Dominance and Dissent

by Cynthia Sax

  Dissent could tire of her defiance and sell her to another being. The cyborg could use her as collateral for a loan. He could die.

  She winced. That last possibility stabbed her in the heart.

  Her concern over Dissent’s possible death was followed by irritation with herself. Caring for her first owner, her father, was how she ended up in Zloy’s cruel clutches. She would be a fool to allow her heart to decide her actions again.

  It didn’t matter how handsome her current master was, how kind he acted, how safe she felt with him. She had to leave him, had to take control of her own future.

  Escape was her only option.

  She grabbed the private viewscreen, scanned through it. A message from Truth, one of the brethren Dissent had mentioned, popped up.

  ‘Truth is one of the best warriors in the universe.’ That was displayed in huge letters.

  Her lips twitched. She closed the message.

  ‘Dissent is Truth’s friend, which makes him skilled by association.’ That was the next communication.

  She closed that also. A smile spread across her face.

  Dissent had a friend, a true friend, not bootlicking cronies like Zloy had. She would never meet that friend. She was escaping. Soon. But it warmed her heart that he had one.

  He wouldn’t be alone…as she would be.

  She searched for information on cyborgs, seeking to learn everything about the being who now owned her. Most of the data came from the Humanoid Alliance, his makers, and much of it was wrong.

  Cyborgs weren’t unfeeling machines, as the files relayed. They didn’t merely follow orders, ending lifespans on command. They were difficult to kill. That detail was true. She grimaced, remembering the gruesome throat-slitting incident. But they did experience pain. She’d seen the agony in his eyes.

  According to the files, cyborgs were slaves like she was. They served the Humanoid Alliance, were under the humans’ complete control.

  That wasn’t fuckin’ true. Not any longer. Her laugh held little humor. Now, cyborgs owned humans. They owned slaves. One particular cyborg was her master.

  He radiated dominance, not the submission expected from a slave. Even when he had followed her command, had fucked himself, his proud stance and the strength in his form communicated he was choosing to do that.

  Fuck. That had turned her on.

  Greer pressed the private viewscreen to her chest, rolled onto her back, stared up at the ceiling. She refused to feel guilty about wanting him. Any female would feel the same way.

  Dissent was tall and broad, made of pure muscle, could lift her as though she weighed nothing. When he gazed at her with his dark brown eyes, she melted. Her pussy was wet simply thinking about him. He spoke to her with reverence, treated her with respect. And an energy flowed from him to her when he touched her.

  Her desire for her new master wouldn’t stop her from leaving him.

  She set the private viewscreen aside. The information supplied about cyborgs was a load of bovine shit. She couldn’t use it to plan her escape.

  Needing to take action, she rolled off the sleeping support and roamed around the chamber. She rummaged through wall compartments, shifted furniture, tested the solidity of the porthole again and again.

  The sun had risen. The pathway was lit.

  She watched as beings passed the chamber. Children skipped beside their parents, their expressions carefree. A nourishment fabricator carried a container stacked with his offerings. Two males held hands, looked at each other lovingly.

  None of the beings had collars around their necks or brands on their chests. She skimmed her fingertips over Zloy’s mark on her. They were free.

  She would be free soon also. Greer gazed out the porthole, dreaming of the future.

  With a little bit of imagination, she became the female carrying an armful of blooms. The male popping out of a doorway to steal a kiss was her lover. He was courting her, showing her respect in public, teasing her in private.

  A mother accompanied by her twin boys passed the porthole and Greer became that female. It was she who wiped the dust off the children’s garments. Caring and pride was reflected in her eyes.

  She lived dozens of lives from her position inside the structure. And for those moments, she felt free and valued and as worthy as any other being on Altair Alpha. Happiness wrapped around her, as securely as the garments the females wore.

  Then an elderly male hobbled along the pathway and all of that fragile joy she was experiencing vanished. The male had been her father’s friend, had shown her respect when he’d been alive. They’d eaten nourishment together. She’d hosted him in her father’s domicile.

