Ecstasy of Gold - Ch. 9

Constance was in the small room she had in Ariis’ quarters. They were sparse, but that was only because she hadn’t had time to decorate them like she liked. Now, she didn’t feel like doing it. She was curled in a ball, lying on her bed in the corner. She sobbed, trembling as she cried. As she was crying, she heard her door open. She looked up, expecting to see Ariis standing in the doorway, demanding sex.

“Master, I…” She moved her long hair out of the way of her face, gasping when she saw who it really was. “TASHA!?” Tasha was shaking slightly, propping herself up in the doorway. She was gasping for breath, beads of sweat pouring down the side of her face. “Tasha, what are you doing in here? Do you have any idea how high the gravity is!?”

“And here…” She took a couple steps forward, trembling slightly. “And here I thought…I was just getting fat…” Constance rushed over to Tasha, helping her over to her bed. She realized how use to the gravity and atmosphere she already was. “Are you okay?”

“I…” Constance was about to ask her that. She was going to lie to Tasha, but that didn’t sit right with her. “No…I…I just…” She started crying again. Tasha put her arms around her, letting her cry and bury her face in her chest. She sobbed and cried, making Tasha want to cry, too. She tried to stay strong for her, rubbing her back. “She…she told…She SHOUTED that I was a whore…I…I didn’t want to be a whore, Tasha, I…I just…”

“I know, Connie…” Ariis’ quarters seemed hot to Tasha, but she wasn’t going to complain. She was just trying to survive the experience.

“Jeremiah might as well have KIDNAPPED me…I…I…” She looked up into Tasha’s eyes. “I honestly don’t remember much…The first thing I remember is…is wandering the streets naked…and being found by Jeremiah…and…and…” Constance couldn’t say it, not again. “…and what I told you earlier…”

“Really?” Constance nodded.

“I’m…I’m probably an escaped genetic experiment freak or something…They couldn’t find genetic records on me…so they…let him purchase me for slavery…” She put her head against Tasha’s face, knowing what she was going to say.

“You’re not a freak…You’re a beautiful young woman.” She rubbed Constance’s arm, trying to think of something to say. “Is there anything…I can do to help you? Anything at all…”

“I…I’ve never been held…never been really held. I mean, people have held me during…and…and in the ‘afterglow’…but I…”

“Say no more…” Tasha moved Constance’s legs across hers. Constance resisted sitting on her lap for a second.

“But I’m so heavy…The…the gravity…” Tasha put her hand Constance’s back.

“It’s okay…just don’t expect me to carry you anywhere…” Constance nodded, sitting on Tasha’s lap. Tasha gnashed her teeth slightly. Constance did weigh noticeably more because of the gravity. Constance put her head against Tasha’s chest so she could listen to her heartbeat. Tasha rubbed her back. “You’re…you’re really starting to get pretty muscular…”

“Thanks…but I’m worried I’m going to start looking weird, though…”

“Don’t worry, Connie…Guys think muscular girls are hot…” Tasha thought for a second. “…as long as you don’t get so muscular you loose your boobs.”

“I don’t think that’ll be a problem…They’re actually getting a little bigger…” The doorbell rang, but Constance ignored it. It rang again and again, and someone started pounding on the door. Constance sighed, not wanting to leave Tasha’s arms. “Here…you stay here, and I’ll be right back.”

“Okay…” Constance stood up, drying her tears. Tasha took deep breaths with Constance off her lap. She didn’t want her to know how much the gravity was bothering her.

Constance knew Tasha was barely handling the gravity, but loved her for putting up with it for her. She hated whoever was at the door for ripping her away from that, and was even madder when she saw who it was.

“Kelli!” She shouted at her. “Go AWAY!” She hit the button to close the door, but Kelli put her hand in the doorway, stopping the door as it clapped her hand. She screamed in pain, pulling her hand out of the door. Constance gasped, opening the door. “Oh god…I’m so sorry…”

“It’s…It’s my fault…” Kelli put her hand under her arm.

“I…I didn’t know…I forgot how heavy the door was…” Constance turned and turned off the extra gravity so she could take Kelli in the room and make sure she wasn’t hurt too badly.

