Empire of Decay: Deal

Certain pieces of jargon and units of measurements have been translated into proper human and Earth-based terms, for the benefit of this file’s superior human readerbase.

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Sergeant Kota Rainsong stood before her commanding officer, back straight, chest out, arms at her side. A day after her outburst with the prisoner, the Captain had summoned Kota to her office, a not unexpected result from what had happened. Knowing what to expect, Kota wore a face of grim determination before Captain Najaderesh, willing to accept punishment for what she had done.

The Captain sat behind her desk, arms tented before her, grey eyes studying her soldier. “Obviously, you know exactly what you did and why you’re here, Sergeant…” She asked in a low voice and even tone. Kota responded in a perfect military clip, forceful and emotionless with all due deference to her superior.

“Yes, Captain. While fraternizing with the prisoner I lost my cool and assaulted her. I understand this a grave breach of the protocols you set down, especially considering you let the Dranza aboard at my behest. I apologize for my actions and am willing to accept any punishment you see fit.”

Then, before the Captain had a chance to respond, Lala, her Egaaz sexslave, entered the office with two tea trays, setting them down on opposite sides of the desk. Kota blinked, trying to mask herc confusion, especially at the Captain’s bemused face.

“At ease, Sergeant.” The Captain said, which broke the mask, as Kota gave a bewildered stare. “Relax, sit down, and have some tea. Lala makes excellent tea.” She ruffled the white hair of the diminutive girl. Lala averted her eyes and blushed. As Kota gingerly took her seat, the Captain added, “We’re having a talk, not a tribunal.”

“I’m not being punished for attacking the prisoner?”

“No one would ever punish a soldier for attacking a Dranza.” The Captain replied with a bright chuckle. “Now, if you killed unprocessed and potentially useful material, then maybe… but, no. I imagine our guest will now be either hostile or skittish towards you, so you might not be on guard duty anymore, but that’s not really a punishment, is it?”

It sounded like a blessing, to not share close quarters with the murderous little lizard. Kota took a sip of her tea and thanked the Captain. It really was an excellent cup of tea.

“I still feel the need to apologize, though.” Kota then said. “I’m the reason she’s aboard in the first place. I should have just followed standard protocol and none of this would have happened. The entire purpose for treating with her was to end the resistance in one fell swoop. Now, I may have jeopardized it.”

“Perhaps, perhaps not.” The Captain shrugged, cup in one hand and the other idly petting her pet. “Mok is the most amiable and sensible Dranza I’ve ever met. If she was willing to openly ask for parley, she may still spill her guts regarding her comrades. **** or not.” Captain Najaderesh paused, took a sip, and then asked. “What was it that set you off? Was she part of the Mazer-9 team?”

“No.” Kota said, more forcefully than she would have liked, violently shaking her head so that the rest of her body felt the tremors. “No. She was not. We got into a discussion, that turned into an argument, she mentioned ‘gassing’ humans offhandedly and it just… set me off.” She stared down at her tea cup, getting lost in the plume of steam and the dark liquid in her mug. She then added in dark mutter, “If she was on that team, she would be dead already.”

Even staring down at her tea, Kota could feel the sharp, falcon-like eyes of her CO on her. Silently studying her. Even though the Captain was nothing but even handed and sympathetic, Kota could feel a pressure radiating from that gaze, a gravity so great that she could feel the strain pressing down on her, greater than anything any of her professors or drill sergeants had said or did.

Finally, after an interminable and unbearable stretch of silence, the Captain asked. “Was that why you joined the service? **** for your parents?”

Her parents. Her siblings. Friends and family friends. All snuffed out by the lashings of a dying beast. The Dranza murdered the inhabitants of Mazer-9 - research scientists not connected to the war, so dedicated to maintaining neutrality they kept their slaves off-station as a sign of respect. But the Federation was pushing closer and closer to Zandra. The Empire needed to make an example of the nearest humans they could find. Defenceless humans. Kota was only spared because she had accepted to study off-station for that semester. She lived. Everyone died.

“...I don’t know.” Kota answered, miserably. Anger boiled in her heart. At the enemy. At herself. “I was angry and I felt like I wanted to do something, no matter how little one nerd turned soldier would end up counting. I had no desire to join the service before, I was about to finish my degree, but I thought ‘they need me out there’.” She scoffed. “Whoever ‘they’ were at the time.” She dared to flick her gaze back to the Captain. “Apologies, that was needlessly morose. I am happy with what I accomplished, and I am happy to serve under you Captain, it’s just…”

“You’re tired.” The Captain finished for her. “We all are. Officers like me are wanting to get home to our families and slaves before our next assignment. Young bucks like you are undecided whether to re-enlist or finish your tour of duty and go onto the next chapter of life. The Federation now owns the former Dranza Empire and is looking for settlers to fill it’s systems, planets, and moons, and I can imagine such an offering seems irresistible from where you’re at.”

