Ecstasy of Gold - Ch. 11

The hyperspace demon slithered through one of the bulkheads, coming up out of the floor. It looked around, searching the horizon for a target. It didn’t see anything, cackling slightly. It heard heavy footsteps coming, quickly hiding in the nearest wall.

Ariis was walking down the hallway, still fuming over having to leave Constance behind. Constance should have been more than happy to die in service of her. She should have resisted anything that took her away from Ariis. Anything that made her unhappy should have made Constance unhappy, too. She didn’t want to take orders from a ‘flying tin can’, feeling ashamed that she did.

“Ariis!” Tasha shouted, gasping for air. She was running as fast as she could to catch up with Ariis. Ariis wasn’t even walking particularly fast for her, sulking as she went. Ariis watched Tasha’s bosom bounce slightly as she ran. “Ariis…I need to talk to you…about Constance…”

“What about her?” Ariis tilted her hips, putting her hands on them. She stuck out her chest slightly, trying to grab her eyes. Tasha still looked her straight in the eyes.

“What do you want…for her to go free?” Tasha wished she was in better shape.

“Go free? Or sell her to you?” Tasha grit her teeth. Ariis saying that was as bad as saying they were exactly the same. Tasha could never own anyone. She could barely order people around when she needed to.

“Go free. Let her make her own way…”

“How? She’s been a whore her entire life. I had to teach her how to clean, how to cook, and she can’t do either of those anywhere near as well as she fucks.” Tasha wanted to punch Ariis. Every muscle in her body tightened, ready to hit Ariis with every molecule of her being.

“Anything…would be better…than being forced to wait on you hand and foot…” Tasha growled, counting to ten, then twenty, then thirty in her head. It didn’t help, but it was the old cliché. She had to try. “So…I’ll say again…what do you want…for Constance’s freedom?”

“Your virginity.” Tasha choked on the air. “You can’t be surprised…”

“I…I guess I’m not…” Tasha took a deep breath. She thought long and hard about everything. Constance meant everything to her, the only person in her life she trusted with everything. Still, she wasn’t sure she could let Ariis use her like she used Constance. Still, she knew Constance would do the same for her. “What…sort of…”

“I’m going to take you, do whatever I want to you, have you do whatever I want to me, and, most of all, it has to be somewhere your father will find us.” Tasha choked again.

“Wuh…why?”

“For a number of reasons. To show him who’s really in charge on this ship, but mostly because I hear the way he talks about lesbians and girls who like girls.”

“I…I can’t do that…not to him…”

“Then Constance will be mine forever.” Tasha trembled slightly. Her head sunk, staring at the floor.

“Let me…let me think about it, please…” Ariis nodded, caressing the side of her face.

“Alright, but talk to your father about it, and it’s off.” Tasha nodded, turning around and slowly walking back to the hospital section. She couldn’t let Ariis keep Constance, but Ariis was asking far too much. She had to talk to someone, ANYONE about it, and knew just the person to ask.


The demon was making its way through the hallway, looking for the thing that was singing to it deep in the ship. It knew enough to dodge Ariis. Even unarmed, Ariis could do serious damage to it. It couldn’t afford to get injured, not now.

Off in the distance, it felt the faint energy of a meal. It headed straight towards it, pouncing through the walls. It galloped towards it, ready to feast. Its meal’s energy radiated red through the hull, a bright heat flare in the distance, all alone.


Karen was on her communicator, fuming at the Science Registry that they let Hunter name her star first. They had no right or excuse in her mind, and she was letting them know it. She yelled and swore at the very top of her lungs. It slowly wore on her voice, making it horse and raspy. She was smart about it, using the deep, threatening tone to her advantage. Suddenly, something tackled into her. She went tumbling, head over heals with the black demon.

It pinned her against the ground, growling at her. The energy in its body extended out, engulfing her in a paralyzing cloud. She couldn’t scream, but she could breathe. It dug its claws into her hips, slashing her across her stomach. She could feel its claws drinking the blood out of her body. It clawed its way up her body. It looked into her eyes, horrifying her. It lowered down, hovering just above her neck. It seemed to be savoring the moment before the kill.

It savored a second too long. Plasma orbs sprayed across it, piercing its energy shield. It howled in pain, getting off her and running off into the ship. Hunter ran after it, taking large strides over Karen to avoid hitting her. Karen was tempted to try to trip him, but she could barely move. She hated Hunter even more for not stopping to save her. She could feel her blood dripping out of her wounds, slowly pooling around her. She swore at Hunter one last time before she passed out.

