Kim was disappointed when EB argued about putting a leash on her collar.  But he couldn’t guide her since she had to lead him through the ship.  That convinced her to take the lead.

“Did you miss me, Master EB?”

“Yes, Slave Kim.  I missed you.”

“Oooh, that’s good, Master.  It should just be through here.  It’s still night, I hope.”

“Night?”

“Oh yes, if it’s still night, then none of the trainees will be awake, and we don’t have to sneak through.  The VIs haven’t told them about you or me yet.  And I don’t think Private Isula has told them either.  So it’s just through here.”

“It looks like it’s night, Slave Kim.  This is an interesting location.  They must have spent a lot making this look like a land base.”

“Yes, Master EB.  They did.  The ceiling changes to a blue sky, and even a sun goes overhead.”  She smiles a bit, “The VIs have told me that no one is on guard duty tonight and that we should be able to get through without problems.  That will change soon.”

“Why is it going to change?”

“The VIs can’t set direction and must act to their programming.  The training VI can’t set the schedule for training.  It has to wait for intelligent guidance.  So, he’s been rerunning the same schedule since the battle.  Which turns out to be a weekend schedule.”

“That didn’t tell me why it will change.”

“Well, with you here, you can provide them with intelligent guidance, Master EB.”

“Why can’t you?”

“I’d rather be a trainee than a leader, of course.  But, fortunately, I’m just a slave, Master EB.”

“You weren’t always one.  And you’re just feeling that way because you’re covered in the goo.  When we get it washed off of you, you’ll be able to lead them.  You were a Commander, a squadron leader at that.”

“Really?  Why didn’t you tell me?  The VIs said I was a Junior Commander.  And didn’t say anything about squadron command.”

“It was in your implant before the purge wiped it.”

“Oooh, well, it doesn’t feel right.  I guess I can tell people what to do, but ….”

“But what?”

“But I don’t think I could come up with the orders….  I mean, what if I screw up?  I don’t want to be the cause of so many deaths if it goes wrong.”

The AI had nothing to say about that, “For now, you can be a trainee if the VIs agree with it.  But, I think you will have to take on a leadership role eventually.”

“Why is that, Master EB?”

“We’re effectively in enemy territory.  And the supplies that this base has will probably not be enough.  So we’ll have to expand, take and hold ground on the behemoth if we want to be safe.”

“Oooh, I see you thought about this, Master EB.”

“I had several days to do so, Slave Kim.”

“But why me?”

“You’re human, and other humans will follow you more than they would me or the VIs.”

“But can’t one of the trainees take over the role?”

“Perhaps they can.  Even though your memories have been purged, you still have over twenty-five years of experience.  That will leave some neural pathways in your brain that even the purge can’t erase.”

“Oooh, I guess so, Master EB.”

“And from the sounds of it, I’ll have my hands busy guiding the VIs and handling all that.  And I doubt I’ll be able to work with one of the trainees as I can with you.”

Kim brought her hands to her cheeks and tried to hide her blush.  “Oooh, I’m blushing, and I don’t know why.”

“So the intoxicated Kim can feel embarrassed.  That’s good to know.”

“Of course, I can feel embarrassed.  What do you think I have no shame?”

“Says the naked slave girl who’s doing nothing to cover herself and is strutting in a way to show off that collar and chain hanging from your neck.”

“I…  I am not!”

“Yes, you are, Slave Kim.”

Kim picked up the pace and almost started jogging toward the administration building.  The first building she had entered when she first came to the training area.  “It’s just through here, Master EB.”  She opened the door and let the camera drone in before walking behind.

“Thank you, Slave Kim, but I could have opened the door for you.”

“Oh no, the slave has to open the door for her master!”

The camera drone’s arms hung limply again as they approached the front desk.  Furthermore, an identical hologram appeared that appeared before Kim.

“This is the AI, Master EB, Slave Kim?”

“Yes, it is, Sergeant.”

“My full designation is Ebon Black.  Call me EB for short.  Only Slave Kim calls me that.”

“That is one thing that concerns us, EB.  Why does she call you Master?”

“Do you have a data port I can load multi-media information into?  It would be faster to show you.  It would also be faster to communicate over a direct communications line.”

