Space is too Smol/Chapter 8

"Approaching Station 8935-ZKI. Rita required at the helm." NAV_AI's voice made Rita look up from where she had been seated on her small bed in her cabin with Skylar. Setting aside her holo pad and the book she'd been reading to her younger sister, she kissed her on the forehead. "I gotta go Sky. Stay in here, okay?" Skylar frowned up at her big sister. "Are you going away again? What if you get hurt again?" Rita hugged her small body close. "I will have Thresha with me, we will be okay." Skylar pouted. "No fair... you let Thresha go with you, but not me?" Rita kissed her little sister on the forehead. "It's too dangerous for you, Sky. Promise me you'll be a good girl until I get back." Skylar grumbled to herself, but at a nudge from Rita mumbled, "...promise." Rita kissed the top of her head one more time before leaving her in the bed with some of her favorite toys.

Hopping out of her cabin, Rita raced out towards the cockpit. Thresha waved to her as she ran by. "Did you enjoy your leisure time with Skylar?" the older girl inquired as Rita slid her cockpit chair into place at the helm. "Yeah... You could have joined us, you know." The little girl glanced back at her friend. "I did not wish to intrude on your family time. I will join you next time." Rita nodded, unable to stop herself from asking the thing that was most on her mind right now. "You were fine with what... PERV_AI did with you, yes?" Thresha nodded emphatically. "Oh yes, your AI showed me the most marvelous scene. I was back in my pod city, and they held me an adulthood mating rite. I got to be pleasured by all of the most influential and powerful members of the tribe, and carried their eggs. It was so wonderful, almost like I'd never been taken at all."

Rita felt a twang of pity for the former slave girl. "Hey, Thresha... would you... like me to find where your home was and take you back there?" she offered hesitantly. Would she be happier back with her own kind? Thresha's voice rang out clearly. "No thank you. I do not remember very much, as I have said. My people had few amenities, and I would not get to see Rita anymore. Do not worry for me, if I can choose, I choose to stay with you." Rita felt a warm feeling in her chest at the clear conviction in older girl's words. "Thresha, I..."

NAV_AI's voice interrupted what she was about to say. "Destination reached. Dropping out of FTL." The drive whirred down as normal space swirled into visibility with a flash of light. In the distance against the backdrop of stars sat a metal orb of indeterminate size. A heads up display magnified the object and presented a holographic 3D representation for Rita in the air before here. The station was lopsided, very much looking like it had been built up over time without much planning. Rectangular sections were held in place by thin shunts in places, while groves of spheres bolted together dotted the various divots and antennae that stuck out all over the place.

Rita spun the holographic representation around to look at the far side with a hand gesture, hearing the impulse drive kicking on to guide the ship in the rest of the distance. "Passing FTL exclusion zone, Ri-Ri." NAV_AI drawled. Any sufficiently large station or planet had one of these devices installed. The device prevented FTL drives from functioning within its vicinity by broadcasting scrambled waves of highly targeted photons. The result prevented the artificial slipstream from forming within a certain distance, and would violently rip apart any active slipstream field that entered. It was a protective measure from being targeted by FTL kinetic kill weapons, a favorite tactic by pirates to obliterate a structure and loot the resulting debris field.

"What an ugly structure..." Rita muttered as she closed her fist to end the hologram, as she heard STRAT_AI's voice kick in. "Hypothesis: this station's design was not pre-planned. Many individual entities constructed pieces without consulting the other parties. This behavior would eventually result in a structure over time such as this being formed."

Rita engaged manual piloting and nudged the nimble craft closer to the station. "Tactical analysis indicates the station is armed with multiple primary batteries of lasers, Ri-Ri." AI_MI's stern voice sounded even stranger to Rita calling her by her nickname, but she was trying not to think about it. Better to just get used to it with PERV_AI around... AI_MI continued, "Many individual sections are mounted with smaller armaments of various projectile methods." STRT_AI's voice took back over again. "There appears to be little automated coordination between the armament groups. Primary hypothesis: this station houses many different political factions who do not often cooperate, even when it is in their own self-interest to do so." Rita sighed, liking the sound of this place less and less. "Might be controlled primarily by gangs, if this is as lawless of a place as daddy said."

"That is a very likely scenario. Very good, Ri-Ri." Rita blinked. For a moment STRAT_AI's vocal tone had changed. It sounded... almost proud, like when Dr. Nebula was proud of her. A warm feeling tickled the little girl's insides, but she shook it away. They were just AI's, not people. It couldn't feel proud of her... right? Clearing her throat, Rita changed the subject. Hesitantly, she asked, "COM_AI... I mean, PERV_AI... is the station broadcasting a docking channel?" The heads up display zoomed in and highlighted a specific section of the station for her. "Affirmative. Would cute little Ri-Ri like to respond to this channel?"

Rita had been about to pick up her helmet, when she frowned, feeling something tickling in the back of her mind. Hesitating, she pulled her fingers back from the helmet and agreed to let the suit do what it wanted. A tendril shot out of her abominate to fasten around the helmet, the organic material interfacing with the control matrix and downloading its specs. As it withdrew, the suit grew up around Rita's head, forming a perfect duplicate of her helmet. Rita gasped in wonder, and tried flicking on the voice modulator. "Hello." she said out loud. Her voice sounded just as gruff and ambiguous as it normally did with her old helmet.

"That is a very special trick. Did you know it could do that?" Thresha inquired, moving up to stand next to Rita in the cockpit. "I didn't... Hmm. Well I guess I can't lose my helmet anymore. That's pretty neat." She thought about removing the faceplate, and it dissolved back into the suit's matrix. Rita smiled at her friend before ordering the suit to put the faceplate back. "Let me do the talking, Thresha." The older girl nodded, placing her hands on Rita's shoulders and gently massaging them. "Yes. Audio only, please PERV_AI."

