by Ravenna Tate
“As what?” Even as she asked the question she knew the answer. Both men, at least, had the grace to color slightly.
“As exactly what you’re thinking,” said Vaughn. “But they were housed in lavish facilities, and kept well fed and very comfortable. They serviced the men of all three planets, but no one forced them to have sex. They came here voluntarily.”
“Wait. You said all three planets. I thought the Regum hated sex?”
Vaughn chuckled. “They don’t hate it. They just don’t want our women to enjoy it. And even some of the Regum don’t always follow their own laws. To allow the Velone women to be brought here in the first place, the Regum repealed the laws which make seeking the pleasure of a woman outside of marriage a crime, but then the star around which Velone revolved exploded.”
“How horrible.”
“Yes, it was. And even worse, the Regum used this as a way to ‘prove’ they were right all along. They told their people it was a punishment for them having brought the Velone women to Voyeur Moon, and they closed the brothels on that planet and took the Velone women to Sera. They gave them legitimate jobs and pretended nothing had ever happened.”
“You know, all this time, I thought they were the good guys. But you’re not painting them in a favorable light right now.”
River held up a hand. “Hold on. Wait until you hear more about the Tyranns before you judge. I’m not saying the Regum are perfect, but I’d place my fate in their hands over the Tyranns if given no other choice.”
“Why did the Tyranns want Voyeur Moon to begin with? Didn’t others live there?”
“Not that many. You see, it’s a bit closer to our star than Sera or Addo, so the summers are brutal. It's also less aesthetically pleasing, with a rocky, barren terrain and less water than Sera or Addo. After the Velone star exploded, the rebellion against the Regum intensified, with the Tyranns rising up to become an entity of their own. The group took on that name, and made it their mission to oppose everything the Regum did, but especially their antiquated views toward sex.”
“But why the brutality against us? Is what I heard true, then?”
“It wasn’t supposed to be that way,” said Vaughn. “But a small faction within the Tyranns took matters into their own hands, and targeted Earth. The Regum and the Tyranns had been watching Earth for centuries, but the Tyranns had become more interested in exploiting humans than merely observing them. They were obsessed with your porn industry, and made a lot of assumptions about Earth women because of it.”
“Oh, you’re kidding.” She shook her head. “No way.”
“I’m ashamed to say it’s true.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You two aren’t Tyranns, are you?”
“No. We never were. We’re not from the ruling class, either. While the Tyranns thought all Earth women were obsessed with sex and would gladly come to Voyeur Moon and enjoy becoming sex slaves to them, the Regum had slowly been allowing the Tyranns to colonize Voyeur Moon as their own. Most of them believed if they gave the planet to the Tyranns, they wouldn't have to deal with them, but others felt all that would do is give the Tyranns more power, and make the rebellion they'd been waging even worse.”
“Sounds like the Regum never had control of the Tyranns to begin with.”
“We agree,” said River. “As the Regum fought among themselves on how to best deal with the growing extremism of the Tyranns, the Tyranns decided to invade Earth and capture its females with the intent of making them sex slaves for their males. But this time, they didn't plan on letting the Regum run the show, as they had done with the Velone women.”
“In the beginning,” said Vaughn, “the human females were to be treated as well as the Velone women were, but the more extreme Tyranns soon took over the operation and began building the Zoo instead.”
“So it is real.”
He raised a brow. “You’ve heard about that on Earth, too?”
She nodded.
“Our boss, Jakara, was one of many Tyranns who refused to help build the Zoo, and that subversion led him to be targeted by his superiors. By then, the Earth women were being brought to another facility called the holding cells because the Zoo wasn’t ready yet.”
He glanced toward his brother, and a nasty shiver ran down Marianne’s spine at the look that passed between them. “Entire families were taken there at the beginning. We haven’t been able to figure out where the men who weren’t sent to the mines here on Addo went, or the women who weren’t deemed suitable for the holding cells.”
She didn’t say anything. She merely waited, now holding her breath, and tried to push away the images racing through her mind. Who could come up with such a sick thing to do to an entire planet?
“The women who were deemed suitable as sex slaves were paraded in front of men who would come to the holding cells and choose them. They then became the property of those men. This is why Tyranns like Jakara opposed what was happening. None of you were supposed to be treated this way. No one but the extreme faction of Tyranns wanted this.”
She swallowed hard and blinked back tears, clenching her hands together in her lap to keep from screaming as images flashed through her mind. “What happened to Jakara?” Anything to move onto another subject.
“Jakara is one of a number of warriors who got caught up in the fight for their freedom,” said River, “but who didn't sign on for what is still happening to the females from Earth on Voyeur Moon. When he brought an Earth woman named Callie here, he took an instant liking to her. Her family was killed shortly before he brought her here, and his heart went out to her.”
“Why were they killed?”
“There were riots in the holding cells. The guards simply started shooting.”
Marianne’s heart nearly stopped at his words. “That isn’t what happened to my aunt and uncle, is it?”
Vaughn shook his head. “We are certain they’re still alive. The Tyranns wouldn’t have been so interested in bringing you to Voyeur Moon if they were dead.”
