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"Why? Have I not done my duty and served the Emperor's will?" Fynor questioned the face of Director Hunt on the screen before him. The lynx's ears were flat against his head in the classic feline sign of anger. His claws had extended and pierced the armrests of the seat he was in.

"You have, Frank, but we have need of your skills elsewhere," said the director calmly in answer.

"I want to be human again, damnit, not some fucking animal! Surely I've earned it by delivering not only the Earth human, but an entire RC ship along with its crew!"

"Frank, you knew when you took this assignment that it would last for 10 years. If in 6 months you've been this successful, think about what you might do over the course of the rest of it."

"It was sheer dumb luck that he'd arrived on the Teshar!"

"And you did your duty admirably, now continue doing so."

Fynor hissed his disapproval, continuing, "Is it the Emperor's will or are you just sending me to some backwater zoo so you can claim credit for my actions?"

Director Hunt's eyes narrowed dangerously, "Are you questioning your orders? If you don't do your duty and finish your service I'll have no choice but to declare you culturally compromised."

The lynx's eyes went wide at that, fear of what would happen if the director made good on that threat filled him. "Are you threatening to have me remapped?" That would mean he would never return his life as Frank Lenox, he'd become a mindless slave and no one would know except the director.

"It's not a threat, Frank, it is the Emperor's will. No one defies him and lives."

He shook in rage, this was the director's doing, not the Emperor's will! It was well-known that the Emperor rewarded those who served above and beyond, he had earned it more than most! It was obvious Director Hunt intended to use Fynor's success to serve his own purposes and would send him away where he could not fight it. He refused to accept it, and swore that he'd gut Director Hunt with his claws. He forced himself to calm, his eye-slits narrowed to the point of thin lines as he said, "My body and mind for the Emperor," though for the first time the words felt empty.

"That's better. You will receive your next assignment and your commendation from me personally upon your arrival on Haskel. I expect great things from you, Frank, as long as you keep that temper in check." The screen went blank.

"I will rip out your throat with my teeth when I arrive on Haskel!" He seethed at the blank screen.

====================================

Roger groaned in pain as consciousness returned to him. He felt like he'd been hit by a bus, no, that was wrong, it'd been a semi. Every breath brought forth a new world of pain and each kept his eyes shut, not sure he could even open them. Every part of him hurt and he silently cursed the stingy staff at whatever hospital he was in for skimping on the morphine, but at least he was alive. He felt around for any buttons in the vain hope that he could call a nurse and demand something for the pain. His chest was on fire like he had several broken ribs and the pain threatened to send him back into darkness.

Before he could find a call button he heard a soft feminine voice, "How do you feel?"

"Water," he gasped out, his throat dry. Something gently lifted his head and held a thin metal object to his mouth. Cool water touched his lips and he tried to drink but more pain filled his mouth as it ran over his gums and holes from missing teeth, making him spit it out.

"Go slow," the voice commanded calmly, and he tried again to drink, this time he a little more success as the water washed the taste of blood from his tongue and soothed his throat. The object moved away from his lips as the voice repeated its earlier question, "How do you feel?"

He managed little more than a hoarse whisper, "I feel..." he winced before continuing, "I feel... like... I was hit by a truck." Every word brought renewed agony. He pushed away the pain as best he could, where were those damn painkillers? He'd asked for them, right? "How long was I out?"

"Two days as best we can tell," the voice replied.

Two days? That was the length of time he'd been in the future, except it'd all been a dream. He must have been in a coma, hit his head, that's why it felt split open. Somehow he'd survived the accident and the fact every part of him was in agony said he had gotten away without losing anything except for teeth. "Was the trucker or anyone else hurt in the accident?"

"What accident? You were beaten and we know nothing of anyone else."

Beaten? No, that had been in the dream. "The car accident. The reason I'm here."

"You were in not in this car accident you speak of, you were beaten," the voice repeated.

"That can't be right, I was beaten in the dream..." he trailed off.

"What dream?"

"I was in the future. On a space ship with people that looked like animals, and there was another ship full of strange-looking humans." Roger found if he spoke slowly and took only shallow breaths that he could manage the pain in his chest.

"Roger," came another voice, this one familiar, "That is no dream."

"What!?" he tried to sit up and immediately regretted the action as he fell back down with a cry of pain. His eyes finally opened, revealing the faces of Gahn and a lioness, concerned looks on both.

