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!”