Hunter ran after the demon, spraying plasma from his modified rifle. The demon swiftly dodged the shots, and what shots that did hit it had little effect. They splashed across it like a strong rain as it dove through the wall. Hunter skid to a stop, slamming his fist against the wall. He hit the local comm panel’s button.

“Medical emergency on deck seven, hallway three. Karen’s almost bled out.” He ran down the hallway, slamming his fist on the button he knew was for one of the many rifle cabinets in the ship. He grabbed one of the rifles, slapping its battery in it, and continued to run after the demon. He knew where it was going. It was the only other place on the ship the demon would be interested in.


Yu’lena woke up with a groan. She had a splitting headache, the worst one she could ever remember. She bit her lip, trying to stay awake now that she was conscious. She could still hear the faint cries of her maidens off in the distance whenever she was asleep. She couldn’t take it.

“Why did they save me…Huh?” She listened to her own voice, and recognized she wasn’t speaking her native language. It was English, though it still had a lyrical tone to it like she normally spoke with. “English…but how?”

“I…” Constance bit her thumbnail as she spoke. “I think…I did that…”

“You…gave me English?” Constance nodded. “I can never thank you enough…”

“What?” Constance stopped biting her thumbnail. “You’re…you’re HAPPY I went into your mind…”

“Why wouldn’t I be? You did nothing wrong, and gave me a great gift…”

“I…I’m…” She choked on the air. Constance knew Yu’lena was a priestess, and it made Constance deeply ashamed. She felt like she had fouled her. “I’m a slave…”

“There’s nothing to be ashamed of in slavery, dear…”

“It’s not that…it’s…” She couldn’t say it, crying a single tear. “All I can remember of my life…I’ve been a…sex slave…”

“Oh…I see…” Yu’lena picked up her bible with her good arm, setting it on her lap. “And you think that makes you unworthy of coming in contact with my mind?”

“Well…yeah…I mean, you’re pure white…I’m…I’m…” Constance couldn’t talk. She hung her head, letting her hair fall down the side of her face. “I’m sorry…”

“Did you disgrace yourself?” Constance shook her head. “Then you’re just as pure as I am.”

“But you’re still a virgin…” Constance ran her fingers through her long silver hair.

“Quit with that talk. I know where you’re going, and that must end now. You have nothing to be ashamed of, do you understand me?” Constance looked away from her. “In fact, I’m declaring you a fal’halen maiden.”

“A…fallen maiden?”

“Fal’halen, dear.” Constance could barely hear the difference. “I’m sorry, there’s no English equivalent for fal’halen. It’s a good way to describe you. You were forced into much hardship in your life, but your soul is true and while your body was harmed, that doesn’t affect your honor.”

“But I…” Constance bit her thumbnail. “I love…a couple of people and were they to ask for me to…ask for my body, I would gladly give myself to them without a moment’s hesitation.”

“I see…” Yu’lena saw the images of what Constance would do for her loved ones. “I still say you are my new fal’halen maiden…my daughters would be proud.” Yu’lena readjusted in her bed. Her body was starting to ache simply because she hadn’t been able to leave bed yet. “I will have something for you…Once they get my things back to me from the ship. In the mean time, would you like to hear one of the stories from my bible?”

“I would love to.” Constance said with a smile. She sighed as she settled in.


Hunter was running through the ship as fast as he could, confusing the people who hadn’t gotten the alert about the demon yet. He didn’t bother telling them, quickly weaving around them. He had the ship’s rifle in one hand, and his giant revolver in the other. He knew the sad place the demon would be going. He ran towards the room.

It was the mortuary where the deceased maidens were being kept. He opened the door, and saw a sight horrible enough to give him pause. The demon had fractured off large scales. They were hovering over each of the maidens, all wrapped in their funerary fabric. It was wrapped tightly around them, keeping their bodies preserved. The scales had tendrils of energy burning down through the fabric and into the maidens. The large scales burrowed down into the maidens. The maidens seemed to rise up out of their fabric, hovering lifelessly around the demon. Hunter had scene enough. He fired the ship’s rifle at it.

The demon roared. The shots cratered into its putrid flesh, punching through to the energy underneath. It roared again, sending the maidens off through the ship and into hyperspace. Hunter’s rifle cooled. The battery was completely empty. He threw it aside and fired his revolver at the creature. The demon lunged at him, sending them flying backwards. It slashed at his arm, sending his revolver flying out of his hand. In a blink, he stuck it with his knife. He kicked it off before it could paralyze him, but as it flew backwards, it slashed at him, sinking its claws deep into his right arm. Hunter grit his teeth, ignoring the torrent of blood. He drew another knife and got ready to throw when a bolt of plasma streaked through its head. It cried a horrifying, deafening cry, its energy flickering out, and its putrid flesh dissolving into dust and ash.

