The Star-Bitch: "Wasteland Warrior"

"I'm not a fighter, really," Boquie confessed, "my specialty is more... well... persuasion."

Vonda couldn't argue with that. Boquie's charms had worked wonders on her... nearly got her killed.

"So you're the ship's femme fatale," Vonda sneered with some disdainful resentment, "sex up the target and get them to let their guard down so they don't notice the knife sliding into their back."

"No, no," Boquie insisted, then her form morphed right before Vonda's eyes. She was now a thin, tall blue female with pink eyes and white hair and her clothes fit her all wrong. She was a shapeshifter!

"I'm a Polymorph and a limited telepath," Boquie explained, "close-range only and I can really just pick out images and impressions from people's minds. I can use that to take on a form that our... 'objective' finds most appealing... Often I can persuade them to give us what we want without a single shot fired."

Inwardly, Vonda admitted that would be a very useful skill in her line of work. And it explained a lot. Vonda should have known she was too good to be true. And it was undeniable: Vonda was an ass woman through and through. No matter the species or the sex, Vonda always admired a fine set of glutes.

"But I'm no good in a firefight. Just not my thing," Boquie continued. Then her eyes grew distant and dark, "they left me behind to man the ship and monitor their communications... I... I had to listen to them all... They died... Horrible screaming... munching... OH GODS!"

Vonda almost felt bad for her. But then she remembered how Boquie had set her up. Boquie must have been a pretty good actress in her line of work, and all of this could easily be an act. Someone like her didn't live as long as she had without looking out for herself first and foremost. Vonda thought about the claw marks and blood stains on the hatch and boarding ramp and a scene began to form in her head of the few crew who managed to escape back to the ship frantically banging on the hatch, trying to get in... and Boquie locking them out to save her own skin, listening to them be mauled and dragged off by the cannibalistic horror.

"Right," Vonda sighed, ignoring Boquie's bravura performance, "I hope you were this broken up when you lured me into that cargo bay so Mars' men could kill me."

"Oh, no!!" Boquie exclaimed, "I never meant for that to happen! I was on my way there when the Captain grabbed me and made me tell him where we were going! He held me back while he sent his men in there to kill you!"

"Really," Vonda deadpanned, "that's not what he told me."

"He... the Captain's alive?" Boquie seemed nervous only momentarily, but recovered quickly, "Well, he'd obviously lie to cover up his guilt. He'd say anything. I wanted to warn you, but he smashed my commcard! I would never have done that to you!"

Vonda smiled and tapped her wrist comm. Boquie's pocket lit up and chimed with her commcard's ringtone.

"Care to try again?" Vonda sneered.

Boquie looked shocked, then slumped, knowing she was caught in a lie.

"Okay, okay..." She sighed, turning off her commcard, "but I really did like you. I was hoping Mars would make a deal with you. We had fun together..." She looked up at Vonda seductively, submissively, and shapeshifted back to her familiar form, perfect ass and all.

Boquie dropped to her knees in front of Vonda and ran her hands up Vonda's thighs sensually, "but now it's just the two of us... alone... I'm sure we can have lots of fun together, if you want..."

Vonda smiled. This bitch was good. She was lying her ass off, still, but it was a damned fine ass, so Vonda didn't really give a shit.

"Sure," Vonda smirked, "but only if you're wearing these."

Vonda produced a pair of carbonium shackles and locked Boquie's arms behind her back.

"Just so there's no chance of backstabbing, you understand," Vonda smiled.

Boquie cooed playfully, "oooh, yes ma'am, whatever you say..."

"And I think your little dirty trick deserves a severe spanking on that fine ass of yours, little girl," Vonda grinned broadly.

"Oh, yes," Boquie positively bubbled, "I've been a bad girl," she pouted sexily for Vonda's benefit.

"Good!" Vonda yanked the merc up effortlessly and put her across her knee, "30 strokes ought to do it! Count them off for me."

The girl yelped in surprise as Vonda ripped the seat out of her see-through stockings and bared her vulnerable ass.

"Yes, Mistress..." Boquie moaned huskily at the roughness of it.

"First, let's get off this hellhole," Vonda paused, indicating the dashboard, "which one's the autopilot?"

"That one," Boquie helpfully pointed with her bound hands.

Vonda inserted Mars' passkey into the dash slot, activating the controls, then pressed the button. The ship began its preprogrammed route back to the Gallatin Division.

