Chapter 6

Note: When the conversation is a telepathic exchange, it is indicated by italics font.

In the clinic on Dóchas, while Lorraine and Zoe’s group were talking, Madeline and Ursula monitored Elsa, Kim and Lace. They didn’t think they would cause a problem, but weren’t sure how they would react to learning they were on a space ship. They knew the effects of the submissive drug on them should have worn off. Although it wasn’t clear that they had and the three appeared to be uneasy.

From Elsa, Kim and Lace’s perspective, while they felt very comfortable. Their experiences since enslaved by their employers had undermined their confidence. Even so they began to worry about all sorts of things, especially the role they had played earlier with the women’s activity.

“Madeline,” said Elsa hesitantly, “or any of you, where we are?”

“First,” said Jan, “do you know if they were drugging you to keep you compliant?” The three women nodded yes.

“I don’t think,” said Elsa “the dosage I received was as high as what they gave you. With previous women, Larry, had me reduce their dosage after being on the fourth floor for several months. When I asked why, he indicated that the repetitive effect of humiliation reduced the need for the drug.”

“All of you still have some lingering effects of the drugs you were given,” said Jo, the EMT. “From what I saw on the physicals, the medicine Madeline’s and Ursula’s groups took was not as effective as we thought. I need to check with Betsy or Judy, to see how to proceed. They will likely have all of you take another antidote. The residual drugs Elsa, Kim and Lace have in their systems are different than what Lorraine, Madeline’s and Ursula’s groups received. Lorraine’s is probably the highest, just a moment while I find out.” The EMT sat quietly for a few moments and then went to a cabinet. She came back with a tray, holding a cup for each of them. “To anticipate your thoughts, yes, it looks similar to what we gave you earlier. These drinks contain a drug which will quickly bind to what is in your system. They are tailored for each of you. It has no effect, other than to counter the drugs giving you submissive tendencies. You should notice a difference in less than 30 minutes.” With that, they each took a cup, Elsa, Kim and Lace waited until Madeline’s and Ursula’s groups began to drink before they drank theirs.

Múirne broke the silence, saying, “Elsa, how did you get trapped into being Larry’s slave?”

Elsa took a deep breath before beginning her story. “I joined Larry’s company right out of college. This was only a year or two after it really started to grow. I had been there several months, when the project I was assigned to had me working late one night with Larry. We went to dinner afterward and had a great time that evening, at least what I remembered of it.” Elsa told of her conditioning and outlined the events up until Madeline’s group came to work at the company.

“Sue Ann, Anna and Dawn became pregnant for the third time shortly after you all joined the company. During the time you were with the company, there were two groups of women designated as company sluts. Neither group lasted very long. Larry was very pleased when he saw the interviews for Madeline’s group and was quite anxious until you accepted the employment offer. Based on Larry’s comments Dale was very pleased with the interviews with those in Ursula’s group, since he didn’t have a full crew at his company.”

“So they hired us with the intent of enslaving us?” queried Madeline.

“Pretty much.”

“Did they always hire with that in mind.”

“Not really. Their primary preference for fourth floor candidates was no living relatives. Depending on staffing needs a strong technical knowledge could be a plus.

“While you all seemed so perfect to them, they almost decided to withdraw the offers. This was because they couldn’t find the level detail in your background information they expected. I think their real concern was that you might be undercover law enforcement agents. Once they were sure that wasn’t the case, they began plotting on how to create a situation to get all of you signed up. Since I’ve been there, your group is the largest he has hired at one time. They were both very pleased with your work product, even so they wanted to entice you to work on the fourth floor.

“When they heard about all of you getting together at the conference, they were pleased as they now had a pretext. Then when they heard of your meeting John and Tom, they were angry. I think it was because they thought you had escaped their grasp since you all left the hotel together. As you heard at dinner, they were still concerned over your contact with Tom and John and its possible ramifications. When you turned in your resignations, they were very pleased, as you provided them the opening to start their plan. I don’t think they ever saw any of us as a person, but as some warm object to use or torment.” With that, Elsa began to cry.