The lioness spoke in a soothing tone that seemed almost comedic coming from the carnivore's powerful-looking mouth, "You need to stay still. Can you tell me where your pain is?"

"Everywhere," he replied breathlessly, coughed, and winced, "How fucked up am I?"

"You have at least six fractured ribs, your left tibia is in at least three separate pieces. At least 60% of your body is covered in deep contusions. You also have a mild concussion."

"Is that all?" He asked rhetorically.

"We can't be sure, you may be bleeding internally, but Kouhm, Nak, and I don't think so as your condition has remained unchanged since you arrived. We've set your bones as best we can considering that we're in a holding cell."

"Oh god, prison medicine? I'm not sure that's covered by my HMO." He tried to smile at the joke, but it just hurt too damn much.

"HMO?" the lioness looked at him quizzically.

"Nevermind, I don't think they cover time travel either."

She just looked more confused at that but shook her head, and thought his strange responses were a result of the concussion.

Gahn spoke up, "Roger, what happened to you?"

The man turned his head towards the wolf, "Captain Young took issue with me breaking his nose."

"What?" a look of shock took over the wolf's face.

"I tried to tell him it was the traditional way to greet a rescuer on Earth, but I don't think he liked it."

"Really?" Gahn believed the man was serious.

"No, I asked him to let you all go but he kept talking about you like property and not people. We got into an argument over it and I'm afraid I let it get the best of me." Roger tried to shrug, but grimaced instead.

Nak looked up from his brooding in the corner and looked at the broken man on the bench. <<He assaulted a fellow human because they wouldn't release us?>> he asked in Rukot, disbelief colouring his words. Why would a human care about their freedom?

<<That's what it sounds like,>> replied Gahn, <<Why else would they beat and toss him in here with us?>>

<<Then why did we find a weapon on him? This must be some kind of trick.>>

<<What's going on? Is the human awake?>> Marrin's words came from across the cellblock hall.

<<What purpose would bringing a weapon in here with the four of us serve, Nak? They put him in here, not the cell with the Captain.>> Kouhm answered, looking at the wolf doctor, <<If the humans wanted us dead, they have easier methods.>>

Gahn looked over at his father, noticing that the white fringe of fur along his snout had seemingly expanded over the past couple of days. <<He is awake and in a lot of pain.>>

<<Do you know why they brought him here?>> Captain Rels appeared at the front of the cell she shared with the older wolf and Fenthik, who remained still.

"Captain, is that you?" Roger questioned aloud, recognizing the deer's voice but not understanding her words.

"We are all here, Roger, my entire crew has been taken prisoner," she responded before asking, "Did you betray us to the Imperial Navy?"

"No!" he croaked out, stirring until pain overwhelmed him. "Someone else did, the man from the bridge, Sergeant Thorn, mentioned an inside man."

This sent a ripple of exclaimation and curses through the cellblock as the other Rukot overheard. Betrayed by one of their own? Who was it? Many began eyeing each other suspiciously. Someone yelled out, "LIES!"

<<Calm yourselves!>> Captain Rels ordered her crew, <<It is done and this human has shown us his true character is not like the others. Gahn is right, if he had handed us over, why would they injure and imprison him here with us?>> Her words calmed the crew down to a dull murmur. She resumed questioning Roger, "Do you know who it was?"

"They didn't say, only that he'd murdered two of you." Roger's reply sent another ripple of exclaimations through the crew until Captain Rels once again ordered, <<Calm yourselves!>> She continued sadly, "That is disturbing news, a Rukot who murders and betrays their own kind. It is the kind of thing only a human would do." Gahn's ear's drooped, Fynor must be dead then, he had confirmed earlier that the quartermaster was not in any of the cells and no one had seen him.

"I'd argue with you over that, but from what I've seen I must agree. I'm not sure even I'm above such a thing anymore," Roger said. He looked at Gahn and asked, "Where is my gun? Did they take it?"

"Gyth found it when she examined you, why do you ask?" Gahn replied, his ears perking as his suspicions rose again with his thoughts echoing Nak's earlier words. He looked at the small pile of rags in the corner that hid the weapon. He hated the small metal object, the sound of it firing had nearly defeaned him and his head still hurt where Roger had struck him with it.