"Good girl!" Vonda smiled and turned her attention back to the captive she'd taken over her knee, "for that, you get an extra five strokes!"

And with that, Vonda began spanking the bound merc's ass with gusto.

"Ooooohhhhh...." Boquie moaned erotically, "one...."

"And after I warm up this naughty, cockteasing ass of yours, I'm taking it for real! I'm gonna ride it all the way to Fordex V!" Vonda snarled, "Hope you're ready for some deep, hard buttfucking, BITCH!" She punctuated her proclamation with a hard, stinging blow that echoed around the cockpit and reddened the girl's ass immediately.

"Two-Aiioowww! Yes!" Boquie caterwauled, "my favorite!!!"

"And if you're good," Vonda promised, "I might just keep you!"

"Oooohhhh," Boquie sighed at the thought - "AAAAIIEEeee! Th-three!" tears began to run down her pretty cheeks already.

This was going turning out to be the best mission ever, Vonda smiled as she meted out the devious shapeshifter's punishment and her captive counted off the blows aloud.

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By the time the Tyrannosaurus arrived at Fordex V seven days later, Vonda and Boquie had done just about ever sex act in the book. With the autopilot flying the ship and nothing else to do, they spent practically the entire time fucking.

Vonda slid her sizable green dick out of the depths of Boquie's throat, the merc girl gasping for air as the now freshly-cleaned horsecock emerged revitalized and fully erect, ready to go again.

Having given up her secret of being a shapeshifter, Boquie was free to use her skills to accommodate Vonda's impressive length and girth down her throat. This freed up Vonda to tie down the sexy shapeshifter and throat-fuck her with total abandon, something she'd only ever been able to do with the Gorbolian Mouth Whores of Loban XII, who were renowned for their oral capabilities.

"Damn, girl, you got me all hard again," Vonda sneered, "now I'm gonna have to do something about that!" She gave Boquie a sharp swat on her already rosy cheeks, "face down and stick that ass up!"

Vonda untied her and recuffed her hands behind her back. As close as they'd come in the past week of nonstop fucking, Vonda always kept her bound and restrained. Truth be told, Vonda felt Boquie liked it that way.

Boquie moaned in desire and rolled over obediently, "again...? But my poor little ass is sore, Mistress... And so full! I can feel your seed sloshing around inside me!"

This only made Vonda's cock throb harder. She slapped the girl's upturned ass roughly, making her yelp and her ass jiggle seductively, "BITCH, I will tell you when your ass is done!"

"Mmmmmm, yes Mistress," Boquie sighed in submissive appreciation.

But just as Vonda was about to dive into the upturned butt's already-gaping, swollen hole, an alarm went off. The autopilot had entered Fordex V space and required a pilot to take over for docking procedures.

"Damn," Vonda sighed. Nothing good can last forever, she thought. "Fun's over, bitch," she smacked the girl's vulnerable, bared ass one last time as she climbed off the Captain's bed, "we'll have to take a rain check on this one."

Boquie moaned in disappointment and rolled onto her back, "so soon?"

Vonda smiled as she deactivated her cock genemod. It felt weird going back in. She'd never left it on for a full week like this before, and she already missed it as it shrank away back down to her normal female anatomy. She felt incomplete without it. But it was too big to leave on all the time, it'd be a liability in combat.

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After the ship had landed at the docking platform on Fordex V, Vonda and Boquie stood at the top of the boarding ramp.

Vonda reached behind Boquie to finally release her from her bonds, but the shapeshifter merely morphed her wrists and hands into tentacles and slipped right out of her shackles, shooting Vonda a wry smile as the carbonium cuffs clattered heavily to the floor.

"You could have done that any time..." Vonda smiled.

Boquie nodded, smirking impishly as she turned around and nestled herself in Vonda's ample bosom, "but we were having so much fun that way..."

Vonda smiled, shaking her head. This girl was one of a kind.

"Look, I'll be back. Just gotta take care of some business. We can pick this up if you want after," Vonda actually let a hint of genuine affection come through in her tone.

Boquie slowly broke the embrace, "MMMmm, thanks, but..." she sighed, "I have some personal business to take care of, too. And I really should make sure Mars gets to a medbase."

Vonda nodded, knowing it had been a longshot.

"Alright, well, if you ever need a good spanking, look me up," she gave Boquie one last parting slap on the ass.

Boquie moaned in response and rubbed her sore, heavily used and abused ass, "thanks, I'll keep that in mind... As soon as I can sit down again!"

