Ecstasy of Gold - Ch. 14

Constance had a good scan of the entire crew when she was introduced everyone. She knew which crewmembers were likely to want her services. She went to one of the men, Kenny, who was uglier and fatter than most men on the crew. She hated herself for thinking it, but it was probably the only the only way he was going to sleep with anyone other than himself anytime soon. The thought of sleeping with him made her skin crawl, but it was the only way she had to get the money.

She explained the situation, and how she knew he wanted her. It was awkward, making her feel like Ariis bragging about how everyone wanted to fuck her. Still, she knew she was right about Kenny. He was already going through everything in his mind, all of the lewd, horrible acts he wanted to do to her. Finally, Constance knew it was time to close the deal.

“I do have a couple of limitations…” She squirmed slightly, folding her hands on her lap. “First…no kissing on the mouth. Kiss me anywhere else, but not on the mouth.”

“…but I can fuck you?” Constance cringed at the word and the thought. Still, she nodded. She wasn’t looking forward to touching his horrible greasy skin.

“Second, you will wear a condom. It’s sanitary, and I don’t wish to feel your…seed inside of me.”

“But you’re a WHORE!” Constance couldn’t contain it. Too much of Ariis had rubbed off on her already. She slapped Kenny, growling.

“Disrespect me again, and I swear I’ll have my master crush you like the bug you are…” Constance calmed herself, letting herself cool off. “Third, if I say no to something, then you’ll respect my wishes. And finally, the two thousand dollars will be paid upfront.”

“And you expect me to put up with these rules…why?” Constance knew he was loosing patience with her fast. She knew what she had to say, hearing Ariis’ voice in her head.

“Because you’re thirty-five years old and you’ve had sex all of THREE times with one woman…” She had to be strong and insulting. It would snap Kenny back into the sad realization of his existence. She hated to be like that, but it was for Tasha. “…And that was a LONG time ago, wasn’t it? With no prospects in the future, you better shut up before I leave.”

“Alright, I get it…” Kenny dug through his pockets and gave Constance a slightly dirty, grimy feeling credit card. It had a small value screen with ‘$2,000’ displayed on it. “That’s the price, right?”

“Yes…” Constance put the card down on a table next to the lame, poorly kept bed. The sheets looked like they had never been washed or the bed made. Constance wasn’t looking forward to touching it with her bare skin. “What do you want me to do to you?”

“First, get naked and down on all fours.” Constance bit her thumb.

“Don’t…” She cleared her throat. Some romance would make this sad but necessary task easier. Sleeping with men was unpleasant by itself. The ‘task’ would be all the worse unprepared. “Don’t you want to take my clothes off? Be romantic?”

“Fuck that, get naked and on all fours like a dog!” Constance nodded and did what he said. She slowly slipped the shoulder straps of her dress off and let her dress fall to the ground. She unhooked her bra and took it off. She paused briefly, her commitment wavering for a second. She bit her lip and slid off her panties. Constance could feel his eyes crawling across his skin. She got down on all fours, doing her best to hide her tears. She did her best to leave her body, waiting until it was over.


Suzuna led Tasha to her quarters, though Tasha didn’t need it. The Gears of War was exactly as she remembered it. Tasha tried to make small talk as they went, but she really didn’t know what to talk about now that Suzuna had changed so much. She talked about how they found Constance, Yu’lena and the raider’s ship, how they sold it, and how they were buying a small assault unit for the ship with the money, but Suzuna barely listened.

“Your dad’s buying a Sped?” She said, trying to make sense of the part of Tasha’s conversation that grabbed her attention.

“No, an S-B-D.” Tasha repeated slower. “It’s short for Slow-But-Deadly. Basically, it’s a transport that’s been modified to carry a load of guns, all bristling from the sides, and one BIG gun in the center. It has to be slow because it needs the stability for…” Suzuna tuned out slightly, finally getting to her room. Tasha stared at the name on the door briefly. “…Shinobu?”

“I renamed myself…after my folks split up.” She hung her head. “My dad kind of abandoned us…and my mom was killed shortly after…so I’ve been on my own since…”

Tasha thought something to herself she’d never say. She thought that explained how she got the tattoos without her parents complaining. She instantly felt bad for thinking it, almost feeling like she should apologize to Suzuna right there.

“…But that…but you left when you were only sixteen…”

“Yeah…” Suzuna opened the door and walked into the dark room. Tasha was surprised the lights didn’t kick on automatically as soon as she was inside. Suzuna turned the lights on with a flick of her wrist.

“Why didn’t you come back to our ship? We could have lived together…It would have been so…awesome…”

“Yeah, speaking of awesome…” Tasha got Suzuna’s less than subtle hint to change the subject. “Want to see my works?”

“Your works?” Suzuna pointed to some of her visible tattoos. “OH…Yeah, that’d be pretty cool…”

“Alright, well, hope you’re not shy…” Suzuna said before pulling her t-shirt off. Tasha was blushing brightly, she could feel it burning in her face. “I designed all of my tattoos and piercings myself.”

“Piercings?”

“Yeah…This is where that shy part comes in…” She started unhooking her bra. Tasha gasped and covered her mouth slightly as she slid it off. Suddenly, her tiny tattoo didn’t seem anywhere near as rebellious as she hoped.

“You…you got your nipples pierced?!”

“Yeah, pretty hot, huh?” She held the rings between her fingers, making Tasha blush even more. “This one’s a gargoyle, with its wings stretched up, while this one’s a coiled snake…”

“Yeah…” Tasha turned away, covering her eyes. “Do you mind…putting your top back on?”

“Aww, come on…It’s nothing you haven’t seen before…” Suzuna swaggered towards her slightly. “Remember our slumber parties?”

“…things are different now…”

“The only thing that’s different is that you’re WAY hotter…” Suzuna put her hands on Tasha’s arms, looking her in the eyes. Tasha glanced down at her bright red heart tattoo on her chest. It was wrapped in barbed wire and had damaged wings off it. “I’ve been resisting doing this since you came onboard…” Before Tasha could ask, Suzuna kissed her deeply. Tasha stumbled backwards, trying to get away from her. Suzuna followed her all the way to the wall, pinning her slightly and rubbing up against her. She held Tasha’s hand, swinging it slightly. Tasha gasped for breath and looked up at the ceiling. Suzuna showered her neck with kisses. “I love you, Tea…”

“Ah…I…I…” Tasha didn’t know what to say. She wasn’t sure if she wanted Suzuna to stop or not. It felt really good, and she missed Suzuna so much.


Constance stumbled out of Kenny’s quarters, straightening her clothes. Her entire body ached and felt like it burned with the soil from Kenny. She put her hand against her forehead, collapsing backwards against the wall.

“For Tasha…For Tasha…” She looked at the credit card’s glowing numbers, telling herself she just had to do it five more times. As she tried to get the energy to walk, Hal ran over to her.

“Constance, are you okay?” He reached towards her, but she slapped his hands away. “Ouch…”

“Don’t touch me…” Constance growled and then gasped at what she said. “Oh god, I’m sorry…”

“No harm done…” He shook his hand slightly. Hal hadn’t been slapped on the back of the hand since he was young and trying to steal cookies. “What’s wrong?”

Constance looked into Hal’s eyes, quickly scanning him to see if she could trust him. She could tell she could trust him, but she wasn’t sure if she should burden him with the knowledge. She took a deep breath.

“I…I slept with Kenny…to get money for Tasha’s birthday present…” She coughed, covering her mouth in horror. It felt like pure evil would come out of her at any second.

“Why the hell would you do that?!” Hal shouted without thinking, quickly hushing himself up. “Sorry…I have a problem that I don’t think before I talk…”

“It’s okay…” Constance picked herself up. “I hope you’ll keep this a secret…”

“Of course…” He quickly looked through all his pockets. “How much do you need, anyway?”

“Ten thousand more…” Constance sighed. “I have to do…that…five more times…”

“Well, I…uh…well…” Hal cleared his throat nervously, fumbling with things in his pocket and swearing under his breath. He was always nervous about everything for no good reason. “Here…take this…” He handed a credit card to Constance, almost dropping it. Constant looked at the card, and couldn’t believe that it said ‘$8,000’ on it.

“No way…” She shook her head and handed it back, but Hal jumped backwards so the card fell on the ground. “I…I can’t take this…not from one person…Not from a friend…”

“I’m glad I’m a friend, but really, take it.” He snapped his fingers. “I know! Put my name on this awesome gift that you’re…selling yourself for…”

Constance looked down at the card. Her shattered view of humanity was slowly healing itself thanks to Hal’s kindness. She had to do something for him, she just had to. She scanned his mind, just doing a brief surface scan. She wanted to quickly learn all she could about him. That’s when she hit on something she could pay him back with. Still, she had to make it seem like she just stumbled upon it.

“How old are you, Hal?”

“Twenty-two…” He answered, quickly trying to think of what she was going for. Constance wasn’t use to how fast he thought. His thoughts seemed to ricochet around his mind, and were hard to track. “You’re…what? Sixteen?”

“Yes…” Constance ran her fingers through her hair. “I want to…give myself to you tonight…Or tomorrow night…”

“I…I can’t…I couldn’t ask you to do that…” Hal stuttered again. “Don’t get me wrong, you’re beautiful and I’d be happy if you…or…er…”

“You’re not taking advantage if you say yes…You’re not taking, I’m giving.” Hal still wasn’t sure. In his mind, Constance was an innocent young girl, no matter what her past was. She could hear him finally thinking the words just before he spoke.

“I…I’m a virgin, Constance…” He grit his teeth, hating saying it out loud. He had been mocked about it since high school, though he didn’t understand why. Sex never seemed important enough to worry about. He didn’t even have very many girlfriends. “I wouldn’t know what to do…”

“I can teach you, don’t worry…” She kissed him on the cheek. “You’ll be able to get any woman you want once I’ve taught you…”

“…That is awfully tempting…” Constance was going to scan his mind to see if he was going to accept, but suddenly, Ariis’ booming thoughts came down the hallway. Constance panicked and thought Ariis knew she wasn’t staying in the hospital section. She realized she had to move before she found her, or she’d fiercely punish her.

“I’ll give you a call and give you the details…” She kissed him again. “Just don’t tell anyone I’m out here…And keep the fact that we’re going to make love deep…deep in your mind…”

“But I…I’m not sure…I don’t think I should…” Constance was gone before he could complain or try to stop Constance’s plan. “Crap…”

As Ariis went sprinting by, Hal felt like he should stop her to protect Constance. He didn’t know why, but he trusted the feeling. He stuck out his leg and she hit it at full sprint, smashing him into the ground and sending her crashing to the floor. Due to her usual attire, Ariis’ breast plate unhooked and bounced down the hallway. On top of that, the light fabric of her skirt fell open, revealing her entirely bellow the waist. Hal blushed brightly, but Ariis just laughed, staying on her back so Hal could see everything.

“Enjoy your free show?” She stood up, straightening her skirt to cover herself. “It wasn’t free, was it?” She bent over so he could still see her butt and picked up her breast plate again. She ran her palm along his face. “You know…if you want…”

Both Constance and Hal didn’t know Ariis was just out for a jog around the ship. Hal especially didn’t realize that tripping or trying to catch an Akyllisian woman was a huge flirt to them. Hal instantly reacted like he would to anyone coming onto him so strongly.

“I’m flattered, but…I…I can’t…right now…”

“Suit yourself…” She put her breastplate back on, swaggering down the hall. “If you change your mind, give me a call…”

“I…yeah…” Hal didn’t know what to do with two different girls seemingly coming after him. Truth be told, Constance was more appealing to Hal, though it made him feel perverted. Constance was so much younger than him, after all. Still, Ariis was practically a goddess. It was a tough call he never imagined he’d have to make.


Suzuna laid Tasha down gently on her bed, kissing her deeply. Tasha moaned as Suzuna ran her hands along Tasha’s arms and sides. Suzuna slowly unzipped Tasha’s jumpsuit, kissing her chest and stomach. She laughed as Tasha’s skin trembled in pleasure.

