Comfort Cargo

[Otto26]

"That," Ursula breathed. "I like that. Try a little circling, just above the hood. Move it up and down on my clit. Ssssss" Ursula threw her head back and breathed deeply. Her arm moved, positioning her hand to caress Yasmin's hair as she suckled at Ursula's breast.

"You're such a very good girl, Yasmin."

Ursula softly bit her lip as the sensations washed through her body with increasing strength.

 

[caela]

Try a little circling, just above the hood. Move it up and down on my clit.

Yasmin did as she was instructed and was glad she'd asked when she heard Ursula's sharp intake of breath. She could feel the other woman trembling against her and found herself wanting to smile at it. It felt oddly good to be able to bring her pleasure but without necessarily having her own body used in return as a man would need to.

She did smile slightly at being called a good girl but instead of saying anything simply switched the attentions of her mouth from one breast to the other. Her lips suckling at the nipple, teeth scraping experimentally along the sensitive flesh, while her fingers continued to work at Ursula's clit. She moved them a little quicker as Ursula's pleasure seemed to grow, wanting to see how long it would take for the other woman to cum and what the differences would be between Ursula and herself.

 

[Otto26]

Ursula shuddered as Yasmin's fingers and tongue brought her to a peak of pleasure. "Ah, ah, ahhh!" she cried as her body jerked involuntarily, dancing to the tune that Yasmin played upon her. Breathing heavily, she clutched Yasmin to her as the room seemed to swim. Softly crooning her pleasure she held Yasmin and stroked her back and cheek.

"Not so bad for you, hmmm, Yasmin? And very good for me. Very good indeed. Reach over there and hand me my drink then cuddle up for a bit, yes? Tell me how you are doing."

 

[caela]

"Not so bad for you, hmmm, Yasmin? And very good for me. Very good indeed. Reach over there and hand me my drink then cuddle up for a bit, yes? Tell me how you are doing."

Yasmin chuckled softly and did as she was told, handing Ursula her drink and curling up next to her, one arm wrapped loosely around her waist and her head resting lightly on her upper chest so that she'd be down far enough for Ursula to drink.

"I'm glad I managed to please you, Sera. I honestly wasn't sure I'd be able to," she admitted honestly. "As for how I'm doing, what would you like to know?"

 

[Otto26]

Ursula took another sip of her drink and felt the warmth of the alcohol merging with the glow of the orgasm. She absently caressed Yasmin's cheek.

"What would I like to know? Oh, anything. On a starship you search for anything that isn't routine. I've heard all of Gibon's dreams, all of Hebart's jokes, tried just about every concoction the Moscatiello brothers have managed to grow, ferment, distill, or culture. I've seen all the shows I care to watch and slept with most of the crew at least once; twice," she amended. "So tell me something new. Tell me about your life on the downbelow, tell me how you got here, tell me your impressions of the Rainbow. Entertain me," she said grandly.

 

[caela]

"So tell me something new. Tell me about your life on the downbelow, tell me how you got here, tell me your impressions of the Rainbow. Entertain me," she said grandly.

Yasmin laughed softly at being told to entertained and couldn't help teasing, "I thought I just had."

With a gentle smile curving her lips she talked of her life at home. Of her parents, who had passed away, of school, of her yearning to be a doctor and help people, of friends, and of that late night rushing back to her dorm after having been in the library too long. Of being able to see the doors that would have harbored her as she felt the net drop and the sting of a syringe and then blackness.

She spoke of waking in the slave pens, of being processed as a slave, of the advice older slaves had given her to make her new life easier to bear.

Her life had been simple before and there was nothing she felt the need to hide. Nothing she needed to leave out though she stopped when she reached the point that she woke on the ship. Now there were things to hide; a desperate desire to flee and have her freedom once more, the way she conspired to manipulate Gibon into giving her the things she wanted. The way she was even now plotting to manipulate Hebart as well though he wouldn't know it until her trap had sprung around him.