"Whatever you want, my little Ri-Ri. Engaging channel..." A bunch of static filled the ship's cabin before a voice came on over the speakers. The ship's universal translator took a moment to lock onto the language before identifying it. "Unregistered vessel. You are approaching Station 8935-ZKI. Power down all weapons. Any vessel detected with powered up weapons within the exclusion zone will be annihilated. Sending docking coordinates." There was a buzz of static for a moment before the message began repeating itself. Rita made a cutting motion at her neck looking up at the AI's optical sensor, and the transition cut off. "Completely automated? I guess I should have expected that for a station this large... Make sure all our weapons are colder than a seriun prison camp, AI_MI. We don't want those giant laser cannons shooting at us."

"Affirmative. Powered down, space vents opened. Temperature equalized to that of outside vacuum." Rita plotted in the coordinates sent by the transmission, maneuvering the ship towards one of the largest rectangular habitation segments of the station. She could see the place was massive, easily the size of a small moon as they approached a small section carved out of the hull dotted with various ships of different makes, models, and origins of species. Reaching the empty docking arm assigned to them, Rita slowed the ship to a stop. The apparatus extended and clamped around the ship's external hatch, pressurized stream gouting out to indicate a positive lock.

Rita got to her feet. "Thresha, are you coming with me?" The older girl nodded gravely. "Have you not been to a conglomerate station before, Rita?" Rita frowned. "Conglomerate station?" Thresha eyed her, crossing her arms over her thin chest. "That is the polite term for them. They exist on the edge of patrolled space, and serve as hives for the galaxies less savory citizens. Pirates, assassins, even slavers. I was sold many times at them, though not this station specifically."

The young girl gulped as she ordered her suit to remove her helmet, the dome melting back into the suit's collar. "Err, no I guess I've never been to one of these before then, but I have been to similar kinds of places with lots of corrupt people." Thresha nodded. "I would like to go with you, I think I may be of some help. You should pose as my master." Rita opened her mouth, about to protest, but Thresha shook her head. "It would raise your profile substantially if you were to be seen with a rembrosian slave. We are... expensive." Rita frowned. "But if this place is as corrupt as you say, wouldn't that just make people want to kill me and take you for themselves?"

Thresha shook her head emphatically. "Oh no. It is taboo to kill another for their slaves. It is done this way by the slaver rings. If buyers could not come and go safely with their slaves, they would not be able to make their money. Anyone who kills to take a slave would be hunted down and assassinated." Rita thought this over. "Daddy said I should try to keep a low profile and infiltrate this place..." She mulled over. "Does he know of these places? Everyone watches everyone here, it is very hard to hide." Rita thought about this for a moment. "Maybe... he doesn't?" That couldn't be right. Daddy knew about everything in the whole galaxy... didn't he? Her mind wanted to believe that, but it faltered. He hadn't known about the ve'gathian trying to track his activities. He hadn't known about the slave ship... maybe he didn't always know everything.

Rita was unsure of what to do. "I... I don't know. I trust you, Thresha, I do, but..." She turned to look at the cockpit's sensor bar. "STRAT_AI, asses the tactical value of Protocol 37 at this station with all the information we have now." The AI's light turned on. "Processing... Protocol 37 not advised. This structure possesses approximately 17,384,294 observation and data collection units within scanning range. Going unnoticed is not going to work, Ri-Ri." Rita sighed and looked back at Thresha, nodding. "I trust you, Thresha. You think your plan will help us with our contact?" The alien girl nodded, holding her hands out in a calming gesture. "It will assist us to do this, yes. But Rita... you must never take off your helmet while you are here. It may be forbidden to take others slaves, but the taking of free peoples as slaves is very common here. You do not wish a hive of bounty hunters hunting for a real human."

This made Rita wince. "Point taken. I'll be careful." Thresha inclined her head. "Is your ship capable of synthesizing something? There are collars that are worn by those who are owned. Each slave is tracked by the syndicate for buyer history, so I must give you my old slave identification code if they are to believe you are my owner." Rita pointed over to the synthesizer below the ship's dash. "Tell PERV_AI what you need crafted while I go gear up." Rita left Thresha to her work as she went over to the ship's weapons locker. "Wait, why would I even need weapons? This suit does all that." The AI sensory bar above the locker lit up as STRAT_AI's voice began to speak. "Recommendation: Rita should take standard issue armaments. It would be unwise to show her bio weapon skin suit's potential on a station such as this. It would attract unwanted attention and make Ri-Ri stand out. Use only as a last resort."

She felt a flush creep into her cheeks at STRAT_AI's words. "I-I should have thought of that. Of course... I can't show what I can do to them. That's what got me into that whole mess back on Dendris-5, showing off the rail pistol..." Rita reached into the locker and withdrew a cold plasma pistol and a high-intensity pulse laser pistol. Looking down at her hips, the bio suit sensed her needs and formed holsters for her. She slid the weapons inside, before slipping a multi tool over her left forearm and grabbing several personal shield generators. She clipped one to each bicep, and two more to her wrists. Finally, she slung a modular energy rifle over her back, as well as several energy packs for her suit and weapons.

Closing the locker, Rita skipped back over to the helm, where Thresha was clamping a glowing red collar over her neck with a wince. "Why are you making it tight enough to hurt?" Rita said with concern. "It must be... authentic." Thresha said with a wince. Grabbing both of Rita's hands, Thresha held them to her naked chest. "Do not worry about my well-being, Rita. It makes me overjoyed to be able to pay you and your family back for all the kindness you have shown me in such a small amount of time. I want to do this for you." Rita looked into her determined face, giving her a nod. "I understand... I felt the same way when daddy... Dr. Nebula rescued Skylar and me." The two girls shared an understanding gaze for a moment longer before Thresha let her hands drop. "Take this." She slipped a loop around Rita's wrist. "It is linked to my collar. I will not be able to get far from you without the collar shocking me until you disable it."

