A Dressing Down

In the future, society is run by the MATRON AI system. Life has three distinct stages, the beginning years from 1-20, young adulthood that can last from 1 to 100 years, and Maturity from then on. Young Adults (YAs) are expected to live and work in tired communities based on their accomplishments, effort, "valuation," and "life track." Society can be quite strict with those who are either naturally submissive (seen as a sign of requiring stern care-taking by Society) or who step out of line.

Disobedience is dealt with harshly.

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A Dressing Down

Taleen-3 (3.2: Highly attractive young woman)

Accomplishments: High performing in Academy (Math, Game Theory). High Performing in entry-level job.

Effort: Hi (motivated). Was going to be promoted to low level team lead, now promoted to high-level team lead [4]

Valuation: Tier 3 Unexpected Promotion

Life Track: Aspirational YA Executive. Current YA Management Team Lead

Total Basic Value: 4 (high).

Age: 21

Apparent Age: 21

NOTE: Taleen is a recent graduate of Academy to YA status. She chose the Qualith Disciplinary YA zone due to both her discrete interest in disciplinary techniques and because performance in Qualith is magnified. Unexpectedly, her friend Noria, challenged her for a promotion. The duel between the two girls was fully sanctioned but when Taleen put complete submission to the winner as a win-bounty on the table, rather than backing down, Noria accepted. The unusual set of events has resulted in Taleen being promoted above her prospective level and, due to winning the challenge, taking on a friend as a pet-slave. This is expected to pose a challenge for her.

"Snaff it, Noria!" Taleen used the 'allowed childish' swear word, which felt embarrassingly appropriate as Ms. Warchild was watching her over the monitor. Ms. Warchild wasn't a Mature--but she was very nearly done with her Maturity Boards, several decades older than Taleen, and even looked like a moderately severe woman in her 40's. Being able to look more, well, mature, was rarely afforded to YAs and while Taleen's bosses' boss was still technically a YA, it was only technically.

"Taleen," Ms. Warchild said sternly, making her sit up at her station. "If you're that vexed at winning the dominance challenge, you can strip off and crawl to Noria. I'm sure she'll be more than happy to take you under her--rather than the reverse we've established."

"No ma'am," Taleen said quickly. "I just--it's just that I wasn't ready for this, ma'am."

The woman softened. "I know, Nixli," she said, the use of the diminutive for 'little girl' making Taleen blush self-consciously. "I realize this is uncomfortable for you--but Noria made her choice and now she has to pay the consequences. If you don't think you can handle that--"

"I can handle it, ma'am," Taleen said quickly. The idea of, after winning the corporate dominance duel challenge, giving up her hard-won victory and crawling, probably naked, to Noria to submit to her was unthinkable.

Ms. Warchild nodded, watching her. "I'll expect a summary of how you are going to handle her tonight. I'm assigning a disciplinary Tan to work with you--"

"Miss! You don't need--"

"Hush, Nixli. It's done. If you don't do this properly, I'll make up for the rest of it myself--on both of you."

She cut the connection.

"Shit." Taleen slumped back in her chair. She had one of the rare (for Tier-4's) offices in the Natharathex Towers. She'd moved in this morning after a promotion from two levels down had prompted her friend, Noria, to unthinkably challenge her for her seat as a Team Leader.

It was a game of Castles with physical elements--wrestling matches. The game itself was a board game played on a four-spatial dimensional grid and involved pieces representing both physical and abstract political moves in an attempt to take down the other party.

It was considered a very hard game for Young Adults without a ton of experience or augmentation and had garnered a lot of attention. It wasn't unheard of for YA's fresh out of academy, to challenge each other in dominance games--but it was rare--and for Taleen, who had been a close (and sometimes illicitly intimate) friend of Noria's in Academy, it had felt like betrayal.

Noria had explained that it wasn't personal--she just wanted the promotion and the rules allowed the challenge. Taleen had upped the ante considerably, thinking Noria would back off. Winner gets the loser as a slave-pet. Noria had dithered, and then sweetly informed Taleen that she'd be a good if stern mistress for her and moved ahead.

It got a lot of attention from the higher Tier YAs and even some matures. Now, promoted up to a level that should have taken her half a decade, she was in her own private office. She'd won: it was just luck that Noria didn't know that early on Taleen had been fascinated by Castles and the mathematical grid of moves that expanded into 4-d space.

Neither of them could possibly have beat even a poor Mature player--but Taleen had exploded with a sudden advantage and doubled it by proving to be a match for Noria on the challenge mat. They'd gone at it: passing the point where either could back out without being the other's... slave pet--and Taleen had won!

