Steampunk Harlots Ch. 28

"Bye, Trixy!"

Liddy dug her nails into the arm she held, trying to suppress her murderous rage.

****

The woman stood confused, listening to the laughter until she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Doing alright there?" Hannah asked, shifting the strap on her weapon to put it on her back.

"She's your Lady Captain. Why are you laughing? I... don't understand what happened."

"We are laughing because our dear Lady Captain is also our friend, and she has been keeping her first name a secret since we met her. Now, I need to go re-label everything on our ship in order to maximize her embarrassment and annoyance. You need to go back to wherever you work and tell them you are in charge now."

"I don't want to be in charge!" she yelled, flustered.

"Good, that's one of the best qualities of leadership. Just do your best and you might find out you like it."

The woman walked away, still in shock.

Ving walked up behind Hannah and blew gently in her ear. "You possibly did her a favour. Now, let's go rename the shit out of everything Liddy has her name on."

"Who?" Hannah asked, confused.

"Trixy," Ving giggled.

Another round of sniggering washed over the girls as Hannah and Ving returned to the ship. The rest, once they stopped laughing, started to go their own way to relax.

****

Liddy tried to ignore the inevitable conversations she would soon have with her crew and began composing eulogies. However, the splendour of the ship she was being guided through was enough to distract her. Luxury, tastefully done, was everywhere as she walked through grand halls and up elegant staircases. Hardwood and gold seemed to be at the core of all the architecture.

"A beautiful ship!" Liddy expressed as she marvelled at the decor.

"Yes, well given what a large mistake it was to buy, I had to do something with it."

"Oh?" Liddy asked, curious until she had a guess. "It's too expensive to fly, isn't it? Too heavy?"

"Very much so. Commissioned it right before the rumours of an Ember shortage began to fly. It's only flight was from the shipyard to this lake. Of course, it made it ideal for hosting this meeting so I can't complain too loudly. Still, I could have built a proper resort for a fraction of the cost and still been able to host."

"Well at least with a ship you always have the option to move. With the wars going on, mobility is an advantage."

"I suppose so," he said while considering her words.

***

"Alright!" announced Leira. "I'm going to find the most crowded bar full of aristocrats or whatever and get sloshed. Who else wants to make people angry at free Emberborn?"

As Leira trotted away in excitement, the rest of the Emberborn followed. Only Foxy looked to Inky for permission first. Inky gave her a friendly nod and watched her scamper to catch up. She waved to dismiss the rest of the girls to their own devices and decided to wait for Hannah to finish up.

***

It wasn't until they reached the Lord Captainls private offices that Liddy saw the finest marble she'd ever seen. The four women were alone with him in his office when the doors shut. He offered Liddy a seat in front of his desk.

"Business before pleasure?" he asked, being polite.

"Of course," Liddy responded.

"I didn't invite you here because of your particular field of work. Nor did I due to any wealth or influence you have, like I would anyone else here."

"I suspected as much." Liddy masked her disappointment, but had indeed already surmised as such.

"The real reason was for a drink." He snapped his fingers and looked off to a side door.

Liddy watched the door open, and from it emerged a walking machine, not unlike the artificial horses she sometimes saw pulling carriages. Only this one was shaped like a man, carrying a tray of drinks. It set the tray down on the desk. Liddy watched the clockwork mechanisms whirr under the glass chest piece. The face was also made of glass to show off the fine mechanisms in the head as well as the mechanical eyes that looked and focused on her before handing her a drink.

"I was wondering why those artificial horses were referred to as Ralia," Liddy commented before taking a sip of her drink.

"Indeed, these are my new models. However, unlike the horses, these can do complex tasks. There is just one problem."

"Emberborn are cheaper and more effective than these are?" Liddy postulated with a smile.

