“Happy Liberation Day, Jack!”

Mella, a petite, honey gold Altarian with a not so petite appetite for sexy play time with Jack, was giving him her usual greeting hug. Hands firmly gripping his ass as she ground her small body against his much taller one.

“Thank you, Mella,” he said and gave her a kiss before pulling her hands from his butt and spanking hers to send her back to her desk.

He knew this kind of office behavior back on Earth would have him out on the street, if not behind bars. The workplace rules in the Trade Commission Office on Altaria were… a little odd. Considering that he, the boss, was the one being fondled and groped like a sex object by the rest of the staff, Earth’s sexism was turned on its head. Granted, without the malicious intent.

“Good morning, everyone!” he said with a sigh as numerous pairs of lovely large eyes looked back at him fondly. Some had more lust than fondness in them but he’d gotten used to that as well.

“It’s a new day and we have work to do! Let’s get it done!” he said with enthusiasm and received grins and a little applause from the staff. He sighed, again. They found his attempts at motivational speaking… amusing.

He’d been trying out new catch phrases to see if he could find a new way to keep them focused on the job… and not so focused on his body. His last attempt, ‘Let’s do it!’, had almost started a lust driven stampede and ruined office productivity for the day.

They were an excitable bunch.

He touched the tablet on Leffera’s desk and refreshed its screen to see his updated schedule for the day. Then he looked around for her. “Has anyone seen Leffera?” he called out.

Stasha, a tall and surprisingly curvy female with deep caramel coloring, was seated nearby and leapt to her hooves and beat out two others to stand before him eagerly, ears trembling. She was a new hire and was already proving to be… aggressively helpful. She smiled widely at Jack. “She said she’d be a little late this morning. I believe she said she had a doctor’s appointment.”

Jack’s expression showed his worry. “I hope she’s ok.”

Stasha suddenly looked distraught that she’d made him upset. “I- I- I’m sure it’s just routine!” she stammered. He nodded though his mind was elsewhere. She began to panic. “I’m sorry if I’ve upset you!” she squeaked.

Her nervous tone brought him back to the present and he saw she was now in distress. Automatically, he reached out and pulled her to his chest to calm her. It’s what he did at home with the ladies he lived with. It always worked with them.

For a deeply infatuated young female working her dream job, being in the embrace of the object of her obsession was… suddenly too much. She bleated quietly and went limp in his arms. Jack was surprised by just how heavy she was. Most Altarians were petite, svelte and light. Stasha had some ‘meat on her bones’ as the Earth phrase went, though it could never be said here. Amongst a race of herbivores, even hinting at being a carnivore could trigger a flight response.

While Altarians never really became fat, Stasha was definitely a plump armful. Not knowing what else to do he scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the couch in his office. He heard a few moans of envy from the staff members he passed and fought back another sigh.

He gently placed Stasha on the soft couch and went to sit at his desk. He had work to do.

As he settled into his chair, his mind went back to Mella’s greeting this morning. ‘Liberation Day’ was a relatively recent invention. Commemorating the day the slaves were freed from the Allsa Komanae home world. Remembering those who never made it home. He caught his reflection in his darkened screen and saw he was absently running his fingers across the cool metal of his slave collar.

He frowned as he shook off the funk he was falling into. Today was actually the sixth anniversary of that day. That was plenty of time to heal from it and he’d had the help of his friends.

The Allsa Komanae were finally extinct. After Liberation Day, they’d been hunted down and those who didn’t put up a fight were sent through a one-way gate to their home world. The vast majority of them had expired there, the organic components of their cybernetic bodies eventually breaking down from the accumulated genetic damage. Damage the Gates were programmed to inflict on their predecessors the Mahrell Drun.

Not all of them had been captured, however. There’d been a few who, as their intellectual capacity degraded, chose to go out in a blaze of glory and take as many of their hateful enemies with them as they could. Humans, Altarians, and Chuuruthians were the main targets of these crazed individuals. The number of victims these cowardly attacks took was fortunately very limited.

These days, when one of their cybernetically supported bodies was discovered hidden away in a suspicious location, the bomb squad was called in to do the disposal.

