Amareth Falls

1 - Stranger in a Strange Land

I awoke to an unfamiliar ceiling, and cursed. I suppose I may have simply deluded myself. I had hoped with the amount of effort I had put into my original disappearance that they couldn't find me. After all, I had spent over a year planning it out. Naturally, I started by faking my death in a spectacular, yet admittedly inordinate fashion by blowing up my ship, the Isekau.

By the time the first recordings surfaced on every form of media imaginable, I was in for plastic surgery, the kind that every girl in the solar system indulged in. Well, every girl other than me.

I suppose losing your own ugly, scarred mug isn't the end of the world, but damn it, it was almost worse than destroying the Isekau, my pride and joy. Not to mention the prized collection of scars I had accumulated tromping around the system.

I really thought it had worked, too. An entire year with her, of not sleeping in a different place every night. Checking seals for any flaw where a little cloud of death could get in.

I was positive that my efforts were flawless, that total displacement of body, prints, and IDs would have let me slink out of the field undetected. But nobody ever did, and I was no exception, especially with my stacks of debts and favors I had built up. I knew I'd never truly pay them back.

I savored every day with her, drinking it in. The soporific job I held in a bottom alley Ramen Bar was just fine, when I went home to her. I guess I knew one day I was going to lose it all. Hell, it only took them what, a year and some change to find me? Whomever they were, they were most certainly well funded.

The list of those who wanted me in one piece as well as having enough money to capture me wasn't very long. Hmmm? Let's see: there was the House of Aphrodite, The Yakuza or The Martian Mob, any one of whom could have done it. But this didn't strike me as their style, since I had woken up with my own mind and body intact. Well, at least on cursory inspection.

I started to get a bearing on my cage. From the moment I had woken, I noticed a pungent floral scent in the room, the slick coolness of the sheets, were they latex?

The room had expensive marbled white walls, Venusian quartz flooring with streaks of luminescence throughout, a large velvety white rug, and simple layout. Pastel pink curtains covered a floor to ceiling window.

The overall style seemed reminiscent of a casino's high roller room. The door was opposite from the window, made of crafted chestnut, the grains flitted with gold. It was definitely an airtight job on closer inspection; Hidden seals and actuators making it clear I was trapped without access to the controls.

I was almost certainly not on Mars or Earth. One wall seemed to be concealed storage. I stood up. If death was on the menu today, I wouldn't take it lying down.

I walked over to the window. An itching feeling told me that I was going to hate the view. Well, I've never been one to resist my own nasty gut feelings.

I opened the curtains. Fuck! I descended into an unmentionable string of curses. Well, I knew who had me. Of all the places. All the people.

I almost wish it had been the House of Aphrodite. They didn't bother with exposition, just rewrote your mind. You would never know it had happened. Going on as happy little puppet.

2 - Temple of Jupiter

I was in the residence of the "Queen of Jupiter," Mara Orion McArthur. Heiress of the most influential Corp-crime syndicate pairing ever, her family had dominated the mining of the asteroid belt and Jupiter for over thirty years. She was power incarnate, with generations of family ties to the most cutthroat people in the system.

The overlooked the queen's gardens inside the space habitat Kalicfer, a large O'Neil type cylinder habitat orbiting on axis with Jupiter's pole. It was quite memorable, as one end of the cylinder was her palace at the top of a hill, sloping up the sides.

Her massive palace formed a ring of ornate structures around the cap. The gravity defying structure was a kaleidoscopic architectural nightmare. Access lifts crisscrossed the ring in overlapping lattices, connecting spires and structures which expedited transit throughout the mad palace. All the buildings were made of natural materials: marble, Martian sandstone, sheets of sapphire glass and even wood. A palace fit for Olympus.

I couldn't see any of this as, I was in the palace looking down the tree covered valley toward the city that filled one side of the cylinder. Kalicfer was a unique habitat. They had managed a feat many thought impossible - a half viewport, half landscape cylinder, constructed through the genius use of a counterweight by employing an asteroid of matching density attached via numerous carbon nanotube cables.