“I deserve it for being such a bitch to you…” Constance got a first aid kit and started treating her injuries. Kelli cringed in pain slightly. “I don’t think anything’s broken…”

“I’m sorry, but…after I take care of this…I never want to see you again…” Constance bit her thumb again, wanting to yell at her, tell her she hate her.

“I…I at least want to tell you why I got so mad…” Kelli took a deep breath. “I wanted to save myself for marriage, I always have, but…It’s kind of…like…shameful for parents…like your kid’s slow or something…so, my parents started forcing me to date guys they knew would force themselves on me.” Constance knew Kelli was telling the truth, at least so far. “So…I let them…you know…and I had to try to like it, or I would have gone crazy…Sill thing is, now that I have had real sex, I hate it. It…It…”

“Hurts like hell…I know…” Constance finished her sentence for her. “I still…”

“I’m sorry I called you a whore…It’s just…It’s like everyone was hearing the one thing I hate about myself, and you just kept…”

“I just kept talking!?” Constance stopped treating her hands, standing up. “I was WHISPERING! You…YOU SCREAMED something I told you PRIVATELY to HUMILATE ME! My deepest, darkest…”

“You want something as a trade?”

“A what?” Constance couldn’t believe Kelli could suggest that they could be even by her telling one of her secrets.

“My parents also forced me to take pills and shots to make my boobs so big.” Kelli looked down, finishing her bandages. “No, that’s not good enough…Okay, I’ve told no one this, but I had a website…that paid my way through college alongside stripping…It was a porn site…I did all sorts of things with girls, and…well…only a few things with guys…but it was all hardcore porn…My name was Kandi Kane…”

Constance went into her mind. Unlike Tasha, she could slip into Kelli’s mind as easily as she blinked. She had to know if Kelli was telling the truth. She saw that she was, but she had to see how Kelli felt about it. Truth was, she was ashamed of everything she did. She still felt dirty about it from time to time when she saw guys buying porn. No matter how hard she scrubbed, she still had that layer of filth that Constance felt she had. It was only a tight group of people for Kelli instead of the countless customers she had, but Constance knew she felt exactly the same as her.

“I…I can’t tell anyone that…” Constance bit her thumb. “But…I…I understand you’re sorry…”

“I’m glad…but I also got you something.” She reached into her pocket with her good hand, grabbing a pair of jewelry boxes and putting them on the table. Constance shook her head, pushing the boxes away.

“I can’t take these from you…They’re so expensive.”

“Take them. I picked them out ESPECIALLY for you.” Constance sighed and decided she’d just open the boxes to make Kelli happy. She opened the box and instantly, her breath was taken away. One had a beautiful, intricate necklace, with long blue gems hanging from it. The other box had a pair of matching earrings. “They’re blue sapphires. I thought of that color when I thought of you…”

“They’re a little gaudy…but I think I can get use to them.” Kelli smiled, but frowned after she looked at Constance. “What is it?”

“Your ears aren’t pierced, are they?” Kelli hung her head. “I’m so stupid…I should have gotten you the bracelet set instead of the ear rings…”

“It’s okay…” Constance put her hand on Kelli’s shoulder, doing her best to project calming thoughts into her mind. “I’ve always wanted my ears pierced…this just gives me a reason to do it.” Kelli smiled and hugged Constance tightly.

“I’m so sorry I…”

“Shhh…It’s okay…” Constance hugged her, patting her on the back. “People were going to find out sooner or later…”

“How?”

“I…I’ll tell you later…” Constance looked back at the room where Tasha was waiting. “Now, if you don’t mind…I…I want to sleep a little before Master Ariis comes back, so she won’t see how upset I was…”

“Alright…” Kelli stood up, almost popping out of her tube top as she did. She grabbed it and pulled it up. “I better go get one of these things that actually fits anyway…”

“Alright…See you later…” Kelli left the room. Constance went back to Tasha, who was laying down on her bed. “I suppose you heard all that?”

“Yeah, and a part of me wants to see some of those videos now just out of morbid curiosity.” Tasha sat up. “Your bed’s incredibly soft, even in the heavy gravity.”

“Thanks…” Constance sat back down on Tasha’s lap. “I can’t thank you enough for holding me like this…” Tasha put her arms around her again.

“I don’t mind…What else are best friends for?” Constance smiled and put her head back against Tasha’s chest. “You really have never been held like this before?”

“Yeah…” Constance closed her eyes, falling asleep in Tasha’s arms.