“Do you want me?” Suzuna said, rubbing her hips. Tasha didn’t say anything, gasping for breath and turning her head away. It felt wrong, but she didn’t necessarily want her to stop. She just didn’t know what to do. Still, Suzuna took her silence as a yes. She caressed Tasha’s breasts and kissed her stomach.

As Suzuna unhooked her bra, Tasha realized how fast things were going and why she wasn’t resisting. She use to love Suzuna, and would rather loose her virginity to a friend than risk Ariis taking advantage of her one day and taking it. Still, that was the problem. She used to love Suzuna, but when she was stolen from her, over time, she eventually just accepted the lost. Then, an image of Constance flashed into her mind. She pushed Suzuna away.

“Sha…” She caught her breath. Her flesh seemed to feel like it was burning. “Suzie…stop, please…”

“What’s wrong?” Suzuna sat down next to Tasha. “You seemed to be enjoying yourself…”

“I just…I…” Tasha zipped her jumpsuit back up. “This is…just…too much, too fast…” Suzuna groaned and grabbed a hand-rolled cigarette and lit it up. “I’m not saying it’s impossible…”

Tasha noticed the cigarette didn’t smell like any of Hunter’s. She didn’t recognize the smell at all. Her naiveté didn’t let her think it could be something else.

“You need to relax, girl. Loosen up…” She leaned in close to Tasha again. Before Tasha could ask her to back up, she kissed her deeply and blew a full breath of the smoke into Tasha’s lungs. Tasha coughed, realizing in horror what she had just done.

“Did you just…drug me?” Tasha coughed again, starting to feel light headed.

“It’s just pot…” She kissed her along the neck again. “Relax and loosen up…”

“I can’t…” Suzuna didn’t let her finish, rubbing up against Tasha. “I don’t…”

“Yes, you do. Trust me…” She kissed her again. “Once you get use to me, we can bring in Glycon and have him do you right…”

“What?” Tasha shoved Suzuna off him. “I’m not having sex with a guy…”

“You’re only saying that because you haven’t tried it with him yet…” Suzuna tried to move towards her, but Tasha shoved her away again.

“I haven’t tried it with anyone yet!” Tasha was getting more scared and worried as time went on. It was understandable in the situation, but amplified to the ninth degree by the drug. “Why the hell do you want me to sleep with him anyway?”

“He’s my boyfriend, and I told him you’d be down for a three-way…”

“I’m not having sex with some guy I don’t even know!” Tasha yelled, pulling up her zipper.

“I’ll be there, and you can just…” Tasha realized Suzuna was trying to seduce her again and she couldn’t let that happen. She’d never be able to live with herself if she slept with a man she didn’t even know.

“NO!” Tasha ran out of the room, feeling naked without her bra hooked under her clothes. Still, she could get back to her and her dad’s quarters and put the door lock on emergency lockdown. It may have been an over-reaction, but it was the only way she could be sure Suzuna couldn’t get to her. It was the only way she could be sure no one got to her. At least, no one she couldn’t trust. Jessie would still be able to get in, and she needed to see him.


Jessie woke up to the sound of Zen yelling at the nurses in the room. He was happy to hear her yelling at the nurses to get him better care. He tried to ignore his pain, but his wounds made sure he knew he was hit. He opened his eyes in a slightly painkiller-daze. Zen was standing next to his bed, her arm in a sling and her neck in a brace. Jessie forgot how fragile Zen was despite how she looked. Still, she was in better shape than most Rae would have been in the same situation.

“Hey…What happened to the tank that attacked us?” Zen turned to Jessie and for a brief second, her eyes lit up, but it went away as fast as it came.

“Don’t worry about that, Jessie.” She put her good hand on his. “They’re trying to find her now…They think she’s being telepathically controlled, which is why she turned on us…”

“Great, a telepathically controlled Enhance Marine…” Jessie coughed a little. “Anything else happen while I was out?”

“Actually, yeah…” Zen handed him his communicator. “Tasha called for you…She sounded pretty upset…”

“Something’s wrong with Tasha?” He sat up, ignoring the pain. He had several broken bones they had reset with what they call quick-set bio-cement. It mended bones quickly, but you’d still feel pain for a long time after the treatment, until the body healed and fully replaced the cement. It was easy enough for him to ignore when it came to Tasha. “Did she say what was wrong?”

“No, but she did say it was too personal to tell me.” Zen stepped back as Jessie stepped up onto trembling legs. “She was crying, though. I can tell you that for sure.”

“Then I better get going…” Jessie wobbled slightly as he headed towards the door. In the doorway, he turned around and looked at Zen. He didn’t want to leave Zen without asking a few final questions, but he didn’t want to delay getting to Tasha. He bore his teeth, hating to see her in such bad shape on top of it. “You won’t leave the planet without telling me, will you?”

“Well, since your ship’s docked to mine…I guess I don’t have an option this time.” Jessie didn’t know if she was serious or not. Still, he needed to get to Tasha. He didn’t bother getting to a shuttle, just calling up to the ship for an emergency transport.


Eliza flinched slightly as Paul dragged a knife across her face, horizontally across her nose and other scars. Her personality had completely retreated into her mind. It was strange for her, like being forced to watch reality through a security system feed. She didn’t care what happened to her anymore. She was just glad to protect Zen.

“That was disappointing…” Paul groaned to the shadow demon. “I would have preferred that new alien babe.” The demon growled.

“If you are done defiling the carrier, I have decided it is time to act.”

Eliza gasped at the word ‘carrier’. It confirmed what she already knew; she was pregnant. Just as the demon planned, she was pregnant. She hated the idea of being pregnant, especially with the plan she knew the demon had for her child. Eliza could never get use to thinking about her child.

“You mean…”

“Yes…” The demon hissed. “I will take you to the police station first. With the carrier, we should be able to seize the entire station and use them as shock troops for the base. With the base, we’ll be able to take and hold this planet.”

“Yes, Master…” Paul groaned. “What are we going to do about her armor? She can’t just attack naked like she is.”

“We’ll get her armor back.” The demon spoke, heading for the doorway. It seemed to hover over the ground, seemingly not taking any steps. “I will cover your attack.”

“Excellent…”


Kelli was walking through the hangar, making sure the new unit they were getting would be transferred over without any problems. So far, everything was going fine.

The SBD Jessie had bought was the biggest thing in the hangar, even bigger than their shuttles. Instead of the wedge-like lifting body shape the shuttles had, the SBD had a cylindrical body, much like an old cargo plane. The sides were all bristling with guns and turrets. The wings were large and pontoons, making it not only a spacecraft and an aircraft, but a flying boat as well. It had a pod sticking out of its nose that she knew was the canon. It was impressive, and the most powerful weapon on any unit in the ship.

As she walked, she saw a group of men laughing and elbowing each other. She walked over to find out what all the commotion was about.

“So, I win.” Frank said, taking money from the other men in the group. “She didn’t even wait to hear his story before she punched him in the face…”

“What are you guys talking about?” Kelli said, putting her hands on her hips and leaning in slightly. She knew they’d tell her the truth if they were distracted by her cleavage.

“Frank,” One of the men said, shoving him with his elbow again, “just won the Heartbreak Pool for the second time in a row.”

“…Heartbreak Pool?” She scratched her head.

“Yeah, you know,” Frank said, staring unapologetically at Kelli’s breasts, “whenever we get back together with the Gears of War…”

“Up here, Frank.” Kelli snapped her fingers, getting his attention.

“We bet how long it will be before Jessie and Zen are at each other’s throats again and break up.” Kelli gasped.

“You bet on when they’ll be at each other’s throats!?” Frank nodded, and a cascade of confirmations came from the men. “That’s the worst thing I’ve ever heard!”

“It’s just a little fun, gorgeous…” Frank said, putting his hand on the small of her back. Kelli grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back, slamming him against the wall.

“It’s NOT fun, it’s CRUEL!” She pushed up on his arm, hurting him as much as she could without making it permanent, though everything in her body made her want to. Womanizing her, even as a joke, pissed her off. “So, here’s what you’re going to do. You’re going to give me the cash you just won. ALL of it, every last penny, or I’ll tell Jessie about this. Then, you’re NEVER going to do this VICIOUS hobby again! Got it?”

“Yes…”

“Yes WHAT?”

“Yes…Kelli?” She twisted his arm more. “AH, AH! Yes, ma’am!” Kelli smiled and let him go. Frank dug through his pockets and held out a huge stack of cash cards. Kelli took them and found a pocket free on the hanging part of her jumpsuit. “Way to be a buzz-kill, Kelli.”

“Buzz-kill’s my middle name.” Kelli said, smiling. “And if I find out you started this, I’ll break your arm…” Kelli’s cheeriness was almost frightening as she made her threat. It kept Frank in line, though.


Constance started thinking about how horrible things were with Kenny. She showered and changed her clothes, but she wasn’t going to forget the horrible taint of everything. She had to find a far more pleasant customer, but she knew everyone on the ship. They were more likely to brag about it. If she went to the Gears of War, she could see if she could find a more attractive customer. Even better, a female customer. If she could find a female customer, her day would be made.

It was easy to get over with the ships docked, simply going from one ship to the other. Everyone was going back and forth between the ships. She started lightly scanning people she passed, people she wouldn’t mind having sex with. It turned up nothing at first, but then she heard a name in someone’s head; Shinobu. She had to find this Shinobu, seeing how she looked in people’s heads. She was beautiful and she knew she’d be the type to take her up on her offer.

Deep in the ship, she found the room labeled Shinobu and rang the doorbell. She waited, looking back and forth to make sure no one saw her. She ran her fingers through her hair nervously, waiting for the door to open. When it finally did, she was surprised to see a man instead of the Shinobu.

He was tall, with long black hair that hung down over his eyes. He had a spiked collar on, and spiked bands around his wrist. His finger nails were painted black, he was wearing torn black cargo pants with countless empty pockets. He wore a shirt with a band logo she didn’t recognize spray painted across it. Granted, she didn’t know much about the outside world, but she knew enough to recognize the big band logos.

“What’s up?” His voice was artificially dark and raspy. She knew it hurt his throat, but he always did his best to be intimidating. Constance could hear his thoughts about her, knowing the rumors she had heard were at least somewhat right.

“I…I heard this is where a woman named Shinobu lives…I…I’m sorry if I…”

“Shinobu!” He yelled into the room. “There’s some chick here to see you!”

“Comin’, I’m comin’…” She groaned. Suzuna staggered to the doorway and propped herself against it. Constance could barely understand her thoughts, recognizing the garble from her being high. “Hey…I don’t know you…”

“I know, but I’m from the Ecstasy of Gold…and…well, this is awkward, but I have a proposition for you…”


Jessie got back to his and Tasha’s quarters as fast as he could. He punched the key code in to open the door, but it just buzzed angrily at him.

“Secure locked…God, what was our secure code?” He bit is lip as he tried to think of the code. “Oh, that’s right…Wedding anniversary.”

He put in his wedding anniversary and the door opened. It was pitch black, except for a couple of small lights. He could hear Tasha crying and see her collapsed on the couch. He went over and sat down on the couch next to her.

“What’s wrong, Tasha?” Tasha looked up as he turned on a lamp, squinting from the blinding light. Jessie could see that her makeup had run down her face from her crying.

“I…I’m embarrassed to tell you…” Tasha couldn’t even look at him, ashamed of what happened. She knew it wasn’t her fault, but she thought he’d still be mad. Before she could say anything, he sniffed the air slightly.

“…Are you high?”

“N…no…Not…not voluntarily…That’s why I called you…” Tasha sighed. “I went to Suzuna’s place, and she was…” She didn’t know how to put everything to Jessie so he wouldn’t get mad.

“…getting high?”

“…incredibly Goth…” Jessie ‘ah’-ed, so Tasha knew she could continue. “She…she started kissing me and…and caressing me, and I just didn’t know what to do…So I…I kind of…went along with it…”

“Tasha!” Jessie didn’t like what he was hearing. He didn’t need to hear that his darling little girl made out with another girl.

