When the imperial survey teams first arrived at planet Earth, they didn't expect much from orbit. The surface was covered in bombed out cities, and beyond that, irradiated wasteland all the way to the shores of the toxic seas. The theory was that the primitives of the planet, humans they had been called, had destroyed themselves in a nuclear war six-hundred years prior.
So, it was a miracle that the survey team was able to recover any viable DNA from the ruins. The biosamples were sent back to the Empire for study, and the recovered genome was complete enough to clone the species back from extinction.
Cloning had saved several sapient species from extinction in the past, but resurrecting an altogether dead race, one who it was believed had brought it upon themselves at that, raised many ethical concerns. The fact was, clones didn't have the rights of natural born subjects in the empire. Endangered species like the Threesh and the Tarine had been given a choice to go extinct or to live as second-class citizens at best, slaves at worst. Not that their descendants were given that choice, but the other option was complete annihilation by a supernova or the Singularity swarm.
Humans weren't around to give their consent to be slaves. However, other voices in the Empire thought that while the humans should have the chance to live again, they clearly couldn't be trusted with autonomy anyway, or weapons of any kind. It was debated back and forth for years, until finally it was decided that humans could be introduced back into the "wild" in small numbers at a time. So, a small batch of cloned human slaves was bred, 200,000 with a million more on the way if they proved to be a success.
The imperial geneticists had no interest in releasing an army of highly aggressive primitives into the galaxy at large, so the first generation onward were modified to be less independent and more docile. However, they proved to be very industrious, and required little to no direct guidance when they were given a task. They were also much more intelligent than they appeared, and could often keep up mentally with their masters if they had sufficient teaching beforehand.
Since they were never cloned in large numbers, and because they were mammals, humans were considered rare and exotic. So, it was only a matter of time before they found themselves in... other duties. A human slave became a highly coveted status symbol, and they usually led two separate lives, as laborers or assistants in the day, and in bed with their masters at night.
The new generation of humans had never known anything else. Oh, they knew
of
their forerunners, but they looked back at those humans with scathing resentment. Here they were being given a second chance.
Whether they wanted it or not.
"Commander Dothan Rhaegar, step forward," the admiral commanded. Dothan inhaled deeply then walked toward the podium with his four arms folded behind his back.
"Commander, your navy commends you for your outstanding service during the Battle of Crab Nebula-"
More like massacre,
Dothan thought.
I heard that
, the admiral thought back between speaking.
Apologies
,
sir
, Dothan thought.
Just play along, Dothan,
the admiral said. Dothan nodded and stood at attention, but it was clear even the admiral thought this charade was in poor taste as he continued his speech. In the opening seconds of the Battle of Crab Nebula, fifty-thousand soldiers had died in the blink of an eye. The final death toll for the battle was obviously much greater than that, but that first anti-matter detonation had been the deadliest single event in the entire history of the Imperial Military. And they had won that battle.
Dothan's ship and crew only survived by the skin of their teeth, and it was pure luck that they survived ramming that Singularity dreadnought, and half the crew still died on impact. However, it meant the end of a millennia long conflict with an enemy that couldn't even comprehend peace. The Singularity, the Great Synthetic Enemy, was finally defeated. Dothan allowed that relief to cancel out his outrage at all the men and women who had died after he was forced to take command when their captain fell.
"Therefore," the Admiral said to conclude his speech, "High Command has ordered that you receive the Star of Aurelias." It was the most prestigious award in the entire Imperial military.
And I don't deserve it
, Dothan thought.
Just take the damn thing
, the admiral commanded. Dothan saluted as the medal was pinned to his uniform.
"You have also been recommended for command of your own ship," the admiral continued although Dothan had already been informed of that, "Your Navy and your Empire thanks you. Congratulations... Captain." The audience applauded and Dothan returned to his seat for rest of the ceremony, wishing that his men were here to receive their recognitions as well. It dragged on for what felt like an eternity, as these things usually do, and Dothan couldn't wait to get inside out of the heat.
The corridor was much cooler, and his species, aurelians, ran a very high body temperature. Finally, he had space to breathe and relax with his thoughts. The admiral didn't dare speak informally with a lower ranking officer in public, so he spoke to Dothan telepathically again.
