by Sadie Marks
The few times the general had brought her out of their quarters for meals, it had been to those dining rooms located in beige, and she'd found the fawn color was oddly soothing to her nerves then, as she ate in a large room filled with aliens and, only once, another human. But in her current situation, there was nothing relaxing. He carried her past the only rooms in this area she'd been in and into one of those places clearly marked with signs as forbidden.
There was a sudden lurch of interest, and she struggled to push herself up to get a better look. It was her first time getting a peek into one of those banned places, and while it was scary that he was carrying her there now, she couldn't help that her curiosity had kicked into high gear and she wanted to see everything.
"Where are we going, Tal?" she asked, hoping he'd tell her something, anything.
"You'll see, impatient little girl. We're already here," he said. They had reached a broad entrance that was not only closed and solid, but twice the size of any other she'd seen on the ship so far. He swung her down off of his shoulder and set her firmly on her own feet, holding her until he was sure she'd gotten her balance.
While she had one hand on his arm as she adjusted to being upright again, her attention was entirely focused on the door. She'd learned to see the faint outlines that indicated openings and knew now where to touch her palm to the wall to activate them, but when she reached out and brushed her hand across that spot, nothing happened. The fact that she even tried seemed to amuse him and he chuckled and pushed her hand aside, placing his much larger one there instead—instantly, a hole appeared and expanded.
"Brave, but forbidden areas are locked to slaves. Your hand won't open them. Makes it harder for you to get in trouble that way," he commented as the hole expanded to an opening roughly large enough to drive a vehicle through.
She stepped forward, eager to see what was inside and then stopped short, and her mouth dropped open. "Oh!" she blurted.
"Not what you expected?" he asked, pushing her forward gently with one hand at her back.
No, hundreds of Sadecs locked in combat in a room the size of a hover-jet hanger was not what she'd expected at all. She'd half thought he was bringing her to some insidious torture dungeon or maybe a room like the one he'd first spanked her in back on Earth, but this? No.
Of course, she'd known that they were fighters; their whole reputation was based on it, and she knew from her own training that working out and sparring was essential for keeping skills honed, but she had never expected it to happen on such a grand scale. This was nothing like her Dojo where ten to fifteen would gather for class. This was like stepping onto a battlefield.
There were aliens sparring all over the room and not just in pairs, but sometimes in groups of a dozen or more, rushing at each other like opposing armies. What struck her most, though, was the silence. There were no battle cries, no shouting, just quiet grunts of exertion and hisses of pain as they fought with various weapons or just grappled unarmed like wrestlers.
One group seemed to be working to batter each other to the ground with sheer brute force; another bobbed and weaved with grace and occasionally broke out in acrobatics. She was in awe of the supple beauty of their bodies as the men and women of the Sadec race moved. As she watched with eyes wide, she was lost in the martial dance—and suddenly, more than anything, she wanted to join them. She took a step forward, but Tal grabbed her arm and pulled her back out of the way.
"Stay out of the way. Humans are too fragile to be close to the fighting," he said in quiet warning. In a louder voice, he said, "Cease!" It wasn't a shout, but somehow, it cut across the echoingly large room and caught the attention of every warrior. They seemed to stop as one, turning to look toward the entrance, waiting to hear what their general had to say.
Eyes roved over to where she stood in his shadow, and there were hungry smiles as a sound of excitement rippled through the room. For a second, they resembled a mob, pushing at each other to move closer to her, and she shrank back against his side in fear. She didn't know what was happening, but her joy at seeing the combat vanished, only to be replaced by dread as she began to wonder why he'd brought her here. The images that went through her mind were frightening and she looked up to him, mutely searching for reassurance.
He wrapped one arm around her and squeezed her tight against his side as he snapped a command. She understood their language now, but these words had no meaning to her. Perhaps they were military only, so they hadn't seen a need for her to know them. That was probably true, but whatever he'd said had stopped the warriors in their tracks. No one moved a muscle, and the room was silent.
"D'aan, what are the honor rankings now?" the general asked as he turned his attention to a man who'd been standing by the wall supervising the fighting. He stepped over, tapping the screen of his data pad as he moved in and then held it out so the general could read.
She leaned in to see out of curiosity, but the list of names meant nothing to her. The number of stars that followed each name decreased as he scrolled down the list, and she assumed that was some kind of score. What did they do to earn 'honor rankings' she wondered? She'd have to ask him later, when they were alone, but for now, she was more concerned about how this all connected with her.
Tal nodded thoughtfully as he looked it over, commenting only once to say, "Remove G'eel," for some reason, before he handed the pad back.
D'aan didn't seem surprised or didn't ask why. Kenzi wished he had, because she was curious, but he just tapped a name near the top of the list, and it turned opaque.
Tal turned his attention to her, stroking her hair lightly in reassurance. He examined her for a few minutes and seemed to be making a decision. Her stomach did a slow turn, and she shivered fearfully.
"Five. Call the top five," he said finally.