No, when she reached the point that she'd woken on the ship she simply shrugged and went quiet once more.

 

[Otto26]

"That's not bad," Ursula commented, "if you can act that abduction story up a little bit you might have a recording Gibon could sell. That's your key to staying on Gibon's good side, by the by; he's devoted to his creditline. Not an ounce of male ego in the man, and I'm not complaining about that, mind, so if you make him money and don't make trouble for him he'll be easy to deal with."

She finished her drink, savoring the residual warmth.

"I've heard much worse, dear. You seem to have been fairly fortunate, and the Rainbow's not a bad ship. The Captain retired out of the Kieran Navy and he runs a fair ship. Don't cross him, mind. I've been on lots of worse ships, though. The Dancing Bitch where I started my apprenticeship... that was bad: captain was an addict, officers were corrupt or cowards or both, the crew... Not a nice place for a young woman out on her own; a downbelower at that."

She looked up at the ceiling. "That was hard. Downbelow is... different. Dirt to walk on, wind and sky. Space. All of it free. I'd never thought about living in the void. Downbelow life rules, up here... death. Every bit of life has to be clawed from the void and protected. And no one does it for free. Everything has a price. The water we drink, the air we breathe, even our freedom. The difference between a slave and crew isn't as big as you might think. Except, of course, in some situations. Like now. Enough of rest. Let's see how your lips and tongue feel on my cunt."

 

[caela]

The difference between a slave and crew isn't as big as you might think. Except, of course, in some situations. Like now. Enough of rest. Let's see how your lips and tongue feel on my cunt.

Yasmin had to fight the urge to snort her disbelief at what the woman said. Easy fro her to say there was little difference! Ursula had choice in her life. They may not always be easy choices but they were choices nonetheless. She could choose her lovers, choose to leave the ship at the next port, she had rights and privileges and while they apparently meant little to her....Yasmin would have given anything to have those choices once more.

She felt her body stiffen with the fury that moved through her and kept her eyes downcast to keep the other woman from seeing the anger flashing through them. Just then she knew that if her lips touched this woman's body her teeth would sink into her flesh as well and she'd never felt such relief as when the timer on Ursula's console sounded letting them both know the time she had paid for was up.

She'd have to wait to feel Yasmin's lips and tongue on her cunt.

"My apologies, Sera," she managed, her voice as stiff and formal as the way she held her body. "I'm due in the infirmary this shift."

Gathering her things quickly she slipped from the room before Ursula could gainsay her and stormed through the ship to the infirmary where she yanked on her shipsuit, warm for the first time in days it seemed as she looked about for the doctor.

 

[Otto26]

Doc looked up from the medical journal he was reading when Yasmin stormed into the closet that constituted his 'office'.

"You managed to bargain for better clothing, I see. Well done. We'll begin today with a simple diagnosis. The dummy is programmed and set up in the main room. Since we have no nurse you will need to compensate by performing those functions as well. This is a pass-fail evaluation. Get started."

He turned off the reader he'd been using. 'Not that it had anything new and interesting in it. I wonder how she'll react when she finds her medical knowledge is as far behind the curve of modern medicine as the equipment in this infirmary? She'll be mad. Furious, even. But she'll also want to learn what she doesn't know. I can work with this one. Too bad, I suppose.'

 

[caela]

"You managed to bargain for better clothing, I see. Well done. We'll begin today with a simple diagnosis. The dummy is programmed and set up in the main room. Since we have no nurse you will need to compensate by performing those functions as well. This is a pass-fail evaluation. Get started."

Yasmin looked from the doctor to the dummy and sighed. She wanted to rant and vent but she threw herself into her work instead. She wasn't surprised to find that many of the illnesses the dummy showed symptoms for were unfamiliar to her. After all she hadn't been training to be an intergalactic doctor but a homeworld doctor. Anything that could have been found on her homeworld she diagnosed easily, outside of that she struggled but managed a bit.

