Pale blue eyes coolly surveyed the crowds of people that crossed the Pavilion in a spat of free time before the next Shift. Black-gloved fingers twitched inside her pocket as the Conduit watched the milling throng, placing dark grey digits against the edge of her holo-goggles.
"Conduit K to Base." Her voice was unemotional as she watched a rowdy group of men and women in varying shades of blue and green cavorting fifteen yards from her current position.
"Base to Conduit K. Situation?" The voice could belong to either a male or female, it didn't matter to her so long as they responded promptly.
"Young man in medium green from Ag, Sector 9. Inappropriate physical contact, public impropriety." K sent in an image flashed from her holo-goggles that showed the young man from the farming sector playing with a younger man from aquatics in a rough manner.
"Initiate Sector Lockdown. Sending a unit for isolation and discipline." The faint buzz from her communication bud went silent. Without another word, K lifted her hands, pulling the black glove from her left and splaying her fingers, palm outward.
A brilliant orange glow illuminated the frame that the young men stood in, and a siren blared out a warning.
Rainbows of colors scattered as people leapt away from the glowing Sector, so as not to become caught in the flare of electricity from the Conduit's hand.
" Sector 9, you are on Lockdown. A Conduit has witnessed behavior unfit for a member of Society, and you will be isolated until punishment."
Conduit K approached the brilliant dome that encapsulated the young men, several of whom had backed away from the two who had been playing. They were careful to not touch the sparking wall, but the young man who committed the infraction stood taller.
"I'm a member of Society, and have done nothing wrong! I was having fun with my friends, and that isn't against the Laws!" He nearly shouted, and crossed his arms belligerently over his chest.
"I am a Conduit, and I merely obey the laws that the Company has impressed upon us. Making your case against me is pointless; you will speak to a Conductor and they will determine if you have a viable complaint against my report."
The young man closed his mouth, eyes sparking enough to rival the wall of electricity that she had bound around them until a unit would arrive.
This was their life; had always been their life, and they knew no differently. K stood there silently, maintaining the lockdown as her mind whirred.
It hadn't always been this way, she recalled. She vaguely remembered a time when people from any line of work could walk into a store and buy whatever they wanted to wear. People could push and play-fight with friends in public and the most attention they would garner was a laugh from spectators.
But that wasn't the way anymore. When the Company rose, they put Societal Laws into effect. Now, people were tested when they reached their age of majority; basic skills tests that not only gauged that person's intelligence, but their physical health, aptitude, and talents. From that test, they were assigned their career and home.
It had been forever ago when humans called the shots. Now, all they did was obey. Something burned in K's chest for a fleeting moment before the bleating of the containment unit announced its arrival.
"Base to Conduit K." A slight blip in her ear indicated open communication.
"Conduit K, present."
"Containment has notified their arrival to the scene. System shows you have used a large portion of your energies today, so you are being ordered to report to Docket-41C for a recharging session."
"Assigned time at charge?"
"You will remain at the docket until our systems show you are at full energy again. Orders are being sent there for you."
"Conduit K, out." She heard the echoing blip as the comm closed, then turned and walked away as contents of the Sector were loaded into the Container. They would be taken to an interview unit to speak with a Conductor to determine their innocence or guilt.
Therefore, they were no longer her concern.
* * * *
K flexed a hand, and a weak spark flew from her fingers. She stifled a sigh as she stepped from her cycle, watching the blue glow flare and brighten, locking around the machine to prevent its theft. Not that anyone would be stupid enough to steal from a Conduit , she mused to herself.
Rapping her gloved knuckles against a panel, she flattened her bare palm against another. "Conduit K reporting for her charging session."
The nondescript grey door hissed open, and K stepped into the pleasantly furnished room. It was a large open space, she noted, taking in her surroundings. A charging unit sat open in one wall, it's curved well making her shift already.
A tall man stood from the sunken reclining area, a remote clutched in his hand as he came up the steps to greet her. He was much taller than her, she noted, with a halo of black curly hair. His chest was wide, and smooth beneath a generous smattering of black curls directly even with her gaze.
"I am off-duty Conduit G, and I'd like to welcome you to our Zone, K." G held out his bare left hand, and K drew off her glove to rest her fingers in his. They both gasped in shock as their currents met, flashing a brilliant purple that illuminated the room for seconds.
"I'm not sure how things go in the Zone you came here from, but Conduits occupy the dockets around the perimeter." G continued at her nod. "Each of us possess our own charging unit, as I'm sure you recognized. The only thing is we don't use our own unit. In our off-duty time, our personal duties aside, our jobs are to assist active Conduits that may require a charge."
As he spoke, his hands were quite busy in opening snaps, zippers and clasps of her uniform. K shivered as the thick, protective material was opened and pulled away from her flesh. She lifted her fingers to press on the identi-lock beneath her chin, and at the slight popping noise of the release, G pulled it away and she could see her charger even better now.
Broad fingers pushed upward into her thick, lilac-colored hair, and she could barely hold back a soft moan of approval as he massaged her scalp. "First things first," G's voice rumbled through his chest, a scant inch from her face. "We must get you cleaned before we can proceed with your charge."
K's nose wrinkled. She knew that her hair must be a mess from spending hours in the sun wearing her helmet, and probably damp with sweat.
He helped her strip to her skin, but not without teasing grazes with his fingers, and the occasional palming of a curve. stepped into the circular tub slightly breathless, and laid back as he ordered her to, so that he could clean her hair.
Within minutes of the wash starting, K's toes were curling, and heat furled low in her loins. G's touches were geared to stimulate her senses, getting her ready for the charge, but K had never been prepared the way G was doing things.
Her breath was coming in shallow pants as G moved beside her, hands dipping with a cloth into the water, before pressing suds-covered material against her stomach. She could feel the warmth of his fingers through the thin cloth, and moaned softly as he palmed a breast. His thumb pressed against the puckered tip, rolling it gently in circles.
K licked her lips, her head falling back, and gave herself over completely to his ministrations. His lips slipped from her forehead, down her cheek; they skated over the soft skin of her jaw and rested against her neck. There, his tongue and teeth began to worry her skin, making her back arch and her loins pulse as his fingers tightened on her nipple.
A sharp nip, a gentle twist-and-pull, had her core pulsing with desire, and flooded her with nectar as she cried out. His left arm slid around her, and she nearly whimpered when his charged fingers met the swollen tip of her breast. The white-hot static zinged straight to her core, and G's hand flattened, dipping into the water.
The water was cool in comparison to his skin against hers, and her body rolled, hips rocking as his hand dipped between her thighs. A stuttered cry fell from her lips when his fingers opened her flesh and he slid two fingers inside her.
