Kayla: Terror
In the 28th century, the technology of rejuvenation allows for immortality. This device is also used for sentencing as well. A penitatas; a criminal that is sent back to childhood to live a highly strict and disciplined life to start anew. (Story Thirty-Three)

Finally, the first day into that ever-secretive plot of mine! You just wait till the next story ;)
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Concept by Lurking Dragon
Kayla and story by Professor Bob
Bobroni@moonglade.net
More Kayla Stuff!: www.Professor-Bob.com



Kayla bounded herself noisily down the school bus' steps, down to the ground between her house and Ninne's. Right behind her, Ninne got her own footclaws to the ground, and their bus raised altitude a bit, speeding off to it's next stop. Their school day was officially over, and that was always a relief for a penitatas to come home unscathed.

"At least your mom doesn't punish you like she used to. Emily has gotten stricter with me, it's like I have to watch my back all day.. I mean damn, right in the middle of the mall? On a Saturday, during Christmas shopping season?", Kayla continued to discuss with her best friend, as they stood side by side on Kayla's side of the street, expressing her distaste for such frequent discipline and humiliation. They could not stand around like that outside by themselves long without getting into trouble, so the girls normally made their chats brief. The fox seemed uncomfortable, like she had been a bit jumpy in reguards to her latest encounters with her mother and her spanking implements. Ninne made a look of concearn across her snout, though she shook her head slightly.

"It happens sometimes. With all that stuff with my biological mother and Ashley, and your involvement, she might be miffed with you still. Don't take it hard though, I have had my tail chewed in that mall more times then I can count. My ma'ma used to make it a point to punish me publicly. I'm sure she still would too, if I got under her scales", Ninne had to be honest with, knowing the situations they had been in recently. It made her own situation better, but Kayla got the raw real with all of her involvement with the Dianne and Ashley cases.

"Maybe.. But I'll deal with it. With Christmas only two days away, I'm going to get badly switched anyway, so why worry?", Kayla said with a shurg and joking sort of smile. Humor with fellow penitatas was just another way to alleviate the pain of waiting.

"Sounds about right! But at least those switches don't go between your legs, like what I have to deal with", Ninne giggled at first, though she got a shiver at the end. It wasn't from the cold either. "I had better go though. My ma' will be major pissed if I keep standing around. See you Kayla!", she had to hurry and say, getting worried about her undertail, before she turned and started running for her house with a wave of her claw.

"Bye Ninne, don't get into trouble!", the fox waved in return, wishing her friend an un-sore evening. Kayla turned around and looked her house with a slight sigh, stroking her right paw along her cheek and muzzle-side. Perhaps staying in her room and playing quietly was the best course of action to calm her parents down? A sudden cold wind ran by, chilling her tiny fox whiskers. Before she could move her footpaws towards the house to get warm.. there was a blast of pain in the back of her head. A small yelp of air escapsed her muzzle as her limp body felt like it was slowly falling. It was a sensation she had for only a split second, before all suddenly became dark, and the nippy winter air became as sharp as a dagger, as she lost consciousness where she stood.




Mind filling with a thick haze, her muzzle twitched as she begun to come to. Kayla could barely think, with her head throbbing in pain, and the rest of her body numb and lacking in responce. Her eyes opened a crack, letting in light that stung her blurred vision, as the fox's other senses slowly came back. She was laying on her side, on cold metal, completely dazed. Took several moments, till the seemingly growing pain in her head made her grit her teeth and let out a low, quiet, canine growl.

"Well look at that, she's finally waking up I think. I told you she wasn't in a coma", echoed the smug voice of a nearby male in her ears, causing them to flick at the sudden sound.

"You sure as hell hit her hard enough. About damned time", came another male voice, farther then the other. He sounded annoyed by the other man, slightly. They seemed like they knew eachother well. Upon hearing she had been struck, Kayla managed to move her right arm and get her right paw weakly behind her head. Her fingertips stroked past the fur on the back of her head, feeling nothing but caked blood sticking her fur together. The young girl's chest tightened and she filled with horror, but her body was too weak to show it outright. She fought to get her senses back, opening her eyes all the way, dispite the blur in vision, and her mind finally started processing the sense that she was not anywhere familiar. Kayla raised her head weakly, baring her teeth and letting out a brief growl as she looked at the form of the man sitting across from her, acting aggressive even with her weary eyes and limp body.

"Tell me where I am. Now!", Kayla demanded, shouting at the man, though it hurt her head to do so. Teeth clenched together, she breathed between her teeth in pain as her right paw rubbed the side of her head. Even a pair of tears left her eyes, causing her to damn such a small body and young mind. It made everything difficult. Her senses were going crazy now that she had come mostly to, being filled with sounds and scents, as well as instinctive fear from the danger she was suddenly in. All she could tell, was that she was in the back of a hover-truck, with a man near her, and another up front at the controls.. and she was injured, and not there at her own will. Kayla's scrambled mind finally knew; she had been kidnapped. But why?! Kayla looked more aggressively towards her captor, and as her vision cleared, saw he was a middle aged human, still weilding the black club she was more then likely struck with. Perhaps about late thirties, the fox's senses were able to conclude. Watching the man sit and stare at her, giving no reply.. with that stupid short mustache above his lap, seemingly taunting her, it incited a much stronger growl from Kayla. "What do you want with me? Ransom? Are you a dumbass? I'm a penitatas! Who would give you a pay off for me? I'm no one important!", the fox summoned the strength to snap, trying hard to ignore the headache she was enduring while shouting. Kayla took a deep breath to get some of her lost energy back, lifting her weakened body slightly as she glared at the cruel looking man, who had only grinned at the fox's demand for answers. It frightened Kayla, not even knowing what they wanted her for. Sex or even labor?

"For someone who tries to look so cute and fuzzy, you're a firey bitch", the man laughed in amusement, watching the seven year old anthromorphic fox growl violently where she laid. "You're worth more in skills and ability, and you'll be using them for us", he finally answered, raising his left hand to stroke his thin mustache while he grinned with what seemed like an evil man's glee. His voice sounded very pleased.

"Kiss my 'fuzzy' ass! I won't do anything for you, no matter what it is!", Kayla downright assured, filled with rage. The look on her face was almost primal, teeth bared and muzzle scrunched. Honest truth was, the fox was scared out of her wits. All she wanted was to curl up and cry.

"Then we'll kill you, it's that simple. I'm not about to start playing games with a seven year old puppy, 'Packet-Storm' or not", came much more hostile in nature, as the man leaned over and looked Kayla square in the eyes to let her know his intention to uphold his word. "You're known as a famous hacker, and look at you. A whiny little kid. Even so, you're still the biggest name in computer crime, and your skills are going to make my partner and I the richest people in this quadrant! Deltastar Bank ring any bells, Packet-Storm? You might not have stolen funds back then, but you sure will now. All of it! Our little ticket to every financial institution's pocket", he went on with a laugh, finding all of Kayla's angry and frightened expressions to be funny. Watching his long awaited prisoner helpless in a small pool of her own dried blood, trying to growl at him, pleased his black heart.

"We had to wait for days till we could get an opportunity to kidnap you. Shame everyone let their guard down, huh? They should have kept armed guards around a dangerous gold mine like you", the man up front in the hover-truck joked himself, but not for the same reasons as his partner. This was his idea, and he knew just how rich Kayla could make them. Kayla's scanning ears, analyzing their voices, made one thing clear. The man up front was the brains, and the violent natured man she was with, was the brawn. She shifted her head and eyes slightly, to look towards the front of the vehicle with her dirty look. The back of the craft was not separated from the front, allowing her to see the controls and two pilots seats now that her vision was normal again. There were much too many controls for this to be a standard craft, and she could not see out the front windshield.. it didn't seem to have one. It had a deactivated viewscreen, and the man was flying the ship manually, on sensors alone.

"My parents will notice me missing, and every cop in Calleet will be out to arrest me! How are you going to hide from them?", Kayla spat at the man driving the craft, noting a very good fact to spite him and his plan. The man that was with her, was the first to scoff, and even chuckle, pointing at the dried blood on the ebony club in his lap.

"Someone doesn't seem to realise how long they were out", he just had to say. Kayla's chest tightened painfully each time he spoke. His cruelty chilled her right down to the heart. The innocent fox could not believe someone could take so much pleasure and amusement in the fact that she was bloody and cornered. Made her sick, literally.