"Yes," he replied, happy he didn't have to explain it. "I have no personal problems with the slave trade. I don't agree with it, but it's never been a concern of mine until recently. My horses had an easy time finding a market because they were a status symbol. Less wealthy people got normal horses because mine made them cheaper. Though the war has driven up demand of both. My issue is that slaves are the status symbol and people don't see the need to switch to something new and complex."

"You noticed me because of what went down in the capital," Liddy stated.

"Yes." His reply conveyed his appreciation that Liddy stated things instead of asking. "You opened up the biggest possible market for me without meaning to. Sure, some will hire Emberborn, but they aren't a matter of status anymore. However, as much money as this is going to make me, I want more. That's where you come in."

"You want to sponsor my efforts to end slavery everywhere."

"Very much so. The more slaves you take off the market, the more money I make. I can provide you with any information I collect. Such as the locations of farms, not unlike the one you captured already. I am also aware that a new ship is being commissioned for you in the Capital. I can see it fully staffed with my creations. In part out of gratitude for your continued efforts."

"And partially to advertise them to the clients that would be making use of our services."

He stared at Liddy with a smile, he'd never before met a woman who saw his plans like he did. "Your keen insight certainly helped move us through the business portion of our meeting. Perhaps, after the general meetings, we can speak again. Until then..."

Liddy smiled as she ran her hand along the edge of her dress, over her breasts, forcing him to come to her. He stood up and came around his desk to lean over Liddy and kiss her while his hands held her hips. Lowering himself to kneel while maintaining the kiss, his hands slid up her dress and started to lift. Then, surprising Liddy, he broke the kiss to put his head between her legs -- after pushing them apart and resting them on the arms of the chair. Liddy gasped when he bit the insides of her thigh as his hands pushed the lace away from her womanhood. As his tongue slowly started to explore, Liddy soon realised he was teasing her and ignoring the spot she wanted him to give the most attention. She let out a low growl in aroused frustration.

Mari looked back at the girls on guard before returning her attention to Liddy, unsure if she was supposed to get involved yet.

Just as Liddy was about to force the man's head right where she wanted it, he flicked the spot hard with his fingers and made her yell out. Following quickly with his tongue, Liddy let out a loud moan as he forced her first climax from her body. As she slowly came down from the rush, he kept up his attentions until she was finally finished.

Mari came in close as he pulled Liddy up from the chair and unfastened her dress while they shared a deep kiss. The dress fell away, and Mari backed up as Liddy was spun around to rest her bum on the desk. At some point, Mari realised, he must have pulled her underwear the rest of the way off, as Liddy was now naked, having not worn a bra at all.

Liddy was thankful she had something to lean on since her legs were still lacking in balance. Though they were well enough to rise and slip her toes into the edge of his trousers. As she unfastened them, her legs pushed them off and she immediately felt his manhood pressing against her. Her hands wrapped around it to feel its size, and while it wasn't the most massive she had ever taken, it was certainly bigger than most. He removed his hands from her breasts to rip off his shirt, allowing Liddy a moment to examine his body and appreciate how well crafted it was.

Mari certainly appreciated the view of the man from behind, with Liddy wrapping her legs around him as he pushed her back to the desk to mount her. She smiled as Liddy howled in pleasure at his penetration. His rough thrusting making Mari jealous for her turn. It was at this moment the door behind the desk opened and a woman in an elegant, yet provocative, dress walked in.

"Oh, It would seem my husband couldn't contain himself?" The woman stated, starting at Liddy, who didn't stop moving her hips to feel him moving inside her.

"Ah, Lady Captain, may I introduce my wife. Lady Ralia."

"A pleasure," Liddy replied, not skipping a beat. "Your husband has talent. You must find great pleasure with him."

The married couple burst out laughing for a moment before the wife spoke again, "And you are a consummate professional. Most women panic when I walk in on my husband's enjoyment of them. Don't stop on my account."

"I never planned to," Liddy replied as the thrusting inside her resumed.

The wife stood and watched for a moment, enjoying the sight, before turning to Mari. "You must be Mari. I have seen photographs of you. Have you ever been with a woman?"

