Stripes and Chains 7 - Polotics

Story by Silversmith on SoFurry

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#9 of Stripes and Chains

This is chapter seven in the Stripes and Chains story. An unofficial fiction based on the works of DragonTalon

Political venting and maneuvering in the republic and consortium. Introducing four new characters


"Something troubles you, Yarik." Indoril furrowed his brows. He was looking down over the chess board set up on Yariks desk. The mongoose had never been this quiet before. Normally the senator was boisterous and loud, proudly proclaiming his victories in the republic rotunda. A city wide overhaul to bring indoor plumbing and heated water to every house had passed the vote last time the dragon had sat in his office. Indoril had been happy for the fur, it was about time they took advantage of advances the Dragons could bring them. Their first meeting had been a hard one. Yarik: a new senator elected to the republic. Indoril: an ambassador from the Empire stationed at the dragon embassy. Yarik was looking for any dragon there willing to listen to him but had found deaf ears. Indoril soon found why. The furs subjects of choice where the release of captured furs, the freeing of slaves, and a cessation of all raids across the border. It was the normal fare.

"I'm a politician. Something always troubles me." Yarik replied. He too was looking down at the bored, but not looking at the pieces. He moved his bishop back toward his side of the board. Indoril raised a brow, it left him open for mate in three moves. Indoril had been visiting the senator in his own office, much to the frustration of his fellow senators. Rumors had been circulating for years as to where the furs true allegiance lay ever since Indoril had first stepped foot in the capital building by personal invitation of the senator. For days after their first meeting the two of them had spoken in the Empires embassy. The fur had been passionate, but with time had been made to slowly understand that instincts ran deep and some things just could not be changed. You could no more pull the need to dominate from a dragon than you could heat cycles from furs. It was genetic. To serve and be served was part of their very existence. It had taken some convincing but eventually Yarik had relented. Then began the debates, which Indoril found most entertaining. Once or twice a month he would meet with Yarik, they would play chess, and they would discuss the raids. Yarik wanted them to stop, Indoril would argue their importance. The debate would last as long as the game did, and the games were getting longer each time. Today though Indoril had made the quickest mate since they first started. It was delightful to win, but a hallow victory left a sour taste in ones mouth. "Drink?" Yarik sighed.

"My answer is the same as it always was." the dragon replied, watching as the mongoose flicked his king over and stood in a near huff, moving over to his private cabinet and poring two small glasses of his favored whiskey. "Dragons tend to avoid alcohol, it doesn't agree with us. Turns us into bumbling idiots." Yarik only nodded and he dropped a single large cube of chipped ice into each, setting down one in front of the dragon. Indoril did not touch it. The fur pushed a hand through his brown hair, his whiskers twitched, and he heaved a deeply troubled sigh. "Is this about the most recent raid? Dragons are covetous, Yarik. We-"

"Its not about the unicorn villages." the fur interrupted. Indoril growled softly then suppressed himself. A dragon had been speaking but it was not a slave who interrupted him. "That happened in Senator Dalles's district. While it does disturb me that such a raid would strike that deep...its not what immediately concerns me." Indoril nodded, sensing the fur had more to add. There was a long pause where Yarik took a swig from his glass. "The Consortium." Indoril inclined his head.

"Ahhh yes. They're expanding their borders." Yarik nodded gravely.

"You say it like it was expected." He said with a reproving look at his copper toned guest.

Indoril just shrugged "It sorts out. A country living in isolation, xenophobic, for hundred of years. Fields can only remain fertile for so long, can only breed animals for so many generations before they start turning bad, forests can only grow so fast. A small area like theirs, they would need to keep the population under a certain number per generation, if they didn't then they must be burning through those resources at rates that are not replenishable So, they open the borders for limited trade, then send out scouts and merchants and engage in trade in the hopes they can bring what they need in from the out side. At least that's the message they send. In truth they're testing boundaries, gauging defenses, seeing just what they're up against. Of coarse the Consortium is barley larger than twice the size of the capital, their entire population couldn't stand up to the Republic Armed Guard, but if the RAGs are deployed to the north, dealing with repelling subsequent smaller raids in the wake of the most recent deep raid, and other forces assisting with aid in its aftermath. Well, its tactical to take advantage of adversaries weaknesses." Indoril leaned back in his chair, the wood creaking under his weight, the furniture having been built to cater to furry specifics. Yarik slammed his hand down on his desk hard enough to make the glasses and pieces on the board rattle. The door to his office open, the female okapi assistant tucked her nose in to see what what wrong. Indoril waved her off.

