Chapter 17

He was back to his quarters, lying on his belly, the pain in his backside still strong. Kyle was moving quietly around him, injecting him with seth from time to time, but only into his belly. Riordan could only assume that Kanto had instructed Kyle to keep the Xenolite unaware of the distress the one who carried him felt. None of that mercy was spared for him.

In hindsight, maybe he deserved it. Not the spanking and the humiliation, but the reminder that he was alone in here. He had Kyle, and he had to be thankful that Kanto hadn’t decided to leave him without his bot, but they could both be squashed like bugs by that dreadful Xeno. Suddenly, Xana seemed so far away from him that it made him cry. Good thing he had his bot. If he thought about it, it was a miracle that he still had his homie with him.

“Did he do something to you?” he asked in a raspy voice. He had shouted and cried at the end, all shame forgotten. There was no pride left in him. To his relief, no one had laughed. They had looked too stunned and frightened for it.

“No, Master Rio. But he forbade me for giving you more seth than what’s needed to protect the egg. I thought of pleading with him but reconsidered. As long as he believes me to be a dumb bot, we’re better off, I’d say.”

Riordan put one thumb up but his hand moved as if in slow motion. “I’m so tired. Good call, Kyle. I’m surprised he left you with me.”

“It appears that Master Vai has clear instructions regarding this detail. He cannot remove me as your companion. Also, there seem to be no spares. All the bearers are here with their bots, but, otherwise, there are only guards and other personal in charge of meals and general maintenance. The only alternative to me would be to leave you with a few guards, but that’s difficult, seeing how the lizards in the employ of this ship have no training for caring for a bearer.”

“Too bad he doesn’t have instructions not to kick my ass,” Riordan found it in himself to joke.

“We have our moves limited. We can only go out at dinner.”

“I don’t think I can sit. Can’t you arrange something? Synthesize an apple or two? I’d take anything at this point.”

“I’m afraid I cannot help you, Master Rio. Our lord and commander was very specific that he would see you at dinner.”

“Fuck that guy,” Riordan spat with rancor. “He’s such a fucking asshole.”

Yeah, he was, but there was little to be done about that. Kanto Vai was, until further notice, the guy in charge and he had everyone’s fate in his hand. Apparently, that Xeno cared about his duty just as far as that meant in terms of his snake brain. He detested bearers, obviously, or was it only human bearers? Did he have one of his own? Some lizard queen on a far-off planet? “Hey, Kyle,” he decided to ask his bot, “does our lord and commander have a bearer for his nasty egg?”

“No, Master Vai hasn’t taken a bearer yet.”

“He looks pretty old to me. What is he waiting for?”

“I do not know,” Kyle offered honestly.

“Are there many Xenos like him? You know, without bearers?”

“Those that dedicate their lives to the betterment of the Xeno society appear more frequent in such statistics.”

“Married to his job. Why doesn’t that surprise me?” Riordan said with a huff and closed his eyes. Fuck, his ass hurt. The fucker had used a paddle or something like that. Not one to touch the filthy human bearer, right? Fucking asshole.

“I’m not allowed to give you more seth,” Kyle said apologetically.

“I get it.” Riordan sucked in a breath. “It’s part of my punishment, I suppose. Right?” Kyle didn’t reply right away, which made him look over his shoulder. “Didn’t he tell you that? He looks to me like a bastard who enjoys adding insult to injury.”

“That is not it, Master Rio,” Kyle supplied dutifully. “Although I don’t have clearance for analyzing or even accessing this kind of information, I have conducted some research. It appears that seth is strictly rationed on Tu’lek.”

This time, Riordan turned on one side to stare properly at Kyle. “Are you sure? This is a bit scary. Why would it be rationed? Fuck me. We’re here with only ... wait, I don’t remember seeing any other Xeno save for Kanto.”

“I haven’t identified any other Xeno either,” Kyle confirmed. “And the chain of command is very short. Under Master Vai come the guards, and under the guards the maintenance personal made from various species, highly specialized.”

“And us, bearers, the bottom feeders.”