Madeline and Múirne went to hold her as she cried. “I’m sorry I went into so much detail,” said Elsa between sobs, “I just started talking and couldn’t stop.”

“You needed to do that,” said Madeline.

Ursula looked at the Kim and Lace, questioningly. “We have only been Dale’s sluts for a little more than a year,” said Kim. “The first time we were taken to Dale’s estate for a weekend was the time when they removed Elsa’s sisters and her friends legs. She is right, it was the most horrible thing we have ever witnessed. After they left, Dale informed us that he was changing our responsibilities. Beginning the next day we would be the mistresses overseeing his company’s sluts. In this position, the sluts performance was our responsibility. As such, we would ultimately be responsible for poor performance. If we failed then our punishment would make what we just saw trivial. We almost died right there from fright. You can’t imagine the look on his face. It was clear to us he was just waiting for an excuse to do something extreme.”

“My God, ladies,” said Jan, “and we thought our life on the freighter was horrible.” The others all nodded in agreement with her comment.

“Freighter?” said Elsa.

“Yes. A little over a year ago, these people, our hosts, rescued us from a freighter where we were being held. While on our post graduation vacation, we were abducted. We woke up naked, restrained on a freighter. During our time there, we were induced to perform in sex videos. They were somewhat similar to what you had us doing today after you took the initial video. If you didn’t perform well in videos, then you became the star in torture films. In many cases the star died. Some people just disappeared. We now think that many of them were sold.”

“How long ago was that?”

“Let’s see,” replied Ursula. “I think about a year ago, perhaps a little longer.”

Kim said, “That fits, as a little more than a year ago Dale and Larry were gone for about a month. Dale took us out to the estate the first weekend he was back. Larry and Elsa were there. During the weekend they talked about their activities. They made several comments about people developing an illness which caused a lot of pain before the victim died. During this time several males working for the events sponsors underwent a spontaneous gender transformation, either before or during the time they were there. From what they said the transformation took 3 to 4 days and was extremely painful. The new females had very large busts and were sexually aggressive. Dale and Larry along with many of the attendees, were unhappy about the poor selection of slaves at the auction. The organizers attributed it to losing a large group of new stock. In light of what you said, their comments now make more sense ... if the two events are connected.”

“Could be,” said Múirne, “let me assure you, we are safe here.”

“Where is here?”

“You remember how suddenly you arrived?” asked Madeline, with a bit of a smile. The women nodded, a bit apprehensively.

“We were teleported to a space ship which is now in a geosynchronous Earth orbit.” Their mouths dropped open. “Our position is directly over the spot on Earth where we were earlier this evening.”

“You’re kidding,” they exclaimed. Those in Madeline’s and Ursula’s groups just shook their heads, no.

“I can take you all up to the observation deck, if you want to see,” said Jo. “It is only a short walk.”

“We don’t have anything to wear.”

“I can get you a robe, but most no-one on the ship ever wears anything, except shoes. Who would like a robe?”

When Elsa, Kim and Lace saw the others not ask, they quickly decided they didn’t need one either. They were comfortable nude. Since they had been under Larry and Dale’s control, they only wore clothes during office hours.

Zoe looked at Lorraine and she just shrugged.

Jo waited a moment, then said, “Let’s go out this way,” as she proceeded to lead them out of the room.

“My God, you weren’t kidding,” they screamed. They stood there and stared at the sight. It looked just like the pictures they had seen, but it had much more impact when actually viewed from space. Madeline’s and Ursula’s groups again enjoyed the view. This was even better than before as they were closer to Earth giving them a much more colorful picture.

After a short while, Jo said, “Ladies, we need to go back to the clinic as soon as you are ready.” Several had been yawning.

“We can see it again tomorrow,” said Madeline, “and I suspect someone will meet us for breakfast.”

Jo said, “Tonight, one of us will be on duty in the clinic, if you need anything, just ask. And yes, in the morning, someone will be by to show you to the dining room for breakfast. Some of the ship’s Command Staff will likely meet you there.”