Kota had not really considered that, but when the Captain said it, it made a lot of sense. She had nowhere else to go to, so starting fresh on newly minted Federation holdings might be the way to go. Plus, she would not be opposed to living on conquered enemy territory, knowing everyday that her new home was living proof of the ultimate fate of those wretched Scalies

So lost in this reverie that Kota did not notice the playful smile that came to her Captain’s lips, slight but enough to smooth out her wrinkles and highlight her laugh lines. The twinkle in her eyes didn’t hurt either, showcasing how handsome a woman Avarti Najaderesh was.

“Sergeant… Kota. Seeing as how the two of us conspired for this little plan, how about I propose another deal?”

Kota looked up, unsure of where the Captain was going with this.

“How about, when we have all the information we want, and she’s properly converted and processed, I give you Mok?”

Kota stared at her, slack jawed. She was not anywhere near the status or wealth required to just unilaterally take a freshly enslaved xeno for herself. Not to mention, crewmen of her rank weren’t supposed to have their slaves with them while on active duty. Most of the privates she worked with joined the military right at eighteen and had yet to obtain their first, government-mandated ****, but there were other, older, more experienced petty officers who left behind their property at home when they shipped off, solely interacting with them through holo-chat. Even at the tail end of her duty, just handing an non-commissioned officer like her a **** was a serious breach of protocol…

…And yet, Kota could not banish the image of having that sullen, brooding, snarling little snake turned into her own pliant sexual companion. She had plenty of familiarity with enslaved Dranza and their augmented, humanized anatomy via the penned slaves that worked the crewmen’s lounge. Imagining Mok like that, at her feet, warming her bed, suffering her ****, her love, or anything else she chose to inflict upon her was as intoxicating as it was improbable.

With now both the Captain and Lala staring at her, a blushing Kota fumbled for an answer.

“That is… uh… appreciate… Captain… you aren’t intending to give her free passage, then?”

Snorting, Captain Najaderesh gave a dismissive wave. “Of course not. That’s an empty fantasy we’ll present to her, but there’s no way in hell I would let a greenie that walked onto my ship walk freely. Besides, I told her the dangers out there. She may not appreciate it, but she would be much safer collared and owned.”

“Regardless, I don’t know what to say…”

“Say ‘yes’! And say you have some interesting ideas for the forging. Dr. Wei would be very happy to hear that.” Then, the Captain stood from her chair and made her way around the desk. Still floored by her plan, Kota did not respond to stand up, even as Captain Najaderesh placed a hand on her shoulders, in cheer and celebration. “I quite like you, Kota. You’re a good soldier and, more importantly, a good person, I think. I can already see that when your tour is up, you won’t resign, so I want to send you off in high spirits.”

“You are… very kind, Captain…” Kota said, still at a loss of words. “B-but I’ve never even had a **** before. The family was rather poor in that regard. We had two Ligreon - a labourer male and a maid - but that was it. I was too focused with my studies and then-”

“You’re in luck then,” The Captain cut her off with a mirthful grin. “There’s a new Federation law. They’re inundated with Dranza and because of the mass supply and the general hatred for them, have dictated every Federation citizen over eighteen will be given a Dranza **** of their own, in addition to their standard government-mandated ****. You’ll have a lizzie anyways, we’re just cutting some red tape, is all.

“But first, we have to pump her for an answer. And maybe break her a little more. I saw the security footage. Whatever you told her seemed to have an effect on her. She came here with her confidence shaken in herself and her people. Let’s see if we can shake it a little more.”

From serious and focused to warm to sly to sinister, the Captain was a woman of many faces and ideas, leaving Kota swept from her feet. Or maybe she was still off-balance from the suggestion. And the fantasies of mincing bimbo lizards in her head. Still, she found enough wherewithal to stand and salute her CO, their plan hatched and their course set. Interrogation was scheduled to start tomorrow, too. But that just meant there was one ugly thing Kota had to do. One vile, rotten task she had to commit to in order for this to succeed.

She had to get back into Mok’s good graces.