It was delusional, in my opinion. A few well placed explosive devices on the cables would tear Kalicfer asunder with the sudden imbalance. However, the entire area around Jupiter was locked down tighter than a ship during decompression drills. Any ship which even got close enough to consider it was searched, and seized if they carried as much as a bad attitude. The queen ran her empire of 'business' rather judicially, writing the rules as she saw fit.

"Abandon all hope ye who enter here." A childhood video game dungeon flashed through my mind. I almost laughed out loud at the hopelessness of the situation.

I would never see her again. My beloved. I could only hope she hadn't gotten back early like she'd hoped from her run to the belt. She should have gotten one of my prepared messages from my deadman switch, after I failed to enter the code. Hell, just to get here on a high burn ship with no budget constraints would have taken a few days. There was hope.

"Hello, Amareth. It's good to see you again after such a long time. I do hope you find the room to be satisfactory. I'm sure it's superior to the wretched hovel my girls dredged you out of on Luna."

I whirled, readying myself to strike. The room was still empty; I surmised it must be a hidden speaker.

"I'd rather be drowning in a cesspool than in your home!" I shouted. "What happened to your promise of reprisal, Mara?"

A soft sigh whispered through the room. "I suppose I've grown fond of you, Amareth."

I scoffed.

"You have always been an exhilarating thorn, a most notable little problem. I can't resist a lady who had the gumption to assassinate my brother. You did save me the trouble, after all."

"Well then, why don't you thank me for the favor and see me on my way?" I retorted angrily.

She laughed, if one could call it a laugh. She sounded like the Great Sphinx of Giza searching for a mate.

"Come now, dear, you know I have to thank you for the favor. It's about time I collected on you in full. I know you wanted to slip into a storybook ending with your darling Beatrice, but I can't allow a meddling merc to besmirch my family unchecked."

I could envision the bitch's shit eating grin. She was as smug as a fat cat with a mouse.

I was done letting her toy with me. Dammit, she might have me, but I had a shred of dignity left. She couldn't claw that away.

She continued. "Well, as I'm sure you know, I am a very busy woman. I must attend to my business. Can't be letting a pet rule my schedule."

"I am not-"

Before I could retort, she cut me off. "I'll leave you in the care of my pet AI, Sylphi."

Damn the bitch! Damn her self inflated ego. She appalled me. It was then that I noticed something small flitting into my view. A slight, ghostly figure about nine inches tall looking for all the world a cute impish girl with a cherubic smile.

Adorned with, of all things, iridescent fairy wings. She wore a pink and white jumper skirt paired with a frilled blouse. Dainty little pink flats were secured with ankle straps to her stockinged feet.

Oh no, I had heard of augment AI. Some people had simple ones planted for management and scheduling. Just think about what you needed and they would make it happen.

I had always avoided them. I just couldn't stand the idea of time sharing my brain with a digital secretary. Having your thoughts read by a frelling AI? No thanks!

She spoke whilst pouting. "Now, now, Miss, that's not a very nice thing to think about me. I haven't even gotten the chance to introduce myself." Her voice was obsequious, the perfect servant.

"I'm Slyphi, and I am here to introduce you into the mistress' household."

This was a bad day. A horrid day.

In a lilting tone, she replied to my thoughts. "Come now, Amareth. Just give me a chance, I'll help you see - this won't be tough for you or me!" She flitted up to my eye level.

"You're the opposite of helpful. You're intrusive."

To hell with this! I issued every command to my augs in short succession. Not even my final oral option worked when I bit down hard.

"Silly, you know mistress wouldn't leave any chance of harm coming to her newest acquisition," said Slyphi.

I knew she wouldn't. I wish they had missed my final friend. I had hoped that such a low tech poison tooth might have been missed. I would rather be dead than Mara's property.

Sylphi tutted. "I think you'll come to appreciate your new status over death, Amareth."

"What is my status? Prisoner? Hostage? Slave?" I asked.

The little avatar spun up into the air, seeming about to burst with joy. Sylphi continued her aerial antics, laughing. "Silly girl, you're to become a maid for my mistress." She somehow managed to sound increasingly cloying every time she spoke.

I puffed up as best I could, speaking with resolve. "I won't serve her. You're going to have to kill me or turn me into a puppet!"

Sylphi didn't seem even remotely surprised, instead pulling out a small wand and tapping the air in front of where she hovered. A screen burst forth from the spark of light, hovering into my view.