  After her father had died, the male had paid Zloy credits to have her.

  Revulsion rolled over her. She hurried to the horizontal support, poured container after container of water over her head, attempting to scrub away the memory of his fingers, his sweat, his breath, off her body.

  Liquid puddled around her feet. The stain on her soul remained, would never be removed.

  “Fuck.” She cursed the universe, railed against fate, funneling her despair, her sadness, her self-disgust into anger. “Fuck.” She ran her hands over her form, rubbing her skin until it was red, until her body hurt as much as her heart.

  Something shattered in the cleansing chamber. Nibbler had awakened. His clicking and rattling was accompanied by crashing and grinding. The little creature sounded as furious as she was.

  “Do it, Nibbler.” She picked up a large piece of fruit. “Show them.” She threw the fruit at the wall. It splattered, the juice and guck going everywhere. “Destroy it all.”

  She yelled encouragement and pelted the wall with nourishment. The destruction was deeply satisfying. She smashed everything she could lift.

  When there was nothing left, she gazed at the debris, pleased with herself. Her chest heaved. Her arms were weary. Some of the pain inside her had dissipated.

  The chamber, both chambers, were quiet.

  “Nibbler, are you okay?” She called out to the baby creature.

  Silence answered her.

  She approached the cleansing chamber with caution. While feeding Nibbler, she had seen his many mouths with their numerous sharp teeth. And Dissent had told her Nibbler wanted to eat her. She had to assume the miljoonasuut was dangerous.

  Turning on the lights wasn’t necessary. There was a huge gaping hole in the exterior wall. The sun’s rays streamed into the small space. Nibbler had eaten through the base of the wall and the entire side of the structure had fallen.

  There was no sign of the miljoonasuut.

  “Nibbler.” She stepped carefully around the debris. The wall fragments appeared sharp and her feet, as well as the rest of her body, were bare.

  A rattle sounded from outside the cleansing chamber. She bent over to fit through the opening, exited the space. A mound of pebbles vibrated on the pathway. Nibbler was attempting to burrow downward. He must have been trying to escape the harmful light.

  A preoccupied male, with his arms loaded with folded garments, almost stepped on the creature. Other beings gawked at her and at the remnants of the wall.

  She quashed the urge to run, to escape their curious gazes. The miljoonasuut had freed both of them by creating the hole in the wall. She couldn’t leave him on the pathway to suffer, to perhaps be trampled by beings who didn’t notice their kind—the enslaved, the owned.

  “Calm down, Nibbler.” She wished she knew his language, hoped her voice would soothe him. He wasn’t alone. She was with him. “I’ll help you.”

  She gathered two large pieces of wall panel, leaned one piece against the other, forming a small shelter for the miljoonasuut. That shielded him from the sunlight.

  The frantic rattling and teeth clicking stopped. The fluttering in her stomach eased. The baby creature was no longer in pain, was no longer scared.

  “You’re protected from the sun.” She had accomplished that goal. “Now, I have to ensure no on
e steps on you.”

  Dissent had told her a miljoonasuut’s segmented exoskeleton was extremely tough, but Nibbler was merely a baby. His body might not be fully formed.

  And no one enjoyed being trampled.

  She retrieved more debris, using it to erect barriers around the miljoonasuut. When the sun set, Nibbler could eat through those knee-high walls and scurry to wherever he chose to venture.

  And the obstacles would prompt beings to take easier routes. They wouldn’t step on him.

  “I’ve done what I can do to help you, Nibbler.” She stepped back, surveyed the results. “You should be safe. Wait until it’s dark before you demolish what I’ve built for you.”

  She paused. Her heart didn’t want to leave the baby creature.

  Or to leave Dissent.

  But she might not get an opportunity to escape again. She had to take it.

  “I wish you well.” She kissed her fingertips and touched Nibbler’s shelter. “Thank you for freeing me. I’ll never forget you.”

