Jaximor halted at the door on the top of the stairs. He turned back toward her. "I should tell you about Princess."
Meredith lifted her eyes toward him with her arms still crossed.
"She was a sex android I procured to amuse myself with on long missions. Our androids and robots have aggressive upgrade systems. The more a person interacts with them the more their capabilities expand. They grow more intelligent and emotive and eventually achieve sentience. I was spending a great deal of time with Princess. She reached this high level of complexity two years ago. When she did, she ordered me a Domestic robot customized for sexual purposes. She refused to service me in that way any longer. She said she was a member of my crew, and her higher functions should be used to aid in my missions. Being a sex android was now beneath her."
Meredith blinked at him.
He turned and opened the door. "So that's what she is."
They entered her control room. A sleek feminine android with shiny maroon casing was seated at the main computer in the back corner of the room. Wires came out of her ears and disappeared into a hole made in the computer's housing. She looked toward them with oversized liquid blue eyes that reminded Meredith of a housefly.
"Princess has been leading the investigation on the escaped colonists. She was programmed with your language."
Jaximor sat at on one of the two seats facing the control tower's massive windows. Meredith lowered into the other. Princess disconnected her ear wires and spun her chair to face them.
"There's 38 missing slaves, Master," Princess said. Her electronic voice had human inflection. "They left on a vessel similar in size to a Dak-Hiliah schooner. I've referred to our files from Earth and determined this vessel has long distance space travel capabilities. They were only limited by their inefficient fuel systems. However, presuming their fuel was at capacity they could have reached any one of seven causeways in and around this solar system. From those causeways there are over 9,000 possible destinations they could have proceeded to."
"Presuming they went to the nearest causeway beside Jupiter, where would their likely destination be?" Jaximor said.
Princess gave a very human gesture of exasperation with both slim robotic hands. "I can't surmise, Master. The nearest thing on the other side of that causeway, provided they didn't make a temporary quantum tear, is an unmanned Takkaraquian outpost. The location puts them in close proximity to nineteen other causeways. It's a hub with too many destination choices to narrow down." She turned back to the computer console and brought up a monochrome screen with a log of computer activity. "I've tried to retrieve their communication records, but they were purged. Flight plan scenarios were also purged. Prior space travel records, fuel logs, even vehicle maintenance records--purged." She turned back toward them. "I haven't even been able to determine if the goal was to retrieve provisions, or if this group was abandoning the moon to start a new settlement."
Jaximor tented his fingers. "Don't get frustrated, Princess. You've provided an immense amount of valuable information. We have access to the rest of the information we need." He pointed his thumb at Meredith.
"Is this Meredith Evans?"
"It is indeed."
"Well, that's a relief." Princess opened a compartment in her chest and took out a tablet that connected to her with trailing circuitry. She held it in one slender hand while tapping on it with the other. "When did they leave, Meredith? How long ago?"
Meredith stared at her long enough for the android to become puzzled.
"Is 38 people really that big of a deal to you?" She glanced at Jaximor. "I mean, you got 340 of us. Thirty-eight measly people seems like a stupid thing to waste your limited resources on."
Princess slammed her tablet back into her chest. "Master, would you leave me alone with her, please. I'm going to initiate my interrogation protocol."
Meredith hugged her arms against her chest. She could feel the rapid thud of her heart beneath her hand.
"No you're not."
"Master, please!"
"This is the human I've chosen for my bride."
Princess turned her head to the side. "Oh."
"Let's try it my way first," Jaximor said. "Ask her something more innocuous."
The robot looked down in a simulation of deep concentration. Then she fixed her bug eyes on Meredith. "What was their goal? Seeking aid, or founding new settlement?"
"I don't know."
Princess jabbed her finger at her. "She's lying, Master! I registered five out of five signs of nervous arousal not present in her prior speech!"
Meredith balked. She already hated her.
"I told you it was not acceptable for you to lie to me."
Meredith chewed her lip a moment. "I wasn't lying to you. I was lying to her."
"Ohhh!" The android clenched both her fists.
"Calm yourself, Princess."
"Master...let me use my least severe interrogation protocol on her. She won't suffer any permanent injury."
"Not yet."
Princess turned back to the computer with a huff of anger.
Quite a high-strung little sex-bot, aren't you?
"What are the principle questions you need answers to in order to give me their location, Princess?"
She faced him again and counted off on her metallic fingers. "What was their flight plan? What was their back-up location if they couldn't make it there? How much fuel did they have? What was the state of the ship when they left? When did they leave?"
"All right. I'll get the answers to these questions from her."
"And don't let her tell you she doesn't know any of them! She was the only one in the colony who specialized in causeway navigation! She had to be the one who set up their flight plan."
Where's a metal crushing machine when you need one?
Jaximor closed his eyes and bowed his head. "Understood." Now he looked at her. "Turn yourself off. I will deal with her privately."
Princess threw up her hands in exasperation. "I still have to decipher echoes from all these deleted files!"
"Perhaps you won't need them. Do as I say."
"Ohhh!" She crossed her arms.
The milky blue light in her eyes extinguished and her head lolled limply forward.
