'MAX! WAKE UP!!!'

Max jerked awake disoriented and instantly started having trouble breathing. He realized he was drowning in some kind of thick, viscous fluid and panicked. He managed to orient himself to the brightest source of light and kicked off in that direction. He burst through the surface hacking and coughing the thick fluid out of his sinuses and mouth as he made his way to the edge; and with what little strength he had left in him, hauled himself over the lip and crashed to the floor where he was instantly and violently sick. Thick viscous fluid splattered the deck plates as his body purged itself. Max laid there for several minutes breathing hard.

Finally, Max managed to get to his feet, his fur plastered to his body by quickly drying gunk. Looking around the room, he saw an emergency shower and made his way over to it opening it to full blast and stood there while the tepid water sluiced the gunk off him. Finally satisfied there was no more gore covering his body, he looked around for a towel and located a high force air dryer instead. Triggering the controls, he stood there as the warm air quickly dried his fur. Once he was dry, he looked around and noticed that there were red lights flashing everywhere signaling a red alert on the Station.

Frowning, he looked around catching a flicker of movement in his peripheral vision. He noticed a black skunk morph looking at him. Blinking, he waved and noticed that the morph waved back, so he stepped closer. His brain was starting to engage now and he recognized what he was seeing as he got closer to the mirrored surface of a storage cabinet. It was him.

Staring back from the surface was a skunk morph, black of fur with white socks on its hands and feet. It had white eyebrows in a black furred and muzzled face and what looked like a white goatee growing from the chin of the muzzle. Staring back at him from the mirrored surface were Max's green eyes. The white fur on Max's chest, stomach and crotch no longer showed the outlines of his bones. He had recovered some of his frame though he still looked leaner than before, Max noticed a large black and white object behind him and turning slightly, recognized a prominent skunk's tail protruding from his posterior. The white stripe that had gone down his back traveled part way down his tail before forking into two separate stripes which curved way out towards the edges of the excessively long and thick fur before coming back together again and ending at the tip. The damn thing had to be freaking 1.3 meters long, if not more, and curled up behind him in alarm. Relaxing a bit, the tail dropped to reach the deck plates although the tip curled back up so as not to drag the floor. Concentrating a bit, he could move the tail and he wrapped it around his front and touched it. It was delightfully soft and thick and he absently petted it as he continued to look in the mirrored surface of the cabinet. His ears had grown bigger and rounder and had moved up his head to perch atop his noggin and were quite expressive in their movements, meaning they were laying fairly flat in distress at the moment. His muzzle had grown in but wasn't terribly long and, pulling his lips back, he could see strong, sharp, white teeth in his maw which he absently ran his now longer tongue over and promptly bit it. Max winced and explored his face more before noticing that his hands were now tipped with sharp looking little claws.

Looking down at his feet, he saw they were similarly clawed but still fairly normal for feet. He noticed an off-color blotch on his chest before his eyes reached his crotch and he panicked a bit, there wasn't anything there except really thick, white fur.

Reaching down he could feel a slight bulge there and then felt his testicles tight against his body. Curious he rubbed the bulge and from the fur hidden sheath, his manhood started to slide free. Max gazed at it in astonishment.

'FOR THE MAKERS SAKE, MAX! ADMIRE YOURSELF LATER!' he heard Swytch yell in his head.

"Swytch? Is that you? What's going on?" he asked out loud still slightly distracted.

'We've been boarded by pirates from the LNAW. Half of the station is under their control and you're on their half!!! ' hy practically screamed in Max's mind.

This was too much, especially for a skunk morph who used to be human not too long ago, and his brain kind of screeched to a halt for a couple of minutes while Swytch banged hys mental head in frustration.

Taking a deep breath hy calmed hymself before trying again. 'I know this is all coming at you fast, but that cannot be helped. They have stopped advancing because they have the half of the station they want, the half with the freed slaves. They say they are here to reclaim their property and anyone that gets in their way can happily be added to that property list. Max, they have Dream and Dr. Sands as well as the rest of the medical and science crew that worked to keep you alive. The only reason they don't have you is they managed to move your tank to a sub-storage room that's marked as a broom closet.'