“It will be good to see them again,” said Múirne. “Are the babies here?”

“Yes, and they are usually at breakfast as well.”

When they reached the clinic ward, the EMT showed them how everything was arranged, then excused herself. The group quickly took showers and then went to bed. It wasn’t long after they first went to sleep that Elsa, Kim and Lace woke screaming in response to a nightmare. Once they were calmed by Madeline’s and Ursula’s groups, several women from the two groups paired off to sleep with them. They cuddled with Elsa, Kim and Lace, holding them in their arms while they slept through the night.

Dóchas’s chime sounded, signaling that breakfast would be served in an hour. The sound roused the women from their slumber. Elsa, Kim and Lace woke quickly and were, at first, disturbed by the strange surroundings, until they realized where they were. Their quick movements woke their sleeping companions, who pulled them back so they could cuddle for a bit more time.

“Come on, we need to get up,” said Múirne. “I wonder where the nearest exercise benches are?”

“Ask the attendant,” said Jan.

“What?”, asked Elsa.

“When we were here before, each sleeping area had an exercise area nearby, along with a shower.”

“Here, before?”

“Yes. We mentioned it last night. These people rescued us from a freighter, where we were being used as performers in sex videos. Our captors were planning on selling us to whorehouses, sex clubs or individuals, where we would be used as sex toys, slaves or worse. They used the sex videos as a way to find buyers for us.”

“Oh, sorry, now I remember. So much has happened.”

“The attendant said she would take us to an exercise room,” said Jan. “Come on, let’s go. Once we finish, we can take a quick shower. Zoe, are you all joining us?”

“Likely,” replied Belinda. Jan then turned and headed for the adjoining room, where the attendant was waiting for them.

Melody said, “Lorraine, it is up to you.”

“I am willing, but this is so different.”

Zoe said with a smile, “Being naked, or on a space ship, or so many tall people or...”

Lorraine smiled as she said, “All of it.”

“We can get you a robe. There isn’t any stigma attached to wearing one. These people generally don’t as their bodies only tolerate prolong covering in limited situations.”

“No I don’t think so, I am comfortable. Shall we go exercise? I presume you will help me.”

“Certainly,” responded those with Zoe.

When Madeline’s and Ursula’s groups arrived in the exercise room, they went right to the exercise benches and climbed onto them. Elsa, Kim and Lace watched in fascination as they began to exercise. Ursula said, “Why don’t two of you try out the remaining benches? We will exercise when you are done.” Múirne and Ursula took the hands of Kim and Lace, and led them over to the last two benches. Once they had mounted, they were shown how the controls worked. It took only a few minutes until they were covered with a sheen of sweat. When they were done, Madeline’s group helped Kim and Lace into the showers, while the others took their turn on the exercise benches before showering.

Briana was waiting for them when they all returned to the clinic with the attendant. Ursula’s and Madeline’s groups greeted her warmly, then introduced Elsa, Kim, Lace and Lorraine. Briana said, “I thought I would come to show you the way to breakfast. I’m not sure Zoe’s group knows the way yet, even though we are sure you could find it eventually.”

Smiling Zoe fired right back with, “Just what do you mean by that?”

“Just checking to see how alert you were this morning,” responded Briana with a smile. With that she took Elsa’s hand and led them to the dining hall. Following Briana’s example they all walked hand-in-hand to the dining room.

During the short walk, Elsa kept glancing at Briana. Briana sensed her glances, and waited to see if she would express the questions she had. “Do I know you?”, asked Elsa, finally.

“I don’t think so, although you may have sensed me as I was part of the group that rescued you last night. I was the one holding Dale’s elbows together while Zoe’s group helped you all.”

“Okay. I wasn’t sure ‘know’ was the right word, it’s just that you seemed familiar. Can I ask a couple of personal questions?”

“Sure,” said Briana thinking back to the questions she had when she first met this race.

“How tall are you?”

“Well, before my feet started to arch, I was about six feet two inches, now I am close to seven feet tall.”

“Do you always wear heels?”

