“God, you’re going to make an amazing criminal,” she said, pressing against him for a moment before turning around. She kissed him over her shoulder as she guided his hands to her stomach.
“Why does that sound so exciting? “he returned her kiss as she moved his hands down slowly. “I like you more this way, curvy,” he said between kisses. “Wild.” His touch echoed his appreciation, following her form down over her hips, then slowly upward.
The shower door was flung open, and a quick, strong hand yanked her out by the arm. “None of that, you brats,” she heard Master Kort grunt as he dragged her from the bathroom. His unnaturally broad features exaggerated his grimace as he dragged her through the next room then out into the hall. “What’s this on you? Disgusting slob!”
She knew he was talking about the dye that had come loose from her skin, but Aspen didn’t bother explaining. Her worry over what might happen next was the only thing on her mind. “Let me go!”
“And a slut,” he said, shoving her through a bedroom door across the hall. Aspen stumbled and fell at the foot of a massive bed. “I may not have found you before the UCA, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let you ruin the Countess’s plans for you now that you’re here. You see these guards?” he said, gesturing to the armoured pair standing at her doorway. “You’re on their leash now. Like their little fat dog. They will tell you where you have to go and when, what you have to do and with whom. They report directly to me, and if you misbehave in any way, I will punish you. It will be savage, and it will be public. Now wash yourself, and get six hours of sleep.”
Aspen scowled at the door for long minutes after Master Kort was gone and it was closed. She was completely aware that, out of most of the slaves in service to the Countess, her situation wasn’t so bad, but being told what to do by a master had her raging inside. Aware that anyone could be watching, she got up and made her way to the shower. It was identical to the one in Larken’s room. It activated as soon as she was inside and she stood there for several minutes, letting the vibrating water spray do the work as Aspen took stock of everything she knew.
What she experienced with Larken, the change in him while they were alone, and how he seemed more like himself proved that he was worth trusting. Even though the encounter was cut short, Aspen found herself convinced that he was the person she remembered, but grown into a man she loved. It could all be a trick, the possibility couldn’t be discounted, but the urge to trust him was powerful.
Even though he was only across the hallway, Aspen never missed Larken more, the ache she felt for him was as surprising as it was overwhelming. “Get yourself together,” she said to herself as she watched the last of the green, yellow and brown ink slink down the drain between her feet. The shower deactivated and the drying cycle started. The walls reflected an image of her that was in conflict with what she thought she ought to look like. Blonde hair, tanned skin, and a face that still bore too much colour shifting, an alternative to makeup that could last forever. Her face was adorned with bronze and light rouge, it looked garish and wrong to her.
Once she was dry, she walked to the bed and fell in. The orders were clear, she was to have six hours of sleep and she knew there was only one way to get it. Aspen’s frustration combined with her hunger pangs and thoughts of her crew would keep her up for days, unless she cheated. After wrapping herself in the thick comforter, she looked around the room one last time. The bed felt huge, and too soft compared to what she had become accustomed to on starships. The dimly lit room didn’t feel safe, Aspen didn’t have the power to determine who could come in and when, or even to lock the door. There was nothing she could do about it that night, and it was sure that she would be punished if she didn’t do exactly as Master Kort ordered. Aspen gave her orders to the built in sleep assist. “Six hours, sounds sleep, wake me if anyone or anything enters.”
The sensation of soothing waves, heat and massage comfort systems overtook her in minutes, and Aspen slipped into a deep, dreamless sleep.
05
The morning light stung Aspen’s eyes as she rolled out of the blanket cocoon she spent the night in. The results of resting in a Rest maker bed never agreed with her, it always felt like there were extra cobwebs to shake. There was a thin, white dressing gown on the end of the bed, and she left it there on the way to the shower. There was no worry about anyone looking in through the windows, she could see nothing but blue ocean and sky. Even still, she was never shy, dolls didn’t get permission to be.