"Every thing is all right Miss Kilton." He lifted his glass. "Just getting a bit rowdy after a drink." He shook the ice and smiled as if nothing was wrong. She gave him a questioning look but said nothing as she closed the door.

"The damned senate wont even agree to put it to a vote. Uninhabited land. Not worth the effort I keep being told. That's MY district Indoril. The land may be uninhabited by its still owned." Indoril nodded sympathetically. "I'm supposed to sit on my hands? It's worse than just giving up land rights. We're talking about the invasion of a sovereign nation, its the only way in or out of the southern peninsula with out hazarding the water."

"I doubt your senate will let that happen."

Yarik nodded unconvinced. "They're afraid of them. Afraid that they'll have to pull RAG units away from the border, leave district defense and militia to fend for themselves. They're worried that if they leave the borders undefended now the Empire will take advantage of it."

"Rightly so. We would." Yarik gave Indoril a reproachful glare. The dragon only shrugged again. "Of course, your forces are massed on one side. We could just as easily hit undefended farms and villages, but given the size of the take on the last raid, its doubtful that will happen for awhile yet. At least until every single one has been sold. Even then, it would still be some time before we actually struck. The slave guild does have guidelines." Yarik rolled his eyes. "Yarik, do you really believe a group of territories with a total population of a little more than fifty million can truly do any thing significant to harm your nation, let alone your district?"

"How would the Empire handle this problem?" Yarik had stood back up and was now facing out the window, hands clasped behind his back, jaw set. Indoril shifted uneasily.

"Same as we did the last time the republic attempted to force its way into our borders." The republic, many years ago, had attempted to over throw the Dragon Empire. Long before Yarik had been even a glimmer in his fathers eye. The Republic Armed Guard had at that time been known as the United Republic Armed Forces. They had been marched passed the border into the Empire, setting road blocks at every pass they knew of and fighting a blood soaked campaign right to the Dragon Capital. Retribution had been swift. Their forward advance had turned out to be a lure. The Dragons had allowed them to move right into the valleys and annihilated them with air superiority. Fire and arrows rained down like a storm of hell and hail as drake and bowman drove the furs from their home. All survivors were captured and enslaved. The dragons had suffered far more, and the furs had come perilously close to self destruction. In having to divert military forces to the southern border, the north had been left woefully understaffed. Tactical advantage of geography and skilled warriors had pushed the insect horrors right back out, exterminating any left over, special forces dealing with any young queens that managed to dig in. Impressed how ever with the sheer gall of the attack be the furs, the Dragons had shown some mercy. No retaliation had come, the borders were left as is, and no compensation was demanded. Only a warning was given, the next attack would be met with direct retaliation. Years since then the Republic lived with an icy peace with their dragon neighbors, if you can call occasional but devastating raids into furry territory a peace. Warning of retaliation, the possibility of the bugs encouraging too far forward, and disillusionment in the senate had prevented much else from happening. The RAG did what it could in the more heavily populated areas but territorial militias were other wise now forced to fend for themselves.

Yarik shook his head. "It would never happen quite like that."

Indoril smirked "Most furs lack the tenacity." Yarik made a dismissive sound that turned into a chuckle.

"No, I mean you would have mass defections. Do you know how many puritan families there still are in the republic? Do you know how many are still clamoring for laws that separate species, how many still wish inter-species mating was an offense punishable by imprisonment, or worse? These are laws that are already in place in the Consortium, already we've had several of the most prominent blood lines whispering about partial immigration."

"So then stop them." Indoril offered, his tone impatient. Yarik was a friend, and he had been there to listen to the fur vent on multiple occasions. This conversation seemed to be going no where. Yarik grunted and turned.

"Are you hungry?" He asked, tone changing from somber to even, if a bit cliped.