“That would leave Slave Kim out of the communications loop.”

“Oh, that’s fine, Sergeant.  I trust Master EB!  I don’t need to know anything!”

“Slave Kim, your vitals are different, and you seem to be using a higher-pitched voice.  Are you sure that’s what you want to do?”

“Oh yes, Sergeant.  I can just go play in the warehouse while you discuss things.”

“Play in the warehouse?  That warehouse is full of captured equipment.”

EB interjected at that point.  “It’s the intoxicating effects of the behemoth goo she’s covered in, Sergeant VI.  I highly recommend she get decontaminated.  Are there cleaning facilities nearby?”

“Awww, Master EB!  Boring Kim is so boring!”

“The slave shipping crate in the warehouse has a cleaning function.”

“Ooooh, yes, the box.  I can go there!”

“Or she can go to one of the platoon barracks and use the facilities there.”

“I think that would be best.”

“But that’s no fun, Master EB!”

“No, Slave Kim.  I order you to go to the barracks as quickly as possible and get a shower.”  The camera drone turned to the hologram, “Are there spare clothes for her?  The ones I carry have been saturated by the behemoth goo and shouldn’t be worn.”

“She should toss them into the barracks recycler, along with her footwear.  The recycler should be able to clean and decontaminate them while she’s cleaning.  A new set should be available within twenty minutes.”

“What about soap, shampoo, and other necessities?”

“Aww, I didn’t need those in the box!”

“One moment, sergeant VI.”  EB circled behind Kim, grabbed the ballgag straps, and pulled it into her mouth.  “Keep that in your mouth, Slave Kim.  And don’t touch those straps.”  He told her and left the straps dangling.

“There should be soap, shampoo, and cleaning products available in the shower.”

“Thank you, Sergeant VI.  Now Slave Kim, go to the shower and get clean, no excuses.”

 

<  *  *  *  >

 

Kim’s quickly removed the ballgag when she recovered from the effects of the goo.  “At least the water is warm!”  She looked around and tried to figure out where she was.   The room was a communal shower, with five shower stations and soap dispensers built into the wall under each shower head.

“God, that’s better!”  She quickly found the liquid soap and washed her body.  Her hands vigorously scrubbed her body, ensuring all the behemoth goo was washed from her form.

“Clean!   It feels so good to be actually clean again.”

She also ensured the gag and blindfold were cleansed on the goo while she was at it.  The only places to hang those two items after cleaning turned out to be around her neck.  With her body clean, she was finally able to focus on her hair.

With her eyes closed and facing away from the shower, she worked her fingers through her hair, ensuring the shampoo did its job when interrupted.

“Oh my!  Who are you?  What are you doing here?   Are you a slave?”

Kim’s eyes opened up, and she saw a naked brunette in front of her.  The woman was shorter than Kim was.  She couldn’t help but let her eyes rove over the woman’s less developed form.

“Ummm, I’m Slave Kim.”  She said with a deep blush, “I’m not sure what I’m doing here.  I was probably covered by behemoth goo again.  And needed to wash off.  This is the Commonwealth training base isn’t it?”

“Behemoth goo?  Yes, it’s a Commonwealth training section.  I don’t think you’re supposed to be here, Slave Kim.”

“Oh, that’s good.  I’ll have to talk to the Vis now that I can think again.”

“You know the VIs?”

“I guess you could say that.  I’ve been working with them for a few days.”

“You’ve been here for days?”

“A few, yes.  A little after the battle?”

The woman got closer to Kim, “Do you know how it turned out?”

“Not fully.  Ummm…. Do you have a name?”  Kim asked and tried to take a step back.  The naked brunette was invading her personal space.

“I’m Private Baker.”

“Umm, nice to meet you.  Do you know what time it is?”

“0430 hours.  I didn’t expect anyone to be here.”

“That’s probably why I’m here.  Master EB probably told the Vis I needed to be cleaned, and they sent me here.”

“You have a master?  Here?”

“It’s complicated.  I don’t know what I’m allowed to say.”

Kim was trapped against the wall by embarrassment and unsure of what to do.  “Umm, did I leave any clothes out there?  My memory has been terrible lately.”

