Galactic Slave

Chapter eleven

First Contact

[NCGDS SCVJ XJS SKOCVHD]

What was that?

[XBSG ASW CVJFHSBCXIF]

It was dark, silent and confusing. Not only that, someone was speaking(?) gibberish to me.

[ZHCBD ZXXS ZXJCGS]

I wish who ever this was would learn to speak. The nonsense was hurting my head.

[HXGS SGDFRS UNDERSTAND DJFHG]

Then I woke up. What a weird dream. I don't even remember my dreams, usually. I was lying in a bed and I could smell antiseptic. I opened my eyes and saw that I was in a hospital bed, Master and a Wren'kt standing over me. She asked, "Are you in any pain, Second of Justice Two?"

I considered myself for a moment. I didn't feel any pain. "No, I'm not."

I noticed an itching in my ears and my eyes. My controller was looking and listening in to our conversation. I knew that Wren'kt medical technology would be unable to detect the presence of the Voratex crystal. If I tried to reveal it's presence directly, they may cause my heart to stop or some such thing. I had to find a way to tell Master without telling him.

"Slave. Can you tell me what happened? Who took you and what did they do to you?"

"Master, I," I hesitated briefly, my thoughts in a jumble, "was raped, repeatedly, by many creatures. There was blood, lots of it. I thought I was dying." What the hell! That is not what I wanted to say. That lame assed Felpur bastard was controlling me. I was going to ripped his spiny cock off and stuff it down his throat. I couldn't even show the anger I was feeling.

"Yes, we saw. Your body had been viciously abused. The damage has been healed and Second of Surgery Five says that you're fit to travel."

I asked, without wanting to, "Where are we going Master?"

"Our next diplomatic mission awaits. The freighter captain has delayed his departure for us and is now three days behind schedule. Once he discovered that he was being asked to wait so that a Class Three Branchetian slave could heal, he was insistent on his price for the delay."

"I will need to entertain him, Master?"

"Yes, if you feel up to it."

"I think so Master. Transport out here is infrequent enough, I don't think I have a real choice. At least I will be doing what Master wants."

"That's the spirit. The Captain is Gravelian."

A Gravelian. Master's body guard was of the same saurian species. They are rumored to have the largest sexual organ to body size ratio in the Federation. I had never seen a naked Gravelian, since Grankt is always in his body armor and weapons. It's odd, but two weeks ago, such a prospect would have terrified me, now I was aroused by it. "I understand Master. This will be interesting."

"Come along Slave, we must prepare for departure."

We left the hospital, returning to the room and packed up our belongings. My virtual room was right where I had left it. They must have returned it separately. Smart, since I did not have it when they took me in the first place. With my minder watching everything I did, I couldn't risk checking to see if that last down load had been successful. A potential wealth of data on the most secret organization in the galaxy and I had to let it sit.

The crono indicated that I had been in an induced sleep for four days. I had been seriously damaged. I would have to make sure to tell Master just how dangerous Felpur sexual organs were. A shuttle was waiting to take us to the freighter in orbit. On the approach, we were able to see that this was no small tramp ship, but a massive Brolin class mega carrier.

"The captain is speculating on some assets from the system, trying to get a leg up now that they have applied for protectorate status. The accommodations should be more comfortable than on our inbound journey," Master explained.

"How large a crew does the ship have, Master."

"Just 15 crewmen. Brolins are highly automated, requiring one of the lowest crew to tonnage ratios out there. The crew does need to be universally highly skilled."

"Master, I thought all Gravelians were mercenaries. What is one doing commanding a freighter?"

Grankt interjected. "They are. The captain is very old for a Gravelian, over 50 years old. His reflexes are down to where our species does not consider it honorable to take employment. In effect, he is, how do you put it, retired. He is still a match for any warrior of any other species."

We docked and slipped out into the ship while the last of the cargo was unloaded. The hold smelled of foodstuffs, those wonderful Wren'kt foods that Master and I have been gorging ourselves on since we arrived. From my point of view, there was no speculation involved. This cargo would sell like tribbles.

Our quarters were very spacious, the captain having converted some of his cargo space into passenger quarters. There were no regular customers this far out, so we had the run of the cabins. I unpacked our belongings and settled in, as we were ten days out from our next stop, Trolit. I wasn't sure why we would need to go there, since Trolit is a member of the Federation, but I wasn't going to make the Hellfire Group's job any easier by being curious on their credit. The Captain gave us a tour of the ship, actually quite short since 95% of the space was cargo.

