War of the Dark Underground

by StrayShot

Choices. Zootopia denizens make them every day. In the underbelly of society are those who thrive on craftiness and questionable morals. If you fall to their schemes, you obviously aren't smart. The Dark Council rules the criminal element ruthlessly, and now time is ripe to wrest control of all Zootopia. Sides are drawn, choices must be made. Even for Mr. Big.

31. 4x01 - Escape and Preparation

Escape and Preparation.

Marilyn and Caroline held onto the elder vixens' legs as they buried their faces into her skirt. They tried not to cry but over the past few weeks the realization that something terrible had happened to their parents became more real as time went on. This female was more like a grandmother than an aunt if only by the genuine caring she gave then every time they came for a visit. Now as they were moved one place to another with no sign of Nick or Judy they could no longer be consoled with *they are someplace where someone needs them more*. Now the terrible truth was told and they cried their eyes out.

Her paw glided over their small bodies as she cooed words meant to comfort. These were her brothers' great-grand cubs but to her they were as if her own. Her words also were firm but had a mysterious hint of gentleness; she was after all a baroness thus member of a ruling class. She had married into this but over the years learned much how one's vocal inflections could influence the citizenry to behave as she wanted, it certainly was a tool mothers used to control their young.

The nature priest that showed up when this abduction happened was here and seemed to be close whenever the two young vixens were at their emotional lowest. He never gave his name but somehow it wasn't necessary, the incantation his paws made seemed to instantly clear the room of negative energy. Marilyn and Caroline didn't know what it was and neither cared to discover how he did it, both simply wanted him to do it often as possible. His words made sense, something he said would help them become stronger inside than any magic his paws could do. They needed to discover the truth of what happened and know they were not alone; they had many fox relatives who would be nearby to help them move on with living.

Clifford and Margret Rorschach, baron and baroness of Vulpinstan, finally got the two young vixens calmed down enough for the elder vixen to finish applying her matriarchal scent on both vixens and gather the group into their personal study. She sat on her favorite couch as the vixens curled up against her one on each side; a thick wooly blanket covered her lap and most of the young vixens. Jeeves and a maid adjusted the blanket then placed a tray of drinks and snacks nearby, the maid staying nearby as she was the personal assistant to the baroness.

More than Marilyn and Caroline had come here; all their grandparents came as well. These six foxes were sitting at the table as the baron started the meeting with Jeeves standing next to him.

"Have we heard anything regarding our favorite mixed-species couple?" The baron asked knowing the news would most likely be negative.

"Only what the GSD would tell us which is not much, otherwise there's not a peep. Interruptions on the evening news only mentioned them once and this was on that very first time they did it. Mr. Big has been gracious to have Fennick and Valarie stop by and give us an update on his search. He has something he thinks will identify the local members Servants of Truth and his minions have been secretive over at the Regal Giraffe Theater. Whatever that rodent has up his fur it is certainly to violate laws if not sensibilities, but since when did the rodent boss care about rules and feelings? The mammals staying on the Hopps farm have no luck discovering their whereabouts."

The baron nodded his head as did his wife, Jeeves and the maid remained impassionate as if they couldn't care less. The vixens made no sound except their breathing as they had dozed off into a light sleep, probably caused by something in the drink they were given shortly after nuzzling against the elder vixen. When either vixen shuffled under the blanket the maid glanced down, obviously to ensure the baroness was not inconvenienced. A slight wave of a paw let the younger vixen know the elder vixen was comfortable and enjoying playing mothering role once more if only for a short time span. The maid was no spring chicken herself and had training in young mammal development, thus knew the subtle tricks caring for trauma.

Clifford glanced over to Jeeves and after receiving a slight nod returned towards his guest. "We have an idea as I'm certain all of you do as well. We think that ewe and swine are involved."

Gary's ears perked up. "The former mayor of Zootopia?"

Clifford nodded his head. "Yes and her cohort in crime. Bellwether and Swinton are masterminds; unfortunately it appears they learned nothing from their defeat when they abducted Judy. Reports suggest the duo remained here in Vulpinstan, obviously in hiding and most likely off the beaten path. Justifiably so considering a death warrant was placed upon their head."

Carls' ears perked forward. "How so? Surely if they're in hiding as you suggest then logic says they're out of the picture."

"The GSD agents told us. As you know his majesty graciously allows them to remain in this country as long as they operate from this estate, probably because Judy and Nickolas are our designated heirs. Since they did pay for restoring and repairs it was sensible, it also keeps them under control as I'm tasked with ensuring they focus on our common threat and not doing espionage. But back to the topic at paw... intelligence suggests they remain in contact with an unknown and yet unidentified group. Considering the Dark Priesthood was there when the GSD raided their auctioning of Officer Hopps, we think this unknown group are these priests."

"Not quite."

Everyone turned towards the door. Colonel Kohle and a technician entered and while the minion busied itself setting up a presentation the dog apologized for the intrusion on family time. The baron *Pffftd* and urged him to say what he came to do. Projected on the screen were various mammals, each a motley bunch looking like they belonged in the alleyways of Zootopia than gathered together to bid on the bunny, of whom could be seen being forced to walk the runway as if she were modeling the latest fashion.

"Our intelligence department has been going over these recordings. We think the swine and ewe set up the auction by themselves. The motley group before you is wealthy members anything from gangs to small time crime lords. One thing they all have in common... Officer Hopps dealt their organizations a severe blow. The swine and ewe simply pitted them against each other, winner takes the bunny home. Just before our operation struck our insider agent recorded the highest bid, our bunny broke records both on the slave trace market and lonely hearts club."

Whistles went throughout the room.

"This group of criminals is only a small part of who the ewe and swine keep in contact, the remainder is the Servants of Truth. It seems since nobody actually paid money the chancellor and matron feel these two still owe them. How this jives with what we know of her apparent abduction is anyone's guess. Best we can figure is they're trying to set-up another auction should Judy make good an escape or they are substituting another bunny."

Jackie shook her head. "There can only be one Judy. How they think another doe can impersonate her they must not know lapins."

"Well, she does have a sister that looks close to her. Then there's the technician she works with, the one married to the executioner" Wendy said as Kimberly nodded.

Colonel Kohle waved his paws. "We will keep all these in mind. What I wanted to say to you all was we are keeping tabs on all these. We also are keeping an eye on what Mr. Big has going on. With any luck that rodent will make a breakthrough in identifying who the sympathizers are."

The dog and his assistant answered questions for a few minutes then packed up their gear and left. The baron had dinner brought to this room, placed on a card table long enough for everyone to sit at. The baroness stayed sitting where she was, the finger-sandwiches and small glass of fruit juice easily held in her paws. When it was time for bed Wendy and Kimberly picked up Marilyn and Caroline then carried them up to their bedroom where they put them under the blanket and slipped beside them. Jackie gently kissed the young vixens good night and left for her own bed. Throughout the night a maid slipped quietly into both bedrooms to check-in on the vixens, and then left just as quietly. This week the baroness had plans to take the Zootopians on a whirlwind visit to many rarely-seen places most tourist never were allowed to see, and she was looking forward to getting out of the estate.

---

The Chancellor of Truth was madder than a wet hen. Just minutes ago news of the abominations' escape reached his ears and now he just received a summons from the Council of Truth. He allowed a small smile to cross his muzzle, they had dictated her confinement thus blame was more their fault than his own. But he knew this small fact would not stop them from placing it upon his shoulders, they had the votes thus motivation. Still he had one other to lay blame upon: the Dark Underground and specifically the grand tracker. The elder wolf had assured him all necessary measures had been taken and for a while it seemed keeping the abomination underground proved the best option. Now he needed to know what went wrong.

The meeting was contentious as expected. A short video showed the false body that from a distance seemed remarkably lifelike until the camera came close and the details exposed the falsehood. The chancellor of truth admired the gall that someone took to free the abomination and the measures taken to cover her escape. His keen eyes saw something that whoever was narrating the video didn't mention: the barely-visible tracks made in the light layer of dust. It was two tracks that he concluded was a wagon or cart, judging by the way the tracks went it was obvious that whatever it carried it didn't have the weight of a body thus couldn't be the vehicle of its escape. He watched as the scene moved throughout the room showing every possible part.

Soon this meeting turned towards the secondary purpose, namely what was to be done with the group of rabbits that were relatives of the abomination? These had been acquired for the purpose of torturing the abomination, forcing it to watch as these were auctioned off and then killed before her eyes. Now with her on the loose somewhere in the caverns they very well couldn't turn then free, not only would they scramble to the nearest law enforcement but the Zootopian authorities would sequester them to ask many questions. No... these could never be released, neither could they be held indefinitely. He had a strong suspicion what the end result would be and it wouldn't end their stated objective of uprooting the abominations' family tree.

