This ongoing sci-fi series will contain non-consensual elements.
My two opponents began circling me. I was in the main fighting arena and the crowd was cheering from the stands. The men I was facing weren't dressed like me. They wore dirty rags, while I had on a long flowing strapless gown. It was all part of the spectacle, and I was struggling to stop my breasts spilling out over the fabric. Blood stained the sandy floor of the arena from the previous matches.
I was taking part of a series of narrative games. It was centered around a slave revolt that had taken place on a planet many years ago. The announcer said that I was representing a highborn lady who valiantly fought off her brutish slaves. The finale of our match was open to interpretation, and it was implied to the crowd that I could end up being ravished by them instead.
I was armed with a long thin sword, and they had crude looking clubs. There had originally been three of them, but one was laying on his side with a deep wound in his abdomen. They stalked me, trying to look for an opening. I found it difficult to maneuver as the gown billowed around my legs.
It had been weeks since my first fight in the gladiator arena, and since then I had scored over a dozen victories. Some had been easy, while others had taken all of my skill. The only solace I found was the waxy substance the doctor left me in my cell after each success. It was a bad habit, and I knew that I was becoming addicted to it. With death just around the corner, I could justify it.
At first the men had acted as individuals, and didn't attack with any coordination, but now they were learning that working together was their only route to overpowering me. They began to move in on me together, making me choose who to attack. The unlucky one got my sword through his ribs, while the other one barreled into me, knocking me off my feet. Our weapons were lost as we rolled around on the sandy floor, each of us was trying to gain the advantage. He was a lot stronger than me, and I struggled to resist him. My heavy skirts made it hard for me to get him into any sort of hold. It was a desperate and dirty fight that I was in danger of losing. I could hear his grunts, and growls as he tried to get me in a head lock.
"I'm gonna spread those pretty legs nice and wide," he grunted, into my ear.
With some luck I managed to bring my knee up in between his legs, and he doubled over in agony. I finished him with a palm strike to the nose.
The crowd screamed in congratulations. A lot of the matches would end with death, but most of the time a convincing knockout would do.
As I returned to the entrance hallway, I was greeted by Ullman. He first gave his congratulations, and then told me I had been summoned to meet the owner of the arena.
*********
We arrived at a set of heavy wooden double doors at the highest level of the arena. Ullman told me to speak only when spoken to, as I was about the meet the man who held my fate in his hands.
"His name is Yarin. You need to call him, Sire," he added.
I was led in and was greeted by a room that I could only describe as palatial. It looked like it belonged in a history book. The floor was polished marble and gleamed brightly in the light. Instead of traditional furniture there were large piles of soft looking cushions. Around the edges of the room were men and women in exotic outfits. They looked more like royal courtiers than servants.
As we walked further in. I saw the man who had summoned me. Yarin was old, very old. His frail body sat perched on an elaborately decorated golden throne on a raised platform. Either side on him sat two identical looking girls on plump cushions. For all the ornateness in the room, he wore a simple white robe, and his head had a thin layer of white hair. The girls were more finely outfitted, and wore skimpy silken outfits, and were dripping in jewelry.
Ullman stopped me in front of the throne, and backed away with respect. It wasn't just the girls that occupied the cushions. There was a large tiger curled up on one. It had silvery white fur, and a heavy collar around its neck.
"You are making a name for yourself, young lady," Yarin said, in a soft, and almost girlish pitch.
I nodded. His pale blue eyes roved across my body, in an appreciative glare. I was still wearing my gown from the arena, and I wished my bosom wasn't so prominently displayed.
"Tell me, where did you learn to fight like that?"
"I was an officer in the United Earth Navy, Sire." There was no point in be elusive, I thought.
"Yes," he said, absently. "This sort of place would be against their laws?"
"It would, Sire." I tried keeping my tone as respectful as possible. He was right though, we were far away from UEN space, and far from the laws and customs I had grown up with.
He began to tell me the story of the planet we were on. Ferrin wasn't founded by pirates as I had been led to believe. It was settled over a thousand years ago by colonists from earth. At first, they had thrived, but then a sudden climate event had turned what was once a lush green planet into a hot arid world. Most of the colonists were evacuated, but not everybody left. Some stayed on the planet they now called home. They had been the ones to erect the pyramids as a type of monument to old earth history. As the planet had nothing to offer the wider galaxy it had been forgotten for hundreds of years. It was only when a pirate ship looking for a planet to use as a home base stumbled on the indigenous population. The people living on Ferrin made good slave labor, and it wasn't long before the word got around to other pirates that this planet could be used as a safe port of call. The city grew around the new visitors, and eventually more unsavory humans started to migrate to take advantage of the lack of laws. Yarin was much darker skinned than most I had met, and I wondered if he was descended from those first settlers.
He told me how he built the arena many years ago, and how much people appreciated the entertainment. Then went on to say that it had been hard, and one thing that motivated the fighters had always been the opportunity of freedom.
"A chance that will now be open to you."
He explained that I could now participate in a fight that if won would guarantee my freedom. There was a catch though, the fight had to be sponsored by a third party. He assured me that I had many admirers who may be willing to pay the money for such a match.
"Would I belong to them?" I asked, interrupting him. He laughed, and told me I would get complete freedom, on this planet at least.
"In the meantime, please let my girls escort you down to the pleasure floor for a few hours," he said, with a movement of his hand.
As the two girls approached, I could see that they were twins. Their hair was jet black, and cut squarely above their shoulders. Black smokey eye shadow ringed their eyes, and their skin had an almost honey colour to it. They stood by my side, and gently took an arm each.
"I'd rather return to my cell, Sire." I had no intention of using a slave for my pleasure.
He cocked a wrinkly eye at this, and asked if I wanted to celebrate.
I shook my head, and told him I was just tired.
As we spoke I became aware of the girls stroking their delicate fingers up and down my back. One of them started to run her hand through the back of my blonde hair, but I shook her off.
"The comfort of my fighters is paramount to me," he said, reaching down and stroking the sleeping tiger. It stirred from its slumber, and yawned, showing off a set of large razor sharp teeth.
As I was about to reply, one of the twins turned my face to hers and kissed me softly on the lips. I couldn't help but to enjoy it. She tasted sweet, and her delicate mouth fluttered on mine in a most pleasurable way. The other was now planting little kisses on my neck, and then I heard her whispering to me. "Don't annoy him."
