"So… why are your tits hanging out?” Guy asked as they walked to the mess hall.

“You… disgusting…. disgraceful… indecent!” her green skin was tinged yellow in a somewhat cute way as she acted flustered.

“I’m just trying to make conversation. If you dress like that, you can’t expect people to not notice. I don’t buy into that ‘what I wear doesn’t give you permission to look’ crap. You’re the one hanging your tits out. Who is the one acting indecent here?”

“I-if boss didn’t already command you remain alive. I’d have already killed you!” She nearly spat as she spoke with complete loathing.

“Would you believe you’re not the first chick who has told me that?”

“Actually, that’s the most believable thing you’ve ever said!”

The pair ended up walking in silence again, but Guy just couldn’t stand it.

“So… titties… why?”

“Y-you…” She ground her teeth, fighting everything she could.

She would have throttled him already, but that would mean she’d need to touch him, and that might get her pregnant. So, naturally, Vienna absolutely wouldn’t touch him! While she was debating such things, he had leaned close to her, grinning. When she saw his face only a foot from her own, she jumped back, nearly slamming into the wall.

“R-rape!” She cried out.

“What rape?” He snorted. “I didn’t even touch you! Hey, if you want me to stop ‘raping’ you with my eyes, then tell me why. If I have a reason that doesn’t imply you want to have sex with someone, I’ll cool it.”

“S-s-sex! You… you… you…” She was honestly so enraged that she couldn’t even speak.

However, just a single thought of boss, and any thought of shoving him out of an airlock blew out of her like air.

“So?”

She finally gave a defeated sigh. “My planet is naturally much colder than normal planets. My species is comfortable at a much lower temperature. As we settled into the galactic alliance, we got used to dressing light, as 72 degrees for us is like a desert for your people.”

“Ah… really? That’s pretty sweet. I actually like it a bit colder.”

“R-really?”

“Damn straight. Women keep complaining it’s too cold and they want to turn the thermostat up. I’m like, you can just throw on a sweater. I can only take off so much clothing!”

“Exactly! Ah!” She reached out to grab Guy’s shoulder, stopping and pulling back like she had just been burnt.

She then proceeded to shoot Guy an accusatory look, like her slip had somehow been his fault. Guy could only shrug. Thankfully, the uncomfortable silence didn’t last long. There was only one more turn and then the pair entered what appeared to be a mess hall. At least, there were long tables where people could eat. Although the place looked like it could seat a hundred, there were only five there, all women. Well, Guy was pretty sure they were all women, but it was hard to be certain considering.

He recognized two of the women present. There was Cerisa, the blue chick that had given him some incredible fellatio when he first woke up, only to leave him strapped to the table. She was still mimicking more facial features than she used to. Guy wondered if his guidance had been responsible for that. Then, there was the large chick with the cromagnum brow. Her head would have hit the ceiling except that she walked with a noticeable hunch. She wasn’t ugly at all. It wasn’t like she was a cave woman covered in dirt with rotten teeth. She was rather sexy, actually.

“Speak of the specimen.” Cerisa said as soon as she noticed me, “if you are so curious about him, perhaps you should ask him yourself?”

Cerisa made it abundantly clear that she was talking about Guy immediately before he arrived. She was exactly that kind of person, though. She was someone who didn’t seem to understand decorum or politeness. Even among alien prisoners, that attitude seemed unique to her. While the big girl laughed, scratching the back of her head, the other three looked away awkwardly. Guy didn’t have the pleasure of having met the other three women, so he immediately approached the table without reservation.

“Hello, ladies.” He winked at the women, giving a special look at the three other ones. “I’m Guy. What are your names?”

“Y-you!” Vienna cried out, racing up to Guy and all but grabbing his arm to yank him away. “Have you no shame? I apologize that this animal had barged in on you.”

“Not at all!” The gigantic woman waved it away in a booming voice as low in tone as one might expect with her size, but still pleasant sounding. “We’re all curious about this man. I’ve never met one before. I was born in captivity!”