Moments later the video ended and the gathered mammals held conference on what to do. In the end it was voted on to continue as they had been doing; auctioning each rabbit and allowing the winner to kill, cook, and eat his prize. The predator citizens of the caverns had grown to enjoy the spectacle of participating in the auction and the Dark Council was enjoying the money flowing into their coffers. The Council of Truth decided to continue abducting her relatives by any means, and since they had three judges as strong supporters of their ideology these would use unconventional means to gather and send the abominations' relatives to the underground prison thus fresh bodies to continue the auction. Grand Tracker Magnus Strongpaw stated that extra patrols had been started soon as the escape had been detected, he also said all access points leading to the topside world had extra guards positioned thus escape would be nearly impossible. `Only if the escapees were assisted by the rebels, those that secretly worked against the Dark Council would this be possible. But it was possible the escapees would be taken in and hidden by the rebels so the chancellor said his trackers would pull those known to be rebels in for interrogation, he was confidence this would get the abominations' recovery done quickly.

After the meeting adjourned the Chancellor of Truth went back to his visitors' quarters. He sent an encrypted message to his right-paw mammal instructing more patrols around all known access points to the dark caverns. Each patrol was to be given the most recent pictures of both escapees so identification would be easier. He sent another message to his contact in the Outback Isles Mafia informing it about the escape and instructing it to keep closer watch on the prisoner. There may be a possibility that the newly-installed godfather may be unstable thus removal of the other abomination might be urgent and necessary.

---

The two young lovers make-out session was interrupted when several dark forms came up out of the brackish water, their brief astonishment ended when both were tranqu-darted thus quickly sending both into unconsciousness. These were gathered up and after placed into a small remote controlled mini-sub were sent back to the support vessel. Meanwhile the dark shapes continued on up the pathway using no light of their own except that provided by whoever placed these along this route. Most of the cliff was near vertical and more than a hundred feet high but this area was going through an indentation that allowed for a slope, the path was steep making for a decent workout. The area below would make for a decent port if it were along the shore; even with the numerous skeletons piled upon each other the depth of the water was several hundred feet deep and deeper towards the undersea entrance. Getting a submarine inside would be near impossible. A small area at one corner was flat and large enough for a house and its edge dropped off steeply into the water.

They left behind a couple members that busied themselves setting up a temporary communication post and monitoring the team in case a hasty retreat was needed. But thus far they were undetected and orders were to see if enough area was unguarded to allow a base of operations to be set up.

The Zootopians carefully walked through the dimly lit cavern which was much more pleasant thing considering the bones of numerous mammals they had to swim around just to get here. GSD claimed intelligence they received said this was a dumping ground for diseased carcasses; it also claimed the bodies were drug away by ocean dwelling predators. It was obvious something was in error or perhaps some carcasses were not entirely scavenged upon, not counting several species of crustacean that scurried among the bones. Either way the bones scattered outside and inside confirmed the submarine had finally found the correct cave and thus a backdoor to the underground cavern and the civilization therein.

Intelligence from GSD and given them by the Canter family told this area was rarely occupied, obviously not entirely considering the two lovers they inadvertently interrupted. Still thus far on the reconnaissance there was minimal evidence this area was patrolled regularly. The team was now travelling beyond the cliff and going through a tunnel noting its slight incline as they went. Aside from the picnic layout and several lights spread around where the lovers once were the remainder of the tunnel was barren. Along the walls were messages paw-written and appearing to be a mixture of grief-stricken farewells to graffiti. If one didn't know there had been a civilization living down here for many millennia one would had been surprised just how far along this tunnel all this spread.

The team found the end and wasn't surprised it connected to a much longer tunnel, the radar signals confirming this one went for miles and no end detected yet. They left a repeater that would enable them to maintain radio contract with the beachhead, and travelled until it was obvious this was as the Canter Family described... a very isolated part of the cavern system.

The Zootpoians set-up a base camp and after relaying what they found back to the submarine continued to scout further down the tunnel. Outside the entrance to this cave three submarines waited as supplies and troops were offloaded. One of these submarines, ZNS Pack was purpose-built to carry a small invasion force hence the amount of supplies offloaded. The pentagon wanted the immediate area scouted quietly as possible, gathering intelligence was more valuable than gathering scalps. They were under no illusion they could repel anything, especially considering the sheer numbers that could be marshalled against them once the breech was identified.

One of the GSD technicians smiled as he notified the expeditionary commander that he had gotten in contact with one of the GSD teams scouting deep in the cavern, itself had been out of communication range with the topside world. The colonel acknowledged the good news and sent word for the team to come to the beachhead for rest and relaxation. From this point on they would operate from here without having to risk discovery trying to bypass the access chutes to escape topside. Further exploration of the lowest levels would begin soon as the remaining stealth teams found their way to the beachhead.

---

A month... perhaps a couple months had gone by since she was abducted. Since they were abducted she corrected herself remembering Nick also was in a pickle. Telling time down here was different than in the topside world as the lack of sunlight made a different system necessary. Down here days and nights were equal in length, other than this the length of each month was the same. But there was no *leap year* where an additional day was added because a simple observing of the sun each day told one that the length of each day was not an exact 24hrs. Obviously after a few years the differences between topside calendar and cavern calendar became further apart all because of the missing day. Thousands of years had gone by since the Oracle Council had been decimated and the dark priesthood reduced to a few pawful of members, resulting in the cavern calendar being many years behind the topside system. Judy now had a vague idea how the Canter family had difficulty in telling what day and year it was gave them a headache every time they tried to compare cavern calendar to the topside world. The cavern system was a simplified system and Judy though it compared to something called the metric system where all one had to do was move a decimal and change the name, a system where everyone could use without much difficulty.

Between the two of them it was Kimberly that had the rougher time, at least if you considered having several body parts forcibly removed without anesthetics. The doe probably had a severe mind game played on her, if what the sister-undead thing brief discussion told any clues. Rachel... an older sibling whose litter had a different buck as a father seemed *half a bushel shy of an order* as the lapin saying went. At least that... bunny, undead, whatever one wished to call it... was currently locked inside the metal box they originally put her in and this locked inside a non-ferrous box just in case the *thing* could somehow reach out and suck the life-force from their body.

Judy winced as the nurse rubbed iodine on her cuts and bruises. Kimberly was talking with several mammals that to Judy seemed to be perfectly normal. When the escapee dual ran into a patrol the brief chase favored the home team, at least until someone threw a smoke grenade. In the ensuing blackout a pair of mammals led Kimberly and the ZPD bunny towards someplace that turned out to be a safe house. After the former Tracker answered a series of grueling questions that cryptically gave the distress code words both were given a quick look-over to ensure no hidden tracking devices had been cleverly hidden on their bodies. They were immediately rushed through a myriad of passageways and frequently across streets until they wound up in this home.

Now Judy realized what Kimberly meant months ago about the Resistance. These were mostly average citizens that used their skills to thwart the Dark Councils' will any chance they got. Mostly it involved Robin Hood tactics: acquiring things to give to families deemed unworthy because they somehow offended the chancellor. Their success was mostly due to the infrequent time they *acquired* things, any other method would have made it easy for the council to identify who was involved and arrest said individuals. As it was some of their members had been ferreted out and after suffering grueling torture was publicly executed. Public executions down here in the caverns meant first being tied upon a rack then letting the citizenry throw whatever they wished at the prisoner, and when disease and infection took their toll said prisoner was encased in a clear cubical where it's slow death could be viewed by all.

Morbid and certainly cruel... but it ensured whoever wanted to resist the will of the council did so after many weeks of thinking over and were fully committed.

By the end of the afternoon, or so she was told it was, the ZPD bunny had met most of the members of the resistance of this branch. She was disappointed they couldn't get her to a topside access chute, the general alarm had sounded and all topside access had been sealed shut with guards posted. Judy looked at her tranqugun, noting she had exhausted the last dart on Rachel. Thankfully she had copied digital information on a dart's specs and the resistance technical members were going about fabricating replacements, one saying a modified dart with gas deployment ability was being fabricated, and something he said would allow them to create a blackout field which could hide them long enough to make an escape. He said while they were at it they were making darts better suited for smaller mammals, current darts contained enough chemical to knock-out a pachyderm resulting in wasting chemicals as well as possibly overdosing smaller mammals possibly killing them.

She entered a room and was puzzled by what she saw. Standing at the far end of the room was the nurse she knew well, beside this was two mammals she never met before: a hare and a sheep. Both of these wore something akin to priest robes.

"Introductions are in order" the elder jaguar said as he prepared to do so.

"I already know this one... Nurse Teresa Riverbay. She works with the Servants of Truth; a group dedicated to ending my life for nothing more than my lover is a different species. If the resistance is aligned with them then I'll leave and take my chances out there, I'll live just as long."

"Be quiet, rabbit. You presume much and are just as prejudice against us whom you know nothing about" the sheep said towards the bunny.

"It is we that allowed your escape for our own purposes. Hence this meeting" the female hare said making a calming gesture towards the bunny.