"Yes," Mari replied. "With ridiculous frequency."

"Oh," the wife seemed surprised but then smiled. "Well, that saves us time."

She walked around Mari, running her hands over her body to examine it. As Liddy moaned in pleasure, Mari tingled at the delicate touch. She felt hands unbind her dress along her back and slowly peel it off her. Leaving her naked and showing off her ink. Remaining still, she let the hands explore her flesh, tugging at the metal running through her nipples. Then the wife showed her back to Mari, who quickly yanked the lace binding off to let the expensive dress loose. To her surprise, the woman had her own share of ink, all in places that would be covered by clothing. There was even the design of a bra and panties, inked to her body so that she looked like she was still wearing them. Mari felt her breasts crushed against the woman's as she came in for a kiss. She felt the metal through her own tongue clink with what pierced the tongue of the wife.

Mari was moved towards the desk and pushed back onto it to lay next to Liddy. From somewhere Mari hadn't noticed, the woman produced an odd shaped piece of smooth metal. Pushing it inside herself, penetrating both spaces to keep it in place, it now looked like she had her own metal phallus. Mari let out a shrill noise as the cold metal pushed inside her. It warmed up quickly from her own body heat as the wife thrust inside her with it like her husband did with Liddy. The husband and wife shared a passionate kiss as they both continued to penetrate the women they had on the desk. Liddy and Mari held hands, enjoying the sight.

Liddy had climaxed again when the man pulled out of her and replaced his wife inside Mari. She then moved to Liddy and took her phallus out of herself and fixed it inside Liddy. It was a strange sensation, but Liddy decided instantly that she wanted one for herself. She took the hint as the wife pulled her off the desk. Liddy got in behind her as she bent over the desk to kiss Mari on the breasts. Liddy, excited to try something new, positioned herself behind the woman and guided the piece of metal inside the woman who wiggled her bum at her. It was different, the thrusting inside a woman being different than thrusting to get a man inside you. It took a bit of practice but soon she could feel herself ramming deep into the woman like she'd been doing it all her life. At first, she thought the pleasure would be limited, since she couldn't feel through the metal, but the pressure each thrust had on her end hit all the right spots inside her as well.

Mari watched as best as she could over the head that covered her breasts in saliva, Liddy thrusting like a man, breasts bouncing each time. Mari gently kicked the man to let him know she wanted to switch positions, and he brought her off the desk and bent her over the chair. His wife moved with Liddy to face them and she could finally kiss the woman as their breasts bounced below them with the thrusting they were receiving. She felt hers hurt as they were suddenly seized in the woman's hands, too slick to hold, she gripped by the piercings. Mari moaned and shook with her climax and felt herself leak out onto the man inside her. The wife laid down on the thick carpet and Mari felt forced to her knees to sit right over the wife. She felt the other woman's tongue cleaning around right where her husband worked himself in and out of Mari.

Liddy got down on the floor and continued to thrust inside the wife, while finally close enough to kiss Mari. They both felt the married woman below them shake and heard her moan, knowing she had finally been pleased. The husband pulled out of Mari and came to place a hand on each of the women who kneeled over his wife. Liddy and Mari felt their heads pushed together as he pushed himself between their lips. The two women kissed and licked each other almost as much as they did the shaft they had shared. It wasn't long before they both suddenly tasted his seed and greedily competed to taste every drop he offered them.

Astra and Kilty stood at the door, trying very hard to maintain their composure as guards while watching everything happening before them.

****

Inky greeted Hannah and Ving as they returned from their mission on the ship. "Get everything?"

"Yes," Hannah replied. "Though I'd love to find a place that makes throw pillows we can put her name on."

"Well until then, I say we go have fun. Cat found a racers bar. Think you can tell us who to bet on, Ving?"

"I've been out of it for a while, but as long as there aren't too many new faces I can."

