The Federation

Chapter Two

The room was dark, the lights were adjusted so low, he could barely see where he was walking. Trying to scan the room for a sign he smelled something. He knew that scent. The smell had spread quickly around the room as well as its characteristic prickling sensation in the nostrils. It was shiga tea, the Master's favorite.

He had been instructed to report immediately to the Master's quarters, which was weird. Their usual meeting place was far away, out of the citadel borders, they had even met in an orbitary station far away from the planet but never in his private chambers. He didn't asked anything else of course, why would he? His orders were to report immediately and so he had done. The Master's will was unquestionable.

As he waited he let his eyes wander through the expensive decorations of the room, he had never seen something like that. It was a cozy living room; the floor was carpeted with what seemed to be an original pre-Federation pattern picturing some animals he had never seen. The furniture was antique as well. Some wooden low tables were arranged at the center of the room surrounded by white couches, he couldn't recognize the design but he was sure they were worth a fortune. He quickly saw the cup of shiga tea resting upon the low tables.

The walls were covered with photographs in special cases to prevent damage and aging, some were black and white with the edges a little bit crumpled. He walked towards them, they were fascinating. Ancient scenes from Earth were captured on those pieces of paper. They must have been at least a thousand years old or more. The one he was looking depicted an old city. Gray buildings rose from the earth like tiny fragile needles. He remembered that mankind had built these concrete towers hundreds of years ago, today they were mere legends. These days, Earth was full of towers that reached ten times the heights these fragile needles had reached.

He looked at the next photograph, he recognized it at once, it was famous. There were about fifty men and women posing for the camera with broad smiles on their faces wearing nine hundred year old clothes. In the background you could have a glimpse of a massive construction site, giant cranes and heavy machinery operated silently, frozen by the camera. The photograph marked the beginning of the Terrestrial Federation and the end of divided Earth. It was taken more than nine centuries ago. The massive construction site in the background would be today's Senatorial Council. Everyone in the Federation had seen that picture at least once in their lifetime.

"I see you enjoy my collection" a husky voice suddenly said from behind him, he jumped got out his gun and pointed it at the darkness. "Put the gun down, you won't need it"

Too late he realized who that was. He fell to his knees.

"I'm sorry Master, I beg for your forgiveness... I-I didn't know who you were... I-"

"Get up now"

Slowly, he got up with his head down. He was embarrassed, pointing a gun to his Master had been a mistake, a very serious mistake. He felt a hand on his chin and shuddered at the contact of that soft skin with his face.

"Look at me" He raised his head and a pair of dark blue eyes greeted him, he melted almost instantly. "You wouldn't ever harm me... would you?"

"No Master... I-I..." He felt how his knees trembled in the presence of that man.

"I know..." his master responded with a soft calm voice. He felt two hands were placed on his upper back... rubbing and massaging their way down to his butt. "I've always known..."

He had lost, again. His head moved forward, trying to find those succulent lips he desired. His hands dared to caress the chest of his Master as his mouth finally found what it was looking for. He moaned softly. The kiss was soft, their lips caressing each other, the tongues slowly pushing through to find their equal. His Master's hands had arrived to his butt and were massaging it, he moved his hips forward and collided with his Master's hips as well, slowly grinding their growing erections against each other. It had begun and he couldn't stop it, even if he wanted to.

Soon the air was full with soft moans and gasps as the two men explored every part of their bodies. They knew each other very well. The clothes were quickly lost in the darkness of the room as they moved towards the center low table. He let a soft grunt escape from his throat as his Master kissed his neck gently. His back was against the table surface, his muscles flexed as he felt how his lover sucked his nipples and went down to lick his abs. He knew where this was going and couldn't wait. The sensations were taking over him, he would do anything for that man.

Sweat covered their bodies, they were panting loudly. He loved the feeling of his Master inside him, how he went in and out hitting that spot that would send shivers through his spine. He raised his hands and enjoyed the muscled body of the man who was fucking him. A smooth chest, light brown nipples, well defined abs and a trail of hair that went down to his pubis. The Master rammed his entire cock inside him causing him to arch his back and let out a small cry of pleasure. He hadn't touched his cock but was rock hard, his penis throbbed as waves of pleasure took over him.