  She’d never forget her cyborg either, would always remember his kindness toward her, a rarity in a brutal universe.

  Greer took one last look at the shelter, at what was left of the wall. She then turned and ran, heading toward the main gates, toward the ships parked outside of it, toward freedom.

  Pebbles dug into the soles of her feet. The sun’s rays heated her shoulders.

  Beings stared at her, a naked female dashing along the settlement’s pathways. Children pointed their fingers. Males leered at her.

  They confirmed she could never have a normal life while residing on the planet. Too many residents had seen all of her. Too many males had used her.

  Dissent would discover that, would no longer look at her with admiration, treat her with care.

  That had happened with the friend of her father. The shift in his opinion of her had been more hurtful than any whip, any dagger tip.

  She didn’t want to experience that humiliation again.

  A fresh start was needed. She had to go somewhere no one knew her, where her history was unknown. The shame and the pain would be left behind her.

  She bumped into a horizontal support. The merchant’s goods scattered on the pathway.

  “I’m sorry.” She picked up one of the fallen containers.

  “Don’t touch my goods, you dirty slave.” The merchant snatched the container from her. His gaze lowered to the mark on her chest. “Where’s your master?” His voice raised and heads turned. “He owes me credits and you deserve a good whipping for your carelessness.”

  “It’ll get that good whipping and more.” A terrifyingly familiar voice sounded behind her. “This slave’s master has been looking for it.”

  She turned. The Humanoid Alliance male approached, a smirk on his face. Two similarly dressed males followed him.

  Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. She ran, pumping her arms and legs. Her breasts jiggled, that hurt penance for her foolishness. She shouldn’t have stopped, shouldn’t have tried to help the merchant.

  “You can’t escape us, slave.” The Humanoid Alliance male shouted at her.

  A bolt of blue energy struck the wall beside her head. He was shooting at her, his guns’ settings on stun.

  Because death by projectile would be too quick, too painless for her. They wanted to torture her first.

  Her muscles strained as she dashed toward the settlement’s exit, moving as quickly as she could. Sweat coursed down her back, over her ass, along her legs. She navigated a corner, not slowing. Her feet slipped out from under her. Her left hip grazed the stone. Pain seared across her.

  She regained her balance and ran faster. A burst of energy hit a female standing to her right, freezing the being in place, putting her at the mercy of everyone around her.

  That would be Greer’s fate if she didn’t reach the gates.

  She spotted that exit. The space between the high pillars, the break in the wall, represented freedom. She was so close, so very, very close.

  Gathering her remaining energy, she sprinted toward the gates, zigging and zagging between slower pedestrians. Hope unfurled within her with every step. She could taste liberation, smell it. Her chest expanded. She—

  A force struck her back, the pain intense. She was flung forward, tried to lift her arms to protect her face. Her limbs didn’t move, didn’t respond to her brain’s command.

  Fuck. The Humanoid Alliance male had stunned her.

  Her chin cracked against the hard stone. She skidded to a stop, unable to lessen the impact of her fall. Agony ripped at her. Blood scented the air.

  A crowd formed around her. They were aware, as she was, that the worst was yet to come. The Humanoid Alliance male and his friends would torture her before returning her to Zloy.

  There wasn’t anything she could do to prevent that. She couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, couldn’t offer any resistance. It would be many moments before she regained that ability.

  Her fate was fixed. She would be tormented and then she would die. Freedom, true liberation, would be denied her. Blood dripped from her face.

  Would her cyborg care enough to uncover what had happened to her? Would he mourn the loss or would he shrug his broad shoulders and find a new female to keep?

  A small part of her envied that new slave. Dissent would touch the female gently, as he had touched her.

  Maybe that slave wouldn’t mind being caged. Greer had met beings like that, slaves who had embraced their role, who had given up on the prospect of freedom, snatching whatever snippets of happiness they could from their brutal life.