Mostly she focused on making sure she went through the steps correctly and doing everything that would need to be done. She recognized it for what it was, a test of her skills not her specific knowledge. Still even knowing she didn't do nearly so well as she would have liked (and strongly suspecting she'd actually failed it) it gave her a feeling of accomplishment just to be learning and working once more instead of being idle or being used like some sort of speaking blow-up doll.

It also gave her a means of channeling her frustrations.

At last she'd run through all the simulations and looked back to the doctor, "I know I didn't do so well Doc. Would you give me access to the medical databases please so that I can study up on those illnesses I'm most likely to come across on the ship?"

 

[Otto26]

"You've already got access," Doc replied. "But we will begin your training in trauma medicine. At its base, all shipboard medicine is trauma-based, so that's the fastest way to make you productive with the least investment in training. Once you've achieved a basic proficiency in that, you'll move on. On your planet, disease was an issue because it had lots of places to flourish, to hide and grow. Centuries of strict quarantine procedures have severely reduced the pool of diseases. The dummy was set with diseases you've never heard of because they're from other planets. I didn't expect you to know them, I just wanted to see how you reacted. Your basic procedure is good, if somewhat sloppy. I blame your instructors, not you. But your biggest failing was in not thinking."

He looked closely at her to see how she was reacting to this. 'Young, she's getting angry and frustrated. But it needs to be said.'

"You're still thinking like a student, trying to have all the information in your head. Looking it up would be cheating, right? Wrong. The second you were uncertain about something you should have looked it up. Knowing the information doesn't matter. Passing the test doesn't matter. Saving the patient matters. Stop thinking like a student and start thinking like a doctor."

He walked over to his office and pulled out a reader which he passed to Yasmin. "You've got two segments to get as far as you can on this material on basic trauma medicine procedures. Then you can have a decisegment to eat. After meal time Izumi is going to be bringing me some more raw materials and we'll process and preserve those until the end of the shift."

He paused, trying to think if he'd forgotten anything. "Any questions?" he asked.

 

[caela]

You're still thinking like a student, trying to have all the information in your head. Looking it up would be cheating, right? Wrong.

Yasmin wanted to yell at him as he told her she was sloppy and wasn't thinking. Wanted to, but didn't. She realized he was right, he'd called it a test and she'd treated it like one thinking she had to know the answers instead of looking them up. Embarassed she drew a deep breath and nodded her head. When she was wrong she could admit it. She didn't like it, but she could do it.

"You've got two segments to get as far as you can on this material on basic trauma medicine procedures. Then you can have a decisegment to eat. After meal time Izumi is going to be bringing me some more raw materials and we'll process and preserve those until the end of the shift."

Taking the reader she moved to sit down and start reading. She wasn't entirely clueless, she had been trained on trauma patients but it had only been a small part of her training and she knew she could use the refresher the reader offered. When he asked if she had any question she simply shook her head and tucked her feet under her to start reading.

 

[Otto26]

Doc sat down at his desk and started drawing up a plan of instruction for Yasmin. He started with the basic doctoral lesson plan from the Free Trader Assocation and had the computer merge in the Trauma Technician certification plan. Then he began tweaking the plan by inserting updated and custom instructional material. It wasn't until the console beeped at him that he realized two segments had gone by. He checked Yasmin's progress and was gratified to see how far she'd come.

"Good work, Yasmin. Go eat and come back," he told her.

 

[caela]

"Good work, Yasmin. Go eat and come back," he told her.

"Yes, Ser," she said quietly as she looked up from the reader. It had been quite interesting and she was glad he'd given it to her. Shipboard trauma medicine was different from that planetside.

Rising from her chair thought for a moment before leaving for the dining area. She was still on duty in the infirmary so she left on her shipsuit so those that saw her would know she was working not on free hours and available to be used. She wasn't sure how Gibon would take it but the fact was it seemed silly to be constantly dressing and undressing, especially when there could be an emergency while she was on duty.

And she didn't want to be cold again.

