Taisiya woke up, having not been murdered in the night by Riin. So that was a plus. 

Of course, she was only assuming it was night based on her body clock, there were no timepieces that she could see. She had turned on the screen last night, but found only a video of herself strapped down to that table, being touched by Moniker or caressed by Nada. A small decal at the bottom indicated some bio signs; she couldn't really read them, but it was quite clear when her arousal had risen. This had made Taisiya more embarrassed than the images. Okay, she thought, I'm being taught that I don't get privacy, but they're wrong.

She got out of bed, tsking at the holocameras that took that as their cue to pick themselves up off the shelf and start flying again. She didn't get dressed; Riin had a small amount of lingerie, or she could fashion a toga from the bedsheets, but what would be the point? She went to the loo, then headed out to the corridor, where she had seen a matter-compiler station. 

The info signs in the corridor were lit with an arrow and the word "Tai". She had no idea how long they had been doing that, but decided to investigate after she'd seen if she had any privileges with the matter-compiler. To her surprise, she did, to a cut-down food and beverages section. She gulped down a tall glass of mint water, and took a portion of scrambled tofu back to the fold out desk in Riin's room. She ate leisurely, hoping somebody was taking it as a fuck you.

So fortified, she set out to follow the signs, building her mental map as she went. Again the corridors were empty, apart from the occasional robot watching her walk. The holocameras followed her.

She followed the arrows until they terminated at the door, with "Najla" written on it in cheerful marker lines. She felt a bit relieved, possibly foolishly. She liked Najla, and she'd seemed sane, but she was invested in getting Taisiya off the ship.

Taisiya knocked on the door, and after a few seconds it slid open.

"Come in," said Najla, without turning around.

Now that she saw it, the space was exactly how she would have imagined Najla's room. For a start it was a bit of a mess. Najla sat at a bank of screens and holo-displays, two ancient looking keyboards in front of her, as well as many mugs. A large bed in the far corner looked comfortable but unmade, and Taisiya could see last night's clothes scattered across the floor. Najla finished a sentence and spun around in her chair.

Today she was wearing a short plaid-patterned skirt, and another white crop top. Najla looked Taisiya up and down, in a very obvious way.

"How are you liking arrangements on the Black Squid, babe?" she asked.

Taisiya decided not to give a genuine answer. "It's fine, but they seem to have forgotten to assign me any clothes."

Najla laughed, and got up to search in a drawer, pulling out a pair of shorts. "They've got a drawstring, so you can probably get them to fit you," she said, holding them out.

When Taisiya reached for them, Najla pulled them back. "Not for free, of course," Najla said.

Taisiya said nothing. She was annoyed that she had imagined something happening without a layer of bullshit.

"For a kiss," said Najla, stepping forward, and reaching her lips up towards Taisiya's mouth. Okay, thought Taisiya, that was surprisingly wholesome. She – somewhat suspiciously – kissed Najla, a soft and gentle kiss.

Najla pressed the shorts into her hand, and went back to sit in her chair. Taisiya pulled the shorts on, and fastened the drawstrings, under Najla's amused gaze. On Najla, she thought, these were probably tight and sexy high-cut short shorts; on me, they make me look like a baggy-trousered geography teacher. She quieted the part of her brain that thought about holding on until she got something sexier.

"Now, babe," said Najla, slipping down in her chair, and lifting her skirt, "Come eat me out."

Taisiya didn't really mind. She liked Najla, and had pretty much volunteered to sleep with her back on the Equanimity. But still.

"And what if I don't want to?" she said smiling.

"Fine," said Najla, sitting up and turning back to the screens. "How are you finding the collar?"

"Oh, so that's it," said Taisiya, "Go down on you or it's electroshock time, excuse me, direct neural induction time?"

"Not at all," Najla said, "In fact, something of the opposite."

She did something at her keyboard. Taisiya felt the warmth again, still mild, a soft arousal.

"Do you reckon a bit of arousal is going turn me into a sex slave?" Taisiya said, "Please. I once found myself on a three-month cruise for sex-repulsed influencers. I can handle a case of blue clit."

"You'll need to tell me about that sometime, babe," said Najla. "But now I have to do some work; this ship is odd sometimes. Sit down and chill for a bit."

Taisiya sat on the bed, and watched Najla at work. She didn't really understand the diagrams and charts that popped up, but it looked technical. Which reminded Taisiya: "Is the ship still being chased?"

"Huh? No," said Najla, "We lost them a while back. It is strange though."

"What?"

"Well, we expected the Patrol to take a couple of days to reach the Equanimity, but these fuckers were hiding out in the gravitic wake. They could have emerged as we began the attack and scared us off. Or they could have caught us mid-mission; the Squid would have gone, but they might have caught some of us. Luckily, they emerged when we were done, so we were alright. Odd though."