Yu’lena woke up naked in the hospital section of the Ecstasy of Gold. One of her eyes were was swollen shut, and her ribs screamed in pain. She could feel that her leg was in a cast of some kind and her arm was in a sling. She tried to get out of bed, but Hunter pushed her back down into it.

“Easy, Priestess. You do not want to hurt yourself any worse than you already are…” Hunter pulled a sheet over her.

“I…” She gasped in pain, laying back down. “I fail to see how that would be physically possible.” She decided to gather her strength, planning to get up as soon as she could. “Why did you save me?”

“Like you said, I have great evil upon me. Consider me trying to remove it.” He put up his feet on her bed. “Unfortunately, your maidens are all dead…I have prepared them for your burial rituals.”

“ALL of my maidens are dead? Are you sure?” He nodded. “Gods in heaven…” She started crying. Hunter put his hand on the side of her neck, rubbing her spots. She slapped his hand, grabbing it and digging her nails in. “Do not you DARE touch me like that again!”

“I’m sorry, Priestess…” Hunter pulled his hand away. Blood trickled out of the cuts the priestess put in his hands. He knew Rae spots were highly sensitive nerve endings, and any sort of contact could cause ecstasy or agony. Hunter was ashamed of his blatant flirt with her. “I should tell you, I found a way to honor your Maidens for all time.”

“What is it…” Hunter smirked, leaning back in his chair and tipping his fedora over his eyes.


Karen was typing into the computer, typing every little thing about the star. She smiled, recording every little bit of data about the star. Color, speed of rotation, size, strength of magnetic field, gravity, temperatures throughout the star, and so much more.

“Bigger than the orbit of Neptune…Alright, and now, the most…important part…” She smirked, going to the name field for the star. She rubbed her hands together and decided on the name. “The Karen Hawkins Star…and enter…” She waited for the information to transmit. She closed her eyes, thinking about how awesome it was to have a star named after her when suddenly, a loud angry buzz ripped through the silence. “What? What is it?” She sat up, going through the message that she got back from the science institute.

Dear Miss Karen Hawkins;

While re appreciate the clerical information on the Fallen Maiden Star, but it has already been registered. Your entry was a mere two hours late, but better luck next time. You name has been credited as the primary source of information on the star, right after the discoverer, who wished to be credited as ‘an anonymous bounty Hunter’.

“Hunter, you bastard!” Karen raged, smashing her hands against the keyboard again and again. She didn’t damage the keyboard, but she had to see the doctor. She knew she had broken at least one finger on both hands, probably cracked more. She was furious that her first big discovery on the ship had been ‘stolen’ out from under her.


Tasha knew Constance had fallen asleep in her arms, but she didn’t care. She just wanted Constance to be happy. She didn’t know it, but Constance was having the first pleasant dreams she had had in as long as she could remember. With her so close, Constance was getting happy little memories from Tasha’s past, but all that changed when Ariis slammed into her quarters.

“Constance, where are you!?” She bellowed, making Constance jump. In a blink, Constance’s head accidentally smashed into Tasha’s nose, knocking her backwards.

“Oh god, Tasha…I…” Constance laid down next to her, looking at her nose. “It’s bleeding a little but not broken…”

“Constance! Why is the gravity so low? You know you’re not allowed to…” Ariis opened the door to her room. Her sharp hearing picked up all the commotion in Constance’s room. Ariis grit her teeth. “Natasha Jack, you are not making moves on my courtesan, are you?” Tasha was still dazed, but Constance stood up.

“I was lonely, Master Ariis…” Constance cast her eyes down. Ariis had taken off her armor, but the battle she was in was so bloody, much had made it in through her armor. “Tasha was keeping me company until your victorious return.”

“I return, but I don’t know if I can call it victorious…” Ariis leaned against the doorframe. “I killed every last raider on that ship, but I don’t know if I can call it victorious…” Ariis looked down at Tasha, then back at Constance. She knew Tasha was there, but didn’t care. She started kissing Constance all over, slowly undoing the string to her corset.

“Master Ariis…Not in front of Tasha…” Constance barely managed to get out between sighs and moans. Tasha groaned, standing up.

“I need to drown my sorrows in you.”

“I’ll see you around, Constance…” Tasha left the room. As soon as she was outside, Ariis started pulling away Constance’s clothes. She hit a button, turning up the gravity to a little higher than Constance was used to.