The social credit that came from everyone watching her had converted into the promotion. For YA's, even at this level, it was all basically make-work anyway. But now she had won... and she had to make an example of her friend.

Former friend? Shit.

"Xuck," she breathed out.

"Language, Nixli!" the terminal chirped. Shit! She stared.

An image of a cute cartoon Asian girl with fox-like features and a frilly puffy dress had appeared and was scowling at her, holding a carriage whip.

"Sorry!" Taleen covered her mouth.

"You're going to have your mouth washed out and your bottom warmed, girl," warned the Tan.

Shit. Shit. Shit. "I'm sorry--I just--"

"I'm Yax-l1n. A disciplinary Tan. I'm assigned to guide you through your first application of dominance and punishment. I have full authority to assign you punishments and I shan't hesitate. So when I tell you to do something to facilitate your discipline, I suggest you do it immediately."

"Yes, mistress," she said.

The fox-girl examined her closely. "Go to the girl's room. Pump a couple of pushes of liquid soap into your palm and rub it on your tongue. Three minutes with your nose touching the wall--then you come back. Got it?"

Ugh! "Yes, miss," she said meekly.

"Go! Hurry!"

YUCK. The soap tasted awful, the slime clung to her hand, but she didn't dare wash it. She was standing, blinking back sparkles of tears with her nose pressed against the beige tile. She dearly, dearly hoped no one would come in while she was here, standing stupidly against the wall, gagging on the taste.

She hoped this would mollify the artificial intelligence sufficiently that it wouldn't send her for a spanking! She felt wretched. When her com buzzed, Yax's message informed her it was time to return and that she could rinse her mouth and hand.

She did so.

"You didn't pee while you were in the bathroom," the Tan scolded her when she returned.

"I thought I'd better rush back, miss," Taleen said softly.

"Good instincts. While we're working together you'll ask permission to go to the bathroom so we establish, firmly, who is in charge without me needing to have you stripped and spanked. Got it?"

"Yes, mistress," Taleen said again.

"Good! Then we'll get along well. I specialize in giving YAs a good hard cry and you have a YA at your disposal who needs a good, hard cry."

Taleen blushed hard and nodded.

# # #

Taleen chewed her lower lip and refreshed the page of her "punishment plan" yet again. She had a lot of notes and had a few templates on putting together such a plan, but this was her first try, and she was worried. It didn't help that the stern disciplinary AI was watching her both her document and her physical self through the camera. The AI wasn't making much commentary thought. She thought she felt its judgment.

She huffed, leaned back and went to get some tea. In the kitchenette Yax-l1n popped up on her cook-screen, holding her own virtual steaming cup of tea.

"Worried, Nixli?" asked the AI-girl, not unsympathetically.

Taleen nodded. Was showing weakness to this thing bad? It could be: if Ms. Warchild was looking for a reason to reverse the winner of the challenge or just demote her back to her previous station and do something else with Noria, a bad review would be plenty.

"You should be," said the AI. "But probably not for the reasons you think."

"Oh?" That surprised her. What were the 'reasons she thought?'

"Expect to get a good deal of provisional discipline from Ms. Warchild," Yax-l1n said airly. "Having a fresh-faced YA reporting to her is a novelty. She'll likely want to 'break you in' properly." The AI said this like it was no-big-deal. The idea of being disciplined thoroughly by her new boss was worrying, however.

"If you're anything but utterly beastly to Noria, your own backside will likely feel it!" Yax-l1n sounded chipper and even pleased at the idea. Wonderful.

"Is that why I should be worried?" Taleen asked carefully.

"Yep," said the AI, taking a virtual sip of her virtual tea. "You've been promoted above your station. Expect to be put in your place pretty thoroughly."

"That doesn't sound good," Taleen said. "Why did you think I was worried?"

"Oh, the usual with you girls," said Yax-l1n, waving a dismissive paw in the air. "Fear you're going to fail so badly Ms. Warchild will remove you. Fear that Noria is going to hate you forever. Fear that you can't do any of this."

Taleen blinked. Then stared. The fox-girl looked back at her.

"I reduce YAs to tears regularly," said the AI matter of factly. "I'm not especially merciful and I think you're all cuter when crying. But I can assure you that if Ms. Warchild wasn't a hundred percent on this, you wouldn't have gotten this far. She thinks you can do a good job here and she's almost never wrong about these things."

"No pressure," Taleen said sourly.