“So this place we’re in now … did it belong to the Tyranns, too?”
“Yes. This building used to house quarters for the Tyranns,” said River. “They had a hub here that they used for short transports back and forth to Voyeur Moon. This is where Jakara brought Callie before taking her to his home.”
“And you work for him now?”
“Yes. We both do. He couldn’t turn Callie over to the holding cells, where she would have waited to be chosen by men to be used at their will. That’s why he risked everything to take her for his own and hide her at his home on Voyeur Moon.”
“So he kidnapped her. But how was that any different than what other men would have done to her?”
“He was one of the Tyranns who opposed what his group was doing with the Earth women. He did not mistreat her. He’d hidden her for months, and they fell in love. One day they were out walking and a drone flew too close. She was likely spotted then. As the extreme faction of Tyranns’ depravity grew, Jakara pulled away more and more. He was finally forced to make a choice between his job and Callie when one of his friends betrayed him.”
“What happened then?”
“While Jakara was out flying a mission, this friend and Jakara’s Section Chief took Callie out of Jakara’s home and to the holding cells.”
“How did he get her back?”
“He enlisted the help of Eldon, a Regum that he’d known since childhood, and the two men disguised themselves and went to the holding cells, posing as men who wanted to choose a woman to take as their own. This was so common by then that no one gave them a second glance.”
“It still sounds risky.”
“It was. They could both have been recognized. But they were able to get her out of there, and now Jakara and Callie live here on Addo and work gathering intelligence on the Tyranns. She’s joined the fight to stop the Tyranns from taking everyone left on her planet.”
Marianne took a deep breath. Her chest no longer hurt, and t
he urge to cry had passed for now. “That’s an amazing story. We only had bits and pieces of what was going on, and I admit I didn’t believe the rumors about the Tyranns could be entirely true.”
“I’m afraid they are,” said River. “And now we have to keep them from finding out you’re here, while at the same time we find your aunt and uncle.”
She gazed at each of them in turn. “Thank you. I don’t know what to say. It sounds like you saved my life. But tell me how you came to be associated with my aunt and uncle. Did you work with them?”
River shook his head. “No. They helped us escape from prison. We both started a company that wrote software, and sold it and hardware to businesses on all three planets. When a few of our Regum clients demanded we stop doing business with Tyranns, we refused. We didn’t yet know what was going on with the women from your planet.”
She smiled. “We work in similar fields. I have a Master’s degree in marketing, and I worked as an IT consultant, advising businesses on what software and hardware they needed. Or at least, I did before the invasions began.”
“I wish we could change what happened.”
“None of us can. So what happened when you refused the Regum’s demands?”
“They trumped up charges against us. Jakara intervened and got your aunt and uncle involved. That’s what they did before they were taken by the Tyranns. They weren’t working on contract negotiations for long. Not once they realized what the Tyranns were doing to their own people. They left the Ministry on Sera and started working for the Addonians.”
Pride swelled within Marianne. That sounded exactly like something they would do. They had to be all right. These men would find them. They had to.
“They tricked the Tyranns into believing the Regum had dropped the charges in exchange for handing us both over for sentencing in the Zoo.”
“So, the Tyranns are using prisoners to have sex with women in this Zoo. And it’s for show? The Tyranns get paid for this?”
“Yes,” said Vaughn. “Quite a lot, from what we hear. The women are housed in lavish quarters with two or more men, and they’re forced to have rough sex with her several evenings a week while people watch. It’s a one-way screen, but they know they’re being watched and listened to.”
“That’s barbaric.”
“We agree. And for the male prisoners sent there, it’s considered the worst kind of sentence imaginable. They’re encouraged to use their female Earth captives to take out their frustrations on. The Tyranns want the men angry so they force the females into acts of depravity as their customers demand it more and more.”
“Why won’t the Regum help them?”
“Good question.”
“Is that part of what you’re hoping to do? Get that place shut down?”
“Yes. It has a few weak spots, but ever since the escape several months ago, they’ve tightened security on the entire planet.”
“Who escaped?”
“Two political prisoners named Cord and Arlo, along with Fallon, the Earth girl that was sent to live with them. They’re on Sera, working in the Ministry. Cord has a cousin who is a Regum of the Second Order, and he was able to get guards to help them escape. But it would be difficult for something like that to occur now.”
Marianne let out a loud exhale. Things here were far worse than any of the rumors that had circulated. But she was safe for now. She felt that down to her bones. And these two would help get her aunt and uncle back from Voyeur Moon. It would all be okay. It had to be.
Chapter Four
When Marianne woke, at first she had no clue where she was. Panic set in as she glanced around the unfamiliar room, so stark and plain. She smelled coffee and food, and then she heard a rich, sexy voice and it all came back to her.
The spacecraft near the lake, the quick, sharp pain in her arm, and then landing here, on another planet. And then she’d listened to Vaughn and River describe their world, its history, its convoluted politics, and the fact that her aunt and uncle were now prisoners of a ruthless group who called themselves Tyranns.
Holy fuck.
