Chapter 1

“Oh god, what a headache?” Kimberly started to move, “That party last night must have been a doozy. Mom and Dad are going to kill me!”

“It wasn’t a party, Kimberly Stone.”

“Who said that?”

“I am an Artificial Intelligence; my name is Ebon Black. Please call me EB. Kimberly Stone.”

“Oh, how do you know my name? Where am I? It looks like some sort of squishy cave. So I didn’t get slipped some drugs at the party?”

“There was no party, Kimberly Stone. You are in one of the cargo bays of a Behemoth. Your ID is in your implant. You have a headache because you were purged.”

“What do you mean, purged?”

An AI couldn’t sigh, but the pause spoke volumes.

“Okay ... Kimberly Stone, you are currently on a Behemoth. It is an ancient creature capable of interstellar flight. It was a base of the Argetian Slaver Alliance. They thought it was dead and built their base on the husk.”

“Argetian slavers? Here?” Kim gasped and stood up quickly, only to slip and fall again, “I’m naked!” She quickly covered herself, “Why am I naked? I can’t let the slavers find me like this ... Something’s not right; why are my breasts so big?”

There was another pause, a suffering pause, “You were purged, Kimberly Stone. Your mech, your suit, everything was removed so it would not be captured. That is why you’re naked. Yes, Argetian Slavers. I do not have the full details, but there was a battle, and you crashed here.”

Kim didn’t seem to be paying attention, “I had big boobs before; I wonder how big they are now.” Her voice was distracted, and her hands were exploring and prodding her unfamiliar breasts.

“About E cup now ... Focus Kimberly Stone. You’re naked in a slaver behemoth. You’re confused because of the purge.”

“You can see me?” She quickly covered herself with her arms, at least as much as she could.

“Yes, I can see you, Kimberly Stone. My AI core has a camera attached to it. You need to focus.”

“Why am I confused? It was just equipment, wasn’t it?”

“No. Everything, including your experiences, was removed with the purge. Your memories from the time you had the implant till now were stored on the implant. You are just like you were before you had your implant installed. Except for maybe one year older physically. Kimberly Stone”

“There aren’t any slavers near here, are there?”

“No. There does not seem to be any slavers near here.” The AI’s voice was emotionless, but somehow frustration was seeping through. “Time to get up, Kimberly Stone. There are things you need to do unless you want to become enslaved.”

“No, I don’t want to be a slave. So what do I need to do? Why do you keep calling me Kimberly Stone? Kim is my name.”

“The ID in your implant lists you as Kimberly Stone.”

“Please just call me Kim. Calling me my full name makes me feel old.”

“Before your implant was reset, you were 44. Kim”

“Oh, that’s old ... No, No, No, I’m 18.”

“You may feel that way. But your last renewal was a year ago, and your body’s age is effectively 19. We must go, Kim. Go to the door at the end of the cargo hold.”

“How can you tell I’m 19 and not 18?”

“When I first communicated with your system, you were examining the pilot status. It said you were physically 19, and you were slightly injured. Kim. You need to go down the hallway at the end of the cargo bay.”

“It looks like some sort of squishy hallway EB.”

“That’s because it is. Whoever made the behemoths made them with long open spaces. I don’t know how big this one is, but they never stop growing. At least not till their dead, Kim. This one still seems to be alive, only dormant before. The halls look squishy because they are made up of vacuum-proof flesh.”

“Umm, EB.”

“Yes, Kim.”

“You said I had an implant. What’s that?”

“I don’t have exact data on it. It’s something in your brain that controls your body mods and allows you to pilot your mech.”

“Why wasn’t it removed with my clothes and stuff?”

“It was too complex.”

“What do you mean?”

“The beaming tech can only move simple and consistent things. Complex circuitry and organic flesh cannot be beamed. Kim.”

“But aren’t mechs complex?”

“Not really. The control and guidance computers are. The armor, engines, and weapons aren’t. All the complex stuff is in your implant. Kim”

“So if I found a mech, I could control it? You don’t have to say my name every time; I’m the only one here.”

“No, you can’t control a mech.”