“I didn’t know what to do…But then she started taking off my clothes and…panties, and it was going WAY too fast…” Tasha spoke in a blur, all of her words running together. “I mean, I missed her so much it hurt, but then, to have her all over me like that, and pawing at me and…”

“…And?”

“…and I told her to stop…She got frustrated, and lit a joint and…and forced some down my throat and tried again…”

“You mean, she tried to…” Tasha nodded and buried her face in the couch, sobbing. Jessie was furious at Suzuna. He could go over to the Gears right now and give her the beating of a lifetime for doing this to Tasha.

“The worst part was, if she wanted to…I would have…totally been willing to date her…I…I missed her that much.” She stuttered slightly. “I can’t believe I told you that…”

“It’s okay…” Jessie said through tight teeth. It definitely wasn’t something he wanted to encourage Tasha to do.

“It turns out, she just wanted to use me for sex…and to have a threesome with her boyfriend…”

“What?!” Jessie stood up. “Hell no! She didn’t…” He punched his palm with his other hand. “I’m going to go over there and…” He didn’t have to stop and think. Suggesting his little girl was whorish enough to be part of a threesome was an unforgivable offense. He started heading towards the door, but Tasha yelled at him.

“DAD!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll…”

“I don’t need you to kick their asses, I need you here for me!” Jessie cooled his jets, his fist trembling as he tried to relax. He was furious, but he started to think of what Tasha must be going through. Scared and assaulted, a friend just wanting to use her for sex. He couldn’t completely understand how she felt, but he had to do his best for her. “I really miss mom at times like this…”

“I know…I miss her, too…” Jessie put his hand on Tasha’s back. He had no idea how to help her short of going over to the Gears and giving them hell. Truth be told, that would help him, too. “Do you want to go down to the planet with me? Keep your mind off things…”

“I’m still…high…I guess…” Jessie dug through his pocket and held out a tin of pills.

“Take the blue one and take a long, hot shower.” Tasha took the pill out of the tin and looked at it quizzically. “It’ll counter any of the crap in your system and you’ll feel spot on before you know it.”

“Why do you have a pill that…”

“It’s for all sorts of highs, Tasha.” He said, putting the tin back in his pocket. “I mostly take them for booze, but they’ll work on anything.” Tasha popped the pill in her mouth and swallowed. She got up and hugged Jessie, but he looked away.

“What’s wrong?”

“Uh…zip up your jumpsuit.” Tasha looked down and saw her chest was almost completely exposed. She blushed brightly and zipped herself up.

“Sorry…Suzuna…she…” Jessie nodded.

“You’re sure you don’t want me to kick her ass?”

“Give that pill a little time to work and I’ll get back to you on that.” Tasha ran off to her shower as fast as she could, not wanting to risk anything else embarrassing happening. Jessie laid back on the couch, deciding to rest while she took her shower. He was absolutely clueless on how to comfort Tasha. He just wished his wife was still here, because she would know how to take care of it. Still, he’d do his best, take her down to the planet and try to talk to her about it.


Yu’lena found the quarters Jessie had a large central area with a small bedroom in the back. Yu’lena secretly wished her quarters were bigger, hoping to recruit many of the female crewmembers. She would do what she originally planned, have the central area be the temple, and have her quarters be in the small bedroom. Truth be told, she’d be happy with the large closet in the back of the bedroom being her quarters. Still, her religion made it required that the temple all be one room. Unless she could get the wall to her bedroom knocked down, she’d be required to use it as her bedroom.

She felt greedy having such a big room to herself. Maybe she would get a number of maidens who would live in the temple with her. Then, she could get the quarters next to hers and use them for the maidens. But, before her grand plans could come to fruition, she’d have to set up the temple and pray to get a flock. Hopefully, she had enough left that wasn’t damaged. She took a deep breath and set out on her task, hoping she could get donations to finish things if she was lacking anything.


Constance explained everything to both Glycon and Suzuna. They both heard her out and were actually eager about everything. Constance thought she might be in over her head. Still, she was so close to getting Tasha’s statue. She had to do it.

“So…let me make sure we have an understanding…” Constance cleared her throat. “You and…Glycon both want to use my services…at the same time…with toys?”

“Yeah,” Suzuna leaned in close, “we were going to do it with a friend of mine, but she chickened out. Still, we want to try it and we’re not picky.”

“Unfortunately…” Constance bit her thumbnail, thinking about her words carefully. “I am picky…Are you both…clean of physical and mental illness?”

“Yeah, we’re both…”

“Mentally ill?” Glycon took a drag off his cigarette. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Well, I’m a telepath, so…if you’re crazy, I might…”

“You’re a telepath?!” Suzuna shouted slightly. “That’s freakin’ sweet! I’ve always wanted to have sex with a telepath, I heard it was AWESOME!”

“…yes…” Constance was sure Suzuna was high, but she didn’t want to anger her. Suzuna was smoking what she was sure was a joint, recognizing it from her customers. “All I ask is that you don’t brag about it to anyone and…”

“Deal!” Suzuna lunged on Constance, kissing her deeply. Constance tried to talk more, but Suzuna didn’t give her a chance. He took a deep drag off her joint and breathed a mouthful of smoke into her. Constance coughed, but tried to ignore it. She realized that she hadn’t gotten a chance to go over her rules. Still, Suzuna wasn’t giving her much time to complain. She quickly found herself not caring anymore, much to her surprise.


Tasha had her hair pulled back into a ponytail and her eyes were cast down. Even though she wasn’t high anymore, but she felt like everyone knew. She hated Suzuna for doing it to her, and had no idea how to tell her dad about everything without creeping him out. The strange seductiveness of Suzuna’s soft lips with piercing through them. The way she knew just how to touch her. Jessie would never understand, and she knew that. She wished her mother Natalia was still here. She’d understand.

As they walked to the shuttle, Tasha saw a glint of gold go scampering by. She turned and saw it was a young blonde girl rushing off into the ship. Tasha didn’t recognize the girl at all, but figured she was from the Gears and her parents would find her. Sad thing was she knew if she didn’t have so much on her mind right now, she’d help her. It made her feel greedy, but she rarely was this self-centered and justifiably so. She almost thought she should go to the police. Could she do that to Suzuna? She wasn’t sure.

The shuttle ride down was quick since she wasn’t paying attention. Jessie tried talking to her, but she didn’t give more than a one or two word answer. What finally did snap her out of it was seeing Captain Zen. Zen hadn’t been out of the hospital for an hour and she was already pulling off her sling and neck brace. She could tell she was swearing at the doctors under her breath.

“Shouldn’t you still be wearing those?” Jessie said out of concern before Natasha could say ‘don’t’.

“Screw those doctors!” Zen said, jabbing him in the chest. “They treat me like I’m some sort of freakin’ glass doll! Ooops, she fell down a flight of stairs during an attack, we better put a brace on her ankle for a year and a half.”

“You are a Rae, Zen…”

“Dad…” Tasha tried to interrupt him, but it was no use.

“…Rae are more fragile than humans…”

“Like hell, I…”

“Captain Zen!” Tasha shouted, interrupting both of them, “it’s so good to see you!”

“Tea?! Oh my god!” Zen smiled. “Look at you. You must have shot up a full foot since I last saw you!”

“Yeah…” Tasha hated doing her best to sound cheery, but she did for Zen. “It’s kind of screwed over my cybernetic leg…”

“Why not get it replaced, hon?”

“Well, you know…” Tasha rolled her shoulders. “I’m a wuss when it comes to pain.”

“Oh, honey, it’s okay…” Tasha realized what she had to do. Zen could take care of Suzuna, or Shinobu or whatever she wanted to call herself.

“I need to talk to you, Captain…” Tasha looked at Jessie. “Alone…”

“Alright…” Zen scowled at Jessie. “I’m going, I’m going!” Jessie slowly walked off, picking where he could be far enough to watch them without them complaining. He was too far away to hear what they were talking about, but that was probably for the best.

“So, what’s wrong, Tea?”

“Shinobu…or Suzuna…did some things to me…” Tasha whispered, afraid Jessie could hear her. “She made me get high and…and tried to get in my panties, even though I tried to stop her and asked her to stop…and…I just don’t know what to do, Zen…” Zen sighed and rubbed her eyes.

“God, what am I going to do with her…” Zen puffed her cheeks out with a couple blows of air. “Are you okay?”

“I…I really don’t know yet…” Tasha said, looking at the ground. “I would have gone along with it if she didn’t…I don’t know!”

“God, she’s been fucking anything that blunders into her view for a year now…” Zen whispered. “I tried to raise her well after her mom died, I did, but with the ship and…”

“You took care of her?”

“Yeah…I tried to get her father, but he was a total douche, so…” Zen sighed again, rubbing her eyes. “I’m going to have to find her stash and throw it out the airlock AGAIN, catch the bastard who sold it to her and kick his ass, have ‘the talk’ with her again…”

“Zen…” Tasha wanted to interrupt Zen’s rant and bring up her very good, very valid point.

“Wasting the money I give her on that shit…”

“What about the fact that she was going to RAPE me?!” Zen bit her lip.

“Damn it!” Zen hit her forehead. “I’m in way over my head…” Zen thought and thought briefly. “I guess I’ll just have to call the cops on her…”

“No!” Tasha shouted again. She tried to stay calm, lowering her voice. “I…I don’t want to be the reason Suzie gets a police record…That’s a pretty serious thing.” Tasha was about to walk back to Jessie, but Zen moved between them. She made sure her back was to Jessie, blocking his view of Tasha.

“She did some pretty serious things to you, Tea…” Zen put her hand on the side of her face. “I love her like she was my own kid, but…if it was as bad as you said…”

“I know, but…there has to be another way…”

“I’ll think of something, but just because I love you so much.” Zen put her arms around Tasha’s shoulders, pulling her close. Tasha sighed, feeling warm and safe in her arms. She put her arms around Zen’s waist. She looked into Zen’s beautiful ruby eyes. Zen leaned in and kissed Tasha on the lips, holding the kiss for a few seconds. “You’ve grown into a beautiful woman…”

“Are you hitting on me, Zen?” Tasha said with a smile.

“Well, you are close to legal now…” Tasha chuckled and playfully shoved Zen away. “You know, if your father won’t kill you…” Before Zen could finish her sentence, a massive explosion off in the distance ripped through the air. It was deafening, loud enough to make Zen try to cover her ears in a futile gesture. Jessie moved to shield Tasha from the blast. Zen yelled, trying to clear her ears.

“Where’d that come from?!” Jessie yelled over the chaos. His ears were ringing, and he could barely hear anything other than the blare of the sirens responding to it. Tasha stood up and pointed down the street at the pillar of smoke. Jessie could only hear muffled rumblings, but knew what she was getting at as his hearing slowly returned. He ran back over to their shuttle and grabbed a pair of rifles.

“What are we supposed to do with this?”

“You stay here and protect yourself on the shuttle. I’m going to the blast and see what’s going on.” Tasha loaded her rifle.

“Like hell I’m staying here and letting you go off to die!” She checked the sight on her rifle. “Your aim sucks and could get you killed.”

“Tasha…”

“Spray and Pray…” She grumbled, running down the block. Jessie yelled at her and swore before he chased after her. Zen was still recovering from the blast, but knew where they were going and tried to yell that she’d follow as soon as she could. Her ears were still ringing in a deafening pain.


A heavily armored policeman jumped on Eliza’s back, stabbing a taser into her neck and shoulders. She winced in pain and flipped him off her back onto a desk, smashing it. Eliza watched from inside her mind as she neared the man, trying to fight what she knew was coming. She swung her leg, kicking the policeman in the side of the face. She heard a horrible crack and felt the sickening crush. It didn’t instantly kill the man, she could hear him choking on his own blood. She only hoped he wouldn’t have to suffer long.

She had killed a number of men and women under Paul’s control. He got a sick thrill watching her kill. She killed them all in a number of ways, but most relied on raw power. Her hands were literally stained with blood. Her medical gown was torn and hanging off her body, exposing her body underneath. She literally couldn’t care though, doing her best to keep the demon in view.

