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Admiral Reimer stood on the bridge of the ENS Divine Might, currently the only operating Imperial Navy Flagship, and looked out at the derelict invasion carrier that they had been sent to find by order of Emperor William himself. It has taken the fleet nearly six months to search the area of space its distress signal came from, but that part of their mission was over now, the ENS Retribution had been found.

"Scans indicate 47 humans aboard, Sir," one of the bridge crew said.

47? The ship had a crew of nearly 400, not including slaves! The Admiral betrayed none of his shock at the number and instead asked, "How many animals?"

"None, sir," came the quick reply.

"Is Captain Young amongst the survivors?" He doubted it was so, the bridge of the ship before him looked to have been destroyed in an explosion. If Captain Young was, he would not be for long, such a failure would demand the man's execution.

"They are not answering our hails, sir, so I am unable to confirm. The survivors appear to be located in the middle of the ship and scans indicate that most of it is depressurized. Only one escape pod is missing from the port hanger."

"I want a full scan prepared for review in my office in two hours." He turned to another crewman, this one sitting at a console nearby, and ordered, "Commander Mahim, prepare a team and board ENS Retribution. Search the ship in its entirety. Set the self-destruct when you are finished, and if the Earth human is not amongst them, you found no survivors. Report back to me your findings when you are finished."

Commander Mahim stood up and saluted, "I live to serve the Emperor's will." The man left the bridge.

Admiral Reimer looked back out of the viewport. Damn Captain Young and his failure. Whatever it was that had happened here was likely a result of the man's arrogance and if he had not already paid the price for it, he would soon.

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

Gahn and Leina were in their quarters tinkering with the injector pump from the truck during their off-duty hours together. It had stopped functioning the previous day during one of the driving lessons the cat had been giving the wolf.

<<I should have replaced this years ago,>> Leina commented at the pile of small parts that littered their table. <<The seals are gone, the housing is rusting out, and I'm pretty sure the primer pump is fucked.>>

Gahn looked at her and suggested, <<We have the scans I took of the truck when you first got here, the parts assembler could make a new one. Though we'd need it to make the individual pieces given this pump's complexity.>>

<<Some of these parts look like they've been ready to fail for years, we'd be making a copy of something already on the verge of breakdown.>>

<<It wouldn't be hard to modify the scans and we can use modern materials, a replacement could last the rest of our lives.>>

<<I wish we could fix th->>

Captain Rels' disembodied voice coming over Gahn's communicator interrupted her, <<Gahn, Leina, we will be landing on Jinem in approximately twelve hours. I want both of you to supervise unloading the ore from Valkter.>>

He picked up the small box and responded into it, <<Yes, Captain.>>

<<We will be staying for a few extra days since Leksha will be arriving not long after and it has been far too long since we have seen our friends on her. Both of you report to me in the hanger in the morning, good night.>> The communicator turned off. Gahn knew that Gyth would be happy to hear the news, Froan was Leksha's pilot. His friend Brun was also one of the technicians on the other freighter, perhaps he could elicit the white goat's help with making a new pump for the truck.

Leina's look soured at the mention of Jinem and she let out a heavy sigh.

<<Don't be like that, Leina. Most Rukot who serve on ships are happy when they return home,>> he said as he reached over and took one of her paws in his.

<<It's not my home, Gahn. This,>> she indicated the room around them with her free paw, <<is my home. Here with you on the ship, not some cramped, dingy tunnel I've never actually been to.>>

<<How would you know if it's cramped and dingy if you've never been to it? Didn't the council arrange to have Councillor Dosip give you an apartment in Jinem City itself? Nearly two million Rukot call the main cavern home and at least another six live in the surrounding tunnels.>>

<<It sounds even more dingy and cramped now.>>

He got up and moved around behind her, placing his paws on her shoulders. He began rubbing them, eliciting a purr while he suggested, <<I'll show you, the main tunnels are massive and the Teshar could easily fly around inside most of them.>>

<<Really?>> Leina asked with a hint of incredulity in her voice but she leaned back into his paws.

Gahn leaned forward and traced along one of her ears with his nose while answering, <<Yes, you should see the markets and try the food. If we get an early start to our other duties we'll be able to have the ship unloaded in time for me to take you to one of the small shops for dinner.>> His paws began to wander down her sides.

She knew exactly what her mate was doing and smiled. All will to argue evapourated with his gentle ministrations and she said, <<You win, I'll go.>> Her head tilted up so she could look in his eyes and lose her poor mood in them.

<<We'll have fun, I promise.>> He leaned down, kissed her, and coaxed her out of the chair in the direction of their bed.

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

Commander Mahim walked along a corridor on deck 7 of the ENS Retribution with two of his men. The rest were searching through the other parts of the ship that weren't severely damaged and he'd taken it upon himself to locate the surviving crew who appeared to be holed up in the servants' barracks as one of the few remaining portions still pressurized.