“Aw, why not?”

“The software is gone. It was wiped out just before the Commonwealth tried to destroy the implant and mods. So you need to get moving before you become a slave.”

“How far do we have to go? And what are we looking for?”

“Probably about a kilometer. We’re looking for an inactive camera drone.”

“Why do we need it?”

“So that I can inhabit the drone. My core is back at the cargo bay. But I can’t see anything or hear anything but you right now. Your implant is like an over-glorified com badge right now. I can’t really help till you get to the drone.”

“There’s a problem, though?”

“What’s the problem, Kim?”

“The tunnel has collapsed, and there’s some sort of goo leaking from the ceiling.”

“Can you climb over it? Is there a hole to get through? I just know there’s supposed to be a camera drone back there.”

Kim’s path was blocked by a tunnel section that had collapsed. Fluids dripped down from the tunnel’s ceiling and slowly started covering the debris. She approached and grabbed hold of some of it.

“It might be light enough for me to move. But this goo is slippery.”

“What goo?”

“This goo that’s dripping down from the ceiling and coming out of the walls to cover the rubble.”

“That goo is probably part of the behemoth’s healing system.”

“The goo is a bit on the cold side, but it feels good against my skin.”

EB waited for a few moments before Kim spoke again. The human woman was trying to make a hole through the debris. Her breath rate increased as she worked, picking up different pieces of debris and tossing them to the side.

“I think I might be able to squeeze through.” She bent over and started climbing into the hole she had created. “Oooh, that’s cold.”

“What’s cold?”

“This goo, it’s dripping over my skin. Now it’s starting to feel warmer. Oooh.” She bit her lip to keep from moaning.

“We don’t know what that is; you don’t want to get covered in it, Kim.”

“It’s very slick, and I can feel it going over my body.” Her voice rose a few notes as the goo covered her breasts and started drip down off her nipples.

“That doesn’t sound good. How much farther do you have to go?”

“Not too ... Much ... oh...”

“What’s going on, Kim?”

“It’s dripping down my belly and over my pussy. And I feel it going down my buttcrack. This stuff is really slippery.”

“You better hurry. You’re voice is sounding strained, and your breathing is getting rapid.”

“But it feels good, EB. Very good. It makes me feel all tingly.”

“Keep going, Kim.”

“Oh ... yes ... sir!” Her voice was getting very distracted. She finally popped out the other side of the debris, her body dripping with the goo. Her hands started to move over her breasts and between her legs.

“Oh yes!” She cried out; her voice echoed throughout the tunnel-like hallway.

“Are you ok, Kim? Your breathing has increased again. Kim? Kim?”

“Oh yes, I’m ok, EB. Just give me a minute.” Her moans had started to echo through the empty hallways of the behemoth.

“What are you doing, Kim? You better stop, or else you might attract attention.”

She giggled and moaned before she answered, “Aw, EB, is that an order?”

“I can’t order you to do anything, Kim.”

“Aww, please?”

“Focus, Kim, the goo must be affecting you. Focus!”

“Oh yes!” She giggled before she stood up. “Oh ... I just realized I don’t have any body hair.” Her hand was still rubbing the goo between her legs. And she was still moaning, though not as loud as before.

“Pilots who wear skin suits generally don’t. It might cause some gaps where some air gets to, and that causes some chafing and discomfort and a potential weakness in the suit.”

“Ooooh, that makes sense.”

“What are you doing?”

Despite her present situation, Kim blushed, “Ummm, nothing!” Then, she said after a moment, “You can’t see, can you?”

“No, I can’t! That’s why we need to get the camera drone.”

“Oh, that’s too bad ... Um, I mean, that’s good. I mean ... Oooh, don’t look.”

“You’re not masturbating, are you?”

“Oh! No! Not that.” She cried out again, quieter than before.

“Keep moving, Kim, and stop touching yourself.”

“Aww, but EB!”

“Focus, Kim!” The downed mech pilot could focus for a few moments to get around a bend in the hallway.

“There’s water spraying from a pipe in the ceiling, or what looks like water.”

“Can you avoid it?”