The three of them caught up with Cat who was fixing her dress in an alcove. She looked at them and shrugged with a grin. As they entered the bar, they were all stunned in amazement. On all the walls were glowing lights, but the lights moved with images. Like the film projector Hannah had seen before, only these were electric, showing races. As they moved closer, they could hear the radio beside each race giving what sounded like a live broadcast.

"Hello, ladies," a man greeted. "I see you have noticed my cathode-ray-tube projectors. Impressive aren't they?"

"Is this all film or?" Hannah asked.

"Oh, no. Film is for stills. This is a broadcast. Like a telegram but for your vision."

"Wouldn't it make more sense to call it a television instead?"

The man stood gobsmacked for a few minutes solid before he spun around and ran away, calling for someone who could have been an assistant. It wasn't long before he and another man began taking down signs with the mouthful of a name on them. Then he came back over to them.

"Apologies, I just got carried away and excited over that word."

"It happens, not usually 'that' particular word but most of what I say does tend to make men excited."

The tease went right over his head, "Well, thank you very much for that."

"Assuming you can afford it," Hannah stated flatly.

His face went pale, "Oh my, but it's just a word. I..."

"Hush, all I want is one of these for my ship plus a camera. We have a lot of wealthy clients that would love to ask us where we got it."

"Oh, that would be great! I mean, yes. I think I owe you as much anyways. What ship would that be?"

"The Lucky Harlot," Hannah replied with a smile.

"Alright then, I will..." he paused. "Did you say, Harlot?"

"Indeed I did. Maybe once you show us how it works, you can find out why we have that name."

His eyes were wide with surprise as he nodded and rushed off. Ving cocked her eyebrow at her lover for her ability to manipulate men like she did.

"Ving! Is that you?!" a man called as he approached.

The four of them turned to face the man. Ving struggled to find the words she wanted to say to him, trying to express how she felt.

"What? Nothing to say?" he asked, smiling but confused.

Still struggling for words, Ving reached for her pistol and fired three shots into his gut. She didn't realise what she had done until she wondered why he had fallen over.

Inky and Hannah both had their weapons up and ready before the second shot had been fired and aimed at anyone who looked ready to get involved.

"Sweetie?" Hannah asked, wondering how much trouble they were in.

"I shot him," Ving replied, as surprised as anyone else.

"I noticed. That it or what?" While Hannah wondered what was going on, she trusted that Ving had a good reason and that the man undoubtedly had something to do with why she was so broken when they had first met.

"That's it." Ving holstered her pistol and looked about the room.

The room was silent except for the radios, as everyone was frozen in fear. Nobody knew what to do until one of the ship's crew rushed in, armed but undrawn. He waved everyone's weapons down and waited until Inky and Hannah had put theirs low. He then looked to the man Hannah had spoken with.

"Sir, is there a problem?"

He looked at the women before the newcomer, "Yes, some fool is bleeding in my bar. The young lady was accosted and defended herself."

The man nodded and snapped his fingers at the goons he had just outside the door. They dragged the bleeding man away, then another pair came in to scrub the floor. Within moments the floor was clean and people got back to their drinks. None of the women expected things to go over so smoothly.

"First time at one of these get-togethers, isn't it?" the man asked, approaching the women again who nodded. "As long as violence doesn't spill into chaos, they are rather understanding. If anyone was going to make problems it would be me. While I'm renting the room, it's like my own ship. Since I owe you anyways, and it seemed like he deserved that, I didn't see a reason to press the issue."

"Our thanks," Hannah stated, guiding Ving to a seat where she could get a drink.

Hannah didn't look to Ving to get her to explain herself, she simply held her hand and put it on a glass when her drink was served. She had her own list of people from her youth she would happily gun down rather than speak with and already understood what happened.

Inky had noticed a large group of armed men sitting at a booth who had remained calm during the whole event and flashed them a smile and shrug. Their leader replied with a tip of his cap and a lift of his drink. She decided to introduce herself.

Cat felt relieved to have been ignored during the whole thing.