"He's right, Packet-Storm. They already know you're gone, and have everyone scrambling I bet. We're long gone from Calleet, and no one will be finding us. I'm using a sensor mirror to send out fake signals of common, unoccupied air, and a cloaking device. Spared no expense, but it's fine. We'll get it all back, a billion-fold", he answered so plainly, it was like he did stuff like this every day. Kayla knew she wasn't dealing with small-time crooks. She was in grave danger.

"Quit calling me that..", Kayla grumbled about her past alias, a bit quieter as a looming feeling of helplessness enveloped her. As much as it hurt, she did not want to deal with her captors any longer, and carefully rolled herself over to look towards the metal side of the craft, and away from glaring eyes and smug attitudes of accomplishment. Her anger was no longer greater then her fear and sorrow; eyes overwhelmed with tears. Keeping quiet, her muzzle quivered and the scared and lonely girl whimpered and cried to herself. Kayla's head would not stop pounding from her violent injury, and looking down at where the back of her head once was, she got to see all the dried blood she had been laying in. No wonder she was woozy. Her lungs resisted air and her heart raced, with her seven year old mind filled with thoughts of pain, uncertainty, and mortality. The only sound for some time, were the light impulse engines of her captor's craft.

"Maxwell, we there yet?", came the of the man near Kayla asked his partner, giving the figure a name. Kayla just stayed tightly curled, and quiet where she laid, moving her ears around to listen.

"Ummm..", she heard Maxwell hum with uncertainty, most likely looking his sensor readings and console over. "It's hard to tell, all of the magnedroxide has begun to jam all of the sensors. We're on the right course, I'll see the coordinates on my monitor as we draw near. It's a good sign even we have trouble finding our little place", he spoke again with his calm and collected voice. But what was magnedroxide? That didn't sound familiar. "Computer, activate foreward viewscreen", he then asked the craft, which chirped.

"What kind of hover-vehicle is this?..", Kayla mumbled to herself, placing her paws flat to push herself up. It took some strain, shaky from the blood loss and blow to the head, but she managed to flip herself over and lean against the rear corner of the vessel to look at the now operating viewscreens. Not one other vehicle was in sight, nor any civilization. Nothing but dense forest and rolling hills; a rocky and vegitation filled mass of nowhere. The still unidentified man had watched her struggle to sit up, and had been slightly snickering at her dazed look and glazed eyes as she stared blankly at the land passing not far below.

"That's all magnedroxide, Packet-Storm. The big key to how you'll never be found", he felt compelled to say, making a gesture towards the front screens with his club that he still had not put down. "The hills are made out of nothing but this magnetic oxide-based mineral. Even the best sensors are jammed and scrambled by all of the magnetic energy, and confused by sensor ghosts bouncing back. The trees here thrive off this mineral, and are as thick as they could be. It's like hiding right under someone's nose", the man explained proudly, even if he had trouble explaining the more technical details. Those weren't the details he cared for anyway. Kayla wanted to do nothing but shove his black club down his throat and tell him how stupid his mustache looked, but as a good penitatas knows, a quiet mouth is a mouth that isn't in trouble. His smug and amused attitude got under her fur, deeply, especially while he held the club that had her own blood on it.

"I can tell you're having fun back there, but I'm going to be setting us down now. Getting it in slowly through the dense tree-line is not going to be easy, since I can't damage the trees or the ship. In other words..", Maxwell spoke suddenly, and with haste, before a strong jolt hit the ship as it started to shake and bump.

"Hold on to something, yeah, little late on warning me!", his partner said, grabbing a hold of a nearby structural bearing so he would not slide at the small tilts the craft was making. Kayla groaned from pain, as the sudden movements were making her feel sick due to her head. She saw the trees thrashing against the viewscreens, while they sank into a valley between two steep hills. The odd movements only lasted a few seconds, till the craft came to a rest below the trees, with all the thick and heavy branches whipping back into place to cover the ship as Maxwell intended.

"Alright Tyson, you take Packet-Storm inside. I'm going to boost the ship's sensor mirror, to ensure the tritanium in the ship's hull cannot be detected, or us in the shack. The strong magnetic field is blanketing us here, but we need it to keep the ship concealed from sensors. Tritanium popping up would look very suspicious", Maxwell announced, while he worked quickly at his console that Kayla could not see, as it was to his left. For once he didn't sound as calm, working to expand his sensor mirror's field of effect. Kayla fixated her eyes on the man she now knew was named Tyson as he rose from his seat, and rummaged through equipment behind Maxwell's seat. Though, her dirty look changed to a look of surprise as Tyson pulled a black case from the other boxes and crates. It had a large silver Starfleet insignia on it, and as the fox was unfortunate to find out, as the case was opened, also held several Starfleet regulation phasers. Hull, tritanium, all those devices, and Starfleet weapons? No wonder this thing wasn't like a hover-vehicle, it was a space craft built and filled with illegal and smuggled parts!

"Keep giving me dirty looks like that fox, and you're liable to have a much worse wound then that first one", Tyson said Kayla's way while waving the phaser intimidatively, with a lot of aggrivation in his voice, having noticed the way Kayla was staring and sneering at him. Not giving him any satisfaction, Kayla bared her teeth and growled slightly, not taking her eyes off of him. He scoffed, slipping his club into a belt holster while keeping his weapon pointed at his prisoner. "Well what the hell are you waiting for?", he said with as much authority as his previous threat, stomping his boots toward the limp Kayla, propped up in the corner. Not waiting for an answer, he swiftly kicks the small fox in the side of her abdomen, causing her to fall from where she was propped, gripping her side and coughing from the pain. She was getting sick of being manhandled and abused, but she felt so weak, and her spirit so helpless. There was just no will to get up. "I'm not carrying you dammit, get your ass up!", Tyson shouted down at her, leaning down and grabbing her by the collar of her shirt. He pulls on it with a strong jerk, choking her with the neck of her shirt till she was stumbling on her feet and off the floor. The back hatch opened while Kayla braced herself on the side well, hunched over and catching her breath. "Move!", ordered her captor, shoving her forewards hard. Kayla didn't even have enough air in her lungs to gasp before she fell and hit the ramp, tumbling the short distance down till she landed on the dirt and rocky mineral at the bottom, scraping her elbows on the sharp bits of magnedroxide.

"I'm not going to do anything for you at this rate!", Kayla spat as she, shakily pushed herself up from the ground and climbed back onto her feet.

"That's what you think. Now walk to the shack. Go", she heard Tyson chuckle behind her, knowing his phaser was still pointed at her. Seeing it was too dangerous to disobey at the moment, she started the short distance for the metal shack he gestured to. It looked absolutely run down, and like these two criminals built it on their own quite some time ago. Not a place she thought she'd ever end up. The sounds of birds chirped in her ears, and the smell of dense vegitation overpowered her strong nose, just looking around the forest. Was not easy to do so, with the thick treetops overlapping one another cut out a lot of light. The feeling of nervousness would not leave her, trembling as she walked. She cautiously looked over her shoulder, to see Tyson following closely behind, and the ship. The ship looked like it was patchworked with so many different technologies, civilian and military alike. Her eyes turned back, reaching the shack's door, which she opened herself as she was being watched like a hawk from behind, revealing to herself a room that struck her with awe. "Gawk later", she was told with another shove not even a second later, stumbling into the shack as she heard Tyson close the door behind himself. She turned and growled aggressively towards him again, panting slightly from her small and frail body being roughed up the way it was.

"I'd appreciate if you kept your hands off of me. I'm lucky I can see straight as is", the injured, scared, and frustrated girl felt compelled to angrily remind her violent captor, who seemed to do everything he did out of self-enjoyment. Even as she said that, her eyes did not stop examining what had surprised her.

"You really are too pissy for a baby girl who got clocked in the back of the head Packet-Storm", Tyson commented in reply, actually laughing fully, as if it was hilarious to him.

"I told you to quit calling me that! And stop thinking of me as a human, cause I'm not!", she snapped loudly, with her teeth fully bared toward Tyson. She knew the only reason she was most likely still alive from her excessive blow to the head, was the fact she was an Aspatrian. The looks of anger in her eyes were increasing with every shove or laugh, along with her fear. If she were alone, she would curl up and bawl as if she had been mauled by her paddle. She had to be tough!