The shadow demon seemed to have problems keeping its form in the light, or at least that’s what Eliza thought. It seemed to stay a cloud, rushing through the room and engulfing small groups of policemen at a time. They’d scream and fire at it wildly, but then just stop, lowering their weapons and walking over to Paul as he entered the room. Finally, the demon stopped, solidifying in front of an armored door. Parts of it were cracking off and bleeding off into the sunlight. It reached into the crack around the safe door and ripped it off the hinges, throwing it out of the police station and into the street.

“Send her into the vault and make her put on her armor…” The demon’s voice hissed and cracked. It hovered into the vault, making sure it was clear for them. “And make sure she doesn’t put her helmet on or you’ll loose contact with her mind and she’ll slaughter you.”

“Yes…” Paul could feel Eliza saying ‘damn straight’ in her mind. He forced Eliza to walk into the vault and start putting on her armor. The parts he made her cut off were still missing. They didn’t know it, but the parts were still in the lab three stories up being scanned and tested.

The demon reached his arm out towards Eliza, sending a horrid cloud of black pestilence towards her. It wrapped around her body, covering her and bonding with parts of her armor. It formed a black, insect-like shell that felt like it was glued to her skin. Paul walked over to her, looking her over.

“It’s not as sexy as it wa…” Shots rang out, but the demon shed a small piece of his arm that spared him the rain of plasma. Paul turned around and saw Jessie standing behind him with his rifle. “Aiming at me was stupid…”

Jessie tried to fire again, but Paul made it impossible for him to fire. Paul left him frozen, walking towards him and pulling the rifle out of his hand. That’s when he got it from his mind. Jessie tried to keep him out of his mind with riddles and songs, but it was no use. His military training was long gone and he couldn’t stop Paul from controlling him if his life depended on it. Ironic, given the situation. That’s when Tasha ran up.

“Stay away from him!” Tasha fired a couple shots that glanced Paul’s flesh. She couldn’t bring herself to kill him. She had never killed anyone in her life, and she didn’t ever want to. She didn’t even want to know what would drive her to kill someone.

“Oh…” Paul’s wounds oozed black ink instead of blood. It flowed over his skin and seemed to form an insect-armor like Eliza’s. He grabbed Tasha by the neck, paralyzing her. The brief immunity to his control was over-ridden by his direct contact with her skin. “So young and beautiful…I’ll add you to my harem.”

Jessie strained as hard as he could to try to hit Paul. If he got his hands on him, he could kill him. He would kill him, without a second thought, knowing what he’d use Tasha with no second thought. He couldn’t let him do that. Paul punched him, using his telepathy to make Tasha’s entire body overreact and throw himself backwards onto the ground. Truth be told, the throw from his own body did more damage than the punch.

With all of this power, Paul was out of control and getting more so by the minute. He often wondered what he’d do if he ever somehow got incredible gifts like the ones heroes have in the movies. As a child, he often thought he’d be a hero, but now he realized differently. Villains had all the fun. The demon grew tired of his postuering in his mind.

“We have to leave before the military can prepare for us…” The demon hissed, flowing around him like cloth in a breeze. “We must strike now if you are to rule this planet…”

“Fine, but we take the brown girl with us, too.” Jessie stressed and strained to get up, but his body fought his every move. He could see the fear in Tasha’s eyes, and it was killing him in almost every sense of the word.

Eliza couldn’t take it either. She knew if she ever got the chance, she’d kill him in the most horrible way she could think. She was going to make him pay for everything he had done. She’d enjoy every agonizing scream for what he made her do to the police. She never wanted to murder someone like this before, and it made her hate him all the more for it. There was no doubt she was going to kill him. She just had to wait, bide her time. The moment he showed weakness, she’d strike and that’d be that. She could disable him without killing him, breaking his control over him.

The demon raised its arm into the air and spread out into a black cloud. Tasha flinched and silently screamed as it engulfed her. It felt like it was burning her skin and cooking her body from the inside out. She cried out in pain, overriding Paul’s telepathic control. The cloud engulfed Paul and Eliza next, flowing over Jessie and seemingly ignoring him. The cloud lingered and hovered for a second, then shot into the sky like a twister ripping its way toward heaven.

As soon as it was gone, Jessie could move again. He jumped to his feet and looked in every possible direction he could. Eliza, the demon, Paul, and worst of all Tasha were no where to be seen. He panicked and had to be sure.

“Tasha!? Oh god…TASHA!”

Ecstasy of Gold - Ch. 13

Yu’lena was sitting on the edge of her bed, stretching her legs slightly. Patch had finished her medical treatments. Her muscles ached and her bruises cried, but the aches in her bones were diminishing. She rolled her shoulders. She was sitting in her undergarments on the bed, with a privacy curtain pulled all the way around. Her undergarments were simple pure white fabric wrapped around her chest and hips. It went over her shoulders and chest to cover her breasts, and around her hips and between her legs. In her religion, it symbolized her purity and devotion to her gods.

“I’m sorry, Priestess Yu’lena, but there appears to be nothing we can do for your bruises.” Patch said, hovering over her and massaging her shoulders slightly. Yu’lena shoved it back, knowing it didn’t understand about her spots and what it felt like. “Though there’s very little we can do for human bruises too.”

“It is alright…but do not ever touch me like that again. EVER.” She picked up her robes and started putting them on. She started wondering about the philosophy of a robot that learned, but had no emotions. How could it learn without emotions? How could it know right from wrong? She hadn’t dealt with technology much before, but she didn’t understand how it was possible. She decided to treat it more humanly to see if she could get it a personality. “Do you understand what the spots are?”

“They’re tightly packed nerve endings and…” Yu’lena raised her hand to silence him.

“Do you understand what that means?”

“I see, you’re telling me they’re pleasure centers.” Patch stopped, processing everything for a moment. “Noted and apologies, I will not inappropriately touch you again.”

“…Thank you.” She thought it was hopeless, but she still wanted to try giving it a personality. She stood up, steadying herself on the side of her bed. Yu’lena’s mended bones held, though they ached like they weren’t going to cooperate. Still, she stood fast.

“If I may comment, your physiology seems weaker than humans’. It would seem you are more susceptible to harm.” Patch said at it ran a few last minute scans on her to make sure his handy-work would hold. “There are some dietary changes I could suggest that would improve that. Strengthen your bones, et cetra.”

Yu’lena saw Hunter open the door and stumble out of his room slightly. He stopped, leaning against the doorframe. He looked at his fingers and stretched them. He seemed to be barely conscious.

“Thank you. As long as it does not break my religion’s rules, I will consider it.” Yu’lena was naturally distracted by Hunter. He was very pale and seemed to be in pain. While Yu’lena was somewhat mad at him for sleeping with Constance, she had to find out if anything was wrong. “Mister Hunter, are you alright?”

“Not really…” Hunter groaned through tightly grit teeth. He growled in pain slightly. “Get that tin can to get this shit out of my system…”

“Pardon me?” Yu’lena had no idea what he meant by ‘shit’, too naive to understand.

“The painkiller…Tell him to get it out of me…or give me an antidote for it…”

“Yes, Mister Hunter.” Patch overheard, flying over to him. He hovered just in front of his face. “Now, you’re sure you don’t…”

“JUST GIVE ME THE GOD DAMN ANTIDOTE!” He yelled at him. As Patch injected him, he looked down at his wounds. All the stitches were holding, and that’s all that mattered. He felt a slight twinge of guilt for yelling and swearing at Yu’lena. He was the only person on the ship that understood her position. “Don’t give me painkillers. They screw up my systems…”

“There’s no reason for them to…”

“Just trust me on this one, Tin-Man.” Patch nodded, continuing to treat Hunter.

“Mister Hunter, I need to talk to you about something rather personal…” She looked down at Patch. It looked back up at her slightly.

“Don’t worry. It’s physically impossible for me not to keep secrets.” Yu’lena nodded.

“All right…” She bit her lip slightly. “Yesterday, when you slept with Miss Constance…”

“What?” He looked up at Yu’lena, taking his eyes off Patch though he didn’t want to.

“Yesterday, you…made love to Miss Constance…” Yu’lena stumbled through the words. It was an extremely awkward subject for her for obvious reasons. “It meant a lot to her, and I have to know your intentions…”

“Intentions? I was UNCONCIOUS yesterday after that creature ripped me open and this metal idiot almost KILLED me with this injection…”

“I do not think Miss Constance would lie to me OR Miss Tasha, Hunter.” She put her hand on Hunter’s shoulder somewhat reluctantly. “It is okay if you were just making her feel better, but…”

“Listen…” Hunter ground his teeth slightly, “I did NOT have sex with Miss Constance. She’s a poor, damaged girl, and the LAST thing she needs is the burden of…”

“Mister Hunter,” Patch said as he finished treating him. “You did indeed mate with Miss Constance. The security cameras in your room got the whole thing on tape.” Patch saw that Hunter was still in disbelief, so it projected a brief scene over its head of them making love. Hunter’s jaw dropped ever so slightly and his vision narrowed. Yu’lena looked away slightly.

“This isn’t right…” He scratched his beard slightly. “The only way I would have…is if Constance…”

“You are not saying Miss Constance used her powers to make you…”

“Constance would never do that, Priestess. She’s been used her entire life. She would never use someone like that.” Hunter rubbed the back of his neck, thinking for a second. Patch thought up the answer before either one of them could.

“It could have been subconscious. Freud thought the id could exert so much force on the person that it could take control without them realizing it.”

“You cannot tell Miss Constance about this, Hunter.” Yu’lena pled with him, pushing aside Patch. “It would kill her…”

“Don’t worry…” Hunter stretched his arms slightly. “I have no intention of hurting her.” Hunter looked down, away from Yu’lena. Thinking about not hurting Constance got him thinking about not hurting Yu’lena. “I failed your maidens…The demon took them…sent them somewhere, and I just stood and watched…” A brief flash of anger and disappointment went through her, but she maintained her composure.

“You tried, that is all that matters.” She gave him a quick, light peck on the cheek, rubbing it slightly with her thumb. “Their bodies do not matter, their souls were already in the afterlife…Thank you.” Hunter nodded, leaning against the doorframe. He was mad that he failed Yu’lena and was missing his cigars. “I should tell you…I…I realized what the blackness darkening your soul must be…”

“You have?” Yu’lena nodded. “I’m sorry.”

“I know…” Yu’lena swallowed air slightly. Knowing what Hunter’s darkness was made speaking very hard. “And I also know of…a blessing that would certainly remove the stain from your soul…The personal costs for me would be great, but…”

“I know of the ritual you speak of, and I say NO.” Hunter finally found his cigars, taking one out and lighting it. “I will not drag you down to raise myself up.”

“But…I…I want to save you from damnation…” Yu’lena looked away again slightly ashamed.

“I know, and I appreciate it…” He put his hand on her shoulder. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome…” She said with a smile and blushed. She realized she was and did her best to stop, turning away from him. Hunter decided not to say anything, leaving Yu’lena her honor and walked away.


Jessie was sitting on the bridge, watching a news broadcast. He was in the hammock he strung up. The news was from the colony they were finally approaching. He mostly used it as background noise to keep from falling asleep.

“Recently, contact was lost with the Janius colony.” The moderately cute news woman spoke slowly, with a slight bit of cheer in her voice. “For those of you who don’t know, Janius Colony is the human colony furthest from the jump gates between the Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxies, of course, in the Andromeda Galaxy.”

“Janius Colony…” Jessie scratched his head. “Frank, we know anyone at that colony?”

“Well…” Frank turned back from the controls, resting his arm on the back of his chair, “…I think we had a job at that colony, but since it was a military weapons development colony, we decided it was intensely stupid and got hammered instead.”

“…Funny, I don’t remember that…” Jessie said and laughed, turning back to the TV. Frank groaned, wishing Jessie would just leave the jokes to him.