Rita looked down at the wristband with distaste, but steeled herself. There were going to be lots of things on this station she didn't like, she knew. They didn't matter - she had her mission. "One final thing." STRAT_AI's voice kicked in, and Thresha handed Rita another small device. "What's this for?" Rita asked, realizing it was a very intricate collar of tiny crystals. "We are going with you, Ri-Ri." drawled PERV_AI's smooth voice. Rita blinked at the sensory device. "But... you can't leave the ship! Who would keep Skylar safe!?" That was one of their core shackles - without that, what would stop them from jumping to another vessel or station if they decided to!?

"We are not leaving." STRAT_AI continued. "This order comes from the creator. We will be copied into your device. On your return, our consciousnesses will be merged. The subroutines to do so are already in place and will trigger automatically." Rita frowned. If Dr. Nebula had ordered them to do this, then he must have thought it through. "Umm... Alright, what do I do with this then?" She held the odd choker up to her neck.

AI_MI's voice kicked in. "Place it around your clavicle. It is designed to interface with your suit organism. When that happens, we will be copied into the AI nodes inside the logic crystals." Rita did as instructed, and the crystals all around the necklace lit up brightly. "Offline copying... commencing..." drawled all four AI's voiced simultaneously. It only took a moment before the crystals went dark again. "Copy complete, little Ri-Ri." PERV_AI said softly. "When you are out of range of the ship, the offline copy of our core AIs will enable." STRAT_AI continued. "Data packets will be sent back and forth when in range of the ship to ensure as complete a copy of each AI and their knowledge exists in each instance." AI_MI added, "We are ready to assist Ri-Ri in her outgoing missions."

Rita felt the choker in place around her neck and nodded. "Good... I think." Looking over at Thresha, she held out a hand as she ordered her helmet to reform around her head. As her face was enclosed, she said through the voice modulator, "Let's go."

...

After sufficient bribes were paid to the slave guards at the gates, the two girls emerged from the dry dock into a large bazaar, filled with dozens of hollering and shouting races. Layer upon layer of structures loomed overhead and below them, stretching off into what seemed like infinity. Rapid speed lifts took aliens of hundreds of different species quickly from floor to floor. Rita eyed vendors out of the corner of her eyes hawking their wares, shouting prices at anyone who walked by. Drones and other robots flew everywhere overhead, off on various pre-programmed tasks. "We should get to a data reference station." Thresha had to practically shout in Rita's ear for her to be able to hear. "Your contact's last known location may have been recorded and purchasable at a data broker there." Rita nodded, grabbing Thresha's wrist to hold onto her as she moved out into the crowd and down a small alley of stalls, headed for the nearest lift.

A large grey alien of a species she didn't know with massive hindquarters and seven bulging eyes in the middle of his chest cavity walked out in front of her. "Buy some cha'cutha! I have the best prices this side of No Man's Bazaar! Ask anyone." Rita gazed up at the creature, who was easily twice her height. "Our of my way. I am not interested." The creature placed a massive hand on her shoulder. "Oh, but everyone could use some cha'cutha! Takes the edge off!" Rita grabbed the hand and forced one of the creature's six-jointed finger-like digits back against itself. The alien let out a pained chortle. "I SAID I'm not interested! Out of my way!" Her other hand crept towards her pistol holster." The alien backed off quickly, nursing his huge hand.

"Of course, of course! I did not mean to cause any trouble! Save travels, and good transactions!" He bowed his massive forelegs as Rita and Thresha walked on past. With the help of her sensitive helmet, Rita was able to hear the alien when it thought they were out of earshot comment, "Damn bounty hunters..." Thresha tapped on Rita's shoulder once they were a full lane away, and they slipped into an alcove between two stalls. "That was well handled. Shows of force are very effective here." Rita smirked, though Thresha couldn't see it. "I said I haven't been to one of these stations, I didn't say I don't know how to handle this kind of crowd." Thresha smiled at the younger girl. "That is most relieving. There is only so much I can tell you in the moment when I am... I mean, as your slave."

Rita nodded. "That alien called me a bounty hunter when it thought it couldn't hear me." Thresha inclined her head. "Bounty hunters and assassins are the most common to wish to cover their faces and hide their identities, and assassins rarely travel with others, let alone slaves. As outwardly well armed as you are, it would be unlikely to assume you are an assassin. I can see why that alien would think you a bounty hunter. It would be a good cover, if you wish you pose as one." Rita nodded, watching people streaming by outside their niche. "It's a good idea. Let's do it. What's cha'cutha, though?" Thresha nodded, straightening her slave collar. "It's a very strong psychedelic drug. Works on almost every race with sensory organs. You do not want to get hooked on it - it is highly addictive." Rita nodded, turning to look down the other side of the alley. She felt her heart skip as she saw a group of rembrosian hatchlings who looked to be around Skylar's age chained and being led in a string by a huge alien in power armor. The little boy and girl rembrosians were naked and filthy. Rita longed to go to them, to kill their captor, to set them free... but she knew she could not.

Thresha put a warm hand on Rita's shoulder. "They look freshly caught, perhaps just taken from their raided cities." Rita gulped, trying to steady her voice. "H-How can you tell?" Thresha pointed to their hands and feet. "...Because their webbing is yet uncut. It is the first thing they do to new arrivals when they come to market." Rita's muscles tensed, and Thresha took notice. "Put it from your mind. There is nothing you can do for them, their fate has been sealed." Rita knew she was right, but her mind kept presenting her with visions of the rembrosian children being replaced with Skylar. She felt that tickling presence in the back of her mind, and her suit began to move. "No!" she told it firmly, getting her emotions under control before she made a scene. "Forget it, let's go." Rita mumbled, turning her back on the small captives and walking about out of the alley, Thresha on her tail.