“Master Ariis…I…I thought it would be nice if you just…” Ariis pulled at her panties, but Constance grabbed them and stopped her. “It would be nice if you just held me tonight…”

“Constance,” Ariis growled, pulling off her breast plate and letting it clang to the ground, “I have allowed you certain freedoms that I know you enjoy, but understand this; I own you. Everything comes down to that. If I wish you to walk around naked, you must. If I wish to take you in front of your little friends, you must. I own you.”

“But you’re so bloody…” Constance whined. “It…it can be healthy…and I…” Ariis kissed her deeply and passionately. “I haven’t even had a night to rest since you bought me…”

“If I wish to take you in a POOL of blood…and fuck you until we both go insane with pleasure…” Constance hung her head.

“Yes…Master Ariis…”


Hunter plopped the Priestess’ bible down on a table next to her bed. She looked at it, seeing that it was whole.

“You…you put it back together…” She picked it up with her good hand and put it on her lap. She quickly thumbed through it. “It is…it is even in the right order…you…you must be incredibly familiar with the book to…to…”

“It’d be a lot easier to number the pages…”

“The pages do not need to be numbered…” She closed the book. “Thank you, though you have gave away where the evil upon you came from…”
“Priestess, you have no idea about the evil upon me…” Hunter stood up. “I’m glad you’re here, Priestess. This ship will get some use out of religion…”


Jessie was coordinating the salvage of the raider ship now that it was empty. Ariis had killed every single raider on the ship, leaving them no one to sell to the military to give them information. Still, the raider ship had plenty of illegal weapons they could sell to the military. They’d pay better than the black market as encouragement to do the right thing. Plus, the ship itself would make a huge fortune in scrap or on the legal ship market.

He opened the door to his quarters, finishing his plans. He could hear the ship’s tow cables firing into the raider ship. The ship had heavy, thick tow cables, and while towing slowed the ship down briefly while it got up to speed, it was better than calling people to the ship.

He walked into the quarters and saw that the room had candles lit all around it. On top of it, he could hear sad jazz music creeping out of Tasha’s room. He knew what it meant, going over to the door and ringing the doorbell. She didn’t respond, she just opened the door. She was laying on her bed, still wearing her jumpsuit. Jessie walked into the room, sitting down on the foot of her bed.

“Tasha, what’s wrong?”

“I…Nothing…” Tasha hung her head. “Do you know that Ariis hasn’t even HELD Constance…like…just to comfort her instead of…”

“I don’t need you to finish that thought…” Jessie said, really not wanting to picture it in his head.

“For all the ‘Oh, she’s living a much better life than she was’ crap I tell myself, it comes down to the fact that all her life comes down to is…is to be used as a living sex toy…” Tasha sighed and curled up into a ball. “I thought about it, Dad…and…you know, I’ve got that fund…and…I was thinking…would you mind if I stayed on the ship for another couple years?”

“You know I don’t, Honey…” Jessie already had complaints in his head, knowing what she was suggesting.

“Then…I…I’m going to try to buy Constance from Ariis…” Tasha buried her head further in her arms. She knew in all reality it was hopeless. Ariis wouldn’t give up the first steady source of sex she had in months. “Oh, and don’t kick Kelli off the ship…She’s not as big of a bitch as I thought…”

“Alright…I thought she’d work things out. I mean, bless her heart, she’s not the brightest light on the chandelier, but I never thought she would…”

“Oh, she said it, dad. She acted like…like Constance was doing a guy right in front of her.” Tasha cleared her throat, trying not to get angry again. “But Constance forgave her…so I’m trying to, too.”

“Good…well…If you need me, I’ll be in my room, watching a movie. It’s one of the Excalibur series if you want to…”

“I’m just going to…emo here for a while, Dad…but thanks…” Jessie nodded and stood up, slowly walking out of the room to give Tasha time to change her mind, but she didn’t. He groaned, closing the doors and blowing out the candles she had lit.


Jessie didn’t know that the nearest human colony he chose to go to was having a bought of bad luck with a group of terrorists. The police didn’t know that is was the same small group every time. They had evaded every method of detection, using three or four methods of travel to get to their targets. It had caused some considerable problems for the colony, throwing it into a state of near anarchy, but that was about to end.