“The Coalition of Terran Colonies is sending a team to investigate the strange stop in communications, with a representative saying that hopefully it’s just a glitch blocking the communications. We’ll have more on this story as it develops…”

“If you didn’t have any news, why the hell did you bring it up?!” Jessie yelled and turned off the TV. He had always been horribly impatient with the news. He turned it to the main camera on the ship, figuring he’d just watch the footage of the approach to the colony. That’s when he saw it.

It was a distant silhouette of a ship against the planet. Few people could recognize ships at that distance. It was the ship of one of his former lover, Zenaida Harkness or Zen for short, called the Gears of War. It was a full-blown heavy destroyer, bristling with guns and weapon launchers. It had a long, ship-like hull with a cluster of engines at the back. Jessie had the paint scheme on it burned into his memory, and his heart always soared when he saw it. It was instantly recognizable, a black ship with blood soaked gears on it.

Frank knew what was cheering, the whoops, the hollers, and, worst of all, the false hope for hooking back up with Zen. He knew her tendencies from rumors, and was surprised she was with Jessie at all. Jessie managed to finally screw things up with her a few years ago, the same event that drove away Tasha’s friend Suzune’s family.

“I better go tell Tasha so she can see Suzune!” He jumped up slightly, running over to the stairs that led down to the elevator. He slid down the handrail, and ran to the elevator. Frank puffed slightly and looked at his watch.

“Alright, better start the Ol’ Heartbreak Pool again.” Frank tapped his fingers. The Heartbreak Pool was a betting pool on how long it would take for Zen to crush his hopes of a reunion, naturally. It started off as a joke, but was now almost a serious sport on the ship.


Tasha woke up to a stiff pain in her side. She always had it when she had to sleep in the lame hospital beds. She had grown familiar with it over time. Still, it was a minor pain to put up with for a friend like Constance. She stretched and groaned, rolling her back to get rid of the pain. She looked around for Constance, but she was gone. Instead, there was a note on the table next to her bed. She picked it up and held it carefully. At the top were several crossed-out names.

T-bag,

I know you’re birthday’s coming soon, so I’m going out to get your present. Please don’t try to find me. I don’t want to ruin your present…If I’m not back before night, give me a call.

Connie

“T-bag?” Tasha scratched her head and folded up the note. She tucked the note in her pocket to save it. “We’ve got to work on your nicknames…”

Tasha couldn’t help but wonder what Constance was getting her. She told her not to get her anything big, but she knew that Constance wouldn’t really listen to that. She just hoped it wasn’t too huge. Last thing she needed was Constance showing up with a starship or something. She knew it couldn’t possibly be that huge, but still, it worried her. Fortunately, she didn’t have to worry long.

“Tasha!” Jessie shouted, running through the hospital doors. At first, she was worried something was wrong, instantly thinking that something happened to Constance. Then, she saw the smile on his face, and was almost mad at him for making her think the worst. “Tasha! The Gears is at this colony!”

“Really? Our Gears, with Zen and Suzie?”

“Yeah!” He said, nodding emphatically. “Maybe I can finally make things up to Zen…Wouldn’t that be great? The Ecstasy and the Gears finally back together?”

“Yeah! I can’t wait to see Suzie again…and…” She puffed air slightly. “Things are a little more complicated now…” She whispered.

“What?”

“Nothing, I was just thinking…It’d be cool if we got back together with the Gears, since you named her ship and she named ours.”

“I am a little surprised she kept the paint scheme and everything…If only there was some excuse to meet her…” He snapped his fingers. “Maybe she’d like to meet Yu’lena. I mean, they’re both Rae, right? I don’t think Zen’s ever met another Rae…”

“I don’t think Zen’s the type that’s fond of Priestesses. And I don’t think a High Priestess would approve of Zen, to be completely honest…”

“Well, I just need an excuse…You’ll see. She’ll forgive me this time.”

“Alright, well…Since Constance is going to be buying me a gift all day, I’m going to see if I can find Suzuna on her ship…” Tasha smiled and got out of bed, looking down at herself. “I’ve got to get dressed better…I hope she doesn’t chew me out for not getting my leg replaced sooner…” Tasha fixed her hair slightly, hugging Jessie. “I better get to going. I want to see her ASAP. I’ll see you later, Dad.”

“Alright…” Jessie smiled as she rushed out of the room. He could tell Tasha was excited to see Suzuna, maybe almost as much as he was to see Zen. He had called the ship, and found out that she had accepted a job involving a raped Enhance Marine. He’d have to go down to meet her at the hospital where the marine was being treated. Still, he’d get to see her sooner than later, and that’s all that really mattered.

As he walked out of the hospital section, Yu’lena rushed over to his side. He was surprised to see her on her feet already. She looked a little younger now that she wasn’t constantly cringing in pain. She was only about half a head shorter than him, looking up at him as they walked. Jessie could tell she was nervous, walking rigidly. He couldn’t blame her, being on a pirate ship surrounded by aliens.

“Captain Jack, I would like to talk to you about my future on this ship.” She walked, holding her bible in front of her hips like a school girl. It was very proper, though seemed slightly out of place on someone Yu’lena’s age.

“I hope you aren’t going to flee us like a pit of sin…”

“Well, that is actually what I wanted to talk to you about. I would like to stay…”

“Great! I’ll…” Jessie liked Yu’lena, and thought she was beautiful for her age, but mostly thought she’d be good for morale of the crew. Remind them why they were pirates and mercenaries and not just Raiders, attacking everything in sight.

“…but I will need a church on your ship. My maidens would want that…”

“Whoa now, I don’t know if I want a church on my ship…” He said, waving his hands slightly. “I mean…I’m sure your religion’s great, but we can’t…” Yu’lena knew what he was going to say, hearing his thoughts. She wasn’t going to be denied.

“…force my religion on people? Captain, I am not going to force my religion down on your crew. I simply want a place I can put my objects of worship, pray to my gods, and spread the word of my church to those willing to listen.” She looked down, hearing his thoughts still heading towards no. “Mister…Hal Hawkins, I believe was his name, expressed interest in my religion, even taking a pendant of O’ne for courage himself and F’ve for kindness for his sister…”

“Karen could use a non-bitchy pendant too…” Jessie realized he had just swore in front of what was, essentially, a nun. He had the same knee-jerk reaction everyone else had. “Do you have ‘non-bitchy’ pendants?” His response was, of course, to crack a bad joke.

“…unfortunately, no…” Yu’lena jumped back to the subject. “Any large room will do on the ship…It can be the main part of my room, with just a small bedroom for me to keep myself…”

“Alright, Yu’lena…You win, but just…just don’t stand in the hallways preaching, okay?”

“Yes, captain.” She smiled and bowed to him slightly. “My maidens thank you…”

“…They’re welcome…I guess…”


Kev was polishing a few of the guns in his shop, the higher end ones he wanted to sell faster. They had brilliant metal details that made them look like fine works of art instead of weapons. He knew they weren’t getting too dirty. It really just gave him something to do. He got so lost in his work that it took a couple rings of his store’s doorbell to snap him into it.

“Just a sec…” He buzzed the person in. The door opened, revealing Constance standing in the doorway, wearing a dress without the leather bustier she normally wore for Ariis. “Anika, it’s good to see y…” He looked up from the highly ornate detailing on the rifle he was polishing with a toothbrush. “I’m sorry, Constance…You just look like a friend of mine…that was murdered long ago.”

“It’s okay…” Constance walked in, looking down at herself. “You can call me Anika if it makes you feel better.”

“It won’t…” He grumbled, putting down the rifle. “What can I do for you?”

“Well, first…keep the secret that I snuck out of the hospital…Ariis and Patch would be pissed at me.” Constance tried to joke, knowing it would help smooth the ruffled feathers she thought she had just caused. In reality, it was only because it reminded him of how Anika was stolen from him. “…sa…Second, I was told you could help me make the gift I want to get Tasha for her birthday…”

“What do you want to make her?” He walked over to a sink and washed the cleaning solution and grit from the guns off his hands. It was pretty mild, but could dry out his skin and cause it to crack painfully. Then he’d have the problem of it getting into his cuts.

“Well…I was told you made her that statue of Frida she has…designed it, and had a machine that could carve it from stone…so I looked into the computer and found out that Frida had a lost love…”

“Devi, yes. She was the only one of the Ageless Thirteen who didn’t die with her lover…” He dried his hands off. “As I recall…Devi was reasonably young when she was murdered, around the same age as Frida, but Frida never remarried, staying true to Devi until the end…”

“Yeah, and I noticed that Tasha’s Frida statue was sad and looking down, so I thought…” She ran her fingers through her hair, afraid she was asking for too much. “I thought ‘Wouldn’t it be perfect to have a statue of Devi, reaching up and putting her hand on the side of Frida’s face’? Like…She was staying true and close to her even in death.”

“Nice idea, though people might…” He shook his head. “Never mind, people are dumb asses anyway…”

“Yeah…” Constance chuckled slightly. “The crazy part is…I was hoping you could make it out of something that was crystal clear and high quality?”

“You know, I have just the thing…” He went over to a locked heavy metal case and punched in a pin number. Constance tried to push it out of her mind, trying to forget it. She wanted to protect his prized possessions from everything, even Ariis. He swung it open and lifted a clear heavy statue. It took Constance a second to make out what it was.

It was two women, one half a head shorter than the other, holding each other in a loving embrace. They were holding each other’s hand. The slightly taller one had her arm around the shorter one’s waist, and the shorter one was brushing hair off the taller one’s face. The taller one had hair that was long in the front of the sides and short in back. The shorter one had short, feathered hair. They looked to be a moment from a kiss. Their elegant nude bodies were encompassed by a band of fabric. It all had to be extremely heavy since it was about two feet tall. Constance could almost feel the love between the two women.

“This is a statue of Karen Sarah and Devain Roslyn. Karen’s the shorter one, Devain’s the taller one, and the one Devi was named after. They were legendary among the Pirates of Old and even the Ageless Thirteen, appearing to lovers who were killed separately…” Kev went to explain it further, but Constance nodded, raising her hand.

“And this stuff…this crystal…” She got as close to it as she could without bumping it with her nose. She had to be sure it was absolutely, positively perfect. Only the very best would be good enough for Tasha. “It’s not just…”

‘”Look, this stuff is a type of diamond. It’s worth twice its weight in gold. I even crafted an angel of Saint Nichelle out of it, and could get down to all of the detailing in the feathers.”

“Oooh, I’d LOVE to see that one!” Constance could already see the detailing in her mind and knew it had to be gorgeous. Still, she wasn’t ready for what Kev said next.

“I buried it with Anika. It was her favorite…”

“I…I’m sorry.” Kev was still torn apart by the sadness of Anika’s death, and the anger at the one he knew murdered her. Nicholas, a man they both knew since they were young, couldn’t stand that they were happy. He used every opportunity to torture them and manipulate Anika, and that’s why she died. It was a long, sad story that Constance saw in a flash in her mind. She did her best to block it out, but it was too strong. “Don’t touch her…please…” She whispered slightly, shaking her hair, sending waves flowing through it.

“What?”

“…Ha…” She bit her thumb. In her mind, she could see Nicholas crouched over Anika. She could only assume he was forcing himself on her, but she wasn’t fighting back. Why wasn’t she fighting back? It didn’t make any sense. They despised Nicholas. And yet she…No, Constance couldn’t let herself think about that. She’d start crying and never be able to stop. She cleared her throat. “How much would it cost? The whole thing?”

“Well, for you, Beautiful…” He thought for a second, picturing the statue in his mind, “I’ll do it for just the cost of the materials, but, like I said…”

“I know…” Constance looked down, biting her lip. “Would you sell your soul just to see the one you loved smile?”

“I guess it depends…how much do you love this person?”

“With all my heart and soul…” Constance didn’t have to think about the response. She loved Tasha, no question. She knew what she had to do to get it for her. “Alright…Start designing it and making it, I’ll come up with the money…” She sighed. “How much will it cost and how long will it take? Will it be ready in time for Tasha’s birthday?”