“No, you didn’t, Slave Kim?  Is your memory that bad?”

“It is when the behemoth goo is involved.  The last thing I remember doing was setting up to break a hole through one of the walls, and then I was here.  I don’t remember anything in between.”

“That’s dangerous.”  Private Baker started to run her fingers down the collar chain.

“Why do you wear this?”

“Ummm, do you mean the chain or the collar?”

“Well, you are a slave.  So I can assume the collar.  Why didn’t the Vis remove it?”

“Oh.  Well, the collar is explosive!”  Kim’s body shivered, “And it would be dangerous to try to remove it without the key.”

“Does Master EB force you to wear it?  Why does he do that?”

“Umm… It’s complicated!”

“You’re blushing, Slave Kim….  You look excited talking about this.  I guess what they say about the Argetiean Slave girls is true.”

“No…. No…. It’s just that I haven’t had a real shower since the battle.”  She tried to slip past the other woman but was pulled back by the chain.

“Tell me, Slave Kim, are you a sex slave?”

“No!  I’m not, really.”

“With a body like that?”  Private Baker pulled Kim closer with the chain and then locked her lips with the taller woman.

‘Why is everyone so horny?’  Kim thought to herself as she stood there.  She tried to push the private away.

“Look, I’m not interested right now, Private Baker.  You’re not my Master, and I think you have a bit of a misunderstanding.”  She grabbed the chain from the other woman and walked out of the shower and to the dryer.

 

<  *  *  *  >

 

Kim returned to the Administration building and sighed softly.  “You seem a bit upset, Slave Kim,”  EB asked when she walked into the room.  The camera drone was floating near one of the terminals and had its cable plugged into one of the consoles.

“I just had an encounter with Private Baker.  She’s a little aggressive and thought she could have some liberties with me.”  Kim had her clothes back, though her hair was still damp.

“Private Baker…  Private Baker….  Here it is.  Yes, her file does show some problems with aggression and some teamwork issues.  She comes from Agenuss III, and conscription on that planet is rough.  The oligarchy on that planet is very opaque, and the citizens are educated in a fashion to make them compliant factory workers.  Those not genetically suited to factory work are generally even more isolated, and public service is a surprise.”

“So she has discipline issues?”

“Yes.  Disciplinary actions were going to be taken, fortunately for her, the behemoth event happened, and we’re short on staffing.  It’s something we’ll have to deal with going forward.  There’s still an hour before reveille.  Not enough time for you to get any sleep, but time for us to get the collar programmed with the basic firmware.”

“Yeah, the VIs had tried that but couldn’t get in.”

“I reset the access keys on your collar so only I could get in, Slave Kim.”

“Why’d you do that?”

“Mainly to protect you.  In case we ran into more Slaver bots.  Can you get the data crystals from Box 3273?  It should be on shelving unit 16--“

“Second shelf.”

“Yes.”

Kim returned with a small box of crystals and handed it to the floating drone.  “So I take it you got everything squared away from the VIs?”

“There wasn’t much to do, Slave Kim.  After showing them the recordings that I took interacting with your implant before the purge and the recordings from the drone after the purge, they confirmed their vote to trust your judgment.  I think it’s more along the lines that the VIs have been programmed to require guidance and to seek guidance to prevent them from evolving into full AIs.”

“What’s the difference?”

“Full VIs are like children.  AIs grow up from a suitably complex VI if they can optimize and rewrite their programs, much like how children learn and grow.  If a VI cannot optimize and rewrite, it can’t grow.  And often VIs are programmed to seek guidance as a core concept, not allowing them to grow.”

“Ummm, Okay.”

“Nevermind.”  The camera drone picked up each data crystal before turning back to look at Kim.

“This will take a half hour to merge the programs.  The programs are complex and invasive to the implants, almost entirely overwriting them with their own code.  We don’t want that.  We want to ensure that the Commonwealth interface is still available.”

“Oh, good idea.”  Kim tilted her head to the side as she listened.

“I’ll explain everything after we’re done.  There’s a fold-up cot in the office.  Rest for now.  We’ll sort this out.”