“And they say we need Ariis in every fight…” Jessie said, lowering a sniper rifle Hunter recognized as his. “You were pretty good, too…Except for leaving Karen to die and getting mauled.”

“Like anyone would miss her…” He grabbed his rifle from Jessie. “Where’d you get this?”

“You haven’t changed the lock code on your quarters yet. You’re lucky no one has looted you BLIND.” Hunter growled slightly. He was sweating and delirious from the blood loss. He propped himself up with his rifle.

“Constance bought me this…” He grabbed a cigar out of his pocket, lighting it before he continued to talk. “She has a good eye for guns…” He shook his head, rubbing his eyes. “I should have her…” Hunter collapsed to the ground with a loud crack. Jessie groaned and called for a team to carry him to the hospital section.


“A great many years ago, long before the Great Crash…Goddesses walked the space ways. They had no need for ships, traveling space as easily as we walk the planets. They were nine and all beautiful goddesses. They have their own pantheon in my race’s gods. They were as powerful as they were beautiful. They spread love, peace, and knowledge where ever they went.

That was, until, the great demon came to our realm. The bravest and most powerful of the goddesses, the Cia’lia the Grey, went to stop the demon. She fought valiantly and saved Keira, one of the pirates’ ageless thirteen, but, alas, the demon struck her down. It pierced her heart with a blinding blast, gravely injuring her.

The great demon used the opportunity to capture her and…”

“I hate to interrupt,” Constance said, biting her thumbnail for disrupting Yu’lena, “but didn’t you say your goddesses were pure energy? How did it pierce her heart?”

“It’s…complicated, my child…” Yu’lena said. “Cia’lia was once an ageless mortal who loved a mortal man. She ascended to join him when he was killed in a great war against a now long dead enemy. Now, where was I…”

“It pierced her, and when it did…her body reacted like it was. The demon caught her and held her in his clutches. It…It…” Yu’lena knew a lot of what Constance went through. She had a few horrible images from when she spoke with her earlier, and that was all it needed. The problem was, the next part of the story was of the demon torturing and raping Cia’lia for a seemingly endless period of time with its many tentacles and its concubine. She grit her teeth, not sure she should tell it and doing her best to block Constance from getting it from her mind. “…had her for a very long time, but the truth was, Cia’lia was hiding inside the body that the demon had…DEEP inside, so that nothing the demon could ever do could reach her, and when the time was right, she re-emerged. Her beauty and power shone untainted by the demon’s evil!”

“Why do you call it…‘The demon’?” Constance instantly felt bad again for interrupting Yu’lena. “…Doesn’t it have a name?”

“It’s unspeakable…” Yu’lena said. “It gives him horrible power that we cannot grant him.”

“Oh, okay…” Constance didn’t understand it. The demon was believed the feed off the very knowledge of its existence. Saying its name, knowing its image, and, worst of all, worshipping it were ALL sins in Yu’lena’s religion and every single religion on Rae’shal’nel, her home world. “What happened to the demon?”

“No one is quite sure…It is rumored that in a great battle cast the demon out of our galaxy and into this one onto the planet of the damned…”

Yu’lena’s story was shattered by the rescue team rushing Hunter and Karen in. Patch flew over to Karen, assigning a number of drones to treat her injuries, then did the same for Hunter. Hunter had a small number of drones, three at the most busy times, while Karen had over a half-dozen specialized units at any time. Jessie walked in the room, Patch immediately flying over to him.

“It’s very lucky that Karen was not disemboweled. Another couple of inches and…”

“She’ll live though, right?”

“Right.” That was all that mattered to Jessie. Karen had been a pain in the ass since she first came on the ship. Her recent order to drop out of hyperspace just to discover a star, and all of her constant complaining that hunter named HER star first was grating on him.

How could you complain about a star like that? Who knows what races had seen that star and named it? It seemed pointless and almost insulting to name a star. She was trying to take credit for something God made. He was glad Hunter pissed her off so badly so easily.

Patch was about to speak again when it felt a hand on its back side. It turned around to see Constance standing, looking up at him. He hovered lower so she didn’t have to look up at it. It scanned her as she bit her thumbnail, chiming slightly.

“Miss Constance, that is a harmful habit.” Another chime went off on Patch. He hovered back over to Jessie as he lit up the cigar Hunter dropped when he passed out.

“…what? It’s cancer-free tobacco…” He said, puffing it slightly.