"Whatever kid. It's hard to think a brat is the best hacker in the galaxy, but hey, what can you do. Get over there and familiarize yourself with the console and equipment, I'll be watching", he replied with a 'I don't care' gesture with his type-2 phaser, speaking completely nonchalant. Kayla looked away from him and sighed, stepping towards the pile of devices and wires that filled the room, that she had been staring at before. A powerful, though old and rugged looking console, secondary computers linked in series, thick transmission cable, stealth bridges, command buffering memory racks.. all for her. It reminded her of the old days, and her own rugged looking computer system she built at home for hacking. The mess of wires and external devices especially. The console was situated at a table in the middle of the room, which continued on to the right side, with all the secondary systems linked up behind it, and the other racks along the wall. It was all she needed to do what they demanded, even if the room was dirty and dark. There was no floor, just all dirt and earth, and the roof was just a sheet of metal placed on top for the most part. The walls were at least sturdy looking, and the doors worked. Kayla's shoes slowly and quietly clunked through the dirt, placing a paw on the console's screen to wipe it clean. So many memories all at once, aching her heart with the evil of her past..

"Go ahead miss Ackart, take a seat. We need to put you through a trial run", came the calm voice of Maxwell from the doorway, whom had been watching her from what Kayla could see when she turned around. He looked like a young man with white hair, now that she could see his face. She froze a bit, not liking the sound of any sort of 'trial run'. Maxwell saw the fright in her eyes and the hesitation in her movements, and raised his left hand open, just as a gesture that he meant no harm as he stepped towards her, to the side of the console. "Don't be scared. I hooked this up myself, and it should be everything you need if my research was correct. Just need you to take it for a spin, so we can see how you do", he explained, trying to keep his voice sounding kind. Kayla's whole body was trembling, and she never took her eyes off of him, even as she climbed into the chair they had in front of the console. She had to curl her bushy tail around to her left side, as they didn't think enough to get a chair with an open back. Maxwell reached over onto the console and activated it.. and seeing the computer boot begun to bring Kayla terror, gripping the seat and sinking into it.

"I'm not Packet-Storm anymore. I can't do this sort of thing, it's not in me", Kayla spoke solumnly, trying to not look at the screen, nor Maxwell. Shame of the past filled her, and so did a deep fear. She was a penitatas for what she did, and did not wish to cause harm anymore. Even back then, she did not steal or destroy.

"Well that is what we're doing. Getting you to refresh and use your abilities, and get ready for the real thing", she was replied, as Maxwell did his best to be casual about getting her to hack something unwillingly. Tyson grumbled angrily, quickly getting impatient as he stepped behind Kayla's seat.

"Maxwell..", Kayla growled softly before relenting a little, being kept calmer by his smooth talking. "I won't hack anyone. I don't care, I just won't!", she resisted, shaky in body and voice as she looked down. A strong tug on her headfur made her let out a sharp but brief scream, as the emitter of a phaser was placed under her muzzle, pressing into the base of her neck.

"Shut up!", Tyson promptly ordered in a bellowing voice above her, holding her head up by her headfur with the weapon to her neck.

"Hey, cool down!", Maxwell tried to encourage his partner, looking somewhat shocked and displeased himself. This wasn't part of his personal plan, that ensured his riches.

"Alright bitch, you listen up, and you listen good and clear, understand!?", Tyson demanded loudly and roughly, speaking from between his clenched teeth in his fury as spit flung from his mouth. Kayla was completely frozen, unable to hold back the tears of fright as she clenched her eyes and whimpered tearily, feeling the weapon placed hard to her throat. Kayla thought she was scared before, now she was terrified for her immidiate life. Her muzzle refused to open, to scream, cry, speak, anything. "And that is just what I should be hearing from you! Nothing! Now, do your shit and access a random system. Now, fast!", he barked in authority, pushing her head towards the screen so she could see, while keeping a painful hold on a tuft of fur, and pressing the phaser to her neck harder. Paws shaking like leaves, Kayla tried to hold back her small, but hard felt sobs, as she placed her paws on the console and begun executing the programs she needed with a rapid pace, though slightly slower then normal due to being so nervous.

"It's done!", Kayla let out almost as one word, she said it so fast, desperately, and tearily. Frightened for her life, she could only tremble, cry, and do as she was told. Almost two years ago, she had phasers pointed at her, but never did she have her life in such danger, even on Aspatria. "I'm connected", she let him know right after, not liking her situation at all. She was in such pain, physically and emotionally. Several small windows were open on the monitor, shielding her connection and displaying the system she was connected to through a security fault.

"Query the system fox, I want you to tell me all about it", Tyson ordered, sounding slightly less full of rage, and a lot more amused and spiteful. He was thouroughly loving this; breaking his prisoner and ripping at her spirit and soul. Kayla's speedy paws tapped a few keys, and a list of information appeared on the screen.

"The system is owned by a small business in San Fransisco Bay. They make and sell hand crafted plush toys, and their system stores all of their orders, financial data, and material inventory", Kayla tried to calm down and say for her kidnapper, even if her voice was still very shaken as she read the data. A large grin crept across the face above her, as Tyson rubbed the phaser's emitter tauntingly against Kayla's neckfur. It made her tense up again, wondering each second if it would be the second he'd fire.

"Good, that's good!", he said with sadistic glee, leaning close to speak right into Kayla's right ear. "I wanted you to see the people behind the system, before you deleted everything and destroyed it. Imagine their faces while you commit your crime!", Tyson shouted into her ear, making it lower and turn away slightly from the pain of it, while she whimpered. The lump in the fox's chest was too much to bear, looking at the screen and thinking about what she was ordered to do. Kayla told herself in her head, 'be brave!', while her eyes wept and her body trembled.

"Fuck you! What gives you the right?! It's a 'mom and pop' store, someone's dream! Their livelyhood!", she exclaimed, held with a phaser to her throat or not. There were things she felt strongly about, and this was one of them. Tyson pulled tightly on her fur, ripping out a few strands, with Kayla squeeling sharply in pain.

"I don't need to be given any right! These are your own skills and abilities, and you're the master criminal hacker. You didn't get your reputation by planting goddamn flowers, you're a malicious bitch! Don't give me this shit about you not being a hacker anymore, cause you are now, whether you want to or not! You hear me Packet-Storm?!", he shouted violently and aggressively into Kayla's face, keeping her head pulled back so she'd be looking up at him. Not even caring for a reply, he shoves Kayla's head back towards the screen, pressing the phaser even harder into the young girl's neck. It was starting to hurt a lot, and cut off bloodflow where he had it placed. "Delete everything and shut it down, or I'll kill you right now! A dead computer, or a dead body! I want to see one or the other within the next few seconds!", he commanded in rage, and very much not kidding about his threat. He was enjoying himself a bit too much, to not see one of those things happen.

"Do as he says", Maxwell promptly suggested. He knew his partner was not kidding when he got like this, and Tyson was not going to put up with her anymore. It brought her pain worse then the one in her head and it cut her very soul.. but Kayla's paws started zipping across her console again, with data flying by at unhuman speeds as she was used to. She had been left with little choice, and as a pair of tears rolled down her cheekfur, her commands had been executed. Her primary window confirmed a full data purge, before the big black window was replaced by a small red box. It read, 'Disconnected', as the system she attacked went offline and shut down. It would take plenty of work to restore the system, and all of the data was lost forever. A fast and easy task, disrupted the long aquired dreams of someone. Staring at the screen, overflowing with guilt and sorrow, the drooping fox cried. All she could see were the faces of those she hurt with her own two paws, and evil skill. Someone's business computer, the data needed to run the business.. it was important, but not as important as what else she took from them. For years and years, she stole people's hapiness and smiles. An image of a small, sad kindern, wondering why her parent's plushie order was never carried out, comtinued to flash by her mind. Each customer, and the owners, would have nothing to smile about. Kayla felt disgusting, and wondered if the 'dead body' option would have been better then committing a senseless crime that had already killed a part of her inside as it was. The poor girl was frozen, and tears were her only comfort.

"So how'd it feel Packet-Storm? Envigorating? Disrupting their very lives, it must be like old times. Now that you've shown you can obey and throw morality to the wind, you can do banks for us now", Tyson spoke darkly and barbarously into Kayla's ear, being as belligerant as he could, letting go of Kayla's headfur and taking the phaser from her neck to holster it. Watching Kayla cry and stare off into the screen fed his sadistic nature, imagining all the money he could have. Kayla clenched her eyes and squeezed out the tears that remained, before suddenly looking very hostile, with her teeth gleeming, and paws clenching.