It was Tik documentarians who’d begun the task of locating the names and home planet locations of all of the kidnap victims, alive or dead. They were politely asked to leave the planet a short time after they’d begun assisting Earth’s Allsa Komanae hunting parties. That cooperation, combined with the ‘martial nature’ of the support they gave to the Altarian’s ‘invasion of the Allsa Komanae home world’, raised serious doubts in the minds of the other members of the Gate Network. The Tik’s behavior had always been neutral and peaceful. Now it had exceeded what the Gate Network members were willing to accept. From that time on, the Allsa Komanae home world was off limits to the Tik. Documentarians, historians, anthropologists, and special teams of investigators from multiple worlds worked to identify the remains they’d exhumed from each of the mass graves the Tik had found.

To take home the ones who weren’t liberated.

Jack glanced once more at his reflection in the screen and took a deep breath. There was at least one major difference in him since those early days. He no longer carried the weight of those deaths on his shoulders as his survivor’s guilt was a thing of the past. While it still made him sad, he could live with that as the people around him made him very happy.

He gave his head a shake and turned his attention to his schedule for the day and began reviewing the background information for each petition.

A few minutes later he heard gentle crooning as Stasha began to stir.

“Eep!” she squeaked as she sat up suddenly, looking around.

Jack smiled at her when she turned to face him.

“Oh no! Did I sleep through our love making?” she blurted.

Jack snorted in amusement and shook his head. “There was no love making. You passed out when I hugged you to calm you down. You just got a little too excited. It’s ok,” he said gently.

“Oh! Oh my! I’m so embarrassed!” she moaned.

“Don’t be. You were very sweet!” he said to assure her and received a hopeful smile. He knew what she wanted and needed to hear. “When I make love to you, you won’t fall asleep.”

She made another happy, excited noise.

“I believe Leffera was going to braid my hair this morning. Would you do me the honor?” he asked and she leapt to her hooves to rush behind him.

He sorely missed the short hair style he wore back on Earth but the Altarians insisted his long hair suited his positions at the Trade Commission and Embassy far better so he kept it long. Each morning, a ‘volunteer’ would braid his long blonde hair into a braid and tie it with a bow.

Glancing at the clock he saw he still had time before his first interview.

Stasha was humming happily to herself as she skillfully wove his hair into a braid that hung down his back, almost to his ass. He really needed to get it trimmed back a little. He was allowed to do that at least.

Once she added the bow she sighed contentedly as he stood and turned to face her.

“Thank you for the braid,” he said smiling down at her as she was almost leaning against his chest. She hadn’t moved back when he stood.

She seemed to be staring at his mouth. He needed to get to the interviews so he dipped down and kissed her, holding her in his arms once more.

She melted against his body as she thrust her tongue into his mouth and grabbed his ass with both hands. What was it with Altarian females and his ass?

He gently pulled back from the kiss and she swayed on her hooves for a moment. Finally, she opened her eyes and beamed a smile at him. He gestured towards the door with a smile.

She spun on her hooves and quickly made her way out with a glance back and a smile on her lips now that she had a promise that they’d make love in the future.

Once she was out, he shook his head in amusement and made his way downstairs to begin the interviews. He had a busy day ahead.

 

~~

FennLann De Jark, King of Phem Kalos rolled his shoulders and did his stretches in preparation for battle. He smiled to himself confidently. His next opponent would definitely be a challenge as he knew Jaas Tenn Gunnk, Warrior Supreme of the Eastern Lands was strong and fierce. FennLann snorted gently. He also knew Jaas was a relic of a bygone era. His thinking was trapped in the past. The eastern continent, second largest land mass on Phem Kalos, wasn’t as technologically advanced as their western neighbor and they actually chose to remain that way as if afraid to allow their society to advance.

As the military leader in charge of the western continent’s warriors, FennLann kept his eye on Jaas to make sure he wasn’t building a massive army of his own warriors for invading. His research had set his mind at ease on that point at least. Jaas did have an army of warrior caste Phem Kalos males but the numbers were nowhere near the levels one would need to start a war.