“Bottom feeders?” Kyle asked slowly. Then, he appeared to have checked something. “I see. But bearers are precious. They are not considered to be the last rung of the Xeno society ladder.”

“I don’t think so. And I’m saying bottom feeders because it looks like we all have to kiss, lick and eat this fucker’s ass to get by. So, where does the seth you’re giving me come from?”

“Supplies already stored on Tu’lek when the rescue operation began.”

“And when those are gone?”

“They are rationed. They won’t be gone for a while.”

“Yeah, but we seem to have no clear destination, and it also appears that we’re basically running from any other Xeno in existence, save for our master fucker. Don’t tell me I’ll have to suck on Kanto’s tail when the supplies run out.”

“I cannot tell you that,” Kyle replied promptly.

“I know. You’re too nice to tell me like it is. I think I’ll try to catch some sleep until dinner.”

“Good choice, Master Rio. I will wake you up.”

As expected, dinner had been pure torture. Riordan had settled for sitting with his legs folded under him to relieve some of the pressure on his buttocks. He hadn’t dared to look, but he had to be black and blue by now. He had kept his head down throughout the meal, for no better reason that he didn’t want to draw more of Kanto’s attention and heavy hand. Maybe the fucker had vented off some of that anger he carried with him, and now he was chill. However, Riordan didn’t want to take any chances.

When everyone got up, he followed, with Kyle in tow.

“Riordan,” he heard the fucker calling out for him. Kanto had supervised their meal, as always, while he gorged on insects and worms. The few bearers sitting close to him ate with their eyes in their bowls, not out of respect, but something else. From what Riordan had glanced, Kanto ate slowly, crunching each insect between his teeth or swallowing each worm with such precise moves of the hand and mouth that he looked like an automaton. All the while, his inquisitive eyes scanned the place, probably for signs of insubordination.

He didn’t say a thing and only prayed not to be subject to more punishment. The pain was still with him, and, obviously, because they had seth, they most likely didn’t have any kind of painkillers on board of the ship. He presented himself to Kanto quietly, without raising his head. “Yes, master?” he asked politely.

It was all he could muster without feeling like puking.

“Starting tonight, you will have a special duty.”

Hopefully, it didn’t involve sucking this fucker’s dick because he had no idea if he could stomach it.

“Follow me,” Kanto said and began slithering his way out of the mess hall.

Riordan obeyed without a word. In a way, he wanted it to have it done if more punishment awaited him. Agonizing over what would come next wasn’t like him.

They had walked for quite a while through a labyrinth of hallways that appeared to reach further into the belly of Tu’lek. Riordan wondered briefly just how large the ship was, because it was obviously a ship.

“You have no understanding of the greater good,” Kanto suddenly said, although he hadn’t said a word throughout their trip together. “I will put that energy of yours to good use.”

With that, he stopped in front of a large metallic door that opened in front of him with a hiss. Riordan stole a glance at Kyle, who had followed without being asked to, or forbidden from doing so. The bot couldn’t help him with words of encouragement, but, at least, he was there.

“Your bot remains here,” Kanto announced.

Fuck, it was just getting better and better. Riordan squeezed Kyle’s metallic arm for a moment and walked inside after Kanto.

At first, he was surprised at the vastness of the room. The next thing he noticed was the large container in the middle. And in it, there was a sight he had seen before.

Lewis was inside, his belly now unrecognizable from those many eggs. He appeared to float, a look of perfect bliss on his face. He also seemed asleep, his eyes closed.

“So, you took him, as well. He might need a lot of seth, though. How is he doing without his husbands?” Riordan asked.

“Husbands?” Kanto said the word curiously.

“The guys who fucked him and put their eggs inside him,” Riordan supplied right away.

“I should have your tongue for speaking out of turn and in such a disgusting fashion. This Earthian must serve his purpose till the end. It was requested specifically by his Royal Chancellor to have him on board.”

“Sorry for the bad language and all, but you still didn’t answer my question. What is he going to do without the guys that got him preggo? Something tells me he’s a special needs case.”