XTC 2.8

She'd given the company years of service, she'd semi-retired, been pressed back in, and then given years more in what was understood to be a one-way trip to outer space, there to manage the lion's share of their affairs until she herself couldn't manage anymore. It was a dangerous and taxing business, often involving prolonged periods of mental pressure. She'd risked her life many times, nearly died more than once. People weren't really meant to be left in the field so long. She had to think on her feet, deal with criminals on both sides of the law, and solve her problems with little to no support. In return, with no possibility that she'd ever have a family, they'd agreed to raise three clones, to be activated when she chose, or upon her death, whichever came first. These girls, in decent foster placements, would lead simple, normal lives like she'd never had. Miller had had them all activated just over twenty years ago, hoping to see them grow up before she passed on. Of the three, two survived. One of them was Gina.

Nigel watched her sitting there vaping and glaring at him, and despite her (quite justifiable) anger, he thought she was the most magnificent creature he'd ever seen. He'd have given anything to bring her back to Earth, see her settled down and comfortable, like a normal person.

"That's not why I called you, at any rate," Nigel said, hoping to deflect her fury before it could reach critical mass.

"Oh?" she demanded.

For several seconds, she was hidden by a cloud of mist, but it didn't help him any. Between the flush of her skin, the penetrating stare, and the dusky discs denting the front of her shirt, Nigel feared he may have to change his pants before he hung up. The seriousness of his call, and the fact that he was allowing himself to get distracted made him feel horrible. She deserved his full attention.

"The identity of your persons of interest."

Miller tried to contain her rage in order to hear him out, but truly, it was unbelievable. Inexcusable. Unconscionable.

"Don't keep me in suspense."

Nigel watched her lick her lips, watched her eyes behind the mist, boring into him, and squirmed in his seat. He quickly glanced around. It felt like every eye in the room was watching him.

"He was a mercenary who we know worked in several theatres, including north Africa. Most recently, he was working security for CyD."

"CyD? Are you fucking serious?"

It was hardly welcome news. The man was dead; who he was was of no consequence—who he'd worked for, however. Cyber Defence was a military contractor, not exactly known for its ethical practices. They weren't particularly big at the moment, but they had their eyes on the prize. She suspected them of having been behind the sabotage of the Mort. If they believed that the droids were special, their ticket to the big leagues, they would stop at nothing to get them... including murder. Did they know? How did they know?

"The man from the Johnson was nobody special, worked as a wrecker. His brother was the one drifted off into space when the salvage robot malfunctioned."

"Lovely," she commented, sourly.

"I'll call again the moment I have something more concrete. I wish I had more, sorry."

"Well, thank you so very much." She fixed him with a stare. "I might remind you that I am not the one who created this situation. Odd how I seem to be the one left to get out of it."

"I'll send you some help as soon as possible," Nigel promised.

They both knew that was unlikely. The company that had allowed CyD to take an interest, allowed them to sabotage an insanely expensive state-of-the-art prototype space craft, allowed them to try to kidnap her droids on an alien world (and blamed her for much of it), was unlikely to be any more helpful now that her entire operation was at risk. She'd just have to find her own way out.

"Perhaps you should consider handing off a few things to Rogers."

"Rogers?" she spat. "He couldn't find his arse with both hands! And a map!"

Red-faced, Nigel sat bolt upright and looked around to see if anyone had overheard. He was sure that her voice had been clearly audible, not only through his headset, but across the room.

"If I could thrash you, right now..." she growled.

She had a few more choice things to say about his suggestion, but he didn't hear any of them. Her first sentence had short-circuited his brain. His situation was only made worse when she leaned forward to make her point. Her nipples visibly shifted under the fabric, he could see that they were stiff, and her breasts were pressed together into glorious, rolling hills of cleavage. Staring at her chest, he squirmed in his seat. He decided then and there, that he would do whatever it took, sanctioned or not, to help her.

"Nigel," she prompted, pulling him from his reverie like a fingernail hooked through a nipple ring.

"Forget I said anything," he quickly muttered. "Look, I've an idea. Give me a couple days. We've too much invested in this to let it all go to hell now. I'm sure I'll get backing on this." With that, he hung up.