Max managed to get his brain back in gear and thought for a few minutes. "Is anyone in charge over there?" Max asked.

Another voice came over the mind link and Max could sense the smug grin behind it, 'I was wondering when you would ask that, Mr. Pilumnus.'

Max's mental groan made the new addition chuckle. 'Commander Shylin, I presume?' Max sent.

'Very good Mr. Pilumnus, maybe there is hope for you after all,' the smug sounding skunktaur sent.

Jerk, Max thought. 'What do YOU want?'

'Mr. Pilumnus, there are 4 decks between you and us and three decks below you. Somewhere on those eight decks there are several hostages to include your friend, Lt. Commander Dreamspirit. Now, you can try to sneak your way to us and to safety, OR, you can try to find your friends and the other hostages and help to free them. So, which will it be, Mr. Pilumnus?' he sent quite seriously.

Max could feel Swytch in the back ground and he could feel hys worry, but he also felt a strong, steel spine of resolve in hym as well. 'What is it Swytch? Who else do they have?'

'Max, they have Jackie as well,' hy sent quietly.

Max's face went smooth and as emotionless as stone as that sank in; there really wasn't a choice, not if he wanted to be able to look at himself in the mirror ever again, even if the face in the mirror wasn't his own anymore. 'Shylin, I'm a computer nerd, not a security officer, but I won't leave those people behind. I don't know how much help I'm going to be though,' he sent.

Shylin's mental voice was quiet for a minute before sending, 'I've just entered your information into the main security database as a full admin for the entire station. Place your hand on the station console in the room you're in please.'

Max did as requested and there was a slow pulsing scan and then a chime.

'Your biometrics have been entered into the system and now you should be able to access almost any terminal. You already have the skills to get around the rest of them except for command consoles. I've given you the highest security privileges I can give you for accessing the station. If you can get up one floor to deck 8 room 14-Alpha, there is a security office there with light combat suits and phasers. You've had training in both in the Star Corps, plus you'll find your new body has more flexibility and strength than your old human one did and your senses are much better, not to mention your mental acumen.'

Max blinked at that. 'What do you mean by mental acumen?'

Max could sense the amusement from Shylin through the shared link with Swytch. 'Have you looked at your chest yet?' hy asked.

Max looked down at all the ruffled fur on his chest and tried to brush it down smooth with his hands noticing the same discolored spot that, once smoothed, turned out to be a red paw print. Max stared at it in the mirrored surface of the cabinet for a minute. 'What the hell? I'm not a skunktaur!' he exclaimed in alarm.

'Mr. Pilumnus, you've mentally bonded on such a level with Swytch as well as having a significant portion of your once human genome bonded with that of a skunktaur from Clan Redpaw, are you telling me you're not a telepath?' hy asked.

Max sent a questioning thought to Swytch who sent soothing comfort and love back to him. 'You may only have two legs Max, but I've always felt you were one of us, you just had the wrong body is all. What we have only happens with telepaths who give themselves freely and wholly to each other and even then, they never become this linked. We might as well be one person Max, and you know that. We share everything mind, body, and soul. We are Lifemates now, or at least to me you're MY lifemate,' Swytch sent with such firm belief that it made Max blink in stunned silence.

Max felt an overwhelming flood of emotions from Swytch and his new heightened sense told him everything he needed to know about hym and how Swytch felt. 'Lifemates, now and forever my love,' Max confirmed and instantly sensed an overwhelming tide of love and affection as hy released the shields hy always kept between them so as not to overwhelm Max. Max's new physiology accepted them wholly and completely as his mind did the same for Swytch.

