Night on Otar II. The workers haul themselves into their barracks exhausted.

"Get some sleep furballs!" yells Dobbs "Your gonna need it tomorrow!"

Tundra turns to Cairo in the bunk next to him.

"Why are they doing this to us?"

"Isn't it obvious?" says Cairo "They want us as slave labor."

"The Federation---"

"The Federation doesn't know were out here. This is an unknown world and no one is coming to our rescue."

"My friends will look for me."

"Carumba!" says a jaguar-sapien "You talk too much amigo. Go to sleep!"

"I'm sorry I don't think we've met."

"Doesn't matter."

The jaguar goes to sleep. Tundra finds himself the only one awake. He sighs and goes to sleep himself.

The sound of a whistle blowing wakes them all.

"Prisoner escaping!" shouts a guard.

Everyone in the barracks goes to the window and spots a cheetah-sapien running for the fence.

"What's that fool doing?!" says Cairo

"Trying to escape it looks like." says Tundra

"He'll never make it." says Goliath

As the cheetah nears the fence he leaps into the air. Halfway over the fence he's shot from the guard tower and vaporized.

"Oh, my God!" says Tundra

Cairo sighs and collapses into his bed.

"That fool didn't listen. I told him to forget it."

****

Next day. The fat boss man is watching his prisoners pick axe the ore into smaller pieces just outside the cave, a sandwich in his hand.

"I've never seen such lazy scum! Work faster you fuzzballs!"

Someone makes a raspberry in his direction. He turns to a Great Dane sapien and gives him a nasty stare.

"That was very smart. Put him in The Oven!"

"No! No The Oven! Please!"

Tundra moves to help but Cairo stops him as two guard haul the Great Dane toward a metal box, put him in and seal it up.

"Maybe that will teach him!" says the fat man.

****

"We're in orbit of Otar II." says Miles

"Scan the surface." says BJ

"A large concentration of humanoids on the main continent." says Leroy "Looks like a mining operation."

Maverick looks over his shoulder.

"I recognize this. It's the work of Bruno Leslie."

"Who?"

"A business man who believes all dog and cat sapiens should work for, not alongside humans. He uses them as slave labor. That fat pig is still operating his illegal mining operations."

"How do you know about him?" says BJ

"Because I tried to capture him some years ago. He had the exact same operation going on Hita V. When the ore was extracted he had his ship bombard the camp killing every one of the workers. The authories came only after he had left."

"We have to tell this to the Federation." says Miles

"And let them rot on the planet?" says Maverick "Absolutly not. We have to help them."

"How?" says BJ

"I still have my changeling-cloak belt during my black ops days. If you beam me down there I think I can create a distraction and free the prisoners."

"Very well. But be careful." says BJ

"I always am." says Maverick

Maverick leaves the bridge.

"Hang in there Tundra." says Miles "We're coming."

To be continued.....