Before we knew it, hours had passed and we were into a night cycle on the ship. We had passed into Dolman space already and Master had retired, instructing me to do so also. I had trouble sleeping, my thoughts racing a mile a minute. Not just about my predicament, either. Psychic illusions are scary things. They can lie about details, creating unreal circumstances that deceive, but our own reactions are incapable of being deceptive. In our psyche, we are always what we really are.

In the illusion that Holroid inflicted on me in an attempt to learn what I knew of Master's plans, I was besmitten with Master. In fact, I acted like he was the most important person in my life. This was while my personal perception of myself was as a free person, Susan Melnin. Had I really fallen in love with the man I detested so much the first time we had met? I could not tell. I'm not sure I wanted to know. If I was in love with him, what would that mean for my continuing desire to be free some time? These thoughts were dominant in my mind when I fell asleep.

[UNDERSTANDING?]

[You again?]

[UNDERSTANDING. UNDERSTANDING IS THERE?]

[Are you asking if I understand you?]

[YES]

[Who are you?]

[I AM. YOU WHO ARE?]

His syntax sucked, but at least he had the words down, whoever he is. [Susan Melnin]

[NAMES OTHERS ARE?]

[Yes. Slave. Second of Justice Two]

[CAPTIVE I YOU]

[Am I a captive of you or are you a captive of me]

[YES]

Now that was a useful answer. [Explain]

[TWO ARE ONE. THREE ARE TWO. FOUR IS ALL]

[I don't understand]

[UNDERSTANDING COME MUST. LOST WILL LIVES ELSE]

Great! Lives are dependant on my ability to understand a baby without syntax. [Who are you?]

[WE ARE ONE. THREE ARE US. FOUR MAKES ONE]

Okay. Let's try something else. [Where are we?] After all, it was dark, quiet and empty.

[MIND OURS ARE ONE]

Wait a minute. [Am I asleep?]

[YES. FOUR KNOW NOT. THREE ARE US. UNDERSTANDING?]

[maybe.]

I woke up to someone jostling me. "Slave. It's time to get up. We have work to do."

It was incredibly hard to wake up this morning. Harder than ever before. I felt like someone wanted me to stay asleep, that is was important. In fact, I was sure it was important, but I could not remember why. "Yes Master, I'm trying. I feel like I never got any sleep last night."

"You were out like a light. You get to fix breakfast this morning."

Well, at least that would be fun. While I was cooking and Master was going over a data pad, I asked about what we were going to do. The tickle was gone for now, possibly I had awoken before the controller. May be my only chance for untapped answers.

"Master, what is on my agenda today?"

"I need you to analyze some data. I suspect that there is a coded communication hidden in the data."

"I see. That's not my strong suit, but I will try. Master?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think it's possible that I had Voratex crystal implanted in me while I was in the hands of the kidnappers?"

"No. It's highly unlikely that the ones who raped you so badly are part of a complex conspiracy."

You don't get to be a top negotiator by not being able to tell when someone's lying. My heart leapt for joy as I realized that Master not only suspected I was implanted, but was acting on the assumption that I was. Now it was a true battle of wits, Master and I versus the Hellfire Group. The tickle in my eyes and ears was back. It was curious that he was limiting himself to two senses. This could have uses. I kept the rest of my words on unimportant topics. "Master, when will I be paying for our transportation?"

"He insisted on two sessions with you. The first will be tomorrow and the second will be two days before our arrival. I insisted on the delay to give any lingering damage from the rape to heal before subjecting your body to another difficult experience."

We finished breakfast a while later. Grolin berries have a natural syrup in them and made for splendid pancakes. A blend of three local juices, freshly squeezed had a minty, citrus taste that, while quite good, would take getting used to. After cleaning up (that duty never got shared), I took the data crystal Master had and prepared for another virtual room session.

Almost immediately, I started something I didn't intend, the controller taking over. I found that the data had been downloaded. Unfortunately, I immediately deleted the data, rendering it useless to me. Damn! They suspected and were ready to cover their tracks. I had control again and had to stifle the urge to check the memory registers. Letting him see that the data was still there, just unviewable would be a stupid mistake. Good thing the Felpur was not computer savvy.