“No, I don’t really need them, but they are very comfortable, especially if I stand still for an extended time.”

“When I wear heels, they always feel awkward, and it doesn’t take long for my feet to hurt.”

“I can remember that from the few times I wore heels before coming here. After I joined these people, I asked for some genetic treatments which converted me to this breed. The alteration in my feet is one of the changes, along with several other features you may not have noticed yet. My ankles changed in shape and position so I now naturally walk on the balls of my feet. There are also some changes in the muscle structure of my feet and legs. I am quite comfortable without the heels, but wearing them gives us some additional support when we just stand. Many of us are originally from Earth. We opted to have the genetic treatments, so we could be more a part of this society. None of us have experienced any regret over having the treatments. In fact, many of us think having the opportunity to be here is the greatest event in our lives.”

“I like your hair. In fact, you are very beautiful.”

“Thank you. Later today you will be shown a presentation that will tell you more about where you are, and us. I think it is supposed to happen after breakfast. I suspect you will find us to be quite different than any you have been around before. Even so I think you will find these surroundings quite comfortable. Madeline’s and Ursula’s groups are really fun to be around.” Just then they reached the dining hall, and as they entered the crew broke into applause to welcome them.

Madeline and Ursula each took one of Elsa’s hands, and a hand of Kim and Lace. The other women, seeing what they had done, held hands with the person next to them. Together they bowed to the crew. Madeline and Ursula said together, “We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for coming to our aid. It is because of you we are here. Thank you ever so much.” Tears of happiness flowed down their cheeks, as the crew broke out in a thunderous applause, as Sarah’s Clan walked in behind them.

“We too, are very glad all of you are here,” said Sarah’s Clan, startling the women. When Madeline turned around, she threw herself at Sally, wrapping her arms around her in a tight hug of thanks. All the women followed her lead, even Elsa, Kim and Lace.

Lorraine’s response to them was more restrained as she thanked them. When she reached Aoife and Tara, they simply drew her into a group hug. In addition, they pushed thoughts of welcome to her. As they relaxed their hug she kissed each of them, she said, “Thanks. I owe you all a lot as well as Them for sending you.”

“We are pleased that it has worked out so far,” responded Aoife. “So what do you think of Zoe’s group?”

“They are very nice and very comfortable to be around.”

After a few moments, Judy began, “Elsa my name is Judy. Your sisters and friend will be fine. Their babies are doing very well. We expect them to deliver in a week or so. We understand that Larry intended to sell the babies. The three of them will need to decide whether to keep them or not. If they choose not to, which is reasonable for a number of reasons, we can help them choose who to place them with. The choice will ultimately be theirs.” Elsa’s eyes again filled with tears of happiness, as she felt another point of concern lift. “We should wait to address their amputations until after the babies are born.”

“What about the woman who was about to see her hands amputated?”

“Physically, she is doing very well. Her personality and spirit are in disarray, so we don’t know yet how well she will recover mentally.”

“Judy, why don’t some of the things I saw bother me more than they do? No, that’s not right.” She paused to gather her thoughts so that she could express them more clearly.

“I understand the intent of your question. Come on, let’s get some food first, then we can talk while we eat.” When they sat down, both Kim and Lace sat with them.

“Elsa, going back to your question; from what I have seen, it is possible to place those who experience extreme tragedies into two general groups. One group is can be called the ‘victim’ and the other the ‘survivor’. All suffer and are changed by their experience. The difference is in the way they approach their future. A ‘victim’ doesn’t seem to be able to put the event in a ‘closet’ or ‘behind them’ so they can go on with life. While the ‘survivor’ places the memories of the event in a ‘closet’ and locks the door. Some ‘survivors’ even throw away the closet key. Some make the mistake of reopening the door sometime later in life. When doing that, they run the risk of becoming a ‘victim’ of the tragedy.