'Very touching children, but we have work to do now,' sent Shylin. 'Max, I'm giving you one of my crew for help, Lieutenant Zyndil of Clan Blackpaw. Hy is going to use you as hys anchor and be your scout. Hy is a high level astral and a low level telekinetic. Hy will be able to do small things like make noise and move light objects if need be. Make sure to be a good strong anchor for him and bring hym back please, I'd be very upset if you got my son killed,' he sent seriously.

Max groaned and slowly banged his head on the cabinet. 'Great, there are two of you.' Max relaxed his mind for a few minutes opening the anchor link like he had been shown, what seemed like years ago now. Max felt someone latch onto that anchor link and a minute later, a skunktaur appeared beside him slightly indistinct. Max knew he was the only one who could see hym due to the anchor link and Zyndil's body was actually safe and sound wherever Shylin had him secured. The younger looking skunktaur smiled at him and waved remaining quiet for now since Max already had a conversation going on in his head.

'Well, at least your son's smile doesn't look as snarky as yours does,' Max observed.

Shylin let out a belt of laughter Max figured was physical as well as mental. 'Give hym time, hy's still young, it takes years to smirk like me,' Shylin sent.

Swytch cleared hys mental throat to get their attention. 'If you two boys would like to stop comparing testicle size, perhaps we can see about rescuing our friends and family and maybe do something about this pirate infestation we seem to have going on,' hy sent blandly.

'Quite right,' Shylin agreed unphased. 'Max, make your way to the security station and get yourself armed and armored and we will go from there. Be careful Mr. Pilumnus.'

'Aww, you care!' Max sent.

Shylin cut the connection with a mental snort and it was just him and Swytch now. He glanced at Zyndil and motioned for him to link in via the anchor link and soon he had two people riding mental shotgun.

'It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Pilumnus. Dad said... I mean Commander Shylin says good things about you which is unusual for anyone not on his crew, so you might want to start being afraid now,' hy sent with a grin.

'OK, Zyndil, I'm new to this whole anchor thing, tell me what I need to do,' Max sent.

'It's not difficult Sir, just keep a mental lock on me so I can stay anchored to you. You're already a pretty good anchor, I'm actually linked to you from Chakona,' hy said with a grin.

Max stopped moving at that tidbit of information, 'You found me all the way from Chakona???'

'Yup! Actually, you're quite easy to find Sir. The Blackpaws already have your mental link scans from your initial evaluation and you kind of shine like a beacon for us even from this distance. Easiest link I ever made with someone I hadn't linked with before,' hy acknowledged.

'Why do you keep calling me Sir? I'm not that old,' Max queried.

'Because dad... I mean Commander Shylin said you outrank me. I believe he said, Lieutenant Commander?' he asked curiously.

Max blinked at that and heard Swytch chuckle in his head, 'OK, spill it Swytch, what is hy talking about?'

Swytch managed to get hys giggles under control as hy said, 'Commander Shylin, had to retain you as a Starfleet officer for any of this to actually work. Hy couldn't just give a civilian top-level security access to the entire station and keep hys job, so hy backdated a transfer to Starfleet as inactive reserves in the Intelligence division. Congratulations on your promotions Lieutenant Commander Pilumnus,' hy sent with a teasing smirk.

'But... I'm... ARGH!' Max walked back over to the wall and banged his head on it a couple more times, maybe he would wake up from this farce of a dream. 'Lovely, just bloody lovely,' he sent. 'Zyndil, you know your abilities and your limits, so I am going to rely on you to know what you can and cannot do. If I ask for something you cannot give you tell me, OK?'

Zyndil nodded, 'Yes, Sir.'

'And for the love of everything... Just call me Max, this rank thing is only temporary,' Max sent pleadingly.

Zyndil smiled and nodded again, 'Whatever you say, Sir.'

Max went to put his face in his hands like he normally would and ended up smacking himself on his new muzzled nose and winced. 'Ouch! OK, I'm going to have to get used to that... So let's get this straight. We have to go up one floor and over...' he thought for a minute. 'Three sections, gear up, find and release the hostages, and then escape up three more decks with everyone in tow while I'm getting used to a completely different body and abilities? Does that sound about right to everyone?' he sent curiously.