They were meeting like they did once a year, planning the next year’s attacks. They were set up to look like just another convention, and no one paid them any mind. They didn’t even bother to hide any longer, not even drawing the window shades. They had no reason to be afraid of the impotent police. They had a large map of the planet laid out on the table in front of them, plotting every miniscule movement they were going to make when one of them got bored. He walked over to the window, looking out at the city he ruled so ruthlessly when he saw a blink on the building across the street. With a silent crack and the sing of breaking glass, he knew what had happened.

An Enhance Marine across the street smiled as she saw her grenade round explode in the room. The flash silhouetted the people in the room, telling her it was okay to reveal herself. She stood up, no longer worrying about concealment. She stood just barely over seven and a half feet tall, a regular human cybernetically enhanced to demigod status. She was wearing a stealth/recon variant of her standard armor, which blended somewhat with her surroundings. It had intricate geometric facets that were designed to reflect any personnel detection systems that could possibly pick her up. The recon part came in that her biceps had a single light plate hanging over them on each side, the rest covered by bulletproof fabric. Her thighs and hips were protected the same way. Her helmet was a ground dome that conformed around her head, with a visor in front for her to see out of, and a breather/mic piece in front of her mouth. Her rifle was a specialty weapon, over three feet long. It had a large clip for the explosive grenade rounds, and a long battery that ran along the back and into the butt of the gun. Under both, it had a foot long bayonet with a large device at its base. It was simple, purely functional. It could do everything she needed, fire single plasma shots, plasma bursts, grenade rounds, and even work in close combat situations. She put it on the back of her armor, a powerful magnet holding it in place vertically. Then, she fired a zip line over to the target building, sliding over on a device to inspect her work.

She stood in the room, looking around. She didn’t bother to be on guard. There was no reason to be worried. She didn’t even bring her secondary weapon, just a sidearm on her belt. She looked around at the wounds her grenade inflicted. There was no way any of the terrorists were still alive. Still, she drew her pistol, and shot each one in the head, just to be sure. That’s when she realized something was wrong. She counted each shot, then remembered the number of silhouettes. She realized she was short one man. She heard a noise and turned, aiming her pistol at it, but she took a Molotov cocktail to the chest, fire splashing across her. She beat at the flames, trying to put them out as the man threw another cocktail onto her.

“Burn, damn it! BURN!” The Enhance Marine collapsed to her hands and knees. She stayed calm, realizing the flames would have to go out before they went through her armor. Still, temperature alerts were still ringing through her helmet. The terrorist smashed a bottle of vodka over her head before he ran out the door.

With the fire quickly making its way through the more fragile parts of her armor and spreading quickly through the apartment, she realized she had one option. She ran toward the window, jumping through it. She streaked through the air, plummeting towards the ground. The air whipped past her armor, blowing out the fires easily like a candle in a hurricane. She hit the ground like an asteroid falling to the earth, the concrete buckling and curving around her. She stumbled as she stood up.

“That one was close, Otto…” She said to herself. She withstood the shock, but just barely. Fortunately, Eliza Otto had trained well her entire life. She knew her physical limitations perfectly, and could rattle them off at demand.

While the fall had put out her fire, the apartment building was still on fire. It was spreading quickly, and before she knew it, countless people stampeded out of the building, running into her. She knew the terrorist was using the mob to hide in his escape. Fortunately, he had one thing the others didn’t; a shrapnel wound. It bled through his white suit, highlighting him out of the crowd. She ran after him, shoving through the crowd like a train. She didn’t have to run as fast as she could to catch him. The man was already starting to slow down, running across the street and pulling out a plasma pistol. He cracked off shots, but the blasts just bounced off her armor. She jumped up over traffic to chase him, jumping from the hood of a car to mid-street. She passed a man who just stared at her as she chased the terrorist. The terrorist fired a shot at one of the cars Eliza was on, the car spinning out of control towards the staring man.

“Move, idiot!” She jumped off, tackling him to get him out of the way. She kept him flat on the ground as the car flipped over them. She looked down at him after the car passed. He was cupping her breast plate. She growled at him, and he quickly took his hand away.