Judy was still suspicious; the elder jaguar noticed this and made a motion.

"Enough. Officer Hopps... you are our guest and I assure you these had been vetted. They have already told us their primary reason for allowing your escape: they need you to coordinate the Zootopians with their efforts so that innocent lives are not harmed. As far as your mixed-specie marriage, they agree with us that sooner or later you'll end up as his dinner."

Judy couldn't help but giggle. This was a common misunderstanding about her marriage. Nick could kill and she had seen him do so defending her against a bunch of rabid raccoons, but he was gentle as a lamb most of the time. It was his play on words typical of fox humor that grated on her nerves sometimes. Chief Bogo seemed to be the only one resistant to the vulpe's playful antics, probably because he enjoyed sparing with the fox or so it seemed. Being chief had its advantages, losing a playful word game meant he could assign the fox to cleaning windshields... implying he never really lost.

"Officer Hopps... this priestess is Bishop Charlotte Snowshoe, and the other is Bishop Gandoff. Both are the only *living* members of the dark priesthood."

Judy had to rub her eyes. Everything she knew about this priest group said they were undead, similar to the rabbit she still had locked inside the metal box. She got this straight from the two priest factions and the Canter Family that lived in the older burrow on her parent's farm.

Bishop Gandoff spoke first. "It is true that priest of our membership are undead, living off the life–force given off by all living things. We survived thrice the neutronian radiation blast given off the Orb of the Oracles, but it is possible the orb malfunctioned. Wither a malfunction or a miraculous deliverance we survived nonetheless whole and in original condition. Thus we are fulfillers of prophesy, just as we understand you are as well."

Judy heard stories about repairs done to the orb, necessary because of tampering done in ages past. She was unaware she was mumbling something that was told to her by an elder fox back in the Baron of Vulpinstan's meeting room. He had told her about an ancient prophesy, one about two mammals that would lead many mammals trapped underground to live permanently where Mother Nature never intended they should. The elder fox was convince she and Nick were the prophesy fulfillers this was written about, something she had wondered why she seemed destined to change so many mammals lives.

"I was shown a pictorial that displayed words chiseled in stone. Words told of the aftermath of an ancient battle in which mammals were forced underground to live as slaves. It prophesied someday two mammals one prey and one predator would rescue them."

The sheep nodded his head. "So... she is aware of the ancient prophesy. This is good but she doesn't know the entire prophesy."

Judy felt a headache coming on. The first prophesy nearly cost her life up in the land of prophesy where an ancient bunker with two ancient rabbits claimed their life's work rested on her marriage to a predator. Now here she was... deep underground simply trying to make good her escape and bring many of the Zootopian hierarchy to justice.

An ancient book was brought out and placed opened upon a pedestal; beside it another book equally thick was placed on its own pedestal. Both bishops gestured for the bunny to read the book. Judy stepped close to the books; the first one she was clueless what was written, but the second while in old prose akin the medieval language she could make out most words and began reading. The words were not what she remembered and seemed to narrate a completely different prophesy, there were more than two paragraphs. Missing was the two crudely drawn figures that implied these were the rescuers. The new paragraphs seemed to imply something else entirely, imply rescue would occur from within the priesthood. Judy stopped reading and looked quizzed towards the two bishops.

"This... this isn't what was shown to me."

"Perhaps the next section will shed light" Bishop Snowshoe said as her paw turned the page.

Now on this page was the words that was shown to her, her recognition obvious to all. Judy looked quizzed to the two bishops who answered quickly.

Bishop Gandoff nodded his head. "As you can tell the ancient text was translated centuries ago, the prophecy was written two-fold. As you noticed it claims two slaves would rise up and resist the captors. These would be joined by two mammals from the normal world and together they would overthrow them and lead the captives to the real world. These ancient books were hidden in a secluded part of our grand library. Apparently whoever found the first and wrote the second wanted to preserve both for future generations hence hiding it in such place. As long as the status quo was maintained few were motivated to improve their lot in life. We have stories of heretics claiming prophesy existed but these were quickly silenced. When an elder scholar discovered these books he wisely kept it from becoming general knowledge, only when he was convinced of our genuine interest in changing how the dark priesthood operates did he allow us to read and study these books."

He looked sternly at Judy. "We, Charlotte and I, believe that the dark priesthood must change... change from undead into normal flesh. We freed you and desire your help to accomplish this goal, as we think the four of us are destined to fulfill this prophesy. How your husband acts in this has yet to be seen."

Judy thought for a moment resting her head in her paws. These words certainly made sense and she felt somewhat relieved helping the cavern dwellers didn't rest solely in her paws, having the members of the Resistance and now these priests certainly made this appear doable.

Bishop Snowshoe gestured with a paw. "There is something else you are not aware of. Each member of the Triad Council is..."

Judy blinked. "Excuse me... explain what this triad is."

Bishop Gandoff turned a few pages then pointed to a spot. "The triad council is the governing authority of our priesthood. Fewer mistakes tend to be made when more than one mind is involved. For much of our history such has governed the dark priesthood but in recent times it has not been so. Only when two high priests came back from the dead did they claim their rightful place to govern our society."

Bishop Snowshoe interjected. "One of these was involved directly in the Great Civil War. She survived the war in isolation for many millennia only recently escaping and rejoining our society. It was her desire to make changes to our society without consulting the other triad members that initiated this race. Unless she concedes and stop her plans we see no end."

Judy nodded her head in understanding. "You started mentioning something about the triad council. Please continue."

Bishop Snowshoe nodded her head in thanks. "As I was saying each member of the Triad Council is building up their own numbers of priests loyal to themselves. As these numbers grow the strain on the Living increases and is only a matter of time before they run out of Living to feed off. It doesn't take rocket science to know where they will go to gain new food source: the topside world. Then their race to acquire more priests will continue until the remaining Living in the topside world becomes exhausted. Should this happen life will end and after a period of time should these dark priest fail to develop an energy source to feed off of they too will cease. We do not want this to happen, which is why we are working to make changes to benefit both our worlds."

Judy was pulling her ears, letting them slip slowly through her paws. This was an emotional response she did when she found herself stressed; it also was a common trait among female rabbits. Then several mammals appeared from thin air, catching Kimberly, Judy, and the trio of mammal's off-guard. The elder jaguar was not surprised and he turned to the newcomers.

"Team Mike... Team Tango, thank you for coming on such short notice."

"Resistance Leader... why are there dark priests here?"

The elder jaguar *pfffted* and waved away their concern. "These have been in negotiations with us for a short time now. They have demonstrated their genuineness by helping warn us when the chancellor acts against one of our members. Thus it is rare these days for a resistance member to be captured. Sheath your weapons and hear their story, we think these will make your upcoming campaign less likely to harm innocents."

It was obvious the GSD teams barely relaxed their stance but they did listen to what Bishop Gandoff and Bishop Snowshoe had to say. Judy testified as to what Nurse Riverbay did and this otter said plain she was under the direction of these two bishops. By the end of the meeting both GSD teams was satisfied the two bishops were working with the resistance leader, something that greatly improved the odds of the upcoming campaign success. Both bishops warned it was important to get the box containing Rachel to the topside world quick as possible as the undead final conscious action would be to expend it last bit of energy to break open its confinement. Judy made a video about everything she could remember what happened to her, emphasizing the names of prominent citizens of Zootopian society that watched her kangaroo court. She removed the thumb drive handing it to Team Mike leader, saying it was more important to get the undead rabbit to Dr. Bevyton and Dr. Dexter as these scientists would be best able to identify what animated a dead body. Judy was safe and positioned to coordinate the Zootopian's actions with those of the Resistance; she had a genuine tracker to help her after all.

Both GSD teams left with the container, going into stealth before exiting the building. This area was still too far out of the communication zone and both bishops had no authority to move guards around access points to the topside world without tipping their paws, so there was only one place that was available to remove the metal container: the beachhead the Zootopian submarine made not too long ago. If they hurried their batteries just might last to keep them in stealth long enough to get by the patrols. Besides Judy's narration, the GSD teams also carried her personal message to Senior Technician Pangolin asking if the ancient bunker's machines could repair living tissue and replace missing body parts. If anyone deserved to be made whole once again, Kimberly deserved it in her eyes.

---

Captain Valiant looked his marines over with a keen eye. It had been a long wait but now the pentagon gave their approval to enter the Headmaster's Sanctum and head towards the computer mainframe. It grated on his nerves that they didn't trust his marines to shoot accurately thus avoid hitting the remaining computer equipment, but in combat Murphy's Laws often foiled the best laid plans. So to sharpen their skills he had them perform urban combat down in the ruins that made up the Library of the Oracles. Marines hated the near-endless training exercises but at least their opponents were GSD Teams Charlie, Echo and Lima.