They shoved their way through the crowd and made it to the lift. Holographic sections popped up in front of Rita as the lift began moving with its load of several dozen people. Rita frowned, not knowing the language presented on the holo buttons. A sudden voice in Rita's mind startled the young girl. "Ship out of range. Hello, Ri-Ri. I shall decode these for you." STRAT_AI linked with her helmet's display and the alien script scrambled and converted into a language she knew. "Thanks." Rita said back silently as she found the listing for the nearest data broker and punched it in. The lift rapidly sped up and down, taking new people on and it dislodged a person or two at a time. There seemed to be a queue for which floor it went to based on when things were selected, Rita realized. It only took a minute or two before the hologram in front of her lit up red, and the two girls scrambled to get off the lift before it closed again.

They were greeted to a nicer looking section of the station. The floor was much cleaner, and there were less people than at the bazaar, though hundreds of aliens still milled about within their vision alone. As Rita stepped forward, a drone dropped down from above and scanned both her and Thresha. "SLAVE NUMBER 294729104748403858208. INCORRECT OWNER ID. REPORT TO SLAVE COALITION PROCESSING FOR ASSESSMENT WITHIN ONE STATION ROTATION. FAILURE TO COMPLY WILL RESULT IN AN AUTOMATIC BOUNTY BEING PLACED." The drone flashed up a map on the floor they were on with an indicator for the office it was indicating for a few seconds before flying back up into the air, heading off to scan other people entering the floor from different lifts.

Rita's heart raced as Thresha clung to the smaller girl, giggling and jiggling her body to hide her intentions and she leaned in and whispered in her ear. "I was worried this might happen. I had hoped Warchief K'rish had failed to register me... ve'gathian are known to be slow to comply with slaver rules. We will have to go convince them you bought me legally." Rita gulped, whispering back. "How hard will that be?" Thresha thought for a moment, then leaned back in. "You are in luck... with most species, nearly impossible without proof. With ve'gathians? This sort of thing happens all the time. They are a thorn in the side of the slave markets, but are too big of a customer to be turned away, so their lax approach to the rules is tolerated."

Giving the smallest of nods, Rita pulled up the map the drone had given them on her multi tool, grabbing Thresha's wrist as she began to wind her way through the streets heading for the indicated building. About ten or fifteen minutes later, the pair arrived at the Slave Coalition Processing building. Two heavily armed guards in power suits flanked the closed door, each of their four arms holding a different massive rifle that Rita doubted she could even lift. As they looked way down at Rita and her supposed slave, the one on their right rumbled out in a deep voice, "State your business, bounty hunter."

Rita squared her shoulders, and gazed up at them. "Incorrect owner ID case assessment." The two guards grunted, and one of them pressed a button on the wall that caused the huge door to slide open. "Enter and leave your weapons with the guard inside." Trying to sell her persona, Rita tugged on Thresha's arm hard enough to make her stumble. "Let's go, slave." As they entered the very brightly lit room together, the doors slammed shut behind them. The room was completely bare of all furnishings, safe for a smaller guard of a different species standing at a table with a sealed door behind him. "Approach." The alien croaked. Rita strode forward confidently, and the alien held out a device, scanning them both from head to toe. He frowned, smacking the thing with the side of his grasping appendage before scanning them again, still frowning. "Leave all weapons."

Rita unbuckled her two pistols and slung the modular rifle off her back, having to stand on her tippy toes to set them on the tall counter. The alien handed Rita a disc, and sealed her weapons in the metal box. The box sped along the counter and through a slot that opened in the wall. "Present this disc when you are leaving to get your weapons back. You have the guild's guarantee that they will not be tampered with in any way. Rita took the disc and slipped it into a storage slot on her multi tool. "May we enter now?" The guard gave some sort of gesture and the door behind him opened. "Case manager 67-F will see you. Fifteenth door on the right." Rita grabbed Thresha's blue arm again and strode inside, noting all the security apparatus and automated turrets lining the halls. The turrets tracked on her and Thresha as they walked past, making her skin crawl. Before long, they found the door indicated to them.

The door slid open vertically without her having to do anything. "Come in, come in." a gravelly voice drawled from inside. Rita pushed Thresha inside first, and walked in after her, already formulating a plan. "What is the meaning of this?" She demanded at a sallow skinned almost slug-like alien lounging on a long couch. "I bought this slave from a registered ve'gathian broker!" The slug alien vibrated. "Calm yerself, this is far more common than ya might think, deary. Standard procedure, ya know how it is with the guild..." The door shut behind them as Rita continued ranting. "Standard!? I came to do business at your station, and this is how I am to be treated!?" The slug creature oozed off its couch-like platform. The thing had two thin spindly arms tipped with three grasping digits and four beady black eyes set into its slimy yellow rolls of flesh. "Bluntly, madam, the ve'gathians are very bad at data protocols. This is very common, don't worry yer head about it. We can get this sorted out shortly, I'm certain."

The thing summoned a floating hologram with one spindly finger. "Though this is a... delicate case. I am sure a skilled bounty hunter such as yerself must be aware of Warchief K'rish's death." It took all of Rita's self control not to flinch at the mention of her former captor and torturer's name. "I am. What of it?" The slug creature flicked between several holographic pages, its beady black eyes fixated on the small girl. "Well ya see, a player as big as Warchief K'rish blowin' up does not go unnoticed. And ya are here with a slave that was last registered to the dearly departed warchief." The thing closed the hologram with another flick. "The guild lost a lot of profits with his demise. Ya'd be paid well for information about... what happened to him. And who was responsible, and the like."

Rita shrugged her shoulders mightily, her heart pounding as she thought to the AI chain, "STRAT_AI, I need a fabricated slave sale from Warchief K'rish to me for Thresha. Make the date long before his death." The voice in her head spoke back. "Generating... sent to your multi tool." Rita pulled up the fabricated document on her holographic projector. "I know nothing about his death. I last saw him in at Dendris-5, where I purchased this slave." She flicked out the hologram towards the case manager, who caught it. "I see... Gimme a moment." After reading over the thing for a while, the creature let out a whining wheeze.