"The hell I will! You're a sick asshole! People work hard for what they earn, and I won't be part of your plan to take it all away!", Kayla declared with determination, scrambling out of her chair to get just out of Maxwell and Tyson's reach. She let out a warning growl at the first sign of their movement, slowly stepping backwards and baring her teeth. Kayla had become so upset and scared, her 'fight or flee' instinct decided that both options were good.

"Look at this brat. What do you think you can do? You'll be committing high computer robbery, you have no say in the matter, kid. You're our property", Tyson joked to Maxwell with a gesture towards the agressive little fox, before turning back to her and taunting her with the truth.

"Calm down Kayla! You're only a small child, you're just going to hurt yourself", Maxwell said, trying to encourage her into compliance as he slowly stepped forewards.

"Quit thinking of me as a human!", the Aspatrian fox was quick to warn, no longer backing away. She felt so cornered, she had to do something! This, or die! It was at that point, her senses caught Tyson's lunge toward her to grab her with his right hand. Anticipating his movement, she found the precise moment and dover her muzzle for his hand, sinking her sharp fox teeth right into it. Tyson was quick to yell out and try to pull away, but it only served to help Kayla's teeth deeper into his fingers and palm. She tried to pull hard, ripping little by little, even as Maxwell grabbed her muzzle to try and pry her from his partner's hand, which was dripping blood. The fox's teeth slipped from her prey, being pulled away by Maxwell as all three fought and struggled. Maxwell turned Kayla around and restrained her arms to try and stop her and talk.. that's when she saw Maxwell's eyes go wide.

"Don't do-..!", was all Kayla heard, seeing the shock in Maxwell's look, before a pain greater then anything she had ever felt swept her from her feet, and her mind again fell into darkness.


* * * *


Looking down at his datapad with an aggrivated look, a Calleet police officer stared at the information he had collected so far. He was not at all pleased, especially since he had not found any clues at all as to the disappearance of a local penitatas. Penitatas don't just disappear afterall, it's very odd to see one missing at all. Criminals do not roam free at this day and age, and patience and trust were starting to run dry.

"Let me get this straight, again. You are the last person who sees her, but you don't notice anything out of the ordinary at all?", the officer asked Ninne once again, lowering the datapad and not sounding quite as nice as the first few times he asked this. Ninne had been sitting on her mother's lap upon the sofa, crying from the disappearance of her best friend, and all the pressure she was under. Ki'rene had her claws on her shoulders, wanting answers, and the police wanted them even more.

"Nothing!", the smaller of the two drakes assured to the man kneeling in front of her, sniffling and wiping her eyes to clear them of tears with the back of a brown scaled claw. "I've told you everything. We got off the bus, talked about her problems, and I ran back home. We were going to be starting our vacation, and getting ready for.. eh, Christmas", she slowly explained with a chill at the end, hoping that for once the officer would believe her. She tried to never take her reptilian eyes off of the man's own glaring eyes, to look as truthful as possible, for her own sake and Kayla's as well. As a penitatas, she could not afford even the smallest mistake.

"I'll remind you that hiding any information from my investigation could put you in penitatas court", the officer gave as a threat to mooch any more information he could from Ninne's snout, still looking at her with a gruff face. Shaking her up this time around, was purely intentional. He even left his non-standard issue type-1 phaser in plain view attached to his belt buckle, just to show she was no ordinary officer, and was not about to play games with anyone when it came to something so dire.

"I promise I'm telling the truth! Kayla has just had it a little rough at home, and we were talking about it. It's nothing out of the ordinary, we talk about discipline matters all the time. All penitatas do. Running off isn't something Kayla would ever do!", Ninne promptly replied after the accusing threat, shaking her head at parts for emphisis. Ki'rene held her girl closely afterwards, looking down to speak to her.

"Mind your tone Ninne, he's only trying to help", the mother spoke softly, raising her head again. "We're just very upset sir. Ninne is not a liar, Kayla does accept her charges and being a penitatas. If there was anything we could do, we would in a heartbeat..", Ki'rene told the policemen with a frown, very sad herself, as the placed the bottom of her snout protectively over her girl's head as she nuzzled at her chest. She practically looked up to the small penitatas, as much as she had gotten to know her. Kayla was an important part of their lives! The officer stood up with a sigh, feeling like he hit a wall with a parked hover-car, as he straightened his blue uniform.

"Thank you for your time, miss Sak'kral and miss Dal'krest", he thanked, giving the two worried drakes a nod before turning and excusing himself for the already open door. Several squad cars littered the street, with other search teams spreading out farther and farther. No clues or witnesses that may have seen Kayla Ackart, left them with a case that was cold even before it started. A potentially dangerous penitatas was free, and the situation was not in their favor.

"Anything captain?", an officer asked as he walked by him. The captain huffed, moving quickly in his fluster, with sweat trickling down his neck. His officer had to pick up his pace to keep at his superior's side.

"Not a single thing from the other penitatas. She could be hiding something, but it looks much less likely. Prepare the other units to clear out of here, and inform Starfleet that a high profile penitatas as escaped. I'm sure they already know, and are in the works of taking this case out from under me.. but do it their way", he gave his instructions with a low voice, being that these were not things he wanted to say aloud, making a hand gesture of defeat at the end. His underling nodded and left his side to go contact Starfleet, while he himself continued up to Emily's door and touched the notification button. This part, he figured, was not going to be fun. Though, the door was answered by Alex this time, who had rushed home early at the news of his daughter going missing. Still in half of his work clothing, minus the tie and other such things, he looked like a frazled wreck.

"My wife has gone upstairs, she's still much too upset..", Alex promptly explained, as Emily had not been able to deal with any of the officers or the news on her own. The poor penitatas mother was the one who noticed her girl missing, and delt with the fear and sorrow.

"I understand", the police captain nodded, with his voice solumn. "There have been no leads or information. Kayla is now the responcibility of Starfleet, due to her abilities, and the volitility of this situation. Penitatas never go missing like this, and the fact she's 'Packet-Storm' will make the public situation worse", he had to let Alex know honestly, though it was not at all good news, and he did not want to sound negative about his penitatas daughter. He had already seen how devoted Emily was, and did not want to say anything offensive. Alex nodded his head lightly, moving his eyes toward the ground, growing dark from the dimming sky. This was all a bit much for he and his wife to handle. Kayla was family, and she might have off and fled them.

"Yes, I have already had to deal with reporters. Thank you for your efforts", Alex sighed, feeling exhausted from the adrenaline that filled his body earlier when he heard of all this.

"Good luck", the officer wished with a tip of his head, before the two men parted, and Alex closed the door. The sun was going to set soon, and the house was so dark.. Emily never bothered to turn on any lights, much too devistated. Painfully torn inside, Alex had to swallow the grief of seeing his empty livingroom. No Kayla playing in front of the holo, no Kayla happily working on her computer projects, no Kayla sniffling into the corner.. all silent, and no one knew where she was and if she was alright. Alex couldn't look at his dim, lifeless livingroom, turning his head away before slowly heading up the stairs to find his wife. He knew where to find her, climbing his work shoes up the stairs to the slightly red-tinted hallway above. His heart sank a bit more into his stomach while entering Kayla's room, finding his wife at her girl's beside. Emily was knelt on both knees beside Kayla's bed, covering her head with her limp hands as she wept into it the tears only a mourning mother could shed. The red glow from the setting sun flooded the now dismal room, taking all hope that their girl would be found before the day was out.

"I'm sorry honey, they weren't able to figure anything out. Said it's up to Starfleet, due to Kayla's dangerous abilities..", Alex mustered the courage to say, fighting the urge to gulp as he spoke, watching his wife be so frightened and sad. It was too hard to say anything else afterwards, mind going blank as he knelt down at Emily's side. Emily tried to calm herself down to speak, lifting her head and taking a hard sniff to clear her nose.

"I hate that everyone assumes she's dangerous! They don't know her!", she had to let out in a short burst, requiring the vent. Getting to know her girl, she knew Kayla was not a hazard to anyone. "I can't stand to see the house so empty and quiet. Kayla was the joy of my life; my daughter. I'd give anything to hold her in my arms right now! I miss her Alex, and I'm so scared..", Emily said with a sad sort of panic in her voice, looking over at her husband while she clutched Kayla's bed.