He smiled. These three teams were the ones that first escorted the Oracle priestesses back on that first day they walked through these ruins searching for the Headmasters Sanctum. As the days wore on his marines aim improved as having a highly-trained opponent proved an acceptable test of their mettle. It was obvious the first encounter proved the GSD was no push-over and quite possibly better trained something most Marines appreciated in an opponent. First few times it was the GSD that emerged victorious, but as the days wore on it was his Marines that held the upper paw. It was annoying having to reassure the Oracle priestesses that no damage was done to the ancient classrooms, this was why these exercises were done on the outskirts in what appeared to be ancient homes and shops.

The military had converted a few buildings at the beginning of the valley leading to Library of the Oracles into office spaces and a few temporary quarters. Unfortunately none of these were large enough for the generals' meeting later this evening.

He looked over to the many building that made up the classrooms at the Library of the Oracles, shiny new panes of glass replaced the original and the stone exteriors had been polished with some drones still working at this. Unfortunately the discoloration caused by plasma bolts could not be removed. Zootopia Corps of Engineers had been working side-by-side with the technicians from the Valley of the Oracles, and to his eyes both were learning much about their differences.

A soft noise caught his attention and he snapped out of his reverie. Beside him stood his right-paw mammal who could easily become his infatuation if he allowed a slip in decorum. Staff Sergeant Stoutpaw waited for his response before handing him a note, and then waited for his response before she turned around and exited the room. The captain nodded and scribbled something on to a pad then handed it to her and dismissed her before turning his attention back to the message he had been reading from his superiors. He was composing a response acknowledging the order and assuring them accuracy had been improved, thus he expected reduced chances the computer system would be scathed with scratches rather than outright destroyed... Murphy's Laws notwithstanding. He also stole a glance as she walked away.

The staff sergeant paused as she went about delivering the message, looking at the droid unit that would be accompanying them. This looked more like a caterpillar than its predecessor battle droid, its many legs a necessary compromise to fit it through the tunnels down in the Headmasters Sanctum. The tunnels was cramped if a pachyderm tried walking within, it certainly would when this droid traveled them. She was certain its clumsy movements would be more of a hindrance than help... until a short demonstration convinced her otherwise. The technicians from the Valley of the Oracles proved masters of technology once again. At normal power levels it was indeed clumsy but once in battle mode it was swift as a cheetah. Tests on how it travelled on a mountainside in the Valley of the Oracles proved it could move in either direction without needing to turn around. Perhaps having same electronics on its rear end proved beneficial although the front end had more. The only downside was it almost didn't fit into the ancient stairway, but after a few modifications from the original prototype the decreased body's width allowed sufficient increase in movement. Still there was little room for error. This meant unless there was a depression in the walls no one would be able to get around it during the trip down unless one was smaller than a bunny and lay down on the stairway... and closed one's eyes as the machine's lowest parts came uncomfortably close.

Grand Technician Beverton, Head of Operation in the Valley of Oracles, was standing nearby talking to his underlings. They were making small changes they though was necessary, perhaps their way of dealing with the stress mammals feel just moments before being sent into battle or an unknown situation. Zootopian force field had been incorporated into this model because its length dictated something more than physical armor was needed, especially since the original models proved susceptible to energy bolts by the dark priests. Only a larger power plant was needed to supply the energy requirements for both the weapons and shields. Technician Minkowski and Agent Ricardo were discussing something they were looking at displayed on a screen, the duo of GSD agent and an oracle technician proved to be excellent working team. Nearby were a pawfull of similar droids, their caterpillar-bodies a stark contrast to the much larger battle droids which were much more heavily-armored and armed. These battle droids, not the caterpillar type, were upgraded models with Zootopian force fields of their own and upgraded systems better able to ward off power bolts thrown against them as well as flechettes made from the strange alloy for use against the dark priesthood.

She continued towards the large tent and entered, presenting her credentials to the guards standing outside before doing so. Inside were the leaders that would be directing the assault. Clifford Rorschach the Baron of Vulpinstan, Colonel Kohle, three oracle priestesses, and General Puller along with his staff. Why the flag officer was here involving himself in such a small operation puzzled her until one of the generals' aides, Major Allan Keen told her he was here to prevent interruption by another military branch. Apparently the discovery of the battle droids had incurred interest by the Zootopian Army thus shielding them from unnecessary interruption until after this operation was completed was deemed important by the general. His counterpart, General Rommel had inquired to have one sent to him and was miffed having his requests denied by the pentagon. The grand technician heard about the request and told the Desert Fox he would get his chance when similar droids joined his troops at the other invasion points.

She gave the note to the nearest attaché and before she could make good her exit the general called her over. He congratulated her on her suggestion for improving the battle droids then inquired her opinion on various military matters. His questions about her father were annoying but he was good friend of her father and kept in contact through the years. Soon he allowed her to depart, wishing her much success on the upcoming mission.

"He approves of you" Major Keen said as he returned her salute when she requested to exit the tent.

"I appreciate that, sir. I am pleased to be working with my captain doing my part. We have an excellent team and working with GSD has sharpened our skills."

"He is aware more than you may know. Take for instance fraternization between senior and subordinate..."

She was taken aback, blinking her eyes. "Sir, I assure you I have my feeling quite under control."

The male African lion held up his paw. "Not you... him."

She blinked a few times but remained quiet.

"I approve too. Anyone with decent eyesight can see the two of you are a good match. While military regulations are not crystal clear on such couples it is clear on those within the same chain of command. Thus after this mission is complete regardless of success or failure, the two of you will be separated. I have requested you to be assigned to my team and the captain will go to join the general's team."

She didn't expect this and the news hit her harder than she realized. She was embarrassed to show fragile emotions, it was unbefitting for one of her rank to express in public. She was surprised the major pulled her close in an embrace, more so when he whispered into her ear.

"I think you should come with him to tonight's dinner. Wear what you are now as this is a working dinner. I'll have the both of you sitting side-by-side; it should prove an ice breaker as far as determining if there is chemistry between the two of you."

She suddenly wanted to be anywhere but here and pushed away then bolted towards the door. Her military decorum asserted itself and she stopped, faced towards the senior officer and apologized before trying to get out the door. Unfortunately the two burly guards refused to allow her to leave and before she could get a full head of panic she sensed him behind her and then heard him whisper into her ear.

"I apologize. I was completely out of line. Seems I misjudged the situation between the two of you. I had hoped to become a buffer between anyone that may object to romance that may surface between the captain and yourself. I'll fill-in the general as to why I can't have a new member assigned to my team. I hereby promise you may have any duty assignment you want, but can't promise you can join the general's team."

She was speechless but the strong feelings persisted. "Sir... I'm not certain anything exists between us. He's a fine officer, something I aspire to emulate especially his talent dealing with non-military personnel. But romance... I..."

He raised a paw. "Another reason why I want you on my team. Besides helping you decide if he's the panther for you, my team will help you learn how to deal with non-military. Your current assignment has given you some experience, we'll give you more. Oh, by the way... my team is assigned to the Valley of the Oracles. Primary location of operations is in the Library of the Oracles as we have already chosen a few buildings and set-up our offices. We are tasked to work alongside the GSD in overseeing security for the Valley of the Gatekeeper. I hope this familiarity will sway you to my team?"

She looked at him incredulously. For months her opinion of the oracle technicians had turned from barely tolerating them and towards wishing she had more time to be among them. The mink technician helped her to adjust some of her military equipment, working out bugs the brass swore was a figment of her imagination. Along with the GSD technician that seemed bonded to the Oracle technician they helped her learn simple computer code that could be used to adjust equipment to start working in an emergency situation, like in a firefight. An emotional minefield was just placed before her, so too was a golden opportunity. She needed time to let this sink in.

"Sir... Let me ponder this future assignment. It's a bit too much properly assess right now."

The major nodded to the guards and they opened the entrance flap much to her relief. Before she exited he reminded her to be at the dinner. It was an order after all, and he promised nothing more than to keep quiet as long as she sat next to the captain. The trip across the courtyard seemed hotter than she remembered, so much so that she almost ran into an officer. After apologizing and rendering proper respect she continued on towards her office, as she semi-hurried along without appearing to be so she searched her memory. It didn't take long... the other female panther had a reputation that spread among males faster than a snap of her fingers. Captain Gloria *Hot Lips* Houlihan was known to spend time and evenings with officer and enlisted alike, her skin saved from fraternization charges due to many senior officers having once bedded her thus saving themselves from same charges.

Ever since the initial completion of their mission the marine expeditionary group had lived in tents, including the technicians from the Valley of the Oracles as their rebuilding the tower to reconnect to the Headmaster's Sanctum required them to remain onsite until the construction was completed. Afterwards they helped the Zootopian Corp of Engineers renovate certain buildings that once were homes to ancient shopkeepers into barracks to make life a little more bearable, some choosing to remain here to be with their new friends.