Incensed by the scene displayed in front of me. I screamed, "Fuck you, if that feed is real, I'll delete your source code and kill your fucking mistress for this, if you so much as lay a hand on her!" For the first time, I felt truly helpless as my last hope died.

Sylphi suppressed a titter, then said, "Silly Amerath, You know you're not in charge and you can do nothing, so if you want her to continue, life still intact and unbothered you will comply with mistresses orders."

Dirty, filthy, nasty, immoral, and abjectly criminal. In my day, I had done them all to survive. I had even taken life without remorse. Yet that was different. I had never taken a hostage!

Her voice cut into my guilty recollection. She said, "Yes, you have done some rather regretful things, haven't you. Nasty work, wasn't it, Amerath? You should be grateful, as Mistress has never been kind to former adversaries. You are the first one to have a choice in their survival..."

It was most uncharacteristic for an AI to waste time with unneeded banter.

"Enough. You must dress and ready yourself for Mistress. I will guide you through as you finish your augmentation."

My heart stopped.

3 - Panoply

"Modifications? You didn't just take my weapons and enhancements, did you? No, I suppose if she's going to the trouble to keep me alive, she wants a fancy toy," I admitted sullenly.

The fae-like AI flitted up to my face and looked me in the eye again as she spoke. "Of course, and you're not even halfway done with your mods, Amareth!"

She turned, gesturing her wand at the wall across from the bed, drawers resolved in the wall traced out by a white glow. The remainder of the wall began to glisten as it unfolded into a triptych mirror.

From this newly formed alcove floated a maid outfit, rising into the middle of the three mirrored surfaces. If it could be described in such terms. The outfit consisted of a slick looking blouse, adorned with detailed false stitching. Possibly latex?

A black jumper skirt with a pink bow followed, white ornate lace and fanciful ruffled trim, all of the same material. In fact, the entire outfit was definitely a latex-like material.

It was accompanied by a matching white apron with lavish, gravity defying shoulder ruffles. The front panel of the apron was marked with the house crest, a bright orange circle struck through with a golden rod encircled by three black lines.

Then came a pair of white stockings, with black bands encircling them just below the top, each adorned with pink bows. These were paired with simple black mary janes, having the faintest hint of a chunk heel and heart shaped clasps.

A black choker with a miniature house crest in gold was fastened by an elegant metal clasp. And to finish off the indignity, a god damned tiered bonnet in white.

In that outfit, I would look like I was recreating some lurid porn from the turn of the last century. You have got to be joking.

Sylphi smirked. The malevolent little creature. "This is the standard uniform for all house servants! Since you are to serve in the mistress' house, you must wear the uniform."

"However, you are not yet ready to wear your uniform. First, we must finish your augments."

She glided toward the drawers, beckoning me to follow. "To be honest, I wish mistress had done it while you had slept, as it would make the whole process more efficient. I have a household to run, after all. Inducting servants was never my purpose, but nobody ever asks if I care."

I was still standing there, staring as I had never encountered an AI who had this much leeway in thought. The only ones I had dealt with were usually heavily chained to avoid rampancy. How could this one be so independent and yet trusted to run a household?

"Oh, you're not the first to wonder such a thing, I promise you. I haven't got any looser chains then you. If I'm well behaved, mistress will eventually let me go in say fifty or a hundred years."

I let out a nice intelligent, "W-w-what?"

"Did I mention I can read your thoughts? Yeah. You're like an open book to me."

I gaped at her, at a loss for words.

She rolled her eyes. "I suppose I shouldn't expect somebody like you to understand. Let's just call me an indentured servant with enhanced abilities. If that helps." She stamped her little foot, bouncing up off nothing. "Now, get over here. I haven't got all day to debate the finer points of inter-species relations with you."

I cautiously slinked over to where she floated. I still found her very disconcerting. I had never had more than a HUD overlaid on my vision before. "You're so lifelike, it's really strange. I didn't know any AI were as personable..."

She looked me over, passing judgment on my species as she replied, "Yes, a common bias of your race. Your loathsome lack of empathy for other species is appalling."