"Mmm," said Taisiya. She had to be honest, maybe it was the artificial arousal, but she was kind of regretting being spiky about Najla's request. She certainly wasn't going to embarrass herself by backtracking, but she did wonder whether there was any way to get her to make the request again? 

There was a knock at the door. It was Riin; she cast an evil look at Taisiya when she entered. She wore pale blue lingerie that didn't make her look like a geography teacher. A holocamera followed behind her.

"You wanted me, ma'am?" she said to Najla.

Najla nodded, and again shifted to the front of her seat, and hiked her skirt. Riin folded gracefully to her knees, and began licking.

Taisiya tried to look away. The problem was she found it very hot. Riin was working with her tongue now, mouth against Najla's pussy. Najla's eyes were half closed, a quiet moan escaping her lips.

And Taisiya wasn't the only one who found it hot; she could see that Riin had a small girl bulge peeking out of the waistband of her panties.

Taisiya wondered what would happen if she shoved Riin out of the way, and took her place. It would not improve Riin's attitude to her, that's for sure. Taisiya stayed put, twisting her hands into fists.

Najla wasn't a great noise-maker, but Taisiya could definitely tell when her small moans became a long low whine of orgasm. Riin continued lapping until Najla had stilled, and then sat back, but remained in position. Najla reached out and tousled Riin's blue hair. 

"Good girl," Najla said, eventually. "Why don't you sit next to Tai? You too should get on with each other."

Riin stood up, tucking her bulge back inside her panties, and shooting Taisiya another nasty look. She sat next to her on the bed. 

"Good," said Najla, smiling. "Now kiss each other."

Still with a frown on her face, Riin immediately leaned forward for a kiss. Taisiya hesitated for a moment, but what would the point be? The kiss was firm and angry, but Taisiya still found it did something for her. She could taste plenty of Najla on Riin's lips.

"That's right, there's no point being unfriendly with each other," said Najla, "Now, the Captain has asked if she could have you both when I'm done, so I've let her know. But you've got a couple of minutes, so why don't you try that kiss again?"

*

The two robots escorted them down another set of corridors.

"This ship is big for just the few of you," Taisiya said to Riin. She did not respond.

"Yes," said Moniker, speaking through the robot. "It was originally designed as a royal pleasure yacht. The whole court, and a couple of servants each, could have been accommodated aboard. Of course, there have been a few changes since then."

Wait, thought Taisiya, a royal pleasure yacht meant the ship wasn't from the Unified Human Commonwealth at all, but from one of the Atavistic Strongholds. She really hoped it was one of those strongholds that still believed in proper workplace safety; she would be very annoyed if the core breached because they were sure god would look after it. 

The robots led them into a darkened circular room. There were three other robots here, but Taisiya's attention was focused on the device in the centre of the room. It was a little like an upside-down spider; a confusion of mechanical arms, and at the end of each arm a manacle or restraint band. 

The five robots surrounded them, and their three holocameras flitted about them.

"Undress," said the Captain's voice, reverberating from an unseen speaker. 

Riin immediately began to comply. Taisiya looked around her. Was the Captain nearby? Was one of these walls actually a window?

One of the robots grabbed her from behind, pinning her arms to her sides. Another robot went for the shorts, untied the drawstring, and yanked them off. Taisiya struggled, unsuccessfully, kicking her feet. 

"You will hurt yourself," said Moniker, through the body of the robot holding her.

"Taisiya," said the Captain, "When I give an order I expect it to be obeyed, sharpish. Any lollygagging or backtalk will be punished."

Taisiya had stopped struggling, and the robot released her. 

"Moniker will return Najla's shorts to her," said the Captain, "Slaves don't get to own clothes unless they can be trusted to remove them when asked."

Riin was looking a little smug, standing near her discarded lingerie. She was excited, Taisiya noticed, her tiny girldick mostly erect.

"Riin, approach the rack," said the Captain.

"I would remind both of you that you can say your safeword at any time," said Moniker. 

Riin rolled her eyes, and walked towards the device in the centre of the room. As she got close, the arms reached out towards her, grabbing with their manacles. Riin didn't resist. Manacles fastened themselves around wrists and ankles, larger bands around her waist and shoulders. It lifted her up, and held her spread-eagled.

"Riin, you displayed regrettable behaviour on the recent mission," said the Captain, "You fired a stun pistol at our new recruit without the proper procedures. And you used the nickname for the Captain's slave. Nada hates that. Taisiya will help us administer the punishment."