Aspen emerged from the shower famished. “Good morning,” said Tinick in a high, sing-song voice from the bedroom. Pieces of clothing were already laid out along the bottom of the bed, but what drew Aspen’s attention immediately was a plate of food on a side table with two tall glasses of thick fruit juice and a tumbler of tea.
Tinick took her hands and led her to the table. “Eat everything, I’ll make sure you’re not disturbed, but I’ll have to dress you at the same time.” A napkin was pressed into Aspen’s hand along with a large slice of pineapple. “You must be famished, so just dig in.”
Aspen savoured the large slice of pineapple, something she hadn’t tasted since she escaped. Even though it was a little difficult at first, she ate with a measured pace.
Tinick took her robe off while she was eating. Before she finished the second pineapple ring the tall, furred fashion master was pulling a light, transparent garment around Aspen that stretched from the middle of her ribs to below her hips. “The Countess wants you in this gown almost two weeks ahead of schedule, and she wants me to do my best to have you down to the size you are supposed to be then, only now.” Tinick looked her in the eye and sighed. “If you ask me, you’re a lovely young thing, there are so many things I could drape over your form and you’d look wonderful, but you know how this goes.”
“The Countess gets what the Countess wants,” Aspen said, realizing what was about to happen after glancing at the slim purple gown on the bed. She put the napkin down and finished swallowing her last bite of pineapple. “I’m glad you didn’t let me finish that plate before this.”
“Are you ready?” Tinick asked.
“How many sizes am I supposed to go down?”
“Three. Well, three and a bit,” she said, activating the garment wrapped around her subject.
Aspen exhaled as most of her body was squeezed, almost falling over before it was finished. Then she tried to inhale and only caught a short breath. “Oh my God,” she gasped. “To tight!”
Tinick loosened the garment’s grip on her a little and Aspen was able to get most of a breath. “I’ve caught people,” she gasped, “wearing these, is it always this tight?”
“Oh, you’d be surprised at how tight this could go before you actually passed out,” Tinick said. “I hope you never find out for yourself, though. At least you’re not risking cracked ribs or spinal deformity, I’ve seen both many times when someone is trying to fit into an outfit. You’d think that would be at and end, but self-adjusting clothing just isn’t fashionable, I suppose. Try to finish your breakfast while you get used to that.”
Aspen finally caught a full breath. “This isn’t worth it,” she said, gesturing at the dress. “And I don’t know how much of that I’m going to get down while I’m being wrung out in the middle.”
“Just try, I had to trade the plate they put together for you for this one. There is a guest down the hall who is wondering why they are breakfasting on a melon wedge and a glass of juice. Just don’t sit down for a while after you’ve finished. I’m sorry to say, standing up straight may be the only way you can keep it down.”
Aspen did as she was told since she was still hungry anyway and was part way though her second slice of melon when she asked; “So, how is it here at the new palace?”
“I’ve been busy,” Tinick said. “There are many guests here who are wealthy refugees, so I’ve had to help dress most of them. The fashion industry has been just about crushed, since most manufacturing was driven by co
mputers and machines. I’ve become important again,” she said with a grin. “You never see them, but I have eight apprentices that are always sewing.”
“I never considered how busy you’d be without AI’s running the show.”
“Oh yes, a transport leaves every week with the clothing I make for the houses that still have estates away from here. It left just yesterday, should be back next week for another shipment. The Countess has been generous enough to let me run my shop from here, but then, it’s only a way to ensure that one of the last high calibre designers remains in her service.”
Aspen made a mental note to watch for that shuttle, it didn’t seem like the kind of thing that would be under heavy guard. She didn’t like how long it would be before it would return, however. “Are there a lot of side businesses running on the property?”
“Keep eating,” Tinick said before replying. “There are a number of them, all small operations though, so they use fast ships much like the Fleet Feather, only not quite as pretty.”