“Oh, it’s warm and wet.” Kim giggled again.

“What was I doing?” Her hands were still moving over the slick goo sticking to her skin. Slowly it fell from her body as the water washed it away.

“You were masturbating, Kim.”

“Eep! No, I wasn’t.” She tried to deny it and cover her body with her hands again.

“The goo you were in seems to have some sort of hallucinogenic properties.”

“Oh ... Well, that’s bad. I can’t remember. Really, I can’t remember. Is this a shower? In the middle of the hallway?”

“No, it’s a broken pipe. Are you feeling more yourself?”

“Umm, yes. Was I masturbating? That’s so embarrassing. How could you tell? I thought you couldn’t see me.”

“I heard you over the comm channel, and you were moaning. And you were begging for orders.”

“I was not!” She blushed deeply and did her best to cover herself some more while trying to get the last of the goo off her body.

“You were. You even moaned louder when I had to raise my volume and tell you to focus. Shall we go on?”

Five minutes later, Kim came to a door with a security panel beside it. The tall human did try to open the door and found it locked.

“EB, there’s a locked door here. Is this where you want me to go?”

“Yes, you’ll have to open the door.”

“But it’s locked, EB.”

“Is there a security panel beside the door?”

“Yes, there is.”

“Can you open the panel? I can’t hack it from here, so you’ll have to figure out how to.”

Kim fiddled with the panel and tried to pull it open. Her hands were not able to get any sort of purchase on it. There was a crash behind her in the hallway. She ran back to where the pipe was and found it in pieces on the floor. More goo was coming from the wall where the pipe had gone through it.

“The pipe fell, and there’s more of that goo coming from the wall. I might be able to use the broken pipe to get the panel out of the wall.”

“It’s worth a shot. Just don’t touch any more of that goo.”

When she got back to the panel, she stabbed the jagged end of the pipe into the wall to see if she could pry the board out.

“There, the panel is free. What do you want me to do?”

“We need to trick the lock. There should be a few cables running from the panel and into the wall. Probably about three or four. Look for the thinnest set. Might also be strapped to a pair of heavier cables.”

“I think I see it. Eep!”

“What happened?”

“Goo spurted out of the hole where the panel was, and it’s dripping from my face and breasts. What do you want me to do with the cable?”

“See if you can pull it free of the board. Just be careful–”

“Owwww, oooooh!”

“What happened?”

“It sparked, and the goo ... Umm, never mind! It’s private!”

“The cable sparked, or the board sparked?”

“I’m not sure. How can you tell?”

“Does the panel have a light on it? You could try shortening the leads to see if there’s a spark too.”

“What can I use to short the leads?” She asked in a distracted voice, “Oh, I know! Owww, oooooh yes!”

“What happened?”

“Yes, the cable is sparking!”

“Ok, but what happened?”

“I touched it to the goo on my ni– I’m not going to tell you that!”

“Okay, but ... Focus Kim, Never mind the goo. You need to connect the sparking cable to one of the thinner cables, then pull on the door to open it.”

“Ooooh ... yes, sir! Okay ... Yes, the door is open!”

“What do you see inside?”

It took Kim a few moments to find the light controls, and then she described the room to EB.

“It looks like a storage room with lots of boxes. There are a few big boxes on the back. Oh, one says drones on it. It’s fairly big. Do you want me to check it out?”

“Yes, just be careful. I don’t think there are any traps in there.”

“I think this is what you’re looking for. There’s some sort of oval thingy with a pair of arms coming from it, and ... what looks like a cable with a clip on it?”

“That’s it. How much power does it have?”

“Let me check, sir ... There’s a panel on top. It says about 10% or so.”

“That should be good for about a day of operations. You don’t need to call me sir, Kim.”

“But ... It feels right.”

“That’s the goo talking, not you!”

She reached into the box and pulled out the drone. After a few moments, it started to float. Several emissive blue strips ran down the sides and bottom of the drone, glowing brighter as the drone moved around.

“The panel says ‘searching for control.’ But I don’t see anything that can control it. So how do I get the drone back to you?”

“Is there a book or something or instructions?”