Chapter 7 - Business as Unusual

“Hold still or I'll make you hold still!” Tani sighed loudly, holding her hands above the digits of the rabbit opposite her.

 

The Slave garbled a nonsense response from her throat, staring back at Tani with dead, purple eyes; thoughtless, lost and hungry.

 

Slowly, the Slave’s claws began to grow as Tani focused, turning from an off-grey to a deep black as the claws enlarged, an ominous purple sheen visible in the right light. Once they reached an appropriate size, Tani broke away, her shoulders slumping but her expression satisfied.

 

“Look at those! We can get them all painted and gorgeous again, just like in the club, Henny! But remember, we don’t use these claws on friends, okay? They’re super sharp! Only use them when I tell you, okay?”

 

The Slave’s eyes wandered, searching around the abandoned shop fruitlessly.

 

“Oh, don’t be like that. I didn’t mean to leave you until last, Henny. I swear! Mina had me forging her lot too! Between that and Moltezz running us around like headless chickens, I've been busy! C’mon, let's get you back with the pack. Oh, and stop bullying Monday, Henny. There’s plenty of ass to go around, we can all get our fair share.”

 

Henny garbled again, almost in response.

 

“I mean it, keep your grabby hands off her. Don’t make me puppet you! I got my own claws! I’ll make you my bottom bitch for a week!”

 

Tani stood from her stool, the tips of her long ears licking the ceiling. Between her ears she now had a pair of upright horns, their complexion the same as Henny’s new claws. Her once pristine white fur was now a jet-black to match her sclera. Every curve of her body was bolder, thicker, her once modest breasts now fully packing her crimson shirt and stretching the buttons out tightly.

 

Henny shuffled towards the back of the shop, and out the backdoor to the innards of the station. Tani closely watched every step she took.

 

Be careful, darling. Stay with the pack. Tani thought to herself, concern gracing her pretty face. She casted a glance towards the clock on the wall. Ugh, it's briefing time. I was hoping for a cheeky fuck before then.

 

She departed from the shade of the shop and headed back into the bright lights of Barru X’s main mall, currently filled with various crates, weapons, Slaves, Nodes and freshly acquired prisoners. The leering, wine-red form of Cherry stood head and shoulders above them all, dragging a line of chained-up Marks deeper into the space station. Half of them looked terrified and quivered as they walked, while the other half seemed caught between staring at the czarite’s shapely butt, and the various naked figures around them.

 

“~Tani, you’re late. Get the fuck in the briefing room, before I choke you out again.~” Cherry’s voice boomed in her head.

 

She shouldn’t threaten me with a good time. She has no idea how hard I -

 

“~I can hear you, dumbass.~”

 

For a split second, Tani swore she saw a grin flash on Cherry’s face as she left with the line of new Marks. After a few seconds of internal silence, Tani carried on.

 

I don’t think I'll ever get used to my thoughts not being my own. Still. Cherry can choke me, anyday.

 

She decided to heed Cherry’s ‘warning’ however, and make her way quickly to the room in question. It had been a rentable meeting room in Barru X’s olden days, but now it was strewn with weapons, papers and plans. Tani pushed through the glass door and took the nearest seat at the large oval-shaped table, in the centre of the room.

 

At the head of the table Plum stood, stroking her chin with a single finger. Her eyes slowly scanned the various other occupants of the room. Most were Nodes like Tani, but also sat at the table were three Marks, all dressed in military gear, half smirking, half serious. Their gaze flickered between Plum’s immense hips, and the various bodies of the Nodes. Of the Marks, there was a human girl wearing a red beret, a black rat male with shimmering green eyes, and a thin, pale crocodilian man with a great scar along his snout.

 

“Tani. Thank you for coming. Looks like we’ve got a full house of Nodes and Imprinted. For the benefit of the Imprinted, I'll vocalise.” The room darkened and a hazy projector flickered on, shining a map of the local sector onto the wall beside her. “Our raking on the local moisture farms and fuel dumps has gone as planned, with Cherry bringing back the latest spoils just a few minutes ago. We’ve been focused on cleaning out the sparsely populated areas up until this point, but now we’re about to hit our first real challenges. Everything up until now has been easy.”