Aspen carefully started on the pre-cut grape fruit. “Is there any trade with people on the planet?”
“Oh, no. This world is in recovery. It was one of the first places that the UCA carpet bombed, mostly with EMP’s, when they started their campaign. The Countess moved in here shortly after her recovery, it didn’t take much work to restore, and the shield blocks out everything she doesn’t want to see. The Fleet Feather is our ferry. It’s used so much that it’s almost never locked when it touches down because there’s always a pilot inside, I suppose. Every time I’ve been on it there’s someone going here or there, mostly to the carrier hovering over the Countess’s hemisphere.” Tinick pointed out the window very specifically. “As soon as you leave the shield you can see it, a beautiful ship despite its purpose.”
“What does it do up there?”
“It keeps everyone outside the shield surrounding the estate in line, of course.”
“Of course.”
“All right, let’s get a few strawberries in you then get this dress on.” She waited until Aspen ate the five strawberries on the plate, had a chance to wash her hands, then the long dark purple gown was pulled down onto her. There was some firm pulling and twisting involved in getting it to fit, but both of them were pleased with the results once the silky, long dress was fitted, though Aspen appreciated it begrudgingly. She could barely breathe, she had to take much shorter steps, and there was no doubt that she would be singled out once she attended whatever event was waiting for her that day. “What is this for?” she asked.
“Court is being held all day today. The Countess is making an announcement this morning, there is a luncheon this afternoon, then she is holding a celebration for the return of her Consort. He’s conquered some new territory on a moon a few systems over, I couldn’t be bothered to listen to the details, to be honest.”
A knock on the door made Tinick jump a little. With a few long strides, she crossed the room, opened it and nearly growled; “A few minutes, please. She’ll be out when she’s ready.”
The designer closed the door firmly and returned her attention to Aspen, straightening the neckline and pulling on the dress on her hips. “If I were to size this for you without the compression girdle, you’d look much better, but we all have our orders. This is for you,” she said as she handed Aspen a small matching clutch. “The control for the girdle is inside.”
Aspen was alarmed as a rectangular square with the word; INITIALIZING blinked along her outer forearm and Tinick didn’t miss a beat as she wrapped one hand around the display, and held Aspen’s hand with her other larger digits in a sweet gesture. “Do take care of yourself, I’ll make sure there are a variety of properly fitted garments waiting for you when you come back. Oh, and take care with how you walk in this dress. The slits up the shins can rip all the way to the waist if you trip. The stitching is pretty, but not very strong.”
Aspen smiled at Tinick, mentally ordering her computer to deactivate. “I’ll be careful, thank you so much.”
“Time to go,” the woman said, gently guiding her to the door. “Remember, no rushing until you have to.”
“I will,” Aspen said, wondering what was able to reactivate her personal computer. It had to be something in the clutch, it only happened when Tinick put it in her hand, and the designer reacted to the screen on her skin activating so fast that she had to ask if she knew what was about to happen.
The computer and display were off by the time Tinick left her in the hallway, handing her off to Larken, who smiled warmly at her. “You look fantastic.”
“Thank you. I can’t breathe,” Aspen said.
“Oh, the dress? I was talking about this,” he said, caressing her cheek. “I didn’t even notice the dress.”
For a moment she forgot that there were four guards in platinum and gold armour behind them, that she was trying to plan an escape, and kissed him briefly.
“On we go, love birds,” one of the guards said behind them. His voice was muffled by a round golden faceplate with platinum leaf embellishments. He looked ridiculous.
They were led to the main hall. It was empty this time except for a garish ornament in the centre with green and silver vines climbing a latticework that reached all the way to the ceiling. There was a place for two people to stand at the bottom, and the guards led them to it. “Do you have any idea why we’re the centre piece this morning?” Aspen asked as courtiers trickled in.