She was assigned to one of the renovated buildings, and closed the door behind her harder than she intended. Before the major's semi-public acknowledgement she had thought the subtle glances the captain made towards her was merely an odd habit, something a mammal's brain unconsciously focused upon. She never considered herself to be attractive as far as female go, hence why she barely ascribed to female norms of grooming her fur and applying perfume to attract males, not counting her teenage years. The military was a comfortable fit and allowed her to hone her natural abilities; she had risen in the ranks and at one time had taken the test necessary to determine if her mental sharpness met the requirements to become an officer, even in the non-line and warrant grades. She passed with acceptable scores but denied the opportunity to become one, earning the rank she wears now.

She cursed Murphy and his laws.

The mythical creature had thrown a monkey wrench into her plans, one she wanted to accompany the captain to his next assignment. The captain had unofficially put the proposal before her, explaining his opinion she would learn much as his aide and he could help her learn how to deal better with non-military. She had decided to accept his offer but then the pentagon informed them the operation to assault the computer complex and wrest control from the invaders was about to get underway. Now this other proposal fell into her lap. Two males offered the same opportunity to work in a non-traditional military environment, but only one could lead to something she once thought fell through her paws like grains of sand.

She wasn't in proper frame of mind to tackle the pile of paperwork, so she switched into something comfortable and began her exercise routine: a modified Pilates and Yoga stretching exercise. She loved the body-hugging leotard as the stretchable fabric followed her every curve. Her mind was busy thinking what she wanted to say when the door opened and the captain froze in the doorway. She realized he was here and accepted his apology as well as his request to be with him at the general's working dinner. When the door closed she realized he saw her out of uniform and the garment she wore left him with a full view of her curves, his eyes strongly suggested he approved in more ways than one. She felt giddy as she got up and prepared to take a shower and get into a clean uniform. Major Keen was correct and now she wondered just how far she should test the captain, would he remain a gentlemammal or would he be just like the other males she once dated. Her eyes looked over at the leotard resting on the chair and a smile crossed her face, this would be the perfect tool to see if he was perfect for her.

Captain Vallant had just crossed the courtyard, barely shrugging off the female with a not-so-military reputation. If he met her months ago he might have joined her somewhere in his off-hours, but now he had eyes on a female that military protocol strongly disapproved of. When this operation first started he saw the staff sergeant as competent but nothing to write home about. Somewhere in the past months she became something more, his fiancé wrote a *dear john* letter persuaded the change. Rebound relationship was something to avoid, mostly because these tended to end horribly. The scene waiting him when he opened her office door confirmed what he suspected lay underneath her uniform, certainly in his dreams. His words surprised him as they stuttered from his mouth and before he could embarrass himself further he closed the door and returned to his quarters quick as he could without drawing too much attention, like from Captain Houlihan who was looking in his direction. After getting inside his quarters he locked the door and prepared to take a shower, this evening he was supposed to be at the general's dinner which also was a working meeting. The general had politely asked him to bring the staff sergeant with him to the dinner; although informal it was by tradition considered an order. Now he had to get ready and hope his willpower held up as she would be there as well.

---

The major watched the female enlisted hurry across the courtyard, almost running into the female officer. He watched the enlisted salute and obviously saying something to the officer that was facing towards the window he was looking out of. His shaking his head in the negative with a waving of his paw was their subtle signal to end something and for her to get to him quickly as possible. Captain Houlihan clearly wanted to spend a few moments chewing out the subornment that should have had better presence of her surroundings, but obeyed his signal knowing he had something more important that required her attention. In a few moments the female captain was standing beside him as both of them watched the staff sergeant disappear around the far end of the building. He pulled the shutters closed and after rendering proper military etiquette fell into each other's paws.

"Did she accept our proposal?" Gloria asked as her fingers *walked* along his shirt.

"She is still considering her options. You will have to motivate her or else she will be assigned to chase after our comrades that will be making a strategic retreat. I would hate to have her fall victim to our ambush waiting just down the tunnel."

Allan grasped her paw and rubbed his thumb along top of her paw, now was not the time to enjoy flirting and he wanted her to proceed with their next plan.

"You doubt my ability to influence the technicians to turn over the specs of these droids?"

He gazed at her, one eyebrow raised. "These technicians from the Valley of the Oracles have been stubbornly resistant to your charms. Continue working them as a few show signs of lowering their guard. I want to work this from another angle, from a friendly face they already trust. Having the staff sergeant working for us we can get that which we want."

A frown fell across her face. "If she declines our offer... what then?"

"We present evidence of their fraternization. Thank you for suggesting putting before her the idea the captain had the hots for her."

She smiled and put her paws around his neck, giving him a firm kiss.

"Manipulating the captain's fiancée was cubs play, getting her to have sex with her boss also cubs play. Putting thoughts into her head about traditional complaints military sweethearts had about their males deployed far away from home... her thoughts about his supposed unfaithfulness used to justify in her mind her bedtime activities with the only male she trusted. Her pregnancy was a fortuitous after effect which you now understand how it played into our plans. Males are slaves to their desires hence his frustrations are increased because of working next to a female of his species. Now we put into the staff sergeants' mind ideas of her captain being interested in a romantic relationship, she will make subtle gestures towards him and his urges will leap like a wildfire. Once they bite of the forbidden relationship apple we'll have that which we need to get them to do what we want... or else they'll be court marshalled for fraternization."

He saw a very evil grin form on her face.

"The Servants of Truth will reward us for delivering the secrets of the Valley of the Oracles".

---

Later that afternoon Captain Vallant presented his credentials as did Staff Sergeant Stoutpaw, both entered the large tent and found their seats. He pushed hers underneath her rump as she sat down and sat next to her. He apologized to the major for not recognizing him before tending to the staff sergeant, receiving a *pffft* and a paw waving off his words and then complementing him for having a very competent female on his staff. Sitting on the other side of the major was the female officer he passed by earlier, and it was not lost on him she was known by the staff sergeant. Captain Houlihan exchanged pleasantries with him and complemented Staff Sergeant Stoutpaw in helping the technicians at the Valley of the Oracles for greatly improve the battle droids. She welcomed the lower-ranking female for joining the major's team and promised to ensure the workload was not too excessive, but it would prove her mettle if she didn't buckle under the strain. The lion raised his paw as he gave the female captain a subtle glance, saying she was still considering her options and then reassured the enlisted female he was confident she would handle the demanding duties she would be tasked with soon. He informed her that Captain Houlihan would be the new officer she would be serving under soon as this current operation was completed victorious or not.

Captain Vallant kept his disappointment close to his chest. After working for months with the staff sergeant he was certain she would clash with the female officer. The Captain Houlihan had another reputation, she had marginal managerial skills and he was puzzled how she rose in rank. The staff sergeant on the other paw had a knack getting her troops to do things they didn't want to do hence the reason she was assigned to the original operation of securing the Headmasters Sanctum from the dark priesthood. Unlike the female officer, the staff sergeant didn't have rumors of flagging her tail. Did the major know he was mixing two impossible personalities? Then a chill went down his neck; the female captain had weaseled her way into the lions' good graces if not his bedroom.

He was surprised as Major Keen whispered into his ear that he would keep the female captain under control as he was senior. The captain thanked the major and both males returned their attention to the presentation the general was now giving. A paw touched his under the table and he knew to whom it belonged. He grasped it and let his thumb gently rub over top of the paw; this was a time-tested method males used to comfort a female and he could tell she greatly appreciated it. He didn't look her way but he was certain the female captain had noticed something happened and the female enlisted spirit had improved, possibly already deduced he had something to do with it.

When the generals' presentation was completed they broke up into groups and for the next hour brainstormed every possible circumstance that Murphy and his laws could muck-up the recovery of the ancient computer system. Soon the evening was officially over and military pleasantries exchanged he bid the major and female captain good evening.

He walked the staff sergeant back to her room, which happened to be her office she had been assigned. She opened the door and he noticed a sofa a few feet away in a makeshift waiting area, this was a type he knew folded out as a bed. An additional locker was in the far corner; it could be for additional office supplies or cleverly hid personal garments. He mused how resourceful she was, as an officer he was given a small room that was half this size including a half bath. Here she sacrificed privacy for elbow room and now he wondered where she went for hygiene needs, if he was careful he just might ask her sometime.

"Sir... please come in. There's an issue I wish to talk with you and I'd rather not have the whole world listen in."

She held the door open as he walked inside. The look upon her face was neutral but something in her eyes told him whatever it was she wanted to talk about involved him. It was normally not a good idea to be alone in a female's room but as she closed the door she pointed to the security camera used to keep visitors honest. She gestured for him to sit on the sofa and sat next to him, close enough that their bodies pressed together.

"Thank you for trusting me. Earlier this afternoon I was told something... very personal and I wanted to get your advice."

"I'll see what I can do."

Her paws slowly rubbed over each other, a known nervous tick females did when stressed. As he did before his paws grasped hers and he rubbed his thumbs along top of hers, noting the pleasant expression form on her face and the soft purring in her throat. A moment later she leaned against him resting her head on his shoulder, pleased when his arm rested across her shoulders. It was several moments later when he released her other paw and gently rubbed her chin, her eyes opened and looked up into his.