"Everything will be okay, they'll find her. My stomach turns when I think of her running away though, and the trouble she is in. But we need to accept that she might have ran off", he replied somberly, speaking in what sounded like all sighs. Emily was not the only one who hated the situation and wanted prompt answers.

"The reason would be obvious!", Emily let out in a sudden snap, though not at Alex in anger. "I have treated her so poorly over the past month. So strict and steren. When was the last time I really played with her, or called her my furry blessing? Dammit, ever since that whole Dianne and Ashley thing with Kayla hacking her school's computers, and beating up Ashley, I've been making her pay for it so much more then she deserved. The aggivation stayed in the back of my head, and came out in my scolds and her spankings. Kayla didn't deserve me treating her like penitatas garbage like some parents would do! Why do you think she's been so quiet and frustrated seeming as of late? She'd try so hard to be good, but I kept her so riled up she was making minor mistakes that I'd even swat her hard for. How uncomfortable and sad must she have been?..", she was forced to let out, crying softly in utter sorrow. "A year ago, she was the best behaved girl ever, and I did my best to make her Christmas fun and hurt as little as possible. Waking up with her in my arms the next morning, and fetching her some nano-lotion before she went to play, made me feel so proud. I'm a bastard.. being so strict, that Kayla didn't have room to be herself. She never had a mom, this is almost like her first true kindernhood. Feeling rejected by the one who is supposed to love and protect you, it's no wonder she started hating her spankings so much", she nearly spat at herself in severe contempt, lowering her hed and placing her hands back to her face to cry a bit harder. She wanted to let it out, she felt she deserved to shed some tears for the unneccessary tears she forced her furry girl to drip.

"You're a penitatas parent, it's your job to be strict when you need to be", Alex tried to calmly remind his wife, placing his hands warmly on her shoulders.

"It's..", Emily sobbed out, stopping for a few seconds to sniffle and slow her tears so she could speak. "It's my job to see she is punished, and I did that. It is also my job to see that she learns, and is taken care of, and I think I failed there. Causing her to make mistakes because of my endless stern looks and scolding, is the total opposite of helping. She is no ordinary penitatas, she's kind, and innocent like a kindern. Kayla needs love, and when I am holding grudges and being a jerk..", she tried to sputter out, till she had to stop and cry a little more. The pain of loss drowned her heart. Kayla really did mean everything to her, and all the ups and downs they shared as mother and daughter brought them close. From harsh spankings to enjoyable baths; the two shared everything each day.

"We will see this through, I promise", her husband answered with a short delay, giving her shoulders a quick rub with his hands. He didn't know what to say, besides something like that. She was blaming herself too harshly and feeling too sad to perk up. Though, he could not expect her to do much else, with Kayla missing. Emily felt weary, laying her tired head back down upon her daughter's head, trying hard to calm herself down. She bit her lip and sniffed, holding back the hard sobs that wanted to come out.

"Go on, I'll be out in a bit..", she quietly mumbled out, letting Alex know she wanted to be alone. Alex was not about to argue, giving nothing more then an affirming nod as he stood back up and walked for the door. He had a stone in his throat and a bowling ball in his chest that he needed to take care of, leaving downstairs to turn on the holo so his home would not be so silent. The mourning mother cawled onto her girl's bed, resting to cease her tears. Her mind and body were so tired and focused, it turned out to be simple to halt them. All the thoughts running wild through her mind ended up making her blank and wishing she could have peace. Peace was one thing she could not attain, without Kayla back at her side. It would have been no different if Kayla was her biological daughter, the sense of loss and anguish is still the same. Laying there, a bit of a lump under Kayla's pillow caught her attention, reaching to the side of it to pull out something that made her happy and sad both at the same time. "Why hello Melissa", Emily greeted the anthro-fox plushie as she laid on her side and pulled it close, looking like her daughter. That's why she had gotten it for Kayla, so she'd have a toy she could more closely relate with. Melissa's shiny little eyes peered back at Emily's own, making her thoughts calm into a steady stream of memories, even if it made her lips quiver and the tears want to return. "All those times I swatted Kayla and put her to bed, you were here to comfort her to sleep weren't you? You must have been there half under her pillow after I rulered her last night before bed.. I'm sorry Kayla sweetie..", she spoke in such a forelorn voice to the stuffed fox, fixing her little t-shirt, while the previous night replayed in her head, and made the tears return to her already wet eyes. She had used a yard stick to give her girl's backside a crisp spanking, all because Kayla had not finished her homework promptly enough. It did not make Emily at all happy now, and was another addition to her list of mistakes. "Think she hates me Melissa?", she sighed appologetically, sniffling and scooping the plush into her arms as she slid on the seat of her pants off the bed and to her feet. "We'll just have to see, and hope she comes home. I don't care if she ran.. as long as she is still okay. You help Kayla when she's upset, and now you get to help me for a while..", Emily sort of whimpered as she spoke, holding back the tears only barely as she hugged the plush to her chest. She stepped out of the room with Melissa in her arms, muzzle over her shoulder like she would hold Kayla at times, leaving the room dark, and sadly unoccupied.


* * * *


The only way it could be discribed, would be having a sword shoved through the side of your head, with you being alive to feel every bit of it. For someone who was so accustomed to pain, this was something way out of Kayla's league to deal with. Passing out had been a blessing, but waking up was a horror. As the small fox came to, the only thing she could feel was that strong pain in the left side of her head, and the numbness of her body. Her muzzle twitched violently, and before her eyes could even open, both of her paws zipped towards the left side of her head and her ear with a violent scream. Her body curled up from the pain that enveloped her now awake mind, wanting to grip fiercely at the pain.. but instead of finding soft fox fur, her paws only felt something wet and mushy. It was warm, and it seemed to be soaked and matted fur.

"Hey, hey!", she barely heard the voice of Maxwell call as he gripped her wrists and pulled them away from her head, much to her fright. "I've been trying to stop the bleeding, don't make it worse!", came right after, though Kayla did not care, or hear it well. Her wrists were pulled in front of her while he had spoke, and she could see her paws, all covered in blood from gripping her obvious wound. The girl could have passed out again right then and there, and she did try, but it wasn't happening.

"Fucking hell!", Kayla screamed out very loudly, struggling her arms and kicking her legs as much as her weak body would allow. She thrashed at the piercing pain, never ceasing her howls as her paws fought to return to the side of her head. Tears pooled in her eyes and flowed freely across her standing-on-end fur.

"Kayla, stop! I don't need you losing more blood", he was quick to order, sounding miffed in reguards to her injury. His plan wasn't going to work if his prisoner was dead afterall. Kayla's teeth pressed very hard together, while she growled and squeeled through her teeth while she writhed upon the dirt ground.

"Dammit, my ear hurts! What did you do?!", she shouted out with her eyes clenched shut, once she was able to stop screaming for a moment. The pain in the side of her head was coming from her whole left ear she was able to figure, trying hard to be coherant. That is when it suddenly hit her. She wimpered out a squeel, which she barely heard herself. "Good lord, my ear! It's deaf!", Kayla get out before starting to sob hard from the pain, not caring to be quiet since she could only hear half of her screams.

"Tyson hit you with his club. I thought you were going to die, and you still are if you don't cut your heart-rate back and stop losing so much blood", Maxwell answered, trying to speak loud enough over his prisoner's howls and impairment. Her wrists were released and her paws urged her to her super sensitive ear, but she resisted, knowing now that her life was in the balance. She had lost too much blood in a short time. It all came together.. she had been struck in the ear after ripping her teeth into Tyson's hand. Her eardrum and inner ear must have blown, hense the blood and complete hearing loss. The sting of a deep wound was behind her ear as well, where the club must have caused her additional injury. Shaking and growling in the brown dirt, a sudden cool feeling against her neck made her spazem even more violently. Maxwell had injected a hypospray into her bloodstream, and in seconds the pain eased. It was still difficult to deal with, but so was the after effects of a lengthy spanking. She could handle this easier. "I'm still shocked you're still alive after losing all this blood and being struck twice in the head", he felt compelled to comment as he started putting a light compress on her ear with a smooth cloth. Opening her left eye slightly, Kayla could see it was her own jeans he was using. In a panic, it was all Maxwell could think of using, since her shirt would have been too hard to remove with her injury.

