, demons and feral animals pretending to be our equals or betters! For too long they have insulted us and played pretend that we are inferior to them! We must set forth and put an end to the sinful Empire and put down the feral beast that decrees itself an emperor!

“Today, we shall begin the march to regain our rightful place in the galaxy! As our god has decreed, and as our god given right, we are the rightful, true masters of this universe! Today, we begin the Seventy Third Holy Crusade, and will bring to ruin the fake Lione empire!”

Cheers went up on the display, the man spreading his arms like he was basking in it. The broadcast was cut off a second later and you could have heard a pin drop. Everyone on the bridge was aghast at what they had just witnessed. Master shook off the disbelief and rose rapidly from his seat.

“Contact the Second, Third, Seventh, and Eighth fleet!” he ordered “We will be forming the First fleet and head directly to the border immediately! Begin procedures to send home all civilian personnel from the ship. If they do not have a home to head to, send them to homeworld. Inform fleet command of this at once! I will make a royal announcement in one hour to address this crisis, inform the rest of the Empire, and respond to the Theocracies declaration of war.”

“Sire, I do not think it wise to put yourself or this vessel on the front lines” Captain Markeus protested “Yes we are a powerful ship, but in my opinion… it’s an unnecessary risk.”

“I am not my father, nor am I one of the leaders of the Theocracy, Markeus,” Master growled back in response “I will not be sitting lightyears away in safety while sending men and women to Die! I will be leading the charge as I should be, from the Front Lines beside them!”

“Sorry Sire, I meant no disrespect,” the dragon responded and gave a sigh “So… it’s war then?”

“Yes… it’s war… but this time,” Master seemed to get a little dark, menacing almost “This time, we will not accept their surrender. Not until their “High Holy Father”s head is on a spike at my paws. This time… we will bring them to heel!”

He looked around the room, trying to look confident and comforting. I knew he was trying to instill hope and confidence in them all. He pulled me up from my chair gently, and started walking to the senior staff meeting room behind the bridge.

“You all have your orders. Captain set a course for the Eldon Theocracy. I will be in the meeting room preparing my speech. Time to work, people, this is what you were trained for.”

After an hour of anguish and rewriting, Master had finished his speech. He dressed us both up in our best, and stood on the bridge of the Sovereign to announce it to the Empire and beyond. Zox’i had informed Master that he would not be going anywhere, and would remain as his personal physician.

“Greetings my fellow citizens of the Lione Empire,” Master started, trying to remain calm, yet appear firm and steady “I speak to you now with news most dire. An hour ago, a signal was picked up from the Eldon Theocracy; the message, despite being full of the standard religious overture, was a declaration of war against the rest of the galaxy. Their High Holy Father has announced their intent to enslave or eradicate all races who are not Eldon. We have feared this day’s approach since the cease fire, and sadly, it has now come to pass.

“We will not take this threat to our lives, freedom and loved ones lying down. As I speak, the First Fleet is on its way to the border to intercept their incoming barbaric horde. We will route this attempt on our space and home with all due haste and the loss of as few lives as possible. In addition, I will announce our terms for the Eldon Theocracy surrender: There are no conditions. This time, there will be no surrender, no armistice, no peace treaty. The Theocracy has proven itself to be too dangerous, too threatening and too bloodthirsty to ignore. We will not stop until the leaders of the Eldon Theocracy, including the “High Holy Father” are exposed for the frauds they are and executed. If they are watching, remember that you have brought this upon yourselves.

“Thank you, citizens, for your time and attention. Emperor Leniad Leo, Signing off.”