"You wanted to talk about something?"

"Olivia. Named after my grandmother."

"Carl. Named after my grandfather's best friend."

She put both paws around his waist and her eyes focused on the captains' bars upon his shoulders.

"Olivia, it's getting late. Tell me before the clock strikes twelve and you turn into a mouse."

She giggled and then sat upright.

"Major Keen told me something about you... about us. To be honest if freaked me out, but now that we're going to be assigned to different units maybe I can be brave and breech what he said."

He reached up and stroked her cheek.

"I think I know... and I tried to keep it from showing."

She leaned against him, this time pushing him over until they both lay on the sofa. As she lay against him his paw gently rubbed her ears.

"When this operation first started I saw you as nothing more than a very competent mid-level leader but nothing to write home about. When my fiancé ended our engagement I was devastated but an officer is trained to compartmentalize his life, to separate his personal from his duty. You still were you and this gave me an anchor, knowing our team were being looked after gave me the assurance that the burden was shared by another. As you know we males tend to be slaves to our desires, and not having a female to write home about soon led me to have fantasies about you. I admit seeing you in this garment were a pretty close approximation to what I had in my mind, and truth be told I enjoyed it. *sigh*. This is classic rebound relationship so I must be cautious or else it'll cost both of us."

She gently pushed her fingers through his head fur, fondling his ears and neck muscles. He had been making small flirting gestures like rubbing her chin and cheek, but she started this and he was reacting accordingly. An old saying says *it takes two to tango* and he responded when she leaned her body against his, this practically gave him permission to test the waters. What she would do next would certainly push the boundary; possibly reveal which of them had the better motive.

"Thank you Carl. I admire you for being honest. Since it's late and there's a known captain who might try to abduct you into her bedroom, I want you to remain under my protection. We'll talk more in the morning."

He tickled her chin. "Who protects me from you?"

She gazed at him with half-closed eyes. "You are free to return to your room, but if you do we may never know between the two of us who has the greater self-control."

He stood up and found two paws helping to remove his shirt and pants but leaving his t-shirt and boxer-briefs on. She grinned as he repaid the favor especially his reaction to what lay underneath her shirt and trousers; it appeared she never got out of the leotard. After both their uniforms were hanging properly on hangers she gently pushed him onto the sofa and lay against him, then reached over and pulled a couple blankets over them, touched a remote that turned off the lights and then lay contentedly against him. As she listened to his heart beating inside his chest his paws roamed around the leotard, pleasing both of them in separate ways.

"Good night Carl. Enjoy holding my curves; it'll ward off unwanted females."

"Good night Olivia. Where's the bathroom?"

She pressed a button which turned on the light but this one in the makeshift bathroom; she got up and walked over until stood silhouetted in the doorway. He stayed looking at her, obviously enjoying the view. When her finger beckoned him he got up and walked up behind her and put his paws around her waist, something she must have enjoyed. As she pointed out what-was-what he couldn't help but be impressed. Someone had converted a janitorial sink into a makeshift shower: this was a floor-mounted square with raised edges resembling bottom half of a shower stall. A rod was bent to allow a curtain to hang down keeping overspray inside, a short hose with a shower head connected to one end and the other to the faucet, allowing one to remove it from its holder to rinse a troublesome area. A bottle of fur shampoo rested on the edge of the makeshift shower and a paw-held fur dryer rested on a nearby shelf. He was surprised a portable field latrine rested in a corner, its cover obviously keeping the contents and odors inside.

"Technician Minkowski and Agent Ricardo were gracious enough to help me set-up this bathroom. It's nothing fancy but then again we marines usually don't have anything beyond kitwipes. Be careful with the fur dryer, its speed set a bit too high but at least it removes the water. My normal one is in the other room so I don't get them mixed up. Oh they also swept the room and removed several eavesdropping bugs and other electronics, so other than the camera nobody can tell what's happening in here."

"Query... are we folding the sofa out for a proper bed?"

"Nope. That might encourage something, like another female in bed. I'm not sharing you so you will have to suffer spending time alone with me."

A smirk crossed his face. "I doubt she can get past the triple lock you put on the door, not counting having a master key or explosives. Besides, I'm not passing up this spacious room even though the current occupant is a minimalist."

"Method to my madness. Now let's get back to bed. My back needs rubbing and your paws are required."

She tuned out the lights and let her natural night vision led them back to the sofa. As was tradition with their species he lay down first and she cuddled against him, purposely putting much of her body against him. If she felt the need to get away this position allowed such, it also allowed for best cuddling which females enjoyed. His paws gently moved along the leotard kneading her back and on occasion her rump and hips, as long as they stayed away from certain areas she would let him move them anywhere he wanted. Soon both were asleep with paws around the other; it had been many years since she had a male interested in her, now she had to be cautious if this one was to work out. Her father was a retired brigadier general and she needed his advice now if she was going to keep this one.

The next morning she woke up, noticing a strong odor of fur shampoo in the air. She was annoyed he got up leaving her buried under the blankets and surprised her leotard remained on her body. Water was running indicating he was taking a shower, and she smiled at the idea that popped in her head. She walked into the makeshift bathroom and sat on the portable latrine, its lid obviously made for this. A light shown into the makeshift shower, letting her see his silhouette against the curtain and giving her something to enjoy as he moved his body. When the water turned off she watched him shake off the excess water and open the curtain, freezing when he became aware she had been watching him.

"Good morning. Enjoy the view? Should I pose for your score?"

"Good morning, yes and you should start drying off before you catch cold. Help me undress?"

She stepped in front of him and let his paws pull off the garment. Her twins and belly fur got drenched when she leaned against his body and gave him a kiss squarely on his lips, this was his reward and they would have gotten wet anyway. He held her leotard and hung it upon the coat hook, ignoring her paws pushing through his belly fur obviously following his toned abs and barely avoiding his sheath. He held her paw as she stepped into the makeshift shower and then grasped her tail letting it slide through his paw. As she moved fur shampoo throughout her body she had a grin upon her face, the leotard did its job to perfection. Carl proved he was a gentle-mammal and during the light flirting he let her set the pace, he wasn't the only one walking along the razors edge of desire.

As he proceeded to use the over-powered paw-held fur dryer he was treated to her silhouette moving across the curtain. When she was finished and shook off the excess water then stepped out. As she pointed the device towards various parts of her body she let him rub his paws through her fur. He was annoyed she used his thigh to dry her crotch and soon she was finished. Their eyes wondered across the others' body, noting they shared some similarities. She expected him to have scars and a few testified just how close to death he had been, officers were high-valued targets in combat zones after all. But for her to have similar scars was something most mammals didn't expect, and he was tracing them with a finger.

"These are genuine" she said a little self-consciously.

"I know... but your record contained simple statements of facts. These makes it plain they were received as your body moved, not from being stationary."

"You approve?"

"Yes... but my approval is not necessary. You earned these through shear ability; therefore I acknowledge your achievements."

"Do you... approve?"

He looked into her eyes and saw beyond the words, society still after all these millennia disapproved of females in combat. It tolerated, even expected them to go on hunts and kill their own dinner if need be. But being involved in territorial conquest was discouraged and frowned upon. Since more males were born than females it was seen as an acceptable loss for males to die, each honored for their sacrifice, but losing even a singular female was seen as a decline in population since from her body many pawful of citizens were made.

"I do indeed approve. Society is clueless what it takes to learn how to perform, how to be a leader, how to... stifle your fears in combat. Society is clueless what it takes to put your troops into harm's way, even lose some. I know these and so do you... I approve."

He was embraced by an emotional female, taken aback by this side he never knew she could be. She hugged him keeping her face turned so her tears were out of his sight, she was a senior enlisted after all and keeping firm control of her feelings was expected. He held her close until she was ready to move on, his paws kneading her back otherwise keeping away from any place not appropriate for the moment. He smiled when she asked and began to slow dance; she wrapped her paws around his neck enjoying his on her waist as their feet shuffled in unison. It may have been an awkward time and place to dance but he wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to hold her.

A few minutes later he followed her into the other room to her locker, the one in the far corner of the room. He was surprised she removed a pair of male boxer-brief and t-shirt still in the packaging, grinning as she put them on him and her paws smoothed out the wrinkles. He returned the favor holding her panty-brief as she stepped into them followed by placing her twins into the bra he held up, receiving a kiss squarely on his lips after he smoothed out the wrinkles and properly fastened her bra. She selected a pantsuit and he helped her get dressed, his paws smoothed out the wrinkles in her blouse and trouser. She helped him get back into his uniform, pausing to admire the captains' bars on his shoulders. Afterwards they slow danced for a couple minutes; he was an excellent dancer at least in her eyes.

