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In the Captains mess sat a tired vixen and tiger drinking coffee and nibbling on some rolls, a Data pad in Kayla's paw with a picture of the butcher from a classified intelligence report. Neither of them had gotten much sleep the night before and as the staff arrived for the morning meeting it was clear they had the same sleepless night as well. The captain had sat up for hours trying to write her report to high command, but the words to describe this boys life and what he had been throw alluded her. She decided that it might be best if she could offer some proof to back up the boys story and sure enough in only a few minutes of running nova's image throw the ships facial recognition software on the classified material given to her before the attack she had found 3 images of the butcher with nova somewhere in the back ground, the captions listing him as unknown human suspected of being a domestic servant. As she examined the currently displayed image closer she could just make out nova in the back ground with a black eye and the unmistakable line of a collar under a turtle neck sweater.

With the human government using slavery as there moral justification for the war, the news being made public that the human that had been the leader of there military forces for over 30 years belonging to a secret clan of slave owners would come as a major political embarrassment. Kayla had allowed herself a small smile at this thought and guessed someone at the intelligence biro was going to get there tail handed to them for not realizing this was no a domestic servant, but in fact a slave owned buy non other then the butcher himself.

The First officer had tried her best to hide it, but the captain knew she had been crying not to long ago. Sasha as first officer did her best to hide any signs of weakness from the crew, but after hearing novas story and with the proof in her mates paws she had just lost it. They had spent a long sleepless night together as mates, just holding and cuddling each other for the support only a loved one could give. Each of the command staff had a similar drained look about them as they arrived, showing the toll last nights events had taken on them all.

As the captain called her staff over to start the meeting she looked over to the mink, unlike yesterday her eyes where puffy, her fur was barely groomed and she had the look about her of someone run throw the ringer. Knowing the boy had not attended to her this morning Kayla leaned over to inquire about him, her tone a soft whisper as she asked "How was he this morning Dana?"

The mink set her coffee mug down with a sigh, one of her paws rubbing her tired eyes as she replied "He cried for over an hour before finely falling asleep last night and he was still sleeping when I left this morning, I just did not have the heart to wake him. If it is ok I would like to go check on him after the meeting, I'm concerned about leaving him alone."

The captain sadly nodded as she whispered back " Of course, Of course. In fact if you think he is stable enough I would like you to take him to the medical bay to be checked out, I noticed a few things last night the doctor might need to treat."

Crystal looked up hearing the captain refer to her. " You mean the poorly hidden whip and claw marks on his back?" The captain blinked and cocked her head to the side as the older jaguar answered her unspoken question. "Yes I saw them last night, feline eyes are sharper then vulpine dear captain and I was concerned about them as well."

Dana blinked and looked between the 2 women as they spoke about her boy, she had not even noticed the marks they where talking about. She felts so foolish, its true that her vision was not as sharp as there's, but given she had spent the night with him she should have noticed something as serious as claw marks. The doctor reached over and brushed a claw over Dana's shoulder, a warm smile on her lips as she asked "I have cleared some time this morning to examine him, would you like me to come with you after the meeting and get him?"

Dana just shook her head and looked at her data pad as she whispered " I don't think it would be wise for the crew to see just us walking a slave throw the corridors, it might be best if I get Fire to bring him to you if only for appearance sake. I don't think for a second that he would try to escape or hurt one of us, but him being seen with just us right now might raise uncomfortable questions in the ships rumor mill."

This got an emphatic nod from the captain as she added " I was just going to suggest having someone from security do it, given what he told us last night I think it might be good for him to meet a few male members of the crew. After what that monster did to him, I think Fire would be a wonderful choice for him to spend some time with."

This got a gentle smile from Crystal, she too had thought of this over her long sleepless night. " Yes your right, given that he has been abused for years by a male, meeting someone like Fire might help him to trust us all a little more. Also I was thinking that it might be nice if he has a talk with the priestess in her roll as ship's councilor, nothing to extensive, but she is uniquely qualified to help him with emotional problems."

The groups quite chatter stopped as the dark furred tactical officer entered, his yellow eyes scanning the room. He was still angry over his reprimand from the last meeting, so he just took his seat with a huff. The captain decided it was best not to talk about the boy with him in the room so she just called the meeting to order and they set about the morning reports.

.......................................................................................................................................

Nova was running for his life down flaming corridors, the crack of a whip close behind him as a dark shadow yelled "Run, run bitch, you will never be free of me." The very voice of the demon struck fear in his heart and brought tears to his eyes, he had to get away, had to keep running before the monster caught him.

The boy bolted up right in the bed clutching his chest and screaming, his heart pounding and his face streaked with tears. Fearfully his eyes darted around the room looking at every corner and shadow for the monster, trying to find it before it could kill him. A dream, it was that dream again, he was safe for the time being, his master was dead and not coming back for him, his real life nightmare was over. As he caught his breath and composed himself he found he was laying in his Mistress's bed with her no ware to be found. His eyes drifted over to the clock and he blinked, 0827 hours how long had he been asleep? He could not hear the water running on the shower and his Mistress was gone by this time yesterday, so she must already have left for work.