I just want you to know, I'm proud of you.
That means a lot coming from you, father,
Dothan said. It was true that Admiral Kraal was Dothan's biological father, except Dothan was tankborn. Not a clone, there was a legal distinction because he also had a biological mother, but it meant that he was essentially mass produced like a clone from eggs that had been artificially fertilized in vats. It also meant that the admiral didn't have close relations with any of his spawn. So, to hear him say that truly meant something.
What are you doing hiding inside though?
The admiral asked,
You're nobility now, if you don't maintain appearances you'll be eaten alive.
I will keep that in mind, sir, but I really need breathing room.
Dothan smelled food, so he eventually wandered into a sparsely crowded sitting area. Some delicious-looking cuts of meat had been arrayed out on the table and he couldn't help but lick his lips. He made sure nobody was looking, then levitated some meat into his jaws and chomped it down. It was then that he heard one of the tables behind him rattling along with a soft, sensuous moan.
There was another aurelian noble, paunch in the belly with no discernable muscle, brutally pounding his poor sex slave raw. Dothan felt the waves of pleasure emanating from them both, even when he looked away.
The slave was a female of a species he recognized but had never seen with his own four eyes, a human. They were incredibly rare since they were all clones and kept artificially scarce by the Geneticists Guild. This made them incredibly valuable and coveted as slaves, especially if they were physically or mentally modified.
This noble was making a show of brutally fucking the woman over the table, in a relatively secluded area so he could enjoy some privacy, but still in public so that everyone would know that he could afford a human slave girl. It wasn't unusual to see pleasure slaves being used like this in public, but there was a time and a place for everything. An eating area wasn't it. It was distracting and unsanitary. Dothan had no interest in watching another male have sex, so he turned around and walked down the corridor for some privacy for himself.
But he was intrigued by the slave girl, who he watched out of the corner of one of his side eyes. He had four of them, two in the front with binocular vision, and two on the sides of his head to give him a much wider field of view. He could watch her while looking in another direction and nobody would be the wiser.
She was positively tiny, almost half his height, with no natural weapons, no obvious natural defenses, and only four limbs which were thin and looked weak. He felt strangely attracted even as he wondered why. Her rear was built like an aurelian female's, so that was obviously attractive, and she had those funny bumps on her chest like a naga, and you'd be hard pressed to find an aurelian alive who didn't find them conventionally attractive. Her skin was completely smooth though, and she had a rich mane of black hair on her head. He had heard that hair was supposed to be very soft and warm from other auralians who had laid with mammalian slaves and it was considered novel in an Empire that was dominated by reptilian species. She may have intrigued him, but he didn't exactly find the human woman attractive, per se. Did he?
Hello Captain
, he heard a sultry voice inside his head. He sensed a female's presence behind him, and turned around into her arms. It was his mate, Akarra. They gently and lovingly nipped each other's chins, then he slipped two of his hands into two of hers as they walked down the hall.
It's so good to see you again
, he spoke to her telepathically.
I want to do more than just see you
, she spoke back and fondled his crotch with her telekinesis.
Stop it!
he snarled
We're in public.
Akarra looked over her shoulder at the human who still getting railed from behind by her owner. By now a small group of spectators had gathered to watch while making a show of not watching. The woman could barely speak, or breathe, as she was pounded into the hard tabletop. Finally, her owner finished and shot his cum deep inside her as she passed out, drooling into her own hair.
He doesn't seem to care
, Akarra thought.
You're not my slave
, Dothan said.
Really, where people are trying to eat though?
Akarra scoffed.
You're one to talk,
Dothan thought,
I've seen you jump on a pleasure slave's dick in the middle of a fancy restaurant.
I was drunk!
She said,
and my father had to scrub any mention or recordings of it from the network.
I can't blame him for wanting to show off his luxurious slave girl though,
Dothan admitted.
Do you ever feel guilt for creating these people, these humans, for the sole purpose of serving us as slaves?
Akarra asked.
We reversed their extinction. They should feel honored to serve us in return,
Dothan said.
I guess