“What? How old are you?” Guy asked impulsively, getting an angry look from Vienna he was getting used to ignoring.

“I’m sixteen!” She showed her bicep, and then gave a hearty laugh, “Also, the name’s Trinity. I’m the strongest woman on the ship. If any of the other girls bully you, I’ll beat them up for you!”  

“How ridiculous, I recall you getting knocked out in most fights.” The first of the other women spoke up. “I’m Ten, by the way.”

“Ten years old!” I let out a cough.

“No… my name is Ten. It’s a designation. I’m the tenth born from my brood.”

The woman who called herself Ten had a mask and goggles covering her face and she wore a long black robe, covering up every part of her body much like a Muslim woman, if a Muslim woman wore goggles and a breathing apparatus. The mask distorted her speech, making her sound hollow. The hood of her robe covered her hair, giving Guy an impression of a plague doctor or something like it, although the mask didn’t protrude out. As for being born in a brood, that seemed like a weighty subject Guy didn’t want to get into, so he turned to the next strange girl.

“M-my name is Faratites.”

At first, Faratites looked like she had a hump on her back, but Guy quickly realized those were wings she covered sloppily with her shirt. Her ears were also noticeably long and pointed. They ended up dropping in the back of her head. Although he couldn’t see her wings, her appearance gave Guy the feeling of a bat. He wondered if she could fly.

“D1-X1 designation, Dixi for short.” The other had a robotic voice.

“You’re an android?”

“Android implies no biological parts. I am an autonomous biohybrid.”

“She’s a cyborg.” Trinity snorted, slapping the smaller girl on the back.

Guy wouldn’t have been able to guess, as she showed no signs of being robotic. That was until he noticed her eyes, which mirror-like in appearance. Her skin was very pale, nearly white, and of the women present, she appeared the daintiest and weakest.

“Can you really call her a cyborg when the only part of her that’s living is the brain?” Ten asked.

“If she’s a cyborg, why the code-sign designation?” I asked curiously.

“I was a slave.” She responded. “Our species suffers from a horrendous plague that targets my people. I got it. At that point, you have two choices, to allow your body to degrade one part at a time until death, or to have your brain placed in a machine. I desired life more than freedom. My body, unfortunately, is owned by a corporation.”

“If you’re owned, how did you end up in prison?” Guy scratched his head. “I mean, shouldn’t they just repossess your parts? No offense, but I’m surprised you’re not a brain in a jar.”

“Aren’t you a bundle of questions?” Trinity snorted.

“I’m sorry! Foolish man! Don’t you know it’s not appropriate to ask such questions from prisoners? Do you wish to be killed?”

Dixi suddenly laughed a strange robotic laugh. “You worry too much, Vienna. I enjoy his candidness. You are right, Guy. I should have been repossessed and turned into a brain in a jar. The reason this didn’t happen is actually a long and complicated one.”

“Long and complicated?” Ten spoke up. “Weren’t you a sexbot who killed any partner that didn’t satisfy you sexually?”

Dixi’s smile turned to a frown. “It is not nice to give away a girl’s secret.”

“Y-you had sex… with men?” Vienna shot her a disgusted look, this clearly being the first time she had found out such details from this girl.

“Not at all, I worked at an all-female brothel. I’ve never had the pleasure of a man. I caught the plague when I was too young to be interested in boys. Then I was turned into a bot and made to service women.”

“R-really…” Vienna’s expression turned more complicated, as if she didn’t know whether to be disgusted or intrigued.

“How so?” Cerisa interjected. “This does not explain why she is still alive.”

Dixi let out a metallic snort. “Well, if people wouldn’t interrupt, I would say that I had many partners in high areas. Women who could… satisfy me. They kept me in prison, but left me open for conjugal visits. Although, they all grew old and passed away.”

It seemed like she had been young when she was turned into a robot sex slave. I supposed if your body was an adult body; they bypassed the laws. Perhaps women liked the idea of corrupting an adolescent mind and showing her the ropes. It shouldn’t come as a surprise if that woman became a psychopath. Wait, grew old and passed away? How old was she? I supposed in a robotic body she could be hundreds of years old.