Inviting Jaas to compete against him in the Annual Phem Kalos Arm Wrestling Tournament was a tactical move. It was destined to solidify FennLann’s position as ruler of the planet and Jaas’ subordinate role as the eastern continent’s leader. No one had ever beat FennLann at Arm Wrestling. He’d viewed all the media available to study the techniques of Earth’s best arm wrestlers. He’d built up his body’s strength and flexibility and was supremely confident of his victory. It was this confidence that was key. A warrior could lose the battle before entering the ring if he didn’t have the confidence in himself and in his ability to seize victory.

FennLann nodded to GharLenn Du Harr, his lead advisor who was at least three decades his senior, to indicate he was ready. The old warrior nodded and opened the door. They left the inner chamber and marched down the hall towards the stadium. The larger chamber could contain most of FennLann’s elite warriors and many of his ruling council.

As they approached he heard the crowd chanting his name and FennLann’s chest swelled with pride. These were his warriors and they were cheering for their leader. The closer he got, the louder their voices became until the sound was thunderous as he stepped into the stadium. The room was round with stepped benches to allow each level a clear view of the battle area. He smiled up at his people as he made his way down the aisle and climbed the stairs to the platform where the battle would take place. He saw strangers here and there amongst his warriors and council members and realized these were the warriors the eastern leader had brought with him.

Jaas was waiting for him at the top, an amused look on his scarred face. FennLann snorted to himself once more. The brute was in for a surprise.

GharLenn raised his arms as he faced the audience and a hush came over the crowd. “Welcome to the Annual Phem Kalos Arm Wrestling Tournament. It is my great honor to introduce your King and reigning champion… FennLann De Jark!”

The room filled with roars of approval and FennLann smiled as he raised his hands and slowly turned to face the cheering crowd. Cameras set up around the room were capturing this momentous occasion. While video technology had been used on Phem Kalos in military, scientific, person to person communication, and security applications for hundreds of years, every ruler before FennLann had refused to allow its use by the citizens. He saw the use of broadcast video in the homes of his people as a means to enrich them with knowledge, to unify them, and to inform them. ‘Televisions’ were becoming very popular amongst the households on the western continent and he enjoyed ‘speaking’ to his people in special broadcasts. He was aware of the resistance of adopting the new use of the technology on the Eastern continent. FennLann allowed himself another snort.

As he walked around the raised platform, he spotted the foreign warriors, scattered amongst his people but easily outnumbered five to one. It was a capacity crowd this year.

When he finished, he turned to face Jaas across the table and grinned as he held the eyes of the other leader. He saw impatience in the body language of the other warrior.

GharLenn saw he was able to continue. “For a special exhibition match, our King has invited the Warrior Supreme of the Eastern continent. It is my privilege to introduce, Jaas Tenn Gunnk!”

A single deafening voice shook the room with a fierce battle cry and FennLann tried to spot where it was coming from. He was shocked to discover it came from the throats of all the visiting warriors in perfect synchronicity. The room echoed with the cry when it abruptly ended. His eyes went to Jaas and saw the leader was watching him with an expression bordering on contempt.

FennLann forced down his hackles and approached the table to take his position holding the other leaders eyes the entire time. He pushed his robe from his shoulders and flexed his thick muscles to prepare them.

Jaas unclipped his cape and allowed it to fall to the floor behind him. He was also powerfully built but he definitely showed more scars from the battles he’d fought. He took his position as well.

GharLenn faced both warriors. “Are you aware of the rules governing this tournament?”

FennLann never looked away from Jaas as he nodded slowly.

Jaas gave GharLenn a nod too as he kept his eyes on FennLann.

“Take your positions.”

FennLann placed his right elbow on the pad on the table as his left hand gripped the bracing peg.

Jaas followed suit and their palms slapped together as they took a grip.

FennLann’s left eye twitched involuntarily as he felt the strength in Jaas’ painfully tight grip. He saw a slow grin appear on his opponent’s lips.

GharLenn noted the proper positions and nodded to himself. “BEGIN!” he shouted.