 

Tani tilted her head slightly, taking in the details of the map as Plum continued. Her silky voice sent shivers down the rabbit's spine, despite the serious discussion.

 

“We’ve got more fortified areas of nomad space to our local west. They’re prepared for war it seems, as they’re being pressured by Vora Barons on their other flank. Me and Bubble both agree that this area of space is medium risk, low reward. People are good but equipment is what we need if we’re to break out of the mega-corp triad. To our north is Darkpaw industries; they’re heavily equipped compared to the nomads and our intel suggests that they just spent on something big. Even by their standards. Geographically speaking, Darkpaw are blocking us from their two biggest competitors, so we’ll need to go through them before we can expand any further in that direction. They’re shielding us from their competitors, but Darkpaw are the biggest of the triad, which means… It means a lot of things. We’re penned in by the DA border to the south and the east, with only more nomad’s between us and them.”

 

Plum tapped on the wall with a pointer, her glowing locks of hair hanging rather tantalisingly in the dim light of the room. Tani was finding it increasingly difficult to stay focused on her words as her mind wandered.

 

“We’re all in agreement that engagements with the DA are to be kept to a minimum and incursions into their territory are only to be done when absolutely necessary. Which leaves us with two main choices for our next move. We push to the west and start fighting the alerted nomads, and potentially Vora Barons, or we push to the north and start working our way into Darkpaw.”

 

“DO NOT TOUCH DARKPAW!” Tani suddenly yelled out as if she was being murdered, bolting upright in the chair, her body stiff.

 

Plum squinted at her for a moment before rolling her eyes, placing her hands firmly on her absurdly thick hips.

 

“Ink. If you want to join in, you must be physically present. Moltezz made that quite clear, didn’t she? You can’t just use Tani as your stand-in.”

 

“I’M BUSY.” Tani yelled again, a passenger in her own body. “YOU CANNOT ATTACK DARKPAW YET.”

 

“I wouldn’t suggest any outright assault anyway. They’re a much tougher target, we need to get intel on them first.”

 

“I AM WORKING ON THE INTEL. DO NOT TOUCH DARKPAW. OR I’LL RAPE THE LOT OF YOU.”

 

Tani relaxed back into her seat, stretching her jaw out as her body became her own once again. The rest of the room looked around at each-other awkwardly before focusing their attention back on Plum.

 

“Right. I’ll… talk to Moltezz about that later. Let's focus on the nomads then? Kross, am I right in thinking you can advise us on that?” Plum’s pretty eyes landed on the human girl, who flicked her curling black hair over her shoulder and nodded firmly.

 

“The Barons are winning every fight they pick. It's open season on the nomads out there.” Her voice came with a thick slavic tint, highly unusual for this part of space. “My scouts are being routed but they tell me that the nomad militia are losing their will to fight, they’re scared shitless and lose people every time they clash. Considering what Barons do to those they capture, it's not really a surprise.” She chuckled softly, but her hand gently drifted over to the pistol strapped at her side. “They’re trying to recruit mercenary aid but the few mercs that do take the jobs don’t make it back. The stories of the Baron’s victories are travelling far. With the mercs bailing the sector and the nomad’s in full defensive isolation, I think we should be making plans to deal with the Barons rather than the nomads, for when we eventually collide with them - if we’re not to proceed north.”

 

“Hmm… Kaiden? Any advice on that front?” Plum asked the rat, turning to view the map again.