“Yes, and it will be…” He stopped and thought about it. He wanted to give her a good deal, but he still couldn’t afford to give her too much. He really shouldn’t be doing it for just the cost of the material, but he was going to. Constance could hear his thoughts going back and forth. “…twelve thousand…”

“Twelve thousand?” She asked to be sure he didn’t want to add anything, but he just nodded and shot a quick ‘Yeah’ off. Constance bit her thumb. “I can do that…Please start working on it as soon as possible…”

“You got it.” Constance walked out of the room, hanging her head as she did. She knew there was only one way she could earn that kind of cash. Still, she didn’t have to like it.


Tasha went over to the Gears of War on a shuttle. She couldn’t wait for the ship to dock, she had to see Suzuna. She wanted to bring Constance, but she couldn’t find her. She figured she was still shopping for her and didn’t want to interrupt her. Suzuna sounded almost as eager as she was, and she couldn’t make her wait.

She had pilot lessons herself and landed the shuttle in the hangar on the ship. She rushed out of the shuttle as soon as the hangar doors were shut. The stairs were barely down on the shuttle as she ran down them. She had done up her hair and chose her better clothes, wanting to look nice but still casual. Naturally, she didn’t worry about how she looked practically running to her friend.

“Suzuna!?” She called out. She looked down at a picture she had of her and Suzuna. Suzuna had her arm around her shoulder, holding her close. She was wearing a nice, green and red plaid pleated skirt and a white blouse. It contrasted with her light brown skin and black hair. She was always so bright and cheery, and laughed at her jokes. She couldn’t wait to see her shining smile again.

“Tea?” She recognized Suzuna’s voice instantly, looking up from her picture. She was speechless from seeing Suzuna, seeing almost nothing of her friend before her. Instead of nice, proper clothes, she had on garish clothes she could only describe as ‘Goth’. Suzuna was wearing a tiny mini-skirt that barely covered her. Under it, she was wearing bright neon pink fishnet stockings and incredibly tall stiletto heals. She was wearing a sleeveless belly shirt that showed the straps of her thong on her hips. Her entire body seemed to be covered with intricate tattoos, covering her hips, arms, legs, back, and shoulders. Her eyebrows were both riveted with a pair of studs each. She had another one in her lip, and a small hoop in her nose. Her shirt hung down low enough that, if it weren’t for her wearing a bra, everyone would be able to see most of her breasts. Her hair was short and dyed a neon green. It was so shocking, Suzuna was barely recognizable to Tasha.

“Suzuna?!” Suzuna came over and kissed Tasha on the cheek.

“You look great!” She ran her fingers through Tasha’s hair. “You look great with long hair! I thought you didn’t like it long…”

“There’s a girl on the ship…who has REALLY long hair, and I kind of…wanted the same thing…” Tasha look Suzuna over, trying to take it all in. “Look at you…You look like you’re at least twenty-five…”

“I know! Isn’t it hot?” Suzuna put her hands on her hips, tilting them slightly. “I mean, I’m only nineteen, and I never even get carded at bars.” Suzuna put her hand on Tasha’s hip. “Come on, we should go to my quarters and get caught up and reacquainted…”


Jessie went down to the planet, letting Frank put the ships in the dock on his own. He knew he could handle it. He didn’t know he was using the time to set up the Heartbreak Pool. He’d be less than appreciative if he knew. He went over to the ship and found out where Zen was, and from there, it was a short hop down to the planet.

Zen was at the hospital where Eliza was being treated. Eliza was unconscious, sleeping with twinges of pain flashing across her face. All of her injuries had healed into painful red scars across her face and around her chest and hips. She had more new scars as well from them ripping the armor off her. It was still tied into her cybernetic systems, scarring her flesh where it was ripped out. She hadn’t woken up since she passed out, and that had the doctors worried.

Zen was watching her, building anger inside herself to fuel her hunt for the man who did this to her. To see an Enhance Marine in such condition, especially one as beautiful as Eliza, in such condition because she was mind controlled, was infuriating.

Zen herself was a beautiful woman. She was one of an incredibly small number of Rae adopted by humans. It was miniscule number, less than a hundred among all human planets in both galaxies. The larger number of Rae that were kidnapped and put in slavery. Like Constance, their beauty and unique look made them highly valued in the slave market. Zen’s ears were longer than Yu’lena’s, going to the edge of her shoulders. They were long, slender and went slightly back at an angle, not grotesque.

Everything about Zen was well kept. The spots along her neck, sides, and back were incredibly intricate, swirling together and weaving along her. Her long brown hair was perfect and shone, curling and waving in beautiful ruffles. Her eyes were a perfect pure ruby red. Her nails were short and well kept. She was muscular, but not too muscular, giving her body gentle curves. Her nose was small and ran smoothly down from her forehead. Her complexion was perfect and smooth, the envy of most women on her ship.

She wore tight clothes to accentuate everything. She wore a leather bustier that made her ample bosom appear even larger. She had a brown leather bomber jacket on over a tight red sleeveless shirt. She had on tall, black leather knee-high boots and khaki pants.

Jessie was going to sneak up behind her and put his arms around her. He could see her gorgeous smile in his mind, a smile he’d trade anything for. He did his best to sneak up behind her to catch her by surprise. It was a little childish, but he thought it would smooth over some ruffled feathers from ‘the incident’. He walked up behind her, but she swung her fist backwards, hitting him in the face and knocking him down. He grabbed his nose, feeling blood dripping out.

“Ah! What the hell!?” Zen stood over him, clenching her fists.

“You bastard!” She spoke with a slight southern twang in her voice. “My crew warned me you were coming! I told you I never wanted you to touch me again!”

“You’re still furious over that stupid…” Zen slapped him. “AH!”

“Stupid!? Don’t you dare call it that!” She did her best to keep from hitting him again. “You tortured and raped that woman to DEATH!”

“I didn’t rape her, god damn it!” He stood up, rubbing his jaw slightly. The fact that Zen hated him with such a passion made him horribly depressed. They were friends while he was married and in the military, and lovers after Jessie’s wife was murdered. ‘The incident’ tore them apart, and understandably so. “I’ve NEVER lied to you Zen. Why don’t you believe me?”

“Because she was stripped naked, and there was so much…” Zen shivered.

“SHE MURDERED MY WIFE!” Jessie yelled. “I did nothing to her she and her damn captain didn’t do to Natalia! You know that!”

“And you knew that she was just a Captain’s Woman! A poor hooker that…”

“THAT TORTURED NATALIA!” He yelled. “After everything she went through…After what happened to Tasha…After she was sterilized…she didn’t deserve to be tortured to death because we stopped a raider from murdering an entire ship of people!”

“And that Captain’s Woman didn’t deserve to die because she could only support herself by becoming a whore! For god’s sake, she could only have been as old as Tasha is now!”

“Nihhh…” Eliza groaned and squirmed slightly. Her entire body burned in pain, her head throbbed, and she had no idea where she was, though she knew it had to be a hospital. To top it off, two complete strangers were screeching at each in her room. “Who the hell are you!?”

Eliza grit her teeth, feeling a pain in her stomach and the throbbing in her head increased to slams. She knew the feeling and started to panic, breathing heavy. Zen and Jessie started arguing back and forth about who was making her so scared, when she lunged out of bed.

“Wuh!?” She tackled Jessie into the wall, completely out of control. She could feel Paul in her mind, controlling her directly. He was going to make her kill Jessie, she knew it. Her arm drew back and smashed across his face. He spit a mouthful of blood out, barely conscious still. As she went to hit him again, Zen grabbed her arm, trying to restrain her. Eliza turned to her, grabbing Zen by the neck and slamming her against the wall. “Don’t you touch her!”

“Don’t!” Jessie rushed Eliza blindly, but she kicked backwards, launching him back into the wall. Zen snapped, drawing a pistol she had on her hip and pointing it in Eliza’s face. “Why’d you have to make me do this, beautiful?” As she went to pull the trigger, Eliza slapped the gun out of her hand, sending it sailing across the room.

“She’s good…She’ll be my toy for the rest of her life as well…” Paul’s voice said in her head. Eliza’s body trembled. She couldn’t let Paul do to Zen what he did to her. She couldn’t take it. She remembered the horrible pain she never wanted to feel and the horrible ooze feeling that filled her from his horrible perpetration. She couldn’t let him do that to Zen. The thought of it was enough to bring tears to her eyes. She threw Zen against the opposite wall and turned to the door, running out as fast as she could. If Paul couldn’t have Zen, he was going to have her.

Ecstasy of Gold - Ch. 12

Tasha was sitting on Constance’s bed, wondering where she was. At first, she was worried she was sick somewhere, but she knew Patch would be with her. That meant she was somewhere else, completely fine. Or was she? She hated not knowing, her mind racing through all the possibilities.

“Is something wrong, my child?” Tasha jumped slightly when she realized Yu’lena spoke English. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you…”

“It’s okay…” Tasha cleared her throat. She was embarrassed by how easily she was frightened. “Where did you learn English?”

“Your friend, Miss Constance, actually.” Yu’lena put her bible back on the table next to her. “You seem worried. Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Not unless you know where Constance went…”

“Oh, I believe she went in to see Mister Hunter. She was quite worried about him when he showed so badly injured.” Yu’lena felt slightly awkward as Tasha seemed to stare at her intently. “Is something else wrong?”

“I…I was just wondering how old you were…”

“I am fifty-seven Rae years old…around fifty-nine for your years, though I can’t remember if you add or subtract years for human years…Maybe…Fifty-four?”

“You look pretty good for being so old…uh…not that you’re ancient or anything…” Tasha bit her lip, not believing what she said.

“I’m feeling reasonably old right now…” She groaned slightly, readjusting herself in bed. “It’ll be a couple more days before I can even get out of bed…”

“Well, that’ll be in time for my birthday party. I’d be honored if you came.”

“I’m sure you’d have more fun at your party without an old, tired priestess…” Tasha held her hand up to stop Yu’lena from dumping on herself.

“Really, it’d be nice. Maybe it’d help you feel better, too. You can have some cake, maybe some drinks…”

“I’m going to have to insist on getting you a gift, though.” Tasha leaned towards her on the bed.

“You don’t have to…”

“I know, but I wouldn’t feel right…besides, I can make it for you.”

“Alright…but don’t…” Before she could finish, Constance came out of Hunter’s room, closing the door behind her. She was blushing slightly across her cheeks and nose, fixing her gown so it hung properly. She was smiling from ear to ear. “Connie…err…” Tasha remembered she wanted to keep the name special and only between them. “Constance...you look like the cat that caught the canary…”

“I’m in heaven…” She spun around slightly. “Can you two keep a secret from Master Ariis?”

“Of course, Miss Constance. My word is my bond.” Yu’lena said, putting her hand on her bible.

“…I don’t have anything NEARLY as dramatic as that, but you know me…” Constance sat down on the bed next to Tasha, holding her hand. She looked into her eyes. She wasn’t sure how she’d take what she was about to say, or how Yu’lena would take it. Still, it was all she could do from yelling it in joy down the hallway.

“Hunter and I just made love…”

“What?!” Tasha gasped. “Ariis is going to kill you if she finds out…”

“I know, but the weird thing is…I don’t care.” Constance sighed, running her fingers through her hair. “I never knew sex felt so good…I didn’t feel like…like my organs were going burst…even the first pains were worth it…” Yu’lena was quiet and contemplative, trying to decide how to respond to everything. Tasha couldn’t stop.

“So, what? You’re going to sneak around Ariis’ back and…” Tasha censored herself in front of Yu’lena, “…sleep with Hunter whenever he wants? Be his slave, too?” Tasha did her best to avoid sounding angry to Constance, but it was no use. “What if he gets you pregnant? What if Ariis forces your kid to be a sex slave one day?”

“No, it’s…” Constance was going to bite her thumb again, but stopped, running her fingers through her hair again. She was going much faster now. “It was really a one-time thing…It wasn’t going to get more perfect than this time…and besides, I’ve never got pregnant before…I’ve never even had a ‘close-call’…”

“I’m sorry…” Tasha put her arms around Constance, holding her close and rubbing her shoulders. “Don’t let my stupid bitching ruin your perfect moment…”

“Tasha, you’re…you could never…” She buried her face in Tasha’s chest. “I love you, Tasha…”

“I love you too, Constance…” Tasha sighed slightly. “I’m glad Hunter could make you feel so good.”

