Chapter Ten
Kate sat languorously in the bridge chair, an arm wrapped around her lover, who was snoozing against her shoulder.
She made lazy strokes with her fingers, feeling perfectly at ease. The two of them had bred each other well into the night, so grabbing a bit of naptime now made perfect sense.
Orbital transfers were boring affairs, and the excitement of experiencing something new had worn off after they had seen it done a few times.
The only cause for concern would be whether the bridge crew had slipped her leash, but after several months working on them, that danger appeared to have diminished. The reinforcement emitter which had been installed for this voyage was working perfectly, and even if that failed, the new adornments the crew were wearing as part of their uniforms would act as backup control devices.
She glanced around, noting the high collars they wore to hide the golden bands encircling their necks. Yes, she supposed one
could
hide their resistance by not wearing one, but that was why they performed daily checks to ensure that their obedience was holding.
This wouldn't be necessary, eventually, as all of them would be infested with symbiote controllers. Most of the lower decks had already been installed with Kate and Jackie's progeny, giving them a good safety margin if anything were to happen.
Some of them might decide to become hybrids, in which case, they could opt to join the cause, but if not, she was perfectly fine with treating them like slaves. They would have done the same to her, given the chance.
She sighed, resting her legs on the alien she was using as a footstool. It was strange how her attitude had changed after getting to know their former overlords better. She had been adamant that they shouldn't be like them, but now she found it rather hard to care.
She made a bemused grin as she shifted her legs, her ankles cupped in the notch of the alien's curved back. The alien's skin acted like warm coals against her ankles, keeping her quite comfortable on the cool bridge.
She enjoyed using the Slanadorian in this way. It seemed an appropriate fate for one who had desired to make all of humanity her slaves. Now, she was experiencing the same fate herself, turned into nothing more than a footrest for someone who used to aspire to be nothing more than a bottom for her lover.
Did her newfound dominance make her a so-called 'power' bottom? Perhaps, perhaps not. She certainly still enjoyed being treated like a toy while in bed with Jackie.
That was private fun, however. This was serious business. Seriously
enjoyable
business.
The screen began to chirp, and one of the aliens seated at a console in front of her turned around, giving her a small bow. "Mistress, the Gray Dawn is calling. Shall I patch them through?"
"Yes," she said slowly, readjusting her feet on the alien's back. "Let's see what our progenitor has to say for herself."
Their view of streaking stars vanished, replaced with an image of another ship's bridge. A schematic of the Gray Dawn was helpfully placed on the lower right of the screen to provide context, but Kate didn't need it. She already knew everything about this vessel - it was becoming rather notorious among their kind.
She smiled lazily at the screen, continuing to stroke her sleeping lover. "Grand Mistress, to what do I owe this pleasure?" she purred, taking in the hard armor plating of the woman's skull.
It was decorated with a crown of amethysts draped around the periphery, the largest among them strung over the top of her triangular set of sparkling blue eyes.
Kate wore something similar, for it was a control crown, used to suppress the will of their Slanadorian servants. Doris' crown was currently sparkling, indicating that she was exerting active control.
Kate preferred to train her subjects to be naturally subservient, using her gems in as subtle a way as possible, but Doris didn't subscribe to the same methodology.
It was rather a waste, in her opinion. Being heavy handed wasn't necessary to achieve the desired result. It was one of Doris' negative traits, and probably the reason she would eventually fall from power.
But not today, so she had better treat her with some respect.
Doris gave her a vicious grin, showing off her needle sharp teeth. "It's been a month or two since we last talked, sister. It's good to work with you once more."
Her eyes turned downwards. "Your crew appears well trained. Tell me, how were you able to tame the Proctor? I spent weeks on her before giving her to you, and she wouldn't even bend, much less
break
."
Kate ran the heels of her feet up the Proctor's back. Her slave stretched out and purred like a kitten, her breasts dipping to touch the deck plating.
"It requires a certain touch," Kate said, obliquely hiding a scowl. "I will tell you the full story after we've completed our next mission."
No, she
wouldn't
. The human formerly known as Doris had no
idea
how to handle the subtle arts of manipulation, persuasion, and
true
understanding. She would rather just push her way through, bowling over any problem in her way.
Truth be told, there was a time and place for each approach, but being wasteful for the sake of expediency was abhorrent to her.