For some reason he felt very confused this morning, there was a sadness in the back of his mind and for the life of him he could not remember going to bed last night. Even odder he had overslept, it having been years since he was not the first one in the house to wake, his first owner having beaten it into him that a slave would always go to sleep after there owner and rise before them. With a small sigh he rose from the bed and looked about the room to see what needed to be done, There was dishes in the sink and on the coffee table, his Mistress had been kind enough to leave something for him to do. He rubbed his eyes as he set to work cleaning the room and washing the dishes, thankfully there was not much left in the sink thanks to his cleaning as he served dinner last night.

Nova could not help but hope his Mistress would not be upset with him for being lazy and not tending to her before she left this morning, given that she had not woken him he could only guess that it was her wish for him to sleep. With the speed he had acquired from years of training he finished his cleaning in very little time, the slave very much wanted to have his Mistress's home perfect before she returned. As he worked he could not help but smile thinking about her, her gentle grace, how soft she felt and the kindness in her eyes, a kindness that reminded him very much of Mistress Keegan's when she was pleased with him.

The last chore he could find before it was time to wash himself was the bed, the sheets wile not stained with his owners pleasure where covered with her shed fur. It not seaming right to just make the bed he stripped the sheets and dumped them into the cleaning unit he had found yesterday, it would take about 15 minutes to finish its work, just enough time to wash and remove the natural human scent he had learned Anthro's found displeasing. He used the lavender scented fur wash this time, he wanted to smell nice for his Mistress and having discovered how strong the Anthro sense of smell was, he thought she might like it if he did not smell the same every day. It was just a little thing, but that he knew was the difference between just serving and finding new and interesting ways to give his owner little pleasures throw out the day. As enjoyable as the warmth of the water was on this very cold ship he was quick about his washing, he was not sure how long it would be until his Mistress returned.

Just as he had hoped the sheets where done as he exited the bathroom, his ears still ringing from the fur dryer. With a smile nova set them on the bed and dropped in the clothing his Mistress had left on the bathroom floor, the slave just loving how messy his owner was because it meant he would always have something to do. The boy took a second to hold the warm sheets in his arms before making the bed, there warmth feeling wonderful in the chill of this room. He had finished changing the sheets and was just pulling the comforter into place when the sound of the door unlocking met his ears.

Expecting it to be just his Mistress the boy was taken off guard when the mink entered with a male in tow, a young and strong looking male fox with an energy weapon at his side. The look on there faces where not that of a couple coming to a private place to have sex and given the male was armed nova's heart started to sink. Had his Mistress been so angry with him for over sleeping that she had gotten this male to take him back to the cargo bay with the other slaves? For an instant he considered running over to her and begging for forgiveness, but if she had already gone as far as to bring a guard here he knew there would be no changing her mind. Quickly he finished the bed and walked over to kneel at her feet, barely restrained tears in his eyes from the fate he thought for sure was coming as he whispered "Welcome home, Mistress."

Before coming here Dana and Kayla had called Fire to the Captain's mess to discuss this boy, the Captain wonting to make sure the fox understood that wile nova was human, she wanted this slave treated with kit gloves. The vixen explained that the slave was emotionally fragile and would most likely be scared of him just because he was male so unless he was given no other choice he was to be as gentle as possible wile taking nova to the medical bay.

Lt. James Fire-Tail was the leader of the assault team assigned to the Crimson Claw, and the second in command when it came to security matters on board ship. Much like a marine detachment this highly trained team of Anthros where used when an enemy ship needed to be boarded or a landing party needed extra security. Because this team was not used in that capacity very often they also had other duties on the ship, mostly with security working side by side with every other member of the crew. This is how the command staff knew him well enough to feel he was the right male for this task, that and the fact that he was mated to one of the ship's science officers and had a kit just a few years old. Unlike Drake they knew him to be much more even tempered and willing to compromise, fatherhood having given him a much grater tolerance to things that might normally set off some other males.

When they had entered the minks cabin and found nova making the bed Dana could not help but smile, she should have known her boy would have set right to work when he woke. A quick look around to her spotless cabin told her that he had been at it for some time and as he took his place at her feet his wet hair told her that he had even cleaned himself for her. Distracted by all this she did not immediately notice the fearfulness or the sadness of his tone when nova greeted her, it dawning on the mink how arriving here with a strange male that was armed must look to him.

Quick to reassure him one of her hands reached down and traced over his cheek in a gentle touch nova had come to live for in the last few days as she spoke softly " Nova this is Lt. Fire-Tail, Fire is a very good friend of mine and is here to take you to medical for a checkup. I wish I could take you myself but I have to get to engineering and give my staff there assignments for the day, so I want you to go with Fire and obey anything he tells you to do until I come for you, understand?" As she was speaking Dana had retrieved his leash from the counter and clipped it in place, then with a smile handed the end over to the vulpine security officer in an act she knew would show the slave she was transferring temporary control of him to the fox.

Nova gave a small nod as the expression of fear on his face grew the second the leash touched the males paw. " Yes, Mistress I will obey" was all he could say, his fear of this new male clear in his voice. Wile he was relieved that he was not being sent back to the cargo bay for oversleeping, he just could not help but be scared of the fox, the worse punishments of his life having come from the men with power over him.

She felt another pang of pity for her boy at the sound of the fear in his voice, the mink thinking for a second about calling this off and taking him herself and If not for the fact that the doctor had made such a good point about him needing to spend time with another male she might have done just that. One of her fingers brushed over his cheek then down to his chin, lifting his eyes to meet hers as she tenderly spoke "My sweet boy Fire is a good male and I promise he is not going to hurt you. Now I have to get going before I am late, be a good boy and make me proud, I will see you very soon."