“Oh god…You have no idea what it’s like…”

“Yeah, yeah, I know…” Tasha groaned, use to people making fun of her being a virgin now.

“No, I mean…the utter joy of it…Making love to someone you love…being so close to them…feeling their heartbeat…” Constance sighed a heavy, fulfilled sigh. “His hands were a little rough and his beard was prickly, but still…heaven…”

“That’s…nice, Miss Constance…” Yu’lena said after Tasha was silent for a little too long. Constance didn’t like that Tasha was so silent and started to worry.

“Well, Tasha?”

“I’m a virgin, Constance…Rough hands, prickly beards…it’s really not what I like anyway…you know…” Constance nodded, running her fingers through her hair. “You know, I thought the whole reason we had you in here was so you wouldn’t have to have sex with anyone…”

“…involuntarily…Ariis was going to kill me if she kept making me…” Constance looked over at Yu’lena. “We’ll talk about it later…”

“You don’t have to be ashamed, dear. I know about sex…” Yu’lena said, adjusting herself in her bed again. Her bones ached and creaked as she settled back in.

“I can’t be one of your maidens now, can I?”

“You can still be one of my maidens…” Yu’lena said, bending the rules a little for Constance. She wanted Constance to be happy, and that’s all that mattered, not some rules. “It’s a good thing you were not trying to be a High Priestess, though…”

“That’s good…” Constance hated how awkward the silence with Tasha felt. She held Tasha’s hands, looking into her emerald green eyes. She couldn’t believe how amazing her eyes were, and how dull and unnatural her own silver eyes had to look. She hated being an augment. “You know, I’m free for the next couple of days…We could go back to your quarters and have a sleepover...I’ve never had a sleepover…”

“I’m afraid that’s going to be impossible.” Patch jumped between Tasha and Constance. “I have far too many tests to run for you to leave.”

“But that was just a lie…” Tasha growled. “We were giving Constance…”

“She is suffering from exhaustion, and Princess Ariis requested that I researched a medical condition Miss Constance has…” Patch hovered towards Tasha more. “You may stay, but she is not leaving.”

“Alright…” Tasha groaned, pushing Patch back with her hand. He swayed slightly as he tried to stay level. “If you don’t mind me taking one of the beds, then I won’t complain.”

“Go ahead, though take one of the non-scanner beds. I’d hate to fill up my data banks scanning you all night when you’re healthy.”

“Alright…I’ll be right back, Constance, I…”

“Perhaps now would be a good time to replace your cybernetic leg?” Tasha groaned, slumping forward. Patch seemed to have learned to interrupt people from others always interrupting it.

“Oh no, you’re not getting me to jump under the knife with this short of notice…” She growled. “I’m going to get some things I’ll need here at night, but I’ll be right back.”

“Alright…” Constance watched Tasha leave the room. She sighed and turned to Yu’lena, and the instance Yu’lena saw her eyes, she knew she was sad. “She calls me Connie, and I love it…but I…I just can’t think of a nickname for her…”

“Give it time, maybe it will come to you.” Yu’lena felt very tired. Before her injuries, she never really got tired from just being awake. Now, she had laid in bed all day and felt drained. Still, she stayed awake for Constance. She had really taken a liking to Constance, and viewed her as her daughter. She didn’t know what to do with Hunter, though.

Was it the painkillers affecting his judgment? Constance had feelings for him. Did he take advantage of them for his own satisfaction? Or was he just fulfilling Constance’s dreams? She knew about the evil taint that was on him. She wanted to cure him of it at all costs. She could tell he was evil no longer and wanted to save him no matter what. She knew there was one thing she could do to purify him. She wasn’t going to let him go to hell, but now, with all these questions, about Constance, she wasn’t sure if she could pay the cost. She pressed the call button on the armrest of her bed, calling Patch over her.

“Robot…” She grit her teeth. “I wish to get out of this bed as soon as possible…and I know I refused your advanced medical treatments earlier, but I cannot wait any longer…Do whatever it takes to get me out of this bed as soon as possible…”

“Alright, Priestess Yu’lena, I can have you up and on your feet within a day with modern health treatments. Is that soon enough?” For a moment, Yu’lena almost thought it was being sarcastic and cynical, but knew he was incapable of being cynical.

“Yes…that’s more than…” Hal walked in the room, carrying a surprisingly large box for someone as skinny as him. He set it down on the table next to Yu’lena’s bed, catching his breath. “What’s that?”

“It’s…” He wiped his forehead. “Nearest I can tell it’s all your things…from the raider ship…” Hal stopped, tapping his chin slightly. “…English?”

“It…is a long story…” Yu’lena looked through the box. Everything was there from the ship, including her maidens’ items. Well, everything that the raiders didn’t destroy or sell. “This must weigh quite a bit…”

“Ah, well…I’m just good at moving heavy things…” He wiped the sweat off his forehead. “I’m sorry. The raiders trashed a lot of it…”

“It’s okay…I’m just glad to have it all back…and I wish to reward you with something…” She dug through the box, carefully getting out a small bag.

“You don’t have to give me anything…I mean I was on my way down here to check on my sister Karen and…”

“Nonsense, it’s a simple trinket to express my thanks…” She pulled open the bag and looked at the multicolored crystals laying inside. She couldn’t decide which one to give him, deciding he was going to have to decide himself. “Is there something you have that others don’t? Or better yet, is there something you don’t have that you want?”

“…courage.” He said, looking at the ground. “I don’t know why I’m telling you this, but I need courage. The Hal Hawkins maneuver? It’s because I’m a coward…I just…I just wanted to find a way to run away as fast as we possibly could.”

“Ah, then it will be O’ne then…” She pulled out a red crystal on a simple string on leather. It was octagonal, and about the size of a large silver dollar. It the center of it, it had a holographic image of a beautiful woman missing her left arm, her right arm stretched to the right and her legs directly beneath her, her feet disappearing into a blur. Her hair was short, but long enough to cover her ears. Her eyes were open, and even seemed to have an iris to them. It was far too advanced to be anything but laser etched. Hal couldn’t believe the Rae had anything like this. “She’s the goddess of courage and power. By wearing the pendant, you’ll be blessed by her…”

“Is she suppose to be missing her left arm?”

“Yes, she lost it protecting her family when she was still a mortal.” Try as she could, Yu’lena just couldn’t get comfortable. She fidgeted briefly, but couldn’t get to a position her leg didn’t hurt. “I will go into it in my teachings if your captain allows me to set up a temple on your ship.”

“I hope he does.” Hal put the necklace on, tucking it under his shirt. He figured it was worth a shot if it actually increased his courage. “It sounds cool…”

“Cool…yes.” Yu’lena knew ‘cool’ was a word of approval, though she didn’t like having her religion reduced to simply ‘cool’.

“Where did you get these pendants anyway?”

“It’s a long story, but my race has made them since the Great Crash.” Hal held the pendant, looking at it.

“Do you have one that…”


Karen was drifting in and out of consciousness as she laid in her hospital room. She stared at the ceiling, just trying to stay awake. She was sunk into self-pity. All she could think of was how hard it was for her to get boyfriends already, and now, she would have horrible disfiguring scars all over her. She didn’t realize she didn’t have a chance anyway due to her sparkling personality.

“Hey, Karen…” She recognized Hal’s voice, and didn’t bother looking at him. She had seen him for years growing up. He wouldn’t have changed yet. Still, it hurt Hal. “I heard a hyperspace demon almost got you.”

“Yeah…” She groaned with resentment. “I actually have to thank that douche Hunter for saving me…”

“Hey now, Hunter’s okay. Don’t call him a douche…”

“He STOLE my star!” She screamed at Hal. Hal grit his teeth.

“Well, I’ve got news for you. HE WAS IN THE FRONT OF THE SHIP. So, when the Ecstasy of Gold emerged from hyperspace, he saw the star FIRST.” He did his best to keep from screaming back at her, just raising his voice.

“It was MY scans that…”

“Your scans but Frank’s shortcut. But Jessie’s ship. But the priestess’s LOST MAIDENS! Not everything is about YOU!” He shook slightly. “You know what!? Everyone’s actually GLAD Hunter did it, so SHUT UP!”

“ARE YOU YELLING AT ME!? I almost die and I…ah…” She had a minor pain in her stomach, holding the large wound in it. She cringed, still talking. “…and I…”

“Shhh…I’m sorry, I’m sorry…don’t pop your stitches…” He realized he could easily upset Karen to the point where she’d disembowel herself right now. “I actually got you something from the priestess to help you…”

“Drugs?”

“Not drugs…” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pendant he had gotten from Yu’lena. Instead of the red crystal like he had, it was a brown crystal. Its woman had long, flowing, wavy hair and a flowing dress that disappeared into a blur. Around her eyes, she had a blindfold that disappeared into her hair. “It’s a pendant of their goddess…or whatever, F’ve.”

“F’ve?” She looked at the crystal in her hands.

“She’s their goddess of kindness and sincerity…” Hal swallowed air. “You wear the pendant to borrow the traits of the goddess and…”

“So what?! I’m a bitch?”

“Kind of, YEAH.” She growled and threw it straight at him. He caught it, keeping it from breaking. “CAREFUL! You’ll shatter it!”

“GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY ROOM, you asshole!” She screamed at him. He pocketed the pendant and left. He didn’t get to the part where he said he chose it because it was literally the sister pendant of his. Still, he’d try again later. He couldn’t give up on his sister.


Kik-tik had to be alone after dealing with Sala and Zech for so long. It was stressful enough having to treat Sala, but with Zech ready to kill her at the first incident that came up, it intensified it. She went back to her quarters, wanting to get out of her armor. As soon as she was in her quarters, she locked the door. She wasn’t sure if it would stop Zech or for how long. Still, she only felt safe out of her armor with the door locked. She didn’t want Zech OR Sala stumbling upon her outside of it.

“Computer,” she said, looking up slightly at the ceiling. It made sure the computer understood it was being addressed, “monitor our passengers. If they should coming within…ten lenks of the door to my quarters, alert me.”

The computer chimed in response. With that, she could finally relax, pulling her helmet off and shaking out her long hair. She breathed a sigh of relief, her skin dewy with sweat. She took off her gauntlets next, rubbing the short, small orange feathers on the back of her neck. She stared out the window as her ship passed through the jump gate and made the jump towards the Andromeda Galaxy. She knew she was doing the right thing, saving Sala and Zech from Chizek’s family. Still, her ship could have used the upgrades the money turning them in would have gotten her. She knew it was right putting them before her greed, but that didn’t mean she had to like it.

She took off the rest of her armor, flexing her arms and feathers in the open air. She had fabric around the appropriate areas for coverage, to keep her from being completely naked. They were drenched in sweat, so she slipped them off. She lowered the temperature in her quarters a few degrees so she could cool off. She flipped a switch on the consol.

“Computer, what updates have our government sent us on the current situation?” She said, collapsing onto her bed. It had been a couple weeks since she had gotten information from her government. Given all of the current happenings in the galaxy, she shouldn’t have waited so long to listen to it.

“From what we’ve been able to gather, the Terrans have lost a battle group to the strange menace that’s been attacking the space ways.”

“A BATTLE GROUP!?” She sat up. “Terrans only use battle groups in wars…”

“Affirmative. Their chatter has increased, and there are repeated references to a super weapon they’re referencing as ‘Legend’.” The computer stopped briefly, continuing after a processing period. “The Ziekes have lost two more battleships, we lost a destroyer, the Tel-Kek have lost two of their exploration vessels, and the Void Seekers lost a small battle group including two heavy cruisers and a dreadnaught. Be alert, as this the first time we’ve lost a ship to the menace attacking the other races.”

Kik-tik knew it was bad that they had lost a ship. Laumur captains rarely put their ships in danger. If they lost their ship, it was almost certainly due to an ambush. Still, the sheer power necessary to destroy the ship would be massive. For the first time since the situation began, she was actually worried about it. She laid back down on her bed.