Gathering a plate in the dining hall she kept her head down and ate quickly, intending to be back in the infirmary before most of the crew came for their afternoon meal.

 

[Otto26]

Hebart, tapping at his wrist-mounted computer, sat down across from Yasmin.

"Hello, tart," he said cheerfully as he finished sending his message. "Going to eat something besides cock today? Can't live on protein alone I suppose. I like your new clothing. I wasn't sure at first, because normally I like my tarts raw, but it's grown on me. You should take care of your clothing and try not to lose it; by wearing it when you're not supposed to, for instance."

The smile on his face was entirely genuine, even if it wasn't particularly pleasant. "I was watching our vid last shift with a few of the power techs and it occured to me that I wasn't particularly sure I enjoyed having everyone on the ship watching me spunk on your back. I've been thinking that next time I'll pay Gibon a little extra to get the privacy option. Then we can play without anyone watching. I'd like that. Wouldn't you?"

 

[caela]

"Hello, tart,"

Yasmin shuddered at the voice of the man that sat down across from her. She knew before she saw him that it was Hebart and she had to fight the urge to bare her teeth at him. Instead she finished the few bites of her meal while he yapped about her clothes and privacy options.

Then we can play without anyone watching. I'd like that. Wouldn't you?

Remembering the look on his face when she'd watched the video feed she considered what to say to him and how to best play this man. She was going to have to walk a fine line with him but Gibon had agreed to leave him in her hands. Finally she simply cast him a look of pure contempt as she rose having said nothing to him.

At the door to the dining hall she turned back, her eyes dark with a repressed fury that she knew would only serve to trip his trigger all the more, "You shouldn't come so close to breaking other people's toys Hebart, it makes them less likely to share, and willing to charge you more for the trouble."

That said she spun on her heel and returned to the infirmary having used only half of her lunch time. Picking up the reader the Doc had given her she went back to reading it and learning about trauma medicine aboard the ship.

 

[Otto26]

Doc looked at the time in puzzlement when Yasmin came back into the infirmary. He considered asking her why she was back so early, but when he saw the expression on her face as she studied the reader he decided against it. 'I may have to be tough on her as part of her training, but I don't have to be cruel to her as a person,' he told himself.

A few centisegments later he was glad she had come back early; Izumi walked in with an armload of containers and set them down on the examination table. "Everything you asked for, Doc," he said cheerfully. "Hi Yasmin," he added as he caught sight of her, "we heard you were going to be working here."

'And that's why you're early,' Doc realized. Aloud he said, "Yasmin get ready to take inventory. I'll tell you the name of the item and the quantity. I'll also tell you a little about each item as we go. I'll expect your inventory to be accurate."

He picked up the first container. "Purple algae beetles, twenty three. We'll freeze dry and powder these to obtain the base for a powerful muscle relaxant. Blue apple fungus, call it ten medium caps. These are an ingredient in our staple narcotic anesthetic. Chen-Zou's Shrimp, one kilo. We'll be extracting a coagulation agent from these."

He continued until he had identfied every item. "Okay, Izumi, I've got it all. Unless there was something else?"

Izumi brought out a smaller container and handed it to Yasmin. "We thought you might like a few of these," he said and left the infirmary.

Doc shook his head and glanced at the box in Yasmin's hands. "Honey beetles, five. In a desperate emergency we might squeeze the honey onto a surface wound to act as a dessicant and antibiotic, but I suspect they intend for you to eat them. You bite off the honey-sack," he clarified at seeing the puzzled look on her face. "The Moscatiello boys just gave you a box of candy. Help me get these boxes into a cooler unit and you can go back to your room and start working on the instructional sequence I've set up for you."

'And I can get a few minutes away from you to settle my thoughts,' he added in the privacy of his own mind.

 

[caela]

"Hi Yasmin," he added as he caught sight of her, "we heard you were going to be working here."

"Hello Izumi," she said quietly and tried to manage a small smile but she was still disoriented from her run in with Hebart and slightly out of sorts.

