Doris did not know how long she remained in her cell before a large powerful man came to claim her. Pete had been led away some time ago. Doris was sorry to see him go. It occurred to her that he was the only person on this planet Turga whom she knew in any way. Two smartly dressed soldiers had come to claim Pete, all three of them eyed, Doris's naked form with thinly disguised lust. At least Pete had also shown sympathy in his eyes and mouthed something to Doris before he was led away. Doris thought he might have said "fair well" or "good luck", Doris was grateful for the sentiment.
The man who came for her was well over six feet tall. Every bit of him seemed to be muscle. He wore a uniform slightly different from that of the soldiers who had led Pete away. Doris was not sure if it was funny or sad that she still behaved like a reporter, when her days as a member of the fourth estate were clearly at an end. The size of her escort and the ugly, dangerous looking weapon he held in his hands were powerful inducements for Doris to obey and allow herself to be led to the next, and perhaps final, phase of her life.
She was led out of the building, keeping her hands at her sides as instructed. The green sky and strange sun reminded Doris that home was very far away. The sudden change in temperatures caused her nipples to pucker, an event that did not go unnoticed by her guard. Doris allowed the man to strap her into the seat of some alien craft. The man was at least polite and did not touch her any more than necessary. "Small favors go a long way." was Doris's thought at the man's general kindness. The flying sensation once the vehicle left the ground was unlike any Doris had felt before. More like the feeling of being in a ballon or zeppelin than on an airplanes.
Doris drank in the landscape below her. It was a modern and clean city, the color white predominated. The best Doris could compare it to was the illustrations in the trashy pulp novels, Tim, the copy boy at the Call was always reading. Even now Doris could hear his adenoidal voice squeaking, "But these stories are really keen, Miss Dowd." Doris wondered how the Call would treat her disappearance, would she really be missed? She certainly hoped so.
An elegant palace reared up, reminding Doris of a wedding cake. The alien aircraft carrying Doris circled the building twice before alighting very close to a side door. A shorter, turbaned man with a Buddha belly flanked by two huge sword bearing nearly nude, men greeted them.
"Ahh, this must be the Emperor's latest acquisition." said the turbaned one as he spied Doris exiting the craft. "As always, Him Eminence has exquisite taste."
Doris's escort handed the shorter man a slip of embossed paper, Doris could make out a royal crest on the document. The man read the presented order with interest and then eyed, Doris carefully.
"An unusual request but not unprecedented." stated the man to himself. After a moment of thought he turned to Doris and said, "Come child, there is much to do!"
The swordsmen spurred Doris into the building and down a long hallway. The smell of expensive perfume wafted into Doris's nostrils. Dimly, sounds of female laughter and mirth could just be discerned.
"Our first stop is the slave smith." stated the plump turbaned man whom Doris now understood to be in charge of Wentro's harem. "His Excellency will have my head if I leave you uncollared for long."
They turned into a side room. A bear of a man was fiddling with sheets of tanned leather.
"Rush job, Felix." said the shorter man. "Here are the edicts for the collar and his Excellency wants diamond studs, the finest quality.
"Sure." said the bearish man in a booming voice. "Put her in the frame I can the job done while you wait."
At sword point Doris was strapped to a metal, human sized frame. Her arms and legs were spread wide and a strapped down. Another strap belted her waist. The bear of a man pushed some buttons on a a box on a table and it made a humming noise. Almost immediately a thick collar of black leather with a gold catch and silver highlights emerged from the the box. On the collar was a crystal clear window with text in some language she could not read. Doris had no need of a translator in this instance anyway. Doris noted the royal crest prominent on the object.
Doris tried to slink away. Fastened to the frame however there was no place for her to go. The large man fasten the collar about Doris's neck and then sealed the catch with some kind of light ray. Doris understood that it was now all one seamless piece. She could not imagine how it could ever be removed. "So, I am to end my days as a slave in an alien harem." thought Doris to herself. She wondered under what circumstances that fact would ever be known to her friends and coworkers at the Call. Doris was already imagining scenarios where she would escape. "If that gray asshole thinks I am gong to spread my legs for him," thought Doris. "he has another thing coming."
The sound of the autoclave opening brought Doris out of her revelry. The ursine man withdrew a large piercing needle as Doris's eye widened in terror.
"No! Please don't!" she cried
"Tsk tsk," said the large man as he dabbed a clear fluid on Doris's nipples, "this won't hurt a bit. Giving slaves pain is the soul domain of his Excellency."
Doris watched, suddenly numb as the big man loaded the needle into a gun. She braced herself for pain as the man tugged on her nipple, but no pain came. In rapid succession both of her fine pink nipples had ben pierced and an something inserted in them. Only now did Doris focus on the modifications made to her body.
Sparkling in the light were four diamonds. Doris realized that a gold stud had been inserted in each nipple with the diamonds ensuring that they stayed there. Doris was a bit familiar with gems like diamonds. These stones were flawless and of several carats each. On earth they would bring a fortune.
"What kind of world can adorn slave girls with baubles like this?" She thought to herself. Doris could not suppress her reporter instincts no matter how hard she tried.
Doris was freed from the frame and spirited on to another room. The furniture was soft and satin covered aside from a chair in the middle of the room. Doris was told to sit there.
"You are to be instructed as to what is expected of you and what will happen to you if you do not please his Excellency." said the chief of Wentro's harem.
Finding her voice at last, Doris asked "Of what use to a gray reptilian being is a human woman?"
The man looked stunned and replied, "His Excellency is as human as you or I. Some revolutionaries sought to overthrow him by secretly having him injected with genetic material from an Azort. Azorts ARE reptiles. The plot of the revolutionaries was to weaken his Excellency or so disfigure him that he would either abandon the throne or kill himself. However, when the Emperor discovered that the Azort genes had permanently enlarged his manhood and greatly extended his abilities, he made the revolutionaries knights of his inner circle! He enjoys that his new appearance makes him more intimidating and sets him apart from the common folk. I assure you in the bed chamber, Emperor Wentro is ALL man."
Doris sat a moment, drinking all of those fact in. She was not allowed to contemplate for long because the man began speaking again.
"First you will see the results of failing the Emperor. Wentro wants enthusiasm, compliments and paroxysms of joy. He expects you to swallow his seed after sucking on his manhood and the Emperor reserves the right to use his manhood to explore your rear entry. So long as you are obedient and enthusiastic, a woman of your looks should have no problems. But if you fail ..."
The man pushed a button on some device on his hand and a movie began to play right before Doris's eyes. It was better than any movie she had ever seen on earth. It was three dimensional and the sound was amazing first came aerial pictures of Wentro's castle. Those soon vanished and Doris heard, "Failure is NOT an option." The screen filled with the image of a slave, looking very much like Doris herself. She was in room chock full of medieval torture devices. The woman's collar was fastened to a hook on the wall. What happened next was too terrible to watch yet Doris could not tear her eyes away.
Wentro entered the room looking positively demonic. In his hand he carried a cat o nine tails. Wentro proceeded to flay the woman alive with the whip and then killed her very slowly in many painful and bloody ways. Her pleas for forgiveness and mercy did not impede the man in the least. Three more harem girls met the same fate before the turbaned man decided that Doris had witnessed enough.