 

“Barons are heavy hitters, slow but effective.” He said softly, his voice practically a whisper. He folded his arms and stared at the map intensely, eyes focused on the coloured borders. “From what I've seen, small strike teams of well-equipped Nodes would fare much better than a swarm of Slaves. Baron ballistics are often augmented with explosive secondary weapons; killing groups of Slaves wouldn’t be difficult for them. I’d advise the Nodes keep their distance though, Barons can be pretty beefy and are perfectly comfortable with close-quarter combat. I’m sure someone like Tani could hold her own pretty well, but I lost a squadmate to a Baron who bit his head off. Gnarly sight. They fight dirty. Stealth would be my first choice, pick them off in their own ships. Open combat against them is a nightmare.”

 

“What about ship to ship?”

 

“Difficult. Starting ship to ship combat against them causes them to open fire with their guns, which they usually try to avoid. Considering the size of their roamer fleets, unless we can bring as much armour and weapon-power as them, we’d be signing our own death warrants. Ideally, we pick the scouts off and leave the fleet blind, then stab at them until either we pry them apart or they retreat.”

 

“Understood… Right, let's review our position after some food and a fuck. I need to speak to Moltezz about Ink.”

 

A warm series of excited smiles broke out across the table at Plum’s words, including Tani who fanned her pretty face, her urges beginning to intensify. After mere seconds a series of controlled Slaves entered the room, carrying plates of food and leading a couple of Marks in chains, who were dumped in the room, much to the delight of the Nodes, towering both over them, and their Imprinted allies.

 

*

 

“GOD-DAMN! LOOK AT THAT ASS! You got an all-you-can-eat buffet back there! And girl… Mama’s hungry.” Leech yelled, slapping her hand against Ink’s firm, shapely ass as the curvacious girl bent over to admire more of the new ship they’d acquired. This latest acquisition to the Rewritten arsenal was a high speed, corvette class ‘Radon’ astral ship, designed for stealth, rapid engagements and high speed travel. It was only a small ship, certainly compared to the freighter, with room for a handful Controllers and Nodes at most, but its remarkable speed allowed for lightning fast deployment, when fuelled anyway. Compared to the long distance, fuel efficient engines of the freighter, the Radon was a gas guzzler. 

 

A satisfied grin crept over Ink’s face as she straightened herself up. Her towering figure was only just able to stand upright in the corridor. 

 

“I have never heard you refer to yourself as ‘Mama’ before, Leech.”

 

“And no one will ever believe that you have. I called myself that strictly for the purpose of the line and nothing more.” Leech replied, with a slight growl. 

 

Both girls were dressed in heavy black laboratory coats, black boots and bodysuits that covered their forms from neck to toe, with a slight glow visible around their oversized busts, and amendments to Ink’s outfit, for her protruding tentacles.

 

“I don’t think we should mess this place up, just yet anyway.” Ink laughed. “Barely a few hours into our ownership and we’re threatening to paint it. You think the Slaves could clean it before Moltezz arrives?”

 

“Fat fucking chance with how much you blow.” Leech squeezed the larger alien’s butt tightly before carrying on down the ship's corridor. Unlike the industrial lengths of the freighter they’d acquired six months ago, this craft was sleek and dark, clearly built with a different clientele in mind. The hum of its reactor was more intense, so much so that the czarite’s could feel it on the upper decks, through their heavy boots, as they padded around the fresh-smelling interior. “You have any idea how many gallons of goo I've made Venter clean? That guy has been huffing your scent alone for days. He said he’ll never look at dark chocolate the same.”

 

“Please don’t tell me he eats it.” Ink joked.

 

“Oh, he definitely eats your jizz. Slurps it all up and gets it all over his chops, like a fuckin’ animal.”

 

“Ugh, nasty!” Ink replied sourly, but a small smirk teased her lips. “And that’s the closest he’s ever going to get to me! So, you make him clean your lab over the Slaves?” Ink turned, her wide, lamp-like eyes perfectly visible at any distance.

 

“I do. He gets off to me telling him what to do. A bit like you.” 

 

“Leech… Please, stop..? You know I’m very easily swayed by you.” Ink asked, quite genuinely, her tentacles curling around her body. “Moltezz already dislikes me, and I might want to use her highness’ new ship, so I can’t afford to make it messy. I can’t spend all night playing though. I have matters I need to attend to.”

