The Hestati stood in the gloom of a dying world. He was used to moving fast, so fast that the sudden break in speed made him feel unwelcome. After weeks of constant movement and unending toil he had finally been given a single minute to himself. A single priceless minute of the campaign to himself. And he decided to spend it studying the world he had finally stepped foot on.

Each second was priceless, and he stood on the plateau housing the orbital elevator. He could see the mountains in the distance, the fields expanding to the north. Already his brothers and sisters were preparing for the next phase, the next stage of the war. If he still had a face he would be smiling.

Twenty seconds left, he felt cold air touch what skin he still had left. His armor and robes covered him protecting him from the sharp dust. His internal temperature conditioning struggled against the changing climate.

As the last seconds went by he finally turned around and returned to the rest of his legion. Thousands upon thousands of Hestati stood in full battle dress, their weapons carefully assembled and chosen for their mission. All of them elevated to the Holy Cogs glorious mission. The human slaves and former work crews looked at them in horror, but they simply didn't understand. Soon they would, soon they would be elevated as well and come to see that the Holy Cogs designs were quite beautiful. They couldn't see how they were the next step in humanities evolutionary destiny...

His internal processors cooled and his mind steadied. His mechanical limbs and carapace were exposed to the red glare of the dawning light. He looked to his brothers and sisters as new data streams were opened. An elaborate series of code was downloaded to his brain, to all their minds at once.

An alarm sounded followed by the groins of vast doors. The orbital elevators doors were opening. The artillery had descended first days ago, now was the time for the real machines of war. Mechanized platforms, hulking bipedal behemoths, and ravagers bearing warship sized ordnance emerged. The crowds around them cheered as one, joined in holy accord to their sovereign purpose. The Hestati of the legions watched the hulking war machines walk from the elevator to the surface like a crowd of praying masses worshiping giants. Soon there would be more, soon they would be unstoppable.

On the command deck of each was their emblem gilded in pure bronze. The eye of Sihnon, for they were the sons of Sihnon Ariel. The great forge world, once the world of discovery and the nephilim of old, now the world of elevation and renewal. They were destined to save humanity, they were the harbingers of the Holy Cog.

Meanwhile

She hated his guts, Chloe Butcher hated this strange man. She had no idea why she was following him in the first place. Yes he promised her a way off world, and he did go out of his way to provide her the implants she had been painstakingly working for, but his impulsive nature and ego was unbearable. His complete disregard for her privacy was also insulting. Some would consider it degrading. Of course she knew he could hack the vibrator, and yes she did enjoy the sudden...release...but how dare he! Chloe bit her lip and hugged her tender firm breast, goosebumps were already forming and her nipples were hard.

Could he do it again? just another couple seconds of bliss to take the edge off? what am I thinking! she hated him, how dare he take advantage of her! but would it kill him just to do it again for a quick couple of seconds!

"Are you alright?" Alexander asked her, he seemed genuinely confused. She had been staring at him for the better part of a minute with her lips pursed and legs closed tight, the vibrating was set to a low volume which helped.

She shook her head, "I'm fine..." she wasn't, far from it. She squeezed her body tighter. Alexander raised an eyebrow and returned his attention to the fallen gangers. Chloe looked at the poor woman still standing in the street, her eyes were glaring at nothing and her arms hung loosely toward her side. Her nipples were home to large hoop piercings with a chain connecting them. Her stomach was firm and flexing, her hips were narrow. It was strange how she hadn't moved despite everything. Was her mind too far gone?

Alexander removed the jacket from the female ganger, along with her trousers, and handed them both to her. She looked at them, under the grease it was a mechanical grey weave. It was sleeveless and the zipper was damaged, but she took them with one hand and studied them. The jacket used to part of a jumpsuit, but had been cut in half. It had been of similar make and model to the jumpsuit she used to wear but with additional cables along the shoulders. Probably for battery packs and other gear.

This would be the third pair of clothing he had given her this day alone. She turned around and let the remainder of her clothing collapse to the floor. She felt eyes watching her. She hated the mixture of emotions, the desire to seek privacy and the wish to be seen. She pulled down her undergarments, they were soaking wet and slapped the floor like a wet towel.

"Wow that's attractive," Alexander mocked her.

She swore in response, "Don't be such a perv," her voice was nowhere near as harsh as she wished. In fact there was a slight slip at the end...