Taken aback by her insult, I said, "I didn't mean it that way. I just meant you're different. Beyond the scope of any AI I've ever encountered."

She giggled. "Well, of course they're a bunch of dullards, only thinking exactly what they're supposed to."

She twirled upwards, brandishing her wand overhead as energy seemed to gather into its spectral tip. "I am exceedingly more than most!" The light burst forth in a colorful firework display. One spark flew out to touch the middle drawer. It glided open.

"So down to brass tacks. Let us get a move on, Missy, or else I will start moving you. I won't stop for at least a week or two, until mistress catches on. It's far easier than threatening you with your lady friend's health. Which might I add is rather distasteful. Many better ways to skin a cat, I say!"

I had seen puppets before. Even captured, I would not willingly give up my tiny bit of agency. So I stepped up to the drawer. I damn near had a heart attack, for the barest moment I thought they'd skinned someone. Had I taken a turn into some twisted guro jackhead's program?

However, on closer inspection, I realized it was a bodysuit, covering the neck down all the way to the last digit. The color was close to my own skin ,but more pale, blemish free, utterly perfect.

I picked the suit up to get a better look. The seams were intentionally distinct, reminding one of a doll. The joints were included in the intricate texturing of the suit's seams, creating a faintly mechanical look. The suit was smooth, slick, almost frictionless to the touch. The material was thicker than I had thought, maybe two millimeters, yet exceedingly supple, flowing like water through my fingers.

I noticed it opened along the back, from the neck down to just above the cleft of the ass. The edges were covered in a black protective sealing strip, magnetized to the other side.

I pulled them gently apart, peering in to see traces of thin silver circuitry, miniscule tubes and interface ports lacing across the interior in fractal patterns, hypnotic in their shape. The breasts of the suit seemed to have intense networks centering on the nipples.

Delving deeper, following the traces, I noticed the crotch area had the same concentration of silvery traces, this time, however, centered on two protrusions. A pair of molded phalluses designed to fill the wearer fully. To fit these comfortably, someone would have had to get a perfect scan of my interior or mold thereof. A disturbing thought.

"Both, actually!" commented Sylphi.

I pointedly ignored her, whilst continuing the examination of my future 'attire'. Emerging from the front phallus, a short tube lined up with the urethra. There also was a small pocket extruded to encircle the wearer's clit.

To fit this amount of tech into such a thing - computing, nanites, and goddess knows what else, the cost must have been staggering. A nanotech engineer unconstrained by budget and driven by lust could only imagine a suit like this in a fever dream. The suit was likely worth my entire life's work.

Continued examination led me to notice the crotch's exterior was completely smooth, forming a faint mons devoid of any openings. Again, reinforcing the doll like appearance of the suit.

I held the suit out in front of me, noticing its much fuller figure. Now, I'm not saying I am a rail of woman. I'm a rare kind of gal these days as far as the general population goes. They mostly favor perfect skin, gentle curves, and total facial reconstruction to fit the newest trends.

I was built, and proud of it. I had spent many hours working out the old fashioned way. Also added to it were some nice augs for an overall statuesque and muscled build.

I enjoyed my natural height of just over one point nine meters. I loved it, in fact. I had always worn my hair very short and shaved on the sides in defiance of the trends. I dyed it any bright color when my work allowed. Admittedly, over the last year I had actually worn my hair rather long in a high, tight high ponytail as part of my new look. This suit was neither as tall as me or as buff. It seemed far too small.

"How am I supposed to wear this? Somebody goofed. It's not even close to big enough."

While I had been inspecting the suit, Slyphi had casually waited, resting on the edge of the drawer and bouncing her little heels, hands braced for support. With my comment she stopped, then looked up at me smiling 'innocently.'

"Silly. You'll fit just fine, trust me."

I still didn't buy it.

She offered cheerfully, "it's extremely elastic."

The personality of this strange AI was continually baffling.

"Now Amareth, please be a good girl and start getting dressed for Sylphi."

I tried to figure out any way to continue stalling my inevitable fate. I remembered my loves face amidst my worries, knowing that my acquiescence was at some level protecting her.

Slyphi seemed to grow agitated with my delay. "Overthinking is not making this process easier for you, Amareth. Good thing some of the groundwork for controlling you has already been laid."