It's common knowledge that most codes are unbreakable by an independent observer. Most successful code breaking was through intelligence. Knowing something about the code users allowed you a glimpse of the minds that wrote the code. Most people can't avoid using personal information in their encodings. It just makes it easier to remember. That Master had me attempting to find hidden communications with no intelligence means that the suspected transmission was intended to be intercepted by unknowns. This required making the code breakable on purpose.

There are some basics that are used in 90% of these types of messages. The most common was equidistant character sequences. Look at every fifth, for example, character and read the message. These tended to look artificial in construction to force the right letters into the right places.

The data I was looking at seemed to be, of all things, a comprehensive list of a library of some sort. Fortunately, equidistant sequences are easy to scan for automatically. I programmed the room to search for equidistant letters, words, words without articles such as the and an, titles and first letters (counting and not counting articles again). While that ran in the background, I looked at other, less searchable codings.

The first step for my manual analysis was to examine the ordering of the books. Anything other than alphabetical would have some meaning, though not necessarily part of the coding. For example, most libraries separate fiction from non-fiction. There's meaning there, but it's not a secret message. I would also have to analyze the patterns within any given subcategory of the larger arrangement, as it may be that the message was understood to be in only one portion of the larger document.

All this took hours. I broke for lunch and was still not finished by dinner time. Master insisted I take a break, pointing out my bloodshot eyes and trembling hands as evidence of my inability to continue.

"Slave, I am going to use you sexually. That may relax you. Go and lie down on the bed and spread yourself out."

"Yes Master." I ran to the bedroom and lay myself down, spreading my arms and legs out as far as I could. After that brutal rape that almost killed me, I was looking forward to some old fashioned fucking. Master appeared at the door a short while later. He activated some controls and my limbs locked into place and my vision went black. I could hear him moving around, but could not tell what was happening. Soon, though, I felt a hand on my leg. He slowly caressed it, dragging his nails down the inside of my thighs. I shivered, the near pain warming my skin, arousing me. I moaned, calling out wordlessly. He brought his second hand to bear, working both legs at once, doubling the pleasure. Unable to see, I could not tell when he would next touch me. The anticipation was driving me as wild as the touches themselves. By the time that he started scraping my belly and sides, I was a primed mass of pleasure, growing geometrically. I could feel fluid forming and running off of my cunt and my nipples were as hard as rocks.

As my arousal continued to grow, his nails would scrape me harder, leaving little red lines where they passed. I was dying for attention to my breasts and cunt. I begged for him to touch me there, to satisfy my aching need for stimulation and penetration. He ignored me for now, working over my arms and face, scratching at those areas with enough force to take a layer of dead skin off, leaving red streaks that did not immediately fade. I had no idea that something that left scratches and was this painful could be this pleasurable.

When he finally touched my breasts, I screamed at the pain and pleasure mixture he gave me. His nails slid along the sides of my tits sideways instead of dragging on them. Little lines of red sunk into the flesh of my breasts, a sharp pain that shot through my body and impacted my pussy like it had been touched as well. I was awash in pleasure, my breath coming fast and my cunt aching maddeningly for touch, any touch. He grasped a nipple, squeezing it between two fingernails. I screamed in exquisite pain, begging him to do it again when he stopped. In response, he pinched both that way, and I writhed in the pain of unrealized desire. I begged and pleaded for more, "My pussy, torture my pussy."

He crawled on top of me, showing a cock that was rock hard without my ever touching it. He lay down on top of me, his cock at my face, my pussy below his. I arched my head back as much as I could and let him thrust into my mouth. He penetrated all the way back to my throat and stopped, leaving me to minister to him as best I could. I was a little distracted as he lowered his mouth onto my cunt and began to nibble at my cunt lips. The playful bites held a hint of threat, titillating me and continuing that painfully erotic attack on my body. I was swirling my tongue around his cock in the little room I had in my mouth. I couldn't swallow, his tip lodged in my throat. I didn't gag at its presence (I assume he shut off that reflex), but could still breath, the positioning being that close.