Chloe put on the trousers, she had no underwear to replace the ruined ones, somehow they fit her waist well enough. The sleeveless jacket was thicker than she would like and she had nothing to wear underneath. The zipper only came up to her mid chest, and did not suite her form well. Its previous owner had a much smaller bust and wasn't as top heavy. Her breasts was pressed into a tight squeeze. She already decided she would replace it with something better as soon as possible. She was also taller than the previous owner, her waist was exposed between the jacket and trousers.

Chloe turned and flexed her shoulders, her arms glistened in the cool night air. Her suspicions were confirmed, Alex was leaning against the wall watching her impatiently.

"You still wearing it?" he asked her. He was rather straight to the point.

She froze, there was a long pause between them. She could practically count the seconds in slow motion. Her inner muscles grew tight to squeeze the small round instrument filling the void within her, making her feel less empty and pleasantly stimulated. Before she even knew it, her body acted on its own and she gave a short silent nod.

He grinned, "Don't lose it, I'd hate for you to get bored..." he motioned for her to follow him outside. He picked up the chain that held the poor woman by the throat and with a short tug she began following him without complaint or repulse. Her breasts bounced with each step. Chloe matched his stride until she walked by his side in the warm night air, "what is wrong with her?"

"Probably too much bliss, that could have been you had I not stepped in when I did," he said it like she owed him a favor.

"About that, why did you stop them from doing that to me? If your so against slavery why are you eager to own your own harem?" Not to mention the poor woman he was now dangling behind them.

"I abhor slavery!" he answered harshly, "What they do to the women of this city is vile and beyond forgiveness, and when I saw what they were doing to you...only a soulless man would do nothing." he then looked back at the woman they were towing, "Could you imagine...that could have been you."

Chloe looked back at the poor mindless creature, her lower folds were drooling for attention. "So why the harem..."

"I told you already, Just need to find the specimen the Kai wants. Anyone else we can liberate would be a bonus. I'm not going to buy a private harem for my own amusement, if anything I'll liberate them out of mercy." To his credit he sounded genuine.

"Even that poor girl?" She didn't want to keep looking at her. With each glance she could only see herself in the poor creature.

"Even her, just one step at a time." Alex looked upward at the glowing shield that had taken the place of starlight, "Just one step at a time."

Chloe followed beside him quietly for a few minutes. This man, this foreigner...did he really offer her the best way off world. She didn't know or understand him. As they walked down the street the silence became more haunting. Slowly she could hear each breath she took over the constant dripping that trialed behind them.

Suddenly an engine noise broke the silence, and the pair looked up to see three low flying aces gliding above them. They were headed west. 

"I guess the artillery has stopped for now," She suddenly remembered the thunder had been missing. How long had it been missing?

Alex froze in his tracks at the sudden realization, "shit..." he looked at her and motioned for them to walk faster.

"Where are we going anyway," she didn't understand why the sudden change in pace.

Alexander looked back at the poor woman behind them, "were taking her home, and then just take it one step at a time." was that fear in his voice? She had a hard time telling with his accent.

Chloe could already feel a warmth bulging deep within. Her head was spinning. The rush of excitement being bottled up like a damn holding back an ocean. She looked at him unblinking for several seconds, "could you maybe...do that again."

He looked at her and smiled, "For you anything."

Another pair of aces flew over head, followed by another, the silence was eaten away and forgotten. One squadron after the other took over the skies above in an almost machine like pattern, their engine cries reverberated against the shield making it carry long after they were gone. At that moment Chloe could care less about what was happening to her home world, instead she bit her lip and squeezed her inner muscles tight as soothing impulses of pleasure fed her overly sensitive nerves. The crescendo increased, not so suddenly or violently. This time it was a soothing and blissful increase until she felt that incorrigible depravity surge forward. Just as she was really starting to enjoy the steady rhythm it ceased and restored to a slower pace.

"I was so close," she looked at him accusingly. The damn was already building back up again, her chance at relief cruelly stolen.

Alexander Gunn nodded to her and picked up the pace, "We don't want to ruin your new clothes do we? Don't worry there will be plenty more soon enough."

There better be, Chloe thought to herself. She matched his pace and silently wished his abuses would continue. By the gods what was she becoming...