"Well don't be. Not human, dumbass", Kayla grumbled weakly to remind her captor she was a different species, still curled up, though she was able to breathe and stop her screaming. She was tired of having to tell them that. Having an ear that was designed to be so sensitive, the pain from having it destroyed was equally as sensitive. She was not used to hearing everything in one ear; it was not natural for an Aspatrian. They relied on hearing as an important sense. The young fox felt disabled and handicapped, and on her planet, she more then likely would have been called that.

"Pay Tyson no mind. He's always like this, especially when it is not neccessary", she was replied, as Maxwell figured her anger was directed mostly at what his partner did. He was only half right, as the fox was unhappy with them both just for dragging her out to who-knows-where. Her jeans were carefully pressed against her ear, and the pant-legs were wrapped around her head a bit to keep the pressure so Maxwell would not have to continue holding it, making a poor, makeshift denim bandage. Kayla had worn a pair of white cotton panties to school, leaving them a dirty mess from being on the dirt ground without her jeans. "Just stay here and keep still. I'm going to go and get you some food, so your body can produce some more blood", he said once he was gone, patting Kayla's right arm before quickly getting up and heading for the door. He was in a hurry, and that worried Kayla, and made her wonder just how badly her head looked. She stayed calm though, as the drug he gave her clouded her mind. It was doubtful it was intended for use on a child, but she appreciated painkillers in whatever form they came in. She sank the uninjured side of her head into the pillow that had apparently been under her head, only moving her eyes as she scanned her surroundings. She had been brought to the small side room, and the lighting was poor in the dirty enclosure. Dirt corvered the metal sheet walls, with empty crates and bare shelves lining the perimeter of the room. The only truely notable qualities were the old blue pillow under her head, ripped red blanket at her side, and the old-fasioned green door with a knob. Everything else was just dirt. Kayla faintly heard voices past her footpaws, towards the door she could not see. One voice sounded as if it was issuing the other a warning, with her one ear unable to clearly make out the sounds from the other side of the door at that distance. It made the weak fox grumble into the dirt, with the grains shifting from the air from her nose.

"Looks like I'm stuck watching you for a few minutes, fox", Tyson said with irritation in his voice as he shut the door behind himself, and walked towards Kayla's side. She did not catch the beginning of what he said, but she understood it well enough, looking up with her eyes as a displeased look crept across her muzzle slowly. The angry look was only visard, to cover her mortal weakness, and deep fear of this man. She was too badly injured to fight him, and did not want to look like she could not.

"I am overjoyed", sarcasticly spat the fox, though keeping her voice soft enough to cause herself more pain. The motion of her jaw raised the pain of her ear to more then what she would concider tolerable. Her eyes stayed fixed on Tyson as he sat down on the dirt beside her, on the side she was facing while on her back. She could see that his right palm was wrapped in a white cloth, stained with blood, and knew she must have done a good number on it with her teeth.

"You should be thankful you're not dead, and that I am not finishing the job right now", Kayla was threatened at Tyson's leisure. He seemed furious with her, and not at all concearned. The extent of her blood-loss was too apparent, and he knew she could not move much. Not to mention, a child with her pants on her head did not look intimidating. That sort of notion made Tyson grin, and it was not a grin Kayla liked seeing. "I wonder if you're good for anything else besides your hacking?", he was comfortable enough to even say aloud, placing his hand on the front of Kayla's white panties. Reguardless of her ear, Kayla let out a very strong growl, teeth bared in rage.

"Keep off you sadistic creep! Go play with your friend and leave me out of it!", Kayla yelled roughly and quickly, wanting his hand off her crotch. She had too many bad experiences with being touched against her will, but she was in no position to challenge him. Tyson used his un-bandaged fingers to slip between her furry thighs and rub against the warm fabric, pressing it against her. He loved taking advantage of course, but he really only wanted to humiliate his young prisoner. The displeasure of those he killed in the past brought him great joy, and it was unusual he had this much fun time with a prisoner. The angry looks of the small fox were only fueling his lust for torture, and he did not feel like even replying to Kayla. The silence of his voice was painful as he continued, gruffly gripping the crotch of her panties between her legs and pulling them down her thighs by it, even though the underwear did not break free of her tail easily. All Kayla could do was wearily lift her head just barely, and growl at him. Her body had been frozen in fear.

"Poor little bitch mad?", Tyson taunted, taking his fingers and grinding them roughly up between Kayla's legs. The lips of her bare genitalia pulled uncomfortably upwards with his adult fingers scraping across the skin through her thin, orange crotch fur. It made the fox wince and lower her growl, to more of a pained growl. Forcing a finger into Kayla's small slit, he ran it from the zenith all the way to the bottom before pressing hard inward. Kayla huffed uncomfortably and let out a whimper, unable to hold her act as her eyes watched in fright at the finger sinking into her female crotch and prodding inside of her passage. She had been raped many times, but it was not something you got used to.

"Take that finger out before I bite it off..", Kayla growled weakly, unsure of what to do in a situation like this. Her rapist was never a murderer. The fox's young slit was not meant for such abuse and forced entry, and even with the painkillers it hurt, and made her legs tense. Even at her age, her sensitive pink flesh could be pleasured, and it was not any sort of feeling she wanted from someone who only wanted to use and abuse her. Her foxy toes curled in her school shoes, growling, whimpering, and huffing through her nose while she tightened around the finger.

"Tyson, I need to speak with you", spoke Maxwell from the doorway, sounding serious in his tone. Kayla stopped growling and stared at her molester with a look that said 'yeah, get it out now, ass' while Tyson scoffed at the inconvenience, pulling his finger roughly from the hole it had invaded. Kayla sighed relievedly, almost shaking in relief that she had gotten about of that, even if her sex was a bit agitated and red from being treated roughly, especially when mostly dry. Maxwell waited for his partner to leave the room, closing the door so they could speak outside alone. As soon as the door clicked shut and his hand left the knob, his body shot around Tyson's direction, and he went off.

"What the hell are you doing?! If you keep pissing her off and hurting her, she won't hack anything for us and that is way too much money to lose! Remember all the crap we went through to get here?", he let out, taking a few steps away from the green metal door to ensure his audibly-impared prisoner would not be able to hear him no matter how loud he yelled.

"Don't give me that shit, she has to do what we tell her. She doesn't have a choice. Quit acting like she's some innocent saint Maxwell, she's a criminal, just like you or me", Tyson snapped right back, taking a step towards Kayla's console to keep close enough to his partner since he walked away from the door. Maxwell placed his hand on the right arm-rest of the seat in front of the computer, letting out a sigh.

"You're missing the point. She could up and lose hope and decide to die instead of do as we ask. It would be much easier if she listened to us", he tried to calmly explain, though he still looked very irritated, making hand gestures and speaking in such a manner that suggested he was speaking to an idiot.

"Well I could beat her over the head, but you seem to get a stick up your ass every time I do that", Tyson couldn't resist but comment snidely back.

"Shoving your finger up a six year old fox's vagina is not going to make this effort successful, and neither is killing her before she transfers a dime to our 'credible' financial institution's bank account", Maxwell replied with a bit of contempt in his voice, shaking his head. "Come on, think before you do things", he added, giving his partner a bit of a look.

"Sorry if I treat my prisoner like a prisoner, and not like my best friend", Tyson said with a bit of a tone in his voice, throwing his hands up. He felt he should be able to shove his fingers where ever he pleased, and deffinately should be able to beat her.

"You just need to go about it the right way", he was replied in a calmer manner. Maxwell knew better then to get his partner angry. "Our goal is to control her, right? Tell me, as a penitatas, how do her parents control her?", he asked.

"I'm an idiot apparently, so spell it out Maxwell", Tyson scoffed without any hesitation, putting his hands into his pockets. Listening to his partner's ideas was better then thinking on his own afterall. Maxwell could have agreed with that as well.

"You use blunt and destructive violence, that would make her resist you. Kayla however, is used to a different form of violence, that is most likely not going to anger her as much, and you'd still be able to cause her pain", he explained in a way Tyson would be able to understand.

"What, spank her? You've got to be kidding me!", was the responce to that, as soon as Tyson figured out what he was referring to.