"Yasmin get ready to take inventory. I'll tell you the name of the item and the quantity. I'll also tell you a little about each item as we go. I'll expect your inventory to be accurate."

"Of course Doc," she said and grabbed a small, handheld computer and pulled up the inventory sheets, marking things off as he went through them and getting consumed in her work, forgetting that Izumi was even there until Doc asked him if there was anything else.

"We thought you might like a few of these,"

She took the box he handed her but before she could ask what they were he was gone and she was looking quizically at Doc for an explanation. The explanation made her chuckle softly. Of those that Gibon had given her to already she liked Izumi, and Ozumi, the best. They were honestly kind to her and hadn't been thoughtless or cruel. She could see eventually developing an honest attraction to the brother.

Help me get these boxes into a cooler unit and you can go back to your room and start working on the instructional sequence I've set up for you.

Smiling warmly she put down the box of "candy" and did as the Doc wanted. Loading the boxes carefully into a cooler unit and then politely taking her leave. This time when she left she did strip out of her clothes first since she wouldn't be coming back today. Granted she was still technically on duty but she'd be back in her room and there was no sense in pushing Gibon's good will.

"Have a good day Doc, I'll have that sequence done before my next shift, " she said with a grin and headed back to her own room with her clothes held in front of her, the box of candy on top of them, and wearing only her shoes.

 

[Otto26]

When Gibon was working at high efficiency, with all ten robots going simultaneously, the slightest intrusion on his concentration was deeply resented; safety demanded that he be completely aware of everything happening around him. Gibon had built a successful career, and lived long enough to do so, in part upon his rigid adherence to safety regulations. So when the computer announced a priority message the first thing he did was bring his activities to a halt. The second thing he did was swear in irritation. The third thing he did was double check his situation before diverting his attention to the actual message.

The message was simple enough, just a picture of Yasmin wearing a shipsuit in the dining area. Checking the sender of the message, Hebart, filled in the rest of the situation. Gibon swore again and tried, in vain, to determine which of the two he was the most irritated with. Then he took a few sips of the electrolyte fluid the suit offered and thought matters through.

'I've got to discipline Yasmin,' he thought. 'If I don't come down on her hard now I'll have to come down on her harder later. I'd like to have reasonably cheerful cooperation, but I'll settle for grudging obedience so long as it's absolute. If the captain thinks I can't control her....' the thought disturbed him, not for the loss of life it might entail, but for the loss of profit it represented. 'Would he void her? I'd be annoyed at the next shareholder's meeting. But he might. Might freeze her, but that would cost money that he'd be hard-pressed to recover. He probably wouldn't be able to sell her to anyone but a station brothel. No, the captain would void her and be done with it. So had to make sure that he couldn't be accused of losing control.'

The beginnings of a plan began to form in his head and he switched over to a view of Yasmin, settling herself in her room and examining a reader. He issued commands to the computer and then went back to work; he'd deal with her when the shift was over.

 

[caela]

Tucked away in her room Yasmin was actually gratified to notice that the temperature was a bit warmer and couldn't help but wonder if that was another gift from Izumi and Ozumi. It made her smile slightly as she stowed away her clothes and slipped her shoes off near the door. For the first time she was actually comfortable naked in her room.

Pulling out the reader the doc had given her she set about the homework he'd given her knowing full well she could be interrupted at any moment. The longer she read the less the thought bothered her and soon it was entirely forgotten. She never knew that Gibon looked in on her or that Hebart had sent him a picture of her in her shipsuit in the dining hall.

She didn't hear it as the O2 filters switched over and started pumping an odorless gas into the room. She didn't even realized she was being drugs as sleep overcame her and the reader fell to the floor beside her bed, her body slumping on the narrow mattress.

* * *

Coming to later she was groggy and couldn't quite place what was happening until she realized she was on the floor. Trying to get up she growled at the realization that she was trapped. Her collar was locked to the floor, hands bound behind her back, on her knees and her ankles were bound to the floor as well.