Nova nodded softly, his fear fading with his Mistress gentle and reassuring words. "I will obey, Mistress."

With that the mink smiled and kissed her slave tenderly on the forehead then turned her attention back to the fox. "Fire take good care of my boy and if I have not caught up with you by the time Crystal is finished with him please contact me."

With a wink and a nod the fox spoke for the first time with a gentleness in his voice that the boy would not have guessed from a male this large and well muscled. "Right O Dana, I will take good care of him, now scoot." This got a giggle from the mink as she bounced off down the hall, her long fluffy tail disappearing around a corner on her way to the lift.

Nova could not help but look up at the fox holding his leash as he to watched the mink leaving, the slave noticing a fondness in the males eyes that made him suspect this male might be interested in his Mistress. What truly caught nova's attention was Fire's tail cutely wagging back and forth like a happy puppy, It looking very suited to his name, the red, orange and black all coming together to look like smoke billowing off the top of a raging inferno. All nova could think wile looking at it was how beautiful it was, no not beautiful this was a male, handsome, how handsome it was. As Fire returned his attention back to the slave nova instantly dropped his eyes to the floor, he did not want to risk the male seeing him looking up and become angry.

Again speaking in that soft and gentle voice the fox ran his claws throw the boys hair as he happily yipped "Come along little one, you have an appointment in medical and we cant keep the nice doctor weighting."

Nova gave a small nod and rose to his feet meekly answering "Yes, Master."

That got a frowned from the fox as they started walking, Fire having his own dislike of slavery much like the captain. Not wishing to be addressed as a slave owner but also not wanting to upset the boy he lightly chuckled "O you can just call me Fire, everyone does."

With his fear of the male starting to fade a little but still quite nervous nova just could not bring himself to call the male by his name, he having learned a long time ago that was just something a slave never did. "Thank you, Master."

The fox sighed to himself, the boy was a slave after all and from the look of it a very well trained one, It was most likely pointless to try and get him to address the vulpine as anything other then Master. Deciding to take a different track in hopes of opening the boy up he tried to start a conversation as they walked, that same warm gentleness in his voice. "So your one of the slaves we saved from the black rock?"

Nova absentmindedly nodded as he walked, his eyes transfixed by the fur pattern on the males tail slowly moving back and forth, goddess it was just amazing. After a few seconds of silence nova realized he had been asked a question and softly blushed at having been distracted as he whispered "Yes, Master."

Fire gritted his teeth, he had been warned by the captain it would be hard to get the boy talking and that he would have to be patient. Realizing the slave was most likely not going to talk about himself Fire thought that maybe if he could establish some common ground that might do the trick, so he turned the subject back to Dana. "You're a very lucky boy you know that, the chief seams to have taken an interest in you. I tried to catch her eye for 3 years before I gave up and found my life mate, I thought for sure she was only interested in other females."

Nova just smiled softly to himself at that, he had known almost instantly that his Mistress was a lesbian, that's why he had only provided her with pleasure that another female could have given her. He knew that if he had tried to use what was between his legs it only would have ended up in her disappointment, Mistress Keegan having taught him that a males best tools wile making love was his hands and mouth. Not knowing if his Mistress wanted this male to know her sexual preference or not he just lowered his eyes with a playful grin as he whispered "It is my joy to serve any owner that will have me, Master."

That answer got a raised eye brow from the fox, had this human just mocked him? As they entered the lift and the boy kneeled next to him Fire could not help but look down at him, he was not much to look at by Anthro standards, and very meek from what he knew of human ones. The little human barely came up to his chest wile standing and from the looks of him he would not last 2 seconds in a fight with even another human, let alone an Anthro. Fire honestly did not understand what the mink saw in this human, to be attracted to something so small and weak went agents every natural mating instinct to select the very best for the perpetuation of the species. He had to fight off the impulse to interrogate the boy about this conundrum, the captain herself having told him to treat the boy with kit gloves. Not able to think of anything ells to talk about with the boy fire jus smiled and softly petted him until the lift stopped, one of his claws finding the back of the boys right ear.

In very little time the lift had made its way to a new deck the boy had not seen before, nova having been watching the fox's tail again almost ran into Fire when he stopped without warning. The boy had to blink from the brightness of this room, the smell of disinfectant and the warmth of the room all combining to disorient him for several seconds as fire cheerfully announced " Here we are, Med bay." As the fox called out for Crystal the slave's eyes quickly darted about the room to take stock of his surroundings, the boy very much disliking being in new and unfamiliar places for fear it would cause him to make a mistake and get punished for it. He saw several beds lining the walls and one in the middle of the room with a few furs walking around or working on computer stations, even some children playing with each other wile a wolf he guessed was there mother was having something done to her arm. Even with all this going on around him the thing that struck him the most was the warmth, wile the rest of the ship had been so cold, this room was delightfully warm.