 

What the… fuck? Moltezz dislikes you?! She’s been trying to connect with you from the moment you joined us! Projecting much?!?

 

“Oh, your boss, right? Old boss. You found him?” Leech disappeared through one of the curving doors down the corridor, but her voice was still audible.

 

“You… remember?” Ink stumbled over her words slightly, tilting her head. “I didn’t think you would care.”

 

“WHY DO PEOPLE ALWAYS ASSUME THAT?!? Of course I remember! I can remember the exact radioactive half lifes of all the nuclear fuel used in the damn freighter, on a per fuel rod basis! Time’s ticking, we’ve only got fifty thousand, two hundred and five years before those babies are half-spent! Remembering that your boss was a crusty old cunt ain’t hard.”

 

“I just - I’m not used to people caring. I’m still not used to you caring.”

 

Leech popped her head out of the door with a confused look on her face. As they made eye contact, Ink’s face broke into a wide grin, baring those massive teeth of hers, her expression caught somewhere between creepy and heartfelt.

 

“Fucking hell, I was horny as fuck and now it’s turned all soppy. You’re as polar as me sometimes. Stop grinning at me with those massive twatting chompers of yours and tell me what you’re gonna do to that nasty boss of yours when you find him. Idiot. You’re getting the pump tonight, can help me refill all those tanks we used last week.” Leech shook her head and ducked back into the door, and the sound of her rummaging around filled the corridor.

 

“As you wish. When I find him, I'm going to pull his little body apart, piece by piece. I want to hear his joints pop, his flesh creak. I will not grant him our gift, he does not deserve our love. He does not deserve… this.” She flexed her arms, the corners of her lips twitching into a proud smile as she admired her own muscles bulging, a long way from the once fragile creature she used to be.

 

“You better not be fucking flexing in there.” Leech barked, prompting a startled jump from Ink. “I’ve walked in on Cherry doing that too damn much, zero shits given. That girl loves her mirrors. That and boy butt, she just looooves breaking men in. I have to fight her for the new arrivals these days. How close are you to finding this prick then?” 

 

“Close.” Ink’s tongue pushed against the inside of her teeth as she made her way down the corridor, her feet thumping against the cold, metallic flooring. “I have a few more piles of invoices to look through, once I can cross-reference the ship number, I can narrow it down to a single location. Then, it's time.”

 

“Odd how it's taken so long to find him, don’t you think?” Leech mused, scratching her chin.

 

“I do. I suspect he was worried about being found, he has made significant efforts to conceal his identity.”

 

“You think he might have been worried about revenge? Perhaps you weren’t the only person he treated badly.”

 

“He’s right to be worried. I will hang his unwashed corpse for the universe to see. I will let it decay unceremoniously until he is nothing but worms and split bones and his lasting message will be nothing but a testament to my strength. A coward of a man, hidden behind fake names and useless addresses, pathetic in both stature and soul, a parasite in every meaning of the word.”

 

“... I mean, counselling is also an option. Perhaps a hobby. Maybe knitting?” Leech sniggered, sarcasm thick in her voice.

 

“My hobby is fucking smaller, weaker people.” Ink laughed back, the corridor vibrating more as a proud growl rumbled from her throat.

 

“Makes me wonder why you’re so happy for me to hook you up to my milking machines. There is no way in hell Moltezz would ever, EVER agree to a session in the lab. The first - and last time I asked her, I thought she was going to give me the ‘Seeth' treatment.” 

 

Ink didn’t reply straight away. Her tentacles flicked and her mouth twitched slightly at the mention of Seeth’s name. She followed Leech around the corner and the two continued their pace around the ship, looking through its various rooms, most of which were in low-power mode, dark and slightly cold.

 

After a few moments, Ink gave a long, heartfelt sigh, her gaze landing repeatedly on Leech and completely unable to focus on their inspection.