Boquie leaned in and kissed Vonda passionately. Vonda took the opportunity to steal one last squeeze of the merc's perfect butt cheeks.

Vonda walked down the ramp and into the docking complex as the Tyrannosaurus lifted off behind her.

She had the matter of a bounty to settle with Proctor Kanan.

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Vonda Andromeda strolled into Proctor Kanan's office like everything was perfectly normal. Kanan, for his part, played the same game.

"So it's done then. The thing is really dead?" Kanan asked, betraying just a hint of disbelief beneath his well-practiced politician's facade.

"Yeah, it's dead," Vonda sighed as she flopped heavily into one of Kanan's big, cushioned comfy chairs, "liquefied his brains and blew them out his nose. I'd have brought you the fucker's head, but the damn thing's hide was made of carbonium. Ugly fucking brute, though."

Vonda studied Kanan's face for any sign of discomfort at her intentionally graphic description and insulting characterization. Anything that might explain Kanan's motives. There was a slight twitch in his brow, but that was all. He was too good a liar to let his real feelings show. Or maybe he just didn't have any.

"Good, good..." Kanan looked into his drink, then circled behind his desk, activating the touch screen on it, "and the mercenary crew I hired to escort you?"

"Didn't make it," was all Vonda offered, "I told you I work better alone."

"Mmm," was all Kanan replied. He clearly wanted more details, but didn't want to seem like he wanted them. Vonda wasn't going to make it easy on him and just volunteer any extra info. He was going to have to give something up to get something in return.

"I have to admit," Kanan smiled, "I'm surprised you made it out alive. You're not the first crew I sent to take care of him."

"You don't say," Vonda recalled the gruesome remains of the scores of previous victims.

"I'm keying up the transfer now. 100% of the 2 million bounty to Vonda Andromeda," Kanan made a big show of setting up the transfer on his desk interface. "So, how did you survive where the others failed?" Kanan tried to appear only casually interested in the answer, pretending to be preoccupied with the transfer.

"Well... after the crew you hand-picked tried to kill me," Vonda sneered, watching Kanan's face intently, "they left me to die and got eaten before I caught up with them. Lucky for me, your pet wasn't expecting dessert."

"My-" Kanan started to feign ignorance, but looked up from his desk to see that Vonda had already drawn her laser pistol and was pointing it right at him.

Kanan's enormous Gortite bodyguard came in immediately, answering the silent call for help Kanan had signaled just a second before he had seen Vonda was already armed. Kanan waved him off, resigned to the agony of having to tell the truth, for once.

"And I'm afraid I'm going to need that bounty in cold, hard currency. Spex only," Vonda waved her pistol in his direction, "no offense, but I just don't trust your kind," she sneered snarkily.

"I don't keep that kind of currency. That's for criminals and-" Kanan started to protest.

"Cut the shit, Kanan," Vonda hit the primer on her laser pistol, charging up a full blast with a high pitched, rising whine, "your type deal with criminals and dark money all the time. Hell, the only difference between you and me is that I work for a living." Vonda nodded her head at the hulking Gortite still standing ready in the doorway, "I'm sure your man, here, can rustle up that amount from his usual sources."

Kanan sighed and nodded to the Gortite. The bodyguard hesitated, looking at Vonda menacingly, then left to make the money run.

"It'll take a while to gather and deliver to your ship," Kanan explained as he deactivated his desk's screen and walked back around in front of it.

"I'll wait," Vonda replied, "just to ensure the deal is done. I never like to leave a contract unfulfilled."

"I did hear that about you," Kanan admitted regretfully.

"As advertised," Vonda gestured grandly.

Kanan leaned back against his desk and picked up his drink, studying its variegated colors swirling around the ice inside.

"How did you know?" Kanan asked.

"That thing was practically indestructible," Vonda explained, "no amount of additional mercs was gonna change that."

Kanan remained mum. He wanted to see exactly how much she'd figured out. So Vonda continued.

"And there was something he said...about already having a supplier," Vonda gestured towards Kanan, "I knew then that the whole thing had been a setup. You sent us there not to kill him, but to feed him."

Kanan hung his head in what may have actually been shame, if a politician could actually feel that emotion.

"He was my son," Kanan offered, to Vonda's surprise.

"What the fuck happened to him?" Vonda could help blurting out, "I mean, no offense, but... I don't exactly see the family resemblance."

