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.