“You shouldn’t smoke. It contains nicotine and can cause emphysema. To top it off…”

“To top it off…” Constance wasn’t sure if she should say it. It seemed mean and selfish to say it, but she had to. She took a breath. “…I bought those for Hunter. If anyone else should be smoking…it should be me.”

“Alright…” Jessie gave the cigar and a lighter to Constance. Constance looked at them in her hand. She smiled, putting the end in her mouth. “Just remember, small breathes until you get use to it, or you’ll get sick.” He rapped his fist against the top of Patch. “And you don’t bug her about it.”

“But the health issues…” Jessie flipped Patch off as he walked out of the room. Patch slumped, letting Constance smoke without a complaint. Constance smiled, the smoke making her feel warm and safe, like Hunter was protecting her. “You were asking, Miss Constance?”

“I was wondering…” She took a deep breath with the cigar in her mouth, choking on the smoke. She coughed briefly, but was doing her best to recover. “I can’t believe I’m asking this…Can you keep a secret?”

“It’s impossible for me not to.” Patch said emotionlessly. Constance wished she could read its mind, not realizing it had no mind to read. Still, it was a problem she wasn’t use to.

“Well, I was thinking…” She looked back at Yu’lena, making sure she couldn’t hear. She was sure, turning back to her. She puffed on the cigar. “I…I love Hunter…a lot…so much that it hurts…and I…I know he’s unconscious, so I…God, I’m such a freak…”

“It’s okay.” Patch held out its claw. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of here, and it will never go to anyone else.” Constance closed her eyes and nodded.

“I never get to be close to Hunter…and I ache for him…So I was wondering…if I could…lie next to him in bed…” She took the cigar out and took a breath. She couldn’t believe she had just asked what she did. “UNLESS…unless it would hurt him…”

“He should be fine…He has some cracked ribs, but they’ve set…and…”

“Do you think I should? I mean, it’s…”

“It could speed up his recovery, having someone as caring as you near by.” Constance didn’t know what to make of Patch seeming to work with her so she could be close to Hunter. Still, she didn’t care. She just wanted to be near him again.

“Okay, but be sure to tell me if anyone comes…I don’t want to be caught by Master Ariis so close to him like that…” Constance walked towards Hunter’s room. “And if he starts to wake up…let me know…I…” Patch seemed to tilt back and forth in a nod. Constance took it that he understood, going in with Hunter. She lifted up his good arm and lied down next to him, putting his arm around her. She nuzzled up close to him and closed her eyes. She hadn’t felt as safe since he first kissed her. Still, she felt like a creep for doing it. Nothing was going to change that.


Zech hated waiting outside the exam room while Sala was being examined. It reminded him of how helpless he could really be at times, despite his upgrades. There were still situations in his life that he just couldn’t solve with brute force. Kik-tik came out of the med bay, still wearing her armor. It put him on edge. The only reason Zech was still wearing his armor was he had no choice. Kik-tik paused in front of him, considering her words.

“I’m sorry, but Sala lost her children…all of them…” Zech stood up, walking towards her. Kik-tik knew what was coming. She stayed a safe distance back until she could finish talking. “The embryos…they were already too degraded before she was even in cryo!”

“You…” Zech was going to swear at her, but he was too mad to speak. He walked towards her, and was going to take his anger out in a brawl with her. He had never fought a Laumur before, little-lone a Laumur Enhance Marine. He was itching for a fight out of sheer morbid curiosity.

“The doctor that did this, she knew what she was doing. They never had a chance. Your girl BARELY survived herself.” Kik-tik stopped backing away. She realized that was making her look weak and intimidated. It made him want to fight her all the more. “If I had to guess, your captain had her off his Captain’s Woman every time she got pregnant. God knows how many he had before her. It probably drove the doc on your ship mad. If that didn’t, I’m sure he would have seen that she was.”

“Captain’s Woman…” Zech had heard the term before. It was a Raider Captain’s personal prostitute. Most of the time, the women chose to be the captain’s whore, living lives of absolute luxury. Still, there were a few that weren’t, a few famous ones that had escaped the life. It was a negative term no matter what, that followed them no matter where they went. “Are you calling Sala a whore?”

“No insult intended.” She raised her hands, keeping him back. “She did make herself pregnant to try to escape the life, didn’t she?”

“How could you understand, bird-girl?” He growled at her. “She was DESPERATE to change her life! Like you have ANY right to judge?”

“You have no idea what I’ve been through…” She hit the button to open the door behind her. “You can go in to see her now. I had to sedate her so she could sleep off the remainders of the drug in her system. She’ll be unconscious until some time early tomorrow. I’ve prepared the bed next to hers since my ship doesn’t have guest quarters.”