Jaximor stood and turned her chair so that her back was to them. When he resumed his seat he opened a compartment of his armor and took out a small tubular device that fit in the palm of his hand. His thumb compressed a button on top.
There was a 'woom' noise, and then a glowing pink leash appeared from the bottom of the device. Meredith looked down and realized it connected to the force field collar the tank robot had put around her neck.
"The shock mechanisms on these collars were outlawed outside of slave colonies. Husbands used to keep them on their wives to discipline them. Our new druid decreed the practice barbaric. At the push of this button..." His finger slid over a recessed red button along its side. "Every nerve ending in your body will blaze with the most extreme pain your brain is capable of registering."
Meredith's lips parted. A nauseating coldness began to fester in her middle.
"That's a paltry description of what the shock from this collar feels like. Most victims urinate themselves. The pain is overwhelming."
Meredith pursed her lips.
"As I said, using the shock mechanisms on the collars has been outlawed outside of slave colonies--and even there, only the most extreme crimes will warrant the punishment. Dak-Hiliah men may no longer use the collar to discipline their wives." His gaze took on its cruel glint once again. "But you are not yet my wife."
Meredith grit her teeth. "You would really do something so monstrous to me?"
"Only if I have to, and only for one second." He pressed the top button to turn off the force field. The leash and collar disappeared. "But if you defied me again you'd receive two seconds. Then four. Then eight, and so on." He opened the compartment in his armor and stowed the unit.
Meredith's heart rate began t
o steady.
"I'm going to ask you the questions Princess needs to know. If you're wise, you'll answer. You'll put an end right away to a game you can't possibly win. If you choose not to answer, or to lie, then I'll punish you. Not with the collar--but in a manner of my choosing. You must submit to this punishment. No resistance. No hesitation. If you fight me, then you'll get your first bite of the collar." Jaximor reached over and took her hand. Meredith tolerated the gentle touch. "Don't make me use the collar on you, Meredith."
She turned her head away from him.
"What was their flight plan?"
She grimaced while still not looking toward him. "Damn it, Jaximor."
"Just tell me, Meredith. I hate being your adversary. What was their flight plan?"
Her scowl began to quaver. She drew a forlorn sigh. "I don't know."
"You're lying to me again, Meredith? After my warnings?" He fumed through his nostrils. "I've no choice but to punish you." He grabbed her arm and pulled her toward him. "Don't resist me."
Meredith stayed slack. She was maneuvered over his knees with her face downward.
Her eyes widened. Jaximor had put her in spanking position.
He swatted her bottom. "One."
Her brow quavered.
Another swat. "Two."
The strikes were too gentle to sting.
"Three."
"Oh my God."
"Four."
He alternated from cheek to cheek, letting his hand linger on her ass a moment before pulling away for the next strike.
"Five."
Meredith rolled her eyes. Oh.
"Six."
It's like what he did to Pret. It's not a sincere punishment. He's just being a pervert again.
"Seven."
She relaxed. The gentle punishment was a relief.
"Eight."
Meredith remained still for him.
"Nine!"
This time the strike was hard. She looked around the floor quizzically.
"Ten!"
He matched the hard strike on the other side. Her flesh stung slightly. Jaximor's hand remained where he'd hit. He began to move it in roving circles, drawing out the warmth he'd just lighted in her flesh. Meredith swallowed.
"We're done." He soothed both mounds of her ass with splayed fingers a moment more, then helped lift her to her feet.
Meredith retook her seat. She crossed her arms but had no malice in her expression.
"Don't fall into a false sense of security. The punishments will grow more severe every time you defy me."
She blinked at him. Her bottom felt warm and tingly.
He fixed his severe gaze back on her. "Did they have a back-up location if they didn't make it to the first?"
Meredith drew her lips in her mouth to wet them. Princess' second question was hardly of any value to them if she didn't answer the first.
"Well, there were a couple of ideas." She picked the least likely one. "The allied outpost in the Meridian quadrant."
"You're still lying to me, Meredith."
She became aghast. "No I'm not. Turn on your bitchy robot and have her do her lie detector thing if you don't believe me."
He glanced toward Princess. "You don't really want me to turn her on, do you?"
"No. I don't."
"Then accept your next punishment."
She gave a soft groan of irritation. "Fine."
"Remove your dress."
Her lips parted.
"Don't hesitate and don't resist. Those are the rules."
Ugh. She stood up and pulled her dress off. A girdle type underwear and modest brassiere was underneath.
Jaximor pulled her over his lap again. He struck her buttock with greater strength than his prior swats. Meredith still felt he was being gentle.
"One. Two. Three..."
She'd ignored the stirring within her during his first punishment. This time she had no doubt the eroticism was beginning to affect her. His hand squashed her rebounding flesh, nudging her sex with every blow. Both ass cheeks began to throb. She clenched her anus involuntarily. By the seventh smack her nipples hardened beneath the thin fabric of her bra.
"Nine!" He slapped her ass hard. "Ten!"
Jaximor groped her tingling flesh even longer this time. Afterwards he helped her return to her seat again. She knew he could see her nipples tenting the fabric of her bra. Meredith kept her eyes lowered.