The three stopped at a large spot of dried blood on the floor, it was dark as if it had been there for several months.

"Collect a sample, Hilkes," Commander Mahim ordered. Given the amount of blood, whoever had lost it had probably died here.

With a wordless nod the man knealt down and took a small vial from the pack he carried. He scraped some of the dried blood into it with a knife and stowed the vial back in his pack before standing back up.

"Smith, continue straight down this corridor and check all the rooms, Hilkes and I will continue on to the servants' barracks, report back to us there," Commander Mahim said to the other man with them.

The three resumed their walk down the hall and at the nearby t-intersection Smith continued straight while Mahim and Hilkes turned down it. The two stopped at each doorway and looked inside the various storage rooms, finding most to be in disarray but with no other indications of recent entry with most of the contents simply dumped on the floors. The last room before the door to the servants' barracks was not like this, instead it was filled with bones and rotting flesh.

"Fuck!" Commander Mahim cursed at the sight and smell, holding a hand over his nose.

"Sir, they're all animals," Hilkes observed. He was right, none of the skeletal remains were human and the rotting flesh was a mix of offal and fur-covered skin. Judging by the horns on most of the skulls, they all appeared to be various forms of bovid and caprid Rukot. They did not notice the two near-complete felid bodies in the mix as there must've been at least four dozen sets of remains if not more.

"Where are they all from?" Mahim asked. "Admiral Reimer said the vidfiles from the ship's logs showed all of the captives and slaves escaping."

"I don't know, sir," answered Hilkes. The man entered the room and looked close at some of the remains. "It looks like the crew have been eating them."

"Eating them?"

"Look at the marks on the bones, they're from knives."

Commander Mahim steeled himself and entered the room, the smell of putrefaction threatened to overwhelm him but he knealt beside Hilkes and observed the same marks the other man mentioned. He saw similar ones on other bones nearby.

"What the fuck is going on here?" Mahim asked himself. "Where are these animals from? We need to report this to Admiral Reimer immediately."

"Sir, there's gaurd, technician, doctor, and officer uniforms!" Hilkes exclaimed and indicated a nearby pile of clothing that were not the simple clothes of slaves.

"Hilkes, go find Smith and the two of you are to go search deck 8," Mahim ordered. He knew what was going on now and could not let his men find out, the empire's spy program was a state secret.

"Sir?" the other man questioned.

"Obey your orders, Hilkes, go find Smith and search deck 8, do not return here."

"I live to serve the Emperor's will."

The two stood up and Hilkes turned his back on Commander Mahim to exit the room. Except that in that moment, Mahim grabbed him from behind and slid a knife into his back while covering his mouth. He struggled for a moment and then collapsed dead. Mahim put his friend's corpse into the pile and then exited the room, closing the door. He had liked Hilkes, but this was a secret that needed to be kept.

Commander Mahim quickly returned down the corridor to the intersection, finding Smith on his way back to it. "Smith, go to deck 8 and search there, do not return to this deck. Hilkes and I will continue on alone," he ordered.

"Yes sir!" Smith replied and made his way back to the lift. Mahim watched until the man got in and then made his way back to the door to the servants' barracks. He readied his plasma rifle, there was no knowing what condition the remaining members of ENS Retribution's crew were in, both physically and mentally. He took a deep breath, whispered to himself, "My life for the Emperor," and opened the door.

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

Gahn'd been right that it was a massive space and she looked around in wide-eyed wonder at the underground city. This was not the small dirty space she thought it was going to be like, instead they were in a chamber carved out of stone that extended at least a kilometre overhead and went on for several in every direction around them. The entire space was lit so brightly they may have well been walking around in daylight under a sun. They'd passed by buildings of the same brownish stone that rose near to the top of the cavern, large public spaces filled with greenery and Rukot going about their lives, and at least two large marketplaces.

It was the second one they found themselves in, wandering through shops and stalls selling an assortment of goods that ranged from foods she'd never seen or smelled, to trinkets, clothes; the variety rivalled any market she'd seen on Earth. The place was full of life but it did not feel cramped or seem all that dingy.

<<This is not nearly what I was expecting,>> she said to him.

He smiled at her, <<I told you.>>

<<If it wasn't for the roof overhead, I'd think we were outside.>>

<<The conditions on the surface are very harsh, but Jinem's geological stability lends itself well to excavation. Many of these tunnels started out as mines thousands of years ago.>>

<<Mines? Then why did we deliver a load of ore?>> She gave him a confused look.

<<Iron is common here, but most other elements used for manufacturing are not,>> he explained.