"I'm a bit peckish."

"Lets get something to eat, there's a new place just down on the corner. They have an outside deck, we can enjoy the air." Yarik pulled his jacket on. "Miss Kilton the ambassador and I am heading out for lunch. If any one shows up take a message."

There was an unspoken rule between the two of them that politics stayed in the office, out side was a time for personal discussion. It had become a common sight. Indoril may meet with the senator on a bi-monthly basis but they were a near regular site out side of the rotunda or dragon embassy. Even all the time they had spent over the past few years most of the citizenry were still very nervous around the dragon, as was evident by the way the waitress stuttered through taking their orders. Indoril was affable all the same, full understanding. "They think you imagine them all in collars." Yarik said softly, chuckling. Inodril returned his smile.

"Some of them." He admitted "But not all of them." Indoril enjoyed the mongoose's company. Few furs had ever bothered to learn and accept that dragons did not see every single fur as a piece of meat or property. "Speaking of, hows your wife?" Yarik blew a breath through pinched lips, starring at the dragon from across the table. Indoril held a cool smile. Unable to hold the cold stare he broke into a chuckle, waving his hand.

"You'll get a kick out of it." he chortled and shook his head. "She's been reading that Grey Fur book." Indoril barked a laugh, making heads turn swiftly in his direction, dishes clattered and a few furs fled. The copper dragon brushed a tear form his eye.

"I'm not going to see you in a collar and crawling on all fours any time soon, am I?" The dragon gave a throaty growl. Yarik knew he was only joking, but it made a few more furs get up and leave. A shivering waitress brought their orders out a moment later. She set a bowl of a simple grasshopper salad in front of Yarik and with hesitation set a double order of extra-rare steaks infront of Indoril.

"En-enjoy your meal, Sirs." she swallowed, never taking eyes of the dragon. She baked away until sure she was out of arms reach and then squeaked as he smiled. She turned and half ran half walked back inside.

Yarik cleared his voice. "Indoril, please don't tease the locals. I don't need to be held partially responsible for an international incident, and I rather you not get us banned from yet another establishment." The dragon grunted indignantly, stabbing at the meat and biting chunks out of it, not even bothering with the knife.

"S'not my fault," He said unattractivly around a mouth full of meat, still dripping with blood. He whiped his chin with the provided napkin and swallowed. "He was flirting with me. I told him politely and directly that I wasn't interested in males. It's not my fault he thought I was being homophobic."

"You smacked him into the buffet table." Yarik countered, nibbling on the legs of one of his grasshppers. The dragon shook his head.

"No, I swatted him into the punch bowl, he knocked the table over trying to right himself."

"Yes, but had you not smacked him he wouldn't have needed to."

"He ran a hand into my robe, after several times telling him to stop. I admired his tenacity and forwardness, even introduced him to a few of my associates who would have enjoyed his attentions. What I did was perfectly acceptable by your own standards." Yarik just chuckled, shaking his head. Dragons were pig headed, and once set there was no point in discussion. Had the soiree been held at the dragon embassy he'd have an inarguable point. Yarik wasn't going to push it. He finished his salad, breathing a full sigh and leaning back, ordering a coffee and one for his dragon friend.

They both sipped their coffee. "Any recent news from the front?" Indoril nodded, but hesitated at first. There were rumors that a new species of insect had been discovered, like the parasitic rider that mutated dragon and fur into a mobile attack platform but made for stealth. It penetrates the stomach of males via the mouth, and the womb of females via their genitals. It could control their mind much the same way as a rider through tendrils that penetrated the nervous system of the host. Their existence was a state secret but their were loose lips even among dragons.

"Insects managed to push their way deeper than usual, but they've been exterminated like all the others." It wasn't the truth, but it also wasn't a lie. Dragons aren't known for lying, almost incapable of it. It evolved a sense of master tacticians, superb with word play.

"How deep?" Yarik was eying him now. Indoril took a breath before sipping his drink. "Indoril...if something series has happened..."