Kanan smiled and stood up, looking Vonda over, "something you should be familiar with by the looks of you. Genemods. Tal was always so thin and small... And got sick all the time. So when he asked for genemods for his 16th birthday to make him bigger and stronger... Well, we bought them for him. We thought they would help him become the man we knew he could be. Increase his confidence. Set him up for success."

"And he got hooked on them," Vonda guessed. She'd heard of this kind of thing before. Some people just had such a poor self-image that they got addicted to quick and easy self-improvement. Instant makeovers. Vonda had more than her share of genemods, but they were all related to her work. At least, that's what she told herself. She knew better. But she had stopped a while ago. She wanted to retain some of the person she was before, at least on the inside. Too many genemods and your mind just loses its grip. You're not the same person anymore, in more ways than one.

Kanan nodded and sighed heavily, "Tal was a rich kid. He could afford all the genemods he wanted. And we were too slow in trying to stop him. And too embarrassed to turn him in or get him professional help."

"So let me guess," Vonda sneered, "when your boy went too far and lost his humanity; started embarrassing you and eating other rich kids... you banished him. Hid him away where nobody could see the black sheep."

Kanan nodded again, "yes. Calibrax was one of my corporate sponsors' planets. They established a small outpost there to prospect for minerals, but found nothing of value and abandoned it. They offered it to me in exchange for a no-bid mining contract."

"How many people?" Vonda demanded.

Kanan couldn't face her. He walked to the large bay window and looked out over the ocean view. It was grey. Cloudy and misting.

"How many, Kanan?" Vonda insisted, "how many men, women and children did you sacrifice to keep your monster alive?"

"No children!" Kanan blurted defensively, "no... At first... At first we sent people nobody would miss. Homeless, poor... People who sold their bodies for a small sum... Just enough for one last drug binge or wild fling. But this exposed us too much, gathering people on-planet and shipping them off. So we found ways to redirect other ships there, arrange 'crash landings'. Refugee ships... Tourism vessels... A colony ship or two. Then we started using prisoners, but there was a document trail there that we couldn't hide forever. So I figured the best thing to do was send people who had no right being there anyway... People with no rights. People nobody would be surprised to find met a violent end, that nobody would go looking for. Criminals. Like those mercenaries."

"Like me," Vonda amended.

Kanan shrugged, "yes, and like you. I do apologize for that."

"And you thought you could get away with it forever?" Vonda jeered, "just because you're rich?"

Kanan actually laughed at this, "yes, of course. Rich and powerful." He turned around to face her, smiling with that eminently slappable self-satisfied smirk of his, "this is how the Universe works, dear. People like me do what we want, and people like you... do what we want, too. It's best you remember that."

Vonda bristled at this, but tried to remind herself how much money she was about to make. But damn him if he isn't right, she thought to herself.

"However, I do owe you a thanks, Ms. Andromeda," he said as his professional facade rose up once again, "you did what I never had the courage to do. In a way, I'm relieved it's finally over."

"Mm-hmm..." Vonda didn't try to hide the revulsion she felt for the man. She had the strongest urge to flash the conscienceless bastard's head just like his mutated son's... but she wanted his money even more.

The Gortite entered the room and nodded to Proctor Kanan.

"Well, Ms. Andromeda," Kanan stepped forward and offered his hand, "I believe this concludes our business. You were even better than your reputation."

Vonda glared at his hand like he was offering her a poisonous Felgad Buttworm.

"Let me give you some advice, Kanan," Vonda sneered, "don't have any more kids."

Kanan withdrew the hand and all pretense dropped from his aspect, " I hope you'll understand if I prefer to never make your acquaintance again."

"Likewise," Vonda feigned a curtsy and spun to leave, sidestepping the Gortite bodyguard who tried to usher her out, "I can find my own way, Igor."

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Vonda sat in her cockpit staring out at the grey sky, waiting for her turn for takeoff clearance. She was brooding. Kanan's words ate at her. ERGO had counted all the money, and it was all there... But something inside her - that part of her old self she couldn't let go of - something inside her demanded more than money. What was it, again? That outdated, quaint concept?

Justice.

Vonda wanted to just let it go. She really did. To just take the money and walk away. But Kanan's smug face seared the inside of her eyelids every time she closed them. He can't be allowed to get away with this just because he's rich. But Vonda had a reputation to uphold. She always completed a job, always fulfilled the contract.