<<So Jinem is an industrial colony? I haven't seen any factories.>>

Gahn nodded, <<They're located in other tunnels. Jinem City is a hive of all other kinds of activity. For instance.>> He stopped near a small shop selling the utilitarian-looking dresses like the ones most of the female Rukot they saw were wearing and drew her inside. She looked around at the interior which was filled with examples of the same style of dress in varying sizes and patterns. Their design was fairly plain, a collarless and sleeveless top portion that extended from the neck down to a skirt that ended just above the knees, had several large pockets, and was flared out just enough to allow total freedom of movement without getting in the way or being showy. Most had a hole for a tail, though some lacked it. She figured them to be slip-on given the lack of any kind of seam or fastenings.

A female voice from somewhere in the back of the store called out, <<I'll be with you in a minute!>>

She looked at Gahn and asked, <<Why are we here?>>

<<If you're going to be from Jinem, you should look the part,>> he answered with a smile.

Leina did not seem pleased by the idea. <<You want me to wear a dress? What's wrong with the clothes I have on?>>

<<You're beautiful in anything, Leina, but don't you want to wear something more comfortable than your work clothes?>>

She felt herself blush a bit and wondered how she would look in one of the dresses. Giving in she said, <<Fine, but I don't have any money.>> Sure she had her old wallet, but the cash in it could not possibly still be considered currency.

<<Of course you do, Captain Rels has been paying you, like all of her crew. We don't work for free.>> Gahn pulled a small card-like object with buttons on it from his pocket. <<Don't you have one of these?>>

She replied, <<I do, but it's somewhere in our quarters. Honestly, I have no idea what it is.>>

<<It's how you access your credits, you realize you've been paying taxes on your apartment here, right?>>

Leina chirped a short laugh, <<Death and taxes.>>

<<What?>>

<<The only two things that are sure in life.>>

Gahn gave her a confused look and was about to answer when the voice from the back of the store spoke up, <<Don't forget to include the quality of my work.>>

The two turned to look at the owner of the voice, a serval like Leina, but the shopkeeper had to be at least as tall as Gahn. She felt small by comparison and was a bit intimidated by their size difference.

<<Welcome, I'm Swy, the best tailor in the Conglomeration,>> the shopkeeper said while looking down at Leina and extending a paw with a broad smile.

<<I'm Leina...>> the smaller serval trailed off and took the much larger paw in her own.

<<I don't have many children's dresses, but I'm sure I can find or make you something,>> Swy said while still smiling.

The unintentional insult caused Leina to withdraw her paw and quip perhaps a little rudely, <<I'm not a child, I'm 35.>> Was she still 35? She needed to ask Gahn what the date was, for all she knew she could be 36 now.

Gahn jumped back in, <<Hi Swy, I'm Gahn. My mate is looking for a dress and->>

<<My apologies, but you're so small for one of our species,>> Swy interrupted without taking her gaze off Leina. <<Can I ask why?>>

Leina did her best to shrug as if she did not know and answered, <<Just lucky, I guess.>> The reality was, according to Gyth, her old body had been seriously damaged by the plasma bolt that hit it and the machines that made her this way did the best they could since they couldn't work with destroyed flesh. They had compensated for the loss of mass by simply making her smaller. It explained her stature, but there was no way she could tell the shopkeeper the real reason.

<<What tunnel are you from? Who are your parents?>>

She answered with a lie, <<I don't know, I haven't been on Jinem since I was little and my parents are dead.>> The last part wasn't a lie and her eyes started to water a bit thinking about her parents who were so long dead their very bones were probably dust long before Earth itself was destroyed.

She was startled when Swy took her up in a strong hug, <<I'm sorry for upsetting you, Leina. I did not mean to pry, it's just that your appearance is unusual for one of our species.>>

<<I-it's okay, Swy,>> she said into the larger cat who held her in a motherly embrace.

The larger serval let go and held the smaller away with firm but gentle paws on her shoulders. <<Now,>> she shopkeeper said, <<let's have a look, I think I might have the perfect material for a dress for you.>>

About an hour later Gahn and Leina exited the shop with her wearing one of the dresses in a bright green that reflected hints of gold and amber and matched her eyes. Swy had insisted they take it free of charge with a promise from Leina to return whenever they found themselves back on Jinem. She found that she liked the shopkeeper, who chatted with her merrily while taking measurements and adjusting the fit of the dress that had actually been mostly made by a machine in the back.

<<I feel silly in this,>> she said. The lack of underwear made her self-conscious and she kept curling her tail under the edge of the skirt.

Gahn chuckled and said, <<You look good.>> He put his left arm around her shoulders.

<<I wonder how you would look in a dress,>> she rebutted. <<It's not riding up, right? I feel so exposed.>>

<<You'll get used to it, I'm sure,>> he replied with a smile. <<Let's go get something to eat and then find your apartment.>>

<<I get it now, you wanted me to wear one of these so you could ply me with food and then take it off,>> Leina teased and slipped away from him with a spin.

Gahn followed her with a laugh.