The lights in the room dimmed, and a faint garbled sound began emanating from around the room. "Caution!" AI_MI's voice rang in Rita's head. "Dampening field in place. Communications to outside this room are being blocked." Rita crossed her arms over her chest. "What is the meaning of this?" The creature oozed back up onto its platform. "Ya noticed the dampeners? I would'a been surprised if ya hadn't. Ya clearly are a very skilled and extremely well funded individual. Ya made only one mistake; Warchief K'rish was registered as having been at a different auction on the date yer sale report mentions. Rita stepped forward, commanding her suit to grow a light laser gun on her forearm. It complied instantly, and she leveled it at the alien.

The slug creature raised its hands. "Whoh! Whoah! I'm already impressed, ya don't gotta pull a hidden gun on me to boot! Damn, that's a new one. Scans couldn't penetrate that suit of yers, but I didn't expect that! Where'd ya hide that thing? Oh, nevermind. Look, if I'd put yer case through as you presented it, the system woulda flagged ya as an illegitimate owner, and then things would'a gotten messy. But ya seem like a... well connected-individual. I'm a galarkia, and a galarkian knows a better deal she sniffs it out with her feelers, you feel me? Perhaps we can... help each other out."

Rita held the gun at her for another moment for emphasis before pulling her wrist back, reabsorbing it into the fabric of her suit. "What makes you think I would take any offer you have, galarkian?" Rita crossed her arms over her chest. "Guard the door, slave." she barked at Thresha, who did as she was told and turned to face the closed doorway. "Cuz even you can't be crazy enough to think ya could get out of here without my help. Ya may be armed with tech I ain't never seen before, but yer in the heart of the station. Ya can't shoot your way outta this one, rembrosian girl."

Rita wasn't able to mask her confusion this time at being called a rembrosian, and her head began to turn towards Thresha before she could stop herself and look back at the galarkian. "Ah ha, I knew it. Explains why ya wanted such a shielded suit. Even with that, though... Ya got guts, kid, not even botherin' to disguise yer body shape in a place like this. And trafficin' in yer own kind to boot... Tsc, tsc. Rough customer, ya are." Rita's mind raced. It was a logical assumption for the alien to make; there really weren't many species with a human-like body shape apart from the rembrosians. "Get to the point, galarkian."

The alien vibrated and rumbled on its platform. "Straight to the point, I like it. Fine, here's the deal. I alter your case file so ya don't get guild bounty hunters comin' down on ya and have to take yer changes on shootin' your way out of here and all that. The slave's yours, far as I'm concerned. I don't give two sewage slave's squirts 'bout Warchief K'rish or any of the ve'gathians. They cause the guild so much trouble, thinkin' they’re above the rules. Better off in the future without, em, I say." The galarkian female opened a huge thin line on her head section and spat a bright yellow liquid onto the floor.

Rita drummed her fingers on her crossed forearms. "And in return?" The galarkian conjured up a hologram and flicked it over to Rita. "In return, ya do me one small favor. I need someone dead yesterday." Rita looked at the bounty listing. A crime boss named Dekark the Spaceless, wanted for several counts of illegal slave taking. "Dekark's been a thorn in the guild's side for a long time, but fer me, it's personal. One of the slaves he stole was mine. A nice piece of rembrosian ass, and I want her back." Rita tossed the hologram back at the slug with a flick of her wrist. "He's already wanted by the guild. Why's he not dead? This is a hefty bounty." The amount listed would pay for an entire floor of this station. "See, that's the issue. He's too well guarded. Nobody who takes the job comes back alive. He's got some edge, but nobody knows what. Always seems to know an assassin's comin' for him."

Rita put her hands on her hips and scowled behind her helmet. "And why pray tell, why would I take a suicidal mission like this?" The galarkian woman picked up a slimy object off a table and popped it into her mouth, chewing as she made satisfied noises. "Cuz honey, Dekark's got a thing for rembrosians. And I ain't never heard of a rembrosian taking up arms against nobody. Pacifists, the whole lot of ya's. Makes takin' ya as slaves so easy. But ya... Yer different." Rita thought this over. It was yet another delay... but she didn't see too many options.

"Options, STRAT_AI?" she asked her tactical AI silently. "Even with rail gun support, shooting out is not advised. This station has too many turrets and too many unknown and chaotic variables. Ri-Ri could take her offer and attempt to flee, but this compromise Ri-Ri would make entering fringe stations far more dangerous for future assignments. Best course of action is to agree to do the job, and potentially attempt to find a way out of it after leaving this building. Rita sighed internally - she'd thought as much. "Keep calm, little Ri-Ri..." PERV_AI's smooth voice echoed in her head. "Stress levels are increasing. Take a deep breath. You can do it, my sweet little Ri-Ri."

The galarkian woman talked on while Rita conversed with her AI. "So that's all you gotta do, kill the mook. If ya can swing getting my girl out, I'll sweeten the pot after, but I ain't expecting no miracles. We got a deal, rembrosian girl?" Rita took her hands off her hips and slowly nodded. "Deal. I take it this Dekark will not be hard to locate?" The galarkian woman snorted. "What, him? He runs the biggest casino on the station. In the 5th residential module, can't miss it. He's there all the time, got a penthouse up top where he throws his rembrosian orgy parties. There's even one goin' on tonight, if ya can work that fast. But like I said, I'm a reasonable woman and I ain't expectin' miracles."

The woman flicked her wrists on the documents she was conjuring with holo projection in front of her. "Ima turn off the dampeners now. Follow my lead, this office is like, super bugged. And take this. Ya can contact me on it if ya need to." She dug in a bowl of slimy food and tossed Rita a tiny slime-covered transponder. The little girl quickly tucked it into her multi tool, before standing up straight.

The buzzing noise around the room stopped, and the lights returned to their full luminosity. "I see, I see. Well, yer sales report all checks out. I'll go ahead and register the girl to ya so this don't happen again." Rita crossed her arms in mock anger. "I should hope so! The bitch is MY property!" The galarkian woman pressed a few buttons, finalizing the forged sale. "Yep, yep. She's all yers. Her identification chain's been updated. Have a good day." The door to the office opened, and Rita barked, "Come, slave! We have much more important business to attend to!"