  That wasn’t her. Would never be her. Even as she lay on the pathway, limp and helpless, she longed for liberation, wanted to be in control of her body, her future.

  That future would be short. Footsteps sounded behind her, the multiple treads heavy. Pain and death were coming for her. The ringing of boot heels against the stone pathway grew louder and louder. It echoed the pounding of her heart.

  “Zloy is furious with you. The Balazoid was his best customer.” A maniacal glee colored the Humanoid Alliance male’s voice. “You’ll pay for that, slave. In skin.”

  The other males laughed.

  “Where is your machine now?” Their leader’s boots came into view. “I would like to bring him to Zloy also. Well, parts of him.”

  The laughter echoed. It felt like a nightmare, one she couldn’t awaken from.

  “Do you know what the Humanoid Alliance does with cyborgs when they cease to be useful?” The male crouched, grabbed a handful of her hair, and yanked her head upward, lifting her gaze. “They decommission them. The cyborg is given a prolonger. That ensures they remain activated for the entire duration. Then they are sliced apart while alive, their still-functional parts salvaged. If they were beings, it would be the most painful death imaginable.”

  They were beings. Greer’s time with Dissent had shown her that. He lived. He felt. He cared.

  “But they aren’t beings.” The male released her hair. Her head flopped down again. “They’re machines. And you are a slave. You’re not a being either.”

  She was a being. Her soul cried out with that truth.

  “I wonder if you experience pain.”

  She did feel pain and she would soon experience a lot of it. Her stomach knotted with despair.

  “Fortunately, we always bring prolongers with us.” The Humanoid Alliance male gripped her arm. A quick sharp pain pierced her skin. “We can test our theory.”

  They wouldn’t allow her to lose consciousness. She couldn’t escape them that way.

  Fuck.

  “Move it off the main pathway.” The male kicked her side. Pain radiated over her ribs. “We don’t want an audience for what we plan to do to it.”

  His laugh was wrapped in menace.

  Her wrists were gripped and she was dragged over the stone pathway. The grit shredded her skin. Hurt enveloped her.

  The bubbling sensation inside of her intensified. The nanocybotics hadn
’t been rendered immobile, not like the rest of her.

  She wouldn’t be alone when she died. A part of her cyborg was with her.

  And Dissent was hers, her cyborg, her master, her one brief shining moment of happiness, her inspiration. He had done what she had failed to accomplish—he had escaped his cruel owners.

  That gave her some solace. He was free. He would live.

  Greer retreated within her mind, picturing Dissent, remembering his careful handling of her, the respect he’d shown her. If she could, she would close her eyes, lose herself in her too few memories of him.

  But even that escape was denied her. Unable to move, she would be forced to see everything.

  Bracing herself, she waited for the torture to begin.

  Chapter Seven

  1451. Dissent recounted the number of beings whose details he’d gathered, transmitting that data through the private transmission lines.

  He was covering his terrain in an organized manner, starting at one end and moving up and down pathways, touching every being he passed, recording their genetic information.

  1164. I’m gaining on you, J Model. Truth’s progress had been delayed. It had taken him a few moments to set up the recording devices placed by the modified freighters. The footage was now being streamed to the D Model’s processors and he was determined to surpass Dissent’s number.

  3867. Neither of them could match North’s tally. The warrior was focused on his mission.

  Someone is overclocked. Truth laughed.

  I was in position at the beginning of the shift. North’s tone was dry. That increases efficiency.

  You will have to be satisfied with that number for the shift. Dissent headed toward the structure he shared with Greer and Nibbler. I have to return to my chambers.

  His female hadn’t communicated with him. That concerned him.

  He also required physical contact with her. His cock strained against the confines of his body armor. All of him ached for her touch.

  At this rate, we will require the three additional planet rotations Captain granted for this mission. North’s tone conveyed his disapproval.

  I require a ship. Dissent reminded the warrior of his previous request.