It was the weekend and they both had the day off, so they decided to spend it elsewhere.

She locked the front door they walked over to his quarters. Along the way he invited her to breakfast at the officer's mess and after he unlocked his dorm room's door she stepped inside and stopped mid-stride. Now she understood why he stayed overnight, she was disappointed officers had such small room and probably why most had an apartment off-base. She helped him select clothing that reasonably matched her pantsuit and when he was ready they headed over to the officer's mess. The steward had her sign the guestbook, pay the fee for the meal then follow him to a semi-private area where she could eat without being self-conscious of others. She wasn't aware of the tradition that officers ordered for their guests, especially for females. At least she had the option to carry her own tray or have a servant do this, obviously she carried hers.

General Puller stopped by, complemented her clothing and inquired if they were going to enjoy time out on the town. He recommended a few shops he thought she would like and after ending the small talk he left them alone. Before leaving the general asked for her father to give him a call, promising this was strictly a courtesy call between old friends. Carl now was the one being self-conscious so she took time to remind him she enjoyed being with him thus whatever the two generals would be talking about most likely be about old times.

When they finished eating he took her to the nearest village where they visited nearly every shop and enjoyed a meal in a local restaurant. At sunset they were sitting in a park watching the golden globe fall below the horizon. At the moment the last rays danced in the evening sky she placed a kiss squarely on his lip and pushed her muzzle across his cheek. Informally this announced they were a couple but formally she just let him know he was her chosen male. Doing this only once placed a light scent of her matriarch mark into his fur, light enough that it would be difficult to notice unless one placed their nose close to his face. That evening they were under the covers in her bed, the sofa unfolded this time. This time she let his paws roam anywhere he wanted and was surprised he didn't go to her crotch instead rubbed practically every inch of her outside this area. They fell asleep with her in the crook of his arm and his free paw holding one of hers.

The next morning she received a zphone call from her parents saying they were on their way for a visit and wanted to meet the new male in her life. Carl wanted to leave immediately but Olivia told him they were still many miles away and they would have plenty of time to share a shower. They were still pushing fur shampoo through the others' fur when a knocked on her door announced they arrived early, confirmed by her zphone synced to the security camera. She sighed and he helped rinse and rub her fur damp dry then wrapped a towel around her torso and a smaller one wrapped her head. She insisted he remain inside the makeshift bathroom while she let her parents into the room, promising they would resume the shower. He kissed her lips as encouragement and opened the door. She let her parents in, apologizing for not answering sooner as it was obvious she just got out of the shower. Her parents entered and her father gently hugged her, obviously being mindful she was partially naked and a grown female. Her mother kissed her and then held her daughters' head, sniffing carefully after noticing a new scent.

A little-known trait of the matriarch mark was that the males' scent was transferred onto the female as she rubbed hers onto him. This identified almost every male that was her family member or important to her. A lover's scent was strongest as he was nearly constantly pressing himself against her.

Her father frowned but her mother swooned; it was obvious someone beside their daughter had slept here overnight as the sofa was still extended into a bed, the blankets were disheveled and two pillows were clearly used. Olivia excused herself and returned to the makeshift bathroom, taking with her a change of clothes and fresh undergarments for Carl and herself. Her father frowned again and her mother hushed him, whoever was in there had to come out and face them. Her mother occupied her father as the sound of the shower resumed and a few minutes later a fur drier coming from inside the makeshift bathroom made it clear someone was getting prepared. When they came out Olivia was surprised the bed was put back into its sofa configuration and the room was mostly straightened up. Her father was cordial and her mother hugged Carl and then pressed her muzzle against his cheek placing her matriarch mark on him, probably because she noticed his was the scent on her daughter's cheek.

Her father insisted they eat in the officer's mess and paid for everyone's meal but allowed Carl to order for Olivia. They sat in a secluded corner where he asked polite questions to the young couple. Her mother swooned again as she noticed Carl was holding Olivia's paw under the table, it was obvious as both were eating with one paw and there was a happy expression on Olivia's face. General Puller came over and greeted his old friend and everyone at the table, then reminded the young couple tomorrow would be a grueling day as preparations for the assault on the Headmaster's Sanctum would begin. After finishing eating breakfast her parents took them to town where they window shopped in many stores, some were hardware stores. He told them the pentagon was going to use the upcoming operation to sell war bonds, possibly sending them along to make speeches at rallies.

Her father told Olivia rumors reached his ears an officer was interested in his daughter but the zmail was untraceable. Since Olivia seemed to be too busy to talk with her father about this he decided to bring his wife along for a family reunion, and possibly meet this officer. He was pleased both youngsters had maintained proper military bearing, other than sleeping overnight. Olivia was shocked when her father said it didn't take rocket science to figure out it was she that had drug the captain into her bedroom, he let slip her mother did the exact same thing when they were young which earned him a slap to his shoulder. Her mothers' wink to her daughter was the only confirmation the story was true.

The day ended and Carl endured her mother renewing her matriarch scent, this time he held her like he would his own mother. Her father told them sleeping together was not advisable while they still were senior-subordinate in the current operation and as far as their next assignment he would be working his contacts to get his daughter into the supply office where the captain would be assigned. She couldn't be on the generals' staff like the captain would be, but moving freight by day would allow them sleeping together at night. Carl took Olivia back to her room where she renewed her matriarch mark and he helped her with the pile of paperwork that needed to get done before the next morning. When this was finished they shared a shower and she let him dress her for bed, the pajamas was a him-her matching set and he would wear the ones for him next time he stayed overnight. Before he left she pushed something against his neck and down his t-shirt, saying it was a keepsake that would ward away the other captain.

Captain Houlihan met him on the other side of the courtyard and flirted, complementing him on the scent of fur shampoo but teased him he used too much. Keeping the flirtatious female away was proving a challenge, thankfully using more than necessary fur shampoo masked Olivia's scent as well as her mothers. The female captain pushed her muzzle into Carl's neck fur as she held him against her body; she must have felt something because she pushed her paw down his shirt and retrieved what Olivia put inside. Her grin quickly turned to shock when she read the note written on stationary with General Pullers' insignia, the message written said plainly that if the male captain was hindered in any manner an investigation would be conducted to find and place the mammal responsible under oath for questioning. She rendered proper respect and stormed away.

When she was certain there was a good distance between them she allowed a giggle to escape her throat. Fur shampoo could only mask so much and her nose was close enough to detect the matriarchal scent, two matriarch scents to be precise. Now she had more than circumstantial evidence that the two had bitten the forbidden relationship apple, the staff sergeants' parents knew and approved as mothers do not put their scent on those not family. She also discretely followed the captain and staff sergeant the past two days, her telephoto lens capturing him getting marked and kissing his subordinate. She wished her eavesdropping bugs hadn't malfunctioned, these would have given more evidence what actually happened behind the locked door. Speaking of doors, she wondered why high-quality locks were necessary on a low-level office space. But more surprising was someone upgraded the door lock on the captains' dorm.

She walked towards Major Keens' dorm, this news needed him to be informed immediately and she needed her aching muscles rubbed by his paws. This would only be the start of her reward for the many hours tracking these two lovers, now all that remained was to corner the staff sergeant and present the evidence. If the enlisted had any common sense left she would do the bidding of the female captain, otherwise more than the captain and she would be brought before a military tribunal. It was rare for a retired general to be reprimanded, but the threat of doing so should be enough to break the enlisted females' willpower.

When Carl was alone in his dorm and under the covers, he sniffed the gift that Olivia put into his pocket. It was a favorite tradition a female gave her chosen male: if they couldn't be together this fabric would keep her with him. He smiled, if she did this every time he left her room was it purposely done to move her wardrobe into his room? She allowed his paws on every part of her body, as he allowed her likewise. Fraternization charges still could be brought against them, but if this relationship turned out as he suspected then for him it would be worth it. Olivia seemed a better choice for him than his former fiancée and the only negative about her was being this old and cubless, doctors would have to pay extra attention during her first pregnancy.

He grinned. Tomorrow and the next few days would be hectic ending with the actual attack against the intruders inside the computer vault. Once these were pushed out and down the tunnel they came in he was certain they would be given time for rest and relaxation. But if the original mission here was any indication Murphy's Laws would muck-up everything and the mammals from the caverns would counter-attack. This could leave to a very long battle which the only saving grace was the caterpillar-type battle droids; even then reinforcements would determine which side emerged victorious.

He sniffed the fabric again, noticing the faded pattern. This indicated it once was her favorite and giving it to him indicated how valuable he became, it also made him feeling slightly lonely. He was still holding it as the Sandmammal sprinkled sleep dust into his eyes, dreaming of her in his paws. Olivia also was dreaming of their future together, her mother called moments ago letting her know her father approved of her choice and wanted them both meet him soon as the campaign gave them free time.