She wasn't sure what was going on but she did NOT like it!

 

[Otto26]

Gibon turned the dryer in Yasmin's shower off and stepped out of it. He regarded Yasmin carefully, trying to assess her body language. It wasn't really easy given that her body was pretty well trapped in one position. She struggled against the bonds past the point of simple testing, though, and he was pretty sure that meant she was mad.

"Console, command priority Gibon, disable bunk," he said. He saw Yasmin's head, with difficulty, turn to look at him.

"Hello, Yasmin," he said. "Are these better working conditions for you?"

 

[caela]

Yasmin growled at Gibon and refused to speak to him. She had no idea why he was doing this but she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of asking or struggling any further. She was stuck and she damned well knew it.

So be it.

In the quiet of her mind though every curse she could think of was running in circles and she wanted to scream. She wouldn't do it though, she wouldn't give him (or that asshole Hebart who she was sure was watching or would later) the satisfaction.

 

[Otto26]

"Because these are the kind of working conditions that can be found in a typical slave brothel. They keep you this way while you're working; hose you off every once in a while. Lots of customers. Lots. Then you get time on the treadmill and they let you sleep, chained up of course, on a blanket on the floor."

"That's presuming, of course, that you survive long enough to be sold someplace like that. More likely the Captain would just void you and be done with it. You're being stubborn and quiet so you won't ask me why he'd toss you out an airlock. He'd do it because I can't control you. That would make you dangerous to the crew and give him a very strong reason to get rid of you."

"You're probably thinking something rebellious about getting revenge or preferring to be dead. Words just aren't strong enough to convey the reality of the void. I'll be back in a minute."

He pulled on the clean shipsuit he'd brought with him and then stepped outside. When the door closed he spoke, "Computer, using standard airlock drain sequence, empty personal compartment Yasmin of eighty-percent atmosphere."

He called up the interior view of the cabin and watched as the air was slowly sucked out of the cabin. His imagination conjured up the familiar hissing sound that his wrist comp didn't project. He waited until Yasmin lost consciousness before ordering the air returned and walking back in. He gave her a relatively gentle kick in the ribs to speed her return to wakefullness.

"I always hate that. But it's worse with real vaccuum; your blood starts to boil and it hurts. Ready to talk?"

 

[caela]

"You're probably thinking something rebellious about getting revenge or preferring to be dead. Words just aren't strong enough to convey the reality of the void. I'll be back in a minute."

Yasmin didn't bother to acknowledge his comments. She was indeed plotting some way to make his life miserable and that being dead was starting to seem better than what she was dealing with. Being voided would hurt but it wouldn't last long.

The her door closed and she heard an odd hissing. It took a moment for her to realize that he was making an object lesson. He was draining the air out of her room! She struggled against her bonds but eventually she just couldn't handle it and she passed out.

It was the kick to her ribs that started to bring her around. He might have thought it was gentle but it hurt and she groaned softly. She had enough presence of mind however to turn her head away from Gibon, unwilling to acknowledge his presence.

"I always hate that. But it's worse with real vaccuum; your blood starts to boil and it hurts. Ready to talk?"

"Talk!?" she snorted derisively without turning to look at him. "If you'd wanted to talk I wouldn't be bound to the damned floor. Just do whatever the fuck you came here to do and get the hell out," she growled savagely.

She was clearly furious but what didn't show was the self-pity starting to eat at her too. The longer he left her on the floor the more tempting it became to simply do something that would get her voided. She'd thought she could make the best of her situation but now she wasn't so sure. Maybe there wasn't a way to make the best of it.

 

[Otto26]

"I'm glad I'm not broadcasting this to the entire ship," Gibon said as he sat down on the chair. "I'd have to just walk out and repeat the oxygen deprivation bit. That can cause brain damage you know. No, privacy is better. Fewer complications. Console, display message 2."

The picture Hebart had sent was displayed across the wall.

"Take a look at this, Yasmin. Do you need another kick for encouragement?"