“The woman, Fiona, who was about to have her hands severed last night seems to fit the ‘victim’ criteria. Her spirit has been greatly weakened by the abuse and her seeming acceptance of it. Initially she may not have known how, or not had the strength, to put the ugly events she saw or endured in a mental closet. By not doing that from the start, each time she was humiliated, abused or used, it ate at her spirit and self-worth. We hope she has enough spirit left that she will recover, but, right now, we are not sure. There are things we can do to help her, but it is something she will need to find from within. Even if she recovers, she will be susceptible to relapses.

“The six of you; you, Dawn, Sue Ann, Anna, Kim and Lace, all fit into what I consider to be the ‘survivor’ category. You seem to have the talent for finding your footing and stabilizing yourselves after the tragedy is past. This doesn’t necessarily mean you accept what was done. You just realize the limits of your options, which are reinforced by a will to survive. Later today, when we do your physical evaluations, we will talk to each of you in some detail about the events you experienced. I understand you vented some last evening.” Elsa nodded. “That is good. All of you need to do that, and each will probably do it differently. When we do the evaluations, you will control the limits of how deeply we get into the details. Our whole purpose will be to help you put the tragedy away in your mental ‘closet’, lock the door, and discard the key. We are confident each of you can do that.”

“I never thought of a tragedy in that way,” said Kim. “While Dale used us as his company sluts, and then as mistresses to manage the others, we saw both kinds of people. In Dale’s eyes, none of us were never more than a piece of furniture to be used. The ones who I now see as ‘victims’ did not last very long. Surprisingly, their lack of resistance seemed to incite him, causing him to increase the severity of their abuse. The results of the increased severity usually caused him to get rid of them rather quickly. He needed to send them away, because their presence soon diminished the thrill his employees had in using them. He seemed to relish the ‘survivor’ type and, though he was abusive to them, he treated them as if they were worthy of his attention. As cruel as he was, he probably could have broken them, if he had focused on doing it, but he never forgot the real purpose of the ‘company sluts’, and that was as a way to control his employees. The ‘sluts’, to him, were simply perks for him to provide his employees, but they were also a tool he could use to keep them productive. All of our liaisons with customers or employees were filmed. Many employees became his sex toys when they decided to leave.”

“Larry did something similar,” said Elsa. “He always kept an eye on the employees. If the employee was bright and good looking, he had them on a list to become a company sex toy. Once he found someone that was more technically savvy to replace them they were promoted to being his personal assistants. All of them were on the payroll while working as company sluts until they left. He recorded each one as they willing signed the documents and unlimited power of attorney. Once he had those documents, they essentially disappeared. No financial records, no school records, no birth certificate and so on. None of them seem to realize the impact of signing those documents. After they left the fourth floor, I never heard an employee ask about them.”

“How do you know that?”

“I heard him giving instructions to some of his managers. Larry monitored all of us. Once my friends were under his control and dependent on me, he had me doing some of the monitoring. This was after he was sure I would do it correctly, but he still checked on me. For those on the fourth floor, he kept a record of each slut’s contact with customers and employees. After each customer’s or employee’s visit, they would grade the slut’s performance. Receive too many poor grades, and they spent some time in the dungeon. Sometimes he would take them to the estate for the weekend. Sometimes they returned, sometimes they didn’t. His goal was to have four enthusiastic sluts available on the fourth floor all the time. If there were more, then the older ones may spend the day on the third floor restrained in stocks, or displayed. While there they could be used or tormented at will. Once he felt they had been around long enough, he would give them a going away party, where they were the center piece of a multi-day orgy. After the orgy, they were never seen again. Strangely, he kept records on every one of them, and continued to sell their videos through a side business.

“I don’t know about the others,” continued Elsa, “but I really enjoyed some of the liaisons with guests and employees, once I adjusted to my circumstances. So, I guess I really am a slut. Now, a slut out of a job. No money. No identity.” Tears welled in her eyes.

“Bullshit,” said Madeline and Ursula, “you are not a slut just because you enjoy sex, even when it’s not by your choice. As to job and identity, this group assisted us after we were rescued, so I suspect they will assist you, as well.”