"It's better then bashing her brains out Tyson!", Maxwell was quick to remind, smacking his head as if to say 'duh!'. "We need to manipulate her to make her do as we want her to. You ever hear of 'good cop, bad cop'? Those are the roles we've taken since this whole thing started. She's calmer with me, and scared of you. You keep her in line, and I win her trust and obedience. You just keep up being your usual self, minus the beating and crotch grabbing, and she'll stay good and scared. I'll see what I can do to get her to actually obey, and use her fear to do that. Okay?", he tried to sum up and find a solution that his partner would be satisfied with. Tyson nodded his head and took his hands from his pants pockets.

"Alright, we'll do things your way. As long as I can keep treating her like the dog she is", he agreed, giving the door a nasty look. He had not been at all happy about his hand. Maxwell stepped back towards the door, lifting a small box from beside the door that he had left to go get while Tyson watched their little hacker.

"I'll take care of this then, and have her sleep everything off. She can get us our money tomorrow. We can afford the wait", Maxwell said as he worked with the box, and tried to open the green door at the same time. It took a moment, but the door reluctantly opened with a sandy sort of sound from the dirt in the joints. Stepping in and closing the door behind himself, he found Kayla sitting up slightly, crying as she rubbed her furred crotch gently with a paw. She was obviously shaking, and not well. He stepped over to Kayla's side and sat down on the dirt where Tyson had sat, leaving the small box of stolen Bolian field rations in his lap. "I'm sorry Kayla. Are you okay? I told him what-for", Maxwell falsely appologized, lying about telling off Tyson, and sounding genuinely thoughtful. Kayla left her right paw between her closed legs, keeping herself concealed from view down there as she took care of the soreness, wiping her eyes with the fur of her left arm. Being inappropreately prodded made a lot of repressed memories return to her child-like mind, and the sudden dry stretching between her legs burned.

"I just want to go home!", the small fox sobbed, sounding choked up and like the seven year old she was. She was too weak to act anymore, and she had to let it out. Holding in so many tears for so long just made them burst out like a dam being breached. Maxwell slipped his hand onto Kayla's upper back to help keep her propped up more easily.

"But you're free now, don't you see? No more being a penitatas. No more spankings. If you do what we ask of you, you will never be hurt, and you can do what ever you wanted", he tried to entice, preaching the benifits of staying with him. Kayla whimpered and looked down, taking both her paws and pressing them into the dirt earth at her sides to help keep herself upright, even with her panties still at her knees.

"There's a family at home waiting for me.. I belong with them. I can do what I want once my debt to society is taken care of", she tried to answer, speaking slowly and sadly. All she could think about was Ninne, her mom Emily, and her dad Alex. They were her life, and so was doing the right thing and not running away from her guilt.

"Family?", Maxwell scoffed in his manipulative little way, making the word sound like a joke. He leaned in close, putting his face close to Kayla's, just so he could drive his points home. "Are you talking about the family that has beaten you more times then you can count? The one that did not birth you, and only wanted a penitatas so they could have a hobby spanking something? You're not a person to them, you're an object with a 'P' on your damned hand. How does that saying go again? 'Never trust a penitatas'?", he nearly teased, but in a calm tone that made him seem more correct then he really was. Hearing these words made Kayla's stomach turn, and she let out a harder sob because of it.

"That's not true! They care! I-.. I just want to be 'home'", she tried to explain with heavy uncertainty, looking Maxwell's face through bloodshot and teary eyes. Kayla was still so scared about having a finger jammed somewhere it did not belong, her mind was a mess, even without Maxwell's attempt to cloud her mind further. Maxwell sighed and placed his left hand against Kayla's right paw, and gave a press to pin it. Without so much as a warning, his right paw raised a bit and dropped quickly across the fox's tender right thigh, across the front-side with a harsh slap. Kayla let out a sharp whine, and before her slow body could react, Maxwell was able to deliver several hard smacks with his hand to her leg. "Stop!", he was tearily demanded, as Kayla sobbed several times more and grasped Maxwell's attacking hand.

"It's okay, it's okay", Maxwell said very quickly in a sweet and assuring voice, trying to kick his manipulation up a notch. "I'm sorry, I was only demonstrating. That is a small sample of what 'home' is like. Remember all of those times you were made to hurt badly? That is what you would be going back to. It's not fun, and I'm sure a little girl would not want that", he played on her age, since penitatas and seven year olds have quite the natural fear of spankings as it was. Making her think less highly of her home, and more trusting of him, would be a boost in how she'd react for them later. The sobbing Kayla released Maxwell's wrist, and was rewarded with some soft and soothing rubs to her thigh to make the sting go away.

"I just want to be left alone..", Kayla whimpered, seeming as if she could no longer argue with him. That was just what Maxwell wanted, to confuse her mind and leave her with no excuses. Her judgement would be clouded. She was replied with a nod, while Maxwell begun removing her school shoes.

"After you eat. We will worry about all that computer stuff tomorrow once you feel better, I want you to sleep right after you have dinner", Maxwell spoke like a parent would. Inside he was laughing and gloating at how silver his tongue was, all to no other's wiser. "But first you're going to go stand in the corner", he said then out of no where, while he slipped Kayla's specialy designed socks off her footpaws, one footpaw at a time. Kayla had been busy sniffling and calming down while he spoke and took care of her footpaws, but when she heard that last part, she made an astonished sort of look, raising a brow even. "You heard me right. You need to learn to not piss off Tyson", he continued to use his fatherly voice, pointing to the back right corner over Kayla's head. "So go stand till I say, and you can have your dinner and rest. You may not be a penitatas here, but you still need to play by our rules", Maxwell added, now starting to feel that his acting might not be holding up as well as he hoped. Kayla looked like she would get angry, but instead she let out a sad sigh.

"Fine..", Kayla reluctantly accepted, placing one paw on her head to hold her now falling off jeans, while her other paw pushed on the ground to help her weak body up. She was woozy once she made it to her footpaws, but Maxwell held her upright while he took her pants from her head, letting Kayla pull up her underwear on her own. All the blood had dried, and the bleeding looked to have stopped. He placed them at his side and gave her a nod that he was done, and she padded herself over to the dark little corner to stand as ordered. With her nose in such a small space between the two grimey metal sheet walls, it smelled pungent of dirt and mildew. Her legs wanted to wobble from blood-loss, and her crotch burned slightly still from being violently prodded. Maxwell just crossed his arms and grinned behind her back, thinking he had finally found a proper form of control for a small rejuve child. Manipulation.


* * * *


Starfleet ensign Blaine Brayden walked down the hallway of his installation with a large military datapad in hand. He was in full uniform, with yellow shoulders to show his class, and his single pin on his neck to show his rank. He had been called on his com-badge by his superior to report to his office and pick up this datapad on the way, and he could not understand all the hurry. Small installations like this on Earth were normally very quiet, besides Starfleet Headquarters in San Fransisco. It was located roughly one hundred and twenty miles southeast of Calleet, and not one to normally have anything going on but standard communications. Blaine's formal black shoes clopped against the white marbled coridor, arriving at the office he was summoned to. The black tag on the right of the door read 'Malcolm Falstaff', and 'Head of Operations'. He walked straight in the automatic door, since he had already been called and given orders to come.

"I have the datapad you requested from the relay room Commander", the lower ranking ensign was quick to aknowledge, holding the large pad out to him as his superior turned around from looking down at the control room below. Commander Falstaff ran the facility, and had windows overlooking the rear of the dim control center that helped control Starfleet activity in the region. It was standard business, and it was odd for Blaine to see him flustered the way he was.

"Thank you ensign. Did you read this report?", commander Falstaff spoke in a deep and distinguished voice, raising the pad slighly and giving it a flick as a gesture. He was a standard sized man, though stout in body, and known for being equally stout in mind. His uniform's shoulders were red, and he had the proper pins for his rank.

"No sir", ensign Brayden was quick to answer, though he was not sure if he was or was not supposed to read it. Commander Falstaff stepped over to his desk and placed the datapad down upon it with a clatter, leaving his hand on the smooth black surface of the corner of his desk.

"Over in Calleet, a penitatas has gotten loose. We are going to be doing the search and recovery operation. I will be overseeing this operation personally, and your orders are to assist me in this process", he spoke with a bit of seriousness in his tone as he gave his orders, and explained the operation. Ensign Brayden could not help but let a confused look appear on his face.

"Sir? Isn't that the duty of their local police precinct?", he asked for clarifcation. His superior shook his head and turned back towards the windows, peering down at the centeral monitor of the control room.