Two bones in FennLann’s right hand splintered immediately as Jaas squeezed with all his might. FennLann gasped and in that moment of weakness, Jaas threw everything into a grand push. There was a sickeningly loud crack as FennLann’s humerus fractured just above his elbow. Strength gone in the arm, Jaas slammed it down against the touch bar.

The visiting warriors roared their pleasure as their leader raised his arms in victory.

FennLann was stunned as he looked at his twisted arm. He looked up into the eyes of Jaas and saw open contempt there. The fierce warrior lifted his cloak and hung it on his shoulders again before turning his face back to FennLann. He slowly walked around the table.

“Now that your little game is done, I declare you unfit to rule Phem Kalos. By the Ancient Laws and Traditions I claim the title of King in a trial of combat!” Jaas roared. His hands came out of his cloak and FennLann’s eyes widened as he saw Jaas was wearing fighting hook gauntlets, weapons outlawed due to their barbaric nature. He tried to lurch back from the table but before he could Jaas had a grip on his injured arm and his left swept in.

The hooks ripped through the muscles, blood vessels, tendons, and gouts of blood sprayed from his ruined throat. All he could do was gurgle as Jaas lifted his heavy body and slammed him down on the table surface.

The chamber erupted into chaos. Jaas’ warriors yanked deadly, charged whips from under their belts and struck out at their enemy around them. The whips exploded any flesh they struck and in expert hands, proved perfect weapons in these close quarters. The slightest touch tore fingers from hands, limbs from torsos, and heads from shoulders. These were prohibited weapons as well but wielded by the elite warriors of the eastern continent, even the seasoned western warriors were no match.

As FennLann’s life pumped out of his ruined throat he watched Jaas smile as he took in the horrific acts his warriors were committing.

GharLenn walked into FennLann’s view and he saw the old warrior barely glance at him before moving to Jaas’ side.

“My King, the cameras. They will have warned the rest of the army,” the old advisor said.

Jaas looked at him in annoyance. “Yes, I’m aware. They’ll be mopped up by the rest of my army waiting outside.” He eyed the old male critically. “Is this the level of ‘advice’ I can expect from you?”

GharLenn blinked at him in surprise as his mouth moved soundlessly. That silence was replaced with a sudden scream as Jaas slashed him from groin to chin with the hooks. Blood and gore gushed from the terrible wounds then the advisor dropped to the floor, dead before he hit.

FennLann watched Jaas roar and leap into the battle which was quickly winding down as his warriors were slaughtered. He’d failed them when he’d invited Jaas to compete. Now the monster was loose and there was nothing he could do to protect his people or his family.

This was the thought FennLann took with him into the dark.

 

~~

Jack hummed to himself as he left the Embassy. He’d had a really good day and his spirits were soaring. The morning’s interviews at the Trade Commission had gone very well with four new import deals being signed. After lunch, in his diplomatic capacity at the Embassy, he’d met with a race he’d never encountered before. He loved meeting new races!

The Harruushans were relatively new to the Gate Network and they were finding their new ‘neighborhood’ to be a less than welcoming place. Like the Altarians, they were Herbivores, mostly peaceful, and principally non-aggressive. The male and female pair he’d met were tall, almost a head taller than he was, but their ears reached up far beyond that. He couldn’t help but see their resemblance to the ears of an Earth Hare… if they were edged and tipped with feathery white hairs. As the Harruushan diplomats had been embarrassed by their fascination with his horns, he’d had difficulty looking away from their lovely, mobile ears.

Most of their height came from their long legs. Powerfully muscled thighs and long shins, their dual jointed legs were linked to strong feet with three broad toes. Like steel springs, they’d used their superior ability to leap to escape the predators on their planet. They were covered with an incredibly soft brown fur with olive overtones. Large eyes to match their large ears for detecting predators. This female’s eyes were green while her partners were blue. They had wide mouths with white grinding plates much like the Shreen. These were frequently visible as their happy dispositions made them smile often. They had long, strong arms, ending with long fingered hands, three on each with a thumb. Apparently, most were very lean with little extra weight and with their fur they only wore the briefest of kilts, again similar to the Shreen.