Rita towed Thresha out of the door and back to the entrance room. "My weapons, guard." She presented her token to the weapon keeper. He took it without a work, pocketing it as the metal case containing her weapons floated back into the room. Rita re-armed herself quickly and left the building, the two guards outside not giving them so much as a word as they walked past. "Your weapons were all bugged, little Ri-Ri... PERV_AI has gone and squashed all the nasty bugs for you. No one bugs my little Ri-Ri but me..." Rita almost laughed at that last part. "Thanks, PERV_AI. So much for the guild's "guarantee" to not tamper..."

The two girls wordlessly made their way back to the lift, heading to a random floor in the noisy bazaar and slipping into a dark corner to talk. "How are you going to do this? You cannot show your face to Dekark." Thresha had a point, but Rita already had an idea. "My suit can change colors, I just like it this way. Daddy showed me how to do it back when he first gave it to me." She scratched an itch on her bottom, sighing. "So... why don't I just make myself look like a rembrosian?" Thresha put her hands on her hips. "I don't know... would it be convincing enough?"

"Let me try, and you can be the judge." Rita felt that itch in the back of her mind as she tried communing with the suit directly. "This is what I want!" she told it silently, showing it a mental image of her as a rembrosian girl - blue skin, green eyes and hair. Rita felt a surge of.. was it joy? The suit seemed almost too happy to mutate again. It stretched and flexed, crawling all over her skin and up over her hair as it tinted her pale flesh bright blue, with green speckles running along the outside of the limbs and belly. It even created a milky green lens over her eyes to hide her pupils, and dotted her face with green freckles. When it was finished, Rita ordered it to remove her helmet. Thresha blinked in shock as she looked down at rembrosian Rita.

"Well? What do you think?" Rita asked nervously, acutely aware that she now looked naked in such a public place. "You could be my little sister..!" Thresha's voice was filled with wonder. "This disguise is..." she poked at Rita's blue belly, noting that the skin turned a little more green momentarily as pressure was applied before turning blue again. "It is flawless! All the details are correct." She turned Rita's head to the side gently with a hand, noting that the light reflected off her false eyelid at an angle as it would for a rembrosian ocular lens. "You will fool them easily with this. No one will be able to tell. I am speechless." Rita grinned wolfishly, flashing her teeth. "Oh, your teeth are a little too white." Without her even saying anything, the suit yellowed her teeth. "Perfect." Thresha nodded in approval.

"So we got the disguise down..." Rita said, telling the suit to change back to her normal skintight latex look with the full helmet. "Aww... you were so cute like that. I always wished for a little sister." Rita squirmed a bit. "Hah, you're making me blush... I can put it back on later after we're done with all this and we can pretend if you want." Thresha smiled warmly at the girl and pinched Rita's belly. "I would most enjoy that. But, more important things need to be thought right now. Such as, how we will we get into this Dekark's party tonight."

Rita drummed her fingers on the chin of her suit helmet. "Hmm... That one is tricky. But I do have an idea." She tapped the collar around Thresha's neck. "We trade roles. You pretend to be the slave master, trying to sell a slave to Dekark. If he likes rembrosians as much as that galarkian woman said he does, he won't be able to resist me. It's common practice to test a sex slave before buying them, right? I can hit him with a neurotoxin easily with the suit when he's... uggg, having his way with me."

Thersha's amused face fell at this suggestion of switching roles. "Umm, yes that is a good plan, but, ahh... I don't think I can be the master! I would have to act mean towards you, and..." Her voice stuttered at the end. "I c-cannot do that Rita, not even if it is a lie. I am not mean to anyone... I don't believe I know how." Rita put a hand on the older girl's shoulder. "It's just like playing the role you were playing before, as the slave, but different." Thresha covered Rita's hand with her own, looking down. "I do not know... acting as a slave is a thing I have known. I do not know this role." Rita smirked, pulling Thresha further inside the alley's dark corner. "Well then, we're gonna have to practice. Say 'Come here, slave!' to me."

Thresha stood up straight and cleared her throat. "C... Come here.. um.. s-slave?" Rita slapped a hand against her forehead. "No, that was terrible! You gotta be fierce! Strong!" Thresha clenched her fists together, determination filling her face. "C-Come here, s-slave!" Rita clapped her hands together. "Much better, but you can't stammer! Be confident! You are an owner, not a slave! Say it again!" The muscles in Thresha's arms bunched up as she tightened her clenched fists. "COME HERE, SLAVE! Oh my, did I just say that!? That felt kind of good...!" Rita clapped her hands and jumped up and down. "That was perfect! Okay, so now I've come over to you. 'What do you want of me, master?'"

Thresha's eyes gleamed as she looked down at Rita. "I wish you to turn back into my cute little rembrosian sister! Now, slave!" Rita blinked, confused for a moment. Shrugging internally, she decided not to break Thresha's mindset even if she was going off script. It was still good practice. "Right away, mistress!" Rita said in a mock fearful voice, commanding the suit to assume the rembrosian disguise. Her skintight space suit melted away, replaced with naked blue rembrosian flesh, the helmet retracting and leaving behind her pupiless green eyes and speckled green freckles. "Does this please you, mistress?" Rita asked, blushing a little at feeling naked again.

"I-It pleases me greatly, slave!" Thresha licked her lips as she stepped forward, one of her hands going down to cup Rita's naked blue groin. The younger girl's eyes went wide as Thresha's slender fingers slid along her bald pussy slit. "What are you doing, Thresha?" Rita asked. "Bad slave, do not talk back to me!" Thresha commanded, putting her other hand on Rita's blue bottom. "I am your master and I shall... p-punish you for talking back to me." Rita let out a squeak as Thresha pushed a finger inside her petite 11 year old snatch. The older girl was clearly way into this, and the way she was talking to and handling her was turning Rita on. Rita looked around, but there was nobody back here behind the giant oxygen converter pressed up against the wall. And besides, this would be good practice for tonight for both of them.