She leaned forward, rattling the Proctor's leash. The enslaved alien's head tubes lifted, her frills a dark pink as the alien gave her a look of adoration. Her body froze as her chest lifted and dropped, a faint buzz coming from her pussy.
In this position, she wouldn't move, even if she was forced to orgasm by her pleasure belt. Kate had trained her well.
She was rather amazed at the streak of soft sadism her symbiotes had unlocked in her, but she didn't regret it. She would use any and all tools at her disposal to ensure that her lover remained safe.
"I assume you called to give me a briefing?" she asked, raising her human eyebrows. "How goes our secret war, and what kind of opposition should we be expecting?"
"We haven't been discovered yet, if that's what you're asking," said Doris indulgently. "We've had a few near misses, but now we've grown large enough that it's going to be more difficult to hide our presence. Hence, our current mission."
"Which is?" asked Kate, pausing her stroking as tension coiled through her shoulders.
Doris shook her head. "I know, you're riled up because I didn't share anything with you before we left, but you
know
how difficult operational security is to keep!"
Kate waited patiently, not acknowledging her excuse. She
did
know, but Doris deserved to squirm for how she had left Kate on the sidelines.
She was one of her first recruits, damnit! Why hadn't she been brought in? Now everything would be last minute, and she'd have to scramble to prepare!
Doris settled down, crossing her hands under her voluptuous breasts. "That being said, we're about to approach the station, so I will give you the necessary particulars. I will be leading this attack, and you will act as backup."
She tapped a command into her console, and an image appeared on her screen, a red skinned alien of similar shape and size to the Proctor. Her head tubes were slightly larger, decorated with purple ribbons that were wrapped down their lengths.
"This is the local Lord of the constellation Charonista. Her name is Irizina, and we wish to capture and convert her to our cause."
Kate sat back in shock, studying the alien's wide lips and the medals hanging from her chest plate. "We're taking a step up," she remarked, biting her lip. "Do you think our forces are large enough to handle the retaliation if we're discovered?"
"Probably not," admitted Doris. "That's why we can't let anyone escape. This is a relative backwater, so their forces will be extremely slim. We should be quite capable of interdicting any retreat. That's where
you
come in."
The picture vanished, replaced with a short animation of a plot, with several ships moving towards a central station. "The ESS Goodhead will be arriving at the station approximately at the same time as us. We'll hold back until we're given the signal that they have shown up before we commence our attack."
"Oh? Does that mean we already have agents on the station?"
Doris smiled. "Very good, it's
so
satisfying working with someone so perceptive. Yes, I've arranged for our infiltrators to seize station command at the right moment. The barrier shield will be raised, preventing the ship's escape. They'll be trapped, like rats, and I'll move in to lock them down and finish the capture. "
Kate let the praise wash off her back. She wasn't about to be bamboozled by a few nice words.
"So I'll hang around and play mop up squad." She crossed her legs, wiggling her toes. "Have you considered that a trapped rat is willing to do practically
anything
to escape?"
"Yes. That's the other reason your ship will be held in reserve. If we run into unexpected... troubles, I expect you to handle them, on your own initiative. Just remember that we cannot allow anyone to make it to the jump point. If any of them were to escape, the jig is up. We'll be officially at war, and given our current forces, we'll be outclassed. I don't need to remind you what will happen
then
."
Kate dismissed this with a wave of her hand. She had heard it all before. "My presence seems an awfully thin chip to play when weighed against the possibility of war. Why didn't you try to recruit another?"
The muscles on Doris' face jumped. "I tried, but the other cells are far too busy strengthening our position elsewhere. Pulling out too many ships for this would risk war all the same."
"Then shouldn't we wait?" asked Kate. "Is this a premature move? Should we regroup and try again in a few months?"
Doris openly scowled. "In a few months, this Lord will be attending the royal wedding of the new Empress. We
need
her in position in order to have a chance at the real prize. If we don't act now, we lose that possibility forever. High risk, high reward."
She paused. "Well, I wouldn't blame you for backing out. If you don't agree to this, I'll scrub the mission. It can't be done with one vessel alone."
Kate relaxed. "Don't be so dramatic. As long as your intel is firm, this doesn't seem like the most
hairbrained