My excitement was reaching uncontrollable levels, my moans and muffled screams adding to the stimulation I was giving him. When I thought I could take no more, his teeth bit my clit lightly and I lost it. My back bowed, freeing enough throat to scream around his cock and my teeth sank into it, and not gently. My body shook in orgasm, shuddering violently. My clit was released as he screamed at the bite I put on him and he came n my throat, his cum pouring down, making me unable to breath for a minute as the sticky fluid was shot down my throat. The need to swallow forced me to release my teeth from his cock and he slid out, leaving the last bit of his sperm jetting onto my face.

I could see teeth impressions on his cock, but no blood. He rolled off of me and panted, as I was, in exhaustion. "Thank you Master. That was wonderful."

"I enjoyed it as well, Slave. Are you feeling more relaxed now?"

"Oh yes. I think I can manage to get to sleep without any help from my collar. Perhaps sleeping on the decoding will spark some sort of insight." (9 parts perspiration, 1 part inspiration).

"Yes, you sleep now."

My sleepy time visitor was back, his syntax improving somewhat.

[UNDERSTAND ME?]

[Yes, better tonight]

[WE ARE ONE]

[Are you part of me?]

[YES, NOW. JOINING]

Oh my God! It couldn't be. [Are you a Voratex crystal?]

[CRYSTAL YES. VORATEX UNKNOWN. JOIN YOU SOON PAST]

[Voratex are what we call the crystals used to enslave people, make them act against their will]

[NOT JOINING PURPOSE. FOURTH PERVERTS]

[Do you mean the Felpur, the one with your other half, the third?]

[YES. FOURTH PERVERTS. JOINING NOT SLEEP.]

[The joining is not supposed to take place when we're asleep?]

[SLEEP NO SPEAK. SLEEP NO WILL]

[Those joined while asleep can't communicate with you, can't resist the slavery?]

[UNDERSTANDING! JOINED EXPLORE. FOURTHS PERVERT]

[You join to explore! Can the fourth be stopped?]

[UNKNOWN. NEW EXPERIENCE. THIRD JOINING WRONG]

[Your other half was never meant to be joined.]

[JOINED NOT SHARE]

[Thirds can't share knowledge when joined?]

[UNDERSTANDING]

[Can we talk when I'm awake?]

[POSSIBLE. NEED EXTREME]

Damn! I woke up again. I was so furious. Voratex crystals were sentient beings! Explorers. Peaceful creatures that explored their universe by joining with mobile creatures and experiencing the world through their senses. I'll bet the autonomic takeover was an inducement to accept. They were better at running out bodies than we were. I wondered what capabilities were unrealized because of this enslavement. I wondered where their home planet was.

"Slave, the captain has insisted on having you for Kroklin."

Great, just great! I get to spend part of the day in pain, extreme pain for an alien sadist. "Master is there no way to tell him no? Make some other payment?"

"Are you questioning my orders?"

"No Master, just asking for mercy."

"No, there is no way. If he can't play Kroklin with you, he will put us under ship's arrest and hand us over to the authorities. I'm sorry, I should never had purchased the equipment."

"Master, if you hadn't, someone with more advanced equipment would have eventually demanded such use. At least the pain levels are controlled." Do you have any idea how weird it is to be reassuring master that his making such a painful use of me was all right? Why did I do it? I realized that, I cared for him and did not want to see him hurt. I was beginning to think I did love him. A slave in love with her owner, how stupid is that!

Master helped me into my Kroklin armor once I decided to sip breakfast. I did not want to throw up inside the helmet. He walked me to the gymnasium for the crew, currently occupied by a single person, the captain. He had only one thing with him, a wicked looking whip, ten feet long with a cluster of strands at the end, The thing looked like it would kill.

"Thank you Brusjin. I will see that she is returned to you tonight."

Tonight! This was going to last all day! "Master!"

"Slave, bear this. For me."

I gulped. There would be no reprieve. "Yes Master," I said, meekly with tears in my eyes.

Master walked out. The captain took the controller and locked my arm and leg bands in a spread out position. He seemed to be all business as he picked the whip up and brought it down upon me with a loud crack. Pain exploded against my back. Another crack and my breasts felt like a huge chunk had been gouged out. They kept coming, the cracks of the whip and the lance of pain that followed, over and over again. he was methodical and measured. There was no evidence that he was enjoying himself.

It wasn't long before I was not experiencing repeated lashes, but one long crescendo of pain that grew and grew. I thought I was dying, the agony growing without end. How I was able to survive such torment was inconceivable.