“Sorry…I…AH!” Everyone recognized the grenade that landed deathly close to them. Eliza thought quickly, pulling off her helmet and slamming it down over the grenade. The blast shook the ground and cracked the visor, but it was contained inside the helmet. “You’re a goddess…” She had short black hair and hazel eyes, and while she was slightly masculine, she still had smooth, gentle curves in her face.

“You owe me a new helmet…” The terrorist walked over, aiming his pistol straight down at Eliza’s head. She looked up, gritting her teeth.

“I don’t care what happens to me now. I’ll be legendary for killing an Enhance Marine…” Eliza flicked her fingers, producing a knife and stabbing it into and through the terrorist’s foot. He wretched in pain, and that was all she needed. She swung her arm, grabbing the pistol out of his hand. She stood up, drawing her own and shooting him in the knee cap. She saw him reaching for a grenade. Before he could blink, she fired again, shooting him in the head. The man stood up.

“You’re absolutely breathtaking.”

“Uh-huh…” She threw the terrorist’s pistol down on his body, holstering her own. She and the few other female enhance marines were use to men hitting on them, mostly for the right to say they bagged an enhance marine. This wasn’t necessarily the case here.

“I’m sorry about accidentally…” He cleared his throat. “I was wondering, and hoping, really…that you’d go out with me.”

“Thanks, but I’ll pass.” She rolled her shoulders.

“I know I’m the only person who can complete you. I know I’m the only one who can make you…” Eliza ran through the speech in her mind. It was mostly male soldiers harassing her, and while they were much more vulgar than the man, he was saying essentially the same things.

“Listen…”

“Paul.” He pointed at himself, almost like she didn’t know he was talking about him.

“Paul, you are barking up the wrong tree, pal.” She put her destroyed helmet on her belt. “I’m a cougar, not some treed pussy that you…” The man glared at her slightly. It took her a brief moment to realize what he was doing, feeling the intrusion into her mind. In a blink, he had seen everything he needed. Eliza had little to no interest in men. She had a number of torrid and steamy affairs through boot camp, college, and even survival training. She had been with a civilian until recently when she was killed by the terrorist group she had just defeated. “ASS HOLE!” She pulled out her pistol again, grabbing him by the neck and pressing it against his head. “Do you know what you’re fucking doing!? Going into an Enhance Marine’s mind is a crime punishable by death!”

“I didn’t mean anything by it!” Paul pled as a massive crowd surrounded them. “I wasn’t looking for military secrets, honest!”

“You just wanted to see me fucking my girlfriends, is that it!?” She knew he hadn’t gotten any military secrets. She experienced everything he took from her mind, like fast forwarding through a movie. “I should kill you right now for making me relive Sarah’s death like that!”

“I’m sorry! Please let me go!” Eliza growled and threw him backwards. She had better things to do right now than kill a civilian. It would cause her too much trouble, she told herself. She did have a license to kill, if need be, but it seemed like a waste now. If it wasn’t for Sarah’s death, the story would be different. But now, she had to clear her mind, walking back to the base.


Paul sulked all the way home. Eliza didn’t know it, but he had been following her for some time. He had countless pictures of her and other female Enhance Marines he thought were her in her armor. He even had a few pictures of her outside of her armor, but now that he had seen her in person, it wasn’t enough. He looked at the pictures and hung his head.

“How could she treat me like that? I…” He smelled the air, a horrible, rotten smell filling it. He looked around the apartment, seeing a bizarre creature that was almost beyond words. It looked humanoid, but was a creature of living shadows. The shadows that made him up cracked and drifted into the air. “What the hell are you?”

“An ally.” Its voice hissed. A hand emerged from the shadows. It was sharp and armored, with plates around every joint. It revealed that the shadows around it was just a cloak. “You are quite the powerful telepath if you managed to pierce the mind of an Enhance Marine…”

“It didn’t do me any good.” He sat down on his couch. “It just drove her farther away.”

“With my master’s aid, you will be able to bend her will to yours.” It held out its hand further. “And all we ask is for your servitude in taking this colony and the first child from your reproduction.”

“She will be mine forever?” The creature nodded.

“Until the stars themselves burn out.”

“So be it. How will you bend her to my will?”

“That is up to you.” It put its clawed gauntlet on the side of his face, digging in its claws. Before Paul could react, dark black ink dripped out of its claws and into his wounds. He could feel it burning through his veins like acid. He gasped for breath, blacking out in a whirl of unbearable pain.