She was still in her clothes, which she supposed was a good thing. Although along with the memories of last night came the recollection of those men with the deep voices and dark hair that she wanted to run her fingers through. And their muscles and tats…
She remembered the conversation at the bar before being whisked here, and realized maybe Bonnie, Kathie, Jennifer, Sasha, and Pam were right? She was just as desperate to get laid as any of them. She had to be if she was imagining Vaughn and River naked at a time like this.
Marianne climbed out of bed and glanced around, noticing the clothes laid out on a chair, and a note on top of them. She picked it up and read.
We guessed your size on the clothes. Hope they fit. And we procured personal items for you. They’re in the bathroom. Take your time getting ready and then join us for breakfast. River and Vaughn.
She shook her head. Didn’t they need to sleep? What time was it? The only clock in the room was a tiny digital one that read 9:02. If that meant the same thing here as it did on Earth, it was morning. And she also realized she no longer felt sick to her stomach, and she did not have a headache. Whatever Vaughn had put in that water really helped, but she still wasn’t going near alcohol again for the rest of her life.
Marianne went into the bathroom and inspected the tiny ceramic and glass bottles and pots. They might not have brand name labels on them, but she had everything here she needed. She took a quick shower and then fished in her bag, which they had left on the dresser, for her makeup. She didn’t have much in there, and decided the hell with it. They’d seen her at her worst last night and hadn’t run away in fear, so this morning she’d have breakfast with them bare-faced.
After she brushed out her hair and realized she’d have to let it air dry, she put on the clothes. The bra was actually a camisole, but at least there were panties. She hoped they were new. It felt weird to put on underwear when she had no idea if it had been worn by someone else before. The tunic and pants were soft, almost like silk, and draped her body in a comfortable way. They’d also left her a pair of ornate slip-on shoes that reminded her of ballet slippers, so she put those on, too.
She wondered what else was in the room, so opened the dresser drawers to find more underwear. Then she opened the closet door and found an entire row of tunics and pants, plus dresses. Where had they come from, and how deeply had she slept that she hadn’t heard them in here or in the bathroom?
The last thing she did was debate whether to wear her engagement ring on the chain, or hide it somewhere. It wasn’t that she was embarrassed to wear it, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to explain Jacob to Vaughn and River. Then again, what harm could that do? Maybe they’d even be able to help her find out what had happened to him? She put the chain around her neck and tucked the ring under her tunic. If they asked about it, she’d tell them.
When she surveyed the look in a full length mirror, she smiled. Not too shabby, and she actually looked more rested than she had in a long time. She followed the smell of food, taking in the stark decorating in the quarters that she’d overlooked last night. Of course, she didn’t expect it to be furnished like a palace, but a few pictures on the walls or something would add some warmth to the place.
Why are you worried about the damn decorating? This isn’t your home.
Marianne shook away the doubt and fear beginning to creep in. No, it wasn’t her home, but right now she was stuck here, so she might as well make the best of it. She no longer had to stock groceries and contemplate having sex with a teenager simply because he was cute. No more fighting off gangs of roving people trying to take over the building she lived in, and she would never again have to worry whether there might not be water or electricity that day.
Her planet was dying, and the Tyranns had killed it. They had her aunt and uncle. If she could help the Addonians find and rescue them, she was going to do that. Because what was her
alternative?
And she could do worse than Vaughn and River for companions.
****
Vaughn let out a sound halfway between a groan and a sigh when Marianne walked into the kitchen. “Well aren’t you a sight for sore eyes. Did you sleep well?” She looked rested. And fucking beautiful. The clothes fell against her lush body in soft folds, but clung to her just enough that he could see the outline of her curves. His dick was rock hard within seconds.
“I did. Thank you.”
Her face was free of paint, which he loved, and her hair was still damp. He squirmed slightly in his seat as images of her in the shower filled his mind. “Come and sit down. Have some food. Do you drink coffee?”
“Yes, I do. It smells great. Thank you.” She took a seat at the table. “Don’t you two need to sleep?”
“Not as much as you do,” said River.
She sipped her coffee. “This is delicious. Where did you get all the clothes and personal items?”
“We have our sources,” said Vaughn.
She grinned, and he had trouble staying in his chair. “That sounds very mysterious.”
“Oh, it is. We go to the commissary on the other side of this base and choose things. Very mysterious.”
She laughed, and the sound was like manna to his ears. “Well now I feel guilty. You paid for all this and I have no money to repay you.”
Oh holy fuck. He glanced toward River, who looked equally ready to come in his pants. “Well, I’m sure we’ll think of some way for you to repay us.” And then he held his breath as he waited for her reaction.
She lowered her gaze and stuffed food into her mouth, but he didn’t miss the slight coloring of her cheeks. “This is good. Very good.”
“The food here is fresher than what you’re used to.”
She nodded and kept eating, and sipping coffee, but didn’t glance at either of them for several minutes. When she finally did, the pain on her face was palpable. “Look, I have to get this out or I won’t say it at all. Last night was a lot to take in, but I’m glad it’s all out in the open now. I have no idea how I can help, but I want to. I have no life back on Earth, and my only real family is on Voyeur Moon. I want to help you set them free.”