Miller stared at the blank screen. This was getting worse by the moment.

"Perhaps it's time we got off this rock," she mused, glancing at Number One.

He didn't offer an opinion.

"This is bloody Mars. We should be nearly untouchable here. It's not like you can just hop on the tube and pop by for a visit."

The assignment was really starting to smell nasty. Regrouping and coming at things from a different angle sounded better all the time. But, how to do that without sacrificing everything she'd worked for? Did she dare wait until Nigel got back to her?

"Number One, prep the rovers, and make sure the security cameras are functioning properly, would you?" she commanded distractedly.

"Yes, Captain."

"Oh, and tell the twins that we may need to travel."

"Yes, Captain."

"But, don't alarm them. You know how they get."

"Yes, Captain."

"Make it so," she added as an afterthought, fishing her vape case out of her pants and wondering why it was empty before realizing she was holding the thing in her other hand.

"Yes, Captain," Number One replied again, vanishing from the room before she could think of something else.

Heart filled with misgivings, the captain took a deep drag of mist and picked up her phone.

.

They'd stopped to check on three transmitters so far, and were working on the fourth of eight before returning to base. It had taken til the second for X to admit that these were actually corporate transmitters and not the captain's. It had taken until the third for him to admit that the reason they were checking on them was to ensure that the captain's own devices were still in place and functional... hijacking the signal. She was accessing the communications satellites orbiting the planet. Apparently, the captain liked to keep informed.

True to his word, her taskmaster was making her do more of the work. True to his word, her taskmaster was also making her work in nothing but her boots and her thong. The cool air had tortured her nipples into hard pebbles, and because it was a thong, she felt like she was naked except for her boots. At least, she was blaming the air, and not the fact that X was standing beside the rover watching her.

"You could come help me," she called, turning towards him and waving her arms. "You could at least give me a sonic screwdriver."

He ignored her invitation and her joke. Gina gave him a dramatic huff, then turned back to the antenna. Honestly, the maintenance wasn't difficult. It actually took more time to drive to the things than to check on them. She was distracted from her task by the sudden approach of something small, buzzing towards them at high speed. As it got closer, she could see that it was a small helicopter-style drone carrying something beneath it. It flew straight up to X and dropped whatever it was into his hand. The drone then flew away and the droid immediately turned and went back into the rover.

Consumed by curiosity, Gina slammed the lid on the antenna back into place, closed up her tool bag, and hurried back to the vehicle. When she got there, she found X on the phone, deep in conversation.

"Yes, Captain," he said, giving Gina a sidelong glance.

Gina gave him a curious look, which he didn't respond to.

"You know the saying, "human see, human do. She's managing quite nicely."

She tried a more insistent look, which he also ignored.

"Yes, Captain. It's good to see you, too."

As he hung up the phone, she breezed past him, pretending she didn't care. Sitting beside him, she unbuckled and kicked off her boots.

"Was that the captain?" she asked unnecessarily, as though she hadn't just heard as much. "What did she want?"

"Just to check on us," he replied, looking at her thoughtfully.

He peeled off his shirt. She refused to be swayed. Instead, she turned and knelt on the seat, reached around it and fished for her vape amongst her belongings, such as they were.

Her position turned one of her most alluring assets directly toward him. Her magnificent backside was covered by nothing but a string running up the middle. X was swayed.

"What did the drone bring us? Did the captain send it?"

Instead of answering, he took a step closer to her.

"It's time for your massage, Machine's Mate, Miller," he said, his voice pure lasciviousness.

Gina froze at the declaration. He hadn't said that since their escape from the Mort. It instantly reminded her of the day they'd met. She hadn't known he was sentient then. The sex had been unexpected and intense. She slowly glanced back past her shoulder at him... just in time to see him step up behind her.

His arm wrapped around her front, pulling her back towards him and forcing her to kneel up straight. Bending his head, he purred in her ear.

"Hello, nurse."

The hum against her ear sent a shiver through her. The words made her laugh. She was just about to turn and ask if he had a bolt loose when he took hold of her panties and tore them from her body. Gina let out a squeal of shock.