"Because we are getting the hell out of here. Where is it?" The faintest trace of hope replaced some of the pain on Roger's bruised and battered face.

"You intend to use it against the guards?" Captain Rels asked incredulously across the hallway. The man was mad, the blow to his head must have been worse than the doctors thought.

"If it comes to that, but not me, Gahn will have to do it." The wolf stiffened for a moment and then realized that Roger was right. None of the three doctors would willfully cause harm, even to a human, and Roger was in no condition to move, let alone fight.

"How do you expect him fight off the entire ship with just one weapon? He is not even a soldier," the deer responded.

Marrin shot Captain Rels a hard look. <<My son is as brave as any warrior,>> he defended. He wasn't sure what the human's plan was but anything was better than sitting around waiting to be sold like livestock.

"One step at a time, dear deer Captain," the man grimaced at his own pun. "Gahn, bring my gun here, I need to show you how to use it."

"You need to rest," Gyth said, "Your bones need time to heal."

"There is no rest for the wicked," Roger replied simply and motioned weakly to Gahn.

====================================

In the darkness of the servants' barracks several forms gathered together and spoke in hushed tones. The eyes of some reflected the little light that filled the place as they quickly confirmed that they were alone.

"There are free Rukot onboard!" one exclaimed to the others, "I've seen them!"

"Free for now, and only in mind, they're in the holding cells on deck 7," replied another.

"When will they be remapped?" Came another voice in the darkness.

"Probably once we reach Haskel and they are sold," said the second voice in a sad tone.

"We can't let that happen! We must help them escape," the first voice cried out.

"Quiet down, Rex, someone could walk in on us at any moment," the third reprimanded.

"How can we help them? We can't act against the humans directly, most of the other Rukot onboard are too fresh from remapping to aid us against their masters," a fourth, female, voice added.

"They will come around once they see us, even if they do not understand what they are," Rex, a dog-shaped figure insisted.

"You know that isn't true, think of how many years of servitude it took before your thoughts became your own again," responded the fourth.

"Damn it, Pinky, they'll help us, you'll see," Rex said unconvincingly, he knew the rabbit was right, all of their minds had been in a fog that hadn't cleared for decades and they worked hard to ensure their human masters didn't notice lest they be remapped again.

None of the Rukot present remembered who they once were, or even their true names. They assumed that any others in the empire like them were in a similar condition. It was as if all memories of their pasts had been obliterated, for each their earliest memories were of the day their own fogs lifted. Until now the small collection of Rukot had met in dark places and worked to ensure their continued survival while helping their fellow slaves, each looking for the next one who showed the signs of free thought.

"We can't let it happen to the ones in the cells," Rex continued emphatically, referring to their own enslavement, "I'd sooner kill myself than allow it." The others murmured their agreement but none offered up a solution.

Pinky sighed, it had been nearly a decade since the last time any had seen a free Rukot, as they called the ones who remembered themselves and had yet to undergo remapping. Only she, the "oldest" of the group aboard ENS Retribution remembered the last time their ship had captured any, about a dozen. She recalled the horror of watching as each were dragged kicking and screaming into the remapping room and strapped to the evil machine, only to come out as mindless slaves. The rabbit had nearly given herself away with her tears as she saw them stripped of their identities and still harboured guilt over not stopping it.

She spoke again, her voice filled with sadness, "What can we do? We are so few and don't even have access to weapons. I fear that we cannot help them."

"I have seen one walking the halls freely, wearing a human uniform, perhaps he could help us," a fifth chimed in.

"The lynx? He came aboard with the others, yet isn't in the cells and looks at us with the same contempt as a human. I don't think we can trust him," said a sixth, and the last of their number.

"I agree, the free ones speak of a betrayer, and I saw him kick my sister when she dropped a serving tray," the second added, a mouse. The sister he referred to was another mouse who looked like his twin, down to the black spot around their left eyes. Their relation was apparent to anyone who looked at them, though she had not returned to her wits like he had, something that tormented him greatly.

"Someone is coming!" the fifth hissed, "We must go before we are found out."

"Resume your duties, we will meet here again tomorrow night," Pinky stated as the group moved apart. She joined Rex and whispered to him, "I know what you're thinking, be careful when you talk to them," she warned the dog and then broke away from him before she slipped through a doorway as the lights in the barracks turned on.

"I will," Rex whispered to the soon to be filled room as he left.