"Also, Noria isn't going to hate you forever. If you do your job right, she'll resent you deeply and dearly--but she's going to constantly keep in mind that she brought this on herself. Even more importantly: if you do your job right, you'll enjoy dominating her. That's one of the requirements."

"I just feel like it would've been easier if I lost the challenge," Taleen said. It slipped out. The thing she'd been terrified to say. The truth that maybe she was a better fit for the slave-pet position. In Academy she and Noria had been mostly equals. Friends, and comrades in various misbehaviors. She'd imagined submitting to Noria in the bedroom and it had been hot. Now, though, she wondered: was she really suited to this? To owning her friend?

Yax-l1n laughed in a way that shocked her. "You'd make an adorable slave-pet," she said. "Don't worry, Nixli, you may yet get a chance to try it out! Trust me: you'll hate it!" She snickered. "But for now, with Noria, you're the mistress. Noria is worried--even scared--and she's relying on you. Not for mercy, just for guidance. You can provide stability along with discipline. You've looked over those videos?"

Taleen nodded. "The Dressing Down ones, yes."

"Yes. Taking her status as an equal--or even a subordinate--and removing it all the way down to slave-pet. It'll be quite a ride for her. I can assure you she's squirming right now just thinking about it!"

Taleen blushed. The videos had been unpleasantly arousing. The girls stripped of everything--clothing, dignity, all pride, had been awful--but the attention from the mistresses and masters had done its work on her. She was uncomfortably turned on.

Taleen wore only her pajama top and thong panties--she had to model several pair for the Tan, before the AI was pleased with her looking "fetching enough."

She was clicking through a series of videos on slave-pet rules and training. It was, she was afraid to admit, terrifyingly hot. The girls on the videos were charming, blushing, sobby, and eager to please their new mistresses.

As punishments went, this was, she thought, a really bad one: Noria would be her slave, required to be kept under punishments, until she was released by the higher-ups. Taleen would be highly responsible for her--both her care, and her immiseration. It was to start first- thing tomorrow and last... indefinitely.

To ignore or mistreat a slave-pet was a judicial offense. That included letting her get too bored. She needed lots of attention--lots of domination and humiliation--and the "care" that the dominants in society were expected to show those below them.

It was overwhelming.

"Where is she?" Taleen asked the Tan who had adopted an image of paging through a stack of large tomes and taking notes with some kind of feather dipped in ink. The AI girl looked up.

"She's in temporary kennel-custody. When she lost, she didn't get to go back to her apartment. She'll be delivered to the office tomorrow early."

"How's she doing?" Taleen asked. It just popped out.

"Sobby. A little weepy. She's been fitted with a short-term tattle-tale implant in her vagina so she'll raise alarms if she tries to masturbate. I imagine she's mad at herself as much as anything."

"Is... is she eating anything?" It sounded lame.

"Yes. The kennel 'kibble' is actually quite tasty. She's been fed and watered. The kennel has zero privacy--and it's small--but it's comfortable enough."

"Good. Can I speak to her? Before tomorrow?"

The fox-girl twitched and ear and raised an eyebrow.."Is that wise, Nixli?"

Taleen considered and made a decision. "I want to." she said. "Can you--can you set that up, ma'am?"

"I can," Yax-l1n said. "A few minutes."

Taleen finished off her discipline plan and her finger hovered over the SEND button. Once her punishment plan was sent to Ms. Warchild, there was no going back. She was chewing her lower lip when the screen flashed a call-connect. She brought that up.

It was Noria. The girl definitely looked bad. She was naked, lying in a chamber just the size of a single-bed. The walls were rubber-covered wire mesh with a few things attached: a scent dispenser, a water bottle with nozzle she could suck fluid out of, and, on the roof, a small video screen.

Taleen couldn't see what Noria was talking to--some kind of drone? But she had flipped over onto her stomach and come up, eyes red from crying but now bright and alert with hope for some kind of rescue.

"Taleen!" her voice was very soft but given with a hard breath. "I'm so sorry--please--"

Taleen cut her off. "Noria. Don't--I can't--"

The girl swallowed and closed her eyes. Taleen continued. "Noria... pet, first off, I'm now 'mistress'--always. Secondly, I'm told I should ask what you had planned for me if I lost. No, wait: don't say 'I haven't thought about it.' That's immediate extra punishment!"

On the screen Noria blanched. I bet you don't want to tell me what you fantasized about doing with me, Taleen thought. She pressed on.

"Get it all organized, Noria-pet. I'll want to get a good detailed breakdown. If you're good and honest, I might even make my pet feel good while we're going over it."