“Kim, Lace, Elsa,” said Sarah, “Madeline is correct. If you are a slut, then so are many of us, if not all of us. We really enjoy the physical aspect of our relationships. Your slutty behavior was required by your confinement and eased by the drugs you were given. This blocked any opportunity to go beyond just the physical part. Here, you will decide when you want to leave, so relax, all of you deserve it. Whether you enter a physical relationship with anyone here, it is entirely up to you.” After Sarah had finished speaking, several hugged the three women, to express their compassion for their predicament.

Madeline’s and Ursula’s groups again realized that these three women had a much more personal experience as ‘company sluts’ than they had had on the freighter. They were placed in a situation where they had to sexually service and satisfy people who, at one time, they thought were friends. While on the freighter, they had to participate in sexual acts with others, but they did not have an emotional link to the other participants, so it was somewhat abstract. If they hadn’t been rescued, with time, they could have found themselves facing the emotional turmoil that Kim, Lace and Elsa had been living with since their enslavement.

Judy watched the impact of Elsa’s comments register on the other women in the group. After a few minutes she said, “Yes, the humiliation will be greater when you know the people you are forced to participate with, or service, in a sexual manner. Always remember the circumstances. To a large degree, you are all ‘survivors’. Talk with your friends here. Keep the good memories, and put the ugly ones in the closet or wastebasket. When we go over the results of the physicals, we will talk about this some more.”

Madeline said, “Lorraine, you’ve been very quiet. We remember you from HR when we joined the company. We were surprised to see you in the dungeon.”

She smiled and said, “Mostly I’ve been listening and learning, between giving thanks to Them for sending your friends to rescue us. I had this dumb idea that I could weasel my way into a partnership with Larry then expose them. While they were very effective in making someone vanish, it wasn’t perfect. I stumbled into the situation as I was still trying to find my friend who vanished after she went to work there. My ploy didn’t work as you saw. I’ve listened to your stories and it has helped me come to limited terms with what happened. Even so, it is hard to accept the fact that I didn’t resist doing anything he told me to do. Let me qualify that, I did like the sexual interaction with Madeline’s group which was new to me.”

“Lorraine,” said Judy, “even though it is painful at times, it helps to share your experiences. I’ve noticed many in Zoe’s group with you and you all seem to have a good rapport. I am sure they will listen and help you work through your feelings.”

“Thanks. I like being with them.”

Claudette stood, saying, “Once everyone has cleaned their area of breakfast stuff, we will have a short question and answer period.”

Sarah’s Clan moved to the front of the room, while it was being straightened up after breakfast. “We would like to formally introduce our new guests. They are Elsa, Kim, Lace and Lorraine. Ladies, would you stand?” After the applause they added, “Elsa’s two sisters and a friend are currently in the clinic. Their names are Sue Ann, Anna and Dawn. They can have visitors. All three are very pregnant. Each is carrying twins, which the doctors believe will be born within a week or so. So it will be awhile before they can join us here or be up and around. It will be soon, though.”

Rusty said, “We expect to hold this orbit for at least another week but could be as long three weeks. Construction projects can resume now, but keep in mind that we will be moving back to Mars. We will time it to minimize disrupting any exterior work.

“Madeline’s and Ursula’s groups will be moving to Comrie and they will have quarters here. Most of the other women who returned to Earth society about a year ago, have decided to rejoin us. They should begin arriving at Comrie over the next several days. We understand that they plan on participating in GISS with Madeline’s and Ursula’s groups. Two friends of theirs, Tom and John, will be moving to there, as well. They are acting as mentors to assist the ladies with setting up their new business. So we expect to see them periodically, either here or at our Mars settlement.”

“Are there any questions?”

“When are the security teams coming back?”

“Some will be back today. They will be working in shifts for a while. Our plans are to keep a group close to the two company headquarters and the armory until MacFarland’s group has everything secured. We anticipate MacFarland will need to contract with a data storage service or a bank, in order to securely hold the records until they are needed. With this in mind, we intend to keep a group on alert, another group on quick response status, and two on rest. This will basically be a four group rotation.”