“Another prisoner lost in the bureaucracy…” Faratite spoke in a very light voice.

“I would find it interesting to play with Guy.” Dixi announced suddenly, looking at Guy with a smirk. “I’ve never tasted man before. This might be a unique opportunity.”

“Haha!” Trinity let out a laugh.

Faratite squeaked and hid her face. Cerisa cocked her head with interest. It was difficult to see Ten’s reactions behind her mask.

“Y-you! If you do that… it’s… pregnancy…” Vienna was nearly throwing a fit.

“I am a cyborg. I cannot have children.  I am interested in how this body would respond to a male. The original design was supposed to be for men. It was only poor advice that turned me into a lesbian.” As her expression turned bitter, Guy thought she was expressive for a robot, but perhaps that necessary for her job. “I was told that if I pushed for lesbianism, I’d be treated better. Women know how women work and thus my experiences would be less violent. As a scared little girl, it made sense.”

“That’s not how it worked!” Guy blinked, just a bit surprised.

“Women are cruel. I think everyone on this ship can attest for that.”

The other women lowered their heads. Apparently, a group of female prisoners were all too aware of the cruelty women were able to inflict on each other. Only Guy’s mood didn’t seem to dampen. He already knew that bitches be crazy. He’d had at least two former lovers come at him with a knife. If anything, the upfront nature of these prisoners was refreshing. Most women would stab you in your sleep. Guy felt like these women would at least do it when you were awake.

“Well, I don’t mind having sex with any of you, however, that’s presuming you don’t kill me after.”

Dixi’s grin returned. “That depends on whether you can satisfy me!”

“R-really, even me?” Trinity’s mouth fell open.

“Don’t let this man ensnare you! You’re still young!” Vienna cried out.

Looking at the girl who was as nearly as tall as Guy while sitting, he could only put on a strained smile. “I mean, sure, if I’m on top.”

“O-on top…” She blushed, her usually boisterous attitude suddenly growing demure.

“I was informed that you spent the night with Diatome.” Cerisa spoke up, breaking into the silence.

“Ah, D-diatome is the one who watched him last night?” Faratite spoke up.

“Are you asking if we had sex?” Guy cocked his head.

“Oh… no… you mustn’t!” Faratite squeaked out.

“Why is that?” Guy asked.

“B-because, her species kill their lovers!”

“What?”

“Watch your tongue, Faratite.” Vienna had a displeased expression, which seemed to suggest she knew this.

That bitch new Diatome killed lovers, but she was not saying anything to Guy. He recalled the previous night when she had kicked him out of her room. She had seemed pretty edgy. Apparently, she was fighting the urge to kill him. He’d definitely never touch her again. He supposed he had dodged a bullet with that one. Faratite seemed to have noticed Guy’s expression and guessed he had already done it once.

“Y-you must not sleep with her again. The more you do, the worst it gets. Her species is very dangerous.” Faratite ignored Vienna’s glare and spoke anyway.

“Ah… thanks for the advice.”

“Tsk… she wouldn’t kill him anyway, and neither would you, Dixi, unless you want to answer to boss.” Vienna crossed her arms irritably.

Dixi had started to narrow her eyes at Vienna’s words, but as soon as she heard the word boss, her expression disappeared and she looked down. In fact, her words put a wet blanket over the group. Evey woman wore a scared or worried expression on her face, except for Ten’s face, which was covered.

“This… um… Boss… she have a name? Is she really that scary?”

“Boss… has no name. She’s been at the prison longer than any of us. She was there with her reputation even before I came,” Dixi said.

“She… my mother challenged her when I was only four. She killed my mother in a single strike.” Trinity responded weakly, her head still down. “If you knew how large and terrifying my mother was, you could imagine.”

If a 9-foot-tall woman like Trinity called another woman terrifying, I could only imagine just how crazy she was. However, for this Boss to have killed her…

“Are you okay… I mean, calling her Boss then?” Guy tried to ask as tastefully as he could.