With all of his observations only taking a few seconds nova had yet to kneel and as he had just started to lower himself a familiar voice caught his attention, It belonging to the black furred feline from dinner last night, the one he had learned was the ships doctor. "Aaa Fire, there you are, thank you for bringing him." Today the jaguar was dressed all in white, a sharp contrast to her onyx fur and her almost glowing yellow eyes. With a voice of bubbly happiness Crystal walked right up to the boy and gave him a warm hug, a nervous looking bunny 2 steps behind her. "Hello nova, how are you this morning?"

The second her arms curled around nova his entire body went stiff, it taking a few moments for him to realize that this was an act of affection and not meant to hurt him. Feeling completely foolish after he had calmed down the boy very carefully returned her soft hug, it dawning on him that wile this was not his first hug, he could honestly not remember the last one he had received. All he could think was how wonderful the softness of the fur on her arms felt on his back and how soothing her gentle purr was as he timidly whispered "I am well, Mistress."

As pleasant as her hug was it did not last long, the jaguar slowly pulling away and returning her attention to the fox as she spoke " Fire please remove that leash in my Medical bay, it is no longer needed." That earned a hesitant blink from the large vulpine as he complied, normally he would protest removing a slaves primary means of control, but he knew it was pointless to argue with this feline in her own medical bay. As chief medical officer it was her call and he would respect that, but he would be sure to stay close in case her and the captains trust in this slave was misplaced.

Once the leash was off and nova was on his knees Crystal turned and pointed to the bunny that was keeping a respectful distance. " Nova this is Melinda Swift-Dash, she is a medical student and will be helping me give you a check up today, It's rare that we get to examine humans and I suspect you will be quite an education for her." What Crystal had purposefully not told the boy was that Melinda was spending her required year of active duty on there ship so she could receive her certification as a trauma surgeon, the doctor feeling it would do her good to see what real world abuse looked like and with the bunny being just out of medical school she might have some good ideas about how to treat it.

As Crystal had been introducing the bunny Nova quickly gave her a once-over, the snow white bunny seamed to be scared to approach and fidgeting like she was ready to bolt from the room. Maybe it was just how rabbits naturally acted when they where nervous or maybe he had done something to upset her, but trying his best to make a good impression he softly whispered "It is a pleasure to meet you, Mistress."

With the introductions complete Crystal gracefully walked over to the large surgical table In the middle of the room, patting it to show nova where she wanted him to sit as she softly called for him. "Over here please little one, I will need to take some scans of your insides and ask you a few questions before we get started."

Dutifully the boy obeyed and quickly moved to the table with a whispered "Yes, Mistress." Once on the table he laid his hands on his thighs with the palms turned up in the way he had been trained, this simple action meant to show his owner they where empty and it was safe to approach.

With a nod the jaguar slowly retrieved a medical scanner that she had strategically placed on the edge of the table earlier, the doctor having thought this out to prevent scaring the slave as much as possible. As she expected she could see a small tremble run threw the boy as she brought the scanner up to his chest and opened it, the jaguar turning it so that he could see the display as she spoke "Nova I would like you to meet my good friend Cindy, Cindy has been helping me make sick people better for almost 10 years now."

This got a small giggle from the slave as he jokingly whispered " Greetings Mistress Cindy." The boy's eyes had instantly looked to her paws as she picked up the scanner, he having learned a very long time ago to always be aware of what his owners where holding and if it could hurt him.

Seeing the boy relaxed with her holding the scanner Crystal continued "I am going to pass Cindy slowly over your body so that she can take pictures of your insides. I promise it is not going to hurt so I want you to just relax and answer my questions as honestly as you can, ok?"

The boy just nodded and whispered " I would never lie to you, Mistress" as his eyes fallowed the scanner, not so much scared of it anymore, but curious as to how it worked.

With the hard part over Crystal began moving the scanner around the boys head as she started taking his medical history in a soft and tender voice. "Ok nova lets start with a easy question, please tell me if you have ever broken a bone and how it happened?"

Wile Crystal might have thought this was an easy question the boy knew that was far from the case, he having to lick his lips wile he considered his answer. " I have had 19 broken bones, Mistress. 2 from childhood accidents and 17 where from earned punishments."

Fire who had positioned himself by the door to protect the Doctor incase the slave got out of paw could not help but gasp at hearing that, what could this sweet boy have done to earn a punishment so harsh as a broken bone, let alone 17 of them.

Crystal, as a medical professional having been trained how to hide her reactions much better in front of patients was able to keep a neutral expression on her face, even though what was showing on this scan was quickly pushing that to its limits. Nova was being truthful with her, her scanner showed wile yes 19 bones had been broken, it also showed that he was down playing his injuries, the boy having suffered far worse then just simple broken bones. She could see several of them had been broken more then once and as she zoomed in on his head she could just make out 2, no 3 hair line skull fractures the newest of witch was less then a year old. Needing a few moments to force down the anger building inside her the doctor just silently passed the scanner from his head down to his feet to get a clear image of his whole skeleton, it taking all that time for her to just breath and calm herself before continuing.

Once she had gotten herself under control she decided that it would be best to start with what was currently hurting him, nearly all the brakes would need to be cleaned up do to lack of treatment when they first healed, but they could weight until she was able to talk to Dana and the Captain about a course of treatment. As much as she tried to hide her anger of what she had already discovered her voice had gone up a few octaves as she asked "Ok nova, please tell me if you have any pain right now, or if you have been sick in the last few weeks."