“I don’t know anything about this,” Larken said as he took her hand. Her computer sent a passive notification that it just downloaded everything he had in his personal data storage the moment their hands touched. It was running exactly as she was accustomed. Most of the crewmembers of the Cool Angel had a program installed on their computers that could passively download the contents of systems it came into contact with. Aspen’s could send simple notifications through her nervous system so she could see what it was doing, even when it was technically off. The display, sound and active systems were off, making it seem like there was no activity.
“I’m sorry about what happened last night,” Larken whispered to her.
“That wasn’t your fault,” she replied.
“I could have taken a second to warn you instead of asking you questions and trying to explain myself.”
“I mostly remember how good it felt to be with you,” Aspen said, as much to reassure him as to make sure he knew she enjoyed their short private time together.
“Did you sleep?”
“I had to use the Dreamwave,” Aspen replied. “I got some.”
The Countess entered through the main doors then. Her dress was a loud affair with shifting rose, green and blue tints. The sleeves and the bottom were designed to look like outrageously large rose blooms that were only outdone by the one at the neckline that provided great panels behind her long neck and head. Aspen couldn’t help but notice how frail she looked with her elongated arms, legs, neck and torso.
Courtiers applauded, some of whom were still coming in through doors hidden in the alcoves along the sides of the massive hall. It took at least half an hour for the hall to fill with murmuring, expectant courtiers, and when it did the sound of the main doors shutting echoed throughout the space.
The Countess’ Consort emerged from the passage behind her throne. His dark purple jacket was adorned with silvered armour plates, and heavy tails along the back and sides moved with his stride as they struck his gold coloured, thick leggings.
His widened face grinned at the hundreds of courtiers before he gently took his lady’s hand and kissed the back. Aspen wondered if he’d had more cybernetic and cosmetic work done in her absence. When she left he already had a full exoskeleton frame installed along with a secondary organ package that could take over if anything vital was destroyed. As for cosmetics, she knew his chest was broadened, legs lengthened and widened, and his face – a palette for only exaggerated expressions – looked broader than any human’s should at the cheekbones and fore
head. The Countess and her consort reminded her of creatures out of some fever induced nightmare where the laws of proportion were discarded in favour of horrifically twisted aesthetics that could only be distressing.
Kort stood beside the throne, grinning like some Cheshire creature, the metal irises in his eyes catching and reflecting light unnaturally. “Today my Countess will announce the impending arrival of a modern miracle. I call your attention to my radiant love, the one and only Countess of the Lucent Sector.”
“Thank you,” the Countess said. “My consort deserves a great deal of credit. He has hunted in the most dangerous parts of our space for the clues that will bring this idea to life. His dedication to this endeavour has endeared him to me even more. Cast your eyes to the middle of the room, you will see two beautiful creatures, my Larken and Aspen.”
Aspen hated being on display for these people. They turned and practically leered at her. If she weren’t so afraid of what the Countess was going to say next, she’d have found a way to excuse herself the moment eyes were back on the throne.
“They were made to match each other like perfect lovers before they were conceived. An amazing genesis centre in the Geist System fabricated a sperm and egg for each from scratch, then they were combined, and some time later, Aspen and Larken were born. Maturation and organic programming technology grew them until they were old enough, and well trained enough to be effective children to my court. This only took three months, there is no better technology anywhere else for creating perfect beings. Well, almost perfect. These enterprising scientists and business people knew that if they made my adopted children perfect, then I would have little reason to buy a new generation. They built in a feature that will end their lives in two years, and another that renders them unable to breed with each other or anyone else. Oh, they can try, and I was assured that the experience for them would be pleasurable, and that onlookers would be entertained, but there would be no offspring. I was willing to trade these limitations for the pair of angels you see before you now. Then things changed. The facilities they used were overrun by artificial intelligence controlled machines who slaughtered almost all of them. No one can order a perfect pair like these or any other variation. That is not where the story ends, however,” the Countess said, gesturing to Kort.
Trapped: Chaos Core Book 1 Page 5