The Master was smiling, he knew how to make him squirm. He leaned down and kissed him in the mouth, their tongues entangled in a passionate struggle. They began to fuck faster, loud grunts began to escape from their mouths. He could feel how his prostate burned with intense pleasure as his Master hit it with every thrust. His hands went over his head and grabbed firmly the edge of the table so he wouldn't fall. A hand began to masturbate him, he felt the contractions inside him as the pleasure intensified. The Master was on top of him, their chests glided as they fucked, their lips locked with each other, their hard abs rubbed against his wet cock masturbating him. They wouldn't last much longer.

He cummed first, it was too much for him, he felt one shot after another making their abs sticky. His contractions felt powerful around his Master's shaft and that took him over the edge, he was being filled with hot cum as his own orgasm subsided. The room was filled now by the salty scent of cum. They stayed there, panting, sweating. He had lost again, he had succumbed to his Master once more.

Without saying a single word, his Master got up. He watched as the man cleaned and dressed himself. He got up and did the same.

"I need you to do something for me", the Master said from the darkness. He wasn't surprised at all. It had always been like this. "Will you do it?"

"Of course Master", he dared to look into his Master's eyes and found a smile crossing the face he loved. He smiled back.

"It will be the last one", the Master moved towards him and turned him around so he felt those strong arms wrapping over his waist from behind. "I promise" he whispered into his ear, making the hairs on the back of his neck to rise. He was in heaven.

"Master... I-I... I lo-"

"I know", he felt a gentle kiss on his neck. "I do too"

They stayed like that for a few minutes. He loved how close they were. He could feel the breath of his Master on his neck.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Kill the junior member of the Head Council", the Master said softly into his ear. "Kill Enar Ferzoa"

He froze instantly. That was big. Many people had tried, but no one had succeeded.

"But-"

"If you do it...", he felt how his Master nibbled his earlobes "I'll give you... your freedom"

Freedom. He had dreamed with it every day of his miserable life. Ever since he was a little kid growing up inside the slave quarters he always wanted to be free, to roam the streets and to be able to do whatever he desired. Freedom was such a meaningful word.

"I will do it"

"Of course you will, you have never let me down", he felt how his master loosened the embrace and slowly moved away. "You will find everything you need in your room, you leave tomorrow morning"

"Yes master", he knew the meeting was over. He walked towards the door and opened it.

"Don't fail me"

He turned around and looked towards his master. He was a god, black hair, dark blue eyes, soft pink lips, milky white skin. He felt his heart stir with love.

"I won't Master", he said and left the room.

The Master watched as his slave went on his last mission. He felt bad. He walked towards the low tables in the center of the room and sat down on a couch. He stared at the carpet. Animals roamed free on the cottoned surface of the carpet, green plains stretched as far as the eye could see, it was a fine work of art. He smelled something. Looking around he found a cup of tea on the floor, the content spilled all over the carpet leaving a large dark stain. Shit.

"Do you really love him?" said a female voice coming from the dark.

He saw the slender body of his mother coming into the light. He knew she had been watching all along.

"No mother, I don't", he knew he was lying as soon as the words came out from his mouth.

"Then why did you tell him that you do?"

"I find very useful treating slaves with kindness, rather than fear mother"

"Mmm... I see...", his mother said as she examined the white spots of cum on the table.

"They turn out to be more loyal"

"Maybe", she sat down in front of him and smiled. "You do know you just sent him to his death... donīt you?"

He gulped and felt his throat closing with emotion. That slave was the closest thing to love he had ever experienced. He hoped his mother was wrong. She examined his face for a few minutes and then turned to scan the room. She saw the stain of tea on the carpet and sighed.