"X! Those were my last ones!"

"I know," he purred.

"Now, I don't have any panties!"

"I know," he purred.

Before she could complain more, his hands slid up her sides and he cupped her breasts. He kissed the side of her neck, sending electric tingles dancing through her.

"Hello, nurse," he mumbled into her neck.

The light, playful words were followed by more kisses. She felt him shifting behind her, and knew that he was working his pants down.

"Are we playing doctor?" she giggled, even though the answer was obvious.

Strangely, X picked up the jar the drone had brought, opened it, and scooped out a large dollop of pink goo onto his fingers. She couldn't see, but she could tell by the way he was moving, that he was rubbing it over himself, stroking his cock.

"Why...? What are you...?" she started, but she never got the chance to finish her question.

Placing a hand between her shoulder blades, he pressed her chest into the seat cushion. Gina gasped at the forcefulness of it. The position forced her to lean forward slightly, arching her hips out towards him.

"Now, that is beautiful," he said, admiring her backside. Large, round and firm, it was inspiring.

Edging closer, he guided himself to his target. She felt the thick, gooey head slide up and down, then wedge itself between her cheeks, probing. She had just enough time to gasp in realization before he started pushing.

"That's my...!" she squeaked.

Well-lubed with pink goo, the fat head slowly opened the way, as unstoppable and inevitable as lava rolling downhill.

"So hot," he purred, steadily sinking deeper and deeper inside her.

He went halfway, then started slowly fucking her, sinking a little deeper with each push of his hips. It was burning heat racing through her like wildfire. It felt good, but it was so intense that it stole her words. It was hot thickness that pierced her to the core.

"Oh my goddess... so big...!" she finally managed, when he paused to adjust his footing.

Long, deep strokes made his thighs slap against her ass. Sitting there on her heels, clutching the seat with one hand and reaching down to touch herself with the other, Gina closed her eyes and moaned. Exquisite, burning heat consumed her.

"So sweet," X growled into her ear.

His one hand kept her chest pressed to the chair, his other held his hips tilted towards him. That hand suddenly landed a stinging slap to her ass, making her yelp.

"So very sweet."

Suddenly, he stopped and pulled out.

"Reach back," he commanded. "Spread for me."

Gina looked back at him in confusion.

"Spread your ass," he repeated. "Let me see."

Still uncertain, she did as she was told, taking one large cheek in each hand. The position made her blush, though she wasn't sure why.

"Hold it. Hold yourself open, " he commanded stepping back to admire the view. "Now, that is lovely," he purred.

She couldn't imagine what could be so lovely about it. Instead of being all snug, and tight and ready for him, cute and tempting, it was all greasy and red, gaping open like an angry wound. He could see right inside her...!

"Don't look!" she squeaked.

X chuckled, stepped up and plunged his thick, wet cock fully inside her again.

"Oi!" she squealed, tightening around him.

This time he took her much faster, as though he were an organic man desperately chasing his climax. The hot, wet friction had her coming in moments. Her fingers feverishly pulled at herself. Her body clutched and clung to him. X went even faster, drawing helpless, eyes-watering mewls from her. Thrusting himself to the hilt, he froze. She could feel his cock jerking and straining inside her, and the sensation set her off again. Moaning loudly, ass clenching around him, she felt him suddenly squirt deep inside her. Completely unexpected, it made her gasp, and her orgasm just rolled on and on until he stopped moving. Finally, spent, her head sank down to the seat. She just knelt there, panting breathlessly, his cock still inside, filling and stretching her. Bending his head to hers, he kissed her neck.

.

Easing himself down in the sand, the dark figure peered over the edge of the dune at the doors set into the hillside. It was barely visible in the dark, and he pulled out his scope to get a better look. All seemed quiet, but he was glad for the snake suit regardless. It wouldn't protect him from audible detection, but it should shield him from motion detection and keep him from showing up on thermo. Tucking his rifle beneath him, he pulled out his phone and waited patiently for it to connect. When it did, the voice on the other end said only one word.

"Update."