“The weather in Telaak is a pleasant three-hundred and thirteen degrees. Plenty of space on the beaches to sun yourself, even at the most busy times.” One day, Kik-tik was going to retire to the beaches of Telaak, once she had enough money. That day was many years off, but she could wait. She’d always go back to the home world.


Eliza was suiting up to go out on the town, ready to cut through any criminals she’d run across. She was just wearing her medium armor today. It was all she needed. Heavy armor was for heavy sieges. Times when you need the extra protection more than the mobility it takes away by wearing it. Her medium armor looked much like her stealth armor, extending out and covering her more. She was looking at herself in her mirror and at a picture of her murdered girlfriend. She had always found a way to accidentally drive away her previous lovers; getting lost in her work, drinking too much, swearing, and more, but not with Sarah.

Then, there was the bombing. Eliza could still see her charred and mangled corpse. Her burnt hand reaching towards her, begging for help. She smashed the mirror with her fist. Her image mocked her. She hated herself for failing Sarah. If it wasn’t for her, Sarah would still be alive. The bastards that took her away were after Eliza, and damn the collateral damage.

Strangely, she felt herself look up. It was an odd feeling, her head moving without her telling it to. It snapped her out of her thoughts. She tried to put her helmet on, knowing it would provide some protection from the telepathic assault she was under. Her body fought her, making her drop the helmet. She grit her teeth, her legs crushing the tile underneath her as she was forced to walk forward.

She had no idea where she was going. She headed out of the building, somehow managing to not pass another living soul on the way. She hated her luck, knowing someone she ran into could save her from trudging off to her doom. She broke out into a full run, running faster than most of the cars on the nearby street. She was doing her best to resist, but her body was ignoring her commands. The concrete of the sidewalk was cracking and shattering under the massive force of her stride.

She got to where she was being forced to go. She hadn’t seen anyone around her since she lost control of herself. Usually, telepaths needed a direct line of sight to control someone as thoroughly as she was. Still, she hadn’t seen anyone yet. The door to the warehouse opened and she walked through, standing under a spotlight and a number of industrial chains and hooks. The door slammed shut, and she could hear several heavy locks whirring and slamming giant bolts into the wall. After an indeterminable wait, Paul, the man she saved the other day, walked into the room. She could barely see him since she couldn’t turn her head at all.

“She’s just as beautiful as all of the photos I have of her.” She could hear his footsteps getting slowly closer and closer to her. She saw a black shadow of a demon in the corner of the room. It was the demon of living shadow. The shadow that made its body were bleeding into the shadow of the room, not cracking off like it did in the light. “And she’s mine forever?”

“As with the power,” the shadow’s voice hissed, “providing you keep your part of our bargain.”

“Right,” Paul finally walked into Eliza’s line of sight. He was horrible, strange black veins reaching up his neck, around his ears, and down his arms. In light around Eliza, a small vapor of shadow surrounded him. “I get her pregnant, you get to keep the kid, I get to keep her.”

“Hmn…” Eliza tried to yell at them, but her voice was as frozen as the rest of her. Paul ran his hand along her armor, tugging at it in spots. He caressed her, but she couldn’t feel it trough her armor. He couldn’t figure out how to get it off, but noticed the spots he was interested in were connected by fabric joints.

“Take out your knife…” Eliza’s hands trembled not moving an inch. He snarled slightly, raising his hand at her. “Take out. Your. Knife.”

Eliza grabbed the combat knife and drew it from its sheath. She wished with every bit of her body that she could stab him. She shook as she tried to muster the strength to do it.

“Resisting will only rupture blood vessels in your brain.” Paul said with a laugh. Eliza knew he was right. She could feel every single blood vessel in her head throbbing. Still, she couldn’t give up. She wouldn’t give up. “I’m off the telepathic scale now! Give up!”

“Never…” She hissed out. Paul sent a pain wave through her body. She groaned, her knees buckling slightly. Paul decided that he didn’t care if he hurt Eliza anymore. She could resist all she wanted. If he ruptured any of her blood vessels, she’d be brain damaged, but that didn’t matter anymore. If she was brain damaged, he’d be able to do whatever he wanted to her still. That’s all that mattered.

He stretched out into her mind, ripping through any defenses she had. She cringed as he when through her memories, watching fond memories of her and her lovers like pornography. Finally, he had control of her, making her plunge her knife into the fabric that surrounded her breastplate. Her face cringed in pain slightly. It went through her armor, but also INTO her. Blood trickled out of her armor. Paul made her follow the circle around her breastplate. She stopped or slowed whenever she managed to muster the strength to resist, but it was no use. He forced her to continue until the armored breastplate fell to the ground. It rang like a bell, bouncing back and forth. It had gone down to her undershirt, which had a pattern of blood trickling through it already.

“Finally…” He traced his finger along the cut. She grit her teeth, trembling slightly. He grabbed her undershirt, ripping it off. Underneath, she was wearing a blue and black sports bra. “Still wearing bras even with that armor…cut it off.”

He forced her to follow his command, forcing her to hurt herself. She yelped slightly, her knife cutting into her. He fondled her breasts, kissing her neck. He forced her to tip her head up and moan. She thought something, knowing it was true.

“It doesn’t matter if your military comes. They’ll be my recruits, and my friend there can kill anyone of them.” He looked down at her hips. “Cut off your cod piece so the fun can start…” Blood trickled down out of her nose. She tried to resist with all of her might, but it was no use. He was deep enough into her mind to know her first sentient thought. Her arm sliced down through her the fabric on the side of her cod piece. She was hoping when he made her cut across her stomach, she could plunge the knife into herself and end it. Denying him the pleasure of taking her was the only thing she needed right now, even if it meant she was dead.

“Don’t.” The shadow said. “Make her rip the armor piece off.” Eliza cringed as it spoke. Sure enough, Paul made her drop the knife and rip off her codpiece. The knife had slice her right where her legs met her hips. She was completely exposed to him as he fondled and played with her body.

His wretched touch literally made her skin crawl. She wanted to wretch and crush his head with her bare hands, but he was making her act differently. He made her artificially moan and cry out. It made her want to kill him even more. He ripped off her panties and was about to do more to her when the shadow spoke again.

“Your duty now is to impregnate her with the child I require.” It walked out of the corner. Its gate was unearthly smooth, like it was hovering towards him. “After I have the child, you may do whatever you wish, whatever sick things you desire and her body can stand without failing. UNTIL THEN, you will do as I say.”

“Yes, Master…” He growled. He chained up her arms over her head. Eliza wanted to close her eyes. She could bear the pain if she just didn’t have to see him. Still, he forced her to look. She grit her teeth, knowing she could squash him like a bug if she could just move. The only comfort she got was that he couldn’t make her say anything. That would have been too much to bear, hearing herself say things. It would have driven her mad.

He grabbed her leg, lifting it up and stepping between her legs. She tried to brace herself for the pain, but it was too much. She gasped in pain as it felt like it ripped her in half. She didn’t know what to do. She knew it wasn’t possibly the worst pain she ever felt, but she wanted to scream at the top of her lungs. The agony, the humiliation, and the feeling just pure defenselessness were almost too much to bear.

She could feel a horrible invasion in her mind, different from the control. She could hear his thoughts in her mind. See all of his obsessions about her and how he sold his soul to rape her. She didn’t want a child just to have it kidnapped by the demon. She had no idea what she could do to stop him. The last thing she wanted was a child, and she was going to be damned if she was going to be an incubator for the rest of her life.


Constance and Tasha were up late, well after Yu’lena had gone to sleep. They were talking back and forth all night, and were probably not going to stop any time soon. Tasha was doing her best to work up the courage to ask Constance about Ariis’ deal. She held Constance’s hands and closed her eyes.

“Connie…you know I love you, right?”

“I love you too…” Constance said with a smile. She loved hearing Tasha tell her she loved her, just because she knew it was real. It wasn’t like Ariis trying to convince her she did. Tasha actually cared about her.

“Well, I…I found out that I can get you free…” Tasha was nervous, her speech speeding up because of it. She did her best to stay calm, slow, and understandable. “You know I would do anything to get you free, right?”

“Yeah, but there’s nothing Master Ariis wants enough to…”

“There’s one thing…” Tasha still had her eyes closed, but turned her head away from Constance. “Me…She wants my virginity, Connie…”

“Well, tell her no.” Constance said shortly and quickly.

“But I’d gladly…”

“NO, Tasha. You shouldn’t use yourself like that. She’ll just keep using you and using you until you’re hers too!” Constance tried to stay cool and collected. It was taking a lot for her to stay calm, and it was failing. “Do you know what I’d give to still have my virginity? I’d…”

“I just don’t want you to have to live like that anymore, Connie…” Tasha said with tears welling up in her eyes. Constance hugged her, holder her close.

“Don’t worry…I can bear whatever Master Ariis does to me…” Constance said, looking at the ceiling slightly. She knew it was a lie. Ariis was driving her insane. The fact that she was willing to risk her life to have sex with her made it all the more maddening. “Do me a favor…when you finally meet the right person and want to…be damn sure they’re the right one.”

“I will, don’t worry…” Tasha hugged Constance back, putting her head on her shoulder. She just wanted Constance to be happy, and if that’s what it took for her to be happy, she could live with that. Still, there was something she couldn’t live with. “You know…everyone heard Kelli and…”

“Let’s not talk about that…” Constance smiled gently. “Tell me more about your past…”

“There’s…Well…there’s not much more.” Tasha looked at the door before she kept talking. “To be honest, everything else is really with my friend Suzune…”

“Don’t worry, I won’t get jealous…”

“Alright…but don’t say I didn’t warn you…”


Paul grabbed Eliza’s combat knife from the ground and dragged it diagonally across her face. She had three diagonal slashes across her face now, one for each time he had violated her. Eliza was entirely incapacitated and unable to fight back. Her mind had almost collapsed in on itself from his assault and invasion. She stared at the ceiling, waiting for a rescue that would never come. She knew that if he kept violating her, his telepathic intrusions would slowly erase her personality and replace it with his own sick machinations. He looked at her scars. She had two across her right eye and nose, and one from her right cheek down across her mouth. He smirked.

“Everyone will know she’s mine now…”

“She is with child now.” The shadow demon said coldly. Eliza rolled her head slightly. She didn’t think she’d ever have to hear her she was pregnant, especially in this situation. “Leave her be until…”

The silence was suddenly shattered by the squawk of police sirens arriving on the scene. Eliza’s hopes soared. They had come to rescue her. Certainly something had saved her, be it a tracker or the trail of minor destruction she caused on her way in. It didn’t matter. She knew it had to be the military police, hearing their boots slamming against the ground as they jumped out of their transports. It distracted them enough for Eliza to get some control back. She laughed.

“They’re going to kill you…” She grit her teeth as she spoke. All of her wounds were almost too much to bear, even for her. “They’re going to fucking kill you for what you did to me…you bastard…” She said before she passed out, collapsing to the floor in a pile. Paul grit his teeth, but the demon used its power over him to stop him from doing anymore harm to Eliza.

Paul could feel his veins and muscles fighting back against his movement. It’s as though they had solidified. The demon left him like that until he knew he agreed to do what he wanted.

“We must leave here for now.”

“I’m not leaving my prize!” He said, grabbing Eliza’s wrist and trying to pull her. She was extremely heavy in her armor, in excess of eight hundred pounds at least. Needless to say, he wasn’t moving her in the slightest.

“They will make sure she carries the child.” The demon grabbed his shoulder, pulling him slowly into his shadow-form. “We will reclaim her later.”

“But you can take them in a fight!”

“Now is not my time…” It ripped him off the ground and into his body. As soldiers poured into the building, he disappeared into a wisp of smoke.

The soldiers pounded through the doors with their rifles and were shocked to see Eliza so badly injured. It was unheard of for an Enhance Marine to be so badly injured, especially in their armor. It made the sight all the more horrific than it was. The worst part was they’d have to bear it until the police came, not realizing that witnessing it was contaminating their very minds.