 

“When I woke up, after you converted me, the first thing I noticed was how clear everything was. I could see again. I used to have glasses in my teens but it didn’t take long for someone to target them. I couldn’t afford to replace them over and over again, so I just dealt with it for the most part. I went for years without being able to see properly, and it took me months of saving to finally get myself a new pair.” Ink suddenly laughed. “And then you came along, literally! I barely got a chance to use them.”

 

“Wasn’t your job writing up reports? You know, screen work?” Leech raised an eyebrow, a hint of concern in her eyes.

 

“Yes. It was. It was hell.” She chortled softly. “I had a piece of cardboard with this tiny hole in it, when my eyes got really bad, I'd close one eye and stare through the hole with the other…”

 

“You made a pin-hole lens for yourself, clever little thing!”

 

 “I had nothing, Leech. Nothing. Cardboard and stale sandwiches. Couldn’t afford fucking glasses because jackasses like the freighter guards would end up breaking them.” Tears stung the corners of her eyes briefly, her fists clenching tightly. “I had to pick between eating and seeing. The headaches I would get were so intense, they’d make me dizzy… You understand how bad falling over is for a czarite with Oak’s? I was pathetic.”

 

“We czarites don’t get very many genetic issues but when we do get them… Oak’s disease is thoroughly shit. You were dealt a bad hand.”

 

“But the corruption… you… fixed that. I woke up and I realised just how small my room was. I saw pipes in the corner of the room I'd never even seen before. Hah. I woke up. You woke me up. I haven’t had a single headache since. And now, I can see the stars in all their glory, the night sky has never looked more rich. I can see how beautiful and attractive you are, every curve and detail on you. I can see the life leave my enemies' eyes in a clarity and detail I never dreamt of prior to meeting you. I can see every vein bulge in their fragile neck, every capillary pop under their bruised skin… You woke me up, gave me vision, gave me strength and purpose and have helped me tear apart those who took advantage of old me. So yes, you can do whatever you want to me, because I trust you with every fibre of my being. Every fresh breath I take into these powerful new functional lungs of mine. I owe it to you. So milk me to your heart's content, because making you happy makes me happy.” Ink stated proudly, her shoulders visibly relaxing as she recounted her feelings towards Leech.

 

Leech stopped in her tracks, turning to face Ink properly, several emotions visible briefly over her confused face.

 

“Awh, Ink. You’re gonna give me an erection with talk like that. You sweetie-boo!” Despite her somewhat sarcastic tone, Leech had a glimmer sincerity in her toxic-green eyes. Her tone shifted suddenly to a more serious one. 

“Look…I’m… glad I found you. After what Seeth pulled on me… I’m crap at soppy shit so don’t expect much more than that. But yeah, good. We stick together, we get what we’re owed. God, I’m gonna milk you so fucking hard tonight. Did you know I had to get larger pump tubes in for you? Your ma-hoosive weapon of a dick was too big to fit in my previous apparatus!”

 

Ink smiled, showing every flesh shredding fang in her maw and the two continued to inspect the ship, both walking with a little more bounce in their step.

 

“Have you decided what you’ll do if we find… her?” Ink asked, her shoulders tensing back up slightly.

 

“Seeth? Honest to god, no. I don’t know what I’d do. I… I kinda miss her.”

 

“Y-you do?” Ink’s tentacles flickered more violently, the corners of her mouth twitched.

 

“I do. I don’t know if I should or not… I miss Plasia too. Don’t tell anyone else I said that or I’ll fuckin’ have you. Life was a lot simpler back in our dungeon and, to an extent, I miss it.” The venomous czarite’s eyes narrowed as memories of her last few days in the dungeon flashed in her mind. “Fuuuucking Diego. UGH! How the hell did that pretty little fuck boy come into our dungeon and leave with two of us?! Nearly three! Moltezz thinks about him everyday, she’s utterly obsessed! Something ain’t right with that guy. I tell you what, Ink, if we find that little shit-twit, we’ll spit-roast him until our dicks kiss in the middle, see him talk his way out of that. Gobble gobble, bitch.”