"Yes, sir," he said, leaning into his phone, but never taking his eyes off the facility. "We're in position now. I believe the targets to be inside."

He glanced left and right, watching his team settling into position—three on the left, two on the right. Some checked the readiness of their weapons, others sighted on the quiet building.

"Hold position until I get back to you," the voice on the other end of the phone ordered.

He was less than thrilled with this response, but it wasn't unexpected and an order was an order. Even after taking the last few kilometres on foot, he was eager to get this done and get off this rock.

"Yes, sir, holding position, awaiting you," he affirmed. Hanging up the phone, he gestured for his squad to get comfortable, then settled down to wait.

.

X had had so much fun making sure that she was well-infused with nanos that he'd done it again. After they'd sat together a while, she'd planned to finish work on the transmitter. She'd never got the chance. The sight of her bending over to do up her boots instead of sitting, had apparently been inspiring. Afterwards, he'd let her sleep while he finished the maintenance. When she woke, he promised to punish her for having done her work for her.

Outside, wearing just her boots, Gina stood, sucking at her vape and staring out across the sands, watching their colour change from reddish-gold to purple and blue. She'd grumped about being set up, had a pee near one of the few small, scrubby bushes that had managed to grow there, then found herself captivated by the colours.

Her life had grown so strange, and so far from the course she'd plotted for herself. She almost couldn't believe it was happening. She'd thought to spend the rest of her life just fixing the inner workings of space freighters, the invisible elf that appeared every time the toilet stopped working. After a few years, she'd retire, maybe work planet-side for a while, then live off her pension... alone, probably with fourteen cats.

Instead, here she was, a fugitive, an illegal alien on an alien world, checking the performance of illegal transmitters belonging to a smuggler, travelling with a domineering and kinky android... in love with a domineering, kinky android. And yet... and yet, she'd never been happier. She'd had more sex in the last couple of months than in her entire life, and that kinky android cared about her more than anyone had ever cared about her in her entire life.

The approaching night reminded her that humans weren't really built for this planet. She was rudely torn from her thoughts by a cold breeze that stung stiff nipples, and flew between her legs, sending a shiver through her.

Gina returned to the rover to find X hanging up the phone again. The look he gave her when he turned to her, stopped her dead in her tracks.

"Come with me if you want to live," he said, his face a mask of seriousness.

"What?" she gasped, a sudden jolt of fear racing through her.

"That was the captain. She wants us to go back."

"When?"

"As soon as possible. If we're late, she may decommission us both."

"X!" she shouted, punching him in the arm when she realized he was teasing her.

"We'd better get back, 'cuz it'll be dark soon, and they mostly come at night... mostly."

"Who comes?" Gina looked around. It hadn't occurred to her to worry about the wildlife. Of course, animals had been introduced to Mars, engineered specifically to the environment, but she didn't really know anything about it. Had they introduced predators? They must have. Every environment had predators, otherwise the cuddly animals would get out of control.

"You, hopefully," he replied.

It took her a moment.

"X!"

"If you keep punching my arm like that, you'll hurt your hand," he cautioned. "There's something I want to show you before we go back," he said, sitting down and starting up the rover.

He glanced her way, but tried to conceal his smug grin as he watched her settle in the other chair, then gingerly adjust her position. He ignored the warning glare she gave him when she caught it.

"But where are we going?" she asked. "There's not even any roads."

"Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads."

Gina wasn't certain she felt wholly satisfied with this answer. She felt so strange, sitting there completely naked, while he was dressed. Her backside still stung a bit when she moved a certain way, or sat down. And, she was hungry. She certainly wasn't going to mention it to X. He would either make her ignore it, or he would feed her, and she wasn't really in the mood for the way she knew he'd choose to serve her meal.

The drive was fairly short, ending when X simply stopped in the middle of nowhere. She'd asked, but his only answer was to tell her to put her suit on and follow him. Cursing his reticence, but too filled with curiosity not to, the tech quickly dressed and chased the droid out into the Martian night. She found him standing by the edge of a canyon, staring down into the valley.

"That is an atmospheric generator," he said, when she'd reached his side.