Nova nodded softly and again took a few moments to reply as he tried to think, had he been sick? With a shake of his head he softly whispered "I can't really remember if I have been sick in the last few weeks because of the drugs the Masters on the last ship gave me, Mistress." Then thinking about her question again he very slowly reached over to his right arm, to where his last Master had broken it for his failure to wash the dishes. He had lived with the pain for so long it was almost a natural feeling for him, his Master having told him the pain would always serve to remind him of his duties. As he traced a finger over that spot he softly whispered " My right arm hurts from time to time, Mistress"

Crystal nodded and moved her scanner back to that arm for a more detailed look, the feline not able to stop from gritting her teeth as the image came into focus. This spot had 2 over lapping brakes that where more then 5% out of alignment each and was fused with some nerve damage that made the doctor just want to scream. How he could say this only hurt from time to time was beyond her, she could only guess at the kind of agony this had to have caused him when it was inflicted. Not sure if she even wanted to keep going with what she had already learned the doctor just closed her eyes for a moment and took a breath before asking " Any other places that hurt you, little one?" The more she discovered about this slave, the more she wished for just 5 minutes alone in a dark alley with the ones that had owned him.

Nova had been hoping she would have stopped before getting this far, wile his back was his greatest source of pain, it was also his greatest source of shame. Before being inherited by Master Keegan he had felt the whip of his Mistress and the man that had first owned him, but with the butcher it had gone beyond anything he had ever guessed was possible. Master Keegan had brought the pain of the whip to a whole new level, often it would be so hard or go on so long that the slave would pass out before it was even finished. That was not even the worst of it, to keep the boy from becoming accustom to the pain and the whip lousing it's effectiveness he would at times replace it with other punishment devices, a caudal prod, base ball bat and sometimes just for a change his fists. Not even sure how to begin explaining this to the kind Mistress that was trying to help him the boy just lowered his eyes to the floor and meekly whispered " Yes, Mistress. Over the last few years my back hurts from time to time, Mostly when I am to cold."

This was something Crystal had been weighting for nova to bring up, his back being what had brought this examination about in the first place she was not sure how to steer the conversation to it without upsetting him. As if she was just fallowing his lead the doctor walked behind him and passed the scanner over his back a few times, the jaguar narrowing her eyes in confusion at what she saw. Wiles she could just make out the claw marks that had first drawn her attention last night, it turned out that was just the tip of the ice burg. The deeper the scan went the more and more damage she discovered, it quickly adding up to a mass of scar tissue and other damage to thick to even begin to tell one from the other. Wile she had known to expect more damage then just the claw marks there was just to much for this portable scanner to handle, it accuring to crystal that this was the first time in all 10 years she had used Cindy, that her friend was not up for the task.

Deciding she would need to use the Medical Bay's high resolution scanning units before she could begin to understand just what was here, the feline doctor turned her head back to the bunny medical student who had been observing on a nearby terminal and could see the look of horror on her face. Crystal had only intended to ask Melinda to start scanning from her terminal and as much as the doctor could understand her feelings, she did not want the bunnies distress rubbing off on the boy in this critical juncture of the examination. Out of the corner of her eye she could see nova just starting to look up as she quickly got Melinda's attention with a softly spoken "Melinda please go in to my office and start the high razz scanners, then open a medical file for this patient."

At first the bunny did not respond, she was to distracted by the horrors being displayed on her screen. Even with having assisted in critical trauma cases in her 6 months on this ship the bunny could feel her stomach turning and if not for the fact her fur was pure white to start with she was sure everyone would have seen how pale she had gotten. When Crystal had asked her to assist giving an abused slave a physical exam she had thought she would see the after affects of a few beatings or maybe at the most a broken bone, but this, this she was not prepared for. In school they had shown her scans of abuse cases that where considered extreme, ones in witch the slave had died from there injuries. Looking at this panel all she could think was either this slave should be dead or her teachers had soft peddled just how bad abuse cases could get. She was just fighting off the urge to vomit when the doctor called out to her a second time, Crystals softly spoken request making it through to the bunny and bringing her back to reality. She had just turned her head and opened her muzzle to say "yes, Doctor" but it died on her lips when she locked eyes with nova. Seeing the poorly hidden sadness in his crystal blue eyes just robbed her of the ability to speak, the bunny only able to give a trembling nod and quickly bolt from the room.

At seeing Melinda's reaction Crystal softly sighed and turned her attention back to the boy, wile nova was an extreme case she was not likely to ever see again, the bunny would need to learn how to better hide her reactions if she was going to be dealing with trauma victims. The jaguar had turn back just in time to catch the slaves eyes lowering from the direction the bunny had fled and as she was about to ask him another question the boy softly spoke, a shy timidness in his voice as he asked "Mistress did I do something to make Mistress Swift-Dash mad at me? If I did I'm very sorry, I did not mean to upset her."

Hearing the boys fearfully spoken apology almost broke Crystals heart, just from looking at his scans she could tell he had suffered horrors she could not even imagine and he was still so sweet that he was worried he might have hurt her students feelings. With a soft smile the doctor closed her scanner and set it to the side so she could curl her arms around him in a warm hug wile she gently reassured him that everything was ok. " Dear boy you have done nothing wrong, in fact you have been perfectly behaved. Melinda was just...."