Noria looked properly horrified at this, and Taleen watched her naked body squirm. "But tomorrow I'm to make an example of you in the office, so I'm not relying on your ideas for the start of this new phase of our relationship. Got it, pet?"

She watched Noria wince. "Yes, mistress," she said. It wasn't exactly a grumble. There was a good deal of fear there. Noria swallowed hard. "I know you're mad at me, mistress," she whispered.

Taleen shook her head. "No, pet," she said quickly. "I'm not. I've been going through 'making-an- example-of-friends files and videos.' It'll be wildly unpleasant--and really humiliating and all--but no, hon. I'm not mad. You were an idiot to try to challenge me like that, but I do get it. You thought you could top me and you tried. Now instead of being a member of my team, you'll be the team's punishment mascot."

Noria hung her head, nodded, and whimpered.

"I'll take care of you, I promise," Taleen said. As she said it, she wasn't even completely sure what that meant. "For now, get some sleep. You'll need to be in the best shape you can be for tomorrow!" Taleen surprised herself by flashing a genuine if wicked smile at her friend. Noria looked up, saw it, and glared.

Taleen suppressed a giggle. There were icons on the side of her view screen she could use on Noria. She reached out and touched one for a sleeping tab to be assigned to the girl and then, after a pause, she selected a very light 'bedtime spanking.' It wasn't clear to Taleen what exactly Noria saw on her end, but she caught the girl gasp in horrified indignation.

"Mistress!!"

Taleen cut the feed.

"Well done, whelp!" Yax-l1n appeared in a small window, with an approving look on her animated-fox face.

"Whelp?" Taleen asked, momentarily thrown.

"Nixli, little girl, scamp, whelp," the AI said. "Keep performing well and I might even use your name!"

"Oh." Taleen blushed--but the idea that Ms. Warchild would get a positive report on this was encouraging. "Yes, mistress. Thank you, mistress," she said. The AI looked smugly pleased.

"I've reviewed your punishment plan and made some corrections," Yax-l1n continued. "It's not bad for a YA's first try. Noria is fortunate to have you as a mistress."

Taleen blinked, surprised at the level of praise. She waited for the other shoe to drop.

"Go through it and send it to Ms. Warchild. She's waiting on it. If she approves it, you're good to go," the girl-AI said. "Oh, and you've gotten yourself all hot and bothered watching videos and putting the plan together. I'm going to be monitoring you closely tonight. No touching. When you pee you're going to drip dry. Your vulva is entirely off limits. Got it, whelp?"

Ughh. "Yes, mistress," she intoned.

# # #

It had been a bit of a sour night for Taleen who found she took hints of solace in the knowledge that it had likely been a lot worse for Noria, at least until the sleep-tab had been delivered. She'd lain in bed, desperately wanting to relieve the pressure between her thighs. Her arousal was urgent and she'd squirmed and tossed and turned knowing that Yax-l1n was observing her sleep. She'd kept her hands above the covers of the bed and Yax-l1n had turned the temperature control down so she felt snug there.

In the morning, she'd used the bathroom, showered without wiping herself (ew), and then carefully dressed in one of the new office-outfits that had been delivered. It was pretty slick looking: a pants-suit in a very light gray with a bright pink blouse. The plastic panties that came with it were hot pink, and sealed on her skin--a barrier that made taking them off a bit of an ordeal... another anti-masturbation device. Great,

She'd gone over the slave-pet rules though, so long as Ms. Warchild was pleased with her, she could put in for servicing twice a week where her slave pet was responsible for giving her mistress orgasms... so long as the slave-pet didn't enjoy it at all!

Taleen was embarrassed to think of how much she was looking forward to that now.

Dressed sharply, she gathered her bag and her com, double checked herself in the mirror and headed out to the tram. She rode in the upper-class car, but, being so visibly young, she sat way in the back, drawing looks of interest both kind and predatory from the higher level YAs that populated it. A handsome boy in a slick suit with a double-breasted coat gave her a nod. She'd flushed and nodded back.

Through the ride, she studied her tablet going over her plan. The tram arrived and she--and the upper-car YAs exited well before the lower ranks were released. They came out onto an air conditioned carpeted platform while, below them and visible through angled windows sat around the platform floor, she could see the gaggle of freshly graduated YAs make their way out. On the upper level were terminals the upper class group could use to visit occupational miseries on the unsuspecting lower-level YAs below. A few groups stopped by to chat and laugh with each other while one or more of the members took time out of their morning to give unpleasant assignments, 'random' hygiene checks, or even tickets to one of the buildings disciplinary centers to YAs they thought were too proud, looked like they had a bad attitude, or were just "cute."