---

Nurse Teresa Riverbay attended the meeting and remained as composed as she could muster. The escape of the abomination was every bit as an outrage she knew it would be, and the reaction just as the two bishops thought it would be. Keeping out of sight of the grand tracker allowed her gage the overall reaction of the council; it also hid her reaction if even the slightest betrayal slipped from her composure. Recording everyone's reaction was secondary but important, primary was finding out what the councils' next move was. Thankfully at the moment her change in allegiance remained unknown and her fellow dark priest kept her informed on everything the priesthood was doing, including what they were monitoring via the chancellors' surveillance system.

She remained emotionless as she made her way out of the meeting and headed towards her tasking assigned by the bishops. Travelling through the underground streets, making turns into other streets at odd times was done to foil someone that might be tailing her. Finally she arrived at a medical clinic, one that was used by the Resistance that opposed the Dark Council. She picked up a sealed package and bid the secretary good afternoon then left as quickly as she arrived, leaving in a different direction than she arrived.

Soon she arrived back at the battle priests' home and was greeted by the two bishops. Tasking completed she was debriefed and then allowed to enter the residence. As a medical professional her cover would be a reasonable explanation: she was giving the battle priest a quick checkup.

Recently he started having gastral problems and the two bishops requested the nurse to see him on a regular basis. If she didn't diagnose it herself she would have claimed the two bishops were pulling her leg. Now she prescribed a change in his diet, since he was able to eat honey this should have clued him he was able to eat normal foodstuff that all badgers could. What galled the nurse was having to bring the portable latrine into his quarters so his biological change could remain secret. Only comfort she had in this was both bishops had to assist her in moving it down the hallway and to a disposal point. The nurse knew she needed better diagnosis and secretly arranged for the battle priest to have a doctor's appointment in Plainsburrow Hospital. Only an independent confirmation he had indeed completely reverted back into a mortal would confirm he was no longer one of *them*.

And if he no longer was one of *them* it meant his purpose now completely aligned with the two bishops. It also meant he was also no longer useful to the Triad Council and this meant if his secret was ever exposed they would kill him. But there was another secret that perhaps was more damming. The battle priest had begun talking in his sleep, itself not unusual but it was about whom that was dangerous.

A female named Clare; whoever this female was the nurse hoped she wouldn't find her way down here. It would trigger something in him and in his mortal state he would be unable to adequately protect either of them. It would be dangerous if the grand tracker's teams found them, perhaps dangerous for the entire resistance. Teresa could only hope the former battle priest remembered enough of his former skillset to prove dangerous, even if it was a bluff.

---

Rhon Rorschach stood on the balcony watching his parents in the restored garden below. It once was nothing more than a sorry excuse for one, a shadow of the grandeur he saw in the family photo album. All throughout his youth he once played in it and through the many building whose condition should have declared them as ruins instead of living and work spaces. Perhaps this was one of many reasons why their servants and workforce had revoked their positions and departed for better opportunities elsewhere. He had only a year ago felt ashamed for being the son of a baron, ashamed that the peasants living outside the estate had better living conditions... and ate better.

The Zootopians changed this as they did on many of the old buildings of the estate, for a price they wanted sole access to a few buildings where they could operate from without oversight from his parents. He was shocked when they agreed; angered that being low-ranking royalty could not positioned themselves for a better deal. It galled him that his parents had to request access to them. Things would change when he became the new baron, starting with seeing what was hidden inside these buildings.

Throughout his cubhood he worked to better himself in the eyes of his parents, sacrificed the joys of being young in order to be at the top of the pecking order of his siblings. Early in life he learned how important it was to behave in specific ways his parents approved of, his family were royalty after all even if at the lowest rung. He denied himself so that when the time came for his parents to choose an heir he would have the best paw in the proverbial door.

He learned about how being a ruling-class made him different than the commoners, how he was given access to information and things simply because of his birth. But he also saw how precarious his station in life was as many of his siblings were summarily executed seemingly just by making the wrong mistake. Vulpes birthed many cubs just as other species did, thankfully just like other predator species they only had one litter each year. This gave him the opportunity to evaluate his siblings and make the weakest-willed the escape goat for his mistakes. Framing the others took more time and craftiness, some worked with him to ensure another was unjustly framed for a failed scheme, like inserting clauses into contracts once the paperwork was out of the public eye.

He silently thanked his mentor, a domestic swine that first challenged him to a game of wits. After the sow beat him in several games in a row in increasing difficulty she graciously offered to teach him better tactical prowess and help him to ensure he became the baron-select. He knew there was a catch and soon her plans were laid plain: for giving her his family's ancestral home she would help him become duke. It would be a step-up in the pecking order in royalty, but worth it in his eyes. History was replete with such changes in kingdoms and in Vulpinstan it was no different.

But then his relative far down the family tree was tested and proven to have a better resume. The todd that once lived homeless and hustled to make a living was chosen to control the family's fortune. Worse yet... it married a prey, married outside its own specie. It tested his willpower to hide his true feelings every time he had to be in their presence, to do the work necessary to keep the family royalty running properly. It galled him knowing that he was doing what that todd should be doing, that his actions were benefitting someone else. This was what he trained himself to do and it should be he that reaped the rewards.

But it was all for naught... or could it be?

It was a fortuitous day when he discovered the Servants of Truth. They showed him the error behind the cross-species relationship, what damage it would do to society should many follow in the paw-prints of the fox-bunny couple. Proof was shown shortly after the trial of elder rabbits concluded mistakenly proclaiming the fox-bunny relationship was genuine; several does had attempted to date a predator only to become dinner.

His mentor had a sheep partner. It was these that urged him to work under the cover of deception in order to bid his time and slowly put into place things that when the time was right would make him the heir to his parents' title. The interlopers would be summarily executed, not by his parent's paws but by his newfound friends. At this moment both the fox and bunny were captured and held in separate prisons, the lapin by Servant of Truth and the vulpe by the godfather up in the Outback Isles. But rumors reached his ears that the bunny had escaped; certainly a hunt was on attempting to locate her.

But he had other concerns to attend to. An operation was about to get underway, a valuable artifact was the goal and the Servants requested him to try steal it before the Zootopians could put it somewhere out of reach. He was confident this could be done; he had acquired a remote control device for one of the caterpillar-looking machines. Using this he was certain he could get to the treasure before the confusion during the battle settled down. He only had one chance, and he was practicing on one of the caterpillar things so that when the time came he could perform quickly.

---

Judy blinked several times. How could they? It was several days ago since the Resistance gave Kimberly and her sanctuary in one of their safe homes and while waiting for their wounds to mend enough to travel the duo was given the latest intelligence gathered thus far. Several of the Hopps siblings had been actively turning-in their siblings, ones that supported Judy's cross-species relationship. Several of Nick's cousins also strongly disapproved and these vixens worked alongside these rabbits to capture and turn over to the Servants of Truth.

Rose, Rhonda and René Hopps... Gena, Doris and Helen Wilde were the culprits. These sisters may have been different species but they discovered a shared revulsion to what their two ZPD family members had done. True love couldn't be this blind; it went against basic instinct, against basic species natures. Unless mixed couples adopted it was impossible to become pregnant, impossible to make their parents into grandparents and the elder Wilde's and Hopps were near-fanatical about becoming such. Growing up rabbits was taught to be aware of predators especially foxes, it seemed growing up foxes were warned against rascally-rabbits that would encourage society to abuse foxes. How these different female species became cohorts was unknown, what was known were their efforts to clean their family tree of this taint.

"We assure you this is accurate. It would not have been presented if we ourselves did not verify it and have evidence ourselves" a male wolf who insisted on remaining nameless said so matter of fact.

Kimberly explained hiding one's identity was necessary because should any Resistance member be caught they couldn't name their fellow members. Judy noticed they also wore very lose clothes resembling something a monk would wear in a friary. The hoods were always covering their heads and for good measure masks were worn with goggles. Judy couldn't help but assign each hooded-one with a nickname, something that Nick would have done apparently rubbed off onto the lapin. Now she found herself missing him again. It was easy enough to push this into the far recesses of her mind when she was undergoing the torture watching her family tree being uprooted, now with lots of free time and nothing to focus her mind on her feelings started focusing on Nick.

"Thank you. When we get back topside world I'll make certain these are brought to justice" Judy had a frown on her face.

"Maybe that can wait, Judy. First we should put everything the Resistance knows into your wrist computer as a data file, I'm surprised our thumb drives fits into them. When you get up there give it to the mouse and dog duo, perhaps it will help them narrow-down their operation. Maybe it will spare some of the Resistance safe homes" Kimberly said as she put one thumb drive at a time into her Pip-Boar.

Soon it was completed and Kimberly sat nearby as the nurse adjusted her bandages. The muscles that used to control movement of her ears still worked and Judy tried not to stare, aware this made her friend quite self-conscious. Yes... there was a good chance the ancient machine could grow replacement body parts. Judy smiled; she was eager to see her friend whole once again, preferably before her family saw what she looked like at this moment.

.

M.