Crystal was cut off by the sound of the doors opening and a cub screaming at the top of her lungs. Fire had turned to see what the commotion was only to find his mate entering with her kit in her arms, the little girl crying and her mother looking as if she was about to tear her own fur out. As if not even seeing her mate the vixen just walked right up to the jaguar, not even paying attention to the human sitting in front of the Doctor as she started to plead " Crystal I cant take it anymore. She has been crying for days and she just won't stop, for the love of the Goddess you have to do something, please."

Crystal gave a quick look back to nova who had dropped his eyes and returned his hands to his thighs, the abruptness of this new female having instantly put him back on guard. The Doctor just sighed, this was the 4th time this week Morgan had been in with her kit and it was starting to ware thin on the felines nerves. Already knowing what the result would be crystal picked up her trusty old Cindy and passed it over the cub a few times, her ears flicking tall as she got the same answer as the last 4 visits." Morgan I am telling you there is nothing wrong with her, she is just teething and she is going to cry. There's nothing I can do short of giving her a sedative and you know I don't like the idea of medicating cubs unnecessarily."

Fire had joined them and was looking at his mate, a look of concern on his face as he gently hinted "Love maybe this is not the best time, the doctor was just in the middle of something, do you think you could come back in a little wile?" He did not want to come right out and say "Your going to scare the human" but his eyes where glancing back and forth in that direction hoping she would get the message.

Morgan had just drawn a deep breath and was about to unload on her mate with both barrels when the boy softly spoke, the gentleness of his tone making all eyes turn to him as he asked " Mistresses? If you will allow me, I think I know what will help the little Mistress." Nova thought it was sweet that the Anthro's allowed families on there war ships, it just showed how much thy valued there loved ones.

The stressed out vixen growled softly as she gave this human asking for her child a look that said she would rather claw his eyes out then hand her baby over to him. She was about to tell him to go to the dark pit when the doctor cut her off, a soft smile forming on the jaguar's muzzle as she answered "If you think you can help then yes you may nova, If not I will have to medicate her."

With the Doctor's permission given nova slipped off the table and slowly lifted his arms for the child, his head lowered and eyes downcast respectfully. Morgan not wanting to hand over her kit tried to take a step back only to feel one of Fire's paws come to rest on her shoulder as the large male whispered in her ear " Love let him try Unless you want to put up with another long night of her whaling. The Captain and Dana both believe this slave can be trusted and I will not let him hurt our kit." Wile he had been speaking Fire skillfully unclipped the strap on his blaster and set it to stun, honestly he did not believe he would have to use it but better safe then sorry.

With a sigh of resignation Morgan looked back to her mate and nodded, with both him and the Doctor there it was not like the slave was going to run off with her baby and she knew for sure that if he even twitched wrong wile holding the kit Fire would brake his neck. Very slowly and carefully she passed her still crying kit over to the human, nova softly pressing her to his chest and rocking her very gently. Once the kit was secured in his arms nova slowly turned and started walking to the Dispenser as he sang to her "Hush little baby, don't say a word, Momma's gona buy you a mocking bird." Once he reached the Dispenser and an appropriate brake in the song lyrics he reached out and touched the control he had learned from last night speaking in the same rhyming pattern as the song "One thin hallow plastic ring, 3 inches in diameter, and filled with frozen water, please."

It took only a few seconds for the computer to create the slaves requested item, nova not stopping his song as he retrieved it and traced it over the babies lips to induce her to take it. Sure enough by the time he got to the fifth verse the kit had taken hold of it with both paws and started chewing on it, her crying coming to an end as the chill of the ice worked its magic on her gums. With the child now peaceful nova slowly walked back over to the doctor and her parents, the kit just hugged to nova's chest with a soft murring coming from her as she chewed on her new toy.

Morgan and Fire stood there slack jawed and totally amazed, this human had just appeased there kit in a few minutes when they had been trying for days and it even looked like she was sleeping now. They both turned back to Crystal only to find the feline standing there with a wide grin on her muzzle, her expression very much of the cat who had just swallowed the canary. When the boy kneeled at there feet and his song came to its end the vixen leaned down and softly whispered in fear of waking the kit " How by the one true path did you do that, please I have to know."

Nova just warmly smiled, his Mistress had trained him for years in child care, this was just one of the tricks he knew for dealing with cranky babies. Not wanting to sound as if he knew more then the babies own mother nova slowly pointed to the ring in her muzzle and whispered "It is just a teething ring, Mistress. Wile the little Mistress chews on it, it takes pressure off her gums and the ice numbs them so she does not feel the pain of the new teeth coming in." He had to stop and giggle because the kits tail had started wagging and tickling his belly, nova needing to shift his position before finishing his explanation. "The only other thing is to comfort her by holding her to your chest so she can hear a heart beat like she did in the womb, it helps her feel safe."

Morgan could have been knocked over with a feather at this human slaves knowledge of children, in her experience it was hard to find a male with any kind of maternal instincts, let alone a human male. Fire likewise was dumbfounded wile Crystal could not help but chuckle at the cute expressions on the foxes faces. With a warm smile Morgan softly ran her claws throw the boys hair as she rose to her feet and looked the jaguar in the eyes with a firmly spoken "Crystal please tell me this slave is for sale, I could use a good nanny."