The device started moving, bending Riin over so that her ass was prominently displayed. One of the robots walked over to Taisiya carrying what looked like a cane, or a switch, or similar. 

"And just to head off any backchat on your part, Taisiya," said the Captain, "If you refuse, well, Nada is very keen to carry out the punishment, and she'd be a lot harsher than you would. And then after Riin's punishment is complete, you can take a turn on the rack, with Riin administering the punishment."

The robot held out the cane, Taisiya took it without hesitation; she got the impression that the Captain really wasn't messing around. The cane was swishy, with quite a lot of flex, and coated in some rubbery material.

"Strike here," said Moniker, indicating between the crease of Riin's buttocks and the top of her thighs. "Don't worry, we are here to assist if you have aiming problems."

Taisiya squared up to Riin's posterior, swishing the cane to get an idea of its weight and maneuverability. Riin flinched at the sound.

"Sorry," said Taisiya, "I was just…"

"No speaking to the punishee," said Moniker. 

Taisiya shut her mouth. She could see Riin's small girldick hanging erect, so was at least certain that fear was not all that she was feeling.

"You will strike six times," said Moniker, "I will count. You may start whenever you like. Delaying builds anticipation."

Taisiya steeled herself, took aim, and swiped. Riin groaned.

"One," said Moniker, "A bit slow, but acceptable for a first attempt."

Okay, she thought, I guess a little bit faster, or they'll object. She swung again, with a bit more force. Riin groaned again.

"Two," said Moniker, "Nice velocity, but you are straying towards the lower reaches of the target area."

Taisiya looked at the two parallel welts, the bottom more intensely coloured. Right, she thought, the aim of the first one, but the speed of the second one.

She struck again. "Fuck," gasped Riin. Unfortunately, she had landed almost precisely on the first welt. Taisiya bit back an apology. 

"Three," said Moniker. 

Taisiya attempted to loosen up slightly, and swung again. She tried to ignore the fact that this was definitely turning her on. Another groan from Riin.

"Four," said Moniker, "Very good speed and aim. Riin, thank Taisiya for the excellent strike."

"Thank you," murmured Riin.

Taisiya reckoned she had the hang of this now. Another strike, another groan.

"Another good hit," said Moniker, "That's four."

"Five," said Taisiya, unthinking. 

"Four," said Moniker, "Are you suggesting I can't count?"

"Well, evidently since…" Taisiya got control of her temper. Moniker was obviously doing it deliberately. "Never mind. Next one."

She swung again.

"Excellent!" said Moniker, "That makes four."

"Why," began Taisaya, then lowered her tone, "Why isn't the count going up?"

"Ooh, I don't know," said Moniker, "I thought you were the counting expert. Since you don't trust the word of an advanced AI."

Taisiya breathed in and out slowly. "I'm sorry," she said, "You are the expert."

"You promise to believe my statements in the future?" said Moniker. 

"Yes," said Taisiya. It wasn't craven if you know it's a lie, right?

The robot tousled Taisiya's hair – a disturbingly human gesture – and gestured back at Riin.

Taisiya swung again, realising too late that she'd allowed some of her anger to transfer into her swing. The cane hit Riin's buttocks with a stinging report. Riin gave a loud if indistinct yell/groan.

"A bit hard, Taisiya," said Moniker, "But that's six."

"Well done, Taisiya," said the Captain. 

A robot held its hand out for the cane. Other robots clustered around Riin's behind.

"So can I go now?" she asked, returning the cane.

"Oh, no," said Moniker, "There is more punishment to come." 

Another robot entered the room, carrying a small bundle of clothing.

"Riin, you have three sets of lingerie that you have earned," said the Captain. "We have decided you will lose one. Taisiya will choose which. If she refuses to choose, you will lose all three."

The robot gathered the lingerie Riin had been wearing earlier, along with the others from her storage.

"Well," said Moniker, "You have the choice between pale blue, bright red, and... would you call that off-white?"

"Ivory," said Taisiya.

"Ah, yes," Moniker said, "So cyan, scarlet or ivory: which should go? Five… Four..."

"Scarlet," said Taisiya. It was a total guess, but it was the one that wouldn't go with Riin's hair or eyes. Of course, that didn't mean it wasn't her favourite; Taisiya had spent most of college wearing a shirt with a bright abstract pattern that she thought made her look like a cool lesbian jokester, but in fact made her look like someone who had terrible taste in shirts and also in personas.

A robot picked up the red lingerie, and took it round to where Riin could see. 

"Silence, Riin," said Moniker, although Riin was already quiet. "Tai has chosen this lingerie to be destroyed."

The device had raised Riin to a slightly more comfortable position. The robot moved in, and used the lingerie to wipe off some of the shine from her face.