"Deep. Yarik, lets change the subject. I don't know enough to say more and this is not the proper place for it any ways. I'm sure I'm not even supposed to know. Just know that its been taken care of and the proper authorizes in your government have been informed and given the proper solution on how to deal with it." The mongoose looked at him askance over his mug. "Trust me friend. If I knew something that was of immediate importance or danger, I would tell you, as well as the rest of your government, every thing."

"Only if told to by your council." the mongoose said pointedly. Indoril tried not to stare balefully.

"You're still bothered. All I can offer is advice. I'm not a military dragon. I was born for thinking more than fighting. So, giving it some thought, bolster your districts militia and station them on the new border lines. Restrict all trades routes in and out to select points and require full break down inspections of all cargo coming and going. This way numbers wont need to be drawn away from the front, and you have a counter force immediately on hand. Soldiers are easy to come by for dragons, almost every one with the right body tried for the armed forces but only a select few make it through. Your armies are far less rigid in their demands. Start a recruiting drive, offer bonuses and benefits not just for the soldier, but their families." Indoril reached into the inside of his robe, pulling out a satchel and setting down several gold coins from it. "Should cover us and what ever business the owner may have lost today because of me." He pushed himself away from the table to stand. Yarik rose with him.

"I'll send your idea to the district governor. I'll...have to omit where it came from." Indoril nodded, used to furs disregarding even the advice of their better, reptilian cousins.

Indoril reached over the table and gave the mongoose and encouraging pat on the shoulder. "You're still new to the game, and your politics are far more cut throat than ours. Your colleagues in the senate may be remiss to help you but a dragon will never abandon a friend." He gave a toothy smile, rows of sharp dagger like fangs gleaming pearl white.

"I appreciate that Indoril." Yarik said, rubbing his now soar shoulder. The dragon had done it on purpose, Indoril knew his own strength. It was an act of friendship, but that it was also an act of dominance was not lost on the fur. We're friends, but I'm better than you it was meant to express.

"One more thing." Indoril was smirking as he paused on the side walk. "If you and your wife need any advice, you can call on me for that as well." Yarik was tempted to throw his mug at the dragons head.

"Go home you scale-brain!" Indoril boomed with laughter


Jubei Takeda was a simple fur. His home was simple, his office was simple, and he made sure his soldiers were simple in dress and act, taking the path of least resistance in all things. It was in his simplicity that would make it very hard to believe that the serow fur was actively breaking a long standing law. Across from him, across the small, short table sat a tigress of incomparable beauty. At least in his mind. She smiled softly as he handed her a cup of tea, taking it and sipping softly

Shen Xiuying was general of the Middle Territorial Expansionary forces. She set the cup down, smiling sweetly. Takeda and Shen had been courting one another, in secret, for the past two years. Their own people, their own empires would never allow what they were doing. Takeda had a retreat that they both visited often as they could. On record it was an informal meeting to discuss future and past battle planes and examine lines of expansion yet further into the furry republic. Takeda offered a hand across the table and she purred when she took it in her own. Such an outward display of affection for one another would be grounds for court martial for the both of them and execution. Here at Takedas retreat though neither would be seen or disturbed.

"Jubei" she said softly.

"Xiuying" He said, smile widening. "How are you my love?"

"Stressed" she sighed "Emperor Chu was impressed with the swiftness of our campaign but is calling for more, and soon. I do not like provoking a force far larger than our own." Takeda nodded as he called for the mid day meal be brought in.

"He is young, eager to proove himself a capable emperor. But...and for give me, but he is also a fool. Every thing we need can be gotten through trade, there was no reason to expand." he said, stabbing his fork through his plate of leaves and berries. Xiuying was using a pair of chopsticks to pick through the fish on her own.

"I agree, but the emperors word is law. Same as it is here in the north. And we can both agree that your emperor must be going senile in his old age to have agreed with Chu." she said, taking soft bites. Takeda said nothing. He was far less vocal about his own ruler then Shen was, even in the privacy of his own small mountain retreat. He just hmmed his agreement. The conversation ended there, both of them taking their time in finishing befroe heading out to sit by a small furmade pond, another pot pf tea between them.

"What have you heard from the dragons?" he asked, throwing bread crumbs and watching as the koi snatched them from the surface.

