Chapter 21

 

If Nexus Alpha had actually weighed her full weight, the impact of an object that size may well have been cataclysmic if it was allowed to hit the ground. Even when adjusted for Higgs modulation, an Alpha Frame easily weighed over a hundred tons. An object of that mass striking a planet at terminal velocity could still cause significant damage. 

Some slowdown was required. 

As Nexus Alpha thundered through the atmosphere, Epoc howled like a maniac, and rather than telling her to keep the channel clear, her Handler did her best to keep her mind on-task in a way they’d both enjoy. 

Mako Group’s proprietary neural stress reduction system meant that Epoc was the twenty-fifth pilot in all of history to get fucked from orbit down to a planet’s surface. She was, however, the first to do so laughing and howling, in between the little whimpers as her mind was flooded with the images conjured up by the sensations sent through her body. 

If her senses were to be believed, Winter was impaled on her cock, arms wrapped around her, riding her with abandon and turning her back into a plowed field, pulling her into the Handler’s pussy with her legs. At the same time, that same woman held her by her hips and slid a cock in her ass, grabbing and holding her breasts. 

Winter was everything. She was everywhere. 

“Handler,” Epoc said between short breaths. “Initializing parachute.”

“Copy, Hound,” Winter said. “How are you holding up?”

“I’m being fucked from both sides,” Epoc said. “How do you think I’m holding up?”

“Going off your stats, I’d say you’re doing well. Going by your voice though… do you want me to turn up the pressure?”

“You’re not going to let me come, are you?”

“Not until after the mission, Epoc. You know that.” Winter’s voice was calm. Epoc grunted and thrusted her hips forward. Climax was coming. Well, it wasn’t, but her body didn’t know that. It was already fighting her for release. 

“I know,” Epoc said. “Do it anyway. I’m about to do something really stupid and if  you can tune my senses up to eleven, I would appreciate it.”

“Very well, my Hound,” Winter said. “Get ready for something a little… different.”

All sensation stopped for a second. Epoc kept an eye on the descent meter. She had to get this just right. Her reaction speed needed to be higher. If anyone could push her to that point of desperation where she could respond in the blink of an eye, it was her Handler. 

Two impressions on her ass, like hands, spreading her open. Then, something pressing against it. Not a dick. Something more pliant. Wet. Soft. Like a tongue. She was already more than relaxed enough for it to slip inside of her, and she felt the material of her chair shift, like arms wrapping around her legs. Epoc felt herself lean forward almost on instinct to give easier access, even if that shouldn’t matter. She couldn’t help it. Winter was making her bend over. What the fuck else was she supposed to do? The tongue pushed into her, roiling inside, and then it kept pushing inside. 

“Whf,” Epoc said, because her eyes were rolling up into her skull and found there was little left in there. The tongue pushed deeper into her, getting wider. It was ribbed, too. “What the ff-” It twisted and the entirety of its length slipped back out of her, pushing her g-spot on the way there. The noise she made predated human speech by a few million years. Then it was gone. 

The whisper in her ear was self-satisfied. Hands on her hips, like Winter was standing behind her. It was the little touches. “Like that, did you?” Winter said. “You know, not many people tick off ‘tentacles.’ I figured it was a good idea to give you a taste, hmm? The window is coming up, Hound. Don’t miss it.”

A hand on Epoc’s buttocks and the long, prehensile tongue slipped back into her. Another one wrapped itself around her cock. She groaned. She was in heaven. And she wasn’t allowed to come. She was balancing on that knife’s edge. Her eyes wide, teeth gritted, she hit the booster window within a hundredth of a second. 

The boosters ignited all at once. Yeah, High Velocity Propulsion was strong, but there were limits. Those limits were there to be broken by strapping a big fucking rocket to one’s back. 

Of course, of course Winter would cause the tentacle to vibrate along with the burner. Epoc screamed. Her body was fire. It was everything she could do not to lose control, but release wasn’t coming and she was tense beyond tense, gripping the controls like a woman possessed. The sea was getting closer faster and so was Epoc. Only one of those would be allowed to explode into a geyser, however, and it wasn’t going to be the pilot. 

The rocket burned out of fuel and ejected at the last possible second. Nexus Alpha’s feet hit the water with a deafening crash. The tentacle rammed its way into her ass, stretching her to a limit she hadn’t even known she had, and she squeaked, whimpered and squealed, so close to the edge she couldn’t even begin to uncross her eyes on her own. 

It was only when Nexus Alpha started to sink that the assault lessened. It didn’t stop. The tentacles withdrew. What remained was a small plug inside of her and a hand on her cock, jerking her off slowly, almost lazily. 

“That was perfect, my Hound,” Winter said. A small vibration followed, sending little shocks and shivers to Epoc’s  extremities. She barked. “Good dog.”

“Thanks, Antimony.” 

“I… you’re welcome, Epoc. Just let Nexus take care of you as you go down. This is the part we can’t rush. Nexus Alpha’s automatic stabilizers will keep you upright. I’ll be with you for as long as possible, but at that depth, we’ll have some trouble with coms whenever you’re out of range of our communication buoys. Whenever you link up with one, I’ll check up with you. From here, I’ll be in and out until you’re at the target location. We have coms in place there, so I’ll see you soon, Epoc.”

“How long for?” Epoc asked. 

“At y—r dep– it’ll t–e abou– –wo ho–rs.”

“Connection is failing, Handler,” Epoc said. “Please repeat?”

The voice was gone. A message appeared on screen instead. 