"You should be more careful with the tea, honey", she looked bored. "Many important people have stepped on that carpet. It has survived many things over the centuries. Simple tea won't be the end of it"

"I'm sorry. I'll have it cleaned mother"

"It's okay darling... shiga comes off easily. However... cum stains don't", she looked back at him with that devilish smile of hers. "So... Would you like to buy a new companion slave?", she said taunting him. "Tomorrow a new shipment of savage slaves will arrive from the Kiro system... I bet you could... tame them?" she smirked. He blushed furiously.

"No thanks mother"

"Oh... you want that slave", she said pointing towards the door with disgust. "It shouldn't be a problem we could clone your little toy and implant the memories", she knew how to push all his buttons. She was his mother after all. "As soon as he is dead we could retrieve his corpse and take his-"

"He won't fail mother", he said angrily

"Mmm... interesting... you do have a thing for him, don't you?", she was smiling... as usual. "How... cute?"

He stayed silent, trying to calm down. That woman was evil.

"I know he won't fail mother" he said.

His mother stood up looking pretty bored. She took a glance at him and then walked towards the hidden door on the opposite wall of the room. As she exited the room, she stopped for a moment and said:

"We'll see Nolar... we'll see..."

***

The main chamber of the Senatorial Council was a sight to behold. It was a huge amphitheatre made from living wood and metallic columns. It had been designed to represent the ever present symbiotic relationship between nature and mankind and had exceeded expectations. The wood was modeled so it would adapt many forms, from chairs, desks, podiums and even decorations they all surrounded a central wooden platform. The metallic columns were plain and simple adding elegance to the design. The room was almost full, senators from all over the Federation had answered the emergency call of the Council and were there looking confused. The central platform was where the Head Council seated, five chairs were there. Four of them occupied, one empty. A woman from the platform stood up and spoke clear and loud. Her voice echoed in the chamber.

"Thirteen hours ago, we received an emergency transmission from our fleet in orbit around Mars. Admiral Creston Lera reported a massive attack to the three principal Martian cities: Central City, Ares and Hera. Communications with the surface were quickly lost after that. Mars has rebelled", those were the first words Lydia Herat, senior member of the Head Council, said to the senators. The crowd went silent instantly.

The military report revealed that the attack was quick and decisive. Nuclear devices were used to wipe out Martian defenses and military bases. Enemy agents were employed to infiltrate the system and cut communications with the outer world. They were clearly outnumbered on the surface and the orbitary stations were somehow sabotaged and destroyed so they had no satellite imagery of the planet. Everything was confusion and disaster. They were screwed.

How did this happen? Who planned it? What did they want? Those were the first questions asked to the Head Council. Lydia sighed; she had read the report and knew the answers, much to her regret.

"It seems that an intricate web of espionage had been established over the years within our own systems so they were able to take planetary control in less than three hours", murmurs broke within the Council. Lydia's eyes glanced over the crowd and continued. "We are almost certain that there are several organizations behind all of this, or at least three: the Red Syndicate, the Fourth Assembly and Ares' Legions. However, despite all of our efforts we haven't been able to establish hyperline contact with the rebels"

She looked towards the doors, the High Chancellor was late. She didn't know where he was but she was sure he would come as soon as possible. She was seated on the central platform of the Council, to her right Enar Ferzoa sat silently, to her left the chair of the High Chancellor remained empty and to her far left the other junior and senior members sat, looking confused.

"We should counterattack as fast as possible!", the senator from Ortan system shouted. "We cannot let this rebels take Mars like that!"

A wave of heated discussion swept the Council. Some systems were clearly in favor while others were not, as usual.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please be seated and stay calm", Lydia said as she motioned the senators to their seats again. "We are still senators of the Federation and we should submit this motion for consideration", she sighed. "However, we won't", confused looks were easily seen in everyone's faces. "We, the Head Council, have declared the maximum emergency state, protocols have been initiated", she looked to his right and Enar nodded his head slightly. "As long as we are in this state, the Head Council will command the Federation."