Shen shook her head. "Nothing. Weeks after we received the check in from each of the furs we sent, we received a letter thanking us for our gifts but nothing more." She gave a sour look. Takeda sympathized. It was abominable what her emperor had done, sending one hundred of his own citizens, not even criminals, and then abandoning them to the dragons. Giving them as gifts as well as drawing of military weapons. The serow already knew why the dragons had not responded, his plants in the furry embassy in their capital already giving him all the information he needed. Their war with the insects still raged, nothing had changed on that front. Their society was less militaristic as the Northern Territory, but just as focused on it. They cared little for the furs, as little more than property and cattle. There were few exception. He had contemplated sending plants to live among the few furry citizens of the Empire, but he knew something was amiss. It was likely the dragons knew of his network of informants, and were silently countering it. Dragons loved intrigue and his only conclusion was they allowed it to continue because it entertained them.

"Does the boy-emporer believe a few gifts that the dragons can simply take if they so wished will impress them?" She nodded

"He thinks it will enamor them, open them to talks of an alliance." she spat, then blushed and excused her behavior. He waved her away with a simple air of his hand. "But what of Hajime? What does your emperor think?"

Takeda shook his head. "I am not the emperors divisor. I am not privy to his thoughts that do not concern the military. But, if recent trends here in the north are to serve as indications, I suspect he wishes to open the borders completely. 'Modernization' is the word that's being thrown around. Trapped behind or borders for too long, incorporate the technological advances. The Emperor I know has became fascinated with the Republic. Its art, its people, its culture. Just this last month during the adviser meeting he was there, dressed like the politicians from the republic, wearing a three piece suit instead of the royal robes. He's commanded that we all dress the same as him...no one objected."

"It would have been foolish to. And perhaps the old man isnt as senile as I though." The serow raised a brow.

"Oh?" He tossed another handful of bread crumbs into the pond.

She nodded, pulling a metal pipe from with in her robes, packing it with a small bit of tobacco, then lighting it. She pulled on it and then held it out, smiling. "Enough my love. The sun is begging to set. Lets just enjoy the few moments of peace we have together. No more talk of kings and dragons. What of us?"

Takeda sat down, taking the offered pipe and puffing lightly. His blood buzzed softly with the pass of the tobacco. "How can we not discuss kings when the topic is us?" He chuckled "I love you no less than the first moment I beheld you. You were resplendent in your armor. Your eyes held a ferocity like a raging inferno. I was captivated and in that moment I knew I belonged to you and no one else"

She laughed lightly, patting his hand and taking the pipe back when he offered it. They shared a mutual love for tobacco, both preferring the same kind. Sweet black cavendish, with a touch of citrus, hazelnut, and vanilla. Its what had first started them on casual topics, and from their much more. "Who would have thought." she said, exhaling a white cloud and looking the pipe over. The shared it until the last burned and watched the sun set on the horizon. She was the first to stand. "Come." she said, coy smile playing over her muzzle. He smirked and gave his horns a stroke as he followed.

In the bedroom she held her arms out, her male companion pulling the sash from around her waist and sliding the shoulders down, softly pulling the silk garment from one arm then the other. When she turned around, nude and fur glistening softly in the candle light lamps hanging from the walls she jerked Takeda toward her roughly, growling and gnashing her teeth inches from his nose. "Restraint, love, I can't lose a uniform every time we go to bed."

"Better take them off, then." She said, pushing him onto the bed. Takeda fumbling with the ties on his top, moving as fast as his shaking hands would allow as she crawled slowly atop him, predatory gleam in her eye. "Better hurry, prey." He shivered, her attitude had shifted so dramatically and so quickly. The first time they had given in, made love, it had been frightening. Prey caught in the grasp of a predator. A female tiger. Women ran the roost in the middle territory. Politics, the military, trade. the home, and most certainly the bedroom. A matriarchal society, it was a wonder how a male ended up being emperor.

"It should be you on the throne." He said. His shirt had been torn open, only a few clasps thankfully. She was in the middle of tearing his pants from his hips when she paused, blinking.

"I hope that's pillow talk." She looked at him askance as she gave a yank and pulled his pants free, folding them up slowly and setting them aside.