 

“Can dicks kiss?” Ink paused and pondered the thought heavily for a few seconds. 

 

Really, Ink? Really? I serve up a scandalous thought like that and that is your response? I am wasted here. Leech thought to herself.

 

“You say the weirdest things sometimes, Leech.” Ink continued. “Do you blame Diego for what happened?”

 

I say the weirdest things? Mrs ‘I LIKE TO WATCH THE VEINS POP WITH MY SPECIAL EYES?!’ Good grief.

 

“I abso-fucking-lutely do. I should have insisted on first dibs with him, and broke that bitch in. Instead, he broke us. We invited a bomb into our home, Ink. A fucking stupid, stupidly fuckable, crazy sex bomb - look, the metaphor is falling apart, but my point stands. That guy has done more damage to our cause than anyone else. I know you didn’t know Seeth, but she was a fucking asset, that girl got shit done. Now she might be working against us and honestly, that's a scary thought.”

 

“I will subdue her if she works against us.” Ink said confidently. “I know you don’t want her dead -”

 

“Cute that you think you could take her.” Leech interrupted with a grin. “But you might not get a chance to choose what sort of fight you’re having. I hope it doesn’t come to that, Ink. I wouldn’t want you two to fight. A cockfight, sure. You can rub those fat girls together as much as you please! But an actual fight? I don’t like the thought of that. Not one bit.”

 

“Why?” Ink frowned, almost offended.

 

“Because you might lose, Ink. And the Seeth that I know? She wouldn’t hesitate for a second.”

 

*

 

Sat on her throne of steel and leather, Moltezz stared at the line of fresh marks pushed into her new chambers, each one of them stripped naked and bound at the wrists, chained together by thick, heavy brass chains that rattled as they shuffled in.

 

Curiously, all of them were male with a black exterior, whether that be fur, scale or skin, all similar to the complexion of a certain lizard. Various states of fear and arousal were present, with some looking eager to impress, others looking more uncertain of their future. Despite their similarities, Moltezz vocalised her disappointment loudly.

 

“UGH! No! None of these are him! Half of them aren’t even close. Shrimpy imitations.” She grumbled loudly. “Still, you may serve some use. Mina, do any of these take your fancy?”

 

Standing next to the throne, Mina twiddled her thumbs. She was still shorter than the average roamer, but had gained at least half a foot in height since her corruption. She was remarkably bustier than before, with tits that spilled out of her already stuffed corset, her skin a more blue hue than previously, and a noticeably, heavy looking bulge currently clad in jet-black leather at her pelvis. She bit her lips as she started to pick out her favourites. 

 

“Hmm. I can see us having some fun with this lot. Do you want me to arrange the same get-up as last time, my queen?”

 

“Fetch two, five and… twelve. They’re the closest.” Moltezz ordered, curling her hands over her knees as her fiery halos for eyes burned into the retinas of the captured Marks.

 

“Right you are, my queen. And the rest?”

 

“For you and your girls. For all your hard work aboard this station so far.”

 

Mina pumped her fist at her side subtly and marched down from Moltezz’s stand. Her heels clicked on the black floor of the chamber, hips swaying side to side with significant swagger in her bouncy step, when her stride was suddenly interrupted.

 

The goblin’s body jerked. She bolted upright and slipped awkwardly, collapsing to the ground as if her spine had a will of its own.

 

Moltezz raised an unimpressed eyebrow and stared at the collapsed goblin. After a few, silent seconds, Mina pulled herself up and turned to face the molten mistress, confusion and concern etched deeply into her once confident face.

 

“Who’s messing with you now, Mina? Was it Ink?” A flicker of flame danced over Moltezz’s shoulders.

 

“No, my queen! I - I -”

 

“No? Then, what happened?” Moltezz puzzled, leaning forward in her throne. 

 

“It’s Plasia… She’s alive.”