ETA TWO HOURS. 

Ah. Well. Epoc thought for a second, and figured she’d familiarize herself with her new cockpit. She pressed a few buttons and the pilot’s chair became a regular chair again. Nexus Alpha’s autonomous systems were more than capable of controlled underwater descent, and she didn’t need to be linked up to it. That said, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to resist finding some way to get herself off if she fully got out of the chair. 

But there were settings for that, too. The top half of the pilot’s chair opened, her entire lower half still encased. It was strange, sitting down comfortably in a chair that was also jerking you off. She bit her lip. There was something decadent about this. 

“Does this thing have anything to eat in it?” She wondered, tapping something on the armrest console. Didn’t look like it. The downside of no customization. She needed something to nibble on if she was going to be inside a sinking tin can for a few hours. It wasn’t even worth turning on the big screen in front of her to watch the outside world. It was already going to be too dark out there to see anything. Signals didn’t go this low, so she couldn’t pick up any shows. Oh well. Maybe she could close her eyes for a minute? She rested her head back against the seat, her hips bucking from time to time. Was it possible to fall asleep like this, someone constantly stimulating her? 

Jerking awake, Epoc found out that the answer was, indeed, yes. She blinked her brain back into action, and then the chair jerked her the rest of the way to fully awake. 

“Hmmngf,” she said, like a normal person, half of her already full standing at attention before her eyes were even functional. She looked around for the source of what had woken her up. The internal clock told her it had been almost two hours, but it wasn’t the alarm she’d set. She tapped the console. There it was. A signal. Faint. Someone trying to contact her? 

“Hi!”

“Hello,” Epoc said. “Identify yourself.”

The line went dead. Was there someone down there with her? That wouldn’t be ideal. She had hoped to make her way to the cave system on her own. Oh well. She clicked through her sensors, but found pretty much nothing. Sonar gave her nothing until suddenly it did. She was about to hit the seafloor. The chair shifted back into position as it enclosed her. 

Nexus Alpha was hers again. 

The landing was gentle, the giant Frame’s legs hitting the ground with a low rumble. All outside lights turned on at once. Several on her chest. Two on each arm. And two on her head. They were cute. Like little dog ears. That couldn’t have been an accident, could it? She checked the map. She wasn’t far from her destination, and only a few minutes walking from the nearest Mako Group buoy. Well. Better get to it. 

Barely a few steps in, and her coms lit up. 

“You must be Mako Group’s new pet dog.”

Epoc almost answered, asking for identification, when Nexus Alpha pinpointed not only the source of the signal but also the Frame’s ID, as well as that of its pilot. It was heavily armed. There was even an analysis of its cybernetic defenses, and it did not hold up to the kind of cyberware Nexus was armed with. Something to keep in mind.

“Priestess,” Epoc said. “I was told I’d see you here.”

“Oh, looks like you’ve got me at a disadvantage. You’re not broadcasting ID, Mako.” The other Frame trudged into view. TransAm Republic made high quality Frames, though they had a tendency to need modification out of the box. This one had been heavily modified. It was far sleeker than their usual Frames, though clearly sturdy enough to withstand the pressure. 

“Sorry about that,” Epoc said, tapping a few buttons. Nexus Alpha did the rest and hacked into Gospel, downloading its schematics. Some light reading for later. 

“You’re not going to give me your identification, are you?”

“Not sure yet,” Epoc said. “I’ve got the clearance code to be here, though.” She sent Priestess the code, but kept walking. There was an annoyed grunt coming from the other side. 

“Seems to be in order,” Priestess said. The disappointment in her voice was palpable. The pilot had been looking for a fight. “Do your thing, Mako. I hope you don’t object to me and my partner keeping you company, do you?” 

“Partner?”

“Howdy!” Another voice crackled to life. Nexus Alpha did her best to pinpoint a location, but she was a ways away. Gospel was probably functioning as a relay. “Coming to you, Priestess.”

“Copy that, Beedok. Keep an open channel, Mako. We’re all friends here, right?”

“Sure.”

Epoc rolled her eyes and continued her trek on the ocean floor. It wasn’t long before the other TAR Frame showed up on scanners too. It was smaller than Gospel, and a lot closer to the Republic’s usual design. Less sleek. Nexus identified it as Skippy. Well then, Skippy, Epoc thought, nice to meet you. Beedok seemed a lot more approachable than Princess, at least. She was chattering along while they made their way to their destination. 

When her com crackled to life, she cut the other two pilots off in a heartbeat. “Handler,” she said, “I’m in range of the Mako Group buoy. Come in, Handler.”

“Reading you loud and clear, pilot. Good to have you back.” Winter’s voice was a welcome one. “I see you’ve met your Republic colleagues already. Some more unpleasant news. The Cèilidhean Frames are already on their way to you. Your landing wasn’t exactly quiet. Still, try to play nice. I’d rather avoid some kind of incident.”

“Copy that, Handler. How’s the upload on this thing?”

“Should be pretty strong. Why?”

“I got you something,” Epoc said, and uploaded the schematics for both of the TransAm Republic Frames. Corporations were always looking to find some kind of edge over each other, Epoc figured, releasing only technical information years, sometimes even decades after they had stopped making them. The odds were, there was something here. 

Handler Winter’s voice was thick with satisfaction. “Oh, Epoc, you shouldn’t have. I didn’t get you anything.” 

“Make it up to me when I’m home.”

“I just might, Epoc. Now, focus. You’ve got incoming.”