Not having expected this question Crystal was taken off guard, she was just trying to think of a reasonable explanation for why nova was unavailable when Dana walked in and gave her a tactful way to deflect it. Quickly the jaguar lifted her paw and pointed to the surprised looking mink with a softly chuckled "You will have to ask her, she is his Mistress."

Dana had only gotten 3 steps into med bay before she stopped cold with a look on her face much like a deer caught in head lights. At first it had been the doctor pointing at her, then the sight of her boy on his knees with a kit in his arms that did it, after there talk In the mess this morning this was the last thing she had expected to see when she caught up with them. With the smiles on all there faces as she approached it gave her hope that things had gone better then they where expecting, Maybe her boy's injuries had not been so bad after all. As she reached the group it dawned on her that it should come as no surprise her boy was good with cubs, given how sweet and gentle he was caring for them should be natural for him. She was just about to ask what was going on here when the doctor beat her to the punch, Crystal pointing to the boy as she purred "Dana perfect timing, Morgan here wants to buy nova as a nanny."

Dana just could not help but smile at the praise of her boy as she leaned down and kissed him on the forehead, even if he did not technically belong to her it was still good to know that he had impressed her friends with just being himself. "Nova is not for sale, but I am sure we can arrange some time for him to cub sit."

This got an emphatic nod from the vixen as she snuggled back into her mate " I would love that, my mate and I never get any time alone together anymore." Fire curled his arms around his mate in return and gave her a soft kiss, his ears folding back as he jokingly admonished the mink "Dana I am disappointed you did not tell me this morning your boy was good with kits, its just plane greedy to keep such a valuable resource all to yourself."

Dana just grinned and lifted her hands in a gesture of surrender as she admitted " Well as you both should know I only acquired him a few days ago and honestly the subject of cubs has not come up until now." Then deciding to tease them both she added " But given the fact he cooks, cleans, gives fantastic massages and is quite frankly the best male lover I have ever experienced I have a sneaking suspicion that i have not even begun to discover the true depth of his talents."

Just as she expected this got a look of jealousy from both the foxes and another one of those adorable blushes from her boy as he whispered "It is my joy to serve, Mistress."

Crystal excused herself wile the group talked and nova took care of the kit, it having lifted her mood tremendously to see the boy so happy. When she walked into her office she found Melinda sitting on the floor with wet cheek fur and a numb look in her eyes, a look that was bordering on catatonic. Concerned about the bunny Crystal leaned down and shook her softly as she gently asked " Melinda Dear what's the matter?" The bunny opened her muzzle to answer then just closed it without speaking, unable to find the words she just lifted her paw and pointed to a 3D hologram of nova.

Crystal had been so happy with the turn of events that she had just plain forgotten the high razz scanners where running the whole time they where talking and Melinda being to eager like most bunnies had not weighted for the doctor to start examining the results and they had turned out to be more then she could handle. The computer had almost completed its analysis and had just finished separating the damage buy source, date and level of infliction, the sheer volume of information causing the doctor to narrow her eyes as she examined the image. She just could not believe what she was seeing, wile she had known it was bad, just how bad was now clear to her and it turned her stomach.

With a softly trembling paw Crystal reached out and touched the hologram's back, this causing it to turn and several windows to appear floating in mid air on either side of it. Even with the extreme detail of the high razz scanners the computer was having trouble separating the muscle, nerve and soft tissue damage. Even worse she could tell that wile the vast majority of this had been inflicted in the last few years, some of it went back to very early childhood and the newer damage had prevented the old injuries from healing properly. The doctor felt the anger welling up in her and she just had to lash out, punching the wall as a savage hiss came from deep in her chest.

The bunny on the floor jumped in shock at this, the feline doctor was always a very calm and laid back woman, she rarely showed anger, and it seamed like she was about to rip the computer panel right off the wall. " By the dark pit I would like to get my claws in to the ones that owned this sweet boy.. This scan.. How could anyone treat another living bean like that.. " The Doctor growled savagely and punched the wall again, her anger so strong that it had her eyes pulsing and her heart thumping in her ears. It took a long wile for the jaguar to get herself under control, the fury burning deep inside her had her to the point she just wanted to scream at the top of her lungs.

With the jaguar just sheathing and unsheathing her claws to work through her fury her sharpened hearing was attracted to a sound in the other room, it compelling the feline to look out her window at the happy boy with the kit still in his arms and the fox couple poking fun at his mink Mistress. Maybe it was just the innocence of the moment or the puzzle of how this could have come to be that caused her temper to take a back seat for the time being, the sight before her just not making any sense with all of last night and today's revelations. There is no way someone that had suffered this kind of long term mental and physical abuse should be so sweet and tender, by all logic he should be bubbling over with anger or to traumatized to even function. Just to overwhelmed to think anymore Crystal flopped down in her chair and just took several breaths to clear her mind as Melinda leaned into her side, the bunny curling her arms around the doctors middle to offer what support she could.