He received a double echo of 'Pretty much!' from both travelers in his noggin.

'Great...' he breathed out, this should be SO much fun. 'Zyndil, go scout the corridors outside, we have to get to the next level up and the quickest way are the turbo lifts if they are still on, if they aren't I'm going to have to make them work.'

Zyndil gave an affirmative and walked right through the door into the outer laboratory and disappeared. Max looked around the smaller lab he was in for anything to possibly use as a weapon. He managed to scavenge up a PADD and a few random tools he could use if he needed to do any electrical work. He also found three empty hypo sprays and a refill station for their tubes.

'Computer, what is a good compound that will render an individual unconscious quickly and work on a wide variety of species?' he queried.

A clinical female voice replied, 'Anesthizine has a .387 millisecond response time for unconsciousness and works on 73.214% of known species.'

Max placed the three hypospray tubes in the refill station. 'Computer, fill all three tubes with anesthizine,' he ordered.

In a second, all three tubes were filled with a clearish blue liquid. Max placed them in the three hyposprays and then found a hard shelled medical case with a shoulder strap. He placed them inside along with the tools, PADD, and a few odds and ends that might come in handy along the way. He suddenly stopped with a curious look on his face. 'Swytch?' he sent.

'Yes, love?' hy sent back.

'I just realized that this entire time I've been walking around and doing everything completely naked in my fur and not once have I felt self-conscious... Is that normal?' he asked curiously.

Swytch's mental laugh filled his head and his heart and hy said, 'Sounds like not all of the changes you've gone through are physical. Morphs are used to running around without clothing. Our fur is really all we need to stay warm and we don't have any dangly bits really to worry about. Most morphs wear clothing for decoration or for pockets. Pockets are a lovely invention. Other than that, we wear clothes so as not to offend the more prudish humans we encounter.' Then curiously hy sent, 'Can you let me see what you look like now?' hy asked.

Max walked over to the mirrored surface of the cabinet and allowed Swytch to see through his eyes. He gazed at himself up and down so hy could see everything, even going so far as to turn sideways to show off his ridiculous bush of a tail.

Max caught a throaty growl come from Swytch, 'Oh Max... You look almost like a skunktaur from the front, you are VERY attractive! Not that you weren't before love,' hy added quickly. 'The heart knows love but the body knows lust and you're definitely lustable,' hy purred in Max's mind.

Max managed to blush at this and was interested to see his ears turn pink on the inside where the fur was much thinner.

This caused Swytch to chuckle more. 'You come home safely to me, you hear? I want to give that body a good once over; or maybe a two or three time going over.' Max could practically feel Swytch's lust through the link which had the embarrassing side effect of making him slip free of his sheath and become erect quit quickly. Swytch found this quite interesting as the configuration and size had changed as well. 'Maybe five or six times,' hy amended.

'OK, reel it in love!' Max begged, his erection painfully hard. 'I can't deal with this right now love, I need to concentrate and I can't do that when you're flooding our link like this,' he pleaded.

Swytch managed to tone it down considerably allowing Max's erection to recede back into his sheath with a sigh. 'Sorry...' hy said contritely.

'It's OK, love, usually when your life's in danger, you realize more carnal desires, I guess.' he consoled hym. Swytch's mental voice got quieter, 'Be careful love. And bring Jackie, Sands, and Dream home please. I have faith in you...'

'I'm glad someone does,' Max said in a tiny voice. 'I'm scared shitless...'

'You might want to be careful with that. You're a skunk morph now remember, that has a completely different connotation now,' hy laughed quietly.

Max opened his mouth to say something aloud and then closed it. 'You're joking?' he sent instead.

'Nope, welcome to the skunk family love, just be careful where you aim it.' And with that hy threw hys shields up so Max couldn't hear just how loudly hy was laughing.