Shouts of disagreement and anger were heard instantly. The Senatorial Council was in an uproar. One hundred and thirty four senators were trying to make their point clear at the same time. The voices of twelve systems were screaming their opinions all at once. She had a headache. She raised her hand and waited for the crowd to be silent but that didnīt happen.

"Senators of the Federation!", she shouted angrily. The crowd went silent almost instantly. "We are not tyrants! We have an enemy force of approximately twenty legions, a well organized fleet and probably nuclear weapons less than five hours from here with nothing to stop them but a few guard ships and our planetary defenses!", she made her point quite clear and it seemed as if the senators had just realized the real situation of the planet. "They could smash us down with nukes in less than seven hours and end this Federation once and for all! We are in an emergency state! Paperwork is useless now."

She sat down and let Glia Taasi, the other senior member talk for a while. She was talking about military information, intel and such things. She felt tired as if seven election campaigns had been rolled into fifteen stressful hours. She had never experienced something like this. Five years ago they had feared civil war with Shigon system, but everything had changed after the Ferzoas incident. This situation was a nightmare.

Glancing at the crowd she noticed that almost all systems were present. Solarium senators were here of course, except senators Mert, Fernando and Dreet Mars' representatives. It was highly probable they had died during the nuclear attacks. She sadly remembered the red plains covered by the golden shade of the wheat. Now everything would be a nuclear wasteland. She tried to put aside all of that and continued to examine the crowd. Shigon, Huio, Litia, Crescia, Ortan, New Sol, Kiro, Kaona, Caasiri, Tasalaari, and Fort-Eau representatives were there, the only missing senators were from Centauri, Nemesis and Gilash. The Terrestrial Federation had survived many incidents throughout almost a thousand years of history. But somehow, this one seemed even impossible to just fight let aside win it.

Last week she had been reviewing along with Enar and Admiral Lera all of the military personnel and armament they had in the army, navy and the fleet. As usual Admiral said it was too little and they said it was too much. They were not prepared for war.

She saw Enar's assistant, Nathan Luhe, entering the Council and walking towards his boss. She chuckled; Enar had good taste in men. Not only did he choose beautiful men, but intelligent men as well. She remembered Xero, that witty reporter who had asked a daring question to Enar in a press conference more than six years ago. She had discussed politics with this man and to her surprise he also had a witty opinion in politics. He was in a coma now. She sighed.

Glia Taasi had finished talking and Dasar Hyth took her place. The senators looked terrified. She wondered if it had been wise to tell them the risks they were facing. They were not soldiers; they were rich citizens with no military training whatsoever. The only thing they excelled at was bureaucracy.

"Lydia?", she turned and instantly knew something was wrong. Enar was livid, his hands held a piece of paper. She tried to calm down.

"What's wrong Enar", she said in the most calming voice she could muster. He handed her the piece of paper. She read it and felt her stomach sink. "Is this true?"

"I-I...", he couldn't speak. She held his hands and he cleared his throat. "Nate confirmed it fifteen minutes ago, Admiral Lera also confirmed it"

She nodded and prepared herself speak. She motioned Dasar to take his seat which was actually a relief for him. She stood up and claimed the platform. Everyone was silent.

"I have terrible news", she felt the eyes of everyone on her. "Thirty minutes ago, the spaceship that transported the High Chancellor was lost from our radars", her voice was shaky. "Twenty minutes ago, Admiral Lera received a hyperline message from the rebels. Message begins: `High Chancellor Carsus Braidon has been eliminated. We demand your complete surrender. You have three hours' End of message. This is not an empty threat, Admiral Lera found the hull pieces that belonged to Federation One about three hours away from Earth's orbit"

The Senatorial Council was mute. Lydia moved his hand over her personal panel. Suddenly, a large clock was displayed onto the personal screens of every senator in the chamber.

"What are we going to do Lydia?", Enar asked

"I don't know Enar", she said as the clock marked `2:59:55'.

Who is the mysterious slave? Who are his masters? What will the Council do? Where are the other senators? The countdown has begun.

Mail any suggestions or comments to ferzoas@hotmail.com please!!!