"M-Mistress, I'm sorry I've displeased you. I'll make it up to you!" Rita exclaimed in a high squeaky voice. The gleam in Thresha's eyes made Rita shiver in a pleasant way as the older girl looked down at Rita and licked her lips slowly. "We will see..." Thresha withdrew her finger from inside the girl, and instead laid a hand against her blue chest as she gently pushed rembrosian-Rita down. Rita didn't resist the pressure, falling back onto her back as Thresha climbed on top of her, pushing her crotch into Rita's face. "M-Make me feel good, slave." She ordered, rubbing the top of Rita's head affectionately. 'She should be pulling my hair.' Rita thought as she obediently opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue. 'But that might be asking a little too much of her...' she thought as she let her weapons fall to the ground next to her, leaving Rita completely naked and unarmed.

Rembrosian-Rita put her lips against Rita's slippery breeding hole, sliding her tongue inside the older girl's snatch. Thresha moaned in pleasure as Rita began to eat her out, reaching a hand back behind her to clumsily push two fingers inside the racially disguised girl without looking. Rita blushed, running her tongue along Thresha's inner walls as the older girl fingered her cunny with her dexterous digits. "Good slave... suck on your older sister's egg cave." Thresha moaned, grasping a handful of the skin around her erect nipple with her free hand. Rita moved her hands up to grip Thresha's bare blue bottom, grinding her tongue deeper inside her friend's pussy.

Thresha moaned and came in Rita's mouth, the younger girl lapping up her warm love juices as she swallowed them all. "That.. is good... ahhh... Next slave... lie still for your mistress..." Thresha climbed off Rita's face, leaving the younger girl to pant with pussy juice all over her blue face as Thresha moved back and lifted up one of Rita's legs, sliding her leg around it and partially lifting up Rita's bottom so she could smash her pussy against her 'little sister's' in a scissoring position. "Give me your hands, slave." Thresha ordered, and Rita was quick to twine and lock fingers with her friend. With the leverage, Thresha began to yank Rita's arms towards her, causing their pussies to smush together. Rita let out a squeak of pleasure as she came from the sensation of having their labias ground together. "Yes... that is a good slave... You will be rewarded."

Thresha moaned as she continued to pull Rita's body towards her to pleasure them both. "Big sis.. I m-mean, mistress... You are too kind... Hahh..." Rita felt a burst of pleasure pound into her each time their pussies ground along each other. "Rita, I'm going to...!" Thresha gasped as she camp, her hips twitching and causing her to grind her slit along Rita's faster and more jerkily. Rita moaned and had a second orgasm with Thresha, their combined juices leaving a pool on the floor beneath them as both girls collapsed against each other, panting.

Thresha panted and gasped. "Rita that was..." her voice trailed off, as she went rigidly still and stared at the ceiling, her back arching. "Oh no... Rita, I think I did the slave master too well! What did I just do to you!? I am so very sorry!" Still wheezing a little, Rita sat up, and climbed on top of Thresha, pressing her chest against the older girl's and resting her chin on her clavicle. "It was fucking how, is what that was. Mmmmm... that felt really, really good. I think I like bossy Thresha." The older rembrosian girl looked down her chest at Rita, staring into her fake pupiless eyes. "You are not angry with me? But I made you do sex things against your will!"

Rita frowned at her. "Thresha, calm down. I let you do that. It was fun, don't worry. Don't you think I'd have stopped you if I didn't wanna do it?" Thresha blinked several times. "Oh. Right. You are Rita. You are strong. And I am being very silly." She wrapped her arms tightly around the smaller girl laying on top of her. "You liked me being the slave master?" Rita giggled. "It was nice seeing you ask for what you really wanted for a change. You spend so much time trying to please everyone else, just remember what you want matters too!" Thresha thought about this as she rubbed Rita's back. "Ahhh... I see. I think I will be able to play the slave master for the party after all, Rita." Rita giggled. "I think so, too."

"WARNING. Two entities approaching." AI_MI's voice rang in Rita's head. "What do we have here?" Both girls flinched as two figures stepped around either side of the giant oxygen converter they were hiding behind. "Runaway slaves, no doubt." Rita and Thresha froze. Two seriun males blocked their only paths to escape. "And rembrosian females to boot?" They edged a little closer. Rita thought fast. If she killed them it would make a scene and call others. Better to try and make a deal with them. "Follow my lead!" she whispered to Thresha, who nodded. "Eeep! Please don't turn us in, kind sirs!" Rita stammered with mock distress.

"And why shouldn't we? The guild pays a good reward for returned slave stock." Rita gulped. "P-Please, sirs! Do not tell anyone you found us, and... and..." The one coming at them towards where their legs were pointed laughed. "And what? What could lowly slaves like yourselves possibly have to offe-" His voice trailed off as Rita reached down and pulled her butt cheeks apart, spreading her bright blue pussy for the seriun male. "...and you can use us as you like." The two seriuns grunted in surprise. "Fuck a rembrosian woman? That costs a gang boss' fortune in the brothels!" the one by their heads exclaimed. "They're little whelplings, though. Barely even spawned, not a real rembrosian woman with all those perfect curves..."

The one by their feet let out a clucking noise, already unbuckling his belt and letting his twin, prehensile, spear-headed cocks flop out. "You really think we're gonna get another chance to mate with rembrosians? They say it feels exactly like getting to mate with a real human. Rita and Thresha tried to suppress their giggles, both thinking the same thing: they they really WERE about to get to fuck a real human. "Yeah, you're right. We can't let this opportunity pass by. The bounty reward we'd get for turning in these scrawny bits of scrap wouldn't even cover the oldest rembrosian whore in the whorehouse."