The robot stepped back, and began to tear the lingerie up. Taisiya shouldn't have been surprised by the destructiveness of the robot’s hands, but she was. Double stitching, reinforcements, even the stretchiest fabric, offered no resistance to the robot rending it into tiny shreds.

"Time to prepare yourself," said Moniker to Taisiya. 

"For what?" asked Taisiya, with no attempt to mask her suspicion.

A compartment of the robot's thigh opened up, and it took something out, holding it out to Taisiya. It took a moment for her to work it out.

"A double-ended dildo?" she said. Its outer was soft translucent plastic, the inner was dark, with blue lights embedded within. There was a flare about two-thirds along its length, one side was short and thick, the other longer and slimmer.

"Najla calls them robohorns, and it has unfortunately caught on," said Moniker, "One day soon, I'll take time to make sure you're intimately familiar with what these can do. But for now, this one is yours."

It handed the dildo – the robohorn – to her. It flexed and twisted like a grub in her hand, covering itself in some sort of lube.

"It's linked to me," explained Moniker, "I've triggered self-lubrication, although certainly you don't need it."

Taisiya felt her herself go red. "Nalja messed with my collar, I didn't enjoy that, it's just… my collar."

"Oh, we are very well aware of your collar's settings," said Moniker, in a tone that suggested it found it amusing. "Now, do you want to put it in yourself, or have me do it? Use the shorter end."

Taisaya obeyed. Again, she realised that the choices were that or say the safeword: arguing just prolonged matters.

She felt the robohorn settle within her, expanding slightly, the flared portion adjusting to sit snugly on the mound. The outside part, hand still on it, shifted, curving slightly. 

"Good," said Moniker, "I am already enjoying being inside you."

Moniker gestured towards Riin. The robots were stepping away from her, her bottom treated and lubricated. The device adjusted her position, putting her at the right height for Taisiya. 

Taisiya sighed and walked awkwardly towards her.

"The punishment is over," said the Captain, "Now the slaves will demonstrate that there are still good relations between the two of them."

Taisiya bent over Riin, and gently began to insert the robohorn. Although – obviously – she didn't have any nerves in the horn, there was some sort of feedback going on with the part inside her; she felt a sensitivity that allowed her to probe safely. Eventually, she was all the way in, her body pressed up against the welts on Riin's buttocks; she heard the altered gasp that meant she was aware of that too.

She slowly pulled halfway out, and then went in again, slightly faster. She felt the robohorn subtly adjust its shape; she presumed Moniker was doing some fine tuning. Taisiya repeated the progress again, increasing speed. There was no point lying, she thought, the part of robohorn in her was giving her pleasure.

She remembered Riin's girldick, still erect; should she reach around to stroke it? Would anyone mind? In the end she decided not to, it would cause a distraction, and she was fixed on her current approach. 

At this point, she was slamming in, a regular slap against Riin's poor buttocks. Riin's groans were a mix of pleasure and pain. A good mix, thought Taisiya. 

Taisiya heard a different groan from Riin, and heard the sound of splatter against the black floor. She knew that Riin had orgasmed; she wished she had seen it. There were a few more drips and spurts. She was almost there herself.

"You may stop if you wish," said Moniker, quietly. 

Taisiya ignored her. She was so close. Riin continued with her moans, but maybe with a hint of confusion. Taisiya felt the pressure build within her with each thrust until…

Nothing. The pressure ebbed without any orgasm. Taisiya rammed harder, trying to build the pressure again.

"Taisiya," said Moniker, placing a hand on her chest, "Najla has set your collar not to allow orgasm."

"What?" said Taisiya. She pulled out of Riin, staggering back. A robot retrieved the robohorn without any fuss, it became slim and lubed enough to slip out of her.

Taisiya realised that she was more tired than she thought, and sat down on a crate. "What?" she repeated. 

"It hooks into your nervous system, remember?" said Moniker. One robot stood close to her, the others were gently helping Riin from the device. "It is relatively simple to block the nerves relating to orgasm. So the slave has to ask for permission, you see?"

"Fuck," said Taisiya. She needed that. "Can you turn it off?"

"In theory," said Moniker, "But that would be rude to Najla. Also there is no reason."

"Shit. I'm going to see Najla," she said, standing on trembling legs. The robot stood in front of her. "Can I go?"

A pause, then the Captain said, "Thank you for your assistance, Taisiya. Go with her, Moniker, make sure everything's okay."

The robot stood aside, waited for Taisiya to unsteadily make for the door, then fell in behind her. Her holocameras followed. 

"Everything is not going to be okay," muttered Taisiya, because I'm going to fucking kill Najla.