"The penitatas in question is Kayla Ackart, the notorious hacker Packet-Storm. The local police have had no luck locating her, anywhere. I have been watching the screens down there for any alerts reguarding any central computer systems being attacked", he spoke solumnly, sounding worried and displeased about what had happened. Ensign Brayden was still confused.

"Shouldn't she be small and not dangerous?", he asked as he stepped to his commander's side. Commander Falstaff shook his head and looked towards his shoulder, over at his officer.

"Sadly no. I've been reading up on Packet-Storm from school reports, and it seems she is still as talented as ever. While most rejuves like you and I suffer heavy motor skill loss and certain dulling of abilities, she is just as sharp as she was before. She can operate a console no differently, and can do so at the same speeds", the commander explained, before looking back down at his control center, and the dark forms working at their stations. "We're talking about a legendary hacker, escaping justice. It means she is very unhappy, and we are anticipating her to use her skills at some point soon in a much more damaging way then she was using them previously. Word of a penitatas escaping without a trace, and no computer system being safe, will cause unrest", he spoke with more concearn and worry then before. He then pointed down at the control center, scrolling his finger across all the systems and screens. "Look down there Brayden. Every single thing we do is operated by computers. Earth defense, right down to home replicator systems. We're a slave to whomever controls or criples these devices. Someone such as Kayla Ackart is just as dangerous to this quadrant as the Dominion or the Borg were a few hundred years ago", he spoke till he turned and stepped back to his desk, picking up the large pad he had placed on his desk. Ensign Brayden stared down at the busy control room a brief moment more, thinking about what he was told. It made perfect sense now, and knew why his superior was so uptight about what would be concidered police business. He stepped towards commander Falstaff, as he pressed a few things on it's screen, and held it out for his officer to retrieve.

"What are my orders from this point Commander?", ensign Brayden asked formally, giving the notion he was eager to assist in this matter as he took the datapad back. It didn't take much thought to realise this was a volitile situation, with an angry and highly dangerous criminal on the loose.

"I want you to read up on these reports, and query Starfleet Medical in reguards to obtaining Aspatrian life-sign and DNA readings. You are issued an old type-12 shuttlecraft that would not raise worries while flying above Calleet, and you are to scan for any and all Aspatrians within a fifty mile radius of Kayla Ackart's home", commander Falstaff announced, giving his uniform a tug to correct it as he sat down at his desk chair. "I will be monitoring galactic-net activity from here, with the control center staff. Kayla is this facility's top priority. Dismissed ensign", he finalized his commands with a nod. Brayden gave the same nod back, and with a sharp turn, left as quickly as he came to search for the runaway penitatas. It was the holidays, and he would much rather be with his son and his wife. Flying an antique shuttle that was four hundred years old was not his idea of family-time.


* * * *


A hard bout of coughing made Kayla writhe in the dark, stopping it as quickly as possible with a pained growl, curled up in the dirt. Her body felt terrible, and any movement hurt badly due to her head injuries. The painkillers from earlier had worn off, and the strength of the drug left a poor-feeling after effect throughout her body, and her left ear throbbing. Caked blood on the side of her head was apparent, coating her ear and heading all the way down to her shoulder, leaving her fur red and hard. Behind her head, her first wound was covered by a thick shell of dried blood, covering the fur on the back of her head as well. It was not a pleasant sight. The rest of her was just tired and dirty, with dirt clumping into her fur and her underwear as she tried to sleep. Her shirt was already thickly coated with blood stains and dark dirt, but it was at least doing a good job of keeping out the dirt she was sleeping on. Even her legs ached, from being forced to stand in the corner for her food. Beneath her eyes, her fur was wet, as quiet tears trickled down her muzzle and cheeks from time to time, even if she wasn't trying to actively cry. The poor fox was so sad, her eyes were tearing at a constant rate. As much as Maxwell wanted to believe he turned her against her home, he really did not. When a small, hurt, and defenseless girl wants her mommy, she's not going to change her mind. Spankings or not, she missed her family and friends, and thinking of never seeing them again brought her sorrow. Even if she was upset with Emily, she still did not want to be sleeping on the ground in the middle of nowhere. There was one thing though, that she had to admit.. her wish to make Christmas go away came true.

"Why do I have to be who I am? Why can't I be ordinary?", Kayla whispered to herself in a neutral voice, feeling hurt and blank. Speaking made some dirt from her tattered pillow get in her muzzle, and she spat it out as quickly as her slow reactions would allow. "Bleh. Should have seen this coming. I just want my mommy, it's not too much to ask..", she spoke to herself with a shaky, sharp whimper, making herself even sadder. Her body lied there limply against the earth in silence for some time, thinking about her life. As interesting as it was, reminicing her early penitatas days, a faint sound in her right ear made her sit up with difficulty. She heard voices outside the door, but could not make them out. "I wonder..", Kayla whispered to herself, throwing off her small red blanket to get up onto her footpaws. She grunted a bit as she stood up, lifting her right leg slightly to rub some dirt out of the crotch of her underwear, pulling on the bottom to get her paw inside. With a few strokes across the outside of her panties and her shirt, removing the crud from all the cotton fabric, she was free of enough dirt to satisfy her. Kayla's footpaws stepped quietly against the cool ground, creeping through the dark to the door. She carefully placed her paws against the door, needing to turn her head slightly due to her left ear being inoperable. The fox's right ear turned and flicked, scanning for a good way to be able to listen on it's own. She could make out a few words, but not much with her impairment. Aspatrians used both ears to turn them and triangulate sounds, to understand their location. It was confusing to hear sounds in her right ear, and not have the other information her sense normally provided. Kayla huffed roughly and turned around quickly, swishing her tail hard through the air as she walked back the few steps to her pillow and blanket. It was too frustrating to try and listen with one ear, and the inner pain of being so handicapped made her cry. Laying down in the dirt, she pulled the blanket over her battered head and curled up with sad whimpers. Sleeping would be impossible, but for someone with so much blood-loss, passing out was not so much a chore once she was done fighting it. Small body, but a strong will, and a kind heart.. the fox spared from her painful thoughts and burning tears till morning.

"It worked well enough. I think we can get her to hack our fortune tomorrow, once her body has recooperated", Maxwell said with perk in his voice, smiling and leaning back in the computer chair he had turned to face his partner, whom was pacing slowly about in thought.

"With her being our prisoner, we can get more money and latinum then ever thought possible. It's limitless isn't it?", the brutal man grinned, pondering his greedy thoughts, while curious as to the amount of currency they could end up with. He was surprised by the unenthusiastic sound his partner made, stopping his pacing to listen.

"No, it's not limitless. We cannot be here for long, and that means she has to quickly make the hits tomorrow in a short span", he answered, placing the fingers of his right hand against his cheek.

"What do you mean?", Tyson asked with haste, seeking explination.

"Tyson, the sensor mirror I setup is running constantly, and with a boosted field of effect. Even with my generators, the field is using more power then our ship is creating", Maxwell spoke more quietly, making sure no one but Tyson would hear. "There is only enough power for another day and a half. Kayla has tomorrow, and then she is of no use to us", he sighed with a shrug, though he didn't sound worried. For a lightning fast hacker whom can easy steal millions of dollars and hundreds of bars of gold pressed latinum, he did not need a lot of time. Tyson nodded his head.

"And she will, you're sure? I know you've told her a lot of things that are working", Tyson asked curiously, chuckling near the end. Manipulation was not a form of abuse he is used to using, but loved hearing about it. Using the tongue as a weapon instead of a beating club was an intresting concept.

"As long as I can convince her she is safe and free from being a penitatas, and you keep her very scared for her life, it should be enough to get her to preform the jobs", Maxwell answered plainly, as if this was an everyday coversation.

"Oh I can keep her scared, I'm looking foreward to it", Tyson confidently added, smirking sadisticly as he slowly patted the phaser and club at his waist. "Either way, she is not leaving here alive", he had the pleasure of saying. There was no way he would let a witness go free, or let a prisioner escape with her life while still useful. They would be filthy rich, and the added Aspatrian baggage would not be following, no matter what Maxwell got her to believe. Late into the night Emily held Melissa and slept with Alex, Ninne held Aiko and slept forlornly at her mother's side, and Kayla was completely alone. They had love and comfort, and she had the bitterly cold air. Even with all their differences, they all shared one common wish. They were all sad, and they all wished Kayla to return home. Tomorrow, was going to be a long and serious Christmas Eve.