"What was next?" Jaximor said.
"How much..." She cleared her throat. "How much fuel did they have."
"Right. How much, Meredith?"
"Every drop we had. Their tanks were full to capacity." Of course this was a lie, but the further out he believed they made it the larger their search was going to have to be.
"Liar."
She gaped at him.
"There was no fuel left in the colony. Are you saying that what you had was the exact amount to fill their tanks without a drop of excess?"
She screwed her lips. "They were pretty close to full, okay? One of the tanks was less than an eighth down."
"So you admit you lied."
Meredith groaned with exasperation.
"Take off the rest of your clothes."
"Jaximor--this isn't fair. I'm answering your questions."
"Don't hesitate and--"
"And don't resist. I get it. But now you're asking me to get naked."
He eyed her. "Why does that trouble you? We're alone, and you're going to be my wife."
"This isn't a date!"
"Would you feel better if I took off my clothes also?"
Meredith became stricken. She should have vetoed the compromise--she knew this. But she also wanted to see him naked.
Jaximor stood and began to remove the armor attachments connected to the tight-fitting black mesh body-suit he wore. He pulled up his tunic revealing a set of gorgeous blue abs. His defined pecs with sultry dark nipples appeared next. He tossed aside his tunic and then pulled down his pants in one fluid movement. Muscular legs surrounding a thick long organ were revealed at once. Meredith stared at him with her mouth open. (She hoped there wasn't any drool showing.) He toed off his boots and slid his pants off his ankles, then was completely naked.
Jaximor resumed his seat. His long cock nestled between his open legs. He gestured for her to proceed.
She wanted him to get back up for a more thorough inspection. His eyes became impatient.
Meredith brought her fingers to the bottom of the pull-off bra. She hesitated. It was obvious he was going to have sex with her. She couldn't deny that she craved it. The way Jaximor was going she assumed he'd have her by tonight anyway. Up here, and under these circumstances, was far from her perfect scenario.
Just go with it.
She pulled off her bra, exposing both her breasts at once.
To Hell with shame.
Her world had changed in such a way that she should accept what pleasure she could. The exquisite specimen of man before her gave her body plenty of reasons to consent. Her mind was not far behind. She felt grateful for that.
She shed her girdle and shoes and then stood before him with her arms crossed below her bosom. Her body wasn't a match for his, but she knew she held her own. Jaximor's eyes glittered as they raked over her naked flesh. He swallowed audibly when he fixed on her hairless sex.
He turned away from her. His voice had grown husky. "Over my knee."
"Are we still going to play that game?"
He clasped her arm and steered her over. Meredith tsked.
Her naked core melded against the hard sinews of his thighs. She felt an ecstatic shudder. This time his medium strength swats caused slapping sounds. The feeling of his palm against her bare ass made goose pimples rise up. Meredith curled her toes. Her flesh felt pulses of sublime warmth. The last two hard strikes made her sex clench and she knew she'd grown slick.
Jaximor coursed his hand over the delicate naked flesh of her ass. Meredith winced.
"Your body is exquisite.
" She could hear his labored breaths. "What was the state of their ship when they left?"
She blinked a few times. The ticklish massage to her ass made her forget what they were doing.
"The state of their--oh. It was...it was brand new. Perfect condition."
"Why do you continue to lie to me?"
He plunged his hand between her thighs. Meredith gasped. His fingers breached the hood of her sex and curled against her moistened labia. She clenched involuntarily. He rubbed the outside of her hole, then glided over the incredibly sensitive petals to touch her clit.
"Uh...!"
"Open your legs."
His forefinger made circles over her clitoris.
"Ngh--Jaximor." Her legs felt as though they'd turned to water.
"This is your punishment now. Part your thighs."
She obeyed with difficulty. It became hard to stay balanced over his lap.
With her thighs spread he was able to work his entire hand over her slick sex. Jaximor rubbed up and down, making her stomach quaver. He thumbed the entrance to her passage and teased her slippery clit with two rhythmic fingers. Meredith squeezed her eyes closed. She leaked enough dew to lubricate his palm. He continued his pinpointed fingering, making her jolt as her clit twinged beneath the pads of his fingers. Her thighs trembled. She was sure her pink ass did as well.
Meredith stifled a shuddering moan. His fingers were relentless. A minute passed, then two. She was growing desperately tight inside. She began to squirm over his lap. Soft hisses came from her lips whenever his fingers harvested a potent shock of ecstasy.
He's going to make me come. Her face contorted. He had her in such an agitated state she couldn't stop trembling. She began to make sounds like soft sobs. A prickly buzz inside told her she was right on the very edge. Meredith whimpered.
"Don't stop."
She heard Jaximor give a throaty grunt. His hand mashed against the whole of her sex and rubbed furiously.
Meredith yelped. She convulsed against his palm. He kept brutally rubbing, drawing out her ecstatic contractions. Meredith's stomach clenched. She made soft desperate whimpers. Jaximor kept crushing his hand into her until her thighs finally went slack.
The Complete Alien's Bride Page 55