No longer running on pure anger and adrenalin Crystal's paw found the top of Melinda's head as she switched on her personal computer terminal and open the medical file the bunny had started earlier, the feline speaking in a flat and even tone denoting how emotionally drained she felt. "Begin Medical File for patient nova, male human approximately 20 years of age, no current last name or clan affiliation. Patient was recovered from the cargo transport Black Rock and can be identified from its cargo manifest as slave number 211. Patient presents with severe nerve and soft tissue damage to his neck, back, arms and legs, the damage most likely caused by a whip as well as unknown sharp and blunt objects used over an extended period of time from early childhood. The Patient's scans also reveal 19 broken bones and compound fractures, most of witch have been broken more then once and where either never treated or received substandard care. Scans indicate 12 of the 19 bones have healed out of position and will require nano-therapy to correct there misalignment. There also appears to be extensive scar tissue around the sight of 4 of these brakes indicating the bone had penetrated the skin, the nerve damage in these sights will most likely be beyond repair. The patient ... "

Crystal had to stop for a few seconds to take another long series of breaths as her voice broke, the first few tears starting to build In the doctors eyes. "The patient also presents with signs of severe neurological and deep muscle damage consistent with the application of hundreds, perhaps thousands of electrical shocks administered over a 4 to 6 year period, the scar tissue around the contact points indicating a human style caudal prod or other consistent low energy weapon." Crystal swallowed and just could not hold back anymore, her voice chocking back a sob as the first tears dripped.

"The patient also shows signs of recent and long term sexual trauma, the claw marks and rectal tearing indicating the most recent damage was inflicted by a male Anthro feline of unknown breed." That was it, even though she had not even covered half of the most extreme damage she just could not go on with this anymore, even with her medical training this was to much for her to deal with until she had some time to recover. "Computer end dictation, file will be completed at a later date." The Doctor just shook her head and turned off her computer terminal, her hand cupping the bridge of her muzzle as she and the bunny both openly wept.

Given the heavy emotion of the moment it was no wonder Crystal never noticed the fox standing in her doorway, Fire having been lessoning to the doctor speak and looking at the hologram of nova. It was honestly not the fox's intention to ease-drop on this private medical information but having walked in at just the wrong time the harshness of it had made him unable to just back away. Human or not all fire could think was If any Anthro owner treated a slave like this, the least thy could expect was a very long sentence in a very dark hole or a collar of there very own in a forced labor camp. Bordering on shock he looked back to this rather innocent looking slave with injury's worse then hardened combat vets on his own strike team, the fox just horrified at how unthinkable it was for anyone to treat a slave like that. Not having a clue about the boys origins Fire just could not reconcile this new information with the boy affectionately playing with his kit now that she had woken from her nap, the boy softly tapping the tip of her nose then letting her grab his finger and toothlessly chew on it. He was being so sweet and attentive with her like he had known her all her life, the little girl even giggling and yipping when he playfully blew in her ears.

With a small shudder Fire remembered why he had entered the Doctors office in the first place and slowly backed out, he had intended to ask if she was finished with nova so Dana could show the boy where she worked. Seeing the old jaguar's current condition he knew she would not be able to tend to him for quite some time, that and most likely given the extent of the injuries the feline would need time to think about the best course of treatment. So as to allow them some privacy to work throw this he slowly closed the door and motioned one of the nurses over, Fire informing her where nova would be and why he was leaving, then he told the pretty young doe the Doctors where in a meeting and to make sure they where not disturbed.

With that done Fire forced a smile back on his muzzle as he returned to the laughing group, his kit had taken hold of nova's lower lip with both paws and was giggling as nova made funny sounds of discomfort. As he reached them Morgan took hold of his arm wile laughing hysterically at her kits actions, the vixen barely getting out between gasps "love it looks like our little one is trying to give nova a muzzle."

Fire nodded and curled his arms around his life mate with a long tender kiss and a jokingly chuckled "Yes I can see that my love, guess she is just used to your big toothy smiles in the morning."

Morgan just wiped her eyes as Dana sat with her boy trying to gently pry the kits fingers free, the mink mockingly grumbling " If she brakes him you bought him."

Both foxes exchanged a knowing look and turned back to the mink, there cheerful reply coming in perfect unison. "SOLD."

After another round of giggles Fire turned his attention to the mink, she finally having gotten the kit to let go of nova only to end up with the little one latching on to one of her fingers. "Dana the Doctor will be tied up for a wile, I think you are good to take your boy and she will be in touch with you when she is ready for him."

That got a warm smile from Dana once she had finally gotten free of the kit, the mink leaning over to kiss her boy tenderly on the cheek as she asked "Ready to see where I work sweet boy?"

"Yes, Mistress" The boy whispered with a wide smile as Morgan took her kit back, the little one fussing and trying not to be taken away from her new toy. Once the kit was safely back with her mother nova crossed his hands behind his back, his head tilting back for the leash without even having to be told. Dana had just turned her head to ask Fire for the leash only to see him already holding it out, it quickly finding its place securely attached to novas collar. The Mink Mistress and her boy then gave there good byes and headed off to engineering, the minks tail waging in her happiness with her sweet boy at her side.

As the door closed Morgan leaned in and bumped her stoic mate, her tail curling around his leg with a warm smile as she whispered " Dana is a lucky woman, if nova was a Anthro I think she would have found the father of her children. Any one that tender, sweet and loving with cubs it would be a shame not to have a whole pack with them.

James just nodded as he made up his mind that he would be a friend to this boy for as long as he was on board. Wile it was beyond the foxes power to undo the horrors of the past, he and his mate could try to give this human a sense of belonging, a sense of family. "Dear there are some things you should know before we have him over to cub sit, but after I tell you I am sure our kit will grow to love her new big brother."

more to come