"Alright then, whelps. You got a deal... IF you can satisfy us. This has better be the best mating I've had in my life!" The seriun who'd talked the other one into it cleared his throat. "Which one you want?" The hesitant seriun tapped his foot against Thresha's head. "I'll take the larger one. She looks like she's got a couple curves starting at least." The eager seriun clapped his hands together happily. "Good, cuz I want the smaller one. I like the look she's givin' me. She looks like she knows what she's doing." He grabbed one of Rita's bright blue legs, dragging her off of Thresha as he took a seat on the ground, sitting her in his lap facing towards him. "Hey cutie. You want your uncle to play with you? You better not cry if my cocks are too much for you."

'This is just more practice for tonight.' Rita thought to herself, really diving into her rembrosian persona. She stuck out her tongue at the seriun man, tugging one of her eyelid down with a finger in an extremely childish manner. "Meeehhh! Bet you I can take all you have easily!" The seriun chortled at her expression. "Damn, you gotta pay extra for the bratty treatment at the brothels! This really is my lucky day." Without warning he slapped Rita's ass hard, making her yip. "Fine then, 'little human brat'! You need correction!" It was a popular line with the human kiddie porn, Rita knew. It meant she was about to get absolutely RAILED.

The seriun's twin prehensile cocks squirmed their way towards Rita's two lower holes and the male pries her butt cheeks apart, making her pussy gape a bit in the process. The spear-tipped squid-like cocks lined up with Rita's rembrosian-disguised holes, and the spawnling male grabbed her chin with a seven-fingered hand. "You're gonna be sorry by the time I'm finished with you, brat!" The cocks squirmed their way inside Rita's pussy and anus, making her squeal. "Yeah, not so tough now, are ya?" Rita squirmed as the two long members wiggled their way into her deepest insides, bulging out her belly in the process. "Fucking hells, this little piece of runaway bait is tight as sin! How's yours, Quegnar?" Rita risked a glance over at Thresha as her mate's attention wavered.

"She's fucking milking my cocks without even trying. This was such a good idea, Nrggris!" He had Thresha dangled upside down, holding her by the thighs as he pumped one cock down her throat while another snaked in and out of her rembrosian snatch. "Best fuck of my life!" Nrggris laughed, as he put a hand on top of Rita's head, forcing her down harder in rhythm with his pumping cocks plunging in and out of her 11 year old sex holes. "Ohhh! Get corrected, spawnling! Fuck, you're tight! I'm gonna put so many eggs inside you!" Rita groaned and came, her eyes rolling back behind the fake, pupiless lenses as she squirted, spraying pussy juice over the seriun's belly. "Whoah! I thought rembrosians couldn't do squirting thing! Hey, Quegnar, she did the squirting thing like the humans in the videos! I thought you told me they couldn't do that!"

Rita's heart beat faster. There was no way they'd think she was a human from that, right? "That's what Jkkrgath told me. Guess he was wrong if the little one just did it. Wonder if mine will?" Rita breathed an inner sigh of relief. There was so much rumor and misinformation about humans that nobody knew what was real anymore. She went back to focusing on the sensations of having two flexible cocks drilling her preteen pussy and ass. "I'm gonna fill you up, 'human rape toy'!" The seriun clamped his other hand around one of Rita's biceps as he groaned, beginning to splurt thick alien cum inside her.

Seriun cum was a little different, as Rita suddenly remembered. For their species, the male supplied the egg casings with the nutrient solution - the semen, and the female made basic organisms that crawled inside the casings before mixing DNA and developing further. What this meant for the little girl getting pumped full of the stuff, was that to her she felt like she was getting filled with squishy eggs, one of Rita's biggest secret kinks. She moaned in pleasure as the little girl felt objects getting deposited inside her little womb. "Damn, she's getting off to this hard, Quegnar! Look at her little face!" The seriun grabbed Rita by the chin and squished her cheeks, turning her head so his buddy could see.

"Heh, nice. Mine keeps wiggling in all the right ways... Agggghh! I'm gonna fill her full of eggs!" Thresha gasped as her stomach and womb began having squishy, empty eggs get deposited inside them. "Hah, she finally did that female cumming them. She didn't squirt, though. Guess you just got a special one." The male seriuns kept dumping egg casings inside the two little girls until their bellies were swollen with them. Rita's eyes could barely focus by the end - she'd came a third time during the egg casing laying process alone, from feeling the pressure of her belly being so full. The seriun holding onto Rita finally wormed his cocks out of her gaping holes as she panted hard, hugging her close to his chest as he got to his feet. "Damn, I really want to keep her."

"We can't fucking do that! We'd get our brains splattered across six parsecs by the bounty hunters for keeping slaves that don't belong to us!" The other seriun dropped Thresha to the ground at his feet, where she twitched involuntarily every few seconds. "Yeah, you're right." He rubbed the top of Rita's head. She was surprised at how affectionate he was being, almost in a fatherly way. She hadn't expected that. "Sorry, little one. We'll forget we saw you, but we can't help you. I hope you get a good master." He rubbed Rita's back and gave her bottom one more squeeze before setting her on the ground next to Thresha. "Come on, let's get out of here before someone else comes and finds them."

The somewhat fatherly seriun turned back to look at Rita after a few steps. "If your master lets you, I work and live down at Dry Dock 12-B. You could come visit me, just ask for Nrggris Hrk'thar. Someone will know where to find me." His friend scolded him for being naive as he pulled him away. Rita watched them leave, feeling thoughtful. "I actually really liked him. He was sweet. Maybe I'll make his dream come true one day and go visit him." Rita confided this to the barely-conscious Thresha as the two seriuns disappeared around the corner. Rita kept her eyes locked on where she'd seen them last with a smile on her face, pressing down on Thresha's belly to force some of the egg casings out. This made Thresha's back arched and the rembrosian girl wheeze as several squishy egg casings popped out of her gaping blue pussy. They were going to need a few minutes to recover from all that, Rita thought in a daze.

Chapter 9

• Chapter Index