The warriors weren't undisciplined enough to comment, but something about the number seemed to disquiet them and a ripple of excitement went through the ranks. Here and there, she saw an alien face breaking out in a wide smile of pleasure—those smiles tended to look rather threatening to her, exposing the longer teeth as they did, and she flinched back, eyes dropping to avoid seeing them.
Five names were read, and sure enough, they matched the smiling Sadecs. All of them came forward quickly. Four males and one female stood in front of the rest, looking pleased. Kenzi couldn't help but sneak glances at them, especially at the female. It was the first close look she'd gotten at a Sadec woman; usually, they were hurrying by just like the men, and while she was looking to see if their women were very different from human women, the general began to speak in a serious tone.
"This is my slave, Kenzi. Today, she chose to disobey my orders, leaving our quarters unaccompanied to explore the ship. It pleases me to reward our finest warriors, by giving her into their care for punishment." He announced this to the crowd at large and then turned to those five, specifically. "Make sure this doesn't interfere with your duties. You know the rules."
Kenzi had slipped into shock at the words, and now she stared at him, horrified. "Tal? Please, don't do this. I'm sorry. I'll be good," she promised desperately.
He shook his head as his eyes settled on her. They seemed cold and alien again, like they had when she'd first met him. "You will be good, because if you're not, I will extend the punishment," he stated without the slightest emotion in his voice.
Tears sprang to her eyes and she stepped away from him, no longer feeling protected by his side. She'd thought he felt something for her, some caring, but the way he was just giving her to his warriors indicated otherwise. She hadn't realized how much she was falling for him until just then, and her heart felt crushed. "You're a monster," she whispered as she crossed her arms over her chest, hugging herself in distress.
For a second, there was a glimmer of pity on his face, but then it was gone, replaced by an emotionless mask. "I'm a general, and you will obey me, or you'll see what a monster I can be," he said sternly.
"I hate you for
doing this," she snapped. She looked away, turning to the side to hide her face from him. She didn't like others to see her in pain. She'd opened herself to him and let him see more than she'd shown anyone else, but now she realized it was a mistake. If she thought her silence would move him, though, she was mistaken.
He ignored her, speaking again to the other Sadecs. "Decide on a schedule, to begin tomorrow. For today, she'll be on full display. Perhaps she'll remember her place afterward," he said.
She flinched but didn't look at him. She didn't know what 'display' meant, but she had a feeling she wasn't going to like it. She could have accepted being shared, in private, but this…this felt too much like some kind of lottery where she was the main prize. It was humiliating, degrading, and incredibly arousing, which embarrassed her even more.
Having addressed the crowd, he sent them back to their sparring before he turned to her. He eyed her quietly for a second before he reached out and nudged her chin up with one finger. "I told you this would be hard for you, but it's been our tradition for many generations. When some time has passed, you'll return to me with a new understanding of my people and your place here," he explained gently.
"My place as your property to be loaned out whenever you feel like it, you mean?" she asked in a sulky, spiteful tone.
"There are too few of you for a warrior to keep one only to himself, and it's not our way. We share what we value, and in doing so, increase its worth. You will return with more experience and knowledge, and our reunion will be filled with pleasure for both of us," he assured her.
"It will be terrible, because I'm going to spend the entire time I'm gone hating you and wishing I'd never volunteered!" She snapped the words with venom, and he frowned. She couldn't resist throwing in a humanized version of an insult she'd heard used once by a passing Sadec. "I hope you are defeated in battle!" she said, loud enough that people turned in shocked surprise.
His hand slid into her hair and tugged hard, pulling her head back so he stared down into her angry face. "Apparently, you were confused on what slavery meant, or maybe I've been too gentle with you. I like your spirit, girl, but you go too far. You'll learn your place today, or the lesson will be repeated every day until you do," he said through gritted teeth. In contrast to the anger in her expression, he just looked cold and hard.
He wrapped his fist deeper in her hair, high up on the back of her neck and used it to force her into a bent over position. The tunic slid to the sides, exposing her bare rounded ass, and he began to spank with heavy-handed strokes that instantly brought tears to her eyes. He caught the back of each thigh until she was dancing in place and trying to evade the pain. He seemed to take a sadistic pleasure in aiming a series of swats at the part of the plug that was peeking out from between her sore, red cheeks.
Each time his palm connected, it rocked the intruder deep inside of her. It wasn't exactly painful, but it made her ache, and the reminder that she was plugged for everyone to see was humiliating, especially when the action caused her body to react with arousal. She could feel a low throbbing in her clit beginning, and she quickly stopped her protesting in hopes that the punishment would end.
It did, when he was ready. He pulled her around with his grip still in her chestnut locks and shoved her toward the officer, D'aan, who caught her in his arms. "Take her for display. Make sure everyone has full access and a wide selection to use. Have a clinician supervising. I want her to last the rest of the cycle." The orders were dispensed efficiently and there was no melody in his tone, only the low gravel of anger. D'aan nodded and dragged her off with a firm grip on her arm.
She trotted along beside him with tears streaking her cheeks as he moved quickly down the hall, pulling her behind him with no consideration for the fact that she was sore and uncomfortable, but they didn't go far. To her surprise, she found herself in one of the large dining rooms. She'd eaten in this one once, she thought, though she couldn't be sure since there were three and they were identical. Each had an interesting alcove prominently positioned, and that's where he brought her.