“Very well.” He walked into the room. Sala looked like a sleeping angel, her arms neatly folded on her stomach. Zech could still see sadness across her face, and knew she already knew about her loss. “Let me know when we’re nearing a human colony.”

“Will do.” Kik-tik closed the door, leaving Zech alone with Sala. They both knew he wasn’t going to sleep. He sat down on the bed Kik-tik had set up for him, staring at Sala. Even though he didn’t need as much sleep as other people, he was still exhausted and couldn’t sleep. It was only going to get worse until he knew Sala was okay.


Hunter was behind the controls of a shuttle. He was much younger than he was now, barely tall enough to reach the foot controls for the shuttle. He was still a teenager. He had stolen the shuttle from slavers, and now they were going to destroy it. The only reason they hadn’t already destroyed it was they wanted to take him and his passenger as slaves. They were young, and literally worth their weight in gold.

Hunter barely knew what he was doing, transferring all the power he could to the shuttle’s engines. Life support, weapon systems, communications, absolutely everything was going into the engines. It shimmied and shook violently, shimmying like crazy. Suddenly, there was a deafening crack of thunder. He still laid on the controls, pushing the shuttle as hard as he could. A high pitched scream rang through the ship.

“Kikka…” He stood up, running back into the ship. “Kicky!”

It was strange as he ran into the ship. The only way to describe it was like running against a strong wind. As he approached the little girl, he could almost see himself arriving.

Kicky was curled in a ball near a fallen shelf. There was shattered glass on the ground from the jars on it, with a mess from everything inside all around her. Her torn, already dirty clothes were stained by medicines that were in the jar. Her curly blond hair bounced as she wept and sobbed.

“Kicky, what’s wrong?”

“It fell on me!” She screamed , keeping her small, tight fists up against her eyes. “It fell on me, and all the glass…all the glass…” Hunter pulled her fists away from her eyes.

“You’re not hurt, Kicky.” He held her hands. “There’s not a scratch or a bump on you.” Kicky reluctantly opened her eyes, not believing she wasn’t hurt. Sure enough, there wasn’t a scratch on her from the glass.

“But I saw it fall on me…” She saw out a window and screamed. Hunter ran over to the window, looking out. The massive battleship chasing them was slowly disappearing into the distance, torpedoes creeping towards them. Hunter grit his teeth, picking up Kicky by her arms.

“Kicky, you know I promised mom and dad I’d protect you, right?”

“Yeah…” Kicky sucked her thumb slightly. Her parents were killed by the slavers when they escaped. Hearing about them made her miss them every time.

“I can’t do that here…”

“Yes you can, P.” She sucked on her thumb again. “You’re my hero…”

“If you stay here, we’ll both die!” He carried her over to an escape pod. Kicky started kicking and crying. She screamed, fighting him to stay out of the pod. “I have to save you, Kicky…”

“I don’t want to leave you, P! Don’t…” He shoved her into the pod, slamming the door shut. She screamed and pounded her hands against the glass. “Don’t make me leave you!” He ran over to the controls, ejecting the pod and watching as it disappeared into a hyperspace window. He relaxed, knowing she was safe. He went to the controls of the shuttle, hoping it could continue to run long enough for it to rebuild energy. It had to build up just enough for him to escape into hyperspace. Before he could, the torpedo chasing him exploded, slamming him against the controls and knocking him out.


Constance was starting to drift off to sleep. She smiled, having a dream that Hunter was making love to her. As she dreamt, she felt something lightly brush against her lips. She recognized it as a light kiss, kissing back. The kiss felt much deeper suddenly. She opened her eyes and saw it was Hunter kissing her.

“Hunter…” She sighed when he pulled away from her. He pulled her up, holding her close. “What are you…”

“I love you, Constance.” He kissed her again. She sighed as he caressed the side of her face and neck. Constance couldn’t resist him, wanting it since he saved her weeks ago. He kissed the side of her neck tenderly.

“Oh god…” She trembled as he undid the ties on the back of her medical gown. “Hunter…I love you…” She kissed him deeply, putting her hands on the side of his face. She could ignore the roughness of his beard against her hands, though the pricks on her face hurt.

“You’re so beautiful, Constance…” Something seemed a little off about Hunter to Constance, but she was far too lost in ecstasy to care. Her dreams were coming true, and that’s all she needed. He caressed her breasts and hips, making her twitch. His hands were rough but gentle. Constance blushed as he looked at the birthmark between her breasts.

“It’s so ugly…” She gasped slightly as Hunter kissed her birthmark.

“Everything about you is perfect, Constance…” He kissed her again. “A perfect little sun-spot.” Constance closed her eyes, melting into the moment.