He folded his arms behind his head, top still on. She cruled up next to him, running a hand through the fur on his chest and laying her head on one of his arms. He gave a shrug of his other shoulder. "Maybe." he turned to give her fore head a kiss.

She purred and ran her claws over the skin of his chest, grazing flesh with stinging welting marks. "Are you going to start referring to me as 'my queen?'"

He rolled his eyes and pushed the arm she laid on around her, pulling her on top of him "There would be no point. You have no throne." She cocked her head to the side, reaching down to tug on his sheath.

"I wouldn't say that..." she said archly, stroking his hidden shaft, claw tips pricking as the velvet sack between his legs. He shivered when her claws wrapped tightly around them. "I have lords and ladies who serve me, an army whose loyalty I command, and I MOST CERTAINLY have a throne." He moaned as his sheath was pushed down around his prick, forcing the organ out. A soft furry hand took a firm grip around it and stroked until it was hard enough that it wouldn't just slip back in. She straddled his legs and lowered her self, groaning. Despite her size he found her incredibly tight. She shook her hips side to side, grinding circles on his hips and stirring his cock inside her cunt, eliciting a groan from both of them. She snarled as she sank her claws into his chest, making him gasp and bite down. She lifted her hips, slowly until she had pulled almost completely off. His length was soaked and her lips were dripping. They both smiled at the sight before she dropped down again, his cock bottoming out in a hammer blow against her deepest wall. She hissed, flexing her claws and making him whimper. "That's it my prey, cry for me. Beg for it."

Blood dripped from around her fingers, staining his brown-white fur. He grit his teeth through the pain to focus on the immense pleasure between his legs. His hips rose to meet hers each time she threw her self down on him. Both of them moaned. She leaned down to push her head against his, noses touching. She growled as him, pulling her claws free of his chest and cupping his chin with both hands. "Please..." he whispered, pushing his hands through the stripped fur of her hips. "I want it..." She laughed sardonically as she yanked them away form her and held them above his head.

"You have to need it little billy goat." She teased, working her self harder up and down his thick dick. Her hips clapped on his legs, the wood holding the straw bed up began creaking at the joints. She grunted with each charge of her legs. She tucked both his wrists into a single hand and took hold of his throat, pushing his chin up. "A soldier takes only whats needed, right? Beg your queen for her love."

"Fuck." He choked, eyes rolling into the back of his head. He licked his lips, letting his tongue loll from his mouth and his body shake under her powerful hips. He felt like his pelvis might snap with each blow. "Please my love. Let me fly. Both of us. You know I need it, I need you. I am weak with out you and only your thought allows me to make it to the end of the day." She growled, laying her chest down on him, using her knees to work over him now, Her hips slid up and down along his faster and faster until she shot strait back up, mouth open and eyes held shut tight. Her sigh turned into a yowl that fell into a roar as her pussy clamped around his prick and gushed into his lap. She fell back down and closed her jaws around his throat, twisting and jerking as he road out his own orgasm, filling her cunt to the brim. Her fangs pierced his flesh just enough to draw little drops of blood. He panted, groaning in after shocks spurred on by the tigers biting teeth still wrapped around his throat. She had let go of his wrists, and he wrapped both arms around her. "You truly should be empress. You could have challenged the boy to the thrown. You are the eldest female in the royal family, it is yours by right." She pushed a finger to his lips as she rose and shook her head.

"My place is on a battle field, not in the imperial court. Besides," she said, her eyes distant as she layed down once more and curled a hand through the blood stained fur of his chest. Her nose taking in a long draw and her head softly spinning with the coppery scent of blood mixed with the musk of his sweat. "If I were Empress...I could never see you again." Her hand ran slowly along his chin. "What ever meetings we could have would be rare, brief, and never alone. I would rather risk life and reputation to be able to hold you, than to sit on a throne knowing I never could." He smiled. She pressed her lips softly to his and kissed her serow lover tenderly. Then she smirked. "Now...your empress is filthy, clean her." She pushed him up, taking his place and spreading her legs apart. Jubei Takeda liked his lips and let out a soft bleet.

"At your command, your highness" he chortled and began licking.