“She…” Trinity broke into a grin. “She’s actually more of a mother than mom. She’s the one who named me. My mother never bothered; she just called my girl. After she killed my mother, she personally claimed me as her protected. Little girls my age born in prison are either protected by the mother, or become subs for other women. That’s um…”

Guy coughed. “I know what a sub is.”

Vienna had her head cocked as if she didn’t know what the words meant.

“Right…” Trinity blushed. “Anyway, I was allowed to grow up rather peacefully. I was well taken care of. Boss said that since she had done the deed, she had to take responsibility for the fallout. She’s that kind of woman.”

“So deep down, she’s an honourable person.” I crossed my arm.

“Nope, she’d evil.” Ten said.

“Definite monster.”  Dixi added.

“Unholy abomination.” Even Cerisa followed it up.

“Ah…”

Guy didn’t know how to respond to that. She was a woman who was both respected and feared. She was mysterious to the point that even most of her closest supporters didn’t know a thing about her, even her true name. Most of all, she was protecting Guy in the same way she had once protected Trinity.

“Ah, well, I don’t know why I’m being so talkative today.” Trinity let out another hearty laugh. “Didn’t you come to eat, not talk?”

That was right! Guy was hungry. If it came to orders of importance, women were a bit higher than food. He got to meet these women and even found a few who might be up for sex. The shy Faratite might be an excellent choice. The sex bot Dixi seemed a bit dangerous. Actually, the girl he thought he had the best chance with was Trinity. He didn’t mind jumping into that mountain. Plus, she was born in prison, so she was the only girl here who hadn’t committed crimes to get there. Plus, she was only sixteen. That was illegal where he was from, but in space and with another species, it probably didn’t violate any laws.

“Ah… that’s right, what do you eat?” Guy asked.

“Nutrient mush, be my guest,” Trinity grinned, shoving her untouched tray over to me.

There was a bowl with some kind of grey mush in it. The spoons were a bit wide and resembled those soup spoons with the wide handle with a canal that would let you sip out the back. It looked gross, but since this was a prison ship, Guy supposed that this was to be expected to feed the prisoners. He took a bite, and then made a face.

“That is… surprisingly chewy…”

“It has a reagent in it that increases the viscosity with exposure to saliva… ah…” Faratites spoke up and then shut her mouth with a click.

“You got to spit it in and then mix it up.” Trinity said, “Here, I’ll help… quaaaack…”

“Nope!” Guy grabbed the bowl, pulling it away just before she let a loogy loose. “Ah, I mean, it’s fine. Thank you.”

“Suit yourself.” She shrugged, swallowing.

“Is this all that’s available?”

It tasted like, well, nothing. It was like eating a bowl of runny snot. Guy decided immediately that this wouldn’t be the only food he’d be willing to eat.

“This is the cafeteria.” Vienna snorted. “Where else do you find food?”

“I mean… what did the crew eat?”

“Huh?”

All the women looked at me with blank looks. Guy only realized then these girls really had been prisoners their entire life. They had been so used to eating out of the cafeteria, it never occurred to them that there might be other food available.

Guy laughed awkwardly. “I mean, the crew would not have eaten this. So, they must have their own kitchen. Maybe not a mess hall like this one, but they should have a break room or something like it.”

“That’s right!” Trinity punched her fist into her palm. “They wouldn’t eat the nutrient mush! I bet there are other meals on this ship somewhere.”

“E-even if there were, we still don’t have complete control of the ship.” Vienna explained. “We haven’t forced our way passed every locked door. There is no telling where they put food. For now, this is the best we have.”

“Nonsense. Do we have a ship schematic? With that, I bet we could find the food stores.”

“Let’s do it…” Ten spoke up.

“Ah, real food, I haven’t had that sense ever.” Trinity grinned.

“Perhaps, I can find the missing nutritional supplements in my diet.” Cerisa nodded.

Only Vienna was glowering, clearly unhappy that Guy seemed to have won over the girls in the cafeteria so easily.