She'd wondered what the alcove was used for when she'd seen it, since it was empty, and space was rarely wasted on the ship. On Earth, she'd seen nooks like that used for live musical acts, but the Sadecs didn't seem to have anything like that, and she'd never suspected its purpose until she found herself being placed in it with her back to the room.
She was already trembling as she got a good look inside the empty space and saw things she hadn't seen from her table view. She had no idea what the odd metal bands marking the walls around the circumference of the alcove were for, but when she caught sight of the restraints hanging down from above, she got even more nervous. Her heart raced, and she turned to make a run for it.
It was pointless, of course, and she knew that. Where could she run on a spaceship? No one would protect her here, but for the first time since she'd arrived, she actually attempted to use her training to fight off the warrior. In her shock, she was a second too late in reacting, and he'd already caught her wrists and slapped a magnetic cuff around each one. Once they were secure, he let her go.
She was half-surprised that he didn't connect them to the restraints above her head, but she realized why when he activated the panels at either side of the alcove, and suddenly, there was a strong pulling at her wrists. No matter how hard she struggled to keep her hands free, they were inexorably drawn away from her body by the magnetic force exerted.
She'd worn herself out fighting it by the time her arms were straight out to her sides and there were tears of frustration running down her cheeks. "Let me go, you bastard!" she demanded, and not for the first time. "I want to go back to Earth. I-I quit!"
"This will be easier if you don't fight," D'aan commented calmly. His squatted next to her legs, and she kicked at him and called him names. He evaded her tired attempts easily as he placed a cuff around each ankle. Those, too, were soon pulled toward the opposite walls with a force that she couldn't resist, and she had to shift her legs wider and wider apart until her muscles ached with the spread. He tapped the panel, and the pulling stopped, but her arms and legs might as well have been locked in place, because no matter how hard she tugged, she could barely move. It didn't stop her from trying with all her strength, though.
He moved around to stand in front of her and watched with an amused look on his face until she gave up, sagging as much as the magnets would allow. "It's a static magnetic field, even the strongest warrior couldn't pull free with those cuffs on," he explained. Unspoken was that if they couldn't, then a small human female certainly wouldn't be able to, and she shot him a dirty look.
"I didn't know it was going to be like this, or I would not have come," she spat angrily.
He made a small gesture that expressed 'Oh, well' pretty clearly. "Maybe you would have come, anyway. I think you want to be here, girl. Most of the humans we've brought on board have thrown tantrums from time to time. I think they want the punishment—you must, or you wouldn't have said what you did to General Tal'aav. It's usually something we'd throw at an opponent in battle. It's a challenge, and he's accepted—poor you."
A challenge, which she'd said in front of most of the crew. "I didn't mean it like that. I heard someone say it once, and I was angry," she explained quickly.
"Yes, I imagine he's angry now, too, but today will be a nice morale booster for the crew. We don't have enough pets that one is put on display often." His hand cupped her chin, tilting her head to one side and then the other before he released her. "They will enjoy you," he said. The tone managed to be both amused and threatening at the same time, and she shivered as her stomach clenched nervously.
"Wh-what's going to happen?" she asked. Her voice was strained and low, very different from the angry attitude she'd had a few minutes before. It was beginning to sink in how much trouble she was in. Tal had been the only one she could have trusted to protect her, and now she'd embarrassed and angered him in front of his people.
D'aan gave her a broad smile. "Do you want me to show you, little human? Just a light taste, I think."
She shrank back and shook her head frantically. "N-no, I don't. P-please."
"Too bad, girl. You won't believe it, but you should be grateful that I'm preparing you. The faster you remember your place, the easier this cycle will be for you," he said. His voice was low and soothing, but it wasn't Tal's, and it didn't calm her the way his did, especially not with the reminder that she would be suffering for a full light cycle, about seven hours by Earth time. The thought made her shake, and she strained at the bonds, trying fruitlessly to move away.
He laughed and reached out to snag the front of her tunic, and with one harsh tug, the cloth was ripped from her body, leaving her completely naked. When he tossed it to the side, she realized now that the odd snaps were to make it quick and easy to remove while her arms were restrained. She didn't have time to focus much on the embarrassment, because he had more on his mind than just stripping her.
He wrapped an arm around her waist, and one hand slide between her widespread thighs, finding her wet and aching to be touched. She stopped trying to pull away and, instead, pushed into the touch. As his fingers slid through the folds, she cringed at the embarrassing way her body jumped hungrily, rocking her hips to ease the slide of his fingers. The humiliation of knowing she was making a display of herself didn't stop her, not even close, it might even have added something to the experience.
She worried that he was using that secretion from his fingertips to stop her from reaching her pleasure so that this would become just another torturous punishment with no end. The tenseness in her lower belly continued to grow, coiling like a spring as he slid one thick finger inside of her and her hips bucked in response. Then the question was answered as a wave of intense sensation rolled over her so suddenly, she gasped and then cried out. Clearly, stopping her from reaching climax wasn't on the agenda.